By now you understand that in order to work less and make more, you’ll have to delegate. Your job is to focus the majority of your time on the high-payoff activities that best use your talents and feed your passion. What about all the other stuff that needs to get done? Those things can be delegated to motivated, trustworthy people who’ll do them better than you anyway.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re just at the beginning of your Work Less, Make More journey, and you’re budget won’t allow for extra support. How are you supposed to delegate if you can’t afford to?

Don’t worry. It’s a common problem, and there is a solution. Take one of my clients, Janet.

Janet owns a regional magazine, and she was about to give it up when she came to me. She had been in business for almost two years, and cash flow was extremely tight. While she had already done the hard part of defining where she should concentrate her efforts and where she needed help, she simply couldn’t afford that help. I was her last resort. Was there a way for her to save her business without bringing others on board?

My answer was a simple “no.” Unless Janet found a way to focus on the big stuff—which meant finding others to do the little stuff—her business would not succeed.

While Janet was looking a little dejected at this point, the next thing I told her perked her up a bit. It’s possible to delegate without spending a dime. You don’t need tons of money. As a matter of fact, you don’t need any money at all. All you need is a little creativity.

Here’s the basic idea: If it’s difficult for you to hire someone to handle important tasks, why not trade them out instead?

That’s right. Forming partnerships and sharing strengths is key to creative delegating. In Janet’s case, she traded advertising in her magazine for services that she needed—things like home and office cleaning, computer support, and administrative tasks. It worked extremely well. Janet got to do what she wanted to do, but the other stuff got done too.

Take my word for it. If you need something done, there’s a way to get it done. And you don’t need to break the bank. All you need to do is break open your creativity.

                   

I was on the phone the other day with Bill, who was lamenting the fact that his wife was angry that he hasn’t been to their vacation home in over three years. “I mean jeez,” he said to me. “How does she think I was able to afford the home in the first place? Doesn’t the woman realize I need to work?”

I had to chuckle. Here Bill was, logging 80-hour work weeks so that he could afford to buy things he didn’t have the time to enjoy because he was working so much. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?

The fact is, many of us are crazy busy. But we’re not busy doing things that fuel our passion. Instead, we’re busy working our lives away. Most of us believe that only dreamers chase their ideas and passions. And dreamers—let’s face it—don’t exactly enjoy social status in today’s world. In fact, it seems like the busier you are, the more respected you are.

If this sounds like your life, you’re not alone.

But if you’re like most people, you’ve this game stops working at some point. You become tired. Stressed out. Grouchy. Nothing would be better for you than to stop working so hard. And you know it, too.

Yet you continue to work harder than we should. Why? Because you don’t know what else to do. If you are like many of my clients, maybe being busy has become a modern-day addiction. Something is missing inside, and you’re not quite sure what it is. So you work really hard to earn lots of money to try to fill the void with material things—the fancier car, the bigger house, the pricey wardrobe.

Does this work? Maybe for a little while. But the feeling of emptiness always comes back. So what do you do? You work even harder to get even bigger and better things. The sad thing is, you never have the time to enjoy what you’ve earned, with the people who matter most to you. Why? You guessed it. Because you are too busy working.

When you put all of your focus on being busy, other things, like your relationships, are bound to suffer. But does this make people change their ways? Hardly. As a matter of fact, being busy is a great—and unfortunately accepted—excuse for poor performance. Your marriage is falling apart and needs some attention? No worries. Just stay really busy and everyone will understand.

If you are so busy being busy that you aren’t getting anything meaningful done, it’s time to take stock. If you are so busy that you don’t have time to enjoy the people and hobbies you love, it’s time to ask yourself why. Are you busy because you are afraid of underperforming? Are you busy because it’s easier than addressing the issues with your spouse or kids? Are you busy because you hate your job but don’t want to admit it? Are you busy because it’s hard to admit you’ve lost touch with yourself, your dreams, and passions?

Figure out why you’re so busy, and you’ll ultimately figure out what’s stopping you from truly living your life.

                   

If you’re already a Success Circle Member, I want to give you a sneak preview of the information that you will be receiving shortly in your mailbox.

http://www.successcirclemonthly.com

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INSIDE YOUR SEPTEMBER 2009 SUCCESS CIRCLE INTERVIEW:

Teleseminar Power: How to Leverage the Power of Teleseminars to Grow Your Business, with Michael Cage

Teleseminars are one of the fastest, most effective ways to grow your business, but they’re also one of the most misunderstood and under used marketing strategies out there. Michael Cage has mastered what it takes to teach people how to do revenue generating teleseminars that sell. He teaches it in a way that turns four, five and even six figure teleseminars into auto pilot money machines for businesses and professional practices.

