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Persistence in Business — Basketball Memories

Persistence in Business
Basketball Memories Remind Us the Importance of Persistence
It takes persistence to consistently win!

Persistence in business sometimes has some unusual parallels.

Last night, my granddaughter invited me to take her to our local high-school men’s basketball game.

I had one student in particular I wanted to watch play. His grandfather and I were in the same class at this local high-school.

This student is a freshman; however, I remembered seeing him play last year at the junior-high games. I thought I might get to see him play in both games. When I got there, though, about a minute after the JV game started, he was not on the floor. Then I spotted him in dress clothes sitting behind our bench.

Finally, I realized he was not playing for the JV game because he was a starter for the varsity.

Last year, our school had a nearly undefeated season. They lost one game in a winter tournament, and then they lost again, having advanced to the regional tournament.

At least four regular players from that team were seniors, so the makeup of this year’s team is quite different. They had a senior and another boy who was either a junior or a senior. I don’t remember what grade the middle starter was in. Then they had two freshmen.

To make matters worse, we played a school that happened to be our arch rivals when my friend and I were in high school. We lost quite handily, although I did get to see the freshman I came to watch make some very good plays.

When we were in high school, we always wanted to beat this rival team. Many times we would get close, but we just never could get over the hump … Except … One time we played them on their home court. It was their homecoming game, and on that particular night, we did win — by one point!

Persistence does pay off. Even when an athlete does not play on a team with a winning season, he or she often learns the importance of integrity, fair play, good exercise, coordination, and contributing to the work of a team.

I even joked to a college coach with whom I became good friends. I told him a joke I often used. I said, “I was one of the ones who made the first five great!” meaning that I was faithful in practice, but I was never one of the starters on the team.

I thought he would get a kick out of that. Instead, he very seriously replied, “A good practice player is worth his weight in gold.”

Persistence in business pays off. You may not hit the top of the sales in your particular niche. Yet, you may do well enough that you reach the point to where you can quit your “day job.” You may reach the point to where you have freedom of schedule. You will still work hard as you work for yourself, but it will be a very rewarding journey.

Let’s just remember that persistence pays off. Who knows, by the time my friend’s grandson is a senior, they may have an almost undefeated season again.

Persistence in home-based businesses coupled with good information pays off greatly. A program called “Wealthy Affiliate” is one of the best places I know to get the good information and training a person would need to succeed in an online business.

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Mort Fertel’s Marriage Fitness Review: An Alternative to Marriage Counseling

Mort Fertel's Marriage Fitness Program
Fix Your Marriage
Marriage Fitness Review
Fix Your Marriage Now

My Ratings: 9.9 out of 10

Product: Three Options, Audio Files, Tele-Boot Camp, Private Sessions
Price: $69.95 Audio, $179/mo. for 3 months, or $875+ private sesseions
Review Focus: The Marriage Fitness Tele-Boot Camp, $179/mo 3 times
 My Rating: 9.9 out of 10

Mort Fertel’s Marriage Fitness Program – Product Overview

This Marriage Fitness review features Mort Fertel’s Marriage Fitness Program.

The Tele-Boot camp includes 7 Teleconference calls. These are the heart of the customization of this program to your situation. During each hour-long call Mort conducts an open-mic Q and A teleconference. You can listen for answers if you wish. Better yet, you can ask your own specific questions. If you can’t make the scheduled, you can listen to the recorded sessions.

In addition to the tele-conferences, you will have access to a solutions library of audio files. This is the most comprehensive marriage-crisis audio library in the world. Whatever your problem, the solution is here. Got a question? You’ll find the answer here too. There are 162 audio files searchable by topic. Just click, listen, and you’ll go from confused and frustrated to clear and calm. User feedback indicates that the most compelling and solution-oriented content is here. Many users listen to these audio files multiple times.

Then there is a 15-part audio learning system in a designated sequence rather than wide array of topic in the solutions library. Choose between CDs or instant digital online access. This audio series will answer every question you have about how to transform your marriage. And you’ll get step-by-step instructions on how to turn your marriage around. 

Accompanying the 15-part audio learning system is a 200 page workbook and personal journal.

Further, you receive an autographed copy of Mort’s book, Marriage Fitness: 4 Steps to Building and Maintaining Phenomenal Love.

You will receive 7 key Homework Assignments, an Implementation Schedule, and 5 Marriage Assessments.

All of the materials can be accessed through a special members-only website.

