Have you been promising yourself that you would start a business of your  own “someday”? Or have you started a business already, and everything seems to be going against you?

In this episode:

• We discuss the virtues of “Christian Selfishness”.

• A foolproof method for not breaking your diet resolutions this year.

• And of course, those 5 pesky roadblocks to starting your own business.

• All this, plus our never-ending quest for Truth, Justice, and the American Way…

Click here to download or listen to this episode now.

Spiritual Foundations

On Christian Selfishness

“Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:12

We do things for God out of the profit motive. To be happy.

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” – John Piper

“The glory of god is Man fully alive”. – St Iraneus

Figure out what makes you truly happy and fully alive, and go after it in God’s name!

Tip of the Week

The #1 Way To Avoid Busting Your Diet In The New Year

This is guaranteed to work, 100% of the time, and I guarantee less than 10% of our listeners will do it.

Spend your eating on paper first. Make a list of everything you will eat in a month.

Throw everything else out. In the trash. Right now. Today. Don’t replace it.

Featured Segment

Everything you believe about why you can’t start a business is a lie. Your biggest hurdle to getting started is… your thinking. You have a thinking problem.

Anyone can start a business with a lot less stress and difficulty, by simply eliminating these 5 mental roadblocks in their thinking (I spell these out in the episode – listen to the podcast episode.)

How To Help

Subscribe to the show in iTunes and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will definitely mention you on this show.

We are also on Stitcher.com, so if you prefer Stitcher, please subscribe there.

Connect with Ray on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Get The Transcript

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

This episode is another deep-dive Wednesday interview, this time with John Lee Dumas of Entrepreneur On Fire.

In this episode:

• I catch John Lee by surprise, and then he opens up in a deeply heartfelt way.

• The amazing story of how John Lee struggled as a veteran returning home – and then triumphed like crazy.

• How to achieve your top goal in less than 100 days.

• How you can help build a school in Africa!

• All this, plus our never-ending quest for Truth, Justice, and the American Way…

Click here to download or listen to this episode now.

The Freedom Journal is a gorgeous, 300-page, leather-bound, gold embossed journal that will guide you in the accomplishment of your #1 S.M.A.R.T. goal:

S – Specific

M – Measurable

A – Attainable

R – Relevant

T – Time-bound

A unique, step-by-step process:

With daily tasks, nightly recaps, 10-day sprints and quarterly reviews, The Freedom Journal WILL hold you accountable to accomplishing your #1 goal in 100-days.

How To Help

Subscribe to the show in iTunes and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will definitely mention you on this show.

We are also on Stitcher.com, so if you prefer Stitcher, please subscribe there.

Connect with Ray on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Get The Transcript

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

According to the Statistic Brain Research Institute, only 8% of people who make New Year’s Resolutions actually stick with them. Why is it so hard to maintain the change? Why do most of us quit before we even  get started?

In this episode:

• I get personal, and give you a peek into the goals I failed to hit this year… why I think I failed… and what I plan to do aobut it in 2016.

• The amazing power of the “9 Environments” to guide (and even control) your destiny.

• How to consciously re-engineer your “9 Environments” to support the behavior patterns and emotional states that lead to success.

• And…is Ray Edwards really recommending you get rid of your books? Yep.

• All this, plus our never-ending quest for Truth, Justice, and the American Way…

Click here to download or listen to this episode now.

Spiritual Foundations

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”
Romans 4:7–8

Some people think that if they were more “right” with God, then He would hear their prayers. For example, they sometimes believe that if they had not quarreled with their wives or had those bad thoughts about their boss earlier in the day, then God would answer their prayers. But I have good news: God is not like that.

Tip of the Week: Hire Your Own Personal Chef… Cheap!

What if you could eat healthy, real-food meals, prepared fresh for you by a gourmet chef… but for less than it costs to eat out at a cheap health-destroying restaurant? That's what we're experiencing with Pete's Paleo. Thank you Joe Polish for introducing me to Pete's!

