I will admit, I was a little hesitant to want to read this book due to the Holocaust references.  I am the grandson of 4 Holocaust survivors.  They were the lucky ones to escape or “get out”.  Most of my family was not so lucky, as a large majority of my family was exterminated in the 1940′s.  I grew up listening to the stories from both of my grandmothers and watched them relive the pain, the suffering and the sorrow.  Needless to say, I was not jumping for joy to read about killing 11 million people when 95% of my family were included in the 11 million.

This book is powerful.  It is a quick read and something that every American citizen, no, every citizen of the ‘”free world” should read before we give all of our remaining freedoms away for false safety and security.

As an American citizen and someone that doesn’t take my freedom for granted, I highly recommend reading this.  I don’t know that I can place a better recommendation, especially with the US Presidential elections looming a few months away.  Be sure to share your copy with someone in your life that matters to you, as directed by Andy in the book.  Thanks to my mother-in-law for sharing her signed copy with me.

Michael Hamburger

P.S. – I’ve made it really easy for you to grab a copy today.  Simply click on the book cover above and you will be taken to Amazon.  I assure you, this will be the best $10.91 you’ve ever spent on a book.

Per FTC guidelines, I hereby notify you that should you use the link above to purchase this book, I will be compensated a few pennies.  

Listen, if you’re new to my thoughts and writing, allow me to warn you upfront.  I’m not here sharing my thoughts for fans, friends, likes or any of the social media stuff you see people putting out these days.  I write and share my writings for myself and those that care to have a mentor willing to kick their own tail and the tail of those that care to play the game.  If you’re looking for “sugar coated” you’ll want to stop now.  You can find that on the candy aisle of your neighborhood 7 Eleven store.  You will not find “sugar coated” here.  The way I see it, the most effective mentors in my life called it the way it was and were not scared to push me outside of my comfort zone!  They called me on my crap and I am a much better person today because of it.  If you’re ready for real and raw, read on…

So back to the number 45.  Allow me the honor of reminding you why 45 either makes you “your word” or a poser.  Have you figured it out yet?  If you have, odds are you are your word and your life is exactly the way you planned it.  If you are in this category, right on!  You are a powerful human.  You created a goal backed by a plan and methodically carried that plan out each day for the past 45 days.  You see, it was New Year’s Eve 45 days ago and most people around the world set forth resolutions filled with grandeur and great intentions.  Unfortunately for the masses, most of these resolutions were abandoned like a stripped car in Detroit left for dead.  I heard that most people abandon their NYE resolutions within 14 days!  Two weeks?

Think about that for a moment.  Where were you 45 days ago?  Were you partying like a rockstar? Were you thinking about how great your life could be if: __________ .  What were you going to be, do, have?  Were you going to stop smoking, lose weight, get fit, make more money?  What was it?  How are you progressing towards making that your reality?  Did you spend time thinking with the end in mind and then meticulously organize a plan that took you from your starting point to your end result?  Did you make up your mind and fully commit?

What’s in the number 45?  Are you starting to see it?  Everything you ever wanted is… so what are you waiting for?  You are either in the game called “your life” or you are not.  Listen, I am not one to harbor on all the stuff that doesn’t work, makes you feel wrong and keeps you stuck.  No sir.  No way.  No how!!!  I am going to take a stand for your possibilities right here right now and tell you that you can achieve anything you truly want in your life.  It starts with that multimillion dollar real estate each of you have supported on the top of your neck called your brain.

I want to encourage you today to take an authentic accounting of where you are right now.  Compare where you are today to the resolutions and goals you declared to yourself and the world 45 days ago.  Whatever has happened over the past 45 days cannot be changed.  If you followed through, I acknowledge you for being your word.  Keep up the tremendous job.  You are on a path that you designed and will reap the rewards you deserve!  Listen, if you did not follow through, don’t harbor on it.  Let’s use the past 45 days as the fuel to re-fire your desire.  Let’s look at the past 45 days as the what not to do moving forward.  Instead of wasting time wishing we could make the past 45 days more than it was, let’s instead get raw and real.

