Archive for September, 2008

More Rare than an Olympic Gold Medal

Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008

bill-bartman-web

Bill Bartmann and I after speaking at a big event with Zig Ziglar

It’s pretty rare to get an Olympic Gold Medal, wouldn’t you say? Only 1,210 Americans have received one. It’s unusual to climb Mt. Everest, too: Just 2,300 people have done that.

But there’s an even rarer category: The number of billionaires. No more than 1,125 people in the world can claim that distinction.

My friend, Bill Bartmann, did just that. Now keep in mind that this group of 1,125 people includes people who had major help along the way: Many were born with it, inherited it, or had every advantage while growing up.

In the history of billionaires, Bill Bartmann stands alone. He’s the ONLY former homeless person and gang member ever to have made a billion dollars. That’s right, Bill went from eating out of dumpsters and living under a bridge viaduct, to having after-tax, take-home pay in a single year of more than $100 million and being listed as the 25th richest person in America.

Here’s where it gets extremely interesting: Bill is willing to coach YOU on how to succeed in business.

After all, what can you learn from someone whose daddy died and left him a billion? But it’s totally different with Bill Bartmann: He worked in a slaughterhouse. He was an alcoholic at age 17. And at one point Bill was paralyzed from the waist down. Yet Bill discovered a DIFFERENT way of thinking and acting that enabled him to overcome all of that, and become a self-made billionaire.

After scaling the highest peaks in the business world and getting his fill of toys like $25 million aircraft, what’s Bill up to now? He has one current passion: Showing others his special techniques for overcoming any challenge and being as successful as they want to be.

Do you think Bill might know a few things YOU could use to overcome your own challenges? What if you could get his thoughts on dozens of business topics?

Now you can. Bill is launching a one-of-a-kind online service, called his “Billionaire Business System”. This is not some one-size-fits-all deal. Instead, Bill has built a mentoring tool that provides you with laser-targeted advice on many individual topics.

Are you already running a business but not sure what’s the best way to secure financing for your next stage of growth? Bill covers that topic. Not even sure if business is right for you? Bill has a video session just about that.

In fact, the Billionaire Business System currently has almost two dozen topics, and is constantly growing.

I strongly recommend that you take a look at Bill’s system and see for yourself how it can remove whatever roadblocks are in your way to greater business success. You can find it by clicking here.

Name me anywhere else on the planet that you can get specific, useful, and comprehensive business-building advice from a self-made billionaire? That’s OK, I can’t think of any, either.

The sooner you have Bill Bartmann in your corner, advising you on business success, the sooner you can sit back and bask in your own dreams coming true.

By the way, the chances are really good that whatever challenges you have, Bill’s been there, and found a way to overcome them. Let Bill show you how, by taking the easy step of clicking here.

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
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The Alchemist

Saturday, September 20th, 2008

alchemist

A terrific book…

This is one of those books that you want to read over and over again. The alchemist is a short story (160 pages) about a shepherd boy chasing his dream.

It is an international best seller that has sold more than 9 million copies worldwide. Read it. You’ll be glad you did.

Here is a little bit right out of the book:

“People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don’t deserve them, or that they’ll be unable to achieve them. We, their hearts, become fearful just thinking of loved ones who go away forever, or of moments that could have been good but weren’t, or of treasures that might have been found but were forever hidden in the sands. Because, when these things happen, we suffer terribly…

Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him. We… seldom say much about those treasures, because people no longer want to go in search of them. Later, we simply let life proceed, in its own direction, toward its own fate. But, unfortunately, very few follow the path laid out for them- the path to their Personal Legends, and to happiness. Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place.”

- Paulo Coelho

Get it, read it, and you’ll know what I mean.

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
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Success Tips From Ruben

Tuesday, September 16th, 2008

1. Your attitude determines your altitude.
Positive thinking doesn’t ensure success,
but with it, you’re more likely to succeed.

2. Make the law of averages work for you.
The more you fail, the more likely you are
to succeed because every time you fail, you
learn from the experience.

3. Focus all your efforts. When you focus
all your efforts on one goal, your chances
of success are almost guaranteed. If you
split your focus on two goals, your chances
drop to 66%; three goals mean only a 25%
chance of success.

4. Take control of your own life. Whenever
you take personal responsibility for your
own actions, you maintain control.

5. Work through other people to create
win-win situations.
Learn leadership skills
so you can enlist other people to team up
with you to achieve your goals.

6. Go for the Gold! Focus on doing everything
with excellence, and you will build a
reputation that will take you to the top.

7. Always set goals. The purpose of goals is to
focus our attention. The mind will not look
for answers until it has a clear direction.

8. Become a person of action. Focus on what
you can do NOW!

9. Don’t make excuses. Excuses are a waste
of time. Successful people don’t waste time.
They use their time to figure out ways to
become successful.

10. Take advantage of opportunities.
Winners don’t hesitate. They jump,
knowing the net will appear.

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
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Why Democracies Ultimately Fail

Wednesday, September 10th, 2008

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury.

