If you have one of the two dry cleaning businesses in a small town, with high overhead and limited customers, scarcity is a reality to you.

If your business depends on the weather, the traffic, offshore competition, finding good people, or politicians, or if you sell your time, lack and risk are your constant shadows.

And if you have all your eggs in one basket,

• if your income depends on the whims of others to any extent,
• or if you rely on others or serve a limited geographic area,

shortage and fear follow you home at night.

Are You a Soldier or a General?

Many “businesses” are really simply prison cells, shackles, time vampires, and Swords of Damocles. If you own a franchise or if you are a self-employed salesperson posing as an entrepreneur, scarcity is a reality for you. Without scalability and replicability, you’re what Domenick Celentano, an Adjunct Professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, calls an “Artisan Entrepreneur.” Or what I call and “Paid Slave” or “a Laborer with a New Lable” – not much different from being an employee, except that you work harder for less and take more risk. You can be a soldier or a general.  Entrepreneurs are generals.

Stephen Duke wrote:

“There are lots of ‘independent business owners,’ but few are actually ‘entrepreneurs.’ Most are skilled technicians or managers in their fields and they work IN their own business, but fewer still work ON their business. There is a difference.

Self-employment is on one end of the continuum and Entrepreneurship is on the opposite. The difference is what the individual actually does for the business: Are they simply doing what they were doing for the ‘Man’ before they started working for themselves? Or, are they working at building a “world class company” that does the things they once did for a living?

Don’t be delusional about self-employment, even if you are not working by yourself – it is still not entrepreneurial. One must really be working on building a company that is less egoistic and more centered around its stakeholders i.e. what’s in it for them, instead of what’s in it for me. When you understand this, you understand the difference between the self-employed business owner and the entrepreneur.”

Why I Use Joint Ventures

To move from scarcity and risk to abundance and peace of mind, I became a Joint Venture Broker 23 years ago.

1. There is literally no limit to my business, except that which I choose.
2. My business is ultimately scalable.
3. I operate with no cost, overhead, employees, risk, inventory, advertising and marketing budget, or administration.
4. And I have plenty of time on my hands.
5. If you choose to keep the business you have, you can put your bottom line on steroids by understanding how to use Joint Ventures and create huge back-end income at 100% profit, while reducing risk and time spent.

There are many fish in the sea, if you set your business up that way. Threats fade away, and you can focus on building nets and working when you feel like it. A good Joint Venture Broker has his ego in check, focuses on the bottom line, is very selective, and enjoys abundance. And he sleeps well at night.

If you’re scalping hockey tickets, selling pot, whining about high taxes, or mumbling absentmindedly about the weather and the price of eggs, you probably encounter very little resistance or intransigence. However, when you offer an alternative to the popular status quo, suggest a substitute to mind-numbing mysticism, or present a different perspective, essentially questioning strongly held beliefs and established conditioning, you suddenly find yourself facing blank stares, passive aggression, or outright conflict.

Controversial, politically incorrect information is not usually well received. This, in spite of the fact that your information can potentially dramatically improve the quality of life of your reluctant target. There’s a reason for this, and it’s not your fault.

We all tend to seek our and select information to support our dominant beliefs and avoid pain. I thought three concepts would help illuminate what we’re up against when we follow that road less traveled and wish to share real treasure with the mediocre masses.

First, Cognitive Dissonance:

“Cognitive Dissonance normally occurs when a person perceives a logical inconsistency among his or her cognitions. This happens when one idea implies the opposite of another. For example, a belief in animal rights could be interpreted as inconsistent with eating meat or wearing fur. Noticing the contradiction would lead to dissonance, which could be experienced as anxiety, guilt, shame, anger, embarrassment, stress, and other negative emotional states.” – Wikipedia

Imagine the fellow who strongly believes, as he was taught, that he should always “Turn the other check”, and so he does, and as a result of his passivity, he finds himself continually bullied, so he feels anger at the obvious injustice. Now he feels guilty because he’s angry. A double bind has resulted from his sacrificial conditioning.; he;s damned if he does, and damned if he doesn’t. Or he works hard, makes money, and then feels obliged, because of his conditioning, to submit to the extortion of his loafing relatives. Naturally, he resents this, so he feels guilty… Final example: He believes money to be the root of all evil, so when he earns it, he feels guilty and self-sabotages to punish himself.

