I realize I’ve been missing in action again, but I wanted to log-in to do a short quick blog post. I’ve been mostly MIA because of massive work overload! However, the good news is that I finally got my head out from under water and here’s why…

1) I tracked what I was doing and found out that I wasn’t using my time efficiently! I needed help and so I just recently hired a great assistant who has helped me get back on track the last 2 weeks…

2) Management Hire - One of the jobs taking the most time for me (but not efficient) was reviewing courses and helping advise on their development. Now we have an excellent person filling those shoes. I get to review the courses when the are done!

3) TECHNOLOGY LEAD! Yes, one of the biggest stresses I’ve had in my life the last 5 years - we finally have a person who can fill these shoes and more!

So, the last month, I’ve been focusing MUCH more on SYSTEMIZING my life as much as possible (especially before I start traveling).

So much so, that I recently came down with a bad “sinus” sickness thing and yet, everything is running smoothly. My team took care of the LIVE event I was supposed to be at. Development of our courses is on-going…everything in my life is moving forward!

Anyways, back to the point…

40/30/30 - Healthy Living!

About a month or more ago, I declared that I was getting serious about my health, starting to work out and all that jazz - yes?

Well, I’ve been “pretty” good about it. The sinus sickness for the last week really threw me out of the gym, but other than that, I was point-on schedule.

The one area I was not doing well was EATING - I wasn’t following a strict healthy nutrition plan.

Notice that I didn’t call it a “diet” - that’s not what it is. Diets are “fads” that you do and then leave eventually (only to gain all that weight again). Also, through diets, you lose weight in a UNhealthy way - you’re hurting your body.

But healthy nutrition, you lose weight slowly and the RIGHT way.

Here are the basics of what I’m doing…

1. I am using FitDay.com to track and journal my diet.

2. I am making sure that at the end of the day, I have had 40% Protein, 30% Fat and 30% Carbohyderates.

3. I am limiting myself to 1,800 - 1,900 calories a day. Given my weight, height and level of activity, this should allow me to lose weight in a HEALTHY weigh.

4. I’m targeting to lose 2 pounds a WEEK - nothing more.

Stop gloating about how you lost 10 pounds in 4 days, that’s not a GOOD thing. It sounds impressive, but you just hurt your body.

5. I should hit the weight I want in about 2-3 months.

I say up to 3 because I start traveling soon - eating healthy while traveling will be HARD, but I’m gonna do it and I’ll keep you posted.

So, what’s 40/30/30?

It’s 40% Protein, 30% Fat and 30% Carbohyderates in your daily diet.

I find myself mostly eating Chicken, a BIT of bread (breakfast and lunch), vegetables, sweet potato, etc…

I’ve also forced myself to learn to cook and it’s been a blast. Not only is it fun, but the food tastes GOOD!

So, there you go - go eat right. PUT THAT McDONALDS DOWN!

BTW, I forgot to mention - when you eat healthy, Sunday is your “sanity” day - you can eat whatever the hell you want that day and STILL lose your 2lb a week. Pretty cool, right?

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“I’ve had it…I’m going crazy…” - first words uttered when I picked up the phone 4 hours ago. It was a good friend and clearly he was in a jam.

Before I could ask “what happened,” he was already half way through the story. Here’s the basics…

1. He had lost his job a few months back.
2. He just screwed up big time at his new job.
3. He’s been very ill the the last 3 weeks…
4. The girl he was chasing cut the leash
5. His parents are sitting on his neck…
6. He got a really horrible score on his recent GMAT

All that and you know what finally made him snap?

“I think you should eat some rice…”

Yes, his mother told him to eat rice and the dude snapped. He went bazerk. Obviously, the question: Why?

It’s like the old saying: “The straw that broke the camel’s back…”

His mom telling him to eat rice was the straw. If you look at it from the 40,000 foot overview, it’s pretty damn funny.

But, I can see his perspective.

Basically his mom insists on giving him unsolicited and unwanted advice. He’s mentioned it almost every day for the last 10 years. He’s tried every trick in the book to get her to stop…

No go…

She insists on treating him like a stupid child and give him senseless advice (…that does nothing but make his blood boil).

He hates rice. He didn’t want rice. He was stressed and just wanted to be tired. But she kept persisting.

Bottom line - the dude snapped. He lost it because it was the last draw.

I also feel equally bad for his mom, the poor lady got the full wrath of his failed job, illness and crappy girl crush.

So, what did he want from me?

Advice. He wanted to know what to do.

My advice? Get away from EVERYONE - take some time to yourself. Get inside your head and work through all the problems.

This is a model example of when someone needs “alone time.” There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be alone for a few days. It’s healthy - I personally do it all the time.

