10 Symptoms of Entrepreneurial Spirit

If someone was to ask you, “Are you an entrepreneur?” what would you say?
“Yes” or “No?”
“Maybe” is not an option.
If your answer is “Yes,” how so?
What makes you an entrepreneur?
Be specific now!
How would you describe the tell-tale signs of entrepreneurial spirit in you?

If your answer is “No,” I recommend that you take a closer look at your life, your work, and your relationships. Maybe entrepreneurship is so natural to you that you haven’t thought of giving a name to it. It’s just who you are; and you just do it!

On September 23rd, I will present a master-class on Unconditional Success & Happiness to the Inspired Entrepreneur Group, in central London. I am particularly excited about this event, as my long-time friend Nick Williams is one of the founders of the Inspired Entrepreneur Group. Nick is one of the world’s most eloquent and passionate thought-leaders on inspiration, purpose, and, entrepreneurship. Nick not only talks and writes about inspiration; he is an inspiration. Anyone who has met Nick, will tell you so.

So what is an entrepreneur? It sounds a bit French, doesn’t it! And what is the entrepreneurial spirit? Well, here are ten symptoms that I have come up with which might help you to recognize it in you and release it even more into our life.

Ten Symptoms of Entrepreneurial Spirit.

1. An entrepreneur knows that the real world is made up not of particles, but possibility.
2. An entrepreneur sees that the world is a cause, and we are the effect.
3. An entrepreneur realizes that you have to be what you want in order to get what you want.
4. An entrepreneur doesn’t get caught up in the search for happiness; they simply follow their joy.
5. An entrepreneur doesn’t have a job; they have a purpose.
6. An entrepreneur doesn’t wait for life to happen; they begin.
7. An entrepreneur has a basic trust that all honest endeavours receive a grant of unconditional universal support.
8. An entrepreneur rides the creative waves of the cosmos, and sometimes they fall off, but they always get back on again.
9. An entrepreneur prays for help every step of the way.
10. An entrepreneur participates wholeheartedly in the miracle of creation and this is what helps them to grow.

Real Happiness: What is the Real More you Want?

Anna Pasternak (pictured left), author and journalist, attended the recent Real More workshop held over two days in central London. She has written a personal account of her experience that was published in the Daily Mail on August 24th. Her article is entitled “More Please: More money, more security, more certainty... would it really make us any happier?” Anna’s trademark style is hugely personal, insightful, and witty. Whatever she writes about she always gets to the heart of the matter. Her article is a great read.

Have you heard of the term “static happiness?” Ever since happiness researchers have measured happiness and well-being levels they have noticed an interesting phenomenon that is, in spite of the fact that we have more of everything we say we want we are not any happier. For example, in the US, when people were asked in 1940 to score their happiness, the average answer was 7.5 out of 10. Most recently, the average answer is 7.2 out of 10. There are similar scores for the UK, Japan, Australia and other countries.

Try this exercise: take a moment to score how happy you were, on average, from 0 to 10, when you were 7 years old. For example, 7.5 out of 10. Next, score how happy you were when you were 16 years old, 21 years old, 5 years ago, last year, and today. What do your scores tell you about your relationship to happiness? Are you happier today than before? Are you suffering from “static happiness?” And what about the future? How happy do you think you will be in one year’s time? And in five year’s time?

What is the real more that would help you to be happier - starting from now? Think not just about “getting” and “having” and “attracting” and “receiving”; but also about “being” and “giving” and “noticing” and “appreciating.” Give this important question some of your best attention. You have the answer within you right now. As Anna Pasternak highlights in her article: the key to happiness isn’t more stuff; it’s more clarity.

The Real More workshop received rave reviews, and we will definitely be running it again next year. Dates will be announced soon.

IEA Conference: Joy of The Enneagram

I am in Las Vegas this weekend to give the opening keynote at the annual conference for the International Enneagram Association (IEA).  I feel honoured to be asked to give the keynote and I am looking forward to taking in a number of lectures given by leading teachers of the Enneagram including Russ Hudson, Jessica Dibb, David Daniels, Helen Palmer, Tom Condon, and Marika Borg.

My friend Marika Borg introduced me to the Enneagram one fine day in Helsinki in 2003.  I consider the Enneagram to be one of the most effective psycho-spiritual models for healing and happiness that I have encountered.  I feel the Enneagram is a great blessing in my life.  It has helped me to understand myself better, and also to love and appreciate others more.  It is also integral to my work with Success Intelligence and The Happiness Project.

My Enneagram highlights include:  a weekend workshop led by Marika Borg at my in-laws’ home for family and friends; the Riso & Hudson Enneagram training program shared with Avril Carson, Ben Renshaw, Lizzie Prior (my sister-in-law) and Evie Prior (my mother-in-law); and also one particular, life-enhancing conversation with my brother, David.  And the journey continues – starting this weekend at the IEA annual conference. 

If you are new to the Enneagram I encourage to visit the Enneagram Institute,  home of Don Riso and Russ Hudson.  Take their RHETI test, to get your Enneagram profile.   I recommend all their books, particularly Wisdom of the Enneagram and Personality Types. 

The Real More: "The Start of Something Wonderful"

This morning I begin a two-day workshop in London called The Real More. This workshop is billed as “A Series of Meditations on More.” It is an invitation to reflect on what is the real more that we most want in our lives. More specifically, what is the real more we want to be, to know, to experience, to give, and to receive. The first principle we will explore is, when you know what you really want, you stop wanting more of everything else.

