The Entrepreneur's Trap by Tina Forsyth - Book review

The Entrepreneur's Trap

How to Stop Working Too Much, Take Back Your Time and Enjoy Life

By: Tina Forsyth

Published: October 17, 2012
Format: Paperback, 182 pages
ISBN-10: 1934509620
ISBN-13: 978-1934509623
Publisher: Love Your Life Publishing










"The Entrepreneur's Trap is when the time, money, and effort that you are putting into your business is not worth the return you are getting", writes entrepreneur, coach, and creator of automated systems, Tina Forsyth, in her very hands on and results oriented book The Entrepreneur's Trap: How to Stop Working Too Much, Take Back Your Time and Enjoy Life. The author describes why so many entrepreneurs, despite their dreams and hard work, find their business venture to be more of a pit of frustration than a source if happiness and fulfillment.

Tina Forsyth understands that many would be entrepreneurs set themselves up for failure from placing too high expectations, either on themselves, or on a false promise of easy riches. The author points out that for many people, simply having no idea about how to run a business dooms the venture from the start. Tina Forsyth guides entrepreneurs toward making the right choices for themselves, their families, and for the company itself. The author shares how to deine success in your own terms and not those of others, how to decide on the time and monetary investment, and how to put an effective system and team in place to run the business. Tina Forsyth provides the techniques to find clarity of vision and the tools to make that vision a reality.

Tina Forsyth (photo left) recognizes that how a business is operated will determine whether it is a success or a failure. The author presents evidence that the two major categories for business operations are reactive ode and proactive mode. In reactive mode, the entrepreneur lacks any sort of cohesive plan and simply responds in an ad hoc manner to events as they occur. In proactive mode, a plan is created that establishes preparatory steps for possibilities that may take place that affect the business. The author provides her three steps ahead plan to ensure that the entrepreneur chooses the proactive approach to business management.

Tina Forsyth shares ideas for both taking charge of your time and your business so the company doesn't take control of your life. The author covers the the areas of personal commitment annd development as an entrepreneur, the principle of establishing effective systems, and shares how to establish and manage an effective team. The areas of personal and entrepreneurial management examined in the book include the following:

* Beware the trap
* The automate your growth formula
* What kind of business do you really want
* Taking back your time: No more working weekends
* You teach people how to treat you: Setting boundaries
* The freedom mindset: Getting out of your own way
* Systems: Building the automation habit
* Top ten business systems
* Your automated marketing map
* Your team
* The THRIVE Hiring System™
* Your new definition of success

For me, the power of the book is how Tina Forsyth combines a complete examination of what is required on the part of the entrepreneur, with the strategies and tools to establish a successful and automated business. The author demonstrates how to avoid the pitfalls that entrap the unwary through establishing from the very beginning the right type of business that suits the entrepreneur's own professional and personal goals. Tina Forsyth shares how to create an automated systems based company through her top ten business systems.

The author also offers proven advice for building a strong team, and for managing them successfully. Throughout the book the real world business advice, of well known entrepreneurs and business leaders, is presented to illustrate the principles in action. Each chapter contains additional questions that challenge the entrepreneur to consider goals and activities through rigorous self examination. The author also offers additional bonuses and website entry for more information and ideas for current and would be entrepreneurs.

I highly recommend the clear and concise book The Entrepreneur's Trap: How to Stop Working Too Much, Take Back Your Time and Enjoy Life by Tina Forsyth, to any current or prospective entrepreneurs seeking a no nonsense and practical guide to building a successful company without sacrificing excessive time and resources. This book offers an engaging and systems based blueprint for successful business start up ventures.

Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks by August Turak - Book review

Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks

One CEO's Quest for Meaning and Authenticity

By: August Turak

Published: July 9, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 200 pages
ISBN-10: 0231160623
ISBN-13: 978-0231160629
Publisher: Columbia University Press











"This is not a disinterested treatise on monastic business practices; rather, it is a highly personal, nuts-and-bolts account of the business lessons I have learned over seventeen years while living and working with the monks of Mepkin Abbey in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, as a frequent monastic guest", writes successful CEO and software start up entrepreneur August Turak, in his inspirational and management transforming book Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks: One CEO's Quest for Meaning and Authenticity. The author describes how the monks manage their business very successfully based on the concepts of service and selflessness, applied with authenticity and piety.

August Turak understands that authenticity may be the latest in corporate buzzwords, but for the Trappist Monks, authenticity has formed and managed authentic businesses for more than ten centuries. The author provides insights into how the monks emphasize the qualitative and human aspects of a business. August Turak shares how the monks manage profitable businesses because they seek piety and not profits. Instead of denigrating the more common corporate practice of quantitative management, the author demonstrates how the balance between the standard quantitative business model, and the holistic and qualitative business practices of utilized by the order.