Going the other way, here’s some advice. If someone around you is feeling overwhelmed - ask to help them ONCE. If they say no or more importantly “I want to be left alone,” LEAVE THEM ALONE.

That’s not there way of saying “I’ll only tell me if you ask 63 more times.” Unless you want to become the target of all their frustrations - slowly step away and make no sudden movements on your way out!

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I finally have the honor to invite Allen Koss, the owner of MindAerobics.com to a LIVE webinar tomorrow night, Monday @ 9 PM ET. We’re going to talk about Mind Aerobics and the technology behind it that SAVED my life. Yes, even when I was on the death bed.

The most popular post on this blog is my post about Mind Aerobics - have a read!

Click Here To Register For This Webinar Right Away!

We have a VERY SPECIAL Deal Coming For You…

I’ve convinced Allen to do something AMAZING just for the Fighter readers - a VERY special pricing. But, before you even think about buying this CD, you’ve got to listen to how it works.

=> Saved me from bankruptcy (twice)
=> Saved me in the ICU from my death-bed
=> Helped me start my business with $100

I’m NOT exaggerating.

I owe my entire LIFE to this simple 20 Minute CD and we’re going to spend an hour explaining exactly how this CD worked and how it made such an impact on my life.

Click Here To Register For This Webinar Right Away!

If you want to TRY Mind Aerobics for FREE For 30 Days - Click Here!

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A shout out to my friend, Barry Goss (from LWLWorldWide) for sending me this video…

It absolutely sums up my attitude towards life in 46 seconds - I guess no where better to get it from than Rocky (the fighter) himself!

I couldn’t agree more Rocky Balboa!

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Wow, something I had forgotten or honestly not felt in a while…

I like to consider myself as someone who inspires and motivates. In reality this also means that I end up spending a lot of my time around those who NEED inspiration.

Well, I never thought about this - but what about ME being inspired? I still need something to help ME get out of bed in the morning!

Lucky for me, I ended up spending the last few days with people that really light a fire under my butt!

This weekend we had amazing team meetings planning for 2009 and I can barely wait to get it started - our company is really working on freaking amazing things!

Then…take that and combine it with my dinner last night…

I Saw Myself 4 Years Ago…

Here’s what a growing business can do to you - it can take out the FUN of doing business. Many times a growing business can take the ENTREPRENEUR out of you … you know that guy who runs around dreaming, fantasizing and hustling to fight for his dream?

Well, when you’re doing well, you find that you have others to help you fight, you have to fight less hard many times and YOUR job becomes more about MANAGEMENT (booooooring).

Although this all signifies growth and is EXCELLENT - what about that little dude inside me that wants to be running around, dreaming and taking risks that make no sense to the rest of the world?!

My Dinner with a Long Time Friend…

I had dinner with a College Friend last night, he’s started a new business recently and wanted some advice from me. I went to his office and gave him a complete run down on what he can do online and he says I was incredibly helpful - I HOPE I was…

But here’s what I noticed…

The first 30 minutes of our meeting, this guy just pitched me the business - he was doing backflips about it. His eyes were gouging out, he was just freaking EXCITED.

At first I was a bit annoyed honestly. I’m not the kind to hype stuff and go around blabbering about how great our company is (but maybe I should be doing more of that). Either way, initially I was getting annoyed…

Then as time went, I was getting REALLY impressed. Why? Because I just saw ME in him only four years ago!

This guy was ready to hustle, he had a vision, he BELIEVED in what he was doing and he was ready to FIGHT for it.

Wow, “I” Was Getting Inspired!

I don’t know what it was, but his excitement was like a virus that spread to me really fast. All of a sudden, I’m talking about all my non-profit goals for 2009 and how excited I am.

<<< I haven’t talked about my non-profit goals with even my closest friends, it’s just how I am…I like to get results and not gloat about them…but I think I’ve been looking at it wrongly all this time >>

Anyways, today I woke up feeling more motivated, inspired and ready to get started!

Your Takeaway From This?

HANG AROUND THOSE WHO INSPIRE YOU!

I don’t care what it takes, but be around those that can challenge your frame of thinking and your beliefs. This means be around those that are more successful or at least share the same ideologies as you.

This friend of mine is just like me. No one can tell him what he can or cannot do. Honestly, many of my personal friends in my life are NOT like that at all.

It was refreshing hanging with him, I’ll definitely be doing more of it soon.

Thanks for inspiring me all over again my friend.

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Hey Everyone,

I’ve had many write to me about the terrorist attacks going on in Mumbai. Yes, I am in Mumbai. Yes, I’m very close to it all. I’m doing OK - but there is something to be learned here…(I’ll get to that in a minute).