I am joined on The Real More workshop by my friends Avril Carson, Ian Lynch, Lizzie Prior, Bron Wilton, Candy Constable, Charlie Shand, and Robert Norton - each of who will help to create an event that is rich in poetry, meditations, music, inquiry, conversations, and exercises. I have a strong sense that this weekend will be the start of something wonderful - opening us all up to new levels of prosperity and joy. The Real More will begin with the following poem, which I wrote especially for this event, entitled “The Start of Something Wonderful.”

It's time to do
nothing.

Start doing
nothing immediately.

Make doing
nothing your work
today.

Do nothing,
and do not even make
it a technique.

This doing nothing is
a divine opportunity.

It interrupts the past.
It changes the future.
And your soul is ready
to act now.

Doing nothing,
in its purest form,
is receptivity.

Your non-action draws to
you extra
possibility.

Doing nothing is the start
of something
wonderful.

It is what an orchestra does
to sound the first note
of a symphony.

It is what each of us must do
if we are let the divine
act through us.

Doing nothing
is holy work.

Out of the nothingness,
a new adventure
begins.

Starting
from
now.

Relationships - The Heart of Success

Today the Success Intelligence team is hosting a half-day master- class on Success Intelligence in the heart of London. Ben Renshaw and I are co-presenting. This event also coincides with a celebration for the launch of our S.I. website this year. One of the themes we will explore today is relationships are the heart of success.

So many of us have grown up with parents who sacrificed themselves for the family, and who sacrificed their relationships with family, friends, and partners for their work. Our challenge is to make sure we do not repeat the same mistakes. Success does require sacrifice. Specifically, it requires sacrificing what is not important for what is. With that in mind, I invite you to read the following inventory, taken from my book Success Intelligence.

In the name of success,
how many bedtime stories am I prepared to miss?

In the name of success,
how many family dinners am I happy to give up?

In the name of success,
how many dates with my partner can I afford to lose?

In the name of success,
how many friendships am I willing to discard?

In the name of success,
how many weekends have I resigned to throw away?

In the name of success,
how many school plays am I prepared to miss?

In the name of success,
how many kisses good bye will I not make time for?

In the name of success,
how many beautiful sunsets together will I sacrifice?

Celebrate Your LIfe: I Choose Love

Today I am giving the closing keynote at the Celebrate Your Life conference in Chicago. My keynote will feature a guest appearance by the outstanding musician and songwriter, Shawn Gallaway.

I first came across Shawn’s music about 8 week ago. I was sent a copy of his video for his song “I Choose Love.” I liked it so much I immediately bought his album on ITunes. The song “I Choose Love” is so beautiful, I found myself playing it over and over. In fact, one day I put it on my Ipod, hit “Repeat,” and went running to the song for about an hour around Central Park, New York. I also started listening to the song as part of my preparation for delivering my keynote talks and workshops.

Two weeks after first hearing “I Choose Love,” I travelled to San Diego to participate in the I CAN DO IT Conference. Who should I meet there? Shawn Gallaway! There he was, just sitting in the crowd. I recognized him immediately. We have been in conversation ever since. AND, today, Shawn Gallaway will be singing “I Choose Love” as part of my keynote for “Celebrate Your Life.” Do you believe in synchronicity, or is it all random for you?!

Do check out Shawn Gallaway’s website. His mission is empowering people to create a reality based on love not fear. He is a multi-talented artist, a genuinely good fellow, and his star is rising. Please watch his fantastic video to “I Choose Love.” It is a blessing.

Ending the Search for Happiness

Today I am doing a 1-day workshop on Be Happy at the NY Open Center down at Spring Street. It is an honour to be teaching at a place that has offered such consistent, visionary service to so many people over the years.

One of the goals of my work with The Happiness Project is to help people end the search for happiness and be happy now. The whole point of focusing on “happiness now” is to be able to stop searching and to start seeing. I believe that the purpose of our life is not to search for happiness; it is to follow our joy. Today, we will be exploring this idea in depth. In light of this, I offer you a poem entitled “In Search of happiness.”

In search of happiness,
I abandon myself.
The searching is a blindness.
I cannot see.

But I do not realize that
I cannot see.
And I cannot see, just yet,
what I am doing to
myself.

In search of happiness,
I lose myself.
I cannot find what I am
looking for because I
do not know what I am
looking for.

There is no search and find.
It is only search and
search and
search.


In search of happiness,
I call out to myself.
I want help. I want help.
Help is what I want.

I am tired. I am tired.
I am too tired to be happy.
I am too tired to be helped.
At first.

In search of happiness,
I find myself.
I am what I have been
looking for.

I come home again to a
place in me where All
is well.

I come home again to
a part of me that is All
of me.

I am no longer searching,
and I can see.
I can see.

Be Happy - I CAN DO IT Conference - Hay House

I am currently in San Diego with my wife Hollie, daughter Bo, and sister-in-law Lizzie Prior. San Diego is beautiful. I have spent the week doing media interviews and giving talks locally.  This weekend I will give a 90-minute interactive workshop on my new book Be Happy at the Hay House I CAN DO IT! conference, which runs from April 30^th to May 3rd. 

I CAN DO IT! Conferences, hosted by Hay House Inc, are truly inspiring events.  Last year, I was fortunate enough to give keynote speeches at both the Las Vegas I CAN DO IT! and the Tampa I CAN DO IT! conferences.  This weekend, in San Diego, there will be a great list of authors including Louise Hay, Marianne Williamson, Wayne Dyer, and Thomas Moore.  If you can make it, do come.  If not, I would check out the Conference CDs that will be available on the Hay House website.  

The picture is of me with Louise Hay, in Tampa.  Louise has just done my make-up.   She wanted me to look my best for my audience. Not many people can claim that Louise Hay is their make-up artist!