Valerie and her rescue dog, "Cokie Roberts"

By Valerie Young

This article originally appeared in Issue 197 of the Changing Course Newsletter.

This week most Americans will be celebrating Thanksgiving. Our Canadian friends celebrated their Thanksgiving in October. Other countries and cultures around the world have their own days and ways of expressing appreciation for life’s abundance.

I happen to believe every day is meant for thanksgiving. I also think that recognizing the riches in our lives is integral to the process of changing course. Let me tell you what I mean.

Chances are, the reason you’re considering shaking up your life is that you’re unhappy with the way things are right now. In fact, you’re probably painfully aware of exactly what – or who – is contributing to your current misery. It’s your lousy job… or disagreeable boss… or annoying co-worker… or maddening commute… or the day-to-day pressures and stress of the job… you fill in the blank.

You’re “here” but you desperately want to be “there.” And while you may not know exactly what “there” looks like yet, you do know this: You want your future to look very different from your present. And herein lies the challenge. How do you strive to fashion this future life, yet still live happily in the present?

In a word: gratitude. If you don’t like that word then try “mindfulness.”

You see, I believe that the key to our current well being AND our future success is the ability to be mindful of all that we have right this very minute. This is all the more true if the present is less than desirable.

That’s because, as Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin point out in Your Money or Your Life, “So much dissatisfaction comes from focusing on what we don’t have that the simple exercise of acknowledging and valuing what we do have can transform our outlook.” Let me share with you two personal examples of how living in the present and gratitude have transformed my own outlook.

I was on a road trip through Connecticut. I don’t remember now where I was going but I do know that as usual, I was in a hurry to get there. I was making pretty good time when suddenly traffic on the interstate slowed to a crawl.

As I sat there fuming a big tractor-trailer truck edged alongside me. Even in my agitated state, I couldn’t help but notice that the side of the truck had nothing on it. It was completely devoid of advertising, company name, or words of any kind. There were no clues as to its contents whatsoever. It was completely white.

As the truck inched ahead, I could see some writing along the back. Maybe it was one of those “How’s my driving?” messages encouraging motorists to call in to report the driver’s performance. As the truck slowly pulled in front of my car, three simple words written in neat black letters came into view. The words were: Be Here Now.

I don’t know what the truck company had intended by that message but I do know the effect it had on me. The first thing I did was take a long, deep breath. My breathing slowed, my muscles relaxed. Heeding the message, I decided that instead of raging at the traffic gods I may as well pop in a CD, sit back, and do the only thing I could do - enjoy the ride.

I began to compare the simple, yet powerful, message to “be here now” with the popularity of those “I’d rather be…” bumper stickers. Some of our fellow drivers would rather be fishing. Others would rather be shopping. A personal favorite common here in this college town is, “I’d rather be smashing imperialism.” We may all fill in the “I’d rather be…” blank differently but the message is still the same – we’d rather be just about anywhere but “here.”

To be fully in the moment is no small task. Even on a good day our minds have a tendency to race ahead with plans or worries or ideas. Being present is even more challenging when the current state of affairs is the very thing we so desperately seek to change.

And yet, neglecting the present invariably leads to future regrets. Being too busy to spend meaningful time with our children, visit a sick or aging relative, exercise, or even have fun is the stuff regrets are made of. None of us will look back at our lives and wish we’d done less, but we will all wonder why we didn’t do more.

John Lennon once said, “Life is what happens when you’re making other plans.” Lennon understood that life is for living… today. What I’m trying to say is this: As you work to create that new and different future remember that changing course is as much about the journey as it is the destination.

To fully enjoy this ride called life requires that we appreciate each and every day and that we be mindful of all that we have. I realize this may not always be easy… especially when faced with illness, or hunger, or loss.

Yet even in the most dire circumstances, I’ve learned that there is always something to be grateful for. My friend’s Aunt Nancy had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. She was given no more than six months to live. She hung on just long enough to attend her grandson’s graduation. As we were driving Aunt Nancy to the ceremony, we saw the most beautiful sunset. Grinning from ear to ear I heard her whisper, “I’m so lucky. I’m so very, very lucky.” I can tell you, we all felt pretty lucky that night.

“Once we are above the survival levels,” say Dominguez and Robin, “the difference between prosperity and poverty lies simply in our degree of gratitude.” When you consciously focus on life’s gifts instead of its challenges, you’ll begin to feel rich beyond measure.

So as you enjoy a drink of clean water, a warm bed, or the company of a loved one, pause and be grateful for who and what is in your life right now. Strive toward that new future, but remember to be here now and savor the journey.

To all who celebrate this special holiday, I wish you a very happy Thanksgiving.

I’m not one to throw around big promises like "Turn your annual income into your monthly income." But I met a guy who, through much trial and error and hard work, has successful managed to do just that… and quite a bit more.

Alex Mandossian

His name is Alex Mandossian. And in 2001 his annual income was $63,700. Three years later, he was earning that much in a month. By 2006, his 2001 annual income became his "hourly" income (16 times)… all through the revenue-generating power of his telephone.

The money part is impressive. Equally impressive though is what Alex has to offer other entrepreneurs who, like me, love teaching but hate selling. He made his fortune because he figured out that it’s a lot easier to educate customers than to try to "sell" them. And it’s a lot more profitable too.

Alex is a master at marketing by teaching, at earning by helping, and at succeeding by helping your customers succeed. He’s delivered Teleseminars with many of the world’s top leaders and authors, including Donald Trump, Stephen Covey, and Mark Victor Hansen and has trained over 13,000 students since 2001.

Over the past 12 years, Alex has helped his clients generate over $203 million in sales. And he’s agreed to share what he’s learned with you.

Be My Special “VIP” Guest

On Thursday, December 4thAlex will reveal time-proven Teleseminar secrets that can dramatically boost my sales and profits WITHOUT spending a dime more on advertising or promotional costs in a live training call at 9:00pm Eastern.

