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How To Be Happy – All The Time

by Paul Joseph July 19, 2011 Featured

Before writing this post, I was unhappy. A lot had happened in the hour since I woke up in the morning! Then I said to myself, “If you’re going to write about always being happy, why not try out what you’re telling others to do?” So I did. It worked. I felt happy. And then, I sat down to write this – for you. Wouldn’t you like to know more about an approach that can take you from being unhappy to being happy – in five minutes or less ? Here it comes… How to be happy – all the time! Why Be Happy? As entrepreneurs, we’re often seized by the “WHY?” question. It’s sheer survival dynamics. If we grab every idea that passes by, we’ll have little time for doing anything. So we look for a compelling reason before taking action. Here’s what being unhappy will affect in our entrepreneurial lives: Efficiency – It’s hard to get motivated to do something well when you’re feeling blue, lonely and hopeless, like it all doesn’t matter. The simplest action seems forbidding and overwhelming. Productivity – Anyone with disgruntled employees understands how significantly this impacts your business. Tiredness, lethargy and lack of focus are all symptoms of unhappiness. Innovation – When was the last time you had a great idea while you felt sad? Me neither. Creativity peaks when the mind is agile, active and stimulated – not when you feel dull or depressed. Fulfillment – Doing something you love and enjoy gives a deeper sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, and doing it happily multiplies this feeling. When you’re unhappy, you lose this sense of purpose and achievement. And that’s why you are better off being happy than sad. But happiness has never been available “on tap”, has it? After reading this, you may be surprised! “How Can I Always Be Happy?” There are only TWO ways to be happy all the time. 1. Have Whatever You Want 2. Want Whatever You Have Simple things are usually powerful. Like pithy quotes and short parables, the impact created by basic but universal truths resonate through our lives. The more we think about them, the deeper their message gets. Here’s a simple diagram. I call it the ‘Happiness Paradigm’ . WANT HAVE YES NO NO YES Take a close look at this. Let it sink in fully. Think about it a little. Then, we’ll talk about it some more. Having Whatever You Want This sounds like a nice way to be happy. But let me tell you the story of a Gambler who died. He entered the pearly gates and was given a warm welcome, led to a huge casino, and turned loose. Happily the Gambler played baccarat and the slots. He won, and kept winning. He tried backgammon, roulette and blackjack. It happened over and over. His winnings mounted. He grew more daring. Bet larger amounts. And won again. His excitement mounted – until, after a few hours, he realized that no matter what he did, he was always winning. The Gambler called out to God. God appeared, and asked him: “What can I do for you?” “Listen, Lord, I love being in Heaven, but couldn’t I lose just once in a while?” God looked surprised. “Heaven? Whatever gave you the idea you’re in Heaven?! “ That’s how it can be when you always have whatever you want. Apart from being impractical. Because, let’s face it, no matter who you are, how powerful or influential or networked you may be, there simply is no way you can have everything that you want (or will want in the future). The human state being what it is, whenever we get something we’ve wanted badly, our mind tends to want something more, something better, something different. That’s just the way we are! When you have one decent suit or one pretty dress, you’re happy – for a while. Then, you start wishing you had another. A costlier one. A prettier one. One just like that guy or girl has. Oh, and it would be nicer to have three of them – after all, your friend or neighbor or boss or someone you know does. Before you know, you’re no longer happy with your one nice dress… you’re unhappy about it! Pegging your happiness on such an impossibility as always having whatever you want condemns you from ever enjoying your life. So that’s a dead-end. Let’s look at the alternative. Wanting Whatever You Have This is big. Really BIG! It gives you a deep sense of appreciation and gratitude to everything you already have. Like, maybe two legs! If you have only one leg because you lost the other in an accident, you’re still better off than the guy who has none because he was born with a birth defect. If you’re having something you don’t like for lunch or dinner, you’re still lucky – because many folks don’t have ANY kind of food to eat. If you come from a broken family, or are going through divorce, or struggling at work, you’re still the envy of someone who doesn’t have what you’re unhappy about having… a family, a spouse, a job, anything! Here’s another story. This is about a billionaire. He lost a fortune when the stock market crashed. Almost overnight, his personal wealth dropped by $300 million. Ouch! He was so upset by what happened that he committed suicide. He chose to die because he lost $300 million. He could have chosen to live – because he still had $700 million ! Yes, this is an extreme example of how perceptions can be distorted to keep us unhappy. You may not lose $300 million… but you don’t have to in order to understand this message. On a smaller scale, this is representative of everyone’s life – including yours and mine. We refuse to acknowledge and appreciate our generous blessings and gifts that a kind destiny has showered upon us . Our lives. Our bodies. Our minds. Our intellect. Our upbringing. Our necessities. Our little (or big) luxuries. Our friends and family. We ignore them all – and focus instead upon the things we don’t have… but want. That makes us unhappy. You Can Choose To Be Happy You have a choice – to decide to want whatever you have. That changes everything. And it leaves you happy – all the time. It’s better still, because now YOU have all the control over your state of happiness. You can choose how to react to what’s around you. To what you have. To what you don’t have. You can decide to feel regret, frustration and anger at all the burdens Life dumps on your weary shoulders. Or you can see it all from a different perspective – and appreciate, nurture and treasure everything anyway… because it’s more than some others have (or ever will). Since writing this post, I’ve had a chance to view this exact mindset in action – by a good friend and role model who recently faced a disaster in his personal life, and is dealing with it like a champ . This friend is a guy you know and love too. It’s Yaro Starak – read his post “ The Day My Life Changed ” – then think over this message again. Won’t That Kill Any Ambition? This post you’re reading came about from a discussion with my little girl on a long drive to the railway station. After listening to me quietly, she asked: “If I’m happy with whatever I have, won’t I lose any ambition to improve? I’d just stagnate, and waste my talents!” “Not necessarily” I replied. And explained. Even as you’re happy with all that you have, you can choose to be happier if you get something else. That new ‘something’ now becomes desirable, motivating you towards it, fuelling change… but with a difference. You’ll always succeed at everything you try – even before you begin. Because in one sense, success is about being happy about whatever you do . And being perfectly happy exactly where you are, with only the upside potential of being happier still if and when you attain your new goal, you are already successful! It’s a frame, for sure. But an intelligent frame for your goals and targets. True, being unhappy or dissatisfied with where they are in life is usually a powerful motivator for some people to seek to change. Unfortunately, the mindset of discontent usually persists in whatever new, altered life they attain – so they end up being unhappy somewhere else, with someone else, or something else. Let me tell you one MORE story to illustrate… The Wisdom of A Gatekeeper A man arrived at the outskirts of a village, and was stopped by the gatekeeper. “What do you want here?” he asked. “I’ve left my village and am looking for a new place to live. Tell me, what kind of people live here?” The gatekeeper stared at him for a long moment, and then asked: “What kind of people lived in your village?” The man thought for a moment: “Oh, they were the worst. Cheats. Liars. Small minded people. I hated it all. That’s why I left.” The gatekeeper looked sad. “You’ll find the people here just the same.” The man shook his head in disappointment, turned around, and walked away. A few hours later, another traveller arrived at the same village for the same reason. Again the gatekeeper asked him: “What kind of people lived in your village?” “Oh, they were wonderful folks. Kind, generous, warm-hearted. I didn’t want to leave. I wish I could have stayed forever!” The gatekeeper said: “You’ll find the people here just the same.” He opened the gate and smiled as he welcomed him in. This is a powerful story – because it’s so true. The world ‘outside’ is just a reflection of the world ‘inside’ us. It’s like a mirror, projecting back to us the attitude, feelings and worldview we have adopted and developed over years. When we try to alter our inner state of happiness by focusing on external events or possessions or people, it usually fails. Lasting change can only begin on the inside. By the way we think, feel and view our reality. And then, almost magically, the same things manifest on the outside. Within each of us lies the seed of our personal greatness. We already have everything inside us to attain it. We have the power to always be happy. To the extent that we seize our opportunities and maximize our potential, we will fulfill our greatness And be happy as we do. But when, instead, we obsess over other people’s achievements, or what they have that we don’t, we tend to lose our inner balance, grow unhappy and desire change for the sake of it – which never brings deep, inner joy. We end up shifting the arena, never the game. Instead, play the game. Play to win. Aim to be happy… no matter what. Dr. Mani . Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

