Dreams the Beginning of Reality

"If the why is strong enough, the how becomes easy." - Jim Rohn

What do you want from life? Do you know, or do you just drift from day to day without any particular aims or sense of direction? It might even be that you feel defeated, or stuck in a rut from which there seems to be no escape. This is a sad turn of events in our life. Instead of experiencing exciting adventures in self actualization, we get caught up in the routine of living from day-to-day just barely existing.

We have allowed the current financial situation in the world stop us from dreaming and in many cases destroy them. As far as I can tell, the current climate is ideal for entrepreneurs. The time to launch businesses and to invest in the real estate market is now. To launch your business and be successful, you must have a vision, a viable product or service to sell, a global outlook and a smart experienced team.The beginning of your success is in your vision, your dream.

It has been said that dreams are the seedlings of reality. Everyone, at some point of his or her life, has dreamed of being somebody special, somebody big, achieve great things. Often, we dream big dreams and have great aspirations. Unfortunately, many times our dreams remain just that – dreams. And our aspirations easily collect dust in our attic.

I know, right now seems impossible to think positive and think big. There lies the problem. The word “impossible”. One of the main weaknesses of mankind is the familiarity with the word impossible. Most people get hung up thinking I can't do this. It's too hard. It's too impossible. No one can do this.

Now think about this, if everyone thought that way, there would be no inventions, no innovations, and no breakthroughs in human accomplishment. If you limit yourself with self-doubt, and self-limiting assumptions, you will never be able to break past what you deem impossible. Have you heard of Dr. Robert Schuler? He dreamt of a Crystal Cathedral in Santa Ana, California, which is an earthquake area. In the 80's he invited a famous architect to plan the Cathedral for him. The architect was skeptical that such a large glass structure could be built there and if possible, would cost a fortune. "Do you have that type of money?" he asked Dr. Schuler. "No" was the answer. "Well, then it's absolutely impossible!" the architect retorted. Dr. Schuler showed him his dictionary. The word impossible was cut out, as it was in all his literature. For him, impossible did not exist and a few years later the Crystal Cathedral was built and today his "Hour of Power" is broadcast to the world every Sunday. Can you imagine if he would have listened to the architect and would have given up on his dream?

What he did, you can do! Be outrageous! Think big!

Here is a poem I came across recently, written by Marianne Williamson and used by Nelson Mandela in his inauguration speech in 1994...

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be!
Our playing small does not save the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking,
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
You are born to make manifest to the glory of God that is within us;
it is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give others permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fears,
our presence automatically liberates others."

Thomas Edison once said that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Nothing could be truer. For one to accomplish his or her dreams, there has to be hard work and discipline. But take note that 1% has to be a think-big dream, and not some easily accomplished one.

Dr. Schuler, Edison, Mandela, and thousands of other extremely successful people all have these 3 things in common:

1. They knew exactly what they wanted and started with the end result in mind.
2. BELIEF - People who do the impossible believe they can do it and eventually do!
3. They act in spite of their fears; in spite of their doubts and in spite of what their family and friends might tell them.

Much of what we hope for in life starts out as a dream, whether it is a wonderful family home with a large garden, a successful and stimulating career, or a trip around the world. It is important to have a dream. Through our dreams we can visualize what we want in life. We can turn that visualization into a plan and start taking steps that will take us closer to our dream. Visualizing is also essential, allowing us to see how things could be, see what we really want and then begin the process of making it a reality. If you can dream, visualize and plan it then you can bring it into your life.

So dream on, my friend! Don’t get caught up with your perceived limitations. Be like Dr. Robert Schuler and think big and work hard to attain those dreams and remove the word “impossible” from your life. As you step up the ladder of progress, you will just about find out that the impossible has just become a little bit more possible.Stay tuned, next week we will share simple steps to accomplish your dreams.

The Perfect Business

Today I would like to share with you a video of Robert Kiyosaki, entrepreneour and self-made millionaire. His Cashflow Quadrant message had a profound impact on my thinking of money and people. As you will see on this video there are many ways to earn income and build wealth. I would like to review one in particular Network Marketing. I know what you are thinking right now, SCAM!. Well, Network Marketing like any other business model has its validity and I will share with you my views on it.

