I recently finished reading Shoe Dog and was truly inspired to keep my head down and do the work as I’d also like to casually bump into my acquaintances Bill Gates and Warren Buffet as I leave the movie theatre in Palm Springs one day…

So here are my 7 key takeaways:

1. Your passions can become a successful and lucrative business. You have to be committed to putting in the hours and the work.

2. Surround yourself with smarter people than yourself. Turning a passion into a business needs you to have people around that can give you a reality check that does not dim your light but rather motivates you to turn your business into a successful business. At times, these people may seem more obsessed about the growth of the business than you… use it to propel forward! For me personally, it’s the women that are always in my DMs and those that send me emails giving us feedback and ideas we can implement at AoS on how we can make their lives easier, and make the platform more user friendly. I do not take that for granted. It is the skilled individuals we have as service providers, partners and employees that go the extra mile and stretch beyond their description – I am grateful!

3. It’s not always about money but you actually need money to make money, to grow your business and to scale. And every cent counts! I’ll be honest, if it weren’t for my husband, my mom and my mom inlove helping me bootstrap this business, AoS wouldn’t survive. And that’s on Mary had a little lamb! Being an entrepreneur leaves no room for ego to come into play. Say yes to those money offer from friends and family! This journey can leave you broke, and broken… say yes to those that want to help you and those that believe in you. Count yourself as part of the lucky few!

4. Luck is very important in success! There is a very thin margin between failure and success. There is a quote by Barbara Sher that says “The amount of good luck coming your way depends on your willingness to act.” You have to be ready to act when luck locates you. Hold her tight!

5. If you aren’t employing or working with people that believe in the vision more than you, what are you doing? This road is tough! If you are starting out and are employing people that are in it for the money or who’s willigness to work is motivated by money, it will make it tougher (And oh so depressing come month end)!

6. Most of the vision is not known in the beginning but once you start and the building blocks come together, the vision and plans start unfolding themselves. So just start!

7. Trust your path, Put in the research and remain grounded. Something Phil Knight references is the word/phrase “Tao” – when all is in harmony. With working in harmony with the natural functions of the world… you flow. Things become effortless when you are in accord with reality. You can’t change the jungle and rearrange it, but you can choose to study it and conquer it… when you study the jungle and you know it like the back of your hand, you may make the work look easy – this is effortless skill. How much work are you putting into researching and knowing the jungle you want to conquer?

Have you read the book? If you have, what were some of your take aways? 

If you haven’t, I hope to have motivated you to pick it up soon!