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Article by Peter J. Normandia. Follow me on Twitter.

Inspired recently by Napolean Hill’s classic book ‘Think and Grow Rich‘, my partner and I recently sat down to plan our strategy to make more money than we can count. The following steps are the process we went through over the last year to get to the point where we were able to make this plan. There are six steps in the plan put forth in ‘Think and Grow Rich’. I have included them in this list, and added my interpretation of them. If you have not read ‘Think and Grow Rich’, I certainly suggest it. I can’t say it will make you rich, whatever your definition of that is, but it will certainly open your mind to the fact of just how possible it is to become so.

1. Think about what type of life you would like to live.

Don’t think about money. Money is pointless at this stage. In fact, pretend money does not exist. You simply have to choose what you will spend the majority of your time on. Now, don’t worry about changing your mind. That is okay. The important thing is to be successful in whatever you do, so learning how to succeed on one path will easily translate over to the next. Even if you pick the wrong path, it will not be a waste of time.

2. Write down how much money you would like to make.

As Napolean Hill says, you need to define this number and make a commitment to it. Write it down on a piece of paper right now. Don’t be scared either. I wrote down $200 million. My partner wrote down $333 million. Remember, this is our one life. If we are not going to try and go big, then why try at all? 

3. Write down what you are willing to sacrifice for this financial gain.

Napolean Hill opened my eyes to a very simple concept, that for some reason or other, had eluded me. If you want to make a lot of money, it is going to take sacrifice. It is not simply, think about it, and it will happen. You are going to have to give up family time, weekends, hobbies, television, and all sorts of things. Right now, list all of the things you are willing to give up to reach this goal. Remember, the higher the sum, the more sacrifice it requires.

4. Make a due date.

Another great step from ‘Think and Grow Rich’. Define the time period in which you want to achieve this goal by setting a due date to reach it. Now, don’t be scared to make the commitment. I wrote down 3 years with a due date of 7/4/2012. You can write down anything you like. The important part is to make that date and stand by it no matter what. Write it down right now.

5. Make a plan to acquire those sums.

This step from the book is quite useful. It helped us tremendously. You see, my partner and I had a couple of services that we are releasing this June. Now, originally, we were set on a certain strategy for marketing these services. We were thinking, in a few years, we may be able to collect enough monthly to pay all our bills. However, with this new commitment to a large financial gain, we had to think bigger. So we did, and what we came up with is incredible! I am not able to delve into details at this time, but the idea is probably our best idea yet. I can’t believe we didn’t see it before. We would have never thought of it had we not been forced to plan a way on how to make our fortune.

What I learned while doing this is, if you do not make a plan, how can you hope to achieve that sum? The answer is you can’t. That’s why, right now, you need to take some time and write down exactly how you plan to acquire the sum you desire. Don’t worry about the small details. Just get to thinking how you are going to take your passion, and turn it into gold.

6. Read it 2x a Day

So you now have a list. Napolean Hill, and my partner who had read hundreds of similar books, both say you should write the plan as if it already happened. For example, you may write…

“In the last 3 years, I have acquired $200 million dollars. To get this sum, I have sacrificed time with my family, weekends, television, training, luxuries, expensive dinners, good credit, sweat, blood, and tears. My fortune was acquired by (insert plan here). 3 years ago, I made a deal that by today, I will have acquired $200 million. There is no feeling quite like knowing I achieved my goal. It is too treasured to try and explain with mere words.“

Napolean Hill suggests reading it when you wake up, and before you go to bed. I think, as long as you read it daily, it will have the same effect. The important part is to get a taste of the incredible feeling of reaching that goal every time you read it. That is your daily motivation, Not the money, but that feeling of success. Right now, write down your own tale, as you would be telling it to others, after it is accomplished.

7. Believe in Your Ability

One of the things this book has done for me is it cemented the thought in my head that I really can do anything I want to. I think, along the course of our life, barraged by negativity day after day, we tend to doubt our ability to achieve things. ‘Sure, I’d love to be rich, but I’m just not the rich type.’ If you think like this, unfortunately, you are a 100% right.

