You Are Successful

How to Become Open to Inspirational Business Ideas

2020-10-03T11:33:00.000-10:00

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You may have come across a story on the news or in a magazine that made you think – “wow, I wish I’d had that idea.” It is also likely that it made the person who actually had the idea a lot of money. You wish that it could be you, sitting back and reaping the rewards from that particular moment of brilliance. Well, it can. You just have to know how to become open to inspiration and then figure out how to recognize that inspiration when it does come along.

The first thing that you’ll need to do is get rid of your preconceived notions. That is much easier said than done, but it is possible. You’ll start with identifying your preconceptions and determining which of them might keep you from being open to an idea when it comes along. Then, get rid of that assumption entirely. This way, you have nothing blocking the path if a good idea should come along.

Next, you’ll need to start paying more attention to your surroundings. It is very easy to become so used to your regular routine that you don’t notice the things around you. But those things are going to be what inspires your business ideas. As you go about your daily life, look for things that are related to business. In particular, look for niches that have to be filled, for needs that are not being met. These are where you will find the best business ideas.

You also have to know how to recognize the good ideas and sift out the bad ones. This requires that you think through an idea thoroughly before you do any work towards it. You need to determine exactly how the idea will work and what sort of pitfalls you can expect to find. Sometimes, an idea that looks great on the surface will turn out to be terrible, and sometimes the opposite is true.

The most important thing that you can do is to continually think about things from a business perspective until it becomes so much of a habit that you are unable to turn it off. That is when you will start coming up with amazing ideas, one of which could just make you a millionaire if you put in the work. But the idea has to come first so get to thinking about things!

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Personal Ways You Can Cultivate Grit at Work

2020-09-28T16:08:00.004-10:00

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Follow me on Twitter here: Twitter.com/Wes_Lee_Success

Browse my latest books here: http://amazon.com/author/wes_lee

Learn the Best Secret for Daily Cash Flow: http://bit.ly/Daily_CashFlow

5 Steps to Developing a Growth Mindset

2020-09-28T15:57:00.002-10:00

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Follow me on Twitter here: Twitter.com/Wes_Lee_Success

Browse my latest books here: http://amazon.com/author/wes_lee

Learn the Best Secret for Daily Cash Flow: http://bit.ly/Daily_CashFlow

Three Simple Success Actions

2020-09-13T22:49:00.001-10:00

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"It is better to take many small steps in the right directions than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward" - Chinese Proverb

The actions we take have to be productive to work. Our daily activities, planned actions, and inspired actions have to be aligned to see results. In this article, you'll learn how to maximize your production and create effective results.

DAILY ACTIONS

As you know, daily actions are the actions we take that become routine. Every day a rich person performs work differently than the average. You need to behave like the person you want to be, not the person you were yesterday. Many people want to be one way, but don't act it every day. Don't think you need to achieve something first, to be a certain way. You don't need to be wealthy, to act wealthy. Daily activities become habits, which become your identity. If your daily actions aren't productive, your potential for success is low. These daily habits will enrich you.

Practice waking up earlier than you used to: One of the daily actions that show a productive mindset is your response to time. Time is gold. Don't give more than 8 hours of your day to sleep and expect a significant change in your life. Warren Buffet and Jeff Bezos attest to the fact that they sleep a maximum of 8 hours every day. This Sleep schedule produces results for established people that are incredibly well-developed. To get what you want, you'll sacrifice more hours of sleep. But aren't your goals worth it? However, rest is still critical to your sanity; you could (in the name of success) sleep 2 hours daily. Yet, your effectiveness and productivity will tank, then your actions will suffer. Laze in bed a little bit, daydream about what you want, but get enough sleep for your brain to function correctly.
Practice saying daily affirmations: An abundant mindset is crucial. A wealthy mind will create productive action. Speaking what you believe every day, will reprogram your subconscious mind to align with your goals. To say it is to think about it. Your thinking produces strength, will, and grit. You can surf the internet for daily affirmations that align with what you want or craft your own. One of mine is, "I am a champion; I am changing this world; I am fearless, I am limitless!" Examples of others are, "money comes to me; I am a magnet." Or "It's easy for me to succeed; profit is easy." Speak your new beliefs every morning or before you go to bed (I prefer morning).
Make sure to read every day: Reading is one of the best ways to learn when you're not doing. Reading is crucial and life-changing because you only need to connect with one idea to change your future. I'm so glad you're here with me reading this! There's reading material for everything you want to experience. Unlike most people, read with a conscious purpose. Learn about wealthy people, read books of value. Make sure you read meaningful content every day; fill your mind with fruit, not sugar. Mark Cuban spends about 3 hours a day reading, and attributes books to the secret of his success; Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg read for hours also. Elon Musk said that when he was in grade school, he consumed books for at least 10 hours a day. One of the attributes that most billionaires practice and employ daily is their voracious habit of devouring profitable books. If there is any sure way your mind can reprogram, it's by reading with intention.

PLANNED ACTIONS

Planned actions are the intentional actions you take because you have a goal. Planned activities are for the sole purpose of getting you closer to what you want. These planned actions have three processes.

The Semantic Process: The first part of our planned actions is the semantic process, which involves the mind. It's in this stage we utilize our mind and conclude what will benefit us and bring the ultimate positive result. Use the combined effect of desire, a positive mindset, and all of your resources available to make a firm decision about the steps you want to take (be gritty and scrappy). Before you choose any stage for your planned actions, write the pros, cons, and net benefits. Don't waste your time pursuing the end of a circular rope. It's essential that you effectively use the semantic process before taking any planned action.
The Training Process: This is the stage you learn to affect your decisions, especially if the actions you decided are unfamiliar. Read up on the steps you want to take and build yourself slowly until you excel. If I want to improve my skills in advertising, I'm going to pay for the training to do it. Are you willing to make education your highest monthly expense? If you are, you won't destroy your time and money to opportunity costs. If I invested in training for $2,000, would it be worth it to avoid losing $10,000 on advertising mistakes? Absolutely! Education's an infinite return that no one can take from you.
The Life Task: Your planned actions take full effect and determine your results. It's a life task because you can't afford to take the wrong step. Your planned activities are the actual steps you take towards realizing your goals. In contrast, you can lose progress by making avoidable mistakes; it's costly and time-consuming to make mistakes that you can avoid.

To be successful, own your mistakes. There's no one to blame, except ourselves. This mindset is wealthy because self-accountability is rare. We're our only obstacle. Whatever achievement you have will happen because you made it happen, which also goes for failure. Other people aren't responsible for your success, so they can't be accountable for your setbacks. Realize this when you take the wrong step because it happens to us all. Acknowledge mistakes, retrace your actions, and keep flowing forward.

Your success strategy comes from your planned actions. If your planned activities don't take you towards your goals, review them. Don't try to run east, thinking you'll see the sunset.

INSPIRED ACTIONS

Your inspired actions are the actions you take when you reach a crossroads. We make thousands of different decisions every day (we even decide to make a decision). Many are easy, but others are complex, stressful, or both. Because there are many decisions (forks in the road), it impacts results, costs, time, effectiveness, feelings, and relationships. How you make your decisions is vital. Decision making is a top priority when facing a challenge because you're choosing a road, successful or not. Below are the things to do when you reach a "fork" and need to make a choice.

Consider the overall benefit of the decision you want to take. Weigh the risks of both paths and determine which one has a better effect. Often, we're faced with a severe decision-making problem when things don't go as planned. We need to be aware of other decisions we can use as alternatives to the original plan. It's crucial to weigh the risks that can arise from your choices.
What are the pros of your alternative decisions? Just like it's essential to weigh the decision with the least disadvantages, it's crucial to make choices with more advantages.

Is not taking any action an alternative? Can it bring better results than all the other options you have? Sometimes, we think we need to change our path when things seem to turn bad, but you may be only an inch from getting what you want. It's been my experience that the hardest challenges come just before the most significant breakthroughs.

Now you know how to maximize your daily activities, planned actions, and

inspired actions. Check out the resources below and learn how you can finally reach the

level of success you are meant to have.

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Your Financial Freedom Math

2020-09-06T13:02:00.001-10:00

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Doing Your Freedom Math

We live on an economic planet. No matter what you want to be, you need money to live. I’m going to teach you a freedom formula to calculate the income you need to achieve financial freedom.

The Formula

Here it is: Be + Do + Have + (2.5x your monthly expenses). We need to add the economic costs of who you want to become, what you want to do with your extra time, and what you want to have; this is your fulfillment figure.

Then, we’ll take your fulfillment figure and add 2.5 times your regular monthly expenses. With this formula, you’ll know the exact number needed for freedom. After that, we’ll get you on track to pass that figure.

The 4-Step Process

Always do the math first, and create the strategy around the math second. First, set a date for your goal. How far out is your goal? Three months? 6? 12? I recommend between 6-24 months.

