In a previous article, I asked the question, “Are you on the job or on a mission?”

Now I want to ask you a few simple questions that will help you qualify and clarify your level of commitment and passion regarding your business.

As I said before, you’re either working feverishly on your Magnificent Obsession, or your business is simply a part-time irritation that you feel obliged to feed, like an ugly plant that you reluctantly water only because it’s there, a stepchild.

Which Master Do You Serve?

• If playing, visiting friends, attending the ball game and having dinner take precedence over your work, it’s work, not a passion.
• If you have to fit your work into you busy social schedule, your work is not a mission; it’s a necessity, like washing the dishes.
• If it’s the other way around, in other words your business is your mission and passion and everything else comes second, you will get rich.

You can’t serve two masters – “you will love the one and despise the other.” Remember that.

How do you know you’re on a mission?

You obsessively and excitedly start working before you have breakfast or get dressed.

You wake up at night thinking about your business.

If you perceive it as a job, you will find every excuse under the sun to procrastinate and put it it off; everything else will be done first, and finally you may get around to your work, if you indeed “find the time” to do so. And in that case, your contribution will be mediocre at best.

Your work is either an interruption or a burning desire. You will be very good at anything you’re passionate about, and vice versa.

Find Your Mission!

Find your mission, your purpose, your raison d’etre – that is where your joy, fulfillment, and prosperity is.

Everything else is a stopgap, a waste of time, and an imposition, and it will not make you happy. Love it, or leave it.

Those important, turbulent, emotional, exciting, scary, formative years between twelve and twenty – so much changes in those years, and yet it can be easier if you maintain perspective.

This eight-year portion of your life is small in comparison with the rest of your adult life – about 60 years – and here are a few things that will help you cope with the hard times.

Things Will Matter Differently In the Future

In the years from age twelve to twenty, things seem to be magnified, and much more important than they really are. Relatively small things that a mature adult would hardly notice are attributed major significance. A bully or a jock, a rejection or a victory or failure seem mountainous, even though they will be forgotten very soon.

Coping with Bullies

The fact is that 97% of the people you know will never amount to much.

Most of the school bullies will end up in jail, on drugs, working in dead-end jobs, and dead. The reason why they are bullies is that they have emotional and mental problems – it really has nothing to do with you, except that you are a threat to them – they are jealous of something about you, so they attack you. Most bullies have low intelligence and problems at home, and you can use your mind to outwit them.

Things Will be Forgotten… And What to Do in the Mean Time

The key is to try and remain rational and objective about the things in your life.

This is very hard, I know – our emotions are pretty extreme in those years – but it helps a lot to be able to sit down with a wise adult, preferably not a teacher – and discuss your issues, fears, concerns, and dreams with them. They have a mature perspective.

In a few short years, hard as this is to believe, those incidents and people will be forgotten. Most of the things that seem huge right now are in fact insignificant compared to the bright future waiting for you.

Glean the Benefit & Leave the Rest Behind

The trials and tribulations of these years come with great benefits – youth, energy, strength, opportunities, optimism, and an open mind.

By focusing on building an exciting future and realizing that most of the things that upset you are really just barking dogs, life gets easier.

• That teacher that gives to you a hard time – a man amongst boys, but a boy amongst men – will be a joke to you in a few short years. You can easily earn more money than him and put him in his place quite soon.
• That pretty girl that rejected and shamed you in public will soon be fat, pregnant, and married to an unemployed jock.
• And your mistakes will be forgotten.

Do you think Bill Gates was teased at school? Probably. Where are the people who teased him now?

It’s YOUR Life

The only person whose opinion is important is YOU. It’s YOUR life.

Success in life is a choice. We choose how to interpret the circumstances presented to us. We choose how to react. And our choices will determine where we end up.

Your Philosophy is Your Compass

The most important factor in your life is your PHILOSOPHY. With the right philosophy, or world view, life gets a lot easier.

