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Tag: Financial Freedom

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Passion: the Fast Lane to Success

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To-Do List - Win - Dry Erase BoardLast week we took a look at loving what you do for a living as a means to getting rich. Unless you’re passionate about what you do, it is very difficult for you to be successful or happy.

When you are not thrilled with your work, what are you doing unconsciously? Looking for a way out, yes or no? You’re always thinking “If there was something else …” You’re constantly searching.

Imagine driving on a highway. You’re looking for your exit. What lane would you drive in? The slow lane, because you don’t want to miss the exit. But if you weren’t looking for an exit you’d be flying down the fast lane. Unconsciously, you wouldn’t even know you’re doing it until you see a cop or traffic jam or something. But when you’re in that mode of looking for a way out, you never fully commit. You never get any momentum.

When you’re engaged in what you love to do, it’s like driving in the fast lane. Time flies by and more roads open up to you, alternate routes you may not have even known existed.

So why don’t we do what we love? You’d think it’d be natural, right? Natural talents are gifts from the universe, gifts from spirit, gifts from whatever you want to call your creator. You can refine your talent but it’s something that makes people say, “You’re a natural at that!”

The reason a lot of people don’t find or create work that they love is fear, of course. Fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of change, fear of rejection, fear of looking foolish, fear of disapproval. It’s a story you make up about what might happen or what could be in the future.

In conjunction with fear is obligation. Obligation to memories of the past, obligation to other people, obligation to the freaking mortgage! If your mortgage is hampering your life, which one do you want to release? You’d think the logical answer is the mortgage, but guess which one most people release? They release their lives. Isn’t that wicked?

Whatever obligation it is, it’s nothing more than a fear that ‘If I don’t do this, something bad will happen to me.’ Obligation is a ‘should’. It’s a ‘have to’. It’s an opinion, though, and every one of those obligations is made up. You made it up. It’s not true that you have to or that you should. It’s your opinion based on some other stuff, interpretations that you made about who you are, who others are to you, what’s important, what’s not.

Forget the obligations. If they are not supporting you, give up the ‘shoulds’. Don’t wait! Life is too short to work at something you really don’t love and have a passion for. When you do, you will promote it like crazy. That’s how you’ll know. Before you know it, you’re flying down the fast lane. Do what you love and the money will come. You have to trust yourself.

Now we want to hear from you! What are some ways that you’ve found to balance responsibility to others—like taking care of the family, for example—with responsibility to your creative side? What are some resources that we all have that people may not think about that could help them get over the hump of “shoulds” and “have to’s”?

Tending Your Turf

Posted on by 17
In developing strategies for millionaire success, there are crucial truths I couldn’t say enough: start with the end in mind; create a business to sell it, not run it indefinitely. Create systems that can be imitated and duplicated. Increase its value and worth. Sell high!
As redundant as it seems, those words never get tired to me. It’s part of my gospel.  I’m talking about creating a business with the full thought, knowledge and intention that you won’t be running it one day.
How powerful is that intention? It’s the difference between being a poor business owner who gets by and a rich business owner who isn’t working anymore. He or she is doing exactly what he or she wants and intends to do.
Knowing your intention to sell your business will determine who you’re bringing in on your team and in what capacity you’re bringing them on. In order to systemize as well as grow value and worth, you have to have people who are going to help you achieve that effectively.
One of the most important areas to focus on is building a team that you trust, a team that is reliable, and will be held accountable for their performance.
To increase accountability and get the results you need, you have to define your role as leader. It’s your turf and your responsibility. One of your responsibilities is to create winning situations for your team, where winning is defined as meeting the business’ top priorities toward profit making.  Once these priorities are identified they should be clear, measurable and achievable if not easy.
To help your team win, you have to remove the obstacles that stand in their way. Have each team member identify three things they need to accomplish, have each set a goal and review. These suggestions may work or may not, but give the respect and practicality of seeing the plan from their point of view. Finally, reward results. Whatever stake you have in profit, make that stake relative to their performance and results.
But remember, one way or another you’ll ultimately be held just as accountable for your decisions and commitment as should your team, and this accountability will show in one simple result—can that business run without you, and can you sell it for gobs of money?
Here a few quick tips on how to build a strong organization and system to facilitate smoother operations, growth, success and win-win scenarios for you and your team:
Write down your top three objectives and how to measure them.
Write down the three most important ways for you to improve your leadership abilities.
Who needs to delegate better? How can you get him or her to do that?
Finally, here’s one last point on the importance of choosing a good team to grow the value and worth of the company. The more exclusive products or service you offer that no one else in your market has or can get, the more your company is worth! This means higher quality candidates, but as we saw before—more money means more energy, hence more or higher quality people—it depends on how far you want to go.
Now it’s your turn! What about your Millionaire Mind community? Do you have any quick, simple tips or suggestions on how to spot great potential team members, what to look for, signals that tell you to steer clear? Leadership suggestions? Share them below.
iStock_000004633733XSmall Tree

