This post is a recap from my most recent reading of The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.  The book had a profound impact on me, yet as life went on, the message faded from my brain.

I recently decided I needed to revisit the message in the book.  As I began to reread the book, It made me realize just how often I lose my true north.

This is not the type of book that you read just once.  It is a reference manual for life, and should be referred to and reflected on often.  I realize now I made the mistake of reading this book and putting it back on the shelf.  I have decided to read this book quarterly to keep my goals in line.  Also, I will also review each of The Four Agreements every morning when I write out my gratitude journal.

Let’s start with an overview of The Four Agreements, and then we can dive into each agreement individually.

Overview Of The Four Agreements

The Four Agreements starts off with a history of where the agreements originated from, which was group known as the Toltecs.

The Toltecs were an ancient civilization going back as far as the 10th century, and originated in Mexico.  They were a group of men and women who formed a society to foster the knowledge of the ancient ones, according to Ruiz.

The book then continues to describe how the entire world is made up of dreams.  The individuals dreams, along with the family’s dreams, the community’s dreams, all the way to the dreams of the entire humanity.  Ruiz goes on to say that we are born with the capacity to dream, and that the humans before us teach us to dream in the way society wants us to.

Basically, from the time we are born, the world around us is trying to domesticate us and teach us how to think, what to believe, and how to live.  Ruiz states this as the adults hooking the attention of the children as a way to push their rules and beliefs on them.

Once our attention is hooked, we are taught what is right and wrong, what is good and bad, what is pretty and what is ugly, and so on.

These then become our beliefs.  They become this Book Of Law, according to Ruiz.  We judge everything and everyone against this Book Of Law.  In this regard, we act as the judge.  Every agreement we are taught go into this book, even if they go against our inner nature.  These agreements begin to rule our dreams.

The Judge And The Victim

However, we also judge ourselves against this Book Of Law.  Every time something goes against this Book Of Law, our inner judge tells us we are guilty, we need to be punished, and we should be ashamed.  According to Ruiz, we do this to ourselves and others many times throughout each day.

As such, we then become the victim to this way of thinking.  Our inner dialogue begins to say “Poor me, I am no good,” and the judge inside of us agrees and reinforces the thought process.

All of this is based on a belief system that was handed to us, but we never chose to believe.  We were programmed to believe this is how we should think, behave, and act.

The book goes on to say that we have made all these agreements with ourselves and others just to fit into this false system of beliefs that have been forced on us.  These negative agreements take away our positive energy and force us to focus on our negative energy and the negative energy of others.

If we want to get back on the path of joy and happiness, we just need to follow four simple agreements with our selves…

The First Agreement: Be Impeccable With Your Word

Ruiz states this first agreement is the most important one, and also the most difficult to honor.  Ruiz believes this agreement is so important, that with just this first agreement, you will be able to transcend to what Ruiz calls heaven on earth.

It is stated in The Four Agreements that your word is the power that allows you to create.  Your intent manifests through your word.  Everything you think, dream, feel, and who you really are will all be manifested through your word, according to Ruiz.

Your word is so powerful, it can change a life for the better or destroy the life of millions.  Thinking back, I recall one of the speakers from Grant Cardone’s 10X Conference saying this exact statement.  When you take a moment to think about it, you realize just how true this is.  In fact, Hitler used his words to begin the process of destroying millions of lives and reshaping the world as it was known then.

Be Impeccable

Ruiz then goes on to explain why the word impeccable is so important.  Impeccable comes from Latin and translated to “without sin.”   Consider sin to be anything you do which goes against yourself.  You go against yourself when you judge or blame yourself for anything.  Being impeccable is the opposite, and it means not going against yourself.  Ruiz states, “When you are impeccable, you take responsibility for your actions, but you do not judge or blame yourself.”

The book states that sin begins with self rejection, and self rejection is the biggest sin you can commit.  Ruiz goes on to say “self rejection in religious terms is a mortal sin and leads to death.  The opposite of this is being impeccable, which leads to life.”

You must be impeccable with your word when it comes to others.  However, you must also be impeccable with your word when it comes to yourself.  Only you can allow your words to form beliefs about yourself.

The Second Agreement: Don’t Take Anything Personally

According to Ruiz, the next three agreements come directly from the first one.

You shouldn’t take anything that happens around you, or that anyone says to you or about you personally.  As soon as you do, you allow their poison to enter your world.

Every person lives in their own world and you live in yours.  Their world is made up of their dreams, and yours is made up of your dreams.  As soon as you take what they say personally, you allow their world to take control of yours.  Along with that, you are now trying to impose your world into theirs.

When someone says something, even if it is directed at you specifically, it is coming from the agreements they have made and the programming they have undertaken.

Even a direct insult is something they are struggling with in their own world, and are just trying to spew their poison into your world.  If you take this personally, you are allowing them to enter your world.  You are taking their garbage and making it a part of you.

The key word in the Don’t Take Anything Personally agreement is the word “anything.”

This also related to someone complimenting you.

If someone tells you “You are a beautiful person,” you should not take that personally either.  The reason for this is you know you are a beautiful person.  You don’t need anyone else’s opinion to believe this.

The Third Agreement:  Don’t Make Assumptions

Ruiz states “We have the tendency to make assumptions about everything.”

The problem with this thought process is we believe these assumptions to be true.

The act of making assumptions is the act of begging for problems.

Consider this all too common scenario that Ruiz covers in the book: “We make assumptions about what others are doing or thinking — we take it personally — then we blame them and react by sending emotional poison with our word.”

Ruiz goes on to state “All the sadness and drama you have lived in your life was rooted in making assumptions and taking things personally.”  Consider this for a minute.  Think about how much happier we would be if we didn’t make assumptions about other people and instead took the time to ask more questions.

We aren’t immune to making assumptions about ourselves, either.  Ruiz states that we overestimate and underestimate ourselves.  We don’t take the time to ask ourselves the important questions, and we end up lying to ourselves about what we truly want.

The Fourth Agreement:  Always Do Your Best

The final agreement is to always do your best.  This agreement is about taking action and allowing the first three agreements to become deeply ingrained in you, according to Ruiz.

By always doing your best, no matter what, you become free from having to judge yourself.  Without that self judgement, you will not need to subject yourself to all the guilt, shame, and punishment we put ourselves through.

Most people only take action if there is a reward attached to it, such as going to work in a job or career they aren’t passionate about.  The whole process becomes difficult to them because they are usually just doing enough to get the reward, but they are not doing their best.

If you want to have a productive and happy life, you have to approach it every day with intensity.  The best way to draw this intensity from within is to commit to doing your best…always.

Ruiz goes on to say that doing his best has become a ritual.  It has become a ritual because he chooses to make it part of his belief system.

The Challenge

I challenge you to join me on my quest to live out each day by always doing your best.

It won’t be easy.

There will be times where you and I are going to feel like half-assing it.

Find someone who will keep you accountable to always doing your best.

In doing so, it will allow us to take the action we need to take to live out the rest of The Four Agreements, and ultimately live a peaceful and happy life.

Until next time…be well.

 

 

Here we are, the final notes from our trip to Grant Cardone’s 10 Conference 2.  I feel like this is the day I took the most notes, so be prepared as this may be a long post.

If you missed the notes from day 1, you can read them HERE.  If you need to catch up on the notes from day 2, you can read them HERE.

Okay, let’s get started…

Grant Cardone

Being as though this was Grant’s conference, it makes sense that he spoke multiple times.  Here are his notes from day 3…

• Do what you have to do to get bigger than life.
• People that are comfortable are selfish people.
• You have to put your primary focus on income and disregard anything else.
• Stop giving yourself titles.  What titles are you giving yourself?
• Titles are limiting.
• How can you produce if you are worried everyday.
• The average American makes $58,000 per year.
• Middle class is doomed.
• If you like something you should pay for it.
• Every disappointment you’ve had in life is the result of you not making a sale.
• Never go anywhere with just one quarter (expand on this in a blog post).
• You need big money dreams.
• Every time you appoint blame to someone else, you are in trouble.
• 64% of all businesses in America break even or lose money.
• You don’t need therapy, you need to take action.
• The healing is in the doing, not in the thinking.
• It’s not that people have more than me, it’s people doing more than me.
• You have to use debt to blow up your business (good debt).
• Replace the excuses with the truth.
• It doesn’t take money to make money, it takes courage.
• A big life is about people, not money.
• Your job is to get 8 Billion people to know you and do business with you.
• You need big problems.
• You can either 1) Take no action.  2) Retreat) 3) Take average action 4) Take massive action.
• It is not about the law of attraction it is about the law of action.

