thinkBIG magazine - issue 6

thinkBIG Le a d e r s B u s i n ess Mindset Wea l t h

$7.95 inc GST Apr/May 09 Volume 1.6

Brian Tracy How to develop a vision for your future

Carly Crutchfield Getting funded in a financial crisis

Joseph Chou Pizza boy to millionaire through goal setting

PLUS:

• Current downturn creates opportunity • Self-sabotage solutions • Barter your way to success

ROBERT

• 7 aspects of masterful persuasion

KIyosaki

Rich Dad shares strategies for protecting AND building your most valuable asset

Free education, seminars, products and offers in this issue!

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CONTENTS

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REGULARS 6 Editor’s letter 8 Notes to self 12 As You Think 60 Your Success: Tired of handing money over to real estate

agents, Terri Lappin decided to take things into her own hands.

62 Your Story: Natasha Bing and Sky Leigh turned their lives and

fortunes around by focusing on their vision..

63 Dress for Success: Terriane Palmer talks business style.

63 Think Forever: Books to make you think BIG.

section1:mindset 18 Igor Popovic: 7 Aspects of A Masterful Persuasion.

20 Jessica McGregor: How to Reconnect With Our True Selves.

22 Joe Vitale: How to Attract Anything.

24 Suela Qemal: Your Success, Your Choice.

section2:business Cover Story: Robert Kiyosaki: Beating the Downturn: How to live the life you choose

34 Todd Hutchison: Avoid Self Sabotaging Your Success 36 Reuben Buchanan: Crisis Creates Once In A

When Robert Kiyosaki reconnected with his sister, The Venerable Tenzin Kancho, he rediscovered lost personal traits that have enabled him to see his business and wealth building strategies in a different way.

Lifetime Opportunity.

38 Dr Kim Fenton and Penny Ombler: Create Your Happy Success.

40 Michelle Murchison: 5 Steps Toward Banks Lending Money

During A Recession.

42 Madam X: Creating Powerful Connections.

44 Brian Tracy: Developing A Vision For Your Future.

46 Carly Crutchfield: How to Get Finance In A Financial Crisis.

47 Roger la Salle: Innovation Opportunity –– Are You Asking the

Right Question?

section3:wealth 52 Peter Wink: Secrets to Successful Bartering.

54 Aussie Rob: How To Insure Your Stock.

56 Dr John Demartini: What Is The Growing Economic Crisis Doing

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To Our Psyche?

58 Terri Mitchell: Getting To Know The Four Important People

features 26 Joseph Chou: Raising Community Standards

How the Ironfish founder went from diplomat to pizza delivery boy to millionaire all through the power of goal setting.

30 Bridget Thompson: Eat Up Stress Before It Eats You

It’s time we left the stress behind and concentrated on being healthy.

48 Kim Serafini: The Global Gratitude Goddess

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Corporate high flyer, Kim Serafini, wasn’t quite living the life she desired until she found gratitude for the things that made her a success.

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our team

EDITORIAL The human spirit

Publisher Graham Maughan graham.maughan@thinkbigmagazine.com Ph: (02) 9925 8016 Managing Editor Jonathan Jackson jonathan.jackson@thinkbigmagazine.com Subscriptions Manager Amanda Peros amanda.peros@thinkbigmagazine.com Ph: (02) 9925 8015 Advertising Ph: (02) 9925 8016 Advertising Agent McLaren Media Grant McNicol Director Sales & Marketing Ph: 02 9231 5320 grant.mcnicol@mclarenint.com Directors Ken Wood Reuben Buchanan Contributing Editor Chris Howard Contributors Aussie Rob, Reuben Buchanan, Dr John Demartini, Kim Fenton, Roger la Salle, Michelle Murchison, Terrianne Palmer, Carly Crutchfield, Jessica McGregor, Terri Mitchell, Penny Ombler, Igor Popovic, Suela Qemal,Daniel G Taylor, Bridget Thompson, Brian Tracey, Joe Vitale, Peter Wink Creative Design Maria Conti – Graphic Designer 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

T

he recent tragedies in Queensland and Victoria have highlighted just how strong the human spirit can be. As survivors count the cost of what can only be described as horrendous natural disasters, we can all learn lessons from their courage and determination to move forward and rebuild their lives.

If any one group of people have displayed think big characteristics, it is those whose lives were so greatly affected in flood ravaged Queensland and the charred remains of the Victorian bushland.

These people have determined that the only way to move forward is to start again, to see the good that can come out of the bad and to make the most of the generosity shown by all people across this great country of ours.

The generosity has exceeded expectations. Notwithstanding financial donations; food, clothes and blankets etc … the call to arms across the nation to help people in need has been one of the most extraordinarily heartwarming events we could bear witness to.

It all culminated with a couple of well-staged concerts that included the cream of the domestic and international music acts, all of whom donated their time — along with the volunteers — that helped to make the shows in Sydney and Melbourne so successful. The behaviour by the crowd was exemplary and everyone reacted to the event with respect.

It is a shame that such tragedies are the catalysts for bringing out the best in people. The days fly by so quickly that we sometimes forget our humanity.

So I suggest that each of us take a few minutes out of our day, each day to reflect on what good we can do and how we can help people in their times of need. TB

Jonathan

thinkbig Magazine ISSN: 1835 7733 Important Message – Copyright and Disclaimer thinkbig magazine is owned and published by Mindset Media Pty Ltd (ACN129 256 300).

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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.

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•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.

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Notes to self Bringing human values back

What makes a successful product or company? – Human values. We could all learn a valuable lesson from Claus Sendlinger, founder and CEO of Design Hotels. Claus is on a mission! To reinforce a simple but essential core message: the human factor.

Claus says the importance of ‘soft factors’ such as quality of life, and well-being is growing along with a re-discovery of simple human, even humble values. Claus believes the hotel industry is observing a growing human-centric innovation.

It is something that we could all take stock of: never lose the human face in the pursuit of your own goals and happiness.

Male grooming continues to grow

In recent years, the humble male has come to discover the value of grooming in business and personal success.

It is something we highlight in this magazine. Now a new report from independent market analyst Datamonitor identifies that the male grooming market is continuing to expand in Australia, although at a slower rate than often expected. While the more lucrative women’s market is also continuing to grow, the potential of the male market remains enormous and will be important to manufacturers of consumerpackaged goods (CPGs). Across most countries featured in this report, the split of populations is roughly equal by gender, yet the table below illustrates that women continue to dominate spending in the personal care industry.

The results of Datamonitor’s 2008 consumer survey showed that price was the biggest influence on men when choosing personal care products. Over half of all male respondents felt that price had either a ‘high’ or ‘very high’ influence on their choice of products. This was a substantially higher response rate than for any other factor, although ‘preferred brand’ and ‘ease of use’ also ranked as fairly important influencing factors among men.

Tree of life

With health concerns on the increase and another winter about to chill its way across Australia our bodies need to be more resilient than ever. If mainstream medical products aren’t your bag then turn your attention to nature’s longest living energy booster, the olive tree. Renowned for its remarkable health-giving qualities, the olive tree has flourished for thousands of years, fighting off centuries of heat and cold, and viral, bacterial and fungal attacks.

The secret to its longevity? Compounds in the olive leaf itself. Packed with antioxidants and other natural defence compounds, the olive leaf has amazing healing properties that have made it one of the world’s longest-lasting natural health tonics – over 4,000 years so far!

Take a breath

If you suffer from halitosis, it may be worth considering seeing the doctor. Halitosis is unfortunately one of the great suppressors of personal and business development and has held countless people back from achieving their full potential.

The Australian Breath Clinic has actually leveraged the current economic crisis to expand into new markets and increase their presence globally.

The Australian Breath Clinic (ABC) is a great example of a business helping people overcoming their insecurities; it is also a fine example of how businesses can beat the recession with smart practices.

Owned and founded by Australian dentist Dr. Geoffrey Speiser , Dr. Speiser attributes the success of the Clinic to its unique ability to diagnose the specific cause of bad breath, which can differ from person to person, thereby increasing the accuracy of treatment. The Australian Breath Clinic offers the only test in Australia to harness oral gas diagnostic technology, called Halicheck, to pinpoint the specific volatile gases, which constitute bad breath. Previously, bad breath could only be analysed subjectively through smell or through basic tests, which determined an arbitrary smell level. There was no test that could measure all the bad breath gases individually.

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Setting up your children’s futures The Australian Scholarships Group (ASG) has redefined education saving with the launch of a new program – the first of its kind in Australia – aimed at those who are still years away from becoming parents.

ASG’s new Future Education Program offers would-be parents a means of providing almost tax-free for their future children’s school fees.

Would-be parents can start the program from early adulthood, even if they are not yet in a relationship. Would-be grandparents can also start planning at any time for the education costs of their future grandchildren.

ASG’s Future Education Program is the only education benefits program in the Australian market that provides tax-advantaged saving for children before they are born. Contributions can begin from as little as $15 a week, which would grow to a projected $14,102 after 10 years.

ASG’s General Manager Development, Ms Michelle Hunder, said the Future Education Program completed the suite of ASG’s education program offerings devised to help Australians meet the soaring costs of education.

“We know the importance of planning ahead when it comes to achieving savings goals. Now ASG can give Australians even more time to save for the education of their future children.”

ASG’s education benefits program is based on three vital financial principles:

Sustainable, responsible scouting

Scouts Australia provide a prime example of what can be achieved when part of your mission statement is to give back to the community that supports you.

We should all take a leaf out of their latest projects and be more conservative with our water output.

Scouts Australia unveiled the 1,000th water tank installed as part of the largest community water saving project ever undertaken.

At the completion of the project Scouts will have installed more than 1,100 water tanks at Scout locations right across Australia.

Scouts have rolled out this enormous project in collaboration with Storm Sustainability. The two parties originally approached the government in 2007 to apply for funding for the project and were subsequently presented with a Federal Government grant of more than $17.7 million to carry out the installations.

Scouts and Storm recognised that the 60,000 Scouts across Australia were our next generation of water savers. The best way to educate Scouts about the benefits of water saving is by applying a practical water savings project. The goal: 60,000 Scouts gaining the necessary knowledge to impart these benefits to future generations.

Over the next three to four years it is estimated this project will save 3,000 mega litres of water.

That is the equivalent of 3,000 Olympic sized swimming pools and more than 10 billion glasses of drinking water.

1. Long periods of regular, small contributions – as little as $15 a week in the case of the Future Education Program.

2. A tax-advantaged savings environment.

3. Prudent investment of members’ contributions by professional fund managers within a balanced and moderate mutual framework.

ASG’s Future Education Program, like its other funds, is a scholarship plan. The program attracts very substantial tax advantages under the Tax Act that represent between 94 and 96% of the benefit of an entirely taxfree investment, provided the program is held for 10 years and the benefits are used to pay education costs.

More information on ASG’s Education Program™, including ASG’s Future Education Program can be found at ASG’s website: www.asg.com.au or phone: 1800 648 945.

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Notes to self

Self help

The following is a checklist of what to look out for if you are considering starting or expanding your library of self help books. There are tens of thousands on the market, so how do you decide which one is the right one for you?

1. Author credibility. Does the author have credibility as an expert in the field? Always google the author to find out if they have the respect of their peers and the relevant qualifications or experience.

2. Issues based. What issue does you most want to learn about? Find a specific topic and you will be more likely to succeed in overcoming your problem.

3. Keep it real. Too many people today offer the solution to everything in half the time it takes to bake a cake. The power of positive thinking is powerful, but if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.

4. Substance over style. Good writing is a pleasure to read, but how much depth does this book really have? Check references, further reading materials and make sure the message isn’t all hot air.

5. One step at a time. Don’t just rely on the book to solve your problems. If your problems are serious seek advice or professional help; nothing can substitute for human appraisal and contact.

Outsourcing trend combats the ‘crisis virus’

What do Qantas, Darrell Lea and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment have in common?

One word: Sunnyfield, the NSW-based notfor-profit organisation assisting people with a disability through supported employment, respite care, and skills development.

But this time, it’s about business.

The trend of outsourcing has become crucial during these critical financial times as a cost-effective means to manage production.

If you are having difficulty in the current economic climate, give outsourcing some thought, it may be the cog in the wheel that helps you achieve greater success.

Winter warmers

With winter slowly creeping up, we often forget we need to change our summer eating, exercise and sleeping habits in order to keep our immune levels up. Hopewood Health Retreat’s Naturopath, Wendy Hannah has developed the following top tips to ensure we maintain a healthy immune system during winter.

• Start to build up your immunity now, make sure you have essential fatty acids each day – avocado, fish oil, seeds, flaxseeds oil, evening primrose or nuts; • Zinc is important for all immune function – bananas, seeds, root veggies, almonds to name a few; • Add ginger or garlic to salads, stews, soups, veggie juices; • Cut down on saturated fats as these are known to be mucus forming; • Have more citrus fruit as we get closer to winter, start with a warm lemon juice 25% on rising • Increase root veggies, these have lots of minerals, leafy greens and yellows are also vital for the season ahead; • Most important is to also make sure you get adequate sleep before midnight; broken sleep leads to an inadequate supply of hormones for the next day.

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Aussie Rob A WORLD LEADER IN TRADING SOFTWARE & TRAINING

As you think

Insiders, Little Known Trading Strategies for Financial Success

“We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful” - Warren Buffett I believe the true road to preeminent success in any line is to make yourself master in that line. I have no faith in the policy of scattering one’s resources, and in my experience I have rarely if ever met a man who achieved preeminence in money making... certainly never one in manufacturing… who was interested in many concerns” - Andrew Carnegie “Most people struggle with life balance simply because they haven’t paid the price to decide what is really important to them” - Stephen Covey

Learn how you could make money while you sleep trading global markets, using proven, little known diverse strategies many traders will never know or understand.

“If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability”- Henry Ford “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning” - Bill Gates “A lot of people are afraid to tell the truth, to say no. That’s where toughness comes into play. Toughness is not being a bully. It’s having backbone.”

- Robert Kiyosaki “It’s easy to have principles when you’re rich. The important thing is to have principles when you’re poor.” - Ray Kroc

Everything’s easier when you have the right tools!

“How am I going to live today in order to create the tomorrow I’m committed to?” - Anthony Robbins “Every day, you’ll have opportunities to take chances and to work outside your safety net. Sure, it’s a lot easier to stay in your comfort zone...in my case, business suits and real estate...but sometimes you have to take risks. When the risks pay off, that’s when you reap the biggest rewards” - Donald Trump “I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life. You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles. ” - Zig Ziglar

Blooper quote

Order yOur Free dVd here

The lesson with this one is to always make sure your translation means what it is intended to. When General Motors introduced the Chevy Nova in South America, it was apparently unaware that ‘no va’ means ‘it won’t go’. After the company figured out why it wasn’t selling any cars, it renamed the car in its Spanish markets to the Caribe.

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Lifestyle Trader

www.lifestyletrader.com.au/thinkbig Aussie Rob Financial Services Pty Ltd is an authorized representative (authorized representative number 294829 ) of The International Securities & Derivatives

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Group Pty Ltd (AFSL 227544) www.thinkbigmagazine.com

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thinkBIG cover story

BEATING THE downturn:

HOW TO LIVE

choose

the life you When Robert Kiyosaki reconnected with his sister Emi, better known as the Venerable Tenzin Kacho, he rediscovered a spirit that had been lacking in his life. Jonathan Jackson spoke with Robert about spirituality and takes a look at the role this plays in his wealth building strategies within the the current global financial crisis.

I

n times of difficulty, it is common for people to look within themselves, examine their circumstances and come up with a plan of action to cope with the current crisis, maybe even work their way out of it. Robert Kiyosaki will not feel the effects of the crisis some smart-alec (genius?) marketing expert labelled the GFC, but having been in a position of poverty and clawed his way out he knows full well how to plan for success. He is thus well qualified to share this information with others.

Robert is even better qualified to impart this wisdom, given his recent reconnection with his Buddhist sister. It is this life changing event that has led him to renew his pursuit of personal truths.

“I am not sure I will ever know my personal truths, but I get closer by searching for them,” Robert says.

“My search for personal truth begins with the things that disturb me.”

He is disturbed by seeing people struggle financially. Seeing people fulfil a day to day job description they despise in order to pay the bills. Robert refers to this practice as evil. He is also disturbed when people tell him that ‘money is not important’, or that money itself is ‘evil’.

There are unfortunately many people at the moment who do not see money as a positive thing; who have had to foreclose 14 thinkBIG

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on their dream homes, who have lost their jobs and are hence struggling with their relationships.

Robert’s message to these people is the same as it has always been: seek out good financial advice and get educated.

“Your greatest asset for financial success is your brain, so be sure to protect it from poor advice.

“At this time of financial crisis, people should be seeking good, relevant advice.”

In his Yahoo Finance column Robert alluded to the fact that even his advice isn’t for everyone.

