The Freedom of a Fresh Start

By Dan Miller
48days.com

CBN.com – I love new beginnings. Whether it’s watching a baby reach out for a butterfly for the first time or starting the manuscript for a new book, I love the thrill of new possibilities. If nothing else, make sure to read the quotations at the bottom of this newsletter to be encouraged about new beginnings you may be facing.

Living, Loving & Working is the title of a March 19-20 event Joanne and I are hosting right here at the Sanctuary on our property. For years we have had people ask us how we survived the tough times and how we are able to be experiencing so many good times now. Success is not a one-dimensional occurrence. True success must include loving relationships, personal development, and fulfilling social connections, as well as abundance in work and finances.

In this two-day hands-on conference, Joanne and I will be sharing our personal journey of Living, Loving & Working together. By the end of the Friday night dinner excursion, you will have learned how to apply the same principles to enhance your own business and family success.

This is a premiere event – one we have never offered before. And we expect it to be the highlight of our year – beginning new friendships, growing from new insights, and sharing new successes. It’s as close to Valentine’s Day as we could make it – but feel free to consider this your Valentine’s Day experience. We’d love to have you join us! (To maintain the intimacy, we are limiting this to only 12 couples, so don't dilly dally!)

Here’s an overview and my three-minute audio clip: Living, Loving & Working

All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, not in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin. — John Fitzgerald Kennedy in his inaugural speech

All Beginnings are Hopeful

“All beginnings are hopeful!” This is a quote from the president of Oxford University, spoken to the entering freshman in 1944, in the midst of a world war. This is a concept that we have seen confirmed throughout history.

In working with people going through change, I am often struck by the discouragement, frustration, and frequent anger and resentment they share. I have come to recognize, however, that those feelings always tell me that the person is looking backward, at something that has already occurred. As soon as we are able to create a clear plan for the future, those feelings quickly begin to dissipate and are replaced by hope, optimism, and enthusiasm. In all my years of coaching, I have never seen a person who has a clear plan and goals who is also depressed. They just don’t go together.

We are now in a new “season” as a country and in starting a New Year. While there are lots of opinions on the political and economic fronts, it seems to me that people are in general more optimistic and hopeful than they were a couple of months ago. Saturday Joanne and I stopped to pick up a video cord at Best Buy, and the crowds were heavier than right before Christmas. I am being overwhelmed with people who want to launch new businesses – releasing ideas they’ve had for years and they are excited that now is the time. And the anticipation is not just an American phenomenon. My analytics show that in this time period – Jan 19, 2009 - Jan 25, 2009 – our www.48Days.com Web site was visited by people from 76 countries. It seems people everywhere are looking for new beginnings.

Viktor Frankl, in his wonderful little book “Man’s Search for Meaning”, relates his observations of people in the German concentration camps. Age, health, education, or ability could not predict those who survived the atrocities there. No, rather it was only those who believed that there was something better coming tomorrow who were able to survive and ultimately walk away from those camps.

Feeling discouraged? Miserable in your job? Just lost your business? Draw that proverbial line in the sand. What appears to be the end is actually a new beginning.
Welcome the new beginning tomorrow!

Read the "all beginnings are hopeful" blog

Can’t Stop Me Now

Is your industry getting killed with all the changes that are happening right now? We know people in real estate, banking, and construction are running out the door in search of new opportunities. Here’s another one you may not hear as much about – publishing. Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Harper Collins are laying staff off left and right. Salaries are being frozen or eliminated. Publisher’s Weekly predicts that 2009 will be “the worst year for publishing in decades.”

But what does that mean if you’re a wannabe author? Are all your hopes dashed, or do you perhaps have better opportunities than you’ve ever had before? In this week’s issue of TIME, Lev Grossman writes in Books Gone Wild that people are reading more and it’s never been easier to get a book out to an eager audience. Wooing agents, begging for a publisher, fat advances, printing on paper, and shipping on consignment are probably things of the past, but there are no barriers for delivering a complete manuscript via a blog, podcast, or cell phone. Let the readers decide – and if they like it, the product can then be created in another profitable form. (More about turning your writing into income in Write to the Bank.)

