“Some guys have all the luck,
Some guys have all the pain,
Some guys get all the breaks,
Some guys do nothing but complain.”

- Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart may have been complaining in this song, but he did get something right: some guys really do have all the luck, and some really do nothing but complain.

Source: GettyImages.com

There are people who seem to have been born lucky.  They know what they want, set out to get it, and somehow, everything falls into place.  Even if something goes wrong along the way, they still manage to land on their feet.

Some people, on the other hand, who just can’t seem to catch a break.  These are the people who believe that someday their luck will turn, and that someday, the “lucky ones” will run out of luck too.  Some of them will simply blame the stars – they believe they’re fated to be unlucky, and they can’t do anything about it.

In a strange way, the unlucky ones are right, or so says Drawk Kwast.  In his article Science of Luck on Small Business CEO Magazine, he explains that “The biggest reason you don’t have the life you want is because you are focused on what you aren’t getting. You see only your lack of luck. Successful people live life as they desire because they focus on what they are getting.”

The unlucky ones are unlucky because they believe they’re unlucky.  Makes sense, right?

Drawk shares the results of a study conducted by Richard Wiseman, a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire.  In the study, he asked two groups of people, a “lucky” group and an “unlucky” one, to look through a newspaper and tell him how many photographs were in it.    On average, the lucky people had their answers in seconds, while the unlucky ones took two minutes.

Luck is about keeping your eyes open

The lucky ones saw a large message taking up half of the second page that said: “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper.”  The unlucky ones totally missed it and kept counting.

The key, as Drawk puts it is this: “It’s not about luck. It’s about keeping your eyes open.”  He goes on to say that he’s among the lucky ones, “not that I have better luck than other people; it’s that I can see things that others can’t.”  Drawk can identify opportunities for growth and success that many others can’t, and he also interacts with as many people as possible to create those opportunities.

Luck is about extending your hand

This idea is shared by other lucky people.  One of them is Tom McCarthy, whom I interviewed a few months back for a NOBS TALK on Increasing Your Luck.  Tom explains: “One of the things lucky people do that unlucky people tend not to do is they maximize the number of opportunities that come to them.”  By being outgoing, by introducing yourself to others, and by expanding your network, you create opportunities for yourself, and improve your luck.

Luck is about listening to your gut

Tom also shares that lucky people listen to their “lucky hunches,” while unlucky ones go against them.  If that doesn’t quite make sense, replace “lucky hunches” with gut or intuition.  You improve your luck by following your gut – it might not get it 100% right, but more often than not, your intuition will steer you in the right direction, and you’ll be happier for it.

Luck is about keeping a smile on your face

This brings us two the idea that lucky people are happier.  The idea seems so obvious – if things just seem to fall in place for you, of course you’ll be happy about that.  What most people don’t see, however, is that it works when you flip things around – happy people are luckier too.

J.D. Roth discusses this on Zen Habits in his article How to Make the Most Out of Luck in Your Career and Life.  “A person who leads a balanced life is happier, more relaxed, more open to new experiences,” J.D. Explains.  “If you maintain good relationships, pursue satisfying hobbies, go out of your way to help others, and continue to pursue personal growth, you will become a well-rounded person, just the sort that ‘luck’ favors.”

Michael Levy also discusses this briefly in his article The Five Principles for Prosperity. The first principle he shares is to Enjoy Everything.  Enthusiasm and exploration, he says, “leave the door open for future development.”

Drawk Kwast really sums it up well: “This has nothing to do with luck. It’s pure science.”  Luck is all about your attitude and your outlook.  It’s about opening your eyes, creating opportunities, following your gut, and maintaining a positive attitude.  The question now is this:

Will you create your own luck, or will you be one of those who do nothing but complain?

Good luck!

Ric

Source: GettyImages.com

There was a time when advertising or marketing meant putting up a sign on your front window, giving out fliers to people on the street, or placing posters on bulletin boards around town.  If you were lucky and had cash to spare, it meant buying some space in the local paper, or some air time on the local radio and TV stations.

And then came the Internet.

Now, your website, not your front window, is probably the first thing people see.  Fliers that used to be handed out to people on the street can now be emailed to people all over the world.  And when people talk about you and your products, it isn’t just happening in the salon, in the lockers, or by the water cooler – it’s now happening on blogs, forums, and social-media sites.  Almost everything that used to be limited to your locale can now happen anywhere in the world.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you forget your local customers.  Yes, the Internet helps you reach out other markets, but it is also a great way to establish your presence in the local marketplace.  Dorothy Dutch has an article up on our Small Business CEO Magazine called Local Internet Marketing and Advertising for Small to Mid-Size Businesses – 10 Tricks of the Trade explaining how.

She gave 10 tips, but I’ve grouped them together into a few, more general tips:

Get your site seen

Your website is your storefront, sales brochure, and virtual receptionist rolled into one.  The people who visit your website can learn about your business and your products, the causes you support, and many other things.

Of course, your site is no good if nobody knows about it.  Make sure your business cards, signs, stationery, and other materials have your website address printed on them.   You should also put your website in your email signature, and if possible, on your signatures for blog comments, forum posts, and other online interactions.

Dorothy also stresses having a smart website, which in her words is “one that uses SEO techniques to tell the search engines like Google what your site / business is about so that when potential customers search online for a business like yours… your business comes up first.”

