Soar Above The Rest By Design

You're familiar with the myth of the phoenix, the legendary firebird that dies every 500 years only to be reborn from its ashes, more beautiful and resplendent than ever before?

That's what you're looking to do, isn't it? Rise from the ashes of your old life and be reborn as a successful businessperson?

Fortunately, the way has been traveled before. Many folks have had to start from scratch and grow a business from the ground up. I call them the Phoenix Entrepreneurs.

The Phoenix Entrepreneur Rising From The Ashes

Just like the bird, Phoenix Entrepreneurs rise from the ashes of an old life, a life that was no longer viable.

In the beginning, they felt just like you probably do now: scared, unsure, and probably pretty alone.

Yet they made it.

They created businesses that have withstood the test of time and nourished not only their own families, but the families of hundreds (if not thousands) of employees. If you don't believe me, just read No, You Don't Need a College Education to be Successful And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

There are Phoenix Entrepreneurs all over the place. It's an illustrious group and one you can join! All it takes is following a few simple steps and thinking a certain way.

If you need a point clarified, just ask. Leave a message on the blog and you'll get not only my years of experience, but the experience of all the others who respond to your question.

Ready?

Keep reading to find out how Phoenix businessmen and businesswomen think and act to grow a successful business.

Think Like The Phoenix Entrepreneur To Succeed

The Phoenix understands that his/her thoughts create reality. He uses his thoughts and feelings and the power of visualization to create the reality he wants.

The Phoenix knows that if she holds in her mind a picture of the end result she wants to create, the Universe will find a way to make it happen.

Quite a concept, isn't it?

What if life were really that simple? Just hold the thought of what you want to create in your mind, and viola. There it is.

When you think about it, you realize we do this hundreds of times a day, don’t we!

• You want a sandwich and either make one or go to the deli. You don't think twice about it.

• If you need fuel in the car, you drive to the local gas station, hand over the credit card, and fill'er up. No biggie.

• If you want some fresh flowers on the table, you go to the garden and cut some. Mission accomplished.

So why is creating a business any different from eating a sandwich, filling up the car, or picking flowers?

What are your thoughts on this? How have you intentionally manifested something in your life? Leave me a comment below.

The Phoenix realizes downtime is important. He knows a rested mind is a sharp mind. Days off are a chance to see things from a different perspective, to get a different slant on situations and life in general.

Downtime is also crucial to family time.

When you spend time with your family, be with your family. Don't think about business. (This is one of the BIGGEST challenges I have! I think about marketing and business ALL the time.)

Listen to your wife. How is her life going? She probably needs you as a sounding board, someone to bounce her problems off. Or listen to your husband and show interest in what he’s doing – to know you care is very important to him.

How's school going for your daughter? She needs her dad's shoulder to cry on sometimes. She needs her mom’s understanding. Be there for both of them. Completely. They are much more important than any business could ever be.

Do you do anything special to unwind? Have a special place to go with your family so you can just enjoy being together? Share your thoughts with us in a comment below!

The Phoenix learns at every opportunity. She knows that life moves fast, and if she isn't careful, an important development could pass her by.

Keep up on the latest tech news, on any developments that could impact your business and services. If you have kids, ask them to let you know about Bluetooth innovations, or new apps that could make your life a little easier and speed up your supply line. They'll feel good if they get to help their dad or mom and it will get you two a little more time together which is never a bad thing.

And find a few blogs (like this one) and people on Facebook who clue you in on new technology changes – learning from others saves you SO much time.

What's your favorite way to keep up on current events? Do you subscribe to a favorite blog (like this one!) or news feed? Do clients help you keep up-to-date? Are you using Facebook to learn from an expert?

The Phoenix knows herself and doesn't oversell her products, services, or abilities. She is well aware of her strengths and weaknesses and represents herself honestly.

If there's a possibility she can't deliver on the client's needs, she's upfront about it. She will never agree to assignments just to get a sale if there's even the slightest possibility that his client could be inconvenienced.

The Phoenix knows that this brutal honesty will always benefit him and his business.

