Take Responsibility for your Financial Freedom

If you need more money then perhaps you should begin by taking personal responsibility for your financial future. Then, develop one or two financially valuable skills. And you can build on that by acquiring marketing and selling skills. These skills will make you an infinitely more valuable employee, and they will also form a solid base on which to build your own second or third stream of income.

You may need to overcome inertia. If you've been doing the same work and making the same money for years there is a good chance you are burned out and not inclined to dig in and move your financial life forward.

Recognize inertia as your enemy. It is the reason you just "can't find the time to start something new." It's also the reason why, having started in the right direction, you get waylaid by personal or social obligations. Breaking through inertia takes a great and sustained burst of energy. But once you break through, once you really get beyond that blame-others stage, then progress becomes increasingly easier every working day.

Inertia is the problem and there is only one way to overcome it. That way is action.

And here is where the circle connects: Action is the key, but action won't happen until you decide that you - and no one else - are responsible for your success. Get off to a good start today by retelling yourself the following truths:

"My parents owe me nothing."

"My children owe me nothing."

"My friends owe me nothing."

"The world owes me nothing."

If you are already beyond that then the next step is to take some definite action. Some significant positive step that will get you going, even if you are not now sure exactly where you want to go.

The Importance of Truthful Premises

By Robert Ringer

Human beings have debated the ultimate purpose of life throughout recorded history.  If one wanted to participate in this debate, he could make a persuasive argument that the ultimate purpose of life is to search for truth.  

I say search rather than find, because to find truth in the broadest sense of the word would mean that one would have to know everything, and I think we can stipulate that omniscience and human beings don't match up too well. 

All actions, regardless of their nature, produce results.  A bank robber gets results.  A person who refuses to work and goes on welfare gets results.  An individual who is inconsiderate and rude gets results.  But these aren't the kind of results most of us are after.  

What we want are positive results, and positive results tend to flow from truth-based actions.  Negative results, on the other hand, tend to flow from actions based on falsehoods or delusions.

Even if the whole world goes insane, you have a holy responsibility to yourself to perpetually search for truth.  When people all around you are losing their heads, the surest way to keep yours is to be vigilant about basing your actions on truth.  

I'm not talking here about the search for truth or a search for truth.  What I'm referring to is your search for truth.  When I write an article like this, it represents the results of my search for truth.  

Whether you accept some, any, or all of my opinions, I will have accomplished my purpose if the results of my search for truth inspire you to embark upon, or intensify, your search for truth.  

Truth is the best friend you will ever have, because, unlike people, it will never desert you in your time of need.  Think of truth as a compass that points the way to actions that are in your long-term best interest.  

This is why your search for truth must be ongoing and in conjunction with an action-oriented life.  If you ever feel as though the Higher Power has not come through for you, it could be because your actions have not been in accordance with truth.

Unfortunately, truth is not an easy proposition.  For one thing, truth can sometimes make you unpopular.  In extreme cases, it has even cost people their lives.  Bruno (burned at the stake as a heretic) and Socrates (forced to drink poison after being accused of corrupting youth by questioning tradition) are two well-known examples of this.  

As a baseline, then, anyone searching for truth must desire truth more than popularity.  

As we all know, fools are often among the most popular people in society, which is a good reason not to allow your search for truth to be stifled by the widespread delusions of the masses.  This is precisely why you must learn to question everything, especially so-called conventional wisdom.  

In the words of Buddha, "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense."  

All of life is based on universal principles, or laws.  We cannot create or alter principles; we can only try to discover them, and, once discovered, find ways to use them to our advantage.  A principle is a natural law that has always existed and will continue to exist as long as there is a universe.  A principle is the essence of truth.  

The foundational principle of the universe, as well as all aspects of secular life, is well known to everyone:  Actions have consequences.  If I push you (an action), something will happen; i.e., there will be a consequence.  You may fall down, you may stumble, or, at the very least, you will feel pressure against your body.  You also may get mad at me, walk away, or push me back.  

The point is that I cannot escape the reality that my action, no matter how small, will have consequences.  Where I start to invite problems into my life is when I delude myself into believing that I can push you without there being any consequence at all.  

Believing that one can create his own principles is a futile and dangerous way to live life.  Of course, a person has a perfect right to go on believing whatever he wants to believe, but truth isn't discriminatory.  It will mete out negative consequences just as harshly to a well-meaning, ignorant individual as to one who is malicious and self-delusive.  Not once has truth excused anyone for being well meaning.

