I made a lifestyle decision not long ago and I’m finally blogging about it. I didn’t want to blog about it while I still had paying clients on the books but everything is cleared up and good to go now.

The bottom line is I’ve restructured my entire consulting business. It became very time consuming and I’ve made the decision to only keep a few clients and get rid of the rest. You can read how I’ll be doing business from now on here on my services page.

I still love helping people, don’t get me wrong. I just don’t want to work more than 10-15 hours a week. And those hours will be spent on my own businesses or with the top business people I’ll continue to work with who don’t require babysitting.

Thanks for understanding.

Read comments (2)

Most entrepreneurs take the easy way out. Everybody I know who has significant freedom, money, and time takes the easy way out…always.

Today I want to encourage you to keep taking the easy way out any way possible. If anyone tries to tell you anything different, they are probably not where you want to be.

I’ve NEVER told any of my clients or students not to take the easy way out. If there is an easy way, take it!

Most people, even myself, have been constantly accused of being lazy. Lazy to the average person means taking the easy way out. The average person will always tell you to work hard and grind it out, to not take the easy way out, and to be tough.

I think they are completely wrong and here’s why…

If you’re smart, you will ALWAYS find a way to make something easier. I know I did. With every new situation I enter, I’m constantly looking for new ways to get the same task done faster and with less effort. Unfortunately, for children, they are taught that taking the easy way out is a bad thing.

That statement can kill the creativity of a child. And unless children decide to unlearn those terrible things by reading, learning, and finding people who don’t believe that way of thinking, they’ll live their entire lives thinking they have to work hard.

That’s why you have adults who still talk the same mess they learned as children. They either…

1. Actually believe it
2. Think it

And that sucks for them.

The bottom line is to always be looking for better and smarter ways to do things. To the average person it will SEEM like you’re lazy. The intelligent person, however, will recognize your genius.

Read comments (1)

Have you ever bought a 10K watch? 100K car? Maybe you have. Maybe you haven’t. It’s really a personal decision. Would I spend this much money on stuff if I wanted it? Of course I would!

If you’re reading my blog, there’s a very good chance you’re already a 2%er or are striving to be one. If you are a 2%er you’ll get this concept. If you’re not, you probably won’t.

I’m writing this blog post to give you permission to do whatever in the world you want with the money you’ve earned. You deserve it.

When I got married about five years ago, I spent close to $17,000 on my wife’s ring, including the main ring and the two side rings. I don’t say this to brag, I know people who make that investment in a wedding ring look like a Burger King meal. But the point of me mentioning that is you wouldn’t believe how many people called me “crazy” or how many people said, “Dang, Rick! That’s too much, man. Are you sure you want to do that?”

As you can see, this is scarcity thinking at its best. It’s a thought process that is fixed on “lack” instead of abundance.

If there is anyone in your life who makes ignorant statements like the ones you see above, find any way possible to delete these people from your life. If you can’t delete them totally, at least do your best to minimize them. It’s critical to becoming a 2%er.

If it’s family, I recommend keeping the relationship to holidays and family events. Even family can end up poisoning your mindset to the point where you start questioning your decisions. Don’t allow it to get there.

The story I just told you is only a fraction of what I’ve had to deal with in terms of scarcity mindset in people. I’m positive you’ve dealt with the same.

What saddens me is that most people have no idea that they’re being infected with other people’s scarcity thinking… They’re so used to it that they don’t even notice it.

The only way to truly realize if you’re choosing 2%ers as friends is to find a mentor. When most people join my E-Mail Coaching, they come with a terrible mindset. Sometimes it can take up to six months of consistent work to change a polluted mind that took a lifetime to create. Some people “get it” quickly; others need more work. It really depends on how much trash has been deposited in their brain.

How do you know if you’re around people who are content staying a 98%er and are most likely depositing sewage in your mind? It’s quite simple. All you have to do is listen to what they say. Here’s the difference between what losers say vs. what 2%er’s say….

The 98%er – “I can’t afford it.”
The 2%er – “I’ll create it.”

