By Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

Remember: Please share this article if you find it educational!

We only get one chance to make a first impression.

The world is an extremely judgemental place. People judge our clothes, our posture, our hair, our skin, our grooming, our watches, our shoes, our belts, our bags/briefcases, our fingernails, our jewellery and  our hygiene.

Absolutely every aspect of your physical self is under scrutiny from others 24/7 and we always rate the social ranking of our peers (whether conscious or not).

We are very quick to judge and can determine very quickly if we want to "deal" with someone based simply on appearance.

When it comes to networking and meeting people I have heard theories like: 

1. The first 3 seconds will earn you 3 minutes
2. 3 minutes will earn you 30 minutes
3. 30 minutes will earn you 2 hours
4. 2 hours will earn you a day.

This kind of sounds like dating, doesn't it? The above formula applies to dating, business and networking. Meeting people is a courtship, a process and an art form.

Many people can get a fairly good image together, enough to have a 3 minute or thirty minute conversation, but one aspect of "first impressions" that I feel like many entrepreneurs, networkers and real estate investors fall apart on is the business card.

I know how hard it is to put together a good, well laid out professional business card because I have failed at it at least a dozen times in my life.

This year alone I'm on my 6th run of business cards and I'm still tweaking my formula to get it right.

Different cards are relevant for different industries and send different messages.

I can take a glance at someone's business card quickly and know instantly where they are at with their career or business.

Here are 10 business card sins that send the wrong message to the people around you:

1) Neon Card = Broke, needs attention because he/she doesn't know how to get attention in other ways.
2) Picture on card = Self Employed, potentially broke.
3) "Get FREE cards on card" = Cheap, run away.
4) "Bob and Sally Smith" (2 names on card) = Not committed enough to get separate cards, run away.
5) Card that looks like $100 bill = broke person.
6) Card that boasts $500 referral fee = salesman who doesn't know how to get real referrals.
7) Card that says "Specializes in" with too many items = specializes in nothing, doesn't have a niche or identity.
8) Home made card = disaster, not serious and cheap.
9) Card with yahoo/hotmail address = not serious, will repel serious people.
10) No logo on card = either super classy or very very bad identity with no branding.

I have really studied business cards this year because I have sent the wrong message out on 5 runs so far. My 6th run is getting closer to perfection.

A general rule of thumb for a business card is "Would Donald Trump put this on his card?" If the answer is "no", then YOU DO NOT put it on your card. 

Who said success was hard? This is a very simple rule to follow. At the bottom of this article I have posted the business cards of Donald Trump, Abraham Lincoln, Bill Gates, Ben Franklin and Albert Einstein. Notice the similarities.

Here is the formula for a good card:

TOP LEFT = Your Logo, company name.
YOUR NAME
YOUR POSITION (Hopefully not CEO or President)
YOUR WEBSITE
YOUR PHONE NUMBER (No personal cell numbers)
FAX
EMAIL (FirstInitial.LastName@YourWebsite.com)
OFFICE ADDRESS OPTIONAL.

Remember: Your business card is NOT a billboard, do not make it scream from space. Be professional, look professional, act like the boss and people will treat you like the boss.

Happy printing,

Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

P.S. Please share this article if you found it educational!

Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

Remember: Please share this article if you found it educational!

There is a moment in my life I will never forget...

I was watching 50 Cent, the famous rapper, on an interview on TV. He was wearing a suit and dressed like a businessman - not a rapper or a drug dealer (contrary to his brand). The interviewer was marvelling at 50's business acumen and his successes outside of music. There are two parts of the interview that will stay with me forever:

1. 50 Cent made a huge profit selling "Vitamin Water". From what I understood in the interview, he was a Venture Capitalist on the deal and sold the company for around $300 Million dollars to Coca Cola. 50-cent chose Vitamin water because it had the same mark-up as crack cocaine (his first business as a child)
2. When the interviewer asked about the economic recession, 50 cent replied "recession? what recession? Where I come from, there is always a recession... The recession is a middle class problem, not one for the rich or the poor."

When 50 cent said those words, they had a striking effect on me that changed the way I thought about business.

I had always known that there were only two places you wanted to be in the market if you want to be successful and sustainable.

1. Be at the top, the luxury level, have the highest margins. OR
2. Be at the bottom, have the lowest price and win on volume.

Any market is an assortment of prices, values and products. What I look for as an entrepreneur is MARKET PRESSURE.

I want to know where the pressure points are in the market.

For example, I live in Winnipeg right now and we have a shortage of rental units. This shortage is caused by the government who has put such strict regulations on land lords that developers and investors have taken their money elsewhere. Consequently, we have 500 vacant rental units in the whole city with a population between 750,000 and 800,000 people. The average household income is slightly lower than other cities and the purchasing power is usually around $30,000-$50,000 for most renters.

This means that if you have a rental unit under $1,000, you will have a line up of people applying to rent it because there is far too many people at bottom of the market. These people have no purchasing power and are fighting to get in. There are limited options at the bottom and it's EASY to make a sale.

This same principal is why slum lords make so much money. Slum lords set their rents so low that there is always a line of renters and they never repair anything because they know they will always have customers. Their customers are on social assistance or another form of welfare and the revenue comes directly from the government, who is the most stable customer around. This is what it is like to be at the bottom of the market, there is NO SUCH THING AS A RECESSION. Slum lords are at one of the most stable pressure points in the market because they are the bottom. The bottom always has lots of customers because many customers are cheap and just want the basic, bare minimum product. Other examples of recession proof "bottom market" businesses are McDonalds and Wal-Mart. Many customers only go to those two establishments because of the price.

In contrast to the bottom of the market, is the top of the market. The top of the market is often called "luxury" and reserved for those who can pay. Donald Trump, when he built Trump Tower decades ago, chose to build the most luxurious amazing apartments in Manhattan. These units were so stunning that the most wealthy luxury clients in the world would compete just to live in the iconic Trump Tower. In Real Estate, Donald Trump caters to the global elite who do not care what they pay for goods and services as long as they have the best in the world. For Entrepreneurs who sell to the top of the market, money is not an issue for their customers because luxury clients will pay any price just to be the best.

When I used to work at an internet company that sold Luxury Hotel rooms in 2008, we would always have middle class tire-kickers phoning in "trying to get a bargain because there was a recession". I had to remind these people daily that "in luxury products, there is never a recession and that luxury products only ever offer modest discounts (if at all). Customers will pay full price because they want the best. When you are at the top in the market THERE IS NO RECESSION. Luxury clients will always pay premiums to have the best, money is not an issue for these people, as long as the product is the best.

But between the TOP of the market and the BOTTOM of the market is "no man's land"... also known as the MIDDLE.

I absolutely hate being in the middle of the market because this is where recessions destroy businesses and entrepreneurs.

Consumers at the middle of the market are usually middle class people, who have jobs, bills to pay, credit card debts, car loans, mortgages, piano lessons, hockey for the kids, ballet, once a year vacation, savings for retirement, rainy day funds and still like to eat lunch at a restaurant 3-5 times a week.

These people are usually loaded down with so much debt and liability that they are walking a tight rope. If they make a mistake in their budget or lose $100 to an emergency, they suddenly have to cancel their trip to mexico...

If you are the mexican hoping to sell the vacation your middle class friend, you are out of luck and have just lost a price sensitive customer who can no longer afford your product.

The middle market people are extremely price sensitive, every single sway in the economy shakes them and they drop like flies when things get really bad. 

