thinkBIG magazine - issue 4

Issue 4

Special e!

Summer issu

thinkbig It’s about empowerment

www.thinkbigmagazine.com

Le a d ers, Business, Miracles, Causes, Adventure

Stories include:

Bob Proctor on leadership Rainman goes to RocKwiz Geek with a mission Recession busting guide Integrity is everything

TWO FREE CDs valued at $198

inside

$6.95 inc GST Nov 08/Jan 09 Volume 1.4

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thinkbig

contents

It’s about empowerment

thinkbig Leaders It’s All About YOU – Bob Proctor living attraction.......... 10 Bob Proctor is one of the world’s leading teachers of the Law Of Attraction. At 70-something he continues to dominate the global personal development industry.

thinkbig Miracles Rainman Goes to Rockwiz............................................... 16 Born blind and diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome as a child, Mark Boerebach dreams of becoming a rock star in an imaginary world.

thinkbig Causes Culinary Calling................................................................. 20 Master chef, Neil Perry is determined not to become a self parody in an age of TV ratings and celebrity cooks.

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Dancing Stars..................................................................... 24 Beyond the glitz and glamour that symbolise the world of DanceSport are devoted athletes.

thinkbig Business Don’t Wimp Out In Tough Times...................................... 26 Australia’s most successful business coach, Mal Emery has sobering news for businesses wanting to survive the recession.

Geek With A Mission.......................................................... 30 Cameron Reilly founded The Podcast Network as a path to building a global media empire.

Take Time Out..................................................................... 34 Professional development programs provide opportunities to network and take time out.

Online Value....................................................................... 36 Speculating on the success of domain names is big business.

Strategic Value................................................................... 38 Selling a business requires detailed and lengthy preparation.

thinkbig Wealth Wealthy Women Rule........................................................ 40

thinkbig Teachers Grow Like An Oak Tree...................................................... 48 Dr John Demartini says stability and patience are the keys to surviving tough times.

Take The Cash Machine Challenge............................... 50 Loral Langemeier explains the cash machine concept.

Out Of Adversity................................................................. 52 In an exclusive interview, Vic Johnson recalls how he turned adversity into success by setting goals.

Get Over Yourself............................................................... 55 Sharon Pearson defines the difference between talent and business success.

Unlock Your Creativity....................................................... 55 Brian Tracy says creativity needs to be used on a regular basis to gain strength.

Master Your Emotions To Win........................................... 56

Kim Kiyosaki believes the world would be a better place if there were more wealthly women.

Prudent investors don’t act on emotion, says Warren Black.

Stop “Awfulising” The Economy!...................................... 43

Back Yourself To Win.......................................................... 58

Mark Joyner says it’s OK to say you don’t understand the financial crisis.

Chris Howard says everyone should learn to trust their instincts.

Complacency Is No Option. ........................................... 46

How Does That Feel?......................................................... 63

Mark Rolton says the world of property options is not for the complacent.

Exclusive extract from direct selling star, John Lavenia’s new book, Integrity Is Everything.

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‘ our team!’

Publisher and Managing Editor Michael Walls michael.walls@thinkbigmagazine.com National Sales Manager Graham Maughan graham.maughan@thinkbigmagazine.com Affiliate Manager Warren Henningsen Subscriptions Co-coordinator Amanda Peros Contributing Editor Chris Howard Senior Writers Jill Fraser and Fran Molloy Contributors Susan Alleyn, Warren Black, Reuben Buchanan, Dr john Demartini, Mal Emery, Chris Howard, Mark Joyner, Loral Langemeier, Sharon Pearson, Mark Rolton, Warren Stokes, Brian Tracy, Michael Walls.

Creative Design Craft Design craftdesign@bigpond.com Karen Sagovac – Graphic Designer Illustrators Don Everett doneverett16@gmail.com Karen Sagovac karen@kazart.com.au Website/subscriptions www.thinkbigmagazine.com Enquires info@thinkbigmagazine.com Mindset Media Pty Ltd ACN 129 256 300 ABN 94 129 256 300 GPO Box 519 Sydney Australia 2001 Phone: 61 2 9925 8016 Fax: 61 2 9925 8099 thinkbig Magazine ISSN: 1835 7733

Important Message – Copyright and Disclaimer thinkbig magazine is owned and published by Mindset Media Pty Ltd (ACN129 256 300).

The publisher, authors and contributors reserve their rights in regards to copyright of their work. No part of this work covered by the copyright may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means without the written consent of the publisher.

No person, organization or party should rely or on any way act upon any part of the contents of this publication whether that information is sourced from a website, magazine or related product without first obtaining the advice of a fully qualified person.

This magazine and its related website and products are sold and distributed on the terms and condition that: • The publisher, contributors, editors and related parties are not responsible in any way for the actions or results taken any person, organization or any party on basis of reading information, stories or contributions in this publication, website or related product.

• The publisher, contributors and related parties are not engaged in providing legal, financial or professional advice or services. The publisher, contributors, editors and consultants disclaim any and all liability and responsibility to any person or party, be they a purchaser, reader, advertiser or consumer of this publication in regards to the consequences and outcomes of anything done or omitted being in reliance whether partly or solely on the contents of this publication and related website and products.

• The publisher, editors, contributors and related parties shall have no responsibility for any action or omission by any other contributor, consultant, editor or related party.

Connections Achieve Financial Freedom Business Opportunity in Personal Development that is structured for Wealth Acceleration and Lifestyle Optimisation P: 1800 1090 585 www.achievefinancialfreedomtoday.com/thinkbig Brian Tracy Live: Adelaide 24th February 2009 The world’s best Sales and Management Trainer is coming to Australia. One appearance only.

Book early due to limited tickets. www.championevents.com.au P: 1800 634 227 Imagine Being Free Change People’s Lives while earning a CEO level income at home. P: Aus 02 4341 1400 P: UK 2030516 322 www.imaginebeingfree.com Platinum Pursuits What does Financial Freedom mean to you?

Register for your FREE 4 week Video Course. thinkbig@platinumpursuits.com P: 1300 722 870 The Comben Group Maximise your real estate investment opportunity in Australia today. P: 03 9893 4757 www.smartpropertydevelopment.com.au Lifestyle Trader Learn how to make money while you sleep trading global markets. Order your FREE DVD now. www.lifestyletrader.com.au/thinkbig KP Consulting IMAGINE if your home help was done for you at a low cost so you can keep making money! To find out how we can mollycoddle you contact us on 02 9808 1410 or email kpconsulting@iprimus.com.au IC Frith & Assoc Professional Insurance providers for risk identification & minimisation, policy selection and claims administration. P: 02 8853 910 www.icfrith.com.au Financial Wizards Financial Wizards provide financial education for individuals & families. They have just released a CD series that teachers the fundamentals of the money mindset & tools investment. Visit www.financialwizards.com.au

“If you think you can or think you can’t – you are right

Successful people know they can” Be part of the “Fresh New-Look” home business in the booming Personal Development Industry. Give yourself the opportunity to live your life the way you want to live it. Take action now – just do it Ph: 0414 543 194 Email: info@thesecret-steps2success.com www.thesecret-steps2success.com

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Never tell people how to do things.

Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”

ie le d ic p o e us y p Man their m .” with in them dell still Wen er mes Hol

Oliv

Notes to self Spanish animals gain HUMAN RIGHTS

In June 2008, the Spanish Parliament announced its support for an ambitious project: to grant legal rights for non-human great apes – that is, chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans.

It was an announcement of great significance to members of the Great Ape Project, an international group of primatologists, psychologists, ethicists, and others aiming to achieve a UN Declaration of the Rights of Great Apes to confer the right to life, the protection of individual liberty and the prohibition of torture. Scientists argue that nonhuman great apes are our most genetically-similar relatives and have the capacity for a rich emotional and cultural existence, experience emotions like fear and happiness, can learn and teach other languages and remember their past and plan for their future.

The Great Apes Project was co-founded by Australian ethicist Peter Singer – whose 1975 book, Animal Liberation, remains the ‘Bible’ of the Animal Liberation movement. Singer is regarded as one of the world’s most influential living philosophers and he is widely published, averaging a book each year.

Happ i the ness is mean i the purp ng and o life, se o

f aim a the who l n hum d end of e an ex is Aris tence.” totle

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George Patton, US General

mics o n o T N PARE Joshua Gans, winner

t, Economis omic Society of ng con You of the E inaugural as 7 0 0 2 ’s Australia Award, is equally t is ring as Econom child rea phs t u o b a te gra passiona world of lying e h t t u o he is ab began app e H . s ic t he and statis ic principles to t d om -love key econ ee much r h t is h raising of ns is the author Ga ers, children. emic pap d a c a s s le of count ports and books re d ic econom now adde s a h e h is and to th mics (publisher, no O Press), a ParentW S N f o y Universit book that marries e le t t ith th lively li usings w ting. m ic m o n hard eco allenges of paren ch l d joys an delightfu h c u s s s e r economic He explo e h t s a ms conundru h fairy, the child ot l a, optima of the to m m e il d r’s and chauffeu or toilet training f o incentives e negotiation of t at the ultim o eat? t t eat or no

Is Voting a SPIR ITUAL Act? Philosopher and au thor Deepak Chop ra,

who is renowned for his ponderings on deep and meani ngful issues, has doing some serious been inner work on the subject of voting. conclusion? “It m His ay seem that a sim ple social act like a ballot is a tiny ge casting sture. But it isn’t.

The way of peace that no action is says more powerful th an action from th Yet this is a theo e soul. retical statement until we know wha soul is and how to t the reach it. Only then can an apparently simple act like ca sting a ballot turn out to have real po Hmmmm.. very prof wer.” ound!

WALKING into the HEARTS of SYDNEY

Albert Einstein

I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.”

After 88-year old Alan Waddell lost his wife of sixty years Marjorie to cancer in 2002, he started walking up to two hours a day. The retired accountant, soon bored walking the streets in his local suburb of Longueville, decided to walk every suburb of Sydney. With the help of son John (who drove him to each site, armed with a camera) and son Graham (who maintained a website of his travels), Alan walked every street in 284 suburbs of Sydney. He made gently humorous comments on the many quirky and funny sights he discovered on his travels and met new friends wherever he walked.

The site attracted attention from half a million people around the world, with thousands emailing Alan to say they had been inspired to walk for their own health. Alan’s walks – and the website, www. walksydneystreets.net became legendary. He made many media appearances, visited schools and helped launch the Heart Foundation’s Walk for Life campaign. Alan died just months ago, at the age of 94, from complications following a hip replacement operation. Hundreds of emails flooded the website.

In the last six years of his long life, Alan Waddell walked over 5,000 kilometres – and proved you are never too old to change the world.

There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into sun.”

Pablo Picasso

Dog with TWO legs

In 2003, a US woman, J ude Stringfell ow, rescued a de four-wee formed k old female pu ppy from its mother, a Chinese Chow Ch ow a neglecte . The puppy was d runt an d seemed unlikely t o survive in the litt The Strin er. gfe skateboar llow family used a dt legged dog o teach the twoto hop an d walk upright o n two leg s. Jude a Faith have nd s Oprah and ince appeared on various T V and radio programs and Jude has left h teaching jo er b and trav els the w with Fait o h in her n ew career rld popular m a sa otivationa l speaker.

DER n Collider (which I L L O C DRON Who; but the Large Hticadleroaccelerator in A H e g r a L from Dr from 80l-life par something 8) is a rea hysicists

p like 200 nnel, cost en 8,000 It sounds tional in September ometre tu ion betwe t il a k r o a 7 r b 2 a e p ll a o o nd velop. gc became ears to de ches arou nd involvin t y e la y r r t t e n s z e it h w t w ic an alled wh Geneva, S n more th particle c he device, e l k T a a . t ic s t s e ie a r r h t o n e nd th icist plus cou 10 billion a roject is to find a tish phys t $ o c S S U e d h n t that arou f the p named for suggested ,” y n r o o s One aim o e o h b t s 4 e 196 the “Higg at the tim s whose le present Peter Higg ic s t u r a h t p , d serve to matter a never-ob und gives mass ’ g n a B elchair-bo e ig h ‘B W e . h le t ib r of oss ing (autho universe p hen Hawk p e t t a S making the t t e b is ed a £50 trophysic British as Time) plac f iggs o y r o t His that the H t n e im r e of A Brief p ex ing of the . the beginn discovered e b t o n ld u Bosun wo

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Andy War hol, artis t

Being goo d in business is the most fas cinating kind of a rt.”

your urself to hat, o y e s o p Ex rt ear; afte deepest f o power, and the n d fear has eedom shrinks an r f f ree.” fear o You are f . s e h is n va ison Jim Morr , r e lead sing s r The Doo

Good MENTAL HEALTH may be just a MEAL away

The key to maintaining good mental health may have more to do with what’s going into your stomach than in your head says Brisbane dietician, Michael Lawler from Tree of Life Nutrition. He notes that UK research has shown a correlation between the intake of certain vitamins and the improvement and prevention of illnesses such as ADHD, depression and bipolar disorders, prompting the medical profession to reassess the importance of diet in mental health. B1 and B12, zinc, Those folate and Omega by day who dream 3 were isolated a of ma re cognisan as significant ny t which things contributors to a those escape mental well-being. w only b ho dream y nigh t.”

