If you say YES to everything (beware)…

exhausted 300x199 If you say YES to everything (beware)...

It’s been a quick minute since I wrote my last blog for you…

… and it pains me to admit that, because writing these personal letters to you is one of the absolute favorite parts of my life.

Yet there’s a reason (like there always is in our distorted mind’s) as to why I have been so distracted from the very thing I love the most (which is sharing with you in this intimate way)…

Because in the last 30 days, we have:

  • Experienced our first six-figure internet launch, generating over $110,500 in 8 days (wow…even I’m a little amazed by that one).
  • Come home from our month long adventure in Maui to re-integrate into the chaos that is Los Angeles.
  • Hire two new members into our amazing team (and begin to train them) while shifting around everyone else’s role to ensure each person is playing at their highest.
  • Been BOMBARDED by speaking requests, partnership proposals, and coaching inquires to play with other high-level leaders (more to come on this later).
  • Created ALL of the content for the Sold-Out Seminar Secrets coaching program as well as the $5,000 live event happening June 3-5 in San Diego (this is going to be mind-blowing!!).
  • Led our own private Mastermind retreat for the powerful and amazing members of our Enlightened Entrepreneurs Club.
  • And a whole lot more…

Geez…I get a little overwhelmed just writing all of this (haha).

So, what does this mean to you?

Well, there’s a SUPER IMPORTANT lesson in this experience that we can both learn from…and if it’s OK with you, I’m going to be totally transparent with you right now to unveil it.

Ok…..ready?

THIS IS WAY TOO MUCH STUFF TO HANDLE IN ONE MONTH!!!!

Like seriously….what was I thinking?

Every good opportunity that came up, we said YES to. Every time we were making a big decision, we went for gold. Every choice we made, we decided to play full out. You could say that we have been kicking a$$ and taking names (oh ya!).

Now I can hear you saying to yourself: “But wait a minute, that all sounds good. What’s the problem Max?”

On one hand, you’re right…this is all really good stuff. Yet I have a philosophy that I picked up from my very first coach (James Malinchak) that goes like this: Design your business around your life, not your life around your business.

And let me just tell you my friend that over the last month, my life has been 100% designed around my business (yuck!)….which means that I haven’t had time to do any of the things I love.

My meditation practice has been cut short. My yoga practice has suffered. I haven’t seen my friends. Heck, I barely had enough time to talk with my mom (sorry mom).

And truth be told….I’m exhausted (which is just strange for me to say because I haven’t allowed myself to get into this place….well…..ever).

You see, you can always experience more success. There will always be more opportunities. You can always take your business to the next level.

Yet you can NEVER get back your time. Ever.

So while I am EXTREMELY PROUD about what we accomplished over the last little period, I never want to let my business take over my life again….because it’s just not worth it.

And there’s such a fine line between playing full out and sacrificing yourself. And now that I’m just about on the other end of this bumpy road, here’s what I’ve learned about how to better manage situations like this in the future:

1) Before making decisions about new opportunities, step back and ask yourself the question: “Do I really have space to do this well without compromising the other parts of my life that are important?” Understand that pretty much everything you do (especially if it’s the first time) will take up to 50% longer than you expected.

2) Do you have the support and infrastructure in place to properly handle this NEW opportunity without making everyone crazy? If you don’t have enough help right up front, bring new people on-board before you begin instead of in the middle of the project. It’s a whole lot harder to get help once your train has already left the station.

3) Say NO. Being available to everyone else without taking care of yourself is a BAD move, because you can’t serve anyone if you don’t have the energy, space, or attention to do it with 100% presence and focus.

4) Discern between your fear of doing something new and your clarity that it’s too much. It’s OK to say no if you simply can’t handle the extra work, and it’s OK to say YES if you’re just afraid about stepping up.

So….after all this, I finally can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our SOLD-OUT event is next weekend, the content is about 90% complete, and our new team members have really hit the ground running (yay team awesome).

And once we’re officially on the other side of this crazy ride, I’m really excited to dive back into creating a plethora of great content and videos for you. I have learned SO MUCH about what it really takes to make BIG money by helping other people in the last few months…so I’m eager to share it with you.

