Your Money & Your Mindset: Interview with Mr Paul Blackburn Part 1
Interview with Mr Paul Blackburn the author of “Resolving the Money Riddle”.
Paul Blackburn is a best selling author, a highly sought after keynote speaker, and success coach. Through his seminars and workshop “The Mental Toolbox”, Paul has literally transformed the lives of over 100, 000 people in every facet including their health, finances and personal happiness.
His top 10 personal clients are collectively worth over $200 million. His millionaire clients have been unanimous in their acknowledgment that by using Paul’s techniques, they have exceeded their own expectations.
My question to Paul: Why did it take you so long to do it yourself?
Paul: “A bit of arrogance, I suppose. I considered myself smarter and therefore knew it all. It was only after coming face to face with terminal cancer and that being the chief breadwinner for my family (a loving wife, Mary and my two daughters) that I got serious about this.”
Find out why people have hang ups about money and Mr Blackburn’s advice to people wanting to better their results.
Interview Mr Paul Blackburn Part 1 (unlinked)
Goal Setting and Goal Getting
Today we are going to have some fun with letters of the alphabet (move over Sesame Street) as a means of understanding the difference between goal setting and goal getting.
Just to be different, we will pick the letter “D” and start with that. The anally retentive amongst us will hyperventilate and blanch, but hey, you only live once, so let’s get edgy.
The D words are design, desire, default, doubt, determinant, due diligence and detachment
The concept I am going to throw out there is to live your life by design rather than by default.
When I design my life, I am stating to the Universe and all who dwell in it that I do not and will not accept an existence by default.
In other words rather than allowing circumstances to influence and impact my future, I am self –directed and definitely self-determinant.
This means that sometimes we go against the trend or the common herd instinct (I can picture in my mind a posse of lemmings marching over the edge of a cliff when I write this).
This means being unpopular and defying the general consensus of opinion.
This means rocking the boat.
When we consciously design our lives, we experience within our soul and spirit an awakening, a very strong desire for “something” that gives meaning to our lives. This may be a Catch 22 situation if you argue that an awakening of our soul and spirit is the impetus for consciously designing our lives, but I digress.
This “something” is intangible but irresistible and goes beyond being a passing whim. I interpret a passing whim as a musing, for example “wouldn’t it be nice if I had a another pair of shoes to go with this new sun dress”.
Let’s take for example wanting to improve our lives and those of our loved ones. With our newly found burning desire for a better life we do our due diligence and that includes exploring the various methods of wealth creation (all moral, ethical and legitimate, of course).
Whether we start a business, or enrol in a stock market trading course (yes, there are socially responsible companies out there) or sign up for college to get the qualifications for a promotion, we require of ourselves persistent application of effort. Just thinking about it won’t cut it. This kind of stuff really requires repeated action.
The burning desire fuels the daily application of productive action that is the perfect antidote for occasions when we are faced with doubt.
Doubt can be insidious, and it certainly gives our self-belief a run for its money. The glum times will come, the feeling that you are pushing the proverbial uphill with only the tip of your nose on a rainy day will rear its ugly head.
Pretending that it doesn’t or won’t happen is asking to be blindsided.
How do we prepare for this?
By practising detachment and yes, I can hear a collective groan when I say this.
I know it isn’t the most natural reaction, and certainly not the easiest thing to do. But when we are so attached to the outcome, it falls into the category of the “try hard and needy” type of behaviour.
Remember your high school days where there were the cool kids and then there were the desperate and dateless (said with tongue firmly in cheek).
The strategy is this: You have to assume the persona of one of the cool kids as opposed to the angst ridden try harder types.
Letting go of the outcome is the secret to this exercise. Rather than chase and stalk your goal, allow what you desire to come to you.
This was the conclusion I came to recently when everything I did felt like I was hitting my head against the sharp edge of a brick wall. It felt really good when I stopped and stilled my spirit.
