On Achievement, Prosperity, and Envy

Oscar Wilde said: It is better to have a permanent income than to be fascinating. Theres nothing wrong with both, of course. Those who insist that money doesnt buy happiness are usually short on money, ignorant of means of getting any, and selling their philosophy hard because misery loves company. Mark Twain wrote that, actually, no one can stand prosperity another mans. Money cant buy happiness, but absence of money, endless worry about it, and envy and resentment of those who have it most certainly buys unhappiness. There are reasonably happy, almost poor people. I know some. But they are rare. The lack of financial security wears a person down. Id also note, making a great deal of money by honest means does not guarantee unhappiness. I know quite a few 7-figure earners and rich folks who are quite happy. And it shouldnt just be about personal happiness anyway such a childish pursuit. There is some ethical obligation for being here, to be constructive, productive and contribute, whether by creating magnificent art, or writing an influential book, or building a company and creating jobs, or amassing and being a good steward of wealth, or being the best schoolteacher, nurse, cop, taxi driver or whatever you can be, and being willing to do tasks and bear responsibilities that dont necessarily produce happiness-as-you-go in order to accomplish significant things. Money is not the only measurement of such accomplishment, but it is certainly a valid measurement; money is a mirror reflection of commercial value created. Those who resent the rich are often, truly, resentful of their own failure to create such value. Its not a constructive emotion, and others having and expressing it ought not influence you in the least.

One of the great benefits of my work is the up-close relationships I have with people I categorize as Renegade Millionaires, and beyond that, getting paid to be keen observer of many others similarly striped. An interesting thing I find about them is, compared to most, little time or thought or angst given to the question of happiness; and compared to most, much more time and thought and energy and, yes, angst given to achievement.

Its easy to lose sight of the central question: are you choosing goals for yourself that are significant and rewarding to you, and progressively achieving them? If you went to Harvard Law School and now choose not to practice law and instead live as an itinerant cowboy, sleeping under the stars and drinking campfire coffee from a rusty tin cup, and youre honestly, authentically happy about that, more power to ya unless you have unpaid loans and debts to family, or institutions for your education, or other responsibilities that must be honored and discharged. If you make millions and wish to spend much of it on wine, women and wine, and its your money, and you do no harm to others, have at it. Its unlikely, though, that such things absent achievement and contribution will long sustain happiness, but youre welcome to try. The trick in it all is honesty with self. Earl Nightingale observed, that when its all said and done, each person is about as happy or unhappy as they choose to be. Thats true as far as it goes. Happiness is amazingly subjective, but not entirely subjective. For one person, never even having to think about money makes for happiness. For another, with no economic necessity, still, redeeming a coupon and getting a good deal makes them happy. But there is fact: achievement contributes to happiness; lack of achievement contributes to unhappiness. Envy contributes only to unhappiness. And much criticism masks envy.

Your business is YOUR business. Never forget it. Thats the core philosophy behind so much of my work, including books I hereby self-servingly but also sincerely suggest you get and read: NO B.S. RUTHLESS MANAGEMENT OF PEOPLE AND PROFITS; NO B.S. TIME MANAGEMENT FOR ENTREPRENEURS; and NO B.S. WEALTH ATTRACTION IN THE NEW ECONOMY. As arrogant as it is to say, they just may change your life.

So, by all means, seek out role models, inspiring examples, teachers, mentors, advisors, experts validated by relevant, successful opinion and learn from and sift and sort and consider all they have to offer. But ultimately know that The Renegade Millionaire Way is by very definition the finding of ones own way.

Dan Kennedy Millionaire maker

DAN S. KENNEDY is a serial, multi-millionaire entrepreneur; highly paid and sought after marketing and business strategist; advisor to countless first-generation, from-scratch multi-millionaire and 7-figure income entrepreneurs and professionals; and, in his personal practice, one of the very highest paid direct-response copywriters in America. As a speaker, he has delivered over 2,000 compensated presentations, appearing repeatedly on programs with the likes of Donald Trump, Gene Simmons (KISS), Debbi Fields (Mrs. Fields Cookies), and many other celebrity-entrepreneurs, for former U.S. Presidents and other world leaders, and other leading business speakers like Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy and Tom Hopkins, often addressing audiences of 1,000 to 10,000 and up. His popular books have been favorably recognized by Forbes, Business Week, Inc. and Entrepreneur Magazine. His NO B.S. MARKETING LETTER, one of the business newsletters published for Members of Glazer-Kennedy Insiders Circle, is the largest paid subscription newsletter in its genre in the world.

Dan Kennedy Millionaire maker

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Do you have a bias for action? When you get an idea or an
inspiration, do you act on it?

Watch this short video and discover the power of having “a bias for
action.”

And then tell me what you think in the comment section of the blog…

Popularity: 31% [?]

I just finished reading a NEW Special Report by marketing strategist Dan Kennedy called the “The Professor of Harsh Reality’s Blueprint for Prosperity NOW, In Un-Prosperous Times” and I highly recommend you also read it NOW (especially if you’re serious about not just surviving, but prospering during tough economic times).

If you’re not familiar with Dan Kennedy, he writes the most popular direct response marketing newsletter on the planet, the No BS Marketing Letter. He’s also writes several other monthly newsletters and has authored over a dozen best-selling books.

Dan started his career during the tough economic times of the Carter-era recession so he speaks from experience and shares POWERFUL strategies and tactics you can use NOW. If you’re committed to growing your business and income despite the current tough economy, you really need to read this report.

