Category: Business/Entrepreneur

“The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war.”

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This quote seems very fitting for the present circumstances and I wanted to take some time to dig deeper into the meaning behind it and how entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs can all use it to their advantage.

We are going through an unprecedented time right now where the entire world is experiencing a pandemic. 

In some way shape or form each and every one of us is impacted by it, whether it be our own health, business or job, a family member, close friend, or friend of a friend. 

Despite the turmoil, there’s never been a better time than right in this moment to work on improving every facet of ourselves as well as increasing our capacity for appreciating life. 

Focusing on self improvement isn’t as attractive as the desire to start a business. 

The majority of us, myself included, typically come up with an idea and dive head first into taking action, separating ourselves from others who just talk.

We go through the rollercoaster ride of emotions of being an entrepreneur, experiencing a surge of euphoric highs as well as unexpected, unfortunate and unpleasant lows. 

For most of us it takes YEARS of persistence, consistency and resilience to make headway before we ultimately reach milestones that we consciously or unconsciously set for ourselves.

Any entrepreneur would attest to the above wholeheartedly. 

However, before you can achieve in business (as well as in life) you have to master the self, the mind, the mental aspect of the game. 

It’s all mental. 

This starts by focusing on developing self discipline. While it’s possible to accomplish goals and become successful without it, you’ll likely do so in a rather destructive manner that will leave you feeling unfulfilled, which is the ultimate failure.

This is done by taking the time to intentionally create habits that align with characteristics and an overall identity that you aspire to be more like.

A few ideas…

Habits such as stretching, exercising and not sitting for extended periods of time, meditating, journaling, visualizing, practicing positive self talk and what you’re grateful for, sitting alone and disconnecting from digital usage to become more aware of your thoughts, reflecting on your life experiences, how you react in certain situations and naturally uncovering ways to improve upon them in the future. 

Reading, opening your mind to new perspectives and beliefs, being strict on the type of websites you visit and the kind of information that you consume and setting aside time to be fully present with loved ones to further build relationships. 

When you discipline yourself to take action on these habits day in and day out, despite how difficult it may feel some days and regardless of circumstances that may arise, you’ll create an unshakeable sense of confidence and peace within yourself and become the person that you’ve longed to be.

Armed with these convictions you’ll be able to elevate your life to a new level and overcome any adversity that is thrown your way. 

You’ll be able to do so with a sound mind that’s backed by reason and logic versus impulse and emotion. You’ll experience the journey more fully, be present in the moment and experience life with a deeper sense of joy and appreciation than you would have ever imagined previously. 

This is the true meaning of success.

“Tough times don’t last, tough people do.” – Robert Schuller

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Blaze your own Trail: Start taking Action and you’ll get what you Deserve

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The famous motivational speaker and author Jim Rohn once said,

“Life doesn’t respond to what we need, life responds to what we deserve…it doesn’t say if you need a harvest you get one, it says, if you plant in the spring then you’ll get harvest in the fall…reaping and harvesting belong to planters, not to those in need”

What’s stopping you from starting to take action today, to begin planting seeds, so that you ultimately end up getting what you deserve in life?

Around the time I had graduated college back in 2012, I came across a Facebook ad for a fantasy sports company (this was when I was still working on building out my own fantasy sports application).

I decided to click the ad and fill out the survey to see what insights it could give me.

Without much thought, yet due to that simple action, I had planted one of the most important seeds of my life.

Someone reached back out and told me that the company was tied to and ran by a much larger and well known company.

Long story short, they ended up hiring me to help them with their beta version/launch (although I was working on my own application at the time, I was fresh out of college and needed income! I’m pretty sure I also disclosed that I was working on being somewhat of a competitor of theirs).

I was put in touch with the product manager who was my main point of contact, and during those few months of working together he encouraged me to start reading books.

This was the first time I picked up a book to read for pleasure.

He recommended me to start with Phil Jackson’s newest book Eleven Rings and I absolutely loved it!

Circling back to the fantasy sports ad that at the time seemed meaningless, that action enabled me to plant a seed that has blossomed into a beautiful tree.

Since then, I’ve been an insatiable reader. The knowledge and wisdom gained from reading books has truly helped me grow in every aspect of my life for the better.

It’s allowed many of my unconscious dreams come to fruition…all from that Facebook ad.