He wrote: Be very careful whom you take financial advice from – and that includes me. My guidance, after all, does not work for 80% of the people. My suggestions are not right for those who work for a paycheque or commissions, nor do they work for people who save money in a bank or retirement account.

I don’t live in some fairytale world with the hope that the markets will right themselves in five years. I don’t keep putting money into a losing venture such as a retirement plan filled with stocks, bonds and mutual funds. I do not live on false promises. I cannot afford to live on bad advice.

If you do not know what you are doing, no asset can make you rich. Ultimately what makes you rich is your financial intelligence.

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thinkBIG cover story she says.

The pair also believes they have reached the same destination as each other.

“It seems when one is on a path to God, we wind up in the same place,” Robert says.

Emi is more succinct: “When we seek understanding, or explore what interests us in life, we set out to find answers.”

It is all about having faith. Their father had faith as he stood as a Republican candidate in a Democratic politic and was crushed.

Yet he stood up with integrity and what Emi describes as benevolence and never gave up. These traits rubbed off on his children with Robert learning that ‘one man’s mission is more important than one man’s life’. A notion exemplified by his time as a marine.

Robert’s own first big faithful leap was when he joined the army. He says, “The more leaps of faith you take, the easier the leaps become. As I stated previously, I often have to come to a resolution before I take the leap. Becoming a teacher outside of the government education system was a tremendous leap of faith. If I had not done that, I doubt if I would have met and married Kim. So every leap of faith has its risks but the rewards have been spectacular.”

Life is a reformation. It is constantly changing through the highs and lows; through financial crises and financial successes. It requires mental, physical, emotional and spiritual transformation.

“Let me give you two examples,” says Robert. “If a person is overweight and unhealthy, simply going on a diet will not necessarily change the person. Or if a person wins the lotto, the millions of dollars does not necessarily make them a rich person.”

Emi takes it further.

“If you ignore one of these aspects, it will trip you and affect other aspects. If you don’t take care of your physical health it will diminish your capacity in mental, emotional and spiritual wisdom and transformation.”

Robert applies this philosophy to his business, understanding that for his business to grow and change first he must change.

“Today business and spirituality are the same. I express my spirituality or lack of spirituality through my business. Personally, I know I am in harmony with my business when the money pours in and I am out of harmony when the money disappears.”

The merging of business and spirituality is not something many people understand, if they do they tend to ignore it. The problem with business and perhaps why so many businesses have gone to the wall recently is because people are afraid to express their spiritual side for fear of being seen as weak. Robert also believes that individuals and businesses are afraid of taking on projects that are bigger than themselves.

“If you want to test your spirit, you need a challenge bigger than yourself,” he says.

For Emi, it is about living life in congruence with personal principles, otherwise you put yourself out of integrity with your own beliefs.

“If you believe money is bad, you will be poor,” she says. “Finding and following solid principles (speaking truth, continually educating oneself, benefiting others) builds strength and personal power.

Robert found his purpose and power by thinking big. And he

Your greatest asset is your brain, so take care of it and protect it from bad advice.

Robert blames the crisis on a financial power struggle. He is worried about governments printing extra money that could lead to hyperinflation. The only way to survive this is to educate.

Education is in fact a lifelong pursuit for Robert. He is unsure of whether this is one of his personal truths, but he is coming to terms with the fact that it just might be.

And personal truth may just be the salvation of many who are struggling.

For Robert, beyond looking at the things that disturb him to find his truths he relies on two other important life-changing factors: Intuition – “I sit quietly and let my higher self guide me.”

Resolution – “Many times what my inner guide suggests is not what I want to do. For example, before I created my game Cashflow, I argued with myself for months that I did not want to do it and that I was unable to do it. After some time passed, I was sitting with Kim (wife Kim Kiyosaki) having a coffee and asked her if we should go ahead with it. That’s when the process began and a year later I wrote Rich Dad, Poor Dad as a way of advertising the game. Two years later Oprah Winfrey called and suddenly I went from obscurity to worldwide recognition.”

Robert has been searching for his truths for much of his career and since his reconnection with his sister, has been more open to discovering different things.

One of those things is kindness, a trait he believes has been lacking.

“I love what the Dalai Lama says, ‘My religion is kindness’. Whenever I feel something is lacking, I now

“Things happen in life and we have to find answers, change our view, change how we live otherwise we remain static, or withdraw and die inside.” focus on being kinder.”

The Venerable Tenzin Kancho and her Buddhist teachings have had an enormous influence on Robert’s recent perspective. Though the pair has lived vastly different lives and taken separate paths they share similar views. In fact Emi’s Buddhist teachings would work well for people suffering in the GFC. “Things happen in life and we have to find answers, change our view, change how we live otherwise we remain static, or withdraw and die inside,” 16 thinkBIG

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encourages others to do the same; to seek knowledge, to discover the best paths for themselves by asking the right questions of the right people. Knowledge is power, whether the world is in recession, or riding a financial high.

He also recommends that if people want to survive they should

“Today business and spirituality are the same. I express my spirituality or lack of spirituality through my business. Personally, I know I am in harmony with my business when the money pours in and I am out of harmony when the money disappears.”

not do the things they love, but help with the things they hate. This may sound incongruent, but when he explains it, it makes sense.

“I do what I hate. For example, I hate poverty, I hate seeing people with so little when great spirit is so abundant. So I teach people about money.”

Robert’s reconnection with Emi has brought new spirit into his life and enabled him to grow and change.

Change is something we must all experience to keep the fires burning, but before we change ourselves and our circumstances we must seek out the right advice. It may be from a long lost sister who discovered herself in the Buddhist ways, or it may be from teachers such as Robert with differing views of current global circumstance and life in general.

Whatever path you choose, the lesson learnt here is to choose the right path for you and to live the life you are meant to live. TB

Five keys to living a happy life 1. Focus on giving 2. Focus on being appropriate.

That means if you need to be tough, be tough ... even if you don’t want. If you need to be kind, be kind even if you don’t want to.

3. Take on challenges rather than avoid them.

4. Welcome criticism.

5. Be willing to be wrong and then correct.

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persuasion 7 aspects of a masterful persuasion

By Igor Popovic

Persuasion is not a skill only salespeople need. It is both a life process and a valuable personal skill. We are all persuaders.

W

hen you go for a job interview, you sell your skills, knowledge and experience. When you talk to your child, you sell your views on how they should behave or what they should or shouldn’t do. When you find the love of your life and want to take things to the next level, you sell your charm, wit and beauty (internal if not external). In all those situations you effectively sell yourself.

There are very few situations in our personal or business life that don’t involve some form of persuasion or negotiation. Yet, most of us approach others in an ad-hoc, haphazard manner. Persuasion, just like negotiation, is a process. It has stages or phases, which progress in some sequence. There is the ultimate outcome, a goal or a deliverable. The process steps happen faster or slower, depending on the timing and the momentum, which may also be called the speed of the process or its dynamics. Finally, every process is governed by a set of norms and rules; what is allowed and what isn’t.

The seven issues that follow are the cornerstones of the persuasion process. Use them as a framework to prepare for your presentations, persuasions and negotiations.

First and foremost, know your TARGET. Who are your trying to persuade? Establish their personality, preferences (likes and dislikes) and problems (needs and wants). Discover their ‘pain points’, something that is bothering them, making them afraid, unhappy or frustrated. Then, identify their ‘hot buttons’, or the levers that will move them from their current state (scepticism, lack of trust, resistance) into a desired state (agreement and cooperation with you).

Have a clear GOAL. Why are you trying to persuade them?

Decide what you want to accomplish, what you want the other person to do as a result of your persuasion or presentation.

Decide on the best APPROACH. How are you going to make them do what you want them to? Choose the most appropriate style of persuasion -- would an emotional appeal influence them more or would — you be better off using a predominantly logical approach.

NLP (Neuro-Lingusitc Programming) talks about three basic communication preferences — verbal, visual or kinaesthetic. Some

prospects are persuaded mostly verbally; they want you to talk to them. Others are visual – they want to read your proposal, see the model, drawings, brochures, pictures. Kinaesthetic people don’t want either; they want to touch and feel. If you are selling something tangible, you are lucky -- just hand the product to them so they can handle it or try it out. When selling something intangible, an idea or concept, for example, your have an additional step ahead of you. A mix of the three modalities is always prudent. Tailor your persuasion around a target’s hot buttons. Leverage your arguments, suggestions and proposals for maximum effect.

STRUCTURE your persuasion accordingly. A simple, contrasting design is usually sufficient. Don’t over-complicate. You can use pros and cons, problem-solution or a before-after approach.

Decide on the best VEHICLE to carry your message. It could be a story, an example, a model, a face-to-face demonstration or a visual aid (a striking, memorable slide).

Finally, choose the opportune TIME and PLACE. Minimise distractions and ensure you have the target’s full attention.

Again, keep it short and sweet. People’s attention spans have been shrinking. Use catchy sound bites and intriguing one-liners, especially with younger prospects who prefer movies to books and are more likely to be visual rather than verbal communicators.

If you successfully cover all seven aspects of the persuasion process, you cannot but succeed. When people realise that you are a decent and honest human being who is genuinely interested in them, their behaviour towards you will markedly improve. They will go out of their way to help you get what you want, because they know you will also help them get what they want. I call it The Boomerang Principle. Sooner or later, what you throw at others comes back. The return is always in kind. TB

Igor S. Popovich is Perth-based international management trainer, coach and consultant. His latest book is Loser No More!, Negotiate Better and Win More Often - At Home, On the Job, and In Business. www.careerprofessionals.com.au

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What does prosperity mean to you?

Who am I? How to reconnect with our true selves

By Jessica McGregor

Who am I in relation to the roles I play in my life: as son or daughter, brother or sister, wife or husband, boss or employee. Who am I in terms of my relationships with the outside world. Who am I, what is my purpose, what do I want to receive or contribute? These are questions we ask ourselves, in different and varied ways, on a daily basis. The biggest question, however, does not relate to relationships but to the soul.

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he Who am I question is often the first we ask and it relates in part to our values. Values are what we see as important aspects in our life, the things we hold true like honesty, laughter, good communication or love. As we play out the different roles in our life we can either be true to our values or compromise them to please others around us. One way to reconnect with your true self is to become aware of what our values are. Values show up in all areas of your lifes and one way to connect with them is take yourself back to a time when you felt frustrated or angry. What was going on at that time, what was your mind shouting, what values were being trampled on? Those are the ones that are important to you. Another good example of your values is the opposite – a time of great joy. What was playing out then, what values were being honoured at that time? By bringing your values to light you can commit to living them. In that way the Who am I in relationship to your roles become a clearer reflection of your true self.

The Who am I in relationship to the outside world is about finding your place. This often becomes clearer when you discover your purpose, the thing that gives us the motivation to go out and do that which will give us fulfilment. Purpose is about passion; it is gives us our greatest joy. Some people feel that our purpose should be huge or world changing and that may be true for some, but it can also play out in a smaller arena, a family, local community or the workplace.

One way to connect with yourself and discover your purpose is to do a written contemplation. Sit quietly for a while, bring yourself to the present moment by controlling your breath and ask yourself: What am I passionate about, what fulfils me?

Sit with this question for a few minutes and then pick up your pen and start writing. Keep on writing, no wordsmithing or censoring, just allow the pen to flow. Once you have finished, take a look at what you have written and see what the prevailing

answer is. This is the first step towards discovering your purpose and reconnecting with yourself. By asking for answers and looking into your heart, you’ll find a true reflection of who you are right now.

Who am I? is the big picture question. It often comes at a time when we want a more meaningful life. For me it came when I realised that all I had achieved or accumulated didn’t reflect who I was. I felt there had to be more.

Look past your ego and become aware of what it is inside you that never changes. Can you stop right now and get a feel for that part of you that I like to call The One, that has always felt the same way? Can you take that half step backwards and look out through your own eyes, through The One’s own eyes?

I use the word One purposefully. Because the One that is us is the One in all of us. And that is the driving energy behind the question Who am I? and the desire to feel whole again.

So how do we reconnect?

Practise. A wise teacher once said, ‘choose one thing to bring yourself back to your Self and practise it’. It might be to see things through your own vision, or to commit to a meditation practise. It could also be having half an hour to listen to an inspirational CD that brings you back into knowing yourself.

Whatever it is, it will be something that draws you inside to reconnect with your true self. In truth we know who we are, we have simply lost sight of ours Selves and need to wipe clean the windscreen of our minds to see ourselves clearly once more. TB

Jessica works internationally as a Life Fulfilment Coach She has recently published her first book Remembering Perfection – Everyday Inspiration for Living your Spirituality. www.rememberingperfection.com

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thinkBIG mindset thinkbig

attraction How to attract anything

By Joe Vitale

1. Quit shrugging off your power LOA is working and you are working it, probably unconsciously.

Instead of saying it doesn’t work for you, own that it does. This is far more empowering than being a victim. Assume you are doing something inside yourself to attract the results you are getting. It all begins with accepting responsibility for your life.

I hear this complaint from time to time – “I like your books, but the truth is, none of it works for me.”

Have you heard that before? Have you maybe even said that before?

So what’s the truth? Does the Law of Attraction (LOA) work or not?

Do all these ‘feel good’ books and movies actually work or not?

Why do they seem to work for hundreds of thousands of people, but not for you?

2. Choose what you want Instead of being bounced around by circumstances, start to direct or at least request where you want to go. You turn your inner radar on when you make a decision. You begin to steer the ship. Intention helps align your body and mind to go in the direction you prefer.

3. Take action Nothing happens until something moves. As I’ve said many times, the universe likes speed. Money likes speed. Take inspired action ASAP. It’ll give you instant feedback and instant results. As your actions bring you new information, you then take new actions based on it.

4. Get clear I’m constantly saying that you must get clear of the limiting beliefs within you in order to attract your intention. Counter-intentions will always trip you up. Be aware of your thoughts when things don’t work out for you. Those are what you need to get clear of. Those are the beliefs that attracted what you got.

How do you get clear? One easy way is through zero Limits. Basically, you say “I love you, I’m sorry, please forgive me and I’m sorry” as you address the Divine while feeling the inner blocks. This easy method, explained in the book Zero Limits, can remove the blocks to allow anything you want the freedom to come to you.

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et’s explore this. Consider… If you drop a ball from the roof of a building, does gravity or your letting go make it drop?

Think about it. When you toss a horseshoe, what makes it land on the other side: gravity or your toss?

Well? Which is it, gravity or your action? Obviously, it’s both. It’s the same with LOA. When anything happens in your life, you can say it was LOA that made it so or you can attribute the result to some other cause and pretend LOA doesn’t exist or doesn’t work.

You can even say, “I don’t believe in LOA.” You can even say, “LOA doesn’t work for me.” It’s your choice. But what’s the truth?

What’s real? What’s most helpful?

Look at it this way: Why do most sports coaches tell their players about the laws of physics? The coach believes the more you know about what is happening when you are playing the game, the more you will be conscious and will work with those laws of physics to win the game.

For example, I’ve recently begun racing my exotic sports cars.

While I could just get behind the wheel and drive, the trainers teach me about geometry and physics so I have a better understanding about how to successfully drive the car at high speed.

In short, they want me to know about all the laws at play so I can accomplish my goals better. That makes sense, doesn’t it?

You can dismiss either or both if you like. But does doing so help you or limit you? If I can become a better driver by knowing the invisible laws at work when I race, and I can get better results in the gym with an understanding of the universal laws at work, and a sports figure can achieve his or her goals better by knowing the hidden laws underneath the game, doesn’t it behoove you to know about the other laws operating in your own life?

Given the above, what can you actually do to get better results in your life even when the Law of Attraction doesn’t seem to be working for you?

Here are 5 things:

5. Be happy now The idea is to become more awake and aware so I can get more of the results I prefer, even on the racetrack.

The same is true in the gym. I’ve trained with famous bodybuilders like Frank Zane, Scott York and others. These athletes don’t just tell me to sweat more or lift more. They also teach me to be aware of gravity, for example, because working with it can help increase muscle mass.

Are you starting to get the picture? The Law of Attraction is the same as the Law of Gravity or any other law: it’s working whether you give it credit or not. Knowing about it can help you achieve the results you want.

In other words, if you’re one of those who say LOA doesn’t work for you, then you might as well say gravity doesn’t work for you, either.

LOA is always working. Gravity is always working. That’s why they are both laws.

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Happiness is what you really want. Be happy now and you’ll have your ultimate goal and you’ll send out a vibe to attract more moments to be happy about. The best way to be happy now is to be grateful now. My hypnotic story about the pencil in the movie The Compass is a great reminder of the power of gratitude. Basically, you find something, anything that will help you move into feeling grateful right now. For me, 30 years ago, when I was struggling, I picked up a pencil and found reasons to be grateful for it. Being grateful for it changed my inner being so I could attract more to be grateful for.

The point here is this: LOA is always working. If that’s so, how are you attracting what you are getting (or not getting)? It’s deeper than your conscious thoughts. But it’s not hidden.

