Building Your Money Machine

In this episode, #1 Bestselling Author and Highly Acclaimed business & Entrepreneur Expert, Mel Abraham shares a model dealing with the two forces and the four zones that drive your success. When it comes to assessing where you are in life in terms of business, health, finances and relationships you can make use of the two success drivers: 1)Action and 2)Focus and they give you an indication of where you stand. These two forces that drive your success helps you in knowing where you are currently and what you should do to push towards where you want to be in life.The two forces of success along with the four indication zones can be better understood with the help of the following quadrant model:The Success Zone EvaluatorOn one side of it is action, and on the other is focus. Depending on how you score on these two factors, you lie in one of the following four zones:Frozen Zone: With very little focus and action, the people that are here are doing nothing to vitalize their life and are spending the time that they have on things that don't contribute to any type of positive results. They have been squandering away the years on things that may erode their health, business, relationship and wealth.Scattered Zone: If you rank here, then you are full of energy but you lack the focus to invest the energy in a particular direction. Sporadic results are common in the scattered zone where there may be momentary successes but they are not sustainable. Instead of shifting gears regularly, you have to create systems in place to focus your energy and trigger yourself for productivity gains.Hope Zone: People who hope all day long instead of taking action is in this zone. They are hoping, they stare at things, and all they know is where they want to be and what they would like to have. Identifying the goals isn't enough because we need to have a process in place for you to take action so you find yourself in a better and successful position.Success Zone: When you have high focus and high action that is moving you towards the direction of triumph, you are in this zone. You are someone who has a conservative focus that moves you forward. High performers and achievers who know where they want to go and are pushing their actions to take them there are the folks in the success zone.__________________________ABOUT MEL ABRAHAMMel is the founder of Business Breakthrough Academy and Thoughtpreneur Academy where he helps entrepreneurs bring their businesses to the world and build the lifestyle that they want. Mel is one the most sought after entrepreneurial mentor and strategic thinkers of our time. Unlike many other so called “business coaches”, Mel has lived everything he teaches and continues to do so. Mel has built, bought and sold numerous multimillion-dollar businesses for himself as well as his clients. As the author of The Entrepreneur’s Solution: The Modern Millionaire’s Path to More Profit, Fans & Freedom Entrepreneur, Mel’s strategies have helped build thousands of businesses and have generated hundreds of millions of dollars for his clients, ranging from large corporations to startups and small family-owned businesses.Mel is a true believer in the entrepreneurial way of life and says that this “new frontier” is the paradigm that will shift society from simply existing to living life bigger, bolder and on th

In this episode, #1 Bestselling Author and Highly Acclaimed business & Entrepreneur Expert, Mel Abraham answers a question about how to figure out what your gifts are and what you should be doing. So today, we deal with The Greatness Framework that helps you pin-point where your greatness actually lies and the things that you should be focusing your energy on to have the greatest impact and fulfillment.The Greatness FrameworkUnderstand what your talents and skills are. To really find your greatness, discover the level of uniqueness that you can take to the marketplace. You might have accumulated your talents or the things that you are good at from school, with education, by reading and researching, or from your life experiences and mistakes. The things that you are good at can be in areas like design, technology or just anything else. These are the skills that even other people know that you are good at and they come looking for you when they need that specific talent. This is what you are going to monetize in the future.Identify the opportunity where you can use your talents to serve, shift and make a difference. The intersection of your skill and the opportunity to impact positively is called your Niche, and it is imperative that you identify the niche that you can serve with excellence. So, marry and match your special abilities with the opportunities that might exist out there.Next, you should have the action and discipline which is the over-arching beam that brings together everything mentioned above. Today, those who have the ability to make a tremendous impact are lacking in success because they are missing this special ingredient. So, in order to bring success and cash flow into your game, you must have the discipline to work countless hours, and sweat blood and tears, and finally find the success that you are seeking for.Also, identify the intersection between your skills and the action which is Development—where you grow with what you already know by putting it into use. Similarly, the marriage between discipline and opportunity is Monetization—where you find the ability to have an impact and create a lucrative gig.Finally, the sole focal point that everything intersects in is where your greatness lies. It is the union of: Talents/Skills, Opportunities, and Action & Discipline.