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Were you born to be an entrepreneur?
Interesting research compiled by RBS Living Business survey suggest that those who start working early on in their lives are possibly showing early signs of entreprenuerial flair. Eighty four per cent of the 615 entrepreneurs interviewed in the survey worked to earn extra money at school eg paper rounds.
Furthermore, the average entrepreneur was likely to be the youngest member of the family.
The RBS Living Business Survey also showed that todays entrepreneurs believed energy and determination were equally the most important characteristics to contribute to business success. These were followed by communication, sense of humour and vision. Interestingly ruthlessness was the least favoured characteristic.
A mere 5% of the participants had a professional qualification, while 7% had a university degree.
Be determined - Be committed and dont give up - Believe in yourself.Todays advice for tomorrows entrepreneurs.
(The RBS Living Business Survey 2005 was conducted by The Survey Shop and interviewed 615 owners of GB small businesses in 2005, having an annual sales turnover between GBP50,000 and GBP1m.)
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 10:25 AM
A study published recently in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry showed that people with a strong streak of sensation seeking are likely to be more optimistic and have more friends than cautious types, and are less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease
Next rollercoaster please!
And on the subject of rollercoaster, research shows that after a rollercoaster ride, people are more likely to rate photographs as attractive or agree to go on a blind date.
Over the past fifteen years, I have noticed that if people are able to take any meaningful action in the context of achieving their dreams, it appears to open a door in their mind. From taking the smallest, smallest step, participants around the world in general tend to believe that their dreams are realisable afterall.
Another study from the University of Leeds found that children today have far less freedom to roam and have fewer adventures than children even ten years ago. This has obvious implications for children when they are faced with even minor inconveniences in the future.
On a related subject, consider now the effectiveness of giving into children's every request. Are you actually doing them a favour in the long term?
Take the risky choice, the first step, and kickstart your potential.
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 09:08 AM
Success by design, not by luck.
"I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more luck I have."
Thomas Jefferson
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 02:33 PM
According to the Forbes website there are twelve ways to happiness:
Connect with your friends
Sex.
Socialise.
Get married.
Pray.
Become richer than your peers.
Health is wealth.
The right genes!
Work.
Money.
Accumulating experiences as oppossed to things.
And the one that caught my eye AGE.
Apparently several studies suggest that our levels of happiness follow a J shape. Forty onwards we become happier and happier. Fascinating?
I have just one tip discover your life's purpose and watch your life become one of magic and adventure.
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 06:23 PM
New research from the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago has revealed the secret to better marriages/ better relationships -
Put your partners happiness before yours - altruistic love as it is described.
1300 people were surveyed, sixty percent of the sample were married.
Interesting.
To highlight how you stand on this issue, rate how strongly you agree or disagree with these statements:
I would rather suffer myself than let the one I love suffer.
I cannot be happy unless I place the one I love's happiness before my own.
I am usually willing to sacrifice my own wishes to let the one I love achieve his/hers.
I would endure all things for the sake of the one I love.
Nearly nine in 10 agreed or strongly agreed with the first statement. About seven in 10 agreed or strongly agreed with the second statement. About eight in 10 agreed or strongly agreed with the last two statements.
Of particular concern to me is the second statement. showing true love is a function of how much you respect and cherish yourself. Can you give if you haven't got - I dont believe so.
My favourite interpretation of true love was written by Kahlil Gibran who talked of the oak tree and the cyprus tree that grew not in either shadows to which I have added meet at the top.
And finally a thought to ponder; many people talk about looking for their soul mate but appear to forget the "soul" part on making their choice.
Happy Valentines Day.
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 09:02 AM
"To me, business isn't about wearing suits or pleasing stockholders. It's about being true to yourself, your ideas..."
Richard Branson
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 09:02 AM
"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."
Albert Einstein
"The secret of success is constancy of purpose."
Benjamin Disraeli
"Talk to people about themselves and they will listen for hours."
Benjamin Disraeli
"The one with courage is a majority."
Andrew Jackson
"You should nurse your dreams and protect them through bad times and tough times to the sunshine and light which always come."
Woodrow Wilson
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 09:41 AM
In China, there is a saying that when I walk in the company of three, one of the others will certainly have something to teach me.
Opportunities to learn and grow cross our path every day of our life - seize them with both hands and watch your life transform before your very eyes.
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 09:26 AM
According to the latest research conducted by Ingrid Olson, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania, and Christy Marshuetz, PhD, of Yale University, some people benefit from what is described as "the Beauty Premium."
“Research has demonstrated time and time again that there are tremendous social and economic benefits to being attractive,” Olson says.
“Attractive people are paid more, are judged more intelligent, and will receive more attention in most facets of life,” she continues. “This favoritism, while poorly understood, seems to be innate and cross-cultural. Studies suggest that even infants prefer pretty faces.”
Their study, published recently in Emotion, highlighted three key findings.
1. Facial attractiveness was judged in a fraction of a second.
(Because of the intimate link between our physiology and psychology, people's first impression are processed within seconds.)
2. Pretty faces were tied to positive words, like “laughter” and “happiness,” more than negative words. But unattractive faces weren’t linked to negative words.
3. Pretty faces seem particularly powerful. Attractive houses didn’t spark the same reactions in the study’s participants.
It would be interesting to learn exactly what determined attractiveness - beauty after all is in the eye of the beholder!
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 09:04 AM
When asked by a Business Week journalist whether he was a music man or an entrepreneur, Simon Cowell (Mr X Factor/ American Idol) said he was an entrepreneur, and continued with the following advice:
"Work hard, be patient, and be a sponge while learning your business. Learn how to take criticism. Follow your gut instinct and don't compromise."
His new show, American Inventor, hopes to unearth the best new products in the US in a format similar to his pop programmes.
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 08:44 AM