"The Life I Deserve" presents "The Goal Show" by Adrian McMillian

Ep 23 - How to Master Group Coaching: Savvy Mariana Ruiz Empowers you with the Tools to Succeed!

Adrian McMillian — Wed, 10 Apr 2019 20:36:45 +0000

Mariana is a certified business coach, consultant, and international best selling author who helps seasoned coaches and consultants scale their businesses by creating and launching their profitable group coaching programs. By using her background in brain science and hospital administration in combination with her 12 years of marketing, sales, and business experience, she helps you get results for your clients at scale, market in a way that attracts your ideal clients, and convert followers to group coaching clients through service-based selling. She has been featured in various podcasts, blogs and online courses including the Huffington Post, Today.com, and The Millionaire Insider Extravaganza. Through working with hundreds of businesses, she has empowered them to increase their profit and serve more people all over the world with group coaching.

What you’ll learn in this episode!
How to embrace your entrepreneurial spirit!
How group coaching creates synergy and efficiency!
How to leverage the power of your subconscious to transform your life!

Links
http://impactdrivenentrepreneur.com

FREE Gift!! 🎁
In this episode, Mariana touched-on the power of visualization. Visualization puts our subconscious to work for us, showing us how we can access the tools, resources, and opportunities, that we need to achieve our goals. To help you to harness the power of visualization, I’m providing you with a free gift!

Click below, for a simple, yet beautiful guide on the power of visualization!
https://TheLifeIDeserve.com/visualize

🎁 Click here to claim your FREE Gift!!

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Ep 22 - How to Get Healthy Naturally!: Inspirational Rachel Hughes Makes Holistic Healing a Reality!

Adrian McMillian — Fri, 15 Feb 2019 20:10:04 +0000

Globe-trotting Rachel Hughes is the founder of New World Native, an online platform and global community of health and wellness professionals. Her current path has been very much fed by her ongoing personal quest to bring her mind, body and spirit into alignment. Through years of exploration, open-mindedness and the desire to shift from a reactionary to preventative mindset, she discovered a variety of healers and modalities that would eventually become the impetus to create the New World Native network.

What you’ll learn in this episode!
How to live a healthier and happier life!
How to find a qualified holistic practitioner!
How embracing your purpose will see you through the challenges in life!

Links
http://newworldnative.com
https://www.instagram.com/newworldnative

FREE Gift!! 🎁
In this episode, Rachel shared how she took control of her life! Where she used to feel like she was living in a fog, dependent on pills, she now enjoys a life of health and happiness!
To help you to take control of your life, I’m providing you with a free gift!
Click below, for a simple, yet beautiful guide on how you can take control of your life, starting today!
https://TheLifeIDeserve.com/control

🎁 Click here to claim your FREE Gift!!

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Ep 21 - How to Connect with People: My Dad Shares Lessons from His Journeys!

Adrian McMillian — Wed, 19 Dec 2018 23:06:38 +0000

Adrian McMillian Sr (my dad), has mastered the skills of rapport. He can connect, and build a bond, with just about anyone! Listen as my dad shares challenges and lessons learned, from his journeys in life! My father is a graduate from the University of Houston, with a Bachelors in Business Admin. He was married for 48 years (up until the passing of my dear mother). My dad is a father of 5, grandfather of 8, and great-grandfather of 3. And he proudly resides in sunny San Leon, Texas, where he owns 2 houses and 5 acres of land.

What you’ll learn in this episode!
How to make the most out of every living moment
How to reach out and connect with anyone
The value of changing tribes! What does that mean? And how do we do it?

FREE Gift!! 🎁
In this episode, my dad shared his experiences, in which he took action, received feedback, made adjustments, and then took further action. This is the process to move forward, and get things done, in life!
To help you to take action, I’m providing you with a free gift!
Click below, for a simple, yet beautiful guide on how you can take action toward your goals today!
https://TheLifeIDeserve.com/action

🎁 Click here to claim your FREE Gift!!

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Ep 20 – The Magic of Focus!: Mentalist Jonathan Pritchard Explains How the Power of Focus Can Transform Your Life

Adrian McMillian — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 00:55:23 +0000

Jonathan Pritchard is the author of “Think Like A Mind Reader” available on Amazon.com and is a business consultant and keynote speaker for companies like BP, State Farm, 1871 (the number one tech incubator in the world), and even worked with the US Military. He helps them improve their customer and employee engagement in a fun, memorable, and meaningful way at trade shows, national conferences, Vegas main stages, and any place where people gather together.

His background is a mentalist & entertainer who now shares his insights into human behavior, success psychology, motivation, & communication.

What you’ll learn in this episode!
How your childhood may have programmed you for failure!
How to set yourself free from that negative programming!
How to build a life of abundance doing what you love!

Links
http://ThinkLikeAMindReader.com
http://JonathanPritchard.guide

FREE Gift!! 🎁
In this episode, you learned how Jonathan created his dream life by identifying and embracing his purpose! To help you to live your dream life, I’m providing you with a free gift!
Click below, for a simple, yet beautiful guide on how you can start living your purpose today!
http://TheLifeIDeserve.com/purpose

🎁 Click here to claim your FREE Gift!!

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Ep 19 - Transform your Health!: Results-oriented Fitness Coach, Jay Kali, Empowers Women with the Skills and Mindset to Get Healthy!

Adrian McMillian — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 23:16:23 +0000

Jay Kali, AKA The Strength Architect, doesn’t just build better bodies; he helps build strong, motivated and empowered women. As a coach and fitness specialist for over six years, who has owned 3 fitness business, and authored an Amazon bestselling book, Jay has trained thousands of people, and finally found a way to put power back in his clients’ hands.

Jay’s innovative approach is based on the radical notion that we are all different. Knowing there’s no “one-size-fits-all” answer to fitness, Jay meets each client where they’re at, providing highly personalized training solutions to help each woman meet her individual goals.

He is motivated by a genuine desire to help others take charge of their lives, becoming physically, mentally, and emotionally stronger. He strives to lead by example, demonstrating that when we tap into our own potential, there is nothing we cannot achieve!

What you’ll learn in this episode!
How to start your journey to a healthier, stronger, more empowered you!
How to completely change your perspective on “failure”, to a perspective that fuels your success!
How your challenges can propel you to greater levels of accomplishments!!

Links
http://KaliCoaching.com

FREE Gift!! 🎁
In this episode, you learned about the power of taking action!
To help you to take action now, toward your goals, I’m providing you with a free gift!
Click below, for a simple, yet beautiful guide on how to step up, and take action toward the life you deserve!
https://TheLifeIDeserve.com/action

🎁 Click here to claim your FREE Gift!!

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Ep 18 – Maximizing Growth!: World-class Teacher and Facilitator, Natasha Ryan D’Amelio Shows you How!

Adrian McMillian — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 23:14:59 +0000

Natasha is a leading expert on all aspects of building growth groups and growth gatherings. Natasha is a trained Certified Commercial Investment Member, Cultural Training & Transformation Practitioner, a Canfield Certified Trainer and Assistant, Harvard Business Extension School member and a RESULTS.org advocate.

All of this sits on top of her battle training through 9 years in corporate America, until 2009 when she began her Strategic Business Development Consulting practice.

She has become one of the most inspiring, educational presenters on the planet. She leads with heart, integrity, humor… and is a lot of fun. I’m very excited to share her with you. Not only will you learn a lot today – but you’ll be inspired and entertained as you learn.

What you’ll learn in this episode!
How to use your challenges as a catalyst for transformation!
How to follow your bliss!
Valuable lessons from Willy Wonka, Marry Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Dr. Seuss! 😳

Contact
natasha@nrdcreative.com

FREE Gift!! 🎁
In this episode, you learned how Natasha took control of her life!
To help you to master this powerful tool, I’m providing you with a free gift!
Click below, for a simple, yet beautiful guide on how you can gain control of your own life.
https://TheLifeIDeserve.com/control

🎁 Click here to claim your FREE Gift!!

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Ep 17 - Visualize Your Way to Success!: Transformational Trainer Adrian McMillian Provides the Tools you Need to Succeed!

Adrian McMillian — Tue, 24 Jul 2018 22:34:52 +0000

Over 25 years ago Adrian discovered Jack Canfield’s Success Principles. Excited to see immediate results in his life, he became passionate with self-improvement, consuming the teachings of the most influential motivational experts, including the works of the most influential speakers, including Tony Robbins, Stephen Covey, Brian Tracy, and Zig Ziglar. The skills he learned, allowed him to go from living in near poverty, to becoming a successful real estate investor, owning a number of houses, all in prestigious neighborhoods. Adrian also applied his self-development skills to become a leader in the business world, attaining a Corporate Director position, at a major Hollywood motion picture studio. The success skills that Adrian acquired, allowed him to transform himself, from a person who would do anything to avoid public speaking, to someone who thrives off of the excitement of speaking on stage. And, when he’s not teaching people how to achieve their dream life, you can find him on a different type of stage, performing as an award-winning Salsa Dancer. Overall, Adrian’s greatest happiness and fulfillment, comes from helping and inspiring others! Adrian continually researches and applies, the most productive processes in goal setting and achieving. And he prides himself on his ability to effectively train people on how they can transform their lives! In short, Adrian helps people around the world to accomplish more than they ever thought possible!

What you’ll learn in this episode!
How to harness the power of visualization!
The importance of getting focused!
How to reach new levels of success with a proven system!

Links
http://TheLifeIDeserve.com
http://TheGoalProgram.com

FREE Gift!! 🎁
In this episode, you learned about the power of visualization!
To help you to master this powerful tool, I’m providing you with a free gift!
Click below, for a simple, yet beautiful guide on why visualization is crucial to the realization of your goals.
https://TheLifeIDeserve.com/visualize

🎁 Click here to claim your FREE Gift!!

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Ep 16 – Is Your Body Image Holding you Back? Breakthrough with Help from World Famous Couture Designer, Rani St. Pucchi!

Adrian McMillian — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 22:18:31 +0000

Rani St. Pucchi is an award-winning Couture Fashion Designer and Founder of the world famous Couture bridal house ’St. Pucchi’. Rani’s signature designs have been recognized in the media spotlight in high profile magazines such as Brides, Cosmopolitan Brides, Women’s Wear Daily, W, Harper’s Bazaar, Inside Weddings, Martha Stewart Weddings, The Knot, Town and Country, on CNN, and on TV shows such as “Entertainment Tonight,” “E!”, “One Life to Live,” and most notably, on the finale of the television show, "Friends.” Rani has dressed numerous celebrities, singers, song-writers, sports personalities and influencers since the launch of her ’St. Pucchi’ brand in 1985.

Not only is Rani St. Pucchi an acclaimed designer with more than 30 years of experience working with more than 20,000 brides and women across the globe, but she is also a Style and Image Consultant, and a Relationship Expert. She is a Bestselling Author, a Speaker, an Inspirational Coach and a Trainer.

Her highly acclaimed TEDx talk: “Is Your Body Image Holding You Back” shows her passion for empowering women across the globe. And to that end, Rani has achieved a #1 International Bestselling Author status with her much-acclaimed books: ’Your Body, Your Style’; ’The SoulMate Checklist’; and her most recent book, ’Your Bridal Style: Everything Your Need to Know to Design the Wedding of Your Dreams”.

Having overcome her own share of challenges in life, Rani St. Pucchi is living proof that it is possible to achieve everything one desires.

Her passion and mission is to inspire every woman to realize her own personal beauty, regardless of her body type, size or age. Rani’s motto is “Love yourself, Discover Your Beauty, and Live Brilliantly.”

What you’ll learn in this episode!
The secret ingredient that will make you truly shine!
How to truly love your body!
Why success is an “inside job”!

Links
http://ranistpucchi.com

FREE Gift!! 🎁
Rani is reaching great levels of success because she is living her PURPOSE!! 😃
Click below for a simple, yet beautiful guide, on how you too, can reach new levels of success, by leveraging your unique PURPOSE!!
http://TheLifeIDeserve.com/purpose

🎁 Click here to claim your FREE Gift!!

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Ep 15 - How to Eliminate Stress: Master your Emotional State with Christine Monaghan

Adrian McMillian — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 23:43:45 +0000

Christine is a human-potential champion. She believes that stress is optional and when understood can be utilized to source the next brilliant opportunity in one or multiple life areas. Others describe her as the master motivator and influencer, for tapping into solutions, for the next best version of yourself. She is a Stress Solutions Consultant, training individuals and organizations to source solutions by shifting their focus from what they don't want, don't want to feel, to inspired-action, for what they do want to feel. Christine’s successes include:

World-class event production (80,000+ attendees) and national revenue-generating promotions;
She’s secured million's in sponsorship and sales (Fortune 500 companies);
Creator of a national multi-city human-potential series (300+ seminars in Indigo/Chapters bookstores); Author, Heartbroke, An Entrepreneurs Journey from near Death to Possibilities; Internationally profiled podcast host.

What you’ll learn in this episode!
Why and how, stress is an option!
Tools you can use to reduce and/or eliminate your stress!
What to do when you feel overwhelmed.

Links:
http://christinemonaghan.com
https://www.instagram.com/dailylifemastery

FREE Gift!! 🎁
Christine shared with us, some great advice, for eliminating stress!! 😃
Controlling your emotions is a critical, first-step, to ultimately achieve the life you deserve!
Click below to get your simple, yet beautiful, guide on how you can take control of your life!!
http://TheLifeIDeserve.com/control

🎁 Click here to claim your FREE Gift!!

Full Show Transcript

Christine: Hey, Adrian, thank you for having me.

Adrian: Thank you for being here. Now, I've known you for probably about a year. I have the fortunate opportunity to be in the same mastermind group as you. So I know that you know your stuff.

Christine: All right, well, it depends on the day, but thank you. I'll take that.

Adrian: So yes, you continually impress me because you set big goals, you go after those goals, and I never get a sense of stress from you. So I know that you practice what you preach. And I would love for my audience to get to know a little bit about your background. So if you want to just kind of elaborate a little bit beyond the intro.

Christine: Sure. Sure. Absolutely, and thank you, it was a generous introduction and I do get stressed, but we can talk about that as we go along. So I grew up in a very idyllic upbringing, in actually Oak Bay, which is in Victoria, BC, and it's in Canada. And I like to refer to it as growing up in a glass bubble because it was really beautiful, we lived half a block from the beach. We went to the tennis club, we went to the rocket club. I really did have a wonderful, blessed childhood. And my parents are very lovely parents. I have memories of them dancing around and singing and having all their parties that they would have, and everybody all dressed up and eating maraschino cherries off the kitchen counter when I should have been in bed. It really was a fabulous upbringing, and I was very, very fortunate. We had everything you could ever want.
Below that layer and veneer of this incredible, idyllic childhood, there were some challenges that went on, like there are in all households. And I really think that in the end, those challenges really helped me to become who I've become, and actually offer what I offer in the world. And I was blessed, my father was a lawyer and became a judge and a politician. And I spent a week at the Bay Short in Vancouver with Pierre Trudeau, who was then the prime minister, and had lunch and went swimming, really had some incredible experiences and was exposed to some wonderful things growing up.
Mixed in with that were some challenges within the family, and you know, they are what they are. We all, I think, grew into becoming who we all are, the four kids, as a result of that. And I'm just very thankful that I had parents who were fortunate enough to allow me to be exposed to some of these experiences and who told us to always go for it. So we all had kind of a core sense of self in us that kind of sets you up or doesn't.

Adrian: Awesome. And how did you go from your upbringing into a career in dealing with stress?

Christine: Right. So, without going into the details of the story in my own family because it's really not my story to share, it's one of my parents' stories to share. So it's not that I'm being elusive, it's just not my story to share. There was a lot of emotional upheavals, and there was a lot of anxiety and worry and whatnot that went along with this very idyllic life that everyone felt that we had. And so I didn't set out to do what I'm doing right now, but as I evolved in growing into the next best version of myself, and then as I became an entrepreneur and started working with entrepreneurs, the thing that I noticed that everyone was struggling with that was really the gap between where they were and where they wanted to be was the level of stress that they chose to function and operate on each day. And to that end, really what their thoughts were and what their mindset was.
And so it's just evolved into it. And the more I kind of claim my own potential, the more I've claimed yeah, that's actually what I want to help others to master, is this sense of you're not your thoughts, and you can decide what your thoughts are, and your thoughts are going to absolutely dictate and influence what you are or are not able to achieve and what sort of life you'll live.

Adrian: Right. You know, it's very interesting. I grew up and I can show pictures of me growing up where you can tell there wasn't a lot of money there. We had our challenges, but it's interesting, and I would love to hear your perspective on this, you and I, we were very aware that everybody has stress. This is one of the things we study in self-development. But it must be interesting growing up in what appears to be an idyllic life and then ... but everybody has stress. We know that. We know there are people who seem to be incredibly successful, at the top of their game, and they still have stress. And when those of us who did not come from that type of life growing up, we sometimes go why? How is that possible? It seems like they have it all.

Christine: Yeah. And from the outside, and if you grew up in Oak Bay, everybody knew the Monaghan Family. And it was like wow, this beautiful family, and they've got everything and they're like picture-perfect. And in a lot of ways we were, and again, I had a great childhood. But there was a lot of worry and anxiety and stress that was, now I look back, and it was actually unnecessary. But how do you know what you don't know? We don't get taught this in elementary school, we don't get taught in high school. We're not taught about emotional intelligence and how to actually carry yourself in such a way that you can trust in what you're putting out there and that you actually lead from the place of what do I want versus all these what ifs, right? And so many spend their days and their lives coming from this place of what if, which is all about fear.
So at the end of the day, if you're in a state of stress, you're in a state of fear. You're not in a state of love. You can't be in both at the same time. So the gift in living with the scenario I lived with, and again, I'm not trying to be elusive, it's just not my story to tell, is that fear is just an unnecessary, and it's a habit. And you can change that worn-out habit. And in today's society, you look with politically and advertising everything, it all comes from this fear-based, you know, you've gotta sign up today or it'll be gone tomorrow, and it's only gonna cost this today or tomorrow ... it's all fear-based. Most of it is fear-based, and that's why so many people are revolting against the media. It's like, you know what, things are changing. People are going no, you don't need to feed me fear in order to get me to listen.
And so we've kind of, as a culture, decided that fear's the norm. And my whole thing is stress is not the norm and stress is optional. And you're going to experience stress, you're going to have stressful things happen, but how you respond to it versus react to it dictates or influences what happens next. It's like you said, you never seem stressed. This last year has probably been one of the most stressful years for me in probably 15 years, but I've just trained myself to say okay, when this is going on, whatever it is, I'm going to choose to find the possibility in it and I am not gonna let it take me out. And I have a whole bunch of tools and learning and experience now that comes from years of discovering this stuff.
So that's what I try and impart on others. And part of that is getting comfortable being uncomfortable. Right? And then from all that, you get to grow into being that next best version of you. So yeah.

Adrian: Yeah, you know, and I love that you said stress is an option. Because I've heard so many people, we've all heard so many people say this is just a stressful situation. That is just a stressful situation. That person caused me stress. When really, we know that no, Jack Canfield teachings, E+R=O. Situations just happen. Events just happen. Things just happen. And if you want to just assume that that just equals stress, you're missing a huge part. You're missing that option. You're missing the idea, knowing that you have that option. You have the opportunity to choose how to process that.

Christine: Yeah, and with that, so you get to choose whether you get to look at that situation, could be very stressful. It's not about pretending it's not stressful, but it's about coming from the place of, okay, it is stressful. What am I gonna focus on to get it to where it needs to be? Because if you keep on focusing on the what ifs, what ifs, it just creates more of the what ifs. And so it's an old habit. It's an old habit, which is basically a belief that you either inherited or you've somehow along the way created. And it's worn out and you need to replace it. So I always say well, like I have this mantra, wonderful things are happening for me today. So if I'm having a particularly challenging day, which I do, just like everybody else, I'll put my phone on and every 20 minutes the timer will go off and I'll repeat, wonderful things are happening for me today. I might not feel that way, but will focus on what I'm feeling, which is kind of mucky, or the stress of it, that's not changing anything either. So worry, anxiety, fear is a total energy drainer. It's a complete waste of time. And we can program ourselves to no focus on that and focus on what we do want.

