What Stage Gives You The Best Chance at A Great Performance?

It is perhaps one of the world’s most recognizable quotes:

“All the world's a stage,
and all the men and women merely players;
they have their exits and their entrances,
and one man in his time plays many parts"

Okay, maybe only the first line is actually the most recognizable, so that’s what we’ll talk about, not the stage per say, but the stages of life. I submit to you as you read this article ready to reflect on where you are in your relationship, spiritual and professional, lives, that maybe we only get 4 key stages to perform on. I was once told that no matter what we’re doing; because 1st impressions are so important, every time you walk out of your front door, “you’re on stage”. While we talk about the 4 stages, I challenge you to embrace whatever stage that you may relate to, or find yourself in, and challenge you to realize the natural progression between the stages. While they all work together, and come through sheer life experiences, know that no stage is necessarily better than the other.

BLIND AMBITION: This is the stage of life most people find themselves in both fresh out of high school or up to about their first 5 years in Corporate America. I call it blind ambition because you know you have “time” to chase your dreams and goals, but most either don’t know what they want to do, or they find themselves chasing someone else’s version of how their life should turn out. You may have heard these pieces of advice before (usually from someone older than yourself):
“Stay on that job, it’s a good company”
“You should study this field, there’s always money in that field”
“Take some time off, you have the rest of your life to figure out what you want to do”
Or my personal favorite:
“If you work hard at it, in a few years, you’ll be upper management, at company xyz”
There is nothing wrong with blind ambition, it’s the part of life where everything is in front of you, and everyone around you is an expert, willing to give you their extensive advice. Ambition, you really just want to get something done, to make your mark in life, and set yourself up for success; blind ambition is usually the start.

BLINDERS ON: Blinders for lack of better words, is where most people find themselves 10-15 years into their adult lives, Imagine yourself well into your particular chosen line of work, on your 2nd or 3rd job. You’re in the preverbal rat race, making just enough to get by, but not enough to be happy or get ahead. The great part about having “blinders on” so to speak is that everyone else has them on as well. Their typical day consists of waking up hours before you have to be at work, commuting, working, commuting, and then enjoying the 4 hours they have awake to be with their families before they go to sleep to get up in the morning and do it all over again. The great thing about being at this stage of life is that NO ONE KNOWS THEY ARE THERE. It’s deemed normal and it’s what you’re supposed to do, and most people are perfectly content here. Unless you find yourself in one of these next 2 stages, trust me, you are DOING PERFECTLY OKAY! But even if you do, know that it's merely temporary...if you decide it to be.

CAGED RAGE: This perhaps may be the most identifiable stage that people find themselves in. Imagine feeling trapped, and unfulfilled at the very same place you spend the most time-your job and your relationship. Caged rage is the defining moment in most people’s lives where they decide that they’ve invested too much time in any given thing, without seeing the results that they feel they deserve. You’ll find yourself questioning your relationship, your job satisfaction, weighing your pros and cons, and everything that has to do with where you are in life. Some quit their jobs, some give ultimatums and want to define or re-define their relationships, all in the name of knowing what direction they need to UNLEASH in, or where they can gain some sort of traction. Everybody reaches this stage, there are no exceptions. Once you reach this stage you either separate yourself, or you find an outlet which has the potential to be nothing more but a distraction typically. If you make it past caged rage, you’ll find yourself at the most exciting stage there is…

RE-Invention: This is the absolute best stage of life (biased opinion) that you want to find yourself and operate in. Re-invention is where you decide that your dreams aren’t dead just yet, that it’s never too late, or that you just plain aren’t ready to settle for more than you feel you deserve. I’m reminded of a story of a lady that had been on her job for 20 years before a healthscare nearly ended her life. During a weekend of recovery, she realized that the stress of barely making enough money, with unreasonable demands from her job were heavily contributing to her health issues, THE JOB HAD TO GO, She is now living out her happiest of dreams as a motivational speaker and trainer making much more than she ever had, but more importantly feeling more fulfilled than she has ever been. She re-invented herself.

