Is “Working For Yourself” The Only Way To Get Rich?

“Keep moving. Slower or faster does not matter as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius

Contrary to popular mythology, most self-employed business owners are not getting rich. In fact, the average income of small-business owners is virtually the same as that of employees. According to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Policy Guide, both workers and employees make a median income of $33,000.That’s the most common income of both groups, but it doesn’’t tell the whole story. If you want to know who is making the big bucks – who, for example, is bringing home more than $100,000 a year – the answer is clear: It’s the self-employed.

Also, people who employ themselves are more likely than their wage-earning counterparts to move up and down the income scale. When the economy is strong, entrepreneurial earnings go up faster. During recessions, they take a bigger financial hit.

Risk varies for entrepreneurs depending on where they begin.

If you are in the bottom 20% of wage earners, starting your own business will probably give you a higher average income than the fellow workers you left behind. If you leave a high-paying job ($60,000 plus), chances are you will end up earning less as a self-employed businessperson than you would sticking with the 9 to 5.

Note: This last statistic doesn’’t belie what I said before about there being more high-income entrepreneurs than employees.

What does all this mean? Simply this: Quitting your job and going it alone is no guarantee of riches. Most entrepreneurs do no better than employees when it comes to earnings.

The decision to keep a job or go out on your own should be about psychological preferences, not financial ones. You can get rich – or at least achieve financial independence – either way. The trick is to develop a financially valuable skill, to use it to achieve a higher-than-average income, to save a good portion of that extra income, and to invest wisely.

In future messages, we'’ll talk more about what “investing wisely” means. Today, spend a few minutes considering the more fundamental question: Are you happier as an employee or an entrepreneur? Think about whether it’s more important to you to work on your own or with others … to have a sense of structure or to enjoy a sense of freedom … to have a boss or be one … etc.

There are benefits and drawbacks to both of these work styles. So think about it carefully. It’’s a very important consideration.$

[Do you know how Facebook and Google became the most powerful companies in the world?

It’s NOT helping you share pics of last night’s dinner...
It’s NOT searching for drunken cat videos…

And it’s DEFINITELY NOT about free Gmail accounts.
 

The simple truth is Facebook and Google SELL TRAFFIC.

They SELL TRAFFIC to business owners, and that advertising revenue alone has turned them into billion dollar companies.
 

Traffic is the most valuable commodity on the Internet, and that will never change.
 

This is why using the Traffic Authority business system is the ultimate way to make extra income in your business…

Click here to watch the video and start your own premium traffic business today!]

How To Educate Yourself For Success – And Get Wealthy The Smart Way

““No matter what a man’s vocation or avocation may be, the nature of his progress through life is largely dependent on his ability to sell.”” – Frederick W. Nichol

It's no secret that countless studies show that better-educated people make more money. The question is, how you can YOU become richer by making yourself better educated?

Actually, this is a big topic, one that would take hours and hours to properly cover. I’'m not going to do that here, but I can give you the short and succinct version. And then we can go into it in a little more depth at some other time.

Let’'s start with this observation: Virtually all high-income individuals have two benefits. First, they are in positions of authority. (Think politicians and company presidents.) And second, they have a relatively high degree of knowledge about something valuable (as do, for example, lawyers, doctors, and engineers).

If you can get yourself into a position in which you have BOTH knowledge and authority, you can make a lotta, lotta money.

OK, So You Forgot To Get A Medical Degree . . . What Do You Do Now?

Here’'s what I would do: I would figure out what line of work I’'d like to be in and then become an expert at some aspect of it that would make me a lot of money.

What business or profession could that be in your case? Well, if you are already committed to a career, and you like it well enough, you could stick with that. If, on the other hand, you hate your work and everything about it, and everyone connected with it, you should look for greener pastures.

But for the moment, let’s say you work as a bookkeeper for a new-car dealership and are not satisfied with your $40,000 salary. You could dream of owning the business, but that’'s not likely to happen any time soon. You need money to own a car dealership. Money you don’'t have right now. For the immediate future, you have to set your sights on something that is attainable. So, look around. Aside from the owner, who else is making good money? Well, the sales manager is bringing down a steady $90,000 a year. That’'s not bad. And then there’'s Joe, the No.1 salesman, who is making even more than that.

