Which body of water are you?

Happy February 2015 to all readers!

A mentor told me years ago, “you can’t out give the giver.”  I’m a firm believer in the scripture that says “give it shall be given unto you”. Now, most of think of financial giving, but it can also be giving of your time, your knowledge, your information or your wisdom (whatever that wisdom may be). The more you give, the more that comes back in return. In a certain scripture, it says “some will come back one hundred fold, and some one hundred times over” -- that’s what this business is all about.

To illustrate this, I use an analogy of the region in the middle East that contains the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee, specifically the analogies of water. The Dead Sea is a very large body of water, its very salty (similar to the great salt lake in Utah). It is so salty, that very little to no life can grow.  It’s size is shrinking so much that it’s said if you want to see it, you had better do so in the next few years because it is shrinking and getting smaller and smaller each and every year. It won’t be long before the Dead Sea will evaporate and be gone altogether.

When you contrast that to the Sea of Galilee, it is almost the exact opposite. It is thriving, flourishing with life (botanical life and marine life). It has beautiful beaches and a gorgeous body of water. The thing about it is this, and people may not realize -- the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea are actually fed from the same source…the River Jordan!

So you have to ask yourself a question.  If two bodies of water are being fed from the same source why is it that one is flourishing and the other is dying?  Here’s the difference: The Dead Sea does not give one ounce of water that it is fed into it from the River Jordan yet the Sea of Galilee gives out one hundred percent of its water.  Literally, every single ounce that comes from the top goes out to the bottom.  It is a constant “wellspring” of life that is circulating throughout the Sea of Galilee.

Contrast that to the business world.  A company can have two Distributors/Employees/Sales people/etc, both of which have the same start date, same potential prospect base, same resources, the same product and yet one is successful and the other is not.  Why is it that one body is flourishing (creating life in the form of new Customers) and the other one isn’t.   In other words, think of an organizational structure as a body of water.  If that body of water is like the Dead Sea and doesn’t flow the life source out to the body of water below it, then it dies.   On the contrary is the organization that takes every drop that is fed into it and feeds it out to another.  This means taking the training, the information, the events, the seminars, the coaching, the calls, literally everything coming from above and teaching it into the organization.  100% taken down. 

That’s the challenge I have for you - take a look at your organization.  How much of the information coming from above is being spilled out down below?

If you want to create the duplication adopt this mantra, what counts is not “not what’s right or wrong but its what’s EXACT.”

This is something a mentor of mine years ago taught me. It’s not your way, it’s not my way, its the system’s way. So often we join an organization we want to create success.  The challenge for most people is that they don’t take down 100% of the information coming from the top of the company.  In other words, they’re not the Sea of Galilee -- they’re not taking down one hundred percent of what's being trained down onto them. They may take down a portion of it, but what we don’t realize is this: anything that’s less than 100% of what’s being taken down throughout your organization is guaranteed to ultimately lead to failure …even 99 percent creates what’s called “negative duplication”.

Your followers will do what they see you do, not what they hear you say!

With that being said, I’ve got to warn you: Be very careful who you follow.  Pick a champion.  Pick a winner.  A person with integrity.  Be aware who you take your coaching from.  Find a leader who is where you want to be and take 100% of their coaching! 

Helen Keller said, “the only thing worst than being blind , is having vision with no vision.”

My wish, my challenge and my prayer for you is that you continue working toward your dream of success in your life... Every. Single. Day.

Hear you then and in the meantime, may you create many “Sea of Galilee’s in your own organization!

