The Detroit Lions, GM, Ford & Chrysler - What do they all have in common?

I have been thinking quite a bit lately about teams & organizations. What makes them click? What makes them tick? What makes teams more successful than others? Why are their teams that make winning look so easy? On the surface it will appear I am talking about sports teams, but deep down I am discussing more than just that. I want to dig down to the fundamentals of not only teams but businesses and organizations and what does it take exactly for X amount of people to be able to cooperate, communicate and coexist with one another...putting the team first and the individual second? Let's get to it!

I watch football occasionally, so I am not going to claim that I am a fan by any means but the Detroit Lions are sub par right now. It's humiliating...I bet a college squad could beat. So wherein lies the issue? Is it a lack of talent? Did firing Matt Millen, the team president cause any drastic changes? Are they calling the wrong plays? What will it take for the Detroit Lions to win a super bowl or any team for that matter? What will it take for the Detroit Lions to win a single game!? Should they just quit playing for the rest of the season? Why should they even keep trying? Are they learning anything from this terrible season?

I read a great article about one month ago in Men's Journal titled, Brotherhood of the Offensive Lineman of the New York Giants, the reigning super bowl champions-take a look.

No other unit in any sport must function as symbiotically as an offensive line. Baseball infielders work in sync, but only sporadically. Basketball players are all over the place. Soccer players too. Rowers work together, but their mission is too simple to count. Defensive linemen — usually a threesome or a quartet — run coordinated stunts, but basically they’re lone assassins. The offensive line, however, fanning out from the center, who is always drawn on blackboards as a circle with an “x” through it while the others are simply circles, must correctly choose their targets, hold their blocks simultaneously and in cohesion, and remain engaged to the end, or else the dam is breached, the wall torn asunder. And they do it in near obscurity.

“Playing O-line you have to take your ego, put it in your back pocket, and zip it up,” says Jim Covert, the former Pro Bowl left tackle for the Chicago Bears during their Walter Payton/Jim McMahon heyday. “When you win, you had nothing to do with it. Lose, it’s all your fault. You play against first- and second-down defensive linemen, third-down rushers, specialists coming in and out — 70 or so plays, and if you’re successful 68 times, with two plays being a sack and a tackle-for-loss, you failed.”

It takes a tight line to be effective. And it’s hard to find a tighter group than these Giants. Seubert has described them as operating like five fingers of the same hand (making sure to point out that O’Hara is the middle finger). They’ve been together for four years, an eternity in pro football. They eat together at team dinners, barbecue together, and last spring they were at Seubert’s Celebrity Trap Shoot charity event together in Wisconsin. Fifteen-hundred-plus pounds of meat and loaded weapons?

Their durability is a big part of their success. Snee has started 48 straight regular-season games. McKenzie and Seubert started every game last year, including the four play-off games. O’Hara missed only the wild-card game at Tampa Bay with a knee injury. Diehl has started every game (86) the Giants have played since he was drafted out of the University of Illinois in 2003. And, of course, they all played like seasoned vets in the Giants’ 17-14 Super Bowl win over the Patriots.

“They’re such a close-knit group of guys in the first place,” Manning says. “Then to have the same five guys for four years? That’s rare.”

They spend so much time with one another that, as O’Hara puts it, “by the end of the season, we’re finishing each other’s sentences.”

“It’s like ESP,” says McKenzie. “It gets to be scary at times.”

Which leads to the most transcendent of athletic quests: performing hard things in cohesion without even speaking, the ephemeral realm where the whole becomes far greater than the sum of its parts. It is an offensive lineman’s vision of perfection. “You’ll be on the road where it’s loud and hostile, and all five guys are on the same page, and you play nonverbally,” says Diehl. “To not even talk? To go off of looks? Unless you’re an offensive lineman, you don’t know.”

Isn't that an incredible article? This just about sums it up for me. I bolded what really stood out to me. The individuals of the team really need to ditch the ego and do what is best for the team always.

