27624855 7 Step Problem Solving

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How To Achieve Outlier Levels Of Success In Your Life

How To Achieve Outlier Levels OfSuccess In Your Life

A Success Manual For The Rest Of Us

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Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to present the information inthis report accurately. Readers are advised that any actions they takeas a result of reading this report are their own. Please conduct duediligence on all of your business or financial transactions.

Copyright 2009 Ron Taylor

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Author’s Note

Malcolm Gladwell devotes his entire book “Outliers: The Story of

Success” to the cultural, emotional, and environmental factors thatlead people to achieve success above and beyond the norm.

His use of the term “outlier” pertains to statistical anomalies, wherein any given population, some people will stand out from others inmeasurable areas like wealth, intelligence, and talent.

In a typical statistical bell curve, only 2% of the population qualifiesas outliers (high achievers).

That’s just two out of every one hundred people.

So, what about the rest of us?

It’s time to crack the bell curve and find the secret to success.

This success manual presents a revolutionary new way to look at thegoal setting process. The human drive to succeed and create meaning

runs deep within all humans, but for most of us, this drive ismisdirected, or left untended.

Using the information in this brief manual, you will learn the secretsbehind successful people and develop an action oriented plan thatwill guide you to the achievement of your goals.

Consider Roger Bannister, who became the first human to run themile in less than four minutes. He did this by training himself to runa quarter mile in less than 1 minute, and through sheer determinationand desire, put four quarter miles together to break the four minutebarrier.

Thomas Edison is famous for perfecting the light bulb. And, whilehistory says he failed in over 10,000 experiments to make a light bulb,





Edison claimed he merely found 10,000 ways not to make a lightbulb. His story is one of perseverance and optimism common amongsuccessful people.

In another example of extraordinary human spirit, FlorenceNightingale helped ease the suffering of soldiers in the 19th centuryand became famous for connecting sanitation in hospitals withpatient health. Miss Nightingale encouraged women to becourageous, self-sufficient, and to never quit. Her indomitable spiritlives on in thousands of hospitals and clinics around the world today.

These are people who started with nothing and achieved success bysetting concrete goals and taking action to make something happen.

Now, you can learn the process of setting empowered goals with myunique, action oriented, 7-step problem solving process that walksyou through transforming your dreams into reality.

The Secret To Success

Why does outlier levels of success elude 98% of the world’s

population?

Quite simply, outlier levels of success require three things:

• Your ability to identify the obstacles to your success.• Your willingness to develop specific plans of action to

overcome those obstacles.• Your ability to maintain the right attitude to see you through

the hard work necessary to achieve extraordinary success.

Okay, disregarding my minimal graphic skills, your movement fromwhere you are at today, to where you want to be in the future, maybe depicted thus:





Failure in any one of these three areas holds people back more thanany other.

In all your endeavors, keep in mind that most Outliers were at onetime or another loners. Steve Jobs built his computer in a garage, withlittle fanfare or support. Lance Armstrong spent much of his time onthe bike in the quiet back roads outside Austin, Texas. And, ThomasEdison devoted years of lonely research to developing the light bulb.

I’m not suggesting that you emulate Emily Dickinson and spendyour life cloistered in an attic bedroom, but for many of us, success is

a lonely business.

"Every journey toward a dream is personal, and as a result, so is theprice that must be paid for it." John C. Maxwell

Identify The Obstacles To Your Success

My life changed for the better when I learned to stop making excuses

for failure, and instead, thought of the obstacles to my success asproblems.

With this paradigm shift in my thinking, I began to think of obstaclesmore objectively, as problems that could be solved using a step-by-





step process. I broke this problem solving process into seven specificsteps:

• Identify the problem.

• Brainstorm ideas• Analyze possible solutions• Implement a possible solution• Evaluate the solution’s effectiveness• Adjust the solution as necessary• Move to the next problem

The key to successful problem solving is correctly identifying theproblem. This is the most important, and difficult, step in the process.

Identify The Problem

Problem solving begins with correctly identifying the problem.

While the pursuit of a goal is not a problem in the sense that a leakyroof or negative balance in a bank account is a problem, thinking ofyour goals as problems to be solved allows you to apply thispowerful seven step process to achieve the success you want in life.

The first thing you need to do is learn how to distinguish a symptomfrom a problem. The two examples I just mentioned above (leakyroof, and negative bank balance) are actually symptoms of a problemand not problems in themselves.

A leaky roof is just a symptom of a damaged or missing roof tile.

And, a low bank balance is indicative of either poor financialmanagement, or the lack of an income.