Steven

A celebration of the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

Today is the day we celebrate the life of one of my hero’s, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr as we do on every 3^rd Monday in January.  As I write this to you today, I’m sitting outside at my home in Dallas on a beautiful January morning. The sun is shining among the crisp cool air.  Normally my time to read, write and reflect would be done inside my home office but like it is for so many others the house is a hustle and bustle of children running and playing.  You see in the U.S. this holiday means no school!  Here in America, today has been a day of honoring the life and work of Dr. King and what a life and work it was.   Ever since I was a child I’ve known the importance that MLK had on this nation and on the lives of millions of others.  Those of you who know me or who have followed the prosperity diet blog know that one of the things I am most passionate about is leadership and studying the lives of the history’s great leaders.  What you may not be aware is that Dr. King is one of those men, a great hero in terms of leadership.   He is one of my hero’s.  Martin Luther King, Jr remains one of the greatest, if not the greatest leader ever born in the history of this great nation.  That’s right!   For the last ten years, I have followed his life and studied everything I can find as it relates to his leadership philosophy, style and lessons, hoping I could grow to be a better leader as a result.  The lessons that I’ve learned are countless, the example he set is enormous…for any leader of any kind.   This week for the prosperity diet and in honor of Dr. King, I will share just one small lesson I learned from his leadership that has been a cornerstone in our success.

Never ask others to do something you’re not willing to do!

Dr King accomplished many great things and he understood that anyone who desires greatness can never ask others to do something they aren’t willing to do themselves.  What most people don’t think of though is that Dr. King’s natural tendencies were not always to take action and put himself in the fight.  For example, in late 1960 his hometown of Atlanta was beginning to feel the impact of the spreading civil rights movement.  People were inspired by what was going on around the south and were beginning to hold sit-ins and other peaceful protests around Atlanta.  Students at local colleges planned a major initiative in October 1960 aimed at all the downtown Atlanta department stores and central to this plan was to get Dr. King to join them.  Get this…they called Dr. king at his home in Montgomery the day before the protests and asked him to come to Atlanta and join them at the sit-ins and go to jail with them!  Can you imagine getting that phone call the day before?!   You’re asked to drop what you’re doing, leave your family and most likely end up in jail the next day for an unknown period of time.  Well, guess what? The next morning right on schedule Dr. King joined them and was arrested at Rich’s department store with 35 others.  When offered his release, Dr. King refused to pay the $500 bond and resolved to “stay in jail for ten years if necessary.” 

What most people don’t realize is that after receiving the phone call, Dr. King told his Wife Coretta he didn’t really want to accept the invitation of the students.  First, he was in the process of making other plans that would have to be cancelled if he went to jail for any length of time and second, Dr. King didn’t like being locked up in jail.  His wife Coretta said, “Jail wasn’t easy for him.  He never liked to be alone.”  However, overriding his natural resistance to being alone was something even more important.  He knew that he couldn’t ask others to do something he wasn’t willing to do himself. 

This one innate, natural desire won out over any internal conflicts he may have had.  In other words, he would rather try something-even if that meant landing in a jail cell-than to do nothing.   This reminds me of what Nkrumah, the first prime minister of a free Ghana said, “I prefer self-government with danger to servitude with tranquility.”  WOW.  That’s powerful.  You see, leadership is scary, it’s dangerous.  Nothing great is achieved without facing that fear and without sacrifice.  The greater the sacrifice the greater the reward. 

My question to you as a leader today is, are you taking action in spite of your fears and inconveniences?   If we’re honest, this isn’t easy.  Dr King said, “we will take direct action against injustice without waiting for other agencies to act.”  He believed in the philosophy of his mentor Gandhi who said, “action is my domain.”

Is living in action your domain?

If you have a dream, a burning desire, a passion to achieve, start by taking massive action and no matter what, NEVER ask others to do something you’re not willing to do yourself! 

