Young Entrepreneurs - Born or Created?

What makes an entrepreneur? Even more importantly, what makes a young entrepreneur?

Take a look at this amazing story and then read my experiences below.

Thinking back on my childhood, I think I must have been born with an entrepreneurial mindset. Don't mistake that for a gift in sales or in selling. I was never good at sales and never felt I had a gift for it. Plus I was an extreme introvert and still prefer being alone to being with a group of people.

But when I was a kid, my mother made a deal with me and my siblings that if we would sell things for her, she would share the profits with us. I don't remember any of my other siblings being terribly excited about this opportunity, but if you (you know who you are) are reading this and you were excited about it, please correct me.

So even though I was painfully shy, I was willing to get up enough guts to knock on doors in the neighborhood and try to sell things. For awhile I sold greeting cards and other trinkets from a certain company. I managed to generate a few sales but nothing that would make a real difference in our budget.

During strawberry, raspberry and blackberry seasons, we kids would help pick and then sell the excess berries to our neighbors in exchange for half of the profits. We managed to sell all of the berries we wanted to and still had plenty to feed our very large family. (My mother's garden was huge!)

I'll never forget the neighbor who insisted that my blackberries weren't really blackberries. Since I was not in the habit of lying, her insistence that they were mulberries, not blackberries, really rubbed me the wrong way. I was profoundly offended by her insinuation that I was lying or trying to trick her. But as I recall, she bought some anyway - however, I wasn't too excited about returning to sell to her again.

Later when I was in high school, my mother really wanted to purchase a piece of property big enough to start a truck farm. A truck farmer in those days simply grew enough to have produce to sell to others. It wasn't a real farm with animals, just a farm for a big, big garden. However, it was my mother who had the entrepreneurial spirit, not my father and in the end the purchase wasn't made and we never became truck farmers. My brother and I had been very excited about the opportunity to help her with a huge garden, especially since it involved an opportunity for us to earn our own money. But it wasn't to be. Instead, my mother continued to work in a factory.

Later while in high school, I became a member of Junior Achievement. In conjunction with a local business, our Junior Achievement chapter designed, built and marketed a product that we were able to build with a minimum of materials, actually assemble by hand and then take out to sell to friends and neighbors. We made a "trouble light" that plugged into your car. It was a very sturdy and helpful product and we enjoyed quite a bit of success with it. However, I was astounded by the lack of attention to detail and the sloppy construction executed by some of the other members of our chapter. I think it was then I decided I never wanted to be either an employer or employee. I could already see that!

But in spite of that, I did have a few "traditional jobs" along the way, worked my way through college with scholarships and part time jobs and even took a "job" at a non-profit after I graduated. But jobs were boring to me. Maybe that's the way it is with entrepreneurs!

My husband and I later became missionaries in Brazil, eventually formed our own mission organization, helped found a church, wrote one book and published it and have trained many others to run family seminars.

Currently we have several more books in progress, run an online business, I have my own gardening business (truck farm!) where I grow pesticide-free and GMO-free produce that is highly sought after at the Farmers Markets and we now grow herb plants to sell.

I have also taught my children and my grandson how to be entrepreneurs. Or maybe they were born that way...but that's another story.

I'd be delighted to have your opinion. Do you think entrepreneurs are born or are they created/developed through training? Let me know what you've observed.

Sharon Reece

P.S. If you are an entrepreneur, we need to talk. Contact me to see if you qualify to work with me. I'm looking for highly motivated team players who aren't afraid to earn money and who aren't afraid to help others.

Is Equality Possible?

Is equality possible? Or even good? We hear a lot of talk about it these days as though equality were the most important goal of all goals. From my perspective, equality isn't possible, nor would it be good. It isn't, in my opinion, even a worthy goal to work toward.

Productive societies and prosperous economies work on completely different principles. People are more productive, more creative, more innovative and more dynamic when they are rewarded for what they accomplish. It doesn't matter to them whether their neighbor is just as productive, less productive or more productive. A basic tenant of freedom is that you have the freedom to choose how productive you want to be. Maybe you're the person who loves being a couch potato and watching TV all day. You have the freedom in our society to choose to do that. Your neighbor might choose to be industrious, turning every single moment into an opportunity to achieve, accomplish, invent, produce. I hope it appears obvious to you that these two people do not deserve "equal" rewards.

Together with the idea of equality, fairness has been thrown into the discussion. "Fair" evokes strong emotions, but guess what?...someone has to be the one to decide what is fair. Since we live in a fallen world, filled with sinful people, there is no one who is really capable of deciding what is fair. It is a pipe dream. Are you the one who is qualified to determine fairness? I certainly am not.

Life simply isn't fair. Admittedly some people have more than their share of bad fortune, while others seem to sail through life relatively unscathed by adversity. Who knows why? There isn't really a reason. And the bottom line is that no matter what life dishes out to us, we always have a choice in how we will respond. We can be like the disgruntled school kid on the playground who stomps off in a huff because others aren't playing fair. Or we can pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and try again. Fairness only exists in the imagination. It doesn't and never will exist in the real world, much as we would like it to.

I remember when I was a child, I had a particularly "difficult" neighbor. My expectation was that this neighbor child would play by the rules, not lie or cheat and that we would be able to be friends - after all, she had way more toys to play with than I did and I loved being able to touch all of those wonderful toys in her playhouse. After trying over and over and over again, I finally and unfortunately came to the conclusion that she was never going to be fair or honest and that I would have to find another friend who was more compatible with my own values and principles. I would never be equal to her in affluence or possessions but I was far richer in inner strength and Christian character. Did I want to be equal? No! In fact, I felt sorry for her rather than envious.