In developing strategies for millionaire success, there are crucial truths I couldn’t say enough: start with the end in mind; create a business to sell it, not run it indefinitely. Create systems that can be imitated and duplicated. Increase its value and worth. Sell high!

As redundant as it seems, those words never get tired to me. It’s part of my gospel.  I’m talking about creating a business with the full thought, knowledge and intention that you won’t be running it one day.How powerful is that intention? It’s the difference between being a poor business owner who gets by and a rich business owner who isn’t working anymore. He or she is doing exactly what he or she wants and intends to do.

Knowing your intention to sell your business will determine who you’re bringing in on your team and in what capacity you’re bringing them on. In order to systemize as well as grow value and worth, you have to have people who are going to help you achieve that effectively.

One of the most important areas to focus on is building a team that you trust, a team that is reliable, and will be held accountable for their performance.

To increase accountability and get the results you need, you have to define your role as leader. It’s your turf and your responsibility. One of your responsibilities is to create winning situations for your team, where winning is defined as meeting the business’ top priorities toward profit making.  Once these priorities are identified they should be clear, measurable and achievable if not easy.

To help your team win, you have to remove the obstacles that stand in their way. Have each team member identify three things they need to accomplish, have each set a goal and review. These suggestions may work or may not, but give the respect and practicality of seeing the plan from their point of view. Finally, reward results. Whatever stake you have in profit, make that stake relative to their performance and results.

But remember, one way or another you’ll ultimately be held just as accountable for your decisions and commitment as should your team, and this accountability will show in one simple result—can that business run without you, and can you sell it for gobs of money?

Here a few quick tips on how to build a strong organization and system to facilitate smoother operations, growth, success and win-win scenarios for you and your team:

1. Write down your top three objectives and how to measure them.

2. Write down the three most important ways for you to improve your leadership abilities.

3. Who needs to delegate better? How can you get him or her to do that?

Finally, here’s one last point on the importance of choosing a good team to grow the value and worth of the company. The more exclusive products or service you offer that no one else in your market has or can get, the more your company is worth! This means higher quality candidates, but as we saw before—more money means more energy, hence more or higher quality people—it depends on how far you want to go.

Now it’s your turn! What about your Millionaire Mind community? Do you have any quick, simple tips or suggestions on how to spot great potential team members, what to look for, signals that tell you to steer clear? Leadership suggestions? Share them below.

Go Hard or Go Home

Posted on by 17

iStock_000010769378XSmallgoHARD

I’ve seen that mantra in several different contexts, in particular to athletics or anything with a kind of “edge” to it. It comes off a little severe, like something those guys who pound each other in cages on Pay per View would say. Train hard, push hard, work hard, fight hard. Otherwise, what’s the point?

In general, people recognize the truth in the phrase ‘Go Hard or Go Home.’ If you’re going to do something, either be the absolute best you can be or don’t do it at all. Well, not everything. You can enjoy the heck out of playing golf, but you don’t have to be a PGA player to get something out of playing. You do it strictly because you want to, no reasons needed.

Consider, though, the difference between something you do for fun versus something you’re doing for your life, like working toward financial freedom, or living more healthy. Being an average golfer is fine, but there’s no such thing as an average millionaire. You’re either a millionaire or you’re not, and quite frankly there aren’t as many millionaires as there are wanna-be millionaires.

In other words, you can’t just “okay” yourself to riches. You’re either going to master wealth, or you’re not.

