Young Achievers Group

7 Lessons I Learned From Chatting With The “$500 Million Man”

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 20:42:00 +0000

Recently I was able to interview Com Mirza, “The $500 Million Man”, partly for fun and partly to share to learn about how he’s been able to become so successful over the course of his life. Like myself, he started at a very young age, with a humble lemonade stand.

Com has failed over 100 times in investments and startups and credits these failures in correcting his course and his bearings for wild success.

This is an interview not to be missed. Click the play button below and checkout the key takeaways from this awesome chat with the man of the hour “Com Mirza”.

5 Inspirational Takeaways From Com Mirza

1) Start YOUNG!

If you can, start as young as possible! Com started at 7, and even though he had many failed attempts before he “got it”, he was still really young when he finally was successful.

As a young person, you will get a world class education from starting various projects and ventures, which is what I showcase in my upcoming book 2 Billion Under 20. Even if you aren’t young now, today is the best day to start a new project or business so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor as soon as possible.

2) Create Daily Rituals for Success

Com is up at 5 A.M. or earlier, spends time to work on himself (via meditation, exercise, reading, journaling, etc) all before he tackles his work. He’ll then work up until noon, uninterrupted, in order to take time off to hang out with family. He then takes an afternoon nap, and goes back to work after dinner when no one can bother him. He sleeps maybe 5 hours a day, and is getting most of his work done while others sleep. Com also has an hourly reminder to be grateful for what he has, and that keeps him grounded in his success.

3) Work Your A** Off

Hard work separates the super successful from everyone else. “It comes down to the work,” says Com. If you are the hardest working, it is inevitable that you will be successful.

Many people think Lebron James is the best player on the planet, but he is also one of the hardest workers in the NBA, and that’s why he is at the position in life that he’s at.

4) Failure is Temporary

Most successful people fail at one point or another in their journeys. Com failed countless business ventures before finally going bankrupt, creating one more business to break even, and then ultimately others (via investing, founding, etc) in order to eventually become the $500 man he is today.

As he goes for $1 Billion in net worth, there will certainly be other failures he will encounter, but failure will be temporary.

5) Be Smart With Your Initial Success

In order to build the type of net worth Com has, you can’t be foolish about your money when you make your first real income. Most young people prematurely splurge on cars, houses, crazy nightlife, and other luxuries they don’t need when they can be reinvesting in real estate, other companies, and other things that will grow their net worth and become assets over time instead of cost them money in the long run.

6) Learn Along The Way

You don’t have to always know everything before you start in the business world.

It’s okay to give it a go and learn along the way.

7) Never Give Up!

Com had a massive vision. After selling his first company for $60,000 he decided to then reinvest that money with the risk of losing it all on the next venture, knowing that even if he did, he would eventually reach his end goal if he stuck with it and never gave up.

Com looks at failures as stepping stones to success. Not as the end of the world or as a weakness.

Source: Addicted2success

Why You Need Motivation EVERY Morning

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 20:12:00 +0000

It was happening to me again…

I just laid there. Still. Mind racing, but body stagnant. The battle had begun…

Should I wake up and work out/send emails/write a new article/do anything mildly productive, or should I surrender to just one more hour of sleep.

On most days, this wouldn’t be a battle. I am better than that.

But even the mightiest success chasers need new sources of motivation every once in a while.

You see, most of us are indeed crazed to succeed, and rarely need any external pushes to get ahead. We are intrinsically motivated beasts 99.99% of the time, but one day (or week, or month…don’t judge) there will come a time where you everything will seem gloom, the important goals you’ve set for yourself become less noticeable than an extra 15 minutes of quasi-sleep, and the rollercoaster hits its lowest valleys.

That’s why you need motivation every morning.

WHY?!? Because you CAN create the life you want, but only if you work your a** off to create it.

WHY?!? Because you INSPIRE others through your work, words, and actions, so it’s your responsibility to be a good role model for those who look up to you.

WHY?!? Because certain jobs, people, and friends passed you over, and it’s on you to PROVE THEM WRONG.

WHY?!? Because your family, friends, and supporters WANT TO SEE YOU SUCCEED.

WHY?!? Because you are a LEADER, and because people DEPEND on you.

However, all that being said, I know some days are harder than others, and because there have been days (weeks, months…) that I’ve had this same problem, I want to give you some ways to get motivation EVERY morning.