By the end of this call, you will have access to…

• The 8 Critical Advantages Alex has when conducting his own Teleseminars

• 7 huge mistakes most marketers make during their Teleseminars… and how to avoid them

• 9 embarrassing mistakes most marketers before their Teleseminars… and how to avoid them

• The 7-Step Plan Alex has used to triple his passive income as an “Interviewer” of world’s top industry leaders

• 4 Teleseminar campaigns that each produced over six-figures in annual income, but required less than 2 hours of effort (each)

• 5 core attributes to find low-cost reliable vendors to write sales copy with greater pulling-power, build high-conversion web sites, reliably record and transcribe audio content with fast turnaround times …

• Tips on how to build highly responsive online lists from scratch

Alex is convinced that once you apply his principle-centered marketing strategies, practically any entrepreneur can use Teleseminars to substantially grow your business. Last year over 600 Changing Course readers signed up for this once-a-year Teleseminar.

If you hate selling, but love teaching or bringing on guest speakers or otherwise using the power of Teleseminars to grow your business, grab your seat before it’s gone.

Your VIP Discount Code

Claim your $79 discount and register for only $20 using VIP Discount Code: AM3964

Click here to register: ChangingCourse.com/recommends/teleseminarsecrets

The first 200 people to register will also receive Alex’s new "Insiders Guide to Teleseminar Profits for Independent Professionals."

If the idea of turning your annual income into your monthly income seems like way too much to money to be believable then try thinking in more modest terms like doubling your income. Is that worth 90 minutes of your time?

Joey is an old family friend with a great mind for inventions and such. He left his corporate IT job about five years ago to sell a specialty clothing item he created for skiers and other outdoor types. It’s a really good product and there is nothing else like it on the market. He even got a patent.

Joey’s first product brochure was really bad. No, make that horrible.

In my old corporate marketing job, I worked on product brochures all the time. So I tried to offer Joey some friendly pointers. When I did, he literally put his hands over his ears and said, “No, no, no.” I am not making this up.

Since then, he’s had some success traveling around the country selling his clothing at ski shows. But, when you calculate in the time and the cost of driving half way across the country and sitting at a booth for three days, it’s easy to see why Joey’s business barely breaks even.

Bad marketing aside, Joey consistently chooses the least customer friendly ways to do business. For example, he doesn’t take checks from his customers because one might bounce. He won’t accept American Express credit cards either because the fees are too high.

I’ve tried to tell him that out of many hundreds of customer orders I’ve received by check, in all that time maybe one was bad. And even if two out of 100 did bounce, he’d still come out ahead because he’d be making sales he wouldn’t have otherwise.

Like credit card fees, the occasional bounced check is just the price of doing business. Like any business expense they just come off your taxes. Joey won’t listen.

Over the years, I’ve tried to tell him that that he should be marketing his product on the internet. Joey resisted for a long time before finally throwing up do-it-yourself site. It’s ugly and not at all user friendly. Not surprisingly, he only gets a couple of orders a month at most.

Not one to give up easily, I’ve tried to talk to him about ways to drive traffic to his site, about building a list so he can keep in touch with his prospects and clients, about partnering with other companies to jointly sell his products – but Joey always comes back with some reason why “it will never work.”

Over the years, I’ve recommended different workshops or Web designers. But Joey doesn’t want to spend the money. Besides, one of them might rip off his ideas.

At one point, a major ski manufacturer was interested in licensing his product. As he prepared to talk numbers, I told him to focus on sales volume and not a per unit profit. After all it’s better make $2 on a million sales than to make $20 on 1000 sales. But Joey decided it was better to play hard ball on price instead. The deal never happened.

Why am I bothering to take time out of my weekend to tell you about a small business failure?

It’s simple. I know you want nothing more than to fire your boss and do your own thing. And, unlike Joey, I actually want you to make enough money so you can support yourself, take some nice vacations, and enjoy a good retirement.

But it’s never going to happen unless you bring the right mindset to your goal of changing course.

Case in point, compare Joey to a guy named Ted that I met last weekend at a seminar in Salt Lake City. Ted flew all the way from Florida, took three days out of his life, and spent several thousand dollars to learn a new way to drive more traffic to his Web site from an expert.

Ted is an airline pilot who was looking to start a side business in his spare time. He took a seminar on starting an online business, found a product he wanted to sell (a medical device), contracted with manufacturers and distributors, used everything he learned and made it happen. That was three years ago.

Now compare where Ted’s business is compared to Joey’s.

Ted works on his business part-time. Joey works on his full-time.

Despite spending more time on his business, Joey has made relatively little money, has a garage full of inventory, and has an increasingly impatient wife who just wants him to get a “real job.”

Ted’s business started out slowly, but today he is seeing monthly sales of about $50,000 and next year projects sales to top a million. Corporate headquarters is a spare bedroom in his condo.

“Information Will Set You Free”

There is one reason, and one reason only, why Joey’s business is not making it. He won’t listen to anyone.

Joey thinks he knows it all and sees no value in working with other business owners.

Ted on the other hand goes out of his way to find people who are more knowledgeable than he is and to learn from them. He also partnered with a parent’s organization devoted to helping young people impacted by the condition Ted’s product helps.

Joey doesn’t want to spend a dime on his business that he doesn’t have to, preferring instead to do everything himself. He thinks everyone is out to rip him off – the customer, marketing consultants, internet marketers, workshop leaders.

But like me, Ted invests heavily in his education. That’s because Ted knows for every $1 he puts in he will get $10 or $20 back in increased sales.

My changing course mantra has always been “information will set you free.” Ted gets this. Joey doesn’t.

Last week I shared some information with you about two very smart and very successful people whom I consider to be mentors of sorts – Yanik Silver and Jeff Walker.

Since purchasing their products and then getting a chance to meet and spend time continuing to learn from them, my own business has succeeded beyond my dreams. (One of the best things about making more money is it’s allowed me to give more money to my favorite international cause, www.TrickleUp.org and my favorite local cause, The Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts.)