What's worse about selling to them is that they have enough purchasing power to be choosey, but not enough to be luxury. It's hard to determine what they want and they are mobile enough to be fickle with you as a customer.

There is lots of loyalty at the top, as long as you are the best.

There is lots of loyalty at the bottom, as long as you are the cheapest.

There is NO loyalty in "no man's land" and it is a savage place to be.

Whenever I look at a business, design one or analyze one, I always want it to be at the TOP or the BOTTOM of the market. The middle is the scariest place to be.

Recessions can wipe out the middle in a heartbeat, especially since the middle class are an endangered species. If your customers are wiped out, so are you.

It's my policy to avoid marketing to the middle, because that is where all the problems are for two reasons:

1. They are price sensitive enough to be fickle with the bottom
2. Do not have the purchasing power to have luxury at the top

They float between the top and the bottom and land wherever they feel like.

The top of the bottom operates on the emotion of WANT... The bottom of the market operates on the emotion of NEED...

I always want my customer to either NEED or WANT me. In the middle, your clients neither NEED or WANT you and this is a huge threat to your business.

In my mind, there is no such thing as a recession because I always focus on the top or the bottom of the market and let other people take the risk of the middle.

Although I may look like a "risk taking" entrepreneur, I am actually extremely risk adverse and like to bet on "sure things". By focusing on the right pressure points in the market, and executing your businesses properly with attention to detail, there is no reason why your business cannot become recession proof.

Where do you usually choose to play in the market?

Thanks for reading,
Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

P.S. Please share if you found this article educational!

By Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

Remember: Please share this article if you found it educational.

Speed is a virtue that has been coveted throughout the ages.

In the jungle, animals with speed would dominate the terrain over bigger slower animals. In evolution, animals that developed to be large with heavy armour always died out to animals that were lighter, faster and with sharp teeth and claws.

In warfare, throughout the ages, the faster more mobile armies were always able to wipe out  slower, heavily armoured forces. Whether we are referring to Atilla the Hun with his mounted archers vs the slow, heavily armoured  Roman Legion; or Hitler in WW2 with his Blitzkrieg forces that dominated the sedentary french and polish troops. 

Speed is a virtue in all arenas and is a key to victory.

Today in technology, companies that can embrace change and implement with great speed are the ones that survive. In the past, a company like Apple was able to innovate with products like the iPod, take the market by surprise and implement new ideas before any competitors could react. Apple would take over and dominate a market long before a competitor could think of stepping in.

Think of iPods... Small children call all music players iPods. A little girl will point to an analogue record player and say "look daddy, that's a big iPod!" - that is the power of speed.

In real estate investing, or investing in general, speed (in my opinion) is the difference between a novice, intermediate and advanced investor.

I was having dinner with a friend of mine tonight and we were talking about our goals for the upcoming year 2013. Every real estate investor, regardless of skill level, always wants to add more transactions and doors to their portfolio.

I mentioned to my friend that I was setting the goal of doing 100 transactions this year. This was way out of my friend's context and he couldn't comprehend that kind of volume or speed. He asked me how many transactions I have completed in 2012: "12-16 by the end of the year" was my estimate. He was impressed with my ambition and wanted to know how I was going to have an 800% increase in my business.

The answer is speed, some experts would say "velocity of money".

The general classifications for Real estate investors can be defined as follows:

1. Novice investors do less than 5-6 transactions per year
2. Intermediate investors do 1 transaction per month or 12+ transactions per year.
3. Advanced investors do 100+ transactions per year

The only difference between these three investors is speed. 

NOTE: There is likely little difference in the quality of transactions between skill levels. There are many astute and careful, slow, novice investors who can earn the same or better returns then an experienced advanced investor. However, the difference between the novice and advanced is that the advanced investor does more deals, executes them faster and utilizes opportunities to compound results. 

The advanced investor is a cheetah in the jungle and the novice is the turtle.

There is nothing wrong with being the turtle, however, the cheetah will be dominant in the market and will have access to the best opportunities and more capital due to visibility.

A problem I have had in my past businesses has been velocity. In the past, I gravitated towards slow "residual" type businesses.

1. One of my first businesses was a self-employed guitar practice where I traded my time for money. This was extremely slow because, although I had lots of clients and low over head, it was very difficult to compound or grow this business. The residual "cash-flow only business model" made it very hard to grow because there was never an injection of cash or credit. Every month I would take 22-25 little cheques into the bank and cash them. There was never a big cheque that could instigate growth.
2. Another business I started in my early twenties was my Debt buying business. Debt buying is a very simple concept. Debt buyers buy charged off, non performing credit cards (or other debt products) for pennies on the dollar and outsource them to collection agencies for residual income. However, this business is also a residual, cash flow business and it was very hard to grow this business without taking on large debt and long term risk as well.
3. My third business was my buy-and-hold Joint Venture real estate portfolio. This business was great because I could Joint Venture with many money partners and have growth every month, but the growth and speed was linear, and again, I was seduced by the cash flow of the business and was not looking at the speed of the business. A deal would take me 1 whole month to find, get under contract, find a JV partner, deal with the financing, deal with the legal, take over the property, fix the problems on acquisition, show the suite to tenants, lease up and then repeat. I became trapped in my own labour and the velocity of this strategy kept me small. I was a turtle.

All of these businesses are functional: However, the businesses above are slow, cannot grow on their own cash, cannot expand easily, cannot gain any market share and have a disproportionate amount of risk and liability when compared to the upside.

The debt buying business and the buy-and-hold JV's also are big and clunky because they rely on debt financing and bureaucratic approval from banks etc. to grow.

These models are the slow and heavily armoured roman legions that were destroyed by the fast moving mounted cavalry of Atilla the Hun. The Huns were fast, mobile, light, hit the battle field by surprise and cherry picked the best opportunities on the field.

My new strategy does not focus on buy and hold, instead it focuses on three FAST strategies:
 

1. Wholesaling
2. Lease options
3. Buy-fix-sell

Because my goal is to have 100 TRANSACTIONS and not hold 100 DOORS at the end of the year, I must focus on fast strategies. Speed is key and I don't want to get weighed down in a slow, long renovation or a long term buy and hold (although these are good models).

Three of the fastest Real Estate strategies (in my opinion) are wholesaling, lease options and buy-fix-sell.

However, to see the effects of choosing fast strategies, lets see the following strategies in terms of TIME so that we can compare them to the slower strategies I used to use.

1. Wholesaling has a time frame of less than 30 days, usually 7-14. It is a fast, no debt, "no buy" strategy that creates fast cash and fast transactions.
2. Lease options have a time frame of less than 30 days to fill or set up. They are fast, can have no debt, are a "no buy" strategy that creates fast cash and fast transactions.
3. Buy-fix-sell has a time frame of less than 90 days (I have completed some buy-fix-sells in 30 days, but that isn't every deal). These deals are fast, carry debt (sometimes hard money), require capital for acquisition but create more profits with slightly more work.

Every single strategy I am using can be executed within a 30 day time frame. Time is the real currency in the market, not money. Money can be manipulated and recreated after it is lost... Time is lost forever when wasted and it is the REAL limiting factor in any business.

Since I have chosen 3 fast, "light on debt and cash" strategies, I am confident that with the right team and systems, I can achieve my goal of 100 transactions and earn the rights to the title of "advanced investor".

If you are interested in working together on a deal for a share of the profits, please contact me on the freedomway.ca contact page and we will see if we have a fit.

In the meantime,

Thanks for reading,
Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

P.S. Please share this article if you found it educational.

By Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

Real Estate is one of the only industries I can think of where investors/operators can be absolute morons and still win. 

Every day I see scores of smart broke people who can barely make a living in jobs and businesses that they spent 5-15 years of educating themselves for. It makes no sense to see these people commit such large portions of their lives just be broke and barely scraping by. The saddest part is that most of these people are highly intelligent, "A" students, who never really learned about money.

On the flip side, as a full time Real Estate Investor, I often see investors in the market who are total morons that can still make obscene profits or break even on bad deals that they completely screwed up.

But why is this the case?

Why do so many smart, educated, "A" students with high priced educations struggle to make a living while total morons can win big profits?

The answer to the question, I believe, has to do more with the industry and "profit centres" then it does with business acumen, skills or experience.

For example, I know of an investor in my market who decided to buy a commercial condo for $80,000. He planned to rezone it to residential by adding a kitchen sink (It already had a bedroom and full bath and was missing a kitchen sink). After adding a sink, he calculated that he would be able to sell the condo for $160,000+.

When my friend applied to the City for rezoning, they made my investor-friend gut the apartment, bring it up to code, fix the broken roof trusses of the condo building, and then he had to refinish the entire condo. He also had to add soundproofing, fireproofing, update the ducts and venting and increase the standards of just about everything in the condo.

The process took 24 months because he was inexperienced with renovations management and the "rezoning/development" process. 

After 24 months of financial bleeding, my friend still has an opportunity to break even or make a small profit because during his renovation period another developer decided to build brand new condos next door priced at $300,000 to $500,000.

This new information can increase the exit price of my friend's condo and may help him turn a profit. There is no other industry I can think of where an entrepreneur can fail on every single part of a business and still turn a profit or break even. The market virtually bails it self out every time, over time... the question is, how long do you have to wait until you get bailed out?

Now back to the real question... Why is that a moron in real estate can beat a genius in another industry?

The answer, I believe, is that Real Estate has 6 natural profit centres. In other words, a real estate deal naturally makes money in 6 ways while most businesses make money in one way.

Take a lemonade stand for example: a lemonade stand only makes money when it sells a glass of lemonade. This business has one profit centre, it can only earn money in one way.

Consider a car dealership, it has multiple profit centres. It can make money when a car is bought, sold, financed, provide warranties, sell rustproofing, after sales service, oil changes, air filters, tires, periodic check ups, spare parts, collision repair, painting/repainting etc.

The amount of profit centres at a car dealership can draw revenue from is at least over 10. This is why car companies can grow so large, there are so many profit centres and this makes for a good business.

I would rather own a car dealership with 10+ profit centres than have 1 profit centre at a lemonade stand.

The fact of the matter is, many "smart" people only have 1 profit centre: They trade time for money. If they want more money, they can trade more time, there are no options. 

If these "smart" people cannot find a buyer for their time (aka employer), then their revenues and profits go to zero. To me, this is an EXTREMELY risky strategy. I find it scary that most people think that this is "security". One profit centre is NOT a sound financial strategy.

On the other side of the coin, the car dealership we looked at above has at least 10 ways to make money. If a customer comes into the dealership, they can sell them 10 or more products and services. If a car is sold, there are residual sales for the company and the dealership makes even more cash.

When you look at the amount of profit centres that a car dealership has, it's no wonder that the industrial revolution was driven by the manufacturing of automobiles.

But why can morons win in Real Estate? There are 6 major profit centres in Real Estate and the best part is, and many are passive and easy to manage. Geniuses with university degrees and jobs make profit in one way, morons with real estate make money in 6 ways.

The 6 profit centres of real estate are:
1) Cash flow: Cash flow is the most important profit centre in real estate. On a buy and hold, "if it doesn't cash flow, don't buy it". Cash flow drives the entire business of real estate and is often the reason why people want to enter the game of real estate. Although cash flow is always alluring and exciting, it is not the biggest money maker on most deals.

2) Instant Equity: Instant equity is extremely important to me when I buy real estate. I always want to make profit as soon as I purchase. Everyone loves to get a deal and I want to make profits on DAY 1. Investors who buy on the retail market off MLS can get pressured by realtors to buy at market prices. You either have to have a very good realtor on your team to negotiate a good deal or buy privately to get a good amount of equity in a purchase.

3) Leverage – One of the main reasons why I choose to invest in real estate is the leverage. For every dollar you put in to real estate, the bank will dollar match (usually between 3-5x of what you put in). Leverage allows your returns to explode and jump to obscene levels because you are investing with BANK MONEY and not your own. In real estate  $60,000 will buy you $300,000 of property. In stocks, $60,000 will get you $60,000 of stock. Banks will not lend on their own stock. I find it extremely disturbing to consider that the banks will lend you money for real estate ALL DAY LONG, but will not give you a loan to purchase their own stock.

4) Appreciation: Appreciation is a wonderful "bonus" that professional real estate investors look for in a deal. Many novices don't understand appreciation and think that all countries and cities appreciate together in sync. However, in reality, real estate is broken down into markets and sub markets. What I look for in deals are undervalued sub markets that are appreciating. I am an advocate of fundamentals and like to stack the odds in my favour.

What controls appreciation? Supply and demand mostly control appreciation. However, physical condition of the actual property can be manipulated to force appreciation. One of my favorite strategies is purchase run down or non functional properties for a discount and force them to apprecaite by fixing the properties problems.

Economy is a huge driver of apprecation and again, economies are broken down into markets and sub markets. You always have to ask yourself, how is the money moving into or out of this market? 

When economies are booming, people usually move into town. When economies are threatened, people are usually start moving out.

High interest rates can make properties less affordable and keep money out of the market. This can stop the liquidity of properties and make them very hard to actualize apprecation.

5)   Depreciation: Depreciation is an accounting technique that amortizes the property over 25 years, or the life of the building. An accountant can create paper losses and shelter revenues from taxes by creating paper losses.

RECAPTURE: However, there is always a downside, recapture is when the government wants all of their tax savings back when you decide to sell the building. If you are going to depreciate your buildings, consider the cost and benefit of this technique.

WHY I FAVOUR DEPRECIATING? A dollar today is worth more than a dollar 10 years from now. Money is always becoming less valuable every day. Get your money out of your real estate as fast as possible to get it moving as fast as possible!

6) Principal Pay Down: I always grin when I look at my principal pay down on my mortgages.  I used to be scared of having high balance mortgages on my properties because I could only see the liability of the debt. Now when I see a high balance mortgage I think "this property makes a lot of principal pay down".

If you have a $1,000,000 mortgage, in 30 years, that mortgage will be paid off and you will have made $1,000,000. This is a beautiful passive profit centre.

What's even better about principal pay down is that this equity can be taken out TAX FREE through a debt refinance.

The next time you consider a real estate deal, ask yourself, how will I make money on the six profit centres of real estate? If everything goes wrong, how am I protected from loss? Does this deal align with my goals?

It's always easier to be on the outside of the market wishing you were in than to be on the inside wishing you were out.

Thanks for reading,
Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

P.S. Please share this article if you found it helpful.

By Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

This weekend I had the pleasure of flying to Edmonton with one of my partners to hear Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad speak. Robert is around 65 years old now and has had some very hard experiences in the past few years.

1. He has severed ties with a founding partners of the Rich Dad company. These people were stealing from him and betrayed him.
   
2. He was recently in the media for going "bankrupt" and was sued for breach of an agreement with Learning Annex.
3. CBC Marketplace did a fairly slanted review of his education company in the last few years and really mis-represented his brand in canada.

