Two days ago someone asked me, “If you could do anything what would it be?” and for the first time I smiled and said, “I’m doing it.” That’s not because I have arrived at some predetermined destination, but rather because I have come to love the journey.

My family and business are a REAL adventure. Sometimes in the past, I have had an attitude of wanting to live at the top. Now that I have reached a series of summits I recognize the joy that comes from the climb…and wanting to climb more. Most would never understand my geographic moves, my large family, or my constant reinvention and evolution, but it all makes me happy…sincerely happy.

Enjoying the journey has a lot to do with being content. Some people think that the state of contentment and drive are at odds with one another, but the highest state of happiness can be found in the balance of the two. Being driven to be more and being content with your current location in life is paramount in your day to day happiness. What if I told you there is no true top rather just a series of summits?

Most of my life is spent traveling and climbing with few world recognized achievements. If I only find joy in those few moments, then most of my life would be spent being disappointed, frustrated, and discouraged. Enduring and celebrating the simple things on life’s path are key to my peace of mind.

It’s making people smile, watching my kids grow, and bringing out the best in others on a daily basis that can bring me to tears of joy. Thank you to everyone in my life. That’s my joyful journey, and “I’m doing it.”

Let me know if I can help you in your adventure of business and life.

Put on your big kid pants because I’m giving it to you straight. There will be no political correctness, and some of my close friends will disagree with what I am about to say. The “Law of Abundance” is some what broken – or at least it can break you.

Alright, before everyone holds hands around me in a circle singing kumbaya, let me explain.

Yes, there is enough out there for everyone.
Yes, you can get a lot from cooperating.
Yes, being friendly and professional is a must when it comes to every aspect of your business!

But somehow this common sense and decent approach to business has gone too far. You absolutely can and should…

1. Tell people how you are different
2. Tell people how you are better
3. And ultimately compete to win more business

And yes, this might just mean that if you are winning the business then someone else is losing. Yes, losing! And guess what? That’s okay! This is a free capitalist market. Find out what people want, and give it to them. We should all learn from our losses and become better organizations.

Who here wants to create an “unfair competitive advantage?” Every one of you should have said yes!

• Coke isn’t in a mastermind group with Pepsi
• McDonald’s doesn’t share a booth at a convention with Burger King
• Apple doesn’t send out emails for Microsoft

There is a time for cooperation and creating synergy. Just don’t blur the lines and lose track of who your competitors are. I believe in friendly competition. I believe in personally complimenting people on their success. Of course, I also believe in the “Law of the War Chest.” People only have so much money in their war chest to fight the battle of day to day business building.

Thanks to the banks, credit lines, and the economy that war chest has shrunk significantly. You are competing for that hard fought for treasure that is now locked up and vigilantly protected.

The key to balancing cooperation and competition is focusing on others that are truly complimentary. Who knows who you want to know? Who reinforces what you do and sell? Cooperate less, Compete more, and focus on Complimentary.

I hope you like the title. It started out as “I hate dreamers” but then I remembered my mom taught me not to hate. Then the subject line was “dreamers annoy me” but then I realized that wasn’t necessarily true either. Third time is the charm, “Dreaming is Good, Doing is Better”.

I’ll take a small time doer over a big time dreamer any old day. The billion dollar Nike motto is “Just Do It” not “Just Dream It”. There is a reason for that.

The key to more doing is to really reverse engineer your final destination. Discover where you want to be and then work backwards. Once you know the path you can break things down into baby steps. Here are some easy questions that can lead you to super simple steps.

1. What do you really want?
2. Sure we all want money as a means to an end but what is that end?
3. Sure we all want more time but what do you want to do with that time?
4. What kind of businesses and day to day activities do you like?

Most people can run lots of different kinds of businesses as long as they get to spend time working on things they enjoy and that at the end of the day they make the most money in the least amount of time. In theory I could be happy running a gym, a restaurant, or even a private school for entrepreneur minded kids. As long as I am creating, marketing, transforming, selling, ultimately providing amazing results and magical experiences I am happy.

