I find blogging a lot of fun and I get a blast out of posting here and getting things off my mind. However, once again I’m going to leave for a few months and eliminate blogging from my agenda until I’ve resolved a few issues, reached a new level of expertise and get to the next step. I’ve come to the conclusion that to reach this next step I need to focus all of my energy on it, whether it takes 1 month or 1 year.

When I get back I’ll share my experiences with all of you and tell everyone about what’s going on. Right now I have 3 businesses to build and the next few months will consume more energy than I will have for blogging and writing.

I will continue to network with you on sites like Twitter and Facebook, and will drop in now and then to see how things are going. I’ll also continue to read your blogs and stay updated on your RSS feeds.

Hope to see many things change by the time I get back!

Stay great my friends!

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Do you have a problem with motivating yourself to get off the couch and get something done?

The loser’s approach: wait to feel right and then take action.

The professional’s approach: take action until you feel like it.

Acting yourself into feeling isn’t a new concept, all of us do it at lease a few times. The trick is to do it all the time. The sad fact is that most of us don’t push ourselves into something we don’t feel like doing unless we think we “have” to do it. For example, our 9-5 job, or getting up at 7 on Monday to put the garbage out.

That’s all it is, you CAN’T get into the flow before you start. It’s just not possible.

“You need to be great to start, you need to start to be great” – John C. Maxwell

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

What was the cause of franchise successes like McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and others? Was it the food, the brand, the service?

The franchise model caused a lot of businesses to become hugely successful in the past half-century.

I don’t think much of this success can be attributed to the taste, or the service (which is not always great).

Most of us grew up eating at McDonalds’ and Burger Kings. They have a strong brand.

They also have a system that allows them to set up almost anywhere and hire almost anyone.

It’s not so much about the burger or the fries. It’s about the brand recognition, the relationship they have with 5 decades of customers and the proven duplicable system.

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Keeps you current with the times

Reading industry news, reading material related to your industry, staying well versed with what’s going on.

Gives you a wide array of knowledge to choose from

You’ll have an advantage over your college educated peers who think education ended in school. Constantly re-evaluating and re-affirming what you learn is essential. Also, exploring concepts and ideas totally foreign to what’s taught in university.

Allows you to have a discernment between false information and what’s true

For all the stable information out there, there’s a massive cloud of fluff to swift through. Reading, especially a lot, allows you to understand the difference between the real thing and the fluff. Also, the more you read the deeper an understanding you’ll have behind what you already know.

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Question number one: What are your excuses?

Question number two: Will they get you rich?

Money doesn’t care about your excuses. Money comes to those who earn it.

Everyone has great excuses. Few people have great earning power.

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Why is it that when something involves hard work, we try to find a way around it and take the easy way out?

I believe that to reach a certain level of high performance in anything you need a healthy amount of self-esteem. This self-believe helps you push yourself harder and it allows you to mess up now and then, and bounce back.

I’m beginning to somewhat change my beliefs about the methods I’ve been reading in self-help books, much of it just seems like nonsense!

WARNING. Some of you reading this post may strongly disagree with me on these following topics. I appreciate your comments and welcome any discussion.

The following topics deal with a few popular methods that claim to raise your self-esteem, among other things. Let’s start!

The “Power” Of Affirmations

Many self-help gurus claim that by repeating certain phrases or words over and over(like “I am rich”), you eventually penetrate the subconscious mind with these new beliefs, thus giving you more self-esteem and what ever else you want in life.

The problem with affirmations is that you’re just using words to try to create an emotion. Like saying, “I’m excited” 100 times over probably wont make you “feel” excited. And every time you say it, something in the back of your head says “no you’re not!”

Tony Robbins was right on track when he introduced how body language and breathing has an affect on your emotional state. The idea is to act yourself into feeling! Talking yourself into feeling good rarely works. The only issue is though, most people don’t want to act until they “feel” right.

Have you ever tried talking yourself into feeling and then ended up doing just the opposite? In my experience, that’s because the more you resist the problem, the more you end up focusing on it. The corny saying rings true, “what you resist, persists.”

You can’t always ignore your problems. Acknowledging the fact that they’re there and then taking responsibility to handle them is the first step to handling any problem.

I’ve found that you can instantly improve your confidence by changing your BODY LANGUAGE and your BREATHING. There’s nothing mystical about either of these. In fact, kids use these simple techniques when they’re playing grown up or when they’re pretending.

If you want to feel mad, change the muscles in your face, breathe like a mad man, clinch your fists. You find that instantly you begin to feel the same way you’re acting.

Remember, affirmations and chants are great but if you want some instant results, act yourself into feeling.

