Life is a BIGG game for entrepreneurs.

The question is: Which game?

The answer is: It depends on which type of entrepreneur you are.

We think there are three types of entrepreneurs: Specializers, Serializers and Synchronizers.

Hear George & Mary-Lynn discuss today’s topic on The BIGG Success Show podcast. Click the player to listen.

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• Specializers play Solitaire. They focus on one business. They strive to master their craft so they can make more money.
  

• Serializers love Legos. Now we realize that Legos is not technically a game. But serial entrepreneurs love building. They start business after business, always hoping to build something more spectacular the next time.
  

• Synchronizers are playing Monopoly. They don’t want to own one business; they want a collection. They’re always trying to pass Go, so they can collect $200 and purchase another property.
  

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My favorite game of the three is Solitaire. I just love trying to get better at beating the game.

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It’s consistent with your personality. You love to master a craft – whether it’s radio, audio production, website development or consulting. You’re a Specializer, Mary-Lynn.

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So what’s your favorite, George?

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As many people will find, I have an affinity for two of them. My dad was a builder so I always loved Legos. But Monopoly is definitely my favorite.

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It makes sense. You’ve owned multiple businesses for most of your adult life. You’re mostly a Synchronizer.

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How they win

There are nuances for how you run your business depending on which type of entrepreneur you are. For example, each one has a unique strategy for winning:

• Specializers win by taking the income from their business and investing passively. By doing this, they diversify their assets which reduces their risk. They also don’t waste precious time away from their core business.
  

• Serializers will likely invest everything they have to make their first business a BIGG success. Then they take part of that money off the table and invest it passively while pouring the rest of it into their next business.
  

• Sychronizers win by building a portfolio of businesses. They may never have much money invested in stocks or bonds. They trust themselves more than they trust the markets. So they are constantly directing income from their existing businesses into new businesses.
  

The key is figuring out how you build from a base of one business, which may represent a huge portion of your total net worth, to a more stable portfolio of assets.

It helps you make more money, more dependably. That’s BIGG success!

What’s your favorite game?

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George and I were talking recently about family traditions. Two significant terms: family and tradition. Of course, when we think of family, we think of those closest to us.

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Whew … I wasn’t sure where you were headed with that last sentence, Mary-Lynn!

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See, I was nice! Merriam-Webster says it’s the basic unit in society.

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Tradition is the handing down of customs or practices from generation to generation.

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We’re familiar with the old saying, “Out with the old, in with the new.” That’s all well and good, but sometimes we should say, “In with the old.”

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At my advanced age, I’m glad to hear that. I’m in! You make a great point, Mary-Lynn. We have a tendency to think “old” is unnecessary. Out of style. Out of date. That “new” is better.

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We dismiss what’s always been done. However, family traditions bind us together with our past. They are an important part of understanding who we are.

They are part of our history. We study history to provide meaning to our present and guidance for our future.

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A bigg reunion

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Recently, we attended a family reunion. It’s my dad’s mom’s side of the family. The picture on our post today is from the reunion. It’s my nephew, David, with his son, Collin, my cousin Johnny and me. This reunion’s been an annual event since before I was born. It’s still going strong.

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I love it … especially the annual softball game! Your family really gets into it. There’s a lot of taunting back and forth. Although, this year, we were outgunned pretty badly.

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But you made the catch of the game, Mary-Lynn.

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Yeah, I caught a fly ball deep in right field. I earned a new nickname – Snowcone – because so much of the ball was showing out of my glove.

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It’s always a great time for catching up with extended family that we often only see this one time of the year. It’s a great tradition!

A bigg race

We have a friend who takes his son to the Indy 500 every year. When he was a boy, his Dad took him. He looked forward to it every year. He’s continuing the tradition with his own son.

A bigg start

While we’re on this subject of tradition, think about starting your own. All traditions had to start sometime, right? Plan an event at a regular interval, like every year. It’s a great way to make sure you spend time with those who are most important to you. Everybody gets it on their calendars because it’s a regular event.

What are your family traditions?

Share that with us by leaving a comment below, calling us at 888.455.BIGG (2444) or e-mailing us at bigginfo@biggsuccess.com.

Thank you so much for reading our post today. Consider making it a tradition by subscribing to our RSS feed or by subscribing to our show in Tunes! Click on one of the links below.

Please join us next time when we discuss a surprising way of saving money now without depriving yourself. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

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Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00405-053109.mp3

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(Pictured in today's post: George with his nephew David, great nephew Collin, & cousin John)

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In our corner of the world, it’s finally starting to feel like spring. And here we are almost at the beginning of summer!

We’ve been busy cleaning up outdoors. Washing the windows. Cleaning out the gutters. Trimming the bushes. Picking up sticks in the yard.

Sometimes homeownership feels like work!

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Picking up sticks has its own reward because we bought a fire pit last year. I just love sitting around a fire and smelling the burning wood! It’s fantastic on those cool nights.

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We had a lot of great evenings last year relaxing around the fire. I’d say it’s already paid for itself. Plus it keeps your fire burning in a contained area, Mary-Lynn!

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Planning for a rainy day

We know what we’re going to do the next time we have a rainy day on the weekend. We’re going to have a Clutter Contest!

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You win, George. You have the most clutter!

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The idea is to get rid of the clutter, Mary-Lynn. But thank you for pointing out my clutter!

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We’re going have a contest between the two of us – the person who clears out the most clutter wins. Can you tell that we’re competitive?

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The prize

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Since it’s just the two of us, we can cater the prize however we want. So, if you win Mary-Lynn, I’ll give you a back massage.

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Ooh, I love massages. That will be great. I’ll tell you what, George, since you do most of the cooking … if you win, I’ll cook you dinner!

