Dreamer38:

How To Be Successful

Okay, so that title was a little misleading. You asked me earlier in another blog about how to use the recession to your advantage. I've managed to do it because I have a regular day job that is completely reliant on the economy. It's in the construction industry, which is at an all time low right now. 

When I look back even two years ago at my job, I realize that my company was so busy that we were literally working ourselves into a beaten-down corpse.This recession was a welcome relief. For many, it's not. My company, as with many, started laying people off and I live in constant fear that I could be next. The free time I finally have and the fear of being fired are my two catalysts for pushing on with my own business.

A coworker of mine shared the same dream I did and with $400 between us, we got down to business. We started building original designed furniture, mostly on a custom order basis. That was over a year ago when work was still crazy. Designs and completed products were stored away after being built and sat all through the summer without any progress being made. I still drew up new designs, but nothing was getting built.  Finally, last week, I decided to put all of it on the internet and sell off what we had already. Well, not only did we sell what we already had, but the ideas caught on and I am actually barely even able to keep up with the orders.I just decided that if I was going to change my ways, I needed to start somewhere.

The point is, use your time that you have now to focus on exactly what you want. You need to know where you want to be in 1 year and 5 years. You can't just say to yourself, 'I want to be CEO of a big company'. What company would this be and what would the company do? Is this something you start from the ground up or do you have talents that will get you hired where you want to be? My 1 year goal is to have a workshop set up in my garage and have myself organized to know where my money is and who I am selling to. In 5 years? I want to be in a real business location with a front door and a receptionist. I want to be able to get up Monday morning and know that one project that is sitting in my shop is a whole week's wages for me and that I have a whole day to go in and install one hinge. And I don't need to do anything else for the rest of the week (assuming all my other bills are already paid).

Those are the questions you need to ask yourself.  If you want it, you need to work towards it and you WILL get what you want eventually. Don't wait for your partners and friends to beat you to it. It's just another form of regret that you don't want to live with.

angieszz:

Great reply

Dreamer is on to something.

Give the yes thing a go -sounds like fun and give us your feedback next week. You just may be onto something as well.

Have a great day! angie

natepatel:

Thank you!

Dreamer and Angie, thank you!

Dreamer, you are 100% right. When I first took the bar exam, I half assed it. I expected my friends to tutor me and prepare me for it like they had in law school. Guess what, I failed.  When I took it again, my friends were not around to help with the bar exam. They had passed and were working and making money.  When time came to start studying for the bar exam again, I was very scared. For the first time in 3 years I had to rely on myself.  In the first few weeks, I started studying with two girls. They went to law school with me but I did not know then. I walked up to them at a coffee shop and asked if I could join them. I studied with them for 2 weeks, then I realized that they were making fun of me.  They were using me to feel good about themselves. I was struggling and they were not, so they kept bring me around to boost their confidence. See, when my friends were studying with me, they understood that I have problems understanding stuff because I get easily distracted.  They were patient, these girls made fun of me.  Then, 3 weeks before the bar exam, my girlfriend (a girl I thought I would marry) dumped me for the guy she is now married to.  I was devastated.  I cried and stayed inside for one day but realized that I had no time to mess around.  So, I spent the next 3 weeks studying for the bar exam. I would wake up and go to the library. From 9am to 11pm, I would be there. I kept saying to myself, "you have to learn to rely on yourself, in court, your friends wont help you..."   Also, I kept saying to myself, I will spend 9am to 11pm at the library everyday. I will study during those 14 hours and nothing else.   I tuned out everything. I stopped calling friends back, I stopped going to places where there would be negative influences, I stopped returning my ex-girlfriends phone calls, basically, I tuned out everything that would prevent me from passing the bar exam.  In the end, when I walked into the bar exam, I did not feel 100% prepared. But, I felt good.  The difference between the first bar exam and the second bar exam was this...for the first bar exam, I knew I was going to fail. I just knew it because I had not worked hard. For the second bar exam, I felt good because even if I fail, I knew that I did my best. I studied harder than I have ever studied and I learned to study by myself.  Guess what, I passed.  

this is relevant to your blog because i had a plan.  i implemented the plan and it worked. right now, i dont have a plan.  you are right, i need a plan and then i need to implement it.

you should read michael phelps' new book "built to succeed".  it explains how phelps and his coach visualize, set goals, etc.