Now it’s time to raise the setting on your Wealth Thermostat™ and take the actions necessary to make your own WealthShift™.
- You learned in the WealthShift how powerful even seemingly tiny actions can be if they are taken consistently and your results from them are allowed to compound.
My buddy Gary Homann has a great story he tells that illustrates how you can put this concept into practice immediately today.
The Jar Of Rocks
A few years back Gary was training to run his first marathon.
- Now, Gary and I have been buddies since high school and he’s an awesome guy but I have a deep suspicion he has some kind of latent sado-masochist tendencies because he didn’t choose just any marathon to run, he chose the Pike’s Peak Marathon, one of the hardest in the world.
Basically, you run 13 miles up the mountain and then 13 miles back down. Even the best marathoners in the world usually have their times double when running this one so “lots of pain” doesn’t even begin to describe the experience of this kind of nuttiness.
Hold on… yep, I thought so…
…My entire body is quivering in pain just from the THOUGHT of doing such a thing, much less the reality of actually going through with it.
But go through with it Gary did.
- And the method that he used is directly applicable to our conversation about wealth today.
You see, when he started training, he was living in Flagstaff, AZ and he was literally standing at the bottom of the mountain looking up at the peak way off yonder in the clouds - probably…
…Exactly how you often feel when contemplating the kind of wealth you’d like to have in your life vs. what you think you have right now.
Each of his training runs, he had to go a bit further until he could make it up and eventually back down the entire mountain.
- Rather than focusing on how long the run would take, how fast he wanted to go, or how far from his goal he still was, he did something simple- and incredibly powerful - and you can do the same.
Every time he did a run he picked up a small stone from wherever the top of his run was that day. He came home and dropped the stone into a glass jar. Each day he could look at that jar and see it slowly filling up with stones.
No matter how distracted he got, how tired he felt or what else happened that day, he could always take satisfaction in the jar of rocks, which indicated all the progress he had made, even if it often felt like he wasn’t making any progress at all.
Eventually he finished all his training runs, finished the marathon and can now impress me with his story of how he did it all, a level of dedication and pain I won’t even being to aspire to myself. 
- The key here is - and this is the part that helps you increase your own wealth - he chose a simple daily indicator that he was taking the right ACTION, rather than continually obsessing about the results (or lack thereof) like most people do.
And the other critical component of this whole concept is - knowing that if he did the right actions consistently (training runs), it was natural and inevitable that he’d eventually reach the mountain top and finish the marathon - he could then relax and enjoy the runs… and relax and enjoy his time off between runs - because his jar of rocks gave him a simple indicator that he was indeed on track and would indeed eventually reach his goal.
- Using the same principle will help you make your own WealthShift™ and give you the confidence (and serenity) that you are on track toward your financial goals.
It also works for any area of your personal life you want to improve as well.
Let’s put it into practice now:
Your Business Creation Experiment for today is to choose one way you can have your own “Jar Of Rocks” to keep you on the path toward building your business or growing your income.
- You want to decide on three things: 1) What is the objective you are after; 2) What is the daily action that if you take it consistently will play the biggest role in helping you achieve that objective, and 3) What is your “rock” you will use as a daily indication of the progress you are making?
Some examples may help you…
- One of my chiropractor clients decided that they wanted to save and invest more money - so each time they adjusted a new patient, they took a dollar bill and threw it into a glass jar - once a week they deposited all the dollars in the bank and their savings added up simply and painlessly.
- An online marketer decided they wanted to increase traffic to their website. The actions that drove the most traffic were writing an article for an ezine each day. They figured out that each article they published netted them $404 in profit. So each day they committed to writing that one article - to reward themselves they took 25% of their profit - a crisp new $100 bill- and stuck it in their purse to use for anything they wanted to spend it on. The other $304 they reinvested in their business to keep it growing.
- A salesperson put a twist on this concept that worked great. He loved to eat- but hated to introduce himself to new people who could be prospects for him. So he did a “Reverse Jar Of Rocks” - he filled up a jar with his favorite candy bars - and every time he introduced himself to a new prospect, he got to take a candy bar out of the jar and eat it. The more he wanted candy, the more prospects he introduced himself to.
Now it’s your turn.
- Come up with your own application of this principle. It doesn’t have to involve jars at all but what you do want is a specific objective, a specific daily action to move toward that objective, and a specific tangible way of tracking your progress to that objective.
Be creative and have some FUN with this - the more creative and the more fun, the more likely it will be to work for you.
Share your ideas and what you come up by posting a comment below, and watch your own WealthShift™ kick into gear.
