You all remember the game you used to play back in grade school called “Follow the Leader” right? If not, allow me to refresh your memory a bit. The basic concept of the game is to have one person doing things that everyone else has to follow, or mimic. There’s no real way to win the game as far as I can remember unless everyone else in the game can’t duplicate what the leader is doing. I think the reason the entire game was invented was to teach kids how to follow instructions and to keep them entertained.

Again, as I have mentioned before, as we grow up we tend to forget some of these simple lessons. Maybe it’s not so much that we forget, but maybe we just get more stubborn. While some people completely forget, others take these lessons way too literal. Some people get stuck in the follow mode and will never become the leader. Others get stuck in the leader mode and never learn to follow. There is a reason why you must switch back and forth from follower to leader constantly, or just do both at the same time.

I speak to people everyday who are looking to create something more out of their lives. They are tired of the daily grind, tired of struggle and tired of not having results. They tell me that all they want is the lifestyle that I currently have. They want the money, the ability to travel with their family, the time freedom and the business to provide it all. So I show them what I do and how they can turn around and do the exact same thing. You see, this is their opportunity to follow the leader. I know how to make it happen. I am the leader.

It is common sense to say that if you want something that someone else has, figure out what they have done to get it and do “that.” It’s the simple concept of “Follow the Leader.” But just as in school, some people don’t want to follow the leader and think they know all there is about how to create that success they long for. So they sit out of the game, doing nothing.

In order to get something you have never had, you must do something you have never done! So how are we all to learn how to do something we have never done? It’s simple, find someone who has done it and follow the leader! Even the leaders have leaders to follow. Just because I have been able to assist many people in realizing their ultimate lifestyle doesn’t mean that I know all there is to know about success. So I too must find the leaders who have what I want and follow them! It’s a continual process. Where you are on the level of success determines how much you are the leader and how much you are the follower.

If it is lifestyle you are looking for, time, money, passion, personal development or a business opportunity, play a little game of “Follow the Leader” with me. I’ll lead, you follow, until you are ready to lead yourself!

I don’t know if it is just me or did this Summer seem to just fly by!? It feels like it just started and here we are, already putting our girls back in school. This year, we have two girls in school instead of just one. As much as I have loved having my kids at home everyday, I always look forward to school for them. Well, the obvious reasons are the fact that they won’t be so bored, they will get to learn, make new friends and experience something new and exciting every day. Also, back to school time means more time for Mom and Dad at home!

The First Day of School

So, use your imagination for a second. What does that mean for you? If you have children that are returning to school or attending for the first time, what do you plan on doing with your free time? What can you create with your time? What great things will you accomplish?

What did you think of? Did you think of sitting around most of the day eating cookies and milk while watching your favorite daytime TV shows? Did you think of improving on your talents and hobbies? How about increasing your income? You’d be shocked at what a Big Thinker could accomplish in my income opportunity in just 2-3 hours of extra time during the day!

When my kids are at school, I use every moment of the day for complete productivity so that when my kids do get home, I can spend Daddy time with them. From 8am to 2:30pm, I am able to build myself, build my business and build my lifestyle. Instead of watching TV or lounging, I choose to learn about my passions and increase my skill set. I spend that time on purpose.

So tell me, can you tell the difference between those who spend their alone time as I do and those who waste away their alone time? Absolutely you can. It shows in every other action they perform during the day.

It has always been said: That which you do while no one else is around is what defines who you are!

What are you defined as? Better yet, what will you choose to continue to be defined as? The time between 8 am to 2:30 pm will define that for me and my results will show it! It is the difference between going somewhere and going nowhere!

Be always actively engaged in your future! Especially, when you are alone!

As you all know I am currently here on the Big Island of Hawaii with my family. We are here for two reasons: Lifestyle and Learning. We are attending a conference along with over a thousand people from all over the world who have also come here for Lifestyle and Learning. We have been here since last Thursday and have been having an awesome time! It puts new wind in my sails to sit here and watch my children experience Hawaii for the first time. The light in their eyes and the excitement in their step fuels me and gives me a new passion for life. Life is good!