Life is not easy when you are on top... Everybody wants a piece of you.

Even still, Robert is tough as nails and still able to evolve, grow and innovate his business.

As an audience, we were treated to an entire morning and most of the afternoon with Robert sharing some of his most recent thoughts. Many of the things Robert taught were contextual and very high level concepts that have brought his life into a new level of focus.

Robert's talk today was mostly self development and had very little to do with money at all. He talked mostly about character, context and personal growth (which is in my opinion more important than the nuts and bolts of money).

One book that has recently changed Robert's life is called "Turning Pro" by Steven Pressfield.

Robert has a communication style where he is able to take a hopelessly complicated subject and make it simple.

For example, Robert can explain financial derivatives (a topic that no one REALLY understands) by using the analogy of oranges: Oranges are the underlying asset, orange juice is the derivative, a box of oranges is a package of derivatives that were sold as an "investment". If the oranges in the box are bad, then the juice and the box of oranges are bad. This is how the American real estate bubble was built and collapsed after people found out "the oranges were bad". This analogy makes derivatives so simple a 3 year old could understand it.

People understand oranges, orange juice and boxes, but they do not understand complicated financial concepts. This is why entire countries can get robbed by a few smart white collar criminals and no one goes to jail. It's also whywhy Robert is the king of his field.

Today Robert shared with us a concept from the book "Turning Pro"

In business, or in life, there are 3 types of people:

Professionals, Amateurs and Traitors.

1. Professionals are people who solve problems. These are the people you can call on, hire to solve a problem and it is fixed without any hassles and is done on time and on budget. These people you will want to call again and keep close to you. These people are worth their weight in gold, cherish them.
2. Amateurs are people who create problems. Amateurs are people who are in a field, but cannot fix problems with 100% satisfaction. They often fix a problem but do it incorrectly and create another problem in the process. These people are not professionals because they do not practice the basics and have little discipline. They charge the fees of a professional, they think they are a professional but are NOT professional by any means.
3. Traitors are people who steal life. Traitors can disguise themselves as professionals or amateurs and steal money, time and life from other people. They are often not conscious of their thievery and often mean well. However, either by incompetence, greed or another character flaw, they end up stealing the lives of other people. The only way traitors can get what they want is by stealing from others.
   

Robert shared a story with the group today about a group of AMATEURS he hired to maintain his lawn. Robert paid the AMATEURS a cash deposit and in few weeks his lawn looked worse. He then asked the AMATEURS why the lawn was worse and they said "pay us more money and it will look better"... A few weeks later, the lawn looked EVEN WORSE. Robert said again "why is the lawn worse?", the AMATEURS replied "pay us more money" once again. The cycle went on until the lawn looked terrible and Robert fired the AMATEURS. At the end Robert was frustrated, wasted money, time and had a lawn that was nearly destroyed.

After Robert's lawn was nearly ruined, he hired a PROFESSIONAL and asked him "what will it take to fix this lawn?" The PROFESSIONAL said "$5,000 and five months". Sure enough, in five months, the lawn looked absolutely beautiful. No hassles, no mess, on time, on budget and Robert was extremely happy.

"Your life sucks when you are hanging out with amateurs and traitors, you give them money and you don't get results." Said Kiyosaki.

3 quick questions you can ask a potential business partner to find out if he is an Amateur, Professional or Traitor:

1. What is your goal in your business or working with me?
2. What are you will to do to achieve this goal?
3. If the answer to #2 is "nothing" then this person is not a professional and likely not the best asset to your team.

"Some of the biggest traitors (in society) are school teachers. They don’t have the guts to resign." said Robert. School teachers can steal and ruin more lives through mis-educaiton and mis-information than any other person in society... worse off, they always get paid whether they do a good job or bad.

Professionals practice the rudiments of their art form every day and strive to be better each and every day. Their goal is to become the best in their field and are willing to pay the price required for success. In the words of Nido Qubein success is "Painful", which means you have to PAY-IN-FULL for it. Nothing in this life is free. 

Amateurs are happy with just doing enough, but do not have the drive to be the best. They are happy operating at a mediocre level, posing as professionals and charge people even when they don't get results.

Traitors are people who have to steal to get what they want in life. They may look like amateurs or professionals and have good intentions, but when it comes down to their actions, they become thieves and steal time, money and resources.

One exercise that Robert had us do was to write down 25 people that we spend time with in our personal and professional lives.

Write the word "professional", "amateur", or "traitor" next to each name and find the patterns and associations in the names.

I did this for myself and noticed that I have been running my career as a "Pro", my private life as an "amateur" and have a graveyard of "traitors" that I try not to think about.

More interesting is that all of my "pro's" are associated and work together as a team with me in their respective fields. The "amateurs" are all associated and transact together. They stick together, are tightly bonded and through their daily choices, are committed to mediocrity without even knowing it. I noticed the amateurs in my life referred more amateurs to me who posed as professionals (this was very alarming). The "traitors" were all associated and approached me as a group as well. They were a tight knit group that was like a pack of wolves. Very scary to see a group of traitors aligned in business and all working together, you can get killed if you find yourself working with a pack of traitors. It cost me dearly to deal with these people in the past.

It was extremely revealing to see how my social circles were constructed when measured by this system.

Please take a moment to do this for yourself, you may find out something new about who you are transacting with. You will even find out how you are running the different aspects of your life.

P.S. Don't be afraid to load up the "traitor" category, this a very important category and I overlooked it because I generally do not focus on people who have "screwed" me. This category is in some ways more important than the other two.

Thanks for reading,
Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

P.P.S. Please share this article if you found it helpful!
  

By Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

Today I spent the day in Edmonton with one of my money partners at the Fast Track SuperConference hosted by Darren Weeks. Darren is the Canadian Rich Dad, one of my mentors and a man who taught me a lesson that has made me successful to this day. I owe much of my success to Darren because I developed a skill set that very few people have (and one that is almost impossible to obtain because so few people teach the art of raising capital). When I worked for Darren I learned 1) How to sell and 2) The art of raising capital.

Darren Weeks is an extremely successful Canadian entrepreneur. His company, the Fast Track Group has been in the top 100 of the fastest growing companies in Profit magazine 3 years in a row, and when I worked for Darren, his team was the 40th fastest growing company in Canada. In my opinion, Darren's personal talent is his ability to identify and assemble groups of amazing people and with unbelievable talent who are motivated by a mission greater than themselves.

Contrary to traditional business models, The Fast Track Group was built around giving out "more education than anyone in the industry". There are few businesses who give first and receive second.

Darren prides himself on the fact that he provides more FREE value to the market than anyone else. To some people, giving out FREE information and building a business around it sounds insane, costly and risky... but I think that consumers nowadays expect FREE gifts and services before they buy - it's the trend in modern business. 

Business models that revolve around FREE gifts and services are especially strong in the financial and real estate sectors right now.

When I was 22 I attended the Fast Track Super Conference in Edmonton, I was absolutely blown away by the calibre of the company. I loved the mission, I loved the people and I loved what the company was doing for Canadians. I wanted to be a part of the group, I could feel the energy and it was infectious.

One thing Darren always used to preach when he was educating his audiences was "if you want to get rich, work for FREE." He would often pick out a young man or woman in the audience who would be just entering the work force and ask them "can you afford to work for FREE?"

Almost every time, the young man or woman would say "absolutely not!" and then Darren would teach the lesson.

The difference between the rich and the middle class/poor is that the rich do not work for money, they work for FREE. This may sound completely ridiculous to your belief system, but hear me out:

Lets consider two scenarios. 

