I was at a business meeting in Whistler B.C. a couple of winters ago. While I was there, one of my goals was to learn to snowboard. Well picture this, sports fans: a graybeard (me) standing at the “snowboard lessons” sign waiting for an instructor. Along comes a young lady with a big smile; she introduces herself and asks me if I skateboard.

Uh, no, I don’t.

“That’s okay, but it would be a help if you did” she says. I gulp and think: What have I gotten myself into? The lesson starts off pretty well. Once I know how to slide along on one foot and push with the other she directs me to the bunny hill. I’m feeling pretty confident, to tell the truth. What’s this? I think. I want a mountain! At the top of the bunny hill she explains the mechanics of snow boarding and without further ado; I launch myself from the top.

I careen out of control for about fifty feet or so (I may not know how to steer, but I’m having the time of my life!) before a seven year old tyke steps dead in front of me. The “how to stop” part of my recent lesson goes out the window; I hit the deck instead. That spares the wee child, but not my butt, which grinds a decent-sized furrow in the snow. That’s when I really understand that to get it right, I need to shelve my dignity for a while. I keep my ego going, though. I’ve always used it as fuel to keep going, because even if I look silly, I’d rather not give up. That’s the kind of person I am, and today, it sustains me through multiple wipeouts.  Never give up. Never.

It takes some time, and a couple of hard falls, but eventually, I graduate to the mountain.

The view from the top is spectacular – and the only way to the bottom is down is on a slippery piece of lumber everyone is calls a “snowboard” – an alien appendage that’s strapped to both feet. There’s no fear. I just feel a bit . . . . weird. Confident, but weird.

I tighten the bindings, point the snowboard down, holler “Fore!” and away I go! Right away, I notice there’s more room for error than on the bunny hill. The snow is a lot fluffier, which should cushion my falls. Things are going great!

I swoosh along, go around a corner and all of the sudden, the run narrows up, big time. So much for having room for error! There’s a tall timber on my left and a rough rock wall on my right. Suddenly, the mechanics of turning become really, really important to remember. I slide through the narrow spot and in front of me the view is great – but the snow’s running out. I’m hitting the end of the slope.

When I drop over the edge, my first thought is that the nice young lady who taught me might have a sadistic streak in her.

It was steep, steep, steep! In order to get down I have to do something that feels like it violates what I thought were the laws of physics: lean ahead to control my rate of decent. Trust me when I say that it takes a lot of discipline to lean forward when you’re sliding down a mountain.

When I hit the bottom (and live!), my instructor says that normally she’d take beginners down a gentler slope the first time down the mountain, but since I was quick learner and doing so well, she decided that I needed more of a challenge. Well, that gives me a shot of emotional fuel (remember my ego?) and I head back to the top, again and again.

I finally had to quit when the muscles in my legs were burning so bad, I could hardly stand. That evening when I was in the hot tub, feeling sore, but mighty fine about what I’d accomplished, I realized that if you want to do something bad enough, you need more than raw determination. You must believe that failure isn’t in your personal dictionary. You may fall again and again. The snow and the cold are bitter, but success is so very, very sweet.

P.S. I had taken my camera along to take some pictures for posterity, but even though it was in the front pocket of my ski pants I killed it on one of my more spectacular wipeouts. It turned out to be the only casualty.

You may read this a day or two late, but it really doesn’t matter as it’s about remembering, and you can stop and remember any day at any time. Today is an occasion you’ve got to bring to mind across the year, because it’s November 11th: Remembrance Day. I’ve always stopped where I was and bowed my head on this day to think about what it all meant.

Before 9/11, Remembrance Day stood for freedom and to me, it still does. On the 11th month, on the 11 day at the 11th hour the machines of war fell silent. In the silence of this anniversary, all the people who gave their lives so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we have today loom large in memory. They saved the freedom to say what we want as long as we harm no one, the freedom to move around and go where we want, the freedom to do what we want, when we want and how we want, as long as we harm no other soul. I’m an easygoing guy with a sense of humor, but this is a serious time; it’s sobering to think of what it would be like if we didn’t have those freedoms.

Over the last few years I’ve made a point to ask the younger generation what Remembrance Day means to them. Most often, they have to stop and think about it for a bit. It makes me realize that as time goes by, the sacrifices that were made for us are being forgotten. It makes me just a bit sad. The veterans are almost all gone. You see them limping or rolling along in wheelchairs, although some still stand tall, to the spots where they remember fallen comrades.