Edger Allen Poe, writer

o t g n i n e t s i l , No on’t w T R A Z O M TER R A M S u o y make d for Mozart big deman There was a University of 93 19 a r te af listening recordings howed that s y d tu s ia s rn Califo or ten minute f a at n o s t e ar to a Moz ial intelligenc at p s r u yo e could increas re. However last year, sco a paper and IQ test ers published h rc ea s re an art Germ o-called Moz s e th at a th showing ved phenomen li rt o h s ry effect is a ve minutes after the st lasting for ju from and results s p to s ic mus sic. y sort of mu an to g in n te shows s li of research y d o b a , er ev al How arns a music le o h w d il h that a c ctive ssified as ‘a la (c t en m ing) u instr passive learn an th er th ra ent, in learning’ rm improvem te gn lo e av h will memory lightly better increase particular, s erage 7 point av an d an ls skil core. in their IQ s

HALF of Australia s till untouched by Hu mans A recent study has fo

und that nearly half of Australia is largely untouched by human s, making it one of the larges t intact wildernesses on earth.

Three million square kilometers (1.1 millio n square miles) remains largel y unchanged by indus trial civilization. “It’s ra re on earth in this ce nt ury,” Australian wildlife ec ologist and report au thor Barry Traill told loca l radio. “We need to ho ld onto this country. It’s ju st so precious,” he said.

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Feature. thinkbig heroes

Think big?

Positively!

‘ leaders influencing the world ’

Bob Proctor.

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At 70-something Bob Proctor has been teaching personal development long before it became popular.

As head of Life Success Productions his products and programs reach 100 countries. His appearance in The Secret confirmed him as one of the living masters of The Law of Attraction. And as he told thinkbig managing editor, Michael Walls, in this exclusive interview he has no plans of slowing down.

u o Y

Q:

Bob, can you define leadership?

A: Leadership is when ordinary individuals behave in an extraordinary way causing other people to want to follow them in the pursuit of an ideal which will improve the quality of life for everyone involved, including the leader.

Effective leaders must have rocksolid confidence in themselves and the vision that they are involved in. This confidence must be based on a deep understanding of their true nature, which is spirit, and they should see it as a foundation of everything they do.

Understanding would be a key word in every aspect of their life as it is the polar opposite to worry and doubt.

Understanding is based on study – so effective leaders would have an insatiable desire to study themselves and their fellow man.

They would follow the principle of wanting for everyone else what they want for themselves. They would have a keen ability to see potential and talent in another person even when the other person may not be aware of it.

Effective leaders would be resilient.

Losses and/or mistakes would be accepted as a part of their success philosophy. They would be empathetic to other people’s suggestions and points of view, yet firm in their resolve to stay on the course they have chosen.

‘leaders influencing the world’

It’s all about

11

Discover your purpose

“Many wealthy people started out with nothing” - Bob Proctor

vision Build your goal a h lis Estab

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Q: Is it possible to create a culture of excellence?

A: To create a culture of excellence, culture must first be understood as a paradigm or group habit and excellence as being the best result people are capable of producing at any given time.

A culture of excellence would be based on an effective education program where individuals view education as a never-ending process. The educational program would help each person understand the relationship of their mind to their results; it would be an individualized goal-oriented environment where the participants were continually working at improving their own personal self esteem and rather than competing with one another, they would be co-operating.

Q: What message would you like to pass on to your students?

A: I encourage every student to discover their purpose, build their vision and establish a goal (a report on this will be in the next issue of thinkbig).

I attempt to help students understand that we’re dealing with infinite knowledge which is a big idea and regardless of how advanced we may appear, we have only just begun. I let them know that their report card does not represent their potential, but that study is something that should be a part of our daily routine because it is the only way to tap into knowledge which results in understanding.

As King Solomon said: “In all you’re getting, get understanding.” I encourage everyone to tell their teenagers to go to our teen site, www.goal33.com – it’s free and we are presently educating teens in over 100 different countries on a daily basis.

Q: Tell us about your most valuable lesson.

A: The most valuable lesson I’ve learned is called the stickperson. It helped me connect the dots, so to speak.

The late, great educator and my personal mentor, Leland Val Van De Wall taught it to me. It organized the information that I had gathered about myself as a spiritual being with an intellect, living in a physical body and eliminated an enormous amount of confusion in my mind.

I have been sharing it with people all over the world for the past 40 years. This too, I will make available in a future issue of thinkbig.

Q: And your biggest mistake?

A: I probably haven’t made my biggest mistake yet; I’ve made many. However, I don’t focus on them. I see them as a necessary parts of learning. I do not look at mistakes as something bad; I only see them as necessary steps to creating an awareness of how to move to a higher level.

Q: How do you plan to grow your company, Life Success?

A: Life Success is not a company; it’s a group of companies that come under the umbrella of Life Success Productions.

I want to see these companies strengthen and operate more efficiently to create a greater presence in the marketplace globally. I want all the material we have translated into multiple languages so the beautiful, basic ideas that we teach and that have improved the lives of millions of people over the past 40 years reach everyone interested in learning, regardless of their age or nationality.

Q: You’ve just released a new book, It’s Not About The Money, what is it’s main message?

A: The main message of the book is tied up in the title of the book, although we do want people to understand money. The earning of money is not taught in our school system. As a result, just a small fragment of our population understands how to earn a sufficient amount of money to live the way they choose.

Earning of money has to do with consciousness, awareness; a mindset. Hopefully, It’s Not About the Money will effectively communicate that idea to millions of people, giving them the understanding they require to earn the amount of money they need, so they can provide the things they want, to live the way they choose. I believe that’s called freedom.

Q: Why are people so concerned about money?

A: People are concerned about money, because they let it control them. They don’t know how to earn it and have very little to speak of. Yet, it impacts virtually every aspect of our lives. People should establish multiple sources of income; most people have one.

We have a company established for the sole purpose of helping people develop multiple sources of income and create joint ventures with other like-minded individuals all over the world. You could receive information on the Chairman’s Club by emailing amzi@bobproctor.com Q: Can anyone be wealthy?

A: Absolutely! And, there’s sufficient evidence to substantiate that fact. If you were to do just a little research, you would conclude that many wealthy people started out with nothing.

Consider this: if everyone has the same potential and wealth creation is governed by exact laws, then anyone who is prepared to adhere to those laws and develop their potential must, by law, become wealthy.

Q: Get out your crystal ball. How do you see the world in 10 years time?

A: I don’t know that anyone could properly answer that question. Ten years is an eternity in the age we’re living in. Just look back 10 years and take a look at how our lives have changed.

I do believe this: everything once was perfect and we are returning to a state that once was. Whether people believe that or not, is irrelevant; it’s still so.

Therefore, the lifestyle of anyone who is prepared to consciously and deliberately improve themselves is going to be incredible. The world is moving in the right direction; we must not let the troubled spots or the testy times sway our level of expectation.

Q: Where do you think the personal development industry is heading?

A: I believe personal development is becoming one of the most important subjects that you could study.

It will be a part of the curriculum of every school and will be looked at much the same way we look at food to maintain physical health.

Personal development is going to be right up there with oxygen. If you want to live …really live, there’s only one person you can develop, and that’s yourself.

Get into the habit of studying a little bit every day and develop yourself to your greatest potential.

by Michael Walls

Your Partner for Executive and Management Development Services

The Leader RESEARCH &

OPINION FOR

TODAY’S ORGANISAT

IONS SEP 08

animal jungle: How the Lessons from the business ut teaches us abo INFORMATION,

world

world rotates The chimpanzee to O’Keeffe, wired to gossip. and according informaaround gossip, to seek and share do this time s “We are hardwired for a very long alliances. Chimpanzee us E’VE KNOWN gossiping.” tion and build world can teach humans do it by that the animal organisations by grooming, and As human animals, for business or many things.

The implications from raising is a normal part us in everything ‘gossip session’ serves partner. our instincts guide are huge. If the to choosing a and if this session function, shopping – to animal founder and create children of our share information to Hardwired Humans’ have an having Yet according to forge alliances, animal instincts practice of employeesand their Andrew O’Keeffe, trust, the current others way we lead and the from in away play to desks enormous part lunch at their detrimental to group is surely have only isolation and work in a business. wider ‘family’ O’Keeffe, humans workplace. While the modus According to family groups harmony in the be connection may of their immediate worked outside industrial revo; constant laptop employee, the innate necessity years since the larger organisation of todays ’s peril. with others for the last 250 be a part of a as the operandi minimised at the organisation this, people worked to. During er groups, or stretched to is Prior positions, lution. level becomes s to gossip most interesting our comfort were usually related the 150 mark. Relationship One of O’Keeffe’s they knew, and example, entire in depth during organisation exceeds as the organirevolution for that will be covered Jane Goodall, is the agricultural and it was only to forge and maintainare more likely and one Tour with would run farms, people are harder to lead.

National Lunch family groups in size, and we of industry that where our his intrinsically ‘want’ sation increases and larger organisation through the urbanization that Leaders must from their famskills can be isolated to ‘mistrust’ the cities and away some leadership a human, proposition, were drawn to thin. are to While education, unless this as a starting relationships are leads then, if they ily groups. Using current model implanted through ‘wants’ to lead, Large organisation us to see that our could create smaller or a bull elephant steers O’Keeffe urges look at the research, than 150 people. a monkey directionless. This and seriously new. weak fairly be fairly is more aren’t this of work ership will structures of no implications of view that managers isn’t a The ultimate busi- satellite the long held a step further.

So what are the in us, us to the research goes and that leadership patterns on individuals, Perhaps Yet a fascinatrecent shift in work group is still ‘hardwired’ necessarily leaders, s in general? functional work to be a smaller taught to everyone… prois more likely to organisanesses and organisation skill that can be that will certainly lesson relates and this workgroup seven people. Flight Centre, contentious view lunch tour. the most fascinating from the work of Professor group of every ing and comes during the upcoming of family-sized see in virtually will we questions School tional size and Goodall voke business and Jane work groups from the London from the Australian Andrew O’Keefe maintains ‘family’ Nigel Nicolson Tour beginwith Robin Dunbar groups it’s their Lunch shopping complex, seat visit Business. Together Professor Nicholson deterWithin these family and be undertaking To reserve your of seven people. solid work relationships Oxford University, was the leading indicator of ning 1st October. possible to maintain size role. edu.au/janegoodall Phil Dye the average mined that brain g of each other’s by www.agsm. an understandin and that in humans, people. idea put forward societal comfort, is 150 Another fascinating is that we are hardcomfortable in , the ‘village’ we feel Nicholson the modern organisation O’Keeffe and Translated to can work in largthat while we research tells us

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Yet how and under attack. is under review the world?

The Boardroom e to the rest of boards compar doors of the world’s boardroomsin. not ‘speaking do Australia’s Kaka-

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paralysis Andrew While a general many boards, ccording to Professor was a trait with Cranfield University’s up’ on vital issues the fact that in badse from dangerous was t, two-thirds of the President, perhaps the most School of Managemen on issues they feel 76% of the US companies studied, person. This don’t speak up was the same This paralyboard members CEO and Chairman to Kakabadse held more affect the company. could negatively vision, neglect not a lack of shared individual according power and was sis, together with attention to social than an appropriate level of of a total lack of and be critical ess of legalities and an ineffectiven effectively analyse on of roles and contribute to and able to responsibility strategy. A differentiati of future legislation target was vital in company the roles be operate. which could holding these in the way boardrooms involves the individuals a drastic change an effective board. study, which and PresiHis ongoing research 12,000 organisations producingChairman, Chief Executive 4 than “The more Continued on page analysis six surveys on is the most up-to-date closed the from 19 countries, going on behind of what is exactly

The Leader Information, research and opinion for today’s organisations Go to www.agsm.edu.au/theleader to receive our email publication To get your copy of the latest Executive Development Guide go to www.agsm.edu.au/2009 or call 1800 692 476 For information about It’s Not About The Money visit www.bobproctor.com Don’t miss future editions of thinkbig for more from Bob Proctor – Editor

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Chapter 1. thinkbig miracles

Rainman goes to RocKwiz ‘ inspiring the will to live ’

16

Born blind and diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome as a child, Mark Boerebach dreams of becoming a rock star in a detailed imaginary world that he has constructed, called Earth Two.

M

ark Boerebach runs an online radio station, develops coverart for 80’s compilation CDs and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Australian rock charts of the 1980s.

Mark is articulate and obviously intelligent; he’s competent in web development, has good computer skills and has also completed five TAFE courses for high-demand skills such as graphic design, web design and prepress publishing.

And yet, since leaving school twenty years ago, the 37-year old has been unable to land full-time paid work.

Born blind and diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome as a child, Mark has endured bullying and long-term unemployment during his lifelong struggle with dual disability.

Before he started school, he had gone through six operations to partially restore his sight and while doctors focused on helping him overcome his visual disability, he struggled to cope with the sensory overload and other early problems associated with Asperger’s Syndrome, which is a developmental disorder on the autistic spectrum.

Characteristics of Asperger’s often include an exceptionally good memory, a very literal communication style, difficulty in understanding non-verbal

cues, narrow special interests which can become obsessive and strong adherence to routines and order.

