The Real Reason You Probably Aren’t Living Your Dream Life – Yet [Video]

Over the last 20 years, I’ve mentored, coached, and taught thousands of people from all around the world. And there’s something I’ve noticed come up in my work again and again.

And that is that most people have a picture of how they want their life to be, but their reality is often very different.

They don’t have the money they want…

They don’t have the relationships they want…

They aren’t as healthy or fit as they want to be…

Their business or career isn’t booming…

They don’t feel overly fulfilled.

And chances are, they don’t feel all that good about themselves.

So let me ask you this:

Are you living the life you really want to be living? Are your living your dream life?

If not, you aren’t alone. I’d say a good 90% of the people out there aren’t living the life they really want. So here’s a good question, have you ever asked yourself why not?

Why aren’t you the living your dream life?

In this short video below, I reveal the major reasons why most people never live the life they truly want to be living… and the surprisingly simple way you can start creating your dream life today (no matter what stage of life you’re in).

You’ll learn:

[00:53] – Why one common belief causes most people to give up on living their “dream life”.
[01:10] – Why most people have lost their passion and have settled for the dreaded 4-letter word.
[02:02] – The most powerful reminder for living a truly fulfilling life.

Like most people, you’ve probably just let fear keep you from getting what you really want out of life.

However, like I always say, in life, you either have reasons or you have results. So let me ask you, are you going to give up on your dream life? Are you going to fall into the trap of mediocrity? OR are you going to GO for it and live your ultimate life… whatever that means for you.
Life is short, my friends. The time to start is now!

CORONAVIRUS: 10 Ways To Make The Most Out Of Social Distancing

Over the course of the past few days, all of our lives have been turned upside down by the continued spread of COVID-19. We went from going about our daily, normal routines to being advised to practice social distancing by staying home as much as possible. It’s like an alternate universe or something straight out of a movie!

While the idea of social distancing isn’t hard to grasp in terms of avoiding crowds, the idea of not being able to interact with our friends and even family members is. No dinner parties? No meeting up for coffee? No Sunday meals with extended family? How are we going to do this?!

But here’s the thing…

Social distancing will only put a damper on our lives if we allow it to.

If we think of it as a setback and something that is a huge disruption, then guess what? It will be. If we look for the silver lining in the situation and make the most out of it, however, it’ll serve as a reminder that even in tough times, there is always something to be grateful for. True or true?

Instead of viewing social distancing as a negative, let’s focus on the positive aspects:

We have extra quality time to spend connecting with our partners, children, and immediate family members. How many times in the past have we complained that we “don’t have enough time?”
We’re being forced to hit the pause button, to slow down, and to stop over-committing ourselves to being in 100 different places at 100 different times. Couldn’t we all use this break?
We’ve been given a reminder that we can never take our health or any day we have on this earth for granted, which is teaching us a lesson in perspective.

Before I get into some ways that you can make the most out of your time during social distancing, there’s a big principle that I want you to understand…

Coping With Fear

While we need to be mindful of this uncertain time and need to make sure that we avoid putting our health in danger, there’s a difference between being careful and being fearful.

Being careful means staying informed and taking the proper precautions (like practicing social distancing). But living in FEAR is what has the potential to consume you and waste your time. If you allow it to, that is.

Why? Because fear only exists in your mind, and it only has power over you if you let it.

Most of us are fearful of this virus on some level. But the mind has a habit of always looking for what could go wrong, which is a natural defense mechanism that it uses to protect us.

Here’s what I want you to do. Whenever you feel fear starting to creep up, ask yourself what thought is causing you to be fearful, and then get into the practice of reassuring your mind that everything is going to be ok and tell it “Thank you for sharing.

You are in control of how you react to any given situation, not your mind, and certainly not FEAR.

Don’t let your mind become another virus to battle in addition to Coronavirus. We may be in an uncertain and scary time right now, but how we choose to react will dictate whether or not we come out on top. It’s easy to stay positive and upbeat when everything is going your way. But it’s how you react when the shit hits the fan that will make or break you. Good or good? If you want to explore this further, I dive deeper into these concepts here.

Ok, so now that you understand that… let’s get back to finding new and creative ways to make the most out of social distancing.

One of the best things you can do to make sure you don’t let fear overcome your mindset is by finding new ways to pass the time and also enjoy it.

Here are a few suggestions to get your creative juices flowing…

10 Ways To Make The Most Out Of Social Distancing

1. Learn a New Skill or Gain Some New Knowledge

Take this time to learn a new language, or brush up on one you’d like to be more fluent in.

Now is also the perfect time to check out some of my free online trainings to get well on your way to living your best life possible.

2. Spend Time With Family and Loved Ones

There is no better time than to connect to your nearest and dearest.

Turn off the TV and plan a family game night, or if the weather is nice, have a picnic together on your deck or in your backyard.

3. Connect With Old Friends

Even though you can’t get together face-to-face, you can always reach out to those old friends you haven’t seen in a while via FaceTime or Zoom.

Or go the old-fashioned route and pick up the phone instead of texting.

4. Start the Big Project You’ve Always Been Talking About

Each and every one of us has some big idea that’s been floating around in your head, something you’ve wanted to learn or a project you’ve meant to tackle but just haven’t had the time.

Well, now is the time.

Always wanted to start writing that book you’ve already made an outline for, or call that investor you want to share your business proposal to? Go do it!

Need some tips on starting? Check out my free online training to turn your ideas into action!

5. Teach Your Kids a New Skill

Use these days spent at home to teach kids new arts and crafts, or even lessons that will help them later in life. Have them help you prepare and cook dinner, work alongside you to learn more about your job, or you can even start teaching them some money management skills.

6. Practice Self-Care and Self-Love

It’s so tough to stay productive and take care of everyone else when you aren’t making sure to take care of yourself as well.

