Anyone who lives in Seattle — or wants to venture there on July 21 — can get a first-hand taste of the Contribution Game, set to happen at the Poco Wine Room from 6 to 8 PM.
The event is designed for Biznik members, but everyone, anywhere, who considers themselves an indie professional can reap the benefits of Biznik membership — events, networking, message boards and more — for free. Check out Biznik here.
Back in January, I awoke way too early on a Saturday morning to head down to the Inspired Action workshop by Matthew Ferry.
When I headed home that evening, I was aware of many valuable insights. But one of the highlights of the day was the Contribution Game.
When we left for our first break, Matthew asked us to not only interact with others — but to walk up to people that we would usually never invite into our universe — and ask them what they needed to achieve their dreams.
What did I learn? That there were many fascinating people with incredible visions for their life and the world around them — who just needed a bit of help from their friends. Some of whom were strangers until minutes before.
I always knew there were karmic reasons to help others. But beyond that, I recently realized that the value of the Contribution Game extends beyond karma. By reaching out to others, we learn how many bright, passionate, motivated people can be part of our existence. Those are the types of people that help you get yourself out of your rut and reach for the previously impossible!
Not to mention that I’ve usually avoided asking for help, because I didn’t want to seem less than perfect. So this type of interaction is definitely a challenge for me!
Now my goal is to incorporate the Contribution Game into everyday life.
Morningstar is one of my favorite investing sites. With a premium membership, you get 24/7 access to analysis, stock screeners and more — plus great education resources like their Investing Classroom. And the best part is that you get paid to learn about topics ranging from ratios to NAV! Once you’ve earned 790 points by completing quizzes, you get 60 days of premium membership for free.
CNNMoney has the coolest budgeting tool I’ve seen in ages. The Prioritizer asks you to choose 15 different goals, then asks you questions to help you get your monetary priorities straight! The perfect resource for money-avoiders like me!
Congratulating yourself on every success — no matter how minute — is one virtually foolproof way to guarantee more success. Some of you are mocking me now. But if you don’t believe me, commit to writing down five successes every day. It’s gonna be harder than you think. That’s why it works. Almost everyone finds it very easy to minimize their successes. But if you focus on them every day, you realize what a rockstar you really are! And develop the confidence to overcome any obstacles blocking the path to your dreams. Including your money myths, a.k.a. excuses.
I take no responsibility for the accuracy of the results, but it’s not a bad use of 30 seconds of your time ;-)
17,121,922
How much money will you be worth?
Setting up a system to offer online stock photo licensing has been on my to-do list for months. But I had avoided sitting down to set up the pricing structure for my collections, thinking it would take too much time. When I finally did it, it took me about 20 minutes to price 14 collections!
What boosted me into action? Talk about income without effort, a.k.a. passive income, was a key theme of the Millionaire Mind Intensive.
Stock photography is just one option for passive income. But it’s one of the most obvious for me, as a photographer with thousands of images showcasing extreme sports, street style, pop culture and more.
Network or multi-level marketing is another option that works for many people. But it’s important to find one that fits with your personality. Selling products and hassling with inventory — two typical components of many MLM systems — don’t work for me. But two that I’ve found fit well with my interests, personality and talents.
One is a program where you coach others online to achieve their health and fitness goals. Given that I am personally committed to improving my fitness after months where almost everything I did — snowboarding and downhill mountain biking — was gravity-assisted, and thus not especially aerobic, this was a great find for me.
Another harnesses the power of social networking to connect people who are committed to helping others on their path to financial freedom.
One of the better online resources for information about wealth building and passive income is the Rich Life Club, where I learned about the two programs above — plus many more jewels of business and investing information.
Anyone who’s interested in creating content online needs to look into affiliate programs. Given that I have actually worked in online marketing, as a SEO copywriter for MSN Search Featured Sites clients, it’s amazing to me that I never thought seriously about creating blogs as a means of moneymaking. Even when encouraged by others.
But when I decided to start this blog, I acted with no hesitation. In two days, I figured out how to set up a mySQL database and code my blog so that I could set up rotating affiliate ads — even though my prior HTML experience was relatively entry-level, and I’d never worked with PHP or XML files before.
And I already have hundreds of hits!
Another revelation from the Millionaire Mind Intensive was the concept that we always have a choice. Most of the time our excuses that we can’t are just a choice that we won’t.
My biggest can’t thoughts usually show up when mountain biking. I’ll look at some scary chute or drop and decide that I can’t. But in reality, I’ve usually often nailed something similar — or scarier.
But the last time I rode, I actually found myself just saying I won’t do that (today), rather than I can’t. And that thought pattern translates to the rest of my life too — including my attitudes about success and money. Something happens in the Millionaire Mind Intensive if you really participate at 100%. You actually destroy negative thought patterns in a way that would probably never happen just reading about it — even in the bible of Peak Potentials Training, T. Harv Eker’s Secrets of the Millionaire Mind.
So just do it.
I definitely thought I wasn’t one to make excuses. And in most cases, I’m not. But when it comes to money and financial freedom, I had an excuse that was so sneaky that even I wasn’t aware I was using it. When we explored our money myths, I discovered that perhaps my obsession about what other people think of me — that has stopped me from pushing myself in front of other people on the mountain and perhaps crashing in front of way too many people — might be my “reason” that was stopping me from financial freedom too. “What if” I tried a new business tactic that might fail — and didn’t succeed? Oh no! I would look like an idiot! But “what if” I succeeded and not only looked like a rockstar professionally, but actually made bank and finally had the funds to follow every fabulous opportunity that showed up on my doorstep? The lesson of the day? There are reasons. Or results. You can’t have both. Don’t stop success with excuses.
Money personalities dictate how we interact with money. Spenders, savers, avoiders and monks are the options. Last week at the seminar, I actually chose avoider as my type because I have always procrastinated when forced to deal with financials and budgeting and forecasting. But when I discovered that other avoiders feared money — and that spenders are the ones who equate money to fun, I had second thoughts ;-)
Each type has its pluses and minuses. My avoider peeps noted that avoidance resulted in less stress — at least for the short term. Spenders have more fun. Only to face negative balances on Monday morning.