__________________________ABOUT MEL ABRAHAMMel is the founder of Business Breakthrough Academy and Thoughtpreneur Academy where he helps entrepreneurs bring their businesses to the world and build the lifestyle that they want. Mel is one the most sought after entrepreneurial mentor and strategic thinkers of our time. Unlike many other so called “business coaches”, Mel has lived everything he teaches and continues to do so. Mel has built, bought and sold numerous multimillion-dollar businesses for himself as well as his clients. As the author of The Entrepreneur’s Solution: The Modern Millionaire’s Path to More Profit, Fans & Freedom Entrepreneur, Mel’s strategies have helped build thousands of businesses and have generated hundreds of millions of dollars for his clients, ranging from large corporations to startups and small family-owned businesses.Mel is a true believer in the entrepreneurial way of life and says that this “new frontier” is the paradigm that will shift society from simply existing to living life bigger, bol

In this special episode released on Thanksgiving week, #1 Bestselling Author and Highly Acclaimed business & Entrepreneur Expert, Mel Abraham talks about bringing gratitude into your life. Being thankful impacts more than just your personal life as it reflects in your business and society.The framework is about how to make the habit of being grateful a part of your life, business and everything.The Gratitude GridInternalNotice: We are able to notice the good and bad things in life, but it is a matter of what we pay our attention to. Without ignoring the bad, intentionally notice the good that comes in our path.Humility: It is imperative to be modest and respectful while putting away your ego. Your modesty attracts many towards you, and the respect you have for others will make you humble which in turn will help you become grateful towards the things in life.Commit: Really commit to showing gratitude, and stop perpetuating the negativity that might exist around your life. Instead of complaining, criticizing and judging, break that pattern and commit to it.ActivityJournal: Journal everyday at the same time to write about the five things that you are grateful for. Those things might repeat or change but you should truly feel, reflect and appreciate them.Compliment: Without having ulterior motives, introduce complimenting words as a part of your everyday vocabulary. Don't miss the opportunities where you can honestly compliment others—that you know or don't know—at least three times a day.Cause: Find the external thing that is driving you and go out there to give back. It should be something that is beyond your accomplishments, and do it so that the lives that you have touched are better because of you.PracticeTransform: Your negative associations and memories should be transformed into positives. When they are triggered, you have something warm and fond to remember. Transforming them might be complex but over time it is possible. Learn: Get to know about other people and things so that you can grow as a person, intellect and a force in the society. Learn something new every day.Sincerity: Be sincere while being grateful. Do not do it just as a checklist, but do it with authenticity. If you really mean it, you end up feeling much better.__________________________ABOUT MEL ABRAHAMMel is the founder of Business Breakthrough Academy and Thoughtpreneur Academy where he helps entrepreneurs bring their businesses to the world and build the lifestyle that they want. Mel is one the most sought after entrepreneurial mentor and strategic thinkers of our time. Unlike many other so called “business coaches”, Mel has lived everything he teaches and continues to do so. Mel has built, bought and sold numerous multimillion-dollar businesses for himself as well as his clients. As the author of The Entrepreneur’s Solution: The Modern Millionaire’s Path to More Pro

