books

10 Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read

When I went to college I hated to read. In fact, I always challenged myself to read as little as possible and still get good grades; thankfully it worked! When my wife and I got into our Network Marketing business, our mentor suggested that we get on a recommended reading program. My initial response was that I didn’t like to read, to which he responded, “You need to change your thought process in order to be successful.” Well, since I wanted to be successful and live how I saw my mentors living, I humbled myself and began the reading program. I have listed 10 books that have greatly impacted my life and feel that every entrepreneur should read. In fact, these books will benefit anyone who wants to be more, do more, and make a positive impact beyond just making money. Don’t get me wrong, if you follow the principles in each of these books, the money will come! All of the books will help anyone including the new graduate, seasoned CEO, and everyone else in between. 

1. The Magic of Thinking Big, David J Schwartz, PhD

In this book, Dr. Schwartz advises us to set our goals high and have a positive thought pattern in order to achieve them. His book is basically a step-by-step guide on how to achieve what you want by changing your thought patterns and thought habits. I learned in one chapter why people fail and why people succeed! 

2. Think & Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill

What can I say? This is a classic! A compilation of Napoleon’s diligent research on some of the most successful individuals in the 1930’s who achieved great financial wealth. He breaks down common characteristics and thought processes that all of the individuals had.

3. Bringing Out the Best in People, Alan Loy McGinnis

In his book, Alan breaks down 12 rules that a leader should follow to motivate team members around him. In addition, it also teaches the reader how to lead and bring out the best in others, hence the title!

4. The Master Key to Riches, Napoleon Hill

Another classic! Napoleon provides a blueprint of a success formula for anyone desiring great success and wealth.

5. How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie

This book is full of golden nuggets. Among them, the reader will learn how to: make friends easily, increase their earning power, make them a better salesman, avoid conflicts and arguments, get them out of mental ruts, and much, much more!

6. How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success in Selling, Frank Bettger

Frank breaks down his personal success methods and principles that helped him become a leading salesman. Ironically, this book is not all about selling. You will have to read it to find out!

7. The Slight Edge, Jeff Olson

I really enjoyed this book. Jeff explains to the reader how the difference between winning and losing, success and no success is a very slight edge. His simple explanation, that it is just as easy to do the things that you should do in order to succeed as it is not to, really impacted me. I think it will impact you as well.

8. The Greatest Miracle in the World, Og Mandino

Written in story form about a publisher who befriends a wise old man and, as a result of their mysterious relationship, receives from him his laws for finding happiness and success.

9. Go For No!, Richard Fenton & Andrea Waltz

A fictional story where a salesman learns how to break through the single most common barrier to all success! A very simple and entertaining read that will have you excited to hear NO!

10. Hung By the Tongue, Francis P. Martin

This small book packs a lot of punch. What I learned in this book is how powerful my words and thoughts are. That what I say is exactly what I get! This book literally helped me change the way that I speak.

In my opinion, these are must read books for anyone who wants to impact others, be successful both financally and in life, become a leader, or just improve themselves overall. Please comment on how these books have impacted you if you have read them or when you finish.

To your success!

Ken Cloutier

Success is similar to baseball

How Success is similar to Baseball

Baseball is a great game full of rich history and countless memorable moments. It is enjoyed by people of all ages, both young and old, men and women, and by many different cultures. I had the privilege of playing baseball all through my college career and loved it. I was talking to an older gentleman the other day who heard me making some prospect business calls. On one particular call, the prospect that I was speaking to said that they were not open to other ways of making money. When I hung up I made the comment, “Next!” The older gentleman said to me, “keep punching and don’t give up!” We went on to talk about baseball; the upcoming season and how much money some players are making who have had both good and bad years. It was at that point that I thought about how Success is very similar to  Baseball!

