Someone says, “I’ll get back to you.” You should immediately ask, “When, exactly, will you get back to me?” If they don’t get back to you on that day, follow up right away. Don’t sit around waiting for people.

Appointments

Someone shows up late for an appointment. If they don’t call to say they’ll be late, LEAVE after 15 minutes. If they do call, and they’re going to be more than twenty minutes late, cancel the appointment.

Returning Communication

Someone doesn’t return your e mails or phone calls promptly, but you have established that they did receive the voice mail, message or e mail. The longer you wait, the less control and respect you have.

Decision Making

Someone refuses to make a decision, makes you wait, puts you off. They are controlling and manipulating you, or they are simply too gutless and politically correct to say “No.” Walk away. If they do come back, renegotiate, increase your fee, and punish them for making you wait, in order to re-establish your authority and positioning.

Production

Someone doesn’t produce on time, on a regular basis. You find that you’re always waiting and listening to their lies an excuses. Find a replacement for them, or suffer as they repeat the pattern. Meanwhile, reduce contact, remove as much business and control from them as possible, and create negative consequences for non-performance.

Control your time, business, relationships, and choices carefully. Be in control, and spread your risk.

A wise man once said,

“If you had a hundred lazy, ineffective, needy, and unprofessional people working for you, you might realize that you would spend your time more wisely if you had ten good men who were driven, disciplined, and determined to accomplish their goals.”

Your time is your most valuable resource, and it should be treated as such.

• Only do what only you can do.  Delegate, buy the time of others, avoid duplication and other unnecessary tasks, and demand a fair return on your investment.
• When your working partners regularly do not produce that which they agreed to produce, replace them.
• Use the technology available, make people come to you for meetings, and avoid a physical meeting unless it is absolutely necessary.
• Travel less, think more, and insist on results.
• Hold others accountable or withdraw your time.

De-fang Time Vampires

Time vampires abound. Those with the biggest mouths usually produce the least.

• Look at your time investments carefully before committing.
• Learn that most important word, “NO.” You don’t need to provide explanations.
• Limit meetings to thirty minutes and train your staff to intervene when necessary.
• Put a sign above your desk: “My Time Is Worth More than $1,000 per Hour. Waste It At Your Own Peril.”
• End phone calls as soon as possible; scarcity is valued. “You have exactly ten minutes.” At the end of ten minutes, end the call.

“We had a meeting. I spent my irreplaceable time on you. You didn’t deliver what you promised. Why should I waste more time with you?” Get serious, get tough, and you’ll get rich. The losers that you feel sorry for won’t thank you or help you when you’re losing money. Time IS money. It’s YOUR time; you own it, and you’re not obliged to give it away anymore than you are obliged to give away thousands of dollars. People have to EARN your time by producing results – on time.

Where Time REALLY Matters

Finally, time with your family, a good book, at a lake or beach, or on the ski slopes, is time well spent, and never wasted. When you look back on your life, you will remember how fast it went, how much you missed, and how impossible it is to get back. Spend it wisely – you only have one life. Time IS life.

Before leaping blindly into a Joint Venture, here is a simple checklist to thoughtfully and objectively review, that could save you time, money, frustration, and even your reputation:

1. Is your potential Joint Venture partner truly successful, and does he or she have money and a solid track record? How do you know?
2. Can they deliver what they promise and afford to pay you the promised commission on time? How do you know that?
3. Have you done you due diligence? Are they Members of DollarMakers?
4. What impression did they make on you, what was your gut feel, and are you absolutely comfortable with them? Any red flags you’re ignoring?
5. Is this Joint Venture a good match with your other Joint Ventures and Joint Venture partners?
6. Are you being pressured into the Joint Venture? (Usually a sign that the other party has cash flow problems.)
7. How can you test this Joint Venture in a small way before rolling it out in a big way?
8. Have you bounced this off your Mentor?
9. Do you have a good agreement in place that covers all areas?
10. Is the income potential of this proposed Joint Venture worth the time and effort required to make it work?
11. Will it dovetail with your other Joint Ventures and back-ends?
12. What are your other options? (YAHOO = You Always Have Other Options).
13. Are you making an emotional decision, a desperate decision, a decision based on a feeling of obligation / reciprocation, or a business decision based on value and profit?
14. Is this a true win/win? Are both parties contributing equal value, or is it one-sided?
15. What is the time, risk, and cost involved, and is it justifiable?

