Last night, I woke up with a dream that someone had broken into my office and stolen my computer.
It felt awful.
Not that it was a massive deal, as I back up regularly, but it would be a massive inconvenience nevertheless.
He was writing about the time he went bankrupt. And although he would never recommend it. Although it caused him
and those around him a great deal of pain… it did give him one thing:
A sense of fearlessness.
Why? Because he realised he could recreate it over and over again.
I know of a guy who went through a divorce and gave his wife everything.
Within a year or two he was wealthy again.
But I don’t believe we need to go through bankruptcy or a divorce to get that sense of fearlessness.
I believe instead we need to invest in probably the most important asset we have: our education.
Not conventional education.
But education which fills up our bank account.
In fact, there are really two things which I would consider to be the most important assets which can give us true security.
One: Knowing we can create income at will through understanding the art of how to write ads which make the phone
ring (such as what you’ll learn in http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/cashflow)
Two: Building a solid customer database (you learn how to start the process in the first lesson of
http://www.morecustomersmadeeasy.com )
After all, if you lost everything tomorrow but had a database of clients that liked and trusted you… you could continue to nurture them and the income would keep rolling in.
And if you knew how to write a killer ad or sales letter, you can send it out and create funds at will.
The security is not in the fixtures, the fittings, the computers, the filing cabinets, etc. in your business.
It doesn’t even rely on your bank balance when it all boils down to it.
That can all disappear tomorrow.
But nobody can take your knowledge and the relationships you have developed from you.
Now I don’t have many regrets. I figure life is too short to do so.
But the greatest regrets which stay with me all revolve around not showing courage in difficult situations…
Times when I didn’t stand up for myself in my high school years.
The fact it took me almost a decade to start my own business, even though I knew I wanted to do something when I was fifteen.
Not standing up for myself and confronting issues more directly in the first 12 months of my business.
Do you know what’s interesting about this?
All of these regrets are based around things I didn’t do.
You see, even though my first business failed miserably and caused me an untold amount of headaches at the time, I don’t regret it.
Sure, I regret not firing a certain staff member earlier, but I don’t regret the decision to do it.
Because I learnt something.
And I demonstrated courage under fire.
The great thing about business is there are always a great number of opportunities to demonstrate courage, aren’t there?
Sacking vendors or staff when we know it’s the right thing to do rather than holding on over fear.
Lifting our prices when the time is right.
Letting go of a client where there is no longer a match between the two of us.
Investing in an advertising campaign even though it scares the living daylights out of us to take the leap.
Even spending the money on one’s own education (such as http://www.morecustomersmadeeasy.com or
http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/cashflow ) can feel like a big step.
But remember this…
I don’t know about you, but when I look back to the past, my primary regrets are for the things I didn’t do and the times I didn’t demonstrate courage… not the times I did.
Andrew Carnegie once said:
“A man’s reading program should be as carefully planned as his daily diet, for that too is food, without which he cannot grow mentally.”
Let’s take a moment to analyse this statement.
But before we do, let’s consider the fact Carnegie wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth, travelled to America as an immigrant from Scotland and became one of America’s wealthiest men.
So the guy knows a thing or two you or I don’t.
One of the things I have found over the years is
the most successful business owners I know take
the time to read and continually grow mentally.
And every real growth in my business has come as
a result of reading something.
I read about how to write emails. I changed my approach and this added at least $50,000 to my bottom line.
I read a section in the book, Good to Great about getting the right people on your bus, and this has changed my approach to business and leverage forever.
I read an excerpt in the book, The Breakthrough Company, which has made me more agressive and forward thinking.
I learnt how to speed read which saves me hours of time and allows me to chew through more.
I first got into business as a result of attending a Brad Sugars seminar many moons ago.
I credit Gary Halbert for his advice on how to become a great copywriter by writing out the great letters in ones own handwriting. I did that for an hour every morning for over a year.
I did that as a result of something I read.
So when I hear those words come out of Carenegie’s mouth I can’t help but agree with him.
Do I follow it?
Not as well as I should.
Sure, I am always carrying a book with me wherever I go.
But I don’t schedule in time like I should.
However when I reflect back on all the changes reading and learning has made to my life over the past few years, it certainly makes sense to.
After all, how can we grow mentally unless we are learning. And how can we learn unless we read books, attend courses, interview interesting people, jump on seminars and webinars, etc.
Most people (and many business owners) stopped growing years ago. Some as soon as they finished school.
Don’t let that happen to you.
Implement a reading program into your life today.
If you don’t know where to get started, why don’t you get your hands on http://www.morecustomersmadeeasy.com (to get more customers) or http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/cashflow (to learn how to write killer ads).
If it’s good enough for one of the world’s richest men, isn’t it good enough for you?