Yours in health, wealth and happiness
How to be your accountant’s best friend
In this article I am assuming that you, the reader are a solo entrepreneur who runs a home based business.
If we held a straw poll right now, I would bet that 9 out of 10 of those surveyed would rather have a root canal than keep track of the stock inventory, sales and accounts paper work in an organized manner so beloved by all accountants.
Yes, I know you can get software like MYOB to do most of this stuff, but really, wouldn’t you rather be out there connecting with your customers, shootin’ the breeze, wheeling and dealing. That’s what it is all about, isn’t it?
Every year you promise yourself that you will not turn up at your accountant’s office with a shoebox full of receipts and cocktail napkins scribbled with orders you took over the phone in your hurry to seal a deal.
I will also point out the obvious that the IRS takes a dim view of people relying on their fuzzy memories when making business expense claims.
Below are some suggestions that you may wish to use so as to avoid the same scenario next year.
If you hate technology and computers, invest in a stack of manila folders. Yep, it is that simple.
Colour code the folders according to:
i) income from clients, shares, property investments, managed funds, inheritance
ii) your utility bills,
iii) advertising costs,
iv) internet service provider, web hosting and domain name purchase costs
v) postage and stationery (as opposed to stationary as in standing still which where you don’t want your business to be)
vi) car repairs and running costs
vii) medical and dental care premiums
viii) car, home and contents insurance costs
ix) income protection insurance
x) supervised childcare fees
xi) accountant’s fees
xii) lawyer’s fees
This is by no means an exhaustive list but you get where I am going with this, yes?
If you secretly fancy yourself a techno geek then step up to the next level and use a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to track your incoming and outgoings using the same categories as above.
My friend, in the eyes of your accountant your reputation will forever be redeemed because it reduces the amount of time he/she has to spend trawling through your paper trail.
Consequently the shorter billing time segments means that they charge less to prepare your tax statement.
If you are unsure about what expenses constitute a legitimate claim, do not be afraid to ask your accountant.
Remember tax laws are regularly reviewed and new rulings handed down so any CPA worth their salt should keep up to date with new developments.
Yours in health, wealth and happiness
Financial Freedom Mindset and You: Aspire and Emulate
If you want (aspire) to be wealthy, then copy (emulate) what wealthy people do, say, think and observe how they behave.
If you think this is a drag, then continue as you are and do not be surprised that your circumstances and bank balance remain the same.
One characteristic of successful people is that they have acquired a reading habit.
Success doesn’t leave cryptic clues but blatant and obvious signs. Case in point: I once heard a multi millionaire marketer say that “Leaders are Readers”.
Hey, when they offer free advice, take it.
This weekend head off to your community library and borrow a book.
Not just any book but take yourself to the biography section and load up on the stories of people (dead or alive) who have made, and in some cases lost and regained their fortunes. It is hard to go past the biographies of Donald Trump, Warren Buffet and Richard Branson.
Just to round out your education, pick biographies of people who are leaders in the very tangible sense of the word such as Gen Colin Powell. He of the Operation Desert Storm fame tells of his humble beginnings and how he rose to the top as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. My interpretation of his message is that if he can, anyone is able to do the same.
Or people who did not give up after what the average person would call having given it a red hot go and then still falling short of the mark. President Abraham Lincoln is the character who comes to mind (I won’t spoil it for you but the teaser is that he failed more than a couple of times to get elected to public office).
The other option is even more fun-approach a successful person (read millionaire) in the same field or business as yours and invite them to lunch or dinner (and pay for the meal!).
This may be a bit daunting for you but it is exactly what I did. I figured that if I extended the invitation and got a flat “No”, it’s not going to kill me-tomorrow the sun will still rise and set.
I took this millionaire couple to dinner, and had a first hand opportunity to ask them questions about their approach and outlook to running their business. The information I got was priceless.
And you know what, they are just normal and nice people like you and me.
Yours in health, wealth and happiness
Putting Your Best Foot Forward
On meeting another person for the first time, we are judged (fairly or otherwise) by our appearances and then when we open our mouths.
