Mental Habit # 2 - See Chances Where Others See Challenges!
I've been running my own businesses for more than eleven years now, and I've finally discovered what my real job is:
Bringing Order To Chaos...
None of us can predict the future. We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, the day after or the year after. That means that most of us spend a great deal of time worrying about the future and trying to minimize risks in a world filled with chaos and unpredictability.
As entrepreneurs our job is to replace uncertainty with certainty and swap chaos for order. That's what people will pay you for.
If you can think like this, you'll quickly begin to see chances where others see challenges. You'll also give yourself a chance to earn enviable amounts of wealth.
Now obviously, I'm not saying that to become a millionaire you have to solve all of the worlds problems. But what I am saying is that if your products and services deliver solutions that bring order to your clients chaotic lives, you will build a grateful client base that will be happy to give you their hard-earned money.
Mental Habit # 3 - Think Strategically!
Many people take business personally. They look at every disappointment as a personal affront and every economic downturn as a personal attack. They ignore the fact that these sorts of ups and downs happen in every business when you've been around for a long enough time.
The most successful business people look at business as a game. They play it strategically with an eye on the long haul and always aim to become a better player.
The most successful business people discover strategies that let them:
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Consistently generate new leads and new customers;
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Convert customers into lifelong clients;
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Generate unsolicited referrals;
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Attract and retain the best employees;
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Increase net profits while reducing overheads;
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Diversify into new profit centers;
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Turn income into wealth...
The fact is, if you play the game of business long enough, you'll find that everything can be reduced to a strategic system.
The bottom line? Keep an eye on your cash flow and do what you can to stay in the game. Ninety percent of success in business is playing long enough to master the rules.
Mental Habit # 4 - Think Small!
Now, if you're thinking, What the heck is this guy talking about? Everyone, tells me to think big. Why on earth would I want to think small? Its just going to limit my success, just hold on a second.
This is what I mean by thinking small Most new entrepreneurs follow the empire-building model of success: they have an idea, they write a business plan, they borrow money from investors and the investors take a big slice of the company. They then hire employees, toss huge sums into marketing to attract clients and dream of the day that they can either go public or sell up and retire. Maybe it will take them ten or fifteen years of 60 to 80 hour workweeks, no vacations, and little real time for friends and family, but eventually they hope that they'll be able to cash-out and really enjoy life with a big fat pension.
Just thinking about this model makes me queasy! If I'm going to be doing something for ten or fifteen years, I want to enjoy it! I don't want to wait for some big payday ten years down the track that will justify the sacrifices! (And remember what I said at the beginning of this article? Only 6 percent of people actually make it...)
That's why I take a Below The Radar approach to building up wealth. Instead of waiting years to compete against large, established businesses, my strategy is to find overlooked niches and become a big fish in a (relatively) small pond.
What has this approach done for me? Its let me:
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Fund all my start-up expenses without going a penny into debt;
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Maintain a small staff while outsourcing virtually everything except sales and service;
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Keep a very healthy cash flow throughout the year;
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Develop a lean, mean organization that can adapt quickly to any immediate problems;
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Focus on quality rather than quantity as my competitive advantage;
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Control my own life instead of taking orders from banks and investors;
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Enjoy a wonderful quality of life with plenty of time for friends and family...
If your goal in life is to create an international business empire then by all means, go for it. With the right way of thinking there's no reason why you shouldn't succeed. In my experience though and based on the experience of many other successful entrepreneurs you'll probably be a lot happier being a big fish in a small pond than waiting years to conquer the sea.
Mental Habit # 5 - Just Say "No"!
Its a small word, but sometimes no can be pretty difficult thing to say.
Most people are pretty good-natured. We like to help people and we like to be liked. That's why when your child or your client or your employee or your church or your spouse or whoever it may be asks you for a favor, your gut reaction is to say Yes! Sure Ill help!
Of course you want to help. Helping others makes you feel good. It makes you liked and no one wants to be thought of as being disagreeable and mean.
Helping is good, but if you want to become successful you have to know how and when to say no. Life and business will put all sorts of demands on you and you will never accomplish any of your goals unless you know how to prioritize.
You have to say yes to those tasks that bring you closer to your goals and no to almost everything else.
