The scenario is this, you’re on your death bed and the question is presented to you, “What were your biggest regrets?”.  So what do you say?

That’s the question that was answered recently in, Top 5 Regrets of the Dying.

As I read through each of them I reflected on those areas in my own life.  Just look at the first one…

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people have had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made

Wow, a powerful one for sure.  The commentary on it really gets to the heart of the issue.  I just wrote about our dreams here and how important it is to go after them.

Some other interesting things to me were two of the other items..

2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

I find it interesting that 3 out of 5 of the regrets can be negated by starting your own business. If you read those and don’t get motivated to leap for your entrepreneurial dreams than maybe you’re already dead.

Life is short, start your own business.The way you want. With the hours you want. With the goal of bringing happiness to you and everyone around you.

The day will come when you’re on your death bed and there will be things that you regret, things you wished you would have done different.  It can be tough to think about such a situation, however if thinking about it today can help avoid regrets of tomorrow then lets do it.

To get started Download my free report “10 Reasons Why Now Is The Best Time To Start Your Business”

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In the middle of entrepreneur are two little letters…PR. Two letters that immediatley bring to mind, press release, marketing, telling the story.  So why is it the PR in entrepreneur seems to be missing?

Quick name five entrepreneurs. Now name five athletes. Im sure the latter was easier for you.

Today we hear more about politicians, more about athletes and more about Hollywood stars than we do about entrepreneurs.  Its a shame because the reality is that entrepreneurs are the most important ones of the bunch.

Instead of ESPN, where’s EPN - Entrepreneurial Programing Network. Just imagine, on draft day we could watch the best young entrepreneurs get funded to develop their ideas.  The X games would be a series of ideas put the tests to determine who’s invention faired best.

Now I know its crazy to think about this and I’m well aware of the many media channels that cover business as it stands. The thing is the entrepreneur is not being celebrated enough and marketed correctly.  Not only is the entrepreneur responsible for the success of so many different industries  (sports, politics and Hollywood included) they are responsible for the success of America.

Entrepreneurs are changing American, they are changing the world through charities, like this and this and this.

We need a concerted effort to draw attention to the entrepreneurial spirit that is so deeply woven into society.

Right now the prime-time marketing of entrepreneurs has been relegated to print media, a few movies and a network show that celebrates VC’s instead of the entrepreneurial.

Instead we need a worldwide movement,  an understanding that the solution to nearly all of our problems lies in the head of some entrepreneur.

National Entrepreneurs Day is a start, I suggest you sign the petition here. Global Entrepreneurship Week is also leading the way in this cause, you can follow them on twitter here.

It’s a good start.  However if we are going to compete with Barack, Lebron and Brangelina we are going to need to do a lot more.

Since the 90’s the number of start-ups has hovered at about the 500,000 a year mark, according to a Kaufman survey. What’s happened to the American Dream?

A special report in Inc Magazine entitled Revitalizing the American Dream looked at various ways America could implement a more entrepreneurial friendly environment.  In all there are 16 ideas, everything from schools to banking to government are addressed.  Its a very good article and something we should pay attention to.

Revitalizing the American Dream couldn’t be more appropriate.  It’s whats sorely needed not only in the business world but the world at large.  The “American Dream” is an idea that’s ironically infusing passion into many entrepreneurs around the world.  It’s what fuels the youth in India or the business in China.

Meanwhile back where the idea was invented, most people are wondering where the “American Dream” went. Our actions reflect that the dream is gone.  Mitigating the risk by mitigating the risk, seems to be the best we can hope for.

It’s time to take back the Dream. Dream big, dream without limits and without constraints.

Our Government isn’t going to help us. Banks aren’t going to loan money when we need it.  Schools aren’t going to teach us what we need to know.  Your boss isn’t going to help you. The timing isn’t going to be perfect. The idea may not even be original.

However, No one is going to do it like you, for you, but you!

It’s obvious many things are stacked against us, that’s why its called the American Dream. It’s time to bring the American Dream back home where it belongs – in our actions.

