This week I'm going to pull back the curtain and share what I believe have been my seven against business mistakes, and what you can learn from them.

Announcements:

• JV Alert, July 26-28
• NAMS Conference, August 9-11
• SCORRE Conference, October 14-17
• Platform Conference, November 3-5

Tip Of The Week

Apple Voice Memos is a fantastic recording studio in your pocket.

Spiritual Foundations

But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.
Hebrews 8:6

Sometimes when trials come our way, we think God is giving us a test. Or that he is “shaping our character”. I have heard people say things like, “It wasn't until I got cancer that my family came together. So I know that was God's plan for my life.” Often, people in these situations will cite the book of Job as support for this position. Let me be clear: God is not the author of evil. And cancer is evil.

Many will point to the book of Job, or other places in the Old Testament, and say, “See, this is where God was judging a person… sending a spirit of sickness on a person… causing evil things to happen to a person or nation.” And then they will quote Scripture to say that God is “the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.”

Such thinking misses the point. Yes, God is the same. But his covenant has changed. God has always been merciful. He has always been good. He has always been the healer, the restorer, the protector. The old covenant was given because God's people demanded it. It is not what he wanted for the, but they stood their ground in the desert and demanded that Moses go up and bring them back the law.

The book of Job is a book of bad theology, presented as bad theology. Job's friends, the ones who sat around and speculated about why God sent tragedy Job's way (as punishment for sin, to shape his character, etc.) got it wrong. God himself said so in the book.

Jesus, Scripture tells us, is the perfect mirror representation of the Father. Anything that you think about the Father, but which contradicts what you see demonstrated in the life of Jesus, is simply wrong. Jesus healed every person who came to him. He was merciful. He was joyful. And he never once imparted cancer, poverty, divorce, tragedy, or accidents to anyone in order to teach them a lesson. Does God make all things work together for good? Yes. Can he use any situation in our lives as an opportunity for us to learn and grow? Yes.

And keep in mind that he clearly promises us, among other things, divine health, divine wealth, peace… In fact he promises us that we will “prosper in all things, even as your soul prospers.”

Feature Segment: My Biggest Business Mistakes

Many business coaches and mentors are happy to tell you about their successes. Most are not so quick to share stories of their failures, because they worry that this will diminish their positioning in your eyes. The problem is: it's from failure that we may learn some of our most valuable lessons. Today, I'm going to share what I consider to be seven of my biggest business mistakes, what I learned from them, and what I feel you can take away from them as well.

   Ray's Seven Biggest Business Mistakes

1. Not starting soon enough. How I hesitated to strike out on my own.
2. Going into debt. The borrower is slave to the lender.
3. Accepting clients I knew were a bad fit. The “Client Who Ate My Calendar” story
4. Failing to establish clear boundaries. “No, I can't take your call at 11pm on Saturday/”
5. Moving too slowly. Ideas lose fire as the clock ticks.
6. Failure to focus. Dispersing your forces weakens your impact.
7. Lacking simultaneous execution. Just so I can contradict #6…

Want To Be On Next Week's Show?

My topic for next week's show is “How I Create My Podcast”. If you have a question on that topic, you can ask by visiting my voicemail page (just click here to leave a message). This is a great way to promote your own website. First, make sure you have a great question, and then start off by saying your name and your website. If your question is used on the show, will even include a link back to your site in the show notes.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please contact me.

Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679 or click here to leave a message on my Voicemail Page

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

What if you could run a company with no office, no staff, no inventory and no overhead? You can, and that is what this week's show is about.

Announcements:

• Wisdom Thesis Workshop coming up, June 25-28
• JV Alert, July 26-28
• NAMS Conference, August 9-11
• SCORRE Conference, October 14-17
• Platform Conference, November 3-5

Tip Of The Week

NextIssue.com features a nap that allows you to read all your favorite magazines on your iPad for just $14.99 a month.

Genius Scan turns your iPhone into a pocket scanner. It enables you to quickly scan documents on the go and email the scans as JPEG or PDF.

Spiritual Foundations

And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
John 1:16

If you are in a place where you feel the demands made on you are too much, I've got good news. You can stop working so hard, and watch God step in and supply everything you need. I frequently feel the demands of life. There are many expectations from clients, readers, listeners, and that's just on the business side of my life. If I let myself get caught up in thinking about the demands placed on me, it can feel like a heavy load. It's in these times that I turn to Jesus and simply tell him, “this is now your problem.” I know that sounds crass. But hear me out.

Recently, I returned from about three weeks of continuous air travel, conference speaking, and intense activity. The day after I got back home, I was scheduled to meet with a small group of entrepreneurs that I mentor in our church. As I drove to the meeting, really unprepared, I said to the Lord, “God, I can't do this. I have nothing for them. I surrender this to you, and I can't wait to see how you're going to handle it.”

