ChrisNotes

John Spence on Achieving Excellence

ChrisNotes was born because I would recommend a book to someone and they would say, "Save me the trouble of reading it.  What does it say?"  My friend John Spence read Letters From Leaders  and posted this summary on his blog Awesomely Simple. 

Here's the digest of his digest: 

1. Have a good attitude.
2. Get a good education and never stop learning.
3. Take a chance, stick your neck out.
4. Never compromise what you beleive in.
5. Create a network of smart, dedicated people who help and will help you.
6. Live your passion.
7. Take care of yoruself, optimize your health.
8. There is unlimited opportunity in the world.
9. Success is not luck, it comes from goal oriented behavior.
10. Work hard.  Get started and don't quit.
11. Practice common courtesy.
12. Be humble.  

Prioritizing

Was at an event yesterday where Duane Marshall was presenting the EOS process - Entrepreneur Operating System.  Notes will follow.  A question came up regarding prioritizing strategic projects and to-do items in light of limited time, resources and money. 

Here is how I do it.  First, make a list of your goals, projects, and to-do's everything from your most important long range objectives to the "ringing telephones" that are screaming for action.  Then, you apply questions like the following to decide what you can accomplish.

Prioritizing is a separate skill from making the list to begin with.  Try these questions:

1. What should I work on today that will get me closer to my most important, long-range objectives?
2. What will give me the biggest return in the shortest amount of time?
3. What will provide the most results with the least amount of effort?
4. What projects, if left undone, would be a threat to my survival?
5. What do my shareholders consider the most important?
6. What items on my list would give me an energy boost if I got it done?
7. Who would suffer if I don't get this item done today?
8. Can I just throw some money at this and make it go away?

Would love to get feedback on what works for You. 

How I Passed the CFP Exam

I passed the Beast on July 18-19, 2009.  I didn't find this out until September 12th.  Cruel the way they make you wait. 

Here is how I passed.  If you are looking for a shortcut, read no further, there is none.  If you want the short answer, take the Ken Zahn prep course. 

Step one is to get through the required course work (unless you are challenging the exam).  I did mine with American College.  The way I passed those classes I detail here, it is the same method as for the CLU, the coursework overlaps almost entirely.  This home study method worked for me, better would be to take the coursework from a test prep company like Ken Zahn.   Having to go to class on a schedule sucks but they tell you from the start what you need to know.

Then the real test prep begins.  There is no way any mere mortal could study all the material in the six 600 page books from the coursework.  You need a prep course.  Everyone says Zahn is the best, I don't know about best but I can testify that his method works.

Zahn's course is three parts:  Pre-Study, Live Review, and Practice Exams. 

You get pre-study material of about 800 pages, including pre-tests and case studies. The secret of passing the exam is in doing the pre-study.  If you master this material, the live review will highlight what you really need to study.  I guess I spent about 50 hours on pre-study.  I should have spent more, 100 hours is probably more like it. 

Live review advice:  simple.  Highlight everything Ken says might be on the test.  I never used Highlighters studying for anything before but Ken goes way too fast to write it all down. 

When you get home from the 4 x 10 hour days of live review, you have 3 - 4 weeks to study.  This whole time, I recommend doing practice exams.  Ken includes you all you need to pass in the review course fee but if you are on the bubble, I would buy the rest of the however many hundred supplemental questions he sells.   I estimate that I spent 200 hours studying and practice testing between the live review and the exam. I am a pretty good test taker and I don't feel like I over did it.

Also, you need to get the flashcards.  The way to pass the test is to get the easy questions right and the flashcards help here.   

I don't have any of my own tips; these are from Ken.  I recommend you follow all of his very detailed instructions for prep and test taking.  The most important:

1. Be very careful
2. If you can't get the answer in 2 or 3 minutes, pick your lucky letter and move on.
3. You must get the easy ones right.
4. Get in the mindset of the CFP Board.  Don't argue answers, they will win.
5. Just pass, baby.  You need around 70% to pass.  Perfectionists fail.
6. Chew cinnamon gum while studying and during the test. 

I am so happy I passed.  I can't imagine having to prepare to take it again.  Pass rate was only 50.4% - I was pretty sure I did because as I was filling in the bubbles with my pencil, I would say to myself, "This is how you pass the exam, you get the easy ones right."

How to Pass the CFP Exam

My Notes on How To Pass CLU Exams gets about 40-50 hits every week.  Now, I will note on how to pass the much more difficult, comprehensive, 10 hour CFP exam.   

I took the exam on July 17 -18, 2009 and left the room shaking my head just like the other 2,000 people did who took the test this day.  No one was confident to say that they passed it for sure.  I really think I did.  But, you never know.  The CFP exam is getting more subjective and harder to pass.  Only a little over 50% of the people who took it in March did so.

I figure I prepared almost 300 hours- not counting the six 600 page textbooks that I had to read (and pass tests) to meet the "educational" requirement to take the CFP exam in the first place.

So, sorry for the tease, if I passed, I will share what worked for me.  If I failed... no.  No way.  I passed. 

