Income for Life

Could an "ugly" notebook change your life?

Recently I realized that some very famous and/or wealthy people share a very unusual commonality. This commonality is "journaling." Journaling is defined by the Free Dictionary as...

"A personal record of occurrences, experiences, and reflections kept on a regular basis; a diary."

Now I realize this might sound a little foo-foo to some.

However, you might be surprised to know that Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Masterson and Jim Rohn are all known journalers. Jim Rohn's reasoning was as follows:

"Life rewards the serious student."

In fact, Jim Rohn used to spend a lot of money on high-quality leather journals. He was onced asked, "Why do you spend so much on an empty book?" His reply, "I intend to put something very valuable inside." I sure do miss Jim. Here's a picture I had taken with him several years ago:


Most people think of journaling as writing daily in a diary. This could be one use of a journal, but there are several more ways that journaling may transform your life. Here are ways you might use journaling to your advantage:

1. To track your progress towards goals you've set for yourself. In Michael Mastersons recent book, "The Pledge" he shared that he journals daily. One of the things he tracks monthly in his journal is his net worth. The reason why is because he knows that what you measure improves. By consistently tracking his net worth in his journal, he is able to make better decisions that lead him closer to his financial goals.

2. Keep a record of great business or investing ideas. If you're like me, you come across great business and investing ideas on a routine basis. Unfortunately these great ideas slip through our fingers if we don't write them down and review them regularly.

3. Sort out problems or challenges. Facing a big problem in your life? Spend some time writing about it in your journal. List everything you can do to improve the situation and track your progress.  I promise this little process will relieve a ton of stress and keep you focused on progress.

4. Document mistakes made and lessons learned. It's obviously not a good idea to make the same mistake twice. You can use a journal to detail mistakes you've made and what you've learned from these mistakes. More importantly, you can make notes about how you can prevent this mistake from happening again.

5. Record things you want to teach your children. Our main job as parents is to prepare our children for adulthood. This isn't an easy task. I've found it helpful to document lessons I want my children to learn before they're on their own. I also list various ideas that I might be able to use to help them learn the particular lesson.

6. List things you want to do in your life (aka...your bucket list). What do you want to do? Where do you want to go? What to you want to see? What do you want to learn? Use your journal to document all of these things and make sure you review them regularly. You don't want to get to the end of your life and regret something on one these lists.

7. Capture special life moments. One of the coolest benefits of journaling is what you leave behind for your family. Your children, grand children and great grandchildren will be able to read your journals and "see" who you were as a person. They'll be able to relive your special moments. More importantly, they can learn from what you share in your journal. Maybe, think of your journal as a "Life Book", which may help future generations.

8. Detail quotes that inspire you. Wouldn't it be cool to have one place to record every inspirational quote  you read? Guess what, simply add them to your jounral and you can quickly get your hands on them when needed!

There are numerous ways you can use a journal to enhance and improve your life. The trick is to just get started. You don't need an expensive journal like Jim Rohn used. You can simply use a spiral notebook like this one I used to detail all of the lessons I learned from the real estate market crash and the "great" recession.

Or you can open a new document in Microsoft Word, or a Google Document and use it as your journal. The type of journal you ulimately use  doesn't matter.

What matters is who you become when you journal.

What matters is that you review what you've written periodically and use your journal to your advantage.

Income for Life Member Spotlight...

Mike Jovic signed up as an Income for Life member in July of 2008 to learn more about real estate investing and he was intrigued about having a coach assist him in his real estate education. Mike is pictured to the left with his beautiful daughter Macie!

Mike had a very nice, completely remodeled home that he had bought of a rehabber prior to his Income for Life membership. Even though the house was gorgeous, he was unable to sell the home for anything near what he had sunk into the property for over two years!

Mike had not dealt with renters, and he felt that Income for Life could be the organization to help him learn the Rent to Own investing approach. He met with Alex Carney, an experienced Wealth Coach, and quickly had a game plan for his property. Here is what Mike had to say:

"I utilized the marketing techniques recommended by Income for Life and my Wealth Coach. They gave advice on the do's and don'ts, what works and what typically does not work. In December 2008, the property was rented to a hard-working couple on a two year Rent to Own program.

The initial down payment collected from the tenants was $2,300. The rent on the property is $800 (positive cash flow per month of about $150). Alex Carney walked me through the process from start to finish...

