Excerpt



The new millennium has marked a new age for entrepreneurs — service professionals, internet gurus, and career men and women of every stripe. The assumptions that we relied on for survival and success in the twentieth century are no longer valid. What was good enough then won’t get us far now. As the effects of the global economy broaden to impact even the smallest enterprise, everyone feels the pressure to keep up or give up.

Just a few years ago, we felt sorry for those who lived in work-centered cultures. Now, longer hours, increased demands on our ‘free’ time, limited benefits and capped incomes have forced all but the wealthiest among us to become those who ‘live to work’ rather than those who ‘work to live.’ Economic conditions are creating a 21st century cultural evolution whose impact could rival that of the industrial revolution of 100 years past.

‘Going into business’ isn’t just about taking a product or service to market. People once said that success (both in business and in other aspects of life) was 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. Today, the 10% inspiration is still necessary. However, the 90% is all about the expert management of capital: physical wealth and human energy. Management becomes increasingly complex as old boundaries break down: between countries and regions of the world, between women’s roles and men’s roles, between work life and home life, between religion and politics, and between what’s public and what’s private.

Caught in the middle are those poor folks who just want to parlay a good idea into a living wage for themselves and their families. In a world that increasingly seems to function without honor, loyalty or respect, the social structures on which these people once relied have vanished. The entrepreneur surfs alone on a stormy sea, balancing precariously with no shoreline in sight. Regardless of the effort to make effective decisions, someone or something in the entrepreneur’s life always seems to have to suffer painful consequences. It’s the plight of highly intelligent, highly motivated and hard-working people — the plight of the Frazzled Entrepreneur.

What we not-so-secretly want is nothing less than ‘having it all’ — a phrase that all of us must interpret according to our own individual and personal standards. At the same time, we’re acutely aware that everything comes with a price tag attached. We become frazzled when we try to balance our needs and wants with the harsh reality of their cost. We fear the consequences of losing what balance we do maintain. Regardless of our education and experience doubts about whether or not we’re truly up to the challenge lurks in the recesses of our minds. Given the current global climate, is it even possible to maintain a balanced life?

Aikido, the Japanese martial art, teaches that an attacker is defeated neither by a determined defense nor by a spirited offense. Instead, maintaining flexibility renders an attacker’s own energy self-defeating. In other words, we don’t change the world by mustering a strong defense or even by mounting a well-planned offensive. We change the world primarily by changing ourselves.

The Frazzled Entrepreneur’s Guide presents seven key life strategies designed to raise your awareness. These strategies begin by helping the frazzled find balance and end up... who knows where? Remember, you get to decide what ‘having it all’ means to you. My suggestion (especially to new and aspiring entrepreneurs)? Don’t hold back! Be bold! Your only limits are the ones you put on yourself!