Do you have any special tips or tricks for hiding your weak points? Do you have an assistant that files or delivers product for you? Let us know how you're operating!

The Phoenix prepares for the workday. He never waits until the day of the meeting to gather paperwork, brochures, and presentations. He is always prepared well ahead of time so he can calmly walk into the meeting and sell himself and his business.

Being prepared speaks well of the Phoenix and his business.

The Phoenix commits to her work and her life. That commitment is obvious and contagious. She's totally passionate about her service and her clients and sees them as two sides of the same coin. She can't have one without the other.

How about you? What are you passionate about? Your family, a community cause, a baseball team? Let us know how you feel. Leave a message and let's talk about it.

The Phoenix works hard and knows that all the effort he puts into his work will pay off in the end. He knows that getting a business off the ground is difficult and will require many of hours of work per week. Probably more hours than he ever worked at XYZ Company.

Just like buying a home, the Phoenix knows that each hour he puts into his business builds equity and is really money in the bank.

How many hours do you work in a week? Have the hours lessened as your business becomes more established? Let us know how you're doing and how you’ve been able to cut back on hours.

The Phoenix embraces change. She knows that nothing is written in stone and that life is in a constant state of flux.

She sees herself as a leaf floating along a wide river. Always moving, twisting, and turning, but always on top of the situation, never inundated by the flood.

How about you? What self-talk do you have that helps you handle the changes in your life? Any thoughts and techniques you can share with the rest of us?

The Phoenix thinks positive thoughts. He only thinks about the best that can happen, the reality he wants to create. He doesn't allow negative thoughts and doubts to linger. When they do appear, he knows it's just a reminder to think positive!

Thinking positive thoughts also helps him feel happy. When he's thinking about all the good things that can happen, his mind is filled with happy thoughts and he SEES happy things (that can then be passed on to others). And happy thoughts generate more happy thoughts.

Always focus on what you're grateful for and happy about. These thoughts make you feel good, and when you feel good, you're ready to conquer the world.

Do you have a favorite saying or mantra that you rely on when times are tough? Something that gets you in a good mood immediately? Share it with us.

The Phoenix remembers that the client is king. The Phoenix knows that happy clients are the key to success. Happy clients mean good word-of-mouth advertising. Happy clients mean referrals. Happy clients make the world a better place.

The Phoenix always visualizes smiling clients shaking her hand, placing more orders, and telling their friends how great her business is.

Do you have a great client story to share? Tell us about the last client who left your office with a smile on his/her face.

The Phoenix honors himself and others. He knows that his word is his reputation. He honors others' time by being punctual to meetings. He honors his business by being professional and reliable. He honors his clients by timely payments and timely delivery of goods or services. By honoring himself and others in this way, he makes his little corner of the world a better place.

You, Too, Can Become The Phoenix Entrepreneur

Some of these habits will be hard to learn. It's challenging to teach yourself to think differently.

But it gets easier the more you do it. And it's really the key to becoming a Phoenix Entrepreneur.

Always think about the best that can happen, the perfect business, the perfect life. Take steps every day to make your dreams reality.

By remembering these few behaviors, you'll be well on your way to soaring above the crowd and truly creating the life of a Phoenix Entrepreneur.

And be sure to leave us some comments. Thanks.

Best,

Charlie Seymour Jr
A Work At Home Dad since 1983, succeeding in this economy

PS: You can find me here:

http://twitter.com/UltimateWAHDads

http://facebook.com/CharlesSeymourJr

http://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesseymourjr

To learn more, stay in touch with my blog – I'll keep you informed so that YOU won't have to do the heavy lifting. Charlie Seymour Jr's Blog – Click HERE To See More!

PPS: Do you have trouble writing? Turn Your Words Into Gold – Go Here To Learn More! NOW is the time to start.

Follow Charlie Seymour Jr On Twitter!

Keep this with this article, please:

Charlie Seymour Jr is an entrepreneurial evangelist and success-marketing coach helping individuals and companies (up to $100MM) explode their success through online and personal-touch marketing. He specializes in blogging, podcasting, photography, video, Facebook, and Twitter applications. Visit his blog at Charlie Seymour Jr's Blog to learn more about his successes.