BEWARE: Although you can do lots of different things as an Entrepreneur don’t be that ADHD Entrepreneur that chases every shiny object out there. Once you pick a business stick to it for a set time!

Choose a time frame like 3 months, 6 months or even a year and then really work that business. If you can’t do that then you shouldn’t even start. The benefit of doing this is to ensure you don’t give up in the heat of the moment during a bad day or a bad month. Taking action in a consistent on purpose way is very powerful. Who knows where I would be if I just quit every time I had a bad day or even a bad month.

Once you know what you want and have set a time frame for making it work tell someone about your plan of actions so they can help hold you accountable. An accountability partner is paramount. For a long time I ignored the details and tried to do too much. It was my wife that became my accountability partner…whether I liked it or not. Jill asked me the tough questions. She asked me about the details and the numbers. Although it was annoying at times it made me commit to my planned actions and it gave me someone to answer to.

Last but not least…do what ever it takes to execute the actions necessary to be successful! Be bold, work hard and just short of breaking the law…do what ever it takes! In the last 15 years of sales and owning my own businesses I have had 2 different night jobs.

One time I unloaded 53 foot long trucks for Fed Ex making $10 an hour. Even though it was at night, it was in Phoenix during the summer. Sometimes it was still close to 100 degrees and the inside of those trucks were not any cooler. I went to work all day, had dinner with the family, took a nap and then unloaded trucks form 9:30am-2:30am.

Another time I took a paper route throwing over 300 papers 7 nights a week. It was humbling work. On Fridays and Sundays the newspapers were so big they took twice the time to wrap and throw so Jill would come down and help me. We started at around 11pm and would get done around 6am.

But we did what ever it took to keep going, to keep taking action! I’d love to say I never gave up but there were some bad days. And then a new day would come and I would start again…taking action! Maybe now you can see why my tolerance for dreamers who never do is so thin.

Don’t just dream!

DO!

PS If you want to know more of the right things to do come to my next IconBootcamp. www.iconbootcamp.com

A “Brand” is the sum total of all the experiences people have had with any person, place or thing (products and organizations are things). Yes, people and places have brands too. Obama has a brand, Vegas has a brand, Mother Theresa has a brand, Miami has a brand, Elvis has a brand, and even China has a brand.

These brands were built over time based on what the majority of people experienced. Of course key people and media with big megaphones can also overshadow what the majority feels. That’s why endorsements, celebrity spokespeople, commercials and regular media appearances are so valuable. So what is your brand? What are people experiencing with you, your products or your organization?

Your business would be better if your brand was better. In order for this to happen you have to go out of your way to interact with people every where, you have to share, you have to give, you have to serve and above all you have to stand out from the crowd. You must interest people and more importantly you must fascinate people.

Sometimes this requires you to be controversial or even to shock people. Other times you will have to share personal stories and experiences. New concepts, strong communication and the cool factor all go a long way in developing a strong brand. The method combination you need all depends on what you want your brand to be.

People are buying your brand. Again, whether you like it or not, people are buying your brand. So what are people buying from you?

I’ve dedicated years of my life to making people, places and things Icon’s in their industry. Here is the best of what I have learned about Icon Building packaged in a really easy “Top 3 To Do” checklist of things you can do day in and day out that will make you more profitable.

1. Build a Golden Rolodex – Wow influential people who have a strong following. Keep their contact info handy and review your top 50-100 people weekly. I like to keep the best ones on a highly visible whiteboard in my office. Break these people up into categories. Focus on the ones that have their own radio shows, TV shows, or large email databases. Don’t forget those people that have high amounts of traffic to their websites, thousands of Facebook Friends, Twitter Followers, and Linkedin Connections. Do what ever you can to add value to their life. This one thing has helped positively promote and control the destiny as well as the profitability of my business more than anything else.