Most people with Asperger’s don’t experience the learning difficulty and language delay typical of autism – in fact, many are highly intelligent - but they usually have difficulty with social skills and communication.

The youngest of four brothers, Mark was painfully shy and awkward as a child and has struggled to fit in socially for most of his life. And since childhood, each night in his dreams he has visited a detailed imaginary world called Earth Two where anything is possible.

On Earth Two, Mark has been a rock star, an astronaut, a political leader. On Earth Two, he has a wife and a rich and successful life.

But here in the real world, Mark is unemployed and lives alone. Bullied daily at school, he remembers many incidents where groups of boys would physically attack him in the playground, while teachers stood by.

“The teachers basically thought I needed to learn to fend for myself if I was going to make it in the real world,” he says. “It just would not happen nowadays; schools don’t let that go on any more.”

In the first job Mark held after leaving school, with a government

cKwiz Today – Ro agazine. m & thinkbig – Earth Tomorrow tire en One & the stry! music indu

The articulate and intelligent, Mark Boerebach.

‘inspiring the will to live’

LONG LIVE the Eighties!

17

“I think I’ve come to the realisation that whatever will be, will be” - Mark Boerebach

This guy really knows his stuff...

18

Mark with RocKwiz presenter, Brian Nankervis.

agency, the bullying continued. “I was physically assaulted, yeah,” he says.

For several years, Mark tried to find sympathetic employment but struggled to fit in – and by the mid1990s, unsurprisingly, he had a nervous breakdown.

While I spoke to Mark about these dark times, I was surprised at his lack of bitterness, his compassion and his positive approach.

He spoke of sensory overload and says that ‘positive’ sensory overload, through the feel of a particular type of plastic, gave him a way of coping with the stresses he experienced in daily life.

Despite his positive approach and constant struggle to find work, his journey has been a difficult one. But things are looking up for Mark.

A chance encounter with film producer Amy Scully last year has led Mark to move closer toward his dream of working in the recording industry, to appear on television in a display of his extraordinary music industry knowledge – and to realise that life on Earth One, the real world, may be even more fulfilling than his imaginary dream world.

A series of coincidences brought Mark into a music industry class taught by filmmaker Russell Kilbey, who is also a well-known musician, sound engineer and composer.

Astounded by Mark’s knowledge of Australian music of the 1980s, Russell encouraged him to enter the music trivia show RocKwiz, which screens on SBS TV. Russell and his wife Amy Scully have filmed the journey of this courageous disabled man towards a different type of rockstar-dom.

Called Rainman Goes to RocKwiz, the documentary about Mark’s journey to Melbourne’s Espy Hotel to appear on the music trivia show RocKwiz screened on SBS on Oct 22 2008 at 8pm, with the episode of RocKwiz featuring Mark screening in the same week, Oct 25 at 9.20pm.

Late last year, Amy stopped to talk to Mark after she recognised him from a newspaper article about his struggle to find work.

The couple’s son, Marlon has Asperger’s syndrome, so Amy was well aware of the issues Mark was facing.

“He’s very self-aware and very intelligent,” Amy says.

“The other world that he dreams includes all the things that he doesn’t have here. I’m just amazed at his resilience.”

While helping Mark to prepare for an interstate journey, Russell and Amy introduced him to Australian music industry expert Glenn A Baker, who spent a couple of hours talking to Mark and quizzing him from music reference books that Glenn had written.

Glenn was astounded at Mark’s comprehensive knowledge – which Mark blogs about and broadcasts on his internet radio station, www.2prfm.com His internet radio station also has reviews of 70s and 80s rock albums, a section reviewing video games of the era, information for rock fans (including advice on transferring a vinyl record collection to CD) and even a review of classic boom boxes of the time.

Mark is also writing a story about Earth Two and has done many illustrations of this alternate reality.

An approach to former Australian music publishers EMI attracted an initial positive response for Mark and he remains hopeful that record industry giant, Terra Firma, may have work for him in future, when he finishes his music industry course.

Mark Boerebach is an inspiring man; he has overcome blindness, he’s refused to let Asperger’s Syndrome limit his ambitions and he remains positive despite the many knock backs he has experienced so far.

“As much as I would like to work in the recording industry, I think I’ve come to the realisation that whatever will be, will be,” Mark says.

And as Mark’s unusual talents become better-known, it is likely that his future will be as bright in reality as the positive life he lives at night in his dreams.

Mark with documentary director, Russell Kilbey.

about Need info ite 70’s r your favou sic? u or 80’s m

by Fran Molloy Resources available for people with Asperger’s and friends and families: ASPECT – Autism Spectrum Australia Ph: 1800 288 476 www.aspect.org.au

‘inspiring the will to live’

com . m f r .2p www N! O K C RO

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Chapter 2. thinkbig causes N MISSIOENT: M STATE make Always uce the Prod

King!

‘ encouraging people to give! ’

20

I

Australian master chef, Neil Perry, is relaxed being a nice guy with a big culinary vision.

Culinary calling

t’s been dubbed the cult of the celebrity chef and it continues to grow as the public’s appetite for the theatrics, antics, preaching, flirting, swearing and... oh yes, culinary skills of these superstars of the kitchen, proves to be insatiable.

The great challenge facing these high profile, much fawned-over cooks, whose products, restaurant chains and media exposure have made them household identities, is to avoid becoming a caricature of their slickly packaged respective brands.

Many, such as Jamie Olivier and Nigella Lawson walk a fine line. Others such as Gordon Ramsay seem to have succumbed to their publicity, flaunting their one-dimensional TV alter egos.

But along with the celebrities there are the more low key articles such as Aussie chef, restaurateur, author, TV presenter and all-round decent guy, Neil Perry.

Perry, 51, the pony tailed son of a butcher, has helped change the national food landscape and define the new Australian cuisine.

His celebrity status was established in the early 90s through his highly acclaimed and much awarded Rockpool restaurant in Sydney’s The Rocks and he is certainly no slouch in the business stakes – Neil Perry Fresh food products are available through Woolworths supermarkets and he is the coordinator for Qantas Flight Catering International for First and Business Class travelers.

Yet the seduction of fame and fortune has never caused him to digress from

his original passion, to “always make the produce king” and create great dishes from fresh, quality ingredients.

That might sound like a clichéd mission statement but Perry speaks it with all the enthusiasm and fervour of a young, apprentice chef who views his career path as a calling.

Perry’s love of high quality, fresh food stems from a childhood spent gardening and cooking with his father in suburban Sydney and fishing with him in northern NSW. He started out in hairdressing but refers to this as “just a blip on the radar”. “My whole background was set up by my father and his great love of fantastic produce. I think I was destined to be in the food business,” he says.

Memories of digging up spuds, picking zucchinis, tomatoes and eggplant and his father bringing home whole rumps or aged ribs and cutting them up in front of him before throwing them onto the barbecue, still influence the philosophy that dictates his choice of produce and menus in his restaurants – Rockpool, Sydney and Rockpool Bar & Grill, Melbourne.

Perry plans two new Sydney openings early next year: Rockpool Bar & Grill and Spice Temple. A $35 million investment.

His restaurants adhere to a “humanity to animals” philosophy and the majority of ingredients are organic.

He is adamantly opposed to the use of genetically modified (GM) food and despairs over Australia’s failure to capitalise on its “clean, green” image.

Neil Perry, at his Rockpool restaurant.

‘encouraging people to give’

Pony tail... yes.

Celebrity show pony?

NEVER!

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Where’s that waiter with my lunch?

“To take away Australia’s clean green tag... is insanity” - Neil Perry

Perry on Ramsay

22

NP: There are two basic types of chefs, the pan throwers like Gordon and the other sort like me who don’t get into all that. I know Gordon and he is actually quite a decent bloke but essentially he is now known more as an entertainer than for his food and he has a public persona which is about a ‘you’re a f…. idiot, I want to smash your head in’ type of attitude.

TB: Could you work in that environment?

NP: No, no!

TB: Do you think that chefs like Gordon Ramsay are doing your industry a disservice?

NP: I think it potentially turns young people off the industry. You don’t see someone like Jamie Durie talking to a young apprentice with his boots and beating the crap out of him. I think a lot of parents wouldn’t like what they see and would encourage their kids to do something else.

TB: Do you believe that the food that comes out of a kitchen in which there is balance and harmony as opposed to conflict has a different vibe to it?

NP: Yes. It has energy whereas if you have people in your kitchen who you have beaten ragged they’re all grey and have nothing to give and that would be reflected in the food. I know kids who have gone to work in Ramsay’s kitchens in London and they work from 7am until midnight, five days a week and they have no life left in them. I can’t imagine how people like that can cook beautiful food.

Perry’s third cookbook, Balance and Harmony, (Murdoch Books), a celebration of Asian food in the form of a cooking course conducted by the Rockpool master chef, is now available.

“I don’t understand why Australia wants to be out there flogging GM commodities along with the rest of the world. It adds no value to the endeavour.

“To take away Australia’s clean green tag by cultivating genetically modified crops is compromising this very saleable image, which is insanity,” he declares.

Stating that he has never solicited any of the corporate work that has come his way (his 11 year relationship with Qantas and more recently his collaboration with Woolworths) he notes that he was the first restaurateur approached by James Packer and John Fizgerald to blaze the frontier in the Crown Casino Complex.

“I don’t believe that the right opportunities come your way if you are running around looking for them,” he says chuckling at the suggestion that these days he must spend more time in a suit than a chef’s coat.

Insisting that he only dons a coat and tie when he is attending Qantas meetings he says that he is still handson in his restaurants, retaining creative control of the menus before handing them over to a team of chefs who bring his ideas to life.

His advice for upcoming chefs is “first and foremost to ensure that you possess great passion because this business will consume your life and you have to be ready to sacrifice everything, including your family life, for it”.

“No cook, no matter how talented, can work just Monday to Friday nine to five and rise to any prominence. It’s simply not possible,” he says.

“Secondly, you have to have a really great eye for detail because a lot happens in a restaurant – on the plate and in relation to staff’s needs – that is not about food. So you need to cultivate an eye for both the big picture and the small details.”

by Jill Fraser ... hefs c e r Futu t you on a h t ssi ure Ens great pa to y ess poss d be read thing! ry an e eve c i f i sacr

We are so HOT we’re smouldering!

Dancing stars “We desperately need Federal Government sponsorship” - Margaret Lonsdale

Beyond the glitz and glamour and perfect poise that have come to symbolise the world of DanceSport are young athletes who have devoted years of blood, sweat and tears to perfecting their craft.

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M

argaret Lonsdale is the CEO of the Australian Dancing Society. Her sole purpose for the past two and a half decades has been to build Australia’s profile on DanceSport’s world stage.

It is Lonsdale’s drive that led to the prestigious World Ten Dance Championship (Tattersall’s Australian DanceSport Championship) becoming an annual event in Australia and her vision that has contributed to 60,000 athletes participating in DanceSport in Australia today.

But Lonsdale shrugs off any praise pointing instead to the athletes, who she says sacrifice their lives for their sport yet remain severely disadvantaged internationally due to a lack of government sponsorship.

(Australia is one of only a handful of countries that doesn’t offer sponsorship to their elite DanceSport athletes.)

“It makes my heart bleed,” declares Lonsdale. “Our dancers compete against professional athletes who don’t need to work.

“We desperately need Federal Government sponsorship otherwise we’re going to lose our dancers.”

Australia’s top Latin dance couple, the smoulderingly hot Michael Miziner and his stunningly beautiful partner, Anastasia Belykh are one of many elite couples who are forced to juggle the intense physical and emotional demands of their craft with full-time work in order to meet the high costs of their chosen pursuit.

Australia’s top Latin dance couple, Michael Miziner and Anastasia Belykh.

s: yearly expense (4-5 per year) s p m o c s a e s r ove ($2000+ each) 20–25 dresses : daily expenses ($220 each) dance lessons

acknowledged that the degree of stamina required in the sport is akin to that of an Olympic sprinter. This led to the name change from ballroom dance to DanceSport.

“We’ve got a junior development program that’s second to none and if they could get sponsorship we would be breeding world champions hand over fist,” says Lonsdale.

“My greatest wish is that the juniors coming up won’t have to confront the financial barriers that our top athletes like Michael and Anastasia are facing today.”

by Jill Fraser The 2008 Tattersall’s Australian DanceSport Championship, 8 to 14 December, at Melbourne’s Hisense (formerly Vodafone Arena). Tickets: 13 28 49 or

Quote from Dancing with the Stars judge, Helen Richey A former dancer herself, Margaret Lonsdale is completely dedicated to DanceSport. Her organisational skills are without peer. The Australian DanceSport Championships, conducted annually under her guidance, regularly attracts some of the world’s best dancers as competitors, thereby playing an enormous part in bringing Australian DanceSport to the forefront of DanceSport, worldwide.

‘encouraging people to give’

(Expenses include four or five overseas competitions a year, daily dance lessons at $220 a pop and 20 to 25 $2000-plus dresses a year for Belykh.)

Miziner, who with partner Bec Cartwright won Series One on Dancing With Stars, admits it’s tough.

“China, America and Europe all give extensive sponsorship and our top competitors in Germany are completely supported by government,” he says.

But despite the inequality Ukraineborn Miziner says his passion for his sport is overwhelming and rarely does he consider the struggle.