Adrian: I agree. And I think a lot of people don't realize how devastating stress can be. If they decide to process things and turn that into stress and harbor that stress, it is so damaging in so many ways. Our health, our mental health, our physical health.

Christine: Yeah. It's ridiculous. One in four Canadians, I live in Canada, it's probably the same if not more in the U.S., are experiencing anxiety, fear, depression, some form of mental illness. 30 billion dollars annually is spent on what they call presentism. And presentism is when Joe Blow shows up for work and he's so stressed out that he's just physically showing up, but he's not actually there mentally, physically, or productively. And until companies start to really understand the cost of not creating a healthy culture for their employees, then they might as well just throw the money out the door instead of having that employee show up. So it is a huge, huge challenge, and the more everybody starts to just acknowledge it and starts to get the skills so they can respond versus react like you said, then the more that whole shift takes place.
But it's like when I talk to these HR directors who have got like 50,000 employees, and I'll do a virtual workshop for them, my question is always are you gonna be part of the problem, or are you gonna be part of the solution? Are you the HR, the leader, so lead as you want to follow. If you're leading, lead these people as you would like to follow. So are you leading from the place of the problem, or are you leading from the place of the solution? Are you going to be part of that problem that reinforces stress as being the norm, or are you going to step out and claim, I'm going to be the leader that says stress is optional, and this is what I'm going to do to support and influence my people to have a very different experience.

Adrian: That sounds amazing. I would love if you could share with us, a case study or two about, without revealing any private information, but something or a team or a company or a department that you worked with, the transformation that you were able to ...

Christine: Yeah, I mean the transformations are really quite remarkable, and sometimes I have to look at go wow, I really influenced that person or that scenario to shift like that. And then I have to kind of claim it myself and go well, you've been doing this training and coaching and learning and experiencing for like 25 years now, so you gotta claim it, which is part of the whole thing. So I have one individual who is a payroll director of 50,000 people. And the amount of responsibility on this person is enormous. And just very simple tools.
I'm all about simplicity. No complex diagrams and all that stuff, let's just get down to the basics. So in my master plan process, they create their master plan and then they have their monthly goal achieving schedule, and then they've got the daily five. And within that, if they follow that, I always say take Monday morning and make Monday morning the first two hours of your day and focus on what you're going to map out for the entire week. Get your week organized. And then Friday morning, do the same thing in reverse. Clean up everything that you said you were gonna do that you haven't done, and really keep yourself on task. And that's how you close the gap from where you are to where you want to be.
But there are so many stress tools, and what happens is people, so many people are so afraid, afraid to lose their job, they're afraid, there's all this flipping fear that's running around that's running the show. It's like you've gotta just pause and go, I need to make a choice that is not fear-based right now. What is the choice I would make right now? And I say to my entrepreneurs, if you were a millionaire or if you were a three, four, five time millionaire, what choice would you make right now in this situation? And then they'll say blah blah blah and I'll go, that's the choice you need to make. Now you have to show up for yourself. So it's about your level of belief then in yourself and it's about okay, I've gotta show up for myself because if I did have 10 million in the bank then I'd make this choice. And I go, that's the choice you're gonna make.

Adrian: I love that.

Christine: And that's uncomfortable, but you've gotta get comfortable being uncomfortable. And you and I, we've talked about that over and over again.

Adrian: Right. And so many people, they think, once I get there, I'll start acting differently. I'll start behaving differently, I will deal with things in a different way. And I love that you said that. You need to go ahead and do that now. It is not something that will happen when you get there, it's what needs to happen to get there.

Christine: Exactly. Because it's who you grow into becoming when you get there. When we do the master planning and I have them come up with their goals, and it's an interesting, fun process, but it's not about ... of course you want to achieve the goal, but it's who you become to get the goal. I always say, if you were the person that you're gonna be when you get that goal, then you'd already be that person and you already would have that goal achieved. So you need to quit focusing on the goal and focus on the person you need to become to achieve that goal.

Adrian: Mm-hmm (affirmative)

Christine: And if you do that, things start happening and things start falling into place. Wow, how did that land, how did that land, right?

Adrian: Exactly.

Christine: That's when things become fun and magical.

Adrian: I agree. How do you deal with culture? Because going into companies, I imagine this is something that's a big factor in what you do, in your consulting, your teaching. Somebody may bring you in, and you go into a company and you start to work with them, but you see that there's a culture issue there, and maybe that culture issue ... one person brought you in, but the person above that person is actually what's creating this culture, and is it possible to change that from, and how do you do that?

Christine: Yeah. So my approach, whether it's an entrepreneur or an HR director or whoever it is, doesn't matter what level they're at or how many people are involved, I like to live by that be the leader that you would like to follow. So if you've got a challenge with someone who you're reporting to or who is in a place of authority, whatever, however that works, it's like quit focusing on what they're not doing or how they're not showing up for you. Quit focusing on that. Be the leader you want to follow. So if I become the leader that I would like to follow in that other person, I can't help but move the dial towards what is in the highest interest of all. So if I get myself into that situation and I'm doing a virtual workshop and I can tell culturally, it's different or there's resistance to what I'm sharing, all I can do is show up and share what I actually believe is true and what I know is of value. And I have to detach from how they receive it. They're either gonna receive it or they're not. And if they do, great, and if they don't, then that's information for me too.

Adrian: Yeah. And I'm sure that every little bit matters. So that culture may be strong, but by you going in there and teaching that group, you've at least planted a seed. You've at least gotten people to see that things can be different. And it may spread slowly sometimes, but I think that if a person of your caliber never comes into a company and starts that change and plants that seed, then it may never change.

Christine: True. And I have no problem, and I don't know why, I've got brothers and sisters and I've always been this way, like since I was a little kid. But I don't really have any problem sharing what my perspective is. I'm not expecting you to agree with me or anybody else to agree with me. That's never been my thing. But I am gonna share my perspective if I truly believe that it is the way that I feel is the best way for everybody to move forward. I don't need you to agree with me, and you could have a very different perspective, but I'm still gonna share my truth. So that's okay.
So I guess, in a funny way, I minimize my own drama with others because if they have a different perspective, that's okay. If you're gonna make me wrong about mine or I'm gonna make you wrong about yours, then, of course, there's a bigger challenge. And I think if you look at the divide that's going on right now around the world, and especially in the U.S., it's very convenient to say, and I'm not trying to get into politics here, but it's very convenient to say it's Donald Trump. It's like wow, so you're giving all your power over to this guy and saying that he is the power of all this when at the same time you're saying that he's an asshole or whatever you decide you're gonna say. I'm like, well that's actually interesting and actually quite funny because you give your power over to him.

Adrian: Exactly.

Christine: And it just is not so. The divide has always been there. He's the catalyst or has been, to bring the divide to the surface. It's still up to each individual to decide whether they are going to be an integrity in any given conversation and go, I don't understand what you're saying, I don't agree with it. Or I don't understand, it's very different from my perspective, but I'm open to listening because I might actually get a grain of something that might shift my perspective a little bit. And so the reason I'm mentioning all this is, because, in a corporate culture, that's what happens. You got Sally here and she's got her perspective. And you've got Jim over here, and they're at odds, and that influences everyone else being at odds. It's like, why can't they just emotionally have a conversation where they both hear each other's perspective and maybe actually take a grain of what each other's saying and go hey, I'm gonna actually consider that. Thank you.

Adrian: Exactly.

Christine: And be okay with it. So that, culturally and corporately, I think that's the root of all the challenges because it's all about me, me, me and it's my way, right?

Adrian: Right. And we each have to take responsibility for our lives. If we take the perspective of there's somebody else to blame, some other department to blame, some other administration to blame, we can always find that source to blame, regardless. That administration can change, that leader can change. The culture can change. Well, then it's something else. So yeah, I agree. We have to take control of our lives, we have to assume that responsibility for actually changing our lives.

Christine: Yeah. It's a lack of emotional intelligence which creates that drama. And the more each individual decides to be the leader that they would like to follow, the more they increase their emotional intelligence, the more it shifts.

Adrian: I love it. Be the leader that you want to follow. I love that. And I'm sure that some of our listeners are ready to learn more and ready to step up and be that leader. So how can they find out more about you and more about your products, services?

Christine: Sure. They can just go to Christinemonaghan.com. And that's Christine, C-H-R-I-S-T-I-N-E M-O-N-A-G-H-A-N .com and all my offerings are on there. And there are lots of ways to get a hold of me. My Instagram is really a great place to get daily hits of wisdom, which is daily life mastery, that's my Instagram account.

Adrian: I love it.

Christine: Yeah.

Adrian: Daily life mastery.

Christine: Daily life mastery.

Adrian: It's a good name, I like it. It rolls right off the tongue. Well, Christine, it's been a pleasure having you on today.

Christine: You know what, I've thoroughly enjoyed this and I will come back any old time you want me to.

Adrian: Awesome, because I would love to have you back, and I'm sure my listeners would love to have you back. Thank you and have an amazing day.

Christine: Thanks so much, Adrian.

Adrian: All right, bye bye.

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Ep 14 - Need a Power Start? Kick your Life into Gear with Serial Entrepreneur Franz-Philippe Przybyl

Adrian McMillian — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 21:07:54 +0000

Franz-Philippe Przybyl, also known as “FPP” since only a few people are able to pronounce his name, is a husband and father residing in Berlin, Germany. A serial entrepreneur, he has lived and worked in the United States, Germany, England, Hong Kong, and Gabon. As an entrepreneur, he has built several companies from nothing to multi-million dollar turnover and profit within a few years. Through his successes and failures in business, FPP discovered he has a unique ability to bridge different worlds by bringing together people, concepts, ideas, and projects that would not normally intersect. His passion for connecting people in positive, productive ways was the initial spark that has ultimately fueled Get in Charge of Your Life and the book PowerStart.

Link:
http://mypowerstart.com

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Full Show Transcript

Adrian: Hello, this is Adrian McMillian with the Goal Show, brought to you by the Life I Deserve. I am honored to have today as a guest Franz-Philippe Przybyl. He is a growth catalyst, serial entrepreneur, speaker, and author of the book Power Start, How To Kick Off Your Day and Energize Your Life.

Welcome Franz.

Franz-Philippe: Hi Adrian, thanks for having me on the show.

Adrian: It's great have you here. So yeah, we met at Breakthrough to Success a couple years ago, and I have to say that you impressed me. I don't know if I actually met you before we had the Come As You'll Be party, but I remember speaking to you at the Come AS You'll Be party and I was impressed by your drive, your determination, and your vision. Five years into the future your goal was to already have that book written and to have, I think, like a million copies sold. You inspired me to set bigger goals. I just want to say that right off the bat.

Franz-Philippe: Oh good, thanks a lot.

Adrian: You've been an inspiration to me. I would love for my audience to get to know a little bit about you and what motivates you, so please feel free to give us a little more background.

Franz-Philippe: All right. And thanks again for having me here. Yes, it was a great experience that yes back in 2016, almost two years ago now. So first of all a little bit about me. I'm 45 years old, married, have two lovely kids. I'm based in Berlin, in Germany, and I'm an entrepreneur, I run two different companies. I am a growth catalyst, you're probably interested to know what that is. I'll tell you later, keep the suspense.

As I said, I'm an entrepreneur, I run a farm management company, I run an online roofer here in Germany, the first of its kind in the world. And basically what I came up with by heart I'm a real entrepreneur, I'm entrepreneurial minded, and many people ask me sort of to bring that forward and teach them, and they ask me questions and if I answer them, and they said, "Oh, I'm so inspired by you, you teach that well. Why don't you do more out of it?" And that's basically my night time job. That's why I wrote my book, that's why I've started making online courses, sort of to bring that energy to the people to help them grow ideas and projects, companies, and so forth.

Adrian: It is impressive how much you have already accomplished and you're continuing to accomplish. So obviously not just a master of self-development, but also a master of time management it sounds like, and productivity. So I'm very interested to hear more about how you develop those skills, and of course we got to get into the growth catalyst thing. Should we do that now?

Franz-Philippe: Yeah, okay. So, yeah I was thinking, "What do I do?" Because people normally talk about trainers, coaches, but as I am an entrepreneur myself, I can't really say I'm a coach doing that full-time because I have other things that I'm doing the majority of my time. So, I was thinking what is that helps people to grow without getting used up at the same time? And that's a catalyst. I don't know whether you remember back in school, I had ash, and then if you put it on sugar that it burns, that's a catalyst. Sugar by itself doesn't burn, the ash doesn't get used up, but together it's lighting a fire.

And that was my whole idea, that I wanted to light the fire and help people grow, that people have ideas, people have projects, they have companies and sometimes are, "What do I do about it?" Or they have an idea that they want to develop. That's what I want to help them, and that's why I said I think growth catalyst is exactly the right title, that some of the learnings that I had that I passed it on, that some of the things that I've done over the time and I've always done intuitively and I found out how I did it, and sort of to get the energy going and flowing so that I pass it on to the people. Yeah, that's why I call myself a growth catalyst, and that's why I try to bring that energy and that knowledge to other people as well.

Adrian: I love that, and I do think that's the perfect word for it. I forgot about catalyst and the meaning of catalyst, but that's great. It's like, you provide that extra ingredient that's needed to get where they want to go. I love that. Do you feel like you were always a catalyst, or do you feel like at some point there was something in your life that was pivotal to take you in that direction?

Franz-Philippe: Yeah, I think there was always stuff that I did intuitively. So many of the things that today people are talking about, you need to visualize, you need to have your goals set up, you need to know where you're going, what's your 10 year sort of goal? I had all of that when I was really, really young, and maybe I can go back like 30 years. So when I was about 15-16, I was thinking, "What should I do? I have three ways that I can do. I could become a dancer, I could become a scientist, or I could become an entrepreneur, a business person." So pretty diverse setting.

So I tried out a few things and said, "No, I'm definitely going for the entrepreneurship." I knew that at 16, so I looked around also what can I do to study this, and there was a specific school, and at 16 I really looked it out. I had already started a little company on my own to earn some money, and I was very determined. Everybody who wanted to hear it or not, I told them, "You know what, at 28 I'll be CEO, and at 30 I'll be a millionaire." And both I managed to get done three years early.

When I was 26 I was appointed CEO by a bank subsidiary, and at 30 I was a millionaire, however that was backend of the 90s with a new economy, the dotcom development, and that was a so-called MOP, millionaire on paper. I had all the shares, I invested everything, and then with the explosion of the new economy and the twin towers, all of that was gone. So that brought me down to zero. I rebuilt everything again, and was just concentrated on myself sort of to get it done, and then people were asking, "How did you do that?" I said, "Actually, good question." But I never thought more about it.

Then something similar happened ... When was that? 2009, 2010, and the aftermath of the financial crises, I had built another company that was really brilliant, we had millions of dollars, and got completely smashed in the aftermath of the financial crises. I was back to zero. Had a big personal crises, put on weight, didn't do any sports anymore, no sleep, too much sugar, problems in our marriage, and everything, you can name it. Was in debt, had to sell my house to pay for my ongoing expenses.

And I was like, "How are you going to do something about it? I mean in the past I had energy, where has all of that gone?" And that's exactly when I started thinking more sort of structurally about, "Well I've built stuff, so where did the energy come from? What did I do back then?" So, I started getting more into personal development. I did that intuitively already when I was starting 12 years old.

And basically then what I did starting 2016, I went to BDS as one of these sort of kick-in your bottom kind of exercise, like, I got to go there and get me motivated. And I said, "Well I want to write this book." And it was then that this party you said, Come As You'll Be In Five Years. I had just a cover. And then afterwards I found, "Well, I already have the book, I only need to write it."

Adrian: I love that.

Franz-Philippe: That was a little bit like a personal therapy that I wrote for it, and I put a lot of thought I had. Obviously when you write a book you need to structure this stuff. And that's what I went into. So I structured everything, thought about it, what did I do? How did I do? Put everything together, and the result was the book. And out of that I was like, "What am I doing here?" That's where the whole idea of growth catalyst came from.

And then I started, I want to do that now more structurally, because before people asked me, "Well, can you teach me this, can you answer that question." And they were really happy, and they were just like you, that, "The energy you have and stuff that you bring across." So I thought, yeah that's I think I should do further. As I don't have time to do that full-time with people, I chose a growth catalyst, and that I do online courses, I also want to do weekend seminars where I transfer that energy to other people.

Yeah, so that's a bit my story and where I'm standing today, and why growth catalyst and everything behind it.

Adrian: Very impressive. You know, so many people would love to be able to just say what they really want, and to just say, "Yes, this is what I'm going to do." And there's a great power in doing that, it's part of that visualization. You're actually putting it out there into the universe, and you're putting it out there and you're being accountable. You did that from an early age, which is really impressive. And you didn't just say it, you followed through, and also you stumbled along the way like we do, and you just got up and you kept going. Very impressive how you built one business after another.

Franz-Philippe: Thank you.

Adrian: So what are some lessons that you feel like you've learned when you did stumble? When you did have a challenge? And what is the thought process? How do you take that and turn it in to a lesson, and enable it to take you further?

Franz-Philippe: Yeah, I think there are obviously multiple points we could now discuss for a week what's going on, but maybe just every couple of minutes. So maybe, two or three points. One is really perseverance, that you stick to all that you say. "I really want to reach this. I really want to go for it." And go through hard stuff and hard times, and don't be deterred by it.

Some of the things that I did was very interesting, when I learned more and got to know other interesting people. For example, I read a lot of, and talked also to a little bit different people like Navy SEALS, really sort of the epitome of people motivated, crushing through stuff. I learned one of their motivation techniques is to cut down and get smaller, and smaller, and smaller into your goals the harder it gets. First you say, let's say, "I want to run 20 kilometers." But if you had lots of gear and lots of stuff, and afterwards you say, "Well, I just want to make the next kilometer." You've been doing that for like two days, running through the fields with everything. It might not even be the next kilometer, it might be, "Well, I will make it to the next bush, which is 50 meters away." And then you go down to, "I can do one more step."

I think that's important when you face challenges in your life, that just keep going, and if it becomes too big and too overwhelming, just cut it down into smaller pieces. And this is A, good for motivation, but also good in goal setting. I have a whole system that developed, and that will probably be my next book, the Goal Action Pyramid. That from goals to get to individual steps of next action, you need to make sure that it's in digestible steps, because sometimes people are overwhelmed by something. "Oh, this big goal, what can I do about it?" And then they don't do anything, because it's just too far away.

If you have that vision ingrained in yourself, you know, "One day I will be there." And then you say, "Okay, now I need to make the steps that I can do." And that's the emphasis, that you can do. If the big steps you cannot do yet, do the small steps. If that's too small, just crawl. If that's too small, just go a little bit further. It's not giving up, that's the most important point.

Adrian: Great. The people that pursue self-development stuff, and they consume the course, and they read the material, they're working so hard to get to this mindset that you already had at such a young age, which is really great. So, when you went through this process of chunking down your goals, did that just seem natural?

Franz-Philippe: Well, when people look at the out sort of stuff that has been achieved, they're always like, "Oh, this looks so easy, it was so easy." But it hardly ever was. I think if you talk to anybody who's big and well known, has done great stuff, if you ask them, "Well, was it hard in between? Did you have challenges? Did you feel overwhelmed?" Everybody will say yes, and who doesn't, he's lying, just as simple as that.

So yes there are times where you feel overwhelmed, and that's exactly when you've got to come back and say, "Okay, what can I do now?" I mean, after the financial crises everything was tougher, everything was hard, in the morning to get up was hard. So then I had to really just cut it down into pure survival, and then take the next steps and then go through, and further and further, and then after a while then you get used it and you say, "Oh, I survived this, let's go to the next part." And I think that's an important thing, that the lessons that you need to push yourself, you need to push yourself through your limits and beyond your limits. That's something I learned I think when I was doing sports at a young age. That was very helpful, that you really go to the limits, go further than that.

I think today what many people are, you mentioned also the personal development, personal growth community, they read stuff and they consume things, but you really need to do it. 'Just Do It', from Nike, that's very poignant. Just do it, and then do it again. And action is the key to everything. So just thinking about something, or thinking is very easy, it's not. There's always something hard, and somebody who tells you it's that easy, no it's not. You've got to go through something hard, and you will develop.

