Or do you use a proven, reliable formula to turn your business around? Seems to me that last idea is the best. And that’s what this week’s episode is all about. How to turn your business around, in any economy.

Please subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast.

On this week’s podcast episode:

• The power of storytelling to grow your business.
• Why your level of faith doesn’t matter.
• Plus, our feature presentation…  How to  Turn Your Business Around

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in browser | Download

Tip Of The Week

You can change the quality of your life by changing the quality of your stories. Decide how you want your life to be, and tell that story. Even before it’s a fact.

Spiritual Foundations

All things are possible for one who believes.
Mark 9:23

Most modern Christians have been taught this verse means if we have more faith, that all things are possible. In other words, if we can believe, God will intervene on our behalf. He will bring our miracle. If we can’t believe, then were out of luck and God is not going to help us.

I don’t think that’s what this verse means at all. Let’s look at it in context, and let’s also look at how the original language (Greek) is structured.

First, what’s the context of this verse? A boy is brought to Jesus who is possessed by a demon. The boys father says to Jesus, “if you can do anything, have compassion on us.” Jesus points out that the family, and even his own disciples, have very little or no faith. He calls them “faithless”. Then he goes on to say, ” If you can! all things are possible for one who believes.” So just from the context of the story, it seems that Jesus is talking about himself when he says all things are possible for the one who believes. He’s the only one present who has any faith.

Pastor Joseph Prince points out that if you study the Greek structure of the verse, it’s actually saying, “Can you believe that all things are possible to him [Jesus] who is always believing?”

it’s not about how much faith you have. It’s not about what you believe, it’s about who you believe. Believe Jesus, whose faith is always constant. If you can believe that all things are possible for Jesus… That he makes all things possible for you.

Have faith in the one whose faith is perfect on your behalf.

Feature Segment: How to  Turn Your Business Around

Business success, in any economy, consists of about 20% technical skills, and 80% psychology. What you believe about your business, your ability to generate profit, and what is possible determines whether or not you will be successful. You can’t ignore reality, but you can intentionally influence it.

Four Required Steps to Turning Your Business Around

1. Decide it’s possible
2. See the situation as it is
3. See the situation better than it is
4. Do what is required to make it the way you see it

Nine Business Saving Tactics

1. Contact previous customers
2. Improve the physical environment
3. Improve the sales conversation
4. Generate referrals
5. Generate fresh leads
6. Follow-up relentlessly
7. Measure everything
8. Control expenses
9. Increase marketing

Want To Be On Next Week’s Show?

My topic for next week’s show is “How to Have a Spiritual Business”. If you have a question on that topic, you can ask by visiting my voicemail page (just click here to leave a message). This is a great way to promote your own website. First, make sure you have a great question, and then start off by saying your name and your website. If your question is used on the show, will even include a link back to your site in the show notes.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please contact me.

Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679 or click here to leave a message on my Voicemail Page

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

This is eminently possible, and I’ve got the “get smarter recipe” coming up in today’s episode.

Please subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast.

On this week’s podcast episode:

•  A new process for better copy.
•  When you feel separated from God… what to do.
• Plus, our feature presentation…  How to be smarter!

Read Copy Logic for a new and better system of improving sales copy. This simple book lays out a system for improving the results you get from your sales copy. And copywriters will love it.

When this book was first recommended to me, I was skeptical. It sounded like a book about how to critique copy. I have written lots of copy for clients, and endured many “critique” sessions. Usually, those critique sessions result in weaker copy. They are often a vehicle to stroke the client’s ego. Rarely do they result in better sales copy.

This book is different. It lays out a step-by-step, easy-to-follow system for improving your sales copy that is both humane and effective. And nobody gets their ego wounded or inflated. Every piece of copy I turn out from now on will go through the Copy Logic system. It just makes sense. And you can’t argue with the million-dollar results it has produced.

Spiritual Foundations

I was talking with a friend of mine, we began to speak of God. My friend said, “I don’t think I’m on such good terms with God right now. I’m not sure he would answer any of my prayers.” This made me very sad, because it is the result of poor understanding of the Bible. Too many of us have this picture of a “fire and brimstone” kind of God. In reality God is all loving, and he himself has declared that he will not hold our sins against us.

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.
Hebrews 8:12

Thoughts that make us feel condemned or cut off from God don’t come from heaven. Those kinds of thoughts come from the devil himself. You may call him the adversary, or the enemy, or even “the resistance”. Whatever you name him, he’s real, and he would like nothing better than to cut you off from your father in heaven.

Once you have accepted the gift that Jesus offers-full payment for all your sin-the deal is done. There’s no more need to confess, or to keep a running list of your sins. Why would you keep a list that God has promised to forget? Be conscious of the fact that he himself has made you perfect, and watch his blessing flow into your life.

Feature Segment: How to Be Smarter

The first proposal I make is that you are neither “smart” nor “stupid”-but you can easily enter into either state. The real question becomes, how do you optimize yourself to be in “smart” state more often, and to be in “high smart” most of the time?

“Inner Game versus Outer Game Of Intelligence”

Nine Ways to Be Smarter Tomorrow

1. Sleep Better
2. Drink More Water
3. Eat Only Plants
4. Breathe More
5. Move More
6. Ask Better Questions
7. Increase Inputs
8. Write Down Your Ideas
9. Become a Noticer

Want To Be On Next Week’s Show?

My topic for next week’s show is “How to Turn Your Business Around”. If you have a question on that topic, you can ask by visiting my voicemail page (just click here to leave a message). This is a great way to promote your own website. First, make sure you have a great question, and then start off by saying your name and your website. If your question is used on the show, will even include a link back to your site in the show notes.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please contact me.

Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679 or click here to leave a message on my Voicemail Page

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

Here are some other reasons to keep listening to this week’s podcast episode:

•  What are your success rituals?
•  My update on “The One Thing”.
• Plus, our feature presentation…  How to Attract Business

Tip Of The Week

From The ONE Thing by Gary Keller, Jay Papasan…

“What’s the ONE Thing you can do this week such that by doing it everything else would be easier or unnecessary?”

So how is this working out for me? Listen to the podcast audio to find out.

Spiritual Foundations

Recently, I was reading a book called Business for the Glory of God. I began to wonder, just what is the “glory of God”? Guess what? There is an answer, and it is important for us to know it.

Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
Exodus 33:18-19

God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Romans 5:5

Do you not know that youare God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
1 Co 3:16

The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
John 17:22-23

Feature Segment: How to Attract Business

1. Value
2. Positioning & Authority
3. Hub & Spoke
4. Traffic, Lead, Conversion Systems
5. Path

I am conducting a webinar training that details how to do all this two days from now. Click here for details.

Want To Be On Next Week’s Show?

My topic for next week’s show is “How to Be Smarter”. If you have a question on that topic, you can ask by visiting my voicemail page (just click here to leave a message). This is a great way to promote your own website. First, make sure you have a great question, and then start off by saying your name and your website. If your question is used on the show, will even include a link back to your site in the show notes.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please contact me.

Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679 or click here to leave a message on my Voicemail Page

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

If you aren’t already using video to deliver your sales presentations, I encourage you to experiment with this method. It has dramatically increased profits for several of my clients.

Technology makes it relatively easy and inexpensive to produce sales videos.

Even though it’s nowhere near as costly as it once was to produce good video, it’s still a significant investment. You want to make sure, as far as possible, that you have the best video sales presentation possible. Avoiding “do-overs” on these productions can save you a bundle.

In the interest of getting it right the first time… and based on the home runs I’ve helped create for clients… here are 7 keys to creating more powerful, persuasive marketing videos:

1. Promise a transformation. People aren’t buying your box of stuff (DVD’s, manuals, pills, potions, or lotions).. they’re buying the transformation they believe your stuff will bring them.
2. Copywriting still rules the day. Now more than ever, the power of persuasive language is the key to successful selling. Copywriting is more important than ever.
3. Tell the truth. You will prosper more, and sleep better, if you operate in a culture of honor and honesty. Plus, it just so happens that the most effective advertising is based on the truth.
4. Use lots of testimonials and credibility-builders. Most of the successful infomercials consist of around 70% testimonials. The reason is simple: the more testimonials you show, the more you sell. Just make true they’re true.
5. Use the power of music. Filmmakers know the power of music to move our emotions. Just try watching the Lord of the Rings without the sound, and you’ll begin to understand how important music is to your experience of the story. Music can do the same for your sales videos that it does for movies and TV shows.
6. Choose the right voice. The “voice” you choose for your video is important. In the case I’m not referring to the audio qualities of the narrator – but rather who the story is being told by. Is it the inventor of the product? The CEO of the company? A customer who loved the product so much that she bought the company? Who you choose to tell the story can make all the difference.
7. Make an irresistible offer. If you pile on the value so that the offer is impossible to refuse… so that we would have to feel stupid for not buying… and then top it off with a free bonus or free shipping… your offer will become truly irresistible. An irresistible offer can cover a multitude of other mistakes.

It helps to realize that a video sales presentation is more than just a normal sales letter with visuals. The most successful video sales presentations are those that use the emotion-amplifying power of cinema to multiply sales.

And now… lights, camera, profits!

One of the greatest tragedies for leaders in the church is that we have misinterpreted our role.

The role of a leader in Christianity is not to tell people what is right or wrong in different situations but rather to remind people of who they are and who God is in their different situations.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times, Christianity is not a morality club! It’s not a religion you join that is supposed to dictate right and wrong for you. The truth of the matter is that Christianity is a state of being, a union with God that comes from nothing we do but rather entirely from what He did for us – namely coming and dying for, and as, mankind and raising us up as a new creation.

It is our beliefs that are the important aspect of Christianity, we are not exhorted to have good works but rather faith in the one who can produce good works through us. How do we bear these works? We believe in who we are in Christ and who God is. These beliefs are what will dictate how we see our circumstances, our relationships, God and ultimately determine how we conduct ourselves day-to-day.

Since the Christian life is an outworking of our beliefs – a transformation that occurs by the renewal of the mind – we as leaders must view people’s “problems” with this as a foundational understanding.

You see most of the “problems” we deal with are not really the problem at all. The broken relationships, the bad circumstances, the trouble at work, the habitual sins, anything that physically manifests is not the actual problem, rather these things are the fruit of the problem. To effectively heal people you don’t treat the symptoms, you must first diagnose the problem.

This is the job of a spiritual leader, to help people transform their lives and the way they see their lives by renewing their minds. Your job is to help people have a healthy view of who they are in Christ and who God is. Everything will change for them as they start to see their righteousness in Christ, the goodness of God and the ability (and desire) of God to turn all things in their lives to good.

The great news about all this is that we are not training people to come to us for answers, we don’t have to be a mediator between God and them on how to live their daily lives! Rather we are there to equip people to think for themselves, to know the heart of God, to be confident in who they are in Christ and to connect with God so that they are able to walk out their faith with Him rather than through their leaders!

Prayer for the day

Thank you Father that we are not called to try to micro-manage all the people in our lives. Thank you that you are not interested in having us as a middle-man for the relationships you’ve established in the people we lead. Help me to walk out my calling, help me not to fall into the easy trap of treating the symptoms rather than focusing on the real issue. Give me discernment to see the lies that others have embraced and help me, by your Holy Spirit, to lead them into the knowledge of the truth that will set them free. Thank you that walking in freedom is easier than we want to make it and help me to believe that your grace really needs nothing more than a willing vessel agreeing with what you have to say to bring forth righteousness and life.

Question: How does this idea of not sharing advice, but rather sharing the good news, affect your daily Christian life? Is there anything you might do differently than in the past?
 

You Have A Clean Slate This is a guest post, written by my wife Lynn Edwards. Even after 28 years of marriage, I am still amazed at the depth of her wisdom and insight. This post by Lynn is quite profound, and I am delighted she agreed to let me share it with you. [Click Here To Read This Post Now]

Simplicity Sells This is an entertaining and informative video from TED, featuring New York Times columnist David Pogue. How do you deal with the increasing complexity of our daily lives? Why does simplicity appeal to us? Funny and thought-provoking. [Click Here To Watch This Video Now]

Five Ways to Mess up Your Email Marketing Despite the mythology that says email marketing is dead, it’s still the number one way stuff gets sold on the Internet. [Click Here To Read This Post Now]

How to Consult With God [Podcast] What if you could consult with God himself about your business? What if you could ask him questions, and get divinely inspired answers? What if you could ask God to introduce you to key people, or even to send you business? In this podcast I show you exactly how you can do the same. [Click Here To Read This Post Now]

3 Essentials to Getting Your Email Opened Before your email can be read, it must be open. The key to getting your email opened is the subject line. [Click Here To Read This Post Now]

How to Spend Your Next $1,997 It’s a curious thing that while online entrepreneurs will think nothing of spending $1,997 for the latest information product, most are absolutely unwilling to invest that kind of money in advertising. [Click Here To Read This Post Now]

I have a challenge to issue, and I hope you will take me up on it.

Allocate the next $1,997 you have available to be spent not on someone’s training course, not even mine, but rather on actual marketing and advertising for your business.

The Ultra-Simple Ad Plan

Now, I want you to be careful with this money. I want you to spend it somewhere that has the potential to return your investment.

So let’s stick with proven, reputable advertising media.

You might choose to invest that money with Google, Bing, Facebook, or even direct mail. The main point is that you use a medium where you can measure the results accurately.

Before you begin your advertising campaign, think about what you aim to accomplish. Are you looking to gather leads, or make direct sales? The one objective that is off-limits is the idea of “branding” or just “getting your name out there”. Those are fruitless endeavors that don’t put money in your cash register.

Once you know your objective, determine how you will know whether or not you have reached it. Then measure your results.

My prediction is, investing in actual advertising and marketing for your business will be a new experience for most. It will also usually bring more positive ROI than buying the latest home-study course.

Now, do not hear from this that I am critical of buying home-study systems. I am not. I have been, and continue to be an ardent purchaser of (and consumer of) information products. Most of my significant business progress has been attributable, in some measure, to such products.

What I am against is people who engage in buying course after course, yet never take any significant action to move their business forward.

So, get out there, unleash that advertising budget, and let us hear about your results!

Think of the subject line of your e-mail as being the equivalent of a headline in a sales letter. It’s that important. In fact, if you don’t write a good subject line, I can almost guarantee your e-mail will not be opened, not be read, and, in fact, end up in the trash.

So what makes up a good e-mail subject line? There are three essential components every subject line must contain. They are:

1. Connect. The subject line must connect with the interest of the reader. Fail this test and they’ll hit the delete button.
2. Attention. The subject line must rivet the attention of the prospect so that they are curious about what’s contained in the rest of the e-mail.
3. Propel. The subject line must be active and propel the reader to read the rest of your e-mail, leading to your call to action.

Without these three elements, your subject line will not draw your reader into your e-mail, and your e-mail won’t be read.

Another way to think of this is to remember what your reader is always thinking: “what’s in this for me?”

If you don’t have a good answer to that question, you and your email are toast.

Frank Viola has just released a new book called God’s Favorite Place on Earth that could literally change your relationship with God.

You may not have heard of Frank. I have only begun to be acquainted with him myself over the last few weeks. The more of his writing I read, the more impressed I am with him and his work

I recently helped Frank out with some copy for his book launch, and I’m really excited about his new book. That’s why I wrote today’s post-I recommend you get a copy of this book. The free gifts don’t hurt either, right?

This is a book that will jar you out of your “Christian rut” and give you new eyes for looking at EVERYTHING. It’s a quick, inspiring, and entertaining read.

In addition, if you get the book between now and May 7th, you will also get 25 FREE GIFTS from 15 different authors including Jeff Goins, Leonard Sweet, Andrew Farley, Steve McVey, DeVern Fromke, Pete Briscoe, Frank Viola himself, and many others.