Put another way, truth is Stoic in nature; it doesn't concern itself with human intentions.  Truth overwhelms everything and everyone in its path.  It matters not whether a violation of truth is intentional or a result of poor reasoning powers; in either case, truth yields the same consequences.  

In the short term, of course, truth can be violated.  A rational life, however, is based on taking actions that result in long-term success.  Fortunately, history has repeatedly demonstrated that time is extremely kind to truth.  

As Winston Churchill put it, "The truth is incontrovertible.  Malice may attack it and ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is."

In simple terms, the more often your actions are based on truthful premises, the more likely you are to achieve success in both your business and personal life. 

Rhonda Rhyder Speaks

You know how it goes –when your children are often so very different
from one another!

People often congratulate me on doing such a good job with my kids
and I always reply that all I did was “get out of the way”.

What I mean by that is, I have always fought my desire to
“micro-manage” my children and knew from interviewing so many
incredible parenting experts that teaching your children to follow
their own inner guidance is key to their happiness.

Sure, you have to keep them safe and teach them not to touch the
hot stove and run into the street – but when it comes to everything
else – teaching them to trust their instincts and validating their
emotions and feelings is key to them feeling good about themselves.

It took a lot of soul searching for me to learn how to “let go” and
“get out of the way of my children’s genius”, but I feel I have
done a good job and if you let me, I would like to explore this
subject of raising happy kids further with you!

Thank you so much for the honor of exploring this subject with you

Anatomy of an Apology

Just Say It

If you've done wrong, just say it. Say the words that need to be said. Today, Dr. Lee Baucom, a new contributor, will show you the right way to do it.

Craig Ballantyne

At the end of your life, all you're going to be left with is what you did with your time, your legacy & your reputation.

---

By Lee H. Baucom, Ph. D.
Over the weekend, a friend and I got into a little "discussion."  You may see it as an argument.  But as modern times would have it, the whole discussion happened by text.

(Yes, professionals do still have disagreements.  And yes, sometimes we also make the mistake of texting it.)

The whole argument started innocently enough. It was simply a misunderstanding.  I thought one thing was decided, and my friend thought another.  His family acted on what they thought, while my family acted on what we thought.

We only discovered the distance we had traveled apart when an innocent text came to me.  I noted in the reply text about what my family was doing, and it went downhill from there.

I have many bad traits and places of growth.  One piece of me, that goes back well into my childhood, is that I am stubborn.  Very stubborn.  "Won't budge" stubborn.

At times, it serves me well.  At other times, not so well.  In this situation... I am still trying to decide.

So, as I held my point and my thinking, stating facts as I knew them, my friend grew more frustrated.  Later, he made some statements that I found rather hurtful.  So, I finally excused myself from the conversation, which led to a couple more barbs thrown my way (at least in my interpretation of the events).

I pointed this out the next day and got an "apology" that felt very hollow, which has lead me thinking about apologies.  What makes a good apology?  What makes a bad apology?  What difference does it make?

What difference?

Apologies are the social lubricant of relational recovery.  When a relationship is bruised or ruptured, a sincere apology can lead people back into a relationship.  Sometimes, even to a stronger relationship.

I find apologies to mark the beginning point of a whole new relationship.  It can revive a flagging relationship and preserve a battered relationship.

But a poor apology can do more damage than good.  It can serve to reinforce an opinion that the other person does not care, or is not taking responsibility.  It can leave the "injured" person feeling hollow.

After all, the other person will say, "I said I am sorry."

So what makes a bad apology?

An apology that is bad does not apologize for an action or excuses the person from the action.

Take, for example, if I hurt someone's feelings and say "I am sorry your feelings were hurt."  That is not apologizing for what you might have done to hurt the feelings. The "sorry" is for the fact the other person feels a certain way.

If I say, "I am sorry if you heard it that way," that is a bit closer.  It does address that they might have heard it a certain way, but it still puts the blame onto them.  In other words, they need to hear it differently.

Now, just to be clear, these are apologies.  They are "I am sorry"  But they are only apologies of interpretation.  Not apologies for actions.

An apology of "I am sorry I said that, but blah, blah, blah" is the next bad apology.  It makes an excuse of why you did what you did.  "I am sorry I said that, but you made me mad" makes it the other person's fault that you reacted in a negative way.

