In this video I provide a quick review of my 2012 results and my theme for 2013.

I know this post is a little late since Thanksgiving was over a week ago, but we should always be thankful for what we have in life.  I am thankful for many things, not the least of which is my beautiful and supportive family, a strong business and the opportunities it provides to help others.  One technique I learned a few years back might just help you to focus more on what you have and less on what you don’t have.

This can work on a blank piece of paper or, even better, your journal.  Wake up each morning and write out “I am thankful for…” and write at least five things you are thankful for.  Do the same exercise at night.

The challenge is to do this everyday, but without repeating what you were thankful for the day before.  It starts off pretty easy, but as the days go on it requires some real thought and focus on specific things.  For example, on Monday you might say that you are thankful for your job.  But, a few days later, you might have to get more specific about just what about your job you are thankful for, such as your customers, boss, coworkers, etc.

A friend recently shared a quote with me that went something like this: What if you woke up today with only those things for which you were thankful for yesterday?

I know that as I have focused on this exercise it has helped me to be more thankful for all that I have and less worried about those things I don’t.

To your massive success,

Steven

Email: kaizensteven@gmail.com

Work With Me – Legal Shield

PS: If Your Upline Does Not Have a Step-By-Step Blueprint For Success, Check This Out (Unless You Already Have Too Many Leads) – Click Here for Instant Access

Do you struggle with being more productive? This is possibly the easiest way to be more productive, yet few people do it.  At least not in the exact form.

This technique was created over a hundred years ago!

Ready?  Here is the story first.

Charles Schwab – you have probably heard of his investment company, was president of Bethlehem Steel.  He asked a consultant, Ivy Lee, to come in and help his executives to be more productive.  Ivy agreed to do so.  After spending just 10 minutes with each executive he walked back in to Mr. Schwab’s office and told him just how to make his executives more productive.

Knowing it sounded too simple, he even told Mr. Schwab to wait on paying him for three months.  At the end of those three months, Mr. Schwab could send him a check for whatever amount he felt the advice was worth.

It turned out this advice was so good that Mr. Schwab sent Ivy a check for $25,000.  Of course, this was over 100 years ago.  What would that be in today’s dollars with inflation?

So what was the one thing he told the executives to do to be more productive?

Write out a top 6 the night before.  Come in the next morning and immediately get started on #1, then #2, etc. until all six are done.  Do not stop doing #1 until it is completed and do not start doing #2 until #1 is completed.

Seems simple, right?  Yet we don’t do it.

Granted, 100 years ago they didn’t have voicemail, email, internet, etc.

Which is why I have told you before to limit those distractions here.

Remember also, the best way to do this is to write it down.  Use my Page For Profit System to help with this task.

I confess it only has 5 lines for a “to do list”, but get started on those 5, then start a new list.  If you don’t finish the 5 before the day is done, start a new Page For Profit page for the next day and take the remaining items not done and put them at the top of the new list.

The studies done on this simple way to be more productive show an increase in productivity by 25-100%.  You can literally be twice as effective by following this system.

By the way, #1 on the list every day should be to read this blog.  I’m just saying…

Now, on to the second thing on my list.

To your massive success,

Steven

Email: kaizensteven@gmail.com

Work With Me – Legal Shield

PS: If Your Upline Does Not Have a Step-By-Step Blueprint For Success, Check This Out (Unless You Already Have Too Many Leads) – Click Here for Instant Access

Do you have a dream board?  I know for some it may seem silly, but I believe there is true power in it.  It doesn’t really matter if you go old school and cut up magazines, use Powerpoint or Keynote or other technology or even programs that are out there.  The only thing that matters about dream boards is that it means something to you!

A friend of mine recently talked about how she had cut out a picture of a spanish villa she wanted to live in.  She looked at that picture every morning and every evening for about 90 days.  After that she got out of the routine and forgot all about it having put the picture in a book under her bed.

She had the opportunity about six months later to move to her dream area out of the city into the hills by the coast in Southern California.  As she was packing up her stuff to move to her new (to her) house near the beach, she found her dream book with the picture in it.  Staring at the picture she started crying as the picture was a near identical copy of the home she had just purchased.  For those of you that are familiar with The Secret, this story will sound familiar.

