Persistence, purpose, planning and a mastermind alliance

Persistence, purpose, planning, and a mastermind alliance, this is a recipe to ensure success and defeat the enemy called failure.

Failure is not failure until the one trying to achieve something declares, “this is a failure I give up; I am not doing this anymore”. And so, somewhere in the 97ish% range, people who start out to be ardent entrepreneurs at something, fail. Why?, because they do not follow the simple routine of persistence, purpose, planning and a mastermind alliance.

Why is this so? Sometimes a look backwards to a time where a conflict was right on the doorstep, and no apparent hope in sight can help.

Winston Churchill much adorned leader in WWII when addressing the boys at Harrow school in 1941 said this in part of his speech, “Never give in. Never give in. Never, ever, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy”.

The Battle of Britain had been fought and won in the summer of 1940, the RAF in that battle were outnumbered by more the 4:1.

None the less persistence and the will to win proved to be the solution to the conflict.

This speech, if one reads it in its entirety demonstrates optimism, [hope] the Battle of Britain had been fought and won, the USA had implemented the lend lease program. Hitler had as Napoleon did made inroads into Russia as the winter approached, a big mistake that would ultimately dilute his military might.

The whole situation was beginning to look better. Just like any other journey, sometimes you do not know what is around the next bend.

He had in effect used persistence, purpose, planning and a mastermind alliance.

The never give in speech therefore speaks to any circumstance or endeavor which is fraught with some sort of conflict.

In world war [II] the enemy was real, visible, and for the soldiers right in their face.

Today, when looking at a home based business, there is also conflict. The problem is, it is not visible, and as an enemy it does not appear real. It is there however, and the type of weapons needed are stored in the mind.

The war can be fought and won by clicking here

How to use them is the issue.

The following statements are indicative of the nature of the enemy. I don’t have the skills; I don’t have enough money; that will never work; and so on. This merely states the “war” is lost, and a round has not even been fired.

The new war is thus; does a person entering the conflict [home business] have the inner strength and willpower to control his or her mind. Or, does one allow his or her mind to be controlled for example by the propaganda of TV, the latest fad, or what the people down the street are doing.

There is a certain phenomenon that exists within the mind of a human being. We call it fear. It is crafty, it gets into our minds and we are not even aware. It finds its way in because of our environment, because of our belief, because of social stigma, because we will die one day, because society has ruled that at a certain age we become useless or ineffective, because a million years ago the behavior of primitive man was a certain way, and now we have a legacy that is built in to our thinking.

Drifting on the breeze of human indifference does nothing more than beef up these fears to the point where they are now in control of our thoughts. The truth is this; the one thing [and just about the only thing] we have control of [if we choose] is our thoughts.

A good place to start in the conditioning of one’s mind when anticipating the journey connected with a self-operated business is a self-analysis of where we stand versus our fears.

 

Indecision, doubt and fear will inhibit your ability to succeed.

These are demons, they are the backup firepower of the invisible enemy. At all costs they must be eradicated before true progress can occur.

Indecision and doubt equal fear.

Remember those five words, and then recall them each time you are faced with self-doubt, or you cannot make up your mind.

Here are the six basic human phenomena you must overcome: [Inspiration for this came from reading the works of Napoleon Hill].

Fear of Poverty, the road that leads to poverty, is in the opposite direction to that of riches. At this juncture there is a decision to be made, either poverty, if so then decide that and that is it; period. Or demand the riches you feel you deserve, starting with your major definite purpose, and developing the plan to get them.

Fear of ill Health, I am going to speak to this one personally. As you may be aware I am a type 1 diabetic, and have been for thirty years. Much of what drives fear can be found in ill health. Type 1 is a killer, no insulin, no life. Immediately after my diagnosis I went into a peculiar mental state for about two weeks. My dreams were about nothing but death. A physical visual representation of the word diabetes kept appearing in my dream night after night. It was clearly out to see me dead, one way or another.
As I look back and with more understanding of the sub conscious I had a choice to make. Give in and let the disease have its way with me.

