Imagine going to a physician and getting yourself examined for an ailment. At the end of his assessment, the good doctor prescribes three green pills at night and two yellow pills when you awake, to be taken every day for one month. You respond, “But, doctor, shouldn’t I take two green pills? How about a few purple ones? And why do I need to take the yellow ones in the morning? You know I might forget…” Any self-respecting GP should kick you right out of his rooms if you were to question his judgment and prescription in that way. After all, you came to him for help, and he’s the physician, right? Do you know better? Is he stupid?

Here’s why people go to experts and then don’t follow their advice: Their self-esteem, self image and belief systems, along with self-sabotage caused by guilt. This is like the governor that was put on the Land Rover that I drove in the army – it prevented the car from exceeding a certain speed.

Our limitations are self-imposed, and that is why we persist in limiting our own progress. We find reasons not to take actions that will set us free. We seek evidence to maintain our dominant beliefs. We develop blind spots so that we don’t see the obvious and we ask questions that will demand answers that support our claims. So we make sure that we mess the recipe up in order to deprive ourselves of the cake, which we insist we want with all our hearts.

We Can Break Free Of Our Self-Delusion and Make All Our Dreams Come True

Is our position then one of hopelessness? Is there a way out of the mental prison that our conditioning has so carefully constructed over the years? Can we bend the bars of cynicism and self-delusion? Can we smash the locks of mysticism, defeatism, pessimism, and apathy, or are we doomed to languish forever in the slough of mediocrity and despair? We can we develop bulletproof determination, rock solid confidence and unlimited expectation, coupled with optimism, self-acceptance, ambition and genuine humility.

We can break free and make all our dreams come true. We need to find experts whom we trust and on whom we can rely, and then buttress ourselves with a support system of friends who are more advanced, evolved, and ambitious than we are. We have to start a kind of mental rehabilitation in order to reverse our negative brainwashing and that takes guts, determination, and perseverance.

I Have Immersed Myself In Teachings for Well Over 20 Years

In my life, it was the Success Motivation International (SMI) self-development programs of Paul J. Meyer that I listened to repeatedly and then taught others that initially set me free from negative conditioning at the age of 34. You learn more when you teach something. Over twenty years, I have immersed myself in teachings that are based on responsibility, freedom, discipline, capitalism, and the Objectivism of Ayn Rand. I surround myself with people who are smarter, more successful, richer, and better than I am. And so I can continue to grow. I have a long way to go yet, but I keep on pressing forward. I no longer question and second-guess experts. I am consciously incompetent. I know that we have to be like trees and grow until we die if we are to truly self-actualize and reach our full potential. The stronger we get, the more we can help those who are weaker.

Paul J. Meyer’s motto is my adopted motto: “Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon must inevitably come to pass.”

When I see participants in a game show, like Deal or No Deal, I am always impressed at their zeal, focus, commitment, enthusiasm, and energy. Well, they stand to win millions of dollars or at least a car, I guess. And the game show has a beginning and an end, and they get to go home afterwards, with or without the prizes.

I have watched Survivor and the Amazing Race – same thing. Bottom line they can only control a certain amount of what goes on, and the game doesn’t last very long. I’m sure a lot of them muse afterwards, “If only I had more time…”

Life is like a game show in some ways. First, it has a definite beginning and a definite end. Second, you get a lot more chances and to mess up and come back than you do in a Game Show. And a lot more time. But the real difference is that you really do get to control the outcome. It’s not Random Chance that will allow you to win, but your Rational Choices. And you’re playing against yourself! That means you have no competitors!

Life is a lot easier than a Game Show and you stand to win a LOT more. You don’t just win a shiny car – you can win thousands of cars, millions of dollars, lasting happiness and wonderful relationships. You can help millions of other people.

The Game is NOT Over Yet!

How long have you been playing the Game of Life? 20 years? 40 years? 50 years? 60 years? Here’s the great news: THE GAME ISN’T OVER YET! You can still win! The game only ends when you die. (And perhaps it even continues after that…) But let’s realize that many people quit halfway through the best Game Show in the World. Imagine someone walking out in the middle of Survivor or the Amazing Race, if they didn’t have to!

