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July 10, 2017 7 minute read

Producers vs Consumers and their Mindset on Spending Money

ActionActivityBusiness

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Producers vs Consumers: How Each Spends Money

Successful people think and act different than most people. Successful people typically become successful by being producers, whereas most people spend most of their time as consumers.  The differences between producers and consumers extend to several areas, but one in particular is how each spends their money.  What is the main difference between producers vs consumers and their view on spending money?

The difference can ultimately shift the scales between success and failure in your business.  This article shows you the difference so you can be aware of your own habits and mindset on spending money.

 

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Producers vs Consumers

The difference between the way producers and consumers spend money is actually quite simple:

  • Producers spend money on investment
  • Consumers spend money on distraction

Producers view their money as a resource to help them accomplish goals, and they spend it accordingly.  They spend money on investment, and in ways that will allow the money to work FOR THEM.  Producers have a giving mindset with their money.

Consumers view their money as a resource to help distract them from their life, either consciously or subconsciously.  Rarely do they spend money in ways that allow it to work for them.  Consumers have a getting mindset with their money.

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It’s a Spectrum

There is no doubt that “producer vs consumer” is a spectrum, not an either-or, and we’re all in the middle somewhere at various points in our lives.  We are all some shade of purple.

producer-consumer

At certain points in our lives we lean more towards being a consumer, and other times we lean more towards being a producer. And that’s OK, but you must recognize where you are so that you can make adjustments if needed.  I’ve shared previous thoughts on being a producer vs a consumer before, and the reality is that successful people spend most of their time on the producer side of the spectrum.

The remainder of this article will help you determine where you are, and therefore, how to make some changes, if necessary.

How Consumers Spend Money

Here’s are some diesireable spend targets for consumers:

  1. Distractions: This normally means entertainment of some form. You spend money to forget about your situation, or at least take a mini vacation from that situation.  Gadgets and technology, entertainment services, the most comprehensive TV packages, frivolous shopping, gambling, drugs and alcohol, etc…These are very effective distraction tools, and consumers flock to them.
  2. Consumable Fads: These are products and services that attempt to provide “quick-fix” feelings or solutions. Fat-burner pills, drugs and alcohol again, get-rich-quick schemes…These are all consumable products and services that are meant to make the consumer THINK that their problems will be solved with little to no effort.
  3. Image: Spending money on things they THINK projects a certain image.  Here’s the reality… the purpose behind that projection is really just their own discontent.  Why project an image?  Because maybe if you can get somebody to believe it, then it must be true.

Consumers also tend to have a skewed vision of the concept of VALUE.  What has value to a consumer?  Essentially something that meets the criteria above.  The problem is that these items actually only have VALUE to the SELLER, NOT the BUYER.

How Producers Spend Money

Producers desire to spend money on really just one thing…and that one thing is INVESTMENT.  Producers also understand that investment normally takes time.  They do not buy into “quick-fix” items.  The return usually requires patience.

Here are the types of investment that producers use to reach their goals:

  1. Financial Investment:  This is spending money specifically to make money.  The purchase of stocks, bonds, real estate, or an investment into a business.  The purpose of this spending is financial return.
  2. Self Investment: There are 2 main categories here:
    • Personal and Professional Development: Books, classes, seminars, courses, personal coaching/mentoring…anything that can help them acquire the skills they need to achieve their goals.
    • Health: Producers realize that their personal HEALTH is an INVESTMENT, NOT a COST.  Producers generally invest in their health in the following ways:
      • Better quality food and/or nutritional supplementation: Better input equals better output.
      • Exercise: The gym membership, of course, but it also could mean the proper equipment such as running shoes or a bike (gotta have a bike to be a cyclist).
  3. Investment in others:  Producers see value in investing in others.  Sometimes that investment is not intended to produce a financial gain, but simply a relationship gain, or a social gain, or a time gain, or a quality gain.  As they invest in themselves, they invest in others.  Here are some ways:
    • Philanthropy: Giving to organizations and people in which they see value. This is distinct from financial investment in that there is no expected financial return on investment.
    • Service: This includes paying for service from people who can do it better than they can, or will save them valuable time.  The expected return is time or quality.  Producers understand that success requires a great team, even for a sole proprietorship.  It also includes rewarding those that give them good service.

You may be saying, “Now, wait a minute…Are you trying to tell me that producers don’t have fancy cars, and beach houses, and the finer things?

And are you trying to tell me that producers don’t have drug habits and overspend frivolously?”

Of course not.

It’s not as if producers never purchase luxuries, or distractions, or spend on something frivolous, or even get themselves into trouble.  We’re talking about the bulk of the money that is spent when they are in “producer mode”.  That’s an important distinction.

More Blue than Red

And one quick aside about when you are consumer mode…The key to sustainability is to be a consumer WITHIN your means.  We all have different means, so you can’t compare yourself to others.  That’s one of the huge problems that we all have (myself included).  It’s so hard, yet so critical.

Resource utilization is a key skill to be successful.  Money is simply one of your resources, like time and people and raw materials.  It’s likely that if you want to accomplish the vision for your life, you’re going to want to spend most of your time on the producer side of the spectrum…More blue than red!

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June 28, 2017 8 minute read

Are you an Amateur or a Pro? How to be a Pro…

ActionActivityMindset

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Are you an Amateur or a Pro?

Are you struggling with meeting your goals or simply getting stuff done?  Have you ever looked at others: a friend, a colleague, someone “famous” in your field, and wonder why they are having success and you aren’t?   One reason may simply be that the other person treats their work like a professional, and you are treating yours like an amateur.  You may have to learn how to be a pro.  In fact, the mindset and action of treating your work like a professional may be the single biggest factor in helping you get to where you want to be.

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Being a Professional has Nothing to do with Money

The distinction between pro and amateur is not based on whether you are getting paid or not.  You may be getting paid, or you may not, but that is irrelevant.  The distinction lies in the mindset and action you bring to your endeavor.

Being a pro starts with proper mindset.  Its a mindset that requires and begs for dedication to your vision and your work.  Its a mindset that knows that beating the Resistance is about consistency and taking action.  Its a mindset that understands the principles of the Slight Edge and the Compound Effect.  Its a mindset that prioritizes correctly.

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Amateur vs Pro

Because of my own experience and journey, I am a big believer in awareness, and that awareness is usually the first step that leads to the “Aha!” moment. It’s usually the set of arms that are swinging the sledgehammer at our old selves. With that in mind, I want to help you become aware of Amateur vs Professional behavior.  Here are some differences between the two.  Maybe some of these will resonate with you.

