Robin J. Elliott: Joint Ventures with the Prophet of Profit, Training, Strategic Alliances

I have just returned from a visit to my family in South Africa. I have the most loving, caring and committed family in the world. On the way home in the plane. I was thinking about my visit with them and I realized that every one of them was constantly pushing books into my hands to read. We are a family of are Readers.

Wendy showed me her latest book, “Warrior Politics: Why Leadership Demands a Pagan Ethos.” by Robert D. Kaplan. It was filled with her notes and comments. My Dad read me excerpts from his war books, Gwyneth urged me to read her five recommended books in the fourteen days I was there and my Mom had me read and finish her friend, Gabriel Weiss’s amazing book about how he survived the Nazi death camps in Hungary. And of course I took a whole lot of books and books on tape for them, too. Rika and I love visiting the library and any good bookshop.

Entrepreneurs should realize one important thing about reading good books by smart people: When you read the words of a good author, you are thinking his thoughts! What a wonderful privilege to be able to think the thoughts of Churchill, Donald Trump, Ayn Rand, Sun Tzu, Patton, Aristotle, Leonard Peikoff, and Napoleon Hill! Surely, we if think their thoughts, our choices will achieve the same results that they did. There’s nothing sadder than someone who has stopped reading good books. Especially an entrepreneur, who needs to constantly develop and learn in order to maintain the lead in his or her chosen field.

When I met multi-millionaire Maxim Krok, he suggested I read “Horse Sense” by All Reiss. I bought it immediately and read it three times. I was fortunate to do some work for him and it was a privilege to learn from him. When you visit someone’s home or office, see what books line the shelves. Jim Rohn said the more successful people are, they more they read. And I’m not talking about the sports pages or the TV Times. When I want to know more about people, I ask what they’re currently reading. What are YOU reading? When I left South Africa, my Family gave me… another book: Building Buzz by Marisa D’Vari. On the plane, I look at what my fellow flyer is reading before deciding whether or not to talk with them. I had a fascinating three hour conversation with a 23 year old English teacher who was reading “We Need to Talk About Kevin” by Lionel Shriver.

Are you what you read? If we are our thoughts and if our thoughts are things, if our mind is a magnet, if our thoughts determine our choices, then we should eagerly seize the opportunity to read more than ever before. And if your excuse is that you don’t have the time, how about audio books on MP3? Atlas Shrugged is now available, all 53 hours of it, on MP3!

Or, simply Click Here.

In honor of the anniversary of John Lennon’s death, I have chosen this topic. Imagine you were going on a very long, perilous and important trip. If you survive the trip, you will be rewarded with great wealth, leaning and satisfaction, but, more importantly, huge personal growth. The journey is through a treacherous and threatening environment, much of it uncharted and unknown. And you have no idea how long the journey will take, or how you will reach the destination. In fact, imagine if you didn’t even have enough resources at the start to complete the journey – you just have enough to get started. You will have to create new resources along the way.

Now imagine you were given the opportunity to select a group of friends and fellow travelers to accompany you on this magnificent mission. You will have to trust your success and even survival to these people. You will endure difficult and dangerous challenges and threats. There will be the temptation of greed, fear and unexpected obstacles and rewards. What kind of people would you choose? What characteristics would you look for? How would you test them? After all, your very life and indeed your future fortunes would be in their hands!

Imagine you have to make a list of the qualities you will look for in this team. Now make the list. Name twenty qualities you would not compromise on. What would they be? Courage, consistency, reliability, integrity? Honesty, confidence, steadfastness, dependability, fidelity, loyalty, constancy? What else? How about boldness and valor? Would you really be interested in their resumes, university degrees and past experience, or would character be more important? Now here is a shocking suggestion: how many people do you now know and do business with that would fit that profile?