It seems they are targeting 5 star hotels and my luck, I am in one of the top ones in Mumbai. Fortunately they have not attacked this one. However, my heart, best wishes and prayers go to the hundreds of innocent people who were not so fortunate.

Not a moment to judge India…

I am quite taken back by comments like “Man, it’s great to be American…” and things. These attacks effect everyone around the world. What India needs is your prayers right now - NOT your judgements.

Also, they are targetting US Citizens and UK Citizens specifically, so this has global impact and it’s not a “country thing.”

Lesson Learned…Being a Fighter Does NOT Mean Taking Unnecessary Risks…

I was actually scheduled to LEAVE Mumbai just a few hours from when the attacks started. My flight is still leaving and I am fairly close to the airport.

However, the advice of many in the area was that we should cancel our flights and not take any unnecessary risks.

This is exactly what I have done.

For a few I did have the attitude of “Whatever happens, happens…I want to go home” - Afterall, I’ve been traveling for a month now and really want to go home.

However, I had to use sense. This is teaching me a LOT about fighting my own arrogance and “sense of security.”

Time To Come Together, Not Make Smart Remarks…

I really want to reach out to everyone and ask that they provide their SUPPORT right now rather than gloating about the benefits of their current situation (aka not being in India).

This is tragic, 80 are already dead and over 200 are injured.

To all the 100+ hostages, I pray for your safety - this is a true time to fight. A time no one ever wants to face.

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So I was talking to one of my friends the other night. He started to talk about how he’s not happy with his current job and he just doesn’t know what he wants to do.

He said he knows TWO things:

1. He wants to be in business.

2. He likes cars…

“So, Why Aren’t You Working On Cars?”

Of course I oversimplified the entire problem and asked a simple question - mostly because I wanted to see his response. I mean, I get it, the guy has a very nice and comfy job with Hewlett Packard that allows him to travel the entire country on THEIR dime.

But, either way, I wanted to see what he said - he said exactly what I thought he would…

“It would be crazy for me to leave such a great job to go ‘work on cars’ - people will call me crazy!”

Let’s dissect what he said, there are two different parts to it.

1. He called it a great job (however, he just got done saying that he could never see himself doing it and that it was not challenging and boring, hmmm).

2. “People will call me crazy” - AH HA! That’s what I was waiting to hear…what PEOPLE will think.

========================

See, my point was that “I want to have a business in cars” is not narrow enough - what does that even mean. He needs to take some time and get hands-on time to learn just WHAT about cars he wants a business in.

This means he’ll  have to do some “internships” or “jobs” in the industry and see whether he even likes it.

(This is exactly what I did when I started online, I was a financial planner, copywriter, internet marketing consultant and other things before I really figured out where my calling was).

I wasn’t saying for him to quit his job, I was saying for him to take his free time on weekends and find a way to do some work (even for free) at local car related businesses.

“And, Now Begin The Excuses…”

Here’s how I know that someone just is NOT ready; yhey start making lame excuses of “being too busy.” GIVE ME A BREAK. There is no such thing as “being too busy.”

What he’s missing is the HUSTLE - without hustle, life is not going to change.

But everything he said kept coming back to “well my parents gave me this advice…my sisters gave me this advice…my uncle gave me this advice…”

“I Remember The Days I Used To Ask Advice…”

5 years ago I was at a copywriting workshop and I got a chance to hang out with Michael Masterson, he’s one of the most world-renown copywriters. I was telling him about how I loved business and wanted to start one, but my parents were saying I couldn’t do it, I’d fail.

Here’s how the conversation went…

Michael: “Are your parents doing what you want to do 10 years from now?”

Me: No

Michael: Then why are you taking advice from them?

Me: Because they’re my parents…and even my friends say that I’m crazy…

Michael: Are your friends doing what you want to do 10 years from now?

Me: No way!

Michael: Then why are you taking advice from them?

Me: But, they just want what’s best for me…

Michael: Very true, but how can they give you advice on something they don’t know about. YOU want to be a young entrepreneur, YOU want a business - why aren’t you taking advice from other successful young entrepreneurs?

BINGO!

The moral of the story for you and for my friend today: Don’t waste your time taking advice for everyone and anyone. Any time someone gives you advice, ask yourself just one question:

“Is This Person Doing What I Want To Do 10 Years From Now?”

Thank you Michael. Since that day, I’ve had many mentors, I’ve actually out-grown a few. I no longer take advice from someone that does not know the topic better than me and/or is not living the dream I dream every night…

So, my friend, please, please, do two things:

1. Get your hustle (or else it’s a no go).

2. Start taking advice from other people…when I got started, NO ONE thought I could do it. Well, I showed them didn’t I?

Now, go forth and FIGHT!

