How to Fix A Midlife Crisis

What is a midlife crisis anyway?  

Elliott Jaques defined a midlife crisis as a time where adults come to realize their own mortality. A midlife crisis is experienced by many people during the midlife transition when they realize that life may be more than halfway over. Sometimes, a crisis can be triggered by transitions experienced in these years, such as children leaving for college, the death of parents of the loss of a job. During this time,  people may reassess their achievements in terms of their dreams. The result may be a desire to make significant changes in core aspects of day-to-day life or situation, such as in career, work-life balance, marriage, romantic relationships, large expenditures, or physical appearance.

The sentence which is really the key to unlocking the real problem is “People may reassess their achievements in terms of their dreams.” 

Beginning with our first experiences at school, we are taught to “go with the flow”, yet the human psyche doesn't go with the flow.  We have an inherent need to change the world around us, and when we go with the flow nothing is changed.   All of us know this to be true, and a midlife crisis is the realization of that truth.  At some point,  what I like to call the "busyness" of life takes our attention away from what we really want.  It is the point when the busyness takes a break that the midlife crisis kicks in.

Another way to think of a midlife crisis is as a "mature realization" that we followed someone else’s dreams.  We conformed our lives to someone else's wants, or conformed for convenience.  Personally my life shifted the day my dad past away.  From the time I got the call to the time I was sitting at a funeral home was a couple of hours.  Right there I was sitting in a mental state many would call a midlife crisis that lasted for nearly 5 years.  I didn't see it at the time, it is only with some careful reflection that I could see my realization or midlife crisis and where it began.  

During that time I made a lot of poor choices in business and financial management.  Towards the end when I realized what was happening, it didn't take long to fix it and get out of the "funk".  I wish someone had given me a swift kick in the butt four and a half years sooner.  The faster you see through your own midlife crisis or mature realization, the quicker you get to move on with life.  Ironically my dad would have done that.

All through our lives, What is a midlife crisis anyway?  Wikipedia defines it this way:

Midlife crisis is a term coined in 1965 by Elliott Jaques stating a time where adults come to realize their own mortality and how much time is left in their life. A midlife crisis is experienced by many people during the midlife transition when they realize that life may be more than halfway over. Sometimes, a crisis can be triggered by transitions experienced in these years, such as andropause or menopause, the death of parents or other causes of grief, unemployment or underemployment, realizing that a job or career is hated but not knowing how else to earn an equivalent living, or children leaving home. People may reassess their achievements in terms of their dreams. The result may be a desire to make significant changes in core aspects of day-to-day life or situation, such as in career, work-life balance, marriage, romantic relationships, large expenditures, or physical appearance.

The last couple of sentences are really the key to unlocking the real problem.  “People may reassess their achievements in terms of their dreams.” is a very telling statement and most likely the core of the problem.

Our society trains us starting at a school age to “go with the flow”, yet the human cause is counter to the flow.  We have an inherent need to change the world around us, and when we go with the flow nothing is changed.  What I like to call the busyness of life takes our attention away from what we really want.  It is the point when the busyness takes a break that the midlife crisis kicks in.

I prefer to think about a midlife crisis more as a mature realization that we followed someone else’s dreams or worse, accepted their fears.  Many of the transitions mentioned in the Wikipedia definition all hover around the same thing, a major change in your life.

Personally my life shifted the day my dad died, within hours I was sitting in a mental state many would call a midlife crisis that lasted for nearly 5 years.  During that time I made a lot of poor choices in business and financial management.  The faster you see through your own midlife crisis or mature realization, the quicker you get to move on with life.

Every time you decide a job stinks and we find a new one, you have matured a little and decided to move on.  We have mini realizations all the time.  some like the midlife crisis are just bigger and more mature realizations that something isn't right.  It might be that you realized that you made a bad choice taking the job, or that someone else misled you about the job.  Either way, you woke up and made a change.  

The big realization we call a midlife crisis happens when there is a much bigger change in your life.  Something so big it can disrupt the busyness of everyday life.  The real problem with the midlife crisis is that you don't know what to do.  That is the "crisis" part.

