Anything worth having is worth the time an energy in developing. That saying is especially true when it comes to building a business or for that matter a networking group. In our case, it applies to both. You see for the past year Linda and I have been knee deep in developing an Interior Design firm and simutaneously building a networking group.
I know what some of you are about to say, "What are you kidding me?" I get a lot of that. Most people are just overwhelmed with just getting up in the morning and going to work, for someone else, let alone run a startup business. Linda and I have had a great training bed even before we decided to go into business, full time for ourselves.
We started out many years ago working for various church organizations. We would be the first ones in the door in the morning and help lock up at night long after everyone had gone home. In our travels we had started many programs and built teams of people to satisfy the need. In addition we would still have to do our regular 9-5. So working on a few businesses really isn't all that hard.
The hard thing to do for most of us though is to stick with the program when we haven't had the advantage of being workaholic slobs like the Rays. When you don't have this foundation, what do you do?
I wish I could tell you that there are seven wonderful tips that I could give you that will prepare you for this sort of dedication but alas I don't have any tips. I can tell you what helped us and maybe you can glean something from our experience that may prepare you for your own venture.
We established a relationship with an organization that was moving forward.
This may be the foremost important thing that you can do. Align yourself with an organization that already is moving forward. This relationship will ensure that you won't be involved with a crew that is going nowhere, In our case it was the International Church of Las Vegas.
ICLV was a small church with a global vision. It's pastor is a driven man who demands excellence and innovation from his people. This sort of relationship is vital to their forward movement and global impact.
Seek out mentors who are driven more than you.
It is easier to become better when those around you are better than you are. In my case we were surrounded by people who were well travelled, educated, financially able and dedicated to becoming successful. In this inner circle of people there was no room for losers. You were either a winner or poised on the vurge of being a winner. As a matter of fact, we spent more time praying that everyone around us would become a winner than we did worrying about if someone had failed or not. You see we just didn't have time to think about failure. We were too busy building and achieving.
Volunteer for the hard jobs.
During our formative years we were urged to step out of our comfort zone and become well-rounded workers. You see up until that point all Linda and I had really done was teach a few classes and sing alot. At the urging of a mentor, we immersed ourselves in areas that we had never even thought of going. That proved to be the best thing we ever did. Within a few short years, we found ourselves utilizing these new skills in ways that were beyond our expectations.
Sticking with the program is all about seeing your dreams come to pass. In most cases it is a muscle that needs to be put to work. It may take a while to see the dream come to pass but like anything else that is worth having....it is worth waiting for.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
It’s All a Mindset
It was almost time for me to close the meeting. I only had a few seconds to compose myself and deliver the benediction and send our members on their way. It had been a great meeting. If I didn’t give em something to really seal the deal everything else would have fallen flat. Then it came to me.
Earlier in the week I had the opportunity to speak in front of a Christian businessmen’s meeting. It was great speaking in Christianese and cracking open my bible to this verse and that. The flow in the room was awesome. I mean it was tangible how the ideas and confirmations were being received. Now how could I translate that same course of ideas into my beloved group? It wasn’t long before I found out.
How is it that Jewish people and those who come to our Americas become so influential and rich, while we who were born here don’t prosper on such a large scale? The answer is really found in scripture and the Old Testament. From the time that a young Jewish lad or lady able to understand they are indoctrinated into a cult of success. You heard me right, a CULT of SUCCESS. They are brainwashed into believing that they WILL become Doctors, Lawyers, Politicians, Business owners, Leaders, etc… This isn’t an option for them it is a MINDSET.
The Success mindset is one that has been studied, written about and disseminated in so many books that if I were to begin listing just the ones written in the last quarter century, there wouldn’t be enough paper to list them on. It is the thing that all great business people aspire to acquire and the one thing that separates those who have and those who have not.
The Success mindset goes something like this. You are born to be successful. Everything that you do leads you to a place of completion. You are going to make it to the top of whatever you put your hands to. There is an outside force that is driving you to this ultimate end and there isn’t anything you can do to stop it. You were born to achieve great things. You are to be the head and not the tail. You are to be the lender to many and never to be the borrower. Abundance is deep within your DNA. Aside from times of respite, creative thoughts are continually overflowing from your mind.
This is why Jewish people are so successful. They were taught it from their parents, it was nurtured by their society and they in turn pass this down to their children and their children’s children. When I asked this of one of the people who was in our group, who happens to be Jewish, he nodded in agreement. He didn’t have a choice in life whether to be rich or poor. It was something predestined for him to be. If he wanted to be something other than successful, he would have to find another family. It just wasn’t going to happen in his father’s house.