The 98%er – “I don’t know if I can do it.”
The 2%er – “I’ll find a way to make it happen.”

The 98%er – “I live for the weekends.”
The 2%er – “I live every day of my life exactly how I want, fulfilled and happy!”

The 98%er – “I can’t leave my job. It has great benefits.”
The 2%er – “I’ll develop a plan to leave my job within two years so I can do what I was designed to do.”

The 98%er – “He’s only cheated on me twice, and that was a long time ago.”
The 2%er – “He’s a cheatin’ bastard and I’m gone. Peace.”

The 98%er – “I can’t.”
The 2%er – “I will.”

The 98%er – “It’s tough out there. The economy is bad.”
The 2%er – “The economy doesn’t determine my success.”

That’s just a very small dose of the differences you’ll see in mindset between 2%ers and 98%ers.

You’ll attract in your life what you focus most on so if you hear crap coming out of the mouths of those 98%ers closest to you, find better company. Focus on abundance, not scarcity. You’ll be greatly rewarded.

Read comments (0)

Taylor Mali answers this question perfectly. I believe teaching is what winners do.  I highly encourage you to share the knowledge you have. It’s no fun if you keep it all to yourself.

Read comments (4)

A lot of businesspeople talk about jobs as if they’re the poisoned elixir of life… slowly killing our passion for what means the most to us. And let’s be honest, many are. But I don’t want to make a sweeping generalization that demonizes all jobs. Some are respectable professions.

Here are just a few occupations I think people pursue with passion:

- Law Enforcement
- Fire Fighting
- Medicine
- Teaching

And there are many more. The truth is that when people genuinely pursue their careers with enthusiasm, they live their lives to the fullest. It brings them fulfillment and they’re content. They couldn’t want for more.

This is a very small percentage though. If you want to get to the bottom line of the situation, the real fact is most people don’t mind their jobs. They’re somewhat comfortable doing what they do.

They just can’t stand the people.

That’s right…

PEOPLE are the POISON.

Guarding yourself from subtle negativity from other people is critical. On your journey to becoming a 2%er, you’ll find that you need to be more discreet in your “people selection” process.

Listen, becoming a 2%er isn’t difficult, but it takes consistent action. And one of the key factors is making sure you associate with other 2%ers. Everyone won’t be a 2%er, but make sure they’re in the mix of your daily life.

If you have to pay for access to a 2%er, don’t hesitate. By all means, do it. Do whatever it takes to get your mind on the right track. Since you don’t know what you don’t know, you’ll need someone who is laser-focused on success to show you the way. The 98%ers can’t do that; they will only validate your current situation, making it feel like “you’re okay” and “everything’s good.” You need someone to act as a change agent in your life.

That is, unless you’re okay with A-V-E-R-A-G-E.

And the fact is that on the J-O-B, average is what you get most of the time. And have you ever wondered why?

Let’s think of a few key words that describe many people’s work situations:

BOREDOM.

PASSIONLESS.

CREATIVELY DEAD.

It’s no wonder that people go through each work day running on automatic pilot. It’s boring! Let’s examine the 10-Point J-O-B cycle we’re all familiar with….

1. Look for a job.

2. Find a job you “like.”

3. Submit your resume to the job.

4. Interview for the job.

5. Get the job.

6. Learn the job.

7. Get good at the job.

8. Show up every day at the job, and do the same thing you did yesterday.

9. Then the inevitable happens; you become extremely bored with the job.

10. Then you look for another job, hoping it won’t be as boring as your current job.

This scenario applies to 98% of jobs. I see this cycle happen again and again to people. And the sad reality is that they rinse and repeat and treat their lives as if the only thing important is “security.”

Two things always happen when you accept this 10-Point Job Cycle of Death.

1. Your creativity dies. Your creativity is what separates you from the rest of the world. Your validation comes from God, not people. He made you with specific attributes that if utilized correctly, you can go as far as you want to go in life. But until you find out exactly where your creativity lies, it will be extremely hard to become a 2%er.