You check it out and discover that you can’'t be the sales manager because the company has a firm policy of hiring only MBAs for that job. So that leaves you one option: becoming a salesman and going on to claim Joe’'s spot as Numero Uno Salespro.

You could tell yourself, “Forget about it! I am not a natural, and God only knows it takes a natural schmoozer to sell cars.”

But if you are smart, you will recognize that selling cars, like almost everything else in life, is a process that involves no magic, just specific actions –each of which can be studied and then learned.

Let’s say you become friendly with Joe and eventually gain his trust. You take him out for a drink one evening and get him to open up and reveal his secrets . . . the things he does to consistently outperform (and outearn) every other salesperson.

Learn To Sell Anything

I’m not an expert at selling cars, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the conversation went something like this:

Joe: “If I’'m selling to a couple, I always shake hands with the man first. That way, he feels important. Something he needs to feel to make the decision I want him to make.”

You: “That’'s neat, Joe. What else?”

Joe (smiling): “One thing I never do is say, right off, how much a car costs. If, before I’'m ready to close, a customer pops the ugly question, this is what I say: ‘Let me ask you something, Mr. So-and-So, how important is it to you to drive a car that is safe and comfortable for your family?’”

And then Joe would tell you a few more “things” he always does. Now, these “things” individually may not amount to all that much. But put together in a single presentation, they add up to this: how Joe manages to be the company’s No.1 salesperson month after month after month.

Since that – becoming as good as Joe – is your goal, these specific “things” he does are the secrets you need to learn. None of these secrets is magic. They are merely specific, “educated” actions that can be learned.

The great salesman, you now understand, is not somebody with supernatural powers but an ordinary person with specific, valuable knowledge.

The same is true of any moneymaking profession. People who actively earn high incomes do specific things that result in some desired outcome: a sold car or a perfectly designed microchip, for example.

Most people who aren’'t financially successful don’'t understand this. They feel they are adequately educated and blame their poor circumstances on factors that are either unrelated or only marginally related to their lack of success. They say their bosses don’'t like them. They claim to be victims of racism, gender bias, or prejudice. They say they are not understood. Or not properly appreciated.

If you find yourself talking that way, do yourself a favor. Button it up. Stop complaining. Dale Carnegie said the three worst things you can do are criticize, condemn, and complain. He was talking about how to win friends and influence people, but this is wisdom that can be applied equally to financial success.

Gripe Elsewhere. This Is Moneyville.

Stop complaining about your circumstances and start doing something positive. Say goodbye to the comfort of blaming others for your own shortcomings and say hello to the knowledge you need to succeed.

If you start today by identifying a specific, high-paying job that you want to do, you will have taken the first big step. Figure out what you want to do and then promise yourself that you will become an expert at it, even though you have no immediate prospects of doing it.

Starting tomorrow, learn something about that job. Find out what it takes in terms of hours and days. Find out what it typically pays and when it pays more and why. Ask about the daily routine, the common problems, the biggest challenges, and the best rewards. Ask. Observe. Read.

Keep it up, day after day, until you start to feel as if you understand the job. Then accelerate the process. Approach those, perhaps from other companies, who do the same job. Tell them what you know and ask their opinions. Admit your ambitions to them. You’'ll be surprised at how much they’'ll tell you.

As you become more and more of an expert, it will start to show. Even if you don’'t intend it to. You will be more informed. More confident. You will speak with greater authority and more clarity. People will begin to treat you differently. They will gradually come to regard you as a person who deserves their respect. You may find them asking you questions, seeking your advice. You will notice that your boss and other “superiors” will look at you and talk to you differently.

Ultimately, you will no longer feel ignored or unappreciated. Then, one day, the opportunity will assert itself. A job will open up. And you will be called in to fill it. Why? Because the word will already be out. You will have already demonstrated that you are “perfect” for the job, and so the decision to hire you will be an easy one.

In the case at hand, you will be hired as a car salesman because you know the cars– and you know their prices, and you know the selling protocols and procedures, the company requirements, the legal requirements, and so on.

Your next goal will be to outsell every other salesman. And you will do that by, again, studying the specific actions of the best salesmen and then learning those specific actions until you know them completely. That will give you the confidence to use them. And in using them, you will get the reward of seeing them work and this will give you the motivation to continue.

