Normally we advise people to stop worrying. But some people just can’t do it.

In fact, there are people who are only happy when they’re worrying.

If you fit into one of these two categories, this post is for you. We’re going to give you three things to worry about.

Worry about what you can control

You can’t control the economy. So worry about your personal economy.

You can’t control your spouse or your kids. Worry about how much love you give them.

You can’t control what happens to you. So worry about how you respond.

So stop worrying about anything and everything you can’t control. And start worrying about what you can control.

Worry only about the next level of success

If you’re unemployed, don’t worry about becoming the CEO. Worry about getting a job.

If you just started a business, don’t worry about selling out for millions. Worry about reaching break-even.

You know what it will take to get you to the next level. Worry about the things you need to do to get you there. Don’t worry about anything else.

Don’t worry about BIGG success. Worry about your next success.

You will never achieve the ultimate if you don’t focus exclusively on the next level.

Worry about not getting it done

Don’t worry about all the things that could happen. Worry about what you’re making happen.

Don’t worry if all doesn’t go as planned. Worry about how you will get back on plan.

BIGG success is life on your own terms. If worrying makes you happy, then worry away in a focused way. Even worrywarts can reach BIGG success.

At least that’s what we think. What do you think? Can you worry your way to success?

 Image in this post from JuliaF

We once heard Donald Trump asked, “What’s the difference between a net worth of $70 million and $700 million?”

He replied, “A bigger boat.”

BIGG success is life on your own terms. If a bigger boat floats your boat, then go for it.

When people sell their boat to buy a bigger boat, it helps our economy. It puts people to work. Companies make more money. Taxes are generated. It’s a win all the way around.

Or is it?

We’re going to share a thought process to determining if a bigger boat (or any other major purchase) is consistent with life on your own terms.

Hear George & Mary-Lynn discuss today’s topic on The BIGG Success show. Click a player to listen.


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We hope to demonstrate the interconnectedness of the five elements with this discussion.

Money

Obviously, it will cost you money to buy a bigger boat. You will get the money by earning more than you spend.

The question is: Is a bigger boat worth the price? To determine that, you need to answer two more questions:

What are the returns?

What is the true cost?

A bigger boat may or may not yield financial returns. We’ll talk about this more when we hit on work.

However, you would expect a bigger boat to give you emotional benefits.

Time

In order to reap those benefits, though, you will have to spend something else – time. Time is part of the cost of a bigger boat.

Will you really have time to enjoy it? Or will you have even less time because you’re working more to pay for it?

Work

Let’s skip growth for now. We’ll come back to it shortly.

Work may pay for your bigger boat. However, if that’s the case, your true cost of the boat is higher. In your quest to live large, you’ll sacrifice living.

You’ll be spending more time at work. Is it worth it?

Of course, a bigger boat may actually help you make more money. You may be able to entertain clients, employees, funders, etc.

A bigger boat may help you build more and better relationships. Or is that just a rationalization? If that’s what it takes, are they the right relationships?

Play

On the other hand, a bigger boat may be the ticket to more free time. You may enjoy being on it so much that you just naturally schedule time away.

Of course, you could do this without a bigger boat. But maybe you know you won’t.

Growth

How does growth come into play? If we use the factor cited by Donald Trump, your net worth must increase 10 times to buy a bigger boat.

So it will take a significant amount of growth to accomplish this. How can you increase your wealth 10 times over?

This is where a bigger boat really comes into play. It makes the intangible tangible.

It’s your reward. You know you will work long, hard, and smart to be able to buy it. You will save and invest your money wisely or you won’t get it.

It represents BIGG success to you. Great!

Then get a brochure. Or find a photo of the bigger boat you want.

Keep these visual representations in front of you. Plaster a BIGG “10x” on top of it.

Put the exact net worth you need to reach on the brochure or photo. Now break this goal up into smaller steps. Devote all your energy to getting to the next one. Then keep going. Keep driving to BIGG success!

For you it may not be a bigger boat. What is it? What drives you to achieve more?

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00721-072611.mp

Image in this post from Eastop

In some cases, it’s because of the economy. More often, though, they’re just ready for a new challenge.

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We often associate career moves with employees. But even small business owners sometimes need to move on.

There’s good reason to do so: study after study have shown a link between satisfaction at work and our health. Even the person at the top experiences this occasionally.

But for small business owners, it’s not just a matter of changing jobs. It may require a bold move.

Listen to The BIGG Success Show podcast to hear:

• George share what led to his career move

• 7 signs that it’s time to move on

• The surprising thing that happens when entrepreneurs talk about what’s next for them

If you’re a business owner thinking about moving on, maybe we can help. Leave us a voice message at 888.455.BIGG (2444) or e-mail us at bigginfo@biggsuccess.com

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00669-020811.mp3

(Image in today’s post by ilco)

Last year, holiday sales were down 3.4%. This year, even more Americans are dealing with job loss, fear of job loss, wage cuts, a drop in home prices and a rise in credit card interest rates.

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So what will consumers do? What's a retailer to do?

Working twice as hard but not making anymore
Let’s start with retailers. Dropping prices to push out inventory has become the norm since last year. Offering extreme discounts is a tactic many will use to try to get customers in their doors. Here's what that means:

Let’s say you have a product that costs you $10. You normally sell it for $20, leaving you with a $10 profit. You decide to cut your price by 25% to $15.

So now you make $5 every time you sell a product. You have to sell twice as much of this item just to make the same amount of money!