Consider an example we all have personal experience with. Say youwoke up this morning with a sore throat. Your sore throat is not theproblem, it is the symptom of a deeper problem, which may be a





virus infection, or the result of screaming for your favorite hockeyteam.

If you are suffering from a cold, all of the medications you take are

designed to relieve the symptoms of the cold, which may makethings more tolerable, but do very little to actually solve the problem.

Similar scenarios happen in business everyday when managerssearch for quick fixes to perceived problems. For example, years ago Iworked for a company that shipped consumer goods to customeracross the country.

I worked in the Shipping Department where we packaged customer

orders and prepared them for pick up by UPS and Fedex. Mycompany promised fast shipping to its customers, so when productshipments began to be delayed, corporate headquarters demandedwe work overtime to correct the problem. When this didn’t work tospeed things up, corporate told us to take shortcuts on the packagingprocess, which resulted in shipping errors, but did little to speedthings up.

In hindsight it is easy to see that all of the so-called “solutions” to the

delayed shipment problem were misguided. Our quick fixes neveractually addressed the underlying problems associated with theshipping delays.

Finally, the company hired a consultant to come in and look at theproblem—which she quickly determined was a systemic problemwith invoices arriving in the warehouse from Customer Service inbulk towards the end of each day, rather than being handled as theycame in.

Once the true problem had been identified (which oddly enough allof us in Shipping already knew intuitively), finding andimplementing a solution was easy.





In terms of a specific goal, let’s say you want to graduate from collegewith a 3.5 GPA.

Turning that into a problem statement, you would consider the B+

grade point average a symptom, which is the result of overcoming aproblem—that may be stated thus: “Get an A in biology thissemester.”

Now we have a problem with a clearly defined objective, whichallows us to move to the next step and brainstorm for ideas on howto solve this problem.

Brainstorm Ideas

Continuing with our “Get an A in biology this semester” problem,we need to come up with ideas on how to get that coveted A.

Most college students know that good grades come from doingthings on time, and in the correct manner. For example, to get goodgrades you will need to:

• Attend all classes, with minimal absences.• Turn in all projects and homework on time.• Participate in class discussions.• Work with a study group.• Prepare for all exams.

The elements of success in college listed above become theframework for your brainstorming for solution ideas.

If in the past you have done everything above, except participate inclassroom discussions, perhaps the solution would be betterparticipation. Or, if you have never joined and supported a studygroup, perhaps the solution lies there.





Or even worse, if you’re like me, the solution may require acombination of all of the things listed above.

The point is, you have turned a goal into a problem statement that

can be solved through the application of specific solution activities.

Let’s consider another example using a scenario related to smallbusiness.

A retail shop owner is facing slumping sales and is facing bankruptcyunless she can find a way to increase profit. Using the problemsolving steps, she would go wrong to think of the problem as “noprofits.” This is the symptom of a deeper problem.

During her analysis of the situation, she discovers that inventorycosts for her retail goods have increased by 30%, while sales haveremained level. Now she has the beginnings of a problem statement,which she may state: “Reduce the cost of goods sold by 30%.”

• Reduce inventory loss through pilferage and damage.• Reduce shipping costs for incoming goods.

• Find a new supplier.• Change product or brand lines to reduce costs.

In most cases brainstorming for solution ideas will come natural, asyou are well aware of the challenges related to your area of interest.However, if you are ever stumped for ideas, you may want to use apopular brainstorming technique known as “Mind Mapping.”

Using Mind Mapping To Brainstorm Ideas

Mind Mapping is a powerful brainstorming tool first developed byBritish author and psychologist Tony Buzan.





Buzan took an ancient technique of brainstorming and added modernconcepts of brain thought processes to develop a method of accessingyour creative genius.

Basically, Buzan Mind Mapping uses a simple technique of imageryto resolve problems and develop creative ideas. According toWikipedia, "A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas,tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central keyword or idea."

Here are seven steps you can use to get started with Mind Mapping:

1. Think of an image that best represents your problem.

2. Place this image on the center of your paper.

3. Draw 5-7 lines radiating from this central image to open areas onyour paper.

4. Attach images to each line that you feel represent possiblesolutions.

5. Develop an action plan for each of the possible solutions.

6. Implement each of the possible solutions.

7. Assess each solution, and adjust your action plan based onfeedback relevant to the solutions' effectiveness.

The basic premise behind Buzan Mind Mapping is to put yourthoughts down on paper, using imagery as much as possible.

Using our “Get An A” example, you could write a large A in themiddle of your paper and have five lines radiating from the A toother areas of your paper, like spokes on a bicycle wheel.





At the end of each spoke you could add a node with drawings orwords to represent possible solutions, such as study harder, join astudy group, etc.

