Valuable Values

From the very outset this blog is personal. I know what it’s like to have money and to lose it all, unable to pay my rent, sleeping on the floor, I know what it’s like go without, have no or very little food, know what tears of pain and of “why me?” are and it really makes sense to document my story, inspire some others and simply tell my story from where I am at the bottom and making why back up using lessons from mistakes made in the past and gaining a new understanding of me as a person.  At all times remember I am a Christian and proud to be so, however I know others who read this do not come from a Christian background; I will refer to the Bible for reference as my faith is one of my values but likewise I will refer to other leaders, spiritual and otherwise and their texts for there is tremendous merit in using and understanding the words, actions and beliefs of others. I am a single dad to an 11 year old son, Sebastian and thus have a massive resource of comical, crazy, sometimes simple and always innocent questions, anecdotes and observations that inspire me to write down and fathom out how a child’s mind can apply to success, business and generally life. Today is one of those “life stories” I am only now gaining the courage to tell – enjoy.

    

How many of you are stuck in a 9 to 5 job just to pay the bills?  Its madness isn’t it?

How many of you dream of not working but doing something you love? I expect that’s nearly all the fully employed and whilst there are some who are employed and enjoy what they do there are more who don’t really enjoy. I won’t say love because if thought about really closely anyone employed is truly doing what they love, their job may simply be something that pays enough to allow that person do something they love and thus the job does have some kind of reward but I firmly believe this is not quite how life and nature was intended.

Wouldn’t you rather be spending your finite time on earth doing something you love as opposed to just paying the bills? 

So many people come up to me and say “I am amazed at you, you quit your job and made a jump to do your own thing with no real income to support you. How? Why?”. Trust me it’s not easy,but It’s a question I answer easily and with some astonishment with “I did it because I can” you only realise that when you do it, and the how is answered every day by happiness within and small incomes and other plans I have and work on daily. So many of you find a reason or a way NOT to do what you love and that is so sad, there is so often an invisible wall or invisible chasm that only you can see and cannot remove called, I am now told a blockage! Key to my decision to live a dream has come from adversity and deep personal set of circumstances that forced me to make some drastic changes and very difficult decisions.

From experience I can begin to advise and perhaps motivate change.  

Look at your values in life, what are they? I can tell you for a start that one of your values is not to work in a job you don’t really enjoy or a job that makes you live payday to payday. How much do your values form  part of your day, your week, your life, you?

At a major, life changing crossroads that defined the last  11 minutes of 2013 and first half of 2014 with something so painful it changed me completely my world was shaken. Luckily I was given a life coach and my very first session I was set the task to review my values. The timing was profoundly perfect and without the life coach I doubt you would be reading this today.

When  I reviewed my values in life I soon found that what I loved doing and previously was doing were a million miles apart and success, no matter how hard I tried was never going to be attained I was merely going to be a payday slave. Worse still I didn’t have much of a plan to move forward. My former employer also indicated, less directly, that perhaps I was in the wrong job “you are not really an ERP salesman Matthew and never will me” with some jest and a huge smile, he was to be honest 100% right and I thank him every day for what he said and how he said it – although I don’t think he truly realises how much I appreciate and value him for all he has done and still does for me. I did not realise than on that February day that my life was about to change and change dramaitically as a decision to move on was made and stuck to for very personal reasons. My values now define who I am and where I am going, it’s not easy as I repeat to you all reading this and success initially is never easy – in Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” the stories of hardship and rags to riches are common place, the rags to riches are in many cases riches to rags and then back to riches and each story of success shows how each successful person had at some stage made what seemed like a ludicrous decision at the time that was to become the catalyst for success – mine was 20^th February 2014.

 I have a plan each day and a structured and well defined Life Goal made up of steps that get checked off as they are completed. Without either a goal or a plan nothing can or will happen, in life or in business. My plan and my goals are structured and reinforced around my values with income, enjoyment, time and effort all measured; when you are employed you do not have the freedom to measure in this way – Freedom, this kind of freedom is one of my core values. My foundation  for success was fundamentally set 6 weeks ago because of this and things are moving, aspects of “The Secret” and promises from The Bible are happening.

It took me well over a week to define my values, it wasn’t easy but I knew it had to be done and it was painful being brutally honest. The inner feeling, the inner voice as Billy Selekane described it was at the heart of the choices I made. I selected values that I won’t or can’t compromise on and these make me feel good inside with a warmth of satisfaction. My values created a tremendous self-belief mechanism and have been chosen to define who I want to really be and how I want to be seen by others and in this it really makes me feel comfortable in my skin.

You cannot have too many core values, I came to a total of 6 with one being a bit of a combination as two elements were intrinsically linked; I couldn’t have one without the other.

It’s the core values that drive me and now, after some considerable hardship and challenges that still exist, attracting the things and people I want and need in life, dispelling what I don’t want or really need is  truly giving me some amazing results that I often I only realise after the event when the dust has settled. I have now stopped the puzzlement of “this does not make sense” as in the big picture, God’s plan, the plan of the universe each part always moving and will align itself within your core values or simply fall away – this is truthfully happening as I sit and write.

Values must define your business and its path, success is one thing but sustained success with staff that enjoy their work in an environment that matches their values is something altogether something else. In a business, very often the success of the business is about the team and when their values are taken into consideration greater success is often found. The best companies to work for have defined their successes more often than not around core values not always what may seem like a good idea thus creating steady, sustained success – the reason for this is that whilst an idea may be a sure-fire way to bring in income it may not be what makes the company and staff happy, the success may be hard won and easily lost if a decision to make a change does not fit in with values. Unhappy staff and doing something contrary to values is hard work and feels even harder. Business values become part of your brand and likewise in life with you as the brand your values define you.

Have your values been defined?  Without them success and happiness cannot be so. In defining your values comfort and warmth will be found and with that warmth good things and endless possibilities of an amazing life become clear and doors open. With definition and clarity the path to live your dream opens up, you begin to find ways, attract ways that make doing what you love become something that becomes your life – mine is writing, speaking and now I am learning my story is key to part of this and ways to do this with zero finance are now starting to arise.  For business, with this warmth avenues of good business that have a great chance of success appear, values ensure you are doing the right thing and by doing the right thing good things happen. Within your values your thinking process is perhaps as close to perfect as you can make it.

A simple review of your values can bring about significant change. Whether you are a business looking for more success or growth or perhaps at a pivotal point maybe a merger or management buyout, or if you are the individual stuck in the dead-end job with  a dream of doing something you love, defining your values can and will clear the path forward ensuring success. Write down your values and for every decision you make from now on use them to help you make the right or most suitable choice – the answers will amaze you and change will happen. Don’t expect change in a day or so, but over 4 to 6 weeks definite changes occur. For me I am lifting myself up, changing me and overcoming some very challenging obstacles and success and my life goals are now within reach thanks to my values, my plan,  my gratitude, my determination and my perseverance.

Your values become you, become your business and thus are valuable.

Have an awesome day further,  remember your values define you and define your business!