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Believe in Yourself
What holds people back from success? Is there really such a thing as fear of success? In the world, perhaps there are very few people who would be afraid to have a nice car, wonderful job, great house and be able to take fantastic vacations and spoil their loved ones. These poor people have real psychological problems. They need a lot more than motivational encouragement. They need professional help. So, what's holding back most people from reaching for their potential? Well, underachieving can be a very comfortable cocoon. George gets comfortable being a bus driver. He is accepted as a bus driver. You don't go up to a bus driver and ask him why he doesn't live in a $500,000 house with a swimming pool. That would be rude. The man is a bus driver. Dora is comfortable as a meat cutter. She is accepted as a meat cutter. You don't ask her why she doesn't submit her photos to magazines and newspapers. Give the lady a break. She is very good at slicing bologna. They are comfortable and accepted. They don't have to change. Who is asking them to change? What right has anyone got to pressure anyone else?  Before we get to major changes like starting a business or being a super salesperson or becoming a top executive, let's look at something relatively simple like losing twenty pounds. To lose that twenty pounds, you must endure several months of pain and deprivation. Yes, everyone hopes that some guru will find a magical painless weight losing formula. Unfortunately, for all of us, the truth is that losing weight is a physical process of burning more calories than you take in. When you go through this physical process you will get hungry and hunger hurts and hunger makes you angry and anxious. But, who wants to hear about pain and deprivations? No normal person is going to sign up for a diet that promises results but tells the truth, “As you lose the pounds, you may feel an overwhelming urge to run through your neighborhood screaming with rage. Please do not carry any type of weapon with you when you are on this diet.” Honesty equals failure in the weight-loss business. Frito Lay introduced a diet potato chip with a new miracle chemical called “olestra.” You would lose weight eating these chips because they had one significant side effect. They might cause “spontaneous uncontrollable diarrhea.” Gee, I'll take two bags of those to bring on my first date. Frito Lay told the truth and olestra chips were a failure. As Marine Colonel Nathan R. Jessep, Jack Nicholson, said in A Few Good Men, “You can't handle the truth!” Losing weight is never going to be easy for anyone on any diet. Losing weight is leaving your comfort zone. It is unpleasant. If it were easy, a lot more people would be thin. To succeed at dieting, you need a lot of will power. You must actually believe that, “No food tastes as good as being thin. I will accept the pain to be thinner.” You think to yourself, “This is really unpleasant. I could be doing something very pleasant and eat a Twinkie. I can use a sugar rush right now. BUT INSTEAD I WILL GO TO MY ROOM AND SCREAM INTO A PILLOW. I will persevere. I will be thin.” Now, losing weight can be a piece of cake compared to making other major life decisions like starting a business. Are you ready to risk that $30,000 you sacrificed to save dollar by dollar? Are you ready to borrow another $20,000? Again, immediate gratification battles possible long-term reward. There will always be that little devil on your shoulder telling you that you don't have to do this. You could forget starting the business and take that $30,000 and buy a tricked-out truck. You could do lots of good things with $30,000. Anyway, aren't the odds for surviving more than one year in business 50/50? Why take the risk? Most people find an acceptable reason for inaction, for example, “I want to be safe.” This sounds perfectly normal and reasonable. Others will agree. No one will blame you.
