About a mile away, a dollar bill is lying on a sidewalk.

Would you get in your car right now and go pick it up?

Probably not.  And yet, at the same time, there are thousands of people who will drive 5 miles out of their way to save $.05 per gallon on their next tank of gas.  Mathematically, there’s no difference.

This illustrates a very simple concept that — if you understand it — will save you HUGE amounts of time and money….and will allow you to earn a huge income in the process.

In fact, since we’re talking about money lying on sidewalks, let me give you another example, one that you probably have heard of.

Have you ever heard the old joke about how much money that Bill Gates makes?  Imagine Bill Gates were walking along the sidewalk and saw a $1,000 bill lying on the ground.  If he had to stop earning money long enough to bend over, pick up the bill, and put it in his pocket…..he’d be better off just leaving it lying there.

It’s basically just a fun way to point out that, at one point, Bill Gates’s net worth was actually worth more than $1,000 every few seconds.

Whether that particular claim is true or not, one thing IS true:  both of these examples illustrate a concept that most people have never heard of.  It’s called “opportunity cost”.

What is “opportunity cost”?  It’s the value of what you give up by not doing one thing in order to do something else.

I’ll give you an example that might assist you in understanding what I mean.

Years ago, I used to mow my own lawn.  Why?  Because that’s what I’d always done.  We had a lawn-mower and it seemed silly to pay someone to mow my lawn when I had a perfectly good lawnmower myself.  Besides….all my neighbors mowed their lawns on Saturday morning.  Everything in my environment pointed to the idea of me mowing my own lawn.

A little while after I got involved in the home business industry, I got a different perspective.  It went something like this:

1.  It takes me about 3 hours to mow my lawn, run the weed-eater and then cleaning up.
2.  It takes me about 3 hours to earn $1,000 in my home business.
3.  Hiring someone to mow my yard will cost me about $70.
4.  Doing it myself will save me $70….but it would COST me $1,000 in lost income.

Read that #4 again.  That’s what I mean by “opportunity cost”.  Sure, I can mow my own yard and save $70.  But what does it cost me to do that?  In my case, it costs me the ability to earn $1,000 or more in my business.

Opportunity cost is not something new.  It’s actually a common concept taught in any economics class.  But it’s not something that is taught in most American schools.  Nor do parents always pass it along to their kids.  But, if you understand this, you can absolutely get RICH.

Why?  Because getting ahead financially is all about engaging in high-value activities and delegating low-value activities.  If you can earn $1,000 for your family in just three hours…..why on earth would you spend those same 3 hours doing something that pays you far less?  The opportunity cost is much too high.

Here’s another example:  how much does your JOB cost you?

Most people — when they think about their job — they view it as a source of income.  But, what’s the opportunity cost of your job?  In other words, how much money do you LOSE every day by choosing to spend 8 hours working for someone else?

Moms are good at spotting this problem in their own lives.  A mom can often look at the income at her job AND the money she pays out for child-care and immediately thinks:

“Why on earth am I doing this?  If I do the math…..by the time I pay the daycare, the gas, the wear-and-tear on the car, the cup of coffee in the morning, grabbing a sandwich at lunch, the snack in the afternoon,….my dry-cleaning, etc………I’m only bringing home $20 per day in personal net income.  I could work from home AND be with my children all day and earn WAY more than $600 per month.

Read that again.  That’s someone who understands the concept of “opportunity cost”.

Here are some other examples for those of you who are already IN the home business industry.

• What is the opportunity cost involved when you choose to learn how to design your own webpages instead of spending that time putting prospects in front of your company’s presentation?  (Designing websites is not an income-producing activity; putting prospects in front of presentations IS.)
• What is the opportunity cost involved when you work in a company where you earn $20 commissions instead of spending that same time, energy, and effort in a business that pays you $1,000 commissions?
• What is the opportunity cost involved when you go to a 40-hour week job that pays you $4,000 per month…..when you could spend that same time earning more much more?

No one can answer these questions for you.  But, when I understood the concept of “opportunity cost”, I started making a LOT  more money.  I quit my job.  I stopped mowing my own lawn.  And I was able to earn a multiple six-figure income in less than 3 hours a day and spend the rest of my time living the lifestyle of my dreams.

So, the question is:  what low-value activities are you engaged in that you can delegate elsewhere?  What high-value activities can you start spending MORE time on?

If I can assist with these questions, feel free to post your questions or comments below!

Tony Rush
http://www.tonyrush.com

Got your big-boy or big-girl pants on?   Let’s go ahead and get the awful truth on the table right off the bat….

FACT:  99 out of 100 “home business” entrepreneurs will not make $500 this month.

