Topus Uranus by Plato, The Greek Philosopher

David Allred — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:16:17 +0000

For you scholars out there: Have you ever heard of a term called “Topus Uranus?” It’s a term used by the Greek philosopher Plato and refers to his world of ideas where, according to him, reality is found. He argued that reality isn’t contained in the physical, material world, but outside of it, in the world of ideas. The material world is really only a reflection of what is in the world of ideas.

Sound at all familiar?

Personal Development Today

As the personal development industry has evolved, especially within the past decade, terms such as the “law of attraction” and “the secret” have surfaced. These terms have spread like wild fire inside and outside the home based business industry. People were given the idea that they could attract absolutely anything they desired into their life through their focused thoughts. Basically, if a person could hold a concentrated thought for long enough that the “universe” would present this desire in physical form. Now… hold that thought for a moment while I go on.

The Allegory of the Cave

Topus Uranus is a dialogue between Socrates, Plato’s teacher, and Plato. In this dialogue, Socrates explains the Allegory of the Cave, sometimes known as Plato’s Cave, which further explains the meaning of Topus Uranus. It refers to a group of prisoners being chained to a wall in a cave to the point where all they can look upon is the rock of that wall. As people pass by the fires behind them, all they see are shadows being cast on the wall. The prisoners only know what the shadows on the wall look like. That’s their reality. That’s how they discern one thing from the next.

Suppose that a prisoner is freed and permitted to stand up and gaze around the cave. If someone were to show him the things that had cast the shadows on the wall, he wouldn’t recognize them. He couldn’t name them and would believe the shadows on the wall more than what lies before him. That’s his reality. Better yet, what would happen if that man was forced to look at the fire that once burned behind him? He would be struck blind and would try to turn his gaze back to the shadows on the wall, because that’s what he can see clearly. The shadows are real to him, not everything else. He wouldn’t be able to recognize an animal in real form over the shadow it cast upon the wall.

What if someone were to drag this prisoner out of the cave into the sunlight. Everything that he once knew to be real was only a figure on a rock wall. Do you think this prisoner would have an anxiety attack? He’d be a little distressed, wouldn’t he?

After some time on the surface, the prisoner would acclimate and learn. His eyes would eventually be able to look into the sun and realize that it is the source of warmth and light. He would learn a different reality. He would learn that his old reality, once just shadows on a cave wall, is no more his reality. His eyes have been opened, but only because he believed and accepted what he was shown. Fear could have overcome him and pushed him back into the cave where he came from…back to the reality he had known for so long.

So here are a few though provoking questions:

Do your thoughts really create your reality? If so, are your thoughts and ideas hindering you? Is your reality at this very moment serving you? Is there another reality for you? If so, when are you going to decide to change your reality and how?

We have all heard of the common phrase, “The best place to start improving is in the space right between your ears.” Paraphrased of course. To change your reality, the change must, I say MUST start in your mind. The way we think and view our surroundings is our reality. What one man considers to be junk, another considers to be treasure. Some people can create nothing out of the same thing others can use to create amazing things. It’s all in our perception of what is possible and what is not.

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Negative Ghost Rider, The Pattern is Full!

David Allred — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:09:11 +0000

It’s been a while now since I got started in the Network Marketing Industry and it’s been one of the best learning experiences of my life. Many moons ago, my wife and I attended a phone presentation that forever changed the way we viewed our financial potential. When times were dim and stressful with a solution no where near, it’s like the blind folds were finally removed and our eyes were opened for the first time.

I’ll never forget when we experienced our first thousand dollar day. Everything we had hoped for was gaining momentum. From that time onward, we became leaders in the direct sales industry. We had gone farther and earned more in a home based business than anybody we had ever personally known.

With that said, choosing the right network marketing company to join is extremely important. You’ve got to choose a company for where it’s headed, what value it offers the public and your ultimate earning potential. Even though I had experienced some amazing results for quite a while, I chose the right company, but with the wrong leadership. The opportunity was flawless but the brains behind the vehicle were destined for a crash.

So what did I do?

I pulled a Maverick!

If you’ve ever watched “Top Gun,” then you know the terminology. If you haven’t seen “Top Gun” then you are probably part of a group of individuals that grew up without electricity. Everybody I’ve ever known has seen it. But I did, I pulled a Maverick. While right in the middle of all the action, I broke away from it for a period of time, still watching from the side lines. I still had my hands on the controls, I still possessed the skills to create success, but I was hovering above the action just cold sweating it out, doing something outside of a home based business to generate income. I guess I was clenching the old dog tags, gathering my thoughts.

WHY?

