Success

Want Success Online? Find A Business Mentor

June 26, 2021 by Jason Brubaker

Wouldn’t it be great to find a business mentor? Someone who could guide you through the ups and downs of growing a successful online business? This was one of the questions asked during an inspirational talk I was presently watching on YouTube. It was 3AM and I couldn’t sleep…

This was during the 2008 economic collapse and I was running out of money. I am not sure what YOU did during the time, but I was living in a state of worry. And the only thing that kept me sane was watching success gurus drone on and on about all the stuff successful people do when times get tough. And times were tough.

Want Success Online? Find A Business Mentor

One dude mentioned about how birds of a feather flock together. I heard it before, but he went on to talk about how you become the people you spend the most time with. If you want success, you need to hang around successful people. And that got me thinking. Most the people around me were losing jobs and running out of money too. Everyone was worried. And that sucked.

He also went on to talk about how success leaves tracks. And if you want to accelerate your own success, one thing you can do is find someone who has accomplished the things you want to do and see if that person would be willing to serve as a business mentor.

If the whole mentoring concept is new to you, I’ll make it simple – A mentor is someone who takes an interest in your success. He or she will be available for advice and to commensurate, but may not be directly involved in your business. If this is interesting, here are some tactics for finding your own business mentor:

Compile a list of people you want to meet.
Write them a letter. Follow up with a phone call.
When someone answers, reference the letter and ask for the meeting.
If you get the meeting, awesome! If not, try again later.
Repeat the process.

Finding a mentor will go a long way towards helping you avoid common pitfalls and accelerate your success. To get started, figure out what you want to accomplish. What do you want out of life? From there, find people who have achieved your goal. And if you want a really awesome resource for finding a mentor, check out SCORE.

Don’t Break The Chain (And Other Habit Hacks)

June 9, 2021 by Jason Brubaker

Don’t break the chain. That’s the mantra I keep repeating to myself every time I reach for a donut… Or bread… Or french fries. And I am not going to sugarcoat it. Despite the fun stuff happening in my career, achieving physical fitness is a challenge. At five-foot-ten, weighing 215 lbs, my BMI is a roughly 31.

How I got to this point is both subtile and obvious. Subtle because gaining excessive weight has taken me ten years to achieve. Obvious because I got into the common habit of eating (and drinking) more and moving less. Looking back, it’s easy to see how an overabundance of bread, chips and salsa, french fries, donuts and alcohol led me to this point.

Small Habits Add Up Over Time

When you look at the image above, I look pretty okay by most standards. (It also helps that I’m standing next to my beautiful wife.) But according to a number of medical professionals, my BMI (body mass index) is not within the healthy range for my height. And this puts me higher than average risk for acquiring some sort of obesity related disease. Fun times.

More than the health benefits, some things don’t FEEL right. Over the past year my wife has surprised me on a few occasions with awesome dress shirts. Even though she bought the large size, many don’t fit. This alone is motivation to take action. And if I’m really being transparent with you (which is the goal of sharing this story), the most embarrassing aspect of the extra weight is a set of man boobs. Man boobs!

Suffice it to say, this is my wake up call. Because I want to live to at least ~~85 years old~~ 110 years old and still have youthful mobility (and be present for my wife and family), I figured NOW was a good enough time to change the way I eat, live and sleep. My goal in sharing this is to help keep me motivated, while at the same time provide you with inspiration for your own life.

Don’t Break The Chain

One tool I’m using is the “Don’t Break The Chain” philosophy. This method was supposedly used by Jerry Seinfeld early in his career so he could consistently write new jokes. This is basically a calendar where you set ONE goal and place an X on every day you achieved the goal. Over time your X’s look like a chain XXXXXX. If you miss a day, you need to start over.

Here is a wall calendar you can grab from Amazon, if you’re interested:

Track Your Progress

My fitness goal is to drop 45lbs of fat. That will put me squarely at 170 LBS, adjusting my body mass index to 24.4, which is right around the normal range. I’ll then fit into my shirts and feel better about myself. Instead of getting overly complex, I’m going to achieve these health and productivity goals by replacing bad habits with good habits.