Another instance a young lady had been in a relationship for 4 years, as the girlfriend. Promised the ring, promised monogamy, after years of empty promises, she found herself no longer to make excuses for this man not noticing what a gift she was. She ended that relationship and is now celebrating her 1 year wedding anniversary saying she’s never been happier. She re-invented herself.

Lastly, there is a very good friend of mine that after the real estate industry crashed, found himself going through bankruptcy, a repossession, and a foreclosure all at the same time, he’d given his young life to this industry, only to have powers that were beyond his control take everything from him. This man could have easily given up, but to keep a long story short (I love that line) he was presented with an opportunity that many think may be too good to be true, fast forward 2 years later, and in that same opportunity he is a high 6-figure income earner and is helping people all over the country out of the very same situations that he found himself in. He re-invented himself

Can you, should you, will you; re-invent yourself? Right now is as good a time as any to take a good look at where you are in life, and writing out where you want to be, vs. where you are and being completely honest with both answers. Know that there is a definite difference between chasing dreams, and chasing fantasies, but if you believe there is something bigger and better in any area out there for you, re-invent yourself, and focus on how you can get there. Reading this article can be your starting point. Yes, I’m being optimistic, yes the goal is to motivate you, and yes it is to inspire you as well, if it feels weird, it’s because the world is full of different entities telling you NO, telling you to SETTLE, telling you to “take your time” and be patient. I leave you with this: Time is the only commodity that you cannot get more of, the longer you wait, the longer you wonder, and try to find the perfect time to take action towards your dreams, goals or personal changes that you would like to make, the less likely you are to make them. I believe that you deserve to be happy, and that you deserve to have more in any given area-find a good coach or mentor, and RE-INVENT YOURSELF!


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Painting A MASTERPIECE- "THE PAINTED PRETZEL" owner: RAVEN THOMAS Shares The Recipe To Success

If you were asked “WHY SHOULD I INVEST IN YOU” what would you say? Imagine having your one shot, having all of the stars align, and all the right people in the room to make your wildest dreams and ambitions come true, and they simply ask you “WHY SHOULD I INVEST IN YOU? That’s the very question that the owner of THE PAINTED PRETZEL Mrs. Raven Thomas found herself facing in an episode of ABC’s Shark Tank. From that moment on, everyone watching was instantly locked in both with their business minds, but probably more so with their hearts. We all know THE SHARKS are amazingly vicious when they grill you to find out the specifics of your business endeavors, while figuring out how they can make a profit after partnering with you, but even Robert Herjavec, Daymond John and Mark Cuban couldn’t deny the answer they received from Raven Thomas and soon you’ll know exactly why.

The toughest task that I face is attempting to capture the emotion, adulation, and business savvy that these interviews contain. Imagine THINKING that you know what’s in store, that you’ve “done this” before only to have your mind completely BLOWN! Attempting to catch up with the founder of THE PAINTED PRETZEL was no easy task, but it was apparent that learning more about this woman, and her success principles was an absolute must. Rather you have a home based business or a Fortune 500 company, one thing is certain; everything rises and falls on leadership. The principles in which company leaders believe and hold themselves accountable to, will be a direct reflection on how the company performs. Knowing this simple truth, it is easy to see why THE PAINTED PRETZEL is poised for phenomenal growth.

There are only two words that I can think of to describe RAVEN THOMAS: DEDICATED & COMMITTED. After I listened to Raven tell me what her normal day is like both as a mother, and a business owner, I was left with a burning brand new law in business: “you can always do more”. I won’t necessarily tell you her story, the interview will do that more than sufficiently. But before you take a listen, (you knew this was coming didn’t you?) grab a sheet of paper, and on one side of the paper, write down your 3 biggest personal hurdles rather it’s belief, procrastination or whatever they may be. On the other side of the paper, write down what those hurdles are keeping you away from. Listen intently to this interview, and I challenge you to hear those questions answered. Oh, and if you haven’t already tasted THE PAINTED PRETZEL, you are cheating yourself of some extreme greatness!



