If you own a business, how would an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show help you? Do you think you could benefit from that kind of publicity? (First of all, getting on Oprah is an amazing accomplishment in and of itself!)

How about appearing on Good Morning America? Or Larry King?

I know a guy who has done all of that. Well, almost all of it. He came close to appearing on Oprah twice, but…well, I’ll get to that in a minute.

The question you are probably asking is HOW did he do all of this (by the way, he has appeared in local television, radio and print as well as being featured in People Magazine). Okay, so WHO IS IT?!!! Well, his name is Orrin Hudson, and he is one hell of a tough man…

Orrin Hudson is an author, speaker and coach, and founder of Be Someone, Inc.

And he is a tough guy.

What makes him so tough? He is one of the few people who looked at some of the problems that face the youth of our nation and said, “Enough!” Orrin single-handedly started an organization designed to take on the toughest inner-city youth problems and work toward fixing them…with the game of chess.

Yes, chess.

I know what you are thinking, ‘Can this story get any stranger?’ But stay with me here. Orrin is a visionary, really. Instead of looking at the rising teen violence rates, climbing teen pregnancy numbers and staggering decline in graduation rates of inner-city kids and saying ‘Someone should do something’, Orrin rolled up his sleeves and got busy.

He built Be Someone, Inc. You need to see his work; it is truly amazing. Just check out www.BeSomeone.org and see what I mean. Amazing…

So, what does this have to do with entrepreneurs? Well, first of all, Orrin is one of the most successful entrepreneurs I have ever met. He has raised millions of dollars simply by combining two passions: helping others and the game of chess. But it took more than that. It obviously took money. So how does one raise that kind of money?

Through publicity…

Which brings me to my learning point: How would more publicity boost your business? The answer is obvious, but the bigger question is HOW do you boost publicity? As I mentioned, Orrin accomplished this feat by appearing on Good Morning America, Larry King Live, tons of local television and radio (in fact, he often had to TURN DOWN media interviews because he was in such high demand), the pages of People Magazine, and Oprah…almost.

Okay, I’ll explain the Oprah thing.

Orrin told me how the first time Oprah’s people called him; it was 4:30 in the afternoon, the day before they wanted him to appear. He was traveling home from an engagement, and didn’t arrive until late that night. The taping was scheduled for the next morning, and there was logistically no way he would make it. So Oprah rescheduled. This time, Orrin made it, but due to the featured celebrities being too long-winded (way to go Tom Cruise…just kidding) Orrin got bumped. But, he will make it someday very soon, I assure you.

This brings me to what I learned from Orrin. Orrin Hudson prescribes to a very important principle that he teaches his kids, and it is a powerful tool for all entrepreneurs: Excellence Is Not Enough; You Have To Be Amazing.

How does that hit you? Great stuff. That alone propelled Orrin to center stage, but more practically, Orrin taught me that gaining publicity is all about offering value.

Specifically, you must have a solid, yet concise press release. Press releases are huge for alerting the media to your business and the services you have to offer. They have a tremendous readership and it is a great place to go to read other press releases, so you can see how to craft one of your very own.

Second, you need a hook…something to draw interest to you, and make you unique. Orrin teaches troubled kids how to escape a life of drugs and crime through chess. How amazing is that! Obviously Oprah, Larry King and People loved it.

Third, and most important, you must add value. Orrin is insistent on this. If you are not adding value, then your press release will be virtually invisible and your hook will be non-existent.

Giving people value attracts them to you, makes you more marketable, and separates you form the scores of businesses out there just trying to make a buck. Instead trying to make a buck, try making a difference. As Orrin says, “When you give the world your best, the best the world has to offer comes back to you.”

Orrin Hudson is truly and amazing man. Go to www.BeSomone.org and find out more about Orrin and his incredible mission. There you will discover what true passion is about.

What are you passionate about? What if you combined that with helping others? Imagine the possibilities…
See you in the next post…
~JT

Okay, so I promised to give you some insight in my amazing weekend. This will be the first of many installments, but I first want to tell you a little about where I was and what I was doing. I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Los Angeles at Larry Benet’s Connecting Mastery Seminar. If you have never heard of Larry, or you would like more information on one of the most important skills every entrepreneur should have, check out Larry Benet’s site, www.LarryBenet.com and see what I am talking about.