In the beginning I remember Alex's words...'Don't worry man, we'll find a quality tenant for your property, we'll getcha a down payment and we'll get this elephant off your back.' Alex and Income for Life delivered on their words.

This was quite a learning experience for me. Being a new investor in an extremely tough market brough many challenges to overcome. When asked if I will continue to acquire additional investment proerties I say with enthusiasm... Most Definitely! In this challenging market, it is a great asset to have Income for Life not just working for you... but with you."

The Best Investments You Can Make in 2009!

It's this time of year when most people sit down and prepare their resolutions for 2009. Here are my recommendations for investments you might consider:

1) Invest into yourself. 

Knowledge is extremely powerful, assuming that you apply it in your life. Invest in education. Use what you learn to improve your investing returns. Over the years, I've invested well over $100,000 in books, information products, mastermind groups, training and coaching. I always try to extract the lessons learned and apply them in my life. These little investments have compounded dramatically throughout the last few years.

More importantly, nothing can take the knowledge you acquire away. A slow economy or recession has zero impact on this investment. Your knowledge cannot be stolen in some massive Ponzi Scheme. It's not impacted by the stock market. It is the safest and most profitable investment you'll ever make.

2) Paying down debt.

I realize that paying down debt isn't very sexy. However, it's very safe. Take some time to study all of the recent financial failures. Study both business and personal financial failure. You'll find that in 99% of the failures, excessive debt was the cause. By paying down debt, you'll decrease the odds of financial failure. You also move closer to financial independence. Start by paying off cars, credit cards, and personal loans. Once these are paid off, then focus on paying off your mortgage. The good news is that your investment returns are guaranteed when you pay off debt!

3) Real Estate.

Most people are afraid of real estate right now. I certainly understand why. But consider how your life would be right now had you bought 10 rental properties during the boom and paid them off. Sure the value of your properties would have dropped over the last year or so. However, your monthly rental income would continue to arrive like clockwork. In 2009, buy investment properties with the intention of paying them off quickly. The lower home prices available in today's market actually help enormously in this process.You can buy great homes for pennies on the dollar. This savings in price creates higher monthly cash-flow. Use the increased cash-flow to pay off the mortgage on the property. Once the property is debt-free, the economy will have zero impact on your finances.

4) A mutual fund or stock in a good company.

Just kidding. You have zero control over a mutual fund or stock in a publicly traded company. See my recent post on why "control" is so important by clicking here.

5) Your own "side" business

Starting your own "side" business might be the best thing you can do in 2009. One business can lead to several million dollars of wealth. Don't quit your day job. Start your "side" business in your free time. Use the income generated to build additional wealth. Invest the money back into your side business, into your debt pay down program, or into real estate. Don't use the income generated by your side business to go buy a new car! Use the "side" business income to compound your wealth.

Yes, starting your own business is risky. However, the more you invest in yourself (See number 1 above), the less risky your own business becomes. Refer back to the last few Income for Life newsletters for the best "side" businesses you can launch. Pay close attention to the "9 Qualities of a Great Side Business" as summarized in the November newsletter.

Rob Minton

The plain truth about panic.

This is a guest post from Dan Kennedy and is part of his series titled "Why People Fail."

Why does so much panic spread so quickly and easily through so many people whenever tough times occur in a given industry or profession, or the national economy?

Without deep roots, the tree topples in the storm. What are 'deep roots' for the business owner, entrepreneur or investor? One, a system of selling and conducting business that has proven reliable and profitable, from which he can draw confidence, and which he can stick to with reasoned persistence. If he is advertising and marketing to attract customers, selling to them, retaining and multiplying them absent system, by random and erratic and even impulsive acts, with unplanned and disorganized effort, he'll be blown off course by a stiff breeze.

Note from Income for Life: Most real estate investors fall into the description above by Dan. They invest in random and erratic acts without a plan or systematic approach.

Two, a support network including continuous in-flow of legitimately useful how-to information, coaching by people themselves tested by tough times and proven successful, encouragement and motivation from like-minded, optimistic, forward-thinking businesspeople. Absent this, with no counterbalance to the relentlessly and excessively negative voices of media and peers, he'll bend then break early not late.

