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Welcome to The Bigg Success Show, Pavel.

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Thanks Mary-Lynn. Thanks George. I’m a long-time listener and first-time caller!

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We love talking about life on your own terms and we love hearing the stories of members of our community. So let’s kick it off, Pavel. What does life on your own terms mean to you?

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To me, life on my own terms has a lot to do with ambition. I believe I’m a pretty ambitious young man and I wouldn’t want anybody to put a limit on what I can and cannot do professionally or socially, for that matter. One of the reasons I went toward small business, and not corporations as many of my classmates did, is because I didn’t want to be pigeon-holed by my level at the corporation. Whether you’re a first-year associate, analyst, or whatever it might be, it tends to come with a lot of strings attached and affects whether or not your ideas are taken seriously. Now I’m sure there are people who break this mold – there are all-stars – but this tends to be the case. So that’s why I went into a small business. I wanted to be able to use my potential to its fullest. I want to explore my limits and be the best business person I can be. Starting my own business allows me to do that because I don’t have a boss saying, “No – you can’t do this project.” I only have the market telling me what it will and will not accept, which is great.

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That’s awesome, Pavel. Your classmates were going off to Fortune 500 companies and large consulting firms. Did they ever question you or ridicule you for going off on your own?

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Luckily, they’ve all been very supportive of me. They all know that I’m very entrepreneurial. So they tend to accept that. They have their day jobs – from 8 to 6 or 9 to 5, whatever it may be – and I work what I’ll call my extended hours!

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I like the way you said that!

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But we’re after slightly different things. It’s understood that there’s going to be more than one way to get what we need out of life.

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Everybody for their own terms, right? Pavel, what would you say is your biggest challenge to living life on your own terms right now?

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When you’re starting a business, it’s not the same as a regular corporate job because your cash flow is a little more unpredictable. Many times, you’ll find yourself pinching pennies because you didn’t get paid this week. But you keep your head up because you know if you achieve your goals, the money will naturally follow. While your cash flow is tight, you just have to accept it, not spend it, save up, invest in your business and hope for the best!

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So Pavel, what are you doing right now to overcome this challenge?

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I try to save up a little in a slush fund to treat myself every now and then and to keep my sanity. I like to go out with my friends. I also have a hobby purchasing books on Amazon. I just can’t stop!

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Nice plug! Ca-ching! Now Pavel, what are you doing that’s really fun – either at work or in your personal time?

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My day job is fun. Meet Me at Green has been fun – programming the web site, organizing the people involved and trying to recruit more members. As this community grows, so does my site and its usefulness to all the members. I’m sure you expected an answer like, “I love to go skiing in Aspen on the weekend” but, in reality, when I work on Meet Me at Green, I am having fun. That’s the best part of it.

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Fortunately, or unfortunately, we can totally relate to what you’re saying. It occurs to me, Pavel, you are really into green – whether it be money or the environment!

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The money is definitely not my number one goal, but it’s a good way to validate what you’re doing.

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We wish you the best of luck with your business, Meet Me at Green. Can anybody join?

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We’re focusing on businesses that are involved in green products and services. But if you have a passion for green, if energy efficiency or environmental awareness is important to you, then please sign up! Membership is currently free.

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Thanks Pavel for sharing what life on your own terms means to you.

How are YOU living life on your own terms?

Please share your story with us by leaving a comment below, calling us at 888.455.BIGG or sending us an e-mail at bigginfo@biggsuccess.com. We may feature you on an upcoming Bigg Success Profiles show.

We thank you so much for reading our post today!

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Please join us next time when we'll talk about the most important thing to find before you start a business. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed.

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00383-042909.mp3

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A lot of people laugh at using the comic section as wrapping paper, but I just love that idea!

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My secret … I only buy from stores that gift-wrap. I know they’ll make it look a lot better than I could!

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And think about it – where does the wrapping paper end up anyway?

We think everything needs to be perfect or we’ll disappoint people. But will we?

We found a true story of a little girl who felt that same pressure. She was a third-grader in rural Central Kentucky. This story was originally published on Christmas Day of 1987. It happened the week before. The teacher told the story with the understanding that her name, the name of the school, and the name of the student would not be revealed.

The classroom was full of excitement as the teacher opened her gifts. She thanked each student by name as she admired their exquisitely wrapped presents. One of the students mentioned that someone was crying in the cloakroom.

The teacher went to the cloakroom and discovered a girl holding a gift. She asked, “Don't you want to give me your gift?"

The child was sobbing as she said, “Mine's not pretty."

