Many people talk about “Freedom”, and since it’s my highest value and objective, I wanted to throw out a few thoughts on it.

First, we need to think of its opposites: fear, restriction, scarcity, and unhappiness – turmoil and tension.

We know that to be truly happy, we need to live according to our uncompromised values, and to create a congruent lifestyle. We also know that, only when you’re happy, fulfilled, and feeling good about yourself, can you be truly creative.

As a Capitalist It Is Your Responsibility To Be Free

According to Ayn Rand, there are two classes of people in this world:

• the prime movers, creators, moneymakers and producers,
• and then the second-handers, parasites, leeches, and money appropriators.

In order to belong to the first group, which comprises perhaps 1% of the population (statistically, anyone earning over $250,000 per year is in the top 1.3% of the North American population), we need to make sure we are independent, happy, and free.

… And when you are free, you can create wealth, by which everyone will benefit. It is, therefore, the primary responsibility of intelligent, driven capitalists to become free.

Step 1 – Overcome Fear of Failure

The first step to freedom is to overcome your fear of the opinions of other people. People don’t fear failure per se – most of the time they fear the opinions of others. And if you didn’t fear failure, and didn’t give a rat’s ass about what others say, think, or do, what would you do differently?

1. The thing is, the only people who will mock you when you fail are losers. Winners regard “failure” simply as a stepping stone, feedback, and interruption, a detour.
2. Fear of success? The only people who will resent your success are the leeches, who will look for ways to appropriate your wealth and steal the milk out of your tea.

Reinterpreting “Failure”

In order to accomplish this first step, we need to reinterpret “failure”, and realize that you can only fail if you quit. Even then, you are free to quit any time you tire of a goal, which means that you simply can’t fail, unless you’re a quitter for the wrong reasons.

We’ve all heard the old question, “What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?” Well, there you go, then. To be truly independent, we need to understand what that implies.

Ayn Rand, according to authors Greiner and Kinni, teaches that

“The act of living by the work of their own minds is the primary difference between [the two classes of people mentioned above.]…They have the strength of character to act alone without the comforting support of tradition and popular opinion.”

Step 2 – Define Your Purpose

The second step is to define your purpose, your raison d’etre, your life objective, and that is where most losers fall out of the tree. When your purpose is big enough, (your “WHY” in seminar colloquial), when you commit absolutely to your objective, you suddenly access strength and energy beyond what you ever experienced before – you find your groove, your Mojo, your inner powerhouse, and you start becoming unstoppable.

Step 3 – Align Your Life to Your Purpose

At this point, alignment is everything. EVERY aspect of your life needs to be aligned with your major purpose:

• physical, mental, social
• every choice, word, deed, and thought
• all your input

…and that means cutting away and discarding the  posers, the passengers, the pretense, the passivity, the poison, and the  pussyfooting.

Warriors are not hesitant, timid, pessimistic, or nervous.

• They discard anything that will encumber them, slow them down, or sabotage them.
• They shoot deserters, and when their friends befriend their enemies, those friends become their enemies, too.
• They are focused, lean, and mean, and they make things happen.
• They are proactive and determined machines.
• They are leaders, and they never doubt that they will win.
• They are ready and willing to courageously pay whatever price is necessary.

Step 4 – Take Action!

Finally, freedom is the result of ACTION. Losers live vicariously through their sports heroes, become seminar junkies, and excel at excuses and mediocrity. They hide, delude themselves, and believe their own lies. In today’s world, money is a major component of freedom, and you can’t make money watching hockey or smoking pot.

Live Life On Your Own Terms

According to Ayn Rand, Freedom means:

“To ask for nothing, to expect nothing, to depend on nothing.”

To me, Freedom means the same – to do what you want, when you want, how you want, where you want, with whom you want, if you want – life on my own terms, in alignment with my personal, rational values and beliefs. I have to create this freedom, and I cannot do that without the appropriate and necessary action.

True warriors and Prime Movers are people of action; they are the rainmakers, the movers and shakers, the producers. They make their dreams come true, they believe in themselves, and they do not need the permission or sanction of anyone to do that. They insist upon success, and they are free.