I want to invite you to get your New Year’s Eve resolutions out right now.  The ones that you are achieving, let’s highlight those and keep on the path towards accomplishing your objective.  Let’s also get real with ourselves.  Do you see anything on your resolutions list that you wavered from or have let slide?  Let’s circle those.  You see, these are the resolutions we are going to turn into achievable goals.

Let’s get some paper out.  I suggest a clean sheet for each new committed goal.  At the top of the sheet of paper, I want you to write the goal in the present tense with a date as if you have already achieved it.  An example would be you may have written “quit smoking” on your list of NYE resolutions.  On the sheet of paper, I want you to write something like this: Today, March 30, 2012, I am a nonsmoker enjoying fresh air through smoke-free lungs.  By the way, 45 days from today is March 30, 2012.

Now that we have established the timeline that each goal is achieved, we begin working with the end in mind.  We also have the benefit of the past 45 days to remind us what not to do, where we fell short and slipped off track altogether.  We have taken a less than spectacular performance and we can now use it to our benefit.  As we begin to think with the end in mind, let’s establish a plan for achieving this new goal.  What are the daily actions, behaviors and commitments that we must do repeatedly to make this goal a reality?  Write down each action and each behavior on this sheet of paper.

If you have ever completed an exercise program with a trainer than you are most likely familiar with the fact that during each exercise you take some time to write down how many reps, sets and weights you do.  I’m not an exercise trainer but commons sense tells me that we do this for a multitude of reasons: consistency of doing the exercise, gauging how we are progressing and being able to watch our growth.  It not only tracks, but it shows us where we slipped or failed to show up.  If you have done one of my companies personal development courses before, you know that if you skip a day in your journaling or exercises we have you leave the page(s) blank too.  This is rather enlightening when you look back and see your results.

During the next 45 days or whatever time frame you establish, mark down the stuff you achieve.  No one said this was going to be easy.  Personal development is just that…it’s personal.  Only you can do it.  No one else can make you do it or do it for you.

After you have written down all the goals you are choosing to accomplish and commit to achieving, I suggest that you set your Daily Method of Operation or your DMO.  I have found that it is very important to schedule time with myself.  All of us have busy lives.  Whether you have a job, a boss, a spouse, kids, hobbies, whatever.  We all have 24 hours in a day and I have found that if I do not schedule time to accomplish my goals, my days slip past me.  Once I fall into that trap my days slip into weeks, into months and the next thing I know, I look up and another 45 days has slipped right past me!  Right now, grab your calendar or the device you use for your calendar.  Make a standing appointment with yourself now to make your goals a reality.  You have to carve out the time.  Over the next few days and weeks, it is important that you create habits.  When Leslie & I first started dating, she was selling gym memberships in Atlanta.  She was trying to sell me a gym membership.  I remember her saying that a habit is created in 21 days and destroyed in 3 days.  Create a habit right now and follow through for the next 21+ days.  Be sure to mark down your actions towards your goal daily.  Focus on accentuating the positives.  Ex. If your achieved outcome is to be a nonsmoker, your action step maybe something like: I did not purchase cigarettes today or I overcame the urge to smoke today.

The final step before beginning the journey is to make yourself accountable.  Now that you have told yourself what you plan on achieving, let’s “kick it up a notch” as ole Emeril Lagasse would say!  I have found that when I enroll others in my possibilities and make it known that I intend to do X,Y,Z, it becomes far more achievable when I’m accountable.  Tell the people around you in your life what your goals are and the timeline you intend to achieve them by.  I have found that those that matter most begin to see my goals as the possibility I will become.  They encourage me to do the daily actions and follow through.  They also call me on the baloney when I miss a day or cheat.

Listen, I want to hear from you.  What can you achieve in the next 45 days?  Will you be your word?  I want to invite you to “name it and claim it”.  Please use the comments box below to make yourself accountable to your word.  Tell me what you are committed to and set a reminder to pop back here in 45 days and let me know your outcome.

