While stumbling through some of my interests on StumbleUpon today I came across a post I wanted to share. It seems I spend a bit too much time on StumbleUpon these days. I’m addicted! You can connect with me HERE and we’ll share content.
There are so many people who struggle with making money online, and I think their issue is just the lack of simplicity. Making things too complex will demotivate and kill almost anything.
If one can create a successful family environment, there’s no doubt in my mind that one can also become a successful businessman, and vice versa. Let’s take a look at some of the similarities between raising a successful family and running a successful business.
In my experience, TIME is the most important ingredient.
Depending on the type of business you’re involved in, it’s going to require a lot of your time, especially if it’s a new business. Many people make the mistake, specifically in the Network Marketing industry, of thinking they can get something for nothing. Which is why more people fail in business than those who succeed. Getting started is just the first step. You’ll never reach the city of success unless you keep walking.
Have you ever had a great business idea? What am I saying…..if you didn’t, you wouldn’t be here right? Let me rephrase that question for you. Have you ever had a great business idea, and it’s exactly the same right now as it was when you had the idea…..still an idea? Don’t worry, I’ve been there several times before as well. Ideas are free and that’s why there are more of them than actual plans of action out there. But, not everyone has truly GREAT ideas.
Have you ever found yourself saying, “When I get my tax return I’m going to….,” buy me a new truck, go on a shopping spree, pay off my credit card or even just catch up on my rent or mortgage? If you have, no worries. You’re not the only one. I would say that 95 out of 100 people say that almost every year.
No big deal! That’s the way the system works right? You work a job for the year just making ends meet. You may have some extra to go on a vacation or two, buy your kids Christmas presents and maybe get a few nice things for yourself. But, none of it compares to tax return time! “Man, when my tax return gets here I’m gonna buy this or get that. “
I would have to say, and you should agree with me, that if tax return time is your biggest bonus of the year…something needs to change! You are getting paid to stay right where you’re at, dependent. Dependent on a job that isn’t paying you what you’re worth and dependent on a yearly bonus from your government, for struggling through the last twelve months of barely making ends meet. It’s like giving a lolly pop to a child who only gets one a year. The rest of the year, he’s sucking off the remains of everyone else’s lolly pops.
Look, I only bag on tax return time to make a point here. I encourage you, with all the fiber of my being, to change your thinking. Get out or your comfort zone, step into your creative side and start moving forward in a different direction…a direction that will have you paying taxes at the end of the year because you will have earned the income to do so. Instead of acting like everyone else, step out of the mold. Poor people make money to spend it, rich people make money to invest it, utilize it and to make more money with. It’s a tool, not a gift. When you get the wrench, fix the car. Don’t trade it for a tricycle.
If you think about it, it’s actually a privilege to get to pay taxes, because you know you’re helping the government support a family who needs the fifteen percent raise. Which they’ll need until they change their thinking from spending to investing…investing in themselves.
Now in closing, how many business ideas have you had in the past five to ten years? If you say none, I’ve got some great products you can SPEND your money on right now. But for those of you who have, USE your tax return on that. Start that business and move in the direction you are passionate about. If it succeeds, congratulations! You’ve broken the mold you were stuck in. And if it fails, congratulations! Now you know what to do better next time….and guess what? You’ve got another tax return to invest coming your way in exactly one year from time the last one came. You win!
Just remember, poor people spend it, rich people use it to create a better future for themselves and those around them. Which side of the scale are you on? Because on a completely lopsided scale, who’s always above the rest? The minority!
Tip of the day: When you are feeling a little poverty conscious, when thoughts of doubt about your financial future enter your mind frequently and things just don’t quite seem to be going your way, JUST LEAVE! Seriously, pack your suite case, get in the car and go somewhere that makes you feel good and prosperous. Get the heck out of Mayberry and go to a place where things are happening and the atmosphere is breath taking.
Spend the money it will take to get you there. It will be worth it!
Seriously though…..think about the most successful people you know. And if the most successful person you know is your best friends cousin Daryl, who won $1000 in the lottery once, think of the most successful person you know of…..a businessman, actor or athlete. Where do they hang out all the time? Do they stay in one spot?
NO! Successful people are on the move. Think about it, if you had all the money in the world and you started having feelings of doubt about your success, would you sit there and entertain that thought?
NO! You’d get up and replace that thought with a prosperous thought. And one of the best ways to do that is to have plenty of prosperous thoughts to replace it with.
Visiting Telluride Colorado gave me a dozen or more thoughts of prosperity! The waterfall, the cliffs, the Aspen trees in the fall and the snow tipped peaks were amazing. The town was busting with business and the weather was perfect. If I was having any thoughts of doubt or discouragement before I came here, believe me, they are gone. They’re insignificant now!
You see, there is a constant battle going on inside your head. The majority wants control and the majority is poverty, or averageness. Not even positive if averageness is a word, but it wants control, because everything in the world is pointing you in that direction. You’ve got to have some ammo to fight off the intruders. That ammo for me, today, was all I witnessed in Telluride.
If you haven’t been somewhere in a while, plan a trip. Not just to your mom’s house in the home town you came from, but to a place you have never been to before…a place that will inspire you. Take some pictures and record some video. Take your most favorite people in the world with you. Create some memories. It will be well worth it for you personally, and for your business. I promise!
Unfortunately, Network Marketing companies come and go, or, you are someone that comes and goes, bouncing from one company to the next. Although a company seems solid, with a good product and great compensation, there’s no guarantee that it will be around forever.
My BIGGEST mistake as a home business owner, was putting all of my eggs into one basket. I put so much trust in the concept/product/owners of the company I was part of that I didn’t have a back-up plan. Now, if it’s all solid, there are no worries. But, if things go a different direction, if the company crashes, if the products lose their value or if any other variable happens that effects the company, it also directly effects your income. Instead of putting so much into the company, put that focus on the goal.
So imagine that 6 figure income you had managed to create while working your home business, suddenly gone, or significantly reduced. Now, if it was your doing, that’s one thing. But if was a direct correlation to something that happened in the company, that’s an entire different story! Without pointing fingers or taking a victims mentality, how does one recover from something like that?
Here’s how I recovered……I relied on the online presence I had. With the amount of content I have all over the net, the presence in social networking sites and the organic rankings on all major search engines, I had choices. With consistent, FREE traffic coming to my website, this site, a crash of a company wasn’t a complete disaster. All that did was gave me options.
I could…….
I could develop my own products and promote them on my site. I could completely monetize my website with sponsored listing from ad networks such as Adsense. I could continue to capture leads and sell them. I could promote affiliate products on my site. The list could go on and on.
So if you find yourself in a home based business, and you are purchasing leads, spending high dollar on CPC ads or don’t have a web presence, you may want to rethink your strategy. Set yourself up to win regardless of the opportunity.
One thing I teach people about marketing is to use three or four different sources of lead generation. If one or two drop out, you have the other two to rely on until they can be replaced. Without spreading yourself too thin, the same thing applies for your sources of income.
I believe in the Cortez concept of burning your boats, but I also believe in having a back up plan. Expect the best but prepare for the worst and you’ll never find yourself in a hard spot, without options.
Stay tuned for my SECOND BIGGEST MISTAKE in the next post!