Habits To Cut:

Alcohol Intake: I won’t get into it here. But I’ve spent too much of my life enjoying too much alcohol. And while my version of “rock bottom” involved embarrassing myself in a chance meeting with Rob Pattinson (which I’ll share some other time)… If I am going to change, I have to get real. Alcohol has made me fat. So I need to take a break.
Eating Bread: Yes. I get it. Oprah loves bread. And while I can’t speak for her journey, I love bread too. A little too much. And I also love donuts. And while I’m thinking about it, I also cannot stop eating tortilla chips. So these need to go.
Internet and TV: Bottom line, I spend too much time watching dumb videos online. I also debate politics. This is time I could be spending with my wife, dog or working on new projects. So I’m cutting the dumb media down.
Stop Complaining: I’m not sure how this will help my physical health. But I’m pretty sure by cutting down on my complaining (about politics, a challenging work day or life) I’m going to start thinking clearer thoughts.
Avoid Toxic People: This is a little harsh. But you become the average of the five people you spend the most time with. My goal is to only spend time with people who lift me up, and not put me down.

Habits To Keep:

30 Squats and 30 Pushups: This may seem overly simplistic. But I wanted to create at least one daily fitness goal I could stick to without much effort. And being able to accomplish this one should be super easy.
Write Every Day: I’m resolving to write at least 300 words per day.
Uplift Friends: Every day I’ll be reaching out to at least one friend to see how they are doing. When appropriate, I will work to uplift them and provide useful advice to their lives.
Networking: Each day I’ve resolved to reach out and connect with someone just beyond my reach. My primary goal here is to meet and build relationships with new people. But I will also reach out to old friends too.
Record Food Intake: I am using MyFitnessPal. And I plan to meticulously record every morsel of food I ingest.

While it is unrealistic to expect overnight results, “Don’t Break The Chain” is a simple personal development ritual, designed to help you establish habits to get you where you need to go.

Are You Living A Life Of Quiet Desperation?

March 13, 2021 by Jason Brubaker

Do you ever feel like you could be doing so much more with your life? When you started out, you dreamed big. Do you remember You woke up each day filled with excitement for the possibilities of tomorrow.

Then life happened.

Days became weeks. Weeks became years. And now, decades…

Are You Living A Life Of Quiet Desperation?

Now you start each day with a wave of dread.

You’re going through the motions and grinding. You have a decent job and a family who loves you.

To most people, you look like a success. But you and I both know you’re on the brink of burnout and you’re bored.

You’re living a life of quiet desperation.

How did this happen?

Easy. You settled. You let yourself get comfortable. But how this happened is not important. What is important is the next chapter in your life.

By reading these words, you are about to take a new direction in life…

How do I know?

Because you are not alone. I’ve been there.

To help you, I’m going to share some useful tactics steps in real time so you can follow along… I don’t promise you fame and fortune and a new Ferarri. But what you’ll get from me is real…

So if you’d like more tactics like the article you just read, make sure you sign up for the most awesome newsletter you’ll ever read. (Actually, I’m a little biased. But I do think you’ll like the stuff I send you.)

New Years Resolutions Suck: How To GO BIG In 2021

January 9, 2021 by Jason Brubaker

New Years Resolutions suck. And if you’re like most ambitious people, you just spent the last few weeks thinking about how you’d like to go big in 2019… You thought about who you are and who you want to become. And maybe for the first few days (in the New Year) you actually took some steps to get there.

But then life happened. And you already dropped some of your “resolutions.”

So why does this happen?

New Years Resolutions Suck

The reason you haven’t (seriously) achieved the BIG LIFE CHANGING GOALS is because it is easier to stay comfortable every day, than go big. And you might even be comfortable, being uncomfortable… And believe me, I’m speaking from experience on this one!

Every day you wake up and you make similar decisions as the day before. Sure. You know what you should be doing. But you put off until tomorrow. Then days become weeks. And if you don’t figure out a way to change, you’ll be right back here, reading a similar article 365 days from now. And that will not feel good. So if you’re not where you want to be, you have two decisions:

Do nothing and continue to let life push you into a comfort zone.
Take serious action (not just theory) in the direction of your goals.

