How many hours does the average employee work? Any guesses? Believe it or not, but it is just over 8 hours a day! That is at least according to the US consensus. Now, the people that I know are working 8-12 hour days on salary. We know that employers don’t like paying overtime, so hourly paid employees work less than those on salary. I experienced that when I was on salary as an employee.

When in there do you have time to go to the park with your kids, or watch their school play or athletic events? Will you ever get to see you children walk for the first time or say “Dadda?” When is there any time for improvement? When do you find time to relax, have fun, and enjoy the things that mean the most to you? Some might say they do all those things on the weekend. Ok, good for you. So you get two days, out of seven to have fun, spend time with your family, travel, improve yourself, attend events, and live your life. If you are currently doing this, you are settling! I will say it straight out. You are settling for what someone else has given you. They say I get five or more days a week and you get one or two, with a two week vacation, and you say DEAL!

I would personally tuck my tail in between my legs and say, “Ok, boss, I will be your slave!” That is really what you are saying!

There is much more to life than working. I believe in hard work, don’t get me wrong, but for myself and those I care about. Not for a boss. Let me introduce you to a 3 hour work day. That is what I do. I work 3 hours a day, Monday through Thursday. So what am I doing all day? Not working to make money. I make plenty of that. I am working on myself, my fun, my hobbies, my family, my religion, and it is my choice.

If you think like an entrepreneur, there are businesses out there with leverage that allow you to work completely part time, and to become literally WEALTHY! It’s just that you don’t know about them. Well, if there is anything I can tell you in this article, it would be, “Start Looking!” Your life depends on it!

This may seem like an odd question, but have you ever figured out how much it is really costing you to work for someone else? Think about it…There’s the time you commute, gas, stress, the wear and tear on your vehicle, lunches out, work clothes, business suites, child care, traffic tolls, maybe even traffic tickets…You get the picture! It is expensive to have a job in more ways than just mentioned.

Other than just the dollars…what else is it costing you? Your health? Your sanity? Your family? Your Time? There is some more food for thought! How many times have you worked that highly stressful 12 hour day? After a week of that, have you gotten much sleep? Are you stress free? Have you spent any time with your family. Have you done anything productive for yourself? No! Most likely you had very little sleep due to the stress, you got angry at your kids and your wife when you got home for no reason and barely had time to say “hi” to them before they went to sleep. For what? For your boss? You must really love him to sacrifice all that you are!

Do you know the real definition of J.O.B? J.O.B. = Just Over Broke! According to the latest statistics, the average US family income is $31,000. I used to live off of 36k and could barely afford to go to the movies and buy popcorn at the same time. I was renting, I had one car, and was not living a life of luxury. That is scraping by!

I am not in any way down playing a job or employees. We need them as employers and entrepreneurs. There is a very small percentage of individuals that really get to live their dreams. I believe it is less than 3%! How pathetic is that? What category are you in….the 97% or the 3%? How much is your job costing you? It’s really costing you your life!

Advice from my Dad for Father’s Day by Harvey MacKay

There’s an English proverb that goes: “One father is worth more than a hundred schoolmasters.”

Fathers can teach their children many important lessons. Father’s Day is Sunday, June 15, and it brings to mind some of the valuable lessons I learned from my father, Jack Mackay. I’ve shared many of them with you in my books and columns, but here they are, in one nice package, for the 64.3 million fathers out there.

My dad headed the Associated Press in St. Paul, Minn., for many years. He lived by deadlines. When he told his 10-year-old fishing partner, “Be at the dock at 7:30 a.m.” and I arrived at 7:35, I would be holding my fishing pole in one hand and waving bon voyage with the other. Time management 101.

When I began my career selling envelopes, I asked my father how I could make twice as much money as my fellow sales reps.

He asked me how many sales calls my peers made every day. I told him that everyone made about five calls a day, and I could match them call for call.

“No good,” he said. “Do what they do and you’ll make what they make. Figure out how you can get to 10 calls a day and your income will double.”

We worked out a game plan, which became a life plan. I learned when the buyers were in the office and worked according to their schedules, which sometimes meant anytime from 6 a.m.-8 p.m. and Saturday mornings. I quit making cold calls, was among the first to get a cell phone and learned many other time management tips from my father.

TRUST is the most important five-letter word in business and in life. When I was only eight years old, he said: “Son, would you like to learn a lesson that might save your life some day?”

“Sure I would, Dad,” I answered.

“Just slide down the banister and I’ll catch you,” he urged.

I slid … and landed on the carpet. As I dusted myself off, he announced, “Never trust anyone completely. Keep your eyes open and your wits about you.”

Similarly, my father encouraged me at a young age to keep track of all the people I met on Rolodex cards, now on my computer. He was a master networker. He knew where to get stories, much like I learned where to get sales.

