Recently, I had the honor of staying with a multi-millionaire client in his beautiful guest house. He took care of me like I was a member of his own family and I learned three valuable lessons that will help you on your way to success. Here they are:
1. Yes: You CAN have it all.
- He is 53 and looks like he’s in his early 40’s.
- He’s extremely fit. He works out twice a day.
- Having been married for several decades, he has a strong relationship with his wife.
- He has thoughtful children with bright futures that are not spoiled or entitled.
- He goes to church every Sunday and holds financial literacy classes for his church members every week in his home theatre.
- He has a group of five extremely close friends that would do anything for him and he meets them every year. (Quality over quantity)
- He creates jobs in his local community since he has several partnerships and successful, DURABLE businesses that have lasted over 20 years.
- He built houses for his mother and father.
- He also recently planned a trip to Cuba to teach people in need about entrepreneurship and speaks at colleges to university students regularly.
Does this mean that he’s perfect? No. No one is. But in the most meaningful areas of his life, he has achieved huge success and didn’t need to compromise.
2. Think “Big Picture“
He has created systems that have allowed him to thrive in these areas because he has always thought about the big picture, even if it meant a small payoff in the beginning.
For instance, he’s a big advocate of partnerships because he’s able to identify how to leverage other people’s talents and gifts while doubling down on his own strengths. So even though he makes less money up front, he wins over long periods of time. (Patience and long term vision pays off.)
He’s also extremely strategic about the types of businesses that he starts and the timing. He creates businesses that feed into each other and not just “shiny objects.”
Another example of this is that he has dinner with his family every day at the same time. No phones are allowed.
Even if there’s no “big payoff” during one dinner of no phones, this has a compound effect for the family over time. They talk about their day and enjoy each other’s company without distractions.
3. Master The Fundamentals
He will be the first to admit that he’s never had a “big idea.” Everything he has is because he has mastered the fundamentals of business.
What are the fundamentals? Here are a few that came up during my stay:
Be Sales Focused
Cashflow solves 99% of all business problems. You can hire more, advertise more, pay yourself more, pay taxes, and you will have more options to re-invest in your business and focus on the “Big Domino” that will get you to the next level.
Identify Your Competition’s Weaknesses
Make a list of the things that your competition is doing wrong. (Hint: What are customers complaining about?) Then, be intentional about fixing those 4-5 things in your own business model so you could stand out and have a competitive edge.
Move Fast. Speed is the ultimate competitive advantage.
Most people know that “Success loves speed.”
I ask my client for one thing for his sales funnel and he has it to me less than 24 hour later. (I have clients that have taken years to get me what I need for their project. Needless to say, they are not as successful.)
I asked him for an extra razor because I forgot mine and he has it to me 5 minutes later (with shaving cream.)
He doesn’t make excuses and does everything he possibly can to move very fast, even if he doesn’t need to.
Everyone around him has to adapt to his speed because that’s his successful habit. So, it makes everyone around him better.
Mark Zuckerberg would agree: “Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough.”
Hope you enjoyed reading. Was there anything in particular that stood out to you?
I would love to know. Leave a comment below.