To your success,

Steven

Excusitis-the disease of average

Have you heard? Theres a new disease going around the world today in rapid fashion. The worst part is it can effect any of us and anytime without our even realizing it. The disease is called excusitis and its the disease shared by every average achiever on Earth! In order for you to achieve success, whatever you define that to be, we must find out if you're carrying excusitis and if so, get it cured immediately! When we go deep into the study of people we discover that every failure in life have advanced forms of it, and that most average people have at least a mild case. We also find that the more successful the individual the less inclined they are to have it. Simply put, excusitis is the habit of making excuses why, and making excuses why not. You see, when we make excuses, we actually create more mediocrity in our life. In John Mason's book "The Enemy Called Average" he uses scripture to explain excusitis and its damaging effect. The Good Book says, "when we make excuses, we always point the blame somewhere else, which causes further judgement to come our way(Rom 2:1). In other words, Mason's argument is that excuses are actually a sin against God. Jesus tells the parable of the great end-time banquet and the men who were invited to the Lord's table. To paraphrase, "but they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field and must tend to it.' Still another, 'I just got married, so I can't come.' And another, I have just bought five oxen and I must try them out, so I can't come." These excuses remind me of the people I deal with each day in my business, the world of entrepreneurism. My job is to recruit people who want to be entrepreneurs and then to train and mentor them to success. We use a recruiting system to find potential candidates and then we interview them to see if there is a fit. Many times though, its after they get involved that I see the symptoms of excusitis rear its ugly head! They tell me over and over how much they want financial freedom and to have their time back, to work from home and make six figures. Yet, when I tell them to join a conference call thats in the middle of their favorite TV show, the excuses begin. Or when I suggest a seminar thats on the same weekend as their child's sporting event, all the reasons why they can't begin to emerge. Excusitis shows up! They say things like, "I want to make money, but...." or "I want to be the next millionaire, but...." I wish life were easy, but it ain't. Adopt the philosophy of my friend and millionaire entrepreneur, Susan Walsh, who says, "get the buts out of the way!" This doesn't mean that the obstacles aren't real. Many times they are very real. However, it doesn't change the principles. If you desire to have success, you simply can not make excuses, rather as the Nike slogan goes, you just have to do it. And the greater the success you desire, the less room in your life you have for excusitis. I tell my story of how I went from cleaning swimming pools in my business to over $100,000/month before my 30th birthday. Everyone that hears it says, "I want to do that too." Yet, when it comes to the sacrifice necessary, they begin to find the reasons why not, versus focusing on the reasons why too. For the parents out there, my mentor taught me years ago to use my children as the reasons WHY I build my business, not the reasons why not. As a bonus, always remember this. Don't ever let your quest for balance become an excuse for not taking the massive action necessary to reach your goal. Very few successful people that I know are "balanced". Jim Rohn explains it best in that there will be "seasons" of imbalance. If you're an entrepreneur this especially applies to you, but it also applies to anything else in life. If you're trying to lose 50 pounds, you will be unbalanced in the weight loss faze, then be able to have a more balanced diet once the weight is off and you just want to maintain. If you're deep in debt, you're going to have to get unbalanced in your budget and money making activity until you're back at even. Whatever it may be, just be aware of the attempt to maintain balance hiding itself in the excuse for being lukewarm. You will find that when all of your excuses are defensive, even when they sound good, you will never succeed. Offense is what creates success. Get on the offensive today. Decide to purposeful season of imbalance so that you can live a life of fulfilled balance long term. There are no shortcuts to success. We can excuse away now and pay later, or we can pay now and play later.

The leader is the releaser

Hi Leaders,

Its been a little while since I've written on the diet due to a busy schedule but I'm excited to be with you today.

One of my favorite books is "the 21 irrefutable laws of leadership tested by time" by James Garlow. When reading from it this morning, a statement jumped out at me, "as a leader, release". WOW! The second I read that statement, it hit me what Garlow is trying to say. His point is outstandingly insightful. The leader is the releaser. The releaser of talent, potential, power, influence and much more. As a matter of fact, leaders are like a bird handler releasing an eagle, they release those in their organizations to fly. The question becomes do we release them to fly like an eagle...or flop like a turkey? I constantly ask myself this question. Am I releasing my team to excel, or am I putting the lid on their heads to hold them down? This question is a tough but important one. The best way to determine which is the case, is simply to look at the results. Are the leaders on your team excelling? Are they spreading their wings and taking flight? Are they having fun? Is there genuine excitement in their voice or trepidation in their steps?

Sometimes the feedback can be hard to swallow, I know it has been for me at times, but if we're honestly willing to face the mirror the truth will look us in the eye.

