Don’t tell me what you will do – show me what you’ve done.

Talk is cheap, but money buys the whiskey.  I’m tired of tired old promises from people who can’t even trust themselves.

So I want to suggest to you that you start doing what I have started doing: When people promise stuff, and you know they are good at making promises, but seldom deliver or always deliver late (in many cases a subconscious need for control, due to a poor self image), simply say,

“Don’t promise what you will do – just tell me when you’ve done it.”

Promises are a Red Flag

Just as you have learned not to trust the posers, parasites, and pundits who spew licentious lies from their podiums and pulpits, so you should begin to doubt the pageantry, prevarications, promises and pledges paraded out by schlemiels that have no intention of fulfilling them, let alone the ability to do so.

Follow This Rule of Thumb

It’s time to move from hopeful, blind, childish naivety to mature, reasonable skepticism until someone proves themselves, and we should take note of their track records. I know people that regularly promise things that I have no expectation of ever seeing, because they have proven to me over time that they don’t deliver, or that they are always late. I feel like taking them to a tattoo studio and having a large “L” for Loser tattooed onto their foreheads, to save other people time and disappointment.

I have one particular fool who promised to put a system in place in August, and he still hasn’t delivered. I will never trust this specimen in any business deal or refer him any business. Mostly, I remove these types from my life – I scrape them off my shoes.

Take Heart.  There are Some Winners.

The good news is that there are a few winners out there (3% of the population) who actually do deliver on time, and they are few and far between. Work with them, trust them, and carefully foster those relationships.

Believe and pay for RESULTS, not promises.

A healthy dose of skepticism is in order until people prove themselves. Until then, don’t allow yourself to be set up. Focus on the producers.

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.”

Three percent of all people are truly successful. And it’s not because of their education, background, “Old Boys Club”, “Lucky Breaks”, or other excuses that losers so easily offer up. You can join them with the proven recipe in this article.

If you think this 3% figure is over the top, this is a well-known, proven statistic. Look here:

• In 2006, 1.93% of all households had annual incomes exceeding $250,000. (Wikipedia)

• 1/3 of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.
  42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college.
  80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.
  70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.
  57 percent of new books are not read to completion.
  (Source: Jerold Jenkins, www.JenkinsGroupInc.com)

• And here’s the scary part: only 3% on North Americans are regular readers!

• The United Nations Global Audit of Web Accessibility (conducted by accessibility agency Nomensa on behalf of the United Nations) shows that 97 percent of websites fail to meet the most basic accessibility requirements.

• Robert Jaques wrote in www.vnunet.com, 07 Jan 2008: “Spam levels reached 97.02 per cent in December 2007 and viruses accounted for 0.11 per cent of email traffic, new monitoring data reveals. The figures suggest that less than three per cent of all email sent during the month was legitimate.”

How Top Achievers Set Goals: ‘Be’ vs. ‘Do’ Goals

Douglas Vermeeren writes, “For most top achievers, 80 percent of their goals are ‘Be’ goals and only 20 percent are ‘Do’ goals.

They’re more concerned with character attributes than arriving at a final destination point.

They know that character attributes often enable them to attain successful levels. So it’s not that top achievers don’t set goals; rather, they set goals differently. Rather than use the word ‘goal,’ top achievers use words like ‘destination’ or ‘performance’ or ‘habits.’ They don’t cross items off a list and forget about them, they build upon their accomplishments to reach even greater levels of success.”

Here’s how it works in practice:

The Three Percenters are WINNERS BY CHOICE. You have to BE before you can do, and DO before you can HAVE.

• The goal, “I will do what I say I will do, when I say I will do it, with no excuses”, is a DO goal. 
• “I am unstoppable, determined, confident, reliable, and I never quit” is a BE goal.

Being that kind of person pretty much guarantees that you will succeed in achieving your DO and HAVE goals.

Getting into the Three Percent Club

Someone who never quits and is self disciplined, honest, and determined, will do whatever he or she has to do UNTIL he or she succeeds. Winning characteristics are a daily, continual choice and habit. A winner will work 24/7/365 and never make excuses. And those kind of people always end up at the top. The cream rises. The 97 Percenters are simply eagles that think they’re chickens.

Getting into the Three Percent Club is a simple choice that demands success and excellence at any cost, and anyone can do it, regardless of your past, your age, your education, or your present circumstances. When you see a DollarMakers Member wearing a tiny, handmade, solid gold dollar sign pin, you’re talking with a Three Percenter. Come and join us!

• Do you live with anxiety and fears that you seldom reveal?
• Do you lie awake at night, worrying about things?
• Do you agonize about things?
• Are you afraid of being embarrassed of being proven wrong?
• How much of your time do you spend being scared and troubled?
• How often do you voice your fears and talk about them, thus giving them even more power over you?
• Is your self talk like a wakening nightmare?

We know that whatever you give attention to, will grow, and yet we spend a lot of time, energy and concentration on things we don’t want, don’t we?

We spend more time making mental pictures of things we don’t want to happen than on planning solutions and successful action plans! The average person spends more time planning a meal than they do on their own future. And your future is important, because you’re going to spend the rest of your life there.

Here is my response to debilitating, unnecessary, energy-sapping fear:

I’m WORRIED This Won’t Work Out

“Robin, I am really worried that this isn’t going to work out. I will be so embarrassed if nobody shows up.”

Robin: “Spend three times the amount of energy and time on your effort. Find four new ways to Joint Venture the deal. Create a Mastermind with the most successful people you know, especially for this event. You won’t have the time to worry and you will succeed. Tell yourself, ‘I am a master organizer. I am laser focused. I do whatever it takes, 24/7. I attract good people. I am unstoppable and 120% confident.’ Commit yourself publicly. Put yourself on the line.”

