Leverage is a concept where effort is amplified. Archimedes, the ancient Greek mathematician, once said, “Give me a long enough lever and a place to stand and I can move the Earth.” Moving the Earth may not be high on your agenda but what about moving your world?

Learning about the right kind of leverage can move your world from barely getting by or worse to one of enjoyment and abundance.

Leverage is used every day. There are only 24 hours in a day. So, if you start a business and you are the only one working it, at most you could get 24 hours of work done each day. If you employed someone, you could get the benefit of their effort as well. If you had an online auction business, you could manage the auctions while they did the packing and shipping.

There is a limit to that kind of leverage since each new employee brings costs. Their contribution must be greater than their costs or it doesn’t make business sense to employ them.

Also, there’s the age old struggle of employees want to do only enough to keep from getting fired and employers want to pay only enough to keep people from quitting.

What if there was a way that each new member of your organization could reap the same types of financial benefits that you do without reducing your profits? Motivational problems aren’t there because they have an interest in the business. After awhile they would build your business with little to no effort from you.

Is this just a fantasy?

This is the world of network marketing. It’s not perfect, it’s just better.

As you work with your company to sell products, you find other like minded people who want to build their own prosperity. Depending on your company, you will get a percentage of the business their business generates. If they find other people who build a business, you will probably get a percentage of their business as well. As your business organization grows, there will be a point where you are receiving more money from other people’s efforts than your own. There is another point, a critical mass, where your organization and income grow exponentially without your effort. This money is called residual income.

This can result in lifestyle freedom where you have the money and the time to do what you want, with whom you want, when you want.

If you would like to know more, you can go to FreeRKCDForYou.com to get a free CD from Robert Kiyosaki called, “The Business of the 21^st Century.”

Technorati Tags: change your world, employees, leverage, lifestyle freedom, network marketing, residual income

This time of year, back in 2003, I learned first hand about employer loyalty, job security and doing a good job. I was in a “dot com” company managing the technical assets, people, hardware and software, we used to build marketing websites for external clients. Our division was profitable. I was the only person who knew how to do all the jobs and work with all the technologies. In fact, I was the only person who knew how to work with about half the technologies we used.

When I arrived at that company, the division I was in was using extremely outdated technology and all the tech people had either left for other jobs or transferred to other departments. I was the only person doing the work of the four previous workers. I put in the long hours to solve the immediate issues, hired some workers and started updating the way we did things. I pulled their fat out of the fire and made it work well.

My sons remember it as the time when daddy would come home when they were eating dessert. I was putting in the hours to make sure our deadlines were met and our customers were happy. In fact, my manager received many compliments about me from our customers for my about ability to get crazy requests done quickly.

I thought I was secure.

My wife had stayed home with our second son, so I was the only breadwinner for our family. I was receiving a decent income that mostly covered our expenses. Major stuff that came up, air conditioning repairs, car repairs, etc. went on the credit cards.

The first warning sign came in June, 2002 during the normal performance appraisal and raise cycle. My performance appraisal was great, no problems there. Then I was told that I was making too much already to get a raise of any type. So much for work hard, do a good job and they will take care of you!

One day in March, 2003, I received a call from my manager and 20 minutes later, I was carting boxes of my personal stuff (I had a lot of technical books) out the door. I was laid off!

I learned firsthand about the lack of employer loyalty and job security. Anyone who has experienced getting the rug pulled out from under like this can tell you about the feelings of betrayal, helplessness and bitterness that come though not right away. Usually, you are too stunned to think.

This event made it very clear to me that if you want security, seek freedom. Build your own business and make sure it gives you lifestyle freedom. That’s the time and the money to do what you want. Build it while you have an income on a part time basis so you aren’t under the gun to get it done.

You want your business to continue providing money even if you aren’t there for a period of time. You can build an online auction business but if you go on a two week vacation, you either have to stop your auctions or hire someone to fulfill them. That’s not time freedom.

Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, describes how a home based network marketing business is the coming trend in his CD, “The Business of the 21^st Century.” You can get a free copy at FreeRKCDForYou.com.

Technorati Tags: employer loyalty, home based network marketing business, laid off, lifestyle freedom

Fall has finally arrived. As someone living in near Dallas, it was a very welcome change. This summer we broke our record of the number of triple digit temperature days in a year. We even had a last gasp of summer on the 29^th of September with 102.

With the change in seasons comes a change in thinking. Instead of trying to avoid the heat, people around here are looking forward to the State Fair, crisp mornings and Halloween with Thanksgiving around the corner.

This could be a season to change how you think about your life. Many people look towards others for the major requirements in their life. A job, either having one or looking for one, to pay for the things you want gives your power to other people. This is especially acute when you are looking for a job in these times. Like Blanche DuBois, you are dependent on the kindness of strangers.