Next, create a list from 1-3 and write three things you want to become in that timeframe. For example, you may want to become a top chef, a botanist, and an animal rights activist.

Third, create another list of no more than three things you want to do in your timeframe. For instance, you might want to take a 7 hour VIP tour of Disneyland, surprise your whole family with dinner at Nobu, or write a book.

Fourth, create a list of no more than three things you want to have in your timeframe. This list will include the stuff you want. Examples include a virtual reality headset, a new Range Rover, or a Dyson vacuum.

Your lists can include anything you want. There are no limitations, there are no wrong answers, and there are no feelings of guilt allowed. Think of this as your guilt-free exercise. If you want to do a vacation in Italy with fine wines, don’t write about going on a church mission because you feel guilty for your desires. Don’t think, just write what comes to mind.

Got it? Fantastic! Now, as you know, it’s no secret that most of what you write will cost money, especially what you want to have and what you want to do.

To the right of what you want to become, write what you want to be able to do, and then the cost. Finally, add up the total. We always want to become something, so that we can do something we couldn’t before. Here’s how this looks:

Example

Top-chef (become) = Master 10 difficult culinary dishes including consommé devilish (do) = $3,246 at Henry Ford College (cost).

Botanist (become) = Master tissue culture (do) = $250.95 for a tissue culture micro clone kit (cost).

Animal rights activist (become) = Volunteer at your local animal shelter (do) = $0 (cost).

The total cost to become a top chef, botanist, with a heart for animal rights is $3496.95 plus your time.

Take Action

Next, to the right of the cost, write the smallest step you can take to get started with each “be, do, have” item. Then, set a deadline to do it. For the top chef, I would write, “go to the Henry Ford College website and schedule a phone consultation within seven days from today.” Then I would progress on that step, and plan out the next level, for example, “visit the Henry Ford College for a tour of the facility, within fourteen days from today.” Follow a logical progression of steps.

Once you’ve written out your steps for each of your items, it’s time to do the math. Remember that Be + Do + Have + (2.5x your monthly expenses). So, the fulfillment formula is $3496.95 +(2.5x your monthly expenses). If my monthly expenses are $4,000, then $3496.95 + (4,000) = $7496.95

That figure is MUCH less than the millions of dollars that people think they need to live a fulfilling life. Take the final fulfillment figure and divide it by 30 days in a month.

$7496.95/30 = $249.90 per day. If these were your dreams, you would only need to earn $249.90 per day to have what you want. Now that you have the math, you can create your strategy around the math.

Craft Your Strategy

How can you take the work you already do and create branches of cash flow from it? For example, a full-time nurse could create an online course in their spare time to teach proper wound care. How about a full-time cook that writes a cookbook of their favorite recipes and publishes it online as an ebook? Whatver you do, think about how you can create passive income without a second job, or additional time at work. Seek to have money, technology, and other people replace your time at work. When you put money, technology, and other people to work for you, you're free to expand your freedom and do what fulfills you.

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Discovering Your Leadership Style

2020-08-30T16:03:00.002-10:00

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What is Leadership?

The best place to begin our journey is with an understanding of effective Leadership and why we make the decisions we make. The most effective leaders create permanent change and transform lives with their actions.

Leadership is a learned skill, and everybody can be an impactful leader. Everyone is a leader, from parents who want to impact their children to volunteers who hunger to contribute to their community. Any person who wants to be a beacon of light for people can lead, and every day is overflowing with opportunities to rise to your potential!

As we begin this exciting journey together, we’ll dive into a new way of viewing Leadership that I’ve learned and put into practice for years. This article is inspired by the phenomenal work performed in human needs psychology trademarked by Tony Robbins. For our purpose, Leadership will focus on our ability to influence other people by discovering what already influences their behaviors, emotions, actions, thoughts, and feelings.

I want you to visualize yourself, making a tremendous impact on people. You can imagine a single person, a group of people, your team members at work, or anyone in your life whom you want to influence. What if you had the skills to take these people you visualize and move them to achieve outstanding results in their lives and change for the greater good? How fulfilled would you feel to shift these people and know that you lead them to exceptional results?

For the past ten years, I’ve been on a mission to grow and introduce success into every fiber of people’s lives. In my quest, I wrote a best-selling course that’s reached 40 countries and counting. And, I’ve worked with some of the most elite fortune 500 companies, in industries from real estate to technology. What I can say confidently is that we all have habits that are at the core of who we are.

When you learn to apply these timeless principles into your own life, you’ll equip yourself to transform your quality of life. You’ll lead other people to shift their thinking, the way they feel, actions they take, and ultimately their life. And your ability to move people is your mark as a leader. Let’s Begin!

How do we Make Decisions?

Life doesn't "happen" to us. We create our lives, and it's our decisions that shape our lives. So, how do we make decisions that create our lives? We're making three decisions every second of every day, which affect us in the interim and over the long term.

How are you using your body? Such as your breathing, how tall you sit or stand, and how you move.

Where’s your focus? What you’re focused on is what you feel at any moment.

Did you notice that 1 & 2 are non-verbal? The third factor is: what words do we assign to an experience? The language we assign to an experience determines how we feel. If you say: "That makes me mad!” you’re right, and you’ll feel it. If you say: “That makes me happy,” you’re also right, and you’ll also feel it.

When we're in distress or pain, it's because we're inwardly focused. And one or all of the above three factors are off. The fantastic part is that you’re in control of all three! And the more robust these three factors are, the more significant you’ll feel. You’ll also make more empowering or less empowering decisions.

Example

If someone’s having difficulty, you can focus on the problem or be the solution. Ask yourself, “how can I contribute to this person right now?”

Pay attention to the language you use, and that other people use. We can use enhanced or diminutive language. Let’s say someone asks you, “How’s your day?” you can choose to respond: “Good,” or you can enhance your language and say, “Phenomenal.” Do you think you’ll feel different depending on how you respond? Or let’s say you or another person encounters a tough situation. Does it “Suck” or is it “Inconvenient.” This is diminutive language; we’re adopting a style that's less harsh and negative.

Lastly, the quickest way to instantly affect your mood at any given moment is to change how you use your body by changing your physiology. If you or another person is sitting, stand up. If you feel down, take deep breaths. Go for a walk, stretch out, or pay attention to the foods and drinks you put into your body that day. These all positively affect your body and your state, which enables you to be more effective in making significant decisions.

How we Shape Our World

It's no secret that each of us is unique and superior in certain aspects of life. We're also inferior in other dimensions, making us all even. Now, you already understand the three decisions we're making every second, that affect us in the interim (short term). Next are the factors that affect our life over a long period. How we perceive the world, what it means to us, and how it affects our decisions.

Each of us is After Six Human Necessities:

1. We want to feel certain

2. We want variety and a sense of change

3. We all want to feel like we matter

4. We want to experience love and feel connected

5. We each want to feel as though we’re growing

6. We want to contribute to something beyond ourselves

Each of us Has a Map to Guide us to our Desired Necessities

1. We have universal beliefs about the way life is

2. We each have desires and fears

3. We each have methods we rely on to meet our necessities

4. We all have boundaries for ourselves (Thresholds)

5. We have situations in which we would violate our thresholds

6. We have a belief system about who we are

7. We all have preferences in how we make decisions Ex: (Big Picture vs. Detail-oriented)

Each of us Has Emotions we Default to

These emotions can be emotions that give us strength or make us weaker. Reflect on yourself for a moment; what are your go-to feelings? When I was growing up, I lived in an emotional frame of anger. If I didn't like something, I'd get angry. Even If something happened that I wanted, sometimes I'd get mad because I wouldn't feel worthy of that kind gesture. So, where do you go to often within yourself?

Six Human Necessities

What’s fascinating is that we meet these necessities in ways that help us and harm us. Every person has a way to meet these necessities, however. As leaders, we want to discover how a person is getting their needs met. We need to influence them to achieve their needs in ways that are pleasurable and positive over the long term of their life. Make sense? So why do you think a person would do something harmful such as drink or do drugs? Why do addictions even happen? I used to believe it was the drug itself (which plays a factor!). However, an enlightening moment occurred for me when I realized that it has more to do with us than the outside stimulus. People in my family had drug problems, and wisdom taught me that the drugs were meeting several of their necessities. If that drug meets enough needs, it creates an addiction. What are the three essential needs a drug addict wants?

We're each unique in the way we value these necessities. Every person is different and meets these in different ways. You'll know your essential needs in a stressful experience. We tend to value a couple of these needs over the others; however, we still require all six. So, which two showed up for you the last time you experienced a challenging situation? For me: I value growing, and I appreciate the feeling of significance. I get anxious when I feel like I'm not growing, and I highly value feeling like I matter. The combination of those necessities is why you're reading this material.