Follow them today, or if you read this later, follow them with your thoughts. Fire up Wikipedia. Research the great wars of the past, and read about soldiers marching and riding across modern wastelands, half a world away. In these times and places, critical days, minutes and even seconds burn lasting brands into history. It will only take you a bit of time to remember with them when the bell tolls today, at the 11th hour.

Halloween is history for another year. (Does anybody else remember when it was spelled Hallowe’en?) I always like to take time in the morning to stroll around and peak outside – having time to do that is one of the perks of having a home-based business. When I got up this morning and went downstairs I saw a heavy frost on the pumpkin we left on the front porch to “scare” trick or treaters. I went to the washroom to wash my face, looked in the mirror and noticed that the frost was showing a bit more in the old chin whiskers, too.

So, me being the king of curious, I sat down at my ‘puter and did the Google thing. What makes hair go gray?  Type that in for yourself and you’ll see the results: all 472,000 of them.  The first search page went up in a blink of the eye (and made me happy I bought a nice, speedy Mac), and I flipped through the listings fast. By the third organic listing I found what I was looking for. There was good news . . . and not so good news.

In a perfect world, hair turns gray over a period of time that’s solely determined by your genes. Every hair has specialized pigmentation cells. They eventually stop renewing themselves and your hair loses color. It’s only natural.

In the not so perfect world I inhabit on a day to day basis, there are many more causes, including stress, poor eating habits, bad health, smoking and excessive drinking – and that’s just for starters. These factors speed the process up considerably. Some people have to drive mega-miles through killer traffic lineups just to get to the office. They experience major pressure at work and after they punch out, have endure the long drive home again. Those three things are enough to drive a person smoke, drink, or both.

I’m sure glad I left all that behind. It’s slowed down the graying process. Now that I look outside again I can see that it’s warmed up some and the frost is gone, so no snow for today. It’s time for a “rip on me motor sickle.”

That’s why I love making money from home. It makes life seem a little less gray than it could be. What would a home-based business do for you?

Today I want to share something that shows that an opportunity - like a substantial income opportunity - is a life-transforming experience.

I was taking a drive today to experience in fall’s colors, smells and sounds when it struck me how fortunate I am to be able to see everything around me. See the black and white photo of me on my web page? I don’t have glasses on my face. It wasn’t always this way.

Starting at the age of five I had to wear thick glasses. Up until I was twenty my eyes got worse every year. The wonders of technology - and money in the bank - gave me an opportunity to get my eyes surgically repaired. So I stepped up to the plate and did it. I was a bit worried about the procedure of course, but my eye surgeon assured me that everything was going to be fine.

That black and white photo is my first morning without spectacles. What a morning it was!

I opened my eyes and looked at the clock without having to put on a pair of thick, bulky glasses. The first thing I did that day was buy a good pair of sunglasses: a fashion accessory I never got to have before. What I was aware of the most was that I no longer had to fear of losing or breaking my glasses. I didn’t have to be afraid I wouldn’t be able to find my way home. (That’s how bad my eyes were.)

I guess what this post is about is being grateful that I can see. I can see my grandchildren and see how they change as they grow. I can see my lovely wife everyday, the beautiful colors of fall and I can look into my monitor, type this down and share it with you. Every day, I’m thankful for stepping up and claiming the life I wanted to live. That’s just what I want to offer people with this business. Contact me and maybe we can help you take that step, and claim the best days of your life.

Remember the tree in my backyard? I opened my eyes this morning from a good night’s sleep and the first thing I saw was that tree. The fall colors are coming on strong, the sun is shining and it looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day.

Life is good. What am I going to do today? I say to myself, “Self, since it’s such a gorgeous day why don’t you get up, make coffee and breakfast and then dig out the Harley (ah, the rumble of the 103” stroker motor is music to my ears) and go for a ride? You don’t have many days left before winter is here.”

Naturally, I think that’s a great idea.

I’ve ridden motorcycles ever since I was old enough to get a license. In fact, I had a motorcycle before I had a car. Riding has always been passion of mine. I like the wind in my face and the smell of freshly mowed hay or newly worked soil. I don’t mind the odd bug in my mouth, because riding a motorcycle is like life: You have to take the good with the bad. The secret is to maximize the good things by being brave and going for the ride. Bugs and the odd pig farm or livestock yard can be annoying or smelly but it can be fun, too. When you go by one it’s an excuse to roll on the throttle and listen to the pipes bark for a bit.