Here’s a rough look at a possible Mind Mapping diagram:

When it comes to brainstorming solution ideas, consider this quotefrom Henry Ford: "You don't have to get it right, you just have to getit going."





Analyze Possible Solutions

Using our Buzan Mind Mapping technique, take a look at how wemay depict an expansion on the “Participate in classroomdiscussions” solution:

During the analysis stage of your problem solving, you want toconsider whether the solution is workable or not. In the “Participate”solution, we may want to consider:

• Your willingness to participate in class• Whether or not the professor encourages participation• Your comfort level with the course material

• Your dedication to preparing for each class

If any of these above elements are missing, you may want to consider

a different solution to achieving your “A” grade in the course.

In our small business example, the retailer may want to find a newsupplier, but during the analysis of this solution she may discoverher current supplier has exclusive distribution rights for her territory,which essentially locks her into buying from that one supplier.





She may likewise discover that pilferage and damage represents onlya small fraction of her cost of goods sold, and would not adequatelyaddress the 30% reduction in profits.

Implement A Possible Solution

Planning is great, but taking action is even better.

General Patton lived by the belief that bold action, however flawed,beats the best of plans with little or no action. Many of us are guiltyof being all plan, and no action--and we're doomed to failure becauseof it.

Following your brainstorming for solutions and your analysis of eachpossible solution, pick the best one of the bunch and go for it. Don’tget locked into “paralysis by analysis.”

You will never have the luxury of perfect knowledge and must takeaction given the information at hand and your best judgment.

Evaluate The Solution’s Effectiveness

This is where the rubber meets the road.

Recognize upfront that everything you try is not going to work outthe way you had planned. That’s just the way life works. But thisdoes not mean you are a failure.

In fact, many of the greatest “Outliers” in human history were wellknown for their failures.

One famous case of a failure is Thomas Edison, who reportedlyattempted 10,000 separate experiments in his perfection of the lightbulb. I like this story because it epitomizes the drive to succeedcommon among Outliers.





In another example, Floyd Landis won the pro cycling Tour deFrance in 2006. During the course of this 21-stage event, he lost 20 ofthe individual stages. However, his overall time for the entire event

placed him in the lead.

Was he a failure for losing 20 out of 21 stages? Or, was he a successfor maintaining the best overall time among the 160 competitors inthe event? While the final results have been mired in allegations of“doping,” Landis’s accomplishment is still noteworthy.

Adjust The Solution As Necessary

Madness may be defined as constantly doing something that does notwork, while expecting different results.

You will never succeed with every solution you decide to implement.Sometimes, what you thought would work, simply fails the taste test.I call it “theory meets reality.”

The trick to successful problem resolution; however, is in how you

respond to failure. In this case, make adjustments to the solution andtry again. If that does not work, step back and re-evaluate thesolution.

Perhaps your implemented solution does not adequately address theproblem, or is too complicated or difficult to use. But don’t give upon the problem.

At this stage people are prone to changing the problem (or adjustingtheir goals downward). The problem or goal is not the issue here—it’s the solution.

Don’t ditch your dreams. Instead, change your tactics and approachthe problem from a different angle. In this case, that means trying adifferent solution.





Consider this personal example. Years ago (longer than I care toadmit) I set a goal to graduate from college by the age of 22. Theproblem was, I was in the Air Force, stationed overseas.

College courses were available on base, but getting to classes andfinding time to study was very difficult.

Faced with these obstacles, I did not change my mind about getting adegree, instead I methodically tried different ways to attend classesaround my work schedule and find time to study. It wasn’t easy, butI succeeded.

When I look back on those dark days of hard work, I’m thankful I didnot adjust my dreams downward. Find what is important to you andgo for it.

Move To The Next Problem

No matter how successful you become, there will always be anotherproblem lurking in the corner.

Based on my experience with the writings of Eliyahu Goldratt and W.Edwards Deming, I knew that true progress demanded continualeffort to improve.

What this means is that once you have identified and resolved aproblem impacting your level of success, you must move on the nextproblem and solve it. Problem solving and improvement never stops.

Goldratt describes this process beautifully in his book “The Goal.” Inhis book he introduced a management concept called “The Theory ofConstraints,” to describe how a manufacturing plant could improveits efficiency and effectiveness by identifying bottlenecks in theproduction process.





I know it sounds like I slipped you into a production operationscourse, but this is an important concept that you can apply to yourpersonal life.

Imagine an assembly line that produces a handheld stapler. Withoutgetting into too much detail, the assembly of this stapler may bebroken down into distinct steps, with each step representing aworkstation.