When you think of ducking down to the local 7Eleven for milk and the newspapers on a lazy Sunday morning, the dress code is informal-think jeans, sneakers and a sweater.
In an amusing account by an Australian woman living in France with her French beau, she described the horrified look on his face, when she was about to step out to the boulangerie for breakfast provisions (dressed in a casual manner).
French women would not dream of going to the shops sooo unprepared to face the world. Oh no, they present themselves in their best possible light and ladies that means make up and co-ordinated fashion and accessories, at the minimum.
If you work on the principle that any and everyone you meet is a prospect and potential client, ask yourself how you want them to see you?
I will pre-empt you by saying that the previous statement does not imply that you are going out there with an ulterior motive of taking financial advantage of the unsuspecting. This is hardly the case.
As an illustration, if you are tired, grumpy in the grocery store check out queue, you may be forgiven for being a bit short with the young person packing your groceries.
However, that young person’s parents may also require your services or business should you meet them socially at a barbeque, for instance.
Imagine your surprise when you enter their home to find that young check out person lives there.
There can be a couple of scenarios here,
i) there is awkward silence when you recall how you spoke to that person at the store or
ii) absolute delight that he/she remembers you as the nice person who took the time to have a little chat with them as they were scanning your box of Cheerios.
So this is what I usually do: 1) smile and make eye contact, 2) comment on how busy or quiet things are in the store, 3) engage them in a conversation, usually around the fact that they are earning whilst studying at university or college, and 4) say bye bye.
Now, that wasn’t so hard and it certainly made me feel better. Try it.
Yours in health, wealth and happiness
Financial Freedom, Mindset and You Part 4
Financial Freedom Mindset and You Recapping Part 3
(Parts 1-3 were titled, “You and Your Money”)
I described a real situation where a young Australian couple realized that it was their old mindset that had prevented them from accepting that they could become wealthy by receiving passive income. When the penny dropped, they quickly found a technique to smash past that obstacle and today are millionaires and are continuing to grow their multi million dollar business.
We have all heard of affirmations. Pick up any self development book that line the shelves of your bookstore and you can bet that there is at least a chapter devoted to this topic.
In essence, these are short positive sentences stated in the present tense, that when repeated daily are designed to bring about change for the better in your life.
Well, if this is so easy to do, why aren’t more people using affirmations to become happier, healthier, wealthier individuals?
When you are instructed to spring out of bed first thing in the morning with unbridled enthusiasm, and told to recite, “I am making $100, 000 a year” (when you are currently earning $30, 000 per annum), a little voice in your head says “Dream on, buddy. What makes you think you can make $100, 000?”
Herein lies the rub: Your thoughts and feelings determine your actions and your actions repeated become habits. In turn your habits drive your daily activities, which determine your results (in every facet of your life).
The key here is how you see yourself.
Remember, you cannot outperform your self image.
If you think and feel (that is the operative phrase) that you do not deserve something in life, then you will not get it. This is despite your conscious mind saying that you do want to do well in your career, life, relationship etc.
The analogy I use is that of a ship with sails (conscious mind) that has dropped anchor (subconscious mind).
If both conscious and subconscious minds are not in harmony or in sync, all the effort and good intentions (think wind in your sails=conscious mind) will not get you from where you are presently to where you want to be simply because you are still anchored (sub conscious mind) to the spot.
The programming you picked up well before you turned 7 is the basis for the behaviors that still drives you today. In other words, a 7 year old runs your life, and this may explain why you do the things you as an adult do today that might not be too helpful in achieving your life goals.
So, back to the couple I mentioned in Part 3, or more specifically the husband who we shall call Andrew.
Andrew, as a child broke his arm whilst playing on the monkey bars in a park, after being told not to (which kid does as he is told?). He then found himself in the hospital corridor waiting to be examined by a doctor.
