The Top 3 Problems Facing Business Today are:

1) How do I drive traffic to my website?

2) How do I convert them into customers?

3) What’s my ROI?

Do you know what the answer to those questions are for your business?  I’m going to briefly answer the questions and this is only the tip of the iceberg.  Stay tuned though and see how you can get an even more detailed answer.

First, how do you get traffic to your website.  Really, creating a website is easy.  Unfortunately, some people actually pay $20,000 or more for a smoking hot website – that doesn’t get any traffic.  A good website on average will cost you about $2,500 – $5,000.  Of course you can always get a cheaper one if you know what you’re doing or can outsource it and be careful, because sometimes you do get what you pay for.

That doesn’t answer the question though.  And really, there’s not one simple answer.  So I’ll share a few.  First and foremost, use social media to help drive traffic  to your website.  Facebook has over 800 million users now.  Imagine if only 1% of 1% of those people went to your website.  Do you have a Facebook page yet?  If not, you should.  And don’t forget about Twitter and of course LinkedIn.  Having accounts on each of these sites helps your website visibility (when you set them up properly).

Secondly, write a press release.  Tell the world about your company.  Do you have a grand opening?  Are you releasing a new product or service?  What’s a newsworthy topic you can tell everyone about?  Press releases have been used by the media for over 50 years and they still work.  Make sure you’re using them for your events.

Next, write a great article (like this one ;o) and blast it out to cyberspace.  Article marketing has been proven to help drive traffic to your website because you’re providing people with valuable information.  Share something that they want to know.  Answer a question or two (or three) and post it on the article directories online.

And don’t forget about video marketing.  Youtube is the second largest search engine after Google.  Record a funny video with some good information and post it online.  Use the proper heading, description, and keywords and it will help drive traffic to your site.

Wow.  There are way too many ways to talk about in this article.  That should give you a great start though.  So let’s go on to the next question – how do you convert them into customers.

Well the answer to this is quite simply build a relationship with them.  Hey, people like to do business with people they know, like and trust.  So when they come to your website (using the traffic methods mentioned earlier), make sure the website is about them – and not you.  Give them something of value for free like a free trial, a free report, a free consultation.  Start by giving something first because giving is the greatest marketing secret out there.  Of course, when you do this, make sure you get something in return – their email address.

Once they’ve gotten a sample of what you have to offer and you have their email address, continue to send them messages.  Messages which give them value and tell them about you.   Messages which will start building that relationship with them.

And then after they’ve gotten to know you a bit, shoot them a special offer or discount.   Send them a low priced product or service and get them to buy something small.  Again, letting them test you out.  Once they see what you have to offer, then they’re more willing to buy a bigger priced item or service.  Keep building that relationship with them by keeping up the communication and special offers.

Finally, once the customer has purchased from you, you can now calculate your ROI over a period of time.  How much money did you spend on advertising?  How much revenue did you pull in?  If you’re not pulling in that much, then consider revamping your offerings or increasing your marketing to reach more people.

Getting a higher ROI is a science and an art.  You have to keep on testing to see what works for you and your business.  The main thing though is to take action.   Start getting the word out there about you and your business and go from there.

And if you want to learn more, then come to the next monthly meeting of the Chicago Entrepreneur Meetup Group on October 18, 2011 at 7 – 9 pm (6:30 pm registration and open networking) where we’re going to talk about it in more detail and show you real live examples.  You can pre-register today at http://chicagoentrepreneur1018-lieml.eventbrite.com.  It’s only $10 online or $15 at the door.

Here’s a short list of SOME of what we’re going to cover:

1)   How to aggregate your social media message across multiple networks at once

2)   How to use Press Releases to get on top of Google

3)   How to write and distribute attention grabbing articles to hundreds of sites for free

4)   How to promote the heck out of your events

5)   How to Track Your traffic using free online tools

6)   How to Capture your customers information

7)   How to Automatically funnel your clients and stop wasting your time

And much, much more!