Make it a habit, just like brushing your teeth and tying your shoelaces, to seek sources of motivation every single morning. Watch an inspirational Youtube video, listen to you favorite, potentially-Rocky-inspired song, or get a group of friends together for a daily, 5 minute “pep” conference call.

Meditate and think of all the things in life you are grateful for.

Listen to your favorite self-help audio book or podcast during your commute to the office (I recommend The Law of Success
and Three Feet from Gold as great audio books, and The James Altucher Show, The Tim Ferriss Show, and EntrepreneurOnFire as awesome podcasts).

Go for a run, or do some pushups, or try some yoga. Something. Get active. It’s amazing how much happier and clear-headed you will start each of your days.

Remember each morning why you do what you do, and who you do it for. Which people have given you opportunities in life? Which people said you couldn’t chase your dreams? Are you supporting your parents, children, friends, family? Why did you get started in “the biz” in the first place? Remember that, and get motivated every morning.

Seeking motivation every morning has helped me have days where I can speak to Ivy Leaguers, appear in a nationally broadcasted commercial, and save babies, all in one day. Those are truly epic days, and every day can and will be just as epic for you if you make it ritual to start every morning motivated! It’s the only way I can work on projects like 2 Billion Under 20 and The Gap Year Experiment and, quite frankly, your work too should serve as a source of motivation every morning as mine does (or you need a new job!!!).

Don’t leave it up to yourself. Don’t leave it to “inspiration” or chance. Make motivating yourself a daily practice. You NEED motivation EVERY morning, and with that one habit, anything else will be possible.

21 Inspirational Mark Twain Quotes To Live By

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 18:35:00 +0000

Mark Twain was a BOSS! He lived life the way that he wanted to live and passed on many amazing lines of knowledge through his books and teachings for generations to come.

Most of the highly amazing quote collections out there nowadays has at least 1 or 2 Mark Twain quotes in it.

Here is our collection of inspirational Mark Twain quotes that any and everybody should strive to live by.

Inspirational Mark Twain Quotes

“If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” – Mark Twain

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” - Mark Twain

“To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence.” - Mark Twain

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear” - Mark Twain

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” – Mark Twain

“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” - Mark Twain

“Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.” - Mark Twain

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain

“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” - Mark Twain

“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” – Mark Twain

“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” - Mark Twain

“The lack of money is the root of all evil.” - Mark Twain

“A man’s character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.” - Mark Twain

“Better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.” - Mark Twain

“Never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well”. – Mark Twain

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” - Mark Twain

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” – Mark Twain

“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.” – Mark Twain

“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.” - Mark Twain

“A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” – Mark Twain

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” - Mark Twain

“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.” – Mark Twain

5 Secret Essentials To Having A Confident Mindset

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 18:12:00 +0000

Being confident takes effort. It is a state of mind that fluctuates as we react to our circumstances, mood, physical health, and a whole host of unknown subconscious factors.

My life’s work is about understanding how to maintain this powerful mindset. Based on the theory that true ‘happiness’ is really about feeling self-confident, I have devised all sorts of ways to build and maintain high self-worth.

Here’s a few things to help you maintain yours.

UNDERSTAND THAT ‘victim’ is a mindset, nothing more, nothing less

As my coach Jacob Sokol says, you can either be a Victim or a Creator. The choice is always yours.

In working with offenders I quickly learned something fascinating: they do not choose victims at random. They are in fact attracted to victims. How can that be, when some people are victims for the first time?

Because being a Victim is not defined by having something bad happen to you. It’s about thinking of yourself as a victim. Here’s a fairly simple question that will determine whether you are a Victim or a Creator:

Do you believe life generally happens to you, or do you believe that you create your life?

Explore how you react to life. Do you see yourself surrounded by opportunities? Do you feel like you can handle whatever comes your way?

Or, do you see yourself as being the subject of luck and circumstance? Is it just a matter of ‘playing the hand you were dealt’?

Victims are powerless. If you want power, you need to stop being a victim. And nothing in your life will change that, you have to change it yourself.

Try living for a month by the motto “Everything that happens to me is for my benefit, and is my responsibility to manage” and see how you go.

Try to give rather than get

Most people try to get things out of life. This is the quickest way to push the things you want out of your reach. I wish someone had explained this to me when I was younger.

In order to “get”, you must give. And you must give fully, with no condition or expectation of reward. Try to think of life as deal in VALUE.

