I have had the blessing of being able to work from home for quite some time now, and I have to be honest with you, sometimes it’s not the easiest thing to do. For one, I love to do anything and everything else besides work. Plus, I have four kids below the age of thirteen, with one of those children being under two. He’s my “mini-me” and wants to hang out, so it gets tough trying to focus.

I actually wrote a blog post a while back giving tips on working from home with a toddler. Check it out and give me some feedback.

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Those of you who have visited this blog before will know of my conviction for entrepreneurship. It really is the only way to keep the soul alive and progressing. A life spent fulfilling and building someone’s dreams other than your own, no matter how passionate you are about them, is a life partially fulfilled. Think about it! How many people have you spoken to over the years who have at one point said the famous words, “You know what would be a good idea for a business?” I hear it over and over again, yet, there is no action to follow the idea. They remain in what I like to call, the Employee Rut!

Now in past posts here at CreateFinancialWealth I have really bagged on having a job as if it was the worst punishment anyone could have in this life….and I have to apologize for that. A job has its purpose, and there are some benefits to having one, versus being self employed. It’s a lifestyle choice. Without employees there would be no employers. It’s the circle of commerce and industry. There must be both and at times you might find yourself being one or the other, wishing you were the other, struggling day in and day out to find an opportunity to become such.

Yet, when you get home from work, it’s so easy to eat dinner and just sit down on that couch for a few hours as you plug away on the internet or watch TV. Between spending time with your wife and kids and visiting with friends and family, it’s extremely difficult to find the time your entrepreneurial ideas deserve. So you find yourself attempting to stay up late at night trying to figure things out to get things moving, but you tire yourself so quickly and nearly go into a coma the rest of the week when you attempt to stay up a few more hours.

At this point, the job starts to take priority in your life. It’s much easier just to wake up, go to work, come home and not have to worry about anything until the next day when you start that drill all over again. Life becomes very predictable….with a bi-weekly paycheck and your schedule mapped out, you get on a routine. This routine is so habitual that it becomes nearly impossible to fit anything else around it. You are now 12 inches deep in the mud and are spinning your wheels every time you attempt to get out of the rut you’re in.

This is what I mean by the Employee Rut. Not that it’s a bad thing. Some do prefer and enjoy being in this rut….but it rips the spirit out of others. At times in your life, you may find yourself in this rut, not because you want to be there, but because your past choices have landed you there. Don’t become content with your lot! Get out as soon as you have the opportunity to, or the entrepreneurial spirit within will begin to diminish. Plan to succeed. Act on those ideas you have or someone else will, I promise you that. How many times have your ideas been so called, “Stolen,” by someone who acted instead of speculated about “Good ideas for a business.”

The world is full of people who can fill the ruts on the road to success…..but lacking those who have the fortitude and the ambition to make their way around, through, in and out of these ruts until they reach their destination. If there is a single ounce of entrepreneur in you, join the minority and live a life fulfilling and building your dreams! If you don’t, enjoy what you are doing now…because you’ll probably be doing it for the rest of your life.

I’ve compiled a few pictures here for a real quick survey. Look at the pictures below and tell me which view you would prefer while working.

Which workspace suits you best?

Workspace #1

Workspace View #2 – Supervisor of Workspace #1

Workspace View #3

Workspace #4 – Getting Better!

Workspace #5 – Very Nice!

Workspace #6 – Priceless! Working from Home!

So which of these work spaces looks the most appealing to you and which of these spaces are you somewhat currently in? Man, if everyone could just get this one concept: You have just as much of a choice to not work where you want as you do in working exactly where you want! So I chose work spaces #5 and #6 nearly 5 years ago. I used to work in something similar to work space #3. I think I definitely upgraded!

So you might ask the question: Is a home based business all it’s chalked up to be? The answer for me: YES! The answer for you: (Fill in the blank)!

I’d like you to meet one of my business partners! We seem to work pretty well together….she sleeps and I’m the head rest. Frankly, all this computer stuff just bores her to death so I have decided to take on the roll of advertising online even though she is a huge part of it still. She does more advertising for me than she knows, just being her. So whether she is helping me shave, falling asleep on me while I work or just wanting to play, she is reminding me that I am successful! My reason for doing what I do is to be at home. This picture is my success!

Choosing business partners is a serious matter and I have chosen mine already. I have more than just one. I have chosen them because they inspire me and remind me to have fun. They’re loyal and honest. I love seeing the world through their eyes as it gives me an entirely new perspective. They greet each day with new excitement and energy. There is never a dull moment and they definitely keep me on my toes. Most importantly, I love them. They are my family!