Orrin Hudson teaches that chess is a metaphor for life; one’s moves in life determine the consequences. “Chess trains you to do what works – learn from champions,” he says.

“When you make smart moves in life, you get smart results. Success leaves clues.”

Hudson continues, “The chess board is a great neutralizer – everyone has the same opportunities. Make good choices. Play to win. Chess is a level playing field, and we all have all we need to win the game. The only thing that determines your success is your mind, so get your head in the game.” He teaches kids to play chess and uses it to teach them life skills.

If You Want to Learn Chess, ONLY study with a TRUE Master

In chess, we learn that patience, focus, and good decisions have consequences, and the same goes for business. Learn chess from a chess master. And learn business from someone who actually makes money. I was referred to someone recently who has a very impressive website that makes him look like a business guru par excellence. I was very impressed with his resume and the testimonials on his site, however I know from personal experience that this man doesn’t have two cents to rub together. Yet, he is teaching people how to make money in business! The blind leading the blind, very common on the Internet, where losers can pose as experts.

Think Ahead to Maximize Future Results

Every move you make in business has a long term consequence: every relationship, every deal, and every phone call. The right strategy, decisions, choices, and people will determine who wins and who loses. Chess is about the right pieces / players doing the right things / making the right moves in relation to others. Joint Ventures is very much like a chess game, where we all win or lose based on having relationships with people who are making good moves. Think about where you are on the chess board of business and life before making your next move.

Your Self Talk is your secret weapon for success in whatever you do, no doubt about it. What you tell yourself about your circumstances, options, challenges, opportunities, strength, and abilities, determines, MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, what you will become, and what you will achieve in life. Your self talk is a prophecy of your future. I can predict what you will do by what you say. And what you do determines what you achieve in life.

Talk Like a Winner

Winners never say, “IF I win”, or “I’ll TRY”, or “I’ll do my best”, or “I hope”. They believe in themselves, they are self disciplined, the have high self-esteem, and they they expect to succeed. They say, “I WILL”, “WHEN I win”, and “I CAN”. And they mean it.

Think Like a Winner

Victors tell themselves, “I can handle anything. I am unstoppable. I and strong and focused. I’m a lean, mean, money machine. I never quit. Every day, in every way, I’m getting better and better. “I believe it and I will achieve it.” They consistently act in spite of the opinions of others. They don’t allow losers to get in their way. They have high self respect, they set their own standards, and they make no excuses. They never fear the opinions of other people. They are honest and outspoken. Read the words of Winston Churchill and General George S. Patton.

Act Like a Winner

Listen to what a boxer says before his fight, and you can accurately predict if he will win or not. Think of Mohammad Ali. Achievers take responsibility for thier lives and choices, and they don’t make excuses. Control your self talk, and you control your destiny. A congruent lifestyle empowers winners, and they never compromise their values. Winners are eagles, warriors, and visionaries.  Read “The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand.

Live “Unconquered”

“Invictus” is a favorite short poem of mine, by the British poet William Ernest Henley. The title is Latin for “Unconquered”. It was first published in 1875. At the age of 12, Henley became a victim of tuberculosis of the bone. In spite of this, in 1867 he successfully passed the Oxford local examination as a senior student. His diseased foot had to be amputated directly below the knee; physicians announced the only way to save his life was to amputate the other. Henley persevered and survived with one foot intact. He was discharged in 1875, and was able to lead an active life for nearly 30 years despite his disability. With an artificial foot, he lived until the age of 54. “Invictus” was written from a hospital bed.

INVICTUS
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul.

Most people confuse brokering deals with selling things, and it’s good to know the difference, so that you can decide what you want to do when you grow up.

