As we begin a new year, it's popular for many bloggers and podcasters to make “predictions” about the new year. I prefer not making predictions (unless I feel inspired to do so), but I will point out 7 crucial trends to watch for in 2015.

I believe these trends represent some fundamental shifts in the way business is done online, and the way you will continue to build your platform in the new year

Other Reasons To Keep Listening

• I will reveal one of  the apps I'm using to help me meet my financial goals in 2015.
• We will tackle the question, “if God is always good, then why do bad things happen to good people?”
• I'll also share how you can get a plug or mention, or even an appearance on this show.

That's all coming up in today's episode…

Announcements:

Our Regency Mastermind Round One Membership filled up almost instantly. Stay tuned for news about round 2.

We're also working on a plan for a group mentoring plan for newbies… this will be a community that should be affordable for almost anyone. News to come soon.

I've decided to open the “insider only” invitation to our upcoming event Permission to Prosper to podcast listeners and subscribers. After all, you're insiders too! Click here for the details, but do it quickly.

Success Stories

I'm looking to share your success stories and good news. So if you've got a business triumph, spiritual victory, a story of God's miraculous intervention in your life or your business… I want to hear about it. Click this link to record a voicemail about your success story or testimony. This week's success story comes from Danna Demetre.

Tip of the Week:

I have some pretty huge financial goals for 2015. One of the main tools I am using for course corrections and double checking my progress is a free app called Personal Capital.

Using this app, I can see what is happening with all my accounts at a glance, and see an instant, up-to-date calculation of my net worth. Brilliant.

According to their website, Personal Capital provides “award-winning tools provide an in-depth view of your finances and help you eliminate excessive fees. Plus, our advanced analytics and expert advisors are on hand to give you a personalized investment strategy. So you and your money can have a little fun of your own.”

Sign up now for free.

Spiritual Foundations: If God Is Always Good, Why Do Bad Things Happen?

This is not a new question. It's been dealt with by many great theologians, and I don't count myself as one of them. But I do know this: we really have one basic decision to make. Is God good, and can he be trusted?

And it really is a decision.

If you're looking for a mathematical formula to prove it one way or another, I predict you will be disappointed.

Personally, after I decided to settle this question in my heart once and for all, everything else became very clear to me. Even the subject of “mystery.”

Here are three explanations that might help us understand why bad things happen to God's people.

1. This is not heaven. We live in a fallen world, where the influence of the enemy still creates chaos and attempts to unravel the things which God has woven into place. The victory has been one by Jesus on the cross, and we live in an era when it is slowly but implacably being enforced by us, his “kingdom of priests”.
2. We cannot see the whole picture. Put another way, we simply don't know everything. It's possible that if we did, many things that we viewed now as injustices or the failure of God to keep his promises would actually be seen as the opposite. Think of it this way: your child may not understand why you are forcing them to undergo a painful and traumatic medical procedure. You, on the other hand, know that it's necessary for the doctor to remove the child's appendix so that they might live and not be killed by the very poison that conveys their system. A crude example, but perhaps illustrative.
3. Romans 8:38 assures us that God makes all things work for the good of those who love him, and who are called according to his purposes. If you are a follower of Christ, that includes you. And please note that it doesn't mean that God is not directly causative in whatever evil may befall you, but that he can, will, and does turn what was intended for evil to ultimately prove good for you.

I understand that all these answers may feel empty in the face of a devastating problem, such as a broken marriage, a cancer diagnosis, the sudden unexpected death of a child, or some other brutal and horrible experience that you may be undergoing right now.

It is in these places that the importance of the decision I mentioned earlier becomes obvious.

The time to make the decision that God is always good, and that he can be trusted, is before the crisis occurs. The time to exercise the faith for that belief is before you desperately need it.

Feature Presentation: 7 Trends To Watch For In 2015

Don't make the mistake of letting what you know get in the way of what you need to learn.

I often tell people that classic copywriting formulas will always work, because human psychology does not change. At the basis of that statement is I believe deep truth. However it can also be misleading.

If you assume that old-fashioned headline templates, for instance will work as well today as they once did, you may be in for a rude awakening. If you believe that the old school, hard-core, hard-sell, carnival barker style of writing copy still works as well as it did even a year ago, you are definitely in for a rude awakening. As I've discovered through my own business, and working with clients on theirs, there is a new elegance required to writing powerful, persuasive copy.

This is just one example of a new trend that does not cancel out a time-tested principle, but doesn't fact require a reinterpretation of that principle through fresh linens.

You will be much better prepared for doing business in 2015 if you keep the following seven landscape changing trends in mind. Ignore them at your peril.

