Helping Boomers and Gen-Xers Design Success!!

May 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Tomorrow (May 15, 2012) I am shutting down two blogs that have been a part of The Doulos Group for the past two years. I am not shutting them down because they are unimportant of because they are no longer relevant. I am shutting them down in order to focus my attention on the things in life and business that I am most passionate about.

Those things are simply:

  1. I am going to help people design a life-style that blends life and business to fulfill their dreams.
  2. I am going to focus my efforts on helping my clients through the process of discovery, design, and delivery of their passion within their definition of success.
  3. I am going to focus my efforts on Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers who are looking for a way to reinvent retirement.

With these simple rules in place I hope that everyone who comes to visit will find something worth while, something that makes sense, and something that helps them design success!

Come back often and let’s get this party started!!!

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Filed Under: Boomers Helping Boomers, Designing Success, Gen-Xers, The Dream Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

If Not a Job then What?

April 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Question mark

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Last week I wrote an article asking the question, Do You Really Want a Job? Nearly all of those who responded said “NO” they would prefer to not count on the uncertainties of a job in this current economic climate. This necessarily leads to the next logical question, “If Not a Job then What?”

I mean the obvious answer to “what” is a business. However, that is a awfully broad answer and one that needs a bit of consideration before you just jump in and start!

To begin with, since somewhere around 80% of people say that they hate their jobs. Around the same number of working Americans saying that they are looking for a different job. So, trying to start a business in your current field might not be a great idea. Having a business you hate doing is way worse than having a job you hate!

Here are a few practical steps to help you answer the question and find the right business for you:

  1. What is it that you absolutely love to do? Loving what you do certainly makes “building your business” a much more pleasant thing to do.
  2. Who are your potential customers? In other words, are there enough people who both need and want what you have to sell to make your business a success?
  3. What kind of business do you want to be? Home-based, mobile office, or brick and mortar? “Franchise-styled,” direct sales, or service oriented. Choosing the right kind of business both in location and type can be the difference between success and failure.
  4. How will your new business effect your life plans. Many people jump into a business trying to escape the efforts of a job only to find that a business requires more of them than they a willing to give or worse yet they give it more than it deserves and the rest of their life falls apart around the business.
  5. How much time and resources do you have to develop your business? It is rarely a good idea to quit your day job until you are reasonably certain your new venture has the capacity to replace your current income.

I personally agree with the majority of the comments that the advantages of a business far outweigh those of a job, but I also understand that reasonable steps must be taken to assure the success of your start-up business. Be careful, be creative, and be successful!

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Filed Under: Small Business, The Dream Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Delivering on Your Life/Business Plan

February 13, 2012 by 2 Comments

When it comes down to crunch time, the most important factor in success is delivering on your life/business plan. This is where the pieces all fit together and the dream becomes reality!

But, when working hard to deliver your life/business plan, don’t forget that balance in the areas of life and business are what will make the dream work and keep the dream from turning into a nightmare. Story after story abound where entrepreneurs did all the discovery and design work, came up with a powerful life/business plan and then failed miserably in the delivery phase because they lost their balance and fell into the “business success at all costs” mode. In this mode the rest of life falters and often gets left behind in favor of making the business work.

The idea of “these 16 hour days will end just as soon as …” never rarely seems to ever see the light of day. And in the end, the business becomes your life rather than being the method by which you are able to live your life.

I cannot begin to tell you what balance looks like to you. However, it needs to be deeply ingrained in the delivery phase of your life/business plan or it will never survive! Clients, opportunities, meetings, and the like will invade your plan at every opening. Only when you remain true to the balanced approach you planned for will your dream life be a reality.

Remember, what you do should always reflect who you are at your core. If your life/business plan is unbalanced, what does that say about you?

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Filed Under: Designing Success, The Dream Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Discovery – The Entrepreneur’s First Step to Success!

February 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I started my entrepreneurial adventure while I was living in Park City, Utah. As a young entrepreneur I walked into a friends business one day and saw a poster that almost drove me out of the business world forever.

