I have been getting so many questions about The CEO Factor™ Retreat that I decided to post the most frequently asked questions to help you decide if this is the right event for you. We have been busy putting all of the pieces together and launching the Manifesto and new website so until we get up all of the details for the event, here’s a sneak peak at what you’ll get when you attend The CEO Factor™  Retreat.

1. When is the Retreat?

The CEO Factor™ Retreat is scheduled for April 2-4, 2009

2. Where will the Retreat be held?

We are still working out the details and we will let you know as soon as possible; but, more than likely it will be in sunny, Southern California.

3. What exactly is a CEO?

The CEO is the Chief Entrepreneurial Officer. CEOs are the ones who give themselves a big fat permission slip to do more of what they love and what they do best…while creating new strategies to deal with the rest. CEOs are the LEADERS rather than the DOERS. They have a big vision, the ability to create amazing programs and solutions and the clarity about when to get out of the way so others can execute it. Sounds pretty great, right?

4. I have been hearing a lot of buzz about The CEO Factor™  Manifesto. Where can I get a copy of it and learn more about what it means to embody The CEO Factor™?

You can claim your copy of the Manifesto right now at www.theCEOFactorManifesto.com.

5. How many people will be at the Retreat?

We are keeping it small and opening it up to approximately 100 entrepreneurs.

6. Will you have other speakers at the Retreat?

No. You will be treated to 3 full days of intense work, exclusively with me and my amazing business partner Shawn Driscoll, where we will put a microscope up to your business and help you stop from being the bottleneck and start being the leader of the 7 & 8 figure business you had in mind when you started your journey in the first place…without killing yourself to get there!
While there are certainly occasions where events with multiple speakers all day long can be beneficial, this is not one of those times. The only thing truly on stage at this event will be YOU and YOUR Business. This event is designed to be highly interactive and experiential so we can dig deep into YOUR business and find out exactly what’s holding you back from achieving the extraordinary success you know you’re capable of.

7. Exactly who would benefit most from attending The CEO Factor™ Retreat?

This event is perfect for you if you…

• Consistently bring in mid to high 6 figures in annual revenue
• Are experiencing consistent growth & success and want your business to grow into a bigger EMPIRE
• Are the brand, star, founder and energy of your company
• Are the one bringing in the business and already have a comprehensive marketing strategy in place (even though it needs some tweaking)
• Want to leave a legacy, but also want to move on to something new
• Crave more time to enjoy your life
• Would benefit from unlocking more leverage
• Are spiritually minded, very coachable, open to learning and being led, and READY to implement, no matter how challenging it may be at first
• Don’t need your hand held and don’t require a ton of accountability to move forward
• Currently have a team of at least 3 – 5 people or more and know you need to expand your support
• Want to learn how to lead vs. how to do
• Recognize the person you’ve been up to now and the strategies you’ve used up to now WILL NOT GET YOU TO NEXT LEVEL OF SUCCESS
• Are the bottleneck and don’t know how to let go 
• Want to skyrocket your credibility factor to be “the star” of your industry 
• Need help knowing how to fund, build your team and streamline your current business model
• Are the creator, star and innovator who wants to up-level your ability to lead more effectively

And, maybe even MOST IMPORTANTLY, you are ready to be honest about what’s working and what’s not in your business and are ready to do whatever it takes, no matter how new, scary, uncomfortable, or challenging it is to achieve your business goals. 

The truth is this event is not for everyone. You see I am going to be pulling out all of the stops and giving you the top of the line tools and strategies I know will change your business forever.

Because of that, it’s important I bring together a group of entrepreneurs who are ready to play really BIG. And I mean so big that the ideas we’ll talk about will likely scare you to pieces. You’ll wonder if you’re ready for it. You’ll wonder if you’re ready to BE who you need to be to make it happen.

But that’s okay. In my book, if you aren’t feeling a little bit scared, you’re likely not playing a big enough game.

8. Ok, you’ve talked a lot about being the bottleneck. How do I know if I am being the bottleneck in my business and hijacking my own success?

Here are some ways to find out if you are being the BOTTLENECK to your own growth.