How Success is similar to Baseball…

Baseball is one of the few sports where you actually fail more times than you succeed! How crazy does that sound? In Football if a quarterback completes less than 50% of his passes, he is said to not be an accurate quarterback. Basketball is the same way. In baseball If a player gets a base hit 3 times out of 10 he is considered a very good hitter. Think about that, he gets a base hit only 30% of the time. The rest of the time he either strikes out or hits the ball to a defender who catches it for an out. Furthermore, the player who hits .300 will make millions of dollars compared to the player who only hits .200. Do you realize that the difference in the number of times the two players get a hit in 10 chances is 1? One player makes millions while the other player struggles to stay in the Major Leagues. The only difference is literally one hit more! Success is similar to baseball in that you will fail more times than you succeed. There is no other way around it. The problem is that we are taught at a young age that failure is not a good thing. When you were in school, you got graded A, B, C, D, and F. “F” was a failing grade that everyone tried to avoid. But is getting an F really a failure? What if you still learned something? You did not really fail, but you learned something that will enable you to keep progressing to eventually get something other than an “F.” It is in the failures that we learn the most. Failure makes us step back and really evaluate what we are doing and gives us the opportunity to make adjustments for improvements. The people who don’t succeed are the ones who quit because the failure was too much for them and they wanted success to happen quicker. The reality is that people succeed by failing their way there! They fail and then learn from it, or as some people say: try, fail, and adjust.

If star baseball players can fail 7 out of 10 times and still have a great attitude and love for the game, can you fail, pick yourself up, and keep on moving towards your dreams?

I know you can!

Don’t forget to grab my FREE 10 Day Blueprint video series to learn more success principles that will help you in business, career, and life! See you there!!

To Your Success,

Ken Cloutier

 

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Millennial Entrepreneur

4 Things All Millennials Should Be Doing

I had the pleasure of connecting with a young 20 year old entrepreneur the other night. He had initially reached out to me on Twitter and we ended up chatting on Skype for about an hour. Looking back, there are a few things that this young man did that all millennials, entrepreneurs, or career minded people should try to emulate.

1. He Networks: As I said before, this young man reached out to me to ask me a few questions and make sure he was on track. That takes a tremendous amount of courage. He understands how powerful networking is and is always looking for ways to learn more from others. Have you had someone that you wanted to speak with but were hesitant? Go ahead and reach out to them, you never know how the relationship you can build and where it can lead!

2. He was prepared: One of the first things that I noticed when we began our conversation was that he was prepared. He had prepared some written questions that he wanted to ask me and, more importantly, he had a pad and pen to take notes. Taking notes is a bit of a lost art form. Don’t just think that you will remember everything in your head. Write it down so that you can review it and refer back to it later. If you write it down, you will remember and understand the information much longer than if you simply try to retrieve it from memory. By being prepared, he understood that my time was valuable. If you ask for someone’s time, respect it. He did just that. I could tell that he had put some thought into the questions that he was asking and it was much appreciated.

3. He has a vision: This young entrepreneur has a vision of what he wants to accomplish and has spent time thinking it through. In addition, he did what so many fail to do, and that is he has taken action. He knows what he needs to improve on as well as the kind of people that he needs to attract to make his vision of his future a reality. He knows where he is going!

4. He has a burning desire: During the conversation, we talked about how many of his friends in college want him to go out and party, etc. You know, the typical college night?! He told me that he very rarely takes them up on his offer because he barely has the time to build his business and do his college school work let alone go out and party. He wants his dreams to become a reality and he understands that time is a very limited and hot commodity. How much time do we waste on things or events that will not move us closer to our goals?

After speaking with this young man, I was very excited for him. It is great to see a young Millennial pursuing his entrepreneurial spirit and not feel like he has to fit in with everyone else. I am looking forward to keeping in contact with him, and if he keeps up his great attitude with a willingness to learn along with his burning desire, he will most definitely become a great success!

To YOUR success,

Ken Cloutier

 

 

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Success Principles…What are they anyway?

What makes some people successful while others seem to struggle to make ends meet? How is it that money seems to be attracted to some while other people seem like they have holes in their pockets? Many people think that successful people “get lucky”, that they were in the right place at the right time. That could not be further from the truth. The fact is, these “successful” people are utilizing success principles whether they consciously know it or not. 

 

So how do you learn about these success principles and what are they anyway? Before I started my network marketing business, I did not know anything about success or business. I was taught to go to school, get good grades, and get a good job. I was essentially was taught to have someone else tell me what I was worth. 

