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The #1 Roadblock Keeping You From Success!

Admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:38:25 +0000

By Dani Johnson

I’m blown away with the amount of excuses that people can come up with. It’s ridiculous and completely endless how people invent them in order not to succeed. Most people spend their entire life instantaneously choosing excuses.
Excuses are so engrained into us that it becomes a knee-jerk reaction, something we instantly come up with for reasons why we can’t do something instead of coming up with ideas how to make it happen. We’ve been conditioned for excuses by the media, Internet, advertising, and movies.
But, what about results? Why aren’t we conditioned for them instead of for reasons and excuses?

I’ve always said that the definition of an excuse is a well-planned lie.

“Gosh, I’d love to but I’m kind of busy.”

“I don’t have the time for that.”

“I’m too old (or too young).”

“I’m too fat (or too skinny).”

“I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks.”

I believe that this is the number one roadblock that keeps people from success! Let me share my own personal story about excuses.

Twenty years ago when I was homeless during the month of December, I allowed excuses to take me down a path of destruction. My reasons were real. I had no money and no job. My husband had deserted me in Hawaii for another woman who was in Japan and took off with everything. He drained my bank account and left me with $2.03 to my name and a $35,000 credit card debt with no chance of charging anything else on them. Nothing was going right and I let these reasons make me homeless and turn to drugs. This was the worst thing I could have ever done.

At the beach, I dived into a wave. When I came up, I heard a voice that said “pick up your mat and walk!” I did, and never looked back. The next day, I started a business out of the trunk of my car and made $2,000 in four days.

What changed on that next day? Nothing changed. I still had no money. I was still homeless with a husband who had deserted me and a father who hated me. My circumstances were exactly the same. Nothing around me shifted except for one thing—I made a decision. I made a choice.

Until I said, “Enough is enough! God didn’t intend for me to be mediocre. It’s time for me to shut up, step up and do something.” That’s when my circumstances began to change. Because I made a decision at that moment, the rest is history.

After coaching and training thousands of people all of these years, I’ve found this to be the number one reason for business failure—indecision. In my opinion, making a decision is the number one thing that will get you on the fast track to success! Those that succeeded simply made a decision to do whatever it takes to make it. They made a decision that “enough was enough!” They were tired of looking at two cans of beans and having to choose the lesser priced one because that’s what the checkbook dictated.

Until you make a decision to change and do whatever it takes to make it, you will continually be blocked from true and long-lasting success. Do the number one thing that will get you on the fast track to success—make a decision and kiss excuses goodbye!

Dani Johnson is a relationship marketing expert, author, speaker, trainer and founder of Call to Freedom Int’l. She went from living out of her car with $2.03 to her name to earning her first million in two short years by the age of 23. Dani regularly consults, mentors, and coaches successful home business owners and entrepreneurs on marketing and lead generation solutions, prospecting, closing, business building strategies, leadership development and personal achievement, insider profit strategies, organizational and team development and more.

Gain control now of your financial future with free training by Dani Johnson. Check out RiseToSuccess.com for more free articles and business training and remove all barriers to your financial future now!

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The Best Lesson I Ever Learned – It Made Me A Millionaire

Admin — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:56:17 +0000

by Dani Johnson

The worst thing about success is a little bit. This is when you begin to think that you’ve got it all together, all figured out, and don’t need any more help. You move from humble, desperate, and teachable all the way to completely stubborn, pig-headed, and unsuccessfully directing others to do what you don’t even know how to do. This is the worst thing about success!

But the best lesson that I ever learned that made me a millionaire is this:

I had a little bit of success in business which earned me an invitation into a board meeting with a man making a half-a-million dollars a month. I was the only woman in the room and all the other participants were within 5 years of my age.

Everyone was chiming in and talking, when I spoke up and said, “You know, I have a great idea!”

The millionaire slams his hand on the desk and completely humiliates me by saying, “You are so stupid!”

Steam came out of my ears and I know I turned a bright red. At this time, I had issues with men due to my upbringing, and I didn’t need much to be set off.

He asks, “How much money do you make?”

