Today I’d like to share with you a simple tactic that will not only help you in building a larger team, but will also help your individual team members know that they’re not alone. It’s not really a tactic, it’s just something all of us should do, and many of you probably already do this on your training calls and webinars. It’s simply validation.

Validation means to make valid, substantiate or confirm. So when I talk about validation, it’s simply confirming someone’s decision to get started with you in your business and recognizing them for something they can be proud of.

Why a little validation goes a long way?

Simply validating, or recognizing someone on your team can make a huge difference in their business. For some, recognition can turn into a small fire of fuel behind their future success. It does something to a person to be noticed for the actions they’re taking. It helps them to confirm to their own self that their choices up to this point have been validated by someone who they consider to be an authority figure. And whether you believe it or not, if you’ve ever signed up anyone, even if it’s just one person, into your opportunity, then you are their direct authority figure.

Today was a pretty eventful day and was spent taking my three daughters from house to house selling Otis Spunkmeyer cookie dough. It’s a fund raiser for their school, and we’ve all seen programs like these, the more cookie dough you sell, the higher quality the prizes you’ll receive. Prizes range from slap bracelets to a camera you can mount to your bike helmet.

How would your life change if you could, at the drop of a hat, give yourself a raise? For most of you, a raise would mean that you’d be getting paid a little more per hour, or per year if you’re on salary. How sweet would that be to have that kind of control over your finances?

So let me rephrase the question a bit for you. How would your life change if you could, at the drop of a hat, give yourself a monthly residual raise?

Now before you answer that question, let’s lay out the difference between a regular raise and a monthly residual raise, and here it is….

One raise still requires your time while the other doesn’t. If you’re in a job, a regular raise will only benefit you if you continue to trade your time for it. You have to continue going into work everyday. A monthly residual raise is independent of your time. Whether or not you work at all this month, you’re still going to get that money the following month, and the month after that, and after that, and so on.

This past Saturday I celebrated yet another birthday and turned a whopping 36 years of age. I had a great day filled with family and food, both of which I love and can’t live without.

Life is Way Too Short

Every year, somewhere near my birthday, I seem to get caught up into reflection on my life up to that point. This year, I realized how flippin’ fast the last twelve months had gone by and to be honest, I started to freak out a bit. The more that these birthdays pass by, the more I realize that life is way too short!

We live in a farming community here in Central Arizona, and the main crop is cotton. It seems like those fields were white, all ready to harvest, just a few months ago. When in reality, they were harvested a year ago. My kids are now a year older and busier than ever and sometimes I wonder if I am having the influence on them that I should, and could.

I’m sure those of you with children can relate.

I’m a Mormon, or in other words, I’m a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Twice a year, the church holds a General Conference where the leaders of the church share important messages with us. Without getting too preachy on you, this year one of the speakers, I believe Elder David A. Bednar, mentioned that Satan wants us to become complacent. He wants us to get caught up in things that are repetitive, because it diminishes our ability to use our brains and to think creatively.

Can you see that in the world? Can you see people wasting away their lives, doing the same things every single day, just because that’s what they’ve always done, regardless of the consequences? Can you see people going to jobs they absolutely can’t stand, just because of the paycheck it brings?

Can you see yourself doing these things? Are you wasting away your life in vain repetition? What about your dreams?

Life is way too short for wasting it away.

This past Saturday was a pretty eventful weekend. First, it was Graham County Fair weekend, and second, it was my birthday! I’m still not sure what I wanna be when I grow up, but you can be dang sure that it’s not average. But more about that later. The weekend before last was our annual trip to Apple Annie’s Pumpkins patch and corn maze. And I can tell you, corn mazes and pumpkin patches rock. Between the kettle corn, apple smoked burgers and family, it’s an all round good time.

Here’s why I share this with you: One HUGE aspect of success is you, living your life so that others can see.