Friday, August 26, 2011

8 Steps To Becoming A Millionaire

Many books have been published on the topic of the millionaire mindset. No doubt the most popular one is the classic Think And Grow Rich.

There is a good reason for this. It is not just slick salesman and authors trying to make a quick buck.

There is merit behind the idea that to be a self-made millionaire, you need to have a millionaire mindset.

Modern science has proven the validity in the Law of Attraction - that you really are what you think. If you think like someone who is poor, what do you think the result is going to be?

Are you likely to be rich or poor?

Many people have a dream of becoming a millionaire. Unfortunately for many people, it is just that - a dream, and it will always remain a dream.

The aim of this blog post is to address the issues that prevent people from achieving wealth. We will identify and cover these issues and share with you practical strategies about how you can overcome these problems. We want to get you on your way to becoming a millionaire.

But it is up to YOU. We can guide you, but you have to put in the effort.

This lens is NOT about practical ways to make money. There are many, many excellent programs and mentors that can show you that.

Believe it or not, finding the "right" business opportunity is not the stumbling block preventing most people from making millions.

Yet, this is the exact attitude of the get rich quick junkie. This lens would be exceptionally helpful for these people though I doubt they would even be interested in this topic.

Instead, what prevents people from creating wealth, are the limiting mindset, beliefs, attitude and negative habits that they have. These are the factors that prevent them from creating millions.

How do you expect to be a millionaire if you don't really BELIEVE you can become one? Have you ever been able to accomplish anything without believing you could do it? Anything?

Of course not!

Accumulating wealth is the same. Due to a variety of reasons, most people have bad programming when it comes to creating wealth.

The solution is that YOU have to actively change this negative programming. You have to develop the millionaire/wealth mindset. This way you can replace the bad programming, the limiting beliefs, with the millionaire mindset, the good programming.

It takes a little work and effort but the results are worth it.

Until you do this, you will NEVER achieve any wealth. Fix these issues and you will be well on your way to achieving your financial goals.

If you would like to know the surefire 8 step system to becoming a millionaire, keep reading below.

Step 1: Why Do You Want To Be Rich?

Step 1 
The very first step to becoming a millionaire is to work out exactly why you want to be a millionaire.

So, why do you want to be a millionaire?

This "why" will be your reason. It will provide you with the inspiration, motivation and drive for all those times when you won't feel like working or when you are tempted to just to give up.

Even if you think it's for vanity or for something superficial, that is still a good enough reason. If your desire to become a millionaire is so you can buy all the luxuries of wealth, the houses, boats, cars, etc - that is an acceptable reason. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that so don't feel guilty for wanting nice things for yourself and your family (that guilt for wanting nice things is part of the bad programming you have to erase) .

The most important thing you must get out of this step is that you know and understand this "why".

Another important thing you must determine is this:

Is it YOUR reason?

Are you doing this for YOU and not because somebody else is making you do it?

Don't confuse this question with "Are you doing it FOR somebody else?." This is OK because it is still YOUR reason.

Instead, make sure you are NOT doing it because someone else is making or forcing you to do it (using guilt for example). This could be your parents or a spouse.

If you are trying to achieve wealth because somebody else is pressuring you to do it, I can save you the trouble and tell you right now that you WILL FAIL.

One reason for this is that you are the one who has to do the work, so you must have the drive for it. The drive has to be internal - it must come from inside you.

If the reason "why" is not internal, when you hit the inevitable roadblocks, you will not have the drive to keep going.

Before you move on to Step 2, make sure you know the reason why AND that it is your reason.

Step 2: Decide To Be Rich

Step 2 
The second step to becoming a millionaire is to make "getting rich" the number ONE priority in your life.

In other words, you must decide to become a millionaire.

A lot of people claim to have the desire to be rich. But, when you ask them how much time a day they devote to this desire, their only answer is to tell you how long they spent buying their weekly lottery ticket.

If something is a priority in your life, you always put time and effort into it.

Take losing weight for example. Why do so many people only seriously start an exercise and diet program a few months before their wedding. Surely, the desire to lose weight and look their best would have been there all along. They only start taking it seriously when they make it a priority

Once they decide to lose weight - it becomes a priority and only then are they willing to put the time and effort into losing weight. In these situations, virtually all people end up losing significant weight.

The same principle applies to creating wealth.

Answer this simple question to see if becoming a millionaire is a priority for you now.

How much time a day do you spend on your goal of becoming a millionaire?