Buying a Porsche, divorce, getting remarried to a younger new wife, finding a new job, are the male midlife stereotype.  The stereotype clearly reflects the symptoms but doesn’t address the issues.  All of us have different issues, and the good news is working through them is basically the same.  Even if you don't know what to do, there are ways to work through it.  I wrote a book about this process.

When I wrote So, Now What?, I was focused on military troops leaving the service and helping them find a better job and create a better life in the civilian world.  I didn’t want the troops that worked with me to come home and just get a "safe government job".  I have always felt that we do people a disservice by letting them take "safe" jobs until they retire.  While this is a great socialist view, the human spirit isn't challenged and doesn't grow.  Just look at the local motor vehicle counters, is anyone really happy or smiling.  Then go to a thriving business, and look at how happy people are to work and contribute.  

i wanted them to use this opportunity to teach them grasp the realization, and move forward with their dreams.  I have always believed that everyone should do two years of government service, even if it is just working the motor vehicle counter.  If you go to a state funded college, maybe you do four years.  All of the people that worked for me or me in the military have done their service, so I wanted to help them grow their own energy and life. 

Writing So, Now What? to help more of them also helped me.  First it talked me through my own realization, saving my family life and moving me to a place where I wanted to live.  It also helped people I knew reflect on their lives and make a major change, helping me to learn what people needed to know to get through their own mature realization or midlife crisis.  Some acknowledged the book was the catalyst right away.  Others made major changes without really saying why.  Either way it has been a fun ride, and I learned that all realizations can be corrected with the same process.  Your age and maturity level don't matter.  You can have a mature realization at 20 or 80.  That is why I don't like the term midlife crisis.

Last week I was out surfing, and something happened which inspired me to write to you.  Surfing of course, is part of my “dream life” that wasn’t happening at my McMansion in Texas.  While surfing, I met a guy I'l call "Bob".  We talked for a while and my answers were starting to sound rehearsed, I realized that So, Now What? not only changed my direction, it changed how I interact with people.

Instead of giving advice to Robbie, I just asked questions and let him come to his own conclusions.  Last week I received an email from a reader saying he liked my book because of the worksheets.  I wasn’t telling him what to do, I was helping him find out what is right for him.  At the end of our conversation, I could see a light in his eyes that wasn't there when we started talking.

All of us have our own dreams and demons.  Getting advice from friends and family just keeps you going with the flow or following their dreams.  People don’t like change unless they are comfortable with their life to the point of boredom.  The only person who will know what the right exit strategy is for your midlife crisis or mature realization is you.  Asking how other people see you will help, asking them what you should do probably won’t.

From the emails and feed back I get, the hardest part of reading So, Now What?, is doing the worksheets after every chapter.  It is also the most important thing to do according to the people who send the "thank you" letters.  

So many people just want the quick and easy answer.  All that will lead to is another mature realization at another point in your life.  That is why I don’t like the term midlife crisis.  You don’t have to be midlife, and you don’t have to let it become a crisis.

It will take some time to invest in yourself and find your dream life.  If you don’t take the time, you might end up right back in another crisis.  Are you worth the time?  I think so.

A New Challenge

There aren't too many new books I would suggest you read. People that know me have seen me go through one or two a week. Many of them vey long like "The Laws of Success in 16 Lessons". A Napolean Hill classic which at 1694 pages turns most people away no matter how much they succeed. One of my friends and business parters is an MD. We have both been discussing weight loss, and while reading "The Charge" by Brendon Burchard, we got an idea. We set a weight challenge in line with one of the suggestions for energizing life that Brendon covers in the book. Already I am excited, We set a winners prize or losers prize depending on how you look at it, and set the parameters of the challenge. As an MD, Eric suggested the Paleolithic diet as the healthiest way to accomplish our challenge of 15 lbs each. I have never been excited to think about losing weight. In fact my mentality is always to win, I have never wanted to "lose" anything before. What mountain is standing in front of you, that you are looking around instead of looking up? What can you do to make the rise to the top of that mountain a challenge you look forward too instead of a boring task that needs to be accomplished?

Making Big Shifts To Move Forward

Every once in a while we hit a ceiling that we impose upon ourselves and don't even realize it.  Even after coaching people and training for years, someone pointed out I was doing it to myself.

I had been trimming down my business and fine tuning my focus over the past couple of years and still didn't seem to be making a lot of ground.  My book stalled out and I really lost a little motivation to re-do the cover and retile it because it was already selling a little bit.  I do need to get to that.

One of the first things I did to punch through my personal ceiling was to give up coaching business owners so I could focus solely on the marketing aspects of the business.  My coach pointed out that I was still way to broad and that I should focus on just one area.  This goes against all of my thoughts and efforts for my client in online marketing, or so I thought.

Right about the same time my wife started working in Real Estate and of course my business took over her online marketing campaign.  As one guy interestingly noted, "No one has figured out how to get listings online." and he is right.  Listings are the name of the game in Real Estate.  The science of selling a house of known quality is much better than helping people find their next home.  Buyers can look at 50 or 100 homes before buying if they even buy at all.  This was challenging to say the least.

Even ghost writing for my wife got a little sketchy since I didn't have a real estate license.  In order to correct this, I decided last fall to go back to school so I could take the test in California.  After I took the test and passed, I joined her as an agent at Keller-Williams.  The intent was to be part time and just help her out but it didn't take long for my coach and I to see that this was the niche I needed to focus on.

I have been buying and selling homes to live in and as investments for nearly 20 years, making money all along the way.  A couple of times only by sheer luck I might add.  It only made sense for me to combine my coaching, leadership, marketing, sales and real estate knowledge and tie it all up on one package.  As a Realtor, I use all of these skills and still get the freedom of self employment I enjoy.  If I need more money, I go work more.  The big difference is the checks take a lot longer in the real estate business.

On paper this might seem like a really big shift, and it hasn't been.  What it has been is the clear path to move through the ceiling I was creating for myself by staying to broad in my efforts, and not following my own advice on focus.

By focusing on a single area, I can already see a difference in my ability to get things done which should eventually lead to more income, and less work.  Isn't that what we all want?

Follow the Rules or Make the Rules, What Do You Do?

Rules and structure are a funny thing in business. On any given day you can pick up a business magazine and read about someone who is successful by creating rules and processes like Henry Ford invented the assembly line.  The same magazine will have an article about some guy who is successful who didn't follow any of the rules.  So which is it?  What is an up a coming business owner to do?

The great thing about business is you can do either.  The important trick is to look in the mirror and really understand who you are.  If you are a risk taker that never follows the rules like Steve Jobs and Wozniak, you might build the next Apple.  If you understand the rules of the game like a young Bill Gates did, you might create the next Microsoft.  I don't think any of those three will ever be labeled as "unsuccessful" or worried about money.

Most people have been conditioned to be the worker bees.  They show up, learn the rules, do the job and leave.  If that is all you want out of life, stop reading.

Some of us haven't bought into the whole "be happy with what you've got" philosophy and are always looking for a way to improve our own lives. Simply put that happens one of two ways.  The first way is the Apple way, don't follow anyone, blaze new trails and do things differently.  These people and companies are the high risk high flyers that change the world and how we see things every day.

The second method is the structured approach.   Follow the rules and make incremental improvements.  Test the changes and move forward with those that work.  There are a few Microsoft fans out there rolling their eyes wondering how they got into this category.  After all hasn't Microsoft changed our world too.

The answer is yes and there in lies the answer.  You can be successful by managing and owning very low risk businesses like the family that owns In-N-Out.  They didn't change the burger business, they just made it clean and simple.  No chicken, no fish, no frozen foods ever, well except the milk shakes.

Microsoft was created after Bill Gates acquired the rights to an operating system and then smartly followed the rules laid down by IBM.  His competitor was "busy" and didn't follow IBM's rules.  Bill got in the door and got the deal.  DOS likely became a household word because of that one event.  If the other guy had answered the call, we might all be using CP/M or whatever the other guy had.  Microsoft has been making incremental changes to DOS ever since.  Windows was an add on to DOS.

Apple on the other hand changes everything from the inside out, every time they change something.  Check out the article in Fast Company about Steve Jobs this month, and read about how the iMac almost never existed.  While you are there read about Homeboy Industries too.

