The DiLauro Dossiers

“Man, I wish I made less money.”
How often do you hear that?
Everyone it seems, if they even think of money, is obsessed with making more.
But be honest now.
How much do you need?
How much money do you need for food, shelter, clothing and all those other items of necessity–like iPads, gargantuan TVs and imported cappuccino contraptions?
Have you calculated that amount?
Have you ever prepared a monthly budget, an expense report—an analysis?
If so, what did you come up with?
One thousand per month? Three? Ten?

How about this
Let me ask a different question.
What’s the least you could get by on?
If your burn rate is—say—ten thousand a month.
Could you live on half that? A third? A tenth?

Nothing for Money
How ‘bout nothing?
Could you live on nothing?
No really. I’m serious.
Could you live on zero dollars?
Crazy notion, uh?
Who the hell can survive on zero—and I mean zero—income?

A modern day Thoreau
This guy can.
His name’s Mark Boyle and, since November 2008, he’s been living on nothing.
That’s nothing as in zero, nada, niente.
Mark’s home is a trailer (caravan) he got for free.
He grows (and/or forages for) his own food.
He makes his own soap and his own toothpaste.
A bloody modern-day Thoreau, no?
(If you haven’t done so, click the link; read the post).

It’s all perception
Did you notice the words he uses to describe his lifestyle?
“It’s a fantastic experience.”
“I’ve never been happier.”
How about this one? “Living without money became very normal. It’s actually quite easy.”
If Mark was in the same room as you,
What would you do?
Dissuade him? Point out the error of his ways? Question his sanity?
No matter…
Because the point is this.
It’s all perception.
Know what I mean?
Something you believe to be impossible, actually isn’t.
Mark’s proving it.
What he’s proving is, once you stop perceiving something as arduous, unpleasant, impossible,
It just stops being so…

Which brings up this question
If the notion of less money strikes you as asinine…
How then do you perceive your chances of actually obtaining more?

What do you think? How important is perception? Please leave a comment.

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People ask me all the time.
How do I become an entrepreneur?
How do I start my own business?
How can I transform my art, my hobby, my passion into a successful venture?

People ask me, and they then…
Frown at the reply.

It’s because their expectations aren’t met.
It’s because they’re asking—so they think—a business question.
And they expect—of course—a business answer.

But believe it or not, the secret to success,
Isn’t found in business textbooks.
There is, in business, no textbook definition—no textbook strategy—for success.
How do I know this?
Well, for what it’s worth, I studied management and accounting, and I worked as an accountant and business adviser for more than 20 years.
I know business (that’s why people keep asking me that question in the first place).
And I know when textbook business advice is useful,
And when it’s of no help at all.

That’s why I say success isn’t ensured via a business strategy.
If it were, Yvon Chouinard’s business would have failed—a long time ago.
If it were, Scrivener wouldn’t be a Mac-only app.
I can go on, but,
I’ll get to the point.

You want to make that leap—cross that divide—from employee to entrepreneur?
You want to be a successful business owner?

Then do this:
Stand before a mirror,
Do you see a successful entrepreneur?
Gaze into your eyes, and ask yourself this,
What are the odds of me being successful?
Now ask yourself,
Do I believe I can be successful at business?

Measure mightily the answer.
Because it all starts with belief.
At the end of the day there’s more value in that tired, old expression, “You gotta believe!”
Than there is in a hundred business textbooks.

And, at the end of the day, understand that science is beginning to prove,
What Henry Ford said a hundred years ago,
Whether you believe you will succeed, or believe you will fail.
You’re right.

Ideas? Suggestions? Questions? Please leave a comment.

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Just the other day, my good friend and twitter cohort, Gwen McCauley, recounted an amusing incident involving  a robin and a window.

As she explained it, the stubborn and persistent bird, obviously intent on flying into space that simply did not exist, kept flinging itself into Gwen’s picture window. Probably leaving that poor robin with, or so Gwen surmised, an undoubtedly very sore beak.

A somewhat sad, yet subtly amusing, tale,

But it was Gwen’s insightful analogy that had me ruminating, still days later.

“Imagine,” She suggested, “How we often act just like that bird, repeatedly throwing ourselves at obstacles, with no clear strategy, nor full understanding of the goal.”

Pretty clever that Gwen, uh?

All of which left me, as mentioned, reflecting on goals and strategies; picture windows and obstacles.

And pondering one final thought,

Those metaphorical picture windows—those almost invisible obstacles—I sometimes bump up against? What if I’m the one creating them? What if I create them in order to remember something truly important?

That what lies beyond the obstacle isn’t something I want anyway. All because what lies beyond, just like the image that insistent robin saw in Gwen’s picture window, is nothing more than an illusion.

How about you? When thinking about strategies and goals, are you bumping into any picture windows?

Ideas? Suggestions? Questions? Please leave a comment.

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  • Tags [Perception]
  • Categories [About the NPV of Life]