I have another question for you: How many hours of TV do you watch per day?

Is it more than you spend on working to become a millionaire? If it is, then by your actions, you're telling me that watching TV is more important to you than creating wealth.

Right now, watching TV is a bigger priority for you than becoming a millionaire - that's why you spend more time on TV than working towards your financial dreams.

Once you change your priorities, it will be much easier to change your actions.

Getting rich has to be the most important thing in your life AT THAT TIME. Yes, this might sound selfish but it is something every millionaire at some point HAS to do.

I'm sure you've heard numerous stories of entrepreneurs who worked 18 hour days and slept in their offices for 3 months just to get their businesses started. That's what I mean by making getting rich a priority.

Again, it HAS to be the most important thing in your life at that moment. It is where you should put all your time and energy.

Once you become a millionaire or you achieve your financial goals, then you can change your number one priority to something else (like your family).

So, have you decided to become rich yet?

Good, onto Step 3.

Step 3: Know EXACTLY What You Want

Step 3 
This step is definitely the most fun as here we will work out what we want. We are going to dream BIG.

In this step, I want you to WRITE down EXACTLY what you want. Be very specific.

Do not be vague at all. I want a "million dollars" or "nice things" is not specific enough.

A good exercise to help you determine what you want is to run through your ideal day. What would a typical weekday, in your ideal world, look like?

Don't just include material possessions - include everything. How many hours (if any) would you like to work? Where are you working? Where do you live? What car do you drive? What do you eat? How much money do you have?

Include everything in as much detail as possible. Don't be shy.

Be crystal clear and write down exactly what you want. By this point, you already know why you are doing this, but what is the point of all the effort and work you are going to be doing.

The importance of writing down your goals can't be understated. It is almost as important as knowing what you want. Don't just keep your wants and goals in your head.

WRITE THEM DOWN. Typing is good, but using a pen and paper is better.

A study conduced by Harvard university proves how important it is to have and to write down your goals. The study followed Harvard MBA students over a 20 year period to see the effect that goal setting would have on their success.

At the start of the study, 84% of the graduates had no clear specific goals, 13% had unwritten specific goals while only 3% had specific written goals.

The results of the study conducted between 1979 and 1989 revealed that the 3 percent of graduates who had clear, written goals when they left Harvard, were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other 97 percent of graduates COMBINED.

This proves that the act of writing your goals down vastly increases your chance of success.

It won't take you too long but is vital to your success.

This is the step where you let your imagination and dreams run wild. Put no limit on what you want and be as specific as possible.

If you want money for other purposes, such as looking after your parents or donating to charity, include those also.

Step 4: Think Like A Millionaire

Step 4 
This may very well be the most important step.

You have to learn to think like a millionaire, as this will result in you acting like a millionaire.

This is especially important for people who have negative or limiting beliefs about money, which applies to most people. These beliefs must be eradicated before you can begin to accumulate wealth. The way to do this is to replace them with positive beliefs about money.

Since this negative programming resides in the subconscious mind, it is not going to be easy to get rid of these long held beliefs. It is not just a matter of reading a few lines from Think And Grow Rich and then expecting that you will have a millionaire mind.

The most successful people I know have read Think And Grow Rich more than a dozen times. Once is not enough.

While this step may not be easy, that does not necessarily mean it is hard either. It can be done, but you have to make a conscious effort to change your negative programming.

The best way to do this is to associate with self-made millionaires. For this discussion, we are referring to self-made millionaires who made their money in a business, as opposed to earning it through high paying jobs in sports, singing, movies, etc.

You may be aware of the theory that people tend to take on the characteristics and traits of the people they associate with. This is a well known psychological principle and one that we can use to our advantage.

If your friends think and behave a certain way, it is very likely you will think and act that same way. This means if your friends are broke or are always struggling for money, this will manifest itself in their thinking, language, behavior and actions.

This poverty mindset will rub off on you and will have a destructive effect on your wealth creation goals.

On the other hand, if you associate with millionaires, the same thing will happen. If you are the one with the poverty mindset, their millionaire mindsets will rub off on you. Their thinking, language, behavior and actions will effect you in a very positive way.

Instead of shooting you down as your friends might, they will encourage you. Their enthusiasm and confidence will be addictive and will spur you on to greater heights.

They will bring you up to their level and soon you will have their mindset, which is what you are aiming for. This is why it's best to associate with people on your level or on a level higher than you. By level, I am referring to thought processes.

