5 Powerful Sales Lessons

Do You want to be GOOD or GREAT?

DO YOU WANT TO BE GOOD OR GREAT? Do you want to be at the top or in the middle?

Every morning prior to beginning work and every night prior to going to bed I listen to or read something motivational and educational. This morning I listened to a CD containing an interview by Dan Kennedy of Tom Hopkins.  I do this because I do not want to be good at what I do, rather I WANT TO BE GREAT, THE BEST!!

This was a rare opportunity for me to learn some amazing things from one of the centuries giants in sales. Tom Hopkins is recognized as Americas #1 Sales Trainer and broke a century long Real Estate sales record of 365 sales in one year and a total of 1,553 in 6 years. “He set records that remained unbroken until this century.” He has published around 13 books on various topics of sales and has published a few Best Sellers.

“Tom Hopkins, bestselling author of How to Master the Art of Selling, is a world-renowned sales trainer. Over 100,000 people attend his seminars every year, and 1 million more use his training videos.”

Here are a few very valuable areas that I learned from my listening and reading this morning.

1. You must internalize your skills and have them ready on reflex

Ever had a time when you tried to remember a technique, and when the time came to use it, it completely slipped your mind or you didn’t know what to do? Not only does this fail in business but almost any other faucet of life. Take for example a time when you first learned to swim, your instructor may have told everything, but the first time you actually tried swimming you probably nearly drowned, a few times, right? Your body wasn’t going to do the necessary things to keep you above water until you made it a reflex. Now days you probably find it hard NOT to stay above water because you’re so used to it.

And like I said, this holds true in all areas of life where achieving some form of mastery is required to perform. Mr. Hopkins said it best, “Everything you do must be done on reflex, if you try to remember it all you’ll drive yourself crazy.” That was my downfall. I read tons of books and then tried to remember all the material in the real world, it was nearly impossible and confused the heck out of me. Of course you need to be alert but if the reflex isn’t there it’s easy to forget. And sometimes the reflex will take over when you weren’t even thinking of it.

Another good example of this is your daily commute to work. Chances are you take the same rout to work every day. But when you have a day off and you decide to meet your friends at a pub, a few blocks from where you work, you might find yourself taking the rout to work if you’re not paying full attention on where you want to go. It’s because it became habit and you almost had to make a conscious effort to do otherwise(meet your friends at the pub instead of go to work). You create your own robot, and it does whatever you do most often.

As much as we like to think we’re in control of ourselves, 90% of our daily behaviors are habits, ones that we’ve programmed into our brain either with or without knowing it. Think of the way you talk, sit down, converse with people, eat, drive, react to people, become mad, or happy. You might have the habit of drinking too much after saying “just going to have two beers”. Whatever your habits are they’re shaping you. Whether you’re a champion at what you do tomorrow or a complete looser, is often determined by your practice, the reflexes you create and your overall commitment to boring but powerful routine.

“People don’t really choose their future, they choose their disciplines and their disciplines determine their future.” – Tom Hopkins

2. Use non-fear producing words

Tom Hopkins said that when you’re working with a potential client, you need to use the right words to bring them to the final decision. Every potential client has a meter on the front of his nose, one side indicates “yes”, the other side “no” and in the middle is a “maybe”. You might hit it up with the prospect really well(the meter pointing to the “yes”) but, for instance, when you say the word “payment”(fear associated word, who likes payments?), his meter might all of a sudden slip to “maybe” or possibly “no”. What if instead of “payment” you used “amount”? How many “amounts” does the prospect have at the end of the month? Probably none! How many “payments”? Probably more than s/he wants to think about. Is the message the same? Are you still offering the same product, with the same benefits and features? Why let one word ruin it for the prospect? If you really believe in what you’re offering why use fear producing words? Why not use the most effective choice of words possible so that the prospect will see the true value of what you’re offering? Hey, if your product/service is fantastic don’t use mediocre of negative words to make it out less than it is.