Business is very much like the journey I have just described. Those whom we choose to travel that journey with, the team we select, the joint venture partners we pick, can and do make a massive difference. We need to be very vigilant and selective. Look out for red flags. Watch your associates very closely and carefully put your team together. Whenever you see a wolf among the sheep, cut bait fast. Don’t discuss it or rationalize it. Don’t justify or excuse it. See it for what it is and remove it.

The most valuable asset to any business is our associates and the people we work with. When you find good people, stick with them. Support them, encourage them, reward them and honor them. They’re hard to find. Business is an exciting journey and it’s wonderful to be able to travel that journey. The rewards are magnificent. “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us…”

Motivational Quote
“You make your own dream. That’s the Beatles’ story, isn’t it? That’s Yoko’s story. That’s what I’m saying now. Produce your own dream. If you want to save Peru, go save Peru. It’s quite possible to do anything, but not to put it on the leaders and the parking meters. Don’t expect Jimmy Carter or Ronald Reagan or John Lennon or Yoko Ono or Bob Dylan or Jesus Christ to come and do it for you. You have to do it yourself. That’s what the great masters and mistresses have been saying ever since time began. They can point the way, leave signposts and little instructions in various books that are now called holy and worshiped for the cover of the book and not for what it says, but the instructions are all there for all to see, have always been and always will be. There’s nothing new under the sun. All the roads lead to Rome. And people cannot provide it for you. I can’t wake you up. “You can wake you up. I can’t cure you. You can cure you.” – John Lennon

Recommended Reading:
“Equality, the Third World, and Economic Delusion” by Peter Bauer.

Contact us: Robin J. Elliott www.DollarMakers.com

You talk to yourself at a rate of 600 words a minute. Even when you’re talking to yourself out loud, you’re talking with yourself internally as well. You’re constantly evaluating your circumstances and choices, based on your frame of reference and conditioning. Many of the confusions we jump to are automatic; conditioned responses based on past experiences which were often painful. So, many of the choices that we make are guaranteed to keep us in a negative loop, unless we consciously and actively stop the downward cycle and interrupt the negative pattern. Here’s a proven and simple way to do just that.

Have you noticed that you always answer your own questions, and that the question determines the answer? And that we act on those answers? If you ask yourself, “Why am I so stupid?” You’ll get an answer that confirms that you are stupid, by telling you why you are stupid. If you ask, “Why do I have to work so hard?” you’ll trigger the same, negative response to confirm and support a negative belief or paradigm. “Why can’t I get out of debt?” will elicit an automatic, programmed response that will keep you in debt.

The way to break free and escape this trap is to consciously and purposefully construct and ask questions that are designed to break the mold of pessimism and failure in any area of your life. In order to break disempowering habits, one fast way is to constantly ask yourself the right questions.

Write down the questions and be sure to ask yourself these questions (out loud, if possible) at least seven times every day. Try these for a start:
How can I double my income?
What is great about my life?
What do I like, respect and admire about the person I just met?
How can I add more value to the products and services I sell?
What am I grateful for?
How can I do more in less time?
What am I happy about? What is great about this situation?
Why do I have so much energy and joy?
How can I joint venture with others to make my dreams come true in a fraction of the time?
What can I do to increase the happiness and comfort of those I work with / my vendors / my family?
What did I learn today that will help me for the rest of my life?
Why am I such a great person? Why do people like and respect me?

Tailor your questions to overcome mental and emotional challenges in your life. Focus on good things, solutions and events that you’re grateful for. Focus on what you want, not on what you don’t want. Create vivid mental pictures of your goals. Manage your mind and thoughts and everything else in your life will improve. Most of all, mix with Eagles instead of turkeys – Eagles will help you, support you and encourage you. Want to know where to find them? Click here.

Robin J. Elliott has been officially included in the International Who’s Who of Entrepreneurs in 2002 and has been nominated as a candidate for inclusion in the 2004-2005 edition of the International Who’s Who of Professionals. www.DollarMakers.com

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On the anniversary of John Lennon’s death, we honor his memory with this quote of his: “I’m not afraid of death because I don’t believe in it. It’s just getting out of one car, and into another.”