Don't Be Afraid to Lose

So many of us are afraid of losing.We are afraid of losing mainly because we are concerned about how others will perceive us and the consequences of the loss itself. Let me first address the others. Most of us humans are deathly afraid of being judged as a loser; as someone who just doesn’t win, a person who never accomplishes anything, an “unlucky” person. The person who no one wants to be around. This unrelenting fear paralyzes us many times from not taking action or working towards a goal, and as a result effectively becoming the loser we are so desperately try to avoid. Stop caring about how other people perceive you and don’t succumb to what Zig Ziglar taught me as False Evidence Appearing as Real.

Now, what about the consequences associated with the loss? The cause and effect relationship between your action or inaction and the loss itself. Understanding that most of us lose more than we actually win will help you deal with the losses. The key is getting comfortable with the idea of the loss and the reality of the loss. Whether you are negotiating a business deal or playing a game, mentally preparing yourself for the potential of a loss actually puts you in a winning position. You’ve heard it before, “nothing to lose, everything to gain”. If you train yourself to get comfortable with the loss you will put yourself in an enviable position with your opponent. When they realize you don’t care if you win or lose, it will scare them. It freaks people out. Most do not know how to handle others with a “nothing to lose mentality” and, more likely than not, will lose themselves due to their own fears. Their preoccupation with your “nothing to lose mentality” actually gives you the upper hand. Stop caring about how others will perceive your losses, and let others know you don’t care if you lose, and you will WIN.

P.S. We all want to win, and all should work towards winning. I get that. But don’t be afraid to lose.

The Most Valuable Lessons These 6 Top Entrepreneurs Have Learned

Hard-won wisdom that created wildly successful companies.

The Oracles

The entrepreneur’s journey is full of challenging and enlightening lessons. If paid attention to, these lessons can take your business to the next level.

These top entrepreneurs and members of The Oracles reflect on some of their most valuable business lessons and how they used them to find ultimate success.

1. Value your time by putting a price tag on it.

Your time is the greatest resource and one thing you can’t get back. To execute at the top level, you have to understand the full gravity of time. It’s imperative to prioritize your life and business in a way that lines up with what you value most.

While it’s important to hustle and grind and look to the future, it’s just as important to allow yourself to live in the moment and take time to give back. That means getting clear on what gives life value and what your time is worth.

In the mid-1980s I started monetizing each minute of every day. While working with the Shopping Channel, I saw how segments were run minute by minute, 60 minutes an hour, 24 hours a day, seven days a week; this gave me a concrete understanding of how each minute was valued, logged, and charged.

I applied this mindset to my own life and began to ask myself: If time is precious, how am I bringing the most value to the present moment? How am I planning for my future so that each minute counts?

—Kevin Harrington, inventor of the infomercial, pioneer of the “As Seen on TV” industry, and original Shark on “Shark Tank”

2. Stay curious.

“Stick to what you know” is a strict school of thought in many entrepreneurship circles. After living that for many years, I’ve come to believe just the opposite. By keeping your mind open to new ideas and embracing novelty, you make opportunities for yourself. By exposing yourself to a multitude of businesses and products, your scope expands. Conversely, if you always have your blinders on, your perspective becomes too narrow and you miss out on promising opportunities.

Two years ago, I was introduced to Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin by a friend. I laughed it off, quickly responding that I wasn’t interested. At that time, Bitcoin was valued at roughly $500. Today, as I type, it is valued at $5,700, more than a 1,000-percent increase in value.

Now, I’m not a Cryptocurrency guy but passed on an early opportunity to get involved because I didn’t want to learn about it. It was too abstract and esoteric for me; yet, that’s how breakout ideas often appear before they become the new norm.

Take the time to learn about new ideas or even entirely new businesses. By staying open and curious, you’ll continue to thrive and grow in today’s disruptive era.