7 Trends To Watch For in 2015

1. The continued rise of high-quality video for the purposes of marketing and selling.
2. The meteoric, explosive growth of podcasting as a marketing channel, and the end of “old school marketing” inside podcasts.
3. The dramatically higher bar that has been set for content marketing to be successful.
4. A major shift away from “homebrew” website solutions, and the shift toward turnkey systems.
5. The crucial importance of the power of proper association.
6. The “thinning of the herd” that will eliminate the shallow, the con artists, and the opportunity seekers… and create an extraordinary advantage for those who are genuine original thinkers, strong personalities, and world changers.
7. The absolute necessity of being more than “10% better” than your competition; the absolute necessity of creating your own category.

Resources Mentioned In The Show

• Permission to Prosper Conference Limited-Time Discount Registration
• Personal Capital
• Just Get Started  book by Ray Edwards
• Money Words book by Ray Edwards
• Writing Riches book by Ray Edwards
• Danna Demetre's website

How You Can Help

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Go ahead and subscribe now, and give us your star rating and review on iTunes. We will definitely mention you on this show.

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Question: What are your thoughts on today's episode?  Click here to leave your comments.

Have you ever suffered from depression or anxiety? Depression is a major problem in the world today. By the year 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that depression will be the number two cause of “lost years of healthy life” worldwide.

This time of year feelings of depression are common. Most people suffer in silence. And in this episode I will share my own battle with depression, and give you my recipe for defeating this debilitating and deadly disease.

Tip of the Week:

Moodtracker. Enter daily a choice of three moods and have the option to input notes as well.

You can see a twoweek calendar view from the main page, or a full month view calendar from the Calendar view.

Also, export your notes to email so you can bring in your notes to your next doctor's visit or keep for your reference.

Spiritual Foundations: Depression Is Always a Spiritual Battle

Depression is always a spiritual matter at the root – but don't let condemnation creep in.

Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls.
Proverbs 25:28

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12

1. Decide to use the opportunity to glorify God.
2. The deeper your depression, the more expressive your worship should be.
3. Read the Psalms until you hear your voice – then camp there for a while.

Feature Presentation: How To Overcome Depression

Depression is a major problem in the world today.

• By the year 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that depression will be the number two cause of “lost years of healthy life” worldwide.
• Of the estimated 17.5 million Americans who are affected by some form of depression, 9.2 million have major or clinical depression.
• Two-thirds of people suffering from depression do not seek necessary treatment.
• 80% of all people with clinical depression who have received treatment significantly improve their lives.
• The economic cost of depression is estimated at $30.4 billion a year but the cost in human suffering cannot be estimated.
• Women experience depression about twice as often as men.

People who are not depressed don't commit suicide.

I've battled depression myself, and I know it is not an easy thing to deal with. I have tried just about every solution available to fight depression. I feel it is important to resist this force, which is more than a mere “feeling” – it is an enemy that will devour your life and the lives of those around you.

But there is hope. And I'm going to share my own battle plan and recipe for overcoming depression.

First Things First: Does God Want Me To Be Depressed?

First and foremost, let me state very clearly: I don't think depression or anxiety are ever from the Lord. Ever. End of discussion.

God can and does use bad things and turns them ultimately to our good-but that is his work in redeeming an imperfect creation from the curse mankind placed it under. It is not him abusing his children in order to “teach them something”.

The theology here is very deep:

Good things come from God.

Bad things come from Satan.

Children understand this. It takes adults make it complicated.

Ray's 9-Step Anti-Depression Recipe

1. Prayer daily, as a conversation with God.
2. Practice the awareness of God's Presence.
3. Journaling daily (I use Day One, and a template of questions that I answer each day. I store the template as a TextExpander snippet).
4. Read 5 Psalms and 1 chapter of Proverbs daily (in addition to normal Bible reading/study)
5. Vigorous Exercise 6 days per week (while listening to powerful, positive UPBEAT worship music – ie, no “I've written an ode to my problems” type songs)
6. Daily declarations (speaking out loud the promises of the word, see the book above)
7. Paleo Diet to regulate blood sugar and neurochemistry
8. Supplementation (especially Vitamin D and B-Complex)
9. Tracking mood daily (use MoodTracker App)

Additional Resources For Battling Depression

Here is a list of resources that have been very useful to me.

• I Declare: 31 Promises to Speak Over Your Life – Joel Osteen
• Declarations: Unlocking Your Future – Steve Backlund
• Strengthen Yourself In The Lord – Bill Johnson
• The Power of Right Believing – Joseph Prince
• Philips goLITE BLU Light Therapy Device

Final Thoughts On Overcoming Depression

No discussion of this topic would be complete without mentioning antidepressant medications.

