The Pieces of My Lifestyle Business Are Fitting Together Like a Dream - 30 Day Blog Challenge - Days 29 and 30

by Debi Auger

Day 29 Challenge: "What does your blueprint for living the dream look like to you?"

Day 30 Challenge: "Tell me how the 30 Day Blog Challenge has helped you to create freedom in business and adventure in life."

Have You Been Doing the Challenge?

If so, here are some additional questions Natalie asked on Day 29 that will probably be helpful for you to answer as well:

      • So what does living the dream REALLY look like to you?
      • What do you want in your life beyond all certainty?
      • What’s a non-negotiable you are not prepared to give up for anything else?
      • What don’t you mind forsaking in return for having more of something else?

How Did It Help Me?

I've not had time to put together a proper, snazzy Painted Picture slide show to share with you because of Niko's surgery. Customers and clients need to come first in my limited time right now. But I do have it in my head, jotted down and sketched out on papers and documented in Evernote. I'm very excited about it and working on it every spare moment.

Doing this 30 Day Blog Challenge really did help me clarify it even more. And the fact that I've been doing a re-brand at the same time, though a bit overwhelming, actually proved to be quite helpful and synergistic - which was my hope when I signed on to take part in the challenge knowing what was already on my plate.

I made a commitment to really embrace this challenge because, having already read Natalie's book, I knew it would really help me stay focused and work things out. I'll admit that blogging every day (which I ultimately didn't do... I combined many into longer posts) wasn't easy. It's way more than I usually blog. But this journey has been enlightening, exciting and quite enjoyable. 

I took advantage of the challenges to do some real soul-searching, dig deep, and be honest with myself. I looked at my "why" and the big picture for my business, worked through my re-brand, planned out my offerings and came up with amazing ideas for Awaken Dreams which have gone into planning mode and are well on their way.

I was able to envision and describe my Perfect Day in much more detail than ever before. It's so inspirational that I've printed it and put it on the magnetic white board in my office where I'll see it daily.

What's Your Take on This?

There's a TV commercial from Prudential airing in the US right now that's making me crazy! Here's why. Here are the 3 questions posed in this commercial (which you can watch below):
      • "If you could get paid to do something you really love, what would you do?"
      • "What if I told you someone could pay you and what if that person were you?"
      • "When you think about it, isn't that what retirement should be... pay ourselves to do what we love?"

First, let me ask you...

What are your answers to these questions? 

And how do you feel about them... especially that last one?

What You Won't Catch Me Doing

I'm all for re-inventing yourself, even if it is only when you retire. But I say... why wait?!?

I'm NOT waiting.

I'm planning my retirement now. Let me re-phrase that... I'm planning on living my retirement now. While I can. While I'm young enough to enjoy it. While I'm still living.

I Will Not Be a Statistic

How many times have you heard of someone who retired then died shortly thereafter? Or just before they were due to retire?

I've heard it so many times! Again just the other day. Then I saw the above commercial. And it pissed me off.

There's no reason, especially with all the tools at our fingertips today, why we should have to wait until retirement to do something we love and enjoy ourselves.

So I don't care if you do want to be a writer, a baker or an architect... or a jewelry designer or a watercolor artist... or a suitcase entrepreneur like Natalie. Do it NOW. Harness the power of the internet, take control of the steering wheel and plot the course to your dream... whatever it may be.

That's what I'm doing. 

I LOVE what I do... ok, correction all the things I do. I'm one of those multi-passionate entrepreneurs, ya know. (I bet deep down you are, too.) And the final pieces of the puzzle to be put in place are my relocation to Hawaii and the marked expansion of my business and charitable foundation that will happen once I'm there.

That IS my retirement.

I don't sit here dreading the "daily grind" and dreaming about the day I can finally quit working. I'll probably never quit working... because my work doesn't even feel like work! I can't wait to get out of bed and get started every day.

What Is A Lifestyle Business?

I've decided that the traditional, delayed gratification model of retirement doesn't work for me. I prefer the idea of a Lifestyle Business. My definition of Lifestyle Business and Success (as you'll see in my new header up top soon if it's not there already) is the same... having a business doing what you love give you the lifestyle that you want.

As I said earlier, I'll probably never fully retire. I love what I'm doing so I've decided the Lifestyle Business model works better for me. My business is location-independent enough for my needs. (It would be 100% if it wasn't for the inventory necessary for Designs by Debi.) I have a flexible schedule. I get to enjoy my environment 24/7 and can even work outdoors if I want. And, as I grow my business and my team, I'll be able to have even more free time and flexibility in my schedule if I want it. That will most likely translate to being available to do more volunteer work for my charitable foundation. 

The more my plans come together, the more excited I get and the happier I am.

Does This Sound Interesting To You? 

Are you a creative person with a new entrepreneurial creative career just waiting to burst out of you?

Does your heart sink when you think you might have to wait until you retire to really indulge your creative side?

Well, pick your heart up off the floor so the two of you can have a little dance because there's no reason for you to wait! 

You can start right now. Right here. Today. 

You see, all it takes is a choice. Yup, that's right. All you need to do is make a conscious decision to give it a shot.

You don't have to run out and quit your day job. 

You don't have to spend every non-job-working, waking hour on it to make it happen.