(Months later, I would go on and perform another small action that would put me at the start of a path towards everything that I would end up accomplishing in my professional/business life to date).

There’s a verse in the bible that says,

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

The point I’m trying to make here (if you haven’t gotten it yet!) is that if you keep knocking, you WILL find open doors.

Even in the smallest actions that may seem irrelevant and unimportant at the time, opportunity always lays. 

It’s time to say F the BS and start blazing your own trail!

“Those who will not read are no better off than those who cannot read.” – Jim Rohn

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Leveraging the Mastermind Principle to Guarantee Success

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I’ve quoted and referred to Napoleon Hill a few times throughout these posts and today will be no different.

Hill coined the term “mastermind principle/group” almost a century ago and it’s discovery and impact is just as powerful now as it was back then.

The principle is described as the “Coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.”

Simply put, if you surround yourself with others who have similar desires and motives that align with your vision, each individual within the group will grow exponentially and achieve much more success than if they were to go at it alone.

He goes into detail and breaks down the two traits that a Master Mind consists of, and what they can potentially provide you with.

One is economic, the other is psychic.

Economic – If you are counseled by wise people who are looking out for your best interests and possess certain experiences and knowledge that you lack, these shared insights can help catapult you to a new level that can be used to your advantage.

Psychic – By linking up with “other minds” who share relatable views, something not seen with the naked eye is magically conceived, which can be harnessed and leveraged on your path to achievement.

Here’s a terrific quote and summary by Hill on the psychic principle. “No two minds ever come together without, thereby, creating a third, invisible, intangible force which may be likened to a third mind.”

If you’re thinking to yourself right now that this sounds like bullshit, think again.

Go read any biography on any extremely powerful and successful individual and you’ll discover that each and every one of them either had someone specific or a group of people in their corner who further propelled them to the next stage in their pursuit of prosperity.

To wrap things up…

As you bring this principle into your awareness, it becomes clear that in order to excel and grow within any aspect of your life you must surround yourself around those transmitting the equivalent mentality and aspirations. Once you can begin to accept this, its infinite power can be absorbed.

Do not wait. Add and subtract those in your life as needed. Regardless of how difficult it may be, making this change will undoubtedly become the most beneficial decision of your life.

“Men take on the nature and the habits and the POWER OF THOUGHT of those with whom they associate in a spirit of sympathy and harmony.” – Napoleon Hill

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How Reading Books Can Open New Doors

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If you had told me while in middle school or high school (even in college) that I’d be reading 2-3 books a month consistently for years after graduating and pursuing a career, I’d definitely laugh in your face.

We grow up in a schooling system that requires us to read certain books throughout the course of our educational advancements, but did any of us really do it because we enjoyed it?

Obviously when you are forced to do something it’s much less fun than when you openly choose to do it.

For some, throughout life it seems as though they irrationally view reading a book as something they were once forced to do and now choose not to do simply because of those past experiences and emotional triggers that arise from thinking about them.

According to a study by Pew Research that was published in May of 2018, 24% of American adults say that they haven’t read a book in whole or in part over the trailing 12 months.

Per the Washington Post, in 2017 the average American spent 10x more time watching TV (roughly 3 hours per day) than they spent reading.

And people wonder why they are overweight, unmotivated and barely making ends meet financially.

You have the ability and certainly the time to change all of that, through the secret power that books hold within them. 

F the BS: Let’s dive into the influence of reading books and why you need to start now

Self-help books have been a HUGE part of my life over the last few years. I honestly cannot imagine what path my journey would’ve taken without the guidance and tremendous wealth of knowledge that reading has instilled and provided me with. It’s opened a door in my mind that I never knew existed, granting me the unique opportunity to educate, appreciate and elevate my life to get the most that I possibly can out of it.

Think about it like this.

We always seem to lean towards our elders for the true secrets in life. We ask our grandparents what’s the secret to a long term marriage, to success, to happiness, etc.

Yet, are you fully aware that there are thousands of successful authors out there that combined have gone through infinite experiences throughout their lives? That these people have acquired invaluable insights and wisdom during various stages of growth and have generously chosen to spend YEARS of their life putting them on paper so that YOU can read, learn, implement, share and grow from them?

If you are within the 24% of American adults who haven’t read a book over the last 12 months yet alone part of a book, then SHAME ON YOU.

