I was masterminding with my great friend and mentor, Aaron Parkinson last night and he described simple, easy to follow steps for achieving any goal in life, and it just blew me away.  I was so impressed by its simplicity — yet completeness — that I just couldn’t wait to pass it on to my loyal readers.

Pretty much everyone I know sets goals in one form or another.  Yet very few actually meet their goals.  And the big reason?

Most people are great at setting goals, but have no plan for accomplishing them.

So today I give you….

The 5 Simple Steps To Achieving ANY Goal In Life

Step 1:  SET THE GOAL

Sounds simple, but remarkably many people are unclear about what they want.  Think about it — what do you really, Really, REALLY want?  What is that one thing that you burn for.. the one that you think about before you go to sleep and the one that is on your mind when you wake up.  And when you’ve got it, WRITE IT DOWN somewhere where you’ll see it every single day, several times a day.

Having a strong, passionate goal is the very first step to achieving anything.  And don’t skimp on the PASSION — it’s the most important part.

Step 2:  GIVE YOUR GOAL A DATE

You must put a timeline on a goal.  Otherwise, it simply becomes something that you’ll do “when you get time”.  Make it realistic, but make it concrete.

Remember the saying,

A Goal without a Date is Simply a Wish….

Step 3:  MAKE A DETAILED PLAN

So you’ve made your goal, you’ve put a time limit on it… now what?  How are you going to accomplish this goal?  To me, this is one of the most important parts of accomplishing goals — having a clear, DETAILED plan on reaching your desire.

Here’s an example from one of my specific goals:  Making $10,000 in one month in my Marketing Business….

Goal:  10,000 in a 30 day period

Time Limit:  3 months

Plan -- in order to figure out how I will generate that kind of money, I needed to WORK BACKWARDS to figure out how many sales, applications, and leads I would need.  I also needed to be realistic, so I took into consideration my conversion factors from leads to applications to sales, and did my calculations

In my business, I have 3 top tier financial products plus the money I get from marketing our accompanying Internet Marketing Education and Training curriculum.

Here is a breakdown of how I needed to accomplish my goal… check out how detailed it is, down to the dollar and down to the number of sales.

• One Sale of my Top Tier 2 Product  - commission $4500
• Four Sales of my Top Tier 1 Product – commission 4 @ $900 each = $3600
• Ten Sales of my Internet Marketing Education Product – 10 @ $150 commission = $1500
• Twenty Seven Applications to Join Our Business – 27 @ $25 commission = $675
• TOTAL….   $10,275

Now, how many leads will I need to accomplish this?  I know from my previous marketing and from our company averages that our leads/application ratio is about 5%.  That means for every 100 leads, I should receive 5 applications.  If I need 27 applications to achieve my goal, then I will need approximately 550 leads each month.

Now, that is a finite number to shoot for – 550 leads in one month.

See how this works?  If you work backwards from your goal (monetary or otherwise) and break it down to its ultimate building blocks you can “get down to brass tacks” and truly understand EXACTLY what you’ll need to do to accomplish your goal.

Step 4:  REVIEW, EVALUATE AND ADJUST

You need to periodically review your progress and make changes if something isn’t moving you towards your goal.  In my case, if I found that my video marketing campaign was only generating a few leads per week, I would need to reevaluate this marketing method.  My choices are to either make better videos and more of them, or move on to some other method of marketing.  Evaluation and adjustment are crucial to achieving any goal.

Step 5:  CELEBRATE  EVERY VICTORY

Celebrate every success along the way.  If you generate your first lead, CELEBRATE… because you know that once you’ve learned how to generate one lead, you can generate 10, and then 100 and then as many as you wish.  But celebrate every victory to keep the ball rolling in the right direction.

The 5 steps to achieving any goal — naming the specific goal, dating it, making a plan to accomplish the goal, evaluating your progress, and celebrating every success — is a simple formula that anyone can do.

