The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Lifestyle Freedom: Episode 30

Last month, my family and I went to Los Cabos, Mexico for a much needed vacation. Quite honestly, we didn’t do anything other than play on the beach for the first three days we were in Cabo! Finally, on the fourth day of the trip, I remembered to grab my video camera so I could shoot Episode 30 of The Unemployed Millionaire Show!

I’m not telling you about my vacation to impress you… I’m telling you about it to impress upon you how much your life can change when you finally break out of the mold society placed you in and start taking advantage of opportunities that will allow you to live your dream lifestyle!

My personal philosophy about life is this: Life is all about the experience of chasing peak experiences! Contrary to mainstream beliefs, I believe that it is possible to live life constantly wrapped up in joyous and exciting moments…

Years ago, I made the decision to become an entrepreneur so that my family and I could have the opportunity to live every day of our lives with feelings of intense happiness and well-being! That decision is exactly what separates the people who live an unconventional life with total lifestyle freedom from the people who don’t.

Most people don’t understand that in order to live an unconventional lifestyle – you have to do unconventional things (like  focusing solely on opportunities that offer you a chance to become wealthy.) Once you get comfortable with the idea of pursuing unconventional opportunities in life, you will naturally develop the ability to create an unconventional lifestyle.

Creating an unconventional lifestyle is not easy but it’s absolutely worth the extra effort… After all, life should be an experience in chasing peak experiences!

What are you doing today in order to live a life of peak experiences tomorrow? I’d love to hear your answer below in the comments section!

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Motivational Monday #22

I came across this Becel commercial over the weekend while I was waiting to board my flight home after a leadership event.

At first, I wrote it off as a very interesting way to market margarine. Then I realized that there are actually a couple of pretty important success and leadership lessons hidden in this broken escalator commercial…

People who are serious about success take charge instead of waiting for help to arrive.

Unfortunately, lots of people expect the journey to success to be effortless, simple and smooth – kinda like riding an escalator. When their escalator breaks, they start stressing out and waiting for help instead of creating and following their own plan to reach the top.

We’ve all felt like we were stuck at some point in our life. The difference between those who succeed and those who don’t is simple…

Successful people are willing to take charge of their life and create a plan for how they are going to reach the top.

Obstacles are really just opportunities in disguise.

They say you can always measure the character of a man by the size of the obstacle it takes to overcome him. I sincerely believe that we are never faced with an obstacle that is impossible to overcome.

Obstacles come into our life as gifts that are meant to refine our character. People who overcome obstacles in order to reach success experience a more fulfilling life and gain the ability to motivate others.

The next time you are facing an obstacle, look at it as an opportunity to enhance your success story. I promise it’ll make overcoming obstacles a breeze!

And, if you ever find yourself stuck on a broken escalator, think of it as an opportunity to get some unexpected exercise…

What did you learn from this broken escalator commercial? I’d love to hear your answer below in the comments section.

P.S. For more lessons on success and leadership, be sure to get your copy of my book, The Unemployed Millionaire, right here: http://www.MattMorris.com/book. (You’ll also receive over $2,000 worth of bonus personal development education and help me feed 5 hungry children!)

P.P.S. If you missed last week’s Motivational Monday, watch it here: What’s One Red Paper Clip Worth?

Click here to view the embedded video.

An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Lifestyle Freedom: Episode 29

The first time I read Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, I paid close attention to finding the secret Napoleon mentions in Chapter One. I realized after re-reading Think and Grow Rich a couple of times, the secret is different for everyone who reads Think and Grow Rich.

For me, the secret turned out to be Leadership Law 7 which is Persistence and Determination…

In my first two to three years as an entrepreneur, I wound up $30,000 in debt and homeless. I experienced many sleepless nights in which I wondered if I was even cut out for a career as an entrepreneur. But ultimately, I knew that I knew that I knew, what my purpose in life is.

So I persisted, despite my failures and made it over the hump to create an amazing life. Alot of future Unemployed Millionaires consistently ask questions like: “How did you get where you are today?” “What made you decide to keep on going when you had absolutely nothing in the bank?”

The key is persistence and determination. I immersed myself in positive environments by listening to personal development audios and read personal development books constantly.

There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that if other people had become successful entrepreneurs, I could do it too. Once you develop that kind of certainty and decide that you will stop at nothing to become successful, you’ll be well on your way to success as an entrepreneur.

