In my working career I have found people that are going to work every day unhappy with their job. You can identify these people by asking the question “how are you” and they will answer something like “I am here”, “living the dream”, “just getting by”, or something similar. These people have told themselves that work is supposed to be hated and/or they are just paying the bills. First, you can enjoy your work, and second, you should have not hamstrung yourself to paying for things you do not need. There are some situations that happen that put you in financial crises but 99% of the time if you would have planed you would not be in the situation.

I have read a study that about 80% of people are unhappy with their jobs. Consider this: if there is something you are doing that you do not like how do you approach it? Do you procrastinate, do you grumble and think how you hate the task while you are doing it? If this is true then you are taking longer doing the work and probably not doing as well at it as if you enjoyed it. When you go to work do you think how you dread making that drive to go to something you hate? When you leave work are you drained of energy and unhappy to the point that you do not want to do anything with your family when you get home. You just want to tune out the world and vegetate in front of the TV as an escape.

If this how you feel then you are shortchanging your company because you are not giving all you are capable of, you are short changing yourself of your happiness and your potential to make a significant income, you are short changing your family because you are not able to spend quality time with them.

Now think about the stuff you enjoy doing, do you start doing it immediately, do you feel this natural drive that pushes you to start and complete the task? Think about when you were a kid and you went to bed on Christmas eve and you could not sleep looking forward to the next day. Imagine if you had work that made you feel the same way? You could not wait to get to work and work on that thing you love, while at work you were energized all day and did not want to stop. When you got home you could not wait to tell your family about the fun you had at work and you were happy and a joy to be around in the evening. Imagine the message you would be passing onto your children if you had this kind of work.

There is a different way. You can enjoy your work and you are supposed to. No matter your thoughts on how we came to be there is a system in place be it put in place by a Great Creator or it grew as we evolved. Each one of us has about 200 things we are good at but about 5 of those things are something we are passionate about and enjoy. The hard part is trying to identify those things. Those things were factory installed in each of us so that we can serve others in that manner. I do not buy the idea that no one wants to be a janitor, trash man, etc. It is not the job title or the specific task that we are driven to it is the outcome that encourages us. For instance there are many people that are very detailed oriented and love to see things clean and shiny. This person could be very happy as a janitor. Just because you do not like a type of work does not mean that everybody does not like it. I have heard of a story of someone that loves to paint houses because it gives them an opportunity to interact with the families living in the houses and help to encourage and motivate them. Now that is a different way to look at work.

Personally, I am naturally driven to help people through this process of finding enjoyment in their lives. I have seen the pain associated with the work they did not like and the ridiculous work models and work requirements that have been imposed on people because they did not believe they had options. I know there are options out there and I find joy in showing others that they have those options.

www.Joshbulloc.com

Josh Bulloc

The Bootstrap Coach

Kansas City, Missouri

If you have ever spent more than an hour with me you may have noticed that I am in some way or another telling you to start a business. I have seen how it has benefited me and I want to share the enjoyment with everyone. I see it as the solution to the many of the our problems as individuals and as a society. I do realize that not everyone is made to start their own business but having the mindset of an entrepreneur is something that will benefit everyone.

We have taught ourselves that work is to be endured and that we have to design our lives around our work. How many times have you had to stay after work and miss dinner or work on weekends because of someone else’s mistakes? If you are thinking like an entrepreneur your first priority is to support your needs. They then build their business to fill those needs. Those needs can run the gamut between wanting to retire early to wanting to have a business they can do from home so they can be around their family. No matter what it is the business is there to serve you not you it.

The next benefit is that you get to control your income. Have you ever been working somewhere and someone left the job; then you are handed their work and you do not get paid more for doing twice the work? If you have the entrepreneur mindset you will fully understand that you should be compensated for increased output. If you are doing more you should be paid more. If you are a lazy person then you would not like this though. If you are lazy and do less then you are paid less. From a business point of view it will be easy to identify the people that are not pulling their weight where in the typical corporate setting these people are able to hide you pick up their slack.

There are many skills you have but there are only a handful that you enjoy. Entrepreneurs know this and realize that if they try to do work they do not enjoy then they will fail and their business will go nowhere. The added benefit of this is that entrepreneurs are always doing work they enjoy so they do not feel like they are working, they are having fun. Imagine being excited to get up every day and go to work. Never again feeling beat down from doing things you despise and always energized.