The one thing we do have on our hands right now is extra time, so make sure to set aside a period of time each day to do at-home workout programs, practice meditation, write in your journal, watch your favorite TV shows, create art, make delicious, healthy food, or whatever it is that helps you unwind and relieve stress. And don’t forget to get plenty of rest, too!

7. Goal-Setting & Planning for the Future

This is the perfect time to revisit your vision board to see what progress you’re making or create a vision board if you haven’t yet. It’s also a great time to set goals to keep you motivated and moving forward.

Whether it’s career goals or personal goals, take this time to get in touch with yourself, and think about what you truly want in life, and start making a plan of action for how you’re going to get there.

8. Spring Cleaning & Home Improvement

Since it’s something most people have had on their list for a while but have never had ample time to do, you might as well take advantage of having extra hours in your day to clean out the clutter.

Getting organized can be very therapeutic, so why not finally clean out your bedroom closet and fill up boxes with clothes you no longer wear so you can donate them.

Now is also a great time to clean up the yard for Spring or fix those loose door handles and leaky faucets. Once this virus has made its exit, you’ll be a few steps ahead of the game when it comes to productivity.

9. Get Outside and Explore

Of course, keep practicing social distancing and be mindful of how many people there are around you, but taking a walk or hike on a trail or taking your bike for a spin is a great way to tackle cabin fever.

10. Online Health & Wellness Programs

Even though you might miss the gym, there’s really no need for it with apps such as Aaptiv, Glow, Asana Rebel, and DownDog. You can still get a great workout right in the privacy of your own home.

Whatever way you choose to pass the time during this period of uncertainty, just remember that we’re all in this together, and we WILL get through this.

When the going gets tough, take a deep breath, stay focused, remember that YOU are in control of your mind and your thoughts, and make it a point to prioritize your happiness and always practice gratitude.

Use this time to ask yourself,

“What can I do with this time to improve myself and the people around me?” And then take ACTION.

By doing so, you will be able to overcome your fear-based mindset once and for all. Years from now, long after this is all over, you’ll look back on this challenging time and realize that by making the best of every situation, you can conquer ANY situation.

How do you plan on making the most out of social distancing? Share your ideas below in the comments section and let me know!

For your freedom,

Every Day is a Gift

My very favorite expression is …

Every Day is a Gift

Words contained within expressions can have a powerful impact on one’s emotions. Here are the main reasons why I consider it so potentially powerful:

Today, tomorrow, or any other given day, is not guaranteed to any of us, no matter your age.
In the U.S., if charged with any crime, you are presumed innocent and, unlike other countries, must be proven guilty.
If you work hard enough, in time you have the opportunity to become a millionaire.
Most first-world countries like the U.S. have a high degree of personal safety.
If you live in the U.S. you have many benefits including the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the First and Second Amendments.
In the U.S., if an accused person feels he or she is falsely accused there can be a solution. By pleading what is known as habeas corpus, he or she would have a strong argument for maintaining individual freedom. This provision was first established by statute in the U.S. in 1789. The presumption of innocence is a powerful, irreplaceable rule in any free country.

I’m also considering starting a new upscale group of Double Platinum members.

The concept would involve one major unique Member meeting a year at an exclusive location in the world’s most beautiful country in the loveliest hotel on the planet plus an exclusive tips-filled newsletter.

Topics covered in depth will include citizenship matters; personal investing; retirement investing; estate planning; travel matters; public speaking tips; vacationing options; marketing secrets and breakthroughs—and what is working in today’s world.

Each member will be invited to be a contributing member of the group. However, this would depend on direct feedback from my readers and subscribers. Please let me know what else you’d like to see included in my Double Platinum Group.

In hopes the New Year will be your best ever!

Warm regards,

P.S. I wear a baseball hat with the phrase above in the headline. Each day several people want to buy it. I don’t sell my hats. I just give them to close friends.

The Two Sides of Marketing: How To Get Customers, and How to Keep Them

Looking for ways to stay profitable while gaining new customers, and keeping existing ones? Here are Harv Eker’s successful business tips for diversifying your product offering two product lines: Products to get them in and products to keep them there.

You mean there’s two sides of marketing?? This is probably news to a lot of people. Most business people, if they’re thinking about it at all, think that marketing is mostly compromised of getting people’s initial interest.

While that’s obviously a huge part of the success-building game.
Getting customers in the door the first time is the costliest and most time-consuming part of a company’s life. In fact, it costs five times more to gain a new customer than to keep the one you already have; another crucial aspect many businesses fail at. Offering one product to a new customer is great, but not offering more, different, or ever-newer products keeps them as one time customer.

Diversify Your Product Line To Increase Your Business and Succeed

Unsuccessful businesses fail to follow up with additional products or services. They don’t have an array of complementary items to offer.

Successful businesses that do have a variety of offerings create perpetually-new customers by delivering ever more products and services to the same people, while still gaining new customers.

This is the only way to build more revenue and gain their trust, and the next most important thing you can capture from a customer after you’ve gotten their attention and interest is trust.

In this age of ever-increasing skepticism and cynicism, trust is hard to come by. If people don’t trust you, they’re less likely to listen to you, and even less likely to spend their money on you.
Stop yourself from becoming too bogged down and overwhelmed with these three strategies, and diversify your product line!

When customers return, they developed a trust with you. Create a circle of trust where you deliver with satisfaction. Satisfaction is where the money’s at.
These customers are providing your future wealth. You’ll make some money from one-time customers, but obviously not as much as repeat customers.

Offer Products To Get Them In and Products To Keep Them There

So one end of your marketing strategy is to get first-timers in the door, and the other end is to have a line-up of products and services that you can offer once they’re in.
Two marketing systems, two product lines.

One gets them into the circle; the other keeps them in. You almost have to treat these two ends as if you’re running two separate but similar businesses. That’s how separate they should be.