So getting back to equality...there is one kind of equality that is good and helpful and positive. That is having the guarantee of equal treatment in the eyes of the law. In other words, the laws of the land, in order to be "fair" and "equal" need to favor no one in particular and defend and judge everyone equally. That is the kind of equality that leads to true freedom. The idea of equality that means we all get rewarded equally, whether we produce much or little, takes us as far away from true fairness and true equality as we could possibly go.

As we swerve away from the ideas of "liberty and justice for all" and toward the ideas of "equality and fairness" for all, the basic values and principles upon which our nation was founded become more and more diluted. In fact, "equality" becomes the polar opposite of "liberty" and "fairness" the polar opposite of "justice." There was a reason for the choice of those words! And there is a reason our leaders today are using the words, "equality" and "fairness." They are using them intentionally in order to polarize and divide our nation (in my opinion). And that is exactly what they are accomplishing.

What do you think? I'd love to have you weigh in by giving your opinion and feedback. But please be civil. If "R-rated" words are used in any comments, they will not be published here. Sorry, that's my rule.

Have a great day!
Sharon Reece

P.S. Check this link out if you're struggling with trying to earn a decent income online and are looking for a solution that works.

Credit Repair Resources

I was surfing the internet yesterday looking for things I would feel good about recommending to my readers and followers. So many people are struggling with poor credit scores and difficulty with their finances these days so this credit repair resource caught my eye.

First of all, let me say that I am an affiliate of this program and could earn something if you decide to purchase it. But with that said, this looks like one of the better products on the market for those who would like to fix their credit score quickly. Just in scrolling through what this program offers, I discovered one tip I plan to implement in our own situation. It's something very simple but I never even thought of it.

What this program offers is credit repair software with both audio and video. In other words, it's not just another e-book to wade through filled with outdated information. You and I both know that things change so quickly on the internet and in the business, banking, finance and credit world that it's important to have up-to-date information.

This is a simple credit improvement system and along with the 8 bonuses offered with it, looks to me to be one of the best bargains around.

So do the research yourself and see if you agree with me. Here is the Credit Repair Magic link so you can check it out for yourself.

And please let me know what you think about it and what your experience has been. I'd love to hear about it.

Have a wonderful and prosperous day!

Sharon Reece

P.S. If you have a home business or own a business of your own, check out this link for something that will enable you to grow your business easily and quickly without spending all your time doing it. It was created to enable you to earn a decent income but also have time to spend with your family doing the things you really consider to be important.

30 Keys to a Long and Satisfying Marriage

My husband and I just celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary. It seems as though the years have flown by and each year has added a deeper dimension to our relationship. So I thought I would share some of the keys (best practices and principles) for a successful marriage. These keys work for any relationship and I plan to expand on some of them in future posts. I don't claim that this is an exhaustive list by any means, but there are principles and ideas that will provide you with wisdom in any relationship. More wisdom keys can be found in the Bible. Anyone who studies it diligently will find much more than I can possibly share here.

And it's important to say that even though we know these keys and principles, we don't necessarily always follow them. We're still a work in progress just like everyone else. I hope that encourages you as you read through these.

So here is our list:

30 Keys to a Long and Satisfying Marriage

1. Put God first – worship Him together
2. Take time every day for the 6 minute prayer* 
3. Be quick to ask forgiveness
4. Be quick to forgive (seventy times seven)
5. Put the other’s interests above your own
6. Be a servant spouse
7. Be available
8. Do not use sex as a weapon against your partner
9. Spend time together – enjoying shared interests
10. Have fun together!
11. Desire the best for your partner even at your own expense
12. Cultivate gratefulness toward your spouse (not taking them for granted)
13. Let your spouse have the last word (let him/her think he/she’s right even when he/she isn’t)
14. Don’t embarrass him/her in public or in front of your children
15. Laugh with him/her, not at him/her
16. Thank God for how He has used your spouse in your life
17. Avoid the words, “always” and “never”
18. Keep each others secrets
19. Don’t keep secrets from each other
20. Understand the difference between relational and topical communication*
21. Do unto your spouse as you would have them do unto you (even if they don’t do the same)
22. Make him/her feel important
23. Be a good listener
24. Swallow your pride and be the first one to say you’re sorry
25. Edify him/her in front of everyone
26. Make him/her believe they can do anything
27. Trust God to change both you and your spouse because you can’t
28. Be your spouse’s best cheerleader and supporter
29. Take your marriage vows seriously - a covenant is serious
30. Make sure that divorce is not part of your thinking or your vocabulary

In this day and age when anything goes and most people go by what "feels good" to them, it's more important than ever to base our actions and decisions on solid principles that have stood the test of time. It's my hope that as you read through these, you will realize that without the help of a personal God and Savior to help you, you will fail. But He is alive and well and able to meet you wherever you are and to help you no matter what your current circumstances may be.

My prayer is that you will experience a lifetime of loving that is more satisfying than you could ever imagine. Don't forget to add your comments. I welcome any suggestions, comments or questions.

Sharon Reece

214 701-8298

P.S. For books that can help you with your relationship, check out the Family Foundations bookstore.

P.P.S. If you would like to work with me on a project I'm doing that will help any type of business, check out this link.

*I'll explain the 6 minute prayer and the difference between topical and relational communication in future posts.