Most people who try something and then experince failure just give up and quit. That’s the wrong approach. After you experince a failure you need to simply readjust what you are doing and try it again. If you fail again, ADJUST WHAT YOU ARE DOING AGAIN. Keep doing this until you succeed.

I’ve failed in business a couple of times. Most recently I tried to start an IT company with a friend. I very quickly learned that two heads is a monster, especially when you both have different ideas about the direction the company should go. The whole thing turned out to be a big waste of nearly 3 months. Complete failure.

Did I give up and go looking for a job? NO! I adjusted my plan for business, this time, minus the business partner. New name, new plan, new strategy, and now I’m 3 months into a successful web development company.

The simple point here is if you fail, get up and brush the dust off your feet. Take a look at what you did wrong, learn from it. Adjust your plan and try again. If you fail, adjust and try again until you end up with this formula Try = Success!

Often in our lives anything worth doing involves some level of risk. Quiting your job to go start a business is risky, especially if you’ve got mouths to feed at home.  Just like in rock climbing, we can do things to minimize these risks, but ultimately, we are not fully in control.

You have got to realize you can not control every aspect of life. But if you let that fear of not being in control immobilize you, you will deny yourself the rewards that can come from taking great

risk and succeeding.

You’re bound to fail at some point, but you need to step outside your comfort zone, embrace your fear and take some risks once in awhile.

I’m not advocating you take stupid risks or gamble with your life, but what I am trying to drive home is that sometimes a little risk is involved when it comes to achieving success.

From my perspective some of the greatest endeavors in history have involved all kinds of risks. Think about all of the Astronauts in history. Every time one of them straps into a rocket they take the risk of blowing up to help advance mankind.

You can not let the fear of risk hold you back. So the next time someone says your idea sounds risky, tell them to TAKE A FLYING LEAP.

There is a difference between being a freelancer and an entrepreneur:

Freelancers don’t have bosses; they work for themselves but they get paid for the hours that they work.  If they don’t put in the hours, then they don’t make money.

Entrepreneurs build something bigger than themselves.  They use other peoples money and they build organizations that can live and die without them.

If you act like an entrepreneur, but work like a freelancer, sooner or later you’ll go nuts or work yourself to death.

Check out the video after the break:

I have just realized that I have been acting like an entrepreneur and doing a lot of work like a freelancer, including with my current project MK3Y. And as Seth says, this will lead to a lot of frustration. And that’s what I’ve been experiencing lately. I feel frustrated, like it’s to much to take on and like I’m still having to do work nonstop. This has been an eye opener.

“Wow, nice Audi, what kind of gas mileage does that thing get?”

“I manage to get about 21-22 city and 27 highway” I said

“Awesome man!” he replied unusually enthusiastic.

“Hey, I saw your license plate, can I ask what you do?”

Then it hit me, this guy is an IBO, and I was suddenly leery of whatever sales pitch he would throw at me.

However, I was pretty candid in my response. “I enjoy life on a daily basis, but if you mean what do I do for an income, I own a web based business and help other companies improve their online presence. I also write a blog where I discuses entrepreneurship and lifestyle.”

“Oh wow, good deal man. I’m actually working with a business team out of Raleigh, North Carolina, helping folks develop web based businesses. We’re actually looking for some sharp folks like yourself who are looking to earn some extra income. Do you keep your options open?”

“Do I keep my options open? Yes. Do I keep them open for multi-level marketing? No.” I replied.

With that note, I finished pumping my gas and got into my car. He looked a little stunned with my response. Perhaps it was the fact that I had readily identified his pitch. Perhaps I was a little rude, but the number of times I get approached by people involved in an MLM is annoying.

If you have fallen victim for this ploy, chances are you gave your phone number to an IBO. He’ll most likely call you within 1 to 2 days to setup a time to do an in-person meeting. The entire point of this quick meeting is to gauge your interest in coming to see his business plan. He will ask if you are interested in making an extra two to three thousand dollars, and who wouldn’t? If you say yes, then chances are you are going to an open meeting where some guy will speak  to you about how to make money while drawing circles on a white board. If this has happened to you recently, do not return the phone calls of these people.

