Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Every time that I have heard this saying, it seems to be attached to a string of bad events. Lately, however, my life has changed my perception of this phrase.

First, I get a raise at my J.O.B. then I find out that my wife and I are having a baby, then I get a call from our SBA loan officer saying that we qualify for the loan that we need to take our business to the next level.

It has got me thinking how,many times, a chicken and egg scenerio plays out in how and why things happen. Some may say perception creates circumstances, while others say circumstances create perceptions.

I am just kind of polling the community here and wondering what the over all view of this is from you...

Do you feel that our circumstances are created by our perseptions or do you think that our perceptions give birth to our circumstances?

I can really relate to what you`re saying.

Although it may seem that getting a raise at your job is a good thing, maybe it`s just one more distraction the universe is throwing at you to see if you`re really serious about jumping off the cliff and doing your own thing. The same could be said of a loan increase - is that an answer or just a further weight you don`t need right now with a baby on the way? I really am starting to sound like CraigL on these things...

Anyway, only you know the answer to your own question, and it`s not open to a poll or whatever. Have other people done it with a baby on the way? Yep, and most of them with no job to begin with and certainly not a friendly SBA loan guarantee. Heck, I bet many of them were single parents as well and didn`t have a loving, supportive spouse. I know I didn`t. Neither did Oprah.

Your circumstances seem to be great. There is no good or bad with the universe when it comes to your own path - it`s just experiences, and we need them both.

I say do what`s in your heart, not your bank account. Do what you love and find hard to stop doing to eat, sleep, or whatever. That is true entrepreneurial passion - when people see you doing it and can`t tell when you`re working and when you`re playing. If that sounds a lot like your business plan, tell the boss where to put his raise, maybe even tell the SBA guy the same thing (or not), and go for it.

You`ll never know until you do it. You already have one baby on the way - why not make it twins?

Better question: what would make your baby the most proud of you? Working for the man, regardless of the money, or going for it? That second one is one heck of an example for him or her to see early on in their life.

Back to your question, it`s two sides of the same coin. Our thoughts are things, and sometimes they materialize in short order; other times, it takes awhile, which is really good considering a few of the thoughts I had today while stuck in traffic regarding a few other drivers. Had those thoughts come true, I would be in prison right now.

Is this when you start talking about that movie thing, "The Secret"?

I think that when I am thinking positively, I make better decisions that will impact my life/business in positive ways.
When I start to be a party pooper, then I make not-great decisions and drag the whole thing down with me.

So ... I really do try to just stay on the good side of things.

And every once in a while, I whine about not winning anything and Joel comes along to hand me $100 worth of marketplace goodies. Such timing!

Nikole,

Baby up again, huh?

If you`ll remember the Shameless Post event, you should wander over to the Marketplace and hire Brand Counsel, LLC. Of course, $100 might be a meeting at Peet`s Coffee for an half-hour (with you buying), but hey, I`m worth it!! (update: ok, so I learned you went with the Dippy Chick. Please keep reading anyway, since apparently it`s ok for you to say `chick` and not me...)

The movie thing, `The Secret`, really does work, although some schmo wrote me from my web contact form today and said I was sexest and non-PC with my original post. Me, non-PC? Please. As for sexest, I thought `hot Asian chick` was just being specific with the universe. If I had said, `not hot Asian chick`, would that have been ok?

I must have missed the "hot asian chick" post ...

No, I haven`t seen "The Secret" but everyone loves to talk about it so much ... do you really need to?

For $100, I`d expect you to jump behind the counter and make my drink, darnit.

But those little spice packets are working out nicely.

I`m shocked that someone would think you`re un-PC!

And no, if I`m here, it means she`s asleep. And hubby is playing Wii.

Hi Nikole,

Say what you will about `The Secret` - that DVD blew my mind, and I own most every book ever written on motivation and once spent 4 days with Tony Robbins, doing the Fire Walk and everything. His `Personal Power II` CD`s were the first purchase I made for my company.

Some people are just naturally positive, loving, and attractive - like yourself, for instance - while some of us need some help. Shameless compliments previously before this sentence. Maybe we should have Shameless Compliments Sundays! (I wonder what our Abdul `buy-my-electronics` dude is doing right now? Hitting the hookah and posting more crap? Hey Craig, is that moral?)

Anyway, being in Concord, keep your eye out for my target audience as noted above. I`m sure you could swing a dead cat and hit five hundred of them where you live, which I would never condone, being an animal lover and all.

Wii, a sleeping baby, and SuN at 1am on the West Coast, 4am on the East Coast. A wild night indeed for us entrepreneurs? And who said our lives aren`t glamorous?

"First, I get a raise at my J.O.B. then I find out that my wife and I are having a baby, then I get a call from our SBA loan officer saying..."

My father had a good explanation for this phenomena, you see, what happens is that in Heaven there is Saint "Dale Mas" (loosely translated that means "give `em more") so, if somebody finds out that you got a raise and he/she then prays to St. Dale Mas telling him  "St. Dale, Engraver got a raise and he is very happy" St. Dale says "Dale Mas" (give `em more) and so, your wife got pregnant. You then tell everybody about it and somebody prays to St. Dale saying "St. Dale, Engraver`s wife got pregnant, they are so very happy" St. Dale says "Dale mas!" and so, you get a call from the SBA loan officer. This process can repeat itself indefinitely... However, if something happens to go bad for you and somebody tells St. Dale about it then it goes something like "St. Dale, Engraver slipped on the tub and sprain his ankle" St. Dale says "Dale mas!" and next thing you know you loose your best client, as you know there is always that blabber mouth that prays to St. Dale and says "St. Dale, Engraver lost his best client" St. Dale says "Dale mas!" and so, the bank demands payment on all the loans, again the blabber mouth goes to St. Dale and  the downward spiral keeps on going and going and going, just like the energizer bunny...  ;-)