The Path of Least Resistance

Throughout the conference I have heard a common phrase. The last two presenters, Shawn Achor and Erik Wahl, have both mentioned this phrase. I have always known this but it has taken on a whole new meaning to me within the last few days. The phrase is “The Path of Least Resistance.” Basically put, human nature. We, as human beings, are naturally programmed to take the path of least resistance. We will take the easy road. If we come to a fork in the road and one has a mountain to climb and the other has just a hill, we’ll take the hill. It’s in our nature. We’re not stupid right!?

Well, this can be a damaging trait. Allow me to attempt to assist you in seeing this point through my perspective, or through my eyes. In life, what is the easiest path for you, getting a job or starting a business? Coloring a page with figures already drawn out for you or creating your own figures to color? Building a tree house using a manual or drafting and building your own design?

The answers are obvious right? The easiest path is the one that has already been laid out for you. Most likely, the life that most of you are living right now is a life that you have been pre-programmed to live, a life that has been, in a sense, mapped out for you. You went to college because that’s what everyone did. You got that job because that’s what most people do. You took the path of least resistance. It’s easy to follow something that you have been taught since childhood.

The difficult yet more rewarding path is the path of the entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship isn’t something that is taught to us as children unless it comes directly from our parents. It definitely isn’t taught in schools until you get to college, but even then, learning about business economics can’t teach you how to think like an entrepreneur.

To truly become an entrepreneur one must, more than often, head down the path of most resistance. As they do, they grow faster, learn faster, get stronger, gain more experience and are the ones leading the pack. They are the Rhino instead of the cow.

I can tell you this much, and all of you should already know this…..success evades those who always take the path of least resistance.

So if you find yourself doing what seems easiest, think twice about that decision. Sure, common decisions such as climbing hills over mountains are a no brainer, unless you’re goal is to get into shape. But if you are someone looking to create a wealth of success in your life, make sure your decisions are moving you closer to your goal. At times, that requires you to go against your natural programming, and if you plan on being an entrepreneur for long, get used to it!!

So here we are, living the lifestyle of a home based business Entrepreneur. Well, I shouldn’t generalize like that. I am living the life of someone who is part of MY home based business. We are here on the Big Island of Hawaii. We arrived at the Kona airport yesterday the 16th of July, had a driver pick us up (very helpful when you bring your entire family) and are staying until the 27th of July. Nearly two weeks of paradise.

Ok, so you think the Big Island of Hawaii is the cool thing right? Well, you’re right. It is pretty cool. Most people will never be able to do this. I am so blessed. The other cool thing is the fact that I am here with thousands of other like-minded, home business entrepreneurs. Many of them are self-made millionaires. I am surrounded with people like me. These are people that have goals, take action and live a life that less than 3% of people will ever live. That is who I choose to be.

Tomorrow we are planning a trip around the north end of the Island for some site seeing. We’ll hit a few waterfalls and have some awesome photos to show you.

Today I was able to teach my 7 year old daughter how to snorkel. She had a blast and is a complete natural at it. It’s one thing being able to do these things yourself. It’s a completely different thing being able to show your kids how to do it while they are young. I am able, through my business, to give them opportunities that I never had! Awesome.

Aloha!

If anyone can tell me where this quote comes from, you are the winner. You win a blog post topic with a link back to your site. “Seek not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich.”

Seek ye wisdom before Riches

This is the way my brain understands this. Basically, if you want to become the ultimate YOU, meaning, if you want to progress as far as you possibly can in this life, seek ye wisdom. Wisdom has more value than riches. Riches are a bi-product of it, and in my opinion, a great way to gain more wisdom. Money is simply used as a tool to have more experiences….experiences of serving, giving, assisting, building, growing. Life is all about the experience of it. It’s not about how much stuff you can accumulate or having a home bigger than the next guy.

What is the definition of wisdom? It is: 1 – The ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting; insight, 2 – Common sense; good judgment, 3 – The sum of learning through the ages; knowledge.

I wasn’t really satisfied with those definitions so I looked a little further and found this one: the trait of utilizing knowledge and experience with common sense and insight.

Wisdom is a combination of experience and knowledge used in a way that makes sense. The common sense part of the definition is, in my opinion, the hardest part for a lot of people. In my experience, there are a lot of people that are majorly lacking in the common sense arena! You know what I’m talking about, and if you don’t, you may be the one lacking.