In my personal life, when I was in my early twenties, I had two jobs at two different times. At my first job I worked for money, at my second job I worked for FREE.

MY FIRST JOB (WORKING FOR MONEY):

At age 22 I worked at Frito Lay Canada and my job was to merchandise (which is a fancy word for putting bags of chips on the shelves at 4 in the morning at Wal-Mart).

My primary motive for working with the company was the salary and the hours. I was truly chasing the dollar in every sense of the word. I wanted a salary so I could get mortgages to buy real estate. I took that job for the wrong reasons, didn't learn the proper skills in the field and it became harder and harder to get out of bed every day when I worked there. I had no passion for the industry and felt that there was nothing to learn.  

When I left the company, I had maxed out my purchasing power for properties and but had acquired ZERO skills towards building my own business. Since I had chased the dollar, I had a small cash reserve on hand, however, I had built NO SKILLS or contacts. Although I had made a little bit of money, I had built no human equity in myself, no skills and had no way of propelling myself forward towards my goals, hopes and dreams. In a way, I had traded time for money, lost my time and had crippled myself in a way.

Most people don't consider the skills they learn at work. My advice to young entrepreneurs is to leave their job once they stop learning the skills required to do it. Always work to learn. Move from job to job until you have all of the skills required to run the business of your choice.

Lesson: When it comes to work NEVER chase the dollars, find what excites you, find where your heart is and chase your passions. The money doesn't matter and it always gravitates towards the most enthusiastic people.

MY NEXT JOB (WORKING FOR FREE): I had heard Darren Weeks say on stage "If you want to get Rich, work for FREE". I took his advice, although it challenged my belief system, but I had nothing to lose so I and volunteered for his company whenever he was in town.

Every time Darren was in town, I would dress up in a suit, show up early, leave late, pack and unpack books, process paperwork, seat people, help out with sound-production and do any task that was required of me. I expected NO financial compensation and just wanted to be on the team.

I volunteered for Darren for three years and I applied to work for his company three times. Twice I was rejected for the job and the third time I applied I said, "I have been volunteering at this company over the past 3 years, I have applied twice and been rejected, I will keep applying until you hire me".

I then flew to Edmonton and volunteered at a Fast Track Super Conference event shortly after my interview. Darren Weeks noticed that I had flown from Winnipeg to Edmonton (on my own money) to volunteer to work for him. After the event, he personally took the time out of his evening to offer me a job with the company. 

What Darren didn't know was that I had already been hired to start work with the company and on the following monday I was to begin formal training.

Consider the lesson: working for FREE and volunteering had grabbed the attention of the founder of the company and had brought me onto the team OF MY CHOICE.

Now that I was positioned in the only company I wanted to work for, I got paid to learn more about the topics I was already passionate about. I was in heaven.

I got paid to sharpen my skills and become an extremely valuable asset to myself. I learned the art of sales, how to do public presentations, how to run an office, how to recruit good employees, how to fire bad employees, prospecting, sales tracking, databases, securities regulations and public speaking.

Most importantly, I learned how to raise capital and work with investors. This has been my "secret sauce" in my business and it's what sets me apart from other real estate investors who DO NOT have the skill set.

These skills are the base of my empire and the building blocks of my portfolio. I have based my entire career and current business around skills that I acquired by working for FREE.

Had I not volunteered at the company first, I would have had no chance of working with them. I would be of no value to their tribe and I would not have learned the skill set that makes me valuable today.

Every morning, you would still see a wandering soul putting bags of Doritos on the shelf at Walmart at 5:00am. I would have throttled passions and big dreams, but no way of executing them or aligning with other people who matter.

Lesson: Every week I meet young people who are passionate about a certain field or career. Many people say they are passionate about music, art, acting, sports, television, radio etc. and don't know how to break into those "hard to enter" industries. Whenever I study a highly successful person, I notice that almost all of them worked for FREE scrubbing toilets, mopping floors or doing the most pointless jobs at the bottom of the barrel just to be a part of the industry of their choice. Unfortunately, young people today do not see such opportunity.

Steven Spielberg began his brilliant career in film by just "showing up" to the movie studio, wearing a suit and pretending to be a director in an abandoned office. He was a film student who pretended to work there and snuck into the studio every day. The people at the studio assumed he worked there and eventually his passion for film brought him an opportunity to make his first film.

Steve Jobs of Apple was too poor to pay for his college education so he collected aluminum cans on campus and would cash them in to eat his next meal. Jobs had no money, so he would sit in the university classes for free and let his mind absorb the information. The FREE classes he attended for no credit became the building blocks of the apple philosophy. Steve was genius who blended liberal arts with technology. If he were paying for the classes and chasing marks/credits, he would not have been so creative and open in his approach.

Trent Reznor, the frontman of of the iconic band Nine Inch Nails, got a job as a janitor at a recording studio where he mopped floors and poured coffee for 8+ hours a day. He shared an apartment with a friend and ate peanut butter sandwiches for years just so that he could earn studio time to make his debut record in the middle of the night when the studio was vacant.

The most brilliant people in the world, the people who are at the top of their game and dominate their fields with enthusiasm, passion and leadership often started at the bottom working for FREE.

The reason why working for free is so powerful is:

1. It gets you in the door, an employer can't say "no" to free labor
2. You make contacts in the industry of your choice immediately
3. You learn the business form the "ground up"
4. When a job opens up, you are first in line because you are at the business and eager to work anyways - you are the best choice!
5. If you aren't passionate about the industry you won't last long, you will weed yourself out to find your true passion
6. Over time you gain experience and you will either be hired by the company you are volunteering for OR A COMPETITOR of theirs. This is a no lose strategy if you stick with it.
7. You free your mind from "chasing the dollars" which can limit your creativity. You will approach the industry with a creative, fresh perspective. This is priceless in the long run.

If I lost everything tomorrow, had no skills, no money, no contacts and no experience I would re-discover what I am excited about and offer to work for FREE in the industry.

Of course I would need some income to live, so I would get a job at McDonalds for 8 hours of the day (or another McJob) that is not too stressful, then work for the company of my choice for FREE in the other 8 hours. I would continue this 80 hour a week routine until I am hired by the company of my choice and then I would quit my McJob.

I would then gain all of the skills I need to be successful in my industry and re-evaluate my position. I would likely find a way to start my own business in the same industry and leave as fast as possible as soon as I stop learning.

Exercise: Take a step back from where you spend your time on a daily basis. Ask yourself: Are you chasing dollars? Or are you building valuable skills in an industry of your choice? Is your work based on passion and enthusiasm? Would you keep working there if they stopped paying you?

I used to say when I was in the music industry "You know you're in the right industry when you can work 18 hours a day, lose money and still wake up the next day to do it all over again." Follow your heart and make a choice of passion and NOT logic.

Thanks for reading,
Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

P.S. Please share this article if you found it helpful!

By Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

In the words of the famous poet John Donne:

"No man is an island."

Whether you are a new born baby or the President of the United States, we all rely on relationships and our networks for our basic survival and our ability to thrive.

For those of us who are pursuing entrepreneurship, business or real estate investing; our relationships are our one and only asset.

We all hear the guru's say: "your network equals your net worth", but how do we build, grow and maintain a rich network of people?

The most successful people in society are the ones who can establish, build and maintain a large number of significant, intimate, relationships.

But how do we connect on a significant level?

Most people are fairly adept at establishing relationships with people who are similar to themselves. They can find similar interests and form "intimacy" and bonds with people who are THE SAME as them over time.

