Your profitable quote: T.E. Lawrence on vision and action

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible."

— T.E. Lawrence

Your profitable quote: Og Mandino on the urgency of now

"Live this day as if it will be your last. Remember that you will only find 'tomorrow' on the calendars of fools. Forget yesterday's defeats and ignore the problems of tomorrow. This is it. Doomsday. All you have. Make it the best day of your year. The saddest words you can ever utter are, ''If I had my life to live over again.''

Take the baton, now. Run with it! This is your day! Beginning today, treat everyone you meet, friend or foe, loved one or stranger, as if they were going to be dead at midnight. Extend to each person, no matter how trivial the contact, all the care and kindness and understanding and love that you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again."

-- Og Mandino

Dreams Are Not Enough

Gail Collins, in an recent column in the New York Times, wrote: "As a nation we seem to be overstocked on dreams involving fame and fortune, particularly the ones that come untethered to any plans for actual achievement."

I can't stand to watch television anymore. It seems to be wall-to-wall talent contests, whether it be singing, dancing, decorating, cooking, or whatever is the trendy "Idol" of the moment. Even the "pitch" shows such as CBC's "Dragons Den" or ABC's "Shark Tank" reinforce the notion that all you need to do is to stroke a venture capitalist the right way and you're a winner.

Now of course, no one would watch a TV program that shows the true experience of the vision-driven entrepreneur: the exhausting pace of investing twelve, fourteen, eighteen hours a day on the project, moving from energy-sapping disappointment to confidence-destroying setback, living with the constant, corrosive fear of being within seven to ten days of functional insolvency, all while keeping positive, energized and enthusiastic. This kind of reality show doesn't sell candy bars and toilet paper.

Powering your dream from idea to reality takes everything you have to give, and more. You cannot keep anything in reserve, nor hold anything back. Your commitment to action must be absolute and binding. For the result of your dream to be of any value whatsoever, the effort must bankrupt you, physically, emotionally, financially. And if it doesn't, your dream is not big enough. Because it is only when you have burned all the links to your past that you can focus on building the bridge to the future.

That's the true secret to turning your dream into reality: total commitment to massive action, using every last atom of your resources, physical and virtual, so you can reinvent yourself in alignment with the promise of your dream.

As a society, we are addicted to the lottery mentality, the illusion that if we want something bad enough, someone will give it to us, whether it is the bank, the government, an investor or a reality show. The true reality is that no one will hand you what you want, desire or need on a silver platter, and even if they did, the moment you accept it, its value is negated.

To succeed takes discipline and resolve, two elements in woefully short supply in our North American society. You need to be the sole champion of your dream and its primary promoter. The size of the reward is proportional to the effort that you invest.

Dreams are not enough. Dreams plus all-out effort is what it takes.

Your profitable quote: Edward de Bono on action

"An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea."

-- Edward de Bono

"From Passion To Profit" Action Hour: How To Be The "Go-To" Person Tues 1PM East

Join the "From Passion to Profit Action Hour" Tuesday at 1PM EASTERN (10am pacific):

THIS WEEK'S THEME: "How To Be The 'Go-To Person'"

How do you stand out from the crowd and become "the" person people naturally think of for a given situation?

Your positioning is what images or ideas come to mind with people think of you, and what people say when they talk about you. You have the power to shape those images and words.

In this call we will discuss strategies to plant the right seeds so you become the answer to your prospect's question.

This discussion and open coaching session focuses on helping you develop your network and get qualified referrals so you can book More and Better Clients. These are ideas you can put to work right away!

With Coach Davender
Tuesday 24 March, 1PM-2PM Eastern
Conference Dial-in Number: (218) 339-4600 Participant Access Code: 191192#
(live teleconference, FREE - you pay the long-distance toll to the conference number)

Upcoming Events: Building communities, Get clients, Don't touch that blog!

Here are some upcoming events:

Friday, February 6, 2:00pm-2:30pm Eastern
Book Yourself Solid Radio
Booked Solid Friday with Trish Lambert and Michael Port: Building Communities

Join Certified Book Yourself Solid Coach Trish Lambert as she welcomes Michael Port, author of the best-selling book “Book Yourself Solid”. Trish and Michael will talk about building communities, with Michael sharing his experience building online communities through his Book Yourself Solid 15-Week Intensives, his new Booked Solid member network, and his Think Big Revolution. Check out the Think Big Revolution Online Community at www.thinkbigrevolution.com

Listen live through the web at http://is.gd/hLcs and access past shows with hosts Davender Gupta and Trish Lambert at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bookyourselfsolid


Tue, February 10, 2:00pm – 2:30pm Eastern

"Get More And Better Clients" Accountability Group with Davender

30 minutes of Laser-Focused Accountability, focused on helping you develop your network and get qualified referrals so you can book More and Better Clients. Report your successes big and small from the previous week, and share your Big Hairy Audacious Action Step for the next seven days! Your action step should be focused on Getting More and Better Clients.

