When my mechanic told me that I needed to replace the water pump in my car, my first question was, “How much will that cost me?” His wise reply was, “Let me tell you what it will cost you if you DON’T replace it right now.”

Imagine a pilot, flying through a storm, who ignores his instruments. Even though his altimeter shows that he is losing altitude, he sighs, “Oh, it doesn’t FEEL like we’re dropping like a stone…” Ridiculous. Or the insurance salesperson who disregards the scoreboard on the wall and says, “I have a good felling about this coming week – I have a lot in the pipeline” or “My kids have been sick.” We’ve all met salespeople who live in denial and use excuses to avoid reality. Then, of course, you find the people who will not accept that their spouses are having affairs, even though the entire world knows it. Maybe you know someone like that?

We all like to give people the benefit of the doubt. Nobody enjoys confrontation and it’s nice to be understanding and forgiving. It’s tempting to overlook the sins of other people; perhaps then they won’t notice our own shortcomings. It’s easier to close our eyes to uncomfortable realities. We don’t like to be reminded of the fact that we’re off target, slipping back or missing the mark. We tend to shoot the messenger, or hide weakness behind the guise of political correctness or “good manners”. It’s like taking the X-Ray that shows that the patient has cancer, and to avoid the treatments, we paint over the bad pictures. It doesn’t change the facts; it simply prolongs or delays the inevitable. In fact, it worsens the situation. Instead of intervening and correcting things, we escalate the downtrend and maximize the damage. Pay me now, or pay me later. Like the waterpump analogy, later is much more expensive.

Here is the secret weapon to Joint Venture Success: Set specific, measurable goals and refer back to them, measuring your success every single day. A guided missile corrects its course every fraction of a second. The autopilot in an airplane does the same thing. Measure, correct. Measure, correct. Adjust until you reach the goals. The more you measure and correct, the faster you will achieve success. Set the standards. Years ago, I met a man who told me that he could show me how to double my sales. I ask him how that would be possible. He asked me how many times a week I held sales meetings for my sales people, and I replied, “Once a week”. He said, “Hold a sales meeting every day and you will double and then quadruple your sales. The bad salespeople will leave because they don’t want to be held accountable. And your good salespeople will flourish.” I followed his advice and soon quadrupled my sales. Winners pay the price, while losers run away, crying that you’re nasty.

Set specific, attainable, exciting, measurable goals for your Joint Ventures. Monitor them daily with your JV partners. Objectively confront and correct to make sure you stay on track. Be flexible and focus on the goals. Don’t allow excuses. Hold people accountable and be accountable. Be serious and committed to your goals, and you will have discovered the secret weapon to success.

Watch Glenn Beck on CNN – listen to his radio show. See how self-effacing he can be: “I’m a recovering drug addict and alcoholic, what do I know?” and we learn that baggage can be beautiful. Mr. Beck is a very smart man. When you can be real about yourself, laugh at yourself and use your bad, past experiences to connect and correct, your past sins can become blessings. A wide frame of reference can create empathy, insight and wisdom. In Robin William’s movie, “Man of the Year”, we saw that people understand and accept imperfection; they can relate to it. What they can’t relate to or trust is hypocrisy.

How can you use those past failures and bad choices to teach and help other people? Do you realize the power of the past, instead of wailing about how tough your life has been? What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, remember? I would rather team up with a self-made person who has been bruised a bit and become real, than some namby-pamby, coddled and spoilt, egocentric, silver spoon-in-the-mouth pretty boy whose daddy paid for everything. I trust people who admit their faults without beating themselves up. If you’ve handled tough times in the past and come through it with a better perspective and well-honed life skills, you’re better equipped to handle future storms.

People think they have to hide their past blunders. “I never inhaled”. Imagine if Bill Clinton had said, “Yes, I did have sex with that woman, and I’m still one of the best presidents you ever had, so get over it!” I think that would have worked for him, especially in a world where people want results, not whitewashing. Get real. You’re not alone in your imperfection, and experience is something that daddy can’t buy for you. When you learn from your mistakes, are you not stronger than some untested individual? When you have been there, done that, are you still as vulnerable to temptation as that wet-behind-the-ears newbie? I think not.