  • The amateur works at something when its convenient…Whereas, the pro prioritizes and commits consistent time to do the work, even when its very inconvenient.
  • The amateur works at it when they feel inspired…Whereas, the pro works at it even when they have no inspiration.  They continue to take the action, and they realize the inspiration comes through the action.
  • The amateur invests in the project with spare money…Whereas, the pro prioritizes the required financial investment over other things in their life.
  • The amateur rarely takes action on improvement or learning and rationalizes why he/she cannot…Whereas, the pro realizes that self improvement, learning, and skill development are critical.
  • The amateur is OK with letting the Resistance and the fear win sometimes…Whereas, the pro recognizes the Resistance and its clouds of doom, and works at overcoming it.
  • The amateur is non-committal and wandering…Whereas, the pro is definitive and purposeful.

How to Be a PRO

Now you are aware.  Actually, you were likely already aware, but now you have been explicitly reminded and called to the carpet.  What’s next?  How do actually become a pro?  What are the skills or actions necessary to be a pro?  Here are 5 great ones with which you can start:

1. Make a Decision

You must commit to the vision, and in order to do that, you must DECIDE to make that commitment.  What is it that you WANT to become a pro at?  Or…What is it that you NEED to become a pro at?  Make that decision.

2. Prioritize Your Life

You MUST make your vision a PRIORITY, and then prioritize your resources accordingly. This means specifically prioritizing your:

  • Time: Spend your time on important things.  Simply say no to things that don’t make the priority list.
  • Money: You may have to forgo other shiny things in order to prioritize your money properly.
  • Mind: You must stay focused. There is only so much brain effort that you can give, so make sure you are giving your vision the right amount of brain power.

3. Invest

Invest in yourself, things, experiences, and others that are involved in your journey.  It is critical that you become the best that you can be at whatever it is that is required for your vision.  You must learn the skills you need to be a pro at your work.  Invest in coursework, or a coach, or an event, or inventory, or the right food, or the right partners, etc.  INVEST according to where you WANT to BE, not according to where you are presently.

4. Commit to Daily Routine Based on Actions (Not Results)

Get yourself a daily routine (here’s my morning routine).  One key to effective daily work planning is to ensure that your task list is filled with things TO DO, not the results.  The intended results have been worked out previously and show up in the plan.  They are the purpose of the plan.  The daily work schedule focuses on the things you need to do today, and everyday, to reach the goals.  You make a routine and commit to it everyday.  It’s the Slight Edge and Compound Effect in action.  Here are some examples:

  1. If you are working on a fitness or health goal, you don’t focus on “lose 3 pounds today”.  Instead you focus on things like, “1) Prepare my lunch, snack, and nutrition supplements for the day, 2) 60 minute workout at lunch time, 3) Drink 8 glasses of water, etc…”
  2. If you are writing a book, you don’t focus on how much final content you get done in a day.  Instead you focus on setting a time to sit down and write, and a length of time at which you will work at it.  Maybe the “length of time” is really “number of pages”, but if so that number of pages is simply stuff you’ve written.  You don’t burden yourself with ensuring it’s final copy worthy.
  3. If you are working on your business, you don’t focus your daily plan on “Acquire 10 new customers today”.  You can only control how much work you do, not who will respond favorably, so instead you focus on the actions that lead to acquiring the new customers.  Maybe that’s making phone calls with new leads and following up with other people with whom you’ve already spoken.  So your daily plan would include things like: “1) From 10-11am: Call 20 new leads, 2) From 11-11:30, follow up with 10 potential customers”.

5. Wake Up Everyday With Purpose, Kick it in the Teeth, and Execute the Plan

Go do it! And most importantly, go do it on the days that you don’t want to!

Conclusion

One key to making progress in your business and your life will be understanding the difference between being an amateur vs a pro, and determining exactly how to be a pro for your endeavor.  To summarize some of the areas in which you can learn to be a pro:

  • Make a decision to be a pro
  • Prioritize your life accordingly
  • Invest properly
  • Commit to a daily routine
  • Wake up every day with purpose and execute the plan

Maybe you’re not ready to jump in with both feet yet, and that’s OK. Maybe a little training is in order.  Here’s something concrete you can do to help train your mind (and body) to become a professional. This is not likely to be THE thing that you need for your particular vision, but it’s an outstanding training tool. Reach out to me on Facebook or email and I would love to add you to our group!

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June 27, 2017 11 minute read

4 Tips to Help You Reach Your Potential

MindsetPurposeSuccess

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4 Tips to Help You Reach Your Potential

You either have a vision for your life, or you are actively trying to work it out. That’s why you are reading this article. You also likely know that to achieve that vision, that you must find a way to reach your potential.  Those that are operating at or close to their potential are not only usually successful in achieving their vision, but they are very happy as well.

But potential untapped, is just that…potential.  As we get older especially, it seems to get easier to let this potential go.  To let it fade away into the back of our mind and start to settle.  It’s time to reverse that.  No matter if you are 18, or 40, or 70…It’s never too late to start your journey.

This post pulls some wisdom on reaching your potential from John C Maxwell’s “Failing Forward”.

 

 

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Four Steps

Here are four of the steps that he gives to reach your potential that most resonate with me.  One or all of these may be just the thing you need to push you in the right direction:

  1. See Yourself Clearly
  2. Admit Your Flaws Honestly
  3. Discover Your Strengths
  4. Build on Those Strengths Passionately

Now let’s look at each of these in a little more detail.

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See Yourself Clearly

The first step to reach your potential is to realize that all of us have both good and bad parts to us. None of us are all good or all bad, and we are not likely as good or as bad as we sometimes start to think.  Leaning too far in either direction is troublesome, but it seems most of our problems lie in starting to think too negatively about ourselves.  Find those parts of you that are “good”, and spend some time with them.

To start moving towards becoming the best version of yourself, you must start with an accurate picture of where you are today.    Sometimes it’s helpful to see yourself as others do, sometimes its hurtful.  Those that know you best can help you with this.  When receiving honest feedback, good or bad, from those that are qualified, it can help tune us to what we don’t need to worry about, and need to work on.

It’s best to only take advice from those that are closest to you, because sometimes we focus too much on what someone that doesn’t really know us says or thinks.  That’s certainly happened to me.  This can play into our fear if its inaccurately negative, or keep us from growing if its inaccurately positive.

You must seek to see YOURSELF clearly.  Here’s a quote I love from Jodi Picoult:

“When you’re different, sometimes you don’t see the millions of people who accept you for what you are. All you notice is the person who doesn’t.”

Our minds seem tuned to the things that stand out, and in a case like this, maybe that’s not reality.

Admit Your Flaws Honestly

This can be very uncomfortable, but is critical.  There are two reasons why:

  1. Maybe you’re not proud of who you’ve been or something you did.  Healing is needed, and owning it is the first step.
  2. It also means you have to admit your weaknesses.  It’s OK, none of us are good at everything.

Need to Heal

Many times, simply admitting to yourself that you are not proud of <whatever it was from the past>, helps start the healing process.  If we carry too much baggage around, its almost impossible to move forward.  Its literally like baggage that is physically too heavy. The great news is that you can start fresh today!  Regardless of what it is you are not proud of, you can start on the path to the new you today.  To do so, own up to it, and commit yourself to a new path.  The first step is to own it.