I called up my youngest brother today and he’s into going for a ride. He said that he’ll phone a couple more friends to see if they’re up for it, too. I like to share my good times. Ever since I started up my business to make money at home, I get to do more of what I want, when I want. I got brave - I went for the ride.

Like I said, life is good. How’s your life?

When I was a kid, TV was something we watched at Granny’s house when we went into town. If you’ll remember from last time, I lived in the country without a lot of amenities, so when we didn’t travel down to visit and watch I read. I was an avid reader – still am in fact – for probably no other reason than there were no other distractions.

I was about thirteen when Dad came home with a transistor TV. It was a seven inch (17.78 centimeter) by seven inch black and white model. We powered it with electricity from a twelve volt car battery. TV was never the center of my life, so maybe that made me something of a dreamer. If so, great!

When I was younger I chose truck driving as my career. It always gave me a good living, I got to see the country I live in and get paid for it. I learned to look at each day as a new adventure. It usually was (maybe I’ll talk about that in a future post). Now I’m surrounded by family and home. That’s another good thing – It gives my life balance.

I sure do miss the country, where you don’t have to license your cat and if you’ve got a dog, it can run free. I’ve got a few birds around the house now in a tree out back, but I can imagine a whole forest full of them out there, just beyond. I’m looking forward to seeing them because when I retire, I’m going back.

If there’s one thing I’ve taken from my life that I think other people should know about it’s that I get a lot of strength out of my past, and everything I’ve done, but those things don’t own me. I chose what to take forward when I traded my truck’s keys for an opportunity to make money from home. I chose the good things I picked up, like the ability to concentrate that I got from a mostly TV-free environment as well as an appreciation for nature and new, challenging situations. I think taking charge of your life doesn’t mean leaving everything you had behind. It means being able to choose and keep the good things about yourself and use them as a source of inner strength.

Greetings to the world! I ‘m doing some thing new here and I’m not sure how to begin. I guess I want to tell you how I got to be here. Let’s face it: I could talk about making money from home for ages, but what I really want to do is connect and tell you what kind of person I am so you’ll know where I’m coming from. This is new, so bear with me!

Let me tell you something to start: I like humor. It is something that’s has pulled me through even in some of my life’s darkest moments. Even if my own sense of humor wasn’t up for poking holes in my problems, someone else would make me laugh. I’ve found that even the most serious things have a funny side. Of course there are serious times, but my point is that if you can find some way to  smile you’ve already taken the first step in the right direction. That’s my opinion, anyway.

One thing people get a crack out of nowadays is when I tell them about how I grew up. I am the oldest of a family of seven (three brothers and three sisters) – large by today’s standards. I was raised on a farm in northern Alberta, Canada without the luxuries of plumbing or electricity. Our version of running water was grabbing two pails, running to the dugout and packing it to the house. We were poor as far as money went, but we ate like kings. From our meat to our vegetable garden, all of our food was homegrown. Folks ask, “How could you live like that?” Fact is, it’s easy, as long as you don’t know anything different!

When I got married, we settled on two kids – we decided seven was a bit of a stretch. Three grandkids, a calico cat and the birds in our yard are busy enough, eh? I still think of the country all the time. I like living at my own pace and freedom. That’s what the country means to me now, and that’s what working from home does, too.

Over on the introduction to this site I discuss the pros and cons of various businesses. Self-employment offers the ultimate rewards: income, freedom and flexibility, provided you start with the right venture. Nowadays there are more opportunities than ever, including the old standby: the brick and mortar store. You see them every day, so if you’re considering self-employment you must have asked yourself: “Are they worth it?”

Brick and mortar will never die, but it’s showing its age. Now that the Internet’s here, traditional stores are no longer at the heart of business. Next to other opportunities, brick and mortar has five big disadvantages:

Complexity: Brick and mortar stores are the among the most complicated business opportunities out there. You need to do a staggering amount of work before you even open the doors. You need to research the area, get shelving, secure a lease and rope it all into a working business model. Franchises try to make it easy for you but they don’t always succeed. Every community is different; a franchise’s “one size fits all” approach wont necessarily work.

Hours: With brick and mortar, you rely on people to wander in. They set your hours, not you.  If you close the door on a sunny day you’ll lose hundreds or even thousands of dollars in lost revenue. You’ll spend your days manning the counter and fretting over receipts. That doesn’t feel like freedom, does it?

Investment: Brick and mortar businesses drain time and money. Physical space and physical products don’t come cheap.  Even after laying out a business plan, you’ll be assailed by hidden costs and emergencies. Many businesses fail in the first few years because their owners just run out of savings.