To your success!

Dr. Bob Clarke

http://LeadersForSuccess.com

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No matter what network marketing or MLM company you may have joined or be thinking of joining, one thing always holds true…

There are always a handful of people who make the MOST MONEY.

You know who they are….

• They are the ones who always have a crowd of people around them at the company meetings.
• They are the ones on stage getting all the awards and accolades.
• They are the ones who are succeeding while 97% of the other reps in your business are struggling.

They are…. Your Company’s TOP EARNERS!

So how do YOU get to be a top earner?

Well, there’s a lot of talk about this right now, and I’ve done some serious studying of the top earners that I know.

I mean, I’ve just flat out ASKED THEM what their tricks are…

– Some kind of secret marketing strategy?

– Some secret script they have to persuade people to join them?

– Some top secret brew that they drink?

And you know what?  It really only comes down to one thing…

and if  all network marketers understood this, they’d all be a whole lot happier.

I just published an article on how to succeed in network marketing, which addresses this  very question… so if you would like

to read more, please take a look.

Happy New Year, everyone…. look for great things coming from this blog in 2010….

and ALL of it THE TRUTH.

To your success!

Dr. Bob Clarke

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Today’s post is the first in a series called “Network Marketing Secrets”.  Whether these are truly ’secrets’ or not is up to debate.  However, they are secret to the extent that most people either don’t get them or choose to ignore them, mostly in the search for making money fast.

Network Marketing Secret #1 involves MINDSET.

“Mindset comes BEFORE skill sets”.  That’s a great saying.  And it’s one that most people ignore.

The fact is, mindset comes WAY before learning new skills.  Don’t get me wrong — learning new skills will be an essential part of growing your network marketing business.  But getting it right between your ears is your first order of business.

If you don’t, it won’t matter how skillful you are in network marketing… YOU WILL FAIL.

Guaranteed.

So how do you get your mindset right?

Get around other experienced entrepreneurs, preferably in person.

You’ll notice that your upline will heavily promote getting to live events (for reasons that will become evident in another post very soon), but it truly IS important for you to surround yourself with people who are successful at what you are attempting.  A live event is a great way to accomplish this.

Join groups of other entrepreneurs on professional social networks

I recommend joining LinkedIn, a social network for professionals and entrepreneurs.  It’s a terrific way to mastermind with other entrepreneurs.  Join groups that interest you and participate in the discussion.  Notice how they just seem to THINK differently than other people in your life.  This is mindset, guys.

Another great site to join is BetterNetworker.com.  Go through the articles and forum posts and see who you resonate with.  Befriend them, maybe even contact them directly and LEARN from them.  TIP:   has a group of Instructors who present various training on the site.  These are great people to learn from, because they are already successful in something that you are trying to understand and get you head around.

Both LinkedIn.com and BetterNetworker.com are free to join.

Read Books Related to Entrepreneurial Mindset

You can tell the level of success of a network marketer by the size of his library. I believe Mr. Jim Rohn said this first, and I am a firm believer in it’s accuracy.  Leaders are readers, and to be successful you will need to do both.

I recommend that everyone on my entrepreneurial team start by reading a book called The Traveler’s Gift, by Andy Andrews.  I consider it to be one of the best mindset books on the market, and can be applied to anything in your life.  When you’re finished with that, pick up the sequel by the same author, called The Noticer.

These are easy to read, told in story form.

Better books are tough to come by.  And they will provide the foundation on which you will begin developing your entrepreneurial mindset.

If you haven’t already done so, pick up a copy of The Traveler’s Gift at Amazon.com or at your local bookstore.

To your success!

Dr. Bob Clarke

http://LeadersForSuccess.com

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I came across this clip from one of the old Rocky movies.  It deals with the reality of life, the hits that everyone experiences, and your ability to get up after those hits that will determine your success.

