For the entrepreneur, business is more than just the promise of making money, it's the realization of one's goals. Most entrepreneurs I know, including myself, are goal driven - as opposed to money driven. Any entrepreneur worth his or her salt will tell you that their businesses are a reflection of their dreams. And...if they're lucky enough to make those dreams into reality, and that reality becomes a success (in whatever form that takes), then...the money follows.

As many of you know, I've had some wonderful experiences and successes in my business life. I've also had some endeavors that taught me what not to do. Yet...I still consider myself a serial entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are risk takers. Some have a higher risk tolerance than others, however, as we've all recently learned - even working for someone else brings with it enormous risks.

When I look at my classrooms full of students, or sit on the stage at commencement, viewing hundreds of graduates as they get ready to go out into the business world, I wonder. Will they be able to find jobs? Will those jobs make them happy? Will their desires be fulfilled?

Today, more and more people have to think about going into business for themselves. Everyone I know...and that includes you, has brilliant ideas - things that could change the world in small or big ways. All it takes is direction, focus, knowing one's strengths and weaknesses, being able to realize when to partner with others and when it can be done alone, and having the tenacity to stick with an idea, set a plan, gather resources, and forge ahead. 

I've coached and trained more entrepreneurs than I can count. I've helped them "get on their feet," given them advice, coached them through problems, and guided them so that they could avoid pitfalls and seize opportunities. It's part of what I love to do and is integral to my own entrepreneurial dream. 

Sometimes, being business brave can be one of the most invigorating endeavors of a person's life. In today's environment it may be the best choice one can make. So...think about your desires, your plans, your wishes, what motivates you, what inspires you, what makes you (or would make you) want to "get up and go" each morning, and start conceptualizing your future endeavor(s). Life is finite...one's business journey should make a person happy and as contented as possible. 

In the societies in which we live, economic survival is based (whether one agrees with it or not) on business and money - yes...they are both mental constructs, but - as with so many mental constructs, we make them real. Therefore, with that reality in mind - think, grow, innovate, and work on building your business dream. There is a sea of opportunities out there. And...you can acheive your business objectives while still being kind, compassionate, sustainable, and also by putting people before profits. Because when people come first...profits usually follow (especially if you understand what it takes to have the margins you need to be successful).

If you can handle the risk...it just might be worth it - in so many ways!

We live in the now. That's all there is. As I've said many times..."The past is gone, the future hasn't arrived, but when it does...it will be now." My students know this. I've been discussing it with them for years. There are thousands of them who have heard my thoughts (as I have theirs), asked me about now, argued with me about then, and tried to convince me about planning for the future. We've spent countless hours of nowness discussing this topic. While hopefully enlightening each other along the way.

Quite often a person will ask me, "If we're always living in the now, does that mean we don't plan for the future?" My answer never varies. "No...it only means that you plan for the future in the now. You can't live in the future, but you can plan for it - just don't obsess over it or you'll never enjoy the now." Of course, none of us know what our future will be, how long it will last, or when it may end. Yet, we long for it (all too often) without reveling in the present. Some people constantly plan for the future. They work for retirement, learn for the opportunities of later, and save for something they may (or may never) obtain. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. Who am I to dictate? But - from my observations...they often become detached from the reality of the pleasure of the moment.

However, time has a way of moving forward. At least in this reality. So...it's only natural to plan for future nows. The problem (in my estimation) is that far too many people never enjoy the moment they're in. They worry about this and that, are concerned over later events, and spend excessive hours pondering over things that may not be. All the while...their now becomes the past and their future become a carrot dangling on a stick, while the beauty of now passes in front of their eyes unnoticed.

To paraphrase a saying I heard many years ago. There isn't a person who, on their death bed, has said that they wish they would have closed another deal, made a bit more money, or purchased another piece of jewelry. Yet, you can rest assured that there have been plenty of folks who've said they wish they had more time to have more nows.