AAOK
Well-known member
The following is from one of the many consultants who send me things on a regular basis. This one happens to be from New Zealand. I thought is was good and timely, so here it is.
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Is The Recession The End Of Your World Or The Start Of Your New Life? We Have Choice[/size][/size][/size][/size]
Yesterday I spoke about how successful people (in any market, but even more so in these times) are guardians of their most precious asset - their time. With the same 24 hours as everyone else they accomplish far more than the great majority - because they take such a tough and rigorous line with their time usage.
The developing recession is causing plenty of folk difficult times - and there will be more to come. I'm not joining the 'End of the world is nigh' brigade. I'm just being realistic. There will be many more business closures. Lots of lay-offs. And plenty of people are wondering what to do, including some of my own extended family).Yet this needn't be the 'Dark Side' for any of us.
However, it is absolutely NOT all doom and gloom. In fact, it could well be the perfect opportunity you've been looking for. Every cloud has a silver lining. Tough economic times are often the catalyst for new fortunes and new opportunities. Did you know that during the Great Depression many millionaires were created? And the global health and beauty industry we know today, with all its massive brands, was created during that same Depression. Why? Women wanted something small and low-cost to give themselves an emotional feel-good. And so lipstick and cosmetics became general currency.
What a wonderful opportunity!
You've probably had times of frustration with your job. Or the company's laying people off and you see this as a great opportunity to make some changes. Maybe you've decided to join the rapidly growing army of home-workers and micro-businesses, either starting or buying your own business. Perhaps you have a book inside you that you want to write. Or you have a deep passion, or a message that you want to get out. Now is your chance, with the right attitude, some skills and knowledge - and good work habits.
Hear me well - I'm not trying to persuade you to throw everything up and become self-employed. However, you may be interested to know that there's been a growing trend around the world towards small businesses over the last 15 years or so.
• In New Zealand 87% of businesses employ 5 or less people (or full time equivalents).
• In Australia the figure is 88%
• In the US in 2007, 76% of businesses employed less than 10 people.
Big businesses get the press (good and bad) and big businesses get recognised, but the reality is, small businesses are where the action is! They're also more nimble, able to change much faster if market conditions require it, and they're an increasing power base in the economic wellbeing of their nations.
My business is a great example of that. As a legal entity, I am a business of one person yet I have people around the world working in and on my business. This gives me the chance to travel the world talking, coaching and educating people in something I love - helping them use their time well to better achieve the life they want. (In fact, as I write this I'm just back from six weeks in Europe, Australia (twice) and recently in the USA doing just that - working with a wide range of clients in many industries.)
So what has that got to do with you and your current situation?
Well, a lot really.
If you see a good opportunity in the market, or if in your heart of hearts you know this is your time to try something new, then go for it. As a wise friend said to me when on the cusp of the same decision some years ago: 'Don't die wondering!'
But - a word of warning as we project ourselves into a possible future (or someone close to us is facing these issues).
Working for yourself (probably from home at least in the foreseeable future) isn't as easy as you might think.
Sure you won't have the traffic to contend with for 2 or more hours a day. You won't have the boss breathing down your neck. And you won't have the office gossip in your ear. But - and this message is for you, me and every self-employed and/or home-based business person - we still need daily discipline and structure in our work schedule.
Let's suppose you wander to your new desk in the spare room. You sit down. You think, 'Ahh - this is the life. Now what shall I do first? I know. I'll make a coffee while I decide what to do.'
You read the newspaper. You check your emails. And before you know it, the morning has gone ..... never to come back.
Danger! Danger! Danger!
Unless you have a plan and know how to work it this will be a repeated pattern. The result?
Your dream will stay just that - a dream. And you'll go broke fast!
Unlike many other time management gurus, I don't have piles of planning sheets, complex spreadsheets or software packages you need a degree to understand. My motto is 'Keep It Simple'. And so I've chunked down the topic to just Four Steps of what I call my Toolbar of Time - just four steps that we must have reasonable mastery of if we want to achieve great time usage skills.
Step One is your dreams, your goals and your objectives. Have you identified your dream, your great idea? Do you know where you're headed? I call it the Big Picture. If you've got that sorted, that's great news. (If you're still pondering, or a bit stuck, check out http://www.gettingagriponlife.com)
What is your dream? Do you have a clear vision of how you want your life to be? Or are you like the majority of the attendees at my seminars and speeches, with only a vague idea of what you really want in life? Please don't 'switch off' when I ask this question - clarity here will make every subsequent decision infinitely easier.
The whole topic of goal-setting is too big to expand on in this short tip, but it's the key that will unlock everything else for you.
Here are a few practical suggestions to help you kick-start the process:
• On a blank piece of paper write down your major life areas. Then brain-dump all the things you'd like to achieve, improve or master in each area. From there, prioritise the top two or three in each area.
• If blank pieces of paper don't work for you, you might find our easy goal-setting tool useful - http://www.gettingagriponlife.com (We've got an end-of-year special on it for just a few weeks, so don't delay!)
• Or, read Napoleon Hill's 'Think and Grow Rich'
• Or, read 'The Secret' or see the DVD.
