UPDATE – First Read this – John Reese new focus

Prospering

Online Dictionary: to thrive, succeed, etc., or cause to thrive, succeed, etc. in a healthy way

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913):   . To be successful; to succeed; to be fortunate or prosperous; to thrive; to make gain. They, in their earthly Canaan placed, Long time shall dwell and prosper. –Milton

Doesn’t that sound good ‘Long time shall dwell and prosper“.

To thrive (in a healthy way).

live long and prosper

I like the concept of prospering. Success with a healthy moral component, perhaps.

Everyone wants to succeed, to make it. Who wants to prosper? It sounds more on-going that succeeding doesn’t it. Like its a life thing as opposed to an immediate thing. “Ok so I succeeded in doing that – now what?” But if you have prosperity or are prospering, its ongoing. Makes a journey out of effort.

Everyone wants just enough;

“I just want enough to be (fill in the blank)and  happy, comfortable, taken care of, that all”

And then when we have that- well we want more.Just enough more.

What if the goal was ; “I want to prosper” ?

That suggests something ongoing, and also something interactive. You cant ‘prosper’ and leave your friends and neighbours in the ditch. That creates success perhaps, but not prosperity. Prosperity suggests we raise ourselves and everyone else up at the same time doesn’t it?

America was once known as a prosperous nation, now its..what? The richest? The most powerful?. I would  like to be in a Prosperous nation wouldn’t you. It implies the nation is powerful, successful, of course, but also a nation that lifts up others.

How about a goal of prospering? When asked whats your goal in life – you can say – I wish to prosper.

How do you prosper?

Well prosperity is not necessarily about how much wealth/stuff/gold you can acquire, as much perhaps about how much good will you can build.

Prosperity is not so much about getting to the top. Maybe more about pushing your potential

Prosperity is not so much about being Number 1. It suggest more that you are part of a community that has become enriched through effort and mutual concern for wellbeing

Prospering isn’t working till you drop. But a balance of effort, goodwill and achievement.

To succeed – you win. You overcome. You beat the rest. You destroy the challenges. You kill the opposition.

To prosper – you are in a mode of constant achievement. You are aware you are part of a group, a species perhaps. You realize success only works if somehow your success has enriched others.

Its not that tricky to succeed – you just keep going. Its not complicated. Its just hard dedicated work towards a goal.

To prosper, perhaps, requires ongoing realization that one person making it alone, is one thing, but when you reach down to bring others along, even if it seems it will slow the journey, is something beyond imagining

5 Lucky steps is all you need

1) Be available.

There is the statement ‘success arrives to those who are prepared and available’. Be open to possibilities. If you want to succeed, in a financial fashion, don’t become so tunnel vision oriented that you miss opportunities. You may decide for instance that writing or selling books is the way you are going to make it, and you become so focused you miss an opportunity a friend is offering in say blogging. Or you want to sell real estate, but an acquaintance has an on line clothing store that he needs help with an will even give you equity in it, but you don’t give it a thought. Listen to the opportunities around you, there are always opportunities. Some are good for you, some aren’t. But be open. Here’s another truism when you look back from a successful venture it is never what you were looking for and it is almost always a collection of staggering coincidences that led you to that successful venture. Be open and aware

2) Say yes.

That’s it. Say yes. At least to the possibility. Take a chance to invest some time investigating the opportunity. Say no when it obviously will not work for you at this time. But initially say yes – you cal always say o later. But if you say no, or are fearful of even looking into the possibility. There’s no opportunity to say. There’s no ‘luck” in your life.

4) Be prepared.

Success happens when you are prepared and available. So be open, but also be ready to tun up, when it happens. They say 50% of success is turning up. 90% is turning up ready to play. Be ready for action, and act, immediately. A friend asks, or you see an ad, or there’s a message put out, and you think- that’s interesting, in fact that would work for me, I should get in touch with them. Tomorrow, and then its after the weekend, and then…its gone. Turn up, ready to play when you see an opportunity

3) Accept failure

The world is full of opportunities, not all are for you, and most will not work, because of timing or finances, or market changing or you cant get along with your partners. Success comes from failure – but in the words of Bob Dylan – “failure is no success at all”. Failure is to be expected. If everything worked all the time…well what a mess. And if everything worked the way it was supposed to , everyone would do it, and there would be no money in it. Success is rewarding and lucrative, because most will not get past the first failure. Failure if you will is the fence or guards around success. Its the filter that allows only the prepared an determined win. And thats why winning is so lucrative, because so few get there, not because of luck or talent or skill, but because of lack of determination and foresight to get past the first one or two or twelve failures. The more failures there are, the more profitable and rewarding is is when you get there. You can fail as many timers as necessary – but you only need to success – ONCE. A good number. Once

