I can’t lie to you.  I wake up and confront life just like you.  Yes, I put my pants on one leg at a time and brush my teeth like the masses.  And that means that I’m faced with the same temptations inside this same old body that we have been given.

And once in a while, you get a hankering for something radically off your clean diet, and wow – it hits the spot for as long as a quickie does – a few doggone minutes, and then you’re spiraling out of control toward a sugar coma – followed by days of beating yourself up.

But once you’ve done it, almost like anything forbidden in life, it comes easier the next time.

What separates the men from the boys in these instances is the level of determination not to “go there.”  And again, like anything in life – once we’ve tasted it – and have been away from it for a long time – and see how pleasurable it can be – we stick our toes in the water and before we know it, we’re up to our necks in it.

We’re wired this way for several reasons, the main one, I believe, is to be as far from robots as God could possibly make us.  We have “free will” and free choice and we can choose whatever path we want to blaze.  I would never tell you to fore go the pleasures of this world.  They’re not all bad.  You wouldn’t be here if they were.

But knowing your limits before you embark on the journey is smart.  Most don’t consider how much or how far they can go.  They just go and enjoy the tumble.

For some, it ruins their lives.  Again, a choice.  For others, it makes them stronger.  And yet others see that they have fallen and instead of getting up, they give in and say to hell with it all – I’ve done it – might as well enjoy it.

For those, it’s simply a matter of time before they crash and burn, or are hopefully rescued by a caring soul.

Interesting is what drives us there.

You’d think it’s pleasure – but it’s just the opposite.  Pain is the biggest motivator on the planet and pain will motivate you quickly – to falling off the wagon – or getting back in line.  You think you don’t want to miss out on something.  You’re looking to be fulfilled.

So my advice today is to use pain to get you where you need to be.  If you need to get back to exercising and eating right, use the pain of loss.  It’s a huge motivator – we don’t want to lose anything.  Write down things that you are losing or have a great potential of losing if you continue on your path.  Save it and read it at least once a day.  Put it in a place where you’ll see it – just you – once a day.  I can speak from personal experience that it will work.

Have you ever done anything like this before?

We’ve been in several businesses and I get asked often what the key to building a big group was.  And the answer is one you’ve heard before.  You get cooperation from others.  Empowering people is really the key to building a great team.  Because once you empower them by learning how to motivate and inspire them, they want to work with you to help you get to your goals.  But it’s this ability to enlist the know-how, energy and resources of other people that gives you the ability to leverage yourself to get more done in a short period of time.

OK, so we know we need to empower people – but who should be our key players?  Well, for me it is the people closest to you – family, friends, spouse and kids.  Next, at work, or in your network, it’s your downline, or coworkers, your peers, and even your boss.  The next group are the people you meet everyday – like your banker, customers, people you run into at stores.  You goal here is to get people to help you.

It’s interesting when I looked up the word empower, it actually means putting power into.  But it can also mean bringing energy and enthusiasm out of.  See how empowering people is really you ceasing to do anything that disempowers them – well, reduces their energy and enthusiam for what they are doing.  And, wow – when you think about it – there are tons of things you can do every day to empower people and make them feel good about themselves.

I’ve found through years of working in this field that one of the deepest needs a person has is that of self-esteem.  A sense of being important, valuable and worth something.  I remember Jim Rohn once saying to simply look at people as if they had a sign hanging around their neck that said – make me feel important.  Just remember that every interaction you have with someone affects their self-esteem in some way.  Give others what you want for yourself.

Appreciation is one of the best ways to affect self-esteem.  Just say thank you when it’s due.  Thank friends when they do something small – make it a habit of appreciating everything.

Finally, create a community with your team or group.  I talked earlier about empowering them.  When you create a community, you empower each person with a task.  The group takes on its own personality and before you know it, it’s like a fine-tuned machine.  People want to become a part of that.

Give, but at the same time, empower.  You’ll find it so rewarding and yes it will shoot you straight to the top.

One of my favorite stories is about a fellow who was a Program Director for one of the radio stations I worked at in the ’90′s who made money in his teens simply being a broker.

I guess a broker’s job is easier than digging ditches, but many brokers would probably tell you that it depends on the market that you’re in.  For examply, having to broker automobiles in todays’ market might be harder than digging ditches.

But what David did was put a small ad (not like Don Dupree, ha) in the local paper advertising sod.  That’s right – grass, for your yard.  And people would call asking for prices, and David would convince them that his grass was good and would be delivered to their home.

When David got the order, he simply made another phone call from his bedroom to the local sod farm and had those pallets delivered.  Pretty easy money, I’d say.

And what about me?  What was the easiest way I made money?  Well, it had to do with arbitrage and contextual ads on websites.  There was a day when you could buy ads on Google’s network for 5 cents a click.  Then what you did was point these ads to websites with information AND ads about similar things – but these ads paid you when people clicked – to the tune of $2 a click.

You do the math.  Sending 5 cent clicks to $2 clicks, if your conversion was half-way decent, you could be making a lot of money with a little bit of traffic.

And I did.  Pretty nice.

Another way is simply helping other people with what they’re trying to do.  A consultant.  They pay good for knowledge you have.

One site you might want to check out where you can get paid for offering your services is Guru.com.  There, you can write articles, design, proofread, among other things.  And get paid for it.  Some people make a good living just for doing things they are normally good at.

Let me know how you do or if you’ve found another great way to make money and want to share.

You may not agree, but I believe everyone should be consuming protein in a shake form. And just recently I found I wasn’t ingesting enough of the stuff. For years I’ve been taught you can get enough proteins from veggies, and you probably can – but you’re not going to.

What I mean by that is you are not going to eat the quantity of veggies necessary to get the amount of protein you should be eating. You should be getting 1.25 grams x your body weight in pounds. So, for me, for example – today I am at 184 pounds – then multiply 184 x 1.25 and you get 230. That means I need at least 230 grams of protein a day.

How many grams of protein are in that shake you drink? You don’t drink one?

You should. Think of it. When you supplement with the right amount of protein, your body then actually has the stuff it needs to do what it needs to do.

Remember that protein comes from all kinds of stuff. One is chicken – a typical chicken breast is 45 grams. And other foods are loaded as well.  But a powder shake is an easy and great way to get what you need.

Why?

Because scientifically formulated for years now, protein powders have been found to be easily assimilated into the bloodstream and used efficiently.

And my study into them tells me that a whey protein isolate delivers more and better than a concentrate.  Gram for gram, isolate processing yeilds more.  Research has found that only whey proteins in their natural, undenatured state have the ability to perform their characteristic biological functions.  Look for a brand that is processed under low temperature and low acidic conditions – isolate!

Costco has a great choice for around $22 and each scoop is 20 grams of whey protein isolate, no fat!  In addition, I chose a brand named Jarrow from Whole Foods that was down-right tasty and is good for the whole family.

Whatever you do, I suggest you try a whey protein isolate shake to supplement your diet.  And let me know how you feel afterwords!  It’s a great way to get the protein you need to have your body do what it needs to do.