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Jared Joyce INVENTS...The Fastest Interview Ever! -The "FIVE MINUTE FURNITURE" Shark Tank contestant speaks Inventions, Sales, and WORK ETHIC

IF YOU WATCHED the episode of Shark Tank with Mr. Jared Joyce and his patented “FIVE MINUTE FURNITURE” you’ll know that we are officially in for a treat. If that was your first introduction to Jared, it probably goes without saying that you had a strong opinion one way or the other. Personally, when I watched it, I understood him turning down the deal that the sharks were offering, but what I didn’t understand was why he didn’t budge a little, remember the old saying “you’ve got to give a lot to get a little” (or maybe that was just something my father used to tell me). Either way, I personally was impressed with the posture that Jared Joyce displayed. For those of you that don’t understand “business posture” it’s not just standing straight up, and speaking clearly, it’s all about the passion, delivery, and confidence in which you present your BRAND. Ladies the simplest way to put it, it's the way you feel coming fresh out of the beauty shop, with your favorite outfit and brand new heels on! Fella’s imagine yourself fresh out of the barbershop, gym, with a pocket full of money! That’s what stood out to me the most: his quiet (or not so quiet) confidence. Jared Joyce definitely left an impression.

Once I was able to catch up with Jared, it was apparent that he was much more than an inventor. I had no idea that he would not only grant an interview, but also teach an impromptu class on the process of invention, methodologies of creating capital, and the work ethic that it takes to get, and KEEP investors that are willing to work with you for the long haul. This interview that you are getting ready to listen to has been dubbed “the fastest 30 minutes ever” by both Jared and myself. If you are a truly interested in the mindset of an entrepreneur, the invention process then you might want to stop reading now, and go ahead and start listening.

In every interview that I’ve ever been fortunate enough to conduct, there’s something that sticks with me…permanently! One of the things that Jared Joyce said that I think every entrepreneur should remember is that “ALL ACTIONS ARE CUMULATIVE” I’d explain it, but the way he connects the dots, and talks about the process, as well as the NEW PROJECTS, and how they all work together even before the Shark Tank episode, are simply something that I'd want you to hear first hand. Jared also discusses in this interview his new partnership with Edison Nation where they are working to get his “FIVE MINUTE FURNITURE” to market, and recently launched is the “Wal-Mart Get On The Shelf” contest in which he has submitted 42 inventions to get… well “on the shelf”. I sincerely hope that you enjoy, learn and grow from this impactful interview.




Here's Jared’s Top 10 Favorite’s List (out of 42 products he submitted) for the Walmart "Get On The Shelf" contest. You can vote daily.

Round 1- March 7 to April 3, 2012; Round 2- April 11 to April 24, 2012.
Round 1 narrows submissions to Top 10, Round 2 decides Top 3 Winners!

Thanks for your support! Please share this post!

1. "TITAN Water Bottle"
http://www.getontheshelf.com/product/2701/TITAN-WATER-BOTTLE
2. "The ERGO-CB"
http://www.getontheshelf.com/product/3492/The-ERGO-CB
3. "Personal Ice Cube Tray"
http://www.getontheshelf.com/product/3446/Personal-Ice-Cube-Tray
4. "World's Best Root Beer Float"
http://www.getontheshelf.com/product/3480/World's-Best-Root-Beer-F
5. "Screw Bit Screw Holder"
http://www.getontheshelf.com/product/3457/Screw-Bit-Screw-Holder
6. "Cheer Bands"
http://www.getontheshelf.com/product/3472/CHEER-BANDS
7. "Tool & Vacuum Power Grid"
http://www.getontheshelf.com/product/3489/Tool-&-Vacuum-Power-Grid
8. "The Ultimate Framing Hammer"
http://www.getontheshelf.com/product/3483/The-Ultimate-Framing-Ham
9. "Upward Arc Faucet"
http://www.getontheshelf.com/product/3464/Upward-Arc-Faucet
10. "Vemo"
http://www.getontheshelf.com/product/3494/Vemo