People want to be understood.  And people do so by "explaining" why they did what they did. But over the years, I have discovered that the difference between an explanation and an excuse is whether you are saying it or hearing it.

Explanations will be heard as excuses, every time, even if the explanation is true.

An apology that ends with "but blah, blah, blah" will be heard as, "I am not apologizing.  I am excusing myself."

So what makes a good apology?

A good apology requires taking responsibility for an action, with no excuse.  Just simply saying "I am sorry that I said/did _____ ."

Isn't it interesting that the simple approach is often the best?

But notice, you are claiming that you are feeling sorry.  If you are not really sorry, then don't pretend.  That will feel hollow.

With a little reflection, you are likely to discover that you did not want to do harm to your loved one.  That leads to that feeling of remorse so you know you really are sorry for your actions.  It is no longer about defending interpretation.

Even if, like me, you are stubborn and resist admitting that you may have erred.

I am NOT saying that there are times when an action is misinterpreted.  But a misinterpreted word or action tells you there are multiple interpretations.

So, you may actually then add clarification.  Not excuse, butclarification.

For example:  "I am sorry that I said ____.  I know that hurt your feelings, and I feel bad about that.  What I really meant was ________."

It is certainly possible that, at that point, the clarification will not be heard.  In fact, you may decide you simply need to apologize. 

Then wait for another time to be clearer in your thoughts.

NOTE:  This does NOT mean you must always apologize.  There may be times when what you said or did is exactly what you meant to, even if hurtful.  That is when we often put out the "I am sorry your feelings were hurt"-type of apology.

That may be as far as you are willing to go.  But let's just be clear about that:  this is not a deeply felt apology.  It is an attempt to move forward without a change in behavior.

So, you want to be sure that is what you truly believe.  After letting your own feelings/ego/stubbornness die down, if you still believe you have nothing for which to apologize, you may find you need to stand behind your words or actions.

I am good with someone choosing that.  What I am NOT good with is when folks stumble through an apology, being less-than-clear out of their own need to excuse themselves and their actions.  I am NOT good with a weak apology that does nothing to heal the relationship, even though the apologizer does feel remorse.

Apologies are all about ceding ego and admitting to a mistake.  They are about taking responsibility for an action or word that caused pain.

Wait.  That can be shortened.  Apologies are about taking responsibility.  No excuse and no manipulation.

The Best Thing You Can Do for Others

By Craig Ballantyne

In a period of just four days we had been all over the Eastern side of Germany. Our travels had taken us on a car racing adventure at Porsche in Leipzig, and then Oktoberfest celebrations in Munich, followed by more driving skill training at a secret BMW test track in the countryside (none of the driving fell on the same day as Oktoberfest, of course).

It was excellent male bonding experience for Matt Smith, myself, and a dozen other guys (plus two great women, as well). 

So, what better way to end the trip than with some shopping for pretty pink dresses?

Seriously, that's what Matt and I did. And not only did it give us a chance to brainstorm ideas for our upcoming ETR Transformation Contest, but it also allowed me to stumble across an important lesson in helping others that I wanted to share with you.

Our quest for the pretty pink dress was Matt's idea. It was his daughter's birthday on the day he returned from the trip and he wanted to surprise her with a traditional German dress. One that was pink, of course.

During the three hours we spent wandering around beautiful downtown Munich, Matt ended up buying clothes at two separate shops. While the shops were similar in the wares they offered, there was a dramatic difference in the attitude and performance of the sales clerks. And that is where today's big lesson really begins.

At the first shop, he bought a dress for his daughter and a shirt for his son. The clerk was polite, but didn't offer any additional assistance, and more importantly, did not attempt to get Matt to buy anything else. No upselling. No further recommendations. This person was just a transaction taker, not a problem solver.

There was a big difference at the next location. 

Our second clerk gave us her full attention from the minute we stepped in the store, and didn't stop selling until the bill was paid. As soon as Matt grabbed something to look at, she set it aside in the "purchase" pile. She tried selling him a more expensive ballerina dress, and when Matt replied he already had a pink dress for his daughter, she tried selling Matt a different color. 

When she began ringing up the sale, she continued to recommend other clothes and accessories to go with the outfit. On and on it went, with Matt accepting some offers - such as an adorable little pink hat - while declining the majority. 

And this is good. Here's why...

The sales lady was solving problems through selling.

