That way you know exactly where to go for inspiration, ideas and insights.

This e-mail response is only slightly edited:

In a BUSY week, I:

• Told [  ] about the benefits of your program
• launched my blog and published my first blog post!
• Updated my website ………………
• Travelled to [     ] and back in a day to visit my dad
• I have connected with Kevin Francis (copywriter) several times
• Got on your conference call
• Lit a fire under [    ]
• Told [    ] the results I’m getting!
• Kept a plethora of clients happy
• Haven’t thought about the recession at all this week!
• Looked for a new office manager
• Administering personal matters for a family member
• Rugby training
• Made a video about one of my key products (that I will put up on YouTube!)
• Been to puppy school info night (woof!)
• Interviewed a new employee
• See accountant for tax year 07/08 & 08/09
• Driving lessons for my 17 year old and steer him into the first XV
• Take him to hospital (concussion) and appropriate medicos
• Helped my18 year old with his commerce engineering degree assignment. I am sending him to you, for a fee of course!
• Will work on the BBQ at rugby tomorrow AM and try to watch their three games
• Will indulge myself with our last race regatta for the season tomorrow arvo
• Measure and select a new kitchen for “investment” house
• Arrange finance for the business
• Deal with various solicitors
• Paid invoices
• Go to puppy school Sunday arvo
• Digest plenty of emails
• Prepare for next workshop

I am with you for guidance.
I love it.
No ifs, buts or reasons, I do want results.
I knew from the moment I saw you at the Hilton last year you were the person to steer or mentor me.
If I had 1 tenth of your skills my business would be national.
You have a great sense of humour, but please don’t forget I am human.
If I sometimes seem a little sluggish, I am!
I am on juice plus and trying to get up earlier to “get fit”
Beyond all that you’re a good bloke.

Thank you!

My Date With Destiny Mission Statement:

Original Version (1997-2009)

“I, Marc Dussault, see, hear, feel and know that my purpose in life is to continue to live my dream and empower others to do the same.”

That was pretty powerful EXCEPT that because I was LIVING MY DREAM, I did not change, modify, enhance or improve it… Also the second half… AND empowering others seems like an additional task, burden or responsibility…

So I changed it to:

My Date With Destiny Mission Statement:

New Version (2009- )

“I, Marc Dussault, see, hear, feel and know that my purpose in life is to live and expand my dream empowering others to live theirs.”

This is a MUCH more EXCITING destiny to have. It embraces GROWTH and DEVELOPMENT as well as INTEGRATES leading by example rather than making it a separate undertaking…

I am energised, excited and committed to this new destiny even MORE than the previous one!

Watch this space to see what happens!

But I can usually play a round under 100 which is better than most social golfers.

That is a blog post for another day.

I wrote about the concept of stop doing what’s holding you back in a previous post on my Internet Mastery Blog.

Today’s lesson is the lesson of aiming for the center of the green instead of the hole.

Watch this video to fully grasp the meaning of NOT doing this.

Phil Mickelson is one of the all-time great golfers which proves that even the best struggle with this simple concept.

I often hear of people trying to thread the needle when they can’t even HOLD the needle let alone the thread in their fingers.

Simple examples include:

• Someone focusing on the top 5% when the bottom 95% isn’t working. I remember a friend of mine who worked as a 100% commission-based salesperson who would wake up late, get into work at 9, 9:30 sometimes even 10 AM and try to focus on ‘pressure closing’ strategies instead of getting up early, getting PREPARED and not forcing stuff down people’s throats BECAUSE he had limited time to call them. Instead of building rapport (aim for the center of the green) he was trying to PRESSURE CLOSE the sale (the hole).
• I’ve played B-grade squash players who are going for the kill shot that they are not good enough to hit EVEN WHEN THEY ARE OUT OF POSITION instead of hitting the safe shot, staying in the rally and having a chance of winning the point.
• I’ve had people on the verge of bankruptcy come to me and ask me strategic planning questions while they are on their corporate deathbed. As if it would help to get an extra $10,000 in the bank when it’s overdrawn $100,000 and is running a $30,000/month deficit.

Aiming for the centre of the green reduced my golf score by at least 10 shots, if not 20. It’s easier said than done, but y’know what?

Once you experience it for yourself and win games BECAUSE of this one strategy, you’ll soon get hooked – TO THE STRATEGY (and maybe even golf!).

Onward and upward!
Dr Marc Dussault

P.S.

Stephen Covey of ‘The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People” covered this in his book called “First Things First”. The reason I am posting this lesson for you is because it’s priceless in its simplicity and elegance.