Cool?

Cool…

Now it’s your turn to share.

If you’ve ever experienced a time in your life where you really had to stretch, and came out of it with some great stories, please share them below. I would love to hear your crazy tales…

Much love,

Max

Is your BUT getting in the way?

As you can tell by my tone in this video, Hawaii is pretty sweet.

… and it’s really exciting to see what we’re creating in this tropical paradise as we hold the intention to get stuff done fast and go on as many amazing adventures as we can.

If you’ve ever had the desire to do something like this, meaning to travel around the world and still make a powerful impact, I think you’ll really get a lot out of this video.

Leave a comment below with YOUR story…

AND, get ready for Sold-Out Seminar Secrets….coming to you LIVE  at the end of this week!!

Follow YOUR intuition or pay the painful price…

stubborn mule 150x150 Follow YOUR intuition or pay the painful price...

Let me just start out by saying…

I DON’T WANT TO WRITE THIS POST!!!

…Because I vowed many times before that I had learned this lesson and would not repeat it again….yet apparently, I was wrong… because the Bad News Bears have come back for a repeat visit and this time, they took home the gold.

So let me just tell you now that this letter is going to be about INTUITION….and how ignoring it will cost you time, money, energy, and your sanity.

Here’s the story…

As you know, I am preparing to launch my most EXCITING and POWERFUL project yet…

…It’s called Sold-Out Seminar Secrets…and it’s a super cool step-by-step system to help you put on your own transformational live events that deeply transform people’s lives and make you six-figures in a single weekend (awesome, right?).

And just because I’m super excited about it….let me just tell you that IT’S GOING TO ROCK! (can you tell that I’m fired up?)

Seriously…if you’re into live events….this will be the most comprehensive and rich program you’ve ever seen.

And to launch this puppy…

We’ve decided to try something very different (and unique) just to shake things up…which means that you’ll get a comprehensive VIDEO course chalked full of amazing content, funny stories, and some cool extra goodies about how to put on your own powerful, profitable, and purposeful live events.

…Seriouslly, it’s going to be the coolest thing I’ve ever created for you…especially if you want to deeply impact people’s lives and have a ton of fun doing it (I just LOVE live events).

And here’s where it’s gotten sticky…

Now let me share with you that I’ve never done something like this…

… Meaning, I’ve never created a 4-part video course with all the fancy bells and whistles that’s going into these movies for you (it’s going to be sooo cool).

So like anything new, I’m failing fast, taking constant imperfect action, and making PLENTY of mistakes.

But here’s the thing…

… You and I both know the difference between diving into something new and being a little (or a lot) afraid…

Or having that feeling in your gut that you’re going down the wrong path and that you need to STOP.

You know what I mean?

Well, I ignored that little signal, trying to “make believe” that what I heard was just FEAR, even though I knew damn well that it was actually my intuition flashing the “WRONG” signal loud and clear.

So here’s what happened, specifically…

I’ve been working with a video guy who is a close friend of mine, and someone that I love dearly.

…Yet he is not someone that really GET’S what I do…meaning, we’re not in the same conversation (does that make sense?).

So even though he is SUPER-TALENTED and full of potential, we never  see eye-to-eye when it comes to translating the vision in my head into a tangible video that truly reflects the energy of what I do.

Yet I love him…so I keep sending business his way.

So now it’s time to do this campaign and I kept getting that FEELING that he wasn’t the right guy for the job….like I needed someone new.

Yet even though my intuition was sending this message loud a clear, my mind was attempting to rationalize why everything would be OK.

Does that ever happen to you?

I could actually here the conversation playing in my head: “We’ve done stuff together before. He’s a smart guy. What if he CAN do it?”

Furthermore, I noticed a little bit of resistance to “find someone new” because it would take extra energy, time, and strain (at least that’s the excuse my mind made up). Plus, there’s always a little bit of that “fear” going with someone new and finding out they just can’t deliver (vs. going with someone old who you KNOW can’t deliver….haha).

