ceoofself

[ceoofself]

Should You Really Be An Entrepreneur?

When you think about the words “competition” or “success,” what does that really mean to you? If you ask around, it doesn’t take long to figure out that these words ring differently in the ears of those who take time to ponder them. We are living in a culture of racing to the top, keeping up with the Joneses, and the overall rat race! There is no doubt that we should all look at ourselves and strive to be the best version of self possible. There is a healthy balance however, that is less talked about and needs some attention. That is my goal and what I am seeking to analyze and explain. 

Our whole life is a process of development. Since we were small children and growing up, it has been a journey of development. Every human being is on a different stage of that process at any given time in their lives. It all starts with the basics, then moves into learning more complex skill sets. Of course some are more naturally gifted with certain traits than others. This affects the amount of effort one might need to exert in order to achieve their next goal in life. 

When we become adults we are expected by society to contribute in a meaningful way and become productive members of the system. We have different careers and specific jobs for different skill levels. As adults we begin to see the hierarchy very clearly and recognize where we fall within that paradigm.

We as individuals make personal decisions that affect where we will fall on that hierarchy. This depends on so many other factors that must not be ignored such as education, parenting, financial status, skill development, mental health, etc. The list goes on! It also has an element of chance, Sometimes we are at the right time and right place for an opportunity to present itself. This notion is really a science due to the complexity. It is not always straightforward. Yes, if you work hard and make the best decisions in front of you, you increase your chances of success. If you make poor decisions, then you increase your chances of failure. There is no doubt about that. However, nothing in this life is certain. Neither is success.

Now that a foundation has been laid out, let us pivot. We live in a society where being an entrepreneur or being the boss is the glamorous life that we all need to aim for. We are sold on the idea that we need to not just work hard, but work HARDER! We are told that we need to not just want our needs met but we need to want MORE! So many of these personalities also say things along the lines of you are a loser if you don’t strive for those things in life. I find that to be an extremely narcissistic and shallow way of viewing it. 

I will now submit the idea that there is a spectrum we should be aware of. On the very left we will see those who perhaps do not have the highest level of resources, skills, or motivation. Maybe it is a combination of all. As you move to the right, you see an increase in available resources, skills, and motivation. Also an increase in education, income, and overall financial success. Also within that spectrum there is a certain level of progressive prestige associated with certain places as you move along to the right. That is what is obvious to me. I am an analyst attempting to make sense of this world and explain it to everyday people that care to listen. I call it the way I see it. 

Where on the spectrum are you? We all fall somewhere on it. We may not consciously think about it, but it is there. So many are being motivated to get as far to the right on that spectrum as possible without taking into consideration other factors. I agree that if the option to improve your life is available, then take it. For most of us living in the west, that option exists. Even if it is just a little bit of improvement available. We can open up a business, obtain a well paying position, get a promotion, or get two jobs. Some of these ways of improving will be more sacrificial to one than it would be to another. As we have stated before, we all start in a different place with different resources, environments, and skills. 

When we take our place in society. We are now somewhere on that spectrum. If you are the person who is living in poverty, go and follow some advice that will increase your chances to lift you out of it. If you are in the middle and just wish to increase your financial position, then go get it. If you are a trillionaire running businesses blindfolded, then more power to you. We should all respect each other and realize  where we stand. This life we live and our financial system is like a game of monopoly. Whether you want to play or not, you are a piece on the game board. Some know all the ins and outs while others are oblivious to the fact that it is a game. However, it is more than just a game. There are real life consequences. It is better to understand what the rules are though than to not. 

The most important thing to consider is overall well being. For the person struggling financially, then it is absolutely essential to find ways to improve their living situation by any honest means. For those who perhaps are working class trying to make their way into the middle class that is fine as long as it is done in a healthy way. The reality is, not everyone will be rich. You don’t need to be rich to be happy. That is the lie being sold to us today. We are told to just keep pressing and keep trying and one day it will happen. That is not always the case. 

Being an entrepreneur in our society is something to be respected as other players in our society such as teachers, doctors, construction workers, or even barbers. The truth is, that not every entrepreneur is going to be successful. It is by nature a risky career path. Most businesses fail rather than succeed. The statistics are out there. You can google them for yourself. Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. I respect what they do by providing value and available resources where the market has a need. The entrepreneur way of life is not for everyone. Just like other careers do not fit the lifestyle of certain personality types. Not everyone could nor should be one. I say this to confront that false notion that is being pressed onto our young men and women today. Don’t misunderstand what I am saying. It is okay to motivate others to become a business owner, but not everyone is suited for it. When it is overemphasized it does society a disservice. It steers so many away from what their true calling is. It causes young people to have false expectations of self. I believe it is honorable to discuss the good, bad, and ugly surrounding the way of life of an entrepreneur. 