This is a direct quote from this clip:

“The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place… and I don´t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently, if you let it. You, me or nobody, is gonna hit as hard as life. But ain’t about how hard you hit… It’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward… how much you can take, and keep moving forward. That´s how winning is done.  

Rocky Balboa

Here’s the entire video… 46 seconds of PURE GOLD.

This is true in anything in life.  It is expecially true when you are starting a home based business or any business.  The hits keep coming, fast and furious. It’s easy to give up.  It’s easy to quit.  That’s why 97% of people DO quit. 

But the ones who take the hits, the ones who get up time after time and try again…. the ones who refuse to quit?

Another name for these folks?

Millionaires

Here’s to GETTING OFF THE MAT, TIME AND AGAIN!

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Hi everyone,

I hope you’ve all been enjoying the last few days of summer (at least here in the US).  Rosemary and I have been taking some time to relax and recharge our batteries, getting ready for the September rush… you know, the time when the kids go back to school and parents finally have time to take a deep breath, look at their lives, and swallow hard.

And begin to look for alternatives to finding the dreams in their lives that once seemed so close.

The Number One Reason Why People Fail In Life

Most, if not all of you have heard of Tony Robbins.  Well, Tony recently did an interview with top internet marketers Frank Kerns and John Reese.  In this video, they examined the reasons why people fail to follow through in life.

You know, you buy a book and never read it.  Or you read it and never take one bit of action on any of the solutions offered.  You buy that Internet Marketing product and get all charged up to change your business.

And then a week, a month, a year passes and you’ve not taken action to make things better.

We all do it.

BUY WHY?

Watch this video that not only tells you WHY you fail to take action, but explains HOW you can never let it happen again.

It’s a bit lengthy — 35 minutes, but its worth the listen.  I promise.

Go grab a cup of coffee or your favorite beverage.  Cozy up next to your computer, and get ready to change the way you’ve been doing things.

Or NOT doing things

http://tonyrobbinstraining.com/320/interview-with-frank-kern-and-john-reese/

Enjoy everyone.  Have a great week!

To your success!

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Over the past years, I’ve had the opportunity to observe leadership, particularly as it pertains to the Network Marketing industry.  And the more I observed these people, those who are a cut above the rest, those 3 Percenters that I so often talk about on this blog, several characteristics or “methods of doing business” have stood out.

What do guys like Mike Dillard, Jay Kubassek, Aaron Parkinson, and Mark Weiser all have in common?  Besides being pretty damn wealthy, I mean! 

Today I would like to share some of the leadership traits that I find particularly important.

As you’re reading through this list, compare yourself and where you are in your life and your business.

How do you measure up?

I would venture to say that the more traits you share with the top leaders in the industry, the closer you are to becoming the LEADER that others will follow.

After all, it’s not about who is selling the best products or which company has the most lucarative compensation plan… it’s ALL ABOUT LEADERSHIP.

People join leaders in Network Marketing, not companies.

Without further adieu,

These are the Top 10 Leadership Traits Commonly Found in Those That Dominate Network Marketing:

1. Leaders hold themselves ACCOUNTABLE. They set daily, weekly, and monthly goals and hold themselves accountable to these goals.  They do not require others to keep them on task.  Leaders are SELF-MOTIVATED
2. Leaders are SELF-DISCIPLINED. Almost all leaders I have ever met have a “daily method of operation” and are disciplined about completing each task.
3. Leaders are VISIONARY. Leaders have a clear vision of why their business enterprise is important to them.  Possibly even more importantly, leaders see possibilities that others may not.  They are extremely open to exploring new ideas.
4. Leaders are RISK TAKERS. They are not afraid to risk a lot to potentially gain even more.  They are courageous in their dreams.
5. Leaders do NOT RECOGNIZE FAILURE.  Rather, they see each “failure” as important information for their next attempt, which they’re sure will be successful.
6. Leaders OVERCOME OBSTACLES.  They do not let setbacks stop them, but move around them and find alternative ways to achieve their goals.
7. Leaders are CONFIDENT and SELF-ASSURED. They do not seek nor do they need the approval of others.  Leaders are confident of their skills and their ability to help others attain a high level of success.
8. Leaders DO NOT WORK HARD, they WORK SMART. Leaders understand the 80/20 rule — that 80% of their results will come from 20% of their efforts (income producing activities), and they adjust their work emphasis accordingly.  Leaders are not afraid to OUTSOURCE or DELEGATE less important activities.
9. Leaders continually STRIVE TO LEARN new things. They are always striving to improve their lives in any way possible through knowledge.  Leaders never stop learning.
10. Leaders are HUMBLE. True leaders never forget what is was like when they were not initially successful.  Leaders are GRACIOUS for their success and THANKFUL for the opportunity to truly help others.