I will not name-drop here, but to suffice it to say, Larry is connected. Big time. And he shared his secrets to success with us. And, yes, I will pass much of this information on in future posts, but what you need to know first is how powerful having quality connections can be. It is not enough to just drop names. As Larry says, “It is not who you know, it is who knows you”. So let me tell you about an amazing individual that I had the great fortune to get connect with as a result of attending Larry’s seminar.

Joyce Jackson is co-founder of Keeping Kids Safe, an organization dedicated to one of the most important causes I can think of: keeping kids safe from every threat you can imagine (and some you probably haven’t thought of). Check out their website at www.KeepingKidsSafeToday.com. This website is one of the most informative and useful sites I have ever seen, and it is indicative of Joyce and her partner, Preston Jones’ approach to business: be dedicated, be prepared, and be passionate. Now, those are my words, but read on to see what you can learn from this tremendously successful entrepreneur…

Joyce Jackson was a very accomplished architect, living with her family in the Bay Area of California. She worked hard to build a tremendously successful architecture firm, dedicated herself to her career, and worked her way up the top of her field. Long hours, tireless efforts, and more beautiful buildings than I could name still left Joyce unfulfilled. So Joyce did what every single person reading this blog needs to do: she took a long look inside herself and asked the tough questions. What is missing? What am I passionate about? How can I give back and make this a better world? What do I REALLY want to do with my life? For Joyce, the answer was simple: she wanted to help keep kids safe.

Keeping Kids Safe has a clear mission statement: to teach 20 million kids by 2010 to keep themselves safe. Their purpose is to benefit kids directly by developing the core values of confidence, respect, honesty, integrity and dignity in today’s kids to carry with them for a lifetime of safety. So how does one DO something as monumental as that? According to Joyce, it all starts with a plan…

If you want to build a business as successful as Keeping Kids Safe, you must start off with a solid business plan. “Write it out, pen to paper, and then transcribe it to a computer document.” Joyce suggests. “There is a powerful connection between the brain and your hands as you write it out.” It is true; this practice seems to make your plan much more visceral, much more concrete. “Start off simple; just write it out in bullets if that works best for you,” Joyce told me. If you need help drafting a business plan, contact me and I will share Joyce’s wisdom and my own experience to help you draft a solid business plan.

Once you have a completed business plan and mission statement, have someone you trust review it. The idea is to get honest feedback from a knowledgeable source that can point you in the right direction or help sharpen your focus as you need it. This is a crucial step in solidifying the course you want your business to take. This step is SO vitally important, so spend some quality time getting it done thoroughly. Joyce told me that she and her business partner literally sequestered themselves away from their business, their families and any outside distractions for a few days just so they could be 100% focused on drafting a solid business plan. It is THAT important.

After you have a plan and have had it reviewed by someone you trust to give you honest feedback, it is now time to execute it. “After you finish your business plan and mission statement, print it out and post it in your workspace, or wherever you will see it daily,” Joyce suggests. Seeing your mission daily reinforces what you are in business for in the first place. It keeps your focus sharp, and keeps you accountable not only to yourself, but to your grand purpose.

The rest just comes down to execution.

Following you business plan, staying true to your mission statement, and continuing to find new ways to make your business grow through contacts and networking are critical steps towards building a business as successful as Keeping Kids Safe.

I could write for days on what Joyce Jackson taught me about the importance of writing an effective business plan, developing a focused mission statement, and executing both to maximize your efforts. But what I hope you take away from this post is how vital it is for every business owner and entrepreneur to be equipped with a solid business plan. Once you have that plan solidified, post it, share it and live it. Then, TAKE ACTION.

Now that you have read this valuable information, do yourself a favor and go to www.KeepingKidsSafeToday.com and see what you can do to make a difference. Look at how a true professional builds a successful business and is changing the lives of parents and children everyday. Thank you for all you do, Joyce!

In the next post, find out how a tough guy got on Oprah…and how you can too..
See you in the next post…
~JT

You will never believe what I learned this weekend from a Hollywood producer, Wall Street business strategist, real estate tycoon, and Micheal Jordan’s PR representative. Stay tuned and discover what I learned from some of the most powerful entrepreneurs you will ever meet. You CANNOT afford to miss it, so check back soon…

~JT

How many times have you said or thought this: “Why am I not making sales?” “Why is it taking so long?” “Why do I suck?”

The fact is that EVERYBODY sucks in the beginning. Anyone who feeds you a line of crap telling you that you will make hundreds of thousands of dollars in your first months in network marketing is probably lying to you. Why?

