Jim Rohn, The Beastie Boys, and Your Success

I was lucky enough to be in the audience for Jim Rohn's last speech. I took about 20 pages of notes and still refer to those notes (scribbled on some hotel scratch paper) more than any notes I have ever taken. Rohn passed away in December of 2009 and will likely be remembered as one of the top speakers ever on the subject of success.

The Beastie Boys, on the other hand, are pioneers of rap music. Most people know the Beasties from their early "...Fight For Your Right (To Party)" days, but the group is actually one of the longest running acts in hip hop, with roots dating back to 1979.

One of the lessor known songs from the Beastie Boys came out in 1992, titled "Skills To Pay The Bills".

Now, I'm pretty sure Jim Rohn was not the long lost 4th member of the Beastie Boys, but they do have this concept of "skills" in common. (Just for fun, now would be a good time to mentally picture Jim Rohn with a New York Mets baseball cap and a VW emblem around his neck).

Jim Rohn consistently talked about the fact that "Your skills determine your future".

Which begs the question...

What have you done in the last 30 days to improve your skills?

I believe that there are two things that will set you apart from the crowd in Network Marketing, Direct Sales, and Internet Marketing.

1. Your dedication to personal development (skills).

2. Your consistent work habit.

I suspect that many of you have bought "info products" in the last 6 months, spending $297 or more on the latest and greatest training.

I applaud you for stepping out and taking the first step to learning new skills (buying the training).  I actually spend 5 figures a year on my own training and it's always worth every penny.

However, I am willing to bet that many of you have not even "cracked the seal" on the latest training that you spent your hard earned money on.  Now. I'm not here to make you feel guilty, but maybe it is time for a little wake up call.

You will not find success by simply buying every training you run across.  You've got to study and then you've got to implement what you learn.

I see more and more people talk about "information overload" and to some extent I think that is a real problem in our industry today.  The newest person has no idea who to listen to.

Allow me to give you a piece of advice...

Develop a skill.

Here are some possibilities:

    •    Blogging with Wordpress
    •    Buiding A Facebook Fan Page
    •    Google + 1

If you chose to become an expert on one of these (or hundreds of other) topics, you can then teach the topic to people on your team. 

You become the trusted adviser in your community on the topic.

As a trusted adviser, you can create and sell an information product on the topic.  You can offer coaching to people on the topic. You can give away a short training on the topic as a lead generation funnel.

The possibilities are endless, and today's online environment is moving in the direction of specialization as opposed to gurus who know everything there is to know about marketing.  This shift opens up a lot of doors for people just like you to shine.

So shine and remember what Jim Rohn said,  "your skills determine your future" or with a nod to the Beastie Boys, "You Got The Skills To Pay The Bills".