40p - The start of a new Era

Just got a bit of luck and took advantage opportunitistic situation - just got a Vending machine freebie - one Galaxy Caramel - and sold it for 10p less than the Vending price to a guy at work 40p bagged!

Needing pounds, finding pennies

Ok so I just found a penny on my local station platform, my initial thoughts were - cool - that's another penny for my challenge. My subsequent thoughts were hmmm I need more than pennies to get back on track...

I'm still not taking enough action!

Finding pennies may get me to my target amount... eventually, but not in my target timeframe, I was thinking if I slipped one or two months but still achieved my 1 year target, just in 13 or 14 months - would anyone notice? Obviously I would know which wouldn't be good, but still begs the question - who am I doing this for? If just me - would I be happy with myself if I changed the rules of the game, I am just about still playing?

Well no I wouldn't - this was suppose to be a mind/context shifting experiement, and in some small ways it already has been, in others I have simply learnt if I take no action I basically don't get closer to my goals - shocker...

moving forward but too slowly

OK so I have sold a hat on zazzle to someone in AUS and got a larger amount of money - £1.30, previous sale to someone in the US only yielded 0.79p; so quite a significant difference, I have found a few bits of money on the way and home from work (2p and 1p) on separate occasions and lastly I have created quite a few more products on zazzle as it appears to have started to yield some income, yesterday I sold a newly designed mug and also got a referral fee - I think because I directed them to my zazzle shop so gained a whopping £1.12 for the mug and £2.09 for the referral, so I didn't make the March target of £64 on 15/3/2010, but at least I am now above the February target of £32 - see leader board to the left.

Over the weekend I created a number of zazzle products based on Indian English - hope this isn't seen as a bad thing, I have been working with some offshore partners and some fun phrases have come up, that I thought over people would appreciate!

today's target - 4 days over £30

Thinking about the double your challenge and my lack of activity of the last 3 or 4 months, I guess the key for me at the moment is 2 things that equate to the same principle.

The challenge or any other endeavour can only really be achieved by consistent daily motivated action towards your end goal, it's probably so obvious that I missed it, the outcome of daily action is self fulfilling momentum, I.e. if you are consistently moving forward all the time, it's difficult to not reach or surpass your initial goal, and the investment of time and energy gives you a platform for further action.

So time and management of it becomes or paramount importance, so what have I been upto, that was more important than the challenge to myself and others over 6 months ago?

Well 2 things have come into my life that I wasn't expecting in the slightest

1. I became addicted to singing, last year I went on a free 7 week voice training course, run by a local barbershop chorus, I became immediately engrossed, they just happen to be one of the top ten UK chorus's, I went through the course and gave a performance to friends and family at the end, I was completely hooked, I have since passed my audition and joined the chorus and am now an official barbershop'er. The time commitment for this is around 3 hours singing on a Thursday night, then as we are training a big conference in may some weekend sessions, plus once I have learned the full repertoire, which can take a couple of years, there are the numerous 'sing-outs' and charity events that the chorus attends.
2. In a daze 'cause I found god! I know it sounds glib, but it's true, I have been on the under current of a spiritual journey for the last few years now, and am going to get Christened in May along with my children. the reverend that is going to christen me recommended I go on an Alpha course to explore my faith fully, this is currently going on and taking up Tuesday nights (7:30 - 10pm) plus one Saturday morning in the near future, I have also attended church a few times but this is trick as I normally look after the children at the weekend to give me wife a bit of a break. Also I have started a plan to read the bible within 1 year, so this is taking up the majority of my train journeys.

To some extent these are simply excuses, but what it means is I have had very little to no time to focus on the challenge; and if I am to carry on pursuing monthly and the yearly targets this is precisely the point where I have to have consistent focus and daily action.

Fwd: What is the best way to teach creative problem solving and the entrepreneurial spirit?

Ian Hopkinson wrote: Hi Roger It is an interesting thought, one that has cropped up in conversations recently... My personal view is that whilst we can learn, i.e. we can all improve our business skills through study and experience, there is something that sets entrepreneurs apart. The entrepreneurial skill is in part derived from: - Intelligence - Attitude to risk - Personality - Ability to befriend - etc This is by no means an exhaustive list. My main reflection is that the skills are soft skills which you are usually born with and are then to some degree shaped as you grow up, yes you can have coaching and try to learn how to befriend people... It doesn't mean that every entrepreneur is successful and the theory that you are testing "commercially focused problem solving can be learnt and tested in the real world with a simple context" I agree with. There will be different levels of success depending on the decisions made by each participant. Just because you have the soft skills (and everything else required) doesn't mean you have the desire to want to be an entrepreneur. One major point is that contacts (helpful ones) is a big factor to any success... Would be interested to hear the outcome of your study... Cheers Ian Question Details: -------------------- What is the best way to teach creative problem solving and the entrepreneurial spirit? Are some people simply born with the required skills? Can the skills be taught? What role does real life experience play in a good entrepreneur? I have started a challenge/game, where I am testing theory that commercially focused problem solving can be learnt and tested in the real world with a simple context (start with £1 of your own money and double it every month, consistently for 1 year, to end up with over £4k). If you are interested or know someone that this would suit, please forward on the link http://doubleyourmoneychallenge.blogspot.com where you/they can sign up and give it a go, no email registration required, just honesty, willingness and the time to give it a try. Thanks Roger View question ((1 answer) - Respond to Ian Hopkinson

LinkedIn Answers • View question ((1 answer) • Respond to Ian Hopkinson