What To Do With Your Life

It must be something in the air.

Perhaps something about the changing of the leaves and seasons that has brought about great personal introspection in your life?

You see, for whatever reason, I’ve recently received more “What should I do with my life?” type of questions on Facebook and through our FIM customer QnA sessions.

So I’ve bundled them all up here…and frankly, there’s a lot of great insight here…even for folks that think they “know it all” when it comes to their future.

(Oh, and we finish with a fun question as well.)

Let me know what you think or ask me a follow-up question on Facebook at www.SuccessQnA.com.

Q: Craig, what concrete first steps would you recommend to someone with no business experience and no internet marketing experience but is simply hungry to get out of this rat race and make it happen (as you have) for me and my family. I subscribed to FIM on Friday. – Robert Brown

Answer:
Robert – Welcome aboard.

Your first step is to figure out what you are good at. What do you do better than everyone else?

Now before you tell me that there isn’t anything, I urge you to reconsider.

There is something that you are uniquely good at – your Unique Ability, as Dan Sullivan calls it – I assure you.

Take a poll of the most positive people that know you well… ask them what it is that you do better than anyone else…or at least what is it that you are really, really great at?

Those answers will guide you.

Please also read this article I wrote that will help you identify what many people lovingly refer to as your “stupid human trick” (a take on David Letterman’s Stupid Pet Trick segment):

http://internetindependence.com/stupid-human-trick

Once you find that talent, then your next steps are to work hard, work honestly, maintain your integrity, and work to help others and you will succeed. Now, more than ever, the world needs good people like you.

Q: I’m sick of my job and sick of wasting money on internet
business courses. I don’t know what to do anymore. Please help me figure out what to do with my life. – Bruce

Answer:
Hi Bruce, to find out what to do with your life, ask yourself the following power questions:

“What is my purpose/higher calling here on earth?”

“What did my higher power put me here on this earth to do?”

“Who was I put here to serve?” (this determines your niche market)

“What skill/ability do I have that NO ONE else in the world can do better?”

“What do I want my legacy to be?”

Maybe the answer is NOT internet marketing…maybe you should be face-to-face saleperson, or a small retail shop owner, or community advocate. I don’t know. Not everyone is cut out to have an Internet business, and that’s OK.

But listen, if creating an Internet business IS what you want to do with my life, then stay tuned, because on Monday we are opening up our Virtual Mastermind program again – and that’s where you belong…IF that’s what you want to do with your life.

Q: A devastating financial blunder from 18 years ago resulted in me having to follow a back-up career plan just to survive. I’ve been pursuing that career path for 15+ years at the total exclusion of almost everything else in my life. So far the result has been a gradual decrease in my quality of life and financial holdings, despite working as many as three jobs at a time. Got burnt out 4-5 years ago, but have no other options which to follow. How do I get back on track? – Daniel

Answer:
Hi Daniel, sorry to hear about all of this. The road back isn’t going to be easy.

But there’s no other option than to keep pushing forward, to keep working, to keep adding value, and to keep clawing your way back to the top of the mountain, right?

You simply MUST keep going.

So here’s my advice…

Step 1 – Get up 15 minutes earlier each day.

Getting up earlier help solve almost any problem. You’ll think better in the morning than any other time of the day.

You don’t even have to work in those 15-minutes…you might choose to use them for meditation or other healthy habits to take care of yourself.

But trust me, those 15 minutes will be magic time for you.

Step 2 – Connect with your network.

Identify the positive people you know and share your situation and vision with them. Good people want to help other good people. And good people ARE out there (and there are plenty of them on the ETR Facebook page at www.SuccessQnA.com)

Step 3 – Make sure you have a vision to share.

Create yours with the help of this video – www.AnewAmericanDream.com

Step 4 – Take action

Step 5 – Never give up.

Stay strong, Daniel.

Q: I’m 33, in marketing, and I feel trapped in the rat race. Never envisioned myself like this, but I’ve also never been able to figure out what I want to do “when I grow up”. I have no idea how to find myself. It dominates my thought process. Any suggestions on how to break through one’s self and find a proper calling? – Allen

Answer:
Allen, please start with a simple tool called the Strengthsfinder test. It will help you  identify your top performance characteristics.

And then use this video to set your vision – www.ANewAmericanDream.com

Those two simple tools will make a huge difference.

Q: Hi Craig, first of all thanks for being a “virtual mentor” to thousands of people all over the world, myself included. My question is this: What do you do for fun? I hope that counts as a productivity question. Thanks again! – Mike

Answer:
Hey Mike, in addition to writing, my days are filled with much dog walking (and belly rubbing), travel, reading, a little bit of watching sports, and a lot of hanging out with the
people that I do business with.

For example, last month I went to Oktoberfest in Germany and drove BMW’s and Porsches at the test tracks of those two companies. I also went to Ashville, North Carolina, with a bunch of my fitness business partners.

And every summer I go to Europe where I teach at BlackSmithCamp.com in Lithuania.

After the camp we always go hiking somewhere in Europe. In the past we’ve gone to Poland and Austria, and this year we visited Norway and Sweden.

And there are still some good trips coming up this year…I’m in Nashville with my buddy Bedros Keuilian right now, and in December we’re having a big party and Toys for Tots drive at Early To Rise in Denver.

Check out the event here and join us.

So that’s the fun stuff I like to do, and it’s all made possible by Internet Independence.

What an amazing life,

Craig Ballantyne

If you are persistent in pursuing positive people, that’s where you’ll find the social support you need, and success will open its door for you and your life can truly change. It’s all about the people you associate with.