We have all heard of the people that say their biggest desire in life is to live “The Simple Life.” Not much responsibility, worry or care, just simply them and what they love the most. Out of all they have experienced in life, their truest desire is to live simple, to get away from the hustle and bustle of the world.  That’s the simple life!

Living the Simple Life

I think that living “the simple life” has different meanings for different people. I have personally had conversations with people that say their idea of a simple life is living like a hermit in the mountains without clocks, a schedule or even a wife. Just them, nature, maybe a dog and no where to be. The more common idea of living the simple life is to own a home in a suburb somewhere, have a few kids, a mortgage, a dog and a white picket fence.

I just asked my wife what her idea of a simple life would be and she said, “My idea of a simple life would be to live on the beach, in a hut with clothes made out of hemp, bathe in the ocean and just lay out all day!” I think her idea of the simple life wins the golden nugget for today! I wouldn’t think that hemp clothes would be that comfortable but obviously she is a beach bum at heart!

The word simple means, easy or not complicated. So the simple life is plainly a life that is easy, or not complicated. It is a life without much worry or stress, a life of simplicity. Although life can be complicated by nature, it is our choices that make it that way. We create our lifestyle. We either are the cause of our simple life or the cause of our miserable and complicated life.

My idea of the simple life involves a few key words. It involves financial freedom, so that the worries of bills, mortgages, rent, basic necessities of life, gas for my car or anything else that requires money will not be in my simple life. It involves complete time freedom. I mean the ability to choose for myself the schedule of the day, which is never set in stone and always subject to change. It involves service, the ability to give, teach and inspire those in need. It involves pursuing my hobbies and passions. It involves my family right along side me every step of the way.

That’s the simple life and in order to ensure that I have all those key elements in place, I have got to make key decisions right now that lead me closer to the simple life and the more I think about it, I am mostly there!

Know this, 9 out of 10 people who read this post will statistically NEVER reach their ideal lifestyle. They will never live their version of the simple life. Believe it or not but it’s true! Most people grow old wishing they had done things differently. They wish that had purchased that land or they wish they would have started that business. Your life can and will be just as you plan it to be if you choose to do so starting today. So tell me, are you hanging out with the nine……or are you the one?

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!!

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!

I received an email today from a business associate of mine that inspired this post. Often times I get asked how I can blog as often as I do wondering how I come up with my content. That’s the cool part, I don’t come up with my content. Everyone else does. So thanks to all of you and everyone else. You inspire me!

The quote he sent me was this, “Don’t ask your children what they want to be when they grow up… Instead ask them, Who they came here to be.” Just as it got him thinking, it got me thinking as well. Who did I come here to be?

This post might just be a bunch of questions for you to ask yourself. It know that as I write this, that’s pretty much all that seems to come to mind. Who am I to be while here on this earth? Who am I to be as a mentor for those looking to create success and wealth in their life? Who am I as a father of three girls and a husband to my beautiful wife? Basically, who is the ultimate me?

Finding the answer is simple….Who do you want to be? Think of the details, get clear on it.

Once clear, the questions is how do we become that person? What are the steps to getting there?

Well, I am a very successful home based business Entrepreneur. Why? Well, I before I become the successful entrepreneur, I saw myself as the successful entrepreneur. Once I truly believed myself to be the person I was to become, I started to act as though I was already that person. I just lacked the results. But what happened to my results once I started acting as my future self? That’s right! They starting to come.

So in order to act as our future selves, do we do it all in one day? No! That would be too difficult. Just add one or two things per day that move you closer to becoming your future self. If you are in my business and are only placing a few ads a week and are getting only a few leads a day, what is going to move you closer to that future self who is generating 20 leads per day? Quadruple your marketing efforts! It’s simple. That is one thing, put into practice daily, that will move you closer to your ideal future self.

But becoming your future self is not as simple as just taking the same actions. Most of these actions are inspired by your mindset, or your vision for you future and who you are. You must dig deep in your visualizing. Put yourself in the shoes of your future self. If you are to become the most successful person that ever existed in the direct sales industry, how do you think? What are your priorities? Who do you hang out with? What do you do during the day? What books have you read? How do you inspire others to greatness? It’s all part of the package!

“In order to become the man or woman you have envisioned becoming, you must first become that man or woman mentally, and then start acting like it!”  –David Allred (My future self is a best selling author, so why not start quoting myself right now! Right!)

Ask yourself honestly, are you the person, right here and right now, that you ultimately would like to become? If the answer is yes, congrats. Are your results in order as well? If the answer is no, in the words of Gwen Stefani, “What you waiting for? Take a chance…!” Choose something to integrate into your day that will move you closer to your future self. Imagine the difference you will see in just 30 days. It’s not that far off. It’s just waiting on you!