Solomon’s Wisdom…con’t.

Why is Solomon perceived to be so wise? What did he do that made him the topic of discussion in First Kings where he was touted by philosophers and prophets of his day as the wisest man in the region…in all the earth? For one thing, he found out who the true mother of a child was by offering to cut the child in two pieces and give both mothers half. The “counterfeit” mother out of jealously and selfishness said that would be fine, whereas the real mother pleaded with Solomon to spare the child’s life, and give it to the other woman.

It took a little wisdom to figure out who was telling the truth, and who only wanted a selfish gain for herself no matter who would be hurt in the process. Solomon called them out and made them face a difficult decision that would affect all three of them in a dramatic way.

Solomon built a vast empire. His rule and reign was so immense that it encompassed millions of acres of land; very powerful cities; trade routes that created wealth so vast that he was a billionaire by today’s standards in a time when no one came close to the enormous amount of wealth that he had attained.

Solomon’s empire included strategic alliances that kept his enemies at bay, and yet allowed him to freely trade with any country he wished. He controlled food sources and had enough allies in the surrounding countries, that if there were to be a famine, his people would not suffer.

This “empire” that Solomon built was the envy of all kings of the world in his day. And, this empire is the example that I wish to turn to in the study of how this king used wisdom to build his empire.

Solomon of course was human, and he had his faults and shortcomings. He was by no means a perfect little angel all of his life. No one is perfect and we all have faults. We can still learn from the imperfection of others, as well as in ourselves…I hope. But if we ever say we have learned it all, and there is nothing more to improve on, well then there is a problem, and maybe if we reach that point it’s time to go on vacation. If we can’t learn, and dream and hope and be curious then what is the point in going on…even living?

I am much wiser today after raising six children—all with different personalities, wants and desires. I learn each and every day that each child is different and wants to do or achieve different things in life. There are times when I wish I could just fit them into the perfect little life that my wife and I would like them to experience and achieve, but that defeats the purpose of learning and growing. We provide them with the necessities of life, a good example, and the “track to run on”. Some choose to run in the fast lane, while others may hold back and wish to see how the rest of us roll out life.

Let’s get back to the wisdom that we need today. Achieving business wisdom is also knowing that you have a short term tactical plan with immediate, measurable results that will roll up to a long term strategy.

The long term strategy must fit with the short term plan. The tactics plug into a cohesive, tight action plan that make up the successful overall plan. It’s like a mathematics equation…8 X 3 = 24; and 3 X 8 = 24; and 24 ÷ 8 = 3. They fit together so that the answer is the same no matter how you change it up. Tactics and strategies need to work in the same fashion.

To know instruction then is to listen to experts in their field and mold their tutoring in to your set of circumstances and solutions. We are constantly learning (at least I’m assuming you are still interested in the concept of learning) and applying the valuable tidbits of information into our own set of circumstances.

I am still learning from my children and many situations in business each day. I learn things from my wife each day that makes me a better person. I learn from business colleagues and situations in business that all serve to provide volumes of information and processes to follow. I learn from catching up on the news that people will do just about anything to move ahead as they exercise selfish dominion.

The 12 Principles of Building a Successful Empire included in my book Everlasting Wisdom are simple, yet powerful reminders of what will help us find success in business and in our personal lives.

Principle #1 – Seek Wisdom

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What Can The Wisdom of Solomon Offer Us Today?

What can Solomon offer us today, and is there a direct tie into living a good life and being a God-fearing person; applying principles and the wisdom of Solomon to business operations and ethics? Yes these teachings work for day-to-day life, but what can these teachings do for us in the world of business?

It poses an interesting question and is worth the effort to study out what Solomon may provide a world of fast-paced, make as much money as possible…in any way possible, and use whatever means to keep increasing wealth and raising our status in society.

I was sitting at my home one winter morning and an idea popped into my head. The idea was to take the writings of Solomon, particularly Proverbs, and draw a correlation of how those words written over 3,000 years ago might be applicable to today in business.

