This is a BRILLIANT example of a retail shop that knows the value of testimonials and “case studies”… It is so good, it’s self-explanatory!
Archive for the 'Exponential Mindset' Category
In my line of work, I come across a wide range of people in many different situations and circumstances. Today’s post is about a cry for help from someone who is in dire need of assistance.
But here’s the thing that I make clear to people, especially those in the healthcare and holistic therapy sectors – Don’t become a martyr to the mission.
What I mean by that is – know your boundaries of what you can and can’t do for people. Make sure you know where that line is, otherwise you’ll constantly be challenged and before you know it, the “line” is gone and you’ve become a martyr.
Before I continue, it’s imperative I make absolutely sure you know I am NOT advocating altruism and philanthropy are bad – quite the contrary.
Altruism AND philanthropy are NECESSARY and VITAL to our modern society and I am a HUGE supporter – WHEN they are delivered by the right organisations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative (to name just two).
These organisations are NOT martyrs. They are well funded, well organised engines of change and forces for “good(will)”.
The challenge is when the every day person forgets his or her values and tries to help everyone and anyone they come across – that’s when a line can be crossed.
The purpose of this email is to teach several important principles.
As I’ve blogged previously, being a mentor or great teacher is not easy.
Below is an email I received today. It’s a genuine request and my heart goes out to “Anonymous” (name withheld for privacy reasons).
Dear Marc,
It would be a great pleasure to have you as a coach and mentor. So far I cannot afford it. The price of $ 20.13 for the “My Best Year Ever Program” is ridiculously low but I still can’t pay with a card.
So this is my offer:
If you coach someone who is completely broke (me) to become successful initially for free, I promise to pay triple the price at the end of the course.
Regards,
“Anonymous”
My view is quite simple: I have published 3,000+ pages of FREE content on the Internet via 7 different blogs. These are priceless tips, tools and techniques to help people in all 4 dimensions of their business, professional, personal lives as well as the Internet. In fact I also have a blog dedicated to accelerated learning and speed reading… This is all FREE content.
What more can someone ask of me?
This is where I draw the line. Anyone who really wants to make a change can read the blog posts – THEY ARE FREE. If they can send me an email, they can access the Internet and the blog posts.
They can read the posts and START the process – IMMEDIATELY.
First, they need to get rid of limiting beliefs – Here is an example of a few limiting beliefs and constricted thinking:
- You don’t have to pay with a credit card. You could pay by electronic funds transfer, check or cash. It’s only $20.13. There isn’t anyone who can’t come up with that amount. They can ASK a family friend or colleague to LEND it to them. The point is MONEY IS NOT THE PROBLEM.
- They could ask ME to ask you (yes you reading this if YOU would donate $20.13 to him/her)… That would be more empowering than asking me for a handout. It would show initiative and out-of-the-box thinking rather than a handout. It’s different and therefore appealing to me. (If you want to donate to Anonymous, contact me and I will gladly take care of it.)
- Offering a triple the price of the product means a $60.39 “reward”. That means the product and the results aren’t worth much to this person. This is one of the reasons why they are not motivated enough to REALLY make a change. If they committed to pay $1,000 after making $5,000 – NOW THAT’S BELIEF and commitment. I get that those numbers might be “too big”, but $60.39 is way too small. No one can get excited about $60.39 not even someone who claims not to have $20.13 in their pocket.
Look, I understand that Anonymous is in a bad place right now and that I should be more compassionate – but that’s the problem. Most people will BEND to this request and in so doing, perpetuate this LOSER MENTALITY.
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By the way, being a LOSER is not an identity.
You aren’t a LOSER – you just THINK like one.
So how do you go from a LOSER’S mindset to a WINNER’S mindset?
Simple: Make the decision to NOT think and act like a LOSER.
Think and act like a WINNER.
See what happens…
Then post a comment here and let us know how you went.
Thinking and acting like a WINNER takes ONE INSTANT – ONE DECISION.
If you don’t believe it – FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT.
DECIDE NOW.
That’s all it takes.
You don’t need to know HOW you will succeed – you just need to decide that you WANT to succeed.
That’s why emails like this rub me the wrong way – I am already GIVING this advice for FREE to help ANYONE and EVERYONE who cares enough to make the investment in reading what I write.
