Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Starting with an IDEA

I have received a significant amount of proposals, many of which were great IDEAS; however, a great IDEA is NOT enough. You must be ready to put your passion, energy, and all that you got into your IDEA. Some of the proposals are so far in conception that I wonder if flying to Mars could be in the cards. That is okay though while brainstorming. Now, it would be easy for me to say this and that's it. But that wouldn't be fair.

Many of YOU are so Close but YOU are under the impression that selling a mere CONCEPT is easy. It is not. Selling a concept that is not on the market is probably one of the hardest things to do. Let me, however, discuss what needs to be done so YOU can get the show on the road.

How to make an IDEA become REAL, TANGIBLE, and OF COURSE SELLABLE:

1) Sit Down

2) Take a Blank Piece of Paper & Start Drawing or Writing out Your IDEA- for example- if it's a website- go page by page how you would like it to look, who you want on the page, & describe the content that you would like to be there.
a) Envision the Future- All the Places, Stores, Industries you can see this IDEA in.
b) While doing this...Imagine having all the money & social capital in the world and with a snap of your fingers, all the difficulties of starting-up this IDEA should disappear.
c) Keep in Mind- While Dreaming- There are NO LIMITATIONS.

3) Recap: Sit Down, Breathe, Take a Blank Piece of Paper and Get it Down. You won't believe what can be done in just a few hours.

Make Miracles Happen

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Time Travel

How close are we to traveling through time? If traveling though time means to move from one place to another place where there is a forwards or backwards time lapse; then, in essence every time you or I charter a jet (or fly commercial) to another country or time zone- you are traveling through time. This is clearly the obvious observation of Time Travel- moving from Time-Zone to Time-Zone. Unfortunately, this type of Time Travel does not have the Back to the Future (movie) flair. Don't be disappointed, there is another form of Time Travel- a form that we use everyday that we may not realize- within one's mind- within one's IMAGINATION.

Have you ever dreamed of the past and all of a sudden become quite angry or sad or happy for that matter. Have you ever got lost in a dream?

Now, we may not have the ability to fly through time to visually see our future or fix errors of the past; nevertheless, that is what the IMAGINATION is for. We are all on a path; this path provides a glimpse into the future and our memory provides a glimpse into the past. Your memory, your experience, & your inner-scars are your gateway to Time Traveling- Use it Wisely & Cautiously. I have seen many "travel back-in-time" (within one's memory & imagination) to places where they were sad or hurt often being distracted by great lessons, failing to "Time Travel" (within one's imagination) into a prosperous future.

In concerning that matter, I will leave you with this important thought...When you look to the past or the future in YOUR Time Machine, choose where you go wisely. If you failed yesterday then DO NOT get in the Time Machine (your Imagination) the next day and wallow. Hop in YOUR Time Machine and either set the destination for a happy or good memory of the past or set the destination for what YOU WANT in the Future.

Make Miracles Happen

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Young Hollywood & The Path They Have Taken

Say you are out somewhere, miles away from your destination and you have to walk. Really envision what it would be like to be miles away from home where walking is the only option. This now becomes an endeavor, a journey. Many will pass you, either by car or by foot, but many who pass will not experience what you are about to embark on. And it is these experiences that could make all the difference in the world. My point: While your walking home don't waste your time thinking about what it would be like if you had a car, wondering what it would be like to have something you don't. Instead, look around and keep an eye out for experience. If you don't feel as though your going in the right direction- as Oprah Winfrey says while speaking to the graduates at Standford in 2008, "get still, get very still, until you do know what to do...".

Don't rush success and cheat the path to your destination. You may get ruffled-up or see some miraculous things along the way. Understand- Patience is a key element to success.

