The first day of spring in Dayton, OH felt completely normal… if it were January. It looked bright sunny and made me excited for a 55 degree spring day, but bitter cold attacked with blunt force when I stepped outside this morning . With a wind chill of 18, going outside to enjoy this first spring day is not happening.

The cold winter weather is not the only thing wearing on me. Business is fast. Work is slow. Paying customers are needed for this 10 month old company. My day starts at 3:30am and I barely make it into bed by 9:00pm.

My mind is tired & my spirit is worn.

You may be feeling the tired-winter blues or you may just be asking yourself, “David, why do you get up at 3:30am!?” Either way, my answer to the question is the same as my suggested solution to your tired-winter blues.

There are two things driving me forward into the fight… My personal mission statement & my life vision. These two declarations keep me waking up at 3:30am almost 6 days a week, going to the gym, fighting for my business, fighting to move my dreams forward. A personal mission & life vision are simple but when they are captured correctly they wield great power!

My mission: to build a platform, from businesses I lead,  that will support a position of trust & respect where I can share my experience, wisdom, marketing and spiritual leadership lessons to men in business and church.

My vision: to build two nationally recognized companies. The first is First Rate Home Services which delivers first rate plumbing, electrical, and heating and air conditioning services to you and your home. The second is a  full service marketing firm & training company to teach others how to grow their business through profit zone marketing. Both will work to support my mission.

Today my challenge is to spend a good amount of time crafting a personal mission & vision for your life. What is it that sums up your life purpose or calling? Write that down, keep it to a few sentences, and you have a personal mission.

What kind of dreams do you have for your life? Dreams are fuzzy visions. Drill deep down and discover the specifics of what you want in life, describe it in great detail, write it down and you have a vision for your life.

Question: Have you spent time clarifying your personal mission or vision for your life before? What is your mission & vision? Share it below in the comments.

I grew up in a Christian family. I was saved around 6 years old on the way home from a Christian bookstore. I was baptized… well… actually… you see, we were running late to church the day I was supposed to be baptized, so I really I was not baptized early… not until I was 13 years old.

So, depending on which denomination you ask, I have been a Christian my entire life! Of course others may say I pushed the envelope a bit to far on the age of innocence.

I’ve grown up listening to weird sounding words and phrases like song of the redeamed, washed by the blood, sanctified and set free. I’ve been told I have been given freedom in CHRIST as an adopted son of GOD, that JESUS’ punishment for my mistakes happened on the cross, and because of his sacrifice I am free from sin and the wrath of GOD.

Though it sounds foolish to some, I know it all to be true. I have experienced GOD’s power and I know I am made new.

HOWEVER, for years I’ve felt a little un-easy about the actual freedom I have in CHRIST and because of CHRIST. On one side, we are told we have been given freedom. On the other had we are told to live as slaves to GOD and righteousness. Really!? Which is it? Is there really any freedom?

Sure, I know I am free from sin, death, and GOD’s wrath, but to be completely honest… so what?! I don’t have to worry about sin, death, and GOD’s wrath until… well… until I die. My life is lived now! Not later!

This attitude & belief has been pretty strong in my life for as long as I can remember, though I would never have admitted it, but four months ago the LORD started me on a journey through scripture to radically change my life. He began to walk me through all the freedoms I do have as an adopted child of the KING. As these freedoms began to unfold in front of me, he finished (really just began) my journey by one revelation to the truth of my freedom in CHRIST and the practical application for it all!

I recently shared this truth with a group of believers in my home & if I ever were offered the chance to teach something to my church this is what I would share:

“God has given us…

…Freedom from The Law (Galatians 5:1-4)

…Freedom from GOD’s Wrath (Luke 22:39-45 compared to Voice of the Martyrs story)

…Freedom from Sin (Romans 6:15-18)

…Freedom from Death (Hebrews 2:14-15, John 14:1-7)

…Freedom from Shame (Hebrews 4:14-16, Romans 8:1-2)

…Freedom from Fear (Romans 8:15, 2 Timothy 1:7)

…Freedom from Worry (Matthew 6:24-35)

…the list goes on and on… freedom from our past, sickness, etc.

…so that we may passionately seek GOD & HIS will to do good…

 (Titus 2:11-14, Ephesians 2:10, James 4:17, John 15:14-17)

…so much so that we live our lives as slaves to GOD & Righteousness!

