Sunday, December 11, 2011

Blog moved to MichaelHamburger.com




Please note that this blog is no longer active.  
To stay up to date on my active blog, please visit www.MichaelHamburger.com 
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DREAM BIG!!!

Michael Hamburger
Avant
www.MichaelHamburger.biz

Friday, May 27, 2011

DO YOU FEEL THE NEED FOR SPEED IN LIFE & IN BUSINESS?

Whichever side of the planet you’re on, the winter months can mean down time for some people but I’m always ramping UP even more when the cold weather hits.  For more than ten years now I’ve been an avid snowboarder.  There’s nothing like that cold, crisp crunch when you’re sailing down those white slopes to make you feel more alive!  It’s amazing how interconnected things are, though, because when I’m up there carving turns and watching that fall line, I seem to get as many lessons on life and business as I do on snowboarding.

Here’s just one of the parallels I see and even if you’re not a winter sports fan, I bet you can relate to an experience in your own life that illustrates the same idea.  Each season when I head back out to the snow I notice that I tend to go slower on my first few runs… sometimes for the first few days of the trip.  I catch myself holding back from FEAR (False Expectations Appearing Real).  Can I hold my edge?   Will I keep my balance?  Am I judging that turn just right?  Will I lose control?  After a few runs I eventually get my confidence back, but it reminds me of the times I’ve allowed fear to hold me back in other areas of my life… personal and professional.  I always pay a price for that because when I let it, fear can cost me freedom and an easier, free-flowing experience.

I’ve seen a pattern here that’s important because everyone who knows me knows that I’m an incurable adrenaline junkie!  I’m a boater, a “retired” lifelong motorcyclist and a skydiver.  What these experiences have taught me is that FEAR of the unknown has absolutely NO power to stop me when my mindset is in the right place.  Not acting in the face of fear costs me everything.  Acting in spite of the fear empowers me to gain anything.  See, the costly mistake we often make is waiting to FEEL courageous before we ACT with courage.  Believe it or not, it actually takes more energy to go slow and pull back from the fear than it does to simply release, allow, let go and soar.  That’s something to think about.  What rewards are you missing by holding back?

I won’t beat you over the head with the analogy because I think we all get it… whether you’re sliding down a mountain or just reaching for the telephone to make that big call, it’s a guarantee in life that moments will come when fear pops up.  We can’t control the events in our lives… and often not even the emotions we have about them… but what we CAN control is the next choice we make… the next action we take.

The last snowboarding trip I took was in January 2011 in Park City, Utah.  I was in the Salt Lake City area on a business trip and decided to stay an extra day to enjoy the mountains.  Ironically enough, I ended up on the exact spot where I was standing when I first found this amazing, life-changing industry… The Canyons at Park City.  When I walked away from a lucrative career as a Fortune 50 telecom sales executive to become a direct marketer, it was a lot like looking down that steep slope on the first day of a snowboarding trip.  Did I have fear? Sure I did, but I made the run anyway and have never once regretted it.

Do you have the need for speed, or is fear holding you back?  Push off on that run… whatever it is for you… and claim the rewards that are waiting for you along the way.  You won’t regret it!

Friday, May 20, 2011

SCAM YOURSELF OR BELIEVE IN YOURSELF?

Winners don’t get what they deserve – they get what they BELIEVE they deserve.

For a long time, I’ve been an avid and passionate tennis player. I love everything about the sport… the skill… the psychology… the strategy… and most of all, the insight the game has given me into human nature and my own belief systems. When you’re alone out there on your side of the net, it’s just you and the ball and your opponent. There’s nowhere to hide and no one to blame when things don’t go your way. You can tell a LOT about how a person handles life and business by the way they respond when they’re having a bad game (I sure hope John McEnroe’s not reading this issue)!

How can I be so sure about this? Because I’ve learned a LOT about myself over the years on the tennis court. When I relocated with my family to the Houston area a year and a half ago to begin my journey running a top tier network marketing company at a corporate level, everything was new… new state… new career responsibilities… and a new tennis league. To make a long story very short, it was my worst tennis season ever. After losing game after game, it became clear to me that I wasn’t losing from a lack of effort. I was defeating myself by playing too hard. I was gripping the racket like a vise, taking a rigid stance and swinging like a wild man at every ball, all in an attempt to CONTROL outcomes that were BEYOND my control. In fact, I was reaching so far for a pre-conceived outcome that I lost my balance and my game suffered for it.