Cost/ price/Payment-USE–  investment / amount

Buy-USE– OWN

Contract-USE– paperwork/ agreement/ form

Sell/ Sold- USE-get them involved/ helped them acquire

Sign- USE–  approve/ authorize/ endorse/ OK

3. Ask the right questions

Tony Robbins, author of bestsellers Awaken the Giant Within and Unlimited Power, said that questions are one of the most power mind-tools human beings possess. You can instantly change your state just by asking yourself questions. If you want to make your life miserable ask dis-empowering questions like “why me?” or “why am I so dumb?” or “what’s this mean?” or “why was I ever born?”. These are both very depressing and stupid questions, what kind of answers do you expect to get from “why I am so dumb?”, for example, “it’s your upbringing”, or “your mom probably dropped/threw you as a baby.” If your goal in life is to be depressed ask lots and lots of questions like THAT. But if you instead ask yourself questions like, “what makes life great?” or “what could I learn from this?” or if you cant learn something ask, “what’s could I learn from this if there was something to learn from it?” or “is this really a big deal? Do I really care?” or “are there worse things happening to better people?” or “how can I enjoy life today?” or “How can I make a million dollars?” or “How can I do ___, learn from it and enjoy the process” If you don’t get an answer at first, keep asking yourself. Your brain is extremely resourceful, you hold more answers than you think you do. When you ask questions you instantly put yourself in a resourceful state.

There are a number of good questions that you can ask to direct the prospect to a final decision. One of my favorite ones is when a prospect makes a wild/off-balance statement and doesn’t give a good reason for what they said, you could say, “Obviously you have a good reason for saying that, would you mind sharing it with me?” Often times people don’t know the reasons behind their beliefs. For example, if someone says “McDonalds sucks!”, you could ask “Obviously you have a reason for saying that, would you mind sharing it with me?”

Here’s another good one. If you can’t close and the prospect keeps saying “no”, ask:
“Doug, I’m truly sorry that I wasn’t able to do my job [today/tonight]. You see, if I would have done my job I would have been able to convince you of the value of [your service] and the [services/projects] we offer. Just so I don’t make the same mistake again, would you mind telling me what I did wrong?”
At this point you have one last chance to close.

Learn the right questions to ask. And use them often. But remember, no one likes being interrogated. Make questions apart of your conversation and make them flow so they’re natural.

4. A top performer practices and masters his/her scripts

I have to tell you that I’ve always had a kind of phobia of the phone. I love meeting people in person, but there’s just something about the phone that puts a jolt of fear down my spine. For friends, family and the like, it’s no big deal–I can talk to them any day. The problem is when I’m calling someone I don’t know I feel like I’m going to say the wrong thing. With the help of a bunch of different mental techniques(including the self-questioning talked about above) and the like I’ve been able to improve gradually. Probably the the largest factor in building confidence to talk to business people is learning scripts. And learning it well! This is something that you CAN’T pass up if you are truly serious about being effective in marketing and selling for your business. There are times when I’ve been totally unprepared to tell people what I do. I know exactly what I do, but explaining it to people is often hard because I was just unable to phrase it in a way that made sense to people. A quick blurp like “I do MORTGAGES OR BANKING CONCEPTS” isn’t very actuate and doesn’t give people the chance to say, “Oh!! Give me your card, My neighbor needs someone to help with her retirement planning.”

Something more along the lines of “I’m a Financial consultant who can ASSIST her in CREATING a DEPENDABLE retirement income.” and then you go from there.

5. Make best friends with rejection, only successful people do.

Tell me, who are the most successful people? The ones who ask for what they want often enough or the ones who are afraid to open their mouths for fear of someone saying “no.” In truth, the most super successful, multi-million dollar earners are the ones who have been rejected more than anyone else. Tony Robbins said that every thing you want is on the other side of rejection, he should know, his gross personal income is over 30 million a year. What’s both funny and sad is, the poorest people live within their safe little comfort zones. These people get taxed more and have to work more. Working smarter means expanding their comfort zones and undergoing some mental and emotional pain to increase their earning and achieving capacity. Comfort-zone-expansion is worth millions, hell billions of dollars. If you don’t think so you should look up the story of Colonial Sanders and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Did Colonial Sanders just up and decide one day to start a restaurant selling chicken? No, Colonial Sanders had to get turned down 1000 times before he found someone who would actually sell his fried chicken recipe. How much is Kentucky Fried Chicken worth now days? Or what about Rocky?

