Walk into any store and look at the “Humorous” birthday cards about how people are getting old, their boobs are dropping, losing their hair, and can’t remember anything.

Notice how women, especially, have a “thing” about getting old or mentioning their ages, which sells lots of Botox, hair dye, and all sorts of contraptions and systems to make people look younger. Mutton dressed like lamb.

Men are getting just as bad with their pathetic comb-overs, pony tails, and hair implants.

Even worse than regretting one’s age or even fearing birthdays, is the fact that they tend to have people looking backwards instead of forwards.

“When I was younger…” We need to be architects of the future we can create, instead of archeologists looking back into a past we cannot change.

Birthdays are about Beginnings

A birthday should be an exciting time of new beginnings, new horizons, and the celebration of success, survival, and wisdom. It is, after all, the first day of the rest of your life, pregnant with powerful possibilities, a launching pad of wisdom, experience, understanding, and the acknowledgment that we have no limitations.

Right now, do yourself a favor. Watch this amazing video of Jim Stovall, whose life really only started when he went blind – the Christopher Story. Also see this video of his.

Give Birth to the New

We can rise like the phoenix out of the putrid swamp of our past hurts, bad choices, and failures. What doesn’t kill us does, indeed, make us stronger, IF we allow it to.

Every day is a potential birthday – the day you give birth to a new, “Can Do” attitude that says,

“Enough of the past – I am creating a wonderful new future, starting today. I have unlimited potential and I won’t drive my car looking in the rear-view mirror.

Your Medal of Honor

Wear your age like a medal of honor – a reflection of your learning and wisdom, experience and understanding. Birthdays should be like graduation ceremonies, not funerals.

Only Mix with Winners if You Want an Exciting Future

The best way to remember “YAHOO” – You Always Have Other Options – is to hook up with people who are successful, excited about their futures, and busy creating wonderful, new lives.

Mixing with losers who spend their time talking about the past, their kidney stones, their grandkids, and their problems is like drinking poison served up by a granny in a greasy spoon diner, wearing a miniskirt, with dyed blond hair, tramp stamps (tattoos), and a cigarette behind her ear. You’re as old and vulnerable as you want to be.

Mix with winners, set new goals, stop feeling sorry for yourself, and grab life by the horns. The best is yet to come, and the opportunities to make money and have a great life have never been better.

“No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear.” ~ Edmund Burke (1729 – 1797)

One thing that stops most people from achieving their goals is the fear of failure, embarrassment, loss, or anything that they currently have and don’t want to lose.

This fear will prevent them from moving forward – the perceived threat and pain – until the pain of their present condition or their approaching condition exceeds the potential danger that they fear.

By examining the things you fear, you might get perspective and change your mind about whether or not that fear has the power you currently bestow upon it.

• What do you fear?
• How can you diminish that fear?

Fear Failure?  Try This.

For example, if you fear failure, think about this: If there was nobody else in the world but you, no other people – would you fear failure? No, you wouldn’t. Because you don’t fear failure per se – you fear the opinions and ridicule of other people.

And anybody who likes you and cares about you would not ridicule you if you failed – they would help an support you, so why worry about the opinions of people who don’t like you or care about you?

Fear Loss?  Try This.

If you fear loss:

• What do you have to lose?
• What is the risk factor?
• Specifically, what would happen if you incurred that loss?
• Could you cope with that loss?
• Is the reward of facing your fear worth the risk?

Think objectively, not emotionally. Write down the pros and cons. Be rational.

1. How can you reduce or prevent the risk?
2. How can you change the situation, protect your assets, or shift the risk?

Fear is usually illogical and based on our conditioning and self-esteem, instead of hard facts. We assume a whole lot of things that are generally not true.

How a Professional Evaluates Risk

Imagine an engineer, and architect, or a scientist evaluating a risk. Would they cry, wring their hands, get angry, shout, hide, or rant? Probably not – they would get out their calculators and have meetings with other analytical people, draw diagrams, make plans, discuss the situation, and find a solution.