She also shared a story about a car she wanted, a Toyota 4Runner.  She has always paid for her cars in cash and had no way of doing so right now, but knew she wanted that car.  She took a picture of it and looked at it morning and night.  She wrote an affirmation stating that she loves driving her new 4Runner (always use the present tense with affirmations).  Within 90 days a project came through that paid her enough in cash to purchase her 4Runner.

Do these stories seem unbelievable?  Then you haven’t tried it.

How can you make a dream board work for you?

1. Create a dream board

As I stated above, a dream board can be however you want it to be.  You can purchase a poster board and glue sticks at the store for about $2.  If you don’t have spare magazines laying around, go to the library and see if they are throwing any out.  If not, call friends and ask or go to the local hair salons or doctor’s offices and ask for their old magazines.  The last week of the month is usually perfect for this since they are getting the new issues in and getting rid of the old.

Only as a last resort would I purchase magazines at the store.  At $5 a magazine, that is going to add up quick to cut some pictures out.

Or, you can do what I did and create a collage from pictures online.  I just typed in the name of something I wanted online in Google Images then saved it to a blank Keynote (or Powerpoint for PC users).  Once I moved the pictures around in a collage type look, I saved it and printed it out in color.  Mine looks like this:

Each picture has a special meaning to me and my family.  The homes are not just generic homes but actual homes we have visited or found online in areas we want to live  that were the style and size we want.

I laminated a hard copy of the collage to look at in my office.  I also saved it as my wallpaper for my computer so I can see it there too.

2. Visualize

Look at it and actually visualize you having whatever it is in the morning when you wake up and in the evening before you go to bed.  Spend a few minutes with your eyes closed driving that new car, smell the leather.  How would you decorate that new house?  What color schemes would you use?

How much money in cash do you have sitting in the bank account?  What is the biggest check you could write?  If a charity close to your heart came to you in an emergency, how much could you give without blinking an eye?

3. Create an affirmation

Write an affirmation for each one of the items on your dream board.  Say your affirmation each time, at least once, every time you look at the picture.  Affirmations are positive sentences that reinforce to your subconscious the desires of your heart and brain.  You should always speak them out loud, in the present tense and with belief you have already attained the item.  For example, my dream board affirmation for my Cadillac CTS V Coupe (the black car in the picture) is this: I LOVE driving my CTS.  Getting into the car makes me feel good about the work I do.  The smell of the leather gives me a sense of luxury.  The handling excites me, the speed thrills me.  Nothing is better than going on a date with my wife and opening the passenger door for her in my car.

Is it materialistic?  Sure.  Are material possessions all I care about?  No.  I could put the foundation I am going to start on my dream board but chose to keep that as something separate.  Cars are something I identify with.  It is something that as a young boy my dad and I could bond over and so it has always given me enjoyment to drive nice cars.  What are you passionate about?  That is what you should use.  If cars don’t do it for you, then don’t put it on there.  My wife’s dream board doesn’t have a single mode of transportation on it.  Well, other than the Disney Cruise ship

4. Schedule your dream board

There are a few tricks to use if you have trouble remembering to look at your dream board and saying your affirmations.  One I have employed is to put it on the mirror in the bathroom so when I brush my teeth in the morning and night I can see it.  Problem is it was hard for me to say the affirmations out loud with a mouthful of toothpaste.

One trick I learned is to put it in your calendar.  Schedule it in the morning and evening and do it then.

Others put it on their refrigerator.  This works great if a “skinny you” picture is on the dream board!

I hope this helps in creating your dream board.  Good luck cutting and pasting!

To your massive success,

Steven

Email: kaizensteven@gmail.com

Work With Me – Legal Shield

PS: If Your Upline Does Not Have a Step-By-Step Blueprint For Success, Check This Out (Unless You Already Have Too Many Leads) – Click Here for Instant Access

Have you been feeling too comfortable lately?  Maybe you are ready for a challenge?  The problem for most of us is that we have short attention spans and challenges set too far in advance don’t work.  I am in the beginning of a 90 day blitz and even that can be too long to stay focused.  When I was actively doing triathlons I would train for 90 days and often times would get derailed.

Are you one of the millions of people that have started P90X, only to stop a couple weeks into the program?  We are a society of wanting it now.  Does food taste better coming out of the microwave?  Not usually, but we don’t want to wait the extra minutes it takes to heat up the oven.  We generally have short attention spans and lack in patience.

