Month: April 2012

Business is hard. That’s why so few pursue its path.

Stepping out and giving it your all – buckling down and choosing to weather the storms that come sure is no walk in the park.

How we deal with our emotions as we build our empires is so key.

Robert Kiyosaki in Cashflow Quadrant talks about emotional intelligence and how one cannot build anything of worth if they don’t learn how to deal with emotional turmoil when it comes to business, investing and of course money.

If your idea is one that could make our lives easier, better, or even simply more fun – then please don’t give up just yet.

We need you to succeed.

We need you to keep pushing.

Excerpt from Cashflow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki

“Your boss’s job is not to make you rich. Your boss’s job is to make sure you get your paycheck.

It’s your job to become rich if you want to. And that job begins the moment you receive your paycheck.

If you have poor money management skills then all the money in the world won’t save you.

If you budget wisely and learn about either the business or investor quadrants then you’re on your own path to great personal fortune and most importantly freedom.

My rich dad used to say to his son and me that the only difference between a rich person and a poor person is what they do in their spare time.”

So yesterday I went to Pretoria to secure a speaker who just about brings me to tears every time I think of how he’s built his business.

I’ve known about Mr Augus for years but yesterday was the first time we were meeting.

My friend Mercy has been working for him, almost, since the beginning of his company. So I know first-hand the journey they’ve traveled to get to where his business is now.

When Mr Augus started his business he was a cab driver. Well it was hardly a business then, it was merely him making a living. Back then he’d park his car outside places like the Holiday Inn in Pretoria waiting for clients – today though he has over thirty employees in a business that spans from transport to hospitality.

I remember visiting my friend at their offices when their business was still just starting out – in our meeting yesterday Mr Augus reminded me of how he and Mercy shared a small table in a tiny office – “You don’t even have to tell me Mr Augus,” I told him – “I was there – I remember that office.”

But long gone is that tiny office – Mr Augus’ business now runs from a stunning property in an upmarket suburb in Pretoria.

And how’d he do it?

“Focus. Persevere. And never give up.” He told me.

Mr Augus has had doors shut in his face many times – throughout our meeting he kept telling me: “It wasn’t easy.”

Well let me tell you he’s a very busy man – but he saw me at short notice and has agreed to speak to budding entrepreneurs who’ll be attending a breakfast I’m hosting on the morning of, Saturday, May 19.

If you’re on the verge of starting something great and don’t know where or how to go about it please do join us to hear this wonderful business man speak.

Or if you have started something and would love a gentle push forward on your journey – or if you’ve been trying and you’re exhausted and on the verge of giving up – please come and join us. You will be inspired. And this will spur you on.

Mr Augus is a wonderful, warm and unassuming gentle soul. Meeting him you’d never know the extent of his success.

At the breakfast you’ll be welcome to interact with him

Some of the questions I’m dying to ask him include:

– How did he get the funding to grow his business (even without an elaborate business plan)?

– How did he secure huge clients like Telkom?

– How did he negotiate deals everyone told him he would NEVER secure?

“When people come to you, Mr Augus, and ask you to share with them how you made it- then you know you’ve truly arrived.”

These were my words to him as we ended our very brief meeting.

Over the years I’ve just heard tid-bits about Mr Augus from my friend Mercy. I look forward to hearing more of his story at our breakfast.

Your dream is with pursuing. And you are worth living it.

If you’d like to join us for this breakfast please do email us at mogulcompany@yahoo.com for more details.

Venue: West Rand (JHB)

Date: May 19

Time: 9am

Cost: R350pp (Includes breakfast)

This week I was challenged with stepping out of a zone I was not keen to leave. I’m still not keen. And yet I did it.

And here’s what I learned: stepping out is vital.

Taking a risk is often worth it. Not only when it works out but the very act of taking the risk is in itself something worth praising yourself for.

So often we limit ourselves. We say things like: “I could never… I can’t… I don’t think… I’m not really qualified… I don’t really have it in me…” And the list goes on – and all we’re saying is: “I’m afraid.”

And you know what? Each of us is too. And that’s OK.

No one ever said don’t be afraid. It’s what you do when confronted with fear that will determine how far and how high you will go.

For most of our lives we are taught not to fail. We are taught to take the road that has the most chance at success. And we live this way. Taking the least amount of risk. Doing what hurts the least. Staying in zones that hold us back.

And when life happens and we fail, we hide. We try to pretend everything’s fine because someone told us failing means we’re losers. How sad.

Failing means we’re human. Period.

There are ups and for crying out loud there are downs.

At times we make mistakes. And I dare say the more mistakes you make the more we know you’re doing something worthwhile.

Only people playing it safe, doing absolutely nothing of significance can brag about how much they’re not failing. I don’t envy them. Not one bit.

I have made the kind of mistakes that would make your insides churn.

Some of my failures have been so astronomical, years after I’d made them, they still made me shudder just thinking on them.

I am learning to not regret them but to rather embrace them as a part of my very spectacular life- A very important part of my learning.

When I’m done with mistakes that will be the day I’m being buried, cold, lifeless, dead. The truth of this is freeing me.

About the zone I was in – I really enjoyed it and let me tell you that after stepping out I stepped right back into it. It’s where I want to be – for now. But while I stepped out I found out something about myself that was quite profound. I plan to step out again – I’m strategising on how to do it better next time. But I am SO glad I did step out.

You deserve to know what’s on the other side of your fear.

Remember when you were kid and you were afraid of the dark? It wasn’t the dark you were afraid of –it was what you thought was in the dark.

Growing up is having the courage to turn the lights out and teach your mind a different way of thinking.