After listening to them for about 30 minutes where they told me nearly everything about what was going wrong in their business, I politely interrupted them and asked them a simple question. I asked them, “Who in your Professional Network have you contacted that is ‘most’ likely to help you get more business?” This is a simple enough question. Once again I got the deer-in-the-headlights” look! What do you mean by “professional network?” they asked.

“Have you ever considered asking people who you ‘know’ can help you grow your business to help you get more business?” They said they didn’t feel comfortable with asking people that were successful business leaders to take the time to help them; they just didn’t feel like they should interrupt these folks’ busy days by seeking help. They also admitted to me that they would be embarrassed to seek this kind of help.

I immediately sat down with them and discussed with them about the advantages of developing a Professional Network of contacts that they can contact; that this group would be extremely valuable to them as they grew their businesses and as they grew individually.

I helped them develop a list of nearly 100 people that they “would like to know” that could be beneficial to their business. We then developed a couple strategies for contacting these people to get help in securing more business.

Building a Professional Network of contacts is essential to the success of your business! I am blessed to be associated with many very successful men and women. One thing that I observe with these folks is their use of their Professional Networks to get things done and to open doors for them. It’s impressive to see them in action! I’ve discussed with these successful people how they built their Professional Networks and why it is important to have such a network.

They all have told me that if it wasn’t for their contacts that they would have never been able to achieve the things they have. Building a Professional Network was essential to them and it is essential for you if you want to be successful.

In my career, I’ve had the privilege of meeting some of the most influential business and political leaders in the world. These meetings never would have occurred had it not been for other people that I know who helped me open doors.

When I am asked “What business are you in?” My typical response is that, “I am in the relationship building business.” It is my goal in life to build as large a professional and personal network as I can. It should be your goal as well.

I have developed my Professional Network into categories. These categories are broken down into the different business interest that I have. For example, in my insurance business, I have numerous categories for insurance contacts throughout the United States and Europe. These are underwriters, marketers, executives, and key decision makers in insurance companies. I also have put together as much detailed information on each of these people as possible. For example, I know who is married, how many children they have, what are their hobbies, etc for most of them.

In my real estate business I have categories for contractors, plumbers, painters, electricians, etc. I’ve also collected as much information as I can on each individual. What they like and what they don’t like. I learn about what’s important to them. In most cases I know who I can talk politics and religion with at anytime; which can be a touchy subject if not handled properly.

I have categories for people who have helped me with the non-profit work that I do. I know what type projects that they have a heart for supporting.

I recommend that you become a master at building a Professional Network of contacts. If you don’t know where to get started, then I would highly recommend Harvey MacKay’s book, “Dig Your Well Before You Are Thirsty.” I have read this book 3 times and each time I get one or two more “nuggets” of information about building a network. There are many other books on the market on the subject and the information on the internet is endless.

Another way to get started is to never meet a stranger! Become a friend to everyone you meet and be such a person that when the meeting is over that other person will leave knowing they have met someone special!

In our journey of like, you can only open up so many doors by yourself. As you progress through life, these doors will get more and more difficult to open by yourself. You’ll need a network of contacts that can more easily open those doors for you!

MAN ON A MISSION!

Larry G. Ledford

This “process” is called, “Larry’s 3 Steps to Success.” I have probably taught this process to more than 10,000 people around the world. The feedback that I have received from my students has always been that it has helped them maintain focus and to have a plan for achieving their goals. It is not rocket science, but a simple process that I use in every area of my life. I use it in my spiritual life, my family life, with achieving better health, my professional and financial life, and I’m applying it to having more fun in my life.

The process is broken down into Goals, Strategies, and Action Plans. I am a firm believer that you must have written goals for each area of your life. Most of you that know me, know that I am a Man On A Mission and you know that this means I have 5 priorities in my life. I call them my 5-F’s. 1^st “F”, Faith, 2^nd “F”, Family, 3^rd “F”, Fitness, 4^th “F” Finances and 5^th “F”, Fun. Faith, Family, Fitness, Finances and Fun. For each of these areas of my life I have very specific and written goals. I also have strategies for accomplishing the goals. And, for the strategies I have specific action plans. The “goals” are what I want to accomplish. The “strategies” are what I am going to do to reach the goals. The “action plans” are the implementation of the strategies.

Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? But to make sure you stay on track with accomplishing your goals, you must be sure that your goals are very specific and well written. For example, your goal can’t be “I want to be a millionaire.” We all know everyone wants to be a millionaire. So what else is new? You have heard me quote this before from H.L. Hunt, American’s first billionaire. Mr. Hunt stated that “you can have anything you want in this life, but first you know clearly what it is you want and then you have to ask yourself if you are wiling to pay the price to get it?” Well “Larry’s 3 Steps to Success” is a way for you to do just this. If you want to be a millionaire, then you must clearly write out that you want to be a millionaire (either from total assets or ‘liquid’) and you must state by what date you want to accomplish it. For example, I might state my goal like this. “My goal is to have $1 million cash saved, earning a minimum of 6.5% interest by January 1, 2015.” This goal is specific. A million dollars ‘cash’ and earning a fixed interest rate by a certain date in the future. Now that’s a goal!

Now to reach your goal you are going to have to do a little homework. Well, maybe a lot of homework! To determine what the “price” is that you are going to have to pay; you need to determine HOW you are going to reach this goal. These are called your strategies. Remember, strategies are “what” you are going to do to reach your goal. You may have to research 15-30 different strategies before you settle down on the strategies that are best for you.

I like to recommend that you choose the 3 best strategies that you are most likely to implement and fit within your capabilities and budgeting. One of the ways that I do this is to see the ‘end goal’ in my mind. I ‘picture’ the million dollars in cash sitting in my bank account and I’m looking at the annual interest statement that says I am earning 6.5% interest on my million dollars, or $65,000. With this picture in my mind, I think start thinking backwards as to what I had to do to achieve those million dollars. I picture what steps I had to take to ultimately accomplish the goal. I then just “walk-backwards” to step #1. This visualization really helps me in everything that I do. It can help you too.

So, for each goal you set, you have to research and pick the top 3 strategies for achieving the goal. In my own life, each of my strategies will have subcategories that help me along. I’m sure yours will too.

From strategies you move to “action plans.” Action plans are the actual doing and implementing of the strategies. Each strategy has a beginning and ending date. You have to put a time limit on your actions. This helps you maintain focus and lets you know at all times what you have to do.

I recommend that for each strategy, you develop 3 specific action plans.

So, my 3-Steps to Success looks like this, so far.

1-goal

3-strategies

9-action plans (call them plans, or steps, or anything else you want. The “doing” is key!

Using this process will always keep you on track and help you maintain focus. We all know in business, and in life, our plans don’t always work out. Using “Larry’s 3 Steps to Success” process will always provide you with specific steps you can follow to achieve your goals. If strategy #1 doesn’t work out using the action steps you outlined for that strategy, then you don’t even have to stop and start over again. You just move to strategy #2 and follow those action steps. I’ve never had to reach Strategy #3 because the first two failed. However, I’m often implemented strategy #3 to help me move quicker to my goals.

To summarize, to maintain focus, try “Larry’s 3 Steps to Success” process. For each goal you have in your life, regardless of what part of your life it is, you want to have a well thought out and clearly defined goal. For each goal you want to have 3 well researched and written strategies. For each strategy you want to have 3 (9 total) well researched and written action plans with start times and dates and ending times and dates.

Goals – Strategies – Action Plans! These are absolutely necessary if you want to maintain focus and achieve your goals! Give it a try; I’m confident that this process will work for you. It has helped thousands of others achieve their goals.

Until next time, may God be with you and may HE always be first in your life!

MAN ON A MISSION!

Larry G. Ledford

I really don’t consider myself successful yet. Mainly because I haven’t reached all the goals that my wife and I have established for ourselves, our family and our businesses. It’s a “work-in-progress” and it will continue to be a “work-in-progress” until the day that I die!

This morning I met with a young man that I love like my own son. He is a great Christian, newly married, and eager to succeed in life. I’ve been a mentor to him for many months. Every time I meet with him I hear the same old story about what he is doing in his business. He says he needs to make more money. He says he wants more time with his new bride. He says he wants to become financially independent. However what he doesn’t do or hasn’t done is heed the advice that I’ve shared with him about how to improve and grow his business. In other words, he takes the time to meet with me, aggressively seeks out my counsel, and then does not put into action what I share with him. By the way, he and I are both in the insurance business. I am, of course, an Independent Agent and he is a Captive Agent. But, we’re both in the same industry and marketing and selling our services are very similar.

I’ve shared with him, numerous times, the techniques, strategies, processes and systems that I have used to build my insurance practice. He hasn’t done any of them. Of course my Number One question to him was: “WHY haven’t you done these?” All I get in return is a “deer-in-the-heads” look! When it all came down to the one point that was holding him back it was “procrastination!”

Procrastination is probably the number one deal killer to your success. Putting off today what must be done until some date in the future. To me, procrastination is just another word for “not taking immediate action!” You’ve heard me say this many times before, “If you want your future to be worth more than your past, then you have to invest in the present!”

