12/08/2009

SUCCESS — What Achievers Read. On Newsstands Now!

SUCCESS — What Achievers Read. On Newsstands Now!

30 Tips to Take Control of Your Life Now - SUCCESS magazine

30 Tips to Take Control of Your Life Now - SUCCESS magazine

11/10/2009

Josh Stewart Founder and CEO of XJet

Josh Stewart’s Bio

XJet is the result of Josh’s life long dream to create a unique brand, recognized worldwide for its genuine people, passion to serve, and commitment to build a bright beacon that inspires others to live the life of their dreams. His passion for flying led him to Africa where he flew on peace and relief missions for the International Red Cross, the United Nations and the U.S. State Department. Josh has over 15 years of aviation experience and has logged more than 5,000 flight hours as a military (Royal Air Force), bush and commercial pilot rated in both helicopter and jet aircraft. He has held many roles in aviation including Chief Pilot and Director of Operations in addition to setting up the first air service in Sudan.

Josh was born in Ireland and is a graduate of London University’s Queen Mary College. He is committed to inspiring and educating youth through aviation. He currently serves on the Board of Advisors for ACE (Alliance for Choice in Education), Colorado Uplift and the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum. Josh works closely with Sungate Kids, Denver Public Schools, Denver Street Schools and the Morgan Adams Foundation encouraging them to reach for the stars


Josh Stewart Founder and CEO of XJet


Best,

Andy Rodie

11/09/2009

How to Get Anything You Want

Nido Qubein is a successful businessman, speaker, consultant and educator. He has been delivering dynamic presentations for over 30 years to such leading companies as AT&T, Dominos Pizza, JC Penney and Radio Shack. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including Stairway to Success and How to Be a Great Communicator. Enjoy this excerpt of Nido’s presentation, How to Get Anything You Want.

A great video. Enjoy

How to Get Anything You Want

Best,

Andy Rodie

10/28/2009

Empire state of Mind (feat Alicia Keys) - My new theme song. Inspiring

This song is very inspiring to me as a New Yorker. Makes me stay hungry. Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York.






Best,

Andy Rodie

10/25/2009

Thank you Will Smith

I enjoy his television, films and music, but this short video of Will Smith, took it to a whole new level. Enjoy.



Best,

Andy Rodie

10/19/2009

Great interview with Jordon Zimmerman on VVH-TV

A great interview with entrepreneur Jordon Zimmerman, followed by an article on success tips written by staff writer Bibin Mannattuparampil of THE CURRENT, Nova Southeastern University.



Future Huizenga School Entrepreneur Hall of Fame inductee, Jordan Zimmerman, spoke to NSU staff and students about the hardships of his success on Jan. 6 at the Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship.
Zimmerman founded Zimmerman Advertising, which has grown into the fifteenth-largest advertising firm in the nation, with over 1,000 associates and 22 offices since 1984, when it was first established. During his time at NSU, Zimmerman discussed the obstacles he had to overcome to reach where he is today.
Zimmerman worked all of his life. At the age of eight, he created a greeting card distribution business and sold his enterprise two years later. When Zimmerman was ten years old, he lied about his age to become a paperboy. The required age was twelve. It was during his employment with the newspaper that he realized he had a passion and drive for advertising. Zimmerman attended school at the University of South Florida and created the well-known National Institute on Drug Abuse campaign, "Just Say No."
Zimmerman couldn't be stopped, or so he thought. After graduating from USF, he traveled up to New York in search of a job. Zimmerman set up ten interviews and made no progress. "I went zero for ten," he said. "I realized [they] couldn't all be wrong."
Failing to get hired helped Zimmerman recognize the importance of an MBA, so he went back to USF to continue his education. Upon graduating, Zimmerman decided to create his own company and Zimmerman Advertising was founded.
Zimmerman lectured to the audience about his "Eight Steps To Insane Commitment," an entertaining, yet motivating slide show on what has made him a success in the business world.
1. "There's no room for mediocrity." Ok doesn't cut it. Being the best is what it's about.
2. "There lies a thin line between brilliance and true insanity." Zimmerman referenced Einstein and other brilliant minds who many had thought were insane at one point.
3. "Fear nothing."
4. "Don't let anyone take you off of your game." If one is passionate about something, then nothing should get in his/her way.
5. "Sweat the small stuff." The little things oftentimes play a big part in consumer satisfaction.
6. "The bottom line never lies." The bottom line is everything, and in business one month is a year.
7. "Thrive or die." According to Zimmerman, there is no win or lose, there is only win.
8. "Knocked down ten times, get up the eleventh." Zimmerman was turned down in ten job interviews, yet that didn't stop him from reaching his goals.

Zimmerman concluded his lecture by explaining the importance of building a business that balances one's life, and added in closing, "Sleep when you die

Enjoy

Best,

Andy Rodie

10/08/2009

Robert Greene - the 50th law.



I love all of Robert Greene's books, but this one, the 50th law,is my favorite. It deals with an emotion that all of us struggle with daily. Fear. I encourage all to get a copy and read it, and you will discover how this emotion of fear, control our lives. A great and inspiring read.

Here is an interview Robert Greene did recently with Sonshi about the book.


Sonshi.com: Last time you were here, you introduced our readers to your book "33 Strategies of War" and of course discussed the "48 Laws of Power." Now you have another hard-hitting book called "The 50th Law" (available September 8, 2009), and it's a collaborative effort with rapper Curtis Jackson, aka 50 Cent. Would you mind giving us the background on the book's title?

Greene: The book is a blending of two disparate worlds.the writer and the hustler. The 50 in the title obviously refers to Fifty Cent, and the Law refers to my book, The 48 Laws of Power.

In talking to Fifty and observing him in action, I had the idea that I wanted to get at the essence of his success, why he was able to emerge from one of the most hopeless corners of America and reach the top. Most people are crushed by such circumstances, but he wasn't.