• You are the “main show”, the brand, and the sole service provider. This limits how many consulting/coaching clients you can take on.
• You are the only one who can do the marketing and oversee implementation for new ideas so you are limited to how many opportunities you can say yes to…or it never gets started in the first place.
• Your ideas and visions are huge and your team, can’t keep up. You are frustrated with how long it takes to get things done.
• When breakdowns occur YOU are ALWAYS the one to step in and solve the problem.
• You are experiencing lightening fast growth but don’t have the proper infrastructure to sustain the growth.
• Your delegation techniques are not effective. (Many of the tasks you delegate end up back on your plate to get done on time or correctly.)
• You need more people to keep up with everything but you don’t want to spend more money.  (You are in SHORT term thinking at the expense of long term growth.)
• You have the habit of learning things FIRST then delegating them.  You always have to learn it first before you hand a task off to someone else.
• Decisions have to be made by you, rather than training others how to think and make decisions LIKE you.

9. I often find that the best reason to go to events is for the networking opportunities. Will there be opportunities to network with others in a meaningful way?

Absolutely. Because this is going to be an event with such high level entrepreneurs who have so much to offer one another, I wanted to make sure I created opportunities for you to connect with each other at different points. So, this piece is built into the program in various ways. But, in addition to that, I am also putting together a special event for VIPs that will blow you away. More details on that will be coming soon!

10. Can you give me a sneak peak at what I’ll get when I attend The CEO Factor™ Retreat?

Sure. Here’s a brief summary of what you’ll get when you attend The CEO Factor™ Retreat:

• A highly interactive and experiential 3 days with tangible tools you can put into action immediately
• Live hot seats & Q&A sessions designed to help you get specific answers about YOUR business right on the spot
• A specific process for focusing on passion versus drudgery
• A step-by-step system for identifying patterns and blocks holding you back and EXACTLY what to do to get past them
• Simple and systematic ways to exponentially increase revenue and profit
• A tool to help you clarify your role as a leader and the legacy you want to leave behind
• An assessment that will help you make sure the team you have in place is the one that can take you to 7 & 8 figures
• Powerful networking opportunities between participants, including an opportunity to attend a high level VIP party with a very exclusive group of entrepreneurs
• Direct access to me and my coaching team
• Participation in a live mastermind where you will be able to implement strategies and try out tools right on the spot with other like minded entrepreneurs who will be there to support you and give you 5x the brain power you would have on your own.

11. What is the investment for this program and when can I register?

The full price ticket for this event is $3,750. However, we are offering a significant discount ($1500.00 OFF) to those who register for the event by December 31, 2008. We are also allowing each attendee to bring a partner or colleague for only $2,000.

We will be sharing a link for you to register soon but if can’t wait and you are ready to save your spot now, you can email us at info at successconnections dot com and put “Event Sign Up” in the subject box and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

12. Will you be offering affiliate commissions if I help you fill a seat?

Yes. Details on that will be available soon.

13. Will you be doing a preview teleclass to talk more about the event?

Yes. The teleclass will be held the first week of February. We will let you know more about it and how to register for it as details become available.

With Thanksgiving around the corner, I’ve been more aware of the power of gratitude. I’m going to be sharing some of the things I’m grateful for in my life and I’d love to hear about what you’re grateful for. I’ll start with my ** fun ** list.

Here’s my top 8 for today

I am grateful…

1. That election campaigns are over so we can get back to the “real news”

2. That So Cal rarely gets below 72 degrees (and yes…we pay for that luxury)

3. For my delete button that easily eliminates spam and over-zealous internet marketer emails

4. For online traffic school for those *rare* occasions when I get sloppy and break a traffic rule.:)

5. For Twitter, Facebook and some days Myspace for being a brand new compulsion/addiction for me to force myself to delegate.

6. For all of the great friends and colleagues I reconnected with recently at 2 amazing events.

7. For a team that supports my vision and encourages me to be the leader and CEO I need to be to make this business exactly what I want.

8. Chocolate. That’s it. I’m just grateful for chocolate. And for the wonderful chocolate gifts I start getting around this time of year. (PS truffles are my favorite in case you are wondering. Chocolate-covered strawberries are 2nd.)

NOW, share your list of 8!

P.S. Remember…gratitude focus helps you attract more of what you DO want. =-)

If you want to find out how to set up systems that make your success inevitable, how to hire a winning team, or how to leverage speaking to increase your visibility and your bottom line check out http://tinyurl.com/mygratitudesale right now!