Guess what? My performance on the tennis court was telling me that my belief system needed a tune up. I needed to let go of the idea that I had to kill every ball, ace every serve or win every set so that I could be free to relax back into my game… to be fully present with my breathing, my form and what was happening around me on the court… in short, to just experience the joy… the essence… of tennis again. My beliefs about myself needed to be grounded in my PURPOSE for being there and how much of myself I was giving to it… not in how many TV shots I made or how many points I scored in any one match. In sports, like in business, life is going to bring you bad balls, bad shots and tough opponents who have something to teach you. Since there’s no escaping that, your belief system had better be built on something that won’t shift underneath you when life takes an unexpected bounce.

There are five things that successful people do every day without exception to plant their belief systems on solid ground. ONE: they begin each day by visualizing their ideal vision for wealth, health and wisdom in vivid detail. TWO: They follow a consistent practice for self development and work harder on themselves than they work on their business. THREE: They make an unbreakable commitment to themselves to complete their income producing activities no matter what. FOUR: They reach out to a mastermind group of other leaders who know more than they do. FIVE: They cultivate an expectation of leadership by having a servant’s heart, a teachable spirit and a bias for ACTION. Winners know that learning from their mistakes will carry them farther and faster than playing it safe.

One other attribute that ALL top-producers have in common is that they DESERVE to be successful. Do you really believe deep down that you truly deserve wealth, health and wisdom? Are you taking actions today that reflect that belief or does your belief system need a tune up? Maybe it’s time to loosen your grip on the racket, breathe, look around and remember that you’re on the court to have FUN!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michael Hamburger is the COO and President of Avant Education (www.weareavant.com/hamburger). Mr. Hamburger, a former US Marine and Fortune 100 Sales Executive, began his network marketing career in 1998. In a moment of clarity in early 2003, he made the choice to transform his life through network marketing. Michael has mentored thousands of people from six continents and is a staunch proponent of network marketing. He can often be heard laughing out loud, saying, “If I can do it, anyone can!”

Michael can be reached through Facebok www.facebook.com/michaelhamburger or through his blog at www.MichaelHamburger.com

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

KNOW WHAT YOU WANT

Join a new generation of network marketers who are charting their own course in life.

I’ve been an avid (and active!) student of success ever since I first discovered the network marketing industry more than a decade ago. They may prescribe different tools and techniques for doing it and they all have their own way of saying it, but every success mentor I’ve ever studied makes pretty much the same point – you can’t GET what you want until you KNOW what you want!

Sure, we all have dreams, and most of us have at least a vague idea that we want happiness, fulfillment and security in some form, but what I’m talking about here is having TOTAL CLARITY about what you want your life experience to be in every area – mentally, spiritually, emotionally and physically. You’d be shocked to discover how few people really invest the effort to map out their lives in this kind of detail, but I can tell you without any fear of contradiction that the wealthiest 1% of the population follows this one success habit without exception. They set a vision for what they want in vivid detail.
If you feel stuck the first time you try this kind of visioning exercise, don’t beat yourself up about it.

Most of us have been taught from a very early age to “go along to get along” and keep our dreams small, if we have them at all. By the time kids reach the sixth grade, most of their creativity has been conditioned out of them with the expectation that there’s only one right answer. Independent thinking is rarely encouraged, especially when it comes to wealth and success. The truth is that there are no rules about how successful you can be. The only real limits on the abundance you create are the ones you set for yourself. If you’re ready to give it try, here are some hints to get you started.

Think about what inspires you. Are there activities in your life that make you lose track of time? Are there certain things you do or experience during the day that seem to automatically raise your energy level, almost before you realize it? These are clues that point to your true desires in life. Think back to conversations you’ve had with close friends or family members. If you can recall a time when your speech became more animated – when the words just seemed to flow – that’s inspiration at work.

Make a few notes about these memories and you’ll be off to a great start toward defining what you really want. What are you passionate about? Almost everyone has had the experience of seeing situation at work, at home or in the world at large and just “knowing” they could make it better. If you’ve ever felt driven to improve something in your life or in your environment, that’s another clue you can use to uncover your deepest desires.

