I’m wide awake due to two things. 1) I had caffeine with dinner (it keeps me up at night if I have it after 2PM). and 2) My mind is racing a million miles an hour with ideas for blog posts. So I need to get some of them out.

One of the thoughts that I keep having lately is, “What’s my motivation?” “Why do I want to start A Better Way of Business?” “Is my reason strong enough to carry me through the difficult times that I know lay ahead?”

I don’t have exact answers for all those questions. At least not the short, sweet, one sentence answers that many experts might say you should be able to give. But I have ideas feelings and beliefs.

Allow me to explain part of what I mean and give you an answer to “What’s my motivation.”

Courtesy of Amazon.com

I read the E-Myth by Michael Gerber probably around six years ago. I was fascinated by his story of how he became involved in helping small businesses. I loved his discussions on the “entrepreneurial seizure”, “the technicians”, and why you need to “work on your business vs in it”. I loved the idea of putting systems in place so your process is repeatable by others so you don’t have to be there every minute of every day.

I remember thinking only a few chapters in, “I WISH I could do this!” I wanted to help small businesses transform from the worst job you’ve ever had (and the lowest paying) to the business you dreamed of when you first started. I wanted to help people start a business in the RIGHT way so they could avoid the pain of mistakes and possible failure down the line.

I dreamed of doing this.

And that’s all I did.

Me, being me, I analyzed the CRAP out of the idea and thought of 100, may several hundred, reasons why I could NEVER do it.

So I talked myself out of it. I crushed my inner spirit and desire to try it.

I put the book with all its highlights, pen marks, and written notes in the margins and at tops and bottoms of pages back on my book shelf and forgot about it.

Then came the pivotal time when Skye told me to put up or shut up with regards to starting a business. I decided I WOULD start a business, but didn’t know what.

I thought long and hard. I asked others what they thought (people who knew a lot about me and how I’m wired).

Professor teaching - Courtsey Inmagine

The spark came when Skye pointed out that the only job I’ve ever enjoyed was teaching. I LOVED helping students learn. I got a THRILL from standing in front of the class talking. I got a RUSH from sharing with others what I had in my head. And I can think of few things as satisfying to me as the point in time when you’re looking into someone’s eyes and you see that they FINALLY GET IT!

So I, or should I say we, decided that teaching should be a part of my business. The only issue is I didn’t and don’t want to teach for a school. There’s numerous reasons for this, but that’s for another discussion.

So how can I take the aspects of teaching that made teaching GREAT to me and apply them to a business?

I could take the aspects of teaching that I loved and combine them with what I saw Michael Gerber do in E-Myth!

A Better Way of Business was born.

I could help people take the idea they have and turn it into a business that functions properly from the get go. I could help the business owner who has created the worst job they’ve ever had, with the longest hours and lowest pay, and show that person how to turn their creation into a successful business. I could share knowledge that I have, with others, to benefit them. I could speak to groups of people who are all wanting to start a business, and thereby get the experience of standing in front of others sharing. I could work one on one with people and witness first hand the spark of recognition when they GOT IT!

It is the best of both worlds.

It is what motivates me to take one step after another in the direction I am sure success lies.

It is why A Better Way of Business exists.

~Ivan

A LOT!

Typically, if I’m not at work or not on here doing something for A Better Way of Business I’m reading.

I tend to stick to two genres, fantasy / science fiction and business books. Feel free to ask me about the fantasy books I like, but they’re not the point of this post.

I actually thought of this topic several days ago, but since it doesn’t exactly fit the direction I want to take A Better Way of Business right now I decided to wait to talk about it until today in the Friday Free Form.

I saw a discussion the other day in a forum where someone listed all the books he had read so far in 2011 (it’s the end of August as I type this). There were more than 50 books on the list! Most of the responders were amazed at the volume of books being consumed. Lots of questions were posted such as: “Which is the best?” “Which book do you recommend for topic xxx?” and “Could you recommend 1 or 2 for me since I don’t have as much time as you?”

My first thought was, “Holy crap! Is this guy gaining any useful knowledge from these books or just reading for fun???”

And I think this is a perfectly legitimate question. Especially since I used to do the exact same thing. In the past I was more concerned with the number of books I read then I was with what I had actually learned from the books. I would get excited because I had read four books in a month, but when it was all said and done I hadn’t really learned anything.

Sure, I could carry on a conversation about the books I’d read. At least for a month or two after I read them. But that was about it. I couldn’t point to any tangible action I had taken BECAUSE of the books I had read.

It’s not been until the last three months that I’ve decided the number of books I read is not really that important. NOW, what’s important is what I am APPLYING in my life from the books.

I’ve come to realize, if I pick a book up and it doesn’t VERY QUICKLY strike me as having anything I’m going to be applying in my life in the immediate future I put it down for another day.

As I’ve said in previous posts, I’m looking to take ACTION in my present state. I want to pick up a book and know that I’ll be able to apply what I’m learning today, if not today, by the end of the week.

So I’d like to share with you three books that I’ve recently read and that I’ve found are packed full of actionable items that I can apply IMMEDIATELY in my life (none of the links are affiliate links, they just take you to these AWESOME books!):

Become a Coach: Discover what it Takes to Turn Your Passions into Profits by Justin Lukasavige

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: How I Learned to Live a Better Story by Donald Miller

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

25 answers to questions that if you apply you WILL be successful at coaching!

YOU are responsible for writing the story of your life!