Since I was actually in a form of multi-level marketing for a couple of years, I’ll give you my perspective on the subject, and my warning. You see, I was in Quixtar (aka Amway, same company). And to be honest, it’s not 100% a scam. There are a lot of really decent and honest people in these systems, and it is slightly possibly to make money in them, about as possible as you winning the lottery.

The problem is, most people in Quixtar are going just short of broke. If you attend one of these business meetings you’ll be presented with a display of just how easy it is to get setup in business for yourself and to start making money. They’ll draw some circles to show you how fast you can be a millionaire. They tell you all you have to do is get 6 people under you and then you’ll be rich. They probably even give you a book called Rich Dad, Poor Dad (Which by the way,  Mr. Kiyosaki was sponsored by Amway to write that book.)

But there is a BIG FAT SCAM right in the middle of this whole “Business System” that you won’t see at first. Most people don’t realize there are two businesses at work here. Quixtar is just the same as say Avon for example. YES, you can make money in Quixtar and some people do. If you sell products, you get a portion of those sales. If you sign up other IBO’s, you will get a portion of their sales. Quixtar itself is not a pyramid scam. Pyramids are outlawed by the federal government and Quixtar is a valid, privately held corporation that does billions in sales annually.

The REAL SCAM and the scam that Quixtar itself turns a blind eye to on a regular basis is the training systems. You see, to become an IBO you have to be registered by another IBO, called your “upline”. Once registered you can sign up all of your friends and anyone else you’d like. The people under you are called your “downline”. Now generally once registered you’ll be a part of some business team. You could always go rogue, but I doubt many people ever do that or know that they can. Besides, it’s the team that is providing all the training you are going to receive to run your business successfully.

Once you join up and start going to these weekly meetings you will be reminded over and over again how important it is to cut off negative associations and to listen to the CDs promoted by the training system.You’ll be encouraged and reminded over and over again that you need this training to be successful in business. According to them, you can’t succeed in your Quixtar business without listening to their CDs, without attending their seminars and 3 day conferences. You will also be told to buy books from their system and sign up for over-priced web hosting, voice-mail and a half dozen other useless services you could get elsewhere for free.

However, the money spent on this per month still seems trivial to the average cost spent on getting a traditional business off the ground. Most IBO’s never realize how much money they are actually spending in comparison to how much they actually make in Quixtar because the money invested is so low. Until you start to add up the money spent over the course of a year do you begin to see the real damage being done. The average IBO is typically in the red.

Let’s do the math, from my experience.

It cost $151.00 dollars to register, and I also had to buy my 100PV (Point Value of products purchased from Quixtar to get paid) which was $175.00. I was also signed up on the book/CD program which was $60.00 a month.

The very first month I had spent a total of $368.00 (Not counting the open meetings).

Each Tuesday I was suppose to come attend a weekly meeting, it cost $4.00 dollars to attend.

$4 x 52 weeks = $208 (If an important speaker came out, I had to pay $6).

Now lets add up 11 months of 100PV and 11 months of the books/CDs.

$175 x 11 = $1925.00

$60 x 11=$660.00

Then there was the 4 major conferences every year at $110 dollars a ticket  which equals $440.00 a year.

So far that’s $3619.00. I haven’t even included how much money was spent on gas and food.

Do you see where this is going yet? If your Quixtar business doesn’t earn you over $4000 dollars a year, guess what? You are broke and foolish. YOU MIGHT AS WELL DO THIS WITH YOUR MONEY:

The problem here is that the whole system is promoted like it is the most cost-effective way to do business. The truth is, it isn’t. You will be spending more money a year running your Quixtar Business than you are likely to ever make. Check Quixtar’s own stats. Most of their IBOs never make more than $100.00 a year.

