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Comment by Karsten Aagaard on June 25, 2008 at 4:26pm

Subject: Pessimists, Realists & Visionaries

In my experience, there are basically three types of people in the world: Pessimists, Realists and Visionaries.

I’m not sure how you’d describe yourself, but let me walk you through a general description of each one, starting with the Pessimist.

If a pessimist is a 10 on a scale of 1 to 100, they generally think they’ll probably go to a 9 given enough time. Because of this belief, they are usually right. And, one of the amazing things I’ve found is that Pessimists are actually proud of the fact that, once again, they accurately predicted the outcome.

The Realist is slightly different. If they are a 10 on a scale of 1 to 100, they don’t think they’re going to go down. But they aren’t comfortable claiming that they’re going to go too far up either. They might set their goal at 12. Whatever it takes to make sure they achieve their goal. And, if they ever miss a goal, they’ll lower the bar even further the next time.

How they are “perceived” by the world around them is a BIG deal to the Realist. They never want to be embarrassed. They never want to lose face. They never want to be proven wrong with one of their goals or assumptions. Because of this belief, they set very small goals for themselves.

That leaves us with the Visionary. The Visionary is a strange animal. Especially to the Pessimists and the Realists.

If a Visionary is a 10 on a scale of 1 to 100, or if their project is a 10 on the same scale, the Visionary sets their sights on being a 90! And guess how many times they achieve their goal in the time they envisioned. Almost never… but in reaching for 90, they might get to 50.

Now, if every person or project was a 10 on a scale of 1 to 100, and you were to evaluate these three groups based upon sheer results, who’s would you rather have? The Pessimist results at 9? The Realist results at 12? Or would you prefer having the Visionary results at 50? Easy answer, right? Everyone says they want the Visionary’s results at 50. But it’s easier to say you want to be a Visionary than it is to actually do what it takes to stay a Visionary.

Visionaries take a lot of heat. Since they are well under their public goal most of the time, their judgment is called into question. People roll their eyes. The Pessimists and Realists spend a lot of time talking about how the Visionary missed their mark by not getting to 90… instead of seeing how valuable it was to get to 50.

A person, who’s trying to be a Visionary for the first time, might say to themselves “Why don’t I just set my goal at 50 and make everyone happy?”

Here’s the problem with that approach… it’s been my experience that when you set it at 50, you almost never make it there either. You might make it to 40 and still be ahead of the others. But then you set the next project at 40 and hit 30. Then you set the next one at 30 and make 20. And in a very short period of time, you’ve become a realist… setting expectations so low that it would be hard to miss them.

If we’re judging on sheer results, that’s not a great place for a leader to be. For an organization to do great things, to a certain extent, the leader must be a Visionary.

Once I learned this, it changed everything for me. And it can do the same for you. People will listen to a visionary. People will follow a visionary. People can become better by being around a visionary.

Believe it or not, the world needs Pessimists. Someone has to be thinking about winter all summer. Someone has to be thinking about worst-case scenarios.

The world also needs Realists. Someone has to take the bull by the horns, make their lists, put their head down, mute out all the grand talk and do the work the organization needs to be done every day.

But I am, and will always be, a fan of the Visionary.

If you’re one of those brave souls, it’s only fair that I give you the downside. You’re going to have to live with the fact that people will spend a good amount of time rolling their eyes and groaning at the crazy beliefs and expectations you’ll be throwing at them on a regular basis. It might sound easy, but I have to tell you it’s hard to withstand the constant criticism.

What makes it even harder is the fact that 95% of people are in the pessimist and realist camp and do you know what they absolutely love to do? They just love to point out the fact that you, as a visionary, missed your goal! Even though you’re much farther ahead than they are. They actually feel superior!

So, where do you see yourself? Do you see yourself growing into a pessimist? Do you see yourself growing into a realist? Or do you see yourself growing into a visionary?

I hope the answer is to grow into a Visionary. I understand you might not be all the way there right now and that’s okay, just as long as you’re willing to do what it takes to grow into one.

So spend some time thinking about where you see yourself and then decide how much sniping you’re willing to take from the pessimists and realists on your way to the top.

I assure you it’s worth it.

Comment by Karsten Aagaard on June 16, 2008 at 5:00pm

All wealth is created through leverage. And what is leverage? Well, the opposite of leverage is trading time for money.

Here's my time, give me my money.

In other words, if you're not there, if you're not involved, there's no money.

If you want a test to see if you have leverage in your life right now, answer this question... What would happen if you didn't go to work for the next 90 days? Would your income go down? If it would, it's because you don't have enough leverage attached to your earning power.

Leverage is the business owner who builds a business but doesn't have to do everything involved with it. They hire people to do the job and use that leverage to get their income even though they're not doing all the work.

