No, it’s not like I had a bag with $200 Million Dollars and left it at the bus depot.  But today, I’m going to share with you what turned out to be the 3 Primary Lessons I Learned From Losing $200 Million Dollars.

• How to face your reality in relation to money.
• Uncover the well-kept secret all wealthy people know (and poor people don’t).
• Discover the one key factor that’s proven to determine destiny.

Should we love the Giver rather than the Gift?

Click here to download or listen to this episode now.

Tip of the Week

No gadget…no gizmo…just a fact that blew me away. The fantasy football market generates 70 billion dollars a year.  Think about this astounding fact and send us three profound marketing truths embedded and implied in this statement. We will send a prize to the first astute marketer who emails us three profound marketing truths based on the fantasy football league market.   (No, it’s not a Ferrari.) Send to support@rayedwards.com

Spiritual Foundations

• “Love the Giver and not the gift” — How your philosophy and your faith are influenced by your view of the Gift and the Giver.
• Altruism, vending machines, and prostitution, so what’s that got to do with my spiritual foundation? Is charity bad?
• Selfless motivation, self-interest, and altruism — Why what you think about these terms underlies your view of yourself, others, and God.
• Selfish brute or selfless doormat — Uncovering the two historical ethics options and considering the possibility of others.
• Why did Jesus make the ultimate sacrifice? — Rethinking it all, was it really the Ultimate Sacrifice?
• Ayn Rand, “The question is not should you give the homeless man some money, but do you have the right to exist if you don’t?”

Feature Presentation “3 Things I Learned From Losing $200 Million“

• How social security, deep debt, 100 extra lbs., and a timer ticking on my health finally jolted me to take action.  18:00
• • “It stops here!” — Why putting an end to toleration is the first step toward transformation.  20:22
• NO, it doesn’t matter what you make — How this one shift in thinking will transform your life now (and impact your future).  21:45
• • Why keeping up appearances keeps you poor — How to embrace becoming wealthy and finally realize that income is fantasy.  22:40
• The one deal you should NEVER make — Why it seems so tempting, yet save yourself the headache because it’s always a disaster. 23:38
• • How your three brains impact your thinking in ways you never realized — Why knowing it in your “head” is not enough.  24:24
• The difference between the poor and the wealthy — Why one key principle separates the haves and the have-nots.  26:15
• • If your house is re-possessable then you need to realize you’re poor — How to shift your view and put every dollar to work for you. 26:48
• The desire formula — Why understanding the root word “sire” helps you uncover the unexpected origin of your pure desires.  29:10
• • Your desires are imprinted on you as possibilities by your Creator — Why some people think because you desire it that is enough (really, how’s that working for you?). 31:00
• How Christians embrace superstitions and mystical ways by evading reality — Why you can believe in the power of prayer (even if you’re rational you can still believe in miracles.). 32:18
• • Uncovering why destiny is not magical (even though most people mistakenly believe this …especially Christians). 33:00
• Discover the “good works prepared for you before you were born” — Why most will not fulfill their potential. 35:58
• • The one thing that determines your destiny — The famous D word we all avoid yet it strongly impacts everything in your life. 35:36

• Are you guilty of sitting on the couch waiting for God to make things happen?” — Why God gets a bad rap and how to change your thinking about God. 37:00

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Ayn Rand

Francis Bacon

Support@rayedwards.com

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Today I want to enter into an interesting discussion Ken MacArthur started on Facebook https://www.facbook.com/marketingtactics.

Ken states, “Serious question, I’ve always been a skeptic. I have no problem under-promising and over-delivering, but I’ve always been hesitant to make a ‘Big Promise.’ Given the current state of the world I live in, I’m more inclined to think things like ‘most people will fail, most of the time when they start something new.’ That’s why babies don’t walk on the first try. Making a ‘big promise’ is part of the sales conversation equation. Some of my mentors find it essential and don’t believe you can close high-ticket sales without one. Obviously, showing value and creating trust impact your sales. The skeptic in me always hesitates to promise anything. Do you ever wrestle with this kind of question?”

Today, I unpack  Ken MacArthur’s crucial question all entrepreneurs and marketers must answer, “Should I make a ‘Big Promise’?”

