I LOVE that most people don’t work on weekends.

Less people emailing, calling, texting, Skyping, Tweeting, and swinging by my office (Starbucks) usually leads to far greater productivity.

My weekends are usually spent in education & contemplation. Reading, planning, envisioning.

Right-brained tasks, rather than left-brained tasks. Working ON the business, rather than IN the business.

Without distraction, the mind of an entrepreneur is free to see it’s pursuits from 30,000 feet. To recognize strengths, weakness, opportunities, & threats that are obscure from a narrower perspective.

But it got me thinking,

Why does it have to be this way?

Why do emails, calls, and other channels of distraction have to be SO distracting from Monday to Friday (or ever)?

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Posted on Saturday, 1st August 2009 in Business, Life | Comments (6)

I recently had one of the best surf sessions I’ve had in a LONG time.  By “best” I mean most satisfying… stoke-inducing… I don’t know.  If you haven’t surfed, it’s hard to translate the feeling.

Just think of what activity turns you on the most & think of the BEST session you’ve ever had of that activity.  A time that, when you think about it 2 weeks later, still has you excited.

(I realize where you may be headed with the above exercise, but let’s move on. Perv.)

As I’ve processed what it was about this session that made it so special, I realized there are 2 lessons that can be applied to life & business.

1) Big steps of faith reap big rewards

This day was big. Big enough to make an experienced surfer’s heart race.

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Posted on Monday, 30th March 2009 in Business, Faith, Life | Comments (15)

“May heaven describe you as one of those rare people who live to achieve Great Things for the glory of God.”

That’s the closing sentence of Bruce Wilkinson’s The Dream Giver. Read it again slowly.

“May heaven describe you as one of those RARE people who live to achieve Great Things for the glory of God.”

It truly IS a rare thing, isn’t it?

To know someone — ANYone — who is unquestionably living their Dream, achieving tremendous success in this life, and radiating Christlike-ness every step of the way.

That’s my life’s mission: To qualify as that rare breed, and to help others qualify as well.

A while ago, I heard the brilliant Ken Glickman paint the following picture of life… Read the rest of this entry…

Posted on Sunday, 22nd March 2009 in Books, Life | Comments (12)

Ever since I completed Eben Pagan’s Wake Up Productive training, I’ve been fascinated by this idea of the “morning success ritual” as it relates to productivity in life.

(Eben is one of my business mentors & if you haven’t checked out his program, I highly recommend it.)

The “morning ritual” idea seems counter-intuitive at first… spending valuable time first thing in the morning on things that don’t necessarily produce tangible results.

For example, Eben spends at least 2 hours every single day on things like stretching, positive affirmations, making a smoothie (ingredients to remain top secret), and the particularly brow-raising ritual of warm water sinus rinsing.

That’s before he ever THINKS about doing a single work-related task. And this guy runs a $24 Million a year business with 108 employees (all working from home, by the way)!

But it’s precisely these types of rituals — accomplished during the most important part of the day — that prep your mind for maximum performance when it IS time to work.

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Posted on Thursday, 5th March 2009 in Life, Real Estate | Comments (16)

I’m popping in quickly from Tampa, Florida and Dan Stojadinovic’s 4th Hype-Free “Internet Marketing and Joint Ventures Bootcamp.”

Dan is President of the Tampa Bay real estate investors’ association, and I’m blessed to know him and have the opportunity to speak regularly at his events.

Teaching real estate investors how to add a profit stream through internet marketing has become Dan’s passion. And in an economy where seminar-holders are SERIOUSLY struggling to fill rooms, Dan has again pulled off a tremendously successful seminar.

I consider this an extreme testiment to the credo that:

Your biggest asset is your list (.. of prospects, buyers, etc) and the real opportunity is in your relationship with that list.

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Posted on Saturday, 21st February 2009 in Business, Life, Real Estate | Comments (5)

This video has been around for a while, but I just came across it again.

It’s a little overly dramatic for my tastes, but give it a chance. It started really hitting home for me around minute 2.

Sidenote: The mention of “Santa Clause” is unnecessary. I have no problem with the big guy.

Many who have the entrepreneurial flame inside them do everything they can to escape the prison of 9-to-5 only to find themselves an even tougher prison of 9-to-9 (or longer).

It can quickly seem like we’re treading water deeper & deeper below the surface where freedom of time & money await.

The popular cliche is that “time is money.”

Read the rest of this entry…

Posted on Thursday, 6th November 2008 in Business, Faith, Life | Comments (2)

My wife & I just spent our Saturday night working on her new business plan (Tagline: “Hawaii’s Natural Fitness Experience” .. it’s going to rock the tourist industry in Spring ‘09!) and talking through Proverbs 4.

If you’ve read some of my past blog posts, you know how strongly I feel about the importance of the book of Proverbs when it comes to life and business as an entrepreneur.

If you’re looking for the single most important skill or quality to master — one that’s going to ENSURE your success as an entrepreneur — it’s wisdom alone.

Not ideation… not management… not communication… not marketing.

It’s wisdom that informs your thought and execution in all of these other areas, and it’s wisdom that should be painstakingly, passionately sought above all else.

The book of Proverbs is a collection of writings from the second wisest man who ever lived, Solomon, so it’s a good place to start your pursuit.

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Posted on Saturday, 25th October 2008 in Business, Faith, Life | Comments (4)

This will be my last Big Seminar-related post. Sorry.

Or you’re welcome. Whichever applies.

For the benefit of myself and anyone else who’s trying to grow a business, real estate or otherwise, here are my top takeaways from each of the marketing masters I learned from last weekend.

Joe Polish - “Stop spending time on things that don’t increase either (a) your capabilities or (b) your opportunities in life.”

You can NOT make $1 million/year with $50,000/year habits, knowledge, and relationships. If you don’t develop the habits, relationships, skills, capabilities, and the mindset… you might as well forget it & keep buying lottery tickets, checking email, watching cable, and surfing the internet.

Stephen Pierce - “The biggest success secret ever: Give More LIFE To More PEOPLE”

Have a SYSTEM that finds, gets, keeps, and grows customers (buyers, sellers, lenders, renters, etc). The key to finding, getting, keeping, and growing is *adding value to their lives*.

Eben Pagan - “The #1 priority in business today is to reduce and eliminate distraction and interruption.”

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Posted on Saturday, 11th October 2008 in Business, Life, Marketing | Comments (2)

I just finished Mark Joyner’s simpleology on the 8-hour flight home today. I find it amusing that the process it took for me to read the book goes against the very nature of the book’s concluding principles.

From start to finish it took me about 30 days to read this thing.

I read for about an hour on a flight last month, another hour from my parents’ house 2 weeks later, and two more hours today to wrap it up.

Of course, along the way were countless distractions that took 100% of my attention away from the book’s message.

Each time I went back to pick up where I left off, I wasted time as I reread previous points I highlighted and attempted to refocus my attention.

The inevitable result is a dulled message and potentially life changing principles lost through infinite channels of distraction over the last 30 days.

Read the rest of this entry…

Posted on Tuesday, 7th October 2008 in Books, Business, Life | Comments (2)

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** June 2009 Update **
Registration information JUST came out for Big Seminar ‘09!

Go here now -> http://www.BigSeminar.com

(Tickets are supposedly already half gone because Armand has been pre-selling all year at various events)

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Posted on Monday, 6th October 2008 in Business, Life, Marketing | Comments (0)