At one point in our discussions, I had the realization that it was his fearlessness that elevated him above his peers. Most people remain tied to the same circle of actions because they are deeply afraid of change, of something unfamiliar. This keeps them locked in a kind of invisible prison of their own making. Because of Fifty's experiences and something in his character, he learned to move past the deepest fears that inhibit most of us. He learned to not be afraid of being alone (he never knew his father and his mother was murdered when he was eight), and to develop self.reliance. He taught himself to not be afraid of change, to leave the hustling world at the age of 20 and enter with full force into music. He found a way to embrace adversity and reverse it into power. Overcoming the fear of death, he feels he has nothing to lose by taking risks. This fearlessness on his part gives him a much greater range of action than others and translates into freedom and power.

In reflecting on the research in my other books, I realized that almost all powerful people in history share this quality.an adventurous and fearless spirit. It is in fact the foundation of any kind of success in this world. You could have a lot of money at your fingertips, the finest education and intellectual knowledge, but if you are governed by fear none of that will matter. You will remain tied to dead ideas and stale strategies. You will not be able to adapt. You will lose what you have. You cannot master the 48 Laws until you have gained control over yourself, confronted and overcome your fears. That is the essence of the 50th Law.

Sonshi.com: You compared your collaboration with 50 Cent to the role that Niccolo Machiavelli played while analyzing Cesare Borgia (and others involved in Florentine politics and military affairs) in writing The Prince. That leads us to ask these two questions: What is 50 Cent's intent in publishing "The 50th Law"? What is your intent?

Greene: Fifty is a master at the 48 Laws, a living, breathing example of the types I analyzed in the book. He lives by the precept .conceal your intentions,. so I can never be quite sure what his intent might be in doing this book. But I will hazard a guess: He is a very intelligent, thoughtful person as well as a master strategist. He also has his flaws as any human does. As a celebrity, he finds himself locked into this simplified character he has to portray for the public.the thuggish, aggressive rapper. The public does not see the other dimensions. After several years of this, he has become tired of playing this role. He has the desire to reveal the more reflective side of his personality and the lessons he has learned in life. It was a relief for him to be able to talk about larger issues and his philosophy, rather than answering the same boring questions about his life as a celebrity. Also, such this book will help glean his image, cast him in a new light and make people take him more seriously. Of course, this is all speculation on my part.

As for me: Fifty had originally approached me to do this book and at first I was hesitant. I like to work on my own, without any hindrances from others. Also, I am not interested in celebrity culture; I am more intrigued by the actions of everyday people than the puffery surrounding stars. But when I met him I could see he was different. We shared the same interest in power and strategy. He was surprisingly normal and down to earth. And the more I began to contemplate doing the book, the more I became excited by a simple idea. My other books involved massive amounts of research and thinking, but it was all in my head. Fifty is a master practitioner of the game and I could study him in action.

Also, I became intrigued with the idea of moving into a world.that of the urban hustler.that was so different from mine. It would be an exciting task to bring that world alive, and show how hustling is in fact a life skill, a very human attribute. I believe that for both of us this book was a way to challenge ourselves and try something different. The 50th Law might fail, who knows, but we can honestly say no one has really attempted anything quite like it.

Sonshi.com: When we saw a video interview with 50 Cent on BusinessWeek, we were blown away by his rather quiet and gentle demeanor. Perhaps we were expecting the tough guy image portrayed by many rappers. (For the reader's benefit, 50 Cent recently profited $100 million from his investment in Glaceau, the company that makes VitaminWater.) From what you observed, how is 50 Cent's mindset different from successful businesspeople in traditional industries, if indeed the mindset is different?

Greene: People generally have their mindset formed by a mix of their early experiences in life and their formal education. People at the top in business most often come from relatively similar backgrounds of privilege and entitlement. If they do come from a different culture or from poverty, their attitude is quickly shaped and altered around them. The few who start out as adventurous entrepreneurs are under tremendous pressure to conform to the usual patterns of action, particularly if they have success and their business grows. They succumb to all of the conventions in place, many of which are based on models from decades past, or from certain ideas promoted in business schools.

Fifty has no formal education. His mind was formed on the streets, as a hustler. The hustler is a character that I analyze in great depth in the book. Hustlers learn early on to make the most of what they have. They don't wait for better resources or more gadgetry. They take everything at their fingertips and find ways to transform such things into money and power. They are not afraid of adversity or risk; they are trained early on to deal with chaotic situations and exploit them. They also learn to get as close as possible to their customer base, to have a great feel for what the public desires. For Fifty, hustling on the streets served as his MBA.

We make the case in the book that we are entering a new world order. You can throw out the old rules and conventions. In fact, the world is coming to resemble the environment of southside Queens during the crack epidemic.chaotic and highly competitive. In the crack cocaine era, the old large.scale gang networks that were very hierarchical could not meet the demand of their customers, and so corner entrepreneurs entered the fray. Those who could think on their feet and not be tied down by worn.out ideas were the ones who thrived. They exploited the apparent disorder for power by being fluid and fast.

The streets had such a strong influence on Fifty that he was able to withstand the leveling.down impact of the business world. He had learned that his power came from being different, from moving in his own lane.a hustler expression. He would not grow conservative or do things the traditional way. He would break the mold. This meant, like any hustler, experimenting with different ventures, not afraid if one or two of them failed. It meant taking risks, going in directions that were not predictable. It meant exploiting changes in the music business instead of fighting them. Embracing the chaos of the times. This makes him a very powerful figure.what Machiavelli would term as the New Prince, the man who can move beyond his fixed nature and truly adapt to circumstance. People in business are maddeningly conventional. They think that because something worked for someone else, at a different time, it will work for them. This is a great hindrance to any kind of creativity. To the extent that Fifty is able to stay true to his hustler past, he will continue to do well in circumstances that make others flounder.

Sonshi.com: If people understand, study, and take action on "The 50th Law" how do you think they will see their life change (once they conquer their fears)? In other words, how will it make their lives better?

