The Power of Partnerships!

In business there is a simple truth...

• Like it or not, when we work together more is achieved, more efficiently, and to a much greater effect! 
• Like it or not, the only way to achieve success and prosperity is by working with other people, partnering, collaborating. 
• Like it or not, partnerships will enable you to expand your reach, tap into new resources and gain new strengths and insight.

Partnerships are a key component to growth, wealth, to ultimate business and financial success.  Eliminate the word ME and start focusing on the power of the word WE!

It's Your Business and so Of Course…It's All About You! Right?

I had a discussion with an individual that was interested in utilizing my services to assist them with growing their business.  Since they were relatively new to the world of entrepreneurism I started with some basic questions to help me get a better feel for what the client was hoping to achieve.  The interview went something like this:

• My question: What made you select this industry? Answer: I love the industry.  I love everything about it. 
• My question: Who is your target market? Answer: Everyone, I'm going to target everyone because I have something for everybody.
• My question: How do you plan to market your products and services? Answer:  I'm going to put the word out and my customers are going to spread the word.
• My question: Who is going to help you run and build the business?  Answer: I'm going to do it all.

I'm sure that you get the tone of the entire interview and so there is no need to for me to go on.  A few things that new business owners often forget is that 1) you cannot do everything, be everywhere, or please everyone and 2) business is not about you, it's about other people - other people known as customers! 

If you decided to go into business without the expectation of making any real money, then great, it can be all about you!  However, if you are like most people and you want to turn a significant profit, your level of thinking has got to be centered around what your targeted market of customers want and less on what you think, feel and want!  It's not about you!

For more on costly mistakes to avoid when starting a business, read my E-Book, "Make Money Not Mistakes."

Assets Worth More Than Money!

You are probably asking yourself, what on earth could I possibly be referring to?  What could possibly be worth more than the almighty dollar?  Could it be gold or silver?  Want to keep guessing?  Three Assets Worth More than Money and Why:

1. Knowledge:  I could give you $5 million today to do with it as you wish.  If you aren't a very smart person, what are the odds that you would have more than $5million in your bank account 6 months from now?  A person with a lot of money and zero knowledge will quickly equal a broke fool!  Think about some of the famous athletes, actresses and musicians who went from having it all to practical homelessness.  No need for me to site names.  A person with knowledge will take that $5 million and turn it into $10 million dollars plus.  Simply from seeking additional knowledge and making smart, informed decisions before spending a dime!
2. Motivation:  If someone lacks the motivation to actually make things happen, their future probably isn't very promising is it?  Let's use the same example from above.  Say you have got $5million in the bank but have zero motivation to do anything other than spend money? What are the odds that you will be able to keep money?  Slim to none right.  You might even have the money today to hire people to do all of the things that you have been told that need to be done to make things happen, but if you lack the self motivation to validate that what you've been told is true and to jump in and become involved to ensure that things are truly on track, the odds are that you'll probably end up being yet another riches to rags statistic.  A motivated person is typically great at making more money than they have today while an unmotivated person is a prime candidate for having a million in the bank today and a negative balance tomorrow!
3. Faith: If you are lacking in your faith this presents an all together different set of problems than knowledge and motivation.  If someone doesn't have faith in themselves, in their partner, in their business, in their products, in their services, or in the case of a believer like me, in God the future will probably not look to bright.  A person with no faith is an empty and typically confused person for the most part.  To put it into another perspective, if you have faith in something, you typically have a strong conviction and belief in what you are doing.  If you lack faith in the $5 million dollar investment that you are contemplating making, the odds are that you probably shouldn't be making that investment and you shouldn't have any real expectations of a return off of that investment.  If you are without faith, it will be extremely hard to move forward and make smart business, financial and life decisions.

You have got to have knowledge, motivation and faith.  These three elements are powerful and worth so much more than a dollar today. As the late Jim Rohn once said "the real value of building a million dollar business is NOT the million dollars.  It’s the learning and knowledge we acquire earning that fortune.  Take a million away from a millionaire, who made that money themselves, and they can make another million."

What Does an Education Equal These Days?

While attending a training seminar earlier this month in San Diego, one of the speakers said something that spoke volumes!  Something that many people often fail to realize!  I cannot recall his name off hand right now, but his quote went something like this…"education equals education…education does not equal income."

