No one can provide for you except yourself

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." -Ralph Waldo Emesrson

Ever since we were kids, we were taught to become increasingly self-reliant (...well...most of us anyway). We learned to go potty, tie our own shoes and many other things that for some reason I'm convinced some adults haven't learned properly ;)

Since childhood, we have come so far in our lives. We are able to do things that we couldn't possibly do by ourselves as kids. And you know what? It's exhilirating. As we grew up, our freedoms increased. Why? Because we became more self-reliant. Imagine if you always had to rely on others for even just the basics in life? You'd be a slave to your own inability.

We learn so much and have such a determination to be a unique individual...but why do most of us stop? How come most people have not learned how to provide for themselves without relying on someone else to cut them a pay check? Have our bosses become our new parents?

It is one thing to serve another in order to learn and grow. It is quite another when you serve in order to live.

It's true, you cannot become a great leader until you know what it is to serve another. Unless you apply that knowledge, however, you will become a slave. Just as you gained greater independence from your parents, now you must gain independence from your bosses. Just like most things in this life, self-reliance is earned, not given.

Great leaders are not superhuman. They are people, just like you and me. The only difference between a servant and a leader is that a leader empowers him/herself through action and the application of knowledge. No one has a "master plan" where victory is assured. Leaders are just as uncertain as everyone else. Like anything in life, sometimes you just have to take that leap of faith and hope for the best. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

One key lesson people MUST learn is that in business, nothing is personal. Your boss might be a great person, but don't forget: you're there because you're useful to your boss. You do not owe any further loyalty to your boss beyond doing your job well...nor does your boss owe you any further loyalty than rightfully compensating you for your work.

Adversity is a true test of one's character. I've witnessed and heard many stores of offices where everyone got along like a family. When tough times hit, all loyalty jumped out the window. One story was a boss who jumped ship to another company and left a bunch of good people in the lurch despite having a personal rapport with them. Rather than feeling a sense of loyalty to his employees and trying his hardest to keep the ship afloat and going down with it if necessary (like any true Captain would), he jumped ship. He took a handful of the most senior people who he saw as the most useful to him and left the rest to fend for themselves. Oh well, nothing personal, right?

Think that's pretty bad? Take a recent example in the news. Frank Scudere, a lawyer who survived the Hudson River plane crash, was let go from his job. Even though he almost died trying to do his job, he still got canned. His performance reviews were all very good. He was the model employee by many respects. The day he got laid off, his medical benefits were immediately cut off and was told he had three hours to leave the law firm's offices before security escorts him out. Of course, the business had to lay off people to cut costs. That is understandable. However, notice that even though he was a great guy, ultimately, it didn't mean anything. In fact, he was almost treated like a trespasser on the day of his lay off.

If you think that someone else is going to make you rich or successful, you are WRONG. Only YOU can make you successful. Only YOU can make you happy.

People want you to work for them because you are useful, not because they like you. While it's nice if your boss is taking you wherever he goes, it is in fact a curse. You are destined to be his servant, limited in your freedoms and exposure. Imagine if you worked for someone for most of your life, and then that person leaves? What then? It's just like the child who never learned how to tie his shoes. The child is at the mercy of others. When you rely on the mercy or provisions of others, you are not free, you are a dependent.

Don't stop learning. Your quest for self-reliance is not over. Until you can live a life where your destiny and well-being is entirely driven by you, you will never live the life you always wanted. You will look back, and instead of remembering the triumphant victories of your own efforts, you will remember the time your master gave you a pat on the back when you were forced to miss your child's birthday.

To wrap up, I want to leave you with a poem from Saxon White Kessinger called "Feeling Important?"

Sometimes when you're feeling important,
Sometimes when your ego's in bloom,
Sometime when you take it for granted,
You're the best qualified in the room;
Sometimes when you feel that your going
Would leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow these simple instructions
And see how they humble your soul.

Take a bucket and fill it with water
Put your hand in it up to the wrist,
Pull it out, and the hole that's remaining
Is the measure of how you'll be missed.
You can splash all you want when you enter,
You may stir up the water galore;
But stop, and you'll find that in no time
It looks quite the same as before.
The moral in this quaint example
Is to do just the best that you can;
Be proud of yourself, but remember
There's no indispensable man.