How do you stack up? Give yourself 1 point for each other the above traits that you feel you display.

Most people probably rank about a 2-3 on this scale if they’re very honest with themselves.  I think if you rank 5 or above, you are well on your way to becoming the leader others will follow.

Rank an 8-9?

Give me a call so we can work together. 

To your success!

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When you mention a full- or part-time job to people in the home business arena, you usually are met with scowls, howls, and sometimes, blood curdling screams.  Just the thought of a J-O-B can make most Enterpreneurs go screaming into the night.

But not so fast.

There are lessons to be learned here.

Even with two so dramatically opposing business models, there are lessons that can and should be applied to both the 9-5er and the independent Entrepreneur.

Let’s focus right in on the biggest one…..

SETTING A WORK SCHEDULE

As an independent home business owner, you have a freedom that most never know —->  You can set your own hours.  You work when you want to work.  There is no boss breathing down your neck  with the next deadline.  There is no one watching the clock, docking your pay when you are late or leave early.  It’s YOU — ONLY YOU.

Some people do quite well with this freedom.  Others crash and burn.

Especially if they’re not used to it.

The biggest culprit that brings new business owners down?

PROCRASTINATION.  I call it the “I’ll do it later” syndrome.

Many of you know it well.  I know I did.

I was an all-star procrastinator, and in my weak moments I still can be.

Any of these sound familiar?

“I’ll write that blog post after the news.”

“Let me run to the mall first, then I’ll start writing that article I’ve been putting off.”

Or my favorite….

“I’ll call my prospect tomorrow, when my head is clearer.”

It’s called PROCRASTINATION folks, and it can torpedo a home based business.

How do you combat it?  There are volumes written on the subject, but I’ve found something that works well for me —-

SET A WORK SCHEDULE WITH PROJECT DEADLINES.

Just like my 9-5 JOB used to be.  Start work at a certain time.  End work at a certain time.

The advantage, of course, is that I can set the hours I want to work.

I determine my work for the day.  I set my priorities and my deadlines.

But they are there staring me in the face none-the-less.

And if you’re like me, you will probably me harder on yourself than any boss could be.

To your success!

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I want to introduce you to 2 people.  They are real, but I have changed their identification to make them anonymous. 

Both people have received information about my primary business opportunity, information they actively asked for.  Both people received the informational emails, but they reacted very differently.

Let me first tell you that my autoresponder emails are designed in such a way as to filter out the “tire kickers” and bring out the true entrepreneurs, those that can see an opportunity for it’s potential and act on it.

Back to my story.  The first response was an actual email I received this morning, from a fellow I’ll call Fred. 

Fred has a VICTIM MENTALITY. 

Here is his email in response to the information he’s received:

“You guys keep sending me emails, but you’ve never given up any phone #s. Yet you ask me for credit card info online. What kind of idiot do you take me for. Either send me some info that looks real, or F*%* Off. Whats the number to this business you speak of? If it’s really that important to get me involved in this amazing business that I’ve never heard of send me something free in the mail before you try to rack up my Credit card. Good luck though, hope all yours scams go well. Bye.”