However, most people do not understand the rudiments of establishing a relationship. Further, most people do not know how to master intimacy and bring people closer to them quicker.

Mathew Kelly is an author and relationship expert who wrote one of the books that influenced entitled: "The Seven Levels of Intimacy".

I have studied Mathew's work for years and have applied it in my networking, personal life, sales, negotiations and important meetings. It helps me understand people and truly connect with them so that I can find what they need and actually help them.

Mastering the 7 levels of intimacy can make or break you when meeting someone COLD and you know nothing about them. Many of us are talented at working with WARM meetings, but COLD meetings have higher requirements for establishing connection.

I am naturally a "people person" and can connect very easily with people. However, it's not enough to know HOW to connect... we must understand WHY we connect and HOW connection is established.

The 7 Levels of Intimacy are in sequential order:

1. Cliché's
2. Facts
3. Opinions
4. Hopes and Dreams
5. Feelings
6. Weaknesses and Fears
7. Needs

The seven levels of intimacy work in a sequence. You cannot jump to the next level of intimacy without succeeding on the previous level.

For example, conversations flow through the levels of intimacy in sequence from level 1 to level 7 and they do not deviate from this rule - EVER. It's very hard to jump to the "next level" without satisfying the previous level. Furthermore, if you create a disagreement and blockage at a level, you will not advance into the higher levels until you remove the blockage. These levels need to flow and creating conflict at one level will stop the sequence of connecting.

For illustration purposes, I will artificially construct a conversation between two hypothetical people that could accelerate from level 1-7 in less than 3 minutes:

1. LEVEL 1: Cliché's - ME: "hey, how are you?"... YOU: "I'm good!"
2. LEVEL 2: Facts - ME: "Did you get caught in the rain today?". YOU: "yes I did, I can't believe the amount of rain outside!!"
3. LEVEL 3: Opinions - ME: "What do you think about the Winnipeg Jets coming back to town?" YOU: "I think it's great for the city, it really helps put us on the map."
4. LEVEL 4: Hopes and Dreams ME: "It sure does put us on the map! Why were you running around in the rain today? What would you rather be doing?" YOU: "Ugh, I was running around in the rain because I'm making deliveries for my office, I'd rather be travelling the world!"
5. LEVEL 5: Feelings ME: "How would you feel if you didn't have to run around in the rain any more and could travel the world in the way you want?" ... YOU "I would absolutely love that. Nothing excites me more than travelling".
6. LEVEL 6: Fears/Weaknesses - ME "What is stopping you from pursuing your dream? What's holding you back?" ... YOU "I don't want to burden my family with my selfish dream, I need to support them or they won't survive without me"
7. LEVEL 7: Needs - ME "Hmmm... What would your family need to survive so that you can pursue your dream and everyone remains happy?" YOU "well... etc."

Whenever I am in conversation with someone, whether it is brief 5 minute meeting or a long 2 hour talk, I like to know WHERE I am in the 7 levels of intimacy so that I can accelerate and move to the next level if I feel like I need to.

Everyone has needs, and if you can find another person's needs, you can truly help them and create life lasting bonds and relationships. 

NOTE: If you are selling or negotiating, you cannot "close" until you are on level 7.

The majority of the population are pre-programmed to be socially guarded and will conceal weaknesses and needs until you have successfully moved through levels 1-5.

TIP: Once you have hit level 5 (feelings) you have reached an emotional level and connection starts to begin. 

Many newbie networkers, salespeople or negotiators will ask right of the bat "what are your needs, what do you need?". I especially see this in the network marketing community when I get pitched by new network marketers.

TIP: If you are going to meet someone for lunch, talk for 58 minutes to build a relationship and 2 minutes of transactional business at the very end. Get them up to level 7 and close in the last 2 minutes. So many people try to talk business far too early and not use their time to establish a proper connection or analysis of what the other person truly needs. Approach the other person with a "how can I help you?" attitude.

Trying to connect on level 7 without building rapport, connection or intimacy through levels 1-6 is nearly impossible. You will get concealment of facts and lies about levels 6 and 7 until you have established a proper base connection.

At best, your prospect will feed you a lie to deflect your inquiry about their higher level needs and will likely say: "I'm fine, I really don't need anything". 

How often do we hear that on a daily basis from the people around us?

EVERYONE NEEDS SOMETHING, WE ARE ALL LOOKING FOR THINGS. WE ALL NEED THINGS ALL THE TIME. THE QUESTION IS, WHAT DOES OUR COMPANION NEED?

Connection happens when you are able to navigate the conversation through levels 1-7 in the proper sequence, you may find out that (for example) "Their father just died and they're feeling vulnerable. They are the executor of his house and don't know who to talk to about real estate. They are looking for an expert. They don't like realtors and need to sell immediately but afraid of contracts, contracotrs, salespeople and commissions. They also don't want to pay for repairs."

Opportunities come from connecting and being intimate with the people we come into contact with.

All people, rich or poor want one thing... We all want to connect. If you can connect with a person, and move them through the levels of intimacy without creating conflict or blockage in the sequence, you will find what motivates them, what scares them, what their concerns are and finally what they NEED to feel secure to work with  you.

Mathew Kelly has recognized a brilliant pattern in social behaviour and has cracked the mechanical code for human connection. If you can memorize or learn a few key questions to "move through the levels", then you will never be stuck in a conversation with nothing to say ever again. You will never be stagnant and will be a master of connection.

The following questions are ones that I have learned years ago and memorized from  http://www.villagecounseling.net. Knowing a few of these key transition questions will transform you into an instant "people person". I have seen results for years using this method and have been connecting deeper and faster with people than ever before. Please enjoy the following resource:

Questions to Help You Navigate the 7 Levels of Intimacy:

1. Cliché
   • How are you?
   • What have you been up to lately?
2. Facts
   • Non-personal
     • What was the score of the game?
     • What is the weather forecast?
   • Personal
     • What did you do today?
     • What have you learned recently?
     • What have you been reading lately?
     • What is your favorite color, food, song etc.?
3. Opinions
   • What are your preferences concerning…?
   • What are your beliefs about…?
   • What do you think about…?
4. Hopes and Dreams
   • If you could live any way you liked, how would you like to live?
   • If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you like to live?
   • What goals do you have for your life?
   • What area of study would you like to become an expert in?
   • If you could be famous for something, what would you like to be famous for?
   • What would you like written on your tombstone? In your obituary?
   • Who would you like to help? How would you help them if you could?
   • What one thing would make you truly happy?
   • Who are the people you’d like to learn from in life?
   • What personal qualities do you hope to develop in the future?
   • What skills do you hope to develop in your lifetime?
   • What do you dream about being the best in the world at doing?
   • What are 5 things you dream about having?
   • What are 5 things you dream about doing?
   • What are 5 things you dream about being?
   • Who are 5 people or groups you dream about helping?
   • What would you do if you knew you could not fail at it?
5. Feelings
   • When in our life have you felt special to others?
   • Who in your life made you feel safe, loved, accepted? How did they do that?
   • Who in your life made you feel the most rejected, devalued, abandoned, invisible?
   • What are you most passionate about?
   • What do you feel about:
     • Your relationship to God?
     • Your most significant friendship?
     • Your relationship to your parents?
     • Your relationship to co-workers?
     • Your reputation in the community?
   • How secure do you feel in your life right now? (Why, or Why not?)
   • How significant do you feel in your ability to contribute to others, to your community, to the world? (In what way? Why, or Why not?)
   • Do you feel like you are becoming the person you want to be?
   • Do you feel like you belong?
   • Do you feel competent in your ability to build something of value?
   • What are the biggest hurts have you experienced in the past?
   