Both Yanik and Jeff are experts at helping people like Joey (if he’d listen), or Ted, or me, or you to start with literally nothing more than a glimmer of an idea, to turn that idea into a viable product or service, and then to sit at home reaching out to people who would benefit from our idea by marketing it via the World Wide Web.

Neither of these guys is afraid that people are going to rip them off. Quite the opposite. In fact, right now Yanik and Jeff are both giving away a TON of information that is free for the taking.

For example, Yanik is giving away almost $300 worth of products to any current or aspiring entrepreneur who wants to learn from a true master. All just to get you to give a subscription to his new Maverick Insiders newsletter a fair try.

These are not digital products he’s giving away. This is a big box of stuff that Yanik is going to mail to your home for just the cost of postage and handling. Now compare that to Joey who is too afraid that a customer will rip him off that he won’t even take a check!

Then there’s Jeff Walker. Jeff’s whole philosophy is built on being generous with his knowledge. So, for the last week or so, he’s been letting people listen in to a series of training videos that others have paid thousands to see.

Is Jeff just being a “nice guy”? Yes and no. Jeff truly is one of the nicest, most down-to-earth guys you’ll ever meet. I’ve been at conferences with him where some “little guy” who used Jeff’s program will come up tell him that they went from making a few hundred of dollars a month to making anywhere from $5,000 to (and I am not exaggerating here) $100,000 in a week.

Jeff knows what it’s like to barely have enough money to keep his own kids in diapers. So when people come up to thank him like this, you would think he hit the lottery! I’m guessing no one has thanked Joey.

But Jeff is also savvy enough to know that being successful in business means establishing relationships. Relationships are all about trust and credibility. You gain trust by putting your customer’s needs above profits. Like me, I know for a fact that Jeff has walked away from sales or potential business partners if it didn’t feel right.

Jeff also knows that the best way to establish credibility with prospective customers is not to guard the palace, like Joey does but rather to “move the free line” as Eben Pagan says, and give away as much free information as possible.

What can you learn from how Jeff or Yanik do business? Are there ways you can be more generous in your own business? Or offer people what Yanik calls an “ethical bribe” to try your product or service?

The Question Is: Who Do You Want To Be Like?

Technically Joey and Ted are both small business owners. But they could not be more different. If you’re dreading going to work tomorrow, then you need to ask yourself some important questions:

Yes or no, are you really serious about succeeding in your own business? Or is it just one of those “someday-maybe” things you tell yourself to make yourself feel better about getting up and going to your mind-numbing job?

If the answer is yes, go to the next question…

You probably invested a lot of time and money in getting some kind of a degree, right? But what have you invested in your business? If the answer is nothing, then how much are you planning to invest? Or do you think that starting a business just happens?

What do you need to learn to get to the next level and who can you learn from? What is your plan for actively learning from people who are doing what you want to be doing? Is there a book, a workshop, an apprenticeship, a product that will help you get there faster?

My plan is to continue to invest a minimum of $10,000 a year in my own education (something that would have been unthinkable to my working class brain just a few years ago).

And I plan to continue to learn from people like Yanik and Jeff. Last week I shared some specifics about both of their programs. So I’m not going to get into all that again. Besides they both do a far better job explaining what they have to offer than I do so, if you’re interested, I invite you to go see what they have to say.

But, if you have been thinking about starting a business that you can operate online from anywhere, then what you DO need to know now is that there is a clock on all this generosity and that clock is tick, tick, ticking…

I honestly don’t know when Yanik plans to end the $298 in free products offer. All I know is a) it’s not going to be around forever, and b) he wrote to say he plans to kick in what he says is a “killer last minute bonus.” So, if you want to meet Yanik, to see photos with him and his pal Sir Richard Branson (talk about networking!) and how Yanik teamed up with Branson to raise money for some very good causes, and to learn more about grabbing your free products, go to:

http://ChangingCourse.com/recommends/yanik

So many people grabbed Jeff’s program that he stopped taking orders on Friday. But he’s re-opening the doors one last time on Monday, November 17th at noon Eastern Time. But just for a few hours or until he sells out.

To watch Jeff’s newest free informational video or just to get in line for this last chance to grab his program go to:

ChangingCourse.com/recommends/productlaunch

Being a Successful Entrepreneur is All In Your Mind

So much of being a successful entrepreneur has to do with your mindset. Do you want to be like Joey or do you want to be like Ted? Maybe you aren’t out to make millions. But imagine how nice it would be to make a good living on your own terms and not have to worry about money. Better yet, imagine being able to make enough to help other people too.

Sir Francis Bacon once said, “A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.” A wise woman will too. Change your thinking and it is amazing what opportunities you will invite into your life.




Valerie and her rescue dog, "Cokie Roberts"

By Valerie Young

This article originally appeared in Issue 196 of the Changing Course Newsletter.

I admit it. I’ve watched more than a few episodes of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? So, imagine my excitement when the answer to my prayers arrived in my e-mail. In just 90 days, I was told, I could make $50,000 without doing any hard work or leaving the comfort of home. Lunging for my calculator, I figured out that if I follow this simple success plan every day for one year, I could take in a whopping $20 million dollars! The heck with Meredith, I’m heading straight for Easy Street!

So maybe you’re not naive enough to fall for these get-rich-quick scams. But admit it: the offer intrigued you. Whether looking to lose 20 pounds or switch careers, the promise of a quick-and-easy solution is enticing.

Take Stu, for Example

Stu phoned to say he wanted to get into voice-over work, but didn’t know where to begin. I knew enough to explain his need to practice, make a demo tape, and then shop it around to different studios. After a long pause, Stu said, “Gee, that sounds hard. Isn’t there an easier way?” Jokingly, I suggested he lounge by the phone until a client randomly selects his name from the phone book. Stu liked this idea much better.

Some people do get discovered, hit the lottery, or strike it rich on a game show. If you apply the same kind of thinking to your career dreams, though, your odds of success will likely be less than terrific. Consider these three perspective-shifting antidotes to the Fast-and-Easy-Career-Change Syndrome.