Who was it? I think it was Harv Eker who said, "Don't look at minimizing your problems, look at your growing yourself, because then in relation the same problems will be smaller." I think that was also my goal always, that I always looked at something, you've got to look at it how to improve, if there's something bad don't take it personally in whatever sense it is, and just take the learnings out of it.

I think that was also what gave me strength. But as I said, if I'm going through this, after this what is the learnings? And not being bitter about it and saying, "Oh, this was hard. Why didn't it workout?" Well, you can't change it, just take it. Appreciate what you have and then go through it, and then look back, what are the learnings? And then apply them. You can do any error there is as long as you don't do them too often, because then you're not learning. Try to make as many different mistakes as possible, because at sometimes you have covered all of them. But the important part is always what do you learn out of it? Out of personal interactions, out of business things, out of financial things, physical, you name it. I think that was my mantra. We learn, continue to learn out of it, what did you take, and then improve it next time.

Adrian: That's great, I love that. You know, years ago before I found Jack Campbell's material and went on to study Anthony Robbins, and Zig Ziglar, Stephen Covey, before I knew all that, you were one of those people that I would have looked at said, "They must have more than 24 hours in their day. They must be from another planet. How in the world are they getting so much done?" What can you offer my listeners and my viewers on how to focus? Like let's say beyond this one big goal they want to accomplish, there's like five goals they want to accomplish. How can people get and stay focused so that they actually make progress on something, and then they're able to maybe shift gears to something else?

Franz-Philippe: Yeah. Focus is very important. What I was a big believer in is sort of not just ideological concentrate on one thing, but everything is more holistically connected together. So you had the mind, the body, mood, how's it all intertwine? And once you understand that there's an interconnectedness between all of them, and not just one way but everything is bi-directional, that's then the key that you can tap more energy all the time.

So you've got to think about things properly, obviously you've got to treat your body well, that you do sort of exercise, you eat healthfully, but there's also breathing exercises. There was lots of stuff that I never was aware of, for example that I did for my sport, like the deep breathing that you have, certain rhythmic breathing that I developed myself. I did high intensity interval training before anybody knew about it, that it was even, I just did it intuitively, and sort of that helped.

When I look at my goals, I had my very, very big term goal that I wanted to do, and then I broke it up into smaller things. And even though I did a lot of things, I always didn't do it completely parallel, not like complete multitasking, but always one after the other, but in very concentrated bursts. And then in between I enjoyed myself.

So for example, at school I was sort of one of the top three people from over a hundred students at school, and in university I was in the top percentage, and then in the end everyone's looking at me said, "How did you do that? Because you didn't learn all the time." I said, "Yeah, because I made concentrated bursts, and then I let go. Concentrated burst, and then let go." So concentrate, you don't wobble around all the time with stuff.

For example, before exams. People say, "I've got to learn all day." I said, "No, what you haven't learned now doesn't make sense." I said, "I make sure I go to bed early so I have a really good night sleep so I can tap into everything I have in my head better." And I said, "Why don't you just learn while you're in the lesson? Then you don't need to relearn afterwards. So concentrate there, and then afterwards forget about it."

There's stuff, for example, back then that I only found out today I am taking notes like crazy. People are like, "What are you doing?" I mean, I fill a notepad a week, just notes that I have from meetings. People are like, "What is this?" And what I only found out later, for example, that it's scientifically proven that if you write something down, you take notes and you summarize it, that it stays much better in the memory than you type.

So today I'm still writing, I'm always writing, writing, writing, writing, making a summary, and re-summarizing it, and by doing that it already is all entrenched in your brain. I draw pictures, I put things together and cross notes. I start with an empty sheet of paper, and in the end it's not neatly one after the other, it's like full, left and right, and straight, and what I only learned afterwards, that's how your brain works. Your brain is not a list of things, your brain is interconnected, it's from left to right, and if you try to make more of these things, these connectedness in your head, your brain runs easier.

So that's why I could pull things more. And then when I said, "How do you get it to different things?" First of all is, do things one after the other, and the other point is being open for opportunities. Because that's what I realized that many people, they focus just on the one certain thing, and that gives them tunnel vision. If they have this tunnel vision, they have opportunities, they always say, "Oh god, you see this, and this? You come by so many opportunities." I said, "You know what, we walk down the same road. I saw opportunities and you just saw one thing, just the paper and the whatever." And that's the important thing, open your eyes, open your mind.

Even though today many people say focus on things that are in education, I was always very broad. I tried to do as many things as possible. Or in my first job people said, "You know what? You're the dustbin of the company. Everybody dumps their projects on your desk, and you're stupid." And I said, "No, I'm really smart. You know why?" And they looked at me like, "What do you mean you're smart? Are you sort of bragging around?" I said, "No, no, no, I don't talk about that. I'm just say that I'm grabbing every single project there is."

Okay, I was working maybe sometimes 20 hours a day, but in those two years I got more than other people in 20 years. And you got to put in the effort, that's the point. Nothing comes easy and for free. In the end stuff is easier because you've built your foundation, but building your foundation is always hard work, and if you invest in hard work, that will repay afterwards. And that's what I did early on, that's what I brought me to where I am today.

Adrian: Wow, so much great advice there. I love that. It sounds like, correct me if I'm miss-wording this, but it sounds like you were always open for all the opportunities, and grateful and noticed opportunities that helped you to achieve your goals. So you were open to that, but also you were focused. So it was not so much multitasking, it was more focused, your intention was there, and you're getting something done, yet your mind was open to noticing any opportunities and appreciating those, which is really great. Because we all have opportunities all around us, and it's so much of our life is our perspective, our mindset. Do we notice these? Do we pay attention to these? Or do we just notice problems, and issues, and obstacles?

Franz-Philippe: I have an opportunity mind. Whatever I see, there's always an opportunity. So, people say, "Oh what's this?" I say, "Oh I could do business out of this, I could do business out of this, oh this would be a great idea, this could be a great idea." And people are like, "Huh?" I said, "If you're open about it and think in the opportunity that's behind it." And I think that's the same for all great people, that they always think in opportunities, and they don't think in barriers, they always say, "What's behind the barrier? How could I expand that barrier?" That's a new lines of thinking and signs they think differently, it's in business that they think differently, it's in the arts that people think differently, it's everywhere. Just be open and try to expand your mind, expand your body, expand everything that you have.

Adrian: Awesome. And I love that you even broke it down to something as simple as breathing, because I have to remind myself, deep breaths. Because you know once we have so much on our plate, we have so much in front of us, it's easy to go into this mode where we take shallow breaths, or we don't drink enough water, and those little things, the deep breaths, staying hydrated, they allow you to stay creative, and to solve problems, and to get things done. It almost probably sounds silly to some people, like those elements are so simple but they're so critical to just being in the right mindset.

Franz-Philippe: Yeah, and that's again sort of combining two things, simplicity and action. It's like, "Yeah, yeah I know it." I said, "So, do you do it?" "What do you mind do I do it? Like yeah, breathing is important, drinking is important." "Yeah, so what do you do? Do you do that the first time in the morning, like drink some water?" People are like, "Huh? Yeah, but later I have my coffee." I said, "No, no-

Adrian: I'm busy, I can't do it.

Franz-Philippe: Water for the first time, I drink water even before I get up, because overnight you lose about a liter of water, and so the first thing you are in the morning, you're dehydrated, you start dehydrated. And when I wrote my book, some of the consequences of dehydration are that, for example, your IQ levels drop down by 10 points. They're like, "Oh yeah, you're over exaggerating. That's a bit harsh." I said, "No, it's not a bit harsh, it's a fact." People are like, "What?" I said, "Just deep breathing connects sort of your brain things between the nose and what you have in your brain, and your nervous system, there's a very strong connection to there. And meditation is very much just concentrate on your breath, just go there." And that's many people just don't do anymore.

As you point out, it's just shallow breathing, just at the top, or when they breathe deeply they go ... I said, "No, no, that's not deep breathing."

Adrian: The air doesn't come into your shoulders.

Franz-Philippe: Yeah, and that's why when I do, I sometimes conduct sort of short little seminars in my environment where I invite people to come out for an evening for one or two hours, and one of the first things I do is that, "Okay, sit down, and then get up. Let's do some physical exercise to get your blood flow going, and do some breathing exercises."

And so they're tired, they come here, it's 6:30 in the evening. "Yeah, yeah, I want to listen to some of the stuff that you're saying." I said, "No, no, you're not consuming, we're getting into action here." So it's like, "Oops, what's going on?" In the end they're all pumped up, and said, "I feel like I just got up in the morning, and it's already in the evening after 12 hours of work behind me." I said, "Yup. That's how it goes if you do it right."

Adrian: Franz, you are a wealth of great information and you have all these great tools and processes. I know that some of my listeners and viewers are thinking, "You know, I need that extra ingredient. I need that catalyst." So how can they get that? How can they get in touch with you and learn more about your products and services?

Franz-Philippe: So, one is obviously I wrote my book, Power Start. Do I have it somewhere here? I think I have. Here, I've got one on my desk. There you go, here you are. That's Power Start. That's a book basically I describe what I call the Eight Essentials of Success, eight important components to be more happy, you know, to be happier and more fulfilled and more energetic, and out of that, how to develop the perfect morning routine, because with the morning that's sort of a starting point to get your energy. If you start bad it can only get worse, so better start well. That's one point.

And you can also have a look at www.mypowerstart.com, it's the website on that. The books available as paperback, eBook, and audio book on Amazon. I'm in the process of just developing a couple of online courses, picking up specific aspects of that. So one for example will be from goal setting to goal getting, not just setting your goals but are we getting to them?

Adrian: Love it.

Franz-Philippe: That will probably also be announced on the website I just mentioned. And another program that I'm just shooting is called Desxercises, and it's throughout the day what many people have that say, "You know, I'm sitting and ..." Actually, sitting is the new smoking. When I got into the effects, I always thought sitting was bad and I wanted to give people the chance to do something in the office, because doing my workshops I have them be physically active, and they say, "Oh, this is really great, but I feel a little bit silly doing jumping jacks in my cubicle or in a big office on the open floor if other people are watching me. What can I do to stay awake and energized?" So I developed a whole series of exercise that you can do at your desk without other people really noticing but you still have the same physical benefit.

When I prepared that, I looked at sort of what are detrimental effects of sitting, and I said, "You know, actually your chair needs to be becoming a health warning." It's the cause of so many diseases and so many sort of shortening of your lifespan. It's really horrible. So that's why I developed this course, Desxercises, like from desk exercises in one word.

Adrian: I love it, that's great.

Franz-Philippe: That will come out soon, hopefully in the next six to eight weeks.

Adrian: Great. Well, I'm going to put the links that you just mentioned into the show notes, and please let me know so I can let my listeners and viewers know when you have the second book on goal getting, I love that, and I definitely would love to have you back at some point so you can just update us on what new projects you're involved in-

Franz-Philippe: I would love to.

Adrian: Because you're definitely an inspiration on how much you get accomplished, and your processes, I love it, that allow you to just get more and more and more done.

Franz-Philippe: Yeah, thank you.

Adrian: It's a pleasure to have you. So Franz, thank you so much for your time.

Franz-Philippe: Thank you so much for having me here. Thanks a lot, and also bye, bye, and lots of energy for your listeners and viewers.

Adrian: Thank you. All right, bye, bye Franz.

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Ep 13 - Get your Motivational Slap in the Face!: Comedian Chris Knierim Delivers!

Adrian McMillian — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 21:15:25 +0000

Chris is a Leadership and High-Performance, Expert. Chris is an Award-Winning International Corporate Trainer, Speaker, and Comedian who has the unique ability to create effective, entertaining and impactful learning experiences. With proven Leadership and Quality Systems Implementation experience working with fortune 50 companies to start-ups in the highly regulated Medical Device and Life Science Industry, Chris is driven to empower you to realize your vision for yourself, your team, and your culture, in a fun and impactful way.

Links
https://choiceisyoursuperpower.com
https://www.facebook.com/chris.knierim.1

FREE Gift!! 🎁
Chris, was able to go from a boring job, to an exciting career, as a stand-up comic.
Do you know how? Because Chris took action!! 😃
Click below to get your simple and beautiful guide on how to take action now!!

🎁 Click here to claim your FREE Gift!!

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Ep 12 - How to Go from "Good" to "Great": Follow Your Passion with Denise Walsh

Adrian McMillian — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 18:59:09 +0000

Denise Walsh has helped over a million people find their purpose and fulfill their God-given destiny. Her global impact as a leader, in the direct-selling industry, has given her a unique insight into what drives people to take action! As a certified trainer with Jack Canfield, an elite coach with the John Maxwell Team, and the author of the Amazon best-seller, “Retire Your Husband”, Denise knows how to tap into a person's ultimate potential to find their greatness. Her newest project is her best work yet, tapping into a combination of cutting-edge neuroscience, Biblical principles, and captivating real-world stories. Her new workbook offers a step-by-step guide to take you from rut to revival. The Dream Life Workbook will be a turning point for all readers.

Links
http://facebook.com/neesiewalsh
http://denisewalsh.com

FREE Gift!! 🎁
Denise got her life on track, when she recognized her purpose in life!!
Feel the clarity and empowerment of knowing your purpose!! 😃
Click below to get your simple and beautiful guide on finding your mission and purpose in life!!

🎁 Click here to claim your FREE Gift!!

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Ep 11 - Need Help with Writing a Book, Copywriting, or Screenwriting? Award-Winning Writer Nitara Osbourne is Here to Help!!

Adrian McMillian — Fri, 03 Nov 2017 21:03:40 +0000

Nitara Osbourne is an award-winning and produced screenwriter, a content writer, and author of the upcoming self-help book Entrepreneurial Artists: Thriving (Not Starving) in the Real World. She's also an award-winning former college professor, who makes it a point to spend a part of each week mentoring and advising upcoming artists. She's been writing professionally for nearly 20 years -- ever since she made the decision in college to be a screenwriter. Her feature-length film "Running On Empty Dreams" has gone on to win three prestigious Telly Awards and to get distribution at a time before that was "easy" to do. Nitara continues to get contracted by producers and clients to write screenplays, while simultaneously making herself available as a content writer for a variety of marketing companies. Her blog -- "The UnCloseted Professor" (http://unclosetedprofessor.com) -- is a professional and personal development blog for entrepreneurial artists who are seeking to make a living through creating their art. Its success is what has inspired the idea for the upcoming self-help book to aid all artists with tangible steps to move forward with their careers.

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Ep 10 - Opera Singer Overcomes Her Fear! - Interview with Simru Gunseli

Adrian McMillian — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 23:43:06 +0000

Now, recognized as an incredibly gifted singer, with an angelic voice, Simru is in demand. And best of all, people are moved, and inspired, when they hear her share her amazing talent!
However, Simru wasn't always embracing her talents. As a matter of fact, for more than 30 years, Simru was trapped by the fear she experienced as a tiny 6-year-old, playing piano, for a panel of harsh judges.

As the many years passed, Simru would enjoy her love of singing at home. But, would become frozen at the thought of singing for an audience.

For all of these years, Simru was convinced, that she was not intended to share her beautiful voice. That she was not capable of performing for an audience, in any capacity (singing or playing piano).

In this episode, you'll learn how Simru broke-free from the fear that used to rule her life!

To learn more about Simru's music school, visit:
http://musicwestlosangeles.com

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Ep 9 - The 7 steps to Resilience: Interview with Retired US Army Lt. Col, Mark Green

Adrian McMillian — Tue, 05 Sep 2017 21:12:57 +0000

Mark Green (retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel) shares his unlikely journey from living with his single mom and five siblings in a log cabin and a series of trailers in rural Missouri to paving roads and living in a gypsy camp in Arkansas to enlisting in the U.S. Army. After being told that he’d never amount to anything and certainly never become an officer, Green used that as fuel. He became a champion Tae Kwon Do athlete of the first inaugural team that got the sport officially recognized by the military and went on to have a 34-year military career. His new mission is to help fellow Veterans and their families with resilience and transition.

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Ep 8 - Set Goals: Design your Life!

Adrian McMillian — Tue, 16 May 2017 23:10:53 +0000

What if you could predict the next five years of your life? What if you could actually design the next five years of your life? What if you could decide; how beautiful your home would be; how incredibly loving your significant-other would be; how much income you would have; how you would vacation in exotic and luxurious locations around the world; and how you would be so well-off, that you’d be able to contribute to causes that are important to you? Wouldn’t that be amazing? Wouldn’t that be fun, to have that amount of control over your life? Listen as I share with you, how so many people have been able to actually design their lives. And, how you can the same strategy to shape your future!

Monty Roberts Story

Growing up, Monty went with his father from stable to stable, farm to farm, and ranch to ranch training horses. Consequently he missed much of his high school education. As a senior he was asked to write a paper on what career he wanted to pursue. That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing in great detail his goal to build and own a dream horse ranch.

The next day he turned his paper in. Two days later he received it back. On the front page was a large red "F" with a note that read, "See me after class." When he saw the teacher, he asked why he was given an "F".

The teacher said, 'This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you'll have to pay large stud fees. There's no way you could ever do it.” Then the teacher added, “If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.'"

Monty went home and asked his father, what he should do. His father answered “I know that this is important for you. So you have to make your own mind on this“.

After thinking about it for a week, he turned the paper back in exactly as he had first written it saying to the teacher, "You can keep the F and I'll keep my dream."

Today, Monty owns a 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of a 200-acre horse ranch in California. He raises and trains thoroughbred racehorses.

He has a best-selling book titled, “The Man Who Listens to Horses”.

And, he was the inspiration for “The Horse Whisperer” with Robert Redford

Oh, and he still has that school paper framed over the fireplace.

Set Goals

Chances are, you’ve heard it many times. You’ve heard the success stories. You know you should do it. And yet, if you’re like most people, you don’t. What am I talking about. As you’ve may have guessed, I’m talking about setting goals.

According to studies, less than 3 percent of Americans have written goals, and less than 1 percent, review their goals on a daily basis.

There are 3 main reasons people don’t set goals:

They just don’t realize the effectiveness of goal setting
Fear of failure (of not reaching the goal)
People simply don’t know how (to set goals)

Let’s break these down.

Effectiveness of Goal Setting

If someone very successful told you, the key to their success was goal setting. Would you believe it? Or, would you prefer to think that person is just lucky? It’s just so hard for some people to believe, that something as simple as goal setting, can make such a difference.

What if I told you, that goal setting, can increase your luck? Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But, it’s true. Because when you focus on your goals, you’ll recognize opportunities that otherwise may be missed. Have you ever been in a social gathering, with many different conversations going-on, and you hear your name mentioned? It could’ve been from a conversation, far across the room, but you heard it! When you’re clear on your goals, opportunities around you, suddenly become obvious. And, you’ll feel compelled to take advantage of those opportunities. And, then you, my friend, will be the person that others talk about, as being the lucky one!

The fact is, focusing on your goals, will help you to consciously, and unconsciously, make progress toward your goals. It truly is a fascinating process. A process that I’ll elaborate on in upcoming episodes on affirmations and visualization.

Fear of Failure

Let’s take a quick look at the 2nd concern, “fear of failure”. The idea that you could “fail” when striving for a particular goal, is simply a perspective. You actually deserve credit for any effort, that you make, toward a goal. The only concept of failure, you should have, is failure to even try. I want to challenge you to think about your goals in this way. When working toward a goal, there simply is no failure. Maybe the goal takes more time than you thought. Maybe the goal takes more research than you originally planned. If so, you can decide to take more time, to reach the goal. Or, to put more effort into reaching the goal. Or, with this additional knowledge, about what is required to reach the goal, you can decide, you’d rather pursue a different goal. Pursuing goals always results in learning and growing! The only fail, is not to try in the first place.

Finally, let’s address the last concern, how to set a goal, in the first place. And, of course, we want to set goals that excite us, and motivate us. So, let’s get to work!

How to Set Goals for Maximum Effectiveness

Alright it’s time to get smart!! Smart is actually an acronym which will help us to set goals for maximum effectiveness.

S = Specific

M = Measurable

A = Attainable

R = Relevant

T = Time-based

Let’s go through each of these...