The architect doesn’t start whining, “But what if the bridge falls down? What if the floor collapses? I’ll be so embarrassed!” Analyze your fear, get the input of experts, talk with people who have been that route before and succeeded, and then make a logical, adult decision.

The “What if?” Game

Play the “What if?” game. It works well if you write things down.

• What if that person dies?
• What if this project fails?
• Exactly what would I do?
• What steps would I take?
• What would happen?
• Whose advice I need?
• What would I do?
• What could I do?
• Why would I make that choice?
• What would my alternatives be?
• Exactly what would this cost?
• How do I arrive at that number?

When you view life like a monopoly game or a chess game, you can override your conditioning, bias, self-talk, beliefs, and fears.

When you align yourself with successful, mature people who have experience in the field, it gets even better, hence the Mastermind effect of the DollarMakers Joint Venture Club and the DollarMakers Women’s Club – create a support system that will help you avoid the pitfalls of emotionalism, mysticism, and negative conditioning. Together, we can do amazing things.

Most Fears Never Even Happen!

The things you fear are not always all they’re cracked up to be. Several recent studies indicate that over 85% of all that we worry about never happens. Our minds tend to make mountains out of molehills.

Fear is not bad – it’s a warning light that we should consider, and when the warning light goes on in your car you don’t start crying, get paralyzed with fear, or sell your car; you take it to the shop and get an expert mechanic to check it out, or you take the time to read the manual.

• Sometimes,  an inexpensive item or a small adjustment is all that is required.
• Sometimes, it’s more expensive, but less expensive than a seized engine.

Consider the situation calmly and you will find that all you have to fear, as a smart man once said, is fear itself.

How many times have you said, “I don’t feel like it”, but you go ahead anyway and do it, and you’re very happy you did?

In life and in business, feelings are not always the ideal indicator, especially when they involve a spot of sloth or discomfort on your part.

Dive In & You’ll Find You love It

Recently, my amazing daughter urged me to go for a ride with her on a wild-looking machine at the fairgrounds that whirled people around upside down, high above the ground. The last time I rode on one of those things, I was a teenager. Now I’m 56, but I agreed to accompany her. I didn’t feel like it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!

My wife persuaded me to go to Disney World for the first time. I certainly didn’t feel like that, but I did it, and I loved it. After that, we visited Disneyland as well!

Yesterday, my two friends suggested we jump off the boat and swim in the cold waters of Howe Sound off Horseshoe Bay. I didn’t feel like it, but I dived in, and it was great.

Quitters Don’t Win Gold Medals

• Do you think athletes feel like training for hours every day, in all kinds of weather, enduring constant pain?
• How about that awful food they eat on their special diets?
• Don’t you thing they feel like gobbling fatty burgers or lining up at the trough for ice cream?
• How often do they feel like quitting?

Those who do quit don’t win the gold medals. The same goes for entrepreneurs. Someone once said:

“The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.”

Note, in the above quote, that the author says, “Reached and KEPT” – it’s OK to win once, but to keep on winning, you have to discipline your feelings and urges.

…And Once You Get There, Keep On the Gas!

Ross Perot said:

“Something in human nature causes us to start slacking off at our moment of greatest accomplishment.

As you become successful, you will need a great deal of self-discipline not to lose your sense of balance, humility, and commitment.”

Beware – pride comes before the fall.

Lee Iacocca said:

“I learned to keep going, even in bad times. I learned not to despair, even when my world was falling apart. I learned that there are no free lunches. And I learned the value of hard work.”

Consciously Cultivate Habits that Get GOOD Results

And Jim Rohn said:

“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments. One discipline always leads to another discipline.”

That’s good news – doing the right thing instead of the easy thing becomes a good habit.

Small habits that get good results need to be developed and maintained in order to reap long-term rewards. Those who quit easily and seek the fast buck never get anywhere, and they develop a reputation for excuses and for not being reliable. James Allen said:

“Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound. The man who does not shrink from self-crucifixion can never fail to accomplish the object upon which his heart is set.”