4) Believe in opportunity

Be available, be prepared, and expect opportunity. Millions were made in the 1920′s depression , not by many, but by the few who were ready prepared and expected to find opportunity. Its party of being available. If you don’t believe it, you wont see it, and opportunity and luck will pass you by. Believe it before its there. Its allows you to be available, and make you want to be prepared, and take away tunnel vision. Sets you up for success. Yes if you believe you can achieve it. Bit if you don’t believe there is an opportunity for you round every corner – you’ll never ever see it. Even when its staring you in the face.

and just for luck – an extra lucky step: -

6) Expect to work

“The harder I work the luckier I get”. Its seems like a golden opportunity then you see the work involved and you think – that’s not what I want that’s not how people become e successful – they’re just ‘luck’ into things. No-one licks into things that produce true success and value in their lives. There is the 10,000 hour theory, to become very good at anything – you have to put in at least 10,000 hours at the thing. Frank Kern in Internet marketing portrays himself as lazy and long haired and a goofball. If you believe that – you should buy my bridge I have -you’ll find it in Brooklyn where I left It for you. If you get a chance take a look at say Mass Control 1 or 2 that Frank Kern created – imagine how many hours of actually creating, and then how many hours of study of all the direct selling gurus he must have done – has done. Its always work. Luck is always work. The harder I work the luckier I get

Why are we here?

Why is there something rather than nothing?

Are we alone?

What is love?

Why does toast land butter side down?

Really the only answer, the only true answer is I don’t know. We don’t actually know.

We can guess, we can have theories. The theory of evolution. The theory of relativity. The theory of Internet dating.But let’s be honest if we didn’t see it, its hard to know.

However in this day and age it is like having a disease to say about some piece of information – i don’t know.

We can find out the answer to lots of facts- the wingspan of the (insert bird here) , the speed of the (insert noun here)

But if someones says – will this absolutely guaranteed work, make me rich, give em freedom, right all wrongs? -

The answer should be – I don’t know. Lets find out

If you ask John Reese will this email pull? Will this Header be noticed? Will this opt-in be the best possible? He will say ” I don’t know – lets try it, and learn”

When we ask “Should I do this or that (presuming neither are illegal or idiotic) – should I move here or stay there, should I commit or should I rest? The really smart answer is: – I don’t know – take the best action thats seems appropriate at the time and learn from the outcome.

The best thing about I don’t know is it enables progress. If the answer was always. Yes. I know. Then who would try new things. Who would take a risk, if supposedly it had already been tried? Why make the effort if the know-it-alls, know it all.

Scientists (except in the media)rarely say ‘this is absolute’ ‘this is true”truths. Scientists like theories,because they know all they can say is: -it worked like this so far, or the facts seem to be justified so far, but who knows things could change,lets keep our opinions open.

So when you or I, we, ask the gurus of our industry or profession: – will this new idea work, will this untried scheme fly? The answer should always hopefully be, ‘I don’t know, try it, let it happen and learn from the outcome’.

The best answer you could ever get. I don’t know.

Try the most sensible action first, and learn from the outcome, keep your options and opinions and outlook -Open.

One of the best qualities of a true leader is they know what they don’t know.One of the greatest answers you can hear from someone in leadership is – I don’t know, , followed with but I will find out.

Leadership certainly is intuitive, certainly there is some people are born leaders even if they aren’t very good at leadership ,but they attract, and people follow.But a great leader is someone who has the charisma to produce followers and the humbleness to be accountable to outside knowledge  and to admit to their knowledge gaps.

Most leaders we see in the West are the Politicians who rarely are leaders mostly are just people placed by vested interests. (Not vested in leadership, vested in self interest). And there are sports ‘leaders’ that is leaders in their field of endeavour naturally talented and naturally hard working.

In our lives, most true leadership we see one on one ourselves, in something we are personally involved in .Someone in our field of endeavour who shines, and we recognise their ability.

Here are some some traits to look for in a leader that is worth following. (not to be confused with a leader in a field, say of ideas, who just happens to know more or be clever than others)

1) character. If we are talking someone who deserves to be followed, not obeyed blindly, or submitted to because of power, but followed because they offer leadership, then character is paramount. And character is many things, but we all recognise it when we are around it.