This is a crazy amount of information and content for one meeting, delivered to you in a controlled, concise manner for beginner and expert alike.

You can continue working on figuring things out while others are automating and getting sales or you can attend  this meeting and learn this powerful information yourself.  The choice is yours.

Hey, this is going to be a great meeting, so make  sure you set aside the time to show up.  You’re going to love the information along with the great networking,  and did I mention raffle prize?  We always have prizes.

See you at the meeting and Celebrate Life!

Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen

P.S.  Here's that registration link again:
http://chicagoentrepreneur1018-emlf.eventbrite.com

P.P.S.  Remember, we have networking before and after
the meeting and EVERYONE gets to introduce themself, so
come with your elevator pitch and a handful of business
cards!

Hi everyone.

I’ve been working with some folks on LinkedIn and there seems to be a mad rush to get to 500 connections.  In this post, I’m going to share some of my thoughts about the magical 500 number on LinkedIn.

First, LinkedIn only shows 500+ connections, so if you have more, then it doesn’t really show how much more you have. So everyone wants to reach that 500+ mark. Mentally, it seems to convey that you’re connected and that you’re the bomb on LinkedIn (or a bomb). It’s almost like a popularity contest.

Second, I know people who have less than 100 connections that do quite a bit of business on LinkedIn, so is 500+ connections really necessary? The answer is really – it depends. It depends on what you want to accomplish using LinkedIn.

Third, I’ve had over 1000+ connections for while now and really, I haven’t got any more business than when I had about 350 connections.  Of course this isn’t because of my connections.  It’s because I haven’t worked my connections.  I’ve had some nice conversations with people and it hasn’t resulted into anything.   It really boils down again to using the tool and what are you using it for.

Whether you use it for exposure (then yes, get 500+ connections) or using it for referrals (then really connect with people and provide value and refer them as well) or just networking and relationship building (then again, same as referrals) or something entirely different, the bottom line is that getting a lot of connections really means squat unless you do something with it.

So whether you have 100 connections or 500 connections (and yes, from an image standpoint, I do recommend you get 500 connections), none of that makes a difference unless you use the tool on a regular basis and really reach out and connect with people, provide value, and build relationships.

All that said, if you want to reach 500 quickly, here are some suggestions.

First, I suggest first you invite everyone you know. Understand that LinkedIn only allows you to send 3000 invitations – to get around this, you can send emails and ask people to invite you. This is unlimited). So connect with the people you already know first.

Secondly, join groups where there are people in your industry OR people who are the target market for your industry. Post discussions and tell people that you’re open to invitations and they’ll connect with you. Join a discussion where someone says, “I accept all invitations and if you do too, post on this discussion”. Then you’ll get a lot of invites.

And third, for the secret (not-so-secret if you’ve been on LinkedIn for a bit) ninja trick, join the LION’s group. LION stands for LinkedIn Open Networkers. They accept all invitations. When you join their group, you can basically connect with anyone in that group and they’ll accept your Invitation.

There are a few more tips and tricks and ninja strategies to get you to that 500 mark (I got about 1000 connections in about 24 hours using one – which I don’t really recommend doing even though it works), and the tips above will get you there within a week if you spend a few hours a day doing it.

And when you do get to that 500 mark, make it worthwhile and start building relationships with those folks you’ve connected to.

Celebrate Life!
Chaffee

P.S. Extra bonus tip. Start your own group. I run three groups on LinkedIn. The Schaumburg Open Networking Group and the Chicago Entrepreneur Meetup Group for business and The Hoffman Estates Jaycees for my not-for-profit group. I get people who invite me all the time to connect from these groups. It’s a great way to meet more people, build relationships, and get more visibility. ** SPECIAL NOTE ** Running a group takes time. Do not do it unless you’re wiling to spend the extra time to do so. Good luck!

P.P.S. LinkedIn only allows you to join a maximum of 50 groups. So if you are going to join a lot of groups, make sure you pick and choose the right ones for you.