What is the most resilient parasite? An idea.  An idea can transform the world and rewrite all the rules..” a quote from this summers hit movie Inception.

Inception is all about the concept of planting ideas in other peoples minds and is a great lesson for entrepreneurs.

The concept was for the main character, Cobb, to plant an idea in someone else’s subconscious thus changing the reality for that person.  The idea wasn’t true but none the less would manifest itself as if it was.

The idea is different than reality.

A single idea has rocked Apple’s world this summer.  With the advent of “antennagate” the idea that a “perfect” company could have made such a huge mistake was much to big of an idea not to take root.  It’s blossomed into a full blown debate for years to come. The reality is that “antenaegate” will more than likely have very little negative affect on Apples market share or stock price.

The idea is different than reality.

Somewhere along the line the idea that being an entrepreneur is all about skill, access to capital, something reserved for a fortunate few has become fact in your mind.  The idea that you’re either born an entrepreneur,  or you’re not, has taken root. The idea that being an entrepreneur is riskier than getting a corporate gig is ingrained in your fears.

The idea is different than reality.

It’s time to shift the idea that you can’t be an entrepreneur, to the reality that you are one.

Follow my twitter feed to get my daily “Everyones an Entrepreneur” tweets – short little bursts of insight and ideas.

Could you go 60 days without using Social Media? No blogging, tweeting, fb status updates, etc.?

Well I did it….kinda. Here’s what I learned.

In some areas I was more successful than others. I haven’t blogged in two months. As for tweeting and fb the longest I went without using them was 30 days. Honestly it was harder than I thought it would be.

So Why Did I Do It?

1) I wanted to unplug. It was time to take a step back from being “plugged in” and just take time to think.  I turned 37 this past May, which puts me closer to 40 than ever before I really wanted to take a break from some of the noise that was in my day to day life and just take some time to reflect on where I’ve been and where I’m going.

2) I wanted to really see if “technology” was hindering or helping me to have a “better” life.  I can honestly say that being unplugged from social networks for a long period of time left me feeling out of touch with people.  As humans we have a basic desire to connect and have relationships.  I will write on this more later but to sum it up, being connected, even if only by a status update, is a good thing.

3) I wanted to get a sense of whether Social Media was indeed here to stay or just a fad. Without a doubt Social Media is not going anywhere…ever. I know that’s a big claim but I believe it.

It aligns too closely with basic our human needs to have relationships and be connected. Who we are and who we want to be are all played out using Social Media channels.  It certainly will evolve but it’s not just a passing trend.

4) Is Social Media consuming all of my time? The answer was no.  Moderation, balance, prioritize…are all words that come to mind when I think about using Social Networks, blogging, etc.

So What Did I Learn?

I can honestly say that cutting out all Social Networking is not something that I would permanently do. Sure I think taking time off now and again is a good thing but overall Social Networks contribute positively to so many different aspects of my life.

Blogging allows to me to become a better communicator and share ideas with others. I really missed this part the most.  I enjoy finding new things, inspiring others, creating ideas and having conversations.

Twitter can be a time suck if you let it, however it’s still a very useful tool.  It’s hard to beat Twitter for finding new ideas, seeing things you may have missed and learning about what’s currently happening on topics of interest to you.

Facebook is hard to beat for keeping in touch with family and friends.  While facebook gets all the press, this is a Social Network channel that’s the least important to me from a business standpoint.  Yes facebook has 500 million users and companies are jumping over themselves to figure out the best ways to use this channel.  But in the end I’m not sure businesses are going to find this to be as dominating of a marketing channel as the press would have people think.

It’s great to be back and it’s time to get back to business!

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In 1989 our company had a great idea for a completely new product.  Not only did we have an idea for a completely new product, but also a new business model that was going to allow us to build at a quality higher than anything on the market.

We introduced both…and got nothing. No support.

We had designed and engineered a completely new way of yachting in a product unlike anything else.  We took that new design to several dealers assuming they would be as excited about the new product as we were.  They weren’t. In fact they said it would never sell.