Or, get up and fight.

The fight I put up said I will never look at myself as being any less capable than anyone else, despite my affliction. Take it from me first hand “it’s all in the mind” you control what you want by the way you think.

Fear of Criticism, I am sure you have heard the expression “keeping up with the Jones’” this “pain” came about as a result of people not wanting to be criticized because, their house was not painted when the one down the street was, or the family across the street got a new set of wheels, Sandy has a new dress, etc. The question to ask here is, who is making your decisions, or another way to say it is. Who is in control of your mind, you or is it the guy across the street who just got the new car?

Fear of Loss of Love, this stigma probably goes back to the days of the caveman, who

saw the woman in the cave across the river and decided she was his, so he took her. Subsequently driving the fear through primitive society. We still have the legacy today.

Having been married too many times, my advice is take your time and make sure the choice is the right one. Unfortunately if you are young; you do not think with your head. Console yourself with the fact that time is a great healer.

At the same time be aware that while you are in this jealousy phase, your thinking will be skewed, your concentration will be shot, and your financial decisions will be shaky at best. Plus a myriad more. Make sure you have some money put away where you cannot get at it. This really is a hard one to deal with, but remember you are the one in control of your mind, it is logic versus your emotions.

Fear of Aging, youth spawns a period where mistakes are made and many of them, but there is adequate time for recovery. It is a time when the brain has bags of room to soak up “knowledge” and information. The brain will store all of it. This is a fact.
The fear of aging, is somewhat driven because feelings of inadequacy begin to appear, “I can no longer compete”, “I am too old for this”, “I am slowing down” and all sorts of nonsense like that.

The truth is when you are the south side of 50, you are moving into a golden age where wisdom, common sense, and experience is abundant. All of that soaking up of information you did while you were young is all still in there.
Don’t waste your time while you are young, learn as much as you can.
Personally as I have looked at myself at 62, I feel like I have a ton of stuff to offer. Since the younger generations have newer and more up to date skills there is opportunity to trade one for the other, we all win.

Fear of Death, generation after generation across the world have been subject to supreme deities. Messages were and still are communicated via the earthly messenger/priest/rabbi/etc. To the effect. If you don’t do this or that, then when you encounter death, hell and damnation will be waiting. An

unenlightened mind would be scared, wouldn’t you?

Personally, if matter and energy can only be changed, and not destroyed. Then we are merely changing from one state to another. The answer is not clear however since no one has returned.

These fears exist, and there is no doubt about that. All of them are stimulated by thought. Thoughts are controllable, you own your mind. As an example If you constantly whine and gripe about “being poor”, and “not having enough money”, and “if I was only younger, or smarter” then…..that is your recipe for poverty.

On the other hand if your purpose is defined, the plan is made, the values and the dates are set, and there is plenty of action going on behind it, and you are full of enthusiasm then…one of the six human phenomena that must be overcome will be on the run.

Here is a valuable thought. Self-confidence will help enormously if you want to drive fear away and keep it away. This is done by developing definite useable knowledge, primarily and first within your sphere of endeavor; and then generally,[ since it stimulates social interaction via interesting conversation, and this helps with networking].

Let’s assume for a minute that you have driven your fears away, or at a minimum have a program in place to get rid of them once and for all.

What’s next?

Fifty plus obstacles that are in the way.

With fifty plus obstacles in the way, the journey continues with more self-analysis the objective being to establish what needs to be worked on outside of fears. These would be the more practical issues involved.

My strong recommendation is that you get yourself a copy of Think and Grow Rich, read it and find the section which deals with the fifty plus obstacles and perform the analysis. In the meantime I will address those of paramount importance.

No one in this world does anything unless there a strong motive to do so. No one will achieve success unless clearly visualized in their mind is a purpose, a major purpose which is very definite. Hill calls it a Major Definiteness of Purpose [mdp], a good enough title for me.