In this episode, #1 Bestselling Author and Highly Acclaimed business & Entrepreneur Expert, Mel Abraham tackles a question that gets asked all the time which is about what it takes to become wealthy from a money standpoint. First, we need to understand that the concept of wealth building is less about the money and more about the discipline that you have in the process.We also should take a look at how the wealthy deal with their money versus others. Most people spend their income on items that they want and they invest the remainder. The wealthy first invest and the remaining is what they use on their living. So, prioritize investments.Understand that wealth creation is not something that happens overnight. It takes a lot of work and discipline. Here is the 5 step framework to become wealthy:Wealth Creation FunnelComfort: At first, create a comfort fund of around 2000 dollars. It will be your cushion. Get it right and you'll have a little more relaxation but if you don't get it right, you will live in anxiety.Consumer Debt: Get rid of the drains that are sucking out your financials such as credit card payments, car loans etc. Do not spend tomorrow's dollars for today's benefits. Start paying down your debt. Use the Debt Breakthrough Calculator which allows you to prioritize your debts. You won't have to deal with high interest if you get it right.Peace of Mind Fund: Beyond the comfort fund, now you build a peace of mind fund which is 2 years of your expense. Prioritize it, and make it happen with the help of your discipline and integrity. If you don't get this fund right, you won't see a vision. If you do, then a lot of possibility opens.Property Debt: Next, handle your real estate debt and start paying it down. You will effectively be debt free in the process. There is no appreciation or increase in your property without it but if you get it right, it builds your equity over time.Freedom: Finally, continue to accumulate enough wealth so that your lifestyle can be maintained even after retirement. Your freedom fund is the cash flow machine that generates earnings from the wealth that you created. With freedom fund you've got life your way otherwise you're shackled to a job for the rest of your life.__________________________ABOUT MEL ABRAHAMMel is the founder of Business Breakthrough Academy and Thoughtpreneur Academy where he helps entrepreneurs bring their businesses to the world and build the lifestyle that they want. Mel is one the most sought after entrepreneurial mentor and strategic thinkers of our time. Unlike many other so called “business coaches”, Mel has lived everything he teaches and continues to do so. Mel has built, bought and sold numerous multimillion-dollar businesses for himself as well as his clients. As the author of The Entrepreneur’s Solution: The Modern Millionaire’s Path to More Profit, Fans & Freedom Entrepreneur, Mel’s strategies have helped build thousands of businesses and have generated hundreds of millions of dollars for his clients, ranging from large corporations to startups and small family-owned businesses.Mel is a true believer in the entrepreneurial way of life and says that this “new frontier” is the paradigm that will shift society from simply existing to living life

In this episode, #1 Bestselling Author and Highly Acclaimed business & Entrepreneur Expert, Mel Abraham talks about deciding at what point we delegate and the things to delegate.The CORES of BusinessTo grow, scale and build something that is meaningful we need to let go of control. Here's how you decide on the things and whether they are something that you delegate or hold on to:Critical: If it is critical to the operations of your business and drives profit, then be the one in control of it. Others will not be as effective as you. Even if it is something that you do not like or are not proficient in, you need to responsibly monitor it. Have a system in place that drives things and you are on the monitoring end.Original: Keep in control of those elements that is your differentiating point. Stay close to the key characteristics that set you apart in the marketplace. For example: Your image, culture and branding. These things are your market differentiators so keep tabs on it at a great level.Revenue: If it drives your revenue, stay on top of it. Without cash, your business cannot survive. So, be the one who is closely monitoring the things like client relationships and sales that bring in the revenues of your business.Expansive: Spearhead those strategies that keep your business going. Command the strategic elements that allow your business to grow and expand. You can have other people for implementation and execution but the expansive piece is yours.Strategic: As a visionary and the strategic thinker of the business, be the one to decide on the techniques that fits. You do not need to be the implementer but be that visionary who oversees where your business is heading. Always have your finger on the pulse.