The Conway Daily Sun
By Michael Kline
Should you start your own business? Probably not! Since my column is usually a little longer than two words, I am willing to expand upon the short answer and consider other possibilities. To say probably not, is an answer based on the probabilities and you are not limited by probabilities. Most people in the throes of making such an important decision are told the odds are against them. It is commonplace to hear that ninety percent of all businesses fail. This is mostly nonsense.
Think for a minute about where statistics come from. If you rely on government statistics, you could compare the number of Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) issued, vs. the number of businesses that file tax returns, and you would have meaningless data. There is no cost and very little effort to get your EIN, after which, you may decide against opening your business. This is not a failure, but would factor into the statistics described above. You could consider the number of businesses who setup a LLC or Corporation, and again, incorrectly assume that each one no longer in existence was a failure. Perhaps the business decided not to start, or perhaps, the owner was using the business as self-employment, like a job that they owned. Like any job, a self-employed person might decide to make a change and go to work for someone else – does that define their period of self-employment a failure? I think not.  I invite you to treat statistics like a weather forecast – pay it some respect, but do not let it control your decisions. There are times when I can accurately see a deadly storm approaching that is a client’s business plan, and more often, I see some potential for a storm, for which you would want to be prepared. Forecasts aside, it is always a good time to create your own future.
Creating your own future does not require being your own boss, but it does require knowing who you are, what your values are, how you want to be, what you want to be, do and have in your life. These are huge questions, often ignored by first-time entrepreneurs, while every mature, successful businessperson I know, upon reflection would suggest that time spent on these topics would be time well spent, indeed. So when do we get to the good part about making a living?
The degree, to which you make a living, is proportionate to three factors.  Be of service to others, have a clear mission and vision and a passion for the work.

1. Be of service to others. Do not take it personally, but the world does not really care what you like to do – at least not enough to pay you for it. What you do also must be of service to others. Service is a loosely defined term; if you are an artist, you might provide the service of enjoyment. How much enjoyment, to how many people are just two of many elements of the equation that will determine your business success in that endeavor. Look at your business idea from your future customer’s perspective of what they want or perceive as a need that you can serve. Stop presenting your idea in terms of what you like to do and why you think the customers need it. Your perspective takes a back seat to the customers’ perspective.  I have bad news for your ego. Being self-employed, you will have many bosses in many forms. While you get a voice and a lot of freedom, eventually, all your new bosses come before your ego.
2. Have a Clear Mission and Vision. When your retirement day comes, how will the world be different from how it is today?  My partners and I recently spent three days in retreat, mostly to answer this question. Any other work required clarity of our vision before we could make progress with any sincerity. Our vision, by the way, is that of a “more flourishing world”. This is easy to value, remember and share with others. Your vision is simply a statement of what the world will look like once you have accomplished your mission. The simpler it is stated, the simpler it is to focus on and to share it. Our mission statement was the result of having clarity of our vision – our mission is to help people flourish. Very simple and supportive of our vision of a more flourishing world. Once you have a mission and a vision, it creates unusual clarity and focus; tenants of every successful business.  (Suggested reading: The Power of Focus, Canfield, Hansen & Hewitt).
3. Passion. There will be tough times. No, really. There will be tough times you cannot imagine. I’m talking about voices in your head, monsters in your stomach and apparitions of the devil before your very eyes.  Without passion, few people possess the level of discipline necessary to do the hard work when everyone around them is losing their minds, the money is rushing out the door and the only light at the end of the tunnel is an on-coming train. If you’re going to own your own job, have a very strong commitment to the “why”.

Tonight, Wed. Sept 23rd, I will be leading a business startup workshop for S.C.O.R.E. focused more on the tangible aspects of a successful start-up. Cost is a $35 donation to S.C.O.R.E. Register online at www.intus.life.  We’ve covered the intangibles in this column. My next column will discuss the top five tangible elements for a successful business.
Michael Kline is a Certified RIM Facilitator and Success Principles Trainer. You can reach him through his website www.intus.life, or e-mail, mike@intus.life.