The motive and an mdp in my case is already realized. It is known by me; exactly what it is, when it will be accomplished, and by what means.

Four important items.
1. Motive
2. Major Definite Purpose
3. A Time Stamp
4. Means

The only way to create success for oneself is via understanding, planning, and execution. By having definite specific knowledge of what you are about, and having a very specific step by step plan. Followed up by taking firm positive action every single day.

Tony Robbins says; when you finally make the decision to cause success in your life mimic or copy the methods of someone who has already succeeded.

In my case I had to have someone who I could truly believe in, someone who beyond a shadow of a doubt had researched and studied and failed time and time again.

At the same time had the tenacity to get up and go at it again until success was finally in his grasp.

I found that master of success in Napoleon Hill, [1883-1970] the person who took the complex workings of the mind of Andrew Carnegie and turned it into the philosophy of success. Hill pioneered most of what is written on the subject; and subsequently practiced by today’s successful business folk.

For me Hill provided the philosophy by which I could modify my life, and casting ego aside [as one must] I enabled myself to begin again in my late fifties.

People like Tony Robbins extrapolated Hill’s work and used parts of it to create their own success.

Since Hill had passed, I found it necessary therefore to have a mentor who was still alive. Someone successful, and smart, also educated in the field of my endeavor, and would have the mannerisms and chemistry that suits my personality. His name is Lawrence Tam.

Restating that this journey all starts with motivation, [i.e. nobody does anything unless there is a motive to do so], is vital. Understanding this in yourself requires some inner searching. Some of the more open success stories will tell you,” work on yourself first”. Too true, without this you will experience multiple false starts, until you find your true motivation.

Mostly in the beginning the motive has something to do with money. That is perfectly OK, this motive will usually turn into a shorter term goal. This goal of financial freedom finds a place as a stepping stone in the overall plan to meet the major definite purpose.

A word about money. Amongst all of the available tools we have throughout our lives money is the one thing we need to be able to negotiate our way through the complex social systems we encounter. So, do not underestimate it, you need it. It is a universal medium if you will.

Be aware however it is not a cure all. It is merely a means to an end. Once the need is met, and the method of turning the money “faucet” off and on at will, its power as a motivator goes away.

Life is a balance, and money is just one of the elements helping us reach that necessary balance. The truth is without persistence, purpose, planning, and a mastermind alliance this life balance at a minimum will be extremely difficult.

Past masters like Hill teach us that we will go nowhere without a major definite purpose. And absolutely nowhere without a plan, and enthusiastic action.

In my case a very definite long term plan exists to achieve my mdp. I have spent the first 40 something years of my life learning all sorts of “stuff”. I have lived and worked in two countries. I have traveled extensively both for pleasure and for work.

I have developed the skills to be able to help people through all sorts of life and work crises. [What appear in the beginning to be crises, but are really life just happening outside and inside the work environment].
I therefore needed to be in a position where financial issues ceased to be issues. The closer I get the more time I have to devote to the important work.

When I look at the condition many are in through lack of discipline, and the lack of ability to seize opportunity; just plain not having the skills or experience. There are without any doubt, critical important deficiencies to correct amongst a myriad of other issues.

I can see very clearly therefore where I can help.

My dream is very simple;
• Take what I have from past experience and teachings;
• Couple it with the teachings of past masters;
• Add valuable input from younger mentors;

**Recreate it in a simplistic manner that anyone can understand;

• Use today’s technologies to present this;
• Help others understand how to get at their motive;
• Teach others how to plan;
• Cause others to realize their mdp, without doing it for them;

**I recognize my own ability to do this well.

So far we learned about two of the fifty plus obstacles that are in the way.

1. The motive, why are you doing this, what is driving you?
2. What is your major definite purpose? What is it that you are about achieving, what are the sub levels of that purpose? Ex: Do you need money, where will it come from, what else do you need, how will you get it?