How hard did he have to fight before he actually accomplished the dream he was after all his life? His girlfriend left him, he sold his dog and lost everything he ever had, but in the end got it all back and more.

Every “no” you get gets you closer to a yes. Fact is, you’re going to get more “no’s” than “yes’s”. In order to take the leap learn how to handle rejection. Tom Hopkins said “Do what you fear most and you’ll win every time.” People have a tendency to avoid pain, anything that seems painful they tend to move away from. It’s human instinct. And the truth is, there’s no such thing as wealth or freedom or success without rejection. They’re co-dependent. If there was no such thing as rejection or frustration everyone would be able to push a button and become successful instantly. SUCCESS DEMANDS SACRIFICE, SACRIFICE OF YOURSELF. There are two things you must do to get over fear of rejection:

1)Change your perception of what rejection is. Rejection means you’re getting closer to a yes. Rejection also means you’re being tested, a test few people ever pass and is the reason they kill themselves to stay afloat for the rest of their lives. Associate rejection with something you have a strong attraction for.

2) Don’t sweat the small stuff! Get over it. Don’t let small minded people make you let go of your dreams. Don’t care about what they might say behind your back. And don’t worry about being “that guy/woman”. Just think about how flattened those naysayers will be five years from now when you drive up in your dream car, have 7 figures in the bank and doing things you never dreamed possible. Will that dude with the fancy management position still think the same way about you? This may seem a little pretentious but it’s a powerful motivator and energizes you when nothing else will.

Remember, the people who make you give up your dreams aren’t going to be the losers in the end, you’ll be. And if you don’t give up your dreams, and accomplish them, you’ll make losers out of your naysayers. Never let your ego get the best of you though, you don’t need to prove anything to anyone until you have living proof. I say the proof is in the putting, when you accomplish your dreams the proof will speak for itself. Naysayers have good eyesight, you wont need to tell them, they’ll see it.

“At one point in our lives we were all motived because we had something to prove to someone.” – Tom Hopkins

www.FinancialFreedomFighter.com

How is Money Created (Part 1)

How is Money Created (Part 1)

So you think money grows on trees do ya?

“The study of money, above all other fields in economics, is one in which complexity is used to

disguise truth or to evade truth, not to reveal it.”

~ John Kenneth Galbraith , economist, author

The creation of money is one of the biggest and best kept secrets in American culture. Personally I believe more people know who shot JFK than know how Money is actually created. As I poll and survey people from all walks of life the common answer is that money is created by the Federal Reserve or Treasury. This could not be further from the truth, and in reality only a very small amount of money is actually created by the Federal Reserve. After having spent the last 10 years of my life in the Banking and Finance Industry working with numerous people from different socioeconomic back grounds I have noticed that virtually 100% of the people believe the same myths that I was taught growing up.

These myths come in many different shapes and sizes, and it wasn’t until I took a deep long look at where I spent most of my money that I began to ask myself the question of “Why and How is money created”. You see most of us believe that money is created by the government and that we the hard-working middle class trade hours for dollars to pay our monthly bills. Most of us believe that banks lend out money that has been entrusted to them by depositors. Easy to picture, But not the truth. As children we are taught to place the money that we earn in the bank so that it can earn INTEREST! I have vivid memories of opening my first savings account (joint with my parents), and remember the value that I placed on my bank savings book. I was 13 years old, and believed that I was on my way to riches from saving my money. Now fast forward many years later and I now know how much that money was really worth and I will demonstrate to you in a series of articles,  just How Money is Really Created.

“The process by which banks create money is so simple the mind is repelled.”

~ John Kenneth Galbraith, Economist

To understand money and the mystery as to how it is created it is important to take a look at the early beginnings of money and currency. Currency evolved from two basic innovations: the use of counters to assure that shipments arrived with the same goods that were shipped, and later with the use of silver ingots to represent stored value in the form of grain. Both of these developments had occurred by 2000 BC. Originally money was a form of receipting grain stored in temple granaries in Sumer in ancient Mesopotamia, then Ancient Egypt.