-Jeff
September 26th, 2008 at 5:40 am
I will make a committment to complete my Website. I will read all the relevant information to help me set this up. I want to have this up and running by the end of next week. For every day that I miss and dont do anything, I will sacrifice all entertainment for the whole following week.
September 26th, 2008 at 7:14 am
Objectives. 1- Need to top up my pension. 2 - Biggest problem is lack of skills. Intend to study software packages bought but not implemented to sell via Network Marketing. 3 - Keep brief notes daily on progress.
September 26th, 2008 at 8:19 am
OK in order to reset my thermostat I will set a goal of reinvesting energy and capital of 10 hours per week toward my website. For each week that I reach 10 hours I will reward myself with an evening out. When I have not invested the time, I will have to reorganize a room or closet instead of an enjoyable evening
September 26th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Ok, here is my jar of rocks.Each day, other than learning more about keywords, I will write a blog entry about my experience of building an internet business from scratch. My blog is currently being written from the point of view of the expert- business coach, or management consultant. If I switch it to reflect my own challenges and wins I think that might contribute more to the reader-(if there are any readers at this point)- it’s a new blog. Just to keep me honest, here is the web address: http://www.business-ecology.blogspot.com. Ugh, now I know I’m committed. It has a very distinctive feeling characterized by..”ugh.”LOL.
Palen
September 26th, 2008 at 10:05 am
I give away a quote a day.Some are my own, and many are quotes by great people. It takes a reasonable amount of time finding, selecting and approving each quote and loading them into an autoresponder. It is like an endless task.
I have a short story which explains a quote I use for inspiration. It goes like this; There is a rock field, where ants have been crawling accross for thousands of years, following the same path. They have dug grooves into the rocks, that are taller than the ants.
” When the Ant Crawls the Rock is Worn Away…”
Get a Free Quote a Day
http://www.gainuniquewisdom.com
September 26th, 2008 at 11:07 am
That’s funny you should have mentioned this topic. Just recently, I had decided to write weekly articles concerning your mindset: your mission, your vision, your plan of action. I hope to compile all of these into an e-book. I have yet to decide what to do about the e-book upon completion, whether to give it away as an incentive or market it…time will tell. This is generic so it will fit in with anything I’m marketing. I’m gaining quite a bit of information while researching these articles which is definately improving my marketing skills. If you’d like a taste, I’ve posted the first chapter on my blog, which is basically an introduction so far.
http://dalelovett.blogspot.com/
Dale (mrsmaxxx)
September 26th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Here’s my jar of rocks - I’ve already said I’m going to write articles for my blogs, so every day I do, I’ll post a copy on my office wall. When I miss a day, I’ll remove one. That will make me do my best to keep the pile growing, as I’m my own worst critic.
Jane.
September 26th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
My objective to to launch a fully functional website. The problem is that I currently have multiple sites which are in various stages of completion. This understaking has put a massive strain on me (and I’m working it full time!) Too many irons in the fire! Therefore, I am going to collapse and consolidate my action items into a manageable and practical set of objectives. From these objectives, I will create a weekly checklist with a breakout for every day of the daily actions to be completed. I will complete a single action fully and completely every day prior to moving on to the next action. My “jar of rocks” will be the successful completion of my daily action items…they must be checked as completed prior to my moving on. The penalty for not completing the day’s action items will be that anything remaining (in other words that I did not complete) will have to be consolidated in with the next day’s action items. Since I abhor not meeting a daily checklist of “to do” items, once I create it, I will have a tremendous amount of incentive to complete my action items on time. I believe that this will bring some sanity and organization to my efforts and produce measurable, meaningful and consistent steps…no matter how small, they do add up.
You want to decide on three things: 1) What is the objective you are after; 2) What is the daily action that if you take it consistently will play the biggest role in helping you achieve that objective, and 3) What is your “rock” you will use as a daily indication of the progress you are making?
September 26th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Isn’t it interesting that many of the comments included a “punishment” for not accomplishing their daily action. Jeff never mentioned negative sanctions. I think the lesson was about small, doable daily tasks that we have some visible means of logging the accomplishment of so we can feel satisfaction on the overall growth and progress. Why must we assume we will fail at something and have a “punishment” in place beforehand? Isn’t this what we are supposed to be avoiding?
Just my thought on the matter.
