The one principal I have always believed in is that you only have one chance to make big things happen in your life. Where you are at in life right now is not a dress rehearsal for something bigger to come later! The time to make things happen is right now.

So many people get stuck in the rut of saying, “Someday I will make it happen”, or “Someday I will do this or that”………. Well, what are you waiting for? Whether it be in business, or even something in your personal life, why wait?

Procrastination is the worst habit in the world and can essentially destroy your dreams and future if you allow it to. What if Mark Zuckerberg (the founder of Facebook) was lazy a few years ago and thought to himself, “Someday I am going to develop this new website and idea”, or if the founders of YouTube just put their fancy new website up, but then never worked to develop it or make it better?

Often times the problem isn’t even procrastination, it’s that people don’t dream big enough, or simply can’t envision big things happening in their lives.

Put yourself in the founders of these sites shoes back when they were literally nothing:

YouTube.com April 2005

Google January 1999

PokerStars October 2001

Many can argue that these people were just in the right place at the right time, but the fact of the matter is that they put themselves in that place! Sure, everyone wants to make millions of dollars and be ultra successful, but how many people actually put themselves in a position where this is even a possibility?

I am fortunate to know many people that have become extremely successful in business. And one trait all of these people have in common is that they do not procrastinate when it comes to making big things happen.

Right now we are at the beginning of a new month, and even better, the summer has finally arrived for those of us here in the States. If you are procrastinating about something, why not make a point to make this summer your best one ever. Let’s face it, none of us are getting any younger. Dream Big and make even bigger things happen in your life right now!

Make It A Great Week!

Throughout my career in the internet marketing industry, I have been fortunate enough to surround myself with other successful people. Many of these people are truly bonafide millionaires. I would not be where I am at today had I not learned from mentors and made sure that the people I associate with were also extremely successful. So tonight I was thinking about some of the lessons I have taken in from these people, and I figured I would share them here.

Although I have learned a ton from people much more successful than me, below are 5 things I have learned from being friends with people who are literally worth millions of dollars (aka certified ballers).

1. It’s better to have small equity in several things than big equity in one thing - This really comes down to diversification. You should never put all your eggs in one basket. The key to building wealth is being able to absorb the losses or failures with the big successes. If you’re diversified, one failure should never hurt your overall business.

2. Never spend your own money when there is venture capital or investors waiting in the wings - All the true millionaires I know have at one point leveraged other peoples money or utilized venture capital at some point to build their wealth. Think about it for a second, it makes sense. And it makes even more sense as an investor or VC when you can simply leverage your money on a great idea to give you a nice return for doing no work.

3. Surround yourself with, or hire other brilliant people who can make money for you - Very few of the multi-millionaires I know have done it as a one man show. Most have hired other successful people and simply pay them a salary or a % to make more money for themselves. If you’re “working for the man”, and generating a ton of revenue, then you may understand what I am talking about unfortunately. Most millionaires also are literally making money while they sleep courtesy of someone else’s work.

4. Leverage your existing money to make you more money - There is a truth to the saying that your first million is the hardest. Once you have millions of dollars you can diversify and spread it out to make you even more money. Hence you become one of the people in #2 making money while doing nothing, and growing your wealth just because you have the money to invest.

5. More Money, More Problems - Having multiple streams of income and businesses really creates a lot of chaos in your life. Although it may sound like fun to have your hands in multiple things, every day is a new day of dealing with “issues”. Although the money is great, living this type of lifestyle will never be a 9-5 job. If you want to be a millionaire you have to be willing to put in the hours and deal with all the daily annoyances that comes along with running multiple businesses.

I realize many people reading this blog are entrepreneurs and have ambitions to make millions someday. So these are just some of the real life observations I have seen from people that do make millions. Emulate it!

I have a very interesting outlook on life due to my past career working as a paramedic. When thinking today about what to write for a motivational message, I came up with some interesting thoughts. I know I write a lot about making money and being successful, but this Monday Motivational Post is going to be a little different.

