A lot of people are talking about the law of attraction now that the book The Secret has become such a big success. Do you believe in the law of attraction? Some people live by this law, others think its BS.

I’m not a law of attraction, “cultist,” I am a big believer that you can attract things into your life. It’s not a science, and it doesn’t work if you don’t feel deep down that you deserve these things, but it does work! Perhaps like you, I started noticing this “phenomenon” many years before I realized there was something called the law of attraction, and I am amazed at how it works.

Coincidence, or the law of attraction at work?

Though 3,000 miles apart, David and I met when I sent him an email to let him know about my copywriting services at the exact moment that he was online searching for copywriters for some of his clients. Was this a coincidence, or the law of attraction at work?

Over the years I feel that I’ve brought quite a few things into my life with the law of attraction but the strangest set of things of all was a 1971 Volkswagen pop-top bus and a tool set.

Back when I was hitchhiking across the country and free as a bird, I had a little notebook that I used to write down observations. Though I was living in a tent and had pretty much nothing, something I really, really did want at the time was a 1971 Volkswagen pop-top bus and a tool set. I wanted it so bad that I made a page of things that I wanted in the notebook and wrote just those two things on the page.

A few months later, my then boyfriend at the time and I traveled up to Oregon to visit his estranged father that he had not seen in years. Though he had been a mechanic, his father was managing some apartments and had started a new family. Ironically, one of the tenants that had recently moved out had just given his father his non-working 1971 Volkswagen pop-top bus in exchange for a rent debt.

Glad to see his son and knowing that we needed a vehicle, he offered to fix up the bus and give it to us! In a week or so, he had it running like a champ and had even spray painted the engine a bright funky yellow and gave us a brand new tool box to go with it!

Hocus Pocus, or The Real Deal?

Is the law of attraction real or just a series of coincidences? Do you feel as if you’ve ever “manifested” anything into your life with the Law of Attraction? What are its boundaries?

More Posts on the Law of Attraction

The Law of Attraction in Business

Responsibility and the Law of Attraction

10 Easy Steps to using the Law of Attraction for Manifesting Prosperity

Tags: General Business Issues, Hangout Cafe by Adam - 13 Comments »

When I look back on my life, I realize that most of the goals I set were for the direct benefit of me and my immediate family (a bigger house, no debts, a vacation, etc.).

And though there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, I recently had a change in thinking that has gotten me more excited about goal setting than I have been in a long, long time.

Now, instead of setting goals that directly benefit only ME, I have decided to fully trust in and embrace the Zig Ziglar quote you see at the top of this page which reads, “you can have everything in life that you want if you will only just help enough other people get what they want.”

Setting “Bigger Picture” Goals

If we truly believe that the more people you help, the more you will naturally help yourself, then shouldn’t our goal be to help more people? That’s the change I’ve recently made.

Now, instead of a goal to “make $x” by goal is to help x number of other people become successful. More precisely, my goal is to help 12 people earn $10,000, 3 people earn $31,000, and 1 person earn $1 million dollars by owning their own business. (You can read more about that goal here).

Setting a goal that is bigger than myself feels fantastic. It has allowed me to dream again. It keeps me up at night and wakes me up early each morning anxious to start the day.

I have no doubt that I can achieve this goal and I envision the day when I can look myself in the mirror and know that I have really made a difference in the lives of other people, not just myself.

Examples of Big Picture Goals

• The authors of the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen were passionate about fueling the book’s success because their goal was to sell 1 billion books to raise $500 million for charity by the year 2020.

• If you sell a success product – set a goal to help #x of people go from mediocre to wealthy.

• If you sell financial services or consulting – set a goal to help #x of people get out of debt.

• Set a goal to donate $x to your favorite charity or cause OR to start a charity or cause.

Share Your Opinion

Do you work for a larger cause than just yourself? Can you think of more ideas the list above? Do you think this way of thinking could be more effective and more fulfilling than setting goals solely based on your personal gain?

Great Blog Posts About Goal Setting

From teh Good Improvements Blog: Goal Setting Is As Simple As Reading A Map

From the Goal Setting for Kids blog - Getting Your Kids Organized for Goal Setting

From Personal Strategic Plan - The 10 Commandments for Goal Setting

Tags: General Business Issues by Adam - 4 Comments »

All I’m doing is putting in the link in case you want to check it out.

Tags: General Business Issues by David - No Comments »

I’ve been thinking about this post the last few days and decided to post it today. My hope is that someone will read it and keep moving toward their dream because of it.

Over the course of our lives, it’s not the things that come to us easy that we remember. It’s not the normal, sunny days that stand out. It’s not the friends we had during the easy times that we love.

I use to rock climb, and it’s not the easy climbs that I remember. The most memorable climb was one that didn’t even start out as a climb. I was with my best friend from college and we were going around the state of North Carolina looking for places to rappel. We made our way to a place called table rock with our 150 foot rope.