Our Guiding Map

Are you meeting your needs? How do you know if you are? What do you believe?

What thresholds have you placed on yourself to achieve your essential necessities?

Your Default Emotions

Do you remember the last time you expressed an emotion quicker than you could think? We act on our feelings, which positively or negatively affect our quality of life.

Recap

Ask yourself these three questions throughout the day:

1. What meaning do I choose to give this situation?

2. What action am I going to take?

3. What do I choose to focus on right now?

Understanding Yourself First

Before leading other people, it’s critical to know how you perceive the world and how your perspective interacts with another person’s view of the world. Expanding your understanding of yourself brings you the ability to develop your influence and knowledge of other people, giving your life more options and flexibility.

If you want to impact anyone and shift their perspective to make positive changes, you have to understand what already motivates them. We can't effectively change a person for our reasons. Leadership means understanding how they see the world and how you can help them meet their necessities for their purposes.

Have you ever had someone tell you all of the reasons why you should change? Did you resist changing? Unless you were after the same necessities as that person, you probably resisted it because they didn’t understand how you see the world.

How Happiness Works

Do you know why you get upset or frustrated, and why you feel ecstatic in certain parts of your life? When I learned and applied this, it was mind-blowing and straightforward! There are two factors we can shift to achieve happiness and take ourselves out of a painful state of being:

1. We have the control to change our situation

2. We have the power to change the narratives in our mind

Example

My wife and I, at the time of this writing, live in Hawaii. I highlight this because this is the most fulfilling area of my life. It’s the most fulfilling area because our marriage exceeds my perception of marriage. I always imagined marrying my best friend, what I never envisioned was living in such a beautiful place and making life into a wondrous adventure! So, because my marriage exceeds what I imagined, I'm thrilled!

Now, let's look at the other side of this. When I was a teenager, I didn't have money, and I didn't have a relationship or a place of my own to live. My situations (Relationship, Finances, and Living) didn't match how I perceived things should be. In my mind, I wanted lots of money, a great relationship, and a beautiful place to call mine. Because I had none of those, what could I have done? I could have changed my situation and started aggressively going after what I wanted. Or I could have changed the way I perceived being single, with no income or a place of my own. I could have said, “I’m working on myself, so I can have everything I desire.” Instead of “I’m not worthy of having the things I desire,” Can you see the power in this small shift? Change the situation or change the way you perceive the situation.

Action Steps

1. Where are you thrilled in your life right now? What pleases you about it the most? Pay attention and write down IF your expectations meet or exceed the situation.

2. What area of your life do you want to improve in the most? What doesn’t please you about it? Do your expectations meet how you imagine it should be? How can you use this information to change it?

3. What are your top two human necessities of the six? Take ownership of them. Think of them as your best friends, and feel proud because they are your primary drivers (Think about which necessities you live and embody each day).

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The Obstacles to Finding Your Life's Purpose

2020-08-23T13:12:00.024-10:00

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As you find your purpose, you’ll run into five challenges that you must overcome. These challenges are the reason your journey isn’t a straight line from A to B. We’re going to address how to overcome them, in turn. These obstacles come in no particular order, but you’ll encounter each of them at some point.

(1) Peer Pressure

The first obstacle is peer pressure. The book of Proverbs, in the Bible, captures how to handle peer pressure effectively. In chapter 1, verse 7, there’s a portion that says, “fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Peer pressure is a sin that fools commit; these fools want to take you down a dark path away from your destiny. The Bible suggests not to walk in the way of these people because they set their trap for their life.

When I was in high school, I was the guy who did what others wanted so that they would like me. It was a constant cycle of stupid stunts to get a laugh, but none of the people around me respected me. Back then, I didn’t listen to my inner calling because I believed all of the external voices around me. It’s no coincidence that I was at the lowest point in my life, with no car, driver’s license, job, meaningful relationship, or education.

Crazier still, It was six years after high school when I received my high school diploma. Five of those years, I was playing World of Warcraft for 15 hours a day. Everyone around me told me that was the thing to do, so I did. We were all a group of fools that didn’t want wisdom or instruction, and until an intervention occurred, I may have never found my voice.

(2) Resources

The second obstacle is your resources. Daymond John has a great book called The Power of Broke, where he talks about his resources growing up. John started a clothing line called FUBU in New York. The company started in his home in the early ’90s when internet marketing wasn’t a thing. Daymond was broke, but it was the greatest thing that happened to him, one of his blessings. Without a lot of resources, we need to get resourceful, and that’s what Daymond did.

Without the resources to get himself in storefronts or on billboards in New York, he used spray paint to tag his logo in high-traffic areas. Without the resources to get himself promoted on T.V., he negotiated with music artists, getting them to wear his clothes in their videos. Before Uber and Lyft, Daymond used some of his profits to buy a van, driving people around New York, promoting his clothing line, and selling it out of the back.

As you find your purpose, you may come face to face with the feeling that you don’t have the resources. Remember that the people who break this obstacle down get resourceful.

I lived in over 20 places by the time I was 20 years old. If having money and high-level connections were the only way to start achieving success, I would have been out from the start. You don’t need more resources; you need to repurpose what you already have. By not having the world handed to us, our advantage is that we learn to grow, control, and keep our success.

Take most child actors, for example, they came into a massive amount of success, became known throughout the world, and starred in iconic movies such as Home Alone. Where are many of them now? Who knows! Acting might be their purpose, but they received much of their success before they were ready to control it. How can anyone take care of a lion before they knew how to take care of a house cat? Many times, what comes fast, goes fast.

(3) Fake Purpose

The third obstacle is the fake purpose. The world isn’t short on false teachers, services, and products. We are so interconnected, with access to so much information that it can seem overwhelming to try to decide what path to take. Anyone with a camera can turn it on and become your next “expert.” Following what fake teachers say leads us down the wrong path, costing us loads of time and money.

Warren Buffett once said, “Don’t ask the barber whether you need a haircut.” The same wisdom applies to fake teachers. These “barbers” are everywhere, and they drown out the only voice that matters, your inner voice. In a world of fake, you need to dig deep, turn off all of the suggestions everyone has for you, and listen to yourself; that tiny inner voice is your guide. Do you know the surefire way to spot a fake? If they don’t live what they’re telling you, they’re fake.

Understand, just because something is fake doesn’t always mean that there are wrong intentions. Plenty of well-meaning people unintentionally set others back with their ignorant advice. You’re out to find your purpose, so you need to be able to sift through the noise and identify what’s real.

Today my wife was scrolling through Instagram when a girl popped up in her feed to share that she and her husband paid off all of their debts. Other people were congratulating her, cheering for her, and asking her how she did it. The girl said that they achieved it because COVID-19 forced her and her husband to stay inside and stop going out to spend money. Also, the unemployment checks and government stimulus program gave them enough extra income to pay all of their debts. Then, in the following sentence, the girl said, “My husband and I can’t decide if we want to buy a 2^nd house or buy a 2^nd car.”

Can you see the fake advice cleverly hidden in this story? First, paying off bad debt is an excellent thing. However, the root of bad debt is bad choices.

Debt can also be positive if it puts money back in our pocket, such as borrowing money to purchase an investment. How many times would you take a loan out for $1000 if it paid you $5000?

A big red flag is that she said COVID-19 forced them to stay inside and not spend money. What that means is that they couldn’t find anyone to take their money (or debt). So, these two people were more than willing to go out, spend money they didn’t have, and get into more debt, but circumstances prevented it. This behavior suggests that these two people don’t have the discipline to remain free of bad debt, and consume less, which means they can’t teach others how to get out of debt.

Next, this couple got out of debt using temporary relief funds. It’s not a sustainable plan to rely on the government to bail us out because they’re in massive debt themselves. The stimulus funds and additional unemployment income paid by the Federal government was approved because the government knows that spending stimulates the economy (the government wants people to get in debt).

Finally, the couple can’t decide if they want to buy a 2^nd house or a 2^nd car now that they’re debt-free. For anyone who has recently broken the grip of bad debt, they know that they’re basically at $0. How could someone have the income to buy a home or a car immediately? They can’t, without more debt. The couple is looking for the next place they can give their money to, the next spot they can get into debt because they haven’t truly learned how to operate without it. And if they don’t live it, they can’t teach other people how to do it.

If this couple gave other people advice on how to get out of debt, those people might follow it and waste years of precious time that could have gone towards their real purpose. This obstacle was longer than the others, but I need to emphasize the importance of the fake teachers in this world, so you don’t end up wandering in the jungle. One more time, if they don’t live it, they can’t teach you how to do it.

(4) Living In The Past

The fourth obstacle is living in the past. “I had Amazon stock in 1997 if I hadn’t sold it, I would be rich right now!” Have you heard people talk like that? And have you heard of a man named Ron Wayne? Most haven’t, however, he was the (little known) 3^rd owner of Apple with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. In 1976, Wayne was frightened of the enormous debt that Steve Jobs was amassing to build Apple.