Weaknesses

Maybe you’re not good at details, or remembering names, or understanding the big picture, or generating leads, or fielding ground balls, or keeping yourself organized, or social media, or talking to people, or <whatever>….. Regardless, step 1 is to admit them.

To be operating at or near your potential, you are actually going to focus on and maximize your strengths (see next section), but there are likely to be some things that you aren’t personally good at that will require your attention to be successful.  Some of these are minor, and some may be a bit more important.  But the first the step is to admit to yourself what they are. Then you make an assessment of those flaws, and determine that if any are important for moving you forward.  For the ones that are, you have to solve the problem.  If these flaws are not critical to moving your forward, then ignore them.

For the flaws that do require attention, you can solve the problem in 2 ways:

  1. Work on getting better at it yourself.  This may simply mean you have to get yourself to a “proficient” level, not necessarily an expert level.  For example, lets assume you aren’t good at remembering names.  Find some tricks or tips on the internet (like here and here), and take the time to practice and find the ones that work for you. Maybe you’ll never remember everybody’s name, but you can certainly get good enough at it that you won’t be embarrassed at a party, or during business meetings, or at the next family reunion.
  2. Find someone who can do it for you. Of course, this only works for stuff that can actually be outsourced and you can afford (“afford” is an exercise in tradeoff of skill vs time vs money).  For example, let’s assume that you are not good at creating the logo, graphics, and marketing images you need for your business.  You can keep struggling with it, but you you may never arrive at a “good” set of images, and you will have spent countless hours on it, therefore wasting time that could have been spent on maximizing your strengths.  You need to find someone who can do it for you.  You can look for someone locally so you can speak face to face and describe your desires, or now with internet globalization, there are several low cost solutions that provide all you need.

Discover Your Strengths

“If your senses are numbed with delusion and denial, you will stop looking for these true strengths and wind up living a second-rate version of someone’s life rather than a worldclass version of your own”

– Donald O. Clifton, Now, Discover Your Strengths

Most success experts agree that the real KEY to REACHING your POTENTIAL is to discover what you are both:

  • Good at
  • Love doing

The uniqueness that you bring to this world lies at the intersection of those two, and understanding that uniqueness is the magic to reaching your potential.  Some of you already know what those strengths are. For you, stop wasting time and start acting.  Get on it…today!  Start building on those strengths passionately (see next section).

For many more, you may not even be sure what your strengths are.  So that is your #1 priority.  Today, tomorrow, next week…however long it takes.  And know this, the strengths on which you love to work may change over time, and that’s OK.  You are looking for the strengths on which you can start to build, even if a year or more from now you find that your focus has changed a bit since you first started.  Unless you pick a direction and start moving in it, you never get out of the starting blocks.

How do you find your strengths?  Ultimately, its up to you, but here are some ways to get you started:

  • Look inside yourself.  OK, maybe this seems a bit simplistic, and quite possibly a frustrating suggestion. Ultimately, your own version of yourself is what you bring to this world.
  • Ask those who are closest to you.  This may be friends and family, but it may also be work colleagues.  Just a simple question asking them what they think you are good at.
  • Ask those who don’t know you very well.  Sometimes people with whom we have a casual acquaintance or just met can be very objectively observant.  It may be worth the discussion.  For example, if someone has commented/liked/shared your social media post, reach out that person and ask them what they liked about it or why they shared.  Answers to these questions can provide valuable insight into your strengths.
  • Participate in a formal process.  Attend a workshop, seminar, or use the Gallup Strength Finder tool.  Many times local organizations like Chambers of Commerce host such events.  Also, if you work in a corporate environment, you may have access to these tools and events.  Take advantage of it.
  • Find some other resources on the internet.   Blogs can be a great source of such information because many people can give you similar suggestions, but each have their own take.  Sometimes different voices, even if saying the same thing, can be just what you need to open your mind.

Build on those Strengths Passionately

Once you know your strengths, go maximize them!  Build on those strengths passionately and with enthusiasm and get even better.  A caution…you must understand that this may indeed still be “work.”  Success rarely comes as a result of the easy path, and even though these are your strengths, it doesn’t mean that you are naturally and easily already great at them.  But you have the potential to be great, and that’s the point.

 

Conclusion

Reaching your potential is paramount to realizing the vision you have for your life. It’s critical to continue to become the best version of yourself, because that is the gift you bring to this world.  Here are 4 tips for helping you get there:

  1. See Yourself Clearly
  2. Admit Your Flaws Honestly
  3. Discover Your Strengths
  4. Build on Those Strengths Passionately

You NEED to KNOW this:  Inside you, there is heaping, behemoth piles of potential.  It’s there, you know it, I know it, and God knows it.  You have been created uniquely, and individually designed with special gifts and talents to unleash that potential that only you can in this world.  And we need you to do so.  This world will be a better place for it.

I hope this helped you in some way, and if so, please comment below, share it with others, and please connect with me.  I would love to hear your thoughts and the experiences you’ve had as well.

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June 13, 2017 9 minute read

What is Residual Income, and Why You Need It

ActionActivityBusiness

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What is Residual Income and Why You Need It

Have you ever wondered why the expression, “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer” seems so true, especially today?  Maybe you’ve said it yourself in a voice dripping with disgust at the water cooler with a coworker.  Maybe you’ve used it to justify to yourself why you are where you are financially.  Maybe you’ve even “taught” it to your children as to why the world is unfair.

But the reality is that the rich get richer because they’ve simply figured out the best way to make money…residual income.

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The Way Wealthy People Make Money

Does Michael Jordan still play basketball?  No.  Is Bill Gates still working at Microsoft?  Nope.  Do Richard Branson or Warren Buffett actually run the day-to-day operations in the 100’s of companies that they own?  Not a chance.  But they are still generating more wealth every day.

The rich focus on a different way to earn money as compared to most people.

So what do they do?

They find and build sources of residual income.  Residual income is THE main way that wealthy people make their money, and continue to “get richer”, at least in the long term.

So what is it?  Let’s start with what it is NOT.

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Active or Linear Income

Active income is the MOST common type of income.  It’s income that’s generated by working.  Investopedia defines Active (or Linear) income as follows:

Active income is income for which services have been performed. This includes wages, tips, salaries, commissions and income from businesses in which there is material participation.

Some examples of Active income:

  • Your job as an employee (regardless of whether you are paid hourly or salary)
  • Your business if it depends upon on you to do the work, i.e., if you take time off, there will be no income.  For example:
    • You own a plumbing business, and you are the plumber out on calls
    • You own a retail location, and you manage the store and its staff
  • Consulting or contracting work

You do work, you get paid for that work directly.  If you stop doing the work, the income stops.  Another way to think of it is you are trading your hours for dollars.

