Freedom On Toast

I read a great article today by John Assaraf (thanks Cathy for turning me on to him) - about the value of an hour. The article is on point and thought provoking so I thought I would share it. If you would like to learn more about John Assaraf or his works, you can visit his site at www.JohnAssaraf.com Enjoy the article!

What’s the Value of an Hour?

By John Assaraf

When I was 21 years old a gentleman asked me what I thought the value of an hour was. At that point, I honestly did not know how to answer the question. He went on to teach me one of the most valuable lessons I have ever learned.

He suggested that the value of an hour was priceless. When this confused me some, here is what he went on to tell me this:

If you invest one hour each day in understanding yourself and your environment better, you will accumulate nine 40-hour weeks over the course of a year! As you can imagine I was blown away when he put it to me that way. Nine 40-hour weeks? This seemed impossible until I did the math. 365 days multiplied by one hour each is…yep, nine 40-hour weeks!

He went on to ask me how well I would be able to do something if I did it all day, every day for just over two months. Well you already know the answer to that…I could be awesome!

He went on to tell me that over the course of just five years I would have invested the equivalent of 1825 hours of focus on whatever I desired to accomplish in my life.

Imagine for a minute how incredible you could become at anything you did for one hour each day for the next year.

How physically fit could you get? How much more love could you give and receive? How much more money could you earn?

Let me suggest that one hour is a small price to pay in comparison to the payoff.

Just one hour each day may just be the razor’s edge you need to really get the results you want in your life.

For me the decision was easy. I have been studying human potential and the mind for over 20 years. Each time I think I’m getting a good handle on it, I am gently reminded of how much there is to observe and learn.

Is getting what you want in life worth one hour a day? I certainly hope so.

Regardless of the success I have achieved in my life, I still manage to set aside my hour to read motivational stories or listen to inspirational people. They are the fuel for my mind and it keeps me learning and yearning for more.

Please adopt an hour a day for yourself!

Pick one area of your life that you want to improve and commit the next 90 days to that one thing.

I assure you that the results you achieve will be well worth the decision!

And remember…you can’t get out of this life more than you put into it.

Don’t worry, it’s a mostly clean fantasy. <smile>

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to travel. In fact, most people don’t believe me, but I truly believe I could sell my house and live on the road - or dirt path as the case may be. I have vowed for decades that when I “retire” I will join the Peace Corps and live in another culture - rather than visiting the local Holiday Inn.

Hence my fantasy. I am probably a big geek, but my favorite TV show is Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. If you haven’t seen it - man are you missing out. I love this guy. I love that he travels the world sans Holiday Inn. I love that he hangs with the locals. And I believe he should take me along on his adventures (I am trying to attract this with the Law of Attraction!!)

Anthony is - at least on TV - sort of a “bad boy” with an adventurous side. He smokes, drinks, swears and doesn’t mind walking down a dark alley to find the best street faire in any given location. He has eaten things I wouldn’t try. I love an adventure but frankly some of the things he has tried are just…nasty.

But he is living my dream life and each time I watch the show I live vicariously through his diverse experiences. I add to my list of “must see” places. And I am deeply disappointed that he has yet to ask me to accompany him on his adventures to provide that female perspective. No worries, I mean this in only the cleanest sense - I am very happily married after all.

So Tony (or maybe Vic) consider my dream. One show - that’s all I ask - location is your choice. <smile>

To read Anthony’s blog, visit: http://Anthony-Bourdain-blog.travelchannel.com

We have all heard it said many times that success is a journey.  In fact, I have written about that myself - and it’s true.  And hopefully an enjoyable one at that.  But success is far more than just a journey.  It begins by YOU defining what success is to you.  Does success mean financial freedom?   And what does financial freedom mean?  Does success mean having great relationships?  And what does having great relationships mean?  You get the idea - you need to have a very clear vision of what success means to you.

That said, you need to ALWAYS keep in mind that success - however you defined it - is the goal.  Success is the goal, not the process by which you seek success.   Oohh - deep. 

Case in point.  You are not feeling all that well.  So, you go to your doctor.  You get to the clinic and noticed the manacured lawns.  The oversized glass doors are spotless and the greenery in the lobby looks like you have entered a posh hotel.  You are greeted by an amazingly friendly receptionist who assures you that you will be seen very shortly by the doctor.  A lovely nurse begins to take you back to the examination room, making the requisite stop on the scale.  Even the scale looks nice and the nurse has clearly learned to not really acknowledged that you have just been weighed.  You enter the examination room and find it to look like something out of a decorator’s magazine.  Those plush leather chairs are really nice!  All the instruments are shiny and neatly arranged in a manner that screams professionalism.  The doctor enters the room promptly and greets you as though you are an old friend.  You patiently explain your ailments and the doctor nods, clearly understanding the issue - you want to be healed.  Grabbing a thermometer, the doctor takes a reading and says okay, thanks for coming in today and escorts you out. 