Here is the other problem with making plans longer than 30 days – we LOVE to procrastinate!  Give me 90 days to do something and that means I can wait 85 days before I get started.  I see it all the time with the students I teach in my college classes.  I give them six weeks to do the term paper, yet it never fails on the last day I will get students asking for more time because something came up last minute.

You and I probably did the same thing.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not preaching to you.  I am the same way.  The key is to learn how we are and adjust to it.  So, if you are like me and many others like me, think about taking a mid or long term goal you have and break it down to 30 days.

For example, as I said, I am in the beginning of a 90 day blitz, yet most of my goals are broken into 30 day segments.

What challenges do you have that you haven’t quite been able to get done?  P90X?  Income goals? Relationship goals?  Sales goals? Social goals?  Want to write a book?

Jimmy had a goal of being the #1 salesperson for the quarter at the car dealership he worked at.  He knew about what it would take.  He took that goal, broke it into 30 day chunks and only focused on those 30 days.  The result, he blew the competition away.  He actually even took it further and took those 30 day goals into 7 day speed bursts.

A book seems like a great idea, but yet actually sitting down and doing it becomes daunting.  If this is a goal of yours, plan out how to accomplish it in 90 days, break that down further until you have small speed bursts of 7 days and see the progress you make.

Trying to learn the piano?  See how many songs you can learn in 30 days.

Want to get stronger?  Do pushups and situps today for a baseline.  Now focus on the next 30 days doing them every day and see what improvements have been made.

Want to get a blog up and running?  Focus on posting daily for the next 30 days every day.  Sit down and write a list of all the topics.  Do it in one sitting and let the floodgates of creativity open up.  You will be amazed how many ideas will start coming to you.  Then, pick one a day and write about it.  That is how this post is getting written.

1. Pick  a challenge you have been wanting to accomplish

2. Sit down for one hour and plan out how much you can do in 30 days

3. If needed, break it into even smaller seven day speed bursts

4. Use my Page For Profit System to help you.  The challenge can be one of the Projects you are given space to write in

5. Make sure to review it often and write about your challenges.  The “I Did That” on the Page For Profit System is perfect for recognizing your accomplishments along the way.

To your massive success,

Steven

Email: kaizensteven@gmail.com

Work With Me – Legal Shield

PS: If Your Upline Does Not Have a Step-By-Step Blueprint For Success, Check This Out (Unless You Already Have Too Many Leads) – Click Here for Instant Access

Do you feel out of control in your life?  Does the day just seem to happen to you rather than you controlling your day?  If so, then this post is for you!

Looking back on your day today, on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being in total control, how in control of your life were you?  What about this week?

How in control of your thoughts and actions do you feel?

How in control of your environment do you feel?

Do you look at your to do list at the end of the day and wonder why nothing is scratched off?

Do you have a to do list?

Depending on how you have answered these questions, you may need a control makeover!

First, I am not abdicating total control.  Total control makes you like a robot with no spontaneity.  We wouldn’t that either, it is almost just as bad as completely living by the seat of our pants.  For some, that is a good thing.  I am striving to reach out to those that feel like they aren’t getting anything accomplished and need some help.  If that is you, then step right up.

Does your day sound like this?

Susan get the kids up and ready for school.  By the time breakfast is finished (for the kids, not for you of course), lunches are made and we are out the door, she is already 15 minutes late.  Traffic was unbearable, there was a jackknifed big rig blocking two lanes and the car is overheating with all the traffic.  Susan finally get to work 30 minutes late, sit down at her desk and already has three voicemails including two that are a rush and her inbox has over 20 messages waiting for her.  Did I tell you it is only 9am?  By the time lunch rolls around she has managed to put out three fires and respond to 15 of the emails, but there are 12 new ones waiting for her.  She had two back to back meetings today after lunch, which she ate at her desk trying to get caught up, and so by the time she got to back to her desk she had 30 (or more) emails waiting for her, five voicemails, her physical inbox is overflowing from the day’s mail and she still has that project that is due on Friday and today is Tuesday.  She hasn’t even looked at it yet!  By 5:00 she is mentally and physically exhausted.  Susan sits through traffic again, gets the kids at the neighbor’s house, comes home, cooks dinner and helps the kids with homework.