Micheal Burt

From his website (www.coachburt.com ): Coach Micheal Burt specializes in coaching aggressive-minded companies and individuals in highly commoditized and saturated markets to achieve new levels of success.  Let’s get to the notes…

• Everybody needs a good coach in life.
• Attract business vs. chasing it.
• Objection is just opposition of thought- you need conviction to overcome it.
• Revelation, conviction, take action.
• Everyday with your current clients is an interview for your next clients.
• Monster Producer: a legendary person who brings together multiple skills to dominate their market.
• Go for the mentor over the money.
• On the other side of short-term pleasure is deeper intimacy w/your own potential.
• Learn how to leverage your past to build your future.
• Dominate focus= a single outcome you want to achieve in a 12 month window that you look in a 30 day window.
• Monsters think in multiples.
• Are your kids seeing you hit your potential?
• Every person should write their own book…if life is worth living, it should be written down.
• Study one person and go deep with that person.
• What are your hard skills?  What problems can you solve?
• Heart=love
• Body=live
• Mind=learn
• Spirit=connect to your higher power
• Who would write you the largest check to pay you for your hard skill?
• Your hard skill is transferable.
• “What do you think we do?”
• Have a hit list…people that can benefit from your service.
• Sales:  people do business with people who believe the same things you do.
• Your prospect has a missing structure.  You create a process to solve it.  There will be a predictable outcome.
• Are you playing to win, or are you playing not to lose?  When you play not to lose, you always will.
• When you think small, you take small actions.
• When you hang with small thinking people, you begin to think small.
• Intentional Congruence= everything feeds everything.

Lori Harder

The next speaker at Grant Cardone’s 10X Growth Conference 2 was Lori Harder.  Lori is a leader in the fields of fitness, transformation, mindfulness, and self-love (taking from her website: www.loriharder.com).  Let’s get to the notes.

• Your are either always moving forward or you are regressing.
• There will always be pain and resistance.
• Alignment is the process of checking in with your inner truth to make sure you are on the path you are supposed to be on.
• Alignment is radical commitment.
• We have unlimited abundance, we just have to keep unkinking the hose.
• 3 Areas to align in: 1) Mindset/Spirituality 2) Health 3) Tribe
• You are a soul having a human experience.
• If we aren’t checking in we are probably living someone else’s life.
• A belief is just a thought you keep on thinking…it is just reprogramming.
• If you are depressed, you are living in the past.  If you are anxious, you are living in the future, if you are at peace, you are living in the present.  1) What do I need to feel safe? 2) What action do I need to take to feel better? 3) Am I being grateful for all the good I have in my life today?
• Your environment is stronger than your willpower.
• (Meal) Is this a plate of energy and life, or is this a plate of lethargy and sabotaging my vision?
• A tribe is a soft place to land.
• Your joy and happiness is not a nice thing to have, it is your compass.

Grant Cardone

• Everyone should be in the front row (VIP).
• You need to connect with Power.
• Never deny a man or woman in power.
• Push power to power, and ignore everyone else.

Tim Storey

Tim Storey is an author, speaker, and life coach.  He works with everyday people, as well as celebrities, athletes, and VIP’s.  Here are the notes:

• The real you has been trying to make a demand on the person you have become.
• 3 levels of living 1) Almost 2) Most 3) Utmost.
• When you are stuck in an almost life, you become a discount version of yourself.
• You were never built to be regular, which is why regular doesn’t feel good to you.
• Two ways to discover magic… conversation and observation.
• Once you have touched the fire, you can not live in the smoke.
• Most people’s lives are in 4 categories: Mundane, Messy, Madness, Magical.
• One word can shift your whole life.
• Like produces like
• To get out of the first 3 levels you must chase the desire.
• To get out of the first 3 levels you have to be hungry to be the person God intended you to be.
• To get out of the first 3 levels, you need to be disciplined.
• 2018 is your set up year.  2019 you are taking over.
• You must believe in, expect, and receive miracles.
• Then you start to become a miracle attractor.
• Then you become a miracle releaser.

Lewis Howes

Lewis Howes is a best-selling author, speaker, podcaster, and entrepreneur.  You can learn more about him on his website: www.lewishowes.com. His talk was on how to build a celebrity personal brand.  On to the notes…

• Live your dreams and lifestyle, and build your business around it.
• You have to invest in your personal brand, and build a massive audience in order to build a scalable business.
• 5 Keys to building a personal brand and audience:
• 1) Relationships:  Are you the king of diamonds, or king of hearts?
• 2) Consistent Content: Don’t launch if you aren’t thinking long game.
• 3) Promotion and Press: How can I elevate my message so the press will have me on? Local, then regional, then national, then global.
• 4) Epic Design and Branding: Design needs to match the brand.
• 5) Unique Product: How can you stand out and be different?
• You to constantly be creating more products.

Elena Cardone

Elena is Grant’s wife, and most likely, the glue holding the whole empire together.  Enough said.  Here are the notes.

• You are either building and empire or you are destroying one.
• It takes discipline and purpose to rise above the average relationship.
• If you want your relationship to last, focus on the future.
• You can’t build all day, then come home and destroy it…and still hit your target.
• Normal is dangerous.

Tim Grover

The final speaker at Grant Cardone’s 10X Growth Conference 2 was Tim Grover. Tim, www.timgrover.com, is the authority on the art and science of achieving dominance and excellence.  He is an author, speaker, and private coach to Michael Jordan, Dwayne Wade, Kobe Bryant, and many other top athletes.  He came out on stage and said “I am the king in the building.”  That should tell you everything.  On to the notes…

• I don’t have a problem with it, you do.
• You must practice repetition.
• Read Relentless, to get back permission to be who you really are.
• The house of greatness does not have the word try in it.
• You don’t tolerate from the winners what you don’t tolerate from the losers.
• When you are good, you tell everybody else.  When you are great, they tell you.
• To catch greatness, you have to 1) pass average and 2) pass great.
• You can’t get so caught up in someone else’s stuff that you forget yours.
• To get to greatness, you need to take pleasure in the details.
• The road to paradise starts in hell.
• Everyone needs to have a fuck you moment.
• Don’t give out compliments that aren’t earned.
• There are no guarantees.
• Hard work and talent do not guarantee success.
• The $100 bill concept.  You’re self-worth is determined by yourself, not anybody else.
• You’re best friend should not be too friendly.
• The most successful individuals have the most self-control.
• You can’t control what people say, but you can control your response.
• Empower your dark side.  Most people spend all their time fighting their true self.
• Success creates distance between you and others.
• Think twice before you give a fuck.
• Most people don’t give a fuck about you unless you can do something for them.
• Hit the DELETE button.
• Are you a cooler, closer, or cleaner?
• A cooler reads the story.
• A closer tells the story.
• A cleaner changes the story.
• There is always more to do.
• Everybody has the ability to change their story, but you need to put something on the line.
• Your entire lists should be #1’s.
• The most successful people have small circles.
• If you are going to win, win it.  If you are going to lose, lose it.  Don’t let anyone else choose it for you.
• Emotions make you weak.
• When you panic, you don’t think straight and you make bad decisions.

Well, that was all the notes for the entire three days.  It was a lot to take in, and some of these may not make sense to you.  That’s okay, I will be expanding on key concepts in future posts.  In the meantime, thanks for taking the time to read through these posts!

 

Welcome to Day 2 of my notes from Grant Cardone’s 10×2 Growth Conference 2.  If you didn’t get my notes from day 1, you can see them HERE.