• Brokers respond to needs and solve problems, and get paid a portion of all the ensuing business.
• Salespeople run around trying to sell stuff. Their service / product is unsolicited, usually unnecessary, and singularly unimpressive to people who broker Joint Ventures – it’s too much like a combination of hard work, selling time, and limited thinking. It’s like running a V8 engine on one cylinder.

We BUILD tollgates – we don’t work in them!

I talked with someone who told me they had a great new “Joint Venture” – they were asked to be the distributors for equipment that cleans computers, and they didn’t even have to pay for the right to become a distributor! Whoopee do! Now, if you create a conventional distributorship, pay rent, employ people, start advertising the cleaning equipment, bring salespeople on board, etc., you’re not doing a Joint Venture – you just built yourself a job. A REAL Joint Venture Broker would find a distributor, set the deal up, and take a piece of the action on an on-going basis; he would simply triangulate the deal – little time, and no cost or risk to him. It’s called leverage. 

A REAL Joint Venture Broker:

A Joint Venture Broker is a problem solver, and we’re not limited to any product or service or demographic or geographical area. When we find a need, we simply find a business to solve the need, and we get paid. Within DollarMakers, we have hundreds of Members in 14 countries, and by understanding the principle of “Six Degrees of Separation”, it’s easy to find solutions and help people. Knocking on doors, cold calling, or advertising to sell one product or service automatically limits what you can make.

• A Joint Venture Broker has people calling him or her with requests – we kindly respond and make money. Salespeople are the ones calling and harassing other people to buy stuff. I know, I’ve been a salesman all my life, and there is a big difference between selling and solving.
• Also, smart Joint Venture Brokers look for natural synergy and flow between their Joint Venture partners and the demographics they target; they’re not all over the map.
• They build growth and strength when their Joint Venture partners, products, and services overlap.
• They understand how important integrity, consistency, and relationship is in business. They see the big picture.

Salespeople who learn what a Joint Venture is and how it works seldom remain salespeople; they change their approach and start making much more money from many more sources.

Set Yourself Apart

Only 1% of entrepreneurs understand and use Joint Ventures, and that’s why DollarMakers operates the way it does; we create and educate our own Joint Venture partners and we make our money doing Joint Ventures, not selling memberships and training. DollarMakers is unique in that we have the track record and the branding that nobody else has in the area of Joint Ventures for small and medium sized businesses and entrepreneurs.

I have been reading General George S. Patton’s account of the invasion of Sicily. Most enjoyable. A great historian and strategist, General Patton is widely considered the best field commander in the American army of World War 2. Franklin D. Roosevelt called him “our greatest fighting general.” Patton once wrote to his wife, Beatrice, “When I am not attacking, I feel bilious.” General Patton and Winston Churchill are my heroes.

What 97% of Entrepreneurs Do

When you decide to capture a new market for your business, your approach can be strategic, smart, planned, and effective, or you can do what 97% of entrepreneurs do. Ten years ago, I would have concluded that a particular caller on my recent conference call was either inebriated or mentally damaged; however, after ten years in this market, I realize that he is simply another narcissistic, socialist fool. He asked a question that revealed his utter ignorance of basic psychology, but also of the power of the Joint Venture mindset: “So how can you help me get investors for my real estate development in Costa Rica?”

Why They Fail

This type relies on cold calling, shotgun approach advertising, networking with equally slothful and desperate, broke, self-employed salespeople, and wild, groundless lies about the return on the “investment” he is touting. He has no battle plan, no brains, and no pity from yours truly. This is how most employees who pretend to be entrepreneurs try to capture a market, and why they fail so miserably. Let us expend as little time as possible exposing the hopelessness of his approach, and then move on to what actually works.

First, the caller has no traction, credibility, leverage, or relationship with me, and yet he asks me how I can help him. A beggar on the street would get the same amount of attention from me. Why would I want to help him? I only tolerate his ignorance out of courtesy to the person arranging the conference call. I have no reason to help him. Second, his arrogance knows no bounds. He is not interested in learning about Joint Ventures, only how to make another dollar off some unsuspecting and equally slow “investor” in his scheme. Let’s move on to what works.

