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Stepping Away From The Crowd

The definition of insanity: Doing the same thing but expecting a different result.--Anonymous

Whether you're looking for ways to start or expand a business or jump start your career, one of the fastest and easiest ways to boost your income is by simply "stepping away from the crowd." Taking the road less traveled. Going left when everyone else goes right. In short, doing something different.

Now this is a scary proposition for most people. After all, we spend most of our lives trying to "fit in" and belong. While that's certainly appropriate on occasion-like using a fork at the dinner table instead of eating with our toes, for example-it does have its drawbacks. You won't become a classical pianist by only playing the blues, you won't become a professional figure skater by playing hockey, and you won't make $100,000 a year doing everything a $50,000 a year person does.

First you need to THINK differently. Then you need to ACT differently.

It's not a matter of lucky breaks, good genes, or knowing the "right" people. It's a matter of motivation and perseverance. Just look around at what other high-income earners are doing, and see if you can adapt some of their techniques to your situation.

Let me give you an example:

When I was college, I had the good fortune of taking a Supervisory Management course from a dynamic businessman named Robert Zawaki. After earning his MBA, Dr. Zawaki began dutifully climbing the corporate ladder--where he soon came to the same conclusion as many entrepreneurs: he could make more money working for himself.

Shortly thereafter, he started a business consulting firm and started making excellent money. He reinvested some of that cash into commercial real estate and derived a comfortable second income as the landlord of several commercial rental properties. He went back to school for his doctorate, and became part time faculty in the business school at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (my alma mater). Later, he wrote the textbook that he used in one of his classes. This book found its way into a number of business schools throughout the States, and subsequently lead to a number of paid speaking engagements every year.

Now let's recap:

Corporate ladder:

1. Senior management income

Entrepreneur:

1. Business Consulting Fees

2. Real Estate Rentals

3. Faculty Position

4. Text Book Royalties

5. Speaking Fees

Of course all the speaking had a cyclical effect: it lead to more clients for his business, more instructors using his books, and more speaking engagements. A win-win-win situation, if ever I saw one.

So what was his story? Did he work 18 hours a day and have no life? No. He was an early bird who usually worked from 6am to 6pm, 5 days a week (when he wasn't traveling). He'd use the quiet time from 6-8am attending to the tasks that required his attention, then spend the rest of the day teaching, consulting, delegating, following up, etc. He vacationed regularly and pursued one of his favorite hobbies with relish: trying new restaurants.

Now I mention this story because Dr. Zawaki was an extraordinary man who understood the power of leveraging his talents. While I really didn't have the where-with-all at 19 or 20 to understand what he was all about, I've since come to recognize what an incredibly smart man he was.

He was one of those few people who actually took a step away from the crowd. When he realized that the corporate ladder wasn't going take him where he wanted to go, he got off of it. He didn't spend years talking about "someday," or complain endlessly about the situation and then do nothing about it. Instead, he chose a different path, which lead to an income level nearly 10 times that of his peers. He really didn't work a whole lot harder than most people-he just worked a whole lot smarter.

What's more, he instilled his habits in his children. His son, Mark, whom I first met in the Supervisory Management class, was every bit as smart and as outgoing as his dad. This became particularly evident one day when he walked me to my car after class. While I got into my 17 year old clunker that I'd bought from my grandmother, Mark hopped into his brand new BMW convertible. Seems while every college kid I knew had spend the previous summer suffering through minimum wage jobs, Mark had gotten his real estate license and had made close to six figures that year selling real estate. The Beamer was his 21st birthday gift to himself, for which he'd paid cash. I have no idea what he's doing today, but I'm quite certain that he's making an exceptional income.

The moral of the story: You can spend all your life waiting for the "right" opportunity to come along, or you can take the bull by the horns and create the lifestyle you want with the tools you have at your disposal right now. It's not a fantasy, it's a reality. Just take a look around. Bill Gates, Steven Speilberg, Oprah, Martha Stewart -- all of these folks took their dreams and went on the road less traveled.

It was probably pretty scary, and they faced rejection and mistakes along the way. But they did it anyway.

So can you. Stop looking at what you don't have and start doing something with what you do have. Then, take a step away from the crowd. Your bank account will thank you for it!

Good Luck!

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