This was another action packed day of top speakers in their respective industries.  My biggest take away today was learning more about ClickFunnels.  In fact, Cindy and I were so impressed with the software, we bought a year-long subscription to it.  We will  be implementing funnels in the majority of our businesses, especially the real estate ventures.

Since I joined, I was able to become an affiliate.  Currently, ClickFunnels is offering a free 14 day trial.  You can test drive it HERE, and see if it is a good fit for your business.  On to the notes….

Russell Brunson

Russell is the founder of ClickFunnels.  He gave an amazing presentation and sold almost $3 million worth of software from the stage.  To say he gave extreme value is an understatement.  Here are the notes:

• A funnel is the vehicle to  10X your company over the next 12 months.
• The life and relationships you want will be fueled by the business you build.
• Whoever spends the most money to acquire a customer wins.
• If you want to succeed in life you must find a way to model those who have already succeeded.
• The script you need to follow is Who, What, Why, How: Who are you?  What do you have for these people? Why do they need it? How do they get it?

Russell then deep dived how to “hack” your competition and find out their top traffic sources.  That was an entirely different section of notes, and I will do a separate post on that in the future.

 

Ezra Firestone

Ezra is one of the leaders in the E-commerce space.  He is a Shopify master, and offers courses, a podcast, and more on his website, www.smartmarketer.com.  Let’s get to the notes:

• Millennials will be driving the economy for the next 10-15 years.
• Brands usually have ONE visibility source that is consistent.
• To have consistency and scalability you need to be able to turn advertising into profitability.
• Old advertising was query based, new advertising is contextual.
• Today you need a story.
• Touching is taking over.
• People are consuming in short waves of time, but more frequently.
• People are moving to bigger devices to make purchases.
• Avg person has 194 channels they are consuming from.
• Today, FB and IG are the best source of visibility.
• You are going to need to have multiple touch points to make a sale.
• Your core platform and any funnels you create are simply a conversion of assets working in concert.
• Native video ad is the best way to convert currently for top of funnel.
• The main thing the video must do is demonstrate ownership benefit.
• Video should be between 30 seconds and 6 minutes.
• Your iPhone is good enough to shoot the video.
• Video should start with eye-catching intro, with pattern interrupt.  It should tell a compelling story related to problems the product solves.  Have a product demonstration and customer testimonial.
• The success of your advertising hinges on your targeting: 1) use interest and behavior stacking. 2) use best placements (ipads only connected to wifi) 3) narrow down geographically 4) use square video not rectangular. 5) mimic user behavior: awareness ads on mobile only then retarget on tablet and desktop.
• Your business hinges on your ability to have a high performing offers page.
• Product sales video plus hero shot plus CTA and content above the fold.
• 3rd party pitch videos should be professionally produced.
• USP images should be under A2C button.
• Long form, left to right content.
• Conversion is communication.
• Customer video reviews with incentives.
• Offer pages should have an offer bump.
• repetition creates mastery.

Daymond John

Outside of online marketing and sales circles, Daymond John was probably one of the most recognized speaker on stage for this year’s 10X Growth Conference.  He is the founder of FUBU clothing line, and has been a permanent fixture on the show Shark Tank.  I have read several of his books and he has quite the rags to riches story.  He has become a powerful and profound businessman and investor.  Here are the notes:

• Send out, but don’t answer email for the first hour of the day.
• Write your obituary once a year.
• Rise and Grind (start early, and this is also the title to his new book, which you can purchase HERE)
• Check out Daymond on Demand-his virtual platform.
• A Trademark is so much more important that a patent.
• Act, learn, repeat.
• Get financial intelligence.
• Many businesses fail do to OVER capitalization…too much money and they spend foolishly.

Hank Norman

Hank Norman was a TV producer turned media mogul.  You can learn more about him and what he does at his website.  His talk was about creating attention for yourself.  If you haven’t seen Hank speak, let’s just say, he is good at creating attention for himself.  On to the notes:

• It doesn’t matter what you like, it matters what the audience likes.
• Turn your personal pain into power.
• The hierarchy of pain: 1) those closest to you. 2) the environment/industry 3) you 4) connect to others.
• You need to shout your fear in public.
• You need daily live content.

Anik Signal

Anik teaches people how to profit from their passions through digital publishing.  I have seen some of his webinars, and I have always come away with value from them.  Here are his notes:

• Simplify:
• Step 1: Create- easily, quickly, automated.  Two pages = catch, commit.
• Step 2: Qualify-without ever opening your mouth: 1) intro=purpose- convince someone to engage with us.  2) Story=purpose- relationship, connection, and trust…let them hear the story of your product, not you. 3) Content=purpose- build your value and credibility. 4) Transition=purpose- answer the why. 5) Pitch=purpose- Confirm the committment…no one listens to the pitch unless they are sold.
• Step 3: Find: You can find unlimited leads on FB.
• Step 4: Nurture: To build long-term stable assets.
• Step 5: Follow Up: You must follow-up with leads.

Tai Lopez

I don’t know how best to describe Tai.  He is a partner in a business that generates over $1 Million a month in revenue (Mentorbox.com).  He has a polarized audience on social media, some hate him, some love him, they all follow him.  I was really impressed hearing Tai speak.  I was so impressed, I will be heading out to Los Angeles on April 6th to meet with him at his house for a mastermind.  Of course, that will be a post in and of itself.  Here are my notes:

• You provide the idea, let someone else do the work and split the $ 50/50.
• It is good to be a trend catcher.  By the time it catches on and there is no cynicism, it is too late.
• How to hardly work and make a lot of money:
• 1) Allies- The best ones you can find are the opposite of you.
• 2) Read The Idea statement above to your potential partner.
• 3) Make sure it is a good idea…you can’t polish a turd.
• 4) Know how to read people- Hexeco/Dark Triad personality tests.
• Faces sell…Make your website relatable.  Relatability is the #1 cognitive bias you can have on a website.
• 5) Must master marketing and branding.
• Make boss statements.  Get rid of trite statements.
• People lie, but numbers don’t.  Use numbers. (authority bias).
• You should look to do the opposite of what is working now.
• change the settings on your iPhone 8 to 60 frames per second for video.
• You need 30 solid allies…investors, partners, idea people, intro/extraverts, affiliates for marketing, etc.
• Make war with a multitude of councilors.
• In 2018 you are the general of your life, does the general do all the work? No!
• You need at least 67 days to change a habit.
• Rule of 10’s (multiply income by 10’s for huge wealth).

That was a wrap for day 2 of Grant Cardone’s 10X Growth Conference 2.  Again, this was information overload, but we loved every second of it.  As i digest my notes, I will be expanding on them in more details in future posts.  For now, stay tuned for the day 3 notes in the next day or two.

Cindy and I recently returned from Las Vegas after attending Grant Cardone’s 10 Growth Conference 2.  To say we were overwhelmed by the amount of information we took away, as well as the quality of the speakers, is an understatement.

Over the next few days, I am going to be copying my notes from the conference on to this blog for three reasons:

1. Rewriting the notes will help me better internalize the information I wrote down in the first place.
2. I will always have a digital copy available to use as a reference.
3. Hopefully I can add value to you by sharing my notes, even if some of them won’t make much sense if you weren’t at the conference.

I was able to take away so much from the event, that I became an affiliate for Grant Cardone Enterprises.  So when you see an image or click a link, there is a good chance it will be one of my affiliate links.

The good news is I will earn a small commission on any purchases made through my links.  The better news (for you) is it won’t cost you any more to use one of my links, so it truly is a win-win.

The notes I wrote are broken down by speaker.  There was only one or two speakers that I wasn’t able to get at least some nuggets from, and for those, I just won’t post anything.  Let’s get started.

Grant Cardone

First up was Grant Cardone to open the event.  He did so with his usual dramatic flair, and came down from the rafters on a platform!  Grant spoke several times over the course of the three days we were there.  Because of this, you will see him show up on several of my recaps through this series.  Here is what I took away from Grant on Day 1:

• Pay the price today, so you can pay any price in the future.
• Doing less has never solved any of my problems.
• Commit 1st and figure the rest out as you go (Reminds me of Rock Thomas’s “say hell yes, or fuck no”)
• Most people starve between the idea and the execution.
• Every decision you make should be about expansion.
• Will you expand or will you contract?
• Sales is an expansion activity.
• 10X isn’t about adding time, it is about being unreasonable.
• Take time out of your idea and your monetization.
• Sales is what makes dreams a reality.
• The only reasons companies fail is they don’t sell enough products at high enough margins.
• We have too much information and not enough actions.