DanceSport is on the cusp of being deemed an Olympic event. Lonsdale predicts that it will be included in the 2018 Games and that the sport’s Olympic inclusion will secure government funding with private sponsorship following once the medals come tangoing in.

In the mid-90s the International Olympic Committee (IOC)

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Chapter 3. thinkbig business Leading Australian business coach Mal Emery’s approach to business annoys lots of people, but makes untold riches for those smart enough to listen and act on his street smart advice. In this extract from his new book, Recession Proof Your Business and Income: How To Survive and Thrive In Any Economic Climate Mal tells businesses how to succeed in tough times.

Don’t wimp out in tough times ‘ motivating entrepreneurial minds’

“Tough times like those we find thrust upon us demand emotionally strong minded people to do their job without interruptions or loss of quality. Entrepreneurs and business owners bear special responsibility during these times.” – MAL EMERY Recession Busting Secret #1 First put your efforts into your existing clients, and solidify your base!

Losing customers through neglect or sloppiness is especially painful in tough times. The cost of replacing them is higher and the difficulty of replacing them greater. This is the time to increase the frequency and quality of communication with customers, to reward their loyalty, to incentive-ise their patronage. It is amazing to me just how bad most salespeople and business owners are at this, even in good economic times!

Pay attention to this: just doing what you do competently or delivering your product as agreed is not enough to earn your customer’s subsequent business. In tough times, your competitors quickly resort to price

26

cutting, so your customers will have cheaper prices shoved in their faces even more than usual. If you are not countering this with a “quality relationship”, you will lose.

Your most valuable asset, regardless of the economy, is your list of clients and prospects. Even more important is your relationship with them, and what they know you for, in other words, what makes you stand out in their mind.

This is particularly true in a difficult economic climate.

The point is that preservation of your customer base and its value becomes dramatically more important the tougher the economy is. In truth, most businesses that fail, large or small, do not do so because of an inability to attract customers; they fail because of an inability to keep customers coming back.

What’s your most valuable asset?

No-nonsense, Mal Emery.

s client f o ...list spects! ro and p

‘motivating entrepreneurial minds’

So, do you think you’re tough enough?

27

“Become the tiger of your jungle” - Mal Emery

Any business could adapt this strategy, but darn few ever will. If you want to enjoy the spoils of success in business, you’ve got to have guts. No guts, no glory.

The lesson there is often a direct correlation between the passionate positive response you get and your willingness to offend.

28

Recession Busting Secret #3 Take full advantage of your competitors’ fears and timidity in a recession by cranking up your marketing aimed at getting new clients.

Why? Because many companies cut back on direct-mail in favor of e-mail, or other so-called “easier” and cheaper forms of marketing. Others cut back because of the postal increase, so there is less competition, less clutter in the mailbox! So, the “tigers” eat even better than usual in the jungle and starve last. Become the tiger of your jungle.

The exact same thing occurs in a soft economy: the herd starves, but the tigers eat even better!

Competitors’ negative “over-response” to the changing economic conditions means more opportunity for you.

Of course, you might target different potential customers.

Or alter your message. But you should still go out after them full bore.

An analogy – overall last year, most major users of direct-mail saw increases in response to their “controls” – their previous predictable response rate. Why? Because their competitors were cutting back and looking for a cheaper alternative. The best part about your competitor cutting back is that it will thin the herd. When good times come around as they always do, there’ll be less competitors and less clutter for you.

Recession Busting Secret #2 Grab your client’s and prospect’s attention using ballsy, in your face advertising.

It was P.T. Barnum who said: “You can’t catch a whale with a minnow”. What he means there, is most people in business are trying to be successful, or have unreasonable expectations of the results they’ll achieve using “plain vanilla”, boring advertising and marketing. The one thing your clients and prospects won’t put up with is being bored.

The ‘wimpifying’ and ‘sissifying’ of Australia by the bleeding heart set continues to sadden me. Believe me, big brother and all his relies are watching and sadly they have nothing more constructive to do.

A while back, a client of mine successfully offended the stuffed shirt peers in her industry. I know she yells “hurrah” every time she gets complaints. In fact, my daughter who owns several pizza stores, although I might add, she doesn’t work in them, she works on them, recently offended a few prospects with her incredible brass balls and marketing tactics.

You see, she knows the most important thing you’ve got to do in advertising is to get seen and read. So instead Mal Emery is an author, speaker of sticking her advertising in the letterbox, along with and business owner. He runs one of all the clutter from the other pizza companies, she ties Australia’s most successful coaching her advertising on their fence, gate or door handle. This businesses and has mentored two offends a few, but the upside potential is well worth it.

Telstra Business Award winners.

In author Murray Raphel’s book entitled instructionally Visit “Would Saks Do That?” referring to the Department Store Saks Fifth Avenue he tells the story of how a restaurant n was created by giving away a no-strings attached free u ca ess, w yo d Busin o h lunch. Yes, I know what you’re thinking. “It’d cost , t n a u e mate abo a fortune to do that!” But my argument would ncom mic Cli ore I m m o r t o c u ou s. on be “But only a fraction of what it cost to set the of Y ind o ines y Ec To f sion Pro ve in An reeBus crets” restaurant up in the first place.”

F ri Se es Rec d Th cession usting e an B Let’s say they gave away $4,000 – $5,000 v e i v n R r . o i Su ww ook, ess worth of free lunches. These free lunches were he b .au o: w “7 Rec . t t f o g o e ail opy really good as hundreds of the people who tried .com re th d in det wn c usiness whe e o s y o r MP3 b them came back and brought all of their friend’s e xp roof ur v udio ss are e t yo essionp ive an A sine e with them, and ultimately converted into regular g e r Bu c to e c u , r e . o r r Y ) O ww 97 so clients of the restaurant. I can assure you that of o: w t $2 ok. ill al ion Pro go t ed a uw s u o this method would be far more impacting and bo s l y e a e (v re ec th Whe itled “R a Pack” buy far less expensive than most other forms of u t g o n e y CD e come M E when traditional advertising.

E In R d F n a ly lute abso

by Mal Emery

What is your time really worth?

Consider this . Most people spend only 15 per day in pr -20 minutes oductivity. So in recession w Out of 50 tim owners need hen business e managemen focus the tim t books, 25 of pr e va es ent the same m pire has an ev damaging effe them will formula I just en more ct. gave you. And tim e m an The reality is agement sem in 100 that when ot inars, you’ll fin with one maj hers abuse yo d the formula they’re reachi or flaw. Nobod ur time ng into your y takes into ac ratio of produc pocket and st your wallet! count the ealing from tive to UN-pro ductive! So to tr ut h, yo u must first w As far as our get to the ork out how m clients are co day is actually ncerned, time uch time of yo edged sword productive. is a double ur when it comes to marketing.

To find out ex Because althou actly what m Why? gh they know y time is worth $300,000 as an that these mar strategies are and using example, divi keting designed to pr de it by the nu pr ov od id uc e tive hours I ac time, most st th em m ber of w ith m ruggle to find ore tually work. Fo I put in 3½ ho the time to ac r example, I fig strategies into urs of solid pr tually put the ure practice. oductivity pe would need to r day so I Time is money divide $300,0 – just how m 00 by 822.5 ho hours x 235 da uch money? depends. You urs (3.5 ys) which give Well that need to know s me $364.74 a m w ha ea su t your time is w re of what m Many busine pe r hour as y time is worth orth. ss owners will Now this exer . have signed up of those time cise is a very for one managemen good one to do the higher th t seminars whe presenter triu , because e number wor re the course mphantly ha ks out to be, the yo nd u s w you a huge le ill binder with co be le of ss tolerant ha vi ng that time ather lour coded tim stolen from yo people you al e blocks brok 10 minute in u! The lo w en to do crements. abuse your tim wn into reach their ha e might just as However if yo nds into your well u peek over th wallet and ta money! This e shoulder of with one of th ke out your is how you m someone ese little prob ust come to vi the result of ha lem solvers, w would see bloc ew it – this is ving your tim hat you ked out for m e wasted. onths ahead, On an averag lunch times an w e, ou a ld business owne d a nap! Now be once every ei r will be interr if you need a to pre-block yo ght minutes. upted $300 system ur power naps If each time yo in te rrupted it take and snack at you’re in trou u are tacks – s three minut ble! es to deal with it is and get ba The real issue whatever ck to what yo is about wha u were doing, of every hour t your time is and the prob 15 minutes is lost. worth lem with syst ems like the on If you then m mentioned is e I’ve just ultiply these the logic they 15 minutes by of hours you use to arrive They simply the number work per day, at the answer. reason that yo the amount of lo u se ne on ed you want to m a daily basis to decide how tim e you is frightening ake a year an much ramifications in terms of th d divide this by working hour on your busine e how many s there are in ss! And if even takes more tim a year and co what your tim one issue e to be sorted me up with e has to be w , even more tim orth.

In my experie The major fla e is lost! nce, even peop w in this type le who do plac va lu of e on fo assumption th rmula is the th ei e a high r tim e do not articul at every one the price they ate this to othe of these hour productive w pay by setting s will be a rs and orking one! N themselves up to be abused! obody is that One survey w this way is good! hich involved Years ago, I ha asking various companies to d an open do estimate thei or policy. Clie friends often r daily produc of time, show nts and used to pop in tivity in term ed between 15 when they “j s to be driving and 20 minut to be closer to ust happened past” and fle es each day the mark. If an ece me of prec they waffled employee from these compani ious time whi on about nonone of le es were to use specifics. Thos lo ng th gone! e usual formul out his or her e days are a to work worth, they w ould be paid Whether it’s a a day! for 20 minutes client who’s m ade an appoin “mastermind” Here is the co tment to or a colleague rrect formula ca lling to “think un less they appl to use in orde just what your -tank”, y focus and st r to arrive at time is worth ay on track, pr that was the . Firstly, decide base earnings es in uming te nt what your ion in the first target – the lo appropriate w place, a more west amount you want to ea or of d fo m r oney the content of rn – is. For ex be “bulldust” ample, if your the call could $300,000, with . easily target is 365 days per I’m year (minus, ca for weekends pa bl e of doing it ve say 130 days and holidays ry well mysel condemning leaving 235 da by 7 hours in f and I’m not the odd call ab ys) multiply a day, giving out “bulldust” even be a rela you 1,645 wor a year, divide , it might xi ng ki ng di version when the base earn hours in be ings by 1645 you need it. It comes a prob $ required pe and you have lem when it de r hour. In this vours time w otherwise be scenario, $300 by sign) 1645 hich could spent produc ,000 (divide hr = $182.37 tively! per hour.

The key here is to make it hard for peop abuse your tim le to e.

by Mal Emery

‘motivating entrepreneurial minds’

Start being Productive

time .productive + nap) h time c n u l ( minus ... equals

29

“I listened to one or two early podcasts and got really excited� - Cameron Reilly

Who says its not cool to be a geek?

30

Miracle man Mike May, sees.

Super geek, Cameron Reilly.

One of Cameron Reilly’s proudest moments was when he appeared on the cover of Australia’s now-defunct Bulletin magazine sporting a bright yellow T-shirt with the word ‘Geek’ emblazoned across it.

C

ameron Reilly is a passionate technology advocate – and heads a growing new-media empire, The Podcast Network, (TPN) from his Brisbane base.

Although TPN isn’t well known in his native Australia, Reilly boasts that it is now one of the largest new media companies in the world.

And he’s attracted some heavyweight attention; EContent Magazine listed TPN as one of world’s most influential digital content companies and, closer to home, TPN scored a guernsey in B&T Magazine’s Biggest Players of Australia’s Digital Age. The former Microsoft e-business specialist started his own software company in 2004 when a colleague told him about podcasting, then just emerging from the US. “I listened to one or two early podcasts and I got really excited,” he says. “It was the most exciting thing I’d heard for a long time.”

Though the technology is fairly low-tech, Reilly says that the real innovation is that, suddenly, anyone with a PC and a microphone and perhaps a video camera can produce their own radio or TV show and get instant global reach.

“In the 20th century, you had to be rich white guy to own a radio or a TV station and the access to those services were limited. The real innovation is around the barriers being taken off the distribution platform.”

The tech-savvy Reilly soon established a server and the very basic equipment needed to create his own podcasts.

“There were no Australian podcasts at the time and I decided somebody needed to be first; and I started doing a show with another person, called G’day World.”

Podcasting is the future of radio, according to its many passionate advocates. And most major radio broadcasters are putting at least one

‘motivating entrepreneurial minds’

Geek with a mission

31

“I’m very interested in politics and the future of the human race” - Cameron Reilly

Hmmm... maybe the thinkbig cover next?

32

foot in the podcasting stream, with many radio shows providing free audio downloads of various highlights from their websites.

Podcasts are audio files that can be played through a computer or downloaded to an MP3 player or iPod; and they give not just physical portability but also the freedom of time-shifting – listening to an audio broadcast when it suits you.

“Within a month, there were thousands of people listening to our podcast show,” Reilly says. “There were a whole bunch of shows that I wanted to listen to that didn’t exist back then – shows about movies and politics and history and music.”

Reilly contacted friends who were bloggers living in various parts of the world and offered to host their files and handle all the technology backend requirements – if his blogger friends would just produce a podcast on the same subject that they were writing about.