—Michael Alden, bestselling author and CEO of CloiXonné

3. Master your thoughts and emotions.

Most of my lessons came from failures, setbacks, and defeats. Although painful, they developed the self-awareness to grow. They forced me to spend time on mastering my thoughts and emotions.

I used to lose my temper a lot. If you’re an entrepreneur with scattered thoughts and frazzled emotions, you’ll react incorrectly to every fastball thrown your way—resulting in more setbacks, bigger defeats, and chaotic up and down cycles.

Becoming the calm operator—who takes decisive action while others get emotional at the push of a button—gives you the unfair advantage. Start by writing down your goals every day. Spend time in solitude with your thoughts, observing what you think and feel about yourself. Keep revisiting what you want for your life.

Practised consistently, you’ll develop the personal and professional invincibility to withstand any circumstance. You’ll gain tremendous clarity. You’ll have the ability to block out all the distactions, doubts, and third party opinions. You’ll have total control over how to react to challenging situations. Nothing can ever crush your spirit again.

—Com Mirza, “The $500 Million Man” and CEO of Mirza Holdings; failed in eight companies back to back and today, runs a nine-figure empire with over 600 employees

4. Believe in yourself, intuition, and vision.

My motto is, “To believe it and achieve it, I have to see it, feel it, smell it, and taste it.” This requires an upgraded mindset. Think about the energy of a child: adventurous, fierce, unapologetic, inspirational, and tenacious. Most entrepreneurs lose that “spark” of self-belief after a few setbacks because they view failure as inescapable. Yet, this is the most crucial time to work on reprogramming your brain to win, so you can pivot and learn from your failure and move toward success.

Use Positive Passion™ to get clear on your vision. Reactivate what drives you by reflecting on what you want from life and why you fell off track. After identifying your authentic goals, you’ll experience more “flow” than resistance, working more productively and creatively. You’ll become unwilling to acknowledge any barriers until your mission is accomplished.

Another key lesson I’ve learned is to always look for ways to improve your business and create value in people’s lives. For example, I was frustrated that most essential oils on the market have artificial additives and fillers, so I created a line of pure “Grade A” therapeutic essential oils. When you’re at a loss, think about what products, systems, or services will benefit everyone.

—Marina Rose, QDNA®, founder and developer of Quantum DNA Acceleration®, a revolutionary technique for quantum growth in health, life, and business

5. Empower empire builders.

Create an environment where not only you but also everyone on your team can accomplish anything and everything they’ve ever wanted. As struggling entrepreneurs, we’re often insecure and fearful that others will “steal” our clients. Yet, you’ll never attract the best “empire builders” on the planet to work within your organization if you don’t create an environment where they can thrive alongside you. When you start running your company with confidence—in a way that serves your team and clients—you’ll be able to attract top talent and build a true empire that stands the test of time.

Top talent means a few things. Top candidates aren’t “broke people.” This phrase may elicit a negative knee-jerk reaction, but when I say “broke,” I’m not referring to socio-economic status. I mean someone with a desperate energy about them, who is more interested in their hourly rate than a vision for the company and themselves. I don’t hire anyone with that broken mindset. Once I have top talent in play, I like to pay for outcomes, not hours. I don’t care if they worked 10 hours or 100 hours this week, so long as the expected outcomes have been produced.

—AJ Rivera, seven-figure marketing expert, business advisor, and CEO of FitPro Heroes; connect with AJ on Facebookand YouTube

6. Get out of the way.

An early career mistake was fueling my business with too much personal time and energy. I created a paradigm where I was the single motor driving the ship. With this mindset, I quickly found myself working seven days a week, which was unsustainable and very difficult to duplicate.

My businesses are now fueled by leadership, people, and systems. Infusing these three tenets into your business model can be game-changing for growth and lasting success.

Leadership means imparting the vision, being precise with your team’s role, and cutting them loose to execute their objectives. Show your team you trust them (which starts by trusting yourself), and let them develop into key players in your organization.

People means every person who works for you is equal. I don’t let anyone call me “boss.” No matter how big you get, remember: you’re nothing without your team.

