In Wednesday morning’s Success QnA, ETR reader Simon Jones asked, “Craig, when you feel your levels of motivation drop, how do you get yourself back on track?”

It’s a great question, and in my answer I told him that it was my daily gratitude and achievement habit that kept me on track and motivated to take action every day.

That’s one way to change. But if you still struggle with motivation, Alex Green has an important message for you today.

Craig Ballantyne

In order to succeed, we often need to try new things. Venture outside your comfort zone to find the answers you need. Seek opportunity, not security.
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A New American Dream

If you are looking to get more done in less time, and to be massively productive and truly happy with less stress, please watch this short video where you’ll discover three daily success habits that have served me well on the journey to my American Dream.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

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How to Change Your Life
By Alexander Green

Although the economy is on the mend and the stock market has taken a big bounce off the bottom, tough times remain for many Americans.

Unemployment is high. Bankruptcies and foreclosures are near record levels. Repo lots are overflowing. Worry and stress are on the rise in many households.

Some of these folks might want to visit psychologist William James, even though he’s been dead for a hundred years.

James (1842-1910) was an author, philosopher, scientist, Harvard professor and giant in American intellectual history.

He trained as a medical doctor but never practiced medicine. He broke new ground as a physiologist and psychologist. He studied religion and psychic phenomena and wrote three classic books, including The Varieties of Religious Experience, the acknowledged inspiration for the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous, one of the world’s most effective treatment programs.

Although his name is not widely recognized outside academia today, James made major contributions to psychology, philosophy, literature, teaching and religious studies. He coined numerous words and phrases including pluralism, time-line, stream of consciousness, live option and moral equivalent of war. Historian Jacques Barzun writes that James’ book Principles of Psychology is “an American masterpiece which, quite like Moby Dick, ought to be read from beginning to end at least once by every person professing to be educated. It a masterpiece in the classic and total sense.”

What do so many find inspiring about James? In part, it was his life itself, his legendary zest for living. James loved to travel, hike and mountain-climb. He served as a naturalist and accompanied Louis Agassiz on his expedition to explore the upper reaches of the Amazon. He churned out articles, books and hundreds of public lectures while carrying a full teaching load at Harvard. When he died from heart failure in his late 60s, his contemporaries said he had literally worn himself out.

Despite James’s many accomplishments, his life was not without its setbacks. He suffered from ailments of the eyes, skin, stomach and back. He was diagnosed with neurasthenia and depression. He contracted smallpox in Brazil. Three siblings, including novelist Henry James and diarist Alice James, were afflicted with invalidism. His beloved sister Alice died of breast cancer at 44.

However, James believed that we are meant to spend our lives being curious, active, and fully engaged.

He was also one of the first to try to reconcile science and religion. In particular, he was interested in human spiritual experience, a realm that is difficult to capture by logic or observation, and nearly impossible to nail down scientifically.

Yet he found a way. James is the father of the distinctly American philosophy known as Pragmatism, the doctrine that truth reveals itself in practice, regardless of its origins. Something is true if it doesn’t contradict known facts and it works.

James thought a belief should be judged by its results. He was more interested in the fruits of an idea than its roots and advised people to look for a truth’s “cash value,” arguing that a belief is true if it allows you to live a fuller, richer life.

He was particularly interested in showing men and women how to convert misery and unhappiness into growth. As you can see from some of his remarks, the approach is nothing if not pragmatic:

• Lives based on having are less free than lives based either on doing or being.
• Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.
• If you believe that feeling bad or worrying long enough will change a past or future event, then you are residing on another planet with a different reality system.
• Great emergencies and crises show us how much greater our vital resources are than we had supposed.
• Compared with what we ought to be, we are half awake.
• Action may not bring happiness but there is no happiness without action.
• Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.
• Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
• Begin to be now what you will be hereafter.

James taught that we can change our lives by altering our attitudes of mind. He called pessimism “a disease” and said it could be cured by substitution. You can change, for example, “I have to exercise today” to “I get to exercise today.” “I get to visit my grandmother” can be substituted for “I have to visit my grandmother.” The shift is a subtle one, but powerful.

The essence of a belief is the establishment of a habit, a willingness to act. That begins with a change of mind. The best motivation is always an inspiriting attitude.

As a pioneering psychologist, James’s primary interest was how the mind can bring about life-changing effects. Yes, we can always grouse about circumstances. But it is not what fate does to us that matters. What matters is what we do with what fate hands us.

“All that the human heart wants,” declared James, “is its chance.”

[Ed. Note: Alex Green is the author of excellent books like, "The Secret of Shelter Island: Money and What Matters", and "Beyond Wealth", that show you how to lead a "rich" life during trying economic times.]

Everywhere you look there are lessons. Every day you can turn these lessons into continuous improvement in your life. As Robert Ringer says today, “problems can be overcome by taking bold, courageous, individual action”. That is the choice we have.

Craig Ballantyne

“The only race you have to win is the race against yourself. There will always be someone faster and stronger but there never be another you, so look within and push your own personal boundaries.” – Author Unknown
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A New American Dream

Can a corporate giant really be part of today’s American Dream? The answer is yes. A recent brief in The Economist magazine profiled Honeywell International. The focus was on “how one of America’s most messed-up firms became one of its best”. So what do we have to learn from this company that has over 250 factories worldwide? First, they have a company-wide emphasis on frequent, but short meetings. The aim of these meetings is to identify problems and push ideas for improvement. Every worker is expected to provide two suggestions each month for doing things better. This is one of the pillars of the Honeywell Operating System (HOS).

Many of the ideas in the HOS were drafted after key Honeywell staff spent two weeks immersed in a Toyota manufacturing facility. One unique component of the HOS is the focus on core behaviors rather than core values, because behaviors are easier to measure. Core behaviors include customer focus, self-awareness, and championing change (hence the required monthly improvement suggestions).

Since David Cote took over the reigns at Honeywell in 2002, sales are up 72% and profits have doubled to $4 billion. Employee surveys also report a continuous improvement in job satisfaction. Honeywell is not perfect and admits they are seeking continuous improvement, but the organization is much healthier than it was a decade ago and there are many lessons that businesses of all sizes can learn from this American icon.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here
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Turning Losses Into Gains
By Robert Ringer

Sometimes it’s difficult to muster up the positive mental attitude to see opportunity in a bad situation. Things get so out of hand that it’s easy to become discouraged to the point of feeling despair. Those are the times when your mettle and sinew are really put to the test – sometimes very long tests.

The longest tests usually come in the form of mass oppression. To man’s shame, history’s list of brutal oppressions is a very long one. From the Jews in ancient Egypt to today’s citizen slaves in North Korea, oppression has been an integral part of human history.

But there’s also an interesting twist to oppression. In virtually all cases, the oppressed eventually escape or overthrow their oppressors and, quite often, begin life anew on a higher plane than before their oppression began.

How this phenomenon occurs is summed up in the words of English poet Francis Quarles. In his description of the concept of compensation, he opined that “there is no worldly loss without some gain.”

Which is to say that every adversity brings with it an equivalent or greater opportunity for success. We see this in a macro fashion in the rise of previously oppressed peoples, such as American and South African blacks.

And, of late, we watch in awe as India continues its incredible rise to the top of the economic ladder. For nearly two centuries (1757-1947), the British had that vast Land of Enchantment by its political and economic throat. And, for the most part, Indians were loyal, well-behaved subjects.

There is no question that the British devoured India’s vast wealth and kept its citizenry in check for nearly two hundred years. But, to its credit, when Britain finally threw in its colonial towel in 1947, Indians took over a country with a ready-made, highly educated workforce.

The British also left India with a language that made it easy for them to communicate with the rest of the industrialized world, a democratic form of government that protected both individual liberties and private property, and a reasonably modern infrastructure.

Given its pro-Western lifestyle and the fact that English is now the official language of the country, it would not surprise me if India became the world’s number-one economic power in the next fifty years, surpassing both China and the U.S. in the process.

