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Issue 181 |
April 2, 2008 |
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ChangingCourse.com since 1995 dedicated to helping people like you to: ~Live Life on Purpose ~Work at What You Love ~Follow Your Own Road | |
Inside Today's Issue Dreams Can Come True 2008 "Outside the Job Box" Career Consultant Training - Only 5 Seats Left What Would Make Valerie Want to Get in Her Car and Drive to Your House? Tips for the Lifestyle Entrepreneur Upcoming Workshops and Teleclasses
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If one
advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live
the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common
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Opportunity Knocks: Creative Ways to Make a Living Without A Job
Dreams Can Come True:
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Valerie and her wonder dog, |
By Valerie Young
Early on in his career, college football coaching legend Lou Holtz made a list of 107 things he wanted to accomplish in his life. Among them were to go white water rafting, see the pyramids, meet the Pope, have dinner at the White House with a sitting president and be on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. It took Holtz and his wife 25 years but together they’ve accomplished 99 of those original goals.
My own dreams list includes attending a national political convention (okay I’m weird), witnessing the opening ceremony at the Olympics, spending at least a month on every continent, studying with a master antique book restorer, learning to water paint, taking swimming lessons, taking a year-long sabbatical and routinely having summers off.
A big dream that’s been on the front burner for well over three years now has been finding a house with a view. I work at home so where I live is really important to me. I have this thing about wanting to live in the country. Not in the woods though. I need space. Rolling hills, fields, maybe some cows in the background (I love cows!). Think pastoral, bucolic, peaceful, private.
I’ve been doing a fair amount of reflecting on the evolution of this dream and what I’ve learned in the process. What I’ve discovered is that there are eight key lessons to realizing a dream.
Lesson #1: Listen to Your Inner Voices
My obsession with a view began five years ago when I started vacationing on a small peaceful lake in central New Hampshire. There’s nothing much to do there but sit out on the deck and gaze on the reflection of the mountains reflected in the lake and listen for the enchantingly eerie call of the loons.
Despite carting up dozens of books, I found I rarely picked them up because it would mean taking my eyes off the view. I found it utterly mesmerizing. This little voice inside kept whispering, "Pay attention Valerie, pay attention." Like most people, I ignored these inner callings.
As the voice grew louder, it became clear that while everyone enjoys a view, I craved one. I needed the experience of having a view not for just one week out of the year but every day. I didn’t know quite how I was going to pull it off but I knew I had to listen.
Lesson #2: Put Your Dreams Out There
Few people reach their dreams alone. You never know who might help you get where you want to be. It could be a casual acquaintance, your dentist, a neighbor, a coworker… But one thing is for sure, if you keep your dreams to yourself, you’ll never find out.
Throughout the last presidential election, I shared my dream of one day attending a national political convention with anyone who would listen. One such person was a seminar attendee who happened to be very high up at NBC news. Realizing an opportunity when I saw one, I pitched myself as an over-qualified but very eager intern willing to do whatever needed to be done… from making coffee, to making copies to doing van runs to the airport. He handed me his business card and told me he’d see what he could do.
Despite my champion’s best efforts, he wasn’t able to get me in. While witnessing the democratic process in action didn’t pan out, deliberately putting my dream out there got me closer than ever before. And, hey there’s always this year!
Lesson #3: Be Selective About Who You Talk to About Your Dream
While making your dreams known is the key to finding champions, teachers, and other supporters, you also need to mindful of where NOT to look.
Take my friend Carol. She’s a great person, but she’s a bit of a cynic. When I told Carol that I wanted a house with a view, her response was, "Wouldn’t we all?" While walking my dog along a roaring stream, I realized how healing I find the sound of moving water. So I added a bubbling brook to my wish list, to which Carol replied, "Well, you can’t always get what you want."
Carol is right of course. You can’t always get what you want. But does the risk of not reaching a goal mean you just throw up your hands in defeat? As opera diva Beverly Sills reminds us, "You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try."
Lesson #4: Believe You Can
Henry Ford once said, "If you think you can, or if you think you can’t, you’re right." As trite as this last lesson may sound, believing your dream is attainable is fundamental to its success.
I need to be inspired as much as the next person. One place both Barbara Winter and I both go to when we need a boost of inspiration are the Making Dreams Happen CDs of which we are both a part. Listening once again to one of Barbara Sher’s presentations reminded me of the powerful link between passion and belief.
