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We all love holidays.  Perhaps the number one reason most love holidays is time off from work.  If you’re a traditional employee in a traditional job, this applies to you.  On the other hand, employees at Wal-Mart and Starbucks are unlikely to enjoy a reprieve from their workaday world. 

Labor Day is really a funny holiday. 

At this point, the first Monday of September is little more than a last shot at long-weekend summer fun.  That, and reminder to not wear white. 

I think Labor Day should really be “Entrepreneurship Day.” 

Really – think about it: Instead of giving everyone a day off to grab the jet-skis and head for the lake yet again, let’s open the door for real change. 

Think of it: one day off to recalibrate your life and consider how the principles of entrepreneurship can make real change happen.  Want another long weekend for trekking out-of-town?  How about a long weekend *every* weekend?

Established entrepreneurs could come together and give free seminars.  The Small Business Administration (SBA) could offer similar workshops on starting a business.  Financial planners could provide free consultations for learning more about investment opportunities and retirement plans.

We could also honor all successful entrepreneurs for their hard work and significant contributions to the American economy.  Talk about a great way to celebrate some of our most important cultural values – initiative, independence, ingenuity, etc. 

This could be an amazing holiday with real purpose and not just another wasted Monday off from the office.  Think about it and spread the word!

Entrepreneurs use creativity to build something that works.  That’s a very general definition.  In business terms, an entrepreneur builds something that works, and the measure is revenue, profit, and longevity. 

So what are the “principles of entrepreneurship”?  How does an entrepreneur pull this off?
The idea is…

• To be creative
• To take initiative
• To stay motivated
• To generate profit
• To empower and support others
• To provide value

Entrepreneurship is a way of life, no doubt.  But the context for the entrepreneurial imperative is business.  The business world encourages entrepreneurs to take risks with the promise of profit. 

I am a firm believer that entrepreneurship is about far more than just building a successful business.  (Another way to put this: Entrepreneurship is about more than just making money.) 

Let’s transform the concept by applying the verb form of the word – “to entrepreneur.”
How can you *entrepreneur* your life?  How can you apply creativity, initiative, motivation, and abundance to everything in addition to your business?

Many entrepreneurs do these things naturally, which is why they become entrepreneurs in the first place.  Yet, becoming such a person is a process – not an overnight thing.  No one is born a successful entrepreneur.  Entrepreneurs come from various backgrounds, family lines, ethnic groups, etc.   

There is only one defining characteristic that all entrepreneurs share: the entrepreneurial mindset.  And by mindset, we mean: “a habitual or characteristic mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to situations.”

Just one quick look at the above definition provides our answer.  Since a mindset is “a habitual or characteristic mental attitude,” then the entrepreneurial mindset must naturally be part of the entrepreneur’s business *and* personal life.

The trick, of course, lies in pulling that off successfully.  No entrepreneur really wants to work all the time.  That defeats the very purpose of creating your own business! 

As Tim Ferriss so artfully explains, virtually all entrepreneurs come from the 8-5 working world and thus bring along an employee mindset into the entrepreneurial world.  Working all day comes naturally for most people…unfortunately.

So what are we aiming for in applying entrepreneurship to personal life? 

First, not to work.  That’s right.  We need to crystallize that point right at the beginning.
White sand beaches and crisp, refreshing mohitos are enchanting, but the relaxation phase cannot and does not last forever.  Soon enough, the snake charms us again.  Really, we do it to ourselves.  That’s how we got there in the first place, right?

This is precisely why entrepreneurs are especially prone to workaholism.  We love to work because it brings us so much meaning in life.  Work is good, but only if it’s the kind of work that truly inspires, enriches, and enhances the quality of life. 

Most profit-building projects do not do this for us.  We’re only going to find that style of fulfillment in going to work on the self – in pursuing personal passions, causes, growth, and adventures.  True, there are the occasional business pursuits or work activities that do create great personal fulfillment.  But why limit yourself to only one way of going about this?

The point is simple: entrepreneurs need to plan life in such a way that prioritizes self-promoting activities.  And that’s the whole point of becoming and being an entrepreneur: to create the lifestyle of your dreams! 

