A lot times people will ask me:

“What is the single biggest thing that has made a difference in your success?”

Most of the time I will prod them with a couple questions, see if I can spot their hang-up, and then give them something that they can take away that will help. I am actually modifying my answers based on what I think will help them the most. I mean, let’s be honest, people don’t usually want to hear what did it for me, they want to hear what will do it for them. The fact is, I totally get it. I have been in the spot and I know how hard it can be to get over the first hurdles. That’s why I take a little time to see where they are stuck.

But not today.

I guess, from now on, I will have to answer a question with a question. I will have to ask: “Have you read my blog?” because I am going to tell you my honest feeling about what sets me apart.

To put it plainly: I am a fighter.

And not just any kind of fighter. I am an all out, beat you down, fighting to feed my family, no rules, cheat if I have to, never give up, nasty kind of fighter. I am the kind of person you never want to pick a fight with because, win or lose, it will be the most miserable experience of your life. I am the kind of person who never forgets, so even if you think you got away with something, I will get you later when you least expect it. I never pick fights, but I finish them every time.

So the answer to the question “What sets me apart?” is simple:

I hit harder. If don’t hit harder, my skills are better. If those don’t work, I can take a punch better. If you are better at all of those things, I will fight longer until you quit. Training every day to get better is a given for me.

You see, being a fighter is a state of mind. It is a confidence in yourself that you can beat any foe, obstacle, or encounter. It is a set of beliefs that have been instilled in every great leader,  military, or athlete.

Fear does not reside here. Whining is not tolerated. Weakness is an illusion.

My good friend Jay Kubassek describes it as doing more than 99% of other people would do.

I have encouraged people to strip back all the creature comforts in their lives. You know what I am talking about: the Starbucks latte, the feather duvet, the Big Star jeans, and even, yes godforbid, the Whole Foods. I love them all too, but I know their place.  Once you have done that, ask yourself:

What’s left?

What’s left is you and another 5.5 billion hungry, loin cloth wearing, club swinging cavemen and cavewomen all trying to kill an elephant and feed their family.

This is your family history. Based on the philosophy of “survival of the fittest” you come from a line of great warriors.Whether you believe it or not, your are ALREADY a fighter. Your family survived diseases, wars, natural disasters hunger, droughts, and everything else you can imagine. They came out on top which gave them the right to procreate.

You have this warrior spirit GENETICALLY built in to you! You are smart, creative, and powerful.

You can use it for good, for, evil, or not at all. That’s the beauty of choice. I choose to embrace it. I choose to fight.

What will you do?

To your success,

Aaron Parkinson

About a week ago I was in San Diego to check out one of Frank Kern’s events. I won’t go into the details of that event, other than to say I had fun. What I will tell you about is an experience that I think was vitally more important.

I had a near death experience.

Ok, maybe I am being a little dramatic but it sure felt like I was going to die. What seemed to be a fairly harmless eggs benedict on the airplane turned out to contain something vile and toxic. I never felt right after eating it. Even as I was getting a massage at the Hard Rock hotel I could see my stomach getting more and more swollen. The therapist even commented on my bulbous belly. About two hours later I was in complete bodily shutdown. I literally didn’t know which way was up and things were coming out of me that I didn’t know were part of this universe. The attack on my insides continued for twelve hours straight. I started to hallucinate.

I promised god that if he let me live I would never eat meat again.

I didn’t eat meat for three days.

By day seven not only was I eating meat but I even had an egg sandwich. The exact thing that nearly took me out. You have to ask yourself:

“How do we forget such painful experiences so quickly?”

The answer came to me and it is actually quite simple. Our brains were created with the ability to forget pain. More important is “why”? This amazing ability allows us to push the envelope of evolution. Think about it. Would the Wright Brothers really been able to keep crashing their test planes if the pain was in the forefront of their mind? Would NFL athletes be able to perform if all they could think about was that ligament tear? Then there is the big one: Would women really have another baby if the brain wasn’t downplaying the pain of the first birth? The answer to all three questions is a resounding NO!

So…we are programmed to forget pain quickly. This serves humanity by allowing us to procreate, evolve, invent, and push our limits.

The more important question may be: How can you harness this and how can it help you?