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Successful Entrepreneur – The Phoenix Way to Unlimited Success And Happiness

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Sometimes Looking Back Gives Us A Great Appreciation About Where We Have Been AND Where We Are Going

I was a but under the weather the other week, couldn't go to church, and on came one of my favorite TV shows: Sunday on CBS.

The show provided a few Looks Back over 30 years, and I quickly began taking notes.

I'm old enough that I remember most of this and though I may not have appreciated it until it was presented in an overview, SO much has happened during the time since I was in college.

Three Mile Island
The Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union both crumbled
The President of the United States has changed several time, in completely peaceful ways, unlike many countries around the world
Iraq and Iran grew in military power
9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq
China grew in economic power
Women gained seats on the Supreme Court
A black man sits in the most powerful chair in the USA and a black man is the best golfer in the world

As the show continued, I became aware of some of the scientific advances (I think most people would say they're advances) that have taken place. My dad would often say in some of the many speeches he would give that you can look around the room and MOST of the things you could see were created within the past 30 years.

The Hubble Telescope is flying high
Cloning of plants and animals
Anti depressants, Viagra, Cancer stoppers
Vaccines

Words and actions and fads zoom by us and we seldom stop to notice when they come or when they go.

Cabbage Patch Dolls and the Pet Rock
24 hour cable news
Special words entered our language: Multi-tasking, 24/7, Metrosexual, texting, Twitter, Google, Facebook

The economy changes and unless we're directly affected, we might not notice… until 2008.

What do they say, it's a RECESSION when your neighbor is out of work but a DEPRESSION when YOU are!

Credit cards are everywhere
We Supersize our meals and our waistlines
People have grown, on average, 1 inch taller (woman now: 5'4 and men: 5'9.5)
Double digit interest rates, unemployment, stagflation, Great Recession, Housing Market collapse
Big 3 auto makers in serious trouble financially

And the Internet and home computers take over not only MY life but the lives of many other people too.

Gmail, Google, Google Wave
iPhones and iPods and Androids
Windows 2000, ME, XP, and now 7
OS 10
"I'm a Mac; I'm a PC"

And what about those who are TURNING 30. Do they have any REAL idea where they are headed or what their lives will be like? Unlikely.

After 21, the next big milestones are 25 and then 30.
4.2 million Americans are turning 30 in 2010
78% of women and 70% of men are married by the time they turn 30
82% of the women are pregnant by age 30
83% are in debt (college,car, and home)
Human bodies PEAK by age 30, and then it's downhill at an ever-increasing pace.

And though we have trouble changing our habits once we have reached age 30, it's interesting to point out that many people are not famous by the time they're 30 – so there's hope for many of us.

What do they say, if we don't know the past we are doomed to repeat it?

I often say that "some days seem to drag on FOREVER, but when we look back at life, it seems that we BLINKED and it was gone."

Maybe that's why I keeps special dates in my Outlook calendar so I'm reminded every year (so I'll never forget the happy or painful times in my family's life).

And perhaps that's why this list struck me as valuable.

What do YOU think about this list? What will YOU add to it by leaving a comment?

Best,

Charlie Seymour Jr
A Work At Home Dad since 1983, succeeding in this economy

PS: You can find me here:

http://twitter.com/UltimateWAHDads

http://facebook.com/CharlesSeymourJr

http://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesseymourjr

To learn more, stay in touch with my blog – I'll keep you informed so that YOU won't have to do the heavy lifting. Charlie Seymour Jr's Blog – Click HERE To See More!

PPS: Do you have trouble writing? Turn Your Words Into Gold – Go Here To Learn More! NOW is the time to start.

Follow Charlie Seymour Jr On Twitter!

Keep this with this article, please:

Charlie Seymour Jr is an entrepreneurial evangelist and success-marketing coach helping individuals and companies (up to $100MM) explode their success through online and personal-touch marketing. He specializes in blogging, podcasting, photography, video, Facebook, and Twitter applications. Visit his blog at Charlie Seymour Jr's Blog to learn more about his successes.