“Hypnotizing” Yourself to Success

I don’t know what to think about hypnosis anymore. Like all therapies, is seems to work only part of the time, and only for some people.

Honestly, I think it’s just another excuse for people not to get their asses off the couch and DO SOMETHING!

There are hypnosis tapes, CDs, downloads and books on everything from laziness (go figure) to stopping an addiction or attracting a mate.

Do they work? Who am I to say they don’t?

Just that, I’ve haven’t heard a lot of super successful people say, “I became a millionaire, attracted a mate, got rid of all my blemishes and became instantly fearless when I used hypnosis.” Any of these people are far and few in between.

Even if there are any real results from hypnosis, we all have to admit it takes a long time. Even years!

Hell, do you think we could forget about hypnosis and just accomplish our dreams within that time? Maybe, but who am I to say?

Attracting Success, Success Blocks and more…

Mental Blocks
I agree, many of us have mental blocks towards things like money, or performing well at a job or “attracting a mate”–which for some people seems SUPER challenging.

The question is, how do we overcome these mental blocks? Hypnosis? Acupuncture? Affirmations? Oh no wait! I Know! Finding a vortex!

I’m no psychologist but from my experience mental blocks come from the fear of failure! If you’re a lonely nerd who finds it hard to talk to girls, it’s because you fear failing(whatever that means to you). You might get laughed at (Boohoo!) or they might reject you. This is just called life! It just means you need to get your ass out of the office/basement more and get experience doing the thing that you’re afraid of. It means growing some balls!

Attracting Success
I think people take this the wrong way. Attracting success isn’t about “being a money magnet” without lifting a finger to exerting some effort. Anyone with money has to work hard to make and keep it. They’re a “money magnet” because they work hard at it. There’s really nothing especially metaphysical about wealth. Money’s so much more simpler than all that.

What attracting success means to me is doing the things that builds towards a goal. It means preparing yourself to face fear, to fail and to learn from your mistakes. Creating the capacity within yourself to take on the level of success you want. This comes through experience.

Experience and Applied Knowledge: The Fastest Method To Higher Self-Esteem, without crystals, dolphins, hypnosis and affirmations!

Quite simply, I don’t do anything that doesn’t work. I don’t care if it seems “New Ageish” or somewhat superstitious, if I see results I’m interested. The problem with a lot of New Age stuff, and a lot of the self-help programs, is that they seem like a big EXCUSE to avoid just getting to work and making it happen. It’s like we want magic to happen, but we don’t want the hard work that goes with it.

Sifting through all of the crap, the pointless time wasters, the methods that are claimed to make you rich but really keep you poor, there are a few gems:

• Have goals, but not too many. Having too many goals will require that you grow faster mentally and emotionally than is humanly possible. Take a step at a time.
• Take in a lot of knowledge and APPLY IT! At 20 years old, I’ve learned so much from just reading books, watching videos, reading blogs, listening to mp3s, being around the right people and having the right conversations. Your environment DOES effect who you are and who you become. You begin to think like the people you’re around, and you begin to live the knowledge you take in.
• Tame your Fear of Failure, Fail very often and learn from it, EXPERIENCE. If there’s anything that make you grow, it’s experience. If you don’t tame your fear of failure, you will NEVER BE SUCCESSFUL at ANYTHING. That may sound harsh, but it’s true. The sooner you just bite the bullet, the sooner the fear goes away. Being able to relax in a situation that once made you extremely fearful is an amazing experience and self-esteem boost. And to think, without hypnosis and affirmations.
• Have a consuming Passion for life and the right Mind Set. Getting up each day and being glad to be alive, despite how you feel, is essential. Without passion and drive neither your work or your goals will mean anything. Without the right Mind Set, you’ll give up sooner than you should.
• Work harder than anyone else DARES. Just Do It! How many of us actually work hard on our own businesses. Are you always planting the seeds, doing what needs doing, playing the game, enjoying the rush? Or are you spending time looking for ways to get around all the hard work that needs to get done?

When you take an inventory of all the key factors in success, it really comes down to these few things. Even if hypnosis and affirmations and the lot do work, I could still be doing more productive things like just getting it done.

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

I like to call fear of failure, the root of all evil. Fear of failure is where excuses come from, where the habit of hesitancy is bred and where weakness is built. True failure lies in the inability to overcome one’s fear.

Fear of failure, the only thing that stands between us and what we want. Hard work is easy when there’s no mental resistance. When there’s congruency there’s power.

The sad truth is, if we never tame our greatest fears, we will never live at the level of fulfillment we desire. Depression and regret will be our lifelong friends.

So what are you afraid of, that if you weren’t, would change everything? Fear of flying, social anxiety, fear of losing money, fear of being ridiculed?

