You2Preneur

Foreword Courage to stand up and strike out on one’s own, beats from the heart of every entrepreneur. But the older we get and the longer a person has walked the path of a conventional career working for an employer – the less it seems that we are willing to take a chance on ourselves. Even for those fresh out of the gate, the gauntlet thrown down by all of the uncertainties and doubts that clothe a solo attempt can quickly stamp out the burning flame of self-branding and the much-desired resultant business launch. You2Preneur© coins a brand new word into our lexicon, and welcomes entrepreneurial Internet surfers from around the globe. A driving desire to launch yourself as a national and international brand is the engine that You2Preneur© was created to fuel. Yet this book does such a delightful and entertaining job of storytelling, that the author has attracted readers from all age brackets and walks of life. Slink onto the back lot of a peanuts and dung-scented carnival circus to acquire life-shaping master-revelations from a mid-way barker. Prance, then scurry and duck through the bowels of a law school, where clandestine trading and bartering of a surreptitious torts outline became de rigueur at the hands of the world’s first You2Preneur©. Whether you end up flying with his angels or decide to plunge into the abyss of self-deprivation he lays forth, do not for a moment attempt to subjugate the author’s decades of experience cutting through the puppet strings that control the flammable worlds of business and industry; courtrooms and the law. You2Preneur© is not a traditional business tips or self-help manual. Plenty of those tools and formulas are already at our fingertips. Rather, You2Preneur© is premised from the realization that successful outcomes for yourself will always require involving others. That fact alone ensures the necessity of dealing with the sometimes unexpected and always indeterminable permutations that people unfailingly will bring your way. Still, when we embrace another person and move on to a whole world filled with people to partner with, we stand to gain big-time . . . from a bold and exciting set of truths. These truths include the fact that Nielson Net Ratings reports that currently 57% of Americans already belong to a social network. Is it any wonder then, that direct selling is a $110 billion dollar industry . . . and growing? Regardless of your background and with no change to your current schedule, it’s time for every You2Preneur© to address pressing needs. First and foremost, there can be no better time than now to start making your health a priority. Leading economist Paul Zane Pilzer wisely advises that health and wellness is the next trillion dollar industry. Whether you know it yet or not – you are a You2Preneur©. You can wait for the good times to hopefully find you. Hang in there until the economy fixes itself, and hope or pray that healthcare solutions magically appear. Or you can take control now. There will never be a more perfect financial opportunity at a more perfect time. Don’t wait! The idea is to brand and launch yourself right this very moment. You2Preneur© is the necessary start to your own individual brand launch. It is your new beginning. There is no retail store front. No boring advertising from a traditional company and formula. It’s time for you to be paid to grow the products and company in your own business. Extend your hand, introduce yourself as a You2Preneur©. Tell that person exactly what you’re about. Then tell them: “You2.” ****************** “How come you guys aren’t taking it all the way up?” I faced the hill and capped my question by jerking my thumb skyward. I’d been hiking deep woods for the better part of an hour since parking my car. Pleasantly cold, today featured almost a foot of fresh snow down already. A continual heavy blanket cascaded. I came prepared. Every now and then, I spiced my impromptu nature walk with a short pull off my pocket flask. That in itself was a production involving the process of removing my glove and then molesting my layered clothing enough to locate and withdraw, uncork and sip, repack and glove-up again. Five ounces of rum stretched over the course of a whole afternoon for me, would barely provide a peach-fuzz buzz. No problem, though. The whole idea was that a sip every once in a while made me think for a moment that I felt a couple degrees warmer than I was. Fourteen eyes now scrutinized me from a handful of locations. “No way!”, was the emphatic reply. The spokesman seemed to be the oldest one. He stood closest to the toboggan. “You guys don’t mind me giving it a shot?” I was amused. Seven young men, none older than eleven or twelve, were scattered in front of me. Several drew in close enough to hear the conversation. Midgets. All of them dressed for bad weather and streaked with snowball shrapnel and ice crystals. My eyes directed our attention to the top of what would be a long steep climb. Just a few minutes before, I’d broken through heavily wooded growth and pine forest timbers and decided to enter the glacial clearing to enjoy watching the fun. It was that, or slip away and continue my solitary frosty journey. At first, I just stood and observed. The boy inside was awake and I felt him grab my reins. A ravine cut through the middle of this place and a large natural ledge ran high up and along the length of the far side of this low flat. The snow kept coming like the dickens. I was on college-class break. Earlier, this morning – I’d given up trying to call this buddy or that for a sledding hookup. Settling for a solo drive and enjoying that, sledding remained enough on my mind to draw me to the place we always favored for downhill speed and thrills. A Saturday snow cruise-around had matured into a spur-of-the-moment hiking decision. This was a spot I’d never seen before. The concordance of soundless severe weather and the natural beauty it painted was all that accompanied the sounds of my breathing. Until now. Maybe I would get a downhill run in today after all. Guided by my ears, the work to make my way toward the noise that started out as far-off drifty sort of breaking shouts and squeals, had paid off. “Nice one.” I was drooling over the toboggan. It was a beauty with room for four or five seats for these prepubertal warriors. The bunch of us were agaze at the top as we contemplated my announcement of a full hillside run. Their expressions told me they knew my question had been a mere formality. I was sure that for these guys, my implied promise of a climb clear past the mini mid-line shelf they’d been launching from . . . my intention to produce a full toboggan monte . . . was like suddenly finding free front row tickets to a death-stunt performance. “Whose going with me?” I really thought there might be a risk-taker or two in the group. Dead silence prevailed. Admittedly, all the way up looked way higher than what could be guaranteed as safe for a ride that long and steep. Best if I went alone. It was a straight run, but a little too narrow through a heavily-sloped pine tree forest that from the top, would probably be three times as fast as these boys had been running. I would soon confirm that toboggans are fast as lightning on fresh snow, and they don’t control nearly as well as a sled with rudders and a steering arm. Was it a couple ounces of rum talking? Was this raw, naked alcohol-fueled adventurism? Without the nips, would I have chosen to avoid getting involved and just smiled and continued to keep on taking in the wonderland-post-card beauty of a pack of kids having a blast in the middle of the forest?