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Looking Back Over 30 Years To Look Forward To Life!

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Selling yourself FIRST will lead to more business because YOU are often the product or service

YOU are often your primary product or service.

YOU are what your clients or customers buy.

YOU are the first-line of contact and how your prospects see the business you run.

Everything you do or say, how you dress and carry yourself, how you speak and write (even in short emails that you feel "don't matter"), and whether you are an "on-time person" or one who is always late combine to be the "brand" that is YOU.

And it ALL matters. A lot!

It is how your clients and customers think about you. It's how they refer to you when speaking to other people about you. It determines if they return to do business with you another time.

Did you ever hear the story about the blind men and the elephant?

• The first man touched the elephant's trunk and described it as a flexible, long creature.
• The second man touched the elephant's tusk and thought it was a very hard, smooth, upward-pointed animal.
• The third touched the elephant's hoof and thought it was a large, flat, very heavy creature with several smoothe places (the toe nails).
• And the fourth touched the tail and thought it was a short, pliable snake-like animal with hair at the end.

Each one "knew" the elephant for what his experience told him… and each was correct, but only PARTIALLY correct.

The same is true for YOU…

Whatever you show your prospects is how they see YOU and the work you do

Be confident, they see confidence. Be a great salesman, full of knowledge, and they see a knowledgeable salesman. Be their adviser and advocate, and they see someone on THEIR side of the table who is there to help.

Be a wimp, and they see someone they don't want to do business with again.

If you are looking for a job, looking for employment, looking for a way to start your own business, be sure that what you show to people is the side of you that you want exposed.

For just as the blind men of the story thought they knew the elephant, people you come in contact with THINK they know you.

Be down, be loud, be obnoxious even ONE time, and it resonates with those who come in contact with you. But be UP, encouraging others around you, seeing the bright side… and that can work magic on people.

The northeast of the USA has had lots of rain. I often hear people say, "Ugh… what a horrible day." But what if we had no rain? What if the plants stopped growing? What if it were hot, muggy, and gardens were withering? Wouldn't the rain look pretty good THEN?

So LOOK for the good and then present yourself well to win new business

Keep your spirits high, see the good in what (and who) is around you, and you will win in just about everything you do.

It's a scary time out there in that economy of uncertainty.

And as the saying goes: It's a RECESSION when others are out of work; it's a DEPRESSION when YOU are out of work. And even if you work for yourself but have no paying assignments to keep you going, it's a tough place.

Let's stay away from the DEPRESSION. Being a part of the Great Recession is bad enough.

It's time to stay positive, upbeat, alert to new opportunities

OK… so your dream left you a long time ago but you came up with NEW dreams and you know that only YOU can pick you up and get you moving. Your new dreams are just as valid as the old ones – people of the 1920's didn't have the same dreams of those of the 1950's, so your dreams simply HAD to change.

Get moving. KEEP moving. Know that you have to sell yourself FIRST to win new business and that often YOU are the product.

Be sure to present yourself WELL. All the time!

Best,

Charlie Seymour Jr
A Work At Home Dad since 1983, succeeding in this economy

PS: You can find me here:

http://twitter.com/UltimateWAHDads

http://facebook.com/CharlesSeymourJr

http://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesseymourjr

PPS: Do you have trouble writing? Turn Your Words Into Gold – Go Here To Learn More! NOW is the time to start.

Follow Charlie Seymour Jr On Twitter!

Friends, if you like this post, please leave a comment, join our email list to get updates sent to you, and retweet it. And I've made it easy to retweet – just click on the icon below. Thanks!

Salesmanship – Sell Yourself FIRST To Win New Business

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Work At Home – Get Some Help And Your Dream Can STILL Come True

Successful Entrepreneur – It's been your dream for SO long.

Remember your parents saying, “If you work hard enough, you can have anything in this life.”

As you were graduated from high school, then college, and pursued that six-figure job, “work hard, play hard” became your mantra.

Nothing ever got in your way as you pursued the American Dream.

Until now.