Look and ye shall find. Ask and ye shall receive. TB

Dr. Joe Vitale is the star of The Secret Movie and bestselling author of The Attractor Factor, Zero Limits and They Key. www.joevitale.com

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thinkBIG mindset thinkbig

success Your success, your choice

By Suela Qemal

Have you ever wondered what differentiates successful individuals who live their dreams from those who just survive? Why have Warren Buffet, Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki, Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey and so many others achieved such massive global success, wealth and life fulfillment?

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he differentials between those listed above and the rest are as follows: 1. They have defined what success means to them (this varies between individuals).

2. They have developed a mindset for success.

3. They have taken action towards achieving their defined success.

So what is stopping you from taking action? Is something or someone stopping you from achieving your defined goals? Maybe you are stopping yourself... You are the only person you are able to control.

Defining success is the first and the most important step towards success. Your definition of success needs to be right for you, not your parents, your partner, your children, your friends, but YOU. The definition should be something that would make you happy when you achieve it, because as you develop your mindset and take massive actions you will find that it is only a matter of time before you achieve your dreams.

People those who create true success and achieve their dreams usually stay focused on their goal for years. They don’t stop and start, instead they drive forward consistently until they have built momentum and made their dreams a reality.

When your subconscious mind is fully aligned with your conscious mind to achieve your goals, you become unstoppable.

The difference between highly successful people and those who struggle is their mindset and the way they think and act.

Your success is your choice. See you in the Success Circle. TB

What steps should you take to achieve success?

Think BIG. Have a clear definition of what success means to you. Motivation is not enough. Long after initial motivation has worn off, your unconscious habits, beliefs, past experiences and associations will either support or sabotage the pursuit of your goal.

The key is to take control of the most important asset you have — your mind. History has shown us that while economic meltdowns have occurred in the past and a large proportion of people have lost most of their fortunes, there has always been a small group of millionaires and even billionaires. The way they have done this is by evaluating the situation and seeing opportunities where others see problems. You get what you focus on.

Suela Qemal is the founder and CEO of Achieve Financial Freedom Today Pty Ltd. www.AchieveFinancialFreedomToday.com

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thinkBIG feature

Raising

By Jonathan Jackson

community standards The Chinese community is vibrant, supportive of itself and one of the rocks of Australian society, but how difficult is it for new immigrants to succeed in their chosen country when the odds seemed stacked against them? Jonathan Jackson speaks with Ironfish founder Joseph Chou to find out?

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oseph Chou is a dancer, comedian, linguist, violinist, business owner and pillar of the community. He considers himself blessed and is grateful for what he has achieved through the differing lives he has led in China and Australia. His story is not so much one of rags to riches; indeed he was born in a middle class environment and grew up during the Chinese Cultural Revolution in a loving and supportive family. His story is one of determination, of goal setting, of action and of giving.

The son of a military father, Joseph’s upbringing was not the clichéd strict Chinese childhood depicted in movies, it was an environment where he was encouraged to pursue his passions without ever having his whims indulged.

“I had a lot of dreams,” Joseph says.

“One day I wanted to be a national table tennis player. The next day I wanted to become a soccer player, a singer and a gymnast.

My mother never discouraged me from doing anything. At the time my parents were on reasonably higher incomes compared to other families, but she never indulged us (his brothers) either.

“I used to wear one set of clothes. I went to a friend’s house and they had so many toys and all I had was a little rubber ball. In a way I envied them, but looking back my mother taught me that you don’t have to go over the top with anything.”

As the Cultural Revolution came into full swing, Joseph had a

“There is an old saying in China that ‘there’s a lot of room at the top, but it is very crowded at the bottom.”

decision to make: pursue his dreams in the arts or attend university.

One brother encouraged Joseph to join the military to avoid going to work in the fields, his other brother encouraged academic pursuits.

Reluctantly, as 1977 came and went and university attendance in China was held in higher regard than before, Joseph made the decision to study.

His scores for Beijing City’s unified exam were high – 90%. This gave him the leverage he needed when he went to speak with the principal of the elective school he wished to attend. However, the standard of student was much higher than he was used to and he found himself as a middle of the range student.

Yet his desire was to make his parents proud and he was determined to be head of the class no matter what it took.

“When I went to the elective school I realised I was in the middle, after being at the top. Everyone was a star, which I couldn’t handle.

So, I focused on getting up early and studying. Three months later we had another exam and I was number one in my class. What that taught me was that you acclimatise to an environment. That if am willing to work hard, I can adjust my positioning.”

It is this lesson that Joseph has taken with him throughout his life and various careers. Hard work and confidence landed him a place at Peking University, a feat no other student in his school had ever achieved. In fact only 4% of graduates went to university at

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thinkBIG feature the time, and 20 students were accepted into Peking University, so being accepted appealed to his sense of excellence and drove him to achieve even more.

“I had a natural ability and naivety to believe that I would be one of the 20. I knew I was a clever student, confident and naturally happy, but what helped me was focus. Every time I have a goal it becomes my project and this taught me that focus worked. I ended up with the highest scores in my county, not in all of China, but in that county.”

Joseph went on to study English and work in the Chinese government as a diplomat. In spite of his stage presence and love for theatre he was a shy soul reluctant to approach people.

Yet again, however, Joseph’s inert confidence in his abilities and most importantly his ability to acclimatise shone through.

“I remember I would go to functions and only talk with Chinese diplomats. What helped me to change was a counsellor from Poland who looked very fierce. I made the approach and it turned out he was a friendly person which taught me that even though people look different, they are the same.”

The ability to see good in people and to approach them as equals held him in good stead when he decided to immigrate to Australia.

His upbringing has also played a vital role. When the Chou family moved from China to Australia as permanent residents, the very same qualities that led him to a successful career in China also held him in good stead when he was forced to rebuild his life in this ’wide brown land’.

On arrival the only money the Chou family had went to the purchase of a second rate automobile. Whether this was motivated

by Joseph’s love for cars which stems from his childhood in Beijing sitting in the street counting embassy cars, or by some uncanny premonition that he would need a car to be a salesman is unclear, however it left the Chou’s with only $20 to their name and nowhere to live other than by the good graces of a friend’s generosity.

So with his cheap car and while sitting at his friend’s kitchen table, he and his wife plotted their future.

“We both decided that we wanted a free life. When I was a diplomat I worked a lot with writers, but I knew Australian writers couldn’t survive, they needed government grants and had to get a job to support themselves. Only the most accomplished writers have the money and resources to write.

Yet getting into sales wasn’t his passion, it was singing, writing, travelling and sales was seen as a means to an end.

“My wife and I said why don’t we find a way to solve the money problem. In China we were never brought up to believe money was good, but I thought if money is an issue most people face, why don’t we get rid of the problem. At the time, new migrants earning $30,000 was considered acceptable, so I set a target to make $100,000 per year.

“My wife said you get a job, any job, so we have something to eat.

The only job that I could get that could earn me that type of money was sales, in particular life insurance. I responded to an ad that said, ‘Training supplied, no experience necessary, $2,000 a week’.”

The one thing Joseph refused to do was let his shyness or lack of experience and no contacts be an excuse for lack of success. While he was looking for a job he was a pizza delivery boy.

“When I was delivering pizzas I was happy because it was something I wanted to do for the time being and it served a purpose.

Three months before that I was being called ‘Your Excellency’ and now I was cleaning up for an 18 year old manager. I didn’t feel bitter.

I knew this was part of the job.”

A sale was just as tough, but he approached it with the same determination.

“I went to a client’s place, my car was leaking and I stood in the rain for three hours I was so keen to make a sale,” he states.

Then after a couple of years in insurance Joseph was making good money, pulling in a six figure salary and living comfortably. It wasn’t until he had an ethical dilemma with one of the company’s new products that he questioned what he was doing and where he wanted to be.

It was now 1993 and Australia was entering recession. The product Joseph was asked to sell was, by his reckoning, priced too high for the current economic climate.

Back in 1991, Joseph had also bought himself a shelf company and had begun to juggle several money-making pursuits, yet he still felt he was going nowhere.

“I bought a magazine, sold insurance, worked in network marketing, but I was still going nowhere. When the economy stabilised my wife quit her translation job. There is an old saying in China that ‘there’s a lot of room at the top, but it is very crowded at the bottom’. We recognised that there was an untapped niche in commercial interpreting translation and conference interpreting. We became top interpreters and translators for BHP and QANTAS. I even did voiceover for Disney.”

Joseph, however, was becoming frustrated. His pursuit of goals was still a driving factor in what was the journey of his life. One of those goals was to increase his income by $100,000 each year.

He had stagnated on half a million dollars and the figure hadn’t improved in three years.

A radio ad for a property seminar was the catalyst for the next phase of his life. In 1998 property was booming, it made sense to move into the industry.

“The presenter, William O’Dwyer was someone I’d worked with in insurance. He told the audience he had 20 properties and I thought ‘I only have one’. He came to see me at my home the next day in his brand new Bentley and I was quite impressed. I knew his cash flow would be better than mine and yet we both started on the same level.

“In a way I realised we were two people starting from the same position, taking different paths and getting different results. Some people saw me as doing quite well, but when I compared results he showed me the possibilities that people can become millionaires after starting with nothing.”

Joseph became William’s client and by the middle of the year, he had six properties in his portfolio. Property investment was something always in the back of Joseph’s mind, but he never thought he had the time until someone had made it feasible for him.

Realising that property was the most inspired way he could achieve his financial goal, he shut down the translating business and approached William to become a business partner.

Unbeknownst to Joseph, William had just split with his business

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partner and wasn’t looking for a replacement.

It didn’t matter. Joseph made a pact with William to do three things: be his top salesman, be his most positive person, and add the most value to the company.

To do this, Joseph approached the Chinese community.

“I realised that the Chinese market was underserviced, so I went to William and told him that I would help him break into this market. I was only ever on commission and didn’t ask for $1, but I believe that if you make the contribution, one day you will be recognised.”

The day came two years later when William approached Joseph with a sweetener.

“He said to me if you can achieve 20 sales for three months in a row I will overwrite you. I tripled that result and didn’t have to go out anymore because my team was doing really well. All William had to do was show up to the seminar and talk. He did the seminar and I became his Chinese client as a testimonial, it was very powerful.”

The problem was, however, that William’s empire was only ever going to be William’s empire and Joseph wanted to satiate his entrepreneurial desires.

“I was grateful for the opportunity but it was hard to say goodbye. I started the Sydney arm of Ironfish and I made $300 million in the first year for the company.”

Ironfish is a joint effort between a valued sales team, Joseph and his wife. He refers to his wife as his motivator and the person that holds everything together.

“The only thing that matters is my wife and kids. I made a decision that she would take on the huge task of looking after the children, but I believe that it is the two of us who make every dollar. This is due to the respect we have held for each other when we were living in China, to the hard times we went through when we immigrated.”

Ironfish is more than just a property investment company for the Chinese community. It is the culmination of all Joseph’s hard work, goal setting and lessons in life. It is his vehicle to help and give back to a community that in the past offered him so much and asked for nothing in return. Ultimately, Joseph would like to help young Chinese children to learn entrepreneurial skills. As such he has opened an entrepreneurship programme.

“I look at property with the attitude of how can I add value to that person’s life, how can I help them adapt to Australian life better because nobody had ever talked with them about living a comfortable life.

“Unfortunately, social conditioning doesn’t tell anybody how to get started. Even those with an MBA from Harvard don’t have real world experience. They have a fear of taking risks or keeping up with Joneses.”

Joseph believes that genuinely successful people are willing to share. They have a strong desire and clearly defined goals; they know what they want.

It all starts with a target and if you don’t know how to reach that target, you ask someone. Once the target is attained, create a plan of action. Then, as Joseph says, “there is no magic, just total focus and hard work.” TB

5 keys to happiness 1. People need to know what makes them

happy. There are different definitions of

fulfilment.

2. When they know what they want they

need to take action.

3. They need the mentality to pursue the

goal and overcame the challenges.

4. It’s not over until it’s over, don’t give up

and change the vehicle.

5. Hard work.

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thinkBIG health

By Bridget Thompson

Eat Up stress before it

eats

YOU! Many of us have come to accept that stress is a normal part of life, especially as a business owner or entrepreneur. In order to survive, we just have to keep our heads down, bottoms up and one day we’ll have time to enjoy life, relax and look after ourselves.

I

’m sorry to burst your bubble here but the reality is, without our health and happiness, our business and professional success means little. And, in the very short term, our health can drastically affect the decisions we make, the courses of action we do or do not take, and hence our results! Personal and professional success hinges, and relies upon, a solid foundation of good health. When we are well and happy we make better decisions, form better relationships, feel motivated and perpetuate a continuous upward spiral of success in all areas of life.

So if feeling good – physically and mentally – is absolutely important to an all-round successful life, how can we manage stress so that it does not eat us up?

Stress, from a historical standpoint served quite an important purpose; survival. If we were faced with a threat or predator, within seconds we could have the fuel, focus, senses and power to instinctively ‘fight’ or ‘flee’ the situation. You may have heard of the ‘flight or fight response’. In simple terms, once we have appraised a situation, person, thing or event as threatening, a cascade of physiological reactions take place.

Adrenaline and cortisol pump through our blood vessels, shunting energy away from non-essential processes such as digestion, and directing it to the muscles. Our heart rate increases, our blood sugar and fat levels rise, our senses sharpen, and we are ready for action!

The only concern is often the stressor does not require a fight or flight response and it is often chronic and unrelenting; looming deadlines, crashing computers, financial figures, to name a few. In this sedentary day and age, we do not make use of this adaptive and protective response and instead we sit and fester in this pool of adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones, if not used up, keep

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us in the cycle of stress leading to cravings, the deposition of fat around our middle and consistent reactive mode.

What this means for us in the long and short term is undoubtedly ill health and a continuous struggle to feel happy. The stress response played over and over, day after day, could quite possibly be pinpointed as the biggest killer in today’s society. Sure, some may argue it’s cancer, heart disease, diabetes, overweight or depression.

These can all be argued to be manifestations, in one way or another, of unresolved, chronic stress.

The first thing to recognise, practice and master is that it is nothing more than our appraisal of a situation that makes it seem stressful or otherwise to us. In short, stress can be as intense, prolonged and damaging as we choose it to be. In order for us to be able to choose our response, we must first become aware of how we are currently handling situations. Some of us do not express stress or anxiety outwardly. Rather we internalise it, making it harder for us to even identify that we are in a chronically stressed state.

The easiest ways to gauge our stress levels is by becoming aware of our clarity of thought, confidence and sense of calm. If we are having trouble making decisions, feeling pressured or slightly doubtful of ourselves, we are most likely under a degree of stress.

In order to truly resolve health woes and achieve anunimaginable level of wellbeing, we must first learn to understand and direct our focus. What we focus on, we experience. We attract to ourselves like energy and keep perpetuating that which we are indulging in our mind over and over. In order for us to master stress, we must first learn to direct our focus and choose to saturate our mind with our purpose, where we are going and evidence of what we have done right and what is going well. Gain perspective. Ask better questions.

When I work with clients we consistently work on this area, while addressing the practical, everyday strategies they can use to support a healthier mindset. So do not neglect, overlook or underestimate how important it is to look at your thought patterns and reflect on how they may or may not be serving you. For now we will get back to the other lifestyle tactics you can employ to reduce your destructive response to stress, protect your body and help you feel calmer all round. These include: Intense physical activity: In the moment of feeling overwhelmed one of the very best things you can do is use up that cortisol and adrenaline; clear those sugars and fats from your bloodstream. Close the office door and do some form of intense activity. It may seem crazy but ‘pushing out 20’, taking 30 seconds to skip, or running up a flight of stairs, will settle things down and prevent you from experiencing the sugar and insulin surges which lead to insatiable cravings and a drive for foods high in fat and sugar.

You know that drive I’m talking about – the escape cup of tea and bikkies, the rescue chocolate bar, the saviour beer and peanuts… everyone has their own unique survival formula.

Beyond physically utilising the chemicals surging through your body, there are foods that can help you to feel calmer. Berries, avocados, nuts, oranges and asparagus provide varying amounts of Vitamin C, B vitamins, anti-oxidants and flavonoids that can calm

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thinkBIG health cortisol’s damaging ways and replenish supplies of energy-releasing vitamins being gobbled up in the stress response. Opt for snacks and meals that feature these.

Water: Being even as little as 2% dehydrated affects our concentration levels and contributes to irritability and fatigue. Make water your drink of choice and aim for three litres spaced evenly throughout your day. You will notice an immediate difference in your energy levels, clarity of thought and ability to deal with stress with this one consistent change.

Eat regularly: Skipping breakfast, morning tea and lunch are surefire ways to keep you at the mercy of the stress cycle and fighting the belly bulge as you approach your late 30s, mid 40s. Don’t let it happen to you! Make time for a quick, nutritious, and delicious brekky; a banana or berry smoothie; poached eggs on wholegrain toast; a bowl of porridge. A handful of raw, unsalted nuts and a piece of fruit a couple of hours later will get you to lunch feeling positive and clear headed. Do not underestimate the power of commitment to this simple lifestyle strategy.