 

Here’s a second email I received a while back, from a fellow I’ll call Tom.

Tom is a TRUE ENTREPENEUR.  Here is his response to the same information as Fred received.

“Dear Dr. Clarke,

Your opportunity sounds intriguing, but I’m hesitant to pull the trigger without speaking with you and getting some questions answered.  Please call me at (201) XXX-XXXX at your earliest convenience.

Thanks  and I look forward to speaking with you.”

Can you see the difference in mindset? 

It’s the difference between a TRUE ENTREPRENEUR and a HOME BUSINESS WANNABE.

It’s the difference between someone who is successful in life versus someone who blames everyone else for their failures.

It’s the difference between the rich and the poor.

So what happened to Fred and Tom?

Tom (the entrepreneur) and I had a great conversation that night, he asked great questions, considered the opportunity for a few days and then joined our team.  He’s now on his way to his new fortune.

Fred (the Home Business Wanna Be)?  I have no idea.  He’s probably still searching the Internet for that ONE sure thing that will put him on Easy Street.

Here is how I answered Fred.  Maybe you’ll think it’s harsh, but even the thought of talking with him and his negative energy gave me a headache.  Negative energy has NO place in an entrepreneur’s life. 

But that’s a story for another blog post.

Here’s my response to Fred.

“Dear Fred,

I guess I was that kind of idiot.   I paid for my application, knowing it could be fully refunded, liked what I saw, got my questions answered, and now I make $10-15K a month part time with my business. 
 
I am looking for people with an entrepreneurial mindset — ones who will go the extra mile to check out an intriguing opportunity.  This kind of person emails me about the opportunity, asks me to call them, and we have an intelligent conversation.  They don’t always join our team, but it’s always a great conversation and both of us learn something.
 
The best thing about making 5 figures is that I get to choose who I want to work with.  I have unsubscribed you from my email list, so you don’t have to worry about being bothered again.
 
I hope you find what you’re looking for elsewhere.
 
Regards,
 
Dr. Bob Clarke “

Which type of person are you?  

Are you a “Fred”,  always being the VICTIM, afraid of being scammed and unable to really look at an opportunity objectively? 

Or are you a “Tom”,  an ENTREPRENEUR just looking for that next opportunity to come your way so you take action and make it work for you.?

You have the power to decide. 

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Any of you who have read my previous blog posts know that I am big on OVERCOMING OBSTACLES.

Sometimes there are BIG OBSTACLES.

• Like Losing Your Job.

• Like Losing Your Home.

• Like Battling Cancer or other Health Issues

But more times than not, it is the SMALL ROADBLOCKS that accumlate over time that end of causing people to quit.

Case in point….. this has been my week.

I have been working very hard perfecting my Google PPC Marketing Campaigns. Finally, I had arrived at my goal of 100 leads per week.  I was a happy man.

Then, some low life loser decided it would be fun to hack into my Google account and cause chaos.

Of course, Google immediately shut down my account to investigate.

In the meantime, Google saw fit to charge my credit card thousands of dollars from the hack incident.  So I had to fight with Google to get the charges removed.

Still, my marketing campaigns layed dormant, waiting for Google to finish their investigation.  I could just “feel” the leads I was losing.

So, engaging my Entrepreneural Spirt, I decided to open a Yahoo account to run some advertising. But wait, the Yahoo Interface is not like the Google Interface, so I needed to spend a couple of hours learning how to navigate their system.

Now it came time to enter my ads.  I employed the usual software I use to download my ads into all of my Ad Groups all at once.  This is a REAL timesaver.  And guess what?

It wouldn’t work with Yahoo.  UGH!

So, I just finished a 2 hour marathon manually adding all my new ads to  Yahoo.  And finally, my Yahoo campaigns are up and running!

And now I just received an email from Google, telling me that my Google account has been reactivated and ready for action.