And with the World-wide Economic Meltdown of 2008 – 2009, it's gotten pretty tight around your place.

That pink slips in your friends' paychecks were like an electric shock to your heart. People down the street. Those you see in church. One of your grown children.

And fewer people are now on the golf course and tennis courts as they've stopped paying the fees to belong.

Sure, you knew the economy was lousy. You knew thousands of other people were losing their jobs.

But it wasn’t supposed to happen to you or people you care about.

What do they say: It's a recession when someone else is out of a job; it's a depression when YOU are out of a job.

And you know exactly what they mean as you see the scared look deep in the eyes of your friends.

Your life was all planned out! Get an education, get a great job, marry a wonderful woman, and raise a terrific family. Take memorable vacations to exotic locations. Send your kids to top colleges, and enjoy all the sentimental, inspiring moments of your childrens’ budding lives while simultaneously saving for your retirement, where you and your wife would slow dance off into the sunset of old age, reflecting on the deep meaning of your lives together.

SPLAT@*#+! Dream over! Vanished. Where did it go and what went wrong?

That trickle down economics you heard about for years was finally trickling down… and it was blood of vanquished employees and businesses heading your direction.

And this is personal.

What do you tell your wife and family? What about your mortgage, your health insurance, your retirement fund? How can an entire lifetime of blood, sweat, and tears be destroyed by outside forces like this?

Where did the dream go? Worse yet, how can you recover in this difficult economy?

Did you see the CNN.com report, “Employers slashed another 598,000 jobs off of U.S. payrolls in January, taking the unemployment rate up to 7.6%… The latest job loss is the worst since December 1974, and brings job losses to 1.8 million in just the last three months… the biggest 3-month drop since immediately after the end of World War II. The unemployment rate is now at its highest level since September, 1992.”

CNN went on to say, “The report also showed that 2.6 million people have now been out of work for more than six months, the most long-term unemployed since 1983.”

And they're talking over 10% unemployment in the West until deep into 2010 – and who knows if California will completely implode and fall off the Left Coast.

And that number only counts those unemployed who are still looking for work! All those discouraged sitting at home aren't even counted.

Like so many other successful, capable, hardworking men thrown callously onto the heaping human landfill of unemployed Americans, nothing could be more frightening. And though you have your own business, you can feel the wolves nipping at your heels.

You have no answer for your wife when she looks at you with fear and panic in her eyes.

The thought of not-making-it-on-your-own almost makes you sick to your stomach. You can't turn back and work for "the man" with that long commute, doing things "the way they've always been done" simply because someone with a pencil behind his ear tells you to.

What can you do to pick up the pieces created by so many others?

Experts suggest those who have the innate ability to recalibrate their goals and dreams have a better chance for survival. Think about it. You have incredible skills and a lifetime of achievements! Maybe you simply need to rethink how to use your talents.

Working from home is the right answer for millions. According to the New York Times, “Democratic pollster Mark Penn’s book, Microtrends, notes that 4.2 million Americans now work exclusively from home (a nearly 100 percent increase from 1990).”

But as we know from the rapid evaporation of the American Dream, you need a realistic plan.

If you’re ready to think about a new journey toward personal and financial freedom, look here: http://TurboChargeMyWorkAtHome.com.

Help is out there. Refocus. Get some outside help to have you see how you can succeed. Let me know how we can help.

And then let NOTHING stand in your way.

Best,

Charlie Seymour Jr
A Work At Home Dad since 1983, succeeding in this economy

PS: Do you have trouble writing? Maybe you just simply haven't learn the tips, tricks, and secrets that others have kept from you. Turn Your Words Into Gold – Go Here To Learn More! NOW is the time to start.

Follow Charlie Seymour Jr On Twitter!

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Successful Entrepreneur – Work At Home

Opportunities Abound For Work At Home Dads, Even In THIS Economy!

How often do we have to hear it from or read it in the news? The economy is the worst since our parents (and for some of us it's our parents' parents) were young. It's really awful.

All indicators are down. My personal retirement fund has shrunk by about 50%. Unemployment is rising (about 6.5% in my county), and if it hasn't touched your family, you KNOW a family it has struck.