With Coach Davender
Conference Dial-in Number: (218) 339-4600 Participant Access Code: 191192#
(live teleconference, FREE – you pay the long-distance toll to the conference number)


Tuesday, February 10, 8pm-8:45pm Eastern

"Get More and Better Clients" Open Telecoaching with Coach Davender

An open discussion about various aspects of attracting More and Better Clients so you can Power your Big Dream from Passion To Profit... without selling your soul!
Topic of the Week: Your Web Site: Four Myths and Fallacies That Could Cost You!
Are you thinking of spending big money on a new web site (or improving the one you have)? Then you need to be aware of the myths and fallacies that could cost you, big time! In this telediscussion we well explore four widely held (but misguided) beliefs about web sites. You will also discover tips, tools and techniques that will save you thousands of dollars, as well as help you generate true trust and credibility on and off the Web.

With Coach Davender - Tuesday, Feb 10 2009, 8pm-8:55pm Eastern
Conference Dial-in Number: (712) 432-0800 Participant Access Code: 556643#
(live teleconference, FREE – you pay the long-distance toll to the conference number)

See the full updated calendar at
http://www.visioneering-institute.com/calendar

An interesting thought for Big Thinkers

"It is not social reform if you only change the way you think; actions need to be present for reform to even exist."
- Ruben Harris

http://www.thesocialreformer.com/2008/12/humanity-20-call-to-action.html

If everyone was listening, what would you say?

Susan Scott, on her FierceBlog, asks this intriguing question:

"Imagine that you had the complete, avid attention of every person on this planet for thirty seconds. What would you say?"

Do you know what your message is? Are you integrating it into everything that you do, that you offer, that you say, that you make, who you are?

Leaders know with an unswerving certainty what their message is. Leaders also are clear about their Mission (who they are), their Vision (the impact they are meant to create in the world) and their Permission (their strengths, talents and abilities that enable them to execute).

Leadership is about creating a positive impact around oneself that changes the status-quo, in alignment with one's Mission, Vision and Permission. Gandhi said it so well: "Be the change you wish to see in the world".

Somewhere, out there, someone is listening with "complete, avid attention" for the message you were born to communicate, for the lesson you were born to teach, for the change you wish to see. Is your message loud and clear, so they can hear it, feel it, experience it?

We each have a message to bring to the world, an important piece of the puzzle that is life. You get one chance to state your case, this one chance being your lifetime. Once you're gone, that's it, the song is lost.

Get clear about your Life Message. Build a Big Project around it: that is your real business. People don't just buy your products and services, they want to create a personal connection with you... to experience the change you wish to create in the world.

Now that I am getting clear on my message, what drives me forward each day is this realization that time is ticking and there is so much to do to make sure my message is heard by as many people as possible...

Think Big, my friends... and act even Bigger...

You gotta be a bit crazy...

"Go around asking a lot of damfool questions and taking chances. Only through curiosity can we discover opportunities, and only by gambling can we take advantage of them."
-- Clarence Birdseye (1886-1956)
Inventor of the frozen food preservation process

You gotta be a bit crazy to be in business. Entrepreneurship is not logical. If your goal is to make money, there are ways that pay much better and for far longer, than starting your own business. If you want to be your own boss, you'll discover you work for one of the most demanding and least generous ones. If it is stability and balance you are looking for, you will discover that each day throws you a curveball. If it is the freedom you crave, you'll quickly become a slave to the daily demands of keeping your business alive...

Because to succeed in business, you must be able to see things as you want them to be, not as they are, but at the same time, take action based on the reality of the present moment, not reality as you would like it to be. Most of the problems that entrepreneurs endure happen because they reverse their contexts of vision and action, only seeing reality but acting in a dreamworld.

Being an entrepreneur is a lifestyle that I would not trade for anything, not even a lottery jackpot. Reaching for the stars while keeping my feet on the ground, for me it's the only way to grow to my full potential ...

The speed of freedom

There is an essential dimension to the success of any business plan, and that is speed.

And it takes momentum to create this speed.

Think of a tsunami. A sudden, powerful, instantaneous change in the Earth's crust creates a wave that can travel thousands of kilometers, increasing in size, generating speed and creating consequences far in time and distance of the event that triggered the process. That's the power of momentum.

Once you have speed, building and guiding your business requires less effort. Is it not true that it's much easier to ride your bike once you have huffed and puffed and sweated your way to the top of the hill?

When your project has momentum, all obstacles or disadvantages become smaller. If you do not have good momentum, each "no" or hiccup or disappointment becomes an obstacle that grows increasingly large, undermining your progress and eventually stopping you from reaching your goal.

Building quickly is much easier than building slowly.

