Dollarmakers.com BLOG

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Vested Interest

When you’re facing choices in your life, it’s important to be very careful who gives you advice. Anyone who has a vested interest in the outcome of your choices will skew their advice and input to suit their own selfish ends. Does your “financial planner” tell you that you need millions in the bank before you can retire, when in reality all you need is for your passive income from Joint Ventures to exceed your cost of living? Why does he tell you that you need millions? Because he wants to get his commission on whatever he sells you, of course.

Any salesperson has a stake, that’s obvious. And that doesn’t make salespeople bad, it just makes them biased. Subjective. Even dishonest. I am always amazed when I hear the ridiculous questions people ask salespeople: “Does this work well? Is it reliable? Can’t I get a better deal anywhere else? Is this the best there is?” What do you expect them to tell you? “No, sir, if you potter off down the street you’ll find a better product at half the price”? Wake up and smell the coffee! Go online and do your research – do your own due diligence. Don’t ask the salesperson!

Do you think your boss wants you to start your own business? He will tell you that you will assuredly fail. When I fired my boss 19 years ago, he told me that I would fail in my own business and that he’d keep my job for me. How about most politicians? Do you honestly believe they care about what’s good for you? All they want is to keep their jobs. They will do whatever it takes to keep their jobs and get their pensions. I said “most” politicians – I’m sure there are one or two honest ones.

We need to form alliances with people who are smart enough to give us good advice, yet have no stake in the decisions we make. We need objective, sane, wise guidance. Ask yourself, “What’s in it for them?” I like to use third party testimonials on my websites because those people have no vested interest in my business. We need people who will tell us the truth, not try to placate us or please us. We need a few mentors and friends who have nothing to gain from our endeavors.

This doesn’t mean we need to question everything a salesperson tells us or become too cynical to be able to think straight. It just means that we should be very realistic about human nature. Ask someone from one religion what they think of another religion. What do you think the answer will be? Which brings me to the subject of cults. I know people who work for a huge cult – they do training under the umbrella of that cult. I realized very early in the day that they would NEVER refer business to me, unless I joined their cult! They will take, but they will never give. It’s simple group dynamics. You’re either one of them, or you’re a lost outsider. And they will always try to convert the people they train, to their cult.

There are a lot of cults out there, not only religious cults. Don’t forget that their sole purpose is to recruit you and convert you and all your friends. They will tell you whatever it takes to get you into their group. That is their purpose. Don’t expect a reasonable business relationship with them. Be objective, realistic and unattached.

Remember what Ayn Rand said: “Freedom is to ask for nothing, to expect nothing, to depend on nothing”. That is why I use Joint Ventures to maintain my financial freedom – I do not rely on any one person – I am unattached and free.
Definition of a Cult:
Every cult can be defined as a group having all of the following 5 characteristics:
1. It uses psychological coercion to recruit, indoctrinate, and retain its members
2. It forms an elitist totalitarian society
3. Its founder leader is self-appointed, dogmatic, messianic, not accountable and has charisma
4. It believes 'the end justifies the means' in order to solicit funds and recruit people
5. Its wealth does not benefit its members or society
Ring any bells?

Why Hawaii?

We’re arranging a Hawaii Getaway for the DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum Members in January 2007. Everyone loves Hawaii, palms and ocean, beaches and snorkeling, but why take the Forum Members? Why travel so far? I think you’ll find our reasons make a lot of sense.

When you’re removed from your business, in a different environment, do you get a different perspective on your challenges and opportunities? When you’re relaxing on a boat or swimming with tropical fish, your creative, right brain has time to process and generate lucrative, new concepts and ideas.

When you mix with really great people who are achievers and winners, get to know them on a personal level and really connect, without having to rush out to another meeting, the Mastermind principle kicks in and the return on that investment of time is unsurpassed. We know that only the most successful and committed Members will come with us on this memorable trip, so we will automatically screen out the less motivated among us.

When you build solid relationships with strong, ambitious people, in a relaxed, creative, beautiful, and luxurious environment that is conducive to great expectations, you know that the resulting Joint Ventures are going to be spectacular. One small idea or insight can literally change your business and your life. New, lifelong friendships will be established. While swimming with Forum Members and dolphins. Seemingly insurmountable problems will be solved. Deals will be made that change everything.

We are limiting the number of people who can attend and we are only inviting Members of the Forum, so we are going for exceptional quality instead of quantity. We'll be whisked away from the ice and snow to a tropical paradise. We'll stow our snow skis and don our snorkels. I hope you join us. Details will be released soon. First come, first served!

Robin J. Elliott www.DollarMakers.com