To follow your plan, you must believe in it whole heartedly. You must believe that even if you are not ready at this very moment, by following that path, you will become as ready as you will ever be. It is not you that makes the path, but rather the path that makes you. You have made a commitment because you believed in your self. Now you have to do your best to stick to it.

8.  Start Right Now!

This is Napolean Hill’s final step in his book. He points out that, whether you are ready or not, you must start on this plan right now. It reminds me of starting out in Jiu Jitsu. They don’t show you moves, and make sure you know what to do before you start. Instead, they simply throw you right into the fire. To become good at Jiu Jitsu, you must first learn what NOT to do, before you learn what to do. The same goes for your plan. Jump right into the fire, and trust in your ability to adapt. Humans are nature’s greatest example of adaptation, so don’t tell me you don’t adapt well. Tell me you choose not to let yourself adapt well, because you are afraid you might not succeed. That is the truth, and from here on out, as you set out to start on this plan, the truth is all you have left.

9. Be honest with yourself.

Making a commitment to reach a goal is quite scary. It may sound ridiculous to others. It may invoke some teasing from friends and family. People think I am a moron when I tell them I am going to make $200 million in the next three years. However, I don’t care what anyone thinks. I don’t expect them to believe me. If someone told me that, I would not believe them either.

The truth is, you are not telling these people when you speak to them. You are telling yourself. You are being honest with yourself and your intentions. This is an important part of self confidence. Be firm in what you want. Don’t let anyone tell you different. It is your life, and the only thing you can do, is be honest with yourself about how you want to live it.

10. Money is not important.

This may seem ironic. If money is not important, than why the hell did we waste our time on the first 9 steps? The answer is that money is one part of living a stress free life. The feeling of reaching the goal you set out to reach is the true treasure of this journey. Imagine the possibilities that will open if you firmly believed you can achieve anything if you actually committed your mind to it. Think about the smug feeling of confidence you would have the next time somebody laughs at your lofty goals.

This is the feeling you need to have right now. This is the feeling of confidence you need to make your plan a reality. It’s not about the money, even though there will be plenty. It’s about harnessing the power of your mind, and realizing that with the gifts you have right now, anything, anything at all, is possible. It’s just a matter of committing yourself to it. Are you ready?

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Article by Peter J. Normandia. Follow me on Twitter.

“There’s a war going on outside no man is safe from. You can run but you can’t hide forever.” -Mobb Deep

Nothing like a little hip hop to get the morning started. Today I am pumped up. Not sure why, but I hope to get all of you hyped as well so LOOK OUT!

Yin vs Yang is all about the inner battles we each have. Today, I wanted to touch on another type of inner battle every animal has experienced: Fight or flight.

This has been a natural battle for humanity since the dawn of time. However, in today’s world the fight or flight battle is a little less blunt, or so it seems. Back in the day, cavemen either fought or fled for their lives. It was a simple concept. Either choose to stand your ground, or you better run for your life. You want something, you have to take it. If a caveman was not willing to take it, then they could not have it. Life was simple.

Today, though, life is much more complicated. You can’t just go out there and take what you want. This is a civilized world now in which people try to respect each other. There is no need for arguments, fights, or anything of the sort in order to make it through life today. Life is a lot more complicated than fight or flight these days.  Right?

HELL mother-f-ing NO!!!!

That’s just what everyone wants you to believe. And if you do, I will say this as clear as I can: You are a sucker.  A SUCKER!!!

Successful people, or at least all the ones I have met or studied, went after exactly what they wanted. They did not beat around the bush. They set something in their sights and did not stop till it was theirs. They did not back down from any challenges. They did not think about what other people were doing or saying. They simply stuck to their instinct and went ALL OUT with it.

In order to be successful, you must be willing to go all out. Do not think success is going to come without a fight.  Now, when I say fight, I don’t mean a little scrap behind the woods after school either. I mean you need to be prepared to fight for your life like cavemen used to against Sabertooth Tigers.

You need to understand that’s the type of battle you are in right now if you want to succeed. You need to prepare every time as if you’re facing the best pound for pound fighter in the world.

