We Don’t Always Have It Together
By Cheval John
Photo courtesy of Stuart Miles
We see a person who have achieved their goals and are showcasing their expertise to the world.
We might think that the person has everything together and might be thinking that nothing can go wrong in their life.
It is understandable to think like that because most of the time, we see in media outlets of how a person seems to have everything together with their life.
We might only see the successes, but never see the failures that they endured to achieve success.
One case in point, Michael Jordan, who celebrating his 52nd birthday today.
We all know him as arguably one of the greatest basketball players to ever play the game.
Amid the 6 National Basketball Association (NBA) championships that Jordan won and being one of the major reasons why the NBA is globalized, many might not know about his “failures” while trying out for the varsity team in high school.
Jordan did not “make” the varsity team during his sophomore year even though he played for the junior varsity team.
Even though the junior varsity team was a consolation prize, it motivated Jordan to work even harder on his basketball skills.
Jordan made the team in his junior and senior year of high school, went on to the University of North Carolina, sanked the game-winning shot in the 1982 NCAA national championship game against Georgetown and a couple years later, got drafted by the Chicago Bulls and the rest was history.
You might be thinking after reading this that Jordan has been rising in success and does not have any struggles.
I can guarantee that Jordan and ultra-successful people still experience failures despite their success.
The biggest difference is that the successful are not afraid to fail.
They do not see their failures or struggles as the end of the world.
Instead, they see their failures or struggles as learning experiences so that they can achieve their success.
We might be afraid to show our failures because we think that people will judge us.
However, if you showcase your failures and your struggles, they will be drawn to you even more because they can relate to you.
Though I have achieved some successes like becoming an Amazon best-seller author for my second book, “8 Lessons Every Podcaster Needs To Learn,”covering sporting events as a freelance journalist, hosting a podcast and being a blogger, I still struggle with self-doubt and comparing myself to others everyday.
At times, I struggle with putting a great article together because I want the post to be stellar and I don’t want to fail.
But the truth of the matter is that I work hard everyday and keep a positive mindset because I know that I want to be successful.
If I would have allowed the fear of failure to stop me from becoming a blogger, I would not have had the opportunity to venture into podcasting and becoming an author.
In conclusion, it is o.k. to fail and share those failures because you will show everyone your journey to success.
Just don’t feel sorry for yourself when you experience failure.
Have you experienced failure in your life? If so, how did you overcome failure to be successful to make the world a better place?
Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Affiliate and I earn a commission whenever I recommend a book. In this case, I am recommending my book.
Developing Successful Habits
By Cheval John
Photo courtesy of krishna arts
Many believe that those who are rich or achieved ultra-success were lucky.
They might wonder why they are not achieving the same success like the rich.
One of the things that make the rich so successful is the fact that they are always learning new things that will help them maintain their success.
They use their time wisely in reading self-help books, listening to inspirational podcasts, surrounding themselves with other successful people who are smarter than them, etc.
Another example of how the rich achieve their success is setting goals.
According to the Business Insider article, “9 Things Rich People Do And Don’t Do Everyday,” 62% of the rich agreed that they focus on their goals everyday.
That is just one of the many habits that the rich do everyday.
However, the same ones who are saying that the rich are lucky do not develop the same habits that the rich does.
The same article from Business Insider says that only 6% of the poor believe that focusing on their goals is important.
In other words, the ones who are saying that the rich are lucky, are waiting for their breakthrough to happen instead of putting in the effort to make their dreams come true.
They have already put the wheels in motion of settling for the mediocre because they believe in their minds that nothing can go their way.
Also, they are feeding their minds with negative energy, a.k.a. the news which is mostly negative.
I am not saying not to watch the news because it is important to be informed.
However, watching too much of it will set you up for negative thinking.
They also surrounding themselves with people who only have negative things to say and wants to bring others along with their pity party.
If they could just for one second start saying positive affirmations, read a lot of self-help books, listen to inspirational podcasts, etc., then they will start to see some positive changes in their lives.
