The Million Dollar Mindset
by Eric Worre
There are three qualities you're going to need to bring to Agel Enterprises and all three are required.
The first is a burning desire - You have to really want it. You cannot have a casual mindset.
The second quality is you need be willing to work - Even if you have a burning desire, if you just don't have a solid work ethic, or you can't employ yourself and get yourself to do the necessary things, you're not going to be successful.
The third quality you must have is to be teachable - For most people, this is a new industry. A lot of people come into Agel with their own ideas, concepts and strategies. One of the biggest problems they have is they try to marry their past experiences with this one. For example, if someone comes from a marketing background, they try and use their marketing experience and bring all kinds of innovation to building their organization. That's great, but innovation will hurt your organization more than it will help it.
Remember what we said before about the formula for success is getting a large group of people to do a few simple things over a consistent period of time? If you bring all kinds of fancy techniques and innovation, you might be able to do it, but your organization certainly won't.
If someone comes from a typical sales background, they bring that sales experience into Agel. Again, selling is one thing. Building a large organization is another. If they come from a small business background, they try and bring a small business mentality into Agel and what does a small business person do? They take everything and put it on their shoulders. That won't get you where you want to go either. If they've been in the corporate world, they come in trying to treat their people like employees. Try that approach and you'll find yourself working by yourself very quickly. No one joins Agel to have another boss.
Attempting to make Agel fit into your background is a big mistake. Again, the formula for financial independence is getting a large group of people to do a few simple things over a consistent period of time.
Here's a better approach. Use all of your talents and skills to try to stay as close to the program here as you can. In Agel Enterprises, implementation and leadership are rewarded. Innovation is not. I know many of you have some grand ideas that you just can't wait to try. Take my advice. Try them later if at all. Some people tell me, "Well, you just don't understand. I'm a big shot. I come from such and such a background. And I have these big shot contacts." My answer is always the same, "If in my almost 20 years in and around this industry, I EVER saw someone achieve wealth through one of these big deals, I'd say have at it. But I NEVER have. Not one single time. Do you like those odds?" This industry is different from people's traditional business models and the sooner you and everyone in your group accept that, the sooner you can get on to real money making activities.
The Big Deal is the Little Deal
There's a saying in our industry. It says that "The big deal, is the little deal". In other words, you personally knocking one out of the park is not the road to wealth. It's the road to frustration. You don't have to take my word for it. You are perfectly free to go out there and knock your head against the wall. My only hope is there is still some life in you when you're done so you can pick up the pieces and come back to the success concepts that really work. The big deal is the little deal. And the little deal is the big deal.
Treat This Like a Business
I'm going to ask all of you to treat this like a business. If you've ever started your own business before, you know what that's like. It's hard work. You've got to be serious. You've got to be dedicated. You've got to be committed. Hard work isn't an option. Obstacles are looked at as temporary. If something needs to be learned or done, you learn it or you get it done. It's as simple as that. But something strange happens when people join this industry. All of the sudden they think all of those factors don't apply. They think the company, the compensation plan, the product, the timing, or their magical recruits are going to be their free ticket to riches without any real work on their part. Like any new business, there is going to be work involved. There is going to be growth involved. There are skills to develop. A commitment is required. Please be clear that I'm not saying a person has to be full time in Agel in order to treat it like a business. What I'm saying is, to be fully committed to the hours you decide to commit to this industry. Treat those hours seriously… like your life is hanging in the balance. In traditional small businesses, this conversation is unnecessary. You know why? The price of entry for the small business owner is usually so big, they don't have a choice but to do whatever it takes to try to make it succeed. They've got their lives on the line. Savings accounts, 2nd mortgages, liability, overhead, employees, inventory, leases, personal guarantees, you name it. So, when the going gets a little rocky, they work their way through it.
Price of Entry
One of the greatest challenges with Agel is that the price of entry is so low, the mental price of exit is equally low. When the going gets tough, you don't have enough skin in the game to force you to work through it and grow as a leader. Now, on the other side, one of the greatest opportunities with Agel is that the price of entry is so low, the average person has a chance to get involved and change their life. Your job as a leader is to take advantage of the low price of entry, without letting that price of entry be your group's mental price of exit. This must become a priority for you. You're going to need to learn how to set the expectations of your organization and to let them know the realities of building a business with Agel Enterprises. I've found that, when a person gets a clear understanding of how things work here, then they don't panic when things don't run perfectly smooth.
