1. The SmartLife Method: Building Your Ideal Life
1.1. Understand WHY you started this journey in the first place
1.1.1. You have a passion to create a business out of something you love
1.1.2. More than anything else you seek freedom to control your own destiny
1.1.3. You desire a sense of stability and want to leave a legacy for your children and future generations
1.1.4. You believe that by hiring and providing for employees that you are doing your part
1.1.5. Why are you here?
1.2. Determining WHAT you really want in your life
1.2.1. You don't really want to be a workaholic, you just think that's the only way to achieve your goals
1.2.2. You want positive and fulfilling relationships with the people that you love
1.2.3. You want to make (and keep) enough money to do more than just survive, you want to thrive!
1.2.4. You want a healthy body, mind and spirit
1.2.5. You want to do work that you love that impacts the world
1.3. HOW: Mastering SmartLife Concepts
1.3.1. Creating a SmartPlan
1.3.2. Developing a SmartMindset
1.3.3. Committing to SmartWork
1.3.4. Cultivating SmartMoney
1.3.5. Integrating SmartSystems
1.3.6. Curating a SmartTeam
1.3.7. Constructing SmartHabits
1.3.8. Optimizing SmartHealth
1.4. TOOL: SmartSweep
1.4.1. Inventory of each of the 8 areas
1.4.2. Includes an initial assessment and 3 quarterly checkins
1.5. New Topic
2. SmartPlan: A Goal Without A Plan is Just a Wish
2.1. Understand and Prioritize Your Role(s) in Life
2.1.1. SELF: Who am I to myself?
2.1.2. FAMILY MEMBER: Who am I to my family?
2.1.3. BUSINESS OWNER: Who am I to my employees, customers and vendors?
2.1.4. FRIEND: Who am I to my friends?
2.1.5. COMMUNITY: Who am I to my city, town, church, community groups?
2.1.6. HIGHER POWER: Who am I to God, The Universe?
2.2. What Do You Want to be when you grow up?
2.2.1. If there were no limits (money, family, geograpy, etc) what would you do with your life?
2.2.2. If you are stuck, it's never too late to reboot your life and business
2.2.3. You can still have the life and business you always imagined
2.2.4. You are building your legacy, your eulogy has yet to be written
2.3. Documenting your current reality
2.3.1. It is important to know where you are now in order to craft a plan to get you to where you want to be.
2.3.2. Where are you compared to where you thought you would be at this point in your life?
2.3.3. Describe your current lifestyle including time spent working, time spent with family, time spent recreating and pursuing fitness, etc.
2.3.4. How would you describe your current financial situation?
2.3.5. Where are you in your business? What is your current line of work, revenue and satisfaction with your business
2.3.6. How is your health? Are you optimally healthy? What areas of your health are you currently neglecting or ignoring completely?
2.3.7. What are you most happy and unhappy about in your life right now? What would you change if you could?
2.4. Creating 5 Year Goals
2.4.1. Imagine your life five years from now. This is a long time, for sure, but you must decide where you're going if you have any hope of getting there.