Don't be a "helicopter entrepreneur"

Chim Chim moderating the message boards from wild humans

One of the reasons why small businesses stay small is because their owner(s) don't take the next critical step. It's very common to see "mom and pops" that, for years, never seem to grow. To the entrepreneur, his/her business is like a child. You want to care for it, make sure it grows, and are deathly afraid of hiring babysitters or allowing it to become more independent.

Most people would be inclined to believe that most businesses fail because there wasn't sufficient demand. While that is true, the opposite is also true. Many businesses out there also fail precisely because there was too much demand and they couldn't keep up. When you can't keep up in running the business you will start to bleed customers very fast, until you eventually end up with something not worth doing anymore or get burnt out.

Listen, you can't grow without help...

There's pills for that!

Huh? Who said that? ;)

On a serious note, unless you empower your business to run itself without you having to be there, it will never reach its full potential. The same goes for children. We also talk about and make fun of "helicopter parents" but the problem is real. There are many "helicopter entrepreneurs" out there.

As an entrepreneur, you need to remember this golden rule:

To grow, you need to automate or delegate. Or do both.

To those of you who are familiar with Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, he lays out a very important principle. To be financially successful and independent, you need to be able to generate PASSIVE income, not linear income. Linear income is pretty much working a job. You exchange one hour of your time for a set amount of money. Passive income means you collect money without even doing anything.

The linear income dilemma is not just restricted to people working a job though. Entrepreneurs can also get stuck in this trap. Take, for example, that you own a design business. It's pretty much a 1 or 2-man show. However, in order to earn any money, you yourself are hired out by the hour by your client. If you want to grow your business, then this model is unsustainable. During this time that you're hired out, you cannot take on any additional work, which means in the grand scheme of things, you are LOSING money. If you are handling paperwork or other administrative/non-value add tasks...again...you are LOSING money.

For all of you out there who are or want to become entrepreneurs, I want you to say this affirmation to yourself:

I am an entrepreneur. I am a LEADER. I am NOT a Manager.

I want you to take this to heart. A leader is not a manager. A leader brings people together to work for a common goal. A leader sets a strategy and vision for the rest of the organization. Managers are there to make sure everyone's doing their part. Do you think the Chairman of a large company knows every little thing that's going on in the company? Nope, not even close. All that matters at the end of the day is the results. Same goes for a General of an army. They don't manage their army, that's the job of their subordinates. They LEAD their army. I can go on and on with more practical examples, but I think you get the point.

So...assuming your business is making money and doing relatively well, it is time to start distancing yourself from day-to-day operations to focus on greater value-add activities. Yes, some people may argue that hiring people or buying new technology costs money. True, but losing time costs even more.

What kind of activities are non-value add you ask? Here are some common ones:

• Paperwork - Things like order invoices, shipping, correspondence, etc.

• Customer service - A lot of times, most situations are easily handled by someone else

• Micro-managing employees (also called "firefighting") - Let a manager do that if you really insist on it, you should only worry about the results

• Accounting (sorry, but it's true) - The more time you spend counting pennies leaves less time for grabbing more

There are many ways to automate or delegate these activities. In fact, way too many to list. There is an abundance of small business software out there that could help automate everything from shipping labels to automatically keeping track of your financials.

To delegate, you should first hire a manager who can run the day-to-day operations of your business. That manager, if they're smart, will then make recommendations on what additional labor needs to be hired in order to make the operation efficient. Think of a manager as the "babysitter". Even with a babysitter, the child knows who to call daddy/mommy. Same goes for your company, everyone still knows you're the owner and the HMFIC (Head Mo'Fugga In Charge)

If you feel your company is not yet ready for a separate non-owner management team, then at least hire the people you need to take care of the non-value add activites of your business. However, give them sufficient independence so that they can grow, and you can focus on growing the business!

The most important activities you need to do as a leader is to bring in new business and set the overall strategy of your company. Focus on passive income. That's how you grow.

Make it your goal to make the only mention of "helicopter entrepreneur" as a reference to you landing your helicopter on the East Side...in that deluxe apartment in the sky.