(Romans 6:18, Galations 5:13-14, I Peter 2:16, Matthew 28:16-20)

Good works is not required for us to gain these freedoms. Jesus did that. Instead our freedom is required so we can know GOD & know the good works HE has prepared for us, called us to live out, and created us for. Read the verses. Move confidently toward what God created & prepared you to do. You are free!

Question: If you knew you were free from fear, your past mistakes, and worry about the future what would you do? What has God created you to do in his Kingdom on earth? What gifts and passions has he woven into your life? You may leave a comment below.

Have you ever wondered how some of GOD’s people ever got to be leaders? I mean, when you look at Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, and even Peter in the Bible, you would not choose them as the the men the LORD would use to build an amazing and powerful kingdom on earth, would you? How about some of the leaders GOD has put in your own life?

Today, I want to share a principle about leadership in GOD’s kingdom. It won’t rival anything John Maxwell would write. In fact quite literally, the LORD just spoke this  principle to me minutes ago. Still, this principle has changed the way I’m making decisions. I think it may change your decisions on things to, but I’ll let you tell me…

The first to follow GOD, will lead his people.

In the past 30 days close to 10 opportunities have popped up in my life. Some of these opportunities are business opportunities with monetary value, some are gospel opportunities to share CHRIST, and a few are both. Every one of them would be worth my time, but it would be impossible to take them all on at the same time. I have to remove or delay most of these opportunities.

This morning, in prayer about these opportunities, I asked GOD to tell me which he would choose for me to pursue, if his will in heaven were to come down to earth, in my life today. His answer was not the step-by-step-direction type of answer I’m always hoping for, but this was better. Very clearly, he said, “If you are the first to follow me, you will lead my people.”

To me, this makes sense. Why is it that GOD’s leaders are often not the people us humans would choose for the job? Because GOD’s leaders are the first to follow GOD. They seek him first. They follow him first. The share his work with others first. Thus they are the ones who lead the rest of humanity in the direction that the LORD is going.

After realizing this principle, I began to look for the LORD at work in the opportunities in front of me. The area’s where miracles were happening, specific answers to prayers were being given, and changed lives were taking place, were the area’s I singled out as one’s where GOD was working. It was not hard to distinguish these opportunities which the LORD was working for me to participate in after I understood the idea that the first people to follow GOD, will lead his people.

This is a principle I intend to test and practice in my life, because ultimately, I really do just want to participate in what GOD is doing around me. If there is opportunity to bring others along I will do it, but participating with him is my first desire.

Questions: Does the “the first to follow GOD will lead his people” principle change the way you make decisions? What are some areas you see GOD at work around you? Are you participating? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Last week, my business partner who is also my father and I could not make a decision about our new business’ toll free number. We searched through hundreds, if not thousands, of possibilities but could not agree on the best number or concept. Finally, in frustration I asked for his three favorite numbers and told him I would send out a survey to our customers and social media followers so they could make the decision for us.

Today, I share these 6 lessons I learned by asking my customers for guidance…

Lesson #1: When in doubt, survey!

Our toll free number wasn’t the only decision we needed to make. We’re in the process of re-branding the entire business and building a foundation to support large growth. Just like my 29th year theme, it’s massive action for massive growth. I took this opportunity to survey our customers about our name, our website address, our USP, and yes, our toll free number. These were all decisions that needed to be made, so we passed the job on to our customers.

Lesson #2: Your opinion is worthless, your customer’s is priceless!

When I suggested the survey as a way to make a decision, I was sure I knew our customers and they would see my favorite as their’s too. In the end, if I had gone the way I wanted, I would have left 93% of our customers looking for something better.

Yes, you did read that right. Only 3 people voted my direction and of the three one was my wife’s vote. While my wife’s opinion is valuable to me, it does not pay the bills. I was forced to realize that my opinion is worthless and since my customer’s opinion is priceless.

Our customers pay the bills because we serve them. The servant has no say in the matter. Period.

Lesson #3: Everyone can’t be pleased, but the majority can.

Do we have the perfect name & number now that we have surveyed our customers? No, but we do have an obvious best option. 100% of our customers will never agree, but when 60% or even 70% agree on something we can clearly see our best option.

Lesson #4: Write it neutrally and double check everything.

I wrote the survey late at night. The next morning I send out an email and social media campaign to get results quickly. I forgot to review the survey first though. BIG mistake.

There were a few major spelling/grammar mistakes which I fixed. Obvious lesson here is to double check everything before you publish it.

