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Robert Kiyosaki, author of the NY Times best-selling book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and Suze Orman, author of the best-seller The Money Book For The Young, Fabulous, and Broke, began slinging fireballs at each other on Twitter…

Your Thoughts

Which one do you think is right? 

Do they each have a valid point?

Do you like the investing philosophies of one over the other?

Share your opinion below.

Personal Branding expert Dan Schawbel has put together a great 52-page report on how to use blogging to build your brand.

Grab your FREE copy of his report here: Blogging Your Brand.

In his report, he describes 10 Benefits of Blogging:

1. Position yourself as an expert
2. Rank high in Google
3. Build a community
4. Gain confidence in yourself
5. Sharpen your writing and technical skills
6. Get your message across for free
7. Network with successful people
8. Command attention from mainstream media
9. Make money
10. Stay current and have a voice in your industry

Are you blogging? If yes, how has blogging impacted your life? If you aren’t yet, what’s stopping you? Comment below.

I just read an article on Investopedia titled Industries That Thrive On Recession.

The article looks at the big picture when it comes to trends in a recession.  There are a lot of valuable links in the article as well.

Among the takeaways:

• Discount retailers like Wal-Mart and The Dollar Store do well in a recession because they can leverage the economies of scale provided by their distribution power.  They can negotiate, buy in bulk, and have the added advantage of being known in the marketplace as a low cost provider of goods.
• Sin industries also do well: alcohol, tobacco, and chocolate just to name a few.  Gambling typically suffers.  Microluxuries keep people feeling better as they combat the stress, pressure, and anxiety of the economy.
• Service Industries take a beating as many people look to do things themselves to save money.  Some industries see an upswing in business: home renovators, auto repair shops, and technicians that maintain company infrastructure like machines, computers, etc.
• Some plot along: garbage removal, pharmaceuticals, tax preparers and others like them because they are seen as needs, not wants.
• And of course, many businesses use a recession as an opportunity to start a business or grow an existing business to take market share away from competitors.  McDonald’s did this in the 1970’s during a period of stagflation (slow growth with a healthy dose of inflation) and Toyota did it during the 1990’s when it began building production plants in the U.S. as the Big Three were hurting (things haven’t changed much since then have they?)

How Do You Use This Info to Help YOU?

1. When looking at the macroeconomic picture, see what changes are taking place and where trends are heading.
2. Fnd a way to position yourself in front of a trend so you rise with it.  Keep in mind the old cliche: “a rising tide floats all boats.”

I once heard Tony Robbins discuss the 6 Human Needs we all have. 

According to Tony, we need:

1. Certainty (security)
2. Uncertainty (variety/surprise)
3. Significance (to feel important, special, unique)
4. Connection/Love
5. Growth
6. Contribution Beyond Ourselves

Of the 6 Human Needs, Tony explained that we all find a way to meet the first 4 needs any way possible. 

The last two we have to work on ourselves; most people don’t get to #5 and #6.

Applying the 6 Human Needs to Your Life

What do you do to satisfy the first four human needs?  How could you move beyond the first four and achieve numbers five and six?

Let’s do a brief exercise for a minute. 

This exercise will help you: 

• Better understand where you are today
• See yourself from a new perspective
• Help you identify how your life is currently structured, and what changes (if any) you’d like to make to achieve the 6 human needs in other ways
• Why you currently feel the way you do about certain areas of your life 

You’ll get a ton of value out of this.  Grab a piece of paper and something to write with.  