Basically, a smart website is one that can talk to computers and other websites just as well as it talks with your customers.  This, along with the right keywords, allows your site to climb up Google and other search engine results.

Reach out to your market

Dorothy suggests using Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites to your advantage.  She also suggests utilizing blogs, and forums.  These sites are like the online equivalents of coffee shops, salons, and other places where people can talk to you and about you.  There are always several discussions going on, and getting on these sites lets you join these discussions.

By joining these communities, or even by building a community around your business, you can learn about what people like (or don’t like) about your business and your products, and even learn what they want that you can offer.  More importantly, interacting with your market  helps you build relationships with them – and makes it more likely they will become loyal customers.

Of course, social sites, blogs, and forums aren’t the only ways to build relationships with your market.  You can reach out to them through e-mail – but you need to know their addresses first.  Dorothy suggests:

“Have a place on your web site that encourages customers to provide you with their e-mail addresses. Keep your lists up to date and even begin to categorize the lists for your records. Start a newsletter to send to your e-mail list to keep them coming.”

E-mail campaigning over the internet to let local folks know who you are and what you are offering is one of the key ways to implement a successful local marketing campaign. Ask for new customer e-mail addresses at every opportunity. Have a place on your web site that encourages customers to provide you with their e-mail addresses. Keep your lists up to date and even begin to categorize the lists for your records. Start a newsletter to send to your e-mail list to keep them coming.

Mix old school techniques with new technology

Coupons, sales, and special offers are meant to pique interest.  A tempting enough offer will get customers to walk in, call in, or order online.  They can also get prospective customers to think about future sales and offers, and get them to keep coming back.

Another traditional sales technique is the referral.  It not only helps you get new customers, which is always good, but it also strengthens ties with your current customers.  By offering your best customers incentives for recruiting new customers, you get to do two things: you show them how much you value them and the business they bring in, and get them to work for you and advertise for you.

Now you may be wondering, where does the new technology come in?  For one thing, you can inform people about these offers online through e-mail, social media, or other channels.  Doing so lets you use tracking codes and other techniques that will also allow you to track these offers and see how well they work.

Get others to work for you

A referral program like Dorothy mentioned gets your customers actively advertising and supporting your business.  Getting involved in social media, forums, and other online discussions also gets people working for you by talking about you.  These, however, are not your only options to getting others working for your business.

Dorothy suggests article marketing, which entails writing (or finding somebody else to write) articles featuring your products or your services and submitting them to article-sharing sites.  These sites can spread your articles to several online publications, and consequently, get your products featured on several sites.

Of course, another way to get others to work for you is by hiring them.  There are companies that can help you with Internet marketing and incorporating the techniques that Dorothy mentions.  These companies can help you make full use of the Internet for your marketing efforts.

With all the advantages that Internet marketing offers over more traditional marketing techniques, it would be foolish not to learn how to use it.  Yes, the Internet allows you to market globally, but it also allows you to strengthen your presence in your local market.  The fact is that the Internet gives you another way to connect with your customers – and the best part is that you can connect with them even when they’re nowhere near your store.

Until next time,

Ric

Purpose — meaning, intention, aim — it’s not the end all and be all of things, but we spend every minute of our lives searching for it and trying to define it for ourselves. After all, how will you do something, or go somewhere, or basically move through your day-to-day existence if you do not have purpose or even a goal of some kind. It seems, doesn’t it, that purpose is the root that grows within us and causes us to go beyond and explore infinite possibilities. It’s probably safe to say then, that in everything that we do or say or think, we have a purpose — with or without realizing it.

We each have a purpose to serve

Featured in HealthyWealthynWise.com, Mike Litman’s article Take Your Solution Seriously discusses the fact that essentially, all human beings have a higher purpose in life. We each were born to solve someone else’s problem. We just have to believe that we have a solution to offer and work on that solution until we’re ready and able to find the people we’re destined to help.

What does this mean? It just so happens that we all have talents that may seem somewhat trivial to us, but can be a big help to others. What we have to realize is that we can’t be selfish, because we were placed on this earth to share our abilities. We have as much impact on people as, I’m sure, some have had an impact on us.

It’s a complete waste of our in-born talents and abilities if we just go through our lives like drones searching for the next easy money, instead of stepping out of the assembly line and realizing and living up to our latent potential.

That innate performing arts inclination, public speaking edge and marketing or tech-savvy skills you’ve had since you were little will not develop and hone themselves. You have to make an effort to practice and improve them, so you can eventually use them to be of service to others.

You Mission Should You Choose To Accept It…

You don’t even have to worry about survival or making money, because these will come to you once you’ve made peace with the universe and accepted your talents as something meaningful, not only to you but to a lot of people as well. Again, that is what you’re here for — to solve someone’s problem. Take note, not to confuse with you solving everybody’s problems, just someone’s. If you’re lucky, maybe even a handful or a slightly larger group of people. <g>

My husband Ric and I are lucky enough to be part of the industry we’re in. By reaching plenty of people online or offline and learning that our products are helping them reshape and realign their lives, we somehow realize the purpose we serve. I guess you could even say that our purpose is to help people realize theirs. It’s only a big plus that we get to enjoy what we do and are able to make more and live more for it. And that’s a great honor to have. <g>

A very wise superhero’s Uncle Ben (ahem, Peter Parker a.k.a. Spiderman <g>) once said, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” It’s a cliché, I know. But not just because we know we have power to influence others, it means because we have that power, it can also be used to take advantage — and shame on those who do.  As with any responsibility and ability, use it wisely and honorably. In a way, it all boils down to personal responsibility and accountability. Go figure, even with your innate talents and abilities, you have to be mature enough to operate! <g>

Passion breeds purpose

Another HealthyWealthynWise.com article by Debra Kasowski and Charmaine Hammond, entitled When Passion and Purpose Collide, tackles purpose born out of passion.