2) Their followers – Darren Monroe says of twitter the key is in the followers not the following. Who do you attract, who do they attract

3) Their knowledge of the endeavor they are leading.They must know more than the followers , and/or be willing to find out more than the followers.And work harder than the followers.

4) Experience - Whats the best way through a minefield? Follow someone who has been there before (and is still alive)

5) Ability- in the endeavor. They must have true ability in this endeavour,it cant be theoretical

6) Enthusiasm- unlimited enthusiasm for the task at hand, regardless of the obstacle. Obstacles after all are par for the course when you are in the achieving  business.

7) Accepts fully all consequences of their actions, as their responsibility

However ultimately, we find that the leader we trust the most is not always the one who knows more, or has the best ability – they key is that the leader is unafraid to take charge, will accept all responsibility of their actions and is somewhere accountable to something larger than themselves, and is willing to hear and respond to dissent  from that accountable power.

It is said the key characteristics of success are :-

• the willingness to listen
• the willingness to communicate
• the ability for absolute focus on the task at hand
• and most important-the ability and willingness to be accountable and in submission.(that is  in submission to something greater than they are. And if they have the most knowledge in a field then to be in submission to a group of like minded individuals who hold them accountable to honesty and character and overall direction)

In our lives, leaders or no leaders we excel to the degree we allow a circle of influence hold us accountable.

The fact that you are making mistakes at least indicates the fact that you are in the process, are creating – Activity. As my dear old Dad used to say – you cant steer a parked car. (of course my dear old Dad never said that – some motivational speaker said that, over and over again. My dear old Dad was more likely to say – you are the laziest son I have ever had)

Nevertheless only activity can produce success. taking and thinking about ‘a plan is good. But unless there is activity there will never be an outcome. A result.

By the way this has to be the best (as in most complex ) mindmap I have seen for displaying, everything, I mean everything you need to know about Internet Marketing.

MindMapOfUltimateWoe from Andy Jenkins Blog.

Study it . It is a thing of beauty.

Back to the post at hand.

Only activity in the end will produce results. Only results produce success. And if in doubt do something, any activity will produce some result. Good or bad. Inactivity produces nothing.

Ken Robinson has a great video on creativity being weaned out of us through education

If you are just starting a business, you may fall into the ‘college/school’ trap of only doing things that produce ‘successful’ results, and become frozen by the thought of failure.(the pass fail syndrome) If that is the case – redefine, in your mind, a successful outcome. The New Definition: – all outcomes that come from directed effort are successful outcomes.

No effort,  no outcome, that is not allowable. All outcomes from directed effort count. And are important.

Success is merely a series of wrong steps continuously learned from,that eventually produces your desired result. Success.

John Reese always says you learn from activity. And no matter where your business is right now, as long as your are prepared to put in continued activity – this is the ‘worst’ your business is going to ever be.

If you have a business that’s moving along, you may become frightened to change anything or try anything new in case you disturb the little ‘success your business is producing.

You cannot get different results from the same effort. You cannot get more money from something that gives less money. So you have to change the business to produce a new result. Initially the change may produce less money or no money and you feel this is an unsuccessful step and stop doing anything else.

You cannot get more from the same, and you cannot ever, ever, ever expect to be right the first time or the second time or the third time. Success  is produced from a series of steps, most of which appear to be mistakes but are just learning steps. If you don’t learn the wrong way, you cannot find the right way.

To create a successful business requires effort, constant effort. And being willing to learn from that constant efort.’Mistakes’ are irrelevant,and actually dont exist. Rename your ‘mistakes’- your steps.You do not incur mistakes, you only have steps towards your desired outcome

Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiam.
Winston Churchill

“Money is everywhere” Frank Kern

“I deliberately cultivate an attitude of financial abundance – literally there is money just lying around my house, everywhere – the kids play with it”  Frank Kern

So if you are not super rich dude Frank Kern – will it work for you?. If you are reading this from some coffee shop on a stolen laptop – for instance – can just ‘thinking abundance‘ make you rich?

Think and grow rich right?

Not, exactly.

Even in the U.S the country that worships money and allows the rich to basically steal money from anyone and everyone – becoming wealthy is hard (unless you, or your parents-even better- are already wealthy- see Donald Trump))

It takes work. Dedication and a manic fixation on a long term goal.

But that’s all it takes, I might add, not luck, not talent, not the correct DNA (you have the correct DNA, always). It just takes work, time dedication and a manic fixation on a long term goal.

However.

Abundance in a general sense -is everywhere.

We live in an abundant universe, and the only reason we don’t see it, is because we consciously or unconsciously restrict our access to abundance.

