Has anyone ever told you that you’re not good enough? Most likely the answer is YES.

So are you good enough? YES!

You can do anything that you put your mind to. If that is true, then why are there so many people who seem to drift through life aimlessly? In contrast, there are people who seem to get opportunities handed to them on a silver platter.

This is a question I often ask myself. In my experience it is mostly attitude that separates the two types of people. Some people get discouraged when others tell them that they can’t do something. Yet, the other people set out to prove that they indeed can do whatever they set out to do.

One other thing…

Those that set out to prove that they can do anything believe whole heartedly in themselves. In their mind there is little doubt of ability.

The ones that are drowned by their own sorrows, lack self confidence. They actually believe the people that say, “You can’t do that, you’re nobody.”

Never, ever, ever, listen to those people! Those are the same people who think that they can’t do it either.

Some people are gonna think you’re crazy!

The fact is that most people don’t live out their dream, they probably never even try. Why is that?! I want to know at what point and time do people stop reaching for the stars and go work at a job they hate for 40 years. At what stage in life do we give in to the criticism and lose the drive to be or do whatever we want, not what everyone else tells us we should be?

What are your opinions? Why do people stop dreaming? I have my own opinions but I would like to know your thoughts on the subject!

What do you write on a saturday night when you have already been up for 16 hours, working all day on a business that you hope will legitimately help people, deciding not to go out to the bars, and trying to scrape by because you recently quit you job to pursue your dream?

I want to share with you guys (and girls), exactly what I have been doing since I quit Chase.

Wake-up:

Starbucks helps me out a lot with this…
I drink a venti coffee (no cream or sugar or anything) and begin checking my emails and recent comments etc.

Converse with Nate and Matt about what the objectives are for the day and hold a “round-table” discussion about what new discoveries and strategies we’ve thought of.

Set out accomplishing the objectives

Lunch:

Cook lunch and debrief w/ Matt and Nate about what we have accomplished/learned and what we are going to focus on for the rest of the day.

Pool Break:

We go to the pool almost everyday and talk about business, blogging, objectives etc.

Dinner:

I usually fix myself dinner too (or Matt fixes it), that way I can eat healthy and also to save money. When I was budgeting before I quit my job I discovered I was spending a huge amount of my income on food. Preparing my own would slash the number in half or more!

Have a Meeting with Nate and Matt about what we’ve accomplished today and what we are going to finish up the night doing. We usually eat around 9ish and then stay up until like 2-4 am. We keep a ridiculous schedule I know but we are willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish our goals!

I can’t say enough about the benefits of working with people who have the same goals as you. Matt, Nate, and I have known each other for many years and have just recently combined our powers!

Our talents are sufficiently diversified as well. We acknowledge the fact that each of us needs to bring something slightly different to the table. Each member of the team adds more value.

Open communication is also one of the most important elements to making a team work. The fact that we have known each other for so long helps a lot in this department!

What do you guys (and girls) do during the day? How are you working towards your goals? What could you be doing better at? What are you awesome at?

Let me know!

When I first started conceptualizing my blog, I thought that I would base it primarily off of my personal thoughts and philosophies about business and finance, which I’ve done. I failed however, to focus at all about a motto I have tried to live by for quite a while now.

The phrase “Pain before pleasure,” symbolizes the relationship between working through difficult times for a big reward. For instance, college. College is now considered a necessity for those that would like to climb the corporate ladder or get a “good” job. Which for the most part is true.

On the other hand, there is the choice of not attending a university. While this may allow a person to work starting right now, it may limit them to a lower corporate ceiling than a college educated person.

I am by no means an advocate for attending a university without reserve. I am trying to explain why taking some pain now, e.g. going to school, is worth the added pleasure of achieving higher position in a company than the non-educated coworker. When applying for jobs, having a degree puts you ahead in the selection process above other applicants.

I believe this to be true in almost every instance relating to life. The concept of pain before pleasure that is. It has a lot to do with being disciplined. Disciplined enough to save now and spend later, take the pain now for more pleasure later.

How Can You Start Taking Pain Before Pleasure?

Take a look at what you do on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis. What do you do that gives you instant gratification but could be done differently that would yield a better result. Should you go to work a little earlier so that you get that promotion and have to work less in the future, etc.

How about non professional things in your life?

I hate living or working in a cluttered environment. I constantly clean and organize everything. Too many times I have looked for a receipt and not been able to find it simply because I didn’t put it where I should have. This requires me to be proactive and take a little pain and not just throw an item on my desk and forget about it. I must put it where it needs to go immediately.