You’re jipping YOURSELF.

Step up your game. Become wiser. Take immediate action. Start reading.

Deep down don’t you want to flourish and prosper throughout your life? Don’t you want to squeeze everything that you possibly can out of the short period of time that we all have on this planet?

A few tips…

I choose to read two different books at the same time. One nonfiction self-help book during the day time, and a fiction book right before bed time.

Fiction before sleep

If you have a hard time relaxing your mind and dozing off into a delicious slumber at night, I highly recommend reading a fiction book prior to hitting the sack (even if it’s just for 5-10 minutes at first). You can thank Tim Ferris for this tip!

Fiction books take your focus off of the thousands of thoughts that fill your brain and puts all your attention into the novel that you’re reading. As you read, slowly but surely you’ll start to get sleepy and before you know it, you’ll be passed out without a single worry in mind.

Taking notes while reading self-help books

While reading self-help books, it’s incredibly important to write down notes as you go. (If you have a kindle, you can also highlight specific sentences and paragraphs at will. Another game changer is the convenience of highlighting a specific word and instantly seeing its definition. This has expanded my vocabulary immensely!)

The impact of writing notes is indescribable. Since the entire objective is to actually retain and implement the information that you’re reading, not only does it help you in remembering key points from each book, it also allows you to revisit the strategies as needed. This helps with holding yourself accountable and ensuring you execute the teachings.

Even more so, through this pattern of repetition the concepts slowly begin to creep into your subconscious where they get fully taken advantage of and utilized to maximum capacity.

“If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Finding the Proper Frequency to Take Advantage of Life’s Opportunities

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It saddens me when people pile on the excuses about why they aren’t happy, why they don’t have enough money or the reasons they don’t have a better paying job. You know those kind of people who constantly say things like “rich people are lucky”, “they have it easy because they have money” and “if I could just come up with one good idea, I’d be all set in life”.

When I hear these statements it leads me to believe that these people don’t realize that they have complete power to change their circumstances to gain what they want most out of life.

One of the primary reasons (and what this post will focus on) that they’ve yet to achieve what they desire is due to simply not being on the right wavelength to pick up the opportunities that present themselves on a daily basis.

We’ve gone into discussions about slowing down, reflecting, and meditation. All of these tools can help you achieve more of the superhuman ability called awareness.

When you use the positive forces that awareness can offer you, you begin to elevate to a higher frequency level that allows you to pick up new signals. 

And since according to Albert Einstein everything in life is essentially vibration, on this new frequency opportunities begin to surround you.

Think about the last time you discovered something new (a brand, a specific product, even a word or saying). How is it that as soon as this new seed is placed inside the presence of your mind, it magically starts appearing everywhere you go? In TV commercials, on the radio, in a book, magazine or blog post you read, even throughout conversations with others.

Ironic? I think not.

The reason you begin to notice this new seed throughout your day to day is because you’ve tuned your awareness to a frequency level that enables you to recognize and catch it when it’s being thrown at you.

Ideas are always presenting themselves, it’s just a matter of your eyes and ears being open to seeing and hearing them. 

Imagine the potential for new ideas and opportunities that you’d be able to grasp and leverage to further advance yourself in life through this heightened state of being.

How would this improve and uplift your professional career, your personal relationships with family, friends, or your significant other?

Think about all the times throughout your life that you’ve missed out due to lack of better awareness.

From something of potentially life changing importance such as the spark of a new business idea through a simple conversation with a coworker, to something as subtle (yet just as important) as a facial expression, gesture or hint made by a loved one at what they’d possibly want for their upcoming birthday or your approaching anniversary.

Whether it’s because you’re too busy scrolling on social media on your phone (which would be the equivalent of having your head straight up up your own ass), or the fact that you just weren’t aware of the idea of being more aware, there is SO MUCH you can discover and take advantage of by making a conscious effort to improve your awareness.

There’s never going to be a better day or time to start. Take control of your insanely amazing and unique (and typically under-appreciated) human abilities and slowly observe as your new wavelength begins to attract favorable opportunities that can be used to enable you to maximize all facets of life.

“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.” – Nikola Tesla

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The Power of Saying NO

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From the day to day hustle and bustle of work, to dealing with your children (and/or family members and close friends in general), to paying bills, to hearing all of the negative stories on the news, life can be STRESSFUL.