August Turak (photo left) recognizes that a business model based on a lack of ethics and internal contradictions regarding customers, employees, quality and service, is a failed approach. In its place, the author offers the diametrically opposite approach as practiced by the Trappist Monks. Instead of failure, the service and selflessness tradition model is highly successful. Ignoring most of the standard methods of business management, the monks retained the principle of quality. The monks take an alternative path, emphasizing living the mission, personal transformation to becoming an authentic person, and a cooperative community way of life.

August Turak presents the business philosophy and practices of the Trappist Monks in a manner free of dogma, sectarian bias, and in a secular format. The author shares the fundamental principles that guide the actions of the monks, and form the very foundation of their way of life and inner purpose. The author examines the following aspects of the order's success:

* The economic miracle of Mepkin Abbey
* What we all really want
* The end of selfishness
* Goat rodeos and transformational organization
* Mission
* Selflessness and community
* Excellence for the sake of excellence
* Ethical standards: Why good things happen for good people
* Faith
* The power of trust
* Self-knowledge and authenticity
* Living the life

For me, the power of the book is how August Turak combines the timeless wisdom offered by the Trappist Monks of Mepkin Abbey, with a hands on strategy for putting the order's principles into action. The author presents the ideals and the practices of the monks in a format that is both accessible and readily applicable to secular companies. August Turak demonstrates how the monks live their mission and their values, and how their devotion to service and selflessness in an authentic way is the real key to the order's business success.

Having spent seventeen years studying with and learning from the Trappist monks, August Turak has definitive proof that their concepts and principles are effective and profitable. The author shares his own experiences and those of other CEOs, with highly successful companies, as case studies to further illustrate the value of the order's principles and values. Every chapter includes a valuable lesson that forms the background and foundation for transforming any business into one based on service, selflessness, and authenticity.

I highly recommend the visionary and timeless wisdom filled book Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks: One CEO's Quest for Meaning and Authenticity by August Turak, to any business leaders who are seeking an alternative business model based on quality, service and selflessness, that is not only profitable but satisfying and engaging for employees, customers, and the entire community. The book shows clearly that ethical values and genuine authenticity are not only the right way to conduct your business and your personal life, but they are the key to profitability and success as well.

Emily Bennington: Who Says It's A Man's World - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio

Career development strategist and author of the straight talking and positive results oriented book Who Says It's a Man's World: The Girls' Guide to Corporate Domination, Emily Bennington describes how woman can take charge of their own career development to reach the highest pinnacles of success in the corporate executive suites. Emily Bennington provides practical advice for women to enhance their own personal strengths and virtues, while removing the behaviors that hold back otherwise talented women from achieving their fullest career potential. Emily Bennington takes a proactive approach based on changing behaviors through self awareness, taking positive action, and aligning personal goals with those of the organization. Emily also shares insights for women with children, to ensure career success for mothers. Emily also offers tips for recent college graduate to provide a much needed boost on the career path to the C-level office.

Emily Bennington is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Tuesday, July 1, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Career development strategist and author of the straight talking and positive results oriented book Who Says It's a Man's World: The Girls' Guide to Corporate Domination, Emily Bennington describes how woman can take charge of their own career development to reach the highest pinnacles of success in the corporate executive suites. You will learn:

* Why women don't achieve the highest executive roles in the corporate world

* How women can become more self aware to enhance their strengths

* How women can utilize and effective strategy to manage their own careers

* How mothers and recent college graduates can get a boost up the corporate ladder

Emily Bennington (photo left) specializes in two distinct forms of career transition: college students entering the workforce and women leaders entering executive management. She is the author of Who Says It's a Man's World: The Girls' Guide to Corporate Domination and Effective Immediately: How to Fit In, Stand Out, and Move Up at Your First Real Job.

Her work deep dives into what Stephen Covey famously referred to as “the space” between stimulus and response where she challenges professionals to choose intentional, values-centered action. Emily has led training programs for numerous Fortune 500 companies and has been featured in business press ranging from CNN, ABC, and Fox, to the Wall Street Journal, Glamour, and Cosmopolitan. She is also a contributing writer for Monster.com and a featured blogger for Huffington Post and Forbes Woman.

My book review of Who Says It's a Man's World: The Girls' Guide to Corporate Domination by Emily Bennington.

Listen live on Tuesday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



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Let's talk with career development strategist and author of the straight talking and positive results oriented book Who Says It's a Man's World: The Girls' Guide to Corporate Domination, Emily Bennington describes how woman can take charge of their own career development to reach the highest pinnacles of success in the corporate executive suites. Emily Bennington provides practical advice for women to enhance their own personal strengths and virtues, while removing the behaviors that hold back otherwise talented women from achieving their fullest career potential. Emily Bennington takes a proactive approach based on changing behaviors through self awareness, taking positive action, and aligning personal goals with those of the organization. Emily also shares insights for women with children, to ensure career success for mothers. Emily also offers tips for recent college graduate to provide a much needed boost on the career path to the C-level office