How do we tame our fear of failure?

I’d like to say there’s an easy and quick way, but there isn’t. Fear begins to diminish when action is taken. It’s called exposure therapy: do the thing you’re afraid of, and soon, you will no longer fear it.

The ability to act in spite of fear is like a muscle, but rather a mental muscle. It’s like the ability to get yourself out of bed in the morning, or to keep your house clean.

Every time you face the fear of something you feel better. Every time you do the thing that scares you the most, the better you feel about yourself and the less anxiety there is next time around.

You’ll also find, that the more you face your fears, the more energy you’ll have. As fear diminishes, excitement will take its place.

When you do the thing you’re afraid of, you win!

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

An emotional based decision is made in the heat of the moment. It’s based on how you feel right now.

When you’re in the wrong state(fear, anger, etc), understand that making decisions in this state is as dangerous as tossing a coin.

Here’s what to do when you find yourself in the wrong state of mind. Don’t make any decisions, because 9 times out of 10 they’ll be the wrong ones.

When you find yourself in this state, just call it a day. This is called emotional intelligence. Being aware of what state you’re in and acting accordingly, 98% of people do just the opposite.

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Habit 2: Successful Gen-Y Entrepreneurs Have Stamina And Nothing To Lose!

Ever run into a successful low-energy entrepreneur? I never have! I’ve never read about one, saw one on TV or met one in real life. In short, most successful entrepreneurs are outstanding people in some way, shape or form. Some of them work 100 hour weeks and never take vacations. Other work 10 hour weeks and spend all their traveling and partying. Either way, they’re always high spirited and on the go.

The younger you are, the less you have to lose. You probably don’t have kids yet, or a family to support, at least not a big one. You don’t have a lot of bills to pay. And you probably don’t have thousands upon thousands of dollars in student loans to pay off, at least not just yet. Thing is, there’s not a whole lot dragging you down, as there is for people 10 or 20 years older than you who NEED their jobs.

That said, young people can also party all night and work all day without devastating effects. In other words, they have a lot of leverage of their time and energy. Directed properly, this energy can be explosive.

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Like most things, reading about sales and doing sales are two very different things. There are so many different kinds of techniques and methods for closing a sale. Most likely, everything you learn from reading about sales isn’t going to be used on your first few contacts, or first few months in the selling profession. You learn as you go, and in the end there is no right or wrong way to sell, if it works and it doesn’t trick people out of their money.

Here are 3 very quick phone sales tips that I’ve learned in the past month:

1. Sound Important and People Will Listen To You

They say, 55% of your message on the phone or in person is TONE of voice. If you sound like a VIP people will automatically listen to you. If you sound like a worm, anyone will quickly shake you off. The second you get on the phone, you need to sound like you have more important things to do. Almost everyone, and especially those you are behind the desk more than most, can detect neediness in your voice, in the first 5 spoken words.

Don’t sound like Mr. Sales Consultant or Mr. Used Car Salesman from Malaysia, INSTEAD, sound like a CEO or an experienced entrepreneur. These types of people don’t care what anyone thinks of them and you can hear it in their voice. It’s true that nice guys often finish last, so don’t sound like one, or you’ll get treated like one.

2. Rely on Impulsive Behavior

Yes!
Sure!
Yeah!
Ok!
These are the kinds of responses you want from people.

Ask anyone anything reasonably non-threatening like,
“Sure, is a nice day, isn’t it?” they’ll say “YES”

Or, in a sales situation: “Can I send you an e-mail with more information about our packages?”

They’ll either say “Sure!” or they’ll say “Uh..No” and feel really bad about it and you’ll have the enjoyment of listening to them try to explain why they said no, “I…umm…don’t like…or um…don’t need any more e-mail coming to my inbox..ok?” People almost never say no without giving a reason, otherwise they’d sound rude and that just doesn’t do, especially in a B2B situation where I need to uphold their reputation.

3. The Best Voice-mail is The One With Little or No Information

Yeah I know, it’s annoying as hell when someone leaves a message and doesn’t give enough information about why they’re calling. But the thing is, it often works. Don’t pitch to them in a voice mail, 98% of the time they wont get back to you, because they already know why you’re calling and can make the decision right there. Thus, no response. Even if they do want your product or service, chances are they are not going to call you back and ask to get sold. Chances are, they misunderstood WHAT you’re even selling, where you’re from etc.

Again, leaving the right messages comes down to TONE OF VOICE. A message like, “Hey it’s Clinton Skakun from XYZ, I’d appreciate it if you could give me a call back, I’m at 546-435-3456, thanks bye.” with the right tone of voice, is excusable. They will most likely call you back and ask what you were calling about. BANG!

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh