About Accountability

Today is Sunday, and it is a great time to relax a little and invest time in your self education. I want to talk to you about a book on accountability. Throughout the years I have been working, I've been an able to see and be a part of, what I call, the accountability dance.

When a problem arises at the workplace, ever single person that is in some part involved in this problem will perform an intricate set of movements where they will swerve, jump, twirl, leap and tiptoe away from accountability and when possible divert it to the nearest person available. Almost no one is willing to take accountability for their actions, but the real problem is that no one is willing to take accountability on issues that happen at the workplace. It might not be a problem, it could be something as simple as directing a customer to the right direction, or cleaning up a spot on the floor.

How many times have you heard people say: "That's not my job". Rarely people will step up to the plate, take ownership of a problem and ask "what can I do to improve this situation?"

As a leader and entrepreneur, you are the first person that will have to take accountability of your business and everything that happens there, but you also have to teach and preach about accountability to your team members, and the best way to do it is by example.

I want to share with you an amazing book that teaches about accountability, this book changed the way I saw the problems at the workplace, I hope it can help you to build up your own business with strong accountability foundations.

Google Play Book Version Here

Happy reading and have a great Sunday!

MrFD

Live, Laugh, Love and Keep Moving Forward!

Step 4. Find your happiness and success will find you.

How many times have you felt frustrated, desperate and downright unhappy at your current job. Maybe it is the actual work you do that makes you feel this way, or your co-workers are giving you a hard time, perhaps your boss is a terrible leader that is bringing the whole work environment down. All those are topics for a full entry by themselves, and believe me I'll get to that later. But the point is that if you are not happy with what you do, where you do it or who you do it for, it will have a negative effect in your personal life, your health and your ability to succeed. 

You have to give yourself permission to want to do the things you actually want to do. I mean, come on, how many times have you wanted to do something but told yourself that you couldn't, it wasn't the right time, you didn't have time at all or well, just someday you would get to that. The issue here is time, we have a limited amount of it, and someday might come too late, or not come at all. So why not allow you to be happy? Do the things that make you happy!

What are you really good at? exceptionally good, better than anyone else you know. Does it make you happy? if yes, then pursue it, let it be your thing and go with it. If it doesn't make you happy, but you are really good at it, perhaps you should explore other things, maybe you are really good at something else, you just have to find out.

When you realize what is your thing, the thing that makes you tick and gives you happiness, then give a really good time and thought on how to monetize that thing that makes you happy. Out there in the world there is people that would be willing to pay you to do exactly what you love to do. You might find a job doing the thing you love, that is great, but there is no greater feeling than to do the thing you love in a business of your own. 

Be aware that there is still a lot to do before you can live off the thing you love to do, there is still a lot of planning and tinkering to do before you can quit your job and start your own business, but now you know where you are headed, and that is half the way. Your business dragon egg is laid, it is time to find out how to make it hatch.

Remember future Dragon Riders,

Live, Laugh, Love and Keep Moving Forward.

MrFD

A little something to inspire you to write

I know how difficult it is sometimes to grab a pen and paper or sit in front of the keyboard and just write. The act of putting your thoughts into paper or a file, feels daunting and challenging. Specially for those of us who never got the hang of it while growing up.

But even those who are born with the natural talent of writing have difficulties to do so from time to time, either by a mental block, or just fear that no one will like what we write.

My advice to you is, do not think about it, do no think about structure, or that your ideas make sense. You can always polish them later once you have written all that is in your mind, just let go of that fear and write because once you get the hang of it, the words just pour out like a waterfall and the ideas keep coming and then all you'll want is to keep on writing.

I want to share with you a movie you can watch on Netflix or Amazon Prime, it is called:

Magic Beyond Words: The J.K. Rowling Story

Amazon Prime   Netflix  

If you don't have Netflix or Amazon Prime, just Google the movie to find other places where you can either buy, rent or watch the movie. But I do recommend it to get you inspired to write and to pursue your dreams. 

Did you know that J.K. Rowling was living on welfare while she was polishing the first Harry Potter Book? I won't spoil the movie for you if you do not know her story, but by now you should know that she became the richest woman in the UK, from welfare to richest woman in the UK. Let that sink in for a moment. All she had to do was let go of her fear. 

You should too.

Live, Laugh, Love and Keep Moving Forward. 

MrFD

Step 3. Write it down.

Step 3.

Wite.

It.

Down.

Seriously, write it down, everything, every idea, concept, reminder, goal, dream, everything worth remembering needs to be written down.

If you have started listening to either of the two books I recommended in the past entry, you will get to a point in which both authors recommend to write things down, specially goals. You know what? they are 100% right about it. I used the be the person that didn't write anything down, and the biggest lie I would always tell myself was "yeah, I don't need to write that thing down, I'll remember it, I have great memory", and yes I do have a great memory, but eventually I would forget about the idea, or the thing I wanted to do, or the goal I had set myself and it would all fall down to oblivion.

It was after I hear the audiobook versions of those two books that I finally changed and started to write things down, and it was difficult to keep on writing every single thing, I would forget and go on weeks and even months without writing in my journal or appointment book. I would sometimes use a spiral notebook and write things I was currently working on, but never kept an order or would filter out things or anything. Eventually I would write things that at the moment made perfect sense, but when I got back to them I would not know what the heck I meant when I wrote it.

So, I changed the system I was using, I bought myself a journal, a notebook, a breast pocket notepad and a spiral notebook. The spiral notebook I use to write everyday business things I am working on, activities, orders I hand out, people that call me, etc. The journal is my filter, I write all the important things, appointments, delivery dates, calls I have to make, etc. The notebook is for ideas for new products, services and businesses that need to grow and a fully blank page is the best place for me, I can draw, sketch, doodle and write. The breast pocket notepad is for when I'm on the go and I need something to write down so I don't lose anything.

But that is just me.

The idea is to change your habit of how you lay down the information and how you can use it later, you could start by writing things down like everything you eat, every single thing you eat and drink.  Or perhaps you could write down all your finance, every penny you earn or spend. Maybe you are a sports buff so you can write down all your training. I chose to write down all the business stuff in my life, you can chose to write anything else if you want to improve your writing habit. But I can tell you two things, it is of the up most important that you do work on your writing for the future of your business, and if you keep at it, you will improve not only writing but it will improve your life in general.

Don't believe me? check these two links:

Link 1   Link 2


You can write about anything you want, but the one thing you have to write no matter what is your goal, or goals. Every goal you want to accomplish needs to be on paper and you have to set a date for each goal if you really want to reach them.

Give it a try, write, don't think about it, just write and let the words flow.

MrFD

Step 2. So, you want to tame and control your business? Embrace Change!

Ok, so you went through the first step of deciding you are going to be an entrepreneur, you have decided to face your fears, confront your dragon and start your journey. What do you do?

You don't go out and quit your job, get a loan and open a brick and mortar business right away. Hold on, you have to learn how to stand up before you try to fly.

Similarly the very first step, that is very personal, the next step is based on you, not on your business, it all starts with you.

Think of your best traits, what are you good at? what do you love doing? what is your thing? It might be writing, designing, building things, repairing stuff, you name it. That is amazing, you have a talent that you can exploit to either create a service or product, or just to aid you on your path.

But what about the rest? you might me an amazing designer, but what if you lack the skills to go out there and sell your stuff, or you could be the best handy man in the world, but you don't have social skills to help you relate to your customers. You will always lack a skill, knowledge or habit that will be needed for you to succeed.

The 2nd step for you journey will be self improvement. You will have to learn more about the business you want to jump in to, you will have to acquire a new set of skills and habits to be a better leader, you will have to change who you are right now, be a better version of yourself.

It has been my experience that change is better adopted if done gradually, you may be one of the lucky few that can say "I will start exercising today and never quit" and you'll indeed never quit, or you can pick up a book today and don't set it down until you've learned every bit of information it contains. But most people are not able to do that, if you are, congratulations, the road will be a lot easier for you. But if you are more like me, you will change gradually, you might even fight change; but if you want this bad enough, you will change and grow.