Here’s how to see the opportunities where you are. Read the rest of the article.

48 Days Online Radio: $45,000 or $12,000?

Each week I create a new online radio podcast — that you can hear in iTunes or at the 48 Days Online Radio Show link below.

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com. Download a free audiobook of your choice today at www.audiblepodcast.com/work. You know what a believer I am in listening to positive information – and here’s an easy way to enrich your own personal library.

This week's podcast is brought to you by Audible.com. We now have a special offering from Audible.com. If you sign up for a free 14-day trial of the Audible membership, you can select No More Mondays as your free download. What a deal! Just click on this link to get your free copy of No More Mondays. If you already have No More Mondays, choose a selection from Dan’s Reading List. Then use this audiblepodcast.com/work link to get your free copy of that one.

And here are just a few of the intriguing questions I addressed this week:

I’ve created a 20-page ebook on "The No. 1 Key to Speak Like a Pro.” My question is about price. What do you think is a good asking price for this kind of resource?
I want to sell rum cakes to restaurants. I’ve come across a major stumbling block, though. As it turns out, the state will not certify someone who bakes from home. How would I be able to overcome this obstacle? How can I write my own success story?
My wife loves what she does for work but doesn't like where she is doing it. She's built up a steady clientele (female skin enhancements) for herself, but this is just making her boss more money. The big issue is she signed a "non-compete" clause that says she cannot work within 25 miles of her existing employer for one year if she leaves. Is this legal or possible to get around?
I want to make my writing a full-time career, but how do I start? Typically, I write non-fiction satire as that is what I'm living. :) But I'd love to go into more of the creative writing/screen writing avenue. How do I jump-start the drive that's inside me and make this dream a reality?
I have been following your job search plan for almost two months and have not received any job offers. Most of the decision makers I have spoken with have indicated that my abilities would be useful to their organizations, but they are not hiring. Given this, I suspect that I need to improve my ability to close the deal. Do you have any suggestions for how a high S/high C personality might improve this aspect of his search?
I HATE my current job. I have an interview in the next few days at a place I would love, and a job I would love working with special needs children! However, I would go from a salary of $45,000 to about $12,000. I would love what I'm doing. How does a Mom of three make such a decision? I need to support my children yet HATE what I am doing now.

If you have a question, just e-mail me at askdan@48Days.com and you can ask about starting your own business, getting a better job, or finding your purpose in life.

48 Days Highlights

I need a favor
ChristianBook.com is getting ready to do a big push for No More Mondays. My publisher has asked if I could get a couple of reviews posted on their site. If you have read No More Mondays, could you please jump in here and write a quick review? You’ll have your name on a national Web site and I’ll be eternally grateful. Help Dan out

What do you need?
Kevin asked for help for a client – ideas for a book cover design – and tapped into a wealth of expertise through 48Days.net. This is our growing group of people who are sharing ideas to grow their businesses. Check out the cover designs submitted by members. Free Book Cover Design.

Need a new beginning?
The most popular product in the 48 Days arsenal continues to be the 48 Days Career Profile. Before you begin seeking a better job or self-employment, you need to be sure you are pursuing opportunities that match your personality style and will fulfill and reward you for a lifetime!

Quotes: New Beginnings

“There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth...not going all the way, and not starting.” — Prince Gautama Siddharta

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.” — Seneca

“Every day is a fresh beginning, every morn is the world made new.” — Sarah Chauncey Woolsey

“I watch out my window as the planes take off into space. Oh, that I could fly away and start fresh. But I must realize that fresh starts also come in the pretty wrapped gift called 'tomorrow.'”

“The beginnings and endings of all human undertakings are untidy.”

"It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live." — Marcus Aurelius

"There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning." — Louis L'Amour

Dan Miller is the bestselling author of 48 Days To The Work You Love and a renowned Life Coach specializing in career fulfillment. His weekly newsletter reaches 70,000 subscribers. Dan’s articles are featured here at CBN every Tuesday, and you can find out more about Dan at www.48days.com.