I would like to wish everyone here in the United States of America a happy fourth of July! Go out this weekend and be proud of this Great Country. Enjoy the fireworks, the bombs bursting in air, and the festivities but remember why we celebrate this day. We celebrate our independence as a Nation. We celebrate our freedom. Take pride in being an American and represent this country well in all that you do. Become a better person, a better friend, better at business and a better servant. We represent a powerful force in the world. Let’s not take advantage of others, misuse our freedom or put ourselves on a pedestal. With great power comes great responsibility.

Tomorrow this country will be celebrating the Independence Day of the Unites States of America. The day we won our freedom. It’s awesome to be part of it all!

Every year, on March 30th, I celebrate MY Independence Day! It is the day that Amy and I decided to win our freedom. We became Entrepreneurs on that day and celebrate it as the day we broke free from bondage and misery. We fired our boss and went to work for ourselves. We made a bold decision to step through the gateway to independence. We chose to open the door to freedom. Financial Freedom! Time Freedom! We chose to live life on our terms instead of taking orders from someone else.

If you are not yet an entrepreneur, what are you waiting for? When will the day finally come for you? Do you have it planned out? What day will it be? The longer you wait, the longer you will submit and settle for a life of mediocrity. Take a bold stand for your own freedom. You are living in a free country yet surviving in modern day slavery. Take advantage of the Land of Opportunity we live in. Take control of your life. Win your freedom back.

If you are an entrepreneur, I’d like to hear from you. What day do you celebrate your personal Independence Day? Congratulations to you if you already know the answer! Make it a point to celebrate that day, as you definitely deserve it!

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 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!

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!

Have I ever told you all how much I love what I do? Well, I do and here’s one of the many reasons why. Today, as Amy and I were driving our girls to swimming lessons, I told Amy of something I overheard my oldest daughter say. This last weekend, we had a huge family fishing trip. My brother and sister came up with their families and we had an absolute blast and caught a ton of fish. Well, as they were all leaving my home, my oldest daughter decided to tell everyone that we were moving to California.

I had no idea she was doing this. My sister was the first one to come up and ask if we were really moving to California. I said, “no,” and asked her why. She then told me that my oldest daughter had been spreading the news. So, on the way to swim lessons I told Amy what had happened and my oldest daughter overheard our conversation and decided to explain herself. She told me that we were moving to California. I said, “Well, maybe we could just go stay in California for a week. How’s that?” She said, “Nope! I have been meditating about it and we are going to move to California!”

Wow! I was entirely impressed with her. She is deciding her future by preplanning it in her mind. Now, I know that all kids dream about things. That’s just something kids do and they believe they can be and do anything. Well, that’s true! But she was actually visualizing what she wanted to happen and is completely convinced that it will.

It is cool to see the principles Amy and I use on a daily basis being picked up by our children. Visualization is something I do every morning, day and night. It is my planning time. It’s the only way that I or anyone else can see the future and my kids are learning this stuff. Sure, we attempt to teach them to the best of our abilities, but it is great to see them putting it to use.

Being involved in the Personal Development industry has been a blessing to Amy and I and to our entire family. It has influenced our children, our parents and siblings. If you think that improving yourself will only improve you….Think again! It will effect everyone around you, and by effecting them, it will effect many others in a positive way as well. So when they say, “Improve yourself, improve your world,” it’s true beyond comprehension.

Simply by improving myself, my bank account grows, my business flourishes and my family is strengthened. If you want to know the secret to my success, that’s it. Personal Development!

So the best way to make a difference, in not just your little world, but the entire globe, is by improving yourself. The rest will fall into place!

I have to apologize to my readers this week. I have literally had no time to blog and my excuse, I have been playing too much! Out of the last 5 work days, I have put in a total of 10-15 hours of work. The rest of the time, I have been out with my family. It feels like I have been having a Memorial Day Weekend for the entire last week.

The crazy thing is, 3 hours a day is what I usually work. Blogging is extra and a way for me to share my knowledge of Entrepreneurship and Personal Development with those who are looking to learn and improve. As we all know, the teacher ALWAYS learns more than the student. If you have never had a blog before, try it for a month. Start a blog about your desired topic and just throw your thoughts onto it. You will be surprised at how much you grow!

The point I would like to make is to PLAY MORE! What I mean by that is just get out with your kids and throw the Frisbee or play catch. Ride your bikes around the block or down the street. Help your daughter set up her Barbie house. Have a pillow fight, play with your dog, go on a hike, take your family fishing or just play the Wii. These are a few of the things we did this week and have had a blast the entire time. Our next activity is to buy a canoe and explore all the lakes we have in the Payson area, which, will take some time. There are a ton. This summer we have a 3 week trip planned for Hawaii, a weekend in Colorado, and a trip to Disney Land.

Most of the things we do are done in the middle of the week while mostly everyone else is at work. I love what I do. I teach people how to live my life, how to have more than enough time to play and how to teach others how to do the same thing. If you ever come across something that says home based business opportunities are not for real, understand that you are reading something that a faithful lifetime employee probably wrote or someone that quit before they reached their dream lifestyle.

Find the time to PLAY MORE! Whether you are a business owner or an employee, you will be happier, more successful and will live longer if you have more fun.

If you’d like to make money while you play, like me, fill out the form after this post and contact me right away. It’s all about lifestyle!