Could there even be a correlation drawn to today — with all of the chaos of daily life? We are so far more advanced as a society than the people of Solomon’s time, at least in technology, medicine, and science. But are we that much more advanced in wisdom?

Take a look a few inventions, processes, and successes during the past 100 years. There are many to list, but for now it is staggering to think about the incredible advances our global society has made.

• We have computers that think faster than the human brain, however, computers have evolved much faster than the human brain. Computers have been around for only a few decades, yet rapid technological advancements have made computers faster, smaller and more powerful.

• We have upwards of 50 micro processors in an automobile, and planes that carry hundreds of people to a destination in hours, thousands of miles away, instead of days or weeks.

• We have the Internet and billions of pages of information to learn from right at our fingertips.

• We have space shuttles that take our astronauts into space and back again in a matter of days. The Space Shuttle travels at a constant speed of 17,500 per hour.

• We have ways of turning goods into profits with people in a different country, and they pay the same moment that they make a decision to purchase, with the Internet and a credit card.

• We have companies like Wal Mart that bring in $4.5 billion in one week (yes billion with a “b”).

• We can hold meetings with others who might be 8,000 miles away, all in real time, and you can see them on the screen as you interact with them.

• We can cure deadly diseases and help people live normal lives that would not have been able to do so even 10 years ago.

• Credit card processing companies can process over $20 trillion
(yes, trillion with a “t”) in one year.

• We can see planets through a telescope – 42 light years away. To put that into perspective, one light year is equal to 5,878,625,373,183 miles (that is 5.8 trillion miles). Pretty staggering once you think about the many advances that our society has made even in the past 100 years.

So what can a king who lived 3,000 years ago teach a society that is so far advanced in its culture? What could he possibly do for us in this day and age, and could his wisdom actually assist us in our current
business practices?

For starters Solomon can take us back to our humble beginnings and help us realize that although these things are wonderful inventions to make our lives better and more productive, they don’t always remind us that we have a God that is providing us with so many blessings.

Solomon’s teachings can assist us in doing what is good, and what is right, and what can affect us for the eternities, not just in this life. I would dare say that the Proverbs of Solomon are more applicable today that they were 3,000 years ago.

I wrote this book with the intention that Solomon’s wisdom is even more applicable in business today… but don’t stop there. His wisdom continues to enlighten millions of people on all continents, and in many ways.

Solomon wrote: To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding. What is “wisdom” and why should we care to achieve it in this lifetime? Wisdom is defined as “good sense and a wise attitude, belief, or course of action; the teachings of the ancient wise men.” To add to the “official definition”, I believe wisdom is a combination of:

• maturity,

• self confidence,

• reliance upon God,

• listening to your inner feelings, and

• being mature enough to accept the feelings that you experience.

It’s interesting that there is one additional word that by its very nature, will help you achieve wisdom in this life: experience. When we experience something, we have a baseline to form some kind of judgment about how we will act or re-act in the future. We have a reference point to look back to and remember how we reacted, or not. We will either avoid the same situation in the future, or we will embrace it and possibly even improve upon it.

We lack wisdom if we continue to make the same mistake(s) over and over. You’ve probably heard that one definition of insanity is to do something over and over and expect a different result. Someone with a little wisdom will stop the insanity and try something a little different, or in a different order, or add one more ingredient.

Check out my book Everlasting Wisdom, and tell me what you think! Thanks for listening…

http://www.brianhazelgren.com/everlasting_wisdom.html

Increase Your Chance of Success

It’s estimated that in the United States, only about 30 percent of all startups are still in business after five years. In some states, the number is only about 10 percent. These are startling numbers; and, yet, they are somewhat understandable. Most small business owners are too busy to plan for the future, or at least they think they are too busy. The fact is, the better you understand the challenges ahead of you and the better you prepare yourself for those challenges, the more likely it is that you’ll be one of the survivors.

