Which Would you Rather Have: Courage or Wisdom?

Courage and wisdom can both boggle the human psyche if applied at the right time and at the right place. Do you remember the poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson, “The Light Brigade”? Check out the story and you will find out the men involved lack no courage in their endeavors, but wisdom was not apparent. Now King Solomon from the Old Testament was considered the King with wisdom above all his counterparts of that day. However King Solomon did not have to apply courage to apply his wisdom, he was wise within his own kingdom.

Wisdom always seems to solve problems. The wise men in the bible worshipped the child Jesus. Why is this wisdom? Well, King Herod was looking for Jesus, but not to worship him, but to kill him. Yet, the king with all his forces could not find the child. Plato was considered wise during his lifetime because he wrote some of the philosophical foundations for western civilization. Again wisdom solves problems both small and large. 

Now courage seems to override the mundane, ordinary and traditional. Look at what Martin Luther King did during his lifetime and you can see courage. This courage expressed challenged traditions and the staus quo. Look at the suicide bombers that sacrifice themselves because of their belief system. It takes courage. It is unfounded and surely not ordinary to kill yourself for the sake of the cause, but it is courage. Let’s talk about courage, what about Joan of Arc and to have such courage at the age of 19 years old. Once again courage rocks the tradition; it forces those in charge to eliminate any courage created.

However ideally I feel a mix of courage and wisdom would do very nicely. Then you can apply courage and have the wisdom to avoid the punishment. Both can bring extreme mental stress. You see people that are wise usually are ahead of their time and pose a threat to others because their ideas are different. So the wise man or women must weigh in their mind the right time to apply wisdom. There also could never be a right time. It is a challenge to hold back what you know, knowing it can benefit others. With courage you must just screen out what others may think and even what you think and just go for it. Applying courage can be compared to a leap of faith. You know in you gut that you must show and act on courage, but you see no tangible results it may bring. My advice to the wise and those with courage, may you always use wisdom before you take any leap of courage. Good success! Take courage!

HELP! HELP! HELP! Entrepreneur have you looked within?

So where does help come from for the entrepreneur? The banking industry has totally ignored the small business community.  Over the years the banksters have been to busy creating a economy that makes money from debt. Advertisers claim there are opportunities for the small business owner if we use new technology and their products . A good example of this is the Apple iPad commercials  that feature Detroit. The problem is more systemic that people using iPads to change the problems in this nation.

You can find loads of You Tube videos on how to start a small business. Those leading the nation tell us the economy is getting better. Our Christian community tells us, our help comes from the Lord. And yes of course there is our reality, little savings, little time to implement or create a start-up, but even more important a very bleak picture staring us in the face.

Our help comes from within, it comes as we incorporate spiritual discipline. You see everyone tells us what to do and how to do it. However the last time I checked, we all lived in this world, that means we are a part of it and we should be co-producers in it. We throw words out like democracy and freedom, but the defining components of these words are rarely played out in our lives. These words become window dressing to mask our insecurities.

It is interesting that many of us look for help from the outside, as your are reading this blog your body has millions of functions going on. Creative forces that are balancing your body, compensating, regulating and maintaining all it’s functions. So how much more can we do, as entrepreneurs, begin to use your mind and take these same energies and focus on opening up a garden, a furniture store or  publication. We can begin to balance and regulate the functions of the world. We have the creative force within us to create the help we need today. It may sound corny, but do you see any other options?

Embrace the Unfamiliar

As an entrepreneur you may seem like a stranger in a wilderness. Your path is usually not the norm or traditional. Most of us want to be liked, we do anything to be accepted. We buy the latest dresses, suits and cars to be accepted. However most fresh ideas, new inventions and change come about because somebody embraced the unfamiliar. The unfamiliar, that place that originates from within, you may be the only one exposed to a concept or idea. It may not be popular or the latest thing to do. It is unfamiliar, It may be unheard of today. The unfamiliar is hard to embrace because it usually is diametrically opposite to everything you see and hear. 

How can we embrace the unfamiliar place? You hear that small voice inside you that gives instructions, specific instructions, but, how, when, where, who me? Yes, you change comes as you embrace the unfamiliar. It is taking a specific action no matter how small, followed by another action. Many things can start to happen at this point. One thing that happens is your confidence begins to build. You idea also begins to germinate. 

The unfamiliar should be embraced, it is a place of growth and expansion. At that place you will be on the cutting edge because you are not being passive, but being creative. Many people get confused with the artist and creativity. A mother is an artist, so is a painter or photographer. It is the creating and manifestations that label the artist. Ask any mom who has to make three meals a day and do laundry as she may be dealing with different age children while she maintains her apartment or home. It is art in motion, if you don’t believe it, give it a try.

Embracing the unfamiliar will take you to places and allow you to met with people you would never have imagined. It will allow you to touch and change peoples lives. This is what life is all about, it is about doing what God has given you to do and influencing others as you live in your purpose. Embrace the unfamiliar.

Can’t Touch This!