The fact is that most people are afraid of failure. They worry about what their friends will say. They worry about the financial strain it may cause. They worry about how it may effect their marriage. All of these worries are about “future pain”. The truth is that 95% of the time your fears won’t come true. The other 5% that do come true, as heinous as they might be, you will forget in as little as seven days. (At least that was my case with the eggs)

My point here is simple. Don’t be afraid of the pain. It is the fear that keeps you from trying something new and maximizing your potential. The pain is always less than you make it out to be and before you know it, you’ll forget what it even felt like.

To your success,

Aaron Parkinson

The Definition of Security

Security is a hot topic lately, especially financial security. It’s not surprising considering the thousands of people being laid off on a daily basis. The definition for most people is quite simple. Get a great job, get paid well for a long time, and save enough to retire.

The problem with getting attached to this definition is the “what if?”

What if you get downsized? What if your company goes bankrupt? What if a new hot shot gets hired in your department? What if you are a hair model and one day you go bald in a crazy hot marshmallow accident?

What just happened to your security?

About five years ago I learned a different definition and it stuck with me forever.

“Security does not come from money. It comes from knowing that you will do whatever it takes to accomplish your goal.”

When you start living your life through this filter everything becomes a lot more peaceful. You rarely panic or get stressed out. You know that you can turn the tide whenever you feel like putting your mind to it.

Let me be clear though: This is not a “change your mind and change your life thing.”

You must have had enough experiences to “know” what you can do. You must have taken risks and followed through a few times. You must have paid some dues and fallen on your face.

Then you can differentiate between “hoping” and “knowing”.

Only then will you truly have security.

Now go out and make some mistakes.

Successfully,

Aaron Parkinson

Ego is a powerful thing. Every human likes to believe that they will “not go quietly into the night.” We like to visualize ourselves as the super hero. Look at our childhood icons: Batman, Superman, Ironman, whatever man. There is something in all of us that wants to single-handedly take on the world.
One man can have a huge impact on the world, think Martin Luther King. Ask any poker player in the world “Who is the best?” and they will answer “I am” 99% of the time. Roger Federer is the greatest tennis player in history based on his work ethic. Every one of these examples shows the importance of individual confidence and laser focused determination. What you rarely hear about though, is the team of people that got superstar “over the top.”
The quote “There is power in numbers” is applicable in everything, especially business. When I met my partner Jay five years ago I had no idea the impact he would have on my life. When I met my other partner Alan two years ago we didn’t even like each other. Now we are like brothers. Each new person I have connected with has added another brick to my foundation. In some cases, they have been another weapon in my arsenal. Andy Andrews calls this your “board of directors.” If you can be completely honest with yourself, evaluate your skill sets, and figure out where your weaknesses are, you can begin to create your own “board of directors” to shore up your leaks. You should always have something to offer in return. A kind word and compliment may be all you have but that may also be enough.
I have said many times before: “Your net worth will be determined by your network.”

Go build your army.

Aaron Parkinson

The U.S. is going into an unbelievable death spiral. Even with the Dow up the unemployment numbers are staggering. This is why I preach entrepreneurialism. I believe that controlling your own future is not only your safest bet, but the best way to stay nimble and profit from this economic situation. I found this video  below showing the staggering picture of unemployment right now. It is one of the scariest things I have seen in a long time

http://cohort11.americanobserver.net/latoyaegwuekwe/multimediafinal.html

Be prepared for what is coming. You have an option to profit or perish.

To your success,

Aaron Parkinson

How Congruent Are you Being?

I love to talk about three things, especially after a couple glasses of good wine. The topics are: personal creative power, the psychology of marketing, and wealth creation. I think the reason these topics are so fun to discuss is the fact that they are so intertwined. You cannot create one without understanding the other. As I sit on the deck of a house I rented on Lake Austin, my mind keeps coming back to the concept of congruency and how it relates to all three. There a couple different definitions for the word “congruent” but I think this one is the most relevant for this situation:

In psychology and NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming), congruence could be defined as rapport within oneself, or internal and external consistency, perceived by others as sincerity or certainty.

