Before taking a look at my past, I had always assumed that I was one of the best employees that ever walked the face of the earth. I have held job positions that I absolutely excelled in. There wasn’t anything out there that I couldn’t do, or learn how to do, at a quicker rate than most of my co-workers. My employers always praised my work and how well I was doing. All was good.

Everything I just mentioned above is completely accurate and true. I was the best employee a wage could buy…..at least for a while. Then, I started to think of how all of my jobs ended. I was fired from a restaurant job during college because, in their words, “I didn’t have what it takes to work with food!” Translation…..I liked to eat it more than sell it! I worked construction and couldn’t handle getting told what to do all the time, “get that hammer, get me a 10′ 2×6, etc.” I learned what I needed there and actually went on to build two homes on my own for a few hundred thousand in profit. Working in the glass industry, I excelled to a certain point, and wanted to continue learning and growing but was kept within my job description and held back from higher earnings. So I quit and started my own glass company for a period of time.

I started to see that even though I was able to do well, I wasn’t able to keep doing the same things over and over again. I always wanted more.

So here are five simple signs that you might be fit for entrepreneurship:

1. If someone told you to stare at a screen all day long for a set amount of money, and you couldn’t do it without wanting more responsibility or without feeling like you were wasting away your life.
2. You’ve never really been a great employee, although you accomplish great things when you are and may jump from job to job frequently.
3. The thought of having someone dictate your time during the day sickens you.
4. You have so many ideas flowing through your head that you find yourself writing them down in a journal or notebook to keep track of them all.
5. Instead of being content with where you are, you are constantly engaged in thought about where you want to be financially, in the near and distant future.

Entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone. Some people like the so called “comfort” of a steady bi-weekly paycheck or 40 hour work week. Some enjoy the fact that they can check out at 5pm and not have to think about their job until 8 am the next day.

I once read a quote that I’ll end this post with, and it went something like this: As entrepreneurs, we do the things now, that most people won’t…..so that we can later, live a life that most people can’t!

So, let’s talk about the cubicle, and more specifically, the work cubicle. To preface this post I did a little research on the cubicle and as I started to look at different cubicles, I started to feel restricted. I became less and less motivated as the time crept by. I think I actually aquired a cubicle phobia!! It’s no wonder most people hate their life, they have to work in a cubicle! Seriously though, do it. Just start looking at all the different types of cubicles on the net and see how you start to feel after a few minutes of doing it. It’s painful. Imagine being a cubicle salesman. He is literally the creator of bondage and misery. Imagine how he feels about his job!

Anyways, as I was looking up these cubicles, I ran across something hilarious. There are sites out on the internet that offer “Cubicle Etiquette!” Basically put, “how to behave in your cubicle.” I had to laugh and I am actually going to copy and past the etiquette right here for you all to read. Now, I have to give props to the person who wrote this information for having a desire to assist those who have chosen to experience the cubicle misery day in and day out. She has good intentions and deserves credit for her suggestions. However, why even choose to submit yourself to so much misery in the first place? That is beyond my comprehension. A $40,000 salary is definitely not worth the pain or even a 6 figure income for that matter. There are much more fun, creative, more exciting and fulfilling ways to make a heck of a lot more money.

Here is the “Cubicle Etiquette“:

PRIVACY

• Never enter someone’s cubicle without permission. Behave as though cubicles have doors. Do not enter before you have eye contact “permission” from the occupant.

• Try not to sneak up behind someone in a cube. Announce yourself at their doorway or lightly knock on the wall.

• Post a sign or flag at your cube entrance to signal when you can be interrupted. Avoid making eye contact with people if you don’t want to be interrupted.

• Don’t “prairie-dog” over the tops of cubes or peek in as you walk past each one.

• Don’t loiter outside someone’s cube while you wait for him or her to finish a phone call. Come back at another time.

• Never read someone’s computer screen or comment on conversations you’ve overheard. Resist answering a question you overheard asked in the cube next to you!

• Keep your hands off a cube dweller’s desk. Just because there’s no door doesn’t mean you can help yourself to their paper clips.

PHONES

• Try to pick up your phone after one or two rings. Set the ringer volume at a low level.

• Limit the use of speakerphones. If you must use one, keep the volume as low as possible. Use a meeting room for conference calls.

• Watch your volume when talking on the phone. A headset can help keep your voice low.

• When you leave your cubicle, turn your phone ringer off and let it go to voicemail or forward your phone number to your new location.