How To Apply This Concept:

Your exercise is to set a line-up of front end and back end products and services for a business you have now or, a business you’d like to start in the future.

Creativity and imagination are your allies. If you can’t think of products or services, make them up! Innovations happen by creative people figuring out how to make something that exists even better, or by being imaginative enough to anticipate future wants and needs and creating something that may not even exist now.

Also think; “What am I absolutely great at that I could duplicate beyond me, over and over again?”
Look at what your clients want and how you can support them. If you execute this right, you’ll go from a decent income to real wealth relatively fast. The headaches are in the front end, but the money comes back!

Harv’s fitness company went from zero to millions and millions of dollars in revenue in under 2.5 years because he followed specific principles and unique marketing strategies.

He reveals a lot of what he used in his 500 Million Dollar Secret web class, and he’d like to invite you to join him as his guest on one of his upcoming calls.

It’s free to attend, click here to reserve your spot now.

So now it’s your turn! Have you set up both ends of your marketing? If so, share with us your experiences, success, and struggles. Do you have a product idea? How did you come up with it? Share with us here so others who are stuck at this stage can learn from you. This online blog community is for you, so make sure you take advantage of it!

How To Make Money Through Affiliate Marketing Programs

Affiliate marketing programs allow people to make money online fast. An affiliate marketer earns by promoting specific websites or products in exchange for commissions from the traffic one generates. Any time a recommendation from an affiliate leads to a sale, the affiliate is given a portion of the sales.
In simple terms, the services or products are offered by others, and the affiliate serves as a marketing outlet. The best affiliate programs provide you opportunities to make money fast. By learning how affiliate marketing programs work, you will be able to start a home based business that will help you earn a lot of money in no time.

Decide on a Business Model
There are two types of business models that affiliate marketers can choose from. These are a review site and a resource site. The latter embeds an affiliate link or an advertising unit into posts and articles. It requires frequent updates to make customers regularly go to the website. A review site features reviews of products and/or services that the marketer has tried. The review will contain a link or an ad that will direct readers to the website of the partner. A review website requires less updates.

Develop a Website
The next step on how to make money as an affiliate marketer is to have an online platform. This can be a blog or a personal website. This is where you will be posting links to your affiliate products and services. If you already have a blog or a website, then you can use it to start earning as an affiliate marketer.
There are blog sites that are free, while some websites need fee to operate and maintain. The good news is that there are web hosts that offer affordable website services. Websites also look more professional than a blog.
There are affiliate marketing programs that provide a free platform for advertising products and services. There are also some affiliate programs that offer pay per click programs without the need of a blog or a website. Links can be shared through social media, and it will direct people straight to the merchant partner's site and not a landing page that you have created.

Find a Niche
As an affiliate marketer, you need to choose a niche. This is the area where you will specialise in. You don't need to be an expert in that area. You just need to be enthusiastic and willing to learn about it.
The best affiliate programs are willing to help your home-based business grow. It is important that you find the right program that offers products and services that are related to your chosen niche. The amount of work you need to put in and the products you are going to product depends on your chosen niche.

Do you want to continue searching for the "magic pill" or have something that actually works 100%?

Make your first profit this week... http://www.cashincomestream.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Henk_J_Matthee/709018

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9515614

Affiliate Marketing For Newbies – What To To Consider When Choosing A Niche

Choosing a niche is an important step in affiliate marketing for newbies. Some people will advise you to pick a niche that you are passionate about and to a certain extent that may be true. This is because maintaining your niche website will be more enjoyable than a drag. I mean, what better way to work than if you are enjoying what you do for a living right? However, there are other things to consider when choosing a niche market besides the passion factor.

How Profitable The Niche Is

One of the other factors you will need to consider when choosing a niche market is whether the market is profitable. Now, if you are passionate about collecting stamps you could create a website based on that hobby. However, it may not be too profitable for you because not many people on the internet may have that same passion that you have. Therefore, another consideration is to gauge how profitable the niche is. If your passion falls under a profitable niche, then good for you, but if it does not, you will have to think of another niche that you feel you will enjoy marketing.

Is There A Demand For The Niche?

I gave you the illustration of the collecting stamps niche. Well, that niche is available if you search carefully on the internet, although there is not a lot of demand for it. That leads me to the next question. Is there any demand for that niche? If a niche has a decent demand, that means that it is most likely already profitable. That way you know that you can make money when you target that niche. On the other hand, if a niche has no demand, you need to do the extra step of testing the market to see if it will work for you. Market penetration can be risky and I would advise you to stick to something has already been tried and tested.

Desperate Niches

Well, you probably have heard of desperate niches. These are markets that have desperate buyers, or buyers who need or want the solutions to their problems immediately. These niches are the most profitable niches to choose because there will always be buyers facing desperate problems, such as acne, debt, and obesity, just to name a few.

I hope you learnt something from these tips on choosing a niche market. Affiliate marketing for newbies is possible and the first step would be to pick a good niche.

“7 Strategies To Create Great Content For Your Blog (And Why Pokemon GO Is One Such Strategy!)”

Lets talk about blogging!

Firstly, blogs have “evolved” over time. In the past, it gained popularity when many people started using blogs as their personal online journal. After that, it transited into a more organizational use and many people started using them for business purposes as well.
However, I feel that “real blogs” are meant to be more personal in both presentation and approach, with a less corporate feel…like this blog!

Blogging is about sharing your passions and thoughts, and at the same time, monetizing the platform too so you can make money. Hence, I usually encourage my students to use blogs as a platform to start their online business as it is simple, personal and very easy to start with.
However, it’s all about consistency and to be able to blog continuously is not an easy task. This is especially so if you’ve a day job and busy schedule.
You also need to ensure that what you’re blogging about have an impact. Meaning, it has a purpose, quality and hopefully, highly informational and educational. Fact is, if your blog’s content is not too good, it just reflects negatively on yourself.
This is so important that I’ve decided to list down the SECRETS to always creating good, purposeful and informational content for your own blog…
Lets look at 7 simple strategies to do just that!