S = Specific

Vague goals produce vague results. To get what you want out of life, you have to take the time to decide what you really want! When you realize the power of goal setting, this gets really fun!! You realize that you’re basically designing your future!

The key is to decide exactly what you want to achieve, and write it down, or log it in your phone, or computer.

By being specific, on what we want, your subconscious, will bring to your attention the opportunities, people, and resources, that will help you!

Let’s say that I’d like to further develop my presentation skills. Well, instead of stating a goal of “improving my presentation skills”, I want to be more a little more specific, like:

“To give a keynote speech for a company”

M = Measurable

Just as we must know what we want. We also must know how much, to what extent. This drives the necessary changes that must happen to reach the goal.

This could be the amount of money you plan to save, the square footage of your new house, or maybe the number of days that you’d like to vacation each year.

To make my keynote speech goal, more specific, I’ll revise it to say:

“To give a 45-minute keynote speech for a Fortune 100 company”

A = Attainable

Because, I know that goals work, I love setting big goals! Basically, my idea of what is attainable, has grown with years of goal setting.

You too, can set, and achieve, big goals!! However, big goals may feel intimidating to you, if you’re new to goal setting.

Try setting a few small, more attainable, goals at first. As you achieve a few goals, and grow your confidence, your sense of what is attainable will expand!

To make my goal attainable, but still a bit of a stretch, I’ll first target a Fortune 500 Company, and after accomplishing that, I can target a Fortune 100 Company:

“To give a 45-minute keynote speech for a Fortune 500 company”

R = Relevant

In an earlier episode we discussed the importance of Purpose. More specifically identifying your personal Purpose. We then formed a Mission Statement, which is basically a way of summarizing your Purpose. That purpose, is your navigation system. Your overall guiding light.

Does your goal align with your overall Purpose? Does it feel right? If not, perhaps the goal may not be in your best interest. Maybe the goal is not worth pursuing. On the other hand, if the goal feels like something valuable to you, and you really want to pursue it, perhaps your Mission Statement needs to be revised.

To further align my goal with my overall purpose to inspire people to improve their lives, I’ll adjust my goal as follows:

“To give an inspirational and uplifting 45-minute keynote speech for a Fortune 500 company”

T = Time-based

When do you want to have this goal accomplished? Set a date. The date should be far enough out to actually accomplish the goal. However, it should also be close enough, to compel you to take action.

If our subconscious thinks we have an endless amount of time to reach our goal. It’ll be in no rush. But, if we have completion date, our mind can get to work, figuring each step out, to keep us moving forward, on schedule.

To make my goal time-based, I’ll change it as follows:

“To give an inspirational and uplifting keynote speech for a Fortune 500 company by December 31st, 2018.”

So you now have the recipe for setting effective goals.

Questions, Comments, Compliments

I want to remind you, that “The LIfe I Deserve” is here for you! Let me know how I can help you. What topics would you like to hear more about? What goals do you have, for your health, wealth, and happiness? I really want to hear from you!! And, yes, I do mean you! Reach out! Let me know what’s on your mind. Maybe you have an inspirational story, or thought, that you’d like to share. Visit “TheLifeIDeserve.com”. And send me email or voicemail. From the Web Site, click on the “Contact” tab. You’ll see a button, there, that will allow you to record voicemail. Or, if you’d rather leave email, just fill-in the form, just below the voicemail button.

Set Some SMART Goals

I’d like to challenge you to set at least 3 goals for yourself. To help get you started, I’m going to breakdown some areas that you can focus on. As, I read each area, I want you to think about where your life stands, in that particular area. And, any changes that you’d like to achieve in that area. This is a great starting point, in deciding which goals to pursue.

Categories for Setting Goals

Business (Career / Ventures)

This could involve a significant promotion where you currently work.
This could involve starting your own business.

Financial (Savings / Investments / Income)

How much would you like to have saved?
Maybe you’re interested in Real Estate investing?

Relationships (Family / Friends / Peers)

Would you like to spend more time with family?
Would you like to improve the quality of your friendships?

Health (Spiritual / Mental / Physical)

Are you interested to attend a yoga retreat?
Maybe you want to trim-up and gain more muscle?

Recreation (Relaxation / Fun Activities / Travel)

Maybe you need to schedule some time to rest, or do some reading.
Have you always thought going to an exotic country?

Personal (Education / Development / Experiences)

Is there a course that you always wanted to take?
Or, maybe you want to take up a new hobby, like photography.

Contribution (Philanthropy / Volunteer Work)

Is there a cause that you’re passionate about?
Or maybe you want to help beautify your neighborhood or community.

I’d like to encourage you to set at least 3 goals. In a future episode we’ll learn how to turn your goals into affirmations, and visualizations. Affirmations and visualizations will make your dreams literally come alive!!

Trivia

In my last show, the trivia question was:

Which successful person in history, was quoted as saying the following:

“If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.”

And the winning answer:

...was submitted by Christopher Wyndham, who correctly guessed “Thomas Edison”!! Congratulations, Christopher!!

Today’s trivia question:

Speaking of Thomas Edison, in his 84 years of living, Thomas Edison created many remarkable inventions, including the phonograph, the light bulb, and one of the earliest motion picture cameras. What was the total number of patents that Thomas Edison acquired in his lifetime?

Send your answer from the Web Site, “TheLifeIDeserve.com”. From the Web Site, you can leave voicemail or email. Just click on the “Contact” tab.

Again, today’s trivia question:

What was the total number of patents acquired by Thomas Edison?

Go to “TheLifeIDeserve.com”, to submit your answer.

The winner will receive a complimentary ticket to the my next, Success Principles Workshop, in Marina del Rey, California. You can visit TheLifeIDeserve.com/workshop for more information.

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible to the visible.”

-Anthony Robbins

Salutation

Well, that’s going to do it, for today’s show. I hope you found this episode valuable! My mission, is to use my love and creativity, to inspire and empower, those that I encounter, to live full and meaningful lives, by sharing lessons learned, tools for self improvement, and life-changing perspectives. Subscribe to the Podcast, so we can take this journey together. As I mentioned earlier, I strongly encourage you to create some goals. Not just any goals, but SMART goals! And share them, with me, or a supportive friend or family member! :-)

Thanks again, for listening to the “The Life I Deserve”. This Podcast was designed for you! Designed to enhance your health, grow your wealth, and fill your life, with happiness!! Visit “TheLifeIDeserve.com”, and send me voicemail, or email. Let me know something about you. What inspires you? How I can help you? Do you have a suggestion for the show? Let me know. And, if you just happen to love the show, please post a review on iTunes! :-)

Thanks, again! Love you all!! Until next time… goodbye.

Ep 7 - What Do You Want?: Seriously, What Do You Really Want?

Adrian McMillian — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 20:03:11 +0000

Most of us would like our lives to be different in one way or another. And, while many of us feel this way, very few of us actually know in detail how we would like our life to be different. Why is this? Have you decided exactly what you want out of life? Listen, as we explore the first part of goal setting, simply identifying what you want out of life!

“If you're bored with life - you don't get up every morning with a burning desire to do things - you don't have enough goals.” —Lou Holtz

It's time to decide what you want to do, be, and have. What do you want to accomplish? What do you want to experience? And what possessions do you want to acquire? In the journey from where you are to where you want to be, you have to decide where you want to be. In other words, what does success look like to you?

Questions, Comments, Compliments

I want to remind you, that “The LIfe I Deserve” is here for you! Let me know how I can help you. What topics would you like to hear more about? I really do want to hear from you!! Reach out! Visit “TheLifeIDeserve.com”. And send me email or voicemail. From the Web Site, click on the “Contact” tab. You’ll see a button, there, that will allow you to record voicemail. Or, if you’d rather leave email, just fill-in the form, just below the voicemail button.

The Real You

Inside of each of us is that tiny seed of the real “you”. The you, that you were meant to become. Unfortunately, you may have buried the real you, in response to your parents, teachers, coaches, and other incidental role models as you were growing up.

You started out as a baby knowing exactly what you wanted. You knew when you were hungry. You spit out the foods you didn’t like and avidly devoured the ones you did. You had no trouble expressing your needs and wants. You simply cried loudly— with no inhibitions or holding back—until you got what you wanted. You had everything inside of you that you needed to get fed, changed, and held. As you got older, you crawled around and moved toward whatever held the most interest for you. You were clear about what you wanted, and you headed straight toward it with no fear.

So what happened? Somewhere along the way, someone said...
- ‘Don’t touch that!’
- ‘Keep your hands to yourself.’
- ‘Eat everything on your plate whether you like it or not!’
- ‘You don’t really feel that way.’
- ‘You don’t really want that.’
- ‘You should be ashamed of yourself.’
- ‘Stop crying. Don’t be such a baby.’

Then, later, as you got older, you heard...
- ‘You can’t have everything you want simply because you want it.’
- ‘Money doesn’t grow on trees.’
- ‘Stop being so selfish!’
- ‘Stop doing what you’re doing and come do what I want you to do!’

The lesson here is, DON’T LIVE SOMEONE ELSE’S DREAMS.

After many years of these kinds of sanctions, most of us eventually lost touch with the needs of our bodies, and the desires of our hearts, and somehow got stuck trying to figure out what other people wanted us to do.

We learned how to act and how to be to get other people’s approval. As a result, we now do a lot of things we don’t want to do. We do many things to please a lot of other people:
- We go to medical school because that is what Dad wanted for us.
- We get married to please our mother.
- We get a “real job” instead of pursuing our dream career in the arts.
- We go straight into graduate school instead of taking a year off and backpacking through Europe.

In the name of being sensible, we end up becoming numb to our own desires. It’s no wonder that when we ask many teenagers what they want to do or be, they honestly answer, “I don’t know.” There are too many layers of “should’s,” “ought to’s,” and “you’d better’s” piled on top of and suffocating what they really want.

So how do you reclaim yourself and your true desires? How do you get back to what you really want with no fear, shame, or inhibition? How do you reconnect with your real passion?

You start on the smallest level by honoring your preferences in every situation—no matter how large or small. Don’t think of them as petty. They might be inconsequential to someone else, but they are not to you.

The solution is to STOP SETTLING FOR LESS THAN YOU WANT.

If you are going to reclaim your power and get what you really want out of life, you will have to stop saying, ‘I don’t know; I don’t care; OR it doesn’t matter to me.’

When you’re confronted with a choice, no matter how small or insignificant, act as if you have a preference. Ask yourself, If I did know, what would it be? If I did care, which would I prefer? If it did matter, what would I rather do?

Not being clear about what you want and making other people’s needs and desires more important than your own is simply a habit. You can break it by practicing the opposite habit.

Be Decisive

One of the characteristics of successful people, is given the choice between different options, they have the capacity to make decisions quickly. This is important. It will allow you to decide and move-on to the next task in front of you.

I’ve been asked several times, how to be more decisive. When given a choice, how can I make a decision quicker? Well, the answer is more simple than you may have thought.

You see, when you’re faced with a choice, the decision falls into 1 of 2 categories. You either need more information, about the options, to make an informed decision. Or, you have all of the necessary information, and the differences, between the options, are negligent. If this is the case, just trust your instinct, make a choice, and move-on. But, if you don’t have all of the information, get more information, and then make a decision.

For example, I invest in residential real estate. If I was trying to decide between buying a new rental property in Neighborhood A, vs neighborhood B, I might not be able to decide because I need more information. So, I’ll do more research. Based on my research, I may find out that neighborhood A has better schools, and I may find out that neighborhood B, has a park and a community center. At some point, I’ll feel like I have all the necessary information, to make a decision. Given all the information, it’s decision time. Whether the choice clearly stand-out, or I have to trust my intuition. Successful people learn to trust their intuition. This is sometimes what they must use, to make decisions, and move-on to the next task at hand..

Exercise - “I Want…”

One of the easiest ways to stop settling, and begin clarifying what you truly want is to make a list of 30 things you want to do, 30 things you want to have, and 30 things you want to be before you die. This is a great way to get the ball-rolling.

Another powerful technique to unearth your wants is to ask a partner or friend to help you uncover what you really want out of life.

I sometimes use the following technique in my workshops.

I have people get into pairs. To start, one person will ask “What do you want?”, and the other person answers with whatever comes to mind. The person asking, will ask again, “what do you want”, and other person will answer again. This will continue for several iterations.

You’ll find the first wants aren’t all that profound. In fact, most people usually hear themselves saying, “I want a Mercedes. I want a big house on the ocean.” And so on. However, by the end of the exercise, the real “you”, begins to speak: “I want control of my life. I want people to love me. I want to be able to express myself. I want to make a difference.” ... wants that are more true expressions of your core values.

This is a great exercise, because it not only uncovers some basic items that you want, but it also helps to uncover what’s really meaningful to you, which can be used as your fuel, your motivation, to achieve your goals.

Personal Story

My first goals list was basically just a list of things/changes that I wanted in my life. I created it when I was 18 years old, living at home, in a small town in Texas, working in the library at a local Community College. My list included things like:
- Live somewhere with a sunny and comfortable climate
- Be able to travel to interesting places
- Have a new car
- Be able to buy all the clothes that I wanted
And many other items. Probably, about 20 items in total.

At the time I created the list, I didn’t really know anything about goal setting. I just made a list of changes that I wanted in my life.

About 10 years later, I moved to California. And, on my first trip home, my Mom, told me she found some old things of mine. She handed me a box. I looked in the box, and re-discovered the list that I had made 10 years earlier. Almost, every item on that list had come true.

This was just a list of items. The items had no particular format or structure. I created the list, and never looked at it again. And most of the changes still happened. What if I kept that list where I could see it daily, keeping those goals fresh in my mind? Perhaps they would have happened sooner. Perhaps every goal would’ve been met.

I remember getting chills, as I read through earth item. To recognize that so many of my accomplishments were written down years earlier, felt magical.

Lou Holtz Story

Lou Holtz, the legendary football coach of Notre Dame, is also a legendary goal setter. His belief in goal setting comes from a lesson he learned in 1966 when he was only 28 years old, and had just been hired as an assistant coach at the University of South Carolina. His wife, Beth, was eight months pregnant with their third child and Lou had spent every dollar he had on a down payment on a house. One month later, the head coach who had hired Lou resigned, and Lou found himself without a job.

In an attempt to lift Lou’s spirits, his wife gave him a book, The Magic of Thinking Big by David

Schwartz. The book said you should write down all the goals you want to achieve in your life. Lou sat down at the dining room table, turned his imagination loose, and before he knew it, he had listed over 100 goals that he wanted to achieve before he died. Big goals like having dinner at the White House with the President, appearing on the Tonight Show, meeting the Pope. Lou couldn’t wait to show his wife his extraordinary list of goals! He watched for her excitement, as she read each goal! Lou’s wife was impressed. She said that's amazing, honey. But I need you to write down just one more goal. Go ahead and get your pen ready. Okay write this down “get a job”.

Lou set a total of 107 goals! At last count, he had achieved 102 of his original 107 goals, which included coaching at Notre Dame, leading his team to a national championship, and shooting a hole-in-one, not just once, but twice!!

Lou even accomplished a goal of landing a jet on an aircraft carrier, because, while coaching at Notre Dame, Lou posted his list of goals near his office. This allowed the players to not only support Lou, on the achievement of his goals, but help him as well. For example, one of Notre Dame’s former players called Lou, and said, “hey remember that goal you had for landing a jet on an aircraft carrier, well I’m now a pilot, and I can help you to achieve that”.

Next Episode - SMART Goals

Be sure to subscribe to the Podcast, so you can catch my next episode, where we’ll turn your “I Want” list into true goals. I’ll explain the optimal structure for setting your goals, so they have the highest possibility of becoming a reality.

Trivia

Last show’s question:

In what year was Liz Lira a choreographer on “Dancing with the Stars”, for Nicole Scherzinger and Derek Hough?

And the winning answer…

...was submitted by Tracy Overton, who correctly guessed “the year 2010”!! Congratulations, Tracy!!

Today’s trivia question:

Which successful person in history, was quoted as saying the following:
“If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.”

Send your answer from the Web Site, “TheLifeIDeserve.com”. From the Web Site, you can leave voicemail or email. Just click on the “Contact” tab.

Again, which successful person in history, was quoted as saying the following:
“If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.”

Go to “TheLifeIDeserve.com”, to submit your answer.

The winner will receive a complimentary ticket to the my next, Success Principles Workshop, in Marina del Rey, California. You can visit TheLifeIDeserve.com/workshop for more information.

Salutation

Well, that’s going to do it, for today’s show. I hope you found this episode valuable! My mission, is to use my love and creativity, to inspire and empower, those that I encounter, to live full and meaningful lives, by sharing lessons learned, tools for self improvement, and life-changing perspectives. Subscribe to the Podcast, so we can take this journey together. I want to challenge you to create your “I Want” list!! And share it with a supportive friend! Or me! I would love to check-it-out! :-)

Thanks, again! Love you all!! Until next time… goodbye.

Ep 6 - Excel!: Interview with World Champion Salsa Dancer Liz Lira

Adrian McMillian — Sun, 12 Feb 2017 20:47:42 +0000

In my last episode, I talked about the importance of identifying your purpose. And how your purpose should support your passions in life. Live that purpose, and follow those passions, and you’ll realize a whole new level of living! A level filled with excitement and joy! My guest today is a prime example of a person living their purpose! Listen as I interview World Champion Salsa Dancer, Instructor, and Choreographer, Liz Lira. She is arguably the most accomplished woman in the world of salsa dancing. Besides her many accomplishments, including 25 World Champion Titles, she is a beautiful person, with a kind heart. And, I’m proud to say she also a dear friend of mine.

Intro

Life is full of adversity. Some people use challenging times as an excuse for living sub-par life. Other people use their struggles, as fuel for their future! They find ways to extract lessons from those challenges. And they grow and learn from their experiences.

Here’s an interesting fact, did you know that originally golf balls were smooth? Golfers discovered that the balls flew further and straighter, after receiving a few nicks and dents. So, today golf balls are manufactured with the dimples.

Well, it's the same with people. Through life we sometimes get knocked around a little. We hit bumps on the way. And, we get a few nicks and dents. With the right mindset, we realize this makes us stronger and more resilient!

Workshop

Jack Canfield, best-selling author, has taught me the tools, perspectives, and attitudes, that have allowed me to transform my life. And I'm now working directly with Jack, to learn how to teach others, how to find their true happiness!

On Saturday, March 4th, in Marina del Rey, California, I’m hosting an exciting, and value-packed workshop, in which I will share what I've learned, and we learn more together! Join me for this fun, festive, insightful event, which will include proven techniques, and practices, that have propelled so many people to great success, and the accomplishment of their dreams!

You'll learn how to identify and define, your mission in life! You'll learn how to create goals that align with your mission! You'll learn how to manifest those goals, in a way that will clarify the actions necessary to reach those goals! You'll learn how to tackle the roadblocks standing in your way! I’m so excited about my Workshops! I’ve actually blended my favorite things, valuable lessons, inspirational stories, eye-opening exercises, meeting great people, and dancing, into one amazing event!! And yes, I did say dancing! Don’t know how to dance? No problem. No experience necessary. Be prepared to learn, grow, and have a great time!!

Just visit http://TheLifeIDeserve.com/workshop for more information!

Seating is limited, so reserve your spot today, so we can learn, laugh, and celebrate together!! :-)

Salsa Dancing

What we now know as Salsa dancing, was born in Cuba in the 1920’s. The festive dance grew in popularity. However, the Salsa Dancing that is most popular today, was heavily influenced by Puerto Ricans living in New York, in the 1970’s. The Puerto Ricans added their own flare, accent, and styling to the dance. Travel the world and you can still find many different flavors of Salsa dancing, each beautiful and artistic, in their own way.

Step into the world of Salsa Performances, and you’ll find amazing athletes, performing breathtaking maneuvers, at lightning speed. It’s truly a mesmerizing world!

And when it comes this fascinating world of Salsa Performances, there's one name you will definitely get to know. And never forget. That name is Liz Lira. Liz is accomplished, beautiful, and has a heart of gold!