By its very definition, passion is something that we enjoy doing — not because we are forced, coerced or paid to, but because we want to. This passion helps us focus more on what we can do which, in turn, helps us find our purpose in life.

Once we accept and realize our purpose and combine it with our passion, we become empowered. We achieve a certain level and feeling of freedom to live the way we want and do what we want, making us just one big ball of energy that attracts people and opportunities. It’s a very nice concept indeed! <g> When we’re happy and excited about living our lives with purpose, we look forward to getting up every day and are eager for every new experience we might encounter. Suddenly, we let go of whatever insecurity or fears we have and just end up being more open to taking risks and getting to make more for it.

Unleash your passion and realize your purpose

Don’t hesitate to pursue your passion and accept your purpose. Trust me, you’ll breathe easier. <g> Knowing that you have the power over your dreams and life makes you appreciate living more. When you are able to enjoy life’s moments — whether on your own or with a loved one — you have a greater tendency to achieve more and make more.

In finding your purpose and accepting that you are here to be of service to others, you’ll have more room and better opportunities to give more of yourself and help others. Then, the road to a fulfilled and well-lived life is not too far ahead.

Have you found your passion? Do you think you have realized and are rightly fulfilling your life’s purpose? Let me know by posting your comments below.

Until next time!

Hi everyone!

There are only a few days left before the end of the year, and we’re pretty excited about the New Year and all the activities we have in store for it. As you may already know, my eldest son Chandler celebrated his 13^th birthday on December 20 (Happy Birthday Chandler!), and we had a bunch of his friends and lots of snowball fights! But, that’s another story for another time. <g>

Our main focus today is the winner of our Looking Inside the Thompsons’ Holiday blog poll contest. First and foremost, I would like to thank all of you who participated in the contest. We had a great turnout, which goes to show that the topic of food surely gets a lot of attention! <g> The menu this year is amazing and filled with delicious recipes! Those at the food bank will truly enjoy it…

To bring others who may not know about the contest up to date, here’s a recap of how we whipped it up. Since our big feast with family and friends took place during Chandler’s birthday, we decided to push through with the usual Christmas dinner but with an added twist to it. Instead of letting our family and friends vote on what we’ll serve from the compiled list of options for the holiday menu, we opened the voting to you, our readers. And instead of serving the food to our family and friends on Christmas day, we’d donate all of them to the food bank. It’s a great way to honor and continue this time-tested holiday tradition of ours. <g>

The Mouthwatering Feast

I am thrilled to be sharing some of our remarkable family traditions with a lot of people this year. The chance to give more and help through a meaningful feast warms our hearts.
Without further ado, here are the dishes that won your palates and will surely touch a lot of mouths and hearts.

1.) Cheese Plate 25%

Shrimp Cocktail 21%

Crab Dip 19%             (This is my Great-Grandmother’s recipe and is ALWAYS a big hit)

2.) Turkey 26%

Grilled Salmon 21%

Roast Beef 17% = Country Ham 17%

3.) Potato & Leek Soup 42%

4.) Sweet Potatoes 19%

Roast Potatoes, Carrots, & Onions 17%

Mixed Wild Mushrooms 14% = Apple Pecan Dressing 14%

Mashed Potatoes 13%

5.) Green Beans with Balsamic Vinegar 30% = Spinach Souffle 30%

Roasted Brussels Sprouts 19%

6.) Baked Apples 50%

7.)  Apple Pie 14%

Pumpkin Pie 13%

Cheesecake 12% = Pecan Pie 12%

Crème Brulee 9%
All Those Who Made It Possible

A toast to all of you for helping us keep the spirit of giving alive. Your choices will help bring holiday cheer and smiles to many people’s faces and make them feel the holiday spirit even for just one night.

As promised, all those who participated got a digital copy of my book, “Successisms.” (email from mejie @ asbceo.org) Congratulations! I hope you’ll have fun reading through the pages as I enjoyed putting the book together. May the inspiring quotes from all those famous people bring significant changes to your lives as well.

The Big Winner

Now for the Grand Prize winner of the course I wrote, “The Science of Creating Your Dreams.”   Allow me to congratulate Kevyn Malloy, a personal coach . She’ll be receiving a copy of this course, which is normally worth $147 but is now hers for FREE!

The family holiday tradition she shared in her post reminds me so much of our own holiday dynamics, and how wonderful and intense it gets in our household this time of the year – especially at the onset of the dinner menu voting and even more during the actual preparations! <g> Let me share with you below, in her own words, the holiday tradition Kevyn enjoys with her family.