Figure out where your strength is, structure, tweaking structure or breaking structure then set your sites on a target that is just out of reach today and go for it.  Never stop, never give up, never quit, just keep moving towards the target whatever it may be.

Secrets to Getting and Staying Rich

I am going to try something new here, once each month I will post a "Secret to Getting and Staying Rich".  Some little nugget that not everyone knows or that everyone knows exists but they don't know how to use.  For instance, in the book "How Come That idiot's Rich and I am not", one of the secrets Rich Shemin shared was about buying used cars.  "Rich Idiot's" buy used, broke people lease or buy new.

I agree with this secret and have used it more than once.  The best deal was a one year old "Certified Pre-Owned" BMW 325i Wagon.  It had just 7501 miles on it, and instead of a 50,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty, it had a 5 year 100,000 mile warranty and maintenance.  I got the car for $10,000 less than the sticker price of the new model and my price included the tax, license and registration.  Over $13,000 saved up front, and several hundred in maintenance saved over the 8 years I owned the car.  Buying a used car isn't what this is about today.

For those of you that don't know, I am also a Real Estate Agent.  I don't do much selling personally, my wife is a full time agent.  I got the license to be able to access better information as an investor.  Once in a while I get to help someone fulfill the dream of owning a home, or owning their first investment.  If you are in Orange County California, look me up, I am always glad to help.

Today, I am going to be counter intuitive and talk about timeshares.  I can hear you saying, "What is a real estate agent doing talking about timeshares and getting rich, they are a rip-off!"  Like all things in life, it is how you buy it, how you use it and how you get rid of it that matters.  Timeshares can be good if you buy right and use them right.

Right off the bat I will say that having access to a second home at your schedule is a great thing.  One week a month I am in the Truckee-Tahoe area, and the other three I try to be at my home in Huntington Beach, CA.  Admittedly not a bad life, but I still like to go other places.   Like Maui for instance.  I am planning to go the first week of May, and rented a condo from Jim Casper at mauitownhouse.com.  I'll talk about renting condo's in the future for those of you that don't think you want a timeshare ever.

I would have used my timeshare to go to Maui, but it is one of the few places on the planet where I couldn't find a unit I could trade for that I liked.  I am planning to go to Nashville or Orlando or both this summer using my timeshare.

Most people think of timeshares as the pressure cooker sales presentation followed by a bottle of champagne and the hangover when you realize you just bought a hotel room for life.  Yes this happens.

Wyndham does a good job to make the owners who buy their timeshare second hand, second class citizens.  If you have lots of points and paid full price in the pressure cooker, you are in the "VIP" club.  If you didn't, well you aren't.  I am not.  If I want to pay $10,000 or more to feel like a "VIP", I'll join a country club again.

This all started several years ago when I wanted to go to San Antonio Texas for the weekend.  After talking it over with my wife,  just like parking spots in the movie The Secret, an invitation to go to a Wyndham timeshare presentation and get a free weekend in San Antonio appeared in my mail.  We went with the intention of just taking the free weekend.  If you are planning to do this, don't wear decent clothes to the presentation.  I noticed that people looking like they were auditioning for the "people of Wal-Mart" emails got out quickly and painlessly.

My wife and I sat in the pressure cooker for 3 hours of our "45 minute presentation".  That salesman knew I had cash available and wasn't letting go.  I finally broke down and bought a "trial" package with just one years worth of usage.  The idea being I would like to the program so much that I would come back and buy in.  They were half right.

At first I was a little put off by the slightly longer lines for the non-VIP people, but I eventually got over it.  My wife being the master at finding a deal treated the Wyndham points like catalog shopping.  She managed to stretch the points into three one week adventures.  One for the entire family in Myrtle Beach South Carolina where we got a three bedroom unit and had everyone there.  Another to Nashville (where I have since bought) and Kona Hawaii.

Once you get used to the Wyndham points system, it is pretty cool.  It is a little harder to deal with than the reserved week system from what people have told me.  If you are like me, the benefit of flexibility offsets any loss of "guaranteed" time.

The only thing that bugs me about Wyndham as a big timeshare company, is they still look like they are out for themselves and not their owners.  You can go online and rent a unit at just about any Wyndham timeshare.  I think the owners should get a rebate check for that time, or be able to put their unused time into the pool of open rooms to get paid, but that isn't the case.

