Posts Tagged ‘Open & Free Business Model’
Freedom At 50!
I have a confession to make, sometimes, I just don’t know how to help you. Why? It’s because you don’t know what I know, and you can’t see what I see. It’s not your fault, you have been conditioned, blinded, and even had the wool pulled over your eyes by the industrial age of business. But today, you don’t have anywhere to hide, you already know too much, and that’s why you are afraid.
I was asked why I do what I do, why do I work so hard to help business owners and entrepreneurs that don’t seem to want to be helped? My answer was a little confusing to this person, I said, it’s what I do, I don’t really have a choice. You see, I feel it’s a calling, a voice in my head, my conscience, my deep concern for the business community, and my heart for people. I can’t not do this blog, I can’t stop reaching out to my business community, and I have to continually share what I know and see. You see, it’s not about me, it’s about you.
In my workshops, I do an hour long presentation, a look at what’s happening, and then I share what I see happening, and then I try to teach what to do about what’s happening. I try to help you create new ideas or deliverables for your business, maybe help you find the business you want to start, or one of the many passions fighting like hell to be let out of yourself.
I’m turning 55 this November, not sure how I feel about it but, 5 years ago I found myself suddenly free, yep, freedom at 50! It wasn’t because I was financially independent, it was simply this, the industrial age had spit me out on the curb, it was a blessing, although at the time it didn’t feel like it. I had a choice, pay attention to what was happening and figure out how to adopt it, or…be comfortable in the industrial age cocoon and the lie it is, was, and had told me. The truth was talking to me, and I was fighting against it.
I knew that day was going to come, January 27th, 2007. The harder I ignored what I knew was happening, the direction business was headed, the work situation seemed to get worse and worse, until one day it came to an end. You see, it wasn’t working for them or for me, I just couldn’t tow their party line another day. There was a lot going on behind the scenes I didn’t know about, and that’s fine, on February 1st, 2007, the company I used to work for, was sold. It was a kick in the butt, and seat on the curb. I even felt used, taken advantage of, but that’s not what this story is about.
So why am I sharing my story, its simple, I know many of you have similar stories, and you’re afraid just like I was, but I knew I was going to be OK, I didn’t know why, but I did. I know you will be too. Like you, the call in me was strong, that force was very strong, my passion was screaming at me to let it out, to take a chance and learn how to live with ambiguity. There I said it, ambiguity. That’s what most of us fear, we have this deep need to know what’s going to happen next, where the next meal is going to come from, and worse yet, when is the next payday going to happen. And it needs to happen religiously every two weeks!
The problem wasn’t doing it, the problem was, how do I do it? When you step outside the industrial age system, pay days are a reward for your faith walk, for your commitment to the call you feel inside, there is nothing the industrial age can offer that matches the reward of heeding your call, and the feeling of freedom you possess.
Freedom at 50 is hard when it doesn’t come on your terms, and most of us will have to work at something well past the age of 65 and even 70, what will you do, and what will it be. Will it be what the world and the industrial age tells you it should be, or will you learn to live another way, learn a new business model. Whichever you choose, you will have to work, it’s part of the curse of having the life you want to live.
I am writing this to you because my heart is aching, it’s even breaking, because you are struggling just as I did 5 years ago. You should know, I still struggle, but I am not controlled by it, my call and my passion make the struggle fade away.
So if you find yourself sitting on the side-lines (curb), or you know you have to make a change, don’t let fear control to call inside you, it could be the call is telling what to do and you’re simply ignoring it. If you do anything do this, always seek counsel from someone you trust, someone with perspective, from someone who can teach you how to live in the new age of business, from someone who is doing it, from someone who can show you how to become the passion inside you.