Benefits of Identification

Concerning Your Marriage, Have You Ever Heard or Felt the Following:

  • Have you wondered how you can fix the “I love you, but I’m not in love with you” declaration?
  • We’ve tried counseling, but all we do is fight about the past
  • I really wish there was a way to wipe the slate clean
  • We need to find a way to rekindle “Desire” in our marriage
  • My spouse doesn’t trust me anymore. How can I fix that?
  • How do I know if I married the right person
  • How can I get my spouse to change?

Benefits of Practical Solutions

The Marriage Fitness Program has 90% success rate. Instead of spending hours dealing with the past, you will find practical techniques that will bring hope in the following areas:

  • How to increase the effectiveness of your marriage
  • How to forgive and be forgiven
  • How to get over the past
  • How to reconnect with your spouse
  • How to work on your marriage even if your spouse is resistant by using “The Lone Ranger Track”
  • How to ruin their affair if your spouse is involved in one
  • How avoid a separation or stop a divorce
Mort Fertel - Founder of the Marriage Max Marriage Fitness Program
Mort Fertel – Founder of Marriage Max and the Marriage Fitness Program

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Focuses on Present Solutions, not dwelling on past mistakes
  • Author and wife discovered the techniques while rescuing their own marriage
  • There is a track for one spouse when the other will not participate
  • Except for the one-on-one in-person counseling, the cost is relatively low compare to long periods of traditional counseling
  • Is an alternative to traditional marriage counseling
  • Has three different levels of participation to meet differing budgets
  • Has a 90% success rate

Cons

  • Is not traditional counseling — Some may feel the need for the traditional route
  • The in-person meetings are quite expensive
  • When the other spouse is not on board, the program will likely take longer
  • The least expensive option does not have the interactive features that the recommended option has
  • Those who are not “teachable” are likely to fail because of not giving the techniques a fair chance
  • Not everyone will have the technology to receive the full benefits of the Tele-Boot Camp Option

It’s Conclusive For Me: Marriage Fitness Is an Outstanding Product

I certainly like this product. The principles are common-sense items. The cost is truly low enough that it would be worth the try for anyone who strongly desires improve or restore his or her marriage.

If this sounds appealing to you, I highly recommend you get Mort’s Free Report on 7 Secrets to Fixing Your Marriage, and that you enroll in one of his subsequent programs.

I hope you enjoyed this review, and if you have any questions about The Marriage Fitness Program or want to leave your own personal review, please leave a comment below.

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Overcoming Obstacles to Success – Reflections on the Way to a Speaking Engagement

Overcoming obstacles to success came to my mind on the way to, and following, a speaking engagement.

Occasionally, I meet with a group of pastors for breakfast. Those are always great times of fellowship.

Overcoming Obstacles to Success - Reflections on the Way to a Speaking Engagement
Water Across the Road: A Major Obstacle

A couple of months ago, Harlen Johnson, the moderator of the East Central District Quarterly Meeting asked me If I had plans for Saturday, January 11. He then asked if I would speak on the day of their quarterly meeting. I checked my calendar, and I was glad to accept.

We reconfirmed the next time we ate breakfast together. Then he said he got a text from one of the men in his church saying that it looked a little like the weather might be dicy that day. So, he asked if I would also be able to come the following Saturday if they had to cancel that day. I said I could, so I penciled in the next Saturday, hoping that it would become available when I got to keep the first date.

Two days before the event, we confirmed we were having it on the original date. The weather was not predicted to be the best, but it was mainly going to be a rain event and not one of ice and snow.

Oak Valley church is just a little over 60 miles north. It could take any from somewhere between an hour and an hour and-a-half to get there, depending which route I took. I had directions for a safer route, but I opted for the shorter route that was listed on the GPS program.

I knew that could be dangerous. The road could be blocked at some point because of the abundance of rain we had the night before. It was not storming, but the rain was still gently coming down too.

Would I make it? Would I have to call and tell them I would be late? Would I have a cell-phone signal if I had to make that call?

It turns out that there was only one spot where water was coming across the road. The weather forecasters always tell us not to drive through water because even as little as four inches can sweep a car across the road. I had to take a calculated risk. It really was not much of a risk at all. I could that there were no strong currents, and the water appeared to only be about a half-inch deep, if that. I made it fine.

I was speaking on Jeremiah 14, and one of the things mentioned in that passage was that of natural disasters.

I was reminded that earlier this year, just south of where I live, there were communities devastated by floods–natural disasters.

Reflecting on this for the business world, when a natural disaster hits a business, there are two options. First, you can rebuild. Secondly, you can regroup and move on.

Unfortunately, there is a third option, and that is to quit altogether.