FACT:  99 out of 100 “home business” entrepreneurs will not make $500 this YEAR.

FACT:  99 out of 100 “home business” entrepreneurs will not make $500 in their LIFETIME.

QUESTION:  Where are you in those statistics?

For most people, the the “Going Out Of Business” sign is hanging on their door and they don’t even know it.

Here are some tips you can use to avoid being a statistic…..and how to crash the party at the top of the pay plan:

Tip #1:  Have plenty of people to talk to

I will typically show my business to 20-30 people per WEEK.  Most network marketers don’t do that in a year.  Some, but not many, might do that in 4-6 weeks.

Where do you get these people?  Doesn’t matter.  They might be friends and family.  They might be people you meet during the day.

The easiest way is to ATTRACT them.  Just run some ads and invite your prospects to contact you for more information.

Think about it:  would you rather talk to 100 people who have NOT asked for information on your business……or 100 people who HAVE?

I don’t care if your sponsor doesn’t do it that way.  I don’t care if no one else in your company does it.  Show your business to at least 4-5 people per day. You’ll probably wind up as the #1 enroller in your company

If that sounds really difficult, you’re going to find out how easy it is in Tip #2:

Tip #2:  Use tools to leverage your time

When I got started in MLM back in the early 90′s, my sponsor had me sitting down and doing one-on-one presentations for prospects. I met people at the mall.  I met them at coffee shops.  I met them at restaurants.  I met them in their living rooms.

And it worked.  But the problem is that it’s horribly inefficient.  I spent 40-60 minutes doing a presentation for ONE person….when I could have doubled my productivity by just having an extra prospect at the table. Hmm….if I had 4 people at the table, that would have quadrupled my effectiveness.  What if I’d had 10 people at the table and I could spend 40-60 minutes doing a presentation for TEN people?  Wow!  Now, that’s leverage!  I’m presenting to 10 people at once.

Oh, wait.  What if I’m not that good of a presenter?  What if I SUCK at presenting?  Plus, how eager are my new prospects going to be to join my business if they think they have to sit around and explain this business to people all evening.  In homes, in coffee shops, in restaurants.

Answer:  they don’t have to.  When I started plugging my prospects into a conference call or (nowadays) a webinar…..BOOM…..my income exploded.

Why?  Because a.) I didn’t have to do the presentations and b.) Depending on how many prospects I invited to attend that presentation, I was showing my business to anywhere between 3-10 people PER PRESENTATION!  And we did multiple presentations per day!

I think the most I ever had on a single presentation was 79 people.  That one presentation put over $20,000 in my pocket in earned commissions.

Tip #3:  Focus on income-producing activities

It is SO easy to stay busy.  After all, there are lots of things to learn, aren’t there?

Search engine optimization.  Designing websites.  HTML/CSS.  Setting up a blog.  Writing articles.  Making videos.  Encoding videos.  Uploading videos.  Figuring out how to get Google and Facebook to approve your ads.  Learning pay-per-click.

No doubt:  you can stay really busy.

Here’s the problem:  NONE of that makes money.

Think about it:  there’s only a handful of things you can do in this business that actually contributes to earning an income.  Here they are:

1. Invite a prospect to a presentation
2. Follow-up with the prospect
3. Collect a decision
4. Retail product

That’s about it.  Anything else is secondary to that.

In other words, if you’re spending the lion’s share of your time doing ANYTHING but inviting prospects to a presentation and following up…..then you’re not focused on income-producing activity.

And there’s nothing wrong with doing those other things.  But they are SECONDARY to the income-producing activities.  You’ve GOT to prioritize your time.

So, again….I don’t care if all the “gurus” are telling you need to learn how to put HTML code on your website….or how to write 20 articles a week for SEO…..etc.

Save that stuff until AFTER you’ve called your prospects.

Tip #4:  Choose a business that pays you what you deserve

Personal story:  when I got started in this industry, I didn’t know anything about business.  I was just excited because the people telling me about the company were excited.  So, I got excited.  I looked at the cost to sign up….but didn’t look very much at what I’d have to do to hit my financial goals.  Heck, I really didn’t even have any financial goals.  I just “wanted to make some money”.

Needless to say, after I’d been in business for 6 months, I was really confused why I wasn’t making more money.  I’d been working my butt off.  I had a good sized-team for six month of work.  But I wasn’t really seeing the results I expected.

The average person in my organization was spending $100 a month on products.  And I was earning about 5% commission on MOST of the people in my team.

In other words, all the time and effort I spent to enroll someone in my company was basically increasing my income by about $5 per month.

Or, to put it another way, if I wanted to earn a simple $1,000 income……the person I enrolled had to stay with the company for over SIXTEEN  YEARS for me to earn a simple $1,000 on their purchases.