   
6. Fears, Failures, Weaknesses
• What makes you feel like you don’t measure up?
• What makes you feel like you are unlovable?
• What do you think would make others reject you?
• What are some lies you’ve been told in the past?
• What do you feel you must hide from others out of fear that they would reject you?
• What makes you feel ignored?
• What makes you feel rejected?
• What makes you feel humiliated?
• What makes you feel incompetent?
• What makes you feel like a failure?
• What makes you feel inadequate?
• What is your biggest fear in life?
7. Needs
• Spirit – what do you need to thrive spiritually?
• Soul – what do you need to thrive in your relationships?
• Mind – what do you need to learn and grow in to thrive mentally?
• Strength – what do you need thrive physically?
• When have you experienced great joy?
• Describe what you think constitutes true happiness?
• How do you help others experience joy?
• What do you need in order to be secure?
• What do you need in order to be safe?
• What do you need in order to be significant?
• What do you need in order to be competent?
• What do you need in order to be powerful?
• What do you need in order to belong?
• What do you need to be clear about?
• What do you need in order to build something of lasting value?
• What do you need to know God better?
• What do you need to feel special to others?
• What do you need in order to feel like you are understood?
• What do you need in order to do something great?
• What do you need in order to achieve something that will last?
• What recognition do you need?

If you can memorize a few of these key transition questions to "accelerate" and master conversational intimacy then you will connect every time! You will become a master of creating personal connection with the people you network with, meet, sell and negotiate with. I can guarantee that you will see HUGE results in the depth of personal connection and opportunity in every relationship. If you can master the system above.

I challenge you take some time to study this list and implement it in your day to day interactions, you will not be disappointed.

Thanks for reading,
Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

P.S. Please share this article if you found it helpful!

P.P.S. "The 7 levels of intimacy" is available in the Resource section of Freedomway.ca should you wish to purchase a copy (highly recommended).

By Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

Years ago, an italian economist by the name of Pareto came up with a rule that is now known as the 80/20 rule. 80% of our results come from 20% of our actions.

In nature, this law is seen throughout the natural world and especially in business. 

80% of the results come from 20% of the actions. This ratio can become even more skewed with higher and higher ratios.

We have 80/20, 90/10, 95/5 and 99/1.

In the media recently, the Pareto principal has become popular because perceived "class warfare" between the have's and the have-not's. The big controversy in the USA right now is over the 1% of Americans who control 99% of the wealth.

Regardless of your political affiliation, or philosophy; the Pareto principal is fascinating in that a small number of people or actions can control a VAST number of results, resources or people.

But what separates a person in the 99% from a person in the top 1%?

The people in the 99% are focused on TACTICS. Tactics are "how we do things". It's also the "doing of our doing". These people are focused on day to day tasks. They pull levers, push buttons and trade time for money. They are concerned with the HOW of what they do and are technicians of their respective trades.

Tactical thinkers, or tactical minds are people who usually define themselves as a vocation. They can say "I'm a doctor", "I'm a lawyer", "I'm a plumber", "I'm a bus driver", "I'm a janitor".

These people think about the TACTICS and techniques of what they do. If a tactical thinker were a chess player, they would be a novice and see only 1-2 moves ahead on the chess board.

The 1% of people at the top of society are focused on STRATEGY. Strategy is the "why we do things". It's the thinking that keeps our "doing the same" but changes "what our doing does". These people are focused on the residual and compounding results of their actions executed over time. They choose to do (or not do) certain tasks and focus on campaigns and missions. These people are the thinkers of society who do NOT trade time for money and are concerned with the WHY of what they do. 

These people are the visionaries, the strategists and the leaders of society.

Strategiests and strategical minds are found usually in positions of power, at the heads of organizations. These people drive the boat, steer the ship and keep it from smashing up on the rocks. These people are the people who run our organizations, businesses and governments. These people lead our tribe.

Strategic thinkers are our centres of influence and can wear the mask of a doctor, lawyer or janitor, but they are much more under the surface.

Strategic minds are very rare, and very hard to find. Strategic minds can camouflage themselves and work "behind the scenes" or they can be flamboyant front-men leading the charge. These people understand how the world, people, societies and tribes work.

Strategic minds think about STRATEGY and not TACTICS. In their minds, they are thinking like an advanced chess player - at least 8 moves ahead. Some strategic thinkers are like grandmasters who can think up to 25 moves ahead!

There are 5 parts that make up the strategic mind and usually these types of people excel at all 5 parts to operate on a STRATEGIC and NOT tactical level.

The 5 Parts of the Strategic Wealth Mind:

1. 1/5th MEMORY - Strategic minds pay attention to everything and remember all the details. Big things are made of many small details compounded.
   
2. 1/5th ATTENTION - Focus is key. You can have all of the resources and brainpower in the world and if your focus is not there and you cannot focus strategically. Many people remain tactical thinkers because of lack of focus.
3. 1/5th SPEED - Speed is paramount to a strategic mind. Strategies and speed of execution become exponentially less valuable if they are not executed quickly. Speed lends to agility of the mind and the next trait...
4. 1/5th FLEXIBILITY - How flexible is your mind? How can you adapt to change? Can your plans change and flex? Can you change your plans on a direct 180 degree turn? How coachable are you? Can you take advice from advisors?
5. 1/5 PROBLEM SOLVING - Strategic minds are problem solvers. They seek out, attract problems and get the largest compensation for solving the largest problems.

Every day I read and listen to strategic minds and work my once-tactical mind to become a young strategic mind. I find that the best thing I can do to develop my thinking is to surround myself with strategic minds through books, audios, seminars, masterminds, and relationships. The #1 thing that has helped me transform into a strategic thinker has been my time with my coaches and mentors. They can truly see 10-15 moves ahead of me where I was only seeing 3 moves ahead.

Surround yourself with strategic minds and you will eventually become strategic in your thinking. That is where the real leverage in society comes from. Become strategic and join the 1% that achieves 99% of the results.

Thanks for reading,
Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

P.S. Please share this article if you found it helpful!

By Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of having dinner with Shawn Shewchuk, Author of "Change Your Mind, Change Your Results" and the #1 results coach in the country (when measured by results and speed of results.)

I was introduced to Shawn because he is currently coaching one of my real estate mentors on his personal growth and business.

Shawn mostly works with high achievers, entrepreneurs and executives to take their "game" to the next level.

Coaching can be a very nebulous thing to many people, it can be viewed as extremely expensive (Often $5000 to $25,000+) and (to the average person) can be viewed as a "rip-off" or a "liability". What I find to be fascinating about coaching is that the world's most successful people have multiple coaches and the more successful a person is, generally, the more coaches they have. 

What I have learned in my short time from working with a paid coach and mentor is that an unsuccessful person will view a coach as a liability, while a successful person will view a coach as an asset.

Of course, not all coaches are created equal; there are good coaches and awful coaches. You must discriminate with extreme prejudice. The best way to choose a coach is to find successful people and gather referrals, ask who is coaching them in their success.

Many coaches focus on one topic such as; business, investment, health, life, and success. What I found intriguing about Shawn was that he has built his coaching practice, business and life around a holistic approach to success. He believes that success must be achieved in all areas of life - not just one. 

Shawn believes that "Success is not available without balance".