Thinking about quitting then? You will be brainwashed to believe the people who fail or quit the system are weak and don’t want their freedom from the 9-5 bad enough.

BULL CRAP. I have watched good people in this system work and work and destroy their own marriages because they were working this broken business model as hard as they could, and today, they still aren’t free. They still work a JOB and pour that money into Quixtar, believing that someday doing the same thing over and over again will actually work.

So where is all this money coming from that these Kingpins, the Diamonds of Quixtar, are always talking about? Well it’s not Quixtar, because they limit how much you can make. You can only ever make $32,000 dollars from Quixtar. The real money-maker is the books, CDs, and conferences. That is where all the real money is that THEY are making off of you. I would attend a conference with a stadium of thousands of IBOs and listen to a fat man on stage tell me he put the whole event on just to make me successful. Bullcrap. How do you think a concert works? What’s $110 x 5,000 IBO’s. Answer: $550,000 dollars. More than enough money to bankroll production and have lots left over.

The  real kicker though was the local business meetings. I took it upon myself to find out how much money it cost to rent out the space they where using. I don’t want to get anyone in trouble, but by my estimation at $4 a head with about 500 IBOs in Va Beach, they where raking in $800 dollars every Tuesday after expenses. Whose pocket did that end up in?

You see, it’s not Quixtar, it is the training systems that are the real scam. I figured this out early on, but I, like many other people, stuck around because I believed in the other things they promoted. Things like helping people get free, living better lives, and fixing broken marriages, etc. I saw the business have a positive impact on the lives of people. Truly, at each conference I went to, I saw people give their lives by the hundreds to Jesus Christ.

While all of that is good and dandy, it is deceptive as well. The truth about the real money is never openly disclosed. Most people never truly succeed at this business, and I suspect most are going broke. A quick Google search will show you thousands of blogs and posts about people claiming it is a cult or scam. Most are angry victims who didn’t have a clue.

Be warned! Multi-Level-Marketing has its ups and downs. I quit the business, not because I’m weak, but because my heart was no longer in it. I still have a passion to see people succeed and achieve and break from the template lifestyle. That is the reason and purpose behind this whole blog.

I’m not denying that you can make money in an MLM, but I am highlighting what I think is an often glazed over and sweep under the rug.: the reality of how “successful” the business model really is.

(I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter below in the comments. I will allow all comments so long as you are not directly insulting me or another person. )

It has been a great year. I have traveled the country, visiting a number of states and seeing some amazing sites!  I sold t-shirts to thousands of kids with the Live Offensively Group and had the opportunity to build great friendships with new people. I also expanded my network of friends and business colleagues! I designed and started one business which was successfully sold. To top it all off, I got married and had a wonderful honeymoon in northern New York.

In 2009, I lived the life of the “New Rich” as Tim Ferriss would say. It has been an amazing ride, and it is all because I followed some simple advice and took control of my Time and Money.

Here is picture tour of my year in review.

A Year of Travel

I traveled all over the USA this year. Some of my favorite places where out west: Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon.

This was the first time I ever saw the Pacific ocean from the Oregon Coast. It was beautiful.

I even found a starfish!

I visited Devils Tower and had a crazy adventure during the night. We got stuck on the side of the tower during a rain storm, and it was pitch black out. Our only illumination as we climbed down came from the spectacular lightning show. Our adrenalin pumping adventure was capped off with a fast run through thick mud and underbrush to the safety of our vehicle.

I went Kayaking at Devils Lake in Wisconsin.

Drove through Reno, Nevada and stopped for a bite to eat.

Not a great picture, but I drove across the Salt Lake at 6am in the morning, lol.

I saw Crater Lake for the first time. It was beautiful.

I even saw Mt Rushmore, which isn’t as exciting as I thought it would be. What was exciting are the Black Hills behind Mt Rushmore. Awesome climbing and beautiful hiking!