2.4.2. In five years how old will you be? How old is your spouse? Your children?
2.4.3. Where do you anticipate living five years from now?
2.4.4. What would you have liked to accomplish professionally and in your business in five years?
2.4.5. What are your personal and family goals?
2.4.6. Consider your health. What are your fitness and health goals in the next five years.
2.4.7. Financially and investment-wise where would you like to be ten years from now?
2.5. Developing an Action Plan
2.5.1. Make your vision concrete by documenting the strategies that you will use to meet your goals
2.5.2. Criteria for a good action plan
2.5.2.1. Complete: Does it list all the action steps or changes to be sought in all relevant parts of the plan
2.5.2.2. Clear: Are the steps to be taken concise and understandable?
2.5.2.3. Current: Is the plan updated and relevant to the current situation
2.5.3. What Actions will occur in each of your focus areas?
2.5.4. Who will carry out the actions and to what extent
2.5.5. What resources are needed to complete your actions
2.5.6. How will you track your actions to ensure completion?
2.6. TOOL: SmartPlan
3. SmartMindset: Thinking to Win
3.1. Growth vs. Fixed Mindset
3.1.1. Intelligence, and therefore success can be developed, it is not static or set
3.1.2. We must embrace challenges instead of avoiding them
3.1.3. We must persist in the face of adversity and not give up too soon
3.1.4. Effort is a path to mastery and hard work must be seen as a virtue
3.1.5. We must take opportunities to learn from criticism vs. ignoring negative feedback
3.1.6. We must be inspired by the success of others instead of be threatened or jealous
3.2. Owner vs. Victim Mindset
3.2.1. Owners create their lives, while victims react to the life that has been created by someone else.
3.2.2. Owners get from life, whereas victims get through life
3.2.3. Owners live in a world of commitment. Victims create the illusion of doing something, but never actually create results
3.2.4. Owners accept what is as 100% reality vs. hoping and wishing that their life will one day be different or better
3.2.5. Owners focus on their own business instead of the business of others
3.3. Abundant vs. Scarcity Mindset
3.3.1. Understand that there is more than enough opportunity for you (and the whole world) to go around.
3.3.2. Live a life of gratitude: appreciate everything around you.
3.3.3. Turn off the news! Instead fill your mind with positive information like personal development books, podcasts and shows.