Here’s what you DO have to look out for: PATTERNS. When peoples’ lives demonstrate a pattern of failure, stay away from them. If that alcoholic falls off the wagon every six months, his baggage is no longer beautiful. Look for Joint Venture partners who have a track record of learning from their mistakes, not repeating them. And take a good, hard look in the mirror at the same time. Baggage is beautiful when bad experiences and choices are stepping stones. Anyone who tends to carry those stepping stones around in his backpack is a liability.

When I speak to groups of people (90 people last night, six more talks in the next seven days), I am careful not to appear arrogant or talk down to my audiences. I don’t start believing my own PR and I remind myself that there are a lot of people in the audience who are a lot more accomplished and much smarter than I am. I don’t pretend perfection. It works for me. Your past failures can make you bitter, or better. Choose better.

Robin J. Elliott www.DollarMakers.com

OK, how about Memorial Day Motivation, or Armistice Day Activation?
I love the military and so it’s no surprise to find me reading William W. Johnston’s “Vengeance is Mine” – I already have his next book, “Black Ops – American Jihad” queued up on my night table, and I love the Military Channel. What I enjoy about the military is the notion of commitment and loyalty. I was drafted into the army at 17 but my whole life has been military oriented.

In this world, people can choose between the purgatory of the politically correct and procrastinators, and the victory of the warrior mindset. Too many choose the limbo of the lukewarm, and the chafed butt of the fence sitters, whose favorite word is “BUT”, unaware that they have made a specific choice between being tepid or terrific. Too many choose the no-man’s land of woulda, shoulda, coulda. Compromise and concession are popular among the pessimists and those who choose fear instead of faith.

Watch the movie, Patton – it’s worth it just for his speech, (which was naturally edited and censored) – and ask yourself why strong, committed, uncompromising people reach their goals. Read Churchill’s writings and see why he would never tolerate watered down wimps. Those who succeed don’t even consider quitting. Those who win believe they are going to win before they even start. Successful soldiers understand Semper Fi at a gut level. Loyalty is not an option. Retreat is not something they relish.

How about you? Do live on “Someday “Isle”?
Someday, I’ll lose weight.
Someday, I’ll have the guts to fire my boss and get into my own business.
Someday, I’ll be a better husband.
Someday, I’ll write that letter / honor my commitments / take that trip…

I love Veteran’s Day because it reminds me that persistence pays off, that quitting is never an option, and that the strong and honorable will always win. Strength is a choice. Victory is a series of choices. There are many lessons to be learnt from the military, but the most important is this:
Choose your goals, commit, pay the price and win without compromise.

Robin J. Elliott www.DollarMakers.com

The foundation of a successful Joint Venture Broker is mental and attitudinal. Without the right psychological set, and sans the beliefs and outlook required, don’t be surprised if your JV’s mysteriously crash like clockwork. With the wrong mindset, your Joint Ventures will fail furiously. By adjusting your mental attitude and belief system, however, you can become the Joint Venture Money Magnet you want to be.

I am constantly being approached by self development “experts” who want to teach the Members of the Joint Venture Forum how to adjust their beliefs so that their joint ventures will flourish. Only problem is that these particular self-styled gurus have no idea what a JV is. They prove that to me by the way in which they approach me. You can’t teach something that you don’t understand, Willa Sue. You can’t use mayonnaise to lubricate your tractor.

The Joint Venture mindset can only be understood by someone who actually does JV’s. We will be creating some products to help people develop this mental alignment, but meanwhile, let’s cover a few aspects of it right here.

First, remember that your belief system controls what you accomplish. You have developed your belief system about what is right, what is wrong, what is possible and what is not possible, plus what will or won’t work, and why, by gathering evidence. What you believe about yourself and your potential, about other people and money, controls your life. The evidence you have gathered will, in turn, filter any new evidence you are exposed to, because we seek evidence that will support our dominant beliefs. That means we block out anything that doesn’t fit our existing beliefs, which is pretty scary, when you come to think of it. Experts in brainwashing specialize in changing those beliefs.