These words rang significant to me because over the past few months I cannot count how many individuals I have spoken to, who have lost their jobs, some who remain unemployed and are returning to college or attending for the first time in hopes of finding a higher paid and more stable job in the future.  This made me think….but I didn't want to discourage any of these individuals from furthering their education as I am a firm believer and supporter of higher education and continuous learning.  At any rate, the question that pops into my head is, after you get the education, what's next?  After you walk across the stage and receive that diploma, what's next? 

Education  equals education, period!  Education doesn't come with guarantees, though it does come with many statistics and possibilities.  Education does not equal Income which is what many people fail to realize!  If you are going to school to make more money, I challenge you to research the percentage of college graduates who remain unemployed and/or are working at places such as Starbucks in this economy!

My point is this, if you want to further your education, that is great - I encourage that BUT don't go through life putting your destiny in the hands of someone else's business (your employer) when you could be building your own business and legacy!  There is nothing wrong with working for someone else as long as your remember that nothing lasts forever.  While you may be employed and making a great salary today, there are no guarantees for that salary tomorrow.  Start working on a B Plan, C Plan and even a D, E and F Plan!  Not sure about how to get started?  Ask me how today!

It's Not an Excuse; It's a Flat Out LIE!

Over the past week or so, I have encountered countless excuses from several people on why they either were not, could not, or had not done something or other!  Let us examine what an excuse really is….it is a reason…justification….explanation…..a defensive mechanism……for NOT doing something.  But the truth be told, an excuse is basically a flat out LIE!  As Steve Pavlina put it, "Excuses are lies we tell ourselves to avoid dealing with unpleasant truths."  In Steve's article "Feeble Excuses," he makes some very valid points about excuses.  Read the article below.

Feeble Excuses

February 10th, 2006 by Steve Pavlina

Excuses are lies we tell ourselves to avoid dealing with unpleasant truths.  But as long as we buy into those excuses, we can never move past them.  Instead of addressing the underlying problem, we merely hide the symptoms.  One of the most important steps in personal growth is to uproot excuse-making and confront the real issues behind the excuses with consciousness and courage.

Here are some of the most common excuses and their underlying truths:
I don’t have enough time.
Whenever you hear yourself making this statement, you know deep down it isn’t the truth.  The real truth is that you haven’t made that which you supposedly lack time for important enough.  You’re really saying, “That just isn’t important enough to me.”  I don’t have time to exercise.  I don’t have time for a relationship.  I don’t have time to start my own business.  Of course you have time.  You have as much time as anyone else does, and other people are already doing these same things.  The difference is that they make it more of a priority in their lives than you do.  You aren’t a victim of circumstances.  If you don’t like your circumstances, change them. It’s amazing that people who say they don’t have time somehow find plenty of time for marginal activities like watching TV.  If you don’t have time to exercise, then surely you don’t have time to watch any TV at all.  Such people are really saying that exercise simply isn’t important enough to them. It’s easier to blame the problem on a lack of time, but the real problem is a lack of will.

I don’t know how.
This is one of the feeblest excuses of all.  I don’t know how to make a web site.  I don’t know how to write well.  I don’t know how to get a better job.  Are you capable of learning?  Did you stop after learning to crawl, complaining, “I don’t know how to walk?”  The truth behind “I don’t know how” is “I’m unwilling to learn.”  In other words, you have to admit that you’re lazy.

I don’t have the money.
If there’s something you want, “I don’t have the money” is no excuse for not getting it.  You can always earn the money or find a way to get the item at reduced cost.  The truth behind “I don’t have the money” is “I don’t want it badly enough.”  Earning the money you need is only a matter of time, and we already know that not having enough time is no valid reason for giving up, nor is not knowing how to earn the money.  If you want to buy something out of your price range, you’re fully capable of setting it as a top priority and then putting in the time to learn how to earn enough to acquire the item.

Don’t let excuses run your life.  If you catch yourself using one of these lines, immediately replace it with a statement of the real truth.  At first that truth may seem uncomfortable.  It’s easier to say, “I don’t know how” than it is to say, “I’m unwilling to learn.”  But when you admit your unwillingness, laziness, or lack of motivation, then you’re finally facing the truth, and from that point you’ll have the opportunity to grow.  For example, if you face your unwillingness to learn, you may decide that even though it would be a lot of work to learn a new skill, you could do it if you wanted it badly enough and really applied yourself.