 

When I got started in business, I began to learn principles that were foreign to me and had never heard of from some very successful business mentors. In fact, some of the success principles that I learned were in exact opposition to what I had ever known. For example, delayed gratification. My attitude was if I want it, go get it! It was a way of thinking that I worked hard and deserved it. What I learned about delayed gratification is that I can still travel or buy what I wanted, but I just needed to wait for the right time so that I could get the very best and not settle for mediocrity. This is an example of wealth mentality. Wealth is simply a state of mind! Once you learn the key principles of success, all you have to do is implement them in whatever business or career that you are in. Success principles don’t change regardless of your business or profession. All that matters is that you use them in your life. They are laws, just like the law of gravity. You don’t have to believe in gravity or that it exists, but go ahead and jump off of the roof of your house and you will quickly realize that gravity does work and exist! 

 

To learn what these success principles are, and how they can work in your life, CLICK HERE to register and get instant access to my free 10 Step Blueprint video series.

To Your Success!

Ken Cloutier

 

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How To Maintain Your Focus

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Being successful at anything requires many attributes. Persistence, a positive attitude, people skills, and other various traits. Focus is one of the traits that will determine if your journey to success will end early or enable you to see it through. Many people lack focus. How many times have you or someone you know thought of a good idea and maybe even came up with strategies or steps to accomplish a goal and then a few weeks into the plan you stop? It sounded great when you were coming up with the plan, but lack of focus on what you were trying to accomplish caused you to stop doing what was ultimately going to help you accomplish your goals. 

Having focus allows you to continue on toward your goals despite all of the white noise and distractions that life has to offer. It will enable you to continue to do the daily habits and make the little daily decisions to help you get to where you want to be. Focus crushes fear, it undermines distraction and blasts through obstacles. Focus is a major key to success.

So how do you stay focused at the task at hand or your overall career or life goal? Well, there are several ways to help you stay focused. One way that I have found very useful in maintaining my focus has been to use goal cards. I had previously written a post about goal cards that you can read about for more details. Goal cards help you maintain focus by keeping your goals and actions in front of you on a daily basis. You can simply read the goal cards over and over as many times per day as you want. This keeps your mind on what you are trying to accomplish. A very simple yet effective technique!

 Another way to help you stay focused is to have a clear vision of why you are looking to achieve your goals. Put an emotional tie to those goals. Your why should be so strong that it hurts every day that you have not accomplished your goals. Knowing your why and having a clear vision of why you want to accomplish those goals will keep you taking action even when you do not feel like doing anything and would rather sit back, watch a movie and eat popcorn. Instead, you will hear the little voice in your head saying, “take action, go do what you know that you should do.”

Create a mastermind or goal group. Partner with other individuals who have similar goals or are looking to accomplish something similar to what you are striving to accomplish. The power here is that you will now be accountable to someone else other than yourself. If you goal buddy hits their goal and you don’t, then you have not been accountable to that person. Even if you don’t want to do it for yourself, you surely don’t want to let someone else down do you? This is powerful- try it.

Break your big goals into little ones. I’m sure you have heard the saying, “how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” The same is true with you big goals. Break them down into simple, easy to accomplish goals. Maybe your goal is to sell $300k in a fiscal year at your job. Instead of just having $300k on your goal card/board, break down what you would need to sell or do on a daily basis that will lead to the accomplishment of your overall goal. Keep it simple!

Finally, another way to help you maintain focus is to keep your goals to 1-3 at a time. Don’t spread yourself too thin or you will be all over the place trying to accomplish too many goals at one time. If you are chasing too many goals, most times you will be so overwhelmed that you won’t take any action at all. It is best to identify 1-3 goals that you can accomplish and then move on to the next one(s). 

In my 10 Day Blueprint, I have also identified other tips and principles that will help you to accomplish your goals and lead you to your journey to success.

Stay focused and achieve your dreams!

Ken Cloutier

 

 

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Action Is The Key!

Every goal, every dream, and every success that we achieve comes about by action. Most people want success and have a plan on how to achieve that success.They think about everything that they have to do and write down an action plan but fail to do the one thing that will help them get where they want to and that is take action.

The fact is, the very action that brings about success or goal achievement is usually the action that moves people out of their comfort zone. The reason why most people don’t take action is that they do not want to get out of their comfort zone. It is easier to stay put than to put themselves in a position to fail and look bad. The people who are willing to step out of their comfort zone are generally the same people who go on to achieve great success.