Like a chain that is only as strong as its weakest link, the assemblyline can only move as fast as the slowest workstation. The time tocomplete a task at a particular workstation is known as the cycletime.

So, an operations manager could apply the Theory of Constraints byobserving the cycle time of each workstation. When the manageridentifies the slowest cycle time among the various workstations, heor she is in the position to improve overall productivity by improvingthe cycle time at that “slow” station.

Once that station’s cycle time has been improved, the manager couldthen identify the next slowest workstation and speed it up.

Through constant improvement of the cycle time, the total time toproduce a stapler may be cut in half—or better.

As for Deming, he helped the Japanese develop quality controlmethods following World War II, with the obvious results. Deming’smain point was that companies (and you) must continually strive forimprovement.

With Deming, there is no such thing as perfection, only everimproving levels of quality. If you will adopt his principles into yourdaily life, you will see massive results—fast.

Using both Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints and Deming’s continualimprovement, you can work through the biggest obstacle to your





success first, followed by the next biggest problem, and so on. Thekey is to not quit and constantly test your solutions for effectiveness.

Develop Specific Plans Of Action

I recently saw a comic that illustrated what not to do in this area.

In the cartoon, a pilot is flying a jet fighter. The bubble above thepilot’s head stated: “I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m goingthere at Mach 2.”

Mach 2 means he was traveling at twice the speed of sound—which

is fast, but not nearly as fast as many of us are heading in the wrongdirection. You see, the pilot has the benefit of being able to turnaround and get back on course. But life is a one-way street. You can’tgo back in time and make course corrections.

But, you can change tomorrow, starting today. Which is why Ibelieve goal setting and planning specific courses of action are criticalto your success.

I know, you’re probably bored to tears with the whole “set goals”mantra. We’ve all heard about goals, but only a fraction of peopleactually set goals. Perhaps the number is close to 2%, which oddlyenough equals the Outlier number we learned at the beginning of thisreport.

We all have dreams and wishes, but true goal setting goes far beyondwishing. An effective goal states a specific destination, with atimeline and specific action statements to achieve it.

After years of struggling to figure out why people did not set goals, Ifinally came to terms with the fact that the goal setting process itselfmust be flawed. With this mindset, I had my eyes opened by arevolutionary idea in how to set goals.





I learned this method from Viktor Frankl, a noted psychologist andNazi concentration camp survivor.

In Viktor Frankl’s book, “Man’s Search for Meaning,” Frankl

discusses many of the misguided myths associated with goal setting.

According to Frankl, it is not enough to merely focus on goals, whichmay in fact prove counter-productive. Instead, Frankl suggests youfocus on the individual steps necessary to achieve your goal. Forexample, if you wanted to realize $1,000 per month in automatic pilottype income, it may be more productive to concentrate on firstachieving $100 per month in income.

Roger Bannister used this technique when he trained to break thefour-minute mile. Rather than focus on running a mile in less thanfour minutes, he concentrated on training to run a quarter mile in lessthan one minute.

Once he could run the quarter mile in less than one minute, hefocused on running a second quarter mile in less than one minute.With training, and a strong will to succeed, he was eventually able toput four quarter mile runs together to break the four-minute barrier.

Frankl further suggests the goal itself be forgotten, with your energybeing better suited towards doing the daily chores and tasks toachieve the goal. In practical terms, if you wanted to own a rentalproperty, saving for the upfront expenses, researching your market,and learning about property management, would all be daily tasksthat move you in the direction of successfully owning and operatinga rental property.

Frankl’s methodology could also be applied to a weight-lossprogram. Rather than focus on losing, say 25 pounds, you would bebetter served to focus on eating the right foods and getting the rightamount of exercise—today. Taking it one day at a time, you will loseweight, building on the small successes one day at a time.





Referring back to our “Get An A In Biology” example, here’s agraphical representation of focusing on activities, rather than the endresult:

Goals and plans are only half the battle, however.

If you want to achieve “Outlier” levels of success you must dosomething different than you've been doing.

Consider what you have accomplished in the past five years. Does itmeet with your approval? If not, it may be time to change yourhabits and your thinking. It may be time to throw out long heldopinions and practices and try something else.

One thing is sure, if you continue doing the same things you have

been doing, five years from now you will be in the same position youare today.

Take a few minutes and think about your dreams and how these canbe translated into measurable and achievable goals.





Remember, don’t make the mistake of being “all plan and no action.”Stay focused on the daily activities and steps you must take toachieve your goals.

As Frankl taught us, if the activities contribute towards moving youcloser to the goal, then you will reach your goal, without thinkingabout it.