“Well, I’m just getting started.”

“Well, how much money do I make?”

“A half-a-million dollars a month!”

“You know what’s wrong with you 97-percenters?” he continued. “You’re so busy sizing yourself up to people like me in order to prove to yourself that you know something. But you’re so stupid. If I listened to your ideas, I’ll go broke just like you. Your ideas are worth ‘broke.’ My ideas are worth a half-a-million dollars a month. Sit down, shut up, and pay attention. Once your stack is as big as mine, then you can talk to me.”

Would you say that statement was mean, cruel, humiliating and wrong for a leader to speak like that to a young person who was just getting started? Would you have been totally offended by such a statement?

I would say that was the best day of my business career because that day, I learned that if I wanted to succeed I needed to learn from successful people. I learned not to try to size myself up to prove that others don’t know squat and that I know more or that I’m worthy to be in their presence.

This was the best lesson I learned, and using it helped me become a millionaire.

Resisting The Blame Game And Seeing The “Overlooked” Obvious

Admin — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:45:51 +0000

by Dani Johnson

Are you blaming circumstances or others for your lack of success? Are you blind to the overlooked obvious? Many people just can’t see what the true problem to their success is? Are you one of them?

I’ll never forget a conversation I had several months ago with a waitress who worked at a restaurant my husband and I would often visit. We were on a weekly date, something that we’ve done for years, and decided to have a burger. Well, whenever we go to this certain place there’s always a line inside and outside waiting to get in. And, that was the case this particular night.

After we were seated, I struck up a conversation with the waitress. “Wow,” I said, “You guys are really packed.”

“Actually, not really! It’s been really slow tonight,” she answered.

“Really? You think so?”

“Oh, yes! The economy… People just aren’t going out anymore.”

I looked around, and of course, the restaurant was jam-packed, like it is normally. Then I looked at her. Somehow this woman had been blinded by what she had heard about the economy. She had been deafened by the words and voices of mediocrity that said, “The economy is bad and people won’t be going out anymore or spending money.” Unfortunately for her, she believed this report and began repeating what she heard verbally and non-verbally.

The truth was that the place was at capacity, and then some! It was as though the economy was thriving, if just for that restaurant!

But was it thriving for her? Definitely, not! In fact, I can guarantee that because she put a little damper on our meal (and I’m sure others also), this affected the tip she received that night.

Our waitress made the mistake that afflicts the majority of the population—the 98% attitude! She believed that the economy was so bad that people had stopped going out and spending money. She also believed that she will eventually lose her job. In essence, all she had to do was to really open her eyes and see the obvious—the economy had not affected her workplace! It was as packed as it had ever been before.

It was her attitude that had been affected. Her thoughts and words were in sync with that of the majority, and she had succumbed to the 98% attitude, which affected her job performance. She took to heart the bad reports coming in, which blinded and deafened her to the reality of her bustling workplace. As a result, tips will certainly dry up and her job may certainly be lost. But “the economy” is not the culprit; it’s her 98% attitude. She’s the one driving business away and putting her own job in jeopardy!

The sad thing is that she won’t see her contribution to her dilemma. And that’s a major issue with the majority of the population. They hear the bad news, see the struggle, internalize it, and then begin acting it out.

“Oh, no! What’s going to happen to me?”

“I hope I don’t lose my job.”

“Oh, man! I hope my business is not affected.”

“There goes my retirement!”

Who speaks like this? The 98%! Their voices encourage blindness, fear and panic.

Turn a deaf ear to them and begin working with all you have. Never allow outside forces to dictate your perceptions and judgments. Otherwise, they can have devastating effects on your attitude and job performance.

Overcome Fear, 7 Steps to Free Yourself from Fear’s Stronghold

Admin — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:11:25 +0000

by Dani Johnson

The plague of fear is a huge epidemic that stops people daily from reaching their goals and dreams. Whether it’s fear of failure, success, or anything in between, you need a step-by-step method to break free from this nasty demon. I’m going to cover some of the most common fears and give you the steps to breakthrough them for a lifetime.

