Others hire people to do the

• pumping,
• filling,
• carrying and selling,

so they create a real business, but they have lots of

• overhead,
• problems,
• limitations,
• and costs,
• and they are at risk, despite the fact that they earn more money.

Depending, of course, on the demand and their competition. These are real entrepreneurs.

Investors

The next level of intelligence brings us people who use other peoples’ money and bank loans to build a water pipeline.

They have very low costs and overhead, few employees, and far less limitations.

The Middleman

And then we find the Joint Venture Brokers, who

• make no investment,
• carry no overhead,
• have no limitations,
• are not at risk,
• and everything they earn is 100% profit.

They are intermediaries or middlemen, who simply link the water suppliers with the users and take a piece of the on-going action.

They create multiple Joint Ventures, which all run simultaneously.

They will use Joint Ventures and arrange numerous other products and services to be sold to the same people who buy the water.

Boost Your Profits

In a recent Tweet on Twitter, I urged people to watch this video, and encouraged them to stop playing at making money and start making it. Instead of silly seminars where they break arrows on their throats and walk on fire (tricks revealed in said video) for a short-lived, false high, they can learn how to use leverage to boost their profits and create wealth, whether they have businesses or not.

Think strategically, piggyback on existing distribution and access, and you will enjoy the time and money that results from brokering Joint Ventures. Work smart. Use your head, not your hands.

Definition of Congruency

In the context of one’s life, congruency means that:

• your beliefs, values, and actions are all in
  • agreement,
  • harmony,
  • conformity,
  • and correspondence.
• all parts and areas of your life are moving in the same direction.
• you walk your talk.

For example, someone who smokes and yet makes a point of eating healthy and getting regular exercise is not making congruent choices. Someone who has one area of his life sabotaging, weakening, or undermining another area of his life does not have a congruent lifestyle.

The reason most people are unconsciously breaking down their own success and limiting themselves is because of three things:

1. First, they don’t have clearly defined, measurable goals for their lives.
2. Second, they fail to measure and notice what they’re doing and what the ripple effects of their choices are,
3. and thirdly, because they’re lazy, addicted, apathetic, or just plain stupid.

But for those of us who are committed to happiness, success, and reaching our full potential, focusing on congruency can skyrocket you to unprecedented heights of success.

Every choice in every area of your life affects every other area – everything in your life is interconnected.

No Involvement, No Commitment.

Stephen Covey said that when we live according to our values, we will be happy. He also said,

“Without involvement, there’s no commitment. Mark it down, circle it, underline it. No involvement, no commitment.”

That makes sense, since you can’t deal with life at arm’s length. Whatever you focus on will grow, and you only have 24 hours a day to attain your success and happiness. Having the intestinal fortitude to define your values, beliefs, and philosophy, and then to arrange your goals in each area of your life so that they all fit and support each other, is indeed a smart thing to do, and very rare.

Perhaps one percent of people do this. You can, too.

It’s a simple choice.

Defining Our Own Philosophy

Defining our own philosophy and world view, and then deciding what we want our lives to look like, taking into account every area of life:

• social,
• mental,
• physical,
• financial,
• family,
• work,
• etc.,is the first step to greatness.

Then, look at your present lifestyle and choices through this lens, and decide what and who needs to be:

• adjusted,
• removed,
• fixed,
• added,
• and tweaked.

That‘s the scary and exciting part, because it will tell you exactly how much you are committed to what you say you believe and want.

Your philosophy of life is like your GPS, or compass. It will guide you to it’s ultimate purpose, be it self-sacrifice and resentment, or greatness and fulfillment.

Align All the Areas of Your Life

Then, it’s time to take action, to align all the areas of your life with your goals and values. This means removin

• certain people,
• groups,
• activities,
• choices,
• and input,
• and adding new stuff.

It’s like

• pulling the thorn out of your foot,
• wiping the dog poo off the bottom of your shoe,
• filling your gas tank,
• joining a health club,
• buying a bicycle,
• and canceling your membership to a club of losers.

It’s a wonderful way to spring clean your life, repaint it, and spruce it up.

It’s weeding the garden and planting new, beautiful flowers.

Having the guts to commit to being real and honest, no matter what the cost, is a wonderful investment in your happiness and self-esteem.