3.3.4. Multiply abundance by sharing the wealth and helping others grow and learn as well.
3.3.5. Always look for and seek to create Win-Win vs. Win-Lose situations.
3.4. Acceptance vs. Denial Mindset
3.4.1. The reason it happened "usually" doesn't matter
3.4.2. Now that it happened - what are you going to do about it?
3.4.3. Denying the facts doesn't make them go away
3.4.4. Acceptance acknowledges failure and moves on
3.4.5. Are you able to forge ahead in spite of your past, whatever it may be?
3.5. Beginner vs. Expert Mindset
3.5.1. Start as a beginner in any process not as an expert
3.5.2. What can others teach you rather than what can you teach them
3.5.3. Beginners look to get better, experts have nowhere else to grow
3.5.4. Beginners see failure as unavoidable - experts see failures as catastrophic
3.6. TOOL: Creating Your SmartMindset Worksheet
4. SmartWork: Rethinking the Traditional Business Model
4.1. How much do you want to make?
4.1.1. Think about net numbers not gross
4.1.2. Is there an amount that would cause you to limit your business or product?
4.1.3. What would you do differently once you achieve this number?
4.1.4. Would you consider the business a failure without reaching this number?
4.2. What is your primary business?
4.2.1. Be specific about your business
4.2.2. What drove this to become your primary business?
4.2.3. Does this business match with your goals and desires?
4.2.4. Can you change this business to better match who you are and who you want to be?
4.3. Who is your customer and what problem are you solving?
4.3.1. Are these customers new or are you replacing a previous product for existing customers?
4.3.2. Did this problem exist before you created your product or is this a new problem?
4.3.3. Can your customers find this product elsewhere?
4.3.4. Would people miss your product if it were gone?
4.4. What is your main product (60% of revenue)
4.4.1. 60% is the number that makes this a safe product
4.4.2. Do your efforts support this product being 60% of revenue?
4.4.3. How much of your expenses go towards this product?
4.5. What are a minimum of two supporting products
4.5.1. Will these new products add to or take away from existing products?
4.5.2. Can each these products generate an additional 20% of revenue?
4.5.3. Could these products eventually overtake your main product?
4.5.4. Do these additional products line up with your goals and desires?
4.6. What is the leanest expense structure you can create to support these products?
4.6.1. Can you outsource components of your product pipeline?
4.6.2. How many people are necessary to provide the product and level of service you desire?
4.6.3. Are there additional sales channels that would be minimal to add?
4.6.4. Do you gain more than you lose by "leaning down"?
4.7. TOOL: One Page Business Modeling Tool
5. SmartTeam: Engaging Your Core Advisors
5.1. You Can’t Do Life Alone
5.1.1. We were not built as solitary creatures
5.1.2. We need community to fulfill our needs and desires
5.1.3. People are our greatest asset, and unfortunately our most underutilized one as well.
5.2. The Advisor Trifecta
5.2.1. The Most Valuable Advisor: Your Personal Assistant
5.2.1.1. Manages the business of "You"
5.2.1.2. Keeps you on schedule and on task
5.2.1.3. Handles smaller, less important tasks
5.2.1.4. A trusted and confidential second set of eyes
5.2.2. The Co-Dreamer: Your Business Coach
5.2.2.1. Encourages you to move outside of your comfort zone
5.2.2.2. Brings a keen awareness of your entire business from an outside perspective
5.2.2.3. Isn't afraid of correcting you and telling you things that you might not want to hear
5.2.2.4. Holds you accountable to your goals and dreams
5.2.2.5. Acts as the ultimate confidant
5.2.3. The Enabler: Hiring a Consulting Accountant
5.2.3.1. Concerned with "just the facts"
5.2.3.2. Able to analyze the numbers according to designated KPI's
5.2.3.3. Keeps you free yet informed to the details so you focus on the bigger picture
5.2.3.4. Ultimate trust and confidentiality
5.3. Your Mastermind Group
5.3.1. 6-10 Peers committed to each other's growth and success
5.3.2. Meets weekly and follows a set agenda
5.3.3. Led by an experienced guide
5.3.4. Comprised of like industry / like minded individuals - confidential
5.4. Your Home Team
5.4.1. A connected, yet separate spouse or partner
5.4.2. Part Cheerleader - Part Listener - Part Realist
5.4.3. Someone that knows you intimately, believes the best in you and is honest
5.4.4. Will love / support you regardless
5.5. TOOL: SmartTeam Model Worksheet
6. SmartMetrics: Measuring and Tracking What Matters
6.1. Understanding Metrics
6.1.1. Understanding Key Performance Indicators
6.1.2. What are the KPI's for your industry?
6.1.3. What are your KPI's?
6.1.4. What metrics AREN'T KPIs
6.2. Developing MTM: Metrics That Matter
6.2.1. Financial Metrics
6.2.1.1. Bottom Line Growth
6.2.1.2. Operating Cash Flow
6.2.1.3. EBITDA vs. Cash Flow
6.2.1.3.1. Key Financial Metrics - 12 Indicators for Business Analysis
6.2.1.4. Operating Expense Control vs. Budget
6.2.1.5. Accounts Receivable Aging
6.2.2. Customer Metrics
6.2.2.1. Revenue Per Customer
6.2.2.2. Customer Retention Rate
6.2.2.3. Increase/Decrease in Customer Base
6.2.3. Employee Metrics
6.2.3.1. Employee Retention
6.2.3.2. Employee Satisfaction
6.2.3.3. Employee Progression
6.2.4. LIfestyle Metrics
6.2.4.1. Amount of time worked
6.2.4.2. Amount of time spent with friends and family
6.2.4.3. Time Spent on Interests outside of your business
6.3. Tracking Your MTM
6.3.1. You must create a dashboard for your MTM
6.3.2. Dashboard must be available to all employees
6.3.3. MTM's must be reviewed and tracked on a weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis
6.3.4. Metrics should be created on an annual basis, tracked weekly and revised quarterly
6.4. TOOL: MTM Dashboard Sample
7. SmartHabits: Leveraging Consistency
7.1. Becoming an Overnight Success
7.1.1. Consistency vs. Intensity
7.1.2. Doing small things everyday is better than doing big things every once in a while
7.1.3. Law of compounding effect
7.2. The Habit Of Creating Habits
7.2.1. Habit Loop: Cue, Routine, Reward
7.2.2. You can change your habits by substituting just one part of the loop, the routine.
7.2.3. Your most important habit is willpower, and you can strengthen it over time in 3 ways:
7.2.3.1. Do something that requires a lot of discipline.
7.2.3.2. Plan ahead for worst-case scenarios.
7.2.3.3. Preserve your autonomy.
7.3. Pre-apex Improvements
7.3.1. Most people don't change until they are forced to change.
7.3.2. This forces them into a trough of innefectiveness that must become painful for them to make a positive change.
7.3.3. We must begin considering change before we reach the apex of performance
7.3.4. If we begin our change before we have completely perfected our last habit we can "skip the dip"
7.4. Why it is important to track your habits
7.4.1. Habits build on momentum
7.4.2. Tracking forces us to not cease momentum
7.4.3. Tracking becomes a normal part of our everyday activities
7.5. Monastic life
7.5.1. Monks live extremely simple lives
7.5.2. Their days are repetitive and are punctuated by regular times of prayer that happen regardless of day, time, weather, etc.
