Wrong Security Thinking
Apr 11 by Marcus Hochstadt | Posted in Business, Challenges
When Do You Quit Your Job? It’s The Ultimate Leap Of Faith.
You have a new business in mind; you may have the contracts waiting and eager clients knocking on your door, but are you ready to take that leap into the unknown? That giant leap of faith that launches your transition from employed to self employed?
The majority of workers welcome the stability and “security” obtained from being employed.
In an ideal world, they can keep their home life and work completely separate. They have regulated hours, a pension plan, holiday pay, paid sickness and other benefits, and then receive a monthly or weekly wage for their efforts.
Or in modern words, they trade hours for money.
Of course, the real working world can be very different, with dissent from your colleagues, an over demanding boss, unsociable working hours, stress, little advancement or lack of recognition for your efforts, but still you continue.
Regardless what your job does or doesn’t do for you, at least it brings you security… really?
Successful entrepreneurs would never consider returning to the rat race. Despite the hurdles they have faced throughout their career, wild horses could not drag them back to the fortress of a full time employment.
The benefits of running your own successful Internet business far outweigh the fear of losing your “security,” or I rather call it supposed security. No matter how secure your employment feels, you cannot be naive enough to think you would never face the risk of redundancy, unemployment, or that final eventuality we all have to reach—retirement.
It is something I faced myself in 2003. I was so sure I would never lose my 6-year old Sales Manager job that I even planned to stay in the company 3-4 more years. And then, out of nowhere, the company’s French Headquarters decided to get rid of 70% of their German sales team—within two weeks…
BANG!
That time made me realize nothing is more secure than being your own boss and running your own business.
It may come with risks, but to the successful businessman and -woman they are planned and calculated. The benefits and new-found security from owning your own business far outweighs the meager rewards found in a full time employment. Speaking of which…
Building Confidence And Control
When you have the confidence in your products, skills and abilities, your possibilities are endless. You don’t have to run anything by the boss but take on full responsibility for your actions.
Every day presents a new learning curve. By taking on and conquering all challenges, the confidence you acquire is boundless. Suddenly you have the control over your own business and the direction in which you are going to take it. The decision making is in your hands and not forced upon you.
It Is Self Governing
You can set your own working hours, salary, holiday time and overall working policies. Running your own Internet business allows you to flexible with your time and achieve a rewarding work and home balance. If you want to work over the weekend and have time off in the week when the masses are all in their offices, it’s your choice. You have the freedom.
By the same respect, you cannot run wild. Owning your own business requires discipline and unlimited motivation, and you have to govern your own progress to ensure your success.
You Can Choose Your Own Direction
Many successful entrepreneurs move from business to business. They rarely stay on one track for the rest of their careers. If one idea does not work for them, they are free to move on to another, and constantly explore new avenues for success.
The life span of your career is also your own choosing. You can retire early, or continue to enjoy working long after retirement age, rather than go by the restrictions of your employer.
Creating A New Network
There is life outside your old office. Successful business entrepreneurs are expert networkers. They enjoy meeting new people and discovering new opportunities.
You are no longer confined to your colleagues or old employer’s network, but able to meet new, dynamic and likeminded people many of whom have also thrown off those shackles of employment.
Of course, every new business needs planning. You cannot resign immediately then run before you can walk.
Take time to plan your new career. If you can, run it alongside your existing employment on a part-time basis. Once it starts bearing fruit, you have the funds to make the final leap, or switch your employment to part-time and use your free hours to bring your new Internet business to the next level.
And do take advice. Not from the detractors who want the security of their employment though, but listen to those who have made that leap and have succeeded.
Find and learn from those who walk the talk.
—Marcus Hochstadt
Cents And Dollars
Apr 1 by Marcus Hochstadt | Posted in Challenges
If you look after the cents, will the dollars really look after themselves?
When we grew up we’ve been told that if we look after the cents that the dollars will look after themselves, right? What I mean is that if you take care of the small cents then this will accumulate and form larger and larger amounts of money.
So is this really true?
Well, perhaps, but it doesn’t mean that you can neglect whole dollars!
I am quite interested in people’s behavior when they are exposed to certain situations. It’s great fun to watch. There really isn’t anything as queer as folk! Although everyone is different, we all have some of the same “built in responses.”