Before you know it, you will be at the top of the heap, earning the kind of money you are right now only dreaming about. And then you can start making promises to yourself. First to make a hundred grand. Then a million. Then 10 million. After that? Anything is possible.$

[Do you know how Facebook and Google became the most powerful companies in the world?

It’s NOT helping you share pics of last night’s dinner...
It’s NOT searching for drunken cat videos…

And it’s DEFINITELY NOT about free Gmail accounts.
 

The simple truth is Facebook and Google SELL TRAFFIC.

They SELL TRAFFIC to business owners, and that advertising revenue alone has turned them into billion dollar companies.
 

Traffic is the most valuable commodity on the Internet, and that will never change.
 

This is why using the Traffic Authority business system is the ultimate way to make extra income in your business…

Click here to watch the video and start your own premium traffic business today!]

Seven Years to Seven Figures: Donald Trump on Negotiating

Here are Donald Trump's best tips on how to be a great negotiator:

• Consider what the other side wants.

Trump tells the story of how he acquired the tallest building in southern Manhattan, 40 Wall Street, for $1 million plus the liens. He did so because  he spoke to the owners personally, not through an agent, and found out what they wanted — in this case, to get out of real estate.

• Be reasonable and flexible.

This might not seem like the kind of tactic you’d expect from Donald Trump, but he makes the point that unless you are willing to be open-minded when it comes to deals, to think long-term and not worry so much about the small things, you may miss out on some big opportunities.

• Trust your instincts.

Against all expert advice to the contrary, Trump had a gut feeling that he could turn 40 Wall Street into the premier office location in that part of town. He ignored his advisers and made it happen.

• Know exactly what you want and keep it to yourself.

“If you’re careful about what you reveal,” Trump says, “you’ll have more flexibility as you gather more information about he contours of the deal.”

• Make sure both sides come out winning.

There was an HBO movie about Atlantic City in which Trump and Steve Wynn (the Las Vegas casino developer) are portrayed as belligerent opponents in Trump’s successful acquisition of Trump Marina for $320 million. “That is highly inaccurate,” Trump says. “The bidding contest was friendly and, though Wynn lost out in the end, the publicity helped him enormously in his eventual conquest and development of Las Vegas.”

• Let your guard down — but only on purpose.

It’s a good idea to make seemingly random, calculated off-hand comments. Sometimes, they provoke responses that are helpful in figuring out the other person’s interests and intentions.

• Be patient.

Most successful entrepreneurs like to move quickly — but there are some deals that require time. Trump says he’s learned to be patient and it’s paid off. “I’ve spent from five minutes to 15 years waiting for a deal,” he says.

Regardless of whether you like Donald Trump, he’s shown resilience and tenacity at the highest levels of business entrepreneurship. It’s worthwhile to emulate his best ideas.$

[Do you know how Facebook and Google became the most powerful companies in the world?

It’s NOT helping you share pics of last night’s dinner...
It’s NOT searching for drunken cat videos…

And it’s DEFINITELY NOT about free Gmail accounts.
 

The simple truth is Facebook and Google SELL TRAFFIC.

They SELL TRAFFIC to business owners, and that advertising revenue alone has turned them into billion dollar companies.
 

Traffic is the most valuable commodity on the Internet, and that will never change.
 

This is why using the Traffic Authority business system is the ultimate way to make extra income in your business…

Click here to watch the video and start your own premium traffic business today!]

The Number One Character Trait for Effective Leadership

I believe there is only one inherent character trait that is essential for effective leadership: ambition. You may not think of yourself as ambitious, but relax. Even the saintly Gandhi had ambition. When asked why he had abandoned a successful law career (and a well-cushioned lifestyle) to pursue a risky, self-sacrificing career of political leadership, Mahatma replied with a single word: “Ambition!” Granted, it is not necessarily an attractive personal trait to desire power, distinction, and public approval. Gandhi chose exactly the right word to describe the force that compelled him to risk all — even his life — in the pursuit of a worthy goal.

By his early 40s, he had come to feel terror at the prospect of living to old age in conventional comfort. He trembled when he imagined himself on his deathbed uttering the most tragic of all last words: “I could have done much more with my life.” Then, for 40 years, he focused his energies on the single goal of Indian independence. Although few leaders are as admirable in their behavior, as noble in their goals, or as successful in their craft as was Gandhi, all leaders are driven by ambition.