In a recession when the going gets tough, you need SIMPLE and EASY strategies like this one to keep you winning the game of business and life.

Going for the center of the green means creating VALUE for clients and KNOWING that the money will flow. Once ON the green, it’s easier to putt than to chip in from the rough.

One last quick story: I had a friend who was in industrial real estate and for 3 years made $15,000 of base salary with $15,000 in operating costs (car, fuel, repairs, etc.) which meant he made no money. BUT he kept thinking he would make a killing on a big deal (the hole in one). Unfortunately he never got his hole-in-one

By the way, Ruben Putrananda who is a golf enthusiast sent me the golf video – go check out his website www.homedeclutterandfun.com. He’s upgrading it using the 1 percent improvement principle so you’ll want to bookmark it and take a look at it in a few weeks/months as it evolves!

Which is a hard question to answer because it’s the circular logic of RESULTS motivate me to get RESULTS that motivate me to get RESULTS…

That being said, I’ve been optimising my YouTube videos as part of my 1% improvement regimen.

In the last week, I increased my average views by 50% and 100% in the last month as shown below.

I don’t know about you, but that’s motivating!

Onward and upward!
Dr Marc Dussault
Australia’s #1 Exponential Growth Strategist

P.S.
I hear the REASONS all the time why people don’t get RESULTS.

The thing I don’t get is why people resist doing the 1%. I’m not being simplistic here, I really mean 1%. I spent MINUTES producing these results, not hours.

Tony Robbins calls it Continuous And Never ending Improvement (CANI!) and it works by COMPOUNDING the results which is why it’s truly exponential.

That motivates me and KEEPS me motivated.

Wouldn’t you be pumped and juiced if this was happening to your YouTube videos?!?!

So there you have it – where I get my motivation… R-E-S-U-L-T-S.

I was in the Mac I Computer Club, didn’t play any school sports, didn’t run for class president and was never part of the ‘in group of cool kids’.

What do you call a nerd 10 to 20 years after graduation?

A millionaire.

How does that happen?

It’s either through technical genius or salesmanship.

Guess what? If you’re not born a technical genius, I can’t help you with the first way to become a millionaire, but I can help you with the second…

Salesmanship.

When I graduated from high school with honours, then went on to Pure and Applied Sciences in College followed by Engineering School, I morphed from a nerd to Geek.

That’s Geek with a capital G.

What’s the difference between a nerd and a geek? A nerd is a ‘stupid’ or unskilled/unknowledgeable geek. A geek is an ‘educated/skilled’ nerd.

I started my professional career as a Technical Support Specialist in Road Design and Surveying, making $26,000 in 1985. Even though that was a LOT more than my fellow classmates who were making $15-18,000, I wanted to make more, a LOT MORE.

That’s when I came across Brian Tracy’s tapes. Yes, they were tapes back then.

I bought his tapes and while I was driving around (20,000 to 30,000 kilometers/year) I listened to them OVER and OVER and OVER again to transform my communication from Geek to PROFESSIONAL SALESPERSON. I listed to them so often, I actually had to replace a few of them because of wear and tear!

The transformation took weeks. Not sure how many, but within one year, I switched into sales and DOUBLED my salary to $52,000 which ‘back then’ was an incredible accomplishment for a 24 year old, it’s like $100,000 today.

I bought more and more tapes and within one year launched my first company that I started with no money down, to building it 3 times faster, with double the industry average sales per employee, with a fraction of the industry’s employee attrition rate while consistently producing twice the profitability of my competitors.

I haven’t made less than $100,000/year for the past 20 years.

My secret for outstanding sales—> Brian Tracy’s Sales Strategies.

Empowernet has just pre-released a classic bundle called “Secrets Of Self-Made Business Millionaires“. The regular price is $117, but when you pre-order by clicking the hyperlink, it’s ONLY $39, saving you a whopping $78 or 65%.

The bundle includes Brian’s Classics:

1. 21 Great Ways to Start and Build a Successful Business

2. 21 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Money.

3. Pump Up Your Profits.

I know you’re thinking this is self-serving, trying to sell you something. Get over it. It’s thirty nine bucks. Plus you’re reading this blog because you want to develop and enhance your PERSONAL MASTERY.

Sales and communications is a KEY PERSONAL MASTERY SKILL. For $39 you’d be a fool to pass this up. I’ve always told people – LONG BEFORE I EVER JOINED EMPOWERNET that Tony Robbins helped me become the best person I can be, Jay Abraham assisted me to become the best business person I can aspire to be and Brian Tracy the best salesperson I can ever dream of being…

If you don’t already know, I retired from the rat race in 2005 at the age of 42. That doesn’t happen by luck. It happens by design. One of the foundational keys to that happening is Brian Tracy’s sales strategies. $39 is an absolute bargain. I paid full price when I bought my tapes – do you think I’m complaining?

