Spark Entrepreneurship

[TEL Episode 0021] Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

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~begin transcript~

Another book arrived for my library today.

It’s Tim Ferriss’s Tools of Titans.

The reason I’m telling you this is because Tim has focused on ONE thing throughout his life, that’s made him pretty successful.

And I’ve done the same thing – not that I’m comparing my success to HIS  – LOL.

Point is, you can focus on this ONE thing too.

Here it is:

Stand on the shoulders of giants.

It means more than likely, the path has already been paved to where you want to go.

You just have to follow it.

ALL of my life, I’ve done this.

When I’ve FAILED the most, it’s when I ignore the giants and sway from the path.

If you know anything about me, I’m an implementer.  I’m not afraid to “fail.”

As long as I’m following the path laid before me, I know I’ll get to my destination.

Actually, “know” is a strong word.  That’s what EVERYONE wants.

They want the “guarantee.”

So for me, it’s really about BELIEVING I’ll get there.  And that’s key.

Because even though you’re following the “giants”, it doesn’t mean everything will be perfect all the time.

We HAVE to “fail.”

We NEED to experience hardship and adversity.

The universe TESTS us.

Because that’s the ONLY thing that will prove we’re committed.

Because I’ll tell you, from years of experience, there are MORE people interested in success than there are people who care committed to it.

I see it EVERY week.

Here’s the difference:

A committed person will do what it takes.  Period.

That means they’re willing to do uncomfortable stuff…the stuff we don’t normally do.

When you’re interested, if it “fits” into your lifestyle, your calendar, whatever, you’ll give it a shot.

And whenever things get difficult, you move on to something else.

Like I said, I meet people like this every week.

But it’s not me.

And I’m hoping it’s not you either.

Because the whole point is to follow the leaders.

I’ve had many coaches in my life, and to this day I STILL pay coaches.

I constantly buy books and READ ‘EM (novel idea).

My hard drive is FILLED with home study programs and courses…and I LISTEN AND WATCH THEM. (go figure)

And here’s the really interesting part:

I go USE all that stuff!

I try it, I experiment, make mistakes, adjust, try again.

I go ask those giants if they can help me at the point I’m at…because they’ve been there. (OK, sometimes I can’t get through to Tony Robbins or Tim Ferris…LOL)

You get my drift right?

What Tim has done is made his life easier because he’s following others successes and avoiding their mistakes as humanly possible.

You can do the same thing.

It just takes commitment.

~end transcript~

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Commitment in business
Spark Entrepreneurship

Strategic Commitment in Business

Strategic Commitment in Business

~begin transcript: strategic commitment in business~

I talk a lot about “strategic commitment” rather than plain ‘ol commitment because I’ve found over the years coaching and talking to so many entrepreneurs…that they are WILLING to sacrifice a LOT in order to “commit”.

The way I look at it is you and me DON’T have to sacrifice anything…

Maybe ten, twenty years ago things were different…

In fact, I can admit they WERE different.

But the world has opened up to us.

We have so many possibilities to delegate, have virtual teams and so on.

Ten years ago it was a dream to “only do what we do best” and leave everything else to the rest.

Today, that’s not so crazy..is it?

The first thing I would suggest in your “Strategic Commitment” is to have achievable goals.

It’s cool to “dream big” – but at the same time, let’s get realistic and just focus on building a block at a time.

I’m not suggesting you LIMIT your mindset, but if you need to make $10,000 a month, shoot for 15 or 20 rather than 50…

The ONLY reason I’m saying that is because if you put a high expectation on yourself to deliver those results…and you don’t come anywhere close…that’s the point where I see a lot of people jumping off and chasing another opportunity elsewhere.

But hey…IF you’re one of those entrepreneurs that wants to really go for it and can stay focused and true to building that business goal…don’t let anyone stop you.

Key though, is FOCUS!

Next, DEFINE THE RIGHT OUTCOME

This comes down to saying “no” way more often than “yes”.

Here’s the thing – we tend to over-estimate what we can do in 12 months.

So if you have a big goal, focus on that and nothing else.

Problem with a lot of us entrepreneurs (me included) is we have too many ideas and don’t block out the time to get one of ‘em completely done before moving on to the next one.

Lastly – CHANGE HABITS

Establish new positive habits.

Eliminate old negative / destructive habits.

Yea. I know.

You’ve heard it before.

But are you actively DOING THAT?

And what I mean by actively doing that is measuring and focusing on the one or two good habits you want to insert in your life as well as completely eliminating another 1 or 2 bad habits.

It’s not easy – I’ll admit it.