---  Read the rest!  Follow Up - Exam Results

The Farmer and His Boys

I love the story Zig Ziglar tells about the farmer and his boys.  The farmer would get the boys up two hours before they needed to leave for school so they could work in the fields.  The wife said, "Dear, you don't need to work the boys so hard in order to raise the crops."

The farmer said, "Honey, I ain't raising crops.  I'm raising boys."

SEO and PPC

I took a lot of notes today at a seminar put on by Harry Brooks with Network Solutions.  You can read where he blogs on online marketing.  What a killer seminar, well worth the $120 I paid.  Room was packed, too.  

Main notes:

1. Build Content (duh)
2. Optimize your site for Google, Yahoo and MSN search engines.  This is the easy part.  Get SEO for Dummies, if you don't know how.  Or, better yet, outsource it to professionals.
3. Aggressively build back links from reputable sites with relevant content.
4. Launch your PPC campaign.
5. Test everything.
6. Repeat often and forever.

I would give this 5 out of 5 stars for content, delivery, relevance, interest, expertise and value.  Harry wasn't that funny, but he didnt' have time.  Lot of info packed into 4 hour session. 

Spirituality Consciousness: Eight Principles

Seems like every day a lesson arrives just in time to lead me down the correct path.  Here are notes on the movie Eight Irresistable Principles of Fun .

1. Get Focused:  Stop hiding who you really are.  (What do you stand for?)
2. Get Focused:  Be incredibly selfish.  (Stay hungry for what is important to you!)
3. Be Creative:  Stop following the rules. (self explanitory)
4. Be Creative: Start scaring yourself. (Explore the edges)
5. Use Wisdom:  Stop taking yourself so seriously.  (This too shall pass)
6. Use Wisdom:  Get rid of the crap.  (Includes: stuff, habits, memories, attitudes, people)
7. Act Now!:  Stop being Busy.  (Busy is seductive)
8. Act Now!:  Start something.  (No permission required)

 ChrisNote:  What would you do differently if money were no object? 

Rugby

I've been involved with Rugby for twenty-five years now as a player, a referee, a coach, and an old boy.  There is something about the game that lifts it above a sport, it's a bloody religion, as my college coach said. 

I've coached high school boys and seen them get the love for the game where I know they will play for the rest of their lives.  Their parents came up to me and said, "Thank you for giving 'Junior' a chance to play.  He's never played an organized sport before... he loves it... we are so proud of him."  It only takes a couple of those to cement one's committment.

Now comes a Rugby Documentary that is trying to get the attention of US movie execs.  Have a look. 

My Ideal Job

Met with a friend for breakfast Tuesday and he reminded me of an email I sent out when I was looking for a job after I sold my company in 2005.  I didn't get any offers, so I am having to create this job for myself. 

I strayed a little from this, now is time to get back on track.  Thanks, Charlie.

Ideal Job

1. $1MM per year income potential
2. Builds equity
3. Recurring revenue
4. Steady flow of new customers
5. Uses my Unique Ability
6. No travel required
7. Low overhead
8. Few employees to manage
9. Easy and Fun
10. Able to take 3 consecutive weeks vacation
11. Able to take 150 Free Days
12. 24 x 7 accessibility NOT required
13. Paid for results not effort
14. Recession proof
15. Able to work from anywhere
16. Low capital requirements
17. Experience based, not commodity sales
18. First class in all respects
19. No boss
20. The rest is flexible...

1. $1MM per year income potential
2. Builds equity
3. Recurring revenue
4. Steady flow of new customers
5. Uses my Unique Ability
6. No travel required
7. Low overhead
8. Few employees to manage
9. Easy and Fun
10. Able to take 3 consecutive weeks vacation
11. Able to take 150 Free Days
12. 24 x 7 accessibility NOT required
13. Paid for results not effort
14. Recession proof
15. Able to work from anywhere
16. Low capital requirements
17. Experience based, not commodity sales
18. First class in all respects
19. No boss
20. The rest is flexible...

Law of Polarity

I am beginning to love the Law of Polarity.  The line between Success and Failure is as narrow as a razor's edge.  Every issue has two sides to it, like a coin, you just can't see both sides at once.  What side are you focusing on?

It is all right there- you just have to flip the switch.  Change the current from Negative to Positive. 

Came across this early today.  Dustin Hillis, the world's next sales Guru (Chris Notes it First), writes on Success Starts Now Blog about the RAFT he swims to when the current gets strong.   

Focus on what you can control; do not worry about what you cannot control.  Out of your power: death, flat tire, rain, cancelled appointment, etc.  Under your power:  hours you work, calls you make, your attitude.  How do you do it?  You need a tool, a touchstone, that icon is a RAFT.

R ealize an event is occurring
A ccept the situation
F ocus on the controllable (hours, calls, and attitude)
T ransform the negative emotion into positive momentum

Recall when adversity showed up at your door and you ignored it and went on to have your best day, week, month, or baked your best batch of cookies ever.  Reverse the polarity, keep charged, harness the flow, get amped up.  <ok analogy stretched enough already>