Success...at Any Age and Any Stage

Today's How I Did It Story is from Carol Doyel who shares her definition of success and her amazing journey of self -discovery and business sense as she set out to be an entrpreneur at a very early age and realized what she was really created to do decades later.

I seemed to be born with the desire to own my own business and make my own money. I think it stemmed from not having a lot of money when I was growing up. My father was injured when I was young and went through occupational therapy but never really worked much after his accident. Eventually he lost his drive and self esteem, which I found to be very sad but I think it gave me a strong determination to make my own way.

I was always looking for ways to earn money, which started out when I was very young by asking neighbors if they had odd jobs for me to do. Many well intentioned elderly neighbors offered me the opportunity to help with cleaning, outdoor chores, taking out the garbage…anything to support a young industrious girl.

As I got a little older I decided to branch out, so I started a lawn mowing business. Actually a girl friend and I circled the neighborhood and managed to round up people who needed their lawns mowed. My grandfather invested in me by buying me a brand new lawnmower. There were days I worked so hard I would pass out at the dinner table, once right in my food!

Then it was on to my first real job which I managed to get by begging the manager to hire me so I would stop bothering him. I was hired to clean beans for $1.40 an hour for a Mexican restaurant. It turned into a job that I stayed with for nearly three years and was a good start to developing a work ethic and a basic understanding of business.

I’ve always enjoyed working and love a challenge.

 Over the years I’ve done many things, from bookkeeping that turned into an opportunity to sell cars,selling advertising, buying a deli at twenty-one, inventing and filing a patent for an infant seat for shopping carts before they existed in the United States, raising capital for a start-up, and eventually onto the corporate world where I worked 15 years for a large health care organization. There were a lot of benefits of working for a large company, including ongoing training. But after a while I felt I became too dependent on my job so I decided it was time for a change, I really wanted to do something that I felt more passionate about so I went back to school for three years.

 After graduating from Full Gospel Bible Institute I began doing volunteer work in women’s ministry with a day job as a real estate broker. It was during my time as a real estate broker and working on a website project that I decided to launch, LivingBetter50.com, an online woman’s magazine.

After all of these years, I can now see how my skills, jobs, experience, and passions have come together like a jigsaw puzzle. As the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of LivingBetter50.com, “For Women with Spirit”, I’m doing something I’m passion about and that seems to be perfectly suited for me.

I’ve come to realize that when we get to the point of our life that we decide to do what we love to do, as a book I read years ago titled, “Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow: Discovering Your Right Livelihood” by Marsha Sinetar, that we often discover what we were created to do. For me that didn’t happen until after I turned 50. I believe that’s true for a lot of women and one of the reasons I launched LivingBetterat50+; with a vision “to encourage women to live better physically, emotionally, financially and spiritually”.

As an entrepreneur, it’s been a process of self-discovery and recognizing my strengths and gifts. It also requires a leap of faith and knowing when to close one door so another one can open. And it usually involves risk, including a monetary risk. But more than the financial risk, the very thing you want in life will require you to put it on all on the line; your reputation, your ego, your time and resources to go after what you’re really passion about with everything in you!

There can be a lot of fear involved with change and risk, more for some than others. Luckily I’ve always loved change and I’m not afraid of trying new things. I’ve been described as a “non-conformist”. I like to do things my way, which is typically different than my family and friends. To be an entrepreneur you have to be willing to go against the tide, often withstanding ridicule, usually from close friends and family members. I have found that women like myself who have a positive outlook and are also pursuing their dreams and aiming high, are the most supportive. As many have said, success can be a lonely place. Not that I’m a super star but I see myself as someone who has enjoyed a certain amount of success given all that I’ve enjoyed, experienced and done. And I’ve made a good living doing it.

If you have the guts and drive to be an entrepreneur and you’re willing to work hard, doing what you love to do, to me that’s the definition of success!

Carol Doyel is Founder and Editor-in-Chief of LivingBetter50.com  An entrepreneur at heart, Carol loves trying new things and reinventing herself. Having done everything from working for a large Seattle based company that developed & marketed health promotion programs nationally-to-women’s ministry. The culmination of her gifts and life experience lead to launching the online magazine LivingBetter50.com “For Women with Spirit”, that she feels brings something fresh and different to the online woman’s magazine world.

