Being motivated and having dreams for your future is very exciting! Dreamers are always around other dreamers that are EXCITED! Your dream needs to be fertilized each day by associating with others, who believe in themselves and have a dream. This is often difficult because we live in a predominantly negative, bellyaching society in which there are 95% more “dream stealers” than dreamers! Each step that you take forward in various areas of your life is just another step closer to achieving your ultimate dream!

The # 1 reason for failing in life is not allowing the seed of your dream that is in your heart to develop its roots and eventually sprout into what everyone calls an “Impossible Dream”. To be a dreamer, you must do what failures will not do! Look towards the future, forget about the past, focus on the present as a gift from God and make the best of every minute. Your main focus in turning your dream into reality should be promoting your level of excitement! Are you excited? Your excitement level will create unique responses from what I call “dream stealers”. They will respond with words like – “Who do you think you are?” and “Don’t you know your whole family has been broke, and that’s just the way it is for people like you and I” and “Success and true happiness are for those special people who have all the luck in the world!” Despite all those remarks, you need to make a decision today and know exactly what your “WHY” is and where you wish to be in 5 years.

Visualize right now a local construction site in your neighborhood that out of no where was erected, and you say to yourself “Where did that come from?” Well, that building came from years of planning, engineering and the vision of one person, who said I can see a structure there. You need to realize the most difficult part of that project is not what we all see when we drive by it, but the years of work behind the scenes in order to make someone’s dream a reality. Here are three awesome citations from ancient wisdom in reference to dream building and walking by faith and not by what you see:

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” – The Manifestation of your Dream and Why!

“Seedtime and Harvest will not cease” – Whatever you plant in your heart will harvest. Are you planting seeds which will build your dream?

“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.” – Are you excited all the time to work your plan to achieve your dream?

Stay EXCITED all the time and you will progress daily towards your Ultimate Dream in life!

We’ve all encountered them. They don’t plan out their days. They don’t take control of their lives. They’ve never set a goal before, and if they did, they gave up on it at the first sign of adversity. Instead, they just sit back and see what happens. That’s their answer for everything is “I’ll just see what happens”. The results in their life are basically dependent on everything and everyone else in the world except for them. That’s no way to live your life!

A great example of this mentality deals with people that read horoscopes. “Well, my horoscope has been telling me for the last six months that I’d be experiencing some challenges and setbacks. John, I just can’t move forward because it says so in the alignment of the planets. There’s nothing I can do!” Excuse my language, but that is such a bunch of crap.

You know what a horoscope is? It’s a horror scope. Yes, a HORROR SCOPE! I have personally coached people that use their horror scopes to explain why they can’t gain active control over their lives. It’s an excuse not a reality! They’re using their horror scope as justification for not living the life they want to live. Being a passive bystander in your own life will never lead to the achievement of your goals and dreams.
You might as well be living someone else’s life. Well, actually, you are, if you’re allowing your life to be completely controlled by outside influences.

You know what’s better than a horror scope? How about developing a vision scope? A vision scope is the best kind of scope out there. When you look through your vision scope, you are able to look forward. You don’t look back at the past. You don’t let your present results dictate where you’re headed. You decide what you want and choose to stay focused on your vision. Doesn’t that make a lot more sense than using a horror scope? It’s your life, why not make the most of it?
Lose the “See What Happens” mentality.

Join the 3% crowd and develop the Stickability attitude. Yes, that’s another “S” word for you. Actually, it’s a word that I completely made up that basically means that you must be persistent in pursuit of your goal and stick to it. Have you ever gotten a piece of gum on something? It’s nearly impossible to remove it. That’s how you have to be with your dream. Stick to it and be resistant to anything or anyone that tries to remove your belief in it. Your vision scope combined with stickability will guarantee your success!

The great Les Brown once said “Whatever is impossible is possible, for the impossible can be achieved.” When I heard that statement, it changed my life. It reconfirmed for me my decision to stick to following my heart’s desires. Everything in this world has a polar opposite. If something is impossible, it must also be possible. It wouldn’t be able to exist otherwise.

I was willing to be stuck….completely glued to my dream of becoming a fluent speaker. My family and friends told me I was losing my mind, because I wasn’t listening to what anybody said. They were right! I was losing the mind of a clinically diagnosed stutterer and gaining the mind of a champion. I refused to listen to the enemy even when they were right in my face. I stayed focused on my vision of being a great communicator and retiring to South Florida by the age of 30. Due to my vision and my stickability, I moved to South Florida at 29 years, 11 months, and 18 days of age as a millionaire speaker!