I constantly look at the leaders in my organization and I ask, are they soaring? Thankfully I can answer that question with a resounding YES! But it hasn't always been the case. Today I look around at leaders like Mark Smithart, Bill Luznicky, Dallas Baldry, Keith Frein and others and I can see them flying off the runway and letting all of their potential out. What they've accomplished is remarkable, but I know its just the beginning. As a leader, its a sight to behold. I've always said its much more rewarding to see success passed on in the lives of others, than it is to achieve it for yourself.

Remember this today as you endeavor to lead your organization, whether you're a high powered leader, or just the head of your family, you are the releaser.

Go for it BIG!!!
Stevie W.

The two types of mentoring

Hi Prosperity Dieters,

As we dive further down the rabbit hole of one of the most powerful tools for creating success in life, lets focus in today on the two types of mentoring. First, in any mentoring relationship there are two individuals, the mentor(teacher) and the protege(student). One of the greatest mistakes leaders make is attempting to become the mentor when they've never been the protege. This is like the story in the Bible where the man builds his house on sand. Without the foundation the house blew over in the storm. As for you, without being the protege first, and making the investment, you will not succeed in a mentor. as the old saying goes, "a river can not rise above its source" and in this case, how can I mentor when I've never been mentored?

The origins of mentoring: The term mentor originates in Homer's Odyssey. Odysseus, king of Ithaca, fights in the Trojan war and entrusts the care of his house and son to Mentor, who serves as a teacher and overseer of Odysseus' family. In Biblical terms, the mentoring relationship occurs between father and son or daughter. The question to ask, if you were like me, what do you do if you don't have a father or mother that is capable in the realm of success and financial freedom to mentor you. In the case of my parents, even though they love me, they haven't achieved financial freedom, so how can they teach it? If this is your situation, you'll need to do what I did and that is to find a mentor. The good news is that there is no shortage of mentors. The rule that applies here is that "when the student is ready, the teachenship appears". The key is for you as the student to be ready, and you will find the mentor. This is the ultimate example of the law of attraction at work.

Two types of mentoring:

1. Direct. This is the most powerful of mentoring relationships. It involves a direct, one on one relationship. If you are fortunate enough to find a direct mentor, you are a truly blessed person. The direct mentoring relationship is one of the deepest, most satisfying relationships in life. For me, the relationship I have with my direct mentors have been PRICELESS. Later, we will discuss more of how to be a direct protege, but for todays lesson, lets make sure we get the what each type of mentoring is.

2. Mentoring from afar. This is mentoring between two people where the protege knows and studies the mentor through the mentors works and through modeling. This is also a very powerful form of mentoring, and the most likely place you as a protege will begin. We mentor from afar through books, CDs, blogs, as well as through modeling-which is watching someone in action.

For me personally, I'm directly mentoring 2 individuals, which I have found to be close to the max i am able to effectively handle at any given time. I might be able to handle a third, but that is it. The good news is that if I do my job as a mentor, my 2 should in turn mentor their 2 and beyond. My personal mentor is mentored by the legendary author on leadership, John Maxwell. However, Brad did not meet John for over 10 years after he began studying John's materials. This didn't slow Brad down. he literally devoured every CD, book, tape, seminar of John's he could get his hands on. There have been times I have wondered who knows the material better, Brad or John. That is how much Brad has absorbed John's material. The point is this: if you can't mentor from afar you'd never make it in a direct mentoring relationship. It never fails at every seminar I do, I have a member of the audience approach me and ask that I mentor them. When I give them assignments to begin mentoring from afar, they do what I ask for a few days, sometimes a couple of weeks, then I never hear from them again. This type of person doesn't want to be mentored, they want a shortcut. A quick fix to success. The only overnight success stories I know became that way after years of hard work.

The greatest mentor to ever live:

Regardless of your religious belief, if you desire to learn about real mentoring, study the new testament story of Jesus and his disciples. This is the greatest mentoring story ever told. Jesus took 12 men, of average ability, and through those 12 men has built an organization of 1/3 of the world's population that has survived(and is still thriving) 2,000 years after He left the Earth. If thats not a great example of mentoring, i don't know what is! Later, I will share more with you from my private mentoring journal about Jesus and his mentoring style.