A MAN...AND HIS MISSION

Ray Haakonsen grew up in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe and spent his early years recognized for his athleticism going on to play Rugby at a national level. He was a decorated bush pilot and seemed to have everything going for him but things changed for Ray when a change in government forced him to move to another country and being a job in sales with colleagues 10 or more years younger than Ray. He shares his HOW I DID IT story today, reminding us, God has a direction for all of us, even when we are cemented in a rut.

In March 1984, caught in a rapidly declining spiral, I divorced my wife Sue, resigned from my job and left home and 2 children aged 6 and 3, behind.

Six months of soul-searching and loss of confidence followed, resulting in an attempted suicide, and a radical encounter with God. A simple whisper in my ear, "Get right with me and go back to your wife" set in motion a new purpose and vision which continues to this day.

In November 1984 my wife and I reconciled and remarried. Just three years later we stepped out together "in faith" with a radical calling to missions and serving others. I served in Youth With A Mission (YWAM), mainly in leadership roles, with a purpose of improving others personal situations, largely through teaching and discipleship. Living by faith I had the privilege of sharing God's word in 16 countries.

In 1999, whilst serving as the National Director of YWAM in the small country of Lesotho, my wife challenged me with a vision to reach out to serve vulnerable children caught in the throes of poverty and the HIV/AIDS epidemic which was devastating Lesotho. In our resulting research , we found seven abandoned babies in the local hospital who weren't being cared for. With five babies being HIV positive,the staff concluded they would probably die anyway.

But that challenge continued to obsess in my soul and in June 2010 with the permission of Social Welfare, we began in a small three room house with five beds, seven babies under seven months old and no known financial backing or resources. This small step of obedience led to us establishing a care center for vulnerable children called Beautiful Gate Lesotho

Ten years later over 350 babies (many HIV positive) had come through our gates, 170 of them were adopted into 'forever families' in eight different countries, over 100 returned to family and sadly we buried 33 who had succumbed to HIV/AIDS related illnesses. At the same time we grew from a staff of four volunteers to over 40 full time paid staff as well as additional volunteers. A $2 million care center was also established with baby houses, clinic, chapel, pre-school, living quarters for staff and volunteers, offices, workshops and a garage. A project (Beautiful Gardens) to help sustain the ministry was also initiated. Special attention was given to provide a pleasant, excellent and caring environment for children and staff to enjoy. Hundreds of people world-wide partnered with us to establish and sustain the center. Lives of those previously not exposed to the immense destruction of HIV/AIDS became involved in caring for these vulnerable and special children through giving, praying and volunteering.

After 10 years of establishing Beautiful Gate Lesotho, we handed it over and moved to Cape Town South Africa. The ministry continues to thrive. Once again, at age 57, I have embarked on a new life adventure through writing and speaking.

I currently use my website http://rayhaakonsen.com (Maximised Living) to blog and develop a "tribe".My first book, "An Arrested Heart" http://rayhaakonsen.com/?page_id=92 was published in June 2010.

In this new season I'm motivated to Encourage, Provoke, Inspire and Challenge, supporting others to live, driven by their passions.

Lessons I have learned along the way:

• Discovery of Gifts and talent and maximizing them is key.
• Passion carries
• Start with what's in your hand.
• Belief in a vision perseveres through trying times and doubt-sayers.
• Courage is required, but rewarded
• Being intentional about hard work and excellence pay off.
• People are more important than projects
• Dreams and action are both necessary to do anything extraordinary
• Lean on The One who knows all things
• Ordinary people can do extraordinary things in His name.

Ray has been happily married for 35 years and has 3 married biological children, 2 adopted daughters (12 and 9) and 3 grandchildren. You can learn more about Ray and talk with him directly at the links below.

email: rayhaakonsen@gmail.com

Facebook : www.facebook.com/ray.haakonsen

Twitter: @rayhaak