FreeStuffEngine.com - From Astronauts to Entrepreneurs By Luke Arthur

What do you want to be when you grow up? This is a question that everyone has been asked at some point in their life. If you were asked as a child, you most likely responded with, ?a fireman, astronaut, or cowboy.? After a few years, you realized there were not many companies looking to fill their cowboy position. You figured out that you had to be good at math to be an astronaut, and you were no longer crazy about the whole ?fire thing.?

Then, along the way, you probably settled for a cubicle and a job that you did not even know existed when you were a kid. You might be a ?yes-man.? You might play solitaire when no one is looking. You probably even punch a time clock when you walk in the door. Astronauts don?t have a time clock or a cubicle.

The point of this article is not to discuss the finer points of being an astronaut or a cowboy. However, many of us have given up our freedom and our dreams for a job that pays the bills. One compromise led to another, and finally where we are today, is nowhere near where we had envisioned. Millions of Americans have found a way out. No, there is not an overnight solution. You most likely will not become wealthy beyond your wildest dreams in a week. But for those who are willing to work and take a chance, there is another way.

An entrepreneur is defined as a person who undertakes and operates a new venture, and assumes some accountability for the inherent risks. Many people believe that being an entrepreneur requires a great deal of money from the beginning. This is a very large misconception. Many people believe that you have to have a new invention or idea to get started. ?Everything has already been invented,? is a common attitude. You don?t have to be Bill Gates or Donald Trump to be an entrepreneur. There are multiple opportunities that present themselves to us everyday. Opportunities never go away, they simply go to somebody else.

A number of years ago, there was a man who ran a general store in a very rural community in Arkansas. Every few weeks, the man would drive his pickup to a neighboring town to visit a coal mine. Once he was there he would load up the back of his truck with bags of coal and drive back home. He did this for a few years and he sold the coal in his general store.

Then one day he pulled up to the coal mine and the foreman of the mine stopped him. ?I?m sorry sir, we only sell to big companies now. You are too small to buy coal from us. It?s not worth our time.? The man got back in his truck and went home. A few years later, the man?s business had grown quite considerably. He received a letter from the foreman of the coal mine who had shunned him. It read,

?Dear Mr. Walton, would you please buy coal from us again?? Sam Walton wrote back, ?I?m sorry sir, we only buy from big companies now. You are too small to sell to us. It?s not worth our time.? Have you ever thrown away a golden opportunity like the foreman? The chances are you pass by opportunities every day that could provide for you beyond your wildest dreams. The difference between Sam Walton and the foreman is that he could see things before they happen. The foreman was only concerned with the here and now. If he would only have positioned himself in the right way, he could have been extremely successful.

The only difference between successful and unsuccessful people is positioning. Hard work is not the only ingredient in becoming financially independent. Wealthy people saw a trend before it happened, and positioned themselves accordingly. They do not necessarily work harder, but they work smarter.

According to Robert Kiyosaki, 95% of Americans share 5% of the money. That leaves 5% of the population to split up 95% of the wealth! As an employee, you will never become financially independent. Trading time for money has never made someone wealthy. Yes there are jobs that pay extremely well, but even doctors and lawyers don?t make anything when they go on vacation. The key is to take a chance and do something out of the ordinary. Working for money is the best way to become broke. The only way to succeed is to have your money work for you.

Let?s say that one Friday after work, you can?t wait to get home. You walk out the front door of your office and in front of you sits a brand new $80,000 Mercedes. Your boss is sitting in the driver?s seat and says, ?Hop in and I?ll take you for a spin.? So you jump in and your boss shows you how amazing the car is. He shows you the DVD player, the navigation system, and all the other bells and whistles. After a few minutes of driving, he pulls over to the side of the road in front of an amazing house. A mother and her kids are outside swimming in the pool. ?Look at that house,? says your boss. ?Yeah, that?s pretty nice,? you say. ?See the big yard and tennis court in the back,? he says. ?Yeah, that?s great, so what?? you respond. ?Just look how big that house is, and see that concrete in the back? That?s a helicopter landing pad.? ?Yeah, so what?? you reply. ?If you will stay committed to my company and work extremely hard for the next 40 years, all these things that you see today?can be mine.?

Don?t get stuck in a 9 to 5 job for the rest of your life. Take a chance, and make something special. You might not succeed at first, but nothing good comes easily. There are many ways to achieve financial independence in this world, but whatever you do, don?t let an opportunity pass you by.