Also see: www.edisonnation.com

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ARE YOU IN A ZONE? -How To Seperate Your Month To Maximize Profits

There’s an ever growing debate on the most popular colors for branding your company and your logo, rather it’s blue, red or purple the color of your logo, and layout is almost as important as what your company actually does. However, that’s a topic we aren’t going to attempt to tackle right now, after all, I’m no where near an expert in advertising. I’ve had several people recently ask me how I have worked my businesses in the past, and I really had to think about it because it’s been second nature to me for a while now. So I thought about it and realized that from my time in sales, real estate, network marketing or even currently in my experience and opinion, the system for success has always been the same, and…I’m going to share it with you! Now by no means do I consider this to be the only way to work your business, or the “gospel” of success, it’s merely what works for me. So here’s what I want you to do… grab a pen, a fresh sheet of paper and separate it into 3 spaces. And we’re going to talk about the “zones” that you can work your business.

White Zone:
No matter what business you’re in, it will be unsuccessful if no one knows who you are, or what you offer. That being said for the first 10 days of every month, I’d make it a point to contact (for the sake of numbers) 50 new people. In your case it may be companies, customers or whatever the case may be, but imagine how much buzz you could create if you were in talks with 50 BRAND NEW PROSPECTS! I mean old school hitting the phones which I know some of you are scared of, but honestly, if you’re not STILL cold-calling, and/or getting in front of people live to build your brand, then you’re falling behind. Now when we’re contacting people the goal is NOT to seal the deal, it’s to set the appointment, to book the meeting, to get on someone’s calendar., it’s to “peak interest” This will give you a solid base to work with for the rest of the month. Don’t make the number something you know you won’t reach, but make it just a stretch past comfortable and a step below impossible!

Blue Zone:
Now that you’ve spent time getting in front of people, and booking your calendar, The NEXT 10 DAYS on your calendar are strictly for meetings, The first thing that I want you to notice is that this part obviously won’t work if you haven’t worked your “white zone” effectively. Secondly, depending on what type of business you have these meetings aren’t necessarily to “seal the deal” either, the goals of the meeting, or presentation or “pitch” are to do 2 things, assess need, and present value. I’ll do something on sales later, but any sales professional worth their weight in commission will tell you that sales is nothing but identifying a need, and providing adequate value to fill that need. Imagine you’ve made 50-75 calls, and now in the second part of the month you have 6 (managing your expectations) SOLID and legit meetings where you can confidently present YOURSELF, and what you do to potential partners. You might not leave with the check, or the contract, but you’ve positioned yourself and your solutions in their mind, and if you’re smart, you’ve booked a follow up or “next steps” meeting. This is major.

The “BLUE ZONE” is important because this is when you’ll be tested, often your potential clients or customers will do their research on you, negotiate prices, shop you to the competition for a better deal, and even evaluate if they really have a need. Your job is to be on top of your game and identify as many OBJECTIONS that the client may have so that there are no unexpected surprises coming GREEN ZONE! Okay, don’t want to get into too many of the sales nuggets… so… let’s continue!

GREEN ZONE:
The last ten days of the month are green! This is where you follow up with your customers and seal the deal, get the contract, cash the check…etc (sorry, I get carried away at this part) Now out of those initial calls, there may have only been 6-7 meetings, and you may only close 1-2 deals, that’s not the point, what I want you to focus on is the idea that you have to grow your client base. Hewlett Packard, Zerox, or even Office Max wasn’t always a household name, but because they built their customer base one company at a time, there aren’t many people that don’t know about what it is that they do. These last ten days should be full of your follow up meetings, conference calls to finalize negotiations, and setting your sights on the next 10 days which put you back in the white zone.