In fact, roughly 40 million American adults (about 18% of the entire population) have some kind of an anxiety disorder, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.

Yet, as if our stress and anxiety levels aren’t high enough, people find ways to increase them even more by being a “Yes person”.

We all know this type of person too well (and in some cases, it may even be you!).

They overcommit and stretch themselves too thin. They lose sleep, get sick and can never find the time to focus on and take care of themselves, all because they instantly react rather than take the time to pause and think first.

F the BS: It’s time to stop saying YES and tap into the benefits of saying NO

In order to switch from a yes person to a no person, you must first understand the psychology behind that of a yes-man (or woman).

Most yes people have a mindset that seeks external validation. The majority of their confidence and self-esteem are directly correlated and tied to what others think.

Simply put, they care way too much about what people think about them and subconsciously base their decisions and reactions off of the ideas of what someone else may think.

To an extent they say Yes as a way to gain approval, as well as a method to purposely avoid confrontation and the feelings of negativity.

By craving approval from the outside and letting these unconscious concepts dictate their lives, they sadly miss the mark of where they should really be looking for any and every form of validation, which is on the inside.

Through the power of reflection (diving deep into past experiences, decisions and reactions) as well as leveraging the remarkable abilities of the mind (neuroplasticity), one can discover and pinpoint specific situations where external validation is sought out, take a mental note of it and work on improving and rewiring the brain into realizing that the only affirmation needed is from within.

With this revelation unearthed, you can direct your attention to the benefits of saying No.

Through discipline this tool can change your life.

Saying No allows you to take control. To be able to prioritize and focus on what’s most important for you and your own well-being. (This isn’t being selfish, this is something that is necessary).

Obvious Disclaimer: Outside of those simply trying to suck away your time and energy, when it comes to family and close friends that genuinely need your help, this should always be a priority and something that you say Yes to. 

The next time someone asks you for something, pause before responding. Tell them that you need to ponder it over or that you must give it deeper thought. After careful consideration, if you ultimately decide that it doesn’t align with your goals, say NO.

Whether you believe it or not, you’ll actually gain more respect by consciously choosing the route of saying No.

In life you must turn down good opportunities, so that you can have the time to pursue great ones.

So stop apologizing and caring about other people’s opinions and expectations. Stop allowing others to always depend on and take advantage of you. Stop saying Yes to everything!

“Sometimes, we need to say no so that we have more time to say yes.” – Suzette Hinton

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Why Failing in life is GOOD

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In most people’s world, the word failure has a negative connotation to it. When you think of the word in your head, or say it out loud it brings about a whirlwind of averse emotions. Fear, shame, embarrassment, disappointment, etc.

But why? Why does failure have to be bad?

I guess the better question is, why have we been raised in society to view failure as negative?

Take Sara Blakley for example, the founder of Spanx (She’s only worth about $1 Billion).

Growing up her dad encouraged her to fail and fail often. At the dinner table he’d ask what she failed at that day/week. He’d then proceed to give her high-fives for these failures. At times, he’d even be disappointed when she didn’t have anything that she had failed at.

A popular line from Sara herself – “My dad always encouraged me to fail, and because of this, he gave me the gift of retraining my thinking about failure,” she explained. “Failure for me became about not trying, instead of the outcome.”

Reread the above once more.

If you TRY you can NEVER fail, even if things don’t work out as planned.

While you are most likely much older than the young Sara sitting at the dinner table, it’s never too late to retrain your mind and thinking about failure.

Failure doesn’t HAVE to be a bad thing.

Think about this for a moment:

What’s something extremely important to you that you’ve hesitated on going through with because of your fear of failing?

Now, what’s the absolutely WORST possible outcome that can happen from attempting to pursue this dream, passion, goal, etc?

I can almost guarantee that if you attempt to retrain your mind/thinking about failure, the satisfaction you’d receive from going after this important endeavor (even just the process and learning experience from it) would drastically outweigh any negative emotions that you’d endure from not being able to accomplish the goal.

Even worse, imagine the regret years down the road of never even giving it a shot.

Bumps in the road are just that, nothing more. What I’ve come to discover is that more than half the battle is simply building up the courage to get started and to try.