To receive value, you must first give it. Make giving value the goal of every interaction. When you are talking to someone, ask yourself “How I can give this person the opportunity to leave here better than when they came in?”

This does NOT mean people-please. When you people-please, you are not giving, you are trying to get. Get liked. Get friends. Get approval. Get a reputation as the Nice Guy.

Giving is about ensuring that the person receives what they want, not what you want. Ask before you give help. Ask permission to serve others. Expect nothing in return.

You will be rewarded. This reward will not be what you think you want, but it will be what you actually need. You’ll just have to trust me on this one.

Doing it all by yourself is pointless

As a perfectionist people pleaser (what a mouthful), I used to try and do it all myself. And because I was hardworking and clever it worked OK… sort of.

Little did I know, I was missing out on amazing things because of my pride and inability to be vulnerable. I had to struggle and fight for every little bit of success, for every inch of progress.

Then one day I was promoted to Service Manager and was put in charge of a team of people for the first time. I quickly settled into my old pattern of doing it all myself, as well as trying to do everyone else’s work for them as well.

Not surprisingly, I completely burned out.

I decided to let go and start allowing others to support me. This is when I was subjected to another epiphany: teams are greater than the sum of their individual parts. 10 people collaborating can achieve things that 30 people working on individually would struggle to achieve.

And I didn’t miss out on anything. In fact, the more recognition and delegation I gave to the team, the better I felt. They loved me more as a leader when I allowed them to be in charge of the good stuff, rather than hogging it all to myself.

When I later became a full time coach I reverted back to my old ways, mostly because I was working alone. Then, when Michael Wells approached me to start Brojo, I opened up to the idea of collaboration again. Thank God I did that!

I suck at technical stuff, design and organising venues. I’m an artist, I like to create and perform. Michael was 10x better at all that stuff than me, and without him this thing might never have started.

Let go of your pride and let other people help you. You’re denying them pleasure by keeping it all to yourself. You’ll end up getting more out of it than you ever expected, and certainly more than you can do alone.

Slow the hell down

Mindfulness is now one of the most central concepts in my life.

I have learned that true bliss comes from being present, curious and aware of what is happening in real-time. There is a time and place for mentally drifting, such as getting creative or planning,but for the most part confidence comes from the simple joy of being present.

We are all so damn BUSY. We thrive on busyness as a coping mechanism to avoid boredom. People are busy from the moment they wake, all the way through the work day, until the moment they sleep. They go a million miles per hour and without even being aware of what they are doing.

People even have busy holidays. I once went on a one-month vacation tour of the USA for a leisure holiday, and most of our group were just on the go, all day every day. It was exhausting to watch them from the comfort of the lazy, unplanned holiday the rest of us were having.

You can do more with less. Rather than doing a billion things a day, do what’s important and do it well. Figure out what actually matters to your goals. Most stuff doesn’t, but we keep ourselves busy with crap to avoid the uncomfortable stuff that does matter.

Try this: no chores for a week. No internet social media scrolling. No socialising with people you don’t adore. Spend a week only doing the important uncomfortable things, and SLOWLY participate in life rather than rushing around.

Soak it all in – you only ever get to do anything once. Enjoy it.

Vulnerability Is Invincible

For too many years I hid everything negative about myself. My anger, my dislikes, my disagreements, and mostly, my weaknesses.

It was like dragging around a massive concrete ball. Constantly having to be hypersensitive to what I was saying and revealing. I treated conversations like defusing a bomb; with the utmost care and concern.

As I started building my confidence, I experimented with disclosure. I started slowly but tentatively revealing the darker aspects of myself. This was one of the hardest things I have ever done.

The result shocked me.

None of the bad things I thought would happen actually came to fruition. Instead, I was met mostly with love, understanding and sympathy. People seemed to like me more when they learned about my weaknesses. They certainly appreciated the honesty and shamelessness.

When you are completely vulnerable, when there are no secrets left, you become invincible. No one can use your weaknesses against you, because it’s all out in the open. It’s like having someone trying to bluff you in poker when you can see their cards.

For some reason it really inspires others. You gain instant trust and affection from people when you open up. This does not mean complaining or unloading your trauma on them. It just means being honest when you don’t know what to do, when you doubt yourself, and when you have feelings of shame about your behaviour.

Just remember: everyone else has these problems too. If you can be bold enough to reveal it, you will help others find peace with their own darkness.