Click here to download or listen to this episode now.

Tip of the Week

This week’s tip of the week is The Ridge, a wallet that is minimalist without being limited, so you can carry less and always have what you need. It’s RFD protected, so you’re identity will not be stolen.

Check out the EDC Movement, it’s about getting the most out of what you carry (efficiency, utility, and worth). Even if the wallet doesn’t interest you… be sure to check out their website.

Spiritual Foundations

The Spiritual Foundation is from the Sermon on the Mount and follows the theme of today’s podcast, “Are Big, Bold Promises Biblical?”

Uncover what the Bible says in Matthew 5:33-37:

“You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’ But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.”

Deliver on your promise. If it’s a Big, Bold Promise, good, keep it.

Feature Presentation “Why You MUST Make Big, Bold Promises“

• 5 Reasons to consider making bold promises in your marketing — How to overcome your own skepticism when making the offer and the promise. 13:25

• How you’re robbing others (although you’re unlikely doing this intentionally) — Seriously, did you ever consider it’s not all about you? 14:20

• Why uncovering how you’re intentionally robbing yourself is crucial to living your most magnificent life.  17:00

• Throwing your gift on the ground — What really happens when you refuse to step into your most magnificent life. 19:00

• Discover the one thing that penetrates the cloud of confusion — Successful marketers understand this better than anyone.  20:10

• How to overcome the mass mumbling of mediocrity — Sparking this causes some people to retreat into their comfort zone. 21:30

• Uncover the powerful force you must dismantle in order to grow your business — Overlooking this crucial influence is guaranteed to doom your sales. 23:00

• The world is made a better place by those who get their “Hopes UP!” 23:30

• Why this simple yet neglected principle, espoused by Donald Miller, is key to all successful marketing — Change this one element in your marketing and reap the financial rewards …all the way to the bank.  24:24

• How setting Big, Bold promises tricks you into higher performance. 24:53

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

The Ridge wallet

EDC Movement

The Bible

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Time is an interesting resource unlike any other.  Any two people have differing financial resources, and differing skills and talents.  We have different opportunities, different circumstances, and a different network of friends and acquaintances.  But we all have the same number of hours in a day, week, month or year.

When it comes to time, we’re all on level ground.  No one has extra hours stashed away in a savings account for a rainy day.  None of us has the ability to turn the clock back, stop it, or even slow it down.  Our daily allotment of time is a 24-hour-period, or is it?

Today we talk about how we can actually multiply our time.  Learn how to optimize your time today by applying the 4Ps: Planning, Persistence, Patience, and People.

Click here to download or listen to this episode now.

Spiritual Foundations

It’s a curious thing. We love to quote Isaiah 54:17, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper.” But chances are, you know some Christians who are constantly faced with overwhelming challenges, defeat, tragedy, and sickness. What is happening here?

You see that the promise comes with a condition, “In righteousness you shall be established.”

So it is when we are established in righteousness that we will be far from oppression, terror, tragedy, and not a single weapon formed against us will prosper. How can we possibly be righteous?

It turns out, you already have righteousness. When you receive Jesus as your Savior, you are also given the gift of righteousness, which empowers you to reign in life (Romans 5:17).

You are established in His righteousness.

I believe God wanted us to know that we are righteous by the blood of Jesus, by his perfect work on the cross, so there’s nothing we can do that will add to it or take away from it.

When you feel,”attacked,” afraid, worried, and anxious, remind yourself of who you are in Christ. When you remind yourself of these things, notice how the worry, anxiety, and depression begin to fall away, “you shall not fear, terror shall not come near you.”

One more thing. Belief takes effort.  It’s an action, not a floating generality. As you continue believing and confessing, (speaking out loud) your righteousness in Christ, you’ll get an ever-increasing revelation that will give you the assurance of God’s miraculous provision, his blessing, his divine protection and sovereign grace over your life.

Tip of the Week

The AllTrails App is my tip of the week. With over 50,000 trail maps, it’s the largest collection of detailed, hand-curated trail maps. AllTrails will help you hit the trail with confidence anytime, anywhere. Two additional features you’ll appreciate: 1.  Driving directions; 2. Saving your favorite trails for future adventures.

