My granddaughter Zoe and I share a fondness for the work of artist Mary Engelbreit. When Zoe saw my Engelbreit desk calendar, she decided that acquiring one of her own was a fine way to spend some of her allowance. When she sees a drawing of a little girl with brown hair, she'll break into a grin and exclaim, "Oh, that is so ME!"

Last week when Zoe came for her sleepover, I realized I'd never shown her The Art and the Artist, an autobiographical book about Mary Engelbreit's journey to becoming a successful artist. We curled up in bed and began paging through the book.

We came across two pages of early drawings. As we studied them, I noticed something. "Zoe," I said, "those drawings were done when she was nine. You're only six and you already draw better than she did at nine." Zoe sat up a bit straighter and smiled.

We slowly continued going through the book, talking about the drawings. Then Zoe frowned and shared her frustration. "I love animals," she said, "but I really want to be an author." I'm not sure if that was inspired by her winning the Outstanding Author Award in her class this year or if it comes from being surrounded by books since birth. It was the first time I'd heard her say it.

"You could be an author who owns a lot of animals," I suggested and she relaxed. I also wondered why a six-year-old was having a career crisis.

When her mother came to fetch her the next morning, I told her about the conversation. "You don't have to pick just one thing," Jennie said. Zoe nodded and I suspected she'd heard that advice before.

Every time I encounter someone who is stuck and frustrated, I can be quite certain that they've never been encouraged to build their own Option Bank. Like a regular bank, the more you put in, the more you can take out.

One of the best ways I know to build an Option Bank (or fatten up an existing one) is to acquire more tools and resources. Here are three easy ways to do just that.

PAY A VISIT

If you haven't visiting my blog, Buon Viaggio, take a look. I add new posts two or three times every week. Today's piece is a glimpse of a Fellow Traveler who has built a wildly successful business that includes plenty of options.

What Rick Steves Can Teach Us About Building a Business

COME ON AN IDEA SAFARI

The Winning Ways Idea Safari launches on Tuesday, April 26, by exploring 9 Ways to Add Gusto to Your Goalsetting. We'll go on to tackle the sometimes thorny problem of Dealing With an Up and Down Cash Flow on the following Tuesday and then conclude this short series with 10 Ways to Get Into the Conversation.

You can acquire these tools for for the introductory price of just $25 for the series. And you'll receive an audio download of each of the explorations.

Winning Ways Idea Safari

RENEW, REVIEW, REINSPIRE

The most valuable tool you can bring to building a business is an entrepreneurial mindset. Alas, most of us have had more training in thinking like an employee.

Join me in Minneapolis, MN on May 12 & 13 for a 2-day event we're calling Energize Your Entrepreneurial Spirit. We'll kick off this fun excursion with What Would an Entrepreneur Do?, a crash course in replacing an employee mindset with an option-filled entrepreneurial one.

On May 13, I'll be revisiting my ever-popular program, Making a Living Without a Job. That afternoon, Mickey Mikeworth takes over with Build a 5-Star Business Model.

Make plans to attend one or all of these programs. Your business will thank you. And if you do so before April 29, your bank account will thank you as well. Event organizer Alice Barry has extended the Early Bird pricing through this week.

Energize Your Entrepreneurial Spirit