1) Who is the target market that you want to help?

2) What kinds of assistance are they wanting/needing, what are they thinking and talking about?

3) What are some of the issues that your offer can help address successfully?

These three questions if answered completely is an important first step in your ability to attract large numbers of highly interested prospects with a level of confidence that traditional methods cannot provide. Building your business and recruiting persons then is not as hard as traditional methods have made it, you just have to use this basic formula. And this applies to any type of product or service whether it be real estate, health and wellness, coaching, legal, consulting, travel and leisure, etc.

Let’s look at our three basic questions a little more closely. The first one – Who is our target market? This can be better amplified if we look at a specific market, say the health and wellness market. This is a huge and still growing market of persons are interested in functional health and longevity, those who would like to change their diet and lifestyle to avoid the statistical inevitability of disease as they grow older. This market may include those who are not happy with their current energy and well being levels, etc. The point is that a brainstorming exercise is necessary to begin to list all those stakeholders who consume in this market. An important place where clues could be had is the internet. You can do a search on Google or any other engine to gain a sense of who these stakeholders are and what they are looking for.

After you have listed your stakeholders, you then begin to brainstorm what would be their personal concerns, problems, fears as well as what they are thinking about, talking about, reading about, etc. Again the internet can provide great clues in this regard, especially if you can access any blogs or forums of your target market and read what the discussions are about.

You can begin to appreciate that there is nothing complicated in the process. All that is required is some effort. This process of brainstorming and doing some research on the internet should not be underestimated because it is all about knowing your target market intimately so that you can in the end really know what they want and what they need.

At this point it is necessary to point out the following. When a network marketer attempts to sell a product or service, what in fact he is selling is HIMSELF. This is not understood by the vast majority of persons involved in this business. If this were not so then prospects would buy or be recruited by anyone but as we well know, prospects are not recruited by anyone but by someone who they have come to know and trust. Prospects then have to buy into the network marketer first. They have to buy into someone who can really assist them in setting up and building their business, someone who can teach them the nuances of the business and who they can trust to point them in the right direction.

So that one has to sell himself as the person who can do all these things. The question then is – How do you sell yourself first before selling your prospect the opportunity?

You have to first build trust and pre-sell your prospects on you as a successful leader. The product being sold is in fact YOU, and when that is sold then you can easily achieve success with your offering. The prospect wants to know if you can lead them to success and this is first done by reflecting back to them what their needs and wants are and then providing them with plausible solutions before you introduce them to your offering.

Let’s now show how this can be done in an example. For this we go back to our first three basic questions:-

1) Who is our target market?

2) What kinds of things are they searching for, thinking or are concerned about?

3) What are their wants and needs, problems and what possible solutions can you provide?

Let’s use network marketers as our target market. Within this target market, the possible sub-categories can be:-

a) People who have been involved with a network marketing opportunity before.

b) People who are contemplating joining a network marketing opportunity but who are looking for a suitable offer/guide or up-line.

c) Entrepreneurs who are looking for new business opportunities.

We can expand this list but we will leave it at three sub-categories. It makes sense to target the first group because there will be less work involved, they having been already introduced to the concept and possibilities that network marketing offer. The second group may be novices who would have been introduced to the concept and are looking for the best opportunity and guide. The third group are persons who are desiring to have an extra stream of income and who also desire to eventually work from home perhaps. They have not been introduced to network marketing as yet but may be open to your opportunity.

For the first group – people who have been involved with network marketing before, we now answers the two questions;- a) What kinds of things are they searching for, thinking or are concerned about? And b) What are their wants and needs, problems and what possible solutions can you provide?

The answers to the first may be a marketing tool or system, a resource or expert, or a just a relevant book. They maybe looking for network marketing training on the internet or specifically how to generate genuine leads or information on how to build their MLM business. The list of things searched for, thought about or concerned about may be endless. One just has to do a search on Google to realize this.

The response then is for you to have your presence on the internet as one who can provide plausible advice and answers to these needs and wants without pushing your offering in the first instance.