1. Snap out of it.

Yes, making any kind of change is easier said then done. Maybe, though, we need to rethink our views on effort. According to Carlos Castaneda, “We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of effort is the same.” When you think about it, it takes the same amount of energy to go after your dream career as it does to stress out and groan about your lousy job.

2. Stop waiting for a miracle.

Too many people waste time daydreaming about being rescued by “Mr. Job.” The career equivalent of waiting for Mr. or Ms. Right, this kind of passive approach is sure to disappoint. Face it: The only person who’s going to liberate you from job jail is you! If you want to live happily ever after, take a proactive lesson from Jonathan Winters. “I couldn’t wait for success,” he reportedly said, “so I went ahead without it.”

3. Accentuate the positive.

Stop dwelling on how much work it takes to cultivate the soil and plant the seeds. Focus on the bounty your efforts will yield. In an essay “Sacrifice or Stepping Stone?” from her newsletter Winning Ways, author Barbara Winter reminds us of something essential. “Giving up something in the present in order to have something greater in the future,” she says, “is actually a wise pay-off.”

So, jumpstart the process by listing everything you have to gain by changing your course, get positively motivated, and shoot for the jackpot!

If you really are serious about wanting to look in the mirror and see the boss, then there’s someone I really want you to meet…

One of the very best ways to be an entrepreneur yourself is to learn from people who have done it themselves. That’s why I really want you to meet marketing guru (and I’m happy to say new friend) Jeff Walker. Jeff not only introduced me to marketing techniques that have - and I am not exaggerating here - literally doubled my income, he also happens to be one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet.

One of his most inspiring success stories is about a guy named John who put his family in debt (we’re talking food stamps here) in his quest to make and market a board game. John was a success at making the game. It was the selling part that bombed. That is, until he met Jeff…

I could go on and on about how Jeff’s product launch system not only inspired me to finally stop “thinking” about launching my Outside the Job Box Career Consultant Training Program and actually DO IT - but was THE key to me making a little over $80,000 in about a week.

There is obviously more to this story. But since you can go hear my whole “Lakeside Product Launch” story at ChangingCourse.com/productlaunchformula.htm, I want to stick to what all this has to do with you…

Jeff’s marketing training program has helped hundreds of regular people just like you launch their own small businesses in such diverse niches as health food, knitting, horse training, even a business coaching in Poland. And, like you, the overwhelming majority had no previous marketing experience… and I do mean NONE.

Each one did four and five figure product launches using the same marketing strategies. You can use the same formula to market a service, a workshop, a conference, a book, a CD, or just about any other kind of product -your own or someone else’s.

I know because I’ve met and talked with at least 50 of these now successful entrepreneurs in person. The overwhelming majority had no previous marketing experience… and I do mean NO EXPERIENCE.

Today, Jeff is opening the doors for the latest version of his Product Launch Formula. When he released this program last March, they had to shut it down in only 36 hours.

I don’t want you to miss out and have to wait another seven to 12 months. If you are really serious about jumpstarting your business and becoming successful faster, then I highly recommend you get a head start by signing up to watch some case studies of real people (like me!) who have used Jeff’s program.

If you either have a business with a Web site, or you have an idea for one, but you HATE MARKETING, then I highly recommend Jeff’s program. He’s giving away some great free content including his new Product Launch Blueprint video. Sign up to watch it now at ChangingCourse.com/recommends/plf

P.S. Someone asked a good question on the about launching a business in a down economy. If you have the same concern, you can read my reply there.

On this same economic note, members of the Fast Track/Changing Course Club Community can log in to listen to my November Opportunity Hour Teleclass. One of the things I talk about is how smart entrepreneurs can turn these tough economic times into even more ways to serve customers and grow your business in the process.

The fastest way to become a successful entrepreneur yourself is to learn from other successful entrepreneurs. I want to introduce you to two enormously successful (we’re talking millionaires here) who have had a tremendous impact on my success.

I am not exaggerating when I say that what I learned from these two guys has helped me to literally double my income. One helped me generate $80,000 in less than a week.

But to me, it’s never been all about making money. I have had the pleasure of personally working with and learning from both of these amazing entrepreneurs. And what impresses me as much as their marketing know-how is that they are both huge advocates of giving back and helping the “little guy.”

Don’t Know How to Market Your Business?

Jeff Walker & Valerie at a Product Launch Formula Workshop

If you want to have a small business – but have no idea how to market it – you need to know my friend Jeff Walker.

Jeff first built his reputation by helping most of the big millionaire internet marketers to do seven figure product launches. But you don’t have to be an internet marketer to benefit from Jeff’s teachings. In fact, you don’t even have to necessarily know what you plan to sell to get started.

I could go on and on about how Jeff’s product launch system not only inspired me to finally stop “thinking” about launching my Outside the Job Box Career Consultant Training Program and actually DO IT – but was THE key to me making a little over $80,000 in about a week.

There is obviously more to this story. But since you can go hear my whole “Lakeside Product Launch” story at http://ChangingCourse.com/productlaunchformula.htm, I want to stick to what all this has to do with you…

The point is that Jeff’s marketing training program has helped hundreds of regular people just like you launch their own small businesses in such diverse niches as health food, knitting, horse training, even a business coaching in Poland.

Each one did four and five figure product launches using the same marketing strategies. You can use the same formula to market a service, a workshop, a conference, a book, a CD, or just about any other kind of product –your own or someone else’s.

I know because I’ve met and talked with at least 50 of these now successful entrepreneurs in person.

The overwhelming majority had no previous marketing experience… and I do mean NO EXPERIENCE.

In addition to being a marketing genius, Jeff is one of the most down to earth people you’ll ever meet. To “meet” Jeff and to get a really good overview of his Product Launch Blueprint, click here to watch a short 20 minute video.

The only reason this video is available is that sometime next week Jeff plans to release a limited number of his product launch training program. The last time he did was this was back in March and they sold out in 36 hours.

I don’t want you to miss out and have to wait another seven to 12 months. If you are really serious about jumpstarting your business and becoming successful faster, then I highly recommend you get a head start by signing up to watch some case studies of real people (like me!) who have used Jeff’s program.