In the end, it really is up to you to *entrepreneur* your own life.  You’ve got to discover what it is you truly want to do.  This can be hard at first, especially as the impulse to work creeps into every vision you concoct. 

I’m certainly not suggesting that work is totally out of the question.  Just try to rethink your idea of work.  For example, say you’ve always wanted to teach but have avoided the vocation because of lack of pay, poor support, burnout, and all the other things typical teachers complain about. 

Why not become a very different kind of teacher?  Focus your efforts on being positive and uplifting in the classroom and around colleagues.  Remember: the idea here is to be creative, to take initiative, to stay motivated, to generate profit, to empower and support others, and to provide value!

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Does your business plan resonate with your personal beliefs?

Much of what makes an entrepreneur is the ability to build something out of nothing – to take an idea, believe in it, and make it grow.

The most successful entrepreneurs are those who keep their business running from those tough beginnings to the most profitable and developed stage.

I recently listened to a seminar by Marc Allen on becoming a millionaire. Of course, Marc delivered the talk in his typical “lazy, type Z” style (a manner which I find very encouraging and refreshing within the often high-strung, rah-rah motivational business genre).

In the seminar, Marc emphasizes using affirmations and purpose when building a business from the ground up. I have used affirmations on-again and off-again for several years, but Marc’s seminar inspired me to revisit my own.

Through this process of renewing my personal and business affirmations, I came to understand something very important about goal-setting: If your personal values and beliefs about the world conflict with your goals, it becomes very obvious very quickly.

This is one major point I believe too many people miss in all this “Law of Attraction” and “The Secret” marketing-hype. The aim of affirmations and other such tools is not to simply get what you *think* you want. The aim is to really figure out what it is you want in the first place and then to start moving in the right direction.

As these crucial understandings occurred to me, I began to realize why some of my affirmations just didn’t have the same click anymore. The problem was not the affirmation; the problem was my lack of resonance (or lack of positive energy) with it.

One major key for successful entrepreneurship is to choose a business niche that reflects who you are and what you value. Sure, one day the business may become much bigger than you alone, but you’re the original seed-planter. For the longevity of business growth, the initial planting is crucial.

Affirmations, as Marc Allen suggests using, are a great way to really figure out what will and what will not resonate with you. As Allen points out in the seminar: once you really begin to move in the direction of your purpose, then lots of support starts to suddenly show up (or so it seems, as much of it was likely there all along).

Here’s a quick plan for putting this to work in your own life:

1. Make a list of 10 things you value (prosperity, love, etc.) and narrow the list to the 5 most important values.

2. Make a list of 10 goals (start a business, improve your finances, etc.) and narrow the list to the 5 most important and immediate goals.

3. Write an affirmation for each goal that reflects positive, on-going development (this is key!). For example: “I am now creating a profitable internet business that generates over $500 per day in profit.”

4. Look carefully at each affirmation and revise each to improve the connection between your values and your goals. (Spend just a small amount of time on this now and return to it later once you allow for time to process the affirmations.)

5. Repeat these affirmations to yourself at least twice per day. The suggested times are first thing in the morning and last thing at the end of the day. Try that out if it works. If not, do it when you can. The objective here is to begin processing these all day, so repeat them in your mind when your mind drifts (driving in the car, waiting in line, etc.). Think of these as meditations.

This first part of the process is a bit clunky but immensely valuable. Use these same affirmations for a few days (one week is best) and just see what happens. Again, let your subconscious do the sifting. There’s no need to make any specific effort.

At the end of this initial week-trial, review the affirmations. (How does each make you feel? Which, if any, seems to pop up most? And so on.)

I think you’ll be surprised with how productive this process can be for both your business and your personal life.