Second, Cognitive Distortion:

From Wikipedia:

“Cognitive distortions are exaggerated and irrational thoughts identified in cognitive therapy and its variants, which supposedly perpetuate certain psychological disorders. Eliminating these distortions and negative thought is said to improve mood and discourage maladies such as depression and chronic anxiety. The process of learning to refute these distortions is called “cognitive restructuring”.

Many cognitive distortions are also logical fallacies.

1. All-or-nothing thinking – Thinking of things in absolute terms, like “always”, “every”, “never”, and “there is no alternative”. Few aspects of human behavior are so absolute. All-or-nothing-thinking can contribute to depression.

2. Overgeneralization – Taking isolated cases and using them to make wide generalizations.

3. Mental filter – Focusing almost exclusively on certain, usually negative or upsetting, aspects of an event while ignoring other positive aspects. For example, focusing on a tiny imperfection in a piece of otherwise useful clothing.

4. Disqualifying the positive – Continually reemphasizing or “shooting down” positive experiences for arbitrary, ad hoc reasons.

5. Jumping to conclusions – Drawing conclusions (usually negative) from little (if any) evidence. Two specific subtypes are also identified:
* Mind reading – Assuming special knowledge of the intentions or thoughts of others.
* Fortune telling – Exaggerating how things will turn out before they happen.

6. Magnification and minimization – Distorting aspects of a memory or situation through magnifying or minimizing them such that they no longer correspond to objective reality. In depressed clients, often the positive characteristics of other people are exaggerated and negative characteristics are understated. There is one subtype of magnification:
* Catastrophizing – Focusing on the worst possible outcome, however unlikely, or thinking that a situation is unbearable or impossible when it is really just uncomfortable.

7. Emotional reasoning – Making decisions and arguments based on intuitions or personal feeling rather than an objective rationale and evidence.

8. Should statements – Patterns of thought which imply the way things “should” or “ought to be” rather than the actual situation the patient is faced with, or having rigid rules which the patient believes will “always apply” no matter what the circumstances are. Albert Ellis termed this “Musturbation”.

9. Labeling and mislabeling – Explaining behaviors or events, merely by naming them; related to overgeneralization. Rather than describing the specific behavior, a patient assigns a label to someone or themselves that implies absolute and unalterable terms. Mislabeling involves describing an event with language that is highly colored and emotionally loaded.

10. Personalization – Attribution of personal responsibility (or causal role) for events over which the patient has no control. This pattern is also applied to other in the attribution of blame.”

When you read the above, it makes it easier to see where people are really coming from, instead of taking their “rejection” personally. It explains why otherwise intelligent people join cults, vote for narcissistic socialists while claiming to be capitalists, and invest their money in ridiculous scams.  It reveals why most people prefer to be told what to do and what to think by those who do not have their best interests at heart, and why rational, proven  solutions are rejected outright as “to good to be true”, “from the devil”, or “dishonest” – why someone would prefer to lose money in mutual funds and ripoffs instead of getting 12% per year, or buy silly franchises and lose a small fortune when they could make a lot more money with no cost or risk at all.

Cognitive therapy

Cognitive therapy seeks to help the client overcome difficulties by identifying and changing dysfunctional thinking, behavior, and emotional responses. Depending on your situation and circumstances, unless you’re a psychologist or psychiatrist, you’re not going to make a huge change in the way the majority of people think. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, simply because most people seldom choose to change. But there is a way to influence and help more people positively in their own best interests: education. Not the junk spewed out by teachers, preachers, politicians, many “financial planners”, banks, and “gurus”, but real, worthwhile education.

DollarMakers is based on the idea that “You can get anything you want out of life, if you help enough other people to get what they want.”  The information / education we create and disseminate is particularly focused on the creation of wealth, and underpinned by a philosophy of Capitalism, realism, Objectivism, and rationalism. We believe that continuous exposure to truth, objective thought, personal responsibility, and practical, proven systems eventually gets through to a few people, and that assists us in achieving our goals. I recommend everyone read “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand, and I use my talks, training,  seminars, websites,Twitter, blog, podcasts, videos, conference calls, webinars, and other communication channels to share reality and dispel the myths and lies that keep people chained and in bondage.