With systems, it’s essential to document everything and cross-train everyone. The only way your company can run without you is to create clear instructions and procedures for when you’re not around. If you’re not the type to write out procedure manuals, find someone who is! If you cross-train everyone on those procedures, no one person can ever sink the ship.

—Danny Morel, author of “The Resilience Roadmap” and founder M.PIRE university; connect with Danny on Facebook and Instagram

The Oracles, Content Provider

A brain trust of high-level entrepreneurs

Want to suggest a future topic for these entrepreneurs to answer? Email suggestion@theoracles.com and it’s very possible we’ll make your suggestion the focus of a future article!

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Originally published on Entrepreneur.com. ©2017 by Entrepreneur Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

9 ways to build a side business without quitting your day job

The Oracles

Quitting your day job to pursue the entrepreneurial dream can be exhilarating — or terrifying. Fortunately, anyone can easily make extra money from a “side hustle” without losing the security of a steady paycheck. These millionaires and members of The Oracles give practical advice on turning your side hustle into an abundant cash cow.

1. Maintain perspective

You might feel tremendous pressure while birthing your idea and simultaneously performing in a full-time job. Instead of perceiving pressure as a problem, embrace it: the high stakes force you to be decisive, clear, and effective with your goals.

Before you jump off the cliff and get your business going, consider a business partner. Find someone with opposite complementary strengths to have the best chance of winning.

—Barbara Corcoran, founder of The Corcoran Group and Shark on “Shark Tank“

2. Re-look at your current job

Poor people try to replace income sources; rich people add. Don’t hastily quit your job for “greener pastures” until you’re certain you could make more with your time elsewhere.

Until then, get better at your current job. Flip your mindset to increasing production within the time you have. When I sold cars, I learned how to finance them. The finance manager didn’t have to stay late, the dealer didn’t need to take on another salary, the customer was taken care of, and I earned extra money. Everyone won!

When you do start your side hustle, make it “symbiotic” — closely connected to your main income source — so you can give both proper attention. Most people start a side hustle, get excited, ignore their main income stream, then end up with one source again. Commit to never ignoring your primary income source. With several income streams, you can build true wealth.

—Grant Cardone, top sales expert who has built a $500-million real estate empire, and NYT-bestselling author; follow Grant on Facebook or YouTube

3. Buy an existing, profitable business

Consider buying an existing, profitable business. I’ve made 13 business acquisitions over the years. It’s much easier to build on a proven business model with incremental enhancements than creating something from nothing.

With acquisitions, leverage the seller’s support, experience, and insight during the transition. Strategically finance your business acquisitions so you don’t pay all the cash up front. If the financial records are clean, you can qualify for a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan with as little as a 10-20 percent down payment.

With an already successful business, you can focus on financing the deal and delegate roles to grow the business further.

— Tom Shieh, CEO of Crimcheck; connect with Tom on Facebook

4. Consider your passion and time

When starting a side hustle, find something you’re excited about and don’t mind spending time on.

The first time I sold online was on eBay. As an avid golfer, I noticed golf clubs were selling like gangbusters, and started browsing garage sales to see if I could find one to resell. I purchased an almost new Callaway Big Bertha for $20 and listed it within an hour for $100. It sold the very first day. For the next several years, I bought and resold golf equipment on eBay.

If your side hustle is something you enjoy, you may just turn your side hustle into a full-time hustle.

—Rob Kosberg, #1 bestselling author and CEO of Best Seller Publishing, whose strategies have positioned US Ambassadors, professional athletes and CEOs as thought leaders

5. Harness an actionable audience

A great side hustle pays you for what you’d do anyway. When I was in college studying music, I worked the night shift at a hotel where I could study or sleep until a customer rang the bell for service. I umpired baseball games and refereed soccer, earning anywhere from $50 to $75 an hour watching games. I also bounced and deejayed at a club, so I was paid to party and even made great money at weddings.