So even though my current guy wasn’t the right fit, and my intuition was screaming to go in a different direction, I decided to “play it safe” and stay with him…

…And as you can imagine, it was a disaster.

…Our shooting location got cancelled at the last second.

… He wasn’t able to get a green screen.

… No tele-prompter

… One of his extra’s accidentally dropped my laptop and it broke the screen.

… the whole experience FELT super draining and challenging

…PLUS, we didn’t get the footage we needed.

Yup…it pretty much sucked.

Sounds fun…right?

Now here’s the thing….

NONE OF THIS IS THE VIDEO GUY’S FAULT!!!

… Because it was ME who asked him to do something he had never done before…

… Because it was ME who didn’t find someone who was an expert in this area…

… Because it was ME to ignored my intuition and played it safe.

And as a result, it was ME who suffered the consequences.

So what can we learn from this?

Now this might all sound like a disaster….and it is (to a certain degree)….but there’s also A TON of good stuff that can (and will) come out of this.

1) We’re now on the hunt to find the PERFECT video guy (or girl) to help us with this campaign and we’re 1000% confident that we will find them.

2) We learned all sorts of things about how to do video the RIGHT WAY…so now, I am that much more prepared to help YOU!

3) It’s reinforce the importance of taking extra time up-front to find the right people so that you don’t have to do things again (which takes more time and energy).

4) It’s made for another great story about how important it is to TRUST your INTUITION….no matter what….period…..end of story.

Because ultimately, you always have a choice when things suck.

… You can beat yourself up, whine, complain, and suffer.

… Or you can learn, grow, and keep moving forward.

I’m gonna go with #2…

If you enjoyed this post…

Do two things:

1) Leave a comment below with a story about when you either ignored your intuition and got bit….or when you followed your intuition and it was awesome!

2) If you think they could benefit from it, share these post with your friends.

Cool….I look forward to hearing from you.

Much love,

Max

P.S. Got a GREAT video guy or girl? Please send them my way (haha)…

No more doing it alone!!! This is madness!!

JV summit 300x198 No more doing it alone!!! This is madness!!

I just got back from an amazing event in San Diego put on by my new friend Christian Mickelsen (super cool and powerful guy).

… Kendall SummerHawk, Bill Baren, Gina Ratliffe, Arvee Robinson, Christine Kloser, and Beth Schneider…were just a few of the remarkable people in the room (these are all people you DEFINITELY want to look up and follow because they are up to some really great stuff).

The theme of this intimate private event was essentially: “How do we work together to create a better world, serve people in a greater way, and build stronger businesses in the process?” All of our favorite things….YES?

But here’s what really struck me (and it wasn’t something we even discussed during the event).

When it comes to my mission of helping entrepreneurs become more powerful leaders, make a greater impact, and create more freedom and abundance…

…ready for this?

I haven’t been doing a very good job!

And what I mean (and this is difficult to admit) is that I am constantly meeting and learning about really remarkable people who are up to some pretty fantastic things that could really benefit you…..yet I haven’t been sharing them with you.

Why?

…Because I’ve been afraid that it would “take away” from my business.

And as I sat with ” the why”, here’s what I realized…

You see, the old paradigm of business thought (which is unconsciously trying to hold on for dear life inside of me) is that we have “competition”.

Meaning, that there is not enough….which is total scarcity consciousness (yuck!).

So whenever I would connect with or find someone else who was doing something valuable, I would (unconsciously) default to the thought: “I might offer something like that one day so I better not share it with the tribe right now because it will take away from what I’m doing.”

Yet as I share this with you out loud right now, it seems totally and utterly ridiculous….right?

…Because there is not such thing as competition.

…Because I may never create that “thing” in the future.

…Because everyone is so totally different, so the product / service / energy / whatever would have a completely different impact in the first place!!

Why Am I Telling You This?

Because I’ve found that (often times) if I’m having these thoughts, you’re probably having them too….and just like what happened to me this weekend, taking them out of “the shadow” into awareness often times provides some really powerful breakthroughs.

And more importantly, this awareness helps you make different choices which leads to different outcomes.

And let’s face it, we’re all looking for things to be different these days.