In my opinion, the two most common reasons that a business doesn’t succeed come down to (1) poor management because the owner lacks the necessary skills; or (2) money, either because the owner underestimates how much money it will take to start the business or they are undercapitalized. The following sections will address the first cause and will help you determine whether you have the necessary skills or, if not, how you may be able to acquire them.

Evaluating Your Chances for Success

Once you’ve decided that you have the right stuff to be an entrepreneur, you’re ready to determine whether your business idea has the right stuff. Before you pump your life savings into a small business, you want to know if it has a chance to succeed.

Here’s a look at the prime considerations for determining if your business idea has a chance to succeed:

• Market assessment— Is there a market for your product or service? If so, how much income can you expect to derive from it?
• Profitability assessment— How much will starting a new business cost you? Can you afford a lengthy “red ink” period following startup, as well as periodic lulls in cash flow? Can you afford to fail?
• Financing assessment— Will you be able to obtain the necessary financing for your business? If so, from where?
• Legal assessment— What potential legal liabilities are you exposing yourself to by starting a new business? Are the costs of protecting yourself worth the trouble?
• Researching your industry— How can you learn more about your chosen industry and about the resources that are available to help you?

Once you complete these assessments, you will be able to begin to understand the viability of the idea that you have. A closer look at the Free Enterprise Model may help you understand this cycle a little better.

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Pro’s and Con’s of Owning a Business

Owning a small business is not just another job. It’s a totally different lifestyle. You have to ask yourself whether you’re ready for a complete commitment to the success of your business. Just as importantly, if you are in a relationship, you should ask your partner whether he or she is completely committed to supporting you in your efforts.

As a small business owner, you’re going to have less time for your personal life and you’ll probably be using much of what you own as collateral to raise money for the business. If you are willing to make those sacrifices, then let’s move on to some of the advantages and disadvantages of owning your own business.

Pros:

• You have the chance to make a lot more money than you can make working for someone else.
• You’ll be your own boss and make the decisions that are crucial to your business’s success or failure.
• You may be the boss of other people.
• You’ll have job security — no one can fire you.
• You’ll have the chance to put your ideas into practice.
• You may participate in every aspect of running a business.
• You’ll learn more about every aspect of a business and gain experience in a variety of disciplines.
• You’ll have the chance to work directly with your customers.
• You’ll be able to benefit the local economy, such as by hiring other people to work for you.
• You’ll have the personal satisfaction of creating and running a successful business.
• You’ll be able to work in a field or area that you really enjoy.
• You’ll have the chance to build real retirement value (for example, by selling the business when you retire).
• You’ll have the chance to put down roots in a community and to provide a sense of belonging and stability for your family.

Cons:

• You may have to take a large financial risk.
• You will probably have to work long hours and may have fewer opportunities to take vacations.
• You may end up spending a lot of your time attending to the details of running a business and less time on those things you really enjoy.
• You may find that your income is not steady and that there are times when you don’t have much income coming in at all.
• You may have to undertake tasks you find unpleasant, such as firing someone or refusing to hire a friend or relative, or collecting receivables.
• You may have to learn many new disciplines, such as filing and bookkeeping, inventory control, production planning, advertising and promotion, market research, and general management.

Specific pros and cons of the home-based business:

• Your startup costs will be lower.
• Your operating costs will be lower than they would be if you were renting space and paying utilities.
• Your commute will be shorter!
• If your location is unimportant to your business, you can theoretically live anywhere and still operate your business.
• You may be more flexible in your schedule if your business can be conducted at your convenience or outside “normal” weekday business hours.
• On the other hand, you’re much more vulnerable to interruptions from family members, neighbors, and door-to-door salespeople.
• You may have trouble attracting qualified employees.
• You may be less accessible to suppliers.
• You may worry about your image and about how it “looks” to work from home. However,  with the growing popularity of home businesses, such concerns are becoming far less common.
• You may run out of space at home as your business grows.