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I’m not sure that’s such a good prize!

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We’re really trying to highlight that you don’t have to spend money (hey there’s another one of the elements of bigg success) on prizes. They can be personal.

For your family, the prize could be the winner’s favorite home-cooked meal. He or she could choose the next movie to watch or game you all play. It’s completely customizable.

You can have more the one prize. For example, you might have a prize for the person who donates the most. You get stuff out of the house and a favorite charity gets goods they can sell. How’s that for win/win?

Even if you’re not a clutter bug, there may be someone in your house whose clutter drives you crazy. They’ll be more likely to clean it out if they can win a prize they really want. And think about it … they should be the odds-on favorite to win because they have the most stuff!

Household chores aren’t the most exciting way to spend our time off. However, this is one thing that can really ramp up your productivity. Studies show that the average American could save about an hour a day if they cleared out their clutter!

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When I heard that statistic, it really made me think about how to get more organized.

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It made me realize that it was time to clear out my clutter. Now I need to go get the ladder so I can start looking through that pile on my desk!

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Thanks so much for the gift of your time today!

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Please join us next time when we’ll discuss saving for (and allowing yourself to spend on) bigg ticket items. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

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Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
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(Image by sindesign,CC 2.0)

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How does work affect homework?

The researchers examined how each hour of paid work affected the way high school students spent the rest of their time. They found that each hour of work reduced homework time by about five minutes, on average.

Sleep less

They cut back more than twice that amount – ten minutes total – on sleep. Maybe young people really are looking at us as role models!

Screen pass

The single biggest activity that they reduced was screen time – the average student spent 24 minutes less for every hour worked. The researchers defined screen time as:

• watching television and movies

• using the computer for leisure (except games)

• surfing the internet

• participating in chat room discussions

Setting priorities

Previous studies have shown that working only has a small negative effect on an average student’s performance. The researchers in this study conclude that they may have explained part of the reason. It may be that students who work cut back mostly on non-productive activities.

Why do busy people get more done?

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There’s that old saying, “If you want something done, get a busy person to do it.” I’ve found that on days when I have to get a lot done, I do. On days when there isn’t much on the agenda, I seem to step into a more leisurely pace and often don’t accomplish as much as I want. I do better when I keep a certain amount of stress on myself.

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I’m with you, George. When I have a lot on the to-do list, I’m more focused and less willing to allow for diversions.

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People who had juggled work and school were often my best employees. Their grades may have suffered a little, but the skills they learned about managing their time improved their performance in their full-time gig.

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When I think back to my high school days, I had a part-time job. I was a straight “A” student and was involved in several extracurricular activities – band, theater, and the speech team. I don’t know how I did it all! I certainly always had something to do. I was practicing for a competition or a show, doing homework or working. As a result, I can’t tell you much about the hit TV shows in the late 80s.

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But you know all about the music of that era! You’re a prime example of the students in this research study, Mary-Lynn. You pretty much eliminated unproductive play time. Your play time had a purpose.

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Don’t get too down on down time

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But I could have benefited from some play time just for fun. I could have used the time to relax and get in touch with myself.

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I completely understand what you’re saying. I think down time is so important. I often find that’s when I work out a solution to a problem that I’ve had trouble resolving. I may be looking at the screen, but I’m lost in my own thoughts. And it’s a good thing! I’m away from the pressure of the situation and my brain just flows.

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In our down time, we may be more creative than we are in a more structured environment. So it’s good not to underestimate its value.

Work time is good because it helps us stay more focused.

Productive play is good because it helps us expand our capacity.

But be careful that you don’t get so busy that you don’t allow any time for purely play.

How has down time helped you?

You can share that with us by leaving a comment below, calling us at 888.455.BIGG or sending us an e-mail at bigginfo@biggsuccess.com.

Thanks so much for checking in on us today.

Please join us next time when talk about what to do if life on your own terms creates conflict with the people around you.

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/0367-040709.mp3

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Play at Work

(Image in today's post by ba1969)

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We boxed, played tennis, took in a few rounds of golf, and did some bowling. It was a blast!

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For the record, Mary-Lynn kicked my you-know-what when we boxed.

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A small investment leads to bigg fun

Part of the reason our friends bought the Wii is that they have a wee little girl. So they don’t get out as much as they used to. They made a small investment in this game system. They get to have some fun, and some couple time, when little Ellie goes to sleep. And whenever they have friends over, everyone can join in the fun!

We’re not bigg gamers, but this was really a blast. There may be a Wii in our future. It’s definitely an investment – by the time you buy all the accessories – but you can entertain yourself at home instead of going out and spending money.

It doesn’t require any investment

Our local movie theater has an air hockey table. So whenever we go see a movie, we play some air hockey. And to let you in on a little secret, sometimes we don’t go to the movie!

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We’re both pretty competitive. The puck often flies off the table! The sad thing is, what really gets my goat, I have yet to win an air hockey match against George. I don’t understand because I’m pretty good!

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We’re lucky because we have a park down the street with a basketball court. So we’ll go play a round of H – O – R – S – E. And you know, if I could spell “Horse”, I’m pretty sure Mary-Lynn has beaten me!

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There are a lot of games you can play, from the ones we talked about to board games, that allow you to bring out that fun, little competitive nature and bond at the same time.

We played Wii tennis and it was fun. But we also play tennis at a local park from time to time. It’s a great way to have some fun outdoors.

These are all cheap ways to have some fun, compete, and connect. With couples being so busy, so strapped for time, it’s important to connect in some way every day. If you can do it with a game, so much the better!

I just don’t want Mary-Lynn to keep connecting with me in boxing. Even though it’s a Wii game, it still hurts … my pride!

How do you connect?

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