Millions of people.  Maybe even billions, are doing everything in their power RIGHT NOW to be more successful than you.  Whatever business you are in, however it is you earn your paycheck, there is someone out there who would gladly take your place. In this life, it is all about fighting for your position. If you don’t fight for what you want, you will only get what’s given to you.

I train MMA and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I get to see up close what makes an MMA fighter successful and what does not. The funny thing is, it takes exactly the same traits to be successful in the cage as it does life. I mean, it is down right identical. Think like the prosecutor in the movie My Cousin Vinny, ‘I-(clap)-Dentical’. No matter what business you are in, if you want to be successful, then you must think like a cage fighter.

Cage fighters are successful for these reasons:

Preparation

How prepared are you? A successful cage fighter goes to every extreme to make sure they are prepared. If possible, they will study their opponents on YouTube or ask around for friends who may have trained with them. They will bring in other fighters similar to their opponents to become even more prepared. By the time they are ready to fight, there is not one ounce of preparation they have not done. Being a great fighter is about finding the perfect balance between your physical body and your mind. This is all accomplished during preparation.

Endurance

MMA fans love the knockout, probably because of its excitement and relative rarity. However, even though a knockout is the goal, every fighter prepares to go the full distance. This is because, when you reach the big leagues, counting on a knockout is horseshit. A fighter must train till their endurance is at such a peak level, the fight is just a joke. That is why, many fighters look so ready on fight night. They have trained to fight an hour long war, even though the fight is usually only 15 minutes. Remember, training is the hard part. The fight is the party where you get to show off what you’ve accomplished.

Adaptability

Every great fighter comes in with a plan. They may try to avoid their opponent’s takedowns, push the pace, keep it standing, etc. No matter the plan, though, a fight is a fight. ANYTHING can happen. The littlest thing, such as a slip of the foot, or sweat in your eye, can cause the whole fight to change. Real fighters have a plan, but are also able to adapt on the fly. If things go haywire, they keep calm and cool, working through the tough spot as best they can. It’s what they have trained for. They stay focused and they adapt. They don’t live or die by what they planned. They just use it as a guide. They know adaptability is key to any victory.

Killer Instinct

This is probably the single trait that separates a good fighter from a great fighter. In the cage, when you get an opportunity to put the fight away, you must have that killer instinct. I have seen many fighters take it too easy when their opponent is about to go. They feel comfortable because they are winning.  They don’t see how that will change. That is until the opponent hits them across the chin with a lucky counter punch. All of a sudden, what once seemed like an easy victory, now becomes the fight of their life. If a great fighter sees an opportunity to finish, they move in like sharks that smell blood, and finish off their opponent for the win.

Talk is Cheap

The pre-fight hype stuff is always classic. Who does not like seeing two raging animals talking defiantly about why they are going destroy the other? I have seen all sorts of shenanigans before a fight. Fighters will force opponents to go lose an extra 1/4 pound at weigh-ins. Some fighters act as if they hate their opponents. Some try to put on crazy persona’s in order to mess with their foes.

However, the best fighters always have the same, calm, emotionless look. They simply look prepared. These fighters know all the showboating, tough talk, and antics will all disappear once that cage door shuts. Talk is cheap. The only thing that matters is results.

Mental Fortitude

The greatest thing about MMA is that there will probably never be an undefeated champion. Everyone loses at one time or another. There are too many variables in Mixed Martial Arts to have someone be perfect all the time. The same goes for life. Cage fighters will have to deal with a loss at one time or another. It never feels good to feel like they let down their family, coaches, and training partners. Imagine preparing for something will all your energy for months on end, and then getting knocked out by a lucky shot in the first round. Believe me, IT SUCKS!

Great cage fighters learn from their losses. They go back and try to strengthen their weaknesses. They let the loss motivate themselves to reach an even higher level of effectiveness.  They have the mental fortitude to know the best thing for them is to get right back in the cage. Win or lose, they can always fight again. After all, it’s always about the next fight anyway.