 

Residual, Passive, and Passive Residual Income

To be honest, its a bit simplistic and not entirely accurate to define “residual”, “passive”, and “passive residual” income as the same thing.  I am lumping them together here for simplicity, but there are real distinctions. The important concept is that this type (or types) of income is very different from active income.  This is the type of income that is the key to the wealthy’s kingdom.

Here’s the essence of residual (or passive, or passive residual) income:

Income that is paid to you AFTER your work is complete, or comes from a source in which you are NOT actively involved.  It is referred to as residual because this income can keep coming, week after week, month after month, year after year.  It is referred to as passive or passive residual because this income can keep coming residually with little to no extra work from you.

Some examples of residual income:

  • Dividends/interest/gains made on financial investments
  • Network marketing, where you enroll customers and recruit other representatives on which you earn commissions on total sales volumes of your organization each week/month/year
  • Sales and royalties on a product or intellectual property that you have created, such as a book, or music, or software application, etc.  You have done the work up front (ie, created the product), and are now receving payments for as long as sales are still active.
  • Online businesses such as membership sites or courses, where customers continue to pay regularly or sales occur via an automated process.
  • Real estate, and most specifically residential or commercial real estate that generate rental/lease income. You have a building and a tenant pays you monthly for use of that building. Flipping a property is NOT residual, and its only passive if you literally took no part in its rehab or resale.

Residual income is about using leverage.  Leveraging work you’ve already done, or work that others are doing on your behalf, either directly or indirectly.  It’s getting paid for work you’ve either done in the past, or contribute to only indirectly.  If you stop working, the income keeps coming!

 

Why Residual Income is The Key to Freedom

If Michael Jordan, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, or Warren Buffet literally stopped doing any kind of work today and parked their beach chair in the sand, they would still be making money.  That is because they’ve created sources of residual income.

Think about your bills and expenses.  They are residual. They keep coming and won’t stop.  When you continue to build sources of residual income, then at some point that income overtakes the residual expenses.  And when that happens…BOOM!  Freedom…

How You Can Get Started Building Residual Income

You know you need residual income, so how can you practically start to build it as a “regular” person?  You do have to understand that any method for building residual income will require hard work and effort.  But its the results of those efforts that are different for residual income sources as opposed to active income sources.  Here are a few ways that “regular” people can get started:

  1. Fund your retirement account and other investements.  Your retirement account and investment portfolio is indeed a source of residual income once you start drawing upon it.  This is the easiest to understand and probably the main way for most active income earners to generate residual income…eventually.  Be warned, for you to acheive financial freedom solely from your retirement and investment accounts, it takes a LONG time, is subject to the volatility of market, and you will need a nut that is greater than 7 figures.
  2. Join a network marketing company.  Network marketing opportunities have a very low cost to join, usually provide products or services that are consumable and result in recurring payments from customers, and they allow you to leverage the team that you build by earning residual commissions on the sales of the people in your team.  Be warned, building a network marketing team is hard work.
  3. Create something like an online course or write a book.  Once you have created that product, you can build the sytem around it to generate and automate sales.  Be warned, just because you create something, doesn’t mean somebody will buy it.  There can be a ton of work that is required to generate sales.
  4. Purchase Real Estate for Rental Income. Be warned, purchasing real estate takes real money, requires ongoing effort, typically requires significant holdings, and can be subject to the volatility of the market.

I have personal experience with all four these, and I’m grateful for each one.  I’ve been funding my traditional retirement from the day I started in my corporate career.  I own rental property (currently divesting of all of my holdings), have built an online course, and am building a network marketing team.

Which is the best type ?  It definitely depends on your individual sitatuation, but if you are mid-career or later, then starting to invest in your retirement now is NOT likely to get you where you need to go by itself.  If you don’t have a chunk of liquid assets laying around, you cannot likely get into the real estate game.  You may simply have NO interest or ability in creating some product.  In my opinion, network marketing is the MOST accessible for all people, given low cost of entry and a skillset that is very learnable.  However, that doesn’t mean its for all people either.  You do need to work hard and grow a thick skin.

Conclusion

Residual income is the key to getting out of the rat race.  When you figure out how to start generating income when you aren’t working, life starts moving in a VERY good direction.  Success, whatever that means to you, requires hard work.  Everybody (or just about everybody) who is successful has worked hard.  So why not work hard on something that will create residual income?

 

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May 26, 2017 8 minute read

Should I Burn the Ships?

Leadership

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Should I Burn the Ships?

This is quite possibly one of THE most polarizing questions when it comes to leadership…of YOURSELF and others.  Burning the Ships is the black-and-white, you-have-no-other-options, there-is-no-plan-B, you’ve-got-to-succeed-to-eat approach.  I’ve worked with and for leaders who have had this philosophy, and I’ve also worked with very successful leaders who always have a Plan B, or have an incremental approach.  To be honest, this is something I have personally been struggling with, for many reasons.

In here we attempt to answer questions like:

  • Do you quit your job?
  • Do you sign up for the Ironman Triathlon?
  • Do you book one-way travel across the world?

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The Story Behind Burning the Ships

The story goes like this: In the year 1519, Hernán Cortés arrived in Veracruz with just a few hundred men. In order to send a clear message to his men, he destroyed all of the ships that brought them (there seems to be some discrepancy on whether he burned them or scuttled them). The message to his men was very clear: There is no turning back!  We will either succeed or die trying.

Two years later he succeeded in his conquest of the Aztec empire.

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The Case for Burning the Ships

Why is this philosophy so powerful?

Retreat is easy when you have other options.

Or, here’s a slight variation:

Its easy to let yourself off the hook if you have other options.

The message is so simple and clear and our mind LOVES simple and clear.  If you Burn the Ships, you’ve reduced your options to exactly 2:  succeed or fail.  There are no “other” options to retreat to, or fall back upon.  The goal is clear, the mindset is clear, there are no other ways to think.  If you have Plan B, or you are saying to yourself, “Well, if this doesn’t work, I always have _________”, then your subconscious knows that if it gets too hard, you can quit.

From a leadership standpoint, much of what motivates a team is knowing that their leader believes 100% in the direction.  If there is unwavering belief by the leader (publicly, at least), then the team tends to focus only on making the success outcome a reality.  And as with your own subconscious, the collective mindset knows that just because it gets hard, does not mean its ok to quit.

 

An Alternate Approach: Building the Ladder

There are many successful people and leaders that apply the approach of  “Building the Ladder” instead of “Burning the Ships”.  What does this mean?  Building the Ladder refers to the process of taking incremental steps in order to allow you to continue to move forward in a more controlled fashion.  It also means that sometimes there is a plan B, because plan A is something you are just testing.  You build the ladder and establish your handhold on each rung as you move up it.  Each rung provides a progression in the positive direction. Sometimes you actually move back down (or sideways) a bit, but overall you are moving up.  Maybe those rungs are skills development, or validating your business ideas, or financial gain, or self belief.