That said, Wyndham does have a really nice over all product and the locations might look bad on paper but they turn out to be pretty good.  At least where I have stayed so far.  Nashville looks like it is in the sticks on Google earth, yet it is right next to the Opreyland area, and an easy drive into town if you rent a car.  The location was just out of traffic, and close to everything.

So, now to the secret of buying a timeshare that Wyndham and even other timeshare owners don't want you to know about.  eBay.  Buying a timeshare on eBay is very easy, however there are some things to know if you want to make it painless.  For instance to make the annual fees look less expensive, Wyndham bills every month even if you only get points every other year.

Buying on eBay will consist of several different fees on top of your final bid price.  A $1 auction could cost you $4,000 so read the fine print.  Luckily with timeshares there is a 10 day right to cancel called a right of rescission.  It is better to read the fine print first and not have to cancel.  I cancelled two because the fine print and the escrow didn't match.  Both companies were very good about it and I believe they were honest mistakes.  Either way though, your money is still held up for at least several days.

The first fee is the escrow fee.  Some sellers pay this for you, others run $499 to $750 per transaction.

The second fee is the resort transfer fee.  Normally $299 for Wyndham, sometimes paid by the seller.  keep in mind on eBay you don't negotiate these things.  There are several websites where you can make offers, so keep this fee list handy.

The third fee is the prepaid maintenance.  If the seller didn't use the points, you will likely pay them for the annual maintenance fee they paid so you get the points.  You have to watch this closely.  Escrow and transfer at the resort can take 45 days, and the points anniversary might only be 60 days away.  You'll have as little as 15 days to make a reservation, get there and burn the points if you can't carry them over.

A fourth possible fee is a "convenience fee".  This one is made up for smaller points sales that have prepaid the annual fee and know that you won't pay the entire amount.

Finally add your bid.  Add all of that up and you get your final cost.  We all know there are shills on eBay and eBay doesn't present it.  I don't know if it was the sellers or who, but several times a buyer with zero transactions would snipe me and run the price up, or get the deal.  Don't let it bother you, another auction will be open soon for the same number of points at the same resort.  Don't pay extra unless the seller is paying a lot of the fees.

As an example,  when I bought my 156,000 points at Nashville.  The points weren't used so I paid $25.50, (after a zero buyer ran it up with just a few hours to go) for the timeshare instead of the $14,000 the seller paid, $299 escrow (partly paid by seller), $370 in prepaid fees and $299 resort transfer for a total of $993.50.  My fees are $138 per month which isn't bad.  Even though I paid 25.50 I would have paid $50 since the seller was paying $200 of the escrow fees.  Know your price first.

Since I can travel off season, my wife uses the Wyndham website like a shopping challenge and finds great deals for us to see new places.  We picked Nashville as our base since it is one nonstop flight for everyone in our family and we can have an annual get together there.  It doesn't hurt that we had a great trip out there before.

Lots of user groups talk about getting the best points per maintenance fees deals when shopping.  If you are looking at the $1.00 eBay auctions, you are getting such a bargain that the fees aren't that big of a deal.  Also I think it is worth it to own at a place you might want to go at least every other year.  You can reserve earlier if you own there.  I suggest sticking to the 100,000 and higher points ownership. The fees do go up quickly for the smaller points owners.travel

There are two other caveats to Wyndham.  Some of the resorts were purchased from another company and were primarily sold as "weeks" not points.  In that case points owners can be at a disadvantage when making reservations since not all the rooms are open to points members.  The Westwinds in South Carolina is one such resort.  Just down the road are two others which aren't limited, and that isn't shown on eBay.  If anyone knows where that list is published please share it here.

The final caveat is to read about the points anniversary and usage.  Biennial usage can be odd or even years, and the anniversary can make a difference in your first year costs.  You might pay for a year you can't use.  My anniversary is July 1st.  Some are January 1st.  That means any points I haven't used by June 30th go into the ether and just like a second home that sits empty, I paid for not using those points.

