A friend recently said to me “your life is so random…”

Hearing that really made me think. I didn’t know what to make of it.

“Is that a good thing or bad? What does it even mean?”

As I started to reflect on my short 26 years and what I’ve been through, I can’t help but agree with her.

MY LIFE IS 100% COMPLETELY INSANELY RANDOM… and guess what? I LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT.

I hate planning - I really like originality and spontaneity.

Since I was a child, I remember being very open to new experiences and sometimes doing the WRONG thing JUST so I could see what happens.

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“Let’s Wing It”
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I can remember in high school, we had a saying (in my group of friends) - “let’s just wing it.”

The rule was that we could not PLAN anything for a weekend night. We’d just say “let’s meet here and see where the night takes us.”

Guess what?

Those were our best nights.

So, you know what? Loosen your belt a little, let down your defenses and LIVE A LITTLE.

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MY CHALLENGE TO YOU
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Do just ONE thing without planning it.

Maybe you go out Friday night with no idea what you’re doing.
Maybe you walk into a presentation at work completely unprepared.
Maybe you wake up one morning and just call in sick to go exploring the city.
…Maybe you get in the car and start driving into unchartered roads “just to see…”

Do something spontaneous. Take a risk.

Seriously - what’s the worse that can happen?

So, yes, my life is random. But, I wouldn’t have it any other way. EVERYTHING great in my life has come from randomness.

Are you strong enough to be random?

Popularity: 12% [?]

Here you go! One of the best interviews I’ve ever done. We shared our stories with using Mind Aerobics and also Allen explains EXACTLY how Mind Aerobics works…

The “Noble Prize” Winning technology behind it!

Just Click The Image Below To Start Playing The Interview…

Click Here To Download The File (Right Click & Save-As…)

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

Popularity: 26% [?]

A couple of months ago, I was confronted by a friend. Initially I was really taken back, even a bit upset. Here’s what happened…

I work hard, right? So does everyone around me! Our team is down-right amazing - hands down. But, having a stellar team does two *bad* things…

1. You get spoiled…start to think that’s just normal and expect it.

2. Sometimes, you even expect more (because you’re so used to it)…

I’ve always treated everyone around me with nothing but respect. Especially for my team, I give them everything they ever ask for, period. It’s a family and I am willing to make ANY sacrifice for my family.

We’re all so busy working and working and building our empire, that we’re always on the GO. Especially this year with all my travel, before one thing is done, I’m on to the next 5 things…

What Happens In All This?

I forget to take a minute to really appreciate and thank my team. No, it’s not enough to just “be there for them” - people are people. They need to hear that you DO see their effort.

Most “A players” don’t need to be told every day or even every month. But, in the end, EVERYONE has their points.

Bottom line is this. Consider it the BIGGEST flattery if someone is looking for appreciation from you. Mostly it means they really respect you and want to impress you!

But, if you go a long time without doing it - it can be the biggest de-motivation.

I found that this was the BIGGEST weakness in my style of leadership. I’m seriously working on it now and I can’t appreciate my friend enough for bringing it up.

It not only makes the person feel good - it makes ME feel good.

Try this:

EVERY DAY - Try appreciating someone. Anyone. Even the cashier at your lunch cafeteria. How about just saying…

“You know Sam…you’re always really pleasant…I appreciate you for that - thank you” or…

“Sam, you make a killer cheese sandwich man - just wanted to say, I really look forward to it everyday!”

Think about it - the last time someone said something nice to you - didn’t it make you feel great?

How would you feel if you can make at least one person feel that way every day?

It’s very powerful.

Popularity: 27% [?]

I credit a lot of my success to mentors. Since I’ve revealed this on stage, the #1 question I get is:

“How Do I Find a Mentor?”

Ironically, it’s a tough question for me to answer, but I’m going to try.

Let’s first understand what a mentor is.

A mentor is not someone who teaches you everything about everything. Usually I have more than one mentor at a time. I currently have more than 3 just in the world of business.

A mentor is someone who has “been there and done that.” They know the ropes and are willing to guide you. They are your lead advisor.

Here are some ground-rules when it comes to finding a mentor:

1. Do not PAY for the mentor. Anyone you are paying is likely not truly a mentor.
If you pay them, do it be because YOU want to. If they have an up-front fee - forget about it.