The Present is All That Matters

Great cage fighters do not worry about the past or future. They worry about the now. I have seen many fighters face an opponent that knocked them out previously. Some can handle it, and some attract the same result all over again. It all depends on the mind set. Real fighters know each fight is different, no matter what happened the last time. Each fight is on a different night, with different circumstances, at different arenas, and with different crowds. There is no two fights that are ever exactly the same.  All that matters is the fight you are in NOW. Not the one from last year. Not the one in two months. Real Cage fighters know the only opponent they face is the one standing in front of them.

We’re all Friends in the End

Cage fighters may try to kill each other during the fights, but in the end, there is nothing but respect. Every fighter respects anyone who is willing to go toe-to-toe with them. Whether they beat them, or they lost, their is always respect for the opponent. The reason is, every fighter has been on both sides of the stat column. Plus, without your opponent’s effort, there would be no victory. This is why it is always of the utmost importance to respect anyone you do battle with. It is the code of the warrior. No reason to hold a grudge. They were just trying to win like you.

Think Like a Cage Fighter on Your Way To Success

Now it’s up to you. You don’t have to wear 4 ounce gloves to think like a cage fighter. Remember, nothing in life is given to you. If you want something, then you must go out there and take it, just like the cavemen used to do.

After struggling for the last few months, and surviving by the skin of our teeth, my company Reimagine’s hard work has finally paid off.  We calculated our balance sheet for the next few months, and finally, some money is starting to trickle in.  It has been a long journey, but I finally feel we are breaking into a new plateau.  We have reached the next level.

I am not trying to brag here (not yet at least).  It is simply the way we got to the next level that I found interesting enough to write about.  Back when I started this blog, I did it to show how taking steps in the direction of your personal dreams will ultimately lead to success.  You always hear successful people tell of their tales, but I wanted to prove a regular person who puts his mind to something can achieve success.  I would do this by blogging about my brand new company’s positive and negative experiences, and the effect on my life.  If I was successful, my proof that anything is possible if you commit to it would be right smack dab in the blog.

Basically, the outcome would tell the story.

The goal was to structure our company to fit around our lives.  If I am going to live a life, I want it to be as enjoyable as possible.  This is why we included in our plan free time to do personal projects.  It gives everyone a chance to get out their creative urges, which helps the everyday work remain consistent.  In short, we basically structured a perfect company for who we wanted to be and what we wanted to do, without using money as the driving force.  Instead, we would use our own desires.  The idea was that as our work got better, so would our pay.

Just recently, we went even further.  We decided to only focus on the niche markets we enjoyed working in instead of trying to please everyone.  You see, we do websites and digital media such as TV commercials.  However, in this market, sometimes you take projects for the money, and not for the love.  Due to recent past experiences, we decided we would not fall into this trap.  It just always winds up being a worse situation when you don’t want to give your all to something.

Now, let me tell you.  It sounds admirable that we decided to only take the projects we love.  However, it is not easy, especially when you are first starting out.  When bills are due, and you have the opportunity to make some money, by all means, do what you have to.  Just understand, it is a short term answer.  The only way to make real money is to excel in what you do.  And the best way to excel at something is to love to do it.

The idea here is we finally listened to the most important person on earth: ourselves.

We decided to cut out any and everything in our business that we did not want to do, but thought we should for the money.  Instead, we just outsource it now.  This has truly opened up a two way path.  We may make less money off each project we don’t want to do, but at the same time, we do not have to deal with it. Therefore, we are still making money while creating more time to do the projects we like.  Plus, the kicker is that the projects we love to do we usually excel at.  This helps us gain more lucrative work in the long term, which always is a bigger benefit than any of the short term money could have ever been.

Paying bills and keeping up with expenses is a tough job.  We all have to make sacrifices here and there.  Just remember though, if paying your monthly expenses is all you are planning for, then you will probably not last too long before you run into economic problems.  All you need is one bad month to set you back for what will feel like an eternity.  And everyone has a bad month now and again.  It’s just human nature.

Be honest with yourself about your life.   Understand that the happier you are, the more productive you can be.  That is a very important aspect many people overlook while facing the economic struggles in early life.  They simply want to pay the bills, and they spend the majority of their life doing just that.   Don’t get caught in the same trap.

Love what you do, and do what you love.  The road may start out rough, but the destination is always worth the initial struggle.