Michael achieved great success with teleseminars after working 18 hour days and struggling in many ways. Being an entrepreneur since his pre-teen years, Michael knew there had to be a better—and easier—way to succeed. He got the idea to host teleseminars, and Michael has transformed this medium into a powerful and profitable way to grow businesses.

This interview provides a great opportunity to learn the secrets of teleseminar success, and how to apply them to your business. Watch your mailbox, because your package will be arriving soon.

Here’s some of what you’ll learn:

- The key difference between “doing a teleseminar” and “doing a teleseminar that sells”

- How to use teleseminars to generate an additional 5-6 figure annual income in your business

- The five things you must get right when delivering your teleseminar

- The most important part of the call (Get this wrong, and you can forget about selling anything!)

Here’s an excerpt from our interview:

… teleseminars done well can really accelerate and increase the conversion in your sales cycle. Whatever your business looks like. If you sell information, if you’re publishing, putting out CD’s or manuals or ebooks or what have you. If you are selling consulting services, or coaching services, if you are selling virtually anything there’s a sales cycle that you have.

The time, what happens from the time that someone becomes aware of you or what you do or what you’re product is, and the time that they actually make a buying decision? When you put a teleseminar in place, what happens is that they buy faster and more people buy. So you end up making more money faster when it’s done well.

Now depending on the business type, this could take, you know, a hundred, a thousand different forms. But the number one thing is going to be putting people on the call with the intention of getting them to take a very specific next step towards interacting with your business. Buying the thing, doing an initial consultation, coming into a store, you know whatever it is that happens when you want to generate a sale. And ideally we integrate this in with your existing marketing funnels.

So you look like, look how do you currently get clients? How do you currently get customers? And where can we build in a teleseminar to work? Now let me make an important point about this. One of the big reasons why this works so well is that you come across on a teleseminar as a real person. Especially in times when people are fearful of making decisions. When people get scared they end up freezing, and when people are frozen, they are afraid to make decisions, they are afraid to make mistakes, they become much more selective on what they purchase or what they don’t. And one of the big criteria that becomes much more important is, is the person I’m talking, is the person I’m considering buying from. You know because even when you’re buying from a business, people really feel and prefer to buy from a person, not a nameless faceless business. So one of the big things that comes into play is do we trust this person, do they have credibility, do we believe that they’re going to take care of us?

For most people getting that across in the written word is really, really tough. But if you talk on the phone they get to hear your voice, they get the sense that you’re a real person. And you don’t have to be a professional speaker. It actually helps in some ways if you’re just you. You don’t have to have a big radio voice or anything like that. I’m embarrassed to go back and listen to my early teleseminars. You know I’m kind of comfortable with them now. But in the early, early days you know I would say a couple of words and have to take a real deep breath, because I wasn’t breathing enough, because I was nervous, and you know all these things. But people could still tell that hey this is a real person on the other end of the phone. And what ends up happening then is that you get an enormous spike in the trust factor and as a result of that, you, combine that with a good structure for selling, which we’ll be talking about, and you end up making more sales faster.

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Not yet a Success Circle Member?

Not receiving the Success Circle Interview Series in your mailbox each month?

That’s easy to fix. And you can even test drive two FREE months…starting with the Michael Cage interview!

Click here for all the details:

http://www.successcirclemonthly.com

So let’s get started!

PLEASE TELL ME ABOUT YOUR FAMILY

I’m married to my high school sweetheart, Heidi. We started dating 27 years ago, and we celebrated our 20th anniversary this week! We have four beautiful children. Andy is 18, and is leaving this week for college. Abby is 15, Carly is 12, and Caleb is 7. God has blessed me in many ways, but my family is by far the greatest gift he has given me. Thanks for asking!

Do you have any pets?

Growing up, we had both dogs and cats. My cat was Clover, and he lived about 18 years! Most of my family is allergic to cats, though, so my cat days are over. We now have a Shih Tzu named Buddy, and he is 11 years old. He’s a great dog—very easy going, trouble free, and affectionate. He’s also small enough that it’s easy to find a place for him to stay when we’re on vacation!

Who would you most like to meet?

I currently have 34 people I would like to meet on my Goals List. The person I would most like to meet on that list is Richard Branson. He is a phenomenally successful businessman, founding the now famous Virgin brand—Virgin Records, Virgin Atlantic airlines, etc. And, according to people I know who’ve met and spent time with him, he’s a down-to-earth, great guy, too. I think he exemplifies the idea of “living life to the fullest” which is something I try to do in my own life. Where would we meet? Necker Island of course—Branson’s own private island located in the British Virgin Islands!