What do they say: it's a Recession when your neighbor loses his job: it's a DEPRESSION with YOU lose your job! It sure feels that way! (Seems to me the only time you feel worse is when everyone tells you that the economy is GREAT but you just lost your job – that happened to me once and that feeling is burned into my brain and heart, still searing my insides.)

And the effect ripples through our town, county, state, country, and world. You can't escape that we're part of a SYSTEM, not a series of individuals. Someone losing a job in Maine doesn't buy as many groceries so the farmer in Texas doesn't plant as man crops and the family in California has to pay more. And on and on and on.

And Bernie Madoff can only account for about $67 Billion of this, so there are many other factors at work.

And when I was a kid, I remember my Dad talking about the economy (he later ran a major real estate firm and was on the Board of the Philadelphia Fed… so he had learned a thing or two).

And if there was one major lesson I learned from him it's that OPPORTUNITY is just as great in any part of the cycle (for indeed, economies are cyclical).

So… that means that there are opportunities abounding right now.

And if you follow Internet Marketing (especially Information Product Marketing), perhaps you just witnessed Frank Kern (one of the really good guys) sell more than $4,000,000 worth of CDs and booklets, teaching people how to succeed in today's economy. And this was in about 26 hours.

But For Many, Where Did The Dream Go?

But for people watching their 401(k)s being drained or their IRAs tumble, it certainly must feel like the sky has fallen. And if you're sitting at home instead of going into that job in an office, store, warehouse, or factory, the pain can be intense.

Or Perhaps You've Been Saying, Take Me From The Rat Race

Or, perhaps you still have a job but are nervous that you might be next to go. Here in the Philadelphia, PA USA area, apartment developer Steve Korman has pleaded with companies (many of which he owns stock in) to remember that firing people leads to more firing. He'd like to see a corporation earn less, but keep all of its people working.

Not many corporations share his thoughts.

Or, You're Already Working At Home And Think, How Can I Turbo Charge My Work At Home

You know how it is to have the freedom of working from home. No commute. No expensive lunches out. No boring meetings that take up so much of your time.

But with the way the economy is now, you really need some help to turbo charge your results. Going back to an office job just isn't in the cards for you, even if the economy had any jobs available.

I've Been There Too

As a Work At Home Dad since 1991 (longer, really, since from 1977 – 1991, I sold $247,368,657.97 worth of Investment Real Estate and though I worked for a large real estate firm, I did much of my work from home), I recognize each of these stories… and each of the opportunities they bring.

Oh, it may not FEEL like an opportunity when you're faced with being fired or the potential of a layoff, but it can be.

So, I've dedicated myself (with the help of some of my very smart friends) to help Work At Home Dads.

Dads Have Been Forgotten – But NO MORE!

When you search the Internet, there are all kinds of opportunities for Stay At Home Moms, but the Dads have been forgotten. And with the economy the way it is, we Dads can use all the help we can get. It's said that 82% of all the recent layoffs were to men!

I have created several family-centric sites (RaisingGreatFamilies.com, ILearnedItAllFromMyKids.com, FathersAndTheDaughtersTheyLove.com among them) and my professional photography business was all related to families (Family Portraits, Weddings, Bat and Bar Mitzvahs, Theater).

Over the next few months, I will openly share information to help Work At Home Dads. The site just starting, so be sure to enter your name and email address and I'll be sure to let you know when those resources are available.

Time We Banded Together, Men: Form Our Own Mastermind Group!

There's nothing like the power of when creative and hard-working men join together. Hey, not being sexist – my wife would smack me if I did that (to say nothing about my two successful daughters), but it's time for us men to band together to make the family economy work for each of us.

I look forward to hearing from you – hearing your ideas, your greatest concerns about working from home, hearing about some of the solutions you have come up with. Let's share this information to help all of us.

Best,

Charlie Seymour Jr
A Work At Home Dad, succeeding in this economy

Friends, if you like this post, please leave a comment and retweet it. And I've made it easy – just click on the icon below. Thanks!

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