And you do not need to have a website to do this. There are many free online services such as ezines or social media engines (Web 2.0) that will allow you to place your articles so that searchers can access them. These engines will also put your articles on the larger search engines such as Google and Yahoo where the real traffic is. You have to have some knowledge of search engine optimization for them to rank highly there.

Your articles are the main tool in your attraction marketing program and you must have enough of them so that your presence on the internet is substantial. Topics that can be written about are issues related to network marketing, a review on any such company, person, news, products or services, books, training, resources, etc. The following then is a list of topics (which is reflective of the problems they may have) which can be the basis of your articles:-

- Making money on the internet

- Spending less money on leads and finding better quality prospects

- Getting prospects attracted to them rather than pursuing prospects

- Choosing a better up-line

- A better way to build my network marketing business

- Getting effectiveness and efficiency with my network marketing business

- Clarity on what to do to build my network marketing business

- Effectively selling myself as a leader

- Creating more cash flow for my network marketing business

- What to say and do to sponsor more people

- How to use the internet to build the business smarter

The other two target markets identified earlier -

a) People who are contemplating joining a network marketing opportunity but who are looking for a suitable offer/guide or up-line,

b) Entrepreneurs who are looking for new business opportunities, should be treated in the same way that the first target market has been treated. These treatments can then form the basis of other articles to publish.

This then is your first activity of attraction marketing, getting your content on the internet. When this is done you will be surprised at the response had by interested searchers. As said before you have to post enough articles such that your web presence is substantial and you have to have a basic knowledge of search engine optimization in order for your articles to rank highly.

When these interested searchers respond, you then have to get their permission to send them more valuable content and this is done with the use of lead capture pages where they will provide you with their name, email address and telephone number (not mandatory). These correspondences will be your email marketing component of your attraction marketing program.

Your program of emails which are usually between ten and fifteen will then be sent one every five days or so and will be on subjects related to your prospects interests. The subjects of these emails can be on related books, interviews with industry coaches, information on MLM companies, information on network marketing related systems or topics, encouraging stories or tips, etc. In your email marketing you should also provide the opportunity for your readers to comment as provided in blogs. At the end of your articles you can now provide a link or make reference to your service or offering (which must be related to the subject), where a solution to the issue can be had. If you feel that your writing abilities are limited, you can easily higher expert writers at about $15.00 per article where you just provide them with the topic.

You can also use attraction marketing methods to sell other persons products or services. You may already be promoting a product or service (as an existing network or affiliate marketer) where your activity will now only be attracting prospects through your article marketing and directing them through links to your company’s lead capture page, from then on the company’s attraction marketing effort (if a suitable one exists) can then lead to a successful recruit of your prospect.

This then is a summary of the great benefits to be had by using attraction marketing techniques. A full expose on attraction marketing methods can be had at the Renegade Professional where this approach is outlined in workshop format in very great detail. You can also get at the Renegade Professional workshops on the following:- a) How to set up a lead capture page, b) How to set up a blog, c) How to set up an email marketing campaign with auto responders, d) How to write articles for the internet, e) How to use the telephone in your marketing campaigns, and many, many more topics that will complete your training in attraction marketing and make you the professional internet marketer that you can become.

Thank you for your kind attention.

Nigel Gittens

Author: Nigel Gittens
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Low-volume PCB maker

Here are some of the Windows Vista features demonstrated in the keynote. You can now play video files as the background of your desktop in Windows Vista. It was visually stunning! Another new feature was the Windows Photo Gallery where you can easily organize, find, and view pictures. With Windows Vista, you can also easily burn DVDs complete with a main menu and the play option, just like in commercial movies! This is definitely something the many Windows users will love to use! Windows Vista also provides enhanced capabilities to play games and access to XboxLive. Something really cool in Windows Vista is Windows Live with a lot of functionality such as Windows Live Search powered by Microsoft Virtual Earth, somewhat similar to Google (GOOG) 3-D application, Google Earth, which lets you view maps and satellite images for regional searches. The actual demonstration was very real. I felt like I was inside a video game, going down the Las Vegas strip and seeing hotels and traffic. What a trip! Windows Vista includes other impressive features such as Instant Search Box and Windows Sidebar & Gadgets to quickly access functionality, data, and files, Internet Explorer 7, which I have been using since the beta and that I love, Data Backup and Restore so you never lose information, and a lot more.