Your dream has more power hidden inside of it than you could even imagine. Things you could never even comprehend will occur when you remain focused and dedicated to your dream. You must be committed to your journey regardless of what anyone else says. Your dream really is that important. It’s YOUR dream. They can’t see it, but you can! If you can see it, you can achieve it! They can’t achieve it because they don’t see it, at least not yet. But when you achieve that goal, that’s when they’ll believe you. It’s not their fault. They just couldn’t see what you could see. You could explain it to them a million times, and they still probably wouldn’t see it.

Each and every day as we are building our businesses, we all know the key to a successful presentation is a product being sold to the end-line consumer and/or sponsoring a new person. In an upcoming issue, I am going to write about the difference between making a sale and having customer loyalty in the sales process. In the sales process, you are fighting many different types of animals. For most of us who are in direct sales, you have 45 minutes to present a product/business concept and make a person believe in you, your product, and more importantly have them make a decision that they want what you are offering.

When you are presenting the business, it is very easy for you to get very factual and completely lose the interest of your prospect. When you tell a story about the success of someone who is using the product or have a person give a live testimonial about how much they love being a distributor, you will keep the interest of new people who are listening for the first time.

For most of us, the first time in our lives that we were ever presented with the concept of a live audience was back in kindergarten when we played “show and tell”. Everyone was always interested in what you were saying because you were simply telling a story. We have all heard of the famous K.I.S.S. rule: Keep It Simple Stupid. When presenting your business or product, the key play is to tell a story and keep it simple. Everyone can relate to the grandmother, who can talk about their grandchild as the most beautiful, precious child in the world. She will make you feel as if her grandchild would be such a gift to own as your own. You need to take that same simplicity and utilize it during your presentation and create the same result – ownership of your product.

As you tell stories, people will remember those stories versus all the facts in the world. “FACTS TELL, BUT STORIES SELL.” They should want to get involved in your business or purchase your product because all of the success stories that you told. People love to be part of a winning team. Storytelling keeps people tied into you and your presentation. I always say when in doubt during a presentation, tell a story in order to bring people’s attention back to you. When I present, I ALWAYS tell many stories because when I was first introduced to direct sales, what perked my ears was a story of a young lady who had a lifestyle I wanted. The personal story of her lifestyle is what made me decide to get involved in the business. In that business, I went on to build an enormous organization and all I did was tell my story and tell the company’s story over and over!

Combining the key strategy of storytelling along with the correct mindset, you can achieve your wildest dreams!

97% of people work at their J.O.B. (Just Over Broke), because they have to not because that’s what they love to do. They go into work late and leave early. They take a long lunch, and always manage to squeeze in their two fifteen minute breaks that they are owed by their employer. They do just enough to ensure their job stability. They do just what’s required of them, not only in their job, but in every area of their life.

They do just enough to get by. They never break out of the mold of their daily routine. They never take a chance or try anything new. They UNDER-DELIVER!
How many people do you know that live like that? A lot, right? I do. Have you ever tried telling them your goal? Have you ever told them, “I know what I want and I know where I’m going. I don’t know how I’m going to get there or how I’m going to do it, but I’m staying committed to what I want, and I’m going for it!” They probably looked at you as though you were nuts, right? They thought, “Who are you to change your life? Only the lucky are able to do that, and you’re not one of them!”

NEVER listen to the doubters! That’s what they are. They doubt everything in their own lives and everyone else’s lives as well. They were born a champion with the right to achieve greatness, but they allowed society to mold them into someone that does just enough to get by in life. They don’t know any better. But just because they don’t know any better, that doesn’t mean you should listen to them.

If you share your goal and where you’re headed with someone, and they look at you as though you’re a nutcase, use that as fuel to drive you forward. They’re in that 97% crowd, and you’re in the 3% crowd. No, I’m not saying that you are better than them. You have simply made better decisions than they have in your life. Stay focused on being a 3%’er when you begin to doubt yourself and your dream.

I hate to break this to you but…You must be abnormal in pursuit of your dreams. Abnormal means you are above normal. You’re above the norm. You’re so dedicated to your dreams that you go above and beyond the call of duty. You do more than what is expected of you, because you know that it’s an investment in your future. You continually over-deliver, because you know it’s an investment in your dream and in your future.