Tagged as: game, goals, personal, power, success, young

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Finding Investors – 5 Steps for Success

by Paul Joseph July 19, 2011 Featured

So you have this fantastic startup idea, and you’re committed to making it work, but you don’t have the funds it will take to get it off the ground. The simple solution is to find investors. It’s simple, but not easy. In fact, only about 5% of all startups receive any kind of outside funding. And it’s not that they’re the only ones who want it. You can bet there’s a big chunk of the other 95% that would accept funding if they only knew how to get it. While there’s a lot to be said for bootstrapping a business, it’s not possible for all business models. If you need a prototype or some technology designed, for instance, you’ll need funds to make that happen. And investors can add more than just money to your new company. If you do it right, you’ll find an investor with experience and connections that can help you not only launch but catapult your new business. So, how do you find investors? Here are five steps to help you get funded: 1. Create a business plan. Even if you’re not considering outside money for your startup, some sort of business plan is a must. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or formal as an internal document, but if you want to get funded, it’s got to be complete and appealing. Whether you use an app-based template or hire a business plan writer, get this piece done – and done right – before even thinking about talking with potential investors. 2. Gauge your timing. You want to start looking for investors when you’re ready, rather than when you really need the money. If you wait too long and are now at the point where you need funds or you’ll have to close up shop, your desperation will naturally come across in your presentation to potential investors. So, as part of your business plan, figure out when you’ll need money, and then get ready and seek out investors well before that point. 3. Determine who you’re looking for. Although it might feel as though the investors are the ones with all the power, and you’re hoping they’ll pick you, it’s important that you’re selective in picking them too. Figure out what you really want in an investor. You might want to stick with people close to your area, for example, so they’ll be more readily available. More importantly, you want someone who will bring more to the table than just money. Their connections and expertise might be even more valuable. 4. Be ready to negotiate. Once you find a suitable investor for your startup, expect there to be a negotiation, and be prepared for it. Don’t lay all your cards out at once, and know they won’t either. Well before you even begin looking for investors, know what you’re willing to compromise and which terms you consider deal-breakers. Being prepared is vital to a successful negotiation. 5. Avoid common mistakes. Once you get a meeting with an investor, steer clear of these common missteps: Keep your ego in check. Confidence is a good thing, but overconfidence and cockiness will turn an investor off fast. In addition to making a good investment, they want to do business with someone they’ll enjoy working with. Avoid using industry jargon. Don’t assume your potential investor knows what you’re talking about when you start spouting off technical terms and industry buzz words. They won’t be impressed. They’ll more likely be annoyed. Don’t say you don’t have competition. Even if you’ve got what you believe to be a one-of-a-kind product or service, saying you have no competition makes you sound naïve. Everyone has competition. Stay away from fantasy scenarios. You might have figured out that all you need to do is capture 1% of the market to have a billion dollar company, but the investor doesn’t care about that. They want to know how you plan to capture that 1%. Obviously a single post can’t give you everything you should know about getting investors, but the five steps outlined above are a good guide for getting your startup funded and doing it right. Have you received financing for a startup? What other steps are important? Share with us in the comments!

Tagged as: business, business-plan, funding, power, startup

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Interesting Insights from ‘The Power of Dreams’ Conclave

by Paul Joseph June 30, 2011 Featured

The Power of Dreams, a conclave of the CNBC TV18 Young Turks was held yesterday in Delhi. Shiv Nadar, Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer, HCL Technologies Ltd, N.R Narayana Murthy, Chairman-Emeritus, Infosys Technologies Ltd were the chief guests at the Conclave. The Panelists included Dr. Devi Shetty, Indian philanthropist and a cardiac surgeon, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of State for… (Visit Yourstory.in for full news, other content, and much more!)