I am going to share with you all of the resources that I've found and all that I come to find, that I consider relevant for your journey, everything I share I've read and tested and has created a change in me to become a better and healthier person, a better husband, a better father and a better leader. I try to cover all aspects of life, because in the end you have to reach for balance, we will cover the topic of balance in the future, but know right here and now that sometimes work/life balance is rarely attainable, but you do have to balance yourself to be successful, and to obtain this balance, you will have to embrace change.

Here is a list of books I recommend you start reading that will help you start with your personal growth and change. Here's a tip for you, if you have a long commute or if you exercise regularly, get a cheap iPod and download the audiobook and the podcasts I will recommend now and in the future. If you want to use your phone I suggest turning off the notifications, so when you are listening you will not be distracted by Facebook or Twitter or any other kind of notification and you focus on learning.

I'll always include a link to where you can buy the book or audiobooks to make things easier for you. I also include the author's Facebook or Twitter links so you can see what they are sharing right now.

Books

Author: Brian Tracy

No Excuses!: The Power Of Self-Discipline

Author: Dave Ramsey

Entreleadership

Podcasts

Entreleadership Podcast

Ken Coleman

iTunes  TuneIn

Entrepreneur on Fire

Host: John Lee Dumas

iTunes   TuneIn

With these 2 books and 2 podcasts you have more than enough to start with. These 4 things will help you jump-start your embrace to change. I hope you enjoy them, because I certainly do.

Keep Moving Foward!

MrFD

Try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks

Business Dragons

In my first post I wrote how I consider businesses to be like dragons, you might think it is just because I wanted it to work with my nickname, and very early on that indeed was the case. But the more I thought about it, during the course of a year I was able to find so many analogies that the concept has stuck in my mind.

According to Wikipedia, a dragon is: 

"A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that features in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern mythologies, and the Chinese dragon, with counterparts in Japan (namely the Japanese dragon), Korea and other East Asian countries.^[1]

The two traditions may have evolved separately, but have influenced each other to a certain extent, particularly with the cross-cultural contact of recent centuries. The English word "dragon" derives from Greek δράκων (drákōn), "dragon, serpent of huge size, water-snake".^[2]"

All around the world we can find a myth or legend about dragons or creatures that resemble dragons, we have the traditional European dragon, the wise Chinese dragon, the Naga from India and even Quetzalcoatl from Mexico. The concept of dragon is world wide, and so is business, from time immemorial.

Every business can slither and slide, move and fly around in the market to grow, ensnare clients and choke competitors. Just like a reptile would do.

If not held in check, a dragon can be greedy beyond measure, as you may have seen in the recent Peter Jackson's Hobbit movies. Business can be alluring and can provide great wealth, but if we do not control the business' hold over us, we can catch the dragon sickness and allow wealth to control our lives.

Dragons can fly to great heights and go great distances to conquer other lands, a successful company can do the same, rise above the rest and expand to other markets and conquer the hearts of clients and consumers. 

Some myths talk about the great magic and wisdom that dragons posses, and your company can be magical, not in the real sense, but it can change your world, it can enthrall you, your team members and your customers in ways that go beyond a simple product or service. We can obtain great wisdom by owning a business, and we obtain it whether we like it or not.

Dragons con go in a rampage burning everything around them, business can consume us and burn us out, it let lose, a business can destroy our social life, our family life, our health and our finance.

Dragons are powerful, awe inspiring, intimidating. A company, when it grows to its full potential can be the same.

And I could go on and on, but my point is that you need to know what you are going to deal with, you have to respect your dragon, you have to respect your business, you have to know what it can do to you if you let it, it can be very good to you and it can hurt you, and hurt you it will; but you will love your dragon, you will see it as an egg, then as a hatchling, as a baby dragon and see it grow into a great wyrm. 

No matter how much you love your business, you have to be aware that it has a mind of its own and you always have to be in control, you have to be the leader, the tamer, the trainer, ultimately you have to be a dragon rider and control your dragon to where you want to go. You can and will be in control, do not worry to much about it, knowledge is power and the more you know about yourself and your dragon, the better you'll be able to control it.

Control your life, design your business, become a dragon rider.

MrFD

The Very First Step

So, you want to train your business, you want to make tons of cash and be successful and an amazing leader. Great. 

First you have to let your brain grasp that concept of where you want to be, what is your goal, what do you want to achieve with your new or current business, build it in your mind, day dream and reach the very top of what you want to do with your life. How do you picture yourself?