DREAM BIG!!!

Michael Hamburger

P.S. – By the way, I bought the gym membership.  I was what you call “paid in full” which meant that I paid in full upfront for the membership for a year.  Not only did I get the membership, it’s been 10 years next week that Leslie & I have been together.  I’m a better man today than I was 10 years ago and I have my lovely wife Leslie to thank for much of that!  She never allows me to play small and reminds me how powerful I can be when I choose to be.  Happy Valentines Day my love.

* This blog post is the intellectual property of Michael Hamburger.  Referencing this piece of work is allowed in advance with proper author credit listed to Michael Hamburger and links back to the original work (http://michaelhamburger.com/45-youre-either-powerful-or-a-poser).  All reprints must be approved in advance by the author and must contain proper credits as described by the author.

We have all encountered a certain type of person at some point in our lives – whether it was at work, at a party, in our own families, or even just watching them on television. There is just something about these individuals that make you want to learn everything you can from them. Have you ever stopped to consider what it is that sets an average person apart from an extraordinary being?

The answer is actually a lot simpler than many would realize. These people all made a choice one day to include two things in their everyday lives: dreaming big and possessing an unstoppable attitude.

This concept almost sounds too easy, doesn’t it?  We’ve all heard it before said a different way…  Wait for it.  ”It’s too good to be true!”  Ouch.  Those words are like hearing fingernails scraped across a chalk board.

The place where these people are today merely started with a few simple steps that led them to their present life of success. First, they came up with a big dream. Whether this dream may or may not have been the end result does not matter. They focused on one aspect of where they wanted to eventually be, which set the whole plan in motion.

Second, they made the decision to have an unstoppable attitude, no matter what. You see, there is a certain thing that happens to the brain the moment a person decides that nothing will get in their way of attaining their goal. It is almost as though there is a switch that keeps them from reacting to anything that could possible set them off their course. Negativity, rumors, naysayers, speed bumps, and other problems have little adverse effect to them. With absolute certainty, these people have decided that nothing and nobody in this world is going to derail them from the end result that they so desire.

So, how can you be one of these types of people? And, better yet, how can this affect you in your home life and business?

Choose to DREAM BIG. Once you make a clear determination as to what you are after, write it down. Elaborate on it in great detail with clarity. This can be the state of personal relationships in your life, a health or wellness goal, a financial goal, or an experience. Envision yourself  feeling and experiencing that goal. What emotions are coming up for you when you see this dream accomplished?  Write it down. The more clearly you are about the end of the path when you start, the more likely you are to reach the end.  It’s called beginning with the end in mind.  Don’t just play the game haphazardly.  Play it to win it and achieve it.  Your goal, your dream deserves absolute clarity to achieve it.  Smell it.  Taste it.  Experience it in your mind and watch what happens in your reality!

Next, become determined to be absolutely unstoppable. Let no one and nothing stand in your way. When problems or challenges arise, see them as minor setbacks and keep working towards your goal. Obstacles yield when you have clarity combined with purpose. When negative people begin trying to deter you from reaching your dreams, ignore their comments. Use my favorite math formula: addition through subtraction, meaning remove the negative influences in order to achieve your dreams. This means turning off the TV (yes I said it), the radio (sorry but no more Crush Limbaugh while you’re driving to work), and even removing the negative nellies in your life that believe their sole purpose in life is to protect your current miserable existence by shooting your hopes and dreams down.  After all, they are doing you a favor by protecting you from reaching for a dream and then possibly not achieving it, right?  Excuse me, but no thank you.

Wake up each and every day with the determination that you will let nothing stand between you and the life you envision. Not only will you find out how much extra time you never had before, you will be able to turn this extra time into time when you feed your brain the positive messages it deserves and craves.  I have found that driving in traffic is not so bad when I am inside my mobile library listening to my favorite personal development material.

This week I challenge you to go out and try these two concepts. Take note of how this simple paradigm shift changes your entire outlook on life. Then, repeat it again and again until your reach your end goal.

DREAM BIG!!!