In the above examples, the one big problem is that the opportunities available to later generations do not do their oppressed ancestors any good at all. Since you have only one life to live, it would not have been a good thing if, for example, you had been born in the Soviet Union in 1918, lived there all your life, and died before the communist dictatorship collapsed in the late eighties. It’s nice for your descendents to get a start on your shoulders, but it’s even nicer if you can get a start on your own shoulders.

In the case of mass enslavements – such as that of the Jews in ancient Egypt, citizens of the old Soviet Union, and American blacks in the pre-Civil War South – an individual could not take much action against his bondage without being tortured or killed. But that’s not the case on a micro level, because today any individual in a Western country can still take action on his own, at any time, without anyone’s permission. His only constraints are those that he places on himself.

Some people, for example, feel oppressed by their jobs. An acquaintance of mine, well into his sixties, recently told me that even though he became financially secure by working for big corporations all his life, he regretted not having left the corporate world and going out on his own. He lamented that no matter how much money he made, he always felt like a highly paid slave.

It wasn’t the first time I had heard such a complaint. But, guess what? Every person who has made that complaint had a choice. Golden handcuffs in the corporate world are not locked. You can always slip them off. All that is required is belief, determination, and action.

And that’s true of any other area of life where you feel oppressed – even enslaved. Whatever the source of your bondage – job, peer pressure, unpleasant domestic circumstances, etc. – recognize that it is not a macro problem over which you have no control.

On the contrary, you have the power to escape at any time. The only question is, do you have the courage to utilize that power and transform it into action? You can make all the excuses in the world as to why the time isn’t quite right to make your move, but that’s all they will be – excuses.

Throughout history, oppressed peoples would have loved to have been in a position to escape their bondage overnight simply by taking individual action. But, sadly, they could not. In most cases, it took small actions by many generations – over a long period of time – to bring about an escape.

Isn’t it nice to know that you don’t have that problem? In a vacuum, your problems may seem big to you, but, in the overall scheme of things, they are micro in nature. And micro problems can be overcome by taking bold, courageous, individual action. Remember, the only constraints are those that you place on yourself.

[Ed. Note: If you're ready for a treasure chest of proven ideas, strategies, and techniques that are guaranteed to dramatically improve your dealmaking skills - and, in the process, increase your income many times over - you won't want to miss Robert Ringer's bestselling audio series, A Dealmaker's Dream.

Robert Ringer is a New York Times #1 bestselling author and host of the highly acclaimed Liberty Education Interview Series, which features interviews with top political, economic, and social leaders. His recently released work, Restoring the American Dream: The Defining Voice in the Movement for Liberty, is a clarion call to liberty-loving citizens to take back the country. Ringer has appeared on numerous national talk shows and has been the subject of feature articles in such major publications as Time, People, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Barron's, and The New York Times. To sign up for his e-letter, A Voice of Sanity in an Insane World, visit www.robertringer.com.]

We’re about to find out that life isn’t fair, but we should look on the bright side of things. Keep your head up! It’s easy to get down on yourself, but don’t let a bad day or mean person get you down. Learn from your mistakes and stay by focusing on your long-term vision.

Craig Ballantyne

The problem with Problems is they get bigger and worse than right now, leading to bigger headaches than if you’d tackled it now. Attack that problem head on. Solve that problem today
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A New American Dream

Bette Tomaszewicz has a background in growing companies because she’s a risk-taker and knows how to take innovative ideas and turn them into profitable ventures. Her ability to build and manage top organizations has made her one of the most sought after women in the training and e-learning industry. Now at the helm of Glazer-Kennedy Inner Circle, Bette has increased the company’s focus on serving female entrepreneurs.

Just recently GKIC held their first ever female-focused Business Makeover event in San Antonio, Texas to help their members move forward on the path to their American Dream. Bette’s also recently started a women-in-business teleseminar series. You can get free access to the monthly calls here.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

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What Do You Mean, Life Isn’t Fair?
By Susan Fujii

“What do you mean, ‘it’s not going to be fair’, Mom?” my eldest daughter asked.

That weekend we hosted an Easter egg hunt and champagne brunch for several of our close friends and their children. My eldest Kung Fu Kid was so excited to have her friends come over, and yet she was very caught up with the concept of “fairness”…she wanted to make sure that the hunt was “fair” and that everyone would find the exact same number of eggs.

At all of the local Easter egg hunts here in the Bay Area, the “competitions” are managed so that each child is only allowed to find a certain number of eggs, usually three or five. This makes it “fair” for everyone, and no one leaves disappointed.

Today, kids are often brought up to avoid any exposure to “bad” things like “failure” or “disappointment”. At school, if you bring a Valentine, you must bring one for the entire class. If you pass out invitations at school, you need to invite everyone.

While I admire the fact that no one wants to disappoint a child (I don’t either–I’m not an evil meanie!), unfortunately this doesn’t prepare them very well for real life as an adult.

Because (as we all heard our parents tell us when we were little), life isn’t “fair”.

And that’s the truth.

Believe me, I really wish it were! I wish that everyone could participate in “accredited” investments, and that everyone in the world had enough to eat, all of the time, and that no one was ever disappointed or scared or sick or sad. I truly wish that with all of my heart.

But unfortunately, that’s not the way the world works. The world we live in rewards hard work and perseverance, followed by more hard work and more perseverance, followed by (you guessed it…), more hard work and perseverance! And if you really want to stack the deck in your favor, you need to throw in a little planning and strategizing along the way.

That is the path to success, and of course what we all want for our children.

So back to the Easter egg hunt–I hope we taught our daughter an important lesson. After much discussion with her and with the other parents coming, we decided to go with our original plan, the “free-for-all-scrappiest-hunters-get-the-most-bounty” idea.

Because that is how the “real” world works (and it’s also a lot more fun).

Our daughter was so nervous before the hunt. She wondered if she would get as many eggs as her friends, wondered if she would find any eggs at all, and worried that the eggs that she did find wouldn’t fit in her basket.

But I am happy to report that our egg hunt was a resounding success. And the strategies that we used to help our daughter successfully find a lot of Easter eggs are the exact same strategies that you can use to become a better investor.

1. Cultivate an Abundance Mentality

It is a big, wide, wonderful world out there filled with more than “enough” money and resources for everyone!

(For our Easter egg hunt, we were able to stack this deck in our favor by stuffing and hiding almost 200 plastic eggs–we knew there were “enough” eggs for every child to find lots.)

Likewise, I feel the same about money and investing. There is plenty of money out there just waiting for you to discover it (heck, we’ve printed trillions of dollars in the past few years alone).

But seriously, knowing in your heart that this is true and that the world is filled with abundance and value gives you the confidence you need to embark on a quest where you don’t necessarily know what the outcome will be, which is every day when investing.

We talked with our daughter before the egg hunt, and with all of the children, and let them know that there were more than enough eggs for everyone (they were all nervous about it as they are so used to everything being “fair” all of the time).

Because of this simple step, instead of complaining and worrying that it wouldn’t be “fair”, they confidently took off and ran around the yard and every single child’s basket was overflowing by the end of the hunt. One little girl even came late and still found enough eggs to fill her basket.

2. You need to strategize to stack the deck in your favor

Before the egg hunt, we sat down with our daughter and asked her what her strategy was going to be for finding the most eggs that she could. At first she didn’t have one other than to “run really fast and look really hard” but we tried to get her to elaborate on that and to formulate a better plan.

We asked her if she was going to follow all of her friends and look where they were looking, or if she would strike out on her own and go where she thought the best chance of finding eggs would be. She thought about it for a minute and finally replied, “I’m going on my own”.

And sure enough, by following her own path and not just running around behind all of her friends and picking up their scraps, she was able to find a ton of eggs in a very short time-period.

This is rather like investing in “sanitized” investments such as your 401k…you are simply “doing what everyone else is doing” and picking up the scraps of the massive Wall Street financial machine.

Instead, I hope you will formulate your own alternative investing strategies that will yield you higher profits, like buying gold and silver bullion, investing in income-producing real estate, betting on foreign currencies, and many other so-called “alternative” investments that we cover here on Kung Fu Finance.

If you settle for the “average” strategy (“invest in your 401k”, “buy and hold stocks and mutual funds for the long-term”) you are guaranteed to get average results.