With your expertise in a given area, you can aggressively seekopportunities other people may not even be aware of. Lofty dreamsmay require you to step outside your comfort zone, but trueopportunities are rarely easily had. Consider the founder of theHilton hotel conglomerate.

Conrad Hilton was born and raised in a small town in New Mexico--hardly the background for an international hotel magnate you maythink. Early in his career as he struggled to find himself, his mothertold him: “Conrad, if you want to launch big ships, you have to gowhere the water is deep.” He left New Mexico and threw himselfinto the shark-infested waters of a Texas oil town. If he had stayedhome he would probably have led a happy, somewhat successful lifein New Mexico. But he chose otherwise and headed for deeper

water.

Similarly, if you have big plans and lofty dreams, you'll have to putyourself in the environment capable of supporting those goals. Nottoo many people become millionaires selling fishing worms on thestreet corner, but a chain of bait shops might do the trick. Also, theidea of dealing with tenants and property management may notappeal to you, but if you want to build a real estate fortune you'llhave to immerse yourself in it.

The point is, you must be aggressive and seek out opportunity. Youmay have to change your lifestyle and/or your habits to do this, butchange is inherent to growth.





Maintain A Positive Mental Attitude

We’ve all heard and read about maintaining a positive mentalattitude, so I want to take a different tack and share some ideas onhow our attitudes impact our lives.

Over the past couple of years there has been a populist movement togain a greater awareness of our subconscious beings, and how ourpositive and negative affirmations can appear to magically changeour environments.

While this information appears new, or even revolutionary,psychologists have known for decades that people have a tendency tomanifest their thoughts into reality. They call it “self-fulfillingprophecy.”

Years ago a study was conducted in an elementary school wherestudents were divided into two groups. One represented a group ofunder achievers, while the other group was comprised of highlysuccessful students.

In the study, the teacher who received the batch of under achievingstudents was told she was fortunate to be getting a class full of greatstudents, all of whom may be considered “gifted.”

Sure enough, by the end of the year, this bunch of under achieverswere succeeding at levels equal to and above the other group.Apparently, the teacher for the group of under achievers expectedgreat things from her students, and never hinted to them that failurewas an option.

The important point here is that through subconscious suggestionsyou make to yourself everyday, you may be sabotaging or helpingyour efforts to get things done and achieve success.





Think about it. What is the nature of your internal dialogue. Are yousupportive or critical of yourself?

The Law of Cause and Effect further illustrates how your attitude

may be controlling your destiny.

The Law Of Cause And Effect

The Law of Cause and Effect states everything happens for a reason.Your understanding and application of this law in your homebusiness or other personal pursuits can make the difference betweensuccess and failure.

It's hard to imagine, but at one time humans believed thingshappened due to luck or fate. Mysterious forces of nature anddemagogues ruled the Earth, deciding who lived or died, and whobecame successful leaders of the community and who became the so-called village idiots.

Today we understand there are physical and psychological laws thatgovern how events in our lives arise in direct response to things we

do or set into motion. For example, poor spending habits may lead tobankruptcy, while a sound investment strategy may lead to wealth.

These events don't just happen. They occur as a result of our actions,and are therefore within our control.

The Law of Cause and Effect is exciting because it can be used inyour business or personal activities to help you achieve success.Reflecting on our college studies example, we all know intuitivelythat not attending class, turning in homework, or studying the coursematerial is a recipe for disaster.

Likewise, using the Law of Cause and Effect, we know that when wedo the right things by studying and attending class, we will pass—orat least get by.





In addition to The Law of Cause and Effect, The Law ofMultiplication, The Law of Giving and Receiving, and The Law of

Leverage, are also important truths you can use to achieve success.Luck And Applying An Information Filter

While watching the Master’s Golf Tournament in a local Sports Barand Grill, I overheard a man call Tiger Woods lucky for being able toconsistently rank in the top 10 pro golfers every year.

Luck?

Sure, maybe he was lucky to be born with some natural talent, but Ibet he has spent many hours perfecting his golf swing. I felt sorry forthe man’s friends as they agreed with this bit of “information” aboutTiger Woods’ golfing career.

Which raises the question: Where do you get your information?

Whose advice do you seek and/or follow? Where and how do youspend your free time? Who do you associate with?

The answers to these questions can be revealing and disturbing.

You may want to adopt these personal rules:

1. Accept business and investment advice only from people whoare currently making at least twice what you make.

2. Do not let failures tell you how to succeed.

3. Do not accept the opinions of losers as gospel.

4. Do not spend your time with losers or unmotivated people.

5. Do the most productive thing possible at any given time.





An element of positive thinking is the reliance upon luck for yoursuccess. While luck has its place in any endeavor, people are often

misguided by their definition of luck.

