Tag Archives: Business

All the same

Recently I have worked a bit from the “Your Best Life Now” journal from Joel Osteen and the more I read all this ‘self help’ stuff the more I realize it’s all the same. Today I encountered day 1 from Step Three (Discover the Power of Your Thoughts and Words), which basically is nothing else than the message of Napoleon Hill in his book Think and Grow Rich that was a main part of the foundation of this site and the project Inspiration for Success. I presume it even comes from the ideas of Napoleon Hill as the key truth for today he states is:

“When you think positive, excellent thoughts, you will be propelled toward greatness.”

And reading the chapter many ideas are similar to what Napoleon Hill states, even though they are stated in a Christian way.

And yes, reading all this stuff and signing up for ‘self help’ type websites, partially for research for this project and applying all these principles and listening to audio’s and applying all kinds of principles is starting to make me feel uncomfortable. Because nothing really changed in my life, actually recently it kind of got worse somehow, especially business wise, even though as a person I feel that I still grow. And apparently I’m not the only one who is in need or hooked up to all this self help stuff, otherwise this ‘self help industry’ wouldn’t exist.

And I want this site, and the project Inspiration for Success, to be different. I don’t want Inspiration for Success be just another self help site. And until now it isn’t, as there are no advertisements and you don’t have to enter your e-mail address when entering the site.

And don’t get me wrong. There is nothing really wrong with how ‘self help sites’ work, first ‘being found’ in a specific way, then asking for an e-mail address and then sending daily or weekly message. Although I am starting to be turned off with all the implicit selling that’s being done. So yes, that’s how the industry works. And it means its industry. And I’m starting to get more and more convinced something needs to change in the way we have organized our world as you also may have read in other posts and pages of me. As I think humanity can do better than ‘industry’. And ‘industry’ is everywhere, it’s how the world works, it’s how we get our daily food, it’s how we are entertained, it’s how our cars and refrigerators and all our other stuff is being provided to us.

But it doesn’t work like that for everybody. It works most for the people who ‘fit’ the system, but it doesn’t work for large groups of people, at the moment even including me. As the whole system is based on money in some kind of greedy type of way. And there is nothing wrong with that. As that is the way how the system came into being, how we all, literally all, benefit from food being available and medicines, yes, also for many poor people I guess. And for being able to move around with cars or motorcycles or public transportation.

But somehow I think we can do better. And I don’t know how, as money indeed is a convenient means for the exchange of services and goods. But somehow money has become a goal in itself, and it has been already for a long time I guess as also the bible states things like money should not be treated as a God or something. And the recent financial crisis, that has been going on for years now, is some kind of signal that we may want to move forward to a better system. And I don’t know how, but I’m quite sure humanity can find a better way to provide humans with their daily and not so daily needs and wants.

But maybe start with the self help industry, with this site. As I consider this site a part of the self help industry, even though I don’t fully like it, being part of an industry, especially ‘self help’, especially if it’s about improving the deepest parts of people, of people’s lives, of their soul and well being.

So I’m looking for ways to let you really benefit from this site, this project. So you would really get and achieve what you want. As somehow these sites and books and courses and, and, and don’t seem to work. Otherwise it wouldn’t be an industry. Or would it?

Leading is following?

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Well, today I heard I was kind of too ‘pushy’ with where I want to go, what I expect from the team members and how fast I want to go. And yes, I think we’re going way too slow and I think the team should do a lot more than they do. But indeed, ‘pushing’ doesn’t really seem to be the right way, so I have to find a way to make things move in a different way. And that’s also exactly what I want, because I want the team to do things for Inspiration for Success in an inspired way. And I’m starting to believe, and that’s my message, that the world needs inspiration, not motivation, not ‘earning from hard work’ as at least one of the team members mentions when talking about priority. And not ‘work to make ends meet’ as one of the other team members seems to be doing. And I also tended and tend to do those things. But that’s exactly what I want to change, that’s exactly why I started this project, that’s exactly why Inspiration for Success exists. As I think that humans deserve much more than just work for money to make ends meet with or without a holiday once a year or something.