Look at successful people whom you admire, and ask yourself what their philosophy is.

The most powerful philosophy I have found, the one that gives you the most freedom, opportunity, and fun, is that of Objectivism. You can find out more about it here and here, but in a nutshell, it says that you own your life, and you are not answerable to others or responsible for others.

• Read “The Fountainhead” and the “The Virtue of Selfishness” by Ayn Rand.
• Get yourself some good role models.
• Stay away from people who want to manipulate and control the way you think.
• Don’t be a victim, don’t blame others or make excuses.  Take responsibility for your choices now, and life will be good.

Understand Money & Create Value to Make It

Finally, by now you know that 97% of your problems in life will be solved or diminished by money. The good life costs money.

If you understand money and value and how to create wealth, you have control and you can choose any life you want. Your age and circumstances won’t prevent you from making money. You can get rich fast, no matter how old you are, when you know how. Money doesn’t care how old you are!

Learn about how you can do that, starting right away, at www.JVWisdom.com.

The more exciting your goals and objectives, the more specific, the easier it is to handle the price you pay along the way.

Losers look at what they’re going THROUGH, while Champions look at what they’re going TO.

Part of the reason why people quit so easily is that they don’t believe in their own goals.

Here’s how to get very excited about your goals – it will fuel your enthusiasm and determination and make your journey infinitely easier by getting you to WANT to do what you have to do to get where you want to be.

Make an EMOTIONAL Commitment

Think of a goal. For example, let’s say your goal is to participate in the exciting DollarMakers International Convention in Cancun. Now it can be something that you rationally and intellectually commit to, and you might make a few random, lukewarm efforts to reach that goal.

Alternatively, you can make an emotional commitment, and that’s where you get the rocket fuel. Walt Disney said:

“If your heart is in your dreams, no request is too extreme, for when you wish upon a star, it makes no difference who you are!”

What would happen?

What would happen if you put up posters of Cancun around your home, visit websites about Cancun, ask Lynnette Peter, our DollarMakers Director for Travel and Conventions, about all the fun activities that will be available, discuss it with your family and friends, invite them to join you, visualize yourself riding a white horse on the beach, snorkeling among the multicolored fish, meeting the DollarMakers cream of the crop from all over the world, and having fun in the sun?

• Would you work harder to make it happen?
• Would you go out on a limb to spend time in paradise with the best of the best?
• What would the return on your investment be?

You don’t notice the shadows when you’re looking at the sun. Focus on what you want, not on what you don’t want.

4 Tips to Fuel Your Enthusiasm

1. Fill your mind with motivation and inspiration.
2. Associate with people who believe in you and in your dreams.
3. Work on your own personal development more than anything else.
4. Get excited about the details of your goals – the more specific, the more terrific. Smell them, taste them, visualize them, listen to them.

If your goal is a new red Cadillac STS, go and test drive one every single weekend… or at least sit in one. Smell it. Feel it. Imagine yourself driving it. Touch it. Put up pictures of it.

“Whatever the mind of man can believe and conceive, it can achieve”

- Napoleon Hill.

The rocky road will turn into silk and feathers when your objective is sufficiently brilliant and believable. Make it so.

Walk into a government office and watch how the bureaucrat walks – does he strut around as though he feels great, is he motivated, moving fast, and enthralled about his work? Usually, not…

• They move slowly, breathe shallowly, and have passive facial expressions. They look down a lot.
• They’re bored, frustrated employees, and they don’t want to be there.
• Their purpose is to get out of that hated office and go home to play.

That same employee changes like Jekyll and Hyde when he’s at the hockey game tonight – you wouldn’t recognize him! He’s laughing, shouting, jumping up and down, smiling, talking – he’s dressed differently, moves differently, and he’s fun to be around.

Add Passion & Get Results

1. What kind of results do you get, how persuasive are you, and what do you achieve when you are excited, energized, and passionate?
2. How would you walk and move?
3. What kind of facial expressions would I see if you felt unstoppable?
4. What effect would you have on other people?