This may actually be a better fit for you in many circumstances, and actually provide a better chance of success.  One reason is:

Reducing your options to just 2 actually can discourage you from getting started, and getting started is the #1 reason you will have any success at all.

Building the Ladder encourages you to get started because there may be more than one option.  For example, if your goal is to be full time owning apartments, spending all of your life savings on some apartments with zero experience may lead you to financial collapse. That’s a scary, and very real possibility.  However, if you can get started by just carving out a portion of your savings to make a purchase and learn the business, then that’s a much more manageable mindset and skill development step to take.

Here’s another reason that Building the Ladder may be a better strategy:

You afford yourself the ability to change directions, large or small, and that change of direction may turn out to be the best path.

Maybe going in to your real estate business you aren’t totally sure of the direction that you will take.  So you start on the apartment path, but you know that other opportunities in real estate may lead you down a different path which may be something that you love more and provides more success.

Some Ways to Test Burning the Ships vs Building The Ladder

Which is best for you?  It likely depends on both your circumstances and your mindset.  Here are just a couple ways to test which approach is best for you.

Your Health

Maybe you’ve been given some sobering test results, or maybe you don’t like what’s looking back at you in the mirror, or maybe you just want to get yourself back to the activity levels of your early-20’s self.  Applying the “Burn the Ships” philosophy could look like this:

  • Sign up for a race or event and pay the money
  • Commit to a vegan lifestyle and Purge your household of EVERYTHING else
  • Post a video on social media announcing to the world your intention of completing the race (or whatever your goal is)

“Building the Ladder” could like this:

  • Start training for a race without signing up
  • Start with eating vegetarian for 2 weeks, or make a few important changes to your current diet
  • Join a running club, or hire a personal trainer, or join a support group

Your Career

You’re job is killing you.  The corporate job is a meaningless grind, you are missing your kids’ activities, you are stressed out, or your relationship with your partner is suffering.  Applying the “Burn the Ships” approach simply means: QUIT the JOB! Now you’re in “need to eat” mode, and you have no choice but to figure out how to bring cash flow into the house.  That “need to eat” mindset is a powerful motivator.

But Building the Ladder could look like this:

  • Start something on the side: join a network marketing company, or start investing in real estate, or take on some consulting work, etc
  • Start looking for some other employer
  • Start taking classes or coursework in another area

 

Should You Burn the Ships or Build the Bridge?

Burning the ships is a motivational strategy, both for yourself and for a team.  Whether or not its the right strategy can only be answered by you because it will depend upon your own situation and mindset.

Start with determining what is the limiting resource in your ability to accomplish your goals?  Is it motivation, fear, comfort, or focus?  If so, then Burning the Ships may be the perfect approach.  However, if your limiting resource is something else, such as finances, direction, or skills, then maybe Building the Ladder is a better approach.

Regardless, the key to having the SUCCESS you desire is that you have to be ALL IN.  There will be zero success unless you are committed in a very real way to your goal.  Only you can decide whether you’re mindset makeup allows you to be committed on the same level as if you had no other option.  There are definitely both kinds of people and both kinds of situations.

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May 19, 2017 5 minute read

First Step to Overcoming Fear and Resistance (Revised)

ActionActivityMindset

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First Step to Overcoming Fear and Resistance

(Note: This is a revised repost of my very first post on johnmaconline.com.  I’ve learned so much about how to structure and create a post that I thought it would be interesting and fun to redo this one with what I know now.  I was right.  I’ve not revised the content at all, other than adding a couple of sentences to the conclusion and changing just a few words here and there to fit into the new structure)

Recently I was able to meet in person and spend some quality 1-on-1 time with a virtual mentor of mine whom I’ve been following and learning from for quite a while now.  It was a “can-opener to the mind” kind of a discussion, and I am extremely grateful.  So many nuggets of wisdom came out of that, that it’s likely to lead to blog posts for weeks!  However, with this post, I want to share the main takeaway for me.

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What is that first step?

Just start doing it.

To overcome your fear or resistance (which is a form of fear), you must just start doing the things of which you are afraid.  You see, the overcoming is in the action.  It’s in the doing.  Never mind if the circumstances aren’t perfect, or you aren’t 100% ready, or “I just need to wait until…”  Just start doing it, and then keep doing it.

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By doing the things that are causing the resistance, the hesitation, the fear; we reprogram our mind.  The emotional part of our mind follows our actions, so that is how we reprogram.  How many times have you found yourself in a position where you aren’t happy (career, relationship, health, etc), but because it’s familiar, you are hesitant to change it.  That’s your mind following your actions.  You haven’t made a change to the situation, therefore, your mind (I mean the emotional part of your mind) believes the situation is fine and finds solace in the inertia.  But we can break out of it by simply taking action.  I’m not talking about rash action, nor is this license to indulge your narcissistic dalliances.  I’m talking about taking action on a legitimate change in order to improve yourself, improve your family, improve your friends…You know the difference.

What Action Have I Taken to Overcome My Fear?

So what have I done?  Well, my first action is right here.  It’s this post, and its this video below.  This is my first action, and although I’m dreading the “Publish” button, I’m gonna do it anyway.  Because this is the start.  Without the “Publish”, there is no change.

  • When this post is first published, will my website look the way I always envisioned? No.
  • Am I content with the About Me. Not likely.  
  • Do I have all of my ducks in a row with the backend web site stuff?  Of course not.

But here it is.

Conclusion

Here’s the magic:  I now know (and proved to myself over the last year) that the first step leads to the second step, and before you know it, you’re on the path.  You’re taking the action, and the fear, although maybe still present, is not controlling you.  The fear was and is your guide, and then you overcome it by taking action, which starts with the first step.

My main goal with this blog is to add value to your life in some way and get feedback so I can learn from you as well.  I want to hear from you…be it good, bad, or otherwise.  Please connect with me on social media.  You can find links at the bottom of the About Me page.  I’d love to hear from you!

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May 16, 2017 9 minute read

My Morning Routine To Kickstart a Successful Day

ActionActivityProductivity

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A Successful Day Starts Off Correctly

Mornings…you either love them or hate them, and maybe that’s even changed over time.  There is no doubt that for me personally, getting a handle on how I start my day has been one of the biggest factors in creating more successful days. In this article I describe my personal morning routine.
 
Some days certainly don’t end up successful. Nor do all days go according to plan. But it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t start out going in the right direction.  If you don’t plan for the day to be successful, rarely will it be.  This morning routine puts you in the proper mental and physical state to have a great day.

 

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The Elements of My Morning Routine

Here are the basic elements of my morning routine to start out the day on a path to success.  This routine takes about 45 – 60 minutes.

  1. Wake up intentionally
  2. 20+ Oz of water
  3. Personal development – Priming the Positivity
  4. Make the schedule and list for the day
  5. Breakfast and start working

These are the 5 things I do every (successful) morning, and I do 1-4 before I look at any real work or communicate with anybody.  The next sections provide some more depth on each of these elements.