I just noticed that a fellow with a massive database is following me on Twitter. He knows who I am. I could show him a simple, proven, safe, no-cost, risk-free system that he could introduce easily to his database. Conservatively, it would earn him $5,000 per month in passive income within three months. (No, it’s not Network Marketing.) Yet I can virtually guarantee that he won’t even consider it. Why? His giant ego. Seminar leaders, “gurus” and “trainers”, much like many of the owners of small and medium-sized business, allow their egos to steal massive potential profits from right under their noses.

We’re not in business to feel important or to impress people

We’re in business to make the most possible after-tax profit, with the least cost, time, risk, and effort. The fact is that most “gurus” and “entrepreneurs” are not really entrepreneurs – they’re really just slick salesmen and pitchmen. (Anthony “Sully” Sullivan, the well-known “Pitchman”, says, “Life’s a pitch, and then you die.”)  Smart entrepreneurs understand that Joint Ventures and strategic alliances are the most sophisticated tools in business – they’re strategic, they employ leverage, and they are scalable. And they’re not based on ego, but rather on profit.

When we get our egos under control, we suddenly see new options opening up.

Look at the people who make the really big money, and you’ll find that they seldom sell their time, they actually prefer not to be on a stage unless they have no other option, and they evaluate business opportunities objectively and rationally. When we get our egos under control, we suddenly see new options opening up. But for that, we need to understand the back-end, leverage, and positioning.

Calvin Coolidge said, “Civilization and profit go hand in hand.” Most wanna-be business owners are simply broke, desperate, self-employed salespeople, whose arrogance is exceeded only by their ignorance, yet these are the very people who allow their egos to dictate their business choices.  A big fish is a small, rancid pond is only impressive those to even more pathetic and needy than he is.

“Robin, It’s about the Bottom Line”

The most successful businessman with whom I was ever privileged to work, partnered with me in my business and taught me a very important lesson. He said, “Robin, it’s all about the bottom line. If you maintain your integrity and sublimate your personal feelings and pride, your profits will soar.  There is always going to be someone richer and smarter than you are – don’t try to be a legend in your own lunchtime, don’t believe your own PR and BS, and focus on the bottom line.” He was a very wealthy man, one of the most humble, soft-spoken people around, and very strong and disciplined.

If you want to feel important, act in a pantomime, join a service or fraternal club and rise in the ranks to get a title, or teach kids. If you want to get rich, focus on the bottom line.

Years back in South Africa, my sales team would advertise my public seminars with huge, oversized posters / signs that they would attach high up on poles and trees along roads and highways – just high enough to make it hard for the municipality morons to get them down. Of course, they would be pulled down, since they were all illegal, but for the while that they remained in position, they filled the seats and we all made money.

When I took a salesman on, here was my pitch: “You pay for the signs, you print exactly what I tell you to put on the signs, you include your cell phone number on the signs, you put your signs up every week, you never turn your cell phone off except during my seminars, you take the calls that result from your signs, you book the seats, you pay your share the rental of the room where I present the weekly seminar, and you get five thousand bucks for every business I sell to the people you brought to the seminar as a result of your signs. OK?”

My Salespeople Earned Lots of $$$ – But if they didn’t remain consistent, they were Fired

My salespeople all earned between 5,000 and 10,000 per month in commissions. If they didn’t put up enough signs or respond properly to calls, if they didn’t show up in a suit and tie at every event, they were fired. There were two different responses to my pitch:

1. “I haven’t got money to pay for the signs / I haven’t got time to put up signs / I haven’t got a car / I haven’t got a suit / I’ll try / I hope / What if it doesn’t work? / How much money can I make? / What if nobody buys?” These people were chased out of my office immediately.
2. “What is the limit on my earnings? Can I put up more signs than anyone else? Can I put my signs higher than the others?  Can we have more than one seminar per week? Can I start right away? Can I recruit more salespeople and get an override on their sales?” There people started work immediately. If they had a job, I made them quit it.

There is always a reason to do something and there is always a reason not to do something. To me, it’s black or white. If you’re not making money, stop sleeping and work longer hours. Put in double the effort. If you can’t afford it, sell your TV set, your Xbox, your toys. Borrow the money. Stop making excuses, because the more excuses you make, the less I trust and like and respect you. I don’t believe or accept your excuses, anyway.