Rock Climbing

I did a lot of Rock Climbing this year. It was something I wanted to get into more. I was blessed to have the opportunity to do it often. This is mostly in part to my good buddy, Joe Baker, for taking me.

Making my way up the last pitch at a climb in the Red River Gorge in Kentucky.

Repelling in the Red River Gorge in Kentucky.

Climbing at High Rocks in Pennsylvania.

I got to climb in one of the best climbing spots in America, Smith Rock in Oregon.

More of the beautiful Smith Rock.

Going down at the Delaware Water Gap.

Alpine Climbing

I traveled to the Wind Rivers Range in Wyoming this August to go alpine climbing and backpacking. It was an amazing experience! I spent a total of eight days in the wilderness. Not a campground, a WILDERNESS. It’s a place that if you were injured in any way, help was hours, possibly days, away.

Climbing without ropes

Success, pushing myself to new limits.

On top of East Temple.

I slept outside the last night we were in the range and woke up to this sight. Beautiful.

I spent time alone with God on a mountain top. There is nowhere better to experience God and His creation than on top of a mountain in the wilderness.

Band of Brothers

My two good pals Mike & Jason and myself took to sword fighting at a Men’s Retreat in early March.

I was chopping up milk jugs with a sword. It was a blast!

My Live Offensively Band of Brothers (and sister!)

Making New Friends

2009 was also a year of new friends and new experiences.

I spent a good portion of my summer yelling at kids with a megaphone!

Making new friends at concerts

Camping with new friends in Kentucky

Concerts

I spent the year seeing a lot of concerts, some of them in the most beautiful settings I have ever seen.

The Year I built my Man Cave

Not all of us who are into lifestyle design want to be vagabonds. I do actually own a house, and this is the year I built my own man cave!

My man cave today. Serves not only as a room for entertainment, but also as my personal office. All my blog posts are generally written here.

The year I got Married!

The very best, and I mean best day of my life took place this year in 2009. This is the year that I meet and fell in love with my wife. It didn’t take long for us to get married after meeting. It was a match made in heaven, and she is an amazing woman.

The Best Day of my Life was August 29th, 2009.

A Year of Lifestyle

For me, 2009 was really a year all about lifestyle and dream building: How I want to live and how I will live. There is a bunch of stuff I’ve done that I left out of here.

Me and my wife have spent the past couple of months building and planning our lifestyle. We’ve got BIG DREAMS.

I just picked some of the best highlights of my year to share with you. What did you do this year? Was it spent trapped inside a cubical? I certainly hope not, and if it was, I hope 2010 is the year you break free and achieve your dreams.

• Reason 1:

  Most of the competition is going out of business or is already out of business. A lot of companies can’t survive a downturn for a number of reasons. In some cases it is a lack of funding, poor management or simply, they suck.

• Reason 2:

  Consumers are choosier. In a time of plenty, people maybe less likely to bother looking around for better deals. In an economic downturn shoppers are forced to think hard about their choices. This is the other reason why the above statement is true about your competition.

• Reason 3:

  There is less competition for laborers right now so you can get good help for a reasonable cost. Thanks to the internet, you can even outsource to laborers overseas.

• Reason 4:

  Technology has drastically reduced the cost of running a business. I could spend all day listing the online resources available – free in most cases – that could cut overhead costs. Thanks to the internet again, you can do business with the entire world.

• Reason 5:

  Most people already think now is a bad time to go into business. It’s like the stock market. People always jump on board right before it crashes and end up losing all their money. You have to ride it up from the bottom and get out when the going is good.

These are just a couple of the reasons I’m starting a new business venture, MK3Y. If you have some good reasons why you think now is a great time to start a business, go ahead and share in the comments below.

Mixing your work with your home life can be tricky sometimes, but for the entrepreneur, it is sometimes a must. I decided to create a completely separate space from the rest of my home when creating my office. When I enter and leave the room, it feels like I’ve been somewhere else.