If you are lucky enough to have friends that are self-made millionaires, the best option for you would be to directly associate with them. If that is the case, it would be fair to say that you already have this mindset anyway.

For most people though, this is not an option. So, what should you do?

The next best option is virtual association. While you may not be able to associate with them in person, you can certainly do it virtually through tools such as books, audios, videos, home study courses and mentoring.

You don't have to have dinner with Donald Trump to pick up the way he thinks. Investing in his programs, and listening to him teach, will do the same thing.

Think about what you do when you want to improve an area of your life. Let's use golf as an example.

Do you just go out and buy one golf book and then expect your golf skills to improve.

Of course not. Most people throw themselves into the deep end. They immerse themselves in everything golf. They get everything they can get their hands on. They watch golf tournaments, golf TV shows, books, magazines, etc.

They become golf junkies. They surround themselves with everything golf 24/7.

That is what you want to do - become a success and millionaire junkie. You want to immerse yourself, and especially your mind, in the study of millionaires and success.

Listening to an audio tape for 30 minuets a week isn't going to cut it. You must TRY and remove as much of the negative influence about money in your life and replace it with positive influences.

I say TRY because it is not reasonable or practical to ask most people to completely cut out these negative influences.

Ideally, if your friends and family have limiting beliefs about money, you would simply cut them out of your life. Same goes with all forms of news - especially negative news about the economy or finance.

BUT, for most people, that is not possible or even ideal. Instead, what you want to do is replace any negativity you get from these sources with the positive influences you get from your virtual association with millionaires.

The more you immerse and surround yourself with these positive influences, and limit the negative ones, the faster you will develop the millionaire mindset.

Sales and motivation guru Brian Tracy, originated the idea of turning your car into what he called a "rolling university." This means instead of listening to music or talkback radio, listen to an inspiring audio that could actually help you improve your life.

This is a great time to listen to Think And Grow Rich or your favorite success program. This is what I mean by immersion - constantly surround yourself with people that build you up and leave a positive influence on your subconscious mind.

For this to be effective, you have to do it consistently, at least until you develop the millionaire mindset. There is no one magic book or guru that can do it for you. It is best to read from several different sources because each author will offer a different perspective and you will learn something new from each one.

This is one of the success habits that millionaires have - they are always constantly learning and educating themselves, even after they are successful. They never stop learning, and neither should you, if you wish to emulate their success.

After being bombarded with positive messages, your subconscious mind will eventually get rid of the negative and limiting beliefs about money, and replace them with the millionaire beliefs you have acquired through the association of your virtual millionaire friends.

The following is a list of excellent books that focus on the millionaire mindset.

* Think And Grow Rich
* The Science of Getting Rich
* The Master Key System
* The Art of Money Getting
* The Path To Prosperity
* Success
* As A Man Thinketh
* The Richest Man in Babylon
* The Laws of Success
* Acres of Diamonds
* Rich Dad Poor Dad
* Secrets of The Millionaire Mind
* The Millionaire Next Door
* The Millionaire Mind
* Conversations With Millionaires
* The Secret
* The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
* The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires

Step 5: Can Your Passion Make You A Millionaire?

Step 5 
"Do what you love and the money will follow"

One of the crucial things you must do BEFORE you get started, is ensure that your preferred business or profession can actually make you a millionaire.

In this context, a millionaire business or profession is one that can make you a million dollars in ten years or less (preferably five years or less).

While this step may seem straightforward, many budding millionaires get stuck in businesses that could never possibly make them a millionaire. They are stuck in the wrong business.

Not all businesses can make you a millionaire. If your heart is set on a business or profession that can make you a millionaire, then you can skip this step.

If not, unfortunately, you will have to make a choice between becoming a millionaire or sticking to your preferred business.

Let me give you an example to demonstrate what I'm saying. If you decide that your passion is working with children, and you would love to take care of children, this would lead to a career as a child care worker.

Unfortunately, child care workers are amongst the lowest paid workers so this career is not going to make you a millionaire.

Of course, you can always invest your salary and turn that into a million dollars through investing, but in that case, child care would not be your main business. Rather, the investment strategy you used would be your main business.

If you still wanted to work with children, you would have to reassess your goals. You could always own and run a child care center(s). This would still give you the chance to get to work with children, but you would also be involved in the management side of things.

The purpose of this step is to ensure that your desired business or profession can make you a millionaire. If you are in a business or profession you love, but that won't make you a millionaire, you must find a solution, otherwise you will be wasting your time.