Take your passion, and see if there’s an audience for it. Then create a revenue stream by harnessing people’s interest. Today, I write viral videos and produce music that drives customer engagement. It’s a side hustle and passion, so never feels like work.

— Craig Handley, co-founder and CEO of ListenTrust; read more about Handley: This boss hires and trains his employees to quit

6. Build Rome in a day

One, find your favorite household item — for example: mayonnaise, books, or doggy beds. Two, build a ClickFunnels, Shopify, or Amazon store. Three, create a Stripe or Braintree account. Four, form an LLC on LegalZoom and create a business bank account. Five, use Facebook ads to drive traffic to your product. These five steps can be accomplished in under a month with a full-time job.

—Tai Lopez, investor and advisor to many multimillion-dollar businesses, who has built an eight-figure online empire; connect with Tai on Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube

7. Start with 30 minutes a day, then outsource

The time vs. money value is usually the most important factor to becoming wealthy. The difficult part about having a job is you don’t have free time to build a business. E-commerce (drop shipping specifically) for me started as a side hustle, which quickly became a multimillion-dollar business.

Set aside time — even if it’s just 30 minutes per day — to work on your side hustle. Outsource your work, and get help from freelancers on websites such as Upwork and Fiverr. It’s often much easier than you think to find people who can help you.

—Jared Goetz, serial entrepreneur and e-commerce expert; co-founder of four multimillion-dollar companies in five years

8. Build a self-managing side hustle

Create a side hustle that leverages your time and manages itself. The three pillars of a self-managing side hustle are:

1. Learning to sell online
2. Creating “value” products
3. Building a distribution system.

You can learn to sell anything online just by watching a few free videos with basic sales funnel software like ClickFunnels or LeadPages. By creating “value” products such as courses, checklists, or cheat sheets, your one-time effort can have an exponential impact. The fastest distribution system is building an email list by trading a value product to acquire leads.

Ultimately, when you have a self-managing business, you instantly have options and cash flow: the two results that every entrepreneur loves!

—Sharran Srivatsaa, angel investor and president of brokerage (western region) at Douglas Elliman; grewTeles Properties 10X in five years

9. Make it sustainable

Don’t quit your day job until you have enough revenue to support your current lifestyle with the side hustle.

I had a friend who wanted to be in the t-shirt business. He was very passionate about the process, the product he could provide, and the lifestyle he would create. Blinded by his passion, he quit his day job without one client or prospect. This put a severe financial strain on him and his family.

When you have an idea, work on it during off-hours, evenings, and weekends until it’s fully sustainable. With this method, you’ll be able to minimize risk, generate stable cash, and follow your passion.

—Michael Alden, bestselling author and CEO of CloiXonné

The Oracles, Content Provider

A brain trust of high-level entrepreneurs

Want to share your insights like those above in a future column? If you’re an experienced entrepreneur, please get in touch here.

Want to suggest a future topic for these entrepreneurs to answer? Email suggestion@theoracles.com, and it’s very possible we’ll make your suggestion the focus of a future article!

Follow The Oracles on Facebook.

Originally published on CNBC.com . ©2017 by CNBC LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Stop and Smell the Roses

Things I learned from pruning my rose bushes, and how it relates to business and personal growth

A year and a half ago I was fortunate enough to have built a beautiful house on the North Shore of Massachusetts, minutes from the beach. This wasn’t my first house and it won’t be my last. But something hit me hard when I was pruning the rose bushes surrounding my property. It was probably the thorn in my index finger that really caused this epiphany.

Roses are a beautiful reminder of our planet and what we have to be thankful for

They are a status symbol for some, they are gifts given during the holidays. However, it was their beauty and fragility that struck me. Looking closely at the vibrant red petals each day, as they grow and bloom, fills me with joy. The natural process is just awesome.

They don’t really smell that good

It makes me laugh when people go to smell roses. Maybe other roses smell nice, but mine just smell like beautiful nature.

