Setting Your Financial Blueprint

How’s your financial blueprint?

Don’t worry, I didn’t really know either until I read T. Harv Eker’s great book. If you’re committed to creating financial freedom then you have to add this to your must read (and re-read) list.

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind

Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth

by T. Harv Eker

“It all comes down to this: if your subconscious “financial blueprint” is not ‘set’ for success, nothing you learn, nothing you know, and nothing you do will make much of a difference.” ~ T. Harv Eker from Secrets of the Millionaire Mind

I am going to take a quick look at some of my favorite big ideas in the book — from defining financial freedom tolearning to play to win (vs. playing not to lose).

Eker believes strongly in the fact that “Your inner world reflects your outer world” and dedicates a great deal of the book to teaching us how to change our thinking—to re-program ourselves to think and act like rich people do. Let’s get to work on that financial blueprint, shall we!

Playing To Win vs. Playing Not To Lose.

“The first thing I did was commit to my success and playing to win. I swore I would focus
and not even consider leaving this business until I was a millionaire or more. This was radically different from my previous efforts, where, because I always thought short-term, I would constantly get side-tracked by either good opportunities or when things got tough.”

I love that. Are you playing not to lose? There’s a HUGE difference between playing a game trying not to lose and playing the game to WIN. We have all seen the football team falling into a “prevent defense” and ending up giving up huge yards in big bites and ultimately losing the game!

Play to win is alot more fun. And, alot more likely to lead to success. Yah?

Let’s play to win. Commit to creating the results you care about and look beyond the short-term struggles (there will be, as you know, a LOT of struggles, so quit being surprised by them) to the joy of manifesting your ideal life.

Fruits & Roots ~ Cultivate Roots For Better Fruits.

“In every forest, on every farm, in every orchard on earth, it’s what’s under the ground that creates what’s above the ground. That’s why placing your attention on the fruits that you have already grown is futile. You cannot change the fruits that are already hanging on the tree. You can, however, change tomorrow’s fruits. But to do so, you will have to dig
below the ground and strengthen the roots.”

That’s genius. You might want to re-read that. And, remember: you can NOT change the fruits (the current results). But you CAN nurture the roots and, in time, you are bound to successfully produce the types of fruits/results you’re dreaming of.

To me Eker nails it here and stresses again and again that there’s no other way to create the results we’re looking for (financial freedom, abundance of any kind—wealth, love, health, etc.) unless we take the time to work on the “roots.”

Let’s get to work, eh?

Declarations vs. Affirmations

“An affirmation states that a goal is already happening. I’m not crazy about this because, often when we affirm something that is not yet real, the little voice in our head usually responds with “This isn’t true, this is BS” … On the other hand, a declaration is not saying something is true, it’s saying we have an intention of doing or being something. This is a position the little voice can buy, because we’re not stating it’s true right now, but again, it’s an intention for us in the future.”

I really love that. I don’t know about you, but affirmations have never really totally done it for me. (I say that after reciting various affirmations thousands of times!) There was always, as T. Harv says, this little voice in my head that was saying, “Huh? That’s not true!” and I’d have to wrestle with it a bit. Declarations on the other hand? This idea was worth the price of admission alone

My version:

Affirmation: I am financially free!! (insert little voice that says: “No you’re not!!”

Declaration: I am creating financial freedom! — insert little voice that says: We are??? Sweeeeeet!!!

Programming –>Thoughts –> Feelings –>Actions –> Results

“Your programming leads to your thoughts; your thoughts lead to your feelings; your feelings lead to your actions; your actions lead to your results. Therefore, just as is done with a personal computer, by changing your programming, you take the first essential step to changing your results.”

Let’s look a little more closely at that equation: First, recognize that your THOUGHTS lead to your FEELINGS. You might have noticed that that little mind of ours is constantly churning out thoughts. Those thoughts lead to our feelings. Those FEELINGS lead to our ACTIONS. And, of course, those actions produce RESULTS. We’ve heard that before.

What Eker throws into the equation is the fact that our PROGRAMMING comes before our thoughts—we’ve been so conditioned to think a certain way that most of our thoughts aren’t of our own volition. And, unfortunately, usually aren’t very good ones. He stresses the importance of looking at how we’re programming ourselves and, way more importantly, making the commitment to RE-program ourselves with more conscious, empowering thoughts. That’s pretty much what the book is about—learning how rich people see the world versus poor people and, of course, programming ourselves with the wise perspectives
of the rich.

Grow!

“It’s simple arithmetic: “Your income can grow only to the extent you do.”