Answer the following:

1. What brings you certainty in your life? 
   • Friends? 
   • Family? 
   • The feeling you get when you ______? 
2. What brings you uncertainty (variety/surprise)? 
   • Work?
   • Dating? 
   • Surprises from friends/family? 
   • Unexpected circumstances relating to where you live, travel to, etc?
3. What makes you feel significant? 
   • Having a title at work? 
   • Being a leader in an organization? 
   • Volunteering?
   • Helping a cause you believe in?
4. What makes you feel connected to others and loved? 
   • Social events? 
   • Dinner with family/friends/spouse?
   • Sharing volunteering experiences with others?
   • Random gifts, phone calls, etc?
5. How can you grow?
   • Read books
   • Listen to audios
   • Attend seminars
   • Learn a new skill
   • Have new experiences that teach you things and take you outside your comfort zone
6. How can you contribute to others?
   • Speak
   • Write/Publish
   • Create a business that serves more people
   • Invest in companies that have missions you believe in
   • Sell a product or service you believe in
   • Give to charity
   • Invest your time in helping a specific group, cause, or individual

I hope this exercise has helped you understand yourself a bit better. 

Take this information and use it to create the life you truly want if your answers above differ from your dreams.  Dare to dream.

“Join the conversation…”

People Committed to Wealthy Living

Cutting back is often necessary before moving forward.

I found this great article on How to Lower Your Monthly Tech Bills.  Some of the examples (like using Restaurant.com for buying discounted gift certificates) I don’t think really pertain to Tech, but they are great ways to reduce your expenses.

I’ve highlighted some of them below for you, with some added commentary.  Enjoy the savings!

1. Ask for a price break from your cable or cell phone company. (If you still have cable, I’d think about two things: 1) You can watch most stuff free online and 2) Watching TV is NOT what wealthy people do)
2. Monitor your electric use. Two options: 1) Kill A Watt ($27)  2) The Energy Detective ($140-200).  The famous management quote by Peter Drucker “What gets measured gets managed” applies here.
3. Get rid of your cable DVR. See rationale in #1.
4. Use the web to sample new music. With the internet, it’s much easier to sample and only buy what song you like instead of spending $15 for a whole CD.
5. Surf the web (and use other electrical devices) at night when electric rates are lower. I understand if you feel the need to do work during the day, though :-p
   
6. Use a programmable thermostat to set the temperature for different times of the day.
7. Use Motion Sensor Lighting. One you can even use by just screwing a light bulb into it. 
   
8. Save on Printing and Storing Photos. Use sites online like Flickr or Shutterfly and Snapfish. It’s also the easiest way to store, share, and actually make use of your pictures.
9. Get an Internet Phone instead of a regular landline. Digital phones – VoIP – (Voice of Internet Protocol) are a much less expensive alternative.  You can use Vonage or Skype to make calls to others; Skype-to-Skype calls are free.

For the full list, click here.

“Join the conversation…”

People Committed to Wealthy Living.

In 1995 there was a survey done called the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics.

64,622 American households were called at random.

From this group, researchers found 800 entrepreneurs who had been in business 3 months or less.  (As a control group, they also got together 400 average people as a sample of what average people think).

Each survey participant got a 15-page questionnaire.

As detailed in the article The Psychology Of Success on Fortune.com, the survey basically identified the two mental ingredients that leads to the kind of success experienced by Bill Gates or Steve Jobs.

Successful entrepreneurs:

1. Don’t have as many reasons for why they won’t succeed.
2. They don’t care as much about what other people think about them.

Discuss

Which one is challenging you the most right now?  What are you doing to overcome it?

—> Discover what you’ve been missing: People Committed to Wealthy Living

I’ve compiled a list of some of the most persuasive words in the English language.

Use these profit-producing words in your next new marketing campaign, and I bet you’ll discover why using psychology almost always guarantees rapid results.  You’ll love this stuff.

• Discover
• Easy
• Guarantee
• Health
• Love
• Money
• New
• Proven
• Results
• Safety
• Save
• You

Want a good example of these words put to good use?  I’d be happy to do that for you; simply re-read the second paragraph above.

BONUS

The following “secret” words also produce fast, powerful solutions to any marketing challenge you are having.

You’ll wonder how these have been hidden from you for so long.

And best of all, they’re FREE!

Read them right now.

