I am a powerlifter. I also have old and bad knees. One question I get a lot is “On a scale of 1 to 10, how are your knees feeling today?”
My pain happens to be my knees. All things considered, a very good problem to have really. For the people I talk to every day their pain is often centered around their job, their boss or their lifestyle. Sometimes it goes beyond those three, but they are often at the core of the feelings people have.
On a scale of 1 out of 10, with 10 being highest/best… How happy are you?
Unless you just screamed 10, we need to talk.
10 out of 10 would suggest that you are doing most or all of the things you want to be doing now, not just cruising through life without those memorable events you want to pursue someday, maybe in retirement.
Don’t wait for retirement, things happen. You have today, that is definite. Every day after that is a gift.
A short story: My parents bought their dream house while still employed. It was AMAZING! One river in the front yard, another in the back, the ocean half a mile away. It was in Florida so no snow, great tax benefits and they had a lot of friends there.
My father passed away and they never lived in their dream house, not a single day.
Do the things you love while you can.
Do you LOVE Mondays?
If you are doing what you love doing then Mondays are an exciting day, one that you have been looking forward to over the weekend. Monday’s are not something that should be dreaded, cause loss of sleep or even make people feel ill at the thought of what is in store for them.
When I work with people to build their model – a detailed outline of their “rules” for what will make up their perfect franchise – we discuss their career and how they got to where they are today. I have found it interesting over the years that most people are not in the same specialty they started in. Some have even completely lost track of how they got there. They may not have had a plan, possibly even just took every next pay raise that came along even if it was not a job they wanted to do.
I have it easy here. I have spoken to thousands of franchise candidates and know what moves most people towards the freedom, control and lifestyle of owning their own business. You are reading not just a franchise magazine, but you are reading this column. Chances are high that you are not 10 out of 10 happy.
Now, is there a chance that you are already a franchise owner, possibly with multiple brands and looking for your next big opportunity as you grow your empire? Sure, they make up as much as 5% of the people that buy franchises any given year. The other 95%… still seeking happiness.
Is that empire building multi-unit owner you? If so, I love those conversations. They are a lot of fun.
If not, then we need to talk so that you can become that multi-unit, multi-brand empire builder. The key is not just owning the franchise; it is building the team and controlling your destiny. It is also building a lifestyle where you can be at your kids sports and other events, see them grow up, be part of their happiest memories. It is being there for your spouse, family and yourself so that you and they have shared those big events. It is not having to wait until you are too old or not as physically able to try to do the things you have always wanted to do.
It is building great business so you can find your dream house, move in and enjoy it!
Happiness comes after focused action. It does not sneak up on you. Happiness does not tend to come from helping build an employer’s dreams at the expense of your own.
Think about the happiest moments in your life. Did they come after you took some sort of action?
You can recreate that happy feeling more often, but you will need to take action.
Reading and dreaming about owning a franchise is a first step to finding happiness; it is not the final step.
You have to move from dreaming, to planning, to investigating, to selecting, to opening, to building and finally to running and (eventually) selling or handing down to your kids.
I promise, those are all very approachable steps that countless people have taken before you. Take them one step at a time and lean on experts like me any time you can.
What is your success story? Let’s go find it!
George Knauf is a highly sought after, trusted advisor to many companies; Public, Independent and Franchised, of all sizes and in many markets. His 20 plus years of experience in both start-up and mature business operations makes him uniquely qualified to advise individuals that have dreamed of going into business for themselves in order to gain more control, independence, time flexibility and to be able to earn in proportion to their real contribution. Contact the Franchising USA Expert George’s Hotline 703-424-2980.