Featured Segment: Why You Find It Hard To Maintain The Change

Anyone can increase their ability to maintain the change over time, by optimizing each of these 9 Environments.

1. Physical Environment
2. Mental Environment
3. Spiritual Environment
4. Emotional Environment
5. Social Environment
6. Financial Environment
7. Work Environment
8. Geographical Environment
9. Transportation Environment

How To Help

Subscribe to the show in iTunes and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will definitely mention you on this show.

We are also on Stitcher.com, so if you prefer Stitcher, please subscribe there.

Connect with Ray on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Get The Transcript

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

NOTE: As of last week, we have changed podcast release day to Mondays for the main podcast. We're now experimenting with a second show each week. These shows will be long-form interviews, which I am dubbing “remarkable conversations”. Feedback sought and appreciated.

Businessman and Life Coach, Aaron T. Walker, has inspired many through his leadership, mentorship, and consistent pursuit of excellence. He enjoys helping others and believes experience is a great teacher. 35 years of entrepreneurship and marriage have given Aaron a wealth of experience.

For 19 years and counting, Aaron has been coached personally by his friend, financial guru Dave Ramsey.  My guess is he's learned a thing or two from Dave!

In this episode:

• How Aaron started his first business as a teenager with none of his own money.
• The difference between success and significance, and how to attain both.
• The chilling story of how Aaron contemplated shooting a man – and the life-changing insight he gained from that experience.
• The truth about building lots of wealth.
• The astonishing method for doubling your business in record time – without new equipment, without new marketing dollars, without new staff… even without selling of any kind!
• How Aaron gets world-class media opportunities and mentoring from powerful, famous people – it's so simple you can start doing this today, yourself.
• Why Aaron believes this is the best time in history to start a business, no matter how old or young you are.
• …and much more!

Click here now to listen to the episode.

• Aaron's Website, View From the Top
• Give Aaron a shout-out on Twitter.
• The free assessment documents Aaron mentioned are on this page (top right box in the sidebar).

How To Help

Subscribe to the show in iTunes and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will definitely mention you on this show.

We are also on Stitcher.com, so if you prefer Stitcher, please subscribe there.

Connect with Ray on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Get The Transcript

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

NOTE: As of last week, we have changed podcast release day to Mondays for the main podcast. I know, know… that seems to imply there is an “other than main” podcast. Is that true? Yep. Details coming soon.

Why do some people seem to succeed so easily, while others struggle merely to get by. Why is it some people seem to take a clear path to an exciting, vital destiny, while other lead lives of monotonous mediocrity?

In this episode:

• Did you ever feel like the door to your destiny is just locked? Like you can’t get through no matter how hard your try? Maybe the answer isn’t to try harder. Maybe the answer is to get the keys to the door!

• The supernatural secret to more energy, less stress, and amazing powers of stunning accomplishment.

• And…is Ray Edwards really recommending you get rid of your books? Yep.

• All this, plus our never-ending quest for Truth, Justice, and the American Way…

Click here to download or listen to this episode now.

Spiritual Foundations

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus[a] from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:11

You can get out of a state of fatigue, discouragement, and depression… you don’t have these things, you create them. Your thoughts, and especially your words, always empower some form of spiritual activity.

Want energy, joy, and enthusiasm? Don’t wait for these things to “happen to you”… you make them happen. They are within your spirit… all you have to do is release them.

Speak out and create the  energy, joy, and enthusiasm… whatever  you need… to accomplish what God has made you to accomplish!

Tip of the Week: Get Rid of Your Books

Am I, Ray Edwards, recommending you get rid of your books? Me, the champion of reading? Yes! Here's what I suggest you do: listen to the episode.

Featured Segment: 5 Crucial Keys That Unlock The Doors of Destiny

Did you ever feel like the door to your destiny is just locked? Like you can’t get through no matter how hard your try. Maybe the answer isn’t to try harder. Maybe the answer is to get the keys to the door. Your destiny is predetermined… by you. Design it.

Anyone can unlock the doors of destiny, by using these 5 Crucial keys.