Now, I ask you, do I sound in control?  And you want me to wake up earlier?  Work out?  Do what I like least?  Worry about my purpose in life?  Ha!  I just want to sit down with a glass of wine and enjoy The Bachelor before falling asleep on the couch.

Editors note: While this may sound similar to your day, I promise it is fictional and I did not have a webcam follow you around today.

However, I bet it sounds a lot like your day or one very similar to it.

Now, let’s try this day:

Michelle wakes up at 5:30 and get 30 minutes of light yoga and free weights in before jumping in the shower.  The family all eat breakfast together, have a quick family prayer and grab lunches that were prepared over the weekend.  Yes, the sandwiches were frozen, but they have figured out how to make them taste just as good.  It also saves them a ton of money on eating out.  Michelle and the kids leave a few minutes early because she checked traffic and see there is a backup already on the freeway.  While in the car she spends the time listening to a book on CD or MP3 on self improvement and shouts at the other cars her positive affirmations; “I am a strong and capable person that has the money and ability to change lives with the God given talent and desire to persevere through all obstacles in my path!” (or whatever affirmation you like) Michelle walks into the office right on time, sits down at her desk and is grateful for the Page for Profit System already completed yesterday before leaving for the day.  She takes a look at it and knows the first thing she has to do is something she least wants to do, but knows if she does it first, her whole day will go better knowing she got it out of the way.  Today, that is a project due on Friday.  Yeah, she still has a few days, but let’s get it knocked out quickly so she can double check it tomorrow.  Michelle is also very happy that she has organized her voicemail and email inbox so that people that send her an email or leave her a voicemail know that she only checks and responds to those at 10am and 4pm.  By lunch, she has completed her large project, made 10 cold calls to prospects she has been meaning to reach out to and responded to her voicemails and emails.  Michelle decides to eat her lunch and go for a walk around the block a few times to get some fresh air, sunshine and feel energized to finish the day instead of drinking a cup of coffee at 2pm when she feels sluggish and wants to take a nap.  By 4:30 she has finished both of her meetings, cleared out the inbox, returned phone calls and is ready to plan tomorrow with her Page for Profit System.  Michelle looks forward to the bottom of the page where she can report what she did today since she finished the project due on Friday.  She gets home with energy and feeling thankful because she actually feels like she got something accomplished today!  She even booked two more appointments from the cold calls she made and she should make her bonus this quarter.

Sound utopian?   Obviously, both of these are opposite extremes (at least for some of us), but the point is we can have more control over our day.  How?

1. Start with using the Page for Profits System.  Download it here for free.

2. Use this system on a daily basis in the late afternoon for the next business day.  It is purposely designed to be a piece of paper in this digital world.  Something magical happens when you physically write your plan out and are able to physically scratch something off the list.

3. Start the day just a little earlier.  30 minutes loss of sleep isn’t going to make that big of a difference, but what you do with it will.  Do some light exercises or stretching, perhaps meditate for a few minutes.  Start your day on purpose.

4. Spend at least 10-15 minutes of quality family time together.  Doing it whenever you can is good, doing it at night is better, but doing it in the morning is best.  Why?  It gives the kids the opportunity to start the day with optimism and confidence.  If it means no radio on while driving them to school, do it.  Ask them questions or if carpooling, listen to what they are talking about with their friends.  Enforce a strict no cell phone or MP3 policy at the breakfast / dinner table.

5. You dictate your day rather than letting your day dictate you.  For example, don’t walk in to the office and immediately check voicemails and emails.  That is a recipe for disaster!  Now, not everyone can only check voicemails and emails twice a day.  Fine, do it three times or four times a day, or at the top of every hour for 10 minutes.  It may be hard at first, but if you are consistent about it I promise you that a response can wait at least 1 hour on 98% of the messages received.  You will be amazed how much more effective you are when the “ding” or the “ring” doesn’t happen whenever someone wants your attention.

With these five strategies I know that you too can be in control of your day and be more like Michelle and less like Susan.

To your massive success,

Steven

Email: kaizensteven@gmail.com

Work With Me – Legal Shield

PS: If Your Upline Does Not Have a Step-By-Step Blueprint For Success, Check This Out (Unless You Already Have Too Many Leads) – Click Here for Instant Access

Are you better off today than you were four years ago?

