7 Lessons I learned From an Accidental Millionaire

When I first met Stephanie Frank author of The Accidental Millionaire I had no idea how much my life would be affected by our budding friendship. It wasn't because she was a best selling author, internationally known speaker and coach. Actually it was much more profoundly simpler than that. Stephanie has the unique gift to be able to concepts that most people never understand the actions to take and create a process or blue print that makes business almost like the paint by numbers game. After a delightful interview with her I was left some pearls that will surely help you in business and life. Here are 7 lessons I have learned from her: 1. Be a million dollar thinker. Most people get caught up in the "how" to do something. When they don't have the answers they start second guessing and sabotaging themselves from the start. Million dollars thinkers do not operate that way. Once they make a decision they look for the solutions. They create a vision and a plan. 2. Make sure your goals are congruent with your top 3 values in life. I love this one. How many times have you been presented an opportunity and the only thing the person could tell you is how much money you're going to make? Don't me wrong, I am an ethical capitalist however all money is not good money. For example, some people might not be successful in the real estate foreclosure market because they would feel like they were taking advantage of people during hard times. However, another person in that exact situation might view themselves as being an advisor to someone who would otherwise lose their home and get nothing from it. As you can see it's the same situation but each person has a different value system. This is not about right or wrong. You simply want to be clear about your personal values and make sure your business is in alignment. 3. Even when you're down to your last twenty dollars you could be one idea away from success. Stephanie Frank openly shares her story about how she was a business woman by day and abused wife by night. One day her husband in a rage pushed her house, down cement stairs, onto the pavement of the driveway. While she was shaking and scared she new had a decision to make. Have you ever been at a fork in the road and had to make a decision? I know I have. For me, I knew my job was killing me. After being on a job that was making me sick I had come to my breaking point. My doctor told me if you keep this up you are going to end up in the hospital or dead. I knew them I too had a decision to make and needed to come up with a Plan B. 4. Make yourself a personal promise. Many times people are not just afraid of failure but success. As a result, they are paralyzed by fear and never reach their potential Stephanie points out how she does something very simply to keep her moving forward. One a sticky note she would write ONE thing she would do that day before she went to bed. Some days it would be a big task and other times it would be a small action but still moving her towards success. Is there something you have wanted to achieve but are afraid to step on faith? What if you took just a small step today toward that very goal? Pick up a packet of sticky notes and the next time you feel afraid just take one small step. If it worked for this millionaire it can work for you. 5. Expect that it will happen. There is a saying that you get what you expect in life. When you have an expectation to succeed the universe will open up and bring you the answers. Now the trick is you don't want to be attached to the process. Commit result to the result and be open to allowing the beauty of intention and synchronicity to work in your favor. Don't try to control the journey just embrace it. 6. Build your business for the future. This lesson should be a mantra that is taught for any new entrepreneur. So many people start off simply focusing on how they are going to create income. Don't get me wrong this is important too. However, if you end up a millionaire with no time, poor health, and no friends or family to share it with would this be success for you? Only you can answer that. However, the truth is you are better off knowing where you want to end up so you know how to design the map to get there. You want to considerate your lifestyle first and design your business around it. So ask yourself a few questions: a. How many hours a day to you want to work? b. Are you willing to work weekends? c. How much net profit do you want to make each year? d. How many weeks or months of vacation will you take each year? e. Will you work when you travel? The more clearly you define what success in your business will look like in the future the easier it is to ask the right questions to help you get there. 7. Collaborate your way to success. For many people who have let the politics, back biting and brown nosing of corporate America we relish the idea of being able to create our empire alone. While on the surface this both looks and feels good the truth is that you can only accomplish so much alone. Stephanie shares the concept of the collaboration nation. It is a new paradigm is the way we do business...the virtual company. The concept includes strategic alliances, out team mates and one the most important players the virtual assistant. This person can do things from make travel arrangements, appointments, book-keeping, taxes, update websites, write or edit presentations and almost any other project you can think of. The lesson here is, focus on your strengths and collaborate with others to aid you in achieving your goal? What does your business need to go to the next level? Who could you collaborate with to make it happen? Stephanie Frank is an inspiration to hundreds of thousands of people around the country. Her book is not only motivational but an action plan on how to start your empire on a shoe string budget. If you want to learn lessons that will add to your bottom-line and your life you want to learn from this Accidental Millionaire.