Looking down main street in Park City, Utah, USA

Image via Wikipedia

What could have possibly have caused a young, passionate entrepreneur to cash it in so early in my career? Well, I turned the corner and in an out of the way spot in their store I saw a picture of a terrible storm on the ocean. You know what I mean; terrible winds and waves, etc. And there in the midst of this terrible storm was a little wooden row boat. Below this harrowing picture was a caption that said, “So you want to start your own business!” (I think that picture caused me to have nightmares!)

While I didn’t quit, the truth of that picture caused me to take the time to discover what it was that drove me to be an entrepreneur. As I boiled things down I came up with three things that drew me to the world of startups and have kept me here for over 25 years.

What three things burn in the heart of an entrepreneur that get them in the game and keep them there?

1.  An entrepreneur discovers the person that they really are. This discovery usually involves an understanding that a “real job” just doesn’t work for them.

2. An entrepreneur discovers the passion that drives them to succeed no matter the challenges and struggles that being an entrepreneur brings.

3. An entrepreneur discovers that life is about more than money. Success takes on a unique and personal definition for the true entrepreneur. It is only when this personal definition of success if fulfilled that the entrepreneur is content with life and business.

I think seeing that poster early in my career was a great thing. While I never really considered quitting, that picture did burn into my mind the truth that being an entrepreneur requires more of you than most are willing to pay. But if you are willing to brave the wind and waves, the rewards are greater than any “money making” life option!

Discover who you are, what your passion is, and why business is about more than money and you too can take to the stormy seas and find yourself, your life, and your success!

What other things have you discovered that have made your entrepreneurial life a success?

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Filed Under: Designing Success, The Dream Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Art of Dream Building

January 3, 2012 by Leave a Comment
English: Former basketball player Michael Jordan

Image via Wikipedia

The Art of Dream Building

Remember when you were a kid and people asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up? Remember when you and your friends would sit around and talk about all the things you were going to do, the places you were going to visit, the inventions you were going to build? Remember how easy it was to just dream?

Then you grew up and the dream was most often driven from your thoughts. It was time to “get real” to “be practical” and to “grow up and get a life.” The dreams don’t go away, they just get mired in the activity of our everyday lives and become less and less a part of the life we live or the decisions we make.

Soon, these dreams find themselves in the “if I’d only” category of life and while they still show up every now and then, they are really just memories and have no place in our day to day.

With the world in the mess it is in and the future looking more bleak than bright, I think that its time to get back to the art of dream building. I call dream building an art because it manifests itself differently for different people and it moves people to action in different ways as well. Just like a dozen artists can watch the same sunset and produce a dozen different interpretations of the same scene.

In order to revive the art of dream building in you, you must consider several things:

1. How do you dream? Some dream in pictures, some in writing, some in numbers, some in research, etc. Knowing how you dream will help to stir the artist in you and bring your dreams from the deep reaches of your subconscious mind to the very forefront to be considered and dealt with.

2. What limitations do you place on your dreams? Imagination, left unchecked would have us falling for the idea that you can achieve anything you put your mind to. I am 56 years old, 200 pounds, I run slow, have bad knees, can’t dribble a basket ball, can’t shoot a free throw, and couldn’t box out the smallest NBA guard. Professional basketball player is not in the cards for me no matter how vivid my dreams are in that area. My point is that reason can’t be abandoned even to the most avid dreamer.

3. What price are you willing to pay to bring your dream to fruition. Every dream requires something from us. Whether I be time, talent, resources, effort, or a willingness to be ridiculed. Whatever the cost, the question becomes, “Are you willing to pay the price and make the choice to follow your dreams?”

When you were a kid, no criticism, no “what about”, no limitation stopped you from dreaming. If you find life empty or realize for the first time that you want more it may be the right time to revive the art of dream building!

How do you dream build? What process have you gone through to successfully bring your dreams to fruition? What advice do you have for the novice dreamer?

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Filed Under: The Dream Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,