Think outside of the box and you will usually find a solution. Otherwise, you will have to reassess your goals.

If working as a child care worker is the only thing you ever wanted to do, your goal of becoming a millionaire is not over. You can still become a millionaire through other means. You might decide to invest your income and make your millions through investing.

For example, if you decide that you want to invest your salary into property, this means that your main "business" is now property investment - not child care. This is what you will be using to create your fortune.

In that case, property investment can definitely make you a millionaire in 10 years or less, so now we can move on to the next step.

Step 6: The Millionaire Habit

Step 6 
So far we know why we want to be millionaires, we have decided to become millionaires and have made it a top priority, we have the millionaire mindset and we have determined that what we want to do can actually make us millionaires.

Next, we have to develop the habits of success.

In this step we often refer to work Understand that you do not have to work hard and long hours to become a millionaire. Working smart is much...well, smarter. A lot of millionaires work only a few hours a month and still earn millions of dollars a year.

If you don't believe the above statement, take it as a sure sign that your limiting beliefs about money are still present and are holding you back. Keep working on developing that millionaire mindset!

By work, I am referring to initial work, the work and effort required in getting your business off the ground. This can't be outsourced or skipped.

YOU will have to do this work.

Think of it like this - short term pain for long term gain.

This step is about developing the habit of success. We want to allocate a certain time each day to work exclusively on our business.

There are 2 important factors to consider when planning your work hours.

First, you must analyze your strengths and weaknesses and create a plan and timetable that incorporates them.

Are you a morning, afternoon, evening or late night person? When is the best time for YOU to get work done? This is different for everybody so don't necessarily follow what the books say about when you should work.

This time has to be the most valuable spare time of your day and it must be a time when you have the most energy and enthusiasm to get work done.

The second factor relates to environment. It is vital that you have the the right environment to work in. This is not always at home, especially if you are working at home in the evening because there are so many distractions. You might have to stay late at work or go to a library to get the right environment.

Once you have the time and place set, the next thing you need is a set routine.

DO NOT just "wing it."

Winging it refers to doing it when and if you "feel" like it. This is a very bad attitude and habit. If you have gone through any Millionaire Mindset resources, you will know that this is not a millionaire habit.

You need structure and a constant routine. You want to make this work time a habit.

Since it takes about 30 days to form a new habit, you must make it a goal to stick to this for at LEAST 30-60 days.

Yes, there are going to be times when you'll have to drag yourself out of bed or off the couch and force yourself to start working. This is to be expected, especially during the first 30 days. But, once you get past that initial 30 day period, your business time will have become a habit.

A habit that is going to make you a millionaire.

And, what a success habit to have. You should be very proud of yourself at this point as not many people ever get to this stage.

The best time to work, if you can, is in the morning. A lot of personal development gurus focus on the concept of your "first priority".

The first priority refers to the very first "work" thing you do in the morning. What do you do in the first 30 "work" minutes of your day?

Do you check your email, read the newspaper, exercise? If the biggest priority in your life is to become a millionaire, then naturally an activity associated with this goal should be your first priority.

Maybe you don't do anything in the morning because you go straight to work. In that case, it is a good idea to get up 30 minutes earlier and get some work done on your business. It will give you a head start and will set the tone for the entire day.

It is very motivating to know that your are that much closer to your goal even before you have arrived at work. This is a millionaire habit you should aim to put into practice.

Finally, you may be wondering how long you should work everyday?

There is no right answer here. It depends on your schedule, the free time you have available and your desire. Obviously, the more you work, the faster you will reach your goals.

Ideally, you should spend at least 2 hours a day or about 10 hours a week on it. That is really the minimum you should be aiming for. This refers to the business work.

The time you spend on developing the millionaire mindset and other personal development education should be separate from this. You can do a lot of this in the car or at other times during the day. You want to spend between 30 minutes to an hour a day on this.

All up, you should be spending 3 hours a day on this. While it might sound like a lot, remember this is the biggest priority in your life, so it must take up the most time in your day. If you spend more time watching TV then you do on your business, you are doing something wrong.

Remember, short term pain for long term financial gain. You can work hard now so you can work as little as you want in the future.

Step 7: The Millionaire Mentor

Step 7 
This step is where the theory meets the practical.

This is where you can take your passion or business and turn it into a fortune. This is where we can finally start to make money.

This is also the step that get rich quick junkies start their journey. Is it any wonder they always fail, considering they skipped the first 6 steps.