The question of importance today is this: for 2010, who is/are going to be my mentors? If you truly desire financial freedom, to be a millionaire and have what life has to offer, start with three of my mentors from afar: Jim Rohn, John Maxwell & Robert Kiyosaki. Get your hands on everything they have. Devour it. Soak it up. (I've been known to put ketchup and mustard on them all :)!)

As well, if you want to know more about what you can do, get to Atlanta this weekend for the HMG Millionaire Tour. There, for 4 hours, 3 speakers who have collectively made $32,000,000 and taught countless numbers of others to achieve six figure residual incomes, will teach 3 topics that I can promise you will change your life. See my Facebook fan page for details or click here:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=278638615897&ref=mf

One other quick point, if we're friends on Facebook and you want to continue getting the "good stuff" join the fan page where I am going to continue to direct my training and mentoring information to and away from my personal page.

Finally, stay plugged into the P. Diet and share it with others. You can't outgive the giver. I invite you to plug your friends and colleagues in.

You are AWESOME!!!

Steven

2010-the year of the mentor

Hi Prosperity Dieters,

2010 is upon us and we're already 15 days in 9 does time sure fly). At this time of year, everyone has their goals in their mind, lose weight, get in shape, get out of debt, make more money, the list goes on and on. What I want to challenge you with today is something my mentor says over and over: in order to make 2010 different than 2009 you're going to have to think differently so you act differently, and if not you'll likely wind up in the exact same spot 12 months from now, frustrated w/ your lack of progress. The question then becomes, if I want to change, how do I think differently so that I can act differently? We could do an entire session on this one. Most of us want to act differently first. I have news for you that acting differently won't make you think differently. As it says in the good book, "as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."

As many of you may have seen, each January my organization Hager Marketing Group(HMG) does a series of generic seminars around the country that we call the Millionaire Tour. The reason we do the M.T., which this year is in 5 cities, is because we know as leaders, if we want our followers to perform differently, we have to help them THINK differently. Now for those of you serious about making these changes and want the details of how to do it, get to Atlanta this weekend or Seattle the next (see my Facebook fan page for details). If you're not able to make one of these two events, this blog is going to be even more important for you. My challenge to you this year is to make this the year that you truly engage in the mentoring process. To assist you in the process, over the coming days and weeks I am going to write extensively on mentoring. I find that of all the topics regarding success in life, few are more misunderstood. Today, the thing you need to know is that you NEED a mentor, desperately. Whether you think you do or not.

This blog is about prosperity, however whether your ambition is financially driven or not, you still need a mentor to get where you want to go.

So what does a mentor do and why do I need one? i've created an acronym for the word success that explains what a mentor does and why a mentor is so vital for true success:

Strengthen your ability

Unlock your potential

Cultivate your leadership

Confront your weaknesses

Expand your vision

Stretch your capacity

Stand by you in critical situations

Over the coming days, weeks and months we're going to expand on each of these topics as well as others such as how to select a mentor, how to maximize the mentoring process, the danger of selecting the wrong mentor and much more.

What you want to ask yourself right now is, "who do I know that desires true success in their life in 2010?" Suggest this blog to them. Also, get them plugged into the fan page, where we will be directing the majority of this traffic.

Finally, let me give one more plug for the Millionaire Tour this weekend in Atlanta(Saturday Jan 23 from 12pm-4pm) and January 30 in Seattle. All details are on the fan page. If you're anywhere throughout the south or east coast this seminar is for you and the same thing holds true for Seattle. We have people that have flown as far away as Alaska, Mexico and cross country to attend, while many are attending multiple events. It is generic and it is FREE. Normally, the myself, Brad and Susan would charge $300-$500 for information of this magnitude. collectively, the 3 speakers have personally earned $32,000,000. Its that good, take it to the bank. I will be there getting mentored, will you?

Heres to 2010 being the year of your dreams,

Steven

What is a true mentor?