Now the big question at hand...do the Detroit Lions deserve a bailout just as GM, Chrysler & Ford are begging? Do the Lions need a financial bailout or an attitude bailout? Don't mind the details on what type of bailout it will be...but what will they learn from a bailout and how will they grow from it? My point is this, they aren't going to learn a darn thing. If the Feds bailout the Big Three, what are we teaching the Big Three and what are we teaching the American people? I understand that the Big 3 are claiming that by not bailing them out the economy will be effected even worse-I get it. And yes I don't want more people to lose their jobs...but what the economy of the United States is experiencing is much more than just a temporary cold. Being injected with millions of dollars won't solve the problem.

The problem lies within the people of the organization. If we bailout the Big 3 are they even going to change their business model? Times like these cause people to change, grow and adapt. And after the bailout are people going to all of the sudden start buying cars? I don't think so.

What separates the good from the great are people who can take ownership of their failure, digest it, learn from it and become more successful for experiencing that failure. I don't know how much the Detroit Lions are being paid to lose this season. But in the world in which I play business...if I lose I don't make any money, I actually lose money for failing. Risk vs. Reward. This is what the American people are all about, when you trip and fall, you get back up, don't you ever quit-that is what everybody else does. How many of the Detroit Lions team players have quit? How many of them have walked, threw in the towel and said, "I'm done playing football"?

Achieving success can be hard. But guess what, you can do hard things. Never give up!

Burn Your Ships!

Fellow entrepreneurs! In times like these there is only one thing you can do in order to accomplish what you need to. And that is to burn your ships! As the wise Napoleon Hill, author of Think & Grow Rich once wrote – "allow yourself no retreat".

It reads:

"A long while ago, a great warrior faced a situation in which he had to make a decision that ensured his success on the battlefield. He was about to send his armies against a powerful foe whose men outnumbered his. He loaded his soldiers into boats, sailed to the enemy’s country, and unloaded the soldiers and equipment. Then he gave the order to burn the ships that had carried them. Addressing his men before the first battle, he said, 'You see the boats going up in smoke. That means we cannot leave these shores alive unless we win! We now have no choice – we win or we perish!' They won."

What an incredible story! Could you imagine what was running through the minds of those soldiers? The economy is tough right now for most, but for about 5% that tend to look at the 'glass half full' - the United States is a land of opportunity. You can make money in more ways than you could imagine only 10 years ago. And are you taking advantage of those opportunities?

Did you know the greatest fortunes are made during the worst economic conditions?

In the photograph above you see me and my father-in-law Steve. August of 2008 my wife and I decided to burn our ships. We picked up and left our comfortable home in Southern Utah to move to Detroit, Michigan. I am not sure when the last time Detroiters have seen someone move into their city-but we did. And as you can see that is our moving truck that we drove 2,000 miles across the country. My point being is that I am here in Detroit making things happen for my business. There are times I want to quit or give up...but I can't, I have no where to go, I have no retreat. What am I going to do-go get a job? I'm not cut out for j-o-b's.

Do what you need to do to achieve success in your business! Burn your ships and fight!

Are you officially unemployable?

This is a common joke amongst entrepreneurs and self-employed folks. But I am going to change the context a bit. I quit my j-o-b back in August of 2006. This year has been tough. I realized toward the beginning of this year (2008) that I needed to go out and raise additional private capital for my real estate ventures. And due to a number of things this year it has been difficult. My point being is that I have been receiving a lot of 'pressure' to go get a j-o-b. I haven't had a job for 2 years! So, first is the resume right? My resume is so old-the last resume I put together was back in college and I really don't want to deal with sprucing up my resume-just hire me. Then their is co-workers, your boss, clocking in, schedules, hours, etc.

The funny thing is I have been to a few interviews. I have submitted my 'resume' or application a few times and I can't get hired!? I know for a fact I am over qualified for some of those positions and it just baffles me. I know us self-employed folks are independent and we have a hard time taking orders, but we aren't that bad are we?