They are resilient

Even if I don’t take care of them, they would bloom, die and eventually regrow. Sometimes.

They do however need help

I’ve never taken care of rose bushes before. Family members and a little internet research gave me the courage to attempt to care for these unparalleled displays of beauty on my property. In order to reach their potential, maximum beauty and growth they need help. If I did nothing they would look well enough for a while, but eventually they would wither and not become what they should; absolute beauty.

They must be cut loose

This part was hard for me. When looking at nature’s gift, I found it difficult to let roses go. I also understood that if I was careful and used precision the entire bush would thrive. So, like a neurosurgeon I clipped the roses that were close to the end of their life cycle. Carefully paying attention to the roses that were about to bloom and haven’t yet begun their journey. I did this so that others could grow. If I didn’t make these changes the entire bush could potentially die. An awesome responsibility when you consider what is at stake.

Anyone can hire someone to maintain a garden

When I was pruning the bushes a week prior a neighbor pulled up in his Mercedes and said “don’t you have someone to do that?” I laughed it off. I do in fact have a landscape crew come by and do the basics. But they don’t care as I do about the gift of red roses that I see every day for four months of the year.

At first I didn’t want to be bothered with manicuring my property

I’m a busy man with much more important things to do, right? I landscaped for a couple summers and it was pure torture. This is my house and my property, and although I don’t do everything around the property, I discovered something by pushing myself outside of my comfort zone.

Those roses make me happy

They universally make everyone happy. Stopping and smelling the roses(even though I don’t think they smell that good) is something that people need to do. Rather, I urge people to stop and look at the roses. Pay attention to each petal and their remarkable beauty. When I pruned the roses that are at the end of their life cycle I was amazed at how soft the petals are. When I discard them and they lay on the floor of the woods next to my property they are even beautiful as they are dying.

Taking care of your business is an awesome responsibility. Taking care of yourself is even more important. Paying attention to the impact of your decisions and understanding the global impact is crucial. Sometimes you have to cut things from your business in order for it to grow. Sometimes, you need to cut things from your personal life so you can grow. Respect the beauty of the gifts you have, appreciate them but also be acutely aware of what needs to be done in order to maintain beautiful growth. Both personally and professionally.

Greater Success Requires 5% More Effort

I had a chance to speak with Edward Fulbright earlier this week on Mastering Your Money, an educational radio program that is focused on giving business owners directions to turbo charge their success. Often, entrepreneurs are so focused on their stretch goals that they forget that setting micro goals will lead them to success. If you want greater success at work and in your career,  making small changes to reach your goals is the key. A 5% increase in effort is a small change that will yield great results in your life.

5% More can guide your actions as a business owner, could you imagine how your company would look if you increased your results by 5%? What if you could save your company 5% More money? Would you like to complete 5% more tasks each week?

If you are a business owner, do something 5% differently than your competitors: Be a little more creative and think a little bit harder than your competitors. Whether it is going the extra mile in customer service, or offering a product that’s just slightly better than that of your competitors, makes the difference in winning sales. Motivate your team to give 5% More: Your business will never grow, if your team keeps doing the same thing over and over again. Invest 5% more in training and supporting them, so that they can do the best job possible.

Unrealistic Goal Setting Leads to a Culture of Fraud

Why setting smaller goals will lead to success

In 1852 Wells Fargo was founded by Henry Wells and William Fargo, originally as a delivery company of sorts, and has evolved into one of the largest banking institutions in the United States.  A company built on hard work, honesty and integrity has seen its reputation tarnished beyond some of the fake silver bars that were hawked as authentic silver produced by Wells Fargo in the 1960’s.  

Wells Fargo has now been relegated as nothing but a fraudulent institution no better than faceless identity thieves stealing peoples personal information.  Thousands of unsuspecting consumers have had accounts opened in their names without their consent in an effort to prove to Wall Street that the bank was doing good things.  When in fact, it was the complete opposite.  

