One of the greats, even Albert Einstein said:

“Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.”

Profound words, right? But what the heck is a man of value and how does one become that?

A Man of Value

A good reference to begin with is encased in one of my favorite church hymns, “Have I done any good?”

1. Have I done any good in the world today?
Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed indeed.
Has anyoneâ€s burden been lighter today
Because I was willing to share?
Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?
When they needed my help was I there?

[Chorus] Then wake up and do something more
Than dream of your mansion above.
Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure,
A blessing of duty and love.

2. There are chances for work all around just now,
Opportunities right in our way.
Do not let them pass by, saying, “Sometime Iâ€ll try,”
But go and do something today.
â€Tis noble of man to work and to give;
Loveâ€s labor has merit alone.
Only he who does something helps others to live.
To God each good work will be known.

To become a man of value is to become a man who can find joy in the service of others. And since this site is all about building wealth, all service doesn’t have to be given for free. Some of the highest paid professionals in the world are needed the most, and perform great service. Surgeons, dentists, law enforcement, firefighters, pharmaceutical companies and automobile companies, to name a few, offer a service that in most cases, can’t be given for free.

Although, sometimes the most fulfilling service is that which is given, without gain.

To become a man of value is to bring value to others. If you’re not in a position to help anyone, you’re not providing value. If you’re living off the efforts of others without returning value, you’re on the wrong path.

Become someone who is irreplaceable. Build a legacy. Build something in your lifetime that will be remembered, and that will add value well after you’re gone. Be a successful Husband and Father. There is no accomplishment outside of the home that can compensate for failure within the home.

In simple words, if you have a good heart, and you desire to make a difference in the world, you probably will….that’s a man of value.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off 2012 Quote of the Year:

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Now I’m not real sure, but the fact that it was New Year’s Eve could have been the reason this phrase stuck out to me the most. Life DOES move by really fast and if you’re not careful, you’ll miss a lot of it, if not the entire thing.

In fact, I took this entire holiday season off from any kind of work. Starting on Friday, December 21st, through January 1st, 2013, I was invisible to everyone who wasn’t with me in the flesh.

I loved it…and I highly recommend it.

There are fifty other weeks during the year to work! Right?

I did actually take one or two calls. One of those calls was from a colleague of mine. In fact, he’s the one who enrolled me into the business opportunity I work right now. He mentioned something we had spoken about in a conversation a while back, something which I was supposed to take action on, and I realized that that particular conversation happened nearly three months ago.

“Life moves pretty fast”, is an understatement. I feel like I’m in warp speed and if I let something fall by the wayside, it’ll never get attention. And my biggest concern is that others let things fall by the wayside, just like I did after that conversation. Important things! Families fall by the wayside everyday, because someone is too busy at their JOB or with their new business to “stop and look around.”

Life moves by really fast and it’s important to push the pause button occasionally, so that you can actually live in the moment.

My call to action: If you didn’t take a vacation in 2012, stand up and add a date to your calendar. Do it right now! And when I say vacation, I mean a week or two without working whatever it is you work on that provides you income. Take your family with you, and do your best to give them ALL of your attention.

They deserve it, and so do you!

P.S. Taking time off is much, much easier to do when your business will continue to pay you, residually, even when you’re not working. Click HERE to learn more.

Just for kicks, here’s the quote on video!

[youtube width=”560″ height=”315″]http://youtu.be/91lJhEzMaH4[/youtube] ]]> https://www.createfinancialwealth.com/a-tribute-to-personal-development-guru-zig-ziglar/ Fri, 07 Dec 2012 20:07:02 +0000 http://www.createfinancialwealth.com/?p=5054 I’d like to write a quick tribute to personal development Guru, Zig Ziglar. He was born on November 6, 1926, and left this world on November 28, 2012. He was 86 years old.

Zig Ziglar

I remember the first time I listened to Zig as if it were yesterday. I had recently joined a network marketing company within the personal development industry, and we had purchased some audio cd’s to listen to as we were on the road. Amy had just purchased her dream vehicle, a Hummer (H2), and we were driving through the Salt River Canyon, between Showlow and Globe, Arizona.

As I listened to Zig, he was captivating, and had  a great speaking ability. His audio was mixed in with several other professional speakers and his message seemed to stick out above the rest.

Hilary Hinton “Zig” Ziglar, was a great author, salesman, a veteran and public speaker, to name a few. His message has inspired the hearts of many.

When I leave this world, I’d like it to be said of me, “He made the world a better place.” This much is true about Zig Ziglar.

Thanks Zig, and thoughts and prayers from the Allred family extend out to your loved ones.

Here are a few of my favorite Zig Ziglar quotes:

“You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.”

“People often say motivation doesnâ€t last. Neither does bathing—thatâ€s why we recommend it daily.”

“Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes.”

“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”

“If you can dream it, you can achieve it.”

“You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles.”

“You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.”

And as you might or might now know, I’m a huge movie nut. Not that I can quote every single line through an entire film, I just really enjoy a good show. And I enjoy it even more when it has some sort of an inspirational message.

“You are who you choose to be,” is Hogarth’s message to the Iron Giant. For those of you who have seen the movie, The Iron Giant is not of this world, yet he is very curious and is discovered by a little boy, which goes by the name of Hogarth. And to make a long story short, the Iron Giant has massive weapon capabilities, kind of like the aliens in the movie, “War of the Worlds,” with Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning. In a time of peril, Hogarth’s message rings true to the Iron Giant. Instead of accepting what he was made for, he still had a choice in who he wanted to be.

You are who you choose to be – The Iron Giant

Without getting too deep, who are you currently choosing to be? A good way to determine who you are choosing to be is by what you do with your time during an average day.

So, if you spend:

• 3 hours watching TV
• 2 hours playing video games
• 4 hours working at Circle K
• 10 hours sleeping
• 10 minutes studying
• 1 hour in the bathroom
• 1 hour outside smoking
• and the rest of the time in your 24 hour day is wasted on small stuff.

If that’s what your day looks like and you think your day is productive and that you’re on your way to becoming the next big thing, you’ve got another thing coming!

You are who you choose to be by the daily actions you choose to take.

With that said, you have an extremely real-time option to change who you want to be. If you desire is to be an entrepreneur, then you might substitute the five hours wasted watching TV for something that will move you towards your goal.

What we choose to do with out time ultimately determines who we are choosing to be.

So here’s my challenge to you, take the advice of Hogarth in the Iron Giant. You ARE who you choose to be. Take a look at your daily activities and replace something that is not moving you closer to who you want to be with something that will. If you can do that, then you can definitely and directly choose who you want to be.

As for the Iron Giant…..he wanted to be Superman! I’m sure being able to fly really helped with that one.

Now, even if the content wasn’t that amazing, which it is, I am still amazed by the animation. They could be talking about cow tipping and I would still be entertained. Avant has a great compensation plan video done this way as well. Love these.

By the way, if you aren’t using Stumbleupon, you should be. It’s a great way to find content and people with you common interests. View my profile and connect with me Here.

Here’s the video.

[youtube width=”425″ height=”265″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc&feature=player_embedded[/youtube] ]]>