By only doing the bare minimum, you never grow. Your dream will actually start to die and decay if you don’t continually grow and stretch yourself. As a 3%’er, you are Unbelievable instead of an Under-Deliverer. You do things that sound completely unbelievable to others. When people say “Come on, you can’t do that!”, do it anyway. Do not listen to the people that chronically under-deliver! They wouldn’t know a dream if it hit them in the face. They only see the believable. They can’t see their own vision, let alone yours. If you listen to them and stop moving towards your dream, you become a 97%’er. It’s completely irresponsible for you to allow that to happen.

Most people simply can’t see your dream. Why is that? Because they aren’t used to looking outside of the box. They don’t know what it’s like to have a dream, a vision, a goal. They let outside circumstances stop them from living the life that they want to live. The most important thing is that YOU can see your dream. You are able to look past adversities and circumstances and see the future. You understand that only you can create the future that you desire. You can let outside people positively influence your decisions on your future, but you and you alone create it.

The 3%’ers do the unbelievable, because they know it will bring them one step closer to their dream. They know that those actions will create immense amounts of momentum towards their goal. They continually step outside of their comfort zone and do things that seem impossible or scary. When you step outside of your comfort zone and do things that seem unbelievable or incomprehensible, amazing things begin to happen. God wants you to step out in faith and create the unimaginable. Inside unimaginable is imaginable, and inside imaginable is an “able image.” Once you see it in your imagination, you’re able to carry it out. You’re able to move towards it.

Your image, your dream, is worth more than all of the gold in the world. You either go for the gold or go home. There’s no other way to go! Are you going to willingly give it away in the face of your enemy? I’ll say it again. Are you going to relinquish your dream in the face of your enemy? Your enemy doesn’t believe in the impossible or unimaginable. They never learned how to look beyond the surface and see what’s hidden just beyond the mind’s eye. If you listen to them, you’ve given up on the unbelievable. When your enemy says, “Who do you think you are,” respond by saying, “I’m unbelievable. I’m abnormal. I’m an action-taking champion in pursuit of my dreams.” It is so important for you to truly believe that and live by these statements.

We all know the power of a scope if you need to focus in on a target and hit it. We all need to develop and truly understand the power of the human mind’s scope. All of us have inside of us the potential to be as powerful as the most high-tech laser scope available today. A scope is designed to focus in on a target without getting distracted or losing focus in order to hit its target right on the bull’s eye. Now remember that all mechanical scopes are programmed by human technology and if we can do it for machines, we can do it for ourselves.

As you are progressing each day on your journey to your ultimate outcome in life, you need to stay 110% focused on your target. You need to focus in on your WHY in life and not be distracted by all the other negative noise we all hear each day in this negative world. You are 1000% more advanced in your focus just by reading this article today, because most people stop personal development as soon as their formal education stops. I always say formal education will get you a job, but self-education will enable you to design a life you want to live!

Your personal scope in life can be finely tuned each day based on the people you associate with along with your personal commitment to personal development. As you develop your mind, you will be able to stay focused on your target and hit it right in the bull’s eye. I am a true believer in the daily focusing of your sniper, which is a minimum of 15 minutes of personal development per day. This can be done by listening to audiotapes or by reading written materials, which will empower you and improve your results.

I personally invest two hours each day for my own personal development in life. The outcome of your internal scope in life is ultimately determined by how you fine-tune it each day. You need to ask yourself an honest question, “Am I doing all I can do to hit my target (your WHY) in life by enhancing each and every day the input to my human scope?” If the answer is “no”, then take action now and change your life forever!

I love when I hear people talking to their friends and they say “What’s going on?” The friend responds “Nothing. Come on over.” Let me give you a clue…Don’t go over there! It only makes sense. If there’s nothing going on, why would you waste your time? Remember, your future is greatly determined by who you spend your time with. If you hang out with people that are stuck in a rut and going nowhere, soon you’ll be in a rut, too. Do you really want to be sitting around doing nothing forever?

Champions are continually moving forward and developing new dreams, goals, and visions. They want to push and develop themselves as much as possible, because in so doing, they are an inspiration to others. When someone accomplishes the impossible, it’s as though they’re telling everyone else, “I did it, and you can do it, too!” People that are stuck in a rut are comfortable.
Don’t get comfortable. Get uncomfortable, because discomfort causes you to move. It causes you to take action. Remember, if you’re not moving, you’re dying. If you’re not moving, you’re not helping other people. You’re basically saying, “I’m comfortable with what I have, I don’t want anything more. Leave me alone and I’ll be just fine.” Mediocrity is not for you! Live your life with passion. Live your life with honor. Live your life knowing that you are making a difference and making a positive contribution to other peoples’ lives.