The Midas Touch

People who live congruent lives feel that whatever they touch turns to gold – success starts to “flow” for them. Things start going their way.

1. They breathe easier.
2. They sleep well.
3. They confront issues with courage and confidence.
4. They seem to attract successful people and circumstances.
5. They start liking and respecting themselves more, so others start treating them better, too.
6. They come out of the closet, so to say, into the bright sunlight of energy, purpose, and freedom.

This is scary for losers, who live on excuses, but exciting for winners, who love creating their own dream lives:

“Every thought, word, action, cent, decision, commitment, second, minute, hour, and mouthful of food COUNTS.”

Evaluate Your Life

I encourage you to evaluate your life and decide if it’s congruent or not. Since 97% of our problems, including our most valuable resource – our time, can be solved or significantly alleviated with money, as I have found being a Joint Venture Broker to be the most valuable tool available for facilitating a life of congruency, freedom, and happiness.

Strategizing the Target

Shane heard about an entrepreneur who could help him move a large amount of products. This entrepreneur (I’ll call him Dennis) was busy, successful, in demand, and very selective. Many people continually vied for Dennis’s attention, and salespeople spent a lot of time trying to sell him stuff. Shane took a month to do some serious due diligence and information gathering on Dennis –

• his family,
• business,
• employees,
• goals,
• background,
• philosophy,
• hobbies,
• you name it.

Then he paid a detective to gather even more information. When he was properly prepared, he spent a thousand dollars buying and using Dennis’s products and services.

Now Dennis knew who Shane was – a respectful client.

Setting the Bait

Shane knew that Dennis’s family was very important to him, so he paid a photographer to do a professional photo shoot of Dennis’s family. Then he invited Dennis to go deep sea fishing with him and a few carefully chosen friends.

He spent another month working on his relationship with Dennis until Dennis regarded Shane as a friend. This included buying Dennis a new guitar. Up to this point, Shane didn’t try to sell Dennis anything.

Catching the Fish

Three months to the day after Shane targeted Dennis, he closed the deal. Shane’s total investment, he told me, was five thousand dollars, which was tax-deductible. The deal made him forty-thousand dollars NET profit after deducting the five thousand. And Dennis made twenty thousand.

What Shane did was to strategically get the maximum amount of credibility and leverage before introducing his deal.

He told me that, at any time during this three-month process, if he felt the deal wasn’t going to work, he would have cut bait and walked away.

A General, Not a Soldier

That was ten years ago, and Shane and Dennis are still doing business. (I called Shane to make sure.) How different from the desperate posers who push their scruffy little business cards at you without even knowing you. Shane makes a lot of money, because he is a general, not a soldier. He is:

• rational,
• professional,
• unattached,
• reliable,
• respectful,
• and skillful.

He values relationships, and he takes nothing for granted. You would never see him in a “Business Networking Group” or a Chamber of Commerce meeting.

Many Ways to Achieve the Same Results

Of course, it doesn’t always take five thousand dollars to position yourself for a successful deal / Joint Venture. There are many ways to accomplish the same results for pennies on the dollar, and even for nothing but time and effort, but I like this illustration. As Ayn Rand said,

“Wealth is the product of man’s capacity to think.”

The emphasis is on THINK – something most so-called entrepreneurs avoid in favor of desperate sales pitches and their blind fumbling for a quick buck.

Which do YOU want to be?

Soldiers will grab a gun and rush out shooting. Generals plan before executing. They use:

• military intelligence,
• spies,
• reconnaissance,
• and input from other people.

They coordinate the activities of others.

Which do YOU want to be? Soldier or general?

To learn more about the Joint Venture Broker approach to wealth, which Shane understood so well, visit www.jvwisdom.com.

They say seventy percent of Americans are one paycheck away from bankruptcy. Actually, I think the number is much higher.

How to get out of debt?

1. First, what do most people do? They focus on the debt. It’s like a huge depression magnet. How happy, courageous, enthusiastic, creative, and innovative can one be when focusing on your biggest problem?
2. They associate with other people who are also in debt. Crazy! That just perpetuates the situation!
3. They seek silly, quick-fix solutions, like network marketing (it works, but it takes years) and risky schemes that cost a lot to get involved with. Remember, only take advice from someone who already has what you want, and that the biggest scammers are found running seminars and behind pulpits.