Barbara was telling the group how deep down inside we all know what we want. "When someone says they don’t know what they want," she says, "what they really mean is they don’t think that what they want is possible." In other words, the reason most people never even attempt to go after their dream is because they don’t think they can.
I knew getting my dream house with a view wouldn’t be easy. First I’d have to do all the painting, repairing, and landscaping required to get my current house in shape to sell. Then I’d have to put the house on the market, which, since I planned to sell it myself meant taking photos, placing ads for open houses, and learning about all the legal hoops involved in selling real estate. I’d also need to spend countless hours scouring real estate listings, going to open houses and doing drive bys. I got so desperate at one point that I wrote to homeowners to see if they’d like to sell.
I knew the most daunting task by far though would be packing. You see I come from a long line of pack rats which meant confronting the monumental task of sorting through and packing 12 years of accumulated stuff, only to begin the unpacking all over again on the other end.
Between my travel schedule and my work commitments, I knew that achieving my dream would not be easy… but I always new it was possible. As Louisa May Alcott once wrote, "We all have our own life to pursue, our own kind of dream to be weaving… And we all have the power to make wishes come true, as long as we keep believing."
Lesson #5: Take the Long View
Every so often I get a call for a career consultation from someone who is having one of those "job from hell" days. The desire for immediate relief is understandable. After all when your job is toxic job, you just want o-u-t, NOW!
Like these clients, you probably don’t want to hear this, but, deep down, you already know that making any real change takes time. At the same time, you have to start somewhere. And the fact of the matter is that the next two years or five years or ten years are going to come and go as quickly as the last ones did – whether you do anything about your dream or not.
So where would you rather be when that time arrives – in the same place you are now or where you want to be? Yes, change takes time but it’s the small steps that will get you to that better future. Which leads us to our next lesson…
Lesson #6: Start Where You Are
The key to achieving any goal is to simply start. Start somewhere… anywhere. If you’re up to your ears in debt, then start by making a plan to become debt free. If your life is so busy that you haven’t taken the time to even know what your dreams are, take some time this very week to find a quiet space and tune into your inner callings. If you need information about becoming an equine massage therapist, or bringing your product idea to market, or getting paid for your home design finesse – then get busy finding and then learning from those who have already done it. The bottom line here – do what you can, but do something!
If you’re having trouble getting started, click here for six tips that can help ChangingCourse.com/articles/getstarted.htm
Lesson #7: Live in the Now
In an interview with Charlie Rose, Helen Hunt talked about how she got the career she always wanted. Although she wasn’t offering it as a tip, Hunt’s own experience of being grateful for what she had is informative. You see, for Hunt the four Emmys, the five Golden Globes, the Oscar and all of the rest were but icing on an already rich cake. Reflecting on her years as part of the "Mad About You" television show’s creative team, Hunt told Rose, "If none of these other things had happened and I'd had only that, I would have been a very, very lucky actress." (To read all of Helen Hunt’s success tips go to ChangingCourse.com/articles/helenhunt.htm)
It would have been easy to focus on what I didn’t like about the house I already had – it was a busy street, the houses were too close together, one of my neighbors drove me up the wall. And yet, despite aggressively pursing my dream house, I never lost sight of what I already had.
On the most basic level, I had more than millions of people around the world – a roof over my head, a bed to sleep in, heat, safety. It was also a warm, inviting, and aesthetically pleasing home. If I’d lived in that home for the rest of my life, I would have still been very lucky indeed.
The lesson here is to not focus so much on what lies ahead that you fail to appreciate past and present blessings. Taking stock of how rich your life is right now will make any future success all the sweeter.
A Room With a View
It took three years, but here I sit in my fabulous new home in the country. Perched on a hill, the house offers views on all four sides… cows in the east pasture, grand sunsets over the hills to the west, woods outside my office window to the north, and I was happy to report to Carol, a bubbling brook to my south.
"Well
that’s nice for her," you may be thinking, "but I don’t have that kind of
money." I understand what it’s like to be strapped. When I left my high paying
corporate job, my income dipped nearly in half. There have been
times I’ve wondered how I’d pay the bills. Over time I’ve managed to build my
income up to more than my previous salary. Still, I didn’t buy a "starter
mansion" and I’m not a wealthy person.
Money, or the lack of money, is not necessarily a prerequisite to realizing a dream. True, if I hadn’t had the good fortune to have had a starter home to sell I could not have afforded the house I got. But that doesn’t mean I couldn’t have found another way to get my view.