Today I heard four words that almost made me weep tears of joy.

We were having a bit of a challenge with some online technology. We have this fancy form that we are asking people to fill out in order to get a Jump Start session with one of my coaches. Hopefully by the time you read this it will be working: http://www.successconnections.com/jumpstart/

And every 2 or 3 times someone filled it out something wouldn’t work. Argh!

My team had tried very hard to handle it without me. But alas, someone found me on a site and said, “Help, I can’t get this form to work!”

So being the diligent problem solver that I am, I started to troubleshoot and test the system to see what the problem was.

I called my Marketing Manager, explained the problem and said, “OK I’ll call [my virtual assistant] and see what needs to happen.” 

My Marketing Manager uttered these four words that almost made me weep… 

“I’ll take care of it!” Ahhh…..the relief in knowing that someone else is in charge. 

As a visionary, creative and leader of my empire, the last thing I need to be doing is solving technology problems. Thank goodness my team has been trained well in “owning” the problem and keeping me out of the middle. 

It’s what I call the grown up business model. It’s one where I do what I do best and leave the rest to the experts on my team. And this is the strategy that separates the “empire builders” from the rest – being able to let go and let others take charge. 

So what’s your gig – where do you get caught up in solving problems that suck your time and energy away from what you really should be doing? Love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

I have so many exciting new plans for helping you reach all of your business goals in the coming year that I can barely contain myself - one of which is going to be the most incredible LIVE event I have ever done. I will be sharing proven strategies that I’ve been using for years to build a million dollar business and integrating them with information that will literally blow your mind and make you look at your business in a whole new way. (More to come on that!)

But, in an effort to make sure that this LIVE event meets YOUR needs, I put together quick survey http://www.successconnections.com/survey/ so that you can let me know what you want. And, to show you how much I value your time, in exchange for completing this survey I am going to give you 2 audio interviews where some outrageously successful entrepreneurs like Tim Ferris, David Allen and yours truly discuss how to accomplish more in your business by increasing your productivity and
leveraging your resources. There are some serious gems in these interviews you won’t want to miss. 

All you have to do is hop on over to http://www.successconnections.com/survey/and complete the quick survey. You’ll be given the link to the audios immediately. 

Then, once I receive all of your valuable feedback, I can get busy creating the best Lifestyle Business building event of the year. 

Thank you!

Melanie

I received an interesting question from one of my Fast-Track to 6 & 7 Figure Lifestyle Business Mastermind members the other day. I thought I’d share it as I’m sure many of you have an opinion or personal experience to share here.

I just listened to the interview you had with Murray [Marder]. Great call.

Actually while listening to your story I thought about the following and I would love to hear your point of view:

You mentioned that you weren’t doing so well in the beginning, you were making less than 1000/month but this got you the kick to create something that is bigger than you ever thought it would be. And you know a lot of these successful entrepreneurs that have started from below zero and created a very successful business.

What do you think, is it necessary to been “down” there to be able to create something SO successful? Do you have to have been there to really know what it means to be an entrepreneur and have the energy to come out of the crisis and rise higher and higher?

I’d be really interested to know what you think about that. When I listen to all these entrepreneurs, then I hear that most of them started from no where or they were quite successful and then lost everything.

What if you haven’t been there and you don’t really know what it means not to know how to pay the bills etc? Do you think they don’t have it in them to succeed the same way?

looking forward to hearing from you.

Actually, I don’t believe that it is essential to fall apart, hit the bottom and go bankrupt to be a huge success. There are many people who have huge successes by simply applying a proven process and surrounding themselves with the right people, team, resources, etc.

The reason why I think we hear so much about the “breakdown-breakthrough to success” process is because typically humans are motivated more by moving away from pain than they are by pursuing pleasure. I think that is partly why those of us that hit bottom go so much higher — we can’t wait to get away from that feeling of falling apart.

What I ‘ve noticed in my eight years of coaching is that many entrepreneurs, service professionals and small business owners are not WILLING to make themselves uncomfortable to grow quickly. And playing in a comfortable place usually means limited growth. So if you haven’t gotten into a bad place, you may not have that same level of motivation.