Now by abundance I don’t mean great wealth (though of course – see above- it is available) I mean there is available to you and to me whatever we need at this particular time to achieve whatever it is we have our heart set upon.

If you are trying to make a round the world trip and you don’t know how you will get all the visa or money or time or…anything. But you do know you are going to make a round the world trip. You will.

If you want a house. I mean really set that as a goal. But you have no money or security (ninjna) and forget bank bailouts. You will, secure a house. And keep it. If that’s what you really want.

If you want a relationship (that is be in a position to SHARE your life – not make a slave of someone to your life) you will find it.

If you want to create an Internet business that makes your job redundant, and you really want that. Its yours.

But do not confuse abundant thinking with wishful thinking. I wish I had a Mercedes, I’m not going to Do anything about it, I just wish.

Do not confuse abundance with greed and selfish desires.I wish I had a relationship with someone where I did nothing and they did everything and worshiped me.

By Abundance I do not mean I want to be THE KING OF THE WORLD forever and be worshiped.

Those things are never available in any true sense.

It is an abundant universe for anyone, anyone, who allows, others in (to Mentor and guide). Who allows correction in their ways, when it becomes necessary.Abundance is available especially when what you want  in some way benefits not just you but others.

There is limitless availability of everything you need to create the life you want, whnen that life gives, offers, some value to others.

When you go after a goal that truly benefits others, as well as yourself -that is when you see the true power and amount of abundance available in this universe.

I kid you not.

SEE ALSO: -George Gilder  on Abundance in the economy

1) Reciprocity – we feel obligated to return favors. Thus The Frank Kern idea of ‘stacking the cool”, moving the free line. Give away ‘cool’ value things for free, and the givee will fell (mostly) obligated

2)Liking – we have a tendency to say yes to people we like. Again, the direct marketers portray ‘the likable character’. The story of rags to riches, the humble hero etc. Make your character likable when selling. Or perhaps ACTUALLY make yourself and your life, open and likable and things move in your favor.

3)Scarcity – we place more value on things that are in short supply. And expensive. An e-book that is $19.99 and available to all,is one thing. A Value Report, only 25 available in the world,can be priced at $3000, and jumped at, especially if you have created 1 and 2 above. That is proved you produce value. Now the $19.99 ebook could have the same information, but it will not have the same ‘value’.

4)Social Proof – we always look to see what others are doing, when we are not sure of a decision. A busy restaurant does better than an empty one (Its not about the food). People by more in a busy store than an empty store. Its impossible to stop a run on a bank.

5) Authority – we tend to put more weight on the sayings of those in ‘power’. Power in this case can be ‘in the spotlight’. Frank Kern is notorious for taking up all available oxygen when doing a launch f a product, so his is the most dominat voice in that market at that time.A Movie Star or (just for talkings sake ) a Golf Star have more weight and impact on our water cooler discussions than say – Mabel. (though they may be all doing the same thing).

6) Commitment and Consistency – we like things that are the same, or we perceive to be the same. We like people who follow through. We like people who keep to the same ‘story’.

Of course all six things can be manipulated to produce persuasion. But only for so long. The true ‘supersperson”, ‘super persuader’ actually IS all these things. And uses them only to produce beneficial, that is win-win situations for all involved.

Worrying lowers your body’s defenses.

Worrying takes up masses of psychic and actual physical energy.

Worrying can cause illness as your brain tries to distract and defends against an unreal threat

Worrying can lead to depression. (Depression can truly kill you)

The low drone of unceasing worry can break you.

Well all we know that

We know it doesn’t help, but… we worry.

Some Actual Facts about worry

1) Its not real. Its not the ‘thing’ itself. Its not the impending divorce, the bankruptcy, the debt load. When you worry, you have the crisis, the thing, PLUS worry. Worry increases the load.

2) The thing you are worrying about  – wont happen. And if it does, not the way you expect

Bad things happen and good things happen, and almost always they are totally unexpected. We plan and we try to insure. WE protect ourselves and our families the best we can. We exercise and we try for optimum health. But we never expected…whatever it is. Good or bad.The things we can plan for, we don’t have to worry about. The things that are unexpected, we cant worry about. We never knew they would happen

3)Worrying distracts you from doing positive things to avoid or fix the problem. If there truly is a problem looming, concentrate on solutions, not horrible ‘potential’ outcomes.

