Get Financially Fit!
Archive for October, 2006
Follow the Leader
Oct 31st
Reprint of original article posted on Liveoutloud.com
When it comes to bringing your vision from the world of dreams into the world of reality, no one can do it quite like you! You hold your vision in your mind’s eye, and no two visions are alike. That is why it is up to you to bring it out and get your message across in having others help you to achieve it. You become the director for the cast of your own personal production.
As the leader of your wealth team, you will have several major roles to manage. First, you must analyze your overall business to determine who you need on your wealth team, and when. The best way to do this is to take a look at what you want your end result to be, and then work backwards. By breaking down your overall goal into smaller, more manageable chunks of time, you will not feel overburdened or overwhelmed. Even better, you will have smaller victories to celebrate as you reach each one of these goals, which will help to keep you motivated. By determining the next logical step in this continuum to success, you will be building a timeline for your vision, as well as figuring out who you need to join your team, and when.
After you have figured out the timeline and know who you need to get you to the next step, you will next need to actively recruit those individuals for your team. The best way to go about this is to actually interview some people. Find someone that you feel comfortable talking to and feels like a good fit for your goals. Does this person actively tune in to the conversation? Do they only have one option they can consider for your wealth goals, or do they provide multiple options and list the pros and cons of each? I would think that someone who can consider more than one option when it comes to building lasting wealth would be a good fit for your plans. This would be someone who can see several angles, as well as be open to suggestions and ideas from you, the vision-holder.
One of the most crucial roles you will fill is in the art of communication. You have gotten real about what it is that you want, and you have a clear vision of what you are going after. This alone should cause enough enthusiasm to carry you forward! Better yet, enthusiasm is contagious, and will motivate others to want to help you succeed. If you feel your enthusiasm beginning to wane, it is time to tweak your vision a little in order to get back that momentum! Others will feed off of that momentum, bringing you closer and closer to your Freedom Day!
Leadership is a process. With proper attention, consideration, and enthusiasm, you will succeed in getting others behind you, following the leader!
Got Tesla?!
Oct 27th
My buddy sent me an interesting link introducing the Tesla electric sports car. Key highlights include:
- 100% electric
- 0 to 60 in 4 seconds
- 135 mpg equivalent!
- 235 miles per charge
- $ saving
My friend swears this will be his next car; he’s already driving a Prius.
What do you think? I think it warrants a second look right up there with the Lexus 600h with a self-parking system and a rear heated and massage seat!
Business 2.0 Names 5 Bubble-Proof Markets
Oct 27th
I just saw Business 2.0’s “Bubble-Proof Markets” article. It’s no surprise that all of them are major MSA’s:
- San Francisco
- Los Angeles
- Seattle
- Boston
- New York
Check out their full article to see if you agree with their assessment. Personally, I think “bubble-proof” is not the best description. As a native Californian, I don’t think SF or LA are entirely bubble-proof. Instead, I would have characterized these markets are more resilient in an economic downturn than others in the nation.
Enjoy!
Everything I Learned About Comes From Google
Oct 26th
I was browsing the Google corporate information and found an interesting page describing Google’s philosophy. As I continued to read this, I thought it would be interesting to see how much this applies to business.
- Focus on the user and all else will follow – Absolutely true. Other business and marketing textbooks emphasize a relentless focus on the customer.
- It’s best to do one thing really, really well – True too. We’ve heard the saying, “Jack of all trades; master of none.”
- Faster is better than slow – This depends on the situation. Faster is not always better.
- Democracy of the web works – My spin on this is the power of the community and networking absolutely works.
- You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer – I’m guessing this could be a number of things. The likely candidate is offer customer choices and do not constrain to just one particular method (continuous innovation). Yeah, this one is a stretch!
- You can make money without doing evil - SO TRUE. Enough said.
- There’s always more information out there - My interpretation is the answer is out there; you just have to take action to seek the answer.
- The need for information crosses all borders – Think globally (but act locally)!
- You can be serious without a suit – Have fun (or work hard, play hard).
- Great just isn’t good enough – This one sounds like Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t
by Jim Collins or The Innovator’s Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book that Will Change the Way You Do Business (Collins Business Essentials)
by Clayton Christensen.
Well, there you have it. You decide if Google’s philosophy can teach you everything you need to know about business and success.
Blogging for Dollars
Oct 24th
Check out this interesting article. The most fascinating part is how the profiled bloggers essentially turned their hobby into a cash machine!
By Paul Sloan and Paul Kaihla, Business 2.0 Magazine
(Business 2.0) — Michael Arrington is a partying kind of guy. While showing off his home in Atherton, Calif., he boasts about how he crammed 500 people into his one-acre backyard at a bash in February. Then there are the official parties, like the one he threw in mid-August at August Capital, a nearby venture firm. Arrington posted an open invitation on his website at 3 a.m. By sunrise, all 500 spots were taken; the onslaught of traffic crashed his site. “I knew it would be fast,” says Arrington, who houses so many out-of-towners in his ranch home that he often isn’t sure who’s crashing on which mattress on which floor in which room.