Michael Hamburger

Personal development/direct selling firm Avant recently announced the start of their Avant Audi Luxury Car Bonus program.

Effective January 9th, this innovative luxury car program enables the company’s associates the chance to earn the ability to drive any black or white Audi luxury vehicle — model year 2005 or newer — with Avant taking care of the bill. In addition, those who qualify for the bonus can also earn additional incentives for helping their team members achieve the same goal.

“We really wanted to make this an attainable milestone for everyone,” said Avant founder, Brent Payne. “Work hard, play hard. In this case, play is a new luxury car. Who doesn’t want a new car?”

The basis of Avant’s product line is to promote self-awareness and encourage users to take control of all facets of their lives, no matter what their circumstance is. “This luxury car program only strengthens our members’ ability to focus on their goals and find the path to meeting that prize,” continues Payne. “We want it to be used as a way to reward our associates for their continued hard work.”

By simply making six sales of Avant’s Elevate product in a single month, Avant Associates qualify for up to $600 towards the lease or purchase of an Audi luxury vehicle. The retail price for the Elevate product is $1695.

“Never before has a luxury car program of this caliber been established in a top tier direct selling company,” cites Michael Hamburger, COO & partner of Avant. “We know this will encourage and inspire our marketers to dream big, set goals, and make them a reality.”

Avant, a leader in personal development products, offers many solutions to help users improve their lives. Find out more about Avant or become a distributor by visiting www.WeAreAvant.com.

A few years ago I left the marketing side of the business to run a $100 million dollar network marketing company.  It was a ton of fun and I learned what to do and what not to do.  I missed the personal development side of the industry and building a team of like-minded leaders dearly.

Several months ago I sat down with my original mentor and sponsor Brent Payne.  Many of you know Brent as he was the co-creator of the largest top tier direct selling company in network marketing history.  Anyway, Brent and I started talking about the future and what we were both looking to achieve.  What came out of months and months of conversation is this:  I joined Brent as his business partner at his company, Avant.

Since joining Avant, we have seen a vertical spike take place.  From brand new people to the industry to marketers from traditional network marketing to some of the biggest marketers in the top tier space have made the choice to join us at Avant!  The momentum and buzz we are creating in the marketplace is really just getting started.

It’s often been said that magic will happen if you can put lightening in a bottle.  From my experience in this life changing industry, this is the closest anyone will ever get to that.  I am excited about what the future holds, especially for those that elect to join us.

One of the great things about any holiday is the break in routine – the opportunity to look at life from a fresh perspective and take inventory on our priorities. We get so caught up in barbeques, parties and last minute getaways before the kids head back to school that it’s easy to forget where Labor Day and other celebrations like it around the world originally came from. I looked it up this morning and was reminded that legislation to make Labor Day an official federal holiday in the U.S. was actually rushed through Congress in the 19th century in the aftermath of the Pullman Strike that ended in violence during Grover Cleveland’s administration.

As entrepreneurs, Labor Day gives us a lot to think about. The old paradigm is gone forever. Gone are the days when we can rely on a job, an employer, a corporation or even a government program to carry us safely into the future. If you’ve read Crashproof Prosperity by Kip Herriage, you understand that the age old conflicts between “management” and “labor” completely miss the point of the realities unfolding around us. Labels like this serve no purpose but to create division between people and have nothing to do with how wealth is really created. Money follows value. Always has. Always will. It’s all about choices and actions. Some choices and actions add value and others take it away. Everything else is academic.

So where does that leave us? Fully in charge of our own destinies. Fortunately, we still live in a world where hard work has the same power to create abundance that it’s always had – provided that it’s channeled in a single, positive direction and based on a passionate belief in solid success principles. As you look around you today and reflect on the blessings in your life, take time out to renew a few commitments to yourself. Promise yourself that you will assume 100% responsibility for the results you’re getting in wealth, health and wisdom. Promise yourself that you will get totally clear on what matters to you most – the ideal scene you envision in your work, in your home, in your relationships and in your private time. Promise yourself that you will relentlessly develop the habits of thought and action necessary to make that ideal scene a reality.