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Wake Up Intentionally

Find your time, and get up at that time. You are different than others, have a different schedule, and have different needs.

Sometimes it requires an alarm clock, sometimes it doesn’t, but the key is: don’t fight with that alarm clock! The more you fight with your alarm clock, hitting the snooze button, resetting the time in the morning, you’re sabotaging your mental preparation for the day.

There is an important connection between waking up intentionally and your mental preparation for the day.  Waking up at the last possible second, without giving yourself time for personal development and mental preparation, starts you off in a harried and unprepared state.

Let’s say you’re a parent and you get up when your kids do to try to get them ready for school. Now you’re scrambling around just as much as they are to get ready and off.  You need to be on top of your game for them just as much for you.  Getting up a bit earlier and getting yourself mentally prepared makes the whole day run smoother.

The point of waking up intentionally is to start your day with YOU in control. Don’t let the alarm clock control you. Get yourself up and moving intentionally at a particular time. That’s number one.

20+ Oz of Water

There’s not much else to describe here.  Your physical needs, and the benefits of drinking a heavy dose of water when you first get out of bed are well documented (here’s one, and another, and some more….you get the point).  I started this practice because of these types of articles, but I continue this every day because I actually feel the benefits personally. I feel mentally sharper and physically better when I do this.

Why 20 oz?  Well, the experts say somewhere between 16 and 32 oz is correct, but I use 20 oz because that’s the size of my blender bottle that I have with me all day, and that 20 oz has been the right amount for me to feel the benefits.  Fill ‘er up, chug ‘er down.

Personal Development – Priming the Positivity

This next part has become my favorite part of the working day.  It’s how I mentally prepare myself for the day, and its’ been a literal revelation for me. No matter what the day has in store, this is the piece that allows me to face it head on.  Here’s what I do:

  • 10-20 minutes of personal development reading
  • 10 minutes intentional gratitude, prayer, and affirmations

Here’s what I read every morning:

The Bible

I read approximately 1 chapter each morning.  Sometimes a bit more or less depending on the context.  Maybe this takes 10 minutes or even less.

Personal or Skill Development Book

This is how I’ve built up this list.  It’s how I strengthen my skill set, up my self belief, get new ideas, cast vision, spend time with the right people, and generally just get better.  These resources have single-handedly changed my trajectory.

Intentional Gratitude

I also spend about 10 minutes of time in prayer and being intentional about gratitude.  Sometimes I do this before I start to read, or sometimes after.  Maybe prayer is not your thing, but meditation could be. It’s a time of reflection. It’s a time of thought. It’s a time to be intentional about the gifts and blessings in your life.  I actually write down 3 things I am grateful for that day.

Make the Schedule and List

Next I think about the day ahead and what has to be done.  There are 3 elements to how I plan the day:

  1. What is my #1 priority for the day?  Even if nothing else gets done or worked on, I MUST work on this.
  2. When can I schedule my Focus Periods (and workout) for the Day? I look at my calendar for the day, and there are usually certain periods that are already scheduled (i.e., meetings, appointments, etc).  Then I fit my 2-3, 30-90 minute focus periods in, as well as determining when I will get my workout in.  If the meeting/appointment schedule doesn’t seem to allow this, I literally start changing stuff.  I decline and propose new times for meetings or move appointments.  I control my time, not “them.”  I work best first thing in the morning (100% due to this morning routine I’m describing), so usually my first focus period starts right away.
  3. What are my focus and backlog tasks for the day?  I split my task list into 2 columns: Focus and Backlog. Tasks that require thought, creation, focus, or have the highest of priorities (i.e., writing, software development, reaching out to prospects, relationship building, etc) must be done during focus periods without distractions.  The backlog stuff may be little things, such as “call Dentist”, or they may be focus-requiring tasks that aren’t high enough on the priority list to make it to the Focus Period on this particular day. Backlog tasks are stuff that I try to get to during the non-focus periods of the day.  These lists are roughly in priority order.  Focusing on my priorities ensures that I am working on and accomplishing the right tasks.

Breakfast and Start Working

Then its time for breakfast and to get started on the day of work.  Maybe you don’t eat breakfast, and that’s ok.  Sometimes, by the end of this 45 – 60 minutes, I’m hungry, so I eat.  Other days, I’m not yet hungry, so I hold off on eating for a little while and dive right into work.   I eat basically 3 different things, and that’s it:

  • Highest of quality protein shake (here are some great recipes) – 40% of the mornings
  • Eggs (with or without veggies, meat, or potatoes) – 40% of the mornings
  • Sometimes both 🙂 – 10% of the mornings

I always take my AM Pack of my customized vitamins with my breakfast.

Some Things I’m Still Tweaking

Here are a few things I am still working on:

  • Phone: I NEVER have my phone next to my bed, nor even in the same room (unless I’m traveling and need it as an alarm clock).  But, I am still trying to figure out if its helpful or harmful to look at it before, during, or after the routine I’ve described above.
  • Wakeup Time: The time that I get up is also somewhat varied.  I always pick a time the night before (i.e., to be intentional), but it varies between 5:30 and 6:30am.  I’m testing whether it makes a difference. I have more focus time if I get up at 5:30, and more time before the bustle of the morning in the house, but sometimes that extra sleep is glorious and required to be focused.
  • Push-ups: I personally love to get my full-on workout done in the middle of the day, roughly lunch time (I describe why here).  But in addition to my “real” workout, I also do at least 100 push-ups every day.  Sometimes I do these first thing in the morning during this routine, and sometimes not.  I haven’t come to a conclusion yet if doing them during my morning routine makes a difference.

Summary

Now you know how I start every workday off to point it in the direction of success.  To recap, here are the basic elements:

  1. Wake up intentionally
  2. 20+ Oz of water
  3. Personal development – Priming the Positivity
  4. Make the schedule and list for the day
  5. Breakfast and start working

Maybe these aren’t the exact right elements for you, but the point is to figure out what those elements are and commit to them every day. I invite you to try my routine, and send me feedback or comment below as to what makes up your morning routine.  The more we converse, the better we can serve.

If you found this article helpful, please share this with your network or someone whom you think may benefit from it.

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May 3, 2017 5 minute read

What Would You Do If You Couldn’t Fail?

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What Would You Do If You Couldn’t Fail?

Let’s play a game.  It’s called: “What would you do if you couldn’t fail?”

Great question and great game, right?  Especially for the dreamers among us (or the dreamer-curious amount us)!

The Lottery Game

Sometimes people play a form of this game, but they do it in the context of winning the lottery:

  • IF I won the lottery, what would I do?
  • IF I won the lottery, would I quit my job tomorrow?
  • IF I won the lottery, what would I buy?
  • IF I won the lottery, where would I vacation?
  • IF I won the lottery, who would I become?