That self-discipline to do the right thing in spite of what you feel, is what separates the men from the boys.

Earmarks of a Winner

Champions don’t make excuses, and they fight on, regardless of their feelings, comfort zone, or the opinions of others. When losers tell them, “Don’t work too hard, take it easy, rest more, dress down, don’t be so aggressive, don’t upset people”, winners simply go deaf. They associate with other winners and hear only their mentors and coaches.

Do the right thing, continuing in good and bad times to do the right thing, in spite of what you feel.

Conquer yourself, and you can reach any goal you wish.

Your Future

Your future will be whatever you decide it will be. In four years time, you will look back on today and know that your decisions determined your destination.

It is YOUR future. You can have whatever future you want; you don’t need to beg, plead, manipulate, or make excuses. You don’t need permission.

Your future is like a buffet table with a huge selection of foods – take what you like. You are the master of your fate, the captain of your soul.

Exactly what do you want your life to look like in three or four year’s time?

It’s Cheaper to Pay for the Perfect Lifestyle

When I am in a strange city and I have a destination, I call a taxi and tell the driver where to take me. Then I sit back and relax.  I do have to pay him, though – there is always a price to pay.

What price will you pay for your goal life?

Guess what? You’ll pay a price for NOT achieving that lifestyle, too!

So either way, whether you design and create a wonderful lifestyle or submit to a life of compromise, pain, and frustration, you will pay the price.

So you decide what price you will pay, because it’s cheaper to pay for the perfect lifestyle. Why? In four years, after paying the price and achieving the lifestyle, it gets much easier. If you don’t, and your life stays boring, painful and scary, you keep on paying!

Which Rower are You?

Think of the man sitting in a rowing boat, working hard, rowing around in circles, going nowhere fast. That represents the average person in this world – 97% of people, statistically. In four years time, he’s older, weaker, and even more depressed, but he’s working just as hard, if not harder, to keep on going around in circles.

The other rower in the other boat heads for his Treasure Island. He works just as hard, but in four years he is resting in luxury.

Your choice. This can be your defining moment, if you want it to be.

A Blueprint for Reaching Your Destination

DollarMakers is designed and continually evolves and improves, to offer people around the world the means and the guidance to reach their financial life goals. I know that 97% of your problems will be solved or severely alleviated with enough money.

We have the blueprint, the systems, and support, and the tools necessary for you to use to reach your destination. Where will you be in four years? Your taxi is waiting…

Scotiabank has a slogan, “You’re richer than you think” – I wholeheartedly concur.

Most of us focus on what we don’t want to happen, what we don’t like, our fears, and the bad things in our lives. You only have to open any newspaper (do people still read those?) or turn on CNN to see how bad news dominates the thoughts of the average person.

The fact is that you have access to wealth and prosperity of which you’re probably blissfully unaware.

Bear with me, and you will see both the logic in my statement and the way to turn problems and goals into hard cash.

A Mind-blowing Epiphany for Entrepreneurs

We’ve all heard the truism, “Business is finding a need and filling it”, so people rush out and find a product or service to sell, or they buy or build a business to solve problems. Then they have to sell those products or services.

That’s why 87% of new business fail in the first five years and 87% of the remaining 87% fail in the next five years.

And that’s also why most “business owners” are in fact broke, self employed salespeople, and why most entrepreneurs either have money or time, but seldom both.

The problem is that they are working BACKWARDS.

Make Money Linking Problems to Solutions

The fact is that:

1. Everyone in the world has access to resources, and everyone knows many people who have access to resources. By the same token, everyone has problems, challenges, hopes, and dreams.
2. Every business is looking for more customers and more sales, and every business has excess inventory, perishable resources and other resources, hidden assets, and customers.

There is a proven way to create unlimited, residual wealth by linking supply and demand, solving those problems, and helping people reach their goals, without limitation, cost, risk, lots of time, or even selling – it’s called Brokering Joint Ventures.

I’ve been doing it for 22 years. Very few people understand how to do this, and that’s what DollarMakers is all about – teaching people to make money by simply introducing people to solutions and being paid.