Everything you’ve ever wanted in life is waiting for you just outside your comfort zone. It’s there for the taking, but no one is going to bring it to you. You already have everything you require to succeed inside of you, so there’s no reason to wait for the “perfect” conditions to start enjoying the rewards you desire TODAY! Have a safe and happy Labor Day and pass me that barbeque platter one more time!

DREAM BIG!!!

Michael Hamburger

Here’s the connection. New toys and gadgets and bells and whistles are always fun, and believe me when I tell you that we’re rolling out a set this week unlike anything you’ve seen before in this industry. But once all the tools and systems are in place, it’s PEOPLE who make them work… it’s PEOPLE who apply them to get an end result they’ve set their focus and intentions on. How many times have you heard someone say that they’ll start getting better results when they’ve had more practice on live calls, or when they’ve really mastered handling objections, or when they finish that big project at work, or when they quit their job, or when they know the product line a little better, or when they start getting more support from their spouse?

Your capacity to act right now, in the present moment, is every bit as powerful as that of any top producer you can name. What’s holding you back is not circumstances or tools or even time… you have access to the same 24 hours in a day that Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Donald Trump and Brent Payne have. The limits we bump up against are the limits we set for ourselves… beliefs we’ve formed over time based on the experiences in our past. Let’s clear this up once and for all… your past has absolutely NOTHING to do with your future. What limiting beliefs can you let go of right now that might be holding you back? Is there a scarcity mentality about time, money, relationships or success that keeps you from making newer, more powerful choices?

Let me give you a quick, practical example. Whether we’re aware of them or not, most of us have subconscious “set points” about how much money we can make, how fulfilling our relationships can be or even about the quality of our experiences in life. You may have a goal card, a vision board and a list of affirmations all pointing to a seven figure income, but if you subconsciously believe that you’re only worth $30,000 a year because of what you or your friends or your parents earned in the past, your choices and actions… even the way you speak and carry yourself… aren’t going to be in alignment with that new number. Without even realizing it, you’re going be actively REJECTING the opportunities, relationships, and resources  that will propel you to seven figures.

Get this in a real, internal way and you’ll be amazed at the miraculous changes that start picking up speed and frequency in your life. Your past has nothing to do with your future. Change your set points. Update your belief system. Pay attention to that inner critic that tries to shout you down every time you affirm something better in your life… those are the unconscious set points… the limiting beliefs that must be re-written NOW. I KNOW without a doubt that you absolutely deserve an abundant life. I’m willing to celebrate the GREATNESS in you before you see it in yourself. No matter what tools or systems may be within reach on any given day, that one-two punch of new beliefs and relentless action will make you unstoppable.

DREAM BIG!!!

Michael Hamburger

Although I’ll ALWAYS be a marketer at heart, a big part of my role is being a success coach now that I’m on the “corporate” side of our industry. But you and I are still VERY close kin in the direct marketing business world… BOTH of us require a “why” to keep us on track. When I first found this industry around a decade ago, my “why” was to be able to retire my then fiancée, now my wife, from her job so that she could be a full time, stay-at-home CEO for our home and family. We’ve accomplished that and more on the way to fulfilling the dreams that this industry has made possible for us. Today, my “why” has evolved to seeing those dreams fulfilled in the lives of others, connecting them with the habits of thought and action that will turn them into the top producers of today… and tomorrow!

Beach trips like this reconnect me with my “why” in a powerful and immediate way. Think about the peak experiences you’ve shared with the people who mean the most to you. When you get down to what matters most, vacations are never about the cost of the trip or the square footage of the beach house. It’s unlikely that you’ll EVER recall how much lunch cost you on day 3 or how many gallons of gas you bought on the way home. What makes vacations important and what really counts the most when you strip away all the numbers is making MEMORIES with the ones you love… sharing experiences that connect you with one another in a meaningful way… things that add to QUALITY OF LIFE as YOU define it.