For example, when you are shopping for fairly small purchases then most people will choose the lowest price down to the last cent. Let’s say some apples cost $1.99 and the others cost $1.89, then most people will choose the cheapest ones, right? This is assuming, of course, they are of the same quality, which brings me onto an interesting point.
The quality of something like fruit is fairly easy for anyone to determine. You can physically pick fruit up and feel it. If it’s bad then anyone will be able to tell. You don’t need any form of special education. All you need is experience! If the fruit is bad then you will be able to tell.
However, if you are buying something more complicated like a TV or a car, then it can be difficult to assess the quality as we may not completely understand how it works.
This could explain people’s behavior when it comes to larger purchases. People do not seem to be concerned with price differences between comparable products when they are spending more money, like $1,000 or $100,000.
If you are making a very large purchase like a car, then spending a few extra hundred or thousand dollars won’t make that much of a difference as the car is already expensive. Funny, huh? However, this is still your money. So if you are interested in saving cents, why not turning that around and look after saving big money instead? Is less stressing.
What I mean is this… Some folks are stressed in looking after differences in cents and then ending up in headaches every day why they ended up “loosing” 20 cents here or 14 cents there because they didn’t spend enough time to compare the prices in different stores.
On the other hand, that same people are literally very happy when they purchase a new gadget or that beautiful dress for $500 or $1,000 they saw last week. In that case, it doesn’t seem to make a difference whether to spend $900 or $1,000, but it does make a difference spending $1.99 or $1.89?
How’s that possible?
I strongly encourage you to waste no more time comparing the prices of apples and milk, but rather to take a deep look at the big money. Focus on big money rather than cents.
People waste so much time staring at the note of the grocerystore or restaurant (ex., whether they charged correctly, etc). Yes, my opinion… it is a waste of valuable time.
Simply trust that all is well and sound.
We had a nice experience the other month. I told my wife the story that folks usually complain when a store or restaurant charged too much, but on the other hand we do NOT go back when they charged too less.
Isn’t this unfair?
Let’s imagine you purchase lots of stuff in a supermarket, then after the cashier you check whether they charged correctly. Let’s assume they charged $2 less. Why don’t we go back to the front desk and give them these $2?
When I paid Edilene’s driver license the other day they were about to charge her $35 less than previously discussed. She reminded them of the correct (i.e., higher) amount. Can you imagine how surprised they were?
OK, back to cents and dollars…
Again, instead of focusing on cents, why not being a bit more concerned whether to spend $50,000 here or $4,000 there is the right choice? When you are concerned about spending $1.99 instead of $1.89, you focus on small money and may receive only that in your Internet business: small money… cents… bucks… or even nada.
I really avoid looking for cents but rather look after the big money.
When I go shopping and I’m OK with the prices in a particular store I simply walk through the store and pick the items of my interest. I even avoid looking at the prices. This works not always, but more and more often.
This saves me so much headache, nerves, time, and after all money!
Here Is The Challenge
The next time you go shopping, pick a store of your price range. If you don’t know the price range of a particular store, take a short look at the prices of a couple common items. If you feel comfortable after that short peek, walk in.
Then do NOT look at any more prices while you discover interest in this or that item. Again, do NOT look at the price.
Instead, be aware of your feelings. Do you want it? Buy it!
—Marcus Hochstadt
3 CommentsPermalink Tags: cents, dollars
Why And How To Avoid TV
Feb 11 by Marcus Hochstadt | Posted in Better-Than-TV, Challenges
I think the television is one of the greatest inventions of the last century. On July 20, 1969 it allowed humankind to witness Neil Armstrong step out of the Apollo 11 and be the first person to walk on the surface of the moon. It brings what happens in our world directly into our living rooms and is supposed to serve as a medium of information. Some people might even go so far as to claim that it educates and enlightens us.
Though, I think life is better without the tube.
The television itself isn’t the problem. It’s the current state of television viewing and its effect on modern society that is worrisome. It has, on many levels, become a cultural necessity, even an addiction, for that matter.
According to a report by Nielsen Media Research, the average North-American watches four hours of TV daily. This report also revealed that North-American children watch 1,023 hours of TV on an annual basis while they only attend 900 hours of school in a year. It comes as quite a shock when one reads the statistics.