I hope you’re able to see how these zones all work together to create a nice pipeline for your business, the colors of the zones are unimportant, you can name them egg, chicken and dinner if you want, but I absolutely challenge you to use this system if you’re looking for a new way to drive more business. There’s nothing worse than running around with your head cut off, and being reactionary with your money! (I mean business) Face it, your business is your money, and I was always told that if your calendar is empty… so is your wallet! We all have someone depending on us to get it right, and produce at a high level, and I sincerely hope this will allow you to become more productive, and more importantly; guard your time so that you can enjoy the fruits of your labor!!!

-Oh and before I go, no..I didn’t come up with this all by myself! As much as I’d like to take credit for this one, I’m just sharing what I learned and what has worked effectively for me for years!

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7 Qualities that make it IMPOSSIBLE to fail!

The best part about being a student of personal growth, and being in the constant pursuit of greater success, is that there are or (always should be) notes to refer to. Last year at a sales training class I presented what I am going to share with you in the following paragraphs. Now as always, I truly believe that there are several principles, laws, and rules that can guide you to success, so I dare not act as if these are the “end all-be all” to you and your business. Rather you are an author, salesmen, designer, speaker, or a chef, beginning or well established, the 7 qualities that you will read here will absolutely help your business grow.
While typing this, I’ve realized that 8 days have already passed in 2012, and you know we like to say that entrepreneurs don’t have the luxury of time, so before I share these 7 qualities with you, I want you to ask yourself; “WHAT HAVE I DONE SO FAR THIS YEAR WITH THE 192 HOURS THAT I HAVE BEEN GIVEN” Not asking to make anyone feel bad, or put any pressure on you, but truly if we want to get where we said we would this year, we have to start IMMEDIATELY. Okay, enough suspense, I know you’re over there yelling at your screen, (or at least thinking in your head) “C’MON MAN, WHAT ARE THE QUALITIES” so…here we go..

1. Be Unconditionally Committed: Simply put, if it’s for you, it’s for you. There will be times in your business where not only people will doubt you, but you might even doubt yourself. But you have to be married to your business (not that Kardashian kind either!! –cheap shot, I know…sorry!) But when I say unconditionally committed, I mean working on you, and your business should be as automatic as brushing your teeth in the morning. You can’t give in to the time traps of being busy, not feeling well, etc. Wal-Mart is open for business 24/7 and you should be too. Be ready to pitch, ready to sell, and most importantly be ready to work longer than you anticipated. Quick example: Sylvester Stallone was unconditionally committed to his Rocky script, so much that he sold his dog for $50.00 and turned down over 100k offers that didn’t allow him to play the main character. After literally HUNDREDS OF NO’s, he got his yes.
2. You Cannot Be Emotionally Attached To Yes or No: I know this one is easier said than done, but I equate this to a hall of fame baseball player. *STAY WITH ME* a hall of famer in baseball typically has a batting average of at least .300 which means that 7 out of 10 times that it’s his turn to hit, he gets OUT! No homerun, no base hit…OUT! But 3 times, he gets a hit! What if you approached your business the same way? Countless entrepreneurs and sales people quit before they ever get their 8th,9th and 10th no! If you really want it, embrace the NO it’s simply part of the game.
3. Discipline and Consistency: These are like a muscle to me. Especially if you’re just starting out. Developing self discipline, and consistency aren’t necessarily easy to do, but that’s why it’s important to do what you love, so that it won’t feel like work. If you still have a day job, try to pick days of the week after work that you are committed to working on your business. An additional suggestion is to have an accountability partner, someone that knows your daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly goals, and checks in to make sure that you get them done.
4. Posture: This isn’t about standing or sitting up straight. Posture is the way you walk into the room, the way you command the right kind of attention, and how people view you. I like to call it a perfect blend of quiet confidence and laser focus. Imagine Donald Trump, Sean Combs, or even a Sara Blakely (FOUNDER OF SPANX) walking into the room, they know what they know, and they are absolutely great at what they do. There is a sense of “who is that” in the air. There are 2 definite things people will always do: Be attracted to success, and treat you the exact way that you present yourself. Have posture.
5. Willingness to fail: Similar to quality #2, being willing to fail in business means that you know its business, not personal. When you learned how to ride a bike, you were subconsciously willing to fail…BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T FOCUS ON FALLING, you focused on learning how to ride the bike. I know it sounds elementary, but success isn’t hard, following the principles that get you there is the part that discourages most. I beg you, to be okay with failing, just make sure you fail forward. I suggest that you document the perceived failures, and take maybe 5-10 minutes to analyze where you can improve.
6. Courage through the storm: The courage to keep going, this doesn’t mean that I want you to necessarily endure blow after blow after blow. No one wants to be a punching bag, but know that sometimes it will get worse before it gets better, hey even diamonds have to get pounded, stomped, burned, cut and all that stuff, but once it’s done… they’re the most beautiful stone on earth. Courage comes with knowing WHY you’re doing something. Who’s depending on you, why do you work so hard, what is the pot of preverbal gold that you’re chasing, and what does it mean to you?
7. Be a student of YOUR game: Consistently study your industry. Years ago, I knew several people that were earning well into the 6 and almost 7 figure incomes as real estate loan officers. They weren’t necessarily good at what they did, they were just in the right place at the right time, however when the market turned, they lost everything. They weren’t students of the game, and hadn’t studied the cyclical nature of the industry and consequently lost the very homes that the industry allowed them to buy. Your industry is bound to change, stay on top of it’s history, trends, and how it can affect your business. It’s not about right now, it’s about next quarter, next year, and 5 years from now.