Omega-3s: Not all fats are created equal.

These babies have so many benefits they deserve an article of their own, however, for the benefit of today’s focus, omega-3s have the power to reduce our output of adrenaline, as well as help our minds stay more calm and optimistic. They also protect against inflammatory damage caused by stress, thereby reducing our risk of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, heart attack and stroke.

Select walnuts as your nut of choice, and indulge in ‘fatty’ fish as often as you can. Smoked salmon on sourdough rye makes a delicious and mind-friendly sandwich; sardines on grainy toast can be a brekky favourite and grilled mackerel fillets with fresh salad and sweet potato wedges an intensely satisfying, ‘without the heaviness’ dinner.

Anti-oxidants: Quite simply, be sure to eat a RAINBOW of colour! Fruits and veggies are loaded with stress-busting, anti-ageing and disease-protective compounds that are represented by colour.

The purple of blueberries reveals the presence of anthocyanins; powerful anti-ageing compounds that keep the collagen of skin intact. Green and orange veggies such as broccoli and sweet potato are bursting with carotenoids; protective compounds that counter UV damage, boost our immunity and strengthen our eyesight. Green and black teas are also excellent ways to boost your anti-oxidant dose.

In a nutshell, fruits and veggies provide so many benefits that really do protect us from stress, calm our senses and help us to feel much more

resilient and able to deal with challenges.

Commit to consistently increasing your intake of these incredible foods everyday and feel and see the benefits in no time!

Regular Exercise: As well as eating up the excess stress hormones in our blood with intense bursts of activity, committing to regular exercise will ensure a consistent flow and supply of feel-good endorphins and provide the release we used to get when we lead more active lives. Remember, we are designed to move! Do not deny yourself one of your most important needs!

Just make a start and commit to building over time.

Avoid excess sugar and caffeine: Ironically these are the two key things we are drawn to when we feel stressed. The tax cortisol and adrenaline have on the body during the stress response mean we are often driven to feeling as though we absolutely need a boost from one, or both, of these seeming energy providers.

When you are giving your body what it needs, when it needs it there is no need to fight cravings or phantom addictions. They naturally dissipate without your focused attention.

So simply dedicate your focus to water, colourful fruits and vegetables, wholegrain carbohydrates, less processed foods and physical activity. Fuel your body often and right and be amazed at how much easier everything seems! I guarantee you will thank yourself and see how the relatively small time investment, pays you back 100-fold.

Happiness, health and quality of life are invaluable outcomes to strive for. Do not get eaten up by stress and remember what life is all about.

Remember, as Denis Waitley wisely puts it, “You have been given the greatest power in the world, the power to choose”. TB

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Having once been overweight and unfit, Bridget-Jane is now an accredited practicing Dietitian with a passion and zest for helping her clients to live happier, healthier and more purposeful lives. www.newleafnutrition.com.au

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BREAKING NEWS: Smart and active private property investors stand to make a fortune this year. Will you be one of them? Plus, find out how you can get $975 worth of valuable property training for FREE!

Control Avoiding self-sabotaging your success

By Todd Hutchison

There exist too many talented business people that fall short of success.

They have the right skills, contacts, qualifications and the ideas, but something seems to be working against them. In fact, that something is inside our very own mind – we are our worst enemy.

H

ow often has your lack of confidence, self-esteem, limiting beliefs or self-doubt impacted you from taking that next step or closing that last business deal? You walk away mystified that you ‘almost got there’.

You may have heard that we only use 10% of the human brain, however it was attempting to convey is the likely ratio between the functions of the conscious mind (10%) compared to the more dominant subconscious mind (90%). It is the subconscious mind that is responsible for your survival, but is also the bank for all our core doubts, fears and limiting beliefs.

If you are having money problems, just take a moment to think of all the sayings you recall from your childhood about money, such as ‘money doesn’t grow on trees’ and ‘money is the root of all evil’.

Now consider if you believed in all these things – what would that be doing to your life? You may find your deep seated beliefs are reflective of the results you are getting.

It all starts with past events that are stored in the memory. For a memory to exist it had to be given the power of an emotion.

This explains why the most exciting events and those where we experienced our greatest pain become our strongest memories.

Bringing it down to basics, your memories are simply pictures, sounds or feelings. Those moments when you are self-sabotaging yourself, you are playing something similar to a musical record in your head that attribute to their negative mental state. You may be playing ‘you’re not good enough’, ‘you’re not smart enough’, ‘they don’t like you’, or ‘they won’t be interested’. This little voice or the picture of a past failure or that terrible feeling of unworthiness all directly impacts your brain neuro-chemicals that drive your behaviour and emotional states.

Dealing with these records starts with recognising what are the pictures, sounds or feelings you are experiencing during these moments of struggle, fear or doubt. The interesting thing is that you are the record player and can choose to change the record at any time.

Visualising your success is a way to create your own success record, as research has proven that we create the same neuro-

networks in our brain over time as if it were a real life experience. We come to believe it is true, just as the compulsive liar comes to believe their lies are truth in the same way. Similarly, affirmations or positive self-talk also create a new record, providing it is something that we believe is true and possible. Visualising or saying affirmations do not work unless they are done with emotion – remember emotion makes it a memory!

So next time you are thinking of something that is causing you issues, recognise what the pictures, sounds or feelings that make up the record you are playing are, and choose to replace them with more positive and empowering thoughts. When you are focusing on creating a more positive mental state, wiring your brain for success, releasing neurochemicals that help improve your cell health, and bringing more joy into your life, then you regain the control.

The basic rule is the record with the highest volume wins. TB

Todd Hutchison is the National Chairman of the Australian Project Management Institute Council, Chairman of the Swan TAFE Audit Committee, and Managing Director of People Rich Pty Ltd www.peoplerich.com

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Could These Property Secrets Make You Rich This Year?

Discover How You Can Make HUGE Profits in a NEW ERA of Real Estate Investing... Take Advantage of FREE Government Money, EXPLODING Rental Returns, Chronic Housing Shortages and The COST OF MONEY at 10-year Lows.

I

f you’re frustrated, disappointed, upset and moody because you’ve missed the greatest real estate boom in history, then this may be the most important letter you ever read...

Here’s why...

There’s a window of opportunity for real estate investors unlike most of us have ever seen before. A perfect storm is brewing, yet most investors are afraid, confused and unlikely to take advantage of this new age of profit opportunities that the market is presenting.

Look, let’s face it... I blind man with a walking stick could have made money in real estate over the last 10 years. Despite that, many still missed out on the huge, easy profits. There’s a reason for this which I’ll cover shortly.

The game has changed dramatically. Throw the old rule book out, it’s time for a new, fresh approach.

Real estate is supposed to make you rich, right?

Yet so many people are investing in real estate and don’t even know that their system and methodology is seriously flawed... Most investors end up in handcuffs, straight-jackets and scratching their head as to why after 10 years of investing, it’s still costing them money rather than making them money. (Do you know the feeling?)

Let me ask you, if you’re currently a real estate investor... How’s it going for you? How long have you been investing? ...And how much passive income do you currently have? Are you retired yet?

If not, I’ve got some great news. The next 12 months will present massive future profit opportunities for individuals who are willing to accept that now is the time to get serious. But before we get to that, here’s a sad reality for most investors...

The Shocking Truth: 82.6% Of Property Investors Only Ever Buy ONE Property Let me give you some alarming statistics that the mainstream investment gurus don’t want you to ever find out... 82.6% of investors only ever buy one investment property. Let me ask you a question, how are you supposed to ever get rich with just one property?

Well, the simple answer is... You’re not.

If you’re shocked with that fact, the figures get even worse. A paltry 13% of investors own between 2 and 4 properties. At that rate, it’s going to take 50 years to get rich. So, you’re probably asking yourself a question, and that is... How many properties to you need to make it big in real estate? The smart investors will know that it’s not ultimately about the number of properties, it’s about how much equity and capital you’ve built up. But for the purpose of this conversation, stay with me.

You’ll need at least 10+ properties. Especially if you’re using the traditional investment property system.

So, on that basis, do you know how many property investors ever get to that 10+ level? ...0.9%. Let me

put that in to perspective for you. Out of all the individuals that ever decide to start investing, only 1 in a 100 will ever actually get to the enviable position of having enough properties to live a comfortable retirement.

The rest end up on the real estate investment scrap heap, wondering what went wrong.

Right Now You’ve Got Two Options You’re free to take the 20-year path to real estate success and be the one in a hundred investors who achieve the 10+ property mark with the traditional model, where you virtually have to hand-cuff yourself to you day job that you despise...

Or you make a decision to create your own path and trail-blaze a completely different approach to real estate investment that will get you the desired result to get you out of your normal job and become a full-time investor in possibly 12-24 months.

So which path are you going to take? The long slow wait forever 20 year plan?

Or the accelerated 12-18 month speed real estate wealth model?

I don’t know your level or expertise, your desire and motivation to make things happen fast... But what I do know is that if you’re reading this, then at least you have an opportunity to do as others have done.

Imagine This For A Moment...

You get up in the morning, and stroll from your breakfast table to your study, where you check the Internet to see what’s happening in the property market today.

You see a nice little duplex that you can make a quick capital gain of $25,000 profit and get it to return 9.56% net instantly (with one of your little known secrets). You’re cash flow positive by about $125 per week (you’ve been doing this for years now, buying cash flow positive properties and it annoys the heck out of your friends, mainly because they still don’t understand how you do it.)

You check your messages and a couple of real estate agents have left their number so you can call them back urgently. They’ve got a couple of deals for you that they reckon you’ll love. (With a cute grin on your face you can still remember the days when you would call them and they wouldn’t even return your phone call-and now they’re calling you with hot deals weekly, sometimes daily. Another one of your little secrets.)

Your phone rings and guess what? It’s your accountant ringing you to congratulate on your refund cheque you’ve got from the ATO, (he can’t believe it). The recommendations that you suggested has allowed you to pay on average only 17% tax on your complete earning. You smile and think...”Hum better than the 48.5% I used to pay.” He also wants you to email him the details of that even that you attended where you learnt all these new and exciting strategies.

Oops, there’s another email to check. This one is from your travel agent. Your 10 day cruise through the Caribbean has been booked. And to think it didn’t cost

you a cent out of your own pocket. It was all paid for thanks to your property portfolio, which generates $3,800 profit for you each week (yet, you’ll never ever have to pay capital gain tax, a little secret you learnt at a “certain event” and you think you’ll buy another 5 properties this year). I hear the cocktails are sensational on the cruise.

And All This Is Part of an Average Day in Your Life... Sounds Like a Dream?

Well, it’s not. This is the kind of lifestyle you can enjoy well into your retirement by understanding one thing: PROPERTY MASTERY SECRETS. You don’t have to submit to what most people in Australia believe is their lot in life. You can live the ultimate lifestyle. Reward yourself with life’s little luxuries and be wealthy beyond your wildest dreams.

All this is the exact freedom building, cash generating information you’ll be privileged to hear at the “content and strategy rich” - PROPERTY MASTERY SECRETS” Event. THE MOST COMPLETE WEALTH EDUCATION EVENT EVER HELD IN THE COUNTRY.

Property Mastery Secrets is 3 Seminars Packed In To 1 How is that possible?

Easy! We take out the hype, the dancing, the fluff, the hugging, the feel-good stuff and just give you the in-the-trenches tactics, tips and strategies.

If you want entertainment and a warm fuzzy feeling, I’m sorry, this event is not for you.

However if you are looking for the complete opposite, where we just roll our sleeves up and hammer through the information - then welcome aboard, you’re going to love Property Mastery Secrets.

Here’s how I’ve broken up the seminar.

• SECRET #1: How to Create Positive Cash Flow And Capital Profits through property investing.

• SECRET #2: How to Control Real Estate For Less Than You and I Pay For a Cup of Coffee • SECRET #3: How to Get to the Top of the Food Chain of Real Estate Investing and Make Large Chunks of Profit.

SO WHAT MAKES THIS EVENT SO UNIQUE? You won’t just walk away with the knowledge on one type of investing, YOU’LL WALK AWAY WITH THE INSIDE SECRETS ABOUT THE LOT.

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35 thinkbig Please turn over...

ADVERTISEMENT You’ll be armed with more life changing knowledge about investing, than 99.9% of Australia.

BRINGING YOU AND YOUR FAMILY THE FINANCIAL FREEDOM TO GET BACK INTO THE DRIVER’S SEAT OF YOUR LIFE TODAY.

OK - What makes Property Mastery Secrets a stand-out educational event is the quality and experience of the coaches and mentors

we’ve assembled. Allow me to introduce them to you now...

Our All-Star Lineup Dymphna Boholt is a multimillion-dollar property investor, expert tax minimisation and asset protection strategist. In the last 5 years, Dymphna has been involved in over 10 million dollars of property transactions Dymphna’s system is all about both cashflow and equity.

Dymphna believes cashflow is the lifeblood of real estate and equity is icing on the cake.

Here’s a Snapshot of What You’ll Discover...

• How to Create A Cash-Flow Positive Property Portfolio With Fast Capital Growth Profits • How to set up a sure-fire, step-by-step approach to real estate investing that makes it almost impossible not to succeed.

• How to buy property between 30c to 50c of the dollar - that’s right you can pick up a deal for under 70% of valuation.

• CASE STUDY: How one of Dymphna’s clients bought one property valued at $115,000 for just $52,000.

That is whopping 52% discount, 24 months later, it was valued at $163,000 (That’s $101,000 capital profit in 24 months!)

• Another case study of her students bought 2 $300,000 properties for $152,000 and sold them 3 months later, making $300,000 net capital profit. That’s an insane 200% profit! How long would it take you to earn $300,000 at your job?

• Here’s another; a block of land (not her favourite choice of investment, however...) picked up for $600. NO it’s not a misprint, valuation one month later was $20,000. A great way to get started and use it as a deposit for another purchase. (That’s exactly what this guy did).

• Imagine knowing exactly to the last cent how much to bid on your property. Never waste another dollar over bidding on properties again! This alone will save you thousands of dollars.

• Plus much, much more...

Sean Summerville is going to reveal to you his secrets, strategies and systems that are so radical and so unique that you may have some initial challenges in totally understanding his concept. You see, Sean makes money with little or no risk, and with little or none of his own money.

Here’s a tiny snapshot of what Sean will share with you at this event...

• How you can make money from a buyer whether they buy your property or not. And they will still thank you regardless.

• How to get into the property market without deposit, and how you can contribute your rent (dead money) towards buying your own house with little risk or debt.

• Watch as I demonstrate step-by-step on how

to cut banks and real estate agents out of the deal, to save you big time on interest rates and commission fees. You will be the one to pocket the difference.

• What the 2 types of sellers are, and it might just surprise you how easy it is to convince them to do a Property Call Option with you • How to create profits from thin air by helping others find investment properties, and own it at the same time • How to generate income from property without owning it, regardless of a down turning market (real estate) or rising interest rates (economy) • 4 proven ways to make money from properties with low risk and high profit returns.

• Plus much, much more...

Mark Rolton went from being a window-washer earning $10 per hour to an instant property millionaire and made $1.066 MILLION in 34 days… and is now Australia’s Leading Property Options Expert...

Mark Rolton is a high energy, dynamic and passionate presenter. Mark personally studied wealth and success strategies under world class experts including Anthony Robbins, Robert Kiyosaki, Dennis Waitley as well as local leaders such as Laurie Lawrence.

Here’s a sneak-peek at what Mark will be sharing at this unique event...

• The basics of property options – what they are and how deals are structured • How to be an Ultra Powerful negotiator and negotiate “win with you” deals • How to add massive value to an owner who doesn’t want to sell through a Joint Venture • The secrets to using no cash to create “Short” Options with massive profits • How to groom deals to provide turn-key Developments to large national organisations • How to use the massive profits from a Development Approval process as a deposit and to create funding for you to be the Developer of the property • How to twist a deal and keep land in a Development for free - Yes, land for free!

PLUS! You Also Qualify For 4 Bonuses (Value: $986) • FREE BONUS #1*: Unedited audio of the complete Property Mastery Secrets event (Value: $495).

• FREE BONUS #2*: How I Went From Virtually Zero to Over $3.5 Million in My First 18 Months DVD by Dymphna Boholt (Value: $197).

• FREE BONUS #3*: The No-Money-Down Secrets Audio by Sean Summerville (Value: $197).

• FREE BONUS #4*: 4 Timeless Investors Classics E-Book Series (Value: $97). * All bonuses are delivered digitally and are conditional on participants attending the event.

OK, What’s This Going To Cost?

Normally to attend a content-rich, no B.S, no fluff, no singing-and-dancing event you’d be up for at least $2,000. However at that price, it rules out the individuals who really this information.

So don’t worry, it’s not going to cost you $2,000.