Considered the “Rose of Salsa”, Liz has won 25 World Champion Titles!
She is the 2015 Grand Prix International Latin Champion!
She’s been a “So You Think You Can Dance” Choreographer.
She’s choreographed for “Dancing with the Stars”.
She’s the Founder and Director of Liz Lira Dance Academy.
She’s been a Latin Grammy's Featured Artist.
She’s the founder of Liz Lira Global Foundation.
The founder of Liz Lira Dance Shoes.
And, Liz has won the Image Award for "Recognition for on-going commitment to International and local youth".
Plus many more accolades.

Liz Lira Interview

For interview, please listen to the Podcast Episode.

You Can Work with Liz!

Liz is amazingly talented, creative, fun, and gracious! I know, because I’ve worked with Liz for years. She’s taken my Salsa dancing to whole new level! And she can do the same for you! If you’re interested in working with Liz, go to LizLira.com. There you can find more information about Liz and the Liz Lira Dance Academy.

My First Salsa Experience

My first trip to a Salsa club, was when I decided to celebrate my birthday at the original Conga Room in Los Angeles. At this point, I really didn’t know anything about Salsa dancing. My friends and I had some drinks and pretended to be Salsa dancing. It was fun. And, after goofing around for a while, we looked out into the sea of dancers. I don’t know what my friends saw. But, what I saw was something amazing! I saw beautiful, artistic movements. I saw intricate wraps, and twists, and contortions. Endless spins. And happy, happy, happy people!! And all of the beauty was in rhythm to the hypnotic congas, the smooth bass, and the blasting horns. I was captivated!! And I’ve been captivated ever since. The more I learn, the more I dance, the more I fall in love with the flavor and excitement of Salsa Dancing!

Try Salsa Dancing!

If you’re looking for a fun new hobby. A hobby that will provide you with exercise, excitement, and new friends, try Salsa Dancing! I taught Salsa Dancing for a couple of years. And, the most rewarding part was knowing that I was showing this amazing world to someone. The amazing world of Salsa Dancing would be a thrill for anyone! Especially someone who might really need to find a new social outlet. Or, an outlet at all. I met so many people who were timid in social situations. Felt awkward to be around many people. But, when they found Salsa, they came alive!! I live for the those moments!! It’s the most rewarding thing to know that you helped someone find a world they truly enjoy!!

If you’ve never Salsa Danced, and the thought of it, sounds interesting to you, look for a class near you. And, go! Check it out! Trying anything for the first time can feel awkward and scary. However, it’s in trying new things, that we grow and feel alive! So, try Salsa!! And, please share your experiences with me!

Trivia

Last show’s question:
What famous person, does the following Mission Statement belong to?
“To inspire and empower people and organizations to achieve their highest vision in a context of love and joy.”

And the winning answer…
...was submitted by Caleb Carrington, who correctly guessed “Jack Canfield”!! Congratulations, Caleb!!

Today’s trivia question:
In what year was Liz Lira a choreographer on “Dancing with the Stars”, for Nicole Scherzinger and Derek Hough?

Send your answer from the Web Site, “TheLifeIDeserve.com”. From the Web Site, you can leave voicemail or email. Just click on the “Contact” tab.

Again, in what year was Liz Lira a choreographer on “Dancing with the Stars”, for Nicole Scherzinger and Derek Hough?

Go to “TheLifeIDeserve.com”, to submit your answer.

The winner will receive a complimentary ticket to The Life I Deserve, Success Principles Workshop, in Marina del Rey, California, on Saturday, March 4th. You can visit TheLifeIDeserve.com/workshop for more information.

Questions, Comments, Compliments

Well, that’s going to do it, for today’s show. I hope you found this episode valuable! My mission, is to use my love and creativity, to inspire and empower, those that I encounter, to live full and meaningful lives, by sharing lessons learned, tools for self improvement, and life-changing perspectives. Subscribe to the Podcast, so we can take this journey together. And, if this episode piqued your interest in Salsa Dancing, try it! And, let me know how it goes! :-)

Thanks, again! Love you all!! Until next time… goodbye.

Ep 5 - Your Purpose: You’re Here for a Reason!

Adrian McMillian — Sun, 15 Jan 2017 06:42:27 +0000

Do you continuously struggle to find your path in life? Do you feel anxiety when making significant decisions? Wouldn’t it be amazing, if all of your choices, we’re easier to make? If you had clarity on which commitments, which paths, would be best for you? Wouldn’t it be amazing if life seemed to fall into place? What if I told you, that you could have this clarity? Listen, as I share with you, the steps to identify, and put to use, your Life Purpose, which will provide you with direction, and guidance, as you navigate this amazing adventure of life!!

We’re each born with a life purpose. Identifying, acknowledging, and honoring, your purpose, is perhaps the most important step that successful people take. They take the time to understand what they’re here to do. Then they pursue that purpose with passion and enthusiasm.

What were you put on this earth to do? In working with Jack Canfield, I’ve discovered my meaning, my true purpose in life. I’ve discovered how to inject purpose and passion in every activity I undertake. And, I’ve discovered how purpose can make everything more fun and more fulfilling.

I want you to experience the power of this inner guidance system. I want you to have this clarity in your life. I want you to see how the proper paths, and decisions, become obvious, when your purpose is clear.

March 4th Workshop

You'll learn how to identify and define, your mission in life! You'll learn how to create goals that align with your mission! You'll learn how to manifest those goals, in a way that will clarify the actions necessary to reach those goals! You'll learn how to tackle the roadblocks standing in your way! And you'll have a great time in the process! Be prepared to learn, grow, and dance your butt off!! Yes, there will be dancing! Don’t know how to dance, no problem! No experience necessary. So reserve your spot today, so we can learn, laugh, and celebrate together!! :-)

Just visit TheLifeIDeserve.com/workshop for more information!

Seating is limited, so reserve your spot today!!

The Power of Purpose

Without a purpose in life, it’s easy to get side-tracked on your life’s journey. It’s easy to wander and drift. But, with a purpose, everything seems to fall in place. To be on purpose, means you’re doing what you love to do, doing what you’re good at, and accomplishing what's most important to you. When you are truly on purpose, the people, resources, and opportunities, you need, will naturally gravitate toward you. The world benefits too. Because you act in alignment with your true purpose. All of your actions will serve others.

Life Purpose Statements

A Life Purpose Statement, also known as a Mission Statement, is a concise description, of your life’s purpose.

For example, here’s mine:
My mission is to use my love and creativity, to inspire and empower, those that I encounter, to live full and meaningful lives, by sharing lessons learned, tools for self-improvement, and life-changing perspectives.

I do this by working directly with Jack Canfield, and other inspirational leaders, to continually learn and refine, my skills and abilities. Which, in turn, enables me to have a powerful, positive, impact on people, through my podcast, workshops, and coaching.

Here are a few Life Purpose statements, of a few people who have become self-made millionaires, through fulfillment of their life purpose.

To inspire and empower people to achieve their destiny.
- Robert Allen (Co-author of the One Minute Millionaire)

To uplift humanity’s consciousness through business.
- DC Cordova (Co-founder of the Accelerated Business School)

To use my gifts of intelligence, charisma, and serial optimism to cultivate the self-worth and net-worth of women around the world.
- Amanda Steinberg (Founder of DailyWorth.com)

To be a teacher. And to be known for inspiring my students to be more than they thought they could be.
- Oprah Winfrey (Founder of OWN, The Oprah Winfrey Network)

Once you know your life purpose you can organize all of your activities around it. Everything you do should be an expression of your purpose. If an activity doesn’t align with your life purpose, you wouldn’t work on it. Period.

What’s the Why Behind Everything You Do?

Without purpose as the compass to guide you. Your goals and action plan, may not ultimately fulfill you. You don’t want to climb the ladder, only to find you had it leaning against the wrong wall.

Your Inner Guidance System is Your Joy

It is the soul’s duty to be loyal to its own desires. It must abandon itself to its master, passion.
Dame Rebecca West (Best Selling Author)

You were born with an inner guidance system, that tells you know when you are on, or off, purpose, by the amount of joy, you are experiencing. The things that bring you the greatest joy, are in alignment with your purpose

Here’s an exercise to help you to hone in on your purpose:

Make a list of the times that you felt the most joyful and alive. What are the common elements of these experiences? Can you find a way to make a living doing these things?

So, I went through this process. When did I feel the most alive?

Well, a few of those times were during dance performances (Hip Hop years ago, then Hustle, and more recently Salsa performances). Teaching dance to people. Especially, people who were new to dance, because I felt like I was helping them to discover a new social outlet!
Other times I felt alive, were times when I did some public speaking. Although, I may have been nervous beforehand, it always felt good to be in front of people, sharing an interesting story or perspective.

My conclusion, my mission is to be an inspirational, transformational leader! My purpose is to help people to learn, grow, and feel amazing about themselves!! What I’m doing right now, and in my workshops, and in my coaching, is what I am here to do!!! :-)

Pat Williams

Pat Williams is the senior vice president of the NBA’s Orlando Magic Basketball Team. He’s also written more than 70 books, and he is a professional speaker. When interviewed about what he considers to be the greatest secret of success, Pat replied, “figure out what you love to do, as young as you can, and then organize your life, figuring-out how to make a living at it”. For young Pat, it was sports, more specifically baseball. When his father took him to his first baseball game in Philadelphia, he fell in love with the game. He learned to read, by reading the sports section of the New York Times. He knew he wanted to have a career in sports when he grew-up. He devoted almost every waking moment to it. He collected baseball cards, played sports, and wrote a sports column for his school newspaper. Pat went on to have a career in the front office of the Philadelphia Phillies Baseball Team. Then he went on, to Philadelphia 76er’s Basketball Team. When the NBA considered granting an expansion team franchise to Orlando, Pat was there to lead the fight. Pat has enjoyed 50+ years doing what he loves. Once you’re clear about what brings you the most joy, you will have a major insight into your life purpose.

Now, I’d like to introduce you to a simple, yet powerful way to create a statement summarizing your Life Purpose.

The Life Purpose Exercise

There are many ways to approach defining your Purpose. This process, recommended by Jack Canfield, was actually originated by Arnold M. Patent, spiritual coach and author of “You Can Have it All”. His most recent book is titled “The Journey”.

List 2 of your unique personal qualities, such as “enthusiasm and creativity”
List 1 or 2 ways, you enjoy expressing those qualities, when interacting with others, such as “to support” and “to inspire”.
Assume the world is perfect right now. What does this world look like? How is everyone interacting with everyone else? What does it feel like? Write your response in the present tense. Describe the perfect world as you see it, and feel it. Remember, the perfect world is a fun place to be. For example, “everyone is freely expressing their own unique talents” or “everyone is working in harmony”, or “everyone is expressing love”.
Combine the results from the previous 3 steps into a single statement, for example, “My purpose is to use my creativity and enthusiasm, to support and inspire others to freely express themselves, in a loving and harmonious way”.

Here are some examples, from some of my coaching clients, and some of Jack Canfield’s coaching clients:

To use my humor, creativity and knowledge to inspire, uplift and empower people in recovery to stay sober.
- Recovery Coach and Author

To inspire and empower small business owners to systemize for easier revenue generation.
- Small Business Consultant and Author

To inspire people to have faith in themselves, and believe in their natural genius.
- Educator

To use my love and nurturing, to raise healthy prosperous children, who make a difference in the world.
- Full-time Homemaker

To create a world in which people are living ecologically sustainable, and spiritually fulfilling lives.
- Environmentalist and Social Activist

My Story

I’d like to share with you, that I was not always clear on my Life Purpose. I’ve always known that I’ve enjoyed dance, and I enjoy inspiring and motivating people. But, there were several thoughts that prevented me from acknowledging this.

“Work should be work”. In other words, work should be hard, and treacherous. For some reason, I used to believe that work could not be completely enjoyable. I think this thought was a result of my environment. When I was young, being raised in a small Texas town, I didn’t see many people excited and passionate about their career. In the area that I grew up in, it seemed that most people were just doing a job to pay bills. I now know, that life is full of choices! And, that we can all live abundantly while pursuing our passions.

The second thought pattern that I heard people express, years ago, in this small Texas town, was if you do what you love, as a profession, you will burn-out, on what you love. Maybe. Maybe not. You may continue to find joy in pursuing your passion. And, if your passion changes, make the necessary adjustments. After all, what’s the alternative, to pursue work that you actually don’t enjoy? Uh, not me. I know that I have so much more energy, to get things done, and more creativity, to solve problems, when I pursue work that I love. And, if I stop loving it so much, I start studying something new. Years ago, while working in technology, I became bored with the projects that I was working on. I decided to study a new, dynamic, engaging technology. I was so excited about it, that I would sometimes wake-up in the middle of the night to read more about it. At that time, I had no use for this technology at my job. However, I built Applications to demonstrate what could be done with this new technology. I organized presentations to present my creations. I invited people from many different departments. Not knowing if they would show-up. But, they did. At one point, my supervisor advised me to drop my endeavors. He commented that while we (the company) are cutting-edge, we’re not bleeding edge. I continued with my efforts. A little more quietly, but I knew I was onto to something big. So, I continued. It wasn’t long before a re-organization of the company took place, and I no longer had to report to my overly cautious supervisor. And, it wasn’t long after that, that I used my new skills to build a revolutionary 30-foot wide interactive video wall. A wall that several other technologists told me could not be built. A wall that earned me a patent, because it was a first of it’s kind. A wall used by Steven Spielberg, Roland Emmerich, Brad Pitt, Will Smith, and many other icons in the Movie Industry. A wall that other Motion Pictures companies wanted, even offered a million dollars for. And, at this point, where was my ex-supervisor, at another company, calling me to see if I would grant him and his company a demonstration.

I spent a great amount of time studying the new technology, and putting it into practice. I did this with the optimistic spirit of knowing it would somehow shape my career, and take it in the direction that I wanted it to go. Even years later, when all development, was outsourced (all Developers were let go), they couldn’t let the creator of their magnificent video wall go, so yours truly was promoted into Management.

For one reason or another, many of us, create excuses for not following, what we’re truly passionate about. I’m living proof that following your passion pays off!! I challenge you to let go of your limiting beliefs, identify your passion, and let your passion guide your life.

Trivia

Last show’s question:

Years ago, a woman, sold books door-to-door while her husband served in the military. When her husband returned from duty, the couple divorced. The woman was left with three children, at a time when divorce wasn’t acceptable. The woman was frustrated when passed over for a promotion because of her gender. So, she and her second husband planned a business. One month prior to launch her husband died. With a $5,000 investment from her oldest son, this woman launched a cosmetics business. Despite these challenges, the woman’s company reported a 2014 revenue as over $3.5 billion. Who was this woman?

And the winning answer…

...was submitted by Caleb Carrington, who correctly guessed “Mary Kay Ash, the founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics”!! Congratulations, Caleb!!

Today’s trivia question:

What famous person, does the following Mission Statement belong to?
“To inspire and empower people and organizations to achieve their highest vision in a context of love and joy.”

Send your answer from the Web Site, TheLifeIDeserve.com. From the Web Site, you can leave voicemail or email. Just click on the “Contact” tab.

To summarize today’s trivia question:

What famous person, does the following Mission Statement belong to?
“To inspire and empower people and organizations to achieve their highest vision in a context of love and joy.”

Go to TheLifeIDeserve.com, to submit your answer.

The winner will receive 2 complimentary tickets to The Life I Deserve, 3-Hour Workshop, in Marina del Rey, California, on March 4th. You can TheLifeIDeserve.com/workshop for more information.

Questions, Comments, Compliments

I want to remind you, that “The LIfe I Deserve” is here for you! Let me know how I can help you. What topics would you like to hear more about? What goals do you have, for your health, wealth, and happiness? Reach out to me! Visit TheLifeIDeserve.com. And send me email or voicemail. From the Web Site, click on the “Contact” tab. You’ll see a button, there, that will allow you to record voicemail. Or, if you’d rather leave email, just fill-in the form, just below the voicemail button.

I really want to hear from you!! And, yes, I do mean you! Reach out! Let me know what’s on your mind. Maybe you have an inspirational story, or thought, that you’d like to share. Just go to TheLifeIDeserve.com, and then click on the Contact tab.

Well, that’s going to do it, for today’s show. I hope you found this episode valuable! Like I mentioned earlier, my mission is to use my love and creativity, to inspire and empower, those that I encounter, to live full and meaningful lives, by sharing lessons learned, tools for self-improvement, and life-changing perspectives. Subscribe to the Podcast, so we can take this journey together. If you have your Mission Statement defined, please send it to me. I would love to read it! And, if you don’t have one yet, take a moment, create one, and let it guide your future! :-)

Thanks again, for listening to the “The Life I Deserve”. This Podcast was designed for you! Designed to enhance your health, grow your wealth, and fill your life, with happiness!! Visit TheLifeIDeserve.com, and send me voicemail, or email. Let me know something about you. What inspires you? How can I help you? Do you have a suggestion for the show? Let me know. And, if you just happen to love the show, please post a review on iTunes! :-)

Thanks, again! Love you all!! Until next time… goodbye.

Ep 4 - Own It!: Taking 100% Responsibility For Your Life

Adrian McMillian — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 04:28:46 +0000

Have you ever asked yourself? Where is the Life I Deserve? I’m entitled to it, right? Shouldn’t I have my amazing career by now? Shouldn’t my soul mate be knocking on my door, by now? Shouldn’t I have my perfectly toned, beach body by now? After all, I deserve these things, right? Deserve it, yes! Entitled to it, no! But it can happen! It’s up to you! If you decide to take 100% responsibility for your life!

Most of us, have been conditioned, to blame something outside of ourselves, for the parts of our life we don’t like. We blame our parents, our bosses, our friends, our co-workers, our clients, our spouse, the weather, the economy, our astrological chart, our lack of money—anyone or anything we can place the blame on. It’s easy to blame any of these external factors, for our current state in life. However, there are people, who have encountered similar, even more challenging, circumstances, and despite this, those people, are accomplishing amazing things in their lives. How is this possible? Listen, as I share with you how a perspective can transform your life. The perspective of “Taking 100% Responsibility”.

Workshop

On September 24th, I’m hosting a an exciting, and value-packed workshop, in which I will share what I've learned, and we learn more together! Join me for this fun, festive, insightful event, which will include proven techniques, and practices, that have propelled so many people to great success, and the accomplishment of their dreams!

You'll learn how to identify and define, your mission in life! You'll learn how to create goals that align with your mission! You'll learn how to manifest those goals, in a way that will clarify the actions necessary to reach those goals! You'll learn how to tackle the roadblocks standing in your way! And you'll have a great time in the process! Be prepared to learn, grow, and dance your butt off!! Yes, there will be dancing! Don’t know how to dance, no problem! No experience necessary. So reserve your spot today, so we can learn, laugh, and celebrate together!! :-)

Just visit http://TheLifeIDeserve.com/workshop for more information!

Seating is limited, so reserve your spot today! :-)

We’re not Entitled

One of the greatest myths, that’s pervasive in our culture today, is the idea that we are entitled to a great life. And somehow, someway, someone is responsible for filling our lives with happiness, great career options, a nurturing family, and blissful personal relationships, simply because we exist. The truth is, there is only one person responsible for the quality of your life. And that person is you!

You see, you were the one that decided to study a particular trade. Or, you’re the one that decided not to study. You’re the one that chose to move there. You’re the one that chose to get involved. You’re the one that chose not to get involved. You’re the one that decided to buy it. You’re the one that decided not to pay that bill. You’re the one that decided to have another drink. You’re the one that decided to sleep-in. You’re the one that let the dogs out. (Who let the dogs out music).

Successful People

You see, successful people, take full responsibility for the thoughts they think, the images they visualize, and the actions they take. They don't waste their time and energy blaming and complaining. They evaluate their experiences and decide if they need to change their actions, or not. They face the uncomfortable, and take risks in order to create the life they want to live.

Believe me, I understand that things happen. And, I know that each of us can come up with plenty of excuses for where we are, in life. For example, where we work, or don’t work, the relationships we have, or don’t have, and the state of our health.

2 Ladies Quitting Bank

True story. There were 2 ladies working for a bank.

They were not happy with their jobs. The boss was demanding. Their coworkers were inconsiderate. And the customers were rude.