I INVEST THE TIME – without compensation – for the greater good, out of the kindness and generosity of my heart. I do that because…
I care about people who want to change.
I want to help anyone who wants to improve.
I want to make what I offer accessible to EVERYONE.
I am committed to sharing my gifts and expertise openly, but not to the point of martyrdom.
All I ask is that if you want to change, that you make the MINIMUM investment – IN YOURSELF before you ever pay me one dollar.
If and when you do want to pay me, I will make sure I always over deliver.
One last point:
I could have ignored this email and/or responded privately. But I didn’t.
I thought that by sharing this with you and with Anonymous that I could have a greater influence and maybe change more than one person’s life in so doing.
It is my hope that Anonymous will take this PUBLIC forum to step up and make things happen. Unless he or she MAKES THAT DECISION – no one can help.
Not even me.
I can’t help someone who can’t help him/herself.
All the tools are available in my blogs and on my YouTube channel for FREE.
Here are 5 links that I think are the quickest way out of poverty thinking.
The 1 Percent Improvement Doctrine Part 1 of 2
The 1 Percent Improvement Doctrine Part 2 of 2
Motivational Video To Get You Pumped Up
Inspirational Video To Get You Thinking Anything Is Possible
Many business people search for complicated (and expensive) ways to grow their businesses… Often, the simplest and easiest things create the biggest results. This TED TALK video is an example of the concept of finding hidden assets in your business BY CHALLENGING preconceived thoughts and ideas.
In this video, Terry Moore challenges you on how you tie your shoe laces… Chances are you are not doing it properly!
The moral of THIS STORY is… chances are you are making other mistakes in YOUR business or career that are just as easy to fix!
As you know, I am a proponent of Antimimeticisomorphism. This is an example of that kinf of out-of-the-ordinary thinking. This is a sign for a convenience store in Surfer’s Paradise on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.
If you come across across examples like this – people doing out-of-the-ordinary things to create extra-ordinary results, please contact us and we’ll share them with our readers and subscribers. Of course we’ll hyperlink back to your website or blog so you get FULL SEO value for your contribution!
Every once in a while* someone does something so out-of-the-ordinary that you have to do something about it.
In this instance, it started about 3 years ago when I walked into a Runner’s retail shop called Running Room.
First of all, this was in Richmond, Vancouver, Canada. Well Steveston if you want to be specific about it. The reason this is important is that I am not a runner, but I still walked in. I was struck by the fact that they could have a store “just for runners”… In fact they have a LOT of stores, but that’s not the point.
I walked in out of curiosity and walked out with a pair of microfibre training pants. They are absolutely awesome. I wear them about 8-9 months of the year when I am training for squash, doing drills and routines. They are NOT lined and cover my compression garments – SKINS. As great as they are, I have been unable to find any, anywhere.
That brings me to my most recent trip back to Vancouver – I went back into the Running Room store with my pants in hand to get an additional pair.
The salesperson (I forget his name!) knew exactly what I was talking about because he too had a pair and liked them as much as I did!
They were out of stock – discontinued!
But he searched online and found 2 pairs at a remote store. The challenge was that I was leaving in a few days to return to Sydney, Australia.
Lots of things transpired – multiple people were involved to make sure I got the 2 pairs for the liquidation price of $20 each…
I mean c’mon… Who goes out of their way to sell $40 worth of leftover stock?
The Running Room does!
I figure they do it because they are not in this for SALES, but CUSTOMER SATISFACTION. I mean c’mon it’s a store ONLY for runners. If you’re not focused on customer satisfaction, how could you survive let alone thrive as they have?
With a niche of people who are dedicated to their sport, their hobby, their passion – running – you’d be a fool to focus on sales.
They totally get why they’re in business and even though I am not a runner – I am a HUGE FAN.
They made my day and now every time I put on my training pants I am left with a sense of gratitude for every one who went that extra step.
I can’t thank them enough, but I can make sure as many people know about them as possible.
Tell all your friends and family who run or are otherwise athletically inclined!
*
Isn’t it sad that I am celebrating something that should be normal, average, expected?