Sure if you put in an 18 hour day and work on your business, then maybe you will increase your chances of being a prosperous business. However, does that make you happy? If the answer is yes, then all power to you. If that is your version of a fulfilling life, then great! However, not everyone has the dream of putting that many hours into merely achieving astronomic financial success. Some people value their time more than their money. Some people would rather use their time building their career while serving someone else's business. So long as their contributions are recognized, they are satisfied. Not everyone wants the weight of business ownership on their shoulders. There are powerful ways to serve in supporting roles.  

I have heard these famous motivators online spew out the disgust in the idea of working for someone else. These large business owners seem to speak down on the very employees that work for them. They essentially call them lazy and unmotivated because they do not have a business of their own. They point their bony fingers and say things like, “you will never be enough until you achieve what I have.”  

There are plenty of us out here who are more than capable of starting or running a business. However, there is a respect for that level of challenge and we choose a different path to follow. In speaking to honest entrepreneurs, they talk about the long hours, and anxiety that go into their work. They speak about the beginning when their efforts are not always fully monetized. Some also admit to the fears surrounding the possibility of failure within the business world. These are all factors to consider when deciding if running a business is the right thing to do. This is the dark part of entrepreneurship that is not revealed enough by the gurus online. 

The idea of serving others is what we should be motivated by. That can mean running a business to serve a cause. Sometimes that means being gainfully employed for someone else. Or maybe that also means volunteering with a non-profit. Is there something wrong with joining a cause and wishing to contribute skills towards its success? That is exactly what being employed is meant to be. Not everyone needs to run a multimillion dollar company. Imagine if everyone did. That would be terrible and quite frankly is not practical. Many people are more than happy making a six figure income working for someone else while going back home to shut it all off. Some would rather make 50k annually as an entrepreneur than to make 100k annually as an employee. Whatever floats your boat. If you want to take that risk by earning less now, so that you can earn more later, do you! Some of us just want to run this race slowly and steady. Does that make us less of a productive member of society? I would argue not. 

We all need to reflect on what kind of life we want to build. If that means creating and running a business and that makes you happy, go for it! If that means being a school teacher, awesome! Maybe it means working as an executive for a company, that’s a great career also! I am all for self help and development, but this obsession with constantly competing with others is becoming toxic. Let us all choose where we want to be on the spectrum. Competition is a blessing because we can always strive to improve. On the other hand that very blessing can certainly go too far and become a curse. When we can balance our health, finances, relationships, and peace of mind I find that to be real success. You and I both have what it takes to build our best life. Let us do it together!

[ceoofself]

Are You Self Reflecting?

If we are not achieving our goals, we need to have that tough conversation with ourselves. In order to break away from habits and mindsets this is necessary. If not, then one will continue to live in denial without being open to the possibility to change one's behaviors or habits.

[ceoofself]

Oftentimes we have numerous mentors, with each one having a unique quality or niche that could add a lot of value to us. Especially during the times of an abundance of content being generated online by these mentors. I am included now as well. We literally have at our fingertips access to information that once only a select few were privileged to access.

[ceoofself]

Be a CEO of Self!

As a CEO of self you have a set of cards in your hand. Think of playing a card game. You do not get to decide which cards are dealt to you once they are shuffled. The same is true about life. We do not get any say when it comes to being born into this world. Some are born into unfavorable circumstances. Some develop unfavorable circumstances as life goes on. We do not all start on the same playing field and not everyone ends on the same playing field. We have different traits and different circumstances to overcome.

[ceoofself]

Being an entrepreneur in our society is something to be respected as other players in our society such as teachers, doctors, construction workers, or even barbers. The truth is, that not every entrepreneur is going to be successful. It is by nature a risky career path.

[ceoofself]

Are You A CEO of Self?

What is this concept of CEO of self? Do you have the responsibility of oversight for anyone or anything in your life? Perhaps you are in a formal leadership role within your business or organization. Or maybe you have children to raise. None of these reasons alone inherently make one a good leader. However, even if we do not play the role of leader or parent over employees or children, we can all agree on one thing. That one thing is that we all have a life to live and we are ultimately responsible for it.

We may have those who care for us and support us throughout our journey, but we are the ones who need to look in the mirror every single day to face ourselves individually. We are all owners of our own lives. We are the Chief Executives (so to speak) that must be accountable for the direction and path we are on. This is not to say that the journey is easy, it certainly is not. This is also not to say that every person is on an equal playing field. We all have challenges to face and some have it worse than others, there’s no doubt about it. 