The key for us today is how are we to foster this same mindset in our own families? Just like the Vanderbilt’s, Kennedys, Rockefellers’ and Schwab’s of this current age, we need to begin by instilling this vision of greatness in our children. Take them with us to our businesses, expose them to great thinkers and sights, let them experience the exchange of barter. These will begin to show our children that working for someone else isn’t in their DNA stain. They were meant to be the Head. I myself am always taking my children and grandchildren with me to events, business conferences and sites to expose them to where they will ultimately be.
This is the Success Mindset. Bind it upon your forehead. Teach it to your children daily. Tell them about the past and show them where they shall be in the future. Never allow them to settle for second best. For they were meant to be the next generation of leaders in our society. They just need someone to show them the way.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Educate Your Clients
This may seem really stupid to say but "HGTV isn't real, no more that WWF wrestlng is". "No, you can't build a full scale Adirondack chair in 30 minutes and that simple antiquing project isn't that simple." The point I'm making hear is that most people literally believe what they see on TV. They truly believe that if Rachel Ray can cook a perfect Beef Wellington in 15minutes with her high heels on while drinking a bottle of Dom Lefit, then so can they.
I can't tell you how many clients I've encountered who are DITYS, do-it-yourselfers. They have consumed the Home Depot KoolAid and are among the perpetually blinded to "Pay for a professional" standard. Well I am hear to tell you, "The biggest problem in America today isn't recession, it is the Do-it-Yourself industry.
Once the bastion of craftsmen and luthers, now anyone with a television guide and the stones can attempt a home renovation project. They have become quasi Interior Designers, Electricians, Plumbers and Carpenters. Professional painters have been replaced by bespeckled secretaries. Trained plasterers have gone the way of the dodo bird, replaced by the common red-shirted night watchmen.
Now I am not begrudging anyone the right to be a (DITYS) do-it-yourself. I am torqued at the mentality one gets after watching a few weeks of the Ye Old Yankee Workshop though. Now everyone thinks that because they've seen a dovetailed joint that this qualifies them to give advice to their neighbor who chooses to hire a professional to do their renovation "THE RIGHT WAY".
I spent a considerable amount of time with a client "Talking her off the cliff" because she spoke to her DITYS friend. He knew just enough to be dangerous and to tell you the truth I had to be real sensitive to the clients position because they were just a victim of DITYS indoctrination. The battle for the control of their mind was intense.
As a businessman I have to do more in the future to help people who have been a part of the cult of DITYS. My part is to do all I can to educate them and detoxify their minds. The damage that has been done isn't permanent just persistent. Everyday the reinforcement of DITYSism is at work throughtout the cable airways. With our continued vigilance and determination we will see DITYS and its ilk come crashing down and together we can see a return to reaity.
In closing, I would just like to say that under no cicumstances can a quality Adirondack chair be built in 30minutes with the leftovers from yesterdays filing cabinet. Yes, painting is an art and not a weekend warrior project. Finally, if you want professional quality results, HIRE A PRO.
I can't tell you how many clients I've encountered who are DITYS, do-it-yourselfers. They have consumed the Home Depot KoolAid and are among the perpetually blinded to "Pay for a professional" standard. Well I am hear to tell you, "The biggest problem in America today isn't recession, it is the Do-it-Yourself industry.
Once the bastion of craftsmen and luthers, now anyone with a television guide and the stones can attempt a home renovation project. They have become quasi Interior Designers, Electricians, Plumbers and Carpenters. Professional painters have been replaced by bespeckled secretaries. Trained plasterers have gone the way of the dodo bird, replaced by the common red-shirted night watchmen.
Now I am not begrudging anyone the right to be a (DITYS) do-it-yourself. I am torqued at the mentality one gets after watching a few weeks of the Ye Old Yankee Workshop though. Now everyone thinks that because they've seen a dovetailed joint that this qualifies them to give advice to their neighbor who chooses to hire a professional to do their renovation "THE RIGHT WAY".
I spent a considerable amount of time with a client "Talking her off the cliff" because she spoke to her DITYS friend. He knew just enough to be dangerous and to tell you the truth I had to be real sensitive to the clients position because they were just a victim of DITYS indoctrination. The battle for the control of their mind was intense.
As a businessman I have to do more in the future to help people who have been a part of the cult of DITYS. My part is to do all I can to educate them and detoxify their minds. The damage that has been done isn't permanent just persistent. Everyday the reinforcement of DITYSism is at work throughtout the cable airways. With our continued vigilance and determination we will see DITYS and its ilk come crashing down and together we can see a return to reaity.