Jordan Zimmerman

Next up was Jordan Zimmerman.  Jordan runs a 4 BILLION dollar ad agency (Zimmerman Advertising LLC).  He’s kind of a big deal 🙂

• Dream bigger.
• Work became my sport.
• Set daily goals and write them down.
• Unprogram yourself today and differentiate yourself.
• Focus and find your passion in life.  Never work for a paycheck.
• Never say “I wish I could have, or I wish I would have,” You can.
• Every person is a brand.  Everything you do is affecting the brand called “You.”
• Time to stop thinking and start doing.
• Use fear as a fuel.
• Everything you post affects the brand called “You.”
• Clients hire you, and people want to work for you because they like, trust, and are inspired by you.
• When someone tells you “No,” no is “Yes.”
• If you are willing to sacrifice, you can do anything.
• There is no 2nd place in life, you either win, or you lose.
• Know your customer intricately well.
• Growth is unlimited.  Your brain makes you believe you are limited.
• Set your goals and objections high.
• You have to believe in yourself in order to achieve.

Gary Cardone

Next up on Day 1 of the 10X Growth Conference was Grant’s twin brother, Gary.  Gary is a serial entrepreneur with a focus on trading international commodities and e-commerce.  Here are my notes…

• There isn’t just one approach.
• If you aren’t a global player, you will not survive the future.
• Stop studying anyone who isn’t great.  Study a handful of great people instead.
• Burn the bridge so you have no choice but to succeed.
• If you are here, and you aren’t worth at least 1 million dollars in the next 4 years you are just being lazy, on the wrong team, or have the wrong message between your ears.
• Every cycle is compressing.

Ed Mylett

Next up was Ed Mylett, and he was one of the most dynamic speakers at the event.  You can check out his website here.  On to the notes…

• You weren’t born to be average, you were born to do something great.
• What do you make people feel?
• Don’t let average people get in the race to become the ultimate version of you.
• The people around you are trying to get  you to conform to average.
• Ask” “Does this (fill in the blank) get me closer to being the best version of myself or further away?”
• In business, the highest energy wins.
• The key to being truly great in business is being able to see the specialness of others.
• All great business leaders are evangelists for their cause and brand.
• You have to build a cult-like following for your business.
• There is always a harvest when you plant seeds.
• When you recruit, people are more magnetized to the environment than the money.
• Read “Selling The Dream.”
• Your obsessions become your possessions, good or bad.
• All great leaders are visionaries
• You company will never outgrow your identity and your visions, so keep thinking bigger.
• Your job as a leader is to say “Let me tell you what I see.
• Sometimes you need to velcro together your dreams and your life (like Ed did with his fake Mercedes).
• There are always false starts in business.
• Progress is power.
• Work, Effort, Execution, Drive…those are the separators today.
• What’s the price you are willing to sell out at…if any?
• In business you win with intangibles…(heart, drive, etc.)
• Poor people look at price, successful people look at the worth, so stop negotiating price.
• Always be in a crisis to be the next best version of you.
• You get too discouraged, too easily.
• Great leaders love, care, believe, and help people.
• Everyone you meet has a gift, your job as a leader is to point that out to them and help them implement it in their success.
• If my life ended right now, am I happy with the book that is my life?
• Stop giving people power that aren’t in your book (don’t allow them to be a character in your book).

Naveen Jain

I had never heard of Naveen before the 10X Growth Conference.  I found out he is the founder of Moon Express, World Innovation Institute, iNome, TalentWise, Intelius, and Infospace.  He had some tremendous ideas around what health could look like in just the near future, and I was amazed at the way his mind works.  Here are the notes:

• The moment you start to think something is not possible, it becomes impossible for only you, and not anyone else.
• You need to think so big that people tell you you’re crazy.
• As an entrepreneur, you don’t worry about the problems ahead, you just cross that bridge when you come to it…and then you burn the bridge behind you (recurring theme among speakers).
• When you “sell” someone, they get buyer’s remorse.  When you inspire someone to buy, they will thank you for it.
• All chronic disease is caused by inflammation of/in the gut.
• When looking at a big problem, you want to solve the root of the problem, not the symptoms.
• Once you become an expert in an industry, you become useless in that industry.
• Never be afraid to do something you know nothing about.

Brad Lea

Brad Lea is the creator of the Dropping Bombs podcast and owner of Light Speed Virtual Training.  Cardone University, Grant Cardone’s online sales training program, runs on Light Speed.  I have gone through the program, and it absolutely is a game changer.  In the future, I will post a review on it.  For now you can click HERE to learn more.  On to the notes…

• You have to apply what you learn or it won’t mean shit.
• Learn from the past so you can apply it to your future.
• If you don’t change the shit you’re doing, you are going to get the same shit you are getting.
• You must get uncomfortable.
• Comfort is the wrong target.
• The bad little decisions you make every day have negative impact on your future.
• When you are yourself you will attract the right people to you, when you are full of shit you will attract the wrong ones.
• It doesn’t matter if others like you.  You need to like you.
• They call it “work” because it works.
• Get your ethics straight.
• It can’t be about me, I have to make it about how to help others.
• Don’t chase success, help others succeed, success will chase you.
• You can’t scale your business if you don’t train your people.
• Don’t scale chaos.
• To train people effectively, you need 1) good content 2) repetition 3) accountability 4) practice.
• Do More.  Get Better…This is the formula for success
• When you’re wrong, you become correct.
• Money is worthless unless you spend it.  Your money is a tool to get more money.

Andy Frisella

Andy Frisella is the CEO of a supplement company doing close to $200 million a year in sales.  His talk revolved around building culture.  Here are the notes:

• Everything starts with you.
• Your customers/employees want a culture- If you don’t have the people you want it is because you don’t have a systematic way to build culture.
• People want to feel a part of something.
• Your livelihood is directly tied to other people’s productivity.
• How you do one thing is how you do everything.
• Accept responsibility and take initiative.
• What are your core values?
• Culture is the weapon against price/commoditization.
• Culture is about who you are and what you believe in.
• Learn how to communicate in the language of your core values.
• Set an objective, a mission, or an enemy of your company (having a mission is better than having an enemy)- make your mission known to the team and customers.
• When you hold people accountable, you communicate the core values they broke.
• Ask potential hires about their core values.
• Physical activities/stress builds tremendous bonds.
• Your culture can make you millions of dollars.
• When people love what you stand for, they are untouchable to the competition.
• Own up to when you fuck up.
• Become a CLEAN, CONTROLLED, KILLER:  Clean- Do the right thing.  Controlled- Everything you say or put out there is with intention- develop discipline.  Killer-Be ready to crush the competition…rip out people’s throats in business so you can win.
• Use the Power List to create habits.
• Your beliefs dictate your outcomes.

Grant Cardone

Grant concluded Day 1 of the 10X Growth Conference 2.  Here are the notes…

• Want to write a book?  Sell it before you write it.
• The Sales Cycle is 6 steps: 1) Idea 2) Attention 3) Intention {here is where you should get objections} 4) Present- a product or service that solves a problem today. 5) Proposal 6) Close
• Be intentional about closing all the time.
• Whoever gets answers to the questions controls/closes the sale.
• You have to get frequent before you get great.
• There is NO ONE thing that you can ever say or do to a person that will stop them from doing business with you.
• Stop taking so long to close.
• The importance of role play is to make you reflexive under pressure.
• Don’t practice on $$$$
• I am not buying (fill in the blank, for Grant it was his plane), someone else is.  I just have to find out who.

That was the end of day one.  You can imagine we were exhausted.  Check back in a few days to get the notes for Day 2 of the 10X Growth Conference 2.

 

Happy New Year!

Today is the first day of 2018!