For example, I could have found a lower priced fixer upper. Or, I could have rented. Even better, I probably could have lived rent free as a property caretaker.
My new dream? I am obsessed with the idea of introducing young people, and especially disadvantaged youth, to self-employment as an alternative to dead end minimum wage jobs. This is all very much in the seed planting stage. If these particular seeds sprout the way I think they will, I hope to make this happen on a massive scale. Oh, and also I want to work three days a week!
Lesson #8: Trust Your Gut
How often has your first impulse been "Yes!" only to have fear yank you back to the safety of non-action? Janet Riben has learned a lot about what can happen when you trust your gut. She writes:
"I have always been impulsive and that is a way to make a lot of mistakes but also a way to find out a lot about yourself, about others and about the feasibility of ideas. At 59 I took off to Prague for a month course on teaching English as a foreign language (TELF).
From there I easily got offers on jobs for teaching English around the globe. Gates were opening and at my ripe age!"
When Janet said gates opened she wasn’t kidding. "I found a job teaching business English in Italy which then led to learning Italian which then led to being the representative of an Italian company in Scandinavia which will soon lead to owning a home in Italy. Before I am 64 I will have my dream house there. All because I followed my impulses. I didn't listen to naysayers - they weren't fast enough to stop me - to frighten me out of my dream's path."
I've never met Janet, but her story is a wonderful reminder of what can happen when you listen to that inner voice. As any successful self-bosser will tell you, once you walk through that first scary door and invest in yourself and your dreams some truly incredible things start to happen. To learn more about some amazing international opportunities to learn and then teach TEFL go to TEFL.com
Add Your Two Cents
Want to comment on this article? Click here to hop over to the Changing Course Blog!
About the Author
"Turning Interests Into Income" expert Valerie Young abandoned her corporate cubicle to become the Dreamer in Residence at ChangingCourse.com offering resources to help you discover your life mission and live it. Her career change tips have been cited in Kiplinger's, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today Weekend, Woman's Day, and elsewhere and on-line at MSN, CareerBuilder, and iVillage.com. An expert on the Impostor Syndrome, Valerie has spoken on the topic of How to Feel as Bright and Capable as Everyone Seems to Think You Are to such diverse organizations as Daimler Chrysler, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Harvard, and American Women in Radio and Television.
To read more articles about how to work at what you love without a job go to ChangingCourse.com/articles
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It's time to start living the life you've imagined. ~ Henry James |
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Join
Me for Five Extraordinary Days and 2008 Business Training Summit
Northampton, Massachusetts What could be more fun than sitting at home (or anywhere in the world really) and brainstorming with people over the telephone about creative ways they could make a living without a job − and actually getting paid to do it! Or running workshops on how to turn interests into income? Or earning passive income with eBooks and other information products? If you are someone who is forever thinking up potential business ideas… or turning other people onto resources and alternatives they never knew existed… the kind of person who gets a high from helping others? If you want to get paid to do what comes naturally, then in a few short months, you could be running your own business as an "Outside the Job Box Career Consultant." I’ll show you how. Everything You Need to Be Making Money in Less Than a Month I’m going help you get started faster and with more forward energy and confidence than you ever imagined. That way you can launch a real business in less than a week… and be making money in less than a month.
Early Bird Pricing Discount Extended – 5 Seats Left After a slew of emails from people waiting for tax refunds or needing more time to make vacation plans, I extended the $1800 Early Bird Discount until Wednesday, April 9th.
There are other ways to save too. Like the $1200
"Pay for your own stay" discount option. And, for those who want to get all of
the web and marketing essentials but don’t need the more extensive elements, you
may take advantage of an additional $1000 savings. I’m not trying to pressure you by screaming ACT NOW! The people who are most interested in this unique training and business opportunity don't really need any reminders gentle or otherwise. They already know that the last two Tele-training programs both sold out. The new live program in May is going to be more personalized, more intense, and more immediately productive than anything else I've ever offered. Because I will be working so closely with the people who do attend, I have decided to severely restrict the number of training slots. Because of my big book deal with Crown, it is also the only training I will run in 2008.