Tagged as: chairman, conclave, content, frontpage, other-content, power, technologies, young-turks, yourstory-in

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Eccentric Canadian Shares How To Profit Using His Simple Story Telling Method

by Paul Joseph June 27, 2011 Featured

Hello again, this week we’ve got part two of the Shaune Clarke interview, and I promise it’s just as packed with unusual and insightful tips for business as part one: Why Keeping It Real Is Your Best Selling Tactic In fact, this week, we get to cover something I’ve made a fuss about a few times in previous posts . Some of you might remember me waxing lyrical about the power of story , Shaune explains how it creates connection and builds relationship with your audience, and it’s application for sales and marketing. He also explains the art of story and it’s role in graceful persuasion , overcoming unwarranted sales resistance and creating resonance with your audience. Shaune speaks about the role of intuition in his business, and how his work has lead him to help other people find their purpose and understand their unique giftedness . So settle in for another adventure exploring topics that cover the core of successful business, and morph into the esoteric realm of our human experience. How To Build Credibility Through Story Shaune begins by stating that resonance is key when it comes to creating a connection and building trust with our clients. He then tells us a story to illustrate the power of resonance , and reminds us that our customers are going to come to some conclusion about us on their own before spending money. Shaune’s a big advocate of being strategic when it comes to communicating and presenting, but even with all the strategy in the world, you can’t know exactly how your clients are filtering the information they receive, so they will come to some conclusion that doesn’t necessarily relate to your strategy. This is the gift of stories, they build resonance unlike all the other things your clients are expecting, like testimonials and credentials. Customers have preconceived notions about, and unwarranted sales resistance to the things they expect . Resonance through story is not only under the radar , it’s a very elegant way of conveying the same information that we do in testimonials or displays of credentials. Testimonials and credentials are still valuable and valid, but clients expect them and what’s more, they can get very bored and resistant to them. How To Overcome Unwarranted Sales Resistance Through Story You know that glazed over looked and feeling you get with the same old blah ? I know I get it and I’ve actually seen on this blog when a reader responded with annoyance to a writer listing off their credentials. The writer wasn’t doing anything wrong or different to what we all do, and what is espoused the world over for building credibility. The problem is, we’re all so used to this drill that we get that glazed over, jaded response to it, which of course, is the last thing you want happening in your customers’ minds. Part of Shaune’s training helps people learn to relay a story in bullet points , the aim is to get the story across quickly, clearly and concisely , so you don’t lose your audience. It’s key to impart what’s in it for them, that’s what your customers are thinking, and they don’t have time to waste on you if you don’t give them value for their time spent listening and learning from you. He explains that: A story needs to be a well articulated metaphor that brings a lesson . Story As A Multi Faceted Approach To Securing Sales The beauty of story is that you can bring so many layers to it, resonance is just one layer. Story has a huge trust building element . For Shaune, story is the art of graceful persuasion, creating resonance and demonstrating value . A well defined and succinct story can build trust, establish credibility and create an awareness of your value to your clients. Shaune gives a demonstration of himself telling a story and breaks it down for us. He uses it to display his credentials in a way that builds resonance and doesn’t land on us like he’s trying to impress us with his credentials. Trusting Your Instincts I ask Shaune about intuition and the role it plays in what he does. Shaune explains that our intuition is the first thing that gets sacrificed because we don’t listen to it if we don’t believe in ourselves. Unfortunately, this is a common challenge for people the world over. Shaune has spent 20 years doing extensive work on dissolving his emotional blocks . All of us have these and have a choice to work through them in the way we see fit. He says this has played a big role in him being able to believe in himself enough to trust his instincts or intuition . Shaune’s adamant that we are all intuitive beings, but he believes we may have different types of intuition. Shaune’s specific intuition is around seeing the value that people can bring to the world. He is inspired by helping people find their purpose and he’s been trying to do this his whole life. It’s one of the reasons he loves speaker training, because he finds the clients that come to him for speaker training are wanting to awaken to their giftedness and are ready to take the next step. Finding Your Purpose And Unique Gifts He’s been through a few different methods to try to help people find their purpose, but speaker training has proved to be the most effective method to accomplish this. He is inspired by the awareness that we all have a unique purpose and giftedness , he knows this instinctually and has been on his own quest to find how this is demonstrated in life. Shaune believes there are different types of instinct and intuition related to the different types of giftedness in individuals, and the only thing that stops us from listening to our unique intuitive knowing is not having a level of trust in ourselves to allow ourselves to listen to this inner voice. My experience of learning from Shaune in his presentations, speaker training and doing this interview has been invaluable . I honestly love being around someone with a mind like this, who shares such unique insights into business and human behavior. I’m going back to his one day training on July 30th. I’ve attended this training twice before, but there are so many layers of understanding and so many dimensions and applications for my business that it’s crucial for me to keep discovering the next level. If anyone reading or watching these interviews is interested in seeing Shaune presenting live, you can click here to see when and where he’s speaking. Unfortunately for international readers, his days of traveling the world and presenting are on hold, and those of us in Australia are extremely lucky he’s living here so we get to learn from him. Fingers crossed he might take to the skies for some international appearances again in the future. Once again, thanks for reading, and I’d love to hear your comments at the end. Cheers, Neroli. Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

Tagged as: australia, book, internet, mindset, people, power, young

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IBM Accelerates Social Business Initiative with New Software

by Paul Joseph June 24, 2011 Featured

IBM today announced an expansion of its software portfolio to help organizations embrace the power of social business. As part of today’s news IBM is delivering IBM Connections, the industry’s first social networking platform with real-time compliance capabilities. The new IBM Connections software allows organizations to track and trace data on the fly throughout their organizations. This… (Visit Yourstory.in for full news, other content, and much more!)