Because I didn’t give up, I haven’t had to think about money in years, because it’s just not a concern.

Here’s what’s important about a true leader: A true leader will always find a way over, around, or through any challenge that arises and will do whatever it takes to be a winner.

Successful people do what unsuccessful people are unwilling to do. Winners in life just don’t give up. Winners will never, ever let anyone steal their dream!

We’ve reached the end of The Unemployed Millionaire Blog’s Leadership Series and I want to learn from you! What leadership law benefited you the most? What leadership laws would you add to this series?

I can’t wait to read your answer!

P.S. For even more leadership development, get your copy of The Unemployed Millionaire here: http://www.MattMorris.com/book. You’ll also receive $2,000 in bonus personal development tools and help me feed 5 hungry children!

P.P.S. If you missed the last leadership law, check it out right here: The Unemployed Millionaire Show: Leadership Law 6.

An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Lifestyle Freedom: Episode 26

Another cardinal rule in leadership is that “the speed of the group is determined by the speed of the leader.” A manager tells others how to do it and sits back and watches. A leader shows people how to do it and sets the example.

To set the right example for your organization you must take the lead!

Early on in my career, I learned this law the hard way…

Management is a Danger Zone

When I was 24 years old, I became a sales director in a travel company. In my first month with the company, I went out and personally sold 30 travel club memberships in 30 days, in addition to building my sales team. It was the company record and not one single person in my sales team surpassed me.

After that, I went into sales management mode and was working with my salespeople more than I was making personal sales. After about four or five months of this, I started to get frustrated. Month after month had gone by, but not one person in my entire sales team had made more than 30 sales. I had several who had done 20, but none had done 30 or more so I decided it was time for an experiment.

I decided I would be a leader rather than a manager and set the example to raise the bar to a new level. The next month, I went on a selling frenzy. I did whatever it took to push my sales up to over 40 personal sales by the end of the month and an amazing thing happened…

I was managing  my team less than I was previously, but everyone’s production went up! I had several people who had surpassed my original record and some even got close to 40!!

Nothing changed other than the fact that my sales team saw that it was possible to make more than 30 sales.

Shift The Paradigm

People have a paradigm set in their mind. The role of a leader is to break that paradigm, which, in turn, inspires confidence in others to believe they can do more than they originally thought possible.

True leaders lead by example and make it easy for others to see what’s possible. When others are inspired by your actions, that’s when you’ll know you’ve reach a new level in your own leadership ability.

What activities are you doing to inspire your team? I’d love to talk about it with you in the comments section below!

P.S. For even more examples of how to lead by example, read pages 88-90 of The Unemployed Millionaire. Get your copy and over $2,000 in bonus personal development education here: http://www.MattMorris.com/book.

P.P.S. If you missed the last episode of The Unemployed Millionaire Show, watch it here: Leadership Law 3.

An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Lifestyle Freedom: Episode 25

One characteristic of truly great leaders is that they have an unyielding positive attitude toward the success of their organization.

Have you ever heard this statement: “50% of your success is attitude. The other 50% is attitude.”?

Well, I can promise you that it’s absolutely true…

Attitude is a constant battle. Maintaining a positive attitude takes focus and extra effort but developing the ability to conquer negativity is so much greater than letting negativity conquer you!

As a leader, you must feed your mind with positive thoughts and information as much as you possibly can so you are consistently upbeat in front of the people you lead.

Leading Through Challenges

Experiencing disappointment, discouragement, and challenges that may seem insurmountable is a natural part of life for leaders. While those may be feelings in your heart, great leaders must keep those negative feelings to themselves. (I won’t lie – it’s tough to do some days but it’s your job as a leader!)

When people you lead see you visibly discouraged, they feel a greater sense of discouragement. When they see you visibly worried, they feel a greater sense of worry. Displaying your negative emotions will produce nothing but negative results for the people you lead.

A true leader will always see the solution and never focus on the problem. Your people look to you to help them overcome challenges as they arise so always be there to provide positive support!

Excuses, Excuses

Attitudes are absolutely contagious and leaders have an amazing ability to transfer emotion to their people – negatively and positively.  Negative emotions from you as the leader transfer those negative emotions to your people; which leads to negative results in productivity and loyalty.

Negative attitudes spread 10 times faster than positive ones!

People are always looking for excuses to quit or give up on their dreams so as a leader, you never want to be the culprit for one of your peoples excuse to quit!