What is the masssive action that you need to do now? It is approaching as many people as possible in the next thirty (30) days. Approaching people not to sell them or convince them, but to simply inform them of your project and your goals. Whether they agree or not is their choice. The important thing is they know what you are doing.

And your next thirty days beginning with your activity this week. The only mass action that you must aim for is to contact at least ten people per day for the next five days - it will be 50 contacts all grouped together in a short period of time.

Speaking with fifty people in your project this week will give a quantum boost to your confidence and will break through the discomfort and hesitation that is keeping you back from the results you want. What you do now, right now, will result in sales, contracts, income and profits within 90 days or less.

The key to this strategy is the concentration of your efforts. Instead of just planning, take action. Be bold, be a little crazy, but be in motion. Banish from your vocabulary the question "how?" and remind yourself of your who, what and why.

Yes, it will require time and effort on your part. But the investment you make now, NOW!, is a good measure of your probability of success in 90 days. Because, like a farmer who wants sweet, juicy corn, you have to plant the seeds of opportunity now to be able to reap later.

To create the results you want, you must start with a big, even a massive, push to overcome the inertia of the present moment. If your effort is not sufficient, you fall back into your zone of daily results, and you always get what you've always got.

What differentiates those who succeed from those who fail in business, as in life, is the will to act boldly.

The speed of your results depends on two factors: the intensity of your work and velocity of your actions.

A rocket, to take off and reach the Earth's orbit, needs to accelerate to a speed of 11.2 km / s or 40320 km / h. If this escape velocity is not reached, everything is for nothing, the rocket will not reach its orbit and crash back to Earth.

And to achieve this speed, a rocket like the Space Shuttle needs nineteen times more mass in fuel than the empty weight of the vehicle. Half of this fuel is to lift this weight so that it rises above the launch tower. Talk about intense!

So to achieve the objectives you have set for yourself in 90 days, you must take massive action now. Consider your goal for this week and double it - and even quadruple it. Massive, intense, rapid action - that is what is needed so you can reach the speed of freedom!

What bold, massive action are you willing to take right now so that you can create the future you want?

You are what you do, not what you say.

I received this YouTube video today. It is somewhat old, but the words resonate just as strongly today as it did when Severn Cullis-Suzuki addressed the 1992 UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro...





Raised in Vancouver and Toronto, Severn Cullis-Suzuki has been camping and hiking all her life. When she was 9 she started the Environmental Children's Organization (ECO), a small group of children committed to learning and teaching other kids about environmental issues. They were successful in many projects before 1992, when they raised enough money to go to the UN's Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Their aim was to remind the decision-makers of who their actions or inactions would ultimately affect. The goal was reached when 12 yr old Severn closed a Plenary Session with a powerful speech, written with the help of her father, Dr. David Suzuki, that received a standing ovation.

Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severn_Cullis-Suzuki
Transcript of speech: http://www.sustainablestyle.org/sass/heirbrains/03suzuki.html
YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZsDliXzyAY

A thought about being visionary

"Dreamers who take action today, even though they risk being rejected as unrealistic or impractical, are those who create the practical reality of tomorrow."
- Coach Davender Gupta

A thought about imperfect action

"Anything worthwhile doing is worthwhile doing lousy. If it wasn’t worthwhile doing, you shouldn’t have done it at all. On the other hand, if it is worthwhile doing and you wait until you can do it perfectly, if you procrastinate, you run the risk of not doing it. Ever. Therefore, anything worthwhile doing is worthwhile doing lousy." (emphasis mine)

- Al Ries and Jack Trout in their book "Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind"

Tempus fugit

I'm doing some planning for my 100 day challenge to write 100 articles in 100 days, and I now realize that when they call it a "100-day challenge", they mean 100 calendar days (7 Feb to 16 May) - not 100 weekdays. EEEK!

I guess it makes sense - as a solopreneur, my "business" is actually my "life" - a life project, integrated into who I am and what I do. I'm on duty 24/7 (or is that 27/8?) Why?

That means if I miss a day, that day is gone... I have to work twice as hard to catch up. Miss two days in a row, I have to work three times as hard...

No wonder sometimes people feel overwhelmed because their "to do" list never gets "ta done".

Moral of the story: Time does not wait until things are "convenient"

Bonus moral of the story: Money is flexible, you can always generate or find more. Time is inflexible, once you've spent a minute, you can never replace it.

And extra bonus: don't let things pile up because it gets harder and harder to catch up. Just like mortgage payments...

From the time calculator at www.timeanddate.com:

From and including: Thursday, February 7, 2008
To and including: Friday, May 16, 2008

It is 100 days from the start date to the end date, end date included

Or 3 months, 10 days including the end date

100 days can be converted to one of these units:

• 8,640,000 seconds
• 144,000 minutes
• 2400 hours
• 14 weeks (rounded down)

And as sayeth ol' Benjamin Franklin:

" Never leave that till to-morrow which you can do to-day."
- Benjamin Franklin