Windows Vista also features a digital entertainment system, called Windows Media Center (not included in Windows Vista Business Edition)–providing the ability to store and access live and recorded TV, movies, music, and pictures with an easy-to-use menu and remote –in one place. Very nice!

The new Microsoft Office 2007 was very impressive with major improvements in the look and feel and with key functionality at your fingertips to make it much easier for new users to be up and running quickly. Another benefit of Microsoft Office 2007 is that it also runs on Windows XP in case you do not want to upgrade to Windows Vista, just yet!

With Windows Easy Transfer, Microsoft makes it easier to transfer your data, user accounts, settings, photos, videos, and more to your new computer running Windows Vista. Belkin also offers the new Easy Transfer Cable for Windows Vista working in conjunction with Windows Easy Transfer to facilitate the transfer on your new computer.

However, if you upgrade, watch out that the software you run on your current version of Windows are all compatible with Windows Vista. You can check the Microsoft (MSFT) Web site to view a list of the software that work with or are certified for Windows Vista. Otherwise you may have some downtime struggling with software that may not run smoothly on Windows Vista.

To sum it up, Microsoft got really great reviews about Windows Vista, which won the Best of CES Award in the Computers and Hardware category. I must admit: it looks real tempting to upgrade!

All trademarks in this article are the properties of their respective owners.

Author: Marylin Stompler
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Cool mobile gadgets

A Warren Buffett quiz will show that he obtained a Masters in Economics from Columbia University, and from a very early age his goal was to make his living as an investor. He would begin working for Benjamin Graham in the fifties. Graham had been a man whose theories on investing and finance had been one of the major influences on Buffett’s early studies.

Buffett would steadily and quickly accumulate wealth over the next several years. Warren Buffett trivia will show that he is most commonly known as the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, which was a company that he began to acquire in 1965. He would steadily acquire and trade other companies over the years. Some organizations in which he has been a major player include the Washington Post, the Buffalo Evening News, and ABC.

A Warren Buffett quiz will show that he has been among the Forbes 400 for many years now, but in 2008 he was the richest man in the world. He accomplished this by dethroning Microsoft founder Bill Gates who had been atop the list for many years by that point. He has since been pushed back to second place on the list, which is due to two reasons. First, he has donated millions of his fortune to charity. Secondly, as an active investor, the recession of 2008 affected his fortunes more than they did Gates.

After his investing, the philanthropy of Buffett must be addressed, as he is clearly established as one of the world’s most giving philanthropists. Buffett has publicly denounced the rich who will all of their money to their descendants. He has also discussed his will publicly. Although he wishes his children to be comfortable, and able to pursue any goals they wish, he always wanted them to pursue goals, rather than simply living off his wealth. Famously, he announced that 83% of his fortune would be given away to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Author: Shawna S. Ruppert
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Benefits of electric pressure cooker

I have come up with 5 C’s that one should keep in mind for a peaceful and successful wealth building effort:

1. Compounding

Explanation: There are 2 way to provide interest on an investment; Simple and Compound interest. Simple interest is when an amount is paid as interest on the initial amount (Principal) at a fixed percentage. For e.g, for Principal of 100, Simple Interest for 2 years at 10% per year would mean 20 as interest (10 per year multiplied by 2 years).
Compound interest is when the Interest earned is added back onto the Principal and the next year’s Interest is paid on the enhanced amount. For e.g, for Principal of 100, Compound Interest for 2 years at 10% per year would mean 21 as interest (10 for 1st year and 11 for 2nd year).

Bottom-line: Compounding is GOOD! It means the money works harder and earns more. Just to drive the point home, consider this: An amount of 100 invested at an interest of 10% per year on Simple Interest would end up as 200 at the end of 10 years while if the same is invested at 10% per year Compound Interest, it would end up as almost 260 after 10 years! So, always give preference to an investment where compounding applies!

