What if humans had 9 lives?

Did you ever fantasize about what you would do if you could start your life over again?  Well, why should our little furry friends be the only ones to get 9 lives?  I have been thinking about all the dreams I deferred in order to become a law professor.  It may be too late to become an Olympic athlete, butfor a Renaissance girl,  it’s never too late to add some interesting new skills or activities to the mix. And thinking about what you would do with 9 lives is one sure-fire way to connect with lost passions!

So here are the top nine, in no order of importance…

Success Secrets: Change Your Beliefs, Change Your Life

Do you have what it takes to become a millionaire?  Do you know the most important thoughts and habits of  “the millionaire mind”?

Long before the best-selling book and video The Secret,  enterprising men and women have been trying to understand the success secrets of the rich and famous.  In fact, the Law of Attraction draws on the research of some pioneering thinkers who have given us clear directions for creating wealth.

Are you cut out to be a successful entrepreneur?

You can see yourself as an entrepreneur, setting your own hours, being your own boss, enjoying the freedom of being self employed. And you can just imagine what life will be like once you’re a big success and pulling in all that cash.

But hang on. Before you run to the car showroom and test drive your dream car, let me ask you something: Are you cut out to be an entrepreneur? Do you really have what it takes to get rich?

Recession or Rebooting?

Enjoy this interesting video from A BraveHeart View!

How to Recondition Your Nonconscious Mind

We now know that The Secret oversimplified the process underlying the Law of Attraction.  It is not enough to simply set a conscious intention to attract what you desire.

John Assaraf has spent a lifetime studying how the human mind works,  and how successful people use their minds to attract wealth.  In The Answer, he explains why controlling your conscious mind will never produce the results you are seeking.

The Law of Attraction: Creating a Belief System for Success

Since time immemorial, people have been searching for the keys to success.  You have probably heard of Napoleon Hill, who made his fortune in the early 1900’s by studying the habits of the most successful men in America.  His best-selling book, Think and Grow Rich, has inspired hundreds (if not thousands) of personal development coaches and motivational speakers who have become millionaires in their own right by sharing the lessons of success.

Amazingly, the strategies  advocated by Hill have changed little over the years.  They include having a clear vision of what you want to achieve, single-minded focus, a process of repetition to communicate the vision to your subconscious mind, and commitment to action that is congruent with the vision.

Get inspired! CNN hero Alfa Demmelash helps people achieve the American Dream

Alfa Demmelash grew up on less than a dollar a day against the backdrop of torture and murder in Ethiopia. Today, she is living the American dream and helping others do the same.

Alfa started a nonprofit, Rising Tide Capital, where small business owners, including women, minorities and other underserved populations, learn the skills they need to be successful.

Watch this amazing video of small business owners describing how Alfa has helped them grow their businesses.

In the next video, Alfa tells her own story of escaping Ethiopia to pursue the American Dream.

Alfa is a shining example of passion in action. I hope you enjoyed her story as much as I did. Special thanks to my sister-in-law, Lynn Morin,for sharing this amazing story with me.

How to Make Your Vision Sing

Congratulations!  You are one week closer to having the life of your dreams.

This week, we will focus on the “how” part of the equation…how to take your vision of an ideal business to reality.

The first step…and one you can’t afford to miss…is to become very clear about where you are going.  So today we are going to go back to the vision statement you drafted on Day 3, update it with any new information you have discovered, and then compress it into two key statements:

• Your unique selling proposition and

• Your thirty second elevator speech

The Advantages of Owning a Business

Before you decide what form you want your business to take, we’re going to spend a little time reviewing the basics of wealth building and financial freedom.  Maybe this will come as old news to some of you, but for me it was a real eye opener.

Do you know the biggest difference between people who are financially successful and those who are not?  I’ll give you a hint, it is not talent, education, or family background.

The biggest difference between the rich and the poor is how they earn income, and what they do with the money they make.  Generally, the rich recognize the importance of creating multiple streams of income.  They invest income from one enterprise into a new asset that will use the powers of leverage and duplication to create more income. We’ll talk more about what all this means later.

By contrast, the poor generally get their income by working for someone else.  They earn an hourly wage or salary, which they use to buy things that they need.  Most (if not all) of the income they earn is converted into expenses.

The middle class in this country are caught in a powerful squeeze.  They may earn a good income, either as a corporate employee or in professional self-employment…as doctors, lawyers and the like.  But most of the income that they receive goes out the door to liabilities: a home mortgage, car payments, tuition for private schools, credit card bills for trips and luxury goods.

What does all of this mean for your new business vision?  It means that you should aim to own an asset-building business, rather than being self-employed.

Tap into Your Unique Strengths

So now we know what you want to do..why you want to do it…and what goals you want to achieve.  Today we will focus on how to tap into your unique strengths to make your new enterprise successful.

If you’ve ever been to a career counselor…or even your high school guidance counselor…this is probably where they started.  Maybe you’ve taken the Meyer-Briggs or some other kind of personality test, and been given a list of careers that might be suitable for you.

Don’t worry, that is NOT what we are going to do here.  Those tests can be helpful if used appropriately…but more often than not they are used to put people in boxes and hold them back from achieving their dream.