What's Your Excuse!

Just when you start feeling sorry for yourself that you don't have the resources that others have to succeed save this video to your desktop or bookmark this page so you can come back and remind yourself that YOU Have No Excuses!

Or when you start playing the If Only... game:
- If only I was thinner
- If only I was taller
- If only I had more money
- If only I had been born into a better family

Watch This - and then Look At Yourself in the Mirror!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc4HGQHgeFE&feature=player_embedded#at=165

G.R.E.A.T.

No matter what your line of work is one thing to remember is that whenever you are out there you are always on stage. Whether you are at the supermarket or at a hockey game you never know who might be pointing to you and speaking of you with admiration. Don’t let them down by being off guard.

So to help you out a bit I have put together a few points that some of you might not find foreign at all. This is what it takes to be G.R.E.A.T.

1- G is for Grooming! You are a successful, respected, well-liked businessperson. Do you always look the part?
a- Take it from someone who knows the fashion business: You don’t need to spend a million bucks to look like a million bucks.
b- If you need any ideas just pick up any business magazine and see how business people dress.
c- When you are out and about you don’t need to wear a suit to the supermarket but maybe a raggedy sweat suit is not fitting either. Relax in your sweat pants at home if you have to.

2- R is for Respect and Responsibility!

3- E is for Edification! Edification is the process of building up or uplifting someone.

4- A is for Action which as you know speaks louder than words!
a- Do what you say you are going to do
b- More importantly DO what you are telling others to DO.
c- And DO IT like you want them to do it.

5- T is for Teaching! Teach what you know through your example and what you do. When you tell people what to do that is called Preaching. People rarely learn from Preachers but more often than not they learn from Teachers.

That is how G.R.E.A.T is lived and greatness begets more greatness, which in turn begets more wealth and fame and all that you desire!

Learn these things while you are still following or leading a few so that soon you may lead many.

Pearls Of Wisdom

Your days are your life in miniature. As you live your hours so you create your years. Small choices lead to giant consequences over time.

The best among us are not more gifted than the rest. They just take little steps each day as they march toward their biggest life. And the days slip into weeks, the weeks into months and before they know it, they arrive at a place called Extraordinary.

"The Greatness Guide" - Robin Sharma

L.U.C.K.Y. you!

Did you know that every minute of every day you are creating your future?
I am not referring to some esoteric, fluffy, new age philosophy.
Rather, there is real science behind that statement.

The choices you make today, every single thing you do today, in fact you reading this post right now or choosing not to, is determining the results you get tomorrow.

Depending on how much knowledge you acquired yesterday and how much of that knowledge you acted upon yesterday, that’s how your today will look.

Then people might just call you lucky – not knowing what you learned and what you did yesterday.

And when they call you lucky you can tell them darn right I’m lucky and this is what lucky means and you can be lucky too.

Laboured (You Acted)
Under
Correct
Knowledge
Yesterday

So look at every minute of your day and you will get a picture of the future you are creating right now.

What are you reading right now?
Are you reading something just to kill time or as an escape from your reality?
Or are you reading something that can help you make a fortune?

Are you working for a living with one job or two? Or are you working on your fortune with a spare-time business?

Depending on what you are doing right now will determine how prepared you are to strike while the iron is hot when a huge new opportunity comes along.

Be Prepared!
Get Ready!
Your Time is Almost Here!

Pearls of Wisdom

There are some things you don't have to know how it works - only that it works. While some people are studying the roots, others are picking the fruit.

It just depends on which end of this you want to get in on.
Jim Rohn

Are Your Prayers Being Answered?

We often pray that God will just give us a chance.
And yet when we get a chance we fail to act on it.

You might have heard this wonderful story but maybe you need to read it again.

It is the story of the man who lived in a house all by himself.
One day there was a great flood and the main floor was full of water.
So he went to the Second Floor and stood by the window and prayed.

Some people came by in a Canoe and said "Come on old man, let's get you out of here."
"Oh no - Go ahead," he said, "God will take care of me."

Then the floodwaters rose to the second level and he had to go to the third level.
A Motorboat came by while he was praying on the 3rd floor balcony and again he told them to go ahead because God was going to save him.

Soon the floodwaters forced him onto the roof and a helicopter spotted him and tried to pluck him to safety but he steadfastly refused to go.

And then he drowned and next thing he knew he was there standing in front of God.

"God what happened to you?" he asked, "I believed with all my heart and soul you would come and save me."

The lord smiled at the man and said, "I tried, my son. Who do you think sent the canoe and the motor boat and the helicopter?"

I hope that little story puts a smile on your face and an inspiration in your heart.