The thought process is attached to winning the lottery because people assume the thing that is holding them back is money.  Certainly money may play a role in why they are not doing what they are dreaming of, but why does one have to win the lottery to obtain the required finances?  The problem with this form of the game is that you assume that you can NEVER do, have, or be what you dream of UNLESS you win the lottery, which is essentially impossible and completely random.

If you believe that what holds you back is money, and the only way to get the money you need is to hit a completely random lottery, then there is a good chance that those thoughts are indeed only wishes.  You are too stuck on reality and practicality to connect with it emotionally.

But…what if a slight mental shift with this game could actually put you on the path of making these dreams come true?

The Right Way to Play the Game

Play the game WITHOUT the lottery contingency!  Simply ask yourself, “What would I do if I couldn’t fail?”.  Play the game this way:

  • IF I couldn’t fail, what would I do?
  • IF I couldn’t fail, would I quit my job tomorrow?
  • IF I couldn’t fail, what would I buy?
  • IF I couldn’t fail, where would I vacation?
  • IF I couldn’t fail, who would I become?

When you ask yourself the questions that way, and you really explore it emotionally without the contingencies of finances or failure, it can do wonders for your mindset, and for your actual direction.  It gives you permission to dream!  It let’s you put yourself in a position where you don’t have to worry about:

  • the mortgage
  • the neighbors
  • what others think of you
  • the outcomes

When you just say, “Man, what would I be doing if I couldn’t fail?, it takes away all of the fear from the mental exercise.  And when you do that, it can show you the path on which you can start taking action, even if the fear of that action is real.

Focus on What YOU Can Control

Here’s why that slight shift in the game is so powerful: your success or failure is ultimately under your control. If you continue to focus on the WHY behind your answers, then you connect with it emotionally without the contingency of finances or failure.  When you connect with it emotionally, you can see yourself there, and then your mind can start to actually make the plans!

Ultimately, it’s taking action that makes it happen.  If you focus on what YOU can control, which is the plan and the action to be taken, then you keep the mind headed in the right direction.  Money is just a resource, and not the goal, nor the reason why you are not doing the things of which you dream.

What It’s Done for Me

I remember when I was a younger adult, I had actually come to the conclusion that this type of question was useless. In my desire to remain “practical”, and in the mire of my “average thinking”, I would have never allowed myself the indulgence of this thought experiment.  And to make it worse, I’d play the “wrong” form of the game around the water cooler at the office.  What an idiot I was!  What an average thinker I was.

When I started playing the game the right way, I realized many things, one of which was that I wanted to make a positive impact on people.  I wanted to be known for helping people.  In addition, I always wanted to write and have a web presence.  Guess what?  This blog and this website and all of the video and sharing I do on Facebook are a direct result of playing that game, and then taking action.  If I hadn’t had the mindset shift on HOW to play that game correctly, I likely would never had taken any action and I would still be wishing.

Conclusion

So play that game today, and every day.  Ask yourself, “What would I do if I couldn’t fail?”.  Regardless of whether or not you ever act on the thoughts (but you should), its still an awesome exercise.  It’s optimistic, it’s energy-inducing, and its just plain fun.

April 11, 2017 6 minute read

How to Know What You are Supposed to Do With Your Life

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How to Know What You are Supposed to Do With Your Life

What is your purpose in life?  What does God want you to do with your life?  What SHOULD you be doing? How do you know what direction to go in?

If you are anything like me, these can be debilitating questions to answer, and hence paralyze you into inaction.  For many years I wrestled with these questions because I was very concerned about figuring out what was the “right thing”, what was God’s purpose for my life.  However, I’ve learned quite a bit over the last couple years about this particular topic and this post provides you with the results of what I’ve learned.

The Surprise Answer

Are you ready for it?  Maybe this will disappoint you, and I’m certain that for some of you this may even annoy you…but the answer is: it probably doesn’t matter…at least at first.

What? Let’s explore this in a little more detail, and hopefully give you some actual useful information.

The Lightning Bolt Moment May Never Come

My purpose in life, including the biggest of questions, “What does God want me to do?”, has weighed on me since I was a young adult. It’s something that has totally consumed me at times.  I was waiting (and praying) for the lightning bolt…for that explicit, voice from heaven, “Aha!” kind of moment that makes it all clear.  It’s still has never happened, but I also see now that its not necessary.  My path to clarity was just different.

One resource that has helped me tremendously with this concept is an outstanding book entitled, “You are a Badass”, by Jen Sincero. There’s tons of gold in there about getting over yourself and starting to do the things that you were put on this earth to do.  She has an outstanding quote that has helped sum it up for me:

“One of the most paralyzing misconceptions is that we’re all supposed to have one true calling that comes to us in this mighty flash of soul defining insight.”

Now THAT’s the Aha! moment. All along I’ve been looking for that ONE thing, and hoping that it hits me like a lightning bolt. But what I now realize is that there isn’t likely just ONE thing, there are several, and that the lightning bolt may never come, but that doesn’t mean I can’t find out what those several things are for me.

We Don’t All Have a Single Purpose

I realize for some people, its been very clear from either a young age or from some point in time.  They’ve had a singular purpose, vision, or goal, or have always known “what they want to be when they grow up.”  They’ve either had that lightning bolt moment, or its just something that’s been instilled in them somehow.  I’ve not had that, and I think most have not.  Although I can certainly look back on my life and find moments of clarity, and moments that have led me to where I am today, but I can’t say there’s been just one lightning bolt that has burned some purpose into my mind.

What happened to me is I spun in circles trying to find that perfect thing, trying to find that one purpose, that one vision: What is it that I’m supposed to do? What is it God wants me to do?  And in so doing, I paralyzed myself and never took any real action that could lead to any real calling.   What I’ve realized is that multiple purposes that evolve over time is likely a more natural fit for me, and most people.

Think about it..as people we evolve over time. As we age, we grow, and our mind changes as our thoughts change and our experiences shape us. It’s perfectly natural that our purpose(s) and the best way we can use our own gifts and talents would evolve over time as well. If we let the search for the perfect singular calling paralyze us, then what happens is we may actually miss it.

Why? Because the magic of finding that purpose, or purposes, is likely arrived at through action. We find it by doing, because doing leads to opportunities that can never be found by inactions and over analysis.

The Important Part is to Pick a Direction and Start Moving

If you pick a direction, even if it’s the wrong direction, what happens?  You make a plan (or in the case of a college student, you start executing the curriculum that is given), and then you start to experience…see…learn…feel. Without the action associated with moving in some direction, you’re not doing the hard stuff that needs to be done. If you don’t start moving in a direction, you NEVER start to experience the hard stuff.  If you are wandering (wandering without purpose), or if you have not decided to start down some path, you are likely avoiding the hard stuff.  Its the hard stuff that enlightens your journey, indicates if we are on the right path, allows you to fail forward, grow, and get over fear.