So, one evening, while sharing their miseries with each other, they decided that they would both quit. And, they decided that they would announce their resignation at the end of the next day.

Well, they were so excited about quitting, they both got to work early. They were the first ones in the office. They both dressed more professionally, than ever before. They were so charged-up, they not only got their not only got their own offices, clean and organized, they also cleaned and organized, much of the other areas of the office. The next person to come through the door, was a older woman who had worked at the bank for sometime. One of the ladies, said “don’t you look beautiful this morning! I had no idea you came in so early. Let me get you a cup of coffee.” Well, the older woman was a bit surprised. She knew this lady well. And she never saw her with such a positive attitude.

Well, the following employees came into the office. And the ladies greeted each one, with the same pleasant demeanor.

The first customer came through the door. And one of the ladies smiled and said “you’re our first customer today, and I can already tell we're going to have a wonderful day, because I’ll bet everyone today is going to be as pleasant, and cheerful as you.” The customer was very grateful to be greeted so kindly. They went on to welcome each customer in the same warm, pleasant manner. And they eagerly, and enthusiastically, made sure that each customer was well taken care of.

Around 4 PM, that day, and one of the ladies said to the other, “are you gonna tell him, or should I”. The other lady, replied “tell him what?”. “You know, tell him that we're quitting our jobs.” The other lady said “quit? The best job I ever had? Are you kidding me?”

So, what are we talking about here? We’re talking about 100% Responsibility for everything in your life. And of course, that includes, your attitude.

What to Do Now?

Are you taking 100% responsibility? Here’s an exercise that can help you to determine how much responsibility you’re accepting for your life. Answer each question as honestly as you can. This exercise is even more powerful, if you can have another person, ask you the questions, and be a witness for your answers, and your current accountability level.

1. What is a difficult or troubling situation in your life?

2. How are you creating it or allowing it to happen?

3. What are you pretending not to know?

4. What is the payoff for keeping it like it is?

5. What would you rather be experiencing?

6. What actions will you take to create that?

7. By when will you take that action?

You have to become leader of your life. Ultimately, you are responsible for your decisions.

In Summary:

Give up all your excuses. They won’t get you anywhere.
If you don’t like the outcome, change the your responses. You are the only constant.
Understand that everything you experience today is the result of your choices you made in the past. Therefore you can make better decisions now!
If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep on getting what you’ve always got. Change your methods to change your results!

Your Challenge to Own It!

I want to empower you! I want you to know that you’re capable of making dramatic improvements in your life. It’s time to adopt a new perspective! It’s time to adopt a new way of reacting to all of the choices in front of you.

You see, you have the ability to direct the course of your life. You have the ability to create a more fulfilling future. You have the tools, the ingenuity, and the skills, to make great decisions!! And, by seeing how you’ve created your current situations in life. You, will be able to see, how you can create an amazing future!

So, let’s do this together! Let’s give up all blaming, complaining, and excuse making. I want to challenge you, to accept 100% responsibility. This may feel uncomfortable, at first. But, trying on new perspectives, and being uncomfortable, is how we grow, and become more. We all have greatness inside! If we challenge ourselves with full responsibility, the creative ideas, perspectives, and solutions, will reveal themselves!

My University Story

Please note, I’m a work in progress. We’re all works in progress. I’m not claiming to have mastered the “100% Responsibility” perspective. However, as I continue to implement this way of thinking, into my life, I’m able to make better decisions for myself, and the people that I care about.

When I was 6 years old, I was playing outside with a friend. And, although I knew better, we were playing near the street. We were actually across the street from my friends house. My friend crossed the street, back to the side where his house was. A car came speeding around the corner. My tiny 6 year old brain, told me I should be on the other side of the street, before the car comes. I started to run across the street. The next thing I remember, I’m in street, and covered in blood, with paramedics surrounding me. The car hit me.

I remember my mom running around the corner. Now, let me ask, who here has children? Can you imagine hearing that your 6 year old was hit by a car? My poor mother was a mess. And, it hurts me to remember how scared she was.

The paramedics, quickly determined that my leg was broken. And they would have to cut my jeans off of my body. This may be TMI, but it’s pretty funny. When I was 6, I couldn't stand to wear underwear. And at 6 years old, I was mortified by the fact that I could be completely naked with all of these people surrounding me. I pleaded for them to not cut my pants off. “just take me home. I’ll lay on the couch until I’m better. Please. I promise.”

When the people around me asked what happened, being terrified that I would get in trouble, I claimed that my friend was chasing me. This was a moment of not only denying that I alone was responsible. This was an absolute lie. And, this was completely unfair to my friend. I’ve never shared this part of the story with anyone before. I wish I could remember my friend’s name, so I could apologize, for blaming him, for my bad judgement. This was truly a moment, of avoiding responsibility.

I spent 3 months in the hospital. And 6 months in a body cast. I had to learn how to walk again, and how to ride a bike again. But, the worst part, is that I was not accountable for actions.

As I went through high school my parents informed me that the car accident, had resulted in an insurance settlement. When I turned 18, I would have access to the money from the settlement. Since, my we didn’t have much money, my parents excitedly told me that this would help me to at least get started, with a college education. Unfortunately, when I turned 18, I completely lacked any budgeting skills, and I didn’t take long before the money was gone. Again, I was not taking responsibility for my life, and for my future.

I worked a few retail jobs after high school. I didn’t see much of a future in these jobs. And, I knew I wanted a career that would be challenging and rewarding. I decided it was time to take 100% responsibility for my future. I got information on how to apply for financial aid for college. I worked to put together all of the necessary paperwork, and submit all the necessary documentation. I applied to colleges, knowing that I now had the financial means to go to college. I was so excited! However, I didn’t realize how much time the process would take. Because, of the timing, I missed the Fall deadlines for all, but 1 college, Sam Houston State University. So, with my Application submitted, I eagerly checked the mail every day, for a response. When I received my application letter, I almost cried. Growing up without much money, I never expected that I would be able to attend a University.

I packed some clothes, and took a bus to Sam Houston State University. When I got there, I still had so much to figure-out. It took me hours of waiting in different lines before I was able to get a dorm room assignment. It was getting dark, and I set out to find my dorm. I felt like I was walking to the next city. My dorm had to be the absolute furthest from the campus.

The room was very basic. Tile floor, brick walls. A single fluorescent light, a bed, covered in plastic. But, no sheets, or comforters, and no pillow.

The next day, I woke up early, to get registered for my class. Another, full day of waiting in lines, figuring out where to go next, and then waiting in another line.

Wanting to get some food to keep in my dorm room, I walked to the nearby grocery store. The grocery store was on the other side of a run-down neighborhood. And on the way back, through the rough neighborhood, I came across a group of about 10 guys. While walking around the group, one of them got in my face, and asked “what did you bring me?”. My heartbeat so hard. What was I going to do. Give up my food. And go home empty handed? I walked around the guy, and proceeded to make my way back to campus. Just a few steps later, I felt a brick fly by my ear. Yes, one of the guys tried to throw a brick at my head. It missed my head by about an inch. My heart beat even harder, as I just kept walking.

To top things off, I found out that the processing of my financial aid, was delayed. It seemed to be perpetually delayed. Every couple of weeks I applied for a deferment of the dorm, food plan, and class charges. My financial aid funding did not come through until 1 week after the semester ended.

Regardless, I accepted 100% responsibility for getting a college education.

100% Responsible for our Accomplishments!

To be successful, we each have to take 100% responsibility for everything that we experience in our lives. This includes the level of our achievements, the results we produce, the quality of our relationships, the state of our health and physical fitness, our finances, and our feelings. As of today, accept that you are responsible for everything in your life!

You will be challenged. Your success is up to you! When you are challenged. Don’t blame. Just learn what you can from the situation, and move on.

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan, considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time, was devastated when he was cut from his high school varsity basketball team sophomore year. Failure only inspired him to work harder.

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs was fired from the company he founded – Apple. He also failed with NeXT computer company and the Lisa computer. When Jobs returned to Apple, he led the business to become the most profitable company in the US.

Walt Disney

No one wanted to hire Walt Disney as an artist. In fact, he couldn’t get hired elsewhere either. So, his brother got him a temporary job. Walt’s first animation studio went bankrupt. He went on to co-found The Walt Disney Company, which had over $40 billion in 2012 revenue.

Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg was rejected both times he applied to attend film school at University of Southern California (USC). That didn’t stop him. Spielberg has grossed $8.5 billion from films he directed. Oh, and after Spielberg became famous, USC awarded him an honorary degree, and Spielberg later became a trustee of the university.

Charles Schultz

Charles Schultz’s drawings were rejected by his high school yearbook. Schultz went on to create Peanuts (featuring Snoopy and Charlie Brown). The cartoon and licensing/product revenue from Peanuts generated over $1 billion a year. The high school eventually put a statue of snoopy in the main office.

The Beatles

The Beatles were rejected by numerous record labels including Decca Records, which said, “guitar groups are on the way out” and “the Beatles have no future in show business.” The Beatles did wind up getting signed by a record label. The Beatles sold more than 177 million albums. And 1.6 billion singles!

All of these people are prime examples of taking the “100% Responsibility” attitude. Success was not handed to any of them. They accepted responsibility about where they were in life, and where they wanted to go.

Trivia

Last show’s question:

When Apple was building a new data center in North Carolina, they paid one elderly couple $1.7 million dollars for 1 acre of land. How much did the couple pay for the land 34 years earlier?

And the winning answer…

...was again, submitted by Andrei Aleksandrov, who correctly guessed “$6,000”!! That’s a $1,694,000 gain. Congratulations, Andrei!!

Today’s trivia question:

Years ago, a woman, sold books door-to-door while her husband served in the military. When her husband returned from duty, the couple divorced. The woman was left with three children, at a time when divorce wasn’t acceptable. The woman was frustrated, when passed over for a promotion because of her gender. So, she and her second husband planned a business. One month prior to launch her husband died. With a $5,000 investment from her oldest son, this woman launched a cosmetics business. Despite these challenges, the woman’s company reported a 2014 revenue as over $3.5 billion. Who was this woman?

Send your answer from the Web Site, “TheLifeIDeserve.com”. From the Web Site, you can leave voicemail or email. Just click on the “Contact” tab.

To summarize today’s trivia question:

Who was the woman this woman, who despite many setbacks, took control over her life, and created a very successful cosmetics business?

Go to “TheLifeIDeserve.com”, to submit your answer.

The winner will receive 2 complimentary tickets to The Life I Deserve 3 Hour Workshop on September 24th. You can visit TheLifeIDeserve.com/workshop for more information.

Questions, Comments, Compliments

I want to remind you, that “The LIfe I Deserve” is here for you! Let me know how I can help you. What topics would you like to hear more about? What goals do you have, for your health, wealth, and happiness? Reach out to me! Visit “TheLifeIDeserve.com”. And send me email or voicemail. From the Web Site, click on the “Contact” tab. You’ll see a button, there, that will allow you to record voicemail. Or, if you’d rather leave email, just fill-in the form, just below the voicemail button.

I really want to hear from you!! And, yes, I do mean you! Reach out! Let me know what’s on your mind. Maybe you have an inspirational story, or thought, that you’d like to share. Just go to “TheLifeIDeserve.com”, and then click on the Contact tab.

Salutation

Well, that’s going to do it, for today’s show. I hope you found this episode valuable! My mission, is to inspire and empower, those that I encounter, to live full and meaningful lives, by sharing lessons learned, tools for self improvement, and life-changing perspectives. Subscribe to the Podcast, so we can take this journey together. I hope today’s show has helped you to see, that you’re in complete control of your life. And, you, can create the future that you desire! :-)

Final Quotes

I’d like to leave you with the following great quotes about taking responsibility for your life:

"You can’t hire other people to do your push-ups for you!"

-Jim Rohn

“We are each responsible for our own life - no other person is, or even could be.”

-Oprah Winfrey

“History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.”

-Winston Churchill

Thanks, again! Love you all!! Until next time… goodbye.

Ep 3 - Creating Wealth with Rental Houses: Interview with Jason Hartman

Adrian McMillian — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 20:11:45 +0000

Having enough money to survive is crucial! Having extra money, is icing on the cake! However, trading time for money, can deteriorate your quality of life. Passive income can allow you to generate money, while relaxing, while on vacation, while spending time with loved ones, or pursuing a hobby. In today’s episode, I’m going to share some information, about my favorite, tool, for passive income, which is rental houses.

Welcome! I’ve accumulated over 2.5 million dollars in investment property. In the interest of helping others improve their lives, I want to share with you, what I’ve learned, and explain how I built a great real estate portfolio, that pays me back, every day.

I’ve spent quite a bit of money, and time, attending courses, and studying material from many well known real estate gurus, including, but not limited to, Robert Kiyosaki, Ron Legrand, Robert Allen, and Bill Bronchick. I’ve learned a great deal along the way. And, I now have a real estate investing strategy, and a process, that works well for me. In the interest of helping you improve your life, in this episode, I’m going to explain my real estate investing strategy, and how my strategy has enhanced my life, with passive income, and how it can do the same for you.

I also, have a great interview lined-up for you today! My guest, Jason Hartman, is a very successful real estate investor. And, he’s created a company, “Platinum Properties Investor Network”, that offers a turnkey approach to real estate investing. His company identifies markets that have all they key factors to support a profitable real estate investment. Due to his success, in real estate investing, Jason has the freedom to enjoy life, and travel, and vacation around the world.

Before we start the interview, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page.

What is passive income?

You can think of passive income, as the opposite of punching a time clock.

In my first few jobs, working retail. I got paid for the hours I was there, and working. Only. Later, I moved into salaried positions, that offered more flexibility, and nice benefits. However, I was still trading my time for money.

Passive income, is income that you can receive while sleeping, while relaxing on a beach, while traveling, while spending time with your family.

Awesome, huh??!!

Before we go any further, I just want to make it clear, that this information is based on my years of research and experience. Please consult with the appropriate tax, legal, or other business professional, for individualized advice.

Okay, so what are some options for passive income?

There are many. I think most areas of passive income, would fall into the following 2 categories:

Investing (basically, buying something and getting returns)

Stocks w dividends, Precious Metals, Real Estate

Intellectual Property (basically, creating something and selling copies)

Book, Music, Movie, Software

Why Rental Houses?

Now let me tell you why I consider real estate, to be the IDEAL investment.

Reasons:

I = Income

The monthly rental payments not only cover the monthly mortgage payment, they also provide income

D = Depreciation

Real Estate is the most tax-favored asset class

The IRS not only allows, but actually requires, that I write-off part of the value of the property every year, reducing my taxable income

E = Equity

The principal is being paid-down every month (not by me, but, by my tenant)

A = Appreciation

With a house in a good area (w successful companies nearby to provide jobs)

The house, over time, appreciates in value

There may be slight dips in the market, but over the long run, history has shown the values to steadily go up

L = Leverage

The bank will lend me 75% (and sometimes more) on my investment properties

Have you ever tried to get a loan to buy stocks, or gold?

When it comes to investing, there are many different types of real estate, that you could choose from. For this podcast, we will focus on residential real estate. I’ve researched commercial opportunities. And, I may eventually venture into commercial real estate. But, for now, we’re talking about residential real estate.

Residential real estate, basically, consists of houses, condos, and multi-family properties (up to 4 units). Multi-family properties over 4 units are considered commercial properties (at least, from a lending point-of-view, they are considered commercial properties).

My favorite is houses. Now, let me be clear, I’m talking about buying houses, and holding onto those houses for rental income. I’m not talking about flipping properties. Flipping properties can also be a great way to make money. However, it is not passive. You have to put in the work, to renovate the property, then sell the property to make money. After the sale, the money stops. In the interest of having an amazing life, I want to help you to create a stream of income, while protecting your valuable time!

Questions, Comments, Compliments

Before we jump into the interview, I want to remind you, that “The LIfe I Deserve” is here for you! Let me know how I can help you. What topics would you like to hear more about? What goals do you have, for your health, wealth, and happiness? Reach out to me! Visit “TheLifeIDeserve.com”. And send me email or voicemail. From the Web Site, click on the “Contact” tab. You’ll see a button, there, that will allow you to record voicemail. Or, if you’d rather leave email, just fill-in the form, just below the voicemail button.

I really want to hear from you!! And, yes, I do mean you! Reach out! Let me know what’s on your mind. Maybe you have an inspirational story, or thought, that you’d like to share. Just go to “TheLifeIDeserve.com”, and then click on the Contact tab.

Stay tuned after the interview, as I share with you how I got started in real estate investing. I’ll also give you some tips to help you get started.

Interview

Jason Hartman has been involved in several thousand real estate transactions, and has owned income properties in 11 states and 17 cities. Through his company, Jason provides real estate investing education, research, and resources.

[Please listen to the audio for the interview. Thank you!]

Podcast Recommendation

I encourage you to check-out Jason’s “Creating Wealth” Podcast. I think you’ll find the knowledge that he shares invaluable to your real estate investing career!!

Jason continually researches housing markets, not only in the US, but occasionally in other countries. He knows what constitutes a great investment.

I’d like to make it clear, that I do not receive any incentive (financial or non-financial), for recommending Jason, or his company. I’m recommending Jason, because he has been very helpful to me, with my real estate investing. And I’m confident that he can help you as well.

And one more thing, about Jason. Jason is not shy about his political opinions. I highly recommend him for his real estate advice. However, I’m not recommending, or endorsing his political opinions. However, regardless, if you agree or disagree with his political opinions, it’s always interesting to hear different perspectives. So, I encourage you to listen, learn, and enjoy!

How I got Started

So, at this point, you may be interested, but wonder how to get started. I think, for most people, the biggest challenge, is getting the money for the down payment, on their first rental property.

To address this concerns, let’s start with this question. How much money do you have saved? Are you saving any money?

Analyze your monthly spending. Where’s your money going? Where can you save money? How can you bring in more money?

When I went through this process, I cut-back on eating-out. I started using coupons at the grocery store. I did everything I could think of to reduce my spending.

And to increase my income, I built web sites. I made several thousands of dollars creating web sites. That actually worked-out very well. I found my clients, almost accidentally. I never looked for clients. I’ve always enjoyed great design! And I think I may have mentioned, while in conversations with people, how I like to create beautiful web sites. And that may have generated the business. I never looked for a web site design client. As a matter of fact, I had to turn some business down. Another great reason, to pursue work that you love!

So, the combination of cutting-back on spending, and generating more income, provided me with the down payment for my first property.

Actually, I remember getting the instructions for sending the down payment. It was actually a few thousand more dollars than I anticipated. I remember getting a sick feeling in my stomach, and having a rush of negative self-talk, fill my head, “did you really think you could buy a place in Santa Monica?” “What were you thinking?” “You don’t have the money for this?”. I then recalled lessons that I learned from Jack Canfield. We have to replace the negative thoughts, with positive thoughts. If we can dream it, we can achieve it! I thought to myself, “I can do this. I will do this. I am doing this.”. I then remembered, hearing that you could borrow money from your 401k for a 1st time home purchase. I went to my local fund manager’s office. I informed the fund representative that I wanted to borrow money from my 401k, for a first time home purchase. The novice representative told me that’s not an option, you’re going to be penalized heavily for taking this money out. I trusted my instinct, took out the money, bought my first property, and a few month’s later, refinanced the property, at a lower rate, taking some cash out to pay back my 401k account.

Landlording Concerns

What if I can’t find a tenant?

How will I deal with maintenance issues?

My Strategy

To answer these questions, I’m going to walk you through my strategy. And, I’m going to point-out, as I go, how I address each of these concerns.

Please keep in mind this is my approach. It works great for me. However, depending your needs, and your interests, you may want to consider a different approach.

Finding Tenants

The old saying location, location, location, is so relevant here. Find a great location, and you’ll find tenants. So, what makes-up a great location?

Number 1, jobs!! People will go where the jobs are! Be cautious, on this one. Yes, a new factory may have just opened, creating 10,000 jobs. But, is this the only source of jobs? If so, consider another area. Make sure an area has many job sources, across at least 3 industries. For example, if all of the jobs in the area were from Blockbuster Movie Rental Stores, and even the Blockbuster Corporate Office, that wouldn’t have been a good area to be invested in, when NetFlix came around.