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For about a month now, I have been making some transformative changes in the way I do business – primarily in the area of “time management.”
With a very specific end goal in mind, I am working these days *much* less than before in an effort to “begin with the end in mind” as Stephen Covey advises in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. One of my major goals as an internet entrepreneur is to create a business that requires only a one-day workweek most of the time. Of course, some projects, events, or “other work” may actually create a longer workweek. Still, I want to accomplish all of my key tasks on one day and then be essentially “done” with my work. I have already noticed a few key changes as a result of this new approach

1. I am much more relaxed about work and have a greater sense of psychological ease.
2. I find it easier to delegate tasks to others, removing myself from the workflow.
3. I see myself as having “arrived” instead of working obsessively to get somewhere.
4. I am much more effective (80/20 style) in determining the most important tasks to complete.

If, like me, your goal is to build an internet business that requires only a one-day workweek or a 20-hour workweek – whatever it might be – I would strongly suggest setting up your dream schedule now. Even if you actually end up “working” outside of this dream schedule, you’ll begin to mentally frame your life as an internet entrepreneur sooner rather than later.

What is your ultimate goal in building an internet business?

• Do you want to earn $1,000,000 per year and work 50 hours per week.
• Do you want to earn $250,000 per year and work 5 hours per week.
• Do you want to hire 100 employees and become the next “dot com” name?
• Do you want to remain a solo entrepreneur and outsource it all?

These are some of the top questions I ask myself these days as I continue to build my own internet business.

I owe much of my current thinking to Tim Ferriss’ widely influential book The Four Hour Work Week. Since encountering Ferriss’ ideas and beginning to model my own success after him, I have begun to see that book as a manifesto for my own “Begin with the End in Mind” vision.

Still, one major problem I have had with applying and enacting The Four Hour Work Week system is balance. While Ferriss speaks a lot about the importance of outsourcing work, applying the 80/20 rule, and prioritizing lifestyle, he doesn’t speak much to the initial path towards success.

It may be feasible to take an already thriving company and transform it into a muse that requires little attention and generates loads of passive income, but what about building the muse in the first place?

Again, that pesky word keeps coming back: BALANCE.

The primary point I want to convey in this article is that your priority as an entrepreneur should be to begin with the end in mind in such a way that all of your work today contributes to the ultimate destination or objective you want to achieve tomorrow.

In my case, I am still climbing the ladder of internet business success. I have several projects underway, each with excellent long-term potential. Sure, I’m not earning anywhere close to my desired income level but I can see the end along the horizon.

After reading Ferriss’ book I took a lot of time out from my business and started asking fundamental questions about my life and where I am headed – including those questions above.

Immediately, I knew some of my projects had to go if I hoped to arrive at my desired destination. The changes that resulted were more of a precision reconfiguration than a total business overhaul. It was something like planning a trip abroad. Suddenly, instead of deciding to hop on a plane and land anywhere in Europe, I began to see my destination with greater precision. Instead of “I want to get to Europe,” the goal became “I want to get to the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, France on June 20, 2010.” Precision is the key.

The remarkable thing about beginning with the end in mind is when I actually do arrive, I’ll really know I’m there. I know this sounds obvious but it’s really quite significant.

First, there’s a specific deadline. Trust me, I’ll know whether I’m in Paris on June 20, 2010 or not.

Second, there’s a specific destination. Again, Paris is not Amsterdam or Berlin, so there should be no confusion about where I actually arrive.

And, perhaps most importantly, there’s a clear vision. Think about it: If I say I want to go to Europe, you get this rather vague picture in your mind about what “Europe” is and why I’m there.

But if I say “I want to go to Paris,” the vision is clear. I can picture that and bring it to life in my mind. The more I think about that vision, the more I’ll understand my goal in the first place.

I’m sure you’ve had enough of this travel analogy, but I really think this is an effective way of thinking about internet business goals because of the emphasis on geography, terrain, and navigation.

When you’re traveling, you’re really trying to get some place. You want to transform your reality from where you are to where you want to be. It’s pretty easy to do that in travel since everything around you literally changes once you make it happen.

Of course, “traveling success” and “business success” have one very important difference. Traveling goals require only a temporary effort of change, while entrepreneurship goals require a much more lasting form of change on the internal and external planes.

All comparisons have their limitations, but I think this metaphor of navigation can be very effective in helping you transform your business vision to begin with the end in mind today.

Where do you want to go?

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