Cheers,
[size=10pt][size=10pt][size=10pt][size=10pt]
Is The Recession The End Of Your World Or The Start Of Your New Life? We Have Choice[/size][/size][/size][/size]
Yesterday I spoke about how successful people (in any market, but even more so in these times) are guardians of their most precious asset - their time. With the same 24 hours as everyone else they accomplish far more than the great majority - because they take such a tough and rigorous line with their time usage.
The developing recession is causing plenty of folk difficult times - and there will be more to come. I'm not joining the 'End of the world is nigh' brigade. I'm just being realistic. There will be many more business closures. Lots of lay-offs. And plenty of people are wondering what to do, including some of my own extended family).Yet this needn't be the 'Dark Side' for any of us.
However, it is absolutely NOT all doom and gloom. In fact, it could well be the perfect opportunity you've been looking for. Every cloud has a silver lining. Tough economic times are often the catalyst for new fortunes and new opportunities. Did you know that during the Great Depression many millionaires were created? And the global health and beauty industry we know today, with all its massive brands, was created during that same Depression. Why? Women wanted something small and low-cost to give themselves an emotional feel-good. And so lipstick and cosmetics became general currency.
What a wonderful opportunity!
You've probably had times of frustration with your job. Or the company's laying people off and you see this as a great opportunity to make some changes. Maybe you've decided to join the rapidly growing army of home-workers and micro-businesses, either starting or buying your own business. Perhaps you have a book inside you that you want to write. Or you have a deep passion, or a message that you want to get out. Now is your chance, with the right attitude, some skills and knowledge - and good work habits.
Hear me well - I'm not trying to persuade you to throw everything up and become self-employed. However, you may be interested to know that there's been a growing trend around the world towards small businesses over the last 15 years or so.
• In New Zealand 87% of businesses employ 5 or less people (or full time equivalents).
• In Australia the figure is 88%
• In the US in 2007, 76% of businesses employed less than 10 people.
Big businesses get the press (good and bad) and big businesses get recognised, but the reality is, small businesses are where the action is! They're also more nimble, able to change much faster if market conditions require it, and they're an increasing power base in the economic wellbeing of their nations.
My business is a great example of that. As a legal entity, I am a business of one person yet I have people around the world working in and on my business. This gives me the chance to travel the world talking, coaching and educating people in something I love - helping them use their time well to better achieve the life they want. (In fact, as I write this I'm just back from six weeks in Europe, Australia (twice) and recently in the USA doing just that - working with a wide range of clients in many industries.)
So what has that got to do with you and your current situation?
Well, a lot really.
If you see a good opportunity in the market, or if in your heart of hearts you know this is your time to try something new, then go for it. As a wise friend said to me when on the cusp of the same decision some years ago: 'Don't die wondering!'
But - a word of warning as we project ourselves into a possible future (or someone close to us is facing these issues).
Working for yourself (probably from home at least in the foreseeable future) isn't as easy as you might think.
Sure you won't have the traffic to contend with for 2 or more hours a day. You won't have the boss breathing down your neck. And you won't have the office gossip in your ear. But - and this message is for you, me and every self-employed and/or home-based business person - we still need daily discipline and structure in our work schedule.
Let's suppose you wander to your new desk in the spare room. You sit down. You think, 'Ahh - this is the life. Now what shall I do first? I know. I'll make a coffee while I decide what to do.'
You read the newspaper. You check your emails. And before you know it, the morning has gone ..... never to come back.
Danger! Danger! Danger!
Unless you have a plan and know how to work it this will be a repeated pattern. The result?
Your dream will stay just that - a dream. And you'll go broke fast!
Unlike many other time management gurus, I don't have piles of planning sheets, complex spreadsheets or software packages you need a degree to understand. My motto is 'Keep It Simple'. And so I've chunked down the topic to just Four Steps of what I call my Toolbar of Time - just four steps that we must have reasonable mastery of if we want to achieve great time usage skills.
Step One is your dreams, your goals and your objectives. Have you identified your dream, your great idea? Do you know where you're headed? I call it the Big Picture. If you've got that sorted, that's great news. (If you're still pondering, or a bit stuck, check out http://www.gettingagriponlife.com)
What is your dream? Do you have a clear vision of how you want your life to be? Or are you like the majority of the attendees at my seminars and speeches, with only a vague idea of what you really want in life? Please don't 'switch off' when I ask this question - clarity here will make every subsequent decision infinitely easier.
The whole topic of goal-setting is too big to expand on in this short tip, but it's the key that will unlock everything else for you.
Here are a few practical suggestions to help you kick-start the process:
• On a blank piece of paper write down your major life areas. Then brain-dump all the things you'd like to achieve, improve or master in each area. From there, prioritise the top two or three in each area.
• If blank pieces of paper don't work for you, you might find our easy goal-setting tool useful - http://www.gettingagriponlife.com (We've got an end-of-year special on it for just a few weeks, so don't delay!)
• Or, read Napoleon Hill's 'Think and Grow Rich'
• Or, read 'The Secret' or see the DVD.
Cheers,
