Ambition is a feeling, a spark that runs through your body from your heart.
You have to feel it, it's not like a skill you can develop.
When it comes to your financial condition especially if you're broke, or living paycheck to paycheck, you will either have a strong desire to succeed and pull yourself out of the financial trashcan or not care if you become wealthy or not.
The choice is yours and ambition will give you the energy to think about new business ideas or maybe a weekend hustle to supplement your "9 to 5" income.
But don't spend this extra income on "bling things" like (new cars, fancy rims, designer clothes, etc.
) either save it or invest it.
Before I started selling clothes from the trunk of my car I would try to think of as many ways as possible to make money.
I was HUNGRY and determined, - on a "paper chase" is what some might call it.
I was also tired of riding the bus or asking my friends for a ride to go grocery shopping.
Indeed, ambition became my best friend and rode that bus with me at 5 a.
m.
every morning off to junior college, whispering to me, "in due time, you will get yours.
" You must learn to feed off your ambition because it alone is the foundation of entrepreneurial development.
If you are reading this it's because you have a spark of ambition inside you, however it's discipline that will help fuel that ambitious spark into a financial flame.
Discipline- "if you can't control yourself, you can't control your wealth.
" When I first made $10,000 selling clothes from the trunk of my car and actually held it in my hands, I was mesmerized.
Never had I made so much money in my life and since I was still driving my 1992 Cadillac de Ville, I felt I was ready for that new Lexus LS with 22-inch rims.
However, discipline told me that if I purchased a new Lexus, of course, I would feel good and everyone would notice me, but I would also have less money to reinvest in my clothing inventory.
Discipline repeatedly said, "purchasing that new Lexus will hold you back from making $20,000.
" I decided to listen to discipline, remained patient, and wrote down daily revenue and profit goals for myself.
Although everyone else had new cars, I slowly stacked my cash and reinvested my profits into more clothing and six months later I had $20,000.
I could not believe it! Seeing this investment plan (compounding profits) work in action I waited another year and reinvested all my profits back into clothes and I came out with over $50,000 in cash and assets.
Ambition was the spark that I needed to quit my job as a senior financial analyst at a major corporation, and go out and hustle clothing from the trunk of my Cadillac.
Discipline fueled that spark into a financial flame that enabled me to grow my capital and develop into a full-time entrepreneur.
Sooner rather than later you too will encounter opportunity, which will fuel your financial flame into a wealth of fire.
Opportunity: The cliché, "once you get a little money, it's not hard to make more money, however the hard part is to just get that little amount," is true.
For me, that little amount was the $1,000 I saved while working in college.
After graduation, I started selling clothes and turned that $1,000 of capital into over $250,000 in a couple of years.
I started out only working on weekends because I still had a corporate "9 to 5", but after I knew my cash flow was consistent I quit my day job and became a full-time entrepreneur.
My opportunity was the hip hop industry, just as it was for Jay-Z and the computer industry was for Bill Gates.
Literally, recognizing the opportunity is one of the most important skills you will have to develop to become a successful entrepreneur.
Once I accumulated enough capital I transformed my business model from retailer to wholesaler, so instead of selling one item at a time, I would sell large quantities of items in bulk at a lower price.
As a result, people begun to notice my business and financial reputation and proposed all kinds of business ventures.
I met a guy who had an import/export company and teamed up with him to buy, or import, goods internationally.
Now I had plenty of capital to invest, and could purchase clothing in bulk.
Instead of selling directly from my car I could open up a retail clothing store or wholesale to other small business owners.
I eventually decided to do both, but my story of opportunity did not end there.
Today, I am operating on a larger scale and don't have to sell from the trunk of my Cadillac anymore, and more importantly,I am making more money.
This is called leverage; getting more with less effort.
I went from making $12,000 a month as a retailer to making $50,000 a month as a wholesaler.
Overtime, after continuing to purchase large quantities of inventory from my partner with the import/export business, he came to trust me and eventually offered my company a line of credit.
This is extremely important so please make sure you understand.
Because of the good business relationship I established with my partner I no longer had to pay for my inventory up front but could pay him weeks, even months, later.
Instead of spending my excess capital of $50,000 to buy and resell goods over and over I had to spend zero, that's right, nada! It was like getting the goods for free! However, the word for this type of agreement is "consignment" and I would pay for the goods after I resold them.
Recognizing this opportunity, I knew I could invest the extra $50,000 of capital into another money making business.
I could go back to the corner across the street from Valley View mall and resell out the trunk of my new Lexus, but why? Instead I just taught my brother how to do what I had already done, financed his inventory, gave him my old sales route and now I make an extra $1,000 a month in residual sales, plus the $50,000 a month I do in wholesaling.
Not bad for walking out of corporate America a year after college, but according to my dreams I have only just begun.
Six figures and running, somebody tell Bill Gates I'm coming! Create Wealth, Enjoy Life! James "Bird" Guess President & Founder http://www.
TheBlackEconomy.
com