Oh, and we all know the argument, right?  “Well, it’s residual income!  You keep getting paid over and over for work you did one time!”  And, “Yeah, but think if that person goes and gets three people who go and get three people who go and get three people…….those $5 commissions can really add up one day!”

Yeah.  I know.  Sounds great.  Looks great on paper.

But when you consider that it doesn’t take any more time, effort or energy to earn – say- $1,000 as it does to earn $20…….then it begs the question:  why am I not earning what I’m worth?

Residual income is great.  In fact, I suspect that one of the reasons we all got involved in network marketing is because we love the idea of getting paid over and over for work done once.  And we love the idea of getting paid for other people’s efforts.  It’s called “leverage”.

But, I believe one of the biggest problems that keeps people BROKE in this industry is because they join companies that just…….don’t……pay……very…….well.

Learn to think like a merchant….not like a consumer.  Don’t buy into the idea that you need to postpone all your financial success to some undetermined date in the future.

It’s fine to delay SOME gratification to the future….but not all of it.  You’ve got bills you want to pay right NOW.  You’ve got things you need to get done in the next 30 days.  You don’t have time to Mickey-Mouse around with $4 commissions or $10 commissions or even $50 commissions.

Once upon a time, it took 3-5 years to make a decent income.  Those days are OVER.

If you want to make $5,000 in your first 30 days….that’s possible.  (It’s not only possible…it’s being done every month by brand new people in our company.)

Heck, when I made the switch from “nickel-and-dime commissions” to a business that paid what I was worth….I earned over $15,000 in my first 30 days.  I hit $40,000 per month before the end of my first year.

THAT is what you deserve.  THAT is the kind of income that’s possible for you right now.  But you have to get out of the mindset of thinking that everything is supposed to take 3-5 years and that you’re supposed to be happy to earn small monthly commissions.

Plus, let’s be honest:  the currency that we get paid in is DECREASING in value.  Making $240,000 THIS year is going to have FAR more buying power than earning $240,000 in five years.  You’re much better off to be in a pay plan where you can earn serious money NOW than to take your earnings in bits and pieces over the next several years.

CONCLUSION

Making a large income from home isn’t as difficult as most people think.  But, to borrow a phrase from Wallace Wattles, you have to do things in “a certain way”.

You have to have the right mindset.
You have to have the right tools.
You have to have leverage in your work (not just the pay plan).
You have to be in a business that pays you a solid “now” income while you’re building that long-term residual.

I’ll say it again:  making a ton of money from home isn’t as hard as you think.  If you have questions how I do it….let’s talk!  You can contact me through my website at http://www.tonyrush.com

To your IMMEDIATE success!

Tony Rush
http://www.tonyrush.com

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One of the things that great network marketing companies do is to offer incentives and contests for its distributors to participate in. The interesting thing about contests in Avant is that the pay plan is so lucrative that — to win a contest — you put so much money in your pocket that you could easily buy whatever the grand prize is!

But, in this case, the prize was even more interesting: rather than another big-screen TV, a trip to the Caribbean or an Apple iPad…….Avant decided to create a prize that actually touches people’s lives: an all-expense paid trip to New Orleans to join Avant founder, Brent Payne and the Avant leadership team for four days doing humanitarian work in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans.

Did you know that there are still people in New Orleans who haven’t recovered from Hurricane Katrina? It’s true. And while some people have chosen to say things like, “Well, those people don’t want to help themselves” and do nothing…..Avant is choosing to be part of the solution by actually spending time with these people, teaching them some basic concepts about personal development, planting gardens, and stocking a community food pantry.

So, on July 22nd, I got a phone call from Brent Payne congratulating me for being the winner of the contest.  During the last week of the contest, I was averaging nearly one new Elevate sale per week ($1k profit each).

Do you want to know the dirty little secret? It was the easiest stretch of business I’ve ever conducted. It was relaxing. It was simple. No rushing around. Just simple, relaxed movements. Here are some thoughts that come to mind for why I believe it was so simple for me to win:

#1 Begin With The End In Mind

When I heard that Avant was doing humanitarian work in New Orleans, I sent a note to Brent asking him about the dates so we could go ahead and start arranging for someone to keep our kids while Jessica and I went to New Orleans.  That’s important.  I’d already decided to be there. When I learned about the contest, I thought, “Even better.  I’m still going but Brent’s going to pay for my airline flights.” And, here’s the thing:  that isn’t intended to sound like bravado or to be arrogant; it was simply a stated intention:  I’m going to New Orleans and I might as well be the one to get to go for free.