Faced with a product we were confident in and without a sales channel to sell it through we decided to create our own distribution network.  So that’s what we did and in the process ushered in direct selling from manufacturer to customer.

Now selling direct surely isn’t something we invented there were even other boat companies doing it at the time.  However it was a business model that we had not initially wanted to explore.  We never thought we would be selling direct and be successful.

That’s the reality of being an entrepreneur.  Where you start isn’t where you end up.  That’s the beauty of creating something and having the courage to change it as you move along.

Look at flickr, originally developed as a way to share screenshots for a game, now it’s one of the largest consumer photo sharing sites.

Look at Twitter, originally developed as an texting tool only, now a computer integrated communication platform.

Look at Post It notes, originally a failed experiment by 3M researchers to find a stronger glue turned into one of their most successful products ever.

It’s not where you start that matters, its the fact you start.

Speaking of start, download “10 Reasons Why Now Is The Best Time To Start Your Business”

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“People don’t start businesses because they want to, I explained. They start businesses because they have to–either for economic reasons or because they just can’t bear to work for anybody else.” This was a quote from a recent article Should MBA’s start their own businesses?

Could it be that people don’t start businesses because they want to but instead because they “have” to?

What About Economic Reasons

No doubt this is a very big contributing factor.  Its something that can motivate many people to branch out on their own.  That motivation can either come by choice or by force. The problem with entrepreneurial endeavors being solely an economic one is that when then economics just aren’t there then you will need something else to sustain you through the hard times.

When your working and working and you just aren’t seeing the monetary results you will need to be able to fall back on something to keep you going.  The question is what is that something?

What About Working For Yourself

Again this is another good idea in concept but one that fails to address reality.  Nobody truly works for themselves.  You have a partner, you answer to him. You get a loan, you answer to the banks.  You sell something, you answer to customers.  The notion that you will work for yourself as an entrepreneur just isnt reality.

You want to work for yourself, become an artist.  You want to be an entrepreneur, prepare to work for someone.

What About The Other Reasons

Don’t you want to start a business?  Not because you have to, but because you really want to?  Being passionate about something and using that passion to start a business is more often than not the main reason entrepreneurs do what they do. There’s other reasons to, such as the challenge of trying something new, helping others, leaving a legacy and more.

What about you, what reasons have you or do you want to start a business?

As an entrepreneur when it comes to sharing your ideas there are three types of people you will encounter…negative, positive or indifferent.

Here’s the scenario, you schedule a meeting, everyone arrives and you commence with your presentation. The presentation comes to an end and now it’s time for some feedback. (You can exchange meeting for product launch, new service offering, etc)

As you go around the room everyone you hear from falls into one of these three categories -negative, positive and indifferent.

The question you should be asking yourself is how do you deal with them and what’s your response.

Dealing With Negative People

At first glance, you would think these are the types that you should try an avoid.

It seems like no matter how great of an idea you bring forward these people always have a reason it can’t, shouldn’t or won’t be done. The problem is we tend to immediately discount the criticism based on the negative attitude that comes with it. What you need to know is that out of the three types this one can be of the most benefit to you and your idea. Sounds crazy? Here’s why it isn’t.

First, the negative types are going to bring you objections that others will also bring. Preparing yourself to deal with those is something that will help you make your presentation and idea better. Now the objections may not be warranted, but it will help you prepare an answer to why it’s not.  In addition many time the negative comments can be used to improve your idea.

Second, if you can explain to a negative person why the idea will work, then you are preparing yourself to sell the idea, product, service down the road.  Handling objections is part of sales and this will help you develop that skill.  Oh and typically if you can change a negative persons perspective to see your idea is a good one, you have a champion for your idea.

Dealing With Positive People

Of the three, this is the once that can give you the most false feedback.  Positive people can be upbeat about anything and in the end that isn’t going to give you the best feedback you need.  Sure we all love to here reassuring feedback on our ideas, but the problem is we can get a false sense that what we have will work.

Push the positive feedback person to give you some negative feedback.  Ask them is there anything you dont like, anything that could be made better?  If you get the standard, nope its all great, then you need to be weary of the quality of the feedback.

