Can Entrepreneurs Learn From Confucius?
The teachings of Confucius have endured for centuries and remain influential in the thought and lives of many Asian people and other cultures around the world. Confucius was a philosopher who emphasised personal and government morality, justice, sincerity and virtuousness. I wonder what relevance the words of Confucius have to entrepreneurs in today’s world of immediate gratification, liberal morals and values and access to endless streams of information? Here is some of what Confucius had to say.
1. “It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop”. We live in a world of speed and instant access, yet it is common for entrepreneurs to have minimal business success, on average 17 times, before they reach the pinnacle of success. It really does not matter how long it takes, what matters is getting there in the end.
2. “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do”. These words have been repeated by leaders throughout time, recently with a little variation by Sir Winston Churchill who said “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Hmmm, the power of great philosophy is that it never changes. Such good advice for any entrepreneur.
3. “What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.” Looking inside yourself to find the strength and conviction necessary to achieve anything that you want is the foundation of modern personal development programs. Today, this philosophy is couched in such terms as “lead from the front” or “be the change that you want to see” and “the only person that you can motivate is yourself”.
4. “Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.” Today’s philosophers and guru’s talk about finding your passion, having a burning desire or 100% commitment, they could just as easily say “go for it, with all of your heart”.
5. “They must often change who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.” And the baby boomers have thought that they had the premium on change with frequent comments that they are change weary or have endured too much change in their lives. Linking change to happiness and wisdom is a concept not often heard; yet any entrepreneur is likely to be living this reality. Others might choose to live a life with less fulfillment rather than face the change required to do something different. The idea of seeking wisdom and happiness through change is exciting and one of Confucius’ philosophies to be embraced.
6. “Things that are done, it is needless to speak about…things that are past, it is needless to blame.” You attract what you focus on and if you focus on past hurts or injustices then you will get more of the same. Blame is a negative emotion and if you focus on blame you will attract negativity. Instead, use what you do not want to get focused on what you do want for your future and speak about that.
7. “Without an acquaintance with the rules of propriety, it is impossible for the character to be established.” If you want to be successful, be in the acquaintance of successful people. If you want to be a millionaire associate with millionaires. You will learn much in the company of others and even more if you carefully select your role models.
Thousands of years ago or 2009? It seems that the philosophical teachings remain the same and entrepreneurs can continue to look to the Masters of every generation to learn and develop their own unique way of viewing the world and achieve success.
How do you embrace change and maintain 100% commitment to your business, even when the going is tough?
How are you using the present moment to prepare for your future?
Meditation Made Easy
People frequently tell me that they can not meditate, they have tried, can not do it and have given up. So they miss out on all of the benefits that meditation can bring. Learning to meditate is like learning to do anything else; you begin knowing little or nothing and practice until you can do it without thinking. Start right now, find out why meditation is worth doing and follow these five steps that will make meditation easy.
Recently I was working with a young woman who told me that she was extremely stressed and unhappy with her work. She said that she had no time to herself, no time to think and her mind raced constantly. In an average day she had information overload from the time that she woke until she went to sleep. She would rise in the morning to the television, took her iPod when she went for a walk, listened to the radio to and from work – you get the picture. Sound familiar?
To start, we found some time during the day when she had zero information flow. The TV was turned off in the morning and no radio in the car to and from work. Just quiet time to contemplate. We then moved to meditation. “Well”, she said, “I have tried that. I can’t meditate and I hate it.” Turned out she had launched into an hour long session, could only last a short while and decided it was not for her. An all too common a story.
What is meditation and why bother? Meditation is a process or technique that you use to clear and calm your mind. You can use meditation just for that purpose or you can focus your meditation on something that you desire such as prosperity or well being. Meditation has been scientifically shown to be a powerful healing tool and a self help tool for achieving stress reduction and better sleep. Many people enjoy the personal development, self awareness, inner peace and freedom that results from meditation. Successful entrepreneurs often claim that meditation creates clarity of mind which in turn effects their success.
So how do you meditate? The following five steps will help you to get started:-
1. Learn something about meditation, just as you would with any new pursuit. There is an unlimited supply of books, web sites, free classes and resources available. Start at the beginning and get to know a little.
2. Be very patient with yourself and release any expectations that put you under pressure to perform. In meditation you are quieting and clearing the mind but the mind may want to keep right on thinking. Be patient and just keep drawing your mind back to focus upon the meditation.
3. Start with a short time, try five minutes, and increase the length of time over a few weeks. Even a few minutes will make a difference so see step one and just be patient.
4. Before you begin to focus on meditation, I highly recommend the use of a relaxation audio program. You can download podcasts and other resources free, from meditation sites on the internet. Start with some of these and learn to relax and then lead into meditation. When you become adept with your meditations you will continue to commence every meditation with a short relaxation.
5. Try this simple meditation, starting with a short time. Get into a comfortable position; sit on a chair with your feet flat on the ground, try sitting cross legged on the floor or lie on your back well supported wherever you need it. Close your eyes and feel your body relax. Take several deep breaths and release your breath with a deep sigh. Relax more and feel the tension float away with every sigh. Now imagine that your body is a vessel full of water and feel the water draining from the top of your head down through your body to the soles of your feet. Just slowly, let it drain downwards and then feel it moving slowly from the soles of your feet to fill up your body, up to the top of your head. Feel this happening, imagine it happening and let it happen naturally. Should your mind wander off, just bring it back to the water and gently move back into the meditation. Do this for as long as it takes for your mind to give up and just be empty or for as long as you like. Each time, see if you can do it for longer until eventually you find your mind calms and stops thinking. At that time you will find that you can feel every part of your body at the one time. You should just feel that feeling for as long as it lasts or as long as you like.