In this example, we used a product sale to keep it simple. However, many small businesses sell a service. So think about it this way:

Carrying forward the numbers above – if you cut your hourly rate by 25% – you would have to work twice as much but you wouldn’t make anymore.

Is it worth it? Would you be better served pursuing another strategy?

Consumers are more price-sensitive, but value is still king
Now, let's look at those customers. Experts cited in the article say consumers will shop for good value on items they want and need. Note the term “value”, not price.

Consumers are more price sensitive than ever. However, because they have been bombarded with super-low prices, they are beginning to think that those products are worthless.

Furthermore, they will pass up an offer – even if the price seems too good to be true – if they think they just don’t need the item. If you cut prices too much, you may kill your business by killing your customer with kindness!

3 strategies for a tight-belt economy:

• Divide your product or service offerings into three categories – must have, need and want. In this economy, focus on the must haves. Which customers must have your must have product? Focus most of your efforts here.

• Is there a way to bundle a “need” with a “must have” or a “want” with a “need”? Offer a special deal on the bundle rather than the individual product or service. You may find that you can sell more without having to work a lot harder.

• Think about your customer’s bottom line. How can you add value to your product or service and boost your customer’s bottom line at the same time?

For example, is there some essential knowledge that you could impart to help your customer use your product or service to save money? If so, they’ll be much more likely to buy – even now.

How are you compelling your customers to buy your products or services?

Share that with us by leaving a comment, e-mailing us at bigginfo@biggsuccess.com or leaving a voice message at 888.455.BIGG (2444).

We think you’re too kind for checking in with us today. Thanks so much!

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There’s a popular celebrity who says it took him 26 years to get one mile down the road. Please join us next time and we’ll fill you in on his story of bigg success. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed.

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00517-110609.mp3

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(Image in today's post by xenxen)

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Now we’ll warn you – these activities require some multi-tasking. We usually suggest less multi-tasking but these are things ideally suited for doing more than one thing at a time.

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Like walking and chewing gum at the same time!

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That may make you healthier, George, but it misses the mark on helping you get wealthier and wiser. Here’s a better one: Listen to The Bigg Success Show while you walk on the treadmill.

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Shameless self-promotion, Mary-Lynn! But you’re right – the great thing about podcasts is that they’re easy to download and take with you.

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Of course, it doesn’t have to be our show. There’s a lot of great downloadable audio that will help you be wealthier and wiser. You could probably devour an entire week’s worth of our shows in one session on the treadmill. Then fill in the rest of the week with other great podcasts.

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Ride your bike to the library and check out a book on money.
If you have a library within biking distance, this is a great way to get a little exercise while bulking up your knowledge of personal finance.

There are so many great books on investing at the library. You can see such a history. There are books from days gone by full of timeless principles sitting alongside books about current issues.

Just don’t try reading the book on the way home!

Stretch while watching one of the financial news networks.

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This is a great way to get a little extra stretching in. I know I feel a lot better when I keep myself limber!

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There’s so much that can be learned from watching financial news. Get the vocabulary down if you don’t have it already. Learn what’s going on in the economy and how it affects your money. Try to understand why certain stocks, or certain industries, are being recommended. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

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Of course, you could also watch a DVD on personal finance.

Take an advisor out for a rousing round of golf!
Don’t rent a cart. Over the course of the course, talk about your finances. Of course, you could wait until the nineteenth hole!

When we say advisor, we’re talking about your financial planner, your attorney, your accountant, your banker, your insurance broker, your coach or anyone else who advises you about your finances.

You may not be into golf. Maybe you prefer tennis. Or racquetball. Or some other activity. Golf is a great activity for talking and walking. However, you can also talk before or after your chosen activity.

Of course, our quote today comes from Ben Franklin. Only we’ve only hit on the last part of it. The full quote is:

“Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”

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Even on those rare occasions where I get the “early to bed” part done, I can’t seem to get the early to rise part down!

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You’ll be happy to know, Mary-Lynn, our fifth and final activity doesn’t require that.

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Read your goal statement right before you get a good night’s sleep and first thing when you get up in the morning.
There are so many benefits of getting a good night’s sleep – better health, increased productivity and a sharper mind. What more do we need to say?

Reading your goals right before you go to bed and immediately upon rising helps you internalize them. Your vision of success gets fixed in your conscious mind so your subconscious mind can work to find ways to get there.

We love synergy here at Bigg Success. Look for ways to be healthier, wealthier and wiser all at the same time. That’s win – win – win! That’s bigg success!

How do you get healthy, wealthy and wise?

We’d love it if you’d share that with us. You can do that by:

• leaving a comment below

• e-mailing us at bigginfo@biggsuccess.com

• calling us at 888.455.BIGG (2444)

'Q' from Entertainment For The Rest Of Us called us with a compliment on our show. He said:

Hi George & Mary-Lynn, this is 'Q' from Entertainment For The Rest Of Us. I listen to the show every week. I wanted to let you know that I truly appreciate how you guys relate life on your own terms in each and every show. Specifically and most recently about social media and karaoke, and social networking and life longevity. As an entertainment fan, I really, really like that. Keep up the fantastic work and I look forward to more episodes. Take care you guys!

Thanks so much 'Q'! You made our day.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our series on lifelong learning. Thanks so much for the gift of your time.

The Beatles sang about The Magical Mystery Tour. Please join us next time when we’ll look at the magical money illusion.

Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed.

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00470-082809.mp3

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