That’s a beautiful statement and another theme of the book. Your wealth will only grow to the extent YOU grow!! Simple. Powerful. (Funny how the truth is always like that, eh?)

Thoughts & Rent

“…No thought lives in your head rent-free.”

I love that. No thought lives in your head rent-free. You pay for every negative thought. That can get really (!!!) expensive. As ALL great teachers advise, we must control our minds if we wish to shape our lives.

Let’s COMMIT to getting rid of our “stinkin’ thinkin’…”

Arms and Legs

“Let me put it bluntly: anyone who says that money isn’t important doesn’t have any! Rich people understand the importance of money and the place it has in our society. On the other hand, poor people validate their financial ineptitude by using irrelevant comparisons. They’ll argue, “Well, money isn’t as important as love.” Now, is that comparison dumb or what? What’s more important, your arm or your leg? Maybe they’re both important.”

Why do so many of us make it either/or? Either we’re spiritual OR we’re wealthy. Either we’re committed to our relationships/family OR we’re committed to our work.

Either… OR …???????????

Huh? Who came up with that? I’ll have both, please!

Don’t Complain!

“Complaining is the absolute worst possible thing you could do for your health or your
wealth.” The worst! …”

This is another great one. Do you complain a lot? You know what you’re doing when you complain? You’re basically telling the Universe that you’re powerless. That you’d prefer to bitch about something you don’t like rather than ask yourself the question, “Hmmm… What do I want? And how can I get it?!?!”

For the next seven days, I challenge you not to complain at all.

Wanting vs. Committing

“Rich people are committed to being rich. Poor people want to be rich.”

That’s an incredibly simple and incredibly powerful statement. Rich people are COMMITTED (very strong word if you haven’t noticed) to being rich. Poor people? They just WANT to be rich. Can you feel the difference there? To want something is a good start. But we must be COMMITTED to being/achieving/doing something if we want to see the results.

Stars and The Moon

“If you shoot for the stars, you’ll at least hit the moon.’ Poor people don’t even shoot for the
ceiling in their house, and then they wonder why they’re not successful.”

How great is that? What are you shooting for?!? Never give up. Don’t compromise your goals. (I KNOW you have a big one if you’re honest with yourself.)

You were born to do great things. Shoot for the stars!!!

Blessings and Gratitude

“Bless that which you want. If you see a person with a beautiful home, bless that person and bless that home. If you see a person with a beautiful car, bless that person and bless that car. If you see a person with a loving family, bless that person and bless that family. If you see a person with a beautiful body, bless that person and bless their body.”

THAT is a cool idea. See something you want? Bless the person who has it. Bless that which you want.

Affecting vs. Infecting

“Energy is contagious: either you affect people or you infect people.” … “I believe negative thinking is like having measles of the mind. Instead of itching, you get bitching; instead of scratching, you get bashing; instead of irritation, you get frustration. Now, do you really want to be close to people like that?”

Hehe. That’s hilarious and pretty much sums it up.

Is your energy affecting and inspiring people or are you infecting people with your negativity. And, equally importantly, what about the people you’re hanging out with? Are they inspiring you or infecting you as they bitch and bash?!?

Giving and Receiving

“This pretty much sums it up: “It’s better to give than to receive.” Let me put this as elegantly as possible: “What a crock!” That statement is total hogwash, and in case you haven’t noticed, it’s usually propagated by people and groups who want you to give and them to receive. The whole idea is ludicrous. What’s better, hot or cold, big or small, left or right, in or out? Giving and receiving are two sides of the same coin. Whoever decided that it is better to give than to receive was simply bad at math. For every giver there must be a receiver, and for every receiver there must be a giver.”

Money Management 101

“I don’t know about you, but where I went to school, Money Management 101 wasn’t offered. Instead we learned about the War of 1812, which of course is something I use every single day.”

That’s hilarious. And true.

You’ll need to read the book to get his brilliant ideas on how to set up your accounts and keep track of where your money’s going and. I highly recommend you do.

Comfort Zone = Wealth Zone

“Here’s an equation I want you to remember for the rest of your life: CZ = WZ. It means your “comfort zone” equals your “wealth zone.” By expanding your comfort zone, you will expand the size of your income and wealth zone.”

That’s genius. Is comfort your priority? Um…If so, you’re in trouble… EXPAND!!! And know that “The more comfort becomes your priority, the more contracted you become with fear.”

“Comfort kills! If your goal in life is to be comfortable, I guarantee two things. First, you will never be rich. Second, you will never be happy. Happiness doesn’t come from living a lukewarm life, always wondering what could have been. Happiness comes as a result of being in our natural state of growth and living up to our fullest potential.”