It is NOT bad to sell. Instead, it is GOOD. Very good. 

You must sell. You must solve problems. You must never stop selling. You must never stop solving problems.

If you have a problem with that, then you must get over yourself.

"If you're rich and you got that way because of government bailouts, protection and special benefits, that's wrong. If you are rich because you successfully sold a good product or service that we all wanted and bought, you have every right to be rich." - Ron Paul

You have every right to be rewarded when you add value to someone else's life by solving their problems. It's a fair exchange. (A lot more fair than having to pay more taxes just because you add more value to the economy.)

But back to solving problems and adding value...

You see, here is Matt's problem. He loves his daughter. He loves her so much. 

But...

Matt could never truly express the love for his daughter. 

Never in a million years, not in ten thousand bedtime stories, not even with a hundred gifts...but each one, including the the little pink hat that Matt purchased as one of the upsells, helps.

And in two decades from now, when Matt's daughter is preparing to walk down the aisle, the two of them will sit together, a proud father and loving daughter, and they'll take a trip down memory lane.

Together, they'll flip through old photos and they'll come across the one from her 5th birthday, where she's in the pink outfits he bought in Munich, and she'll look at Matt and say, "Do you remember how much I loved that little pink hat. Thank you, Daddy." And she'll kiss his cheek, and that moment will be worth one million times more than he paid for that hat twenty years ago.

Maybe he will even say a silent thank you to the sales lady that sold it.

The sales lady, knowing that Matt had a problem, did her best to solve the problem by selling him solutions.

That is how you must look at what you do.

Your prospects and clients have admitted they have a problem in your area of expertise. That's been proven by the fact that they walked into your store, called your office for more information, or signed up for your email list, newsletter or video teachings.

They have a problem. 

You have solutions.

In a free and fair market, you provide the solution to solve the problem in exchange for a reward. 

Value for value. 

Solution for reward.

And when that problem is solved, you move on to solving their next problem. 

No one has just one problem.

So don't stop solving problems.

Don't stop selling.

Don't stop adding value to the world.

Get to know your readers, prospects, and customers so that you know their problems even better than they do.

Become the hero to them, so that they can go and be a hero in their own lives.

What problems can you solve?

Identify these, and relentlessly deliver solutions.

Solve, sell and repeat.

Momma Are We Rich

A lot of kids ask that last question, says Kiki Schaffer, an education director at the YMHA in New York City. The trick is figuring out what your child is really asking. 

She might be seeking reassurance that she’ll be loved and protected no matter what the future holds. But if, like Maxie, your child really wants to know about family wealth, why not grab the teachable moment? 

I've been explaining to Maxie that even though we have enough for our needs, we try to not to waste money. We spend wisely. We work hard. We help those in need (in our tradition, we give tzedakah).

Maxie goes to a public school where 40% of the children qualify for free lunch; there, we’re pretty well-off. But she also goes to a Hebrew School where many familiesoutearn us many times over. (I watched one middle-school girl show her shoes to another student, saying, “They’re my mother’s, they’re Prada, you touch them, you die.”) 

This dichotomy, sometimes being the kid with more and sometimes being the kid with less, is healthy, Schaffer says. “You can explain how some people have less and arehappy and others have more but are never satisfied.” In other words, wealth is, quite often, a state of mind.

Self Love

The most important person in our life is ourself. We need to know that we are worthy of love. That love begins with us. We are mirrors reflecting how others should treat us. When we are filled with self-doubt, angst and worry we are not our best selves and we can feel in eternal “stuck” mode.

Most of us were taught not to be egotistical. We were not taught that when we are filled with self-love – it is not egotistical at all but simply about knowing our worth. When we know our self-worth our lives can be in “flow” and we can operate out of a place of security rather than self-doubt and worry.

As humans, we can be pretty rotten to ourselves. We can fill our brains and hearts with negative self-talk, sometimes not even hearing the constant barrage of comments slung our way from our inner programming.

Some or most of the words might not even be what we truly believe but are words we have heard about ourselves in the past and have made it into our “background recording”. The good news – we can change those recordings. The first step is to hear them and take notice. The second is to replace it with more loving and kind thoughts for ourselves.

The negative thoughts we say to ourselves can seem so powerful but the good news is that they can be replaced – it may take a little time and patience. I promise it won’t take the years they have been in place to replace them. When we choose our thoughts instead of just having them on automatic pilot they are so much more powerful than those “programmed” thoughts. You can see your life change pretty quickly by eliminating one negative self-belief at a time.