But the more “smart money” strategies you can learn, the more you stack the deck in your favor and the more likely you are to succeed.

Those who succeed in life simply have better strategies than those who struggle.

3. Improve your information

Now, in the investing world there is such a thing as “insider information”, which of course is illegal, and that is not what I mean here.

However, it is true that the better your information is, the more likely you are to be successful.

As the adults were drinking champagne (we are all about fun and education here at Kung Fu Finance and in our Kung Fu Family…) and hiding the eggs, I noticed many of the children “peeking” out the windows from our porch.

This is a basic human instinct and it’s a good one. They were simply trying to improve their access to information so that they could gain an advantage in the egg hunt and be successful.

You should work on improving your information, too, because believe me, everyone else is! Life isn’t fair as much as we might wish it to be, and right behind having a great strategy comes having the best information.

Now I don’t mean to say at all that I condone “cheating” or “peeking” or somehow illegally getting access to “insider” information (I certainly do not), but it is true that the better your information, the better your chances are of success.

Play by the rules, stay within bounds at all times, but continually work to legally and honestly improve your access to information, and watch your financial prowess soar.

A final word about the playing field…

In general, do you want to play where the deck is stacked against you, or play where you have the advantage?

If you are playing to win, I think you’ll agree that you want to play where you have the advantage.

How can you gain an advantage in your investing? Can you go after an asset class where you have more control? Can you learn new and better strategies to give you an edge? What can you do to give yourself an advantage?

I would love to hear the strategies that you are pursuing in the comments that are outside the typical “mainstream” advice.

In closing, life isn’t “fair”, although we of course would like it to be and try to make it as fair as possible for ourselves and for our children.

Instead, you need to do all that you can legally and honestly do to stack the odds in your favor. That is what I try my best to do here at Kung Fu Finance for you–give you better information, better strategies, and alternative ideas and viewpoints so that you can be the very best investor that you can.

Here’s to being a successful, scrappy, winner-take-all investor. Go on out there and stack the deck in your favor.

[Ed. Note: Susan Fujii is an accredited investor and the author of www.KungFuFinance.com, a website dedicated to empowering people to make better financial decisions to and to help her readers make sense of the current financial environment.]

When you’re trying to make a point, wrapping up your message inside of a story will have the greatest impact. Today, I hope you’ll learn two things. First, you’ll discover the wisdom conveyed to me by a taxi driver, and second, you’ll see the power of teaching through stories.

Craig Ballantyne

“The surest way to accomplish your business goals is making service to others your primary goal. The key to success is adding value to other’s lives. Your income is directly proportional to the number of people you help. Help more. Think big…how can you help the world?” – Kekich Credo #87
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A New American Dream

Stories spread the message. Every Early to Rise article aims to contain a story, because that is the easiest part of the article to remember. So we always include the lesson inside a story. Even big companies know the value of a great story – and you should too.

According to Elizabeth Nientimp, the director of brand redesign for General Mills, quoted in the May issue of Inc. magazine, marketers of non-food products can learn a lot from the classic Hamburger Helper product. “They can learn the importance of telling a story. Hamburger Helper is all about helping families create great meals.

The sense of place, tone, presentation of the food, even the character Lefty, all do their part to tell the story. By leveraging rich design to tell a richer story, rather than filling a basic need, a brand can focus on being valued and delighting its customers.” She urges you to make your design simple, special, and personal. “Know your key consumers and what motivates them; let them see themselves in your brand.” Use more stories in your marketing and you’ll win.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

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Why the Customer is Always Right
By Craig Ballantyne

After flying over forty times per year for the last five years, I suppose it was bound to happen. On a recent day of travel, almost everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Despite paying an extra $200 to get moved to an earlier flight, the plane ended up sitting on the runway at Newark airport for over 90 minutes, meaning my takeoff time ended up being the same as my original flight.

Then things got worse. The aircraft had a mechanical issue, and we had to return to the gate. For the first time in over two hundred flights, I had to deplane and board another aircraft (don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful for the emphasis on safety).

Finally, after another hour delay on the runway, we were airborne and home just a few hours late. I’ve experienced longer delays, but never so many reasons for being delayed.

After landing at Toronto’s convenient City Center airport, I hailed a cab for the short ride home. My driver for the day was a nice man from Ghana, and after he asked how my flight was, we began talking about our experiences with airlines. He named one airline that he will never fly again because of rude customer service (although it was my favorite North American airline, I understood his frustration). This company has permanently lost all business from this cab driver’s family because of one ticket agent’s rude attitude toward their customers.

This led to our conversation turning to the cab industry in Toronto, and how it had changed in over his twenty-year career. He explained how cab drivers had become less professional in recent years and how this is contributing to a downturn in their industry.

“No one wants to take a cab today,” he explained. “And some cab drivers won’t even take a fare because the client only needs to go a short distance. When they turn people away like that, it makes the riders upset and they don’t want to use taxis no more.”

“But the customer is always right. “

I agreed.

Do you know why the customer is always right?

Because the customer is an honest, hardworking person who is just looking to get good value for their money.

Customers aren’t out to cheat you.

But too many business owners create an adversarial relationship with customers, often before any transaction even takes place.

For example, one of the most common concerns from beginners starting an online information marketing business is they worry about protecting their downloadable products from theft.

“How can I stop people from buying my stuff and sharing it with their friends?”, they ask.

Wrong question.

Don’t focus on customer theft when you haven’t made any sales. That’s the wrong mentality. Instead, you must spend all of your energy identifying ways to get prospects to invest in your products. Stop thinking that people are going to steal your products when you haven’t even sold anything yet. Theft isn’t your problem. Making the first sale should be your only concern.

Besides, after selling products online for over a decade, I’ve discovered there are only a few bad apples that will try to cheat you. Probably less than one in five thousand. It’s not worth your time or energy to spend a moment thinking about protecting your info.

Stop treating your customer like an enemy.

They are your best friends. They should be treated like family. You should go above and beyond the call of duty to take care of them. Businesses that do this will attract far more customers than they could ever possibly lose to a few bad apples.

Here’s a perfect example of how a business can grow when the owners trust their clients and do everything they can to make a great offer without fear of loss. A friend of mine recently started using a “double your money back” guarantee in his business. But it wasn’t easy to get his business partners to agree on the offer. One senior executive listed umpteen different reasons for not using this outrageous (and outrageously effective) guarantee, many of which involved the assumption of customers taking advantage of the offer.

“What if the refunds go viral?”, the partner asked. “We could have a real problem on our hands.”

Fortunately, he was open-minded and agreed to the promotion after being assured that nothing bad would happen. And nothing bad did happen. In fact, the promotion worked like gangbusters and continues to work extremely well because at the end of the day, customers are honest, and always right.

And listen, even if your customer or prospect is wrong, what benefit is it to you to make them feel wrong? How is it going to help your business by proving that you’re right?

For our cab driver, he knew that at the end of the day, his business was all about the customer. You show up on time, you drive courteously, professionally, and you have a nice conversation with the rider if they want, or you remain silent if the customer wants to be left alone. It doesn’t matter if the fare is long or short, you give them the best experience either way. You never know when that client will be back, or if they will be giving you a generous tip. Whatever the customer decides is always right.

In your online business, the rules are generally the same, even though the experience is much different.

If a customer has a technical problem accessing your product, you immediately fix the situation and try to give them an extra bonus for their trouble. You don’t point out how easy it is for them to download the product. There’s no benefit in showing the customer they are wrong. If they want a refund, give it to them immediately and tell them to keep the product, especially if it is digitally delivered. Don’t make a big deal about asking them to delete your content from their computer.

Even if they share your product with others (just like most people have probably at one time ‘illegally’ shared a movie or record album recording with a friend), you focus on making the product so good that the recipient of the free product has a reason to look you up for more information. Within each product you sell you should also include links back to your site and to the other products you sell so that customers (and the people who have ‘borrowed’ your product) can find and purchase all of your other material.

Always look on the bright side of every customer interaction. It should never be an adversarial relationship.

Customers are looking to give you money, to put their trust in you, and to have you give them the solution to their problem.