All the bells and whistles seemed good at the time.  The cleanliness, the friendliness, the attention to detail.  However, you do not feel a bit better.  Why?  Because you were focused on the process and not the goal.

In business it’s easy to get caught up in the process.  Do the tasks.  Make the calls.  Keep the statistics.  All are worthy business actions.  But without that clearly defined goal - success - the processes really won’t get you very far.  Yes, you will look busy.  Yes, it will look like you are doing the steps necessary to achieve success.  But if you don’t KNOW what success is to you, how will you know when you achieve it?

The little satisfactions along the way are not success.  I have seen it over and over again when a distributor reaches the first level in team building.  They achieved that first level and that first success paralyzes them into thinking “I made it!”  The actions decrease.  The focus decreases and before you know it their team decreases.

So get that laser vision focused and by all means, keep success the focus, not the processes by which we achieve success.  Without it, you might as well be shooting an arrow at a target while blindfolded.

If you are in Network Marketing and haven’t heard of this little gem of a book, you will soon.  I received this gift from my sponsor (isn’t she awesome!) and as luck would have it, on a night I had been planning a hot date with my laptop, the battery ran out.  Fortunately, I always have a book with me and this book, Go for No! by Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz, was in my bag.  So I sat and read the book in a quick hour or so and was amazed that such a compact book could grab me the way this book grabbed me.

I have to admit, the title was not all that appealing.  I figured it was going to be a book about about the old cliches - “If you want success you have to deal with a lot of rejection” or “buck up and deal with it or get out of the business” - that sort of mentality.  And I suppose in it’s unique way it IS about those things but in such a very different way than one would normally hear those statements.

Intrigued yet?  How about this idea?  When you are setting your goals, are you setting goals surrounding yeses?  For example, Do you set a goal something like, “I want to sell 10 candles today?”  Or, “I want to add 3 new business partners today?”  Well what happens when you achieve that?  YOU STOP WORKING!  Does that help your business?  Um - no. 

So what if, instead of setting “yes” goals you set “no” goals.  Let’s say to sell 10 candles you have to talk to 25 people.  So doing the math, that means you need to get 15 “nos.”  Are you following me?  If we speak to 25 people and sell 10 candles (we will assume one candle per person) then that leaves 15 people who said no.  Got it?  Well that keeps your business growing at the same pace.  But what if you increase your “no” goal to 20?  Chances are you will sell at least one more candle - and you could sell many more candles.  But if you were working on a “yes” goal, what if you get lucky and sell 10 candles right off the bat?  You stop!  Breathe a sigh of relief and maybe even celebrate that you met your goal.  But as we all know in Network Marketing, it’s a numbers game.  So the more people you speak to the higher your chance for sales/business partner/whatever your goal is.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg as far as gold nuggets contained in this book.  As I said, it’s a quick read, just a short 70+ pages.  I HIGHLY encourage you to pick it up.  And it’s not just for Network Marketers or folks in sales.  You could apply these principles to any of life’s challenges.  For the $12.00 it costs, you get a great book and a free code to an online assessment to see what your “No Quotient” is - or is not.  So pick up the book!  You can order it at www.Nexera.com  and get yourself prepared to Go for No!

I firmly believe in BIG goals.  Not just big dreams, but big goals.  In fact, I decided today that I am going to be as well known as Oprah.   Not because I crave recognition but because I crave the opportunities that come with that recognition.  I am pretty sure Bono won’t sit down with me for dinner yet to discuss world issues.  And if I am wrong - well then lucky me - I’ll be sure to post about it!

You see, I believe that everyone should have a dream book or a dream board or something that shows - really shows, what you want your ideal life to look like.  I have pictures of exotic vacation destinations on my board.  I have a purple BMW Roadster (it’s lovely!) on my board.  I have happy family pictures on my board.  And of course I have freedom pictures.  But I am adding Oprah today.

You see Oprah - that lady gets it!  You know, she started just like the rest of us.  Found a career she enjoyed and stuck with it.  Worked her way up and learned along the way.  I can do that!

Today, she has 1.5 MILLION subscribers to her newsletter (you might have to tell your friends about this blog if we are going to reach that number!)  She has an Angel Network that has collected more than 50 MILLION DOLLARS to help non-profit organizations all around the world.  And most importantly, she has used her talents and her media opportunities to enhance people’s lives.  Whether you like Oprah or not, you can’t deny that she has helped millions of people both directly and indirectly.

So, since I only need about another million or so readers, I figure we will get there.  And we will be able to help the world in miracuous ways and spread our own brand of freedom.  So spam your friends!  We don’t get enought spam anyway!  (Just kidding of course)  And if you happen to know Bono and he wants to have dinner, just let me know - I am sure I could arrange some time for him.