At the time of this writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (The average of the 30 largest industrial stocks in the market) has dropped 1484.64 points in 21 days. That’s almost a 12% loss in less than a month and wipes out the gains for the entire year. In addition, the US Debt rating has dropped from AAA to AA… And the madness hasn’t stopped there. The European countries are all down as well. In fact, it seems like there’s a worldwide meltdown in the financial markets – and let’s not even talk about jobs (or lack thereof) and the seemingly high unemployment rate. Even the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke coming out and saying that the Fed is keeping interest rates at a historic low for probably another 2 years (basically guaranteeing that banks will make a profit for another 2 years) didn’t keep the markets up – in fact, it dropped the markets even more. Historically high unemployment, overabundance of housing on the market and more foreclosures (1 in every 583 homes across the country is in foreclosure), government gone crazy, international turmoil.. AWK!!! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!!!! And no simple umbrella is going to protect you!

So what can you do? How can you avoid the rubble? That’s the million dollar question isn’t it? Or for some people, $100,000 is enough. Seriously though, what can you do about it?

Here are some options:
A) Stick your head in a hole and hope that everything fixes itself and goes away
B) Worry about it all night, stay in bed all day and hope that everything fixes itself and goes away
C) Complain, gripe, yell, and get mad at everything and everyone and hope that everything fixes itself and goes away
D) Ignore everything and hope that everything fixes itself and goes away
E) All of the above

Did I get them all? Some people might think so. In fact, some people have already tried all of the above – and the sky is still falling. Truth of the matter is that for most people, there’s not much we can do. Sure, if you really want to be active, then you’ll run for congress and campaign to change all the laws and regulations that got us here in the first place. Unfortunately, our government doesn’t seem to be doing that great of a job dealing with the situation and well, that’s not necessarily the right option for most people.

You can also become a celebrity and start talking out about the “change” that needs to happen cause you know, celebrities like Oprah, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, even Ashton Kutcher all have millions of fans and twitter followers ready to take up cause and do what they say. Of course, becoming a celebrity isn’t for your average everyday Joe either.

There’s one thing you can do though. And that’s take control of your own life. Take control of your own economy, your own body, mind, emotions, and your own future. Hey, if you’re one of the few people still working a job, then make sure you budget appropriately and create an emergency fund. If you’re not in a corporate job, then find a way of being productive and create your own opportunities (how about consulting? getting more education? part-time gigs? what else? The opportunties are limitless!)

When you stop focusing on all the noise that’s happening in the world and focus on the things that are right in front of you, it’s amazing how different everything becomes. You may not be able to control what’s going on in congress. You can control what’s going on in your own home though. Instead of getting caught up in things you have no control over, you can control what you do every day and night. Are you just floating by and letting the world pass you by or are you taking serious action and planning for the future?

Here’s the thing, when you focus on your world and your world is stable, beautiful, and full of life, liberty, and hope, then you can grow your world to include your friends, family, and others (and eventually, maybe even influence the government and polls). If your world is stable, then you can help others stabalize their world. Image two people in a swimming pool. When both people are jumping up and down and making waves, then the waves multiply, get bigger and bigger until they overwhelm everything. When one person stops and focuses on stabalizing the waves around them, then things calm down a bit. When that one person can then help the other person stop jumping, now the pool calms down and the waves go away. If your world isn’t stable, then what are the steps you need to take in order to get it stable. Stop worrying about what’s happening in the stock market or the debt rating. Focus on stabalizing your world – whatever that means. Focus on the things YOU can control and regain your power because my friend, you are powerful beyond measure.

So if the world is falling apart, are you making waves and hoping things get better, or are you staying calm and making things better by helping first yourself and then others? As the great Bobby McFerrin once said, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!”

O.k. I admit it. I watched as William and Kate got married.
Me and 2 billion other people that is. Did you see it?

What did you think? Did you like her dress?

And the hats?

How can you not love the British and their hats?