That’s where the warrior mentality is critical for the mind of the millionaire. The warrior always chooses to be a master. A warrior has to! There is no other option. For a real warrior, mastery can make the difference between life and death. Not that being anything less than rich equals being dead, but the same kind of must-mentality is … a must!

Mastery isn’t as much a skill as it is a matter of discipline, desire, and commitment to taking your life to another level. Most people are not living anywhere near their potential because they’re playing in the minor leagues. Major leaguers, no matter what job or industry, are making lots of money because they’re not afraid of themselves, the work, the responsibility, making the necessary changes, of playing big, and they believe they must play big in order to win big.

Does it take more work to play in the majors than in the minors? Not necessarily. It takes more practice for sure, but sometimes all it takes are minor adjustments to your thinking and how you apply your skills in order to make big changes.

If you want to master anything, you’ll have to do at least some things differently. Your standards must change, your thinking needs to change from “This is okay” to “I can do much better,” and you’ll need to find reasons why there’s room to get bigger rather than reasons why not.

Can you be a master at everything? No, nor does anybody need to be. You need, instead, to prioritize, choose and focus on those things you really want for yourself. Whatever you choose, know that you’re going to master it or not take it on. If you aren’t willing to see your potential and hold yourself to it, then you won’t master much.

You will always get what you’re willing to settle for. The hardest part isn’t actually becoming a master. It’s deciding that you’re going to be one in the first place, and not going backwards from that moment on.

Now it’s your turn!  Are you playing in the major leagues or still down at the minors?  If you are mastering your life, what was the turning point to get you to make the shift up?  If you are still in the minors, what will it take to get you to play bigger?  Share here—someone just might read what you write and be inspired to live a better life.

Don’t Feel Guilt For Getting What You Want

Posted on by 11

iStock_000005893466XSmallSuccess

I wanted to follow up on a couple of points I made in my last blog about negotiating, in particular being honest while waiting for the other person to state their offer first.

It may seem a little counter intuitive to be honest, to not be the one to put the cards on the table first, yet still get what you want. Some people believe being successful in a negotiation means being ruthless, dishonest, or otherwise not very nice. It also seems more intuitive to state upfront what it is you want instead of letting that opportunity develop (or the opposite—some people are deathly afraid to say what they want); and we have all had times where we trusted someone with our honesty and were taken advantage of.

So a lot of people become cynical or untrusting of themselves and others, and not get what they really want—all while staying in a place of frustration.

In business, in love, and in life, there are rules that govern how people respond to us, hence the kind of connections, relationships, resources, happiness, success, and wealth you can attract and build upon.   Here are the rules:

(1)   Create Affinity. Affinity generates closeness and likeability. People will usually give much more leeway to someone they like, therefore creating room for possibilities of getting what you want from them. You create affinity by focusing on what you have in common. Directly or indirectly, saying “I’m like you” is another way of saying “I like you.”

(2)   Use affirming statements. When negotiating, use affirming statements like “I understand,” “I see your point,” or “I agree with that.” That doesn’t mean you have to agree with every single thing the person is saying. If you do disagree, though, saying “but” negates everything the other person just said, even if your point is 100% true. Saying, “I see your point of view, and I was thinking …” lets the other person know that they were heard and understood, and opens a door for you to say your piece at the same time (Sounds like it makes sense, yes? You’d be amazed, though, how easy it is to “but” another person to death!).

 

(3)   Respect Yourself. When you show need for approval or you want something too badly, you forfeit your strength and lose all power of negotiation. That’s why it’s crucial to know what you want and not have any fear about expressing it at the appropriate time. The less fear you have, the less anxious you’ll come off, the more confident you become, and the other person is almost forced to reckon with your interests out of respect that you show for yourself.

You’re not only creating more affinity by giving them the opportunity to express themselves first, but you’re also strategically setting yourself up in a position of power, more able to counter their counters until the two of you can reach an amicable solution.

That’s why it’s true that not respecting yourself means not fully respecting others either. The best way is to connect your truth with their truth courageously yet thoughtfully. You give yourself that much more of an opportunity to get what you want while being honest with yourself and others.

Using these basics, there’s little reason to feel bad about getting what you want in any situation. Awareness of what makes relationships tick just makes good, honest, nicer people that much more exposed to love, wealth, success and fulfillment.

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