Luck is a nickname for hard work, perseverance, and making theright choices relevant to opportunities. Plain and simple, counting onluck is for losers. I believe luck comes to those who prepare for it.How do you prepare for luck?

You prepare for luck by educating yourself about the business andinvestment opportunities you're interested in, focusing your energies

and financial resources on building your empire, and being at theport when your ship comes in.

The bottom line: Don't count on luck to make you wealthy orsuccessful. Successful people make their own luck. They don't waitfor it.

In today’s economy it is easy to get depressed about the prospects ofachieving personal or business success.

However, this is exactly the time when America needs the ideas andenergy of entrepreneurs to help rebuild the economy. So, in anenvironment of nearly oppressive negativity what can you do tosurvive?

First, recognize that negative dead heads are everywhere.Unfortunately, many of them are the people that love you the most.People don't consciously destroy other people's dreams, but if you'renot careful, all the good Samaritans around you will convince youthat you cannot get ahead.

Second, don’t be too quick to blame others. In actuality, we are ourworst enemies. Lack of confidence, a bad attitude, and self-criticism ismore harmful than exposure to negative people, and must be





overcome if you expect to find the motivation to master a marketniche or climb the obstacles to success.

Recent bestselling books, such as “The Secret,” and “The Law of

Attraction,” reflect the continued popularity of this subject. Whilepositive thinking in itself will not make you wealthy, a good attitudepeppered with a dose of self-confidence can carry you to successwhen all else fails you.

In Richard Bach's story “Jonathan Livingston Seagull,” Jonathan isostracized for attempting to do things that normal seagulls shouldn'tdo. His attempt to get ahead and prosper is scorned by the otherseagulls until he is banned from the flock. Flying alone, he discovers

the joys of life outside the realm of rotten fish and crowded beaches.

The story is a metaphor for man. Are you struggling to rise abovethe crowd? Or to separate yourself from mediocrity and failure? Theharder you try, the more people will tell you it's impossible.

While Bach’s book is about 35 years old, its message is relevant toyour pursuit of wealth today. I strongly recommend you buy a usedcopy from Amazon or some other online dealer today.

Overcoming The Fear Of Failure

Misery loves company, and the last thing people want is to see yourise above them. Your job is to ignore the negative dead heads andremain focused on your goals.

What is fear of failure, and why does it hold so many of us back?Fear of failure comes in many forms, but it can basically be distilleddown to two key areas:

1) Fear of financial loss2) Fear of embarrassment





The best way to overcome fear is to combine knowledge withplanning and action. Whatever investment or business opportunitydecision you are facing, get the facts, plan your course of action, andtake action--that is: plan your work, and work your plan. Nothing

beats fear like bold action.

The alternative to action is to stay where you are. If you are happywith your current socio-economic status, then you have nothing tofear, because you will never take the risks or encounter the danger offailure. Popular success literature frequently touts the advantages offailure, and to a certain degree I agree with their philosophy of“failing your way to success.”

However, the one element that is often overlooked in deriving abenefit from failure is the need to learn from failure. If you engage ina given business transaction and fail, you must learn and rememberthe hard lessons of this failure to prevent making the same mistakesover and over.

I mentioned Thomas Edison earlier. In a sense, his experiments werethe epitome of the maxim “try, try, again,” exemplified in this quoteby Buckminster Fuller: “Whatever humans have learned had to be

learned as a consequence only of trial and error experience. Humanshave learned only through mistakes.”

Edison’s experiences are also indicative of a critical difference inattitudes among successful versus unsuccessful people. Like Edison,successful people view mistakes as results, such as the testing ofhypotheses in an experiment, while unsuccessful people see mistakesas a permanent result, unworthy of further effort.

The fear of failure may also be rooted in a natural human fear of theunknown. Any business venture or investment holds an element ofrisk, and as the limits to that risk become uncertain, or poorlydefined, you may find yourself becoming more fearful of gettinginvolved. This is a normal, and prudent, emotion. As an entrepreneuryou need to work harder to quantify that risk.





Ask yourself, what is the worse case scenario for this businessopportunity? If the worse case scenario is tolerable, based on yourfinancial and emotional strength, than there is no reason not to

attempt it.

If however, the worse case scenario is intolerable, you must dosomething to reduce the risk or level of potential loss before gettinginvolved.

Finally, I’ll leave you with this quote from Brian Tracy, author of“Success And Self-Motivation.”

"The more positive you are when you think and work toward yourgoals, the faster you achieve them."

Becoming An Outlier

Our good friend an author Malcolm Gladwell suggests in order toachieve extraordinary levels of success in a specific area, you mustdedicate yourself to over 10,000 hours of training in that area.

