Ken Pierce is a board-certified clinical psychologist and CEO of The Pierce Institute of Psychology Inc. He has authored many psychological works including seven books and 400 case study web-posts. Ken is considered a human behaviour expert having worked in business, education and private practice for over 40 years.
Many people believe you can lose without gaining or that you can gain without losing. But nature ensures there is a perfect balance at all times and in all places, without exception. Are you skeptical given your own experiences? To understand, test, and then, use it in your life, read on.
We can all be successful and make money, but when we die, that ends. But when you are significant is when you help other people be successful. That lasts many a lifetime.” – Lou Holtz, coach
“everyone eventually needs to scale back their lifestyle.”
Jolie was an entrepreneur. She was creating her dream business a new service for seniors. Her dream was to help seniors ‘downsize.’ Jolie was creating a ‘downsizing’ consulting service.
It was for those who needed to scale down their lifestyle, reduce their possessions and reduce their responsibilities so they could manage their life. It was usually initiated by their health, their finances or their family dynamics such as the passing of a spouse.
Jolie had watched her own Mom deal with the trauma of losing her Dad, and losing her lifestyle, all within a year. As she assisted her mother in dealing with the emotional and practical implications of her situation, she came upon the idea this could be a valuable service which could serve others in her community.
As she remarked to me during our first consult, “Everyone eventually becomes disabled in some form and everyone eventually needs to scale back their lifestyle in some form!”
Jolie was turning 50 this year. She was a slight, bright, blue-eyed, focused individual with a restlessness about her which suggested she knew where she was going, even if no one else did. She had spent her previous years working in the public service.
She had taken an early retirement/transition package and was now designing her next career. She had been in IT before and now wanted to work with people more, and machines, less.
“You aren’t wealthy until you have something money can’t buy.” – Garth Brooks, musician
“I committed to spend a chunk of money.”
When I asked her how I might serve her, her reply was,
“I think I really screwed up! I’m so new at this ‘entrepreneurship stuff.’ I’ve been working really diligently to set up my new business. Ken, I’m calling it ‘Declutter For Freedom’ (DFF). I have a detailed business plan and have been working on my marketing strategy.”
“Jolie, what happened that suggests you have screwed up?” I asked.
“I hired an internet marketer who seems really skilled and experienced. But, she said I will need to invest in marketing my business to get my service known out there in my community,” she replied.
“And?”
“Well, I agreed! I committed to spend a chunk of money, just for marketing, every month, until I get the exposure I need to make my business viable.”
“And?”
“I don’t have the money, Ken!” she said, sheepishly.
“Jolie, I’ve learned there are no mistakes in life, only learning opportunities. You committed to a marketing plan for your new business because it was what you needed to do to manifest your destiny.”
Then I added,
“It sounds like you may have had the perception creating your business would not have these kinds of challenges, that it would be easy because it is such a great business idea. Is there any truth in that?”
“So, I didn’t really screw up, I just uncovered a blind spot.”
She paused reflectively before saying,
“Well, sort of! I guess I expected because my business idea is so ‘cool’, so needed in my community and so valuable to my future clients, that marketing wouldn’t be a big deal! I guess I was kind of naive, eh?”
“Some people call them ‘blind spots.’ But, take comfort in knowing, we all have them. And, their value is in helping us focus our learning in areas we need for our future.”
“So, I didn’t really screw up, I just uncovered a blind spot is that the idea?”
“You got it, Jolie!”
“But, Ken, I still have to find the money to meet my marketing costs.”
“That's true. How much do you need to meet your marketing cost?”
“I committed to $200 per month for the foreseeable future. So, I’m currently only short by $200 per month,” she said sarcastically.
“Do you think that is a reasonable figure given what you want to achieve with your business, Jolie?”
“Yes, I trust, Jenna, my marketing gal’s expertise, we discussed it in detail and I think I need to do this to develop, ‘Declutter For Freedom.’”
“Nature always balances give and take, at each moment in our lives.”
“Ok! Since there are no mistakes in nature and you have certainty about your decision, this suggests when you committed to paying out $200 this month on marketing, you must have received back to you its equivalent in some form.
“Really?” she said, skeptically.
“Nature always balances give and take, at each moment in our lives,” I suggested to her.
“Are you serious?” she said, surprise surfacing on her face like a 5 am warm, summer dawn on an eastern sea coast.
“Skepticism is healthy, it facilitates our learning. Let’s check it out. Jolie, go to the moment when you committed yourself to this $200 expenditure.”