"Well, now, why don't you let me be the judge of that," the teacher responded.

The little girl, still crying, handed her teacher the present, which was wrapped in pink wallpaper. Instead of ribbon, there were flowers.

As she looked at the present, the teacher was so touched that she began to cry. This little girl had tried so hard to make her present pretty. But after she saw her classmates’ gifts, she was too ashamed to put it under the tree with theirs.

A few days before, the class went to a local nursing home with presents for the residents. The teacher recalled that the little girl’s gift was a bar of motel soap, wrapped in notebook paper. On it was written, “To a friend with love”.

The teacher realized that day how special this little girl was. She came from a very poor family, but she had so much to give. For instance, she saw a woman sitting alone crying. The little girl left her group to visit with the woman.

“It doesn’t matter what’s in a package,” the teacher said. “All I ask of you for Christmas is your love, and you’ve already given me that. So if you didn’t give me anything else, that would be enough.”

At that moment, the little girl grabbed the teacher around the neck, gave her a big hug, and cried and cried.

The teacher pulled the pink wallpaper off the gift. She found a box that had originally held Lipton tea bags. She opened the box to discover a small blue towel, which was wrapped around two little glass votive cups – complete with dust around the candles. The child had brought these candles from home.

“I thought you would like these,” the little girl said. “Mama wrapped them up in the towel to keep them from breaking."

As the teacher fought the tears forming in her eyes, she thanked the child and told her that this was the perfect gift. A little girl, who had no money to buy a gift, and no wrapping paper or ribbon, had reminded her once again that a gift of love is the best present of all, no matter how it’s wrapped.

___

We thank you for reading our post today. Join us next time when we’ll find out how the angel ended up on top of the tree. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed.

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00292-122308.mp3

Related posts

Wealth is in the Eyes of the Beholder

(Images in today's post by mai05)

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___

A lot of people laugh at using the comic section as wrapping paper, but I just love that idea!

___

___

My secret … I only buy from stores that gift-wrap. I know they’ll make it look a lot better than I could!

___

And think about it – where does the wrapping paper end up anyway?

We think everything needs to be perfect or we’ll disappoint people. But will we?

We found a true story of a little girl who felt that same pressure. She was a third-grader in rural Central Kentucky. This story was originally published on Christmas Day of 1987. It happened the week before. The teacher told the story with the understanding that her name, the name of the school, and the name of the student would not be revealed.

The classroom was full of excitement as the teacher opened her gifts. She thanked each student by name as she admired their exquisitely wrapped presents. One of the students mentioned that someone was crying in the cloakroom.

The teacher went to the cloakroom and discovered a girl holding a gift. She asked, “Don't you want to give me your gift?"

The child was sobbing as she said, “Mine's not pretty."

"Well, now, why don't you let me be the judge of that," the teacher responded.

The little girl, still crying, handed her teacher the present, which was wrapped in pink wallpaper. Instead of ribbon, there were flowers.

As she looked at the present, the teacher was so touched that she began to cry. This little girl had tried so hard to make her present pretty. But after she saw her classmates’ gifts, she was too ashamed to put it under the tree with theirs.

A few days before, the class went to a local nursing home with presents for the residents. The teacher recalled that the little girl’s gift was a bar of motel soap, wrapped in notebook paper. On it was written, “To a friend with love”.

The teacher realized that day how special this little girl was. She came from a very poor family, but she had so much to give. For instance, she saw a woman sitting alone crying. The little girl left her group to visit with the woman.

“It doesn’t matter what’s in a package,” the teacher said. “All I ask of you for Christmas is your love, and you’ve already given me that. So if you didn’t give me anything else, that would be enough.”

At that moment, the little girl grabbed the teacher around the neck, gave her a big hug, and cried and cried.

The teacher pulled the pink wallpaper off the gift. She found a box that had originally held Lipton tea bags. She opened the box to discover a small blue towel, which was wrapped around two little glass votive cups – complete with dust around the candles. The child had brought these candles from home.

“I thought you would like these,” the little girl said. “Mama wrapped them up in the towel to keep them from breaking."

As the teacher fought the tears forming in her eyes, she thanked the child and told her that this was the perfect gift. A little girl, who had no money to buy a gift, and no wrapping paper or ribbon, had reminded her once again that a gift of love is the best present of all, no matter how it’s wrapped.

___

We thank you for reading our post today. Join us next time when we’ll find out how the angel ended up on top of the tree. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed.

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00292-122308.mp3

Related posts

Wealth is in the Eyes of the Beholder

(Images in today's post by mai05)