• Never leave your cell phone behind in your cube without first turning it off or to vibrate.

• With personal or sensitive calls, be aware that your neighbors can hear your end of the conversation.

TALKING

• Use your “library voice”.

• Don’t talk through cube walls or congregate outside someone’s cube. For impromptu meetings, go to a conference room or break room.

• Don’t bring clients to your cube to meet with them. Go to an office or conference room.

• Don’t yell across the “cube farm”. Get up and move to the other person’s location.

GENERAL NOISE

• Use email or instant messaging to communicate silently with your coworkers.

• Play radios at low volumes or use a headset.

• Set your PC volume to a low level and turn off screensaver sound effects.

• Set pagers to vibrate.

• Work out an arrangement with your neighbors to take lunch breaks at different times. This will give each of you some quiet time in your cube.

• Eat quietly. Avoid gum-popping, humming, slurping and pen tapping.

SMELLS

• A good rule of thumb is to never eat hot food at your desk. Food odors can bother your hungry or nauseous neighbors.

• Perfume and cologne should be avoided in a cubicle arrangement. Your neighbors may have allergies.

• Keep an air freshener handy.

• Keep your shoes on!

Cubicle = Poor! Entrepreneur = ??????? Whatever you want to create. I know for Amy and myself, it has been the most profitable decision we have ever made! Kick the 6′ x 5′ cubicle to the curb for a much bigger one……where ever your feet take you!

For the next 30 days I am going to take a challenge to arise before the sun does. Why am I doing this? Well, there are multiple reasons.

First, I am a father of three girls all under the age of 8 and for the most part, the only “Me” time I get is early in the morning. I use this time to educate myself. I once read a quote by Mark Twain, “Don’t let schooling interfere with your education.” If I am not learning, I am wasting my life away doing nothing. What good am I and what difference can I make in the world if I am not making a difference in my life. Educate yourself! Learn as much as you can. As you do, apply it and use it to serve and inspire others.

Second, there is a power spoken of in ancient scripture about arising early. I certainly don’t write all these blog posts just to write them. I do it to teach people what I have learned. Scriptures were written to teach wisdom. Amazingly enough, the principles taught thousands of years ago still work today, and may even be working better today than then. Just as I write, they have written, with the intent for others to read. Scripture reads, “Retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated.”

Third, I take a moment every morning to express my gratitude for all that I have and know. This is actually the first thing I do every morning. Unless I am grateful for what I currently have, I will never be blessed with more. As I take the time to think of all the abundance in my life, more abundance is added to it throughout the day.

Fourth, I set goals in the morning and come up with some of my best ideas. My mind is rested and fresh. Ideas just pour in like rain in the morning time. It is a self mastery period for me. Visualizing, goal setting, thinking of ways to improve, saying affirmations and setting courses of action for the day are a few of the things I do. For all you fisherman, remember, the big fish are always caught in the morning!

During this challenge I will think of 5 new ideas that will move me toward my goals, every morning. At the end of 30 days, I will have a ton of new ideas to work with, of which, many will already be put into action. I will have my journal on hand to keep record of these ideas as they come to me. I challenge each of you to do the same.

Think about the power that comes with arising early on your own terms. What I mean by, “your own terms,” is doing it not because you have to, but because you choose to. If you are employed and are compelled to get up before the sun does, wake up a little earlier on your own terms. Claim victory on your day instead of giving credit to someone else or doing it because you have to. It will change your outlook. I promise.

I can’t speak for anyone else, but I love getting up early. I love it even more than sleeping in, but it can be hard, if you’re not in the habit of doing it. Once that habit is created, it is as easy as brushing your teeth every morning. So starting tomorrow, June the 6th 2009, I’ll beat the sun up.

If you’d like to take this challenge along with me, congratulations! Let me know your thoughts and experiences! See you in the morning!

I think there may be a little confusion as to what the term, “Time Freedom,” really is. So many people are seeking it, yet very few really find it. Time Freedom is a concept. It’s a lifestyle and so much more. It’s what allows Fathers to truly be a powerful influence in the lives of their children. It makes it possible for mothers to really and actually be the “Stay at home Mom!” It’s the freedom that allows you to persue your dreams, hobbies and ambitions without restraint. It is probably the most sought after thing in the world.

A lot of people associate Time Freedom with Financial Freedom. Financial Freedom can be obtained while taking all of your free time to obtain it. So many sacrifice their time freedom to get the financial freedom. On the flipside of the coin, a bum has all the time freedom in the world yet, no money! So you can have one without the other.