All effective leaders desire to help their own family, company, organization, or nation to achieve its highest potential. They willingly put themselves on the line to achieve that end. Ambitious leaders are not satisfied with current performance. Their ambition distinguishes them from timid leaders. They not only want true greatness for their organizations, they are committed to do all that is necessary to realize the potential. That is appropriate ambition. They realize that most organizations are seriously underperforming. Few come anywhere near to achieving their potential.

Worse, most individuals in positions of authority are either satisfied with the status quo or fearful of assuming the risk to transform their organizations to achieve greatness. In sharp distinction are those few individuals who have high ambition for themselves and their organizations. Those who act on that ambition are leaders. When Lou Platt became CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 1992, he was only the third person in the company’s history to hold that title. He was an experienced executive, he had worked at HP for 26 years, and, because he was the designated successor to CEO John Young, he had time to prepare for the challenges of leadership.

But in spite of all that experience and preparation, he faced the same question every new leader must answer: “Where do I start?” Here’s what he did:

1. He established a leadership team. In selecting the team, he sent a signal about his priorities, goals, and agendas. He looked for people who were compatible team players, but also people who represented a diversity of perspectives.

2. He listened and set an agenda. He spent many hours “walking around” in the HP tradition, listening to the needs, concerns, and aspirations of employees, managers, and customers. His long-term concerns were the challenges of revitalization and continual growth: “Nobody stays on top forever. Since HP has moved from challenger to a leader, what worries me most is complacency.”

3. He built the case for change. Platt spent only 25% of his time on operations. He devoted the other 75% to communicating the need for breakthrough performance. He did this by going on the road and talking directly with HP people. He challenged them to perform at higher levels, even as he restored pride in HP’s principles and values. He pushed responsibility for change down to operational levels, and held the appropriate people accountable for realizing the needed changes.

4. He concentrated on what only he could do as CEO. Platt spent more time dealing with HP’s key constituencies. He reached out to customers, opened effective channels of communication with the HP board, and, of course, spent more time listening to employees and communicating the importance of ambition and change.

[Do you know how Facebook and Google became the most powerful companies in the world?

It’s NOT helping you share pics of last night’s dinner...
It’s NOT searching for drunken cat videos…

And it’s DEFINITELY NOT about free Gmail accounts.
 

The simple truth is Facebook and Google SELL TRAFFIC.

They SELL TRAFFIC to business owners, and that advertising revenue alone has turned them into billion dollar companies.
 

Traffic is the most valuable commodity on the Internet, and that will never change.
 

This is why using the Traffic Authority business system is the ultimate way to make extra income in your business…

Click here to watch the video and start your own premium traffic business today!]

10 Things You Can Do This Year to Be a Better and Happier Person

The secret to substantial and enduring happiness, I have discovered, has nothing to do with putting yourself first, nurturing your inner child, or any of the many other forms of narcissism so popular among today’s pop psychologists. As someone who has spent too much time in the vain (and I do mean vain) pursuit of self-satisfaction, I am here to tell you that fulfillment in life is usually about doing less for yourself and more for others.

This is not a revolutionary concept. It was, it seems to me, the essential message of Christ and Gandhi, to name just two. “Happiness and fulfillment in life,” they seemed to have been saying,” will come to you not when you are making yourself the center of your universe but when you forget yourself and look outside.” You may know that already. And you may be much further along in making it part of your life than I am in making it part of mine.

When I think about the happy people I admire, they are invariably those who are always looking out for others. I’m not speaking of missionaries and professional do-gooders but of ordinary people who make it a habit to care about those around them. They are the people who ask you how you are doing and care about your answer. They visit you when you are ill, and give you little gifts or kind words when you need them.

When involved in a negative conversation (particularly one that involves gossip or badmouthing), they find something positive to say. They are ordinary people with the same number of problems that other ordinary people have — yet, they don’t ask you to pity them. When they see you limping because of an injured knee, they don’t tell you about their aching backs. They give you sympathy and recommend helpful treatments.

When everyone gets up from the holiday meal and rushes off to have an after-dinner drink or smoke, they linger with the host — helping out by cleaning the dishes or wiping off the table. They know the names of your children. They remember your birthday. They know how you take your coffee. And though they want you to be better and stronger and more successful than you are, they never give you the feeling that they are unsatisfied with what you are, in fact, right now. I know people like that. And I am fortunate enough to be around them. 