It’s not even going to cost you $1,000. In fact, your investment, believe it or not, will be less than $300.

Property Mastery Secrets is just $295. But wait!

The first 150 who book can attend for just $49 (that’s right, it’s not a misprint).

If you don’t believe me, go to this site www.PropertyMasterySecrets.com ...where this event is being sold at $295. However, as a special offer to readers of this magazine, you pay only $49 to attend... But you must book your seat at the following web address.

opportunity Crisis creates once in a lifetime opportunity!

Why Is It So Cheap?

You’re probably thinking that, aren’t you? Our star-studded lineup of real property investors don’t need your money - they’re already doing fine, thank you very much.

Each one of them wants to prove to you that they know their stuff, they’re real and they’re making money in today’s market... and then, if you feel that you want to be mentored by them personally, the choice is yours.

Is There a Guarantee? Sure!

You take none of the risk. If you’re not blown away by the advanced level that is covered at this event then you’re entitled to 100% of your money back - no questions asked... Plus! You can keep Free Bonus 2, 3 and 4 (Value: $491) just for giving it a go. I can’t be any fairer than that.

Don’t Miss Out! Take Action NOW! First 150 Readers ONLY: $295

Just...$49

2 Ways To Book: Call The Knowledge Source Booking Hotline NOW!

1800 070 055

Or (Even Faster)

Book Online TODAY at: PropertyMasterySecrets.com/49offer

National Tour Dates SYDNEY

• Plus much, much more...

thinkBIG business thinkbig

Saturday 21st March Bayview Boulevard 90 William St, Sydney

ADELAIDE

Tuesday 24th March Hyatt Regency Nth Terrace, Adelaide

BRISBANE

Saturday 28th March Holiday Inn 159 Roma Street, Brisbane

MELBOURNE

Sunday 22nd march Rydges Melbourne 186 Exhibition St, Melb

PERTH

Thursday 26th March Citigate Perth 707 Wellington St, Perth

GOLD COAST

Sunday 29th March Holiday Inn 22 View Ave, Surfers Paradise

CANBERRA

Tuesday 31st March Rydges Lakeside Canberra London Circuit, Canberra City

Times

8:30am Reg / 9am Start - 6pm Finish

www.propertymasterysecrets.com/49offer

By Reuben Buchanan

The current global financial crisis has been described as a ‘once in a lifetime recession’.

Reuben Buchanan explains why.

S

avvy business owners, entrepreneurs and investors recognise the GFC as a once in a lifetime opportunity to make money.

Here’s why: • Prices of public and private companies are extremely undervalued. Most will return to their true valuations over the next few years creating significant upside for investors.

• There are many industries that are thriving in the current environment.

• Lower barriers to entry for new businesses because most competitors have shut up shop.

• The cost of labour has significantly dropped – meaning business owners can employ better quality people at cheaper rates.

• If you can provide others with a business opportunity such as a franchise or distributorship, recruiting in the current market is easy (as many people are seeking cashflow opportunities or extra income).

• In property, prices have dropped and rental yields remain high due to the housing shortage. This combined with 20year low interest rates means it’s easy to positively cashflow an investment property.

Personally I have never been so busy. I’m knocking back business opportunities every week. And even though everyone is saying that capital is hard to come by, all the investors I speak to are very optimistic about the current investment environment.

They are actively looking for the ‘next big thing’ that might become an IPO in two to three years when the stock market recovers. So timing is ideal.

Sir Richard Branson says the time has never been better for entrepreneurs. In a recent interview with The Times (London) he said the economic downturn has provided entrepreneurs with their greatest opportunity in years.

“Fortunes are made out of recessions. A lot of entrepreneurs get going in the economic depths because the barriers to entry are lower. There are a lot of Richard Branson types who will emerge in next three or four years.”

“Sir Richard Branson believes the economic downturn has provided entrepreneurs with their greatest opportunity in years” Branson also offered entrepreneurs some advice on how to get through tough economic times.

“You have to come up with imaginative ways of saving cash, like signing every cheque yourself. You would be surprised how much you can save even in large companies if the boss questions every purchase order that goes out,” he said.

Another very effective business opportunity is to become a distributor of another business’s products or services. You receive a commission on every product or service you sell. It has virtually no overheads, no start up costs, no risk and you can do it part time.

Best of all you can usually make more money per sale than the company you distribute for! This is because you have few overheads. They have to create, manufacture, administer and deliver the product. All you have to do is sell to your network. So even if you are only making a 20% commission on the sale, you are likely to be more profitable on a per sale basis.

There are many more ways to get into business without the traditional risk associated with most start-ups. If you would like to attend a workshop on how to start a business with low risk and no money, please contact my office on 1300 858 418 or email jack@teldar.com.au. I hold these events regularly throughout Australia. Best of all, there is no cost to attend! TB

Reuben Buchanan, Director - Wholesale Investor & Teldar Media founded Wealth Creator magazine in 2001. Today he assists and educates companies on capital raising and exit strategies. www.teldar.com.au

Copyright © 2009 Knowledge Source - 43 Lower Heidelberg Rd. Ivanhoe VIC 3079

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GOALS

Create your happy success

By Dr Kim Fenton and Penny Ombler

Bernard M. Baruch, former statesman and US presidential advisor once said, “We didn’t all come over on the same ship, but we’re all in the same boat.” Mr Baruch was an astute observer.

A

chievement is an important part of overall success. So, will achieving your professional goals make you happier?

Where goal setting has traditionally been focused only on achieving the goal, we’d like to put forward the concept that an equally important role of goal setting is to allow us to enjoy today, rather than waiting until goal achievement to enjoy tomorrow. It’s the old adage of focusing on the journey, as well as the destination.

If you set off on a road trip without a map or identified destination, every fork in the road becomes a source of anxiety and pressure. Every road is filled with tension because you don’t know when the next fork will appear, forcing you to make decisions that you are ill prepared to make, and placing you in a constant pressurised environment. Therefore, on that trip, you can’t enjoy the landscape or the sunshine, because you are consumed with uncertainty and stress. However, with a destination in mind, and a plan on how to get there, you are able to relax and enjoy each part of the journey, feeling the sunshine and stopping to smell the roses.

If you expect that the mere attainment of your goals will make you happy, you may have circumstances where you reach your goals only to find that you are no happier than you were before.

This is particularly true if you sacrifice your happiness in order to achieve your goal. Identifying the right goal for you will ensure that both your journey and the end result will add to your current level of happiness, as well as bring you success.

How do you know what the right goal is for you?

In relation to career or business success, goal achievement is vitally important. In relation to happiness at work, the emphasis is not so much on attaining the goal, but on enjoying the journey.

So in business, we need both. The ideal situation is that you set a goal for you which: • utilises your strengths – the things you are good at and enjoy • taps into your values – what is most important to you, and • is organised and planned for in such a way to ensure every chance of success.

If these three aspects of goal setting are in place for each of your goals, your goals will add enjoyment, significance and

meaning to your work and you will find both happiness and success in the workplace.

In order to experience the type of success that leads to true happiness and fulfilment, you need to honestly define what success looks like to you. It can be whatever you want it to be.

The key is accepting that what inspires all of us varies greatly between people. Ensure your goals uphold what you value, what you are good at and what you enjoy. Your definition of success cannot be handed down to you. You can share it with others, and that is how successful partnerships are achieved; with shared values and purpose. However, it is crucial to ensure they are shared, rather than imposed.

Some of you might be asking: “What if I feel that my company or business imposes all of my goals on me through my key performance indicators, sales targets, market drivers etc?” The key is ensuring that you have chosen your particular career or business venture for a good reason. If your chosen business or career incorporates what you value in life, is directed towards maximising your strengths and is planned out for future success, then you will have every opportunity to harness these internal drivers to ensure that you can find enjoyment and meaning in your current role. If, on the other hand, your career choice was driven by the expectations of others, or the search for more money, you may struggle to identify the enjoyment and meaning in the daily tasks.

Everyone wants to be happy, and most of us would be thankful if our happiness went hand in hand with our success. When our goals enhance our enjoyment of life, each move we make towards goal achievement is a move towards further happiness. That same enjoyment will also help us maintain our journey to our goal, securing the success that comes with goal achievement. You have the fire within you. Enjoyment and meaning are what will keep it burning bright. TB

With over 33 years combined experience, Kim Fenton and Penny Ombler founded Successful Minds with the vision of providing personal and organisational development via compelling and constructive coaching and training. www.successfulminds.com.au.

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LOANS

5 Steps toward banks lending money during a recession

By Michelle Murchison

If you’ve tried to apply for a loan recently, you may have discovered the Banks are making it more difficult for you to understand what they want, and/or they’re taking longer to decide what they want from you, as the potential borrower.

D

uring these changing times, now is an opportune time for us to identify and adapt to the changes, so that we can be prepared and move towards opportunities. After all, greatness comes where preparedness and opportunity meet!

While our media has been honing in on the negatives, I am repeatedly glad to hear others share what great opportunities they are seeing in these changing times, whether to buy great value real estate, start a new business, or simply to reduce the home mortgage at a faster rate due to lower interest rates.

We all have a choice on how we respond today, and prepare for tomorrow.

Yes, the banks are making things more difficult for people to lend money. Imagine, if you were in the banks’ shoes, with rates around 5%, why wouldn’t you make it a bit more difficult to lend the money? So, all you need to do is plan ahead and think carefully about the following…

Have you ever heard about the 5Cs of lending? Most lenders use these five factors when considering a loan: 1. Character – your demonstrated financial performance and money management reflects in your credit score/report activity.

2. Capital – demonstrating your financial position; your current assets, liabilities, net worth (the difference between your asset and liability values) and equity available to access for new loan. Equity, for a first home buyer, may be how much deposit is available toward the purchase.

3. Capacity – Your ability to repay the loan, your debt ratio.

4. Collateral – This is what you offer the lender for security should you default or cannot repay the loan – this is the real estate asset.

5. Conditions – These are things a lender may want additionally of you to assure or encourage repayment of the loan.

It is highly recommended that you work on improving your weak Cs so that you can improve your chances of getting what you want. Knowing what a lender expects before applying can only help your chances of getting the loan.

Watch out for more tips on how to get the banks to lend you money in the next issue. Or contact your Mortgage Broker who can assist with your finance strategy. TB

Michelle is the owner of Money Advantage, a company that arranges mortgage finance for clients who want to participate in their wealth building through property investment. www.moneyadvantage.com.au 40 thinkBIG

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connection

“Too often opportunity passes us by in life”

Creating powerful connections Your days of being a Solopreneur or ‘me, myself and I’ thinker who fears competition or promoting other experts and companies are numbered.

H

anging on by the fingernails to an outdated, fear-based mindset that clings precariously to the ‘old school’ dogeat-dog way of doing business is not only a waste of your precious time and resources, but a surefire way to build your business slowly. Abundance thinkers use a win-win formula that allows them to do business with their competitors and substantially increase their cashflow. Abundance thinkers replace the lonely ‘I’ attitude with a ‘Together We Can....’ attitude.

There is one ‘abundance thinking’...marketing strategy that exists today which outshines all the rest. It is the most under-utilised, misunderstood, yet cost effective method guaranteed to help you generate leads, skyrocket your expert status and arguably make you money faster than you can blink. It’s the bread and butter of millionaires throughout the world and it’s more commonly referred to as Joint Venture (JV). Creating Joint Ventures and working together as a collaborative team spirit for a mutually beneficial outcome is the new evolution of business.

This is especially important if you don’t have a huge advertising budget or any budget at all. Many of the big internet gurus built up their databases by leveraging from JVs and continue to use JVs to generate free leads and to sell their products or services. Even though most of them can now afford big marketing budgets, seeking joint venture partnerships remains their number one strategy. So what does this tell you?

If nothing else, it should tell you to pay attention! For example, let’s say you have a great product or idea for a product but no customers, leads or database, no money to spend on advertising, or budget to buy Ads and you are completely alone. Imagine this is you, sitting alone in your home office, feeling overwhelmed wondering what the heck you should do. How would you sell products with no money, list and or credibility?

Simple, you ‘borrow’ what you don’t have. JVs allow you to ethically ‘borrow’ another person’s list or customer database and of course their trusted credibility. Basically, they recommend your product or service and you pay them a commission on sales if and when you sell. There’s no money upfront and no risk, that’s why it’s so lucrative, easy and fun.

Even more impressive, JVs will actually save you heaps of $$$ in any economic climate because you do not become dependent on bank credit or small business loans. Your business does not have to

fall into debt of any kind or seek venture capital in order to grow, explode your sales or enter into a new market.

Five tips on building your thriving JV empire 1. Get educated and do your research. If you’ve never been involved in a joint venture before, there are aspects in the joint venture process such as the profits and responsibilities each partner shares that you must know how to do. The idea is to co-operate with each other so that neither one of you feels you have been unfairly taken advantage of.

2. Clearly outline each partner’s responsibilities. Both parties must understand what is expected of them. This keeps everyone involved feeling secure about what their role is and clear about who receives what.

3. Ensure your JV partner offers a quality product or service.

Protect the relationship and trust you have built with your database of customers by making sure that they receive real value for their money. Deal only with partners that deliver on their promises otherwise you risk potentially harming your relationship with your clients.

4. Create a win/win venture agreement that is mutually financially rewarding. Embracing an attitude of ‘what’s in it for them first and then what’s in it for me’ will go a long way toward sustaining lucrative long-term partnerships.

5. Build a quality JV relationship based on solid ethics and mutual understanding. Understand your JV partner’s work ethics and commitment level before entering into any agreement. Some joint ventures can continue for many years and so it is vital you trust the integrity level of your JV partner.

Ultimately, lack of cashflow is the number one reason most businesses fail. To increase your cashflow you must sell your product or service and so seeking out the right joint venture partnerships will mean the difference between ending up on ‘I’m broke and I just-get-by’ street or ‘I’m rich and forever free’ street.

The choice of course, is yours. TB

Madam X the ‘Aussie Secret Coach’ Best Selling Author, Speaker, Success Coach of the Coaches & Lifestyle Business Strategist.

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For your FREE Mark Rolton Property Options DVD Valued at $97 Call: 1300 882 360 Discover the secret tools for Property Options… unlike anything you have ever discovered before.

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thinkbig 43

Achieve SUCCESS

thinkBIG business thinkbig

vision Developing a vision for your future

By Brian Tracy

The one quality that all leaders have in common is that they have a clear and exciting vision for the future. This is something that only the leader can do. Only the leader can think about the future and plan for the future each day.

Jack Canfield

America’s #1 Success Coach is coming to New Zealand for the first time ever!

Develop a clear vision Excellent leaders take the time to think through and develop a clear picture of where they want the organisation to be in one, three and five years. Leaders have the ability to communicate this vision in such a way that others ‘buy in’ and eventually see the vision as belonging to them.

How to motivate people It is the vision of the future possibilities, of what can be, that arouses emotion and motivates people to give of their best. The most powerful vision is always qualitative, aimed at and described in terms of values and mission rather than quantitative, described in terms of money. Of course, money is important, but the decision and commitment to “be the best in the business” is far more exciting.

To encourage others, to instill confidence in them, to help them to perform at their best requires first of all that you lead by example.

Be a great team player A study at Stanford Business School examined the qualities that companies look for in promoting young managers toward senior executive positions, especially the position of Chief Executive Officer. The study concluded that there were two important qualities required for great success in leadership. The first is the ability to put together a team and function as a good team player.

Since all work is ultimately done by teams, and the managers’ output is the output of the team, the ability to select team members, set objectives, delegate responsibility and finally, get the job done, was central to success in management.

Keep your cool The second quality required for rapid promotion was found to be the ability to function well under pressure, and especially in a crisis. Keeping your cool in a crisis means to practice patience and self-control under difficult or disappointing circumstances.

Everyone Is watching The character and quality of a leader is often demonstrated in

these critical moments under fire, when everyone is watching, observing and privately taking notes. As Rudyard Kipling once said, “If you can keep your head when all around you are losing theirs and blaming it on you, then the world is yours and all that’s in it”.

Your job as a leader is to have a clear vision of where you want to go and then to keep your cool when things go wrong, as they surely will.

At Brian Tracy International in Australia, we help companies and individuals who are very serious about improving their bottom line by improving the performance of their people. www.briantracy.com

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Action exercises Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, project forward 3-5 years and imagine your ideal future vision. What does it look like? What steps can you take immediately to begin turning your future vision into your current reality?

Second, resolve in advance that, no matter what happens, you will remain calm and cool. You will not become upset or angry.

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thinkbig 45

thinkBIG business thinkbig

thinkbig

finance

LOANS

How to GET finance in a financial crisis

Innovation Opportunity – Are you asking the right Question

By Carly Crutchfield

In the last issue I spoke about the current property market and how the current economic climate is providing a phenomenal opportunity for educated investors.

S

o let’s say you read that article and decided that you would like to jump on board and start snapping up some of the fantastic property deals that are sitting out there waiting for someone like you to make them your own.