It’s easier on our egos to blame failure on external, uncontrollable factors such as lack of time, information, or resources.  But as long as we use such excuses, we can never solve the underlying problems because those factors aren’t under our direct control.  We need to invert our excuses and look beneath them to find the internal causes that we can control.  What we can control, we can improve.
We can’t control time, but we can control how we prioritize the actions that fill that time.  We can’t control information, but we can control what we choose to learn as well as how much effort we devote to learning.  We can’t control money, but we can choose to undertake more effective income-producing activities.  So by controlling the factors that are within our control, we can create as much time, information, and resources as we desire.
Don’t let your ego get in the way of your growth.  Muster the courage to face the truth instead of making excuses.  Only when you admit the truth do you gain the power to do something about it.  If you admit your laziness, you can work on that.  If you admit your lack of motivation or skill, you can work on those too.  But you’re powerless to work on time, information, or money directly.  Don’t give away this power and doom yourself to perpetual mediocrity.  Shoot down your excuses, face the bitter truth, and start taking the steps necessary to change in the direction you want to go.

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/02/feeble-excuses/

Successful People DUPLICATE!

You've probably noticed that I haven't posted in over a week or so right?  We'll, I took somewhat of a vacation, though that isn't an excuse to not post…..I simply didn't post because I didn't want to….I'm practicing "doing absolutely nothing unless I want to do it" because frankly, I am blessed to have that freedom!  This month anyway that is!!!

In all seriousness now, while I was vacationing I thought a lot about DUPLICATION and the power and importance of it and how it really works!  It also became apparent to me that most people seem to have a problem with duplication.  Why is this?  I would say that most people have a problem with duplication because 1) they are poor listeners 2) they believe that they have all of the answers and 3) they think it is bad to "copy" because they are "creative." 

The fact of the matter is that while creativity is great and is definitely a requirement in some areas, when it comes down business and business success, there is absolutely no need to reinvent the wheel.  We rely on methods and systems because they work!  Things will always need to be refined and enhanced but typically never recreated! 

Tips of the Day to Help you Become a Better Duplicator & a Successful Business Person:

1. "Find out what successful people are doing and start doing it" - go out and do it, study it, learn it, become it. Duplicate it.
2. Become a better listener and observer.  The odds are, you are looking for a better way and hoping to one day become financially free, successful, powerful.  Change your mindset.  Get rid of the "know-it-all" mentality.  Start listening. Start Duplicating.
3. Open up your mind.  You may need to change your mindset - become open and realize your possibilities.  Rich, successful people admire other rich, successful people!  Be jealous and envious of NO ONE.  Be inspired!
4. Change the way you think and live.  There is a strong possibility that you are stuck and that you are where you are because you need to flat out make some changes.  You may need to change your circle of friends, change your lifestyle, etc.  Add some successful people to your circle.  Enrich your surroundings and the places that you frequent.

Are You a Facebook Mass Adder?

Are you a Facebook Mass Adder or Do You Only Add Those that Add Value?  Do you have a few hundred Facebook friends? Are you hitting a thousand, or several thousand? 

What does your level of social media friendship mean to you and to your business and what if anything is it doing or has it done for your business?  Are you just adding people because it is the thing to do and everyone is your "potential" customer or do you actually have a rhyme and reason behind your adds and requests? 

3 Things to Remember About Your Facebook Friendships:

1. People Don't Want to Be Overloaded with Your Sales Pitches. Sometimes less is   more, especially if you don't want to be blocked or better yet deleted!
2. Don't Spam Strangers & Flood In-Boxes. Sometimes it is better to be selective in who you message on Facebook.  Do you know the person directly?  Do they know of you?  The "Send to All" feature isn't always a good one.  Use it wisely!
3. Contrary to Popular Belief; Just Because They Friended You Doesn't Mean They Want to Patronize You.  As I always say and though many disagree with me; you cannot look at everyone as a customer or potential.  Plain and simply put, there are some people who are not and will never be interested in what you have to say or sell, unfortunately!

Ultimately, when it comes to your business, you should seek to add value to your Facebook friends lives and you should seek friendships that add value.  Practice good Facebook Etiquette.  Don't befriend people and immediately start spamming them with your sales pitch.  Don't be the pushy, obnoxious, used-car salesman!

Connect with Me on Facebook!