I gotta say, in my opinion, it was actually a very nice wedding.

In the greater scheme of things though, it’s really what a lot of people needed right now.

As some of you know, I’m a big believer of the Law of Attraction. And as the Law says, things of the same frequency tend to gravitate towards each other. And wow! Over 1 million people gravitated towards the Church of England, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace to watch as two young individuals shared their love and joy to the rest of the world. The energy radiating from that location was absolutely amazing! And while our hearts go out to those in Alabama and the south, those in Afghanistan, Syria, and a myriad of other countries where individuals were fighting for their survival, the beauty that radiated from the little Island of England made the world a better place – if not just for a moment of time. It was truly historic.

And while most people felt the energy radiating from the wedding, did you happen to really notice how that energy affected the area?

When you think about that immediate area, it’s kind of amazing. For days, the meteorologists and weather forecasters all said that it was going to rain. Some even said that there were going to be major thunderstorms. And yet, did you notice what really happened?

For days, people camped out in front of the wedding location.

And then on the day of the wedding, it was overcast and no rain in sight. Coincidence or just positive energy keeping the rain away? Keep on reading…

A 11:00 am London time, the beautiful bride to be stepped out of the car ready to walk into the Church of England. And as she did so, the clouds broke and the Sun peered through as if shining a spotlight on her right on cue. The media announcers were giggling with joy as they made this announcement. Coincidence or just positive energy again? Keep on reading…

As the ceremony ended, the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge got into their horse drawn chariot (the same one that William’s parents rode almost 30 years ago) and headed towards Buckingham Palace surrounded by joyous, happy people who were all clamoring to get a glimpse of the Royal couple as they made their way to the notorious balcony and the infamous first kiss.

Once again, no rain, spots of sunshine throughout and hundreds of thousands of happy, excited people.

It’s as if the Universe knew not to spoil this wondrous day for anyone.

At the Palace, the happy couple made history with not just one kiss, but two kisses, creating a massive ripple of joy, excitement, and happiness throughout the crowd. You could hear the roar of approval as this happy couple embraced their people and gave them what they wanted. There were still no rain drops although there were water droplets coming from the tears in the crowd – tears of joy, happiness, and excitement.

And then all too soon, the happy couple drove off in a convertible (with the top down of course) Aston Martin, once again, showing the people that this is going to be a monarchy for the people, uniting tradition with modern times. It was truly a beautiful, historic day… and it wasn’t over yet.

Later that evening, the bride, groom, and wedding party now in a change of outfit headed towards the reception. Kate in a beautiful, simple gown made by the same designer as her wedding dress. William, handsome in his tuxedo.

And once they were inside, the diehards, the people who stayed around to catch one final glimpse of the Royal couple, finally left and then do you know what happened?  Yes, that’s right, it poured.

It started raining – and hard – again, as if right on cue. As if the Universe knew, “Hey, the party’s inside now. It’s o.k. to rain.” Again, I ask, coincidence or positive energy?

Did everyone watching somehow attract a seemingly perfect day for this wedding to occur?

I guess the answer really lies with what you believe. I for one don’t believe in coincidence. I believe that everything happens for a reason. I may not understand why something is happening and I know it’s happening for a reason.

Think about it though, what can the collective energy of over 1 million people at one location or over 2 billion people worldwide accomplish?

It’s amazing to even think about it. Over 2 billion people united in one moment of time. How incredible is that? Imagine what else we can do if we united like this for the greater good more often. Imagine what we can accomplish.

Imagine what you could accomplish if you could gather around yourself a group of likeminded individuals. Maybe not 2 billion people and how about several thousand? Several hundred thousand? Several million?

Ester Hicks, Author of The Law Of Attraction, just had an event in mid April. It was the first time she streamed it live across the world. She had individuals from 6 continents, 44 countries and 46 US states all watching her event. After she got off the stage, here’s what she said, “As we came off the stage at the end of the seminar I said to Abraham, “What WAS that?” Abraham said, That was the feeling of global consciousness focused simultaneous in one moment in time. That was the benefit of large numbers of people focused together, in the absence of resistance, taking thought beyond what it has been before. That was co-creating at it’s best.”