So how do you take action if you are somebody who likes to think and ponder before moving forward? I like to describe this as paralysis by analysis. These individuals think about the positives and negatives of their decision but never take any action to make their goals happen. If you fall into this category, here is a way that you can begin to take action but make your thoughts more productive: Have your thoughts always lean toward taking action. In other words, your thoughts should be on how can I achieve these goals rather than all of the obstacles that are in the way of achieving the goals. Take the “how can I?” approach and not the “I can’t!” attitude. 

For those of you that fall into the take action category but don’t really think too far ahead (that is me), make sure that you are not just busy trying to achieve your goals, etc, but that you are productive. We all have 24 hours in a day. Why is it that some people become so successful while others barely get by? It is not just that they are busy taking action to become successful, but they are productive. They are getting results. If your schedule is filled with all sorts of appointments but you are no further along today than you were a month ago, chances are you have just been busy and not productive. Keep this in mind as you are taking action, is your action taking you closer to accomplishing your goals or moving you further away. That is how you can tell if you are just being busy or being productive.

I hope that you are taking action and are willing to move out of your comfort zone. There is so much more outside of your comfort zone than what lies in it, and your success is so much closer to you than you think. Action is the key to making that happen. If you would like some more tips on how you can take action and what kind of actions that you can take to move closer to the success you want, then click here and I will see you on the other side.

To your successful actions!

Ken Cloutier

 

 

How To Draw People To You

There are basic human hungers in which all people crave. Having an understanding of these hungers will help you to become a person that others are drawn to. This can be in business, at work, in school, or with your family.

Have you ever known of an individual who seems to get along with everybody? They meet someone and a few minutes into the conversation it is as if they had known the other person for years? The reason that this person is able to get along and draw others to him is based on some key principles that I will share.

The first hunger that all humans have is Acceptance. Acceptance is simply letting the other person be his true self without having to put up any facades or being someone who they are not. When we accept others, we take both their strengths and their weaknesses and still like them just the way they are. Nobody is perfect and as a person with a personality that people are drawn to, you understand this and don’t pass judgement on the other individual. In other words, just because someone is not like you, you can still accept and like them anyway.

The second hunger is Approval. Approval is different than acceptance in that acceptance deals with negative aspects of a person in addition to the positive aspects. We accept a person even with their flaws. Approval is finding something that we like in the other person. You can always find something positive about someone just as easy as it is to find something negative about the same person. Your attitude and personality will determine which you focus on. Someone with a great attitude and positive personality will find the good in others, while the person with a negative attitude and negative personality will tend to find the negative in others. Which personality set do you have? One of the best ways to show approval is for you to go out of your way and praise non-obvious things about another person. For example, if you are complimenting an athlete on how well their physique is, that is an obvious compliment. However, if you complement them on something not so obvious like the fact that they are great at writing poetry and the praise will really have a positive impact on them. I know that is a lame example, but you get the point!!

Finally, Appreciation is the third human hunger. When you appreciate something, you place a high value on it. So if you appreciate another person, you are placing a high value on them. When people feel appreciated, they almost automatically like the person who appreciates them and, in turn, places them in high value. The person who draws others to him knows how to show an individual in little ways that he values him. Here are some ways in which you can show others that you value them:

– Thank them

– Treat people as individuals, not as a group

-Make people feel special and not just like everyone else

ID-100129426If you begin using these three principles that all humans crave, you will begin to attract others to you and be that person who seems to get along with any and everyone!For more information on how to develop the personality that others will be attracted to as well as additional principles, click here and register for my free 10 Day Blueprint.

To your successful personality!!

Ken Cloutier

 

 

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Do You Have A Mindset For Business Success?

Every significant endeavor or business plan has a beginning– it comes from the mind, the source where every activity flows from.

Before you jump onto “Success Interstate”, one of the first things that you must prepare is your mindset.

What does it mean to create the right mindset for success? Here are a few suggestions:

•Making money in ANY business is NOT a get rich quick scheme. You don’t just get in business and have money deposited into your bank account. It takes hard work and dedication to keep pressing forward in order to profit.

•You must spend some time educating yourself in your business or endeavor. Simply picking up a couple of books will not make you an expert in your field or market. Study others who have already succeeded in what you are trying to do. This takes some time and effort. After all, how long did it take you to get your university degree?

•Invest time for trial and error. No one gets it ‘right’ on the first try. Be ready for setbacks and failures, but learn from them and then get up off the canvas and battle again!

