Expand Your Thinking

I have mentioned before the interesting (although not very romantic) concept from The Millionaire Mind of thinking about your approach to life in terms of a balance sheet versus an income statement. Again, it may not rank up there with "life as a blank canvas," but it serves a purpose. You can also think of this in terms of delayed gratification.

In the small business space, this can take the form of deferred compensation, working for equity, mortgaging your house, or a whole range in between these. It's a question of what you are working for (apologies for ending a sentence in a preposition). Once in the space, it does not take much creativity to find workable solutions, but it does take expanding your thinking beyond the normal solutions. You can surprise yourself with options within your network for work that can help pay the bills (an income statement requirement) while working on the big dream (a balance sheet investment). Sometimes attaining the dream may require putting it on hold for a tour of duty in Corporate America. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but it all depends on your mindset.

Look for options to balance the needs of short-term financial demands and investing for the long-term. The answer depends on the individual and the individual's family and other factors, but stopping to consider the real needs and the available options can often evidence much more palatable answers.

In the spirit of full disclosure, this is a personally therapeutic posting as well. It often requires a conscious pause in the action to remind myself of why I persist at the path I am on and non-traditional ways to stay on it for the long-term rewards. Thanks for listening.