If it doesn’t work out, big deal! Move on. You do so in other aspects of your life when forced to, why not do it when it comes to the most IMPORTANT aspects of your life.

Nine times out of ten the fear and excuses that you tell yourself that prevent you from taking the first step forward, are never anywhere near as extreme as you’d expect them to be once you’ve taken the plunge and later look back.

The next time you’re feeling inspired and ready to take a leap of faith into the unknown, don’t let your old perception of failure get in the way. Don’t let your fear of failure outweigh your motivation to achieve.

Just ask yourself, what’s the worst possible outcome that can happen?

You only have one life to live and we’re only here for so long. Don’t waste it by limiting yourself or worrying about other people’s opinions or what they may or may not think of you.

I’ll leave you with a quote by J.K. Rowling:

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”

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How to Increase Productivity while Doing LESS

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Whether you own a successful business, are just starting out and trying to figure how to navigate the seas of the business world, or are simply looking to take your professional career to the next level, increasing your productivity while working less is something that anyone can find extremely beneficial in life.

One of my favorite books of all time is the 4 Hour Work Week, written by Tim Ferris (someone I refer to throughout my posts often).

His book has really helped rewire my mindset both professionally and personally. It’s crazy to think of how things would’ve turned out (as well as how trivial my thinking was looking back at it), had I not come across this book and immediately implement his innovative concepts into my life.

A specific seed that Tim planted into my mind is the difference between being effective and being efficient.

A fair assumption amongst the masses is that working efficiently is key to success. That by doing tasks swiftly, you’re completing work that must be done.

The truth is, efficiency isn’t really optimal.

It’s possible that you can do (and have been doing) unimportant tasks efficiently.

While these tasks may be necessary to be completed, if they aren’t the most important tasks that must be done then you’re not using your time effectively.

F the BS: It’s time to work EFFECTIVELY, not EFFICIENTLY. 

The Pareto Principle (sometimes called the 80/20 rule) is a concept that you may have heard of before. It states that for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.

This means that 80% of your productivity comes from only 20% of your time put in (when you’re being effective), while 20% of your productivity comes from spending 80% of your time (when you may be working efficiently, but not effectively).

Think for a moment about all of the tasks that you may have to do, and instead of trying to go after all of them at once try to make it a new habit to consider the questions below first.

-By doing this specific task, am I being productive with my time or just being “active”?
-Is it possible to shorten my work time and limit the number of tasks that I do to only 1-2 super important tasks?
-By doing these 1 or 2 highly critical tasks, can I be satisfied with how my day went?

By being selective of what we do (which it’s ideal to get these done during the morning hours), we allow ourselves to work less while increasing our productivity and effectiveness.

Simply being active and busy is a form of laziness. For the other 80% of time that would be spent achieving 20% of productivity, learn to accept that you cannot and should not do it all.

Hire an employee, sub-contractor, virtual assistant, etc. Delegate these tedious tasks to someone else.

These less important tasks are distractions that can interrupt, prevent and limit you from ultimately accomplishing your goals (just like scrolling through your social media feed can be a waste of your personal down time, versus spending those hours being productive by reading books, listening to podcasts and watching documentaries to help better yourself personally and professionally).

Stop multitasking and trying to juggle between important and unimportant tasks. Get your shit together, and personally focus on ONLY what’s going to move the needle the most.

Learn to be EFFECTIVE with your time so that you can get to where you want to be sooner rather than later, or potentially never!

“Nothing is less productive than to make more efficient what should not be done at all.” ~ Peter Drucker

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How to Start a Business that Makes Sense (Using the CENTS Commandments)

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When I dove head first into creating my first real business, I had no idea what I was doing.

Outside of the fact that I loved fantasy sports and believed deep down that daily fantasy sports was going to be the future of how millions of Americans would play fantasy from then on, the business was simply an idea with no proof or validation of the concept (outside of one or two competitors who seemed to be funded and gaining traction).

My gut ended up being spot on, as the industry began to grow rapidly over the next few years. Unfortunately my business was not part of that growth, as we dealt with a ton of technical issues and lack of money. 

After moving on from that business, I dove into a handful of others.

But something that took me YEARS to figure out, that would’ve saved me a ridiculous amount of TIME and MONEY was how to determine what kind of business to start and/or get involved in.

A method behind the madness, versus just going into the madness blindfolded head first without any solid philosophy and rationalization in mind outside of the potential that it may have had to make some money.