If you like to travel, a  timeshare can be half the cost of a hotel room or less and the added benefits of having a kitchen can save even more.  If you don't want to buy on eBay you can go direct to places like discounttimeshares.com.  So there is your Secret to Getting and Staying Rich this month, buy a timeshare on the cheap and use it instead of using a hotel.

Do You Know Anyone Who Just Wants To Be Comfortable?

Lately it seems like there isn't a day that I don't meet someone who just wants to be "comfortable".  Since it is in my nature to try and help people do better, I stop and listen, some people might even call it a bit nosey.  Without fail there is one common denominator among all of them.

In the Real Estate Office my wife works, there were several brand new agents that just wanted to be "comfortable". The common denominator is so obvious once you see it.  When you see it in yourself, it is almost embarrassing.  At least it was for me when my wife pointed it out. Most people won't say it if I tell them to their face, in fact most would argue the point so I never tell anyone directly anymore.  It just made people mad at me, but let's see if you know anyone like this guy I met a short while ago, we'll call him John.

I met John at breakfast while in Dallas Texas.  My flight wasn't for a couple of hours, and I was in the corner studying for my California Real Estate license.  It turns out, I can't do advertising for my wife or Realtor clients without one and yes I passed.

Anyway, John was talking to an older couple who I assumed to be his parents.  They turned out to be his Aunt and Uncle.  John was going over all the changes at his office and telling them how he was very worried about losing his job.  Does any of this sound familiar?  It is like the common thread of the economy.

His aunt and uncle coddled him a bit while he complained that he just wanted to be "comfortable".  He suddenly got my attention.  After all it was exactly this situation that occurred in the middle east with a group of military troops who were too scared to get out of their comfort zone and go back to civilian life that inspired me to write So, Now What?.

I put my iPad down and listened for a couple more minutes before I nosed it.  I just couldn't help it.  John went on to talk about how he had already been demoted, and how his boss kept trying to get him to do his old job for the new lower pay.  He proudly told them how he told his boss he wasn't going to do the extra work.  We went on to complain about the owner of the company driving a new Mercedes and about how his car needed some work.

After he returned to the "comfort" theme for the third time I nosed in and asked what John did for a living.  He worked an office job that used to require a degree, but computers now made it so easy that they were hifing minimum wage kids off the street to do it.  He was moved to another position but then he was cut back to a lower position.  His company was buying another company that had too many operators and the new software would cut half of the people in his department.

So now I started asking more questions.  Did he have a resume out there?  No.  Had he looked at Monster.com or TheLadders.com? No.  I asked if it would be smart to get a jump on the other guys and have that new job before the other guys are applying for it too? Yes, but he just didn't have any time, and he had the golden handcuffs keeping him at his current job.  I asked if this job was going to help him get to where he wants to be in five years?  This answer was the one I have heard a lot lately, he said "I don't want to go anywhere I just want to be comfortable and get what is mine."

I asked him to tell me about anyone he knew that was "comfortable" and getting what is "theirs".  He couldn't come up with on person, real or fantasy.  So we talked about different people in a "better" or "worse" format.  Sometimes using their life like Charlie Sheen, other times using John as the benchmark and comparing John to the other person. About that time the Aunt and Uncle excused themselves to go get ready to leave.

He made a comment that his life wasn't easy like mine because I was rich and he wasn't. I thought that was odd, so I asked if he thought I was always rich.  He said "yes".  I asked if a repo guy trying to take back your truck while you were living on base sounded "rich".  He looked confused.  I asked if selling your house, furniture and most of your personal belongings to pay off a business loan sounded "rich".  He said "no that sounds like bankrupt."

I explained that twice in my life I have made some big errors and failed to get out of my own way, and they cost me big.  I left home full of myself, joined the military and bought everything I could until the banks called wanting it back.  I also built a good sized business on the "build it and they will come" mentality, and guess what, they didn't.  Twice in my life I was beyond broke and could have easily declared bankruptcy.

John agreed his life wasn't that bad.  The next question to John was "If I can do that twice, and you think of me as 'rich' now, do you think you can get rich from where you are right now if you really wanted to?"  He sheepishly answered "I guess".  I knew that he was at least thinking it through and this would keep him up tonight.