Let us explore this concept of CEO of self and discuss ways in which we can manage our personal lives to the fullest. Not only is it important for one to be a leader of self. Or as I call it, “CEO of Self.” There is also an importance to being a good follower. At least to some degree. Allow me to elaborate on that notion just a bit. Think of a newborn baby that enters the world. They start this world off with vulnerability and weakness. They are in the most need for leadership from their parents. As that baby grows it matures and needs less “holding of the hand” or to be “spoon fed.” Now this is generally speaking, Of course there are exceptions and factors that need to be considered surrounding negative nurture and nature situations that so many are exposed to nowadays more than ever before. However the point still stands true. That baby becomes a child then one day an adult. All the way up unto adulthood it has no choice but to follow the lead of their caretakers. This is how it was meant to be. That natural need “to follow” that a child has, slowly develops one into an individual who is capable of being a leader themselves. In fact I would argue that it is vital that any well abled adult develops into a leader of self. That adult may not have any responsibilities beyond themselves, but at the most basic level there are very important management skills that are needed in order to not only survive but also thrive. I think it is safe to say that every good parent wants that for their child. We do not go around wording it this way, but if you think about it, ultimately every good parent wants their child to be a “good manager” of themselves. That should be the goal.

So many adults today are struggling from their childhood traumas and failure or lack of leadership within the homes they were raised in. This has made it a growing issue among society more so than ever before. With that being said, I, the CEO of Self bring words of hope today for you. It is never too late to acquire the leadership skills needed in order to manage your own life. Regardless of how dysfunctional things were for you growing up, there is always somewhere to start. Today is a new day. Together we can improve our mind sets, attitudes, behaviors, habits, relationships, education, health, and so much more. No human being is perfect. There is always someone out there who will be smarter, stronger, richer, funnier, and more handsome. I am not talking about competing with others. I personally think that could lead down a toxic path. I am talking about competing with yourself. Setting new standards and goals. Breaking the old ways of doing things and developing those new improved ways. That is what it means to be a CEO of Self. You can adopt this mindset too.

There is one more idea that I want to touch on before I move past this idea of being a good follower. I personally believe in God. I am a believer in Christ and him dying for my sins. Which I am grateful for. I am not a religious person though. I used to be (without really knowing it), but I could save that explanation for another time. I am the CEO of Self but God is my owner and stakeholder.

As a believer in God, it is not my behavior that saves me or earns my right to be saved for all eternity (contrary to popular belief among religious types). I believe in what Christ did and could never trust myself to live up to that standard of perfection. However, being a follower in Christ means that I am inspired to improve my mindset and behavior. Notice how I said “inspired” and not “forced or obligated.” I often choose to go with what I want to do instead, but this inspiration is what keeps me grounded overall. A true leader provokes inspiration not fear.

When speaking on the notion of being a good follower, I believe what makes me a good follower is not so much what I do or do not do. What makes me a good follower is aligning my beliefs with Christ’s beliefs and simply agreeing with him. As a human being in a fallen world with a fallen mindset, I can easily choose to live by the flesh instead of living by the spirit of God. When you live by the flesh, you give in to temptation, when you live by the spirit you live out your purpose. Be not mistaken, it is not by living by the flesh or living by the spirit that determines salvation. Salvation comes by what Christ has done on the cross and making a decision as a person to believe that. However, as far as quality of life, living by the spirit will produce better outcomes. Living by the flesh is more likely to increase hardships.

For those who do not believe what I believe about Christ, then let us just say that the bad behaviors are going to have negative outcomes and the positive ones will have good outcomes. That is how you can view it. In regards to the afterlife we have a big disagreement which we need not overstate. In regards to the reality we live in now, we should all agree that in order to be a good leader with a higher chance of success, we need to be good followers with good habits. With spiritual matters aside, there are plenty of good examples of productive and successful people to follow in order to direct our leadership abilities within ourselves. Oftentimes we have numerous mentors, with each one having a unique quality or niche that could add a lot of value to us. Especially during the times of an abundance of content being generated online by these mentors. I am included now as well. We literally have at our fingertips access to information that once only a select few were privileged to access. Often you would only be able to access it by either rubbing shoulders with the right person or somehow getting “inside” or getting your “foot in the door.” In the old days, if you were lucky enough to stumble across a mentor, you would still have to take time to build a relationship and develop an understanding of their perspective on a given matter. Now this same valuable knowledge is being made available for all who are willing to consume it for free. One can literally be an introvert or stay in the comfort of their own home and build that same kind of knowledge that was once very difficult to attain.

So many people nowadays are fascinated with being entrepreneurs and being a “boss.” There has been an explosion of information and resources in recent times that help manifest these dreams. Our society is in search of meaning and purpose and we look wherever we can to gain an edge over others. In our current capitalist society, there is a battle to the top. We strive for challenge and competition in order to become and stay relevant in the world. In many cases it is a chase for the money bag. We see dollar signs and run where we can find it. None of these things are inherently bad, but that too can become toxic without a doubt.