Okay, that’s enough to read for now, but guys I absolutely believe that if you can adopt these 7 qualities, your businesses will never be the same. As a matter of fact, these aren’t just business principles, try applying them to your personal lives and relationships as well.

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HUSTLE HARDER-Top 3 "To Do's" for 2012

As much as I tried to fight it off, I just couldn’t do it. There was almost an attack on 4 out of my 5 senses, and I tried my absolute best to keep all of the remarks, the insight, the opinions that I had inside… but I broke, and what you are about to read is the result of YEARS of watching, listening, and most importantly watching again. So what is it that I can’t take anymore, what drove me over the preverbal edge? NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS.

I’m not talking about the regular “I’m going to lose weight” or “I’m going back to school”, this is of course, catered to the entrepreneurs, and the things that people are telling you to do with your business. For once, I took the “average route”, logged onto Google and typed in something similar to resolutions for entrepreneurs and I couldn’t believe the lists that popped up, I’ll share some of them in no particular order: (along with my opinion of them of course)
1. Go Small: ( I guess they mean “do more with less, stretch your resources…okay fine if it makes sense why not)
2. Go Mobile: (What serious entrepreneur HASN’T ALREADY gone mobile? Most smart phones now almost eliminate the need for a laptop…almost)
3. Go Local: (*blank stare* -as opposed to what? Starting a brand new company in a place you’ve never heard of, with people you don’t know? Still scratching my head on this one)
4. Learn to delegate: (Now this one I like, at some point in the growth of your business, you’ll have to realize that you can’t do everything, so yes…learn to delegate)
5. Expand your customer touch points: use more social media-( HELLO!!! In this day and age, how can you be serious about your business without using the bare minimum of twitter and facebook, I’m convinced this one was a joke)
6. Refresh your website: (if needed okay, sure a fresh look never hurt anyone)
7. Encourage feedback: Most entrepreneurs, sales professionals, and general humans, only encourage POSITIVE FEEDBACK, but I’m here to tell you, if you don’t encourage feedback in general, your business will remain stagnant, and quite possibly regress. Grow thick skin!
8. Obsess about your business: REALLY? (I promise I’ll calm down, but this was literally a suggestion. Listen, if you don’t bleed your business, STOP NOW!