Losers Always Have An Excuse At The Ready

Losers always leave the back door open. “If this doesn’t work, I’ll get a job again.” That attitude GUARANTEES their failure. They make excuses in advance: “IF it doesn’t work / I’ll try my best / I can’t FORCE people to buy / I GUESS / I HOPE / I can’t guarantee anything / the weather / the economic situation…” Winners never doubt that they will succeed, because doubt is poison. Would you drink a little poison every morning? Mixing with losers is poison. Following losers is poison. Belief and positive expectancy is rocket fuel power.

I know what you believe and who you are by what you DO, not by what you say, your promises, hype and B.S. I look for consistent actions – I don’t even hear your words. The reason why people succeed is that they expect to succeed, and they will do whatever it takes 24/7/365 to make their dreams come true. They are fearless warriors who never quit, never make excuses, and never lie or steal. With a winner, what you see is what you get. Winners are fanatics. I had one salesman, Colin, who heard from someone that his eyebrows were too thick, so he shaved them right off! When he walked into my office the next morning, I laughed so much, I nearly wet myself. But my respect for Colin went through the roof, and in spite of looking like a Martian, he doubled his sales that month.

Be Serious, Dedicated and Fearless

Be a fanatic about your work, and you simply can’t avoid succeeding. Paul J. Meyer said, “Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon, MUST inevitably come to pass.” Believe and achieve!

It’s Shawn here, Technical Director of JVWisdom.com.

Robin J. Elliott’s video ‘Creating a Bulletproof Mindset’ has been available to purchase as a DVD for 65 bucks.  For the next 15 days it will be available to view at no cost.

The feedback we’ve gotten on this DVD has been incredible.  Some people have told us they’ve watched it over 5 times in the course of a week.  It’s been a solid seller since it’s release, and we feel it’s one of the best pieces of ‘mind mastery’ material we’ve seen.  Obviously we’re a bit biased however, so I encourage you to see for yourself.

Bulletproof Mindset Video – Free for 15 days

We actually released this video at a Bootcamp Robin did in Edmonton.  We played the trailer (http://www.jvwisdom.com/bulletproof) and then before we could even give anymore info people wanted to buy their copy.

The thing was, we were only taking pre-orders because we hadn’t even gotten them printed yet!

95% of the attendees ended up pre-ordering their DVD.  We had a special price for them that day, but I can guarantee you the special price wasn’t what it is right now (nothing).

Like I said above, we’re only keeping this up to watch for the next 15 days.

http://www.jvwisdom.com/bulletproof

Oh, and have an EXCELLENT weekend everyone in the great country of the United States of America.  Enjoy your Independence Day – it TRULY is a great thing to live where the ‘American Dream’ was born!

Till Next,
Shawn Christenson
Technical Director
JVWisdom.com
JVBlogger.com

Invaluable Information in Just 7 Minutes

While a good DISC assessment takes only seven minutes and will reveal remarkable, useful information that will predict choices and show one how to manage, motivate, and discipline an individual, as well as assist in hiring the right people and discovering their strengths and weaknesses, my system takes much longer, but costs nothing, and is infallible.

Ideally, one should use both systems.

My Infallible System: Monitoring Behavior

My system is as old as the hills, and it works inexorably. It is called BEHAVIOR. By allowing people access to many, diverse choices and options, and simply observing their consistent choices and behavior over time, one can predict what they will do in the future.

My business (DollarMakers) is designed like a giant filter. It attracts people and monitors their choices. The cream, as always, rises to the top. It’s like sorting coal from diamonds. Simple.

Just watch them. When they consistently make good choices, we offer them better stuff. They disqualify or qualify themselves. Their behavior tells us whether or not we can trust them, and what they will do in the future.

Other Critical Indicators to Watch

• Obviously, we also like to look at their past – track records help a lot.
• Also, if people CHANGE from good to bad, and many do, cut them loose – fast.