2. You’ll become extremely bored. When your income becomes capped at a certain amount, you’ll die a slow, average death. Money solves problems that not having money creates. I would hate to be in a position where someone else is going to tell ME what I’ll make, when I’ll make it, and the most I’ll ever make… and then tell me when to eat, when to take vacation, etc. Do me a favor. Just shoot me if I ever have to go through that again.

Does any of this sound familiar? If so, do an inventory of your life ASAP and figure out which direction you want to go in. It starts now. Every day is precious. Treat it that way.

Read comments (0)

Do you ever blame everyone but yourself for the problems in your life? If so, stop! Only losers do that. And if you’re reading my blog there’s a good chance you’re striving to be what I call a 2%er—one of the small percentage of people who actually GET what I’m about to tell you.

Listen, the moment I decided never to blame anybody else for my problems, my life got better, much better. And it happened just as suddenly as I made that decision. I simply decided to own every choice I made from that day forward.

You can change your life, too, just by making the decision to be accountable for everything…starting today. Your failures. Your successes. I mean everything.

And, if someone else is trying to suck out every last bit of your passion and inject subtle negativity into your life, stop it right now. They will kill everything you’ve worked hard for. If you’re making excuses for all your problems, you need to jumpstart your winning attitude right now.

First, be honest with yourself. Are you a winner or a whiner? The only way to make positive changes in your life is to acknowledge what’s real.

Here are five ways you can distinguish a loser from a 2%er.

1. Losers say the word “maybe” more than “yes.” This allows losers to create loopholes to back out of any formal agreement or commitment to anyone.

2. Losers talk more than they listen. For every insecure person I know, the common denominator is that he or she talks much more than they listen.

3. Losers use the word “but” after anything positive and normally follow that with a negative statement. This is common with losers. Just when something positive or uplifting comes out of their mouths, it’s followed up with a negative statement that devalues the breakthrough that could have happened if they would have truly believed the value of following their hearts.

4. Losers never take personal responsibility for anything. It’s normally someone else’s fault for whatever goes wrong in their lives. This is the most common trait I see in losers. Believe me, in my eight years in the Air Force I worked with more whiners, blamers, and complainers than you could possibly imagine.

I think that’s why most entrepreneurs need to exit their jobs quickly. It’s so draining to work in negative environments with negative people. It takes so much self-talk on the drive home to get your mind back to a winner’s perspective that it becomes hard to even show up at the job anymore.

5. Losers are great liars. It’s so hard to catch them blatantly but you just feel it. Sometimes you won’t even be able to tell this person apart from a winner for a year or two. That’s because they don’t often have the first four traits I mentioned beforehand. And losers are so good at telling little lies that they actually believe their own stories. I’ve been duped before. These people are tricky, so you really have to pay attention.

Now, let me wrap this up by clarifying the two types of losers you’re likely to come into contact with in your life.

The first type doesn’t know he’s a loser yet. Maybe he has crappy parents, crappy friends, etc. Of course, you can’t choose your parents but you can choose your friends. But that’s beside the point. The point is that this person needs YOUR help. He can succeed with a mentor or a friend who cares about him and guides him. To be honest, 99% of the time this person just needs some encouragement and love to thrive.

The real problem is the second type of loser. These people simply don’t care. They know they make stupid decisions. They know they make excuses. They do things like blame the “economy” because they’re broke, blame their bosses because they don’t get paid well, etc. These people just don’t care.

The sad part is that they’ll most likely be a loser for the rest of their lives because they’ll never take personal responsibility for anything. Since they’ll never recognize their true potential, all we can do is pray for them because God their only hope.

Read comments (1)

I’m fat.

Yup, I weigh 271 pounds. And starting soon I’m going to document every step of the way toward my weight loss.

I’ve looked around online. I don’t think anyone has ever filmed a documentary during their entire 12-week body transformation.Considering how fat and out of shape I am, this won’t be easy. One of the reasons I’m documenting everything on video and showing the entire world just how fat I actually am is for personal accountability. But another important reason is that hopefully others will follow me through this short 12-week journey and decide to do the same and change their lives.

This won’t be like anything you’ve probably seen. You’ll be getting an inside look at my entire life. You’ll be going through every step of this with me, as if it were you holding the camcorder.