So, here is my commitment to you now

Now that I’ve had this awareness, I would like to make this commitment to you: “Whenever I find someone who is doing something remarkable that could benefit you, I’m going to share them with you.”

Now with that said, let me also state some clarification points:

  1. I will always dig as deep as I need to in order to make sure that they are authentic, sincere, and substantial. Essentially, I will be a very discerning filter for you (because neither of us want you to “get into bed” with some crazy yahoo).
  2. I will be respectful of your time, attention, and energy. Meaning, you will only get things that are easy to digest, valuable, and clear.
  3. As a cherished member of this tribe, I want to hear your thoughts and feedback. So when you check someone out, please let me know what you think and feel about them.

Are you creating relationships that benefit everyone?

Let’s also take a moment to address the business side of this conversation….because you are in fact, running a business (and hearing how I handle this will probably help you).

Some of the time, the people I share with you will have a program, service, or product. If I feel like their “thing” will really help you, I will probably sign-up as an affiliate….which means that if you buy something, I will get a “thank you” commission.

If you’re not aware, that’s called an “affiliate relationship”.

Whenever this is the case, I will tell you right up front about it so that you can make the decision for yourself to check it out or not.

But hear me loud and clear for a moment: “I WILL NEVER MAKE A DECISION FOR MONEY.”

Meaning, the only things I will ever share with you are things that I believe will help you. Period.

That said, these type of relationships can be a total WIN-WIN-WIN because you get great guidance that will really help you, my fellow teacher gets to support you in your growth and evolution, and I get some extra financial energy. Sounds pretty nice….YES?

Let’s start now!

To kick this off right, let me tell you about the man of the hour – Christian Mickelsen. Now let me start by saying that I’m not very easily impressed by people….yet this guy’s heart, presence, and generosity totally blew me away.

Max Christina 150x150 No more doing it alone!!! This is madness!!In my eyes, he is the PERFECT model of an Enlightened Entrepreneur.

And he’s built a million dollar business teaching coaches how to get clients….so his new product: “ Client Attraction & Money Making Mastery” gets my highest recommendation (because I got a behind-the-scenes look at it this weekend and it’s AWESOME!!!)

When you opt-in, you’ll get some really CONTENT-RICH videos that will quickly help you get more clients and make more money…especially if you’re in the coaching world.

CHECK IT OUT NOW!

Please share your thoughts

So my friend, was this post helpful? Did it shed some light on some of your own shadows? Do you agree with me? Please share as I (and everyone else in the tribe) would love to hear your words of wisdom.

And I have a feeling that this post could really help some of your friends so if you agree, feel free to share the love with others in your world.

3 Lessons From The Event & A Brand New Idea For You…

After our 4th consecutive sold out event, I’m finally starting to feel like I know a thing or two about putting on live experiences.

You see, besides the fact that we lovingly generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in new income (yes, you heard that right), we also made a powerfully positive impact on the world and forever changed the lives of our participants…

Because each and every one of our Enlightened Entrepreneurs now has the skills, courage, and support to make a real difference in the world by creating a business that truly serves….

…and makes more money, creates more freedom, and has a bigger impact than ever before.

And WOW, what an experience it was.

Vishen blew people away when he showed us how to go from working from your bedroom with no employees to creating a multi-million dollar company in just a few short years.

James Roche walked people through the Entrepreneurs path and showed us how to move from the one-to-one model to an information empire.

Alexis shared her Money Map so that we could design our business around our life. And Cynthia talked about how to use giving as a vehicle for growth in our businesses.

And the entertainment…

AMAZING!!! Andrew took people through a super-fun Monkey Chant (curious aren’t you?) and Malek captivated the crowd with one of the greatest stories of all time.

And the depth – PROFOUND!!! Shule took people into a powerfully still and open space with the morning yoga and meditations while Julia Mikk used her signature Breath of Love process to unwind any fear, stress, or tension that was stuck inside.

But don’t take my word for it, check out what these people had to say about this event:

So now that are RESULTS are consistently on-point

I’m feeling very confident that I have a real formula to share with you about how to mold your business into a wealth-creating, soul-inspiring, freedom-generating machine.