I spent quite a bit of time planning it out. I wanted a place where I could take care of business, but also hang out, watch a movie, play a video game and basically just be myself. I think every home office must be planned and built to suit the needs of the people using it. In my case, it was 70% business and 30% fun.

Thus the Man Cave Office was created!

Today I’m going to walk you through my ultimate home office and offer up some advice that may help you in creating your ultimate home office.

• Make a list of your goals and needs

  The first thing you can do when planning your home office is to make a list of your goals, wants, and needs. For example, I needed a room I could comfortably work in for long periods of time. I also wanted a room that I could personalize. I am a very creative person, and my tastes tend to be a bit eccentric. I also figured it would be easier to get my wife to sign off on me displaying movie posters, car stuff, and star wars memorabilia in my own room as opposed to the living room.

  Lastly, I wanted a room I could relax and play in. We don’t live in a big enough house for me to create a separate theater room outside of our living room, and I’m pretty sure my wife wouldn’t want me painting the living room ceiling black.

  As you can see knowing this in advance helped me plan out the furniture I’d need and the placement of everything. Which given the room’s smaller size was tricky. Check out some photos of how it turned out.

• Find the Right Desk for Ample Workspace

  Once you have figured out your goals and needs, you should be able to determine how much workspace you will need. For myself, I needed space to work on multiple tasks.  I needed to be able to use my computers, and as a web developer/designer, I have a need for lots of screen space. However, I also have the need to be able to work on the desk. I usually sketch out ideas or have multiple notepads that I am writing on at one time.

  I opted for an L-Shaped desk to meet my needs. My wife actually found the desk on Craigslist for 60 bucks. The same desk sells at Office Depot for $210.00. For years I had been doing the majority of my work on a 17inch HP laptop, which isn’t bad, but when it comes to designing, it began to suck. I opted to get two 24inch HD 1080i monitors to provide me with the screen real estate I need for work. If you’re having a hard time justifying the second or third monitor, The New York Times sings the praises of how Dual Monitors increase productivity. The Virtues of a Second Screen

• Keep it clutter free – Hide those Wires!

  In addition to simply having enough room to work, you’ll also want to keep that work zone free and clear of clutter. I don’t keep an inbox on my desk, but I do keep one spot where I place bills that are waiting to be mailed out. Another thing I’ve done to keep things looking clutter free is hiding my wires. I went to home depot and got a nice wire loom kit for 6 bucks and organized everything. Why have a mess of wires under your desk?

  Believe it or not, having a mess of clutter can actually make you less productive.

• Always organized

  In addition to keeping things clean, I try to keep things well organized. Everyone is different, but you will want to create a system that works best for you and your work flow.

  I am trying to move to a paperless lifestyle, so I have a smaller file cabinet, but one of the personal touches I put on the room is my craftsman tool chest. It acts as a storage area for my PC tools and office supplies and goes well with the overall theme of the room.

• Colors!

  Often over looked, but just as important, colors help set the mood. Vibrant colors can actually help create a mood of happiness and productivity.

  Because the theme for my office was to create a Man Cave, I went with some dark browns. I even applied a wall texture to the main wall that my desk faces. The rough texture is supposed to simulate rock. The ceiling is even painted black to help when watching movies.  I also created a shadow box area where the closet used to be. It adds depth and dimension to the room without being a distraction while working.

  This is the only area where, after awhile, I tend to think about having a bright colored office. So choose your colors wisely. Eventually when my wife and I purchase a larger home, I would like to create a well-lit, bright colored modern office, and then create a separate theater/man cave room.

• Personal Touches

  Depending on what your work is, I feel it is important to put in some personal touches that inspire a sense of creativity or remind you of your goals. Hang some photos or artwork that inspires you and gets you thinking.

  For me, my room is filled with memories of the lifestyle I live. I have dozens of photos to help remind me of where I want to be and how I want to live while working.

