Archives for October 2017

Bad habits follow you throughout your life, no matter how successful or unsuccessful you are.

And they affect your life negatively.

Russell Crowe reportedly treats everyone – fans, directors and fellow actors – very badly. Despite his amazing acting ability, there are many in Hollywood who simply refuse to work with him.

Lawrence Taylor, one of the most celebrated NFL players still alive, was a jerk to everyone. He treated everyone badly and this bad habit put him in the bleachers, so to speak.

Tobey McQuire, famed Spiderman actor, has been known to lash out at paparazzi, refuse to sign autographs and allegedly made ludicrous on-set coffee demands. No wonder he was not invited back to the fourth installment of Spiderman.

That’s the nature of habits. Habits stick.

Eventually your bad habits catch up with you. Once people figure out you are not a decent person, they avoid associating with you and that will undermine your career and affect your ability to make money and build wealth.

As the Bible says, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.

Seventy percent of the individuals who win a lottery or get a big windfall end up broke in a few years, according to the National Endowment for Financial Education.

In 2012, the financial advisors of the former NBA champion Dennis Rodman reported that he was broke. Years of extravagances, wild spending was the reason given.

Courtney Love, wife of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, squandered over $27 million of Nirvana earnings on years of hard partying and wild spending.

Famed actor, Nicolas Cage, who made $150 million in his acting career, at one time owned a haunted mansion, a private island, a collection of shrunken heads and spent $276,000 on a skull of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. His reckless, excessive spending forced him into bankruptcy in 2009.

Money acts as a magnifier. It exacerbates your Poor Habits.

If you have the Poor Habit of partying too much, you will find novel, expensive ways to party if you suddenly come into money. Consider Conor McGregor. One week after receiving $30 million in winnings from his very lucrative loss to Floyd Mayweather, McGregor bought a super yacht reportedly worth $12 million.

If you have the Poor Habit of gambling, the more money you make, the more you will gamble. Consider Allen Iverson’s fall from grace. He earned over $200 million dollars in his NBA career and due to his gambling and drinking issues, Iverson is now both broke and in debt.

If you have the Poor Habit of saying yes to everything, you will give away all of your newfound money to friends and family. Consider Gerald Muswagon, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, who won $10 million in 1998. He bought cars for friends and family, and gave away much of his money. Eventually, he’d spent all his money and had to find a minimum-wage job to survive.

So many people who suddenly come into money find their lives worse then before primarily because money is a magnifier with respect to your habits.

Have you ever been on a boat in a lake on a calm, sunny day?

In your mind’s eye, what do you see?

If you’re like most, you probably see someone in a stationary boat, just sitting there.

That’s a metaphor for the life most lead.

Now, I want you to imagine that you’re in another boat. But this boat is on the rapids of a ferocious river. What do you see in your mind’s eye?

If you’re like most, you probably see someone hanging on for dear life as that boat tumultuously flies along the river at a very rapid pace, bouncing left, right, dipping frontwards and backwards. In no time, the boat and its occupant are so far from where they started, the starting line is no longer visible.

That’s a metaphor for the life of a dreamer.

When you pursue a dream, you are in for the ride of your life.

Most of the time, that dream will give you nothing but tumultuous waters. You are pushed to the limit; your very survival, tested on a daily basis.

For most dreamers, this battle to overcome the treacherous journey is one that lasts for many years.

But, for those who survive the journey, they find themselves very far from where they started. Their very survival transforming them into a different person – a vastly improved, resilient, gritty version of their former selves. And what an exciting story they have to tell.

Most people avoid the rapids. They are too afraid. They prefer the calm waters where they can sit in their boat on the lake, safe and protected. And that boat and its occupant stay just where it is, unmoving, unchallenged, with no story to tell.

One of the big separators between the rich and the non-rich is the rich have developed the Rich Habit of taking action.

Action is really two things:

1. Thinking Action
2. Physical Action

Thinking Action

We all think. According to Psychology Today, the average person has 50,000 thoughts a day.