Tagged as: content, frontpage, industry, other-content, power, the-industry, today-announced, yourstory-in

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Kerwin Rae Explains How To Maintain Optimal Flow For Peak Performance

by Paul Joseph June 12, 2011 Featured

Hello once again fellow entrepreneur. Today we have a very interesting article based on an interview I had with Kerwin Rae last week. For all those who have been reading this column from the beginning, you will notice that Kerwin has already appeared twice previously, once in an article on Creativity and Influence and the other on Inspirational Leadership . In one of the articles, I mentioned seeing Kerwin presenting in such a powerful state of flow , that he literally seemed to have the audience in the palm of his hand . I found out later that he made around a million dollars from that 90 minute presentation, which exemplifies how powerful congruency and flow are in relation to our business. When I asked Kerwin about this accomplishment, he told me it has taken about ten years to get to that level of expertise in his presenting skills. This lead us to discuss something I have heard him reiterate numerous times, that success is never an overnight phenomenon , and it’s always the long distance runners who win in the end. Endurance Beats Speed Kerwin went on to say that in many areas of business, you hear people talking about overnight success, but business and wealth creation needs to be committed to for the long term. Kerwin has studied wealth creation for decades. The penny dropped after one of his mentors asked him to read the BRW Rich 200 and start studying billionaires , rather than listening to people who talk about making money. He noticed all these guys were 50+, and only started to really crack money game in the mid 40’s. He also noticed that a lot of them were 60, 70 and 80 years of age. At that point, it really hit Kerwin that if he wanted to figure this out and do it properly, he needed to let go, relax, do the work and realize it was going to take some time. One of the most useful things Kerwin uses to keep his mind in the right place for wealth creation is to keep his expectations in the short term realistic and stay focused on the long-term goal . Staying focused on the game for life, not moment to moment, keeps him in the state of relaxation and flow he needs to keep jumping his business to higher levels. What is particularly fascinating about this is that Kerwin has cracked the game of wealth and business at a level many people only dream of, those who attain this degree of success in business, often do so much later in life. (I can’t be quoted on this, but I think Kerwin is the same age as me, and that’s mid-thirties.)  But he did this by shifting his focus, working smarter not harder, and learning how to maintain a state of coherence and flow within himself, and as we shall see in the next paragraph, without the latter, none of it would have been possible. That is fascinating! I think that equation could be worth noting for all of us. How A Life Threatening Situation Led To Greater Coherence In his early thirties, Kerwin suffered a massive stroke, he told me that the stroke turned out to be one of the most amazing experiences of his life. To explain this, he went on to cite the difference between elite athletes and business people. If you look at most business people, it’s almost a complete reverse model to an athletes model, we spend 80% of our time competing in our business, maybe 5% training, and if we’re lucky, 15% in rest and recuperation. This is actually a burn out model, and Kerwin said he has burned out many occasions. One of the techniques Kerwin had to learn was moderating his energy levels . Like many business people, he used to become quite intense and run on adrenaline in his activities. Much like the sprinter, he was very effective very quickly, but suffered from exhaustion because of maintaining such an obsessive focus. The greatest tool Kerwin found for moderating his energy levels and finding flow was something called “ Heart Math ”. Heart Math is based on the science of neurocardiology, which concentrates on the messaging system between the heart and the brain. Various meditation and spiritual disciplines create an alignment between the brain and the heart. Heart math is a scientific approach to accessing and accomplishing these same results. Heart Math focuses on coherence, helping people find a channel or a link between chaos and coherence as quickly as possible in stressful situations. Ultimately, it trains us to recognize coherence as a state being and access it on demand. Heart Math has played a phenomenal role in Kerwin’s life, especially in his recovery from stroke. For three months after his stroke, Kerwin had no short-term memory, and he would be grappling to remember things constantly. He said it was like torture to live in this state for three months. But one of the things heart math gave him was the ability to access information that was not neurologically based. So when Kerwin became panicked at not remembering things, he found he could use heart math to access the information, it would just come to him without him having to remember it. This happened through the process of aligning his heart and brain, so he could access information without having to use his brain to think about or remember the answer, it was more like using intuitive memory . Heart math has enabled Kerwin to bring focus to his heart in stressful situations, and put his heart back into a coherent state, which then sends messages to his mind, then through the rest of his body to return to a state of relaxation and flow for optimal performance. When we relax, we give ourselves the ability to find flow. This is often the missing link when we are trying to be successful in our work, we’re so intense and focused, we can lose the natural flow that is there for us. The Curious Case Of Our Inner Oracle Kerwin explains that the heart sends 16 times more information to the brain than the brain sends to the heart, our heart is communicating to the brain constantly . Our heart perceives information in the environment well before the brain does, and it communicates that information directly to the brain. Using heart math is one way to get access to information that is available in the environment to everyone, but very few people are tuned in to it . As many of you will have read in my previous articles, I talk a lot about using play to access creativity, and how our creativity gives us the ability to access information that is not present to the senses, in other words, it’s intuitive knowledge . What is particularly interesting about this is until my conversation with Kerwin last week, I’d never heard of Heart Math, but a very weird thread of similarity ran through the things he spoke about and what I wrote about in my book on creativity. My first book was literally written from my intuition, I even say in the introduction: “I would often go in search of this book in the outer world, asking people if they knew of a book like one that was already imprinted in my own heart.” Of course, I researched and cited the work of many leading authorities and scientists on play and creativity in the text, but the information I intuitively knew was only being reinforced by their findings. The reason I’m telling you this is to show you that we all have access to our intuition , and the information is already sitting in our environment waiting for us to pick up on it. The trick is finding whatever works for you to access this and then doing it. Both Kerwin and I are on the same page about the heart being the crucial instrument we need to get connected and coherent with in order to make this happen. The more open our heart is, the more open we are to intuition , then the challenge is to have that information transported to the brain and interpreted in a way that we can receive it clearly. That’s where coherence comes in. How Coherence Gives Us An Edge In Business We need to create coherence within the communication system, and then be able to recognize the information that’s being sent as different from our thoughts or ego. Kerwin teaches Heart Math in his program, Power to Create . During the program, people find out how to read other people’s intentions, so we can pick up on people’s intentions in any scenario. Our heart can receive information, but it can also send information. This may sound a bit unusual, but the truth is, we’re all doing it all the time in our lives anyway. We may not be doing this consciously or effectively, because we have not consciously aligned our heart and brain frequencies for coherence. Kerwin explains that our heart has the most enormous amount of charge compared to any other part of our body. Every time it beats that pulse, it goes through the entire body, the thumping of the heart acts as a regulator, regulating the entire body organism . He goes on to say that we’re constantly giving off heat in the form of photons . Our body is literally producing light, and depending on what we’re doing and thinking, our body is producing different levels of light. Every time our heart beats, it is imprinting information on the photons that are leaving our body. So whatever we hold in our hearts is being communicated to the rest of the environment. Kerwin says that 85% to 95% of the time in his Power to Create program, people can read into situations, events, occurrences in people’s lives just by putting themselves into a state of coherence. The applications for this in our business are phenomenal . Most successful business people I know work from gut feeling and intuition when deciding on potential business partners. Sir Richard Branson says he knows within a few seconds of meeting someone whether or not he will do business with them, this is based on intuitive knowledge. By sensing another person’s intentions and level of coherence, we can decide immediately whether or not the other person’s intentions are coherent with our own. Again, we all do this sometimes; none of us would do business with someone who didn’t “feel right” to us. It isn’t rocket science, it’s just common sense. Unfortunately, we’ve been trained to ignore or discount our intuition when really, if we are tuned into it properly, it’s a far more accurate method of discernment than relying only on material data alone. (There is an entire article in this that I could write on marketing and perception management, but I’ll leave that for another time ) This article has blown out to being much longer than I’d planned, and I haven’t even come to the end of the information I transcribed from Kerwin’s interview! As much as I love this topic, I’ll have to finish up here and continue with this in another article. I hope the information shared by Kerwin has created some new insights and avenues of thought for you, and as I’m sure you can tell, he has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. Kerwin travels all over the world doing presentations, trainings and workshops, and if you would like to find out more about his work, check out his website for details. Thanks for reading and I’d love to hear your comments at the end. Cheers, Neroli. Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