“Little” Things Speak Loudly

Simply observe the little things:

• How they dress, groom themselves, and behave.
• Do they show up on time?
• Do they leave early?
• What verbal clues do they give?
• Do they respond promptly to e-mails and phone calls?
• Do they hide when they are late with payments? That is a form of dishonesty.
• Do they lie? The more they talk, the more they reveal – good and bad.
• Are they cheap? Are the generous?
• Do they offer their help?
• Are they optimists or pessimists? Regardless of what they say, what they DO will tell me if they believe or not.
• Are they in for the long run, or are they quitters? Time will tell.
• Are they saboteurs, backstabbers, and thieves or are they winners, champions, and loyal friends? Their actions will tell you – just watch them closely.

Test Over Time

You can devise simple tests.

“Come hiking in the mountains at 8am Monday morning”, you suggest. Do they show up? Are they on time? How do they behave? Do they return? Do they bring friends?

Put them in a position where they can be dishonest – set a trap. Your loyal friends will report to you on bad behavior. Look for consistency.

The Tortoise and The Hare

Most people start off well, but quit soon. Some will start with a powerful fanfare, huge promises, massive action, and burn out just as fast. Others will start slowly and build over time – the tortoise and the hare.

Why Using Both Systems is Best

If you use DISC to assess people after observing them for a while, you will have even more information, and your choices will be even better, resulting in better business and a real win/win.

Other Helpful Situations to Observe

• Watch how people interact with their families and pets.
• See how they deal with laborers, waiters in restaurants, parking lot attendants, and hotel employees.
• Are they smokers?
• Listen how they speak with their spouses on the phone.
• Discover someone’s world-view / philosophy / religion, and you will know a lot about their future choices.
• Listen for pain, regret, guilt, fear, embarrassment, bias, political views, and you will find valuable clues.
• Look at the books they read, the pictures in their homes, the state of repair in their homes, what cars they drive, their hobbies, and most importantly, their friends.
• Are they gamblers?
• What groups or clubs do they belong to?
• Monitor them on Facebook.
• Say controversial things and watch their response. I love that one.
• Talk with their employees, vendors, and competition.

6 Vital Guidelines for Monitoring Behavior

1. Look for patterns.
2. Ask open-ended questions.
3. Do this due diligence before getting involved in serious business with them.
4. Make them qualify for the privilege of your company.
5. And be aware of who you’re dealing with / who the real decision maker is – is it their spouse or parent, or is it them? Spouses are often the fly in the proverbial ointment – be very careful.
6. Finally, remember that desperate people tend to do desperate things – look for vices and money problems.

I am a bit of a Luddite compared to many people.

Friday afternoon I decided to rent a GPS along with a car to get from Calgary Airport to my hotel. I had never used a GPS before, and I was amazed at how it guided me effortlessly and faultlessly on  35 minute trip through Friday afternoon traffic, rain, road construction, etc., in a city that I had never had the dubious pleasure of driving in before. It revealed an analogy to me…

DollarMakers is designed to be your retirement GPS system. Here are some interesting analogies:

#1 – Linking to Current Conditions

The GPS System is linked to satellites, and has up-to-date information on the roads.

Many so-called “Mentors” and “Coaches” are regurgitating outdated ideas that don’t work. DollarMakers is on the cutting edge of Joint Ventures, partnered internationally with very successful mentors and business leaders, and well aware of current conditions, opportunities, and pitfalls.

#2 – You Are Never Alone

The GPS system talks to you and customizes your route. The voice is impersonal, relaxed, objective, and rational. When, on two occasions, I missed the turnoff route, it simply said, “Recalibrating…” and issued an alternative. I was never alone or left hung out to dry. It was very forgiving.

DollarMakers is a successful, 22-year-old company, and our JV partners are successful people. We’re not scraping the barrel for a quick buck or pressuring naïve and unsuspecting victims for their money. Our motive is to help you achieve your goals by reaching your destination, because, as Zig Ziglar said:

“You can get anything you want out of life if you’re prepared to help enough other people to get what they want.”

#3 – Arriving by The Shortest Possible Route

You can rest assured that the GPS will guide you to your destination by the shortest possible route. Learn from our mistakes, avoid the landmines and the rip-off artists, and fast-track your success. I didn’t second-guess the GPS, believe you me. We have realistic expectations and the experience to guide you.