Make Miracles Happen

To See Oprah's speech at Standford in 2008, please go to "Charlie TV" - The "Motivational" Channel

Secrets Of The Self-Made Billionaires

Forbes.com

John Paul DeJoria- Net Worth: $3.5 Billion
Made his MONEY: Hair Products & Tequila

Forbes asks: "As you became wealthy, what relationships did you leave behind? He replies: "The only relationship that I left behind were creditors."
_____________________________________________________________

Tom Golisano- Net Worth: $1.7 Billion
Made his MONEY: Paychex

Forbes asks: "How much cash do you usually carry in your wallet? He replies: "$1,000 to $2,000. But I don't use a wallet; I use a money clip."

_____________________________________________________________

Wilbur Ross- Net Worth: $1.8 Billion
Made his MONEY: Leveraged Buyouts

Forbes asks: "What is the difference between a millionaire and a billionaire (besides the three extra zeros)?" He replies: "Two or three good decisions."

Check this out at Forbes.com.

Make Miracles Happen

http://www.forbes.com/2008/09/16/self-made-secrets-ent-manage-selfmadesecrets08-cx_0917secretsgreatest08_slide_3.html?thisSpeed=30000

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Lehman & AIG are Bad Role Models

Besides from the huge hit that the stock market took yesterday. Think about all the people who are in a tight financial bind right about now. I can guarantee thoughts like this occur: "Well, Lehman was over $100 Billion in debt so who cares about my $5k." Or, "See, I'm not the only one making bad business decisions."

Appealing to justification using these fortune 5's as a higher power- Flawed Logic- don't let this be you.

To read the latest News on this topic or any topic, click on "News" in the Header above.

Make Miracles Happen

Monday, September 15, 2008

If You Think It, Then Do It...

It appears in observing the greats of the past one thing is for certain; if they had an idea, even if it was an outlandish idea...They made it happen.

The greats thought something and pursued it. Now, I have come across a lot of people in my time and I've sat with the richest people in the world brainstorming new concepts. What I've noticed about the richest people rather than the others. Well, I would call the rich ones weeks later to say hello and they'd say fly down here, you gotta to see what I've put together...We'll be ready for mass-production in six months. The excitement alone is in enthralling. On the flip side, there is the other category, those who love to shoot around ideas never taking them seriously enough to pursue. I believe we enjoy "vibing-out" or "connecting" in a creative way...I think we enjoy this to such an extent that that pleasure is sufficient enough for one not to pursue.

I believe many things can stop us from pursuing something...Either being scared to succeed or being scared to fail. It's a weird paradox.

Allow me to state that I do not think I'm smart nor do I think that I know everything. Actually, I find myself to be more resourceful rather than smart and that is why I am in the position I am in today. My goal with posts like these is stir up conscious thinking within yourself so you can surpass certain human phenomenon that hinders success.

Make Miracles Happen

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Entourage -- Tonight's Episode

I thought tonight's episode of Entourage was great. I felt there were many hidden messages, as well as strategies that can be used in the art of seduction and in the business world. This is what we are going to do. I want to know what everybody gathered from this episode. In other words, what did you learn?

The person with the best analysis gets $100.00. This is not a joke. You have 24 hours.

Comment through my personal website, blogger, facebook, myspace- whatever. Make it happen.

CL

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Imaginary Relationships

On my flight back from Hong Kong last week, I noticed one of my younger colleagues dazing-off. When I had asked him what was on his mind, he mentioned a girl (nice to know he was thinking about our business ventures, I thought to myself). Having said that, I asked him how it was going? He replied: "You mean with the girl?" Of course, I said. He quickly replied "It's in the works." Our long flight home was spent analyzing how one dreams of the opposite sex (or same depending upon preference).

In observing human behavior, it is safe to say that to a degree we all do this. Many do not talk about such and others merely think they are alone in these matters. By these matters I am referring to choosing a person of the opposite sex (or the same sex depending upon your preference) and building this imaginary world in your mind about how life could be like with them. Somehow or another in doing this we can see 1,2...5 years down the road, kids, a house, new cars, and that adorable looking dog (well, maybe not the dog).