If you’ve read this far, I’m assuming you’re the type who wants to take serious action in the direction of your goals… And go big. But maybe you’re stuck on something. And maybe you don’t know what actions to take next?

How To GO BIG In 2019

Here are two tactics to help you go big this year:

Learn NEW Stuff: Seriously. Read more books. Listen to audio training and podcasts. Watch instructional videos. Go to workshops. Make it your mission to listen to at least one informative podcast or audio book EVERY DAY. Over time this creates new thinking. And new thinking will eventually lead you to new action.
Meet NEW People: You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. If the people you hang out with are average, you will remain average. You need to find people who are playing a BIGGER GAME and spend time with them.

Attend networking events in your area and make it your mission to take at least one (successful) person to lunch or breakfast every week. This practice will eventually help you make new friends, get you thinking in new ways, which will open the doors to new opportunities. And if you don’t know where to start, I suggest joining the local toastmasters club.

The secret of going big is achieved through small steps over time. And if you’d like to network with me, make sure you sign up for the most awesome newsletter you’ll ever read. Actually, I’m a little biased. But I do think you’ll like the stuff I send you.

Overcoming Fear: How I Almost Cried At My Bachelor Party

November 18, 2020 by Jason Brubaker

Over the years, I’ve taken some calculated business risks that usually turned out okay. So you’d think I’d have some good strategies for overcoming fear. But I never anticipated how my idiot friends would surprise me on my bachelor party.

On the day of my party, my best man convinced me we were going golfing. We were in Las Vegas. And if you’ve never been, there is a nice golf course a few miles south of the strip, in front of a small airport. And it wasn’t until we drove past the golf course that I realized there would be no golf…

“Just kidding. We’re going sky diving.”

My friends didn’t seem the least bit concerned that I had a fear of heights. Or that the absolute last thing I ever wanted to do IN MY LIFE was jump out of a perfectly good airplane.

The Truth About Skydiving (And Overcoming Fear)

Now if you’ve never entered a skydiving facility before, the first thing you do is watch some terrible video that tells you literally, the top 10 ways you will most likely die. Then they make you get on a table, lift your legs to your chest and pretend you’re falling. That’s it. That’s the whole training. A video and a leg exercise.

Then the skydiving place makes you sign a waiver, which once again assures you that your parachute will probably fail and you will plummet 18,000 feet to your doom. All of which filled my mind with horrific imaginings of how my beautiful bride would be left alone, crying at the alter.

At this point, I was pissed. Any strategy for overcoming fear was replaced by an irrepressible desire to punch my best man in his stupid, idiot face. And while the memory is still a little fuzzy, I remember YELLING within earshot of a dozen other prospective skydivers.

“BACHELOR PARTY FAIL!”

Another buddy sort of pushed me outside and assured me that he also thought the idea of falling from an airplane was stupid. He said that him and I should just go back inside and wait it out.

But back inside, he was like: “Just kidding.”

Think about it. Those guys had months and months to mentally prepare for the jump. And I had like fifteen minutes to decide. At that moment, I had two choices:

— I could wait on the sidelines and miss out on a life changing, memorable experience.

— I could DECIDE to overcome fear and go for it.

The skydiving facility had already pegged me as “the terrified wimp” so when I turned in my fully executed waiver, they put me in tandem with the ex-special forces guy named Demetrius who I’m sure could pass as Jason Statham’s stunt double.

“Do not worry. I will not let you die today.”

Next thing you know we are 18,000 feet above the earth and Demetrius is telling me to put my legs out the door. Before I had a chance to protest, I was free falling.

Free falling to the earth (at approximately 120 miles per hour), I realized three important lessons about overcoming fear:

1. Once you “go for it” crying and complaining (and screaming) is not going to help.

2. Time is limited. So find some way to enjoy the process.

3. When you achieve the goal, you wonder why you waited.

I would love to tell you that some aspect of my life profoundly changed that day. But I mostly realized that my friends are jerks who cannot be trusted. The good news is, there are more dude trips in our future and I’m already thinking up ways I can ~~trick~~ help my friends find new strategies for overcoming fear.

If you’d like to get past your own fears so you can start your online business, check out InfoMarketing101