Think Like an Entrepreneur: Lessons from Trump University Students

Sixty percent of all Americans are dreaming about starting their own businesses. Why? What's their motivation?

I recently heard some fascinating answers to that question while I was listening to recorded transcripts from The Entrepreneur's Success Codes, a Trump University course that's taught by Jeff Burrows. In those transcripts, a group of Trump University students - all successful entrepreneurs - answered Jeff's question, 'Why did you decide to become an entrepreneur?' Let's take a closer look at the reasons they gave:

Motivation #1: An unstoppable passion for the work itself. It could be making real estate investments, restoring old cars or designing computer systems for businesses. As one student in The Entrepreneur's Success Codes class said, 'I loved my work so much, I couldn't not do it.'

Motivation #2: A drive to help others. It might be a desire to help other people be healthier, or more successful, or richer, or more beautiful. One student said that her longing to help people started after she recovered from a serious accident.

Motivation #3: The need for freedom. One class member said that after working in rigid corporations for years, the desire to control his own work took over his life.

Motivation #4: A hunger for challenge. For some entrepreneurs, the greatest motivator is the challenge of starting a business itself. Other concerns are secondary.

Motivation #5: Security. One entrepreneur said he started his own company because he hated working for companies where he could get laid off at any time. Of course, starting a company is risky. New companies fail. But despite those risks, running his own company put him in control of his own destiny."

**This article taken from Trump University.

Getting Serious About Network Marketing Networking

"Network marketing is a business model that has very similar characteristics to franchising. However the advantage that it has over traditional franchising includes a low cost of entry and high potential revenue possibilities. What types of people are attracted to a network marketing opportunity? Generally the types of people who are attracted to network marketing are unhappy in their careers and have generally not received the levels of success that they expected. They look upon working as being hard and involving long hours. They are also unhappy with their income and what the future holds for them. They have little or no experience of owning their own business and would not have the capital to invest in starting up and running their own business. Often they have no direct experience of sales or of business development." Click Here for more...

Home Business Millionaire

I met with my accountant yesterday and he actually said to me, "You're making too much money to take investing lightly". I almost giggled. Here I am, 32 and ten years ago I had to sleep in my car for a little while b/c I had no place to live and no place to go. And today I'm a millionaire. Yes, a MILLIONAIRE! The only one ever in my family.

So that brought up the real question of what's next. My goal was to have a million dollars in assets well protected and I did it. I should say "we" did it b/c my husband is my partner and there's no way I could have done it without him. We did it together and he's awesome! But really, what's next.

My new challenge is to become the Shannon Lavenia of real estate. Just like the "Donald's" name rolls off your tongue when someone says, "who's the biggest in NY", I want my name to be known by everyone as a powerful, profitable and outrageously successful real estate developer and invester. I'm currently into Trump Universities "How to Build a Fortune" and listening to Trump lay it out has me really psyched. So, it's on to the next game in life, taking the wealth I've made and will continue to make in my home based business and actually putting it all too work. I'm EXCITED!!!!!!

And the best part...when I told my accountant my vision, he said, "yeah, I can see that!".

The Law of Attraction

"There is a very powerful force at work in your life right now. It's called the Law of Attraction and at this very moment it's attracting people, jobs, situations and relationships into your life" - Michael Losier.

Understanding the Law of Attraction was the first step in my development into a millionaire. Visit Michael's site for his book, the Law of Attraction at www.lawofattractionbook.com.

I first saw Michael when I went to Vegas to see him speak. We immediately invited him to speak at an event and he was incredible. His knowledge of how the Law works and his ability to help people master the game of attraction is amazing.

Balancing Quantity vs. Quality of Leads

I thought this article was great. Anyone in business knows, the quality of leads is the key to making it or breaking it. You can call thousands of leads a day, but if the leads are responding to the right advertising, you'll be wasting valuable time. Yes, you may make a sale or two, but your conversion rate will go up significantly in correlation to the quality of your leads. In my business, I teach people how to market effectively with a simple proven system so that their leads are of quality. One lead can equal one sale when it's the right lead. Whether it's a home based business, a work at home opportunity, direct sales, network marketing or traditional business, having the leads that convert to customers means dollars in the bank and a successful venture as an entrepreneur. Check it out at: Balancing Quantity vs. Quality of Leads:

Why I Love (and Hate) Being a Work-at-Home Mom

Find out how this entrepreneurial mom really feels about running a business from home.
June 12, 2006
By Lisa Druxman

I created an entire business just so I could be a work-at-home mom. But is it a blessing or a curese? It depends on which day you ask me. Let me tell you what I really think. Click here to read what Lisa really thinks.

To learn how you can start a home-based business, click here:

Starting a Business is Easy. Staying in Business is Hard!

Starting a Business is Easy. Staying in Business is Hard!: "Starting a Business is Easy. Staying in Business is Hard!

Let The Entrepreneurship Mastery Program make your start-up a success - by Michael Sexton

How many people start new companies every month? Who are they?

Just yesterday I was reviewing some data from The Kauffman Foundation that answers those questions, and more:
550,000 Americans start new businesses every month.

Men are two times more likely to start businesses than women are. I know so many successful women entrepreneurs, that's a shocker to me.

Hispanic Americans continue to start new businesses at a rate that outpaces all other groups. They are the heart and soul of American entrepreneurship.