Inventory and Stock: You need stock and you need to track it. In a brick and mortar business you can’t rely on point of sale data because theft and accidents make it less than accurate. At the end of the day it’ll be your job to count every item. Worse yet, you might even have to pay taxes on unsold stock

Rent: Last on this incomplete list (did I mention customer liability, shoplifting and staff costs?) is rent. Retail space doesn’t come cheap. You might think to save money by choosing an out of the way location, but your business will suffer when fewer people come by.

Fortunately, there are ways to run a business without falling into the brick and mortar trap. The Internet and the evolving market have spawned other options. Some of these are true turnkey businesses that can help you succeed now, and not after a few years of draining your savings. Contact me for more information.

To succeed, you need goals. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? The truth is that you need to set goals based on more than dollars and cents. Think about your lifestyle and how you’ll use a new income stream to change it. Without concrete dreams about how you’ll live, wealth is just a number with a dollar sign — and who really gets inspired by numbers?

I like to divide goals into three categories: Needs, Wants and Transformations. When you learn to clearly identify your goals in each of these categories it supercharges your resolve. You’re ready to take the first step to a substantial income because you know what it’s for. After that, working is easy; you’ve acquired clear standards for personal success. Let’s explore these categories.

Needs

Put a fancy car (in my case, a motorcycle) and tropical vacations on the backburner for now (Don’t worry, we’ll get back to them) and think about what you really need. Do you need to get out of debt? Pay for your kids’ educations? Cover medical bills? Make a list and write these needs down. Don’t forget to include psychological needs. Are you suffocating under a bad boss? Escaping him is a need, too.

Wants

Your next list consists of everything you want. (Remember how I said we’d get back to fancy cars and tropical vacations? Here we go . . .) Your wants include everything you’ve always wanted to do, but lacked the money to try. For this list, go back to the past and think about your idle dreams. Once you resolve to succeed, a new income stream puts these fantasies in your grasp.

Transformations

I think Transformations is the most important category of all. Not only will it help you change your life, but it provides the most powerful motivations of all. This is where you indulge new dreams and go beyond the things you’ve always wanted. These aspirations reach to the core of your lifestyle and well being. Working your own hours is a transformation. Maybe you’ll decide to become an expert golfer or go back to school. Let your imagination run wild — it’ll reward you with motivation.

Once you’ve set these goals, attaining them is simple if you have a plan. I have some ideas to share in that department. Contact me – we’ll get started!

Do I have what it takes to be a home-based entrepreneur? If you’ve ever considered starting a home-based business you’ve probably asked yourself this question more than once. Successful home-based entrepreneurs have five key qualities. Do you see yourself in them? Let’s look at five key qualities below. They are:

An Independent Streak: Do you have a passion for independent projects? Some people only use their talents when someone else is breathing down their neck, forcing them to work. Home-based entrepreneurs are different. They pursue their own interests without asking anyone for permission. If you have a hobby or passion of your own, then you probably have this quality.

Confidence: If you don’t believe you can succeed, you can’t – it’s that simple! I’m not talking about the ability to project a confident personality (we’ve all met people who could do this, but were really insecure, beneath the surface), but the kind of optimism that prompts you to dream of success. Truly confident people visualize how their actions will lead to success. Their dreams aren’t just fantasies – they’re plans for revolutionary wealth and happiness.

Organizational Skills: Organizational skills and confidence go hand in hand. This doesn’t mean you need a tidy office or accounting talents. Organization is nothing more than the discipline to decide on a system and follow it. Poor organizational skills are the most common barriers to success, but this only happens when you don’t commit to a plan of action. Fortunately, a home-based entrepreneur in the internet age doesn’t need to invent a system on his own. He can find them by asking the right people.

Open to Opportunities: You need the maturity to accept opportunities when they appear! This seems so obvious (who’d ever turn down a substantial income opportunity?), but not everyone has the personality to make the leap. The great thing is that I’m sure you have this trait, because you’re reading this article!

Self-Motivation: Self-motivation is the ability to commit to your goals. You may have the independence to start your own business and the ability to visualize success, but you need to want it. Don’t be ashamed of ambition! As an entrepreneur, ambition is fuel for your fire.

Do you have these five qualities? Chances are you have at least one of them – and that’s all you need, to start. Write me about your entrepreneurial qualities and we’ll talk about a system that helps you develop them into a successful work at home career.