DollarMakers provides the vehicle for people to achieve financial freedom, and in order to maintain the freedom that I have created for myself, I am free to choose whom I work with, so the Members of DollarMakers that are accepted and allowed to remain Members are people with whom we are comfortable. We live what we teach, and we discard losers and rats from our lives. That is freedom. Talk is cheap. Results matter. No compromise.

Face the truth, embrace reality, make your choice, and become free.

We all have walls in our lives.

• Walls between us and our dreams.
• Walls between us and people we love.
• Walls between us and happiness, peace of mind, security.

A wall is whatever is between you and what you want. Much of the time, we like those walls, but in some cases, we want to tear them down.

Some Walls are Better Left Alone

Before we go any further, we have to decide whether we really want the wall torn down or not. The grass, they say, is always greener over the cesspit.

For example, do you really WANT that wall torn down so you can have a relationship with someone who resents your success and happiness, sabotages your peace of mind, badmouths you to all and sundry, and does their best to guilt you into their own, selfish agendas? That wall seems to be a good one – add a few brinks! You definitely want a wall between you and parasites, losers, and people with a burning victim mentality.

Release the Past

Next, let’s decide that it’s not important what or who built the wall in the first place. That’s history, and we’re dealing with the present and the future here. Casting blame and making excuses won’t tear down any walls.

WHY Do You Want the Wall Down?

Most importantly, you have to make a very clear and realistic list of WHY you want the wall down, the pros and cons, the costs and rewards. What is your real level of motivation?

Without a strong commitment, that wall isn’t going to come down, especially if it has been up for some time.

Take Responsibility for Your Wall… and What Happens with It

Finally, understand that “If it’s to be, it’s up to me” – you have to take full responsibility for tearing that wall down, whether it is a wall between you and financial freedom, a happy relationship, health, or emotional strength. Once you have decided that you want the wall down, you have to accept that only YOU can do it, and that you can’t lie to yourself or make excuses.

Here are the simple facts about tearing a wall down:

1. Accept that it will take time. We overestimate what we can do in the short term, and we underestimate what we can do in the long term.
2. Accept that there is a price to pay – emotionally, financially, or time wise, or all three. Valuable things are not free or cheap. Be prepared to pay the price and put in the work.
3. Get the TOOLS you will need to break down that wall – the jackhammers you will need are the right information, resources, tools, leadership, and support. Educate yourself. It’s no good having a map of New York City when you’re in Miami, or trying to use electric tools with no power. If you’re after financial freedom and you want to break down the wall of scarcity, fear, mediocrity, and shortage, DollarMakers has everything you need.
4. Realize that most walls stay up simply because people quit too soon. It is ALWAYS too soon to quit, and as long as you have the right advice, and the right tools, the right leadership and support, it’s simply a matter of time. Imagine yourself with a large hammer, trying to knock down a brick wall. It will take time.
5. CONSISTENCY is the key. Regular, consistent, focused action will tear that wall down. Every day, take action, follow your action plan, believe in your dream, and never quit. Nothing can withstand a consistent barrage – look at the Berlin Wall. It took years and many people to get to a point where it was torn down. A great price was paid.

Recently, we visited Cuba. They say over 53,000 people have died trying to get to America in boats from Cuba. Many others have crossed that “wall” of ocean to realize their dreams.

When we immigrated to Canada from South Africa in 1997, we had to break down a wall between us and a secure future in a civilized, safe country. Many people rejected that opportunity, and now that wall is too big for them to get over. DollarMakers specializes in tearing down the wall of financial insufficiency, and helps hard working, motivated people to break free into the land of financial well-being and security.

You CAN tear down those walls.

Paul J. Meyer said:

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

He wasn’t talking about a quick fix, instant gratification, fast food type of success – he talked about the reality of success. It’s not too late – start now.

January 9th, we have an appointment on a beach in Cuba.  In twenty-two years of business, Rika and I spend some time at the end of each year to set our specific, written, measurable goals down in writing.

Will You Fall Off the Wagon?