• Announcing
• Benefits
• Fast
• Free
• How
• Now
• Power
• Sale
• Secrets
• Solution
• Why
• Yes

Now you’re armed with powerful knowledge of what words work.

Now go get some results…fast!

I’m sure you’d like to reap the benefits of applying what you’ve just read.  Do it now.

I’ve been reading Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson; a great read for small business owners.

In the book, Jay talks about the different human needs that – once catered to – result in an explosion of sales for your business.

In fact, these are the only reasons why people buy.

They are:

1. Achievement
2. Ambition
3. Comfort
4. Convenience
5. Conformity (peer pressure)
6. Friendship
7. Health and well-being
8. Independence
9. Love
10. Power
11. Pride of Ownership
12. Profit
13. Savings or Economy
14. Saving Time
15. Security
16. Self-Improvement
17. Social Approval (status)
18. Style

Which do you want to appeal to?

Which ones are you appealing to now?

Which of these do you (or your company) stand behind, or want to stand behind?

Discuss

Leave me a comment with your thoughts on the human needs that you use in your marketing, or the needs that you feel you respond best to.

Real estate has three parts:

1. Economic Growth
2. Jobs
3. People

The storyline typically goes like this:

1. Good Leadership:  Strong leadership in local government, plus community-minded business owners and other local people, make plans for the city, county, or state to bring about positive change and incorporate these plans into what is called the “Master Plan.”  This Master Plan is made available to the public and typically shows plans for the next five, ten or even twenty-five years.
2. Incentives: Incentives are offered by local utilities and governments to attract employers. Employers are typically “sold” on the location because of the incentives, as well as the education of the population, close proximity to transportation, access to essential services like high speed Internet, and other factors.
3. Economic Growth: Companies begin expanding and new ones begin making plans around the Master Plan.  Word travels about the “opportunities” of investing in this location, or moving a business here.
4. Job Growth: As a result of companies moving to an area, the area expands as more jobs are needed to service the new people.  Example: an engineer will need a barber, restaurant, and possibly other services to accommodate him in his new location.  If thousands of jobs are created, thousands more will be added.
5. More People: People move to an area that has a great infrastructure, jobs, and chances for a brighter future.  These people help influence and develop a broad culture that makes the community richer such as the arts, museums, etc.

Up-to-Date Location Info

Helpful sites for analyzing these trends are:

1. Area Development : Looks at what companies are looking at for new locations and the factors they consider important.  Great industry and topic reports.
2. Site Net: Resources for corporate location and area economic development.
3. Expansion Management: Helps companies find future locations.  Looks at national real estate rankings, factors of expanding, etc.  Excellent resource for gathering a lot of data.  Helps you track the flow of jobs.

Use these three sites to help do your real estate homework.

Discuss

What factors do you see being important to bringing economic development today?  What locations (including countries) do you see as great potential investing sites?

Leave a comment and share what you think.

You see that commercial and it just compels you…you have to have that exercise machine!

You see that car…and you think of how nice it would be to drive it.

You hear about a “hot stock” and think about putting a good chunk of money into it to “make some big money” quick.

Before you even know it, you’re spending good money…chasing bad purchases or investments.

Next time, before you buy (or do) anything, ask yourself this ONE question:

“What is my return?”

This could be:

1. ROI – Return on Investment (how much money will I make, and how quickly will I get my original investment back?)
2. ROL – Return on Life (will this make my life easier?)
3. ROT – Return on Time (is this worth the investment of my time?)

Remember that with each choice you make, you are giving up the ability to do something else.  In economics, this is called “opportunity cost.”  This could be measured in time or in money.

Each time you make a choice, in how to invest your time or your money, you are making a choice for your future.

Time and money both compound.  Are they compounding in your favor?

Discuss

Have you bought something you no longer use?  Have you been frustrated by your lack of happiness after purchases?  Do you like your ROL?

Leave a comment below.