Jeff is giving away a lot of really great information in the videos. So even if you ultimately decide not to buy his program watching the videos will still be very beneficial.

Here is the link again:

http://ChangingCourse.com/recommends/jeff

Become Successful Faster

Yanik Silver and Valerie at a Mastermind session

The other person I want you to meet is Yanik Silver. I talked to you about Yanik earlier this week.

What I didn’t mention was that last spring I completed an application to join Yanik’s Mastermind. Little did I know then what a difference being in a group of successful entrepreneurs would make in my business… and in my life.

Yanik’s own story is fascinating. He is recognized as one of the leading experts on web marketing even though he still considers himself, like me, a “techno dunce.” Obviously it didn’t hold him back because he was already a millionaire at age 31.

A little over a year ago, Yanik combined his sense of adventure and zest for life and merged it with entrepreneurial success into a business called Maverick Business Adventures.

Maverick Business Adventures is an invitation-only membership exclusively for highly successful entrepreneurs, CEOs and business owners who want to live life to the fullest, create business breakthroughs and give back through charity and education to empower disadvantaged youth to become entrepreneurs.

Like I told you earlier, I share Yanik’s passion for working with young people, so I tossed caution to the wind and joined the Maverick group too!

Joining the Maverick group has been an amazing experience. Not being terribly athletic, the “adventure” part of the program definitely takes me out of my comfort zone — like rappelling off a cliff which, once you get past the terror part, is actually a lot of fun.

But I also get to meet and learn from some phenomenally successful entrepreneurs. People like Frank McKinney whom I met in Aspen. Frank builds $35 million dollar seaside mansions on spec. That’s also where I got to dine with Carl Banks — the former NY Giants Super Bowl champ turned mega-entrepreneur.

Now, even if you did qualify to join the Maverick group, you may not be the adventure travel type. But guess what – you don’t have to!

Yanik’s newest mission is to bring the wisdom of these success entrepreneurs to the masses in a new program called the Maverick Business Insider.

To get the word out, Yanik is offering what he calls an “ethical bribe” by giving away a ton of great resources – all for free.

All you have to do is pay for shipping and handling and you’ll receive an information-rich package containing Yanik’s “34 Rules for Maverick Entrepreneurs” book, poster and a CD interview where national best-selling author of “Conversations with Millionaires” Mike Litman interviews Yanik.

But that’s not all. You’ll also receive Yanik’s $15,000 Closed Door Session blueprint that points out Instant Leverage Points that can instantly increase your bottom line.

Plus, you’ll get the first issue of the Maverick Business Insider newsletter and audio of an interview with a successful entrepreneur who created a seven figure business with a single eBook. All and all, it’s a pretty amazing deal.

And, if you’re one of the first to buy, Yanik will throw in even more amazing bonus material — all for ONLY the cost of shipping and handling.

Why would he give so much away? Because Yanik knows how good his stuff is. And because it is SO GOOD he knows that a significant number of people will want more.

So, if you choose to remain a Maverick Business Insider, you’ll continue to receive a new interview every month with a new entrepreneur at a very reasonable cost. Learn more about this amazing program at http://ChangingCourse.com/recommends/yanik

You know I’m a big advocate of recognizing the opportunities around you. And, I also choose the opportunities that I share with my subscribers very carefully. This week has been filled with possibilities.

If you’re really ready to make your dreams come true, I *highly* recommend that you check these amazing individuals. But, I also want to be clear that they are offering two different kinds of information.

So think about where you are in your transition of moving you closer to your goal of turning your interests into income. For example, Yanik’s program will apply to any entrepreneur while Jeff’s program is really geared more for someone who already has or is planning to do business online by creating a list and then creating and selling information, products, seminars, or some other kind of product or service.

Here are those links again:

Jeff Walker, Product Launch Formula

Yanik Silver, Maverick Business Insider

To your dreams,

Valerie Young
Dreamer in Residence
ChangingCourse.com

P.S. As a Maverick member I also have the chance to network with and learn from dozens of less famous but also really successful and interesting entrepreneurs. For some great tips for people who want to change course, including some from Yanik himself, check out this cool video Lisa helped me put together from my Aspen trip: http://ChangingCourse.com/maverick.htm)

P.P.S. Both of these guys can help you achieve your dream of changing course. But it’s up to you to take the first step… The key is to begin.

UPDATE: The webinar is now over, but you can still view the recording and learn from these amazing entrepreneurs on you to make more money, have more fun and give back more.

On Monday, Lisa emailed my list to let you know about our limited quantity of Making Dreams Happen, the *LIVE* recording of an amazing workshop I did with fellow career change experts Barbara Sher and Barbara Winter. Our remaining copies sold out within 10 minutes!

The news that the Making Dreams Happen CD set would no longer be available made me incredibly sad. I realized that I’m not ready to say goodbye to this amazing program. I can’t make any promises but, I’ve got Lisa investigating what it will take to create a “digital” version that you can download yourself.

If you were one of the many who tried to purchase the program after it was sold out and would like to be notified of updates on a potential downloadable version of Making Dreams Happen, contact Lisa at Lisa@ChangingCourse.com

Lisa also mentioned a great video that internet guru and mega-entrepreneur Yanik Silver has put together on his “Maverick Philosophies.” I’ve had the pleasure of working with Yanik and getting to know him over the last several months. His zest for life and for helping others is contagious. The guy one of a handful of entrepreneurs to meet with and spend the weekend on Richard Branson’s private island as part of a massive fundraiser for Branson’s charitable organization.

Yanik even inspired me to sign up for his Maverick Business Adventures program, an invitation-only membership exclusively for successful entrepreneurs, CEOs and business owners who want to live life to the fullest, create business breakthroughs and give back through charity and education to empower future entrepreneurs.

Joining has been an amazing experience. Not being terribly athletic, the “adventure” part of the program definitely takes me out of my comfort zone. But it’s a good stretch.