Your religious beliefs, values and expectations are strongly imbedded and set, and it takes more that one quick fix seminar to change them. It takes more than reading a book or attending a TeleClass. It takes a little effort and persistence in order to turn around an attitude that has become very comfortable and entrenched over the years, in spite of the fact that your beliefs may be hindering and sabotaging your success in a big way. People reject and avoid change, yet we need to change what we think if we want to change our circumstances. You have to change what you believe in order to change what you accomplish. In order to change your beliefs, you should remember that it took years to selectively accumulate evidence and build your current belief system, and it will take some effort and time to change that.

That’s the reason why people give up so quickly when their first JV attempts don’t succeed. Deep down inside, their subconscious tells them, “See, I TOLD you it would never work. It doesn’t fit with what we believe! We believe that we have to work hard for many years, sacrifice our personal time and values and limit our income, and we have gathered lots of evidence to prove that. Now we have even more proof that we were right, and that it is impossible to make money by brokering JV’s with no risk or cost and very little time.” They actually failed on purpose, unknowingly, in order to prove that JV’s don’t work, in spite of the fact that they paid good money to learn how to broker JV’s, by giving up too soon! They are secretly, unknowingly, seeking evidence to prove themselves right and to remain in their present situation. Their dominant belief was, “This won’t work. I can’t become rich. I don’t deserve it. This doesn’t fit with what I believe.” So they quit and failed as soon as possible, to prove themselves right! As I said, scary. But true, nevertheless.

Second, remember that all our limitations are internal, governed by our own expectations and self esteem. Two people with the same background, IQ, education, opportunities and marketplace, will accomplish vastly different results, based purely on their mental attitudes. You have created your own circumstances and you will continue to determine your own success or failure in life. I often hear from people, “This society/town/environment/group is the problem.” No. YOU are the problem, the catalyst, and the solution. Once we realize that we are responsible, we can make the changes necessary.

Thirdly, accept and understand that you CAN change and that you can change dramatically. But in order to change, you have to be highly motivated and prepared to pay the price of change. There is a way to change your beliefs, expectations, mental attitude and self-image, and it is more simple than most people believe – see, there’s that old conditioning again – “You can’t teach old dogs new tricks”, and “If it was so easy, everybody would be doing it”…

So here is the simplistic, basic, easy-to-understand solution. If you want to change your beliefs and accomplish new goals, change your life and create financial freedom by brokering Joint Ventures, you must do what I had to do when I first got into business at the ripe old age of 32. I had some really ridiculous beliefs about business and money and myself. But I was highly motivated and seriously committed to change. I was prepared to pay any price. Do what I did and you’ll get the results you want:

1. Immerse yourself in Joint Venture information – there are over 380 articles on my Blog. Read them all.
2. Read my book: download it at no cost in English, Spanish or French at http://www.dollarmakers.com/ .
3. Read and listen to everything on http://www.dollarmakers.com/
4. Attend the Joint Venture Broker Bootcamps 101 and 202 until you get results. Get the downloads, the Home Study Course, everything we offer.
5. Join the DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum so that you can surround yourself with other Members who believe in and understand and do JV’s. There is a powerful support system and unlimited opportunities for Members who really want to accomplish things. The world is our oyster and it makes sense to work together, because that way, we all accomplish more as individuals. That’s the basis of JV’s, anyway, right? Mix only with successful people.
6. Cut yourself off from negative people, losers, naysayers, negative information, socialistic and limiting viewpoints and all forms of collectivism. Do not allow information that will sabotage and undermine your new growth.
7. Manage your self talk, your input and your geographical surroundings. In a nutshell, if you tell yourself, “This won’t work” while you read collectivist literature and spend a lot of time in fast food joints, success will elude you.

8. Finally, WORK. DO. TAKE ACTION. Consistent, passionate, action. You learn by DOING, correcting, and trying again, just like that little engine that could. Work is a dirty word to a lot of people, I know, but the serious ones are prepared to work. The harder you work to change your mind, the less you will have to work as time goes by.

It worked for me and it will work for you. It takes a bit of time, but what you sow, you will reap. You will reap in direct proportion to the amount you sow and the intensity with which you sow, your level of commitment and the amount of enthusiasm and passion you bring to the table. We at the Forum are ready, willing and able to work with you. We have the tools available.
You can use Joint Ventures to accomplish all of your goals.