“By February 2005, we had launched TPN with about six shows.

I didn’t set it up as a business at the time; but very quickly I got a feel for

Podcast IS the future of radio.

Wha t nex glob t.. al d omin . atio n?

it and got excited about the idea of building a global independent media company.”

Fast forward to 2008, and Reilly’s media empire has expanded at a rate that Rupert Murdoch would be happy with. TPN now has around 80 shows in production and a global audience of 800,000 people.

But podcasting is still in its very early days, he says. “If you walk

arena you had to have a media company; I’m very interested in politics and the future of the human race, those sorts of things and I saw an opportunity here to build a media company from scratch.”

He hopes to use TPN to challenge the way that people think about issues where the mainstream media poses a conservative neocapitalist line.

“My overriding motivation has always been to build a global media company in order to shape the way that people think about certain issues,” he says.

Global domination? Now that’s thinking big!

by Fran Molloy down the street in Sydney or Melbourne or Brisbane and stopped people to ask if they listened to podcasts, perhaps one percent would listen on a regular basis and maybe one in ten would even know what it was.”

Ideally, an advertising-based business model will emerge; but Reilly says that, as with much new media, the advertising industry is struggling to recognise its potential.

Reilly defines himself as a social activist. “I understood that to have any significant impact in the political

Cameron is flat out with 80 shows in production and a global audience of 800, 000.

thinkbig professionaldevelopment

Take time out “Take time out from your working environment” - Susan Alleyn

thinkbig insights

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The value and insights gained from professional development programs shouldn’t be underestimated.

P

rofessional development programs, such as those run by AGSM Executive Programs, require a significant commitment of time and resource, but the results achieved often exceed the expectations of both participants and their corporate sponsors.

AGSM Executive Programs is part of the Australian School of Business which ranks among the top business schools in Australia and globally. Their executive programs range from general management to specialist programs to suit the needs of managers and executives looking to sharpen specific skills.

Rosemary Howard, executive director and conjoint professor at AGSM Executive Programs is committed to the delivery of life long learning and development to individuals and organisations.

“There’s a common misconception that people learn everything they need to do on the job, but sometimes the best thing to do is to get your organisation to invest in a program for you outside of that environment, or even for you to invest yourself,” said Rosemary.

“Taking time out of your usual working environment to think about issues that may be affecting your motivation, your development or your work and personal life is integral to maintaining professional and personal balance.

“Participants on our programs establish networks and contacts with peers outside their immediate professional sphere and share common issues and challenges.”

Archie Law is CEO of Austcare, an Australian-based, independent not-for-profit organisation that focuses on specialist humanitarian aid and development.

He returned to Australia after 10 years overseas with the United Nations and realised the significant challenges of transitioning into his new role and getting to grips with the business of charity.

He applied for and won a scholarship for AGSM Executive Programs General Manager Program.

Archie is a post conflict specialist, and has worked in conflict-affected environments throughout Asia, the Middle East and Africa during his career with the United Nations and various non governmental organisations.

“I’d had a lot of experience in the field and returned to Australia ready for leadership. A couple of months into my role at Austcare, I was charged with writing our business strategy, which confirmed my thoughts that the business of leading an organisation was vastly different to managing and leading field programs.”

The General Manager Program is a full-time residential program held over five and a half days on campus. Participants come from diverse backgrounds and over the course of the program, are challenged to reflect on their individual aspirations, personal management and engagement styles, as well as strategies and programs for immediate implementation when they return to work.

“I learned to balance the demands of my role, how to effectively engage and lead my team, at the same time as developing effective business strategies for Austcare’s growth,” said Archie.

Archie said the program improved his ability to delegate and use his team and resources more effectively.

“One of the most valuable things about this program was the quality of instruction, and the level of interaction with other participants. I was surprised and relieved to find out that so many of the issues that I was dealing with on a day-to-day basis were experienced by managers and leaders in commercial and corporate environments as well!”

by Susan Alleyn Susan Alleyn is the Director of Open Enrolment Programs, AGSM Executive Programs. For more information visit www.agsm.com.au

What do YOU want for Christmas?

More money? • More time? • Improved health?

Or the same old pair of socks?

Incite coaching Over coming weeks you will spend lots of time and energy thinking about and giving to others. But what do you want for Christmas?

Incite Coaching provides high quality coaching, strategies and support so that you can unlock your true potential and achieve the goals that you have always wanted to.

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Incite_HPH_ThinkBig.indd 1

9/10/08 7:24:11 PM

Online value thinkbig insights

“Domains are bought on speculation” - Warren Stokes

Buying and selling domain names is the new property market.

36

I

nternet usage is increasing. Five years ago, just over half the US population had internet access. By the second quarter of 2008, the percentage of users in the US has risen to 74% showing a consistent growth rate.

That growth is the lowest in the world.

The Middle East showed 1177% growth during the same period and still has only 21% penetration of its population.

Each year the growth in new domain registrations increases with more varied extensions becoming a trend. Country code top level domains (ccTLDs) have seen huge growth with as much as 400% increase in China.

Why are websites bought? There are lots of personal reasons involved with buying websites; however, the logical reasons include: Domains are sometimes bought with speculation that their stock value will rise. This means that they were bought in recognition of their undervalued price with hopes of reselling them. Often the basis of the profit for these aftermarket sales is dependent on the buyer.

There are valuation methods used to appraise domain names. These are used in conjunction with relative sales history of comparable domains as well as trends in the buyer’s market for similar domains.

The early investors were well aware of the search and internet trend value of products and services. Thus, some pioneers in the domain naming industry made lots of money speculating trends in web and search activity.

Even though domains are evaluated for worth, they often sell for a large difference to the actual valuation estimates. Timing of the sale has a lot to do with it. For example, UsainBolt.com would probably have been worth nothing before the Beijing Olympics.

Now since the Jamaican’s excellent showing in Beijing, there would be countless domains registered in anticipation of a surge in search traffic for Usain Bolt, making them valuable. In other cases, it’s just the opinion of the buyer: JohnMaple. com may get no bids from any bidders but

someone called John Maple may be willing to pay lots of money for it.

There is also an increasing trend in type-ins associated with brands, high volume and sought after search terms.

Website traffic is one of the main reasons for the high value of websites. Websites with traffic command big dollars as they have exposure.

This exposure is about users coming to a specific website address looking for something, whether that is a product or service or just information to help them make decisions. The more eyes on a website, the more activity and intended audience there will be.

Provided the traffic flow is consistent, the users can be served ads or tracked in a way to best serve them the next time they visit. Thus, having a good type-in domain means that the users bypass search results and head straight to the content landing page.

In some cases, the domains are bought to be used for a business. This is a more flexible means of choosing domain names, as no speculation is required, just branding and variations on a theme.

There is a huge interest in acquiring, development and selling of domain name properties. This is fuelled more by smart investors following the trend of money and mainstream business recognizing that great domain names are valuable, and like prime real estate – scarce.

There is value in building and selling websites. The more planning that is carried out around the strategies for buying and selling, the more overall value that can be derived from developing domains. When you acquire your domain with a plan in place, a short and longer-term strategy – you plan for online success.

by Warren Stokes Warren Stokes is the marketing manager of MyProfitSystem and managing director of Universal Trading Solutions. He is co-author of The Secrets of Stock Market Traders Exposed.

Visit www.myprofitsystem.com

“Get as much knowledge on raising capital as possible” - Reuben Buchanan

Strategic value

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thinkbig insights Selling a business to achieve the best price requires a lengthy and detailed process in terms of preparation, time costs.

A

nyone who has been through the process of selling a business will tell you it is no easy road – however with a little effort and a lot of preparation, you can dramatically improve the result.

It all comes down to risk – both within your existing business and risk of whether it can sustain its current earnings or improve them in the future. So the key to success is to lower the risk for the incoming buyer.

This will greatly increase your chance of getting the highest price from your business asset.

If you have decided to sell, there are many things to consider. But fundamentally, the more stable the business is, and the rosier the future potential growth, the higher the price you will achieve. Also who you sell it to is very important. This called strategic value.

You might be worth X to one buyer – but to another buyer – say competitors – you could be worth double that because they can leverage off your business or take you out of the market.

Here are some points to consider when looking at selling a business: • Make sure your financials are up to date – including historical and future.

• Make sure the business systems and process are documented.

• Tidy up your marketing material.

• Have a business plan updated and ready to hand over.

• Make sure your staff and management are the best you can find.

• Make it easy for the buyer to come in, and easy for them to achieve what they want.

• Allow adequate time to prepare and execute the sale. Fire-sales will not get you the result you want.

• Make sure your advisors are up to the

task. This includes accountants, lawyers and corporate advisors.

• Do legal and financial checks up on your business and address any key risks that are uncovered.

• Ensure all your contracts are in place and up to date – this includes staff, suppliers, licenses, contracts, distribution agreements, leases, etc.

• Ensure your IP is owned and can be easily transferred to the new buyer.

There are many other factors which can affect the sale price of your business such as: • General market conditions – both on a macro and industry specific level.

• Your ability to market your business to the right potential buyer – so targeting is the key.

• The buyer’s current situation – eg they might be going through a re-structure and are not in “buying mode”. In the case of individual buyers, maybe they are about to go on holidays or are in the middle of selling another business.

So timing here is critical.

• Luck – sometimes you can be in the right time and right place.

The best advice is for entrepreneurs and business owners to get as much knowledge on raising capital as possible.

by Reuben Buchanan Reuben Buchanan runs free events on exit strategies, capital raising and building corporate strategy. To book into one of these events in your city, go to www.teldar.com.au and click on the events page. Or simply email: r.buchanan@wholesaleinvestor.com.au

I feel like the QUEEN!

Chapter 4. thinkbig wealth

Kim Kiyosaki says the world would be a better place if there were more wealthy women in it.

Wealthy women rule

‘creating profitable thinking’

K

im Kiyoksaki contends that becoming rich is a natural progression of possessing basic financial nous. Her focus on creating more wealthy women is based on some sobering US statistics, which reveal that: • Three out of four elderly people living in poverty are women.

• 80% of these women were not poor when their husbands were alive.

• 90% of all women will have sole responsibility for their finances within their lifetimes yet 79% have not planned for it.

Educating women in financial literacy is Kiyosaki‘s objective. “If more women were financially secure many of the social problems would be relieved,” she says.

Kim Kiyosaki, wife of Robert Kiyosaki, author of international best seller Rich Dad, Poor Dad, has emerged from the shadow of her famous husband as a savvy businesswoman and an inspirational and motivational role model in her own right.

She has built a multi-million dollar real estate empire and is a powerful advocate of women who want to achieve financial freedom and a passionate promoter of financial independence for women who have yet to realize the implications of its polar opposite, financial dependence.

But she doesn’t mind admitting that she had no interest in money and hadn’t even contemplated the concept of financial independence until she witnessed her father’s loyalty to the company he’d served for the better part of his adult life rewarded with a golden handshake. She says that this experience made her determined to never be in that position.

“That drove me to never want to be a life-long employee,” she says.

Her focus is on educating people, particularly women, about financial literacy.

She is directing her message specifically to women because “when it comes to money men and women are different – historically, psychologically, mentally and emotionally”.

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ASSET: Something that puts money in your pocket without needing to sell it.

admits is her unmitigated passion, “cash flow”.

“Cash flow is what gives you freedom,” she says. “People invest for one of two reasons – cash flow or capital gains. Capital gains is a one-time profit. Cash flow is ongoing profit.”

Kiyosaki buys and creates assets that generate cash flow. The bottom line she says is Robert’s Rich Dad’s definition of an asset, which is “something that puts money in your pocket without needing to sell it”.

Therefore, for example, a diamond bracelet, a painting or an owner occupied dwelling that have to be sold in order to bring in money would not be perceived by her as assets.

“The cash flow from my assets pay for my living expenses,” she says. “Once my monthly cash flow is equal to or greater than my monthly living expenses I am financially free.”

Financial freedom for women is her catch cry and to achieve this, she suggests, will often require a shift in mindset around the false notion that “putting your financial life in someone else’s hands or ignoring the financial side of your future may lead to a desirable outcome”.

Acknowledging that many women face a fear of the unknown when it comes to investing Kiyosaki recommends education through investment clubs, financial

‘ creating profitable thinking’

We make a great team!

Kim Kiyosaki with her husband, Robert.

These differences, she maintains, are at the heart of the reason why so many women are in the dark when it comes to money and investing.

“We women do some ridiculously stupid things in our lives – all revolving around money – and it’s time we got smarter about the subject,” she declares.

“In this age of de-facto relationships and divorce women need to learn to safeguard their financial futures and the only person they should rely on financially is themselves if they want to avoid financial disaster.”

Kiyosaki lists the following as examples of a few of the “stupid” things that women do around money: • We marry for money.

• We stay in bad marriages or relationships because we’re afraid we can’t make it financially on our own.

• We let a man make all our key financial decisions.

• We accept the myth that men are better with money.

• We won’t challenge a man’s financial decisions because we don’t want to rock the boat or hurt his ego.

• We accept less pay than our male counterparts and often end up doing their work.

She refers to herself as “a bold-20-something year old” when she met Robert. On their first date he asked what she wanted to do with her life.

She told him that she had aspirations to run her own business. That was February 1984 and one month later they began their first joint business venture selling items of clothing with the words Win/Win emblazoned on them.