From all the dudes I know who are brain experts, I would say the average time it takes for you and me to INSTALL this brand new habit is about 56 days.

I’m not a brain expert or anything like that, but if you take the average of about two months for each new habit you want – you can see it’s going to take effort right?

But that’s what this is all about.

Effort.

Success doesn’t come without effort.

But my job here is to help you do it with strategy and focus so you’re no longer bouncing around.

~end transcript: strategic commitment in business~

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Joey Ragona, the entrepreneur life
Spark Entrepreneurship

Habitual Procrastination Facts

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Habitual Procrastination Facts [PODCAST episode]

~ begin transcript~

I find a lot of people are habitual procrastinators…

not taking action right away on the info they learn at a seminar or from an online training course they’ve purchased.

They second guess themselves and what it really comes down to is they are afraid to fail…

But it goes deeper than that…

Afraid of failing is just the TOP level fear, there’s another one beneath it – which has to do with RECOVERY TIME.

We all know that time is NOT on our side…

So we make try to make sure we’re not making a HUGE mistake that will set us back years…

For the average entrepreneur or even someone who has not started a business yet, most of them are still working somewhere else…

And they want to build a business to first supplement their income…

And then finally replace their job’s income with their business.

And that’s the reason they’re out there trying to figure out what’s going to help them do that.

Todays’ broadcast is not about “WHAT” do to, we can save that for later shows…

But instead, to cure the procrastination that is doing you no good whatsoever.

Because if you’re working part time and want to build your wealth within the ‘boundaries’ of your life…

Your job, your spouse, kids and so on…

Procrastination Facts

One of the reasons you’re procrastinating is BECAUSE you have very little time to work with…

Which brings us back to the underlying fear of failure…RECOVERY time.

And that’s what most people are doing when they do not believe in themselves enough to TRY and TEST what they’re learning.

This is a VERY COMMON thing believe it or not…

And if you’re in this ‘boat’, you’re not alone.

In fact I go through these cycles…

My high end coaching clients go through them…

EVERYONE I meet goes through it.

The trick is to identify that you’re going through the procrastination cycle as quickly as possible so you can stop it and get to work.

The question comes back to what you’re willing to do to get what you want.

If you’re procrastinating on trying something ‘new’ taught in a seminar…

the answer is not “I’m willing to do anything to get what I want” because you’re NOT DOING IT.

“Well, Joey  , I don’t know if it will WORK”

Guess what, THAT’S doing ANYTHING to get what you want…even if it doesn’t work.

Because that gives you data and experience to move on to the next thing.

You’ll know that plan A didn’t work – so you don’t go out there and keep learning the same thing.

So I hope this helps you a bit today to move towards what you want…

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Joey Ragona, the entrepreneur life
Spark Entrepreneurship

Do you want a better life?

Do You Want A Better Life?

~ begin transcript~

Everyone “wants” something…right?

I haven’t met anyone yet who doesn’t “want” a better life, or a new toy or more time and money, or whatever it is…

Here’s the thing – wanting is NOT enough.

Sure, you may have heard it before but I want to share three levels of “want” with you so you can start “getting” what you want.

The first level is just the idea…it’s where you are basically saying “yea, IF that [thing] fell into my lap, I’d take it.”

It means we’re doing nothing about it.

And THIS level is where most of the world lives.

Which brings us to…

…The Second Level

Where we actually CHOOSE to do something…

This is where a lot of us choose to sit in seminar rooms…

And when we leave, never take a second look at all the notes and promises we’ve made to ourselves and others again.

It’s where we buy a business or self improvement program…

Read the first chapter or watch the first video…

And fall back into our routine…

With the excuse there’s “no time for this right now.”

Come on, we’ve all done it –

I can turn around right now and easily pick out 25 books I’ve never read.

I look at the business improvement programs on my hard drive I’ve never completed…

Because I need to…

COMMIT

Which is the BEST level.

When we decide to commit to what we want, it means we’ll do anything to get it.

We don’t hold back on anything.

We step into the fear of failure, the fear of the unknown and the excitement of success.

The reason we are unsuccessful is the result of what is happening INSIDE, not outside.

And that means we have to change our internal programming…

How we think, feel and act.

And THAT simply means tuning into what we REALLY want and how we FEEL about NOT having it.

Now here’s a small side note:

I would advise you NOT to focus on what it is you DON’T want…

Whether you believe in the power of thought and how the universe reacts or not…

What have you got to lose by following the advice of so many successful people who choose and commit to ONLY focusing on what they WANT?