Employees from the top down knowingly opened accounts, moved money, and even incurred fees in consumers’ names which hurt their credit.  The dust has yet to settle and this is just the beginning, as the Senate Banking Committee I’m sure, will expand their investigation to include other banking institutions.  

Why am I writing about this?  This far reaching fraudulent activity was created by one thing, and it wasn’t greed.  It was created by a culture that set unrealistic goals.  By setting unrealistic goals and holding everyone to goals that were beyond a stretch, employees all the way from bank tellers to the CEO were forced create fake customer accounts.  

Well, they weren’t actually fake.  They were and are real people, with real lives and real families.  Today while watching the hearing before the Senate Banking committee, the dollar amount as far as damage can’t even be speculated due to the fact that quantifying how someone’s credit was damaged from these fake accounts will take time to figure out.  But, I will guarantee you it’s in the billions.

Too many companies lack the understanding of realistic goal setting.  By setting these unattainable goals, Wells Fargo employees were pressured and even directed to do whatever it takes to show good numbers, including defrauding customers, stockholders and the American public.

Most goal setting experts set goals up in three tiers: the baseline goal, the mid-level goal and the stretch goal. Everyone is expected to hit the mid-level goal.  However, companies, managers and “sales” trainers always preach about hitting the stretch goal and how good it will be for the individual and the company.  

Wells Fargo became so obsessed with these stretch goals that employees were pushed too far. Employees were left with very few choices; quit, get fired or commit fraud.  The incentives or consequences were too great for most people to quit.  The employees all have families and bills to pay and they need to live, so they pushed beyond even their own moral codes.  

I have always taught and lived my life based on setting small micro-goals and compounding on them over time.  My latest book 5% More is all about these small baby steps. I show how these small progressive steps achieve results even higher than the stretch goals set by so called “goal setting experts”.  The next time you are tasked with setting a goal, whether it be for yourself or your employees, set smaller, more realistic, more achievable goals and compound on them month after month. This is not creating a culture of underachievers, this is creating a culture of successful, happy and motivated people who will achieve more than you thought.

The Power of 5%

If you think 5% to be an insignificant figure, I ask you to ponder the effects of the latest news out of Washington.

According to the latest Census Bureau data, a 5% increase can mean the greatest single year increase in median household income since record-keeping began in 1967. You read that right. Median household income in the United States rose from $53,718 in 2014 to $56,516 in 2015. A 5.2% increase in inflation adjusted dollars.

Can we expect a 5% increase every year going forward? I’m not an economist, but I will go out on a limb and say that’s unlikely. My point is to reiterate the power that even a one-time 5% increase can yield; the largest economic gain in a generation over a one year period.

The power of this 5% increase could have national political implications in the current election cycle as well. One side of the ticket has continuously tried to paint a doom and gloom scenario stemming from current economic policies. This 5% hike could very well shine a light on that dark picture for a lot of voters whose confidence has been shaken for the last 8 years.

It’s been a long road of recovery since the great recession began. But, slowly and surely, it appears the economic expansion has finally begun to take hold. Would some like it to come quicker than it has? Of course. Many thought it would change for the better overnight after the administration change in 2008. Like I say in my book, small changes yield big results. I’m a believer in setting big goals. But I’m also a realist and believe in setting micro goals to baby step your way to achieving that ultimate goal.

Good Morning. F&*k That!

Is that what people strive for? Just a good morning?  I started thinking about it. People always say “good morning” to each other. Good is mediocre. Good is just above okay and slightly above terrible. I don’t want to be good. I want to be great. Sometimes people respond, “I’m good”, when asked how they are doing. Fuck that. Being just good sucks. Let’s be great! Let’s be fantastic. Good is not enough. You want to be great!