2. Develop Your Core Stories – People as a majority want to know your story, the story of your organization or the stories of your customers or clients. You must record these stories, testimonials, and case studies. This personal approach and social proof goes a long ways towards inviting people experience your movement. More than ever people want an organization with personality and heart. People don’t want cold heartless organizations that they can’t relate too. Video, Audio, Articles, Blogs, Social Media postings, and Power Point presentations can all help you convey these core stories.

3. Manage Your Online Reputation – More than ever people go to the internet to learn about you, your products and your organization. The good news is that it is very easy for you to put out great things on the internet…especially if you are doing number 1 and 2 well. The bad news is that it is relatively easy for people to say bad things about you, your products and your organization…even if it’s not true. You must continually communicate online and research your self like anyone else might. The world is quickly transitioning from everyone needing a website to everyone need a really good website that is an interactive ongoing commercial stocked full of social proof and cutting edge technology and automation.

BEWARE! All 3 of these things are part of an ongoing journey and never a destination. Companies, organizations, people and places with once stellar reputations for decades can all face unrepairable disaster over-night.

Just remember, if you want to improve your business, just improve your brand!

PS My Icon Branding Bootcamp www.iconbootcamp.com will cover all this in great detail Friday March 9th 9am-9pm in LA. There is even a bonus day on March 10th that you won’t want to miss!.

I got such great feedback on my last list I thought I would give you a few more ways to get things done better, faster and cheaper!

Secret #3

I get good feedback when I send personal video emails to people. This is so easy when you use Eyejot www.eyejot.com…oh and did I mention it’s free?! You can send as many 5 minute video messages as you want for free! If you want to make them up to 10 minutes long then it only costs $29.99 for the year! They also have a Mobile App for $3.99 so you can record and send right off your phone. I’ve used them for over a year and never had a problem.

Secret #4

Power Point is good but people love it when I mix things up with a Prezi presentation, www.prezi.com. You can view one of my Prez presentations at http://prezi.com/jitmc5u2bscd/more-fans-buyers-2/. The way this presentation moves and interacts is amazing. It really compartmentalizes your ideas and communicates very clearly. This service is also free! When you visit my presentation you will also see how easy it is to track views and share on Facebook. Good Stuff!

No, I am not an affiliate of either one of these organizations I just mentioned and I don’t make any money sharing this with you. In some ways I might even lose money or business. Of course, I still believe there are a ton of ways for me to earn your business and make you a FAN!

This is just 2 out of a ton of Trade Secrets and Service Providers I plan to share with you at my Icon Branding BootCamp http://iconbootcamp.com this March 9th in LA. And don’t forget the bonus day “Start a Book or Blog”. I even have Diana von Welanetz Wentworth Co-Author of 2 of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books coming to speak to you. Her autobiography book Send Me Someone has even been sold to Lifetime to become a movie. Diana is a close friend and a client that I guarantee will instantly add value to your life!

Find all the hotel and location details at http://iconbootcamp.com/hotel.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Secret #1

Many of you have asked how I do my magazines like Icon Builder Magazine www.iconbuildermagazine.com and Joint Venture Magazine www.jointventuremagazine.com (this is a client I do the mag for). Although we have our own enhancements you can find a company called Megazine 3 out of Germany that offers this for people who want to brave it alone.

Secret #2

Many of you have asked for the best and most affordable way to launch a book. Try Book Baby! www.bookbaby.com will help you launch books in every way you can imagine including Kindle, Amazon, and iPad. They have launch packages around $99! It’s insane!

No, I am not an affiliate of either one of these organizations I just mentioned and I don’t make any money sharing this with you. In some ways I might even lose money or business. Of course, I still believe there are a ton of ways for me to earn your business and make you a FAN!

