 |
Something From Nothing, With Something To Share
Betrayal, it can hit you like a load of bricks falling from the sky, leaving you with a pit in your stomach that no pill can cure. Starting your own business is hard enough, however when your inside people are working against you as well, it can make the toughest of souls weak at the knees. Let me take you back a few years, and share a little story with you. There I was, a fledgling in the corporate world, I had just quit my (steady) job and sold everything I had to venture out into entrepreneur life, when "it never could happen to me" happened. My closest friend and business partner wiped out our bank account balance, leaving me with debt up to my eyeballs, and a lesson to be learned. I come from one of those attitudes that believe that everything happens for a reason, so what could this reason be, I pondered? It was tough; let me tell you - faced with the biggest crossroad of my life. A failing business with no cash to save me, a close friend's betrayal, and two roads leading into separate directions. One, Go after the person who did me wrong, obviously having a slam dunk case and would win in any court, or Two, use that same precious time and energy to focus in a more positive manner on rebuilding what I once had, and learn from the experience, if nothing else, what I would never tolerate again. What would you do? For myself, I chose the second of the two, knowing darned well, that by wasting my (thoughts and energy) on ways to get back at this person, and how I could make them suffer as I, there would be little left to focus on what really mattered most. Creating the business model and dream that I had began on in the first place. What made me take this route, you ask? There is an old saying that goes 'many receive good advice, yet few actually profit from it.' Since I chose to succeed, I went back and listen to all my old motivational tapes, thumbed through the books, and messages, got my focus back and quickly realized that we are all dealt obstacles in this world. I mean, there will always be stumbling blocks in our lives, that's just part of life itself. It's our "Attitude" toward these events that show the world who we are as a person. For, it's been said: we learn more about someone on one bad day, then on all their good days put together. Have you ever wondered why some people seem to always have drama in their lives, while others simply go with the flow? Or why one group of people are happy and content most the time, while some seem to only attract anger and chaos into their lives? I believe it's because what we feel and how we see ourselves on the inside is the direct reflection on how we feel and see the world around us. Someone once said to me, "we can't control our circumstances all the time, but we can control our attitude toward them." A true statement I know, but come on - I was stuck in a tight spot here. So, there I was - with a BIG decision to make and decided to take on this challenge as just that. A challenge. I figured, if I could overcome this situation that seemed so grave at the time, and not only make it through it, but actually grew from it, perhaps, maybe - just maybe my business partner didn't fail me after all. Here's what I did. I moved on, and buried the past. I went into the office the next day, changed the locks on the door, rolled up my sleeves and never looked back. It's amazing what a new coat of paint can do to a dreary old room, and that's what I did for my business and attitude toward it. Out with the old, and in with the new. When I called all my customers and explained what had happened, you wouldn't believe the response. It was like a brotherhood of business people. Each person I spoke with having more advice that the last. It was strange how I felt all-alone, and ashamed for letting someone take advantage of me, while others saw me as a new start up, and simply green behind the ears. Remember, we all make mistakes. There were many lessons learned that month, and I took the advice given to me by these people, by hiring the best accounting person I could find, and then one of the best of Tax firms to oversee their numbers as well. By doing so, guess what happened? My business rose to the highest of dimensions, allowing me to set my sights on growth rather than setbacks, and on the future rather than the past. That was many, many years ago, the company became a corporation, and eventually the corporation was sold to another. Now I find myself here, writing this story as if it were yesterday, remembering one of the greatest lessons I've learned. In life - things will happen, both for the good and the bad. It's the way we handle these situations that make us who we are. It's all right to feel anger; it's OK to sense pain, but in the end, when the story is written, which path will you have chosen? Live in the past, or live FOR the future. Best wishes, and what ever you do? Keep smilin', Gregory Scott Reid - The Millionaire Mentor Gregory Scott Reid, #1 best-selling author, Speaker and Radio personality. Please visit my site and sign up for my free monthly newsletter at http://www.AlwaysGood.com Best wishes, and Keep smilin'....