What If I FAIL

“Robin, I think I am going to fail at this. What if it doesn’t work?”

Robin: “At this rate, you WILL fail. Stop being so timid and scared and start insisting on success. Get your petty ego out of the way. What if it doesn’t work out? Who will die? You will have learnt enough to do better next time. Become a warrior. Change your self- talk. Stop mixing with losers. Get serious about winning and HAVE FUN! Business is a game. Stop whining and start working. Make it happen.”

I Will TRY

“Robin, I hope this thing works out, but rest assured, I will try my very best.”

Robin: “Let’s walk away from this arrangement right now. TRY = To Relive Yesterday’s Failures. When you say you HOPE and you will TRY you are already setting yourself up for failure. You are making excuses for yourself in advance. Think about Mohammad Ali: he never doubted himself and he always told everyone that he would success, so he did. You are your own worst enemy and you should be your best ally.”

Winners Are Fearless

• Can you imagine General Patton uttering these weak misgivings? Read his speeches and model his confidence.
• Can you imagine Churchill whimpering like this? Can you imagine a real winner being halfhearted, nervous and doubtful?

I think not. Winners and champions give no recognition to the possibility of failure. They rely on themselves and they walk their talk. They will do whatever it takes to succeed. They will not let you down. They are supremely confident and they are very hard working and disciplined. You can only be one thing at a time – positive or negative. Choose to be positive.

I regularly speak to large groups of people in seminars, talks and my Joint Venture Bootcamps. I know that, while I am speaking, my audience are internally talking to themselves at something approaching 600 words a minute. They’re either saying to themselves:

• “Wow! I can do that! Yes, this is a great idea I can and will implement. That sounds exciting to me!”
• OR they are saying to themselves, “YES, it all sounds great, BUT…“

What we say to ourselves about opportunities, challenges or options that we are confronted with or offered, means a lot. How we interpret those inputs will determine to a very large extent how we react and what choices will result.

Your Interpretation is Based on Past Experience

Usually, we interpret our input by comparing it with the information we have gathered in our lives: our experiences, learning and exposure. It’s almost like we scan our frame of reference, looking for a fit.

And this is the dangerous part, because if I hear the adjective, “Ex Wife”, I might have a negative reaction based on my past experience and prejudge the person it is being applied to. If my ex wife was a demon, guess how I will tend to evaluate someone else’s ex wife, IF I don’t stand back and get objective?

Look for This Red Flag

If you’ve been educated to believe that all businessmen are bad and dishonest, it might be hard for you to succeed as an entrepreneur. Your self-talk will hobble, distract, sabotage and undermine your success, because your belief in business and your entrepreneurial aspirations will not be congruent. So we need to be very open minded, non-judgmental and objective about new information that we’re exposed to.

When you hear yourself saying, “Yes, BUT” or prejudging new information, it’s time to give yourself a “Check-up from the neck up” and decide not to deny yourself the opportunity to positively benefit from this input.

A Technique to Remain Open-Minded

One of the ways I have found to make this work well is to take a lot of notes or record the seminar, and to make the decision to be completely unemotional about evidence I receive that conflicts with my present belief system. I use this affirmation:

“I know that I have a lot to learn and that not everything I believe is true, so I choose to be open to new options and opportunities.”

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!

When an attorney, J. Jamail, was asked to represent Penzoil in court in the late 1980s, he agreed to barter his services for a percentage of the award if he won the case, instead of charging an hourly fee. He won the case again Texaco and when Penzoil was awarded $3 billion, Jamail earned about $420 million.

When we believe in ourselves and our abilities and we think about how we CAN accomplish something, instead of why we can’t, we realize that we don’t have money problems; we have thinking problems.

Be Creative – You ALREADY Have Everything You Need To Make It Work

Every resource your business needs is already available to you through someone else, be it:

• legal services
• space
• advertising
• labor
• distribution
• access
• reputation
• membership or skills.

There is no shortage – there is only abundance. I use a simple illustration in my seminars: I ask the audience to imagine a huge barrel of stinking garbage and rotting meat. I tell them there’s a million dollars at the bottom of the barrel and ask how many would dive into the barrel and climb under the rotting mess to get the money.

My point is this:

If you believe the money is there, you will climb into the putrid garbage and duck underneath it and search until you find the prize. But if you don’t believe it’s there, you won’t even try. You won’t pay the price if you don’t believe the award exists.

J. Jamail believed in himself, his skills and his client. He was confident and courageous. He created his success. There is a solution for every challenge and that solution is available through another person / business. Joint Ventures enable us to access everything we need and want, and, if we do it right, we can do it with no money or risk. We simply have to have the right mindset.

Why Most People Fail in Business

The reason why most people fail in business, in my opinion, is that:

1. They try to do everything themselves and
2. They give up to easily.

They very soon forget the million dollars at the bottom of the barrel and focus instead on the long hours, frustration, stink and work. A savvy Joint Venture broker might simply find someone with a long stick and agree to pay him a percentage of the prize for fishing the money out of the barrel, while he goes on to look for more opportunities, much like Penzoil did with Mr. Jamail.

Think HOW rather than IF

It’s not “IF I can do it”, but rather “How can I do it.” IF stands for Instant Failure. Paul J. Meyer encouraged us to “Enter every activity without giving mental recognition to the possibility of defeat.” He told us:

Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination and disregard for obstacles and other people’s criticisms, carry out your plan.

Now THAT’s what I’m talking about! That’s the attitude that will tract winners to you. And, buy working together with optimists and achievers, we can accomplish amazing things.