More and more, the disadvantages of watching TV just seem to outweigh the benefits of avoiding TV.
Common Habits And Their Effects
Many people come home from a day’s work and “relax” in front of the tube. Little do they know that the rapid flickering, the constant changes in images, and the glowing pulse on the screen actually reduces their energy level.
On the other hand, if they were to go out and jog or have a workout in the gym (or write a new Web page ;-), they would become more energized. Ironic, isn’t it?
Watching TV also inhibits your imagination and has a numbing effect on your mind. This is because TV viewers passively take in information as opposed to actively doing research and thinking about what they are watching. You sit back and watch what is essentially somebody else’s imagination.
Ever noticed how come we don’t exactly remember the whole movie we watched 24 hours ago? On the other hand, we do remember very well and a lot of details of a vacation we took a couple months or even years ago.
Even when you make it a point to watch a worthwhile program, how long do you actually spend changing channels and playing “zap” with the remote control in order to avoid the boring advertisements or out of fear you’d miss something?
Which brings us to the next problem: the extent of how television stations and the networks use TV to bombard the public with advertisements and product promotions. TV has become a medium for mindless consumerism. Even if you think you are not effected, remember that there is a whole industry of educated and trained specialists whose job it is to get you to want to go out and buy that latest SUV or anti-wrinkle cream.
Do you really think advertisers would waste billions of dollars on TV advertisements that don’t work? Come on, who are we kidding? It’s a jungle out there.
By now, the debate on TV violence has become widespread enough, and frankly, quite mundane. Although a consensus has yet to be reached, one cannot deny the adverse effect that the portrayal of violence has on our youngsters.
Human beings are social animals and our behaviors are shaped by societal influences. Unfortunately, TV forms a part of modern-day society. That alone is a reason for me to avoid TV.
Reflect
Look at all the things you could do if you would switch off the TV and choose to use your time more wisely. You could read an inspiring book, go out and get to know some interesting and resourceful people, learn how to build a Web site, master a music instrument, take part in family get-togethers, reflect upon how you want to grow personally—the list is endless.
You do get the point I am trying to make, right? I manage to avoid watching TV about 98% of the time, and my life has become better and more fulfilling as a result.
There are certain things you could do to kick the habit and avoid TV. They are simpler than you may think…
Methods On How To Avoid TV
- For starters, you could throw away the remote control. It would amaze you how much less time you’d spend in front of the tube if you had to get up to change the channel or adjust the volume every five minutes.
- OK, if that is too much, you could give the remote control to a friend for, say, 21 days. At least you could realize how silly it would be to visit your friend and ask him or her for your remote control…
- What about a TV-watching plan where you choose to watch only certain shows in a week. You watch only these shows and immediately turn off the tube when they are over. It might be hard at times due to the fear of loss, but this method served as my first step towards successfully avoiding TV.
- When you are eating, turn off the box at all times.
- How about making it a point to devote at least 15 hours a week to reading?
- Ultimately, if all that fails, remember that you can always give your TV to a charity!
Here’s to a better life.
—Marcus Hochstadt
15 CommentsPermalink Tags: avoid tv
How Does “Trying” Work?
Jan 18 by Marcus Hochstadt | Posted in Challenges
How often do we use the word “try”? Things like…
“Thanks; I’ll try that.”
“Let’s try this out and see how it works.”
“You better try this instead of that.”
How does “to try” work? Here’s an example…
Try to grab a glass of water with your right hand. It’ll work if you’d just try. ;-)
The result… You either do grab the glass or you don’t; there is no try. (”Try” does sound softer though, doesn’t it?)
Here’s a hint: When you try you start the vicious circle of thinking-planning-thinking. The word “do,” on the other hand, is a lot more powerful (yet carries some sort of a commitment with it, right?). So let’s reword the above a little…
“Thanks; I’ll do that.”
“Let’s do this and see how it works.”
“You better do this instead of that.”
Does sound better, doesn’t it?
Now, take a look at the words you choose throughout the day. How often do you use the word “try”? How much more power would you give your mind when you’d use the word “do” instead?
Well, why not simply try do it to see the results? ;-)
—Marcus Hochstadt
2 CommentsPermalink Tags: acting, action
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