Written by: Lotta Spjut, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Are You Willing to Do what 95% of the people are not ready to Do, for being able to get what most people want but only 5% have?
My drive and passion are to inspire and empower people and especially women to get themselves from the 95% and become part of the 5%.
I will start today by going back to Nov- 2006, 15 years ago. That year was a “crazy busy” year for me, and it was also the start year for a new chapter in my life.
At that time, my profession was for many years as a teacher for schoolyear 7-9 and I was also teaching at the University. I have always loved to learn more, so I also took my Master’s degree in one subject besides my profession. In the evenings I hold courses in health & nutrition for companies and private persons working as a PT and nutrition consultant. I had a quite busy schedule and at that time we had one child and she was 8 years at this time.
I believe that most things happen for a reason and one day in Nov- 2006 I met a woman in a store in my town. I remember that day like yesterday. I was going into a store in my town and suddenly a woman, with the biggest white smile “stopped me” and gave me a compliment for my dress. It was wearing a green knitted dress. That meeting led me into me starting my own home-based business. It was not meant from the beginning, and it is a long story to that but not to take now, but I saw the opportunity in it after some time and after 5 months I resigned from my teaching profession and since then I have my home-based business. So, this was the year when I for the first time encountered a home-based business.
Today opportunity & statistic
Today, November 2021 we have the last 20 months been part of and still are in an uncertain time that many of us have never experienced before- the global pandemic
Not only affecting the health of many people around the world but also the global economy. People have lost and are losing their jobs, jobs they thought were secured and the financial situation has drastically changed for many people.
What is interesting is, that in all historical crises, we have also seen many opportunities coming up. These opportunities have most often also been here before the crises, but we tend to be more skeptical than open when we don´t feel that we are in "need" of an opportunity, and we don´t prioritize time to explore new business- opportunities when we don't "need" to.
A global survey conducted by Gartner, Inc. found that 88% of business organizations all over the world mandated or encouraged all their employees to work from home as the virus started to spread at exponential rates and 52% are working from home minimum once a week.
According to US Census Bureau, 7 million people in the US were already working from home before Covid-19.
The pandemic has left many people unemployed and suddenly a lot of time to explore new opportunities.
This means that when many jobs disappeared because of the pandemic crisis, more people suddenly saw the opportunity with a home-based online business and that has given many, many people a new chance to have work and to have an income.
When the pandemic is over, the work from home revolution will most probably increase even more, because both business owners and employees have seen that it is a system that is working very effectively in today's online world and many that started their own home-based business will continue with that.
First-time challenges
I told You in the beginning that 15 years ago, I decided to go 100% with my home-based business.
Was that an easy decision? Both Yes and No.
Yes, in the way that I had during the 6 months seen that there were many positive things like working from wherever I wanted and with me deciding the working hours.
No, in the way that many people around me thought I was crazy to leave a “real and secured work” to go into the insecurity of having my own business, working from home. And I am very thankful to myself today that I did not listen to all these people giving me “advice” about what to do and NOT to do.
When I resigned from my traditional jobs and "only" focus on my home-based business, I turned paralyzed, and my feelings went up and down. I remember that I was thinking, what have I done? What if the people telling me that I was crazy, was right?
I remember I was calling my mentor and saying that I am not sure I want to do this, and she said, “Congratulations, this is fully normal! I know exactly what You are going through”.
EVERYONE that decides for doing something new, gets into the feeling wheel. For each new decision You will get in there again but then You know how to get out faster. Everyone deciding to explore something new, come into the FEELING WHEEL, many times because of FEAR from the unknown. Though FEAR stands for Forget Everything and rise.
From having many, many, many things in my schedule, I suddenly “only” had one thing to give my 100%. From working many professions and being an employee having a boss telling me what to do and now suddenly I was my boss AND employee.
Before someone else had thought or told me what to do and the same thing was my 6 first month, working with my home business parallel to my traditional jobs. I just listened to what the people before me had done and followed their advice. They had the knowledge and I had not, I was TEACHABLE. I didn´t have the time not to be and that is one of the most important skills for moving ourselves from 95% to the 5%
What people want in life
I asked one question in the beginning if You are willing to do what 95% are not ready to do to have the "things" in life that most people want but only 5% have. First of all, what are these "things"? There are many surveys done and they all come up with the same top list:
Happiness. Biggest challenge: “Not knowing what I want to do.”