Robin J. Elliott www.DollarMakers.com

Getting Working Moms Home

There is no substitute for a mother’s love and care. DollarMakers is committed to helping working Moms to come home, by teaching them to work at home, brokering Joint Ventures to earn the income they need and want. You don’t have to convince a Mom about the importance of money. You don’t have to persuade them that their children will be better off when Mom is at home instead of at the workplace. We have the solution.

According to the US Census Bureau, there are 4 million new Moms in the US every year.
* In 2002, 55% of Moms with infant children were working Moms.
* There were 687,000 Day Care Centers across the US in 2002.
* 10 million single Moms live with children under 18 years old.
* 51% of women gave birth to their first child and returned to work within four months.
* 59% of women report they have no flexibility in determining the start and end times of their workday Heymann, S. J., The Widening Gap: Why American Working Families are in Jeopardy and What Can Be Done About It, 2000
* On average, women make 56 cents on the male dollar. (MotherJones)
* British women recently surveyed in a health magazine reported that juggling the dual roles of mother and worker is extremely hard. Findings include:
· Over 60 per cent of working mothers feel they take out their stress on their families.
· Nearly eight out of 10 working mothers would quit their jobs if they could.
* Research suggests that children of full-time working mothers are more likely to perform badly at school.

The reasons why our solution is a real option are simple:
* No selling required.
* No overhead, no cost and no risk to doing business.
* No limitations or restrictions – anyone, anywhere, from any background, under virtually any circumstances, at any age, regardless of their skills, can broker Joint Ventures. No income limits.
* Flexible time – part-time or full time, work from home. Transition from work to home as you increase your JV income. For unemployed Moms, start immediately.
* Moms can start earning real money almost immediately.
* All the tax benefits of a regular business.
* Full support provided.
* We have 19 years of diverse, international JV experience and hundreds of JV Forum Members around the world.
* No pressure, Moms can work only with people whom you like and trust, earn money in direct proportion to your contribution and work.
* Ready-made JV’s are already available. Fast start possible.

We provide full, hands-on, practical, easy-to understand training and on-going support, plus instant JV opportunities to our Graduates. DollarMakers uses proven training systems that have been developed over 19 years. All training is personally conducted by Robin J. Elliott.

How does it work?
If you have fifty or more Working Moms in your area that would like to experience this one-day Joint Venture Broker Workshop, contact Michelle Bacani-Lim for more information on costs, Sponsorships, fund raising and available dates at michellebacani@gmail.com

Robin J. Elliott www.dollarmakers.com

Do you like wasting time? Do you enjoy waiting for people to make up their minds?
Would you like to spend more time with losers? Are you happy with your closing ratio?
If you would like to dramatically increase the amount of business you do, as well as the quality of people with whom you work, all the while saving time, remember this: “You have not because you ASK not.” You have to ask for the decision, ask for the sale, ask for action, or you won’t get it most of the time. You need to close the sale. Here is a simple formula for boosting your closing ratio.

First, give a lot of information and value before you ask people to make a decision to Joint Venture with you or buy your idea or product. Provide people all the information and evidence they will need to make a good decision. For example, someone called me the other day and said, “I have listened to four interviews and a number of Podcasts on your websites, Robin. I have read a large number of your articles on your Blog. And now I am ready to join your JV Forum.” Establish your credibility – give them an e book, a report, a CD. Use SYSTEMS. Seminars, conference calls, Websites, Blogs, Vlogs, e-zines, e- books, reports, CD’s and DVD’s make it easy for you to disseminate information. Use a system to close the sale as well. The more you see, the more you will sell. And always ASK for the sale. Remember that Scarcity and Urgency help people to make decisions. Create reciprocity. Invite them to a conference call or a seminar, or both, so that they know exactly what you are offering and what’s in it for them. Remember that people are skeptical and careful and that’s fine. When you have provided them all the evidence and information they need, ASK for the sale.

Second, ask specifically. Ask them to complete an application form, sign their name, or write you a check. If you give them a way out, they are conditioned to take it. For example, if you say, “Why don’t you go think about it, and if you would like to join, call me”, you might as well shoot yourself in the head. It is highly unlikely that the prospect will buy. As soon as they leave your presence, they carry on with their lives and forget you ever existed. Yoda said, “Do or do not - there is no try”. CLOSE the sale. Ask for the money. Be specific. It’s yes or no. If, after all the evidence you have given them, they are still going to “think about it”, consult with their spouse or have another meeting, shake the dust from your shoes and forget about them. Move on to your next prospect. Successful people make fast decisions and stick with them.