So yes, I’m guilty. I watched the Royal Wedding – and I enjoyed it. I watched co-creating the perfect day, the perfect wedding, the perfect moment in time, at its best.

Did you?

Celebrate Life!
Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen

P.S. In case you missed it, here’s the entire wedding in 3 minutes.

http://www.comcast.net/video/royal-wedding-in-3-minutes/1902811477

Les Brown says, “I don’t know who you are only I know there’s greatness inside of you.”  Over the past few months, I’ve found this to be true in so many people!  It’s absolutely fantastic!  Why and what happened?  Well keep on reading!

Less than 6 months ago, I started running a group called the Chicago Entrepreneur Meetup Group.  In our first meeting, we established a Mission Statement and Vision Statement.  Our mission is to provide all entrepreneurs with the tools and services, education and training, and a positive social network to support business success while developing individuals to achieve a higher level of prosperity.  And our Vision is to create A group of vibrant, ENGAGING individuals building value by sharing ideas, exploring opportunities, and supporting each other to achieve business success through the offering of quality products and services which benefit society.  We help each other unlock our innate potential for goodness and success.   WOW!

Innate potential for goodness and success!  You have an innate potential for goodness.  You have greatness inside of you!  At our meetings, I’m constantly amazed at all the great things that people are working on.  Having worked in the corporate world for many years, which many times limits an individuals potential, the entrepreneurial world is much different.  Yes, I understand that the corporate world can be challenge, encourage growth and development, and there are only so many managerial positions and leadership positions.  Typically, unless someone notices your work or you’re related to someone pretty high up, it’s much more difficult to move up that corporate ladder.  In the Entrepreneurial world, individuals make their own ladder.  Some of these ladders fail miserably and it can be discouraging until you realize that the most successful people fail forward faster. They realize that failure is a part of success and get right back up that ladder.

Find that greatness inside of yourself and start climbing up your ladder. There’s no better time than today to make it happen.

Celebrate life!

Got this from a friend and Wanted to Share it…

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.

So I asked, ‘Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!’ This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, ‘The Law of the Garbage Truck.’

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment, broken hearted, sick. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they’ll dump it on you. Don’t take it personally.

Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don’t take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so ….. Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don’t.

Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

Have a blessed, garbage-free day, and remember, you’ve got a friend who loves ya

I got this article from a colleague of mine and I found it intriguing. Hey, I’m a refugee. So I’m ever thankful for this country and the opportunity it offers. I also understand why people would flock to this country from others. And I also know my family worked hard to become American Citizens through the proper channels. It didn’t happen very quickly – only we did it. So I’m a big believer of people working to obtain citizenship or green cards through the proper channels. Others just living here and taking advantage of the system, we’ll read below and tell me what you think. Obviously there are many sides to this issue. What’s your side?

———————————————————————

Tina Griego, journalist for the Denver Rocky Mountain News wrote a column titled, “Mexican visitor’s lament” — 10/25/07.

She interviewed Mexican journalist Evangelina Hernandez while visiting Denver last week. Hernandez said, “They (illegal aliens) pay rent, buy groceries, buy clothes…what happens to your country’s economy if 20 million people go away?”

That’s a good question – it deserves an answer. Over 80 percent of Americans demand secured borders and illegal migration stopped. But what would happen if all 20 million or more vacated America ? The answers may surprise you!

In California , if 3.5 million illegal aliens moved back to Mexico , it would leave an extra $10.2 billion to spend on overloaded school systems, bankrupted hospitals and overrun prisons. It would leave highways cleaner, safer and less congested. Everyone could understand one another as English became the dominate language again.