Number 2, great schools!! Education-conscious parents will pay more to rent houses, in areas with great schools. Although, the school taxes may be a little higher in these areas, I’ve found that the higher rents, make these areas great opportunities for sound investments.

Maintenance Issues

To cover this area, I’m going to start by telling you, there’s more money in apartment buildings. If there’s more money in apartment buildings, why, Adrian, do you focus on rental houses?

The answer… mentality!

Apartment renters usually have renter’s mentality. Which they should. They’re renting. I’ve known people, renting apartments, who have called maintenance for something as small as a bulb being out.

My tenants are in houses. They are surrounded by homeowners (in the suburbs). They never call about a bulb being out. As a matter of fact, some of my tenants have even installed ceiling fans, garage door openers, and new lighting fixtures (with my approval of course). Also, I should point-out, in these situations, I reimburse the tenant for the cost of supplies. But, providing they are handy, they take care of the labor themselves. From my experience, tenants living in houses, surrounded by homeowners in houses, tend to be more responsible and mature, than tenants living in apartments.

Landlording Product

Like I mentioned earlier in this podcast, I’ve spent many years, and a great amount of money, studying with some of the most successful real estate gurus. From all of this education, I’ve chosen all of the landlording processes that I found to be most effective, and I’ve put those processes into practice. I now own over 2.5 million dollars in investment properties. I’ve compiled and simplified those processes into a system, that I feel has the best balance of being lucrative, ethical, and passive. In the interest of helping you to get started, I’ve put together all of the forms, and processes, that I use, into a nice organized package, that you can download, for a limited time, from TheLifeIDeserve.com/landlording. Again, I’m offering this product for a limited time. If you’re listening to this episode in the future, it’s possible, that this product is no longer available. Whether you want to invest locally, or in a remote location, my processes, and forms, will simplify your investment experience. All of my properties are over 1500 miles away from where I live. However, with my processes, I’m still able to run a successful real estate investing business. All of my forms, have been carefully designed to keep you in control, while delegating most of the landlording responsibilities. One very well written form, could save you thousands of dollars. I know, because not having one of these forms, actually cost me over $2,500. I’m offering this package of forms and processes at an extremely low price. This low price, helps me to pay for the production cost of this podcast, which enables me to help more people to create the life they deserve. Please visit TheLifeIDeserve.com/landlording, to get more information on this valuable product.

It's Trivia Time!

Last show’s question:

The highest number of pregnancies, ever recorded? It occurred in the 1700’s.

And the winning answer…

...was again, submitted by Andrei Aleksandrov, who correctly guessed “69”!! How in the world, one woman, gave birth to 69 babies, is beyond me. Regardless, this number of births was recorded to have happened in Russia, between 1725 and 1765. Congratulations, Andrei!!

Today’s trivia question:

When Apple was building a new data center in North Carolina, they paid one elderly couple $1.7 million dollars for 1 acre of land. How much did the couple pay for the land 34 years earlier?

Send your answer from the Web Site, “TheLifeIDeserve.com”. From the Web Site, you can leave voicemail or email. Just click on the “Contact” tab.

Jason Hartman has been gracious enough to provide 2 valuable prizes for our trivia contest winners!! These are great prizes! Listen to this!

One of the prizes, would be a free Platinum Properties Deal Evaluator! The Deal Evaluator normally costs $50. However, this service, in my opinion, is much more valuable than $50. Jason’s team has evaluated and executed millions of dollars, worth of real estate transactions. They know how to weigh all of the factors, and determine if a deal will be profitable, or a problem. For details on the Deal Evaluator package, go to “JasonHartman.com/deal-evaluator”.

The second valuable prize, is 50% off of any course from HartmanEducation.com! 50% off!! I had to double-check with Jason on this! This is an amazing discount!! I told Jason, too! 50%, that sounds amazing!! Are you sure? Yep, 50% off.

The 1st winner will get to choose, either the Free Deal Evaluator, or 50% off of one of the great courses at HartmanEducation.com.

So again, today’s trivia question:

When Apple was building a new data center in North Carolina, they paid one elderly couple $1.7 million dollars for 1 acre of land. How much did the couple pay for the land 34 years earlier?

Go to “TheLifeIDeserve.com”, to submit your answer.

Salutation

Well, that’s going to do it, for today’s show. I hope you found this episode valuable! My mission is to inspire and empower, those that I encounter, to live full and meaningful lives, by sharing lessons learned, tools for self-improvement, and life-changing perspectives. Subscribe to the Podcast, so we can take this journey together. I hope today’s show has helped you to see, that you can take control of your financial future. :-)

Final Quotes

I’d like to leave you with the following great quotes about real estate:

"Real estate is the best investment in the world, because it is the only thing, they are not making anymore!"

-Will Rogers

“Real estate investing, even on a very small scale, remains a tried and true means, of building an individual's cash flow and wealth.”

-Robert Kiyosaki

“90% of all millionaires, become so, through owning real estate”

-Andrew Carnegie

Thanks again, for listening to the “The Life I Deserve”. This Podcast was designed for you! Designed to enhance your health, grow your wealth, and fill your life, with happiness!! Visit “TheLifeIDeserve.com”, and send me voicemail, or email. Let me know something about you. What inspires you? How can I help you? Do you have a suggestion for the show? Let me know. And, if you just happen to love the show, please post a review on iTunes! :-)

Thanks, again! Love you all!! Until next time… goodbye.

Ep 2 - Shapes in the Clouds: Appreciation for our Mothers

Adrian McMillian — Wed, 04 May 2016 22:43:10 +0000

Welcome!! In celebration of Mother’s Day, I want to take a moment, to acknowledge and appreciate, all of the hard-working mothers in the world!! Just over a year ago, I had to say a final goodbye, to my own mother. However, I will never stop celebrating, the amazing person that she was! Listen, to this entire episode, as my siblings, and I, share some great memories, and lessons, that will forever impact our lives!

From what I’ve seen, motherhood is probably the most demanding, and yet the most rewarding, job in the world. However, it’s not just a job, requiring endless hours of hard work, and patience. It’s also a job, that requires enormous love, empathy, selflessness!! Let’s celebrate, the amazing women, who have raised all of us. And, let’s encourage and support, the amazing women, raising the children, who will build the future!

In 1914, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson officially recognized Mother's Day as a national holiday. One hundred years later, the holiday has become a global celebration to honor the mothers who made sacrifices to raise generations of children and support them through adulthood.

Funny Quotes

Here’s some funny quotes, about motherhood, I thought you would enjoy!

"I want my children to have all the things that I couldn't afford. Then I want to move in with them." -Phyllis Diller

“My mother’s menu consisted of two choices: Take it or leave it.” -Buddy Hackett

"When your mother asks, 'Do you want a piece of advice?' it is a mere formality. It doesn't matter if you answer yes or no. You're going to get it anyway." -Erma Bombeck

“The most remarkable thing about my mother, is that for thirty years, she served the family, nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found." -Calvin Trillin

"When my kids become wild and unruly, I use a nice, safe playpen. When they're finished, I climb out." -Erma Bombeck

Questions, Comments, Compliments

“The LIfe I Deserve” is here for you! Please let me know, what topics, you’d like me to research. What people, you’d like me to interview. What knowledge, insights, perspectives, would you like to share? What goals do you have, for your health, wealth, and happiness? Reach out to me! Visit “TheLifeIDeserve.com”. And send me email or voicemail. From the Web Site, click on the “Contact” tab. You’ll see a button, there, that will allow you to record voicemail. Or, if you’d rather leave email, just fill-in the form, just below the voicemail button.

I really want to hear from you!! And, yes, I do mean you! Reach out! Let me know what’s on your mind. Let me know how I can help you. Or, maybe you have an inspirational story, or thought, that you’d like to share. Just go to “TheLifeIDeserve.com”, and then click on the Contact tab.

An audio message from my beautiful sister, Glenda…

Mom Brought us Together One Last Time

March 3rd, 2015, I gathered with family, in a hospital room, in Nassau Bay, Texas, to celebrate, my mother’s birthday. Due to several health complications, my mother had been in, and out, of the hospital, many times, over the years. However, this time, her doctor warned us, that her body was starting to shut-down. We all gathered in the hospital room, and showered my mother with love. My mother was selfless. She always put us kids, first. There are no words, to express, how much love she had for us! Knowing that my mom, didn’t have much time, we did everything we could, to let her know, one last time, how amazing she had been, in our lives! We shared great memories, we played her favorite songs (which were usually from shows, like The Sound of Music, and Fiddler on the Roof, and other musicals). And, we just sat with her, holding her hand, kissing her cheek, and touching her hair. We were doing everything, we could of think of, to express our love, one last time.

We had a great birthday celebration with my mother! I’ve never seen a hospital room, so full! Not only with my beautiful family, but also filled with balloons, flowers, cards, and timeless photos, that my sister Glenda, took the time to print, and put together, in an amazing, almost 3 dimensional collage!!

“I love you, Mom”. I may have said that 100 times that day. And, it still didn’t feel like enough. It had been a long day, and I felt that my mom, was very tired. I gave my mother the longest hug ever. How do you let go, when you know it is probably the last time, you get to hug your mother?

My father, had already positioned a cot, as close as possible, to my mother’s hospital bed. He hung-on to her arm, with both hands.

The next morning, I received the call, that at this point, was completely expected. My dad, told me, how Mom woke up, in the early morning, calling out to him. He quickly got up to comfort her, and to remind her, that he was by her side. After that, they both fell back asleep, hand-in-hand. When my father woke-up, my mother was gone.

What was my Mom Like?

49 years ago, my mom and dad, were married. They were eager to start a family. They had 5 children. Despite many challenges along the way, my mother made each of us feel important, valued, cared-for, and loved. We lived modestly. But, we were rich, in the areas that really mattered. My mother's creativity and sense of adventure, kept us captivated and excited. Our imaginations were fueled, by her drawings, paintings, sculptures, and her curiosity about life in general.

In my mother's eyes, everything was beautiful and exciting. She appreciated the color and smell of every flower. She enjoyed the excitement of every lightning storm. For my mom, even the shapes of the clouds, had meaning. As children, my mother's creativity always kept us entertained. She always knew when the next meteor shower was coming. And, when we were snuggled-up in blankets on the porch, watching for the shooting stars, there was no place in the world that we'd rather be!

My mother was sensitive to every person's feelings. Every person mattered. My mother had a passion for helping people. She had incredible empathy for those in need.

Mom, you spent your lifetime, teaching us how to be good people, how to be kind, how to help people, how to be there for each other. You nurtured us, yet, you also taught us to be strong. Despite the strength that you given us, it hurts, to not be able to speak to you again, to hug you again, to kiss you again. It's hard to believe that you're no longer here. As a matter of fact, I know that you actually are still here. I know that you will continue to be with each of us, showing us the beauty of each flower, bringing excitement to our lives with an occasional thunderstorm, and showing us shapes in the clouds. I love you, mom.

Almost exactly, one year previously, I recorded a brief conversation with my mother. And, I’d like to play that for you now.

Audio recording with my Mom...

Goodbye Mom

My beautiful mother, now in heaven, can sing, dance, paint, and sculpt again. My mother can finally breathe without restriction. My mother is now agile, and pain-free. After 47 years of selflessly caring for 5 children, 9 grandchildren, and 1 great grandchild, my mother is now in the warm embrace of her own mother, her father, and her dear brother. Her warm smile will be missed. Her ability to make people feel accepted and loved, will never be forgotten. Her clever sense of humor, and practical jokes, will continue to make us laugh.

I love you, mom, more than words can express. You always believed in me. You gave me the courage to face my fears. You listened, without judgement, as I shared my thoughts, my challenges, and my concerns. You always made me feel safe, and loved. I wish I could find the words to let you know how much you mean to me. I know that you'll always be with me. I know that you'll always be at my side, telling me that I am smart, strong, and capable. I will not let a day go by, without thinking of you, appreciating you, and loving you.

Family Interviews

My Dad, brothers, and sisters, were gracious enough to record some of there great memories, about our mother. I’d like to share these recordings with you now.

Audio recordings...

Mom at Dr Office

My mother was not only caring, and loving, she also had a great sense of humor!! I remember my Mom, telling me that her doctor, would rush through each office visit, giving her very little attention, and barely making eye contact. One time, near Halloween, my Mom decided to play a joke on her doctor. She took a hideous, monster mask, to her doctor appointment. While the the doctor was looking at his notes, my Mom put the mask on. After a while, the doctor finally glanced in her direction. He screamed, and dropped his clipboard. Lol!! My mom had a great sense of humor!

Playing in the Water Fountains

Sometimes, on a hot day, my Mom, would take, all of us kids, to play in the city water fountains, in downtown Houston. These were water features, were designed, as forms of art. I don’t even know if it was legal, to go into those water fountains. Some of them had intricate designs. Definitely, not build like a child’s play set. We never saw anybody else playing in the fountains. Just, us, kids, climbing through walls of water. We thought it was a great adventure!! :-)

Mom Peels-out

One time, I was visiting home, from college. I decided to go for a jog. I ran down to a nearby park, on Galveston Bay. I jogged around the park, and then saw my Mom drive-up, on her way back from the store. We hung-out at the park for a little while, and then she started to drive us back to the house. Feeling the need for a little more exercise, I asked her to let me out, so I could jog back home. When she slowed down to let me out, some people nearby looked over. My mom, said, let’s pretend we’re in a fight. Awesome!! So, my mom yelled “get out”!! And, I jumped out of the car, and slammed the door. My mom, then peeled-out in the gravel!! It was the first, and only time, I ever saw my mom peel-out! The people nearby just pretend that they didn’t see our made-up fight. It was really funny!! My mom, always had a sense of adventure, about her!!

Mom Was My Greatest Cheerleader

Mom, was always incredibly proud of anything I accomplished. In a notebook, she kept a list of the real estate that I acquired. When I told her that I bought a new property, she couldn’t wait to find her notebook, so she could write it down. With every promotion at work, she would practically scream with excitement, and happiness, for me. And, then she would tell me, that she’s actually not surprised. She would always tell me, I could accomplish anything, that I put my mind to. It actually didn’t matter how big, or small, the accomplishment, my Mom’s love, and appreciation, was always genuine, and abundant!!

Singing for Mom

About 10 years ago, my Mom and Dad, were addicted to American Idol. I remember talking to my Dad when there were 3 contestants left. When I asked my Dad who he was going to vote for he gave me 2 names. He didn’t know who he liked best. He just knew the one he wanted to eliminate from the competition. Lol!

Well, for my birthday that year, my parents sent me $35. My Mom told me “you can do whatever you want with the money. But, I think you should take some singing lessons. I think you would do a great job, on American Idol.” It didn’t phase my Mom, that most of the contestants were about half my age, and probably singing, since they were about 7 year old. My Mom, belief in me, was amazing!!

Well, I got busy with other things, and put-off the idea, of singing lessons. Then one day, I got a phone call. My uncle, found my Mother, unconscious on the bathroom floor. She fell, and hit her head. She was rushed to the hospital, treated, and made a full recovery. However, I thought, that was the end. At that point, I decided, I was going to get those singing lessons.

My sweet Mom didn’t realize, that $35 would barely get me a half hour of singing lessons. But, that’s okay. Over a year later, and well over $1,000 in lessons. I told my Mother that I had a surprise for her. I told her I used the birthday, gift, to get singing lessons. I told her, that I would have a part, in a small concert, and I wanted her to come see me. I flew her out to Los Angeles. This was the first flight my Mother took, in about 15 years. She was nervous to fly, but she told me, that her excitement to see me perform, outweighed her flying anxiety.

During the concert, I nervously took the stage. I sang a song for my mother. My singing lessons, helped me to hit most of the notes. But, certainly not all. However, that didn’t matter to my Mother. I poured my heart out, during that performance. It not only brought tears to my mother’s eyes, but many other mothers, in the audience as well. I thank God, that my Mother made it through that fall, onto the bathroom floor. I thank God, that I had the chance to do something, so exciting, for my Mother.

Book Recommendation

While looking for inspirational books about Moms, I discovered Jack Canfield’s, Chicken Soup for the Soul book subtitled “Thanks Mom”. Available in paperback, and audiobook. This book contains 32 great stories about Moms!! The forward is by Joan Lunden. Who has a remarkable story about the amazing person that her mother was. And, how she was inspired to raise 7 children of her own. And the book ends with a great story about a mother, and her son, and their shared love of salsa dancing!! Salsa dancing, in case you didn’t know, is a hobby, that I’m very passionate about!! Again, the book is titled “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Mom”. You can find a link to this book, on the Resources Page, of TheLifeIDeserve.com.

Best and Wisest Mom

Mom, I wish I had words to tell

How much you mean to me.

I am the person I am today,

Because you let me be.

Your unconditional love

Made me happy, strong, secure.

Your teaching and example

Made me confident, mature.

In all the world, there is no mother

Better than my own.

You're the best and wisest person, Mom

I have ever known.

A Poem by Joanna Fuchs

http://www.poemsource.com/mother-poems.html

Trivia

Last show’s question:

Jack Canfield holds the Guinness Book World Record, for having seven books, simultaneously on the New York Times, Bestseller List. However, it took determination to get there. In 1993, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, approached publishers with the very first, “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book. How many “no’s” did Jack and Mark get, before a publisher said “yes, I’ll publish your book”?

And the winning answer…

...was submitted by Andrei Aleksandrov, who correctly guessed “144”!! Congratulations, Andrei!!

The highest number of pregnancies, ever recorded, occurred in the 1700’s. Specifically, between 1725 and 1765. Today’s trivia question, is, what was the highest number of pregnancies?

Send your answer from the Web Site, “TheLifeIDeserve.com”. From the Web Site, you can leave voicemail or email. Just click on the “Contact” tab. Again, today’s trivia question is, how many “no’s” did Jack get before publishing “Chicken Soup for the Soul”. Go to“TheLifeIDeserve.com”, to submit your answer.

Salutation

That’s going to do it, for today’s show. My mission, is to inspire and empower, those that I encounter, to live full and meaningful lives, by sharing lessons learned, tools for self improvement, and life-changing perspectives. Subscribe to the Podcast, so we can take this journey together. If you still have your mother, contact her now, let her know, how much you love her. If your mother is gone, cherish the memories, and share this Podcast, to encourage other people to appreciate their mothers. :-)

I’d like to leave you with the following quote:

"My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am, I owe to my mother. I attribute all of my success, in life, to the moral, intellectual, and physical education, I received from her.”

-George Washington

Thanks again, for listening to the “The Life I Deserve”. This Podcast was designed for you! Designed to enhance your health, grow your wealth, and fill your life, with happiness!! Visit “TheLifeIDeserve.com”, and send me voicemail, or email. Let me know something about you. What inspires you? What advice do you have? How I can help you? Do you have a suggestion for the show? Let me know. And, if you just happen to love the show, please post a review on iTunes! :-)

Thanks, again! Love you all!! Until next time… goodbye.

Ep 1 - The Journey to a Better Life, Starts Here: What Jack Canfield Taught Me

Adrian McMillian — Sun, 20 Mar 2016 10:24:59 +0000

We all have the ability, to be successful. And, while it’s common knowledge that a great education, valuable skills, and strong relationships, are pivotal to success, there are actually some fundamental beliefs, perspectives, and disciplines, that will dramatically increase your chances for success, regardless of your education and skills. Take this journey with me, as I share what I've learned, and we learn more together, to achieve success, beyond your wildest dreams! :-)

Hi, my name is Adrian McMillian. Welcome to “The Life I Deserve”!!

This show was designed to help you identify your passion. And, figure-out, how to pursue that passion.

Here’s a quote that I learned from Jack Canfield, on finding your passion, and your purpose in life: “Don't ask what the world needs, identify what makes you come alive, and then go do that. Because what the world needs, is people who come alive!”

“The Life I Deserve” project was designed to help you, come alive! Join me, as I help you discover your passion. And, then, determine, how to pursue your passion!

I also want to help you, to enhance your health, grow your wealth, and fill your life, with happiness. Subscribe to the Podcast, and stay tuned, as we explore these different areas.

Health

I will share ideas, perspectives, and interviews, on how to enhance your physical, mental, and spiritual health.