2. Continuity

Explanation: Whether one invests in the Stock Market or in Bank deposits, the best way to do regularly over a long period of time as opposed to big chunks of stop-start investments. Therefore, aim to invest continuously over a longish time frame, say 25 years of your working life, from the time you are 25 years old till you are 50. Needles to say, the earlier you start and the longer you do it, the more wealth you will end up with.

Bottom-line: Do it over a LONG TIME FRAME! And invest continuously and regularly over this time frame. As much as possible, do not disturb the investments.

3. Consistency

Explanation: Along with continuity, fix and invest a consistent amount at consistent time intervals, say every month. A consistent amount (at least 10% of monthly income) invested every month over the long time-frame discussed above will ensure decent returns and a very good corpus.

Bottom-line: Just TOP-UP every month and let compounding work its magic!

4. Calm

Explanation: If the above C’s are followed, then the most preferred investment avenue is Equity investments. By their nature, equity markets are fickle and will move up and down. But long term investors should not really worry about this as over a long time horizon (10 years or more), equities are almost certain to give positive returns. So, invest in equities for the long term and keep CALM!

Bottom-line: Traders who want to make some margins everyday are the ones who should worry about the market movements everyday. For Continuous and Consistent investors, the short term market movements are best ignored.

5. Caution

Explanation: Be wary of new investments ideas that are thrown your way. If you don’t understand it, ruthlessly avoid it.

Bottom-line: Caution is better than regret. So, err on the conservative side.

Conclusion

An investment option that usually combines all the above C’s is most of the good equity mutual funds. So, all one has to do is pick a good equity mutual fund, set up a systematic investment plan with this fund that ensures a fixed amount of money is invested every month directly into this from the bank account and then sit back and see it grow. Most funds charge some fees for managing the investments but this is a worth it given the convenience offered. Of course it is recommended that you track the funds’ performance every half-year, if not every quarter and if you see that the performance is slipping up consistently over a few quarters, then it is time to switch funds and set up a systematic investment plan with a different fund house. Another safe option to consider is Index funds which are linked to the market index. The management fee is very low but this will give just the market rate of return and nothing more. This is not bad but an actively managed fund, for a slightly higher fees, usually out-performs the market on most occasions. Good luck for a successful wealth building exercise!

Ravi Kumar is one of the founders of the Chennai-based e-commerce company, http://dilsebol.com, where users can create, customize and order their own t-shirts, mugs, mousepads, ceramic tiles, coasters etc. After graduating from IIMA, Ravi worked as Area Sales Manager with one of the world’s largest beverage companies and as Business Consultant with one of the big 4 Consulting companies before establishing DilSeBol in 2007. Ravi is interested in personal financial planning and the stock market and has been investing in the Indian stock market for the past few years.

Author: Ravi Kumar P
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Low-volume PCB Assembly

Franchises are one way of creating wealth. Unfortunately, many of the franchises that have the potential to actually make one wealthy require that you be wealthy to invest in them. If you are considering this method of creating wealth, do investigate franchise options carefully. There are many people unhappy with franchise purchases and the ongoing fees and overbearing rules that some franchises require.

Working a well paying job for your whole life is another way to create wealth. There was a time when spending a lifetime with a company that provided stock options, pension plans and other perks helped workers create wealth before retirement. In recent years, companies have been caught spending pension money, lying on financial report forms and literally stealing employee’s lifetime earnings.

Some jobs pay well but take a serious toll on health, creativity, lifestyle and family. If creating wealth at a job requires a lifetime of overtime in a less than healthy or encouraging environment, there’s a chance that your heirs will be spending the wealth you worked so hard to create.

Fads and trends can be used to create wealth. Wise buyers pay attention to what’s hot and capitalize on the popularity of items, buying and re-selling them. It is possible to make a lot of money fast with the right product and the right timing. However, the market that suddenly went hot can just as suddenly freeze over, leaving you stuck with yesterday’s goods. This method of creating wealth can be labor intensive. Purchasing, storing, listing, packing and shipping can take some time.