The following fears apply to business and life in general. None of us are immune to these fears but we have the ability to not be controlled by them. The most common fears are fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of humiliation/looking bad and fear of making mistakes.

Decision, commitment and action are your best tools for overcoming fear. Decide what you are going to do, commit to doing it consistently and take immediate action. Where there is no commitment, fear and doubt set in.

I decided that Network Marketing was my chosen profession and that I would do what it takes to get good at it. I had the same faith of a medical student who knows that he won’t see a patient solo for 8 to 10 years. The doctor knows that if he commits to developing the skill every day that he will eventually master his craft and own a practice earning a professional income. The beauty of the home business industry is that you can earn just as much or more than a doctor in much less time. Making up my mind that there was no turning back, I burned the bridges of doubt and fear. Within 2 years I was earning as much or more than most doctors.

Here are 7 steps to overcome fear:

Doubt – don’t open the door or make an agreement with it. Make a decision whether you are going to agree with faith or agree with doubt.
Be 100% committed. Commitment destroys fear and doubt. Stay with your plan and fight through adversity.
Surround yourself with like-minded individuals, people with vision and dreams who are awake and stirred to do great things.
Keep yourself moving forward in action mode. Lack of action creates idleness which opens the door to fear.
Stay involved by plugging into tools that increase your skills and feed your belief system. Listen to conference calls and CD’s, attend seminars. Protect and feed the growth that you are experiencing.
Practice prospecting and giving presentations daily. The more you talk to people, the easier it gets.
Make the decision to never quit. Once quitting is not an option, there is no room for fear.

You can’t afford to live in fear. The future of our families and our nation are relying on you stepping up to your potential, taking action and building a future. Get the skill you need to get more and do more and you will fear nothing.

How To Get 200% to 1000% More Out of This Year! Get this FREE report now!

Hans Johnson — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 21:45:40 +0000

by Hans Johnson

Have you set your New Year’s goals yet? If not, it’s not too late to write down some New Year’s resolutions for 2008. And if you’re the kind of person I think you are, you’re not going to want to let another day of this new year pass by without getting this done ASAP!

You’ve heard Dani say, “Nothing becomes dynamic until it first becomes specific”. This couldn’t be more true than when it comes to making this year, 2008, better than last year.

And I would say that strategic goal setting can make a 200% to 1000% difference in your outcome this year! Of all the simple things you could do to start your year off, DON’T overlook this! It may be simple, or even common knowledge (goal setting may be, but strategic goal setting is not common knowledge) but it is NOT common practice!

Below, I’ve written down a few things that have my personal attention for 2008. Maybe they’ll help you come up with your goals too. I’ve also put these ideas and questions into a PDF worksheet you can download FREE here (Which I HIGHLY suggest you do ASAP before its removed from our site!)

Okay, here we go. This list is not all inclusive or in any particular order. Like I said, these are just some of the questions I quickly wrote down for myself and thought I would share with you. This type of strategic goal setting and planning has helped Dani and I build more than one multi-million dollar business; I’m sure it will help you too!

Business Growth
What are you going to do to grow your business, sales and profits in 2008? Looking back at 2007, what activity or activities did you do in 2007 that yielded the largest revenue and profit? How can you do more of this in 2008? What type of clients in 2007 were most profitable, brought you other great clients and grew your business? How can you attract and find more of these kinds of clients in 2008? What clients, relationships, and/or activities cost you time and money in 2007 that you should eliminate in 2008? What new markets can you tap into the fastest in 2008 that can bring you the most exposure and return on investment (ROI) the quickest? Is the market sentiment shifting? Are there new concerns, fears and desires that your market has in 2008 that should be given special attention? What are the areas of inefficiency in your organization that should be improved or eliminated in 2008? What are the distractions, time vampires and “ADD” impulses that should be eliminated in 2008? Can your sales process, message or presentation be improved? If so, what area, if improved, will make the biggest, most immediate impact in your sales? Do you have an already existing successful sales message that can be replicated and/or duplicated into other mediums, formats and markets to create more exposure and sales in 2008? What can you do in 2008 to strategically reinvest back into your business either through advertising, product development or other resource acquisition to grow your brand and capture new clients? What can you do in 2008 to increase your influence with your market place, clients, employees, business associates, and other relationships?