7.5.3. Their meals are simple and include everything that they need for survival
7.5.4. Their rooms include a bed, a desk and a chair...all of the tools required for living.
7.6. TOOL: SmartHabit Tracker
8. SmartHealth: Conditioning for Optimal Performance
8.1. Physical Health
8.1.1. Are you able to do the activities you want to do?
8.1.2. Are you pushing yourself toward the next level of physical health?
8.1.3. Are you able to participate in activities with friends/family?
8.1.4. Do you pass the naked mirror test?
8.2. Emotional Health
8.2.1. Do you view yourself in a positive light?
8.2.2. Do you exude the qualities that are important to you?
8.2.3. Are you able to deal with feelings in a positive way?
8.2.4. Do you have self-confidence, discipline and determination?
8.3. Intellectual Health
8.3.1. Are you able to bring logic to life situations?
8.3.2. Can you think critically about issues facing you or your business?
8.3.3. Are you able to make quick decisions and not change or fear failure?
8.3.4. Are you able to find solutions?
8.4. Spiritual Health
8.4.1. Do you have a set of beliefs, principles and values that give meaning or purpose to your life?
8.4.2. Do you have faith in something beyond yourself?
8.4.3. Are you able to serve those less fortunate?
8.4.4. Is your life meaningful to others?
8.5. Interpersonal/Social Health
8.5.1. Do you have meaningful and long-lasting relationships
8.5.2. Are you a good listener?
8.5.3. Do you contribute locally to society?
8.5.4. Are you a good friend / mate?
8.6. Environmental Health
8.6.1. Do you seek to protect yourself from environmental hazards?
8.6.2. Do you try to leave your surroundings better than you found them?
8.6.3. Do you try to minimize your impact on the environment?
8.6.4. Do you seek to be a "Global Citizen"
8.7. TOOL: SmartHealth Strengths Worksheet
9. SmartMoney: Understanding New Business Finances
9.1. Living like you're retired
9.1.1. Your business is not your ATM
9.1.2. Bad money habits
9.1.3. No-Guilt Spending
9.2. Bottom Line vs. Top Line Thinking
9.2.1. Gross Sales is not the most important number in your business. Net Operating Income and Net Profit are the most important numbers
9.2.2. Do not get distracted by large top line numbers. Keep the focus on the bottom line.
9.2.3. Products with the highest gross margin are the most desireable
9.3. Cash(FLOW) is King
9.3.1. Liquid Cash should be equal to at least 2 months of revenue
9.3.2. Managing cashflow with a simple system
9.3.3. What to do when there is no cash flow
9.4. Understanding Business Finances
9.4.1. Gross Revenue - The total amount of sales of your products. THE TOP LINE
9.4.2. Gross Profit - The amount of money left over after deducting the costs associated with making and selling its products, or the costs associated with providing its services.
9.4.3. Operating Expenses - Operating expenses are those expenditures that a business incurs to engage in any activities not directly associated with the production of goods or services
9.4.4. EBITDA - Earnings before interest, taxes, deductions and amortization
9.4.5. Net Profit - A measure of the profitability of a venture after accounting for all costs. The BOTTOM LINE
9.5. Using Debt and Leverage properly
9.5.1. Lines of Credit
9.5.2. Credit Cards
9.5.3. Other Peoples Money (OPM)
9.5.4. Other Programs
9.5.5. Taking on partners and/or selling equity in the business
9.6. Traditional retirement options for Small Business Owners
9.6.1. Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP IRA)
9.6.2. Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE IRA)
9.6.3. Self-Employed 401(k) plan
9.6.4. 401(k) plan
9.6.5. Types of Small Business Retirement Plans - Fidelity
9.7. Your Exit Plan
9.7.1. Hiring a Manager
9.7.2. Expansion
9.7.3. Sale