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I probably don’t use StumbleUpon as much as I should. But I do try to find at least 2 quality sites everyday that may help to develop a business mindset.

This morning I StumbledUpon a great post by Brian Armstrong entitled, 8 Essential Skills They Didn’t Teach You In School

What I found so interesting was Brian’s view that most of what he was taught in school was of little actual practical use to him. That sounds a little familiar and definitely in keeping with my theme of the “mummy state” churning out clones to perpetuate the myth that there is a “standard” way to live your life.

Certainly what we learn in school has very little to do with developing a business mindset.

And yet, more and more people around the world are becoming self employed and need to think about business in a different way.

In particular, Brian picks up on economics lessons being academic mumbo jumbo, oh how so very true. Just take a look at that chart above – absolutely riveting stuff! But how useful is that to your business!

We have kids leaving our schools bored senseless with some of this stuff, having been force fed micro and macro economics and yet having no idea how to operate a bank account or that if you have a credit card you have to pay back the amount spent!

Why this post is so good is that the skills Brian refers to are required by all of us, particularly those looking to change their lifestyle from the “prescribed” 9 – 5 AND he provides links to additional resources for further, more detailed reading.

When I was at school the less academic kids were taught woodwork and metalwork – so they’d have a trade to follow when they left school. Thinking back, at least they were being taught something useful for their lives. The bulk of us were given very little that would really help us in life.

It’s about time that changed – but then the “mummy state” would have people thinking for themselves – I’m sure they wouldn’t want that!

I’ve subscribed to Brian’s RSS feed and after reading his post you may find you want to do the same.

Technorati: business mindset, economics, lifestyle, StumbleUpon

You’ve made your decision – you want to create the lifestyle of your dreams!

But here’s the difficult part…

You still need to generate an income while you design your life!

You may be able to build your lifestyle around your existing job, career or business BUT – BE CAREFUL – it’s so easy to slip back into your old routine – the comfort zone you know.

For many people it’s the current job that’s holding them back from the lifestyle they crave. Either there’s not enough money coming in or the time left after the work isn’t enough to do what they want. For most it’s BOTH!

And this is where the idea of creating the perfect lifestyle falls flat on its face.

The focus is on:

“What should I do to generate the money I need”

All that leads to is a lifestyle fitted around the new existence!

The real focus should be on what the lifestyle needs to look like first.

Of course, generating an income is vital. Without money you’ll not be able to have or do what you want. But working on creating a business first will only lead to more pain.

You have to work out whether your lifestyle is based on material possessions (in which case you’ll always be wanting more) or more activities focused.

For me the process was simple but I’ve been thinking about this for a long time!

Here are my main drivers:

• To play golf when I want.

• To be debt free.

• To be able to travel where and when I want.

• To be spontaneous.

• To work when I choose and from where I want.

• To be able to generate income quickly when required.

• To be there as my children grow up.

• To be a great husband, dad and friend.

• To have time to laugh.

• To see the beauty of the world.

• To take my time.

So building a business that is dependant on me, with staff and responsibilities just doesn’t work for me. Even though a great income would be the reward there’d be little or no time for the things most important to me.

My only option, after working out what is most important to me, was to create a business that I could run from not only home – but any location I chose.

I needed a business without staff and without premises.

Initially it needed to generate a high income -  to be debt free! – and that would be time intensive.

I made a big mistake years ago because I hadn’t put my lifestyle first. I created a business that was dependant on me being there. If I wasn’t around there’d be no income – when I returned there’d be a pile of work! A business that grew like topsy and ultimately took up 10 hours a day minimum.

That’s not the lifestyle I wanted – there was little time for life, just work.

The new business needed to be one I could turn on and off when required.

I spent 4 years messing about! Nothing I looked at really met my requirements and I quickly lost interest. I dabbled at this and that without ever focusing on what I really wanted – the lifestyle first and the money second.

It was only when I set out exactly what I wanted my life to look like it became clear to me.

I worked out how much I needed to generate to do what I wanted – it was much less than I thought and I gave up just saying “I want to be rich” or “I want to be a millionaire” or “I want to have enough money”

I now had a real focus and my energies were directed at exactly what I needed to do on a daily basis to achieve my goals.