Champion 3%’ers are Relentless when it comes to their dreams. They smile when the naysayers tell them “You’re still going to seminars? Come on, that stuff doesn’t work. Why do you keep blowing your money on books and CDs. It’s a money making scam!” You have to be relentless in pursuit of your dreams to handle comments like that. If it ever gets to you, just take a look at the status of their life. Where are they headed? Nowhere! What are they doing? Nothing! You can’t let people like that distract you from your calling.

What happens when you don’t read or listen to motivational material for five days? Your brain starts to get dirty. We’re surrounded by negativity. You start to listen to the people around you. “Maybe they’re right. Maybe my dream really is too unbelievable.” You must be relentless and focus on your dream every single day. The famous motivational speaker Zig Ziglar says, “Some people say motivation doesn’t last. Neither does a shower. That’s why you do it every day.”

You have to immerse yourself in personal development on a daily basis so that the negativity doesn’t cause you to lose focus. You don’t take a shower once and expect it to last ten years. You don’t eat once and expect not to get hungry again for a week. So, why would you think reading one book in five years is going to help you achieve your dreams? It sounds ridiculous, because it is! Be relentless and refuse to be stuck in a rut.

I recently spoke to a Youth Leadership Group, and I was deeply inspired listening to the dreams that the teenagers had for the future. While I was presenting, I felt the group of teenagers begin to realize that it is ok to dream and be proud of what you have done in your life and where you want to go in life.

As adults, we need to realize that the power of a dream will enable you to achieve whatever your ultimate “WHY” in life is. By the age 25, most people lose all of their dreams and fall into a rut. From the age 25-65, people generally go back and forth to work and say to themselves,” I wish…if only I could have…if only I knew then what I know now,” and numerous other lamentations as to why they do not feel fulfilled in life. The key in life to feeling fulfilled is to simply listen to your inner spirit and make your daily work in life something that you love to do and will help you achieve your DREAMS!

The key word in that sentence is DREAMS! Too many people when asked, “Where do you see yourself 2-5 years from now” give the answer, “Just let me make it to this weekend.” The underlying reason that they don’t know where they are going to be is because they have no dreams. This can be extremely frightening! Each of the teenagers that I spoke to this week has dreams for their life and where they see themselves in the future. As a professional speaker and business coach, my ultimate outcome is to empower people to find their WHY in life — to catapult them to attain their dreams in life. I also spoke to the group about how important it is to be around a mastermind team, which will push you on and let you know it is awesome you have a dream.

As an overall population, over 95% of adults have no mastermind team but they have group of so-called friends, who will tell every reason why they should never try to win and to just accept their life. You need to stop right now and take a personal inventory of your life and ask yourself three life-changing questions:

1) WHAT is my WHY in LIFE!!! (Why I am getting up each and every day?)
2) WHO is my Mastermind Team?
3) WHERE do I see myself 2-5 years from now?

When you answer these questions you need to be honest with yourself and tell yourself the truth because the truth shall set you FREE! The key to living a fulfilled life is waking up each day with a driving desire to achieve your “WHY”. The key to winning in life is to be part of a winning team and realize life decisions are challenging but very beneficial. Bring your Dreams back to life!

Prosperity – Latin term for “In the Flow”

As you read this article, ask yourself…Are you in the flow in your life? When you look at a stream of water flowing down a mountain, there is no doubt in your mind that the flow is continuous and that nothing will stop it from reaching its destination. Is your life in that same type of flow? Are you on track to achieve your WHY in life – your level of prosperity? Each day as we progress in life, we need to maintain a mindset of movement. Too many people allow others to deter them from their own track of prosperity!

The flow in your life must be maintained at all times. People always ask me, “John, how are you so excited all the time day in and day out?” My secret is dreaming and going for the WHY in my life. You need to be focused on your future, which will keep you “in the flow.” You will hit a few rocky spots along the way, but keep focused on your WHY!

Prosperity in all areas of life is the key to success. You see prosperity is not just being blessed financially; it is being equally blessed in every aspect of your life. Ask any multimillionaire how prosperous he feels when he is 100lbs overweight and in the hospital or ask a person after their 4th divorce how prosperous they are. Money is just one piece of the prosperous life puzzle!