In his impressionable young mind he saw the doctors and nurses who hurried by as people who were obviously intelligent, and remote. They were formidable and daunting figures to a young child who was also in a great deal of pain.
Andrew made the association that he wasn’t bright compared to these people. He then proceeded to prove that by failing his high school exams.
His circumstances changed when he met Paul and Mary Blackburn, founders of Beyond Success, a personal development company.
Through a 20 minute exercise and meditation, Andrew took himself back to that point in time, as a frightened distressed child in a hospital, and re scripted his experience of the event to one which was positive and calming.
The change in his self image was startling, as Andrew then went on to law school and completed his degree with distinctions.
Similarly, when Andrew and his wife were not making headway with their goal of becoming financially independent, they applied this exercise to identify the obstacle that was in their path to realizing their dream.
They made the paradigm shift from having to toil for money and that making money demanded hard graft, to being okay with receiving income passively. It was as simple as that.
Please contact me for more details regarding this exercise and meditation.
Yours in health, wealth and happiness
That’s What Friends Are For
Remember when Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross, Dionne Warwick and Whitney Houston sang this number?
There was not a dry eye in the house and for good reason; other than yourself the next best thing to have around is a best friend.
I am not referring to acquaintances, but real and genuine people you’d want to spend time with and vice versa.
We all have or had one as we were growing up and some of these people have stayed in touch until today whilst others were THE best friend at a specific time in our lives.
It is said that we are known by the company or friends we keep so pause for a moment and think of the qualities we want in our friend(s). Note how many of these reflect our own values.
Here are some of the qualities I wish for in a friend: dependability, thoughtfulness, loyalty, trustworthiness, honesty, kindness and a keen sense of humor.
Extrapolating from these are also ones that support a healthy lifestyle for example, fans of physical fitness, and a sense of culinary adventure and unafraid of trying new exotic cuisines.
Finally, ones that indicate a positive attitude towards life, for instance, the ability to bounce back quickly after a setback and who do not seek to blame others or circumstances for lives that are less than happy and fulfilled.
In a round about way I am referring to intrinsic and extrinsic values that shape our self image. Now remind yourself that you cannot out perform your self image.
Warren Buffett had this to say on the topic of friends:
”I like having an expensive private plane, but owning a half-dozen homes would be a burden,” Buffett noted. ”Too often, a vast collection of possessions ends up possessing its owner. The asset I most value, aside from health, is interesting, diverse, and long-standing friends.”
Maybe that is why he is such an extraordinary multi billionaire investor.
Yours in health, wealth and happiness
“In the event of a sudden loss in cabin pressure…”
The flight attendant is standing in the aisle giving us the low down on what to do should some of us ever find ourselves in this particular situation when flying.
It is a life saver demonstration.
We know it is important to pay attention to her instructions as the plane is still taxiing on the runway but somehow getting out our magazines or novel and making ourselves comfortable for the long trip is a higher priority.
We half listen to the part where she says, “…place the oxygen mask over your face before attending to infants, small children….”.
Unknowingly, she has just given you the best piece of advice for catapulting the quality of your relationships, business and life in general from ok or average to being stratospheric (pardon the pun but we are using the flying analogy here).
What does she mean?
Until you remove the sub conscious blockages usually of feeling guilty about increasing your earning capacity, or feeling threatened and uncomfortable when relating to people at an honest, loving and deeper level, your goals and aspirations will remain frustratingly out of reach.
As much as you are moved to help others when you see them in distress, about to be evicted from their home or needing emotional support, there will not be enough to draw from (your own store to share) until you first help yourself.
This is where we meet a lot of resistance, because we’ve been told it is selfish to put ourselves ahead of others.
Or is it?
I challenge you to toss out this well meaning but erroneous preconceived idea that was programed into our subconscious without our permission when we were young and impressionable.
Who’s idea was it anyway? Here’s a clue: it wasn’t yours!
Below is a vastly different take on this matter:
“Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some; it is in everyone. And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Marianne Williamson
Yours in health, wealth and happiness