#2  Be Authentic

This isn’t a tip for winning contests; this is a tip for winning LIFE.  I remember when I first got started in this industry, I was always worried about how I was coming across to my prospects.  The phone would ring and I’d rush around closing the doors, worried that the dog was going to bark or that I wouldn’t appear professional.

Screw that.  That’s for the birds.  When I decided a few years ago to start just living my life and stop worrying about all that nonsense, here’s what I did:  I started doing all my business from my cellphone.  Even today, if you call me asking about Avant, you’re just as likely to catch me floating around my pool, driving in the car with the family or waiting for a table at our favorite restaurant.  You might hear Easton in the background laughing like a maniac because he crashed into Mom while they were playing Mario Kart on the Nintendo Wii.  Or you might hear Will and Pate splashing in the pool.  Or, if you’re like Leo (a fellow I spoke with earlier this week), you might hear me signing for packages from the UPS man and wondering who sent me a big box of Omaha Steaks!

My point is this:  people are tired of marketers who try to be something they’re not.  Be authentic.  Whatever that means to you.  For me, it means living my life in a way that I don’t have to change who I’m being just because the phone rings.  And because there seems to be so few authentic people around, I promise your prospects will notice when they look at you and see you just being yourself.

#3  Keep The Main Thing The Main Thing

Let me give you a quick image:  picture a construction site where a beautiful cathedral is being built.  The scene has lots of construction workers but something strange is happening…

Most of the construction workers are sitting over to the side admiring their new hammer….or showing someone their new saw…..they’re filming videos of themselves trying to explain to other people how to drive a nail….and you’ve even got some of the workers saying, “I just don’t seem to be getting good results with this saw.  Maybe I need to buy that new course for $3,000 on ‘How To Use A Saw Like A Pro’.

But as you continue looking around the construction site, you see something else:  a much smaller group of people are — gasp! — actually working on the cathedral! They’re driving nails.  They’re sawing wood.  They’re laying bricks.

They are, by God, getting the job done.  And they don’t waste their time sitting around worrying about whether or not they’re using a hammer that’s as fancy as someone else’s.

Heck, if you look closely, some of them may not even be holding the hammer right.  Some of them might not even HAVE a hammer:  they’re driving nails with the side of a pair of pliers!  They’re so focused on actually doing the thing that they can’t be sidetracked to sit around and spend their talking about the work.  They’re too busy actually DOING THE WORK.

The network marketing industry looks like that to me.

I see a lot of people who say they’re professional network marketers but they’re really just sitting around talking about the business.  Or worrying about their business.  Or spending time designing blogs, making friends on Facebook and making videos of themselves.

And there’s nothing wrong with any of those things…….unless the person is doing that stuff instead of making money and actually driving nails in their own business!

Don’t misunderstand me.  I have a blog (obviously).  I make videos.  I use Facebook.

But ALL of those things are secondary to actually driving the nails every day.  My primary focus is always, “Who are the 4-5 people that I’m introduce to AVANT today?”  “Who did I talk to earlier who’s probably ready to get started on my team?”

THIS is the actual work of network marketing.  Not all that other stuff.

It’s all about keeping the main thing the main thing.

Make sense?  Great!

So, I’ve pulled my workboots out of the closet and we’re packing our bags to go to New Orleans next week to get our hands dirty.  We’ll do a ton of masterminding while we’re there and it’s always good to hang out with Avant’s founder, Brent Payne.  If you’re in the New Orleans area, call me on 334-655-8194 if you’d like to get together and talk about Avant, meet the founder and find out more about what we’re doing!

Lastly, do me a favor.  If you like this post, comment on it below and retweet it or share it with others!

To your IMMEDIATE success!

Tony Rush
+1 334-655-8194 mobile

http://www.best7minutes.com

http://www.weareavant.com/main

Quick video for you today:  “How To Get UNSTUCK In Your Business”.

If you have a broad and general complaint that you’re “not making money” or you’re “not enrolling enough people”, this simple diagram will demonstrate how to pinpoint EXACTLY what you need to do in order to get more enrollments.  Enjoy! — TR

NOTE:  the video is in HD so it won’t fit here.  Click here to watch it in all its HD glory.

Her name is Helene Hadsell. And she wins every contest she enters. Seriously.
She’s won 5 trips to Europe, a luxury home, televisions, boats, etc.

In fact, by 1982, she’d won 5,000 different contests she’d entered.

Freaky.

Back in the 80s, she wrote a book called “Contesting” that’s a bit of an underground best-seller. If you can find a copy today, they usually cost $300 or more. In it, she explains exactly how she did it and how she’s actually got it down to a system so that others have been able to get similar results in contests, business, relationships, etc.

Well, today she’s 83 years old and she’s at it again. You can check out the story here…