“We have a family holiday tradition which is to make crab balls (they require at least 4 participants to make) as an appetizer. There is a lot of family teasing that goes on (who ate the most last year, who can’t roll a round crab ball, who went to wash their hands and came back to find them all gone!) and the little kids think that it is very funny to watch the adults “argue”. Even when we are not in the same house, crab balls are a must, and there are telephone calls to check to see if they are being done properly!”

Thank you for sharing this wonderful tradition with us Kevyn. I hope you don’t mind if we include crab balls to our menu next time. <g>
Again, congratulations to all the winners, and thank you once again for supporting our online Holiday dinner poll contest this year. We appreciate your support. I wish you’ll participate again next time, for we love having you here!

If you are planning to adapt your own version of our Thompson holiday tradition, we hope it would bring as much fun, excitement and laughter to your family as it has to ours.

Enjoy the rest of the holidays!

Success, like everything else out there, means different things to different people. Is it measured by the amount of wealth one has, or how he became rich like that? Is it weighed by the number of people you help or the friends and loved ones who are there for you no matter what? Does everyone get to experience it, or is it as elusive as a summer breeze?

Textbook definition

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines success as, “degree or measure of succeeding; favorable or desired outcome; the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence; one that succeeds.” Pretty general definitions aren’t they? <g> Allow me to share some success I’ve personally encountered.

Attempts made

Plenty of individuals have tried to define success through time. Philosophers, athletes, inventors, scientists, U.S. Presidents and many more have tried to capture this feeling, situation or state in words.

There is one definition found online that hits it pretty close though. It goes, “He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who has left the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who has never lacked appreciation of earth’s beauty or failed to express it; who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had; whose life was an inspiration; whose memory a benediction.” Bessie Stanley, Lincoln Republican, 21 December 1905

Now, this was a woman who knew very well how to string words together to convey something meaningful. <g> In her definition, she somehow managed to touch on the physical, mental, emotional, intellectual and even spiritual aspects of the word. She was successful, because she was able to share her thoughts with plenty of people. By the number of times her quote has been published and republished, she has made a pretty vague concept a little more tangible.

Thriving business

Now, let me share with you my colleague Karen Armon’s published article entitled, “From $100K+ Executive to Entrepreneur: 7 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Become an Entrepreneur” in our online magazine Small Business CEO.

In her article, Karen discussed 7 questions that are ideal to ask before transitioning from being some bigwig executive to becoming a small business entrepreneur. These are the same questions she asked when she herself went through the same thing.

Counting in several aspects such as motivation, background, strategies, resources, actions, marketing and time, she successfully outlined the feelings, decisions, preparations and other aspects and technicalities involved in making this big, bold move.

Her personal achievement of being able to make her own business grow after facing unemployment, choosing to make her own mark in the business world instead by becoming her own employer and her goal to spread her story and tips to as many readers as possible are parts of her own success.

Successisms.com

Back in 2003, I myself distributed an online book with 101 compiled quotes pertaining to success, or some form thereof, from well-known personalities. It’s entitled Successisms.com™

I started compiling them for myself but eventually, I felt that the inspiration to be had from these words should be shared with many. Over the years, it has reached and touched plenty of people. I, for one, am glad to have been part of spreading these intuitive definitions of success from those who, at one form or another, have achieved it. That, in a way, is one of my many successes. <g>

Making more and living more

Running various online marketing businesses with my husband, Ric, and our colleagues at Small Business CEO and HealthyWealthynWise has awarded us success in the form of financial freedom and personal fulfillment. Thus, we enjoy life as much as we can, as often as we can. We travel to beautiful places around the world, eat at our favorite restaurants, occasionally splurge on birthdays and holidays and more. The most important part of this freedom though, is the peace of mind it gives us for being blessed with the opportunity to raise our two sons, Chandler and Stefan, in a good, comfortable environment (with as much life lessons, meaningful experiences and motherly advice I could muster and squeeze in <g>).

Giving more

In addition to the many perks we enjoy from having financial freedom, we are also lucky enough to be able to help others realize their own success. Through online donation and lending sites such as Run Tellman Run and Kiva, we are able to donate a certain amount of money to people who need and put them to good use.

The fact that Tellman gets to help homeless youth in the U.S. and the famers from the Philippines and taxi owner from El Salvador are able to support their families are also big chunks of our success.

Whether it’s about a mother raising a wonderful child, a father teaching his daughter to drive, a child’s first step, a student’s first A, a graduate’s first job, a lover’s first kiss, a farmer’s good harvest, an artist’s first exhibit and the list goes on and on — whatever the form, culture, language or definition, success is found everywhere. The choice to either embrace and share it or shun and turn away from it fully depends on you.

Have you achieved success in your life? Do you have a wonderful success story to tell? Share it with us.

More success to you!

Liz

It’s Thanksgiving once again, and as in every day of our lives, Ric and I have a lot to be thankful for. We have been going through life’s ups and downs with each other for 17 years (and definitely still counting! <g>) and are blessed with two active and wonderful boys, Chandler and Stefan. We live in a beautiful home, run our own thriving businesses, enjoy the time we get to spend with our growing sons and basically, live the way we want to, how we want to.

Furthermore, our businesses (New Order of Business School, Small Business CEO Magazine, Healthy Wealthy nWise Magazine) are doing very well as they continue to reach countless people through the Web and spread tips, stories and inspirations on success, family, health and fitness, business, management and marketing, among other things.