Greene: The first thing the book will do is to make people aware of how deeply their lives are governed by fear. When you stay at a job or a relationship, despite the fact you are not too happy there, you will often justify this action by telling yourself you have a plan, or you will get a promotion soon, or you need to just wait, or you are being loyal. In fact, it is hidden fear that is governing these choices and these fears become a habit. They inhibit your mobility in life. You become afraid of doing things that will displease other people, even though you cannot gain power in this world without breaking a few eggs. You don't take on challenges because you are afraid of failure, but you cannot learn anything unless you are willing to fail. You come to depend on other people, afraid to do things alone. The book will make you aware of the problem, which is half of the solution. You cannot go through life avoiding your fears. One day something bad will happen and you will not have the ability to cope or attack the situation, because you only know how to retreat.

Once aware of the problem, the book will help you explore that realm beyond fear. You need to confront what makes you afraid. If you are afraid of conflict and battle, you need to force yourself to deal with this instead of running away. Each time you move past a fear, you turn a negative into a positive. For instance, if you overcome the fear of being alone, you become self.reliant and entrepreneurial. If you move past the fear of being criticized, you gain the power of using people's feedback to make your work more alive. If you get past your fear of boredom and drudge work, you become disciplined. If you overcome your fear of death, nothing can really shake you. The book will give you countless ideas on how to do this, many inspired by those in history who used such strategies.

You can never get rid of all of your fears. Some are necessary and a part of life. But most of our fears are illusory, based on risks or threats that exist only in our minds. Such fears constrain and make us miserable. The feeling of moving past a particular fear is one of liberation and freedom. You are willing to explore and be open to life. The book cannot make you move in that direction, but perhaps inspire you. And it is our hope it will have such an effect.

Sonshi.com: We often hear that Wall Street is governed by greed and fear -- two opposing emotional extremes that somehow keep the financial markets delicately balanced, adjusting to the natural societal forces of supply and demand. You probably know where we are going with this. Are there risks, detrimental to society perhaps, if people are truly without fear?

Greene: I suppose what you are saying is that it was people on Wall Street, operating without fear of the consequences of their greedy actions, who created the mess that we are in. In that argument, such people need to have more fear, not less. But let us look at this more closely.

Greed stems from impatience. A greedy person does not have the discipline or the faith to spend years accumulating knowledge, power and money. They want it all now. They cannot think long.term, only months ahead. As we describe this phenomenon in chapter 8 of The 50th Law, such impatience is in fact a form of hidden fear. To make anything that lasts or that is solid requires learning the craft, spending years at it, and patiently building up a power base. There are no real shortcuts. What comes fast, leaves fast. When you succumb to greed and impatience, you really have a fear of process, of sacrificing something in the short.term for long.term gain. That is the real fear governing those on Wall Street who respond so nervously to the quarterly report. If they were to have more of such fear, it would only make them more impatient and grasping for things in the present.

This is a tremendous problem in our culture. We have become used to everything coming to us with tremendous speed and ease. We can get whatever food we want in record time. We can Google for some bit of information, not having to resort to books or libraries. We can use our credit cards to pretend we have the money that is not there. It is a culture where discipline and patience is almost impossible to develop. From my relative inside position in the business world, I see this speed and impatience infecting the smartest executives and causing them to take all kinds of foolish actions. The pressure also comes from the bottom.shareholders are nervous and want instant results, growth at any cost.

Basically we have a misconception about fearlessness. It does not mean being aggressive, bold and even reckless. It means having self.control and balance. People who are fearless have a kind of mental center of gravity.they are not swayed by the pressures or panicky actions of others around them. They have the strength of mind to look years down the road and take the right action. If you think that does not require fearlessness, try being the CEO or president of the United States and withstand the intense pressures to produce results now, no matter the long.term consequences.

Sonshi.com: Here's a question we neglected to ask last time. Why do you think 50 Cent and other rapper and hip hop artists are so drawn to "The 48 Laws of Power," and which one of the 48 laws did many of them tell you they relate to the most?

Greene: A lot of it was luck and timing. The 48 Laws came out at a time when many hip hop artists were becoming aware of the real dynamic at play in the music industry: they do all of the work, but the major labels basically control the fruits of their labor. They may be paid well, but in the end they have no ownership and when the industry decides they are no longer so hot, they are discarded as quickly as they were hyped. For decades, black musicians have been the most exploited of all. But to gain power in the music industry, as anywhere else, you can't simply get angry, protest, or organize. You have to be strategic. You have to understand the intense political games going on. You have to be aware of how they seduce you with money and perks and attention, blinding you to the power realities.

Many of these rappers came from the streets. They have a sense of the game and how manipulative people can be, but their ideas are not organized or coherent enough. The book came out at just the moment when they were looking to have more ownership, more control. The 48 Laws articulated ideas they had felt or intuited, but in a way they could use in their daily business interactions. They appreciated the honesty in the book.revealing the manipulative tricks people have used for centuries, often against African Americans. (Power until recently has been a white man's game in this country.) The book's popularity gained some momentum as a few of the artists such as Jay-Z publicized their use of the book, but well before then it was in the hands of their managers who spread the word among themselves.

Fifty uses many of the laws. He crushes his enemies totally. He conceals his intentions. He enters action with boldness. He talks about using such laws. But the one he mentioned the most to me and that I have seen in action is Law 21, Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker. He makes it seem that he is just another violent rapper, aggressive but dumb. This blinds people to his clever maneuvers and manipulations.

Nas has quoted a few laws in some of his songs. Jay-Z mentioned being influenced by Law 18, Do not Build Fortresses to Protect Yourself. I think more than specific laws, however, these rappers relate to the overall world depicted in the book, which matches the dog.eat.dog reality of the music business.

