Here’s a quote I’d like to share with you.

“I was screwed up. I was 32 before I decided to get my act together… then I made a choice. Business before pleasure. From then on business became pleasurable.”

The above quote was made by John Carlton at the Big Seminar, by Armand Morin. I find that this quote was so apt, I had to write about it. Most people in the process of building their life in business, build the business around them. It’s like a wall, and they get walled in. I prefer to think that there is more to it than that. I suppose a huge number of people have the potential to excel in what they do as long as they made a choice.

How many of us wake up in the morning and govern the first choice we make - to take charge of our choices? Did you wake up in the same whiny voice that wanted more sleep? And you still declare you want to achieve all your goals? Make all your money?

The one thing that distinguishes regular people from successful people is this - energy. There are some people, when they walk into a room, people can feel the energy being exuded. For some people, there isn’t any. There is a distinct different between energy and charisma. Charisma is communicated, energy is not. Anyone who wants to build greater wealth needs a huge amount of energy. And that begins with a choice.

Some people take this too far, and then they enter into a place I call obsession. I’m familliar with obsession because I choose to go into that when I need. It’s the obsession that drives you, makes you complete things. If you don’t obsess about things, you’ll forever be saying ‘ah that’s no big deal’ or ‘I can do it later’. If you live in obsession without choice, you’ll be stuck in a world so deep in yourself, you’ll lose the people around you. Build flexibility to shift yourself in and out of this place. Addiction, for instance to the internet, can be eliminated when you start asking yourself ‘what in the world am I doing?’ and then draw yourself away from it. Sometimes, cold turkey will help you. Just spend a full 24 hours away, doing something else.

Whatever it is, you have still got to make that choice. Business before pleasure. And make things happen.