When I picked up the Millionaire Fastlane by MJ Demarco and began learning about the CENTS Commandments, suddenly it dawned on me how ineffective I was being (and how deep of a hole I was digging for myself) during the crucial initial phases of deciding whether or not to start a specific business, or how to best go about finding and creating one.

Had I discovered this book years ago, there’s no telling the positive or negative impact it might’ve had on me back then; if it would’ve be effective and applied properly, or if I was too young and wouldn’t have grasped it and allowed the concepts to soak in, we’ll never know.

What I do know for a fact is that the amount of heartbreak and ups and downs I’ve encountered over the years, to come to this realization on my own, could’ve been prevented had I had these essential tools in my back pocket.

Which is why I’m ecstatic to share these Five Commandments with you today, so that you can bypass the many bumps in the road towards the path of success.

Obvious Disclaimer: This concept is not an end all be all. It’s possible to satisfy only a few of the commandments and still create a very successful and highly profitable business. The point of the five commandments is to help open your eyes and understand aspects of business creation on a macro scale. How to think bigger and wiser so that you can set yourself up for maximum success prior to simply jumping into a new venture just because you think it’s a good idea.

The CENTS Commandments 

C – Control

First up is Control. Before starting a business you must ask yourself the level of control and influence that you’ll have so that you can take your company to the promised land.

If it’s an internet business, will you be overly reliant on Google? Is your plan to do Search Engine Optimization and rank for keywords on the top page of Google, or run Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns to bring in the bulk of your business?

What about Amazon? If you’re starting a store do you plan to sell all of your products through their marketplace?

The point is, if you put all of your eggs into one basket, one main method to drive sales for your business that is completely out of your control (Google changes their algorithm daily, and Amazon can change their terms at any given moment), you could be in for a disaster.

The first of the five commandments requires you to have as much control over your company as possible, so that you can directly influence and navigate the direction of where your business will go. If you must rely on some of the sharks mentioned above, it’s ideal to diversify your sources of sales so that you dilute and limit the amount of control that they have.

E – Entry 

Are you thinking about getting involved in an industry that’s “trending” where everyone and their mom is joining in on the fun?

Is it super simple to get the business up and operating within just a short period of time?

If you answered yes to either of these questions, then you’re not really solving a problem. If you want to start a business that grows beyond your wildest dreams, you have to solve a problem (more of this in the next commandment).

You must seek out opportunities that have many barriers to entry. Concepts and ideas where it takes creativity, uniqueness and time to develop, this way your competition is slim at best while your potential to dominate the market that your niche is in soars.

Something difficult to tap into is where golden opportunities live.

N – Need

Next up is Need, arguably the most important factor to consider.

Don’t start a business based on what you’re passionate about. Typically, nobody cares about what you want or need, they care about what they want and need.

In order to truly build a successful business you must create something of value. Something that others need, can use for convenience sake or addresses a common problem that has yet to be solved.

Simply put, if you can truly impact millions with value, you’ll make millions in return.

T – Time

Time can be a difficult one. As typically when you start a business you are the engine the runs the company, the star of the show. Without you, the business doesn’t operate.

While it’s perfectly understandable to invest a lot of your time into the business that you choose to dive into, one very crucial and key aspect needs to be considered first.

Can you automate this business, and extract yourself from the equation where it can function and run successfully and profitably without your involvement?

It’s absolutely necessary to learn to automate so that you can generate income without personally having to put the time in to make the money.

If you can get to the point where your making money “through” time, versus “in” time then you’ve found yourself a very attractive business to invest into. But first consider the fifth and final commandment.

S – Scale

Is your business idea big enough?

Can your business be seen by millions upon millions of potential customers?

Or are you looking to

-open up a store in your local city where the number of people that can visit on a daily basis is capped or limited?
-start an internet business where it’s super niche and drilled down to only a very select few individuals?

If you answered yes to either of these, you may still be in luck.

While a local city store is limited in it’s reach, it’s possible to build 100s or even 1000s of stores nationwide (even worldwide) IF the business can become highly profitable within a short period of time and is easily replicated, and follows the four other previous commandments.

In regards to a niche internet business, this could work in your favor IF the targeted demographic you plan to focus on generates significant income and would be willing to pay you a hefty amount for your product/services. In this scenario, you could generate large quantities of income by limiting your scaling to a specific audience.