There are other jobs where I can't get them to stop calling me. My point is this...as an entrepreneur we will have our challenges, difficulties and setbacks. But don't give up and by no means go out and get a job! We are smart intelligent people, there are other ways to make money than just going back to get a job. There really aren't any jobs right now any way. The other thing is this...as you experience these challenges you will find that those closest to you will begin to doubt and suggest you get a job. And when it gets really bad, then your significant other will hop on that band wagon as well. You then find yourself all alone and its really daunting.

But that day will come when you hit it big and all those I mentioned above will bring you in with open arms and say, "We knew you could do it! Now when are you going to take us on a vacation?" Hang around those who are like-minded and who are entrepreneurs like yourself. Endure and persist, cross that chasm that very few are willing to do. Weather the storm and reach out and grab success by the neck.

What does it take for success to smile upon you?

Success is a peculiar achievement. Everyone has their own way of gauging whether or not they were successful. For me, one type of financial success is being financially independent meaning: I have more passive income than I do monthly expenses. Which means I really don't need to go out and work that month, per se. I will admit I have not reached that point in my career but I'm working at it.

Now, I was speaking with a friend of mine and I mentioned that I had 'risked everything' to be where I am today. And I sat there and thought..."was this a wise choice or a foolish one?" For me, I want it so bad that I am willing to push it to the limits in order to accomplish what I desire...I have to! I then thought "if this totally falls apart and if I don't achieve what I want; what will I do?" There is nothing else I want to do right now. There is no point in me slowing down or looking back. I do what I know best and that is keep pushing and pushing.

What's funny is that in today's society we typically don't come across the celebrities, athletes or business owners until they have reaped a certain level of success in their career. And we think, "Well that was easy for them...why does success smile upon them so quickly and not me?" But what we don't know is what they were doing in the trenches of pre-success, day in day out.

So, are you willing to risk everything to be successful? What is it going to take? It can be mentally & emotionally draining to get there, I will promise you that. Is it worth it and are you willing to do it?

Back in March of this year (2008) I was posed with a predicament. To stay afloat financially that month I needed to make a sacrifice and sell my Toyota Tacoma truck. Which meant: we would be a one car family-very inconvenient and I lost my truck manhood-very depressing. But I weighed the options in my head, "Do I want to give up this truck for $10,000 now to continue to pursue my dreams and then be able to buy any car I want or do I keep it so I can appear to be keeping up with the Jones's?" I sold it and my wife did it in less than 24 hours on craigslist.org

Anyhow, right after I sold the truck I found myself carless and I called my wife to see if she could pick me up? She said, "Why don't you just drive home?" So, to buy myself time while I waited for her to come pick me up, I walked over to the grocery store and picked up Men's Journal for the first time (which is a pretty darn good magazine if you are a man) and came across this story on Dwayne Johnson "The Rock". To be honest I have really enjoyed the films he has been in, so I read the story from beginning to end (because I had the time and I wasn't going anywhere any time soon).

My point, Dwayne Johnson traveled his tough road to be where he is now. He was a fighter in high school. They were evicted from their apartment, their car was repossessed, parents split and they ate chicken McNuggets for dinner. He messed up his shoulder playing college football, then it was his back. His intentions were to play NFL, he didn't get drafted and ended up back at home with his parents pulling weeds for $10 a hour. You will need to read his story - its incredible!

The secret ingredient for the recipe of success is Persistence & Tenacity. I urge you to never give up, stay focused and go get your dreams.

#3 Real Estate Seminar Education

My 2007 was packed with seminars. What I want to discuss today is, what is all of the hype about with these seminars, how do they work, is it worth your time and money? I will totally come out and admit that I was a "Seminar Junkie" for awhile there and probably would still like to be in a sense. But on the other hand I would also call myself a Seminar Guru in the sense I know & understand what these platform speakers are attempting to accomplish and what they want to do to their audience.

