Labor Day, according to Wikipedia, is an American federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers. I remember in my nursing days when I looked forward to Labor Day because of a well-deserved day off. However, it didn’t take me long to realize that I can create my own days off as an entrepreneur. With continuous education and discipline in my work habits, I learned that I can create my own economy.

After “retiring” from my nursing career over 6 years ago, I’ve recently met with some of my previous co-workers who are now laid off or in fear of being laid off from their nursing jobs. Who would’ve thought that a shortage of nurses back then would lead to an abundance of nurses being laid off? My mom, in particular, was one of them. After working for a company for over 30 years, this hospital decided to give my mom’s position away 3 months before she was to retire. With continuous calls to the President of the hospital, the hospital gave her a leave of absence that allowed her to reach full retirement. At the end of her service, she received a nice pen:)

My mom was fortunate that she had people in her family that was in the medical field to insure her full retirement. She is now in the Philippines enjoying her life. It’s amazing to me that she had in her mind that she had to wait until she was 66 years old to enjoy life. This is a common practice for many. With the job loss of so many, I want to stress the importance of creating your own economy.

Having said this, here are 3 Steps to Creating Your Own Economy:

1. Change Your Focus:  Beginning immediately, stop talking about anything that is not working. Stop defending and justifying why you’re not doing better. Stop blaming the economy or whatever else you deem to be the cause of your troubles. If something is not working, continuing to talk about it will cause you to start seeing more things going wrong and continue the downward spiral.?Ask only, “What’s working?” What you focus on, grows. And that’s why it’s important to be mindful of what you are focusing on.
2. Mine the Gold That’s Already in Your Business:  Every business has “hidden” opportunities which can be mined, usually by either developing new markets for your products, creating new products, leveraging the relationships you’ve built, and joint venturing with colleagues, suppliers, customers and, yes, even competitors. Don’t get the “shiny object syndrome” in which you want to do so many new things and finish none.
3. Develop Systems and Follow Through:  The best way to do this is to hire a business coach or appoint someone in your organization to be your team’s “accountability partner” to ensure your renewed vision is being carried out and that you are steadily moving in the right direction. Many business owners think that they’ll hire a coach when they make more money. It is actually the opposite. You hire a business coach to make more money.

As always, the sooner you instill and model an entrepreneurial mindset utilizing these steps, the sooner you can create your own Labor Day. Avoid the practice of living and enjoying life when you “retire”.  I hope you enjoyed your Labor Day weekend!