What Is the Set of Your Mind - Employee or Entrepreneur?

Mindset. I was struck last week by how drastic the difference between how an employee and an entrepreneur think. It affects their actions, comfort level, what they value and their risk profile. Although I love my job for the aspects that have to do with creative relationship and systems building, I have strong entrepreneurial tendencies as a freelancer, real estate investor, network marketer and online marketer for many years. Also, I see having multiple streams of income (one of which is my job) as safer than just having a job.

An employee wants a steady, stable job to pay the bills and feel safe. If the money from one job is not enough, they will probably get a second. If they can, they put any extra money aside for savings, college education for the kids, retirement, vacation or maybe a car (not so essential in NYC where I am). They want to be paid as much as they can negotiate and these days, most people stay at a job two years, then move on, leveraging their income and status up with each move (or at least that’s the idea when it works). They like the structure of going to a workplace each day and interacting with other people in a structured workflow, of having medical benefits and, sometimes, even a 401K. They look forward to retirement when they will have time to spend with family and friends, maybe travelling or pursuing a hobby.

An entrepreneur wants time and financial freedom as quickly as possible and is willing to exert significant time and money resources upfront to accomplish that. They don’t work comfortably for other people and are impatient with corporate politics and ineffective teamwork. These are business owners, real estate investors, freelancers by choice (not circumstances), stock and futures traders, franchisees, online marketers, network marketers and consultants to name a few. They are always looking to add to their skills because it makes them more marketable. Their cashflow tends to be variable and some businesses can take 2-5 years before they show a profit. They have a strong stomach for risk and certainty that, at the end of the failures, they will succeed. They must have strong internal certainty that, if they invest focused attention on building their enterprise, it will pay off. Sometimes, they are ahead of the curve and an idea that could (and often does) succeed later, fails. After all, until the Walkman, nobody knew that portable music was an essential element for a rich quality of life. There’s a book called Blue Ocean Strategy about creating new paradigms for business that make the competition irrelevant. Amazing!

Yes, I know these are generalizations and there is more to it than that. So what does your mindset tell you about who you are inherently – an employee or an entrepreneur? Are you happy and fulfilled with your current mindset? As an employee or entrepreneur, how can you expand your possibilities? When will you start? NOW would be good...

Here I Am, Stuck in the Middle With You

Bills to the left of you, paycheck to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle with you… OK, so I changed the song a little. Have you ever had a time when you stacked up the bills (lots of them) and the single check that’s meant to cover them and, despite your best efforts, there is just not enough income? Me too. What is the solution? Consider getting another job or two, online or work from home business, real estate, hobby, Craigslist or eBay?

Try another solution instead. You can still go back to those other options later, if you like. Think of and list your talents… do you cook like a chef, knit fast and easily, read or write exceptionally well, twitter, market, do graphic design, shop, do spiritual healing or feng shui? What is your transferable skill set from your work or business? What are your marketable hobbies? What are you passionate about that could be another way to earn income?

Now here’s the game. Add up the bills so you have an exact number then subtract your income to figure out the money gap needed to pay them all (sigh of relief). Then look at your list of marketable skills and talents. Take each one and figure out how, with that single skill or talent, you can make the extra money you need. At the end of the exercise, if you have a list of 10, you will have generated strategies for earning or generating 10 times the amount you need. Why bother, you ask? In a serious and perhaps unnerving moment, this game incites your natural resourcefulness that fear might have shut down. I have negotiated my way out of a lot of tight spots this way. Try it for yourself and let me know how it works for you.

How Do You and the World Define You?

Are you defined by your job, your status or how much you earn? By the quality of your relationships? By your age or looks? By where you live or who you know? By your commitment to organic living or environmental sustainability? By your entrepreneurial or internet skills? By your level of education or what schools you attended? Historically, for men, they have been defined by job status and income. For women, it has usually been appearance and excellence at taking care of relationship connections.

What is it for you that, if you lost it, you might not know who you are anymore? And who is making these distinctions up? Is it you knowingly choosing or are you simply getting sucked into cultural assumptions and embracing them as your own?

For me, most recently, it was AGE. Next week, I turn 50 and, over the last 7-10 years, I have seen my energy dwindle, weight increase and mood become subdued. I said to myself, "Well, I'm getting older. It's only natural." In March, I noticed I had bought into an idea that I did not agree with - that I could expect continued deterioration of my physical body and spirits as I grow older. My energy level was no match for my busy life. I ran out of breath, panting harshly, after climbing the stairs or playing tag with kids. I worried about the stress on my heart, knees and ankles of that extra 40 pounds.

NO! I dug in my heels and catapulted into action with delicious, natural Isagenix products on March 20, weighing 169 lbs and measuring 367 inches overall. In the last 20 days, I have released 10 pounds (today at 159 pounds) and 18.75 inches. People are asking me what I am doing because the change is so evident in my shape and mood. I have reclaimed my joy and am gladly sharing my life-changing experience.

Last year, I was out of work for 9 months, like so many others nationwide, and watched my savings dwindle, gaining an intimate knowledge of how to set up payment plans and feeling shame about my inability to earn a living. How could this happen to me? But it did, despite my considerable skills. I got a terrific job in January which I love but I plan to match or exceed the amount of my salary with my Isagenix business income (www.alisonpena.isagenix.com) in 2010.

I vowed that I would never again be solely dependent on any company paycheck so I am building an alternate stream of income with Isagenix that I expect to exceed my paycheck within a year. Care to join me on this exciting journey to health and wealth?