Better Than Networking
“You’re so lucky Steve… you’ve gotten to meet and work with all these famous guys…” When I hear that, I usually say something like, “Yeah, it’s hard to believe… I have been pretty fortunate!” and I leave it at that. But the truth is much different… It’s NOT luck. It’s…
READ MORE
How to Be Indispensable
I was recently talking to a COO at a public company about our comparative experiences hiring people. Him, on a giant scale. Me, on a micro-scale. And, what became clear to both of us was… Scale aside… There is a single quality that is so rare, when you find someone…
READ MORE
The Biggest Lie: “It Takes Money to Make Money”
“Congrats Steve, you just made $100,000 today,” a lawyer said to me this week. I just bought a property, cheap. The lawyer thinks I could sell it for a six-figure profit right away. A friend of mine heard about this deal and said, “Well… it takes money to make money.”…
READ MORE
Truth About Partnerships
Recently in our Virtual Mastermind group for online business owners we have witnessed a couple of great example of partnerships gone right. When you get two positive people teamed up with a commitment to add value to the world, then everyone wins. But… Partnerships are tricky things. In the past…
READ MORE
This is Still Possible
The average Nicaraguan is born in a shack with a dirt floor and earns less than $60 per month. Enrique, my handyman/gardener in Nicaragua, does better than that. He makes about $150 per month in salary and another $50 or so in tips and side jobs. In the United States,…
READ MORE
Unexpected Side Effects of Making Money
My life changed when I decided, one day, that “make a lot of money” would be my number one goal. Focusing on that goal and making it a priority changed my income, from about $50,000 a year to seven-plus figures. It changed my business status from that of a nameless…
READ MORE
Three Quick Questions For You
Everything you know about marketing a business is wrong. Forget everything you’ve heard about systematically marketing, strategically building a list, ruthlessly promoting yourself and writing out your marketing calendar 12 months in advanced. That stuff is anxiety provoking. Marketing (relationship building and value adding) is not a robotic process… it’s…
READ MORE
Why Your First Time Matters So Much
Picture this. You’re 10 years old again, standing on the top of hill that is covered in snow, that perfect packing, snowball-rolling type of snow. Your goal: To create the biggest, baddest snowball your neighborhood has ever seen. So you start. At first, it’s small. Ridiculously small. Perhaps the other…
READ MORE
Your First Priority in Business
Back in the mid ’80s I obtained a job working for a swimming pool builder near Daytona Beach, Florida. I was 20 years old, eager to work and wanted to learn as much as I could. The fact that I would be working outdoors in beautiful Central Florida around swimming…
READ MORE
How to Fix Your Economy
This is the type of article that will either send you to the “Unsubscribe” button or will finally wake-and-shake you into action. The right action. I’m seeing a disturbing trend in stores, restaurants, among business owners, and even in our Virtual Mastermind forum. There’s a lot of action and a…
READ MORE
Getting Momentum in Your Life
I was personally offended. It felt like I had been punched in the gut and as though someone had dishonored my family name. That sounds harsh, so let me give you a little background… Matt Smith and I were sitting in the offices of the old Early to Rise in…
READ MORE
The Most Important Question to Ask Yourself
We arrived in Bergen, Norway at 11 p.m. at night and still the sun had yet to set. As the plane descended you could see thousands of tiny islands dotting the crest of the Atlantic Ocean as well as the beautiful fjords. The red sun poured into the airplane. No…
READ MORE