To learn more about whether the enriching life of an Outside the Job Box Career Consultant or this Certification Summit is right for you go to CChangingCourse.com/livecertification.htm ONLY 5 SEATS LEFT! And, if you still have questions, in invite you to join four graduates from the "Class of 2006" for a live – and I guarantee – a very lively Q&A and conversation session on Thursday, April 3 from 10:00-11:00 a.m. You’ll find out where these consultants are (some of their answers will u>definitely surprise you) and where they’re going... Barbara Winter will be on hand too to offer her first-hand impressions of the people she’s met who’ve come through the program. IIf you can't make the call, go to the blog now and post your questions there: ChangingCourse.com/blog I'll make sure your question gets answered. The call will also be recorded. So if you can't make the live call, sign up anyway and I'll send you the recording as soon as it's available. And by the way, this is definitely NOT a sales call. Click here to register for the Live Q&A with the Outside the Job Box Career Consultants: http://tinyurl.com/2q4yka P.S. If you’ve been following my blog, then you already know this is the costliest program I've ever offered. Between offering to cover everyone's lodging and meals and the added expense of hiring a well-known marketing consultant to provide you with six months worth of individual and small group support -- my per person costs are well into the thousands. I'm not a university so I don't have any kind of scholarship fund that I can draw from. BUT anyone who has ever worked with me knows that when it comes to money, I always strive to be as fair and flexible as possible. So if you need to, for example, put down a smaller initial down payment... or maybe to wrap the down payment into the monthly installments... or you need to set up some other payment option all together, let me know and while I can’t make any promises, I will try my hardest to work something out.
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It is our choices...that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. ~ J. K. Rowling |
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What Would Make Valerie Want to Get in Her Car and Drive to Your House?
The idea of me getting in my car and driving to your house is not as far fetched as it sounds…
You see I recently completed an application to be in a Mastermind group with one of THE most successful internet marketers ever. (I’ll tell you who once I know for certain I’ve been accepted).
Applicants were asked to name the three books or programs that have had the biggest impact on our lives. I cheated and put four. It was hard to pick just three books but I ultimately settled on In a Different Voice by Carol Gilligan, Barbara Winter’s Making a Living Without a Job, and The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield.
As far as “programs” go, I have bookshelves full of binders, CDs, and other information products all designed to help me learn more about one aspect of building a successful business or another. So you would think it would be hard to pick just one. Actually it wasn’t.
In fact, if I was “smart”, I probably would have chosen one of the programs developed by the internet guru who’s running the Mastermind. But that would have just been well, “sucking up.” I mean his stuff is great BUT…
Hands down the program that has had THE BIGGEST impact on the success and growth of my business has been Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula.
If I’m starting to sound like a broken record, it’s because I know how many people are either idling in neutral, just thinking about their great idea, or already have some kind of product or service but are piddling around in first gear trying to make a few sales here and there when they could be in the fast lane.
Several people have contacted me wondering if Product Launch Formula is right for their business. One makes jewelry that she sells online. Another (a corporate VP) has come up with some ideas for how to parlay her skills as a tarot reader online. Still another has an idea for an online business that will allow her to pursue her love of travel. In all three cases, my answer was yes!
I know some people who could really benefit from this program who are still on the fence (are you listening Creative Career Consultants?) because they just don’t fully get the power of this program Product. I do.
Others do get it but are afraid this will become just one more pricy program that ends up sitting on their shelf. I get that. Someone even emailed to ask if I knew of anyone who could serve as a kind of personal “Product Launch Formula coach” to help hold her feet to the fire. I don’t (but it’s a great niche for someone!).
But I might have something even better.
A big part of me wants to get in my car, drive to your house, and physically hold your hands to your keyboards and hit “BUY.” But this is obviously not very fuel efficient.;>) So I’m going to go out on a limb here and offer to arrange a couple of Product Launch Formula Tele-Study Groups for anyone who wants to team up with four or five others into some kind of a weekly group to help one another work through the program and stay on track.
Honestly, my plate is pretty full right now… so the thought of adding one more thing makes my head hurt. And obviously I can’t promise that everyone will be able to make the days and times we come up or even that we’ll get a big enough group. But I promise to do my best.
Product Launch Formula Version 2.0 went on sale last week. Jeff was flooded with orders and lot of people who wanted to buy got shut out.
Jeff is re-opening registration for 24 hours only – beginning today, Wednesday, April 2, 2008 at noon Eastern. After that the doors will close and classes will start.
Here’s the link: ChangingCourse.com/recommends/jeff
I know some of you think I sound like a broken record. In fact, I know I will get a few angry emails from people accusing me of trying to sell them something. And I am. I’m trying to sell you on taking an incredibly important step to making your business financially viable so you can live the “boss free” life you say you want.
