Throughout the history of the world there have been visionaries that existed, people who have been able to see beyond the knowledge of the rest of the masses. These visionaries have propelled humanity to new heights in science, technology, medicine, sports and every other industry out there. The list would go on and on. These visionaries accomplished things, knew things and discovered things that everyone else thought to be impossible, non-existent or fiction. They moved forward with their vision despite the opposition and belief of others and succeeded. And believe me when I say this, every single icon in history had to overcome intense opposition. Most people thought of their vision as foolish, crazy or risky.

Is this sounding familiar to you?

Roger Bannisters four minute mile

Have you heard of it? Everyone thought it would be medically impossible to break the four minute mile. Medical professionals believed that human lungs would burst if put under that kind of strain. They thought it impossible for a human to run a mile in under four minutes. Well, while the masses sat there in opposition, thinking of the impossible, Roger Bannister completed the impossible. He ran the mile in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds.

In the face of opposition and all doubt by most of the so called “professionals,” Bannister broke the laws of reason. He achieved a task that had been deemed “Unobtainable” by society and he did it against all odds.

This is just one example of a visionary that existed in his prime at that given time. He acted, and mankind from that time forward will remember his choice to act. Sure, he could have been just like everyone else, sitting there thinking about how impossible things were. That would have been easy. Instead, he trained, he worked at it and he was the first of his kind!

So back to my question, is this sounding familiar to you? Have you heard someone tell you that you were crazy, foolish or taking too large of a risk? Have you had people telling you not to do something that you had your heart set on doing? Have you had someone tell you not to start that home based business or that “thing” you wanted to start?

I sure hope so. Because if you haven’t, most likely, you are the one telling others that what they have set out to accomplish is impossible. You have a choice. You can be the one telling the visionary that he is a fool, or you can be the visionary. One way leads you to a life of fulfillment, abundance and joy. The other way, just leaves you right where you are. I can show you the door, but you yourself is the one that has to walk through it.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEgHhijFnEU[/youtube]

So, let’s talk about the cubicle, and more specifically, the work cubicle. To preface this post I did a little research on the cubicle and as I started to look at different cubicles, I started to feel restricted. I became less and less motivated as the time crept by. I think I actually acquired a cubicle phobia!! Seriously, do it. Just start looking at all the different types of cubicles on the net and see how you start to feel after a few minutes of doing it. It’s painful. At least for me it was.

Anyways, as I was looking up these cubicles, I ran across something hilarious. There are sites out on the internet that offer “Cubicle Etiquette!” Basically put, “how to behave in your cubicle.” I had to laugh and I am actually going to copy and past the etiquette right here for you all to read. Now, I have to give props to the person who wrote this information for having a desire to assist those who have chosen to experience the cubicle misery day in and day out. She has good intentions and deserves credit for her suggestions. However, why even choose to submit yourself to so much misery in the first place? That is beyond my comprehension. A $40,000 salary is definitely not worth the pain or even a 6 figure income for that matter. There are much more fun, creative, more exciting and fulfilling ways to make a heck of a lot more money.

Here is the “Cubicle Etiquette”:

PRIVACY

• Never enter someone’s cubicle without permission. Behave as though cubicles have doors. Do not enter before you have eye contact “permission” from the occupant.

• Try not to sneak up behind someone in a cube. Announce yourself at their doorway or lightly knock on the wall.

• Post a sign or flag at your cube entrance to signal when you can be interrupted. Avoid making eye contact with people if you don’t want to be interrupted.

• Don’t “prairie-dog” over the tops of cubes or peek in as you walk past each one.

• Don’t loiter outside someone’s cube while you wait for him or her to finish a phone call. Come back at another time.

• Never read someone’s computer screen or comment on conversations you’ve overheard. Resist answering a question you overheard asked in the cube next to you!

• Keep your hands off a cube dweller’s desk. Just because there’s no door doesn’t mean you can help yourself to their paper clips.

PHONES

• Try to pick up your phone after one or two rings. Set the ringer volume at a low level.

• Limit the use of speakerphones. If you must use one, keep the volume as low as possible. Use a meeting room for conference calls.

• Watch your volume when talking on the phone. A wireless headset can help keep your voice low.

• When you leave your cubicle, turn your phone ringer off and let it go to voicemail or forward your phone number to your new location.

• Never leave your cell phone behind in your cube without first turning it off or to vibrate.

• With personal or sensitive calls, be aware that your neighbors can hear your end of the conversation.

TALKING

• Use your “library voice”.

• Don’t talk through cube walls or congregate outside someone’s cube. For impromptu meetings, go to a conference room or break room.

• Don’t bring clients to your cube to meet with them. Go to an office or conference room.

• Don’t yell across the “cube farm”. Get up and move to the other person’s location.

GENERAL NOISE

• Use email or instant messaging to communicate silently with your coworkers.

• Play radios at low volumes or use a headset.