Have you been praying for something to happen in your life?

Whether you are praying for love, money, happiness or peace just pay attention to the messages around you.

Maybe your canoe or boat or helicopter is sitting right there in front of you and you just refuse to see it.

Pearls of Wisdom

Each one of us is called to greatness. Each one of us has an exquisite power within us. Each one of us can have a significant impact on the world around us – if we so choose.

But for this power that resides internally to grow, we need to use it.

“The Greatness Guide” – Robin Sharma

The Game – Second Half

In my last post I wrote about 3 types of people In The Game and before I get into more detail on these people here is why it is important. If you focus on communicating with the right people you will have better results and not get frustrated.

Those Who Get In The Game are people that don’t mess around. They play hard and think big! They play to win but are not afraid to lose. They would rather be IN the game, getting knocked down and bruised, than be in the stands watching. These people are tough to find because they are in high demand and are already playing somebody else’s game. So stay in touch with them, build a relationship and someday they just may play your game.

Those Who Watch are also referred to as the audience or the fans and they are a boisterous lot. They love to tell people who are playing the game how they could play better even though they do not want to get in the game. These arm-chair coaches and quarterbacks can be extremely critical and love to give advice that they rarely live by. They are very fearful of playing the game. The good thing about this group is that some of them, sometimes, get into the game, when they overcome their fear.

Those Who Don’t Come To The Game are content doing whatever they do. They don’t care about the game and sometime will watch from afar. Don’t waste your time with these people not because they are not winners but just because they really don’t care. The good thing about this group is that sometimes they become Those Who Watch. That usually happens when they hear that the game is getting real good and they jump on the band wagon. A couple of years ago when our team was in the finals of hockey a whole bunch of these people jumped on the bandwagon. The problem is they are also the first ones to jump off.

That is why I suggested that you focus your energy on the first two. Your life will be less frustrating and you will be more prosperous. Because YOU are probably In The Game!

Pearls Of Wisdom

While some people need to know every detail about how exactly the electricity gets from the switch to the light bulb before they can create light, I simply walk up to the switch and turn it on and presto – there is light!

The Game

For those of you who are in business of any kind you are always looking for people to recruit or for new customers. In fact whether you are a large corporation, a sports team or if you are a Network Marketer you definitely should be recruiting all the time.

That off course can be a very frustrating experience unless you understand The Game.

There are only 3 types of people:
1- Those who Get In The Game
2- Those who watch
3- And those who don’t even come to the Game

If you want to be successful, focus on the first two. And if you want to know more look out for my next post. Or even better sign up on this blog for automatic updates to be sent to you when this blog is updated which as you can see is not all that often.

Start A Financial Freedom Fund (FFF)

Every year when a farmer harvests his crop he leaves some of the seed in the barn to plant next spring. Every pay check that you earn you should be taking some of that seed and putting it in the “Barn” (Your Financial Freedom Fund) so that you can grow more money. When I first started my FFF I thought it would take me forever to make it big enough so that I could do anything with it. After all, at first I could only put very small amounts of money into my FFF. But as it grew so did my obsession with making it even bigger. I had my Money Magnet Jar at home and I threw in anything I could Every Single Day. Meanwhile I studied and studied.

There is a saying that “Success happens when Knowledge Meets Opportunity”. I had acquired much knowledge over the years but everytime opportunity knocked I had no money or very little money. As a result I was afraid to risk what little money I had.

Soon I had $800 in my FFF and I had studied enough that I had decided to spend $300 of it on all I had learned about Foreign Currency Trading. I promptly lost almost a third of it as I realized that trading real money was not the same as trading in a practice account. However, I still had $500 left so I dipped in to it to replenish the trading account because I felt I had learned some valuable lessons. In the next few months I had great success until I got cocky and lost my focus. I still made a lot of money and that helped me pad my FFF. The more money I made the more I put into my FFF. The more seed my FFF had the more I could plant and diversify. I bought stocks, invested in businesses and I quickly learned the secret of how the rich get richer.

“They Don’t Spend EVERYTHING They Earn.” They keep some of it for seed!

What is a Philanthro-Capitalist?

Back in late 2007 when I coined the term Philanthro-Capitalist™ I remember searching Google, Yahoo and MSN for the term and could find nothing. Today I ran a search and there are pages and pages of results for the same term.

The other thing that I did was I put a trademark symbol besides the term Philanthro-Capitalist™ but I knew it meant nothing. In fact I still chuckle when I think about doing it that first time.

While I am tickled that this term is getting all the play that it is receiving I still think that my meaning of the term is very different than what I see out there. So what does it mean to be a Philanthro-Capitalist™?