African-Americans lag behind when it comes to starting new businesses. That's disturbing. But growth is picking up and one day, we'll see parity or better against other groups.

Immigrants are more likely to start businesses than native-born Americans are. They're really contributing to our economy.

But there's also one killer statistic out there, from my point of view. It comes not from Kauffman, but from the U.S. Small Business Administration and other sources . . .

At least two-thirds of new businesses fail within the first four years.

That's right, at least 366,000 of this month's 550,000 new businesses will be history by year 2010. And as I mentioned on this blog on June 27th, the reality might be even worse than that. After all, entrepreneurs are slow to report their own failures.

Will You Succeed or Fail?

If you're armed with the know-how you need, you will succeed. You can be one of the 1/3 that grows and thrives. And the good news is, that knowledge is now available as it never has been before, in one of the most powerful programs ever available..."

Adventures Around the World

We just returned from a three-week vacation in Africa fulfilling a dream of ours. What an incredible adventure! We flew first class on Virgin Airways (I highly recommend it - totally luxurious), stayed at 5-star resorts throughout South Africa and Zimbabwe, and enjoyed two photographic safaris as well as a week at the opulent Palace of the Lost City. That's a picture of me next to the Great Fish River on the Kwandwe Private Reserve in South Africa. That's Daliwanga, our tracker...a master of finding lions!

During our journey, I reflected on what life was like before becoming an entrepreneur. John and I lived a life of struggle and adversity. We worked long hours at our jobs, only to be strapped for cash, never having enough and always settling. We made decisions about where we'd go based on how much it cost, bought the cars we had because they were good "deals", lived in a neighborhood we had settled for and worked all the time. We lived the life of trading our time for money. It's really all we knew how to do at the time.

When we learned there was a better way, a way to generate money without trading our life away, we were faced with a difficult choice. We could continue to live the life we were frustrated with because we thought it was "safe". Or, we could take a risk and become an entrepreneur. The results of our decision speak for itself.

Every business owner understands the way to create wealth is through leverage. The reality is, there's only 24 hours in a day. Everyone gets the same 24 hours, it's what you choose to do with it that determines whether you get broke or get rich. Employees trade each hour for a certain amount of money, so as an employee there was a limit to what I would ever make. Being self-employed and employing leverage, my efforts are duplicated creating unlimited income. Along with that comes freedom of choice, wealth and the confidence of knowing I'm in control. It gives me the opportunity to take off for weeks at a time, exploring the world and enjoying my life.

Celebrating Independence Day here in the US last week, I was grateful to celebrate my independence...independence from ever having to work for someone ever again, independence from settling in life and independence from the stress of never having enough. I'm grateful for all those who created and protected this great land of opportunity. I'm grateful for the opportunties in my life and for the decisions, however difficult they were to make, that I made. My life today is one of absolute freedom. The incredible income I generate with our simple business system gives me choices that were never available to me when I worked a job. Choices like going to Africa for three weeks, flying First Class instead of coach and staying at the most luxurious places, rather than choose by price. Now, I get to show others how to claim this life for themselves...that you don't have to settle for trading your life for a paycheck, only to maintain a life you aren't even enjoying. Life is about choices and decisions...the choices you make create your life. So, if you're not happy with life as it is, perhaps it's time to make different, better decisions.

It's incredible to share with people the "secrets" we never learn in school, the simple ways of creating the life we choose. There's so much more out there - a world of endless opportunity. To reap the rewards of it, to live the lifestyle of freedom and prosperity, it's simply a choice. Moving out of the "comfort zone" of struggle into the zone of actually creating your life exactly how you want it is easy.

So, I hope you never buy into the idea that you have to trade your life to just get by. It's simply not true. Making money is easy, opportunity abounds and all you desire is available to you should you reach out and grasp it.

The Secret

You deserve to see this: www.thesecret.tv. Empower yourself to get the results you really want in life.

Let's Stop Blaming the Rich

Let's Stop Blaming the Rich by Michael Sexton

An article in The New York Times two days ago reports that Warren Buffet, the world's second richest individual, will soon start giving away $37 billion of his personal Berkshire Hathaway stock to five foundations. The biggest recipient will be The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which will receive an estimated $30 billion of Buffet's money. That sum will double the Gates Foundation's resources.

And what does the Gates Foundation do? It is striving to eliminate the world's most killing diseases, many of which affect the world's poorest people in third-world countries. If AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis no longer exist in 20 years, chances are we will have Warren Buffet and Bill Gates to thank.
Now, Bill Gates is the world's richest man and Warren Buffet is the world's second richest. So my question is, why do rich people get such a bad rap? Why are they always blamed for greed, self-indulgence and selfishness? As Gates and Buffet demonstrate, super-rich people can have extraordinarily high morals. They show us that getting rich empowers moral people to accomplish wonderful things in the world.

Let's see it for what it is. When we immediately assume the worst about rich people, it is really our envy talking. Instead of looking at rich people and trying to identify their faults, we should be trying to identify our own faults instead. Instead of looking for reasons why they should not have the money that they do, we should be trying to become wealthy ourselves."

RIGHT ON!!!! is what I have to say. People want to blame the rich for their own personal failures. But the reality is, everyone's life is the result of their own personal choices. The rich have worked hard, given sweat and time to create their wealth and deserve every penny. Although I grew up pathetically poor, I looked to the rich as an example of how to create my life. I followed their lead and became wealthy myself. Now I teach others to do the same.