September 26th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
I love all these examples: I can see the ants crawling along in their groove. I can see the wall plastered with articles. I can see e-books growing chapter by chapter and web sites growing page by page. For me, I am making a list of things to do each day (e.g. write ezine articles and post in blog and clean up the mess in my office…) On the left hand side of the page, I’m writing only the things I can commit to doing and completing and that make my heart sing to imagine accomplishing. On the right hand side of the page, I’m writing down all the things I want the Universe to take care of (e.g. writing a short article about something I care about goes on left and cleaning up my office goes on the right). I’m reaching for what feels good to me and is in alignment with who I am and what I want my business to feel like when it’s wildly successful. I’m committing myself to what I know I can accomplish and is in alignment with that. The rest will be taken care of…..I trust.
September 26th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
I have a jar ready. I have a sheet in it and I am making an obligation to record 10% of anything I earn to go into my savings.
September 26th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
I will make a commitment that everyday I have to post a free Ads to help me, on a low cost direct traffic to my web sites plus at least two paid Ads every month. If i can achieve this I will reward myself with an evening out every two weeks. Rewarding yourself is another way to boost your moral about your business and it encourages you to move forward.
September 27th, 2008 at 1:04 am
The jar works if you work it. Positive is better than negative. Little reminders throughout your day work better than one a day…
i will exercise each day for 1/2 hour and reward myself by sewing something in my crafts room for 15 minutes… I have a lifetime of projects to get to! The major priority there is to get elastic into the waist of my son’s pants as he is sooo hard to fit! He is 26 with severe Cerebral palsy and Mental Retardation. A job in itself! But then it is only with people like Jeff that I will progress in the right direction in my goals for my life!
Sunita Pandit
September 27th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
My objective is going to be to get a proper store set up on my other website. I need to study up and learn how to do this.
I will spend at least one hr on work nights and at least two on each day off to just work on this step.
I will record my time spent on this step (maybe with stars, lol) and replace the stars with a monitary value later to use for something just for fun.
September 27th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
P.S. ……..NO PUNNISHMENT FOR ME if I don’t make my goals.
September 28th, 2008 at 1:41 am
My objective is to find something I truly enjoy doing, i.e. writing, and see if i could make any money doing it. I have enrolled in a two year course and the indicator if it is successful will be if the checks roll in. It’s a risk because I have 4 kids but I figure life is short and I don’t want to spend the next 20 odd years feeling like i did what someone else wanted me to do. I may have to have several things going at the same time. Nothing negative.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:32 am
Hi Jeff,
When I did my Ironman in August this year I experienced a pretty good swim, the biking went fantastic and the running was a disaster. I tried to fuel my body during the whole competition but I just couldn’t get enough carbohydrates into my body and I “bonked” during the running.
I’ve analyses the experience afterwards and one cause could have been that I’ve not teached my body to use fat as primal energy during the end of a competition.
That will be my new habit.
I’ll change my way of eating. I’ll will put in more good fats in my nutrition and I’ll turn down the amount of carbohydrates in my dieting and turn up the amount of good fats. That will take some planning and most of all. Everyday action.
I need to come up with a follow-up tool as well. I’ll be back on this part.
Best!
Lars
September 29th, 2008 at 8:03 am
Each day I will write for 15 minutes and put a penny into a jar on my desk
September 29th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
I empty my pocket change into a can. One year we went on a holiday thanks to the spare change.
The money is starting to build up again & I would like to sign up for a network marketing coaching course.
There’s only one thing stopping me…The Terror Bearrier, will I get what I’ve paid for or would the vacation be better?
There’s only one way to find out & that’s to go for it!
September 29th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Wow! Joyce Dahlquist has it right! Positive actions = positive reinforcements. I was pleased to hear how my wife described how she accomplished the many tasks of daunting housework. She would start in the corner of the kitchen, and work her way back to the bathroom and the bedrooms. She was energized by the progress she made when she looked at what was completed as she continued working her way back through the house!
I am trying to build websites and write blogs and just do it all. I will incorporate the jar idea to encourage me to keep moving forward and upward! When my jar is filled I will start another one!
September 30th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
I am trying to build websites and write blogs and just do it all. I will incorporate the jar idea to encourage me to keep moving forward. When my jar is filled I will start another one!
Neat
October 1st, 2008 at 2:02 pm
My Jar: Every day I will post a new online ad. Every day I shall speak to or email 1 person about my product. Once a week I will spend 1 hour reading/learning about internet marketing. No punishment, no reward - Just do It!
October 8th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
I need to spend at least one hour everyday improving and completing my website. Once I have reached a reasonable level of completion, I plan to change my objective to monitoring which part attracts the most reward and then set a new tangible monetary objective.