The quickest, easiest and surest way to success is to find someone who is doing what you want to do and COPY them.

Yes, just COPY them. EMULATE therm. Do EXACTLY what they do.

Why try and reinvent the wheel? Learn the strategies and techniques they teach you and implement them yourself.

You do this by buying their programs and acting on what you learn. It is that simple.

Virtually every business opportunity available today has successful people offering courses and programs teaching you how to make money.

The reason people don't make money with these programs has nothing to do with the programs itself. The authors, as well as other students, have made money with them, so the programs work. The problem is that most people skip the first 6 steps and start with this step.

This is not the first step. If you skip the first 6 steps, you will FAIL. There are no shortcuts to creating wealth. Do it right, or don't do it at all.

The best way to copy what the author is doing is to get them to be your mentor. Almost all programs offer some sort of mentorship or advanced coaching.

Mentoring refers to programs where the author will teach and help you implement the system one-on-one.

Mentoring was one of the biggest factors of my success. For my first business, I paid my mentor $8000 for a 12 month mentoring program. It was easily the best money I have ever spent in my life. I would have happily paid 20 times that amount as it helped me reach my financial goals that much sooner.

I still would have succeeded without the mentoring, though my mentor made it much easier for me. I was able to soak up his experience and learn in weeks what would otherwise have taken me years to learn on my own. I learned from his mistakes so I didn't have to repeat them myself.

This is the power of mentoring. I simply copied my way to my first million.

I highly recommend you get a "good" mentor. It will have a huge and positive impact on your life.

You may have noticed I said a "good" mentor.

Good mentors are mentors that satisfy certain requirements. Firstly, they must be self-made millionaires who made their millions doing exactly what they teach their students. That goes without saying.

They also must currently earn their income doing what they teach and NOT by selling courses. You want a mentor who is active in their field, not someone who is teaching you theory. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to determine these things so always do your due diligence.

Whatever the program or mentor you go with, the next step is what separates the dreamers from the millionaires.

Step 8: Action

Step 8
This is the longest and hardest step.

Though, it is the most fun.

This is what separates the men from the boys.

This is the last step.

You....

must....

take.....

ACTION!!!!

YOU HAVE TO START ACTING ON YOUR PLANS.

You've done everything else up until now - all 7 steps. Even with a mentor, you're not guaranteed success. The work is still up to you.

Mentors will not be able to force you to do the work. Even the good ones.

If you put this final step into practice, you are guaranteed success with your financial goals.

You WILL become a millionaire!

It's only a matter of time.

Good luck!

The Mental Effects of a Bad Economy



As a nation, we are going through the hardest economic times since the great depression. We are seeing the unemployment rate head steadily for the 10% mark. We are seeing people lose their homes and filing for bankruptcy at alarming rates. It is quite difficult to go through such a traumatic event in history without being effected by the stress and uncertainty of the times that lie ahead.
It is no coincidence that we have seen an increase in suicide, substance abuse and depression. Recent studies suggest that there is a correlation between economic contraction and psychological disorders. Depression, suicide, substance abuse and anti social behavior are considered to be the most recognized disorders in relation to economic hardship.
Losing your employment, being underemployed or going on welfare can be extremely hard for anyone. It makes one question their viability and can do great damage to one's self confidence and self esteem. It can not only put stress on the individual, but it can also effect the entire family. Mental disorders due to this kind of hardships often take a toll on relationships between spouses, parents and others. Data confirms that men are more psychologically effected by job loss than women. This construct of self identity by being the man of the house and providing for your family is often damaged by the realization of things beyond your immediate control.
More evidence suggest that those that have mental disorders often develop physical problems as well. For example, depression and other mental disorders have been connected to cardiovascular disease and stroke. The increase in alcoholism and drug abuse have also been connected to liver disease and specific kinds of cancer.

Many people can weather these hard times and become resilient and learn from the experience, but others can succumb to the stress and the pressures and become one of the cases we discussed.
The key to staying mentally healthy during these times, is accepting what happened, make the adjustments necessary to survive and build on the relationships around you, instead of tearing them down. Remaining optimistic has proven to be a valuable tool in overcoming challenges. Don't beat yourself up, millions of Americans are in the same boat, the important thing is to stay healthy, both physically and mentally. Lastly, realize that some things are beyond your control and the honor is in doing the best you can.