My favorite exercise, is dancing. For several years, I’ve been very involved in salsa dancing, and the other dances, you would find at a salsa club, like Bachata, and Cha Cha. I love all types of dances! I started taking West Coast Swing classes a few years ago. And, then I got busy with other things, and stopped the West Coast Swing. But, I really enjoyed it! I really think I’m going to have to work more West Coast Swing, into my life. :-)

Wealth

I will share information, insights, and opportunities, that may help you to, increase your income, and increase your return on investments.

I grew up in San Leon, Texas. Which, is between Houston and Galveston. I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters. We didn’t have much money growing up, but we did have very caring parents.

Through many years of study, and hard work, I am now a Director of Technology, for a major motion picture company in Los Angeles, California.

However, the path to true financial freedom, is passive income! I discovered the power of rental properties, about 15 years ago. I bought my first property on Halloween day, of 2002, in beautiful Santa Monica, CA. I have learned a great deal in the last 15 years. And, I’ve developed a strategy that works very well for me. Stay tuned, for episodes, in which I share more about my experiences, and strategies in real estate investing.

Happiness

I will share insights and perspectives, that will help you to discover your passions, and empower you with the skills, resources, and support, to pursue your passions

Happiness, can be an elusive pursuit. What makes one person happy, can be drastically different, from another person. And, for each of us, the source of happiness, changes over time. To make the happiness pursuit even more complex, it is heavily impacted by our past, and associations that we’ve made. True happiness, is often connected with, helping, reaching-out, and connecting with others. It’s human nature to help our brothers and sisters. I believe happiness must be a shared experience. Because, if we only look out for our own happiness, we will end up feeling empty.

What makes me happy? Besides dancing, I love spending time with family...visiting my Dad, creating memories my sisters and brothers. And, of course, I really enjoy time spent, with with my, amazing and talented, nieces and nephews. I also love catching-up with friends. I enjoy tropical vacations. And, I really love helping people.

So, how can we, all, take our happiness to the next level? And, how can we spread that happiness, to the people we love, and care about? Listen to upcoming shows, as I interview experts in this area.

Listen to this entire episode, as I share with you, a powerful formula, that will allow you to take control of your life. Also, I will share with you a story, that has impacted me, and my view of the world. And, I have no doubt, that it will impact you as well!

Questions, Comments, Compliments

“The LIfe I Deserve” is here for you! Please let me know what type of topics you’d like me to research. What kind of people you’d like me to interview. Or, if you, have something valuable to share. If you have any knowledge, insights, perspectives, that can help people to improve their health, wealth, or happiness, reach out to me. Visit “TheLifeIDeserve.com”. And send me email or voicemail. From the Web Site, click on the “Contact” tab, and you’ll see a button, that will allow you to record voicemail. Or, if you’d rather leave email, just fill-in the form, just below the voicemail button.

I really want to hear from you!! And, yes, I mean you! Reach out! Let me know what’s on your mind. Let me know how I can help you. Or, maybe you have an inspirational story, or thought, that you’d like to share. I really want to hear from you!! Just go to “TheLifeIDeserve.com”, and then go to the Contact Page.

Unlocking Success

Jack Canfield, is known as America's #1 Success Coach. He is the founder of the billion-dollar book brand "Chicken Soup for the Soul", a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success.

So, how did I discover Jack Canfield?

While in college, I was got a job at the NASA Johnson Space Center, in Houston, Texas. I was very excited! As a staff member, of the "Scientific and Technical Research Library", I worked hard to prove myself. And I was humbled by the fact, that some people I met, would literally leave Earth for a Space Mission. What made the difference, between a person, doing a job they dread, and a person living their dream, as an Astronaut? Looking for clues, I noticed that many patrons of the library, would put themselves on a waiting list, for a particular set of videos. Out of curiosity, I added myself to the waiting list. After a few months, it was my turn to check-out the coveted videos. The videos were by Jack Canfield. They were titled "Self-esteem and Peak Performance". I watched the videos. Despite the fact, that the videos were already several years old, everything Jack talked about in the videos, made sense to me. The lessons were timeless. And, the concepts were simple, but powerful. Before watching the videos, I had no idea, why some people seem to be on the easy road to success, while others, seemed to be heading down a dead-end road. Watching the videos, I realized that I would be able to accomplish anything, by re-programming how I thought and reacted to my world. Those videos, were the beginning of a new life for me! It's amazing how small changes in the way you approach life, can dramatically change your world!

Let's Do This!

This is the reason for "The Life I Deserve". I invite you to take this journey with me. I invite you to try, new ways of thinking, and ways of being, that may help you to become the person you want to be, for yourself, and for the people that you care about. Over the next several months, I will evolve "The Life I Deserve" into a medium for sharing, learning, and growing together. Please feel free to share with me your thoughts, suggestions, comments, and questions. If I can help even one person in a significant way, this project, and the effort involved with this project, will all be worthwhile. We are all trying to navigate our way through life. Working together, we will not only survive, we will thrive!

The Universe Is Speaking

Last November, I visited my family, in Houston, for Thanksgiving. For some time, I have been trying to figure-out the next steps to take in my life. During that trip, I remembered, it was Jack Canfield’s teachings, that significantly impacted my life, years ago. Maybe I should meet Jack in person. Maybe I should go to one of his events. After discovering Jack Canfield, years ago, I checked-out other motivational speakers, to see what I could learn from them. Zig Ziglar was another great inspiration. Zig was a Texan, full of Texan personality and charm. And, a great sense of humor. He would tell amazing, impactful, true stories. He also, would sometimes tell fictitious stories, that would either make a great point, or inspire his audience with laughter, or both. Here’s one of Zig’s funny fictitious stories. A lady in Dallas, went to see an attorney, about a divorce. The attorney said, “Do you have any grounds?”. “Why yes”, she said, “we have about 40 acres, right out here, on the north end of town”. [laughing] He said, “ma'am, that’s not what I’m talking about, do you have a grudge?”. She said, “No, but we have a nice little carport, on the side of the house”. [laughing] He said, “Ma’am, does that man ever beat you up?”. “Oh no”, she said, “I’m up every day, at least an hour, before he even turns over”. [laughing] He said, “Ma’am, do you accept any responsibility for the difficulties?”. She said, “What do you mean?”. He said, “Well, do you ever wake-up, grouchy?”. She replied, “Oh no, I just let him get-up, on his own”. [laughing] He said, “Well, why do you want to divorce the man?”. She said, “He just can’t communicate.” [laughing] I remember hearing about Zig’s passing several years ago. And I remember thinking, I should’ve seen him, in-person. Well, no more should’ve’s. I’m going to meet Jack Canfield. So, I checked-out the date and location for the next event. At the end of February, in Newport Beach, Jack was teaching his “Breakthrough to Success” course. This course is based on his amazing book titled, “The Success Principles”. Okay, end of February would work. Okay, now how much. $3,000. $3,000? Hmmm. Am I really going to get that much more out of meeting him in person. I decided to go to the gym, get a workout, and think about it. I worked out, came back to my room, and noticed that my binder was not on the nightstand, where I usually put it. I searched everywhere. I went out to my car. Not there either. I looked for at least an hour. Then I started taking inventory, in my head, of the valuable items, in my binder. A cashier’s check for $2,500, from a real estate deal, I had in progress, and gift cards, totaling $500. I had exactly $3,000 in my binder. I told myself. Okay, if I lost the binder, and the $3,000, it’s not the end of the world. I’ll deal with it. After more searching, I finally fell asleep. I woke up the next morning, and somehow remembered exactly where I last placed my binder. I found the binder, with all of the contents inside, including the cashier’s check, and gift cards. The universe was telling me, I can afford the $3,000 to work directly with Jack Canfield. So, I went online, and registered for Jack’s “Breakthrough to Success” seminar. Ironically, it was the last day for the early registration bonus, which was VIP status. VIP status meant, even more time, to spend with Jack!!

A Week of Learning, Exploring, and Sharing

I’ve been to many real estate seminars, but never a motivational seminar. So, I really didn’t know what to expect. The first night was only for the VIPs. I got there early. I spoke to some of the other VIPs. One girl, I spoke with, had been to several motivational seminars. A couple of them, were from Tony Robbins. She told me that she really like the Tony Robbins seminars, however, that nobody got to meet, or spend time with Tony. Tony was on stage, then escorted backstage by bodyguards. Just after telling me that, she said “there’s Jack”. I turned around. And Jack Canfield is standing right behind me. He was speaking to someone. But, as soon as he finished, he warmly said hi, and greeted me. I introduced myself. Told him how he’s already impacted my life, and gave him my “The Life I Deserve” card. He read my business card, “The Life I Deserve”, what a perfect name! I spoke with Jack briefly. I noticed that the girl who was sharing, her motivational event experiences with me earlier, was waiting anxiously. So, I graciously introduced Jack to her, and stepped away.

Broken Agreements

The next morning, we all met in a big hotel ballroom. Music was playing. And the Jack Canfield team gave us high 5’s as we entered. Jack laid-out the logistics. And had us sign to a list of rules, we would abide by. “Arrive on time”, “Do all of the homework”, “Sit in a different seat, after each break”, “No alcohol (until the end of the week)”, “No new, major decisions within 2 weeks after course ends”, and several other commitments. Jack explained each. Different seat each time, to get us out of our comfort zone, and so we would do the exercises with different people each time. Alcohol (even the prior day/night), can affect our focus. And, no major decisions, for 2 weeks, because, in Jack’s words, people sometimes leave the course with a natural high. Jack asks us to then sign the page. Basically, it’s a contract. Oh yeah, Jack also had us read every item out loud. We then had to all stand, if we agree to play by the rules. Jack walked around to see if anybody was not standing. I’ve never experienced so many measures to have everyone keep their word. A couple of days later, while everyone was seated, Jack asked people to stand if they had broken any rules. I was surprised to see, that most of the attendees, stood. Apparently, we all need to work, more diligently, on keeping our word. I remained seated, at first, anyway. But, then I began to review in my head, all that we promised. Okay, we were supposed to think of 100 successes in our life. I think I only wrote down about 60. So I stood. The lesson, if you give your word, keep it. This will improve every aspect of your life. Especially, with yourself. We need to be able to tell ourselves that we are going to do something. And follow through. Broken promises, deteriorate relationships, and they also deteriorate your belief in yourself.

Silent Hug Process

Everyday began with different exercises, physically, and mentally, to get into a state, in which we could open up about our goals, challenges, self-image, and fears. One great exercise, was the silent hug process. I didn’t think I would get much out of this, since I do a lot of dancing, and I’m close with my family and friends. However, Jack taught us how to hug. Kinda seems silly, huh? A lot of the exercises felt kinda silly, at first. However, after years of acting and improv classes (earlier in life), I realized, sometimes you have to just let go. Try the exercise. In improv classes, I learned, if to don’t commit to the scene, it just feels awkward for everyone (you and the audience). Back to the hugs. Jack’s guidelines for hugs; Left to left, so the hearts are closer aligned. No talking. No fidgeting. Breathe. Make eye contact for a couple of seconds after (instead of trying to quickly run away). Okay, let’s give some hugs. After about 10 minutes, you feel, an amazing amount of positive, loving, energy in the room. It was a great way to start each morning. It enabled us all, to feel a little more connected (which enabled everyone to share a little more).

E + R = O

Have you ever heard someone say, that person “made me mad”? In reality, things happen, people do, or say things, we may not like. However, it’s up to us, to decide how to process, whatever happens, or what is said. Jack gives a great example of this. He’ll pick on someone in the front row of his seminar. For example, he might say, “Look at Susan here, can you believe her? She’s dressed like she’s going to a picnic. She’s not dressed for a seminar. And boy, does she ask a lot of questions. Is she even listening?” After giving an example like this, Jack would then ask, “how many people think this would make the person feel bad?”. People would raise their hands. He would then tell them, it was actually a trick question. Because, in this example, only Susan, has the ability to make Susan feel bad. Susan could say, “I knew I should have dressed differently”. And she could say “I guess, I’m asking questions, because, I’m the only one not getting the concepts”. Or, Susan, could say, “Jack’s just picking on me, because he knows I”m confident. I mean, look at me! I’m in the front row. And I ask questions, that other people are afraid to ask. As a matter of fact, with the way he’s looking at me, I bet he has a crush on me”.

The secret formula here is E + R = O. This stands for Event + Response = Outcome. You see it’s not the event, alone, that determines the outcome. It’s what Susan says to herself afterwards that determines the outcome.

That’s just a quick example of this powerful concept. We will cover this more in future episodes.

Come As You Will Be

There were many great lessons. And, I think everyone, became clearer on their life purpose, there goals, and the necessary actions, to get to those goals. For me, the most powerful exercise was the “Come As You Will be Party”. This was the final exercise, in which everyone, was to attend a cocktail party, as if we were 5 years, into the future. As for the people, I talked with, at the Come As You Will Be Party, Phillipe-Franz was the most prepared. He had a copy of his book. The custom cover had great detail. He was dressed in a tux. And he discussed, in detail, how successful he was. And, how he gives back, to the world. I would provide more detail, on Phillipe-Franze, “Come As You’ll Be” image, but I was preoccupied. In my mind, I was thinking, “maybe, my goals should be more aggressive?”. So, where was I, for this, 5 years into the future, party? I had sold over a million copies of my book “The Life I Deserve”. I think Phillipe-Franz had sold 100 million copies of his book. I speak internationally. I was recently interviewed by Oprah Winfrey. And, I’ve been invited to do a Ted Talk. I have a 4,000 square foot house in Santa Barbara, CA. Same town, as Jack. How convenient. As a matter of fact, we occasionally meet for lunch, and brainstorm on ways to help more people in the world. Also, I have a 3,000 square foot house in Maui, where I frequently entertain family and friends. I travel the world, speaking, and training, on how to each person can achieve the life they deserve. And, of course, teach some salsa dancing, while I’m at it!! The “Come As You Will Be” party is powerful because we all have a mental image of ourselves. And we do things unconsciously to support that image. If you’re image, of yourself is 30 lbs overweight. You will quickly get back to that weight, no matter how great the diet. If you’re image, of yourself, is making $75,000. It will be extremely difficult to ever make $100,000. At the “Come As You’ll Be Party”, we spent about 2 hours, with an image, that we were each, very successful. We talked in detail, about our businesses, investments, books, vacations, and philanthropic activities. After the party was over, you want to take the actions to make it a reality!!

Rule of 5

Ever since, I listened to Jack’s “Self Esteem and Peak Performance” videos, years ago, I knew about the “Rule of 5”. A simple concept. In summary, we should each perform 5 actions, every day, to move us toward a breakthrough goal. A breakthrough goal, would be a goal that would really impact your life. A goal that would be so significant, that not only meeting it, would positively, influence your life, but also the pursuit of it, transforms you into a better person. The “Rule of 5” is such a simple concept, that I overlooked how great it could work. Normally, we think of our end goal, and we breakdown what needs to be done. And set a date for each of those items. The Rule of 5, however, forces you, if you are disciplined about it, to get things done every day. It doesn’t matter if they are tiny steps. The Rule of 5 works well, because it keeps the momentum going. If you’re writing a book, for example, which happens to be my breakthrough goal, you must come up with 5 things you can do, toward that goal. You could study someone’s work who you admire. You could add some items to the outline for your book. You could do a little research on one of those items. And, at the end of the day, if you don’t have 5, you push yourself to come up with another item or two. Since I took the “Breakthrough to Success” course, I’m happy to report, that I’ve been implementing the “Rule of 5” every day!!

BTS Summary

Overall, the Breakthrough To Success experience was great!! I’ve learned many great skills from Jack, which have already made a huge impact on my life.

“The Success Principles” Book

I would highly recommend the “Breakthrough to Success” training. If nothing else, at least buy Jack’s book “The Success Principles”. Or, if you’re like me, and you’d rather have a narrator, with an amazing voice, read you the book, while driving, or on the treadmill, you can get the audio version instead. I have Amazon links to both of these on “TheLifeIDeserve.com”. Please use the links from “TheLifeIDeserve.com”, as they will provide me with a very small commission, which will help to support this show. The price to you, is exactly the same, as going directly to Amazon. I sincerely appreciate your support!! :-)

Teaching is the Best Way to Learn

Since the Breakthrough To Success week, I’m happy to announce, that I’ve decided to become an official Jack Canfield trainer! I’m very excited to be taking this journey!! I’m confident that working with Jack, and his training program, will empower me with the tools and skills to be even more instrumental, in helping people discover their passion, set goals, overcome obstacles, and build a life that they deserve!!

Story

I’m going to leave you with a story that I heard Jack tell. This story was part of my inspiration, to create “The Life I Deserve”.

Susanna Crowder was a homeless person, living on the street, in a city, in Ohio. It was winter, and she was 8 months pregnant. She didn’t feel that she had the capacity to take care of herself, much less, a newborn baby. She was very depressed. She was also not in a good mental state. She wasn’t taking her medication. She would dig in dumpsters, for food. She was basically, trying to survive long enough to give birth to the baby. After that, she was planning to kill herself. She had already planned to throw herself in front of a train, that came by, every day, at a certain time. When it was really cold, she would seek shelter in the local library. The library would kick people out, if they weren’t reading, or buying books. One day, she went into the library, to get out of the cold. She walked by a table of books. Susanna said, “I just grabbed one, and I went to a corner, where nobody would bother me”. It happened to be the first “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book. She randomly, opened the book to a story called “Puppies for Sale”. It was a story, about a little boy, who saw a sign, outside of a store, that said “Puppies for Sale”. The little boy went in, and asked to see the puppies. The guy whistles to the back, and someone brings out the box of puppies. The little boy said, “How much are you asking for the puppies?”. The man replied “$20 to $50, depends on the dog”. The little boy replied, “I’ve only got $3.28”, as he put all of his money, on the counter. But I’ll pay you $.50 a week, until it’s paid in full. The man asked, “Which puppy, do you want?”. “I want that one”, the boy said, as he pointed to a puppy, who was limping. The man said, “Oh, you don’t want that one. He has a damaged hip socket. He’ll never be able to jump, run, and play, like the other puppies”. “That’s the one I want”, the boy said. “Kid, are you listening? He’ll never be able to play like the others”, the man replied. The little boy, continued, “That’s the one I want”. The man replied, “Well, you can have that one for free”. The little boy, said, “No, I want to pay full price for him. That puppy is just valuable as the other puppies”. The man replied, “Why would you want to pay full price, for that puppy?”. At that moment, the boy reached down, to pull up his left pant leg, revealing his badly twisted left leg, which was in a brace. “You see, mister, I figure that puppy is going to need someone who understands him”. As Susanna, read that story, she got goosebumps, and said to herself, “If someone could love that puppy with his brokenness, perhaps someone could love me with my brokenness”. And at that moment, she decided not to kill herself, at that moment, she left the library, and went to a mental health center, she got back on her medication. In the course of a year, she got out of that situation, she got a job, she bought a house, she started something called “Soup Kitchens for the Souls” where she not only feeds people, but she teaches people the skills to become self-sufficient. And she still runs her foundation, to this day.

That story resonates with me. Did it resonate you? If so, let me know. Visit the “Contact” page on “TheLifeIDeserve.com”, to send me voicemail or email. We all have the power to inspire, and make a difference, in someone’s life. What difference will you make?

Okay, now time for something a little different. What time is it?

It's Trivia Time

That’s going to do it, for today’s show. My mission, is to inspire and empower, those that I encounter, to live full and meaningful lives, by sharing lessons learned, tools for self improvement, and life-changing perspectives. I’m starting a journey. A journey, to pursue a better me, to inspire a better you, and to help influence, a better world. Subscribe to the Podcast, so we can take this journey together.

Closing

Thanks again, for listening to the “The Life I Deserve”. This Podcast was designed for you! Designed to enhance your health, grow your wealth, and fill your life, with happiness!! Visit “TheLifeIDeserve.com”, and send me voicemail, or email. Let me know something about you. What inspires you? How I can help you? What advice do you have? Do you have a suggestion on, how I can improve the show? Let me know. And, if you just happen to love the show, please post a review on iTunes! :-)

Thanks, again! I love you all!! Until next time… goodbye.