This can make your life better in general. Living like this is not for the lazy.

Any feedback would be helpful. I am curiou of other’s mantras and things that they you by. Hopefully you guys can improve my life and I can do the same for you. Let me know!

How do things get done at the business you work at? Do you instigate what gets done or do you wait to take orders from others? If you are involved in a start-up, are you the one who takes charge and makes things get done?

If not, you’ve got a problem. DO NOT be afraid to stand out and try to push yourself and others to become innovative and more efficient. Your boss and eventually your peers will thank you.

Who doesn’t want better results for themselves and their coworkers? I know that I like to be around people who challenge and push me to do my job or task better. It is refreshing to be around people who inspire me.

If you are in a start-up, it is especially important to step up to the task of becoming a leader. I believe a leader is someone who sees a job through, all the way to the end. Seth Godin says that leaders are sometimes less concerned with how things get done, as long as they get done.

Often enough, we get caught up in the tasks of figuring out the miniscule details of each individual project and want it to be ‘perfect’ so bad we never finish it. That is a HUGE problem.

So who does this in your company? Is it you? It should be!

The best part about someone stepping up to the plate and taking responsibility for things getting done is that they inspire others to take on the same role. Founders of companies should all be leaders. They should all be making sure the company is moving forward at all times.

Getting Others to Want to Work toward the Common Goal

One of the most important roles that any leader can have is getting others to want to work for the common goal of the company. How do we do this?

First realize that everyone is working at the job that they are in for one reason or another. Find out why. This sounds simple but can be complicated to find out the ‘real’ answer. For instance, at my former job at Chase, there were people who worked there to gain experience in the finance and investing world, there were people who wanted to move up or laterally within the company, and there were people there who only wanted to be bankers and earn the largest commission checks possible.

Use this information to motivate your coworkers and employees to work better. When I say better, I mean more efficiently and smarter.

Some people are motivated by money, others by competition, and still others by fear. It is your responsibility to understand what makes your employees and coworkers tick and harness that information to make them more money and the company more profitable.

Realizing what makes each person tick is only the start, people aren’t willing to change overnight. It takes time and continued effort to get a person to change for the better but over time they will and you can have the satisfaction of making their lives, your life, and your company better of. Not to mention making more money for everyone!

For all of you who have studied psychology, you probably know the concept of positive and negative reinforcement. You must use these concepts to promote positive outcomes from those you want to influence.

Here is a List of Helpful Tips for Better Leadership

That is all I have for now but I just want to take this second to say thank you for all of you who have been commenting on my blog and giving me helpful feedback. Right now I am visiting my parents after my mom has just left surgery; so I apologize about not being as proactive in visiting other blogs and answering e-mails. I will be back on Saturday the 11th and will be returning all of the e-mails at this time. Thanks again.

I have spoken to several people about the topic of quitting your day job and pursuing entrepreneurship full time. The question in the back of everyone’s mind is, “Can I do it?”

I like the old saying. “Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right!” Meaning that if you think you can do anything, you truly can do anything. Our minds and frame of reference play a huge role in what we do in our lives.

People have asked me how I knew it was the right time to quit. I tell them there is no right time and no wrong time to quit your job. What I tell people to do is create a plan.

My backup plan has been, for long time now, to become a financial advisor. I have put myself in a position, according to my work experience and my education level, to be eligible to be a financial advisor. I have 4 years of sales experience including 8 months as a licensed banker (Series 6, 63, Life Insurance) at JP Morgan Chase. I also graduate in December as a Marketing major from the WP Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. My backup plan has basically been realized.

Coincidentally, my business is doing well and my business partner Nate has volunteered to help me discover new ways of making money online. We also have a new venture that we are pursuing full speed ahead.

I really feel like the timing is perfect!

To me, after years of 5 or so years of working for someone else, just being self employed, seems like a gift. The ability to create something and earn income directly because of my own efforts, is definitely right up my alley.

So how can you quit your day job too?

One must realize that there is never a “perfect” time to quit his/her job. There are however, things you can do to help get things moving in the right direction.

I always recommend people have a backup plan just in case everything goes wrong. Make sure that you have the job experience and education level so that if your business failed, you could immediately get a job and still live a comfortable life. This is just for piece of mind more than anything else. There are plenty of stories of guy going to work for themselves and making great money, and they didn’t have anything going for them. So it is possible to be successful without having the right education and job experience. Where there is a will, there is a way!

Here are 5 other tips to help position yourself correctly:

The number one most important thing you need to do in order to quit your day job is take action. Create a plan, and then take action!