Reviews

You can do review type blog post. Most of the time, you will be doing a product review.
This can be applied to many things, from reviewing food which you commonly see on food blogs (which are very popular) to reviewing a movie you’ve just watched, to a software that you’re promoting. As you can tell, there are many different topics and options to choose from. Most importantly, talk about a topic you like and have a passion for!
Within the review post, you can summarize the overall benefits of the product and discuss what you like or dislike. You can also include thoughts about how the experience or product can be improved.

How To Tutorials

“How to tutorials” posts are very popular these days. This is because it can be very valuable to the readers, especially when they get to learn about a topic they are seeking information on.

“How to tutorials” posts usually provide step-by-step guidelines on how a topic works or how to do a specific task. For example, a post about how to upload website files onto the internet using FTP, or a post about how to use Excel.
Again, most times you can then recommend a relevant product or service (your own or affiliate product) as a complete solution to the readers. This way you get to monetize your content!

Videos

Another popular type of blog post content you can create is videos.
Video is simply another content format, which can sometimes be easier than writing and typing.
You can also record a personal video to discuss, comment about a topic or teach something. A good idea is to do a “how to video tutorial” instead which is more effective in terms of presentation than text.
For example, it can be an on screen capture type of video to do a specific task, or you speaking over a powerpoint presentation and recording it. Both methods can be done with software tools like Camtasia or Camstudio.

Personal Experiences

Share your own personal experiences are one of the best types of blog post you can create. Again, it can be very varied on different topics. Just be careful what you say though, especially if it’s something controversial or illegal.
What I’m recommending though is to share your personal experiences on an educational topic instead. For example, what I do is share my own internet business experiences, successes and mistakes so that others can learn too.
Sharing your personal experiences will also add a huge human touch to your blog and cultivate a deeper relationship with your readers.

Industry News And Articles

You can also blog about industry news and articles. This can easily be done by sharing news and content from authoritative websites in your niche, giving credit to the source at the end.
For example, if your business is about social media, you can look out for the latest updates on Facebook and share them with your readers. This saves people time and effort.

Other People’s Content

I know we’re all lazy so besides coming up with your own content, you can share other people’s content! This is very similar to the previous strategy but for this specific strategy, you would also want to add your own opinions and tips as an “add on”.

Current Trends

One of the most popular blogging strategy is to blog about current trends in your topic or niche. People get excited about trends and they also want to be updated constantly and always be “in the know”.

For instance, at the time of writing this post, people are crazy about “Pokemon GO”. Apart from the entertainment perspective, trends like these can lead to new industries and more businesses being created.
It’s already happening and there are many existing and new businesses leveraging on the trend now. For example, restaurants riding on the popularity by creating “Pokemon menus” and engaging real life actors to act as Pokemon characters in the restaurants, to attract players to come catch some Pokemons and dine at the same time (is that even possible??)
I’m also certain there are, or will be various informational products like “how to play Pokemon GO” type of ebooks and videos leveraging on the trend and making a lot of money.
Businesses and individuals are also riding on the trend by leveraging it as content, videos and more. The below is just a screenshot example of a website doing this:

Yes, I’m guilty of being in this trend too, on the entertainment side that is.
I hope you enjoyed, and most importantly, benefited from this content.
Now go and create your next great blog post!

Ewen

Embrace It…You’re A Fricken Robot! Here’s How To Break Bad Habits “The Robotic Way”

Conditioning is a tough topic, yes? We know we can be better, do better, have so much to offer ourselves, those we can touch, those we can reach. But we have these habits that get in the way.

There are the obvious bad habits: vices and diets that are bad for your health; not getting enough sleep; sleeping too much; lack of exercise, the usual suspects.
Then there are the bad habits that can be insidious, like not keeping your word: to yourself or to others.

What’s that all about?
That could be a couple of things. It’s not understanding how important whatever the issue is that you neglected. It’s also disrespect of the other person and yourself.
But mostly, it’s just pure habit.

Like I’ve said before, we’re all freaking robots. The minute we’re born we’re a spiritual person who accepts the conditioning of a personality. Our mind is an empty place. It’s a brain that’s just a file cabinet waiting to be filled up. If it wasn’t, we wouldn’t have a brain that was so adaptive to learning.

A lot of the things we learn isn’t about good or bad. It’s about the way that we learned them. They’re either helpful or not depending on what we want to do.
Now what do you do as a robot? If the robot is not keeping its word, do you beat it up? No. You just need to change the programming. You need to teach the robot something else to do.

How do you do that?
First of all, the robot is very good at understanding an awareness of the process that says, “Robot, we’re not keeping our word, and we would feel better if we kept our word, so we want to do that. Will you buy in with me?” Of course it’s going to say, “Yes.”

You plead with your robot again, “From here on out, we’re going to do that, right, robot?” The robot will say, “Sure,” but you know what happens the next day. The robot just does what it was programmed to do, doesn’t it?
What do you do? You gotta give the robot not a drastic change in programming, but an easy one.

You say, “Robot, do you think you have the capability of keeping your word one time?” The robot says, “That’s easy. I can do that.”
Robots like really easy things. You go ahead and keep your word, and you do it with intentionality.

Then you say to your inner robot, “You felt so good about that, do you think you might be able to do one more?”

“I could do one more. Of course I could!”

Now it’s just a question of memory and saying that when you say you’ll do it, you do it.
You must replace a habit with another habit, but you’re a robot. You have to take on one thing at one time. Then you learn another thing one time and then another thing one time.