Well the next question is how do you get the money to buy the property in the first place. Banks aren’t lending as readily as they were and they are generally asking for bigger deposits – these days you will generally need anywhere from 10-30% deposit when purchasing a property. At an average property price of $500,000 that means you are going to need anywhere from $50,000$150,000!

Get real for a second, there are not a lot of people out there that have a lazy $150k sitting in the bank ready to throw into their next property purchase. And if you start saving now then you could be ready by about 2019!

So how do you get around this? Be creative! Well that’s what I like to call it, Creative Finance. For most property deals I do I will use the banks money for most of the purchase but I will use Creative Finance for the rest.

Creative Finance usually means using other peoples’ money, also known as OPM. There are plenty of different ideas and ways to be able to do this, but probably one of the best in today’s market is Vendor Finance.

A ‘vendor’ is the person that owns the property, the person that is selling you the property. So vendor finance means that the person who is selling you the property lends you the money so that you can buy their property from them. Well that’s just ridiculous, I hear you thinking. But hear me out because I’m going to show you how you can do this.

You need to look at the deal from the vendor’s viewpoint. In this property market most vendors are not getting the price that they want because the demand has dropped in the market. For this example let’s say we are wanting to buy a $500,000 property and the bank has approved us 80% finance. So the bank will give us $400,000 and we need to come up with $100,000 ourselves for the deposit.

1. Approach the vendor and let them know that you have a bit of a different proposal for them, that this will end up with them getting more for their property than what they are asking.

Immediately you have their attention.

2. You let them know that you would like to buy the property but don’t have the deposit just yet. Explain that you can give them 80% of the purchase price now.

3. Tell the vendor you would like to pay them more than $500,000, perhaps $520,000. That’s $20,000 more than they are asking.

And they probably weren’t even going to get the $500,000 in this market.

4. Explain that to be able to do this you would need them to leave in $100,000 equity for now, and you will pay them back in two or three years, agree on an exact time frame.

5. Agree that also in two to three years (whatever the agreed upon time was) you will pay them back the extra $20,000 you offered.

This means that the vendor gets $400,000 now, and you get your property now. In two to three years the vendor gets another $120,000 and you get two to three years to either save it up or if you’re lucky the property would have experience some capital growth and you could pull the money out of the property itself – this is more possible if you are renovating or developing the property as that will inevitably increase the value.

Vendor finance is a win-win situation for both parties, and many vendors are willing to do this if it means that they get the price that they want and in some cases even more. It won’t work for a vendor that is desperate to sell and needs all the money now – but not many vendors are in that position.

Don’t let no deposit be your excuse for not getting into property, I didn’t use any of my own money for my first few property purchases and today sometimes I still don’t use any of my own money! TB Carly Crutchfield is a self made millionaire, the CEO of several national companies and has been involved in developments throughout Australia, New Zealand and America with a value of more than $200 million dollars. www.carlycrutchfield.com. au

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By Roger La Salle

As we know, a good definition of innovation is ‘Change that adds value’ and embracing this term opens the way to make innovation a relatively straight forward exercise, providing you are asking the right question.

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ow many times do we solve a problem and even implement a solution, only to realise that had we asked a better question we may have come up with a much better solution. How many times do we convene a meeting without having a specific one sentence idea of exactly what we wish to achieve in that meeting?

Being able to crystallise an issue to a single sentence question is so important, but few people implement that valuable practice.

Have you found the best question?

On investigating this different issue it was soon realised that the cost, maybe $20.00 was irrelevant. Why would that be a showstopper for somebody wishing to raise an LC for perhaps $500k or more?

The real reason people were adverse to raising LCs was the time and effort involved. The process was just too complex and time consuming. Yet the bank in its daily work transfers multimillions of dollars around the world with little more than the click of a mouse.

To put this into context, let me pose the question, and have you think of the answer before reading on: • What is the specific purpose of a written job application?

The obvious answer is to get the job, but this not correct.

The sole purpose of the written application is to get an interview, to get in front of the people making the selection.

With that clear purpose in mind, the written application takes on a different form. Indeed, what you leave out is just as important as what you include. You should lead the reader to a point where they wish to speak with you to learn more.

So why are LCs so complex?

Too close to the problem

So what’s the solution?

To cite another example, recently a workshop was undertaken in a large multi-national trading bank, the team came to the session wanting to resolve the question: How can we reduce the cost to businesses wishing to raise a Letter of Credit (LC)? This seemed like a sensible question and was workshopped by the group for a time until they came to the Re -Question Catalyst in the Innovation Matrix.

Challenged to re-question, the group dug deep searching to find the real reason they wished to lower the cost? The answer that crystallised was, ‘so that people would be more willing to use their LC facility’.

In fact, the real and best question to ask was, How can we inspire businesses to raise more LCs?

The method of ‘why’ ‘why’ ‘why’ questioning is one way of trying to drill down to the best question. Another way is to have somebody quite remote from the issue present in any meeting that addresses a problem. You can be sure that a person NOT skilled in the area will ask some very interesting and challenging questions. This always helps to find the real issue and the best question. TB

The better question, the real question is: How can we make it easier for clients to raise LCs? With this question in mind the workshop continued based on a Process Innovation Matrix. An answer was soon found.

You can be sure – almost without exception – after a complex design is implemented, and maybe even marketed, the next embodiment of the same product will be much simpler.

Why? Because having done it once, better designs questions and issues can now be resolved.

Roger La Salle, is the creator of the “Matrix Thinking”™ technique. He is Director and former CEO of the Innovation Centre of Victoria (INNOVIC) www.matrixthinking.com

www.thinkbigmagazine.com

thinkbig 47

thinkBIG feature

The global

gratitude

goddess

By Jonathan Jackson

The power of positive thought has always come naturally to Kim Serafini, but it wasn’t until recently that the author of bestselling book I Am Gr8ful for Life discovered her spiritual side and turned positive thought into an inspired existence. Jonathan Jackson reports.

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ow often do we remind ourselves about the things we are actually appreciative of, the people who inspire our lives or the simple everyday occurrences that shape our futures? How often do we sit back and examine what we are grateful for? What does being grateful actually mean? Do we take being grateful for granted and get too caught up in our moments of joy to see who or what has inspired these events?

Most self help experts and positive thought proponents, from Bob Proctor to Joe Vitale, tell us that to live an inspired, fulfilled life we must first look at what we are grateful for. Kim Serafini has based her entire business model on the concept of gratefulness; her logo, the infinity symbol, represents the infinite number of things, places and events that require our gratitude.

Yet for Kim, an understanding of what it is to be grateful and how this impacts on spirituality has been a work in progress; the culmination of life as a corporate high flyer and subsequent events that left her near broke and looking for answers to some of the universe’s larger questions.

Kim’s expedition can, for all intents and purposes, be seen as one of great success, but by her own admission she failed to see the spiritual side of the journey until recently. Despite this, she has always considered herself lucky.

“I’m one of those ordinary Australian girls who was in the right

place, at the right time, hanging out with the right people,” she says.

In spite of dropping out of Bond University because education got in the way of the party life, the former Commerce student landed on her feet in Sydney where she found a job working for an events organisation.

“A couple of things happened that were way beyond my imagination or capabilities at the time,” Kim says.

One of those things was to be sent on assignment with the CEO of a US based company.

“He had the entire Anthony Robbins collection on tape, so I borrowed it and listened to it whenever I got into my car. That was probably one of the things that shaped me.”

Though she failed to realise it at the time, Robbins message of mimicry and rapport was seeping in. Kim briefly gave up the high flying lifestyle to go back to school to finish what she started and degreed in management and marketing. Then, shortly after graduation, flew to the US to pursue her fame and fortune.

Visa’s in the US are hard to come by, so Kim flew to London and found her next big break as a temp in the mergers and acquisitions department of The Credit Suisse Group.

Working the graveyard shift didn’t seem to faze Kim. She was being paid well and the company even sent a private car to collect her each day. This position led her into a job with one of London’s leading

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consulting firms and a 100 hour working week dealing with many of the world’s top 50 FTSE businesses.

“I was lucky to land it, but it meant I put my hand up for the jobs my English co-workers didn’t want. We took on one of the biggest global mergers ever attempted between two pharmaceutical companies. I lived in a hotel. The life wasn’t fun. But I developed an understanding in change practice management and theory.”

When the deal was done, Kim went on sabbatical. It was supposed to be a rest, but it served two other purposes: it brought her into the world of sports therapy and it eventually forced her out of London’s corporate mayhem and out on her own.

“I was lying down on the therapy table and wondering where the margins were, what the business dynamics were, what separates them (experience wise) from other therapy businesses, how they retained customers and why the staff was bitching about management.”

Kim has a problem switching off and relaxing. She has learnt the ebb and flow of life now and the spirituality associated with being, but at the time, “I didn’t really understand anything about spirituality,” Kim says. “I didn’t know that when you connect at the divine level or with the universe you achieve everything you want with ease and flow” She went back to work after her spa enlightenment and was involved in one of the biggest mergers and acquisitions in history involving companies including Burger King and Old El Paso as well as the world’s major distillers.

The merger was successful, but Kim felt out in the cold.

“They thought I should have been doing an MBA and couldn’t see the value to the company in me studying sports therapy.”

So Kim went home to Australia, meditated on a career as a sports therapist, then went back to London and fulfilled her goal of opening a clinic in Harley St, known for its reputation of private medical excellence.

By this time in her life, Kim’s world was developing beyond being in the right place at the right time to something more along the lines of making her own luck.

“It takes a lot of courage to change, but you don’t realise what that is unless you have a lot of passion. And I had a passion and I knew there was an emergence towards a more serious health spa and more professional skills.”

Kim immersed herself in study. She took classes for 40 hours a week, while still running her business. She topped the UK in physiology and anatomy, when she hadn’t even studied biology at school.

Although having moved into the health related field, she was still yet to discover her spiritual side and was driven by science and business.

The science of sports therapy and the magic of ultra sound inspired Kim to create Lithos therapy.

“Seven years ago when I started with Lithos Therapy I received a lot of abuse from the spa and medical fraternity, but I had spent some time with geologist and physicist Dr Andrew White, so knew the science behind the stones and I knew they worked. So I launched Lithos therapy and it took one spa a year later to take off. I had to convince the industry that I wasn’t a crystal healer, which I knew nothing about.

Today the image of stones on a woman’s back is the most used image in the alternative health and beauty industry.”

Lithos Therapy uses heated and chilled rocks as therapeutic instruments to enhance and prolong the benefits of massage and

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thinkbig 49

thinkBIG feature beauty treatments for the body, face, hands and feet. It is based on simultaneous use of thermotherapy (heated) and cryotherapy (chilled) techniques. Heat released from the black rocks works in a similar way as ultrasound; the chilled white rocks soothe and heal using the same principles as ice therapy.

Lithos Therapy is now used in 500 Australian day spas and Kim is overseeing international roll-out to elite venues such as Ananda Spa Himalayas, Four Seasons Bali and Le Meridian Abu Dabi.

Kim describes herself as someone who digs in her heels when told she can’t do something, but that she says, was before she understood what flow was about.

A trip to the Himalayas helped her to understand the concept of ‘one is all and all is one’, but it wasn’t until her world fell apart that she could come to a real understanding of flow and the meaning of gratitude.

With Lithos Therapy doing well, Kim invested in businesses in teeth whitening and Ayurvedic treatments. While she still maintains the businesses were sound, she says she fell in with the wrong partners and lost almost everything. At the same time she was diagnosed with cancerous cells in her uterus and to top it off, fell into a relationship with a man who was leading a double life with a family and kids elsewhere.

It was a time when the high flying stopped and getting through each day became priority. So Kim went back to her parent’s place, mowed 20 acres of land, spent five days in silence and found gratitude.

“I thought, ‘my god I am so lucky I can come back to my parents’ house and they still love me, even though I’ve failed at the things most important to me. I still have my eyesight, my hearing and my mind still works. I can do this’.”

And she did, slowly. She came to the realisation that she had put herself in situations without doing any real due diligence.

“You have to understand the role you play in your life and understand the concept that you are in control of going into situations and coming out of them. The other insight I came to terms with was that what we take for granted and what we show little gratitude for is always taken away from us. I took for granted who I had become and the opportunities afforded me and the universe gave me a proper kick in the butt.”

In the five days she fell silent, Kim wrote I Am Gr8ful for Life. When she was ready she partnered with a graphic designer and they had the book ready for production in 10 days.

“I knew this was my destiny; you don’t get the feeling of flow unless you are on purpose and fulfilling your destiny.”

On a vision board Kim wrote: “I am the gratitude goddess globally and I own this state. I am going to help hundreds of millions of people to get in touch with gratitude.”

The book spawned the business I Am Gr8ful and Kim is now one of the most respected coaches in her field.

Yet it isn’t yet her crowning achievement. Being grateful has brought Marci Schimoff and Bob Proctor into her world and she couldn’t be more gracious about it.

“I received an email that asked ‘do you want to go global? We are launching a book and would like to endorse a couple of products we believe are aligned with the philosophies in our book’. It had no

attachment and I didn’t think any more of it.”

Kim did want to go global and responded to the email. She didn’t know at the time, but it was sent by Bob Proctor and Michelle Blood who had come across Kim’s book and wanted to promote it.

“The next morning Michelle and Bob rang me to tell me my book will receive a full page endorsement in their book. I went through the full tears of gratitude down my face.”

Since that call Bob Proctor and Michelle Blood have told Kim that they are talking about helping her print and distribute the book.

“Their opinion matters because they get it. It will sell hundreds of millions of copies,” Kim enthuses.

In the same week, the Sunshine Coast Regional Council contacted Kim to be the International Women’s Day speaker. Gratitude was having a profound effect and Kim came to the realisation that the concept wasn’t just a nice theory, it was a necessary theory.

As things fell into place, Kim read Marci Schimoff’s book. “What I new was that if you could live at a state of happiness for no reason you are vibrating at the highest level. I wanted to feel happier, so I read her book and thought this is the best book on happiness I have ever read. I sent her a copy of my book and wrote to her that I am truly grateful to her for writing this book and making it beautiful.

“A week later I get a phone call from her assistant saying she loved my book and thinks its exquisite. I asked if I could interview her for the website. What I wanted to know is ‘does gratitude beget success, or does success beget gratitude?’ What I learnt is gratitude comes first.”

Kim is now bringing Marci Schimoff to Australia for a series of seminars. Her honesty with Marci meant more than her lack of experience and Marci agreed to the tour. But it isn’t all that is falling into place.

“I had a meeting about creating a TV show and movie in which we interview people about what they are grateful for. I am also coming out with nine more books, in a series of 10, by the end of next year.”

It seems Kim will never lose the edge she had that took her to the top of the corporate world, but these days she tempers that edge with an understanding of gratitude. Her newfound success is based on letting people and the objects around her know that she is grateful for them. And she has come to understand that sometimes the greatest lessons come from the greatest challenges. TB

5 points you should know about gratitude 1. The more in service you are to others the more your

life flows. Know how beautiful the joy is from experiencing gratitude.

2. Nothing works until you do. So while meditating is

necessary, action is fundamental.

3. Allow yourself to be in the flow of life. Relax into

a rhythm.

4. Go get the help you need. Read books, go to seminars,

and visit the energy healer. There is so much wisdom, we don’t need to learn the lessons ourselves. The lessons don’t need to be painful.

5. Punch higher than your weight. Play the game of life

with people who are better than you. Then understand that you are that for others.

50 thinkBIG

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thinkBIG PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FEATURE thinkBIG magazine is Australia’s number one Personal Development magazine, with an unrivalled distribution representing various sectors in the personal development, education, business, wealth creation and investment fields.

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deal making Secrets to successful bartering

By Peter Wink

During a recession, the skill of bartering is an absolute must for anyone needing to save money.

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he Oxford Desk Dictionary and Thesaurus defines Bartering as exchanging goods and services without money. Now you may be asking, “How can I get anything without paying money for it?” Terrific question! Before I answer, let’s look at some examples of Bartering.

When you were a child, did you ever exchange toys and football cards, or your school lunch for something else? In return, did you get a more valuable card or a better tasting lunch out of the deal?

Or did you get something else you just had to have? These are all forms of Bartering!

When you Barter, you exchange something of value for something of even more value to you. The beauty is that what you’re giving up is perceived by the ‘other side’ to be of more value to them. This leads to a win/win situation for both of you.

Let me give you an example of how I put this skill to work in a common situation.

Dealmaking in action I decided to launch a new Internet business and needed a state-of-the-art website featuring the latest technology, graphics, pictures, and symbols. I decided on exactly what I was looking for and came to the realisation that it was going to cost tens of thousands of dollars to build it. $35,700.00 to be exact. I did not want to fork over that kind of money, so I decided to Barter a deal!

Here’s exactly how I did it…

I came up with a ‘needs’ list. There were three needs.