By December that year they were broke, without work and at times homeless and forced to sleep in their old beat up car.

The turning point came after a simultaneous “aha” moment in which the young couple both arrived at the same point at the same time.

“We stopped feeling sorry for ourselves,” says Kiyosaki.

“I basically got tired of being a victim and said to hell with this.”

They decided that the way out of the mess was to build their business as opposed to getting jobs and working for other people.

“We knew that if we went for the comfort of the pay cheque we might never build our business,” she says.

Based on the advice that Robert’s ‘Rich Dad’ had given him (in essence that the rich think differently) the couple began building an education company focused on entrepreneurship.

They married in 1986 and retired in 1994 and Robert set about writing Rich Dad Poor Dad, which carries the subtitle What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! Kim Kiyosaki’s foray into real estate investing began in 1989 with the purchase of a small 2-bedroom / 1 bath rental property in Portland, Oregon.

“It wasn’t the sale of our company that allowed us to retire,” she says. “We were able to retire because of our investments.”

The investment formula Kiyosaki uses is one that Robert’s Rich Dad gave him. It’s founded on what Kiyosaki

41

Women have much less ego and more emotional intelligence AND are not afraid to ask for help

newspapers and the internet and once you’ve satisfied yourself with research “take a leap and grab the bar”.

Kiyosaki opted for real estate over shares because “you’re in control – you can control the income, the expenses and the debt - whereas if you buy a stock you’re in the hands of what that company does and the decisions it makes”.

Having armed yourself with education Kiyosaki advises “start small, put a little money down” and when buying real estate “stay close to home” in order to keep your finger on the pulse in the area in which you’re investing.

According to Kiyosaki the eight reasons why women make good investors are: • We’re not afraid to say, I don’t know.

• We’re willing to ask for help.

• Women are great shoppers and know how to spot a bargain.

• Women do their homework.

• Women are risk averse.

• Women have much less ego and possess a high level of emotional intelligence.

• Women are nurturers; take care of their

property and consequently the value of the property increase.

• Women learn well from other women.

Confessing that she is a pessimist about where the market is heading (her prediction is that it will remain down for three to five years) Kiyosaki says she is an optimist regarding the opportunities that are available.

“Now is the time to get smarter with your money,” she declares. “What worked for you in the past, may not work for you in these upcoming economic times.

“Read, study, and learn. Be careful of who you are taking financial advice from. Is the person really there to advise you or are they there to sell you something? The one person who is ultimately responsible for your financial well-being is you. It’s up to you to get more educated and to get smarter about managing and growing your money.”

by Jill Fraser

Kim Kiyosaki’s book Rich Woman – A Book on Investing for Women (Tower Books) is available through local bookstores and www.richwoman.com

Will you be the next property

millionaire?

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Just released - In book stores and available online Authors Toney Fitzgerald & Dave Dorian

Whenever calamity strikes, out come the charlatans!

D

espite only a handful of people having enough information to really understand what is really going on in the economy (I’m not one of them), the pundits a-crazy are out in full force. With equal authority and gravitas I have heard the following from the experts • There is no economic crisis.

• This is the worst the economy has ever been since The Great Depression.

• The worst is yet to come.

• The worst is over.

• Buy lots of stock now.

• Don’t buy any stock now.

What’s the reality?

Well, who knows...

In fact, nobody knows. Unless there has been a breakthrough in crystal ball technology – of which I am unaware – no one can yet accurately predict the future.

Why then do media personalities insist on brow-beating us into believing their predictions?

I’m not a soothsayer nor am I a psychoanalyst, so I won’t attempt to answer that question. I like to deal in what can actually be known and observed. So, let’s outline a few things you can actually know.

1. It’s OK to say you don’t understand if you don’t. For some reason many people erroneously believe that they are required to have an opinion about everything.

Practice this phrase: “I don’t know enough about it to really have an informed opinion.” Anyone who ridicules that stance may not be healthy company.

2. Fortunes have, in fact, been made during times of economic uncertainty.

Why can’t that be you? (maybe you’re

smarter than I am, but for the life of me I haven’t been able to think up a good reason.)

3. Throwing up your hands and giving up will not help. Ever.

4. Worrying will not help. Ever.

5. “Awfulizing” is a term used by Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapists to describe the unhealthy habit of imagining something is as bad as it possibly can be. Don’t.

6. If you’re a member of the media, stop hyperbolizing about the “crisis.” Yes, causing panic so you can have a “story” causes harm. Knock it off.

7. Finally, don’t use “tough times” as an excuse for inaction.

If you read my column last month you’ll remember that I said you were a privileged child of the new Rome (proven by the very fact that you’re reading this).

That hasn’t changed.

If you’re feeling sorry for yourself, read up about people living in hell of Darfur, the open air prison of Gaza, or anywhere else in the world that isn’t benefitting from the freedoms you enjoy.

Back already? OK, now that you know what’s going on there, do you still think you have it bad?

Heck, maybe the real question isn’t “what will you do to get through today’s tough times” but “what non-violent things will you do today to ensure the whole world shares the freedom and privilege you do?”

by Mark Joyner Mark Joyner is a an entrepreneur and author.

Visit www.simpleology.com

‘ creating profitable thinking’

thinkbig insights

Stop “awfulizing” the economy!

43

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thinkbig propertyinvestment

Complacency is no option thinkbig insights

“Time is more valuable than money” - Mark Rolton

Options are a lay-buy over a property.

46

P

eople often ask me to give them a simple explanation of what a property option is. Well, the simplest I can give you is it’s a lay-buy over a property.

If you and I went down the street and put a lay-by on a tent at Target for example, you and I realise that we need to put a small amount of money down up front and we wouldn’t have to pay the balance of the lay-by for some time.

The same thing goes in terms of an option. You and I put down a $1,000 deposit now and we control an asset for 24 to 36 months. This is what our friends, moguls like Robert Kyosaki, Sir John Templeton and Donald Trump, understand that they can control a property instead of paying for it. That’s far more intelligent. In essence, what these men understand is that time is far more valuable than money.

Anyone who is serious about making significant money out of real estate should consider options. You don’t have to be terribly savvy or knowledgeable but if you understand the concept of time meaning more than money, you have already grasped the first step of options.

The type of person that wouldn’t do options in property is someone that is not terribly serious, someone that is very complacent and quite happy with where they are at financially. That would be the only type of person that shouldn’t go ahead and do one of our programs.

When you think about it, the key qualities that come with a person who makes good profits out of options, is someone that is quite tenacious. By tenacious I mean someone who is serious or that is committed to going above and beyond where they are in terms of making money at the moment.

You might find yourself quite disgruntled.

The qualities that I see in our graduates are

people that are either forward thinking, that choose to think outside the box and the people that are quite diligent in their research, someone that is actually quite good at finding the necessary answers.

It’s also worth understanding that people can think that options must be a developer’s game or someone that is very qualified – the big boys, so to speak. People seem to think that the big companies must be the only people that use options.

The truth is quite contrary to that; there are many people in Australia who understand options.

In fact, large companies often find it difficult to deal with the councils. One of the key processes that is used to add massive value to a property is to go out and get a development approval from council.

The key to working with the councils is seeing what they are trying to achieve and help them fulfil those particular needs.

Large companies can have great challenges working with councils because they feel that they are the only people that matter in the equation.

The world of options is rich, exciting and potentially very lucrative. Be sure to get the best training and always be prepared to learn. In future thinkbig columns will give examples of options at work.

by Mark Rolton Mark Rolton is CEO of the Massland Group, one of Australia’s leading option and property development companies. Massland conducts training for anyone who wants to learn about options. Visit www.massland.com.au

Chapter 5. thinkbig teachers

thinkbig insights

‘ educating individuals to change’

48

Stability and patience are the keys to wealth building, says Dr John Demartini.

Grow like an oak tree H

uman emotions, above everything else, interfere with wealth building. When investors first get into the stock market, if their shares go up they get excited, greedy, and want to buy more.

If their shares go down, they get depressed, fearful, and want to sell. That’s not a wise long-term strategy; it’s a short-term emotional approach, and it’s completely opposite to financial wisdom.

There’s a principle in investing called dollar-cost averaging, and it works like this. Say you buy 100 shares at $1 each, the market takes a dive, and they drop to 50¢. Is that bad?

Not if you’ve done your homework and bought shares in a sound, valuable company. If you spend another $100 at the new price, you’ll get 200 shares for the same amount.

You then take the average by adding up the total cost and dividing it by the number of shares ($200 divided by 300 shares), and you’ve brought the price per share down to an average of 67¢. You get more shares of stock per dollar, and when the market inevitably recovers, you make more money.

If the price of the stock rises, is that good? Yes and no, because now if you buy more, you’re paying a higher price per share.

So, contrary to the emotional reaction, you’re usually better off holding or buying when shares fall (as long as you have reason to believe they’ll eventually rise again), and holding, or in some cases even selling, when they rise.

A couple of years ago, one of my clients’ stocks just plummeted. The client was frightened, so I said, “Don’t react. Don’t sell it.”

He said, “I have to sell or I’ll lose too much. This isn’t theory, you know, its real money.”

“No, no, no, no, no!” I said. “You’re reacting to short-term fear and gratification. Leave it there.”

“Okaaay... I guess,” he said. “But my intuition says...”

Again, I replied, “No, that’s your emotional fear talking. Don’t confuse fear with intuition.”

Fear is an instinct that comes from the gut, but intuition comes from the mind and heart. If you listen to your mind and heart, your gut-wrenching fears Miracle man Mike May, sees. won’t fool you.

It’s common to see investment ads in magazines such as Worth and Forbes, but if they start showing up in newspapers and glamour magazines, it’s time to think twice.

Just because the stock or real estate market goes up and people are making money doesn’t mean it’s time for the fall and big run, the herd phenomenon. When people are leaving their careers in droves to play in the market, making risky margin loan investments and throwing their total savings into too few investments, that’s when the market is primed to crash.

Early in 1929, a shoe-shine boy gave multimillionaire Bernard Baruch a hot stock tip. Mr. Baruch went to his office, called his broker, and said, “Sell me out. When shoe-shine boys are giving tips, it’s time to get out of the market.”

That October the biggest crash in financial history struck, but since then the market has risen over and over again to many times its previous record highs.

If $100 had been invested into a managed fund in 1928 and left alone, by 2002 it would have grown to $175,178. In contrast, if the same $100 were switched between investments and asset classes as soon as they started to show negative returns, it would have grown to just $86,902 over the 74 years.

Stability and patience are the keys. As a budding financial genius and master, your job is not to listen to the mass consciousness that fears and flees, but to adhere to the tested principles.

Don’t spring up like a short-lived, flimsy weed. Grow like a great, sturdy oak tree.

by John Demartini For further information about Dr John Demartini go to www.drdemartini.com

‘educating individuals to change’

Eventually my client calmed down and didn’t sell, and the stock went back up within three months.

He called me a few days after it rose and said, “I’m so glad I didn’t sell because I would have had a big setback. Thank you for being there to remind me.” It helps to have a friend or mentor there when you almost stray from your long-term strategy.

Reacting to daily fluctuations in the market is less wise than following longer-term strategies. The basis of the pyramid structure is that you’re a long-term investor. You’re in for the long haul, and you simply ride out the temporary emotional oscillations of the mass of investors. You’re not a day trader focusing all your energies on the market and trying to make your percentages on lots of little movements. Whether the market goes up or down doesn’t mean as much long term.

You fall a little here and rise a little there, and the dollar-cost averaging works out to a long, steady rise.

History has shown that no matter how far it falls, over time the overall market eventually comes back to a higher level than its previous best. Day to day and month to month, it’s volatile, but over years and decades, it still grows.

Opinions are the cheapest commodities on Earth, and those that circulate the most have the least value.

The masters of investment – the individuals, families, and organizations that have stood the test of time and built fortunes over decades, generations, and centuries – know these principles.

The majority of investors don’t, and their actions are based not on financial wisdom but on fleeting opinions that change with the weather. There’s even an investment philosophy called contrarianism that says to be financially successful all you have to do is the opposite of what the masses are doing. You can hit about 75 percent accuracy that way!

A Wall Street financier once said to me, “If you ever see an investment advertised in every conceivable form, you’d better pull out.”

49

thinkbig insights

“Learn to make money now!” - Loral Langemeier

Discover your own skills before going into business.

50

Take the cash machine challenge T

he concept of the cash machine is really pretty simple. I know that many people like to complicate the notion of running your own business or becoming an entrepreneur. But to those with a millionaire mindset, it comes down to this: the purpose of your cash machine, entrepreneurial business is to make more money right now.

The challenge most people face is that they’ve never started their own business.

What they know is their job. It’s where they have developed and honed their skills, and it is the place where they make their money.

Unfortunately, nine out of 10 people who leave their jobs to start their own business think of it in terms of escaping the rat race for their dream. Making money often doesn’t fit into the equation, and is in fact relegated to “something those corporate types think about.”

I want you to have a different approach to business. Since I want you to make more money now, not later, the focus isn’t on creating your dream. The goal is to get you off and running immediately, and making more money within weeks, not months. Your seven step action plan: Discover the skills you already have. This may be easy, or it may be a challenge for you. Your skills aren’t your job definition.