Skill Sets
What are the new skills you should be learning and mastering in 2008 to keep your competitive edge in the market place? What skill sets did you start learning in 2007 that generated results that need continued development? What about your team; what skill sets should they be acquiring in 2008 to keep them at top performance and how will they develop them? What are the top 3 skills you have that bring you the most results and ROI on your time? How can you improve these even further in 2008? What if all you did in 2008 was spend 80% of your time executing these 3 high value skill sets, how would that impact your growth in 2008? Are you a “jack of all trades, but master of none”? Is 2008 the year to become a master, a specialist of a particular high leverage skill? If so, which one and how will you do it?

Financial, Wealth, Investments
How much do you want to increase your net worth in 2008? Do you have debt you want to eliminate in 2008? How much? How much debt will you pay off each month and what is your plan to do this? What kind of investments do you want to make in 2008? Should you be preparing for “hard times” that may be coming soon? If so, how and what is your plan? What if these hard times arrive sooner than you think? (The “party” (especially in America) of economic growth and prosperity by debt and consumption cannot go on forever – it must come to an end and when it does, there will be one heck of a hangover that will be felt around the world). Are there steps you can take right now to insulate or prepare for these hard times while still growing your business, and wealth? Is this the year to look at setting up any special entity(s) that may provide business, tax, estate, wealth protection benefits (LLC, Corporation, Trust, etc.)? Have you recruited a top notch accounting, financial and legal team yet and are they ready and committed to growth in 2008? What negative financial habit should you personally eliminate in 2008?

Family, Personal
What will you do in 2008 to love and cherish your spouse more each day? What changes can you make personally to become a better person and treat those most important in your life with more respect, honor and gratitude? How can you show your appreciation for your spouse and kids daily in a special way that lets them know they are most important in your life? What skills can you begin teaching your kids (or grand kids) that will give them a head start in life while also spending quality time with them? What unproductive habit or unconscious part of your daily/weekly routine should be eliminated or stopped in 2008? How can you “steal time” away from your daily life, business, etc. and invest it into those closest to you in 2008? Is 2008 the year to get control of the “urgent” things that just keep popping up and robbing you of time with your family? If so, how? Are you going to start dating your spouse in 2008 and treating her/him like the rock star he or she is?

Spiritual
Where will God be in your life in 2008? Do you want to get to know Him and hear His voice more in your daily life? If so, how is this going to happen? What will you do to invest in your relationship with the Lord in 2008, or is it just a 1 way street where you call on Him whenever you “need” Him? What can you do in your daily work life to honor and glorify Him? Will 2008 be the year that you let Him be king in your life and what does that really mean anyway? Will you include Him in your personal and business decisions both big and small? Will 2008 be the year that you “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways, acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path”? How will you use money as a spiritual weapon this year? What will you sow and give into in 2008? Will this be the year that the walls of separation between work and spiritual life come down and you allow God to invade the market place with you, as your business partner? What is it you fear or avoid most that you know you should be doing, that you will overcome by walking in faith with God’s help in 2008? How will you stretch your faith this year?

TOP 3
After reviewing the above, list the top 3 goals you have for 2008. These should be the 3 things that you feel will have the biggest impact in your life and in the life of those around you. They are the top 3 things you should be focused on for 80% of the year. What are they? Write them down and post them somewhere you will read them daily.

Well, that should give you a good start. Feel free to ad some of your own thoughts and questions too. Again, you can download the worksheet I created to help you work through these questions here. Some will be easy to answer, others not. But if you take the time to do this, and immediately begin walking in faith towards your goals, I promise that 2008 will be a much more fulfilling year of growth for you! Just a little bit of time invested right now can have a dramatic affect on your results by the end of the year.

Also, Dani and I would like to hear from you! Give us your comments, feedback and testimonials and tell us what you thought of this post. We want to know what your biggest goal is for 2008! Do it now by posting your comment below!