Besides the debt, Jobs and Wayne didn’t see eye to eye on Apple, ultimately resulting in Wayne selling his 10% ownership in Apple for $800. Today, a 10% ownership in Apple would be worth about $100 billion. Still, Wayne has repeated time and again that he doesn’t live with regret and wouldn’t change his decision if he could.

Wayne went on to say, “If I had stayed with Apple and accepted the limitations on my philosophy of life, I could have well ended up the richest man in the cemetery. I was in my 40s; these kids were whirlwinds. It was like having a tiger by the tail.”

Change is inevitable, and we must be able to release ourselves from any ties to people, jobs, and companies. The past exists as a teacher, it won’t change, but we can use it to improve our present and our future. What life changes are occurring for you right now? By being present, you won’t miss critical opportunities. Be fluid, like a river, ready to change, staying unattached to everything that doesn’t serve you.

If you feel forced to make a decision, as Wayne did, don’t live with regret once you make a choice. Wayne went on to live a beautiful life in Nevada, free from remorse for his decision with Apple. Although some people have written about him, calling him the most unlucky man on Earth, if they were in his shoes at the time, many of those people would have made the same decision.

Your life’s purpose evolves as you evolve; it isn’t rigid. Once we freeze ourselves in our habits, time passes, and we lose the sense of purpose that sparked so much wonder for us as children. Let the past serve its only purpose, to be your teacher.

(5) Getting Sidetracked

The fifth and final obstacle is getting sidetracked. Before politics, Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer. He taught himself law by reading William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England. Lincoln was accepted to the bar in 1837 and made a move to Springfield, Illinois, where he practiced law in the John T. Stuart law firm.

In 1844, Lincoln formed a partnership with a man named William Herndon to practice law together. Admittedly, Lincoln and Herndon’s styles of law varied; however, they created a close relationship (professionally as well as personally).

Lincoln was doing well as a lawyer, but it wasn’t his real purpose. There also wasn’t enough work in Springfield, Illinois, so Lincoln needed more income. To supplement himself, he followed the court through various seats in the county of Illinois. Nonetheless, Lincoln wasn’t born to be a lawyer.

From 1847 to 1849, Abraham Lincoln served in the U.S. House of Representatives. This brief move into national politics was nothing astounding, and very short. As part of the Whig party, he was the only representative from Illinois. Lincoln showed loyalty to the Whig but had almost no allies.

In Lincoln’s term, he opposed the Mexican-American War, opting to support Zachary Taylor for president. By speaking out against the war, Lincoln’s home state didn’t like him. He didn’t run for a second term and went backward, returning to Springfield to resume his law career. As you can see here, Lincoln was flirting with his purpose but fell off his path.

In the 1850s, the railroad industry was expanding west, and Illinois became an essential stop for many companies; Lincoln lobbied for the Illinois Central Railroad as its attorney. Other clients began desiring to work with Lincoln due to his success in several cases. Among the clients were banking, insurance, and manufacturing companies. Aside from business cases, Lincoln also worked in criminal trials. With this success, Lincoln could have easily continued down his path as an attorney, but he would have missed his life’s calling.

In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act came into law; this act repealed the Missouri Compromise, allowing individual states and territories to choose their position on slavery. The bill also created strong opponents in Kansas and Illinois, which gave power to the Republican Party.

This act was the catalyst that pushed Lincoln back into politics, swaying his views on slavery towards anger, provoked by unfair treatment. Shortly after, Lincoln joined the Republican Party in 1856.

Back in the political arena, Lincoln challenged U.S. Senator Stephen Douglas for his seat. Lincoln criticized Douglas, the Supreme Court, and President Buchanan for supporting slavery, and he declared, “a house divided cannot stand.”

Understand that although the state legislature elected Douglas, the attention Lincoln received thrust him into national politics.

Because of Lincoln’s political clout, Illinois organized a campaign in support of Lincoln for the 1860 presidential election. Chicago’s Republican National Convention on May 18^th was a pivotal day. Lincoln made himself a name when he defeated known candidates, New York’s William Seward, and Ohio’s Salmon P. Chase.

Lincoln was nominated because his views on slavery were moderate; he supported improvements to the nation’s infrastructure, and he was in favor of protective tariffs.

The general election was challenging, but Lincoln defeated Stephen Douglas, John C. Breckinridge of the Northern Democrats, and the Constitution Party’s John Bell. Earning nearly 40 percent of the popular vote and 180 of 303 Electoral College votes, Lincoln won the presidential election.

Can you imagine if President Lincoln never went back into politics? The world would have been worse for it. Lincoln is considered by many to be the greatest United States president ever to live. He was known for using every presidential power he possessed to enact change. Most notably, Lincoln won the civil war and changed U.S. history by freeing the slaves with the emancipation proclamation.

None of this would have happened if he ignored his real purpose and remained a successful attorney in Illinois. Your obstacle is getting on the wrong path, but similar to Lincoln, you need to treat it as a life or death commitment to leave your current way and pursue your true calling.

Follow me on Twitter here: Twitter.com/Wes_Lee_Success

Browse my latest books here: http://amazon.com/author/wes_lee

Leading An Inspired Life

2020-07-01T13:59:00.000-10:00

A year ago, I read a book by a man named Jim Rohn. That book is called Leading an Inspired Life. In this article, I'm going to share the most valuable lessons you can begin applying to your life immediately.

Don't just commit to your craft, commit to life itself; learning new concepts and skills.

My craft is writing to share information that takes you to the next level of your finances and relationships. It would have been easy for me to go deep on only one subject. However, life is itself is so inter-connected that making an informed decision requires multiple perspectives. Let me tell you a story... Once upon a time, I began working hard to improve my social skills with women. When I started this journey, my assumption (never assume) was that I needed the best pickup lines to be more interesting. It's funny to think back on this because I would go into public places, such as grocery stores and practice approaching women with these lines; the results were not good. Then, my assumption (never assume) was that I wasn't physically attractive enough since I had the "great" pickup lines. So, I began trying to change my appearance, thinking that I needed to look like an actor or athlete (I accidentally dyed my hair orange with box dye trying to be something else). I envied the Pickup artists on TV who seemed to effortlessly attract waves of women with endlessly witty lines and "peacocking." The point is that I was committing to my craft (improving myself with women) when I wasn't committing myself to LIFE. This lesson wasn't learned until I met an inside group of men who took me in, coached me, imprinted my mind with new concepts/skills, all while giving me a mantra that changed my life. I'm going to share that mantra with you here. Don't ever forget these words, because this shift will transform your life.

To attract what you want, you must first become an attractive person.

You become that attractive person by working on yourself.

Too often, we see people trying to "find" their dream person, their dream career, their dream house, their dream car, their dream life. They try to fulfill their dreams by searching from the outside, instead of growing to become their dream self from the inside; which attracts their dream life.

Since your dreams will never come without help from other people.

Remember: When building relationships with anyone ALWAYS focus all of your energy on being interested instead of interesting. You should never be the most exciting person in the room, be the person who listens, and expresses the most interest in whatever everyone else has going on. 

Leave 3 treasures for the next generation: Journals, pictures, and a library.

This entire article is only page 1 of a 100+ page journal I've written. Speaking of legacy, the purpose of these articles and the journal is to be passed down to future generations; to help them avoid the traps that cost us time, happiness, and money. Imagine the value of a child who avoids all of the pitfalls that cost us years of our life, stress, sickness, money. Wouldn't any parent want that for their children? Then why do so many of them raise their children to make the same mistakes they made, their parents made, and their parents' parents made? Journal what works and what doesn't in the most critical parts of your life. Include drawings, pictures, and diagrams, along with a library of books (both physical books and e-books). Provide so much wisdom that you could send your child out into the world with nothing more than a notebook and know they'd succeed. Knowledge and understanding are the greatest assets you can give your children because those are resources that can never be taken away. Each of us is our own most significant asset in life. Let me share a story with you... I grew up in Detroit, Michigan, to a single mom and a family that was infected with addictions and dysfunction. My family had a ton of opinions to share with me about life, money, the economy, health, diet, etc... I even followed that advice for a while, and it got me exactly what they had; Nothing.

Remember: If they've never done it, they can't teach you how to do it.

We can't expect poor people to teach us how to be rich. We can't expect unhealthy people to give us health advice. We can't expect angry people to show us how to be happy and we can't expect unfulfilled people to enlighten our path to fulfillment. How do you know if a person knows something? If they've lived it, they know it.

Create a journal with pictures based on what you've lived and found to be true. Leave your legacy with a library of resources from those who have lived the life you dreamed of and helped you live that life. Pass this down to your future generations and use those resources to imprint health, wealth, and success into their minds from the beginning of their life; that way they have the blessing of doing the same for their children.