As a last resort, I can tell you that antidepressant medications can be useful.

But I strongly believe this is only after you have exhausted every other possible answer. There are peer-reviewed, controlled studies that demonstrate vigorous exercise is just as effective as antidepressants in most patients.

The possible exception to this rule is that you may have an actual physiological problem in your brain.

In my case, because I was been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, I have empirical evidence that my neurological systems are flawed. Specifically, the production and delivery of dopamine, which controls movement, is at the root of most Parkinson's symptoms. It just so happens that dopamine also controls mood. Thus, there may be more of a direct physiological element in my individual case. But even this is in dispute amongst experts.

I have taken anti-depressants, under the close supervision of a medical professional. So if you need to do this, please do not accept any shame or condemnation for doing so.

God always does the healing, whether through the laying on of hands by a believer… or the laying on of hands by a doctor. Or the blessing of intellect that allows the creation of medicines that heal.

The Role Of Psychology and Psychiatry In Treating Depression

If you seek counseling of any kind, I strongly recommend working with a Christian counselor, and finding one who does not have some perverse “theology of suffering”. Unless you want to suffer and believe it is “for a reason”.

I have in the past sought out professional help with depression. Even when I went to see a medical professional, I sought one who was a believer, because the baseline theological premises one begins with influence the final practical outcome conclusions one forms. Even in medicine.

Get The Transcript

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Question: Have you ever struggled with feelings of depression?  Click here to leave your comments.

We often treat the future as if it's a mystery. As if we don't have a say in it, or any control if it. And while there is some truth  in that, there is a deeper truth also.

We get to choose how we see the future, and the choice we make has a profound influence over the outcome we experience. This episode shows you 5 powerful ways to see the road ahead.

Tip of the Week:

I may have finally found an app to replace Cardmunch – the iPhone app I previously used to process business cards I received at conferences. The new app is called Card Reader, and it's made by Full Contact. The maker claims is “the easiest way to scan business cards into Google Contacts, iPhone Contacts, & 250+ other apps.” The advantage Card Reader has over other card scanners is simple, and powerful: the business cards you scan into it are transcribed by real live humans, not by an OCR algorithm.

If you'd like to be the one-in-a-million who actually does something with all those business cards you collect, give Card Reader a try.

Plus, Full Contact will unify, synch, and keep up-to-date all the contacts in your Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Contacts.

Spiritual Foundations: Grace Is Not A Doctrine

“Grace”, to most Christians, is a doctrine. A part of the overall gospel of Jesus Christ. But that's not the case. Grace is not a “doctrine” or a “part of” the gospel. It is the gospel itself, in its entirety.

For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17

We tell new Christians they ” are saved by grace through faith”. That salvation is a “free gift”. Then, once they have nought our sales pitch, we begin telling them how they have to “clean up their act”.

But performance-based Christianity is a modern invention, not a biblical principle.

We don't “behave our way” into to the life of the Spirit. Many churches teach that we must stop serving the “desires of the flesh” so that we can then walk more by the Spirit… but the Bible says the exact opposite.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Galatians 5:16-18

When we walk by the Spirit, we will naturally be freed from the power of sin.

How then, do we “walk by the Spirit”? Here are some good ways to start:

1. By becoming Christ-conscious instead of sin-conscious.
2. Read the Scripture and look for Christ and His grace.
3. Recalling, meditating on, and speaking out loud the testimony of what He has done.
4. Talk to God, and listen what He says to you (through His word, other people, “coincidences”, the “still small voice”, a sense of his presence., etc.)
5. Listen to and soak up anointed teaching, preaching, and worship music.

Doing these things will help you walk by the Spirit… and your transformed behavior will flow from you naturally.

Feature Presentation: 5 Powerful Ways To See The Road Ahead

Here are 5 powerful ways to see the road ahead – transforming your thinking, and conforming it to these frameworks, can have a powerful impact on the future you actually experience.

1. Possible. Don't allow your thoughts to rehearse all the possible ways things might go wrong. Instead, meditate n great detail on exactly how things could go right.
2. Provident. Remember that the Universe is the creation of a benevolent God who wants only the best for you. and even when chaos intervenes and things go wrong, it can ultimately work in your favor (Romans 8:28).
3. Peaceful. Peace has very little to do with what is happening around us, and everything to do with what is happening within us.
4. Powerful. The agency in your life belongs to you. You are a “powerful person” – meaning you are not a victim of circumstances, bad luck, or other people's poor choices.
5. Prepared. God has prepared a specific, beneficial, fulfilling destiny for you, and you must remember this, even when you feel you can't see it. Even if you don't fancy yourself a believer, I have a suggestion. Believe your future has been prepared for you anyway. Which belief will allow you to proceed with more confidence, clarity, and control: the belief that life is a random game of chance with no rhyme or reason… or the belief that a force greater than you is looking out for you, and constantly adjusting the odds in your favor? Which believe will make you more calm, proactive, flexible, and give you access to your own personal levels of highest performance?