Got it? OK, now see where you are now, your job today, your personal situation, your health, what you are eating, what you are doing in your free time. It looks like a very long journey, right? well, it is, and every journey, no matter how long, begins with the first step.

So the first thing you have to do is make the decision to change your current situation to reach that ultimate goal you just pictured for yourself. You have to be absolutely 100% certain that you will actually DO things in order to achieve your goals. You might have an amazing idea, great! but if you never act upon it, this idea will wither and die in your brain succumbed by every day "stuff" you have to do.

If you want to become an entrepreneur or be a better one, you have to commit to yourself and take action, no matter how small it might be, just as long as you do not remain on the same spot. So make the decision to stop being a wantepreneur and become an entrepreneur.

Deciding might seem like an easy thing to do, but never underestimate the fear factor, fear of losing what you currently have, fear of failing, fear of making a fool of yourself, fear of losing the support of loved ones, fear of fear itself.

Fear can be paralyzing, and will keep you rooted where you are, and where you are might be a good place, a nice place. You might have a good job, with a nice pay, or perhaps your job sucks but it provides the sufficient income to live a decent life. We always fear to lose a good thing, but you might be missing on a great thing. The biggest killer of greatness is good.

I cannot tell you that you will succeed, I do not know if you will be a great leader, I ignore if you will reach all your goals. But I can guarantee that in some point you will have a failure, and you will learn from it, do not be afraid of failure it will push you forward if you let it, and I am certain that if you keep going, you will gain enough momentum to reach a higher and better place. 

So, decide to be more, decide to grow, decide to become a leader, decide to improve yourself, decide to move from the place you are right now, do that, and you will have taken the very first step of your journey.

MrFD

Live, Laugh, Love and Keep Moving Forward.

How To Train Your Business

Hello world, my name is Erick, online you will find me as MrFireDragon. I am a 38 year old married man with one beautiful 7 year old girl, a business man, a dreamer, an entrepreneur, a designer and go-getter. From a couple of years ago, I'm constantly trying to reshape and redesign myself, the way I do business and what I have planned for my financial future. I was born in 1976, the year of the Dragon according to the Chinese calendar, and that year in particular was year of the Fire Dragon, hence my nickname.

I have a small online art and graphic design agency and I co-manage the family business along with my father. Life has taught me many things that I will try to share with you here, about family, about life, about health and specially about business. I have dealt with most ranges of clients and bosses, from the very easy to get along with and the hardest nuts to crack.

Through my Twitter account, I share whatever I can find that I consider to be relevant to business in general and how to improve it by improving yourself. I am a firm believer that self improvement is the basis to a great life and a great business.

I am currently shaping a startup that I am certain will have a great impact in peoples lives, and was based and inspired on and for my wife. You see, she was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis 6 years ago, a year after our girl was born, and we went through a health roller coaster that impacted most of our lives. I went from being a financially independent person to having to work in the family business, believe me, it was never my dream to pursue my father's path, but it was a road that I had to take in order to be able to provide the best possible care for my wife that now was refrained from working due to her condition.

For some time I felt scared, scared for my wife's health, our daughter and our financial situation. It shaped most of my life for at least 4 years, but little by little I've found resources online that have given me hope of a better future, a business I would love to work on and the financial independence that I was striving for since the beginning. I will share all that information here with you and give you my opinion on how or why each thing I share helps to improve my personal life and my business life.

One thing I want you to know is my personal view on business, I think of a business or a company as a dragon, it can be inspiring, it can be powerful, it can have and create wealth, it can be magical and wonderful, but it can also be dangerous, wild, tricky and can consume it all it you let it. I consider a business man or an entrepreneur to be a dragon rider that has to train the business to do what one wants it to do. You have to be in control, you can never let the business have the control over you, or it will consume you. I've seen it happen and it is a sad and miserable life, I almost let it happen to me, but a recent health upset helped me realize that I have to take back control of my business and my life and become the dragon rider I am meant to be, and I will do my very best to help you become a dragon rider.

So buckle up and be prepared to embrace change,

MrFD

"Live, Laugh, Love and Keep Moving Forward."