Tagged as: book, business, environment, game, life, mind, online, person, power, thoughts

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How To Stay Ahead Of Your Industry

by Paul Joseph June 7, 2011 Featured

In the first article in this series – Ask Yourself This Important Question: Is Your Business Growing Or Dying? – I talked about why the ‘be the best’ mindset is so important and why it has been the ultimate success factor for many businesses. There were, however, a number of misunderstandings, prevalent in the comment section, which I would like to clarify. A business, just like a person, is either growing or dying. Our bodies begin by making us bigger and stronger, we then reach optimum performance, which we maintain for a relatively short time before our body gradually begins to decline. It’s a natural process, or ‘life cycle’. Business also has a life cycle. It is created because we see a gap in the market or an opportunity for potential revenue creation. We work hard at growing this market, but naturally it reaches a peak and then starts to decline. The reasons for the decline can vary, but most commonly it is simply due to changing habits or technological innovations, which make our existing businesses less relevant. The key message thus from my first article was perhaps that we must always understand that our business has a shelf life . In business degrees we are taught that this shelf life is an average of just seven years, however in modern times that is even shorter. There will come a point, sooner rather then later, when the needs of your customer will change, and unless you are helping educate them on their changing needs, you are likely to be left behind. Please do not confuse this with an industry as a whole. Blogging is really an industry technique and not in itself a business. WordPress itself is perhaps a business, but as we have seen, the constant WordPress updates are not just keeping up with the times, sometimes they are perhaps guiding the industry. Which brings me nicely to a reminder of the second key message from last week’s article; unless you are striving to be the best and push your industry forward , you are likely to be left behind and fighting for space in an ever decreasing market. In my Online Marketing coaching program I strive to give the very best business knowledge to Internet Marketers, so that they can grow their businesses. I use multiple tools and techniques to ensure that I am at the very forefront of my industry, and that I am creating new and innovative products. I will share many of these techniques within this article. These tools and techniques can be adapted to almost any industry and to almost any business. But my advice comes with a warning. Being at the forefront of your industry, can at times be a lonely place. Very few people are ‘early adopters’ of new thinking. Many more people tend to follow on once the idea or product has become established, with more following very late in the product life cycle . My advice is sometimes seen as somewhat radical within Internet Marketing circles and thus I know it is currently not for everyone. I firmly believe that all Internet Marketers will need my knowledge, but I am also aware that not everyone is currently ready for it. I am catering to the early adopters for improved business education and understand that many of the haters/sceptics will turn loyal followers in due time. The masses will follow, but the early adaptors will still be more then profitable for me. When you consistently lead your industry, then you begin to form religious followers – people who follow you and your brand as if it were gospel. Think about Apple , people questioned what we would do with the iPhone, but now it is a household name. Even the iPad, which is limited in it’s use, is a major hit because people believe in the power of Apple to bring us products that will one day become our future. We must aim to be just as innovative, or at least ensure our businesses are innovating along with the times, or we will find ourselves on the wrong end of the product life cycle. I must digress a little here just to make one more point. Yes, there is plenty of room for other companies within the growth and maturity period. This is when we see a lot of copy cat companies and products. However, the profits and loyalty you develop by being at the forefront of your industry are unparalleled . Increased competition is great for the consumer and not so great for business profits. Do what is good for your business and ensure you are ahead of the competition and enjoying unchallenged profits. How To Ensure You Stay Ahead Of Your Industry 1. Surround Yourself With Industry Leaders So many people always talk about surrounding yourself with successful people, but nobody ever seems to discuss how it is done. Well I’m more of a practical advice person, so here are some things that have worked well for me and my clients: Conference and Mastermind calls Thankfully as Internet Marketers we are always welcome to join conference calls where Online Marketers help each other out. I founded and currently run such a call at the European Marketing Network . There is no way that I can know everything that is happening within the Online world and run a great business at the same time. With conference calls, however, I do not have to. In these short one hour weekly calls I get to hear about the latest tools and techniques being used by a group of top class marketers. Gaining this information alone may take me all week, but this way I am able to gain just as much within one short hour. I thoroughly recommend you find a conference call related to your niche. You can check out popular Internet Marketing forums for conference call sections or even check out our European Marketing Network calls . My advice is to always join at least two calls, that way even if you do not feel you are the most knowledgeable person in the world, simply recommending one or two of the top tips you learnt from the other call (or simply connecting people together) will make you a valuable asset to any group call. Many of the top marketers have private mastermind groups. I’m invited to many of them as successful people appreciate that nobody ever makes it alone. Physical meeting We all have Linkedin or similar networks throughout the world. These