References
Goldman-Mellor, S., Saxton, K., & Catalano, R. (2010). Economic contraction and mental health: A review of the evidence, 1990-2009. International Journal of Mental Health, 39(2), 6-31. doi:10.2753/IMH0020-7411390201.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. ~Friedrich Nietzsche

Monday, July 25, 2011

Everybody wants to be somebody;
nobody wants to grow.~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Entrepreneurship For Kids: Is It Ever Too Young?

At age 7, I was selling lemonade on the corner. A few years later, looking for even higher margin product, I started checking the prices on different beverages around the house and noticed wine sold for more than juice.

I remembered an episode of I Love Lucy where Lucille Ball stood in a massive vat of grapes crushing them into wine, so I crushed a bag of grapes into a mini clay urn, sealed-off the top with electrical tape and hid it in my tree-house to ferment in an attempt to make my own wine to sell.

Chateaux Fields never quite made it to market, but to this day, I can remember the smell when I opened that urn a month later.

That graduated to shoveling driveways in winter, mowing lawns and landscaping in summer, painting album covers on jeans jackets in high-school and launching the first company I ever sold in college, a mobile disc-jockey/sound & lighting business called Playrite.

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Nobody taught me to be an entrepreneur, it just felt right. But, I've always believed the lessons of entrepreneurship should be taught to kids as early in life as possible. And, apparently, so did brothers Adam and Matthew Toren, who co-founded the company, YoungEntrepreneur.com, and wrote a great kids' book on entrepreneurship -Kidpreneurs.

I recently had a chance to sit down with Adam and ask him why he's so passionate about teaching entrepreneurship at an early age and why it matters so much.

Here's how our conversation unfolded...

Why does it matter that kids learn about entrepreneurship when they're still kids?

There are a couple of reasons why it’s important to start teaching entrepreneurship at a young age. First, the lessons a child learns while being taught about entrepreneurship can help throughout his or her life. And just as with any important lesson, the earlier it’s learned, the better.

A good example of this is teaching kids the money side of owning a business. Financial management isn’t generally taught in the schools, and a lot of parents are either poor money managers themselves or don’t think to really teach their kids about how to properly handle money. This lack of knowledge can be disastrous to a young adult’s credit rating and, ultimately, their lifestyle. And often, by the time they decide they need to learn about how to properly handle money, the damage is already done.

On the other hand, if a kid is taught about money management at an early age, they are much better equipped to take on the challenges of budgeting and finance as an adult.

The other reason teaching entrepreneurship young is important is that there’s a lot of opportunity for young people in the business world right now! We interview teens and twenty-somethings all the time who started their first business in their teens – or even pre-teens – and are now very successful business owners. A lot of people say, “It’s never too late to follow your dreams.” We’ve always said, “It’s never too early!”

Do you believe kids have any advantages over adults in embracing entrepreneurship and, if so, what are they?

The most obvious qualities that kids naturally possess that are favorable to entrepreneurship are a natural curiosity, a willingness to take risks, and abundant amounts of energy! But I actually think the biggest advantage kids have over adults in the entrepreneurial world is lack of experience. Now, that might sound a little strange, but really, it makes a lot of sense. Adults have learned “what works and what doesn’t work” from their own experiences and from what others have told them. That can be very useful, but it can also be limiting. At some point, a lot of adults stop trying new things or lose the ability for true outside-the-box thinking because of their limiting beliefs about what will and won’t work.

We run into young entrepreneurs all the time who say that they were successful specifically because they tried something that they later found out no one thought would work, but they didn’t know any better. Not being entrenched in a particular industry or market can give a fresh perspective and a unique point of view, and that’s where true innovation comes from.

Also, because kids now are growing up in a world that is changing more rapidly all the time, they tend to be more accepting of change and are able to adjust quickly as new technologies and market fluctuations alter the business landscape. That’s an important key to thriving in business today, so it’s definitely a good advantage to have.

What additional skills, mindset changes, and experiences does entrepreneurship give kids, that can impact their lives beyond work as they grow?

In my view, all of the qualities necessary to be a successful entrepreneur are easily translated into success in life in general. To be successful as an entrepreneur, kids need to learn critical thinking skills; they need to learn to take responsibility for the decisions and their actions; and they need to be able to communicate well and get along with people. There isn’t an area of life where these skills won’t have a positive impact.

The other skill – or quality – that all successful entrepreneurs have is perseverance. Entrepreneurship is often loaded with challenges, and if a business owner hopes to do well, he or she has to have a strong will and be able to keep on going, even when they don’t feel like it. Again, this is a quality that can translate into success in many areas of life.

