Newsletter for June 2007: Beyond Your Wildest Dreams

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What would you do if you knew you would succeed beyond your wildest expectations? What would you attempt if you knew, deep inside, that you might transform the world, that you might achieve things no one else has ever achieved? Would you "go for it?"

Lately, I've been drawn to stories that grow out of someone's deciding to see what might actually be possible, and giving it their all.

What got my attention was a story of a woman who decided she had nothing to lose from "going all in" to keep her house. She's a single Mom, with two kids and last winter she found out one of them has a major illness. She's taught school for many years, but also had a "little business on the side" selling products to her friends and women at her school.

She put some ads in the local paper and passed out some cards. She spread the word among her customers and within a few weeks her business began to grow. In four months, she was earning more than she had ever imagined, and recently she learned (to her amazement!) that she is the top producer in the entire country! Since March 1st, she has earned more from her little "side business" than from the entire year of teaching 4th grade!

Her life will never be the same.

There must have been a time when someone gave Lance Armstrong his first bicycle and encouraged him to go for a ride. Two years ago he was the first person ever to win the Tour de France a remarkable seven times!

Once, Roger Bannister was told he would never walk, much less run. A few years later, he became the first person in history to run a mile in less than four minutes. The incredible thing is that, within a year, two dozen other people did it, too! It just took someone to show them how.

Similarly, a little girl named Wilma Rudolph was crippled with polio and was told she would never walk. Fortunately, she eventually learned to walk, then to play basketball, and to run. In 1962, she won three Olympic gold medals-she didn't just walk, she ran faster than any woman in history!

Then there is the story of a 60 year old grand mother from Texas, I wonder if you know of her? She was a single mom with no money, in an era when women had fewer opportunities than today. Desperate, she borrowed some money she couldn't afford to pay back and started a little business. Ever heard of Mary Kay Cosmetics? I thought so.

What would you do if there was a chance you would succeed beyond your wildest dreams? Would you start a business? Write a book? Learn to dance? Would you move to Tahiti? Would you teach biology or learn to fly?

Bill Gates was a college kid but saw an opportunity to write some computer code and open a few doors. He might even make a little money in the process. Oprah Winfrey was invited to do a little talk show on a local station in Chicago, and she said yes.

I have an attorney client who specializes in a particular area of family law. She put up her shingle in 2005 and then set about concentrating on identifying where to network and advertises to give her the best exposure to grow her practice. She was willing to take calculated risks to gain the exposure and through her efforts she far exceeded her financial goals by quadrupling her income in 2006 from the previous year. On top of that she is on track to more than double her income this year from 2006.

None of these people knew whether or not they would succeed when they began. None of them knew the end of the story at the beginning. All they knew was that they had a dream and the desire to make a start. They took action, learned from their mistakes and kept on going. The rest, as they say, is history.

So, what would you like to do with your one and only, remarkable life? What small step will you take this week? Who will you call? Will you jot some notes, perhaps search the internet? Someone once said, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." That was Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. Some small steps lead to giant results!

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." -- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"The distance is nothing; it is only the first step that is difficult." -- Mme. Du Deffand

"The future belongs to those who believe in their dreams." -- Eleanor Roosevelt

"Each of us was born with wings...(and) has the ability to go farther than we ever thought possible, to do things beyond our wildest imaginings." -- Barbara Stanny

 

A while back I read about a guy named Vic Johnson who creates CD’s about how to search and select products on the internet. The article was about how successful Vic has been. In four short years, he went from financially struggling to earning over $600,000 in sales! He's a remarkable "over night success."

He must have been incredibly "lucky"-right? Wrong. He was incredibly systematic.

On the CD's he tells of his long search for products, and his careful study of what works in online marketing. He tells of his systematic testing, learning, and adjusting until he found the right system for major success. Now, when he launches a product or website, he can (for all practical purposes) guarantee that it will work and can predict within a few percentage points exactly what kind of results to expect.

That, my friends, is what long-term business success is all about.

McDonald's restaurants have a system for success. Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno and David Letterman pretty much figured out the "system" for success in comedy. I expect Donald Trump has a system for success in real estate. Oprah Winfrey knows something about the "system" for success on television.

What is your system or recipe for success in your business? Is it written down? Do you follow it, over and over, to get the results you desire?

Highly successful people do not achieve repeated success by coincidence! They develop systems and they use them day after day to get the results they want.

If you are not getting the results you desire, take a close look at your systems. If you need help, consider hiring a coach. Success is no accident! It is the logical, predictable result of doing certain things in a certain way, over and over again.

Click on the following link to read about where the multi-millionaires are making their millions today. Maybe you’ll be inspired to put a plan of action together for that great idea that you have been dreaming about for years. How about it; are you ready to take a leap of faith?
http://www.smartmoney.com/cover/index.cfm?story=june2007&src=fb&nav=RSS20

If you would like coaching to develop your systems, please contact me and let's talk about it. I'm at: rodger@rodgerblaker.com

Some people have a gift for using language to lighten our loads and brighten our days. Mark Twain had it; George Burns had it. Over the years, I've collected hundreds of quotes and here are a few that I count on to make me smile.

"Don't be humble. You're not that great." --- Golda Meir

"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example." --- Mark Twain

"I envy people who drink. At least they know what to blame everything on." --- Oscar Levant

"The secret to staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age." --- Lucille Ball

"Old age is like everything else, to make a success of it you got to start young." --- Fred Astaire

"You know your children are growing up when they stop asking where they came from and refuse to tell you where they're going." --- P. O'Brien

"You know who must be very secure in their masculinity? Male ladybugs." --- Jay Leno

"I want to know why, if men rule the world, they don't stop wearing neckties." --- Linda Ellerbee"

"I'd like to live like a poor man, only with lots of money." --- Pablo Picasso

"I hate housework! You make the beds, you do the dishes - and six months later you have to start all over again." --- Joan Rivers

Rodger Blaker works with executives, small business owners and professionals who want to grow in their business and create an extraordinary life!

For info on resources for your success, visit: http://www.rodgerblaker.com or call me at 214-485-2238.

Please forward this copy to your friends and colleagues! That's how I grow!