Needless to say I recommend anything Dan writes and you should get his newsletter for free the first two months by going HERE

For your FREE copy CLICK HERE!

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Great new video on “Doing Something” versus worry about what could go wrong or right – get out and take action!

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Please listen to the audio of the below information (about 50 minutes)

(1) Develop Your Business Plan A top notch Business plan is the #1 thing all real estate investor must have to grow and accelerate your business. You must know where you are going if you want to get there. Do NOT wonder aimlessly around from one idea to another and from one type of real estate investing to another. This is why so many real estate Gurus make money as people cannot focus on one strategy but keep buying more and more stuff as they wonder around.

Your business plan does not have to be fancy but all investor should have written goals or business plans to lay out your direction and business strategy.

If you would like additional coaching to develop your business plan please feel free to contact me about mini-coaching sessions at

http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/MiniCoaching.html

(2) Focused Strategy Similar to #1 above it is imperative to have focused strategy. Nobody can be very good at every type of real state investing and nobody will have success being average. You need to choose one focused strategy and become very good at and become the go to expert in your type of investing. Become the local expert and money will flow to you.

(3) Focused Geographic Area Again similar to the above a focused geographic area is key to success. Pick a small town or area with about 10,000 to 15,000 homes versus a large city like Philadelphia with 3 million people. The small focus again allows you to become the local expert and you know prices and rent better most real estate agents or sellers. When a seller calls you should know within a small range what that home is worth and then decide if it is worth going to see. If you pick a larger area you never become an expert and never develop this specialist knowledge. Money flows to those who have specialized knowledge.

(4) Get Educated There are two types of people in the world those who read and learn and those who do not. Spend money and buy books, tapes, Cds, eBooks and anything you can get your hands on to quick learn what the experts in your strategy are doing to be successful. This process should never stop and even at some point you should start to teach others your specialized knowledge. ABL – Always Be Learning.
(5) Learn From Mistakes Failure is a natural result of all business ventures. But the important point the separate the successful from the unsuccessful is successful people fall forward and get up looking forward versus backwards. Be sure to learn from mistakes and use that knowledge to perform better next time versus using them as excuses to not do something in the future.
(6) Learn Direct Response Marketing

Direct Response Marketing Is a form of marketing designed to solicit a direct response that is specific and measurable and allows the potential house Seller to request additional information. Common methods of response include mail, telephone, fax, toll-free hotline, website or email. Typical information requested is a FREE Report, prerecorded message, website info or some form of mailed information about your house buying program. The Primary Purpose is to capture their contact info for future direct mail and other marketing messages.

One-step Marketing — One-step marketing is where we get your entire marketing message out to your potential customer in one-step. For example, you may place a newspaper advertisement, or a giveaway coupon or even cold calls are forms of one-step marketing. With any one-step advertisement you are getting your entire marketing message out and trying to make a direct and immediate sale.

Two-step marketing — Two step marketing is trying to use an ad to peak someone interest enough to get the potential customer to take some action, but not necessary purchase something at that time. You are looking for people to essentially “raise their hand” and say I may have some interest in your product or service. The potential prospect is saying please tell me more about your product or service so I can decide if I want to purchase at a later time once I understand more about the benefits and cost.

(7) Become a Real Estate Expert – Be sure to follow the real estate news and get ahead of trends. Do not be the one who is investing in the area that has turned negative. Follow news sites like Inman.com, Yahoo.com news, Bloomberg ect.
(8) Learn to Raise Private Money Private lending is a consistent source of money from private individuals to purchase real estate deals. You can go back to Private Lenders again and again and again to fund your deals. Imagine having all the money you need to take advantage of today’s low real estate prices WITHOUT going to banks or putting up PERSONAL GUARANTEES.

http://realestatewealthtoday.com/Private-Lending-Presentation-Kit.html

http://www.private-lending-secrets.com/

(9) Social Media Social media is the next major wave of human communication. Get out in front and learn to use sites like Facebook.com, Twitter.com, Youtube.com and

(10) Learn to Use Technology -
i) Website – I recommend a website that you can purchase that is pre-made to start such as Inet USA. These websites are easy to set up because they are predesigned for real estate investors
Go to http://www.clickandbuildawebsite.com/freetrial/cb_index.cfm
ii) Good phone system – I recommend a good phone system like Freedom Voice System. I have used this for years. These do many functions included provided answering services with up to 1000 boxes, voicemail blasts, fax blast and even live answer if you want that service
iii) Auto responders – An auto responder is a software that you use to organize your contacts, Most auto repsonders allow you to send emails out to all your contacts or a certain segment
I recommend Aweber at www.aweber.com.

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International sales and marketing guru Mark McClure UNLEASHES his 4 Secrets To Instilling a Massive Belief System that will allow you to make more money, close more deals and CRUSH the competition!! If you can spare 6 minutes…….this will ABSOLUTELY CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!!!

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Inspirational Video…

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Sometimes inspiration arrives as words of wisdom with a gentle nudge. Other times it arrives as a swift kick in the pants. And it can even arrive as a bit of a poke in the eye.

Jim Rohn delivers all 3 in this 7 minute video excerpt. Jim Rohn passed last weekend and left us a great trail to follow. To put Jim Rohn in context, he was Anthonhy Robbins first coach.

Thank you Mr. Rohn for a life well lived.

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