I think it was T. Harv Ecker who said “your way has gotten you where you are today”

These are the type of simple quotes I never forget and have allowed me to change my life as well as my business.

So which level are you at right now?

The want, choose or commit level?

You’ll know by looking at the world around you…

Because if it’s not what you want, I would suggest your mind is in the way right now…

~ end transcript ~

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Joey Ragona, the entrepreneur life
Market Your Product

Magic Customer Attraction Strategies

[PODCAST]  Magic Customer Attraction Strategies

~  begin transcript ~

Have you ever wondered why it’s difficult to ‘convince’ customers to buy from you?

Or maybe you’re just having challenges attracting new customers in the first place…

How much of your life would change if you didn’t have to ‘convince’ or ‘sell’ anyone anymore?

Well in today’s podcast I’m going to share customer attraction strategies that work like MAGIC – and I really think you’re gonna love it!

Before we dive in, I’d really love it if you gave this podcast a little boost with a cool rating on iTunes and share it with your friends…

This way we can impact the world together in a positive way so we help each other live the lifestyle of our dreams!

So let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work!!

Here’s a question…

How much of your business would change if people were automatically, magically, drawn to you…

Your products…

Your services?

Without any real effort on your part?

Sounds like I’m sprinkling fairy dust and about to sell you the “magical how-to” formula right?

We’ve heard it all before from speakers on stage…

Or some dude on a marketing video…

Who goes through all the steps of ‘selling from stage’…

They say all the right things…

They move the right way…

They ask for audience participation…

They dress for success…

Yet for some reason, we don’t buy their stuff…

We have that little feeling that something’s off.

The reason is this:

Our subconscious is picking up something we can’t really pin-point or make a concrete judgement from…

There’s just something that is not right.

What’s not right is the person doing the talking / selling…

They are NOT who they truly are.

Now that might sound a bit odd, but hear me out…

Because recently, I proved this theory by being something I’m not…

ON PURPOSE.

I figured – well, if THIS is how it’s (supposedly) done, then I’ll give it a try…

I’m talking about doing a presentation talk and then ‘selling from stage’

It’s not like I’ve never sold from stage before…

But I’ve NEVER followed the protocol of “how you’re supposed to do it”

So I ventured out and designed my presentation in the way it’s supposed to influence people to buy…

The results were disasterous –

IT WAS A COMPLETE BOMB.

How do I know “it” bombed and not the “product?”

Because I offered something that was basically FREE – I asked for $1 to TRY IT.

I know that you will NEVER get 100% of the room, but 10% for a $1 trial???

Seemed really odd.

Admittedly I’m a sucky salesperson from the get-go…so that had to contribute to something…

Secondly, when I was going through the pitch, I PERSONALLY FELT ODD…

Do you think the audience picked up on that?

Damn right they did…

In other words, they’re subconscious was telling them “this is not the REAL Joey”

And they were right…

Because I HATE selling – I really do.

I LOVE making people’s lives better, and to do that, sometimes I have to sell – whether it’s my coaching, or my products…whatever…

But here’s the difference –

When I sold before this experience, I sold from the heart – I did NOT go there with an intent to sell..

I went there to deliver information…

And if someone wanted MORE information and have personal help, I had something to ‘sell’ them.

Are you seeing the difference here?

Because this LAST time, I went there with an INTENT to sell…

And even though I was selling the same product as before, I was NOT ALIGNED with my CORE IDENTITY because I was ‘being a salesman’ …. which is something I really hate to do.

THAT’S why people didn’t buy.

And THAT’S possibly why people don’t buy from you…

It’s why you might have challenges in attracting new customers…

Because if you are not communicating from your CORE IDENTITY, you are being something you are not…

And the reality is you are trying to convince people of something you TRULY don’t believe in…

Even if your brain lies to you…

This might be some heavy stuff, but it’s truly the foundation of how to influence people without even trying.

When you are in tune with your CORE VALUES and identity…the SAME PEOPLE begin to follow you and genuine trust and like you.

THOSE are the customers I attract..

THOSE are the customers I really like – because they’re like me – we talk the same – I can BE who I am – say what I think – and they understand…

MORE importantly, I UNDERSTAND them!

So to end this piece, the most important piece is for you to identify what’s REAL to you.

If you’re a real estate agent, THAT’S NOT who you are…that’s your ‘SURFACE’ identity as Frank Kern would say.

I would look at the level below that…and find what truly matters to you.

THAT’S the ‘positioning’ you need to take.

WHAT YOU STAND FOR and what you believe is what attracts and repels people.

And this is what magic and effortless influence is all about.

~ End transcript ~

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