Everyday you need to build towards your WHY by maintaining a focus on the future and beginning to work on areas in your prosperity equation that are not adding up right now. The #1 way to succeed in an area is to find someone who has successfully done what you want to do and find out what daily action steps they implemented in their lives. If a person wishes to become financially independent and they stand in line to play lotto 7 days just simply wishing to make it, then they are in for a rude awakening. You need to duplicate success techniques of those who have what you desire! Make a decision today to analyze your flow and to make adjustments in your daily action steps to fulfill you prosperity goals. Always remember, the breakthrough that you experience as you develop your flow in life is the true prize! Today I challenge you to get into the flow and effectively build the prosperous life that I know you can have!

Why? Because that’s what 97% of people have going on in their lives…NOTHING! Remember, you want to stay away from these people. How exciting is nothing? Not exciting in the least! If nothing is going on, THEN you’re living a dull and meaningless existence. You’re refusing to see the blessings that surround you. Every single person has an infinite amount of blessings in their lives, but sadly most people never see them.
For the 3% crowd, the letter “N” stands for “Nothing will stop me.” Even if you don’t know how you’re going to achieve your goal, as long as you know why you are doing what you are doing and you believe in yourself and your dream, that’s enough. Most successful people didn’t know how they were going to achieve their goal when they first set it. But they kept going nonetheless, because they believed in their dream enough to know that nothing would stop them from achieving it.

Henry Ford dreamed of producing an automobile that was reasonably priced, reliable, and efficient. Most importantly, he wanted the automobile to be affordable to ordinary people and not just the wealthy. He became laser-focused on his product and customer base to achieve his dream. Several major financial backers actually left Ford, because he refused to introduce a car that he didn’t feel was ready for customers. There were also many people that questioned his abilities, and his right to even legally manufacture automobiles. But that didn’t stop him.

In October 1908 when announcing the birth of the Model T, Ford proclaimed “I will build a motor car for the great multitude.” Because of Ford’s dream, the Model T automobile was one of the greatest changes in the lives of common people in history. Can you imagine how much different the world would be if Henry Ford had listened to everyone around him? Thank God Henry Ford believed in his vision and was relentless in pursuit of his dream.

How often do you let what someone else said or another obstacle keep you from achieving your dream? Are you as relentless and persistent as Ford? If not, what’s stopping you? Move beyond your fear and self-doubt and allow absolutely nothing to stand in the way of your success.

You have a responsibility to create miracles in your own life. The responsibility lies on your shoulders. You can’t blame anyone else, and you can’t look outside of yourself for someone else to create the miracles for you. In this article, I’m going to break down the word “Miracle”, because each of you have a responsibility. As you know, my Why is to impact others and change the world one heart at a time. As you read this today, my goal is for you to take responsibility and realize that you have the innate ability to create miracles. So let’s get started!

The letter “M” means Momentum, which is created by you. You must create Momentum in your life for yourself, for your Why, for your family, for your success, for your
finances, for your health…YOU create Momentum! No one else will do it for you. You aren’t a surfer waiting for the next wave to come in. You and only you must create
your own Momentum to drive you toward creating your Miracle!

The letter “I” stands for Incentive. You must have something inciting you to action…your ultimate “Why”. Why are you doing what you are doing? Why do you want to begin that business? An Incentive builds the foundation that keeps you focused on your Miracle. No doubt about it! But again, it is your responsibility to determine what your incentive is and how it will drive you toward your Miracle.

The letter “R” stands for Revelation. As you read this today, get a Revelation! It’s your responsibility…no one else’s. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you came from, how much money you have…get a Revelation. YOU can and will create Miracles!

The letter “A” stands for Action. I know you’ve heard this before, but read this today, print it out and decide that you are going to take Action to create Miracles. Take the Action that you know that you need to take to create your Miracle.

The letter “C” stands for Commitment. Finally…once and for all…dive right into it…get Committed to your Miracle! It’s your responsibility. Inside you is a reason for why you are here…your Miracle…so Commit to it. Go for it!

The letter “L” stands for Love. You must Love what you do. You must Love the Miracle that you are focused on creating. If your Miracle is all about money…you will fail! Your Miracle cannot be based on money. Your Miracle must be based on what you can do to impact the world, which will produce everlasting results. You will produce true Miracles! Don’t let anyone else tell you what you must do for money. Love what you do and create your own Miracles.

The letter “E” stands for Energy. You’re gonna need Energy to create your Miracle. There’s no such thing as it “falling in your lap”, “luck” or “winning the lotto” in a success mindset. It takes hard work! You need the Energy to take those daily action steps to create your Miracle. It is your responsibility to maintain your Energy to create your Miracle.