This is just 2 out of a ton of Trade Secrets and Service Providers I plan to share with you at my Icon Branding BootCamp www.iconbootcamp.com this March 9th in LA. And don’t forget the bonus day “Start a Book or Blog”. I even have Diana von Welanetz Wentworth Co-Author of 2 of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books coming to speak to you. Her autobiography book Send Me Someone has even been sold to Lifetime to become a movie. Diana is a close friend and a client that I guarantee will instantly add value to your life!

Find all the hotel and location details at www.iconbootcamp.com/location

I look forward to seeing you there!

Websites are NOT “one size fits all”. So many people totally misunderstand what their website is really for, how to leverage a good website or even what a good website is for their organization. For so many of us a website should be expected to be more of a toolbox filled with sales building tools rather than an automated cash register.

The fact is that people don’t spend thousands of dollars on services with trusted advisors without some kind of personal touch or pre-existing relationship. The exceptions are few and far between.

So let’s get the big fat exception to all this out of the way…If you are just selling “widgets” online then this really doesn’t apply. If you are in the Advice Business selling services then you are the product and it’s an entirely different approach. Your website should then be more focused on saying what you personally shouldn’t have to…like how great you are.

A trusted advisors website should be a digital and graphically pleasing resume that hits all the right emotional triggers that scream and echo success. That’s why you want video testimonials, written testimonials, pictures of awards, credible affiliations, where you have been seen and what you have been featured in. This could include degrees, titles you have held, significant achievements, books that you have written, articles that have been published, and radio and TV stations you have been on. All of these will reinforce what results you deliver for your clients and that’s what’s most important.

Any first phone call consultation with me will include me giving the prospect a tour of my websites that best apply to their needs. I never want to say anything that could be better said through my websites and ultimately the 3rd party social proof that can be found there.

No matter how little social proof you have use it to get more even if it means working for free to get testimonials, successful case studies or recognition by a 3rd party organization. (I go into great detail about this at my event www.morefansandbuyers.com)

The bottom line is don’t set up or expect your website to be an auto pilot cash register ringing out sales in the thousands daily, weekly or even monthly. Rather, setup your website to be your 24/7 “sales person” answering questions of doubt with success stories and overcoming objections with 3rd party social proof.

Here are some examples of websites we created for clients who sell services and sponsorships:
1. www.aafengshui.com
2. www.sharonjakubecy.com
3. www.lorielgin.com
4. www.walkingacrossamerica.org
5. More examples can be found at davidtfagan.com/portfolio

It’s articles and conversations like this that I always feel the need to start with this disclaimer.

DISCLAIMER: There are no “silver bullets” in marketing.

This means that there is no one thing that works every time for every person in every place.  The idea is to always implement as many “best practices” as you possibly can…so here they are.