They are also, I am really blessed to say, in my extended family and among my closest friends. And although I don’t say so enough, I am always astonished by their goodness and humbled by their strength. I am naturally inclined to be one of these good people. I am a living composite of every bad habit, obnoxious inclination, and selfish reflex known to man. But lacking those qualities makes them all the more admirable to me. And makes me want to be, a little bit each year, a better man.

So that’s my 10th big resolution this year — as it was last year: to be a better person. I invite you to make the same New Year’s resolution — to spend less time thinking about your own happiness and more time trying to make other people happy. Start with your immediate family. Your spouse and children, mother and father, aunts and uncles, and nieces and nephews were not brought into this world to listen to and/or solve your problems.

That’s your job. Resolve to spend less time complaining to them and more time listening to their complaints. Do share your dreams and ambitions with them, but don’t talk too long. And be sure you give them the time and attention they need to share their dreams and ambitions with you. Make your friends happy too. Smile when you see them. Listen to their stories. Give them the advice they want and shut up when they don’t want any. Become the person they turn to when the chips are down. Learn to love their relatively minor sins or annoyances and encourage them to overcome their faults.

Above all, be loyal to them. Be a reliable and steady resource for your business colleagues. Help them achieve their goals — not because you want their loyalty but simply because you care about them and want them to succeed. And do something for someone you don’t know — a stranger you come upon, a foster child, or a sick or poor person who can benefit from your help. Spend time and money.

Make this outward focus a natural part of your daily life. Do it purposefully and deliberately — by beginning with a set of resolutions and then transferring them to your weekly and daily task lists — till it becomes second nature to you. This is not the kind of resolution one can make and achieve in a single year. It will be on my list next year. Perhaps it will be on your list too.

[Do you know how Facebook and Google became the most powerful companies in the world?

It’s NOT helping you share pics of last night’s dinner...
It’s NOT searching for drunken cat videos…

And it’s DEFINITELY NOT about free Gmail accounts.
 

The simple truth is Facebook and Google SELL TRAFFIC.

They SELL TRAFFIC to business owners, and that advertising revenue alone has turned them into billion dollar companies.
 

Traffic is the most valuable commodity on the Internet, and that will never change.
 

This is why using the Traffic Authority business system is the ultimate way to make extra income in your business…

Click here to watch the video and start your own premium traffic business today!]

Your First and Most Important New Year’s Resolution

“There is no achievement without goals.” – Robert J. Mckain

Every year, we make 10 New Year’s resolutions — one each weekday for two weeks. The idea is that by spreading out our promises over two weeks, instead of making them all on New Year’s Day (the way most people do), we will take the time to really think about what we want to accomplish over the next 12 months.

This year, like last year, your first and most important step is to identify one significant goal in each of the four most important areas of your life:

1. Your health (without which most of the others don’t matter)

2. Your wealth (which is undeniably important — so treat it as such)

3. Your personal self (your hobbies and interests)

4. Your social self (your friends, family, and community)

Make each of your four goals significant yet specific. To do so may require setting several subordinate objectives. For example, “Being in better shape” is a significant goal, but it is not specific. “Being able to run a seven-minute mile” is specific, yet it may not seem significant to you.

Here’s my goal for health: To continue to modify my diet to help bring my blood pressure back to normal range (120/80) without the use of medication. 

Your health goal might be fitness oriented, such as: To become measurably stronger, leaner, more flexible, and to have greater endurance. Specifically, that would mean adding three pounds of muscle to your body, taking off four pounds of fat, being able to do a proper Sun Salutation in yoga, and running a mile in seven minutes.

You see how it works?

For the financial part of your life, your goals will probably be more ambitious than mine. My goal is to “stick with my seven-year financial independence plan.” That plan was set three years ago. All I have to do next year is get, overall, a 8% return on my investments and earn enough to live on. I’m probably going to do better than that. But I’m not going to think about it too much. For now, for me, health and personal goals are more important than my financial goals. For you, it might be different.

Your job today is to set these four big goals. To set them and commit to them.

The year 2016 can be the healthiest, wealthiest, and wisest year of your life. It starts today. Set your goals.$

[Do you know how Facebook and Google became the most powerful companies in the world?

It’s NOT helping you share pics of last night’s dinner...
It’s NOT searching for drunken cat videos…

And it’s DEFINITELY NOT about free Gmail accounts.
 

