Archive for the ‘Personal Development’ Category

While at my ‘other’ office yesterday (A.K.A. Barnes and Noble), I did my normal thing which is check out all of the business magazines and business books to see if there is anything new.  I breezed through the magazines as I already thumbed through any that I was interested on the way to and from Las Vegas last week.

I then went upstairs and saw a pile of books on the floor that seemed out of place.  It was like the person who was restocking the books decided to take a break the moment he or she lifted the stack of books to put onto the table.  While walking by the pile, a title immediately grabbed my attention.

The title of the book was, “The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich” by Timothy Ferriss.

That seemed interesting - especially since I’ve been able to escape the 9-5.  I picked it up, thumbed through it and as of this moment I’m more than 1/2 way through it.

There are a lot of ‘ah-ha’s’ in here that will really challenge the way you think about your life, your passions, your time, and even your retirement.  Some of you will love this book and get a lot out of it, and I’m sure that there are those of you who will really dislike it because it’ll push you too far from what you feel is comfortable - and what you ‘think’ is possible.

There’s a great deal of information about outsourcing - not just your business, but your life.  In fact, this book is an excellent companion to Dan Kennedy’s book, “No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs“.  It’s amazing how much time we’re all losing each and every single day that can easily be converted into cash with a few tweaks.

As far as retirement, the book will serve as a great wake-up call for many people who are stuck working a 9-5 that they don’t like.  For those of you who really dislike your job, what you do, and/or you’re working hard to save up for retirement, this book my act as a wake-up call.

For me, I fully agree with the ‘lifestyle’ Timothy Ferriss lives and talks about in his book: taking a lot of time off, taking a lot of vacations, living your ideal lifestyle, etc.  Why work 40 years saving up for that one day you can finally retire when it’s possible to live a life of freedom like you’re already retired?

Since joining the company that I’m associated with (VMD), I automatically moved towards the ‘retirement’ lifestyle without even realizing it.  I take vacations often, go off on weekend get-a-ways just as much, sleep in any day I want to, and do what I’m passionate about everyday instead of working at a job I didn’t like with a know-it-all boss telling me what to do.

Even though Timothy doesn’t mention Network Marketing as one of the best opportunities for someone to obtain this lifestyle, I believe that this is a good book to help people make that ‘mental switch’ needed to become successful in this industry.  Once you ‘free your mind’ from the thoughts that have been holding you back, success in Network Marketing is soon to follow as long as you are with the right company.

So check the book out today and once you read it, feel free to post any comments here.

Rob

Where does all the time go?

When you own your own business, it seems like you’re either putting out a fire, answering the phone, responding to emails, or doing other things that simply suck the life right our of your and your business.

One of the main keys to being successful in any business is how you manage your time.  I admit, this was something I really struggled with in my first few years of owning my own business.  But thankfully, Dan Kennedy has provided some help for those of us who have been struggling to find extra time in our busy days.

Check out Dan Kennedy’s book, “No B.S. Time Management For Entrepreneurs”.

Dan Kennedy’s Time Management Book - Click Here

It’s amazing how easy it is to fall into the email trap, isn’t it? For many of us who didn’t know any better, checking email is one of the first things we do in the morning.  Instead of checking email, knock off a few of the things on your list of ‘to-do’s’ that will bring more profits into your business.

Are you the type of person that just has to answer the phone with it rings? I used to be the same way and I found that most of my time each day was spent on the phone - and I spending way too much time on the phone with people.  Hire someone to answer your phone, use an outside answer service, or turn that ringer off and check voice mail twice a day.  Schedule your calls and time them.  Do your best to have the person that you are talking to get right to their point so you can answer their questions so you can move onto the next call.

As Dan says in his book, “Focus on work that directly produces wealth.”

I’ve been working hard to apply much of what Dan teaches into my own life and business.  And I have to tell you, his stuff works!  I’m getting 10 times more things accomplished is less than 1/2 the time.

In fact, you may have noticed that my phone number is not published anywhere on this website.  On my previous robert-hawthorne.com website, my phone number was listed on almost every page.  By doing that I had lost all control of my own time and my own business.  People who called me were controlling my time because I’d be answering my phone any time that it rang - even if I was in the middle of a ‘wealth-building activity’.

Now yes, people who called me were interested the VMD business, and if they joined I did earn money, but not every person joined who I spoke to and I can’t tell you how many conversations I had with people that went 1, 2, even 3 hours that was a complete waste of my (and their) time.

So now if someone is interested in the VMD business, they have questions, or they want to contact me for another reason, they simply fill out the form on my website under the “Contact” link on the top.  That way I’m always able to control my time and I’m able to call people according to when I’ve scheduled time to call those who have contacted me.

Also, Dan talks about how you need to figure out your base earnings target.  His formula is:

Base Earnings Target: $ ____________
Example: $250,000.00 per year

Divided by (220 days X 8 = 1,760) work hours in a year: ______________
Example: Divided by 1,760

= Base hourly number:  $_______________
Example: $142.05

Times productivity vs. non-productivity multiple X _____________
Example: 3.  (Three times your work hours will be non-wealth producing.): $426.13 /hr

= What your time must be worth per hour $ __________________
Example: $426.13

Now in the above example, let’s take that $426.13 and divide it by 60 to see what your time is worth per minute.  Look at that.  If you are looking to earn $250,000.00 per year, your time needs to be worth $7.10 per minute.

Does this change the way you think? When you’re working on your business and someone walks into your office or calls you just to chat, ask yourself, is this really worth $7.10 per minute to me?

I also like to use the per hour number for both business and non-business related “to do” items.  For example, it’ll take me an hour to mow my lawn - but is it worth $426.13 for me to do it myself? Or would it be worth to pay a company $30 to mow it for me while I’m inside nice and cool working on building my business?

When you train your mind to think this way, everything changes. You’ll start to ask yourself more questions like, “is this really worth my time?” or “Should I hire someone else to do this?”

Guard your time with your life because if you are not in control of it - someone else is.  And if you don’t have any solid plans on what you want to be doing with your time, believe me… someone else out there does or soon will.

Time Management.  It’s amazing how something so simple can have such a massive impact on your life, business, and income.

Now stop reading this and get to work.  I’ve cost you at least $40 or $50 while you’ve read this.  You have some catching up to do!  Go!  Go!  Go!