Can you hear me breathing deeply in semi disgust? This was supposed to be a top ten list, but I refuse to do that to you. I just can’t believe that these were the top results on the internet when the average public searched for help. Either someone out there is extremely out of touch, or they are underestimating what people really need to get going, and thrive in their businesses. Please understand that I’m not attempting to say that what I’m going to offer up is the “end all-be all” or that it’s the best advice that’s out there for you. But I will say that this is one of the most sincere posts I’ve ever written, and without these 3 things, it will be IMPOSSIBLE to grow.

I want to share 3 things for new and existing entrepreneurs to implement NOW, or next year, whenever you’re ready. Like the lists above, I’ll add in a little reasoning to go along with what made the HUSTLE HARDER TOP 3 “TO DO’s for 2012.

1. WORK BACKWARDS- Simply means begin with the end in mind, you’ve heard this before probably, but a prime example is to set a goal for the entire year, maybe it’s revenue, or a pin level (for my friends in network marketing) then simply separate that yearly goal into smaller quarterly goals. It doesn’t stop there, separate the quarterly goals into weekly goals. Doing this allows you to have several smaller targets to hit on your way to success, as well as celebrate some “wins” along the way. Additionally, this method will help you manage AND measure your activity on the way to your yearly goal.
2. STUDY YOUR INDUSTRY- There’s a saying that I heard a while back, and it’s stuck with me, one of the main reasons that I read so much, it goes something like this: “Your income growth, will never be more than your personal growth”. That being said, I suggest that you look up the top 5 books relating to your industry, and read them. It doesn’t matter if it’s an actual person that is successful, or a business, but find them, and read them. (Personal favorite: The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz).
3. COLLABORATE- Find out what goes well with your industry, and reach out to someone in that industry and work on a project together remember spider webs catch more than mouse traps by this I mean, if you build a strong network, there’s a better chance of getting referrals out of the blue that ADD to your business, than finding new business on your own. Think about it ladies, have you ever asked someone where they got their hair done? Where they got their boots? BUILD YOUR NETWORK, AND GET REFERRALS!!

Okay, this one has been long enough, so I’ll wrap it up. The main point that I want to drive home guys is that ENTREPRENEURS DON’T HAVE THE LUXURY OF TIME, so I don’t want you to rob yourself of valuable time by setting goals that are “common sense” in retrospect. The difference in your accomplishments from 2011 to 2012 for the vast majority will be based simply on game planning work ethic, it’s all about execution. Remember, don’t wait until new years to have resolve. The change can happen anytime!

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Part TWO!! LAND ON YOUR FEET

So there you have it: Protect your dreams. I hope the small clip of Will Smith as Chris Gardner from the movie “Pursuit of Happyness” was the kick in the pants we all needed. You have to have a dream. Face it, when everything is falling down around you, and the ground you’re standing on isn’t all that stable, besides your faith, the only thing that we can hold onto is our hope…our dream. Now if you’re anything like me you’re thinking to yourself wait, I’m flat broke, jobless and the business I want to start or just started is already at a standstill, and you want me to DREAM?

Absolutely that’s what I want you to do, DREAM BIGGER, FASTER! Without a dream, there’s nothing to keep you motivated. What I’ve learned over a number of years is that inspiration fades depending on the mood; however, true, sincere motivation is one of the most powerful weapons we will ever have when it comes to chasing our dreams and goals, more importantly it’s going to be THE KEY COMPONENT to rather or not you’re able to land on your feet. There is no dream that you’ve ever had that you are incapable of achieving, (what the mind can conceive it can achieve). The fact that you even want to start your own business, do something different with your job, or go in a different direction in any aspect of your life, is proof positive that you are able to do it. Think about it, man wanted a better way to get around, out comes the wheel, the wheel wasn’t working on its own…attach it to a horse, the horse isn’t fast enough, create an engine, engine doesn’t work fast enough, give the engine WINGS! I’m getting a little carried away here, but you get the point right? I always say that the fact that you can complain about ANYTHING, simply means that you are able to do something about it. Have you ever heard anyone complain about gravity? Unless they’re involved with N.A.S.A, probably not! Because it’s accepted that you can’t fight gravity, but if you hate where you are in life you can change it. If you hate balancing the checkbook, because you know it’s never going to TRULY break even (no matter when you get paid again…) YOU CAN MAKE MORE MONEY. If you’re at a job that you hate, you can get a new job, new relationship, or whatever is that you want, you can do it.