Sonshi.com: You mentioned that even in Los Angeles, where you live, people tend to gravitate toward other people like themselves, whether on race, social status, etc. Conversely, you mentioned you like to go out of your way to meet and learn from people from varying backgrounds because they tend to have different perspectives, without which your old ways of thinking never get challenged. Along those same lines, we're fairly certain it has crossed your mind at least once how extraordinary that the black community, quite different from the one you grew up in, was drawn to you and your work. For example, how Busta Rhymes and Kanye West treasure your words and how 50 Cent reached out to you. Perhaps there's karma and natural reciprocity going on here? Are we making too much of this? What are your thoughts?

Greene: I have always been drawn to other cultures and other ways of thinking. For me it is a kind of therapy and way to expand my contact with reality. We are not aware of this happening, but because we tend to associate with our own kind, our world becomes narrower and narrower as we get older. We live among conventions and symbols that we mistake for reality. Our thoughts tend to revolve around these conventions, to follow the same paths over and over. When we travel, if we have an open spirit, we become aware of how deeply asleep we are. There are other ways of looking at the world, other ways of thinking and experiencing. I have brought this into my life by living in other cultures, reading books in other languages and immersing myself in the ideas of people who think differently.

One of my first experiences on this plane was in junior high school in Los Angeles. Suddenly, one day, black students from the inner city were bussed into our school and for me this was very exciting. I was intrigued by this apparent alien culture from within my own city. The black students seemed so much more alive and real to me. This change in our student culture caused me to do some exploring. I developed an interest in certain forms of jazz music. One of the first albums I purchased was Bitches' Brew by Miles Davis, and then A Love Supreme, by John Coltrane. I devoured books by Richard Wright and James Baldwin, and read Malcolm X's autobiography in my high school library. What excited me was the honesty of these writers, expressing something about human nature and the harshness of life that seemed more real to me than the stuff in more fanciful literature. Over the years this appreciation has only grown to include writers such as Frederick Douglass, Iceberg Slim and the filmmaker Oscar Michaux. With The 50th Law I have been able to express this appreciation for black culture more fully. Many of the historical figures in the book, the icons of fearlessness, are African American.in dealing with so much negative energy, they have had to overcome their deepest fears.

I believe something like a book has a spirit to it that stems from something deep within the writer. This draws or repels people to his or her book in ways that cannot be put into words. For me, in the first few pages of a book I can tell something about the writer, his or her attitude, that annoys or delights me. Perhaps my own interest in their culture and something about the spirit from within has drawn African Americans to my books. I will never know but I like to think of it that way.

Best,

Andy Rodie

10/05/2009

Take responsibility for your failures

When you fail to get the desired results, what's the first thing you must do? Take credit for it.

If you don't take credit, you don't learn the extremely valuable lesson for which you've just paid dearly. If you don't take credit and own your failures, you'll continue to experience more of them.

Instead, go ahead and take complete credit and ownership of your failures. Because when you take full ownership of your failures, you fully empower yourself to successfully get beyond them.

What you own, you control. When you choose to own your results, then you put yourself in control of those results.

When you own your results, you can decide what those results will be. And they can be whatever you wish to make them.

Admit your failures, take credit for them, embrace them, and own them. When you willingly take responsibility and ownership even for the failures, you're positioned for magnificent success.

-- Ralph Marston



Best,

Andy Rodie

10/01/2009

Sakiya Sandifer and Ronn Torrossian interview.

In the BMT series, the objective is to have a conversation based around the same 3 questions with various people who are successful in their field. The goal is to reveal that behind every success...there is a business mind thinking!

BMT Episode 2 features the very successful and equally blunt Ronn Torossian, Founder/CEO of 5W Public Relations. 5W Public Relations is a full-service public relations firm maintaining practice areas in consumer, technology, health and wellness, entertainment, lifestyle, fashion, and corporate communications. 5WPR's energetic, fast-paced, and focused culture earned the firm a spot on the INC. 500 list in 2007 and the title of "fastest-growing agency" three years in a row.

Brace yourself to hear an exchange of ideas that's never presented on a typical network or cable business show. If you ever longed to hear a very honest and mostly unedited perspective on how the mind of a successful entrepreneur really thinks, this episode is tailored made for you!!!



BMT Episode 2: Sakiya and Ronn Torossian from we think! on Vimeo.



Best,

Andy Rodie

9/24/2009

Louis Lautman - an article about making it happen.

The YES Movie

Louis Lautman, producer.

Louis relates how his attitude got this project up and running.

I woke up last year on my 30th birthday and thought to myself that there had to be more. I knew I was an entrepreneur, but wondered if I was still a young entrepreneur. I had always gravitated toward other young successful people and others always wondered how I did so much at such a young age, but I knew I had more in me. I thought about all the amazing young people I had met over the years, then started researching more and thought that there were some amazing stories out there that I bet most of the world didn’t know about and would love to hear.
I wondered what would be the best way to get the stories out about these amazing young geniuses, then it hit me…make a movie. I loved the idea, only…I had never made a movie before or even knew how. But I knew I could do anything in this world and if I let this chance pass me by, I would never get over it.
I am all about taking action and seizing opportunity and I knew that this is where my path was meant to go…or at least I said so! I believe you don’t find your destiny, but de-fine your destiny.
I began to intensely research every aspect of the film world, from pre-production to post production to marketing to distribution and everything in between.

I was like a mad scientist researching around the clock as if I was coming up with a cure for cancer and after about 2 months of research, I began the pre-production phase of the YES movie. I could have been nervous, but I decided to be excited, at every step of the way from interviewing production companies to arranging our shots to setting up a 3 month tour of the United States of America.
I was fired up and ready to meet the nations most successful young self-made multi-millionaires. As the production crew and I took off around the country, I look back and think about all the amazing people I met along the way and each person taught me so much about business and life and true happiness. As a first time film producer, I felt very happy that I made it to the production phase. Many filmmakers and people who want to start their own business never see their dream come to fruition for many reasons, but the biggest excuse I hear is that they don’t have the money.

