Pain.

Embrace it. Pain lets you know you’re still alive, and still growing. Growth is painful. Most of us were taught to stop when something is painful. “If it hurts, stop doing it,” but this is not how the most successful people in any field achieve greatness.

Facing uncertainty is painful. Mastering new skills is painful. Taking MASSIVE action on an idea, only to have that attempt fail, is painful. Putting yourself out there, where you are judged, is painful.

Criticism is painful.

Being mentally tough is painful.

Success as an entrepreneur directly correlates to your ability to accept pain, embrace pain, and ultimately, how you decide to deal with the pain you experience – in your mind, in your body, in your heart…

Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit. In the words of Vince Lombardi, “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to quit, it’s just important that you never do.”

Sacrifice.

Those who take an oath to protect and serve—must sacrifice. Sacrifice is the mark of a Superhero. As a husband or wife, as a mother or father, as a provider, as a protector of your clients.

Entitlement is the opposite of sacrifice.

Embracing uncertainty. Embracing pain. Embracing a radical change in your thought process, it all requires sacrifice. Once you agree upon the price you and your family must pay for success, it enables you to ignore the minor hurts, the opponent’s pressure, and the temporary failures.

Decide how much are you’re willing to sacrifice to master new skills? To build the business you have always imagined? To provide and care for your family in the ways they deserve? Decide how much you are willing to sacrifice to live life on your terms, for the ability to enjoy total freedom…

These answers determine ‘the strength’ of your conviction.

Normal.

Forget it. You ain’t normal. Be proud.

To be normal is to feel entitled. To want the government to take care of you, for everything to be easy, and just given to you. To be normal, is to chase shiny objects and make excuses for your failure, rather than looking internally and taking responsibility. Normal is what’s wrong with society. It puzzles me why anyone would want to be “normal”. Ordinary. Standard. Commonplace. Run-of-the-mill. Unexceptional. Mediocre. Or average! WTF?

You ain’t normal. Edison. Carnegie. Ford. Rockefeller… Great men and women aren’t normal. Protectors aren’t normal. Social Superheroes aren’t normal.

Team.

You will form great friendships here. You will be pushed. Challenged. You will be put through a gauntlet of self-discovery, the only inevitable result of learning something new and different and groundbreaking. At times, you will be confused and frustrated.  That’s ok. You’re not alone.

As an individual, relying only on your own resources, intellect, and internal strengths, you are limited. By ego, pride, arrogance, insecurity…

It takes courage to be a member of a team. It takes trust, to be open and vulnerable. It takes strength to ask for help. Admitting weakness in ourselves, where others are strong is never easy.

But this is how we grow. As a Community, we have no weakness.

Share.

One brain is good. One person’s breakthrough is good. Many brains is better. Many breakthroughs is better. This is a powerful Community because we all share a similar vision, and the same Business Model. An ad or Facebook post Eric writes for his Teacher Only Program™ in Frederick, MD, perfectly applies to your Teacher Only Program™ in Anywhere, USA. And vi-sa-versa.

And almost  every ad, or piece of content created, can be adapted and implemented from one niche to another. Nurses to Teachers, Teachers to Military, Military to Firemen. Etc. Batman had only one Research & Development department, we, as a community, have many.

Failure.

My little man, Jackson, is three years old. Since he could talk, and communicate, I have been asking this one question, the same question young Bruce Wayne’s father asked him, when he fell down. “Why do we fall down?” …his programmed response is now, “…So we can learn to get back up?

Only 10% of people have this proactive personality type, it is a learned behavior. Most everybody is scared to death of failure. This fear prevents them from ever taking action, and without action, success is impossible.

Fear.

It never goes away. Not ever. So learn to operate in its presence. Every time I stand in front of a camera, I get that nervous ache in the pit of my stomach. Every time I mail several thousand sales letters, I feel that fear. Every time I attempt something new, I wonder “will this work” and that fear rushes in. I’ve never stood on a stage or given a live presentation where I wasn’t deep inside of me, scared shitless.

Fear is faith that it won’t work out. Fear is the opposite of self-confidence. When we work on ourselves, build our skills and our mindset, we work to eliminate fear. But it never goes away. Not ever. You can begin to eliminate fear with two simple resolves “I can!” and “I will!”

The Community is here to support you. We share your same fears.

Criticism.

Get use to it. Entrepreneurs are outcasts. And anyone with a message worth sharing exposes themself to criticism the minute they step forward from the shadows. To live a life without criticism, is to live a life of silence and loneliness.