Leverage is the person who works hard and saves their money and then puts that money to work through thoughtful investments. It may be income producing real estate. It may be stocks. The key is the ability to earn even if you're not running the companies you invest in.

Leverage is the person who invents something people need and receives a royalty when the invention is used or sold.

Take a look at ALL the wealthy people in the world and you'll find that every one of them found a way to create leverage and none of them were in the habit of trading time for money.

Bill Gates - Created wealth by coming up with computer software that allowed people to have a better experience with their computer.

Warren Buffett - Created wealth by choosing and investing in great companies for himself and on behalf of other investors.

Ray Croc - Created wealth not by creating McDonalds but by finding a way to duplicate them all over the world.

Pick ANY wealthy person and you'll quickly see how they use leverage to acquire wealth.

So that brings us the the Wealth Formula used by All Network Marketing Professionals. It is...

"Your ability to get a large group of people, to consistently do a few simple things, over a sustained period of time".

It's not in your ability to force yourself to do amazing things all the time. That was my mantra for my first 3 or 4 years in this industry. "If it is to be, it's up to ME"! That's true for a few things, but here is the reality... "If Wealth is to be... it's up to a large group of people, consistently doing a few simple things over a sustained period of time.

It's not in getting a few people to do incredible things all the time. It tried that approach as well. I had anywhere from 6 to 10 incredible people in my group and I loaded them up with all kinds of responsibility. They could do everything! Prospect. Present. Organize. Communicate. You name it.... and I ended up burning out one of them every two weeks or so. For mostly part-time people, you can't load them up that far. People have to be able to do what you're asking them to do for a sustained period of time.

Once again, the Wealth Formula is found in "Your ability to get a large group of people, to consistently do a few simple things, over a sustained period of time".

Anytime you get stuck, come back to this proven formula to diagnose your problem and get your business back on track.

By Eric Worre - Network Marketing Professional

Comment by Karsten Aagaard on June 4, 2008 at 4:46pm

Growth is FUN! Stagnation is NOT!

What did YOU become today as a result of your daily disciplines?

(What did I)?

Are you willing to "press yourself against the grinding wheel of life"?,,,so that things which seem difficult today will become automatic tomorrow?

Life is an adventure. Agel is an amazing addition to my life's adventure...and YOU are THE BEST!

Comment by Karsten Aagaard on June 4, 2008 at 4:38pm

hi Terry

will you be in miami ??

regards Karsten
www.ageldk.com

Comment by Terri Stallcop on May 3, 2008 at 6:09pm

Hi Agel partners - did you see this hub page? I love getting fit with FIT!

Comment by Terri Stallcop on April 24, 2008 at 2:35pm

You are so right Karsten! I am soooo thankful for Agel. Taking the products have helped my in ways I could not imagine. I had no idea how malnourished I was! I thought I was just getting lazy. Now I am back in the DO LIFE crowd! So my attitude is GRATITUDE! My name is Terri Stallcop and I am Agel! Thx for starting this group :)

Comment by Karsten Aagaard on April 14, 2008 at 6:00pm

March Message: Of Agel, Altitude, and AttitudePosted: March 15, 2008





"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do...than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home.... I am convinced life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it."

What a remarkable insight. And how freeing, since our attitude (the way we react to circumstances) is the one thing that is squarely within our own control.

We cannot choose for ourselves where we begin in life. We can't choose the socio-economic status of our family or the educational opportunities we will be given as a child. We can't even control misfortune-whether it is illness, financial setbacks, tragic accidents, or something else, negative events will impact each and every one of us in life.

But what we can control-absolutely control-is the way we respond to what happens to us. Will we feel victimized, targeted, beaten down, or ashamed? Or will we take each day, and whatever difficulties or successes it presents us, with patience, confidence, and persistent enthusiasm?

The Agel opportunity is a remarkable one. Unlike so many other paths to personal success in life, the Agel opportunity requires no set educational or professional background. You don't have to show anyone a resume when you apply to become an Agel team member. It doesn't matter where you're from, what your parents did for a living, what your house looks like, where you went to school, what grades you got, what color or gender you are, what language you speak, even how naturally talented and gifted you are, really-none of those things matter. We have people of every conceivable background and demographic profile who are leaders in our company.

What does matter is your attitude. You've heard the old saying that your attitude determines your altitude (how high up you will go). I can say without reservation that one thing I have never encountered here at Agel is a leader who did not have the right attitude.

Patience, confidence, enthusiasm, even competitiveness-some call it "posture"-it's that way of standing, that look in the eye that says, "I am going to be successful. Throw what you want at me. I know it won't be easy, but I won't give up and, eventually, I will come out on top."

Once you finally decide to take advantage of the Agel opportunity-really decide for yourself that you will do whatever it takes-you will look like that, too.

Whether Agel makes you or breaks you will all depend on one thing...your attitude.

Karsten Aagaard