2. It is OK to surpass your mentor.
I have surpassed many of those who taught me in the past. It’s not offensive, it means they did a great job.

Luckily, my mentors today are way ahead of me so I have some running to do.

3. Find a mentor for your specific situation.
Just because you already have a “business mentor” does not mean you cannot get another one in a more specific role.

My example/

I am currently looking to write a book. My mentor has not written one before. So, what did I do?

I found someone who has, he has written many. He is well connected and cares about my success.

(We already had our first consultation call and no, he did not charge me nor ask for any money).

4. You need a personal relationship.
Don’t go around asking people to “be my mentor.” That’s not how it works. A mentor comes out more naturally. You need a personal relationship with them.

A great mentor becomes a great friend and even a part of the family. They have to do it for the pure joy of teaching - no other side-benefit.

5. Mentoring relationships GROW…
Again, you don’t walk in, sign a contract and walk out with a mentor. Mentorship is not a business deal, it’s a relationship.

My best mentors “just happened.” A better way of saying that is that they started off slowly and as our relationship grew, so did the amount of advice.

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The Mentors In My Life
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My Parents - Had it not been for the great discipline my father instilled, I would not be who I am today. He stressed education and forced me to always be ahead.

I am who I am today because of my parents.

Copywriter - I learned copywriting and the essence of selling through words from a very popular and generous man.

Not only did I not pay him - he paid ME for the work I did for him. I am forever grateful to him.

Salesmanship & Business - An amazing man who I happened to re-connect with a few days ago! He taught me how to speak on stage, sell a customer and built my confidence.

He was the main reason I had the guts to leave my pre-medical studies and enter business.

Big Business - After graduating from College, I connected with a brilliant and wise man (only old enough to be my brother)! He has expanded my vision and taught me how to run a “big business.”

He’s become a great friend, part of my family and a trusted confidant.

Top Selling Author - As of today, my mentor helping me write my first book.

** There have been many others along the way, the above are the ones that made the biggest impact on my life.

How Did I Find Each of These?

Copywriter - Connected through a random friend. He was impressed with my work online and offered me a part-time virtual (work at home) job.

I earned 3 times my friends and learned 100 times as much.

He started as a boss and quickly became a mentor.

Salesmanship & Business - I joined a company as a Financial Planner at 18 and he was my Marketing Director.

In this case he was “forced” to forge a relationship with me. I was awed with his success and knowledge. He and I became friends immediately and slowly I began turning to him for all of life’s advice.

Big Business - He was my professor in Entrepreneurship 101. Luck would have it, he was also the Director of a business incubator program I got admitted to.

Again, he was “assigned” to help me by the University. However, our relationship went way beyond the 9 to 5 day. He soon saw potential in me and found great joy in helping me.

Top Selling Author - He fell into this role as a friend. He and I travel in the same business circles for the last three years.

I needed help and he offered. One day, he may need help and I’ll be there for him.

The Steps To Finding a Mentor:

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Step 1 - Build Relationships
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Be in as many places as you can be and BUILD RELATIONSHIPS. Treat everyone as if they can teach you something (because they really can).

Treat everyone as a potential mentor, the right one will emerge automatically.

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Step 2 - Ask Questions
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I have news; you don’t know it all. Actually, you barely know anything.

The best thing you can do is admit that today - your rate of growth will go up exponentially.

The good news is that you don’t NEED to know it all or anything at all for that matter. Use your network. Ask questions.

The more questions you ask, the more answers you will get. Watch who answers your questions and look for patterns - your mentor emerges before you.

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Step 3 - Give Back
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Never take, take, take. Learn about your mentor and show respect. Give back to them (any way you can) and show them you appreciate them.

This is where the relationship building takes off.

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Step 4 - Show Results
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The quickest way to lose a mentor is to never listen.

If you ask, ask, ask and never implement their guidance - you’re 2 skips away from losing them.

The biggest reward a mentor can have is to see their student succeed after implementing their advice.

Never ask the same question twice!

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In Summary
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Finding a mentor is a process, not an over-night practice. It’s not easy, but that is what makes it worth it.

Get out there, build relationships, ask questions and give back. Every day you do this, you’re 10 steps closer to finding your perfect mentor.

But, remember, mentors are useless if you are not ready to take action. So, really, making sure you’re ready should be step 1.

Popularity: 18% [?]

