How to Use the “EDGE” to Succeed

My good friend Bedros Keuilian is a proud American. He came to the USA from Armenia as a five-year old in 1980. His family was broke. They foraged for foods in dumpsters, decades before dumpster diving became a popular hipster pastime.

Bedros loves America, and he loves his independence. He harnesses the power of the Immigrant Edge, that burning desire to succeed that we ALL have inside of us.

Bedros is also the best at showing you how to build your Financial Independence, with both his philosophical and tactical tips. Today, you get a list of the best habits of Bedros and his wealthiest friends. Enjoy. – Craig

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Success Habits from my Most Successful Friends
By Bedros Keuilian

Hey, I recently interviewed a dozen of my most successful friends, and these were the most common tips and success habits I heard. I just wanted to share these with you to give you the motivation to keep going and to dig deep inside to find your Immigrant Edge. Onward!

• Be obsessed. There’s nothing wrong with being obsessed with the thing that you want most. For some reason the word obsessed got a bad wrap. But it’s not bad. It’s good. Be obsessed with your success, with your health, with your wealth and with your purpose in life.
• The first 3 hours a day are yours (better if 4). Starts the day off proactive and with momentum.
• Every minute of my day is scripted. There’s no room for time vampires, no low-value time is spent and no one is allowed to invade my day.  Ruthlessly protect your time.
• Protect every “yes” with 100 no’s. If something is so valuable to you that you said yes to it then you’ve got to protect it by saying no to 100 stupid things that will want to sidetrack you.
• Share your goals with strategic people who support you and inspire you to take action. Nothing is as great as the accountability and the support of a like-minded peer.
• Never believe selling is beneath you. Selling is the #1 thing that every entrepreneur must focus on. Sell them on your product or service. Then sell them to use it. Then sell them to keep using it. And sell them again so they’ll tell others about it. Selling is your top priority.
• Take advantage of being under-capitalized. Force your best decisions and actions out of you. If you can’t make money without money, you can’t make money with money.
• I’m a master at prioritizing and delegating anything that does not fall within my 5%.
• Live urgently. Live and work like there’s someone trying to take it away from you.
• Hate the idea of ‘retirement’.
• Follow up. All the money is in the follow up.
• Control every variable in your life. The more predictable your life, the more predictable your success.

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Thanks B! Here’s a photo of Bedros (one of the most generous people I know) and me, ol’ CB, at our annual Toys for Tots drive in Denver.

Each December we descend on a local Wal-mart and spend over $20K to buy toys for children…they get loaded up and distributed by local Marines. It’s a heck of a good time. Thanks for being part of it, Bedros!

And finally, a thought provoking comment from Gary V., another American immigrant success story who is obsessed with building his financial independence.

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STOP TRYING TO “CONVERT” 
By Gary Vaynerchuk

“If you’re trying to convert your customers, you’re doing something wrong. I spend zero time convincing people to believe what I believe in. This is the mistake that most people are making: they’re wasting good time and energy trying to convert, when they should be taking that same time and allocating it to reaching more people. Reach out to every single person in your industry who could have a positive impact on your life. Find the eighteen that are intrigued. Then, spend your time there, with the eighteen who cared to begin with. It’s not worth it to spend a month or two or three going one by one with people you aren’t even sure will buy from you in the end.”

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Take advantage of the Immigrant Edge inside of you,

Craig Ballantyne

“Organized living is healthier and less stressful, more manageable, and more productive than today’s accepted chaos and constant connectivity.” – Dan Kennedy