This website is not financial advice. Posts may contain affiliate links from which I earn commissions at no additional cost to you.
My Top 8 Income Streams That Have Made Me Over $1,950,000 Online Graphic © WealthPowerBoost. Background photo – Shutterstock (under license)
Ready? 🙂
2) Whether you actually pay attention (the KEY to this part will surprise you!)
3) How hard you work.
That’s it. Period. The key to success in a box 😉
Now let’s break it down.
Factor 1: Who You Choose To Listen To.
If you wanted to be a great pianist, which of these three would you choose as your teacher?
a) A football player
b) Someone who started playing the piano last week
c) Someone who has been playing the piano 40 years, has performed live internationally and has impressive recordings of their piano playing.
Pretty obvious, isn’t it? 🙂
The same goes for making money!!!
If you wanted financial success and wealth, which of these would you choose as your teacher?
a) Your broke-ass brother-in-law who is always nagging at you about what you ought to do with your life.
b) Your broke-ass friends and their “big ideas”.
c) Some random person online who has an expensive course and makes a bunch of unprovable claims.
d) Someone who has demonstrably made $2,000,000 online, offers wealth tutorials that make sense, and has a professional web presence.
When it comes to wealth specifically, everyone and their dog seems to have an opinion about what you “ought to do”. Whether or not these people have actually made any money themselves doesn’t seem to matter – they unload their views anyway! And part of the problem for most people is that they are surrounded by all that noise, all the time.
They grow up with it, they go to school with it, their teachers push it on them. It drags them down and in some cases can literally prevent them from achieving success.
It’s like being a piano player surrounded by 100 terrible piano players all trying to tell you how to play at once.
For years! 🙂
There’s a famous saying in wealth coaching that “You are who you surround yourself with.” I fully agree with it. Just by being in the presence of successful people, you absorb some of their habits and qualities. The same goes with being in the presence of unsuccessful people.
You have to cut loose from all of it and “only listen to those who have successfully achieved that which you are trying to achieve“.
The good news is that those people are out there. Seek them out, choose them, and then…
Factor 2: Whether You Actually Pay Attention (The key to this part will surprise you!)
Now you were probably expecting a critique at this point, of the fact that “You never listen!”
Right?
Nope. Not going to do that to you! 😉
Wow.
The reality is that when you find someone truly worth listening to, on a topic you are genuinely interested to learn… you become much more eager to pay attention. Naturally! It just happens! You still have to focus though and actually pay attention.
But your decision to pay attention should be based not just on emotions, but on a sound evaluation of whether the person is actually worth listening to.
And this part requires something you probably weren’t expecting: Due Diligence.
Due Diligence means vetting the person carefully to see if they truly “know their shit”.
So before choosing a coach or mentor – do some homework! Here are some good questions to ask yourself:
A) Do they have the right skills and training for your specific needs and goals?
Following on from our previous example, someone could be an incredible classical pianist, but have no expertise in modern jazz. Does the coach understand the actual arena where your goals are? Are they trying to sell you a new “bright shiny object” that doesn’t really fit in with your actual plans?
B) Do they have a PROVABLE track record of success?
A screenshot can be faked. Don’t rush into a decision. Look over more of this person’s materials and feel them out. Does their story seem real or seem “too good to be true”? Does what they are promising seem realistic? Do they have examples of other students who have achieved success through their training.
If their “method” is so damn good, and they are so damn successful – why do they even want you as a student?
If they are very resistant to proving their credentials and / or act offended that you even dare to ask – red flag!
C) Are they emotionally / psychologically manipulative?
Do they use manipulative ploys to get clients such as:
“You WILL fail without MY help!”
“You have no more time left to decide!”
“The only reason you have not already signed up is because you are too dumb to realize what’s good for you!”
“You are failing because you are too arrogant to recognize that I am better than you!”
“You are doomed to perpetual enslavement and I am the only person who can save you!”
(etc etc.)
Pay attention to the emotions that those statements evoke and watch out for similar emotions in sales pitches. Note also that all of the above examples of manipulative ploys are not only attacking you but are actually lies – and their dishonesty can actually be seen when examined closely.
Isn’t this person supposed to care about your future? Remember the famous quote of Mark Twain: “…The really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”
Someone who is legit will NOT manipulate you into becoming a client / student or buying their course. They will not lie to you. They will also allow you to evaluate their credentials, without defensiveness, and will invite you to become a client without psychological pressure, without a “false time constraint” and without other “dark triad” sales tactics.
Why won’t the opportunity be available tomorrow? Why are there only 100 copies of a digital download?
Having said all this, a good coach should be able to be firm when speaking their mind and be able to “cut through the crap”. They should want to drive you. Being fierce “in the right way” can be a very positive and motivating quality.
D) Do they disrespect all other coaches?
Someone who is legit will not bash all the other coaches. They will not say “I’m the ONLY one worth listening to, everyone else is a loser / insane / stupid!” Ask them their opinion of a few other coaches and see if they have any fine words for them at all. This is a very telling sign! Note that if they personally have had success 100x that of the others, then it’s perfectly ok to say that the others do suck compared to them (but only if it’s actually true!)
E) Do they take the trouble to find out and get an understanding of your actual goals in life?
If the coach is not taking an actual interest in you personally, and only seems interested in how you will fit into THEIR grand plan for you… I’d say that’s a red flag, no matter how grand the promises. A good coach listens as well as talks! A good coach is also able to be patient when necessary (as well as cracking the whip and pushing you to be a high achiever when necessary!)
F) Are they “fly by night”?
The very best coaches have an interest in your long term success. They are also interested in their own long-term success and their long-term reputation, which means that their future students are likely to come via personal recommendations. They know that reputation is gold and won’t be acting in ways which jeopardize that.
Don’t be rushed or pressured into a decision and know that if something doesn’t feel right, it’s ok to walk away and there are other genuine mentors out there who can help you.
Factor 3: How Hard You Work
Plain and simple. What you prioritize is what gets moved forward. There’s an interesting saying in wealth coaching circles that “You are where you want to be“.
It sounds shocking at first but there is a good point nestled within it – which is that if you want something badly enough, you would be prepared to do whatever it takes to make it happen.
This saying is also a great reminder to take personal responsibility for making your life what you want it to be, instead of the old habit of blaming.
You have a choice what you will do with your time.
Every day. Every hour. Every minute. Every second.
Will you go to the beach? Or will you do your piano practice?
Only one of those things will get you closer to your dreams of being a great piano player!
Same goes with making money. Elon Musk works 16 to 18 hour days, 7 days a week.
100 to 120 hours per week!
How many hours per week do you work? How many minutes of those hours do you actually spend working at full power on the things that will actually “move the needle”?
Do you really want it? Forget about comparing yourself to others and about what others are telling you that you ought to want. Do you really want it.
Get clear about your real dreams.
There’s another saying: “If you don’t succeed, maybe you just didn’t want it badly enough”.
How badly do you want it?
Get clear about your real goals in life and be prepared to set aside things that are less important. You only have a certain number of hours in the day and if you allow those hours to be filled with trivialities and things of lesser importance… that’s where you will end up.
You become what you do.
Now get cracking!