Money. Biggest challenge: “Not having enough money or time to accomplish the things I want to do.”
Freedom. Biggest challenge: “Having the freedom to find my ‘true purpose’ or being lit up by the day-to-day at work.”
Peace. Biggest challenge: “Lack of clarity about who I am and my purpose.”
Joy. Biggest challenge: “How to find the right role or position for me now that will bring joy in my work.”
What 5% Do
Working with a home-based business as an employee and as Your boss is FREEDOM, freedom under the responsibility and I have met so many people during my last 15 years that by seeing this opportunity even before the Covid-19, they have taken themselves from this 95% to the 5% because they, first of all, was open and took the opportunity and that is the first step.
Then it is all about what we Do with the opportunity and that is where people will end up in either the 95% or the 5%.
I told You before that when I took the decision and made the choice of leaving the “security”, people had a lot of opinions, they called it to advise. Who do You take advice from? I have learned that there are 3 categories of people giving advice:
The ones that have no experience and very little knowledge in working from home and these people most often have the most to advise You about it.
The ones that might have some experience of working from home, but they did for some reasons not going through with it. They know that it works even if it didn´t work for them. Most often because they lack in the points that I will very soon go through with You.
The ones that have a lot of experience, have done it themselves and they have been through challenges and overcome them. They know what daily routines that are needed to be done and they know who to take advice from.
The first 2 categories are driven by FEAR. Fear of success or fear of failure and fear of doing something new. They are not teachable at this stage but think that they can teach others without having the experience. When You are stacked in fear, You don´t want others to do something You are afraid for doing.
TFAR
FEAR is a feeling and You know, a feeling comes AFTER a thought so first I have the thought like “I cannot do it” or “it is nothing for me”. Then comes the feeling and in this case a negative feeling. That leads us to action (some people think that action is only when we do something "good”, but it is not), all feelings lead us to some kind of action. In this case, a negative action, telling others that this is not good, and the RESULT will be that we stay the same.
So, I always take advice from people I want to change place with, people that have walked the walk that I will walk.
Another break is that many of us start to compare with others. My first month working with my home-based business, I was also doing that. Wondering why "all" the others had fantastic results and not me. Who did I compare with? The ones that have been doing it for a much longer time than I had. We always compare with the "best", not the ones that are where we are when we start.
So, I understood that comparing will always make me a loser and I am not a loser. Instead, I started to be inspired by people and watch and listen to what they did for having their results. That changed a lot for me.
Also comparing just create excuses, excuses not to do and the only one missing out, was me.
The simple and small things
Let´s go back to the 5%, what is it more that makes these few % do, what the 95% don´t? They Do the most simple and small things daily, which is so simple that most people tend not to do them because of that.
There is a difference between going to Your work every day and knowing what You should do when You arrive there. Working from home, especially when being both your boss and employee is not always have the same work structure. And that is part of the beauty of working from home and at the same time, the challenge. I need to create the work structure and that is easier than we think. As I said, so simple that most people tend not to do it and then they think that they are not “made” for working from home.
First of all, You need to have Your WHY very clear. We most often do things without thinking but still, there are reasons behind it. Why do You go to Your regular work? To earn money is one thing.
Take for example training, in my profession as a Personal Trainer and Nutrition Consultant, I have worked with many clients about training and nutrition. If You don´t know why You go and buy that gym card, you have only lost money. You buy the gym card because You have a strong why, You want to be stronger, not get tired, gain, or lose weight or another why connected.
The same goes for Your home business. You need to know WHY You do it? If this why is not strong enough, You will not become one of the 5%
Then You set Your GOALS and connect them to your why. This should be a long-term goal and then also short-term goals connected to my long-term goal.
I take the gym card as an example again. You have bought it and You have Your long-term goal, run 5 km in 30 min or lift 10x 40 kg in the bench press. WHEN are Your goals going to be reached? In 10 weeks or 10 years?
The same goes for Your home business. What do You want to have an accomplice with your home business in 5 years, 1 year? Then in 1 month, 1 week and every day? That is Your daily action plan, To-Do-List.