The Ups & Downs
Let me give you the traditional path that a person goes through as they enter Agel Enterprises.
Phase one is the excitement phase. This is where you can't sleep. You're so fired up that you've found the key to all of your dreams. It's going to happen so fast. How're you going to spend all this money? Phase two is the criticism phase. This is where you're not quite getting the response you hoped for. The people you thought were going to buy, didn't. The people you thought you'd be able to recruit, said no. Your family and friends weren't as supportive as you hoped. You get a few critical remarks.
What's going on here? You want the real answer? What's going on is what goes on in EVERY new business. It's part of the deal. Not everyone is a customer. Not everyone is going to join you. Not everyone is going to think it's a good idea. It's called the way it is.
Anyway, that almost always leads to Phase three which is the Self-Doubt phase. This is the phase where you say, what did I get myself into? This isn't all fun and easy. This is hard work! And where's my return for all this work? I wonder if I can get my money back and return to my comfortable little rut? Remember, it's going to take time to get what you want. It's going to also take faith that the returns will be what you hoped. More than anything, this phase is driven by the low price of entry. If you had to pay $100,000 to join Agel and then ran into this, it wouldn't be an issue. You'd work yourself right through it. But if you came in with a low price of entry and a little bit of the get lucky mentality, you're guaranteed to hit it.
How do you know if someone in your group is in the self-doubt phase? They're not going to come out and tell you, but here's how you identify it. They start to give you lots of excuses. They stop calling you. They stay away from the meetings. They begin to blame and find fault with things. If you've gone through this with them beforehand, then it's much easier to deal with. You can say "remember that self-doubt phase we talked about? This is it. How do you want to work through it?" If you haven't gone through this with them beforehand, it's going to be tough to turn them around.
Fight or Quit?
Now, a person might go through these three phases in 3 months or they might go through them in 3 hours. The fact is, they're going to go through them. And most people quit in the self-doubt phase. When they get there, or when you get there, it's big decision time. Do you fight? Or do you quit? If your thinking is right, you fight. And, if you fight, you start to move back up. Now, like in any real business, that doesn't mean you're not going to have more setbacks. No business in history has been a straight line. You'll win some battles and you'll lose some. You'll take two steps forward, then 3 steps back, then four steps forward, then 1 step back. Up & down. The goal is for your low points to be higher than your last low point. Even if that's not true, winners bounce back. It's part of the deal. Winners are always focused on their next goal.
Success Concepts
Let me give you a few thoughts that really helped me over the years. The first one is, "Successful People Do What Unsuccessful People Are Not Willing To Do".
Another is "Successful people live outside of their comfort zone". "Successful people play where the money is" Those simple statements helped me to develop a philosophy that "For things to change, I had to change". "For things to get better, I had to get better". These statements helped me get an attitude about doing things other people weren't willing to do.
When I made more calls than anyone I knew. I said to myself "Successful people to what unsuccessful people are not willing to do". When I was faced with something that was uncomfortable for me, I'd say to myself "Successful people live outside of their comfort zone". When people were out having fun while I was working my butt off, I'd say "Successful people play where the money is". It might sound silly, but these are the kinds of things that helped me shape a better philosophy, which gave me a better attitude, which led to better activities, giving me the results and the lifestyle I'd always wanted.
Now, for those of you who are just looking to improve your hobby business, you can disregard much of what I'm saying to you. Go ahead and make the same kind of commitment that you would for any other hobby and you'll do just fine. But for those of you with big time dreams and aspirations, here is my question for you... Are you willing to treat this like a business?
If so:
- What kind of weekly time commitment are you prepared to make?
- How long are you willing to make that commitment?
- What are you willing to give up in order to get what you want?
o Is it a hobby?
o Is it a sport?
o Is it television?
o Is it going to movies?
Something Has To Give
You've got to be able to answer those questions for yourself but something has to give. You simply can't expect to get everything you want without some form of sacrifice. And again, you have to choose between immediate gratification and long term frustration or delayed gratification and long term success. Think long and hard about your intentions. What is it that you intend to do with Agel Enterprises? Are you a cross your fingers and hope for the best kind of person? Or are you a nothing's going to stop me type of person?
Declare your intentions to the world
Write them down to remind yourself of your commitment to success. And we'll continue to work together to create the ultimate roadmap for your dreams.
Your friend and partner,
Eric Worre