Back From The Break

Back From The Break

Apr 20, 2010
entrepreneur

For the last several years I have taken a spring break vacation.  It’s a great time to get away and get recharged.  This year I went to Brazil on a mission trip with my church.  Several things I took away from my trip that can be applied to business.

  • Nearly everyone looks to America as the land of opportunity.  This is something that you may take for granted but know that if you live in America you have a huge advantage over most
  • Ideas are out there, they just need someone to help them along.  Look to other countries for business ideas.
  • There is no better travel device than the iPad, period. Read news feeds offline, watched movies, read a book, played a game and had plenty of battery on the 8hr flight. I will not get on plane without it.
  • 98% of email is not necessary.  We have come to a point in the business world where everyone feels they must communicate with everyone all the time.  This is a problem. We need to communicate less and more efficiently.
  • The amount of “noise” we deal with is unbelievable.   By noise I mean distractions. Facebook, blogs, websites, mobile phones, meetings, asap deadlines, overnight FedEx, etc. The biggest challenge with being an Entrepreneur going forward will be your ability to focus on whats important and be smart enough to ignore what is not.
  • Get out of your comfort zone and do something completely different than you normally would.  Go to a museum, sit in the park alone, tour a historic sight, drive home a different way, or find a website on a subject you would not normally look at.  The point is staying in one routine, one way of doing things really hampers your creativity.
  • Take a break. At the end of the day Americans work really hard and really long hours.  There was a saying I heard, can’t remember where, comparing the American mindset to that of the rest of the world.  It says, “Americans live to work, while others work to live.”

It’s great to have taken a break, it’s also great to be home and back posting.

One things for sure, being an Entrepreneur is hard work no matter what country you’re in.  Hopefully your goal is to be able to work to live.

  • http://nathanhangen.com/blog Nathan Hangen

    Working hard today so that I don't have to tomorrow. That's my theory :)

  • http://www.flyaoamedia.com/blog Chris Palmer

    Wow, you really observed some awesome stuff on your trip. Totally agree with most of what you said, except for the iPad thing…. and only because I don't have one yet. ;)

    It's amazing the day and age we live in. Our greatest conveniences can also be our worst enemy.

    Lately I've been working on doing short effective bursts of things like Email, Twitter, Facebook and more and the rest of the time I 'ignore' it. As you said, it's noise.

    At some point we've got to realize that it's time to buckle down and WORK on the ideas that are right in front of us. They won't get done otherwise.

    I've wasted far too much of my business life so far just 'waiting' for the right answers and 'planning too much'.

    There needs to be less talk (email, twitter, facebook, planning, etc) and more action.

    Besides, like you said, we are blessed to be where we are; in America. The american dream is still alive although different now.

  • http://www.RichLazzara.com/ Rich Lazzara

    Chris, Good stuff. Talk to me some more abou the American Dream still being alive but different now. How is it different? Whats changed? Its inspired me to write a post about it so Id like to include some of your ideas, thanks.

  • http://www.RichLazzara.com/ Rich Lazzara

    i like that

  • http://www.flyaoamedia.com/blog Chris Palmer

    The dynamics of business have changed.

    The American Dream (at least one of them) use to be that you could come here, get a job, and support a family. Capitalism was such that there were booming companies needing factory workers, so employment and steady pay was pretty much guaranteed.

    Obviously, the Great Depression was the exception, and that is why it was perhaps even more painful because it felt so un-American.

    Today guys like you and I, Rich, can have a little personal investment and be open to a world of possibilities in the internet age.

    No longer does a million dollar advertising budget mean that a company is successful.

    Now you or I could have a viral piece of content and triple our business in one night.

    So, we've moved from the American Dream of getting a job, going to retirement and getting Social Security (which won't be there for me) to being a web entrepreneur and having basically anything I need at my fingertips for a small investment.

    The days of the 'factory worker' are dying, and this opens up a world where people can pursue their passions and do something they truly love.