Go ahead and buy them now – time is money and with this recession, you need to know how to out-sell your competitors more than ever.

Onward and upward!
Dr Marc Dussault

Australia’s #1 Exponential Growth Strategist

P.S.

You probably don’t know HOW I was able to build my company 3 times faster, with double the industry average sales per employee, with a fraction of the industry’s employee attrition rate while consistently producing twice the profitability of my competitors.

I used to hold 2-day retreats with my employees. They were marathon sessions. All-day Saturday and all-day Sunday from 9 AM to Midnight – WITH NO PAY. That’s right, I didn’t pay them to attend. We would spend the entire weekend focusing on personal development strategies. We would do this every 3 months, or 4 times/year.

Their reward – PERSONAL GROWTH and the FINANCIAL BONUSES I would pay based on RE$ULT$. One employee DOUBLED his salary in one year and another got a ‘surprise’ $8,000 bonus that made him cry. He thought I made a mistake on the cheque, that it should be $800, but when I told him it was correct, the bonus WAS EIGHT THOUSAND DOLLARS, he cried and said “I’ve never seen a cheque for that much”. I can use this as the WHOLE down payment on a condo…

It was intense, it was life changing, it was amazing. I miss those days of total intensity and focus.

I made Brian Tracy’s, Tony Robbins’ and Jay Abraham’s strategies available to my team and FACILITATED and MENTORED them as I now do with our Platinum Members. These are people who are still life-long friends.

That is how RE$ULT$ are created. Standing on the shoulders of giants like Brian, Tony and Jay.

We absolutely reveled in it.

Go on and get these classics and transform yourself into the best salesperson you know you can be.

Please note: Only edits for style have been made.

I realised today reading your Personal Mastery blog, that even though you play at a higher level, you face challenges just like me, you aren’t invincible, you aren’t superhuman.

I never thought of you before as someone who could “not win”.

Seeing that vulnerability inspired me, because in business, even though there might be no one who can compete with you, the people who let you down are your vulnerability.

Having to depend on people who don’t believe in themselves as much as you believe in them…

I have been one of them, maybe not as much as others but nevertheless I have impeded your progress with my failure to meet the standards I need to meet to succeed.

I used to have a freak out before every[(Tae Kwon Do] belt grading, but Graham [martial arts master] would say “if I am asking you to grade, you’ve already passed”.

I remember one day thinking to myself, “s_ _ _, Gulliver, he’s a freaking 5th Dan Black Belt who are you to argue?”

I still got nervous but I threw myself at every grading like I had no fear.

I need to adapt that to what I do here, if you are asking me to do it, it isn’t just possible, if YOU think it can be done, it already HAS been done.

Raising the bar to the required standard sometimes seems an almost insurmountable obstacle, especially if you “want it” but don’t believe you are capable.

Then when someone like Marc or Graham says, “you can do it” you stand in the shadow of the mountain of their achievements at the clouds above and think, REALLY?

It was like that in my relationship with Graham too, but he’s been doing it for 20 years, it’s easy for HIM.

Sometimes, OFTEN I have thought “but that’s easy for Marc to say, he’s a sales machine, a millionaire, a genius, there’s no one like him, how can I aspire to that level?”.

His expectations are just… TOO HIGH.

But today I realize something about business success, that I knew already about martial arts, luck, genius, natural talent has nothing to do with success.

You got where you are the same way I am getting where I want to be, by taking it on the chin sometimes, by failing and trying again.

I sorta forgot about logic, that everyone starts as a white belt, even guys like Marc.

That means I really can be more like you, one day. It isn’t impossible… unless I give up on myself

As a martial artist and in my life I want to be a true warrior, a great salesperson, and from what I can tell so far they are very similar…

And to excel I need your leadership, which means I needed to be able to be led, I am coachable, but like all people I sometimes lose belief in myself.

But when self belief runs out I discovered I can push myself to do things, out of the loyalty I feel toward you for the time you spend on me, that makes me able to do things I perhaps was not able do for myself.

Here is a Martial Arts Analogy

You are the Martial Arts Master, I am the student, what would I do to make sure I honored your mentoring?

What wouldn’t I do to meet the grade if this was Tae Kwon Do?

Once in the sparring ring at a grading at the parent club, I once shrank inside, quivered when I had to spar Graham, my master.

As you get more experienced you begin to realise your opponents capacity to destroy, you feel your vulnerability more keenly.