But yes, not easy with all the things we have learned about ‘earning a living’ and ‘working to live or at least survive’. And yes, that’s how the world works, of course I know that.

But wouldn’t it be nice if everybody could just do the things he likes to do. And wouldn’t it be nice that everybody could just receive what he wants to receive? It sounds like Utopia, but somehow I have the feeling it can be done and that when we achieve that situation the world would be a much happier place.

And the more I look around me, the more I see it could be done, the more I see there is capacity enough, capacity in service, in people liking to give service as well as capacity in products. And no, I didn’t do any research on how much we all would really produce if everybody would just do what he likes to do. But I’m quite sure we do have the technology and the knowledge to make something like that possible, to make something like that work.

It’s just a matter of changing our mindset, changing indeed to mindset of abundance. A mindset where everybody believes that money (=services of other people) does grow on trees. As I believe everybody likes to do ‘something’, everybody has some kind of passion what he wants to do. So why not all do it?

Ah, and the title of this post doesn’t seem to make much sense. But I just wanted to let you know that I’m trying to follow the guidelines that we are discussing as a team, the guidelines for creating better content, so I should have this post checked by someone else before posting. But for today I hope the team will forgive me that my urge to create ‘a daily post’ is higher than to produce ‘quality posts’, as the last is not (yet?) really my strength. So I’m not a good follower yet of our editor in chief, but I have decided to do better. And while writing, yes, I would need to set a date. So from October 31, 2013 or earlier I will follow the rules of the posting as set by our editor in chief.

My desire document

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A very important date in my desire document was September 10, 2013. Maybe the most important day of my life, at least it was when I wrote the initial version of the document which must have been September 10, 2012. And the date passed with not much feeling of success, which was kind of an anti-climax. But maybe it was the same thing a sportsman feels when he passes the finish and just knows that he made it, that he could have made it, and is just tired of the game he played. Because somehow I made my goal, a goal that was impossible at the time of writing. So I don’t feel too excited about having achieved my goal, at least in the spirit of the goal although I reached the goal litterally as I wrote it. So a big success, but there are too many things in my life that I desire to be different from what it is now, so I guess, I know I don’t sound excited right now. But what i wanted to share is that I am starting to see the power of a desire document and that I am starting to believe that I can indeed achieve all the things that i wrote there in the spirit of the Principles of Success.

So several things in my mind and the first is that I want to write my personal desire document for this project. And going back to the origin of the project I have to write it myself and it has to be mine, it has to be a personal desire document. And i am struggling now with my leadership role. As I kind of don’t want it, even though one of my desires is to stand in the spotlight. And somehow I always wanted to stand in the spotlight and I think never really stood, but I am starting to realize what price I, you have to pay when you are standing in the spotlight. So I am also starting to understand more of the problems leaders are dealing with. It looks so nice being famous and being rich and yes, I still want to be that, both. And it’s becoming a real desire now. But I’m also starting to see that there is a price to pay, a price that may be bigger than I thought, bigger than I expected. And so yes, a leader also deserves ‘more of the pie’ than the followers. I can see and feel that more now, even though that’s not really what I want anymore, having more than others, which I also always wanted and what may have blocked my way to riches, to abundance.

Anyhow, today felt like the time to make a desire document related to my desire to have one million dollars through this project. As recently I also went back to the origins of the project which was basically what someone called ‘a get rich quick scheme’. And I guess he was right. And I am very thankful for him saying that to me. As he made me realize what I was doing and I guess it was not really what I wanted. So yes, all adversity carries within it the seed of a greater benefit. I am also seeing the truth of that now, as if this person had not made that remark to me the project would not have been where it is now.

So let’s get to work and take the leadership role by writing my first draft of the desire project for my short term monetary goal with this project. And it may still be a ‘get rich quick’ desire. But I don’t care anymore. As I am also starting to see that there is nothing wrong in wanting something, no matter what other people say. And also the origin of the project and things like ‘the world likes success’ even needs me to be rich. As that’s what success means to me related to this project. That is also the success as described in Think and Grow Rich.