I would like to guide you in a simple exercise in self-love. To prepare, you’ll need to think of:

• A person you feel tremendous love for. A friend, spouse, child, sibling or anyone else that when you think of them – your heart grows warm.
• Something you “beat yourself up about”. Maybe it has been a struggle with weight loss. Maybe difficulty finding financial stability. Maybe you tend to procrastinate. It could be you feel badly about a relationship issue. You know what you give yourself a hard time on – choose one challenge.

Once you have these two things in place, try the next five steps:

1) Take a few seconds to notice your breathing… don’t change it – simply notice it. This helps you become totally present and in the moment.

2) Imagine the loved one you picked. Feel what it is like when they are around you or you are speaking with them.

3) Now I want you to imagine that your loved one is approaching you about that issue you chose that you find challenging. Your loved one is coming to you for your love and advice about this same issue.

4) Picture yourself giving your loved one advice from your heart. When we love someone truly we are able to be in non judgment. We know their issue is not as bad as it seems as we are able to comfort them and show them love and support.5) Apply this advice to your situation – it’ll help you rise above the challenge a bit and to put it in perspective.

We need to treat ourselves as we would our closest loved one! Why wouldn’t we give the same amount of respect and love to ourselves as we would someone else? We all deserve unconditional love and at soul level – we know this. When we begin to nurture and love ourselves the world around us changes in response. The people we meet are kinder, more “synchronicities” begin to happen, our path seems to open before us and we certainly smile a heck of a lot more!

This exercise takes a few seconds to a few minutes. See if you can notice the next time you find yourself saying not so nice things to yourself. Do not beat yourself up about saying them as that is the first step to changing and one to be celebrated.

It is not another thing to be mad at yourself for. The more you stop and notice,  the quicker that response will come to change those thoughts and to treat yourself with a little more love and kindness!

I wish you the best on this journey of love – falling in love with yourself is truly the most important and beautiful thing you can do to see your life transform.

Enjoy Abundance All Around You

Hold the thought of wholeness, even in the presence of what appears to be its absence.

 

We can look at something and think it to be less than it could be from our viewpoint.  If we can shift our perception and anchor our own mind in abundance, we can repattern our thinking and remember the abundance that is present everywhere.

 

When we recognize abundance everywhere and align with it, we bring it into our experience.  Disregard the current condition and align with abundance.

 

Enjoy Abundance All Around You

How to Fix the Economy

By Craig Ballantyne

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 lot of "busy work". But not as much real progress and revenue driving as there should be.

Kind of like the old saying about the man down in Texas who is "all hat, no cattle", a lot of businesses are "all activity, no action".
The disturbing trend that I see is people doing this and that and the other thing but forgetting the most important action of them all.

Selling.

Take this example. In the last six months I've bought several pairs of running shoes. Each time I couldn't make it any easier for the staff. I walk in, go to the rack, and point to the brand that I want. I give them my size, try them on, whip out my credit card, and make the purchase. This doesn't take more than ten minutes (I'm a master of efficiency). 

Once the initial sale is made, I wait in expectation (and hope) that they will try to sell me some socks. I need socks, but I don't want to look for them. I want the store staff to recommend the socks to me. I'd say yes to whatever they suggested. I'd spend another $30 on socks if they put even an ounce of effort into trying to sell them. But nothing happens. There's no suggestion of socks, or shorts, or shirts or even the sports supplements that sit idly beside the cash register.

After a few moments of awkward silence, I, like a girl expecting a good night kiss after a great first date, slowly shuffle dejectedly away, having been denied any further opportunity to enjoy the moment. 

Think about how much money is lost every day because the sales staff has not been properly trained to offer more value to the customer. This goes on in clothing stores, furniture stores, and high end luxury stores. 

But at least they made the first sale. 

Too many business owners, particularly those starting Internet businesses, find all sorts of ways to avoid making any sales in the first place. But if you want to have a business then at some point you have to sell. Otherwise you just have a hobby.

Yes, you can spend months setting up your store, designing logos, creating mission statements, creating brochures, making your website just right, and even studying more and more content from the experts, but none of this makes you money until you finally ask someone to buy.

As ETR Publisher, Matt Smith said at one of our 1-Day Mastermind meetings,  "None of these things make any difference whatsoever unless they specifically help you sell, because selling is the only thing that matters." 