Honestly, let me ask you a serious question. Who would you rather spend the most time in your day with? Your Boss, your business partner, your employees or your spouse and kids? I guarantee that nobody in this world deserves more time with you than your own family. Yes, you must still build relationships, do business, make money, go to church and all that stuff, but not at the sacrifice of those you love the most, your business partners for life, your family.

If you have a goal to have more time for your family, what are you waiting for? Something is not going to fall out of the sky and hit you on the head saying “here it is!” Although, that would be nice at times. It would be so much easier. I actually quit my job before I had the income to replace it because I knew that wasn’t the life I wanted to live. That was nearly 5 years ago. Now, I am successful. I work from home, make Great money and am living the lifestyle I chose to live nearly 5 years ago when I quit my job. I didn’t hesitate on that decision and neither should you. Don’t find yourself five years from now still wishing to have more time to spend with your family or for that lifestyle change.

What’s more painful for you: Spending your entire life wishing, or, taking a risk at your dreams and failing? I sure hope you chose the first. You can always try again at your dreams but will never, ever get your life back. Make it happen!

Today I received a phone call from a friend telling me that my kids school was in Lock Down. There had been reports of a man wearing a trench coat, carrying a gun, walking around the school grounds. Needless to say, I dropped what I was doing and headed to the school. I live about two blocks away and was there in no time.

My intent was to check my two girls out of school and bring them home. So I pulled into the parking lot, got out of my car and started walking towards the front doors of the school. About half way there I was approached by a police officer decked out in his tactical gear asking me what I was doing. I told him that I had heard about the guy with the gun and wanted to check my kids out of school. He informed me that they were not letting anyone in or out of the school until they could verify that the area was secure. My immediate reaction was to get angry and throw a fit. They were my kids and I wanted to check them out of school right then. Instead of putting on a scene, I knew that there were about 20 to 30 police officers surrounding the school, my kids were safe.

I simply asked, “Well how long will it take for you to verify that the area is secure?” He told me that it would take about 30 minutes to an hour. So I said, “Okay! I’ll be back in 30 minutes!”

I went home, just furious at the possibility that this could happen here, at my childrens school. If you are a parent you can imagine the thoughts that would be going through your head if this had happened to you. 30 minutes later I showed up at the school, I asked the same police officer if everything was secure and within a few minutes they made the decision to allow students to leave.

The principle was almost in tears. I was the first and only parent there to pick up my children. The second person there was a reporter from the local newspaper. The office wasn’t even getting flooded with phone calls yet. I checked my kids out of school and they are home with me now. That is the safest place for them to be, right here with me!

I can tell you this much, I am glad that I have chosen to work from home. Whether it’s a school play, swim lessons in the summer or a potential disaster at school, I am always there!

I am a stay at home Dad, and I am glad I am! Don’t ever get so caught up in your own life that you forget what is most important in the lives of those you love. It’s you!

Everyone starts a home based business for their own reasons. For some it’s for the nice home, the fancy cars, the gadgets and the nice clothes. For others it’s for the time freedom. Some people may just want to start a home business to do something different than what they are currently doing or just to get away from their job. Every single individual has their own reason. This reason, is unique, and powerful and is the fuel behind their success. It is the reason they will either fail or succeed. If their desire to obtain this “reason” is strong enough, they will succeed.

The purpose of this post is not to educate you all on the will to succeed. It’s to discuss the importance of having a reason, and knowing when you have obtained your reason.

To give you a quick example, our reason for starting a home based business initially was to make money. At least we thought that was the main reason. We had a mortgage staring at us in the face, bills that were piling up and a shortage of income to make all our ends meet. But once the money started coming in, we found out our true reason. We could have gotten a second job to make ends meet, but we were looking for so much more. We were looking for the lifestyle, the lifestyle that would allow us to spend more time together.

So many parents rarely see their children due to their work. They are not the primary influence in the lives of their children. After missing eight months out of the first year of my oldest daughters life, we made a decision to change. We weren’t about to see our children grow up without us.

Now that I look at my life, I have everything I set out to get by starting my home business. Amy and I were sitting on the back porch, reflecting on some of our goals and thinking of the life we have created for ourselves. The youngest was down for a nap, and Amy brought up our main reason for getting started with this business opportunity. It was to bring Daddy home, to make the income to support our lifestyle and to use that income to travel the world and enjoy each other. We have obtained all that we came here for. Anything we do beyond that is extra and adds to our main reason.

Four years ago when we made the decision to get started, to leave the job and to create our new future, we really had no idea how sweet it would really be. Now that we are living it, it really is that sweet.

Living your reason, your ideal life, is not a difficult thing to do. It just involves making a big choice….and then following through with passionate consistent action. And trust me, it’s a lot closer than you think…..and has always been within your grasp!