I’m a computer programmer, only tells one small piece of the story. What are the skills that make you a good programmer? You understand computers, sure, but aren’t you good at solving complex problems?

Generate a business idea based on those skills. You’re going to spend a lot of time brainstorming with colleagues, friends, and hopefully a mentor or coach. When you think about a business idea, think in terms of what people want, need, and are willing to pay for.

Model the idea after a similar business.

For your first venture, don’t go off and do something completely new and different.

Model your business after a similar business that has proven the concept and is earning a healthy profit.

Test the sales potential through revenue modeling. Say you want to offer tennis lessons. To replace your income and even make more, what will you need to charge per hour? Is it reasonable? If not, what else can you do to increase revenue without killing yourself in the process?

Design a cash machine plan. If you go to the SBA (Small Business Association) for assistance, they’ll have you develop a business plan. A cash machine plan is different. It focuses on the specific strategies and actions that will get you making money right away. You want to be in action from day one, and not still working with your plan three months down the road.

Build a team. There’s no such thing as a self-made millionaire. You need a team, even if you think you can’t afford one. Look for ways to get the help you need and to supplement your skills with people who have complementary skills. Even hiring someone to clean your house can save you a few hours a week.

Develop the marketing strategies. All businesses need marketing. They won’t come if you simply build it, so you’ve got to do something to get them there. If you hate marketing, or don’t know the first thing about marketing, invest in some help.

Think ahead, while acting in the present.

Model the revenue of your business so that you’ll know what you need to do to make the money you want to make.

by Loral Langemeier

Loral Langemeier is known as the millionaire maker and taught thousands of people how to develop their entrepreneurial skills. She is visiting Australia in December to present her Fast Path To man Mike May, sees.

Cash seminars.Miracle Visit www.liveoutloud.com

I’m a huge fan of thinking BIG!

Out of adversity

“Thirteen magic words changed my life” - Vic Johnson

Q:

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Vic Johnson.

Vic Johnson is an internet entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker.

He spoke with thinkbig managing editor, Michael Walls, about adversity, success and being the gatekeeper of your thoughts.

ize of “The s ccess u your s rmined e is det ize of s by the eliefs.” b your

Can you tell our readers how you came to the approach of helping people set goals as your prime educational focus?

A: Well out of desperation, Michael. I don’t know how much of my story you read. But 10 or 11 years ago, I didn’t have people wanting to know how I had succeeded or looking to me for any kind of advice or anything, because my family and I had been evicted from our home in 1996. And later we lost our last automobile and we were at a point of desperation. I began to study to try to figure out a way out of my dilemma. And after several years of pretty diligent work and reading a lot of books, listening to a lot of audio tapes, going to a lot of seminars, I figured out that part of the problem in my life was I never really ever sat down and figured out what I wanted.

I knew what I didn’t want and unfortunately because I focussed on what I didn’t want, that’s exactly what I got – because one of the greatest and oldest principles is whatever you focus on expands. But I came to understand all of that and began to acquire a large number of subscribers on the internet, marketing materials for some of my heroes like Jim Rohn, Bob Proctor and Brian Tracy and others and people started to ask me: “How did you accomplish what you accomplished, and how did you turn it around and what did you do”? So I began to share those principles. But none of those principles are mine.

I copied every single one of them.

Q: Describe the real turning point for you in the context of life success.

A: I can take you exactly to the day and the spot and the place and the time. And it’s ironic because so much of what it appears that your magazine is focussed on was exactly the lesson that I learned. I was sitting in a seminar in Jacksonville, Florida in October of 1997 and on Saturday night the speaker on stage said thirteen magic words that changed my life. They came from the book, The Magic of Thinking Big. And those thirteen words that changed my life are: “The size of your success is determined by the size of your beliefs.”

Q: So you are a fan of thinking big?

A: I’m a huge fan of thinking big. I think that you know, Napoleon Hill says: “The very first – the beginning of all achievement is desire. And underneath everything lies desire.” So the bigger the desire, the bigger the dream, the bigger that you can believe, the more likely you are to be successful. And I’ve never known anybody who was hugely successful who wasn’t also someone who knew how to think big.

Q: Keeping a journal is a common theme in your teachings. Can you explain about the use and purpose of keeping a journal?

A: Well a journal is a tremendous tool because there’s something about the kinetic – you know the kinetic movement that takes place between the writing and the brain. I’m not a scientist. I can’t explain and I don’t know whether many people can really explain what happens.

But we know that writing a goal down increases the odds of success many times over. If someone wants to have about 10 times the odds of achieving success, they simply begin by writing it down. That in itself – that action of writing it down – has been demonstrated countless times that it increases the odds for success. I heard for many years how important it is to write your goals down. Did I do it? No. I ask audiences to raise their hands if they write down their goals. I used to embarrass them by asking if they had heard of journaling but don’t do it. It’s amazing how powerful that concept is. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t teach some type of journaling – nothing more than keeping some type of daily planner.

Q: You’ve said it’s important that people think independently. How do you suggest that people integrate themselves and still act and think independently?

A: Well you definitely should associate with like-minded people especially if your goal is to become a person of significance. So much of what we talk about when we discuss success is attached to money – but success is so much more. It’s about being significant. If you want to become a person of significance, then you need to make the decision that you’re going to associate with likeminded people. You’re going to associate with other people who are seeking significance.

I don’t mean that you become so independent in your thinking that you’re rejecting what others say. What I’m saying is you must become the gatekeeper of your thinking. You can’t just consciously and subconsciously allow other people’s thinking to guide yours. And most people do. You’ve got to become the gatekeeper. You have to allow in what you approve of or something that you’ve at least given some thought to. If you’re not the gatekeeper and are allowing someone else to do the thinking in your life then it’s not possible for you to live the life that most people want to live. What I mean is that you need to become diligent about what goes in. If you’re diligent about the input, you’ll learn to distinguish between what is a good source and what isn’t.

Q: Can you define success?

A: Stop and look at how we reward – take any profession you want and look at the people who are at the top, even if you want to take celebrities and use them as an example. Now go to the base of their success and you’ll find it’s always rooted in one thing: the more you serve, the more you’re rewarded. If it’s a popular musical entertainer they serve more people through their music or whatever it is they do and therefore they receive a bigger reward for it.

See future editions of thinkbig for more from Vic Johnson.

For more information visit www.vicjohnson.com

‘educating individuals to change’

Q: Do you think you need adversity before you can think big?

A: I needed the adversity for that. I think I already fantasised and certainly, like a lot of people had the big dreams. But I think what I needed was to know how to learn some lessons in regards to the basic principles. I don’t think I was living life by the basic principles. And one of those, of course, being the Law of Cause and Effect, realising that everything that occurred in my life was created by me and caused by me. We create our own adversity but we don’t do it consciously obviously.

Until people learn financial responsibility, they will continue to suffer the same problems that are caused by financial irresponsibility. Only when they’re learning the lessons that are attached to the results – in other words, they’re not happy will the results – will they look at them.

But they don’t look deeper to the cause. As Brian Neville taught, every effect has a cause. They don’t look at the cause. They’re only looking at the result. They’re trying to change the result. They’re working in the wrong place.

You’ve got to work on changing the cause. What was the cause of that result? Until you canlook at the cause and change it, the obstacle is going to continue to present itself.

If you address the cause, you change the cause, there’s no more need now for the obstacle and it will pass away and a new one will replace it.

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Get over yourself L

eadership is one of the most misunderstood qualities of people. I define leadership as the ability to lead and inspire a team and it’s also the capacity to lead yourself through tough times, without pulling others around you into your story.

Leadership can be learned, and the first step is to get over ourselves. Leadership in its truest sense is service to others in such a way that they can achieve their own goals and dreams. What needs to be learned next is how to keep the great people you develop by being an even better leader.

I started The Coaching Institute from my bedroom, with a team of me. As the business grew and I took on an assistant, I had to learn management skills, which was very tough for me, because I have a strong controlfreak vein running through me.

The entrepreneurial side had to develop fast, to enable the business to expand so rapidly. Entrepreneurship is taking risks, and that is definitely something I like to do. The biggest innovations in a business move the business away from the pack. Everything we do aims to ensure we stay way ahead of any other businesses in our marketplace.

The biggest mistake any business owner can make would be going into business with a strong ability to do the practical hands-on thing, like being able to make great jewellery, and then not developing the muscle for marketing. All business is marketing. You are always selling, to your team, your clients and to the marketplace.

Just because you have a talent for making great widgets does not mean you will have a great business.

I see so many coaches who are talented, and will always do what I call “belly to belly” coaching, and never learn to run a business where their income is derived from sources other than them being physically in the room.

They are trapped – years of one-on-one coaching, and when they go on holiday, so does their income. This isn’t a business, it’s a hobby.

by Sharon Pearson

Sharon Pearson is the CEO of The Coaching Institute, Australia’s most accredited Life and business coaching organisation.

Visit www.thecoachinginstitute.com.au

thinkbig insights

Unlock your creativity I began studying creativity more than 20 years ago.

I thought it was an ability that was possessed by a few, especially intelligent people, such as artists and writers and scientists.

But as I delved further into the subject, I came to a remarkable conclusion: I am a genius! Not only that, but you are a genius too!

In fact, probably 95 percent of the population has the capacity to function at exceptional levels. Creativity is as natural to human beings as is breathing in and out.

Everyone is creative to a certain extent.

People are highly creative because they decide to be highly creative. It’s no miracle. Creativity is like any human faculty; it can be developed with practice and strengthened with constant use.

If you improve things in small ways, you are engaging in small acts of creativity. If you make major breakthroughs, and improve parts of your life in extraordinary ways, you are demonstrating high levels of creativity. And the amount of creativity you use in your life is largely up to you.

If creativity is improvement, in what areas do you want to use it? The answer is simple. You want to use your inborn creativity to improve the parts of your life that are most important to you.

You can use your creativity to improve your relationships, to increase your income and improve your business, and to assure yourself higher levels of health and happiness. With that definition, you can see clearly that you have opportunities to be creative from the time you get up in the morning to the time you go to bed at night.

If people criticize you for your ideas, or if you have concluded that you are not particularly creative, you will tend to be more passive and submissive and look to others for new and better ways of solving problems and achieving goals. However, if you start to practice creative thinking, you will be absolutely amazed at how smart you really are.

by Brian Tracy

Brian Tracy is a leading speaker and business author.

Visit www.briantracy.com

‘educating individuals to change’

thinkbig insights

55

thinkbig insights

“Knowledge brings certainty...” - Warren Black

Prudent investors don’t act on emotion and they also know how to enjoy life.

56

Master your emotions to win W

ith the recent turmoil in the markets, it is easy to panic as we see the value of our shares, and superannuation funds, plummet.

A study of the lives of the world’s richest men shows that they not only ride times such as these, but see opportunity. When markets have a significant rise, as they have in the last five years, it is inevitable that a correction takes place.

Warren Buffet, the world’s richest man at the moment, sees market corrections as a “discount sale”. He has become a billionaire with an average return of only just over 30% per annum. He avoids speculation like the plague.

Australian finance commentator, Paul Clitheroe shows that if you had invested in the share market from 1979 to 2006 and missed the 10 best days of the market in that period, your average annual return drops from 11.5% to 8.5%. If you had missed the best 40 days, your average annual return drops to 5.5%! More than half!

It is in these times that we realize much of the recent gains in the stock market were from speculation. People did not invest their money based on research and careful consideration. They guessed and hoped; greed and fear.

What can we do in these uncertain times to weather this economic storm?

Here are some tips that can help you ride these times of uncertainty: Do not sell or discard value-stocks.

Hold onto them. If the fundamentals and earnings of the stock are sound, and nothing has changed from when you bought the stock in the first place, hold onto them.

Stay objective. He or she who masters their emotions will win the game. Stay calm. Do not panic. Stick to your investment plan unless there are objective logical reasons to change it. Emotional panic

causes you to lose money.

Take a contrarian view. The greatest investors know that when the media is “hyping up” the stock market, this is the time to be on your guard, and looking to sell. J F Kennedy’s grandfather said in 1929 that he knew it was time to sell his shares when the cab driver was giving him stock tips! Many stocks are excellent value at this time, and in Warren Buffet’s words, it is a “discount sale”.

Don’t watch the market all day unless you are a trader. Although it is important to keep an eye on your investments, and ensure that they are still appropriate, get on with life and enjoy it.

Following on from this point, although you need money to do what you want to do, there are more important things in life than money. Very few people at the end of their days wish they had more money. They wished they spent more time with their families, and did the things they wanted to do.

Get educated and be proactive.

Educated investors will always do better than the “guess and hope” investor! The best way to overcome anxiety is study the markets, understand what is happening, and look at alternatives. Knowledge brings certainty, which brings stability and peace of mind.

Finally, watch for opportunities.

At times like these, there are opportunities to build wealth. While the US and Australian stock markets are reeling, stocks in other countries are doing well.

by Warren Black

B Com, LLB (Hons) Dip Fin Plan

Warren Black is a lawyer and financial consultant.

He has just launched a new CD series on growing and protecting wealth in recession.

Miracle man Mike May, sees.

Visit

Back yourself to win

“Trust yourself and your instincts” - Chris Howard

thinkbig insights

58

Being unreasonable can be a sign of confidence and confidence creates winners, says Chris Howard.