If a parent is not an entrepreneur, but buys your book - Kidpreneurs - for her or his kids and even reads it to them, how effective will that be in letting them understand that world? And, how effective will it be at inspiring them to explore that world when their parents haven't made that same choice?

That’s a great question, because one of the challenges we often hear young entrepreneurs expressing has to do with parents who just want them to forget about owning their own business and focus on doing what it takes to get a good job. Parents want what’s best for their children, and in their minds, that’s often what they see as the “safe” choice.

The irony of that thinking is that these days there isn’t a job that exists that’s guaranteed safe or secure. Whereas a laid off worker might hunt for a comparable job for months or, in some cases, years, I can think of ten businesses that I could start with very little investment - right now. They would take some time to flourish, but not more time than it takes the average job seeker today to find employment.

If a parent has purchased and read Kidpreneurs for their kids, we can assume the parent has some level of interest in and understanding of entrepreneurship. And that alone can be huge. It is very difficult for children to pursue something their parents don’t believe in. Having support – or even just not having them disapprove – can make a big difference to kids trying to express their entrepreneurial spirit.

A study conducted in 2007 and then repeated with similar results in 2010, by the Kaufman Foundation, shows that kids are in fact more likely to start a business or aspire to do so if they know another entrepreneur. But overall, about 40% of kids from ages eight to seventeen expressed an interest in starting a business. So, a parent doesn’t have to be the example or the inspiration for a child to become an entrepreneur, but they shouldn’t be a hindrance.

Self-esteem and Narcissism Can there be too much self-esteem? By: Aurthur Dorbin

Can a person have too much self-esteem, overdosing on it, like having too much vitamin A?

Allan Josephson, MD, chairman of the Family Committee of the American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, thinks that self-esteem can be over done. "The commonsense understanding of self-esteem has been obscured by its over-application," he writes. "Self-esteem certainly is important. But we've developed this misguided notion that parents should continually reward and praise their children. That doesn't work either." http://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/self-esteem-can-kids-have...

He continues by writing that healthy "self-esteem comes from having parents who are physically and emotionally available and who set appropriate limits on their [children's] behavior, and then help them develop autonomy. It should be a by-product of a healthy relationship with a child, not the goal."

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Those who are critical of parents who want to instill self-esteem in their children do so because they equate self-esteem with vanity. Vanity-self-absorption, egocentricism-is a problem. Vanity is self-esteem on steroids, a bulking up that is a distortion.

A good example of this is Donald Trump who after Obama released a copy of his birth certificate said, "Today I am very proud of myself" for forcing the president to produce proof of his birth. "I got him to do something nobody else could get him to do, and I've been given great credit for that," Trump said on CNN. "I don't make up anything. Let me tell you something. I have done a great service for the American people."

A new study by psychologist Nathan DeWall finds an increased incidence of narcissism in popular music. The trend in song lyrics has been towards more use of "I" and "me" and a decrease in "we" and "us." http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=buy.optionToBuy&id=2011-05681...

Everyone, it seems, wants to be the center of attention. Some question the validity of the study, pointing to increased self-disclosure. Teenagers may be more honest and less repressed, not necessarily more self-centered than previous generations. But this study is consistent with other findings that show an increased degree of self-absorption over the several decades.

Along with increased narcissism are also increased levels of loneliness and depression. This makes sense: mature relationships require mutuality, where neither partner is more important than the other. There can be no reciprocal relationship when one partner is self-centered. Egoism pushes others away, thereby leading to loneliness. And being disconnected from others in a meaningful way is a road to depression.

What makes the lyric analysis study truly disturbing is that in addition to excessive self-references there is also an increase use of hostile words. Being egocentric and hostile is a volatile mix. A 2003 study, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology showed that violent song lyrics led to increased aggressive thoughts and feelings.

Exposing self-centered adolescents to violent song lyrics can't be good. The narcissistic person already feel entitled to do whatever they want since they are the center of the world and are more important than anyone else.

Self-esteem can go awry. The key is to temper self-esteem with empathy. This helps make a person who feels competent and self-assured, a person willing to take responsibility, who at the same time cares about others. People with low self-esteem view themselves as victims who are incapable of exercising moral responsibility.

I disagree with those who say that too much self-esteem is a problem. There can never be too much of it, just as you can't be too healthy. But there are problems with people who think they are healthy and don't take care of themselves. So there are those who think they are more competent than they really are, better skilled than they really are or are more likeable than they really are.
Those with low self-esteem cause many more problems.