Every time we do that, we review the year gone by, and we always remark how many people fell off the wagon before reaching their goals. It’s sad, because we know how much they have lost by quitting too early. There is just one thing that will guarantee your success in 2009.

Success is Easier than Ever

In a world of compromise, mediocrity, and a significant lack of integrity and fortitude, success is easier than ever, since there is less than ever competition for those with this one attribute. Anthony Robbins said:

“I believe life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment, and life’s greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve. This level of resolve can move mountains, but it must be constant and consistent. As simplistic as this may sound, it is still the common denominator separating those who live their dreams from those who live in regret.”

Part time, hesitant, weak, fearful commitment makes failure inevitable.

What’s Your Success IQ

Fear and faith cannot co-exist. I’m not talking about mystical, ephemeral, witchdoctor faith – I’m talking about an unmovable, unshakable, adamant, and unwavering belief and faith in your own non-negotiable commitment to success.

• Your Success IQ (I Quit) has to be clearly defined and established, based on your purpose and vision.
• Your WHY has to be an impregnable fort, a strong castle that allows no doubt or fear to sneak in in the guise of saboteurs, posing as “friends”, or even family. Make your mind a castle.
• There is no scarcity in this world, only a scarcity of RESOLVE.

Winners Commit and Deliver

Winners commit and deliver.  Losers promise and make excuses.

It’s really that simple. And for those of you who are considering making a real commitment, here’s what Janis Joplin has, especially for you:

“Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got.”

The only person you can disappoint is yourself. You have to look in the mirror every morning – what do you see?

• A winner, who refuses to quit,
• Or a loser, who lives on excuses and blames his past, his family, and other people for his bad choices?

It’s time to step up and change. That’s called personal responsibility. The more you discipline yourself to do the hard things, the right things, and the uncomfortable things, the higher your self-esteem, and we succeed in direct proportion to our level of self-esteem.

True Freedom

Freedom means, according to Ayn Rand:

“To want nothing, to expect nothing, to depend on nothing.”

This is my personal interpretation:

“To need or depend on nobody but myself, to expect nothing from others and rely on nothing from others, but to expect and insist upon only the best from myself.”

Your Key to Success

The key to your success in 2009 in total commitment.

• No distractions,
• No sidelines,
• No back door,
• No excuses,
• Whatever it takes.

Quitters never win, and winners never quit. Rika and I  will write out our 2009 goals sitting on the beach in Cuba, but we might as well write them in our blood – That is OUR level of commitment. If you’re totally committed, consider joining us, as we ride the DollarMakers wave to success in 2009.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt spoke these words to a nation at the depth of the Great Depression:

“Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”

When I see entrepreneurs working too hard for too little, and yet refusing the solutions available to them through DollarMakers, I think of the following:

Delusion

Most entrepreneurs are unaware of the extent to which their conditioning denies them the success they deserve. We buy in to the status quo, follow the herd, and believe the lies of politicians, academics, and bankers. Many systems conspire to keep their followers and subjects poor, hungry, needy, ignorant, and fearful. That way, people can be controlled, overtaxed, and led. Socialism, liberation theology, collectivism, and mysticism excel in the blinding and imprisonment of the masses.

Reason

• We run in the road that we built ourselves to justify the building of it.
• We use the pots we threw because we made them.
• We spend time with people because they’re related to us.
• We do what we know because it’s less threatening than the alternative.
• We have blind faith because it’s easier than thinking.
• We let people tell us what to do, say, believe and fear, so that we don’t have to make decisions.
• We follow people we don’t like or trust because it’s easier than taking the lead and taking responsibility.
• We fear upsetting people because we fear conflict and avoid reality.
• We prefer delusion to the stark truth.
• We blame our circumstances and other people to avoid admitting that we’re lazy, scared, and stupid.
• We pay too much for our emotional crutches and justify the expense.
• We go along instead of going to war.
• We turn the other cheek because we fear pain.
• We refuse to accept that we might be wrong because if we admitted it we would be obliged to make changes.
• We feed our addiction to comfort while knowing that years of discomfort will be the result of our weakness.
• We accept abuse because we hate our own compromise.
• We accept the lashes of the mystics and parasites to punish ourselves for our subservience.
• And then we vote in the leaders that will tighten our bonds and starve us more.

