Are you one of the millions of people throughout the world that watch the news? If you are, then it should be pretty easy for you to answer this question. What does the “News” consider news? You know the answer! News is disaster, negative media, suffering and bad things that are happening around the world. Now, I am generalizing but I would say that nearly 90-95% of the reported news is about something negative. This includes death, murder, vandalizing, natural disaster, sickness, poverty, deceit, scandal, foreclosure, war, and many many more things which are the opposite of positive.

Seriously, as you finish watching the news, do you feel uplifted, more confident and inspired to be better and do better? Do you go throughout your day without even thinking about all the negativity you watched on the news that morning? This is also simple answer, NO! The moment you watch the news you feel burdened, depressed, sorry, worried, overcautious, terrified, and the list goes on and on. The images and language you just heard out of your radio or on your television is going to bounce around in your head all day long like a plague to your capacity to think positively and act productively. It’s a weight that neither you nor I deserve to carry every day.

Guys, my simple advice for you, if you are one of those people, STOP watching the news! Stop today.

You don’t need to know that someone across the world died in a car bombing, or that Chevy went bankrupt or that a certain actor overdosed on drugs. If it doesn’t inspire you or serve you in the best possible way, steer clear of it.

Imagine the difference between the productivity of someone who has negativity bouncing around in their head all the time versus someone who has only positive, inspiring information. The difference would be night and day!

The antidote to negative media is here. Imagine a TV channel with nothing but positive stories of people who are accomplishing amazing things in their lives and doing things to inspire others. What would your day be like if you watched something like that every morning or every night. Instead of pictures of horrible crimes and economic downturn swelling in your head as you sleep, you have accomplishment, success and prosperity. Imagine a massive outflow of positive media in the form of video, audio and educational curriculum. How much of a difference would all of this make in the world? Better yet, how much of a difference would it make in your world?

Ladies and gentleman, I have found the antidote. I am financially tied to it! Do you think that if you had a financial investment in a company that is going to change the face of media and be that antidote to negativity, would it be a profitable venture? Yes it would, and it is……and more than just financially!

I have always had a huge interest in the Roman Empire. I don’t know if that interest came after watching “Gladiator” or if it is something I have always had an interest for. What an insane time to live on earth! The more I look into it, there was very little individual moral value, very little trust and a lot of death! It seems that the only way for the Roman empire to survive was to constantly expand. The people thrived on it and from some of my reading, it kept order in the empire.

Now, I don’t know if this is an actual quote from a Roman Emperor or not, but I thought it was profound. I first heard this while watching a movie, believe it or not! I swear, sometimes I wonder about myself. At times, all I speak in is movie quotes. Maybe I should just invent a new language called Hollywood! The quote was spoken by the character who played Octavius in “Night at the Museum.” He said, “We Expand or Die!”

Now the translation for the time of the Romans was to explore new lands and conquer. Power, wealth and death are the key benefits of that sort of expanding. For the Romans, it was a way of life.

“We expand or die!” The same can be said of us today except we must expand in a different way. We must expand individually. What happens to someone who chooses not to expand themselves? And no I’m not talking about physically! Nobody wants to be a walking blimp! I’m talking about our learning, our knowledge, our experience and our minds. We must expand in order to truly live. Someone who fails to grow, fails. We are all given life so that we can truly live. Living is learning and we learn by doing. Starting from birth we are born to grow, physically and mentally. Our bones grow and our muscles grow. Something is seriously wrong if they don’t. Our minds too, are meant to grow and expand. What is a cell phone without cell phone service? A waste! So are we unless we choose to expand our minds. Someone going through life, not fulfilling their true potential, is struggling against their natural inheritance. Everything about our existence is about thriving and learning to the absolute best of our abilities!

We Expand or Die!

The way to expand is through Personal Development, experiences, knowledge and learning. It is a continual process. The other day my daughter told me she wanted to become an athlete when she was a teenager. That question led into a conversation of what it would take to become an athlete. I reminded her of our last hike we had and how it wasn’t so easy. She complained almost the entire hike. After our conversation, she realized that the hard things make her stronger and the moment she stops doing those things is the moment she will get further and further from her desire of being an athlete. It’s a continual process.

Consistency brings results. Sparsity brings struggle. Doing nothing brings nothing. The moment we stop expanding is the moment we truly do die!

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!!

If anyone can tell me where this quote comes from, you are the winner. You win a blog post topic with a link back to your site. “Seek not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich.”

Seek ye wisdom before Riches

This is the way my brain understands this. Basically, if you want to become the ultimate YOU, meaning, if you want to progress as far as you possibly can in this life, seek ye wisdom. Wisdom has more value than riches. Riches are a bi-product of it, and in my opinion, a great way to gain more wisdom. Money is simply used as a tool to have more experiences….experiences of serving, giving, assisting, building, growing. Life is all about the experience of it. It’s not about how much stuff you can accumulate or having a home bigger than the next guy.