Feature Presentation “How to Finally Master Your Time“

• Why time is an interesting resource — Finances, skills, and talents vary, but we all have one thing in common.
• We’re all on level ground — Why no one has an advantage in this key area of life.
• Dream of stashing away extra time in an account for a rainy day? — What if you could turn back the clock, stop it, or even slow it down.
• Why breaking down time into two categories gives you unlimited power (you never knew you had).
• Personal time is finite and leads to your frustration — Discovering the secret productivity principle guaranteed to multiply your capacity for creating the life you desire.
• The 4 Ps of time optimization — How to expand your productivity by understanding a few secret principles.
• How planning is both a discipline and an art — Start planning and stop allowing time to fritter away.
• The art of planning — How to regain “lost time” by re-organizing your tasks.
• Harness the principles of training, experiences, processes, and technological aids to help you plan what’s important in life.
• Why embracing time management as an art form helps you avoid frustration by anticipating the anomalies and building in extra time.
• The one weapon you have to help you overcome laziness, procrastination, and setbacks —  Why persistence is a key to optimizing time and carrying out your plan.
• How to apply persistence in a variety of ways — Push through or wait for an epiphany?… the question all creatives ask.
• Why being flexible and creative with “when” and “how” is a powerful discipline for increasing time optimization.
• The unexpected, unusual way to optimize your time — How persistence and patience go hand in hand.
• Uncover how persistence without patience works against you in time (and in relationships).
• Discover how to avoid coming off as an uncaring jerk — Persistence alone blinds you to shortcomings and the inevitability of setbacks.
• How to gain a more realistic view of the uncertainties of life — Why coming to grips with this one fact will give you peace and productivity.
• Why roadblocks and setbacks viewed through the lense of patience gives you insight into new possibilities — Learn how to stop writing off possibilities in your life.
• Uncover the one and only way to multiply your time — Why delegating tasks to others optimizes your time and produces better results.
• Stretching time — The secrets to increasing your capacity and producing your best work.
• How creating a team gives you an unfair advantage — The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
• Why you can’t afford NOT to hire someone to help you — Do the math and you’ll easily convince yourself.
• How to save money, create better outcomes, and enjoy your life.
• Discover why it is costing you money to do it all by yourself — Calculate your hourly rate and find someone who will complete your tasks at a fraction of your personal hourly rate.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

AllTrails.com

AllTrails app

Isaiah 54:17

Romans 5:17

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Today I want to cover some new directions for the company and how we’re going to be helping you in new and improved ways.  

Don’t worry, we’ll continue to focus on:   

• Copywriting and marketing
• Building an online business
• Strengthening your spiritual life

I don’t believe it’s possible to separate the two things, business and spirituality. Because you only have one life, spirituality and prosperity are both part of the same life.

The premise for today’s podcast: Every person listening to this show can and should build a prosperous personal-brand business by following 5 proven phases.  

If you get these phases out of order you will have problems. If you are frustrated with lack of traction in building your personal brand online, chances are you’re out of sequence.  

• If you want to start a platform-based, personal-brand business by taking your knowledge, your wisdom, your expertise, and your giftings and you can share them with people (the world) via the power of the Internet.
• You can establish your global reach for $50-$100 by creating a radio show (podcast), TV show (YouTube channel) and other various ways of having people communicate with you (social media).  (7:11)

• Many businesses have done just that.
  • Casey Neistat  started out with a video camera and making movies and had no audience, no following, and built a seven million follower YouTube channel. Part of his company was purchased by CNN for $25 million last year.  (8:00)
  • Peter McKinnon, a photographer, cinematographer, and videographer who lives in Canada has built a million subscriber YouTube channel.  
  • It’s not just YouTube channels, there are people in all social media markets like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. You know the names of the people who rule these marketplaces, but you may not know the people in the niches that are getting wealthy serving a small, few thousand people in their particular niche. (9:00)

“The internet and the ability to build a personal brand online is the great equalizer of all entrepreneurs.”  Ray Edwards

5 Phases of a Prosperous Business

1. Determine the meaning of life and the meaning of your business.
2. Define your mission, your vision, your goals, and your tasks.
3. Clarify your message. (Who you help, why they need you, what you do that helps)
4. Create marketing materials. (Marketing that is clear, repeatable, and sticky.)
5. Collect money.  (Give value first.)