Celebrate life

The celebration of one’s life doesn’t have to be too grand or elaborate, though it wouldn’t hurt if it is <g>.

You just have to take the time to enjoy life’s moments like eating in your favorite restaurants, like Ric and I do as much as we can; try something new and have not even considered doing before, like bungee jumping or sky diving; travel the world and see all those exotic places where few people have been; or just relax at home, away from your work and worries, and spend quality time with your children.

I mean, the reason we work hard all year round is to have these precious moments with our families right? When we don’t have to worry about anything but how we’re going to stop from having so much fun. Because of how we chose to live life and having the financial freedom we now enjoy, we are thankful that we have a lot of these moments as a family. We work every day with the people that we love and we get to be hands on as we see our sons grow up.

Go beyond feeling thankful

The holiday music playing in the malls and ever increasing chill in the air gave us clues that the holiday season is indeed upon us, but nothing drives the truth home more than Thanksgiving. Because after that, we know that Christmas is just around the corner.

It is usually around this season that we start to reflect on the year we’ve had. The successes and failures we experienced, the people we encountered, the things we are thankful for and yes, even things we might regret. These days however, feeling thankful is not enough.

With the recession that’s been plaguing us (as well as millions of people around the world), many are suffering. This year, a lot of businesses—big and small—closed down, the unemployment rate rose at an all-time high and many are just hoping to get relief from a few helping hands. This is where our give more philosophy comes in.

It is not enough that we are continually surviving and making more with our businesses (certainly one of the things we’re thankful for <g>), or that we get to live more with our family because of it. What’s important for us to realize is that we have the capacity to give more, pay it forward so to speak.

There are a lot of ways to choose from

I’ve recently written about these, but let me refresh your memories. My husband and I have a friend, Tellman Knudson, who runs barefoot across the U.S. to raise money for homeless youth. We are great supporters and believers of his cause and have donated money via his website, Run Tellman Run.

We are also active members of Kiva, the first micro-lending website of its kind, where we lend a small amount of money to help small-business entrepreneurs around the world. From this site, we know that we are helping real people jumpstart their lives. We are lucky enough to have made a difference in three peoples’ lives so far: Vincent Cadiz, a hog farmer in the Philippines; Miguel Ángel Miranda Vásquez, a taxi owner and driver in El Salvador; and Noli Montadas, a farmer in the Philippines. View their profiles here.

Now, these are just some of the ways that we are able to give back and share whatever blessing we have with people. There are plenty of other means out there to choose from. If you feel you are ready, you just have to look for the right avenue that you can trust and are comfortable with.

It’s not just about money

Remember, every bit of help you give (it doesn’t always have to be monetary <g>) goes a long way. Whether it’s a few dollars to jumpstart someone’s small business, a few promotions or shout outs to help raise money for a cause or a few inspirational words to help someone achieve personal growth and learn “The Secret” to start their own business, it all matters and it all makes a difference.

There is no measure on how big or small you should help out, or a salary-to-means ratio that tells you how much you should donate. The important thing is setting one’s goal to help and seeing that goal to fruition. So, while you reflect on things you should be thankful for this Thanksgiving, don’t forget to celebrate your life and help others celebrate theirs too.

Do you have suggestions on how else we could celebrate life? Or, maybe you want to share what you are most thankful for this year. Let me know by posting a comment here.

Until next time!

In case you’re still not familiar with the concept of Make More, Live More and Give More, let me refresh your memory… <g>

The Make More part refers to your financial resources, which is important because you need it to pay for your basic necessities and other things.  The challenge here is to increase what you have.  How?  It’s likely that you’ll Make More money when you do the things that you love – so find your passion.

As for the Live More aspect, well, it’s all about celebrating life.  You don’t have to be over the top about it.  It doesn’t have to be like a trip around the world, it could be as simple as a trip to your favorite store or something like that.  All you have to do is to set aside some of your earnings every month so you could use it to celebrate life.  Ric and I call it the Live More Sale where we dedicate the first sale of each month (regardless of how much it is) to celebrating our abundance.  You don’t have to wait until you grow old and rich in order to Live More.  You can do it right NOW.  Commit each first sale of the month to living more.

The Give More part is where you can make a difference in other people’s lives.  Ric and I came up with the Give More Sale idea where we set aside some money each month and use it to contribute to whatever cause we care about.  Our goal here is to pay it forward.  You don’t have to be extremely wealthy in order to do that.  As little as a couple of dollars could make a difference to those in need.  And the satisfaction you get from helping others is indescribable.  You should try it for yourself.

I’ll share with you how Ric and our family Live More and Give More, and maybe you’ll get some ideas on how to Live More and Give More, too.

Live More: The $100 Book Shopping Spree

My boys and I recently went book shopping and we all got one book each to add to our ever growing library.  Have I mentioned that Ric and I are absolutely obsessed with books?  Picture this – a 2-room library full of fictional literature on the main level of the house, seven book-cases full of non-fiction lining the walls of our family room on the lower level, and the personal and business development sections filling our offices with hundreds of additional volumes.  Yes, that’s how book obsessed we are. <g>…

Anyway, I think our kids are starting to follow in our footsteps.  Chandler, our almost 13-year old, got the next book in the “Percy Jackson & The Olympians” series.  While Stefan, our four-year old who just learned how to spell and write his name a couple of weeks ago, agonized over “Scooby Doo” and “Thomas the Tank Engine” (Thomas won out in the end).  I, on the other hand, got an AMAZING deal on the book that I bought.  Imagine getting a 1902 first edition of Andrew Carnegie’s “The Empire of Business” for just $90!  That’s quite a steal for a book lover like me.