The thing that really sold me becoming a Maverick member was the opportunity to share knowledge with potentially at-risk kids and young adults who don’t have the resources to gain this real-life, entrepreneurial knowledge and experience.

An added bonus of being part of the Maverick group was the opportunity to talk and learn from fellow entrepreneurs. On a recent trip to Aspen, I took this opportunity to ask some of these extremely successful individuals to offer their advice for changing course. I’m happy to share this information with you now at http://ChangingCourse.com/maverick.htm

I encourage you to really listen to the advice and apply it to your life and your dreams to find work you truly love.

As a follow up to Yanik’s Maverick Philosophies, he’s offering a free, LIVE Webinar tomorrow, Thursday, November 6, called “Secrets of Maverick Entrepreneurs.”

Imagine being able to sit down and corner a half dozen top-gun entrepreneurs from all different industries and get their take on the Maverick philosophy of how to make more, have more fun
and give back more! (I’m talking about everyone from $100M Manufacturing conglomerate to online mavens to a luxury Realtor and more.)

That’s exactly what Yanik will be doing. There are only 500 seats available for this event, so there’s a very good chance this fill quickly.

Sign up while you can at http://MaverickBusinessInsider.com/go?p=45450&w=mbilife

And, as an added bonus, Yanik’s offering the people who sign up for the webinar special back-door access to his new “Maverick Business Insider” package before it’s available to the general public.

So if you’re interested in hearing Yanik’s insights that made him financially independent before the age of 31 starting with a silly idea at 3 o’clock in the morning, you’ll want to be on this webinar. Here’s the link again:
http://MaverickBusinessInsider.com/go?p=45450&w=mbilife

I leave you with a thought from Henry David Thoreau, “I have learned, that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he
will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

To Your Dreams,
Valerie Young
Dreamer in Residence

P.S. If you haven’t signed up to watch Yanik’s Maverick Philosophies 60+ minute video, I encourage you to do so. It’s not too late, sign up today at
http://www.MaverickBusinessInsider.com/go?p=45450&w=mbiweb




Valerie and her rescue dog, "Cokie Roberts"

By Valerie Young

This article originally appeared in Issue 195 of the Changing Course Newsletter.

While traveling in northern California a few years ago, I happened to tune into a local newscast. The newscaster was telling his co-anchor that the speaker at that morning’s Rotary Club meeting had to cut his presentation short because he was being flown down to Disneyland to carve elaborate Halloween pumpkins for the park festivities. The newscaster wrapped up the story with the familiar quip, “Nice work if you can get it.” He got the first part right. For a creative kid-at-heart, being a professional pumpkin carver is a dream come true. It was his serendipitous “if you can get it” thinking that missed the mark. The fact is, people rarely “get” great work; they create it!

Despite all the emphasis on growth in the “job sector,” I am continually amazed at just how many fascinating alternatives there are to the whole 9-to-5 schtick. And just as traditional job seekers can’t wait around for “Mr. Job” to knock on the door, people who want to do satisfying work – and call their own shots – need to be proactive as well. Francis Bacon defined a wise man as one who “makes more opportunities than he finds.” Here’s a couple of other wise entrepreneurs who made it by going for it.

Sports-lover Dean Schoenewald was just 18 when he went to the Philadelphia Eagles management wearing a homemade Eagle costume and asking for a mascot job. They weren’t interested. Undaunted, Shoenewald kept showing up at Eagles football games. Pretty soon the fans adopted him as the unofficial (meaning, “unpaid”) mascot. Thirteen paid team mascot jobs, four mascot character creations (including ones for the New Jersey Devils and the San Jose Sharks), and 18 years later, Shoenewald started Mascot Mania, the only professional training school for mascots in the world.

Despite what your high school guidance counselor might have told you, showing up uninvited in a bird costume isn’t the only route to self-employment. For Dan Zawacki it all began when he was working as a sales rep for Honeywell and decided to give away 120 live lobsters as gifts to his customers. Dan was so bowled over by the response that he decided to open a small side business shipping live lobsters complete with pot, crackers, butter and bibs to crustacean-lovers from coast-to-coast. That is until his boss heard him pitching Lobster Gram, Inc. on a local radio station and promptly fired him.

In the beginning, Dan worked out of his bedroom, storing his lobsters in a used tank in his father’s garage. His first year netted only $4,000. Now LiveLob.com offers an assortment of steaks, desserts, side dishes, accessories and, of course, lobster. All and all, not a bad tale.

If you dream of making the transition from employee to self-bosser, the first thing you need to do is believe that you can. Then, the next time you see some entrepreneur doing what they love, try thinking: “Nice work – now, all I have to do is get it!”




Valerie and her rescue dog, "Cokie Roberts"

By Valerie Young

This article originally appeared in Issue 194 of the Changing Course Newsletter.

It’s been over thirty years since Pulitzer Prize-winning author Studs Terkel traveled the country conducting interviews for his book, Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do. In it is an insightful quote from Nora Watson who says, “I think most of us are looking for a calling, not a job. Most of us, like the assembly line worker, have jobs that are too small for our spirit.”

The same can be said of dreams. So many of my clients have jobs that are too small for their dreams. Take Jerry, a 50-year-old airline employee who writes to tell me he “dreads going to work.” His real life’s pleasure, he says, is carpentry. “Whether it’s building a house, cabinets or whatever, I get lost in the project. I can sit for hours and watch [the popular PBS television show] This Old House.”

So what’s stopping him? Jerry explained the problem this way: “So many people are trapped in jobs they only tolerate. I guess the fear of failure is our biggest problem. I know it is mine.” I could practically hear the sigh on the other end of the modem as Jerry signed off with a wistful, “Wish I could get the courage to make the change.”

My advice to Jerry was this:



1) Get Perspective

As career challenges go, Jerry needed to know that he was actually pretty lucky. Most people don’t have a clue as to their true calling. “Yet here you are,” I wrote, “letting something as natural – and manageable – as fear stand between you and vocational heaven.”

