7 Principles for Creating Your Future
Pursue Your Dreams, Follow Your Passions, Live Your Values
By James J. Semradek, Jr. &
Michael P. Butler, Jaico Books, 2006
taken from amazon.com
taken from amazon.com
INSIDE THIS SUMMARY:
The Big
Idea
Why You
Need this Book
Principle 1
- Know yourself
Principle 2 - Select a low-risk,
highvalue-added business
Principle 3
- Cast a vision
Principle 4
- Lead a conservative life
|
Principle 5 - Integrate work and family
Principle 6 - Adhere to your values
Principle 7 - Measure your success
|
Why
You Need this Book
This book will help you
discover how to create your dream life, which is a life enriched with purpose,
meaning, and personal satisfaction.
PRINCIPLE
1: Know yourself - your strengths, weaknesses, dreams, and passions
If 100 percent of your identity is rooted in work,
and work turns on you, what are you left with?
My patients often say, “I don’t know who I am anymore.”
-Ilene Philipson, Counselor
The foundation for achieving a balanced life is to know yourself and to answer the question: “Where should I focus my life’s work?” By knowing who you are, what your needs are, and where you want to go, the type of entrepreneurial business and lifestyle which compliments your abilities and completes you as a person becomes increasingly clear.
If you don’t have the fire in your
belly for selfe m p l o y e d e n t r e p r e n e u r s h i p ,
“intrapreneurship” may be an
option for you. An entrepreneur is defined as one who undertakes to start and
conduct an enterprise or business, usually assuming full control and risk.
An intrapreneur is defined as an individual who works for a
company in an entrepreneurial role and environment. While still working for the
company, an “intrapreneur” has the opportunity to develop new business
independently, as well as new revenues for the company, the profits from which
will be shared in part with the employee. The only condition is that the
independent business does not interfere with the company’s business and that,
in fact, total customer service is enhanced.
THE 7 PRINCIPLES OF CORPORATE INTRAPRENEURSHIP
1. There is a
mutual benefit to the company and the employee to structure a corporate
“intrapreneurship” environment.
2. The
company provides employees with flexibility.
3. The
company and the employee share in the profits.
4. Employees
have flexible hours.
5. Employees
function independently within the guidelines.
6. Company
objectives take precedence over personal goals.
7. Employees
function within the vision and values of the company.
THE 7 BENEFITS OF CORPORATE INTRAPRENEURSHIP
1. New
concepts, products, and revenue streams are created.
2. Company
turnover costs are dramatically reduced.
3. Employee
performance and company results are enhanced.
4. The risk
to the employee of starting a new endeavor is minimized.
5. Employees
can retain all of their existing professional colleagues and associates.
6. Employees
can capitalize on the premier reputation of the company.
7. Employee
creativity is enhanced.
Knowing yourself will help you to know whether you should
pursue entrepreneurship or “intrapreneurship.” Either one can be a great
experience and prove to be highly beneficial, both professionally and
personally. You simply have to decide which is right for you.
PRINCIPLE
2: Select a low-risk, high-value added business – and execute it with
excellence
____________________________
Choose work you love and you will
never have
to work
a day in
your life.
-Confucius
taken from finance yahoo
The central theme is to select an opportunity that fits you
based on what you learned about yourself.
Whether it is identifying a business you wish to be in on
your own as an entrepreneur, or seeking out a position with a company
exhibiting the seven intrapreneurial characteristics, the opportunity you
select is a key element of the integrated business and lifestyle model you will
create as a result of applying the seven principles to your life.
You have an awesome opportunity,
and challenge, to structure a tailor-made opportunity that can fulfill your
specific dreams while providing high value-added services which meet the needs
of your clients.
Once you identify the business
opportunity that fits you, and develop a plan to execute it with excellence,
you’re ready to move forward.
It’s time to bring together who you are and the lifestyle
you want to create with the business opportunity you select – be it
entrepreneurial or intrapreneurial – to create an integrated lifestyle and
business model customized to you and the future you want to create.
PRINCIPLE
3: Cast a vision – and support it with leadership
____________________________
Leaders learn from the past, focus on the present,
and prepare
for the future.
-Byrd
Bagget,
The Pocket
Book of Leadership
___________________________
Creating a life vision is a very personal process, since it
directly reflects your goals, dreams, values, passions, and business interests.
You will find that in the process of visualizing your journey, you will also be
plotting the steps and strategy you will employ to achieve your vision.
FOUR STEPS OF A VISION
1. Define
your vision in practical terms.
2. Define
your vision graphically and then literally.
3. Support
your vision with leadership.
4. Apply
leadership principles to develop the respect and trust of your clients.
When casting a vision, integrate the knowledge of who you
are with what you want the business you have selected to be. Then develop a
vision that defines your business and integrates your values.
In casting your vision, start by depicting the vision you have
for your business in a simple but powerful graphic.
If you have a partner, the process needs to be accomplished
first independently and then jointly until a graphic emerges that all partners
are completely satisfied with and reflects who they are and their shared vision
for the company.