Become a student of life and your future. Your journal shows your commitment.

If you want to live a next-level life, you need to commit to it. It's not enough to say you want it, you'd like it, you wish for it, you need to commit to it. Your commitment comes from the journal you create for yourself and future generations. As I write this, the journal has taken 2 years and is still not completed. When I run out of pages in this journal, I'll get another journal and continue the process. As long as life keeps going, the journal keeps going. What do you put in the diary? The wisdom you learn as you experience life and precisely how you did what you did. You know it when you live it. When you live it, you journal it. The most important lessons involve health, mindset, relationships, wealth, spirituality, strategies, and tactics. If you've committed to yourself, prove it, and journal.

Make the most of ideas by reflecting. Go over your notes, thoughts, and your day.

Even the most disciplined minds get scattered. Have you ever been thinking about something and your brain goes down a "rabbit hole" so deep, you can't remember what you were initially thinking about? When you focus your notes and important thoughts into writing, it makes reflection much simpler because what was intangible, is now tangible. The added benefit to writing is that it promotes muscle memory and allows you to express concepts in your way. The best time to go over your notes is at the end of your day before bed. This provides the opportunity to see your growth and end your day in a positive way. As I look through my journal, I read over old writing that meant something different to me when I wrote it. When you read through your writing, you'll realize that some things don't apply to you anymore, other ideas you've outgrown, and ideas that seemed less critical have become much more vital to your present self.

Understand: You can read the same thing twice and it will have a different meaning to you based on where you are in your life. This different meaning shows your growth, progression, and maturity. 

As you build a legacy journal, you can reflect on what you've written each day. Then, you can reflect on how far you've come every week, by reflecting on all of your journal entries. Then, you can repeat this for the month, by reflecting once a month on all of your writing for that month. Finally, for a weekend per year, reflect on your entire journal for that year and your goals that align with it. Can you see how this is a progression? You're progressing every day, week, month, and year. When your system is passed down to your children, they continue the progression for their entire life and pass it down to their children. You're perpetuating a system of generational knowledge and wealth. Think of this, the Rockefeller's continue to control and amass wealth. Each generation is taught the lessons of the previous generations. The Rockefeller's have created a legacy of knowledge, which began with John D. contrast this with the Vanderbilts. Cornelius Vanderbilt, like John D. Rockefeller, amassed a huge fortune, however, the Vanderbilt money is gone.

The important point: Reflecting shows your progression; it proves to yourself that you're growing and shows where you can improve.

Reflect with a spouse or friend. Reflect alone as well. Ponder, study, read, and absorb new ideas. How can you become greater?

Trips down memory lane can be purposeful and meaningful. History is best used as a tool to learn. My wife and I do this a few times a week, we sit down and get into a conversation that just flows, sometimes we don't mean to reflect, but we do. The conversation usually moves from whom we used to be, decisions we used to make, to how our decisions have evolved. We laugh at ourselves from the past and contrast lessons from our journal to the decision we made at that time. I'll give you an example, looking back over pictures from Facebook shows a completely different person from several years ago. I have this picture when my wife and I first began dating, my hair was out of control but I was wearing a suit. To me, it looked like someone dressed up that yeti from the Jack Links beef jerky commercials. At the time, I thought I was on point. Seriously, I thought I looked amazing. A year after that picture, I joined the US Army, and every picture since then has been a clean-shaven, clean-cut look. The funny thing is, at the time I was so scared to get my head shaved. Now, I love the clean, simple look of being fully shaved. Not to mention, it's much more professional. My appearance has made more money! These decisions and many others are the decisions to ponder, study, and laugh at yourself about. Open-mindedness is critical because of the new ideas that reading will expose you to. However, it wouldn't matter how much a person reads if their mind is closed to absorbing new ideas.

Gather today for your investments in tomorrow. Gather this week to invest in next week, gather this year to invest in next year.

The important lesson here is one word: Compounding. I'm reminded of a lesson that one of my mentors taught me. It goes like this: if young people knew what it feels like to be old, they would prepare themselves sooner. All of our decisions compound. Think about this, we don't go to the gym one time and get fit for life. Right? How do finances work? We put income into a vehicle that collects more income over time. Time compounds as we make decisions, for example, someone who goes to college commits their time to learn a craft. That craft comes over years of compounding study, practice, and application. Also, consider this, whenever you make an exchange with your money, you're either paying interest to yourself or you're paying interest to someone else. If I go buy a loaf of bread today, that bread is priced at a premium for the bread maker to make their profit. That premium is the interest you pay to the bread maker. On the other hand, that same money you gave to the bread maker could have been paid to yourself. In the right vehicle, you would have made the interest that the bread maker made. The point is that everything has an opportunity cost (what you give to get in any exchange). This is our opportunity for us to consciously look at ourselves before every decision and ask, will this decision move me forward or backward towards my goals? The best places to gather today to invest in tomorrow are health, finances, relationships, spirituality, and education.

How do you think creatively? Feed your mind an idea and let it wander with it.

For several years, I've been opposed to the joke interest rates that banks offer for savings accounts, I oppose the financial advisors who swear by putting your money in a mutual fund and getting the employer match and maxing out your 401(k). These all have a few things in common. Taxes, low returns, high-risk, and lack of control. Reading fosters creativity, it exposes our minds to ideas we may have never heard of, ways of thinking we never considered, statistics, and it lets us follow the path of titans. Legends in almost any industry imaginable have written books and courses on how to get their results. Let me tell you about my most recent idea. Since 2017 my wife and I have successfully lent money to over 1000 people for everything from home improvements to medical bills. It's been a very successful set of investments and we're applying the profits towards a savings vehicle that grows income and includes life insurance. For more information on that type of investment, check out the Utah-based company Paradigm Life. At the time of this writing, we live in Hawaii, we sold our car so we can use Uber and Lyft, we live in a beautiful apartment community instead of buying a home, we don't invest in mutual funds, we often get our groceries delivered, and we don't believe in the value of college educations compared to self-education. Each step of the way we have been met by resistance from others with questions such as, "why do you live in Hawaii when you can live cheaper somewhere else?" or "Why would you ever sell your car and only Uber?" or "Why do you live in an apartment? You're going to buy a house right? You're throwing away money by renting!" or "Don't lose your employer match! Max your 401(k)!" or "How come you get your groceries delivered? You can save money and do it yourself." and of course "Get more education, so you can get a better job and more benefits!" Everything we don't want in our life we overcome with creativity. Did you know you can set up an investment vehicle to take loans from yourself, tax-free, without Wall Street, or your banks' involvement? No credit checks, no approvals, access to cash for anything you want. Did you know you can use life insurance policies to self-insure yourself for car insurance? No Geico, no Progressive, no Liberty Mutual. Furthermore, all of the states allow you to self-insure. Look at the parts of your life that are not ideal. How can you create a solution around it? When we think there's nothing we can do about a situation, it's more likely that we're unaware of a solution that already exists.

DON'T create limits on your thoughts. Your "ridiculous" thought could be a breakthrough solution that people need.

When I was 7 years old, I was walking watching TV when I began talking describing the idea of TIVO and Netflix. Pausing TV, recording TV, being able to watch the shows we want, whenever we want, without scheduled program times. Understand, this was years before TIVO or Netflix was a thing. At the time, my environment wasn't conducive to acting on this idea, so I dismissed my idea as a ridiculous dream. Fast forward some years and TIVO and Netflix came out and solved a need people didn't know they had. If it takes the same amount of energy to think big and small, why not think big? You may have an idea that could change the face of this planet. Don't be like the masses and die with your idea. I was once told, the graveyard is the richest place on Earth because it's here you'll find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled. Don't be that tree that only grew ten feet tall. Your mind has unlimited real estate, grow as tall as you can.

Leave your EGO at the door. Envision crazy solutions and ridiculous ideas. Your crazy ideas often lead to practical solutions.

Do you know the most dangerous 3 words on the planet? I know that

When you were in school, you were expected to know the materials for the tests. The more you knew, the better your grades, and the better your grades the smarter you are. So the story goes... It's dangerous how many people operate today with a mentality that they already know. Many people think when they graduated college they did all of the learning they needed to do, for the rest of their lives. Those are the same people who are closed off to any solutions that don't fit into their narrow-model of the world. We see this in people who try to finish our sentences, who interrupt us, and who make assumptions. These people are in every level of financial success in life as well. For example, Blockbuster knew best right? Who's this little upstart called Netflix? Don't they know, we're Blockbuster! EGO was permeating throughout that culture. Blockbuster didn't want to innovate, they missed the boat, they got caught up in drama competing with Netflix, took on too much debt and sank. The funny thing is, Blockbuster had the on-demand infrastructure to compete with Netflix, but they did themselves in with their EGO. Meanwhile, Netflix was envisioning crazy solutions and ridiculous ideas (for the time). That "crazy" Netflix idea lead to practical solutions for millions; an entertainment powerhouse. While Blockbuster now survives as a minor add-on to Dish Network; which I'm sure most people didn't know anyways. What ideas have you had that people have said "That's ridiculous!" or "Be realistic!"? Or, what ideas have you shot down because you told yourself or other people "I already know that!" 