Third, be very careful of people who procrastinate, over analyze, and play games. When people tell me “I can’t afford it”, I know either they’re lying or desperate. Either way, I don’t want to do business with them. When a businessperson tells me he can’t afford a $500 Bootcamp that will make him an unlimited amount of money and remove risk from his business, I know he is stupid, desperate or lying. I suggest he gets a job and stops pretending to be a businessman. If they don’t take the time to evaluate the information you have given them or look at your website, walk away. Be selective. You don’t want to do business with losers. If they want everything for nothing, reject them. Try this: “I have given you all the information you need to make this decision. Here is the application form. Your answer is either Yes or No. If you have to send even more time thinking and analyzing, I will assume your answer is no.” Remove the opportunity, remove yourself, and go find a winner.

Finally, only close the sale when you actually want to work with someone. Remember, you have to decide if you want that person as a client or a JV partner, too. I recently offered someone a really good JV that will change his life. He has become so analytical, so afraid to spend any money and so fearful over that past weeks that he has revealed himself to be a loser who is pretending to be a winner. Now I have decided that I will not work with him. I will not close the sale. Give people the opportunity. Give them the benefit of the doubt, provide them the information, and watch what they do. If they reveal that they are not the kind of person you want to work with, cut bait – fast, BEFORE you close the sale.

A Joint Venture is a partnership. At the end of a date, if you don’t like what you see, don’t ask her to marry you. But if you do like her, ask her before your competition does.

Robin J. Elliott www.DollarMakers.com

You might be aware of the well-known study, in which twenty insurance salesmen were sent out to sell insurance by cold calling in the same neighborhood. The first team of ten was highly trained and sophisticated, very well presented and asked to cold call in the neighborhood by knocking on doors.
The second team of ten was badly trained, badly dressed, and badly groomed. They were told to knock on at least fifty doors a day and ask each prospect, “You wouldn’t be interested in buying any insurance, would you?”

The second team outsold the first team by far. That’s right; those badly dressed salesmen who asked a stupid question sold much more insurance than their suave, slick counterparts. Why? Because the “good” salesmen didn’t knock on nearly as many doors as the “bad” salesmen. ACTION overlooks many sins. I imagine the “bad” salespeople learnt a lot as they went along, learning what body language worked, and developing their confidence every time someone actually bought from them.

I recently had someone call me and whine that he wasn’t making money from Joint Ventures, even though he had attended some of my training. Upon questioning, I learnt that his goal was to make $150,000 a year from Joint Ventures (he had no experience in JV’s) and that he actually spent less than two hours a day working on JV’s. In the beginning, you have to work and practice, so that you can learn. This loser was blaming everybody and everything except himself, whereas a good look in the mirror would show him a lazy man. His problem is not his tools or his training but his torpor. His own indolence robs him of success.

The biggest reason why you are not making a truckload of money from Joint Ventures is LACK OF ACTION. Laziness. Slothfulness. No work. The more you see, the more you sell. But you also gain knowledge and experience from all the things that don’t work, and you learn not to take “rejection” personally. The most successful entrepreneurs I know continually fail on many projects, but the ones that succeed make us rich. The difference is that we WORK. We follow up. We do whatever it takes. We do what we promise. We take responsibility. We don’t make excuses, blame our tools or procrastinate. We make decisions fast and we take massive action on many fronts. We are reliable and available.

So, if you’re not getting the results you want, double the action you take. Then double it again. Get advice from successful people and then DO what they tell you to do. Do more than anybody else, and you’ll GET more than anybody else. Joint Ventures give you maximum leverage and take very little time. You can work with no cost or risk. But you have to WORK. Work more. Work harder. Stop whining and making excuses. When you make your breakthrough, it will be INTERNAL – in your mind, your level of understanding, your skills, your self-esteem, your confidence. And your success ratio will increase. Think about this: if you had only one JV that you were working on and it didn’t succeed, how would you feel? If you had twenty that you were working on simultaneously and one didn’t work, how would you feel now?