Maybe the most important lesson my father taught me was that your best network will develop from what you do best. In my case that was golf. When I joined the sales game after college, where I had been a varsity golfer at the University of Minnesota, my father suggested I join Oak Ridge Country Club, which I couldn’t afford. Because Oak Ridge was historically at the bottom of the city golf league, I offered to play for them and try to win them a championship. Six months and numerous meetings later, I was admitted to the club where I gained access to many of the major companies around town.

My father also taught me that the big name on the door doesn’t mean diddly. You have to know who the decision makers are.

In addition, he warned me against telling anyone how I vote. That’s why it’s a secret ballet. The Democrats think I’m a Republican, and the Republicans believe I’m a Democrat.

My father’s greatest professional attribute was his nose for a good story and his indefatigable zeal in getting it. He taught me the same desire, determination and persistence for sales.

After a skiing accident that landed me in the hospital for 35 days in neck traction, he told me, “You can take any amount of pain as long as you know it’s going to end.”

My father taught me many more life lessons, among them:

• They don’t pay off on effort . . . they pay off on results.
• No one ever choked to death swallowing his pride.
• He who burns his bridges better be a damn good swimmer.
• Education is like exercise. As soon as you quit you begin to lose the benefits.
• It’s hard to soar like an eagle when you’re dressed like a turkey.
• If you win say little. If you lose say less.
• We are judged by what we finish, not by what we start.

Mackay’s Moral: One person can make all the difference in the world—a father, for example.

When it comes to that time in your life and you are sitting on your death bed, what would your thoughts be? Would you be thinking, “Man, I wish I would have spent more time at the office, I sure had hoped to get the promotion, I should have done that business deal, I should have purchased that Hummer?” No! You would be crazy to think those sorts of things and if you did I would know that you had not experiences true joy in your life. The things that matter most in your life would be the main topic on your mind just before you leave this world and are the things that deserve the most attention and focus while we are still in this world. Your job, your work hours, your boss, your cars, all of these things are not what matters. Family, Posterity, and time with those you love the most and serve the most is what will always matter to you most!

Now, why, when most are alive and able to enjoy these things in their fullest do they not? Why are they are work, putting in 12 hour days for a wage when they could be spending time with their loved ones or doing things that truly create joy? Well, the answer to that is money! Some would blame money for their inability to experience joy. Money is not at all the issue….it is just your choice as to how you earn money. It’s not that your ability to make money is any different than anyone elses, it’s just the way you have chosen to make that money that is hindering your lifestyle.

If you have chosen to earn money by getting paid for your time, then there is a limit to what you can make. We all know that there are only 24 hours in a day. We all have those same 24 hours. Getting paid $10 an hour for 24 hours will only bring a profit of $240.00 a day. That is the maximum you could earn and we all know that one cannot work without sleep. At least, we shouldn’t though there are many people who do.

Now if you take those same 24 hours and leverage your time with the efforts of other people, then you have the true potential to earn a limitless amount of income. To give you an example, take a chiropractor. A chiropractor is paid for his time. He can only see so many patients a day no matter how many people are lined up outside his office. However, if he hires other chiropractors, he can, in a way, leverage his time for more profit through the efforts of others. Everybody who is anybody that has the freedom to enjoy the things that are most important and meaningful in life understands this concept. I work 4 hours a day. I do what I want when I want and still have the income to do it with. The same is opportunity is available to anyone. It’s just a choice of how you are paid!

Who, How, and When are leaders formed and what defines a leader and seperates them from the rest of the crowd? These are some of the questions that I am faced with as a mentor in my field. I am constantly looking for leaders. I am looking for those who are willing to and have the ability to step up and take a stand for their own life and the lives of many other ambitious entrepreneurs. In finding some of these leaders I also run into so many others who have the desire to be a leader of many, but aren’t really willing to take the opportunities that are handed to them to do so.

So the questions lies: Are leaders born with the gift of leadership? I have been to seminars and workshop that were designed to attempt on creating leaders out of the people who attend. Can you create a leader, on your time, as a mentor? Can you teach leadership to someone who has a burning desire? Is there a course that can instruct leadership and speed up the process? I mean, we have all seen it. In a group of children, it is very clear which ones have the natural ability to lead. Is it the same for adults?

I think that many people are born with the natural ability to lead, and we are all given different talents that can be nurtured and exercised in order to reach their potential. But even if we are born with the natural ability to lead, there are still choices to be made in order to nuture and harness that ability. Just because someone is incredibly athletic doesn’t mean that they choose to be the next Michael Jordan of our time. People CHOOSE to be leaders. It is something that is learned, and not taught. One has to want to lead, in order to be a leader. We are not born with the ability to lead…..we are given the opportunities to lead. We are not born courageous, we are given opportunities to be courageous.

It is by acting on those opportunities we are faced with everyday, opportunities to demonstrate our leadership, is what makes us a leader. I once heard that you do not fail all at once. It is not one sudden moment where everything comes crashing down. It is one small moment after another over a longer period of time that causes our ultimate failure. The same goes with leadership. It is one small, or large act of leadership at a time over a long period of time that turns followers into leaders.