As for me, I have already surrounded myself around people who are more successful than me to learn from.
They understand that the only way to be really successful is to serve others, solve their customers/clients problems, and treat people right.
My goal everyday is to continously share other people’s content that will make everyone’s life better and to be fair to others.
The one thing that I want to make into a habit is to write a gratitude journal because I do not want to fall for the pity party trap if I experience failure in achieving my goals.
I want to keep in perspective that things happen for a reason and it was a lesson for me to become a better person everyday.
What is the one thing you will do that will help you to develop a successful habit? You can leave your comment below.
This post is part of Natalie Sisson’s “15 Days To Freedom Blog Challenge.” which I had the honor to respond to Natalie’s questions.
Letting Go Of The Clutter In Our Lives
By Cheval John
Photo courtesy of Victor Habbick
Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate and I get a commission from recommending books on Amazon. I only recommend books that I have read or I believe that will benefit you, the reader.
This post is in response to Natalie Sisson’s question, “What work and life clutter are you going to remove in order to be a minimalist? #paraphrased.
It is part of Natalie’s “15 Days To Freedom Blog Challenge.”
We were “raised” up to believe that we needed things in our life in order to be happy.
If someone has a new iPhone 6, then you need to get one.
Or the fact that you need to have a house in order to believe that you have made it.
The problem is that once you accumulate a whole lot of stuff, then you have less choices.
In the case of owning a house, all that will do is put you in a bind because of mortgage, maintainance, and limited choices.
Plus, they will have to work even harder to make more money so that they can keep the house and hopefully pay off the mortgage.
James Altucher elaborated further with this quote in his LinkedIn article, “Why Entrepreneurs Should Not Buy Homes,”
“Corporations didn’t want their employees to have many job choices. So they encouraged them to own homes. So they can’t move away and get new jobs.”
The most interesting thing is that people had second thoughts on owning a home after the 2008 Recession and wondered if it is viable to own a home.
Some of those people are deciding to not stay in one place and travel the world.
People like Rolf Potts, who spent over 18 months traveling throughout Asia and the Middle East after making about $20,000 dollars from teaching English in South Korea for two years.
Mr. Potts was a globe trotter when the economy was booming in the United States.
Another person is Ms. Sisson, who runs her online business from anywhere in the world and lives out of her suitcase.
Or Rob and Nadine Pisani.
The Pisanis had what seemingly were “successful” careers as chiropractors and was living the American Dream.
However, they both realized that they needed a change of scenery, so they moved to Costa Rica in 2007 and are now living life to the fullest.
Nadine documented their journey to Costa Rica in her books, “Happier Than A Billionaire: The Escape Manual” and “Happier Than A Billionaire: The Sequel.”
Reading these stories on how people like Mr. Potts, Ms. Sisson and the Pisanis shows everyone including me that it is possible to enjoy life and be happy without having the big houses, college degree or the 9-5 job, though it is not bad to have the 9-5 job.
However, you must be very careful of not falling for the trap that the big houses, a college degree or the 9-5 is the only way to enjoy life.
So for me, I am already trying not to have too much stuff in my life.
However, the one stuff I will declutter is printed books.
The reason is because I can read these books on Kindle and I don’t have to worry about carry them whenever I move somewhere.
And I have already decluttered people who are always negative about the world and always feels sorry for themselves.
As for traveling, my goal is to spend a year on 6 different continents because I got a glimpse of living overseas after spending a month in Mexico and three months in Chile.
What is the one clutter/s are you going to get rid of in your life? You can leave your comments below.
Outsourcing Your Life
By Cheval John
Photo Courtesy of Stuart Miles
This blog post is in response to Natalie Sisson’s question, “What’s The One Task That You Will Outsource?” #paraphrased.
It is part of her “15 Days To Freedom Blog Challenge.”
Though the blog challenge is close to being over, if you want to join in on the challenge, you can visit here.