7 Lessons From Floyd Mayweather

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 22:47:00 +0000

Love him or hate him, there’s no ignoring his success. Both inside and outside the ring.

With his second win over Maidana, he takes his undefeated record to 47-0, and will be remembered as one of history’s pound-for-pound greatest boxers.

And, He’s the highest paid athlete in the world, topping Forbes’ list for the second time. When you see Warren Buffet at his training sessions, you know the man is bigger than just boxing.

Here are 7 lessons we can learn from Floyd “Money” Mayweather:

1. Ditch The One-Night Stands

Mayweather’s doesn’t put on a show, he puts on a spectacle; he doesn’t do big, he does over-the-top. But it’s not just for one night, he’s done it for over eighteen years.

If you want to be known as spectacular, you need to keep showing up, keep producing, and keep raising the bar. Reputations aren’t built overnight, they’re built over years. Remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Nobody brags about being a one-hit wonder.

2. Talent is Nothing Without Work

When his daughter was asked what’s the biggest lesson she’s learned being around her father? She responded, “that hard work pays off.”

No doubt Floyd Mayweather has talent, but if he hadn’t worked on that talent from the age of five, there’s no way he’d be the athlete he is.

Many talented boxers walk into his gym, the only ones that get his attention are the ones that survive “dog-house rules,” a gruelling sparring session without any breaks.

Talent without hard work is like an amazing singer—who never sings. Hard work makes the potential, actual.

3. Bigger Than Your Circumstances

Floyd’s father was thrown in prison for dealing cocaine. His mother suffered with drug addiction. At one stage, seven of his family members were sleeping in a one bedroom apartment without any heating or hot water.

According to statistics, Mayweather should’ve ended up in prison. But he chose to be bigger than statistics and bigger than his circumstances.

As the saying goes, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” There were a million influences leading him to water, but ultimately he chose not to drink. He chose to hold onto his dream and not be derailed from turning it into reality.

We may not always have power over what happens to us, but we always have power over how we choose to respond.

4. Over-the-Top Self-Belief

Mayweather doesn’t need the question in order to give the answer: “I’m the best ever.”

Cocky? Sure. But actions flow from belief. And whether or not he becomes the greatest is irrelevant if he doesn’t truly believe it. His belief has already taken him to the top with an undefeated record.

As important as it is to have others believe in us, it serves no good if we don’t believe in ourselves.

Our beliefs will shape our reality, a desire for an over-the-top life needs to be matched with over-the-top beliefs.

5. Cutting Your Own Grass

The reason Floyd Mayweather tops Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes is because he pockets two pay-checks: one as fighter and another as promoter.

Most boxers sign themselves under a promoter. Mayweather is signed to himself: Mayweather Promotions. It’s no doubt more work—taking on the advertising, publicity, and logistics, but the payoffs set him apart.

Success lies in doing more than necessary.

When it comes down to it, nobody will look after your own house like you do; nobody will care as much about your business as yourself. While there’s nothing wrong with outsourcing work, Mayweather shows us the other end—that it can be very profitable to take on the extra work ourselves.

6. Self-Motivated

Alex Ariza, who’s been the strength and conditioning coach for Pacquiao, Chavez, and Maidana, was shocked watching Mayweather train, “It’s the first time i’ve seen anything like it, he doesn’t need anybody to tell him what to do, when to do, how to do, he simply does it, and he does it 100%.

Floyd Mayweather may have world-class trainers, but what sets him apart is the ability to train himself at a world class level.

If you need to be dragged out of your own bed every morning to chase after your dream, success will always be a unicorn for you.

7. Work Hard, Play Hard

While his opponents are sleeping, Mayweather often heads out at midnight for an intense 12-mile run followed with cycling.

He also woke up at 1am to go shoe shopping, and bought 12 pairs.

If anything matches Mayweather’s extreme training, it’s his extreme partying. With private jets, fleets of luxury cars, including a couple of Bugatti Veyrons, and more watches than minutes in a day, extravagance is an understatement.

Those closest to him say that, for an elite athlete, he sure knows how to have fun. It’s not only possible, but necessary—all work no play will make anyone insane. Labouring, without enjoying the fruits of your labour, will lead to burnout.

Floyd Mayweather shows us that sustained success is a balance of discipline and celebration.

Living the dream will be blood, sweat, and tears, but it should also be champagne, hot-tubs, and hotels.