Gold and silver were attractive, soft and easy to work with, so some cultures became expert with these metals. Goldsmiths made trade much easier by casting coins, standardized units of these metals whose weight and purity was certified. The goldsmith soon had another problem, that of a place to store and protect his gold. Hence, the first vault was created. Solving the problem of security and storage presented yet another problem, his fellow merchant friends and townsfolk were asking if he could assist in storing their valuables. It wasn’t long before the goldsmith had rented every inch available and began to profit from his small rental business.

It did not take long before the goldsmith realized that the people to whom had rented space rarely came in to check on or remove their (deposits), and further they NEVER all came at once. The reason for this is actually the beginnings of currency. This currency was a promissory note issued by the goldsmith based on the amount of precious metals deposited in his vault.  This currency provided the goldsmith (aka banker) with a brilliant idea, as the depositors had found the promissory note a much more convenient method of trade. (HEY can you imagine carrying a cow or bag of coins around today, vs. the credit card you presently carry!! ) The goldsmith began to lend out gold, charged interest, and he began to PROFIT greatly from other peoples money.

Now, this is where the story takes a wide turn. You see the towns people began to notice mister goldsmith driving around on a nitro charged camel, living in a 3 story home, and wearing custome designed robes made of the finest materials. In other words the gig was up!!! Rather than putting a stop to the whole sha-bang they decided it was time he cut them in on the profit. Well the goldsmith was a little reluctant to cut others in on his profits, so he devised a BOLDER scheme to compensate for paying off the townsfolk. He began lending more than he really had in his vault, and it wasn’t long before his idea went BOOM!!!

So you see this could be considered the first run on the bank. The people began demanding gold instead of the promissory notes he had issued. Now we have the beginning of regulation. Credit had become such an important part of European growth that it had become vital to the economy (sound familiar). Bankers agreed to abide by limits on the amount of fictional loan money that could be lent out. The limit would still be a number much larger than the actual value of gold & silver in the vault. Quite often the ratio was 9 fictional dollars to 1 actual dollar in gold.

Now we have the beginning of the Fraction Reserve System of lending.

To be Continued……………

RodFerrier@FinancialFreedomFighter.com

The Trying of your FAITH worketh PATIENCE

Sometimes when it RAINS it POURS

The Trying of your FAITH worketh PATIENCE James 1:3. I have read that verse so many times over the last 5 years of my life, and its meaning becomes clearer to me after each trial that I am blessed to endure. Often times we endure hardships in life and after we weather the storm we seldom stop to look back from where we  came. I learned that it is important to take a look back at your journey so that the next time you are faced with a trial you can TRUST that God will be by your side.

You see there is a great difference between FAITH and TRUST. You cannot truly see FAITH, rather you see the evidence of it. Faith is the SUBSTANCE of things HOPED for, as described in Heb 11:1. Trust is visible though, and can be seen. For example, when you get on an airplane you trust that Pilot. When you tell your child to go down the slide, they TRUST you because you are standing there at the bottom.

The trials with which you face are there for a reason, and even though they are tough one should not discount them as a useless part of life. Without them we could not grow. Without heat steel could not be shaped, iron could not be hardened gold could not be purified, water could not boil (gotta have my coffee), and food could not be cooked. Well that HEAT is necessary in our life as well. Trials are God’s way of making us uncomfortable so that we listen to Him, trust in Him, and become confident that He truly cares about us and our problems.

Whether or not you are a Christian you have endured hardships in your life. The death of a loved one or friend, a divorce, the loss of a job or maybe you have struggled with your own health issues. I write this as a Christian now, but there was a time in my life that I did not believe in God and journeyed through life feeling alone and empty. I came to know God through the trying of my Faith, and while I am not attempting to write a sermon I am going to tell you that Faith placed in anything other than Christ Himself is useless.

We in America are so blessed that even our poor people are wealthy when contrasted with the rest of the world. We as American Christians rarely live truly by Faith, and without Faith it is impossible to please God. This can be dumbed down to mean it is a waste of time. What I am saying is that no matter your circumstances, whether it is a loss of your job, your car broke down and you cannot afford to fix it, your child needs medical care, you just found out that you are being layed off in 3 months, or any other of life’s curve balls, is that the ATTITUDE with which you CONFRONT your HARDSHIPS is YOUR CHOICE.