We walked to the top, tied off the line and threw it over the side. We could not see if the rope made it to the bottom or not, but we were young and rambunctious so my friend went over first.

He told me to come down but to come slow so he could guide me. I started down and when I saw my friend he was standing on a small (about 6 inches wide) rock ledge flat against the side of the cliff. There was nothing securing him to the rock. He was only about half way down with another 150 feet below him (did I mention we were young and rambunctious? Some of you may be saying young and stupid at this point).

He guided me to a ledge that was about 3 feet by 4 feet. I got to that ledge and then reached over to help him get from his small ledge to the bigger ledge. We both knew how close he had come to falling and probably dying, so we just sat there for about half an hour enjoying the beauty around us.

Then we tied a rope between us and started climbing back to the top. If one of us fell we hoped that the other would be able to stop the fall (it was more likely that we both would have fallen, but we were in this together). We made it back to the top without any major problems, but it was a struggle.

My friend and I had a lot of fun times together, but this is the day that I cherish. Some of you might be wondering what this has to do with business growth and why I am putting it on this blog. I’m putting it hear because the same applies in your business endeavors.

Some of you are going through struggles with your business. You are wondering if it is worth it to keep going. I’m telling you that not only is it worth it, but, that these are the times that you will look back to as the great times of your business growth. Never give up, never give in, never quit. 

If not for the tunnel, the light at the end would have no meaning.

If not for the storm, the calm would not be as welcome.

If not for the fire, the steel could not be tempered.

If not for the struggle, there could be no victory. 

Cherish your struggles, because they are the best times of your life.

Tell us about some of your struggles that you overcame and now cherish.

Tags: General Business Issues by Fred - 3 Comments »

I know that many of you are familiar with reading posts from Christine.  Well, she moved this past weekend and is still without internet service.  Which is worse, the move? or no internet?  Christine should be back online soon and you can begin enjoying her posts.  Either way, there will be a regular quality post on Wednesday for sure.

As the co-founder of CBG, I’m going to give away $50 to the most active and quality focused commenter this week.  The decision will be made on Friday.  So dive into some older posts and comment, comment, comment.  It could be worth $50 to you.

Thanks for reading and for commenting.  Don’t forget to get our RSS feed before you go.  There’s a tutorial beside the home page tab if you need help.

Tags: General Business Issues by David - 15 Comments »

As an entrepreneur and business owner, you have to be able to inspire trust and confidence in your customers, employees, JV partners, etc. People have to know and believe that you are a credible, trustworthy expert in your industry, or they won’t do business with you.

As a young entrepreneur, this is one of the challenges I struggled with the most when I was first starting out. As a 16 year old, many people were somewhat less apt to respect my expertise or knowledge than they would that of a 50 year old. Not to mention the fact that I had not developed the leadership skills that many older business people have had the years to develop. Without trust and credibility, you can’t influence people, and without influence, you fail.

If you are a entrepreneur (young or not), you have probably experienced the Credibility Factor. People will usually communicate their hesitance to trust your expertise in subtle ways – not making the purchase, for example. When I was first starting out, I lost a few sales because the person did not trust me enough to give me their credit card details.

Increasing Your Credibility

Credibility, trust, influence, and leadership are closely related subjects. As John Maxwell says, leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less. But you cannot have influence without trust – people do not follow someone whom they do not trust.

If you want people to trust, believe and follow you, I suggest that you read Developing The Leader Within You, by John C. Maxwell. This book has been more influential in developing my leadership skills than any other book.

The Age Variable For Young Entrepreneurs

As I mentioned, I believe that age is a variable in the credibility factor. As I also related, I had very low credibility when I started out. That was nearly 5 years ago, though, and a lot has changed. I’m not a master leader by any stretch of the imagination, but I have learned and developed enough skills so that I can make large sales, recruit and motivate teams, etc. But I am digressing – the question is how young entrepreneurs can overcome the age barrier and develop trust and influence with older people.

I’ve found three ways to overcome age constraints:

1. Become so good at what you do that people have to respect you. If you are obviously an expert at something, people will trust you, regardless of your age.
2. Switch to an area where your age increases your credibility. I used this tactic by moving to the internet. Young people are often stereotyped as geeks, so people actually trusted me more because I was in an industry that they naturally expected me to be good at.
3. Improve your leadership skills so that you can inspire trust and influence people regardless of your age.

If you are a young entrepreneur, keep in mind that people are not being prejudiced against you. They are just making decisions based on their perceptions of you as a young person. Your job is to present yourself to people in a way that will make them realize that you are trustworthy, honest, knowledgeable, etc.

At root, the issue is not age. The issue is credibility. People do not make decisions based on reality. They make their decisions based on their perception of reality. Learn how to make people perceive you as a credible person, and you can succeed.