10,000 hours!

Let’s do the math on that one. Working a 40-hour week, you wouldneed 250 weeks of dedicated training to achieve success. That’s 8hours per day, 5 days per week, for nearly 5 years.

While we are all unique, and what works for one may not work foranother, I believe you can achieve success in significantly less timethan Gladwell suggests.

Use the techniques of identifying the obstacles to your success,focusing your efforts on specific plans of action, and keeping yourselfmotivated while you work your way to success to become an outlier,now.





The Critical Four D’s Of Your Success

Anything in life worth having will not come easy.

If it did, we would all be sitting around swimming pools sipping icedtea, waiting for an industrious invader to conquer us. Unfortunately,or fortunately, depending upon how you look at it, the best rewardsin life must be earned through hard work, diligence, and an clearvision of your goals.

Now you must add an additional element: The Critical Four D’s.

Don’t despair if you are not the proud recipient of a huge inheritance,and don’t begrudge the silver spoon that others you know may havebeen given. Build your own empire and set your children on thatproverbial “easy street.”

You can do it, starting today, if you will make desire, determination,dedication, and decision a part of your daily life.

Here are the Four D’s of Success turned into positive affirmations:

Desire: I want to do this more than anything else. I will devote eachday to pursuing my goals.

Determination: No matter what the obstacles, no matter what thepitfalls, I will persist and prevail.

Dedication: I believe in myself. I will not sell myself short by failingto take action.

Decisiveness: I have decided this is something I can do. I want to doit, and I will start right now to make it happen. Time will not standstill, and the world is not going to wait for me to make up my mind.





Given the knowledge you have this minute, are you willing tocommit yourself to the Four D’s? If so, take action, now. Have thecourage to forge a new trail in your life.

Forget the mistakes of the past. Forget the disappointments ofbusiness deals or previous relationships gone sour. This is a new day,a new you, and a new opportunity.

It’s time to get off that so-called “hamster wheel” and makesomething happen for yourself.

You can get started by dropping the excuses and taking action today.I think you know what needs to be done, so the rest is up to you.

Setting Powerful Goals Using Results Oriented Power Statements

Congratulations, you have worked through the foundation course inthinking of your goals as problem statements and identifying ways tocreate and test possible solutions to achieve your goals.

In my opinion, this puts you well on the way to becoming an Outlier.

Now, let’s take a more in-depth look at the goal setting process. Inthis section I want to share with you the goal setting methods I haveused to achieve personal success.

Finding success in any business or personal endeavor begins with adream, which must then be developed into concrete goals. We allknow that.

But what is even more important than goal setting is the actualtranslation of goal statements into plans of action—which of course,must then be acted upon. I call my goal and action steps combo“results oriented power statements.”





Most of us are familiar with the story of the Yale study on goalsetting, but let me repeat the basics of this study to emphasize apoint.

The research project surveyed Yale’s graduating class from 1954about goals. It found that only 3% of the students had written, long-term goals.

Twenty years later they resurveyed the same group, and found thatthe 3% of students who set goals had exceeded the combinedachievements of the 97% who did not set goals.

This was a landmark study and documents the value of settingconcrete goals. But to get the full value of goal setting, you mustfollow some simple rules.

Motivational speaker and author Jim Rohn used the acronymS.M.A.R.T. to describe the goal setting process. According to Rohn,goals must be:

• Specific

• Measurable

• Attainable

• Realistic

• Time Sensitive

Are you setting SMART goals?

Short of taking action, goal setting is just day dreaming on steroids.





Based on what we now know about setting powerful, “smart” goals,here are five steps you can take today to transform your goal settinginto results oriented power statements.

1. Create concrete goals with measurable standards and“complete by” dates.

2. Break your goal statement into individual tasks.

3. Develop a plan of action for each task.

4. Take action on each task.

5. Adjust your action plan as needed to achieve your goal.

Let’s briefly discuss each of the five steps to creating a resultsoriented power statement.

Step one is fairly typical of goal setting, but I want to emphasize theimportance of writing concrete goal statements that can be measured,

and that also include a time horizon.

In order to complete step two in the results oriented power statementprocess, you need to divide your goal into tasks. For example, if youwant to start a home business and make $100,000 per year, identifythe individual tasks you will need to complete to achieve this goal.These tasks may include, finding the right opportunity, raisingmoney, renting office space, etc.

Step three is where you set what may be defined as sub-goals tocomplete the individual tasks identified in the previous step. Forexample, if you know you will need office space to run your newbusiness, develop a plan of action that specifically addresses whenand how you will find and secure this office space.