No, I am not looking to get into a political debate and I am not talking politics here.  I am talking about your personal economics, your personal business plans and your personal success story.  Believe it or not, the President has very little influence over your personal success story.

The great Jim Rohn is known for saying that the next ten years are going to look a lot like the last ten years.  With contraction comes expansion and with expansion comes retraction. 

If you were not able to answer the above question to your satisfaction, then what are you doing today to change it?  You can change your current financial situation a lot more and a lot faster than Romney, Obama or any other person for that matter.  Take charge of your destiny.

October 21st marked the one year anniversary of being self employed.  To be honest, it has been hard.  There have been some ups and some downs.  One business I worked to build up (non multi-level marketing) ultimately could not gain the momentum I had hoped for and after a significant investment of resources, I had to let it go.  That was very hard to do and bruised the ego a bit.

However, this has not stopped me from pushing forward and being successful on my own.  I love creating my own content and creating my own destiny.  I will ultimately succeed for me and my family.  How am I going to do that and how can you do the same?

1. Focus on the basics

So often I think we get caught up and so many details and ways to get business that we fail to remember to keep it simple.  No matter your business; traditional, multi-level, sales or whatever, getting customers is what makes you money.  Pick one strategy to do that and master it before moving on to the next strategy.

2. Start or continue studying self improvement

Spend at least an hour a day on reading and listening to self improvement material.  There are a treasure trove of books available including some of the classics online for free such as Think and Grow Rich, the Science of Getting Rich and As a Man Thinketh.  However, don’t just read these books but study them.  Highlight, mark the borders, make flashcards, whatever you feel will help you to absorb the material.

3. Do what you least like to do

I recently wrote a post on this topic you can find here.  Follow the three step program in that post and get started today.

As someone going through the process myself right now, I know growing your business is not easy, but with a lot of work and a little direction, your next four years WILL be better than your last four years, regardless of who the President is.

To your massive success,

Steven

Email: kaizensteven@gmail.com

Work With Me – Legal Shield

PS: If Your Upline Does Not Have a Step-By-Step Blueprint For Success, Check This Out (Unless You Already Have Too Many Leads) – Click Here for Instant Access

What do you least like to do?  I recently wrote about increasing your willpower.  Step two involves using the power of our mind by visualizing the results of overcoming our desire of the now and succeeding in doing what we really need to be doing long term.

So today, think of what you like least to do.  Maybe you are like me and there is a list of things.  That is okay, we can get to them one by one.

Speaking of lists of things we least like to do, lets make one.

Step 1. Make a list of what we least like to do:

• Wake up early
• Go to the gym (or work out at home)
• Eat breakfast – even though you know you should
• Eating healthy – McDonalds calling your name?
• Attacking that big account at work
• Cold calling prospects
• Approaching people about your business
• Working and not going on Facebook, Pinterest, etc.
• Shoot a video for Youtube
• Write a blog post
• Speak in public

Any of these sound familiar?  What other ones can you add?

Step 2. Which one do you LEAST like to do?  Circle it.  

That is the one we are starting with.  No cheating here.  You must pick the one you least like to do.

Step 3. For the next seven days, we will do that one thing.

Don’t worry about the others, we will get there.  But right now we need a singular focus.  For example, I am going to pick getting up early.  For the next seven days I am going to focus on this and get up at 5am.

When that alarm goes off at 5am and my body says no, I am going to use my willpower techniques and overcome it.

Step 4. Rinse and repeat.

Next week look at the next item on your list and focus on that one, WHILE still doing the first thing.  So now we are doing two things we  dislike doing.  Hopefully, the first one isn’t quite so bad anymore.  However, we aren’t out of the woods just yet.  Remember, it takes 21 days to REPLACE (not change) a habit, so we must keep going.

Follow along with us and respond in the comment section about what you least like to do and how your progress is going.  Remember to read the post on willpower if you haven’t already.