Collectibles are another opportunity for creating wealth. This often involves spotting what will be valuable and beginning the collection while items are affordable, collecting something you’re passionate about only to find that one day the rest of the world is passionate about it also and the value of your collection went soaring or using hard earned money to purchase collectibles that are already costly but expected to increase in value.

This method isn’t necessarily a means of achieving total financial freedom. But if you define wealth as being surrounded by what you live, it’s wealth.

One of the best ways to create wealth those results not only in being surrounded by what you love but also in the opportunity to enjoy total financial freedom is to utilize the power of the Internet combined with an established and proven wealth building business

Darryl R. Smith
Retired State Police Trooper of 26 years, working in the Expedite Trucking industry for 9 years, 6 years being the owner of a Expedite Trucking Company, presently owner of a Classic Car Sales Company which wholesales and retails autos and trucks.

Author: Darryl Smith
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Electric Pressure Cooker

You don’t need to start out being wealthy to create more wealth, all you need is patience and motivation. If you are motivated you can truly do anything you put your mind to. Motivation is the key to everything in this great world. So what is the best way to create wealth you ask? By starting a new daily income.

If you are already keeping up with your bills and you have a little bit of money left over then you are the perfect candidate for wealth building. All you need now is an idea of how to make money, there are millions of ideas out there that can help you create wealth, some online and some at home. Or you can be like most people and get another job. It is all up to you what you decide, but that is the great thing, it is up to you.

The best part about wealth building is that there is no norm, it is all about what you want and when you want it. If your goal is to have a huge sum of money in a year or so and you are starting at zero then you will have your work cut out for you, but it isn’t impossible.

Are you ready to start your wealth building quest today? If so check out these 1000 great ideas on how to make money!

Author: Adam Snyder
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Netbook, Tablets and Mobile Computing

Affiliate marketing is some sort of business relationship established between a merchant and his affiliates. In affiliate marketing, an affiliate agrees to direct some traffic to a merchant’s website. If that traffic is converted into some kind of action, like a visitor purchasing a product on the merchant’s website or a visitor becoming a lead for the company, the affiliate who directed the traffic will be compensated. Compensation may take the form of either a percentage sales commission for the sales generated or a fixed fee predetermined upon the application of the affiliate on the merchant’s affiliate program.

Promising a lot of benefits both for the merchants and the affiliates, affiliate marketing has become one of the most popular online marketing methods today. In fact, almost every merchant or retailer site today offers an affiliate program that any one can join into. Most retailers would entice people to become affiliates or members of their program by promising great benefits like large commissions, lifetime commissions, click through incomes and a lot of other benefits. But would all these affiliate programs bring off the same benefits?

Most affiliate programs would pay you, as an affiliate, a one-time commission for every sale or lead you brought to the merchant’s website. Commissions for this kind of affiliate programs are usually large, ranging from 15% to a high of about 60%. Other affiliate programs would pay you a fixed fee for every click through or traffic you send to the merchant’s site. Programs like this often pay a smaller fee for every click through, usually not getting any larger than half a dollar. The good thing about this kind of program, however, is that the visitor won’t have to purchase anything in order for the affiliate to get compensated.

Another type of affiliate program is the residual income affiliate program. Residual affiliate programs usually pay only a small percentage of sales commission for every sale directed by the affiliate to the merchant’s site. This commission often comes only in the range of 10% to 20% sales commission. Because of this, many people ignore residual affiliate program and would rather opt for the high paying one-time commission affiliate program. Are these people making a mistake, or are they making the right decision?

We can’t tell, for sure, if people are making a mistake by choosing a high paying one-time commission affiliate program. But we can definitely say that they are making a large mistake if they ignore residual affiliate programs. Residual affiliate programs would indeed pay at a lower rate, but merchants offering such kind of programs would generally pay you regular and ongoing commissions for a single affiliate initiated sale! That means, for the same effort you made in promoting a particular affiliate program, you get paid only once in a one-time commission program, and a regular and ongoing commission for a residual program!