Getting You and Your Team UP

Great leaders have an amazing ability to make people feel better about themselves. A major way to do that is through your positive energy.

When you’re positive and upbeat, you emote confidence and inspire people to move forward. Don’t worry about not looking ‘cool.’ If you’re excited about something, share that excitement and enthusiasm with everyone around you!

P.S. If you missed the first 2 laws of leadership, check them out here: Leadership Law 1 and Leadership Law 2.

An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Lifestyle Freedom: Episode 24

Over the years, I’ve learned that great leaders are not only comfortable sharing their vision, their passion overflows and spills out to others in such a way that everyone they share their vision with can’t wait to be a part of it. When you share your passion, you transfer that passion to others and inspire them to be part of something that makes them feel good about themselves.

So Leadership Law 2 is Convey an Inspiring Vision. The first step is to create a vision for all facets of your life (your company, your family, everything)… A vision doesn’t have to be strictly related to your business. I’ve created a vision for my family as well because I strongly believe that families rise and fall based on leadership…

Far too many families live by the philosophy that their success both financially, spiritually, and even in their love and harmony, is going to happen by chance. It doesn’t work that way! Your family’s success is going to come from leading your family to success. (Read page 85 of The Unemployed Millionaire for a deeper explanation of conveying your inspiring vision to your family!)

Carrots vs. Cause

The other important part of Leadership Law 2 is developing the ability to understand what motivates people to take action. Dollar bills are generally the most widely used carrot in traditional business.

What happens when you use money as the biggest motivator is that people will leave you in a second if they can earn more money somewhere else. If money is your carrot, you have no competitive advantage because just about everyone is using money as the motivator.

In general, people will be more motivated by a cause than they would be by money. If you look at many of the truly great companies in the world, you’ll see that their leaders inspired them to go after an inspiring vision…

The Vision Behind Microsoft

A perfect example of a leader using vision to inspire an entire team of people is Bill Gates. In the mid-1980′s, Bill Gates set a goal to have Microsoft software running on a personal computer on the desk of every person in the world. At the time, his goal seemed absurd since computers were ridiculously complicated to use and priced at a premium.

To reach his goal, Bill Gates had Microsoft develop Windows to make personal computers much more user-friendly. Windows also adopted the most popular productivity programs to run on the new system. This new combination of popular productivity programs and easier to use personal computers, gave more people a reason to buy a personal computer and use Microsoft’s software.

Today, over 90 percent of all computers run some form of Microsoft software!

Life is short; we all have a very limited time on this planet. I believe that if you want to experience fulfillment, it will not be created through any amount of money you can earn but by the impact you can make on this world.

How are you motivating the people you are closest to? I’d love to discuss it with you below in the comments section.

P.S. Want more information about the leadership laws? Get your copy of The Unemployed Millionaire and help me feed 5 hungry children right here: http://www.MattMorris.com/book.

P.P.S. Did you miss the latest episodes of The Unemployed Millionaire Show? Watch them right here: Intro to the Laws of Leadership and Leadership Law 1.

An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Lifestyle Freedom: Episode 23

Big dreamers inspire others to dream big so the first law of leadership is: Have a Dream Larger Than Those You Lead. A leader has to be comfortable communicating his or her dreams through the power of emotional intelligence – the ability to transfer emotion to your organization.

People are propelled to action by the height of your passion and inspiration. Most people want to be more than they are and they look for a leader who has a passion for greatness that will inspire them to greatness…

When you open yourself up and share your dreams, you transfer emotion. People want to be around a leader who’s transparent.

When they see transparency, not only do you transfer emotion, you also gain their trust. You’ll never be followed unless you’re trusted, and the more open you are, the more trusted you become.

My Challenge to You…

Get a BHAG! Since it doesn’t take any more energy to dream big than it does to dream small, create a BHAG… a Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal!

When I’m traveling around the world with the speakers and top salespeople in my company, I’m constantly dream building with them. I’m telling them how in just a few years, we’ll be flying in our own corporate jet rather than flying commercially.

Always remember – facts tell, but stories sell! So get into the details when you dream! My dream building stories go like this:

Instead of driving a car to the airport, having to be there an hour early, going through ticketing, fighting the crowds, going through security to take off our shoes, emptying our pockets, taking off our belts/hats/jewelry, and then sitting around waiting for our flights, we’ll be picked up by a limo. We’ll be whisked away to the private airport by our limo and be chaufferred right up to our own private jet. We’ll never even have to touch our bags – no security, now waiting, no hassles. Our own private flight attendants will welcome us with a glass of champagne and organic snacks. If we’re tired, we can go to the back of the jet and take a nap. When we land, we’ll walk down off the plane into the next limo which will take us to our luxurious resort.