If this wasn’t enough to shift Jerry’s thinking, I reminded him of what he should really be afraid of: the prospect of spending the next 15 years doing something he dreads.



2) Get Beyond the Obvious

Sure, Jerry could always become a carpenter. Or, he could think outside the box by experimenting with some creative ways to dabble in his passion.

For example, he might start out by teaching a carpentry class through an adult learning center or writing a how-to column for the local newspaper. Neither of these ideas would require Jerry to quit his airline job. At least not right away. Both, though, have the potential of jumpstarting some creative thinking about all the different ways there are to satisfy a calling.



3) Stop Wishing and Start Dreaming

Before Jerry could make any kind of change, he’d first have to get to the heart of his problem – the clue to which lay in his own parting words. “The real reason you’re stuck,” I said, “isn’t fear. It’s that you have been wishing when you should be dreaming.” What’s the difference?

Wishing is passive. We wish for things over which we are powerless. We wish we’d win the lottery. We wish we were taller or thinner. We wish the waiter would hurry up. Many wishes are tinged with regrets about past decisions. We wish we’d ordered the fish instead of the chicken. That we’d taken the other job. That we hadn’t let the love of our lives get away.

Dreaming, though, is different. A dream is active. It’s positive. And it speaks to the future. But that’s not all. Unlike “wishful thinking” – which has everything to do with hopelessness and the supposed impracticality of achieving a goal – “dreamful thinking” speaks to exciting prospect of a goal realized. Dreamful thinking invites possibilities into our life.

Still not convinced? Close your eyes and imagine the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as he thunders the words, “I have a wish!” Not exactly inspiring is it? That’s because unlike a wish, you can see a dream. And as the U.S. Civil Rights Movement reminds us, when others share a common vision of a dream, the motivation it inspires is contagious.

If Jerry really wanted to pursue his love of carpentry, he’d have to first stop wishing and start dreaming. “Fear is natural,” I told him, “it goes with the change territory. That’s why you need to fortify yourself. Let your dream of doing what you love be the “soul fuel” that propels you to act despite your fears. Once you take those first bold steps on behalf of your dream, the courage will come.”



4) Think Big

There are dreams and then there are Big Dreams. I closed by tossing out a Big Dream idea. Why didn’t he approach his local television station about producing a weekly home improvement spot? To satisfy that ever-important local angle, offer to feature improvements made to local viewers’ homes.

I even jokingly suggested Jerry turn his age to his advantage by calling the segment This ‘Old’ Carpenter. “Hey, if you’re going to think big,” I told him, “then think big. Who knows, you may eventually land a spot as the featured carpentry expert on the Today Show!”



Reach for the Stars

Apparently, something I said worked. A week later Jerry wrote to say he was totally pumped about the prospect being an on-air carpentry guru. He’d even set up a potential collaboration between himself and an old friend with a passion for video production. (I told you dreams were contagious!)

This time Jerry closed on an upbeat note: “I’m ready to start following my dreams,” adding, “I sure want to go out of this world doing something I truly enjoy!”

So, what’s your Big Dream? Maybe all you really know for sure is that you’re ready for a change. That’s a start. Now you need to take the goal, “make a change,” and bump it up a few notches by dreaming big!

If you have multiple interests, picture being able to earn a living enjoying them all.

If you like the idea of working at home, imagine doing it on an island or maybe working only nine months a year.

If you’re just making ends meet in an unfulfilling job, imagine doing something you love and doubling your income at the same time.

You may not get everything you want, but two things are certain:

1) It takes not one ounce of energy more to dream big than it does to settle, and you’ve got a lot more to gain by shooting high than by shooting low.

2) Carl Sandburg once said, “Nothing happens unless first a dream.” So reach for the stars and catch hold of a Big Dream. Then, one day at a time, honor your dream with action.




Valerie and her rescue dog, "Cokie Roberts"

By Valerie Young

This article originally appeared in Issue 193 of the Changing Course Newsletter.

You know the old expression, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. You’re about to meet seven people who took adversity, bad habits, betrayal, and loss and turned these sour experiences into satisfying livelihoods. The experiences and approaches to generating income vary. Some wrote about their experience, some created products, some now teach or counsel others on how to avoid or handle the same problem they once lived through, some created recipes, and one even syndicated his humorous take on a bad situation.

Put it in Writing

Joan Sotkin spent most of her adult life in a state of what she calls financial dysfunction. For Joan this meant a pattern of under earning and compulsive debting. After her two brothers tired of bailing her out, Joan discovered the 12-step program Debtors Anonymous. It worked she says, for a while.

You’d think that when Joan’s Venice, California-based retail and mail order business grossed $325,000 in its third year, her financial woes would be over. But the death of her father three years later prompted her to revert to old behaviors. Soon she was $40,000 in debt. Less than a year later, she closed her business and declared bankruptcy. Eight years later, at age fifty-six, Joan relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico with a mere $200 in her pocket.

Losing her business propelled Joan to learn more about her financial dysfunction by digging deeper to untangle the deep emotions and family issues associated with money. "I gained a deep awareness of my financial attitudes and behaviors," says Joan. "I now understand that prosperity is not only about money but also about feeling comfortable, satisfied, and secure, and that sustaining prosperity requires both an ongoing financial education and a willingness to deal with the responsibilities and many changes that come with material wealth."

Today Joan uses what she’s learned to help others who are similarly stuck in unproductive money patterns. Her comprehensive money self-help manual,Building Your Financial Muscles contains nine exercises and dozens of resources for people who are searching for a way to relieve financial pressures and change the way they deal with money. Joan could have just learned her own lesson and moved on. But instead she put her fingers to the keyboard to pass on the secrets to her hard won prosperity with others.

The Wake Up Call

Some people find their calling as a result of a wake up call. It might be the death of a loved one, a health crisis, or the loss of a job. For Linda Blachman it was the combination of all three. When her daughter was 17-years-old, Linda says she, "developed a condition that threatened my way of life and sense of myself. An inoperable back injury led to three years of disability and uncertainty about whether I would walk again. During that time, I lost my employment, my mother died, and my daughter graduated high school and left home. My world collapsed along with my spine. For consolation and inspiration, I turned to the stories of others who had lived through serious illness. And I began to reconstruct my own narrative."