Whatever you choose to do, owning and operating a business is exhilarating, thrilling, challenging, highly rewarding, and yes, very difficult. I wish you the absolute best of luck in your launch and operation of a successful business, and will be looking for stories to be written about your incredible company!

 www.brianhazelgren.com

Effective Leaders

Effective leaders must seek and provide clarity in order to have a vision to follow. We buy into a leaders vision if it has been well thought out and articulated.

Providing clarity should be a responsibility of leaders, rather than a convenient way to achieve a goal. Communicating a clear message takes dialog; sharing of ideas; push, pull, and an exchange of thoughts, ideas, opinions, and feelings.

Leaders must establish a clear vision of where they feel the company must get to.

“Where there is no vision the people perish.” King Solomon

Read my book Everlasting Wisdom

Entrepreneurs Needed

Owning a business, or “entrepreneurship”, is all about having the freedom of doing things your way, but that is only possible as you take calculated risks in working toward an obtainable goal. I want to teach you not only how to start a small business, but how to learn from others who have already made the mistakes for you—and how to take that knowledge and mold it into a success story of your own.

I am literally going to hand you an immensely expensive education in business. This education will not only save you thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars in lessons learned, the information I will share with you will also show you how to establish a business that will help you make a great deal of money over and above those savings. After all, the freedom to do what you want in growing your own business is one thing, but how much freedom do you actually have if you can’t pay the bills, and have a little left over for yourself? The principles taught in my books and at my workshops, if followed, will allow you to have a lot left over for you and your family, or for whatever you want to do with it.

If I sound a little over the top, I don’t mean to. The fact is, I have obtained an expensive education of what works and what doesn’t in the world of business. I have made a lot of money running businesses, and I have lost a lot of money based on foolish choices I have made. Although I do have a college degree, I also have earned a PhD several times over from UHK. As you may already know, UHK stands for the University of Hard Knocks. I have what you would refer to as “street smarts,” which I gained from more than two decades of going after my dreams and not sitting back waiting for things to come to me. I love to share what I have learned with others.

This is one area that always resonates to the top for me. That is why I teach Entrepreneurship. I have a passion for learning, teaching and succeeding. I am very good at what I do because I love to learn and I enjoy seeing others succeed! Here’s to your success!

Stay Focused #7

Stay Focused and keep reading! The seventh principle of staying focused is in my book Everlasting Wisdom.

www.brianhazelgren.com

Stay Focused #6

How many times have you felt like you can predict what will happen in a certain situation if the current path is followed?

Have you ever felt like you were in the zone, and nothing could stop you from achieving success?

In my book Everlasting Wisdom, I asked the question: “Have you ever seen the poster that shows a setting sun on the horizon, and placed in front of the setting sun are four large boulders in the ocean. The caption of the poster is “When you take your eyes
off the goal, all you see are the obstacles.” The primary point is that the obstacles of deep, cold waters; and large objects standing in the way, are usually what we humans focus on first, rather than seeing past those obstacles and focusing on the beauty of the setting sun.

6. Visualize the end result – Constantly seeing the end result in your mind is a great motivator. Visualize what you want to accomplish. If the end result is truly important to you, it can serve as a powerful reminder that your sacrifices along the way will be worth it.

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Stay Focused #5

This one is probably the one that is most overlooked, yet is also the most important. We like to be rewarded by others for a job well done…its human nature. The simple fact that we like to be rewarded should tell us that its ok to take some time and give ourselves some small jewel for getting our work completed. An exotic vacation or something as simple as some time to ourselves can be the right ticket!
#5. Reward yourself – you need to give yourself a pat on the back once in a while and reward yourself for your discipline. That can be as simple as blocking out time for you to read a book; see a movie; go out to dinner; go on a vacation; or watch your favorite sitcom.

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Stay Focused #4

#4. Break tasks into smaller pieces – a big project can look so overwhelming at times. I have found that when you take the big picture and break it down to smaller elements, individual pieces don’t seem as daunting, and each time you complete one of the smaller tasks it is invigorating and empowering.