1. Good picture of the product, and if you are in the Advice Business then YOU ARE the product.  Speakers, Authors, Coaches, Trainers, Attorneys, Dentists, Chiropractors, Realtors, and CPA’s cover a fair amount of the industries I am talking about.
2. 3^rd party images that act as social proof.  I’m talking about awards, degrees, media recognition for you, your clients or products, and services.  Always sell through other people, organizations, and companies.
3. Testimonials that take the shape of both video and written words.  Show diverse groups of people in both natural settings as well as sophisticated back drops.
4. Images that move are keys to catching the eye and holding people’s attention.  Sliders or carousels do this well.
5. A strong ethical bribe is paramount in capturing people’s information.  I’ll give you (blank) if you give me (blank).  The more valuable the gift the more information they will give you.  Videos, mind maps, demonstrations, and digital books and magazines seem to have the best response.
6. Have an opt in and a way to use auto responders.  Capturing leads of people who visit your website is a top priority.
7. “Attention Getters” are hugely important, especially when you have a website with lots of info on it.  These “Attention Getters” should directly or indirectly focus on what’s in it for the website viewer or prospect.
8. Surveys or Polls that capture feedback and promote interaction are showing positive results when tracked.  Getting people to click, take action, and participate will be fundamental in 2012.
9. Compartmentalize your website.  Things should blend or be hard to read.  You should be able to glance from area to area and read everything easily.
10. Have Social Media feeds.  Having Facebook or Twitter updates happening on your website allows you to easily and automatically be updating your website all the time.  It also adds credibility and sophistication to any site.
11. Don’t let good sales copy ever take a back seat to “pretty” if you want to make good money.
12. Have lots of images that trigger the right emotions you want for your business.
13. Your message should match your demographic.  Age groups, professions, etc. can alter how you might determine your colors, images, and video.
14. Have lots of articles or blogs that people can share, comment on or even rate.  Keep in mind there is more credibility in an article than a blog.
15. Always put an image or thumb nail next to your articles.
16. Your pictures, social proof, ethical bribe, opt in, slider, and attention getter should all be above the fold on your website.  This means that all these things should be visible to the average viewer on your website without them having to scroll down.  Everything above the fold is your website real estate.
17. Have your website built in a way that you can update as much as possible yourself.  If your time is extremely valuable then have someone on call that can make changes for you at the drop of the hat.
18. Update your site regularly so people feel the need to keep coming back.  This is another reason to have social media feeds and post articles.
19. Use up to date formats, designs, and graphics.  People can tell when you are using something out of date.  The better it looks, the better you look…and the more you can charge.
20. Make sure your sites are very specific to a purpose.  Selling sites, squeeze pages, membership sites, main sites, etc. can all vary a little.  Set your expectations appropriately for your website.  People in the advice business who sell big ticket items for services will most likely never be able to sell online.  Your main site, with the check list I just provided, should be mostly about demonstrating credibility and influence.

For good examples look www.morefansandbuyers.com and www.davidtfagan.com.  You can see some great “before and after’s” of some extreme website makeovers we did for people at www.davidtfagan.com/portfolio.

Although some of these points are more important others we will keep the math easy.  Go ahead and give yourself 1-5 points for every one of these “must have’s”.

A          91-100 points

B          81-90 points

C          71-80 points

D          61-70 points

F          51-60 points

Sidenote:www.alexa.com will give you your traffic rankings.  It’s an interesting and accurate idea of how your websites compare against others.  That being said quality visitors are always better than high quantities of visitors.

My 14 year old daughter Jordan was cut from the high school volleyball team, and I’m kind of glad.  I know you must be wondering how I could say such a thing.  After all, it’s hard to watch a kid experience the letdown of trying out for a team only to be told they are not good enough.  Unfortunately, it’s the hard lesson Jordan needed to learn.  You see, that’s what happens when you don’t practice.  Talent will only take you so far.

I’ve warned my naturally athletic daughter for some time that she would need to practice more if she wanted to be one of the best at something.  With only a week to go before tryouts she spent only a few hours practicing on a couple different days.  Of course I want my daughter to make the team, but what would my daughter have learned if she made the team with little to no practice?  It was indeed a wakeup call.

Would you rather have a wakeup call and learn a valuable lesson early in life or later in life?  Are you winging it?  Do you practice?  Do you practice more than you play?  I want my kids, and anyone else who wants to be the best at something, to acknowledge and accept the price that needs to be paid…the price of preparation.

A professional athlete, performer, or musician might practice 40-50 hours for every one hour that is actually paid to play.  Would you believe that Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team his sophomore year?  This drove him to practice more and to practice the right things more intently.  Today he is still considered the greatest player of all time.

These highly accomplished individuals know that it’s not just “practice makes perfect” but rather it is “perfect practice makes perfect”.  The details matter.  What happens if we practice the wrong way? Yet, we as paid business professionals so many times just show up at game time hoping to figure it out on the fly.  Why is that?

I suppose sometimes we have no choice.  I suppose we are all balancing a lot of different things and sometimes practicing falls by the wayside.  Wake up call!  If you want to be a highly paid professional then you need to practice and be prepared.  Here are 7 activities that will better prepare you for your “game time” business performance.