Also, there was an obvious error in the neutrality of the survey. Remember, even though the business is new we had a previous name. This existing name was identified clearly as an existing name, which gave us a false reading. Close to 78% favored our existing name in the first survey, but after I re-wrote the survey to be neutral the real results came back as 57%.  That is a big difference. The only explanation I can offer is, people were “afraid” to offend us by choosing a different name than our original one. The lesson here is to write your survey as close to neutral as possible.

Lesson #5: Both customers & prospects love to be asked.

In addition to the more than 50 people who took the survey, I received 4 emails from both customers and prospects who wanted to give more depth to their answers than a simple 4 multiple choice survey. Customer and prospect alike, thanked me for asking them to give an opinion. Customer and prospect alike, shared they felt like we were trying to serve them better. Customer and prospect alike, demonstrated that they loved my company asking for their opinion.

Lesson #6: Never pass on an opportunity to sell & market. 

As a reward for the survey, we gave an option to get a voucher for a free service check-up on their home’s plumbing, electric, heating or air conditioning system with the purchase of a regular call. From this simple offer we were able to acquire 18 new customers and re-activate 6 inactive customers. The totals are still coming in, but as it looks our company will add around $3,096 from those B.O.G.O vouchers and will likely double that amount in preventative repairs, accessory sales, and maintenance memberships.

My final conclusion of this last-minute survey experience?

Survey & survey often. Not only do we have clear answers to our questions, but we have a stronger relationship with our customers and our prospects too. Not just a stronger relationship, but we will make a profit directly from surveying and serving our customers right and letting them guide the direction of our company.

What else can a business ask for? Not much. Truthfully, there’s not much more to business than providing a customer exactly what they want and being rewarded for it with exactly what you want.

Questions: Have you ever surveyed your customer? If so, share below. If not, what kind of survey could you send out by the end of this month? Leave your comments by clicking here. 

“The truth of the matter is that there’s nothing you can’t accomplish if: (1) You clearly decide what it is that you’re absolutely committed to achieving, (2) You’re willing to take massive action, (3) You notice what’s working or not, and (4) You continue to change your approach until you achieve what you want, using whatever life gives you along the way.” - Anthony Robbins

A little over 60 days ago I accidentally took massive action. This accidental massive action set off a chain of events that lead me to take more massive action, set massive goals, and plan for massive change in my life. I can say with all honesty that I had no intention of running down this road during my my 29th year, but the LORD has shown he had other plans.

This entire event started the simple question, “What would my life look like if I tithed my time in addition to my income?”

I had no clue spending the first 10% of my day with the LORD would change my life this dramatically. Though now I can say, I am very glad I took massive action on this small seemingly insignificant thought. In order to follow this self-made challenge through I had to change my entire day. I had to go to bed early, wake up early, and manage every minute of my day carefully. It truly took massive action & truly produced a massive change in my life.

The series of events that followed from my choice to take massive action has lead me to another question. “What would my life look like one year from now if I took massive action on massive plans from setting massive goals in several areas of life?”

So there you have it, in my 29th year I’m going to be committed to finding the answer to this question by setting and pursuing massive action in 6 areas of my life.

1. My Spiritual Life – I’ve already started spending 10% of my day engaging the LORD in conversation. I’ll continue this as well as work to make HIM the center of everything I do.
2. My Professional Life – My work takes up the largest part of my life. I’ve set massive goals & benchmarks for my business and my professional development. Though a little vague, my 29th year I’m setting a foundation for local market domination.
3. My Financial Life – My finances are a big deal to me. I want as much freedom in the area of money as I can achieve. I’m not talking about buying as many things as I want. I am talking about the freedom from answering to someone else so I can live my life. This means massive action toward becoming debt free and massive action on building assets that pay passive income.
4. My Physical Life – I know what I used to weigh and the extra energy that provided for me. In order to take massive action in all areas of my life, my physical life has got to be a top priority. My goal here is weight loss, diet and the creation of a daily exercise habit.
5. My Social Life – You have heard the phrase, “It’s not about what you know, but who you know that counts.” Well, in my 29th year I’m looking ahead to make very specific key relationships. I have my list of people and by the end of the year I am determined to be good friends with them all. I also have goals to take leadership in my church, my city, and my neighborhood.
6. My Marital Life – Nicole is the most important person in my life. I want to be intentional about loving her, communicating with her, and growing with her. My goals here are, perhaps the most important ones I’ve set this year, because she is undoubtedly the most important part of my life next to GOD.