The great news is that for those like the Running Room, they get the benefit of being the EXCEPTION, the stand outs… The ones people want to go to. At least they get that benefit/advantage… Because they totally deserve it!
The next time YOU get outstanding service – make sure you tell as many people as you can!
I recently spent a week in my hometown of Montreal. It’s in the French province of Quebec in eastern Canada. Ignoring the separatist Quebec issues and constitutional legal wrangling involved, the linguistic and cultural duality of Canada was something I took for granted when I grew up and lived there.
This recent visit was the first time, since I emigrated to Australia 12 years ago, that I fully re-immersed myself into the French culture. As a result, I had a paradigm shift.
When I am thinking in French (I am fluently bilingual so I don’t translate when I speak either language), I actually have different thoughts, analytical patterns and even specific emotions for each language. It is largely due to syntax, vocabulary, linguistic structure, local expressions and vernacular that trigger different parts of the brain including memories and emotional anchors.
The reason this is relevant and important for you as a business person who isn’t Canadian, is because without total immersion or even exposure to a different ‘world view’ – you will remain restricted within your ‘world’ and will continue to have the same thoughts over and over again.
That doesn’t mean you need to become Canadian, learn French (or any other language, although that is a wonderful skill to have) but you do need, from time to time, to extract yourself from the day-to-day monotony of running your business to stimulate and encourage different thoughts and thinking patterns.
It’s one of the reasons I enjoy traveling – even domestic travel stimulates the senses. However, the more culturally diverse your exposure, the better.
This has been one of the most powerful insights I’ve had in quite some time. Often the greatest and most valuable epiphanies are within the realm of our own experiences, we just need something, someone to rattle them out of us!
If you’d like to join an environment that creates and encourages these kinds of enlightened revelations, contact us and we’ll guide you through the various programs we have available. We have options for a wide range of budgets as well as matched to your level of ambition and drive.
Does combining offline and online mean double the costs or double the profits?
That’s a perplexing question that baffles many small business owners and independent retailers.
What works for multinational corporations with deep pockets doesn’t work for small businesses with shoe-string budgets.
Even though today’s empowered consumers expect to interact with brands across a wide range of touch points, that means a strategy that integrates both an off- and online approach is becoming increasingly important. A recent Google/Ipsos study indicates shoppers are feeling increasingly comfortable hitting the “Buy Now” button using their mobile devices, but the wise retail marketer knows the best way to make a sale is by integrating their message across both the “old” and the new media channels. Print and digital campaigns are now tightly intertwined.
The Internet has undoubtedly changed the world of advertising forever and a successful advertising campaign must embrace this medium in order to be successful. Yet one may think that a purely online approach is the answer, however it’s also important to remember that physical promotional items (and advertising) still reach people that online advertising can’t.
Plus, you shouldn’t underestimate the importance of having information that prospective buyers can take with them to analyse and review at their convenience and discretion. That’s why niche magazines remain popular and why print is far from being “dead”.
Most businesses and brands realise that a balance of online content and physical information is necessary, but many are not sure how to achieve this balance. More often than not, the answer comes down to budget and desired outcomes.
One thing is for sure: combining online and offline media is now a must.
Even though social media has played a large role in toppling foreign state political regimes, I am not a fan of social media marketing for small businesses who need to produce tangible sales results.
Instead of wasting time, money and effort on something that is marginal, why not direct it to something tried and tested?
Offline media like print advertising is PROVEN to work – especially in specialised, highly targeted niche markets.
But print won’t work on its own anymore. Print needs an online component to facilitate and enhance the conversation that needs to take place. Without the web, that conversation now falls on deaf ears. With a fully developed online presence, print advertisers can direct their offline leads into fully automated online systems that create a much more fluent, enjoyable and valuable customer experience.
Yet, without print or physical media, often, the catalyst doesn’t exist and “nothing happens”.
Therein lies the conundrum – in many instances, the fastest, easiest and most economical path to prospects is print. Physical (niche) publications have distribution networks that reach people in pockets of interest that are well established. These networks are entrenched geographically, culturally and economically. They have been around for years or even decades, reinforced across generations.
Therein lies the power of the PHYSICAL REAL WORLD network.
But that power remains impotent without the Internet as its new ‘enabler’.