Key 1: Purpose

• What is the meaning of your life?
• What does “Interview With The Vampire” have to do with your life purpose?
• You must know the larger story you are part of.
• For me, it is “to glorify god by living life fully alive, taking my deepest enjoyment from Him”.

Key 2: Mission

• How are you drawn to operate in the context of your purpose?
• Does your purpose change during the course of your life?
• How do you discover the role you play in the story?

Key 3: Vision

• What does it mean to have a “vision”?
• What we can learn about vision from Walt Disney.
• You must know what your future “scenes” in that story look like.

Key 4: Goals

• How will you know when you have arrived?
• Guys Without Goals: “I have never failed to hit a goal… because I’ve never set one.”
• For you to know when the mission is truly accomplished, you must define the specific objectives you want to meet.

Key 5: Take The Required Actions

Summary

Key 1 – Know your Purpose (What is the meaning of your life?)

Key 2- Know Your Mission (What is your current assignment that serves your Purpose?)

Key 3 – Clarify your Vision ( what does success LOOK like?)

Key 4 – Define Your Goals (what are the milestones along the way to mission accomplished?)

Key 5 – Take The Required Actions

How To Help

Subscribe to the show in iTunes and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will definitely mention you on this show.

We are also on Stitcher.com, so if you prefer Stitcher, please subscribe there.

Connect with Ray on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Get The Transcript

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

NOTE: As we prepare to begin a new year, I am making a few changes to the way I create and deliver content to you. The first such change: the main podcast will now be published on each Monday. – Ray Edwards

If you market products or services of any type, your audience, your customer list, and your workplace is filled with them: Millenials. They are maligned, misrepresented, and misunderstood. Cutting through all this noise and disinformation about the rise of tomorrow's leaders can enhance your family, your relationships, and yes… your business.

In this episode:

• This week we turn the tables and I interview Sean – who is my c0host for this show, our company's Director of Strategic Development, and – surprise! – a Millenial.
• How to receive wisdom from your adult children.
• The surprising element of life that is vital to Baby Boomers, but very low on the priority scale for Millenials… and why understanding  this is your key to connecting with them.
• Who are Millenials, and how are they different from other generations?
• Are Millennials really suffering from entitlement and narcissism?
• What you must know if you want your marketing messages to hit home with Millenials… and the mistakes you must absolutely avoid.
• Why (and how) Millenials will change the world for the better.

Click here to download or listen to this episode now.

Spiritual Foundations

“A wise son makes a glad father.” – Proverbs 15:20

“He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” – Proverbs 13:20

Don't just teach your children, learn from them.

Featured Segment: Marketing to Millenials

Some fact about Millenials to set the context for our discussion:

• Millennials are the demographic cohort following Generation X.
• Most researchers and commentators use birth years ranging from the early 1980s to the early 2000s
• Authors William Strauss and Neil Howe believe that each generation has common characteristics that give it a specific character, with four basic generational archetypes, repeating in a cycle. In their theory, summarized in their book The Fourth Turning, Millennials will become more like the “civic-minded” G.I. Generation.
• Jean Twenge, the author of the 2006 book Generation Me, attributes Millennials with the traits of confidence and tolerance, but also identifies a sense of entitlement and narcissism based on personality surveys that showed increasing narcissism among Millennials compared to preceding generations when they were teens and in their twenties.
• The University of Michigan's “Monitoring the Future” study of high school seniors (conducted continually since 1975) and the American Freshman survey, conducted by UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute of new college students since 1966, showed an increase in the proportion of students who consider wealth a very important attribute, from 45% for Baby Boomers (surveyed between 1967 and 1985) to 70% for Gen Xers, and 75% for Millennials. But the percentage who said it was important to keep abreast of political affairs fell, from 50% for Baby Boomers to 39% for Gen Xers, and 35% for Millennials.
• The idea of “developing a meaningful philosophy of life” decreased the most across generations, from 73% for Boomers to 45% for Millennials. The willingness to be involved in an environmental cleanup program dropped from 33% for Baby Boomers to 21% for Millennials.
• In March 2014, the Pew Research Center issued a report about how “Millennials in adulthood” are “detached from institutions and networked with friends.” The report says Millennials are more upbeat than older adults about America's future, and 49% of Millennials say the country’s best years are ahead. Interestingly, they're the first generation in the modern era to have higher levels of student loan debt and unemployment.

