Frost Had It Right: Taking The Road Less Traveled Makes All The Difference.  ... Always Mind Your “Business”.

A worthy goal will do both.

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When life knocks you down, you realize how much power you have.

Always mind your “business”.

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The business model of petsitting is so insane?Getting paid to spend time with someone else’s pet without having to deal with the owners? I’m petting this cat that isn’t mine, and I’m on the clock? Wild

Practice ‘habit layering’ and the mountain become hill and the hill just a bump.

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Good Habits to Develop

1. Set yourself some daily goals. Keep them realistic and achievable. That will give direction – so you don’t fritter your time.

2. Read inspirational books and blogs; hang around people who are positive.

3. Stay in touch with what’s happening in the world. We’re not just islands – we are part of one another.

4. Make the effort to stay in touch. Just a “like” on facebook, or a brief text message, conveys to that person that they matter to you.

5. Invest some time in your appearance and health. We’re more confident when we look and feel our best.

6. Pay attention to your priorities. Do what’s most important, and not most urgent, first. (Note: If you never learn to prioritise then everything seems urgent – and that’s what runs your life!)

7. Smile. It makes people feel more positive towards you – and it tends to lift our mood, and enhance our feelings, too.

8. Tidy as you go. It’s easier to work, and you’ll feel a lot less stressed, if you’re working somewhere that’s devoid of clutter. Also, if you tidy as you go then it feels less overwhelming.

9. Include some margin in your life so you don’t feel so stressed, as unexpected things always eat away our time. Expect that to happen – and leave some extra time.

10. Take time for yourself as you need to relax, unwind, recover, and recharge your batteries.

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HOW TO STAY MOTIVATED AS AN ENTREPRENEUR

I believe motivation is highly subjective and that each person has a unique motivational catalyst. So this post isn’t actually written to motivate you (LOL). What this post will do, however, is give you 3 distinct suggestions on how you can generally stay motivated by yourself. These are based on observations made in my brief time working with entrepreneurs. Of course, like with anything, this is not a closed list.

1. Have Passion For What You Do:

You’ve heard this plenty of times, I know, it’s annoying to me too. But we wouldn’t hear it so often if it wasn’t so important.

Steve Jobs, when addressing a crowd at his alma mater, famously said “You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers.”

Do what you love, and not in an airy fairy, kumbaya kind of way. If you derive actual pleasure from what you do, you are likely to be more motivated than the average person. It follows that people who do what they love will approach their work with a guaranteed level of enthusiasm. I don’t think this needs a great deal of explanation.

2. Find A Suitable Co-Founder:

Some of the best companies in the world were started by co-founders (e.g. Apple, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, etc.). Often, a start-up is launched and maintained through a combination of expertise, which, for complex projects, is hardly ever held by a single person. Sometimes it takes 2 or 3 people to start a project. So the importance of compatible co-founders cannot be stressed enough.

Like with every endeavour, there will be challenges that dampen the passion. The honeymoon period WILL end, and co-founders need to understand their effect on each other because this can serve as the necessary spark to push each other forward. During a slump in motivation, if you don’t feel more motivated after speaking with your co-founder, he or she may not be the right person for you to work with.

Some questions you should ask about your co-founder - When you are not feeling your best will they be able to take control? Do they create a mood which is conducive to productivity? How do you feel after talking to them about a hurdle you are facing? Do they actually have the capacity to perform the tasks that are needed to drive the project forward?

To achieve the best results, be brutally honest with yourself when answering these questions. Based on your answers, you may need to make some changes.

I left the first business I started at University because I could no longer work with my co-founder. The person whom I had originally chosen as my co-founder because of his technical knowledge of the (media) industry became the reason for my loss of enthusiasm. I am not sure what the root cause was, but my co-founder started developing a habit of killing the business relationships I had worked hard to build (and other bad habits, which are best left unmentioned). In turn, our reputation as a serious business began to take a knock. But this wasn’t yet the issue. The real issue was his inability to realise his problem, and then act in accordance with such realisation. 

Needless to say, I was brutally honest with myself - I just did not believe that he had the capacity to perform necessary tasks anymore, so I cut all professional ties with him.

3. Figure Out Your Motivational Currency

I define motivational currency as: a positive response which fuels the desire to be productive.

For example, I run a consulting business. Now, as much as I love what I do, there are mornings which feel completely hopeless (because - life) and my reason for continuing has escaped me. However, my mood suddenly changes when I get up from my bed, check my mail, and find an email from an entrepreneur requesting my services. After viewing this email, I feel a new energy, a sense of purpose, which prompts me to keep going. I am motivated, and the email is my motivational currency. 

If you are an outdoor event organiser whose event receives good reviews on social media and in the local papers, such reviews are your motivational currency because they prompt you to repeat the amount of effort put into your work, in pursuit of the same or an even better response from your market. 

This type of “currency” is different for different businesses, and is usually controlled by external factors. We cannot determine when motivational currency will be forthcoming, but the more work we put in, the more motivational currency we are likely to receive. (i.e. the more good work I do for my existing clients, the more likely I am to wake up to an email requesting my services.)

Conclusion:

Staying motivated is, in my opinion, the most important thing for any entrepreneur. You can do anything you set your mind to with the right amount of motivation. Conversely, you can do very little without it. This is why it is crucial for entrepreneurs to find what motivates them, and have ready access to it whenever it’s needed.

So print this. Put it on your wall, and highlight the points which speak to you the most. Every time you feel demotivated, give it a quick read, and remind yourself of the ways in which you can regain your motivation.

As always, thanks for reading. I promise to make it a shorter read next time.

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guys!! i finally made a crochet pattern for these, if u check it out i will never stop smiling ok 🙊

instagram: softcrochets

Enough said.

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Solarpunk Business Model: Co-ops

Growing up in southwestern Minnesota, I was exposed early on to farmers’ co-ops, and I’m shocked – SHOCKED, I tell you! – that the Solarpunk movement hasn’t embraced this already.

Co-ops are awesome. Basically, everybody who has a hand in production also gets a share in the profit.

In farming communities, this means everyone gets money from the corn they grow, while the Coop sells that corn to the big businesses that need it.

In Duluth, we have this grocery store called the Whole Foods Co-op that is owned by people in the community who shop there, and they actively do business with regional farmers.

So how would this look in a Solarpunk setting? Imagine a bike shop owned by the very people you see at the shop who are making and repairing the bikes. Or a fashion boutique where people can become members by contributing something (food? fabric? currency?) and the designer heavily marks down the prices for them. Or a bar where the bartenders and the regulars each have a stake in the place doing well.

We need more co-ops in our Solarpunk, people.

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Donut Shaped Yogurt Popsicles Source: Aww, Sam Where food lovers unite.

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