How many times have you heard… the key is NOT to sell?. People do business with people? People don’t care how much you know until you know how much you care? There are a whole host of these phrases that have curb appeal but you never seem to get invited inside of the house to get a sense of what it really feels, smells and looks like.
Without taking this analogy to the front door and into the foyer, I want to respect your time and intelligence and talk in very plain terms about some very practical “stuff” you need to get your head around. I respect the fact that you are seeking to change your financial situation, this inherently involves risks; and your experience (in all probability) is littered with false starts, disappointments and skepticism. I’ve been there.
So , if the premise (the goal) here is to create and maintain a predictable source of income, what are the real world factors that enable it? There are a lot of people “out there” saying that your head-has-to-be-in-the-right-place (in so many words…) but still, this has the same curb appeal that I already have mentioned without feeling your toes in the carpet.
If we head down this path of right-headedness, then it should follow that there should be factors that are well marked, identifiable and able to be put into a formula or “system” that enable you and me to simply “plug into” and have some degree of certainty of success. Most people would have you believe it is just that easy, but our experience tells us that this just isn’t so.
The real question is what pre-supposes all of this? First, let me say that the financial “vehicle” that actually makes you or me any money is secondary. You have probably heard the expression, “there are a million ways to make a buck”. Sure, we all have dignity and reputations we seek to maintain, and the business or enterprise that we choose to affiliate with has to have merit and credibility. But, if the vehicle is secondary, then what is at the core of what makes all of this tick?
It gets back to your head being in the right place and understanding (and accepting) what this means in very real terms. The umbrella / dome / roof under which everything falls is culture. First, understand that you cannot and will not make money in a bubble. You will be part of an organization, group, entity… that has values that you can integrate into your life. This is where it starts at a foundational level. The first question is whether something “feels right” and fits with who you are morally and spiritually on one level, and as a practical matter, you would be willing to be “the face” of whatever it is you are representing.