Traditional media such as print, radio and television advertising often has better brand recall than digital media which suffers from source credibility syndrome.
The challenge for small business is focusing on what works to produce measurable outcomes versus and not be tricked by the smoke and mirrors evangelised by the providers of the new media services who keep referring to deep pocket campaigns that the lone Aussie Battler simply can’t afford.
We have solutions for all budgets – contact us and we’ll help you get results within the next week that you can measure. No smoke. No Mirrors.
Sydney’s Private Jeweler, Sam Kritsotakis, recently opened his new Eskae Boutique in Mosman… The reason that’s newsworthy is because a lot of businesses are struggling, yet our clients are thriving and expanding.
The reason is simple. They are applying antimimeticisomorphism principles of Exponential Mindset Thinking – having fun, doing out–of-the-ordinary things that create extra-ordinary results with the least amount of effort and at the lowest cost.
If you’re not GROWING, you’re contracting.
There is no middle ground.
If you want to grow your business, isn’t it time you contacted us to get going and growing?
Across Italy, police are cracking down on Ferrari and Lamborghini drivers, but not because they are driving too fast.
Italy, like so much of southern Europe, is drowning in debt, so police are pursuing drivers to make sure they are declaring – and therefore paying taxes on – earnings that would allow them to afford cars worth as much as half a million dollars.
The lesson here is that as a business, you want to adopt antimimeticisomorphism thinking – simply put, think differently to get different results.
If you are struggling to find new leads for your business – start looking at WHAT your clients are DOING, WHERE they are going, WHO they are spending time with…
If it works for the police in Italy, it might just work for you!
For example, want to deal with better clients? Look at the help wanted ads – companies who are HIRING are doing better than the ones who are laying off workers. Want more out-of-the-box ideas like this to grow your business? Contact us.
That weird-looking picture on the left is of bacteria – the organisms that play an essential role in our lives. Bacteria help us digest food, eliminate toxins from our body, and provide us with vital nutrients. And yet these tiny creatures, responsible for so much good stuff on the planet (and lots of bad stuff, too), have no ears, no sense of touch, and no form of intelligence.
Despite being deprived of these senses, bacteria can tell not only if their siblings are nearby, but also precisely how many of them are present. They can coordinate their behaviours and determine if any other species are in the area. They then form alliances to increase their chances of survival – all while being unable to hear or touch each other.
Bacteria are able to achieve this level of teamwork by something called quorum sensing. Basically, they release a chemical that can be read only by members of the same species. That’s it – a unique and reliable shared identity.
Remote employees are somewhat like bacteria.
They’re deprived of major senses that would otherwise keep them connected to their colleagues. They don’t see each other, hear each other or stay in touch with each other as often as employees who share the same office. This produces a level of distance, both physical and metaphorical, that makes it difficult to encourage teamwork and engagement. The solution can be found in quorum sensing.
From a management perspective, quorum sensing is about releasing certain elements into a remote team that engender a sense of shared identity.
In particular:
- The sense of vision: Generate an inspiring vision articulated well enough and frequently enough for all members of the team to remember.
- The sense of observation: Ramp up face-to-face communication, such as webinars or video conferences, which create a more meaningful connection than teleconferences.
- The sense of togetherness: At least once a year, but preferably once a quarter, organise an event where all remote workers can meet for a day or two in the same location.
- The sense of informality: Open up informal lines of communication, because trust and relationships are more easily formed via casual and relaxed channels.
- The sense of collaboration: Create opportunities for remote employees to work together on projects, especially ones that would necessitate a joint approach to problem solving.
- The sense of intuition: It’s hard to tell if employees you rarely see are happy or sad. So, check in with them regularly by asking questions such as ‘what are your challenges?’
As the author of the scientific study writes: “Bacteria might be small but they communicate in more than one language, they strategise, they co-ordinate their efforts, they have thrived in places you wouldn’t even go for a dare. It seems clear the bacteria still have a lesson or two for us big-headed folk.”
Thank you to Mark Mackenzie of The Graffiti Eaters for sending this to me. As The Exponential Growth Strategist, I use quorum as one of the foundational principles of the Exponential Mastermind Experience that we create in our Platinum Program.
A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk away.
A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?