Remember: How do you know if you know something? You live it. Even when you live it, you still don't know everything about it. There's always room for growth, always room for opportunity. Steve Jobs said, "The ones that are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones that do."

Take-up drawing. Drawing uses different parts of your brain that cause you to think differently.

One of the most important classes I took in business school was an art class. The art class taught patience, attention to detail, it engaged mirror neurons, and most importantly it made us aware of our environment. This art class taught me the importance of slowing down and observing our surroundings for what they are. I believe that getting close to the truth of any matter means observing nature for clues. For example, when you think about building your health, your wealth, your relationships, your business, your mindset, or your spirituality, do they come instantly? Think of each of these areas as a seed and yourself as the soil. If we went outside and planted any seed on the planet, would it instantly grow? No. It compounds over time, with nurturing, persistence, and consistency. Acting by nature, it's important to accept that growth takes time. The things that come quickly act against natures' design and often leave as quickly. However, many people still chase that instant gratification; those people want the reward without putting in the time and energy it takes to earn it. Why do they want it so quickly? If the time is going to pass anyway why not direct as much of that time towards building something unbreakable? Next time you're drawing, slow down and appreciate that each stroke of a pencil is a small stroke of progress; and those small strokes over time create masterpieces. Similar to your life, the smallest strokes of action each day, over time, create the whole masterpiece that is your life.

Creativity manifests from individual brainstorming, group brainstorming, and drawing.

Not all group brainstorming sessions are created equally. Set up properly, a group brainstorming session can provide huge doses of innovative ideas. However, group brainstorming sessions are also at risk of "group think." Have you ever been in a group where one or two people seem to take over the entire group? It makes other group members not want to contribute, it makes them want to go along with the ideas and not speak up, for lack of confidence in their ideas. Ideas and innovation die when group members don't feel like they're equal members whose thoughts are valued.

Then, there's the democracy of many groups. Just because a group of people votes collectively on ideas, doesn't make those ideas true, correct, or the best solution. Some group members may vote for it just so they're not singled out or made to look like they're not part of the group. Group brainstorming tends to manifest itself in environments that feel free and loose; think of a group of people that happen to strike up a conversation randomly in the office. These environments work because nobody feels judged, pressured, or overpowered by other members of the group. It's just a conversation, an exchange of ideas. Contrast this with a formal group brainstorming session in a board room. Not to say this environment can't work, but it can be rigid, structured, and stifling to innovation. Especially, if the group has too many "chiefs."

When you have ideas that the group agrees are solid, instead of a democracy, try a meritocracy. Try taking the most believable people in the room and having them decide which idea (s) they believe to be the closest to the truth. For example, let's say you were deciding on a medical course of action for an issue you were experiencing. Would you want to hold a group brainstorming session with a group of medical specialists or your immediate family? I hope you chose the medical specialists. Now, within this group of medical specialists, let's say they come up with 3 innovative solutions for your condition that they believe to be true. How do you choose among the 3 solutions? Bring the 3 solutions to a separate group of the most experienced and tenured specialists in that field. Have them choose a solution that they believe to be true. In this way, a solution has been brainstormed and believed to be the truth. Then, the most believable people in the field also believe it to be true. This means you benefit from a higher probability of the proposed solution benefiting your condition.

Life has ups and life has downs. When you have true friendships, the ups are more meaningful and the downs are less devastating.

When an up or a down crosses our path in life, don't we always want to share it? I have a true friend, a friend that made the downs less devastating and shares all the benefits of my ups today. This friend is worth more than all the friends I could count on my fingers and toes. True friendship is being more interested than interesting. True friendship is doing things for someone else without expecting in return. True friendship is being the first familiar face you see when you need a ride from the airport, or the last familiar face you see before shipping off in the military. It's the friend whose number you memorized, the one you have an endless catalog of memories with, and the one who could NOT see you for years and pick right up where you left off. I have a true friendship. For the rest of my life, it's the only friend I will ever need. This true friendship saved my life.

You create your life. Happiness comes from creating a life that makes you feel that you're living well.

People with poor mindsets believe "life happens to me." People with a wealthy mindset believe that they create their life; that their life is a result of their decisions. The difference between these mindsets can be seen when a person chooses to blame, justify their actions, or complain. When we look at our life, we created it. Are you happy with the life you've created? Do you feel as though you're living well? If not, create a different life for yourself. Only you can choose to create a new narrative for your story. It's not up to the government, a job, or anything external. My wife and I created our life in Hawaii, we manifested the palm trees around us, the ocean, the warm weather, our community, the view of the mountains, EVERYTHING.

Anyone can create their life the way they want. Let me tell you a short story about how we got here... My wife and I were originally stationed in Colorado Springs for the US Army when I came down on orders to the Middle East. I mentally and physically prepared myself for the possibility of killing or being killed, when 3 days before our deployment date I turned blue and passed out. 3 days before. To put this into perspective I spent almost a year getting all of my affairs in order, training hard, learning a new language, and at a moment's notice, I dropped to the ground. As it turned out, I developed a heart condition that made me non-deployable and facing medical separation. Now, I was facing a series of new questions such as where will we live? What will my new mission in life be? How will I meet our debts of almost $50,000? At that time, I decided to go against everything my mind and body was telling me and take the biggest risk of our life. I told my wife, "We have 3 months before I'm separated, we're moving to Hawaii." We moved to Oahu with no work lined up, no cars, no friends, no home, and 4 maxed-out credit cards. I maxed out our last credit card to purchase a Groupon for 8 days in a hotel in Waikiki. Can you imagine having 8 days in a hotel, on an island, to figure out your entire life? It doesn't end there, at the end of my contract with the Army, they paid for all of our moving expenses for our things. That sounds like a great deal right? It was, until the Army ships all of your things to an island and gives you 4 months of free storage before you have to pay. We were stuck, no money, and everything we own on an island. We couldn't leave even if someone paid for our tickets (they didn't and never would) and we had 8 days in a hotel, which (as we learned) does not count as a valid address for employment. We burned every bridge and had no choice but to succeed.

I'm not discounting the struggles in your life or the successes you've experienced. The point of this story was to simply illustrate that we created our life in every decision we made. Looking back, it was the best experience we have ever gone through. Imagine every time you step through the fire, you know that next time you step through the fire, it will take even more heat to stop you. Create a life that makes you feel fulfilled because we only have this life and this chance.

We learn from positive reinforcement. The benefits of positive reinforcement are two-fold: Building good habits and creating extra energy to fuel additional achievements. Success breeds more success.

Do you enjoy doing things that don't make you feel good? Me either. When we feel good we crave more of those good feelings. Positive reinforcement is so strong because we're building habits around what makes us feel good. Success breeds success because that feeling of growth and progression releases dopamine; we feel that we matter. As of this writing my wife and I have loaned money to over 1100 people in 42 of the 50 states in the US Now, as nice as it is to see passive income, what we talk about the most is the purposes for these loans (Debt consolidations, home improvements, adoptions, healthcare expenses, etc...). The positive reinforcement doesn't come from the loan payments, it comes from knowing that person got what they wanted because of me. Amazing! It makes a person think: if I can help 1000 people, what will it feel like to help 4000? 5000? 10,000? This is where that extra energy comes from to fuel additional achievements; success breeding more success. Contrast this with negative reinforcement where a person is made to feel if they don't do X they'll be fired, or if they don't get the high grade they're stupid.

Take children, we always have the choice to praise everything they do or discipline them. We can choose positive reinforcement by rewarding them for NOT taking undesirable actions. Instead, children often get punishment when they take that action. Negative reinforcement uses fear and positive reinforcement uses praise. Praise yourself when you take positive action, praise everyone when they take positive action. Build a good habit of praising yourself, praising people, and praising their intentions.

How can you be sure you are progressing? Write down how you've progressed every day from the person you were yesterday.

What have you done today that pushed you forward from the person you were yesterday? It's easy to feel like progress isn't coming as quickly as we want, especially when we have a goal that takes a long time. Instant gratification is everywhere because of technology! So, keeping your daily progress in a journal connects your past self with your present self. Looking back on my notes, my goal used to be getting out of thousands of dollars in bad debt. It's funny to remember myself at that time because it felt like it would never happen. Fast forward to today, I get excited about getting into good debt for investments. Good debt and bad debt meant nothing to my past self because he thought "debt is debt."