You hear a lot about how large businesses are closing different departments and outsourcing it overseas.
In a lot of ways, it makes sense because they are saving money for their businesses.
Though I am a strong proponent of people having work, if a person is only specialized in a particular skill and it get outsourced, then they are in trouble.
The interesting thing is that small businesses, solopreneurs, etc. can outsource certain task that will allow them to focus on their strengths.
Thanks to the internet, people can work from their homes or from anywhere in the world as virtual assistants.
According to Wikepedia, they are an estimated 25,000 people who are virtual assistants.
Some are firms who manages a staff dedicated to virtual assistance.
One of the best virtual assistants out there includes Tina Forsyth, who is the author of two books.
I will be honest, I was planning on outsourcing some tasks that I was not good at last year, but the prices were out of my league.
The one task I will outsource is getting a virtual assistant who can put together my schedule because I think it will make it easier on me to focus on writing great content.
I also plan on signing up with Zirtual very soon because Jenny Blake recommended the company to me and I trust her word.
Also, Zirtual is very selective on who works for them, so you know that you will get quality service.
What is the one task you will outsource? You can leave your comments below.
Going To The Next Level Through Writing A Book And Starting A Podcast
By Cheval John
Photo courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti
Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Affiliate and I receive a commission for each book I recommend.
I decided to try to gain more book sales for my first book, “8 Things You Need To Do Before Quitting Your Job” by putting it on Sweet Free Books site after I saw success with running a campaign on there with my second book “8 Lessons Every Podcaster Needs To Learn.” You will see the results below.
The first book is still on sale for .99 cents on Amazon.
Without further ado, here is the article.
You have started a new business and are looking to gain new customers or clients.
Whether it is a sports nutrition company, being a baseball trainer, a public relations consultant, etc., you want to set yourself apart from the crowd.
You have heard the many advice on starting a blog to grow your audience.
Though that is a great idea, which I am a strong proponent of blogging, you will be in competition with other people because the blogosphere is really oversaturated with about 450 million blogs in every niche.
Two ideas that can help you to stand out and add more power to your blog is starting a podcast and write a book.
I will explain further.
Podcasts have been around for about a decade.
However, they have been exploding at record pace and recently, they were 1 billion downloads on iTunes.
Another thing to keep notice of in podcasting is that Apple came out with the New Carplay system last year, which allows a person to connect their iPhone to their dashboard of their car.
The Apple Carplay is set to be in about 50% of cars this year which will allow any podcaster to reach a huge audience.
One more thing to keep notice of is that they are about 300,000 podcasts in the world.
So that is ample opportunity for anyone to get out their message and separate themselves from the competition.
Another great way for an entrepreneur/solopreneur to stand out from the crowd is to write a book.
The reason why this is important is because not many people write books.
According to this 2011 article by Publishing Perspectives, about 200 million Americans dreams of writing a book.
However, not many follow through.
They might see the plenty obstacles like gaining the attention of a literary agent who can pitch your book proposal to publishers.
However, many can circumnavigate this by self-publishing.
And self-publishing has become more popular thank to platforms like Amazon’s Createspace.
Now that is good news for anyone because they can get their message out to the world.
And the point that you have written a book will elevate you to another level because people will see you as an expert.
What if you want to get the word out about your book and stand out from an estimated 4 million ebooks on Amazon.
One of the ways to stand out is running promotionals on discounted book sites.
The ones that are really great are Buck Books and Book Bub.
The criteria to run a campaign on Buck Books is that your book must either be 100 pages or have over 10,000 words.
I have seen people who ran their book campaigns on Buck Books gained Amazon-Best Seller Status including No.1 in different categories.
Before I show you how running a book campaign on these discounted sites helps an author, let me explain something that I have learned while taking a Self-Publishing Success Academy class from the teachers, Kimanzi Constable and Jimmy Burgess and I am paraphrasing.