MORE RESOURCES: |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Surviving the Three Pitfalls of Business Ownership The morning sun sheds its brilliance and warmth on your sleeping face. 10:00 a. Work On, Not In Your Business Are you busy? Everyone's busy! Ask anyone they'll tell you how busy they are. But how many people are accomplishing real results?In your small business, it's easy to get buried in the myriad activities that demand your attention each day. 7 Lean Marketing Laws For The Inspired Entrepreneur The following laws will provide guidance on how to act,think and work in a lean way. You can apply these laws toall areas of your life, work and business to get biggerresults from the time you invest. What Makes an Entrepreneur? Rupert Steiner in his book 'My First Break' attempted to define the secret of becoming an entrepreneur and following interviews with over one hundred entrepreneurs, Steiner concluded that there was not one defined path. He has, however, drawn out observations of an entrepreneur's personality traits. Business Start Up Tips From Some Hearty Entrepreneurs When's the last time someone asked you: "What's new?" If you're starting or growing a business, an e-business, or a web site, the answer is: "Everything!" - especially on the inside.Face it, launching a new enterprise - or taking it to the next level - can sometimes feel scary and overwhelming. Financing Your Business Anyone who is serious about making some money is already very well aware of the fact that it takes some type of investment to make this happen. I've read a lot of copy that suggests one can build a business for free, if they are willing to spend an extra amount of time to compensate for their lack of financial backing. Time Management Tips for Solo Entrepreneurs Does it seem like everyone and everything is vying for your attention all at once? It can be hard for solo entrepreneurs to know what to do first, let alone try to find the time to get caught up. Here are some time management tips that will help you to stay on top of it all:1. Questions For The Entrepreneur To Be Entrepreneurial e-gnorancePart 1: Questions for the entrepreneur to beIf you are an entrepreneur starting out, or have been around the block for some time but are yet to hit on the jackpot, you might be missing out some of the cornerstones of doing busingg through the new age media, the internet. Ask yourself the following questions and in seeking out answers to the, you may find the magic touch that could propel you to the success that drives you everyday. Hurricane Katrina, Death, and a Different Type of Entrepreneurship I've seen terrible images today on the television and internet-bodies of the elderly and infants floating in attics, buildings collapsing, seals washing up in the middle of highways. All I can say is that our thoughts go out to those in New Orleans, Gulfport and surrounding areas in this sad time. 10 Ways Entrepreneurs Shoot Themselves In The Foot Entrepreneurs and their businesses have a tendency to ambush themselves when they aren't looking. This affects how much revenue they can generate, how fast their business rises, and even if they survive after the first few years. Is Now the Right Time to Become An Entrepreneur? A number of economic changes are magnifying the role of small business and creating the impetus for entrepreneurship.In the past, many people perceived small business owners as shopkeepers - the mom 'n pop shops. The Risks of Entrepreneurship The "spark" for many entrepreneurs is seeing an opportunity that doesn't yet exist. Ted Turner, for example, launched CNN because he perceived that people wanted more television news than they were being offered. Have You Been Thinking About Owning Your Own Business? Or Becoming An Entrepreneur? Part 1 Almost every day, I talk with people who want to start their own home-based businesses. I receive an interesting reaction when I ask people, "What are you looking for in a home-based business?" The most common response I get is, "Umm, well . Competitive Edge In his book, The Road Ahead, Bill Gates of Microsoft writes of "friction-free capitalism" made possible by developments in communications, chief among them the Internet and its World Wide Web. In this context, "friction" is everything that keeps markets from functioning as the "perfect competition" of economics textbooks. Veteran Entrepreneurs Are Growing In Ranks When I'm not running my own business, writing articles about business, speaking to groups and organizations about business, or consulting with companies who want my advice about the running of their business, I teach a weekly class on the subject of (care to guess?) starting and running a business.To quote my frequently-mentioned and wise-beyond-her-years teenage daughter, Chelsea, "Dad, you really need to get a life. 5 Habits Of Successful Entrepreneurs Habits get a bum rap. When you think about your habits, I bet you think of the "bad" ones - the ones that you aren't particularly proud of, like eating too much sugar, or smoking, or dwelling on your negative thoughts. Top Ten Ways to Increase Your Profitability 1) Go back to basics. Take a couple of steps back and address the fundamental facts or principles of your business. Salon Marketing Using Wireless Broadband Internet Access Our client in Chicago did, located right outside downtown too.. The Reluctant Entrepreneur It seems odd to think of a person opening a shop, knowing that they're not at all interested in selling or in face-to-face interaction with customers. But that's exactly what many Internet business owners have done. How to Start a Franchise Franchising InformationFranchise oppotunities are all around us today. You may pop into Starbucks for coffee and then head for lunch at MacDonalds before returning home and ordering your dinner from another local franchise, Pizza Hut.
|