May God bless and prosper you and your business!

Hans Johnson
CEO, DaniJohnson.com

P.S.
I can’t urge you enough to stop whatever you are doing right now and answer these questions. Taking just a little bit of time now can mean the difference of 200%, 300%, 400% or more increase in 2008! Do it now. Download the worksheet here.

Prosper Where You Are Planted

Admin — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 23:53:42 +0000

by Dani Johnson

I watch people every single day working their jobs like drones with no sense of purpose, no vision and no spirit of excellence. They are just doing their time, buying into the lie of security, kicking back and riding the wave to a great retirement. The brutal truth is that there is no security on this planet. This article will reveal how important it is to prosper where you are planted, making the most of what you have so that you are ready to bring that spirit of excellence into all future opportunities, giving you the best chance to succeed.

Let’s get real here. There are tens of thousands of people laid off every year, which proves that there is no such thing as job security. The rug is pulled out from under those folks with so called “secure” positions due to deaths, bankruptcies, changes in company leadership, unethical business practices, market downturns, injuries, illness and many other circumstances. There is no security in life at all.

One thing that is inevitable is change. Nothing lasts forever. So kicking back and riding the wave of security results in the mediocrity of falling into a comfort zone. In a comfort zone we stop dreaming, taking risks and reaching beyond what we can see.

Marriage and dating is a prime example of sliding into a comfort zone. When you are single and playing the field, you take care of yourself, dress nice, smile a lot, brush your teeth and make sure that you are groomed. You speak politely to the person you are dating and pamper them with special cards and flowers. We do all of this stuff when dating to impress the other person.

Then, we get married. We feel secure for about a year and then things start to change. The woman’s hair is in a messy bun, she hasn’t worn makeup in a month and she’s let herself go. The man stops shaving every day, doesn’t put on deodorant, forgets her birthday and misses the wedding anniversary. We wouldn’t even miss monthly recognition of our first date when we were dating! Why? It’s the façade of security that leads to a comfort zone. A comfort zone only leads to destruction and death… death of dreams, death of excitement, death of anticipation, wonderment and death of the unseen.

You must prosper where you are planted. When you start sewing good seed into your marriage with all of that care and detail the way you would if you were dating, it prospers. We all know how to prosper. We all know how to work in a spirit of excellence.

Ask yourself this question, “If you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you pursue?” What is in your heart to do? What does it look like? Who would you be working with? In life, nothing becomes dynamic until it becomes specific so make a list of; who you want to work with, what kind of a purpose do they have, how do they treat their customers, what kind of money you can make and what each of you brings to the table. Be specific and start reaching out by faith for what you want today.

Appreciate What You Have And You Will Receive More

Admin — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 23:45:29 +0000

by Dani Johnson

Do you whine, murmur and complain about what you don’t have or what is not going right in your life? Understand this universal principle:if you are not thankful, grateful and vocal about the blessings you have, you will not receive more. Understanding this fundamental concept will help you lead a happier, richer, and more fulfilled life.

It is so painful to see people who are in an absolutely blessed situation who will not vocalize the blessings that are all around them. They either deny the blessings, don’t see the blessings, or the blessings don’t meet their expectations.

Life has a funny way of taking things away from you in order to make you grateful. For example, when that car that you’ve complained about finally dies and you have no way of getting anywhere, you wish for the day that you had that car. Or, while sleeping in an uncomfortable hotel bed, you realize how fortunate you are to have such a nice bed at home. You now appreciate the things that have been taken away from you.

Look at our brothers and sisters in Louisiana, Mississippi and surrounding areas who suffered from the devastating hurricanes. They ended up wanting so badly for the simplest things in life like privacy and a roof over their heads with their own bed to sleep in. These simple things were taken for granted every day.

Life has a way of stripping the things that we are not grateful for to make us grateful for those things. If you want to receive greater and bigger blessing, you have to clearly recognize the current blessing that you are in right now.

Be thankful, grateful, and vocal about the blessings in your life right now and it will change your entire attitude. You will live each day with a spirit of gratitude and you and everyone around you will be much happier and fulfilled.