In a split second I rallied and executed a jumping turning spinning heel technique (which was far ahead of my grading material) which whizzed past his nose surprising everyone in the room most of all me…

[Click here to see the technique on YouTube].

As you can imagine that takes some doing, but never having done it before, having fallen in class trying to pull it out, what a stretch it was!

I realized later that Graham is waiting for the day I can beat him, that he LOOKS FORWARD TO IT and that to be worthy of him I needed to give like this all the time.

And on that day, I committed that I would never back down, that I would give 100% in everything I did in his class because I wanted to honor him.

I pulled a move I had never successfully executed in class and made it FLAWLESS because I didn’t want to let Graham down in front of HIS master. Every time Graham brings a student to grade, HE is being graded.

Like I said, I can use this distinction when I feel low to rally.

Would I fail to step into the ring and spar if Graham asked me?

No.

Will I fail to step into the ring when you ask me?

No.

Thank you for being my teacher.

Gulliver.

Today’s lesson is so simple but so powerful it’s a classic.

STRATEGY will beat TACTICS 9 times out of 10.

Yesterday TACTICS won the games, but it might not have worked if I was able to apply my STRATEGY and be 2, 3 or 4% tighter with my shots… The games were not runaway victories…

Today was all about STRATEGY over TACTICS.

My opponent today has a TACTIC that he uses and I am sure it works for him – it’s the TACTIC of intimidation with a bump and grind interference game – the goal is to get in the person’s way as much as possible and get lets and strokes awarded and keep the other guy off his game and make sure he never gets to use his STRATEGY.

That works UNLESS someone has a STRATEGY to counter-act this TACTIC.

Growing up playing competitive Ice Hockey, a little intimidation and a few collisions from time to time brings back very fond memories…

So that TACTIC doesn’t work on me.

AND it works against the person who RELIES ON IT TO WIN, especially one who doesn’t have the talent or STRATEGY to adapt.

So I stuck to my STRATEGY and took the match in what must have been less than 15 minutes in total.

In case you want to know what the strategy is…

Just put the ball away from where you are – LITERALLY. That way he can’t be interfering with you if he’s chasing the ball all over the place! BECAUSE this is his TACTIC, he’s not used to running for the ball, so my shots don’t have to be as accurate which makes it EASIER for me to actually win.

It’s a great feeling when you can turn someone’s TACTIC against them – kind of like in Judo when you use the other person’s weight and momentum against them.

Fun stuff when you’re SMART enough to know the STRATEGY and then good enough to deploy it!

Now that I got the squash stuff out of the way, I guess the lesson for business and life is pretty self-evident, but just in case, here it is.

Whenever someone runs a pattern or TACTIC against you, there usually is a STRATEGY that can counteract it effectively – first, neutralising it and second, leveraging it to your advantage. If a competitor is TACTICAL and aggressive about a particular TACTIC, you can learn to counteract it and USE it to your advantage.

Competitors who are TACTICAL usually have 1, 2 or 3 TACTICS at most. With a STRATEGIC approach, you can easily win the game.

That’s Mastery.

Once achieved, you dictate the game, pace and outcome.

Onward and upward!
Dr Marc Dussault

Australia’s #1 Exponential Growth Strategist

P.S.

As I discuss in my books “Get The Best Grades With The Least Amount Of Effort” and the business person’s edition “Get The Best Business Results With The Least Amount Of Effort“, I play squash to expand my Circle Of Influence™.

As I do that in squash, I begin to see parallels and comparisons in my personal, financial, emotional and business lives that until that moment remained hidden. Those awakenings are priceless lessons in self-awareness that make the journey enlightening and rewarding beyond description.

I get to see and be with the best in the world doing what they do best. As I observe, as an ACTIVE PARTICIPANT in the process, I can extrapolate my own experiences, emotions, thoughts and feelings to other matches and situations as I simultaneously interpolate and interpret other people’s experiences within my own new, expanded Circle Of Influence™.

I urge you to do as I suggested a few days ago that you really should (if you’re not already doing it) engage in something OUTSIDE of work that inspires, motivates and empassions you to become the best at it.

This can be a sport, musical instrument, hobby or body of knowledge.

Start today and take one SMALL ACTION and you’ll soon realise you’re on the path to self-discovery that will embolden and empower you to consider boundless opportunities with timeless abandon.

When you’re ‘there’, someone will have to remind you that you’re “45″ and not a teenager running around a white room chasing a little black ball..

But it won’t matter – you won’t care because you’ll be having the time of your life, living it as you should – to the fullest, care free and with child-like abandon!

