Are things pretty stable and steady for you right now? Are you feeling comfortable? Ever think to yourself that you’d like to start a business part or full time — but justify your decision to continue to work a less than thrilling job saying to yourself, “It’s good enough, I’m getting by pretty well.”

If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, or if you’re thinking “Someday… when things change, I’ll be able to start my own business.” Then I’ve got to stretch my virtual hands off this page, grab you by the shoulders and shake you out of fantasy-land and back to reality.

I don’t want to see you end up living a life of “should’ves” and “could’ves” letting countless opportunities pass you by like so many potential entrepreneurs do. If you’ve ever experienced that nagging feeling deep in your gut about a great idea that would make you money while helping fulfill the needs of other people, I’ve got news for you — you’re an entrepreneur in waiting.

The next time those entrepreneurial thoughts flash across your mind, remember; you’re here for a reason. A very important reason. You’re gifted with very special talents and unique abilities. Step up and apply them. Those talents will not only make your life more fulfilling as you put them to use, you’ll also discover that you’ve significantly impacted the lives of others with benefits they otherwise never would’ve experienced.

Stop making excuses. Comfort is the #1 killer of entrepreneurial dreams, right behind “listening to well meaning, but negative friends and family.”

Take the time to clearly identify all your strengths. Develop the most important ones. Link them together with a single focus, align your ideas with your greatest strengths and you’ll have the fuel that will break you out of your comfort zone and propel you into a successful start-up venture.

Need a little more excitement in your motivation? Think about this. You know those things that you’re so passionate about, the things that have you hopping out of bed first thing in the morning? The activities that you’re so happy to do that you don’t even need to get paid to do them? These are the key components to your long-term success. Not just your success in entrepreneurial endeavors, but your success in creating a compelling and fulfilling life. If you use the right system for planning your transition, those very same passions can be part of your everyday life.

If you think all these things only have to do with your “personal” life and are separate from your business life, you’re robbing yourself of a passionate and rewarding life that you were meant to live every single day of your life.

How can I be so sure? Because I’ve seen friends and family members work their lives away waiting for “someday” to arrive. I’ve coached hundreds of business leaders and achievers who’ve lived half or three-quarters of their working years feeling like they’re stuck in a business, thinking it’s too late to change their destiny. And most importantly, because I’ve faced the same thing myself.

“But I have kids and a responsibility,” you say, “I can’t make that type of change now,” you justify. I hear this from new clients all the time. My answer is simple but true …

There are no unreasonable goals, only un-reasonable time frames.

This is where a solid, step-by-step system for planning comes in. Sure you need to eventually think about business plans, transition budgets, niche market analysis, testing, etc. But don’t get ahead of yourself. Take things one step at a time. First make sure your past work experience, passions, life experiences, education, communication style and driving values are all lined up with your business ideas.

If you’re not sure where to start, there are proven scientific assessments that can help you get rolling. If you have a business coach experienced in successful entrepreneurial ventures, they’ll walk you through the rest, referring you to the best resources that will help you along the way.

If you find you’re at the point when you know you need to make a change in your career or start own your business but just aren’t sure where to start, drop me an email. I’ll send you a free action-report that will lay out four foundational action steps that will help you get going. They’re straight out of our new REDLine Learning”! course, “Completing the Entrepreneurial Circle: Getting the Money You Want, Freedom You Need and Destiny You Deserve.”

Whatever you chose to do, begin by taking steps to get yourself out of the comfort zone so you can begin moving toward your entrepreneurial dreams today. You can turn your entrepreneurial dreams into a pleasant reality.

”’John-Paul Micek is the lead business coach and COO of RPM Success Group

Are things pretty stable and steady for you right now? Are you feeling comfortable? Ever think to yourself that you’d like to start a business part or full time — but justify your decision to continue to work a less than thrilling job saying to yourself, “It’s good enough, I’m getting by pretty well.”

If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, or if you’re thinking “Someday… when things change, I’ll be able to start my own business.” Then I’ve got to stretch my virtual hands off this page, grab you by the shoulders and shake you out of fantasy-land and back to reality.

I don’t want to see you end up living a life of “should’ves” and “could’ves” letting countless opportunities pass you by like so many potential entrepreneurs do. If you’ve ever experienced that nagging feeling deep in your gut about a great idea that would make you money while helping fulfill the needs of other people, I’ve got news for you — you’re an entrepreneur in waiting.