When you’re on a mission, when you love what you do, you will breathe deeply, move fast, leap out of bed, and become very much more attractive to others. You will even talk in an animated, bubbly way.

Your passion will show, and the results will flow.

Are you “On the Job” or “On a Mission”?

Look at yourself.

If you battle to get out of bed in the morning, you don’t believe in what you’re doing.

“On the Job” means you’re doing what you have to do.

“On a Mission” means doing what you WANT to do.

You’re either a mercenary or a missionary. You’re a Victor or a victim, an Eagle or a turkey.

When you’re on the beach in Waikiki, having a great time with your loved ones, and you’re on the phone to your friend at home, chances are the language you use, and the speed, volume, and pitch of your voice will be entirely different to when you’re doing your tax returns, right?

Here’s How You Know

Here’s how you know whether you’re on a mission or not.

• You hate being interrupted.
• You love what you’re doing.
• You see massive purpose in your actions and choices.
• You can work for hours on end in a focused manner without getting tired.
• You experience higher highs and lower lows.

You probably don’t believe it’s very important whether or not a wall gets painted or a carpet gets cleaned or a form gets completed, unless it’s a part of your exciting mission.

Create a Profound Life

The good news is that you can create a profound life of purpose and significance. You can live with passion and enthusiasm or your life can be dreary, dull, and depressing.

YOU create your life – it can be whatever you want it to be.

You can make a living or make a statement. You can create a new world or be a janitor in someone else’s world. It’s never too late to change. You’re never too old. When you’re on a mission, there is no limit to what you can achieve. If you don’t like it, believe in it, respect it, and live it, you shouldn’t do it. Give yourself a check-up from the neck up.

Bob  Carlson writes,

“Not too many years ago, most people did not need retirement plans or help with retirement planning. Retirement lasted only five years on average. Not everyone retired. Those that did retire generally had adequate income from employer pensions and medical expense coverage plus Social Security and Medicare.

All that changed.

• Life expectancies increased, dramatically increasing the length of retirement to 20 years or more.
• Employers reduced or eliminated pensions. Employees save and invest for retirement on their own through 401(k) plans and other accounts.
• Employer-paid retiree medical coverage is greatly reduced, and Medicare raises premiums.

Americans more and more are on their own for retirement and must plan for much longer retirements.

‘Game Changing’ Events that Make Us Re-evaluate

To complicate things, retirement finances have changed and are changing rapidly. Bull markets rapidly turn into bear markets which become financial crises. Investment options change all the time. Taxes, long-term care, medical expense coverage, annuities, life insurance, estate planning, and other aspects of your retirement finances rapidly have innovations and turmoil.

Currently, we are experiencing real ‘game changing’ events that will require everyone to re-evaluate their retirement plans:

• A bear market that wiped out 50% and more of some retirement portfolios in a year.
• Likely tax increases in the next year or two.
• The financial instability of Medicare, likely to lead to means-testing or other major reductions in benefits.
• Questions about the future of insurers that sold life insurance, annuities, and long-term care insurance.
• Low interest rates and dividend reductions that slash the income of retirees.

Where Most Get Their (Poor) Advice

Now there is no shortage of people seeking to be the retirement advisors for tens of millions of Baby Boomers: brokers, financial planners, accountants, insurance agents, mutual fund companies, and more.

Too often these advisers have their own agendas or are so busy marketing and managing their businesses that they do not keep up with the latest news and trends. Cookie cutter approaches and rules-of-thumb dominate too much financial advice. Personal needs, situations, and desires can take a back seat or be pushed out of the vehicle.

Tackling It On Your Own

But if you attempt to tackle retirement planning on your own, you can easily become confused and overwhelmed by the mountain of advice available to you.

Type the search term ‘retirement planning’ into Google and it returns about 13.5 million hits. Type in ‘IRA’ and it returns almost 50 million hits! And most of these hits are for websites that simply want to sell you a particular product, or contain information that’s out of date.”