Your turn.

For years I’ve been unhappy with the future of my life. To be completely honest, if it were not for a hostile takeover in my life a few months back, I would be unhappy today and still to coward to act. Fortunately, GOD has HIS way of changing lives and finishing the work HE started.

My challenge to you is to act. Take massive action toward achieving the life you desire. Please don’t be a coward like me. You don’t have to wait for a divine hostile takeover to live the life you were created for. Start by getting to know your CREATOR and then move forward confidently with the intention of being who GOD created you to be.

“The truth of the matter is that there’s nothing you can’t accomplish if: (1) You clearly decide what it is that you’re absolutely committed to achieving, (2) You’re willing to take massive action, (3) You notice what’s working or not, and (4) You continue to change your approach until you achieve what you want, using whatever life gives you along the way.” - Anthony Robbins

QUESTION: If you could know success was guaranteed, what would you do differently with your life? What types of massive action would you take? You can leave a comment by clicking here?

It’s been months since I saw Michael Hyatt‘s website design paired with his latest book Platform. My first reaction when I saw his updated site was, “Finally, a design that get’s it!” Immediately I went to work copying Michael’s work as best as I could with my big-box custom theme.

Fortunately, before I ruined the design genius of Michael and his partner, Andrew Buckman, I saw his theme was being developed for public release. That was months ago. As with any new project of quality, there have been a few sticking points because of these guy’s dedication to quality. However, as a follower and fan, I can see light at the end of the tunnel for this theme’s future ship date with today’s announcement of the limited beta release.

I make my commitment to you, my few readers (yet growing): You will see the GetNoticed! theme on my site, read my honest reviews, and finally get to see my platform come together.  The only question is whether it will be sooner (like while in beta) or later (when publicly for sale). Either way you can expect it.

Here are a few links to what I’m talking about:

1. GetNoticed! Live Demo: www.MichaelHyatt.com
2. GetNoticed! spec page: www.michaelhyatt.com/getnoticed
3. GetNoticed! Beta Announcement: Invitation to Beta Team

Question: What do you think about the design at MichaelHyatt.com? What would you add or take away from the design? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

A friend of mine recommended a I read the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki a couple years ago. So I immediately bought the book, took it home, and set it on my shelf for two years. The cover looked dated (I’m cheap so I bought it used) and for some reason it didn’t sound all that interesting to me at the time.

Finally a week ago, I picked it up off my shelf and started reading it. This book is a book promotes financial independence, teaches the basics on building wealth, and advocates a alternate view of success compared to the popular “go to school, get good grads, so you can get a good job, and make more money” view.

Here are a few points I learned from the book:

• Why most middle class & poor spend their lives fighting to stay ahead, but never quite arrive. Hint: Your home is NOT an asset and definitely not your biggest investment. It’s your biggest expense.
• Why the wealthy choose against working for money and instead opt to work for an education. Hint: The wealthy work to learn. Their money works for money.
• Why the most important education you will receive cannot be acquired through a school, because  schools don’t teach it. Hint: Financial education is not taught in schools. Skills, trades, and expertise is taught in school, but financial literacy is not taught in a class.
• Why the largest expense you have is taxes & how the financially literate avoid them.  Hint: The poor and middle class earn money, pay taxes and spend what’s left. The financially literate earn money, spend it, and pay taxes on whats left… all legally.

Anyway, I thought the book was a great read and a motivation to become financially smart instead of just following the average advice kicked around by the typical middle class American. I can see the principles in Rich Dad, Poor Dad being lived out in two people I know who are on their way to becoming wealthy (also learned why rich is not wealthy and wealthy is not rich).

I recommend this book to anyone and everyone who is fighting to get ahead. Your problem may just be diagnosed in this book…

QUESTION: What do you think about building wealth? Is there something wrong with wanting to be wealthy? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Tonight I logged onto Facebook to waste some time. Let’s be honest here, I’m writing this post at 1:23am on a Thursday morning after drinking caffeine way to late in the evening, so wasting time at 1:23am is ok, since it would normally be spent on resting… That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.  I should have known better, but life goes on.