Dealing With Indifferent People

Of the three these are the most difficult and likely the most common types you will deal with .  Indifference creates a huge challenge for you.  Your goal should be to create something that stamps out indifference. Getting people to be passionate enough to care, either positively or negatively is something that you must focus on.

I’ve heard it said before, “good or bad, at least they are talking about us”.  That’s the type of approach you have to have when presenting new ideas.  You want your idea, product or service to spark that debate and polarize the crowd.  It’s a sign of accomplishment if you can get those that you present to, customers especially, to take a stance one way or the other on what you are showing them.

Your goal should be to remove indifference from the conference room and marketplace.

Knowing how to deal with each of these three can help you understand how to make a better presentation, product or idea.

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…1,350 feet.

It was the distance between the ground and the top of the Twin Towers of New York.

In 1974, Philippe Petit had a dream of spanning the towers with a wire so that he could walk between the two of them.  The movie “Man on Wire” documents and recalls the incredible journey of one man to reach his dream.

I had the opportunity to see this movie the other day and suggest that every aspiring entrepreneur watch this film.The dream, the planing, the challenges, the naysayers, everything so perfectly parallels what you will face when you reach for your dreams.

It was such a great reminder to not only envision the dream first but to never let it fade even in the face of resistance.

What about your dream? What resistance, problems or obstacles are you facing?  What’s between you and your dream?

What motivates you? Money? Recognition? Fear? Self? Others?

As an entrepreneur finding a source of motivation is something you will routinely do.  In fact if you aren’t then most likely you’re stuck in park, unable to move forward.

So what or who do you look to for motivation?

Other People

Looking to others for motivation is a good place to start.  In fact it’s a likely source to helping you get over that hump, or moving to the next level. Learning from others that have been where you’re trying to go is a helpful way to help spur you on. Personally I look for stories where people have overcome adversity or great odds to achieve something.  People that have started with just an idea and grown it into a movement.

I also don’t look to just people in business, I find inspiration and motivation from a variety of areas.

However I want to warn you, if you’re  motivation continually comes from those around you then you are going to have a difficult time.  The truth is most of the time the road is lonely and learning how to be self motivated is something you must develop.

Money

Many people will say it’s not a factor and perhaps its not a big factor…but its a factor. The thing is that money in and of itself really isnt the motivation, it’s what you can do with it that you are most likely motivated towards. Whether its using the money to travel, invest, purchase that new thing or donate, it’s the object that is motivating you, not the money.

Having money as a motivating factor is ok, in fact money is deeply woven into the characteristic of being an entrepreneur.  My warning to you though is that if it becomes a dominating motivating factor you will not be as successful as you could have been.  In fact if you ask most successful entrepreneurs they will tell you that it’s not about the money at all, its about so much more.  I would agree with that 100%.

Fear

This is a common motivating factor amongst successful entrepreneurs.  Fear of failure is a driving factor that keeps us all from stopping, keeps us all from resting where we are at and keeps us striving for more.  There’s a fine line with this though.  Too much fear and you re paralyzed, frozen from the ability to take the necessary risks.  On the flip side though a complete lack of fear can lead to complacency and ultimately failure to move ahead.

I happen to lean on fear as key self motivating factor for myself.  For me it’s more of a fear of not utilizing all my talents and trying new things.  I don’t want to look back and say, I wish I would have.  It’s that fear that drives me in different directions, drives my curiosity and drives me to try new things.

Challenges

Another source of self motivation for me are different challenges.  Its another key ingredient to success.  Are you willing to try new things? Are you willing to fail? Are you willing to push yourself?  For me the answer is yes. All of those come to mind when I look at doing something new.  For many the challenge of new things or the confrontation of the unknown is a frightening idea.  The key is to use a healthy amount of that fear and move on.

Finding your source of motivation is essential.  Whether its one of the above or not, being a self motivated person is not an option when it comes to the business world these days.

What about you, what motivates you?  Would you consider yourself to be self motivated?

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