Don’t say, “I’m going to commit for 30 days.” You’re going to set yourself up for failure. Why? It’s because you’re a frickin’ robot. If you’ve been running another program for X amount of years, 30 days of new momentum is outstanding, not something that just “happens.”
Make it long-term goal in the back of your head. For now it’s one step at a time, one day at a time.

Now, what if you don’t keep your word on this one particular new habit, or you don’t do your new habit for even one day?

You take a nice deep breath and say, “Thank you for doing the best you could today. You did not complete what you said you would. Would you be willing to commit for tomorrow?
It’s okay. It’s a habit. We’re going to take a little bit of time to reverse this habit. You’re literally pressing your robot’s restart button. Robots do what they do. They should always get another chance.

Hey, I’m the first guy in line to give tough love when it’s needed by my students. That’s what your teachers and mentors are for sometimes. But for goodness sake don’t beat yourself up about habits that are tough to change. We’re born this way.

But we’re also creative enough, imbued with gifts that allow us to create new paths, new ways of being. Kind self-accountability is what we’re looking for here. There are enough people in the world who are eager to beat us up, especially when we’re successful. Don’t do it to yourself.

Take on your transformations one at a time, one step at a time, and watch just how easy it can be to change bad habits.

Why It Doesn’t Matter If You’re A Starter Or A Finisher

There are two types of people in the world. There are starters and finishers.

When you get interested quickly and then lose focus or interest, there’s a reason for that. One might be that you’re a starter.

I can hear some of you thinking, “Oh my god, I’m not a finisher!” Relax. It’s not a great thing, but it’s not the worst thing in the world, either.

The worst thing in the world is not to be a starter. If you never start, what good is that?
There are people who just like new things. They only have focus for a short period of time. They don’t like long projects or ongoing tedious work. They don’t like routine. They don’t like just one thing at a time. Their minds are very active. They like a lot of stimulation and the multitasking element. I’m one of those people.

Do I love the seventh month of writing a book? No, I don’t. I like the idea of writing outlines for a lot of books and courses, though. That’s great. A new thing here and a new thing there; that’s me.
Are you the kind of person that’s a starter or a finisher? Are you a change person? Do you like newness or do you like routine? You have to know what you’re like in order to not beat yourself up about this.

You might think, “I am obviously a new person who likes a lot of change. That’s not helping me. I’m still not finishing. I’m still not focusing.”
At least now you understand that this is against your normal personality, so how do you play within your strengths? How do you do things that embrace and take advantage of your new change-up personality?

It starts with asking what you’re doing. What are you taking on? Are you taking on routine-type projects, routine-type work? If you are, it’s going to be a problem.
You might say, “Harv, I have a business and I want to do well, so I’ve got to do all of it, right?”
That’s right, but if you have other people with you in your business or can get other people, maybe you should be the idea person and let someone else be the executor of the idea. Maybe you’re the definition of a true entrepreneur.

Know who you are and move toward your strengths. Be good at that and be okay with that.

If you want to complete things, then here are some tips for you:

First, make sure it’s really what you want to do.
Second, you’ve got to have a little bit of discipline; make it a priority and don’t move to another thing until you’ve finished the first thing.
Finally, if you really want to get down to the personal development side of all this, and you’re not completing what you start even though you say you want to, why are you sabotaging yourself? What fear might be behind this? Is it a fear of failure? Is it a fear of success?

It’s a lot easier not to focus, not to finish. That way you don’t have to worry about failure or success, yes?

Practice focusing one hour a day. If you can’t do an hour, do 15 minutes.

Right after you finish doing this 15 minutes, journal what it felt like for you.

Once you get some successes under your belt, you’re going to start to do more. If you can do one day, then you can do 21 days. If you can do 21 days, then you can make focusing a true habit!

Are you a starter or a finisher? What problems/ challenges have you found being one or the other?

We’d love to hear from you!

The Holy Grail For Figuring Out WHY you Aren’t Getting The Results You Say You Want

For people who are aware of themselves enough to know what they want, how to go about getting it is often another issue. They work hard…or maybe just tell themselves that…but in spite of effort…they lack results.

Problem is, most people just aren’t aware of the difference between those parts we habitually, reflexively act from and the higher Self that directs those parts toward what we really want.
People are acting and doing things all the time, but how many of us are acting consciously most of the time? Few do, but if you can do it even half of the time, you’re doing better than most.

Acting consciously is acting effectively. Not from what this part or that part of you says, but what You say. Ultimately it’s important to practice making decisions from your higher Self. You know what’s right in your heart.

How do you do this?
Like anything, it’s a practice. I’ve heard people say they hear their Voice more clear when running, or hiking, going for walks, prayer, meditation, in the shower, whatever suits you. The common denominator is breathing, though.

Take a space of time to concentrate on at least 10 deep breaths. Have a piece of paper or a journal ready. You’re going to write a letter to yourself about whatever topic you’re having a challenge with.
You might say, “Dear Heart, This is from your higher Self regarding the topic of (fill in the blank). Here’s what’s going on and what you need to do … ”
Then almost close your eyes and start to write. Don’t edit it. Write as quickly as you possibly can. Don’t think. Thinking will kill the message you’re getting. Trust is big here. You’re practicing trusting yourself.

We all get messages, some of us easier and some of us with a little more challenge, but we all get them.
When you’re conscious of your true Self, you’re going to find that the answer(s) is so freaking obvious. However, if it doesn’t appear so, it’s usually because there’re these parts of us that uses the mind to auto-react: “Yeah, but you don’t understand … There’s this, that … ” and back to that chatter that keeps people stuck and frustrated.

Compassionately acknowledge those parts, but assert your ability to ensure that things will be okay. Your higher Self will tell you what it is you want, why, and what you need to do to get there. Again, don’t edit, just write.
Somewhere in your journaling is your to-do list, actions that can be meaningful because you’re more in touch with what your higher Self is really calling for. Actions that come from clarity, not fear and self-loathing.