Over 47 Christian leaders have recommended the book including John Ortberg, Greg Boyd, David Fitch, Leonard Sweet, Jack Hayford, Mary DeMuth, Mark Batterson, Jon Acuff, Anne Miller, Craig Keener, Pete Wilson, Todd Hunter, Jenni Catron, and many others.

What The Book Is About

The premise of the book is simple and 100% Biblical: when Jesus was on the earth, He was rejected everywhere He went . . . from Bethlehem, to Nazareth, to Jerusalem. The only exception was the little village of Bethany.

The curtain opens with Lazarus, who is now ready to die, telling the incomparable story of Jesus’ interactions with him, Martha, and Mary. God’s Favorite Place on Earth blends drama, devotion, biblical narrative, and first-century history to create a riveting book that you’ll find difficult to put down. Within each narrative, the common struggles Christians face are addressed and answered.

Go to GodsFavoritePlace.com to claim your 25 FREE GIFTS, read a Sampler of the book, and watch the gripping video trailer.

Here are some other reasons to keep listening to this week’s podcast episode:

•  An update on the “five things” productivity tactic (hint: five is too many).
•  An alternative to BaseCamp that works.
• Plus, our feature presentation… How to Consult With God

Tip Of The Week

Update on “5 Things”… it’s now “1 Thing”. From The ONE Thing by Gary Keller, Jay Papasan…

“What’s the ONE Thing you can do this week such that by doing it everything else would be easier or unnecessary?”

While I do love (and use) BaseCamp, I am trying out a new tool for managing projects that could be even simpler. Meet BizPad.

Spiritual Foundations

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
James 1:5

Sometimes we think God is only interested in “spiritual things”. That he has no interest in the material world, and neither should we.

This is not a Judeo-Christian idea. It is an idea that sprouts from Greek thinking, and specifically is at the root of a heresy known as Gnosticism. The Gnostics believed, among many things, that the material world was evil and that only the spiritual world could be pure and unsullied. This led them to believing that Jesus was a ghost, and not an actual man.

The truth is from the beginning God wanted to partner with human beings to comp is his purposes. This is why Adam and Eve were put in charge of the garden. They were given assignment, and this was before the fall. So work, and the material world, are not evil, and are not results of the fall.

What’s my point?

When God created the world, he looked at his creation and said it was good. We should relax and enjoy the fact that we can have fun while working, that we are interested in what we do, and celebrate the fact that God made us the way he did. I think he enjoys what we enjoy. And thus, I think he’s interested in every aspect of our lives. That he longs to give input, supply answers, and help us out. Just as we long to do the same for our own children.

 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
John 16:13

Feature Segment: How to Consult With God

If you separate God from any part of your life, you are not having the full experience of God, nor of that part of your life. Business is no exception.

These days, if I am asked if I personally have a consultant for my business, my answer is yes. I have the very best consultant available. God.

Now, most people probably assume that I mean I run my business according to godly principles. Principles that I find in Scripture, or that I am taught by pastors and teachers. While this is true (to the best of my ability, and as God enables me), this is not really what I mean.

Or rather, it is not all that I mean.

I mean that I consult with my father in heaven every day about my business. I’m in constant dialogue with him about what things to work on, what to write, even how to solve specific challenges and problems I encounter along the way.

So how do you do it? How do you ask God for answers? How do you ask him for help? Here are five steps I have found useful

1. Know that God is interested, willing, and able. From Scripture we know that he has even counted the number of hairs on your head. We know that one man came to Jesus with the problem and said Jesus could heal him “if he was willing”… And another man came to Jesus and asked for help, “if you are able”… And the answer Jesus gave to both was yes. He was willing, he was able. He healed everyone who came to him.
2. Realize that you are qualified for God’s help. Jesus stepped into the gap between us and God. He solved the “sin problem” once and for all. So just place your faith in him, and know that you don’t have to “clean up your act” or “make amends” before he will be willing to help you.
3. Be intentional about what you are asking. If you are asking for an answer, be specific in your question. If you are asking for help, be specific in your request. I suggest writing down what you are asking for.
4. Offer thanks immediately. In Philippians we are told to make our requests known to God, with “prayer and thanksgiving”. Notice how many times Jesus thanked his father… before the miracle happened. There is a unique opportunity to thank God after your request has been made and before you’ve seen the answer with your eyes.
5. Expect and look for the answer. Whether you have asked God for an idea, a connection with a person, or just a miraculous infusion of money, so you can meet payroll… be looking for the answer. Have hope.

What if God doesn’t answer?

Or what if he says no?

First, I think the number of times God says “no” is much lower than we believe it is. For instance, when we pray for physical healing, it is clear from reading Scripture that it is always God’s will for us to be healed. He paid a high price so that this could be the case. So if the healing doesn’t come, there is some answer other than the one that puts God in the position of being a liar.

I believe that when we pray, something always happens. Always.

Maybe we don’t see it, maybe we don’t see it yet, or maybe it comes in a form that we don’t recognize.

It’s helpful to remember that God’s delays are not necessarily his denials.

A useful question that has helped me navigate these waters is one I learned from Graham Cook. When faced with a difficult situation, and no apparent answer from God, I ask him, “Who does God want to be for me in this situation?”

I have received some of the deepest answers to my own prayers by asking God that question.

You can ask for God’s help, for answers, and even for direct assistance. And he will answer you. Try it.

Listener Questions

We heard from these listeners this week:

• Sonya Ramsey asks  how to avoid making your business into an idol.
• Anette Bone wants to know how we can be sure we are in God’s will.
• Summer Alexander asks if the changes she made to her business were really God-inspired.
• Mary Rose Macguire wonders if she’s really hearing God’s voice, or her own.
• Pam McCall has a great testimony of God’s provision for one of her clients.
• Laura Viviana when you ask God for something, but it hasn’t come yet, how do you deal with it?
• Rich Bradfield  asks how we keep ourselves an alignment with what God is doing.
• Tony Policci  asks how we pose a question to God and get a specific answer.
• Laura McClellan  wonders how we know when we are motivated by profit, as opposed to being motivated by the spirit.
• Ilene Saidel asks for my favorite scripture to pray for new customers.

For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
(Romans 5:17)

One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;
another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
 Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,
and one who waters will himself be watered.
 The people curse him who holds back grain,
but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it.
(Proverbs 11:24-26)

Want To Be On Next Week’s Show?

My topic for next week’s show is “How to Attract Business”. If you have a question on that topic, you can ask by visiting my voicemail page (just click here to leave a message). This is a great way to promote your own website. First, make sure you have a great question, and then start off by saying your name and your website. If your question is used on the show, will even include a link back to your site in the show notes.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please contact me.

Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679 or click here to leave a message on my Voicemail Page

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

Bottom line: if you want to succeed marketing online, you’re going to have to use email.

If it works so well, why does it seem so hard for many companies?

Here are five great ways to mess up your email marketing:

1. Make it look like an ad. That’s a surefire way to to get your email deleted right away.
2. Write using the “royal we”. After all, human beings write in the first person.
3. Make your email all about you and your product. That way it won’t be interesting at all to the reader.
4. Assume the reader was waiting to get your email. That way you can skip providing any real content or value and just get right to the selling.
5. Forget the state your reader is in when they check email. Otherwise, it will occur to you that what they were looking for was communication from a friend, something inspiring, something entertaining, or even something profane.

Of course, I hope that you pick up on the fact if you want your email marketing to succeed you should do the exact opposite of these five things.

But I felt like it might be a good idea to point that out.

Just in case.

I watched a TV show this weekend and one of the characters reminded me of you. Well, the big “universal you”. Me… and you… us. All of us.

For the record, this was not a “Christian” show.

This character was at a drastic turning point in his life. He was a despicable person; had done really bad things. But…

He was ripped apart to the point he could only go one of two ways. His facial expressions indicated he could clamp down and become numb to emotions, or he could become the person he used to be: kind, strong, and happy.

The change happened when the second character started speaking about the good person he is (not “was”) down deep inside. As she spoke life into his being, you could see his eyes darting back and forth. You could just see the brain tipping toward shutting down; then you’d see the switch back to hope.

Back and forth the scene went for almost 6 minutes. It was tense. It was his last chance. No one would ever talk like this to him again. No one would ever see the good in this man. The decision was now. Will he seek redemption? Will he shut down, retreat from the world, accepting who he (and the world) thought he was?

He reached for the lifeline. He chose life. It was the kindness, the gentleness, and the lack of addressing his crimes, the forgiveness, and the focus on love, which shifted his brain.

We often quote Matthew 6: 31-32: “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.”

Believe me, I have declared these verses out loud many times.

A year ago, I discovered the next verse: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Seeking the Kingdom of God is looking for the good in everyone; seeing earth from a Heavenly perspective; to be more like Jesus.

But to seek…”and his righteousness”? What is that?

It is to seek his grace all your life. Realize that all your sins are forgiven: past, present and future. Really get that!

Then, seek his grace daily.

Once you see his blessed forgiveness in all areas and times in your life, once you see the kindness of God, you will be transformed forever. You will fall in love with Jesus, who cared enough for YOU, not the generic you, not the universal you, but YOU, reading this right now. He cared enough for…you.

Anyone who shows you that much kindness, that much acceptance… I believe you would follow that person the rest of your life.

Soak in his gift of righteousness. Let his love wash over you.

Know you have a clean slate every day and every hour.

No more guilt or shame. No more. Ever!

Know it came from Jesus. …and all these things shall be added to you!

I think he’s one of the best writers working today, despite the fact that his subject matter can be a little rough.

One of my favorite quotes about writing comes from Leonard, who advises: “skip the boring parts.”

Just as true for marketing copy as it is for novels.

And the reason this post is only five lines long.

The classic Bob Seger song, Against the Wind, includes these lyrics:

Well those drifter’s days are past me now
I’ve got so much more to think about
Deadlines and commitments
What to leave in, what to leave out

This describes the dilemma of the modern marketer.

The real question is: what to leave in, what to leave out.

What belongs in your marketing message, and what doesn’t?

The answer is simple, but not always easy. You must leave out the parts your prospects are not interested in.

To quote great novelist Elmore Leonard: “I try to leave out the parts that people skip.”

Of course, to do that, you have to know which parts people skip.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in browser | Download

Here’s what else is up in this week’s podcast episode:

• The “five things” approach to productivity.
• The Word that heals.
• Plus, our feature presentation… 5 Crucial Steps To Marketing Live Events

Tip Of The Week

The curious case of Dr. Canoe, props to Alex and Robert, and the simplest productivity tool I know.

Spiritual Foundations

He sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction.
Psalm 107:20

As Christians, we sometimes fall into using the Bible as a talisman. We hold it like a good luck charm. We pull it out in times of trouble.

The power of the Bible-God’s word-is released only when you receive it as truth, and then speak it out loud.

When God wanted to save the world what did he do? He sent the word.

When God wanted to heal his people, the Bible says he sent his word.

There is no “your part” that you need to do to receive God’s goodness, except this: you must receive it. We help ourselves receive it when we confess it out loud.

Feature Segment: 5 Crucial Steps To Marketing Live Events

The biggest risk you take when you sponsor a live event is the most obvious one: the risk that nobody will show up.

The next biggest risk is not so obvious, but perhaps more commonplace. This is the risk that people will show up, the event will be great, and you will lose money like crazy. Here are five crucial steps you can take to ensure against both of these problems.

1. Be intentional about the model.
2. Identify your attendees carefully.
3. Remember the 5P’s.
4. Watch them chickens.
5. Market early, market often, and market using different media.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please contact me.

Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679 or click here to leave a message on my Voicemail Page

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

But what are you busy doing?

Working on your agenda, supporting your goals and objectives, or supporting those of other people?

It’s so easy to confuse activity with accomplishment.

Your inbox is a fantastic productivity tool-for other people. It’s a way for them to hand off their “to do list”… to you.

This is the reason you can work hard all day, and yet reach the closing bell and wonder, “Why do I feel as though I got nothing done?”.

This is The Inbox Deception.

How do you escape it? Simple. Follow my Three Rules of Email:

1. Check email last each day.
2. Do not check email first each day.
3. Refer back to rule number one.

Grace is in fact the gospel itself…

What do we mean by grace? The definition of the word as it is most often used in the New Testament is unmerited favor. It refers to the fact that Jesus paid the price for all of your sins: past, present, and future.

Grace means that God will “remember your sins no more”.

You don’t need to remind him through some ritualized confession process. Your work at feeling guilty, mournful, and condemned does not buy you an extra ounce of grace. You couldn’t afford an ounce. Or even a gram.

Some Christians become very concerned about what they think of as this “greasy grace” or “cheap grace”. They warn us that we must be careful, not take this too far, and that we must balance the teaching of grace with the keeping of commandments.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Keeping commandments does not earn you grace.

Grace produces all the fruits of the spirit, without using fear as a tool of manipulation.

There is no fear in love.

Fear-based fruit is filled with poison, as history proves.

“God is better than we think. So we need to change the way we think.” -Bill Johnson

So how do we respond to our brothers and sisters who are worried about what they view as a “hyper grace” doctrine? I believe much of the conflict flows from a simple misunderstanding of what the gospel of grace really means.

Phil Drysdale expresses it this way:

I don’t know why, when we speak the message of grace, the way the Apostle Paul spoke that same message, people try and steal the revelation of how beautiful the work of Christ really is. But they do.

You must learn to ignore these voices of condemnation.

Any ministry that teaches you that you have to worry about whether you are really saved, that teaches you that you are saved by your works, that teaches you you should feel guilty and condemned for your sins after you have been saved… is heaping condemnation on you. And we know that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

While they may be our brothers and sisters in Christ, when they try to teach us that we have to “be careful”, that we have to work for our salvation, that we need to “balance grace with the commandments”, they are operating under deception.

The Apostle Paul was persecuted for his message of radical Grace.

Paul had to defend himself against those who said he preached a grace that was so radical that it would encourage people to sin and be reckless.

Isn’t it interesting that so many who preach this message of “balance” (condemnation) are not persecuted for the same things that Paul was persecuted for?

Perhaps if we’re not persecuted the same way the Apostle Paul was persecuted, the reason is we are not preaching the same gospel he preached…

Be at peace, and don’t be disturbed by those who would have you work for the very things that Christ has already accomplished.

It’s been said that Christ “didn’t accomplish everything so that you could accomplish nothing”.

I agree.

Christ accomplished everything, so that we can accomplish anything.

Jesus’ promises are true. You can rest in his finished work.

If no one ever objects to what you write, what you say, or what you do… it’s possible you’re not writing, saying, or doing anything of significance.

Strong ideas challenge people.

All powerful communication offends someone.

I think of this as Fight Club for the Brain.

I don’t want to fight for the sake of striking blows, but as the Great Storyteller writes, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17)

I’m not suggesting that you be provocative merely for sport.

But I am suggesting that if no one is provoked by what you say, it’s possible that no one is paying attention.

But as I sat in the theater watching that movie, I had the nagging sense the screenwriters had left something out. So when I got home, I looked up the reference.

The movie quoted only half that particular verse. The entire passage reads like this…

“The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.” – Proverbs 28:1

I’m not really criticizing the film. For the purposes of that story, it was a quite appropriate use of Scripture.

While that’s interesting to me, what’s more interesting is how the second half of this verse applies to you and me. In our families, in our businesses, and in our lives.

The secret to being as “bold as a lion”-to being fearless, confident, and relentless in the pursuit of what we seek-is the conviction that what we are doing is what we are supposed to be doing.