I had my first experience with MLM industry back in 1989 when I was in the university and I was presented this wonderful business that would make rich overnight. As you can imagine it was a total failure and I lost my initial investment. I have discarted all MLM since then and considered them scams myself, so I understand your feelings when people talk to you about MLM. Then a couple of weeks ago I was approached again with another network marketing opportunity. Now older and wiser I decided to study the reasons why many time people fail at this business model and the validity of the model. Based on my observations of the reasons why people fail on the Network Marketing Business Model are:

1. The choose the wrong businesses to promote. Not all of the networking marketing programs are designed equal. They do not do enough research about the company and the products before they get involved.

2. Lack of understanding of how the products work. You do not have to be an expert of the molecular composition of the products you are selling. I think you need to have a clear understanding of the benefits of the products and why the potential customer should buy this product as opposed to the competition. For example, become a consumer of the products first. Become a believer of the product before you sell it to others.

3. Lack of understanding of how the compensation plan works. After all we are doing this to make money, we all need to understand how we will be compensated for our efforts. I have read the last couple of days many MLM Hate blogs and websites, criticizing the fact they did not make the money they expected, blaming the company of lying. I am certain that many of them did not ask the right questions and did not have a clear understanding how they were to be compensated. It is easier to blame others for our failures than accept responsibility for our actions.

4. Unrealistic expectations. People get excited at first with the illusion of becoming a gazillionaire in 30 days and dreaming of the new car you will be driving. Like any business, network marketing requires faith, effort, desire, dedication, passion, and perseverance.

5. Lack of business skills. When you start a network marketing business, the most important skills you will learn are business skills. Skills such as managing people, understanding the needs of your customer, how to invest your time and money wisely and lots of self-improvement, mindset changing awareness that will take your business skills to the next level. You need to work at improving your skills to become successful at it.

6. They do not want to spend time on the business. They want everything to be digested for them, the work to be done for them, and to be compensated to do nothing. Please be real, if someone sold you that idea of the “Lazy Man Get Rich Quick Program” and you bought it and failed at, it you deserve it.

7. Thinking that MLM is easy. Once again, network marketing is simply a business model that facilitates your success.

Robert Kiyosaki, the famous author behind the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series of financial books has talked about network marketing as one of the most perfect business models on the planet. But why has one who has never been involved in network marketing seem to endorse it as a good business model? When he first heard about network marketing, he was against it. However, after opening his mind, he began to see the advantages of the business model. Some may say that this is a hypocritical endorsement. I found that Mr. Kiyosaki's findings to be solid business building principles.

I invite you to see the video and make your opinion about it. I would like to hear your opinion about the information on the video and your thoughts of network marketing.

Are Rebates Worth Your Time?

Rebates have become increasingly popular in the last few years on a lot of items and certainly on electronic items and computers. Rebates of $20, $50 or $100 are not uncommon. I’ve even seen items advertised as “free after rebate”. Do these rebates come under the heading of “too good to be true”? Some of them do and there are “catches” to watch out for but if you are careful, rebates can help you get some really good deals.

The way a rebate works is that you pay the listed price for an item then mail in a form and the bar code to the manufacturer and they send you a refund thus reducing the price of what you paid for the item except with a time delay of several weeks.


Rule #1. Rebates from reputable companies are usually just fine.
You can be pretty sure you will get the promised rebate from Best Buy, Amazon or Dell but you should probably not count on getting one from a company you’ve never heard of. If you really want the product and are OK with paying the price listed then buy it but don’t count on actually getting the refund.


Rule #2. Check rebate expiration dates.
Many times products will stay on the shelf of a retailer after the date for sending in the rebate offer has expired so check that date carefully.


Rule #3. Be sure you have all the forms required to file for the rebate before you leave the store.
Rebates will almost always require a form to be filled out, a receipt for the purchase and a bar code.

Rule #4. Back up your rebate claim.
Make copies of everything you send in to get your rebate including the bar code. Stuff gets lost in the mail all the time and if the rebate is for $50 it’s worth the trouble to back up your claim.