My blog

What is success?

The 6M ProfitMethod – Business Success blog is focused on success albeit mainly business and financial success (I guess the title is a bit of a give away!) but I paused for thought today when reading one of DavidBDale’s 299 Word Novels.

SIDENOTE – I came across David’s work via MyBlogLog some while back and have become a great fan of his work. It is varied, thought provoking and always brilliantly executed. I look forward to each new novel posted at his blog and always get great enjoyment from them. You ought to know that each novel is EXACTLY 299 words – an amazing feat in itself!

You will be aware from Who is Wizzer that my favourite quote (attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson) is all about the definition of success BUT interestingly there is simply no reference to materialistic success!

So this morning as I read David’s latest short novel I was touched by his words which made me think what a successful human being the object of his story has been.

David kindly gave me permission to reprint his story here – please repay him by becoming a regular reader of his work – which I know you will also enjoy.

No matter how hard we strive for business and thus financial success we must never lose sight of the real measure of success – how we are seen by others. Be wary, however, of a one simple word – “perception”. It is said that perception is reality. Online, for example, is it possible to establish who is truly successful and worthy of their often self-proclaimed guru status?

The reality may be very different from the face seen by the world – is that success?

Thank you David for this timely reminder

I’m listening to “Up the Junction” by Squeeze as I write this post – chosen because the story it tells is that far too many people find themselves living. I’m just so thankful I’ve found the way out of the trap.

Squeeze – Up the Junction (TOTP)

[via FoxyTunes / Squeeze]

Yesterday morning I left home for a 1 hour drive to the office of the organisation that does some of the administration for my IFA (Financial Advice) business.

The sun was shining and the blue sky was cloudless. I was listening to one of the 6MProfitMethod CDs and was feeling on top of the world.

The reason for feeling so good was that I was on my way to making a a big dent in the volume of regular work I have to undertake. I was about to offload about 25% of my client load to a colleague who has more time available. This suits him as he is looking to build his business, it suits me as I need to find sometime for my online business and it will suit the clients because they will receive more attention. A total win-win-win situation.

For about 5 years I have known this is what I should do, all that time I have been talking about it but frankly was afraid to do it because my income would undoubtedly suffer – something I couldn’t afford back then.

So what’s different?

The 6MProfitMethod has taught me that I need to focus totally on what I want – not what I don’t want

I totally believe that the time freed up will enable other more remunerative things to flow into my life as I make more effective use of my time – thus my income will not suffer

Tim Ferriss’s book – referred to in my “how to find the time you need” post, has inspired me to take action on this long standing challenge

I am now totally committed to making my online business work**

What’s the worst that can happen?***

**It is no so much the business itself that I am focused on but the lifestyle it will give me. No, I don’t just mean the money – I mean the freedom do do as I choose, when I choose. Although I’ve run my own businesses for the past 13 years I didn’t think about the end result before I started. The consequence – I have a job that I created for myself. If I’m not here nothing gets done, the income stops and there’s a mountain of work when I return!

***Thanks again to Tim Ferriss for this thought. What indeed is the worst that can happen? My income drops a bit for a while BUT I have a big chunk of extra time (this group of clients took up a disproportionate amount of time – see 80/20 rule) that I can use to better effect with my remaining clients if absolutely necessary. Oh life is so simple with some clarity!

So today, I feel really good. The doubt and worry has gone (that’s always the case after making a decision – good lesson to learn) and I’m moving forward with more time on my hands. Now for the next 50% of clients!

Let me know what inspires you and makes you feel good about yourself.

The 4-Hour Workweek is so important to absolutely anyone looking to improve their life this post will run into a number of parts!

You’ll know from previous posts that Wizzer (yes, that’s me) was fortunate to be the Weekly Winner at Create Business Growth a few weeks ago and I chose “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Timothy Ferriss as my prize. (Sadly I’d not heard of this best seller at the time but thought the title sounded interesting). At that time I was posting about being in the “zone” and how things you need manifest themselves at the right time. I also said that I’d undoubtedly find something in the book that was appropriate to my needs.

Wow – what an understatement!

For years I’ve been making excuses to myself for not doing things due to a lack of time, you know “I’ve got too many important things to do – that will have to wait” – steady, I think I saw you nodding in agreement Well not anymore!

Although I am very familiar with a few of the concepts Tim writes about; Pareto Principle (or the 80/20 rule); Parkinson’s Law (activities expand to fill the time available) and for years I have not read a newspaper either, I have never considered taking such a radical approach.

Following Tim’s suggestion I have drawn up a list of my best clients (in my day business) and have made a decision to concentrate on only them. The time this will save me will be incredible – time I can devote to being effective in moving my life forward.

I’ve also set up a system for minimising the time spent on idle chit-chat at the start of any phone conversations and to prevent email interruptions during the day. I’m taking a leap of faith with this but have every confidence it will work out.

I’ll be posting more about my progress and with reference to this essential book over the coming weeks.

Christine – I can’t thank you enough for this.

I will be away on holiday for 2 weeks so this will be my last post for a while as I’ll not be able to access the internet (not sure whether that’s a good or bad thing!) As I was tidying up some loose ends at my desk I thought I’d listen to some music and selected one of my favourite songs by the Jam (British mod/punk/rock band from the late 70′s).