Take note of this, this is important: What is the date you commit to achieving your goal? No time stamp means never.

There are many more issues to deal with, but the important stuff first. You have a motive, a purpose, you even know when this will happen.

Your fears are addressed or being worked on.

There is something missing, that something is a well-defined and written/typed plan with resources defined and due dates set.

When I worked in industry, this was one of the most useful tools I had.

Let’s say that a work group of fifty people needed five specific skills, and five of them were expert at one each.
Logic would say that if each of the five could teach the other 45, plus cross train each other then the requirement would be met. Agreed?

Would you simply get the group together and say OK guys, we need to learn these five skills, and oh by the way those five over there can teach you, so get on with it, and hurry up.

Or, would you sit down and lay out a time stamped plan that shows who would be trained on what by when and by who.

MDP…Fifty people need to be trained on five different skills.
Drop Dead Date 1st September 2014.

Resources, Bill, Joe, Fred, Tom, and Dave. [Each have an expertise in one of the skills, they are the teachers] The start date is, the location is, the members of the five groups are, the cross training of the instructors will occur on, etc.

Here is the detailed plan.

Does that not make more sense, and does it not seem very business-like?
Did you catch the error?
The group size is [9] not [10].

It also embodies the principles of persistence, purpose, planning, and a mastermind alliance.
Well guess what, if you start a home business, that is exactly what it is a business and it therefore should be treated like one.
This narrative is concerned with one more extremely important feature of business, that being the Mastermind, and it’s associated principle.

Let’s go back in time once again, Andrew Carnegie [1835-1919] built Carnegie Steel Company, which he sold to J.P. Morgan in 1901 for $480 million, [in today’s dollars about $14 Billion], he was the worlds [financially] wealthiest man at that time.

Carnegie knew nothing of the process of making steel. When asked,” how then are you able to create such a success with so little knowledge?” His reply was thus along these lines.

I surrounded myself with the foremost experts in the fields of chemistry, engineering, physics, finance, human resource, manufacturing, et al of the necessary expertise associated with this [steel] business. I formed a Mastermind alliance.

I afforded each one privileges, I paid them well, way more than they could get anywhere else. I spent my time devising ways to get them to work together.

Just a paraphrased snapshot of the thinking and actions of Carnegie, and of course incomplete, I know there was much more.
The point is this, Carnegie was a member of the Mastermind, part of the alliance as well as its leader. His skills lay in his ability to coerce the others. At the same time he recognized that he did not know it all, and that he could not do it by himself.

Also was recognized the power of the Mastermind alliance. Meaning once you put more than two people together to pour over a common issue, you do not get the power of two or three. What you get is an exponential geometric progression of brain activity. That, within the common sphere, means no problem will be unresolved.

Carnegie demonstrated persistence, purpose, planning and a mastermind alliance, after all Hill transformed Carnegie into words, the world’s wealthiest man in his day.

In conclusion; by now you will have realized just how powerful the human mind is. Also, that study into how this extremely powerful computer mounted on our shoulders is of vital importance.

The statement of “work on yourself first” has so much hidden power, that without taking action and doing something about working on yourself, self-denial will ultimately follow.

The outcome in neglect of this action will result in one of two outcomes.

One is constraint, the other enablement. The former being such, that the constraint will cause one to float on the breeze of circumstantial indifference. The only success in life will come about as a result of pure “luck” meaning opportunity by the resolution of a statistical equation that one had nothing to do with solving.

On the other hand, if one puts serious and forthright effort into “working on oneself first” then the enablement that is generated by the brain/mind will result in increased rewards in all aspects of one’s life. Life therefore will be lived and conducted based upon actions rationalized and subsequently realized by one’s own thinking and not by some other influence. This is the winning combination of; persistence, purpose, planning and a mastermind alliance.

Retrieve the full benefit of all of this teaching by clicking here