Bullies and victims both suffer from thinking too little of themselves, the first by displacing their feelings of worthlessness with violence and the second by not standing up to the violence. Mass movements and popular tyrannies work because so many think so little of themselves.
Vanity is thinking that you are more than another; self-esteem is thinking that you are as worthy as anyone else. Self-esteem allows you to dance with another; vanity makes you want to dance by yourself.

Community-the place where we find our deepest satisfactions-can't exist with vanity or low self-esteem. But self-esteem is only one essential part of creating worthy personal and political relations. The other part is empathy. Identifying with others less fortunate is the other piece. The fault with child rearing in the last generation wasn't in raising children who think too much of themselves but in raising children who think too little of others less fortunate.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Network Marketing Viable Business or Scam

Multilevel marketing is the new marking approach and it seeks to provide a simpler way to promote and sell products. Network marketing is a plan in which a distributor not only earns money based on his own individual sales, but also on the sales of distributors that he has recruited into the business itself. In this marketing strategy, people create a down-line sales force of recruited distributors, and through these recruits they exponentially grow their business and subsequent earning stream. In layman’s terms, multilevel Marketing Association, is a viable method for growing a multilayered business.
The hierarchy of this strategy is based on a pyramid; Network marketing companies expand by adding more and more member reps to earn more and more profits. This network marketing platform concept is different from the traditional concept of selling because in this relationships are paramount; you have to create relationships with people and try to convince them to join your hierarchy. If they join your business, they will sell the same products as you, but their success will benefit you also. Multilevel marketing association is essential to the success of MLM success. Network marketing has replaced the traditional direct sales model as the most effective way to earn money for someone wanting to get into business, without the costs that most offline businesses incur.

Unlike the past, people are beginning to look towards online dealers and distributors for their desired products. In order to benefit from this “new” market place, it is important to make your own multilevel marketing association in order to expand your potential sales. It means you need to focus on your personal contacts and create your own links through the internet to grow your business. Nowadays social networking sites are gaining immense popularity. You can use these social networking websites to increase your contacts and grow your network of potential prospects.

You need to manage your multilevel marketing association also and manage it in depth, because it is your cash source. Multilevel marketing association refers to the company or the collection of companies which are dealing in direct selling business. By creating an expanded association, you provide yourself with the greatest chance of success. In order to maximize your profits and increase your sales, you must expand your multilevel marketing association by recruiting the most distributors possible. The larger you’re down-line team, the larger your profits will be.

Your Friend in Success

Is Personal Development Bullshit?

Have you noticed the big smiles of personal development gurus? They're all so happy.

Now, we all need someone to inspire us and even kick us in the butt to get going. I agree with that. But there's one thing most of the gurus never tell you: you can't have everything in life!


You can be everything you want! You can have whatever you want as long as you desire it strong enough! You can be happy! etc. 

This and lots of other bullshit is being served within each seminar of personal development. The funny part: people pay to listen to this kind of crap.

Remember the gold rush paradox? If not let me summarize it for you: in every gold rush there are a few people who get rich by finding gold and then there is this other bunch of people who get rich by selling shovels to gold seekers. 

The self help gurus are selling you shovels with which you can find your gold...

You won't be happy. Actually, you may get depressed!

What the gurus aren't telling you is you have to put tons of work into what you call your business. That's also something you may have guessed yourself. However, when you put tons of work, it doesn't mean it'll eventually pay off.

The only business experience the gurus have is in their own guruness. Most of their live they've been selling their own courses which were teaching you how to build your business and reach your true potential while living happily...


Forget about Zen philosophies. Make a decision and do something already.

I'd like to meet the pastor or guru who doesn't promise anything. I'd like to hear a guy preaching:

You'll be miserable! You'll be poor! You'll ruin your health! You'll have no friends! You won't accomplish anything in this life...if you keep spending your time listening to gurus like me.
Unfortunately, they have to make a living and they won't tell you that. But you're smart enough not to fall into their trap of   Zen BS, right?

What you can do is make a list of priorities:
  • Want more business? Yes? - work more and forget about beer and other distractions.
  • Want more security? Yes? - find a safe job and do your 9 to 5. 
  • Want more safe friends? Yes? - don't work more than them, do not aspire to much more then they aspire to.
  • etc.
It all comes down to what you really want and how bad you want it - there's always a downside and a sacrifice to make. The rest is cometary.

Your Friend in Success