This dependency shrinks your dreams. You shrink them to fit your income. You take a “staycation” instead of a memory making vacation with loved ones.  You drive a car that fit your budget, not your fancy. Your living accommodations are “cozy” instead of breath taking. All the while, you rationalize to yourself that it will get better “someday”.

I challenge you to change your thinking. Expanding your income to fit your dreams is not only possible but so much more rewarding. You can be your own boss. You can have a carpet commute. You take back your power and control. If you want a raise, you can give it to yourself.

Look at starting a profitable home based business. You can do so for relatively little. Even in down times, people can be successful in business. In fact, down times often force people to come up with ways to be successful because of the lack of alternatives.

Some of the things it has brought me are the two most important things to people at the end of their lives – memories and relationships. Many parents feel they are sending a stranger off to college because they don’t know who their child has become. I have been involved with my sons’ lives especially during their critical teen years. Before that, I was working much too long hours. My youngest still remembers when I would come home when they were finishing dinner.

I have chaperoned a choir trip to Walt Disney World. I have chaperoned band trips. I am often the only dad that’s chaperoning. I have been there dropping them off at school and more importantly, picking them up afterwards. I have confidence in my son’s driving because I had the time to teach him and log the required 20 hours before he got his license.

I have built relationships with my sons and provided foundations for having great relationships with them as they mature into adulthood because I had control of my time and my life. That’s often called time freedom and lifestyle freedom.

I am urging you with the change of seasons to change your thinking. Interrupt the “get a good job” mantra and take control of you life.

Technorati Tags: be your own boss, carpet commute, change in thinking, dreams, expand your income, give yourself a raise, home based business, job, lifestyle freedom, make money from home, memories, relationships, staycation, take control, time freedom, vacation, walt disney world

As I take my 7th grader to school in the morning, I get to see a lot of the other parents dropping off their kids. Many of them are walking a tight time tightrope. They can’t get their kids to school too early because the school policy yet they have a commute that they need to hit the road. Sometimes, they drive like maniacs to pass me before we hit the school zone and even then they push driving 24 mph in a 20.

On top of the morning rush, they spend 1 to 3 hours per day burning money through their engine while they burn their time. Then, they come home tired, eat, watch a little tv then go to bed so they can get up and do it again.

Years ago, I made the commitment to work for myself. Not only do I have extra time that I save on my carpet commute and extra money by not driving, I’m flexible for when my son needs me. If he needs to stay late for band practice, he can call and I’m there in less than 10 minutes. We often go to Sonic after school for chocolate malts and bonding.

If my wife and I worked outside our home, he would have a 45 minute walk each way with a heavy backpack and a trumpet case. He would have to cross two four lane, divided streets and only one of them has a traffic light at his crossing point. Then he would be on his own for a couple of hours until we came home.

Having a home based network marketing business is not all about the money. For a lot of people, like me, it’s what it gets me. I get to be a major influence on how my sons grow up. I get to know who my sons are and guide them to do better. They’re only going to be this young once and then it’s gone.

I get to do things with his activities. I know at his age he wouldn’t admit it, but the way he lights up when I show up, I can tell he’s glad to see me there.

If you would like to discover this kind of lifestyle freedom, go to www.DiscoverYourOwnFreedom.com. We’ll see if what we have to offer is appropriate.

Technorati Tags: home based network marketing, lifestyle freedom

Recent stories have come out that stress the unemployment rate has reached 9.6% which is an increase despite the “Recovery Summer” initiative put forth. I’m not here to talk politics but to tell you that these numbers don’t mean anything to you.

Statistics are only meaningful for a large group of people. They don’t apply to an individual. I don’t think I have ever heard of someone being 9.6% unemployed.

A sure way to be able to ignore that kind of “news” would be to take control of your own life. Here are some things that I have not worried about the last several years:

• Gas prices – with my carpet commute, a tank of gas lasts 6-8 weeks.
• Getting time off for special events such as my son’s band concerts or chaperoning a choir trip to Disneyworld.
• Wasting an hour or two each day in traffic – the only traffic I have to watch out for is my dogs getting in the way.
• Asking for a raise – I just employ strategies to increase my income.
• Annoying coworkers – I pick who I want to work with.
• Unemployment – I’m not going to lay myself off.

This is all due to my home based business. I started growing it while I was still working in a corporate job. I earned while I learned how to do it. With my business products, my health got better, too.

If you are scared about the employment situation, there’s an old saying that I have followed. “Dig the well before you are thirsty.” You can work to build someone else’s dream or you can build your own dreams through lifestyle freedom.

If you would like to know more, I have a free mini course on home based network marketing and some of the benefits you can enjoy from it. Just go to DiscoverYourOwnFreedom.com and sign up for them.

Technorati Tags: build your own dreams, Corporate Job, free, free mini course, home based business, lifestyle freedom, network marketing, recovery summer, unemployment