A different way of saying it: when we are “on purpose”, pursuing the destiny that we were created for, we find reserves of courage and boldness we did not know we possessed.

If you find yourself feeling timid, fearful, even pursued… it doesn’t mean you’re wicked. But it might mean you need to reconnect to your purpose.

Once you are on to that game, however, it’s pretty easy to uncover. Just ask yourself, “In what ways and my hiding?”

• We hide from our families by burying ourselves and work.
• We hide from our purpose in life by keeping ourselves too busy to think about what might fulfill us.
• We hide from the adventure of our life by watching other people’s adventures on television.

My purpose is not to discourage you, nor to make you feel guilty or small in some way.

No, this is a wake-up call… permission to pursue your destiny. A call to come out of hiding, and start living the best version of your life right now. Today.

Here are three ways to stop hiding:

1. Recognize where in your life you are “hiding”. What are the areas where you routinely deceive yourself? what stories are you telling yourself on a regular basis that actually harm you? hint: look for areas of your life that need improvement, but never seem to get better. No matter how hard you try.
2. Begin to see things as they are, and then work to make them better. get honest with yourself and see your problems and puzzles as they actually are. Don’t retreat into “positive fantasy”, and don’t descend into self-indulgent negativism.
3. Communicate courageously. Start saying what you mean, and meaning what you say. Don’t be nasty about this. This is not permission to emulate Jim Carrey’s character in the movie Liar, Liar. It is permission to begin courageously and lovingly communicating the truth to other human beings, instead of hiding behind lies, manipulation, and passive aggressive behavior.

The more we learn to stop hiding, the more we can become who we were meant to be.

.

Scrivener is a powerful content-generation tool for writers that allows you to concentrate on composing and structuring long and difficult documents. While it gives you complete control of the formatting, its focus is on helping you get to the end of that awkward first draft.

Spiritual Foundations

But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God… For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
Hebrews 10:12,14

It’s about time we stopped confessing our sins. Why are we so caught up in the idea that we need to remind God of something he has said he has forgotten?

You don’t need to become more conscious of your sin. You already know when you sin.

What we need to become conscious of is our righteousness.

Being conscious of how imperfect we are is not humility. It’s a failure to understand what Christ has extra done for us.

In fact, the Bible tells us that being conscious of our sins means we haven’t “evil conscience” (Hebrews 10:22).

God sees us without spot, without imperfection, and he sees us wearing his own robes of righteousness. We are righteous, not because of anything we have done, but because of what he has done.

Lifestyle Business Segment

Stu McLaren,  superstar entrepreneur from WishList Products And RhinoSupport, brings us our Lifestyle Business Segment. This week, Stu tackles the subject of sprinters vs. marathoners.

Feature Segment: 5 Ways To Simplify Your Business

From last week’s podcast, here are 3 good reasons to simplifying your business.

1. Simplifying helps you to focus more on the most profitable elements of your business.
2. Simplifying helps you get paid more for what you sell.
3. Simplifying helps your customers feel as if they are clear on what you do.

The question this raised was, how do we do that? Here are five ways to simplify your business.

1. Eliminate 80% of what you are doing.
2. Renegotiate your agreements.
3. Increase output, decrease input.
4. Build intentional constraints into your schedule.
5. Ruthlessly practice “The Art of No”.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please contact me.

Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679 or click here to leave a message on my Voicemail Page

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

He’s a genius. Yet it seems nobody wants to hear what he has to say…

He consumes and learns vast quantities of books, training videos, and seminars. He truly knows more about his chosen area of expertise than most of the official “experts” themselves.

Nicholas generously shares his knowledge with everyone he knows. He is constantly giving advice, feedback, and suggestions to his friends and coworkers.

In fact, it’s just about impossible to get a word in edge-wise with Nicholas.

To be clear, he’s not mean-spirited. He’s funny, reasonably attractive, well-groomed, and there’s nothing seemingly “off” about him.

Even though I like him, I find him hard to be around. Because I know every time we get together I’m going to get a lecture. He’s going to point out some area where I’m “wrong”, all under the guise of helping me “get it right”.

Nicholas wonders why he has very few friends, and why so many of his relationships end in conflict and bad feelings. Seriously, he doesn’t see what’s obvious: he repels people.

What’s the application?

If you’re struggling to build a following online (or off-line, for that matter)… and if you can’t figure out why that following isn’t growing… this just might be the answer.

Constant lecturing, exhortation, and “correcting” people leaves them tired and discouraged. It also leaves them less than enthusiastic about being around you.

If you long to be a leader, but no one is following, it may be time to stop talking and start listening.

The antidote to repelling people is simple. Instead of looking for what is wrong with them, and seeking to correct that, try looking for what is right.

Encourage them. Stir up their hope, their faith in the future.

People are naturally drawn to someone who gives them hope. The more hope you create, the more influence you will have.

.

It’s the doing it part that gets people hung up. Most of the time, it’s easier to talk about the project you’re “working on” than it is to actually do the work.

My friend Jeff asked me recently why I went through the hassle of hosting a seminar of my own. I’ve been thinking about that question.

I have lots of great-sounding reasons, but the truth is… it just seemed like a good idea, and I wanted to do it.

In the movie Apocalypse Now, the film’s narrator explains the extraordinary success of the iconic Colonel Kurtz this way: “He received no official clearance. He just thought it up and did it.”

If you feel that you do need permission, here it is (along with instructions): whatever it is that’s burning inside of you, go ahead, think it up and do it.

.

I can think of 5 good reasons. And in this episode we’ll examine them.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in browser | Download

Here’s what else is up in this week’s podcast episode:

• In favor of simplification of your business.
• How can God help me in my business?
• Stu McLaren is back and has some thoughts on progress.
• Plus, our feature presentation… 5 Great Reasons To Host a Seminar

Tip Of The Week

There are 3 good reasons to simplifying your business.

1. Simplifying helps you to focus more on the most profitable elements of your business.
2. Simplifying helps you get paid more for what you sell.
3. Simplifying helps your customers feel as if they are clear on what you do.

Spiritual Foundations

What’s the most concrete way God can help you in your business?

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
John 16:13

How does God answer or speak to us? Some ways…

• His written Word.
• Strong impressions.
• Other people.
• Coincidence and circumstances.
• The audible Voice.
• Dreams and visions.

The quickest way to get an answer from God is to (1) ask and then (2) listen. Try it!

Lifestyle Business Segment

Stu McLaren,  superstar entrepreneur from WishList Products And RhinoSupport, brings us our Lifestyle Business Segment. This week, Stu tackles the subject of progress.

Feature Segment: 5 Great Reasons To Host a Seminar

I have hosted quite a few of my own events over the years. This past week, I just completed my most ambitious seminar to date. It included a crew for running the administrative side of the seminar, and audiovisual team that handled all of the video, music, microphones, lighting, etc. Several guest speakers. Getting people to show up for the seminar. And a host of other details. It was mega stressful. I also felt compelled to do it, and I’m not sorry for a minute.

After having been through this taxing experience more than once, one might ask me the question, “why on earth would you put yourself through this, Ray?”

I can think of at least five good reasons why it’s great to do your own seminars.

1. It’s a great way to create a product.
2. It’s a great way to offer higher end programs for sale.
3. It’s a great way to crystallize your thinking.
4. It’s a great way to network and bond.
5. It’s a great way to expand your thinking.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please contact me.

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

And within this distinct group, there are some common practices that will lead you to disaster… in this episode, I’ll show you how to avoid that problem.

1. This weekend is the 3-Day Live Intensive,  April 5-7 in Phoenix. Get your ticket right now – click here.
2. Would you like to have me speak at your event or church? I am accepting a limited number of engagements for 2013.  Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability.

Tip Of The Week

If you’ve ever wanted to keep it journal, but just never been able to stick with it, you might want to try DayOne.

Spiritual Foundations

Is there ever a time to stop “crying out to God” and start taking some action? Consider this story from Exodus:

The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.” Exodus 14:15-16

God gave Moses authority. That’s what the staff in his hand represented. So when Moses had the people crying out to God, the Lord asked Moses why. And then God told him to have the people go forward, and exercise his authority.

As partakers in the new covenant, we also have authority. It comes to us in the name of Jesus Christ.

If you feel that you’re caught between “the devil and the deep blue sea”, perhaps it’s time to stop crying out to God, and start exercising your authority as a royal priest, and in the name of Jesus Christ.

Lifestyle Business Segment

Stu McLaren,  superstar entrepreneur from WishList Products And RhinoSupport, brings us our Lifestyle Business Segment. This week, Stu tackles the subject of living well.

Feature Segment: 5 Traps “Internet Marketers” Get Caught In

When I use the term “Internet Marketers” in this particular episode, I’m referring to that curious group of folks who can be described like this: marketers who sell marketing stuff to marketers, who then sell marketing stuff to marketers, who sell… you get the idea.

Now I am not saying that Internet Marketers are bad people, or that there is anything wrong with this particular niche. In fact, I believe quite the contrary.

I do believe there are some common pitfalls that many people in this niche encounter. And today, I’m going to outline five traps Internet Marketers get caught in. I think you can en joy great success either as an Internet Marketer yourself, or by learning from Internet Marketing experts… if you avoid these five traps.

• The Internet Marketing MLM Trap. Please don’t flame me, I’m not criticizing multilevel marketing companies that sell on the Internet. But within that industry (the MLM industry) there are many scams. Most of them are some version of “selling the dream to people who then sell the dream to other people”… And nobody is selling any actual product. The same happens in Internet marketing.
• The Copycat Trap. This is the bane of “how to” content creation. If all you are teaching is “how to” it quickly becomes indistinguishable from “me too”. The antidote is moving beyond mere knowledge, and producing Wisdom.
• The Hamster Wheel Trap. Instead of creating foundational products, and building a marketing system, entrepreneurs stuck in this trap are having to produce the “product of the week”. Always a new pitch. Always a new topic. Very tiring.
• The Hyperbolic Intensifier Trap. We get the word “height” from the word “hyperbole”. When you are creating commodity products and information, the only way to fight the competition war is by exaggerating the benefits of your own product. You have to intensify your hyperbole until eventually, you’re just telling lies.
• The Spirit of Mammon Trap. Call it greed. Call it avarice. Jesus called it Mammon. This comes from a Greek word that seems to imply the personification of a spiritual force behind the worship of money.

“Do not love the money and use people. Instead, use money to love people.”-Joseph Prince

These traps can sneak up on you. Keep your eyes open, stay well away from these, and enjoy more success and fulfillment. Not to mention sounder sleep.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please contact me.

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

For instance, one of my best friends generates a healthy $150,000 per month from his home-based business, and at its core, that business is fueled by my friend’s copywriting skill.

If you truly want to start your own business, or create a second income stream, one of the first things I would recommend you learn is the basic skill of powerful copywriting.

Now, this is not some “get rich quick” scheme…

This is a serious business skill than can provide you with a comfortable six-figure annual income for the rest of your life.

You can run your business from anywhere. You can dream up promotions and campaigns, write the copy, and put the plan into profit… all in the same day.

And yes, you could “retire” from your present job, and use your copywriting skills to build your own marketing empire - working wherever and whenever you want.

I have run my business from all over the USA, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and the UK:

• Working form home in the Northwest US (sometimes at my house, sometimes from my office 5 minutes away, and sometimes from Starbucks!)…
• On the road in my motorhome (summer-before-last we put 8,000 miles on the coach, the last winter we spent in California)…
• Traveling to Chicago, San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle, Toronto and New York…
• On vacation with family in Michigan, the Carolinas, Utah, and Montana…
• And from England and Scotland…

My results are not typical - you’ll have your own results. Want to join me in the “not typical” club? Want to know how I managed to get these unusual results?

It comes down to one skill: copywriting. Now, ask yourself… if you learned how to master the art of “persuasion in print”, how could that change your life?

• Will you finally get your online business started?
• Will you write copy freelance, and live a life free from offices, meetings, and memos?
• Will you take your existing online business and multiply your profits using the power of copy?

Or will you keep struggling along like most “Internet Marketers”? That road leads nowhere. You don’t need to learn the new “shiny object of the week” system. You don’t need the latest greatest website.  You just need a skill that is valued, and that has the power to give you leverage. The skill I recommend starting with is the ability to write persuasive copy.

If you have decided that I am right about this, give life to that decision and do something about it. Pick up a book, take a copywriting course, or just sit down and write a piece of copy. Today. Maybe even right now.

A good place to start would be with my book on copywriting. An even better place to start would be with the live webinar training about copywriting I’m doing next Tuesday.

Question: How can you profitably apply the power of persuasive copy in your business?

In this week’s episode, I will help you implement a three-step process to get out of overwhelm and into action.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in browser | Download

Here’s what else is up in this week’s podcast episode:

• The secret to recording your iPad or iPhone screen.
•  Is God willing to help you with your problem?
• Finally, the return of Stu McLaren and the Lifestyle Business segment.
• Plus, our feature presentation… A Three-Step Process to Get Out Of Overwhelm.

Special Announcements

1. Time is almost up on the 3-Day Live Intensive,  April 5-7 in Phoenix. Get your ticket right now – click here.
2. Special paid webinar next Tuesday, called “2 Hour Copy”. Learn more here.
3. Would you like to have me speak at your event or church? I am accepting a limited number of engagements for 2013.  Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability.

Tip Of The Week

ReflectorApp lets you “AirPlay mirror your iPhone 4S, iPad 2 or the new iPad to any Mac or PC, wirelessly.” In other words, you can record your iPhone or iPad screen! It’s just $12.99

Spiritual Foundations

You probably believe God can do anything… but do you believe He will? Or that He is willing? How about this story…

And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Matthew 8:2–3

Jesus showed that He was not only willing, but did the most amazing thing – he touched the leper. This points out the Lord’s compassion, of course, and also the difference between the Old and New Covenants. In the Old Covenant, if you touched the leper, you became unclean. In the New Covenant, Jesus touches the leper and the leper becomes clean.

Jesus was wiling – but is He willing in your case?

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Hebrews 13:8

Whatever your need, Jesus is willing. Be certain of that. And don’t feel you are disqualified because of things you worry make you unclean. When Jesus touches you, you are made clean!

Lifestyle Business Segment

It’s the return of Stu McLaren! This week Stu answers the question: what is the value of connecting, really?

Feature Segment: A Three-Step Process to Get Out Of Overwhelm

It happens to all of us. We get into a situation where it feels as though we’re faced with multiple deadlines, crisis situations, and a calendar that is jam-packed… And it just feels impossible to meet all the demands. How do you get out of a situation like that?

Of course, I am speaking from personal experience. As I am writing this, I am facing one of the busiest seasons of my life. I have a conference that I am hosting coming up in less than two weeks, I have a couple of crucial client projects I’m working on, a client and friend I am partnering with on a very important project, three books in development, this blog, the weekly podcast, and multiple commitments in my church and ministry.

Many of these activities have deadlines that have, through one series of events or another, coalesced to come due at the same time.

Let me start by saying that I’m not complaining. The time pressure that I’m experiencing is almost exclusively brought on by fantastic opportunities that I am extremely grateful for. Nevertheless, I feel the stress of thinking that I’m going to let someone down.

So what do I do in a situation like this? And more importantly, and the reason you are most likely reading this post, what do you do in a situation like this?

I actually have a strategy that works. I’ve already applied it to my situation, and I can tell you that if you will follow the steps I’m about to outline for you, you’ll discover that you can relieve the pressure, meet your obligations, and be at peace.

1. Get Clear about Your Commitments. This step alone will bring you some psychological relief. I tell you this because many of us are reluctant to go through the step of defining our commitments, afraid of what will find. Trust me when I tell you that knowing what you’re committed to is much less stressful than having a vague, nagging suspicion that some things are falling through the cracks.I recommend getting a clean legal pad, a pen you enjoy writing with, and some sort of timer (I just use the timer on my iPhone).

