“I was just a child,” related a retired Baptist preacher, “when one spring day my father called me to go with him to old man Russell’s blacksmith shop. He had left a rake and a hoe to be repaired and they were ready, fixed like new. Father handed over a silver dollar for repairing them but Mr. Russell refused to take it. ‘No,’ he said, ‘there’s no charge for that little job.’ But father insisted. And if I live a thousand years,” said the preacher, “I’ll never forget that great blacksmith’s reply. ‘Sid,’ he said to my father, ‘Can’t you let a man do somethin’ just to stretch his soul?’”
Don’t sell them a Hummer if they need a bicycle
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1. Hi Dan, what is your take on direct sales? I’m very discouraged. Am I just making excuses?
2. I think ghostwriting would be an excellent fit for me, but I am not sure how to get started.
3. I think I may be sabotaging my own opportunities for greater success.
4. I know I can do more, but I’ve been doing the same thing for so long I don’t know where to start.
5. My passion is working with young adults, but I don’t want to be a teacher.
Podcast Notes: December 2, 2011
Tired of the same crappy lunch every day?
In one of my all-time favorite Peanuts cartoons, Charlie Brown complains to Linus that every day his lunch is the same. When Linus asks Charlie Brown who makes his lunch, Charlie Brown says, “I do.”
When it comes to the activities of our lives, most of us make our own lunches. So while there may be some comfort in sameness, if you want different results, you must do something differently. If you’ve become a creature of habit, break some of your habits. Drive a different route to work, go to a new restaurant, visit a different church with your neighbors, donate your 1965 Christmas tie to Goodwill, read a book on a new subject. You may find you can break out of predictable patterns and discover new excitement and opportunities.
Washing machine rental – Is your idea this good?
In September of last year I made a small loan to a lady in Columbia. Although I don’t know Yaneris Canate Rios personally, she made an application for $1,125 through Kiva.org. In Yaneris’ tiny community of El Milagro the ladies still all washed their clothes by hand. She wanted to purchase 5 washing machines to rent to her neighbors. I provided the last $50 to complete her loan. Each month I would see tiny payments come on – averaging about $3.84 as a repayment on that loan.
This morning I received a note from Kiva: Success!! The loan was 100% repaid. Yaneris was set up on an 18
month repayment schedule but completed it in 13.
This is an actual picture of this lady with her washing machines. I find this totally exciting – to see a lady in poverty create a plan to improve her own life and that of her neighbors.
Start Something that Matters
Blake Mycoskie knows that many of us are juggling these three questions:
- Should I just focus on earning a living?
- Should I pursue my passion and find work that I love?
- Should I devote myself to a worthy cause that inspires me?
Fortunately for us, in his new book Start Something that Matters, Blake tells us we don’t have to choose. As he
shares the story of how he started TOMS, one of the fastest-growing shoe companies in the world, he says we don’t have to choose. And furthermore, we’ll have more success if we don’t settle for less than combining all three elements.
I love his chapter titles – the six steps for creating your own life.
- Find your story
- Face your fears
- Be resourceful without resources
- Keep it simple
- Build trust
- Giving is good business
