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Interdependence Leads to BIGG Success

Written on July 1, 2011 by George Krueger & Mary-Lynn Foster in Personal Growth

We’re celebrating Independence Day here in the States on Monday. We learned something interesting from author and historian Jane Hampton Cook.

BIGG success is life on your own terms. When the Declaration of Independence was written, the terms were incredibly important.

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The power of terms

For example, Thomas Jefferson originally wrote “subjects” before crossing it off heavily. He replaced “subjects” with “citizens.”

Do you see the power in that simple change?

The terms you use to define yourself can limit you or empower you. The same is true for entrepreneurial leaders – how do you see your people?

The lens through which you view them determines, in large part, whether you will have a team that just does what they have to do or a team that goes beyond the call of duty.

The power in interdependence

Another interesting tidbit we picked up from Jane Hampton Cook is that the word “colonies” was replaced by the term “states.”

Once again, we see the power of terms. Colonies are subject to the rule of a mother country. States are independent.

Even beyond independent, the States were equal to the government they replaced; they were equal to the country ruled by the King.

But they weren’t establishing a bunch of independent states. They formed the United States – a group of interconnected main governing bodies.

They moved beyond independence. They were interdependent. And one of the many lessons our Founding Fathers taught us is this:

Independence may lead to success.

But interdependence leads to BIGG success!

It’s the BIGG idea behind BIGG success.

You can find synergy by understanding interdependence: interdependence between the five elements of BIGG success – money, time, growth, work and play – and interdependence with other people.

How to get started

Think about the people in your network. Reach out to see if they might be interested in working together.

Initiate a conversation. If it goes well, schedule another one.

Each time you meet, the level of conversation will get more specific and deeper. Here’s a progression of questions you might discuss:

How could we work together?
How should we work together?
How will we work together?
How did we do?
How could we do better?
What’s next?

Depending on your answers, these questions may get asked over a period of weeks, months or even years.

These six questions help you find synergy in your relationships – you and one or more people working together to achieve more than you possibly could independently.

So make a declaration of interdependence. It leads to BIGG success!

How could we work together?

Image in this post from Henkster

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Tags: audioblog, bigg success, celebrating independence day, declaration of independence, five elements, founding fathers, george krueger, jane hampton, jane hampton cook, mary-lynn foster, mother country, podcast, Relationships, synergy, the bigg success show, Thomas Jefferson, understanding interdependence

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Procrastination Pays for Entrepreneurs

Written on March 7, 2011 by George Krueger & Mary-Lynn Foster in Entrepreneurship

No less an authority than Thomas Jefferson taught us to “never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”

Well, Thomas Jefferson was wrong! Here are four times when it may pay to procrastinate if you’re an entrepreneur:

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1. It may pay to push back your launch.
“Wait” is a viable option in many cases. While you wait, take a class. Get some experience in the industry. And check out The Entrepreneur Equation.

2. It may pay to delay your exit.
We’ll preface this by recognizing that many entrepreneurs wait too long to get out. They end up with a business that really doesn’t have any growth potential left.

But for the best businesses, why be in a hurry to sell? We have a friend who owns a business. He determined he would make as much in 2 years as he thought he could get for the business if he sold it. He’s getting his money now and later by delaying his exit!

3. Sometimes it pays to defer conversations.
It may be an employee or a customer. It could be your kid or your spouse. The point is somebody said or did something to upset you.

You want to fire back. You want to speak your mind. But it probably won’t be productive. You’ll probably say the wrong thing or at least say it the wrong way.

Get away. Take a break. Calm down. Get your head back so you can have a conversation, not a confrontation.

4. It may pay to postpone a major decision.
We can take a note from franchise law here. The law says a franchisor can’t accept your money for three days after you receive the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular.

You should be emotional about your business. But you shouldn’t base business decisions on emotions. Take a little time. Do some more analysis. Don’t spend the money today. Procrastinate for BIGG success!

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