The more vividly you imagine and picture yourself living these dreams, the more concrete they become in your mind and the more likely you are to turn them into reality.

When you feel that your dreams are within your reach, people around you feel that same energy and want to do anything they can to be part of your dream as well. With that being said, let’s get started dreaming right now!!

Leave your new, vivid Big Hairy Audacious Goal in the comments section below so we can talk about it together! I will be reading your dreams personally and I can’t wait to hear from you!

P.S. For even more insight to the Laws of Leadership, get your copy of The Unemployed Millionaire right here: http://www.MattMorris.com/book. Law of Leadership 1 is on pages 82-84!

P.P.S. If you missed the last episode of The Unemployed Millionaire Show, watch it right here: Introduction to the Laws of Leadership.

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An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Lifestyle Freedom: Episode 19

Last week during my vacation to Cancun, I had the opportunity to see Chichen Itza which is one of the 7 Wonders of the World!  I was thrilled to spend a Tuesday afternoon exploring another one of the 7 Wonders of the World!

Seeing all 7 Wonders of The World is a high priority on my bucket list and now I’m up to 3! One of the main reasons I now have the ability to explore the world on a Tuesday afternoon instead of sitting in an office is because of my ability to dream…

An Author, who remains anonymous, once said this:

“You will never live life beyond your wildest expectations until you
first have some wild expectations.”

This quote has had a lasting impact in my life over the years. I seriously would not be where I am today had I not developed the ability to dream BIG!

I can’t overemphasize the importance of having a powerful dream – after all, dreams are the fire that fuel desire! One of the secret characteristics of successful people is that they just want it so bad they can’t stand it. That desire for success is what will propel you to the top.

One of the secrets for creating a desire that just doesn’t quit is to create a lifetime dream list/bucket list that you read every single day! So this weekend, I want you to create a “Dream List” of at least 100 things you want to do while you’re still alive.

I created my list when I was 24 years old and it still sits at the very front of my planner that I use on a daily basis. When I started my list, I honestly couldn’t even imagine some of these dreams as possible, but because I put them on paper, I took the first step to turning those dreams into my reality.

To help get you started on your dreams list and to prove that anything is possible, I’m going to share a few of the things I put on my dreams list 10 years ago that have become a reality for me:

Go on an African Safari

Cruise the Mediterranean

Walk on Fire

Write a Book and become a best-selling author (The Unemployed Millionaire)

Become scuba certified

Scuba dive with sharks (I’ve been diving with sharks in Bora Bora and South Africa!)

Relax on a beach in Tahiti

Visit the top of the Eiffel Tower (I proposed to my amazingly beautiful wife there!)

Vacation in Hawaii

Go Bungee Jumping (Check out Episode 5 of The Unemployed Millionaire Show!)

Okay, so those are just a few of the experiences I’ve had because I created my dreams list… Now I want you to go start your dreams list (or add to it) and don’t stop until you have at least 100 dreams written down!

P.S. I’d love to hear what your bucket list items are so let’s talk about it in the comments section below!

P.P.S. If you missed the last episode of The Unemployed Millionaire Show: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Lifestyle Freedom, watch it here: Episode 18.

An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Lifestyle Freedom: Episode 18

Last week, my wife and I stayed at an amazing all-inclusive resort during our vacation… It was the second month in a row we’ve been on a vacation in Cancun, Mexico!! I feel extremely blessed to be able to say that.

But here’s the thing… I want you to be able to say that, too! In fact, one of my main reasons for writing The Unemployed Millionaire and creating this show was to share the exact road-map I used to reach success so that anybody who wants this kind of lifestyle can go out and get it.

In this episode, I share one of the main differences between the wealthy and unwealthy. This wealth principle is surprisingly simple and an imperative part of reaching success…

To achieve complete financial freedom and complete time freedom, you MUST choose a career that will at least give you the opportunity to create a dream lifestyle!

Most men and women fall into a career path that has benefits and a salary with a ceiling. Meaning after they reach a certain income level/work for a certain length of time – they max out the vacation package and the amount of money they can make.