Anyway, while on Facebook I saw a friend’s wife had posted a devotional from Proverbs31.org ministries. As a man who attended a few years of Bible college, I’ve heard all to often the famous line, “If you want a proverbs 31 woman, you need to be a Proverbs 1-30 man.” or t-shirts that proudly advertise, “I’m a Proverbs 31 woman!” All these sayings and quotes seem to assume that the book of wisdom is filled with wisdom for men, but the last chapter is for women and excludes men. I don’t believe this, I am going to argue that the bar needs to be raised.

I think it’s wrong to assume that Proverbs 31 is only for women. What if us men read Proverbs 31 in the shadow of the question, “What kind of man do I need to be to inspire, equip, and allow my wife to reflect the Proverbs 31 Woman? What if this last chapter of Proverbs was less about your wife and more about your life and how you live your life in a way that enables your wife to live as a noble woman?

Go right now, read Proverbs 31. Afterwards comment and let me know what you think…

Question: How can you be a proverbs 31 man? What would you need to change to live in a way that enables your wife’s life to reflect proverbs 31? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

For years I’ve struggled with focusing my thoughts & energy on projects. I’ve tried reading books on time management, priority management, scheduling, productivity, etc. I could not find a single thing that would work to get me focused… get me productive.

For all those years while I tried fixing the problem with strategy & planning my wife has been patiently asking me to see a doctor about adult ADD. Now let me explain something, for as long as I can remember I’ve believed ADD was nothing more than a fictional excuse created by teachers, parents, and doctors to avoid working with tough kids. It was a cop-out in my book, so every time my wife suggested I look into the possibility of a medical fix to my focus and productivity issues I immediately excused it… even took offense at it.

Months ago I agreed with her to go see the doctor. I set the appointment several times and canceled (or forgot) every time. A few weeks ago though, I did see the doctor, was diagnosed, and given a prescription for some medicine that would help. “Figures,” I thought, “Of course the doctor wants me to come back every month. He gets paid if I’m diagnosed.” You can see calling my attitude skeptical was an understatement.

So with prescription in hand, I went home and succeeded in procrastinating the filling of my prescription for two weeks. Partly forgetting and partly ignoring this visit to the doctor seemed much more practical than throwing in the towel and giving in to a popular cop-out. I had thoughts about the medicine changing my personality, making me delusional,  or even causing “uncontrollable verbal noises” (all were rare, but possible side effects).

Last week the inevitable happened. I filled the prescription. I waited for the weekend as the doctor suggested, took the medicine and waited for something crazy to happen.

Nothing happened. At least nothing crazy happened. Instead, to put it the only way I can explain,  the static went away. In fact it was static I didn’t even know was there. Within just a few hours I was able to think clearly, remember my to do lists, and focus on exactly what I was doing without all the interruptions.

After 5 1/2 years or more of frustrating work, reading books on productivity, fighting to beat my mind, and ignoring the quiet suggestions of my wife, it worked. I owe my wife and everyone I secretly labeled as weak a big apology. Medicine is not the answer to everyone’s problems of productivity, but I do have to admit, in my case it has instantly improved my ability to focus and be productive. I now can use all the productivity books I’ve read and have success that results in real productivity.

Question: What are your thoughts on ADD, productivity, and focus?  You can leave a comment by clicking here.

A few years ago I received an email from Dan Kennedy (number one copy writer, direct mail, and lead generation expert) sharing a secret to how he gets so much done & maintains freedom in his schedule. In this email, he shared how that day was “writing day” where he locked himself in a room and wrote the entire month’s worth of content, sales letters, client’s projects, newsletters, etc. in one day. He then went on to talk about how he did the same thing for phone calls, meetings, and everything else in his business.

Apparently, if you were to need to talk to Dan Kennedy you would likely have to pay large sums of money & you would be given a timed appointment on the phone because he only works on the phone one day a month. He doesn’t work on emergencies, he works on his own schedule. The down side, you may have to wait to talk to him. The upside, you’ll have his fully prepared, quality attention when you do talk to him.

How often does your work have your fully prepared, quality attention?

I know in my own life I have found it hard to devote my fully prepared, quality attention to the tasks that come at me throughout the day. So a few months ago, as I was browsing through my email box of “starred” items I found this old email. I decided to take Dan’s advice and schedule as many tasks for one day a month as I could possible get away with. My writing for next month was done the first Saturday of this month. My one-on-one coaching calls for marketing clients are all done on one day of the month. My appointments, my reports, my book keeping, my personal marketing, book writing… each item is scheduled for it’s own day of the month month.

Question: Could you schedule some of your work to be done one day of the month? You can leave a comment by clicking here.