In Colorado , 500,000 illegal migrants, plus their 300,000 kids and grand-kids – would move back “home,” mostly to Mexico . That would save Coloradans an estimated $2 billion (other experts say $7 BIL) annually in taxes that pay for schooling, medical, social-services and incarceration costs. It means 12,000 gang members would vanish out of Denver alone.

Colorado would save more than $20 million in prison costs, and the terror that those 7,300 alien criminals set upon local citizens. Denver Officer Don Young and hundreds of Colorado victims would not have suffered death, accidents, rapes and other crimes by illegals.

Denver Public Schools would not suffer a 67 percent drop-out/flunk-out rate via thousands of illegal alien students speaking 41 different languages. At least 200,000 vehicles would vanish from our gridlocked cities in Colorado . Denver ‘s four percent unemployment rate would vanish as our working poor would gain jobs at a living wage.

In Florida , 1.5 million illegals would return the Sunshine State back to America , the rule of law and English.

In Chicago , Illinois , 2.1 million illegals would free up hospitals, schools, prisons and highways for a safer, cleaner and more crime-free experience.

If 20 million illegal aliens returned “home”:

If 20 million illegal aliens returned “home,” the U.S. economy would return to the rule of law. Employers would hire legal American citizens at a living wage. Everyone would pay their fair share of taxes because they wouldn’t be working off the books. That would result in an additional $401 billion in IRS income taxes collected annually, and an equal amount for local state and city coffers.

No more push ’1′ for Spanish or ’2′ for English. No more confusion in American schools that now must content with over 100 languages that degrade the educational system for American kids. Our overcrowded schools would lose more than two million illegal alien kids at a cost of billions in ESL and free breakfasts and lunches.

We would lose 500,000 illegal criminal alien inmates at a cost of more than $1.6 billion annually. That includes 15,000 MS-13 gang members who distribute $130 billion in drugs annually would vacate our country. In cities like L.A, 20,000 members of the ” 18th Street Gang” would vanish from our nation. No more Mexican forgery gangs for ID theft from Americans! No more foreign rapists and child molesters!

Losing more than 20 million people would clear up our crowded highways and gridlock. Cleaner air and less drinking and driving American deaths by illegal aliens!

Drain on America ‘s economy; taxpayers harmed, employers get rich:

Over $80 billion annually wouldn’t return to their home countries by cash transfers. Illegal migrants earned half that money untaxed, which further drains America ‘s economy – which currently suffers a $13 trillion debt.

At least 400,000 anchor babies would not be born in our country, costing us $109 billion per year per cycle. At least 86 hospitals in California , Georgia and Florida would still be operating instead of being bankrupted out of existence because illegals pay nothing via the EMTOLA Act. Americans wouldn’t suffer thousands of TB and hepatitis cases rampant in our country-brought in by illegals unscreened at our borders.

Our cities would see 20 million less people driving, polluting and grid locking our cities. It would also put the “progressives” on the horns of a dilemma; illegal aliens and their families cause 11 percent of our greenhouse gases.

Over one million of Mexico ‘s poorest citizens now live inside and along our border from Brownsville , Texas to San Diego , California in what the New York Times called, “colonias” or new neighborhoods. Trouble is, those living areas resemble Bombay and Calcutta where grinding poverty, filth, diseases, drugs, crimes, no sanitation and worse. They live without sewage, clean water, streets, electricity, roads or any kind of sanitation. The New York Times reported them to be America ‘s new ” Third World ” inside our own country. Within 20 years, at their current growth rate, they expect 20 million residents of those colonias. (I’ve seen them personally in Texas and Arizona ; it’s sickening beyond anything you can imagine.) By enforcing our laws, we could repatriate them back to Mexico .

High integrity, ethical invitation:

We invite 20 million aliens to go home, fix their own countries and/or make a better life in Mexico . We invite a million people into our country legally, more than all other countries combined annually. We cannot and must not allow anarchy at our borders, more anarchy within our country and growing lawlessness at every level in our nation.

Hi Everyone!