You only get paid for done. Specifically, that really means you only get paid for selling. If you have a website business then you must get your product done as fast as possible, you must get your website sales page online as soon as possible, and you must started sending targeted traffic to the sales page as soon as possible. Oh, and you cannot hesitate in giving your visitors a call to action with a clearly visible, "Click here to order" button on your page.

Likewise, if you're a salesperson, you need to stop fiddling around with organizing the pencils on your desk and start making your prospecting calls. You need to have your phone sales scripts done, and you need to start dialing for dollars. Nothing else matters.

"Every activity that is on your 'To Do' list right now, I want you to ask yourself if it directly contributes to a sale. If this thing isn't one step removed from a sale, then you probably should put it off, maybe for today, maybe for forever, because a lot of those things don't matter...You have to be the revenue driver. It must be the thing you think about every day," Matt said (with great urgency) to our Mastermind attendees.

If you're just starting a business, then you need to make that first sale. You need to experience the momentum shift that comes from proving that it is possible for you to make money in your business.
Stop messing around with anything that does not involve selling. I want you to focus on nothing else but making sales this week. If your product is 80% done, sell it at a discount price. Tell them they will get free updates when the final touches have been done.

This is what I did in September of 2003. I sold my Turbulence Training fitness product for $9.95 even though it wasn't 100% done. The next month I raised the price to $19.95. And it still wasn't done. Then the next month I raised the price to $29.95, and it still wasn't done. Finally, five months later it was done and the price settled at $39.95. But instead of waiting five months to make money and build momentum, I got my product out to the market and made money and built mental momentum that spurred me to take more action - and more importantly, more action thatmattered.

Wouldn't your product even at only 80% complete still help the majority of your prospects solve a BIG problem in their life and make their lives better?

Unless the answer is a big fat no (and I don't see how it could be), then stop waiting and start selling.

If your product is 100% done but your sales copy isn't, then glue yourself to a chair and finish it. And then email your list and tell them to go to the site. It doesn't matter if you have 10 people or 200 people on the list. You need to start selling.

"Get your idea out there as fast as possible even if it's not quite ready. Set must-hit deadlines. Let the market tell you if you have a winner or not. If no - move on and fail forward fast. If it's got potential - then you can make it better." - Yanik Silver, Maverick Business Rule #10.

Selling is the #1 action item in any business. If it isn't, then be honest with yourself and admit that your "business" is really just a charity or a hobby.

But if you are here to build a business, a real business, than accept the fact that you must sell something and that you must make the selling of that something your number one priority. And your number one priority must be, as you learned recently, the first project you attack on each morning when you get to work.
As my friend Bedros Keuilian once said, "All the marketing and lead generation in the world means nothing if you can't convert that prospect into a paying client. If you want to instantly increase your income then learn how to close more sales and how to get more from every sale."

Stop puttering around like an old retired man in his garage, dinking around with signage and technical mumbo-jumbo.
Get focused on what really matters - delivering value to a person that has a problem and convincing them to pay you for your solution.

Stop forgetting to sell.

Instead, start selling and start making money. That's why you are in business.

Planning Your Day

By Craig Ballantyne

In all my conversations with ETR readers, there often seems to be just a few major obstacles in the way of your success. Two that go hand-in-hand with one another are overcoming procrastination and getting a handle on your time management.

The good news is that we conquer both with one solution. And that's simply by planning your day. 

So let's allay your fears and stresses about the seemingly complex task at hand. Planning makes success simple. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't make success easy, but it makes it simple. There is a big difference between the two. Easy means little effort. And we both know that success takes hard work. Simple means that the path to success has already been tread, and we just need to follow that path. But, of course, there's a path that has been tread to the top of Mount Everest, too, and we know that isn't easy.

All paths to success take planning. In our recent discussions about "Operation 2X", our plan to help you achieve twice the results over the rest of the year, ETR Publisher our Matt Smith said, "You cannot have a 2X day when you don't plan. That includes planning kids/family activities. 2X happens only when you lead. It only happens when you're proactive and are actually pushing things forward. 2X only happens when there is intention." 

So what does that mean?

