Financial Ruin

I found a piece of paper with some writing on it and I grinned like a “Cheshire Cat”.

The picture looked different about 3 months ago...

It’s a credit crunch, I’m 30 years old and I am constantly tired because of stress and worry. I get up at 5am to travel two hours to a call centre temp job and then go home to sleep on a friends floor because I have no money and no flat. This wasn't the vision of the successful entrepreneur that I had set out to be. I had often taught the Dale Carnegie "Stress and Worry Principles" but on reflection, I never truly understood the meaning of them until now.

The Principle: "What is the worst that can happen?" Well...it already had.

It was a friend of mine who helped me to see how I could "improve on the worst". He said: "set a goal but don’t become attached to the goal". Then "Get Active” and finally, “Choose one project and do that project with all your heart and soul 110%".

I wrote my goal as a question, "How can I make my first £5000?” Next, I brainstormed some actions that I could take to help me answer the question. I then put the paper away and tried to forget about it. I have always been someone who wants everything right now!! By putting the goal away I was able to stay motivated by the actions rather than becoming emotionally attached to the goal. I eventually found my opportunity and I gave it 110%.

I found that piece of paper again and I grinned like a Cheshire cat because I had smashed the goal. On reflection, the goal could have been even bigger and even braver. There is no magic bullet to overcome financial ruin:

1. Write down a “brave” goal as a question.
2. Brainstorm actions that you CAN take to answer the question.
3. Get active in anyway you can.
4. Choose one thing and do it with all of your heart and soul.

Hayley Kennedy
Dale Carnegie Trainer
www.London.Dalecarnegie.com