CONQUERING CO-DEPENDENCY AND OTHER FEARS
For most people, this is one of those "Print it out, pour yourself a cup of coffee, read the piece, think about it...then think about it some more." Please do yourself a favor and read these 5 pages. If you find that these thoughts and idea have helped you, give us a call. If it does not apply to you and your current situation, then ditch it.
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STANDING ON YOUR OWN TWO FEET…AND FACING TOMORROW
I am writing you this note to help you be better prepared for the decisions ahead of you.
As someone who advises people daily about career changes, I took a few minutes to write this piece. At some point in the past year, you started to investigate franchising as a career/business option. Regardless of the franchise(s) that you decide to explore, the thoughts below may be helpful to you.
You may or may not decide to seriously investigate a franchised business. If you do, we will help you comprehensively assess the match between you, your goals, and the offerings of selected franchises. Even if you chose to not complete your investigation, you will benefit from reading this e-mail, and you may want to read the three books cited below. I am encouraging you to follow your entrepreneurial spirit.
Please find below career-defining advice from three excellent books that people use to help them build careers that enable them to achieve their professional, personal, and financial goals.
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BOOK # 1
CONQUERING CORPORATE CO-DEPENDENCE
In her book, “Conquering Corporate Codependence”, author Carolyn Corbin asks “How Much Do You Rely On Your Job?” She subdivides this question into 20 more specific inquiries, including these:
Do you find yourself obsessing over job-related matters on weekends and vacations?
Do you depend solely on your company to train you and upgrade your skills?
Do you feel it is your employer’s responsibility to make certain that you are employed at your highest skill-level?
Do you become so preoccupied with problems at work that you can’t enjoy time with family and friends?
Are you more concerned with being adept at corporate politics than with superior job performance?
Ms. Corbin also addresses the age-old, yet still pertinent, question, “How Balanced Is Your Life?” She again subdivides this question into 20 more specific inquiries, such as:
Are you generally satisfied with your career and/or workplace conditions?
Do you plan at least two family days each month for leisure time or for enjoying special projects together?
Would you say that your career-related expectations are realistic?
Do you reserve a minimum of 4 hours per week for play or an interesting hobby?
Do you engage in some sort of physical exercise at least three times per week?
THOUGHT...
If you feel like you have control of your corporate life, then great. Keep doing what you are doing. If, on the other hand, you are beginning to feel like your job “owns” you, then you might be ready to become the “captain of your own ship and master of your fate” and regain some important balance in your life.
The REALLY good news is that there are several great franchised businesses in today’s market (many of which you may never have heard of), who offer wonderful opportunities to build a local (or regional) business that produces rewarding income, flexibility of time, and equity-building potential. And, the good companies train you how to achieve all three of these attributes.
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BOOK # 2
WHO MOVED MY CHEESE?
Do You Know Where Your “Cheese” Is?
In his very popular book, “Who Moved My Cheese?”, author Spencer Johnson [of “The One Minute Manager” fame] uses a “mouse” parable to explain to us that “change is inevitable, and the more we anticipate, recognize, embrace, and plan for change, the better off we will be.” One of Johnson’s key points is this:
“The Quicker You Let Go of Your Old Cheese, The Sooner You Will Find New Cheese”.
The point needs no clarification. Other key points made by Johnson are these:
“When You Move Beyond Your Fear, You Feel Free”
“Movement In a New Direction Helps You Find New Cheese”
“Smell the Cheese Often, So You Will Know When It is Getting Old”
“If You Do Not Change, You Can Become Extinct!”
“Old Beliefs Do Not Lead You To New Cheese”
THOUGHT...
If you will devote just 90 minutes or so to reading this little book, it could change your life. I don’t say that lightly. My wife bought this book for me right after it first came onto the market. I read it, re-read it, and re-read it again. Dr. Johnson has a magnificent gift for getting across really important points with his short parables. Even if you have read this book previously, I encourage you to read it again. The word “franchise” does not appear in this book, and yet, it can be a VERY important step in your investigational process.
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BOOK # 3
YOU2 (You squared)
Lastly, Price Pritchett wrote a great little book entitled, You2, in which he outlines 15 ways that we can “retool” ourselves and make “quantum leaps” in our personal, professional, and financial lives. A few of his suggestions are these:
“Change Your Personal Rules for Success!”
“Quit Trying Harder!”
“Ignore Conventional Approaches!”
“Suspend Disbelief!”
“Make Your Move Before You Are Ready”
The last page of Mr. Pritchett’s book reads as follows:
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LOOK INSIDE FOR THE OPPORTUNITY
Everything else that’s needed, right now, comes from inside of you.
The opportunity, the timing, the power to perform—these is in you, not in the situation.
The formula for YOU2, the strategy for making the quantum leap, has been covered here. You have those answers. The answers to questions that remain must come from the voice within. Now you must listen to yourself. Those are the sounds no one else can hear.
Your dream, your desires, the thoughts that burn the hottest in your mind, they carry the messages that help you find you own “magnetic north.” They point the way toward the breakthrough to YOU2.
Look inside at what pulls at your consciousness, for there you’ll find direction.
Everything else is in position. Waiting for you.
Just do it.
Make the quantum leap!
THOUGHT
We cannot improve on Mr. Pritchett’s words. They say it all.
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CONCLUSION
Owning your own business is NOT for everyone. However, this option CAN become reality for a number of people who FOCUS on the opportunity, study their options thoroughly, and then—IF the match looks solid—do three things:
At this point, I don’t know if any franchise is the right option for you or if you are the right person for a particular franchise, but I do know this. If you are too co-dependent on your job, do not have your life in balance, are not recognizing the “old cheese” in your life, and are NOT on a pathway of empowering yourself personally, professionally, and financially, then you are not likely headed towards a productive, rewarding career.
I also know that if you never follow-through with your investigation of selected franchise options, neither of us will ever never know if it is a good idea for you or not.
In general, franchising has enabled literally hundreds of thousands of Americans (myself included) to free themselves of corporate dependency, find their “cheese”, and rebuild the power and confidence in themselves to start a new component of their life. Perhaps this business format will enable you to do the same.
Whatever you do, we wish you all the very best of everything.