I know and have seen the following on stage: Robert Allen, Alan Cowgill, Marshall Sylver, Jeff Schnitter, JJ Childers, John Childers, Bill Barnett, Matt Bacak, Lou Castillo, Josh Brown, Joel Bauer, Dave Lindahl, T Harv Eker, Blair Singer, Jeff Adams, Adam Ginsberg and some others I don't care to mention. Now, this is not a 'bash blog'...I'm not going to bash on these guys in anyway. I have respect for most of these guys and I'm not going to single them out. I'm going to simply explain the psychology behind seminars and help you decide if it is worth your time to get involved.

For one, if you want to make some real money...become a Platform Speaker like the above candidates. I don't know of a more lucrative business that public speaking at a seminar setting. Ok, back to the topic at hand, the way they look at things is:

How many butts do we have in seats?

Are these pre-qualified people?

Did they pay to get in or was it free?

And what is there interest? (internet marketing, self help, real estate, entrepreneurs, etc)

The next thing that they will do is teach, educate and share whatever it is they specialize in with the ultimate goal to convert 10%-30% (or more) of the people in the room. After their pitch, they will close and the next objective is to get you to stand up out of your seat and walk to the back of the room, pull out your credit card and enlist.

This is the basic idea...now are seminars worth your time? It depends on the topic and the speaker. For me...it was worth it. It was very expensive, I did get out of hand at times, as far as getting closed by platform speakers, standing up and running to the back of the room to sign up! The other problem that I faced is, I would purchase a 3 day seminar or a home study course...and would not implement the information. It became a habit of gathering and collecting information. I became this squirrel of information preparing for winter. But winter never came and my information just collected dust.

Would I be where I am today without seminars? No. The other point I would like to make is there is no silver bullet. I thought and felt that by attending X seminar that I would become a millionaire. Not the case just yet. One needs to create a team, implement and begin a business from scratch. So what has happened to me in essence this year, is a mental transformation from "Seminar Junky-whatever they tell me goes and everyone else is stupid" to an "Old School-way of doing business...seek guidance and counsel from professionals outside of the seminar arena."

I fell victim to thinking that the only professionals that could assist me on my Million Dollar Business journey were those in the seminar business circuit. And that came at a very expensive price with very little value. I began to change and realize that life, business and entrepreneurship are not Utopia. Business became very difficult and I needed to change the way I thought of doing business and how I was doing it. I didn't have any local professionals, they were all out of state. Now, I prefer to have everyone local: CPA, Attorney, Financial Plannter, etc.

For instance, I was purchasing distressed foreclosed homes in Detroit from Southern Utah, site unseen. But this is how I was taught from all of those seminars. I had a system in place and professionals who would do the due diligence for me and relay the information via email or phone. Did this work?....yes & no. Would I do it again? Probably not. What have I learned? My first few houses were in terrible areas. Did my contractor say anything to me, my Realtor, property manager? Nope, not one of them mentioned anything to me like, "Hey, Travis you may want to rethink this location." It's my responsibility, I understand that, I don't blame them for my poor decision. It was just a different way of doing business.

Anyhow, my point...I am now an "Old School" hands-on business man. Which brings me to why my family and I have moved to Detroit, Michigan of all places from Saint George, Utah. Enough about me, lets get into real estate deals, entrepreneurship & business. Until then...never give up on your Entrepreneurial Desires.

#2 To Academia or Not To...this is the question!

This blog topic is specifically written to entrepreneurs and business professionals. Graduating from high school the most common practice is to go to college...that is what we are suppose to do right? So what do your peers think and what do your parents say if you don't go to college and decide to go without? Many of the business greats don't go to college at all or simply drop out. Do you need to go to college in order to become a millionaire?

Here is a simple rule of thumb...only seeking learning from those who make more money than you do. For example how much do college professors make a year? And how many years do they have out on the street doing business? Most professors are full time academia people and no real life experience and are really good at research - thats it.

In my case I did attend college and I did graduate with a Bachelors degree. I did want to drop out when I began my 3rd year...but my wife insisted that I finish. I am an advocate of not giving up and finishing something you start...so it was best that I finish what I started. I didn't want to be a hypocrite.