The point is, when it comes to scaling you must strategically think about what is going to turn a profit quickly and give you the best chances of impacting the masses immediately (or just a select few high net worth individuals if you go that route).

A list of a few different types of online businesses that satisfy the Five Commandments

-Ecommerce (online store selling products)
-Subscription service (charging monthly, annual fees, etc for your service)
-Content focused (exclusive content for a fee, or generate income via advertising)
-Lead generation (selling potential customers to companies)

To wrap it all up

Take your time and carefully consider your options before starting your next business. Think about all of the potential outcomes and scenarios that could very well play out, and be sure to factor in the five commandments of CENTS to ensure that you set yourself up for success from the very beginning.

“If millions seek you, you will be paid millions.”
― M.J. DeMarco, The Millionaire Fastlane

“Stop thinking about business in terms of your selfish desires, whether it’s money, dreams or “do what you love.” Instead, chase needs, problems, pain points, service deficiencies, and emotions.”
― M.J. DeMarco, The Millionaire Fastlane

Achieve Limitless Success, Happiness and Gratitude

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Why you Need to Quit Your Job NOW and Invest in YOUR Future

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Achieve Limitless Success, Happiness and Gratitude

Zero BS on taking Control of your Life. No spam.

Let’s face it: Working for the man SUCKS.

Waking up early every single weekday, commuting to work, dealing with the BS of your job, your co-workers, your boss, commuting back from work, being tired, not having time to focus on what’s most important to you (like spending quality time with your loved ones, what you eat, exercising, any hobbies you may have, etc), rinsing and repeating the vicious cycle of trading 5 days a week for 2 weekend days for say 30-50 years….WTF?

And don’t even start with the excuse that if you made more money at your job, all these problems would magically disappear. If anything, making more means that you busted your ass that much harder to now have more responsibilities and even more time spent and focused on your job versus your personal life.

Any way you slice it, unless you work for yourself on your own time, when and where you want, with the ceiling to make as much as physically possible if you work hard and put your mind to it, you’ve got a major problem in front of you that might continue for decades upon decades (maybe even until the day you die).

Time is everything in life. Money is constantly being created. Even a billionaire still only has 24 hours in a day, just like you. You must spend your time wisely!

Your dreams of traveling, getting the beautiful house and cars you’ve always wanted, and being financially free to do as you please with your time is in serious jeopardy.

Although I worked for someone else for only a few months as a paid intern post college, I vividly remember sitting at a desk in my button down and slacks and thinking to myself, this is NOT for me. I NEED to do something about this.

And I did. And since then I’ve helped countless others do so as well.

And best of all, you can too.

Suffice to say, it’s time to quit your job. Here’s a few reasons why 🙂

Reason # 1 – You have no leverage!

Uncontrollable Limited Leverage is a concept that I learned while reading the Millionaire Fastlane, written by the incredible MJ Demarco.

ULL is pretty much just as it sounds. With a job you have very limited leverage. Most of the time if you increase your productivity through the roof and help grow the company you work for, you’re not being rewarded with a raise equal to your impact or effectiveness level. Your value is measured in time. If you want to make 20% more income, you have to work 20% more (for sales jobs in particular, while for others you might not even have the opportunity to work more to make more).

In addition, with a job you possess limited control. If the company decides to fire you, or goes bankrupt one day you’re screwed. (Just because you have a nice comfy job doesn’t guarantee you lifelong security!)

Let’s not also forget that the growth potential (financially speaking) in your place of work is most likely capped at a certain point, and the amount of knowledge that you’re consuming and implementing from your job to better yourself professionally and personally on a weekly or even monthly basis is extremely limited.

Reason # 2 – Say Bye to your Dreams, you’re Never Going to Save $1,000,000 keeping your job

Directly taken from the Millionaire Fastlane,

Earning a salary of $46,000 per year as a Teacher would take you 22 years to make $1M. To save $1M it would take 217 years.

Earning a salary of $64,000 per year as an Accountant would take you 16 years to make $1M. To save $1M it would take 156 years.

Earning a salary of $95,000 per year as a Pharmacist would take you 11 years to make $1M. To save $1M it would take 105 years.