• Play with class, dignity and sportsmanship because when the game is over, it’s over. This guy made losing ‘fun’ if that makes any sense and I HATE TO LOSE!
• What works for one ‘class of players’ doesn’t work at the top end of the rankings… That’s very important business to learn in business – SOHO, Sole trader, ‘one-man-show; just won’t cut it when you start to get serious and want to land the bigger accounts.
• Switching gears – knowing how to trigger the different styles of games is an acquired skill – one I don’t yet have in squash, but will develop. It’s like Killer Kopywriting™, making sure you speak the language your clients and prospects EACH understand because they are not one and the same…
• There is no substitute to KNOWING, FEELING what the competition is like, LIVE AND IN PERSON. A master is a master – there is nothing more exhilarating than learning the BEST from the BEST. That’s why I know that our Bootcamp is a priceless opportunity for people to get an experience they can’t get anywhere else.

So there you have it, my lessons from today’s match which ended 0-9, 2-9 and 3-9.

With handouts it’s very deceiving – I actually played quite well, but not good enough to win. We had 15 to 20 really good rallies that I was very happy with – for now.

With this experience I now know what to aim for. I now know, without a doubt, how good I can really be. This is the first time I saw myself in another really, really good player. That is the GIFT I take with me as turn the page and focus on tomorrow’s match!

Onward and upward!
Dr Marc Dussault

Australia’s #1 Exponential Growth Strategist

P.S.

If you’re wondering why I picked up squash in my mid thirties, you’d have to read my book “Get The Best Business Results With The Least Amount Of Effort” to get the full explanation of the Circle Of Influence™, but in simple terms, I use squash to expand my circle of influence by design.

I am forced to deal with issues of discipline, perseverance, challenge, confrontation, limiting and empowering beliefs, self-discovery, health, nutrition and fitness to name just a few.

For example, when I was in my twenties, I ate anything I wanted and didn’t care about ‘nutrition’ and certainly didn’t understand the biochemistry of health at all.

Squash has forced me to focus on peak physical performance that is enhanced with mental self-mastery. I am now an avid reader of mind-body, eastern-western medicine judging on RESULTS that I can produce for myself and my ‘inner circle’.

It’s made me feel 10 years younger with vital health and energy that I otherwise ‘never’ would have discovered.

But best of all, it’s been fun – in fact it’s so much fun I often have to pinch myself to believe that I get to “continue to live my dream and empower others to do the same…”

I mean c’mon.

I’m literally halfway around the world from where I grew up (Montreal, Canada), living in a beautiful city (Sydney) and now I’m in magnificent and pristine New Zealand playing squash with the best in the whole world…

It just doesn’t get any better than this!

No, no, no…

Winning is not necessary for the EXPERIENCE to be life-changing and unforgettable.

Once again, don’t forget the difference between the OUTCOME and REWARD.

I can’t make this point too strongly.

Winning is the REWARD for the OUTCOME…

It needs no introduction other than it ‘came to me automatically’… How freaky is that?!?!

Thanks Sandy!

So get to it! Create your vision and new destiny!

If you are technologically challenged, you can collect photos from magazines and create a ‘dream book’ of images…

Whatever you do, BELIEVE this stuff works – because it does!

I am competing at my first World Masters Championships – a thought I manifested YEARS AGO. I can remember the day – that’ll be a post of its own. For now, share with me another ‘dream come true’ for me.

Celebrate it with me, for me AND FOR YOU – pick a dream that is just as audacious as this one was for me…

Pick one that you’d be thrilled to have.

For me, competing at this top level is truly a dream come true. It’s a goal that has kept me focused, fit and healthy for the past several years. I feel at least 10 years younger, stronger and healthier than my birth certificate reflects.

I’m 45 and can wear the same pants I wore 20 years ago. Not many men my age can say that. As we age, it’s a struggle to keep the weight down and stay fit. Having a goal like this has been MORE than enough to keep me disciplined.

Of course the NEXT GOAL is to WIN games and at some point a division or plate…

First the dream, then the reality!

I’m off to play my first match… Wish me luck!

Onward and upward!

Dr Marc Dussault

Australia’s #1 Exponential Growth Strategist

P.S.

We get what we focus on – the more you focus, the more your chances of getting ‘it’.

You need to do it from a place of authenticity, honesty and integrity. Don’t force it… As Deepak Chopra states:

“Release yourself from the expectation of the outcome so you can tap into a discontinuity gap in the universe to instantly synchronise with a non-local correlation that will trigger a quantum leap of creativity and innovation to help you manifest infinite knowledge and boundless possibilities enabling a conspiracy of improbabilities that create your ultimate destiny.”