I guess I felt betrayed. I thought the company I had joined in the beginning was going to be around forever. That’s what I honestly believed! But I was naive. Companies come and go left and right. Here one day, gone the next. It was my own fault. I didn’t have a plan B. I forgot my roots as a Boy Scout, to “Be prepared.” I didn’t want to join another company because I really enjoyed the one I was in. The product line, the income potential, the community….it was home to me. I guess all I was doing was waiting for the right moment to re-engage.

The Right Moment Came

After sitting on the sidelines for a little over a year, I’m back in the game and ready for action. The timing is right and the opportunity is wide open. It’s time to become a TOP GUN again. I’ve heard others say, “Sure. That’s easy for you to do because you already have the experience and all of your marketing still in place.” Dang right! And I started from scratch. Just like every new home based business owner will have to do. But with the right mentor, it’s a lot easier to do.

How to Become a TOP GUN?

Believe it or not, to be a TOP GUN in network marketing is an extremely simple concept. There’s no secret to it really. It’s the same with every opportunity. It’s a simple equation.

Vision + Ambition + Consistent Action = TOP GUN

That’s it! There are other things you can add to the equation that will make things easier, but that’s the equation that produces results. That’s all I’ve done. Because of the vision I held for my future and my ambition to achieve that vision, I was able to put one foot in front of the other and make things happen. I consistently advertised, lived the lifestyle, called potential clients, wrote those blog posts, built that website, printed and handed out fliers, went to all the training events, attended the conferences and masterminded with other leaders. It wasn’t up to my mentors to do it for me, or even show me how to do it all. I had no idea how to build a website and didn’t even know what a blog post was, but I learned it because it was going to bring me closer to my goals.

How many of us have pulled a Maverick in our business careers. We jumped in with both feet, created some success in the industry, ran into a speed bump in life and withdrew ourselves from everything? How many of you are waiting for the right timing to jump back into things? How many of you are waiting for the right time to simply begin?

Not everyone can have a happy ending….and it’s not for any other reason but the pure fact that… everyone doesn’t deserve it. Only the ones who work for it truly deserve it. Those who deserve it will one day soon, metaphorically, be sitting on a motorcycle, in front of the sunset, wearing a leather jacket and slick shades, with the Top Gun soundtrack playing in the background. They’ll have their glory day in the sun.

It’s time to get a piece of the action. Come join me if you’re ready.

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12 Ways to Raise Home Based Business Startup Money

David Allred — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:47:08 +0000

If you’ve ever been a home based business entrepreneur, you know the top ten concerns people have when looking to get started. Some of these concerns are legit, while others are just excuses. We all know that change is hard, and even though the person on the other end of the phone wants to change their financial situation, most of them are still going to resist.

In my experience, the top concern is always the start-up cost. No matter what the entry fee, people will act like they don’t have the money. But if you’re good at resolving concerns, you’ll find out whether or not it’s true. If it is, here are 12 ways to raise start-up money you can offer your prospects.

Find something to sell. In order to fully maximize my business, I sold my Jeep. It gave me the exact amount I needed.
Gather old scrap metal around your property/neighborhood to recycle. Then, find the recycling business that will pay top dollar. Rural areas may not pay as much but will still pay.
Ask a family member for a loan and pay them back with your first profits.
Use a credit card. If your choice of business doesn’t accept credit cards, you can get a cash advance.
Have a yard sale. If you’ve been in your home for more than five years, you probably have plenty of stuff you don’t need that you can sell.
Take a loan out from your 401k or retirement funds.
Use your home equity. If the start-up costs are a large some of money, borrow against the equity in your home.
Become a collection agent. At some point in time, you’ve lent money to someone that hasn’t paid you back. Well, now would be a great time for them to return the favor!
If you’re handy, crafty or creative, you can make something and sell it. One year, my wife and I gathered up some old crates, took them apart, and made some rustic kitchen hutches. We sold every one of them at a local craft fair.
Bake something and sell it. This is an add on to number nine above.
If you’re employed, work overtime. The only secret to this is not spending the money on something else when you get paid!
Ask a private investor. Create an actual business plan showing your profit margin and present it to a private lender.

HINT: Another idea would be to take a little from every paycheck for a few months and set it aside. I DON”T recommend this method. Nine times out of ten, if your prospect waits, their excitement to get started in your opportunity will fade, and they’ll end up losing their motivation. Urgency in any home business is key.

If you have any other ideas to suggest, please leave them in the comments, I’d love to hear them.

Creative Advertising – Trade Show Banners

David Allred — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 05:10:21 +0000

As entrepreneurs, we’re always looking for effective and creative ways to promote our businesses. We’re always promoting. At times, it seems as though we aren’t capable of having another thought outside of our business, and that’s completely normal. When you’re passionate about what you’re doing, that’s what you eat, sleep and talk. That’s just the nature of the beast.