And you don't have to commit to a life of poverty either. (FYI --> We're going to blow that "starving artist" myth straight to hell.)

You do have to want it... really want it.

You do have to carve out time to work on it. Even a couple hours each week of forward progress is forward progress!

You do have to work hard during those hours.

You do have to learn business stuff... and, yes, DO business stuff. At least for now.

But if you want it, you CAN do it. 

Help Is On The Way

Very soon, I'll have some great tools to help you. There's a lot going on behind the scenes here and there will be an explosion of activity with amazing stuff for you this fall. So be on the lookout and get on my list, too so you'll be the first to know and take advantage of special deals!

I hope you enjoyed following this challenge, that I was able to give you some teachable a-ha moments and that it was helpful. I'd love to hear your thoughts about it AND what you came up with for yourself if you did the challenge. So let me know in the comments below or shoot me an email if you prefer to do it privately.

Much Success,

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I'm writing this post as part of Natalie Sisson's 30 Day Blog Challenge during which I'll follow the path she's laying with inspiration and challenges for daily blog posts. I hope you'll enjoy coming along on this journey and share your own in the comments every day. If you'd like to participate in the challenge on your own blog, just click one of the links here and you'll be taken to the page with all the details. 

Share your thoughts...

Entrepreneurship Is Perfect for Retirement

by Debi Auger

Welcome to Part 4 of my "Entrepreneurship is Perfect for..." Series

Entrepreneurship IS perfect for retirement in so many ways. Times have certainly changed retirement and for many, it's not for the better... especially our Baby Boomers who have now started retiring. So let's look at entrepreneurship as a Retirement Plan for various age groups shall we?

First Let's Define These Generations

The Greatest Generation includes veterans who fought in World War II and those born between 1901 - 1924.

The Silent Generation includes those too young to join the service in World War II, born between 1925 - 1945 and commonly called the "children of the Great Depression."
The Baby Boomers were born following World War II between 1946 - 1964.
Generation X includes those born between 1965 - 1981.
Generation Y, or "the Millenials,"  includes those born between 1982 - 1999.
And that leads us to the current generation... Generation Z or "the Internet Generation."

The Greatest and Silent Generations

The men and women of the Greatest and Silent Generations have already retired, but for some that still means working part time because they can't afford to live otherwise. A foray into entrepreneurship may not be the first choice for them, but I wouldn't rule it out. Especially if they have an idea and possibly interested family to start a business with. It could be a very gratifying experience.

The Baby Boomers

Baby Boomers started reaching "retirement age" a couple years ago. According to surveys done by the Associated Press and LifeGoesStrong.com in 2011:

• 60% lost value in investments because of the economic crisis
• 42% are delaying retirement
• 25% claim they'll never retire (currently still working)

Seriously?? NEVER retire?? OMG what kind of life is that??  Let me tell you, I feel for this generation... BIG time! These are the folks who believed in loyalty in the workplace. They went to college or started working and they were dedicated, stayed at their jobs, were loyal to their employers, expected (and often received) loyalty in return. And they believe that's the way it should be. (So do I.)

My parents are Baby Boomers. And the sweeping changes in the workplace where loyalty no longer matters have often been discussed among us. They find it absolutely incredible how things have changed so terribly. I mention this because it has become an unfortunate M.O. now for companies to terminate employees reaching retirement age (luckily not my parents, but we've noticed the trend). They're left stuck trying to get someone to hire them at their age, knowing it's not likely. And that CEO who decided this was "in the company's best interests" just ruined this person's life; all he got for his years of loyalty was a huge smack in the face. Unfortunately such is life in our society now. It's disgusting and I for one am determined that MY company will NOT treat employees this way.

Nonetheless it's the harsh reality faced by many Boomers. But, with the luxury of the internet, if you're one of them, you could turn your luck around. There are so many opportunities for entrepreneurship that could help you fund your retirement, give the finger to the big banks and the losses to your 401k's and have the retirement you expected to have... and that you deserve. And the best part is that, if you build yourself a lifestyle business around something you're passionate about, it won't even feel like you're working! You can earn the money to do what you want to do AND make sure you have the TIME to DO IT.

Younger Boomers and the Generations That Follow

Some younger Boomers and the rest of the generations have an entirely different option available to them. It's doing away with the old concept of the deferred-life-plan and replacing it with a lifetime of "mini-retirements." This concept is perfectly laid out in Tim Ferriss's book "The 4-Hour Work Week." Don't let the title fool you (it was chosen via a popularity poll), the book is no joke and not a bunch of big pie-in-the-sky promises. It's full of actionable steps to rethink "retirement" and, more importantly, LIFE. And entrepreneurship is the way.

If this idea interests you and it's an option you'd like to explore further, you might want to consider my Program:

You don't need to be an artisan to take this course. It's a lifestyle business planning course in which I'll be doing Niche Selection Workshops for those who aren't sure exactly what they want to do/offer. So, if you think it's something that might interest you, stop over and learn more about the Program. But don't wait... registration closes at 12am on Thursday morning. I hope to see you there :)

And if you have any friends or colleagues you think might be interested in the Program, please share with them as well. I'd appreciate any help spreading the word :)

Much Success,

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