W

hen Oprah Winfrey was still very young, and growing up in poverty, she claimed that she would be a millionaire by the age of 32. She didn’t base her vision for the future on her present “reality.” And she didn’t wander through life with a “we’ll see…” attitude, taking whatever came her way. She set her mind on a very clear and quantifiable goal and staked her claim.

Her goal may have seemed laughable at the time, but now who’s laughing all the way to the bank? Billionaires make bold claims that become self-fulfilling prophecies. Even if you don’t want to become a billionaire, possessing that level of personal conviction will blow the doors off of what’s possible for you, in life and business.

What you say that you believe is inextricably related to what you achieve.

So be perfectly clear about what you expect from life, and say it how you want it. You can’t think small and get big results. Far too many talented business minds settle for less than they deserve… not for lack of ability, but simply lack of belief in their ability. Results based on the psychology of self-doubt and fear will always fall short. Lack of conviction slows progress because you’re working against inner-resistance.

What George Bernard Shaw once stated will always hold true: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.

Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”

Stake your claim and dare to be specific.

It’s like submitting your life’s agenda to the universe. People will say, “I want wealth and fulfillment.” Yes, but what does the word “wealth” mean to you specifically?

And can you see yourself achieving that?

There is magic in the specificity of your target, and a certainty about what you believe possible. It’s that level of clarity and conviction that generates the greatest levels of achievement.

Bill Gates set an “unreasonable” goal to make computers a regular feature in most households in the U.S. He then pursued this dream relentlessly until it came true.

This is the billionaire entrepreneurial mind at work. They shatter the boundary conditions of common expectations to claim outrageous fortune.

Ask yourself, “Where am I not being clear enough with what I really want?

Where can I get bigger results with bigger thinking?” Then stay inspired by your bold vision. That will translate as the conviction needed to instill the confidence in others to join you in the pursuit of that dream.

My own success was certainly built more on personal conviction, than math skills or experience initially. When I first met with a capital investor, I could have been intimidated by the fact that he was a Harvard Business School grad and a millionaire many times over, while I was in a lot of debt and didn’t know how to read a financial statement. But what I did know was that I couldn’t afford to entertain one moment of self-doubt. I also knew that I would do exactly what I set out to do, because that’s what I chose to believe. He’s still my partner today and I continue to set outrageous goals that I find a way to fulfill.

Trust yourself and your instincts. You’re never going to create the type of wealth you desire if you don’t take charge of your inner states. Confidence, determination, and excitement are all accessible to you whenever you need them… in meetings, sales pitches, or leading a team. Don’t wait on readiness or an MBA to live the life of your dreams. You can begin with conviction alone.

by Christopher Howard Chris Howard is an international speaker and author who is represented in Australia and New Zealand By Universal Events.

Visit www.universalevents.com.au

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John Lavenia is a direct selling star with US company, Liberty League, which recently started operations in Australia. He calls himself the Gonzilla of personal development so thinkbig was fascinated when he locked himself away in an isolated cabin for a week to write his first book: Integrity Is Everything. John gave thinkbig managing editor, Michael Walls an exclusive extract to the book.

Integrity IS everything!

How does that feel?

John Lavenia.

‘educating individuals to change’

A

ll doing is preceded by being. People who are lucky or have the Midas touch are thoroughly being in the flow and thoroughly being people of success, with no counter-intention.

In my business trainings people ask me every conceivable question about the “how-to” of business.

But all the how-to in the world isn’t going to bear fruit for someone who is not first being the person who would have the result.

Two people engaged in the same activity can have completely different results because it’s not the activity, it’s the way it’s being done that gets a pleasing result.

To do things in a certain way requires that we think in a certain way and take action from that position indicating that we’ve become that person who would have the result that is pleasing to us. We then operate our lives and take action from that position. If not, we struggle because we can’t outperform our self-image.

Beingness is a primary state to manifesting what we want in life and we cultivate this by choosing the right thoughts. Doing this consistently and deliberately results in an elevated emotional state. That state becomes part of our self-image, our beingness.

To identify who we are being we should ask ourselves one question; “How do I feel?”

If I’m happy, peaceful, confident and having fun that’s who I’m being; I’m a person who is in the flow and the currents of life, including the currency of my wallet and bank account, flow to me with no force.

Conversely if I’m stressed out, anxious,

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What would you do?

“The work is in the being” - John Lavenia

John Lavenia in action.

64

pissed-off or resentful that’s who I’m being; I’m a person who’s going against the flow, cutting off the currents in my life and short-circuiting my own energy.

And once again, we can never outperform our selfimage. All the hard work in the world isn’t going to bring us satisfaction. You can’t be successful until you become successful!

Most people think that success comes from having the result, completing the project, losing the weight, making the money or landing the big deal. But that’s attachment to appearances.

All those working their lives away at an ordinary job think that once they do the job good enough for long enough, they may get the promotion or some sort of recognition from an authority figure and ultimately have the belief that they are successful. But that’s giving their power away to some outside phenomenon, in this case their job and deferring a life of possibility and choice for some imagined retirement day.

The self-reliant person, the entrepreneurial type, is someone who says, “You know what, I’m credible now. I’m successful now.”

My favourite definition of success is “the progressive realization of a worthy ideal”.

This comes from an audio recording made years ago by Earl Nightingale called, “The Strangest Secret”. It means that the moment I take deliberate action on a goal I have become successful; regardless or whether or not I have demonstrated the money in the bank account or the end result.

Self-mastery is the greatest game there is because once you get who you are, you get everything else too.

THE EQUATIO N:

The work is in the BEING. The receiving the DOING. is in The having your concern. is not

DOING Great -– Now that we know who we are, what do we do? This question is at the root of making right decisions in our lives.

Let’s say your goal is to create wealth in your life. It’s not the person yesterday who struggled with money who we are relying on to make these decisions and take these great actions. No. It’s the person we’ve become now who is called upon to take action. So the question is, what would this person do?

Now, think that you’re the person who earns the money, has the successful results and all the things that you fully expect in your life.

What decisions does that person make? Take it down to every last detail. How do you shake someone’s hand? How do you look in the mirror? How do you sound on the phone when you’re talking to your prospective client? What decisions does this person make when it comes to capitalizing their business, prioritizing their time, or going to events that could further them in their business or career? Are they diligent? Do they study good information, or do they watch four hours of TV per day like the average American does?

We begin to do things to model ourselves on this new image that we’ve totally sold ourselves through our new way of thinking.

And we can build on that self-image model by taking character traits and actions from high achievers and creating a culmination of personalities by putting bits from this person and that person into our idea of our new beingness.

Sometimes when I’m making decisions I ask myself, what would a highly evolved person do? Depending on the situation, if it’s business I might ask, “What would Donald Trump do?” If it’s my relationship with society I ask, “What would Oprah Winfrey do?” Or in health,“What would Arnold Schwarzenegger do?” I can take that and make it a part of my character.

There are all these different parts and the end result is a being that is capable of doing great feats. And by the way this has nothing to do with “fitting in” and conforming to the masses. We wouldn’t be in this conversation if the intention was to be like everybody else and do what everybody else is doing.

HAVING Having become this new person and chosen and acted on decisions that this person makes, I immediately shift the currents of the universe and begin automatically attracting the circumstances necessary for the fulfilment of the vision. And this never fails.

Those seemingly coincidental circumstances that just show up in the lives of the “lucky” start showing up in my life. I have almost no part in the having. There is nothing to be Miracle manItMike May, sees. done in the having of things. just comes.

There is no work that has to happen here.

The work was in the being. The work was in choosing the right thoughts. The work was in cultivating the expectation of greatness for myself.

The doing – the activities that I took, the decisions that I made and acted on – that was merely arranging the receiving pipeline and opening the floodgates. When I placed the advertisements, or picked up the phone, or went to the gym, or made the deal, that wasn’t work; they were receiving activities.

The having is something that I gave no mind to. There is no effort to be put into having.

So get the equation straight: The work is in the being. The receiving is in the doing. The having is not your department. The having is not your area of concern. The universe provides all, handles all the details perfectly and always delivers unto you exactly what your innermost expectations are.

So then the question for a lot of people is, what is it that I’ve been expecting? To answer that question, look around. That’s exactly what you’ve been expecting.

Again I say the work is in the being.

If we’re diligent in this one thing it will get us off the ground in the direction that we want to go. When we begin using our will to choose the right thoughts consistently we become someone who we weren’t before. If we are willing to do that, we cannot fail.

However, as simple as that sounds, and as simple as that is, the following fact remains:

Then I would be this person I always wanted to be”. Guaranteed failure!

But this is exactly what most people do.

If we look at our bank account or our appearances and allow that to become our self-image and get emotionally involved in that to determine who we are then our past equals our future.

There is no evolution in that way of “thinking”.

Here is something that you’ll want to make note of and keep as you live from your possibilities instead of your past.

There is a great distinction between thinking of the end and thinking from the end. Most people, when they have a thought about their desires, think “Wouldn’t it be great when this happens”. It’s always something apart from their immediate reality; always something in the distance.

The way of mastery is thinking from the end. The inner dialogue goes like this: “So now that I have that result in my life, what am I experiencing? How does that feel?”

Sometimes when I’m thinking of a goal I’ll think, “Now that I’ve already reached that goal, what is my next goal?” And I start thinking of the goal that hasn’t even manifested as if it’s already in the past.

It’s like I advance the videotape and I’m already planning for my next goal.

This is thinking from the end.

Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it. Henry Ford (1863 - 1947) Here is why most people fail. They do the exact opposite of the BE DO HAVE principle. They live by the “have do be” principle. They say, “If only I had more money.. or better education.. or a different location or spouse.. or more luck.. If only I had better circumstances then I could start that business.. or make that investment.. or take that action.. and then I would be successful.

Integrity Is Everything will be available in paperback through www.Amazon.com and www.JohnLavenia.com for $19.95.

Long awaited Book Integrity is Everything - The long awaited book from direct-selling mentor and personal development expert John Lavenia.

Known as “The Godzilla of Personal Growth” for his direct and unrelenting delivery, John offers thoughts on his no-nonsense approach to success in writing for the first time. Reflecting much of his spoken-word spontaneity, Integrity is Everything is written for the 21st century man or woman who seeks answers to the common struggles that much of our society lives in. Many top producers in the direct-selling industry today have attributed breakthroughs in their income to insights they gained in his seminars and teleconferences.

John has been a student of personal development, business success, spirituality and interpersonal relationships for over 20 years. In this book, he expounds on insights he has received while studying some of the greatest thinkers in history – Goethe, Emerson, Shaw, Einstein and many others.

He also offers distinctions on a spiritual approach to success, which he has derived through studying and applying a vast array of eastern and western thought.

‘educating individuals to change’

s the Thinkingorik there is, hardest ws probably the which i y so few reason wh t. engage in i enry Ford H 7) (1863–194

65

BUILDING WEALTH THROUGH BUSINESS

free DVD offer

It is a little known fact that most of the worlds wealth is created through business. This is how many Rich List members build their wealth. As an example, if you study the worlds Rich Lists, you will discover that: nOver 80% have built their wealth through business nApproximately two thirds are totally self made

They have achieved this by either floating their company, or selling it for a substantial capital gain.

This free Building Wealth Through Business DVD is for entrepreneurs, SME’s and business owners who want to turn their business or idea into a valuable asset in order to build substantial shareholder value or personal wealth. This information packed 90 minute DVD sheds light on little known topics including:

Most of this information has remains a mystery to the vast majority of business owners in Australia until now.

This is “must see” information for anyone in business or starting out. Over 3,000 people have viewed this presentation in Australia and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

REUBEN BUCHANAN

Reuben founded Wealth Creator magazine in 2002. He rapidly grew the business before selling in 2006 and has since launched Think Big and Wholesale Investor.

He is also a corporate advisor with Integral Capital Group where he assists companies to raise capital and is currently working on over $100m of transactions.

He is also the co-author of Australia’s Wealth Creators and has interviewed entrepreneurs who's combined net worth exceed $10 billion. Reuben’s success has been featured on www.smartcompany.com.au as well as on TV and radio throughout Australia.

Ph (02) 8001 6610

“There is little or no education on these topics in standard business degrees or accounting qualifications, especially on capital raising. So congratulations for the concept and delivering it.”

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nHow to value your business nHow to increase your businesses value without increasing profit nHow to raise capital nSetting up your business for a sale or exit and achieving the best price nBecoming investor ready nHow to start or buy a business with little or no money nEntrepreneurial key learnings from over 200 interviews

Keynote Presenter:

TESTIMONIALS FROM PAST ATTENDEES OF BUILDING WEALTH THROUGH BUSINESS

“Excellent exposure to think big ideas and concepts I otherwise didn't know” Brad Pillette-Hughes Trainer (QLD) “Awesome presentation and content is amazing!”

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ORDER YOUR FREE DVD TODAY To order your free Building Wealth Through Business DVD, please email your name, phone number and mailing address to: info@teldar.com.au or simply phone (0 2 ) 8 0 0 1 6 6 1 0

TELDAR MEDIA PTY LTD ABN 64 108 259 409 Fx (02) 8001 6638 Email info@teldar.com.au Web www.teldar.com.au

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