This imaginary behavior can consume our thoughts for minutes, hours, days, or even years. The dream sometimes is better than the reality. For the reality cannot be controlled. Thus, in reality this person may tell you or I to keep dreaming (upon which that is exactly what we will do). I bring this up because I believe there is correlation here to a successful person. Meaning, it's one thing to dream, it is another thing to act on that dream. I believe many are afraid of success the same way many are afraid of pursuing that obsession over the opposite sex (or same sex by matters of preference).

My point is to make it happen. To go for it and fear only that you didn't try.

The Power of Thoughts, Ideas, & Time...

CharlieLarge.net was a thought I had after I spent my 2-year hiatus reading. The goal was to provide the average person with a website, where if exploited properly, can change & alter your life forever. A website where a person can find resources and tools to hustle their way through the system and make miracles happen.

You all have a great idea. Everyone does. The problem I noticed is that many do not know what to do with them. Meanwhile that idea could make you extremely wealthy. CharlieLarge.net is a FREE place where you can take a thought and make it a world upon which everyone will enter. I capitalize FREE because I do not want your money. I don't need it.

I have received over 20,000 emails regarding who I am & what it is that I am doing within a week time span. I have received over 15,500 business proposals in less than 7 weeks. Now, allow me to address further (which I have done in previous blogs) why I am doing what I am doing.

I came from nothing. No trust fund, nothing. I managed to create great wealth by investing in my thoughts and finding others whose potential far succeeded their net-worth. Everyone has potential. The problem is more with each person believing so. In a time of economic despair it's very important that you never confuse your Net-Worth with your Self-Worth. I know I have in the past and have watched many individuals within business meetings morph from super-salesman to a guy wondering what are they even doing here.

I cannot stress this enough...You are who you want to be... not who you were 20 minutes ago. If you want to change, then change.

Einstein says it best in his book "Einstein's Dreams"

"A world without memory is a world of the present. The past exists only in books, in documents. In order to know yourself, each person carries their own Book of Life, which is filled with the history of your life. By reading its pages daily, we can relearn the identity of our parents, whether you were born high or born low, whether you did well or did poorly in school, whether you have accomplished anything in your life. Without your Book of Life, a person is a snapshot, a two-dimensional image, a ghost...With time, each person's Book of Life thickens until it cannot be read in its entirety. Then comes a choice....Some have stopped reading altogether. They have abandoned the past. They have decided that it matters not if yesterday they were rich or poor, educated or ignorant, proud or humble, in love or empty-hearted--- no more than it matters how soft wind gets into your hair. Such people look you directly in the eye and grip your hand firmly. Such people walk with the limber stride of their youth. Such people have learned to live in a world without memory." (pg.83-84, "Einstein's Dreams," by Alan Lightman)

Make Miracles Happen

Copy & Paste the Link below to Purchase "Einstein's Dreams" - it appears to be selling for 1 Penny. http://www.amazon.com/Einsteins-Dreams-Alan-Lightman/dp/0446670111

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Cynics v. Skeptics

"Cynics pass through life with a knee-jerk readiness to reject just about everything they see, hear, or even feel. Skeptics take in all-- but they do critically, pondering, and imagining the potential of each perception and, especially, each piece of received wisdom, critically judging is not to reject but to find."
(pg. 81 from Edison on Innovation, by Alan Axelrod)

When it comes to anything New people are either supportive or they against you. Of course there are those who just don't care but somewhere down the line I can guarantee they will have an opinion.

I have come to note that the people who are usually against you either cannot picture themselves doing what you are doing or they simply don't see whatever it is working. Don't let that deter you from your dream.

Let me debrief you on the History of Apple Computers. Apple Computers was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak (Woz). Woz at the time of creation (of Apple Computers) had been working for Hewlett Packard. Now, since Woz was engineering the personal computer on his own time, he had to inform HP about his new creation (which later became known as the Macintosh Computer). Upon telling HP about the new creation (the personal computer)- HP thought it was the dumbest idea they had ever heard. After the meeting Jobs and Woz were thrilled. You would think that HP's cyncism would have knocked both young men off of their high horse. That was obviously not the case.