So, are the benefits of promoting residual affiliate programs clearer to you now? Or are they still vague? If they are still vague, then let’s make them a bit clearer with this example.

Suppose there are two online merchants both offering web hosting services on their sites. The first merchant offers a one-time commission type of affiliate program that pays $80 for every single affiliate initiated sale. The second merchant also offers an affiliate program, but this time a residual affiliate program that pays only $10 for every single affiliate initiated sale. As an affiliate, we may get attracted at once at what the first merchant is offering, as $80 is definitely a lot larger than $10. But by thinking things over before actually getting into them, one may be able to see that the second merchant is offering us more opportunity to earn a larger amount of money.

Supposed you have directed traffic to the merchant and it converted into a sale, you’ll get paid once by the first merchant for the sale you have initiated. But with the second merchant, you’ll get paid monthly for as long as the customer you have referred to the merchant continues to avail of the web hosting service. That means that for the same effort of getting one customer to avail of the merchant’s service, you get paid monthly in residual affiliate programs while you only get paid once in a one-time commission type of affiliate programs.

So, are residual affiliate programs worth promoting? Definitely yes, because you virtually get more money from these types of affiliate programs in the long run! And would residual affiliate programs work best for you? Probably not, probably yes. It is not really for me to tell. But with the benefits that residual affiliate marketing can provide, it would really be unwise to ignore such programs.

Author: Emmanuel Aubrey
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Pressure cooker

Long trends in different commodities can make you rich. Just look at gold and crude oil for example. Even if you caught either of these trends late, you still had a better than average easy chance for a high degree of wealth if you know what to do, where to do it and how. You and you along are reasonable for wealth in your life and it is up to you to get a positive mind set and the correct education to make it happen. The link at the end of this article can lead you to discover the right trading educational plan for wealth building in your life.

Actually, you do have a good chance for true success if you simply apply certain skills by learning new and improved trading knowledge from the pending stock market crash due mainly to the credit and real estate mess of today. With that said, you need to learn about the US Financial Crisis of 2007. The fact is, all you need is the correct knowledge to create serious wealth.

That is what is in for you…serious wealth.

That is all for now,

[http://www.youtube2dollarad.com] by the Wayne Miller, author

Author: Wayne Miller
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Low-volume PCB Assembly

If the stock market doesn’t go up much, your index fund won’t bring big returns. Robert Hagstrom of investment firm Legg Mason says you should use actively managed funds.

“Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week.” – Spanish Proverb

Why is tomorrow the busiest day of the week?  Well, in my experience it is human nature to procrastinate and many of us postpone taking action, preferring to ‘do it later’.  We all know tomorrow is not promised, yet we tend to put off taking action until some unspecified, later date—usually euphemistically termed ‘tomorrow’.  This quote inspires me to take action today.

“Things may come to those who wait but only the things left by those who hustle.” – Abraham Lincoln

Hard work and hustle are more valuable than a high IQ, a degree from the right school, or any of the so-called factors that most people attribute success to.  Abraham Lincoln is remembered as a hard worker, yet few people discuss the fact that he overcame obstacle after obstacle before he finally became the President of the United States.  Lincoln was born into poverty and faced defeat and setbacks throughout his life. He lost eight elections, failed twice as a businessman, and suffered a nervous breakdown.  He began working at the age of the age of seven to help support his family, went bankrupt at 24, spent the next 17 years repaying his debts, but never gave up.  Although I may never be President, this quote inspires me to hustle and never give up.

Don’t find fault, find a remedy. – Henry Ford

Henry Ford, often credited with revolutionizing industry and perfecting mass production methods, was an expert at using other people’s ideas and making them better.  Other people made cars before Ford but Ford made better cars and sold them for less. Other people designed and built car factories but Henry Ford built the biggest factory of his time and made the entire factory a moving production line.  How did the son of a farmer (Ford’s parents fled the Irish potato famine in the 1840s) achieve all this with little formal training?  Henry Ford developed the attitude of a problem-solver.  When others saw insurmountable obstacles and problems, Ford saw opportunity.  Where others saw failure, Ford recognized an opportunity to learn from his mistakes and try again.  When he realized he didn’t know enough about electricity to pursue his dream, he took a job working at an electric company.  When his investors backed out on him, Ford raised funds by selling shares of stock. When his assembly line workers were unhappy Ford bucked the entire industry standard and increased pay while cutting hours.