So in getting to my point, have you ever gone to a conference but got lost in the hotel trying to find it? And as you wander around you notice one of those standing banners telling you that you’re headed in the right direction? Then, as you start to get closer to the conference entrance, these banners start getting larger and larger. Those things just catch you’re attention!

So I’ve done a bit of research on these things and they’re called trade show displays, or stand up banners. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes depending on their purpose, custom printed with your ad. You could place these things almost anywhere that would allow it. If you are thinking of setting up a booth somewhere, think about using these as the backdrop. They’re classy and demand attention.

Another creative advertising idea would be custom vinyl banners. If you have a more traditional business, a vinyl banner would look great on your store front or on the side of your business vehicles. If you’re a home based business owner, vinyl banners work great on your personal vehicle and bring in quality leads. We’ve made tens of thousands from vinyl lettering.

With marketing, it’s all about getting those creative juices flowing, because when they are, you’ll discover ways to promote your business that others haven’t tapped into yet. That’s where you’ll find your success.

20 Creative Ways to Advertise Your Home Based Business

Should You Fake It ’til You Make It!

David Allred — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 06:12:54 +0000

Throughout the network marketing industry, newcomers have come to know all to well the phrase, “Fake it ’til you make it.” If you’re a home based business entrepreneur and haven’t heard of this phrase yet, just wait….you will. So before you do, let me lay it all out on the table for you. “Fake it ’til you make it” has taken a wrong turn somewhere. It has become a different way to say, “Lie until you are making the money,” and has damaged the reputation of the network marketing industry as a whole.

So in this post, I want to set the record straight for those who are in fact “Lying” through their teeth but don’t know any better, are teetering on the edge of fakin’ it or are teaching their new recruits to wrongfully fake it.

“Fake It” – It’s Image Today

In today’s fast paced world, it’s all about how much you can get done in the least amount of time possible. How fast can you rise to the top and who can you step on to get there. And to get to the top, you have to feed people an image of who you want to become….not who you really are. Many network marketing companies are doing it the same way. They’re putting all the focus on the rich and wealthy lifestyle, the fancy cars and loads of cash! Work two hours a day and make millions, all from the comfort of your poolside chair. But what they’ve really done is created a monster. They’ve taken the focus from the actual product and have handed the industry over to those who put image over principles and standards.

I personally know those who have posed next to their dream car or home for a quick snap shot and later posted that image to their site with the words, “My new Jaguar!” Selling the fake image at its best.

Now tell me, if wealth is the product, then how effectively can I sell you riches if I’m struggling to make my bills…which is why I started looking for a home based business in the first place? I can’t…unless I lie about it. Who would buy the promise of wealth from someone who knows nothing of it. If I just got started in that business, as a newbie, I would feel like I had to put on a “fake it” image until I could start having results.

Putting on this fake image is more damaging than just lies. It will eventually take a financial toll. There are those who feel like they have to go out and buy that new hot rod, eat out at fancy restaurants and travel the world when their income can’t support it. They’ll find themselves up to their neck in debt before they know it, if they’re not careful…and all just to maintain an image they’ve created for themselves before their income reached that level.

A Lesson I Learned From a Salesman

Now, before I tell you this extremely important lesson, know that this salesman is the man. He gets results and is a good friend of mine. So, if my buddy reads this, I apologize ahead of time…but he already knows we don’t sell the same way.

Right or Wrong – When you’re selling something to someone, it doesn’t matter what you tell them about yourself, your personal life, your job, or even your religion….even if everything you’ve said was a lie….as long as everything you say about the product you are selling them is true.

If the end result equals a sale for you and a happy customer, does that justify everything else you just did? Sure, you may never see that person again in two lifetimes and everything you told the customer other than the product information doesn’t technically matter….but it’s a toss up.

LESSON – It will come back to bite you. That’s the lesson I’ve learned. If you’re lucky, maybe it won’t get you. But as for me and my house, we know it will. I can’t sell that way because I wouldn’t want to be sold that way!

“Fake It” – The Correct Image

“Fake it ’til you make it” really just refers to your leadership abilities. Act like the leader who is having the results, don’t lie about your results. The important message that you must understand is that people will follow you for where you are heading, not were you’ve been. Don’t ever feel like you have to put on a fake image to impress your future business partners and customers. In business, integrity is everything and I feel that the network marketing industry has taken a hit because of the improper use of the “Fake it” concept. And what you’ll notice is that the companies who sell wealth instead of quality products will never hold on. They’ll disappear. I’ve seen it.

And if all else fails, and you’re struggling with being the leader, just be excited. People will get started in your business, even though you’re the greenest one around. Just stay close to your goals and be yourself!

I’d like to hear from you. What’s your opinion on “Fakin’ it ’til you make it?” I’d love to start a discussion on it. Voice your opinions below.

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