Be weary of cynics because they are everywhere. For those of you who have seen the movie The Matrix- Think of the Agents inside the matrix as cynics. They can take over the body of anyone still inside the matrix (who isn't "unplugged").

Make Miracles Happen

Copy & Paste this link into your browser to purchase Edison on Innovation, by Alan Axelrod. http://www.amazon.com/Edison-Innovation-Lessons-Creativity-Business/dp/0787994596

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Steve Jobs {Co Founder & CEO of Apple Computers}

"If you live each day as though it was your last, some day you'll most certainly be right."

Steve Jobs, speaking at Stanford University

Please visit "Charlie TV"

Under "Motivation" you will See Steve Jobs speak at Stanford. It is truly special and inspirational.


Make Miracles Happen

The FedEx Beginning

Eric from New Jersey sent this quote to me today:

"I'm reading a case on FedEx where its founder is quoted as saying its about the early years: "The biggest asset we had going for us was our naivete. God takes care of fools, you know."


My thoughts:

I believe we can learn a lot from one sentence and this is one of them. It seems evident that the greatest success stories in history all share a few salient elements. For one- Naivete. I posted some quotes in a blog titled: "Going from Good to Great" (September 6, 2008), where the CEO of Fannie Mae, David Maxwell, is quoted:

"Look, I don't really know where we should take this bus. But I know this much: If we get the right people on the bus, the right people in the right seats, and the wrong people off the bus, then we'll figure out how to take it someplace great." (pg.41, Good to Great, by Jim Collins)

I can't stress this enough. You do not have to know every step of the way. You just have to know where you want to go.

Make Miracles Happen

Monday, September 8, 2008

Steven Spielberg and one of the Greatest Success Stories Ever...

Steven Spielberg, one of the greatest directors of all time also has one of the greatest success stories of all time. He has been a creative genius from the very start At one point, young Spielberg, was just a guy with a dream, a ton of hope, and would do anything to make it happen.

Universal Studios offered a tour allowing visitors to ride a train having the chance to observe behind the scenes action to how movies are produced, etc. Spielberg saw much more- he saw opportunity.

He would dress-up in a suit and carry a brief case- looking professional. And, then, sneak-off and hide until 5 O'clock, whereby he'd walk on out like every other employee waving to the gate guards, making his presence remembered. He did this for 3 months. Then found an empty spot on the building directory list- soon enough, his name was on it. From here, he began, schmoozing (so to speak) and set his sights on one individual in particular- Sid Sheinberg (at the time, he was the head of production for the studio's television arm).

Spielberg pitched his college film project to Mr. Sheinberg who was utterly impressed. Soon enough he signed a contract with Universal Studios. His first film, although, receiving a best screenplay award at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival, did rather poorly in the box office. Do you think this deterred young Spielberg? Of course not. He was on a path and has made and still makes miracles happen.

My thoughts...

Spielberg took a risk. Besides from doing something completely unconventional, I believe it is safe to assume that during the 3 months that he hid from 9-5, he wasn't receiving any income. However, he saw the bigger picture. The picture that displayed income that tied into his dream. In my opinion Spielberg should win an award for his success story.

-Make Miracles Happen

This Story and more can be found in Napoleon Hill's Think & Grow Rich.
Copy & Paste this Link into Your Browser to Purchase:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0883910314


Sunday, September 7, 2008

Anyone Looking to Succeed, I Recommend You See this...

I feel as though many people who are looking to succeed face a constant up hill battle. A battle where results are often not obtained instantly. Family, friends, etc. may often hint at disappointment due to the lack of instant results while such entrepreneurs (business executives or dreamers) are trying to figure out a way to make it happen.

What I am about to share with you is a true story and should help everyone who hasn't seen instant results. Besides from helping your own personal psyche, I hope this provides you with a nice rebuttal when someone asks you "so have you made any money yet?"