Anyone Can Do It

Anyone, regardless of their circumstances, age, education, or background, and whether they have a business or not, can create wealth by setting up Joint Ventures.

Bill needs what Sally has, so you link Bill and Sally and get rewarded. This is not a new concept, and it can be as sophisticated or as simple as you like.

You Can Profit from What Others Don’t Know

Most small and medium sized businesses operate on about 10% of their potential net profit because they simply don’t understand the concept of Joint Ventures. It’s also why so many of them fail. Joint Ventures give businesses the edge and provide them with a way to dramatically increase their profits, while lowering their risk and overhead significantly.

In a world where we’re constantly told to slow down, dress down, calm down, pipe down, and keep your head down, with the controlled dumbing down of society to the lowest common denominator, let’s review the Winner’s Declaration, which I devised while riding my bike around Rocky Point this morning.

The Winner’s Declaration

“I accept that I am solely responsible for my present circumstances and predicament.

I have chosen my response to and my interpretation of all my options, and will continue to do so.

I acknowledge that my future will be whatever I decide to create through my own volition and choices.

I commit to remain true to my values, beliefs, and philosophy, and determine to advance tenaciously and steadfastly toward my personal goals without being diverted, slowed, or sabotaged by the opinions, words, or actions of other people.

I do not need the permission, endorsement, or agreement of any other person to achieve my objectives – I am the captain and purpose of my own life.

I accept the consequences, both good and bad, of my choices, and I progress confidently, boldly, and joyfully in the direction of my goals.

I believe in myself, I am my own best friend, and I answer only to my own conscience.

I will reach my own fullest potential. I expect to succeed. I am my own moral compass.”

Ayn Rand said:

“I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.  A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others. Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one’s values.”

If you know what you want out of life, you need to create an environment that will nurture your growth and support you through the realization of your dreams. W. Clement Stone said:

“You are a product of your environment. So choose the environment that will best develop you toward your objective.

Analyze your life in terms of its environment. Are the things around you helping you toward success – or are they holding you back?”

Napoleon Hill said:

“We begin to see, therefore, the importance of selecting our environment with the greatest of care, because environment is the mental feeding ground out of which the food that goes into our minds is extracted.”

The people in your life, the books you read, and the places you go are all important factors in your environment.

The Koi Principle

Remember that the Japanese carp or koi has the natural ability to grow according to the size of its environment. Thus, in a small tank, it usually grows to no more than five to seven centimeters, but if placed in a lake, it can grow to three times that size.

If you have big, important, exciting dreams, you want to be sure to put big people and big brains and big ideas into your environment, and it’s easier than you think.

Who Will You Be in 5 Years?

Charles Jones said:

“You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.”

Let’s just focus on these two aspects of your environment for now. But, before we do, consider what Alvin Toffler once said:

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

If you’re not ready to learn, unlearn, and relearn, no amount of good books or wise people will have any impact on you.

Meet the Right People

When people who are serious about success approach me for advice, I suggest they meet certain people whom I recommend. Those who do, benefit tremendously.

Your network certainly does determine your net worth.

Great people with great minds can excite, motivate, encourage, challenge, and assist you beyond your greatest expectations. By contributing to their lives first, great people will generously reciprocate, but don’t approach them with your hand out like a beggar.

Read the Right Books

When you have read “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand, you will want to read all of her books. “Atlas Shrugged” will change your life. Also read

• “Never Eat Alone” by Keith Ferrazzi,
• “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill,
• “The E-Myth” by Michael Gerber.

By reading the books of great thinkers, you get to actually think their thoughts. That is a profound revelation for most people.

Engineer Your Environment

Every person, book, Joint Venture, and physical aspect of my personal environment is very carefully selected, and those that no longer work are removed and replaced – fast. I monitor my environment very carefully and consistently. My peace of mind, integrity, and goals are far too important to be compromised.

How about yours? How strict and selective are you about your input, influences, and environment?

Time will tell.

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.