Can you name anyone whose life is always the same?  There are a select few like Warren Buffett who seem to go up forever, and then others like Charlie Sheen or Donald Trump who are a roller coaster and finally those that peak and we never hear from them again, I forget who they are.  The bottom line is you can be lazy and move backwards or you can enjoy life and keep moving forward no matter how low you get.  Nobody stays the same.

John eventually agreed that 'comfortable" wasn't anything real and he said he had given up on his dreams after college.  After realizing how lame his excuses were and how lazy he sounded, he said he didn't know where to start.  Of course I suggested So, Now What?, and another book that is out of print but you can find online for free as a download called the Secret of the Ages.

The Secret of the Ages is a book I call "the book of the Jedi Mind".  Most people I worked with through the military didn't need this book, they understand the concepts because of how they were trained.  Since John wasn't ever in the military, I thought Secret of the Ages might be a better starting point for him.  So, Now What?  turns out to be lacking a couple of concepts which are explained in Secret of the Ages.  I'll have to work on the changes along with a new title and cover.  Anyone know a better publisher or agent?

I gave John my card and ran off to catch my flight.  Two months ago he sent a short email that said "I think I get it, but I still don't know what to do!".  My response was get So, Now What? and do the worksheets.

Last week I got an email from John that simply read "You were right, it was in my head, and life is great now.  New job, more money and I am having fun."

I never once said it was in his head, but deep down we all know that we are the only ones that can change our lives.  He knew it, all I could do was help him say it out loud.  Do you know anyone that needs to look in the mirror and say it out loud?  If you do, be a good friend and help them do it.  If it is you, get Secret of the Ages and So, Now What? and leave your questions here or drop me a note anytime.

Google Coupons For Reno Nevada

Do you have a small business in Reno Nevada that isn't online yet or isn't getting the customers online you know it should?        I have some good news,  Google just sent me a handful of $100 off Adwords coupons to help get your business online.  Now you can start on online marketing and SEO program and get $100 credit towards your Google Adwords Advertising FREE.  Did I say F.R.E.E Reno?

You say you don't have a website for your Reno Nevada business?  That's ok.  A website isn't required.  If you want one, how about 25% off until I run out of the cards?  We have a basic website package that is just $500 for businesses like yours in Reno.

I know that the economy in Reno isn't the greatest right now, but we all know it is a great town with great people.  Lets keep it rolling.   Barron's (March 19, 2012) says that housing will bottom out in the next twelve months.  I think Reno will be among the first cities to hit bottom.  Right after our famous Nevada neighbor to the south, Las Vegas.

Our office in Reno is part of the economy here too, so we want Reno to succeed and therefore we want you to succeed.  Advertising online with a website and Google Adwords isn't only about getting new customers in Reno, but it is also about keeping in touch with your past customers.

I know how you feel about spending money on your business right now, and online advertising and marketing are the least expensive methods in Reno when it comes to reaching customers.   This is something you must consider.  Right now you have a choice, invest in your business and be a leader in the recovery of the Reno economy, or look away while your business does the same thing tomorrow it did yesterday, or maybe even less.

Call Now 775-589-2655 or drop me an email with your business name and Address and I'll send you one of these cards.

Maybe you tried online marketing in the past, or your website isn't bringing in any business.  Here are my first questions.  When you picked the company to build the website for you in Reno, did they know the Reno market?  Were they a Reno Company?  Do they even know business or was it just "a guy" that builds cheap websites?

My family has been serving Reno for over 30 years.  Our SEO and Online Marketing Business in Reno is lead by people who know business, not just web geeks.  Don't worry, we have those too.  Our customers all over the west have seen 40% to 1200% growth in business due to online traffic we helped them create.

One note up front.  Really good online performance takes three to six months to really get traction.  When a customer makes it past 6 months, they make it for good.  We have had some of the same clients since 1995.  Not many other SEO and online marketing companies can say that.

We can't take all the credit for the high flying businesses.  All we can do is reach customers in Reno and Sparks for you.  If you take good care of the customers, then we have an army helping us help you.  All you need to do is call me or send an e-mail to get started today.

Is it worth a few hundred dollars to move your business forward?  Call Today and get $100 of free Google ads
775-589-2655

Get $100 Of a New Adwords Campaign