I recently visited an event given by my friend Yendys. Please follow here company on Facebook at the Cowrie Shell Center. She carries  some excellent products. During her event she did a few meditations for the visitors in her spiritual room. During one of the medications she had us imagine a cup and a saucer.  She suggested that our meditations would consist of filling the cup to 200%. However the saucer would only get 100%. She reminded us that in our culture we are told to give 100%. Here she created this image that we can take from the 200% and give 100% but we never get more than 100%. 

She further explained that our breath work should allow us to access that place that nobody can touch. I believe people reach this place differently. A great church service also allows you to get to this place. An intense Kundalini yoga session would also allow access to this place. I call it the place of spirit, it is the universal spirit that connects to the universe. I loved her meditation because I never really had this type of imagine given to me.  Meditation here refers to a set of affirmations that are forced upon.The wisdom is that there is a place that people don’t touch. They can’t touch this! In a real sense this would solve many of our problems because we give so much to be accepted or to massage our egos. 

The idea here is that your spiritual work should allow you to have a place that people- can't touch! What is this? It is a place of peace, tranquility, it is a when there is craziness and turmoil you can sit in the midst of it and stay on course. But it takes some work, you must be familiar to being still, to hearing your own mind and not running away from what you hear. As you get to this place, nobody can touch it, nobody, it is your universal connection. Can’t touch this!

So entrepreneurs don’t forget the gift, that idea that you have, can’t be touched. What you need to do is write the plan down. Do you homework, do the research, believe, believe, do the work, find a way. Regardless of the current environment or economic forecast. What you must remember is this culture is created by man, but the creator has bigger plans. Look in the mirror close and you will understand this.

And Some More Pruning

Anyone or anything that pulls your energy away from your goals is similar to a dead leaf in a plant as mentioned in my earlier post. It seems the leaf is important because it attached to the plant, but it takes away from the potential of the plants beauty and growth. So what do we do? We must clip, trim those people or events, behaviors or actions away. When? Now or the next time they suck up your time or energy.  Note when you prune it is not gradual, it is a clear separation. This is difficult for people because they don’t have compassion for themselves. Again using the house plant, growth comes when the plant is feed properly and exposed to sun and quality air.

So, I guess I can ask the question, what are you exposed to? Do you get the proper nourishment to feed your body and mind. If you are tired and sluggish all the time this is similar to the browning of the leaves on our plant. You gotta prune, change the way you eat, read more often, start journaling or writing down ideas that come to mind. Stay out of toxic environments and run from toxic people.

The thing about pruning is that you always have to be taking self-inventory, assessing and re-assessing yourselves and  your goals. It may take time to do some more pruning, but future beautiful growth will be the result of constant pruning.

Time to do Some Pruning

A few months ago I brought some plants that absorb toxins out of the apartment. One of the plants was lush, full and green after I purchased it. I placed them all in my bedroom and I would swear my sleep was better that night and each night after the first. After a month I noticed that one plants leaves was browning, then the leaves started to dry up. I watered the plants during the week, but these are indoor plants and they should be doing well. Then I started thinking I will need to replace this plant because it is dying for whatever reasons.

Now I know the importance of pruning. You cut shear, pinch, clip some of the plant that is not growing properly or is taking energy away from the major growth of the plant. The goal is to maximize the growth of the plant and enjoy the beauty or fruit of the plant. Working in a urban garden it would seem I should know this, but this is a different plant a different environment.
As time past I lamented about the lost of this once beautiful plant.

However this weekend I started to prune all the brown leaves and to my pleasant surprise under
all those large dead leaves was a bunch of new green leaves growing. More pruning and it became
clear I had a entire new plant growing.This was a reminder to me that all life has various seasons and cycles. We cannot always understand and know when a cycle starts or stops. What we all can do is to remember to prune ourselves. Prune our environment our apartment and home, even our friends. Many people talk about those were the good old days, we wish it was like that now. No, we need to prune ourselves and see what new growth we have, see and experience a newness we do not see because of the dead leaves covering potential and possibility. Time to do some pruning.

No Surprise

I recently attended a small business workshop. It was excellent, it covered all the aspects of
starting and running a small business. It filled in a few gaps for me. Now that I said, surely, you can almost hear the but coming in my next sentence.

This blog was started on the premise that the most important elements of starting a small business is the fortitude to make decisions and continue to go forward. It was not based on  having a lump sum of money or borrowing, to set-up a business. If you do have money this is a good thing, but I don't believe the people who read this blog have money to start a small business. As one participant mentioned  that you gotta hustle. I agree, get one job, one client, provide an excellent product or service and repeat that cycle. My position has always been that you will get little help from anyone to create and manage a start-up. For some time I could not understand the reason for this reality.

It has become clear to me, business in this country has a very powerful influence on government.
If small business was set up that you and I could be successful, at some point, people would collaborate and change some of these crazy laws in this country.

In reality you need to have some funds or you will have to borrow to go into business. In my opinion
these are not options. Let's just think about the first option, who has money set aside to start a business? Secondly who wants to create another debt in this economic environment. The numbers of first time successful small business owners are dismal. Ask yourself if so many other things in this country can be tweaked, why can't the small business paradigm be tweaked? It is a valid question.

So, it was no surprise that instead of believing I would get some information to excite me about
developing a small business. It is made very clear that starting a business is a buzz word, more than a reality for you and me.