We wrapped up a great year in 2017, and we are expecting an even bigger year in 2018.  In this post, I will cover a few of the highlights of last year.  We will also cover a few of our goals for this year.  I will also cover some of the things we plan on doing differently in 2018.

Let’s get started…

A Review Of 2017

2017 had some great accomplishments for us, and some great lessons learned as well.

Cindy and I did our first flip together (we had each done some on our own in the past).  We purchased two additional properties together as well.  The first property we purchased was originally set up to be a flip.  We bought it through an online auction.  After we bought it, we found out there were people living in the home.  They had no idea the property was in foreclosure (they were tenants and the previous owner never told them about the distressed situation).

Because we bought this in the winter, we didn’t want to displace them at this time of the year.  We ended up giving them a one year lease.  Here was a lesson learned.  Because we bought this to flip it, the property had some serious disrepair.  We didn’t want to be fixing it little by little with people living there.  This would defeat the purpose of selling a newly renovated home.  However, there were some things that continued to break down that had to be repaired.  This added to the overall cost of the property, and thus lowered our overall profits from flipping it.

Yes, we did collect rent for the year, but the rent collected did little to offset the additional carrying costs, etc.  If this happens again in the future, we will only give a 3 month lease.  Note: The tenants were month to month when we took over, so we had the option of giving them 30 days notice to move out.  We went to the other extreme, hoping to have them stay long-term but the cost of maintenance did not make this feasible and we could not renew their lease.  So now the property is vacant and we will be renovating it to have it back on the market before Spring.

Cindy and I also bought a property in the Poconos to rent out via VRBO and Airbnb.  We can use this for our family when it’s not being rented out.  This fits in great with our overall strategy of increasing our rental portfolio so we can move towards having a location independent lifestyle.

We went to various masterminds throughout the year, some of which I did a great job of documenting, some of which I didn’t.

We also travelled less than we normally do, and I think this is part do to the extra properties we purchased this year.  In fact, the only trip we took that wasn’t work related, was to Costa Rica.  I had every intention of documenting the trip, but I didn’t have a system in place to do so, and thus it didn’t get done.  That will change moving forward.

Health-wise, I really slacked.  Overall I lost 9 pounds from the start of the year, but it wasn’t consistent, and I really need to up my game when it comes to my health.

What’s Coming Up In 2018

I have big plans for the new year, and it all starts with this year’s theme: FOCUS.

I felt a bit scattered throughout 2017, and one of my goals for this year is to reign it in.  We have started and been involved in various projects over the last few years.  Some of which were showcased on this blog, some under their own brand.  Moving into to 2018, I will be consolidating these projects that fall into the following 5 categories into this website:

1. Personal Development/Mindset
2. Health
3. Career/Business
4. Wealth
5. Living An Epic Life

I will be evaluating the rest of the projects that fell outside of these categories to see if I will be pursuing them further.  Chances are, I won’t be moving forward with many of them.

I also want to get back on track with having a morning routine.  I lost track of this for some reason during the last year.  As I reflect back, I see that I could have had so much more productivity in the top areas of my life by rebuilding this habit.  Part of rebuilding this will be to do a short weekly post on this site to document the process.

I will also be stepping back into real estate sales full-time.  I have spent the last two years focusing more on business development for our team rather than my own sales.  Now that we have a good foundation for the systems we will use as a team, I can focus more on productivity.  My goal is to focus on investment properties and investors as my primary clients.  By doing so, I think this will open up some opportunities for our investment company as well.

Speaking of our investment company, we have a goal to purchase a multi family buy and hold this year.  We also want to continue with our flips, and increase the amount of projects we take on this year.  We will evaluate how things go with the short-term rental play in the Poconos, and decide if we want to continue to develop that department.

I also plan to be more consistent in building out the content for this site.  This will happen naturally by consolidating some of the other projects I am involved with into this website.  I plan to post at least once a week, and ideally 2-3 posts per week.  I will be doing more book reviews, as well as documenting masterminds I will be attending, like the 2018 10X Growth Conference by Grant Cardone.

That’s all for now, as I still have a lot more planning to do for the upcoming year.

Here is to having a healthy and prosperous 2018!

 

I just completed reading The ABC’s of Real Estate Investing: The Secrets Of Finding Hidden Profits Most Investors Miss, and I want to write a brief review on the book.  This book is part of the Rich Dad Advisors series.  Robert Kiyosaki, the creator of the Rich Dad/Poor Dad series has partnered with some of his advisors to create a line of products based on their areas of expertise.  Ken McElroy owns a large property management company, as well as millions of dollars worth of real estate.  He is an advisor to Kiyosaki on multi family properties.  He wrote this book and it is filled with actionable insights.

McElroy began his own property management company and has grown his business to include over $700 MILLION in real estate, both owned and managed.  He has helped Robert Kiyosaki both in the acquisition and management of his own investment portfolio.  You can also distill from his writing that he is a no frills type of investor, and leaves his ego at the door.  All this makes for a good virtual mentor, and I highly recommend reading The ABC’s of Real Estate Investing.

Let’s jump into what makes this book so good…

The ABC’s Of Real Estate Investing is broken down into a few main parts:

1. Thinking Like (and becoming) a true real estate investor.
2. Finding and acquiring the right property.
3. Managing the property for the most profit.

In this review, we will go over each section briefly, and give a few points from each to help you get started.

 

Real Estate Investing-Thinking Like (and becoming) A True Real Estate Investor

When it comes to real estate investing, there are a few myths that always come up.  McElroy does a great job of going through some of the more common myths, as well as showing what the truth is as well.

Myth #1:  You Have To Be Wealthy Already To Invest In Real Estate

Most people think you can’t start investing in real estate until you have a ton of money sitting in the bank.  Many people believe you need to buy investment properties in all cash, or put down significant down payments of your own money.

This simply isn’t true.

As McElroy states: “All you need is a good real estate deal that makes sense, one that has a profit potential and is build on solid financials.”  With the right deal, you can find investors to put up all the money needed to make it work.

Myth #2:  You Need To Start Small- Big Deals Are Too Risky

When it comes to real estate investing, many people think you need to follow a strict path.  They believe you should start with a condo or single family property first.  After a few of these, you buy a duplex.  After a few duplexes, you can buy a triplex or MAYBE a quadplex.  You slowly work your way up from there and in 30 years you can buy an apartment building.

They think this is the safe way.

Yes, it might be safe.  It could also be disastrous if you buy the wrong properties, whether they are 1-2 units or 100-200 units.

Many people don’t realize that on larger properties, the loans are secured by the asset itself, rather than a personal guarantee or personal finances of the investor.  There is also less risk in vacancies as well.  Think about it this way, if you have a duplex, and one tenant moves out, you lost 50% of your rental income.  If you own a 10 unit, and one tenant moves out, you have only lost 10% of your income.

Myth #3:  You Can Flip Your Way to Success, or Get Rich With No Money Down

Flipping properties is not investing.

Flipping properties is speculating.

It is not much different from day trading stocks.  While you can make some money flipping properties, you would be hard pressed to become wealthy from it.  Unless you truly scale it into a business with employees to handle on the moving pieces, it will never be a vehicle to passive income.

As far as “no money down,” this means that the majority, if not all of your property is completely financed.  Most, if not all of your cash flow will most likely be going towards the debt on the property.  In this model, if the market doesn’t appreciate, or worse, takes a downturn, you could be at risk of losing the property.

Losing properties clearly will not help you build your wealth.

There are many more myths covered in the book.  In this section, McElroy also talks about the necessity of setting goals.  Not just any goals, but S.M.A.R.T. goals.  I could write an entire post just on goal setting (and I will in the future).  For now I will just give you the basics of what SMART goals are:

S- Specific:  You must have a specific goal.  “I want to be wealthy” won’t cut it.  “I want to own 100 units in downtown Philadelphia is much more specific.

M- Measurable:  Your goal must be measurable.  “I will submit 5 offers a week on multi family buildings.”

A- Agreed Upon In Writing:  You must write your goal down, along with all the specifics and share it with your accountability partner so he or she may hold you accountable.