So, now I’d like to hear from you. I’ve shown you my workspace, now we want to see yours! Share what makes your space special in the comments below and feel free to link back to your own blog post about your Ultimate Home Office.

Society has been lying to you since the beginning of the last century. Prior to the 1900′s and the industrial revolution 92% of all Americans were self-employed in some fashion. The problem today is our horrible education system. You see, we don’t teach people about our own system of economics in schools any more. Instead, we teach children to get a JOB.

The formula for success you’re told is this: study hard + getting good grades + going to college + getting a good job = SUCCESS! Well, how is that working out for you these days?

It’s time for a reality check. Here are my five favorite reasons why NOT to get a job.

1. Placing your Financial Security in the hands of someone else

   Sure, getting a job and trading your time for dollars may seem like a good idea. (Our military members trade years for dollars). There is only one problem with this idea, you put someone else in control of your life.

   Seriously, you are letting someone else decide how much you are worth, when you are allowed to make money, and how much of it you are allowed to make. Rich people make money 24/7, often using ways to get other people, like YOU, to make money for them.

2. It’s Risky

   You are always ONE accident away from losing your income!

   This is a big one. Slip and break your back and you won’t be working. If you work manual labor, the chances of you getting hurt on the job and losing your income go way up. Once you stop being valuable to your company, there goes your paycheck. You get paid based on your ability to produce, and what happens when you can’t produce?

   Here is a great quote from Steve Pavlina on the subject:

   “Does putting yourself in a position where someone else can turn off all your income just by saying two words (”You’re fired”) sound like a safe and secure situation to you? Does having only one income stream honestly sound more secure than having 10?

   “The idea that a job is the most secure way to generate income is just silly. You can’t have security if you don’t have control, and employees have the least control of anyone. If you’re an employee, then your real job title should be professional gambler.”

3. You Have No Freedom

   Depending on the kind of job you have, you will be told: what to wear, when to show up, when you are allowed to go on break, when you can go home, how many days you are allowed to be sick, how many days you are allowed for vacation, how much you will be paid, when you will be paid, etc. See my point yet? No freedom. You are exchanging your freedom for dollars. If you have to ask to use the restroom, then you have real problems. I hope you place a high value on your freedom and self respect.

4. You ARE Replaceable, Period

   Employees are the most expensive asset for any company to maintain. If you don’t believe that, just look at what happened to General Motors. In the digital age and developing nations galore, it is a lot easier for your employer to simply replace you with cheaper workers or even with younger workers fresh out of college, for half your salary.

5. It’s Stupid

   Seriously it is STUPID. I don’t want to sound like a jerk here, but you are actually allowing yourself to be on the bottom of the food chain. If you get paid a salary, you are actually working more and getting paid less. Plus, EMPLOYEES pay the most taxes. This nation is setup to support business, not workers. That is why more of your tax money is taken out of your check each and every week. Part of the money you earn is gone by the time it gets to you. Add in your deductions that you have as an employee and you have lost even more income. It is stupid not to be self employed. Heck, you should at least consider getting a side hustle going just for the tax benefits. Wouldn’t you like to keep the money you make?

Do you want to be caught up in the rat race for the rest of your life? Just so you can do what? Retire at age 72 and collect social security?

At this point you may be angry with me or wondering what to do about your job. It’s okay. Many entrepreneurs, lifestyle designers, investors and the like started off on the traditional income path before moving on to better things. Ask yourself this, do you want the freedom to set your hours, work when you want to work, travel when you want to travel, and live as you want to live?

If so, then the first thing you need to do is reprogram your brain. I have a list of reading materials here that will greatly help get you into the right frame of mind.

Books:

Rich Dad, Poor Dad – by: Robert T. Kiyosaki

The Millionaire Next Door – by: Thomas J. Stanley

The 4-hour Workweek – by: Tim Ferris

Blog Posts:

10 Reasons You Should Never Get A Job -  StevePavlina.com