When I first started my own business back in 1998, I am the first one to admit I didn't have a clue what I was doing. As a result I struggled to find my way for 6 LONG years. I did okay but I was never able to reach the success I knew I was capable of, or to reach my goal of earning a six-figure income.
Finally in 2004, I'd had enough. I saw other home-based business owners making six figures and more, and I decided they MUST know something I didn't. And at that point I made a commitment to find out what it was. For the first time in my life, I decided to invest in myself and I bit the bullet and invested over $10,000 that year attending seminars, buying information products and books, and hiring coaches.
And an interesting thing happened. At the end of December 2004, just six months after starting down this path of personal and professional development, I looked at the numbers and realized I had doubled my income and busted through the six-figure ceiling. Yes, within 6 months!
So what changed? I did! I recognized that while I was very good at my profession, I was not very good at building a business. I also learned through this process that I had subconsciously been holding myself back in many ways. Yeah, that was fun ... finding out I was one big reason for my lack of success. Yet, I am so thankful this was brought to my attention because without this revelation, I would still be back where I was prior to 2004.
But the biggest epiphany of all was realizing that while you don't have to spend lot of money to effectively market yourself (I still use and recommend many no-cost and low-cost marketing strategies) you DO need to invest in yourself if you want to build a successful business.
So, you can take the long road to success and try to figure it all out on your own - and you may or may not get there. Or you can make the decision to learn from those who have done what you want to do, and dramatically shorten your journey. Either way it costs you something. You either pay now to get the help you need, or you pay slowly year after year in lost revenue.
For me now, I always vote for the FAST road. Since 2004 I have consistently invested in myself and my business and I continue to reap the rewards year after year after year. Has it been difficult sometimes to invest the money - you bet! Yet I have consistently been rewarded for those investments. And yes, many of those rewards have been financial. But many also come in the form of new business opportunities and greater joy and fulfillment - and to me those rewards are priceless.
You see if I hadn't made the decision back in 2004 to seek out what I didn't know from those who did, I'd still be back there struggling in my little local business, making a decent living but not living my true purpose, not living my dream, and not being able to help so many people around the world. It isn't just about the money, it's about being able to step into your purpose in a BIG way and go out and share your gifts and talents with the world and make a difference. And when you are able to do that, you will be greatly compensated in many ways, just one of which is money.
But here's the catch. If you haven't been able to do this on your own yet, odds are you're not going to be able to. To get where you want to go, you need to get some help. Or you will likely continue to struggle and stay right where you are now. Remember, I'm the one who didn't think I could afford help and struggled for 6 LONG years. I speak from experience!
On September 30th I am closing out the application period for my brand new Diamond Coaching Group. This program is designed to provide you with the support, mentoring, coaching, and master-minding necessary to shorten your road to success dramatically. In this 12-month program our goal is to move you forward toward the fulfillment of your dream faster than you thought possible. And definitely light years ahead of what you can do on your own.
Yes, it does take a commitment and an investment on your part. But when you invest you are rewarded. Just as I turned that $10,000 investment in 2004 into more than $80,000 in additional revenue within six months ... and put myself firmly on track to my dreams.
Please join me on Monday, September 8th at 5pm PT (8pm ET) for my final Preview Call for this brand new program. This is your chance to learn more about this very special program and get YOUR questions and concerns addressed.
You can learn more and register for this FREE Call at
www.10stepmarketing.com/previewcall.htm
To get all the details about my new Diamond Coaching Group
and to request your application for one of ONLY 10 spots available, please visit www.DiamondCoachingGroup.com