A Philanthro-Capitalist is a business person who is engaged in giving while creating a profit which in turn allows for more giving or philanthropy while creating even more profit. With this model there is ascending growth so that more and more people are impacted.

On the hand charities operate on a self-liquidation model. They receive money, give it all away and then come back asking for more. Charities also spend a huge amount of time and money raising money. As Philanthro-Capitalists™ become more successful, charities will be the beneficiaries of the funds generated from their businesses.

I write this explanation here to answer once and for all the many people that often approach me and say “Allan Marston – Philanthro-Capitalist – what the heck does that mean? I hope this explanation suffices.

An Instant Noodle Society

We are living in tough times but history has shown that it is during times like these that new businesses get started and succeed.

So as you start to look for business ideas beware of the scam artists and those that would just have you buy information on how to get rich. There are people who know they can prey on the unsuspecting people who have just been laid off and are looking for something new.

In this post and in upcoming ones as well I am going to give you a few clues on what to look for when you make a decision on whether what you are looking at is Too Good To Be True or Too Good To Pass Up.

1- There is no such thing as a Free Ride. If no investment is required – RUN! An opportunity without an investment is called A Job.

2- It is possible to find something that requires very little work and still make money. The cost is usually high for such opportunities. If it requires No Work at all, that is called An Investment. My rule of thumb is that either you use your money to make money or you use your efforts to make money. By being in business you can also leverage other people’s efforts (and expertise) to make money and you can leverage other people’s money to make money. That is why I like business so much.

3- The biggest of these 3 points is this one. If someone tells you they can make you rich in 3 months or some ridiculous time frame – RUN! Especially if the investment is low and the amount of work required is low. The bigger and the more dramatic the story, the more people fall for it.

We live in an Instant Noodle society where most people want to make money now, without working for it and they are willing to pay for it. Knowing this about the current human psychology, con artists gain your confidence with elaborate setups revolving around that theme of do nothing, invest with them and they will make you rich.

When ALL You Have Is Hope

In this post I wanted to start talking about business ideas but I think there is one more topic we need to cover before we go there. And that is the topic of whether YOU think you can actually be in business and whether you think you are actually capable of putting together an effective team.

The title of this post is actually the title of a book I am currently reading about a man named Frank O’Dea. He came from a rich family, got raped 4 times from when he was a young boy until he was a young man. His rapists included an Adult he trusted, a Police Officer and two Priests whom he also trusted.

He became an alcoholic at a very young age and eventually a young homeless man who was continuously beaten by young people looking for thrills and police looking to keep him out of places where well to do people would not be disturbed by his begging for food or money or the look and smell of his vomit and blood stained clothes.

Two days before Christmas, early in the morning while standing on a street corner he said to himself, “If I don’t change, I will die like this!” He did not want to die on the streets, freezing to death or being beaten to death. Die or Change was the only way he saw it. If he died, few would know he was gone and even fewer he figured would care.

Frank O’Dea made a decision that day to change that not only saved his life but saved and improved the lives of millions of people all over the world. Within 10 years he was a millionaire having co-founded The Second Cup, Canada’s equivalent to Starbuck’s in high-end coffee products. However, The Second Cup was way ahead of its time and even Starbuck’s had not come on to the scene when they started up.

When Frank O’Dea dies there will be many who will cry. Who will cry when YOU die? What difference have you made in the corner where you are?

This book is by far one of the most inspiring I have read in a very long time. I keep asking myself every time I put that book down the same question.

“If this guy who was severely abused, an alcoholic and a downtrodden homeless person and could then become one of Canada’s most successful businessmen and philanthropists can do it then why can’t you and I do it.”
Do human beings have to hit rock bottom to be able to Make A Decision to change their lives?

I hope not! If that is the case we would all need to go live on the streets and get beaten up a few times before we are capable of making that decision that will change our lives forever.

Can you make a decision, right now, right where you are at this moment in your life, to change? I really think you can! Maybe your change does not need to be that drastic. Maybe you just need to go from living pay check to pay check to living a life of financial abundance or at least a carefree financial lifestyle.

Frank O’Dea made that decision and then worked hard to stay off the alcohol. He worked hard at menial jobs where he made connections that led to him teaming up with people that led to business opportunities that he jumped on and worked hard at.

The story of Frank O’Dea if summarized in one paragraph might say that he made a decision, worked hard, had a great desire to be a success and looked for opportunity around every corner. He never tried to take the easy road! He didn’t hit the jackpot. His message is simple: Hope – Vision – Action!

Can you do it? Yes You Can!