"Sometimes I do wake up in the mornings and feel like I’ve just had the most incredible dream. I’ve just dreamt my life." – Richard Branson

Where would you most like to visit?

I love to travel. There’s so much to learn from visiting other places, and I’ve been very fortunate to have not only traveled extensively myself, but to have also exposed our children to other places, and other cultures. I’ve visited 32 states outside Michigan, and 9 countries outside the United States. Most of my foreign travel has been in the form of family vacations, which I am really grateful for.

I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface in terms of places to see, because there are still so many places I want to visit. Probably at the top of my list is Australia. I think Sydney is one of the greatest cities in the world, and I’m sure other parts of Australia are equally amazing. Three of our four children are now certified scuba divers, which has added a new dimension to our vacations involving water. I would love to spend several days with my family on a boat, diving the Great Barrier Reef.

What is the biggest risk you’ve taken?

A few years ago, as I was approaching my 40th birthday, I really wanted to do something spectacular. My gift to myself that year was a skydiving adventure! I always wanted to skydive, and what better way to celebrate my birthday? I’m not sure that was the smartest thing to do with a wife and four children, but fortunately I lived to tell about it. Life doesn’t get much riskier than jumping out of a plane! It was an absolute thrill-of-a-lifetime adventure, and I’d do it again in a second. I want to go with someone else next time, though. So far, I haven’t had any takers.

If you could be any movie, book, or TV character, who would you like to be?

James Bond. I think “007” is the movie/book character most men really aspire to be, and I’m no exception. I mean, who wouldn’t want to live his life? He travels the world, drives nice cars, and always has the coolest toys. Bond lives a little more dangerously than I would like to…but it always works out in the end!

What kind of music do you listen to?

When I was in school, I played the French horn, the saxophone, and the oboe. I played in the school band, as well as a Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band. That diverse background helped me to appreciate different genres of music. I love jazz and classical music. I’ve attended several operas, and have enjoyed them immensely. I even listen to some hip-hop and country, genres I’m exposed to right now by my two oldest children. But the music I like most is rock. I like classic rock, but there are a lot of bands out there today that are great, too. I probably listen to Dave Matthews Band more than any other group. Coldplay, The Fray, and U2 are some other bands that come to mind.

What kind of car do you drive, and if you could drive any car, what would it be?

I’ll answer the second question first. My dream car when I was growing up was a Rolls Royce. For me, that was always the epitome of excellence in automotive design. The car at the top of my list now is a red Ferrari Testarossa with tan leather interior. I just saw one in LaJolla when I was in California recently. I parked next to it, so I guess that means I’m getting closer to my goal, right?

A car I’d love to drive that is more in my price range is the Maserati GranTurismo. Maserati makes great Italian sports cars, and I love both the coupe and the sedan (Quattroporte). I like nice cars, and the GranTurismo is beautiful! It’s a bit of a leap, though, so for now I’ll enjoy my Infiniti M45, which I absolutely love.

I HAVE WORKED VERY HARD FOR YEARS, BUT I’M NOT WHERE I WANT TO BE IN LIFE. I FEEL LIKE I’M ON A TREADMILL, AND DON’T KNOW HOW TO STOP. I WANT TO WORK LESS, AND MAKE MORE MONEY, BUT WHERE DO I START? PLEASE HELP ME FIGURE OUT HOW TO HAVE A BETTER LIFE.

Thanks for your question. First of all, I want you to know that you’re not alone. You have been brought up in a culture that defines people, at least in part, by how hard they work and how much money they make. One of the problems with that is it never seems to be enough. It probably seems like, no matter how hard you work, you never seem to get caught up. And, if you’re like most other people today, regardless of your income, you still want or need more money to get to where you want to be.

The first thing to realize is that it is possible to work less and make more. It’s not easy, and it’s not something that’s going to happen overnight. But thousands of people have been in the same situation as you, and they’ve literally turned their lives around. They’ve created thriving businesses, or great careers, and yet they still have a life. They have been able to take back control of their lives, rather than being controlled by the endless demands in their lives. They have designed the lives they want to live, and figured out how to make a reality, rather than just wishful thinking.

If you don’t have the book Work Less, Make More, you might want to pick it up. The book is a step-by-step recipe for creating the life you want to live. You won’t get there by just reading the book, though. You must be completely committed to the 10-step process outlined in the book. Once you complete the questionnaires and exercises in the book, and apply what you learn, you will discover that there’s no limit to what you can accomplish.