Someone once said that if you know what 97% of people are doing and you just consistently do the opposite, you can’t help succeeding in life. That’s because most people are losers. That’s a proven statistic; 97% of people will never get rich. So you have to go with the 3% if you want financial freedom.

My real life, tough love, unapologetic recipe for getting out of debt:

1.  Stop Unnecessary Spending.

Stop spending money you don’t have on things you don’t need to impress people who don’t care.

• You don’t NEED to lease the latest, shiny new car.
• You don’t need to eat out in restaurants all the time.
• You don’t need to belong to service clubs and networking clubs if they’re not making you money, and factor in all your costs – your time, gas, meals, parking, etc.
• You don’t need a Blackberry – I seldom use my old cell phone, and I do just fine.

Even if you’re the “President”, resign right now. Get real, and get over your ego and your need for acceptance. If you’re a dirty little smoker, it’s costing you at least $300 per month, offending people who don’t like stinking of foul tobacco, and telling everyone you’re a loser. Stop it. Winners don’t smoke. If I’m offending you, I don’t care.

2.  Flock with Winners.

Surround yourself with winners who have money. Cut the losers, whiners, and parasites in your life loose – NOW. That’s around 97% of people.

3.  Improve Your Focus.

Focus on profits, not sales, awards, or titles. You may be a Double Diamond Executive Champion in your network marketing company, but if you’re only earning $1,000 per month from it, you’re delusional. If you’re a business owner, moving your focus from sales to profits is a major shift in focus. Fire any employee who isn’t profitable, even if it’s a relative. You’re not a socialist. If your business isn’t working, scrap it. You’ll have to get tough if you want to get rich.

4.  Take Responsibility.

Stop making excuses and take full responsibility for your financial future. You have to adapt to your circumstances and stop blaming them. Change your sails and use the wind to propel you towards your goals. Your present life and financial status is a mirror of your choices and thoughts. YOU created it.

The past is irrelevant, so stop talking about it. Nobody cares how successful you say you were in the past. You can’t drive to the bank looking in the rear-view mirror. Depend only on yourself, and decide that you will reach your goal of financial freedom no matter what it takes or how long it takes – no turning back – total commitment. 24/7/365.

Move from being a worrier to a warrior, from victim to victor. You can be popular of you can be rich. Decide what is most important to you. If you want both, your achievements will be short-lived and mediocre at best.

5.  Find a Truly Successful Mentor.

Find a mentor with money and without a hidden motive. That disqualifies 99% of “coaches” and “consultants” and all bank managers and “Financial Planners”. Take his or her advice, and don’t second-guess them, or they will cut you loose. They will watch you, and if you’re not consistently taking action and applying their advice, you will suddenly find it hard to get hold of them. Atlas will shrug. Your Mentor will provide you with a SYSTEM for making money, and you have to stick with it UNTIL it works.

My Motto

Remember this – it is my motto for life, from Paul J. Meyer:

“Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon, must inevitably come to pass.”

Winners NEVER quit.

That’s it. Simple. The best system I have found to create financial freedom for anyone, regardless of their age, circumstances, background, education, or experience, and that can allow them to retire in one year with more residual income per month than they need to live on, is Joint Ventures.

DollarMakers is designed to help you and mentor you to this goal without risk, and you can do it part-time. We have a 23-year track record, and we practice what we preach. Get the fantastic Joint Venture Coupon Strategy tool for free now. That’s a good place for you to start.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself, in order to move from tactician to strategist, and from selling your time to using your head:

1. What else could your customers buy, before, after, and during their purchase from you, and who could you arrange that they buy that from, while you receive a piece of all the resulting, ongoing transactions? Back end = 100% pure profit.
2. If you gave them an incentive, how many businesses / people could you arrange to enthusiastically, systematically, and consistently refer business to you? Unlimited, qualified referrals from a trusted source with a high closing ratio is the result.
3. How much extra value would you like to add to your current transactions at no cost or risk to you? This can increase transaction values and closing ratios and drop your attrition rate through the floor.
4. How could you piggyback on the distribution, excess inventory, unconverted leads, marketing, sales, and other resources of twenty other businesses? Scrap that marketing budget.
5. How can you arrange to stop paying for promises and only pay for results, which will essentially allow you to have an unlimited marketing budget? Fire those coaches and consultants right now.