From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.

The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years.
Great nations rise and fall.

The people go from:

Bondage to spiritual truth,

from spiritual truth to great courage,

from great courage to liberty,

from liberty to abundance,

from abundance to selfishness,

from selfishness to complacency,

from complacency to apathy,

from apathy to dependence,

and from dependence to back again to bondage.”

- Anonymous

Families go through the same cycle over several generations:

Bondage, spiritual faith, great courage, liberty, abundance, selfishness, complacency, apathy, dependency and back to bondage.

It’s the old “Rags to riches and back to rags in 3-4 generations.

Food for thought…

What are you teaching your kids about character and values to make sure your family moves towards the abundance stage and then stays there?

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
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Balancing Life and Work

Wednesday, September 10th, 2008

Full Engagement

Definitely worth reading…

It seems that lately, whenever I’ve done a Q & A session after one of my speeches, one question that comes up is, “How do I manage to balance my work and family time (especially since I’m now training for a 4th Winter Olympics)?

I do a lot of things that Jim Loehr discusses in his book, “The Power of Full Engagement.”

It turns out that since most Americans are overworked, managing time is not the solution. Managing energy is the key. For over 20 years Loehr studied tennis players to see what made the top guys so successful.

It was not what they did in training. It was how they took advantage of their down time - even the down time in between points in a tennis match, to take a few beep breaths, lower their heartbeat, relax, and mentally prepare for the next point.

The not so elite tennis players never slowed down between points and by the last set were exhausted. They just didn’t manage their energy nearly as well as the top players.

How does that apply to you and me at work?

(more…)

A Hero Americans Need to be Proud Of

Sunday, September 7th, 2008

who-is-john-mccain

Most people don’t know Mccain’s whole story

It sure is nice to finally have some great people in a presidential race.

Did you see the biographical video that was played right before John McCain’s Republican Convention speech? Most of America knew he was a POW but nobody knew the details.

McCain’s plane was shot down over North Vietnam. He suffered two broken arms and a broken leg. He was thrown in a cell and his arms never set right.

When the North Vietnamese realized that McCain’s father was the 4-Star Admiral in charge of the Pacific theater of the war, they offered McCain early release as a public relations ploy.

McCain said no. He would honor the “First in, first out,” like everyone else. And so, he chose to spend 4 more years as a POW. THAT’S character!

But that’s not all…

After being released, rather than being embittered towards the North Vietnamese, who had tortured him for 5 1/2 years, McCain lead the efforts to nornalize relations with North Vietnam.

Five and a half years in hell and he chose to go back because, “It was healing for America.” If that is not Country First, I don’t know what is.

Here’s the video in case you missed it.

 

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
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My Favorite Books and Movies

Sunday, September 7th, 2008

books

The books you read and the people you regularly associate with will determine whether you realize your goals and dreams.

Everyone is always asking me about my favorite books and biographies. Here’s a list of the books that have made the greatest impact in my life.

You’ll also find a list of some of my favorite inspirational movies.

Enjoy!

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
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The Success Incubator

Saturday, September 6th, 2008

chicks1

Before I got into the speaking business, I used to sell Minolta copiers in downtown Houston. Every day I drove 40 miles to the Minolta dealership, 20 miles to my territory, 20 miles back to the office, and 40 miles back home. 120 miles every day!

The reason I was willing to do that was simple. My sales manager, Linda Shepherd, was an incredible salesperson and a a great sales trainer. Driving 2500 miles a month for the opportunity to learn from Linda was a small price to pay.

The whole time I was in the car I listened to self-development tapes. I never wasted time listening to the news. You could say that I was putting myself through an intense success university during those years.

After a few years I was a different person.

Working for Linda was a little like training at the Olympic Training Center. The Olympic Training Center is an environment condusive to success. It’s a place designed to help people be the best that they can be. It’s a very special place. Kind of like a magical incubator where you put chicken eggs in one side and after a while, EAGLES come out of the other side.

eagles

I just spoke for Weichert Realtors here in Katy, TX. Taylor Stout, their broker, is an incredible person. He has created an Olympic Training Center type environment in his office. Taylor is genuinely interested in helping his Realtors succeed.

When he hires new Realtors, he finds out exactly what they want to achieve personally and how they think real estate might be a vehicle that could help them realize their personal dreams.

Then, he pours his heart into his people to develop them into the type of person that can succeed in real estate. He has created a success incubator that regularly takes in chicken eggs, and after a couple of years hatches eagles.

Taylor is not in the real estate business. He’s in the personal development business.

Moral:

If you want to get better results from the people in your life, whether in your own business, in your office, in your little league team, or even at home, do what Taylor Stout does.

Become genuinely interested in your people’s personal goals and dreams, take the time to develop them and encourage them, and after a little incubation time, you’ll have a flock of eagles around you. And you will have created a legacy that will be around long after you are gone. 

 

Olympic Motivational Speaker Ruben Gonzalez
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