To them, you are a problem solver. They aren’t out there looking for companies to steal from. Focus on what counts, and that is to simply make their life better.

Make sure the customer knows you care, and do your best to over-deliver on the promises you make. Treat them like family, create goodwill in all your interactions with them, and they will spend their energy telling others to invest in your products. Customers are good. Customers are right. Never forget that.

[Ed. Note. Craig Ballantyne is the author of Financial Independence Monthly, a complete blueprint to helping you take control of your financial future with a web-based business that you can operate from anywhere in the world - including a coffee shop, your kitchen table, or anywhere around the world where there is Internet access. Discover how you can achieve the American Dream and your financial independence here. You've never seen anything like this before.]

When I discovered that procrastination was such a big obstacle to so many ETR readers, I did not hesitate to get working on an article to help you. The bottom line is that when you spot an opportunity, or when you have the desire to make a change in your life, you must go to work immediately. Don’t let anything get in your way.

Craig Ballantyne

“Always have lofty explicit goals and visualize them intensely. Assume the attitude that if you don’t reach your goals, you will literally die! This type of gun–to–your–head forced focus…survival pressure mindset, no matter how briefly used, stimulates your mind, forces you to use your time effectively…and illuminates new ways of getting things done. “– Kekich Credo #21
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A New American Dream

To paraphrase an old saying, “The best time to start a business was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” It doesn’t matter how old you are, your gender, your color or your creed, as a recent issue of The Economist points out, “The creation of a fast growing business is now open to everyone.” Today, as The Economist goes on to report, “the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity is between the ages of 55-64 (data from Dane Straggler of the Kauffman Foundation)”. The same study found that 23 percent of new entrepreneurs in 2010 were aged 55-64 compared to 15 percent from the same age group in 1996. Researchers believe that the biggest business breakthroughs will come from experts with years of experience in two subjects (i.e. mating biology and engineering, or Internet publishing and medicine – or Internet publishing and almost any area of expertise). But young people don’t often gain wisdom in two subjects in their early twenties. Instead, it’s folks with years of experience, like yourself, who are able to combine their knowledge into making breakthroughs.

All of this adds up to one simple conclusion. Stop procrastinating and take action. Bring your knowledge to the world. Combine your current experience with new wisdom in Internet publishing, and you could make a huge difference in the world. To find out the best Internet business model for your personality, please read the May Issue of Financial Independence Monthly. If you aren’t a member, you can access this issue – and all back issues – on your own terms here.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

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How to Beat Procrastination
By Craig Ballantyne

It was a question we’ve been receiving almost every day since our Facebook Question-and-Answer sessions debuted.

“What is the best way to deal with the issues of perfectionism and procrastination?”, asked Wendy J.

Minutes later, Lukas F. posted, “I’m looking for perfection with the stuff that I do, and that paralyzes the starting process. Any advice to get over the fact that starting something won’t be perfect?”

And just one day earlier, Mary K. asked, “How do you maintain focus? I’m a polymath, and it can be a challenge to see things through. I struggle staying focused on a single project.”

All of these questions speak to the same ubiquitous obstacle in the way of success for thousands of Early to Rise readers, and millions of people around the world.

How can they beat procrastination?

When I look at all the folks asking me for help on this topic, I can’t help but think, “Wow, just think of all the amazing accomplishments that would occur if all these people could just beat the procrastination monster. I have to do something about this.”

Today, the problem is a multi-headed dragon more than ever before, a true mythological hydra. From constant social media updates to email addiction to multi-tasking on the multiple work projects you have, procrastination is easier than ever.

Cut off one head and another appears.

There are few proven solutions, but they do exist. It takes a little bit of planning and a lot of knowing your strengths and weaknesses, so that you can leverage what works and minimize what doesn’t. But one word of warning, be careful with your planning techniques and keep them simple, because too often I see ETR readers turn planning into its own perverse form of procrastination.

If procrastination is an issue for you, then let’s change that starting right now. Don’t wait a minute longer in learning how to tame the beast. Let’s start by looking at what I do.

The Early to Rise morning Facebook Q’n'A sessions are my favorite part of the workday, but I don’t do them until I’ve gotten one big project done in my day.

Each morning I get up and go directly to writing. I force myself to sit at my kitchen table for 60 minutes, practically glue-ing my butt to my chair in order to crank out valuable content each day.

For example, this message was schedule to be written between 4am and 5am on Thursday, May 10, 2012, while I was in San Diego at a Mastermind Meeting. The article had to be completed before I was able to head over to “Fit Athletic”, one of my favorite gyms in the country, for my morning workout.

In order to finish my mission, I forced myself to sit in my chair without the distractions of social media, Internet surfing, or text messages (not that many of my friends are even up at this time anyway – one of the benefits of being early to rise). Sitting in that chair was uncomfortable. I wanted to quit. Heck, I didn’t even want to start. But each word typed was a victory. Each sentence a battle won. Each paragraph was a huge step in my conquering the procrastination demon.

There was no other time in my schedule for finishing this project. But because I know when my magic time is, and because I understand the power of the deadline, I knew that I would be able to take action and get this done – almost robotically – during the allotted sixty minutes. This is the benefit of knowing your strengths and leveraging them.

At first, the words struggled to find their proper place on the page, but the only thing that made writing this issue easier was more writing.

That’s the big lesson. Action begets action.

It’s what you’ll find with all activities that you are procrastinating on. Scientific research supports it. The only thing that helps you overcome procrastination is to actually do the thing you are procrastinating about. That’s it. You must take action. You may need to do so robotically. It may be unpleasant, but that’s why you’re procrastinating, isn’t it?

Action is the simplest way to avoid procrastination. Get up and throw yourself into the battle. You must know your #1 priority and attack it with great energy.

This, of course, is not a magic silver bullet answer. After all, it’s not so much that you don’t know what to do, it’s that you have a hard time putting the knowledge into practice.

The solutions are simple. We should get up early, work hard, and avoid things that waste time in our lives. Yes, it is easier said than done, but to be honest, reading another time management book is not the answer.

The real answer is that we must force ourselves to do the work. We must avoid the “chattering mind”, as Steven Pressfield calls it in his recent book, “Do the Work”.

It’s really that simple. In order to get something done, you must first get started. In order to complete the project, you must do everything that needs to get done.

It’s not rocket science. It’s persistence.

How do you end procrastination? Just start. There’s no other answer. In fact, that was the scientific conclusion of a ‘how to beat procrastination’ research study I once read.

Don’t let information gathering become your procrastination.

Don’t let planning become your procrastination.

Implement more structure into your life and you’ll get more done and you’ll have more freedom. I promise you.

In the end, the decision to move to action comes from what Dan Kennedy so rightly describes as ‘behavioral congruence’. This means that you act in accordance with what you want to accomplish.

For example, if you say that you want to be on time for work every day, but you stay up well past an appropriate bedtime and you don’t have your morning routine planned out, and you hit the snooze button five times, none of that is acting in behavioral congruence with your goals.

Frankly, most people just don’t think about behavioral congruence. They are reactive, instead of being proactive.

You can start to solve this problem by creating a clear set of personal philosophies that guide your life.

At the risk of giving you another opportunity to procrastinate, I want you to read the “12 Rules I Live By” here and then create your own personal philosophy list. This list of ‘rules’ (you can also call them the ‘big ideas’ for your life) will help you guide your decisions and actions. They will help you live behaviorally congruent with your goals. They will reduce stress and improve performance.

Your personal philosophies are the core foundation of your success and will guide you towards a life well lived. The most successful people I know all have their own personal philosophies, whether they know it or not.

Make it easy on yourself by writing yours down. These rules for living will help you kick procrastination to the curb and will improve your time management because the list will identify what is important to you.

Get started there, and then continuously work to improve your behavioral congruence in all aspects of your life.

It is from this structure that you will have more freedom in your life. It sounds paradoxical, but I assure you, the better the rules you have in place for your life, the more freedom you will ultimately achieve.

(It’s now 4:37am. Excellent. I’ve finished a little early. It’s always nice to be ahead of schedule. Off to the gym.)