If you want to get a jump-start before you get the book, here are a couple key thoughts:

1. The first thing you must get very clear about is what your life will look like once you’re working less and making more. You must define, in very specific terms, what Work Less, Make More means to you. For example, how many hours will you work? How many vacations do you want to take each year? How much money will you earn per week, month, or year? How will you know when you’re working less and making more? The more specific and measurable you make your vision, the more compelling it will be.

2. Equally important is to figure out what’s stopping your success. Once you identify what’s preventing you from working less and making more, you can begin to change your thoughts, beliefs, and behavior to overcome those obstacles. Make a list of all the things that are holding you back. You can also complete the assessment on page 25 of Work Less, Make More. The nice thing about the assessment in the book is that each question corresponds to a specific chapter in the book. Once you finish the assessment, you will be directed to the chapters of the book that are most relevant for you. Either way, determining what’s holding you back is a critical step on your Work Less, Make More journey.

3. The Work Less, Make More website and blog also contain valuable tools, techniques and strategies to help you get to where you want to be in life. The material is constantly being updated, so be sure to check those resources, too.

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Have a great weekend, and I’ll be in touch again next week. Remember, you may submit your questions in one of three ways:

1. Send an email to info (AT) jwcgroup (DOT) com, with “You Asked For It” in the subject line.

2. Fax your question to our office. (734-254-9973, Attn: Marti)

3. Comment on the Work Less, Make More blog.

Submit your questions today… and stay tuned for the next edition of “You Asked For It!”

                                                           

Old habits are hard to break. It doesn’t matter if we know they aren’t good for us. They’re still hard to get rid of. And chances are, bad habits are preventing you from working less and making more.

When it comes to creating new habits, the hardest part is taking action and following through. Let go of some of your old beliefs and thoughts and just do it.

                                       

If you’ve been following the Work Less, Make More program, you’ve learned how to prioritize your tasks and focus on the projects that really matter. These are the high-payoff activities. These are the things that stir passion in your soul, make life worth living, and put you on the road to success.

After you’ve eliminated and delegated, it’s time to automate. This means letting the wonderful world of technology take over and do the work for you. There is software on the market now for just about every task—from accounting to handling customer communication. If your computer can handle these things for you, why wouldn’t you let it? Automation can free up your time for the important stuff.

                                        

Prioritizing is a big part of working more and making less. Most people are bombarded with things to do every day. They find themselves moving quickly from one task to the next, from that task to another, all day long. When you’re in that kind of cycle, it’s hard to really get going on any one thing. Your mind is jumping from one thing to the next.

You have to tackle the meaningful things first. Prioritize your tasks by ranking them in terms of importance. I know all tasks seem important. But all tasks are not important. Important tasks are those that impact your goals. If not doing the task causes little or no impact, it’s not important. Knowing the difference is key to working less and making more.

                                       

We all do things we don’t like to do. Things that clutter up our days. And there are many reasons why these things stay on our schedules. You might spend as much as half your time at work doing things you hate doing—and aren’t good at to boot—just because they need to be done. Or maybe you spend a few hours a week of your free time volunteering at the local animal shelter. You don’t really like the work, but you think it’s the right thing to do.

The fact is, our calendars are full of things that we don’t really need to do. You’re probably spending a good portion of your time doing things that could be eliminated. Like empty calories, these things aren’t doing you any good.

It’s time to clean these things off your plate.

Cleaning off your plate means taking certain things off your schedule, and replacing them with high-payoff activities. It means finding the time to do the things you want—and need—to do. Cleaning off your plate means finally having time to do things you enjoy. Cleaning off your plate means creating new habits, taking better care of yourself, and redesigning your life. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?

So why don’t more people do it?

Well, I never said cleaning off your plate was easy. There are few words more respected by people than “I’m busy.” Having a full plate makes us feel responsible, and gives us more self-worth. We suffer under the illusion that the more we can cram into our days, the more we accomplish.

It reminds me of my friend, Tracey. “When I look at what I do during a typical day, I realize that by 9 a.m. I’ve done what most people have done in three days!” she recently said. “So why do I feel so terrible?”

Doing more in less time isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, is it? Our plates may be full, but it’s not with the fulfillment and satisfaction that we’re seeking. As a matter of fact, it often feels like the more we get done, the worse we feel.

That’s because when we jam too many things into a day, we lose focus on the things that matter most. And some of them don’t get done, or if they do get done, don’t get done in the best way.

