What if humans had 9 lives?

Did you ever fantasize about what you would do if you could start your life over again?  Well, why should our little furry friends be the only ones to get 9 lives?  I have been thinking about all the dreams I deferred in order to become a law professor.  It may be too late to become an Olympic athlete, butfor a Renaissance girl,  it’s never too late to add some interesting new skills or activities to the mix. And thinking about what you would do with 9 lives is one sure-fire way to connect with lost passions!

So here are the top nine, in no order of importance…

Get inspired! CNN hero Alfa Demmelash helps people achieve the American Dream

Alfa Demmelash grew up on less than a dollar a day against the backdrop of torture and murder in Ethiopia. Today, she is living the American dream and helping others do the same.

Alfa started a nonprofit, Rising Tide Capital, where small business owners, including women, minorities and other underserved populations, learn the skills they need to be successful.

Watch this amazing video of small business owners describing how Alfa has helped them grow their businesses.

In the next video, Alfa tells her own story of escaping Ethiopia to pursue the American Dream.

Alfa is a shining example of passion in action. I hope you enjoyed her story as much as I did. Special thanks to my sister-in-law, Lynn Morin,for sharing this amazing story with me.

How to Make Your Vision Sing

Congratulations!  You are one week closer to having the life of your dreams.

This week, we will focus on the “how” part of the equation…how to take your vision of an ideal business to reality.

The first step…and one you can’t afford to miss…is to become very clear about where you are going.  So today we are going to go back to the vision statement you drafted on Day 3, update it with any new information you have discovered, and then compress it into two key statements:

• Your unique selling proposition and

• Your thirty second elevator speech

The Advantages of Owning a Business

Before you decide what form you want your business to take, we’re going to spend a little time reviewing the basics of wealth building and financial freedom.  Maybe this will come as old news to some of you, but for me it was a real eye opener.

Do you know the biggest difference between people who are financially successful and those who are not?  I’ll give you a hint, it is not talent, education, or family background.

The biggest difference between the rich and the poor is how they earn income, and what they do with the money they make.  Generally, the rich recognize the importance of creating multiple streams of income.  They invest income from one enterprise into a new asset that will use the powers of leverage and duplication to create more income. We’ll talk more about what all this means later.

By contrast, the poor generally get their income by working for someone else.  They earn an hourly wage or salary, which they use to buy things that they need.  Most (if not all) of the income they earn is converted into expenses.

The middle class in this country are caught in a powerful squeeze.  They may earn a good income, either as a corporate employee or in professional self-employment…as doctors, lawyers and the like.  But most of the income that they receive goes out the door to liabilities: a home mortgage, car payments, tuition for private schools, credit card bills for trips and luxury goods.

What does all of this mean for your new business vision?  It means that you should aim to own an asset-building business, rather than being self-employed.

Tap into Your Unique Strengths

So now we know what you want to do..why you want to do it…and what goals you want to achieve.  Today we will focus on how to tap into your unique strengths to make your new enterprise successful.

If you’ve ever been to a career counselor…or even your high school guidance counselor…this is probably where they started.  Maybe you’ve taken the Meyer-Briggs or some other kind of personality test, and been given a list of careers that might be suitable for you.

Don’t worry, that is NOT what we are going to do here.  Those tests can be helpful if used appropriately…but more often than not they are used to put people in boxes and hold them back from achieving their dream.

Vision = Passion + Purpose

If you’ve stayed with me so far, you are a lot closer to creating the life of your dreams.  You now know what success means to you.  You know what your ideal day would look and feel like.  And you have a list of things you are passionate about doing.

Now it is time to tie all of those together into a dream business plan.  But first, there is one more ingredient.  This may be the most important piece of all…what is your purpose?

The Key to Unleashing Your Passions

Do you wake up every day eager to get to work? Do you love what you are doing so much that you often lose track of time? If not, it is time to put some passion in your life.

What exactly is passion? It is the feeling that you are doing exactly what you are meant to be doing…what you love doing and would gladly do for free. It is being so immersed in what you are doing that you lose all sense of time. Do you remember what that feels like?

Check out this amazing juggling finale by Chris Bliss, turning juggling into a dance to a trio of Beatles tunes. This is truly passion in action!

Creating Your Dream Business

Are you ready to get started on the Road from Rags to Riches?  Starting here, starting now, starting from where you are, you can create your dream business.

If you are reading this blog, chances are you are not entirely happy with where you are in your life. Maybe you’re not making enough money…maybe you don’t have enough time to do the things you care about…maybe you don’t see any chance of creating a nest egg for retirement or a trip around the world.

No matter where you are, you can start by taking just one small action today that will lead you down the path from the life you have now to the life you have always dreamed of.  For the next 30 days, I will be guiding you through a process of self discovery and learning about wealth creation from some of the greatest experts in the world.  Just give me 30 minutes a day, and by the end of the month, you will have a roadmap to create your personal ideal business.  So let’s get started!