The way I’m going to do it is simple. Jamal, who works for me full time, will be documenting my daily life for 12 full weeks. Every week, we’ll upload a 10-minute video showing my progress.

And the end of the 12 weeks, we’ll have a 2-hour DVD of my journey. You’ll be able to track everything on my blog for free, but I’ll probably have my journey replicated on DVD for anyone who wants to buy it as motivation.

Read comments (3)

A while back, I was seriously thinking about becoming a lawyer. I was very close to doing all the paperwork, finding a college, etc.

This was before my wife and I started our business, and I didn’t know what I didn’t know yet. At the time, I didn’t realize the power of a product-based business, so my thinking was off. Way off.

After my wife and I started our product-based business, everything changed. Being able to make money without my presence or without intensive labor transformed my mindset. That’s why—if you’re still working a J-O-B—you should seriously consider your other options. You will never think the same way about money ever again once you have a fully automated, money-making business machine in place.

The first time I went to sleep and woke up $1000 richer the next morning, I knew my life would never be the same. And it wasn’t just because of the money. It was the freedom I knew that money would bring. Having plenty of money allows me to spend more time with my family and do exactly what I want when I want.

This is why our business has transformed my life: Time is scarce, but money has unlimited potential. So any time I’m fortunate enough to spend more time the way I want to instead of the way I have to, I value that freedom more than the money. Money is just a means to the kind of life I want to live.

These facts made me rethink my entire position on becoming a lawyer. Being a lawyer is a lucrative profession, but it doesn’t have the same benefits that my business allows me to enjoy.

Let’s break it down to dollars earned and hours spent on the job….

My current lawyer charges $275.00 per hour and bills by the minute. I’m sure he does quite well financially. I consider him a good friend and he’s a great lawyer. But if he works 2080 hours in a year at his current rate, the most he’ll ever make is $572,000. That doesn’t include settlements, but you get the point. That’s okay, but you have to understand the stress, time involved, etc., that comes with the job. It’s just not worth it to me.

Now, consider how different life could be for you if you made the same amount of money—or more—but had less stress and could live the kind of life you really want to live instead of slaving away for someone else and following someone else’s job demands.

Let that sink in for a moment….

See what I mean? There’s just no comparison. So if I were you, I’d focus more on freedom than the money. If you manage your business well, you’ll earn more than just a paycheck; you’ll get your life back.

Read comments (1)

I’m going to show you how to save 50% off every information product you buy and save an enormous amount of time while you’re at it.

But let me first set the foundation because without this, there’s no point in buying any information product ever again.

I do believe that constantly consuming good information, whether it’s marketing, financial, health, etc., is very important. But even more important is how you separate the actionable information vs. the crap that’s out there.

Unfortunately, most of the online marketing information is crap. Here are the two biggest reasons why…

1. We have “top marketers” helping unproven newbies become Internet marketing “consultants.” This is terrible news for the good-hearted people trying to build a real Internet business. They’re trusting advice from those who have no business giving advice. I feel sorry for anyone who entrusts the success of his or her business to someone who can’t even make $10,000 per month online.

2. The amount of rehashed business-building information that’s circulated depresses me. I work with newbies and experts all the time, and almost all of them are so confused by the so-called “secrets” to success. Fortunately, I set them straight before they enter a world full of fake businesspeople who only focus on positioning themselves as experts as opposed to actually proving themselves with real-world results.

Learning how to market effectively and successfully requires that you strategically plan the way you consume information. Today will be the last day you’ll ever invest the full price into an information product just because you feel it’s the next hottest thing. Beginning today, you can save 50% off all information products if you integrate three important concepts into your business education.

So… let’s dig into this concept quickly. Here is my process for consuming information, implementing information, saving 50% on the information I buy, and deciding whether the information is applicable to me or my business.

1. How I Consume Information

I’ll make this quick because that’s exactly how I consume information. If I buy something, I consume it in 30 days max. If I’m not able to consume it that quickly, it means that someone died or I got lazy. Under all other circumstances, I just make sure I get it done.