Reason acknowledges fear and discomfort and embraces the consequences of questioning the status quo.

Reason promises freedom and responsibility.

The pain of reason is less than the pain of delusion.

Reason demands courage and work, and rewards us with an escape from bondage.

Your prison door is not locked.

To change your life and the results you get, you have to change your philosophy and perspective. This is the mission of DollarMakers – the financial empowerment of people world wide through an understanding of Joint Ventures and a Capitalist philosophy.

This New Years Eve, and Rika and I attended a Chamber Music concert with a post concert champagne reception. I don’t know the difference between Dvorak, Mendelssohn, and Mozart, but I can appreciate beautiful music. It was a lovely evening, filled with analogies, three of which I will share with you.

#1 – Mastery Takes Time

The violin (and viola and cello) only has four strings. One of the guest musicians was Catherine French, who has been playing the violin since the age of four. Julliard, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Hall – she’s very good, and she plays beautiful music on those four strings.

Any one of us can go out and buy a violin, buy the music, and pay for classes, but it will take time before we can play like Ms. French. She makes it look easy. Donald Trump plays the business / money violin. He has been exposed to it his whole life. He makes millions of dollars from the same opportunities that we all have.

My point is that it takes time to learn how to play the game. I see people attend a Bootcamp and then whine because they’re not making a fortune within two months, with a few hours of work. It would do them good to read this analogy.

#2 – Together We Do Amazing Things

First work: Octet in Eb Major, Opus 20 – Allegro moderato, ma con fuoco by Felix Mendelssohn: Five musicians playing violins, two with violas, two with cellos. Nine people playing together in perfect harmony, making beautiful music. Real team work, each person reading their own music, playing their own instrument, taking full and absolute responsibility for their contribution, focused, committed, after massive preparation and practice. The failure of one affects the whole team. The world is watching.

My point is that teamwork makes the dream work, and together we do amazing things, but each team member is responsible and important. For the music to sound wonderful, each must do his or her part – there is no place for excuses and blame.

#3 – The Audience (or Marketplace) is Unforgiving

My final analogy is the audience. We paid good money to be there last night, and we expected value for our money, and excellence. Our time was valuable, and we wanted our money’s worth. We were not going to be impressed or understanding if one of the musicians arrived late with a weak excuse, or if one of them didn’t do his job properly.

My point is simple: The marketplace is unforgiving and demanding, and your competition is waiting to take your customers. Go big, or go home. Be as good as you can be, don’t make excuses. Deliver, or be replaced.

From My JV Broker Perspective

Finally, from a marketing perspective, the program for last night’s event contained no website, contact details, call to action, upsell, back-end, opportunities, or items for sale. And we were not entered into a database. This is another golden opportunity for any smart Joint Venture Broker to work with these wonderful artists, and everyone can make money.

Happy New Year!

A Cool Study

Sociologists put 100 people in a room for fifteen minutes. They secretly instructed two of those people to say only negative things, and the other 98 to say only positive things. Guess how long the two negative people to find each other and talk? Fifteen minutes! Like attracts like.

Hypocritical Entrepreneurs

Some entrepreneurs love to blame their bad financial circumstances on others. But when things are good, they’re quick to take credit for it. That doesn’t make sense.

Two entrepreneurs in exactly the same city, same market, selling the same products for the same price: one makes a fortune while the other one goes bankrupt. And the loser tells you it’s the fault of the government, the weather, the market, the competition. And when you ask him how he explains his competitor’s success, what does he say? He accuses him of dishonesty, greed and underhandedness. The tall trees catch the wind.

It’s not WHERE you are; it’s WHO you are.