For years I fought against my passions, my desires, and simply did what the education system industrial age told me to do, I was wrong to listen. I teach an open & free business model because it works, it takes commitment, it takes patience, and it takes work….but it works. I’m selling ideas, I’m selling you the truth about what’s happening, and I’m selling a message of freedom. Freedom at 50 wasn’t my choice, but I’m grateful that it happened, it’s like Morpheus pulled me out of the Matrix. Which pill will you take, the industrial age lie, or the open & free business model
I hope sharing bits of my story helps you, will you have freedom at 50? If so, what are you doing, what do you want to do, and do you plan to do it?
Related articles
- The Future Of Business – If I Were A Carpenter (owengreaves.com)
- The industrial age has finally run out of gas (Don Tapscott) (mediafuturist.com)
- The forever recession (and the coming revolution) (sethgodin.typepad.com)
The Future Of Business – If I Were A Carpenter
If I were a carpenter, what would I build? I think of carpenter’s a builder’s, in fact, I think of entrepreneur’s the same way. Business owner’s used to be builder’s, but something happened, they were lulled into management mode. Carpenter’s are also builder’s from the industrial age, the art of carpentry is a dieing art, well at least the way we think of it. But that’s the point, how we think.
I have said many times, over and over again, it’s the tag on this blog, Mindset trumps skillset everytime. How we think about building, how we think about our business, how we think about everything really, it’s all changing and we are not. I was sharing with Chris Brogan on Kitchen Table Talks last week about how the this area has yet to embrace a new way of doing business. The new way? Becoming a social business, a human business. What are we so afraid of?
If I were a carpenter, I would build a business that opens your mind, that shares this new concept, this new open & free business model….wait….I have built it, but is it done? There’s another problem, we think in terms of being finished, social businesses, human businesses are never done. Do you think your relationships with people and businesses are ever finished, no. So why do we think, just because we are building a business, it will be finished someday? If you think you are finished, you will be. Think about that for a moment, let it settle for a moment.
You see, my business, I hope it is never done, I hope it draws you in, I hope it causes you to question the status quo….always. My prayer is that you will want to learn new ways of adopting the new way of doing business, if you don’t, someone else will, and your business will be finished.
There are some incredible people out here on the Internet sharing, (far too many too mention here) all the time, teaching you to see business differently, you want to but….you seem to fall back to what you’ve always done. It happens everytime you get into management mode, new ways are too hard to implement and maintain in your head, so you do what you’ve always done. Push back as hard as you try, time gets you everytime.
Imagine if you, just for a moment, what if being a carpenter was just invented today, what would you build? You build something that no longer works, or would you invent something new?
I challenge you, ask yourself the question based as if being a carpenter was invented today. If you were a carpenter, what would you build? A traditional business? probably, but I would suggest a different model. I would build a very open and free business model, a social business, a human business. What say you?
Related articles
- Future Scratches (chrisbrogan.com)
- Owen Greaves On Kitchen Table Talks With Chris Brogan (owengreaves.com)
- Do you have a people strategy? (sethgodin.typepad.com)
The Future Of Business Is Not Playing It Safe
The title may mess you up a little, but just keep reading and you’ll find the nuggets, if you get what I’m talking about.
A little over a month ago I spoke at a large conference, I was pretty bold, I told people that I hated FaceBook, and that I will offend someone before I’m finished. I did. I also shared that we are hypocritical, for example, I told business owners to give something away for free to those who repeatedly came back to your business, blog, website, anything that you would come into contact with a customer. People actually gasped, I can’t do that one person said. So I asked them, If you won’t give something away, someone else will, but why is it that you won’t give anything away, but yet you are the first one in line when someone else does? Is that you?
Why is it that we build a business, we do everything and anything to get it to a profitable state, we suddenly go into management mode. We actually stop doing what got us profitable, or maybe even successful. We took risk after risk, we didn’t care what anyone said, we didn’t care what anyone thought, we just stepped out and made things happen. We weren’t playing it safe, we were putting ourselves out there, willing to take the hits, the no’s and even the snickers. So what happened?
Giving something away is not a high risk act, in fact, it should be a well thought out strategy. And why wouldn’t you reward those who got you to where you are, they bought you product or service, they even invested time in reading your blog, they probably attended a talk you gave, but yet you still remain closed to the idea.