What Works for the Other 3%

Here is the simple answer to capturing a new market:

1. Decide what your ideal demographic is: Whom do you want to sell your products and services to?
2. Determine who, exactly, has access to, influences, controls, communicates with, and has the attention and respect of that demographic. These people are Centers of Influence. They are the key to fast, effective, risk-free access to the market you want to capture.
3. Develop a specific plan to meet, impress, and get the active cooperation, assistance, and support of these Centers of Influence. And this is where the Joint Venture Mindset comes into play. You have to give me a very compelling reason to help you. You have to develop an intelligent strategy to get my attention and build a relationship with me. And in order to do that, you have to know a lot about me.
4. Set up and execute a Joint Venture with each of the Centers of Influence that allows you to capture the market fast, in a bloodless coup. (You can learn more than 40 effective strategies to do his through  DollarMakers.)

The Mindset that Separates the “Men from the Boys”

Joint Venture Brokers are strategists. They understand psychology. They are capitalists, who expect to pay for the value they receive. They are realistic and street smart, so they work smart instead of hard. They don’t have that sense of entitlement that permeates our society. They develop their skill conscientiously. They understand the importance of long-term, reciprocal, symbiotic relationships in business. They are consistent, persistent, professional, and honest. They plan their campaign with the JV mantra, “No money, no risk, little time” running in their heads, and differentiate themselves from 97% of others by using their heads and creating massive, unprecedented value.

Joining the DollarMakers Joint Venture Broker Club gives you instant access to hundreds of potential Joint Venture partners in 15 countries. For more outstanding Joint Venture information, visit www.jvwisdom.com.

Many years ago in South Africa, we imported the Anthony Robbins Personal Power Program from America. Because of the exchange rate and import duties, it was very expensive, and it took a long time to receive it. We were very excited and listened to it over and over again. It changed our lives dramatically and resulted in personal understanding and choices and a video program that made us tens of thousands of dollars. We still live by the principles we learned from that wonderful program.

On a beautiful spring day, we decided to go for a walk. Along the way, we see… A GARAGE SALE! Rika loves garage sales. Suddenly, as we meander along past the tables laden with other people’s trash, we both notice that something on one of the tables that once changed our lives.

And there it was, in all its glory!

The Anthony Robbins Personal Power program, in pristine condition, with the little workbook and everything, at a garage sale! That’s like putting your most precious, inherited, priceless, irreplaceable family jewels in a garage sale. I was stunned. Rika and I both reached forward simultaneously to grab the program. I looked at the character behind the table, early fifties, torn T shirt, and asked him. “Why are you selling this fantastic program?” His reply should have been expected, but I was still shocked. “I didn’t even finish listening to it – I don’t believe that stuff – that a 20-something could make all that money – it’s rubbish.” When I recovered I asked, “So how much do you want for it?” “I paid $139″, he scowled,”But you can have it for eight – say five dollars.”  On the way out of the garage sale, clutching my treasure, I noticed that the event was held at a Co-op housing place.

Naturally, I am re-listening to the entire program and loving every minute of it, and on the first tape Tony Robbins mentions that only 10% of the people who invest in the program will finish listening to it. There’s a reason why that loser lives in government subsidized co-op housing. He was handed the keys to a magnificent mansion in the form of the Tony Robbins program, and he discarded it, probably in favor of a joint and a hockey game on TV. It was “too good to be true”. Guess when he started scowling? When he saw my DollarMakers ball cap. Bitter and twisted, trapped in his cynicism, and poor.

Although I was disgusted at this specimen that devalued something as life-changing as that Tony Robbins program, I really do pity him, and deep down inside I know that it’s not too late for him to break free of his present situation, if, indeed, he wants to break free. Many people have missed the boat, and yet they could still escape their compromised lives if they had the tools, given that they want their freedom from serfdom, mediocrity, and lives of quiet desperation. As I type this, I have just finished writing my latest book, “Break Free!” and it will soon be available. Perhaps it should be very expensive, instead of the usual $20, since $139 didn’t get the attention of a young man who held his future in his hands all those years ago.

The truth will set you free, and the source is unimportant. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear – even in the form of an old audio tape program at a garage sale. It’s never too late to start living and to break free.