Yesterday on my facebook wall, I posted a status update that said, in short, Steven is looking for 1 person in a particular city(s) to mentor to a certain level of income. Responses flooded in and one in particular stood out, from a young lady who asked, "how does a mentor make a difference?" WOW! This caused me to stop and think for a moment. To me, mentoring is a part of daily life, but this question caused me to remember that for some, the concept of a mentor is be unclear because they have not had the blessing of a true mentoring relationship. While the concept of mentoring is detailed, here are 3 simple, yet powerful things a mentor does.

1. A Mentor Knows The Way-there are two types of leaders in life. My mentor calls them tour guide leaders and travel agent leaders. The difference? If you go to a travel agent today to inquire about a trip to Paris, the travel agent can show you pictures, maybe even take you to a brochure and read the reviews of hotels, excursions online. However, they haven't BEEN THERE. A tour guide leader, however, can tell you exactly where to stay, where to go and what to do because they have lived it. A tour guide leader will suggest you stay at the Hotel George V right off the champs-élysées, to have a louis XIII in the library bar, but not to have breakfast because its overpriced, to attend the 9pm show at Crazy Horse, versus the earlier one, to make sure to stop by Angelina's after touring The Louvre to have the dreamy hot chocloate(make sure to bring extra cash because you'll want to take as much home as you can fit) and perhaps how to find the largest selection of Ferre at the store on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré versus elsewhere. How can one mentor another in an area they haven't traveled? If you're in the ministry, find someone who has built the type of ministry you desire to have. If you're a mom, find someone who's children behave the way you'd like yours too. Offer to take her to lunch. You'll be amazed at what you will learn over a $10 lunch. If its business, find someone who is already where you want to be. Don't be like the average person who seeks advice and counsel from family and friends who don't have what they are desiring. Its like the guy who asks his broke friend what he thinks he should do with his finances. I don't know about you, but I don't want to know what my broke friends do with their money, because I don't want to be broke! However, as the old saying goes, "do what someone does and you'll have what they have." If you desire financial freedom, find someone who is already there and ask for their help. You'll be amazed at their willingness to share.
2. A Mentor Shows The Way-just because one knows the way isn't enough. They must be willing to show the way which involves an investment of time. Generally, you will find the more successful someone happens to be, the more likely they are to give freely of their time and knowledge. However, that isn't always the case. The first step is to find someone who knows the way and then to discover if they're willing to show the way. Personally, this is one of the greatest joys in life. Maybe its because I was blessed with such a giving mentor in Brad Hager, but to me I can't imagine life without rich, meaningful mentoring relationships. ***A word of caution: do NOT ask a mentor to show you the way if you're not willling to implement the advice. The greatest disrepsect one can show to a mentor is a lack f willingness to put the coaching into action. Before you approach a potential mentor, you need to ask a serious question of yourself, "am I TRULY serious about being mentored?" If the answer is maybe, don't approach the mentor. You're better off to save the question for a later time when you know you're ready.
3. A Mentor Goes The Way-A true mentor knows that the journey is never done because the journey itself is the true blessing. Recently, a mentor entered my life named Bill Farley. Mr. F(as I like to call him) has been incredibly successful in business. Having started from scratch, he built a company to $5.5 Billion in sales with over 65,000 employees worldwide. In business, that is almost unbelieveable. In his 60s today, many people in his shoes would sail off into the distance on their yacht, but not Mr. F. Today, he is actively engaged in the mentoring process and the building the business that he calls his greatest masterpiece yet. Now thats inspiring! Anotherwords, Mr. F is a mentor who knows the way, shows the way and is still GOING the way.

We all have the potential to mentor, and we all have the need to be mentored. Whether you are a parent, a pastor or a business leader, remember that a river can not rise above its source. Mentoring is one of the greatest joys that life has to offer, but it also takes commitment.

A quick reminder that if you find the Prosperity Diet a blessing to your life, share it with others and sign up for our free newsletter at www.steventhompson-mentor.com. I'd also be happy to be your friend on Facebook-just send me a request. You'll find me under steven@steventhompsononline.com.

Lastly, maybe a mentoring relationship isn't something you've been privvy too prior to now. I challenge you to open your mind to the idea. The impact can be truly life changing.

For those in Denver and Mexico City I look forward to mentoring with you this week!!!

Stevie Wonder