Get The Transcript

Click here to get the transcript. Transcripts provided by SuccessTranscripts – a great solution if you need your podcast, sermon, speech, or other audio transcribed.

Question: What are you looking forward to in 2015? How will you use these 5 ways of seeing the road ahead to empower your journey?  Click here to leave your comments.

This is a special episode where I'm taking the time to answer a ton of questions from listeners and readers. I really enjoy these kinds of shows, and this one is no exception.

By the way, I am looking for success stories to start sharing on every episode. If you have a success story to share, click here and record it using Speakpipe. Keep your success story short and powerful (2 minutes or less is best). We're looking for ways you've  been blessed by this show, whether is was financially, in your business or work, spiritually, or miraculous healing or provision!

Tip of the Week:

Michael Hyatt has just released his brand new course, called 5 Years To Your Best Year Ever. If you want to set goals that you actually achieve, and make resolutions that really stick… this course is the way to do it. I did last year's version, and got some astonishing results. For instance, my family paid off $103,012  in debt, and I personally lost 35.2 pounds of fat!

I'm excited to participate in this year's version of the course. I'm asking my personal Mastermind, the Regency Group, to invest in the course so we can all go through it together.

I want you to get the benefit of this course, too. Right now you can get it at the Early Bird Discount price. Don't wait – do it now, get access to the entire course, and start crafting the plan for your best year ever.

Please keep in mind, I'm a paid affiliate for this program and earn a commission if you purchase through this link. This does not affect your price. However…

If it makes you uncomfortable that I receive a commission, and you wonder about my motivations, then purchase through the link that will deny me any commission. Use that link, and I won't make a dime. I want you to benefit from this course regardless of whether I make any money.

Spiritual Foundations: The Peculiar Problem Of Doubt

Doubt is something most believers struggle with. There was the man who lacked belief, who said to Jesus, “I believe. Help my unbelief.”

Thomas doubted the resurrected Christ was real until he could press his fingers in the nail-holes left by the Lords ttorturouscrucifixion.

Peter had a clue, when he said to Jesus across the raging storm at sea, “Lord if it is you, call me to come to you.”

And because of that request, Pete walked on the water.

There are 3 steps that will help us banish the peculiar problem of doubt:

1. Acknowledge it when it is real, but refuse to feed it.
2. Like Thomas, prove the truth to ourselves. The best way is the testimony.
3. Like Peter, ask Jesus to give us faith for the impossible, and then be crazy enough to brave the waves!

Feature Presentation: Ask Me Anything

In this episode I answer a bunch of listener questions!

Next Week:  “The Road Ahead” Episode

Get The Transcript

Click here to get the transcript. Transcripts provided by SuccessTranscripts – a great solution if you need your podcast, sermon, speech, or other audio transcribed.

Question: Have you ever struggled with doubt? How did you overcome it? Click here to leave your comments.

It's the time of year when we all start to think about making resolutions and setting goals for the new year… and we're either happy about it, or cynical.

This week Michael Hyatt is my guest, and he offers a fresh perspective on setting goals. By the way, if you haven't seen the fabulous free video training Michael is giving away on how to make 2015 “your best year ever”, click here right now and get access to those videos!

Tip of the Week:

Blinkist is a great little app that lets you access concise book summaries on your iPhone or iPad.

Want to mentor with me in 2015? Click here to register for a pre-application Webinar Monday, December 8, at 7pm Eastern.

Spiritual Foundations: The God of Our Goals

“Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established..”
Proverbs 16:3

As we set goals for the coming year, it's important to include God in the process, for these 3 reasons:

1. Calling
2. Character
3. Charisma

When our Calling, Character, and Charisma are activated by the presence of God, our plans will be established indeed!

Feature Presentation: Michael Hyatt on Goal Setting and Your Best Year Ever

This is a spectacular interview with Michael Hyatt on how to set goals for the new year (or any time).

NOTE: enroll in Michael's course by clicking this link to get into the accountability group I mentioned in the episode.

Next Week:  The “Ask Me Anything” Episode

Get The Transcript

Click here for the transcript. Transcripts provided by SuccessTranscripts – a great solution if you need your podcast, sermon, speech, or other audio transcribed.

Question: How will you apply the power of copywriting in your business or career? Click here to leave your comments.