Here is my Exponential Mindset Thinking Twist:
If you are Joshua Bell in your industry or marketplace, are you playing YOUR instrument in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Hmmm…. Something to think about the next time you spend time. money and effort on your next sales and marketing promotion.
Watch this video and ask yourself the question – would you sit down?
When I explain Antimimeticisomorphism to my clients, I always specify being different for a deliberate purpose without being provocative.
This commercial pushes the envelope and makes the point without being offensive or being too serious.
Thank you to Andrew Powell of Montreal, Canada for forwarding it on to me.
One of the sad things I see in my line of work as The Exponential Growth Strategist is business owners who are slaves to their business and won’t admit to themselves.
They put up appearances and “posture” when I meet them, claiming they are decisive and “in charge”, but just a little probing reveals the truth.
They are working for their employees and not the other way around.
Now don’t get me wrong. Great employees are fantastic, but toxic employees are a life-threatening, profit killing cancer to a small business.
I put together a quick quiz you can take to determine if you’re in the entrepreneurial jail or not.
Are You Really In Charge? 
Yes = 1, No= 0, Not Sure = 0
Total your points and let’s see how you measure up:
If you scored 1, 2, or 3: You’re on death row
You know there’s very little hope for freedom unless you make dramatic changes.
If you scored 3, 4 or 5: You’re got a life sentence with a chance of parole
You have a job with tax benefits and poor working conditions.
If you scored 5, 6 or 7: You’re on parole.
Like most business owners, you like to think you’re the boss, but you realise your personal life and schedule revolves around your staff showing up physically and “mentally” to get the job done.
If you scored 8, 9 or 10: You’re Free!
You’re in control and happy to be master of your own destiny. You are the exception to the rule. Well done!
If you scored 0, you know you’re taking your last breath, time has run out and all the appeals have been used. It’s over.
Muddled Marketing Messages
I recently blogged and asked if your clients understand you. Today’s photo of the week is a great reminder of the need to avoid muddled messages.
In marketing and sales, the clarity of the message is a key component of success.
That being said, all too often, messages get muddled by the time they reach their audience.
Want to test it for yourself?
If you have staff, ask a handful of them what your USP (Unique Selling Proposition), mission/vision statement or key competitive advantage is.
If you don’t have enough staff to make the test statistically significant, ask your existing clients.
See what happens.
Chances are you’ll get a muddled message, maybe even totally different and/or conflicting themes.
Give that some serious thought…
How much more (cost) effective and (time) efficient would your marketing be if you had a CLEAR MESSAGE?
Hmmm…
Contact us and we’ll help you get YOUR MESSAGE ACROSS, clearly and succinctly.
BTW, the photo was sent to us by Successful Endeavours in Melbourne – have a look at their website – you’ll see their message CLEARLY STATED on their home page:
“We make electronics and embedded software work the way they should,
saving you up to 2 out of every 3 dollars you otherwise would have wasted,
so you can manufacture your market leading product in Australia at a profit.”
“NOICE!”
When I did my coursework for my Ph.D. in Business Administration, one of the things that initially surprised me was how academics couldn’t agree on seemingly simple definitions for terms such as Entrepreneur or Family Business.
I quickly realised that the definition of the word, theme or concept determines HOW you’re going to study or research it, so it becomes a circular argument that creates a lot of academic debate – most of it beneficial and some frankly wasteful and redundant.
That’s why, when I recently came across the definition of an entrepreneur by Howard Stevenson – one of the field’s most prominent researchers, I thought it worthy of sharing with you even though it was conceived almost 40 years ago.
It’s a timeless definition that might take some reflection to fully appreciate.
” Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity
without regard to resources currently controlled.”
Too many people associate entrepreneurs with risk taking. Entrepreneur don’t get up in the morning saying “Where’s the most risk in today’s economy and how can I get some?”
With this definition that focused on entrepreneurship as a process, Stevenson’s definition opened the term to all kinds of people. Plus, it matched the one demographic fact Harvard Business School researchers already knew about entrepreneurs—they were more likely to start out poor than rich.
“They see an opportunity and don’t feel constrained from pursuing it because they lack resources,” explains Stevenson. “They’re used to making do without resources.”