Henry Ford’s story is inspirational because it proves that hard work, finding creative solutions, and remaining persistent even with repeated failures is the key to solving life’s problems.  In fact, Ford’s attitude laid the foundation for his success.  He knew that every big problem is really a collection of smaller problems.  Instead of dwelling on the problem and placing blame, Ford faced his problem and focused on solutions.  Henry Ford knew that placing blame on others, external circumstances, or life in general only makes the problem worse. Henry Ford inspires me to see ‘problems’ as opportunities.

One secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes. – Benjamin Disraeli

Benjamin Disraeli entered politics (unsuccessfully) in the early 1830s but did not hold elected office until 1837.  For the next 31 years it always seemed he was on the verge of wielding power and influence but somehow, things never worked out in his favor.  He stayed the course and in 1868 finally became the British Prime Minister due to a resignation.  However, later that year in the general elections he was unseated.  It wasn’t until 1874 that he got another opportunity to implement his political ideas.  Two years later, once again Prime Minister, he was recognized by Queen Victoria with the title of Lord Beaconsfield and continued to shape his government’s policies.  In addition to a successful political career, Disraeli also gained renown as an author, solicitor, and social figure.  His words provide inspiration because Disraeli exhibited patience and preparedness long before he reaped the rewards others enjoyed.  He was (and still may be) the only British Prime Minister of Jewish heritage and achieved social recognition even though he was not wealthy like many of his political peers and was often at odds with some politician or another.  We can take note of his words because he lived accordingly, waiting patiently for many years for opportunity to come his way.

If you can dream it, you can do it. – Walt Disney

Many people are familiar with some of Walt Disney’s various accomplishments— pioneered the animation field, created Mickey Mouse and the world’s first synchronized sound cartoon, held the patent for Technicolor for two years, Academy Award-winner (48), Emmy Award-winner (7), Oscar Award-winner (26), winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, creator of the first full-length animated musical feature (as well as numerous other classics), first to present full-color programming, inventor of the multiplane camera, etc.—however one of his most inspirational characteristics was his vision.  Walt Disney had the ability to see something that didn’t exist yet, harness his energies, and turn his vision into reality.

Disney supervised and orchestrated the acquisition of 43 square miles of swampland –twice the size of Manhattan Island–in the middle of Florida. He planned to build a “Disney world” of entertainment which would include an amusement park, resort hotels, and his Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT). Crazy?  Not to Walt Disney.  In fact, people willingly sold him their property thinking it to be near worthless.  Eventually he used dummy corporations and cooperative individuals to avoid a burst of land speculation that could derail his dream project.  In return for leading economic development in central Florida, the governor gave Walt Disney the authority to establish an autonomous quasi-government giving Disney full control over building codes, zoning, planning, and the like.  Walt Disney World required $400 million and 9,000 workers to build, and Walt Disney passed away before seeing it completed, but it doesn’t matter—Walt ‘saw’ his dream come true long before any of us did.

Following in the footsteps of successful people is a great way to get started on your personal path to success, however, searching a little deeper to see what makes them ‘tick’ can provide you with even more motivation.  From time to time your friends at Black Swan Management will give you a sneak peak at what makes us tick, and the lessons we’ve learned from individuals we admire and respect.  Like the great Zig Ziglar once said, “success is not a destination, it’s a journey.”  So enjoy the journey. We are.  As always, happy investing.

About the Author

Anthony Sills, M.B.A. formerly traded FOREX from the Atlanta Financial Center and has worked for stock advisory services, brokerages, Fortune 100 companies, and national banks.  Mr. Sills is currently a licensed loan officer and freelance writer.  You can reach him at anthony@BlackSwanManagementLLC.com