The big difference is, you can always get more money, but can never really get more time. The clock of life is ticking and when the batteries run out, our time to make a difference in this world is over. The ideal lifestyle is to have them both. Have the money and the time to enjoy it!

Here are a few things that are NOT Time Freedom, just to be clear:

1. 2 weeks of paid vacation from your employer.
2. Weekends off from your business or employer.
3. Only having to work 40 hours a week.
4. 2 or 3 hours in the evenings to devote to family time and hobbies.
5. Summers off, as most teachers get.
6. The ability to take a day off here or there or swap work days for a family event.
7. Having Sick Days!

Now that there is zero confusion, time freedom is a very simple thing to define, and it means doing whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want, or just not doing it at all, if you don’t want. That’s it! True time freedom is being in complete control of your day. No boss to take orders from, no schedule to rule your day, no job to take you away from your true passions, no business that robs you of your personal life. It’s having complete and absolute control. If you wake up in the morning and feel like taking a drive out of town with your family, you do it. If you feel like not working at all that day, it’s your choice.

Now the trick is to be able to do all that you want to do, while still having the income flowing in. Wouldn’t it be great if there were a simple way to get them both, Time Freedom and Financial Freedom? If I knew the way, or at least one of the many ways, would you be interested to know? And once you found out how I do it, and thousands of others have done it, will you believe that it can happen for you?

That’s the key! Will you believe it can and will happen for you?

What do you think it means when you see or hear the phrase, “Take Control of Your Life?” First off, does it resonate with you at all? Are you inspired to make it happen, to take control?

Well, either it does or it doesn’t. Either you completely understand or you don’t at all. There is no in between on this one. And if you don’t understand, that’s alright. I am here to educate you, to open your eyes a little and to show you the life you should be living, but have simply not yet chosen to.

So what does “Take Control” truly mean?  Taking control involves actually getting off your butt and doing something about your situation. It entails going where you want, creating what you want, making sure you get what you want and having the foresight to even see what you want before you create it in reality. That is control and any variance if it puts you in in a situation where you are being controlled by something else.

For instance, someone might decide to take control in their own life by going out and making it happen by finding the job or their dreams. Now, what have they just done? They took control, went up to another person/company and handed them the reins and said, “I would like you to control my life for “x” amount of dollars!” Taking control is not going to a job so that someone else can tell you how to live your life. Taking control involves you making the big decisions, not someone else.

How do you know if you are in control? What did you do today? Were you in control of your time, your money, your life, or was it a boss or punch clock at work. Think about it. What have you given control to? Did any of your action and decisions today move you closer to your ultimate lifestyle, or did it just move your closer to paying the bills knowing that it starts all over again tomorrow?

The good news is…..it’s temporary. It can be changed.

Quick story: This is how we finally decided to take control. At first, I thought taking control was getting my dream job, because that is how I was raised. I soon learned, through my training in the military, my dream job was going to give me absolutely zero control over my life. I wanted to be a helicopter pilot. So, we started this business after a long lesson from the Army. We initially spent around $1500 to get started. That was a big deal to us, but not really, now that I look back. $1500 is not a lot of money! If you think it is, you have not yet decided to take control of your financial life. I knew what income I wanted, and at this stage, it would take another $20,000 to reach it.

So here Amy and I were. We were at a crossroad. We didn’t have $20,000 in the bank to invest. We had two options: We could allow our circumstance to dictate us, which was a lack of money, or we could continue to move forward and stay in front of the steering wheel. Now, I could see very clearly what my life would be like if I could just get to that next level. To do that, I had to find the $20,000. Yet, I was still in my situation. I didn’t have the money, but what did I do? Did I hang my head and droop my shoulders and give up the control? No!! I figured it out and found the money! I took control of my own life and did something about it. I made sure my life went in the direction I wanted it to. I paved the road with my own two hands and then I walked! I took action. I made sure it would happen! I did! Not someone else. I did.

Taking control of your life may be, and most likely will be, uncomfortable. It’s uncomfortable because it involves change. Changes, out of ambition, that you make to your own life are always good, regardless of how uncomfortable it gets. You should get comfortable doing the uncomfortable.

Think about what you truly want. Make a plan to get there. Then take MASSIVE action and ensure that it happens. You are the only one that can, and the only one willing to do it! Make it happen. It’s your life. You’ve only got one!