I heard a little story a while back about a woman working in the market place and along came a man who swiped one of her products off her table and started to run away.The woman caught up to him and scolded him so badly that there was steam shooting out of her ears.A few moments later she returned to her table and with the nicest, kindest smile she asked her next customer if she can help them.
Later when she was asked how she could go from one extreme to another, she responded that however you feel in one situation does not have to carry over into the next situation.She also said that just because you feel a certain way on the inside, it doesn’t mean that you have to show it on the outside.
Yesterday I wrote about how your mood can affect your luck.Here are a few ways to put the lesson into action:
Don’t hold grudges
Don’t let one person ruin your day
Don’t take out your anger with one person on another
By getting and staying mad, you are only blocking out your own potential opportunity and luck.
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Sometimes when I’m really frustrated, worrying about something or in a bad mood I sit down and play video games to calm myself down and forget about my problems.The main thing it does is allow me to think about my problems in the back of my head without them being pressing issues which is how I find, better ideas come to me.
Lately I’ve been having some crazy days at the office where I just have to unwind and since I have a commute which is over an hour each way, I unwind on the train ride home.I use my commutes for reading and podcasts to make my time the most productive.While listening to podcasts, I need to do something besides just listening, to really get the full effect of the podcast so I play solitaire on my ipod.I noticed that although the game depends a lot on the way the cards are dealt, I was doing proportionately well at the game as the day I just had at the office.There was even one game that I went through the deck 3 times without being able to make a move.That’s usually where I would abandon the game and start a new round.Instead I put the game away for a little while and just relaxed with my eyes closed and some good music.A while later when I went back to my game, I ended up winning.It seems that my mood prevented me from seeing opportunity.
The bottom line is that the better mood you are in, the more opportunity you will see.When you’re in a bad mood, subconsciously, you have no patience for opportunity and you block it out.What I’m trying to say is that the better mood you are in, the luckier you will be.
Yesterday I was discussing iphone applications with a friend who just started developing them.We then moved the conversation to the web and business in general.When I suggested certain ideas, at first them were shot down because “people don’t need that” or “they already exist”.I then explained that contrary to what the people of the United States of America think, they are not the “world”.
The world is a very big place.It is getting smaller each day through new technologies but that doesn’t mean that one size will fit all and that anything that exists in the US will work for people living in smaller countries across the world.For example, Craigslist is extremely popular in the US and it is the first place that many people go to post or look for things they need but if you just move a little north or the border, you will find that it is not as popular and a site called kijiji.com for the same service.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind when thinking about a new web based application or business:
One Size Does Not Fit All
Just because a web service is available everywhere, it doesn’t mean that it is used everywhere.Because of cultural differences, languages, marketing and word of mouth in the other countries, the service may not catch on in the other countries.
You Can Be the Next Facebook
You may never be as big as facebook or as popular or even ever come close to having 100 million users but you can take the idea and recreate it for a country that hasn’t caught on yet and market the site specifically to them.Today, you don’t need a new idea, you just need a new place to use an old idea.
You Now Have a Global Market
Your customers are no longer just the 5000 people in your town; they are the billion plus internet users around the world. If you sell a service online for $50/month to 2000 of them, you will make over $1 million each year.
Do you have any other suggestions to add to this list?
To get lucky, you need to constantly be learning and opening up new horizons.Whatever area it is that you want to get lucky in, you need to involve yourself in your interest and surround yourself with tools to increase your knowledge of the specific area.Hang around people who are where you want to be.For instance, if you want to get rich, hang around rich people.Another must do for getting lucky is to read everything you can get your hands on on your topic of choice.
If you are hanging around the right people, they can often suggest the right books for you to be reading but there always comes a time where you are stuck and don’t know what you should read next.Here are a few ways to find the next book to read.
Go to Borders or Chapters or whatever your local bookstore is.
Just go into your local bookstore and browse through the section on the topic of your interest.Look for best sellers, new releases or store recommendations.You can also read a few pages from the books that catch your interest to get an idea of what they are about and if your will enjoy the read.
Surf the net for a good book.
There are websites such as www.whatshouldireadnext.com that ask you to enter the book that you just finished reading and it will tell give you a list of books to read, based on other people’s choices and suggestions who also enjoyed the book you just read.
Amazon.com’s suggestions
Amazon is really good at following up with buyers and sending them suggestions of additional books to purchase. Their recommendations are usually pretty good if you generally buy books that interest you.When I first started using Amazon, it was for college textbooks for random classes.I was getting philosophy and history college textbook suggestions for years.
I’m currently in the middle of a few books that I’m really enjoying.I keep one book in my work bag that I read on my commute, one book is on my night table and one book goes with me everywhere else so that I always have something to read.I suggest every one of them:
“Today is only one day in all the days that will ever be. But what will happen in all the other days that ever come can depend on what you do today.”
Ernest Hemingway
In September, I started posting “Lucky Quotes” once per month but when I stumbled upon this quote from Hemingway, I had to post it by itself.
I wrote a little while back about investing time with compound interest but from the looks of it Hemingway had the idea first. Today can be exactly like yesterday and tomorrow but if you make today count, it becomes the foundation for the rest of your life. If you spend each day building that foundation, you may not notice any difference in a few days or weeks but if you look back over a year, you are sure to see the fruits of your labor. I saw what one year could do for me.
You can become an expert on any subject by just reading one hour on the topic each day for 3 years. One hour alone will not do much for you. Even a few days won’t do much for you. If you are consistent and read for an hour every day, you can make a huge difference for your future.
I’ve mentioned it before but it is so important that i’ll keep mentioning it. We live in such a great time that there is more information available to read and learn from than ever before and most of it is free. All you have to do is motivate yourself to read it. A quick Google search and you hit gold.
My family is my goal; my income is just a means to the goal
So many people miss the point.They work hard to make money and then work some more.To get lucky, you need to define your priorities and goals and then work toward them.You can’t let anything get in the way of your goals.Working 100 hour weeks for 40 years and then retiring is not normal.You need to take a step back and enjoy what you have.There is no point in making money that you will never use.“He who dies with the most toys is still dead!”
Tim Ferris has it right when he advises to take “mini retirements”.If you wait until you’re 65 years old, you may never get what you work so hard for.Look at the big picture and enjoy life.Don’t miss the forest because all the trees are in the way.However you want to put it, don’t get lost on your way to fulfilling your goals.
Don’t get me wrong; I love my blogs, marketing, social media, meeting people, consulting and everything else I do, and people should love their occupation, but it is my family that really gives meaning to it all.