Give More: The $300 Charity Contribution

The Barefoot Runner

Remember the guy who’s running barefoot across the US?  Well, he’s our friend, Tellman, and he’s doing this to help raise funds for the homeless youth all over the country.  His goal is to raise $100,000,000 so he could distribute it to various organizations, shelters and volunteers, which help these homeless kids get access to shelter, food, and be able to rebuild their lives as well.

Photo: Tellman Knudson

Tellman is running from the East Coast all the way to the West Coast.  He just passed by Pittsburg, Pennsylvania and he’s now en route to Wheeling, WV.  If you want to keep up with his progress, you can do so here.

Ric and I want to keep supporting him because we believe that what he’s doing is phenomenal and is making such an impact.  This month, we donated $295 to Run Tellman Run.  You can also contribute to Tellman’s cause by donating online. Even as little as $5 could make a difference in the lives of the homeless youth.

Life Changing Loans

About a month ago, Ric and I joined Kiva, which is a micro-lending website that allows us to make loans to low-income entrepreneurs all over the world.  One of our first loans went to Vincent Cadiz in the Philippines to support his hog farm. We made a $125 loan to him and he was able to pay back a part of it in just a month’s time.  His first payment was worth $20 and we added $5 to our Kiva account and then re-loaned the money to Miguel Ángel Miranda Vásquez in El Salvador to give him the last bit he needs to make repairs to his taxi.  The taxi is the main source of income for his family and enables he and his wife to send all three of their children – ages 21, 20, and 16 – to school.

Photos from: http://www.kiva.org/lender/givemore (Vincent Cadiz in white shirt, Miguel Ángel Miranda Vásquez in blue shirt)

It’s amazing how this program lets you send financial support to people in need across the world – with contributions as little as $25.  It’s so simple – just register in the Kiva website to become a lender and then choose which among all the featured entrepreneurs you want to support.  Eventually, they pay back their loans and then you can use these payments to loan to others – kind of like recycling your money.  Talk about “going green”… <g>

You know you’re making a difference in people’s lives when you see they are doing well enough to pay back the loans.  You can make a difference too.  Join us and Kiva today.

Now you have an idea of how we Live More and Give More.  It’s your turn now.  Share your thoughts and ideas on how you’ll Live More and Give More in the comments section below.

When you make more money, you can do more with your life and share it with others as well – that’s basically the concept behind the Make More, Live More, Give More Blog.

Don’t get me wrong though, making a lot of money is nice but it’s not the end all and be all.  You will not lose yourself in the daily grind if you reward yourself for your hard work and you are able to realize fulfillment as you share your blessings with others.

That said I encourage you to check out the original post that explains the whole Live More & Give More concept at “Why we are here”.  Each month I’ll update you on what Ric and I do with our Live More & Give More Sales and hope you will join us in the practice.  It’s a LOT of fun <g>…

Live More: The $300 Birthday Dinner

Every month, Ric and I celebrate life and LIVE MORE.  We set aside a budget for it and use it to treat ourselves.  And since Ric’s birthday falls in September month, it gave us another reason to enjoy life.  His birthday is not simply a celebration of another year, but a reminder for us that we’ve gone this far, and we deserve all the good things life can offer. So we set aside some of our earnings and indulge.

That weekend, Ric’s sister, Kitty came over to party with the two boys while Ric and I went to Washington, DC to celebrate.  We decided to eat dinner at Restaurant 1789 in Georgetown, where they claim to have the best Rack of Lamb in the city.  And boy were they right!  It was a feast for the palate – absolutely amazing.  If you’re a foodie like we are, you’d enjoy the selection of dishes in their menu

Ric ordered the Beef Carpaccio for starters, and then the Geoduck (tasty but funky-looking clams) for his second course.  He chose the Roasted Monkfish as his main course, and had the Honey Fritters for dessert.

I started with the Pear Salad, which was wonderful, and then I got the Crispy Veal Sweetbreads that were just out of this world!  It was a good way to start my meal.  Of course, I asked for the scrumptious Rack of Lamb for my main course, which was served with roasted beets and greens on the side – a delectable combination.  If that won’t make your mouth water, I don’t know what else will.  To cap off the meal, I just ordered the Cheese Course since I have a major sugar intolerance.  But I did manage to grab a bite of Ric’s Honey Fritters and it was downright yummy.

Our dinner was truly unforgettable.  Our compliments to Chef Giusti who prepared the delectable dishes – its flavors and textures were simply sublime.  Many thanks also to our wait staff team that took good care of us and even made some phenomenal wine pairings with each course.

Since we were in DC that weekend, we didn’t miss the chance to visit the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and “My Diamond” as well (my maiden name is Hope, so I lay personal claim to the Hope Diamond <g>.)  And though it wasn’t part of our “LIVE MORE” budget, we splurged and stayed overnight at a beautiful suite in the Mayflower Hotel downtown.