   Pile up every piece of paper, note card, scratch pad, mail item, everything in your inbox… All of the “stuff” that carries any sort of potential commitment. Just put it in a pile. Make sure you have access to your email inbox.

   You also need to have your calendar, whether that is a Franklin planner, your iPhone, or whatever calendaring system you use.Now, starting with the physical stuff, pick up the first item on top of the pile and decide what to do with it, either do it (if it takes two minutes or less), defer it (schedule it for later, writing into your calendar), delegate it (and it off to someone else and make a note in your calendar about when to check back in with them on this particular issue), or delete it (throw it away). When you’re finished going through your physical stuff, there should be no that left.Anything you need to keep for reference should be filed quickly and without lingering over. This is the reason for the timer-you’ve got to make this step quick. Do not get distracted on the rabbit trails. Don’t give yourself more than an hour total for this entire exercise.

   Next, move to your email inbox and go through the same process. As you go through this entire exercise, things will spring to mind that you need to do. Note them on your legal pad. The goal of going through this is that you clear all the physical “stuff” off your desk, you clear your inbox to zero, and you track all your commitments either on your calendar or your legal pad. Now you have a good idea of what you are actually committed to. Breathe a sigh of relief.

2. Assign a Priority To Everything You Are Committed to. This is where David Allen and I part company. He is not a fan of the ABC prioritization system. But I have found that in situations where deadlines are crowded and crucial, prioritization is necessary. Only assign an “A” priority to items that are both urgent and important-things that must be done, and they must be done by a date that is getting close.

   Items that are important but not urgent (in other words, the date is not closing in on you like a freight train) get a “B” priority. I will warn you that this category is the one that will sneak up on you. By which I mean you’ll be tempted to load everything else on your list into the “B” category. I advise you in the strongest possible terms not to do that. Only put items in this category that are truly important.

   This is going to leave you with some “C” items… And these are the things that are neither urgent nor important. Consider just scratching them off your list altogether. If they are not urgent, and they are not important, why on earth are you committed to them? If you find items on this list that you just can’t let go of, put them on a “maybe” list. That way you will know you haven’t lost them, that you can always refer back to them, and you can admit that you may never do them.

3. Mark Your Impending Deadlines on the Calendar. Identify which project or task comes up first on your physical calendar, and start working on that item first. Don’t work on anything else-and I do mean anything else-until this item is complete or until you hit a stopping point.

   I define a stopping point as any point at which you can no longer make progress until something happens that you are not in control of. Maybe you are waiting for data from a colleague, perhaps there is a phone call that is scheduled and you can’t proceed until after that call, etc. Once you have either finished this first task or project, or you can no longer make forward progress on it, move to the next item that shows up as a deadline on your calendar. Avoid the temptation to even look at your “B” list.

Two Key Pieces of Advice

1. Fight the Resistance As If Your Life Depended on It. “The resistance” is the force that tries to distract you, too stop you from getting work done, or otherwise stand in the way of your accomplishing your goals.Steven Pressfield wrote about this in his wonderful book, The War of Art. My friend Michael Hyatt has written extensively about “the resistance”p on his blog.

   The Resistance is what convinces you that even though you have an important project you need to work on, now would be a good time to go get your hair cut. Or go to the post office. Or clean your desk. Or workout. Or do anything except the one thing you know you absolutely should be doing.

   If you want to get out of the feeling of stress and overwhelm you must not only fight the resistance, you must wrestle it to the ground and choke the life out of it. I know that sounds graphic, I know it sounds dramatic, but this is the real test. Can you defeat the resistance. Can you avoid distraction and procrastination. Can you exercise integrity in the moment and remain committed to the goals and tasks to which you have stated your committed. Resistance is the devil… and if you resist the devil, he will flee.

2. Keep Cranking until You’re Ahead of the Curve.  This phase is really the test of whether or not you will get out of overwhelm. If you are willing to run the marathon, and keep at it until all of your “A” items are taking care of, and you begin to make process on the “B” items, you can quite quickly pull yourself out of overwhelm.

   A quick note here about the word “no”. During seasons where you feel overwhelmed, the skillful use of the word “no” is more important than at any other time in your life. You must, as Harvey Mackay is famous for saying, learn to smile and say “no” until your lips bleed. This can be especially difficult when the things you are saying “no” to are actually good things.

   As God has continued to bless me in my business, I have found that having his favor on my life has opened a multitude of doors for me. And it is at these times that I must remember that just because the doors are open is not mean I’m supposed to pass through them. In fact, I cannot pass through all of them.I am a firm believer in boundaries, especially around your time. I have times when I’m completely off the clock and do not do any work. Both times are part of my commitment to myself, my God, and my family. I also recognize that there are seasons in my life (and please note that I said “seasons”-not “epochs”) where I will temporarily move the boundaries. I’m currently in such a season.

   I’m working longer hours, spending more time on work projects the normal, and maintaining intense focus on my business. These seasons can be compared to the harvest on the farm. I have planted many seeds over the last couple of years, and the crop is coming in. I can either suspend all other activities and get to work on the harvest, or watch all my hard work rot in the field. As for me and my house, we are working the harvest until all the crops are in the barn.

Following these steps has brought me out of that desperate feeling of being overwhelmed, and into the quiet satisfaction of a job well done. I believe that if you will follow them, they will do the same for you.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please send me an email.

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

“I think maybe the economy is turning around,” he said. “At least I’m hearing that from a lot of my clients.”

I was so encouraged to hear him say those words. But probably not for the reason you may suspect. I did not need a report to tell me that the economy is “turning around”…

I don’t rely on the economy for my financial security, nor the success of my business.

I believe that we can always choose our response to whatever economic winds may be blowing, and that there is always opportunity on that wind.

The period in US history when the most millionaires were created was right on the heels of the Great Depression. There’s a lesson in there, for those who have ears to hear.

No, what encouraged me about Wayne’s statement was the fact that he made it. That he and I are part of the same “tribe”. The tribe that believes focusing on the good news is what brings more good news. Focusing on the bad news will only get you more bad news. In my humble, but accurate, opinion.

I told Wayne that I appreciated his observation, and I also commented that it wasn’t the kind of observation you will hear on network news. And this is your take away, Constant Reader, from today’s post: ignore the mass media messages of gloom and doom.

Those messages are not created for your encouragement. They are created to get ratings. And in the news business there is a saying: “if it bleeds, it leads.”

And if it isn’t bleeding, they will find a way to make it look as if it is.

If you find yourself watching network TV, and they’re doing a story on the economy, watch what happens even if there is good news.

A story that starts with words like this: “New figures show that housing starts are up, the stock market is on the rise, and interest rates are going down…” will inevitably turn a corner when the reporter will say something like, “but that doesn’t help John Doe, who just went bankrupt and whose business has collapsed.”

Stop watching that garbage. Stop participating in conversations where the focus is on what is wrong with the world.

The spirit of our day, created by big media and big politics, is fear.

Be a person who has an opposite spirit. Oppose the spirit of fear.

I leave you with this thought: the Bible says that God did not give us a spirit of fear… so who do you suppose did?

One of the key tactics for getting out of overwhelm his understanding that you are a powerful person, in charge of your own schedule. You get to decide when to say “yes”, and when to say “no”.

That’s simple enough. But simple does not always equal easy, and managing your time defensively-protecting it from abuse by other people-requires that you do something that is not easy.

You must set and enforce boundaries.

Because this is the most difficult part of defensive time management, here are three tips that should give you some free space in your schedule.

Get Rid of “Got a Minute Meetings”. Any time someone asks you if you have “got a minute”, your internal alarm should go off. Your schedule is about to be hijacked, your productivity throttled, and your objectives for the day thwarted. Have a standard response ready for those “got a minute meeting” requests. Something like this works nicely: “I have to focus on something else right now. Let’s meet at 3:30, and we can go over everything on your list then.”

Batch Process Your Emails and Voicemails. Email and voicemail are great tools-especially for other people who want to add tasks to your to do list. “Batch processing” puts an end to your being manipulated and controlled by others. For this to work, you have to make one giant adjustment in your daily routine: only check email and voicemail once or (at most) twice a day in a “batch”. You don’t have to make a big deal out of it, you don’t have to announce it, you certainly don’t have to make an autoresponder to brag about it. Twice a day is perfectly reasonable. I would suggest 11 AM and 4 PM. That way the first part of your day is not derailed by other people’s priorities, and you catch anything that comes in at the end of the day. Now, outside those two times each day, just don’t give into the temptation to check your email or your voicemail. This habit alone will transform your life. Try it.

Become Hyperaware of the Time. Ever notice how there are no clocks and casinos? The reason is casino operators know that if you are not aware of what time it is, you will spend more time lingering in their establishment. The same is true of your workday. If you are not conscious of the passage of time, the time required to complete each task will expand. While that state may be great if you are relaxing and don’t need to get many things done, it doesn’t work well for most entrepreneurs. At the very least, use a digital timer to set boundaries around the time you spend working on particular projects. Contrary to many popular expert opinions, my experience shows that if you become hyperaware of the time, you get more done in less time. Imagine that. You will also come to jealously defend your precious productivity and revenue-producing hours.

Become a defensive manager of your own schedule, and watch your productivity soar (and your stress level plummet).

Question: What about you? What are some of your favorite tactics for defending your precious productivity?

I define a “mess” as any incomplete task, obligation, or other unresolved commitment.

Think of each “mess” as a program running on your computer.

As you know, if you run too many programs at once on your computer (even tiny ones), eventually the computer slows down. It begins to perform at less than optimum levels.

Sometimes it even crashes.

Your brain works the same way. Keep too many programs open simultaneously, and at best your mind slows down. You become forgetful, edgy, irritable.

At worst, you “crash”.

When human beings crash, it shows up as depression, anxiety, and dysfunctional relationships. It shows up as totally irrational decisions that are self-destructive.

If you want to reduce the likelihood of a crash, one of the best things you can do is to clean up your messes.

Here’s one way to do that:

First, write down all your messes. You cannot clean up what you are not aware of. Write down everything that you think of that qualifies as a mess. It could be the book you promise to drop off at your brother’s house, the oil change you need to have done your car, or the argument you had with your parent that you need to apologize for. Big or small, a mess is a mess.

Now write down what needs to happen to clean up each mess. There’s no need to write an essay for any of this. A few evocative words will do wonders and serve the purpose. For instance, if the mass is something to do with an argument you had with your mom, and you know you need to apologize, your entry might be as simple as “apologize to mom”.

Then start cleaning up your messes.  I recommend starting with the small, easy ones. Getting a few quick victories under your belt gives you emotional momentum. If it will take less than two minutes, clean the mess up right now. The more of these messes you can clean up, even if it’s several tiny ones, the better you will feel. You’re probably not aware of how much bondage you are under to these tiny psychological “programs” that are running in the background of your mind.

If it will take longer than two minutes, schedule the cleanup of each mess in your calendar. Putting it in your calendar as an appointment dramatically increases the likelihood you will actually do it. And once you’ve gone through the entire list in either cleaned up the mess, or schedule the cleanup, you will feel incredibly light. The burden will have been lifted.

This may sound silly, and even a bit “touchy-feely”, but if you just trust me on this and give it a try I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Question: How many messes can you clean up today?

That number will be different for each person, but after talking to many online entrepreneurs (and those who want to be) I am amazed at how often the answer is the same: $5000.

In this week’s episode, I will show you five different ways you can reach that $5K goal.

1. The clock is running out on the 3-Day Live Intensive,  April 5-7 in Phoenix. Get your ticket right now – click here.
2. Would you like to have me speak at your event or church? I am accepting a limited number of engagements for 2013.  Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability.

Tip Of The Week

Thanks to advice from Michael Hyatt, I recently upgraded my Skype video interview tool box. The problem with doing Skype video interview recordings is really twofold: getting crisp looking video, and getting great sound. One solution to both is the Logitech c920 HDpro WebCam. This WebCam costs around $120 and delivers 1080p HD video for Skype. You can also use it for other video applications, such as making tutorial or teaching videos. The picture quality is extraordinary, and the stereo sound is fantastic.

One concern you may run into is that, according to the documentation, this camera does not work with a Mac. You can safely ignore that information. I plugged the camera into my MacBook Air, which instantly recognized the camera. Now, Logitech does not support Mac users, which is a shame, but there is a solution. If you want to use the full capabilities of the camera (such as pan and tilt, zoom, autofocus, and aperture control) you just need the Webcam Settings App. It is only $7.99.

Spiritual Foundations

Is it possible to be at peace, even when the storm is raging around you? “Storm” in this case might be an actual storm, it might be a storm in your finances, your health, your family, or at work. Here’s what it says in Psalm 91:

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
Psalm 91:1-2, 5-6

It doesn’t matter what’s going on all around you, you don’t have to be afraid, even in the middle of a violent storm. God is able to willing to give you peace, safety, and protection.

Sometimes, God’s rescue doesn’t look the way we thought it would-but he never fails us, and he always keeps his word. And just remember this: God’s delays are not God’s denials.

If you are a follower of Jesus, all these promises are yours. And don’t fall for the deception that says if you are not perfect in your behavior that you somehow disqualify yourself for his favor. Remember that he forgave all of your sins, and that is forever. Don’t worry that you might have messed up by some sinew committed today her yesterday or last week.

You didn’t do anything to gain his protection… And you can’t do anything to lose it. If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, you are already resting in the secret place… And you are already dwelling under the shadow of the Almighty.

Feature Segment: 5 Ways to $5K

I was speaking at a seminar in the Midwest, and afterward was answering questions from people in the audience. As we stood around talking, Jake shuffled forward, cleared his throat and said, “I have a question.”

His question is the genesis for this weeks episode.

“I am a professional airline pilot,” Jake said. “I really want to create a business doesn’t require me to be away from home so much, yet I’m very nervous about. I need to make at least $3000 a month.”

I stood there looking at him, shocked. That was all? Here is a man who commandeers jumbo jets for a living, and he was doubtful about being able to generate $3000 a month online?

I told Jake that his goal was easy, and he needed to set his sights higher. And spent the next half hour so giving him some of the ideas am about to share with you.

Is $5K  the Magic Number?

Visit any popular online marketing form, and you’ll find a similar theme: many people chasing after that elusive goal of making somewhere between three and $5000 per month.

That’s why I’ve decided to focus this week’s podcast on giving a boost to anyone who knows it’s possible to make $5000 a month online, but so far just hasn’t achieve that goal.

And I’m not going to stop at just one plan, instead I’m going to give you five proven ways to make $5000 a month online.

And, since I love alliteration, each one is going to start with the letter F (for “five”).

Let’s get right to it.

Five Ways To 5K

1. Fulfill the need for information. This is probably the way you are most familiar with-creating and selling your own information products. Most people don’t realize the value of what they already know. There is money to be made in the subjects about which you know a lot, and others know very little. Choose your topic carefully, and you could easily become wealthy. Think about the topic areas that have already created fortunes for information marketers:

• How to make money
• How to save money
• How to save time
• How to lose weight
• How to gain muscle

… I think you get the idea. So how do you pursue this particular method of making $5000 per month? Just start brainstorming your own interests, talents, and gifts. You’re looking for a topic that has three “intersection points”:

1. Your talent, skill, or knowledge
2. What other people are interested in
3. What other people will pay money for

Once you have zeroed in on a topic, here are the steps to take to get your online information marketing business set up:

• Research the viability of your product.
• Scope out your competition and create the premier product in the topic.
• Create your product.
• Set up your website. (At the very least, you need four pages: the value invitation page, the value delivery page, sales page, and the product delivery page)
• Set up your follow-up system.