The moral of this twisted story?

It would have been VERY easy to quit.  To just throw in the towel and give up.

But winners never quit.. they find a way around the obstacles.

And winners do one other thing…. at least in online marketing ... THEY MAKE MONEY.

To your success!

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One of the most common questions I get from new members of my home business team goes something like this:

“There’s so much to learn!  What skills  should I concentrate on first? “

Before I answer this, let’s get one thing very clear…. and this is critical to get:

Your success in network marketing will be directly related to your VALUE TO THE MARKETPLACE.

What does this mean?  It means that the amount of money you make will be a result of how many new members join your business.  And how many people join your business will be directly related to the likelihood that people see you as THE LEADER who will help them obtain their particular needs and wants.

That is, a PERSON OF VALUE.

Having said this, I’ve found that there are 3 critical skills that, if learned, will make you the leader that people will jump over walls to join your team.

In no particular order, here they are (along with recommendations of what I consider to be the best resources available to gain these skills):

Skill #1:  Pay-Per-Click advertising (PPC).  PPC is the single most important marketing skill to master in today’s world of the Internet.  PPC has changed the way of traditional marketing.  Instead of cold calling, making lists of friends and family, and the good ‘ol 3-foot-rule, we now have mechanism to identify people who are searching for exactly what we have to offer.  And there are no geographical limitations.    But this is not a skill easily mastered, and to enter this market unprepared can cost you big time! Google is the biggest player in this market.

Recommendation:   I strongly recommend Mike Dillard’s PPC Domination course, particularly those who are in the MLM or Direct Sales market.  Easy to understand videos and exhaustive resources make the PPC Domination course on the best investments for your online business.  It is the most cost effective and complete way to learn PPC from the bottom up.

Skill #2:  Copywriting.  Copywriting, or the ability to write compelling ad copy that will elicit the response you are looking for (i.e. sales) is the second skill that will, when mastered, will add tremendous value to the marketplace and compel people to follow you.  This again is not an easy skill to master, and requires a bit of practice to get it right, but there are several online and off line resources to help.

Recommendations: There are a couple of blogs that are tremendous resources for people looking to learn ad copy.  The first blog is written by John Carlton, an expert copywriter who started off line and had made the jump to online marketing about as successfully as anyone. John Carlton’s Big Damn Blog is full of tips, examples, and free content that will set you on the path to becoming an expert copywriter.  The second blog, Copyblogger.com, is another excellent resource.

If you prefer books, I can strongly recommend Hypnotic Writing, by Joe Vitale.  I just finished this book, and it is about as excellent a copywriting resource as you will find.  Easy to read, plenty of examples, and includes both online (emails, ads) and offline (sales letters) examples on how to best persuade your readers to take action.

Skill #3:  Positioning and Posture.  In order to be the leader that people are searching for, you need to have value.  We have already established this.  But you also need to BE THE LEADER, to know how to position yourself as the person people NEED to join. 

Positioning yourself as a leader may be THE most critical skill to learn in order to make BIG money in Network Marketing.  You can have all the marketing and business skills in the world, but if you cannot promote yourself in such a way that people see you as the person who can take them to the Promised Land, then you have nothing.

Recommendation:  Back when I was looking to position myself as a leader, I asked my upline what he considered the best resource on the subject.  He pointed me in the direction of Blackbelt Recruiting, by Mike Dillard of Magnetic Sponsoring.  This CD series teaches you step by step how to begin the process of positioning and maintain and grow it as your business expands.  This is a can’t miss:  Blackbelt Recruiting.

So there you have it, the 3 skills that will put you in to the Top Earner category for any company you represent in Network Marketing:

• Pay-per-click Marketing
• Copywriting
• Posture and Positioning

While it will not be possible to become expert in all 3 skills in the very beginning, this is where I steer my new members when getting started.  Even having a basic knowledge of these skills will go a long way to growing your network marketing home based business.

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