I’m as guilty as anyone of procrastination. It has been the down fall of many great opportunities that I have encountered. You have to ask yourself why do so many people destroy their futures because of procrastination?

Fear is one reason. People are afraid to fail. People are afraid to make mistakes. People are afraid of what others will think about them. People don’t like to hear the word “No.” Over coming fear is a lot easier than you think. One of the best ways to overcome fear is to face, head-on, whatever it is that you are most scared of and do it anyway. Look fear straight in the eyes and move forward anyway. Recently I was talking with a friend who is a highly decorated Special Forces soldier. I asked him if he was scared when he went on these dangerous missions all around the world. He said “Of course I am! But I can’t let fear hold me back. I seek out the missions that are the most dangerous and face fear head-on. In most cases, I find that what I thought I would be most scared of wasn’t as bad as I thought.” This is good advice when it comes to facing fear.

Not having a plan is another reason people are not successful. I have been guilty of this many times in my past too. I cannot say it any plainer… NO PLAN..NO SUCCESS! It wasn’t until I began deliberately planning each area of my life that I began to see real results. You know, the dumb thing for me was that I had been given this advice 30 years ago, but didn’t really begin following it until about 15 years ago. Another one of Larry Ledford’s “dumb, stupid, expensive, painful mistakes!” You must have a plan in your life of what you want to accomplish! And, it has to be written down!

It surprises me that people more time into planning a vacation than they do planning their financial futures. People will go to great extremes to make sure their vacations are well thought out, well planned, and properly written down. But they won’t put the same effort into planning for success in all areas of their lives.

Lack of focus is another reason people don’t achieve success. Last week I spent several hours counseling a client about their business. My advice to this client has been the same since she first hired me to be her coach, mentor and wealth building advisor. “Keep focused on what you do best. Make your current business successful before you go into another venture.” What do you think she wanted to talk about last week? Two more ventures that “offer great potential!” Neither of which has anything to do with her current business. For more than a month she had been focusing on how to make money in these two other ventures. All the while, her primary business, the one she is most passionate about, was losing money.

I own several businesses. My students often say to me, “Well, you have more than one business, why do you tell us to maintain focus when you don’t do it yourself?” This is a very legitimate question and here is my response to them. “I’m not opposed to you having more than one source of income. What I recommend is that you get a good income coming in from one business before you start on another one. Make the first one profitable first before starting another one. Once you get your primary business working properly and you have a positive cash flow business that produces you an income whether or not you’re at work, then, and only then, should you work on another source of income.” This is what I have done in my own life. It works for me. If you maintain this focus there will be a time that comes where you will spend more time working “ON” your business and financial success rather that “IN” your businesses.

My passion is to see people achieve success in all areas of their lives. The way I achieve this in my life is not the “only” way, but “A” way. The advice that I am recommending to you is based on years of making “dumb, stupid, expensive, painful mistakes.” I’m hoping that you will learn from these and develop a plan of action that will put you on the road to success. But more than success, I hope it puts you on a path to happiness!

I believe it was H. Jackson Brown that said: “In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins – not through strength but by perseverance.” Good advice! If you want to be successful…PERSERVERE!!

Be sure to be looking out for future blogs about my opinions on achieving success. I will go into further detail about this soon. Meanwhile, God bless!

MAN ON A MISSION!

Larry G. Ledford

Our country is full of opportunity! We can create our opportunities each day we live in this country. No matter what your background, education, race or religion is, you can create opportunity in America. It amazes me to talk with these people from other countries and have them tell me how lucky we are to be so free and to have the ability to make so many choices.

We keep making excuses here in America. We turn our heads towards anything that can make our lives easier. You and I both know that to be successful in America, it takes hard work! Pure and simple…hard work. By the way, what is wrong with hard work? God worked 6 days and then rested on the 7^th. HE probably did it without a pension plan, promises of being socially correct or rather politically correct. My dad once told me, “son, you need to work 12 hours a day to get ahead. It don’t matter if it’s the first half or the second half, but working hard will get you ahead.” I probably took him literally, because it seems that I work at least 12 hours a day and most often six-days a week! But I love what I do. So it doesn’t seem like work to me.

Are you really ready to achieve success in your life? Are you willing to “pay-the-price” to have a better life for yourself and your family? Did you know that the more you succeed the stronger our country becomes? The stronger your family becomes? The stronger you will become? There have been times in my life where I could have filed for unemployment, even received food stamps and maybe some other welfare subsidies. But I made a promise to myself long, long ago, that I would never do those things but that I would do whatever it takes to achieve financial success in my life so that I could provide the best I can for my family.