My day job is as a software developer.  One of the very best ways to arrive at a good solution for a software problem is to spend some time thinking through the problem, but then use a method we call “prototyping”.  Prototyping helps to start working out the details, verify if your architecture/design is valid, and find the issues that you could have never found by just thinking about the problem.  Prototyping is writing code that may or may not ever be used in the final version, so some have the opinion that if its throw away code, why do it?  But that’s missing the point completely because the purpose of the prototyping is to ferret out the hard stuff and determine if your solution is viable.

Think of picking a direction to start moving in as the same kind of thing as prototyping.  You are prototyping your purpose!  And the cool thing is you can correct it and change it as you move along.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that whether you feel called to a particular purpose or not, the key is to start moving in a direction.  Take action, don’t over analyze.  Don’t let the search for the one perfect purpose or vision for your life, paralyze you from picking a direction that you think is right at the time.  Certainly the direction you choose should include a thought process, but if you over think it, you may never get started…and getting started is what ultimately leads you to your purpose.

March 24, 2017 8 minute read

Four Activities You Should be Doing Every Day as a Side or Home Business Entrepreneur

ActionActivity

Four Activities You Should be Doing Every Day as a Side or Home Business Entrepreneur

Are you stuck?  Has your progress slowed to a halt?  Are you wondering why some of the success you enjoyed initially has dried up?

Your success, or lack of success in your business will be directly correlated to the amount of ACTIVITY, or lack of activity that you put in consistently every day.  We know from the books such as The Slight Edge and The Compound Effect, that the correct activities over time lead to the success that you desire.

Here are four activities that you should be doing every day in your life and business to help restart your progress.  This is the very basic, and minimal amount of work to do every day.  If you have no opportunity to do anything else, at least do these 4 things.

Meet One New Person

At the end of the day, business is not about money or spreadsheets, it’s about people. In order to make your business successful, it doesn’t matter what it is, it requires people. You need to build relationships with people and build your network.

“Your network is your net worth.”

– Tim Sanders

One method for meeting a new person is physically.  This could be done in a contrived setting such as a networking group, or meet-up, or via you reaching out and setting up a meeting with someone. It could be in an “unintentionally, intentional” setting such as the grocery store, the gym, your day-job workplace, in line at the coffee shop.  Simply say “Hi” to someone, and pay them a complement.

You could also use the social media world in places like Facebook and LinkedIn.  However, “meeting” someone new on social media does NOT mean you’ve posted something and someone new has “liked” or commented on that post, or even that you’ve sent out some connection requests.  That “like” or comment or connection request acceptance is just the opening to allow you to actually meet them and start a conversation. Reach out to that person and thank them for the interaction or the connection and start a conversation.

Try to add one new person to your network every day.

Follow Up with one Person

Equally important to growing your network, is to cultivate the relationships that you have already established.  That is done by following up with people. You’ve likely heard this timeless quote before:

“The fortune is in the follow-up!”

– Every sales trainer since the dawn of time

I’ve seen sales metrics all over the map with how many times customers have been exposed to your business before they decided to make a purchase.  I’ve seen anywhere between 4 and 12 times.  My own experience would be in that range as well.  Regardless of the actual number of times that convert for you, the fact that you MUST follow up is the basic message here.

Make sure you are following up with at least one person every day. If you’re meeting one new person every day, then you have a never-ending supply of people with whom you should also be following up. The reality is, if you want to take your business to the next level, you need to be meeting and following up with several people every day. But, at an absolute minimum, you should be following up with at least one person every day. It’s all about relationship-building.

Track Your Progress

Here’s one for the accountants and engineers out there (like myself). However, regardless of your personality type, its another critical daily activity. Track your progress. A professional understands the data. A professional knows where he or she is at in relation to where he or she was, and where he or she wants to be, and that the data doesn’t lie.

“If you torture the data long enough, it will confess to anything.”

– Ronald Coase

When you set your goals, you need to track your progress against those goals. You break the goals down into the activities and tasks that are income generating, and then find the metrics that you can track against those activities.  For example, how many people did you reach out to today?  How many new people did you meet?  How many people did you follow up with?  How many new or repeat customers today?

Once you have started recording your metric data, then start to compare yourself over time.  Break it into daily, weekly, and monthly chunks and see how you are progressing, or receding.  How many new customers did you have this week compared to last week?  How many new people did you meet this month compare to last month?

Tracking progress does not require fancy software or apps. Certainly you can use these tools if you find them helpful, but the reality is that plain old paper and pencil work just fine.  Do NOT let what can be the overwhelming complexity of CRM software, or sales tracking software, or even your colleagues methods of tracking keep you from recording your metrics and tracking progress.  Find the basic method that works for you, and use it everyday.  As you progress, then you can work on whether a more sophisticated method or tool set would be beneficial.

Work on One Skill

The single biggest “Aha!” moment for me, and the single biggest contributor to any progress and success I have enjoyed has been working on myself.  Intentionally and purposefully developing my personal and professional skills.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

– Ghandi

Maybe you think this quote from Ghandi is a bit grand for you and your little business or your little personal goals.  After all, you are simply trying to get more customers, help more people, run a marathon…you’re not necessarily trying to change THE world, are you?

But why not change YOUR world? Your business, and your goals are directly and by definition in YOUR world…so make the change in YOUR world…and that means BEING the change you wish to see in YOUR world.

When I realized that one of my goals (with my business and my life in general), is to make a positive impact on people in any way I can, I realized that I was woefully short in many of the skills to make that happen. That’s what started my personal and professional skill development journey.

Working on your skills takes effort, intentional effort. Sometimes it takes having uncomfortable looks at yourself in the mirror, or talks with yourself in your car.  But if you don’t change, things will never change.  You have to progress as a person, and a professional, and sometimes that even means relearning things you thought you knew.

Think of it very generically like this…Let’s say you went to college to become a school teacher.  Most (maybe all?) states in the United States require “continuing education” credits for teachers throughout their career.  Why is this?  It’s because the powers that be know and understand this concept that every one MUST continue to get better, and that techniques and even the people themselves change over time. A college education provides a static, “here’s what we know now” snapshot in time as a basis from which prospective teachers START their journey.  To continue to effectively teach students through their career, they must continue to improve themselves and their techniques.

If you are a teacher, this structure is built in to your profession. If you are a side or home business entrepreneur, you have to recognize this and commit to it personally.  The great news about this is that YOU are the one who can decide how to get better and what to work on!

Every day you should be working on developing one professional skill. The BEST way to do this is to focus.  Focus on one particular skill and string several days or weeks together where you are working on it exclusively.

Conclusion

Those are the four things you should be doing everyday:

  1. Meet one new person
  2. Follow up with one person
  3. Track your progress
  4. Work on one new skill

If you do this, over time you and your business will progress.  If you want to move faster, take 1 and 2 and 10x them 🙂

I hope you received some value from this message.  If so, please contact me, leave a comment and share with someone whom you think might also get some value.

 

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