Did anyone call you a loser yesterday? Of course not. So relax; no one is going to push you to excel today or tomorrow either. A few extra bucks would be nice, so you think about asking for a promotion at work. Yes, you qualify for the promotion, but there is a steep downside. You'll have to move. You'll have to work for a new district manager with a reputation as a jerk. Your spouse and kids will cry. “Daddy, we can't move, I just made the Little League team.” Why put up with the hassle when your present job isn't so bad? Forget the promotion. When you look at weaker people who give up or stop trying or never try at all, they may have very legitimate reasons for not seeking a promotion, not starting a business or not losing twenty pounds. Who is to say? If they don't care, why should anyone else care? Why do you want to leave your comfort zone and put yourself in the path of pain, deprivation and possible ridicule? Why do you only think about yourself? What about what your spouse and kids want? Why not use others as the basis for your excuses? Because, you aren't a lazy wimp and there may not be any other way to get to where you want to go except by working hard and taking a few risks.  Don't start the diet. Don't start your own business. Don't ask for the promotion. Do nothing and you can't fail. Work as a clerk at Home Depot. Work for your cousin's landscaping business. Work as a janitor at the town library. There is nothing wrong with these jobs if you are willing to settle for them. Somebody is going to be the general. Somebody is going to be the Sergeant Major and somebody is going to the PFC. If you say that you're happy as the PFC, everyone else will just nod, shrug and go about their own lives. If you think little of yourself, the world won't argue with your decision. You can be on Coronado Beach in Southern California getting a tan or becoming a Navy SEAL. You choose. You can get through Hell Week or you can ring the bell. You choose. You can sit on your big, fat butt eating donuts as a deputy sheriff in a small rural town or you can have an 80% chance of being deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq and seeing combat when you become a Seal. You choose who you are. You must play the Devil's Advocate with yourself. You must test and question your own commitment. With a lot of time and money at risk, once you begin, your commitment must be 100%. Who owns the skyscrapers? Somebody does. Whose pictures hang in the museums? Somebody's do. Who lives in that beautiful mansion on the ocean? Somebody does. Who will make a zillion dollars figuring out e-commerce? Somebody will. Maybe, if you're George, you've got to stop the bus and get off. Maybe, you've got to say, “Enough, I want more from my life than this.” Maybe, if you're Dora, you've got to turn off the slicing machine and walk out the front door. Maybe, you've got to say, “My boss is a moronic jackass and I've got to get out of here before this whole place goes to hell in a hand basket.” Don't look back. Look forward.
Characteristics of a Warrior EntrepreneurAs a warrior, a black belt or present or former member of the Armed Services, you possess many of the characteristics associated with successful entrepreneurship. There is a short list here and later you will learn much more when you complete the Master Leadership Course. This is a good life for a warrior. • Has a lot of energy. An entrepreneur is someone who seems to find the time for work and research and sports and hobbies and family and even to volunteer for worthwhile causes. They are spirited. If a particular job takes twenty hours, they work twenty hours. Remember the old saying, “If you want something done, ask a busy person.”
•Enjoys trying new activities. Entrepreneurs constantly look for ways to improve their businesses. These are people for whom today isn't simply a day old version of yesterday. Rather, they have to-do plans for every day. Every day is special. The entrepreneur is someone who couldn't stand a do-nothing, boring job.
•Likes to work with people. If you want to make money, someone has to give you that money. To give you their money, people have to like you. The best way to get people to like you is to like them first. The typical entrepreneur is a "people person" who is always ready with a warm handshake and a smile.
•Is not easily discouraged. The entrepreneur is someone who realizes that success requires hard work. If success were easy, everyone would be financially successful. They aren’t. At times, they may do a lot of work for results which amount to little or nothing. They may hear a lot of “No”s. They may hear a few rude rejections. The entrepreneur marches on.
• Is well organized. They have an action plan for every day. They make lists. They are on a mission. They know where they are going. Entrepreneurs are people who take pride in their appearance and take care of their possessions. Simply, they look successful. They exude confidence and success.
• Likes to take charge. Entrepreneurs will show initiative and motivate others to get a job done. They know where they are going and how to get there. If they are wrong and make a mistake, they admit the error and try again and again until they get where they are going.
• Is decisive. Entrepreneurs make things happen. Yes, they call their own shots and create their own futures, but if they do nothing, they get nothing. Yes, there is pressure to perform. Yes, carefully planning can go up in smoke when the first shots are fired.
• Has self-confidence. The entrepreneur has a strong "Why not me?" attitude. If someone else has already done what you want to do, you answer with confidence, "Why not me?" If you want to become a helicopter pilot, lots of other Airmen have become helicopter pilots, "Why not me?" If you want to own a Burger King franchise, lots of other people own Burger King franchises, "Why not me?"