The perception of opportunity in the absence of resources helps explain much of what differentiates entrepreneurial leadership from that of corporate administrators: the emphasis on team rather than hierarchy, fast decisions rather than deliberation, and equity rather than cash compensation.
What would you expect, asks Stevenson “When you don’t have the cash to boss people around, like in a corporation, you have to create a more horizontal organization. You hire people who want what you have and not what you don’t have.”
In other words, entrepreneurs offer their team members a larger share of a vision for a future payoff, rather than a smaller share of the meager resources at hand.
When you really think about it, opportunity is the only real resource small (startup) businesses have.
Give it some thought – after all the brightest and sharpest minds are still grappling with this and other definitions…
If you find others that are worth sharing, please share by placing a comment below!
We have all heard the expression “you need to work ON your business instead of IN it…”
Easier said than done.
In fact, for most owner operators, it’s a transition they can never make.
The reason is simple: The personality traits that got them to go INTO business are exactly the ones that will keep them chained to the business, day in, day out.
Those personality traits create behaviours and habits that unfortunately most entrepreneurs can’t break. Sorry to be so pessimistic. It’s just the way it is.
Are you wondering if you’re one of the FEW who can make the transition?
If you are, you need to be:
- Open minded
- Flexible
- Self aware
Otherwise you’re kidding yourself and will waste a lot of time money and effort on trying to change something that’s not going to change – YOU.
If you’re stubborn, intractable and think you’ve got it all figured out – “goodonya mate”. You’re all set and have “no worries”. She’ll be right mate.
If you’re open minded, flexible and self aware and want to work ON your business to grow it with less effort, have a look at my coaching and mentoring philosophy page. If it resonates with you, then contact us.
Everyone’s heard of the the word Apprehensive. It’s an adjective often associated with accountants…*
But the word prehensive is not so well known – the opposite of what accountants are…
So if you ever wondered why there is often a conflict between entrepreneurs and their accounts – look no further than the dictionary!
Now you might thinks this is superfluous, but it’s not. We are all molded, trained and formed into a pre-defined ‘model’ by our education, training and experiences. To think otherwise is childishly immature.
However, as adults, we do have the power to determine our own destinies, but we can only exercise it by knowing where we ARE if we want to get to where we want to BE.
That’s a discussion well beyond today’s blog post, but I thought I would at the very least trigger the thought and enlighten you with a slightly expanded vocabulary!
* There are great accountants out there who are pro business growth and are not apprehensive about creating momentum. They are a minority, so you have to seek them out carefully. Of course be aware that if they don’t counter-balance your desire for ‘unlimited’ growth, you’ll need to get that balance elsewhere…!
We all remember playing around with a Rubik’s Cube, getting close to solving it only to scramble it even more… Those frustrations are not all that different from business owners who try to grow their businesses…
Now there’s a special tool to help you grow your business – it’s called a Marc-Ka-Ching Kube!
There is no doubt about it, New Year’s Resolutions are a powerful tool to achieve goals, yet only a few follow up and follow through on their resolutions..*
Why is that?
One simple reason is that most people forget that decisions are made every minute of every day and they add up at the end of the week/month/year. Non-decisions are the same – the decision NOT made to put your runners on to go for a run. The decision NOT to turn down the (extra) piece of pie. The decision NOT to get up early.
“It is in the moments of INdecision
that dreams are destroyed.”
– Dr Marc Dussault
If you made a list of New Year’s Resolutions for 2012 – take them out right now and re-commit yourself to following through.
If you’re not motivated – the problem is you have impotent goals and dreams.
You need something that will MOTIVATE, INSPIRE and MOVE YOU TO ACTION.
Pick something exciting, but within the realm of possibility – something you can really get enthused about – something that would CHANGE you and your life.
I know too many “people who end up where they don’t want to be” simply through lack of planning and commitment.
No decision IS a decision – it’s the worst one of all – one made by someone else for all the wrong reasons.
There is no joy in living a life by default. To live a life by design, you need to know what YOU want and desire.
You decide.
By NOT deciding, all you’re doing is letting yourself down – no one cares that you don’t make a decision. That’s why it’s so easy.
One day leads to a week then to a month and before you know it, another year has passed.
