A Slight Edge

I must admit that I know how to build an organization, and network properly. I could shed some light on the subject, and I'd be happy to help. However, I'm not the best person to turn to. (After all, I've only been networking for two years now, and still have much to learn.) Ask me all you want, I'll help out all I can. But I've learned something CRUCIAL over the last two years about success and people:

First, a disclaimer: This is a touchy subject. Nothing in this blog is meant to demean, belittle, or ridicule any one's beliefs, opinions, or feelings. I love you guys, and you're my best of friends. We may have differences in opinion and our goals in life will vary, but I KNOW that one thing we all want in this life is to be successful (however you define it) in one or more areas of this wonderful experience called life. Okay, with that said...

There is far too much to talk about, and I'm not going to say it. There are countless books out there written by people who have greater minds and more experience. Unfortunately some will make the mistake of not reading those books because of one discomfort or another. ONE that I recommend (understanding Ben's concern) is "THE SLIGHT EDGE" by Jeff Olson. It is THE book to read before you read any other how-to or wealth book. It is the book you need to read, highlight and reread along with your classes, your career planning, your exercise routine and pursuit of new skills. The book to keep with you as you set out to grow and pursue greater accomplishment, achievement and fulfillment in any area of your life. I've read it a couple times now, and if you don't get it soon you can expect a copy from me under your Christmas tree this year.

The more "success" or "get rich" books you read, the more you'll notice that it points to YOU as the only major variable. The greatest gift you could ever give yourself is also the wisest business investment you could ever make. It is also the most critical step in accomplishing any challenging task, and is the one step without which all other success strategies, no matter how smart or time-tested, are doomed to fail. This gift is your own personal development. Abraham Lincoln said "Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four hours sharpening the axe." Obviously a good philosophy on personal development and preparation. Your success and income can only grow to the extent that you do. If you come into big money (or a big organization) when you're not ready for it on the inside, your success will be short lived and you could lose it. (Just look at the latest lotto winner.) I had to learn this lesson the hard way last year. I was building an organization, things were going great, and I was making money. But I didn't know how to manage my business or lead that organization, or at least I hadn't developed those leadership muscles well enough yet. I didn't fit into those shoes... yet. Most people give up at that point thinking to themselves "I guess I'm just not cut out for this." or "this will never work for me." But the past doesn't have to equal the future! Sure, I wasn't who I needed to be then, but I've sure come a long way, and I know that I'm getting there. We can all get there, wherever that end is for you. Ben was right, accumulating wealth carries responsibilities. It aids good men in blessing those around them, and bad men in cut-throat ambitions for personal gratification. If money is your means to a righteous end, you will be blessed in your efforts to acquire that money.

People everywhere want "the secret", the path, the formula. "Tell me how you did this, so I can do it too." Millions of people keep asking HOW, but how to do it is not the issue. Why? Because the answer is only the answer - it isn't actually doing the thing. It isn't applying the answer and living the answer. Ben obviously pointed this out, as I'm sure Abe knows too. You can only build your dream by building it. Something else I think we all agree to is that your life isn't just about you. It's also about contributing to others. It's about living true to your mission and reasons for being on the Earth at this time. Being rich (in the truest sense of the word) includes adding value to other people's lives. Getting rich (or being successful, if "rich" is another four-letter-word to you) is not easy. Anyone who tells you it is is a little out of integrity. It takes focus, knowledge, courage, expertise, 100% of your effort, a never-give-up attitude, and of course a "rich" mind set. It also requires you forget about results, and put your hand to the plow for a season. It is easy to be seduced by the promise of results. We live in a results-oriented world, but there's a problem: You can't judge the course of action you're taking by its results, when its results com last. Remember: Plant, cultivate, then harvest. We can't plant expecting to harvest in the same season. It takes faith, patience, and the ability to withstand criticism from those we sometimes love most.

I could go on forever, but I know this is getting long. I'm going to post my recommended books later on. Best of success to you in achieving your success, and becoming the men needed to carry out such great work. Thanks for being my friends!

Young Stuff

Hey Everyone! Here we are at Lagoon on one of our days off. There's me, Melanie, Jensen Prestwich, Jake, and down below is Jessica Howard. These characters are my sales team. Good looking group, eh?

Apparently we have a home where the buffalo roam, and the skys are not cloudy all day. (We wish there were more clouds though, maybe it would cool off for once!) One of these buffalo beasts started to charge at me when I stopped to take this picture! (He's the mean fella' on the far left.)

This is a neat look at the ground cross-sectioned by a powerfull saw designed to remove concrete sidewalks. It cut so smoothly you can see many of the tunnels created by little pests in the ground!

Well, I just thought I'd share with you some of the amazingnesses of the Great State of Selling. ...er, I mean Wyoming. Make it a great day! Love you guys!

Networking a million dollars

So lately I've been reading a book, one some of you have probably read before, titled "The One Minute Millionaire." This is somewhat significant for me, since in the past I've had my reservations about reading books meant specifically written to show you how to be filthy rich. To be sure, I still have grave reservations about anybody or anything whose singular goal is to put a million bucks in your pocket, because I believe that that much money is very powerful and ought to be earned and the person to whom it belongs ought to know how to use it to the benefit of those around him, lessons he hopefully learned along the way of acquiring said million dollars.

I've always thought that these make-a-pile-of-money books really ought to not be written about money at all, but rather about principles that can be used everywhere in life, including, but not limited to, finances. Take the principle of accountancy for example: you can account for a lot of things -- time, money, physical resources, shelf space, whatever. Wouldn't it be better to teach somebody how to be a good accountant and then have that person extend the principles of accounting to every applicable part of his life instead of stopping at teaching a person to be a good financial accountant only?

Anyway, to get back to the point, this book actually does focus on good principles and habits that improve a person's whole person and emphasizes constructive motives, means, and ends.

About 1/3 the way through the book, when it actually starts getting to talking about how to make a million dollars, they present this analogy of a lever doing the work of moving the million dollar idea where you are the fulcrum and the lever is your resources and the forces pushing down on the lever are things like your network, a mentor, your team, skills & tools, etc.

While talking about networking, they bring out the point that you really only need to find the one "key contact" in your infinite network, or the list of people you know and the people they know, and so on. You don't have to sell a widget to a million people, you just have to sell a million widgets to one person. Or for some other applications, you might just need to find the person that knows a million people who want widgets.

At the moment, I'm working on a photo and album management system called Webatography.com which, like software always is, 80-90% done. I'm looking for ways to promote it and get it in front of people's eyes. What this website does is allow you to organize your photos and build albums out of them that you can post anywhere on the Internet. It has huge application for real estate buyers and sellers as well as eBay sellers and bloggers and such. I'd like to leverage my network to get this thing flying, and that's why I'm writing this post. How can I build a network from the people I know (you guys) which will help me find the people that are going to pay for this service? Word-of-mouth advertising is the best because a) its free and b) it actually works.

I know Nate has quite a pile of expertise in networking, and has a couple of huge networks of his own, so I especially want to hear from you. Abe is bored most of the day, so maybe I'll hire you on (with a salary even?!) as help in this venture. I'm sure my network is full of the skills that will make this succeed, I just have to learn how to find them.

I appreciate your input, and have a nice day.