Ok, how many of you have heard the whole “secret” technique or the “law of attraction.” It has many names, but basically it’s…

“You attract whatever you want. Think about it, believe in it, feel it and you’ll attract it.”

This works for the good and the bad. If you’re negative and afraid something will happen, well…it’ll happen.

If you’re positive and can really truly imagine something good happening…well…it’ll happen!

Honestly, it sounds like a bunch of silly *self help* mumbo jumbo…

Yes, I hear ya. I didn’t believe it for a while too. The natural argument is…”well, great, I’m thinking…Lamborghini…oops, opened my eyes, where is it?”

Ok..seriously…if you’ve ever done that - what are you, in 3rd grade? Cut it out…

It works…it’s amazing

I’ve been teasing my team the last few months that it seems that WHATEVER we ask for or WHOEVER we ask for (to add to the team), just minutes/hours/days later, it plops in our laps.

I’ve been seeing this the last few months on my professional AND personal side and it’s got me real confused, but Im not complaining.

Today, someone said to me “Everything Just Works Out For You…”

Ooo if they only knew my life and back-story. But, I’ll agree with them right now. If you look at my life from the outside, it really DOES feel like “everything just works out for me and that I’m lucky…”

I don’t think it has anything to do with luck. I just think that after years of work, I’ve finally aligned my brain-waves with the Universe and am able to control my own destiny!

…No I have not lost my head, I really do believe this.

Let me give you an example - the Free Car I won…

Ok, you read the last post right? You saw that I won a free car recently…

You probably won’t believe this. Just a WEEK before I won this car, I was in Atlanta at a seminar and I was speaking to my friend Russell Brunson.

Russell was the first one who ran an affiliate contest where he gave away a Free Hummer H3 (car). In those days, I didn’t have the capacity to truly compete. Today, I can!

So, I spent the entire 3 days with him bugging him to run another contest for a free car, any car - I told him “I’ll do anything it takes, but I’m going to win that car.”

…And…

Less than a week later, the Universe provides me precisely what I had been looking for. An affiliate contest that had a free car giveaway!

This is just one example…

There are many more…

I wanted a VP of Marketing - 1 week later the perfect candidate contacted ME.

I wanted to travel the world - 2009, I’ve barely been home.

I’ve wanted to meet celebrities and bollywood stars for years - Now, when I’m in Mumbai, I see them regularly (weekly almost) and we even dine at the same restaurants. I know people that have LIVED in Mumbai their entire lives and not had the same success.

Make The Universe Your Best Friend…

I haven’t exactly figured out how to do this yet, but I’m working on it.

To start, get rid of negative thoughts right away - you’re attracting all the bad things you think about.

Next…anything you want - IMAGINE yourself already having it. Close your eyes, feel it, smell it, taste it - really embed yourself in the fantasy and convince yourself you have it.

…just like little kids do with their invisible friends…

** I noticed that I do this a lot (imagine myself having it already) and I feel pretty confident that it’s the main reason I’m starting to get whatever I ask for.

Beware of your own thoughts…

Yes, the next time you think anything - you better be careful. Put it through a filter and stop your nega tive thinking.

You’re actually shooting yourself in your own foot every time you think negatively.

So…cut it out “Mr. Glass Half Empty!”

Popularity: 24% [?]

Just a funny story of a lesson I learned yesterday:

Never judge a book by it’s cover…

As you know, I’m in Goa for some R&R (unfortunately, very short trip, I leave today). Well, I decided to take some time off today and go to the SPA at the hotel I’m staying at.

I’m not adapting well to my bed in Mumbai and have been having BAD neck/head pains (I think from the pillow). I was having horrible migraines yesterday.

I went in for a 90 minute “warrior massage” - equivalent to a “deep tissue massage” in the U.S. I really wanted to work out all the kinks and sore muscles, the recent product launch combined with all the flying around, combined with my unruly pillow were raking havok on me.

I scheduled the massage and walked in…they did the usual - go to steam room, shower, blah blah blah…

Then I was placed in the waiting room to wait for my therapist.

Here opens the door and walks in…

…A BARELY 5 foot woman, VERY scrony.

I’m not one to throw a fit or start asking for another therapist so I just mumbled under my breath in disappointment and thought “what the heck can SHE do?”

I was carted away to a pavilion overlooking the beach (awesome way to get a massage by the way with the ocean winds and sunset ambiance). 