2. Find great bargains and resell them. This is one of the fastest ways to make money online, most people overlook it. That’s because it’s not glamorous. But if you can find great bargains on physical items, you can resell them on eBay or craigslist at a substantial markup. There are many, many people who make much more than $5000 a month selling boring items on eBay.

3. Focus on providing a service. In my opinion, this is the fastest and easiest way to start making money online. Figure out what skill comes easily to you (copywriting, Web design, technical stuff like setting up blogs, etc.) and offer those services to other people. This is the online version of a lawnmowing business. There are plenty of people who have more money than time, or more money than skill, and they are willing to pay very good fees to people who can do this kind of work for them. This is a great way to get started.

4. Fix and flip existing websites. This can be a lot of fun, and the concept is pretty easy to understand. Just like the TV show, “Flip This House”, you are simply looking for property that is undervalued. You want to find a website that offers a good product, but does a poor job presenting their product. A website that, with a few tweaks to the look and feel, and the sales copy, you can improve significantly. Then you can either choose to continue raking in the money from that website, or you can sell it to someone else at huge profit.

5. Finish old projects. Many marketers and entrepreneurs I know have a lot of “partially done” or even “mostly done” products or websites languishing on their hard drive. What if you just picked a week, blocked out your schedule, and vowed to finish those projects? Get that last 10 to 20% of the work done, and get them online? For many people, simply finishing the projects you’ve already started can automatically push you over the $5000 per month income level.

There Are More Possibilities

These are only five ways to make $5000 per month. There are dozens upon dozens of other ways to do it. These may not even be the top five ways (although I did try to select them based on the criteria). Certainly, different people will have a different way of deciding what the “top five ways” might be.

My point in doing this week’s podcast was really not to convince you to use a specific method, but rather to open your eyes to the possibilities that are already there.

Are You Stepping Over Money?

Sometimes I feel as though people are walking around, crunching under their feet a three-foot layer of silver dollars, and whining about not having any money. My whole purpose is to get you to look down, see the money on the ground, and start scooping it up.

Think about Jake. A supremely qualified professional, who every day has dozens of people, perhaps hundreds of people, placed their lives in his hands with total trust… Yet he could not envision himself making $3000 a month. I think we can agree his challenge was not in a lack of skill, it was in the lack of belief and direction.

Hopefully, you now have both. Now go change the world

Listener Calls

We heard from these  listeners this week.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please send me an email.

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

Especially for entrepreneurs, who tend to have dozens of ideas per day, and see possibilities everywhere, this can become a real problem.

There’s a saying in marketing: a confused mind never buys.

If you’re an entrepreneur who has so many great ideas you can’t seem to choose which one to focus on, your answer is glaringly obvious (but probably difficult for you to recognize).

You just need to limit your choices.

Write all your ideas down (in a Moleskine journal, for instance). Then you can feel safe knowing that they are securely stored for the future.

When it comes time to choose your next project, however, limit yourself to choosing from your top three current ideas.

Don’t become paralyzed by the paradox of possibility.

Question: have you ever felt frozen by having too many possibilities to choose from? How did you overcome that?

What if I revealed that “secret power source” to you in this very podcast… Fully and completely… And you were never the same again?

That is my goal for our 52nd episode of the Ray Edwards Show.

1. My  conference, the 3-Day Live Intensive, is April 5-7 in Phoenix. Get your early-bird ticket discount right now – click here.
2. What happened to Spiritual Foundations Podcast?
3. Get your questions (and plugs) in for next week’s episode using the voicemail tab on the website or the phone at  (509) 713-2679.

Would you like to have me speak at your event or church? I am accepting a limited number of engagements for 2013.  Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability.

Tip Of The Week

Large LED countdown clocks are a staple of the broadcast industry. They’re also useful for live events. The best deal I’ve found is this clock for $460. But recently I discovered an app for my iPhone and iPad that does the same thing for 99 cents. Check out the Timer On Fire app.

Spiritual Foundations

In the Princess Bride, our hero Iniga Montoya faced a big problem. The dread pirate Roberts, aka “Wesley”, whose help he desperately needed, was dead. So Inigo turned to the one guy who might have a solution, Miracle Max. When Inigo  explained the problem, Max’s response was a dramatic shift in perspective (listen to the audio to hear the full story).

Whenever my wife and I are sending one another off to go tackle the day, we sometimes use the same words that Max gave the guys… “Have fun storming the castle!”

Miracle Max saw a completely different problem. But, you might say, that is a movie. What about real life? So here’s another example. I used to suffer from something commonly referred to as Seasonal Affective Disorder. At least that is what I told myself. I even had a solution figured out – move! Only the weather wasn’t really my problem.

A key strategy to facing difficulties in life-whether those difficulties are with your physical health, your relationships, money, or anything else-is to realize the problem is never really about the problem.

“It’s never about the weather.” ~ Lynn Edwards

Depression and despair, or joy and happiness are a choice.

A merry heart does good, like medicine,
But a broken spirit dries the bones.
Proverbs 17:22

Feature Segment: The Unbeatable You

The key to being unbeatable is really rather simple: it’s understanding your identity and everything flows out of that. In fact, terms like “mission”, “vision”, and “purpose”Get thrown around carelessly as if they were synonymous with one another. They are not.

The key to being unbeatable is not that you never suffer a setback or problem. It’s that you have an effective strategy for snatching victory out of the jaws of defeat.  In my view, there are three ingredients to achieving this:

1. Set up the game so you cannot lose.

2. Understand and be able to articulate your identity, purpose, mission, vision, values, and goals.

3. Decide in advance how you will handle adversity.

Set up the Game so You Cannot Lose

How is this even possible? You use the same approach Captain Kirk used when he faced the Kobayashi Maru simulation. You change the rules.

My rule that makes every scenario a no-lose scenario is:

There are no failures, there are only results.

But I do with the results is up to me.

Know Your “Big Reason Why”

It has been said that if you have a big enough “why”, you will always discover the answer to “how”.

Most people have nowhere near enough clarity about their own beliefs and values. And herein lies the key to being unbeatable. You need to understand, and be able to articulate the following: your identity, purpose, mission, vision, values, and goals. Let’s use my own answers as examples…

Identity. Who are you?

My answer: One who follows Jesus; a royal priest.

Purpose. Why are you here?

My answer: To bring about God’s will on earth, as it is in heaven.

Mission. What is your specific assignment? (Strategy)

My answer: Business for the Glory of God.

Vision. What does the accomplishment of your mission look like? (Tactics)

My answer: To teach and empower people to claim their own Divine Destiny and live a life of Freedom, Joy, and Love through Jesus Christ. We do this by providing quality services (including books, audio and visual programs, home study materials, speeches, seminars, trainings, coaching and consulting delivered with love, excellence and integrity in Christ).

Values. What qualities, characteristics, and states do you value most? (Compass)

My answer…

A commitment to the following spiritual, ethical, and corporate values:

• Faithfulness to Jesus Christ.
• “His will, on earth as it is in Heaven”.
• With God all things are possible.
• Passion for our work, dedicated to the Lord.
• Love and acceptance of others and of ourselves.
• Christ-like responses to all situations, events and people.
• Truth and honesty in all things.
• Continued spiritual growth.
• Clarity of purpose and communication.
• Speaking only that which imparts Grace to the listener.
• Impeccability in our actions and the quality of our work.
• Accountability.
• Harmony.
• Continuous and never-ending improvement.
• Profitability.
• Generosity of heart and spirit.
• Fun.
• Joy.
• Gratitude.

Goals. What are your specific objectives (both strategic and tactical), and what is your timeline for accomplishing them? State your goals in the positive/affirmative, present tense, connected to an emotion, and anchored to a date and time.

Some examples:

• I am enjoying the satisfaction of having added 100,000 new subscribers to our email list by 5pm, December 1, 2013.
• I am relishing the stress-free systematized business that permits me to work only 20 hours per week by 12 Noon, November 1, 2013.
• I am enjoying my healthy weight of 185 pounds, which I achieved on or before 9am October 1, 2013.

These should be articulated on paper. Take some time and write them out. Invest yourself in this process.

Decide in Advance How You Will Handle Adversity

This is a condensed summary of an entire podcast, from episode 007.

We cannot control what happens to us, but we can control how we respond – and what we believe about the setback.

Knowing how to face trials proactively is one of the top skills in business… and in life.

Here are 10 steps to transform setbacks into comebacks.

1.  See it for what it is.
2. Remember God’s plan for you (Jer 29:11 and Romans 8:28)
3. Ask good questions – questions that lead to helpful answers.
4. Be careful what you think, see, and say.
5. Notice what works; do more of that.
6. Notice what doesn’t work; stop doing that.
7. Live in the now. Avoid depression and anxiety.
8. Move your body every day.
9. Put good fuel in the machine.
10. Fill your eyes with solutions.

Remember that pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional. (Matthew 6:34)

Listener Calls

We heard from lots of listeners this week.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please send me an email.

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

It’s the optimization episode!

1. My  conference, the 3-Day Live Intensive, is April 5-7 in Phoenix. Get your early-bird ticket discount right now – click here.
2. We still have a contest running in celebration of next week’s 52nd episode of this podcast.  More details here.
3. What happened to Stu McLaren?
4. What happened to Spiritual Foundations Podcast?
5. Get your questions (and plugs) in for next week’s episode using the voicemail tab on the website or the phone at  (509) 713-2679. Every caller wins a prize next week!
6. Free webinar training on sales copy tomorrow night.

Would you like to have me speak at your event or church? I am accepting a limited number of engagements for 2013.  Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability.

Tip Of The Week

Use commenting – and particularly podcast comments – to bring traffic to your own site.

Spiritual Foundations

What does the Bible say about “optimization”?

A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
Proverbs 10:4

That seems like common sense. Does it say more?

The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.
Proverbs 13:4

And here’s one more …

Know well the condition of your flocks,
and give attention to your herds,
²⁴ for riches do not last forever;
and does a crown endure to all generations?
²⁵ When the grass is gone and the new growth appears
and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered,
²⁶ the lambs will provide your clothing,
and the goats the price of a field.
²⁷ There will be enough goats’ milk for your food,
for the food of your household
and maintenance for your girls.
Proverbs 27:23-27

Feature Segment:

Our feature segment this week is an interview with Melanie Benson Strick.

You can get the free gift Melanie offered on the interview by clicking here.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please send me an email.

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

We know this. But how do we stop worrying so much?

1. My  conference, the 3-Day Live Intensive, is April 5-7 in Phoenix. Get your early-bird ticket discount right now – click here.
   

   Rollo (L) and Parker (R)

2. We have a contest running in celebration of the upcoming 52nd episode of this podcast. Just make helpful, substantive comments on 10 posts (here on the blog), and you could win a free copy of my new book. More details here.
3. And why the podcast is late.

Would you like to have me speak at your event? Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability.

Tip Of The Week

Trick yourself into exercising by combining it with something you love doing. A lunchtime conversation with a friend of mine led to a new attitude about exercise for me, and the tip of the week for you.

Spiritual Foundations

The spiritual effects of worry take a heavy toll.

Heavy thoughts bring on physical maladies; when the soul is oppressed so is the body.

~Martin Luther

There’s no doubt about it. When we are sick, we are simply not capable of accomplishing as much as when we are well. Worry makes us sick.

Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.

Proverbs 12:25

And here’s one more thing to think about. Worry is the opposite of trusting God.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

Feature Segment:

When I was in the radio business I spent a year working in a city back East, at a job I hated. My boss was mentally ill-seriously. It was like working for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. One day he was friendly and courteous, the next day he was an overbearing, abusive monster.

I became a walking example of what it’s like to live in anxiety all the time. I began having anxiety attacks. I went to the emergency room more than once, thinking I was having a heart attack.

One morning, I woke up, and the left side of my face did not work. I tried brushing my teeth and water dribble down my chin onto my shirt. I thought I was having a stroke…

And this lead to the strangest doctor’s visit I have ever had. Listen to the audio for the full story.

When we worry, we spend all of our energy focusing on the negative, and operating in fear. This closes our eyes to possibilities that lay all around us. The fact is, most of the stuff we worry about never happens anyway.

But that is all philosophy. How about some practical tips on how you can just stop worrying so much?

If you would like to spend less of your time worrying, and more of it accomplishing, here are 7 things you can most definitely cross off your “worry list”.

1. Don’t worry about things you can’t control.
2. Don’t worry about things you can control (since you control them, what is there to worry about?)
3. Don’t worry about what other people think of you (see number 1).
4. Don’t worry about the past (nothing you can do to change it).
5. Don’t worry about the future (see number 2).
6. Don’t worry about the unknown (um…  since you can’t know it… what are you worrying about?).
7. Don’t worry about how you might respond to any challenge (you’ll only know when you face it).

3 Tactics That Fight Worry

1. Exercise
2. Meditation
3. Prayer. Worry replaced by prayer equals faith and peace.

Listener Questions

On this episode we heard from these listeners:

• JD Crouse has 3 questions – about our audio player, a podcasting course, and recorded webinars.

I haven’t been emphasizing the call in part of the show, but would love to field more listener questions and hear more of your success stories. You can leave messages here through Speakpipe, or on our phone line at (509) 713-2679.

Resources Mentioned

1. Blubrry podcast player plugin.
2. Learn How To Podcast and Podcasting A-Z by Cliff Ravenscraft
3. Evergreen Business System

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please send me an email.

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

What are some of your indispensable iPad apps, and how do you use them? Share your ideas and observations below in the comments.

What if you could change that? What if you could achieve more of the goals you set, and at the same time expand your ability to achieve tougher ones in the future?

Here’s the secret: set goals at every level.

The problem with the way most of us set goals is reset too darn few of them, and they’re all too big.

If the only goals you have our three enormous ones (“lose 75 pounds”, “make $1 million dollars”, “win the PowerBall”), we are working against ourselves in more than one way.

First of all, there’s a high degree of likelihood we will miss the mark on all of these goals because they are unrealistic. Please don’t argue with me about “realistic goals”. That debate is for another blog post.

Secondly, if we are counting on our gigantic goals for our fulfillment, we open ourselves up to a habit of disappointment. That is dangerous psychological territory.

The better approach is having goals at every level.

Small goals, goals that you are certain to achieve even if you don’t try very hard.

Medium-size goals, goals that will require you to work and perhaps even be a bit of a stretch, but you have confidence that there within your grasp.

Outrageous goals. These are goals that you might even feel are beyond your reach, but there is the faintest possibility that you could achieve them.

And finally, “impossible” goals. Goals that simply won’t be achieved without some sort of divine intervention.

Here’s what’s interesting: setting those smaller goals, and celebrating your victories at the small and medium-size goal levels, somehow seems to increase the likelihood of achieving the outrageous goals.

Is it because our level of belief is stirred up by celebrating victories we didn’t previously notice? Is it because of some kind of increased focus we wouldn’t have if we weren’t setting the smaller goals to begin with? I don’t know.

What I do know is setting goals at every level increases the number of victories available to celebrate in your life. That alone is a good thing.

But I also know that occasionally, seemingly as if by magic, those “impossible” goals somehow seem to achieve themselves.

I don’t have any scientific data to back up this theory of goalsetting.

But I strongly suggest you give my method a try, and I predict your experience will be the same as mine. What if I’m right?

I do not choose to be a common man,
It is my right to be uncommon … if I can,
I seek opportunity … not security.