No matter how good your Cause, you will be criticized. No matter how pure your Mission, you will be criticized. No matter how big your Movement grows and becomes, you will still have your enemies in opposition of you. Even your friends and family think you are nuts…

You can quit and let the “haters” win. Or, you can let them fuel you.

Activism.

Protectors. Social Superheroes. Philanthropists. Are all activists. Activists are crusaders for a Cause. These people are driven by their conviction to make a difference. These people can’t be intimidated or pushed off course, and no obstacle of any kind can stop them. They never give up. They believe in themselves, and in their cause. They go all out to achieve their goals and to make a difference. This is what makes our Community so special, it’s not just about the money here.

If it is just about the money for you, you…

Are in the wrong place.

The success you see in the lives of the people you admire, is the result of years of dedicated focused work toward a singular goal. Change your focus to protecting and serving prospective clients. You will be rewarded with their loyalty and friendship.

Reputation.

“If you cost me money, I will forgive you. If you cost me my reputation, I will be ruthless” – Warren Buffett.

Nothing earns. Or kills. Trust. Faster than your reputation. Trust is everything in business. Your reputation is your business. Reputation is an unspoken language. Reputation is a language based entirely on sight and beliefs. And judgements. It dictates how people pereceive you before they know you.

It dictates your power. Your influence. Your ability to be trusted. Even to the degree others respect you.

Most agents fail because they have the reputation of a “real estate agent.” I’m hopeful you will embrace a greater vision and reputation for yourself. Protector. Innovator. Philanthropist. Social Superhero. If someone screws with your reputation. Be ruthless. Cut ’em off at the knees!

Skills.

“I’ve never seen an unskilled person achieve something great.”

A Skill is different than a talent. People are born with certain talents. Skills, however, are developed. By choice. Skills are readily available to anyone with focused-determination. Available to anyone… who is not intellectually weak. Available to anyone… with ‘The Desire’ to achieve something great.

And not all skills are created equal. Skills like ‘Learning to Build Your Reputation’ give you power, respect, influence, and help you command trust. Skills like ‘Copywriting’ and ‘Direct-Response Marketing’ enable you to put ideas into action. Skills like ‘Making Excuses’ and ‘Procrastination’ will keep your broke, frustrated, and depressed. Even ‘Quitting’ is a skill mastered by many. Everyone has skills.

Not even the power of this Community can make someone successful, who isn’t willing to master the right skills.

Words.

Nothing in this world is more powerful than the “words” on a simple piece of paper. The words you choose can hurt, can wound, can destroy, they can start wars, end wars, cost you friendships, make you friendships, put you in prison, keep you out of prison, can encourage, can lift people up, make people cry, tears of happiness and joy, of sadness, of despair. Words convey stories. Words convey messages. Words convey trust and distrust. Words convey authority or lack thereof. Words… the culmination of simple little letters strung together in sequence can move mountains and inspire Movements.

All great leaders learn to choose their words carefully. In business, this is the art of copywriting and you will become a master at it.

Movement.

The story you create for yourself and your business are some of the most powerful, or dangerous words you’ll ever write. What is the vision of your business? Not how many transactions you want to do, or how big of team you want to have, or how much money you want to make. But really, what is the Vision you have for your business?

Your Vision. Your Mission. Your Purpose. Your ability to clearly enunciate these things, is what dictates the size of the following you achieve. People will join you, if you give them something to buy into to. Values. Beliefs. What is that thing that drives you?

Stuck? Confused? Don’t worry, that is why you’re here.

Alone.

The heroic path is sometimes lonely, but it is always right.

Upholding the status quo is easy. Lie, cheat, steal, find reasons and excuses to justify unethical behaviors and decisions. No courage is required to walk that path. The status quo is the path of cowards. To take a stand against it though, to protect and serve clients, that is a different story.

Courage is a rare characteristic. If more people had it, there’d be no such thing as “The Masses.”

This Community is full of courage. And we’re here for you.

Evolve.

You’ve already begun to change. Ten minutes ago, you were a different person than you are right now. And tomorrow that “gap” will widen even further. Three months from now, six months from now, and 12 months from now…

Ultimately, you have stepped into a different reality. The Syndicate doesn’t operate by the worlds rules. We create our own. We operate with limitless potential. We are the kings and queens of our own destiny.

And we are much stronger together than we are alone.