Every entrepreneur understands that they must keep learning so they can get better at their business. All of us have had those classes in school that we thought were pointless but we also had those classes we loved. This is in the same vein as loving your work; because you love your work so much you will love learning how to do your work better. You will begin to make leaps and bounds compared to your competitors. If you are not a business owner learning about the work you are doing will keep you competitive in the market. If you keep learning you will begin go be considered an expert in your field and your income will increase and you will always have work and to top that it is work you love doing. If you love your work and are excited to do it every day then how can anyone be better than you at it?

In the typical large company there are many things that each one of us see a being unproductive or even stupid. You know there is a better way but if you mention it then you are considered a trouble maker or blown off. You eventually become numb to the problems and just go through the motions of your job and just doing enough to get by because of the problems that are keeping the business from excelling. As an entrepreneur you are expected to see the things that are wrong with a business and fix them. If there is anything that is not being done in the best method the entrepreneurial company is liable to fail. In an entrepreneurial company the entrepreneur expects people to point out the deficiencies and help to improve them. Because this helps the company the people are happy because they are listened to and their company gets to grow.

One of the main concepts taught to everyone starting a business is to have a business plan. This plan outlines exactly what the business does and how it makes money. Relating this concept to an employee the business plan would be about you. It concisely explains what you do well and how you benefit the company you work for. It explains the work you enjoy so much, love learning about, and are an expert in. If you are able to explain how you are so good at this work and how you can help a company make or save money they they will want you on their team especially if you are the best. This is most important, especially in this economy, if you stand out as the best at what you do and are able to make a company money or save a company money with your skill set then no matter what the economy you will have work.

We are all in sales no matter what job you do. An entrepreneur has to be in sales to make his business work. If you are able to sell your skill set described in the previous paragraph then you will always have work because everyone will see the value in what you do and how you can help them.

So no matter if you want to own your own business or work in a business having the entrepreneur mindset will benefit you and your career.

Josh Bulloc

The Bootstrap Coach

“Bootstrap Your Success”

www.joshbulloc.com

Kansas City, MO

I do not agree with the socialist philosophy but I want to learn more about it because I want to better empathize with people that think differently from me. In my quest for this empathy I have been in search of someone that had the maturity and insight to explain their point of view on socialism. I finally found someone that was able to do this for me. He is a friend and someone I respect very much, so I was very appreciative of the time he took with me to explain his view. His view helped me to look beyond the limited view many hold of socialism and actually question if his is a better philosophy.

His view of socialism takes into account Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow’s_hierarchy_of_needs ). Many of us are stuck in the safety and love/belonging sections.

My theory is that many of us are in search of the higher levels of the hierarchy but are trying to attain them in the same manner we achieved the safety level. In other words we are stuck in wanting things (property) and we are trying to reach higher levels through buying stuff. Once we wake up and realize that we have a greater need, which cannot be filled with things, we can begin looking for what will actually fill that need. I believe all of our debt is a reflection of us trying to fill these higher level needs.

Back to the philosophy; he also explained that if we were to find an unlimited energy source (like on Star Trek) we could then begin to attain the higher levels of the hierarchy until we reach the pinnacle, self actualization. This is because obtaining property would be easy.

Another of my theories is that for us to reach self actualization we have to serve. Once we live in a system where everybody is focused on serving others then people can stop being so caught up in themselves.

Now that I have written this out his socialist philosophy is very similar to how I believe the world should work: everyone has a need to be of service.

Regrettably, I did not have the time to discuss this with him further but from this I have a question. This question is posed to, you, the reader.

How do we educate each other on how to reach self actualization?

Also, on a lower level, how can I reach others and teach them that they can be fulfilled by the work they do?

www.Joshbulloc.com

Josh Bulloc

The Bootstrap Coach

Kansas City, Missouri

Here are my thoughts on capitalism: First, to be honest I have not studied capitalism so I do not know the strict definition but I believe my thoughts align with the philosophy, please correct me if I am wrong. First I believe that capitalism most closely mirrors nature (survival of the fittest) and the concept that Life is Not Fair. Second, the rules of capitalism are natural and do not change. The philosophy on socialism is based on man’s opinion of what is right and can change from person to person. Also, man is not perfect so nothing built by man can be perfect.

Second is how I have seen people work and interact. I know that if someone works hard at serving someone (at any job you are serving someone or the job would not be there long) and is rewarded for their effort then they are more likely to keep doing a good job or better thus adding to the progress of everyone. I have also seen where people are given things (welfare for example) and they do not value what they are given so they do not care for it. After a while of being given those things they then begin to believe that they are entitled to those things (I fear this is where our country is going).

In the case that someone is not pulling their weight they would feel pain (no income) and then that would influence them to be of service to society.