4)If its a truly frightening scenario. Then you can and need to get through it. Worrying is like wearing leg chains. Get rid if them.. Focus on the things that can be done. The things that need to be done to get through the event. (Even if you cant seee how they can be done at this moment – there is a way, if you dont waste your energy worrying)

5)Focus on a narrow time line. You think something  bad is coming? But not Now. Not this instant, so what can you do now? Anything. Everything. You are at this moment truly free to do anything.

6)Focus on a large time-line. Your facing an awful task, or awful event, a bankruptcy is looming, you think your about to be fired, divorced, etc. But in 1 year. 1 year you will be in a completely different place and space. All bad things end. All good things end too of course, otherwise we would never appreciate true happiness.

7)Worry is your creation. Its not real
worrying is like having a low grade virus eating away at your cell structure. Its barely there, but its there, and its eating your life alive. But worrying is not a virus, it is not itself an outside event, worrying is your creation.

We all worry, I worry, I worry when I’m not worried. I worry if I don’t worry I am missing something (awful).

I worry, If I dont worry, then something bad will happen, becaue I wasnt worrying about it.

But I know and you know worrying actually is a vanity, an excess.Its a habit.

But like all habits, once you recognize it as a habit, not an actual fact.Its easier to quit.

Bad things happen and good things happen. And almost always they are completely unexpected. So why worry. Focus on your dreams and goals and family and all the things you do have. A lot of people are dead. A lot of people are at this moment dying.

If your not one of them, why waste the time you have with a needless wasteful habit.

Even our brain needs failures to learn! Because…

Dopamine learns?

Dopamine neurons (don’t ask – but it’s part of the pleasure pain thing our brain learns with – dopamine is all about pleasure reinforcement – I said dont ask)  learn by analyzing mistakes, or failures. Apparently. The neurons learn  a pattern (of our behaviour) if this then that will happen. If the pattern becomes broken or is proved false, then relearn, and this history builds up in us as emotional awareness. ‘This feels right. This feels like the right thing to do’

But the feelings are useless if there is no history. No pattern predicted and then found to be wrong. No list of failures

———————-

A study with some young adults : – they were all given tasks, or tests. One group was told  ’O man you aced it – you are so smart. First time!”

The other group was told, “Well you got it done –  good job – but we see you had to really work at it. But you came through in the end.

When the two groups were give  a choice of further tests. The ‘ace’ group typically took an easier, safe test. The “had to work at it group” were excited about the challenge of the harder tests.They believed they could face anything

Both groups (of course) were told in an arbitrary fashion. It was not dependant on whether they had Actually aced anything. They were told two different ‘stories’

So it seems -we need failure to move forward. If we have nothing but easy success, it doesn’t inspire us, it makes us lazy and safe.

If dopamine neurons (I say again, don’t ask) are missing or dying in a brain – that person can no longer makes decisions. Their lack is also a factor that produces Parkinson’s. An inability to respond.

———————–

Deep Blue that IBM computer that beat chess grand master Kasparov at chess (just and only once). Was programmed with all the moves possible, and Kasparov’s play history , that is his weakness. Deep blue had to analyse 200 million moves per second to compete. Kasparov’s brain analysed about 5 moves per second. Because his brain had learned through his previous mistakes. It automatically discarded irrelevant data.

Another program TD-Gammon , a backgammon AI software, learnt, as Kasparov did. By its hundreds of mistakes. It  played itself at backgammon thousands and thousands of times and ‘learnt’ the right way. In other words it learned everyway to fail first. TD-Gammon doesn’t run a million options when playing. It has a  history of error, it only needs to view a few patterns. TD-Gammon beat all comers, not just once, but again and again.

(Side note – it cant play chess, or even checkers – its a piece of dedicated software - not nearly  as clever as WE who learn patterns from an immense variety of failure. And side note 2 – no computer is any good at poker)

In machines its called feedback. That’s how most rockets find their targets, they don’t go directly, they don’t ‘ace’ the course. They go a little bit too much this way, then correction, then a little n bit too much that way, correction…

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John Reese always says whenever you do something for the first time (if you pay attention ) its the worst you are going to be at it, because you will learn. Learn from what? – The failures, that bits that didnt work.

Failure is inherent in our make-up from the brain on down. And failure is inherent in any success. Failure is Vital to success.

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So you tried one thing once. It didn’t work? Of course not.

By the way when nothing is working and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel – here’s the magic mantra word…

Next.

Just remember that success word.

Next. Next time it’ll work a little better. Next time I’ll understand a little more. Next time I’ll be that much closer to success.

To win, to make it happen, to in fcat become rich – the number of times you fail are never counted – its the one time the 1 time you succeed that counts.

Next.