1. Reading Books – There are great books on almost every subject that will make you more knowledgeable.  Experts and Advisors have to be on the cutting edge of their field.
2. Attending Seminars – Hearing industry leaders speak on various topics and skill sets as you take notes can be a great way to learn more.
3. Role Playing – Yes, literally hearing objections from a “preparation partner” and practicing how to overcome those objections is paramount in sales.  Not knowing what people will say or how they will respond is a huge obstacle.  You can go from “call reluctance” to “call excitement” just by having the confidence that comes from experienced role playing.
4. Creating Purposeful Presentations – We all need people to take action from time to time and having clear, organized ways to express your solutions to various problems helps you come across as the professional that people are willing to pay.
5. Interview Successful People – Finding out how other people got to where they are at can really help you avoid major pitfalls.
6. Have a Mentor – Regularly talk with someone who is specifically at where you want to be.  This is another way to avoid pitfalls as well as a way to recognize big opportunities.
7. Focus on Communication – Make the art of listening, speaking to all walks of life, and perfecting accurate body language a constant pursuit.  So much is determined by good or bad communication.  Practice using different words and ways of saying things.  Talk about things in front of a mirror and watch your body language including smiles, hands, etc.

The stakes are high.  Sales are made or lost by the level of preparation and practice.  Businesses succeed and fail because of their level of preparation and practice.  Do these 7 activities regularly and you will put all the odds in your favor of being a highly paid Trusted Advisor.

I’m more of a “good is good enough” kind of guy and I hate to see people get stuck in “analysis paralysis”. I’d rather do something a little wrong rather than do nothing at all and you should feel the same way. You just need some preparation and a good plan. From there it’s a matter of failing forward and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

My clients and mastermind groups in general regularly meet to map things out, white board new ideas, heart storm, brain storm, discuss new team members that need to be recruited and even develop new power plays for their businesses. You have to take these strategic steps back from time to time in order to really leap forward.

Here are 8 Keys to Leveraging Strategy Sessions for Total Success:
1. You need to discuss strategies with a limited amount of distractions and interruptions. This may mean going “offsite” away from your regular working environment.
2. Prep your team, family, clients and anyone else who may need you during that time on how important it is that you have time to strategize. This could include setting up an “out of office” reply in your email.
3. Make sure you have plenty of white boards and dry erase markers to flush out ideas. Taking pictures of these white boards before erasing can also prove very useful too. Everything from book layout’s to website designs to mind maps to list of names of people you need to contact can fill these boards.
4. Try to have an “end game” for these sessions with agendas and lists of goals that you want to reach. Plan more than you can actually do just in case one topic gets stuck or things go faster than you think they might. It’s better to have too much than not enough.
5. Record as much as you can. Whether it’s audio, video or even taking notes make sure there is a lot of recording being done. One person should be responsible for what is being said and who will do what but EVERYONE should takes notes about the ideas and feelings they have about everything while it’s happening in real time.
6. Mix business with pleasure. Try to go somewhere fun, memorable and even inspiring whenever possible. Don’t let the location be a distraction but working hard with breaks for playing hard can really elevate the creativity in the group.
7. Make it a 2 day process. Something magical always happens with one night in between. It always helps to “sleep on it”. Seeing what marinates and what dissipates in the group is always helpful.
8. Don’t leave the strategy session without clear next steps and strong take-away’s that have been verbalized and written down.

It has become a pretty common thing for people to escape to my ranch here in the great northwest to plan out the next power play in their business or even to launch an entirely new organization. I can speak from experience as to the importance of taking a step back so that you can leap forward but don’t take my word from it. Here are 8 people that have witnessed first-hand the power of great strategy sessions!

Whether it’s me as your guide in my conference room on the ranch or someplace else you must stop from time to time to work ON your business rather than just IN your business and these 8 keys will put all the odds in your favor of having a Totally Successful Strategy Session!