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This blog post has been inspired by The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

I’ve started a new habit.

Ever since I started doing the Super Affiliate Handbook review I’ve started reading every night before bed. I take about an hour I might have used for working and I get off the computer to read.

In the past I would have thought that would take me away from my work but it’s actually helping my work, a lot. Right now I’m reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I’ve read it before. It’s a classic of course. In the book Stephen talks about the power of treating employees as volunteers because they volunteer their greatest assets….their hearts and minds. Ever Hate Your Job? If you’ve ever had a job you hate (and who hasn’t) then you know exactly what I’m talking about!

This Post Was Inspired By…

If you’ve ever started a business just for the money, then you also know exactly what I’m talking about.

As an employee or someone hiring contractors you can’t make them care about your business. You also can’t make them think creatively. They only do those by choice, even if they do everything else you ask those they must volunteer.

Stephen said it like this:
“You can buy a person’s hand, but you can’t buy his heart. His heart is where his enthusiasm, his loyalty is.”
“You can buy his back, but you can’t buy his brain. That’s where his creativity is, his ingenuity, his resourcefulness.”

Did You Put Your Heart Into It?

Do a little exercise with me, ok?

Take out a sheet of paper and write down all the jobs and businesses you’ve had in the past and put yes or no beside them. YES, you did volunteer your heart and mind or NO, you did not volunteer your heart and mind.

Don’t expect to be perfect here because I’m certainly not.

Here’s my answers:

Jobs:

Burger Stand – NO

Ice Cream Shop – YES

Restaurant – NO

Dollar Store – YES

Chemistry Lab – NO

Chemical Disposal Site – NO

Factory – NO

Businesses:

Soap – YES

Registered Education Savings Plans – NO

Candles – NO

Virtual Assistance – NO

Blogging – YES

Wow. What’s surprised me more than how many places I didn’t volunteer my heart and mind is how FEW ‘jobs’ I’ve actually had. Maybe I’m forgetting one or two but that’s all I can remember having.

Ok, so now I can see at a quick glance the jobs and businesses where I got to communicate with others, build relationships and generally be around a large variety of people are the jobs that I put my all into.

It’s no fun working a job or building a business that makes you feel empty. That makes you feel like you’re holding back your heart and the abilities you know you hold in your mind. We all WANT to do our best work.

I Can’t Make You Love Me

But trying to do your best work in a setting that just doesn’t fit is like trying to love someone when you just don’t. You can’t explain the exact circumstances you need but when you find them, you know it.

Right here at Marketers Mojo I am volunteering my full capacity. I’m giving it everything I’ve got:

My heart

I’m putting my full heart into this blog, radio show and everything here at Marketers Mojo.

My core value for freedom is pulling me to create a huge resource for others who are struggling with their own freedom. Of course while I help others I’m also here to help myself. I need to do a lot of self-development still and I’m focused on continued growth. But my heart really is here. Some days I have no idea how I’m going to make money with this but I don’t care, I’m doing it and doing it hard. I know it will be soo worth it.

My Mind

If I wasn’t volunteering my mind I wouldn’t have been able to write a post like this one. I took an idea from a book, brought out my own thoughts, found some great images to go with it and took to writing it. If I wasn’t really invested in this blog or this business then I would have thrown up some PLR or some keyword article that I didn’t put much thought or time into.

Now I’m not saying every blog post you or I write should (or will) be a masterpiece. That’s not so. I am all for throwing up posts with your thoughts on them. I’m just saying that this post is a little different and if I wasn’t volunteering my mind I wouldn’t have even thought of it.

If you are currently in a place where your heart just isn’t I think you already know it. I knew it at every one of those jobs and businesses I listed above. In some cases I did it anyway for money, or to live up to someone else’s expectations, or other times sometimes for sheer misdirected entrepreneurial stubborn-ness.

No matter what the reason, if you’re not putting your heart into it now is a great time to look at your situation and figure out if you need to:
- Start over
- Go in a different direction
- Find a new way

I had to do this many times in order to find my way to where I am now. I know you can do it too!

p.s. – Today on Marketers Mojo Talk Radio my guest will be Jackie Ulmer. She is someone who I actually worked with when I did the candle business. One of the things that drew me into the business was Jackie. She is so passionate about what she does. She puts her heart and her mind into her business, there’s no doubt about that. So make sure you listen in to this call if you need any inspiration as to what I’m talking about here!