I’ll bet most of risk something higher in value while building you business, why is it then, once you enter management mode you are reluctant to risk anything? Again I ask you, is this you? If so, maybe it’s time to take a breather and spend some time doing something you may not have done in a very long time.
THANK YOUR COMMUNITY!
Thank them by giving them credit, write about them, brag about them, and maybe even give them something for free. That smacks of the Open & Free Business Model doesn’t it? Without your community you have nothing. In fact, if you fail to do this, you are playing it safe. Don’t do business in a safe manner, always challenge yourself to step close to the edge, learn to trust your community, afterall, they came to trust you first.
The Future Of Business Is Not Playing It Safe, keeping doing the things that made you profitable, and most of all, thank your community.
Blog Post #300 Is To All Commentors Here At Owengreaves.com – I Thank You!
This past week I was wondering what the topic should be for the 300th Blog Post of Owengreaves.com, yes, 300! I was kind of surprised myself, but that’s what a Blog is for, submitting Blog posts. I threw out your way on Twitter, FaceBook, Buzz, MySpace, Google+, a question, what should #300 be about, what problem should I solve, what topic should I cover. I got a number of reposonses, but one jumped out at me, and I shouldn’t be shocked and or surprised at the answer considering who it was from.
You should know I don’t always agree with, but I have huge respect for this man for hundreds of reasons, but I won’t list them now. The person in question suggested I write about you, the commentors of this blog, afterall, it is all about you. You are the reason I even exist as a business, in fact, I learn more from you than you probably ever will from me!
I would love to list every person that left a comment here on owengreaves.com, but that would be the longest blog post in the history of blog posting. I wonder what the world record for blog post length is? I would also love to tell you I thought of this, but I didn’t, Chris Brogan suggested I say thank you to all who commented on this blog. Humbled yet again. And that my friends is called transparency, honesty, and openness. It’s what I write about here, it’s foundational to the Open & Free Business Model, it is the very core of what the Future Of Business needs to be.
Without you, this blog is just another newspaper lying in the trash, just another person standing in the forest screaming at the topic of his/her lungs, and no one hears them. Without you, there is no conversation, no dialogue, no reasoning, no creativity. How could we ever get to know one another’s interests and passions? How would we ever discover the right path to take? I am forever gratefiul you even think of coming to this blog, I would like to believe you are here looking for some nugget or perspective that will help you take another step forward in your business. No matter how big or small your business is, you make a difference, regardless of size or how much money it makes.
Remember back when you used to hangout under the street lamp with your friends, gossiping, chatting, and just hanging out? That’s what we do here, it’s a safe place to hangout, to ask questions, share perspectives, and have meaningful conversations, but mostly, build relationships. This doesn’t happen without you, you are the most important part of why I write!
I won’t lie, there have been many, many times where I almost shut this blog down. At times, it feels like no one cared or was interested in what is found here, or considered the content valuable. And maybe it isn’t on a grand scale, but there are those who are in need of learning, and a new way of thinking, it may be a very small audience, but the Future Of Business matters and it is a new way of thinking. Remember, Mind Set Trumps Skill Set Everytime.
I must confess, you who visits here and shares your thoughts, validates my work. Everything I do here is for you, I only hope it helps you. With that in mind, I hold (not free) workshops locally in my community on the Open & Free Business Model, what it is and what it might look like for your business, and how you might adopt the model. My question to you is this, would this workshop be of interest to you in the form of an online webinar?
So, To All Commentors Of Owengreaves.com – I Thank You, there is no business without you.
My PowerPoint Presentation From The World Futurist Society Conference
Here is a scaled down version of my PowerPoint Presentation I made at the World Futurist Society Conference July 9th in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I hope to have the audio of my talk in the next few weeks, stay tuned. The conference was great and I made many new friends, I would like to thank WFS for the opportunity to share, and for an awesome time, well done.
Next year the conference will be held in Toronto July 27th – 29th at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, register now!