Now step four is where people generally fall to the wayside.Remember, goals without action is just daydreaming. You have yourspecific tasks identified and planned out form steps two and three.Now it’s time to turn thoughts into action. Get out and make

something happen.

Finally, step five acts like a feedback loop. You have taken action toachieve your goal, but in order to assess how your action plan isworking out, you need to take an objective look at the results.Remember, results oriented power statements are worthless unlessyou are getting results.

If your analysis of your progress suggests things are not what they

should be, adjust your plan of action and try again. Important note: Idid not say adjust your goal. Keep your goal high--just change youraction plan to get back on course.

Goal setting is a great tool for achieving great things in your personallife, or in business. I suggest you continue to set goals, but expandyour written goals to include results oriented power statements.

Creating the habit of setting empowered goals, and then following

through with the actions necessary to achieve those goals, is thecornerstone of all personal success.

Whether your personal goals include building a business, completinga marathon, graduating from college, or creating wealth, the basicprinciples of setting goals and taking action are the same.

Consider this lesson from one of the wealthiest men in America, John Jacob Astor, who once stated, "Wealth is largely a result of habit."

Astor created his wealth during the Industrial Revolution, yet hismessage is just as true today as it was then. In my opinion, Astor'squote may also apply to poverty, or just getting by in life. Sadly, thetruth isn’t always pretty, but here it is:





Where you are at today is the result of your habits.

In this example, habits may include poor money management,

maintaining a poor diet, neglecting your health, failing to improveyour study skills, and taking family and friends for granted, amongmany others.

For the moment, let’s stick with the money metaphor to illustratehow habits can become self-destructive.

To achieve financial wealth you need to take an objective look at yourhabits. Are you in the habit of spending more than you earn? Or, are

you in the habit of tucking a piece of each paycheck into a savingsaccount or investment? The habit of saving is the bedrock to financialsuccess, so much so that W. Clement Stone claimed, “your ability tosave is a prerequisite to creating personal wealth.”

Outside the world of money, you could also say your ability to trainis a prerequisite to running a marathon, or studying is a prerequisiteto completing college. Think about your dreams and goals in life.Chances are you know what the key factors to success are in your

field of interest.

What is the one overriding “prerequisite” to success in your field ofinterest? You may also turn this around and ask, What is the onemain cause of failure in my field of interest?

Here are three habits that can wreak havoc on your personal finances:

1. Buying things that you don't need that always depreciate in value,such as a new car, recreational vehicle, or the latest and greatestliving room furniture. Robert Kiyosaki referred to these things as"doodads" in his book Rich Dad, Poor Dad.

2. Failing to recognize or acknowledge the power of the Internet tohelp you create additional income.





3. Squandering your hard-earned money on things or recreationalactivities that provide instant gratification while ignoring the long-term implications of not investing for the future.

In other aspects of life the three points above can be summed up as:

1. Failing to make wise choices in the pursuit of your goal(s).

2. Not using all of the tools that may be available to you in thepursuit of your goal(s).

3. An unwillingness to delay gratification in order to achieve your

goal(s).

Wealthy people make creating wealth a priority in their lives. Theyaccept personal responsibility for their success, create goals, and usemoney to build businesses, support charities, and enjoy life.

You could argue that the wealthy were lucky enough to be born intoa wealthy family, but the statistics state otherwise. Only 15% of thewealthy households in America attribute their wealth to inheritances.

That means 85% of the wealthy population earned their wealththrough hard work, wise investments, and successful businesses. In asense they found something that worked and repeated it over andover—kind of like a habit, you might say.

Wealthy people habitually do those things that create wealth. Youcan join this elite group by developing new habits, such as starting ahome-based business using the power of the Internet. Today youhave access to the most powerful marketing system in the history ofhumankind-the Internet. Using the Internet, entrepreneurs haveliterally gone from rags to riches overnight.

If your goals do not include creating wealth at the moment, then Iapologize for this distraction. However, many of the lessons we learn





in business and money management can be applied to other aspectsof our lives.

Either way, one thing remains true:

If you can change your habits, you can change your life.

Powerful goal statements, coupled with action, are surefire tools youcan use to achieve success, starting today.

Have You Thought About Starting A Home Business?

I hope you have received some value from this short book, and willbe able to apply some of the methods discussed here in achievingyour dreams.

Over the past few years I have come to terms with the knowledgethat my job income would not be able to meet my financial needs—especially as I transition towards retirement.

We live in tough economic times. But despite that, many people

continue to do well in their own home business.

If you are interested in looking at a legitimate home businessopportunity, then I invite you to take a tour of my website. To getstarted, simply click the link at the bottom of any page in this report.

Best wishes.

Ron Taylor

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