R- Realistic: Remember those 100 units you want to own?  Owning them by the end of the year might not be realistic if you don’t own any today.  Owning them at the end of 5 years is more realistic.

T- Time Activated:  When will you achieve your goal?  There must be a specific date, so that you can be held accountable to it.

 

Real Estate Investing-Finding And Acquiring The Right Property

Finding and acquiring the right property is a vital part of real estate investing.  It can also be completely overwhelming when you consider everything that is involved in the process.

This is one of the best secrets found in The ABC’s Of Real Estate Investing.  McElroy shows how to build a team around your goals, so that you are not doing all the work yourself.  It takes a team to be successful in business, and real estate investing should be treated like a business.

Your first step should be to determine whether or not you want a partner.  Partners can add a lot of value to your organization.  On the flip side, the wrong partner can take down everything you are working towards, so make sure you put a lot of thought into whether or not you are going to take on a partner, and who that partner will be.

The Business Team

Once you have decided on having a partner and who that partner will be, you will want to build out your business team first.  Your business team will consist of your attorney and your accountant.  Both of these team members will be invaluable to your organization.  You will want to find these team members first, because they are the foundation for the rest of your business.  They will help you establish the right legal entity for your business from the beginning, so you don’t get yourself in unnecessary trouble down the road.  They may also be able to give recommendations on other team members you will want to have on your side.

The Property Search Team

You don’t have to act alone when identifying the right property to purchase.  In fact, if you hire the right members of your property search team, they will do much of the difficult work of finding your deals for you.  Your property search team will consist of a property broker and a property manager.

Your broker will not only help you find properties, but (and perhaps more importantly) will help you understand your market.  You will want to know everything you can about a market BEFORE you buy a property.

Your property manager will help you evaluate your properties from an operational perspective.  Just because a property seems like it is a good price, doesn’t mean it is a good purchase.  A property manager will help you figure out where the current management is soft, and what you can do to increase profitability.

The Offer Team

Your offer team will be especially important in being able to expedite an offer when you find the right property.  By having this team together before you bid on a property, you will be able to save time and money, as well as out maneuver your competitors.  The offer team consists of your attorney, your lender or mortgage broker, investors, and contractors.  Your property search team may be able to refer some, if not all, of the rest of this team for you.  Depending on your attorney’s areas of expertise, you may be able to use the same attorney who helped you on the business team.

Research

You must do your research before you go out and start bidding on properties.  As I mentioned earlier, you must know your market, and ideally, your submarkets as well.  Read everything you can about the area.

Are large employers expanding?  Or are they relocating out of the area?

Is there a lot of redevelopment going on in the area?

Are new roads and highways being built to tie in areas that are considered too far away right now?

There are different levels of research that should be done during each stage of selecting the right property.  McElroy goes into great specifics on each of these levels, and who you should be utilizing to help you with the research.

Due Diligence

Once you find a property, and offer a letter of intent or sales and purchase agreement, you will go into one of the contingencies known as due diligence.  This is your opportunity to go through not only the property, but the books associated with the property (income and expenses) to make sure this is a property worth buying.  This is also the time you want to make sure you offered the right amount for the property.

For example, if you made an offer based on not thinking you had to replace the roof, but after doing your property inspection you find the roof is shot, you may have to adjust your price.  You may have to walk away altogether.  It is better to find out now rather to be saying “if only I knew” after you buy the building.  The due diligence period has a specified time frame and you must complete all your negotiations and re-negotiations before this time expires.

 

Real Estate Investing-Managing The Property For The Most Profit

McElroy concludes The ABC’s Of Real Estate Investing by showing us how to best manage our new property in order to maximize profits.  The best way to earn the most money from your property is to implement systems.  These are systems either you implement, or if you hire out the property management, your manager implements and you oversee.

At a minimum, you will have gone through the income and expenses of the previous owner during the due diligence phase.  You will have seen where there are opportunities for increasing income as well as decreasing expenses.

When you walked through the property did you notice some units may have had a great view, yet they didn’t charge a premium?

Is there room for a laundry facility on premise?

Are long term service contracts in place that can be renegotiated for a more profitable outcome?

Do all the tenants have completed criminal and credit checks on file?

These are just some of the things you will need to have in place in order to maximize the profits.  The most important part of managing the property profitably is deciding who will be the property manager.  Will it be you, or are you hiring a professional?  Make sure, either way, you have a thorough job description written out for this position.  If it is you, and you are not doing a good job, you should consider hiring a professional.  If it is a professional, and they are not holding up their end of the bargain, get rid of them.

Conclusion

I only covered a smidgen of the tips and information McElroy went through in this book.  I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to become a property investor, or for those of you who already own properties, this is a great resource to increase your profitability.  You can get a copy of The ABC’s Of Real Estate Investing by clicking HERE.

You need to Read Unshakeable: Your Financial Freedom Playbook-Creating Peace Of Mind In A World Of Volatility by Tony Robbins and Peter Mallouk.

It really is as simple as that.

End of post.

Okay, seriously though, let’s dive in to why this is an important read for anyone, regardless of where you are in your wealth journey.

I read this book in a weekend.

It is an easy read, and very easy to understand, regardless of your level of investing knowledge.

In fact, this is one of the reasons Robbins wrote it.  His previous work in this space, Money, Master The Game, was a beast of a book.  I know many people who avoided it simply because of it’ size.  That being said, it is also filled with a wealth of information and I highly recommend it as well.

Now, as far as Unshakeable goes, there is a ton of information in this book as well.

I would need to write a 3000 word post in order to cover it all.

So instead, I am going to pull out some of the main concepts and financial truths described by Robbins in this book.

First let’s cover some of the financial truths:

High Fee Funds & Money Managers Can Kill Your Returns

You hire a money manager for one reason.

You want them to outperform the market, so that you can get above average returns.

But the same way compounding interest works in your favor, it also works against you when you are pulling capital out to cover fees.  In fact, over the course of your lifetime, fees can eat up to 70% of your returns.

There Are First World Countries That Currently Have Negative Interest Rates

Believe it or not, some of the strongest financial countries in the world are experiencing negative interest rates.

These countries include Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and Japan.

This is the first time in history people actually have to pay the banks to take their money.

Recently, the finance are of Toyota recently issued a three-year bond that yields just .001%.  At that rate, it would take you 69,300 years to double your money!

You Don’t Have To Predict The Future Of The Markets To Win At This Game

The truth is, no one can predict the future of the markets consistently.

Thankfully, you don’t have to in order to come out way ahead.

You just have to understand how the game works, so you are not always reacting to the markets out of fear and emotion.  When people make financial decisions, it is usually out of fear.  This fear leads to mistakes and losses.  You need to learn how to anticipate what will happen, not just react to it.

You just have to focus on what you can control, not what you can’t (HINT this book will show you what you can control and how to do it).

There are many more financial truths throughout the book.  Now let’s get into some of the main concepts of Unshakeable.

This book is divided in 3 main sections:

1.  Your Rule Book For Financial Success
2.  Your Playbook For Wealth
3.  The Psychology Of Wealth

Your Rule Book For Financial Success

The first section of the book is all about the rules you need to know in order to master the game.  Robbins says “If you don’t know the rules of the game, how can you expect to win?”

I love this statement because it ties back into the fact that if you know who the players are, and what their agenda is, you can plan better and not have to be in a constant state of reaction.

One of the most important rules outlined in this section is also one of the simplest.  We touched upon it earlier, and it is the fact that fees matter.  Most of the time you are overpaying for underperformance.  In fact, for most individuals, you could invest in index funds and outperform 96% of the mutual funds out there.

Your Playbook For Wealth

This section of Unshakeable is your playbook for building wealth.

The first thing Robbins goes through in this section is the Core Four.  These are the key principles to help guide every investment decision you make.  The Core Four are:

1.  Don’t Lose- The best investors are obsessed with not losing money because they understand the more you lose, the harder it is to get back to where you started.

2.  Asymmetric Risk/Reward- You should be searching for those investments who’s gains vastly outweigh the risks.

3.  Tax Efficiency-  Robbins says “There is only one number that matters, the net amount you are allowed to keep.”

4.  Diversification-  You need to diversify across different asset classes.  You need to diversify within asset classes.  Also, you must diversify across markets, countries, and currencies.                  Finally, you must diversify across time.