I can tell you that “WHATEVER your dream is, there is always money out there to make it a reality!” If you want coaching on how to find the funds, you will have to watch our movie, www.theYESmovie.com. I can tell you that everything went perfect if I wanted, because I believe that everything did…however, that is not to say that things didn’t go over budget, we got lost, we missed appointments, we missed flights, equipment broke, we were stuck in traffic, blah, blah, blah, blah!
None of that matters, what matters is that I spent 3 months on the road and got the footage that I needed and It Rocked. So as we went into the post-production phase, I was fortunate to hook up with Emmy-Award winning writer Robyn Symon and Lifestyle Production guru Bernard Bonomo. With this awesome combination, our film was sure to be “World Class.”
Again, I could tell you about the challenges in the relationship or re-arranging our schedules or losing data in computer crashes and the challenges of setting the strategy to make this the best film ever made on the topic of young entrepreneurship, but as you will learn when you watch the film is that successful entrepreneurs all go through “stuff” and its not the “stuff” that matters, but how you react to that stuff that matters and what you do about it. What I did was make a “World Class Film” despite all the “stuff” that happened along the way..
We are just now finishing up post production and putting on the final touches of this revolutionary film and have just hired the best Public Relations Firm in the World, Stellar Communications headed by Kate Romero and John Stellar. These two highly-conscious PR alchemists will connect the dots that need to be connected to bring this film into a world-wide phenomenon status.
As more and more media outlets are beginning to spotlight my journey and story of the other amazing young entrepreneurs in our film, the world is beginning to open their mind to looking at what is possible for a young person in terms of making a positive impact in the world and taking ownership of their destiny.

If you are even remotely thinking about starting a business or want to bring your existing business to the next level, you must join the Young Entrepreneur Society and see the film that started this society. If you are still reading this, you know I am talking to you…you have made it this far, don’t turn back…you are on the right path. Trust yourself and your creativity and genius within, it was divinely put there. I would love to hear all about you becoming the next YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR!

Enjoy the YES movie at www.theYESmovie.com.
Your Fellow Young Entrepreneur,

Louis Lautman

Executive Producer of the YES movie & founder of the Young Entrepreneur Society


Best,

Andy Rodie

9/19/2009

Great quotes from Tony Robbins.

Here are some great quotes from Tony Robbins that will get you thinking differently.
A great coach of mine.

A real decision is measured by the fact that you've taken a new action. If there's no action, you haven't truly decided."

"You are now at a crossroads. This is your opportunity to make the most important decision you will ever make. Forget your past. Who are you now? Who have you decided you really are now? Don't think about who you have been. Who are you now? Who have you decided to become? Make this decision consciously. Make it carefully. Make it powerfully."


"I believe life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment, and life's greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve. This level of resolve can move mountains, but it must be constant and consistent. As simplistic as this may sound, it is still the common denominator separating those who live their dreams from those who live in regret."


"Most people fail in life because they major in minor things."


"Live life fully while you're here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You're going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don't try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human."


"Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy. Human beings have the awesome ability to take any experience of their lives and create a meaning that disempowers them or one that can literally save their lives."

"For changes to be of any true value, they've got to be lasting and consistent."
Anthony Robbins Quotes

"I challenge you to make your life a masterpiece. I challenge you to join the ranks of those people who live what they teach, who walk their talk."
Tony Robbins Quotes

"I've come to believe that all my past failure and frustration were actually laying the foundation for the understandings that have created the new level of living I now enjoy."

"How am I going to live today in order to create the tomorrow I'm committed to?" Anthony Robbins Quotes

"If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you'll achieve the same results."

"In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions. It's not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently."
Tony Robbins Quotes

"If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten."
Anthony Robbins Quotes

"In life you need either inspiration or desperation."
Anthony Robbins and Quotes

"It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped."

"It not knowing what to do, it's doing what you know."
Anthony Robbins and Quotes

"It's not the events of our lives that shape us, but our beliefs as to what those events mean."
Anthony Robbins and Quotes

"It is not what we get. But who we become, what we contribute... that gives meaning to our lives."
Anthony Robbins and Quotes

"Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming more."
Anthony Robbins and Quotes

"Live with passion!"

"Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives."

"My definition of success is to live your life in a way that causes you to feel a ton of pleasure and very little pain - and because of your lifestyle, have the people around you feel a lot more pleasure than they do pain."

"Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year - and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade!"

"Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life's deepest joy: true fulfillment"

"Passion is the genesis of genius."
Tony Robbins Quotes

"People are not lazy. They simply have impotent goals - that is, goals that do not inspire them."

"One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular."
Tony Robbins Quotations

"Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible."
Tony Robbins Quotations

"Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach."
Tony Robbins Quotations

"Remember, a real decision is measured by the fact that you've taken new action. If there's no action, you haven't truly decided."

"Success comes from taking the initiative and following up... persisting... eloquently expressing the depth of your love. What simple action could you take today to produce a new momentum toward success in your life?"
Tony Robbins Quotations

"Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers." Tony Robbins Quotations

"Surmounting difficulty is the crucible that forms character."

"Take control of your consistent emotions and begin to consciously and deliberately reshape your daily experience of life."

"The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body The more efficient your body, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results."

"The meeting of preparation with opportunity generates the offspring we call luck."

"The only limit to your impact is your imagination and commitment."

"The path to success is to take massive, determined action."

"The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you do that, you're in control of your life. If you don't, life controls you."

"The truth is that we can learn to condition our minds, bodies, and emotions to link pain or pleasure to whatever we choose. By changing what we link pain and pleasure to, we will instantly change our behaviors."

"The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives."

"There is no such thing as failure. There are only results."
Tony Robbins Quotes

"There's always a way - if you're committed."

"There's no abiding success without commitment."
Tony Robbins Quotes

"To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others."
Tony Robbins Quotes

"Using the power of decision gives you the capacity to get past any excuse to change any and every part of your life in an instant."