[Ed. Note. Craig Ballantyne is the author of Financial Independence Monthly, a program that shows you how to achieve your financial independence in the new economy. He's also shared the 10 books that have had the greatest impact on his business and philosophies in this list here.]

Think back to a time you had a life-changing discussion. Who was it with? Where was it? How did it make you feel? That’s the power of great conversation. Today, Alex Green shows us how to have great conversations and prevent them from becoming a lost art.

Craig Ballantyne

No matter what the world throws at you today, you are going to handle it awesomely and you are going to emerge from the day a better and stronger person.
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A New American Dream

Alexander Green is the Investment Director of The Oxford Club and the editor of The Momentum Alert, The Insider Alert and The Pacific Advantage Alert. A Wall Street veteran, he has over 25 years’ experience as a research analyst, investment advisor, financial writer and portfolio manager. The Oxford Club Communiqué, whose portfolio he directs, is ranked among the top five investment letters in the nation over the past decade by the independent Hulbert Financial Digest. Mr. Green has been featured on “Oprah & Friends” and “The O’Reilly Factor,” and has been profiled by The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Forbes, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and CNBC, among others.

He is Chief Investment Strategist of Investment U, an internet-based research and education service with over 300,000 readers. Mr. Green is also the author of two bestsellers: The Gone Fishin’ Portfolio: Get Wise, Get Wealthy… and Get On With Your Life and The Secret of Shelter Island: Money and What Matters.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

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The Lost Art of Conversation
By Alex Green

My daughter Hannah has reached the age, 13, where being popular at school is only slightly less important than breathing.

The problem is, like most of us at her age, she is more than a little shy, self-conscious and socially awkward. Despite being an A student, for instance, virtually everything she encounters is “cool” or “awesome” and little more. Her reluctance to express herself better makes it tough to reach out to new friends.

She will outgrow this, I know. But lately I’ve been trying to tell her something about the lost art of conversation.

For most of human history, face-to-face communication was the core of our interaction. But not today. We text, we email, we blog, we friend each other on social networks. In the new age of electronic media, family and friends converse less than ever. As a result, we miss out on one of life’s singular pleasures: a relaxed, civilized exchange of views.

Conversation offers infinite possibilities. It is great for polishing thoughts and generating new ones. It is unbeatable for beating the blues or forging friendships. The ultimate bond of all personal relationships – whether in business, friendship or marriage – is conversation.

Yet two opposing attitudes pull us away from it. The first is the mistaken belief that it is unnecessary. Why bother making the call or the visit when you can fire off an email? Unfortunately, text has difficulty conveying tone – the most important aspect of any communication. As well, think how much is conveyed with a smile, a glance, a wink, an eye roll or an arched eyebrow.

You really can’t compare it with can you?

The opposite attitude is that conversation is too much work. So we don’t really try. Look around the typical home today and you see not faces but the backs of heads. As we stare blankly into our electronic screens, the art of personal interaction is dying.

Yet, as I told Hannah, there are good reasons to exercise our conversational skills.

Society provides lavish rewards to those who express themselves well. (Studies show that no single factor better predicts your future income than the size of your vocabulary.) Good talkers routinely ace the interview, get the contract, close the deal, win the girl. Get on with others and you will get on in life – and enjoy it more.

There is a widespread misconception that the best conversationalists are the smoothest talkers. Not so. (Indeed, glib talk generally comes off as phony or insincere.) And few of us will ever display the conversational genius of, say, Oscar Wilde, whose legendary wit enthralled his contemporaries in the salons of London.

Conversation is not meant to be a performance art or a competition, but an opportunity for mutual appreciation. And the best conversationalists are not the best talkers. They are the best listeners.

History’s wisest men and women have always known this:

Never speak of yourself to others; make them talk about themselves instead. Therein lies the whole art of pleasing. Everyone knows it and everyone forgets it.

Edmond de Goncourt

The great gift of conversation lies less in displaying it ourselves than in drawing it out in others. He who leaves your company pleased with himself and his own cleverness is perfectly well pleased with you.

Jean de la Bruyere

A gossip is one who talks to you about others; a bore is one who talks to you about himself; and a brilliant conversationalist is one who talks to you about yourself.

Lisa Kirk

It is never necessary to try to impress your conversation partner. You can achieve that simply by demonstrating that they are worth the investment of time and attention it takes to find out what they are about.

It only takes a bit of curiosity. The idea is to find out more about the other person’s attitudes, interests, nature and disposition. For too many, however, a verbal exchange is not talking and listening but rather talking and waiting to talk again. You don’t learn much that way. Or score many points.

Some insist they are poor conversationalists because they are introverted or tongue-tied. In some cases, that may be true. But those who struggle may be trying too hard to say the right thing. Far more important is not succumbing to the temptation to say the wrong thing.

A few years ago, I was invited to a small dinner party at a well-known filmmaker’s home in Telluride. The filmmaker, who was a liberal (big surprise), made some innocuous remark about Bill Clinton. A Wall Streeter at the table, who was a conservative (another shocker), made a snarky comment in return. That caused our host to defend his view. This, in turn, drew support or rebuttal from various guests. In an instant, the verbal spitballs were flying. It was over in a few minutes, but by then it was too late. A pall set over the table. What was about to be an ideal dinner party with interesting people and fabulous food in a gorgeous setting became instead a tense, strained affair. The group never recovered the joie de vivre that had existed only moments before.

Don’t get me wrong. Politics or religion can be fascinating subjects when open-minded friends are interested in a forthright exchange of views. (Although, in my experience, even these can be dicey.) But in a social setting? Consider the likelihood that no one cares what you think. Good conversation is about drawing out the other, not delivering a monologue or a position statement.

The truth is we are seldom better than our conversation. What you choose to talk about – and how you choose to say it – lays you bare. Every time you open your mouth, your mind parades alongside your words.

That doesn’t mean your conversation needs to be sparkling and original. Nor does it need to have a purpose or a point. Quite the opposite, in fact. The best conversations ramble. They have no pre-destination. It is all about the rhythm and flow.

In sum, good conversation is one of life’s most accessible pleasures. It connects us to one another, forges friendships, increases social esteem, raises our mood, generates goodwill, enhances our information and completes our education. And while prices rise and time shrinks, it is a luxury that remains free to us all.

True, conversation won’t make you richer, thinner, or save your life. But it may save your marriage. As Charles Dickens said, “Never close your lips to those whom you have opened your heart.”

So – as I told Hannah – we should value heartfelt conversation. Prioritize it. And reap the many benefits of a companionable, convivial life.

[Ed. Note: Alex Green is the author of excellent books like, "The Secret of Shelter Island: Money and What Matters", and "Beyond Wealth", that show you how to lead a "rich" life during trying economic times.]

I was lucky. Early in my teenage years I knew what I wanted my life to look like, and I went about designing it from that day. If you didn’t get started early on lifestyle design, the best you can do is start now. Today, Jason Leister shows you how.

Craig Ballantyne

You can’t change your genetics, but you can change your attitude, your persistence, your environment, the people you listen to and hang around with, and the things you do. You can change, so if you want to, just get started.
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A New American Dream

Loral Langemeier is the author of, “YES! ENERGY!”, her latest book to hit the NY Times and USA Today’s bestseller lists. In it, Loral gives straight talk answers and explains how her business is pulling in millions and filling her seminars while so many others struggle. “Sequencing is doing the right things at the right time – but in business and in personal lives, many people plan, plan, plan and never move…market the idea, then make it – that’s been a sequence of success for many entrepreneurs…I say yes to opportunity, then figure it out.

As Dan Kennedy says, “She is a real, authentic Renegade Millionaire.” But Loral comes from humble beginnings, similar to your editor’s Canadian country upbringing. Loral grew up on a farm in Nebraska, paid her own through college, became a serial entrepreneur, willing to take risks, lived by her own rules, and has done a lot of this as a single mom raising two kids. She has designed her life, achieved her American Dream, and has done so with confidence and great energy. She can do it. Jason Leister can do it. And YOU can do it too.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

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Lifestyle Design With Six Kids
By Jason Leister

When I first read Tim Ferriss’ book, The 4-Hour Workweek, I was pretty sucked in. Who wouldn’t want to work for only 4 hours a week?