Another example is this entry I wrote years ago about how it would feel to have $10,000. The way I spoke, you would have thought I was talking about a billion dollars. My mindset at that time was that $10,000 would make me feel rich; Jeff Bezos rich. Then, as you achieve a goal, the inevitable question becomes, what's next?

Remember: The passion is in the progress towards the goal, not the achievement.

One day, I'll look back at these notes and laugh because of my small goal to have $10 million. I'll probably remember that I thought I was thinking big but the goal will feel small. Measure your progress this way and you'll realize you're growing more than you realized every day.

Don't rely on your mind because you may be working with distorted information. You can be objective when you write.

Human beings are emotional creatures. Without writing, it's difficult to reconnect with our rational side and make objective decisions. Have you ever felt heated about something or someone? Your mind projects how the scenario will play out and it's usually a negative outcome that never happens. I made this mistake last year with an investment... It cost a year of time, taxes, and lost opportunity.

Check this out... last year I went through a lengthy process to secure some of our assets in a vehicle that would provide tax benefits, liquidity, cash flow, and solid growth. My team and I worked on this deal for several weeks and at the last step, I started googling more information about the investment. BIG mistake. No matter how good something is, there will always be opposition. My mistake was that I trusted some people on an internet forum, instead of my wealth team. I became heated after reading those forums because I thought I was lied to, I thought my team was out to use me, and I thought I knew better. The opportunity cost was a year, thousands in taxes, and thousands more in lost investment profit. Will those people on the forums personally insure my losses due to their bad advice? Never. This is why relying on your mind can cause you to work with distorted information. The information becomes distorted by emotions.

Write to yourself when you're calm, collected, and balanced. Re-visit your writing when you feel emotional and let your past-self help your present self make the right decision.

4 Important Motivators: 1st is recognition from your peers. 2nd is recognition from experts. 3rd is recognition from family. 4th is sharing your wealth and wisdom with everyone.

Did you notice that money's not one of the motivators? It's a common belief (myth) that money's a great motivator; some people believe that they'd be more motivated if they made more money. However, motivation is people-centric. Honestly, who doesn't want to be noticed, acknowledged, and validated by their peers? Also, who doesn't want to feel that they're contributing to something beyond themselves?

So, I have a friend whom I've wanted to invest with me for several years. This friend has never expressed interest in investing; let alone investing with me. A month ago, he unexpectedly reached out to me, said he wants to own some stocks and asked me some questions. This feeling was cool because he could have talked to anyone, but he connected with me and I felt that recognition from a peer. It motivated me so much, I shared access to a piece of $5000 stock investing software.

Second, is recognition from experts. Have you ever had an expert validate something you said or did? The first time I experienced this was in 2017, in Colorado Springs. My wife and I were attending an intimate Network Marketing gathering (probably 10 people) when Real Estate legend Robert Allen walked in. He began speaking about entrepreneurship and 5 minutes in, stopped suddenly, locked eyes with me, and said, "When I look in your eyes, I can tell you want this more than anyone I've ever seen." Wow... that blew me out of my seat. It was a double shot of recognition because our peers in the room watched the most successful expert in the room stop everything to recognize me. What recognition have you received from experts? And how did it feel?

Third, is recognition from family. This one can be tough because success often comes from a mindset and a series of actions that are foreign to most people. What's the average mindset? Go to _____ and get a good _____ with good health, dental, and life _____ max out your employer _____ save your money and buy a _____. For the majority of people, they can easily fill in those words. However, how many people question this traditional advice? College costs are rising faster than working wages, Healthcare in the US is some of the most expensive in the world, If an employer is willing to match your 401(k) why won't they just give you the extra money? Why do 401(k)'s charge fees even when the market is dropping and portfolios aren't performing? Why save money when savings interest rates at banks are almost 0% and inflation is usually around 2% for a phantom loss in buying power of -2%? Why buy a personal home when it's a liability and nobody owns their home? If you think you own your home, stop paying property taxes and you'll find out who owns it. The point is that family members can provide well-meaning but misguided advice, and they may not understand that this advice is not the path to wealth or financial freedom. If you want wealth, model what the wealthy are already doing. For example, did you know that companies such as Walmart take out cash-value whole life insurance policies on all of their employees? Walmart receives tax breaks for this and if an employee dies at work, Walmart makes money. Another example is the banks. What does a bank do with your money when you save it? They pay almost a 0% interest rate to you and lend it out to other people for double-digit percentages (including you). The banks will loan you back, your own money in your savings account and charge you interest for it. Or, a 401(k) for example, the individual takes all of the risks, puts up all of the money, pays all of the taxes, and no matter how good or bad the market does, the fund manager and the mutual fund company charge fees and make money. The mutual fund company takes no risk, puts up no money, pays no taxes on the buying and selling of securities, but gets paid.

What I want you to take away from this is that you can take these same actions as the wealthiest institutions on the planet and get paid the way they do. However, the actions you'll take are polar-opposite of traditional advice. For this reason, you may seem like a lunatic to family members. Recognition from family members is nice, but we can't expect it or position our lives around trying to gain recognition from our loved ones. Look at your family members, if they live the kind of life you want to live, model them and you'll get recognition. If you don't want to live the life your family members live, you may need to set that recognition aside and follow a path that goes against the grain.

Finally, sharing your accumulated wealth and wisdom with everyone is EXTREMELY motivating. When you achieve something that other people want to achieve and you can show them how you got there, you'll overflow with fulfillment. This is when people begin coming to you for advice, tips, and show a genuine interest in you. They see you as an authority whom they trust. At this stage, it's all about reciprocity. You're paying it forward with your wisdom; receiving motivation and fulfillment in return.

Motivation leads to success and other people are key to that motivation leading to success.

First, I want to acknowledge that you need to be your greatest source of motivation. Every day won't be filled with people beating down your door to motivate you. When it's said that "other people are the key to motivation that leads to success" it means that your motivation will come from your service to others and the recognition you receive from serving others. When we do things for others first, it tends to motivate others to do more for us. The best way I know to get the recognition that leads to motivation is to serve people with so much heart they can't help but recognize you. More than that, when you see other people are succeeding because of you; and you start succeeding because of them, it creates a virtuous circle that will motivate you to achieve more.

When we first came to Hawaii, as mentioned, we were broke. So, I began working with a property management company in Honolulu. They put me in a position where I worked with Real Estate agents to provide legal documents for homes that were part of a Homeowner's Association (HOA). When I first came on the scene this position received the highest level of complaints in the office because of the time it took to compile hundreds of pages of HOA documents and a lack of customer service (there was only one person assigned to this role). The first few months were inconvenient because I learned how to do this job from the person who had a high customer complaint ratio; so, I inherited the complaints. Around the 6th month of this job, I came into the office and made a radical decision that changed the course of everything. What I decided, was that I was not going to answer the phone for any real estate agents anymore. That morning I recorded a new voicemail that said,

"Thank you for calling [Company Name] If this is urgent please leave a voicemail. Otherwise, email me at [Work Email], once again that's [Work Email] with your document case number. This is to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of your documents. Thank you and have a wonderful day!"

What this voicemail did over the course of the next 30 days was to train our customers to communicate through email, instead of spending 30-60 minutes on the phone per customer. The benefit to me was that all of the correspondence was channeled through Email. Can you imagine how much easier it is to solve the challenges of 20 emails, as opposed to 20 phone calls? Not answering the phones freed my time to complete their document requests and block out a specific time to answer emails every day. All that I had to do to serve the customers was demonstrate (through Email) that I was responsive and could get the customer what they needed. Also, as the business grew, Email scales MUCH better than a phone. it's funny to look back on because of customer service 101 emphasizes the phone, the phone, the phone. However, by the end of my time with this company, I hadn't answered an inbound phone call in 1 year, processes that were taking weeks now took hours, and I set the company record for 5-star customer service reviews, received bonuses and even acknowledgment from the company president; all without speaking to any customers on the phone.

The Lessons: People want what they want in the quickest way possible. You'll receive recognition from others when you make them successful first. When you receive recognition from others, it motivates you to do more of what got you the recognition.

Write a list of reasons that success is your only option. Also, write what you will NEVER accept in your life.

Your success will always come from a deeper "Why." This might be your family, children, living environment, past, friends, etc... Here's a great exercise to discover your "Why." This exercise is called 7-levels deep. Have you heard of it? You'll ask yourself exactly 7 why questions, with one building upon the next. Your answers will form the next why question. For example:

Why question 1. Why do you want to get stronger? I want to get stronger because I was bullied as a child. 

Why question 2. Why were you bullied as a child? Because I didn't stand up for myself. 

Why question 3. Why didn't you stand up for yourself? Because I was scared.

Can you see how the 7 why questions flow? Try this for yourself, and remember to answer exactly 7 why questions; one building on the next.