And when I say to-do list, not the picking-up-groceries, stopping-by-the-dry-cleaners-kind of list, but steps that come from having a clear direction; steps that are bite-sized and achievable; and most importantly, actions that excite you!

Do you need to make some phone calls or send emails to people who have the information you need? Do you need to set up some meetings? Sign up for a course? Do some research? Write your bio? Create a marketing plan?

Whatever your items, prioritize them. The bigger-ticket items get those smaller, bite-sized actions that don’t overwhelm you yet keep you moving forward. This system allows you to win and succeed. You will work smarter and better, and you will get through more things.

Sounds so simple and obvious, yet it never ceases to amaze me how many people I teach, frustrated by a lack of results, don’t prioritize their actions according to what they say they want.
To compound the problem, those desires often come from parts that are fearful, hurt, sad, angry, whatever the case may be, and it causes them to act from that place with predictable results.
When you are constantly not doing what you said you were going to do, you feel like a failure. You feel out of integrity. No wonder you don’t want to take on more things. It’s crazy. Who would want to?

But that’s usually because we’re not being clear or honest about what it is we really want, or because we’re letting our parts take over.
You know you’re acting and being from your higher Self when you’re calm, confident, creative, courageous, and clear.

Regardless of the action, what we do may or may not have the impact we’re looking for…when we’re not acting consciously from grounded awareness. This is why what we consider meditation is so universal across time and cultures. When you’re confident, you’ll start believing in the very real magic of it all.

Create that space for yourself and let that higher voice do what it wants to do…help you succeed!

Allow Yourself To Be Imperfect… Even If You’re A Perfectionist

One of the most painful, disturbing problems in life is perfectionism.
Some people are perfectionists only at work, not in other areas of life. Still it kills positive energy and decreases efficiency. It’s exhausting and it affects mood and health.

This is a tough one because perfectionists don’t like to hear any answer that don’t paint them as perfect.

Let me speak for myself and a lot of my students, and then you see if you might fit this. A lot of my students and I got our perfectionism from a place of either over-criticism when we were young or an over-reliance on approval from others.

If you take a look at those two things that occurred when you were young, you can ask, “Did my parents, teachers, elders, brothers, sisters or whoever I respected criticize me so severely, once or often, that it still pains me to this day?”

If so, then there’s a fear that when you do something wrong something bad will happen. It’s a good reason to not want to do things wrong.

You’ve got to take a look and see where this comes from. For example, was everything cool in your life except for at school where your teacher was really harsh and you were really criticized? If you didn’t get the approval, were you ostracized at school and the kids didn’t like you?

Very often what people don’t realize is that your work life is a direct reflection today as an adult as your school life was when you were a kid, so I would look to that arena and see if there’s anything there. That will give you the why.

Once you know why you’ve got this perfectionism going on, then you have to ask, “Is it worth it and does it help me?”

There are some really positive elements about being a perfectionist, and there are really negative ones. What can possibly be good about being a perfectionist?

The obvious one is that usually perfectionists attempt to do things with excellence. The result is generally pretty decent, or at least you’re going to have pretty high quality when you’re dealing with a perfectionist versus someone who doesn’t give a sh*t, yes?

You should take that, enjoy it, embrace it and say, “That’s a great thing that I have this perfectionism. It gives me an opportunity to want to be excellent, and that is a very great trait.”

On the negative side, it hurts energy. It makes you feel like it can never be right or good enough, you never achieve enough and you’re never good enough. Because you’re never good enough and you don’t feel good about whatever you do you start to not want to take on new things, because you know you’re just going to get that bad feeling back again.

Here’s what you can do about this:

1. Locate where your perfection/imperfection comes from and accept it without judgment. 21st century Buddha says, “Sh*t happens.” Getting over it is a process, but knowledge is empowerment.
2. It’s a conditioned process. You can un-condition it.

You can say, “Thank you for sharing,” get yourself back into the game and acknowledge it, “I’m going to start fresh today. Today I’m perfect in the universe.”
This is literally true, by the way. On a spiritual level you’re perfect the way you are, with all of your flaws, good things and bad things.

If you see something is not perfect, allow yourself to play. Allow yourself to be imperfect and messy, and allow yourself to screw up once in a while. See that you’re not going to die.
Here’s one of the homework assignments we give for people in some of the courses for perfectionists: dress with your clothes backward. I want you to have your shirt half in and half out. I want your underwear to be showing, and I want your hair to be all messed up.

Allow yourself to be imperfect. Allow yourself to love yourself no matter how you are.

Love yourself unconditionally no matter what. That is the answer.

What do you think? Do you have any experiences you can share about perfectionism? We want to hear from you!

Why You May Be Sabotaging Yourself From Finding Your True Path In Life

When we talk about right directions, the biggest issue that people have is not being able to make a decision on what direction they think they should take for fear of making the wrong choice. When we are fearful of making a mistake, then it’s got to be the “right” direction.

I want everyone to write down these words: “What is it?”

Everyone wants to know, “What’s the right thing for me?”

That’s a bad question. Why? Because it puts way too much pressure on you.
I don’t blame you for being afraid to make that kind of choice, because what if it’s the wrong one?

It’s like a forever question: what if you get stuck with that choice forever?

Go back to that question “What is it? ” and cross out the word “it.” I want you to replace that with the word “next.”

What is next? What’s the next thing you want to try or do?
What just happened is you gave yourself some breathing room. You let yourself off the hook. You took the massive stress out of the question.

What is next could be a day, a month, a year, three years, or whatever.
You’re not necessarily going to find the perfect direction, but as I say in my Life Directions course “The idea is to try on different coats”.

We have this imagination that says, “Here’s what my perfect dream life looks and feels like. If I was just a writer, and I wrote books all day long, or if I was on stage teaching all day long, I would be a happy camper.”