#4 – A Trusted Partner

You have a trusted partner with you on your journey, not some fool who is holding the wrong,  outdated map upside down, can’t find his reading glasses, and expects you to turn after you passed the turnoff ramp, while giving you conflicting instructions and belittling you for wasting gas and time, and ending up parked in the middle of nowhere, out of gas and in a bad temper, where he picks your pocket and then blames you for his poor guidance.

#5 – Adjusting for Conditions

When the traffic was heavy or I missed a turnoff, the GPS would adjust it’s arrival time accordingly. It didn’t tease me or rebuke me for taking longer than expected – it was patient and persistent.

In life and business, things don’t always work out perfectly – one hits traffic lights, construction sites, accidents, wrong turns, and bad weather, but one doesn’t abandon one’s car in the middle of traffic and flounce off down the road, blaming the GPS system for one’s lack of character and intelligence. That’s what losers do, and we have met our share of them. It doesn’t change the fact that the GPS is correct.

#6 – A Customizable System

The GPS took me to MY destination, not the destination of the GPS – it didn’t have some hidden agenda, and it customized my route specially for me. DollarMakers is a customizable system, with flexible options and multiple opportunities.

DollarMakers is Your Retirement GPS

DollarMakers has all you need to succeed, and we are continually innovating and creating new material, tools, support, and connections for our valued Members and Joint Venture partners. We walk our talk.

If I decided to buy a GPS system, I would buy the most expensive one available, and I would commit myself to following its instructions to the letter, resting assured that as long as I did so, I would arrive, eventually, at my destination.

If you want to retire and achieve financial freedom, and you’re prepared to do whatever it takes and follow a proven system without quitting, DollarMakers can be your personal GPS – your own, personalized guidance system.

Winston Churchill said:

“I am certainly not one of those who need to be prodded. In fact, if anything, I am the prod.”

There are two kinds of people in the world – the prodders and the prodded.

• 1% are prodders – those who make it happen and sometimes feel like they are pulling a train when prodding others.
• The 99% are the employee type who are much like lazy donkeys – if they are not continually prodded, they stop dead and vegetate, wallowing in putrid justification.

Winners…

Winners take the initiative and strike out, whether followed or not.

• They don’t have to reminded, supported, woken up, encouraged, cajoled, tempted, threatened, bribed, begged, or motivated.
• They are internally motivated.
• They will succeed regardless of the circumstances they face.
• They don’t rely on other people.
• They don’t make excuses.
• They don’t need prodding.
• They like this quote: “For every person who doubts you and  tells you that you will fail, try twice as hard to prove them wrong.”
• They succeed in spite of the losers that let them down and attack them, and they never quit. They are like the little engine that could. They persist in the face of adversity.
• They are the optimists, the creators, the producers, the pioneers.
• They make things happen.
• They don’t wait for permission, support, or the best circumstances.

Winners make the world go round.

They hate prodding the prodded, but they understand it’s a necessity of life, like cleaning the oven.

Losers…

Losers constantly look for excuses to retreat, rest, and relax.

• They quickly run out of energy, ideas, resolve, and hope.
• They love quitting and then blaming other people, their circumstances, and the weather.
• They need prodding to breathe.
• They are the parasites, the leeches, the stone in your shoe.
• They are not in charge of their emotions or thoughts, tossed this way and that by the popular fads and fixes.
• They run with the herd, and are loyal only to comfort and instant gratification, much like animals.

The Prodders versus the ProdDEAD

Winners are loyal visionaries. They remember who helps them (and who hurts them.) They attract like-minded prodders into their lives. They tolerate the prodded only to the extent that they have to in order to accomplish their goals, but they have only disdain for those who choose to be victims instead of victors.

Winners are reliable and professional. They don’t compromise or sell out, and they create wealth, health, and happiness for the world. They are the prodders – the true champions – and they shrug off the vilification of the prodded who benefit from their creations yet attack them out of jealousy. They interpret PROD as:

Produce  Results  Or  Die

They are goal-oriented, creative, and self-motivated.

Be the Prod

If you are a prodder, you will relate to this short article. My purpose is to remind you that you are not alone, and that soon, Atlas will Shrug, and you should strongly align yourself with other prodders to be well positioned for that exciting time. Tolerate the prodded for now – they are necessary for the moment. Galt’s Gulch is waiting. Be the prod – the producer.