I’m not any smarter or more creative than any other 34 year old guy. (And I definitely did not have a trust fund or an inheritance or anything like that…)  I just chose to invest my time and energy into a career that gave me the opportunity to achieve complete time and money freedom.

You can do the exact same thing! Just take a minute to weigh out the opportunities that your current career path is leading you to…

If you truly want the Unemployed Millionaire lifestyle, you must be willing to seek out careers that will give you the opportunity to set your own schedule and become financially free!

P.S. Find out exactly how I became an Unemployed Millionaire. Get your copy of my book and over $2,000 in bonus personal development education here: http://www.MattMorris.com/book.

P.P.S. For more motivation and information about building the lifestyle of your dreams, watch Earl Nightingale’s ‘The Strangest Secret in the World’ here: Motivational Monday #9.

]]> http://www.mattmorris.com/blog/2010/02/the-unemployed-millionaire-show-simple-wealth-secret/feed/ 15 http://www.mattmorris.com/blog/2010/01/the-unemployed-millionaire-show-action-management/ http://www.mattmorris.com/blog/2010/01/the-unemployed-millionaire-show-action-management/#comments Fri, 29 Jan 2010 19:38:13 +0000 Matt Morris http://www.mattmorris.com/blog/?p=953

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An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Lifestyle Freedom: Episode 17

Every self-made millionaire reached success because they first developed an ability to manage time. In my early years as an entrepreneur, I spent alot of time and alot of money looking for the ultimate time management system.

Quite frankly though,  the phrase ‘time management’ grew meaningless to me once I realized it’s not physically possible to manage time. We can, however, manage our actions.

I took bits of knowledge from all of the time management systems I learned to create an action management system that got me where I am today. Here is what I came up with…

The Unemployed Millionaire Action Management System

As you saw in the video, I personally carry a planner from Franklin Covey that has two full pages for each day. One page is for notes and the other page consists of a schedule to put down appointments and a Prioritized Daily Task List (PDTL).

I am not at all a morning person so I plan my upcoming day each night just before bed. My first step in planning is to figure out which tasks I want to complete the next day.

If you’ve ever created a Need To-Do List, then you’ve experienced how the subconscious magically works out a way for you to not be excited about getting the Need To’s done… It is much more exciting to complete tasks that you Want To-Do!

ABCs of Action Management

After I complete my Want To-Do List, I prioritize my activities using three categories: A priorities, B priorities, and C priorities. Here is what each category means:

• A Priority – Action items that you absolutely must complete before you can even think of going to bed.  It’s best not to be an overachiever with the A’s… Make sure you are very selective with what you classify as an A!
• B Priority – Action items that you really should get done. It will not be the end of the world if you don’t get to a B priority.
• C Priority – Action items that might be important but have no time sensitivity. Tip: Create a list of important C items daily but move the least important C items over to a monthly list.

123s of Action Management

Now that you’ve prioritized your Want To-Do List, it’s time to figure out the order in which you will complete your A, B, and C priorities. By creating an order for your prioritized action items, you are making yourself a road map to follow which will motivate you to take action more than a list of tasks in random order.

I love starting my day being able to get right down to business and knock tasks off, one after another.  Mainly because it creates tons of free time!

The Time Factor

This next step is what took my productivity to a whole new level… After I’ve prioritized and numbered my tasks, I calculate the amount of time I need to allow to complete each task. Next, I tally up the total number of time it will take to accomplish everything I want to accomplish.

By following this system,  it’s nearly impossible to overestimate how much you can accomplish in a day.

Set the Agenda

To properly manage my actions, I schedule appointments for every task on my Want T0-Do List and I treat the appointments like an important meeting or a doctor’s appointment.

Setting appointments will enable you to start living in proactive mode rather than in reactive mode. Phone calls, e-mails, and coworkers are less likely to steal your time because you will be much more focused on accomplishing your Want To-Do’s.

Take Action

Give The Unemployed Millionaire’s Action Management System a try for the next 30-90 days and watch your productivity skyrocket!

Did I leave out one of your favorite strategies for action management? If so, tell me about it in the comments section!

If you want even more action management strategies, check out my book, The Unemployed Millionaire. You can get your copy AND access to over $2,000 in bonus success education here: http://www.MattMorris.com/book.

P.S. If you missed the last episode where I share my strategy for successfully setting goals, watch it here: The Unemployed Millionaire Show: Goal Setting is For Losers!