My Entr'acte

If I had advice for someone who was thinking of becoming an entrepreneur, I would tell them to start. I would tell them to start because waiting does not do any good. Then I would tell them to finish. Start. Sometimes starting is one of the hardest things to do. We get in our own way all the time. We come up with excuses as to why we cannot do this or that when in reality it is only ourselves that are standing in our own way.  So, just get going on what you want to do. Know where you want to go. Know what kind of person you want to be and who you want to become. Have standards on how you want to live your life and run your business. Have standards on who it is you surround yourself with. Always have the end-goal in mind and prepare game plans A-Z to get there so you can finish. Life is short, and days go by too fast. That may be a cliché, but clichés usually exist because there is some truth to them. There will never be a time when you feel like there is enough time in the ...

I have heard the saying, "The road to happiness is paved with gratitude."   I have a sibling who seems to never be happy. She is constantly placing the blame of her own actions on others and uncontrollable circumstances. She claims that everything makes  her unhappy. This sibling of mine is particularly difficult to be around right now for me with my cancer diagnosis. In what she feels is a form of empathy, she will claim that she knows what I am going through when she has no idea (and I am glad she does not). However, I cannot tell her that or it will start a fight.   When the suggestion arises that she would be happier if she figured out what she was grateful for every day, she shrugs it off and says things like, "Well, that may work for you, but that doesn't work for me," and then she settles into her victim-hood. This makes it difficult to carry conversations with her and have her get to know me because she gets angry at every little thing and makes ...

People. That is what business is for. When a business forgets that and puts their policies and profit margins above the people they serve, I believe that business is not a success. Are policies and profit margins important? Yes. However, there should be exceptions to every policy rule and profit should never be put as a higher priority than the person that needs service. Charles Handy points that out in his article entitled  What is a Business For?  He mentions the importance of rules and laws in business, but that those rules and laws depend on truth and trust. To know that a business is truthful and trustworthy, that business needs to have policies that are virtuous and the people in that business need to be people of integrity. When an economy is full of good people who own businesses with integrity, that economy flourishes. A ccording to Handy, the purpose for the existence of businesses is not solely to make a profit. "It is to make a profit so that the business c...

Stephen W. Gibson's discussion on the "Attitude of Money" reminded me of some important truths about money. One being that money itself is not evil. Money is a tool. However, how money is used shows the character of a person. How money is used can be good or evil. Money truly reveals the kind of person we are. I have lived in subsidized housing. I have been so poor that I have needed to rely on my parents and my in-laws for housing and care. I know what it is like to not have anything and to be grateful for the programs that exist to give people a hand-up and out of poverty. I also know what it is like to budget properly and make sufficient for my family's needs. Between the two of them, I much prefer the latter. When in poverty, I felt I could not do the things I wanted to do because I could not think about much else other than making ends meet. Now that my husband and I have become more self-sufficient, I am able to give more to others and to help them. In fact, I w...