What is the definition of wisdom? It is: 1 – The ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting; insight, 2 – Common sense; good judgment, 3 – The sum of learning through the ages; knowledge.

I wasn’t really satisfied with those definitions so I looked a little further and found this one: the trait of utilizing knowledge and experience with common sense and insight.

Wisdom is a combination of experience and knowledge used in a way that makes sense. The common sense part of the definition is, in my opinion, the hardest part for a lot of people. In my experience, there are a lot of people that are majorly lacking in the common sense arena! You know what I’m talking about, and if you don’t, you may be the one lacking.

So why is wisdom more valuable? To get my point across, an idiot with a lot of money is still an idiot! Idiots make a lot of mistakes, and they don’t learn from them. Those with wisdom still make mistakes, but by avoiding the previously mentioned, “common sense” mistakes, they make fewer mistakes. Thus, propelling them toward their goals at a quicker rate. Instead of making the the mistakes that the rich idiot makes, he makes mistakes at a much higher level, a level at which the rich idiot may never achieve.

So if wisdom is worth more in the sight of God, how do we gain wisdom? This life is all about having experiences and as we have those experiences, we learn. We gain knowledge. We can also learn from other peoples experience as well, people who have gone before us and already have that knowledge. Wisdom is a combination of experience and knowledge: Past, present and future. We can learn and we can do. We can learn as we do and as we study, the lesson is completely different. We “do” by getting out of our comfort zone, experiencing something different that will inspire growth. Knowledge without experience just as experience without knowledge will not make you wise. Someone with his nose is books all day can tell you why you can ride a bike but will never be able to show you how. Knowing and doing are separate yet powerful when together.

That is what constitutes wisdom. Any wise person will know how to use the riches they are blessed with in order to serve and inspire others to do the same. It’s a calling, not a status. With great ability comes great responsibility.

“Seek Ye Wisdom” and the rest will be added unto you!

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!

What is a phrase or term that can be used in both praising someone and insulting someone depending on the circumstance? When spoken, most people really don’t understand what it means. They think they do, but really don’t. Sometimes it is a term used in conjunction with and has virtually the same meaning as “Think outside the box.” It is something that defines those who succeed and used to educate those who have not yet succeeded. It is a concept, that if truly understood, could propel anyone to new levels in business and life. It is something that some people are just born with and others can work to become. It is a title, a status.

No literally! It’s a title, the title of this post, “Big Thinker.” Not only is it a title for this post, but is also a title for the leaders in every industry in the world. In order to truly experience the level of success you dream about and have envisioned for yourself, you MUST become a BIG Thinker. I capitalize it for what it represents.

Are you a Big Thinker?

Let’s put it in black and white, simple to understand terms for everyone else out there like me, simple minded. It’s two words. Big + Thinker. So, in order to be a thinker, you must use your brain and produce what every person in this world is capable of producing, a thought! Not just any thought though. It’s easy to have a thought pop into your head. Every time you look at something a thought enters your head. A true thinker produces his or her own thoughts. They don’t require an outside source to spark and idea. They just come up with random, creative thoughts and they entertain those thoughts. After a while of entertaining those thoughts, BAM, they get an idea. An idea is something that can be put into action.

The definition of “Big” is: Of considerable size, number, quantity, magnitude, or extent. So a Big Thinker is thinking at a considerable size, number, quantity, magnitude or extent. In other words, normal thinking is me, Big Thinking is Andre the giant. Normal thinking is having enough money to make your bills. Big Thinking is Financial Freedom.

So here are three ways that you can determine whether or not you are a big thinker:

1. When you see someone do something amazing, do you think that person is just amazing, or do you think to yourself, “If they can do it, I can!”
2. Do you constantly rely on others to bail you out, help you out, give you ideas or do things for you…..or do you have others calling you for those same reasons?
3. Do you find yourself overly excited about things that haven’t even happened yet or can you even see past the here and now, dwelling on and constantly think about your current situation.
4. Do you view the cup as half empty or half full?
5. Do you call your mentors to bounce around ideas you have or do you call expecting them to give it all to you, when in reality, all you get is a bunch of dead air?

So what are you? Once you have arrived at the status of being a Big Thinker, it rolls into every aspect of your business, and your life. It is a constant thing. It is a change in the way you think. You can’t just turn it off when you want, it’s you. It’s the way you operate. I believe it was Oliver Wendell Holmes that said, “The mind, once expanded to the dimensions of larger ideas, never returns to it’s original size.” Once a Big Thinker, always a Big Thinker!