You need to:

• Plan your day/schedule
• Block out your time for specific tasks
• Get ONE big thing done first thing in the morning for momentum
• Prioritize your to-do list
• Make a commitment to contacting the right people (including
•   at least one affiliate partner per day)
• Eliminate unnecessary communication
• Avoid getting sucked into emails
• Set daily deadlines
• Stick to your schedule (this is where things often go wrong)
• Set up your environment for maximum productivity.
• Institute a strict sleeping schedule
• Surround yourself with competent people who can do the grunt work for you.

Or you can say, "Oh, I don't want to be that rigid. I want a flexible, spontaneous lifestyle." 

And that's fine, but the fact is you'll fail at almost everything you want to do in life. PERIOD.

Your choice.

You must have total control over your working conditions and those that can interrupt it. It must be made known that your work time is do not disturb time. 

This will disappoint others but it will protect your time and is essential to your success. Make this decision. Separate work from play. Commit. Stay focused. 

Remember...you get freedom from structure.

You don't get freedom from a 4-hour work week. That's false freedom, or as your parents described it, "Laziness".

So listen...

If you're struggling with your schedule, go back and do a "time journal". Then ruthlessly plan your work day. 

The more work you can get done during work hours, the less time you'll have to steal from your family, friends, fitness, and fun hobbies by working when it's not "work time". 

That's what is meant by getting more freedom from structure.

You can work hard a good many hours and still have a life. Most people don't have a balance problem, they have a time wasting problem. 

You must find your magic time to get more done in less time. 

You must also set an end to your day. Do a brain dump and then shut your working mind down. Go spend time with your family. Don't answer email at all hours of the day. Set limits. Know what you should be doing at all times, and do it.

The more structure you have in your work day, the more you plan, the more you will accomplish - and the closer you will get to achieving a 2X day - and life.

Remember these words of wisdom from Dave Kekich:

"Cherish time, your most valuable resource. You can never make up the time you lose. It's the most important value for any productive happy individual and is the only limitation to all accomplishment. To waste time is to waste your life. The most important choices you'll ever make are how you use your time." 

So always be prepared. Plan ahead. If you don't, that will not only slow your 2X progress, but it will cause you a lot of stress and anxiety in every area of life.

Why?

Because...

"Anxiety is usually caused by lack of control, organization, preparation, and action." - Kekich Credo #97

And that can be easily fixed with a plan.

Simple Healthy Food Tips

 A combination of animal and vegetable protein is better absorbed and is good for health. Protein is the major nutrient responsible for overall growth and wear and tear of tissues. 

A diet rich in sprouts, milk and raw carrots is nutritious for hair roots and promotes hair growth.

A glass of tomato juice consumed daily helps to banish leg cramps as it provides a good amount of potassium, the lack of which often causes this problem.

A short nap in the afternoon can rejuvenate you, making you more fresh and productive throughout the day.

A soft diet with lot of water, liquids and high fibre foods are always advised to regularize the bowel movement.

Add nuts and seeds like peanuts, walnuts, flax seeds and sesame to your salads – enhance the total protein, calcium and vitamin E.

Adding a carrot to the daily meal helps the eye health greatly as it is a rich source of beta carotene which gets converted to vitamin A, responsible for preventing cataracts.

Adding green leafy in daily diet aids to normal blood clotting.

Adopt cooking methods which involve shortest cooking time and minimal addition of water. This helps in preserving the natural nutrition of the vegetables.

Always start your lunch with a big bowl of leafy and crunchy salad. 

Avoid habits like consumption of excess amounts of alcohol, smoking or excess intake of caffeine as they steer the health towards bad effects.

Bathe tired feet in a basin of hot water with two large handfuls of salt or 2 tablespoons of vinegar dissolved in it.

Cutting down fat from your diet completely is not advisable since some amount of fat is essential for certain bodily processes.

Deep-frying and overcooking can result in loss of nutrients, so it is advisable to stir fry, roast, grill or steam foods to retain nutrition.

Drink a glass of water before and after exercise to avoid dehydration.

Eat slowly as it takes a few minutes for the brain to tell your body that it has had enough. Eating just right helps one to remain alert, relaxed and feeling the best.

Eight glasses of water a day will give you a healthy glowing and supple skin by providing hydration.

Gradual lifestyle changes are of much greater benefits than 24 day fad diets.

Healthy eating and regular exercise are the only proven methods for long term weight loss.

Listen to your favourite music whenever you get time.

Start your day with a healthy breakfast. This jumpstarts your metabolism. Eating your major calories early in the day gives your body time to work those calories off.