•You will deal with negative people who will try to tear your dream and goals down. There are many people who are too scared to step out and try something different. By you attempting something great, you make them uncomfortable and take away all of their excuses to try and succeed. In turn, they will try to drag you down with them to make themselves feel better. Some of the resistance will come from your friends, close relatives, co-workers, or even your BOSS! If you do not have the right mindset and persistence to keep pushing forward, they will steal your dream.

•Be like a dog on a bone- be ready to be “in it to win it!” Like in any business, if you are not prepared for the long haul with the peaks and valleys of business, you will quit midway because you have put in a half-hearted effort to succeed. Keep this thought in mind when things get tough: How badly do you want success?

Commit yourself to developing your mindset for success and enjoy the journey on “Success Interstate!”

To your success,
Ken Cloutier

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Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff

As I am sitting on the floor in my living room, my 3 year old Doberman Pinscher is nuzzled up against me sleeping. I was thinking about when my wife and I first started our own home based business and how excited that we were to be our own bosses!

Then it occurred to me that a large reason why we have been successful in our business is that we did not sweat the small stuff when we got our business started. In other words, we did not wait to try to figure out all of the details before we took action. We were “all in.” This thought process of being “all in” is applicable to all endeavors, not just in business. The thing that I see many people struggle with is that they feel as though they have to get everything just perfect before they take any action toward their goals. They have to get their ducks in a row. Can I give you some advice? When was the last time you saw ducks walk in a row? It doesn’t happen!

If you are looking to become a pastor for instance, don’t sit around waiting for a large church to call you to come in and preach to their congregation. Instead, you could find a youth camp that you could volunteer your time to in order to minister to young adults. You see, you can move closer to your ultimate goals, but it requires action, even if it is small steps you are heading in the right direction.

One of my mentors has always said “hesitation is devastation.” If you hesitate and don’t take action, nothing good can happen. Stop waiting for things to be perfect before you take action towards your goals. It is never the right time to do anything. The time to do something is now! We all have 24 hours in a day; every single one of us. Nobody was blessed with 25 hours in a day. So why is it that some people succeed while others are still waiting to? The people that succeed do not wait for everything to be just perfect, they take action. They are not worried that they are working and going to school and have a family to take care of, they continue to take action regardless of their circumstances.

What category do you fit into? Do you take the “all in” approach or have you been hesitating on taking action because you just “don’t have time?” You will never have time! I have noticed that the older that I get (I’m only 35, don’t rush me!) the more complicated life gets. Stop procrastinating in doing what you know you should be doing to fulfill your dreams- take action!

You can do it! Take small, simple action steps in the direction of your goals and dreams and you will get there; but you have to start!

To Your Success!

Ken Cloutier

 

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3 Simple Life Lessons to Success

I would like to share 3 basic principles with you that can help to improve your life and success journey. I have found that while there is no sure fire, secret formula for success, there are some basic thought processes and attitudes that will greatly increase your chances of succeeding.

So let’s get started-

1. Build it, don’t knock it! – Next time you are at work or just out and about, you will hear most people speaking negative and always criticizing or putting things or people down. In fact, most people have a hard time thinking or saying something positive as opposed to complain about it. Rather than speaking like everyone else, adopt the sense that you will be positive and speak positively about others and situations. I understand that things can go wrong or that people can be unkind, but don’t let it affect YOUR attitude of positivity. It is called having a Positive Mental Attitude!

2. Stick to it– Talk to anyone who has succeeded at a high level in anything and they will tell you that they just didn’t quit! It is imperative that you have a stick-to-it attitude when you are pursuing excellence. In addition to having a persistent attitude, you have to adopt a strong work ethic. Lazy people do not succeed or achieve a high level. Get off the couch and get to work!

3. Fail– Yes I said it..lol. Go out and fail and fail often. Failure is a means to the end when it comes to being better than average. Failure just to fail is not good unless you can learn something from it, but it is necessary to achieve. Most people think that if you fail it is like a grade you received in high school when you forgot to study or were not expecting that pop quiz. You either passed or failed. This system of points has brain washed most people and have blinded them to the fact that all successful people have failed. In fact the most successful people have only failed more than others! So get out there and fail- learn, but fail. Remember this: Failure is not the outcome, failure is not trying!

 

To Your Success!

Ken Cloutier