By being at the bottom, you only have one direction to go — up!  Life in general is made up of a myriad of challenges to move through. People who are in the personal development world typically find themselves addressing their own stuff then later finding a passion to give it back to the world. So, hence, we have been to the “bottom” before we can be successful and teach/mentor/guide others.

I guess I don’t believe that you have to fall apart before you can be successful. By learning, studying and following the tools & resources from people like me you can save yourself a ton of time, money and energy by learning what works (aka I did all the heavy lifting for you.) However you may find that tough times give you more momentum — there is something bigger at stake!

I’m curious to hear other people’s thoughts?

Can I ask you a favor? It’s time to start promoting my popular high level Fast Track coaching program but I can’t decide on a title for the Preview Teleclass Series. That’s why I need YOUR vote. Here are the top 5 so far. Of course if you have any other ideas, those are welcome too! Choose the one you think is most compelling or write your own. (Create the one that wins and you get a prize!)

1. From Mediocre to WOW! How to Put Your Business on the Fast Track to Success
2. Who Else Want to Be On the FAST TRACK to Financial Wealth and Freedom?
3. How to Make Huge Leaps in Your Small Business…in Just 6 Months!
4. The Fast Track to a Real Lifestyle Business: 4 Keys to Creating your 6 & 7 Figure Lifestyle Business
5. The 4 Secrets to Creating a 6 & 7 Figure Lifestyle Business
6. The Real Secrets of 6 & 7 Figure Lifestyle Businesses…How to Create the Business & Life You’ve Always Dreamed About

From my weekly Dan Kennedy email. I thought it might be inspiring for some of us who get caught up in the “down economy” message that the media is focused on right now.

Said the little red rooster, “Gosh all hemlock. Things are tough.
Seems worms are getting scarcer, and I cannot find enough.
What’s become of all those fat ones is a mystery to me;
There were thousands through that rainy spell – now where can they be?

The Old Black Hen who heard him didn’t grumble or complain,
She had gone through lots of dry spells, she had lived through floods of rain,
So she flew upon the grindstone, and she gave her claws a whet,
As she said “I’ve never seen the time that there weren’t worms to get.”

She picked a new and un-dug spot; the earth was hard and firm.
The little rooster jeered, “New ground? That’s no place for a worm!”
The Old Black Hen just spread her feet, and she dug both fast and free…
“I must go to the worms,” she said, “the worms won’t come to me.”

The rooster vainly spent his day, through habit, by the ways
where fat round worms had passed in squads back in the rainy days.
When nightfall found him supper-less, he growled in accents rough,
“I’m as hungry as a fowl can be. Conditions sure are tough.”
He turned to the Old Black Hen and said, “It’s even worse with you.
For you’re not only hungry, but you must be tired too.

I rested while I watched for worms, so I feel fairly pert;
But how are you? Without worms too? And after all that work?”

The Old Black Hen hopped to her perch and drooped her eyes to sleep,
and murmured in a drowsy tone, “Young man, hear this and weep:
I’m full of worms and happy, for I’ve dined both long and well.
The worms are there as always – but I had to dig like hell!”

Oh, here and there red roosters still, are holding sales positions.
They cannot do much business now because of ‘poor conditions’,
but soon as ‘things’ get right again, they’ll sell a hundred firms –
meanwhile the old black hens are out and gobbling up the worms.

This week I had a lot of tough decisions to make. In my Platinum Inner Circle program we call this “putting your big girl panties on.” (Sorry guys, it was on a magnet that someone gave me and it just stuck.) As a business and lifestyle coach, I see it as my main duty to follow the advice I give my clients.

I realized that there were some things piling up that were starting to get toxic and very distracting. Constantly I was ruminating in my head how to handle the situation. And yes, I even was a bit concerned about some of the decisions from a financial perspective — if I do this, will I lose this client — kinda thing.

But at the end of the day, I had to do what was best for me, my clients and the world around us. I call it the win-win-win decisions. If one person is losing in that equation then on some level we are all losing.

What I realized throughout this process was that I’m a business owner and every day I’m going to be faced with challenges. How I DECIDE to handle the challenges will dictate my experience. If I ruminate and worry, I’ll feel bad and my energy will go down the drain. If I “buck up” and make the best decision I can from a place of love, compassion and integrity while doing what I need for my business, then everyone wins — whether they realize it or not.