Click here to download or listen to this episode now.

Tip of the Week

It’s common knowledge but it’s not common practice, “Carry a pen and a notebook with you at all times.”

The reasons for your pen and notebook:

• Be ready when inspiration strikes.
• You can always count on a pen and paper (unlike the internet or electricity).
• A pen and paper don’t make unexpected interruptions or distractions (no software updates, wait time, or computer bug).

Capturing your thoughts and your best ideas is invaluable.  

If you’re a writer, this is required. “ Writers are the ones with the pens and the notebooks.” (4:40)

Spiritual Foundations

The Dream… Should you pursue your dreams?  God is the giver of dreams.

• He places the talents and gifts within you.
• He spurs you on to have the motivation to go out and give those gifts to the world.
• Commerce, the marketplace, and capitalism are all God’s ideas.  (2:37)

Proverbs 18:16, “A man’s gifts make room for him and brings him before great men.”

“The world needs your message.” — Ray Edwards

• God gave you your gift, not for you but for others.  
• Your gift makes room for you and it brings you before great men and women.  
• In God’s kingdom, it is always fair but it’s not always equal.   
• According to your gifting will be the opportunity. (4:14)

It’s up to you whether you’re going to seize your gift and take advantage of it or not. God intended your gift for your benefit and others. I think you should grab hold of it and make the most of it.

Feature Presentation “The 5 Phases of a Prosperous Business”

• How to create your own media empire – Why overcoming the learning curve will give you the freedom to create your own business (with your own distribution channel). (10:10)
• Why it’s better for your customers if you keep more of the money – How avoiding big corporations and committees allows you to create exactly what your customers want.  (11:00)
• Revel 77’s new branding advantage – How to leverage your personal brand and beat your competition.  (12:34)
• Discover why you’re not getting traction or creating the income you want – How Armand Morin’s sequentialism principle is mysteriously impacting your business.  (13:40)
• Fire-ready-aim – How stopping and giving a bit of thought at the beginning (although it’s counterintuitive) helps entrepreneurial types increase their success rates.  (15:40)
• Why are you here? What are you supposed to do? How uncovering these core beliefs is the essential first step in creating your business.  (20:25)
• Why sharing your gift with the world for the purpose of reward is being like Jesus – How to define your mission (its unique to you).  (25:31)
• Uncover the clues to your mission – How what you love to do, what you love to see, and the people you love to be around are the keys to your vision.  (27:55)
• My objective is to end poverty.  My vision of how to make that happen is to teach entrepreneurs and empower them to grow their prosperity and create more wealth. (28:20)
• Writing down your goals and setting numeric goals (even the Bible kept records of numbers) – How one-year goals related to your tribe is a great place to start.  (30:15)
• Mission+Vision+Discipline = Destiny  (31:50)
• It’s never too late to change your destiny.  (32:30)
• Why messaging is phase 3 of successfully building a personal brand business – How phase 1 and phase 2 are crucial to your messaging (phase 3).  (33:50)
• Ready to leave your corporate life?  How to create your personal brand by harnessing the power of the internet through global distribution of your wisdom, experience, and gifts.  (36:23)
• “Does this sound like you?” – How to instantly connect with your customer even if you have no formal training in writing sales copy, launching products, or selling to people. (38:00)
• How learning to write sales copy refines your business and helps you build it bigger with more success, easier, and faster.  (39:24)
• Money is phase five of your personal brand business – How to “Begin with the end in mind.” Not, “Begin with the end in your pocket.”  (42:14)
• Put the fuel in first, stoke the flames, and then you get the heat – How profits follow work and why money is phase five of building a personal brand business. (42:50)
• Solving a problem for free first is powerful – How using a sales letter or a sales video to create a value exchange is the fifth phase in building your business.  (44:18)

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Proverbs 18:16

Casey Neistat

Peter McKinnon

Revel 77

Armand Morin

Subscribe to the show through Apple Podcasts 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 mention you on this show.

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