The next time those entrepreneurial thoughts flash across your mind, remember; you’re here for a reason. A very important reason. You’re gifted with very special talents and unique abilities. Step up and apply them. Those talents will not only make your life more fulfilling as you put them to use, you’ll also discover that you’ve significantly impacted the lives of others with benefits they otherwise never would’ve experienced.

Stop making excuses. Comfort is the #1 killer of entrepreneurial dreams, right behind “listening to well meaning, but negative friends and family.”

Take the time to clearly identify all your strengths. Develop the most important ones. Link them together with a single focus, align your ideas with your greatest strengths and you’ll have the fuel that will break you out of your comfort zone and propel you into a successful start-up venture.

Need a little more excitement in your motivation? Think about this. You know those things that you’re so passionate about, the things that have you hopping out of bed first thing in the morning? The activities that you’re so happy to do that you don’t even need to get paid to do them? These are the key components to your long-term success. Not just your success in entrepreneurial endeavors, but your success in creating a compelling and fulfilling life. If you use the right system for planning your transition, those very same passions can be part of your everyday life.

If you think all these things only have to do with your “personal” life and are separate from your business life, you’re robbing yourself of a passionate and rewarding life that you were meant to live every single day of your life.

How can I be so sure? Because I’ve seen friends and family members work their lives away waiting for “someday” to arrive. I’ve coached hundreds of business leaders and achievers who’ve lived half or three-quarters of their working years feeling like they’re stuck in a business, thinking it’s too late to change their destiny. And most importantly, because I’ve faced the same thing myself.

“But I have kids and a responsibility,” you say, “I can’t make that type of change now,” you justify. I hear this from new clients all the time. My answer is simple but true …

There are no unreasonable goals, only un-reasonable time frames.

This is where a solid, step-by-step system for planning comes in. Sure you need to eventually think about business plans, transition budgets, niche market analysis, testing, etc. But don’t get ahead of yourself. Take things one step at a time. First make sure your past work experience, passions, life experiences, education, communication style and driving values are all lined up with your business ideas.

If you’re not sure where to start, there are proven scientific assessments that can help you get rolling. If you have a business coach experienced in successful entrepreneurial ventures, they’ll walk you through the rest, referring you to the best resources that will help you along the way.

If you find you’re at the point when you know you need to make a change in your career or start own your business but just aren’t sure where to start, drop me an email. I’ll send you a free action-report that will lay out four foundational action steps that will help you get going. They’re straight out of our new REDLine Learning”! course, “Completing the Entrepreneurial Circle: Getting the Money You Want, Freedom You Need and Destiny You Deserve.”

Whatever you chose to do, begin by taking steps to get yourself out of the comfort zone so you can begin moving toward your entrepreneurial dreams today. You can turn your entrepreneurial dreams into a pleasant reality.

”’John-Paul Micek is the lead business coach and COO of RPM Success Group

“Suzanne Gelb Image”

”Rebellion — Why do Teenagers do it?”

Dear Dr. Gelb:

I don’t have children but I am close to my adolescent niece. She is rebelling, almost like she is struggling with who is in charge of her life. Is there anything I can do to help her with what I think is her search for herself?

Rebellion

A: Dr. Gelb says . . .

Dear Rebellion:

I believe that nonconformance is a natural part of development. The mind continues to struggle to expand its independence. Just like young birds in the nest that are learning to fly, they will flap their wings and struggle with the idea until their wings are strong enough to leave the nest. Parents must be vigilant, making sure that the young ones’ wings are strong enough before they give them the nudge for their freedom to fly and soar.

Parents and loved ones need to respect a child’s need to be different and to have his or her own way, but they must always remember that the adult is the teacher and “No” must mean “NO” with an emphasis on consequences for disobedience.

”Conformity – When to go Along, When to Differ?”

Dear Dr. Gelb:

I try to teach my two teenage boys to make good choices and not get caught up in peer pressure. They know right from wrong, but have a hard time knowing when to go along with others and when to disagree, or even when to compromise. How can I help?

Consequences

A: Dr. Gelb says . . .

Dear Consequences:

Consequences are what it is all about. We can’t teach a growing mind by just saying, “No,” followed by punishment for rebellion. It is natural for the mind to want to explore. In fact, without curiosity most likely we would become nothing, learn nothing and do nothing, being content to just eat and sleep, like a pig in a pen.

We must respect and nurture the curiosity in the young mind. It is not enough to tell children that they can’t do something, because they want to know “Why not.” There is something about the forbidden that is appealing to the adventurous nature in us. So the key lies in patiently explaining and offering reasons for not behaving in certain ways, and where possible, explaining the consequences for particular choices.

