I don’t know if it’s instincts or just the fact that I am always looking to grow. So, the bug to grow again has hit me.

In this case, it’s about truly having a business that gives me the freedom to do the things that I currently do on a part time basis and many more things that I dream about. But what the fuck does that mean, how can I get there?

Just thinking about having a business that provides for my wife and I the freedom to do what we want will take tons out of me. I know I have to cut down on the television watching, I know that I’m going to be more mindful in the most important aspects of the business (the marketing) and my mindset and the way I approach situations and circumstances has to be altered.

However, I never thought about that the way I am currently am–isn’t going to get me there, not until this past monday.

There is this internet yahoo series called the Failure Club. It is about a group of 5-7 people selecting a goal or dream that is almost impossible to accomplish. The point of the experience is for the person to really challenge themselves in failing as much as possible in hopes to become the person that they always wanted to be. Well, this episode was about an older gentleman who is having difficulty raising enough money to start his clothing line. This dude is stubborn, he wants to do it his way and clearly becoming more frustrated because it just isn’t working. However, one of the host of the show told him that who he is right now isn’t going to allow him to accomplish his goal.

The comment seemed extremely harsh, but it clearly made all the sense in the world to me and the way I’m currently thinking about the next step in my life.

See, life is all about taking chances, risking and going against the comfortable in order to accomplish a goal that we thought that was impossible. That goes for anything in this world. Habits and the way circumstances are thought out and executed require a different level of discipline.

I Noticed That With Writing…

When I first thought of the crazy idea of writing everyday, I knew something had to change. I knew that the way that I currently was wasn’t going to allow me to complete that goal. At the time I was watching tons of television, so I would watch television and try to write. I started to noticed that my attention was being divided and that I had to write at a time and place that gave me the most comfort and satisfaction. That is when I started to write in the morning and not in front of the tv. I started to see changes quickly and challenge myself to move my time from 30 minutes to an hour.

See, something had to change. My habits and the way I thought about the situation had to change. That is what I have to do again. And now that I know the habits, thought and discipline is the root of everything, the process is at least manageable. However, that doesn’t necessary make it easy. The easiness or difficulty comes from how much of a goal it really is that you are trying to accomplish.

So, What’s My Crazy Goal Now? What Do I Have to Change in Order to Accomplish It?

My goal now is to establish freedom by becoming a successful businessman. Being a successful businessman isn’t easy and plenty of things have to change. When it comes down to it, what I truly want is freedom. Freedom to do what I want, freedom to go where I want and freedom to spend time with people who I want to spend time with. That’s all I want. However, being a businessman is going to allow me to have all of that after I work my tail off in order to create that freedom.

The Change that Must Occur:

1. TV watching-I could try to blame this on my wife and she is the reason why I picked up more television watching, but that just isn’t true. Both of us have cut down significantly on how much we watch. We have also establish a real day for no tv, which we both love. However, I have picked up the television watching because I’m finding shows that are now interesting to me. So, how can I do with less and use that time to do more? Spend at least an hour and a half working on something business related when I walk in the door for 4-5 times out of the week.
2. 30 minutes of alone time-This is separate from the hour and a half that I will commit to afterwork. I also think this will be the most productive time and the hardest. I’ll ease into this. What I will do is go for two times a week and add from there. I don’t know if its even worth it to do it every single day, but will see. This time is designed for me to allow my mind to unwind. That is it. If something happens because of it, cool. But if it doesn’t, it is fine. I don’t think I give myself alone time enough.
3. Determine and Eliminate Time Wasters-This occurs from time to time. There isn’t much I can do about it when it occurs. However, I need to figure out where they are coming from, why and do something with that time I’m wasting. This will be at work and at home. Everything. Should be interesting.
4. Live out my Passion-This one should make sense to everyone. In order to live a free life, one has to live it as much as possible. Even when he is broke and just trying to find his way in life. And in fact, I’m doing that right now. I’m treating photography as a passion and doing my own personal projects is really nice.
5. The Business of Marketing-This is by far the most important. The reason is because I consider marketing the most important aspect of business. If you don’t have customers and not a way to get them, you don’t have a business. It’s just that simple. So, the way I’m going to be about the business of marketing is by actually applying it to a business my brother and I plan to launch in September.
6. No more self-help/business books for at least a quarter of the year-This one took awhile for me to put down, but exactly what I need to do. The reason is because one can be an expert in the theory of marketing and not in the doing. I want to be an expert in the doing. Even if a book told me to follow these exact steps to be successful, step by step, I will still find a way to do it differently. I am already started to approach my marketing in a different processes already and it feels natural.

For now that is it and that will surely keep me busy. That is what is needed in order for me to get to where I want to be. If I didn’t do this exercise, I would still be shitting in the wind. I don’t want to shit in the wind anymore, I want to direct the poo where I want it to go. Lol, I’ll just stop right there.