My first two years of college I studied Wildlife Management...then I switched to Business. After doing some research and counseling with a College Counselor on how long it would take me to graduate with a Bachelors in Business...I decided to take the path less traveled. I ended up graduating in General Studies. One may ask why and what the heck is that? Well it allowed me to not have to take those silly math classes that I would never need, it allowed me to skip out on english classes that I did not enjoy and it allowed me to custom tailor my own curriculm.

So I took classes that I would need and would help me throughout my life, for example: auto shop, wood working, photography, ecology, personal finance, housing, real estate, real estate finance, consumer education, real estate appraisal, microsoft office, urban geography, marketing, insurance, etc. So that way I was able to enjoy myself, learn applicable - real life information. There is nothing worse than to have to go to college. I can't stand that feeling of having to be somewhere, that I don't want to be and what I am learning is totally irrelevant. Its the worlds way of brainwashing us to be employees.

Do you know what happened after I graduated from college? I couldn't find a job. I couldn't keep a job...so I ventured off on my own to work for myself. I felt it was the only solution. Now did school come in handy? Did I learn things from college that I needed and used? My answer is yes. But I am not saying that one needs to attend college. If you know what you want to do...you can learn what you need at seminars, from mentors, books, etc. But we will discuss seminars at a later blog. You also have to take into account the cost of school?

As a business person...is it really worth your time to spend $50,000 plus dollars, 4 plus years to walk away with a degree that means what? Are you treated differently because you have a degree? Are investors going to fund your project because you are a college graduate? Another topic we will discuss will be networking...its who you know and how to leverage your relationships in a good way.

#1 Blogging in Detroit, Michigan - Are you for real?

Hi all! I'm pretty new to blogging...so I have a lot to learn...but pretty much what you will be reading and learning here are the insights to my crazy business mind. I have been thinking for awhile now what exaclty I want to write about and I have some pretty cool ideas. Allow me to introduce myself. I was born and raised in Southern California. I know what you are thinking "Gee that sucks for you Travis...all those malls, beaches, people and terrible weather." I know it was tough...but I survived. Growing up as a small kid I wanted to be a scientist. Then in high school I got some sense knocked into me and decided I wanted to be a Game Warden in Idaho making a whopping $29,000 a year! (despite the fact that is more than I have made this year (2008) as a freaking bootstrapping entrepreneur - something I really don't want to discuss right now).

Anyhow, as a goal oriented individual I found myself in Rexburg, Idaho going to school at Ricks because I needed residency in order to attend the University of Idaho (for cheaper-I understood what bootstrapping meant back then-go figure) to pursue my career as a game warden. There in Rexburg or what I prefer to call it 'Iceburg', I met my incredible wife at the library, of all places. Its a great story...I will share it one day.

My point is, we eventually got married and right after our wedding of course, we had absolutely no money, so I decided to enlist us into summer sales for Moxie Pest Control. We did door to door sales in Houston, Texas selling pest control contracts to have people whose homes needed to be sprayed eradicating all their bugs. "The spiders and the ants are just terrible out here." Was one of our favorite lines at the door and the homeowner would be like "I know, tell me about it." Then I would close them.

That summer of 2003 in Houston, Texas I had my birthday and my wife Mary bought me this crazy book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki. At the time I didn't even know what a mortgage was let alone anything about business or real estate.

So we finished up our awesome summer sales job and transfered up to the University of Idaho...the college of my dreams to pursue my career as a game warden. Only one problem, the rich dad, poor dad got my wheels spinning. The other problem was my wife didn't even want to attend the UI but she came anyways to support me. The day I arrived I had a special chat with Mary and it went something like this, "Babe, I want to change my major to study Business & Real Estate?" She was not happy with me. Just as a note to all of you entrepreneurs out there, its difficult for our spouses to be married to us-just want to give you heads up.

So that was kind of the beginning, the first chapter of being, doing and becoming what I am today.