How can you realistically ever expect to truly live out your dreams when it would take the average person almost two centuries to come even remotely close to saving $1M in the bank, while receiving just 2 weeks vacation time per year (if that)?

Reason # 3 – You’re Going to OUTLIVE Your Savings, Then What? 

I have something very important to share with you.

Your 401k is a scam.

If you’ve been using your 401k all this time as a safety net come retirement time, you’re really in for trouble.

401k’s are managed by companies that invest your money (fees charged for this). They take your money and invest it into mutual funds (fees charged for this). They then make a profit from your portfolio regardless if you make any money or not, and even worse, the specific funds that they are investing your hard earned money into are actually benefiting the very company managing your money in the form of kickbacks.

Yes, that’s right. They are investing your money into funds that are benefiting THEM the most, not YOU.

Worst of all, these actively managed mutual funds that all of your money is tied up in lose 96% of the time (when compared to low-cost index funds, which ALL of the top and most successful investors recommend people investing into).

Ninety Six Percent of the time.

Over time all of these hidden fees grow to the point where you’re left with minimal. Pair that with the fact that the human race continues to live longer and longer, and the results speak very clearly for themselves that you will NOT have anywhere NEAR enough savings to fund your retirement lifestyle.

Then what will you do when you’re 60, 65, or even 70 years old (after working for the past 30-50 years)? You won’t even be able to enjoy the retirement phase of your life because you’ll be too stressed and worried about making ends meet when you should really be focused on enjoying the remaining years of your life in peace and prosperity.

The Incredible Benefits that Self-Employment Can Bring You

The feeling of being able to wake up each and every morning on your own terms, while not having to deal with the daily stresses and BS of going to work and having a boss is indescribable.

Without the responsibilities that a 9-5 brings, you’ll have copious amounts of time to channel your focus and energy wisely by committing to finding a business to start, building it, and growing it, while sticking with it through the bumps in the road that every entrepreneur faces,

Being able to focus on your own business is a life changer (literally). Even when going through the ups and downs, having something that is yours is an incredible and enlightening feeling.

It allows you to discover your true self. You turn into a sponge, soaking up everything around you, enabling you to do whatever it takes to learn and progress. The amount of knowledge and insight that you digest over the first few weeks/months of working on your own business begins to drastically outweigh anything and everything that you ever learned from your entire 9-5 career.

You gain unlimited leverage

No longer do you have to be limited by how much income you generate. With time on your side, you can focus on your business as much as you want for as long as you want with no holdbacks
(although it’s ideal to build a business that aligns with certain principles and can eventually become automated and passive, without you being the engine and required to manage it for it to succeed).

If you can increase your productivity levels and determine ways to increase your businesses bottom line, you’re growth potential (professionally and personally) is literally unlimited.

So what are you waiting for? Still not convinced? 

Think about the last time your back was up against the wall. What did you do in that situation?

Humans possess innate behavior. When we sense danger or urgency, we react instinctively without putting much thought into it, if any at all (it’s hard-wired into our brain!).

The same behaviors can be applied in business as well.

When you’re put in certain positions, your abilities become limitless. Being an entrepreneur allows you to tap into this unique and fascinating potential, where the outcomes are infinite and where you can put yourself to the real test.

If you’re afraid of what could or might happen, is it worth convincing yourself to hold on to those fears throughout the rest of your life (to the point where you reach retirement with little to no savings?)

Or does it now make more sense to take the leap of faith, break new ground and take control of your time and your life.

If you choose the latter, you’ll come out on top no matter what plays out.

So just ask yourself, what’s the WORST that can happen?

The Worst Case Analysis (WCA) can help make decisions for you much more clearer. Ask yourself…

1 – What is the worst case scenario of quitting your job/attempting to start your own business?
2 – What is the probability of this outcome?
3 – Is this an acceptable risk for me to take?

Obvious Disclaimer – Everything is dependent on your current situation, if you support a family, if you have medical bills that cannot be easily paid off, etc. In that scenario you’d have to focus on your venture outside of working hours until you can generate enough income to replace your job, or the option of a part-time job to cover your expenses (if possible) while cutting other costs so that you have more time to work on your venture.

“Whether you think you can, or think you can’t — you’re right.” – Henry Ford

Achieve Limitless Success, Happiness and Gratitude

Zero BS on taking Control of your Life. No spam.