1. EXCELLENT copy. No problem, I could just write it myself.

2. State-of-the-art programming. Luckily, I had a business partner who was a web-programming wizard, willing to do all the programming for no money. He just wanted a small percentage of the business.

3. Graphics, pictures, symbols, and a logo. This was my biggest major challenge because I didn’t want to spend any money. And I did not have a business partner with graphic design skills.So I decided to Barter for this service. It turned out to be easy.

I decided to find a young designer looking for credibility, as well as their first break! The search went great. It turned out that an experienced graphic artist was working for one of my clients. I

asked her if she’d be interested in doing my design work and she welcomed the opportunity. I soon learned she had zero experience designing graphics for Internet sites. At the same time, she was a great offline designer. Here’s where I got creative and began to Barter. I told her that if she would agree to design all the web pages, logos and graphics…my partner would teach her how to convert her graphics into web applications. She agreed and we completed the website with no money out of pocket!

You too can Barter these types of deals all day long! It takes a combination of creativity and a lot of practice. Bartering can make you a fortune, save you from financial ruin, add new profit centres, improve your lifestyle, open up new capital opportunities and stretch your mind to a new level of possibility, fulfillment, and achievement.

You may be asking, “What if I don’t have anything to Barter”?

If you stop and think about it, you probably have more to barter than you give yourself credit for. And I can prove it!

Always remember that everyone has specific needs just like you.

Everyone has to eat, drink, have transportation – we’ll you get the picture. The point is that you have incredible skills that can be Bartered all day long. You’re more than likely overlooking them because you’re used to having them and possibly taking them for granted. We all do! These skills can be Bartered over and over again. I call these skills ‘Your Personal Riches’.

Ok…let me take a moment to show you how to discover your personal riches. I’m going to walk you through what’s called a Personal Riches Analysis. Here, you’ll write down some of the things you’d like to Barter for. You’ll then analyse your skills and talents to determine what you’ll use for Bartering.

Let’s go through each step – one-by-one!

Personal Riches Analysis Answer each of the following questions…

• List 10 skills you possess that can be used for Bartering. (For instance – Are you a handyman who can fix broken items for someone or even paint their home? Can you teach someone how to excel in a particular sport? How about writing cover letters ’ Can you teach someone how and formatting people’s resumes? to cook? How about fixing someone’s car? Think about all the

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different skills and talents you have and write them down.

1. __________________________ 2. __________________________ 3. __________________________ 4. __________________________ 5. __________________________ 6. __________________________ 7. __________________________ 8. __________________________ 9. __________________________10. __________________________ • Of the 10 skills you just listed, which do you enjoy using the most?

List them in order from 1 (your favourite) to 10 (your least favourite).

1. __________________________ (FAVOURITE) 2. __________________________ 3. __________________________ 4. __________________________ 5. __________________________ 6. __________________________ 7. __________________________ 8. __________________________ 9. __________________________ 10. __________________________ (LEAST FAVOURITE) • Write out your 3 favourite skills (listed above) on the lines below.

1. __________________________ 2. __________________________ 3. __________________________ • For each of the 3 skills (listed above), write down five different ways you can Barter them. (Example you may be a direct marketing wizard! And let’s say you need chiropractic care and have no insurance. You could offer to teach the chiropractor how to market his business in exchange for free neck adjustments. Now, do this for each of the three skills listed above.)

Skill One: _______________________________________________ List 5 ways to you could Barter this skill…

1. __________________________ 2. __________________________ 3. __________________________ 4. __________________________ 5. __________________________ Skill Two: _______________________________________________ List 5 ways to you could Barter this skill…

1. __________________________ 2. __________________________ 3. __________________________ 4. __________________________ 5. __________________________ Skill Three: ______________________________________________ List 5 ways to you could Barter this skill…

1. __________________________ 2. __________________________ 3. __________________________ 4. __________________________ 5. __________________________ Dealmaker’s Note: You may have had trouble filling out the three lists. Don’t worry, it happens! It’s to be expected. Walk away from the lists for a couple days and take more time to think them through. One way to break through this psychological barrier is to ask for help. Ask a friend or family member to help you list your talents and skills.

Doing this does two things for you…

• You get an objective point of view.

• You get a fresh perspective.

Now I want you to take a couple minutes and look at your three lists. Did you find overlooked talents and skills that can be Bartered?

Do you now see just how valuable you are?

I remember the first time I went through this exercise. ‘Writing’ was at the top. I’ve always had a knack for writing sales copy, advertising, slogans, tag lines, books, poetry and song lyrics. I’ve been able to exchange this skill for products/services over and over. All good

companies need strong copywriters; and they don’t come cheap! I’m sure you discovered skills worth far more.

Now, I want you to take a few minutes and make a list of products/ services you need for personal or business use.

• List 5 products/services you use regularly. (For instance, do you need office supplies? A car or boat? A hair stylist? Website design work?)

1. __________________________ 2. __________________________ 3. __________________________ 4. __________________________ 5. __________________________ • Of the 5 products/services you listed above, put them in order of importance. List them as 1 (most needed) to 5 (least needed).

1. __________________________ (Most Needed) 2. __________________________ 3. __________________________ 4. __________________________ 5. __________________________ (Least Needed) • List your 3 ‘most important’ products/services from the list above.

1. __________________________ 2. __________________________ 3. __________________________ • For each of the 3 products/services you listed above, write down 5 gatekeepers (people that can provide them for you and your organisation).

Product/Service #1 Gatekeepers 1. __________________________ 2. __________________________ 3. __________________________ 4. __________________________ 5. __________________________ Product/Service #2 Gatekeepers 1. __________________________ 2. __________________________ 3. __________________________ 4. __________________________ 5. __________________________ Product/Service #3 Gatekeepers 1. __________________________ 2. __________________________ 3. __________________________ 4. __________________________ 5. __________________________ Did you complete the exercise and list five gatekeepers for each of the three products/services? If yes, then go on to the next step. If no, go back and list them. Why am I so adamant about this? To Barter effectively, you need to know who you will be Bartering with and form a strategy. The more options you have…the more powerful a position you have in any negotiation. If you only have one choice, you will have little leverage to barter.

Hopefully, you now see that you’re worth far more than you ever dreamed possible. The best part is that I only asked you to list a few skills/talents you could Barter. There are probably even more! You may even be thinking of learning a new skill, just to Barter it in the future.

Practice Bartering often and you’ll see how much money you can save instantly.

And that’s advice you can literally take to the bank! TB Peter Wink is a negotiating expert and bestselling author of Negotiate Your Way to Riches and Buying Secrets Retailers DON’T Want You to Know About. www.buyingsecretsretailersdontwantyoutoknowabout.com

www.thinkbigmagazine.com

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STOCKS How to insure your stocks

By Aussie Rob

You own a house…You insure it, right? You own a car… You insure it too, right? You also own stocks…You insure them too, right? If not, why not?

G

’day, Aussie Rob here… Today, I’m going to teach you a really important factor in trading options: how to insure your stocks. If you’ve never traded options before, or thought you weren’t ready to learn how to trade them, you should keep reading. Why? Well, what I’m about to teach ‘ya’ will change your attitude toward options forever.

Option traders buy ‘calls’ if they think a stock is going to go up, and they buy ‘puts’ if they think the stock is going to go down. That’s the speculative side of trading options. The other side of trading options is for risk management and that simply involves buying puts to protect your stock portfolio. I say simply because it is simple and there are no excuses why you shouldn’t do it.

Think about it for a minute. You buy stock because you think it is going to go up and you’ll make a profit. Why not also buy some puts to protect the downside? Should the stock not go up, the losses in your stock can be offset by the profits of your puts.

Here’s a basic example of how it can work. Say you buy a stock trading at $20 (there are still some stocks trading at $20 these days, aren’t there?) and you simultaneously buy a $20 put for around $1. The $20 put enables you to ‘put’ your stock to someone for $20. As you can see, $1 is pretty cheap insurance.

Now let’s compare Joe Public, the average Mom and Pop trader, with a professional trader. Joe buys a stock for $15, and it goes up to $20. YAHOOOO, he made a $5 profit. Joe then buys another stock for $20, but this time, it doesn’t go his way.

It goes down to $15. BUMMER, he lost $5 (see figure 1). In the long run, the average Mom and Pop trader ends up breaking even, although most have lost money, especially over the last few years! Now let’s take a look at the professional trader (see figure 2). What’s the difference? The professional trader buys a put to protect his investment. He is always prepared to give up a little of his profit potential to hedge his position.

Bottom Line: Professional traders can lose three out of four trades and still be profitable!

I strongly believe that if you really want to become a professional stock trader, then you need to open your mind

and start learning how to trade options. Education is the key to success. You like this concept? I’m sure you do!

Everyone likes the idea of being able to sleep at night knowing their portfolio is protected. And now for the really exciting part…. How would you like to get your stock insurance for free? Yes, free, nadda, zip, zilch.

Excellent, so do I. This is how it works… If you own stock and the stock is optionable, then you can sell calls against your stock. This is known as a covered call. It’s ‘covered’ because you

own the underlying stock. If you didn’t own the stock, then you’d be selling a ‘naked call’.

Your broker should be able to tell you if your stock is optionable. By selling a covered call, you are selling the right to buy your stock from you at a certain price by a certain time. Let’s take a look at an example and then it’ll start making sense as to why you would do this.

Let’s assume it’s the beginning of March and you own 1,000 shares and the stock is trading at $8.55. You could sell, say, a March $10 call for say $0.40. Now, what does that mean? It means you have sold someone the right to buy your stock from you for $10 prior to March’s option expiration and they have paid you $0.40 for that right.

Now, let’s take a look at the maths: Cash Out: $8,550 ($8.55 x 1,000) Cash In: $400 ($0.40 x 1,000) That equates to 4.6%. Some may feel that’s not such a big deal, but think about it. That is an extra 4.6% for doing what?

Nadda, Zip, Nutting. And if you had bought your stock on margin, it’d equate to 9.2%!

OK, then what happens? There are two possibilities: 1. If the stock closes above $10 on the option expiration date, you would be obligated to sell your stock for $10. Shucks, you may just make an extra $1.45 per share. This is called being ‘called out’.

Now let’s take a look at the new math: Cash Out: $8,550. Cash In: $1,850 ($400 for selling the call and $1,450 for stock going from $8.55 to $10). That’s a 21.6% return or a whopping 43.2% if you bought your stock on margin. (All figures exclude the cost of commission as it varies from broker to broker.)

2. If the stock closes below $10 upon the option expiration, you would keep the $400 paid for the calls and you would keep the stock. Then you could do it again next month. Month after month after month, just keep milking that rental income out of your stock. Treat covered calls like real estate. It’s your stock rental portfolio, not your property rental portfolio. Nice monthly rental income, eh!

So there ya go folks. You can use covered calls to pay for your stock insurance (puts) and they can be used to create regular monthly income. That’s ‘found money’ you can make month after month after month.\ Until next time…Cut your losers quick and let your winners run!” TB Aussie Rob has just released a brand new Covered Call training DVD called Aussie Rob’s Share Renting DVD that teaches step-by-step how to write Covered Calls.

Go to www.lifestyletrader.com.au/products to find out more.

Figure 1 Joe Public

Joe 1

Joe 2

15

20

20

15

+5

-5

In the long run “0”

Figure 2 Professional Trader Pro 1 Pro 2

15 20 -1 Buy -1 Buy 15 PUT 20 PUT 20 15

+4

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-1

In the long run “+3” www.thinkbigmagazine.com

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crunch time

• Losing a job: Losing your job could open the pathway into

What is the growing economic crisis doing to our psyche?

By Dr John Demartini

Every event has two sides. The universe conserves this balance. So in these market crunch times, it is important for us to not lose sight of both sides of life’s equation.

I

t may seem to the populace of the world that the current situation is a loss without gain, destruction without construction, but this is not the whole truth, for ignorance blindly sees only one side.

History has taught us that out of the ashes rise great

opportunities and that any challenge can be transformed when we know how to ask a new set of questions and shift our perceptions and then actions. For example difficult financial times can make us place a higher value on conservatively saving money, thereby increasing the chances of wisely accumulating future wealth. Losing a job may be the catalyst for creative entrepreneurialism. Chaos can bring unity and awakening to a new order. Look how world leaders have united in their will to restore stability to the financial markets.

Here are some examples of perceived challenges with their compensatory blessings, which may help you bring an awareness of the other side. Reading these may assist you in allaying your fears around the challenges associated with the temporary loss of money.

• Credit crunch: As government introduces credit restrictions, lenders become more accountable which will provide for a stronger economy in the future. The credit crunch also means you are protected from making foolish financial decisions that could affect your tomorrow. It will make you prioritise your purchases, which will trim your fat and make you more efficient and lean. This can certainly pay you and save you more money in the future.

• Depressed about finances: If you or someone you love is having feelings of depression or suicide, know that when you take the time to see and count the blessings in your current situation, that you alleviate the tensions in your mind. If you look you will become aware of the blessings such as increased support, love and advice from family and friends. There are many more so take the time look. There is never a crisis without a blessing. When a door shuts a window opens. It is now time to count your blessings.

•Losing a home: This could assist you realign your expenditure to your income by renting at a level you can afford. Not having a house can actually bring you relief as you are released from your indebtedness to the bank and ongoing costly home maintenance and taxes. Possibly your children get to learn about the realities of life and discover that no matter the outer challenge, the family survives which assists them in the future when they face their own life’s challenges. Instead of saying ‘why me’, begin saying ‘try me’.

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a new job you really love and it can be the catalyst for going after a long sought dream. You may find yourself generating new ideas that awaken your entrepreneurialism. Being free from the perceived ‘security’ of your previous job may assist you to discover the courage to start up your own company. A retrenchment package could become the capital for a new business.

• Restructuring: In good times, companies tend to become overfed and overlook the decline of inefficiencies. Recessionary times force companies to become lean, fine tune their marketing campaigns, streamline all areas of ineffectiveness and create a well - oiled machine that prospers when the tide turns.

• Employer guilt over retrenchment: You may be setting someone free to fulfil their dream. By streamlining the company you give job security to those who remain behind and by doing so you have the most efficient team to help you ride the turning tide when the market increases thereby making it possible to hire more people down the line. You may help former employees become more prosperous in the long run since they can now become even more daring and begin their own companies.

• Insolvency: If your company is declared insolvent, you are absolved of all business debt, released from all the pressure of figuring out how to pay it back. You get to start afresh but with all the business learnings from the past. And you get to discover that your friends and family still love you no matter your situation.

• Hard financial times: It could mean streamlining your purchases to things you truly value, changing your financial management and increasing your portion of future savings. Ultimately this is the key to long-term financial success. Outside challenges often unite families to figure solutions towards a common goal. It can prevent your children from taking things for granted and initiate them into the realities of providing others great quality service and mastering fair exchange.

• Not being able to afford previous lifestyle: Friends and families become innovative and spend more quality time with each other. Example fathers playing sport with their kids rather than paying for them to go to sports coaches. Imagine what benefits there are to having family members learning to more deeply appreciate what they still do have.

• Difficulty getting start up funding: Bank lending is at a minimum making it difficult to fund a new business. This forces entrepreneurs to fine tune their business plans and present a financially sound plan that ensures success and loan repayment. This gives you a level of certainty for your future business success. Easy money can be the recipe for complacency and failure.

A challenging financial time calms our unrealistic fantasies about life, it quells our need for instant gratification, it forces us to be introspective about what we really truly want out of life, it teaches us to not to live beyond our means and it brings us back into equilibrium.

These are all long-term blessings. When we transform our crises into blessings we catalyse others to do the same. TB

Dr. Demartini is a world leading behavioural expert, speaker and author at the forefront of the burgeoning personal and professional development industry. www.drdemartini.com

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People To Earn $20,000+ A Month From Home, Part-Time

personality Getting to know the four important people

By Terri Mitchell

At well over six billion people on the planet, there are only four people that you need to know. Once you know them, you can master any relationship with any person you meet.

T

he four people are not specific individuals. They are personality types identified in the 1930s, - by Dr William Marston. Marston crafted the Lie Detector Test used in 20th century policing methods. He also created Wonder Woman, the first female superhero comic book character.

Marston’s DISC system examines ‘normal, observable’ behaviour.

Comparatively, his peers Freud and Jung were evaluating abnormal behaviour through their psychoanalyses.

DISC Personality Profiling refers to the four observable behaviour styles: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Compliance. Each style is characterised by traits, actions, words and mannerisms.

Generally, all people are blends of these four styles. However, we are mostly one dominant style, with a secondary reactive style.

Dominant personalities are strong willed, impatient, often very demanding, and disinterested in details. They are results-oriented, taking command of situations and people. They’ll greet you with a dominant handshake, direct eye contact and task-focused conversation about their achievements.

Influencers have shortened attention, speaking in big-picture ideals – details don’t interest them. They’re recognised by animated body language and even displays of affection. Influencers can be vivacious and distracting, as they love to talk, often about themselves. Adorned in bright colours, coiffed and bejeweled, they are people focused.