Among others, there are three major obstacle to success in business. One of the major ones is to quit. Many times, if we could have seen the future, we would have realized that success was just around the corner. It does take a while for the cumulative effect of your efforts to see fruit. Though none of can see the future. Many successful people have the opinion that others quit too easily or too quickly.

Another obstacle is that of fear. I could have allowed the fear of driving through the water keep me from getting to my destination on time. I am grateful that it was easy to see, in this case, that my fear was groundless. How many people are there who miss their dreams because of fear of failure?

A final obstacle is the perception that I don’t have time to pursue my dreams. That can be a tricky one, depending on how many present commitments you have. However, the way to overcome this is to establish whether your dream is a priority in your life. If it is, you will find things to let go in order to carve out time for new things in your life, such as that dream business. Most of us can also benefit from time-management techniques.

I run across many people who would like to write books. In fact, surveys have shown that over 80% of the poplulation would like to write a book. Yet, far less than 10% ever accomplish that goal.

Would you like “Time Management Tips for Writers”? Just tell me where to send it below:




Happy day! Happy life! Happy Business!

Plough through your obstacles!

Until next time,

Randy

P.S. I listed three obstacles to success. What are some that you see? Please comment below.

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Life Is Short – Time Management Techniques and Strategies for Writers

I have three friends who have reminded me that time is short – even when it might seem long. Each reminded me of the need for making the most of the time we have. Since I am a writer and some of you are writers, this concept reinforces even more the need for time management techniques and strategies for writers.

Time management techniques and Strategies for Writers

First, my friend, Roger, with whom I have gone on several missions trips for the ministry of which he was director, had a heart catheterization a couple of days ago. The doctors said his heart is strong, but there were some other issues that would continue to give him some problems. He is still with us, and he even said, “I’ll probably see you Thursday.”

Thursday is when we meet together with a prayer- and Bible-study group. Then after that, I always say, “is when we have the real meeting.” Several of us follow up by eating breakfast together.

Then I had another friend, Jim, who had some heart problems last year, received word later in the year that certain tests showed a high likelihood of cancer. He went back for another test, and the indicators were not as great. So, the doctors then wanted him to have an MRI that would be very specific to their suspicions.

When Jim met with the doctor for the results, the doctor said, “I don’t know how to explain it, but the results are zero.” Jim said he knew how to explain it because many people, and especially his wife, had been praying for him!

Last Sunday we went to the memorial service for Aunt Dorothy, my wife’s aunt who passed away. You see Aunt Dorothy was able to stay in her own home until she passed away. In a couple of weeks, she would have been 100. She said, after a visit to the doctor, “No one knows how much time they have.”

None of us know how much time we have, so we should make the best of the days we do have.

In order to beat the enemy of procrastination, writers have to set up deadlines. If they don’t have those, they may never get done. They can be self imposed or they can be put in place by a publisher.

I would like to give you a free gift, “Time Management for Writers.” Get it quickly because I am going to have to shorten the report. Many of my friends tell me that I have “given away the farm” with this report. In fact one friend put the info in place and finished his book. That is great, but, really I am offering a coaching program that will walk others through the process of getting their dream books done. Some will get this report and still want the extra benefits of coaching, but, like I say, there is enough here to help you get your book done. Just fill out the info below to sign up.




Now, if you wait till the report is revised, you will still get a great value. It’s just that I probably won’t give away the farm completely forever.

Go here to check out some more about writing your book.

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Avery’s Money Pizza

Would You Like to Have Money So Plentiful That Getting More Would be Like Picking up a Pizza?

Yesterday, we went to my grandson’s, Avery’s, seventeenth birthday party. Here is a picture of him with Rhonda and me. He has passed both of us in height!

Avery with Randy and Rhonda
He Doesn’t Even Have His Shoes On!

We wanted to give some money for a gift, but Rhonda got a little creative after seeing a post on Facebook or Pinterest.

She had been in Marion for a ladies’ seminar planning meeting, and on the way home she went through the drive-through of a local pizza place. She told the girl helping her what she was planning because she had asked if she could jut buy a box with nothing in it. After she told the young lady what she was going to do, the girl grinned and blurted out,

“Oh, Will you be my Grandma!”

Avery’s Money Pizza

Here is a picture of the present we gave Avery.

Admittedly, they were just all $1 bills, but I think he liked it very much.

Wouldn’t it be great if making money were as easy as investing 65 cents in a pizza box and then receiving 15 times that in return.

In our case, the love of family is greater than finances, but finances do help!

Several years ago, I started experimenting with making money online through internet marketing. One of the ways to do that is through affiliate marketing, and the best place I found to learn how to do that is a site called, “Wealthy Affiliate.”