To your massive success,

Steven

Email: kaizensteven@gmail.com

Work With Me – Legal Shield

PS: If Your Upline Does Not Have a Step-By-Step Blueprint For Success, Check This Out (Unless You Already Have Too Many Leads) – Click Here for Instant Access

I love Sundays.  For me, they are an opportunity to slow down from a hectic week and take inventory of what happened.  I wake up and enjoy the morning before heading off to church, come home and usually take a nap or spend time with my family, perhaps read scripture or other enlightening stories then a nice dinner with the family.  Usually around 8pm or so, I will come into the office and start to look at the week ahead and what I want to accomplish during the next six days.

I believe this day of rest is even more important as our lives have become busier with smart phones, tablets and technology.  I know that when I am traveling and I have to miss my normal Sunday routine the rest of the week doesn’t seem to go as smoothly.

So on this seventh day, I wish for you the same as me, that we may rest and recharge.  Tomorrow is another day, and we shall do battle then!

To your massive success,

Steven

Email: kaizensteven@gmail.com

Work With Me – Legal Shield

PS: If Your Upline Does Not Have a Step-By-Step Blueprint For Success, Check This Out (Unless You Already Have Too Many Leads) – Click Here for Instant Access

This blog post will show you how to increase your willpower and to learn how to control your own mind and accomplish the goals you desire to accomplish.

While I am writing this topic, I am still in the efforts of perfecting it myself.  It is not an easy task and we all suffer our own setbacks.  However, with perseverance and a constant desire to improve, overtime we will be succeed at increasing our willpower and controlling our mind.

First, what am I talking about exactly?  Perhaps you have had the desire to wake up earlier to get the day started right and be more productive.  My goal has always been to wake up at 5am, go to the gym or simply work out at home, and get started on the tasks laid out the night before with the various projects I have going on.

Inevitably, as the alarm goes off, I am raised from my slumber only to quickly find the snooze button first, then after one or two times just turning it off all together.  Sadly, another day of waking up at 8am instead.

This usually means no workout, no reading from the great Book, and limping into the day rather than the full set of steam I had desired the night before.  I promise myself that tomorrow will be different.  I will overcome!  After a few days I give up and decide that working for myself means I don’t have to get up so early and maybe I am just more effective at night.

Perhaps it isn’t getting up early for you.  Perhaps it is going to the gym, talking to strangers about your business, making a cold call for that first appointment, or whatever it may be.

Fear not, where there is a will, there is a way!  Yes, the cliche saves the day!

Here is a simple three step formula to increase your willpower, control your mind and accomplish your desires.

1. Repeat the following affirmation at least 25 times a day: I am strong and powerful.  The universe has made me more than I appear to be and I have the willpower to overcome all.

I know this may seem dumb, but affirmations work if you believe they will work.  Our subconscience does not know the difference between reality and what is in our head.  If we can train our head to believe what we are saying, it will ultimately become our reality.  Say it over and over enough, and it WILL become truth.

2. When the time comes to do what you desire to do, but that voice in your head prevents you from doing it, you must use the power of your mind to overcome the negative self talk or doubts and push your will past it.

For example, if you desire to get up at 5am and the alarm goes off, usually you are somewhat conscious of having hit the snooze button.  This is when the negative self talk creeps in and tells you your bed is too comfortable, it is cold outside, you can exercise later, you don’t really have to do that project today, or whatever it may be.  At this time, you must start using the visions you have of success and playing them over and over in your head.  Think of what you will look like after going to the gym for 90 days, think of how happy you will feel that day accomplishing your tasks.  Think of others that will be so impressed by your ability to get so much done.  Think of the money that will come to you by finishing that project you have been working on but always seem to run out of time.

3. Stick to it.

Even after getting up that first day or the first week, it won’t be easy.  Especially if you start on Monday (Heaven forbid we start on any other day!) and we are strong all week and then Saturday comes and we can sleep in, right?  No!  Get up the same time every day.  Be consistent.  We are told it takes 21 days to form a habit.  However, we are not creating a new habit, we are replacing one bad habit with a new, good habit.  This is an important difference and if we are not consistent, we will not ultimately succeed.

There you have it.  Increasing your willpower takes time, but with constant application of these techniques, it is possible and you will succeed!

To your massive success,

Steven

Email: kaizensteven@gmail.com

Work With Me – Legal Shield

PS: If Your Upline Does Not Have a Step-By-Step Blueprint For Success, Check This Out (Unless You Already Have Too Many Leads) – Click Here for Instant Access