Five years ago, when I was still working as a nightclub bouncer, I was fortunate enough to be invited to co-host a conference call. I needed about $20,000 to expand my business and I was talking about the things I was doing in an attempt to raise the money. Some of them were downright brutal. My wife suggested we sell her wedding ring. I asked people for money while I was checking IDs at the nightclub. There was no such thing as the word shame. The call host asked me why I was willing to go to such lengths. My explanation was simple: My dream life was so great that I was willing to burn everything I had if it meant I even had a chance of living it. Looking back on that attitude it seems a bit Kamikaze but I have a lot more to lose now. That conviction is what allowed me to make the tough sacrifices: the time, the money, and the risk. It allowed me to find money for my business when I was borrowing money for baby formula.

Now I live the life of my dreams. In fact, I live the life of most people’s dreams.

The funny thing is people that people think I am an extreme. A fluke. I disagree. A new millionaire is being made every day in America because of the internet. Anybody can tap into its power. The sad thing is that most people think it is too much of a sacrifice. The sacrifice I am talking about is the time it takes to educate themselves. It might take as long as five years to make it big.

Or….here is another option.

The average salary in the National Football League is $740,000. Now I know what you’re thinking. I don’t want to play football but just follow me for a second. Imagine that football was the only thing you were good at. Imagine you devoted your whole life to being the best.

Your odds of making it to the NFL are 1 in 11.,235. Assuming you do make it in, the average career lasts 2.7 years. Once your ridiculously short career is over you have this awesome fact to contest with:

The average NFL player lives TWENTY YEARS LESS than the average human. You read that right. For the glory of 2.7 years and 2 million dollars you get to live 20 years less. Not to mention that money has to last you the rest of your life.

How does that glamourous option look now?

Let’s go back to option A. You sacrifice a couple years at most. You find a niche that you can get good at. You make money for the rest of your life because your finances are based on your brain and not your body. You live wherever you like because the internet is totally portable. You create your own brand and sell whatever you like whenever you want. You isolate yourself from any recession because the internet keeps growing.

So what is holding you back from your dreams? Is it you or the “perceived challenges.” If you answered “perceived challenges” it may be time to rethink the quality of your dreams.

To your success,

Aaron Parkinson

My life is ever-changing. Between CarbonCopyPRO, people approaching me with new ideas, and my other interests, I am always on the go. This month, however, has seemed a bit overboard. I have moved my family to another country, set up new bank accounts, applied for work permits, and put my daughter into a new school. In addition that we have two L1 events for CarbonCopyPRO and are scheduled to have 1500 people at our marketing event in November. Yes, I am busy. As I started to feel my shoulders tightening and my chest getting taught I took a moment to step back and reflect. There have been a few key times in my life where I have felt things were tougher than they needed to be. These times all revolved around massive changes in my life.

I think the average human retracts in these situations. I see it all the time. One setback after another occurs and the reason that initially motivated the change takes a back seat to the current stress level. This is what is known as the “elastic band effect”. If you have never heard of the elastic band effect then let me explain. Human beings are creatures of habit, both mentally and physically. When we try to create change we have to unseat all the established routines in our life. We also have to rewire our brain to do something different. As we begin to stretch the elastic band further and further it gets tighter and tighter. At the time where the most change is occurring the tension of the elastic band becomes almost unbearable. This can manifest itself it many different setbacks in your life. At the tightest point, most people allow the elastic band to pull them back into there old habits. Back to there “comfort zone”.

I have chosen the other path.

When that elastic band gets tightest and times get toughest I choose to be even more committed to the result.  I refuse to lose. Some people call this stubborn or egomaniacal. I call it greatness. This is the tipping point of what separates the best from the rest. That ability to endure pain that one extra minute, hour, or day. Eventually that elastic has no choice but to snap. When that happens, you experience a euphoria like no other. You realize your own strength and what you can truly accomplish. When I see it happen for members of our community it is my moment of pure joy. It is that “a ha” moment.

And then I tell them to begin the stretch again.