Thursday, February 07, 2008

Early Riser Discipline

I've read a lot of the posts about becoming an early riser. Unfortunately they all failed for me. Not because they're bad but I think it takes discipline. Improving my discipline is my next goal...

From the following post it seems I should focus on the goal more than the art: Discipline is an illusion; Motivate yourself instead

if you think you don’t have discipline, you don’t need it. What you need is to commit to your goal or habit and fully motivate yourself.

I'll try these tips and see how it works out. I started using Joe's Goals again with modified goals and using the logbook too. I expect I'll definitely see improvements in the next few weeks.

YoungEntrepreneur.com Blog » The Top 10 Mistakes People Make When Starting A Business

Sounds like good tips I'll have to remember someday when I start a business.

1) Not enough money.

The most common reason why new businesses shut down is that the owner runs out of money. Cash flow is critical to a startup business. You could be profitable and still have to close your doors because your customers are taking too long to pay you. Cash is king in a startup venture and you need to prepare for it.

One option is to make sure you have enough startup capital from your own investments or outsiders (bank loan, private investors, etc). A second option is to ease into the business so that you start doing it on a part-time basis until you know that it will make enough money to support you.

2) Not thinking survival.

Starting a business is all about survival. How do you stay around one more day so that you can learn more about your market and close new customers?

At the beginning stages of a business this may mean doing work that might not be completely what you want to do but it helps pay the bills. You need to do whatever it takes to survive and get through until the business can fully support yourself.

3) Losing momentum.

Many new entrepreneurs have ambitions to start a business so they create a website, try to make a few sales, go all out for a few months and then stop completely. Building a business is all about momentum. If you had 24 hours to spend on a business they would be put to far better use by spending one hour a day than for 24 hours straight.

It takes time to develop a new company and for people to react to what you have to offer. Never lose the momentum and even if your business is only a part time initiative for you at the moment, make sure that every day you are making progress of some sort to move your company forward.

4) Doing it all alone.

Nobody is perfect or has the skills to do everything themselves. You need to understand what it is that you bring to the table and what you need to surround yourself with. If, for example, you are very strong at inventing but don’t want to sell then you need to find a salesperson to help you.

You won’t succeed by forcing yourself to do things that you truly don’t enjoy and will never be good at. Know where you stand and what value you can offer. By getting people around you who complement your skills, you will be able to achieve your goals and have a lot more fun along the way!

5) Not hiring right away.

You should begin looking at who can be brought on board to help you from the first day of starting your company. There will be tasks in any business that you, as the owner, should not be focusing on if you hope to build any sort of sizable organization. Why are you doing admin work when you should be out closing customers, talking to the media, and landing new partnerships?

But I’m broke! How can I hire someone? Even if you have a $0 budget you can find people to work for you through high school and foreign student internship programs. Once you have a budget, you can bring people on board for as little as one hour a day (what I first did) and then increase their hours when you can afford it. You need to be spending your time working on the business and not in the business.

6. Doing it just for the money.

If you don’t truly love your business then you won’t be successful. If you read the stories of famous entrepreneurs and how they built their organizations you will find that it all comes down to the root of loving what you are doing.

Money is definitely important, as most companies are for-profit enterprises, but it will often take a long time to come and if you don’t truly enjoy your work then you won’t be able to convince yourself to keep going. You can only do something that you don’t really love for so long before you give up.

7. Getting to year 1, past year 2.

Many entrepreneurs have a hard time getting to the end of year one. Typically it’s because they started the business on a whim and got excited about an opportunity but didn’t do the proper research. These entrepreneurs usually run out of money and close down after a few months.

A second challenge is getting through year two. It usually takes three years of hard work to make a business. Year one is all about the excitement of getting started. You’re high on energy and ready to take on the world. In year two entrepreneurs often find themselves still not making much money and the startup excitement has faded. You’ll need to work your way through the downturn and know that the money is coming if you keep at it.

8. Don’t build around a customer.

The best way to make a lot of money quickly is to find a customer who has a problem and is willing to pay you to solve it - and then you go out and build the solution. Most entrepreneurs take the opposite mentality of “if I build it, then will come” only to realize that they’ve built it and nobody is coming. Instead of talking to customers as to why they’re not coming they decided to continue building and building. Soon they find out that they’ve invested years of work and nobody is interested in buying from them.

The companies with the highest failure rates are restaurants because they are usually built around an owner’s personal tastes. Meanwhile, the entrepreneurs with the lowest failure rates are lawyers and accountants because they are based around a service that we all need (whether we like it or not!) Talk to potential customers, see what they are interested in, identify who has money and what their pains are and then create your product / service around them.

9. Don’t seek mentors.

A great way to get a business going is to find out what other people have done to achieve success and implement those strategies into your own company. Find mentors who have knowledge of your industry and will give you time out of their day to help you.

You could set up a formal board of advisers and compensate people for their time but if you’re a startup you can play on the fact that most entrepreneurs are willing to help out a fellow business owner as a way to give back. If you show genuine appreciation and approach the right people, the advice you get will help make or break your company.

10. Don’t get involved in the community.
Tied in with not seeking mentors is not getting involved in the small business community. Countless opportunities are generated by connecting with other young entrepreneurs and finding out what they are up to and how you can help. You will get new business opportunities, partners, investment, media attention, ideas for productive tools to use, advice for your company, and many other resources that otherwise would take you years of trial and error to figure out (if you ever do at all).

A great community to be involved in, needless to say, is the Young Entrepreneur Forums, where there are over 32,500 entrepreneurs waiting to meet you and help you grow your business!

YoungEntrepreneur.com Blog » The Top 10 Mistakes People Make When Starting A Business

Be Present | Zen Habits

This is a good article about focusing on the now. What's happening in the present moment. I'll be practicing this from now on. I don't want to set any timelines or deadlines but rather I want it to be a mantra that I can remember. Maybe I should get a tattoo that says "Be Present". Probably not but I'm going to try my best to remember this daily. Check out the article for more info:

The Magic of Flow
There’s a concept called Flow that’s been pretty popular among productivity circles in the last couple of years. I’m a big fan of it myself. In a nutshell, it’s basically losing yourself in whatever you’re doing — reaching that magical zone where you forget about the outside world and are completely doing what you’re doing, whether that’s writing or drawing or coding or whatever.

It’s a wonderfully productive zone to be in, and a state that also, incidentally, makes you happier. Productive and happier at the same time. Hard to beat that.

However, it can’t happen if you’re switching between tasks or thinking about the past or the future. It basically happens when you are in the present. So practicing being present will help you get to flow, which makes you happier and more productive. Best argument yet for being present, perhaps.

A Simple Guide to Being Present for the Overworked and Overwhelmed | Zen Habits

Saturday, February 02, 2008

a day in the life of a cat and dog

This was posted on craigslist and I wanted to repost it here in case it is gone after a week. Very funny:

a day in the life of a cat and dog


Reply to: pers-559791125@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-02-01, 4:34PM EST

The Dog's Diary
8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 PM - Milk bones! My favorite thing!
1:00 PM - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 PM - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 PM - Dinner! My favorite thing!
7:00 PM - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 PM - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 PM - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

The Cat's Diary
Day 983 of my captivity.
My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects.
They dine l avishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.
The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an Attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates my capabilities.
However, they merely made condescending comments about what a "good little hunter" I am. Bastards!
There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of "allergies." I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advanta ge.
Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow, but at the top of the stairs.
I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and Snitches.
The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released, and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously Retarded.
The bird must be an informant. I observe him communicate with the Guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an Elevated Cell, so he is safe.
For now.

a day in the life of a cat and dog