When I say great, I’m not talking about some unrealistic and naive status in life. I’m saying, you want to feel great!  You want to be great in your world, during your day and around your family. As you reprogram your mind from being just good, you will begin to do great things and people will gravitate toward you. Good does not get you far in life. Have you ever heard anyone get excited about how good a team is or how good a professional athlete at the top of their game is?  No, the ones that really get talked about are the great ones. Everyone is “good”, some may be terrible which is slightly below good, but only the great get talked about. So tomorrow when you wake up, have a GREAT morning!  And stop saying “good morning” to people. It’s now “great morning!”, “great afternoon”, “great evening”. You get it!  Now go get it.

So You Want to Be an Entrepreneur?

A lot of people fall in love with the fantasy of being an entrepreneur. People dream about the material things like nice cars, houses and vacations in the Caribbean.  They envision themselves driving the Bentley Coupe with their Hublot watch and latte from Starbucks. But, what no one shows is when money gets tight, and payroll needs to get paid, and when lines of credit dry up. No one shows the real world of what has to happen. Like skipping paychecks, like putting money in the business to keep things running. No one shows the late night anxiety and stress.

A true entrepreneur has to be able to step up and put it all on the line. It’s not like going to the casino. It’s like investing in the vision of the entrepreneur.  So when you are out there in the social media world, don’t be fooled by the guys posting pictures in front of their rented Lamborghini, or the stock image from the Island of Fiji. If you want this life, you can have it. It is awesome, but the responsibility is also awesome. I’m a real CEO and a real entrepreneur grinding it out and making it happen. If you want the real story and want to know how to navigate it, then follow me. If you don’t, there are a bunch of others trying to sell you a fucking dream.

Let’s invest in you, let’s invest in real life, real business, real stuff.

You must be a Pigeon First

Reflecting on my childhood, I would never have thought I would be where I am today as I type. I remember sitting on my back steps on a hot summer day such as today, with the putrid smell of trash and asphalt overtaking my senses. I watched as the pigeons picked at my neighbors’ trash bins that were overrun with maggots. I remember wanting to be one of those pigeons so that I could fly away from all the despair. A pigeon, that’s all I could envision for myself.

Not to take away from these birds, in fact, we can learn a lot from pigeons. However you don’t see pigeons in the suburbs or in the neighborhoods where the biggest challenge is the turkey population or the proper maintenance of a lawn. Growing up around drugs, crime, violence, and poverty doesn’t lead you to think about being a hawk or another powerful bird. You think about being a pigeon. Do you know why? It’s simple, really. Hawks don’t fly or hunt near the projects, even though there were plenty of rats. Pigeons were all I knew. At the time, I didn’t care or think about it, I just knew that I wanted to get out. I didn’t even know what it was like to be at the top or what “out” was.

I guess that’s when I came up with the 5% Philosophy, which became my latest book, 5% More.  I didn’t need to be a hawk yet, I just needed to get out day-by-day. So as I sit here in my custom-built hot tub, I realize that I needed to be a pigeon first, the best pigeon I could be, because that’s all I had known. By getting better slowly I was also to transform into a hawk.

The challenge today is that so many of us just want to start out by being a hawk. Many of us with no realistic justification feel as though we deserve to be a hawk. If I had known was a hawk was in my childhood I would have wanted to be a hawk, too. What I have learned through experience is that in order to be a hawk, you have to put in consistent, daily and progressive effort; what I like to call 5% More effort. You must be a pigeon first.

In our human society unlike the world of birds, we have the amazing ability and opportunity to morph into other forms through consistent and progressive change over time. You don’t have to remain a pigeon, but almost all of us will start as one. Don’t be afraid to be the pigeon, embrace it. Start by learning how to be the best pigeon first. Each day get better until you have transformed into a powerful hawk. Small, incremental steps, 5% steps toward a larger goal will get you there. That’s how it works in our human world. Then you too can fly high and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

When you become a hawk, you need to fully appreciate what it took to get you there and more importantly, what it will take to remain a hawk. So, embrace the pigeon first, and consistently give 5% More effort in incremental steps to become the hawk. If you want to learn more about the progression of success and how to maintain success visit my website for my new book, 5% More and connect with me on Facebook.