I was grateful for the opportunity they gave me to work there, even though it didn’t work out. But there were others who worked there during the same time that were let go as well, and they were vengeful, and bitter. They would bad mouth that employer all around town, every where they went.

I received a spam email the other day from a disgruntled ex-employee who was trying to get back at their previous employer by showing people where they could go to get that product for a much lower price. He was trying to put them out of business, but wasn’t making any profit from it.

Apparently, he had worked there for a good period of time and was let go due to down sizing. So he became angry and blamed the company for all of his misfortune, and I have a big problem with that. He should be grateful for the opportunity he had to trade his time for money. That company paid his bills, put food on his table, probably provided health benefits and much more. He should show gratitude  instead of being angry. After all, he put himself in that situation.

So if you happen to find yourself fired, let go or down sized, here are a few things you can do about it.

1. Stay positive. Striking revenge at your old employer will never get you anywhere!
2. Of course, you can look for another job. But, being pro-entrepreneur, you may be putting yourself right back into the same situation again.
3. You can start a business. You only have so much control over your financial future as an employee. Your wages, your work schedule, your job, all depends on your employer. With a business, you have absolute control over everything.
4. As an employer, I know that every employee that I hire is a potential competitor. How many disgruntled employees have you known that have started a business in the same niche they were fired from? I know plenty who have….and they’ve taken a good portion of their old clients with them. Rather than being upset and trying to destroy your old employer, become their competitor. Do what they didn’t do very well, better!

Loosing a job is a hardship, but never the end of the world. Even in a somewhat downed economy, there is plenty of opportunity. Stay positive, stay focused, and get what you want.

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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!

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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!

There were some great suggestions in there for those of you who work in a cubicle. I wouldn’t be such a critic if I hadn’t worked in one myself. Whatever reason it is that landed you in a cubicle job, make it completely temporary. Certain people are meant for cubicle jobs and certain people have so much more potential. If you feel like you are the latter, kick the cubicle to the curb. I know for Amy and myself, it has been the most profitable decision we have ever made…and also the most liberating!

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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!

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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?

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