Everything we have is what we have created. Nothing comes TO you – everything comes THROUGH you. YOU create your success and your failure. Naming, blaming, complaining and shaming, is loser behavior. It’s not WHERE you are, my friend; it’s WHO you are. We attract what we are. Our minds are magnets. “If it’s to be, it’s up to me.” It’s all about taking responsibility. We get back what we send out. Napoleon Hill told us:

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

At a seminar I presented last week in Ottawa, I told the audience,

“The only people in this audience who will get restless, indignant and uncomfortable when I use the word, ‘Loser’, are the losers!”

Business success or failure is no accident…

…it’s simply a RESULT – a CONSEQUENCE. We reap what we sow. People who are always telling me they’re afraid of getting ripped off or unconsciously attracting shysters. They get what they expect. They create their circumstances just as surely as if they were baking a cake. Earl Shoaf said:

“Let’s not be reflectors of ideas like a moon – let’s be creators of ideas like the sun!”

1. Let’s take control of our thoughts and our attitudes.
2. Let’s focus on solutions instead of problems.
3. Let’s set high goals and mix with winners.

Don’t think of lack and shortage; think of abundance and prosperity. “I am an unstoppable Money Magnet.”

Let’s Take the Prize!

Farmers who reap great crops sowed good seeds and carefully nurtured them. The same goes for entrepreneurs. When people say of you, “Everything he touches turns to gold”, it’s because you are causing good results. It’s no by chance that you succeed; it’s by choice! Let’s take charge, take responsibility and take the prize!

This short article is intended to impart and share a Joint Venture Mindset that can liberate us from restrictive assumptions and perceptions.

Chances are You’ve Been Hoodwinked!

Entrepreneurs have received many messages in the past that have had the cumulative effect of hoodwinking us. We have put blinders on by accepting certain “Solutions” from the Gurus.

The purpose of an Entrepreneur is to make after tax profit. We use business as the vehicle. But we heard that we need to be “focused” and that we need an “Elevator Speech” and similar concepts that can effectively lock us out of tremendous wealth opportunities.

Just Connect Problem to Solution

When I visit my doctor, does he immediately suggest a special on hip replacements or hair implants? Does he urge me to consider a heart transplant, perhaps, (early bird special) without even examining me? No. He looks for problems and then suggests solutions, and I buy every single time. Does my doctor need to specialize in orthotics to prescribe orthopaedic footwear? No. He refers me to someone who does that. He doesn’t need to be an anaesthetist or a surgeon in order to offer me that service. He examines me, asks me questions, LISTENS, and offers solutions. He doesn’t talk about himself.

Why Networking Meetings Don’t Work

Go to any “Business Networking Meeting” and you’ll find dozens of wanna-be entrepreneurs, usually self employed salespeople, who thrust their business cards at you, talk at you, pitch you, and then leap up to enthusiastically deliver the pre-digested, pre-packaged, boring “elevator speech” that they paid someone who lost their job and now calls themselves a “coach” to create.

Everyone is there to sell, sell, sell.

And while they’re giving their elevator speech, what are the rest of the people at their table doing? They listen long enough to decide whether or not the speaker will buy their product or service and then promptly lose interest. They’re waiting to give THEIR speech. You know this is true. Just look at the audience – they’re bored stiff. Everyone is there to sell, sell, sell.

Perhaps it’s time to reconsider things.

When you go back to your office, you send e mails to all the people you met at the “Networking Meeting”, saying how nice it was to meet them. Most of them don’t even return the e mails. And so it goes. Everyone is out to sell, everyone is only really interested in themselves, and nobody gives a damn about you or your amazing business, flashy brochures or scintillating elevator speech. Perhaps it’s time to reconsider things.

See, it’s not about you at all.

Nobody cares about your packaging, website, qualifications or incredible accomplishments. Most people whom I meet that insist on telling me about all the things they have accomplished, are simply HAS BEEN’S. I don’t care hat you did in the past. I want to know what you will do in the future, because that’s where we’re going to live! People don’t care about your qualifications – they want to know one simple thing: “What can you do for ME?”

How about this elevator speech?

“My name is Robin Elliott. My job is to help you achieve your business goals with no money and no risk. I would like to find ways to apply my rather extensive resources, contacts, skills and connections to your business challenges and help you to achieve your goals – at no charge. To see if you qualify for this service, call me.”