The capitalist philosophy is not perfect, one of the issues is that some will be lost in the cracks (handicapped for example) but I know if I find someone in need I want to help support that person because I am a human and I care for others. If my giving is based on caring and not forced on my I am going to have an emotional attachment to the giving and will work hard to support my giving (i.e. I will produce more and serve more people in the process). Where in a socialist system things are taken from me and given to others. In this method there I do not have emotional attachment to this giving so I feel like I am being stolen from. Plus I know my money is being given to people that can support themselves.

I did have a short discussion with someone I highly respect and has a more socialistic view than I do. They were able to articulate socialism without becoming argumentative and emotional. His philosophy of what socialism should be is not what we have now but it is based on people transcending our need/want of things (the pinnacle of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs). This requires us to grow beyond our base nature in our society. I cannot argue with his concept of an ideal society but the question becomes “how to most of us transcend into self actualization”?

Socialism is not perfect either. My issue with it is reflected in parts of our society and I am afraid that it has the possibility to be mirrored in the rest of society. Consider the generations of families on welfare. These people have gotten so comfortable they do not know how to support themselves. They have not felt enough pain in their lives to make them change what they are doing (unless there is something mentally wrong with you you will change if you feel enough pain). Welfare is an extreme example but there are other things that most of us believe is an entitlement because we have gotten it so long. I believe that socialism teaches us to be weak because we are given so much. Because of this I believe this has the ability to take down our society. Capitalism teaches to keep striving for bigger and better things so if capitalism takes a hit others will step up and keep progressing thus keeping our society alive.

I know we are in a tough economic time now but no matter what you think this was not brought on by capitalist or socialism, our government is a mix of both and the cause of this problem was a mix of both. Also, the news was putting a lot of focus on wall street, banks, Madoff, etc. which would make people believe that capitalism caused this but these people represent less than 0.1% of individuals you would call capitalists. The problem was caused by you and I, no one else. Banks were just selling us what we wanted and we were not engaged in the process. The government was just doing what we wanted and we were not engaged in the process.

Finally, I am willing to bet my arguments have some weaknesses to them. Please correct me but only if it is fact based. I still have found very few people to have an adult discussion about capitalism vs. socialism and if any is willing to step up then I am issuing you a challenge to prove me wrong. I doubt you will, but you will help me to better consider my point of view and if you are lucky you may change my whole philosophy.

www.Joshbulloc.com

Josh Bulloc

The Bootstrap Coach

Kansas City, Missouri

Money is a very complicated subject. It represents many things to us. Many people have a much distorted view of money that allows it to complicate our lives, end relationships, and keeps them from having much of it.

One thing money represents to us is time. If you make money for spending a certain time at work (hourly or salary) and not based on your results money equals time. Time is something we cannot get more of. This view of money makes it a very stressful part of our lives. If we have to spend money to fix something like a car or a roof it is like we are giving away some of our time on this world.

Another thing money represents is security. This is that nest egg or that emergency fund. This allows you to feel safe and comfortable. If you are not careful this view will cause you to horde money because you think that loss of any money means reduced security. This level of security can also make you lazy because you lose the drive that got you there. The worst part about this is that it makes you lose the connection with your ability to produce and make that money if you are not careful.

The third thing money can be is a score card (this is how I tend to view it). This shows that more that you make or have the more you are winning at life. If you are not careful with this view you tend to think this is the only way to win in life. There are plenty of people that have a ton of money but are not happy. Also, this mentality can tend to make you horde It if you are not careful.

Next money is a reflection of your self-worth. If you have low self-worth you will tend to make little money and vice versa. It is related to how we value ourselves.

None of these things are either good or bad unless they are taken to the extreme. Also, you can view money as more than one of these and there can be more definitions of how to view money.

It is ok to make money and have money. You are not evil if you are rich and money is not evil. Typically, most people that make a lot of money provide services equal to the amount they make. Actually, we will exchange money for something that we value more than the money we are giving for it. Money will only make you more of what you are. If you are giving then with more money then you will be more giving, if you are greedy more money will just make your more greedy.

If you are in business money is how you track how you are serving your customers. The more you make the more you are serving your customers. It is a scorecard to how you are serving. The more money you have the more you serve.

People that make a lot of money tend to spend more money and give more money. Thus they create jobs and support worthy causes.

Finally, it is not making the money that is important but what you become to make the money.