Because network marketing, like any other business, takes time to build. It takes effort. It also takes hard work. You have to be focused, and focused on the right actions. If you are following distracted effort with weak marketing, you are doomed.

So remember, everyone struggles at one time or another. And if more “mentors” and “gurus” were honest, that is exactly what they would tell you.

And if they would only put their egos aside and be real like that, then more learning would occur and your journey toward network marketing success would be much quicker and less frustrating. That is what mentorship is supposed to be about.

Okay, enough ranting, a little about me…

When I first got started in network marketing I struggled, too. I followed advice from people that called themselves “gurus”. They had their buddies refer to them as “gurus” on internet chat sites and blogs. Their advice was spotty, broad-brush and limited. They would give me “hints” and “tips” rather than no-kidding training.

It would be like me asking you how to get from San Diego to New York, and having you say, “Drive east until you see water.” Thanks a lot.

But that is what a lot of so-called “experts” basically do. The industry trend has been toward “duplicatable systems”; well, the harsh reality is that 95% of the people in this industry fail to achieve a status that allows them to actually fire their boss and generate a full-time income.

So why would you want to duplicate their systems? And if you are doing that, and not having success, why are you surprised at the results?

Don’t get me wrong; there are a lot…A LOT…of highly successful people out there that are pumping out major sales and making a fantastic living working from home.

I have been very fortunate to have several of them as mentors, and you know what they say…birds of a feather…BUT, it took a long time and painful agony to begin to infuse their teachings into actual results. And it wasn’t for lack of trying.

In the beginning, I lacked experience, lacked knowledge, and lacked guidance. But what it ultimately took was a few very compassionate and skilled experts to literally show me step-by-step how they achieved success.

So by now you are probably asking, “Great, JT, so show me how to be in the 5% of the winners. Show me how to get that success you always talk about.”

Now here is the fork in the road…more specifically, here is where the rubber meets the road: You have decide right now if you want to build a home business that will generate full-time income.

Once you have decided that, you have to commit to doing whatever it takes to making that dream a reality.

This industry is abundant and loaded with opportunities for everyone to succeed. There is no excuse for you or anyone else to fail in network marketing.

But unless you have in-depth training brought to you by experienced, sincere and dedicated mentors, the odds are against you. You need to follow a strong leader (or leadership of several), at least in the beginning.

One of the most rewarding things I encounter in my business is watching a person in my down line take off and grow into a leader. Watching them succeed tells me that I served them in the best capacity I could as a leader, and now they, too will continue the trend of giving back and helping others.

That is the point, right? A good leader shows their team how to succeed. A strong leader conveys the training necessary to empower everyone around them to achieve massive success.

Let’s face it; the business is the same for everyone involved: the products, services, comp plan…everything is the same for everyone. I have said this time and time again.

So if a leader really wants to teach you how to succeed, they will give you this one piece of wisdom right off the bat:
People do not join a business. They join you.

People want to—they need to—follow strong leaders. Rarely will a person join a business to teach themselves how to market, how to manage business affairs, and how to succeed in a new frontier. They are looking for leadership.

But at the same time, people do not want to follow forever, to be herded from one marketing scheme to the next.

What people want is to be empowered by strong leaders who have skills and value. Being skilled and value-laden is the goal of every true entrepreneur. And sharing those talents is the passion of every massively successful person you find, regardless of the walk of life.

But there is a lot that falls directly on YOUR shoulders as well. As the saying goes, “You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make the horse drink it.” I could tell you everything you need to know, even give you free leads, but until you believe in the system and yourself, and apply the knowledge, you will not see the results for which you seek.

Taking the initiative to make yourself better in every aspect of your business is what is required. Every leader has done it, and has “paid their dues” in the form of hard work, self-sacrifice, and dedication to becoming better in every way.

But that is the beauty of the whole journey: once you have a strong leader show you the way, and once you follow through with massive and dedicated action, you will find the transformation and success is SO sweet, so rewarding, and so worth all of the sacrifices a long the way.

The next time somebody offers you a “quick score” system that “guarantees massive results” ask yourself (and the person pitching it to you) who YOU will become by joining the business. Find a company that fits YOU. Find a business that resonates with YOU, and makes YOU a powerful leader and entrepreneur. Then go full-throttle! Make it happen and enjoy the journey.

See you in the next post…
~JT