Why is success your only option? [Answer]
Why? [Answer]
Why? [Answer]
Why? [Answer]
Why? [Answer]
Why? [Answer]
Why? [Answer]

Now that you deeply understand WHY success is your only option, make a list of reasons you must do [whatever you answered for Why question 7]

Happiness comes from our contributions to others, reaching our goals, and the love we receive from others. The objective is a life of balance.

Everything has an opportunity cost. Too much of one thing will throw other things out of balance. What goal(s) can you set that will contribute to others and get them what they want? In Colorado Springs there's a beautiful campus called the Springs Rescue Mission which serves the homeless community. What makes this campus incredible is that it doesn't just serve a meal and send people on their way. The springs rescue mission lives by a principle that I adopted and want to share with you.

Empower people, don't enable them.

Empowering and enabling are both ways for a person to contribute and happiness comes from both of them. However, the outcome for the contributed is vastly different. The difference between empowering and enabling is responsibility. The Springs Rescue Mission Empowers people to take action and earn everything they want. Clients complete a rigorous program in independence; learning skills to become productive in the community. This program fosters a sense of strength, confidence, and self-esteem that many clients have never experienced. What if these people were enabled? Instead of taking self-responsibility and producing results, they had it handed to them. Working in the homeless community, you see plenty of enabling. The enabled are the people who are happy to take a free meal and contribute nothing in return. These people receive value and contribute nothing in return. This line of thinking is deadly and it's not only in the homeless community. We can see evidence of this when we look at millions of social security & food stamp recipients who receive benefits they don't need.

When you contribute to others, empower them, don't enable them. You'll reach your goals in proportion to the people you empower to reach their goals. You'll also receive more love empowering people than enabling them. This is because enabling creates a sense of entitlement; people who are enabled get expectations. Finally, our life of balance comes from controlling the time we devote to an activity and how present we are in that activity.

Try this: It's called chunking. Chunking takes a large project and breaks its completion down into micro-pieces. This works for anything. Ask yourself this, What small thing can I do today to move forward with this [project]? Imagine we wanted to get in shape, we can do one pushup a day. That's 7 more pushups than we were doing per week. Think small and build the habit. The habit is most important. Then, build your day around those small habits. It will make it easier to balance your day than if you were trying to balance very large actions every day.

Imagine setting a goal to do 200 pushups a day, read 5 chapters of a book, and learn to cook 3 new recipes (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). Besides the huge time commitment, the opportunity cost in time is also increased.

Now, imagine instead you did 10 pushups per day, read a page of a book, and cooked 1 new recipe per day. You've progressed and you'll be more present every day. Most importantly, you've balanced your time effectively; which gives you more time to be present with the people you love. Chunk everything.

Your inner-circle needs to be comprised of people on the way up that would take you in on the way down.

We're the average of the 5 people we spend the most time with. Would the people in your life take you in if you were spiraling down? My childhood was filled with negative characters; characters who wanted to bring people down on the way up. Some of the hardest decisions I've had to make involve cutting family out of my life. Are you hanging onto toxic people? There's no excuse to keep those people in our life when they don't support our dreams. My mistakes were keeping toxic friends around just because I'd know them for a long time and I was also guilty of keeping family around just because they're family. Guess what? Keeping them around was the source of problems. You'll notice when you become selective of your inner-circle, that people will disappear from your life, you'll outgrow some, and others won't want to be around you because you desire to grow. Your growth threatens these people's desire not to grow. Also, getting rid of toxic people makes room for the new people who will find their way into your life. The people you want in your life won't accept toxicity in their life and they won't accept you if you keep toxicity in your life. Successful people are guarded about what enters their inner-circle, you should be as well. 

Remember: You will be the average of the people in your life. If the average is millionaires, then you'll likely be the next. However, if the average is drug-addicts, you'll also likely be the next.

Whatever your average is now, who can you replace to get that average up? I understand it's extremely hard, but it's worth it. Your life is worth it.

Whenever you tip or donate, always contribute the extra amount. The extra contribution buys you an amazing feeling of motivation.

Have you ever tipped above normal? My personal favorite is tipping 100% at a restaurant. Restaurants are a fantastic way to build a relationship with your servers and practice appreciation. Servers never receive as much appreciation as they deserve. Think about this, servers are usually serving several tables at the same time, with multiple personalities, all while satisfying what people request. But, what about the server? What do they want? Who are they? Get to know the people that serve you and you'll get a wonderful feeling of motivation. That motivation will come from really knowing the person you're paying. When you get to know the people that serve you it's no longer just a transaction, it's a relationship. This goes for anyone that provides you any service; not just servers in restaurants.

Realize: Every time you exchange money for any goods or service, you've hired other people. They're your employees. Think of yourself as your own business, would you treat your friends, co-workers, or employees the way you treat the people that serve you?

Treat everyone who serves you as a valued employee and pay them well. Take care of your people and they'll remember and take care of you. Your reward is the motivation you get from taking care of others.

Here on Oahu, we have a restaurant called Roy's that's very well known for its exceptional food and service. However, it's located in high-tourist areas where locals are less common. I'll never forget the first time we dined at Roy's because we had a great server named Syn. My wife and I love getting to know the people that serve us, so we learned about Syn's family, children, work schedule, favorite meals at Roy's, etc... We had an incredible dining experience and tipped very generously. Here's the crazy part, close to 6 months after this dinner, we were grocery shopping at a Target near our home when we were approached. It was Syn, his wife, and his children. Syn remembered us as though we saw him yesterday, admittedly, it had been so long I couldn't remember where I had seen him in the past. Syn remembered our names and spoke with us for 10 minutes. Do you see the power of giving more? Syn works in one of the most touristy restaurants on Oahu, 6 days a week, a span of almost 6 months passed since seeing us, we weren't in his place of work, and he spotted us across Target.

Give generously with your time, your money, and your interest. The relationships you'll build are worth far more than the cost.

The happiness you're searching for in the future is found in the present.

Too often we fall into the thought trap that "I just need to become X person and then I'll be happy." We compare our present selves to our future selves and feel unhappy because we're not living up to this imagined person. The big secret is that we don't need to become that future version of ourselves to be happy. We need to be happy with ourselves to become that future person. Can you see the distinction? All of our happiness is found by being a happy person in the present.

What can you be happy about right now? If you ever want to make an excuse, make an excuse to be happy as often as you can. I want to teach you a mindset that changed my perspective on happiness, it goes like this:

Nothing has any meaning, except for the meaning we assign it.

Let's think about this, nothing in life is good or bad, it's only the label we give to the event. People label death as the worst event that'll ever occur. Is it? Only if we say it is. I've told my wife when I pass away I want it to be a celebration of life (mine and others). Let it be a beautiful reminder to the people living, TO LIVE! Also, let it be a reminder that none of us are strangers, because life and death are events we all share. It's incredible to have goals, to envision that perfect future self, but use that future self as a person to work towards becoming, not a comparison to who you are now.

Once you set your goals for the future, set your focus on being present in the present. Every day's a new day you've been blessed with; fill it with those people, thoughts, and activities that make your heart smile. Since it's always your choice, choose to find happiness in everything.

Your motivation will come from a balance of active achievement with taking time to stop and appreciate what you've achieved.

We've talked a lot about motivation because life doesn't happen to you. You control your life, which includes your motivation. This last point affects highly-motivated people because it causes burn-out and dissatisfaction. Let me illustrate it this way... Imagine a giant backyard with a fence at the front of the house and the back of the yard. You and 4 of your friends are getting ready to race to the back of the yard. On your mark, get set, GO! The 4 of you push all of your strength into your legs and swing your arms ferociously to be the first person to reach that back fence.

You win! But, did you notice the color or scent of the flowers you ran past? How about that bird's nest in the tree? The soft feeling of the grass under your feet? No. You didn't notice because all you were focused on was the fence in the back of the yard. And, once you got to that fence, you completed the goal. However, did you take time to consciously appreciate what you just did? Or, was it on to the next thing?

Human beings are hard-wired to achieve. We want to move, we want to do, we want to be active. However, the activity is only half of the equation. When we're running towards a goal, it's equally important to walk once we achieve it. Walking involves slowing down, absorbing our surroundings; the scent of the flowers, the bird's nest, the feeling of the grass, and appreciating what we achieved. Allow yourself to celebrate what you accomplished. We don't need to run to a goal, achieve it, and run to the next goal.

After a great jog, don't we walk it off? Don't we cool down and enjoy the high of running? Don't we become very present with ourselves and how we feel? We don't waste that high of running by deciding we're going to start sprinting until we throw-up.

Although, all too often in life, we sprint until we throw-up. Don't we? Think of your active achievements as running, and your time to appreciate as walking; one cannot exist without the other if you wish to achieve balance in your life.

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