As it turns out, I wouldn’t.

I derive a lot of meaning and pleasure from working hard. For me, creating something and sharing it with others makes me feel good. It is what I like to do.

But that’s just me. And that’s the point.

Designing your life means designing your life. Comments, questions and criticisms from others, while helpful, are largely irrelevant. The only thing that matters is how you want your life to go.

First, Step Inside Your Own Faraday Cage

In 1836, an English scientist, Michael Faraday, designed a unique device able to shield its contents from electromagnetic radiation. The device was aptly named, a Faraday Cage. Objects inside the cage were effectively cut-off from outside energetic interference, which proved very helpful in certain experiments.

If designing your life is an important priority for you, then the first step is to make sure that your goals, priorities and ideals for that life are in fact yours.

I started out life playing defense. That means I spent most of my time living up to other’s expectations of me.

Living like that doesn’t leave a lot of room for “lifestyle design” because frankly, you outsource that function to someone else… to everyone else actually.

Given my history, one of my (many) weaknesses is that I sometimes fall back into “dealing with what life dishes me” instead of actively creating my future.

This is irresponsible.

I know that sounds weak, but it’s the truth. I reveal things like this in public forums because it provides instant accountability for me. By telling a few hundred thousand people, I’m inspired to become a better version of myself.

Weird, but it works for me.

If you’re going to go to the trouble of designing your life the way you want it, then make sure you are clear about what you actually want.

This means cutting yourself off from the influence of what others might think about your decisions.

You have squash your need to “keep up with the Joneses” or anyone else, for that matter.

Why?

Well, the biggest reason is that there’s a good chance…

The Joneses Are Idiots

The average person just isn’t interested in living life at the level of excellence you probably are. So to look to them for anything (except for a good reminder of what not to do) is not helpful.

And so we go in search of people who do exhibit various levels of mastery in their lives. And that’s when things can get even worse.

It’s easy to look around at the lives of others and just accept that what they want for their life has anything to do with what you should want for yours.

It’s easy to be enamored by someone’s dedication to an ideal and think that you should exhibit that kind of dedication.

It’s easy to be impressed by the material wealth of someone and think you should have that too.

This is living life from the outside in, if you ask me. And I think that is a mistake.

How to Stand as a Giant Among Men

I’m of the firm belief that the only really responsible way to live life is to have the guts to live it exactly as you want.

Don’t want to make a million dollars? That’s your choice.

Don’t want to work 80 hours a week to be “successful?” Again, it’s up to you.

Want to wake up and spend 6 hours a day playing with your children while they’re young enough to still want to be seen with you? Go ahead.

To the average person, living your life with such blatant “disregard” for others might be interpreted as an extreme example of selfishness.

But to the average person, talking about the weather and what they had for dinner last night is interesting.

To me, having the guts and the clarity to live life as you see fit makes you a giant among men… or among women as the case may be.

The point is that your unique value as a human being deserves a unique expression in the world. And to do that, you need to live with a blatant disregard for the thoughts and opinions of others if you’re going to be a good steward of your gifts.

Are There Limits to This Lifestyle Design Thing?

As I sit here writing this, my five children (with a sixth expected any day) are milling around my house. One just woke up, another is pushing a stroller, and still another is outside watching the guy pulling weeds on our property.

This is how I want to live my life. I sit here and think, write and sell things. As the years go by, my vision for exactly how that’s supposed to look for me improves. My clarity improves. My focus improves too.

On certain days, the fact that some people think I’m nuts gets to me. But on my best days, I simply don’t care.

The hardest thing about “lifestyle design” isn’t actually the doing of it. It’s the pre-work that comes before the doing that can be challenging.

To get the right design for you, you have to be honest with yourself and respect yourself. What you want is valid. Period.

Understand that your decisions are your decisions.

Understand that your path is your path.

And know that your purpose is to spend your days walking that path as you see fit, no matter where it takes you.

That, to me, is a life well lived.

[Ed. Note: Jason Leister is an internet entrepreneur, direct response copywriter and editor of “The Client Letter,“ the daily e-letter from ClientsSuck.net, where he helps independent professionals create success. You can contact him via his website at JasonLeister.com.]

What do you really want and what do you need to get there? Simple questions with important answers. That’s the theme today. It’s all about taking a personal inventory to make sure you are on the right track.

Craig Ballantyne

“Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living.” – Anais Nin
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A New American Dream

Ali Brown is the CEO of Ali International and has over 50,000 members in her online and offline programs. Her business focuses on empowering women entrepreneurs around the world. She has even been featured on ABC’s “Secret Millionaire” TV show. But in her 20’s, Ali struggled as she jumped from advertising job to marketing job in New York City until one day she met a freelancer who inspired her to quit and work independently from home. That’s when she started an email newsletter and became known as the “Ezine Queen”.

This led to seminars and workshops, and eventually she focused on the female entrepreneur niche market. As Ali says, “Women are starting businesses at three times the national average.” It’s a rapidly growing market today. Ali helps her members inject more personality into their businesses, and as a result, more credibility.

Ali also emphasizes the importance of building relationships that will open doors to more opportunities and that becoming a good copywriter is one of the most important skills you can acquire. Finally, Ali encourages you to take inventory of your life twice a year. Take a day off and go somewhere and think about this question, “Is this what I want right now?” You can learn more about Ali’s message at www.AliBrown.com.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

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Taking Personal Inventory
By Paul Lawrence

My friend JL has something to smile about. He lives in a beautiful home, complete with a swimming pool. And he is well on his way to success as a partner in a profitable (and rapidly growing) talent booking agency. That is an extraordinary change, considering how dire his circumstances were just one year ago. He had just been evicted from his apartment, had lost his job, his truck needed a repair that he couldn’t afford (and that would cost more than the truck was worth), and he wasn’t even close to achieving his professional goals.

JL took the first critical step toward getting himself out of this mess by performing something I call a “Cumulative Appraisal” of his situation. After doing so, he had to accept the fact that he hadn’t lost his apartment because of a mean landlord. He’d lost it because he hadn’t saved any money when he had a good job. And he wasn’t anywhere near his dream of being successful in the entertainment business because he hadn’t done much to make it happen.

Once JL saw his situation with clarity, he was able to formulate a plan to change it.

Making an accurate appraisal of where you are right now in regard to actually living your dreams takes more than simply saying, “Well, let’s see … I work in an office as a clerk, but my dream is to be president of a Fortune 500 company. So I guess I’m not there yet.”

That’s simply not enough information to enable you to make meaningful changes in your life. In order to truly change direction, you must take some radical actions.

Momentum is a powerful force in physics… and also in your life. If, for example, you are on course to work in a large company as a low-level administrator, you continue to be propelled in that direction by momentum. Factors in that momentum include the way you get supervisors to perceive you, the set of skills you acquire, and your behavior patterns.

In order to break out of this path and get yourself headed toward a higher goal, you must recognize how you got started in that direction in the first place. Once you determine how you got started, it will be easier to see what you need to do in order to change course.

That is why the Cumulative Appraisal is so important. It compels you to dig deeper and identify the true reasons your life has taken the wrong direction. Facing those reasons isn’t a lot of fun … but it is necessary.

When I was very young, one of my strong interests was to become an actor/comedian. Yet, by the time I was in my 30s, I hadn’t done anything about it. It would have been easy for me to tell myself that it was because I was so busy with other goals. But that wasn’t the truth. The truth was that I was afraid of going on stage and having people not like me.

Once I accepted that reality, I was able to find a solution to my problem. I created a “comedic character” for myself that made it easier for me to give comedy a try. When I had enough experience and confidence, I gave up the character and revealed my true self to the audience. Since then (I’m proud to say), I’ve appeared as an actor in several large movies, on stage as a stand-up comedian, and as a member of a sketch comedy group.

Now, your circumstances are probably entirely different from what mine were. But if you don’t identify the true reasons that have prevented you from living your dreams, you won’t be able to overcome the tremendous force of momentum pushing you down the wrong life path.