But I’m willing to risk making lots of people mad if it means I get through to just one person before Jeff pulls the new version of Product Launch Formula off the market Thursday, April 3rd at noon Eastern. It is just that important.
If you already have some kind of product or service – or you are thinking about one – I sincerely hope you will make this investment in your business and yourself. To learn more click here now: ChangingCourse.com/recommends/jeff
Success doesn't come to you, you go to it.. ~ Marva Collins
Tips for the Lifestyle Entrepreneur
By Debra Cohen
I'm a "lifestyle entrepreneur". Ten years ago, after the birth of my first daughter, I launched a contractor referral business from home. As a new mom, my spare time was limited. I wasn't willing to work outside of my home or sacrifice time with my new family but I did need to earn an income. With that in mind, I created a business that fit my abilities as well as my lifestyle.
If you’re considering the launch of a home based business, below are three essential tips that will help you incorporate a new business into your busy lifestyle:
1. Define Your Hours
Take a look at your schedule and pinpoint the hours of the day that you're able to devote to your business. If you're a "morning person", plan to wake up one hour earlier to work. If you prefer to work in the evenings, go to your home office after dinner or after your kids have gone to bed. Need to schedule work hours around a full time or part time job? Call forward your business line to a cell phone and return calls during your commute to and from work or during your lunch hour.
2. Use the Internet
The Internet is a phenomenal tool for a home-based business operator. It allows you to promote your business 24 hours a day and communicate with clients even when you’re out of your office.
For example, if you launch a website for your business set up a form with an autoresponder message so that potential clients can contact you at any time and receive an immediate acknowledgement via e-mail. And, if you collect names and e-mail addresses of visitors to your site you can follow up with a monthly or quarterly e-newsletter which is easier and more affordable to send than postal mail.
3. Work Efficiently
No matter how many hours you have to devote to your business, use your time well. If you're only able to work 1 or 2 hours per day, focus your energy on the money-making aspects of your business and outsource other business responsibilities that require a particular area of expertise such as web design, copy writing, accounting, etc.
Finally, if you feel that you're time is too limited and you're not able to accomplish everything you need to do for your business, consider launching your business with a partner and divide business responsibilities based on your individual talents.
About the Author
Debra Cohen is President of Home Remedies® of NY, Inc.--a Homeowner Referral Network (HRN). Ms. Cohen is also author of a business manual entitled The Complete Guide To Owning And Operating A Successful Homeowner Referral Network. To date, Ms. Cohen has assisted more than 400 other entrepreneurs launch successful HRN's nationwide. For more information about starting an HRN in your area, visit the HRN website at ChangingCourse.com/recommends/hrn
Read Valerie's review of the Homeowner Referral Network and listen as Debra answers frequently asked questions about HRN at ChangingCourse.com/hrn.htm
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Don't be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality. If you can dream it, you can make it so. ~ Belva Davis |
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Upcoming Workshops and Teleclasses
LAST
CHANCE
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Over Three Power-Packed
Days, you’ll... |
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Barbara Winter |
Learn what it takes to live the joyfully jobless life from the master − Barbara Winter, author of Making a Living Without a Job. A vivacious and wildly popular speaker, Barbara will address such topics as the power of multiple income streams… how to stop thinking like an employee and start thinking like an entrepreneur… why starting small is the smartest (and most profitable) way to launch your new enterprise… and much more.
Like mini-workshops, these monthly Joyfully Jobless Teleclasses are interactive, which means you get to ask questions and benefit from firsthand feedback from the woman I call the "Muse of Self-Bossing."
This series is free to current members of the Fast Track Your Dream Community*. Non-members are welcome to attend for $19 with all proceeds going to the non-profit micro-grant organization TrickleUp.org**
Wednesday,
April 9th
8:00-9:00pm
Eastern Time
ChangingCourse.com/courses.htm
*To learn more about how you can fast track your dream of working at what you love - and get a two month membership FREE - go to ChangingCourse.com/fasttrackyourdream.htm
**A portion of all revenue from this Teleclass will go to support the entrepreneurial aspirations of impoverished people in the US and internationally via the micro-grant organization TrickleUp.org
To guarantee success, act as if it were impossible to fail. ~ Dorothea Brande
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"I had to make my own living and my own opportunity! But I made it! Don't sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them!"
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National Speakers Association
eBay Live
Talkers Magazine
Note: Changing Course does not accept
paid advertisements from any of the resources listed here. This list is
provided to expand your thinking about just how many interesting ways there
are to make a living without a job!
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