__________________________ABOUT MEL ABRAHAMMel is the founder of Business Breakthrough Academy and Thoughtpreneur Academy where he helps entrepreneurs bring their businesses to the world and build the lifestyle that they want. Mel is one the most sought after entrepreneurial mentor and strategic thinkers of our time. Unlike many other so called “business coaches”, Mel has lived everything he teaches and continues to do so. Mel has built, bought and sold numerous multimillion-dollar businesses for himself as well as his clients. As the author of The Entrepreneur’s Solution: The Modern Millionaire’s Path to More Profit, Fans & Freedom Entrepreneur, Mel’s strategies have helped build thousands of businesses and have generated hundreds of millions of dollars for his clients, ranging from large corporations to startups and small family-owned businesses.Mel is a true believer in the entrepreneurial way of life and says that this “new frontier” is the paradigm that will shift society from simply existing to living life bigger, bolder and on their own terms.Meet Mel at http://melabraham.com/____________________THE ENTREPRENEUR'S SOLUTIONThe Entrepreneur's Solution is a weekly entrepreneur, business, wealth and lifestyle show where entrepreneur, speaker and author Mel Abraham reveals all of his business and entrepreneur building stra

In this episode, #1 Bestselling Author and Highly Acclaimed business & Entrepreneur Expert, Mel Abraham looks at how we can motivate people.PROUDPositive Impact: Having a positive impactnot just on the team member but on those that are around them so that they are magnetized and attracted.Recognition: People want to be appreciated and recognized. When you care personally about them, they produce at great levels.Outside: As much as they want a paycheck, people want to know that what they are doing is affecting others in a positive way.Unifying: Ask yourself what you unifying cry is which can attract people in an inspirational way to mutually drive the mission and purpose that is there.Developing: To inspire people, they need to know that they are developing. You need to give them a place to feel safe, grow and develop their skills.The Pride CycleAnticipation: A nervous anticipation is there when there is something new coming about.Energy: Anticipation brings with it an electrified energy of excitement which brings you in the job.Commitment: The next thing that you do is commit that energy to the process as you move forward.Action: Once we make the commitment, we can make it happen intentionally to get the action behind it. Once the action is put in play, you will see a lot of things.Results: Now you get the results and they may or may not be what you are looking for. But know that your choices in business aren’t terminal.Reflect: We then need to reflect on what happened—whether it is something that we wanted or not. If it is what we wanted we can expand and escalate it. If not we need to make some changes.Recognition: We need to recognize what happened. Even if it a result that wasn’t our goal, we need to recognize the team members for their successes. Look for things that went right.Adjust: Finally, we need to adjust it and tune it; and the cycle continues.__________________________ABOUT MEL ABRAHAMMel is the founder of Business Breakthrough Academy and Thoughtpreneur Academy where he helps entrepreneurs bring their businesses to the world and build the lifestyle that they want. Mel is one the most sought after entrepreneurial mentor and strategic thinkers of our time. Unlike many other so called “business coaches”, Mel has lived everything he teaches and continues to do so. Mel has built, bought and sold numerous multimillion-dollar businesses for himself as well as his clients. As the author of The Entrepreneur’s Solution: The Modern Millionaire’s Path to More Profit, Fans & Freedom Entrepreneur, Mel’s strategies have helped build thousands of businesses and have generated hundreds of millions of dollars for his clients, ranging from large corporations to startups and small family-owned businesses.Mel is a true believer

In this episode, #1 Bestselling Author and Highly Acclaimed business & Entrepreneur Expert, Mel Abraham digs into the 9 elements of a conversation which is about how we can have a meaningful discussion. This episode is the second part of a two part series on communication. This one covers The Resolution Roadmap and it helps us understand how we can have a difficult conversation with others.The Resolution RoadmapIt is about learning, clarifying and understanding the opening, conversation and completion of a dialogue.OpeningIssue: At first, you need to learn what the issue is. Share or discover the challenges by asking or telling explicitly.Example: Seek to clarify by giving a specific situation or example. Instead of being generic, you will have to specifically mention the challenges and the issues.Concern: Share your concern without accusing the other party. Make sure that they understand what the concerns are.ConversationImportance: They should understand why it is important for us to have a good resolution. Create a dialogue where you connect and explain what the importance is.Personal: Clarify the personal side of it without them feeling attacked. Allow them to own the issue and you should also own what you brought to the situation. Take the responsibility of your contributions and you will have the ability to shift it.Listen: Give them the opportunity to voice their understandings