And here’s where we get stuck. We have this image of the perfect situation for us. We’re not in that perfect situation, and we’re not living that perfect lifestyle or direction, but we say, “This will be it.”
Here’s what happens: You do “it,” and pretty soon you’re saying, “This isn’t it. There’s something missing.

What is it? Do I need to make a revision to where I’m at now or do I need to change to something completely new? I’m so disappointed that this wasn’t it. I still don’t feel great.”
Now we’ve got a big problem, don’t we?

If your issue is career, then I would ask, “What is next?” In other words, what would you love to try, especially if you weren’t afraid of the money thing?

Whatever the answer to that is, you may think, “I don’t know if I can make a lot of money at that.”
Here’s my contention. I’ll go back to the original teachings and principles that I think I’m fairly well-known for, which is solving people’s’ problems.

If you help people in a way that they need or want to be helped, and it’s in the area that you love to help people in, you’re going to love what you do, and you’re going to make a lot of money, assuming you learn the business elements we teach in our Million Dollar Business Secrets course.
You need to have a little bit of skill, but the most important thing is: are you helping people? Are you really helping them solve their problem?

Also, do you love helping people in that area? Is that something that sings to you? We all love to help, but we all love to help in certain ways more than others.

This is for those people who are having challenges with choosing their direction:

1. A lot of this is about fear. Instead of putting pressure on yourself to choose “correctly,” choose what’s exciting for you to imagine how you would help a lot of people in a way that’s fun for you, and that you’re good at.

2. Get a private coach. Let them help you for at least a few months. Whatever your goal, it’s much harder to accomplish without someone who can mentor you through that process. Learning the skills from someone with proven experience makes a huge difference.

The problem with most people is that they are so busy being fearful of choosing the wrong thing that they lose focus on what’s exciting for them to pursue versus what’s correct.

What’s a path that sounds awesome for you to pursue? Do you believe you’d never make the kind of money you’d like to make pursuing that path? Is that absolutely true?
If so, is there another way you can stay in the field you want but apply your skills and talents in a different way?

Bouncing ideas within the community could be a valuable way to help brainstorm the path that’s true for you. Leave your feedback in the comments below, I would love to hear from you!

Henk

What This Football Coach Said “Struck A Chord” With Me… And How It Will Help You Create Life And Business Success

All leaders have the same problem. This matters to you because to get what you want in life, at some point you’re going to have to lead. That’s what successful people do in some way, shape or form.

The problem is that you have a team, a group, and they all have personalities. They, like us, are all robots. They want to do things their way because it suits them, and they think their way is better.

When you have a team that’s on the same page despite their individual robotics, you have a group primed for success. If not, you get mediocrity or worse.

I have an example that really brought this home for me. I have a place in San Diego, so I’ve grown an affinity for the football Chargers. They got a new coach year before last, Mike McCoy, and ended up doing well in a tough division even though they really actually weren’t that great of a team talent-wise.

At the end of his first season, McCoy was asked, “When you took over, how did you get the team to start performing so well?”

What was so profound for me about his answer was that I heard the exact same thing in basketball on the exact same day. Another first-year coach was talking about his new success.

He and the Charger’s coach gave the exact same answer, so I thought, “This must be important.”

The answer was: “I came from a system, and I installed a system that they’re not used to. The reason we’re doing better now is not only that the system works, but everyone’s following the system. A lot of coaches have systems, but the players won’t play the system, so you have a losing team.”

They key is not just to have a system that works. The key is to have the players “buy into the system.”
In other words, successful coaches are great salespeople.
You have to give your team a vision of how change is actually going to be fun and exciting because it’s been proven to work–as long as everyone commits to it.

They get to be part of a process that will turn the tide from mediocrity (and those not-so-joy-joy feelings that go along with knowing you can do and be better) to tangible, noticeable success.

You hear it all the time in sports: nothing squashes minor squabbles and drama amongst a team better than success.
But most importantly, you’ve got to show proof that the system works.

McCoy was a coordinator on the Denver Broncos the year before he joined the Chargers. That year, the Broncos went to the Super Bowl.

It wasn’t hard for him to sell the fact that the Broncos went to the Super Bowl–the one thing every NFL player wants–and the Chargers didn’t.

He didn’t say, “Do you want to play the system?” He said, “Do you want to go to the Super Bowl?” They say, “Yes,” and he says, “Good. This system takes people to the Super Bowl.”
Not a hard sell at that point.

What needs to happen next, though, is to make the system very simple to understand, which makes the buying-in that much easier. Make it very, very easy, and one tiny thing that they do that’s within the system.

Show them the benefits of the system. Have them learn the habit of using the system, even just one tiny part of it.

The basketball coach said he showed his team that in his system, when you’re in the best position you pass the ball off to the right, and that player passes off to the corner, and then the corner player passes back off to the original passer, who now has a clearer path to the basket than before that first pass. Going two more steps moves the opposing player and opens up the lane to a much greater extent.

So that’s what his team practiced 100 times. They became perfect at it. They only drove the ball to the basket after it’s gone to the third corner player and the lane is open.
You’re dealing with habits here. You are the leader. You must lead a process of having people change their habits and buy into the system.

You’ve got to show its effectiveness by:

1. Making the system super-easy to buy into (does this not apply to your customers as well?).
2. Making the system super-simple to learn.
3. Repeat Repeat Repeat … practice changing the habit.
This goes for athletics, personal habits, group habits, or your business.
Without a system in place, you’ll never have a self-sustaining business, and without proof of success and practice, your group won’t use an otherwise potentially good system.

Why You Need To Be Like Bamboo

Personal development can sometimes get a bad rap in some intellectual circles, labeled generally as hoaxy, New Agey, feel-good cheerleading in vain.
That is how it turns out, sometimes. Like every product, there’s going to be some with better quality and some not so much. The consistent success of personal development teachers speaks for the difference.