The massage starts…

So, she gets started and is just lightly tapping around, further confirming my hypothesis that “I’m screwed and just wasted money…”

All of a sudden, god knows what happens, maybe she took some instant steroids or ate some spinach, but BAM!

BAM…BAM…BAM!

I WANTED TO CRY - but what kind of a man would I be?

This “small woman” was TEARING me up! She went to town. She was attacking with palms, elbows, knuckles, you name it - it HURT.

Then she calmly asks “is the pressure ok?”

…Desperately wanting to say “please lighten up…” my masculinity didn’t let me. I just bit my tongue and said “y…e…s… it.s….f…i…ne”

90 minutes of abuse. Don’t get me wrong, it felt GREAT - it was just what I needed, but wow, who knew deep tissue massages hurt so much?

Anyways, if I was staying longer, I’d definitely go back to her again. My entire body is bruised and hurting (which is ironically a good thing).

So…there you have it - DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY IT’S COVER or you’ll get physically hurt too.

Popularity: 7% [?]

I know there are a few of you reading this who never thought I’d do it - but I DID! In YO FACE! haha…

About 1.5 years ago I started visiting Mumbai for business and I absolutely fell in love with the city. Why? I have no idea, I just did (isn’t that enough).

A few months back I started declaring that I was going to eventually MOVE to Mumbai and spend most of my time there. Of course I still have to frequent the US, my entire life and business started there. However, I wanted to spend most of my time in Mumbai.

I wanted to get my own place and really experience living in India.

A LOT of people thought I was just “talking out of my ass” and not really serious - even my friends in Mumbai. They’ve lived here their entire life and could not imagine why anyone would want to leave US (where everyone fights to get to) and come to a overly polluted and traffic jam filled Mumbai.

Well - guess what people…

I don’t have an answer for you but I will say one thing.

When I say I’m going to do something - I do it. I don’t care what it is.

It’s a mistake to doubt me! I can be persistent as he** and I like doing *different* and weird things that many would not have have a chance or the balls to do.

What’s the lesson here? Or Am I just bragging about myself?

I’m not bragging, there is a lesson. The lesson is that you need to be open to experiencing different things.

Come on, do something crazy - what’s the worst that can happen? Just do it! (as Nike would say).

Take some risks…that’s the only way life can bring you something different and special.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Deal with it - you’re not perfect and you never will be.

But, if you want to grow, you better be willing to dedicate your life to trying to be perfect.

I’ve found that many people can’t take criticism at all. They take it personally and react defensively and can even get down right nasty.

Here’s the thing…

If you don’t allow those around you to tell where you can improve, how do you expect to grow?

You’re in your head and by human nature, you’re going to feel you’re right. There is no doubt you will always be partial to your own ideas. Only those that know you well and are around you a lot can actually tell you about your positives and negatives.

Guess what? Sometimes the things they have to say are down right SHOCKING, APPALLING and even Disheartening.

It’s your choice - you can either use it to grow or you can find easy excuses to allow you to ignore the advice.

The most used “excuse” to get away from listening to constructive criticism is “it’s him, not me, his feelings are wrong and unfounded…”

Here’s the deal though - you can’t tell someone how to feel. If someone feels a certain way, right or wrong, there is a reason. It’s your job to investigate why…

If it truly is a misunderstanding - resolve it right then and there (but nicely). However, I bet, many times you’ll find some credibility behind their claims.

I ASK For Criticism ALL The Time…

It took a lot of personal growth and maturity to get to the point where I was willing to hear “what’s wrong with me.”

The first time I was forced to do this was when I was forced to pull someone in and tell them what’s wrong with THEM. When I started pointing things out, I opened a pandoras box.

Whether it was through self-defense or true concern (I think a little of both), the minute I offered constructive criticism, I found myself receiving the same in return.

The moment of truth…

Since I was the one running the conversation, I could either take this person’s comments as just baseless attacks OR I could take a step back and open my ears.

Luckily, starting that day I chose the route of opening my ears - it has helped change me in many ways and now when I look back I can clearly see the validity of the criticisms.

Remember…

YOU don’t have any right to control how someone feels. If someone feels a certain “bad” way about something you’re doing - it’s either a misunderstanding OR a valid concern.

Either way, it’s up to YOU to take positive action on it.