You can choose to have FAITH or you can choose to FAIL. Whatever the outcome may be it is soleley your choice on how you deal with it.

As for me I choose FAITH in the ONE who created me. I honor God through my success, not my failures and HE gives me power to overcome. Phil 4:13

Whatever Happened to All That Bailout Money?

So THEY just SQUEEZE us for MORE

Understanding TARP

Whatever Happened to All That Bailout Money?

When the financial sector collapsed, banks were buried by their own bad loans. Congress started bailing out the largest banks, and automakers then jumped on board. Now, Congress has promised $700 billion under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

Neil Barofsky, TARP’s special inspector general said in January, “What remains almost entirely opaque, however, is what has been done with the TARP money.” How does 700 billion dollars disappear?

So far, Congress has paid out about $540 billion in TARP funds to 829 recipients. Only two businesses were asked to report what they would do with the money. To this date we have been paid back $194 billion.

Biggest Bailouts

AIG

Bailout: $69.8 billion

Paid Back: $0

Amount Owed: $69.8 billion

On March 15, 2009, AIG paid out $165 million in bonuses to executives who work in the business unit that was primarily responsible for sinking the company.

GM

Bailout: $50.7 billion

Paid Back: $1.3 billion

Amount Owed: $49 billion

In June of 2009, GM declared bankruptcy. The U.S. treasury now owns a 60 percent stake in the restructured GM. Canada owns 11.7 percent.

Bank of America

Bailout: $45 billion

Paid Back: $45 billion

Interest Earned by U.S. Government: $3 billion

Sheila Blair, who oversaw Bank of America’s bailout, took out loans for $1 million from Bank of America during negotiations. In January 2010, she received a retroactive conflict of interest waiver.

Citigroup

Bailout: $45 billion

Paid Back: $22 billion

Amount Owed: $20 billion

The U.S. treasury owns 7.7 billion shares of Citigroup, or a 34 percent stake in the company.

JPMorgan Chase

Bailout: $25 billion

Paid Back: $25 billion

Interest Earned by U.S. Government: $1.7 billion

In 2009, JPMorgan Chase spent $6.2 million, a 12 percent increase, lobbying congress in an attempt to persuade law makers not to tighten banking regulations.

Wells Fargo

Bailout: $25 billion

Paid Back: $25 billion

Interest Earned by U.S. Government: $1.4 billion

Days before the bailout, Wells Fargo rejected an offer to buy Wachovia. Six days, $25 billion and some hasty tax changes later, Wells Fargo flip flopped, first admitting in a memo that the government loan enabled them to make the deal and then publicly denying it.

How Much is $700 billion, Anyway?

Here’s a comparative look at what money can buy:

The total U.S. donations to Haiti were $466 million.

Supplying clean drinking water to the entire country would cost $30 billion.

The cost to insure all Americans without health insurance would be $70 billion.

The cost to run the U.S. welfare system is $354 billion.

The allotted TARP funds were $700 billion.

TARP Recipients by State

New York companies received about $170 billion in TARP funds. Michigan companies received about $80 billion in TARP funds. North Carolina Companies receive about $50 billion in TARP funds. California companies received about $30 billion in TARP funds. Delaware companies received about $15 billion in TARP funds. Companies in other states received about $75 billion in TARP funds.

TARP Reforms

• Equity Stakes

The Act requires TARP recipients to give up stock in the company equal to the value of the assistance received. By requiring the company to buy back stake in itself, the government can make a profit off of the bailout.

• SIGTARP

In February 2009, a special commission was formed to investigate what TARP recipients did with the money.

• Limits on Executive Pay

Companies who accept TARP money must now also submit to limits on executive compensations, which include not signing “golden parachute” contracts as well as severely limiting bonuses for risky behavior.

• The Recoupment Act

This provision requires the government to report, five years after the signing of TARP, whether or not they have recouped their losses from the program. If they have not, the president is required to submit a plan to recoup the losses from the business sector so that the TARP program won’t add to the long-term national debt.