The Right JV Mindset:

I’m like a plumber coming to fix your problems at your home. You don’t care about my background or how many kids I had. You just want your problems solved.

My contacts and Joint Venture Partners are my Tools.

I walk in to a meeting with a toolbox full of really great, professional, honest, competent, experienced and trusted business associates and all their products and services. I don’t care which tools I use – I will always get paid for my services. I don’t have to have a business or products or services of my own in order to solve your business problems because I understand business. I have been doing this for 19 years. I look for the problems, discuss the solutions and introduce you to the person who will apply those solutions to your business. And I will get paid by the people whom I refer to you, while I’m at home with my wife and everyone else is working hard, creating multiple, diverse, passive income streams for me.

Joint Ventures:

• If you know John needs what Paul is offering, you introduce them and get paid. You’re a middleman, a tollbooth, a facilitator. You connect the right people.
• And when a few people have a common goal and wish to share their skills, resources and abilities, you can help them form a syndicate or a team.
• If someone has excess resources, underutilized inventory or assets, you can show them how to optimize their resources through Joint Ventures.
• You can facilitate the sharing of sales staff, employees, distribution, advertising space, retail space, warehousing, transport, skills, reputation, access and databases. And get paid for the value that you create.

Most of the Joint Venture stuff out there is related to internet marketing and affiliate programs. But most businesses are more interested in real time, real money, real people and touch-and-feel business. The internet is great and we all use it, but there needs to be balance.

The KEY

The key to successful Joint Ventures is to find the RIGHT PEOPLE. In fact, if there were twenty good people in a room, and all we did was mastermind, brainstorm and create Joint Ventures for five days without leaving that room, we would all double our wealth.

It’s hard to find good people who will honor their commitments, do what they say, deliver the goods and take responsibility. It’s not easy to find honest people who will pay you and reciprocate.

That why I started the DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum.  www.jvwisdom.com

“Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.”
- Anthony Robbins

There are only two types of questions: Those that get negative or negligible results, and those that get great results. What questions are you asking yourself and your associates, employees and customers that can result in a better bottom line? What questions will reduce customer attrition, improve loyalty and profits and motivate the people you work with?

Design the Right Questions

• The answers to the questions we ask should result in answers that inspire, motivate and initiate innovation and positive action.
• They should encourage, cheer, challenge, energize and drive.
• The more specific the question, the more specific the answers… And the more specific the answers, the better. Specific is terrific.

By designing the right questions to ask those involved in our business, we direct the business to greater success and focus everyone on the goals and objectives for which we have taken responsibility. When you ask the right question, you create an answer that begets a success strategy.

Try Asking These for a Self Check:

1. “Which three things can we do to increase the amount of people coming into the store by 5% without any cost or risk to us?”
2. “How can I pay for results instead of promises when it comes to advertising?”
3. “Who do we need to work with in a Joint Venture to double the amount of prospects we are currently exposed to?”
4. “How can we create three new streams of increasing, passive income?”
5. “How can we benefit from someone else’s advertising and marketing activities?”
6. “What can we do to double the value we offer our clients, without increasing our cost of sales?”
7. “How can we get customers to increase the amount of times they visit our business by 30%?”
8. “How can we reactivate 40% of our inactive customers?”
9. “How can we create back end sales without increasing our overhead or the time it takes to sell the back end?”

Sales Tip

Learn to ask questions that result in a buy. “O.K., Bill, I’m going to charge you card now for the basic Widget. Now shall I add the Blue Squink for $100 as well as the Rutten for another $800, or shall I just add the Blue Squink?” The answer should be, “Sure, add both”, or, at worst, he says, “Oh, just the Blue Squink for now.” Either way, you have upsold him.

Management Tip

Management questions can help or hurt. Ask, “What could I have done to help you achieve even more sales?” “You’re really at the rock face, Candy. What do you suggest we do to improve customer service even more?” “Bobby, I want to pay you a higher commission. What can we do to ensure a higher transaction amount per sale?”