Are you ready to make your own Cumulative Appraisal and start turning your life around? Here’s how to get started.

Step #1: Determine Your Actual Life Position

This step is not easy for most people, because it’s natural for us to minimize our shortcomings. Let me share an example.

My close friend DM spent his mid-20s telling himself that he was just one step away from catching that big break … or moments away from being able to jump into another career or a business of his own.

But that wasn’t the case. He was just in a job that he hated – a job with no future. He had no specific life goal, much less a well-planned strategy to change his situation. Until he took a realistic look at where he was and where he was headed, he was stuck treading water.

Once DM finally realized that he was staying with his job because he had a lack of self-confidence, he was able to change things for the better.

After completing the Cumulative Appraisal, he realized that he’d built up some substantial managerial skills. With a new perception of himself, DM found the courage to launch his own business. Now, instead of punching a time card and making just enough to get by, he owns two very successful companies, an exotic sports car, and several properties (including a luxury home in an exclusive neighborhood). And he and his wife enjoy traveling all over the world.

While there are times to put a “positive spin” on things, you don’t want to sugarcoat your Cumulative Appraisal. You need to be brutally honest with yourself. It’s not always easy to accept reality – but console yourself by remembering that any negative life circumstance can be changed.

Step #2: Identify Your Dreams

When you’ve determined where you truly are, you’ve got to figure out where it is you want to go. It’s easy for some people to pinpoint their dreams. But others may not know for sure what would make them happy. All they know is that they don’t like what they’re currently doing.

To determine what you would really like to do, ask yourself, “If I had a $50 million windfall – and never again had to work to support myself – what would I like to do?” The answer to that question is very likely the dream that you should pursue.

Be very specific – and realistic – about your dream. The first part of your Cumulative Appraisal will give you an accurate picture of your strengths and weaknesses. So if, for example, you’re a heavy-set man in your late 40s, don’t say, “I’d like to be a leading man in action movies.” That’s not realistic.

But you can still be a movie star. You just need to “tweak” your dream a bit. Perhaps you could say, “I want to be a character actor who works regularly in film and television.” That’s possible. And then, with this specific goal in mind, you could figure out what specific actions you need to take to achieve it. You might, for example, decide you need to move to Los Angeles and enroll in acting school.

The point is, you’ve got to take action based on an understanding of who you are now, how and why you got here, and your (very specific) dream. Completing these two steps will make that possible.

Time is the one commodity you have that is truly limited. If you aren’t living your dreams now, I strongly urge you to change your life for the better. Believe me … I’m living proof that it can be done.

[Ed. Note: Paul Lawrence truly is living his dreams. He is a produced screenwriter who has written a multimillion-dollar film. He's signed a development deal with one of the entertainment industry's largest producers to executive-produce a television show, has sold another feature film script slated for a 2007 theatrical release, and is the president of a successful direct-mail company. Learn about Paul's "Dare to Live Your Dreams" program on his website]

Imagine paying $75 an hour (or more) for the world’s worst administrative assistant. They’re miserable, ineffective, and in fact, just downright incompetent. Oh, and “they” are you. Because that’s what you get when you try and do everything in your business. My friend Alwyn Cosgrove explains how you can avoid this trap and find good people for your business.

Craig Ballantyne

“Imagine that you are going to create another 1,000 businesses just like this one. What would you have to do to achieve this? You would have to completely systematize your business.” – Alwyn Cosgrove
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A New American Dream

My friend Simon Black feels that young people are ‘getting the shaft’. It’s the young people who will be the last to be hired, the first to be fired, and are at the top of the list to have their benefits cut. Students around the world feel like they are entering a world devoid of opportunity…where the tried and true method of ’study hard, go to a good school, and get a great job’ no longer works. In short, it’s a difficult time to be a young person. The plentiful jobs of the past are no longer waiting for university students. And it’s becoming much harder to break free and become successful. But it doesn’t have to be this way. For three years, Simon, Matt Smith, myself, and other successful entrepreneurs have been sponsoring the Blacksmith Liberty and Entrepreneurship Series in Vilnius, Lithuania.

In these workshops, a carefully selected group of 50 students learns how to make money, control their time, and become truly free… guided by successful entrepreneurs and investors who have actually done it. Last year’s group came from countries as diverse as Tajikistan, Brazil, Switzerland, and India. And it was an incredible week. But don’t take our word for it – watch the videos here (www.BlacksmithCamp.com). Participants must apply and be approved first and today is the LAST day for video applications to be sent in. If you are between the ages of 18-25, please send your application to Camp@SovereignMan.com today.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

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How to Find Good People
By Alwyn Cosgrove

As a business consultant, one of the most common questions I am asked is, “What’s the best way to find good employees?”.

I work with many successful solo-preneurs who are hitting that stage where it is time to grow their business, and that means bringing on key employees. For many people, this is an area of great difficulty and anxiety.

Before I ever answer that question, I need to give a few overall guidelines as to the overall business process and where staff actually fit in.

The first hire for most professionals should be an administration assistant or office manager. This is key. Don’t spend your time doing work that a) you don’t enjoy and b) you’re not good at.

Consider this – if you charge $75 per hour for your work, than any time you spend doing office work means you are paying an office assistant (you) $75 an hour.

Plus, you’re probably not good at it — it will take you twice as long – so you’re actually paying $150 for what would be $15-$20 work.

Add in that you’ll be miserable – you are now paying $150 for a miserable, no skills office assistant. So always start with support staff before hiring more production based staff.

The Big Mac Model

Entrepreneurs need to study other businesses. Success leaves clues, and the most successful ’small business’ in the world is McDonald’s.

At McDonald’s the food is made the same way every single time From London to Los Angeles, from Madrid to Moscow – ask for a Big Mac and you’ll get one. The same style. Every single time.

You even know the recipe…. “two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun…”

But is McDonald’s the best hamburger you’ve ever tasted? The answer to that question from almost everyone in the world is no. Most people even claim that they could make a better hamburger than McDonald’s themselves.

So let me ask you a question? Why is no one giving you hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to make hamburgers?

What’s the secret of each McDonald’s location?

McDonald’s don’t hire experts to run each location or do every task in the business. They hire good people and train them in the implementation of SYSTEMS. Their systems are so well developed that they can hire high school kids to run a lot of their business. They even have the upsell systemized through the ubiquitous question, “Do you want fries with that?”

I’ve read that most independent small business start-ups fail, yet most franchises succeed. The reason for that difference is due to SYSTEMS.

SYSTEM: Save Your Self Time Energy Money

Step one when hiring additional staff: think systems.

Before you hire anyone you have to have a system in place that can easily be replicated. It doesn’t matter if you hire a world-renowned expert with multiple PhD’s and 25 years of experience — unless they work within your system – they aren’t a great fit to grow your business.

The primary goal of any business is to produce a consistent, replicable product or service. If it’s replicable and consistent – you can guarantee results. If you can guarantee results – you’re ahead of the game.

As a nice result of running a systems based we are able to hire people with lower skill levels than we would initially think. Now, notice I did not say low skill, just lower skill. We are going to hire people to run systems and educate them.

Instead of thinking of McDonald’s – think of a hospital – a doctor writes the protocol and most often it is nurses that implement it. Nurses are by no means low skilled, but they are most definitely lower skilled than a doctor. Similarly, all admin tasks at hospitals are handled by lower skilled employees than nurses. It would make no business sense for a doctor to spend time taking blood pressure, temperatures or making appointments.

And remember, the ultimate goal of hiring and growing your business is to replicate YOURSELF so you can step out of the business.

Hiring someone without a system is an absolutely deadly business mistake. Hire based on your core values and train for skill based on systems.

If you do that, your business becomes a lot easier to manage. You must run a systems-based business as opposed to an individual based business. The owner/managers job is to manage the system, rather than the employee. Run the plan, not the man.

If there is a problem, we can look at two solutions.

First, was the system followed? If yes, then we need to tweak the system. If no, then we need to work on coaching and training the employee. It’s that simple.

In our business at Results-Fitness in California, we make it even simpler by having all of the systems recorded in manuals (how to open the gym, how to answer the phone, how to greet every client and prospect that walks in the door, etc.).