I started taking the training and working with the program. Before long, I had enough coming in from affiliates to cover the cost of my program.

I was still working my “Day Jobs” and doing my other ventures of writing books and doing some public speaking. I also continued as a bivocational minister. Each time the revenue from those online ventures increased, my “day jobs” picked up. For instance I started as a part-time adjunct professor at the start of a new college and moved through the ranks to become the provost before I left. Those claims on my time caused me to be work less on my online ventures, but I kept learning.

Since I “retired,” I am getting back into the swing of things and am enjoying it vary much. During that time with the college, I finished books nine and ten of my writing projects, and am currently working on a collaborative book.

I am offering coaching for those who would like to be writers, and in the next few weeks, I will be offering a course on writing. For those of you interested in the personal coaching options, you can click here.

My your days be prosperous and your times with family filled with joy.

Wishing you the best in 2020,

Randy

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A Quiet Air of Respect

I attended the funeral of Tom Julian this afternoon. He was a man for whom I have a great deal of respect.

Tom and his wife, Wava, were good friends with my parents. They often visited and played games together.

Tom Julian – A Man of Integrity and Respect

That meant that their children and I were good friends too. We played together while our parents were playing games. I remember their oldest son, Danny, had all kinds of cool stuff. He had an erector set and a reel to reel tape recorder (It may not have exclusively been his, but I remember us playing with it.)

Danny and Patty and their younger sister, Kathy were closer in age to me. We remember going on camping trips with our parents. Brian and John came along later, so I did not know them as well.

Kathy remembers liking my comic book collection. She would borrow some and give them back the next time we visited. She especially liked the Archie comics.

I remember Tom being a man of integrity, a good carpenter and woodworker (although his occupation was coal miner). He even made their own pop-up camper. I also, however, remember him as a man who was faithful in church.

I told his older children, whom I knew well because they were closer to my age, “I don’t know if it was his Christianity showing through, or what, but I always thought of him as being a man that displayed a quiet air of respect.” They agreed.

How this relates to my business interests is that displaying respect always pays off. Also, in the series of books I am writing on marriage, I talk about the importance of respect. That will be highlighted in the next book in the series, book 3, which will emphasize the importance of valuing each other.

To see some more marriage resources, click here.

That is a great summary of Tom’s “Life in a Day!”

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A Life in the Day

Happy New Year!

The Life of Riley … or, Could it be Randy?

I know. I know. You’re thinking the title is a misprint. It should be “A Day in the LIfe.” Well, that phrase has already been used.

When you think about it, though, time is where our life occurs.

This section will be the blog-like journal for my life. It shows the regular goings on and then I will attempt to show how those happenings relate to my business life too.

As most of you know, my life revolves around writing, speaking, coaching, and bi-vocational ministry. Above all of that in the world of priorities is my family, and, even above that, my relationship with God.

Some of you may be old enough to remember the old sitcom that was titled The Life of Riley, starring Wiliam Bendix. The opening of the show, had a cartoon-like drawing of Riley in his hammock. Maybe I should have a picture of me in my hammock. I do have one.

We live on a farm, and I affectionately call it “The Carney Rezoit.” When people visit, they sometimes comment on how quiet and peaceful it seems. We do have a three-acre pond not far from our front door. My Mom said it was just large enough to be called a lake. The fishermen usually say, “It wouldn’t do for me to live here. I would be out there all the time.” I usually just smile, but inwardly I suspect they would be just like I am. It doesn’t seem like there is time to ‘be out there all the time.’ At least we do get to look at it every time we go out the front door.

Some of you may come to this website because you are interested in writing a book. That is something I can help you with. Others of you may be here because you are interested in speaking and making money in that regard. I can help with that too. Some of you may want to be life coaches or success coaches. I can also point you in that direction. Others of you have indicated interest in having sparkling  marriages. You will find links to resources for that too. Some of you may interested in keeping up with me in general. This is the place where that info will be found.

I am retired, sort of. Hence “The Life of Riley/Randy” reference. Really, I think retirement should just be a synonym for the next stage of ministry in a person’s life. People ask me how I stay busy. I don’t know how I had time to go to work before. I fill in for churches quite a bit, and I am serving as an interim pastor right now.

I just finished the rough draft for a new book that is a collaborative work, which has been a new experience. The three authors are quite busy, and it has been very difficult to coordinate. However, we are pushing toward getting that project finished in just a few months. The other two authors are co-hosts of a popular TV program, and that keeps them hopping.

Since I mentioned marriage above, one of the things that keeps me busy is writing about marriage and pointing others to good resources.

Check out my latest Review of “The Magic of Making up.”

See ya’ later,

Randy