The simple truth is Facebook and Google SELL TRAFFIC.

They SELL TRAFFIC to business owners, and that advertising revenue alone has turned them into billion dollar companies.
 

Traffic is the most valuable commodity on the Internet, and that will never change.
 

This is why using the Traffic Authority business system is the ultimate way to make extra income in your business…

Click here to watch the video and start your own premium traffic business today!]

Seven Years to Seven Figures: How Much Are You Worth?

“We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

A French woman, upon seeing Picasso in a Parisian restaurant, approached the great master and insisted that he put down his coffee and make a quick sketch of her. Graciously, Picasso obliged. When he was done, she took the drawing, put it in her handbag, and then pulled out her billfold.

“How much do I owe you?” she asked.

“5,000” was Picasso’s reply.

“$5,000? But it took you only three minutes!” she exclaimed.

“No,” Picasso answered. “It took me all my life.”

That’s how I feel about the work I do. My skills — as a marketer and small-business builder — are very valuable. If you want me to help you sell your products or grow your business, you can expect to pay me at least $2,000 an hour. And that’s only if I have the time … the work time … left in my schedule. If you want me to work evenings or weekends … or during my vacation … how much would it cost you to take up my personal time? You don’t want to ask.

Now, let’s talk about you.

If you are making $10 or $20 or even $50 an hour now, you are not practicing a financially valuable skill. I’ve told you how to solve that problem. And I’ve given you plenty of ideas about what kinds of skills bring in the big bucks (and where to go to learn them).

But let’s go back and review the whole process right now.

First, let’s talk about how to figure out what you are worth. Previously, I told you how to figure out how valuable your time is: Take your yearly income and divide it by 50 weeks and then by 40 hours.

Now you know your dollar value per hour — today. If that number is less than $50 or less than you want it to be, go back and reread past my past messages on (1) learning a financially valuable skill and (2) creating a second, part-time income.

The next thing you have to do … and you need to start this now … is make yourself as valuable as you can be at your present job. By delegating tasks that someone who is paid less than you are can do, you give yourself free time to focus on the really important, wealth-creating jobs that will propel your business forward and put you at the center of the action.

Today, I think we should apply this same formula — with a twist — to your non-working life.

In a nutshell: Figure your hourly value and then double it. From then on, make sure that every personal task you engage in is “worth” that amount of money to you.

Let’s say, for example, that you are currently worth $25 per hour. Your personal time would then be valued at $50 per hour. Let’s also say that you spend eight hours every weekend watching football on television. Ask yourself if you think the pleasure you get from watching football is worth $400 ($50 times eight hours) of your working time. If you feel it is, enjoy it. If it’s not, consider cutting down on the time you spend watching the boob tube. And when it comes to sitting down and spending time with the kids, do it as if you were a professional getting paid $50 an hour to do so.

We all have the same amount of hours in the day. How much you get paid for your hours of work and how much pleasure you get from the hours you don’t are both up to you.$

[Do you know how Facebook and Google became the most powerful companies in the world?

It’s NOT helping you share pics of last night’s dinner...
It’s NOT searching for drunken cat videos…

And it’s DEFINITELY NOT about free Gmail accounts.
 

The simple truth is Facebook and Google SELL TRAFFIC.

They SELL TRAFFIC to business owners, and that advertising revenue alone has turned them into billion dollar companies.
 

Traffic is the most valuable commodity on the Internet, and that will never change.
 

This is why using the Traffic Authority business system is the ultimate way to make extra income in your business…

Click here to watch the video and start your own premium traffic business today!]

How to Stay Motivated About Achieving Your Long-Term Goals

 

“The highest reward for a man’s toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes.” – John Ruskin

Your most important goals — becoming rich, famous, etc. — can take time to accomplish. Sometimes years and years. How do you stick with them? How do you avoid distractions? How do you keep yourself from losing interest?

There’s only one answer to all these questions: Learn to love the process.

The process is what you engage in while you are on your way. It consists of the steps you take on your journey. It includes the little breakthroughs, the small triumphs, and the pleasure of overcoming adversity.

I do that by breaking all my long-term goals into shorter-term objectives. I’ve broken down all my lifetime goals into five-year objectives, then into yearly, monthly, and weekly objectives, and finally into daily tasks.