If it’s not written down and signed as completed and understood by an employee, you are improvising. Business is far too important to improvise.

So to get back to your original question – how do you go about hiring staff?

When systems are in place – it really doesn’t matter. We have hired experienced trainers, beginner trainers, schoolteachers, former clients, interns, etc., and all have become excellent personal trainers because they follow our system.

As long as you have business systems and an education program in place then when hiring employees what you need to look for are personality, work ethic and core values first. As long as your new employee has brings those three attributes to the table, they will succeed in your system.

[Ed. Note: Alwyn Cosgrove is the owner of Results Fitness, Santa Clarita, California's Number One Fitness and Sports Training Facility. He is a regular contributor to Men's Health magazine and the co-author of several workout books, including his latest, "The New Rules of Lifting for Life" with Lou Schuler.]

At our recent 2-Day Mastermind meeting in Denver, both Matt Smith and I spent an hour teaching each morning. My most popular session came by popular demand on the second morning as I described how my brain works in terms of creativity. The group loved this session. In a series of articles, I’ll explain how I foster my imagination to create so much content.

Craig Ballantyne

“There is no such thing as a good idea unless it is developed and utilized.” – Kekich Credo #69
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A New American Dream

Despite being only 30 years old, author Jonah Lehrer has penned three books on science, including his latest, “Imagine: How Creativity Works”. With a degree in Neuroscience from Colombia University and a master’s in literature and philosophy from Oxford (where he was a Rhodes Scholar), Lehrer has written for Wired, The New Yorker, and others. In the vein of Malcolm Gladwell and FREAKONOMICS, Lehrer has the ability to convert scientific studies into relatively easy to understand practical lessons. For example, Lehrer discovered one study performed at Yale University over 50 years ago that calls into question the ubiquitous nature of corporate boardroom brainstorm sessions. As Lehrer describes in his book, the study found that students working on their own came up with twice as many solutions as students who performed group brainstorm sessions.

Plus, the solo students also had more ideas that were deemed ‘feasible’ and ‘effective’ by experts. Says Lehrer, “Brainstorming didn’t unleash the potential of the group. Instead, the technique suppressed it, making each individual less creative.” Lehrer’s most important argument however, is that creativity is not a genetic trait to be enjoyed by just the authors on the NY Times best-seller list, but instead that innovation can be nurtured and encouraged by our habits. Lehrer reassures readers that anyone can be creative as long as they “maintain the perspective of the outsider”. Creativity, an important component of achieving your American Dream, can be yours when you cultivate the correct environment and habits.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here
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How to Be Creative
By Craig Ballantyne

I’m a lucky man. Creativity comes relatively easy to me. Unfortunately, a lot of folks struggle with idea generation. So let’s take a look at the techniques I use to create content.

If we dig deep inside my brain, there will be a few things you might take away (just don’t take my medulla oblongata – I need that for breathing). Apply these habits to maximize your daily output and minimize your daily stress.

The first thing I do when I get up is to scribble down all of my ideas. My brain is full of them first thing in the morning. I also get up early because that is when I am most creative. This early morning spurt of creativity is called my magic time, and my life is designed to leverage the ability to get more work done in a concentrated period of time first thing in the morning. Early to bed, early to rise works wonders for me.

It is something worth trying for yourself. At the very least you need to identify when you are most creative each day. You need to design your life to reach your goals based on what you know about your strengths and weaknesses.

If you work best in the morning, get up early. If you work best at night, clear your social schedule and use that time to write.

You can even getting in the habit of “training my subconscious” to come up with ideas overnight. Some mornings I’ll wake up with practically an entire article written in my brain. I continue to refine the idea while I pet the dog for a few minutes, and then I roll out of bed and rush to my computer to spill my subconscious upon the screen. Some of the most popular Early to Rise messages I’ve written have been finished in just fifteen minutes this way.

You can even train your brain to bring you the answers during a nap. You simply put in a “request” to your brain when you go to sleep, giving it a problem to solve. I’m not joking.

For example, let’s say you’re having trouble with a headline for your sales letter or Yellow Pages ad. Read the headline and review the principles of great headlines and sales copy before you go to sleep. Then tell your brain to come up with something better while you sleep. You should wake up with a good idea in the morning.

Don’t believe that this can work? Check out this legendary example from history. Perhaps you’ve heard the folklore about Napolean Hill. As legend goes, Hill was given a deadline to come up with the title for his book, “Think and Grow Rich”. At that time, he hadn’t come up with anything better than the dismal, “Use Your Noodle to Get the Boodle”. Seriously.

On the afternoon of the deadline he had a nap and when he woke up he had a much better title for his book. His much-improved idea, “Think and Grow Rich”, went on to sell over 20 million copies before his death in 1970.

Our brains work in mysterious ways. However, we can identify these mysterious methods and do our best to harness their power, even though we may not truly understand how it works.

What most people don’t do, however, is identify their best creative techniques and maximize the time spent on them. That’s what separates massive content creation machines – such as Dan Kennedy, Bill Bonner, Malcolm Gladwell, and Stephen King – from people who struggle to write a five-page newsletter each month.

The first step in becoming more creative is identifying when and where you get your best ideas, as well as your magic time for turning those ideas into finished concepts.

Like most people, I get a lot of great ideas in the shower. The scientific explanation for this is that our brains are able to work in a different way than when we try to come up with an idea while sitting at our regular work station. This is why we get ideas and can solve complex problems in random places, such as in the shower or while out for a walk… or while sitting under an apple tree.

According to Jonah Lehrer, author of “Imagine: How Creativity Works”, the key to creativity is not caffeine and intense focus, but instead a state of relaxation. The explanation, he says, is simple. “It’s not until we’re relaxed in the shower that we’re able to turn the spotlight of attention inwards and find the quiet voice in the back of our head that is trying to give us the answer.”

Lehrer’s top tip for getting inspired? “When you feel stuck on a problem, take a break.” At 3M, one of the companies profiled in Lehrer’s book, employees are encouraged to interrupt work with a relaxing activity to let the mind turn inward and problem solve.

He also recommends making new friends that are different from you, as well as living in a city (as the increased interactions you’ll have with strangers will be good for your creativity).

Unfortunately, ideas that come to us in the shower or while out on walks often turn into slippery little fishes. Don’t you just hate when you have a groundbreaking idea one second and then as soon as you’re toweling off, you forget it?

You could, as many readers have suggested, use children’s waterproof crayons to write ideas on a whiteboard in your shower. That seems a little bizarre even for me. Instead, I’ve developed a couple of strategies to capturing my ideas in the shower.

First, I limit myself to three ideas when I have a shower or take a long walk without a notepad. Each idea is assigned to one of my fingers (yes, I know, I have 5 fingers, but I don’t give one to my thumb or pinky). As soon as I’ve filled up all of my fingers, I keep on repeating the ideas while pointing the finger I’ve assigned it to. Sure, it sounds odd, but that way, I don’t forget the ideas. And while sometimes I end up getting dressed with soap still in my hair, I can always go back and wash it off. A lost idea however, is often lost for good.

The second way to capture those ideas might be a bit more practical. Just put a pen and paper on the sink and step out and scribble them down as quickly as possible, and make sure to carry a notepad – or smartphone – with you on your creative walks.

Scribble down your ideas as soon as they come to you in that original format. That’s an essential part of capturing the essence of creativity. As Michael Masterson once explained to me about good ideas, “It’s the particular articulation of a good idea that matters. That’s why employees always brought a tape recorder to meetings with me.”

Armed with these simple tips on how my brain works, you can teach yourself to be more creative and maximize your idea generation environment. As Lehrer concludes in his book, innovation can be nurtured and encouraged by our habits. All you need to do is be a little creative in designing your life and workday to maximize your idea generation.

[Ed. Note. Craig Ballantyne is a the editor of Early to Rise and lives the Early to Rise lifestyle. He is the author of Financial Independence Monthly, a program that shows you how to achieve your financial independence in the new economy. In the latest issue you'll discover the 7 best Internet Business Models to follow. Next month you'll learn what he would do if he had to start all over again with his online business.]