When we look to open up a business or serve within an organization, we often forget that we are the living breathing human beings that will contribute our efforts to make that thing successful. In other words, If we do not show up, we do not get paid! We as people are what make society run in order to serve others. In order to serve others we need to ensure that we are managing ourselves and our own lives as a whole. We often take for granted the responsibility we have to lead our lives in the direction that we want it to go in. We need to become a CEO of self in order to manage our lives before effectively managing any other external responsibility in our lives. By this framework, one can first lead self, then lead others more effectively.

As a CEO of self you have a set of cards in your hand. Think of playing a card game. You do not get to decide which cards are dealt to you once they are shuffled. The same is true about life. We do not get any say when it comes to being born into this world. Some are born into unfavorable circumstances. Some develop unfavorable circumstances as life goes on. We do not all start on the same playing field and not everyone ends on the same playing field. We have different traits and different circumstances to overcome. For example, some are tall, short, mathematical, creative, rich, poor, physically disabled, mentally ill, scientific, funny, angry, happy, depressed, blind, or have a felony on their record, etc. Now say one is born with a predisposition to be short. That same person may have a harder time becoming a professional basketball player than the tall person. Or if a person is born poor, they may have a harder time establishing their financial well being than if they were born into a rich family. I believe you get the drift. There is no doubt that some have to work harder than others in order to get to where they want to be in life. I wish it were not so but that is the reality of life. Life is a tough battle zone and is not designed for the weak.

So now that we know that everyone has a different set of circumstances, what do we make of that? That is a very difficult question to answer which we will not dive into too much here. Despite the hard truth, there is encouragement to play the cards that are in your hands to the best of your ability. The decisions that are before you should be made so as to increase the probability of success in your personal life. This is the way of life for a CEO of self. The more unfavorable of life circumstances you are in, the more vital it becomes to make intentional decisions that will be in your favor. Allow this to serve only as a general guide. This guide alone will not be able to tailor to your specific needs, but it is certainly a great starting point to get life on track. In order to be a good CEO of self one needs to analyze themselves and be honest about their struggles and solutions available to them. This will help dictate where to start in your life.

Being a CEO of self is about being honest to self and not being in denial. Think of your life as a business. Learn to manage that business in the most effective way possible. In theory if you manage it perfectly, then you should have perfect outcomes, We all know that this is just not a practical way of viewing it. Just like an actual business there are so many challenges that can take us out as human beings. Fate is always awaiting at one point, which we all want to delay as much as possible. At the end of the day we are fallen mortal humans. This is not an excuse to throw your hands up and say, “well nothing really matters, it will all end one day anyway.” As a CEO of self we must stay in the fight and keep ourselves operating towards progress to the extent possible. We must look inside and decide what we truly value in life. Then work towards living out those values in the best way possible. We are all leaders whether we think so or not. If you are living and breathing, you are a CEO of self so start acting like the executive you are!

[ceoofself]

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tony the CEO of Self. Although I call myself my own CEO, I have not always done so. The fancy name is my way of reminding myself that I am in charge of my own life and decisions.

I would have never considered myself to be a writer or speaker. I am just a person telling my story. I am not so skilled at knowing where to put the commas, but I have a heart to serve and share my life experiences. I believe that is where you might find value in all of my content. Some may come to see me as a life coach or mentor and that is fine with me. My objective is to tell my story, and to document my journey along the way. I will consider my efforts to be successful if I can look back at all of my content one day and realize I have made some progress in my personal life. I am not looking to build a huge following, but if at least one person can benefit from what I have to say, then I will consider that extra credit. Even if that just means my children or grandchildren can review my content. Now if a community is built from my efforts, then that would of course be incredible! That in fact would be the best case scenario though. I am not expecting anyone to read or listen to my introduction as a means to lure them into my content. In fact perhaps you are listening`1 or reading this after reading or listening to something else about my story that inspired or interested you. This is exactly why I have created this introduction. I want you to have a clear understanding and know what my message is to the world. I am a man with many lessons learned by my personal life experiences. For too long, I have just kept them to myself without sharing the value in those lessons. I think at least my children can benefit from being exposed to them one day. I will share life lessons, challenges, inspiration, information, and much more. You might ask what my niche is. To that question, I would simply say LIFE. I believe we all have something to share that could benefit another. As human beings we all need each other. Most of all we need leadership in this chaotic world. The CEO of Self concept will be a recurring theme throughout many of my posts, books, audios, and perhaps videos. I will show you how I have picked up the broken pieces of my life to make it one again. Every now and again life happens and another piece is broken. This human journey is not perfect and is not forever. The important thing is to continue to stay in the fight. Getting back up when we get knocked down is all we can do in this life. As a CEO of Self I will show you how to take back your life one day at a time. One concept at a time. One idea at a time. I will show you how to become the CEO of your own life. Together we can make it happen. Thank you for joining me on this journey!