Being alive means we have and will have problems.

And if we're going to be confronted with problems the rest of our lives, then becoming good at facing and solving problems seems to be a worthy endeavor.

Before I jump into my list, allow me to share a few of my thoughts ABOUT problems.

I believe there is almost always more than one solution to any problem. And if you think there's only one, you will be significantly limiting yourself.

I also think that in business, you don't really have problems, you have expenses. This assumes that every problem in business can be solved. It's just going to cost time, energy and/or money to solve it. Not so with all personal problems. Many of them cannot be solved with money alone.

Our attitude toward problems and problem-solving is probably as important, if not more important, than our skills or knowledge in solving them. How we approach our problems is critical.

An Invitation to Master Mind with Me Personally

Michael Angier, here . . .

In just the past few days, 3 different people asked me to to offer a personal master mind program.

This is in addition to our Diamond Club MasterMind.

They told me they wanted more of me—specifically to master mind with me and have me personally mentor them to create breakthroughs—in their lives and in their businesses.

That's all very flattering. 

But . . . I've facilitated a year-long master mind before, and frankly, it was pretty demanding. When I work with people this closely, I put a LOT into it.

You’ve heard the phrase, "It's lonely at the top", right?

Well, from my own experience—and from the thousands of people and companies I've worked with over the years—I think it's not only lonely at the top, it's often lonely at the bottom and middle, too.

But it doesn't need to be that way.

How about you? Do you have the right team in place?

Do you have the right professionals on board?

Do you have people who believe in you?

Do you have a mastermind team?

Sadly, I find very few small business owners who have the proper support structure.

Most struggle unnecessarily. They make decisions without experience or getting advice from people who can help. They feel alone, they lack confidence, and unfortunately, most of them fail.

In fact, the odds of winning for an inexperienced gambler in Las Vegas are far better than for an entrepreneur trying to win in the game of business.

As we begin a New Year—and a new decade—I'm sure you, like many others, have been making resolutions, setting goals and creating strategic plans.

Let's face it, we all like new things. It's hard to beat NEW. We like the new idea, the latest and greatest strategy and the hot tactic of the day.

But in this quest, it's easy to lose sight of the fundamentals of success and happiness. When we're focused on the new stuff, it can be easy to neglect the basics.

As my wife and I mapped out the New Year, we talked about new objectives, targets and adventures. But we also talked about the importance of the simpler things; time together, planned IN-activity, sufficient hydration, good exercise and adequate sleep.

We discussed our need for reflection, affirmation, visualization, our social and physical environment and reading good books.

Because if we don’t pay attention to these things, our production will be limited by our production capacity. We need to take excellent care of ourselves, or we'll be unable to take care of others—and other things.