"Want to learn to eat a lot? Here it is: Eat a little. That way, you will be around long enough to eat a lot."

"We are the only beings on the planet who lead such rich internal lives that it's not the events that matter most to us, but rather, it's how we interpret those events that will determine how we think about ourselves and how we will act in the future."

"We aren't in an information age, we are in an entertainment age."

"We can change our lives. We can do, have, and be exactly what we wish."

"We will act consistently with our view of who we truly are, whether that view is accurate or not."
Tony Robbins Quotes

"What we can or cannot do, what we consider possible or impossible, is rarely a function of our true capability. It is more likely a function of our beliefs about who we are."

"Whatever happens, take responsibility."

"When people are like each other they tend to like each other."

"You always succeed in producing a result."
Tony Robbins Quotes

"You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action."
Anthony Robbins and Quotes

"You see, it's never the environment; it's never the events of our lives, but the meaning we attach to the events - how we interpret them - that shapes who we are today and who we'll become tomorrow."
Tony Robbins Quotations

Best,

Andy Rodie

7/09/2009

HARD WORK

I would like to share this post from Ronn Torossian's blog,
CEO of 5WPR. Looking a great PR Firm, please go to www.5wpr.com

I’ve been working tremendously long hours these last few weeks, and with the changing economy I’m even more knee-deep in client work than usual. I am emotionally invested and intensely involved with client work – A 5 hour strategy session today with a major financial client, followed by a 2 hour conference call with a technology media company for example. The work is fun and challenging, but emotionally and intellectually draining. Great clients are essential in these times – Great clients who are good, smart people, who allow someone who owns a service business like myself to feel appreciated… and give us that rush (and of course pay their bills on time).

It’s 11:15 PM and I have literally worked nonstop since 7 AM…and on top of that, I have an 8 PM client event tomorrow night, and two client events this weekend, but this is the price I believe is necessary for success.

Owning a PR agency, I am very blessed and thankful for us to be where we are and believe we are very well suited for the days, weeks and months ahead. Focused, aggressive, hard working, and in the trenches with our clients. There’s nowhere I’d rather be.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR


Best,

Andy Rodie

Perfect time to start a business

Perfect Time" to Start a Business, Says Entrepreneur:
Tips to Becoming Your Own Boss

Posted Jul 03, 2009 07:00am EDT by Peter Gorenstein in Investing, Internet, Media Related: pcln, ^dji, ^gspc, qqqq
The worst job market in a generation is getting worse. The unemployment rate in June rose to 9.5% - the highest since the early 80s. All told, almost 15 million Americans are out of work.

So what's a new grad or a displaced worker to do? Create your own job. That’s the advice of serial entrepreneur Jeff Hoffman. “Now that there aren't jobs - high unemployment and it's just not as safe to be in big corporate America - it's a perfect time to be more innovative, more creative and plot out your own future.”

He should know. Hoffman was a founding employee of priceline.com before moving to Enable Holdings, the parent company of auction house uBid.com and retailer RedTag.com.

His tips for those looking to be their own boss:

Don't put your dreams on hold. “Wherever there’s chaos or crisis, there's opportunity.”
Be a problem solver. “When there are problems there are




Best,

Andy Rodie

6/19/2009

Success, Failure and Timing. - Shai Agassi

Shai Agassi was a member of the Executive Board of SAP AG until March 31, 2007. He is responsible for the global development efforts for all SAP products and SAP's portfolio of industry-specific solutions.

Before his appointment to the SAP Executive Board, Agassi was CEO of SAP Portals and later of the combined company SAP Markets and SAP Portals, which previously operated as a fully owned subsidiary of SAP AG. The subsidiaries were integrated into SAP in April 2002, at which point Agassi was appointed to the Board.

A software entrepreneur, Agassi founded TopTier Software (originally called Quicksoft Development) in Israel in 1992 and later moved the company's headquarters to California. He served the company in various capacities, including as chairman, chief technology officer, and then CEO. He managed the strategic plan, technical direction, and relationships with companies such as Baan, SAP, and Microsoft. TopTier was a leading enterprise portal vendor when SAP ac...





Best,

Andy Rodie

SMARTS ISNT ALWAYS ENOUGH: SUCCESS TIPS

SMARTS ISNT ALWAYS ENOUGH: SUCCESS TIPS

Decided to share this post from one of my favorite blogs by Ronn Torossian,
CEO of 5WPR. I think it's dead on with regards to your immediate goals. Enjoy

6/04/2009

The 90 second rule - the institution of the family.

This is a great video with a great message. Check it out. Let me know what you think.
There is always something new to learn.




Best,

Andy Rodie

5/01/2009

Wealth and Health Expo by Louis Lautman.

The wealth and health expo
Time: May 8, 2009 at 9pm to May 10, 2009 at 7pm
Location: Fort Lauderdale
Organized By: Louis Lautman

Event Description:
Come see the visionary of the Health and Wealth Annex speak and hear why people keep raving , and why America's TOP innovative entrepreneurs, leading speakers and educators are lining up to speak at this 3 day event!
Top benefits people say the get from attending the Health & Wealth ANNEX--
 Break through FEAR
 Discover their own talents and find their passion in life (priceless)
 Complete transformation of their HEALTH lifestyle, recondition their habits
 Get inner peace, fulfillment, and happiness. Get back the honor and power to their word
 Build the inner success mindset
 Create their game, start playing it in life, and the training & structures to win that game!
The cost is ONLY $149 to ATTEND. Three days of intense learning and discovery.

http://healthandwealthannex.com/home/

Best,

Andy Rodie.

Watch this video on Someday Isle + Get going.

Brian Tracy on Someday Isle.

Watch this video on Someday Isle

Posted using ShareThis

Best,

Andy Rodie

4/30/2009

Rules for success from a motivating taxi driver.

I found this article on www.successmagazine.com by Zig Ziglar and had to share it.