Anyone can LIVE MORE. All you have to do is to regularly set aside the first sale from your business or the money from the first hour you work at your job – whatever works for you – just make it a certain amount so you use it to celebrate your abundance.

Give More: The $400 Big Give

The idea behind the GIVE MORE concept is to make a difference – now.  You can do so in your own way.  And Ric and I take the second sale we make each month and contribute to whatever cause we believe in.

This month we donated $200 to Run Tellman Run the man who is running on his bare feet across the U.S. to help raise funds for homeless kids.  Tellman is actually a good friend of ours.

Photos by: Luke Q. Stafford.    Photo source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/runtellmanrun

Tellman’s run route began in Fort Lee, NY and he’s supposed to finish in Santa Monica, LA.  It seems crazy to run barefoot from east to west coast but it’s an effective way to raise awareness for the homeless youth, and maybe even raise the desired amount of $100,000,000 for them.

Yes, this looks like an unattainable goal but he believes that “If you don’t set yourself extremely ambitious goals, nothing great will ever be accomplished.”  With that guiding principle in mind, he began his journey on September 9, 2009 and is planning to accomplish his goal in just 99 days.  As of now, he’s somewhere in Elysburg, Pennsylvania.  If you want to track his progress, you can check it on his blog www.runtellmanrun.com.  You could also help support his cause by donating any amount online – even as little as five bucks would help.

Another way we tried to pay it forward is through Kiva.  Ric and I set aside $200 for Kiva, whose mission is “To connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.”  It is actually the first of its kind website that allows person-to-person micro lending.  How does it work?  Well, you can choose to be a lender in the site (like what Ric and I did) and then select the person you want to lend to – just browse through the various entrepreneurs’ profiles.  After choosing, you can go ahead and make a loan.  With that, you’ll get the satisfaction of helping someone gain economic independence and improving his life as well.

Did I mention that Kiva has profiles of entrepreneurs around the globe?  So while you let your fingers do the typing, you could instantly help someone from the other side of the world.  Ric and I chose to give loans to two entrepreneurs from the Philippines – one is into livestock and the other is into farming.  We’re kind of new to this online loaning too but Kiva has this tool where you can track the progress of the loan status.  If you want to be a lender like us, you can sign up with Kiva.  It’s so easy.  Just visit the site and click on the “Lend” button.

Now you have a couple of ideas on how you could give back too. Go ahead and make a difference.

Leave a comment below and let us know how YOU are going to LIVE MORE and GIVE MORE…

Hi and welcome to Make More, Live More, Give More!

We’re here to share stories and concepts, swap success strategies and, talk about ideas that can change your life, your business, and the world…

But I’m getting ahead of myself…

First of all, I’m Liz Thompson and I make up one-half of an awesome partnership with my husband, Ric. We are the co-founders of HealthyWealthynWise Magazine, Small Business CEO Magazine, the Transperience Network and Yoovolution among other things…

I say awesome not simply because Ric and I have been happily married for nearly 17 years, not simply because we’ve been blessed with 2 wonderful and handsome boys – Chandler who’s almost 13 and Stefan at 4 and a half – and not just because together we’ve created multiple successful businesses that make a difference in the lives of people around the world.

It is awesome because we’ve reached a point where we can take a step back and share our success and how we got it.

In this day and age when competition in a dog-eat-dog world can be pretty cutthroat, just sharing our “success tips” would be a waste of everyone’s time.

We’ve found in our own lives and those of our friends who are very successful that “tips” are pretty much useless.  What we all need is solid, actionable strategies backed up by concrete, fire-tested, practical application that gets RESULTS.

Ric and I have been very lucky and we’ve worked hard to get to where we are today. We feel it’s time to “pay it forward”, as they say, and hope you can benefit from some of what we have learned.

WHY ARE WE HERE

The Concept is simple. The idea is to Make More, Live More, and Give More…

So what exactly does that mean?

Glad you asked <g>…

Make More

In essence, this part of the concept refers to your financial resources. In our society money is the medium of exchange that makes the world go around.  We need it for the basic necessities, to fulfill dreams in our careers, business, family and personal lives.  We need money to get the ball rolling – and keep it rolling for that matter.

Anyone who tells you differently obviously doesn’t have a rent or mortgage payment, doesn’t go grocery shopping, and doesn’t wear clothes so they’re probably not someone you want to listen to in the first place <g>…

Like it or hate it we all have to make money to live in modern society.

Now back in 2003 Ric and I started Healthy Wealthy nWise Magazine to help people live their dreams, to help people discover what they love, and then go DO IT.  We’ve since branched out with another magazine, a 3-D interactive world for personal and professional development as well as tons of products and services – many of which you’ll hear about in the coming weeks and months.

But behind it all is the idea that if we can help people become great at what they are passionate about –  whether its selling soap from their garage, or mounting a one-man art exhibit, or anything in between – they will not just make more money, but have the freedom to enjoy their hard-earned cash.

They’ll MAKE more…

Which brings me to the next concept –

Live More

You may have heard of Abraham Maslow and his Hierarchy of Needs – it’s sort of a stair-stepped list of things a person needs to reach his or her maximum potential as a human.