Dear Readers:

Answers to questions in today’s column can be supplemented with excerpts from “Yesterday’s Children” (Q#1: pp. 8-11; Q2: p. 11) written by psychologists Marti Barham, R.N., Ph.D. and Tom Greene, Ph.D. For more information visit my Web site at https://www.DrGelbSays.com

”’Suzanne J. Gelb, Ph.D., J.D. authors this daily column, Dr. Gelb Says, which answers questions about daily living and behavior issues. Dr. Gelb is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Honolulu. She holds a Ph.D. in Psychology and a Ph.D. in Human Services. Dr. Gelb is also a published author of a book on Overcoming Addictions and a book on Relationships.”’

”’This column is intended for entertainment use only and is not intended for the purpose of psychological diagnosis, treatment or personalized advice. For more about the column’s purpose, see”’ “An Online Intro to Dr. Gelb Says”

”’Email your questions to mailto:DrGelbSays@hawaiireporter.com More information on Dr. Gelb’s services and related resources available at”’ https://www.DrGelbSays.com

Perhaps what has been most frustrating this session is the fact that few lawmakers truly understand what makes the economy grow and prosper.

And that misconception is not limited to those within state government, there are those who want to feed at the state trough who tout this or that tax break as the panacea for what ails the economy.

As noted in an earlier column, proposals to grant tax credits for all sorts of reasons abound this year as lawmakers try to prove to constituents that they are doing something to stimulate the economy. However, it is those very proposals which are an indicator that lawmakers don’t understand what makes the economy thrive. For example, there is a slew of tax credits including one forwarded as part of the House Majority package to grant tax credits if businesses create new jobs.

As introduced by the House Majority, the bill would have granted a tax credit equal to 3 percent of the qualified new employee’s salary, but not more than $1,500. Sounds simple and straight forward until one looks at the details. A qualified new employee has to be paid $39,000 or more per year and the number of new employees has to be more than 10 percent of the business — number of full-time employees at the time the credit is claimed.

Another bill would grant small entrepreneurs who have at least three employees but less than 25 employees a tax credit equal to 10 percent of net income tax liability if the entrepreneur adds an employee who is paid 30 percent above the average state wage.

Still another bill would offer employers a credit of $5,000 for every new employee hired provided the number of new employees equals 10 percent or more of the existing number of employees in that business. The bill also would have required the business to use two-thirds of the amount of the tax credit for training.

While lawmakers may be sincere in their intent, it is obvious that they do not understand that businesses just don’t create jobs to get a tax credit. Further, businesses do not bank on getting a tax break to afford one more employee.

Let’s get this straight folks, businesses don’t add jobs if they are losing money or they have no sales. It is only when a business can show some profit that they can even begin to entertain the thought that they might be able to add another person.

And pay them $39,000 or even 30 percent above the average state wage? Unless the company is bringing in some top level executive or some highly skilled technician, most new employees would feel fortunate if they could earn twice the minimum wage, which would be about $25,000 a year.

So the message to legislators is that they need to make sure that businesses in Hawaii can make a profit. Oh, such a dirty word, profit. But it is true, people don’t invest or open up companies to lose money. And unless that investor or business can make more than what it costs to make the product or service and run the business, no additional jobs will be created.

On the other side, there are businesses just waiting to feed at the public trough, pursuing this or that tax incentive as if it is the magic pill that is going to make their project or facility profitable.

The problem with that strategy is that they leave all other businesses and consumers behind holding the bag to pay for those tax incentives.

Giving out those tax benefits to only a select few ensures that the masses of taxpayers will continue to pay a heavy burden of taxes. What those hungry businesses forget is that many of their clients and customers are the ones holding the bag of higher taxes to the extent that they cannot afford the goods or services produced by the tax incentive favored business.

Finally, lawmakers don’t seem to understand that one more regulation, one more form to file, one more piece of paper to move costs businesses and employers money.

This was very evident the other day when an advocate for the proposed long-term care insurance tax noted that having the tax collected by employers wouldn’t add any more costs for the business. He suggested that the new long-term care premium could be just added into the withholding taxes collected by employers.

Nothing was said about how the business would account for the tax by the employee and what additional reporting would be necessary to ensure the tax was assigned to the proper employee. And what does an employer do when he is carrying an employee who may not have worked any hours in the pay period?

It sounds so simple, throw out a tax credit, require one more filing, that’s all right, there’s no cost to businesses.

”’Lowell L. Kalapa is the president of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii, a private, non-profit educational organization. For more information, please call 536-4587 or log on to”’ https://www.tfhawaii.org