• Disclosure and Transparency

New laws have been passed requiring organizations that participate in TARP to publicly disclose how they spent TARP assets.

The Lobbying Bailout Circle

Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut, chairman of the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, received $854,200 from TARP beneficiaries in the 2008 election cycle.

President Obama collected at least $4.3 million from employees at these companies for his presidential campaign.

In total, members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, the Senate Finance Committee and the House Financial Services Committee received $5.2 million from TARP recipients in the 2007-2008 election cycle.

The Best Investment Ever

Several TARP beneficiaries in the finance and automotive industries spent a combined $114.2 million in the past year on lobbying and contributions toward the 2008 election. The companies’ political activities have, in part, yielded them $295.2 billion, an extraordinary return of 258,449 percent.

How To Get Rich and retire Wealthy

So Rod you ask, How Do I Get Rich? How do I live comfortably, not live paycheck to paycheck, never worry about balancing my checkbook, purchase what I want when I want it, Pay for private school and college, AND RETIRE wealthy?

So the title has your interest and you are now thinking I am going to tell you something profound like invest your money in medical stocks, contribute 20% to your 401(k), buy Real Estate or if you want to Get Rich Fast- rob a bank. Well no not exactly and I certainly do not recommend robbing a bank even though robbing a bank is just as risky as investing in stocks. I do advise that you invest in something that provides a guaranteed rate of return (15%), no risk of loss to principal, and full control over your money with no penalty.

Anthony Robbins has some good advice in the above video, especially where GOLF is concerned, and if you are like me you are tired of the same OLD advice given by Banks and our “so trustworthy” Government. SERIOUSLY, have you thought about who you spend most of your money with and what you spend it on. TAXES and INTEREST to the Banks and the Government. Aren’t they the ones always telling us how to spend our money?

Okay to the point. Let me start with introducing you to the 5 Laws of Gold from “The Richest Man in Babylon”. A must read!!

1. Gold cometh gladly and in increasing quantity to any man who will put by not less than one-tenth of his earnings to create an estate for his future and that of his family.

• If you start putting $100 a month away when your child is born @ 15% interest, continue to do so until he/ she is 19 and DO NOT TOUCH IT  by the time He/ She reaches age  50 they would have $9.6 million,  by age 60=$39.2 million, or by age 70= $158 million.

2. Gold laboreth diligently and contentedly for the wise owner who finds for it profitable employment, multiplying even as the flocks of the field.

• Invest your money where YOU HAVE NO RISK OF LOSS to principal, AND a guaranteed RATE OF RETURN. (Hint: not stocks, bonds, or 401(k)

3. Gold clingeth to the protection of the cautious owner who invests it under the advice of wise men in its handling.

• Anyone who tells you that RISK= REWARD IS NOT WISE

4. Gold slippeth away from the man who invests it in businesses or purposes with which he is not familiar or which are not approved by those skilled in its keeping.

• You SHOULD invest your money in YOURSELF and YOUR FAMILY as you LIVE. ( I can show you How easy this can be)

5. Gold flees the man who would force it to impossible earnings or who followeth the advice of tricksters and schemers or who trusts it to his own inexperience and romantic desires in investment.

• This INCLUDES ALL STOCKBROKERS, most financial advisers and planners as well as most bankers, and CERTAINLY The Government

In conclusion I  advise that you invest in A VEHICLE that provides a guaranteed rate of return (15%), no risk of loss to principal, and full control over your money with no penalty. Most Financial advisers do not know that this can be done, let alone THE AVERAGE EVERY DAY JOE.

To learn more visit www.FinancialFreedomFighter.com OR CONTACT ME @ RodFerrier@FinancialFreedomFighter.com

Are YOU A Person of Conviction or Compromise?

CONVICTION or CONVENIENCE

Do you operate on CONVICTION or COMPROMISE? Are you a person of Commitment or Convenience?

I had the pleasure of attending a men’s conference in Harrisonburg Saturday evening and had the privelege of meeting and listening to Francois van Niekerk speak. Francois is a former Special Forces Officer in Military Intelligence who saw combat in Angola.  He now pastors a church of 7,000+ congregants and his messages are heard worldwide on TV, Radio, and the Internet.  He is a Director of the African Christian Network which is made up of more than 400 churches across Africa.  After all this what strikes me most about him is that he is a servant at heart.