The Psychology Of Wealth

There are two chapters to this section.  The one we will focus on for this post is the six money mistakes investors make.  To learn how to avoid them, you will need to buy the book.  The second chapter is this section is called Real Wealth- Making The Most Important Decision Of Your Life.  This chapter is best left for Robbins himself, and I am not going to go into detail for this post.  I will say this though…this chapter goes way beyond financial wealth, and it helped me realize, I want to become wealthy well beyond what money can do for me.

Okay, now lets cover those 6 mistakes I know you will avoid after reading Unshakeable.

1. Seeking Confirmation of Your Beliefs-  The best investors welcome opinions that contradict their own.

2. Mistaking Recent Events For Ongoing Trends-  Most investors buy the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time.

3. Over Confidence-  Over estimating our abilities and our knowledge is a recipe for disaster.

4. Greed, Gambling, & The Quest For Home Runs-  Victory goes to the steady survivors

5. Staying Home-  It’s a big world out there.  You don’t have to stay so close to home.

6. Negativity and Loss Aversion-  Your brain wants you to be fearful in times of turmoil.  Don’t listen to it!

Conclusion

I hope you enjoy this post as much as I enjoyed reading Unshakeable.  You can buy a copy of the book HERE.  This is my affiliate link, and even though you won’t pay a penny more for the book, I will earn a small commission that I promise to invest in my future!

As a final note, Tony Robbins created a complimentary website to go with the book that includes a podcast and a ton of free videos.  You can check it out at www.unshakeable.com.

P.S.  Tony Robbins contributes all profits from both this book and Money: Master The Game to help feed those that can’t feed themselves.  I think that is awesome.

 

 

This post is my take on an article my Krav Maga instructor had posted on Facebook.  It is, in my opinion, a set of life principles worth living by.  The original article was titled “20 Rules Of Life That Will Change You Written By Japanese Samurai 400 Years Ago.”  It originated from the website bjj-world.com, and you can read it HERE.

I will list each of the 20 rules, and add my take on it below.

But first, a little back story on this famous samurai, who originated the work.

Miyamoto Musashi

Miyamoto Musashi was an expert Japanese swordsman and ronin, who lived from 1584 until 1645.  In case you were wondering, a ronin was a samurai who wandered throughout Japan during the feudal period without a lord or master.

Musashi was not only a master swordsman, but later in life he began practicing many other arts as well.

You may be more familiar with the last work created by Musashi before he died at age 61…he is the author of The Book Of Five Rings.

Life Principle #1- You Should Accept Life As It Comes

There is no one in this world who has lived a picture perfect life.

Life comes with ups and downs.

Some are silly.  Some are serious.

Asking “Why is this happening” is a victim mentality.  Instead, understand that both good and bad things happen to everyone and you can begin to handle the bad things in a logical way, rather than reacting from emotion.

Life Principle #2- Stop Chasing Obsession To Achieve Pleasure

The life principle here is to live in the moment and enjoy life each day rather than obsessing over the chase of money, happiness, etc.

When you slow down and begin enjoying the pleasures of everyday life, such as your relationships, you will begin to feel true happiness, no matter your monetary status.

Now, I am not saying you should sell everything and live off the land, unless you want to.

What I am saying is allow wealth creation to take its natural path and enjoy the journey each step of the way with the people who mean the most to you.

Life Principle #3- Acting On An Impulsive Emotion Is Wrong

Here Musashi goes against some of today’s most popular advice, which is to follow your heart.

Musashi instead believes you should stick to your knowledge and make rational logical decisions based on your strengths rather than on the things you wish were possible.  Now, this doesn’t mean you should never listen to your heart, but if you always act from emotions, you will be reactive more than you will be acting from a position of strength.  When you are in a constant state of reaction, you will always be a step behind those who use logic instead.

Life Principle #4- Do Not Obsess Over Yourself

This is one of today’s greatest life principles because we can see this everyday in social media.

It seems as though the ego is the leading part of the mind today.

Ask yourself how many selfies you saw on social media today.

Now, ask yourself how many selfies you took of yourself today.

The world is bigger than us, and we play a very small role in it.  The more we understand our place, the smoother our lives here on earth will be.

Life Principle #5- Jealousy Should Never Rule Your Life

Many people, both rich and poor, have ruined their relationships and ultimately their lives over jealousy.

It is okay to have goals and ambition.

In fact, you are not living to your true potential if you don’t.

But when you start to covet the belongings of those around you, you must remind yourself of the work they put in to have those belongings.

Life Principle #6- Avoid Attachment To Desire

This goes in line with the previous life principle.

The more you have, the more you are likely to desire.

If you are happy with what you have today, you are more likely to attract even more in your life tomorrow.

Life Principle #7- Never Live In Regret

Of all the life principles, this was one of the hardest for me.

We all have made mistakes in our past.

These mistakes could be in business, or in relationships, but we have all made them.

I have a tendency to focus on these mistakes and really beat myself up over them.

The idea behind this life principle is that you can’t change the past, you can only learn from your mistakes.

Life Principle #8- Don’t Dwell On A Sad Separation

We will all have to deal with sadness at some point in our lives.

Whether it is the end of a relationship, or the death of a loved one, it will happen at some point.

When my dad passed away, I went through all the stages of grieving.  I probably spent way too much time in the anger stage, but that is a conversation for a different post.

I also spent a fair amount of time feeling sad, and just being down.  No matter how sad I felt, it won’t bring my father back.

The best thing I can do is celebrate his life while I live my life to the fullest.  It is the best outlook when you lose someone.  I am not saying it’s easy, but it is healthy.

Life Principle #9- Never Complain In Your Life

Musashi wants us to leave our problems in the past so they do not trap us.

Everyone complains about things from time to time.

It is human nature.

Some of us are bigger complainers than others.

What I have noticed about myself is I go into streaks where I complain much more than normal.

By being cognizant of this, and asking others to hold me accountable, I am able to keep the complaining to a minimum.

When I do so, I am much happier in my day-to-day life.

Life Principle #10- Don’t Let Lust Control Your Life

Musashi notes that we spend so much time on lustful thoughts because we are all sexual beings.

You have a choice in life.

You can base your relationships on love and qualities you find attractive in your significant others.

Or, you can jump from relationship to relationship based solely on looks and sex.  The choice is yours, but most people I know who take the latter option suffer on the inside in the long run.

Life Principle #11- Keep Your Options Open

This life principle goes against one of my favorite mottos, which is to burn the boats.

However, I just finished listening to Ray Dalio’s Principles: Life and Work on Audible.  In it, Dalio talks about the benefits of keeping a radically open mind.  He talks about the importance of understanding what is true, rather than being right.  I believe this to be in line with what Musashi was thinking in this principle as well.  I hope that this is delved in deeper in the Book Of Five Rings, which I plan on reading in the next few months.

Life Principle #12- Don’t Be A Slave To Your Surroundings

In this life principle, Musashi is referring to possessions and luxury.

He states that no material possession is more important that health and family.

There is a lot you can do with money.

However, sometimes there is not enough money in the world to overcome bad health and bad relationships with family.  Or even worse, the loss of a family member.

Life Principle #13- Being Gluttonous Is Wrong

Why???!!!

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.  I am the guy who lives to eat, not eats to live.

According to Musashi though, food should be used as fuel and only in the amounts necessary to perform.

Life Principle #14- Don’t Search For Happiness Chasing The Possessions

This principle is in line with what was stated earlier.  Happiness is not found in the possessions.

We should let go of the things that no longer serve any purpose.

Life Principle #15- Do Not Believe Something Just Because Someone Else Thinks So

I am going to refer back to Dalio’s Principles again for this one.

Dalio stated to keep a radically open mind, but to be assertive in what you believe in.  Just because someone else says something is true, doesn’t mean you should follow it blindly, no matter who said it.

Life Principle #16- Respect The Gods, But Do Not Rely Solely On Their Guidance

It doesn’t matter if you are religious.

It doesn’t matter if you believe the universe guides everything.