I Agree Wholeheartedly.

…And those “Advisers” are all asking you spend MORE money, take more risks, and trust them, so that they can earn bigger commissions on your risk!

Surely you’re tired of being ripped off?

Here’s My SOLUTION:

How about creating more income – residual income from multiple sources – with no cost, risk, or selling, no investment, and little time, regardless of your financial predicament, age, or background? That’s exactly what DollarMakers offers you.

Have a look at our website -lots of free stuff, information, and help. No obligation. No spam.

There’s even an e-book on how to retire in one year.  That’s right.  You heard me correctly.  ONE YEAR.

What have you got to lose? It’s not too late to turn your autumn years of scarcity and fear into the best years of your life.

Scouts say their motto is “Be Prepared“, and we know that success occurs when preparation meets opportunity. Yet too many Joint Venture Brokers wing it and fail – very predictably.

General Orlando Ward said:

“One of the biggest reasons for failure on the battlefield is not knowing what to do next. This is the result of not having been trained thoroughly in what to expect on the battlefield.”

Let Me Save You Some Frustration

Joint Venture Brokers look for clues and use their experience to detect warning signals and red flags in order to avoid sticky situations. After 21 years in this business, I have developed a sixth sense that usually works, however not in every case. Yet the better prepared I am, the less likely I am to get ripped off or taken advantage of.

Soldiers who are rushed through their basic training and pushed onto the battlefield prematurely are naive and vulnerable to an established, hardened enemy.

While honing your skills and your understanding of JV’s is very important, let me save you a few years of frustration with some pointers right away.

Tip #1 – Watch for Those with No Intent of Reciprocation

One of the things to look out for is people pretending to be loyal, open, and committed to a clean, reciprocal JV, when their true motive is simply to push their own product or business into your organization and database. They’re simply leeches who have smelled some juicy blood, and they hug, promise, smile, and joke their way right into your sleeping camp where they reveal their real agenda of rape and pillage.

The clue here is:

• the fact that they do very little due diligence on your business,
• ask few questions,
• and talk a lot about themselves and their business.
• They’ll tell you anything you want to hear, because they never intend to reciprocate.

We had one like this last year – he ended up spamming our database for ages, and never delivered on his promises. We warn others about you, Larry. Once bitten, twice shy.

Tip #2 – Do You Due Diligence EVEN on Those Who Are Recommended

Another situation that inexperienced or inadequately trained JV Brokers face is people who have no success record, no database, no ability to produce what they promise, and no integrity, yet they have have been recommended by someone you trust. Instead of doing your proper due diligence, you skim over it, touch on a few points, and overlook some important warning signs, to your regret. I did this with two people whom I shouldn’t have touched with a twenty foot pole.

Now, no matter who recommends people to me, I still do my own full due diligence, and the character that recommended these two fools will never get close to my database again. Learn from my mistakes!

Tip #3 – Downsize Those Who Consistently Fall Short

And we all know that people who consistently don’t produce what they promise on time and offer ever weaker excuses are headed for the proverbial scrap heap.

Reduce the business you send them, and replace them as soon as possible. They’re losers pretending to be winners.

Tip #4 – Look Closely for “Contaminated” Partners

Also, look out for contamination.

• A bad home life will affect people’s choices and actions in the workplace.
• Financial stress will skew their business decisions and can cause erratic and unreasonable responses.
• Certain religious affiliations will impact their values and can trigger situational ethics and justify unethical behavior.

Their levels of desperation, confusion, and conflict will impact your JV’s in irrational and sometimes dangerous ways.

Tip #5 – Be Leary of “All Hat – No Cattle” Men

And the worst of all red flags, dear Reader, is the egotistic, pushy, conceited type:

• snappy dresser
• runs his mouth
• lots of flash and show
• bad listener
• usually single
• interrupts you and talks over you
• makes big promises
• talks on his cell phone during meetings
• spends a lot of money on himself
• usually makes little eye contact
• pushes you to make decisions, as well – always a bad sign.