He challenged me with the same questions that I am now asking you. As a professional, individual, mother or father are you always looking for the path of least resistance OR is your life based on a system of principles and ethics to which you are committed?

We all know of people who in business are always “doing whatever it takes” to get the deal done. They are willing to compromise the lives of their clients, co-workers, friends (if they still have any), and the lives of themselves and their family. They do not operate on ethics, and their sole motive for existing is money$$$. I ask you is it worth it?

I am reminded of the story of Abraham and Lot in the Old Testament, and the outcome of Lot’s willingness to compromise. You see the path of CONVENIENCE always leads to COMPROMISE which always leads to the individual being CONQUERED by CORRUPTION.

The path of CONVICTION always requires COMMITMENT and always results in the individual CONQUERING through their CHARACTER.

So I challenge you on this fine Monday to decide whether you will choose a path of success or or inevitable failure!! I further challenge you to never compromise yourself and reputation as a professional, individual, mom or dad just to get the job done. The path of least resistance is always the quickest and shortest path to misery, BUT the commited person of character ALWAYS lives the happiest life.

Have a Blessed day, and a WONDERFUL week!!

Sincerely,

Rod Ferrier

RodFerrier@FinancialFreedomFighter.com

Rules For Success: You never get hit by the bus you saw coming

The Road to the Top is winding

In today’s message, I leave you with three very import lessons.

One, “You never get hit by the bus you saw coming!”

By this, I mean you need to plan things out.  Think them through and anticipate all the things that can possibly go wrong.  And then, after you’ve done that, look for even more things that can go wrong.

Because the truth is, you never get hit by the bus you saw coming.  The things that usually blind-side you are the ones you never anticipated.  And nowadays, to succeed in business, you’ve got to have eyes in the back of your head!

“Winging it” may be good on vacation, but not in your business or personal life.

Don’t be scared, just be smart.

***

Two, “In today’s day and age, mediocrity is the new excellent.”

If you think there’s so much competition out there, that becoming successful is increasingly difficult, you’re right.

But while becoming successful is difficult, one of the easiest things to do that differentiates you from everybody else, very rapidly… is to just do what you say you’re going to do.

And if you can be excellent at it, and do even more than your promised, and if you’re consistently over-delivering and amazing your customers, then success isn’t far away.

See, the sad truth is that in today’s day and age, mediocrity has become the new excellent.  Even though there’s a lot more competition, still no one wants to work hard.  Most people are instead obsessed with finding short-cuts and avoiding work, and few people are truly honorable.

So if you can be any of these things, you will stand out head and shoulders above your competitors, and you will quickly rise to the top.

***

And lastly, “You can’t connect the dots ahead of time.”

I can’t tell you how many times in my life, things haven’t seemed to work out.  But ultimately, “not working out” led me to an even greater opportunity I never would have had, if things originally “did work out.”

The thing is, success is rarely a straight path.  Instead, it’s usually a serendipitous route that happens after many little random events occur, each one leading you down the next path you didn’t even know existed until just a short while ago.

I met my wife because years ago I took an extra full time job to make ends meet. I had been through a divorce 5 years earlier and relocated to Washington DC after my service in the US Navy. My position at this 2^nd job was a building engineer for Target Corp, and one of my stores was in Springfield mall in Northern Va. It was at that Target store that I met my wife, as she was purchasing a breakfast sandwich on her way to her job in the mall. .

The beautiful girl that I met while working on a table in the food court of Target, has been my wife and my best friend, for almost a decade now.  (And she no longer works in a mall.)

So always remember, things really do happen, especially in business, for a reason.

And I sincerely hope all the reasons why things are happening to you, are good ones.

I think by now, you’re getting a pretty good handle on who I am and what I’m all about.  If there is something I can help you with in the future, just let me know.

And if you have any questions for me, remember to simply “Ask me, baby!” at RodFerrier@FinancialFreedomFighter.com

I wish you nothing but the best, always.

Now go  make a difference,