Three, a productive and profitable personal philosophy sharpened with reading, listening; study of successful achievers; association with the confident and capable, so that he is conditioned to be opportunistic, to search for and exploit the opportunities always concealed behind adversity. If he is not daily improving his personal philosophy, he is weakening from the inside out, the core hollow. When Bilbo Baggins said, "I do not like adventures because they make me late for dinner", he expressed profound personal philosophy governing thoughts, actions and outcomes. When someone says something as simple as "I don't have time to process all that information - I have my business to run", he unwittingly reveals profound personal philosophy as well. You have to investigate your own personal philosophy and evaluate how helpful or unhelpful it is likely to be in weathering storms, in navigating rough seas, in unearthing hidden treasure.

A productive and profitable, personal success philosophy. A sound, organized system. A trustworthy support network. These assets do not develop by accident or luck or randomness. Successful people very deliberately work at developing them, seek to connect to the people and resources and associations most helpful in developing them - and once connected, never risk disconnecting. They strategically assemble these assets in keeping with their own goals, stengths and weaknesses. Key word: strategically.

Click Here to apply for membership in Income for Life.

Thomas Crown

My all time favorite movie is The Thomas Crown Affair - the 1999 version with Pierce Bronsnan. The original version of the movie was in 1968 with Steve McQueen. It was good, but I like the 1999 movie better. You can check out one of the best parts here:

The main reason I love this movie is because it shows the importance of planning. If you haven't seen the movie, pick it up over the upcoming holiday weekend. Pay very close attention to how Mr. Crown "planned" everything in advance. Same goes for the 1968 version, too.

What would your life be like, if you planned in detail like Thomas Crown did in the movie? It amazes me how most people go through life week to week, without any specific planning. I have already planned the majority of 2009. I have blocked several weeks for vacations. This should have been evident in post titled "Short-Term Thinking Destroys Long-Term Results." Reservations have been made. Trips paid for in advance. I have fun goals and challenges lined up.

I began planning far in advance several years ago and have noticed a significant change in my life. I no longer have to scramble at the last minute like I did before. I have a lot less stress. I'm able to set aside $$$ for special trips or vacations. In essence, everything is easier when I plan in advance.

Hopefully, Thomas Crown will inspire you to plan in detail. This is particularly important as we wrap up 2008 and head into 2009. Start planning now. You'll notice a big difference flow through everything as you do!

Rob Minton

P.S. I hear they are planning a new Thomas Crown Affair for 2009. I can't wait! I'm already planning to attend! :0)

If You Want More, Make Yourself More Valuable

This post is a guest post from Dan Kennedy.

The mayor of a small town once wrote to Benjamin Franklin asking for a donation so the town could buy a bell for its town square. Franklin sent the money with a note suggesting they forgo the bell in favor of buying books for the town library. It is at the library we might find an answer to why so few people succeed and why most fail - at anything, at everything.

Most people do not apply themselves to acquiring know-how nor apply the know-how they acquire. In short, they have the attention span of a gnat, the diligence of an idle, random breeze. They certainly don't study.

I have become quite rich and somewhat celebrated, reaching the pinnacle of success in not one but three different fields. At each required skill-set, I once sucked. For me, there has always been a crawl to competence, then a fast rise to superiority. Part of the process is getting through a lot of information in a hurry but also continuously. For nearly 25 years, I read a book a day plus newspapers, trade journals, newsletters, visited the public library weekly; took on a needed skill and so thoroughly and intensely studied it as to become a world class expert. When I was teaching myself to be an advertising copywriter, for example, I studied no less than an hour everyday, listened to recorded material on the subject constantly, sought out and got to know the top people in the field, and when one told me to take great direct-response ads and write them out longhand 21 times each, to teach my subconscious the rhythm of such writing, I did that with 100 ads. I collected over 200 books on the subject and immersed myself in them. I built organized files of samples that fill a room. I traced one master back to his teachers, they to theirs, thus even knowing the genealogy of the field. When I am asked by fledgling or journeymen copywriters how they, too, might have clients waiting in line to pay them $100,000.00 fees when there are thousands of copywriters advertising their availability for 1/10th that or less, and I tell them this answer, they reject it. They seek rewards out of kilter with their value and are unwilling to do what is necessary to build up their value.

The same answer could be given by the top earners in insurance, real estate, retail store ownership, dentistry - name the business or profession. The answer is the same.

I am told by people all the time that they simply do not have time to read and listen to all the material they have purchased or subscribed to. But time is democratic and just. Everyone has the same amount. When I choose to read with my mid-morning coffee break and you choose to blather about trivia with friends; when I choose to study for an hour sitting on my backyard deck at day's end but you choose to watch a TIVO'd dance reality show, we reveal much. When someone says he does not have the time to apply himself to acquiring the know-how required to create sufficient value for his stated desired, he is a farmer surrounded by ripe fruit and vegetables, whole grains and a herd of cattle on his own property who dies of starvation, unable to organize his time and discipline himself to eat.