And yes, I keep kind of apologizing for wanting a lot of money. As I am still kind of thinking like the people on the way to poverty. But I want out of it and yes, I also want you out of it. And indeed, me being rich doesn’t harm anybody, doesn’t harm you. On the contrary. Money grows on trees and we have been taught the wrong things for quite some time. The world is abundant, just look around you. And somehow we’re blocking that with all our fears and negative ideas about money.

And I would like to share more of this process of mine, where my current thinking comes from. But maybe it’s just a process and maybe that’s why the call it The Secret.

And keep in mind, about willing to give. I am giving away part of my privacy here. I am willing to state bluntly that I want one million dollars through this project, meaning from you, the people who I am trying to serve. But I’m starting to believe that’s ok, if you’re doing it the right way. But again, that’s about what probably all the rich people know and you and I don’t (yet) as we’re not rich. And if you are rich you will probably not reading this post, but if you are I’m also very happy to see your comments about what I am writing here.

How I want to give service and how I want to be paid

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I have been thinking a lot about how to be paid. And related to that of course about how to give service and what service to give. And I decided that I want people, I want you, to pay me the amount you think my service is worth to you, to people. That’s all. And that’s how I want the business model, the payment model of Inspiration for Success to be. Just pay us what you think it’s worth, what makes you happy to pay.

And I think that’s a good payment model as I would know if I am, we are, giving good service to you. And as of the moment my conclusion is that I’m not giving good service to you, to the world as not may people go to our site and as far as I know not many people have paid.

But keep in mind there’s a catch, because if you came this far in this post it means I have been writing something of value to you. So if you’re not happy paying me for the value of my effort writing this post, building this site and doing the other things we have in mind for the brand Inspiration for Success, then please stop reading right now. As if you would continue reading there would be value here, otherwise you would have stopped reading and left the page. So then it should make you feel happy to give something back to me, to pay me.

And I know this is not how the world works right now, at least not for me and probably also not for you. Because I have the feeling we’re living in a world of ‘give and take’ and not in a world of ‘give and receive’. And I think we can do better. Because I also have the feeling I have given a lot. And I didn’t receive much. Meaning either I didn’t give any service to you, to other people, or they didn’t see what I gave them or they don’t appreciate what I did and do.

So if you came this far I would like to ask you what you consider the value of these few paragraphs for you. Is it one cent? Ten cents? One dollar maybe? Or even more if I gave you some idea or made you move? Or you were just enjoying what I have written here? Or you think it’s just bullshit and just think I’m crazy?

And I don’t mind the answer, or actually I do, because if would help me build my life, build this site, build my business better. But keep in mind, if you came this far in this post there must have been something of value here. So it might make you happy to give something in return.

Discouraged

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Again I was inspired by Abraham Hicks who said something like if you are discouraged you cannot feel well. And I realized that may have been the main thing that blocks me: being discouraged.

And the discouragement comes from having worked so hard, having pushed so hard business, career wise and it didn’t work out.

And I believed in working hard and persistence. But I’m 50 years old and my working hard and my persistence didn’t pay off in building a proper career, having some kind of financial security let alone having a thriving business.

So recently I kind of stopped. Also based on the ideas of Abraham Hicks that doing things from resistance and not from inspiration does not work. And it seems this idea is correct as I did a lot of things in my life, have taken a lot of action, have been persistent and all those things and for a long, long time I had the feeling it didn’t work as I thought it should work. And the last two years or so everything slowly fell apart business wise and financially.

So what now? If hard work doesn’t pay off, if ‘doing things’, ‘taking action’ doesn’t work, if ‘persistence’ as I thought what persistence was doesn’t work, what then?

Well, I kind of stopped. And I’m kind of waiting. But that also doesn’t seem to be the solution. However, taking (uninspired) action also doesn’t work. And the last year or so patience did work in the most important area in my life. And with my team here on Inspiration for Success patience also seems to pay off.

But not easy if you’re a ‘doer’ and are out of money. And weird also as I’m becoming more and more successful in all kinds of areas in my life. Except in finance. Weird, but it was also the start of this project and of the sample goal.

But how can I believable as insprirator if I consider myself not successful, if I can’t even support myself financially?