~Adam
Explode The Net - Community For Young Entrepreneurs

Tags: General Business Issues by Adam - 1 Comment »

You may have noticed the quote by Zig Ziglar in the header of our blog that reads “You can have everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”  I want to highlight one point in the Chris Hanisco interview that I just find absolutely fascinating. 

I realize that this was a long post – especially for a blog, but definitely worth reading.  My biggest take-away from talking with Chris from an internet marketing perspective was the fact that every single major media opportunity she received came as a result of a scout finding her site through her posts on various online forums.

These aren’t small time media mentions; we’re talking ABC World News Tonight and Family Circle Magazine. 

It’s important to note that Chris didn’t start posting on forums in order to get this attention.  She participates in online forums because she enjoys helping other small business owners solve their problems, which is the manifestation of the Zig Ziglar quote.  By helping other people, Chris realized success beyond what she ever originally anticipated.    

It’s easy to say that we don’t have enough time to devote to helping others without expecting anything in return.  But here is a real example of how this type of goodwill has returned perhaps more than the time invested.  Chris is very active in Start Up Nation as well as several other small business forums. 

I’m curious about this topic on several levels.  First, how have you seen this phenomenon Zig Ziglar speaks of play out in your life?

On a more fundamental level, do you participate in any forums?  If so, which ones?  If not, which forums have you found online that are particularly helpful?   

Tags: Business Networking, General Business Issues by Adam - No Comments »

Having just returned from a week long vacation in the Rocky Mountains, I can write firsthand about the benefits to taking time off. Most people have a misconception that when you own your own business you automatically have the flexibility to come and go as you please or take as much vacation as you want. Reality is quite different, however. Business owners are often the last to take a personal vacation. It is much easier to leave when you know you have two allotted weeks and if you don’t use ‘em you lose ‘em.

One thing to remember, however, is that everybody needs a break. Even the most dedicated business owner with no personnel needs to find a way to take time off. The obvious reasons are to avoid burnout and alleviate stress. What is harder to remember is that taking a break can often increase your productivity because you return to work with a clear mind and renewed interest.

If you cannot afford to leave your business for a week, here are some ways to get away without really going too far:

Schedule yourself for a Friday afternoon massage

Take Friday off and spend two nights at a nearby vacation spot

Join an exercise class that meets regularly.

Load up your ipod and take a morning walk before work or after dinner.

Schedule a golf game during the week.

Spend a weekend with no laptop, cellphone or Blackberry.

Read a little bit of a totally-for-pleasure novel every day.

I am sure you can come up with more ideas too. The point is just taking time for your self. It is so easy to fall into the trap of equating time off with money lost. And that is just a shame!

Tags: General Business Issues by Adam - 5 Comments »

Many would tell you that communication is the foundation of an effective public relations effort. I must respectfully disagree. While communication is certainly important, it is not the foundation of an effective public relations effort.

In my view, strategy is the foundation of an effective public relations effort. Effective communication flows from a solid strategy.

In the absence of a well-thought-out strategy, a communication effort that appears on the surface to be effective might be nothing more than a waste of time, energy and resources. You may be very effectively communicating the wrong message to the wrong people at the wrong time.

In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey described the difference between leadership and management as follows: management makes sure you are effectively climbing the ladder; leadership makes sure your ladder is leaning against the right wall.

To use Covey’s words, a well thought out public relations strategy makes sure your ladder is leaning against the right wall.

Frank Williams is president of Pioneer Strategies, a public relations agency he founded in 2001.

Tags: Business Building, General Business Issues, Marketing by Adam - No Comments »

When I first started freelancing, I did what a lot of people do and regularly visited job boards like Craigslist and Guru.com. I couldn’t help but feel really low reading all of the demanding job descriptions and lowly pay. So many times I responded carefully to the posts, adhering to every request, and still never received so much as an email in reply.

The fundamental problem with finding work this way is that the balance of power is all off. No matter how good you are, your bid is just one of potentially hundreds of emails from others begging for the same job. In order to really find profitable clients, they’ve got to come to you.

I didn’t realize this until when one day, completely broke and desperate for a job, I created a passionate post stating my abilities and what I could do for clients and posted it on Craigslist in the resume area. Within 1 day, I received a email from the owner of a company who was excited about the energy and confidence in the post. Within 3 days, I had landed a $5,000 job from him.

After that, I never bid on another job again. Instead, to find new clients I find sources ways to tell others what I have to offer and let them come to me. It’s worked every single time. In fact, I’ve only had to do this a few times in the 2 years that I’ve worked for myself because all of the contacts I’ve made this way have turned into fantastic, ongoing, business relationships that have kept me very busy.

Give it a try – stop begging for work and start earning a living!

Tags: General Business Issues by Adam - 9 Comments »