Amazon wants a person to become a best-selling author because it will help drive more business to their site and help them to make money in addition to you making money.
The way how a person become an Amazon best-selling author is to have their book ranked in the top 100 overall.
Though you might think that you can’t get your book in the top 100 overall, their is good news.
If your book is ranked in the top 100 in any category that you choose to feature your book, you will have become a best-selling author.
And Amazon update their best-selling author’s list every hour.
The interesting thing is that even if you don’t sell a whole lot of books overall, the point that your book sold enough at a certain time will allow you to achieve the Amazon Best-Selling status.
Now that you know a little bit about achieving the Amazon Best-Selling Status, here is how Beau Henderson became an Amazon No.1 best-selling author.
Mr. Henderson ran a campaign on Buck Books for his book, “The Rich Life: Ten Investments For True Wealth” and it made the No.1 Amazon Best-Seller in three categories.
That distinction of being a No.1 Amazon Best-Selling Author will always give Mr. Henderson the opportunity to gain even more clients and take his business, The Rich Life Group to another level.
Now if you have written a book that is less than 100 pages, then there is an alternative to Buck Books.
It is called Sweet Free Books.
Sweet Free Books has books ranging from romance to non-fiction.
If you are accepted to run a book campaign on there, you would have to pay $5 dollars to run the campaign.
That is really cheap.
Also, you will have to change the price of your book on Amazon to either free or .99 cents days before the campaign hit live on Sweet Free Books.
I know this because I ran my second book, “8 Lessons Every Podcaster Needs To Learn” on Sweet Free Books and I forgot the first time to change the price on Amazon before the campaign ran.
However, I did not make the above mistake again and as a result, I became an Amazon Best-Seller in the Small Business and Business and Money Categories.
I will be very honest, I did not sell thousands of books.
However, I sold just enough to achieve the Amazon Best-Selling author status.
Here is the results below.
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #59,415 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
o #70 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Business & Money > Entrepreneurship & Small Business > Small Business
o #100 in Kindle Store > Kindle Short Reads > 90 minutes (44-64 pages) > Business & Money
As you can see, it was 70th in Small Business and 100th in Business and Money.
At one point, the book was 78th at the 3 p.m. hour on February 8th in the top 100 in the Small Business category:
Amazon Best Sellers
Our most popular products based on sales. Updated hourly.
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• Top 100 Paid
74.
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4.8 out of 5 stars (116)
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76.
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by Inc The Staff of Entrepreneur Media
4.0 out of 5 stars (1)
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77.
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by Claude Whitacre
4.8 out of 5 stars (44)
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78.
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5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
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$0.99
79.
Turning Memories Into Cash: a step by…
by Kathy Moore
4.9 out of 5 stars (11)
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Then it dropped to 95th in the top 100 at the 5 p.m. hour before dropping out completely:
Amazon Best Sellers
Our most popular products based on sales. Updated hourly.
Best Sellers in Small Business
• Top 100 Paid
92.
Local Online Marketing: Small Busines…
by Claude Whitacre
4.8 out of 5 stars (44)
Kindle Edition
$2.99
93.
El Emprendedor que llevas dentro (Spa…
by Alvaro Mendoza
4.4 out of 5 stars (12)
Kindle Edition
$6.99
94.
The Way to Wealth: Advice, Hints, and…
by Benjamin Franklin
2.5 out of 5 stars (2)
Kindle Edition
$2.51
95.
8 Lessons Every Podcaster Needs To Le…
by Cheval John
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
Kindle Edition
$0.99
96.
Turning Memories Into Cash: a step by…
by Kathy Moore
4.9 out of 5 stars (11)
Kindle Edition
$2.99
97.
The Virtual Assistant Solution: Come…
by Michael Hyatt
4.3 out of 5 stars (63)
Kindle Edition
So you have seen how you can stand out from the crowd by writing a book and starting a podcast in addition to blogging.
The only question now is what are you waiting for.
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