Choose to ignore it and you’re only cheating yourself.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Today’s message is more for those of you who are busy trying to build a business. I recently had an experience that yet again affirmed my belief that:

“I know nothing and it’s all about my team…”

Here’s what happened:

We just had a LIVE event for my company, PPC Classroom LIVE and it was a massive hit. We grew our attendees by over 35% from last year and the event just got MUCH better.

We had over 320 attendees, sponsors, parties - the works. However, every single thing went off without a single hitch!

Ok, so it was a great event - what’s so great about that?

Well, everyone was coming up to ME and congratulating me on a great event and asking me all sorts of questions about how I did this … did that…etc…

You know what? I had NO idea! Every time they came and thanked me, I almost felt GUILTY for accepting it. I found myself consistently asking that they go thank my team because I had absolutely nothing to do with it!

That’s the truth.

The month before the event I was busy scoping Asia for our company’s growth into Asia next year. I landed home 4 days before the event.

I did not even know when my FLIGHT was or if I had a hotel reservation.

-> I had no idea what the speaker schedule was…
-> I had no idea how many registrations we had…
-> I had no idea if food and beverage was handled?
-> Are the sponsors ready?

Now, I know I may be sounding like an idiot. I mean, 4 days before an event and I don’t know these answers?

But, really what it shows it my ridiculous trust on my amazing team. I *knew* that the person in charge of it would never let anything bad happen and I was dead on!

My team makes my life easy. My team makes it possible for me to sleep at night. My team makes it so I can receive countless compliments.

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You can’t do anything alone.

Remember, you’re not all that smart (hate to tell you that).

The smartest thing you can do in life is ACCEPT that you’re not “all that” and that you need to surround yourself with smarter people.

That’s what Henry Ford did, I’m just glad I learned at a young age!

Popularity: 6% [?]

I had planned to write a post today about the “power of honesty & truth” and one of our customers from PPC Classroom made a comment that is a great lead-in to my point…

Here’s what he said (right on this blog, here…):

“…I think you did great by boldly accepting that things did go wrong and offering huge bonuses. I can’t even imagine how freaky the situation might have been considering it was a mega launch and the expectations were high.”

Abhijeet was commenting on a post where I discussed a massive failure we had during the biggest product launch of the company’s history. It was a huge nuclear meltdown after months of work and THOUSANDS of people anticipating…

Here’s what happened…

We planned for a long time and had set to launch a product on Day X and Time Y. Everything was perfect. The pre-launch buzz was HUGE, people were running, stampeding and tripping over each other to get into the course.

We had TONS of promotional partners & an amazing product.

Now, in this industry, we’re used to seeing servers MELT the minute a product is launched. It’s happened to 80% of launches for years (no joke) - so you’d think we would learn, right?

Well, our company spent close to $12,000 preparing and getting a crazy server set-up.

Yet…the minute we launched - KA BOOM! it all exploded and eggs were thrown in our faces.

Now, instead of the biggest launch in history, we had…

-> Irrate customers
-> Support e-mails/calls flying in
-> UPSET promotional partners
-> Overloaded/Under-slept team members

You name it…we had it…

So we’re embarrassed, scared, shocked and darn right humiliated…what now?

Well, we chose to go down the route of HONESTY. Rather than make up some “gimmicky” message saying, “Oh, we’re so awesome, we had so much traffic, it all exploded” - no…that was not the truth. Yes, we had tons of traffic, but THAT’s not why we exploded.

We wanted to take the high ground.

We sucked it up and immediately apologized.

I made a video for the promotional partners, I let the customers know and we just worked on getting the system back up.

…When finally up - it was time to make it up to everyone.

Now, we sat down and thought “what can we do that will blow everyone away and really make them happy with us again…”

Yes, this was going to mean taking money OUT of OUR pockets - but you know what? WE screwed up and we needed to make it up to everyone who’s time was wasted.

So, we did it.

The end result?

Believe it or not, but we are actually MORE respected in the industry for it. Almost a “blessing in disguise” - I said ALMOST.

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Lesson of the day: Sometimes you need to turn the salesman off. Accept what happened, stick your tail between your legs and own up to it. Be HONEST.

You’ll be surprised how far honesty with others can take you. Most humans, by nature, are incredibly forgiving - all you have to do is ask for their forgiveness.

Popularity: 12% [?]