professional networks are a great way to meet not only new clients, but also interesting people for an informal mastermind at a social event. Check to see if your town or city has a regular meet-up, and if it hasn’t, why not start one yourself? I regularly join professional meet-ups, just so I can understand common business problems and what the changing needs of the general market are. I’ve picked up some greatly successful friends along the way, which is always nice. I’m also a local ambassador for a large professional meet-up organization, meaning that at events people actually come and talk to me. I do not just give advice to you, I’m practicing it myself. To be successful you have to get out there . Conferences I cannot state enough, just how important meeting people within your industry is. We should always be keeping one eye on the competition and know who our competitors are. I try to attend many Internet Marketing events, not just to see my old friends, but to really see who the new generation of leaders within my industry are. I mentioned earlier that the average product life cycle is seven years long. Facebook was born in 2004 alongside perhaps the big surge in Online Marketing. 2011 could therefore represent the age for a new era in Online Marketing with many new faces taking the limelight. If you believe it is your time then get out there and get yourself known. Organize your own meet-up Why not find an excuse to organize your own meet-up with people within your industry? It does not have to be on a large scale. One of my groups, which has over 500 members, started with just three people who met monthly for drinks. Three years later the idea snow-balled, partly because the industry grew. We were at the forefront, so reaped the benefits of being innovators. You can easily do this too. 2. Educate Yourself If for some reason you haven’t already realized, I’m the continuous education kind of guy. Here are my favorite methods to educate myself: Top Notch Blogs There is a reason why you come to this blog regularly (I hope you are coming to mine too). It’s long been a source of really good, relevant information for bloggers. Make a list of at least five leading resources within your chosen niche and ensure you visit those sites regularly. Never rely on one source, that means you are a follower. Innovators like to see what the industry is doing as a whole, and by using at least five key resources you can ensure you are regularly up to date with most things within your industry. Industry Magazines I do not know why more people miss this, but it is the first thing I do when exploring a new industry. I search online for ‘free’ magazines for professionals within my chosen industry and request subscription. Simple. The information within these specialist magazines is legendary . It comes direct to your door and it is free. Not to mention the respect you gain when you approach someone mentioning an article they were featured in, within this somewhat exclusive magazine. Some of my work is even due to be published within such a magazine, which will bring me somewhat greater respect within corporate circles. It all started with a request to join a free magazine, which is reserved for leaders within the industry. Email lists may be similar, but I have never found one that carries the same value as a magazine. Training courses Many marketers including myself run great coaching courses. I truly believe (and have even been humbled) by finding out just how much I have to learn from others. My conference calls never fail to surprise me. It is impossible to know everything, and I would happily pay someone for top class knowledge. When I wanted to start blogging many moons ago, I came across Yaro’s course and paid him without thinking twice or ever looking back on the decision. Find the best person for your particular need and learn from them, even if you have to invest in the education. 3. Stay Close To People Who Need Your Skills Do not forget to stay close to the changing needs of your target market. Thankfully this does not always involve costly market research, sometimes we can use a few tricks: Search Job Boards Search Job Boards to see what recruiters are looking for within your niche. When I first started doing a little Social Media Marketing I had no idea what the client would really expect. I then starting monitoring job boards, both online and within newspapers, discovering the job descriptions were very similar. I could then use this as the basic premise of my offering, and ensure that I was never left behind by their changing needs. Agreed this may not keep you ahead of the industry, but it may help ensure you are never too far behind. Read Forums related to your niche Like the above point, this may not keep you ahead of the pack, but it will definitely keep you in touch with the consumer. I actually use a forum to pick test candidates for my new products. They gain free access to my course in return for blogging about their experience or giving me direct regular feedback. This way I gain new followers and do not disrupt my paying customers. I do not have too much time to participate in forums, but I do make time to browse them regularly. Conclusion I sincerely hope the ideas on how to stay in the lead in your industry did not distract from the key message, which is: you must ensure that your business is continually growing . I often go back to the example of Apple, and I will again here. Apple have an amazing feedback method as they have stores in major cities, where the customer comes along and tells them their problems. Apple listens, fixes their problems in store, and then relays their feedback up the line of command. It is a simple yet amazing way of ensuring that they understand their customers’ changing needs, long before their competitors. Dream to be the best, take the necessary action to be the best, and surround yourself with the best people, knowledge and education available. Keep these key lessons in mind, and maybe one day I could be writing about how your company is a great example to follow. Dee Kumar Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

Tagged as: business, client, education, internet marketing, power

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Company Karma: How to Handle Conflicts of Interest in Business