PRINCIPLE
4: Lead a conservative life and leverage your money and time for good – don’t
allow your desire to make money control you
____________________________
Money is a great servant, a terrible
master. It’s a great way to keep score in business, but
it’s a terrible way to gauge overall success in life.
-Howard Ruff ___________________________
A portion of your time and money goes to your business, and
another portion to your own needs, but what about the rest? Two “balance
principles” will enrich you and the world in which you live:
First,
leverage your money for good. If every business would set aside
money on a regular basis with the sole purpose of using it to help others, it
would change the world. Granted, you should not be charitable with the
intention of being blessed. However, you can be assured that blessings beyond
your comprehension will follow.
Second,
leverage your time for good. Time is a very valuable resource,
probably much more important than money. If we could use a portion of our time
to help others, what a powerful, positive impact we could have on our community
and the world.
When your business is producing an abundant income for you,
you can “free up” a portion of your time to devote to helping others. Recall
your gifts, strengths, and weaknesses, and then look for ways to use those
strengths to help others.
Clearly, business and money are
important to all of us, but they only provide the means to an end. Avoiding the
constant pursuit of money for money’s sake, and planning and living so that you
have time to leverage your resources to help others is a profound,
life-changing philosophy.
PRINCIPLE
5: Integrate work and family – it’s one life, not two
____________________________
In
dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don’t try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.
- Tao Te
Ching
___________________________
Integrating work and family is a constant challenge, but
when done in a balanced way that works for you, the rewards are awesome. The
goal should be to integrate your business and your family activities into one
cohesive, balanced life focused on achieving your dreams and the life you want
to have.
Remember to choose a life and a lifestyle that are true for
you and your family as you seek the balanced business and lifestyle model that
you want. Forget the “family” part and you may find yourself very successful in
business but not happy in your family life.
You can be a super-achiever, be relaxed, and have a
wonderful family life. So, don’t run so hard getting to “the goal” that you
forget to enjoy the journey.
Structure your business so you have time for both business
and family. Pace yourself and be patient with your business – don’t let it
consume you.
Remember, it’s okay and even healthy to take a break.
Balancing a successful business with a successful home life is true success.
“The business of life” is more important that “the business.”
Being true to yourself, your family, and your values is
everything. It is the key to inner peace, personal growth, and a fulfilling,
meaningful life.
PRINCIPLE
6: Adhere to your values – live them and integrate them into all that you do
__________________________
Our values
are not luxuries, but necessities –
Not the salt in our bread, but the bread
itself.
- Jimmy
Carter
__________________________
Your core values are the heart of
who you are. Only you can define your values and determine how your values will
be reflected in your vision and in all you do. Living your values without
compromise gives you a sense of purpose and inner peace that is precious beyond
words or any financial sum. A key to achieving true success is to know your values
and to follow the path they dictate.
As you implement the 7 Principles
in your life, your goal will be to define the values of importance to you and
to determine how they will be integrated into all that you do.
Regularly asking yourself the
question “How am I doing at living my core values?” is one element of a
constant self-assessment process you must maintain to be aligned with your
business and lifestyle model. Since life and business are not static, we need
to measure how well we are doing at achieving the success and balance we
desire, which we will address in the next chapter.
PRINCIPLE 7: Measure your success – using success factors that will make a difference
____________________________
In order that people may be happy in their
work, these
three
things are needed: They must be fit for it. They must
not do too much of it. And they
must have a sense of success in it.
- John
Ruskin
___________________________
taken from Inc.com
The success barometers you develop should allow you to
assess your progress toward achieving your perfect life and the future you want
to create. Remember, the intent is for you to assess all aspects of your
desired life balance. Here’s a set of barometers that assess the factors of
importance to balance in your life:
1. Relationship
with God. Developing a personal relationship with God and focusing on a rich
spiritual life could transform your life.
2. Relationship
with spouse. Usually, if
this relationship is in the excellent category, all is well in many other areas
of our life.
3. Relationship
with children. Set a good
example for them by providing a loving, protected, and nurturing home
environment so they can grow and prosper with a healthy self-image.
4. Time spent
on business versus
family.
Have you created a business that allows you to integrate
work and family to the extent you desire?
5. Time
for friends. Along with your spouse and God, these are the people you turn to
for counsel in times of uncertainty, for comfort in times of distress, and
these are the people who uplift you when you spend time together.
6. Serving
and helping others. If everyone focused just a fraction of their time on this
activity, imagine the impact it would have on our world.
7. Business
and financial success. Success in business and finance can provide you with
more time to focus on the important things in life, not just on making more and
more money.
8. Ability
to smell the roses. Slow down. Enjoy the day. Talk to a friend. Eat lunch at a
park. Notice a flower. Consciously decide to make time for smelling the roses.
9. Physical
conditioning and exercise. It is also a necessary part of maintaining one’s
health and contributes to personal refreshment.
10. Pursue
your dreams to the extreme. Each has different dreams. You can’t pursue them
unless you define them. What are your dreams? Are you able to pursue them?
Maintaining the balance requires
periodic checkups. If you’re out of balance, what is your plan to get back on
course? Be ready to have a balanced life and to realize joy beyond your
expectations!