If you want to achieve more, you have to do less. It’s that simple.  

                                       

I recently got a call from a guy named Gary who wanted to hire a coach. Now, by most people’s standards, Gary was already very successful. He owned a home in a very affluent neighborhood, and drove a luxury car. Gary could basically afford anything he wanted. So what was his problem? Something was missing. He didn’t have enough time to do the things he wanted to do, or hang out with the people he enjoyed. He wanted a solution. Fast.

So I asked Gary what he wanted in life. Silence. When I asked again, I got a reluctant, “Isn’t that what I’m paying you to find out?”

Work Less, Make More is a great solution for those who know what they want out of life. But if you’re one of those people who has no idea what you want, this system isn’t going to work.

Let’s compare it to taking a trip from Point A to Point B. Let’s say Point B is, oh, Hawaii. You know you want to get to Hawaii, now you just have to figure out the best way to get there. Are you going to make it to Hawaii? Barring unforeseen circumstances beyond your control, the answer is yes.

Now let’s say you don’t know what your destination is. You aren’t happy with your current destination, and you know you want to go somewhere better. You just don’t know where. What are your chances of ending up in Hawaii? Not so good. You have just as good a chance of ending up in Detroit.

In order to get where you want to go—regardless of whether we are talking about work or life in general—you need to have vision. Before we go any further, I want to make sure you understand the difference between a vision and a goal. A vision is a mental picture of where how you would like your life to be, while a goal is an action that will allow you to realize your vision.

A vision is specific and can be measured. It is not a general statement, like “I want financial freedom.” A vision would run more along the lines of, “I want to make $100,000 this year working four days a week.”

Defining your vision is essential if you want the Work Less, Make More program to succeed. What does your ideal life look like? What is your vision for you? Creating a vision might be the most important step in the Work Less, Make More process.

How do you know if you have hit upon the right vision? You’ll know. The right vision will stir passion in your soul. It will excite you, and motivate you to move forward to where you want to be. And you’ll be willing to do whatever it takes to get there.

Like the old saying goes, “If you don’t know where you are headed, you probably won’t get there.”

                                       

If you’re already a Success Circle Member, I want to give you a sneak preview of the information that you will be receiving shortly in your mailbox.

http://www.successcirclemonthly.com

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INSIDE YOUR MAY 2009 SUCCESS CIRCLE INTERVIEW:

Million Dollar Networking, with Andrea Nierenberg

Recently, I interviewed Andrea Nierenberg. Andrea is the founder and president of The Nierenberg Group, an innovative communications consulting firm that The Wall Street Journal calls a “networking success story.” With a stellar 25 years as a leader in sales and marketing, Andrea is an in-demand business expert, both at home and around the globe. Her company partners with the world’s leading businesses in diversified industries throughout the world.  

In addition, Andrea is the author of three best-selling books — Nonstop Networking: How to Improve Your Life, Luck and Career; Million Dollar Networking: The Sure Way to Find Grow and Keep Your Business; and Savvy Networking: 118 Fast and Effective Tips for Business Success. Andrea also speaks around the globe and her travels have taken her to companies and conferences across the United States, Asia, Europe and Africa.  

What impact does networking have on your business and life? Are you ready to become a masterful, million-dollar networker? Then watch your mailbox, because your package will be arriving soon.

Here’s some of what you’ll learn:

- The one thing you must do to network effectively

- The biggest mistakes to avoid when networking (these can make or break your relationships!)

- What not to do with your business card (Don’t miss this one!)

- The latest phenomenon in networking (and how to take advantage of it)

Here’s an excerpt from our interview:

“I think they first have to sit down and figure out their goals and their plans. I think that they have to think about the industries or the areas that they want to get more involved in—whether it’s a new job or for a lot of people it’s building business—and trying to figure out where there some of their new prospects or clients may lie. And then really sitting down and doing some homework. Thinking about how do you want to develop your plan of action. Are you going go to events?  Are you going to write articles? Are you going to be visible somehow in your industry? Or things like that. And just like you would put down any kind of a marketing or a business plan, you almost have to think strategically about how you want to spend your time in the networking, when you’re asked to actually get where their job or business. And I think one of the other things is that you have to make sure that you always remember to ask people that you know to give you advice, but not to be upset if they’re too busy or they can’t.”  

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Not yet a Success Circle Member?

Not receiving the Success Circle Interview Series in your mailbox each month?

That’s easy to fix. And you can even test drive two FREE months…starting with the Andrea Nierenberg interview!

Click here for all the details:

http://www.successcirclemonthly.com