Without goals and deadlines, You will not get the results You want, You will end up with the 95%
When You have Your goals, long term, and short term, You put them into an ACTION PLAN. How often will You go to the gym, what exercises will You do? You can not train biceps every time You go there to reach your overall goal.
The same goes for Your home-based business. When are Your working hours? What are the most important daily actions to do to get You to Your weekly goal, Your monthly goal ad so on?
I had no experience with TIME MANAGEMENT before. I was one of the persons that could say, I have so much to do, and I don´t have time.
Time is one of the few things that are given the same to us all. It is about HOW we use the time and not abuse it. 168 hours/week. Using the 6 Most important thing list has helped me so many times to DO the “right” things instead of the things I felt to do and then feel that I had no time for the important things.
I do the list every evening when I am the boss and, in the morning, I am the employee and I do the points written in the list. First thing first and then next and no jumping and always precise so I can box it off and go to the next one. (In my second article for Brainz Magazine I talk more about this simple and powerful “tool”).
Doesn´t this sound easy?
It is simple but not easy! This is the simplest tool and the power in it, is one of the differences between the 5% and the 95% It is so simple, so we think it is okay not to do it.
And of course, the last but not least is to review the plan. If You are not happy with your results, You need to adjust them and remember that buying a gym card does not give You a stronger body and You will probably not say that gyms are not working if You choose not to go there…
The same are for Your home-based business, working from home is THE most fantastic opportunity that can create, happiness, money, freedom, peace and joy, the most wanted things people want in life and the great is, that it is up to each and one of us how fast and how far You want to go.
Today I see myself among this 5% and that did not happen during one night, it is a process, and it is also during the process I have grown the most and I am still growing and learning and getting new experiences every day. Growth is connected to change and the desire of having a change. Today many people need this change!
Summary
Know that it is normal to go through the Feeling wheel, though remember TFAR.
Take advice from the people You want to change place with. People's FEAR will not bring You forward.
Never compare but get inspired instead of coming with excuses.
Have Your WHY very strong and clear!
Set Your GOALS and break them down.
Do Your ACTION PLAN- Time management and the 6 most important things list.
Review Your Actions.
And all of these are connected by being teachable and having the desire for a change and to learn and grow!
DO this and Welcome to the 5% group that will have what 95% want to have, but will not get, because they are not willing to do it. Now You know about it so You cannot say You did not know.
AND remember the competition is so low, so why not You?
To learn more from Lotta, you can visit her website and connect with her social media accounts; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Linkedin.
Lotta Spjut, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Lotta Spjut has a passion and drives to inspire and empower people around the Globe and to use the skills they have, learn new skills, grow themself and become successful entrepreneurs.
She has made hundreds and hundreds of lectures, private and public training, always built on empiric knowledge. Only sharing what she has experienced herself and that inspires many people also to do the same. Not to compare with her or anyone else but to get inspired and understand that if she can, they can. Lotta has done it for one person, smaller groups, bigger groups, and she has done it for millions of people online. The amount is not important for her; it is what each person gets out of it.
Lotta is a TEDx speaker, and she was nominated to one of 20 Global Women Leaders to Look up to 2021 by Passion Vista & Unified Brainz. She has today hundreds of thousands of people all over the world that she mentor and train in leadership, personal development, and entrepreneurship.
Her background is as an Experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working with leadership. She has a Master's Degree in Didactic and Bachelor of Education and many years of experience as a teacher in elementary school and at University. ICF Pro Executive Coach, coaching CEO´s in different businesses. Bachelor's degree as a health and nutrition developer. Worked and educated people in the health, nutrition, and fitness industry. Lottas main business over the last decades has been as a full-time Professional Networker & Business Coach, and Global speaker.
Lotta is skilled in Leadership, Coaching, Entrepreneurship, Team Building, and Management. Strong business development, and from 2015, she has also developed good knowledge in the area of cryptocurrency.
Her favorite quote is from Arthur Ashe: Start where You are, use what You have, and Do what You can!
You don´t need to be great to start, but You need to start to be great, and Lotta´s mission is to help as many people as possible to convert their dreams and goals into action and to be the captain of their lives.