• Set your PC volume to a low level and turn off screensaver sound effects.

• Set pagers to vibrate.

• Work out an arrangement with your neighbors to take lunch breaks at different times. This will give each of you some quiet time in your cube.

• Eat quietly. Avoid gum-popping, humming, slurping and pen tapping.

SMELLS

• A good rule of thumb is to never eat hot food at your desk. Food odors can bother your hungry or nauseous neighbors.

• Perfume and cologne should be avoided in a cubicle arrangement. Your neighbors may have allergies.

• Keep an air freshener handy.

• Keep your shoes on!

There were some great suggestions in there for those of you who work in a cubicle. I wouldn’t be such a critic if I hadn’t worked in one myself. Whatever reason it is that landed you in a cubicle job, make it completely temporary. Certain people are meant for cubicle jobs and certain people have so much more potential. If you feel like you are the latter, kick the cubicle to the curb. I know for Amy and myself, it has been the most profitable decision we have ever made…and also the most liberating!

I’d like to do a quick comparison between you and any given hero. I would like to make a comparison between the way you handle yourself, your life, your choices and the way you think. I’m not going to compare the fact that most super heroes can throw cars and break through walls and you can’t. There are many types of heroes in the world, besides the obvious fictional heroes such as superman.

So let’s define a hero:

• mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability
• an illustrious warrior
• man admired for his achievements and noble qualities
• one that shows great courage
• the central figure in an event, period, or movement
• an object of extreme admiration and devotion

Think about what a hero would do when facing a burning building. He doesn’t think, he just acts and he does so in a completely selfless way. Lives are at stake. He trusts his intuition and moves with haste. What does a fictitious hero do when the end of the world is at hand? He looks at himself as the only one with the power to save it. He doesn’t go to the police or other super heroes to take care of it. He takes the responsibility on himself.

Think back to the times when you might have saved your child from falling or actually saved someones life. Did you think much? Did you sit back for a moment to contemplate all the different scenarios or outcomes of the situation? You just acted, right!? Your natural abilities just kicked in and made it happen.

I am sure we can all agree that a hero is someone that succeeds. A hero is a person that is looked up to for their actions. Based on what we have just discussed, a hero is also someone who trusts his immediate “gumption!” When he gets that gut feeling, he knows it is the right thing and he acts on it before it is too late.

Now, let’s reflect a bit on our lives. How have we been acting? Have we been heroic or a little cowardly. Have we been a person of action, trusting in our gut feelings? Have we been confident in making big decisions quickly or did we sit back and contemplate? When things get grim and our lives seem to be upside down, do we turn to others and expect them to bail us out or do we take on that responsibility?

The absolute truth, everyone one of us, has the potential to become a hero. The definition above describes each one of us, if we but choose to act heroic. We were all “endowed with great strength or ability” when were were born into this world. We just have to learn to use it. A “man admired for his achievements and noble qualities” is simply a man who acts instead of contemplates. “One that shows great courage“ is simply someone that makes decisions quickly and then moves forward with those decisions in a massive way. Believe it or not, we are all “the central figure in an event, period, or movement” in our own lives. We are the main character, or hero, in our own action flick! Sometimes people choose to pass that role to others out of fear of the unknown. Choose to be that central figure! And believe it or not, people are looking for “an object of extreme admiration and devotion” to follow. People look for leaders, heroes in a sense, to show them what is possible in their own lives!

If you are an entrepreneur who is taking action in your own life, you have many of these same qualities. Most people have these heroic qualities but are terrified to use them. They walk around in skepticism of change and a fear of success. The true key to success is to trust your first gut feeling and to follow it up with massive friggin’ action! Through your passion to succeed, your willingness to serve and your God given abilities, your results will be something to look up to. They will be of a leader! So you decide, are you a natural born hero or just a puny little human?

During college did you ever think about being a walk-on in your favorite sport? Now, of course I’m speaking about the ones that didn’t have that full ride scholarship and a reserved spot on the team. However, this pertains to everyone, scholarship or not. So how about it? Did you? Did you actually try out for the team or did you just think about doing it? If you did try out, did you make the team? Did you give it your best?

This is about making things happen. It’s about creating a spot for yourself. It’s about wanting it bad enough that you’ll do just about anything to get it.

If you think about a walk-on, what comes to mind? Determination? Persistence? Vision? I can tell you this much, a walk-on is someone that makes the team out of pure will power. It is that person that knows they can hang with the big dogs, the high recruits, that already have a place on the team. This is a person with drive, with ambition and with a tremendous amount of self belief. There is no spot on the team for the walk-on. He has to create his spot on the team, work hard for it and claim it as his own. He has to earn the right to play with the big dogs and a lot of the time, is one of the better players on the team. Most if the time, the coach already has a good idea of who is going to fill the open spot on the team. So if that’s not you, you’ve got to want it more!