The lyrics of this song are so angry – about life in a UK town outside London. They got me thinking about how some people have “given up” on their dream and accepted their lot. One of the best lines is:

“watching the telly and thinking about your holidays…”

How sad is that? Your life is spent in someone else’s virtual world and all you have to look forward to is a few weeks holiday (vacation) each year.

The song is much deeper than that, more a social documentary – listen below – but please don’t get caught in the trap of “acceptance”. Do something about it if you don’t like your lot. “Nothing Changes Without A Change” – go on – break free from your ties.

the jam – that’s entertainment

I’ve so much updating to do when I return – my business is almost ready to be revealed together with the further steps taken that will be documented in My Action Line pages.

Look forward to catching up. Mark

I woke up this morning to a very pleasant surprise – I had won a contest! The comment awaiting me was titled – Weekly Winner Wizzer

I spend a fair amount of my time online reading other blogs and posting relevant comments where I think I might add some value. Although my selection was random, the guys over at Create Business Wealth run a weekly contest for visitors who have posted comments at their blog and this week I was selected.

Now I have three comments to make about this:

1. I’ve been in the “flow” all week and things have been happening for me with minimal effort. I’ve posted about this issue several times mentioning how “things” I need have just materialised. As I like to believe, this is because of abundant thinking attracting my requirements into my life. So my book prize from Create Business Wealth will undoubtedly contain a priceless nugget (or two) of information.

2. Spending some time at good quality blogs is a great way to interact with some great people. Working in front of a PC or Mac does lack a degree of human interaction and commenting on blogs does bring other people to life. You also come across some brilliant ideas – check out the weekly comments contest at Create Business Wealth. If you think about that for a moment, I’ve posted there a couple of times this week (I have to admit I’d completely missed the massive banner about the contest – SIDENOTE – that tells me something about my attitude to advertising on websites!) and having picked up the prize I’ve written this piece devoted to that blog plus I’m much more likely to pay a keen interest in what’s going on over there in the future. I’ll also be writing a review of the book once read with further reference to Create Business Wealth – more exposure.

3. I’d like to post a big public thank you to Christine O’Kelly, David Williams, Fred Wood & Tara Geissinger at Create Business Wealth for making my day.

This is the one lesson of the five in this series that touched me most. Whether it’s true or not is unimportant.

What sacrifices are you prepared to make? If you are to achieve your full potential you are going to have to make some sacrifices. It could be as simple as reducing your valuable TV time by an hour a day – or spending some cash on an e-book rather than a McThingy -BUT you need something to change and that will probably mean you have to stop something you currently do.

If you can’t make that sacrifice then I’m afraid you’ll have to be content with where you are.

LESSON 5 – Giving When it Counts…

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a l ittle girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her
little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, “Yes I’ll do it if it will
save her.”

As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did,
seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, “Will I start to die right away”.

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

Following hot on the heels of “Who is that?”, this lesson is in a very similar vein. Be careful – you never know who you are dealing with and the opportunity you may miss by not going the extra mile.

Most really successful people will have a story to tell of how they went the extra distance in putting a customer complaint right and that same person went on to become one of their best clients.

LESSON 4 – Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:30 P.M., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride.

Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man’s door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached..

It read:

“Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband’s bedside just before he passed away… God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others.”

Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole.

You may not meet someone really famous but the influence of some people should never be underestimated.

Everyone you meet in life, personally or through the internet is important. Whether that person is important to you is not important. That person is important to themselves at the very minimum.

I’ve always practised the lesson taught below – in my Financial Planning practice one of my best introducers’ of business is an ex-taxi driver who I got talking to who became a chauffeur for a huge multi-national company. He now sings my praises and business flows as a result.

Never forget that what goes around comes around…

LESSON 3 – The Cleaning Lady

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one:

“What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?”

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall,
dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if
the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

“Absolutely,” said the professor. “In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say “hello.”

I’ve never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

I’d like you to think about the times you could have shown some interest but didn’t. Would it have made a difference to you? I don’t know but I’m sure it would make a difference to the other person. How do you feel when someone really takes an interest in you?

The second in my series of five simple lessons is all about success. To achieve real success you have to be prepared to do something others will not. If you don’t you will simply be the same as everyone else. Do you have what it takes?

LESSON TWO – The Obstacle in our path

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a boulder on roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.

The peasant learned what many of us never understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

You’ll know by now that the first M in the 6M is mindset and I’ve been talking about a number of related issues over the past few weeks, being positive; being open to ideas; accepting of change; expecting good to happen; information arriving when it’s needed.

Over the last few days I’ve been experiencing real flow – information I need arriving when it’s required. Today I was going to post about treating people fairly and the results you can expect, you know – you smile – they smile; you scowl – they scowl. I like to give examples wherever possible and as I opened my emails this morning I found one addressed to Wizzer (my other name) that is just so relevant that I decided to post it here. It’s quite long so I’ve broken it down into 5 separate lessons.

LESSON ONE – Remember those who serve

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

“How much is an ice cream sundae?” he asked.

“Fifty cents,” replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.

“Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?” he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.

“Thirty-five cents,” she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins.

“I’ll have the plain ice cream,” he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies..

You see, he couldn’t have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

More will definitely be just around the corner for this small child since giving results in receiving. A great lesson to us all.