Archive - Finding Passion RSS Feed

Want to be a Millionaire?

March 14, 2012 in Business Start-Up, Finding Passion with 28 Comments

In 1900 there were fewer than 5,000 Millionaires in the United States. According to Forbes.com today there are nearly 8.4 million Millionaires and    413 Billionaires.

But I think we are frequently mistaken about how people get to be millionaires in America.

Here is a list of how people accumulate wealth in America.  Read more »

  • 74% Self-Owned Business. This includes typical entrepreneurs, eaglepreneurs, real estate agents, etc. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel or patent something to be very successful. Three of the most common millionaire producing businesses in the United States are dry cleaning, vending and printing.
  • 10% Senior Executive Positions.  People like Bob Iger, CEO of Walt Disney who was paid $53.3 million in 2011.  In today’s work environment, longevity and seniority are not necessarily going to be rewarded. Results are what get noticed, so these senior executive positions may be filled with a newcomer. CEOs, CFOs, and other senior positions may be attained quickly if one can prove his/her ability to get the job done, however, there is little traditional “security” in any of these positions.

Necessity is the mother…..

March 13, 2012 in Business Start-Up, Finding Passion with 12 Comments

Remember how we’ve always heard the old Plato saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention?”  We’ve seen that played out in many ways around the world – kids in Rwanda making wooden bicycles, William Kamkwamba making an electricity-generating windmill for his village in Malawi, in southeast Africa, or Amish kids using solar powered lights on their buggies.  Samuel Fay needed a way to harmlessly attach claim tickets to fabric without piercing the material.  Not long after, on April 23, 1867, he was awarded US Patent number 64,088, and the paper clip was born.

48 Days Podcast listener Rob from Houston, Texas sent me a link to this amazing video – Plastic Bottle Lights – showing a creative guy in Manila using old drink bottles to create a light in the roof of dark houses.  They use old plastic soda bottles, install them through the roof where it captures the light of the sun and transfers it to the room below – comparable to a 55-watt light bulb.  Read more »

Doing the impossible

February 29, 2012 in Finding Passion with 16 Comments

The sultan of Persia had sentenced two men to death. One of them, knowing how much the sultan
loved his stallion, offered to teach the horse to fly within a year in return for his life. The sultan,
fancying himself as the rider of the only flying horse in the world, agreed.

The other prisoner looked at his friend in disbelief. “You know horses don’t fly. What made you come
up with a crazy idea like that? You’re only postponing the inevitable.” “Not so,” said the first prisoner. “I have actually given myself four chances for freedom. First, the sultan might die during the year. Second, I might die. Third, the horse might die. And fourth — I might teach the horse to fly.”

Source: The Craft of Power, R.G.H. Siu, 1979

Wow – I like this guy’s thinking. Rather than giving in to victim mentality, with one creative suggestion, he creates four possible outcomes other than just being put to death.  Read more »

God keeps closing the door on my calling….

February 22, 2012 in Finding Passion, Personal Development with 54 Comments

Last Sunday night, after speaking at a church, a lady approached me with her question. She was obviously very discouraged with low self-esteem, poor eye contact and overall weak personal presentation.  But her question was – “Why should I keep trying when God keeps closing the door on my calling?”  Wow – now there’s a question designed to stump even a theologian – which I am not.  If God “calls” us to something, wouldn’t He open the doors to make that happen?  Is this like asking if God can make a rock so big He can’t move it?  Read more »

If it ain’t broke, break it….

February 21, 2012 in Finding Passion with 10 Comments

IF IT AIN’T BROKE, BREAK IT!

While this phrase may violate your English grammar, it embraces what we know about today’s work environment. Doing things like they were done 20 years ago is very dangerous. Just yesterday as I was listening to the March 2012 Success CD the speaker mentioned that we used to say if you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll continue to get the results you’ve always gotten.  But that’s no longer true.  If you continue doing what you’ve always done – or even what you were doing last year – you’re falling more and more behind every day.

Here are some recent quotes I have heard from clients:  Read more »

  • I’ve wasted many years of my life
  • I got too comfortable
  • I’m suffering from burnout
  • I feel like I’m a box of parts and nothing fits together
  • I’ve traded my soul for a paycheck
Page 3 of 40«12345»102030...Last »

Switch to our mobile site

Close
Remind Me Later
Remove Ad Permanently