I just did a presentation for the Junior Chamber of Commerce and put together a handout from the presentation! Feel free to download your own copy of this presentation with hundreds if not thousands of dollars worth of money saving tips!

Simply enter your email address in the form below and you’ll receive an email with the link to the file!

Enjoy!
Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up. Are you now doing what you always wanted to do? If so, great! How wonderful. If not, then why not? What happened? What changed? What are you doing now? Do you enjoy what you’re doing?

Often times, it’s easy to get lulled into a false sense of security. Many people get into what’s called a “comfort zone”. Let me illustrate. You wake up in the morning to an alarm clock going off. You get up and clean up, shower, shave, brush your teeth. Next, you get dressed and then go grab some breakfast (or you run out the door because you’re running late), and then head off into work. You work for 8 hours (or more) and then go home. Grab some dinner. Watch some TV. Get ready for bed (or fall asleep watching TV). Go to bed and start the next day over doing the same thing. Why do people do this? The common answer is because it pays the bills. Also, you know what to expect. You’re getting paid well. You have what you need and you’re “comfortable.”

Now, that’s not a bad thing. Please do not misinterpret what I’m saying. There is nothing wrong with being comfortable. We are creatures of comfort. There’s a warmth and security in the knowledge of comfort. The challenge is that in the back of our heads, there are always three thoughts. The first one is I must prepare for retirement. And the second thing is how secure is my job. Finally, the third thing is “How am I going to pay for that next vacation I want to take?” Let’s take a closer look at these things.

First, let’s look at retirement. Society has set the age of retirement at 65. So that’s what most people expect – retirement at age 65. This is where they believe that they can stop working. Well according to the Social Security Administration, 35% of the population dies before they reach the age of 65. The SSA goes on to say that 54% of the population is dependent upon Welfare of family members. In addition, the SSA says that an additional 5% are still working! That means 95% of the population is either dead, depending on people, or still working by the time they reach the age of 65. Wow! That’s crazy! The final two statistics of that research says that 4% of the population is well to do and only 1% is wealthy. So the question then is really, “what do you need to do in order to get to that top 5% or well to do or better?” Is your current path going to get you there?

Secondly, how secure is your job? Anderson Consulting was (and I do say was) 70 year old firm who were at the top of the game. I had friends that worked there who told me that if you worked at Anderson for 2 – 3 years, then you could get a job at any accounting firm you wanted. They had a great reputation and track record. All of which was lost over one incident causing the entire company and hundreds and thousands of employees to lose their job and their benefits. People who had worked there for 10, 20, or more years, found themselves without a job or a means of income. Enron, WorldCom, Exodus Communications – all companies that had thousands of employees which went out of business. I have a friend that works at United Airlines. They cut her pension. She’s 50 years old without a pension and now has to work a second job in order to rebuild her retirement fund. Motorola had over 150,000 employees at their peak in 2000. They are now down to 50,000 employees. Almost 100,000 individuals laid off – you may even know a few yourself. How secure is your job? How can you make it more secure?

Finally, how are you going to pay for your next vacation or for that 42″ Plasma TV you’ve been eyeing now for 8 months? You have bills to pay – a mortgage, gas, food, some entertainment, utilities, gifts for friends and family. Where are you going to get the money for that big purchase you want?

I’ve painted a very bleak picture here and if this is not you, then first of all, thank goodness, and secondly, I bet you know someone in this situation. So what are you or your friend, going to do about it? No, I’m not telling you to start your own business or go play the lottery. I’m going to tell you what someone once told me. They said, “Love what you do and the money will come.” Love what you do and the money will come. What do you love to do?

Professional athletes love the game they play and they get paid well to play it. Actors and Actresses love acting and get paid well. The best musicians and other artists love what they do and get paid very well. What is your passion? Is your current situation going to get you there or are you in your comfort zone? Is your comfort zone going to give you the life of your dreams? Are you living a life of passion? If not, why not? What little changes can you make today in your life to get you closer to that life?