If you want the full effect of this message, click on the video on the right hand side of this blog and listen……then go back and watch.

Anyways, before I got into this fun business of internet marketing, I spent almost 10 years volunteering as a firefighter. I have done CPR on probably over 100 people in my life. Likewise I have been in several people’s homes while their loved ones were experiencing the worst days anyone could ever imagine.

This is where I get my drive and what has made me who I am today. During this time I was making awful money doing a noble job. But it made me realize that life is very short and you can’t wait to make things happen in life. You need to do it NOW!

Although you may not be where you want to be right now (none of us are), it doesn’t matter. Enjoy the fact that you are an entrepreneur and out there trying to make it happen. Take a step back for a moment and realize all the great things you have in the here and now.

How many of your buddies are making ANY money online? Probably none, keep in mind though, there is a lot more important things in this world than just money. You could be gone next week, and quite frankly, it won’t matter how you rank in the SERPS, or how many new players you are sending each month.

I was inspired to write this post because we had my oldest daughters birthday party today. I had all my family at my house and it really made me think about what is truly important. Likewise I have a friend right now who’s wife is going through the trials and tribulations of breast cancer.

So I ask everyone reading this to just step back for a minute and think about what you have today and how you never know what tomorrow brings. Personally, I don’t ever want to look back and say “I should have done that”. Fu** that, there is too much out there to be had!

You should make every day count both personally and professionally. Never forget that you only have one chance in this world to make BIG things happen. Why not shoot for the stars with your goals?
Enjoy life today and make the most out of every minute.

And most importantly, always remember the people who got you there, and that there’s way more to living a good life than collecting affiliate checks.

Make it a great week!

Ever since 2004 when I started writing and mentoring people, there has been a common theme people have heard me say; “Think outside the box”. I agree the term is very cliché in the business world. In my life and career though it has proved to be a very successful mindset.

Like anybody else, there have been times in my career when I have gotten frustrated, or busted my ass on something only to make no head way. When you find yourself in a situation like this, it is imperative that you change your way of thinking.

I remember when I first started in affiliate marketing, it was as simple as putting up a website, buying some PPC, and doing a little SEO. Next thing you know, you were making money. Unfortunately the internet marketing business has become much more competitive and difficult, regardless of what vertical you are in.

I’ll use the poker affiliate market as an example since many of the readers here are poker affiliates. If you are starting a new poker affiliate site in 2008, you are not going to be successful unless you do something that is “outside the box”. For example, you can build a pretty site, review all the rooms, buys some links, and do some SEO. Guess what though? 1000 other affiliates are going to do this exact same thing in the next 12 months.

When I say “outside the box”, I also don’t mean some crazy viral idea either (although that would help). However you have to do something original that no one else is doing. Whether it be something original within your SEO strategy, or you overall site idea, think originality.

Lately my favorite magazine has become Fast Company. I love this magazine because every month you can read about entrepreneurs who basically started with an original idea, and in many cases minimal funding. Many of these entrepreneurs have built multi-million dollar business empires from scratch inside of 24 months.

That brings me to the next point. Think Big, and get out of your comfort zone. If you want to make hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars; the odds are you are going to have to do more than just be a poker affiliate or one man affiliate marketer.

Life is to damn short to not go out and make big things happen. My suggesstion to anyone reading this that may be in a situation where things are not happening fast enough, or you feel like you have hit a wall is the following.

Take a day or two to relax, and most importantly forget about your frustrations. During this time reflect on where you’ve been and where you want to get to in the coming years. Get your thought process to an elevated level, and think with a clear head forgetting about anything negative in your life.

You surely know how to write a business plan, right? How about writing a “life plan” on where you want to be and what goals you want to accomplish. If you have a clear vision of these goals, it will make the business part much easier.

If you have a clear vision of your life’s goals and dreams, when you think outside the box, it’s not impossible to see the rest will magically fall into place. Make it a great week!