I’d like to give credit to Wendy Stevens for providing the idea for this post. True story, Wendy was actually a walk-on. She had a conversation with the coach one day about what she could do to make the team. The coach told her, “Play left handed!” So she did everything with her left hand. When opening the door, she would use her left hand. She brushed her teeth left handed. If you’ve never tried that, do it. It isn’t as easy as it may seem. Wendy was right handed, but she made the team. She used muscles that had never been used in that way before. She had to train these muscles to work just as good as her right hand muscles in order to get the spot on the team.

This is exactly the same thing that a new entrepreneur or new network marketer goes through. They get started in a business opportunity to create that spot on the team, to reach their goal of being a big time player. Once started in a business you quickly find out that you have never done some of the things you are now required to do. You must think differently, work differently and operate in a completely different way than before. So you work at it and work at it until it becomes natural. You are exercising your entrepreneurial muscles and the more you do, the easier the game becomes. The easier the game becomes, the better your chances are in winning that spot.

If you’re having trouble finding the way to get ahead, just keep being consistent. Consistency = exercising those muscles. By doing things that feel different than anything else you have ever done before, you will start adding new skills into your game. Once these skills are streamlined to perfection, you will gain that winners edge and claim your spot on the team as the walk-on who wanted it most!

This is one of my all time favorite movies, The Matrix. It has a lot to do with what I teach people in this blog. I teach self reliance, vision, personal development, higher education and entrepreneurship. I show people the truth. The truth I speak of is that most people are blind. They walk through life without aim, without purpose and wonder why they are always wanting more. They simply go through the motions because that is how it has always been. They fall victim to false beliefs and self-doubt. Most people are, just as in The Matrix, trapped in a prison for their minds. It is a prison they have created for themselves and the only way to escape this prison, is to be shown by someone else who has.

I live in a life without boundaries, without restraint. I made the choice, and was shown how by someone who has already done it. Enjoy the video!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLCnYHtgyqU[/youtube]

Generating leads is one of the easiest parts of my business opportunity. Every person I come into contact with during the day is a potential lead. I mean, think about it, how many conversations do you overhear that have to do with how much that person hates their job or isn’t happy with their life? One of the quickest ways to make a lot of money in my business is through your warm market, the people in your immediate world. Yeah, but how is it done?

Here are a few of the ways that Amy and I generate leads for our business while out living our lives.

1. Meet new people. Every time you meet a new person, what is the most common question that comes up? “What do you do?” Right!? “Well, I teach people how to make money working from home, here’s my card.” It is as simple as that. Of course, when you meet them you must say a bit more than just “hi!” If they don’t ask you what you do, ask them what they do and most likely, they will ask you back. If they are curious, they will ask more questions. That is a good thing!
2. Direct approach. While out and about, you may hear someone speaking with a very high energy or enthusiasm about life. That person may be a salesman, a bank teller, a grocery store manager or someone that works at a tire shop. If you feel they would have potential in your business, tell them. Say, “You know, you have a great energy about you. I work with a small group of people in a business that pays some pretty amazing profits. Someone with your energy would be amazing at it. You deserve to check it out. Here’s my card. Call me later if you’d like more information!” While doing this, you must be bold. You can’t look to the side like you are bashful or wishy-washy about your business. It’s all in the confidence you show. Be confident!
3. Drop Cards. I always carry a few drop cards with me everywhere I go. These can be business cards with a simple ad on the back or something that you can simply drop on the ground, place on a car or pin to a bulletin board. I specifically use a drop card that resembles a $100 bill. It works wonders. I think it also ticks people off when they find out it isn’t real! So it’s fun too! Place these cards in credit card slots at gas pumps, drop them on pay phones, leave them on the newspaper stand or just take a few out and insert them. There are a ton of places for drop cards.
   
4. Drive a very nice car! This is one of my favorite because it is effortless. Now, when I say to drive a nice car, I am not meaning a brand new Ford Escort! When I say a nice car, I mean something you don’t see average income earners driving. So get yourself a Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, Denali, Escalade, or something with style! You won’t even have to approach anyone about what you do. It will be the most common question you get. “Wow! Nice car! What do you do for a living?” Trust me, in my business opportunity, the car will pay for itself over and over again!
5. Place an ad on your car. There are a few areas to place an ad on your car. The best place is right across the rear window with vinyl lettering. If you don’t want to be a mobile classified ad, simply put your website on the window. You’ll make money! I promise. License plate covers can be created custom with your website address as well, magnetic bumper stickers or signs for the side of your car work as well. Before we sold it, we drove around an H2 with vinyl lettering on the back window. And yes, we made a lot of money from it!

So there you have it. These are just a few ideas to aid you in your success. The biggest key to any sort of lead generation is your mindset. Confidence has a huge effect on your lead generation! If approached, be prepared to say something and say it like the successful entrepreneur you are. People are looking for a leader to teach them how to make it happen in their own lives. Either you can be that leader, or someone else will. Make it you!