It’s All About Mindset
There are good things we learn in life. Often we do not recognize them when they happen. We may even miss the lesson and allow it to lie fallow in the entrepreneurial fields of our minds. One lesson like this happened to me in my life. There is an article at Entrepreneur.com that brought the lesson to me from my teenage years.
The lesson was to collect money, don’t make money. Granted, the newspaper route I had would not apparently teach me this lesson, but now, 40 years later, I understand the concept of “collecting money” not “making money.”
Time should be irrelevant to your monetary endeavors. Don’t sell your time for dollars, make money buy you time. Conceptually this makes sense, even to those who find it difficult to break out of the indentured servitude of trading time for dollars.
Shifting your mindset away from dollars per hour is something I’ve struggled with for years. I can tell you this, in order to achieve this mindset, you cannot have a strong negative person in your immediate circle. Breaking the bonds of “everyday thinking” calls for positivity and support. It also calls for confidence.
Read the article above and work on your view of money. When you write a book with the intent to sell it, you’ve entered into entrepreneurship whether you like it or not. Separating yourself from the pack will require you to take on different views of money. Too many writers will go to a book signing and hope to make enough sales to cover the cost of the table they rented.
Their better mindset would be to see how many lives they can touch. How many people can they connect with. How many people can they help with their book or their writing, or their knowledge. Making a positive impression if far more important than a book sale. This is a tough mindset from which to extricate yourself. As you do so, you will see the overwhelming benefit.
Collect money, don’t make money. Don’t go to a book signing with the intent to make a few dollars. Go to a book signing to connect with people who will help you collect money. When you connect with a dozen people at a book signing who then go out as “minions” talking about you and your book, you will then be “collecting money” from their efforts. Simple premise. Too many writers cannot seem to grasp the concept unfortunately.
Go out and collect money by helping people. By connecting with people. By changing your views of money.
Go be successful!