When business owners realize that they’re working too hard and too long for too little, and that they’re only realizing around 10% of their potential profit, they suddenly open their eyes and start thinking like real business owners instead of broke, self-employed, salespeople who BS themselves even more than they do everyone else.

You can move from the soup kitchen to the Four Seasons faster than you think. Stop paying for a Rolex and getting a Timex. But remember that the man who wears a Timex can’t teach you how to buy a Rolex.

Instead of mindlessly intoning, “I’m happy”, how about asking yourself,

1. WHY am I happy?
2. What have I got to be happy about?
3. What’s great about my life?
4. How can I be happier?
5. What can I do to make myself even happier? What specific steps can I take?

That will result in goals, and when you write them down and create an action plan, you can affirm your action plan.

This will in turn program your Reticular Activating System, which is like your mental GPS, and it will work tirelessly and subconsciously to help you notice and find ways to make your goals happen. Great leverage! That’s why you notice every new Lexus when you’ve just bought one.

How You Can Apply This Strategy

If you repeat, “I’m happy” and then interrupt yourself to ask, “Why am I happy?” you might find yourself answering, “I’m not happy – I am decidedly glum.”

• Well, then you ask, “What do I have to do to BECOME happy?” It’s profound in its simplicity – it leads to positive, constructive action.
• “What is making me unhappy?” Find the root cause and remove or adjust it.

Your Input Effects You

Have a good look at your input and its effect on your state of mind, aspirations, expectations, choices, and results. Every choice, word, and thought is either taking you towards your goals or away from your goals.

1. What are you reading, watching, and listening to?
2. Whom are you mixing with?
3. What kind of exercise, diet, and environment is affecting your progress?

Managing Your Mind

What you think about comes about. What you focus on will grow. Managing your mind with questions and controlling your input makes sense if you want to fast-track your success. Written, specific, time-related, measurable goals will make your Reticular Activating System work overtime for you, even while you’re asleep. It’s the most powerful weapon you have – might as well use it for good.

Audit Your Inner Resources

Just as professional Joint Venture Brokers use Resource Audits, you might want to audit yourself sometime. “On a scale of one to ten, how happy am I? Why? What needs to change for me to be happier? How healthy? How rich?”

Evaluate your relationships, your present status – take a good, hard look in the mirror. It’s not easy; I sometimes get viciously verbally attacked (usually in writing by the passive aggressive, anal retentive types) when I say things at my seminars that forces people to see themselves in the mirror of their minds. They hate what they see, so they “break the mirror” by attacking me.

Interpreting Your Circumstances

The way we interpret our circumstances and experiences goes a long way to determining how successful we will be. The meaning you choose to give it is the meaning it will have for you.

When a woman told Churchill he was drunk, he responded, “Madam, tomorrow morning, I will be sober, but you will still be ugly.”

Glenn Beck, a true political prophet, is being violently attacked and threatened by people whom he’s courageously exposing in the media as frauds and weasels. He had his friend, a psychiatrist, join him on his TV show to discuss how one should handle these attacks. His friend illustrated how drug addicts refuse to admit they have a problem and attack you for suggesting they do – a great illustration.

Philosophy: Your Best Leverage

The best mental leverage of all is your beliefs and your philosophy – that is what guides you every second of your life. Your beliefs, world view, and philosophy is either hurting or helping you, so why not choose one that works for you?

• Discard outdated, demeaning beliefs, and watch your life soar to new heights of success.
• I highly recommend you read “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand – it has changed many lives, including mine.

One is faced with a buffet of belief choices – choose right. As developmental psychologist Gail Sheehy wrote years ago in her groundbreaking book, “Passages”, it’s normal and healthy to change your values and beliefs as you go through life, instead of being stuck in the poisonous beliefs some of our parents, preaches and teachers imposed on us – talk about child abuse!

Your most valuable asset in life is your mind.

Buddha said, “Thoughts give joy when they speak or act. Joy follows them like a shadow that never leaves them.”

Control your mind, and you control your life.

Napoleon Hill taught us, “Whatever the mind of man can believe and conceive, it can achieve.”

Your circumstances are a clear reflection of your philosophy and thoughts. Have fun taking back control of your mind and your future – be free!