That means if a client calls you up on a day you've planned to spend with your family the answer is no. You only have one family; there are plenty of clients.
The word no is very small, but it has a great deal of power. It lets you accomplish your goals instead of someone else's. Millionaires know how to use it.
Mental Habit # 6 - Know How To
Recognize An Asset
And A Liability!
Here's a couple of very simple and very important definitions to remember:
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An asset is something that puts money in your pocket.
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A liability is something that costs money and depreciates in value.
Simple right? If you're planning on becoming a millionaire, you're going to have to own a lot more assets than liabilities.
An "asset" could be:
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An investment portfolio that pays interest or dividends;
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A business that generates profits;
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A rental property that bring in cash flow...
A "liability" could be:
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Personal property such as your home, on which you have a mortgage;
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A car that loses value every year and costs cash to run...
As a would-be millionaire, your goal in life will always be to accumulate enough assets to cover the expenses of all your liabilities. As long as your liabilities exceed your assets, you're never going to get rich.
That doesn't mean that you cant ever have any debt or any expenses. Of course you can, provided that you're also building up enough assets to cover those costs and still retire wealthy.
For more information about understanding the difference between assets and liabilities, I highly recommend Robert Kiyosakis Rich Dad, Poor Dad books and his Cash Flow board game. You can be sure that just about every millionaire thinks like him.
Mental Habit # 7 - Know How To Live Within Your Means!
Most people, especially in the US, have a tendency to let expenses get beyond income.
Financially, that's deadly. Its a tendency that you must struggle against with all your strength if you truly plan to become a millionaire and retire wealthy.
As you move through life, you should find that your income gets bigger. That's a good thing. The problem comes when that extra income turns into a more luxurious lifestyle. That's the temptation you have to fight.
Instead of wasting money on a bigger car or a new hot tub, use the extra funds to start a pension plan or invest conservatively. Only after you're in the habit of saving between ten and twenty percent of your income should you start to enjoy some of the luxuries that come with success. And even then, Id still recommend that you put half of that excess into an over-funded retirement plan. That will give you both the accumulated wealth and pleasure now.
Mental Habit # 8 - Be Responsible For Everything You Do!
There isn't a single self-made millionaire in the world whom has managed to build and keep his or her wealth without believing that the buck stops with them: they are responsible for their and their business's actions, for good and bad.
That's just not true for the majority of people.
Marketing Guru, Dan Kennedy, put it this way. He said: Most adults are still walking around with umbilical cords looking for a place to plug them in.
Sound
tough? It is, but you also know its true! Most people do everything they can
to avoid taking responsibility. They don't want to face the consequences of
their actions and they expect someone else the government, their boss, their
company to take care of them.
It's
a tendency that starts right at an early age. From the moment
were born until were 18 years old, we rely on our parents to take care of us.
Teachers and then professors tell us how to think and what to think. When we
start working, employers tell us what to do and determine how much we get paid.
And when were done working, we expect the government to look after us because
we didn't think to save.
Where's the self-reliance here? Where's the independence?
There isn't any and there should be. The fact is, its up to each one of us to take personal responsibility for our own actions and decisions without blaming anyone but ourselves for our failures or owing anyone for our successes.
Mental Habit # 9 - Find Other People Who Think Like Millionaires!
What happens when you take a barrel and put a dozen crabs at the bottom?
There's always one smart crab that thinks for himself. He tries to climb to the top of the barrel and escape.
And what happens just as that crab is about to lift his legs over the top of the barrel?
All The Other Crabs In The Barrel Drag It Back Down!
Sound familiar?
The fact is, many people you meet are hoping you'll fail. They wont tell you that of course. They'll wish you the best and ask how things are going. But secretly, they want you to fail even your friends.
That's not because they're mean-hearted; its because misery loves company and no one likes to see someone do better than themselves. That's why, like a crab in a barrel, you're always going to feel hands tugging at your back as you make your way to the top.
The solution is to surround yourself with people who think like you people who think like a millionaire, who are willing to swim against the stream and to seek greatness.
These people are pretty rare, but if you look for them, you will find them.
Keep these people as your friends and your mentors they will have an excellent influence on your happiness, your wealth and your success...
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