One morning in Houston, Texas, I caught a taxi (to go to a breakfast meeting) and during a short ride I heard one of the finest sales talks on America and free enterprise that I ever heard. The cab driver had been a professional healthcare provider in his native Nigeria, but he preferred living in a free society, with the opportunity to do what he pleased, and so he was very excited about being a cab driver in Houston.

During our conversation my migrant friend quickly turned to motivator, and his enthusiasm led him to give me some rules for success! I offer them here so that you might benefit from them, too.

Pay your bills.
Obey the laws.
Keep your eyes on God. God is in charge.
Run from lazy, crooked people.
Make your workplace your home.
Love and honor your boss.
Keep your promises.
Mind your own business.

I was motivated by the cab driver who was excited about his dream and having the opportunity to live it. He had set his goal long ago. He was living his dream. He wasn’t waiting until he could get into something better; he was performing with the opportunity he had. He was happy with what he had and was enthusiastically giving life his best shot. That, my friend, is marvelous preparation for a better tomorrow!


Best,

Andy Rodie

4/24/2009

Daily motivator - Jump right in .

If you don't make the attempt, you're not going to achieve it. Though you may have perfectly reasonable and understandable excuses, those excuses won't provide you with anything of value.
Life has so much richness to offer when you jump in with all you have and get yourself involved. Be bold, set your sights high, and move confidently in the direction of what you really desire.

Of course things will not always turn out the way you planned. In fact, they may very well turn out even better than you could have imagined.

Remind yourself of all the ups and downs you've already successfully been through. And realize that whatever you may encounter, you'll find a way to make the best of it.

Then decide precisely how you wish to live your life and begin immediately to start doing it. Whatever your dream may be, the first step can be taken right now.

Do it with enthusiasm, with joy, with the best of expectations and without hesitation. Jump right in and live the richness that is your beautiful, unique life.

-- Ralph Marston


Best,

Andy Rodie

4/18/2009

How I Did it - Entrepreneur Butch Stewart

Gordon "Butch" Stewart's voice is deep and slow, and he speaks with melodic phrasing, suggesting the sun-soaked climate of his native Jamaica, where he started Sandals Resorts, in 1981. Today, Stewart owns and runs 20 resorts under the Sandals umbrella, including the original Sandals all-inclusive, couples-only resorts, the Beaches resorts for families, and four boutique hotels. Stewart serves as company chairman, while his son Adam, 27, is now the CEO. The resorts are sprawling, with flourishes like multicolored pagodas, swim-up bars, and poolside Greek temples. One resort boasts 100 separate swimming pools. From its small beginnings, Sandals, based in Montego Bay, has grown into a multibillion-dollar company.

I was born in Jamaica. My mother had a little business as a dealer for appliances, and I used to go and help her. I loved it. I used to catch fish and sell them as a 12-year-old, and between fishing I used to love being in the shop with her.

I started working just before I turned 17, but then I went to England to round off my education and came back to Jamaica full of vim and vinegar. I got a job at a trading company and was in charge of the appliance department. After five years, I was able to save over $3,000. That was 1968. Then I realized Fedders air conditioners were not represented in Jamaica. I bought an airplane ticket and I headed to Edison, New Jersey. I met with the president's nephew. We really hit it off. He said to the finance people, "Look, he's paying cash for the first shipment, so there's nothing to lose; give him a chance."

I rented an old doctor's office in Jamaica, a secondhand car, and a secondhand pickup. I was able to buy 27 room air conditioners. Before they arrived, I had them sold. I would install them in half a day, and so we made our money out of making people happy. Today, that company, ATL Group, is also in the office equipment business, we are the distributor for Honda motorcars, and we have a newspaper called The Jamaica Observer.

Jamaica had gone through a period of upheaval in the '70s. It was a time of radical socialism, and the economy went to tatters. But we survived, and in 1980 we had a new government. We were so enthusiastic. I ended up buying two hotels. They were all in shambles. If I had known what I was doing, I would never have bought those hotels. The amount of Pandora's boxes that were in there! We had to find out how to market and how to cook the food, and the kind of décor and rooms people wanted. That was 1981.



We set about trying to provide more than people expected. I was in Italy and I saw this hair dryer in the bedroom. I found out the manufacturer, and we were the first hotel to have hair dryers in the Caribbean. It's not a big deal today, but in 1983, it was. We did our first swim-up pool bar in 1984. We were the first in the Caribbean to do it. When we were putting in our first hot tub, the people in the hotel association said, "Butch, take it easy, man, you don't need to waste your money that way." While they were talking, I was building a second and a third in different parts of the property, because I realized people like different locations to soak in the tub.

Everybody thought we'd be out of business the first month because the hotel is very close to the airport. We came up with the idea of everyone waving to the people that were leaving in the plane, and kissing the one you love when a plane flies by. I don't think we had five complaints after that. Then the Concorde started flying to Jamaica once a week, and it made more noise than any airplane I've ever heard. The buildings shook. So we turned all the beach lounges to face the airport, and that magnificent airplane would get up right in front of everybody on the beach. Guests would come rushing in: "Has the Concorde taken off yet?" We made a promotion out of it.

The first two years, we lost more money than I ever dreamt possible. We realized that we didn't have enough bedrooms. We only had 100 rooms, so I went in and built more rooms, and that same hotel now is 251 bedrooms.

In 1986, we were able to buy another hotel, Sandals Royal Caribbean it's called today. And we've been able to build more. One is Sandals Grande Riviera Beach & Villa Resort, in the area where I grew up; in fact, the piano bar is built right where my grandmother's home was. Sandals Negril ended up being the most successful hotel that the Caribbean has ever had. We opened it in November 1988. It opened full, and it has been full ever since.