by Paul Joseph May 20, 2011 Featured

Life presents us with conflicts of interest and ethical dilemmas all the time, does it not?  The business world is no different.  Depending on what stage your business is in, I am sure you have faced a number of challenging situations, where ethical questions come into play.  Typically, the more opportunity and money is on the line, the greater the potential for ethical violations.  This is the power of greed at work, and it should come as no surprise.  According to a recent study from Transparency International, 25% of the world’s economy runs on corruption.  So if such a Corruption & Ethics Index were developed, where would you and your business rank?  In other words, what is your company’s karma? It is hard to be objective in such matters, as research also shows that most of us rate ourselves better and more just than what we truly are.  Especially as business owners, we tend to think that others are possibly taking advantage of us, whereas our own business practices are above board.  Popular quotes like “business is business” or “nothing personal, it’s just business” allow us to conveniently distinguish between ethics in business and life outside of work.  Is this a sound way to think about ethics or just a convenient rationalization for disregarding ethics in business? Let’s look at a couple of common situations and consider the ethical issues that come into play.  There are not necessarily ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ answers to each scenario, especially those that involve multiple parties and complex relationships. Situation #1 – Personal Affairs on Company Time: How do you feel about employees using company time to check their social networks and talking to friends?  Consider your company’s policies in this area.  Personally, at Blueliner, we don’t have a policy that deters staff from social networking during the workday.  By the nature of us being a digital marketing agency, all of our staff has to be well-versed in social media – so blocking Facebook with a firewall wouldn’t make sense for us anyway.  Naturally, we still expect that people will focus on work during the time they’re at work.  As long as they are not excessive and continuously being distracted with personal instant messages or phone calls, I think it is fine for a little personal break here and there throughout the day. Not all business owners would agree; I know that by having these types of discussions with clients.  Business owners have every right to lay down the laws.  Some are more democratic than others when it comes to developing workplace policies.  I encourage this type of collaborative rule-making, because there are different interests at hand for everyone involved.  That’s the whole reason why we have labor negotiations, to find a balance between different interests. In this case, the primary ethics in question have to do with how employees behave once the rules are in place.  Secondarily, how do business owners and managers deal with monitoring staff and violations when they occur. Situation #2 – Former Employees Leveraging Current Staff: How about employees who leave the company, and then leverage relationships that they built during the time they were with the company?  The legal bindings aside, there are a lot of gray areas and ethically questionable scenarios to consider here.  For example, let’s say an employee leaves the company to start their own business in a similar field.  Naturally, non-solicitation and non-disclosure agreements (if they are in place) provide some guidance on this.  Most small businesses however don’t go to the extent of having such paperwork in place with staff. Let’s say this employee starts communicating with existing staff that he or she had worked with while at the company.  Is this a red flag for the current employee who is still with the company?  In my eyes, it is a clear ethical violation by the current employee, who may be giving away trade secrets and otherwise helping a now competitor flourish, possibly at the expense of their own company – a major conflict of interest.  A business owner can rectify the situation by firing the employee or at least giving them a stern warning.  As for the former employee, while I also believe it is an ethical violation to try and capitalize on knowledge and relationships gained while at the company, there may not be as much a business owner can do about it if such points weren’t covered by a pre-existing NDA.  I would leave that up to karma.  When the employee-turned-entrepreneur starts hiring their own staff, similar dynamics are likely to present themselves, and they will see what it is like to be on the other side of the fence. Situation #3 – Building a Side Business from Company Leads: At a basic level, most of these dynamics come down to conflicts of interest as they relate to people’s time and relationships.  Consider a high-ranking manager working for a consulting company.  The company frequently comes across business opportunities that are passed up because they are too small.  The manager, involved in sales and business development, creates a nice side business out of those discarded opportunities, having them serviced by herself, outside of work hours, and a group of outside freelancers that come in as needed.  The company’s CEO and shareholders have no knowledge of this situation.  If you were the CEO or an investor in this company, how would this make you feel?  Does it depend on whether the manager is doing a solid job or not?  How about whether they are corresponding with these “side clients” on company time?  This can be very tricky to deal with, especially if the manager is doing a good job for the company.  This kind of scenario is happening all the time, at companies of all sizes. Potential Remedies There are two sides to every coin.  How you feel about these ethical dilemmas probably depends on which side of the fence you find yourself on when they arise.  I am a big believer in the concept of karma, on both individual and organizational levels.  Everyone gets what they deserve in the end, which may not be so easy to measure, especially from a purely materialistic standpoint.  Someone may cheat and “win” in the short-term; but the price they will pay in relationship damage and other karmic consequences will be equal to or greater than their violations. I urge you to step back from time to time and look at things objectively.  This isn’t about what’s legal – it’s about what is ethical.  Unfortunately, we can no longer count on the legal field for guidance us when it comes to ethics.  While there are certainly good lawyers out there and they can help business owners protect themselves, the profession has been degraded to a practice of helping their clients get away with whatever they possibly can, with little regard for ethics.  If it’s all about maximizing profits by any means necessary, where does it leave the concepts of honor, honesty and ethics? In case you haven’t noticed, conflicts of interest and opportunities to compromise ethics increase as your business grows.  The stakes are higher.  Your moral compass will be continuously tested and refined through each conflict of interest.  It is important to be proactive not only after conflicts arise, but beforehand, when potential conflicts first present themselves.  Head problems off by convening with the parties involved and coming to terms on how such things will be handled.  Putting things in writing, with or without the help of lawyers, is always a good way to be specific about whatever is agreed in principle.  Creating and updating your company policies manual is a healthy exercise that gives business owners a chance to communicate clearly on ethical issues.  Since people generally don’t read long, ‘boring’ documents, you’ll have to come up with other ways to engage staff and ensure that they are aware of the company’s policies, as well as consequences for violating them. If you are a business owner, you are likely to feel that whatever you say goes, and employees have to get on board or get out.  To some degree, if you have that level of authority, this is true.  But what is the price for having one-sided policies?  Employees will try to get away with whatever they can, not go the extra mile for you, and always have their eyes on “the next best thing”.  Things degrade to a level where it is a purely transactional relationship, devoid of emotional bonds and low on loyalty.  Is that what you want?  If not, you have to be more objective and open-minded to employee-friendly policies. On the other hand, if you are an employee, you also have to look in the mirror on these issues.  Do not assume that your employer will keep operating profitably regardless of what you do, and try to understand that your actions can really hurt the company.  Be careful not to take advantage of the access to information and people that you are afforded by being part of the organization.  Don’t assume that just because you are not monitored and that you can get away with certain things, that it is right for you to do them. Conclusion Whether or not you have formally thought about your moral compass and how it manifests through your business decisions, it is a critical factor to your long-term success.  Your finances, professional reputation and personal relationships are all impacted by how you deal with conflicts of interest.  Practicing empathy and objectivity, by putting yourself in the shoes of all other parties in a particular business scenario, shows emotional maturity and character.  To make millions is a worthy achievement.  However, to be recognized as a trustworthy, honest professional is an even more profound and respectable feat! Arman Rousta is Founder & CEO of digital agency, Blueliner, which services start-ups and established companies such as IZOD, California Closets and Lufthansa. Read more about Arman here .