Too many of us allow disappointment, cynicism, and fear to rob us of a wonderful life, so we stagger away from the game and sulk in a corner while the rest of the participants courageously press forward. Well, you can pick yourself up, dust yourself off, have a Starbucks, and leap back into the fray if you want to. It’s not too late. Unless you’re dead, that is…

See, you are the game show host and the participant. You just have to know the rules and play by them. The rules are simple, really, there are only a few:

The 5 Rules to your Game Show Life

1. You will reap what you sow. You have created what you have and you can change what you have.
2. You are in control of your response to the world and your circumstances, and you can create anything you want.
3. You only lose when you quit and you can be forgiven and recover when you mess up.
4. The only limitations you have are self-imposed.
5. There are good people out there to help you, if you choose the right ones.

You’re not too old, too hurt or too weak to get back in the game. You can do it. You can soar like an Eagle, even if you feel like a lame duck. You were made to win, and it’s not too late to succeed magnificently .

It is said that duplication and leverage are the two most powerful forces in the world. Think of a virus or compound interest, and you will understand how a mail carrier can earn a million dollars a year through Network Marketing and how a simple Joint Venture that took an hour to set up can turn into tens of thousands of dollars in pure profit. There is a hard way and an easy way to make money, and I think it’s better to go the easy way.

I am thoroughly enjoying Ray Kroc’s book, “Grinding it Out” – written in 1977 about how he built McDonald’s. It’s an inspiring read of courage, vision, risk, sacrifice, and success, as well as a revelation of how dishonest some people are and how Mr. Kroc survived them. It’s very gratifying to me that I can show people a better way to wealth, a path that is not inundated with risk, sacrifice, fear, and chance. This route is the means I have chosen to build wealth – it requires no selling, risk, sacrifice, or sleepless nights.

Mr. Kroc succeeded against all odds, but he chose a business model that is extremely difficult. Joint Venture Brokering allows me the freedom of time and money, and I can operate in many areas, in many industries, and at many levels simultaneously. While franchising is definitely leverage, I choose to leverage multiple resources in many different ways, all at the same time, with no risk, overhead, leases, royalties, inventory, capital investment, or employees, and little time. I can be a creative and as adventurous as I like, without investing a blue cent.

Am I as wealthy as Mr. Kroc was? Of course not, but it is definitely as possible to attain the same level of wealth, faster, with none of the risk or costs involved, using Joint Ventures. Most entrepreneurs work too hard and earn too little. The average business, in my estimation, can easily double and quadruple their profits with no cost or risk using Joint Ventures. One JV that I got into took a profit center in my business from $4,000 per month to $20,000 per month in four days. Leverage: it’s an amazing force that is available to all of us, whether we have a business or not, and regardless of our circumstances or background. Life can be a grind, but I prefer the beach. You don’t have to sacrifice, sweat, and grovel anymore, once you discover the magic of Joint Ventures. Replace fear with fun, sweat with skiing, and risk with reward.

JVBlogger Podcast: How To Sell

I sat and watched vulnerable, desperate people running – running to the back of the seminar room to waste money they didn’t have on junk that didn’t work and that they would never use.

A woman in front of me burst into tears and told me that she had spent $1,200 the previous day on material that explained how she could buy properties all over North America with no money. She had been whipped up into an emotional frenzy by the smooth taking con-man  that posed as a caring mentor in the front of the room. She couldn’t afford what she had bought, she was in her fifties, not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and earned minimum wage as a security guard, and she was a single mother with two dependent children.  Disgusting.

Here’s the worst part: some of these “seminar leaders” actually sell courses on how to manipulate peoples’ minds and emotions and have them spend money on overpriced rubbish, get them running like idiots to buy stuff at the back of the room,  only to regret the purchase for years afterwards.

Intelligent, well grounded people will not rush to be ripped off, so the victims are generally less intelligent and hard-up for money, with poor self-esteem. THINK before you leap into an investment scheme or a tax saving deal. Get solid advice first. Don’t believe the discount stories and the scarcity pitches.

In Business Do You Due Diligence – It’s Worth It.