I was lucky enough to meet Linda a few years ago when she attended the Making Dreams Happen workshop in Boulder, Colorado. She came to the workshop, in part to get unstuck around a book she’d wanted to finish and hopefully see published. Well, she did it. Another Morning: Voices of Truth and Hope from Mothers with Cancer is a beautifully written book that couples passionate first-person narratives with Linda’s own reflections on motherhood and mortality (LindaBlachman.com). What some might see as a painful topic was for Linda deeply healing. But there is more to Linda’s story…

Start a NonProfit

I don’t know if there are statistics on this but common sense would suggest that the overwhelming majority of nonprofits grew out of someone’s desire to help others who find themselves in similarly challenging circumstances. Linda’s personal illness and loss prompted her to start Mothers’ Living Stories (MothersLivingStories.org), a small nonprofit project that helps mothers living with cancer record their life stories and legacies for their children. As the project grew, she trained Volunteer Listeners in "providing a meaningful service while exploring their own responses to illness and death." It was also what led her to write her book.

Gaetana Aliotta knows what it’s like to have cancer. While undergoing treatment for breast cancer in 1995, she realized through her own experience, and that of other cancer survivors she had met, that there was a need for more supportive services in her community. Gaetana envisioned a home-like setting where people could come for psychological, emotional, and educational support and where education about treatments, medications, and clinical trials would be available. It was also important to her that no one would be turned away because of money. Today the Cancer House of Hope has grown from one to two homes, serving hundreds of people a year at no charge (CancerHouseOfHope.org). (Linda’s book makes a wonderful gift to donate to a local cancer support program – my own copy resides in the lending library of the Cancer House of Hope.)

Package What You Know

Health – or rather the neglect of it – is what drove Lindsey Williams to his calling. Lindsey is the grandson of the owner of the famed Sylvia’s soul food restaurant in Harlem. The good news for Lindsey is that he got to grow up in his grandmother’s kitchen where he enjoyed generous servings of fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, sweet candied yams, ham hocks and other delectable of African American and southern cooking. The bad news is that a steady diet high in fat, salt and sugar can, and did, lead to childhood obesity.

When Lindsey hit a high of 400 pounds in 1997, he knew something had to change. So he set out to find a way to create healthier soul food. He succeeded. This buff, 180 pound chef now runs his own soul food catering company and authored a cookbook called Neo Soul.

Lindsey is not the only one prompting a culinary revolution. After watching relatives die young of heart disease (nearly15% of blacks in the U.S. have diabetes compared to 8% of whites), Alabama native Wiley Mullins made disease prevention among African Americans his mission. He travels the country giving cooking demonstrations at churches and bookstores and selling his spice mixes. Apparently his product is a hit because Wiley’s Healthy Southern Classics line of soul food seasonings are now sold in stores all over the country including Wal-Mart.

Packaging can take many forms and one that has exploded in recent years is information packaging. One person who has successfully packaged his experience in the form of information is James Lehman. After being abandoned and then adopted at age two, James grew up to be a difficult and defiant kid. As he got older, things only got worse. He dropped out of school and, for a time, became a drug addict living on the streets of New York. Not surprisingly, James ended up in and out of jail where he was given the opportunity to participate in an accountability focused treatment program. It proved to be a pivotal experience.

James went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Social Work and began working with difficult kids at a residential treatment center. His search for tools to help parents, teachers and case managers to help children develop the skills they need to be successful without allowing disrespectful, obnoxious or abusive behavior led him to create a series of CDs and other materials called the Total Transformation Program (TheTotalTransformation.com).

Could another mental health professional have developed the same program? Perhaps. But the fact that James was himself a troubled youth lends significant insight and credibility to his program. It was no doubt a labor of love that helped James himself to heal as well.

Turn Pain into Gain

James is not the only one to turn pain into gain. If you’ve ever experienced the pain of infidelity then you know how difficult it is to recover from this kind of betrayal. Not only did Anne and Brian Bercht’s marriage survive an affair but their book, My Husband’s Affair Became the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me, is fast becoming a best-seller in Canada and landed them a spot on shows like Oprah and Montel Williams.

What could have simply been a painful personal growth experience has for the Bercht’s become a new career path. This husband and wife team are now authors, speakers, and relationship coaches and team up at BeyondAffairs.com to help couples prevent affairs and provide specialized help for couples and individuals recovering from affairs. 

Find – and Share – the Humor

Sometimes a bad experience can lead you to see the humor in life. And if you’re smart, and have a gift and are willing to hone it, then you can find a way to sell that humor to others. That’s what cubicle-dweller turned-cartoonist Scott Adams did. Adams’ used his mind-numbing experience in corporate American as the inspiration for his management lampooning cartoon Dilbert.

Dilbert is a composite of Adams’ co-workers that over the years emerged as the main character of his doodles. When he started using his Dilbert character for business presentations and got great responses, he bought a book on how to get syndicated and followed the instructions (amazing how the basics really do work). Today his internationally-syndicated cartoon is read by millions and his cubicle is a distant, and at the same time, continuously profitable memory.

It’s said that the most painful times of our lives turn out to offer the most opportunities for personal growth. If you’re curious to know how you might share your experiences with others, you might begin by making a list of ten difficulties, challenges, hardships, or losses you have experienced and what you learned from each. How did this experience make you stronger or wiser or healthier? What advice would you offer someone experiencing what you experienced?

Then make a list of your natural gifts – things like writing, sewing, or listening. Then, just as these innovative people did, find a way to use your love of teaching, creating, counseling, writing, speaking, organizing, cooking, drawing, and so on to share what you’ve learned with others. The tough times in life are as inevitable as the joyful ones. As you continue on your quest for right livelihood, keep in mind that your own challenging times may be ripe with opportunities to turn lemons into lemonade in the form of a rewarding new career.