What does matter is that you understand you control your own destiny.

Take responsibility for both the good and bad in your life.

Life Principle #17- Do Not Fear Death

If you fear death, you will not live your life to the fullest.

We will all die at some point.

Do not die with regrets.

Life Principle #18- Do Not Use Weaponry Unless It Is Necessary

Clearly, this principle is about the use of violence.

However, we all carry a weapon with us each day and use it for both good and bad without realizing it.

That weapon is language.

Your words can be just as deadly as a gun, so think carefully about how you speak to someone.

Life Principle #19- Do Not Hold On To Things You Do Not Need Anymore.

This could mean material things.

This could also mean relationships.

Only surround yourself with positive people and positive surroundings.

Life Principle #20- Protect Your Honor

We should all have our own code of honor.  The things we believe to be moral, regardless of whether or not others believe so.

If you live an honorable life, you can live and ultimately die in peace.

Final Thought

I truly enjoyed reading the original article and doing some research on the type of human being Musashi was.

What other life principles do you live by?

Note: some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  Should you choose to utilize a link, you will not pay more for the book.

 

This post will be a review of Robert Cuesta’s Just Sign Here- How To Sell Your Knowledge, Experience, and Advice To People Who Don’t Know They Need It.  

Now, I have to admit, I almost didn’t want to write this post.

This is not because I didn’t like the book, or find it valuable.  Quite the opposite, in fact.

I read this book via Kindle, and looking back, there is digital yellow highlighter on almost every page!

As I reviewed my notes, I started to feel this post would be overwhelming. I had so much I wanted to share.   I have decided to pull out just a few of the golden nuggets that I took away from this book.  Let’s get to it.

Who This Book Is For:

When you first read the rather long title and subtitle, you of course think this is a book for salespeople.  In fact, this is one of the reasons I purchased the book.  I am always looking to improve my sales skills both for my real estate business, and the other business ventures I am involved with as well.

But as I began to deep dive into the content of Just Sign Here, I realized this book is for any professional, such as an accountant or attorney, a consultant, coach, etc.

The tools and knowledge you will takeaway from this book can be transferred to just about any industry.

Not to mention, because this book dives into the psychology and neuroscience behind buying, and buyers in general, even those who are not in a direct selling role would gain value by reading this book.

What This Book Is Not:

This is not an NLP sales book.  In fact, this is the headline of the preface.  Now, I have read some books and listened to some other information on NLP in the past.  I know that when used properly, NLP is a powerful tool.  The problem is many NLP practitioners and trainers, don’t truly understand why and how it works.  So, in essence, they get it all wrong from the start. So you won’t find the cheesy sales line, or someone trying to teach you how to mirror and match (which, again, works when done properly).

Instead Robert Cuesta takes his early childhood fascination with how people communicate (almost an obsession, from the sounds of it) and expands it into figuring out how that translates into ultimately persuading someone to do something for you, such as pay you your fee, commission, etc, in return for your services.

Now For The Takeaways Of Just Sign Here…

Takeaway #1- Understanding The 5 Lessons

In the introduction, Cuesta goes through a story starting out as a young child and progressing through an adult salesperson.  Throughout the story he shares 5 lessons.  Cuesta expands upon these  throughout the book in many ways.  While I will not go into detail on each lesson for the sake of brevity, I have listed all 5 below:

1.  A winning smile and a good connection will actually get you so far in sales, but no further.

2.  Go find a market that is hungry for what you do, rather than trying to sell to people who don’t need it, or worse still, have their own in-house team.

3.   It’s easy to sell people what they want, but if you want to sell them what they need, you have to show MASSIVE value compared to the price.

4. Clients respect, and want to hire authorities.

4a.  Authority is not the same as hierarchical position.

5.  It is easier to buy a solution you have been involved in creating.

Takeaway #2- The 5 Sales Myths

If you are in sales, I am sure you have come across the following 5 sales myths.  I know as a real estate professional, these myths are almost gospel in the our industry.  I am sure it holds true in most other sales industries as well.  Cuesta does a great job of crushing these myths throughout the book.  He shows us how to take a different approach to the art and science of selling.  The 5 sales myths are:

1.  Selling is a numbers game.

2.  You’ll get used to rejection.

3.  You need to memorize.

4.  If you are good enough, you can sell anything to anyone.

5.  SW3:  The “Chelsea” Myth (Some will, Some won’t, So what)

If you have fallen prey to one or more of these myths, I urge you to read Just Sign Here, and take control over your sales career.

Takeaway #3- Every Conversation You Have Is A Sales Conversation

Even though this takeaway came early on in the book, this is the one I am going to end this post on.  Towards the start of this post, I mentioned that even if you are not a salesperson by profession, you would gain a lot of insight by reading this book.  The reason for this is every conversation you are involved in, whether with a client, a significant other, or your child, one of you is always trying to sell the other.

Sometimes this is done purposefully, sometimes subconsciously.  Either way, think back to the last few meaningful conversations you have been involved in.  Analyze what was said, who said it, and why.  Now analyze the outcome of the situation.  Chances are you either did the selling or you were being sold.

After reading Cuesta’s blueprint for proper selling, I now have a much better comprehension of the human mind, why it operates the way it does, and most importantly, how to structure my sales conversations in a way that feeds the brain what it wants when it wants, in order to create a win-win situation for myself, and the person or people I am speaking with.

I highly recommend reading Just Sign Here.  You can get your copy by clicking this LINK.

Note: some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  Should you choose to utilize a link, you will not pay more for the book.

 

Today’s post is a review of The Most Dangerous Business Book You’ll Ever Read. At almost 200 pages, it begs the question..

Is this book worth the read?

I’ll be honest, when I first saw the title of this book I did not have high expectations.  It just reeked of marketing hype.  The cover makes some bold claims such as “question like a polygrapher, network like a spy, and team-build like special ops.”  That is a lot to live up to.

I picked up the book and went through the table of contents.  Each chapter of the book continued with these claims, including “decide like a SEAL, and close a deal like a hostage negotiator.’

This did not help alleviate my concerns.  However, at the start of each chapter there is a subheading called “value to business.”  I read the remaining subheadings and found myself intrigued.  I wondered if this book would have just a few nuggets to make it worthwhile.

This led me to read the back of the book and find out just who the authors of The Most Dangerous Business Book You’ll Ever Read actually are.

Gregory Hartley

First up is Gregory Hartley.  It turns out he was an interrogation expert for the US Army.  He was able to turn these intelligence tactics into skills he could use in business.

It turns out Hartley has become a sought after business consultant, in part because of his ability to redirect these interpersonal skills to his advantage in the business arena.

Once I read a bit more about his background, I realized that while some of the claims might be hype, there would definitely be some wisdom in this book I could use, especially because Harley’s bio states that the book had many case studies.  I love case studies, so this was promising.

Maryann Karinch

Maryann’s bio didn’t see to add much to the depth of the book.  It stated that she has written eighteen books about business and mental/physical conditioning, and has coauthored 7 books with Hartley.  I figured Hartley probably wasn’t much of a writer, and this is why he had partnered with someone like Karinch.

However, I was willing to give the book a try at this point, more so out of curiosity than anything else.  So, I bought it.

Final Thoughts On The Most Dangerous Business Book You’ll Ever Read

As I began diving into this book I was absolutely pleasantly surprised.  The information was not only informative, but actionable as well.

There were some great exercises in the chapter called “Question Like a Profiler,” that I really enjoyed working through.

The sections that I mentioned earlier, “value to business,” was also very helpful in summarizing why each skill could become valuable.

The downside to this book is it’s a bit dry and can be downright boring to read at times.  However, I found myself truly thinking about how I could expand on many of the skills The Most Dangerous Business Book You’ll Ever Read touches on.  Since reading this book, I have dived down on some of these topics, taking courses, going to seminars, and reading other books devoted to the specific topics.

I would recommend this book as a good cursor to see which of these topics you want to expand on further, as well as a reference book, to brush up on some of these skills from time to time.

Let me know what you think of The Most Dangerous Business Book You’ll Ever Read.  You can order a copy of the book HERE.