Each completed effort is something I feel good about. Often, I reward myself with small psychological prizes. Usually, the reward is simply the gratification I feel when I check the task off my task list. Sometimes, I reward myself with a monetary reward — a hundred dollars here, a thousand dollars there.

Let’s say you want to save a certain sum of money every month but find you don’t get any pleasure out of doing it. In that case, what you could do is pay yourself off each time you achieve that goal … perhaps with a small sum of “fun” money that you can spend any way you want to.

If, for example, your savings goal is $3,000 a month, you might give yourself a $100 bonus. The money might go to buy a nice dinner or to pay for some toy — almost anything, so long as it feels like an “extra.”

I like to give myself a cash bonus. There’s something tangible about a $20 bill that I am still very fond of. I usually spend that reward on music downloads.

Think about a long-term goal you might apply this idea to. Make deciding what the reward should be part of the enjoyment.

Hint: It’s sometimes fun to let someone else — a partner, your spouse, or even your assistant — award the bonus. That way, it feels more like a pleasant surprise.$

[Do you know how Facebook and Google became the most powerful companies in the world?

It’s NOT helping you share pics of last night’s dinner...
It’s NOT searching for drunken cat videos…

And it’s DEFINITELY NOT about free Gmail accounts.
 

The simple truth is Facebook and Google SELL TRAFFIC.

They SELL TRAFFIC to business owners, and that advertising revenue alone has turned them into billion dollar companies.
 

Traffic is the most valuable commodity on the Internet, and that will never change.
 

This is why using the Traffic Authority business system is the ultimate way to make extra income in your business…

Click here to watch the video and start your own premium traffic business today!]

When Are You Going to Start? Tomorrow? Next Week?

“Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.” – Don Marquis

If you asked me what the most common reason for failure is, I’d say procrastination.

Most of us know this. Yet, we often fail to recognize how often we make this mistake. Because we are busy with the everyday pressures of making a living and having a family, we feel it is only sensible to delay new projects until we have time “to do them well.”

As you can guess, I spend a lot of my professional and even my personal time encouraging people to carry out their ambitions. Almost every day, I am in a discussion with someone who tells me that she wants to accomplish something but admits that she hasn’t begun doing anything about it.

“I’m planning to get started as soon as I finish my master’s degree.”

Or …

“I’m going to begin next month, after I’ve finished filing my taxes.”

Or …

“I’m really eager to get started. First thing Monday morning …”

Procrastination is expressed in many ways and has many reasons, but it all means one thing: “I don’t want to start now.”

I have a 24-hour rule when it comes to getting things done. Whenever I come to the conclusion that I “have to” do something, I give myself 24 hours to take at least the first step toward getting it done.

I write it down on my daily task list. It’s highlighted in yellow. If it isn’t crossed out by the end of the day as “done,” I cancel all appointments for the following day and commit to doing nothing else.

I don’t take phone calls. I don’t read e-mail. I don’t allow people to come into my office for emergency visits. I come in early — extra early — and do nothing else but work on it.

Since I’ve been using this radical approach, I’ve been able to dramatically increase my personal productivity — and particularly in terms of goals that I have traditionally put off and put off.

By not allowing myself to procrastinate, I am doing many things I’ve always wanted to. I am healthier, wealthier, and wiser — and I wasn’t doing so badly to begin with.

Sometimes (and this honestly doesn’t happen too often), I get to my 24-hour deadline with nothing done — despite having set aside the time to get started. In those rare cases, I admit to myself that I’m emotionally incapable of accomplishing that goal. So I pull it off my list either permanently or for six months or a year, whatever feels right.

If you are putting off doing something important, it’s almost certainly because of fear. It helps to identify what exactly you are afraid of. Ask yourself, is it a fear of …

* failing?

* working hard?

* facing your ignorance?

Or could it be a fear of succeeding? I believe that some people procrastinate because they are actually content with their lives as they are and don’t really want them to change. They say they want to accomplish this or that because it seems like the right thing to do, but, in their heart of hearts, they actually don’t want anything to change (as it would if they succeeded).

I don’t know why my buddy is putting off doing his Jiu Jitsu, but I think he needs to figure out what he’s afraid of. If he can do that, we can have a productive conversation about it. We can figure out if his fear is founded and, if it is, how it can be overcome.

Take notice of the deadlines you are setting for yourself. If they are more than 24 hours away, beware. You just may be fooling yourself.$

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