Maslow said, very basically, on the first step to becoming even remotely successful in life, your physiological needs (food, water, shelter, clothing, sleep and breathing) must be met before you can even think about your safety (personal security, financial security, health and well-being, and safety against accidents/illness and their adverse impacts).

You have to have safety covered before you can go on to feel love and belonging through friendships, intimacy and having a supportive and communicative family.

Once you have THAT then you can go to having self-esteem, confidence, and the respect of others.

Then, and only then, can you achieve self-actualization.

It has to be in this order and one follows the other in a very linear fashion.

While I appreciate Maslow’s work and actually base quite a bit of my own work on his theories, he is not 100% correct.

What I’m trying to say is that when it comes to humans – rarely is ANYTHING that cut and dried.

In our lives, Ric and I have come to realize that you don’t need to have reached your maximum potential or have one million in the bank, before you can go out and make a real difference in your own life or the lives of those around you.

Success and self-actualization are NOT a destination; they are a state of mind.  And that state of mind needs to be nurtured and groomed.

At several points in our journey so far Ric and I have stopped to take a look at ourselves — focusing on us, making sure that we are happy and still on track. And as a result of that reflection have often changed course in ways that some might see as reversals.  But trust me, if you dive in head first all the time without looking up and taking a breath, you are bound to hit something hard and get knocked out!

So sometimes, between all the heartaches and headaches of starting and running our businesses we treated ourselves and enjoyed what we had created “so far”.  We ate at fancy restaurants, got a few massages, or splurged on a weekend at a great hotel.  Every once in a while we’d add a special volume or two to our extensive library, enjoy a ridiculously good bottle of wine, and take the occasional AWESOME trip.

From the relaxing to the heart-pounding, we felt our success right then and there. And we didn’t lose our minds trying to become millionaires before we lost sight of life as we knew it.

We LIVED more.

We still do.

And we want YOU to live more too – despite what is going on in the economy right now.

And here is one of the practical strategies we use to make SURE we’re LIVING more – and we invite you to join us in it…

We have what we call a LIVE MORE SALE.  Basically the first sale we make every month goes to living more – regardless of how much that sale is.  (And if you don’t have a business yet or aren’t making any sales you can STILL participate by taking the rate for the first hour you work at your job or something like that – the idea is to pick a measurement and stick to it!)

Of course now Ric and I spend a lot more on “LIVING More” than just the first sale of the month but we still take that first sale and enjoy it.

For example this past month our first sale was $297.  We took our 2 boys to this wonderful little wine bar/restaurant called Tastings on the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville, VA where we live.  They have fabulous food, excellent wine and a beautiful little dining patio outside.  We spent about 2 and a half hours there with the boys (you would not BELIVE how many Oranginas 2 boys can drink in 2 and a half hours) they played, had great food, and Ric and I enjoyed the quiet afternoon.  Then we splurged on a bottle of Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon to take home (as you get to know me you’ll realize I’m a COMPLETE food and wine junky <g>).  And then we took the rest of the money and bought snorkeling gear for our trip to Florida this month.

Just remember if you join us in the Live More concept simply take a set amount aside – the first “something” of each month and dedicate that to celebrating your abundance.

Make the commitment to LIVE more – it’s why we’re having this human experience.

Give More

At this point in our careers as entrepreneurs, we’ve seen the really good and the really bad. We’ve gone through the dirty work and plowed the fields back and forth.

Don’t get me wrong, we’re not complaining! Far from it!

We’re living the life we’ve worked hard for. We have time in our hands, the freedom to enjoy our children, travel and see the world. And we’re enjoying the successes from the business we’ve created.

The goal now is to “pay it forward”, as they say. We tell our stories, business observations, and we ask you to feel free to take your pick on how you want to use it in your business and your life.

To give more isn’t something you have to WAIT to do until you’re independently wealthy.  You don’t need to go out and instantly make a huge splash.

The idea is to make a DIFFERENCE, because for most people, myself included, one of the major drivers in their life is to make an impact.

But often we’re conditioned to think that we can’t make much of a difference…yet.

And that’s just not true.

That type of thinking deprives us of the great joy of actually seeing the difference we CAN make.  So Ric and I came up with the GIVE MORE SALE.

Yep you guessed it – it’s pretty much like the LIVE MORE SALE, only this is the second one of the month, and regardless of how big it is we use it to make a difference in something we care about.

Just of few of the things we’ve done with GIVE MORE SALES are:

• Provide food and medicine for 8 abandoned babies in Africa
• Send Christmas Stockings and presents to a unit of 17 soldiers stationed in Iraq (we found out later that the soccer ball we had sent had been the start of many a game of ball between the soldiers and the local Iraqi children – too cool…)
• Provide school lunches for 1200 children in Rwanda
• Give gift baskets to the elderly who are housebound in the winter
• And lots of other cool stuff that feeds our souls

There are lots of programs out there where a few dollars can make a HUGE difference and the feeling you get is FANTASTIC!

You IMMEDIATELY feel more prosperous and abundant and it’s just plain fun!

So as a reader of the Make More, Live More, Give More blog I hope you’ll join Ric and me by having your own LIVE MORE AND GIVE MORE SALES – however that looks for you.

And please post your ideas on how YOU’RE going to LIVE more and GIVE more.

Next time we’ll talk about that MAKING more part <g>!

Until then…

Have a GREAT day!