Just taking personal development for what it is, though, how could that ever be a bad thing? If you’re not busy growing…you’re busy dying, yes?

However, as usual with life there’s still a big complication. It’s called impatience.
My students are often not newbies to the personal development space, having taken one or more courses before, whether with me or with other teachers.

This begs the question for people: “How many courses do I have to take?”

Answer: as many courses as it takes for you to do what you say you’re going to do.
It’s a progression. Where you are on the ladder will determine how many programs, how much learning, how many books, how long it’s going to take to get there.

Learning and personal development are musts. And having impatience is not an option.
In a lot of cases nothing happens after the first course. You know the info is good if you’ve chosen a proven teacher, but it’s really just the appetizer. Most people aren’t ready to take on the whole enchilada at that point.

After the second course people start getting a little hit. After the third course, you start to really get some good understanding about your life and what’s going on but still nothing major.

However, then come the doubt-devils: “I should give this up. What a waste of time all this personal development crap is. I don’t even feel good. In fact, I feel worse than I did before when I was a factory worker in the dark. What a drag. Business is hard. Life is getting harder. Relationships are harder.”

“How will I know when I’m ready?”

When you jump and the water is blissful, you’ve done it.

Now is it always going to be blissful? No.

Have you noticed even if you go into a pool and it’s pretty nice, if you stay in the pool for an hour, you get cold and you’re all wrinkled? Even that pool has to be changed a little bit.
You have to love growth. And you have to keep on growing.
If you do then one day you’re going to wake up and things are going to click for you. Your money, relationships and house are going to be there. Your life is going to be beautiful…unless you get impatient.

Don’t be looking. You’ll see it when you see it.
All of sudden you’re going to see…
Money, success, relationships and happiness are all coming my way.

My life is finally together.

How did that happen?

The best way I can describe it is through a story, maybe some of you have heard, about this boy who plants two seeds. The next spring one of the seeds becomes a corn stark, but the other doesn’t appear to sprout anything.

This happens five years in a row; the corn stalk becomes this amazing cornfield but the other seed … nothing. However, within three months of the last time the boy checks the crops, all of sudden there are 20-foot bamboo shoots that tower all over the cornfield.
Five years with nothing and all of a sudden, explosion. Why was that bamboo able to grow so fast and so strong?

Because for those five years, it was growing its roots, its foundation. It was setting the structure for huge, sustainable growth in its life.
Some people are corn seeds. You give them a little bit and they sprout. But when people grow really quickly and have big success really fast, they usually don’t have the structure underneath to sustain it. The first wind that comes, it’s over.

Realize that like the bamboo, you are growing, developing, and learning for that day and in time you too will tower over the field, you will tower over your own doubt in yourself.
Everyone has a story of sudden growth or realization that changed life for the better after a period of stagnation. Be patient my friends.

How Focusing On The “Big Kahuna” Will Make You Rich

Let’s look at the question of life-balance.

In normal conversation, when we use the word “balance” we tend to think of balance being an even distribution. It might be weight, for example, where I’m balancing on one leg, or my arms feel balanced when I work out. We tend to think of balance as an even-Steven proposition.

We think, “Balance means equal attention given to both or to all.” If you’d like, write that down.

Now cross out the word “equal” because it’s wrong and it doesn’t work in your life.

Here’s the secret: I call it the Big Kahuna. I live in Hawaii, half the year. The Big Kahuna means the big thing. What it means is that, especially in your money and your business, there is one big thing.

What is the one big thing you can do that would have the most impactful effect on your entire business or money situation?

It’s the one thing; not the 10 things.

For my situation, I’ve been fortunate enough to do enormously well on my book Secrets of the Millionaire Mind. That book brought me a lot of clients and business, millions all over the world. It has sold almost 2 million copies now in 43 languages. It’s more than a blessing.

What could I do right now, if I wanted to, that would have the greatest impact? I could probably write another book and put the energy into making that another huge best-seller.

Do I want to do that? Not necessarily right now, but this is what I could do. That would be my Big Kahuna. If the Big Kahuna for me was to write another best-selling book, that would be huge compared to everything else that I do on a day-to-day basis.

Here’s what I want you to do:

Create a two-columned space. The left-hand column is for “Money and Business” and the right hand column is for everything else: relationships, health, leisure-time activities; the other areas of life that are important to us all. In the left hand column you’re going to divide it again into ‘Daily Business’ and ‘The Big Kahuna.”

Here’s the thing, and please, don’t freak out. Fifty percent of all of my money and business time, in that left hand column, goes into my Big Kahuna.

Do you want greatness or do you want mediocrity? Do you want wealth or do you want to earn a living? If you want wealth, you have to work on the Big Kahuna and make it happen. That’s what creates greatness in your life. Everything else is piddly. What we do is we spend 99% of our time on the piddly stuff. The Big Kahuna gets left out.

Let’s review. There are two sides, money and business on the left side, on the right side is the rest of your life.

On the business side you divide that into two categories. That’s going to be 10 hours a day, five days a week or however many hours a day, five days a week; whatever you want.

Out of those 10 hours you are going to split the 10 hours in half. Fifty percent of it goes to your Big Kahuna and the other half of it goes to whatever else you have to do in your business.

You’re never going to get rich on your other side of the business; the side that’s not the Big Kahuna. It’s going to be on your Big Kahuna. The rest of the time other than your 10 hours a day at work is going to be for your life.

You balance the money and business side of your life. Is it all equal compared to the right side, the life side? No. Does it have to be? No. Does this system work? Yes.

Will you get rich? Yes. Will you take care of all the other areas of your life? Yes. That’s how it works.

It’s the Big Kahuna principle. Fifty percent of all your business work time goes to the one big thing that is going to make the biggest difference and the highest impact in your business and your financial life.