If you get lulled into complacency, a whole decade can pass you buy.
That’s tragic.
Don’t just sit there – do something!
Anything! If you didn’t create a list of New Year’s Resolutions – do it now!
New Year’s Resolutions… they are aspirational, yet often vague and almost always corrective. People promise to spend more time with family, get fit, lose weight, quit smoking, reduce debt, consume less alcohol… yet just end up cataloguing the failings of the past year. As with most customs, New Year’s Resolutions are observed in gesture only, not followed up nor followed through. It’s a reflexive act rather than one of resolution or commitment.
People have been making New Year’s Resolutions since the time of ancient Rome, when the Julian Calendar was adopted in 45 BC. January 1 was introduced as the first day of the year after the Roman God, Janus (pictured left). Janus was the God of beginnings and endings, represented with two faces looking toward the future as well as the past.
Romans, believing that the gods witnessed the failures and shortcomings of the past year made promises to rectify the situation in the next year ahead.
Not surprisingly, 88 percent of New Year’s Resolutions fail.
One of the reasons is that people tend to make the same ones over and over and over again without conviction or belief they can really change. Statistically, it takes up to 10 attempts to change which is well beyond most people’s attention span let alone level of discipline to make the change a reality.
Alarmingly, research shows that 25% of 1 out of every 4 people give up in the first WEEK.
Most people, quizzed today would not even be able to list all of their New Year’s Resolutions… and we’re not even at the end of January!
So why is the prognosis so poor? One reason is that success is limited, yet most people (wrongly) believe it is achievable (when statistically it’s not – only 1 person can win a Gold Medal amongst hundreds of competitors).
Take quitting smoking as an example: It takes 6 to 12 attempts to stop smoking. One survey in 2008 reported that only 11%, 1 out of 9, people who set that as a New Year’s Resolution achieved their goal and stopped smoking.
There is hope – people who did achieve their New Year’s Resolutions did so, on average after 6 attempts.
To achieve your New Year’s Resolutions, you need a plan, simple as that. Ideally, you write a PLEDGE to yourself and you marshal help from others close to you who can help you.
For example, if you want to get fit, get a buddy to walk or run with you, play a sport… If you want to lose weight, have family members help by reducing fatty or high calorie foods in your meals.
Without a plan, nothing’s going to change.
The odds are stacked against you.
Of course as you’d expect, there is a way to stack the odds in your favour… CLICK HERE -> To Make Next Year Your Best Year Ever.
New Year’s Resolutions are one of the easiest ways to set the wheels of success in motion. They can be the catalyst to create your ultimate dream destiny…
“What if…”
What if… your childhood dreams actually came true…
What if… you could wave a magic wand and get anything you want…
What if… you could rub Aladdin’s Lamp and get any 3 wishes granted…
What if…
Those are two very powerful words.
Here’s the thing.
Some people get what they want while others don’t.
- It’s infuriating to know someone dumber than you is out-performing you in business or school.
- It’s aggravating to have someone less physically capable beat you at your favorite sport.
- It’s perplexing to see someone who started with less money than you build a ‘fortune’ that allows them to have the luxurious, stress-free lifestyle you’d like to have.
What if… you could learn how to accomplish all your goals?
What if… it took less than 5 minutes a week to implement?
What if… the strategies were proven and tested?
What if… they cost LESS than going to McDonald’s?
Just let yourself imagine those words.
Let your thoughts wander.
Listen to what you would say in the privacy of your own mind.
Feel what it would be like to have those things most important to you.
What if… You believed it was possible.
What if… You learned the strategies, techniques and tips you need.
What if… You applied them, one day at a time.
What if… You achieved one goal, then another, then another.
How different would your life be?
How much more could you do and contribute to others?
What if… you had a system to make them all come true?
What if… I gave you the link – would you make 2012 your best year ever?
Why not give yourself this gift?
* This is why New Year’s Resolutions are so important to me…
At first, I didn’t buy into the whole New Year’s Resolution ‘propaganda’. Like most people, I was skeptical, cynical and thought it was all rubbish.
Then I met someone who explained that New Year’s Resolutions only work if you believe they do.
That changed everything.
I promised myself I would only pick the top 10 New Year’s Resolutions I believed I could accomplish and really wanted.