And to start that conversation, here are the 3 greatest lessons that I would like to share with YOU from our last sold-out retreat:

Lesson #1: The world needs better models, not more information.

Many of the people at the retreat came up to me and said that they didn’t feel ready, prepared, or qualified enough to step into their power as an Enlightened Entrepreneur. When I dug a little deeper, it was usually because they felt like they didn’t “know enough.”

For example, have you ever said to yourself: “I can’t do ______ because I don’t have _______ degree?” Or maybe: “I couldn’t offer _____ because I don’t have the right qualification?”

Now in some cases, that might be true. But 95% of the time, I would say that those thoughts are just excuses for delaying getting started.

You see, your role is not to have all the answers (which is impossible I might add).

Your role is to be a great model…To showcase what it looks like to walk your talk, to take risks, to exemplify what’s possible. Because people aren’t buying your knowledge, they are buying YOU.

So next time you think about postponing your service because you aren’t qualified, shift your conversation to “How can I be a better model?” The answer to that question will most likely look a lot different than your previous excuse.

Lesson #2: Surround yourself with Enlightened Entrepreneurs

As usual, one of the main highlights of this event was the tribe (AKA, the people). We tend to attract the most amazing, heart-centered, visionary entrepreneurs on the planet who are always hungry to make a powerfully positive impact in the world.

And time and time again, I hear people say: “I didn’t even know that it was possible find so many amazing people in one place.”

What this says to me is that you aren’t  nearly focused enough on surrounding yourself with people that inspire and motivate you. One of my favorite quotes (because of the truth resonance) is: “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” – Jim Rohn.

So are the five people closest to you playing at their highest, striving to create a magical life, and getting GREAT results? If not, you are going to model their success and energy and stay small.

Bottom line: if you want to do big things, you must be surrounded by players that think big.

Lesson #3: Go where the energy flows

Often times, we get an idea in our head about what our business is….yet when we put that into motion, the results suck.

So then, you start working EVEN HARDER to make something happen… and all that does is make you more frustrated, irritated, and burnt-out when you still don’t get the results you want.

When instead, you should be asking yourself the question: “Where is the energy flowing right now?”

Meaning, what are my greatest opportunities to make money and utilize my gifts that I might be ignoring.

You see, so many people came to our retreat with the intention to turn their struggling business into something successful. Yet through a series of signature exercises I led, they realized that their current business was actually out-of-alignment with what they wanted to be doing most, and as a result, they actually needed a slight 15 degree shift.

And with this minor tweak, a surge of energy came rushing through and they were re-born, in an instant. In fact, I can think of over 15 people from this event who generated thousands of dollars in NEW business before we even finished once they had this shift.

So if you’ve been feeling attached to a certain path in your business and it’s just not working, ask yourself: “Where is the energy going right now?” It’s very possible that a slight change in direction could open up a floodgate of new money and impact.

And for my greatest PERSONAL breakthrough…

I have been sitting with an idea for the last few months that now feels like it’s ready to come out…because when I announced it at the event, people went CRAZY…so now I’d like your thoughts as well.

Since beginning my business career almost 8 years ago, I have probably produced over 100 LIVE events across a number of different industries (business, spirituality, personal development, entertainment, mixers, etc). So I guess you could say that I’m somewhat of an expert in this arena.

And people always tell me that they would LOVE to put on their own event, but they just don’t know how.

They don’t know where to start, how to book the venues for cheap, how to market it to the best people, how to fill them up fast, how to run it the right way, and how to ensure that the experience itself is profound.

Well, seeing as though we have completely filled up our last 4 events. generated over $650,000 in new business, and created a devoted group of fans that practically sell our events for us, I’m feeling like I could really help in this area…

So here’s what we’re thinking:

If you feel like it’s a good idea, we would like to launch a new event called: “Your Event Event (haha)”, which will be an exact, step-by-step blueprint for putting on and filling your own mega-successful live events that transform people’s lives and generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in new income for you.

How does that sound to you?

Please leave a comment below with your thoughts on the blog, and this new little idea (because if you say GO, then I’m on it!)…