Thomas Paine

I do not wish to be a kept citizen.
Humbled and dulled by having the
State look after me.
I want to take the calculated risk;
To dream and to build.
To fail and to succeed.
I refuse to barter incentive for a dole;
I prefer the challenges of life
To the guaranteed existence;
The thrill of fulfillment
To the stale calm of Utopia.
I will not trade freedom for beneficence
Nor my dignity for a handout
I will never cower before any master
Nor bend to any threat.
It is my heritage to stand erect.
Proud and unafraid;
To think and act for myself,
To enjoy the benefit of my creations
And to face the world boldly and say:
This, with God’s help, I have done
All this is what it means
To be an Entrepreneur.”

Thomas Paine, Common Sense

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in browser | Download

In this week’s podcast episode:

• How to make money by goofing off.
• The secret of becoming a better, more successful person – on automatic pilot.
• And my recommended Top 10 iPad Apps For Idea Entrepreneurs.

Special Announcements

1. My  conference, the 3-Day Live Intensive, is April 5-7 in Phoenix. Get your early-bird ticket discount right now – click here.
2. Be sure you refer to my notes from the Platform Conference – one of the most value laden conferences I have ever attended.
3. We have a contest running in celebration of the upcoming 52nd episode of this podcast. Just make helpful, substantive comments on 10 posts (here on the blog), and you could win a free copy of my new book. More details here.

Would you like to have me speak at your event? Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability.

Tip Of The Week

How to make money by goofing off? I must be joking, right? Not at all. It’s proven that our best ideas, most resourceful states, and highest periods of creativity come when we are relaxed and in “the flow”. The problem is we seldom experience this state as a conscious intention. Here’s how to “goof off” productively.

Spiritual Foundations

The secret of becoming a better, more successful person – on automatic pilot.

While I was at a conference a few weeks ago, the topic being taught was “speed to implementation”. Surrounded by a group of born achiever types, I felt swept up in the momentum of getting things done quickly. I went to my hotel room that night and furiously worked on completing a book manuscript, and by the time morning arrived my initial draft was done. Why was it that I was suddenly able, or motivated, to get the book done so quickly? Did I suddenly have abilities that I didn’t have before? No. I was being carried by the momentum of the people around me. Motivated, cajoled, provoked. I was, in short, persuaded by the power of peer pressure. The people we surround ourselves with influence who we become.

The point I’m trying to make is not a new one. It is simply that we tend to adopt the mannerisms, behaviors, and values of the people we spend the most time with. Want to become a better person? Be more successful? Be more punctual? Spend time with people who are more successful, more punctual, and who are in general the kind of “better person” you would like to be.

“You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” – Jim Rohn

The interesting thing is, most of us do not consciously choose who those people are. What does the Bible say about this idea? Well we don’t have to look far-in the book of wisdom known as The Proverbs, we find this…

The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.
Proverbs 12:26

What if you consciously engineered being around five people who lift you up, instead of being around five people who pull you down?

Feature Segment:

Top 10 iPad Apps For Idea Entrepreneurs

This past Sunday in church, I did the unthinkable. During the pastor’s sermon, I opened up my iPad and began doodling. Heads turned. Questioning looks appeared on the faces of the people around me. Some people try to pretend they didn’t notice. My wife simply nudged our friends Jim and Diane, who were sitting next to us, and shrugged. As if to say, “Well, that’s our Ray.”

But I wasn’t ignoring the sermon or even being rude. I was taking notes in one of the top 10 apps that I use on a daily basis. My iPad has become such an indispensable tool that I even use it in church.

Certainly, in my business as what I refer to as an “idea entrepreneur”, my iPad is central to my workflow. So this weeks podcast feature segment is all about the top 10 iPad apps I use in my business, and that I recommend to other idea entrepreneurs. I won’t just give you a list of the apps, however. I’ll also provide you with a description of how I use them, and even a few tips that may be helpful if you choose to use them as well.

1. Omnifocus. This is my go to app for implementing GTD. It’s expensive, but I still haven’t found anything else I like better. And I’ve tried them all.
2. Mail. This is simply the native app that comes with iOS. I’ve tried a few alternatives, but I really like the way Apple has implemented this app. Notifications turned off.
3. Agenda. I find Apple’s Calendar app disappointing, and learned about Agenda through Leo Laporte. I’ve been using it ever since, and I love it. Integrates with Google Calendar seamlessly.
4. Mr. Reader. I track about 300 websites, mostly WordPress blogs. It’s how I find new and interesting ideas, trends, and tidbits that I can share.This only takes me about 30 minutes a day, and that is all due to Mr. Reader. This app aggregates all those websites into one convenient place.
5. Pocket. When I find something online that I want to save for later reference, I put it in Pocket. I may save notes or clippings for a blog post, a book chapter, or simply for my own reading pleasure.
6. Evernote. Evernote is my universal filing cabinet, where I keep blog posts in progress, book outlines, swipe files, reference material, and more.It all synchronizes between my MacBook Pro, iPad, iPhone. So all my stuff is available to meet anywhere, anytime. Indispensable tool.
7. Penultimate. This is the app that left my moleskin notebook lonely and unused. It’s a notetaking app, and it integrates with Evernote. Lose the paper, keep the handwriting, and remember everything.
8. Kindle. I don’t use my actual kindle device very much anymore. I carry around enough devices, and I use the Kindle app on my iPad to do most of my reading. I am considering trading my full-size iPad in for an  iPad Mini. Reason: the mini seems easier to hold for long periods of time when reading. It also takes up less room in a briefcase. Or a pocket.
9. Downcast. I listen to a lot of podcasts, and this is the app I use to do it. I wish it had a happier name. But I couldn’t be happier with the app itself.
10. MindMeister. I mind map just about every piece of content I write, every project plan, and… well, everything.I went through most every mind-mapping app available, and there are some good ones. I finally settled on MindMeister.I like the ability to share maps, I like the  look and feel, and it exports to just about every other mind-map software format. So I can share my maps between MindMeister and MindManager (the app I use on my MacBook Pro).

Bonus Apps: Olive Tree Bible Study App, Pages, Keynote.

Listener Questions

On this episode we heard from these listeners:

• Carey Green of ChristianHomeandFamily.com asked,”Are tags important to getting search engine traffic?”
• Beau Miles asked, “Will you be offering an audio version of your new book?”
• John Olson called in with a report on how he has been using my productivity tips from the podcast episode on getting a days work done in two hours, which was episode 43.

I haven’t been emphasizing the call in part of the show, but would love to field more listener questions and hear more of your success stories. You can leave messages here through Speakpipe, or on our phone line at (509) 713-2679.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please send me an email.

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

What are some of your indispensable iPad apps, and how do you use them? Share your ideas and observations below in the comments.

I attend a lot of conferences. Most of them are held in a hotel ballrooms. This was the first one I have ever been to that took place in a Nashville recording studio.

The room was rich with theatrical drama-the backdrop consisted of layers of red velvet curtains, the iconic Michael Hyatt microphone emblem was everywhere, and of course the architecture and ambience of the recording studio was the perfect choice for this event.

The stage was set, and so were the expectations.

And while there’s nothing quite like the experience of being there in person, I believe you can benefit from some of the “takeaways” I have for you here.

The Notes I Took For You

1. Develop your framework for success. The first session consisted of Michael teaching his five-part Platform Framework. While I was already aware of this framework, having read the book, it was instructive to see how deeply Michael lives his material. The first part of the framework, step one, is to “Start with Wow”. We were wowed from the moment we walked in the door. While I strongly recommend you read Michael’s book for the complete explanation of what these steps mean, here is the framework:

• Start with Wow
• Prepare to Launch
• Build Your Home Base
• Expand Your Reach
• Engage Your Tribe

Michael, and every speaker, echoed the advice that it’s time for each of us, as idea entrepreneurs, to raise the bar on the quality of experience and products we are offering our people.

“It’s time to get the passion back. Deliver great products that you are delighted-yes, delighted!-to offer.”

-Platform, Michael Hyatt

2. How to find wow. Next up on the speaking roster was international speaker, author and communication trainer Ken Davis. Ken is one of the most famous guys you may have never heard of. His daily radio show, Lighten Up!, Is heard on over 1,600 radio stations in the United States and around the world. How do we create “Wow”? According to Ken, we bring together the qualities of attractiveness, practical advice, and personal connection. In Ken’s language, “Wow is found at the intersection of pretty, practical and personal.”

3. Michael presented a brilliant session on “the resistance”. For further reading on this topic, see the book “Do the Work” by Steven Pressfield. Incidentally, Michael gave a copy of this book to every single attendee at the conference. What is “the resistance”? Michael described it as, “an invisible destructive force that opposes you anytime you try to make an improvement in any area of your life.” Michael offered three strategies for overcoming the resistance:

• Strategy Number One: to counteract the fear that resistance creates, simply get started. In other words, “do it scared”. Action alone is often enough to dispel the fear.
• Strategy Number Two: to counteract the uncertainty and distraction that the resistance will throw in your way, get focused. Narrow down your field of vision to the one thing at hand, and focus like a laser on that one thing.
• Strategy Number Three: perhaps the most insidious of the forces that resistance brings against us is that of doubt. “Will this work? Was it a good idea? What if I look like a fool?” The countermeasure to dispel doubt is… finishing. Just finish it. No matter how bad you think it is, how dumb you think your idea was, how much you doubt the outcome… just finish.

Perhaps the single most important insight I heard at the conference was from Michael, on this subject. He pointed out that “the resistance” can be our best ally-it can, in fact, be our compass. Whatever the direction the resistance is pointing, we automatically know our highest ambition should be to move in the opposite direction. The resistance infallible and points us toward our due north.

4. How to build a platform with words, passion, and people. Jeff Goins, one of my favorite bloggers and a gifted author, provided perhaps the biggest surprise for me the entire conference. I knew he was a great writer. What I didn’t expect was that he is also a dynamic speaker. This nugget of advice stuck with me: “You can outlast those who are lucky and outwork those who are lazy.”

5. Cliff Ravenscraft, the “Podcast Answer Man”, has produced over 3,000 podcast episodes. In 2008, he left a successful career as an insurance agent to pursue podcasting full-time. He has become the go-to authority that top podcasters turn to for advice on creating their shows. In fact, he’s the guy I turned to when setting up my new show almost a year ago. He told a moving story of his long journey to “overnight success”. As Cliff puts it, “Give up on the dream of overnight success. It takes time to build your brand.” This is something that I heard repeated in different words from almost every single speaker. It’s a principle that I know from my own experience, and is one worth remembering. Overnight success is usually preceded by years of preparation. As Michael reminded us, we should not “despise the days of small beginnings.”

6. Andrew Buckman is the president of stormy frog studios, and works closely with Michael Hyatt. Together they are developing a premium WordPress theme especially created for platform builders. Andrew gave an eminently practical presentation featuring the “10 biggest mistakes people make with their websites”. Here are the three that stood out to me:

• Website Mistake Number One: you don’t own your own brand. In other words, your site is hosted on Blogger, WordPress.com, or some other place that does not belong to you. That’s a mistake.
• Website Mistake Number Two: you are not building an email list. While getting RSS subscribers to your blog is fantastic, and having a podcast subscriber base is even better, building an email list should be your primary aim. Remember, no matter what anybody says, the number one way to sell stuff on the Internet is still via email.
• Website Mistake Number Three: forgetting about the search engines. While I certainly am not an SEO expert. I do pay attention to optimizing my site for the search engines. I want to be easily found for my key topics when people go searching for information on Google. One great way to do this is a WordPress plug-in called Scribe. Another point worth remembering: a WordPress blog properly configured already has strong SEO properties.

7. My good friend Carrie Wilkerson spoke about “filling your stadium”. She pointed out with amusing clarity that many people make the mistake of worrying about how good their “stage show” is, when there is in fact no one in the audience. Here’s a quote from her presentation that really impacted me…

“It’s not who you know, or even who knows you. It’s who feels like they know you.”

- Carrie Wilkerson

8. John Saddington, entrepreneur and founder of 8-bit, the company who brought us the Standard WordPress Theme, gave a stunningly insightful presentation. It was called “Creating Opportunity from the Ordinary”. Two key points I jotted down from John’s presentation were that we should “scratch our own itch”-in other words, create solutions that we ourselves are seeking. By scratching our own itch, we will help others “scratch better”. The other key point had to do with counting the cost of being an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurial types tend to be achievers, and lean toward workaholism. The cost of such behavior can be high, and can include losing your family, your contentment, and your spiritual well-being.

9. Stu McLaren, a co-founder of WishList Member, a membership site solution that now powers over 43,000 online communities, spoke about multiplying your impact and bottom line with membership sites. Key observation: people come to online communities for the content, but they stay for the community itself. I think I saw the biggest reaction from the crowd of the weekend when Stu illustrated the difference between getting paid one time for content versus getting paid on a recurring basis. He illustrated this with a beautifully simple but powerful spreadsheet. There was a lot of “oohing and aahing” in the room. Over a spreadsheet. That’s a testament to Stu’s dynamic communication skills-and the brilliance of his content.

10. Pat Flynn is the creator of the Smart Passive Income Podcast. His approach to doing business online is all about leading by example, being completely transparent, and building a long-term relationship with his audience. My favorite thing Pat said all weekend was, “Your earnings are a byproduct of how well you serve your audience.” It sounds like a cliché, until you take a look at how Pat conducts his business, and you realize it’s the code he lives by. Extraordinarily inspiring. And he plays a mean trumpet.

“Your earnings are a byproduct of how well you serve your audience.”

-Pat Flynn

This conference also demonstrated the importance of a high-quality team. Lauren and Matt Brady, Michele Cushatt, Joy Groblebe, and Brian Scheer made this conference one of the best I have attended in my life. Their attention to detail, their commitment to being servant leaders, and the joy they exuded throughout the entire week was inspirational. They definitely helped create a “wow experience” for me and every person who attended this conference.

And while this will sound like a cliché, it has to be said: the single most valuable thing I took away from the conference was the personal connections I made with so many people. Old friends, and new friends. Fresh perspectives. Ideas and conversations that challenged some of my long-held beliefs, and caused me to rise to a higher level of thinking. The kind of intense personal interaction I experienced in Nashville is impossible to put into a blog post. Which is my way of saying you should attend the next one (it’s in November).

As entrepreneurs we do things that others aren’t necessarily willing to do in order to enjoy a life that others can’t – we work long hours, long past the “normal” business hours that employees work, we can’t remember the last time we had more than six hours of sleep in a night and our families plot a rescue mission to get us out of the office at a decent time for special occasions.

It’s a different kind of rat race and one that we enjoy or we wouldn’t do it – but when does the drive become more about putting work before happiness than building a successful business?

If you are in the process of building your own business, you know the routine: skipping meals, social events and even daily showers just so we can turn the vision in our heads into reality. Our commitment to the task is commendable but there comes a time when you have to take a step back and remember why you’re working the way you do. While it’s not always possible to avoid extensive hours in any given week, there comes a time when you have to be practical and bring balance back to your work/family life.

Here are three tactics you can use to help keep your life in balance…

• Keep yourself well: As an entrepreneur, a sick day for us – even just one – can be severely detrimental. Even though the urge to skip meals is strong, maintaining a balanced diet is the first step in keeping the work/life balance in check and staying healthy in the process.
• Tire yourself out, and rest yourself up: Exercising and a regular sleep schedule are equally important. Breaks during the work day may seem impossible, but a short break or two during the day isn’t going to hurt – take a few minutes for yoga or to read the next chapter in a good book or to have a short lunch with your spouse or kids.
• Make sure you have clear priorities: This means make the important things in your life top priorities and let the others fall in place where they may. Family should ALWAYS come first – not work. However, your work should come before the less important things – like television for example or spending unnecessary time on social media.

It’s not impossible to have a work/life balance as an entrepreneur.

