Change is earned, not given...

How else would you change the channel then?

Hold on...let me just recover from temporary blindness...

Ok, I'm fine now.

Change is important. However, many of us fear change...and for good reason too. We don't like to deal with the unknown. The unknown scares us because we have no control over it. Human beings have a natural tendency towards order and predictability. This tendency is both a blessing and a curse.

On one hand, this natural tendency is essential for society to function and guarantee the survival of the human race. You can't get anything done when there's chaos. On the other hand though, it makes us become our own worst enemies. How, you ask? By making us live a life of habit.

Most of us probably do the same things everyday. We wake up in the morning, go to school/work, do what we're told and then go home and maybe watch some TV or go on the computer. On the weekends, we hang out with our friends, talk about things, get wasted and stumble back home to nurse a hangover the next day....only to repeat the cycle again and again.

Rinse and repeat.

Picture a scenario for a moment. Lets say your TV was displaying a channel you didn't like (*COUGH* like the one above *COUGH*) Would you:

A) Change the channel?
B) Sit there, tolerate it and even convince yourself that it's actually good?

Most of you would say you would choose A. Words are nice. However, actions speak louder than words. Most people, through their actions, choose B every single day of their lives.

This brings me to the point. Change is earned, not given.

You can't change the channel unless you take some sort of action. You need to grab that remote control or go up to the TV and press the button. The same goes for life. You cannot change the "channel" of your life unless you get up and take action. The channel isn't going to change itself.

Many people I've talked to say, "Man, if I only had more money" or "I hope XYZ happens to me.." etc. If you want change, you need to act. By taking action, yes, your habits will be disrupted, things will become unpredictable. If history, religion and our lives have taught us something...it is this fundamental law of our existence: Nothing good comes without sacrifice.

I want you to remember this quote: "A courageous person is not a person without fear, it is a person who feels fear but overcomes it."

We're all afraid of things, it's natural. Those stories you read about great leaders? They were scared as hell, but they kept going. We like to remember them as fearless, almost god-like, because we like to revere things that are not like us. On the contrary, these men and women were just like us. We forget that every single one of us is human...and that we're ALL capable of great things.

Only YOU can change the channel. No one else can do it for you. Why? Because then you'll just keep relying on them...and nothing changes. You will not only be a slave to another, but a slave to your own inaction. An orderly, predictable slave. Anyone who tells you they can change you, make you successful, rich or happy is a LIAR. Only YOU can make YOU successful, happy and/or rich.

And I say to you: Get up and change the channel.

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.

The Power of Imagination

Helix Nebula (sometimes called the "Eye of God")

GOTCHA! SPACE PHOTO!

The human imagination is very powerful. In truth, all of us have the ability to be "mini-creators." Human beings have the power to take something as fleeting and non-existent as a thought and turn it into something that can be felt, seen or heard...almost as if creating something from nothing. Even as you read this blog, you have witnessed the process of creation. I turned my fleeting thoughts into actual text you can read and react to (...and laugh at sometimes ;) ). Who knows what power this creation ultimately has though? But...that is the wonder of creating things...the wonder of a new frontier.

Unfortunately, we are increasingly living in a world where people can't let their imaginations run wild anymore. We're taught from a young age to stop daydreaming, do our work, learn our manners and please everyone. We are not machines.

I repeat: We are not machines.

Imagination is the essence of artists but also the entrepreneur. Most people dream from time to time...but they never create. What separates an entrepreneur from the rest is that he/she takes those dreams and creates a reality out of them. Most people simply "climb the ladder", climbing to heights that have already been predetermined by other people they don't know.

Entrepreneurs build their own ladders, so they can go as high as their dreams can take them.

Look at all the biggest businesses out there. Every single one of them started out as a fleeting, non-existent thought. If nothing was done, they would have never existed...doomed to die with their creator in a graveyard of dead dreams and broken hopes.

So I say to those of you who are entrepreneurs or aspire to be one:

Let your imagination run wild and create something from nothing.