As an entrepreneur, shawn has built businesses, sold businesses and has made very good money in his life, but understands that personal, relationship, health and career all have to work together because "money is important, but (it's) not everything."

As a young, driven, aggressive, male entrepreneur, I asked Shawn about balance. I often find myself too focused on business, goals and success. I will sacrifice anything for success (whatever that means) and I challenged Shawn's idea of balance or holistic coaching by asking him about the Dragon's on CBC's hit venture capital show Dragon's Den.

I have studied many of the successful Canadian entrepreneurs on Dragon's Den and have noticed that three of them have stated on television that "balance does not exist" in their lives. The Dragons are all very driven and successful business people who have sacrificed immensely for their success. When I asked Shawn about his opinion on balance when compared to the Dragon's on balance he replied "There is no such thing as balance; balance is what you make it".

A profound answer indeed. I have always thought of balance as being an subjective pursuit. Never did I imagine that balance could be different for everyone. This really challenged my thinking.

While we were exploring balance, Shawn pointed out that one of the Dragon's had lost his family in pursuit of financial success. Family, no matter how difficult they can be are a priceless once-in-a-lifetime experience. Family members are irreplaceable and trading primary and secondary relationships for a few extra dollars is unacceptable in hindsight.

The #1 concept I am learning from my current coach and from talking to Shawn has been that Coaches get you results and collapse time frames.

What may take a person 5 years to achieve alone, may take 6 months with the help of a qualified coach. I have seen results similar to this in my own business just from a single coaching call and a few emails, my growth has gone from linear to exponential and geometric. I used to do one deal a month and now I'm getting bombarded with opportunities and have achieved 3 deals in a week.

Most people are procrastinators, but what is the opposite of procrastination?

Sometimes it can make sense to define a word by it's opposite.

Shawn defines Strategic accountability as the opposite of procrastination. Where the average person will sit on the couch and eat potato chips, Shawn builds strategies with his clients and holds them accountable to their goals and plans.

Procrastination is an absolute killer for most people because it kills ideas, kills actions and ultimately kills dreams. "Most people don't think, they float through life" All ships that float without a navigator end up smashing up on the rocks eventually.

Shawn has worked with over 6000 people in his career and only 3 have not been successful in their pursuits after working with him. What was their key to failure? People who fail with coaches think that they are going to get a magic bullet to solve their problems over night. I used to experience this years ago when I used to teach guitar lessons to young people. Too many of these young people wanted to be sprinkled with a magic pixie dust instead of taking the REAL steps towards success.

After speaking with Shawn for 30 minutes about coaching and the benefits of hiring one, I asked Shawn the $1,000,000 question:

"How many coaches do you have?"

This is the million dollar questions because whenever someone is in a business or industry, I always want to know how much of their own product they consume. It shows integrity and congruence.

Shawn's reply was very good: "I have three." Although Shawn is located in Calgary, his coaches are scattered across North America on the east coast USA, Toronto and Western USA. I was impressed to learn that Shawn's first coach was Bob Proctor; the man behind the hit movie/book The Secret.

I personally have two coaches at the moment and the strategic planning and goal setting alone has made my business explode in the last 30 days. If you want to speed up your rate of success, begin to search for a coach, and don't hesitate to spend some money. Nothing is free in this life and you get what you pay for. Free advice, although attractive at the beginning, is ALWAYS the most expensive of all in the long term.

Thanks for reading,
Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

P.S. Please share if you found this article helpful

By Stefan Aarnio
Freedomway.ca

The english language can be a deceiving and confusing tool that can either empower you or cripple you. 

Years ago, when I was earning a degree in English at the University of Manitoba, I learned that words in the english language are actually very flawed and primitive tools that do not really work. 

Words can be a broken, primitive man-made tool. It's common knowledge that words account for less than 10% of our actual communication (I believe the number is around 7% of communication.)

For example: In Canada, we have people who are really self employed that call themselves "entrepreneurs". Realistically these people trade time for money every day, operate their business as technicians, have zero competent employees, take on all the risk and liability and cannot leave their business for a second or it falls apart.

Words are confusing tools: Just because you are self-employed does not mean you are an entrepreneur.

Of course, we are working with the English language and words are deceiving. There is a vast population of self employed people in Canada and around the world who think and believe that they are true "business owners" or "entrepreneurs". The reality is, these people own risky jobs with high time requirements and overhead. 

They have not built any real businesses, and they cannot sell their "business" because there is nothing to sell. However, many of these people think they have a REAL business.

Words do not work to differentiate a legitimate business from a self-employed JOB... for many, this can be a very confusing scenario.

My definition of an entrepreneur is a person who starts businesses. Starting businesses is an entrepreneur's vocation. They start businesses often, likely have multiple businesses at once and are always aiming to start yet another business. This is the entrepreneur's game and few have the stomachs or the balls required to play the game.

The word "Entrepreneur" (to me) is all about the art of the start up. The best entrepreneurs are visionaries and they are brilliant at creating a successful chain of businesses and brands. They often do not stay in a particular business too long because they actually build a competent management teams to take over and grow the business without them.

The best entrepreneurs in the world (Today and in the past) are visionaries: Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and others have all started a chain of ventures and created a succession of businesses. These men were creators who created businesses often and eventually left a vibrant collection of businesses behind upon death.

But how does this apply to you?

One very successful living entrepreneur that I am studying right now is Nido Qubein. Nido is an immigrant from Lebanon who came to America as a boy and has built a succession of businesses valued at over $100 million dollars a piece. I have heard that his estimated net worth is around $500 million dollars (but net worth is very hard to determine).

As a sign of a true entrepreneur, all of Nido's businesses are in unrelated industries. He is able to move from industry to industry and become successful every time. Nido has built successful businesses in the following industries: the banking industry, the bread industry, the furniture industry, the speaking industry and now he's in the education industry at the head of High Point University.

Nido is able to take complicated concepts and make them simple, he is a very talented man at communicating (and english is certainly not his first language).

There are 3 key important factors to consider if you are going to determine if you own a real BUSINESS or just a risky JOB.

Nido's 3 factors are:

1. Sustainability - Is your business sustainable? Can the business be scaled? Can the market support you? Can the business run without you?
2. Consistency - Is your business consistent? Is there consistent money coming in? 
3. Predicability - Can you predict the numbers in your business? Do you track past performance and know your numbers inside and out? A great number to know that most people don't is "what is the cost of acquiring a lead in your business"?

If you do not have Sustainability, Consistency and Predicability in your business - then you don't have a business! Instead you own a job.

Entrepreneurs who jump from being an employee to self-employed always have to make the following decision "Am I going to do whatever it takes to become a real business owner? Or do I quit now and get a good job at the union or with the government?". There is absolutely nothing wrong with either scenario, but there are costs to both choices.

Nido says that everything in life is PAINFUL. What that means is that we have to PAY-IN-FUL for everything and nothing in life is free.

If we quit and get a job with the union, we give up much of our time and consequently the opportunity in life. We trade freedom for security. If we make the leap towards business owner, we risk all security for a chance at freedom.

For those of us that want to be true business owners, the cost is extremely high. Becoming a true business owner may be the most expensive thing a person ever does in their life. It takes blood, sweat, tears, time and money to achieve sustainability, consistency and predicability in a business. 

The real question we have to ask ourselves is; which currency do we want to pay for our success in? The school of life accepts the following forms of payment; blood, sweat, tears, time and money. Please beware that the School of Life also gives no refunds.

Thanks for reading,
Stefan Aarnio
freedomway.ca

P.S. Please share this article if you found it helpful!