The Conway Daily Sun
By Michael Kline
 
My life is nearly perfect. I do what I want, when I want, with whom I want. I enjoy good health, positive people, good food, good wine and a nice home.  I work when I want and enjoy more creature comforts than I ever thought I deserved. In fact, my biggest worry in life is that I don’t mess it up after coming so far. This is the story I was telling myself. You must admit, it is a pretty good story for a college drop-out, born to a drunk in a junkyard.
 
Cancer took our mother when I was 7. As the 11th of 12 children, 4 of us were adopted by an Aunt and Uncle who, in their better than their own past, middle-class way, tried their best to fix us. They never let me forget their disappointing discovering that in spite of their well-educated efforts, you can “take the boy out of the junkyard, but you can’t take the junkyard out of the boy”. Big Lie #1 - You’re no good.
 
“You have to have a 4 year degree to be worth anything”  Big Lie #2 – Credentials define you, and you are not enough without credentials.
 
“Your sister is going to become a nurse. (She did). She will take care of us when we are old. (She didn’t). Girls become teachers, secretaries or nurses. Since you are a boy, you need to grow up to be a lawyer or something (I didn’t) because you have to support a family one day”. (I didn’t do that either). Big Lie #3 – You cannot just do what you want.
 
I could argue that I got my perfect life because I believed these lies. I set small goals that I could achieve and achieved every one of them. I dropped out of college, bucked the system, fired the boss and went out on my own. I believed I was not good enough to subject myself to the judgment of others; a problem I solved by becoming my own boss. I believed that I would never make it as a professional, so I decided to create a little success doing anything that was easy to learn without an authority figure to judge me. Without a boss or teacher, my partner and I went into flipping houses, then the food business and then retail, each creating a little success. Life was perfect and easy, until one day someone asked me if I had a purpose.
 
Purpose? I have to make a living, that’s all I was ever taught. Purpose is a grandiose concept for spiritual leaders, philosophers and politicians. My purpose is to raise a family, make a living, pay off the mortgage and die. Looking at it that way, I was not following the plan at all. As a gay man, I chose not to raise a family, which admittedly, renders making a living much easier. We already owned three homes with no mortgages, and at fifty years old, in good health and bored, having a purpose for the second half of my life intrigued me. Maybe my life was not really perfect.
 
It turns out my core strengths are my capacity to love, my optimism and my creativity. The work I do when I am most lost in time, in “the flow” as they say, is teaching in a way that truly opens eyes and inspires my students. The concept of a more ideal world that excites me is that anyone and everyone should have the chance to flourish. The junkyard that could not be taken out of this boy turned out to be a blessing. Three lessons from the junkyard: Resourcefulness is more important than resources. We all have the ability to create something out of nothing. What we choose to be, do and have is entirely our own responsibility. Cross off lie #1. You are good.
 
None of my skills are taught in college, while a degree in chemical engineering, for which I had a full scholarship, would not build my credibility in transformational work. My intuition and wisdom at an early age however, to abandon such a wasteful pursuit, is a reflection of my natural skills to discern what is helpful and what is not. Cross off Lie #2. You define you, not credentials.
 
Music was my passion as a teenager; specifically the French Horn. I was good. Very good, if I do say so myself. And I do. As I lost myself in my room, practicing hours at a time, I would close my eyes and be playing first chair in the Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall. On parental advice, I abandoned music to join the Air Force Junior ROTC in high school, which would almost guarantee me a scholarship, as would be required to pay for all-important college education. I have since collected a lifetime of evidence that every appealing venture I chose was successful and every unappealing thing I was pushed into was a failure. Cross of Lie #3. You can do and you deserve to do anything you like.
 
Today, my life is no longer perfect. Today I have a purpose and I pursue my passions. I am extra-blessed because my purpose and passion helps other people pursue theirs. All my successes, even created on my own terms, were still defined by the expectations of others. I was successful, as long as all I had to do was make a living. To live a life engaged, on purpose, with meaning and joy is perfect – perfectly messy, unpredictable, scary seemingly irresponsible to some parental models. Perfect indeed.