~ T. Harv Eker

Learn More about the concept of living to your full potential day to day on our website ~ LIVE WITH ARETE

Direct From Amazon — Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth

Getting Things Done!

From time to time I write summaries about books I have read or that I am currently reading. It is our goal to publish here comments and summaries about books and articles that have application to our business as well as how to apply things in it!

Today’s post is about one of my all-time favorite business books. As a leader in my previous corporate executive roles it was on my required reading list for my entire management staff.

This post is about the book Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done <<<< Buy it here Direct from Amazon.

Written by Ram Charan , executive coach and noted expert on business strategy and Larry Bossidy , Chairman of Honeywell International, and prior to this role he is widely credited with guiding Allied Signal to one of the world’s most admired companies and producing 31 consecutive quarters of EPS growth in excess of 13%!

Business research shows that companies that outperformed their competition excelled at four primary business practices, Execution, Strategy, Culture and Structure. This book is the definitive bible on excelling at the key business practice of Execution. It is not only the biggest issue facing business and business owners today but unlike other management disciplines it really has not been explained satisfactorily. Stop and think a moment. Strategy – so much information on strategy exists it is no longer a challenge. Google both Business strategy and business execution and you will see there are ten times as many results for strategy. Similar results for Leadership development, Innovation, Culture – endless information.

Mentioned over and over throughout the book – the difference between a company and its competitor is the ability to execute. If your competitors are executing better than you are, they are beating you in the here and now and if that’s happening you won’t even get the time to see if an elaborate strategy plays out.

Execution – Getting Things Done is the biggest unaddressed issue in the business world today. It’s absence is the biggest single obstacle to success and the cause of most disappointments mistakenly attributed to other causes. Here is the fundamental problem: people think of executing as the details and tactics of a business and leaders delegate this while they focus on the “bigger issues” rather than getting deeply engaged in the process of execution as a discipline, building systems and embedding it in the strategy, the goals and the culture!

Although I may refer to Execution as Getting Things Done it is more than that it is a set of behaviors, processes and techniques that you must master to gain a competitive advantage! A system of getting things done through, questioning, analysis, documentation and follow through. With the tragic and tumultuous events unfolding right now in our economy – the coming depression – yes you read it here that dreaded D word – many companies will have to tear up their operating plans, prepare new ones and fill gaps in revenue and make major cost adjustments. The winners that emerge from this will be the companies that
adjusted quickly, built clear plans and then followed through and completed those plans!

Whats is this all about and how in the world does it apply to a home based business you may be asking. I would propose to you it is not the what of what you do that drives your success such as your strategy on lead generation and customer service, but more precisely how you execute and most importantly that you get things done and completed.

Ask yourself:

Do you just jump in and start working on whatever is in front of you day-to-day, maybe reading your goals daily to build the power of attraction and feel that is what it is about or do you follow a clearly documented daily process? Do you document what you do, how you did it and then track and work your way through the steps? It sounds simple – eh – maybe even a bit boring given the attention out there to “lifestyle” in our industry.

Do you have numerous unfinished projects on your desk because you are working on what you determined today is urgent. Be real, be authentic, this business involves detailed work, attention to detail and you have to do it OR find the right people who can do it for you and get the work done. Don’t accept the excuse of I’m too busy to work on that.

Let’s look briefly at the Building blocks of execution as outlined by Charan and Bossidy:

• Building Block One: The leader’s seven essential behaviors
• Building Block Two: Creating the framework for cultural change
• Building Block Three: Have the right people in the right place

In this day and age of network marketing and home-based businesses those building blocks at first glance may seem to not apply. Your challenge is to read the book and look for ways to apply the foundation building blocks to your home based business.

• How to develop leadership behavior for your team
• How to build a culture for your team and
• Getting the right people in the right place

Spend a few minutes and focus on the book ending conclusion LETTER TO A NEW LEADER.

Outstanding points and questions:

1. You will be pulled in every direction as people want you to… spend time here, try this, participate in that… BUT running your processes must be at the top of your priority list.
2. Are your resources allocated in proportion to opportunities or does every opportunity get some resources and none get enough? is your plan straightforward, concise and easily understood. You have a budget, but do you have the action plan the budget should represent?
3. Make sure you and your team understand your customers! Understanding your customers is the base of business success. ( More about this in a coming blog…. )
4. Look for ways to implement initiatives in your business to improve productivity – we all have only 24 hours in a day.
5. Maintain your intellectual honesty so that you are always realistic. See things as they are not just the way you want them to be. Build bridges and plans to get there!

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