and concerns. You need to listen, see where it goes without interrupting and don't get caught in the details.CompletionCuriosity: After hearing their positions and concerns, you have the opportunity to tell them where they are not right. But instead of keeping score or attacking them with words, you can use language patterns which tells them that you are curious and you want to understand the situation better.Resolution: In some cases, we might need to dictate a resolution; but to create something that is embraced by people, we need to jointly come up with a solution. This is how you find a meaningful resolution.Agreement: After creating a resolution, come to an agreement so that you can move forward. At the end, the needs of all the people invested in the conversation should be met.__________________________ABOUT MEL ABRAHAMMel is the founder of Business Breakthrough Academy and Thoughtpreneur Academy where he helps entrepreneurs bring their businesses to the world and build the lifestyle that they want. Mel is one the most sought after entrepreneurial mentor and strategic thinkers of our time. Unlike many other so called “business coaches”, Mel has lived everything he teaches and continues to do so. Mel has built, bought and sold numerous multimillion-dollar businesses for himself as well as his clients. As the author of The Entrepreneur’s Solution: The Modern Millionaire’s Path to More Profit, Fans & Freedom Entrepreneur, Mel’s strategies have helped build th

In this episode, #1 Bestselling Author and Highly Acclaimed business & Entrepreneur Expert, Mel Abraham talks about communication. Your ability to communicate serves you across all aspects of your life. This first part of a two part series will show you how you can prepare for a difficult conversation.3 Stages of Conversation PlannerThe three stages are: before, during and after a conversation. Each stage has three elements to it.BeforeClarity: First, have clarity about the issues and challenges. Whoever it may be that you are communicating to, you need to become clear on the real issues and remove any judgment or bias before you know the facts.Objective: You need a direction or a defined outcome of a conversation. Have an objective so you are not swayed away from your ultimate goal.Environment: Choose the best environment to have a dialogue that is meaningful and you can take it towards an objective where everyone wins.DuringOpenness: The spirit of openness is required in a conversation. For others to be open, we have to be open. Therefore, have that intent to create transparency while communicating.Safe: The participants need to actually feel safe—emotionally, spiritually and energetically. You have to ensure safety to have a frank conversation.Empathy: Step in their shoes, enter their world and maintain a position where you see what they see. When you understand where they are coming from, you can really shift the dynamics and get the desired results.AfterFollow up: Come up with the next steps to further the discussions. You need to be definitive on that follow up to make sure it happens.Consistency: If you are seen treating people inconsistently, it will create an environment of distrust. Be consistent with everyone and people will feel safe and open up to you.Relationship: This concept is all about furthering and nurturing a relationship that you are trying to create with others so they can move on to the next planned phase.__________________________ABOUT MEL ABRAHAMMel is the founder of Business Breakthrough Academy and Thoughtpreneur Academy where he helps entrepreneurs bring their businesses to the world and build the lifestyle that they want. Mel is one the most sought after entrepreneurial mentor and strategic thinkers of our time. Unlike many other so called “business coaches”, Mel has lived everything he teaches and continues to do so. Mel has built, bought and sold numerous multimillion-dollar businesses for himself as well as his clients. As the author of The Entrepreneur’s Solution: The Modern Millionaire’s Path to More Profit, Fans & Freedom Entrepreneur, Mel’s strategies have helped build thousands of businesses and have generated hundreds of millions of dollars for his clients, ranging from large corporations to startups and small family-owned businesses.Mel is a true believer in