If you want change in your life, if you want to have your future to be worth more than your past, then you have to invest in the present! If you don’t you’ll just keep on the same old path you are on now. You can lie to a lot of people in this world, but ultimately you can’t lie to yourself.

First comes the “desire.” Something inside you will start burning a hole in your gut. Actually it will be your conscience bothering you. That desire will have to get so strong that it will not let you sleep at night. That desire will force you to have to start making some “decisions.”

It won’t be one or two decisions either and they won’t be easy! The decisions you will have to make will force you to make some major changes in your lifestyle, in your attitudes, and in your priorities in life. When all the “right” decisions have been made, they will lead you to “action.”

I’m not talking about just getting out of bed at a different hour type of action, I’m talking about massive action! The kind that puts your butt into gear and keeps it in gear even when you think you can’t go anymore! It’s the kind of action that will require you to correct and/or get rid of old habits. It’s the kind of action that will keep you clearly focused on what it is you are trying to accomplish.

Desire, decisions and massive action…. Three necessary steps and stages that you have to go through to achieve anything worthwhile in your life.

Opportunity is all around us! We don’t have to go far to find it. In fact, most opportunity is located in the six-inches between your ears! One of the blessings of America is that we can create opportunity out of nothing but a good idea or dream. America, even with all our current financial problems, unemployment, and political unrest and mistrust, provides us with more opportunities than any other country on earth. I’ve been to many countries and none provide what America provides.

You want opportunity? Then open up your eyes, your heart and put that good ole American sweat equity to work for yourself.

Start the process now to improve your life. Otherwise one of these days one of these highly motivated individuals from another country will come to America and they just may take your opportunity away from you! Remember, opportunity doesn’t come knocking. Opportunity is all around you. Your job is to recognize it and take action.

MAN ON A MISSION!
Larry G. Ledford

Well it has finally happened!  I have succumbed to the technology world and will be “attempting” to become proficient at blogging!  It wasn’t too long ago I didn’t even know what a blog was.  But after much coaching, encouraging and often, much needed, kicks in the seat of the pants by my good friend Whit Gillon (my webmaster), I’m starting a new dimension to my business building and marketing efforts.

As many of you know, that know me, I have a sincere passion for helping people to improve their lives.  Let me begin by first saying that very few of you have been more broke or as deep in debt as I have.   It wasn’t too many years ago that I was in such terrible shape, both financially and physically, that I was just about ready to give up on life.

But a good thing happened one day.  I “had-it-out” with God!  On that date, December 18, 1988 I decided to start doing things HIS way, instead of mine.  I’m sure glad that I listened!

I like to tell people in my seminars and training programs that I have never failed at anything in my life.  Of course they look at me like I’m nuts!  How can a person who was deep in debt, broke, and having very few options not be a failure?  Simple, after the December 18th meeting with God I simply took the word “failure” out of my vocabulary!

What you call “failure” I now call “dumb, stupid, expensive, and painful mistakes!”  In fact, I think I’ve got the first PhD in making dumb, stupid, expensive and painful mistakes.  A few years ago I was tallying up all the dumb, stupid, expensive and painful mistakes that I have made in my life.  What I came up with as 21 MAJOR dumb, stupid, expensive and painful mistakes.  These were just the BIG ones!  There were hundreds of others.  Well, today I have 23!!

Why is this important? Because from this point on, it is part of my mission in life to let people know that it is okay to fail and to make dumb, stupid, expensive and painful mistakes.  Of course I don’t want you to make a career out of this!  But I do want people to know that if you truly want to succeed in life, in all areas of life, that you can’t be afraid to move forward after failing or making “dumb, stupid, expensive and painful mistakes.”  In fact, it is necessary for you to make them fast, make the often and as soon as you can and get them out of your way as fast as possible!

I will tell you this up-front, I consider myself a full time Missionary, but I’m disguised as a businessman!  In future BLOGS I will be sharing with you important information on building successful businesses.  I’ve built three!  I have expertise in only a few areas of business and in many areas of life.  My goal is to help people improve their lives.  All areas of their life; spiritual, family, physically, financially, etc.  I want to see people become successful.  I have a firm belief that everyone is capable of improving their lives.  I know what it’s like to be broke and I know what it’s like to be hungry.  I never want to go back to that life again and I don’t want you to either!
I will be leaving next Monday on a very important trip to the Middle East.  Your prayers for a successful and safe trip would be greatly appreciated!

Larry Ledford
MAN ON A MISSION!