So far I’m through 5 of the 8 big decisions. I’ve got a few more to go. I choose to handle a few of the yucky ones first to get them handled and clear the energy. I’ve got another yucky conversation tomorrow and then a couple of scary-exciting decisions as I add someone to my team to manage my business development and map out some really big financial incentives for this role.

Interestingly enough as I have tackled these “yucky” situations I feel like someone is lifting rocks off my head. The pressure of what could happen is being replaced with victorious wins for both parties. Not once did someone yell at me or even feel angry but rather all concerned felt relieved and excited about the decisions.

It’s amazing what we make up in our head and project about what could happen vs. staying present to what is real.

I call this being a grown up business owner. We have to be willing to make the tough choices that continually align us with our desired outcomes and release the people, situations and opportunities that are not in alignment. Even when you want to run and hide…tackling the decision head on actually gives you more energy and power.

Here are a few questions that might help you make the decision:

• What is it costing you to keep this situation/person in your life? Money? Time? Energy? Lost opportunities?
• What is the worst case scenario? Best case scenario?
• What are the pros and cons of the situation? Are you willing to live with the cons in order to have the pros?
• If you had a million dollars, what decision would you make today?
• What would your [mentor/coach/role model] do to solve this problem?

So what tough decision do you need to make that will free up some energy and momentum? Would love have you share it here…

Not to long ago I signed up for a 9 week course that a friend of mine was putting on. I had all the best intentions to download the course and follow along…but I didn’t. Over the weekend I finally finished downloading all the materials …and…then nothing. I got sidetracked again.

I realized this wasn’t the first time for me. I did the same thing with Mark Joyner’s Simpleology. I also never finished listening to all the CDs from Nido Quebin (they got kind of boring so that’s my story on that one.) And I’m sure there are a few more somewhere that got started and never finished. And its not like this is a $25 book I buy from Barnes & Nobles on a whim that never gets read. These programs can be quite a chunk of change!

And then it occurred to me.

This is what happens to 90% of people who invest in some kind of self-study or virtual learning. We invest with all the right intentions but then we get busy with life and forget to follow through. 17 binders of information products later, they sit, stacked on a shelf or in boxes in a corner of our office, waiting for that day when we actually have time to do something with it.

The funniest story I ever heard was from a woman who had invested in my Virtual Team Building program. She was feeling “buyers remorse” with yet another purchase. She explained that she had invested in over $20k worth of programs in the last 2 years and recently just put them all on ebay and sold them. After helping her see some ways to break that pattern by actually implementing our program…she agreed not to put mine on ebay. =-)

Why do people invest in programs they never use? What is this compulsion we have to learn more stuff? What keeps people from following through on their commitments in an online program?

What I realized is that most self study type programs are not designed to keep people engaged. When you consider the avalanche of emails that we receive daily to the constant fires that we encounter that must be handled immediately, spending time on a self guided program tends to fall by the way side.

So what can you do as a participant to keep yourself engaged so you actually get a good return on your investment? Here are 4 insights I discovered by running my own experiment:

1. Get reconnected to the why. Why did you originally invest in it? What was the problem you wanted solved? I’m sure that didn’t go away magically.
2. Create a schedule to complete the program. If you paid $10k for an MBA would you not go to class? Well, if you went to San Diego State you might not but that’s not the point. Treat it like a class you have to attend live every week in order to “pass” and you’ll create a stronger connection to completing it.
3. Set up accountability. Too often the program shows up in the mail but there is no guidance or support for it. Get a business or success coach to hold you accountable or get a buddy to support you with weekly commitments. One of the ways we support our clients is we include a membership in our coaching community so they can get access to live support.
4. Delegate it. Just because you bought it doesn’t mean you have to learn it. I’ve given members of my team different programs that I want them to learn. If they are responsible for the strategy they might as well benefit from your investment too.

The most important thing is to not let too much time go by. The more time that passes the less painful the cost of not completing it. Its too easy to forget that you wasted that money. MAs the Nike commerical says, “Just do it!” Get going. Take yourself to coffee for an hour and just start the program. You’ll be glad you did later.