What are the “wants” that truly motivate you? Is it having more discretionary income, more free time or a special accomplishment that has your name attached to it? Imagine all of these things as if they’ve already become real in your life and write them out in vivid detail. Finally, knowing WHY you want them will help you to stay on task. Whether it’s to realize a personal dream, make a change in the world or provide a better life for someone you love, knowing “why” your dream is important to you will keep you on course when the inevitable temptation comes to put it off for another day. Network marketing is the best vehicle I know for making dreams come true, so make sure you dream big!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michael Hamburger is COO and President of Avant Education (http://www.weareavant.com/hamburger).  Mr. Hamburger, a former US Marine and Fortune 100 Sales Executive, began his network marketing career in 1998. In a moment of clarity in early 2003, he made the choice to transform his life through network marketing. Michael has mentored thousands of people from six continents and is a staunch proponent of network marketing. He can often be heard laughing out loud, saying, “If I can do it, anyone can!”

Michael can be reached through Facebook www.facebook.com/michaelhamburger or his blog at www.MichaelHamburger.com.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Success is in Your Hands

One of the most rewarding things about being in this profession is hearing the amazing success stories of ordinary people who have found a way to do something extraordinary in their lives. Meeting just one or two people who succeeded in creating massive abundance in their lives would be inspiring and heartwarming enough, but I’m talking about success stories numbering in the hundreds and thousands since I made a commitment to this industry back in 2003. When I say “massive abundance” I’m talking about success on your terms – as you define it – whether that means better relationships, more freedom, personal fulfillment or generational wealth you can pass on to your children’s children.
While most of us are familiar with the Hollywood version of  “old money” or inherited wealth, statistics show that more than eighty percent of today’s millionaires are not only self-made, but also come from very diverse middle and lower middle class backgrounds. The good news here is that the secrets of wealth creation are no longer reserved only for those who are already wealthy. The bad news is that it puts the responsibility to choose abundance squarely back on the individual. This was the realization that transformed my life in the blink of an eye when I was first introduced to this industry – that I had to create results for myself instead of waiting for anything to be handed to me.  I discovered that hope is not a strategy!

In my eight rewarding years enjoying my own success and celebrating the success of countless others in the home-based business world, a few key principles keep rising to the top. One is that GRATITUDE is the universal multiplier. When you greet each day with a grateful heart as a habit of life, you are exponentially more likely to attract the people, resources and opportunities you need to create abundance. But although you aren’t likely to build lasting wealth without it, gratitude alone is not enough to get you there – you need something more.

The one factor that seems to set those who truly get ahead apart from those who just get by is a “stick-to-it-ive” mentality – a relentless pursuit of their objective no matter what. In his powerful book The Traveler’s Gift, author and speaker Andy Andrews calls this the ability to stick to your principles without exception. Media personality and breakout Libertarian candidate Wayne Allyn Root (another self-made millionaire from humble beginnings) attributes his amazing success to being relentless in the face of resistance from folks who told him he’d never be on TV, never get published, never get nominated. He’s exceeded all these goals and more.

When it comes to opportunity, I don’t know of any other industry that allows literally anyone to become a self-made millionaire or multi-millionaire if they have the desire, drive and determination to succeed. You don’t need any special education, qualifications, certifications or huge amounts of up front capital to make it in the home-based business world. All you need to do is go after it relentlessly and with a grateful heart. If you’re willing to do what others won’t for the next three to five years, you can enjoy rewards that others don’t for the rest of your life. This is why I’m so passionate about this industry – because it’s made a difference in my life and my family for generations to come.
In the early days of networking, most people had to operate on a “kill and eat” basis, meaning that they only profited from their personal production without an opportunity to create true “walk away” income. Today a few innovative, integrity-based companies understand the importance of mentoring and teamwork. They reward entrepreneurs for investing in the success of others and this is another key to creating massive abundance – the success and wealth you create in others will return to you many times over.

How can you be this kind of leader? If you’re new to the industry, watch what the winners do and model their success habits day in and day out. People will follow you when they sense that you have certainty about your direction in life and before long you’ll find that they’re patterning their success habits after yours! The best way I know to get this kind of certainty is to fixate at a granular level on what it is that you really, really want. Write it out in vivid detail in the present tense. Jack Canfield, author of The Success Principles calls this “acting as if” your goals are already an accomplished fact. Start each day with gratitude for the opportunities around you, imagine your dreams and goals with specificity and pursue them relentlessly. Do this with resolve and your obstacles will dissolve.  Until then...


DREAM BIG!!!

Michael Hamburger
http://www.MichaelHamburger.com
http://twitter.com/mhhamburger