So why is wisdom more valuable? To get my point across, an idiot with a lot of money is still an idiot! Idiots make a lot of mistakes, and they don’t learn from them. Those with wisdom still make mistakes, but by avoiding the previously mentioned, “common sense” mistakes, they make fewer mistakes. Thus, propelling them toward their goals at a quicker rate. Instead of making the the mistakes that the rich idiot makes, he makes mistakes at a much higher level, a level at which the rich idiot may never achieve.

So if wisdom is worth more in the sight of God, how do we gain wisdom? This life is all about having experiences and as we have those experiences, we learn. We gain knowledge. We can also learn from other peoples experience as well, people who have gone before us and already have that knowledge. Wisdom is a combination of experience and knowledge: Past, present and future. We can learn and we can do. We can learn as we do and as we study, the lesson is completely different. We “do” by getting out of our comfort zone, experiencing something different that will inspire growth. Knowledge without experience just as experience without knowledge will not make you wise. Someone with his nose is books all day can tell you why you can ride a bike but will never be able to show you how. Knowing and doing are separate yet powerful when together.

That is what constitutes wisdom. Any wise person will know how to use the riches they are blessed with in order to serve and inspire others to do the same. It’s a calling, not a status. With great ability comes great responsibility.

“Seek Ye Wisdom” and the rest will be added unto you!

I think it is fair to say that in order to grow or progress in an accelerated rate, one must get into the habit of taking risks. Am I right? Without risk, how can there be victory? How can one experience a win? Think about it. The person who reaches the top of Mount Everest doesn’t do so by not taking risks. The child who is just learning to walk doesn’t learn without the possibility that he might fall and hurt himself. Starting a business involves taking an initial risk right up front and then taking consistent risks on a regular basis. Every decision made has a level of risk to it. The degree of the reward most likely depends on the degree of the risk. The greater the risk the greater the reward.

Have you ever looked at someone who was extremely successful in business and thought that everything must have been as smooth as can be for that person? If you’re in a home based business, have you ever looked at the top income earners and thought, “Man, they just had the money sitting around to get started and everything was so easy for them?” Be honest! I know most of you have. I can tell you this much, you are absolutely wrong. Ninety percent of the time, it was a rough, risky, faith teetering journey for them. I know it was for me!

If you look at starting a business, whether traditional or home based, there are start up costs. Every legitimate business will have costs. Don’t ever expect to get started in your own business without forking out some money. Most people do not, I repeat, do not have the capital to get started. That’s why most people aren’t successful entrepreneurs. There’s risk involved right!? People run at the sound of risk. Well, most people do, but not the successful ones. They step up to the challenge and use what resources they have available to them to get to where they want to be.

A resource is anything of value that can be used or sold, available source of wealth, a new or reserve supply that can be drawn upon when needed.

Most people actually think that they don’t have these so called “resources!” You do! When we got started, we required a good amount of revenue. We were short in income every month as it was, how would David Allred come up with the money? I used my resources. What were my resources? I had stuff! I sold my jeep and made it happen. Did I love my jeep, YES! But what was I more passionate about? My jeep or my goals of financial freedom? My goals of course, so away with the jeep. Later on down the road we decided to take our business to the next level and required more funding. We looked to our resources again and saw that we had credit! What were we more passionate about? Zero debt or our goals of financial freedom? Financial Freedom!

Now, a few days ago I wrote a blog post on what it takes to be a Big Thinker. A Big Thinker has a different outlook than most people when it comes to making things happen. It’s just the way we think. Big Thinkers, leaders and successful entrepreneurs see 401K’s, credit cards, jeeps, cars, homes, savings accounts and banks as part of their own personal resource center. These are all things that we can use to propel our success. Sure, there is risk in using our resources, but what are you going to do, look at them and think to yourself, “Wow, those are some nice resources!” Do you want to set your 401K up on your mantle, all nice and pretty so that one day, one glorious day you can use it in your retirement. I’ve got a much better retirement plan than what a 401k can provide and you should too.

Everyone else views all of these things as their so called “Safety Nets!” These are things to fall back on in case things get worse. So what do they do? They hang on to them, save them, store them, don’t even think of them as being a tool that will move them closer to their dreams. So these resources just sit there, un-resourceful and useless.

So what are these things to you? Are they safety nets or resources?

In my eyes, one day lived passionately following my dreams is better than a thousand days lived wishing I would have! Use the many resources you have to make that happen!