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Richard Branson anticipated his 1.5-hour flight to space for 17 years.  He announced his intention to make a space plane in 2004.  Jeff Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000 with the goal of human spaceflight. 

Occasionally a small business owner will ask how much is my business worth? That is a loaded question. It all depends. In a divorce your soon-to-be ex will say it’s worth $10 million and they want half. Whereas you may treat is as just a job and there is no value without you being there.

At Toastmasters we open our meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. I also have it hanging in our lobby. I need the reminder. I do take my freedom for granted. I feel safe and every day I exercise my rights and obligations as a citizen.

My first thoughts of leaving a legacy goes back to the will. How much money will you leave to family, friends or charities once you die. However, another more intimate definition of a legacy is the impact you leave on the world once you do pass away. Looking back into history, for some their legacy can be so special that the world is remarkably changed.

Recently I sat in a meeting with a family who had lost the founder of their fast growing family business. During the meeting I was focused on business. After the meeting the sadness hit me. The founder should have been in that meeting. The energy, the drive and the laughter were missing. He lived his life to the fullest.

Questions to Ask Yourself Before Venturing into a New Business. In 2020 it was estimated that there were 800,000 business startups. Statistics only give a 50% of those a chance to survive over 5 years. The odds are against you. Personally, I have started 4 businesses. Three of them I would consider successful, but one was definitely not.

Lately I have been feeling tired and lacking excitement in my life. I am tired of being confined by a mask, by cold weather and by work. I am tired of the constant news of sickness and death. Then I recall a remark I overheard that offered me a bit of hope.

Time moves quickly when I’m having fun. It also seems to drag on when I am bored or in pain. It is easy to get into a routine and forget why I had that routine and where I am going. As tax season comes to a close, my life shifts. For three months I focus on taxes, speed, repetitive work and meeting very strict deadlines. Then it stops and my business and I shift gears. I slow down, way down and focus back on the business. To make that shift efficiently I focus on a few steps.

Spring is time for new growth in nature – just look around. The grass starts turning green, the spring flowers start rising from the earth and I hear the birds chirping. I know every year this will happen. It shows up slightly different each year, but I can count on it showing up.

In March I think of the lucky four-leaf clover. It is too cold outside in Green Bay, WI to find one, but I discovered other ways in which we can increase our luck.