What are your thoughts on money?

www.Joshbulloc.com

Josh Bulloc

The Bootstrap Coach

Copyright 2009

Kansas City, Missouri

From my experience only about 10 percent of people are willing to do the work to change a discomfort in their lives. I have encountered so many people that complain about a certain situation in their lives and when I press them to consider changing something most of them immediately make some excuse why it cannot be changed. Usually the excuses are pretty weak. That tells me that they just wanted to complain but are unwilling to work a little extra to make a change.

Many people believe the US is stagnating or failing but I think there is a class separation happening. Many of us have gotten so comfortable with not having to do real work we have become lazy and lack creativity. The other part of the separation is driven people that want to make progress in their lives and make the world a better place. You will begin to notice that money is attracted to productive individuals and the driven class is very productive thus they will earn a lot of money. Then you will see the lazy class complain that the “evil” rich people are not being fair. Then it becomes stereo typical class separation of the haves and the have-nots.

In other words I believe that we are progressing to where 10% of people have the majority of the money.

We all have the power to change this but we need to start now. I want to be part of the productive class so I am taking steps to get there. I am educating myself, I am identifying the skills I excel at, and I am surrounding myself with people that will help me grow. This means work and lots of it. But through this I am becoming a person that can be of valuable service to others and I am changing my family tree.

I recommend that you follow this path if you wish to become part of the productive class. If you choose to ignore this you must realize by not making progress in your life the world will change and leave you behind. I am not completely sure what being left behind means but I do know part of it is that you will have a set of skills that no one wants for their business. If this happens you will be out of work.

www.Joshbulloc.com

Josh Bulloc

The Bootstrap Coach

Kansas City, Missouri

You can choose how life affects you and you can choose to be happy. It is not what happens to us that makes us unhappy it is how we accept what happens that makes unhappy. In other words: when you are unhappy it is because you have chosen to be unhappy. For instance: if you are laid off you can view it as your life being over or you can view it as an opportunity to find a job that you really want. Take the economy; if you watch the news you think everyone is out of work. Actually, about 10% of people are out of work but 90% have work.

You also tend to make your own reality. If you believe that that no one is hiring then you are not going to look hard for work . If you believe that you have skills that an employers would want, then you will keep looking until you found that employer.

Stop watching the news and make a decision to be happy and shape our own future.

www.Joshbulloc.com

Josh Bulloc

The Bootstrap Coach

Kansas City, Missouri

You are the average of the people you hang around with. I believe this to be true so if you want to expand your horizons you need to be around people that are where you want to be. If you want to make more money then you need to spend time with people that are making more money than you. If you want to have a great marriage hang out with people that have a great marriage. A mastermind alliance is a group that helps lift everyone in the group to greater levels and through this concept. If you want to get better at something find a group that is interested in that (or create one) and start it.

www.Joshbulloc.com

Josh Bulloc

The Bootstrap Coach

Kansas City, Missouri

If someone has achieved something then they have the right to happy about what they have achieved. For example, Ron Morris (www.TAERADIO.com) was talking about his overcoming cancer. He mentioned that it was sheer will, he was just happy that he made it through insurmountable odds and he has more years to share his wisdom with others and spend time with his wife and kids. Then some of the listeners took it as the opposite; they made it seem like he also said that anyone that did not overcome cancer were not trying hard enough. This is not the case, but by the listener writing this to Ron they were steeling away his happiness. The same thing happened with Ron talking about his Audi A8. He was talking about buying this car because he liked it (not bragging what so ever), and someone wrote in saying that he is making people feel bad because they could not afford a car like that. That is wrong; they are taking away his joy because someone feels bad about their own position. If you feel bad about your position in life then do something about, do not complain to people about your feelings being hurt when no negativity was part of their statement.

www.Joshbulloc.com

Josh Bulloc

The Bootstrap Coach

Copyright 2009

Kansas City, Missouri

For the last couple of years I have set my goals for the upcoming year at about this time (I stole this from Dan Miller). Something I realized last night when I reviewing my goals for this year and making the ones for next is that I am growing. A year ago I was pretty unsure what my passions were and what I wanted to do with myself but I now am more confident about what I have to offer to others and what I can build a business from. With this realization I believe that you need to set yearly goals and write them down. This will help you to define where you want to go in life and help you see that you are growing when you review past goals.

As a side not I also learned that I try to do too many things at once and do not accomplish anything. I need to pick a couple of things at a time and focus on them in order to success.

So set your goals and keep on growing. If you would like a copy of the goals worksheet that I use please visit my website through the following link and go to the resources page.

www.Joshbulloc.com

Josh Bulloc

The Bootstrap Coach

Copyright 2009

Kansas City, Missouri