Look at the different words in this definition and how they apply to each topic. Let’s start with personal creative power. It is staggering how much of this we possess and how little most of us understand it. Combine creative thought with  persistent action, and then fuel the two with emotion, and you have the eternal recipe for “miracles”. Take Thomas Edison for example. He knew he would revolutionize the world if he could create a sustainable lightbulb. He actually created many forms that “worked” before he created the one we know now. The problem was they burnt out within a day, a week, or a month. Who wants to change light bulbs everyday? He tried over 10,000 substances before he found that bamboo worked the longest and the rest is history. Let’s look at how congruent Edison was with what he desired. As far as personal power is concerned, Edision developed the idea, so he “created” something out of nothing. The internal rapport was always 100% convinced that he could do it. He had both internal and external consistency in his message. Even when people mocked him after his 9000th try, he never waivered. It takes a lot of energy to break through the bonds of limitation and that is why a lot of people give up. Edison’s actions stayed congruent with his internal vision.

Now I said there were three topics, so let’s look at how the Edison example applies to marketing. Edison knew he could provide one of his first light bulb models and receive unimaginable praise. Remember, everyone was still reading by candle. A light bulb that could work for a day had amazing commercial ramifications. Edison, however, had a much bigger vision of how he was going to market his invention. He knew that if he could create a bulb that lasted for hundreds of hours, instead of just a few, he would have a product that the whole world could afford. He could have cashed in early. He chose to stay the course. His certainty was unshakeable. He eventually created a bamboo based filament and a bulb that lasted for hundreds of hours.

The third part to the congruency equation is wealth creation. If you look at the trials and tribulations of Edison it is surprising that he persisted so long. It is even more surprising, to some, that he didn’t take the easy money. When you truly realize the value of what you offer, when you really grasp the power of your creative abilities, and when you are congruent with every thought and every action, the creation of wealth is a guarantee. Wealth is simply a byproduct of you staying true to your vision and providing value to the world. I have always thought of it as a game. If I set my sites on a financial goal, all I have to do is work backwards down to the smallest actions. Combine that with passion and persistence and you are completely congruent.

To your success,

Aaron Parkinson

I was recently hanging out on the beach with my buddy Gregg Davison and we got in a fairly heated discussion about the concept of “fate”. Here is the definition of “fate” from Wikipedia:

Fate refers to a predetermined course of events.[1] It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. It is a concept based on the belief that there is a fixed natural order to the cosmos.

Now, I realize that a big portion of the world believes that we were all put here for a specific purpose. I just think it’s BS. If there is one thing I have learned in my fight from the bottom to the top it is this: There is no “pre-written story” for you. There is no divine hand that will determine the rest of your life. I actually think “fate” is just a convenient excuse. It is a cosmic cop-out for why people fail. Think about it. When things go wrong it is a lot easier to point the finger at god and say “It’s your fault. You did this to me.” The thought of actually taking personal responsibility for ones life can be very sobering. Most people don’t want to face it. Sadly, by taking this stance, most people miss out on the single most powerful force in the universe.

That is the power of choice.

When you actually take responsibility for all the things that have happened in your life, good or bad, you make a choice to control your life. If you can admit that all your downfalls have been the result of your specific choices then it becomes easy to believe that better choices will create new results. I once had a friend that believed so strongly in the concept of personal responsibility that he told me if he was hit by a drunk driver he wouldn’t blame the driver he would blame himself. He explained to me that it was his choice to walk on that street, to pay better attention, or to leave his house at all, therefore, he was responsible for the outcome.

Now obviously, that is an extreme example.

A more obvious example is the guy who is undereducated, watches too much TV, drinks too much beer, and cannot figure out why he is broke.  Is he unlucky? Are these the “cards he was dealt?”

There is no mystery here. This guy has created his own situation. His actions and habits over the last five years have created his reality. This was not due to fate, it was due to choice. I believe that the choices we make every day create our fate. Do you want more money? Great. Start studying people who have done that. More importantly, study their habits. Lay out a plan and a time frame. Start spending your nights educating yourself instead of watching TV. Start looking at every result, good or bad, and figure out how you manifested it. The strength you will begin to feel is intoxicating. For the first time in your life you will know what it means to be “empowered.”

The next time someone tells you “it was fate”, you will know better.

To your success,

Aaron Parkinson

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.