In this episode, #1 Bestselling Author and Highly Acclaimed business & Entrepreneur Expert, Mel Abraham talks about the life's blood or the oxygen that keeps a business alive and that is cash flow. This is about how you get cash into your business.Path to Cash BlueprintIt deals with three elements: Marketing, Sales and Path. There are three aspects of each of these: Purpose, Process and Payoff. The blueprint is all about how you can manage the upstream to generate traffic and create engagement effectively in order to make sure that you have buyer-ready prospects. You want to convert that into the sales process which builds ecstatic customers with whom you create a transformative relationship. Give them a strategic journey along the path and your cash isn't going to be a problem.The Path to Cash Blueprint in detail:MarketingPurpose: The idea behind marketing is literally to create traffic. It is about attracting and enrolling people in the process so that you can create a flow.Process: The process of marketing is to get engagement, not sales. It is to attract and engage the market so that they understand that we are serving their needs with a unique solution.Payoff: The result is that the traffic turns into prospects. They are qualified buyers who are ready to buy.SalesPurpose: Sales is about converting. In today's world, we need to be distinct so that we stand out, command higher prices and maintain attention.Process: Building trust through guarantees and warranties so instead of just having satisfied customers we have ecstatic customers.Payoff: It is to transform the relationship with your customers in a meaningful way because you have created value for them and in the process you generate sales.PathPurpose: Create a strategic relationship so that you can design a journey that is meaningful and it is capable of amplifying the relationship to a higher level.Process: It is to expand what you offer. Two primary ways to do this is by providing ancillary services, and by bundling to increase the perceived value in the marketplace.Payoff: When you do this effectively, the payoff is cash. It fuels your growth, expansion and accretion.__________________________ABOUT MEL ABRAHAMMel is the founder of Business Breakthrough Academy and Thoughtpreneur Academy where he helps entrepreneurs bring their businesses to the world and build the lifestyle that they want. Mel is one the most sought after entrepreneurial mentor and strategic thinkers of our time. Unlike many other so called “business coaches”, Mel has lived everything he teaches and continues to do so. Mel has built, bought and sold numerous multimillion-dollar businesses for himself as well as his clients. As the author of The Entrepreneur’s Solution: The Modern Millionaire’s Path to More Profit, Fans & Freedom Entrepreneur, Mel’s strategies h

In this episode, #1 Bestselling Author and Highly Acclaimed business & Entrepreneur Expert, Mel Abraham shares what it means to be a leader, and the differences between effective and ineffective leadership. The job of a leader is not to manage, it's to lead and develop more leaders and in doing so, productivity and results become the by-product.The Funnel of LeadershipAccording to this framework, the roles of a leader are as follows:Enroll: To enroll qualified candidates into a vision, mission and purpose.Engage: To get them to a point where they are truly engaged with what they do.Empower: To empower them at a level where they feel they have meaning, importance and appreciation for the things they do.Educate: To lead the people by educating them which allow them to grow their skills.Elevate: To elevate them to a higher level in terms of value, meaning and purpose.Effective vs. Ineffective LeadershipThis funnel of leadership can be divided into two sides—effective and ineffective. The stuff on the ineffective side is coming out of the industrial age and the effective side belongs to the connection age.We can see how they work out in each roles of a leader:Enroll: If you fail at the fundamental level of enrolling people, you end up with no one. But if you get it right, you get qualified candidates.Engage: Ineffective in engaging folks mean inconsistent results. But if they are engaged, they are going to have a consistent work ethic and attitude.Empower: Getting this piece wrong will make people just checklist or task-driven. But getting it right means they are going to come up with ideas and be more innovative.Educate: If we don't educate and facilitate growth, people are going to stagnate. But if you teach them skills, they will grow.Elevate: If they don't believe they're elevating, they won't feel appreciated and will leave when there is a better alternative. Elevating them sees to it that they play a higher role.__________________________ABOUT MEL ABRAHAMMel is the founder of Business Breakthrough Academy and Thoughtpreneur Academy where he helps entrepreneurs bring their businesses to the world and build the lifestyle that they want. Mel is one the most sought after entrepreneurial mentor and strategic thinkers of our time. Unlike many other so called “business coaches”, Mel has lived everything he teaches and continues to do so. Mel has built, bought and sold numerous multimillion-dollar businesses for himself as well as his clients. As the author of The Entrepreneur’s Solution: The Modern Millionaire’s Path to More Profit, Fans & Freedom Entrepreneur, Mel’s strategies have helped build thousands of businesses and have generated hundreds of millions of dollars for his clients, ranging from large corporations to startups and small family-owned businesses.Mel is a true believer in the entrepreneurial way of life and says that this “new frontier” is the paradi