Steadiness types are reserved, loyal and protective. They knuckle down to their jobs unhesitatingly, don’t like rocked boats and thrive on predictability. While generally not organised, steady types focus on relationships and put people at ease. They tend toward family and community activities, valuing trust and privacy.

Compliance personalities abide by rules, regulations, and ‘going by the book’. They are task focused and very detail oriented.

Facts, figures, calculations, and being right are their thing. Not strong in people relating, they are thorough, structured, and organised with effective memory. At work they simply prefer to get on with the job.

James Rendell, national marketing manager of Tonnex International, Melbourne says, “We use DISC profiling to better

understand the natural and adapted traits of our employees.”

James says the DISC profiling system is very accurate “…and has been a very valuable tool to our business.”

Another organisation using DISC profiling is The Christopher Howard Companies. CEO Chris Howard attended an educational personal development seminar where all participants completed a DISC profile. Howard saw potential in the DISC system within his own organisation.

“DISC Analysis is a valuable tool used during our Performance Revolution™ Program. Combining our interpretation of DISC analysis with the Christopher Howard Results Technologies™ tools… allows us to offer our students new insight into their own internal drives and external results in the real world,” says Christopher Howard Training, Head of Research and Training Duane Alley.

We sum people up in the instance we meet them. By referring to the powerful DISC observation model, we can recognise the needs of these four personality types and form lasting bonds with every person based on understanding. TB

Terri is a B2B freelance copywriter. She has written for a global client base since 2006, and has traveled to the US to work with a DISC Profiling ’ expert. She can be contacted via her website www.responsecopywriting.com.

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You’ve Heard A Lot About “THE SECRET” Now Here’s “THE ANSWER” Are you a self-starter who would like to partner with us in the exciting personal development industry? New to Australia and New Zealand we are part of a $9 billion a year global industry that helps people achieve their dreams and goals in all aspects of their lives.

By helping people get what they want, you will get what you want in abundance. We can’t think of a better way to live a rewarding life.

“We’ve owned and run 4 businesses over the last 20 years, one of them being a multi-level marketing business, where we reached a significant level.

Being students of personal development – a $9,000,000,000 (9 billion) a year industry – we finally found ‘the secret’ and knew we were on the right track.

Within 4 months (from Feb 2008) we were making more in a month than most people in a year! In the last 9 months, we have earned more than top CEOs get paid and we’ve worked a lot less, giving us the lifestyle to be with our family, travel and get paid for improving people’s lives.”

– Jerry & Sue Smart

(previous graphic designer and hairdresser)

Jerry & Sue Smart and children (Above) – living their dream life on a luxury cruise

For more information and to receive your FREE report called the “8 Steps to Unlimited Wealth, Working From Home”, go to www.homebiztopearner.com or call the 24-hour hotline 1800 72 12 51 and leave your details. www.thinkbigmagazine.com

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Doing

things

differently After selling and renovating houses for over 10 years, full-time mum Stacey Lappin felt she was paying too much money to real estate agents. It was then that Stacey decided to find an alternative to put more money back into her pocket and the pockets of other owners.

T

hus she founded remoov.com.au a new web-based technology that gives homeowners an alternative to selling their home with a traditional real estate agent.

Inspired by?

I am inspired by my family, friends and the things around me. The people closest to me inspire me on a daily basis with their belief in my abilities to tackle each challenge head on. They also show the confidence in me to be successful. Traveling to different countries and exploring new things also inspires me and gives me an ability to approach life with a fresh perspective.

Motivated by?

I am a self-motivated person and have never relied on others. I think that as an individual you have to have the ability to motivate yourself if you want to be successful.

Any motivation you get from others is great – and is a bonus – but the ability to self-motivate is one of the keys to success.

Biggest achievements?

I grew up in a country town of 5,000 people on the NSW/ Victorian border. Now, I have a Bachelor of Asian Studies (ANU) and a Master of International Business (UNSW), and am a successful property investor and renovator in Australia’s largest city.

Coming to where I am from where I started shows that if you keep an open mind and are prepared to tackle new things, your ability to achieve is unbounded. I have an incredible confidence in myself and I

think that as an individual it is extremely important to believe in, and back your own abilities. remoov.com.au is my latest achievement, and a culmination of years of thinking.

Best ability?

Inter-personal skills. I deal with a diverse range of people in business. The ability to get along well with people has helped me immeasurably. Being able to express ideas and opinions in a way that motivates people promotes greater achievement.

Biggest lesson The harder you work, the more you achieve and the more successful you become.

But always look for better ways to do things. The worst thing in business is to be like everybody else. The tried and tested way is safer but if you do things differently you may be able to create something amazing. I’ve always felt that the worst way to approach any business is to read a textbook on it. Come up with your own ideas and rationalise them in your own mind, then refer to tried and tested techniques and see if your ideas still make sense. The road less travelled can lead you to develop different ways of approaching things that may have been overlooked.

R&R? Playing with my two children is the most enjoyable form of relaxation for me. Children have an amazing ability to simplify things for you. I love to travel and with two children, it makes each trip our family embarks on an adventure! Seeing new places and experiencing different cultures is a true pleasure.

I also think it’s important to disconnect yourself from work when you relax. A lot of people say this, but I really mean it! A great meal with a tasty wine and good company is one of the great ways that I unwind and recharge!

I have also always been passionate about running and find it one of the best and most fulfilling ways to unwind.

Future?

For the rest of 2009, our aim is to expand remoov.com.au throughout Australia. Beyond that we would like to take it global. remoov.com.au is truly a scaleable platform and it will be as suited to the UK and US markets as it is to Australia. TB

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thinkBIG your story

feature

Reach

for the

sky

H

Natasha Bing and Sky Leigh are often asked how they created the business and lives they wanted? How did they succeed where others had failed? Their stories are testimonies to thinking big.

ow did two part-time businesswomen and part-time mothers from Hawkes Bay, New Zealand manage to organise Jack Canfield to speak in New Zealand? Their journey began in October 2008 on the completion of a Personal Development programme.

“We were discussing our personal journey and experiences; how we had faced several crisis points in our lives, including being solo parents, facing the end of marriages, being unemployed and rock bottom,” Natasha says.

The pair not only survived these hardships, but they made the decision to better themselves and change their lives.

It was over a coffee one afternoon that their bigger vision was born.

“Imagine how it would be if more people from New Zealand and Australia had easier, more affordable access to international speakers in the personal development field?” Sky asks.

“Could we arrange this? What would we have to do? We had no idea what was going to be involved, or how to do everything we needed to do. What we did know, was that we really wanted to do it. We had a burning desire to make this happen. We wanted to give others the opportunity to grow as we had. We also knew that we had reached a stage in our own personal development journeys where it was time to give back something of what we had learnt and stretch ourselves to think bigger” Getting their personal development business up and running over the past six months has been an ordeal, taking the highs and lows that come with setting up a business practice. The pair has had to come to terms with financial management and service provision while at the same time balancing their family duties.

Feedback from others pointed to the fact that they needed to expand outside of New Zealand, which provides a relatively small market for this type of business.

“We also had to dig deep inside ourselves to stay on top, to keep our limiting beliefs in check, to stay positive, keep taking

action and keep our vision in focus,” Natasha says.

“When we have reached a hurdle we have chosen to be creative, we have chosen to think about how we can do what we need to do and what the learning opportunity for this experience is. Instead of thinking “’this is too hard and ‘what if....’, we ensure that we do not let our fear and uncertainty get in the way. We have chosen to take action towards our vision, goals and dreams.”

There have been times when Sky and Natasha catch themselves dwelling on minor setbacks instead of celebrating success, and as a result found themselves falling into the trap of doubting their ability to achieve their goals.

“In these times we used books, audio programs, CDs, DVDs and support from each other to find a way forward,” Sky says. “Inevitably, once we had shifted our thoughts about a situation we would find a renewed belief in our vision and with that belief someone would appear who gave us the additional support, assistance or information we needed.”

So to answer the question: how did they do it?

“A lot of self-reflection, a lot of asking ourselves and others for support and ways forward, clarity of vision and faith in ourselves and remembering why we were doing this… and then we mixed this with taking action and having fun.” TB

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Natasha Bing and Sky Leigh decided to change their lives and fortunes.

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Dress For

success

By Terriane Palmer

We live in a highly visual society, even Presidents recognise the importance of being camera savvy.

Y

ou only need to listen to the news to see how much attention is being placed on what President Obama and his wife Michelle are wearing. Celebrities hire stylists to send out the right message and avoid being ranked on the ‘Worst Dressed Celebrity’ lists. Companies spend billions of dollars to project an image that differentiate themselves from their competition and become the product or service of choice.

At work, you are the brand. And your look is your logo. The effort you put into choosing clothes that reflect who you are, sends a clear message about what you have to offer and where you want to go. It gives you control of your identity or at least influences others’ impression of it.

Your goal is to wear clothes that give you credibility – that are appropriate to your environment and convey a message of professionalism, polish and authenticity. Ask yourself: 1. Are all your clothes versatile and do they work well together?

2. Is your wardrobe expansive enough to be appropriate for any occasion?

3. Do you know what colours suit you and what message they unconsciously send out?

4. Honestly – does everything fit you or does it need alterations?

5. Are all your clothes in good condition or do they need repairs? Perhaps even donation to your local charity house?

6. Do you have a yearly budget for your career wardrobe?

7. Do all your clothes make you feel and look comfortable and confident?

Anything less than a congruent Yes to all the above questions means you are selling yourself short and potentially missing opportunities in the career ladder of success.

“It’s always better to be looked over than over-looked”— Mae West Here are some basic principles to follow when dressing for work: • Be appropriate. An office or industry is like a club. Look like you are a member, not a guest.

• Be professional. Know whether your dress code is Traditional Corporate, Business Casual or something else.

Dress in clothes that say ‘I mean business’.

• Be yourself. Dress to reflect your potential. Let your personality and desire to succeed show through.

• Be comfortable. Dress according to your body shape and personality. You need to feel comfortable in what you are wearing.

There is no use dressing how you think you should only to reflect internally how uncomfortable you really are. Remember though, comfortable dress does not mean sloppy.

• Be strategic. Clothes can make you memorable for all the right reasons. Ask yourself what your goals are, then dress accordingly. If you have a high profile and want to be part of the team, dress like the other team players. If you want your boss to notice you, model their style of dress – they’ll love the compliment or at least give you more compliments!

Wearing clothes that actively serve you is an ongoing process.

Styles change. Your age changes. Your body may change. You might have a career change. It’s important to continually monitor this change and notice the subtle shifts in dress codes plus nonverbal and visual communication.

Consistently look at your reflection in the mirror, stand in front of your closet and ensure your clothes are appropriate, goal effective and making the most of who you are so that they are working for you and as hard as you do. TB

Terriane Palmer is a trainer for the Christopher Howard Companies and a director of TAP INTO IMAGE PTY LTD and BMS FUSION PTY LTD. www.tapintoimage.com.au

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Thinkforever

The Way To Wealth

Reviews by Daniel G Taylor Just Doing My Job: Cops, Firies, Ambos: Everyday Australians with Extraordinary Stories Heroes surround us, but you may not give them a thought as their vehicles race past, lights flashing, sirens calling. You may not give them a thought, but these people are on their way to protect property, lend a helping hand, save lives.

Knight has interviewed 18 of these heroes and tells their unheard stories: stories revealing the close bonds, the emotions, the successes and the failures. Stories of workplace romance, combining religion with service, or balancing compassion with professionalism.

Blokes will love the recounting of adventures. Women

will relate to women in the emergency services, whether they face overcoming the obstacles of working in a male-dominated field or how to balance being a mum with doing a tough job.

When you finish the book, you’ll want to go up to the next cop, firie, or ambo you see and say, ‘Good job, mate.’

Author: James Knight Publisher: Hachette, 2007 ISBN: 9780733621956 RRP: $24.95

The Seven Lost Secrets of Success Joe Vitale introduces the ideas of Bruce Barton, the most successful ad man you never knew. The secrets Vitale reveals apply to people in careers as much as the self-employed or small business owner.

One of the most radical ideas: you can’t serve people if you’re trying to fleece them. It’s clear to see how this applies to your customers, but look at how it applies to your career: Rather than seeking to fleece your employer (do as little as possible), go out of your way to do more. It won’t be long

before you’re recognised as indispensable and will find yourself with increased pay and responsibility.

Of course, Vitale is a copywriter and the people who will benefit most from this book are those who write ads. I used Barton’s secrets in a sales letter I sent out for a workshop and had a 4% response rate even with only two days notice.

Bruce Barton may be unknown to you before you read this book, but by the time you finish, the man you never knew, will be the man you’ll never forget.

Author: Joe Vitale Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 2007 ISBN: 9780470108109 RRP: $33.95

The Riches Within In The Riches Within Dr John Demartini demonstrates the power of personal values. Demartini’s important contribution is to show how to use your values to inspire more action, presence, and vitality. The clearer you are on your values, the more power you have to live your destiny.

One of the teachers of ‘The Secret’, Dr Demartini loads every page of his latest book with important insights.

The Riches Within is a challenging read because Demartini supports you

to experience what ‘destiny’, ‘mission’, ‘genius’ and ‘vision’ really mean on your own terms. Demartini asks many fascinating questions that help bring out the hidden riches of genius, health, intimacy and success.

Demartini writes with passion and humour about the ageless concern of identifying and profiting from what you most love. Reading this book has inspired me to do more of what I love, and brought much more gratitude into my relationships.

Author: Dr John Demartini Publisher: Dr John Demartini ISBN-10: 1401918263 RRP: $10.17 (Amazon)

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Brian Tracy’s most recent three books, The Way To Wealth series, integrate material on goals, attitude, management, and sales into an overall course on entrepreneurship.

The Way to Wealth Part I – The Journey Begins provides the basics to set up your own business, emphasizing attitudes and skills. The book ends with a useful summary, which in many ways recaps much of Brian’s Tracy’s past work. This book presents an entire detailed course in developing both the millionaire mindset and entrepreneurial behaviour patterns.

The Way to Wealth Part II – The Journey Continues shows entrepreneurs how to build a highly profitable business. This advanced information is most useful if you are already in business or in the advanced stages of planning.

I found the chapter on networking particularly insightful and relevant to the law of attraction. “The key to impressing people,” Tracy writes, “is to be impressed by them.” Then he describes in

detail how you go about doing that.

In the chapter on packaging, Tracy says, “customers are seeking reasons not to buy”. This chapter gives insights on consumer psychology that no business can afford to ignore.

Finally, The Way to Wealth Workbook presents an array of worksheets, handouts and exercises, including a CD-Rom, covering everything from finance to personal productivity and suitable for business operations.

Tracy asks, “What is the highest paid activity in business?” His answer? Thinking. The third ‘Way to Wealth’ book provide a structured format to think for yourself, through asking and answering empowering questions.

A young business course graduate shared with me how Brian Tracy explains the same business formulas his lecturers did, only so much more clearly. Brian Tracy’s Way To Wealth is his most concentrated and advanced work so far.

Author: Brian Tracy Publisher: Brian Tracy ISBN: N/A RRP: $US49 (from Brian Tracy International)

7 Things Your Doctor Forgot To Tell You 7 Things Your Doctor Forgot To Tell You teaches the underlying practices of wellness.

Much of the benefit of this book comes from the way it compiles a very wide range of information on wellness. Even readers who are well educated about wellness will find new ideas, as well as old ideas clarified and explained.

Authoritative references and application suggestions support the information.

I was excited to discover the concept of a ‘wellness chiropractor’; this will put chiropractic in a totally new light many readers. 7 Things also explains the secret wisdom behind many symptoms of illness. For example, fever and vomiting can be a sign the body is eliminating a poison, instead of a symptom to be suppressed with pills.

Reading this book will renew appreciation for the body’s wisdom and reveal the hidden power of wellness chiropractic.

Author: Warren Sipser and Andi Lew Publisher: Rockpool ISBN: 978-1-921295-12-6 RRP $24.95

Instant Income Janet Switzer shows you how to make more money in your own business or as an employee. Her strategies include getting customers to give you more money, getting other people to help bring in the cash, writing ads that make the phone ring, prospecting for instant income, helping your sales force earn instant income, making instant income on the Internet, and finding instant income in overlooked assets.

The first strategy I sought to implement from the book produced no immediate results. Emphasis on

immediate. I generated some strong leads and was able to raise my hourly rate to its highest level. Along the way I had to overcome psychological hurdles about deserving money – something the book doesn’t cover. Any employee or small business owner who wants extra income will benefit from this book, but they will need to be prepared to work hard.

Author: Janet Switzer Publisher: McGraw-Hill ISBN: 9780071487788 RRP: $39.95

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Building Wealth Through Business

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One of the biggest challenges for private companies is that they have minimal exposure to potential investors. Wholesale Investor magazine has been created to be the information portal of the private space.

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