20 Distinguishing Characteristics of a Master Warrior
Kevin's life is average. BUT, Kevin “Once a Marine, always a Marine” hates average. For some time, Kevin has had this gnawing feeling that he is going nowhere fast. It isn't difficult for Kevin to predict his own future. There are plenty of role models at the store – clones of himself only 10, 20, or 30 years older. He can see another 35 years doing just what he's doing now. “Ma'am, please ask your son not to play around that table saw!” “I'm sorry, but I don't know if someone named Philip invented the Phillips head screwdriver.” “Yes, we really do have 16 different shades of off-white paint.” “I'm not arguing, Sir, I believe you. If you wanted to drive 31 miles down Route 9, you might find a similar ladder for $6 less at Home Depot.”  The big earners at Kevin's store make about $850 a week including overtime, commissions, bonuses, and take home around $615. On average, each of Kevin's co-workers has a working spouse who will bring in another $400 a week. From these joint paychecks, these couples have to make and adhere to a family budget. Out of the budget comes the cost of raising the kids, the mortgage, two car payments, food, clothing, entertainment and much, much, much more - bills, bills, bills, bills. Do average people have anything left over for investing? Are you kidding? The financial ends just barely meet. Fortunately for Kevin, he can see all of this. He can see a steady paycheck if he is willing to just shut up and play along. Kevin can see that doing a good job at the store will yield modest raises and modest promotions over the next 30 to 40 years. Of course, the smooth path of Kevin's ordinary life presumes that over the course of the next 40 years, he doesn't make any of the local bosses angry, or that the big bosses don't decide that the way to increase shareholder value is to downsize the company or that the company decides to get out of the hardware business. Kevin knows that he hasn't gone so far down into the middle class corporate rut that he can't see a world beyond the front doors of the department store.
There is a world beyond those doors filled with extraordinary possibilities offering extraordinary rewards. A lot of people will say they want what Kevin wants. To them, it will be lip service. If only … But, Kevin is different. Kevin is going to do something about his future. Kevin Chooses a BusinessKevin has a background in retailing. However, instead of becoming a salesman, Kevin decides to open a pizza shop. Does Kevin have the warrior business skills necessary to succeed with his own small business? As you follow Kevin's story through the next several missions, you will see his situation progress from selling pizza - a way to make a living - to selling pizza shops - a way to get rich, - to franchising pizza shops - a way to make a fortune.
Lifestyle- Way of life or style of living that reflects the attitudes and values of an individual or a culture. Budget- An estimate of the income and expenses for a given period. Golden Parachute- A clause in an executive contract giving the executive money or other benefits if the executive is fired or leaves a company following a takeover or sale. Corporate Raiders- Persons who buy into a company with the hope of taking over that company, often with the aim of breaking the company into pieces and selling the individual pieces. Severance Pay- Money paid to a person being laid off or fired by a company.
I am a supply specialist in the Army. When my current enlistment is up, based on my MOS, I'd like to start a package delivery and courier business. I may be an anomaly, but I am a warrior. I am a quieter person and would not feel comfortable blowing my own horn. What can I do? Don't worry. You don't have to organize a brass band or wear a clown suit to be successful. Quiet but effective can be good. The best advertising isn't going to come from your horn, but from the testimonials of your satisfied customers. Let others sing your praises.  A business is a means to an end. The end is a good week's pay. It's vacations and cars and education. It's a comfortable retirement. If your business was worth $100,000 and someone offered you $150,000, would you sell? Why would the buyer buy? Probably because the business is established and profitable. Perhaps you have the skills of starting, building, and operating businesses, but the buyer doesn't. The buyer doesn't want to take a risk, but rather wants to purchase a turnkey operation ready to run. If you can make a fast fifty thousand dollars, can't you take this premium offer and start the same business again elsewhere? As you follow the advice of the Master Small Business Course™, you will be challenged to improve your business, to learn more about your business, to become more of an expert. Many people will spend years building a business and yet have no real idea of its market value. You will be different.
Go to Mission 4
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