Entrepreneurialism
added July 9, 2006 What do you want to be when you grow up? This is a question that everyone has been asked at some point in their life. If you were asked as a child, you most likely responded with, ?a fireman, astronaut, or cowboy.? After a few years, you realized there were not many companies looking to fill their cowboy position. You figured out that you had to be good at math to be an astronaut, and you were no longer crazy about the whole ?fire thing.? Then, along the way, you probably settled for a cubicle and a job that you did not even know existed when you were a kid. You might be a ?yes-man.? You might play solitaire when no one is looking. You probably even punch a time clock when you walk in the door. Astronauts don?t have a time clock or a cubicle. The point of this article is not to discuss the finer points of being an astronaut or a cowboy. However, many of us have given up our freedom and our dreams for a job that pays the bills. One compromise led to another, and finally where we are today, is nowhere near where we had envisioned. Millions of Americans have found a way out. No, there is not an overnight solution. You most likely will not become wealthy beyond your wildest dreams in a week. But for those who are willing to work and take a chance, there is another way. An entrepreneur is defined as a person who undertakes and operates a new venture, and assumes some accountability for the inherent risks. Many people believe that being an entrepreneur requires a great deal of money from the beginning. This is a very large misconception. Many people believe that you have to have a new invention or idea to get started. ?Everything has already been invented,? is a common attitude. You don?t have to be Bill Gates or Donald Trump to be an entrepreneur. There are multiple opportunities that present themselves to us everyday. Opportunities never go away, they simply go to somebody else. A number of years ago, there was a man who ran a general store in a very rural community in Arkansas. Every few weeks, the man would drive his pickup to a neighboring town to visit a coal mine. Once he was there he would load up the back of his truck with bags of coal and drive back home. He did this for a few years and he sold the coal in his general store. Then one day he pulled up to the coal mine and the foreman of the mine stopped him. ?I?m sorry sir, we only sell to big companies now. You are too small to buy coal from us. It?s not worth our time.? The man got back in his truck and went home. A few years later, the man?s business had grown quite considerably. He received a letter from the foreman of the coal mine who had shunned him. It read, ?Dear Mr. Walton, would you please buy coal from us again?? Sam Walton wrote back, ?I?m sorry sir, we only buy from big companies now. You are too small to sell to us. It?s not worth our time.? Have you ever thrown away a golden opportunity like the foreman? The chances are you pass by opportunities every day that could provide for you beyond your wildest dreams. The difference between Sam Walton and the foreman is that he could see things before they happen. The foreman was only concerned with the here and now. If he would only have positioned himself in the right way, he could have been extremely successful. The only difference between successful and unsuccessful people is positioning. Hard work is not the only ingredient in becoming financially independent. Wealthy people saw a trend before it happened, and positioned themselves accordingly. They do not necessarily work harder, but they work smarter. According to Robert Kiyosaki, 95% of Americans share 5% of the money. That leaves 5% of the population to split up 95% of the wealth! As an employee, you will never become financially independent. Trading time for money has never made someone wealthy. Yes there are jobs that pay extremely well, but even doctors and lawyers don?t make anything when they go on vacation. The key is to take a chance and do something out of the ordinary. Working for money is the best way to become broke. The only way to succeed is to have your money work for you. Let?s say that one Friday after work, you can?t wait to get home. You walk out the front door of your office and in front of you sits a brand new $80,000 Mercedes. Your boss is sitting in the driver?s seat and says, ?Hop in and I?ll take you for a spin.? So you jump in and your boss shows you how amazing the car is. He shows you the DVD player, the navigation system, and all the other bells and whistles. After a few minutes of driving, he pulls over to the side of the road in front of an amazing house. A mother and her kids are outside swimming in the pool. ?Look at that house,? says your boss. ?Yeah, that?s pretty nice,? you say. ?See the big yard and tennis court in the back,? he says. ?Yeah, that?s great, so what?? you respond. ?Just look how big that house is, and see that concrete in the back? That?s a helicopter landing pad.? ?Yeah, so what?? you reply. ?If you will stay committed to my company and work extremely hard for the next 40 years, all these things that you see today?can be mine.? Don?t get stuck in a 9 to 5 job for the rest of your life. Take a chance, and make something special. You might not succeed at first, but nothing good comes easily. There are many ways to achieve financial independence in this world, but whatever you do, don?t let an opportunity pass you by.
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Entrepreneurialism