What Drove Me To Start My Own Fireplace Business

As promised I am back, all be it later than anticipated as it has been a very ‘lively’ week, from a hospital visit with my son for suspected meningitis to a two hour detour back from County Durham making it a very late 9 hour round trip. Just another week on the road and all part of the juggling required between family, business and relationships experienced by many of you.

I said at the end of my last post that I would focus on the key areas of ‘success’, and last weeks’ events bring that concept into sharper focus. When you are rushing to hospital to be with your son who has a rising temperature of 39.7 degrees and a blinding aversion to light, the concept of success can be somewhat different. We all experience family illnesses and there are many other areas of your life that demand your attention, care and time.

So how do we determine ‘success’?

Is it a ‘fixed’ thing?

Is your ‘success’ the same as mine?

My concept of ‘success’ will invariably be different to yours but I’m certain that there will be some shared core values that pertain to that success.

Unless you are deeply narcissistic, I’m sure that the large majority of us want a more meaningful relationship with our partner, children and friends. To accumulate a ‘reasonable’ amount of wealth so that you are able to do the things that you want to and to provide well without the worry of money. You, like me, would probably relish the chance to do more for those that are less fortunate than yourself and contribute to the world in some way.

We really don’t have to wait until we are ‘successful’ before we have that balance and are able to contribute more to others. Really and truly, we have to be doing these things whilst on our journey to ‘success’, regardless of what that means to you.

“No one suddenly becomes a better person with wealth and you can accumulate great wealth without being successful”.

My personal area of expertise is renewable energy, I love the industry as I am able to genuinely help people save money, reduce their carbon footprint and solve real issues that pertain to heating their home or business. I am reasonably successful as a Renewable Energy Consultant, but there are many other areas of my life that require me to be successful too.

“The starting point of all achievement is desire”. Napoleon Hill

Desire is the first step towards success regardless of your end goal, life can be tough but your time on this mortal coil is limited… So reach in deep and set out what you want from your life. Aspire to get the most from yourself and set some goals.

Make sure that you write your goals down otherwise they remain a fanciful notion with no real prospect of happening. Your goals should be SMART:

Specific

Clearly define what it is that you want to achieve, think big but break that journey into smaller steps and celebrate every little victory.

Measureable

You have to be able to quantify whether you have achieved your goal, otherwise it is pointless.

Attainable

I struggle with this one slightly as goals should stretch you by their very nature but you must possess the necessary knowledge and ability to achieve your goals. Or at least enough sheer grit and determination to learn them in a short time.

Relevant

Your goal has to be relevant to what you want to achieve and must be results focussed and measure outcomes not activities.

Time bound

You must have a timeframe that relates to achieving your goal, this should apply a sense of urgency to the goal and gives you a finish line to work towards.

Now comes the time to learn, become a student again and try to gain as much knowledge as possible that relates to you achieving your dreams. We have busy lives but you must make some time on a daily basis to learn. If you are building a business read business books; if you want to become a doctor you read medical books. Why would success in business be any different from any other profession?

I was invited to a business seminar in late October to see Brad Sugars in Edinburgh, he regaled a story of selling his bike as a 16 year old, to go to see the late great Jim Rohn whom he met afterwards. He asked Mr Rohn to sign his notes and it just so happened that when I met Mr Sugars, I also asked him to sign my notes. He wrote “ROSS, TIME IS NOW” and signed and dated below.

It wasn’t until I drove home and re-read these notes that I realised the very last thing that I wrote on the previous page was NOW circled several times. My only ‘faux pas’ was that I said “Hi Brad I’m Ross” when we met, so apologies Mr Sugars. Brad Sugars on Jim Rohn.

My point is quite simply to ACT, I decided that I was going to start my own business that evening and my own journey to ‘success’ began.

I hope you enjoyed this post and I look forward to giving another update in a few days. You deserve to commit to yourself and your dreams, so if you enjoyed this post please share with as many people as possible.