Incidentally, success in every business, including yours, depends on mastery of a handful of critical competencies (one of which is always marketing). The individual who sets out earnestly and diligently to acquire wealth of know-how in each winds up with wealth in his bank account. All others watch with envy and cry in their soup, two activities they do seem to find time for.

The WHY PEOPLE FAIL articles are provided by Dan S. Kennedy, serial entreprenuer, from-scratch multi-millionaire, speaker, consultant, coach, author of 13 books including the No. B.S. series (www.NoBSBooks.com), and editor of The No B.S. Marketing Letter. We have arranged for a special free gift from Dan for you including a 2 -Month Free Membership in Glazer-Kennedy Insider's Circle, newsletters, audio CD's and more: for information and to register, visit: www.FreeGiftFrom.com.

"Don't Believe Everything You Read..."

Last week, I watched a great Disney video on Tim Ferriss's blog. The video is so good that I had to include it for you below. To save a little time, fast forward to the 4 minute mark.

Note: If you're receiving this blog post via email, you may have to vist the blog to watch this video. Visit http://www.IncomeForLifeBlog.com.

Rob Minton

Real Estate Investors: How to Stay Motivated!

With all of the craziness happening in the economy, it is  critical to find was to stay motivated. The media keeps on telling us that we are basically screwed. They say we are headed for a depression here in the States. Now all the "negativity" in the States is slowing down the Canadian real estate market too.

You have to be extremely careful what you allow yourself to believe. You can choose to see all of the problems or you can choose to see opportunity. Let's be real and agree that both problems and opportunity surround us.

Here are two things that I have found true in my life:

1. You get what you think about most:

Think about problems and you tend to get more problems. Think about how to make more money and you get more money. Think about how bad your spouse is and you end up with a bad marriage. I could go on and on with examples of how this works.

2. Your thinking is influenced by what you watch, what you read and who you talk to on a regular basis:

Watch the news for two hours a day, read the newspaper for another hour and then go talk to people who complain about everything and guess what happens?

You start to see problems everywhere. You think about these problems more and more. Then you end up with more problems in your life. Then you lose hope and stop trying. This entire cycle started by watching the news and reading about all of the "problems" in the newspaper.

Now, I'm not suggesting that problems don't exist. They do. 

I'm simply suggesting that you proactively stay away from things that negatively impact how you think. If you are concerned about something in your life, figure out what you need to do to handle the situation and move on. Don't dwell on the problem. Spend more time thinking about the solution. Spend more time taking action to implement the solution.

Control what you see.

Control what you think about.

Below is a video I recently shot which will show you one of the ways I stay motivated. I do have to warn you... This video was shot before I took a shower. In other words, I don't look very pretty! (Note: if you're receiving this blog post via email, you may have to visit the actual blog to watch the video. Go to: http://www.IncomeForLifeBlog.com)

By the way, the "makeup" comment  in the video was a joke!

Rob Minton

Up the Creek Without a Paddle?

This picture was taken by my wife. After a storm one day, she found a leaf floating in our pool. Sitting on top of the leaf was a big ole spider. Poor little guy didn't have a paddle! Sooner or later he was going to get sucked into our pool filter.

This summer I learned that spiders can't swim. How so? Because I sucked 30 to 50 of them out of the bottom of the pool with our handy, dandy pool vacuum. This little guy somehow got onto a leaf. He was one of the lucky ones.

All of this led me to think about how important backup plans our in life.

Too many people live without backup plans. They somehow think everything will work out as planned. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I recently wrote an article in the Income for Life newsletter about disability insurance. An alarming number of adults go day-to-day without this protection. The statistics are very scary on the number of people who are disabled and unable to work. No backup plan. Instant financial turmoil.

Or how about the current foreclosure crises? Why is this happening? Because many home owners didn't create backup income streams to protect them financially.

How do you avoid being up the creek without a paddle like the spider on this leaf?

By asking yourself one simple question:

What would happen if ________________?                                                       

You can fill in the blank from any area of your life.

What would happen if I fall off the roof of my home cleaning out the gutters and I'm unable to work for two months? (A family friend fell off a ladder working on his home and became paralyzed from the chest down.)