As always, God showed up. He gave me just the right words to say, and more importantly he gave me just the right heart to hear what was on the minds of the people at the meeting. We had deeply rewarding time together. I was just as much nourished and refreshed as anyone else at the meeting. That's the kind of thing that happens when you set down the burden and leave it up to the Lord to carry it.

When we are able to receive the abundance of God's grace, to give up on all of the work were trying to do, and simply rest in God's favor… The weight of demand is lifted from our shoulders and we are carried on the river of God's unlimited supply.

Feature Segment: How to Run a Virtual Company

Today, it is  stopno longer necessary to make a huge capital investment to run a company. There are many startups and even established businesses that generate millions of dollars in revenue each year-without having a building, employees, or even inventory. How do you run such a “virtual company”? And if the idea intrigues you, how do you transition from being a traditional business to “going virtual”?

  The Virtual Company 10 Point Plan

1. Run an “8020 analysis” on your business
2. Get rid of the building
3. Eliminate your employees
4. Build a business system
5. Own nothing, control everything
6. Use proven tools: base camp, Google apps, GoToMeeting, Skype,  etc.
7. Use off-the-shelf software solutions
8. Realize you are an information marketing business
9. Focus on direct response marketing only
10. Commit to becoming a business owner and not just an operator.

 “Great business owners get rich. Great business operators just get tired.”
Keith Cunningham

Want To Be On Next Week's Show?

My topic for next week's show is “My Biggest Business Mistakes and What You Can Learn From Them”. If you have a question on that topic, you can ask by visiting my voicemail page (just click here to leave a message). This is a great way to promote your own website. First, make sure you have a great question, and then start off by saying your name and your website. If your question is used on the show, will even include a link back to your site in the show notes.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please contact me.

Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679 or click here to leave a message on my Voicemail Page

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

What if you could reduce the hours you spend working by 50%, and yet still be three times as productive? What if you could do that starting tomorrow? You can. And that's what today show is all about-how to triple your productivity tomorrow.

Announcements:

• Wisdom Thesis Workshop coming up, June 25-28
• NAMS Conference, August 9-11
• Platform Conference, November 3-5

Tip Of The Week

Adobe Creative Cloud. Once upon a time, owning just Photoshop was a $500 investment. Now you can get every Adobe makes for about $50. Maybe less.

Spiritual Foundations

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
Proverbs 13:20 (ESV)

For a couple of years I worked in the insurance business. I was very young, and I was the newest agent in the office. Al, the seasoned gray-headed veteran of the business, decided to take me under his wing.

“You'll get a lot of raw raw from management,” Al told me one day, “but I can show you how things really work around here. And you can make a lot of money.”

Pretty soon, I had begun to hang around Al and his buddies more often than not, and had begun to adapt their attitude. Cynical, jaded, laced with lots of sarcastic comments.

One day my manager, Frank, took me to lunch. As we were eating, he casually remarked, “I'm not sure hanging out without is in your best interest.”

“But he's just trying to help me,” I said. I was a bit naïve in those days. “And after all, he's got 30 years of experience with this company.”

Frank chuckled.

“No, Ray,” he said. “He's got one year of experience, and he's repeated it 30 times.”

Frank's comment had a real impact on me, because I instantly knew he was telling the truth. The next day, I decided to have my morning coffee with one of the younger agents in the office named Richard. Richard had been with the company only five years, but he was the top salesman in the office. Al's group of buddies regarded Richard with disdain, and now I knew why.

Who we hang out with, and whose wisdom we listen to, determines the kind of person we will become.

Feature Segment: Triple Your Productivity Tomorrow

Have you ever noticed that when you're going on vacation, the week before you leave is incredibly productive? Somehow you managed to get a couple of weeks ahead on your work, a couple of weeks ahead on all of your bill paying and chores around the house, you get your itinerary planned for the two week shall be on vacation, plus you get all the packing in preparation for the trip finished. How do you do that?

If you could harness that “magic”, you'd probably be three times as productive as you normally are. The good news is, I believe any of us can do exactly that. And on this show, I'm giving you a blueprint for how to wake up three times as productive tomorrow morning. Let's get started.

  The 3X Productivity Blueprintt

1. Do a mind sweep
2. Identify tomorrow's “must do's”
3. Put those on your task list, in order of priority
4. Store your mind sweep safely
5. Review tomorrow's appointments
6. Plan the time required to accomplish “must do's”
7. Go to bed early; get up early
8. First thing tomorrow, drink 16 ounces of water
9. Take time to connect with your creator, and your purpose
10. Exercise for 30 minutes
11. Arrive at work one hour earlier than normal
12. Focus on live number one from your list
13. Continue until complete; moved to next item
14. Short circuit interruptions today
15. Take a break, moved to the rest of your list
16. Deal with backlog
17. Have your “got a minutes”
18. Get to inbox zero
19. Deal with loose ends
20. Delegate everything left over
21. Make tomorrow's task list, plan tomorrow's schedule

Simply repeat this procedure every day from now on.