2. How I Save 50% On Every Information Product I Buy

This is very simple. I’ll give you a specific example of how I do this. I bought Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula. When it arrived at my house, I put it on eBay not long after to force myself to go through it as quickly as possible. When you have a seven-day auction, guess what? You have seven days to get off your butt and get through it. I bought the course for $997.00 and sold it on eBay for $580.00. That’s how I save 50% off information products. I buy them, consume them, and sell them. One of the big keys is to buy at the product launch, go through the material quickly, and sell it fast while the material is still “in demand” in people’s minds.

3. How I Decide Whether Information Is Applicable To Me Or My Business

Yes, most information, especially on the Internet, is regurgitated crap. It can sometimes be hard to filter all the bad information from the good. This is why I recommend not getting caught up in the hype. Marketing and business processes at the core are simple. The key is to put these simple processes in motion and stay consistent. So to get a specific example and to piggyback off the Product Launch Formula course I bought, I’ll explain how I break the information down.

Once the course arrives at my house, I open it immediately and determine how I want to “attack” it. I do this by shutting my bedroom door and popping the first DVD in my player. I lay in my bed with a notebook and a pen. I then watch the DVD with the remote control close by. When I find gold, I hit “pause.”

When I hear something that I can apply specifically to my business, I write it down in detail. Unfortunately, much of what I see is fluff. I find, on average, about 85% of all marketing information is unnecessary filler since it’s all stolen from about 100 different hardcover books written between 1910 and 1998. That’s why I find most of these products extremely boring.

But when you already have a money-making business, it is possible to integrate techniques from these information product creators into your own way of doing business. That’s what I’m specifically looking for.

Please understand that you’re not buying these products for a life-changing breakthrough (this can happen, but it’s very rare). You’ll never get that for the most part. What you are buying them for are techniques you can integrate quickly into your business so you can see results.

And contrary to what you’re sold/told, some of these “secret” techniques will NOT work. But some will, and that’s why I still purchase information products. Sometimes there’s a nugget of gold hidden within the fluff, so I’ll continue to buy smart, consume quickly, and sell the information to someone else while the product’s still hot.

Read comments (3)

People are always asking me how I get to travel so much. It’s easy, and I’m going to let you in on a few tips and tricks of getting your money’s worth—plus more—when you plan your next trip. In fact, if you use this information wisely, you can travel the world without spending a dime.

Awhile back, my mom–who travels more than 200 days per year in the medical research industry– begged me to let her set up all my frequent flyer programs and teach me how she has been traveling for free for the last 10 years. Finally, I agreed…and I’m glad I did.

What I’ve learned has saved me thousands of dollars in airline, hotel, and car rental fees, and I’m going to pass on my simple 3-step program for the right way to charge business expenses and how to travel the world for free.

1. Use An American Express Gold Card

Most people think the American Express Platinum Business Card is the way to go. Actually, for travelers it’s not. With AMEX Gold you get better points. You get 5,000 bonus points when you spend $20,000/year and 20,000 more bonus points when you spend $50,000/year. So if you charge $50,000 per year, you’ll get a free domestic ticket every year. With the AMEX Platinum, you don’t get this perk.

Another thing I like about AMEX is that their points never expire. You can have 700,000 points and guess what? They aren’t going anywhere.

One thing to remember about AMEX and their membership rewards is they have partnerships with 7 specific airlines: Delta, AirTran, Continental, Frontier, Jet Blue, Hawaiian, and Southwest. When it’s time to order tickets and transfer your points to the airline, simply call AMEX customer service and they’ll transfer them for you. The transfer is instant, so there’s no waiting around for your points to show up in your account.

2. Set Up Accounts With All Airlines And Hotels

This is the tedious part. Thank goodness my mom did it for me. I paid her fee of $399 to set this up and it was worth every penny. She even knew a few tricks to start out my Northwest Airlines account with 500 miles right off the bat. It would take someone who has no experience at least a week to do all this.