My life changed – literally from that moment on.
As I explain in My Best Year Ever Program page – the results speak for themselves, but something you need to know is that it’s a process, a system for me. It’s not just a to do list.
Nothing with me is superficial.
The process I share with you in the My Best Year Ever Program is what I use every single year – religiously WITHOUT EXCEPTION.
I look forward to it BECAUSE I know I can craft my new destiny, my new life.
One of my recent resolutions I can share with you was writing the lyrics for and ‘producing’ my rap album- Curve-A-Ceous.
It was one of the highlights of the year for me. I never dreamt of being a rockstar, but I was always curious about the creative aspect of song writing, producing and performing.
I perform every time I get on stage for my events and workshops, but this was a much more artistically creative endeavour.
Something totally outside my comfort zone.
Something totally different.
It was exhilarating to do.
The reason I share this with you is because life is to be lived to its fullest extent.
Steve Jobs was the epitome of this philosophy.
But so many people – too many people – don’t know where to start.
As per my 1 Percent Improvement Doctrine, I believe in small steps on the path to your ultimate destiny, keeping in mind that…
The journey IS the destination.
With New Year’s Resolutions it’s easy and with my program priced at $20.12 it’s a bargain.
It’s my gift to you because it’s one of the most powerful techniques I’ve used and continue to use to craft the life I have – “continuing to live my dream and empowering others to discover and live theirs”.
What’s the alternative?
You don’t do anything – you let things ‘happen’.
There are two kinds of people:
People who make things happen
and those that things happen to
Simple as that – you are either one or the other.
Sorry to be so blunt, but it’s true.
You know it, I know it.
Now it’s time for you to do something about it.
Psst! I want to share something else with you…
This is the end of January and you’d be amazed at how many people think they missed the opportunity to do their New Year’s Resolutions…
That’s typical of people’s limiting beliefs and why my Best year Ever Program is a rolling 52-week program that starts on DAY ONE.
This is the first day of the rest of your life…
I know MOST people don’t see things “this way”…
They are oblivious to the realisations and life-changing epiphanies that are there to be had.
As a PREMIUM CONTENT subscriber, I know you’re not one of these… “MOST PEOPLE”.
The reason MOST PEOPLE are this way is due to IGNORANCE and LACK OF FAITH/BELIEF/CONVICTION.
First is ignorance – they don’t know. They are not subscribed to the PREMIUM CONTENT and no one’s having this heart-to-heart with them.
Second, they don’t have the belief in themselves. They’ve been beaten down and have essentially given up.
It’s the saddest thing I see in ‘my line of work’ – to see someone give up on themselves.
It’s heartbreaking.
Years ago, I would champion the power of the human spirit.
Now, I don’t bother.
I focus on people who believe and WANT more – more joy, happiness, wealth, success and abundance.
Welcome to my world of Exponential Mindset Thinking!
If you come across anyone who is deserving and needs a nudge in the right direction, you could make the investment in THEM and subscribe them to the My Best Year Ever – Imagine how their lives could be transformed.
Now you’ll feel what I feel when I know someone’s engaged and involved in creating their ultimate destiny!
Pay it forward and reap the benefits for a lifetime!
Onward and upward!
Marc
I recently created a short YouTube video (48 seconds) that highlights what you can do with the exponential power of the Internet.
In less than 1 minute, I am able to introduce myself as The Exponential Growth Strategist, promote my 1 Percent Improvement Doctrine to help you get more done with less effort, and make sure your business gets noticed by going from Bland To Brand.
And that’s just 20 seconds into the 48 second video!
Then I explain that you can increase conversions and sales with our Killer Kopywriting System as well as get news leads for a fraction of the cost with our brand new Internet Sales Lead Generation Toolkit so you can acquire the Mindset Of A Champion and win in business!
All of that in less than a minute!
The reason this video is on my Business Coaching And Mentoring blog is because all of our Internet Marketing Strategies are geared for REAL businesses who want to sell more of their products and/or services.
The Internet and its multimedia capabilities enable you to do that at a fraction of the cost, with minimum effort.
This entire campaign took me about 1 hour and cost less than $100 in total.
That’s hard to beat with ‘traditional advertising’.