Beaches came straight out of guests saying to me, "Butch, we have been here 15 times, 20 times. But now we have kids; we need a place that we can take the whole family." So that's how Beaches evolved, starting in 1997. We never realized that you needed to do so much to keep the entire family happy. Kids get bored if you don't have organized things for them to do. The smartest thing I ever did was to make my second-youngest son, Adam, chairman of the youth committee to come up with creative ideas to make the younger people happy. We have water slides, swimming bars for kids -- so it's only juice and nonalcoholic drinks -- and we have a little disco that converts into a movie theater.

We have spent $370 million over the past three years modernizing, redecorating, and expanding. Women -- I mean, I hope I'm not saying something wrong -- but women just want bigger and better-quality bathrooms every year. They want bathrooms that are like palaces, that have Jacuzzis in them, separate showers, bidets, twin basins, and now they want those big overhead showers, also soaking tubs. And our job is to please those requests.

My darkest period was in 1990, when I lost my son Jonathan. He was the third of my five sons; he was killed in a tragic car accident at age 24. And nothing meant anything for a while. But I've never had any doubts about the business. I run on gut instinct to a large extent, but at the same time I never make a major decision without bouncing it off of a circle of people that I work with. Right now, we have an organization that has everybody in it. You want lawyers; we have them. Engineers; we have them. Accountants; we have them. Marketing people; we have them. People that understand how to cook the best food in the world; we have them.

I get up every morning, I can't wait for the sun to get up. I don't have that much longer on the planet, and I'm just going to enjoy it in the way that I have for 66 years. I still water-ski. I love boating and fishing, and any opportunity I get, I do that. I play dominoes with friends. I love sitting on the veranda and talking absolute nonsense. I hope most of it will make you laugh.




How I Did it - Butch Stewart



Best,

Andy Rodie

Why PR Is the Prescription - BusinessWeek

Why PR Is the Prescription - BusinessWeek

4/17/2009

THE YES MOVIE - the secrets of entrepreneurship.

A great film which will be release soon features a number of young entrepreneurs giving their secrets of business success. The brainchild of Louis Lautman and help produced by Bernard Dino Bonomo, of Beano Vision Productions, this is sure to inspire a generation. Here is Michael Michalowicz, one of the entrepreneurs featured in the film.

Watch more YouTube videos on AOL Video




Best,

Andy Rodie

4/14/2009

Daily Thought - Your Choice.

Just discover Ralph Marston and his blog and I just have to share what this guy is all about. Great daily motivators I will be sharing in the future. Enjoy.


Daily Thought

Your choice
+++++++++++++++++++

You can resent the amount of work you have to do. Or you can
get busy and use it as an opportunity to create great value.

You can see each setback as a fatal blow to the achievement
of your dream. Or you can learn from all the ups and the
downs and make the achievement of your dream all the more
valuable as a result of each challenge.

You can pounce upon each bit of bad news and extrapolate it
to portend the end of the world. Or you can celebrate the
fact that bad news is news only because it is so relatively
rare.

You can sit and wait and complain and convince yourself that
things will never get better. Or you can enthusiastically
jump forward and make life the best it can be.

Whatever the situation, whoever is involved, you always have
a choice. Choose each time to express the authentic beauty
of your being, and live in a world where life is so very
good.

Ralph Marston



Best,

Andy Rodie.

3/21/2009

Boom - why it's not business as usual.

Times has changed and it is not business as usaul for entrepreurs if you want to succeed this competitive enviroment. Just completed a great business book by Kevin and Jackie Freiberg titled BOOM 7 CHOICES FOR BLOWING THE DOORS OFF BUSINESS AS USUAL. I think it's a must read for employees and executives alike, looking for a fresh new way for doing business.

The book ends with the manifesto with gives the gist of the entire book and a geat summary of the 7 choices. Here it is

The freedon to choose may be the most powerful attribute and precious resource I have in my life. It shapes who I become, the success I achieve, and my influence in the world. I am a product of my choice, not my conditions.

Choice # 1 I choose to be player.

Choice # 2 I choose to be accountable

Choice # 3 I choose Service of Self-interest

Choice # 4 I choose to focus forward

Choice # 5 I choose to play to my genius

Choice # 6 I choose to get it done

Choice # 7 I choose to risk more and gain more


It's a ultrafresh approach to creating a culture of commitment and accountability.
People will realize their value at work and the difference they can make daily. Again, it's a companywide must read.


Best,

Andy Rodie

2/04/2009

THE DREAM

Gurbaksh Chahal started his first company at 16 and sold it at 18 for $40 million, then went on to start a second company and later that to yahoo for $300 million.

I've just read his book THE DREAM and I think it's a great read for all aspiring entrepreneurs. Check it out and get inspired by his story.

He ends the book with 27 lessons on entrepreneurship that I would like to leave you with followed with a video by Brass Magazine.


Listen to your heart.
Forget noble motivations
Adjust your attitude
Figure out what you’re good at
Trust your gut
Do your homework
Be frugal
But don’t be frugal with hiring
Hire smart people
Don’t expect perfection, but strive for it
Learn to listen
Own your mistakes
Never compromise your morality
Never lose sight of the competition
Watch your back
Don’t procastinate
Don’t do anything by half-measures
Be nice to people
Negotiate from a position of strength
Expect the unexpected
Perception is reality
Don’t get emotional
Be fearless
Pick your battles
Grow a think skin
Take chances
When you commit, you really have to commit





I hope you got inspired.

Best,

Andy G. Rodie

1/12/2009

How about joining twitter.

Hey what's twitter? Do you know what twitter is and ever used it? I had to find out so I opened a twitter account to see for myself.I can get addictive but it is fun to use.

Simply, twitter is an online tool that helps you to communicate with family/friends and associates. It is simply micro blogging in one or two sentences and allowing updates to your followeres and the folks you follow. It can be simple chat to inspirational content. Whatever you want it to be.

Millions of people use twitter everyday and the numbers are growing.I am absolutely sure it will become a useful tool in building your brand in the future.It is free to join so get an account and start tweeting.


Best,
Andy Rodie.