Basically, since my mom has over 12 years of national and international business travel experience under her belt, she has developed a solid system. She can set up accounts for all airlines, hotels, and rental cars in less than 8 hours, have it to you on a 1-page, 2-sided PDF with all of your Frequent Flyer numbers, Internet logins, customer service numbers, PIN codes, passwords, etc.

To hire my mom to do this for you, simply e-mail frequentflyerqueen@gmail.com, pay her crazy, low fee of $399 via Pay Pal, and wait about one week for your final document to arrive in your e-mail. Honestly, she will transform the way you look at travel the rest of your life. That’s a promise.

The reason you want to have accounts with every airline and hotel is because you never want to use your points at the AMEX website. Their prices and exchange rate are too high. You always want to transfer your points to an airline.

So to break it down, your new travel process goes like this:

> Use AMEX Gold For Business Purchases > Let AMEX Membership Reward Points Pile Up > Find A Flight pan > Call AMEX To Transfer Points To Your Preferred Airline > Fly Free!

3. Set Up A Separate Gmail Account At travel.yourname@gmail.com To Monitor Travel Deals

This is where it gets fun. When you have true freedom in your life–meaning you can make your own decisions concerning when you wake up, when you eat, what you do with your time, etc.–you can then maximize what I’m about to tell you to the fullest extent.

So, by now you’ve set up your separate Gmail account for travel at travel.yourname@gmail.com. This will help you set filters and prioritize your travel.

Now, go to every single airline site to sign up for their frequent flyer program and sign up for their e-mail promotions: American, Continental, United, Delta, British Airways, Qatar Airways, US Airways, Frontier etc. Do them all. Or, do like I did, and hire the “FrequentFlyerQueen” to do this tedious legwork for you at frequentflyerqueen@gmail.com.

Do the same with Hotels. Some great ones are Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest, HHonors, Priority Club, etc. You can also do the same with all of the Rental Car companies: Hertz, Avis, National, Alamo, Enterprise, Budget, Thrifty, Dollar, etc. There’s more, but you get the point.

Finally, go to the websites below and sign up for each and every one of their e-mail promotions. Again, if your time is as valuable as mine, you want to give serious consideration to outsourcing this task as well.

- Side Step
- Qixo
- Fare Compare
- Smarter Travel
- Business Travel
- Kayak
- Travel Zoo
- Cheapo Air
- Sherman’s Travel

Now that you’ve signed up for everything you need to take advantage of the best deals on earth, you’re ahead of 98% of the population who whines and complains about never getting to travel.

You may be wondering why I didn’t mention Priceline or Expedia. It’s because from what I’ve heard from inside sources, they are owned by the airlines. You won’t get your best bargains there.

I also want to speak briefly about Fare Compare. This site isn’t affiliated with any airlines and isn’t biased like almost every other website you go to for airline tickets. This is my favorite site for research.

My favorite feature about Fare Compare is you can get specific alerts using any parameter you want. For example, if I want to fly first class to Frankfurt, Germany from Charleston, SC, I can have an alert set to e-mail me the moment the price drops. Keep in mind that many times a significant price drop in airfare may last for only minutes or hours on these crazy deals.

I absolutely have to mention Flyer Talk, a free web site that has an excellent frequent flyer forum. Another is Inside Flyer. Their forums are very active with up-to-the minute information relating to travel, specifically air travel. Unfortunately, to fully utilize this site, you have to become a paid member, but they do offer a few options for membership and it is well worth it.

Another free site with a decent frequent flyer forum is Frequent Flier. While all of these sites provide you with a wealth of information, the “flyertalk” and “insideflyer” sites are by far the ones with more cutting edge info.

At this point, my final recommendation is to go to this web site and download a free utility called the MilePort Mileage Manager: This cool little tool sits on your desktop and will retrieve all of your frequent flier account info, hotel frequent stay info, and tons of other points programs simultaneously from over 120 different online accounts.

That’s it! It really is that simple. If you have a business or even if you decide to use your AMEX for personal reasons, there will always be expenses that HAVE to happen.

With this information under your belt, there’s absolutely no reason you can’t start traveling for free like me. So what are you waiting for? Happy traveling!

Read comments (0)