In closing, I would just like to say that under no cicumstances can a quality Adirondack chair be built in 30minutes with the leftovers from yesterdays filing cabinet. Yes, painting is an art and not a weekend warrior project. Finally, if you want professional quality results, HIRE A PRO.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
CEO Series
In the coming weeks I will be launching a series of webinars unlike any other that I've done before. Now before you get all bent out of shape, this isn't going to be another one of those "I'm the expert, so look at me" type of webinars. I won't try and hype you over some pie in the sky analogies on how if you pay me $29.95 plus shipping and handling you will become a six figure earner in your MLM. No I won't even try and sell you on some auto-ship scheme. What I will share with you are my real life experiences over the past 20 years of working with some of the best minds in leadership and business. Most specifically, I will share with you my odesse over the past year of building a pretty successful networking group.
I've entitled the series the CEO Series because what I have learned over the past months and years have prepared me to become a leader in my organization. I have had to learn many of those lessons the hard way but in the end they have been labors of love and I would never change them for the world. Many times I can tell you I wished that I hadn't started the thing because once you've shoved out into the deep, there is no turning back So, I knew that I had stepped in some deep doo doo and it wasn't coming off without taking off some skin too.
Becoming a CEO is much like the beforementioned analogy. You put your heart and soul into a matter and you don't even consider taking it back. Your heart is just out there. People can say all that they want to say but you know that you are committed to this endeavor and nothing else is going to deter you. Linda and I had made that committement to our team of business people and we had a responsibility not to give up on them.
One many occassions we would be the only persons to meet in the room but we knew that this wasn't going to be an easy thing. If it was going to be easy, then they would have had little old ladies and little girls doing it. Nothing worth while is ever easy but in the final analogy no amount of paint would make you stop.
I liken our trip through the past year, to that of a woman carrying a baby for 9 months and then 14 hours of hard labor. The doctor and medical team are all there waiting for this miraculous thing to happen. For the past 9 months you have shown all the signs of being pregnant. You have been waddling all over the place, eating everything in sight. You've been having pains, spasm, contractions and all the signs of someone who is about to give birth. And now is the time when you are to deliver. You are expecting and they've been expecting you to bring forth a child.
In our case our child was a growing healthy organization. We have seen the birth of something that many people had started but didn't want to pay the price to see come to full term. That is the story of the CEO Series. How can you as a business person take your endeavor from zero to hero. You can find out by taking advantage of our webinars and videos we will be producing in the coming weeks. I'm looking forward to producing it.
I've entitled the series the CEO Series because what I have learned over the past months and years have prepared me to become a leader in my organization. I have had to learn many of those lessons the hard way but in the end they have been labors of love and I would never change them for the world. Many times I can tell you I wished that I hadn't started the thing because once you've shoved out into the deep, there is no turning back So, I knew that I had stepped in some deep doo doo and it wasn't coming off without taking off some skin too.
Becoming a CEO is much like the beforementioned analogy. You put your heart and soul into a matter and you don't even consider taking it back. Your heart is just out there. People can say all that they want to say but you know that you are committed to this endeavor and nothing else is going to deter you. Linda and I had made that committement to our team of business people and we had a responsibility not to give up on them.
One many occassions we would be the only persons to meet in the room but we knew that this wasn't going to be an easy thing. If it was going to be easy, then they would have had little old ladies and little girls doing it. Nothing worth while is ever easy but in the final analogy no amount of paint would make you stop.
I liken our trip through the past year, to that of a woman carrying a baby for 9 months and then 14 hours of hard labor. The doctor and medical team are all there waiting for this miraculous thing to happen. For the past 9 months you have shown all the signs of being pregnant. You have been waddling all over the place, eating everything in sight. You've been having pains, spasm, contractions and all the signs of someone who is about to give birth. And now is the time when you are to deliver. You are expecting and they've been expecting you to bring forth a child.
In our case our child was a growing healthy organization. We have seen the birth of something that many people had started but didn't want to pay the price to see come to full term. That is the story of the CEO Series. How can you as a business person take your endeavor from zero to hero. You can find out by taking advantage of our webinars and videos we will be producing in the coming weeks. I'm looking forward to producing it.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Destined for Prosperity
Just finished a really spectacular day. Started out with a networking meeting with our Diversity Networking Group. Had around 30 people in attendance as special speakers shared how they have achieved financial success. It really was a great time.
Then it was my turn to share. I remembered a few days prior when a colleague told a group of us how he was so blessed that he started to turn down work. He said that his few employees were tired, so he just told wouldbe clients no. There was a stirring in my spirit as I heard him say this. As I addressed our group the spirit of God just rose up within me and I told them this.
You were meant to be rich. You were put in a position of power, entrepreneurship and vision for a reason. That reason was not for you but for 10's, 100's or even thousands of people. This was something that I wanted our small but growing group to really get deep down in their spirit. "You were specifically chosen to be a provider for others, that is why you are an entrepreneur".