Keep it simple! This is a great principle when learning relaxation and meditation. Be patient with your self and move to higher forms of meditation when you are comfortable to do so. You are your best teacher when it comes to meditation which is a great way to learn about yourself. Have fun, create yourself a little head space achieve success with meditation.
Miracles
The very basis of personal development is to challenge and be challenged around your beliefs; looking for those limiting beliefs that are holding you back, preventing you reaching your fullest potential. Such beliefs come in many forms and one common limiting belief is that we must have proof or evidence that a possibility is real, that it is an absolute truth. It might take a miracle or miracles to shift from that.
Yet many entrepreneurs achieve success based on their intuition and a belief that they have got something special. This poem deals with the issue of miracles and proof in an inspirational and delightful way.
Miracles
These things that they call miracles
Seem few and far between.
Are they for the specially blessed
Whose lives have been pristine?
And what by chance is a miracle?
An event of great sanctity?
Or simple things like the breath we take
That gives us life and possibility?
Some say they do not happen,
That there’s scientific proof.
Some believe their all around
And some remain aloof.
For all that want scientific proof
That’s all that they will find.
They only create what they want to
And to miracles they are blind.
The aloof are neither here nor there,
Upon the fence they sit.
They aren’t quite sure what to believe
And so never will commit.
And then there are those of us you see,
Who see the golden thread.
The thread made up of miracles
By which each day our life is lead.
Small or big there is no size
To the miracles of today.
They happen every moment,
Every minute of the day.
Some are splashed across the news
And some we will never know.
They take place every moment.
Take heed and we will grow.
So what you do from here
Is up to you alone.
But take life not for granted
And the miracles will have grown.
(by Hayley Hohn, A Slice of Life (With All The Cream Filling), 2008, seekerpublishing@iinet.net.au)
In the end, only you can decide; to reach for the stars, to proceed with an idea or to even get an idea, enjoy a miracle or do nothing at all. Do you believe in miracles? have you personally experienced a miracle? I would love to hear from you.
Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Only About Money?
Many people hold the view that becoming an entrepreneur is all about making money and that this is not of interest to them. However, there are many entrepreneurs who are also inventors and others who are committed to doing good works or charitable works. Being an entrepreneur is about the full range of opportunities that are possible in a persons life; including relationships, health and well-being and business life. And in the relationships area, many entrepreneurs are very interested in broader relationships with the community apart from their close personal relationship. In this arena, entrepreneurs might be doing any number of community works.
Recently for example, I was in Hawaii with a group of entrepreneurs who raised $300,000 dollars for the Make a Wish Foundation in Hawaii. I am also aware of a well known Cairns entrepreneur who has set up and sponsors a number of Foundations, some in support of young people. Doing good works is part of being an entrepreneur, however they are not necessarily out there telling everyone that they are doing good things. Often it is about the quiet achiever.
Becoming an entrepreneur is about much more than making money.
Intend To Be An Entrepreneur
Let’s dream for a moment that you have woken up with the realisation that you too can be an entrepreneur and you have no idea where to start. You know what, start from where you are at. That’s right, there is only one place to start, from where you are at right now. Take a good look at your current situation and decide how that supports you right now and how you will use that position to support you on to your next phase – becoming an entrepreneur. Build on your positive strengths and release those things that hold you back. But most importantly, right now, not sometime in the future, intend to be an entrepreneur.
Intention, as described by Deepak Chopra is singlemindedness of purpose, it is well defined and not countermanded by any other conflicting desires or interests. You make a decision and go for it and then be alert for opportunities.
Napoleon Hill, the first writer of personal development, calls this your “burning desire”; grow your burning desire to be an entrepreneur. You may not have that burning desire right now but you may have a tiny ember, glowing somewhere deep within. Often people have carried a dream from childhood and every now and then they feel the warm glow of what used to be a flame, but then they let it go again. It is true that many potential entrepreneurs know what they want but simply do not do what is necessary to get it. So, to overcome that inaction, fan the flames of your burning desire to achieve whatever it is that will take you to entrepreneurship.
There are any number of ways to fan those flames and become an entrepreneur! I have heard it said that the quickest way to have a million dollars is to make a million dollars and there has never been a better time than right now. Right now is always the best moment to take action and it will always be easier to take action if you burn to have something. Take a little time to figure out what the something is. For me it was to be happy, have freedom and have my own business. So on all of those fronts I found my burning desire. Give attention to what you want. Think about it, talk about it, see your burning desire growing and growing and intend to succeed.
Intent is everything to the entrepreneur, it keeps you focused and in action. It is hard to imagine how one can succeed if you do not start out with that intent. This is the basis of the burning desire. Your intent should headline your every day – I intend to succeed at …., today I intend to ….., right now I intend to ……. Determine your intent as a part of you overall goals, as part of your day and every moment.
You can even play with this and have fun – being an entrepreneur is not all very serious business. For example, one of my favourite bits of fun is to set off from home with the intent to have a park exactly where I need it and then to see how well I have done. Intend to be an entrepreneur – it is a key part to your success.
