Another fact of life is that until we, as individuals, are backed into a corner and made to take steps to change or preserve our “status quo”, rarely will we. I am not sure if fear or just complacency plays a larger role.

I have always known that, we have an innate capacity for happiness. And when we are happy, we not only enjoy our lives more than when we are not; but we are far more competent, productive and creative. Without the internal distractions of anger, depression, fear, frustration – and especially worry – our relationships flourish, stress is diminished, new doors of opportunity open to us and our lives run more smoothly.

The same essential ideas also apply to success and money. Taking a look at people I respect and admired, people who have “made it” in their given fields, I notice that there is a consistent attribute they all share: they don’t worry about money! Interestingly enough, the lack of worry preceded their success, and was not a by-product of it. That means that even before they had their money, they didn’t worry about not having it.

They all had an inner, unshakable confidence. They were all creative problem solvers, great negotiators and clever creators. They all had the ability to see the bigger picture. And the best part of it all was that, in most cases, they truly loved their lives and the way they spent their time. And they knew the formula for success:

The knowledge of the relationship between less fear and more success is critical. The less you worry about the outcome, the more success you will achieve. Failure should be viewed as a step toward success. Criticism should be taken in stride. Rejection should be seen as information that guides you in a new direction. Hurdles should be seen less as obstacles and more like opportunities. Everything you do should be made to be fun.

I want to share with you in this newsletter, eight specific strategies that I found work to banish fear and worry when you decide to start up your own business. Abandoning worry will open up a world of possibilities and opportunities in both your internal and external worlds.

1. YOU CAN MAKE EXCUSES OR YOU CAN MAKE MONEY

If you think about it, excuses are often nothing more than an expression of fear. When you remove the fear behind those excuses, you create space and confidence to move forward.

Successful people must face the same frustrations, hurdles and fears as everyone else. The difference is in the way they handle their fear. Rather than feeling defeated or immobilized by their fears and worries, successful people conquer them. Courage is best described as being afraid, but doing it anyway.

If you are a person who is in the habit of making excuses, you are keeping yourself from your true potential. We are all confronted with our own internal excuses, but what we do with them can spell success or failure. If you can learn to see your fears and excuses as nothing more than frightening or lazy thoughts that can be overlooked, dismissed or at least not taken seriously, you will be on your way to success. Be careful to not become overwhelmed with your internal dialogue. Stay focused on what you are doing and what you want to accomplish.

2. MOOD AND MONEY

Moods are one of those unavoidable, mysterious parts of life. We all must deal with them. Our understanding of our moods can affect not only our wisdom and perspective, but our overall level of satisfaction as well.

Generally speaking, when our mood is high, our spirits are up – and – when our mood is low, our spirits are down. Moods are like the weather: constantly changing.

The implications of moods as they relate to money are significant. When we are low, we think of our dissatisfaction more than when we feel good. We worry more! We compare ourselves to others and convince ourselves that others are doing better than we are. We focus on our belief that making money is hard work. We even believe that there isn’t enough money or opportunity to go around.

Here is a fascinating thing about moods: to a large degree, we only believe these negative, fearful and self-defeating thoughts when our mood is low. When our mood is high, we think quite differently. We don’t worry as much. Rather than believing others are better off than we are, we simply realize that we are all on different paths, doing the best we can. Instead of believing that making money is hard work, we put our passion into the process and in turn we see new and exciting ways to create the abundance we are seeking. Rather than believing that money and opportunity are limited, we know that there is a limitless amount of it.

So what do we do? The trick is to be grateful when your mood is high and graceful when your mood is low. Always keep in mind the effects your particular mood is having on the way you think. Accept the fact that the world and everything in it is remains the same; it is your mood that is making you see it differently. Think of your moods as filters for the way you see life. This will help you keep a proper perspective of the bigger picture.

Resist the temptation to worry about moods. As your mood rises, your capacity to create will unfold.

3. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH EXPERTS

Here’s an adage that I have internalized: “If you want to learn a lot about money, learn it from someone who has a lot of it.”

Surround yourself with successful people. Surround yourself with experts on making money and people who have more of it than you do. Here’s another adage I have internalized: “Take advice from heroes not zeroes.”

You will find that most successful people are available to help others. You will also find that those people who are still desperately climbing their way to the top are as frightened and insecure as you are. They are less willing or unavailable to help you. Steer clear of these people.

If you want great advice and you want to avoid big mistakes, seek help. Surround yourself with winners. I even recommend that you find a mentor. It’s helpful to have someone you can share an occasional lunch or cup of coffee with, and kick around ideas. Someone you can turn to, ask questions of, seek guidance from. Someone to philosophize with.

I have never heard of anyone moving backward as a result of finding a mentor. Yet when I ask around, very few entrepreneurs admit to having one. I have had several mentors who have helped me enormously in many aspects of my life – business, money making, investments, marketing, public speaking, even my walk to God. Both the mentor and I have benefitted greatly from our collaborations – it’s an ideal tradeoff.

These days it is easier than ever to find experts in your particular field of endeavor and mentors abound. So don’t let anything stand in your way of finding experts and an excellent caring mentor. You can avoid many unnecessary and costly mistakes and reap the rewards for years to come.

4. BECOME AWARE OF THE PASSION FACTOR

When we are passionate about what we do, success will follow. Passion for life and work is a critical element of success and abundance. Passion is a virtually unstoppable, attitudinal force that generates energy, creativity and productivity. When you love what you do it’s difficult not to succeed. Your enthusiasm is obvious to everyone and becomes contagious.

Part of the process of creating passion in your work is choosing work that you truly love. Doing so requires a conscious choice, which often takes a great deal of courage. It can be frightening to make a career change, let alone walk away from a corporate job and start up your own fledgling business.

Fear is a powerful, highly destructive force that prevents many of us from pursuing our dreams. However, if you take a close look at most successful, more often than not they have faced very similar fears. The difference is that they conquered them.

I have a story of my own that reinforces this strategy. Many years ago I was working as a Construction Manager in the homebuilding industry outside of Philadelphia. I had the dream to build big, beautiful homes, but I was taking the safe route – working for someone else. I had very little design input and when I made spontaneous decisions out in the field, I was reigned in quickly by the owner of the company. I always knew I could do things better, more creatively, less expensive and faster, but I didn’t have the authority to do it. I was also petrified to give up that weekly paycheck.

It got to a point where I couldn’t stand go to work each day. I wasn’t on my own path - I was on someone else’s. Although it was extremely frightening to me, I decided to jump off the path I was on, and get on to my own. I walked out one day and never went back.

I started my own building firm with just a few small design projects and one or two small building contracts. It was one of the very best decisions I ever made. I evolved into being a sought after designer and builder. My career eventually led me to build some very large, very expensive homes for some very influential people. I had the opportunity to remodel hospitals and build nature and wildlife sanctuaries.

It’s important to ask yourself: How safe is it really, spending your time doing something you really don’t enjoy? How well can you do your job if you hate doing it? How creative and original you’re your thinking be?

The answers to these questions are clear: Without passion, your odds of success are minimal. When you follow your heart, when you discover what is truly nourishing to your soul, an abundant and joyful life is just around the corner.

5. MAINTAIN WEALTH CONSCIOUSNESS

Developing wealth consciousness is what QuadReal is all about. Wealth consciousness suggests a complete absence of money worries; an awareness that there is plenty of money to go around. It is knowing that creating wealth and influence is a function of our own mind-set.

My wife has taught me that what we focus on expands. If we spend our mental energy worrying and being fearful, it is difficult if not impossible to create great abundance. Our fears will get in the way of our creativity. On the other hand, if we are free of worries, if we maintain wealth consciousness, money will flow to us in inexhaustible ways. We will have the mental energy that can be dedicated to building new ways of having money flow in our direction.