I’ll never forget I was speaking with world renowned speaker Mr. Les Brown a few years back at a training seminar that I was fortunate enough to qualify to attend, and he told me that people are so busy trying to make ends meet, that they never realize they are called ENDS. Ends never meet by definition. That small statement changed my life. Remember I had less than 1,000.00 dollars in the bank, and the walls were caving in on me. At that point, all I had was my dreams. Between my dreams and a verse from the best-selling book on earth (Proverbs 18:16) I knew that I could crawl out of this whole. At that point, I realized that success isn’t always about us; it’s about people that depend on US to get it right. Now of course there’s more that I’ll elaborate on soon, but I knew my gift. Now I just had to plan it out. Some of us have gotten so comfortable with that “one thing” that we are GREAT at, that we don’t realize it may be the purpose for our lives, the way out financially. Our gifts aren’t going to do it by themselves though, so I’ll leave you with another clip (prelude to part 3) it’s pretty obvious, but see if you can pick up what step #3 is to “Landing on Your Feet” It’s one of my all time favorites, because they spell it out so specifically. Enjoy!

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Land on Your Feet Pt 1

Have you ever found yourself in a place where you were bored at work? Your dream business that you launched wasn’t taking off the way you planned? Or maybe you have them both staring at you, out of work, and no business to even speak of? That feeling of incompleteness, that same feeling of immense void, or personal failure is exactly what led me to open up the laptop and start typing away. I’ve had the privilege of being personal friends with multi-millionaire's, interviewed and chatted with CEO’s, mentored, and been mentored by some of the best entrepreneurs around, and I’ve helped first time job seekers land their first job, and help others re-enter the workforce or get promotions. In each and every one of those scenarios, there was a consistent question that the millionaire’s, CEO’s, job seeker’s and entrepreneurs all had in common: “WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE”?

Truth be told that’s exactly where I found myself. My business wasn’t growing as quickly as I’d needed it to (married with children depending on me) I wasn’t working, and like most of us, THE HOUSE NOTE/RENT, and the rest of Murphy’s Law, was staring me in the face with not even the slightest of smiles. Now there were all kinds of ideas in my mind about how to fix this mountain of an issue, but I didn’t know where to start, I didn’t know who to ask, and even worse, couldn’t bear the thought of admitting any of this to my wife. Now maybe you are the wife reading this, in which case I apologize now! I’d like to speak for men everywhere when I say, I’m not nonchalant, I just didn’t know what to say, and admitting that as the head of the household, I literally have no clue…well, let’s just say it’s harder than failure itself. No one should ever be able to put more pressure on you than you put on yourself, because to be successful at anything you have to expect success. If you expect something to happen, no one else should be able to expect it more than you. Now I don’t know if it’s an ego thing, or just plain ignoring the signs that were all around me, but I figured that I had a pretty good handle on things, even though I obviously didn’t. Let’s be butt naked clear about this thing; at my lowest point, I had less than $300.00 in our joint account, less than $1000.00 in our retirement account, and only one income coming in with daycare, groceries, household priorities, and oh yeah, let’s not forget THE ROOF! We have to pay for that too right? So how on earth did we I get here?

There's definitely more to this story, but sticking with the title of "Landing on Your feet, I want to leave you with this clip below as the first hint or clue of what it will take to land on your feet. If you really truly watch this clip, and listen to the message that that I found within this scene, you will at the least have the fuse in your hand...Next we'll have to talk about how to light it!

**As always, if you find the contents of this blog helpful or inspiring, we ask that you share the page with your network, and leave a comment so we know what it is you're looking for and how we can help**

-HUSTLEHARDER