Ayn Rand said,

“Rationality is the recognition that nothing can alter the truth, that reason is an absolute that permits no compromise – that the alleged short-cut to knowledge, which is faith, is only a short-circuit destroying the mind. Independence is the recognition of the fact that yours is the responsibility of judgement, that no substitute can do your thinking, as no pinch-hitter can live your life – that the vilest form of self-debasement and self-destruction is the subordination of your mind to the mind of another, the acceptance of an authority over your brain, the acceptance of his assertion as facts, his say-so as truth, his edicts as middleman between your consciousness and your existence.”

Do your due diligence before getting into a Joint Venture. Check peoples’ motives. Read between the lines. Don’t sign ANYTHING before taking the contract to your lawyer. When you DO, i recommend a simple Memorandum of Understanding. Do not buy expensive things without sleeping on it first (Use the 3 Sleeps rule).  Things look different the next day. Instead of crying, “WHAT DID I DO? I must be crazy!” Be glad that you had enough self control to consider the facts. And this manipulation is far more widespread than most people realize. Take control of your mind, be an independent thinker, and demand freedom.

The best way to maintain your rationality and objectivity in an increasingly manipulative world that operates sans conscience and sans consequence, is to pour realism into your mind by reading the right information, immerse yourself in the philosophy of Objectivism, and connect with like-minded people.

Many entrepreneurs and wanna-be entrepreneurs are terrified of competition, and this is evidenced by business networking groups who only allow one representative of each industry to attend their events.

The “Shrinking Pie” mentality posits that there is only so much to go around. This dis-empowering approach is built on a timid philosophy of scant resources and lack, and is usually manifested as aggression. (Fear often incarnates as aggression.) Someone with a Scarcity Mentality focuses on shortage, risk, what can go wrong, and insufficiency.

Whatever you focus on is guaranteed to grow.

Your mind is a magnet. When you are consumed by thoughts of poverty and privation, guess what kind of people you will attract into your life? This victim mindset is programmed for failure and disappointment. We seek evidence to prove our dominant beliefs, and those who mistakenly believe that everyone is out to rip them off and undermine their success will subconsciously sabotage themselves to prove themselves right.

We have to be congruent, and our circumstances will always bend to reflect our self-esteem and beliefs. For example, the person who is genuinely convinced that they can’t make money will show up late for appointments, and when successful people decide to no longer do business with them because of their tardiness, they will whine, “See, I told you!” The Self Fulfilling Prophecy Is not a figment of some author’s imagination.

When a penurious intellect is offered a lucrative business opportunity, its first reaction will be, “What’s the catch?” and it will immediately go on the defense and start making excuses to remain poor, mediocre and passively aggressive. They actively look for reasons why the opportunity is a scam and a hoax, while the winners eagerly grab the opportunity and rush off to make more money. Losers will seek reasons why they will fail. “It’s a holiday – there won’t be any people around to attend the seminar. It’s too expensive – nobody can afford that! (they’re projecting their own lack) I won’t make enough money! I’m being taken advantage of! What if I fail? (you’re already failing, buddy) What can go wrong?”

Drop Kick the Losers to the Curb – Fast!

These people will contaminate your business, undermine your success and bleed you dry. They will discourage you, dissuade you and depress you. And they’re unlikely to change. They are a cancer on capitalism and a danger to your success. They are poison to profits and they will subconsciously do their best to drag you down to their level of despondency. Worst of all, they will attack anyone who is more successful than they are; jealously is a very common attribute of this type of person. The only way to deal with them is to drop kick them to the curb. Fast and decisively. Squish them like cockroaches and replace them with an ambitious, determined and disciplined optimist.

It’s better to have no JV than a JV with a loser. And there are many great JV partners to be had. There is an abundance of money and opportunities out there, just waiting for you.

Look at nature – how many leaves on one tree? How much water in the ocean? How many trees and rocks? Focus on affluence, plentitude and abundance and you will attract it into our life. Self discipline, high standards and self-confidence will result in prosperity and luxury for you.

Expect to succeed in all you do. Associate with winners, not whiners. Set great goals and believe in your dreams. A life of plenty is easily available to you through Joint Ventures, as long as you have the right JV partners. Your generous Abundance Mentality is creating a life of power and prosperity for you, and a plethora of options. Freedom is the result of right thinking.

Your circumstances are a revelation of your thoughts and beliefs. Look at someone’s circumstances, listen to them talk, and decide whether or not they have what it takes to be your JV partner.