Yes, 100-hour weeks are likely and sometimes those long weeks may come more often than not, but it’s important not to live your life that way consistently. Make small changes and you’ll find that soon where you have invested the greatest amount of time will give you the greatest rewards for your investment.

Question: what are your tips for maintaining a healthy balance between work and “life”? What areas are particularly challenging for you? Share your comments below.

This is the modern equivalent of “accountability partners”. The Lift App is a simple way to achieve any goal, track your progress, and get the support of your friends. Currently available only for iPhone, Android and Wieb versions are on the way soon.

Spiritual Foundations

Don’t worry about weakness…

What if there was a different way of understanding Paul’s story about his “thorn”, and a different way of understanding the phrase “my grace is sufficient”?

Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,

My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

 

Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Feature Segment: The Easiest Way To Sell Anything

Understand the Scale of Awareness and “O.P.E.N. the Sale”

In the movie “Jerry Maguire” Tom Cruise’s character makes an impassioned speech to the girl he loves, trying to convince her how much he cares for her. She finally tells him, “You had me at hello…”

Often, we do the same when trying to persuade or sell. Unaware of the feelings of our prospects or listeners, we prattle on far beyond the point that we need to. We say things that are irrelevant to the listener. Understanding “where they are” would spare us all that effort.

The late, great copywriter Eugene Schwartz understood the power of the awareness level of your prospect. Knowing where they stand already is vital to knowing what to say to them.

The fastest, easiest way to influence anyone is with what is already influencing them.

Here is the scale of awareness that I use in writing copy to help me know how to talk to my reader:

O - Oblivious

P - Pondering

E - Engaged

N - Needing

This powerful secret is easy to underestimate. Just try using it in your sales communications, and watch your persuasion power grow!

Special Announcements

1. My own conference, the 3-Day Live Intensive, is April 5-7 in Phoenix. Get your early-bird ticket discount right now – click here.
2. I’m attending the Platform Conference in Nashville.

Would you like to have me speak at your event? Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please send me an email.

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast.

You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679

What are some ways you have seen the “awareness scale” in action? Share your ideas and observations below in the comments.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in browser | Download

In this week’s podcast episode:

• A powerful video editing studio for your iPad.
• Why you were born for this entrepreneurial life.
• And, of course, how to get the most out of any conference.

Tip Of The Week

The Pinnacle Studio App for iPad is a remarkable video studio that cost less than $13. Some people complain about the cost of this app. These are people that have forgotten that the iPad and the app they hold in their hands gives them editing power that would’ve cost tens of thousands of dollars only a few years ago. It’s truly remarkable what we have available to us for less then a lunch at McDonald’s.

Spiritual Foundations

Seek Wisdom

Seeking wisdom and knowledge is practical.

In that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask what I shall give you.”

And Solomon said to God, “You have shown great and steadfast love to David my father, and have made me king in his place. ⁹ O Lord God, let your word to David my father be now fulfilled, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. ¹⁰ Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?”

God answered Solomon, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked for possessions, wealth, honor, or the life of those who hate you, and have not even asked for long life, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may govern my people over whom I have made you king, wisdom and knowledge are granted to you. I will also give you riches, possessions, and honor, such as none of the kings had who were before you, and none after you shall have the like.”

2 Chronicles 1:7-12

That was under the Old Covenant – and the Bible tells us we live under a “new and better covenant” (Hebrews 8:6). What is our promise under the New Covenant? Let’s check what Jesus says:

 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Matthew 6:25-34

And don’t start thinking you have to earn the Kingdom and Righteousness through your own efforts.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21

Feature Segment: How to Get The Most Out of Any Conference

Before the Conference

Preparation Is Key: This checklist will serve as a reminder of what you can do before attending a conference to increase the results you get from attending. You may want to customize, modify, or add to the checklist to make it more suitable to your needs.

• Know your purpose for attending this conference (learning, people to meet, get clients, meet JV Partners, etc.)
• Know your criteria for success (number of contacts to make, speakers to meet, deals to close, etc.). Have a list of goals you have for attending this conference; this way, when you leave you’ll know if you achieved success or not.
• Business cards, printed both sides, with an offer on the back that gets people back in contact with you and into your “marketing funnel”.
• Prepare your “elevator speech”.
• Study the background of the speakers; do your homework.
• Book your hotel room early; get a room “close to the action”.
• Book your airline ticket early for the best rate and most flexibility.
• When possible, set up meetings in advance.
• Arrive one day before the conference starts; leave the day after it ends.
• Digital camera, video camera, and audio recorder
• Computer
• Note cards and envelopes, pre-stamped with return addresses already on them (ready to fill in and mail from hotel before you leave).
• Notebook (Ray recommends Moleskine notebooks). Pens.
• Jacket (conference rooms are often kept cold!)
• Target list of people you want to meet.
• Target list of subjects you want to learn about from each speaker. A list of questions you want answered before you leave.

During the Conference

You’re Working! While you’re at a conference, you’re at work – this is not a weekend vacation. Make every moment as profitable as possible.

• Get checked in, put your “stuff” away, and set up your “temporary office”.
• Keep your room neat and organized in case you have a business meeting there.
• Meet and greet people in the bar the night before the conference starts.
• Never eat alone, and don’t eat with the same person twice.
• Get your picture taken with people (speakers and “regular people” too).
• Introduce people to one another; make connections between people.
• Arrive at the registration desk/conference room early each day. Meet and greet people.
• Use your “elevator speech” or “audio logo” to start conversations.
• Network between sessions; plan meetings between sessions.
• Eat small, light meals frequently to keep your energy level consistent.
• Keep breath fresh. Stinky breath does NOT win friends.
• Dress comfortably in business casual attire; wear comfortable shoes.
• Don’t carry too much “stuff” with you into the conference room.
• Do carry your business cards at all times, and your calendar (book, smartphone, etc.)
• Turn OFF your cell phone ringer; don’t take or make calls in the conference meeting room (!).
• Close doors quietly when leaving or entering the room during a session.
• Attend all networking events; get your photo taken with everyone.
• Take photos of other people together – send them a copy (get their contact info!).
• If appropriate, get audio or video testimonials from your clients.
• Give testimonials whenever you can; it’s good promotion for you.
• Start early, and keep going late; schedule a nap so you can do the late-night networking.

After the Conference

The Golden Mile! This is where most people really fall down – the “last mile”, or as we like to call it, “the Golden Mile”. It’s all about the follow-up and the follow-through.

• Organize all your notes, to-dos, and business cards.
• Write notes to all your key contacts on the note cards you brought; mail them from the hotel before you leave.
• Share a ride to the airport if possible; make it a networking opportunity.
• Use the time in the airport lounge or on the plane to write emails, follow-up notes, and make to-do lists.
• Send quick follow-up emails to everyone on the list you built at the conference. Upload digital photos of you with other people to a photo service; send a copy to them using a service like http://sendoutcards.com Post photos to your Facebook and Google+ account.
• Put to-dos into your planning system (Outlook, iPhone, GTD, etc.). Plug them in over the next 3 weeks so nothing falls through the cracks.
• When home, unpack and organize all your materials immediately.?Call every person you met at the conference. Calling on the phone sets you apart. Quickly fulfill any promises you made.
• Go through your notes from the conference (all neatly collected in your Moleskine notebook or other “idea capture device”, right?). Anything that can be done in 2 minutes or less (domain registration, emails, downloads, etc.) — just DO it. Anything that will take longer, SCHEDULE it in your planning system.
• Review your goals and criteria for success from the conference; evaluate how you did.
• Update these checklists with items you thought of that should be on them; constantly be refining your checklists and systems.
• Schedule the consumption of any Continuing Education products you purchased at the conference, so that you actually USE them.

Special Announcements

1. My own conference, the 3-Day Live Intensive, is April 5-7 in Phoenix. Get your early-bird ticket discount right now – click here.
2. I’m attending the Platform Conference in Nashville. It is probably sold out.  Get a ticket while you can!

Would you like to have me speak at your event? Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please send me an email.

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast.

You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679

Do you have any tips you would add? Share your ideas and tactics below in the comments.

It was 2002, and I was sitting in Seth’s office with a small group of entrepreneurs.

We were discussing the future of marketing, and our individual marketing challenges.

“I’m in the radio business,” I said to Seth. “What advice do you have for me?”

Seth didn’t even miss a beat.

“If I were you,” he said, “I would pretend that one year from today the government was going to take away my transmitter. And then I would build a plan that will keep me in business after that happens.”

We brainstormed how I might do that.

I flew back home to Spokane, Washington, full of optimism and excitement.

Like Seth, I had seen the handwriting on the wall for the radio business… it was about to be completely murdered by MP3 players, satellite radio, and this little thing called the Internet.

But now I had a plan.

I was going to go home and show my radio brethren how we would leverage the Internet to our advantage, build permission-based lists, and move away from the old paradigm of selling interruption-style marketing to local businesses.

Only one problem.

None of my radio brethren wanted to hear that.

It was as if they were all lemmings, determined to march over the edge of a cliff, and despite my ardent warnings they would not be deterred.

I tried for a while to convert them to my way of thinking.

For a couple of years, I was the agenda chairperson of the largest seminar in the radio business, the Country Radio Seminar. It’s held each year in Nashville (of course).

For two years I was virtually shouted down by my peers, who actually said to me that MP3 players and music-over-the-Internet were “just passing fads”…

Hey guys, to quote the great theologian Toby Keith, “How do you like me now?”

I digress.

Radio was down for the count.

I decided it was time to move on.

I left the business of broadcasting, and hung out my shingle as a direct response copywriter for Internet marketers.

My radio friends were aghast.

How could I leave a cushy six-figure position in the broadcasting business to do “marketing on the Internet”? Was I crazy?

Of course, they didn’t ask me if I was crazy, they were much more polite. But the question hung in the air.

It wasn’t long-perhaps a few months-before I started getting the phone calls.

Radio was going through a big round of layoffs, as more stations were bought by consolidators and employees were being eliminated to shore up the bottom line.

Suddenly, the same people who thought I was nuts only months before were now wondering how I managed to make a living without a job.

Those calls came in fast and furious for a while, and then began to subside. I still get a call or two like this every month.

This story does have a point, beyond illustrating how smart I am (tongue now planted firmly in cheek).

Here’s that point…

The industry I was part of (the radio industry) was headed for a cliff.

Some of us saw the cliff coming, and took a different route.

We avoided being pushed over the edge. Most did not avoid that fate, some of them are still out of work to this day, and almost all of them are busy whining and complaining about how they were “screwed” by the industry.

But we all had plenty of warning.

Even if one couldn’t figure out what was happening on one’s own, there were the prophetic voices of the industry, shouting from the rooftops that the end was near.

But much like the prophets of the Old Testament, the people didn’t like that message. So they didn’t listen. And they stoned the prophets.

Why am I telling you this story?

For the last decade or so, I have been enjoying the life of my dreams, fueled by my own business.

More than just a copywriter these days, my business consists of many facets: consulting private clients, writing books, speaking at conferences, creating and selling my own information products, and yes… I occasionally write some copy.

But this industry – what I would refer to as the “information marketing industry” – is approaching a cliff.

I call it the “Info Cliff”.

What does that mean?

It means that in the old days (maybe two years ago) you could still make plenty of money just by selling information. And lots of people did just that.

But by and large, that information was “how to” information. The marketplace has been flooded with plenty of eerily similar “how to” resources.

“How to” has become mostly “me too”.

You’re either regurgitating what someone else has already said, or you are providing fuel so that someone else can regurgitate what you said.

Either way, you are awash in a “sea of sameness”.

This is why many top info marketers, coaches, speakers, and other experts suddenly find themselves without cash flow.

The rising tide that floated all the boats has gone out. And, as Warren Buffett observed, when the tide goes out we can all see who was skinny dipping.

Many well-known names in the information marketing business are now completely out of that business. Some of them are selling software now. Some are buying and selling domain names.

Some have even gone back to working at j-o-b-s. Yup, you read that right. I’ll let you do your own research to figure out who.

What led to these dire consequences?

These folks simply fell off the “Info Cliff”.

Definition of “Info Cliff”: a condition in the marketplace of a proliferation of tired, regurgitated, recycled, and easily duplicatable “how to” information and products. This condition leaves prospects overloaded with information that they cannot use, that they’ve heard before, and that has absolutely no emotional appeal.

When information becomes a commodity, the buying criteria becomes price.

This is why a course that sold for $1,000 last year is being given away for free as an opt-in bribe this year.

So the question is: how do you avoid falling off the “Info Cliff”? How do you avoid being pushed off the edge by a competitor?

You’ve got to do exactly what I did when I left the radio business. Take a different road to reach your destination.

No, I’m not suggesting you get out of the business of information marketing.

No need to switch to a profession that requires wearing a paper hat.

What I am suggesting is that you “steal the ball” from the other players in the game, and do something that leaves them stunned and asking, “What just happened?”

I am suggesting that you try something so radical and so different that even when your competitors recognize what you’ve done, they have virtually no hope of duplicating or counteracting it.

Naturally, at this point, your question must revolve around exactly how you might do that.

That’s what I suggest you spend your time thinking about. And think hard.

Because thinking is hard work. That’s okay. Because it’s also high-paying work, when you do it right.

And it’s something most of your competitors are simply not willing to do.

This person keeps saying bad stuff about you.

Alumni of Widsom Thesis Workshop I

Talking about how you don’t really know what you’re doing.

How you’re a total failure.

Even calling you an “imposter” and “a big phony.”

If you don’t shut this person up, he (or she, whichever it is) is going to ruin your business. Want to know who this person is? Well…

…take a good long look in the mirror.

Because the “person” I am talking about is your internal dialogue… the voice of your inner fears and doubts.

Now, maybe the lies your little “internal demon” tells you about yourself are different. Probably, though, they are similar, maybe just slight variations, on the ones above.

But you’ve got to get this “internal dialogue’ thing straightened out. Because if you don’t, it can literally kill you.

Let me give you an example from my own life…

You may already know that I am a copywriter and marketing consultant. A large portion of my income is derived from client work. For the longest time, I could not bring myself to charge higher fees.

Which meant I had to take on a LOT of clients in order to feed my income goals.

At the height of my madness, I was working on 6 to 8 projects at any one given time, working 80 to 100 hours a week, and surely headed for an early grave. One night, I got a phone call from someone wanting me to do a project for them over the holidays.

At that point in time, I was charging $7,500 to write product launch sales copy. I did not want to take on this new project over the holiday (Thanksgiving — about 6 years ago), but I also did not want to say “no”.

So I quoted a fee twice what I normally charged, knowing they would refuse.

“That will be $15,000,” I said in a steady voice.

“Would you like us to wire that to you, or is a check okay?” said the person on the other end of the phone.

It took a while for that to sink in.

It was at that moment I realize that my fear and false beliefs had held me back from charging what I was worth. In one instant, simply because I adopted a different attitude (I expected a “no”, and was totally fine with that)…

I doubled my income, and cut my workload in half.

Fast forward to today: my client roster includes many New York Times best-selling authors, and I get paid an extraordinary amount of money to write launch copy (on the rare occasions that I accept an assignment).

Let’s just put it this way: it’s a lot more than $15,000.

I have the God-given privilege of working on the schedule that I determine, with clients that I choose, on projects that interest me. I can decide to travel at a moment’s notice. I often do. I say all of this not to boast. I am making a point. The point is to get you to ask yourself, “How long am I willing to keep living a life I did not choose?”

When you look that person in the mirror that we were talking about earlier, can you honestly say you’re living life on exactly your terms?

What if you could be of more service, to more people…

By working less, relaxing more, and being paid rates higher than you ever dreamed possible?