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I was wandering around blogs today and came across one of my favorite ones, SuperAffiliateMindset.com run by one of our fellow fighters, Amit Mehta.

Amit happened to stumble upon a commencement speech that Steve Jobs did in 2005 for the graduating Stanford class. Steve Jobs, in my opinion, is one of the most genius minds to have existed in the world of business.

Given he was a bit of a “weirdo” growing up and had an abundance of personal problems (let’s face it, who doesn’t!). Steve Jobs is creative, inspirational, a visionary and he knows how to create IMPACT.

Steve starts by talking about his life and he shares 3 specific stories from his life…

1. Connecting the dots looking back, not forward…the story of how he dropped out of college.

2. Love and Loss…the story of how he got fired from his own company!

3. Death…asking yourself if you’re doing today what you would want to do on your last day?

“Sometimes life’s gonna hit you in the head with a brick, don’t lose faith…”

Spoken like a TRUE fighter! Life is nothing without obstacles, we get strong with every new one and Steve’s life has been full of obstacles. He fought and fought and today he is responsible for many of the world’s largest technological movements…

Here are some of the obstacles that Steve has faced:

- Dropped out of college
- Openly and Publicly fired from his own company
- Lost his friends, even the love of his life
- Diagnosed with cancer

What else can you fight from!!

Hats off to you Steve, keep on fighting, you inspire us all!

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So, I’ve been listening to “Good To Great,” which is all about dissecting what made the most successful companies in the world who they are today.

In addition, I had one of those long chats with a close friend last night over a couple of drinks.

Combine the two and it’s exactly why I’m up right now at 1:15 AM on a Saturday night writing this post for you. I couldn’t sleep thinking more and more about it, figured I’d share.

My friend and I were talking about what’s going on with the world today and how things are falling apart left and right. Well, HIS view on the situation is quite more cynic than mine is, I understand there are two sides.

No matter how much evil we see, there is just as much great around us as well (it’s just that the media chooses not to talk about the good).

Anyways, he posed a question that concerned me and also led into a long heated (yet friendly) debate:

“Is it too late to change things? Is there no more hope? Look at everything around us, how did we let it get to this?”

As we talked about it, only one word came to mind…

Leadership

That’s right. I explained to him firstly that absolutely not, it’s not too late. Also, “how did we let things get to this point?” It’s all about leadership.

I’m a big believer that everything, every organization, family, business, government - all of it is shaped by a leader. We all look to follow someone who can INSPIRE and MOVE us. We believe in his/her dreams and we pledge our loyalty.

A great leader stays TRUE to his commitments and does ANYTHING to make them happen. I mean EVERYTHING, that includes the toughest decisions anyone can imagine making.

“Much of The Leadership Is Absent Or Has Gone Astray…”

That was my only answer for him. I oversimplified the matter by saying that really if we want to see things fixed, we need new leadership. But, if you really think about it, it really is THAT simple.

Any and all successful organizations have had leaders that were fearless, brilliant and made tough decisions like you wouldn’t believe. If you have not yet, I HIGHLY recommend picking up a copy of “Good To Great” - it really drives home this point.

A Great Leader Inspires

Without going into a great big rant, I want to leave everyone with just one thought - if you want to succeed in life, you need to first master the art of inspiring and motivating those around you.

You have to begin to lead and get away from following (believe me, it sounds great, but it’s tough).

Every great leader in our world has been the role model for what it means to be a “fighter.”

Creating Impact…

One of my good friends and probably one of the nicest guys I know, Kenneth McArthur, recently wrote a book called “IMPACT.” I just got done listening to the free audio and I loved it.

Kenneth’s book is the next one on my list, I’ve only heard great things about it.

The subtitle explains my entire point:

“How To Get Noticed, Motivate Millions and Make a Difference in a Noisy World…”

Fighting for your goals and dreams involves building a coalition around you and gaining support. If you ever plan on doing that, you have to inspire, motivate and create impact…

Kenneth is giving away MANY of his materials for FREE, including the amazing interview I listened to, just visit his site and sign-up. I highly recommend getting the book as well (I’ll give you a full review when I finish it).

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Randy Pausch, a truly inspirational man and also responsible for delivering the “Last Lecture” passed away a few days ago.

I wanted to take a minute to publicly thank him as well for his inspirational speech which really makes one think about their life.

If you have not yet seen the video, it’s worth watching (I’ve included it below).

Here’s something interesting I found. Last time I watched his video, it had a little over 500,000 views. On last check minutes back, look at how many views he had…

In just a few months he has TEN times as many views! You can definitely get a feeling for the impact he has had on lives. Not to mention the MILLIONS of copies of his book that are for sale right now.

Anyways, thanks a lot Randy, I hope to make even 5% of the influence you made and I’ll be a happy man!

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