You\u2019ve probably had the experience of coming across a new word, looking it up in the dictionary, then noticing that the word appears all over the place.<\/p>\n
Or you start thinking about taking a trip to Paris and the next thing you know Woody Allen has a movie coming out called Midnight in Paris<\/i><\/b>. A few days later, you strike up a conversation with a stranger in a coffee shop and they mention they\u2019ve just come back from Paris.<\/p>\n
While we often think of such happenings as synchronicity, I believe there\u2019s another factor at work here. I call it selective awareness. Something grabs our attention and we continue to tune in on further encounters with that thing.<\/p>\n
It doesn\u2019t have to be a totally random experience, however. We can consciously decide to pay attention to things that will add to our adventure or further our goals.<\/p>\n
It comes as a surprise to me, then, that so many would-be entrepreneurs don\u2019t seem to be gathering stories and support for their own successful self-employment. As Caroline Myss reminds us, \u201cWe evolve at the rate of the tribe we\u2019re plugged into.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here are just two \u00a0examples of things that have appeared on my personal radar screen<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0 \u00a0A couple of years ago, I boarded a \u00a0Southwest flight and promptly took the in-flight magazine out of the seat pocket. I was thrilled to see the theme of that issue was entrepreneurship and settled in to explore.<\/p>\n The first thing I read was Jay Heinrichs\u2019 editorial. I loved it so much that I now share it in some of my seminars. Here\u2019s how it begins:<\/p>\n \u201cThere are two kinds of people in the world: entrepreneurs and naysayers. I belong to the second group. In my own experience, one characteristic distinguishes entrepreneurs from naysayers. Entrepreneurs never follow the advice of people like me. Not to brag, but I\u2019ve naysayed some of the finest business ideas of the past three decades.\u201d<\/p>\n This amusing piece was a fine reminder to beware of dreambashers. The rest of the issue was filled with stories of people who had done just that and built terrific businesses.<\/p>\n Of course, I took the issue with me when I deplaned.<\/p>\n \u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0\u00b0<\/p>\n My artistic granddaughter and I share a fondness for the work of Mary Engelbreit, one of the most commercially successful artists around.<\/p>\n One of my all-time favorite Engelbreit drawings is of a barefoot woman sitting at her desk wearing a straw hat and bib overalls. Through the window behind her, we see sunflowers and a red barn. There\u2019s a cigar box on her desk overflowing with money.<\/p>\n The caption reads, \u201cWe don\u2019t care how they do it in New York.\u201d<\/p>\n In her book Artful Word<\/i><\/b>s, Engelbreit tells the story behind some of her best known drawings. Here\u2019s what she says inspired the creative farm woman:<\/p>\n \u201cI did this because in the early days, people (especially on the East and West Coasts) were always saying, \u2018Oh, you can\u2019t start a card company. You can\u2019t do it this way. You can\u2019t do it that way.\u2019 Of course we did<\/i> do it that way. The funny thing is this greeting card was a best-seller in New York.<\/p>\n \u201cSo many people in New York and California just don\u2019t have any idea about the rest of the country. I\u2019ve met people from the coasts who assume that because I\u2019m from the Midwest, I live on a farm. So this was for all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You\u2019ve probably had the experience of coming across a new word, looking it up in the dictionary, then noticing that the word appears all over the place. Or you start thinking about taking a trip to Paris and the next thing you know Woody Allen has a movie coming out called Midnight in Paris. A…<\/p>\n
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