Most this data was obtained from this article at Wikipedia.

Listen to the episode to hear Sean's startling take on Millenials, and how they will change the world.

Seans website is SeanEdwards.com.

Connect with Sean on his Facebook Page.

Sean's New Book – Highly Recommended Reading

American Resurrection: The Failure of the U.S. Constitution and the Rebirth of a Nation

The Constitution has failed, and most people don’t even realize it. Over the past century, both Republicans and Democrats have forgotten its purpose… and our nation’s great destiny.  No one party is to blame. We have just forgotten the reason why our nation exists. Hidden behind misunderstood and empty party slogans, our country is caught in a confused struggle to do what is right. We have cannibalized our principles and forgotten who we are.

This book is an attempt to reawaken the giant that changed the world. The ideas that the led to our nation’s founding still have the power to radically change history. We only need to remember them.

Liberal or conservative, this book will challenge you to see the world in a new and powerful way. Sacred cows in both parties will be put to the test. And hopefully, our nation can begin the journey back to greatness.

The United States still has a destiny to fulfill in the world, the only question is… will we do what is necessary to realize that future?

Find out how by reading American Resurrection: The Failure of the U.S. Constitution and The Rebirth of A Nation.

If you'd like to try two free chapters from the book first, just click here and enter your email address. Your free sample will be emailed to you.

How To Help

Subscribe to the show in iTunes and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will definitely mention you on this show.

We are also on Stitcher.com, so if you prefer Stitcher, please subscribe there.

Connect with Ray on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Get The Transcript

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

Some people are waving a “stupid” flag, signaling the rest of us that they are… well… stupid.

Here's how to know if you are waving “stupid flags” – and what they cost you in terms of money, repect, relationships, and opportunities. We don't leave you hanging – we'll give you some hints on …. how to stop.

Spiritual Foundations

How to Change Your Life, Overnight, No Matter What

Tip Of the Week

The Best Camera Money Can Buy

Photographers mentioned:

• Austin Mann
• Dan Rubin
• 10 of the Best iPhone Photographers

And if you're up for the 30 day challenge, post your daily iPhone (or whatever phone/camera you carry) on Instagram. Follow me on Instagram – and I can't wait to see your photos!

Feature Segment: Are You Waving “Stupid Flags”?

You can know if you are waving “stupid flags” that cost you money, relationships, and opportunities…. and you can learn to stop waving those flags. Here are 3 questions to ask yourself before you speak:

1. Does what I’m saying or doing possibly sound like a complaint? STUPID FLAG! Complaining is stupid. But making a request
   is smart.
2. Does what I’m saying or doing come at a cost to someone else? STUPID FLAG! Words and actions are as painful or deadly as a fist or a knife. Make sure your humor doesn’t cost someone else. “Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I am only joking!” Proverbs 26:18-19
3. Does what I’m saying possibly display my ignorance? STUPID FLAG! Especially if you're about to express a heated opinion, stop and ask yourself, “How do I know this is true?”

Remember that sometimes, even if you are certain you're right, speaking your opinion won't build anyone up, nor will it “impart grace to the hearer”. (Ephesians 4:29)

30 Day Challenge: “30 Days of No Stupid Flags” – all you need is a rubber band and commitment. Or, as Sean explained, a Sharpie and some nerves of steel.

Are you joining either of this month's Challenges? Why or why not?

How To Help

Subscribe to the show in iTunes and give us a rating and review. Make sure you put your real name and website in the text of the review itself. We will definitely mention you on this show.

We are also on Stitcher.com, so if you prefer Stitcher, please subscribe there.

Connect with Ray on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Get The Transcript

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