“That would have been at the meeting with Jenna when I agreed to her recommendation. It was about 10 am, two weeks ago in her little office downtown. The two of us were discussing it over a coffee.”
“OK! Go back to that moment in your mind, two weeks ago. Close your eyes and relive it right now.” I said.
Jolie sat back in her chair, closed her eyes and slouched down relaxing into her memory.
I continued, “Recall the rest of your life at that moment, recall what else was going on for you at this very same moment. Look around and notice where you received, in some form, something concrete or abstract, which in your value system, was the equivalent of your $200 marketing expenditure. It has to be there, it is a law of physics, a law of nature!”
“Do what you love and the money will follow.” – Marsha Sinetar, writer
“I found it! It was there all the time, I was compensated perfectly”
She was very quiet for a few moments. Her eyes, under her closed lids, scanned back and forth searching.
Then she said, “I remember I was picking up my Mom later to take her grocery shopping. I enjoy that, we have fun. And, I had a dentist appointment after that.”
“What else was going on in your life that day, Jolie? How were you compensated at that very moment for your marketing expenditure of $200 per month.”
Her eyes, under her lids, kept searching, the soft swells rising and falling as she scanned.
“Well, one thought which keeps coming up is I decided for the next six months to get the marketing money from my savings account, I decided I was going to invest $1200 in my own business. But.”
She paused here very briefly, then continued with her thought, sneaking in a slight, significant sniffle, at the same time,
“Ah, there it is! I found it! It was there all the time, I was compensated perfectly, Ken.”
“How Jolie?”
All money is a matter of belief.” – Adam Smith, economist
“I was, in a way creating something that honours her.”
“I realized at that moment, that by investing in my business from my savings, I was acknowledging my Mom and her love for me. Because I was, in a way creating something that honours her.”
Then, she added, smiling,
“And, my Mom has been trying to hire me to vacuum and dust her place now and then. I told her she didn’t have to hire me, I would be glad to do it. But, she said it frees her from worrying about it being a burden if she pays me something. So, Ken, my income could go up a little if I really need it, eh?”
“Astute awareness, Jolie! So, I’m wondering, if looking back now, were you compensated with an equilibrating benefit to the cost of your marketing expenditure?”
“I sure was! Maybe over-compensated, is that possible?”
“Nope, not possible, Jolie! You are probably ignoring other downsides or costs occurring at that moment. Any ideas?”
“Sure, how about the worry about after I’ve paid out for six months or what if it doesn’t work what will I do then, and so on, I get it now, Mother Nature is so cool!”
Jolie took this idea and ran with it over the next several months as she dealt with building her dream business, ‘Declutter For Freedom.’
Her gratitude for the opportunity to create it, her certainty about it’s usefulness and her love of the natural process of building a business continued to grow.
Jolie is still on track for her future with a priceless ability to uncover the 50/50 of every support and challenge that comes with building the dream of her life. As she noted to me one day,
“Ken, integrating the balance law into every situation in my business makes me ‘positively dangerous' and I need this attitude of gratitude to create my vision of my service to the seniors in my community!”
“Exactly, Jolie!” I replied smiling at her wisdom.
“You are your greatest asset. Put your time, effort and money into training, grooming, and encouraging your greatest asset.” – Tom Hopkins, businessman
Points to ponder and remember
Some people believe you can lose without gaining or that you can gain without losing.
But nature ensures there is a perfect balance at all times and in all places, without exception.
The gain or loss can be in any form from abstract to concrete.
An abstract form could be a new awareness that is positive or negative within that person’s value system.
A concrete form could be a new object that is positive or negative within that person’s value system.
So, there is always a fair exchange in each financial relationship.
If a person perceives they have lost money in an exchange, they have not noticed the valuable financial benefits (often learnings) they have gained which they need for their future.
If a person perceives they have gained money in an exchange, they have not noticed the financial costs they have paid which they need for their future.
Wise entrepreneurship is knowing there is always a fair exchange at every moment in place and in time.
Knowing this law of nature can ensure the well-being of yourself and your business.
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Ken Pierce, Executive Psychologist, Human Behaviour Expert
Ken Pierce is a board-certified, evolutionary psychologist, human behavior expert and CEO of The Pierce Institute of Psychology Inc.(TPI) Ken has authored 14 psychological works including seven books and created 400 case-study-based web-posts. He has worked in business consultation, education and private practice for over 40 years serving thousands of people of all ages including individuals, couples, leaders, teams and organizations. daughters and three grandsons. Ken's interests vary widely from quantum theory to energy efficiency to building stone walls.
