What words of inspiration would you have

What if someone asked you “How did you achieve your goal?  How did you make your target?  What words carried your fledgling business on to new places?”  What would you say?  From time to time I ponder what would I say to encourage someone else in their dream.  Building a dream is not always easy, not is it for the faint of heart.  That said, I am always in search of good advice, wisdom of those who have succeeded, or are a few steps farther down the path on the road to success.

Martha Stewart, the guru of do it yourself, was asked these questions, and her reply was four points:

1. Be a Life Long Learner – Don;t settle for the education or knowledge you have already… keep learning, keep growing.   Don;t settle for less. She pointed to career second acts such as parlaying a passion for gardening into a horticulture business. “There’s always something else you can do,” she said. We have seen her turn passion into pursuit and enterprise… food to food education television shows, crafting to a huge line of crafting products, gardening to a line of gardening equipment, plants, etc.

2. Seek Inspiration Everywhere – Always be on the look for inspiration in your environment, and in those around you.  It may be in the beauty of a garden, or the flash of light in the autumn sky that will inspire an idea.

3. Define what work-life balance means to you – Set clear boundaries, and set times for work, and times for the rest of your life.  Stewart makes no distinction between her personal and professional lives. “My life is my job, and my job is my life,” she said. For an entrepreneur whose personal brand is her business, living and breathing work may be crucial for her success, but Stewart acknowledged that it won’t work for everyone.

4. Keep Going – Whether your business is growing slow, or fast, keep going. Don;t let bumps in the road slow you down or discourage you…. Martha recommends having an outlet to run to when you need to recharge batteries.  She runs to gardening because in a short amount of time you can see great productivity.  Finding the strength to keep going, and the encouragement to push through slow or rough times.

Martha makes it look easy… but the truth is it does take time, and lots of effort to build that dream, market the business, get to a level of productivity that is prosperous, and brand your name.

I like Martha’s advice.  The advice is solid, and the example of her great success is remarkable… now if only I could develop the following that she has!

Read the article: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226516#ixzz2SWEX6t9P