How Your Job is Viewed by Others

Years ago I heard a story about an NFL player who attended a gala the day after the season ended.  As the servers were making their rounds, this athlete was offered a drink.  That offer was politely declined with him saying, “No thanks, I’m training.”

Despite my best efforts, I can’t find the actual account of the story which leads me to believe that it was either fabricated or twisted around a bit.  But let’s assume that it’s entirely true.  It’s actually not that far-fetched.

The take away: to be one of the best athletes in the world, you are constantly subject to a rigorous level of discipline.  If there is ever a “cheat” day, it’s literally the day after the season ends.  Thinking of that, I wanted to show you what goes on behind the scenes of building my course No to Grow.

Working hard, or hardly working? hahahahahahaha 😑

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How to Overcome your Fear and Live FREE

It’s been over 13 years since I first started making money without a boss.  Through that time I have gone through a ton of ebbs and flows; from times of self doubt and fear to times feeling on top of the world.

Today, you may be eyeballing the idea of freelancing, or even starting a business on your own.  I bet your fears today are many of the same that I went through when creating my No to Grow program.

I’ll share a little bit of that story for you now, and I’m guessing these same fears will be similar to your own.

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Why You should Ditch the Job and Make Your Own Money

Years ago I was stuck in a job that was rather unfulfilling.  The pay was on the low end, and despite my best efforts, it didn’t look like it would ever rise up to where I felt I was worth.  I wasn’t able to live life how I truly wanted to live it.

It didn’t help that my wife made more than I did; not that I felt emasculated by that fact, but I felt that I wasn’t working as hard or pulling my weight.

I had to make a change.

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7 Words to a Successful Career

Growing up we have been taught the Golden Rule.  We’re supposed to treat others the way we would like to be treated.  It’s great advice to help keep the peace and to promote working together instead of working against.  What many people don’t realize is that the Golden Rule is actually rooted in the Bible.

“For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:14 (ESV)

But what I have seen in modern business is that we tend to create our business as one persona, and our personal and spiritual lives as another.  For some reason many feel the two cannot mesh.  There’s no reason that we should treat others the way we want to be treated in our personal lives but not business.  In fact, there should be no discrepancy between the two.

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Make your Business Stand Out

In the book of Matthew, Jesus talks about how Christians should position themselves in society.  He compares us to salt (a common ingredient that had a wide variety of uses in an age before refrigeration was available), and how if we’re not going to do the job correctly, then what use are we?

Jesus goes on to compare us to the light of the world.  He says in Matthew 5:14 that, “a city on a hill cannot be hidden.”  It’s a great analogy that we should let the love of Jesus shine so brightly in our lives that we cannot hide it; and others ask why we are different.  But we can expand those principles to a business standpoint as well.

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Overnight Success via the Fast Track

There are two types of people in this world.  Those that believe success is determined by an individual’s hard work, and those that believe it’s a matter of luck.  While there is some merit to both sides (those that were born into certain economic statuses are more apt to enjoy success than those who were not; financially speaking anyway), there’s a common theme about those that tend to be the most successful.

It turns out that success doesn’t just mean making a bunch of money.  In fact, somewhere in history we got caught up in the notion that those with more money are more successful.  But we also know that being financially successful will often lead to some severe mental illness.

So, how do we combat all of this?  How do we move from the feeling that we’re not successful, to one of being successful, but at the same time recognize the success and prevent the success depression that hits a lot of those at the top?

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The Basic Principles of an Honorable Company

I work closely with quite a few small businesses here in Billings.  As I get more and more plugged into the business world, I notice the same thing pop up over and over.  The businesses that succeed have a strong standard of integrity.  They hold this in high regard, and won’t waiver on it (sometimes it means they lose money).  For instance, take a look at this post from Big Sky Collision Center.

During a recent quiet time, a time that I often get ideas for my posts and are usually spurred on by a single verse or two, I read 1 Corinthians 13:6-7.  For those familiar you will recognize that as the love chapter.  For those unfamiliar, it’s quoted below.  The idea, however, is that it doesn’t just apply to love; it also applies to a business that is setting itself up to succeed.

“it [Love] does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” 1 Corinthians 13:6-7 ESV.
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Winning Doesn’t Mean they Lose

Whether you’re a business owner, a manager, or a professional, you are competing for business with someone else.  Most people believe that in order for their business to succeed, their competitors should fail.  That, however, is a fallacy.

“Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,” Proverbs 24:17 ESV.

In the book of Proverbs we learn about being a good sport.  It’s a great way to make sure your heart stays kind, and it’s a great way to ensure that your life remains stress free (not to mention you show the love of Christ).  But we can extrapolate this to more than just being a kind person.

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Innovation is a Requirement for Survival

Many people think of innovation as something that only a select few get to do.  They think of people like Steve Jobs innovating and revolutionizing the smart phone world.  Or James Dyson and his vacuum cleaners.  Or perhaps, on a more local level, Big Sky Collision Center innovating and turning the auto repair industry on its head.

But those are just the big examples.  Those are some examples that shook up industries and became immensely popular in our culture today.  Innovation, however, happens many times throughout the day on a much smaller level.  In fact, you have probably innovated today without even realizing it.

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How to Deal with Uncontrollable and Controllable Events

I recently read the book Chop Wood, Carry Water by Josh Medcalf.  Then, over the previous couple of months, my Biz to Biz group has been going through and having a bit of a discussion on it.  I had the opportunity to talk about one of the chapters last week.  If you haven’t had a chance to read it, then you need to pick up a copy, it has a ton of valuable information.

I was assigned to Chapter 23.  During preparation, I was able to glean a bunch of insights; and the words of Ben Sweetland rang true, “We cannot hold a torch too light another’s path without brightening our own.”  Here is what I discovered in my journey.

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