Sow sparingly and you will reap sparingly, if at all. Sow massively and you can’t lose. Get off the couch, out of bed and away from the television and get to work. You’ll be so glad you did. There is magic in action. Here’s the good news for the lazy ones: The more action you take, the better you get, until you’re so good that you can get a lot more results with much less work. Then you can work less and earn more. I know we say you must “sharpen the axe” – hone your skills – but you have to actually USE the axe in between the sharpening / seminars / courses and books. Joint Ventures are the key to riches. Don’t throw away the key because you haven’t taken the time and done the work to learn how to use it. Stop whining and start working.

Robin J. Elliott www.DollarMakers.com

Would you let a convicted child rapist mind your toddler? How about asking a known con artist to take care of your accounting and banking? Or letting a drug addict mind your home for you while you’re on holiday? Silly, right?

So why do you do business with anonymous people whom you have never met, refer your clients, who trust and respect you, to unknown “business people” and risk your reputation and savings by dealing with people you find in networking groups or on the Internet, without doing any due diligence? I know of a few confidence tricksters who are very prominent on the Internet and in business, who would steal the milk out of your tea and sell it back to you at a premium, in a heartbeat. In this politically correct world, where people are afraid of being sued or upsetting people, these swine get away with murder – financial murder. There are seminar and course leaders out there who are known for their dishonesty, some of whom who are currently being sued by their victims, and yet people mindlessly flock to work with them. Are people really so desperate?

Just as the Internet is a powerful business tool and resource (DollarMakers controls over 50 websites), we should be careful to do our due diligence before leaping onto the next bandwagon as it flies over the cliff into oblivion, taking your hard-earned money with it. Visit any Franchise Show and watch the lambs being led to the slaughter. It brings tears to ones eyes, knowing the carnage that lies before some of those trusting sheep. Statistically, 87% of them will lose their money. If they were just going to be fleeced of their money, it would be bad enough, but the financial devastation has a ripple effect that destroys marriages, self-esteem, and quality of life. By the way, when you want to buy that “business opportunity”, the people whom you are given to contact as “references” are often the friends and family of the seller, and they’re well paid to lie to you. Did you notice that they’re seldom located in your neck of the woods? Naturally, not every business being offered at a franchise show is bad; some are good, but to find the good ones requires serious due diligence.

The wolves in sheeps’ clothing often disguise their greed and sociopathic motives in the garb of charitable enterprises, help for the underdog, or religious outreach. The people who “benefit” from their largess (your money) are usually very far away, so you have no way of checking up on their pious claims of philanthropy. The same goes for the offshore deals, investments and “tax havens” they sell. They provide a lot of detail, typical of the conman’s strategy, and most of what they say can never be tested. They seldom provide home phone numbers or addresses and they are usually “out of the office” or “traveling” when you need to get hold of them. Especially AFTER they have taken receipt of your money. Their shadowy pasts are usually hidden behind a cloak of window dressing second to none. It’s easy to do on the Internet or in settings where you don’t have time to ask the right questions and the deal they’re offering has the elements of “scarcity” and urgency” carefully built in. The biggest ally of a conman is the mark’s (victim’s) greed and desperation. .

Before you cry yourself to sleep, however, there is a way to avoid being ripped off, disappointed and financially destroyed. Use Joint Ventures, and not your savings, to create wealth. We teach people to do Joint Ventures with literally no money and no risk, so when they don’t work out, nobody gets hurt. And, instead of dealing with faceless felons and unknown usurpers, serial psychopaths and conniving conmen, join our Joint Venture Forum – hundreds of people around the world who have agreed to abide by our Code of Ethics and who get fired if they don’t. Plus, if you’re not sure about a Member, you can contact me directly or our General Manager, for more information and advice on how to protect yourself and do your due diligence. The group dynamics effect of working within a paid membership protects you even further. Regular meetings, conference calls, and other forms of communication provide further opportunities to get to know the other Members.

See, we have a solution for entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs. For more information, visit www.dollarmakers.com – and check us out on Google, with the Better Business Bureau and any other means at your disposal, before joining us. Read the testimonials. Call me. Do your due diligence.

Robin J. Elliott www.dollarmakers.com