So if you too are looking to change I encourage you to start with the end in mind – what will your lifestyle look like when your done?

When that’s totally clear to you – the route you need to take and choices you need to make will be much easier.

Technorati: create lifestyle, lifestyle

Secret talks amongst world leaders today had “a global Mummy State” high on the agenda.

Imagine the outcry…

“No one is going to tell me how to live my life”

“I don’t need someone telling me what to do”

And yet…

The vast majority of people live their lives just as they are expected to. I’d go as far as stating they are living their lives just as they’ve been programmed.

You probably know one of these people:

• Went to school from age 4 or 5
• Taught to work hard to get a good job
• Little idea of what they really want to do in life
• Study a few subjects (maybe because they like the teacher or find the subject easy)
• Leave school or college and get a job
• Work 9 – 5 (plus some) until age 60/65
• Buy a house and get in debt
• Spend most of working life paying for house
• Take a few good holidays
• Stop work and live on life’s savings – yet more time to spend more money!
• Die without doing what they really wanted to do

Does that sound like the perfect lifestyle to you?

Who told us that’s how we have to live our lives?

It’s what is expected for sure

Governments around the world encourage education – and quite rightly so. But they also set out the curriculum that is designed to put our children through the “sausage” machine and churn out adults to follow the “system”.

How many schools teach entrepreneurship?

Children who are “different” are singled out and their rough edges smoothed out. We can’t have people upsetting the system!

So maybe a global mummy state is not so outrageous after all.

Many people spend their working lives building up a nest egg for retirement and then have lost the desire to do the things they planned or don’t have the health to enjoy them.

The money isn’t spent and part is taken in taxes by the government when they die. Perhaps that’s part of the “master plan” but I don’t want to get into a political debate on that!

Too busy working to enjoy life’s journey. The beauty of the world around us is missed in the rush of modern life.

• When is the last time you watched the sunset?

• When did you last marvel at the early morning dew?

• When did you last take the time to smell a rose?

Now here’s the challenge:

If you don’t like the idea of following the pattern, you and only you, have the power to do something about it.

You have to change. You have the ability to change but…

You have already been programmed that change is not good. That change is not easy. That living your life differently to others will lead to stress and complications.

For so many, those implanted thoughts, which in my opinion have no real substance, prevent them from taking the action necessary to change their lives for the better.

For years I’ve used the phrase “Nothing Changes Without A Change” meaning until you change the input you’ll get the same output!

Right now, and I mean right this second you have to make a decision.

The decision itself is very easy to make but it will have such a major impact on your life it is the most important decision you will ever make.

Once you’ve made the decision you have then the most difficult task ahead of you.

Are you ready for this?

The decision is this…

Are you going to settle for what is expected or are you going to create a lifestyle for yourself that you truly desire?

No more dreaming. No more wishing or hoping. This is it. Are you going to do something about it?

If you are going to change you have some difficult times ahead but the rewards are so great compared to living the “state required” lifestyle you’ll be so glad you made the change.

If you’ve committed to the change then I congratulate you. You are without doubt amongst the few. But now you need to take a further leap ahead of everyone else.

You now need to take some action or that decision you’ve made will be worthless.

You need to decide what your lifestyle needs to look like.

I’m not talking about what work you will do. I mean what do you want to do each day?

Sound far fetched?

Unless you map out your life just as you want it I can assure you you’ll fall back into the old ways. That’s simply because humans usually take the path of least resistance and do what we’ve always done – there’s no chance of failure with that.

We know what to expect. It’s a way of avoiding the pain of change.

You’ll need to commit to making your new lifestyle a reality and make those changes.

So I’ll leave you with one more decision, a simple choice.

Life your live the way you choose.

OR

Accept the mummy state rules and life the way someone else has decided you should live.

I hope you choose to live your life the way you desire and if so that you’ll Bookmark this site or subscribe to one of my RSS feeds above (don’t forget you’ll get my FREE REPORT – The Best Four Letter Word) and embark on a journey to a freedom lifestyle.

Technorati: change, lifestyle, lifestyle created, mummy state, world leaders