To get this point across in a more direct way, I’d like you to join with me in a little thought experiment. Right now I’m going to engage you in some mental telepathy while I’m sitting down here in Galveston. First, let’s imagine a dark room. Under the light of a shaded overhead lamp there’s a table for two with a red checkered tablecloth and two armless bentwood chairs. On the table are two empty wine glasses and a green wooden carving of a fish with a large number 7 painted on it. Do you see it? Your lampshade might be different from mine and you may see a mackerel instead of a carp, but chances are the scene is nearly identical for both of us… and we’re seeing it together right now. It’s pretty miraculous when you think about it.

Now that you’re sure we can do it, let’s try another one. As I’m sharing a peak experience with my family right now, I’d like you to picture a peak experience you’ve shared with someone you love. Do you have an image of it? How does it make you feel? THAT’S the feeling we want to attach to every goal and intention we set… every affirmation and commitment we make. You see, persistence alone isn’t enough to fill us up and keep us going. That sense of fulfillment… that sense of accomplishment… that sense of being in harmony with your life’s purpose you attach to the best memories you make is what gives you a REASON to persist no matter what kind of resistance you may encounter in life. That’s how you begin to get in touch with what quality of life really means to you. That’s how you discover your “why.”

Maybe now you can understand why I begin every single work day with positive chills of anticipation. This is the gift we’re giving to the world. One precious life at a time, we’re connecting people with a way to understand what quality of life really means to them through wealth, health and wisdom, and then empowering them with the means to achieve it in record time. It’s hard to imagine a calling in life that could give us more bragging rights than that. We’re bringing financial literacy and a real path to abundance to a world in need and the timing has never been more critical. In so many ways, literally AND figuratively, the life we lead with having a home-based business really is a “day at the beach.”

DREAM BIG!!!

Michael Hamburger

You know, over the course of my network marketing career, I’ve taken an active part in literally DOZENS of events and each one of them has added value to my life and helped me in countless ways to raise my game personally and professionally. Those who were there with me know EXACTLY what I’m talking about… if you stayed home and missed out, chalk it up to “lessons learned” and get over it, but by all means, make yourself an unbreakable promise right now that this is the LAST event you will ever fail to attend. Let me tell you why that’s so important.

In my “goal setting” presentation to the m3 audience, I talked about the “be-do-have” formula of abundance. The 97% of the population that remains stuck in a life of lack gets it completely backwards. They’re under the mistaken belief that they have to “have” more (time, money, status) so they can “do” the things they want to do, in the false hope that those things will help them “be” who they want to be. They get themselves caught in the “someday” trap, waiting until they lose that weight, earn those extra bucks, fix that bad relationship or any one of a dozen other arguments for missing out on the life they deserve. The universe doesn’t work that way.

True abundance starts flowing into your life when you’re totally committed to BEING the person you intend to be FIRST… by way of your thoughts, beliefs and choices. Only then will you be empowered to take the focused, purposeful action to DO the things that will allow you to have what you truly desire most. What does this have to do with live events? Before people really get this in a deep, internal way, they sabotage themselves by saying, “as soon as I make the extra money, I’m going to start buying those event tickets.” The universe doesn’t work that way.

Live events turn on the flow of money into your life in several important ways. First, they immerse you in possibility thinking with people who are already manifesting the things you desire on a regular basis. You become like the people you spend the most time with. Second, they position you to be in the path of extra income through connections, opportunities, introductions and encouragement that you won’t receive while you’re alone at home. You want to be networking with people that are getting the results you want to get. Third, they establish you as a leader who gets things done. People naturally want to follow someone who takes decisive action, and being visible at every event adds power and credibility to all of your team relationships.

Be. Do. Have. Be the leader who’s front and center at every live event. Think, speak and carry yourself like the top producer you envision in your mind’s eye and you’ll be empowered to act accordingly. The rewards will spill over into every area of your life in more ways… and more quickly and abundantly… than you can imagine. Make this commitment to yourself right now and I’ll see you at the top!

DREAM BIG!!!

Michael