One of my buddies always wanted to play in a band. Of course he too had bills to pay and other responsibilities as well. That didn’t stop him though. He went to a garage sale and found a guitar. Then he went to a book store and bought a how to play the guitar book. He then spent the next 3 years teaching himself how to play the guitar. He got pretty good at it too. Then he started his own band and started playing gigs. Two things about this though. First, he did this all while he was working a full time job and taking care of his responsibilities. Second, he’s not making a billion dollars doing this. The thing is though, he’s living his child hood dream of playing in a band. And he started making money with it playing “gigs” every now and then. He’s taking that money and investing it into his retirement account which will help him live a better life later on.

Wow. So now my friend is first of all, saving for retirement, secondly, not concerned about job security because he would just devote more energies to his music and playing somewhere having a great time, and thirdly, not worried about paying for his next vacation because he would just look for a gig in a particular location that he wants to travel to and would get paid for traveling and playing. In short, he’s living his life of passion. Now, he hasn’t quit his job yet and he doesn’t intend to. At the same time, those nagging concerns in the back of his head are no longer there. And while it took him several years to get there, he’s still there. He didn’t do it for the money. He did it for the love of life. He did it for his passions.

What are you passionate about? What can you do to get yourself there – one step at a time? I’m going to end with a quote from a great motivational speaker named Randy Gage. Here’s what Randy says, “Attack every day with a ferocious desire to end it a better person than you were when you got up. Create the mindset to live life more fully than you have in the past. Decide right now that simply because the herd settles for mediocrity, appeasement, and existence, you will challenge your self to do, have, and become more.”

Dr. Wayne Dyer says, “When you are inspired by a great purpose, everything will begin to work for you.” What’s your great purpose? What’s your passion?

When I was growing up, I was repeatedly told by my father, “Go to school; get good grades; get a good job; you’ll be set for life then.” How many of you have heard this yourself? I was given two choices growing up, “You’re going to be an engineer or a doctor.” I am good with numbers, and I’ve been gifted scholastically, so I could become an engineer – not everyone is so fortunate so, being a good son (that and I didn’t feel like going to school for 10 more years), I became an engineer. The challenge was that I had no passion to be an engineer. So for years, work was just that, work. How many of you feel that way?

Being an engineer left a hole inside of me that needed to be filled – not that the work wasn’t interesting and the pay wasn’t good – it just wasn’t what I wanted to do or be. So now I had to make some choices – choices which we all make in our lives. My choices were continue being an engineer living a good life with good pay feeling incomplete and feeling financially “secure” or do something else, take some risks, and find my real purpose and passion.

Some of you are faced with that same decision every day of your life. Some of you will continue to be faced with that decision every day of your life while others of us do something else and take some chances. Neither path is right or wrong. It’s just a decision you must decide to make.

I believe that each one of us is capable of making that decision for ourselves. What I can tell you is that Dr. Wayne Dyer is absolutely correct though. When you find your purpose – one that is filled with passion – everything will begin to feel right for you. That hole inside of you gets filled with joy and happiness and there is no turning back.

On my journey to find my purpose and passion, I found the Jaycees.
The Jaycees allow me to help others learn and grow, continue to learn and grow myself, to give back to the community, to meet a great group of individuals, and to have lots of fun.
That’s why I’m part of this great organization. That’s why I believe in the Jaycees. It’s part of my passion in life.

I have met some great people in this organization and I continue to meet more great people.
I have so much fun attending the events and it warms my heart to help people who need the help when I work at a food drive, Wish Tree events, and many, many other charitable events.

What is your purpose and passion?

Allow the Jaycees to help you find your purpose and passion. Look for a local chapter in your area. Just go to http://www.USJaycees.org and see if there’s a chapter near you. And if you’re International, look at http://www.jci.cc. And hey, if you want to join my chapter, just go to http://www.HoffmanEstatesJaycees.org and join now.

Allow the Jaycees to be a part of your purpose and passion. When that happens, everything begins to work for you…