There is an old adage, “Don’t put the cart before the horse.” It certainly applies here, but perhaps in a way you wouldn’t imagine. Make no mistake about it, wealth consciousness comes first. You will not suddenly develop wealth consciousness when you become wealthy. It’s the other way around. You must change the way you think about money and wealth and business. You develop wealth consciousness by eliminating worry, by trusting in God (or the universe if you object to my use of words) and in your own inner resources. Once you secure your wealth consciousness, the rest will flow naturally…guaranteed.

6. HAVE A PLAN

It’s quite difficult to get somewhere if you don’t know where you are headed. Yet a huge percentage of us have no plan. We don’t know where we are going or how we are going to get there. The normal flow of life is actually taking us further from our goals and dreams.

A plan is much like a road map. It tells you where you are and points you in the direction you want to go. It helps you strategize how you will get from where you are to where you want to be. When you have a pre-determined plan, something magical happens. Your plan helps you draw out your inner strengths, creativity and discipline. With a plan in hand, the sky is the limit. As long as you can visualize a way to implement your plan, your dreams – no matter how big – can become a reality. It doesn’t matter what your plan is, but it does matter that you have one. Make a plan today!

7. DON’T GET LOST IN YOUR PLAN

On the other end of the spectrum from not having a plan, is someone who gets lost in a plan. This is easy to do. It’s easy to become too focused, even obsessed with your plan. You can become so

engrossed in your plan that you fail to enjoy the process. John Lennon said, “Life is what’s happening when you’re busy making other plans.”

By getting lost in your plan, you risk sacrificing or damaging relationships with your family, friends and sometimes even yourself. You can become focused on the end result and lose sight of the steps along the way…and that is where the joys are to be found.

There are several reasons why people become obsessed with their plans and future goals. But perhaps more so than any other reason, is that people worry way too much about their success and the direction of their lives. This worry interferes with their ability to be creative. It gets in the way of and clouds their vision.

Becoming successful is not difficult. In fact, it is virtually inevitable once you get out of your own way. Worry and lack of faith are the biggest obstacles. When you take this worry out of the picture, you create space and time and energy to allow your plan to unfold. By getting lost in your plan, you will not only interfere with the very goals you have set to achieve, you will also take the fun out of it.

8. PERSEVERE

When I was first getting started in business, an attorney friend of mine told me something that at first sounded a little superficial. He told me that part of being successful was just hanging in there and sticking with it. He said that may people quit too early, get impatient, fail to defer any gratification and move around too much.

I have the advantage of loving what I do. I haven’t always followed the advice to defer gratification, and have been bitten several times for poor planning and savings. But I have not moved around too much and I have hung in there. I have developed a notoriety of sorts: people know who I am and what QuadReal is all about. I have developed what I call a “Trust Fund”, by doing what I say I am going to do, keeping my word and following through with promises. Sometimes I can’t or don’t act as quickly as others would like, but I always keep my word.

You want to develop a good reputation. If people recognize your name, think you are competent and if they like you, they will consider you to be someone that they want to do business with.

If you start up your business but fail to stick around very long, you are sacrificing the time needed to develop your skills, learn the ropes or develop a healthy reputation. You are eliminating the possibility of positive name recognition.

I am not recommending that you remain aboard a sinking ship however. I have found there is a delicate balance between being willing to stick something out and a willingness to make changes. You need the wisdom to know when to quit and when to stay right where you are. So if you feel like quitting, don’t do so impulsively. Instead, check in with your wisdom. If you are quitting too early, remind yourself to persevere.

At times it can seem that life is our enemy, as if things never quite play out the way we would like them to. It is critical to remember that life is just life. It is what it is. It is our thinking that is the larger issue. By understanding that our thinking can be harnessed and directed and made to work for us, we can see clearly that life truly wants us to succeed. You have the power to change your thinking, your expectations and your outlook. You have the power to become anything you want to become.

May your investments be profitable. God Bless!