This is not the type of person you want to JV with. If you sit back and let him talk, he will talk about himself and his business for hours, at the end of which he will have forgotten your name. Usually, they’re all hat and no cattle, but conmen have never let that stop them. Voltaire said:

“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”

DollarMakers:  Where Preparation Meets Opportunity

DollarMakers Members are encouraged to continue to learn, practice, hone their skills, and select only legitimate JV partners. William Shakespeare said:

“All things are ready, if our minds be so.”

When you’re well prepared, you’re far more likely to succeed. Abraham Lincoln said:

“If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first hour sharpening the ax.”

Some Sales Managers experience the following challenges:

• Unproductive salespeople who specialize in whining new tunes
• Salespeople complaining that the customers can’t afford their products and services
• Economic downturns
• Absenteeism and showing up late
• Salespeople that are not loyal and leave for the slightest pay increase or incentive
• Salespeople that make excuses and are lazy
• Strong competition
• Hard to find and keep good salespeople
• No new information or tools to motivate their salespeople – they’ve heard it all before.

We offer Sales Managers the following tools for their beloved sales teams:

• Create unlimited streams of eager, qualified, and primed prospects
• Differentiate yourself from the competition by creating massive added value at no cost
• Offer huge, compelling incentives, bonuses and premiums to prospects for making a buying decision, at no cost to you
• Learn how to get the prospect’s undivided attention and lifelong loyalty
• Stop selling, and start solving
• Increase sales closing/conversion ratios through the roof  by using our proven systems
• Offer your salespeople exciting and valuable sales target bonuses at no cost to you

Our customized, in-house, 5-hour Joint Venture Bootcamps turn snailspeople into salespeople. We’re all about working smart and getting results.

We’ve all found ourselves in difficult financial situations, and we all know how fiscal pressure can tempt one to lower one’s standards and compromise in certain areas out of simple desperation and the urgency of the moment.

…And we have all found out how that backfires.

Like a wild animal, money runs away when you chase it; you have to lure it, entice it, attract it with value, and never compromise your standards.

Sell Up!

When we’re feeling down and the wolf is scratching at the door, it’s natural to “sell down” – we approach other broke and frantic people instead of “Selling up” – seeking out people who are more successful than we are at the time.

Note I said, “at the time.” Being broke is a temporary situation – remember that.

Everyone has been there, and there’s no shame in facing the odd storm; it’s HOW you face the storm and the reactions you choose under fire that will determine how long the storm lasts. You get to know yourself and others under pressure; you find out how tough and motivated you really are.

Turning A Tough Situation Around

The key to turning around a difficult cash flow predicament is to get a strong trunk out of the basement, find a solid lock to put on it, and stuff your bruised ego and emotionalism into that trunk until you recover.

Being objective and clear-headed is essential and that’s where it’s valuable to have access to an objective, successful mentor or friend who can keep you from rushing out and making a fool of yourself. Desperate salespeople seldom make sales, but they do make a lot of enemies.

1. Be prepared to walk away from any deal.
2. Be low-key.
3. Remain relaxed, professional, urbane, and at ease.

You Set the Standard

When I ran a hotel for a smart hotelier who was an even smarter entrepreneur, he told me,:

“Robin, no matter how urgent a matter is, even if the hotel is on fire or the chef is murdering yet another waiter, you must NEVER RUN.

You will walk in a stately manner, like a gentleman taking his leisurely constitutional.

Be professional and in control at all times, since you set the example and the standard for the entire staff and the guests.”

The Money Will Come

Most important, don’t hide from your creditors. Keep contact, offer payment schemes, communicate, and remain confident and self-assured at all times.

Think big, be flexible, and take the advice of your mentors, but don’t do silly things that will haunt you for years. Create the value that will attract the money.

Discipline yourself to be patient and consistent, and the money will come.