Do You Dishonor Your Family To Get What You Want?

Do You Dishonor Your Family to Get What You Want? – Download the podcast

Today I want to talk about a very sensitive subject – something that kind of threw me for a loop a little bit.  Today I want to talk about whether you dishonor your family to get what you want.

The other night I was at a presentation, and at the end I was at the front of the room and I explained everything that I did, about my life, being a self-made entrepreneur and business owner.  And it’s amazing how you can affect certain people in certain ways.  So later on we could all dispersed, and we (Lisa and I) were in the front of the room and a young gentleman came up to me and said, “You’re Jim Sama?”  And I said, “Yes I am,” and he said, “I respect you and what you’ve done in your life, and I have a question for you.”

Now this young gentleman was 19 years old, very smart, an engineer, and was going on a certain path.  I, on the other hand, am a baby boomer and have experienced quite a lot of things in my life.  But one of the things I’d never experienced was having a boss.  So obviously he looked at me as a father figure.  And he said to me, “I have very tough question for you,” and he commenced to tell me that his father is an extreme traditionalist.  He believes in working certain amount of hours for a certain amount of money, and to work that way for the years that you live to make a living and supply your family with what they need.

His father did a very good job providing for his family by working, and he continues to work as well, but this young gentleman does not want to take that path.  He sees entrepreneurship as an opportunity for him to be far more than his father could be – and his father does not condone what he is doing as far as this business goes, and of being an entrepreneur or a self-made man.

So he asked my advice of what he should do.  I thought deep and hard – does it dishonor your family to do something they don’t agree with?  And the very first thing I had to say to him is that I did not want to disrespect his father in any way – he seems like a very nice gentleman, but he has a certain mindset and a way of thinking.  In one of my other articles here I talked about that – about wanting to have more than my family did.  And not that I was disrespectful, but there was something that I had to do that was inside me that it just had to come out.  And whether I succeeded or I failed, I was going to potentially fail my family in a certain way.

I explained this to this young man – that I think it’s good that he has these feelings of entrepreneurship and wanting to do something to make a residual income, but I also said that he should experience a job, and he should experience work, because this is an experience that he will never get back.  With my sons, I showed them certain ways of doing things also, and it’s funny because I wanted them to get jobs even though I didn’t really have one – as I was a business owner and didn’t have a boss.

But I told him that the learning curve, and what he would gain having worked for somebody, would give him tremendous experience in his future life.  I told him that he could actually do both because what we do is very part time – he can have that entrepreneurial spirit while he is earning an income.

Now I always say that if you have a job, you will earn a living, but if you have a position in a network marketing company, you create a lifestyle – and it’s something that will last forever.  He’s only 19 years old, and he has so much life to live and he really resonated with me as I said in my younger days that nobody was going to tell me what to do or what not to do!

I was fortunate with what I did because my drive and passions were so great (and this is what I teach), but again it comes to a point that, when you have somebody who you respect and look up to as a parent, I think that there is a fine line there.  In this case, I told him that it has to be confronted with his father.  So I told him that I think all in all, a compromise is something that should be done, especially where you are so young.

Being a Gen-Y today there are so many opportunities to grow and prosper and have something to be passionate about.  But I also think it’s a good idea to have a job that you do get paid for, because you learn that value.  In a good network marketing company the earning potential is absolutely ridiculous; it’s something you can earn a six-figure income with that is residual – with the right company, and the right structure of a company (again, this is something that I teach).

Having said that, no, I would never, ever disrespect the person who I respect.  I would get that job, I would earn that living.  But in the same breath, I’m also saying to start this business.  It is a very part-time thing – something that’s very doable.  You can do it in between whatever else you do, and whatever resistance you’ll get won’t be major.  I understand that you have to do something that you’re passionate about – and if you’re passionate about it, do it!  I have this passion with my business that nobody else can take away for me.  you don’t want to be unhappy by just listening and doing something that you’re not going to be happy with.

So again, for the young entrepreneurs out there: respect your parents or your peers that may have doubts about knowing what you do, but pursue your dreams.  And that’s my whole point today: to pursue your dreams, and listen to somebody who understands and who’s been there.  Because if they haven’t, you’d have no idea what you would be getting into.

I hope this helped any Gen-Y readers we have become a little more clear about pursuing your dreams.  As I said, pursue that dream, but also have the sense enough to understand and to know that there is a living out there you can create it and experience it – and as you’re experiencing that, create your lifestyle.  If you want any more information about how we help entrepreneurs create their own lifestyle, I wrote The Home Business Blueprint, which will give you an idea of the concepts of marketing that we use to build our businesses.  It’s free, and you can get it by putting your name and email in the boxes on the top left.  So let’s get started on your dreams and not someone else’s!