Want To Be On Next Week's Show?

My topic for next week's show is “How to Run a Virtual Company”. If you have a question on that topic, you can ask by visiting my voicemail page (just click here to leave a message). This is a great way to promote your own website. First, make sure you have a great question, and then start off by saying your name and your website. If your question is used on the show, will even include a link back to your site in the show notes.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please contact me.

Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679 or click here to leave a message on my Voicemail Page

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.

Imagine starting and running a business that has no office, no employees, no inventory, no overhead, and potential revenue in the millions of dollars. Every day you work from wherever you want-maybe one day from your house, maybe the next day from Starbucks, maybe the next day from the deck of a cruise ship.

 Sound like a cheesy Internet ad? Maybe. But it's also reality for a lot of people I know. And it can be reality for you. That's what today show is all about-how to be a “minimalist entrepreneur”.  The idea for this week show sprang from a series of blog posts written by my friend Ryan Lee. If you haven't read those posts, I highly recommend them.

Announcements:

• Wisdom Thesis Workshop coming up, June 25-28
• NAMS Conference, August 9-11
• Platform Conference, November 3-5

Tip Of The Week

BaseCamp Mobile App for IOS. While there have been many attempts to create a mobile app that allows you to access your Basecamp account, this is the official 37 signals app. And it works flawlessly, just as you would expect.

Spiritual Foundations

Put it in writing, because it is not yet time for it to come true. But the time is coming quickly, and what I show you will come true. It may seem slow in coming, but wait for it; it will certainly take place, and it will not be delayed. Habakkuk 2:3 (GNB)

Does it ever seem that God  is answering your prayer by saying “no”?

Let's assume that what you're asking for in prayer is consistent with God's will, as it is revealed in the Bible.

And let's assume that you even feel, for one reason or another, that you have heard from God in this area and that you felt his answer was yes. Yet the thing you're praying for doesn't seem to come through.

Just remember what Robert Schuller said: “God's delays are not God's denials.”

Sometimes God answers our prayer for an oak tree by delivering us just exactly that. An oak tree. That's called a miracle. Other times, he delivers us an acorn, and we have to cultivate it and care for it as it grows.

And while you are waiting for the fulfillment of your prayer, you might ask God who he wants to be to you, in that interval.

“Don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed.” (James 1:4, Msg)

Feature Segment: The Minimalist Entrepreneur

Matthew is a friendly, unassuming, and very likable guy. But he doesn't have a job. He started his own business a couple of years ago, has no employees, has no inventory or storefront, and runs that business from his laptop. He sometimes works from Starbucks, sometimes from home, in sometimes uses a tiny office he rented a few months ago. In that office it's just him, and the bare minimum of furniture required, and a lot of quiet. And in that quiet, Matthew rakes in an average of $150,000… Per month.

Now Matthew is a real person, a friend of mine, and I've changed his name just to protect his privacy. He is a minimalist entrepreneur.

I too am a minimalist entrepreneur. In the old days, before the Internet, starting a company that brings in the kind of revenue our company does what it meant a huge capital investment. Perhaps a dozen employees. A lot of overhead, and a great deal of risk. But today, because of the leverage offered by the Internet, I have a global business that I operate mostly from my laptop. And while there are a dozen or so people who make my company run, all but one of them are virtual workers, scattered all over the globe.

You, too, can operate a minimalist enterprise. In this episode, how explain the advantages of doing this, and provide a basic outline of how to pull it off.

 Advantages Of The Minimalist Entrepreneur

1. Zero startup cost
2. Close to zero operational cost
3. Peace of mind
4. Low stress
5. Big payoff

 The Minimalist Entrepreneur Blueprint

1.  Strategy over tactics.
2. No facility.
3. No employees.
4. No inventory.
5. Minimal fixed expense.
6. Virtualize the enterprise.
7. Systemize the enterprise.
8. Globalize the enterprise.
9. Fight feature creep.
10. Define culture.
11. Don't lose money.

Want To Be On Next Week's Show?

My topic for next week's show is “How to Triple Your Productivity Tomorrow”. If you have a question on that topic, you can ask by visiting my voicemail page (just click here to leave a message). This is a great way to promote your own website. First, make sure you have a great question, and then start off by saying your name and your website. If your question is used on the show, will even include a link back to your site in the show notes.

Your Feedback

Do you have an idea for a podcast you would like to hear? Do you have a question that you like to ask me? Please contact me.

Call in your questions or comments to our new, fancy “request line” at (509) 713-2679 or click here to leave a message on my Voicemail Page

And if you enjoy the podcast, I would consider it a great favor if you subscribe (and leave a review) in iTunes. This helps new people discover the podcast. You can also find the podcast on Stitcher.