Tagged as: employees, facebook, finances, nature, power, small-business, social, words

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Use This Little-Known Insight To Harness Your Mind’s Million Dollar Potential, Fight Your Fears And Succeed In Business

by Paul Joseph May 16, 2011 Featured

I’ve written previously about our mind, and it’s role in creating things in our lives that are useful for our business, finances and lifestyle . I’ve recently lined up some interviews with businessmen, Rowan Burn and Kerwin Rae , who have a lot of knowledge and information to share on this subject, and over the course of the next few months as I get the interviews done, I’ll share what they have to say with you. On Friday, I heard a speaker named John Assaraf explaining the insights he has learned about harnessing the power of the mind to propel him to ever greater levels of success in his business and fulfillment in his personal life. John has built four multimillion dollar companies in the last 20 years and appeared on “Larry King Live” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” to share his observations and experience of using the power of his mind to help him accomplish his entrepreneurial goals. More Sophisticated Than An F16 Fighter Jet He explains why the mind is such an important component in our success by likening it to an F16. He says, “The brain is the most sophisticated instrument we have at our disposal. It’s more sophisticated than an F16 fighter jet , which costs around 50 million dollars . But most of us don’t really know how it works or how to operate it properly.” This is a really useful analogy for a couple of reasons. We all have a mind, and most of us are blessed with a mind that has pretty much the same creative ability as everyone else on the planet. This means, everyone reading this post probably has at their disposal an instrument worth at LEAST 50 million dollars . Think about that, you have a 50 million dollar instrument available to you every day in your business. Unfortunately, we’re most likely not truly aware of the power and value of this instrument. Instead of using it like the extremely high performance, precision instrument that it is, we often use it like more like a golf buggy. Imagine having an F16 in your garage and only using it to drive – not fly, to the corner store to buy soda, and that’s kind of what we’re talking about. Luckily, this thing can be fired up at any time and we can retrain our minds to be high performance, precision instruments that take us to ever increasing levels of success in business and fulfillment in life. Who Runs This Show Anyway? I’ve mentioned in the last two articles the importance of intention, consistency and congruency in the creative process. John spoke about the importance of neuro-resonance , which relates to those three elements. What does this mean? Approximately 2% of our mind is conscious, and approximately 98% is unconscious. The unconscious is by far the more powerful force that drives our thoughts and actions most of the time, and it’s responsible for a lot of our behavior. John has found that in order to achieve our goals , we must have neuro-resonance, that is, our conscious and unconscious minds need to be lined up and resonant. This is when the power of being coherent and consistent in our creative process really kicks in. One of the big difficulties we face in being coherent and consistent is that our conscious mind will tell us one thing, like “I’d love to be successful in business , I’d love to earn $25,000 in passive income from my blog this quarter.” But our unconscious will be running a completely different story, like, “I’ve got no idea how to do this, I’m freaked out because I’ll have to learn new things and I might mess up and look stupid .” This kind of thinking will sink our chances of creating that money and experiencing that success quicker than smashing into a giant iceberg . But the problem is, a lot of it is unconscious, we don’t even know it’s going on. It’s a bit like a steady hum of background static, 24/7 in our lives. It’s no wonder the unconscious runs our thinking process that in turn feeds into our actions! The reason a lot of our unconscious thoughts are designed to keep us in a “safe” place, rather than stretch ourselves to reach those goals, is because we humans prefer to avoid pain at all costs . I drew the arrow picture last year when I was at the “Mind and Its Potential” conference. I’ve been busting to find somewhere to use it ever since as it’s such a perfect and powerful visual example of why we can struggle with our conscious creations because the unconscious mind can throw a massive spanner in the works. Basically, our unconscious is trying to help us avoid pain , but in doing so, it can seriously impede our ability to bring to fruition the things our conscious mind wants, like a more profitable business . This is a problem if we don’t address it, because our unconscious will run 24/7 telling us to stay “safe” by having fearful or self-sabotaging thoughts so that we then act accordingly in our business and in our lives. Or don’t act as the case may be. Fear and anxiety shut down our ability to act. As we know, action is a big part of being successful, all great entrepreneurs take massive action every day to reach their goals. How To Take Back The Controls And Set Your Own Course John says one of the ways to deal with this is to learn to act in spite of our fears . We need to learn to act to get beyond our doubts and anxieties and past unconscious blocks . Acting in spite of our fears can be accomplished by setting things up so you can’t back out of them. I agreed to write an article every week, so every week, even though I’ve got my own blocks and interference from life, I make sure it’s done. Same thing with booking interviews or creating launches . If you have a launch or an interview or something when people are relying on you to deliver , you will generally deliver results. Another way to act in spite of fears happens when life hands you a reason so big and important that you can’t back down from it. A bit like people who let their health go to a critical point, then faced with impending death , do whatever it takes to bring their bodies back to health. Dr. John Demartini is a big advocate of finding the biggest “ why ” you possibly can for your life. Rather than waiting for life to give you a reason to act in spite of our fears, find the biggest reason we can that inspires us to go way beyond our comfort zones first. He says “when the why is big enough, the hows take care of themselves.” There is more to share about how John Assaraf achieves neuro-resonance and it’s role in the creative process, but we’ll continue with this next week. For now, if you think there is a chance you have some conscious goals for your business and your life where your unconscious is running interference , consider ways to set things up so you can’t back out of delivering results. Alternatively find a reason big enough to override procrastination , which is just fear in disguise Once again, thanks for reading, and I’d love to hear your comments at the end. Cheers, Neroli. Get your bonus copy of my book “How To Start An Internet Business & Make Your First $1,000 Online” Download Here

Tagged as: goals, life, mindset, personal, power, time

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Entrepreneur Narayan of Dexetra – On their latest product offering, Friday, which can make a smart phone actually “smart”!

by Paul Joseph May 12, 2011 Featured

Tell us about Dexetra Dexetra is a product startup that primarily works on the mobility domain. By combining the power of phones and the cloud, we are building an interesting product that gives a personal answering engine to the users. Called Friday, it can talk about you, your patterns and your life. (Visit Yourstory.in for full news, other content, and much more!)

Tagged as: cloud, content, frontpage, life, other-content, power, yourstory-in

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