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.

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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

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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?

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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

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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.

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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…

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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.

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For me, it happens in multiple ways. I’m a big proponent of creating a success environment that pulls you towards your goals. I can’t always be with my mastermind so I find ways to create that energy with or without them. Listening to audio programs helps!

Two of my favorite audio programs right now are:

• David Neagle’s Art of Success CDs. David is a very powerful wealth accelerator and has a way to teaching the Law of Attraction so it actually works!
• Zig Ziglar’s Closing Secrets. I love how he tells stories to help build rapport and connect with your prospect.
• ULTIMATE Wealth & Success Circle CDs. I actually do listen to my own CD series…I hear things from my monthly wealth experts that I often miss the first time.

I’m also a BIG music person and I have over 10,000 songs on my IPOD. I’ve got the monster big 80 G video IPOD and even though it’s a bit large I love it. I take it everywhere…in the car driving errands, to the gym or when I walking on my treadmill at home and even on planes or any time that I’m just chilling out.

Because music is so important to me, a cool song can get me hyped up and back on track too. Here are a few of my recent favorites:

• My new favorite song by Natasha Beddingfeld, “Pocketful of Sunshine”. I’ve been listening to this on french fry days. The days when things are getting a bit frustrating and you are wondering if it would be easier to just go tend the counter at McDonald’s.
• “New Soul” by Yael Naim. I love this cool little song that explores what it must be like to figure out how to be human and deal with each other’s idiosyncrasies.
• “Clumsy” by Fergie. I don’t know what it is but I just love her…maybe because she has such a smokin hot body and she has over come a lot of bad influences from her past. She has a real spiritual side to her which I like.
• Anything disco…I know, I know…but for some reason it just makes me want to dance and that lightens my mind immediately.

I also have all of my meditation CDs and the Goal-Setting and Procrastination Release tools from my ULTIMATE Success Generator loaded up. I listen to a track from these every morning to set my day in the right direction.

So what’s on YOUR IPOD that gets your head in the right place? What gets you motivated and ready for action? Feel free to share by posting your comments here.

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And I’m noticing a significant trend…

Conference producers who have all the right intentions but not the right turnout (aka not enough people show up.)

So what’s going on with that? Live events are probably one of the most significant ways to get access to the right education to turn your business around. But over and over again I find that it’s hard to get people to show up? Its not that we have a decline in entrepreneurs starting businesses as that is actually growing. And I watch the people in the room having these huge breakthroughs so I know being there works.

Here are some of the things I saw happen for people at that event:

• Learned about a strategy, tool or new way of thinking to get better results
• Made new contacts with people who can really help make things happen
• Eliminated feelings of isolation and replaced with new friendships and mentors
• Transcended the “online networking” with tools like Facebook and Twitter to having real connections with real people who actually get you and want to do business with you
• Discovered how other people are making their business successful and short cut your own path
• Tapped into the synergy and “mastermind energy” of a group and get a million dollar idea (this happened to me this weekend)
• Socialized outside of the event so that the “getting to know” part could be more real (hence, connections that survive beyond the biz card exchange.)

I can probably make a list a mile long of the benefits of live events. So what keeps people from accessing this kind of resource? I’d love to hear your thoughts…

• Is it too many choices for what to invest your time and money in?
• Not clear from the event materials why you should come?
• Afraid to spend the money to travel?

What could possibly keep you from attending an event in person with all these possibilities? Anyway, I’m on a bit of a rant but I am curious and would love to hear your input. No matter how hard we all try to make online learning and networking a valuable tool, there just is no way to replace what can happen  in person.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts by commenting on the blog…I’ll post mine after I hear from you…

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