What if you stopped doing about 80% of what you do every day…

And suddenly discovered you were making 200% more?

What if I told you that I’m willing to share with you exactly how you could do that… at no cost to you?

Well…

Tuesday night, I’m hosting a very special webinar training.

It’s called “The Incredibly Dangerous ‘Info Cliff’ – and how to avoid plummeting to your untimely and totally avoidable business death.”

We’re just going to get on the webinar, and I’m going to tell you exactly how I created the business and lifestyle that I wanted. I did it without MLM, without being all “salesy”, without crazy schemes, or any of the rest of that stuff…

I have a friend who has done much the same, and I’m going to have him share the process he went through as well. Plus, together, we have an honest-to-goodness “secret method” that I’m excited for you to hear about.

We just walked a small group of people through this process over a three day period, and we have PROVEN this method works. We’ll share it with you Tuesday night.

And no, we will NOT be selling that secret method. We’re just going to give it away on the webinar. There will absolutely, positively, without a shadow of a doubt.. be nothing for sale on this webinar.

No need for you to even try to buy anything.

On Tuesday night’s webinar, I completely forbid you to buy anything from either one of us. This webinar is going to be about us sharing with you the blueprint for how you can live the life you want to live.

Get paid for your work. Paid what you’re worth. Get paid 10 or even 20 times what you currently make.

Decide where you want to live, what you want to work on, who you want to surround yourself with, and perhaps get clear on why you even exist to begin with. This ought to be a wild ride. Are you going to join us?

Oh, by the way… you need to sign up for the webinar here:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/492439426

Block out the following on your calendar:

• Tuesday night, February 5
• 9 PM Eastern (6 PM Pacific).

Until then…

To your prosperity,

Ray Edwards

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in browser | Download

In this week’s podcast episode:

• The disciplines of marketing.
• The “Secret Weapon” system for using GTD with Evernote.
• Are you trying too hard?

Tip Of The Week

The “Secret Weapon” system for using GTD with Evernote.

Spiritual Foundations

Let God Do the Work

We often try to do ourselves what God has already done for us.

…for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Philippians 2:13

Stop trying to do it on your own, and let God do what He wants!

Feature Segment: Ray Edwards’s 13 Natural Disciplines of Effective Online Marketing

Almost all marketing is dreadfully weak and ineffective, unfocused, and irrelevant. Or it’s hype-filled, pushy, and repulsive. Stop that. Learn to “market like water”.

The 13 Natural Disciplines:

1. Abandon branding as a primary outcome and seek response. Branding is inherent.
2. Always track everything with ruthless precision.
3. Within the context of your values – results rule.
4. Always make an offer.
5. Always seek a trackable, profitable response.
6. Always give a reason for immediate response.
7. Ask only for one response at a time.
8. Tell them exactly what to do next.
9. Use strong copy. It will sound like “junk mail”.
10. Kill your darlings.
11. Always followup in the short term.
12. Always followup in the long term.
13. Keep detailed customer files and study them carefully.

Special Announcements

1. I’m attending the Platform Conference in Nashville. It is nearly sold out.  Get a ticket while you can!
2. I was written up by Eric T Wagner on Forbes.com recently. You can check out the article here.
3. My new book is nearly ready – more to come!

Would you like to have me speak at your event? Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please send me an email.

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast.

You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679

Do you have any discplines you would add? Share your ideas and tactics below in the comments.

Move this book to the top of your reading stack. Work the System by Sam Carpenter.

We must study the mechanical minutia of our tasks if we are to excel. This means observing: looking down and analyzing the sub-systems of our lives…to see our selves as mechanical devices that can be made to be super-efficient. The next step is to spend the majority of our time perfecting each of our sub-systems, one by one.

Here’s a happy thought: Study and then perfect your systems as a main focus and you’ll find yourself in select company and therefore flying faster and higher than a huge percentage of the competition. Make More. Work Less.

Lots of people work hard to become expert at what they do, but what great heights will be achieved by becoming expert at a flawed process?

Sam Carpenter

Spiritual Foundations

Is it okay for Christians to be rich?

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:33

Feature Segment: How to Market Like a Machine

No business can survive without a systematic approach to marketing.

“Systematic” means well-defined, carefully followed procedures that produce predictable results.

A true Marketing System consists of the following things: predictable processes that produce large quantities of good prospects, clients, and customers for your business. Your marketing system must provide these prospects efficiently (without a lot of hands-on work from you) and affordably (as in, it costs less to get a customer than the revenue that customer produces).

Violate any one of these rules and you’re in trouble, one step away from the Taco Delmar Phenomena.

Here are the components of a good Marketing System:

1. Product Success Formula: TG + CDP/HAS(YCS )+ THM + WTS
2. Media that is efficient, affordable, they already use
3. A compelling message
4. An irresistable free offer
5. Multi-step automated short-term follow up systems
6. Multi-step long term follow up
7. Tested conversion process

Special Announcements

1. I’m attending the Platform Conference in Nashville. It is nearly sold out.  Get a ticket while you can!
2. I was written up by Eric T Wagner on Forbes.com this week. You can check out the article here.
3. My new book is nearly ready – more to come!

Would you like to have me speak at your event? Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please send me an email.

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast.

You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679

How strong is your marketing system? Share your ideas and tactics below in the comments.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in browser | Download

In what ways has God helped you take back your tomorrows? Leave your comments below!

Not into mind mapping, but wish there was an easy way to outline your ideas? You have got to try Workflowy. It was made for the purpose.

Spiritual Foundations

Are you plagued by feelings of guilt, about regrets over what you should have done in a certain situation? Don’t be…

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:1-2

When Jesus came and paid the price for sin, that included all of our sins. Past, present, and future. That means is far as he is concerned, we have nothing to regret. A “guilty conscience” is not the work of our father in heaven, but is the work of the enemy-the devil. See Hebrews 9:14.

Lifestyle Business

Stu McLaren has wisdom to share on the subject of hiring-and on not being cheap.

Feature Segment: Results of My Productivity Experiments

Recently, I wrote on my blog a post about a new plan for improved productivity in 2013. I thought it might be useful to share the results so far. Works and all.

Here are the plans I wrote about, and a report on my observations

Productivity Philosophy.  If you are not familiar with the GTD philosophy, I encourage you to read David Allen’s seminal work on stress-free productivity. A great augmentation to the GTD material is one of my favorite new podcasts and websites, Erik Fisher’s “Beyond the To-Do List”. At this point, I would give myself a “brown belt” when it comes to GTD. My biggest challenge is keeping my inboxes to zero, and limiting those inboxes to the smallest number possible.

Planning. In keeping with my adherence to GTD, my planning is fairly simple. I have a weekly review session on Fridays, during which I collect all the inputs that have accumulated over the past week, and one by one clear them from my inbox.  So far I’ve done a pretty good job of keeping on top of my weekly reviews. I’d say I am at about 90% on this one.

Disciplined Tracking.  For business activities, I am developing a dashboard for my company in Excel to keep track of key metrics. Frankly, I’ve gotten so caught up in looking for the perfect dashboard, I haven’t really started using one yet. That will change within the next three days, as I am forcing myself to pick some kind of tracking system. Even if it is  3 x 5 cards.

Productivity Tools. In the past, I have been a “tool junkie”. I have actually managed to not look at any new productivity tools since the beginning of the year. That may not sound like a big deal to you, but it’s a big deal to me.

Boundaries. This year, I am resolved to stick to my regimen of only answering email once a day, and the same for phone calls. I also intend to be “off the grid” three days a week for both email and phone calls. Still my biggest challenge. My name is Ray Edwards, and I am a recovering “yes man”.

Guarding My Heart and Mind. Toxic thoughts and emotions destroy us. Toxic thinking limits our potential for accomplishment. Toxic emotions limit our potential for happiness and fulfillment. In the new year, I will not allow negative thinking, language, images, or emotions to pierce the boundary of my sight or hearing. While I have improved in this area, I still have work today. Have watched a couple of things on television that, in retrospect, were a bit dark and cynical and viewpoint. It isn’t possible to watch things like this and walk away unaffected.

Task Batching. I perform best when I batch similar tasks together and do them all at once. This is going pretty well for me, because it is exit become a habit of mine over the last few years.

Focus Blocks. “Focus blocks” are clearly defined blocks of time that I use to focus on one single task.  I can tell you this. It seems that making a declaration about a new habit is a surefire way to become a lightning rod for challenges and resistance to that habit.

Digital Fasting. I am a digital junkie. I love Facebook, Twitter, Google+, email, RSS feeds… you get the idea. That’s why it’s important to me to completely unplug frequently. My goal is to be completely free of email, voice mail, and Internet consumption… 100% free… at least one day a week. I have done pretty well, but frankly no where near 100%. This Sunday, I’m shooting for 100%.

Sabbath. One day each week, my intention is to be at complete rest. Same answer as the previous section.

The Positive No. I mentioned earlier that it is difficult for me to say “no” to people. This year, my default response to every request made of me will be, at least initially, “no”. I had a few chances to practice this, but I still wouldn’t counted as one of my core disciplines. Yet.

Income Producing Activity Hours. I have identified the activities which are most likely to result in producing revenue for my company: speaking, writing, marketing and advertising, and creating new material or trainings. There are a few other income-producing activities, such as networking, sales calls, and developing JV relationships. I am creating carefully protected and intricately planned “focus blocks” for these activities. These are among the first activities to be scheduled in my calendar. This one has worked out surprisingly well so far.

Writing Time. This is in my top tier of income producing activities. It is also in my top tier of spiritually fulfilling activities. Therefore, this is one of my very highest priorities, and will be one of my most protected assets in the new year.

30 Day Challenges. I love new ideas, and I love trying them out. So much so, that I have tended, in the past, to try out many different ideas in a single week. Therefore, in the new year, each month I plan to adopt one “30 Day Challenge”. A single new habit, activity, or discipline. I will post each month’s 30 day challenge publicly, and at the end of the 30 days report on my experience. . Hardest one of all for me to keep. My Challenge this month was to journal daily. We’re on day 16 of the month, and I’ve written in my journal four days

My plan going forward is to become more disciplined about my new habits, and not to simply give up. That’s the mistake I think most people make when it comes to resolutions, or adopting any new discipline.

Special Announcements

1. I’m attending the Platform Conference in Nashville. It is nearly sold out. The purpose of the conference: to help you “get noticed in a noisy world.” It’s being put on by Michael Hyatt and Ken Davis. My friends Stu McLaren and Carrie Wilkerson are speaking. I’m also looking forward to meeting  Jeff Goins, Cliff Ravenscraft, Pat Flynn, John Saddington, Michele Cushatt, and Andrew Buckman. Unlike most conferences, there’s not a single speaker I’m not excited to hear and to meet. Get a ticket while you can!
2. I was written up by Eric T Wagner on Forbes.com this week. You can check out the article here.

Would you like to have me speak at your event? Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please send me an email.

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast.

You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679

What Are you doing to be more productive in the new year? And how are your New Year’s resolutions coming along? Share your ideas and tactics below in the comments.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in browser | Download

In this week’s podcast episode:

• How to do a days work in two hours.
• A counterintuitive marketing book recommendation.
• How (and why) it’s possible to achieve effortless success.
• Stu McLaren on the importance of being intentional.

And a few surprises, too…

Tip Of The Week

This week I have a rather counterintuitive book recommendation. One of the best marketing books I’ve ever read (twice now) is Rick Warren’s The Purpose-Driven Church.

Spiritual Foundations

As new creations in Christ, we are supposed to be “at rest”. Our life is not supposed to be about striving and working hard, but about receiving. Yes, I am saying that God will do a lot more for us than we could ever do for ourselves. And that he actually wants it to be that way.

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest…
Hebrews 4:9-11

This is a promise from God, and it echoes the Old Testament story of the promised land. In ancient Israel, there was an actual land that the people were given as a promise from God.This land was, in God’s own words, to include houses that had already been built, vineyards that had already been planted, and wells that had already been dug. Everything was already done for the children of Israel. As believers under the provisions of the new covenant, our “promised land” is to simply rest in what Christ accomplished for us at the cross. In the passage from Hebrews, we learned that God desires that we would enjoy His rest. That we would be blessed, provided for, and healed as we receive from him. Through no efforts of our own.

Lifestyle Business

Stu McLaren shares his thoughts on the importance of being intentional.

Feature Segment: How to Get a Day’s Work Done In 2 Hours

Here’s the overall checklist for doing a days work in two hours. There are 3 phases to this method: Plan, Prepare, Perform. For a detailed explanation… listen to the podcast!

Plan

• Make your “List of Three”, “Fantastic Five”, and your “Weird Time List”.

Prepare

• Wake up one hour earlier.
• Have a quiet time.

Perform

• Work on your “List of Three” before you do anything else.
• Use the “F.I.T.” Method.
• Take a 10 minute break, and move immediately to the “Fantastic Five”.
• Now take a 30 minute break, and go about your day as usual. Relax.
• Use your “Weird Time List” to “grout your day”.

Special Announcements

1. I’m attending the Platform Conference in Nashville. It is nearly sold out. The purpose of the conference: to help you “get noticed in a noisy world.” It’s being put on by Michael Hyatt and Ken Davis. My friends Stu McLaren and Carrie Wilkerson are speaking. I’m also looking forward to meeting  Jeff Goins, Cliff Ravenscraft, Pat Flynn, John Saddington, Michele Cushatt, and Andrew Buckman. Unlike most conferences, there’s not a single speaker I’m not excited to hear and to meet. Get a ticket while you can!
2. Our exclusive Las Vegas workshop is more than half-full. If you’re interested in participating, you will need to contact my office immediately.
3. Tomorrow I will make a special announcement about a brand-new event.

Would you like to have me speak at your event? Click here to visit my speaking page and get details on my availability.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please send me an email.

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast.

You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679

What tips can you offer that would help get an entire day’s work done in just two hours? Share your ideas and tactics below in the comments.

While this may sound crazy, especially if you are revenue-starved, give it a bit more thought and you’ll see that I’m right.

How to Lose the Complainers, Whiners, and Other High Maintenance Customers

Some customers are simply not worth the revenue they produce; because some customers are complainers, whiners, high maintenance, and end up costing you more in time, energy, and employee morale than they ever produce in revenue.

The truth is, most of us can identify these “problem children” customers a mile away. There’s just something about them that sets off the red flags early in the relationship, usually before any purchases have been made.

Learn to watch for these signals. Identify the kinds of questions, comments, and attitudes that you know are warning you that the person you’re talking to is a “problem child” customer.

Have a predetermined, polite, but firm routine in place for turning such customers away. You want to do it gracefully, because you don’t want to insult anyone or imply that they’re simply a “troublemaker” before you’ve even had a chance to get to know them.

But you and I both know that your biggest problem customers did not come as a surprise to you. Chances are, you knew in the first conversation you had with them, this person was going to be trouble.

Promise yourself that from now on you’re going to listen to your intuition, or your subconscious insight, or whatever you choose to call it… and you’re going to refuse to let those “problem children” inside your business.

You’ll be much better off without them messing up your employee morale, lowering your ROI, and costing you time and energy.

Spend the time you save on something much better – such as identifying, pursuing, and wooing your “perfect customers” instead.

The ones who are easy to work with, a joy to be around, most helped by your products and services, and produce the most profit for you in your business.

You’ll never be sorry you avoided a problem customer.

And every problem customer avoided makes room for a customer who is a delight.

You’re often closest to your big breakthrough right when you feel like giving up. God provides a way for us to have joy and peace, even when we face real trouble.

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Romans 10:17

How Has God given you peace and joy, even in the midst of trouble? Leave your comments below!

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