It’s good to think big. There is nothing wrong with wanting to get to the highest possible station in life. The problem is that when hopes are high, so are fears. There is fear because there is a chance of failure, a possibility of losing something. Some people are able to rise above this fear and go after their dreams with full gusto.

Most of us are cowered. We lose our breath. We get paralyzed with doubt. Are we capable? Are we delusional? Are we stupid to dream? Should we face reality? These are some of the questions that start to bother us. We get so profoundly affected by our own insecurities that we start to see obstacles where no obstacles exist. We are, after all, only human.

Anyone would have doubts in their abilities if they were dropped at the foot of Mt. Everest and told to climb to the peak. Instead of looking at the peak and unnecessarily pressurizing yourself, I suggest that you look lower. Aim for the first crest you can see, or the first stone in your path, or the rock a few feet away. Start by moving towards that particular goal. Forget about where you have to go from there. Once you’ve reached the first rock, then you can aim for the second and once you’ve reached the second you can aim for the third and so on and so forth.

By reducing your expectations, you reduce the pressure on yourself. This makes it easier for you to visualize yourself living up to those expectations. Aim for the mountains and you’ll at least hit the treetops, aim for the clouds and you’ll at least be in the mountains, aim for the stars and you’ll at least reach the clouds. One step at a time, always aim one step higher that you need to go.

We’ve all heard the story of the three little pigs. One built a house of straw, one built a house of sticks and the third built a house of bricks. There is another version of this story. In that version there is a fourth pig. That pig didn’t build a house at all. He planned where he would build his house. It would be on the bank of a stream, under the shade of tall trees. He planned what he would make the house from; sticks, stones, bricks and wood. He planned what the house would look like; French windows, a terrace, and a red tile roof. He planed how he would go about building it; he had his blue prints & his workers’ contracts. He planned and he planned and he planned some more. As he was planning, the wolf came along and ate him up. There was no huffing or puffing to blow his house down.

No one talks about this pig because his story is just too sad. There are so many people who have a similar story. They plan and they plan but they never actually do anything. Businesses often suffer the same fate.  It’s good to have a plan but don’t spend so much of your time or your resources on your plan that you don’t have any time left to actually implement it. We get lost in the numbers and specifics of things. We get so engrossed in planning for the future that we forget to look at our today. There is no point in planning ten years ahead if you aren’t doing enough to survive till the next year.

If you have a basic plan to get started don’t spend too much time trying to fine tune it. Get Started. Don’t be like the fourth little pig who never built his house.

The Assembly of First Nations is all set to pick its new chief. First elected in 1997, popular leader, Phil Fontaine, announced in early June that he would not seek re-election. So, now it’s time for them to look for a new chief. This got me thinking of leaders. At every stage in our lives we encounter people whom we turn to for guidance, support and inspiration. There are times when we find ourselves in a position where others turn to us. So, what is it that makes a good leader?

As kids, we all played, ‘follow the leader’. At that time, it was the most innovative players, whom we all liked. The ones who would make us do something crazy and keep us on our toes. As we grow up, we expect our leaders to be understanding. We want them to be people we can trust. We want them to make the right decision, no matter the consequences. With all the pressure we put on them, I can’t help but wonder, what happens when the leader loses his way? Whom does he follow?

A leader, who doesn’t have any one to follow, is a leader who will eventually fail. Those of us who run our own businesses are leaders of our own groups. When we are faced with situations where we are unable to make a decision, it is important that we have the right people to turn to for advice. A good leader is one who can distinguish between what his followers need and what they think they need. A good leader makes the hard decisions and faces the consequences. He is insightful, innovative and fearless. What marks him as a great leader is realizing that sometimes he needs help. So, lead your followers and know when it’s time for you to ‘Follow the Leader.’

After Napoleon’s defeat at the battle of Waterloo we learnt that it’s never a good idea to be late for battle and that it’s always a good idea to have a strategy. When it come to business we know it’s not enough to take the journey we must have a destination in mind. But there are many forks in the road. How do you know which fork to take? Every decision will affect the time and the state of your arrival. So apart from setting your destination and packing your bags you need one more thing before you begin. You need a map, one that charts the best course for you to take, keeping in mind the resources that are available. In business this map is known as business strategy.

Strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long-term. It involves setting long term goals for your business and making decisions on how to attain these goals. Imagine for a moment that you’ve started a hobby class. When you open some of your friends show interest and are keen on becoming students. It is only natural for some friends to ask you for a discount or special rate. Now the question is do you give them a discount or not? If you do then yours is a class that gives special treatment to those who know you personally. If you don’t then you are a class that treats everyone the same irrespective of their relationship with you. Each course of action has its pros and cons. A sound Business Strategy will guide you in making these decisions. Here is some information on the different levels of business strategy.

Corporate Strategy – is concerned with overall purpose and scope of the business.

Business Unit Strategy – is concerned more with how a business competes successfully in a particular market.

Operational Strategy – is concerned with how each part of the business is organized to deliver the corporate and business-unit level strategic direction.

A single drop of water is not even enough to quench your thirst, but keep adding drop after drop and you could end up with enough to fill an ocean. You don’t have to be a genius to realize that there is strength in numbers, and that two heads are better than one. This holds true even in business.  This is why business organizations have grown from sole proprietorship’s to the gigantic joint stock companies of today. Not all businesses can become corporate giants.  Does this mean that they cannot achieve the same amount of success nor have the same impact as their much larger peers? Alone it would be near impossible for any small business to compete with corporate entities but by collaborating with other small businesses it could be as easy as a walk in the park.

In todays market every businessman faces keen competition against dozens of other organizations. There are very few takers for the services being provided by many. So instead of acting like a pack of hungry dogs fighting over a scrap of food it makes a lot more sense to pool resources and share revenue.

Instead of spending significant amounts to out shine a competitor the smarter thing to do would be to make that competitor a partner and collaborate on business activities. Instead of trying to beat each other why not join each other? Gone are the days of cutthroat competitiveness. There are new rules to this old game. It is a lot more beneficial for all involved to collaborate and co-operate in business activities. By pooling resources we can increase our strength and attract more clients, and by sharing revenue we ensure steadier and greater gains not to mention we significantly reduce competition.

It sure would make things easier if we had a road map to life, wouldn’t it? We’d know where to go, what choices to make, who to choose as our friends and loved ones, etc. But that’s the beauty of life – we have choices. Because if we had a road map to life that’s been handed to us, wouldn’t we loose our right to choose?

I think we can create our own road map to life, although making such a map will be a long and involved process. It’s worth the effort, though. We need to do a lot of self reflection in order to get our handy dandy little road map to life. We need to know our strengths and weaknesses. We need to know our deepest desires and our most haunting fears. Once we have a good grasp of just who it is we are, we can map out our destinations. We can then keep our road map to life always at the ready whenever we feel lost, or whenever we feel the need to reassess. There’s nothing wrong with changing our life’s plans; we just make another road map. At least we make it with the wisdom gained through our personal experiences and self reflection.

Don’t forget, as you’re following your road map to life, you need to enjoy the journey and destinations along the way. We are, after all, souls having physical experiences, so we need to make the best of this physical plane. Enjoy, plan, and really live.

So, tell me, do you need a road map to life? If you haven’t made one, start today.

Taking the road less traveled can be an Herculean task. Why? Because you have to break out of the rut society put you in. Have you noticed that most of society is filled with sheeple – people who go along like little sheep in a herd because they don’t know any better. Or maybe they do know better, but they don’t have the courage to step out and be an individual. They take the road most traveled because that’s what society dictates: don’t deviate, don’t create, just drone along like a cog in society’s wheel.

The road less traveled is bumpy and often filled with obstacles. Sometimes it’s hidden from view, and you can easily get lost and give up. In other instances, there will be a fork in the road, and you’re not sure which way to go. Neither path is well traveled. Sigh…it’s so much easier to be a sheeple, isn’t it? It’s so much easier when someone else tells you what to do, even if you don’t like it. But that’s not really living, is it? You’re living someone else’s life.

Using the Law of Attraction, however, will help you in taking the road less traveled. You will gain an inner purpose filled with confidence, faith, and hope for the future. When you ask, believe, and receive from your Higher Power, you’ll have the inner strength to overcome the sheeple mentality. You will behave and think with certainty about the choices that need to be made. As you adopt the Law of Attraction more and more into your daily life, taking the road less traveled will become second nature. You will be true to yourself, knowing what is best for you.

Today, decide to stop being a sheeple and taking the baaaaaa-d road. Use the Law of Attraction and take the road less traveled