What would happen if I lose my job and my main source of income? (A good friend of mine was fired from his company and didn't have any money saved. He lost his house to foreclosure and his marriage crumbled. He is now divorced)

What would happen if my retirement savings plan drops 50% in value? (This happened to me back when I was a CPA for Deloitte & Touche)

What would happen if my government retirement plan benefits disappear? (See my recent post where I analyzed my actual future retirement income as proposed by the government.)

This is a very scary question to ask yourself. I know because I ask myself questions like these questions all of the time. What questions are you afraid to ask yourself?

• What would happen if I get cancer?
• What would happen if my spouse leaves me?
• What would happen if I die tomorrow?

These questions are critically important because things do go wrong in life. You need to ask yourself challenging questions and then create backup plans to protect yourself and your family.

Rob Minton

P.S. Income for Life Members should listen to the audio CD included in September's newsletter where I interviewed Alexis Martin Neely. You will find it extremely helpful!

The Real Road Less Traveled

This post is a guest post from Dan Kennedy on why people fail:

Sticktoitiveness” is a strength of character, a philosophical position, a consciously valued and directed behavior, a habit. In any business category, fewer than 5% of the owners create extraordinary incomes, wealth, security and independence; 95% flounder, frustrated for life. If you spent 25 years chronicling the behavioral differences between the mediocre majority and high-achieving minority as I have, the most striking distinction you would find is this: winners stick to things, losers give up easily, flit about randomly. Losers waste all the years of their lives looking for the unicorn of modern fantasy, the easy button. Winners find winning strategies and stick to applying them.

Sylvester Stallone was rejected as an actor by every Hollywood studio. The script he wrote for Rocky was also summarily rejected by all but one – and they agreed to buy it for a flat fee; Stallone, broke at the time, refused to sell it unless he could star in the movie and receive customary compensation. He made the rounds again and again. He persisted until he finally got his way. There must be thousands of better actors and thousands of better script writers who were working as waiters then and are still working as waiters now. The difference is not talent. In my 30 years’ business experience, I’ve found talent to be the most overrated of all things, less likely to lead to success than most things.

By comparison, staying stuck like super-glue to an objective; acquiring the needed know-how at any cost; ignoring others’ criticism; refusing to take no for a permanent answer, fighting, scrapping, studying, figuring out one more piece then one more piece; these behaviors are behind the true stories of the rich and famous. Sadly, most people don’t stick. At much of anything. Their grade on life’s report card is “Incomplete”. Their home has books purchased but never read, how-to courses with the outside plastic wrap unbroken; projects begun but never finished. Their business’ files, nooks, crannies populated with worthy ideas still-born in procrastination, strangled in disorganization. They, themselves, displays of poor discipline: intellectually uncurious, uninformed, in poor physical shape. Turns out, the rewards for good intentions are small. The rewards for unfulfilled talent just as small.

The reasons people don’t stick to anything long enough to succeed with it are many and varied. Some are psychological, revealed in a book I recommend, The New Psycho-Cybernetics, which I co-authored with Dr. Maxwell Maltz. It and the prior, original edition combined have sold more than 30-million copies worldwide. Some are circumstantial; people who permit themselves and their time to be ruled by others’ priorities, events as they occur – antidotes offered in my No B.S. Time Management For Entrepreneurs and No B.S. Guide To Ruthless Management of People And Profits books. Some are sinful, like sloth. Too many people lust for rewards without personal responsibility. Whatever the reasons for the losers’ lack of sticktoitiveness, the winners’ reality is refusal to be deterred or distracted from their objectives and aggressive pursuit of them. Successful pursuit and achievement of exceptional objectives usually involves two key elements: sticking to a course of study, acquisition of information, learning relevant methodology even if, at first, uncomfortable, foreign or difficult; sticking to self-imposed requirements for implementation of what is learned.

The WHY PEOPLE FAIL articles are provided by Dan S. Kennedy, serial entrepreneur, from-scratch multi-millionaire, speaker, consultant, coach, author of 13 books including the No B.S. series (www.NoBSBooks.com), and editor of The No B.S. Marketing Letter. WE HAVE ARRANGED A SPECIAL FREE GIFT FROM DAN FOR YOU including a 2-Month Free Membership in Glazer-Kennedy Insider’s Circle, newsletters, audio CD’s and more: for information and to register, visit: FreeGift.com