According to my research, the Thinking Actions of the rich are very different from the poor:

• The Rich Are Positive Thinkers – 67% of the self-made millionaires in my study forged the habit of being positive and upbeat. A positive, mental outlook is critical to overcoming problems, obstacles, pitfalls, mistakes and failures. Staying positive is a critical component to becoming wealthy. Positivity is like a radar in search of solutions to intractable problems. Thus, positive thinkers are able to see opportunities, where others see only negative consequences.
• The Poor Are Negative Thinkers – 70% of the thoughts of the average person are negative (Psychology Today). Negative thinkers are unable to see solutions to problems. Thus, they are unable to overcome obstacles, pitfalls, their mistakes and their failures. Opportunities pass them by because they are not looking for opportunities. They are too focused on the negative consequences.
• The Rich Are Decision-Makers – 91% of the rich in my study were decision-makers. Forging the habit of making decisions is critical to success. Those who develop the habit of making decisions are sought after as leaders, by others. Decision-makers have forged the habit of overcoming the fear of making decisions along with the paralysis of analysis associated with those unable to make decisions. The rich do not over think, which is a form of procrastination. It is impossible to know everything you need to know before making a decision. The rich forge the habit of being comfortable being uncomfortable about making decisions. 
• The Poor Let Others Make Decisions – 98% of the poor in my study were not decision-makers. They succumb to the fear of making a decision. They get lost in analysis and over thinking, which is a form of procrastination. The poor feel uncomfortable about making decisions, so they defer to others.

My research is clear. Your habits determine your standard of living for you and your family.

Your habits are the reason you live in a mansion by the ocean or a slum in the ghetto.

Your habits are the reason your children go to expensive private schools or are relegated to a public education.

Your habits are the reason you rise to success, while others wallow in poverty or the middle-class.

But how is it that some individuals forge success habits and others do not?

The answer is your WHY.

Those who have a WHY cultivate certain, specific habits that are necessary in order for them to pursue their WHY.

In most cases your WHY is a dream you are pursuing.

Your WHY is your compass.

It steers you in the right direction and provides you with everything you will need in order to realize your WHY:

• It directs the action you must take in order to succeed.
• It directs the habits you must forge to help you achieve your goals.
• It directs the relationships you must grow in order to open the right doors.
• It directs the books you must read in order to acquire the knowledge you will need to become an expert in your field.
• It directs the skills you must acquire in order to set you apart from the herd.
• It directs what you do with your 24 hours.
• It gives you the motivation you need.
• It gives you the optimism that every successful person possesses.
• It gives you the persistence to overcome all obstacles placed in your way.
• It gives you the correct intuition in making the right decisions.
• It gives you the incredible work ethic that is required in order to succeed.

Your WHY opens up a Pandora’s box of success traits you never imagined you had.

Find your WHY and life will give you everything you need and want.

“The successful person recognizes his God-given talents, works relentlessly to turn his talents into advanced skills and uses those advanced skills to achieve success.” Larry Bird

Successful people develop three traits:

1. Expert Knowledge
2. Advanced Skills and
3. Success

So how do you develop the three traits of success?

DAILY STUDY – Only through Daily Study are you able to gain Expert Knowledge.

FOCUSED, DELIBERATE PRACTICE – Only through Focused, Deliberate Practice are you able to develop Advanced Skills.

ACTION – Only by taking Action are you able to achieve Success.

You cannot think your way to confidence. Confidence is something that must be earned.  You build that confidence one level at a time.

There are there levels that will help you build confidence:

LEVEL #1 – Expert Knowledge

Having specialized knowledge in a particular field or niche is the first level.

LEVEL #2 – Expert Knowledge and Advanced Skills

Having both Expert Knowledge and Advanced Skills in a particular field or niche takes you to the next level, elevating your confidence even higher.

LEVEL #3 – Expert Knowledge, Advanced Skills and Achieving Success

The highest level of confidence is attained when you have mastered all three levels: Expert Knowledge, Advanced Skills and Achieving Success. This makes you a bone fide expert in your field or niche.