"The Stockdale Paradox"

(Good to Great, by Jim Collins)

"The name refers to Admiral Jim Stockdale, who was the highest ranking United States military officer in the "Hanoi Hilton" prisoner-of-war camp during the height of the Vietnam War. Tortured over twenty times during his 8-year imprisonment from 1965-1973, Stockdale lived out the war without any prisoner's rights, no set release, and no certainty as to whether he would even survive to see his family again. He shouldered the burden of command, doing everything he could to create conditions that would increase the number of prisoners who would survive unbroken..." Having no idea when he'd be rescued, he did many things. One in particular, he said, "I never lost faith in the end of the story. I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect I would not trade."

Collins was able to interview Stockdale and at the very end of the interview, he asked: "Who didn't make it out?"

Stockdale: "The Optimists."

Collins: "The optimists? I don't understand given what he said a hundred meters earlier."

Stockdale: "The optimists. Oh, they were the ones who said, 'We're going to be out by Christmas. Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they'd say, 'We're going to be out by Easter.' And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart."
"This is a very important lesson," Stockdale says, "You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end-- which you can never afford to lose-- with the discipline to confront the brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be."

Collins says, "To this day, I carry a mental image of Stockdale admonishing the optimists: "We're not getting out by Christmas; deal with it!"

"Life is unfair- sometimes to our advantage, sometimes to our disadvantage. We will all experience disappointments and crushing events somewhere along the way, setbacks for which there is no "reason," no one to blame. It might be disease: it might be injury; it might be accident; it might be losing a loved one...it might be getting shot down over Vietnam and thrown into a POW camp for eight years. What separates people, is not the presence or absence of difficulty, but how they deal with the inevitable difficulties of life." (pgs.85-87)

-Make Miracles Happen



Copy & Paste this Link into Your Browser to Purchase Good to Great, by Jim Collins.
http://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Companies-Leap-Others/dp/0066620996/?tag=satisfactiong160-20&gclid=CP3VwNSgypUCFQQrFQodKiSeiQ

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Going from Good to Great...

Good to Great, by Jim Collins
"Look, I don't really know where we should take this bus. But I know this much: If we get the right people on the bus, the right people in the right seats, and the wrong people off the bus, then we'll figure out how to take it someplace great." (pg.41)

-David Maxwell, CEO of Fannie Mae

"When you turn over rocks & look at all the squiggly things underneath, you can either put the rock down, or you can say, 'My job is to turn over rocks & look at the squiggly things,' even if what you can see can scare the hell out of you." (pg. 72)

-Pitney Bowes Executive, Fred Purdue

"There is nothing wrong with pursuing a vision for greatness. After all, the good-to-great companies also set out to create greatness. But, unlike the comparison companies, the good-to-great companies continually refined the path to greatness with the brutal facts of reality." (pg. 71)

"Leading from good-to-great does not mean coming up with the answers and then motivating everyone to follow your messianic vision. It means having the humility to grasp the fact that you do not understand enough to have the answers and then to ask the questions that will lead to the best possible insights." (pg. 75)

Make Miracles Happen

Good to Great can be found by copying & pasting this Link into your Browser:
http://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Companies-Leap-Others/dp/0066620996/?tag=satisfactiong160-20&gclid=CKW10sOyyJUCFQyxGgodHyDaiw


Friday, September 5, 2008

Me as an Illustration

I touched on this idea in my previous post. However, I'd like to briefly tell you a deeper reason for me as an illustration. I believe that to succeed, you have to think outside-the-box. You have to forget about what happened yesterday and see only that of the future.

When you come to my site and enter into my World. A World where anything is possible. Limitations; there are none. I want you to leave behind any disappointments, any failures, & any errors; I want you to escape. But, escape into the reality that you want to create for yourself. Thus, I want you to enter into a distorted world. My world, a world with no limitations. I made myself an illustration because I can. You should know that you can do the same. When your making cold calls, etc. transform into something bigger. Find the Charlie Large within.

-Make Miracles Happen.