Many people only ask for enough for themselves and their family. This is the most selfish of desires. When you say this you are in essence saying, "I only care about me and mine." This is shear selfishness. That's not the reason why you were given the ability to make money. You were given a true gift because God knows you can take what you have and make it a mountain.
So as you begin your next day, believe that you have a mandate to produce because if you don't that ability you've been given will be given to someone else who will.
You were meant to be rich. You were put in a position of power, entrepreneurship and vision for a reason. That reason was not for you but for 10's, 100's or even thousands of people. This was something that I wanted our small but growing group to really get deep down in their spirit. "You were specifically chosen to be a provider for others, that is why you are an entrepreneur".
Many people only ask for enough for themselves and their family. This is the most selfish of desires. When you say this you are in essence saying, "I only care about me and mine." This is shear selfishness. That's not the reason why you were given the ability to make money. You were given a true gift because God knows you can take what you have and make it a mountain.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Fadi's Story
You can't ask a Free man the meaning of Freedom because he doesn't have a frame of reference to judge not being free. I spoke to Fadi, who knows the difference. See if you can judge now also.
Progress Pains
So you've started this awesome company. Planned for funding, infrastructure, networking and all the other things that the SCORE volunteer told you to put on the Business Plan. The only problem, a year into your first year the unexpected happens. This thing starts to take hold like a wild fire. I mean you are growing so fast that you can't keep up with the pace. So what do you do? What do you do when the very thing that you prayed for happens IN SPADES?
Access- There may be many routes to get to Rome but only a few paths will get you there with the least amount of trouble. The first thing I'd do is to access where the heck I really want to go. Let me give you an example. You started out a 98lb. weakling and now you are sporting a size 23 neck with a 30 inch waist and 30 inch biceps. Things are just not the same as they were before. In the old days all you wanted was to be able to pay the bills and maybe at some point be able to take a well deserved vacation. Now that you have more muscles than the ex-governator of California, your perspective may have changed. You find that you can lift more, run faster and use up more sun tan oil that you ever thought you would ever use. Now would be a good time to access really what your options and possibilities are. In other words, the Business Plan needs to be readjusted.
Align- Your little boy has grown all up overnight and you're thinking to yourself, "I can't imagine anyone else coming in and taking credit for all the hard work I've put into this wee one. Letting go and bringing in someone with a bit more experience is exactly what you will have to do in order for that child to benefit from his or her increased size, potential and spirit. Many business owners literally cripple their fantastic businesses because they are so fearful of losing control. Well, get over it Bill Gates. Your baby needs more air and since you can't provide it, call someone in who can.
Allow- This brings me to my last point. Allowing someone else to take over and take your business to the next level just makes good business sense. I don't know of any successful Fortune 500 company that didn't allow others in. It's like a rope who says that it would be just fine with only one cord. No there is power when you team up with a few more cords. You become stronger and get a better return when you team up with others.
Accessing, Aligning and Allowing others to help take your baby to the next level are excellent ways to continue your business on its way to the top of the corporate world. Don't cripple your business by trying to do it all yourself. Allow others to help you, it could mean the difference between winning and losing.
Access- There may be many routes to get to Rome but only a few paths will get you there with the least amount of trouble. The first thing I'd do is to access where the heck I really want to go. Let me give you an example. You started out a 98lb. weakling and now you are sporting a size 23 neck with a 30 inch waist and 30 inch biceps. Things are just not the same as they were before. In the old days all you wanted was to be able to pay the bills and maybe at some point be able to take a well deserved vacation. Now that you have more muscles than the ex-governator of California, your perspective may have changed. You find that you can lift more, run faster and use up more sun tan oil that you ever thought you would ever use. Now would be a good time to access really what your options and possibilities are. In other words, the Business Plan needs to be readjusted.
Align- Your little boy has grown all up overnight and you're thinking to yourself, "I can't imagine anyone else coming in and taking credit for all the hard work I've put into this wee one. Letting go and bringing in someone with a bit more experience is exactly what you will have to do in order for that child to benefit from his or her increased size, potential and spirit. Many business owners literally cripple their fantastic businesses because they are so fearful of losing control. Well, get over it Bill Gates. Your baby needs more air and since you can't provide it, call someone in who can.
Allow- This brings me to my last point. Allowing someone else to take over and take your business to the next level just makes good business sense. I don't know of any successful Fortune 500 company that didn't allow others in. It's like a rope who says that it would be just fine with only one cord. No there is power when you team up with a few more cords. You become stronger and get a better return when you team up with others.
Accessing, Aligning and Allowing others to help take your baby to the next level are excellent ways to continue your business on its way to the top of the corporate world. Don't cripple your business by trying to do it all yourself. Allow others to help you, it could mean the difference between winning and losing.
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