Kevin and the Giant Peach

One of the reasons success eludes so many people is that…

Kevin Mastaw — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:16:25 +0000

…they have a difficult settling on what they want to become successful at. Jaime Cevallos didn’t have that problem. From the time he was a little kid, he wanted to become good at swinging a baseball bat. That was it.

Jaime Cevallos

Even though he’d managed to become good enough to play baseball in college, he had to settle for being a defenseman. After all the coaching and hard work, he’d only been able to manage a 0.190 batting average. After all the frustration of trying to become a better batter, he started studying videos and the other coaching programs. It was in these that he found they were lacking something. And, better yet, he was able to put his finger on that something.

He put aside everything he had learned about swinging a bat and, quickly, developed a training regimen for himself which took him to a 0.360 batting average the very next season.

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That success gave him the confidence to perfect his training system and make a career out of it. He did not listen to naysayers who would tell him to “get a normal job” and give up on his dream. He knew that if he kept at it, something would break open in his favor.

That break came in 2008 when he’d met a major league player who was interested in learning Jaime’s system. That player led to others and, now, Jaome coaches over 10 major leaguers. He is also a successful entrepreneur, his main product being the MP30 Training Bat. In the next few months, Jaime’s book, “Positional Hitting” will be on the market. The book will explain Jaime’s training methods in detail.

The lesson, here, is that Jaime did not give up on his idea. Neither should you.

To Learn more about Jaime Cevallos, go to www.theswingmechanic.com

To listen to the full interview on Kevin and the Giant Peach, go to www.kjmataw.com

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I unintentionally caught Brad Emmert off guard…

Kevin Mastaw — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:51:48 +0000

…during our conversation on the show on Saturday with one of my questions. I asked him to explain an example of how the compensation plan of the network marketing company he represents has created more millionaires than Wal-Mart. This was a dramatic illustration that Brad used to give in his training talks. However, I didn’t realize that he hadn’t used this illustration in years!

So, I’ll explain it here because I believe that it is a great example of why, if someone is serious about becoming financially independent, they should not dismiss network marketing as a viable means to those ends.

What Brad used to do was divide the room – which consisted of approximately 200 people – into two halves. One half represented Wal-Mart and the other half represented the network marketing company Brad represents. Brad would then address the first 5 people in the front row of the “Wal-Mart half” and ask them to stand up. He then pointed out that those 5 people represented the sum total of millionaires that Wal-Mart had produced. (The real life Wal-Mart millionaires are members of the Sam Walton family, by the way.)

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He then would address the second half of the room and ask them all to stand up. They represented the number of people who had earned over $1,000,000 in commissions from Brad’s network marketing company compensation to that point. (I believe the number is over 200, now.)

So, the visual is this: on the Wal-Mart side of the room, there were 5 people standing at this point. On the network marketing company side of the room, there were approximately 100 people standing.

The question to the audience was this, which compensation plan gave you a better shot at becoming financially independent? The Wal-Mart plan – which, by the way, can be substituted for by any large corporation’s compensation play – or the network marketing company’s compensation plan?

The visual contrast made it clear as to the answer.

TO LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW GO TO http://www.kjmastaw.com .

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Kevin and the Giant Peach blog to Change!

kjmastaw — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:05:18 +0000

Actually, it’s not going to change so much as become more focused. Since I host an internet radio show with the same title, I decided that it’s probably a good idea to link the contents of the two.

So, from now on, I’ll be posting on this blog my perspective of the contents of the interviews of my guests. I usually gain some insights from each guest and will share them with you, here, on the “Kevin and the Giant Peach” blog. I also invite you to comment on what you heard and if you agree/disagree with my take on the conversation.

The transcripts – which I hope will be completed, soon – will be found on their own separate web pages.

I hope to hear from you soon!

Kevin

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The Little Man in My Head has been SCREAMING at me to POST SOMETHING!

Kevin Mastaw — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 22:57:52 +0000

So, here’s the first in what will be several (I promise) posts about our trip to Japan.

Our two weeks in Japan, visiting Tokuko’s mother, was a true vacation. We didn’t stay up late but we got up late, every day. We spent the mornings sipping tea and coffee. Tokuko would read the newspaper. I’d read Vince Flynn or John Grisham. (I managed to finish 5 novels – 2 x Vince Flynn, 3 x John Grisham). I’d also logon to the computer and play games.

In the afternoons, we’d do our sightseeing or friend visiting. Much of that time was actually spent on trains, usually to Kobe, Osaka, or Kyoto.

In the evenings, we’d eat dinner with Aimeko (Tokuko’s Mom) and watch the English-dubbed newscast at 7. The big news over there was much the same as it was here except with different players. Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa is eing srutinized for an illegal, $4,000,000 land deal. (Yes, Democrats in Japan are no different than the democrats in the U.S..)

The big story is the fall of a national sports hero. Not Tiger but Mongolian grand (sumo) champion Asashoryu was forced to retire early after hitting a guy while drunk a month back.

I’ll be posting more on our travels in the coming days.

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Even though I’m on vacation, I can’t help but work – just a little…

Kevin Mastaw — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 22:33:34 +0000

but, then again, my “work” is oftentimes play.

Yesterday, my wife and I went to the Kaiyukan Aquarium in Osaka to see the otters. At this aquarium, they have both river otters and sea otters.

I could watch the otters play all day. In many ways, I think this is how we should be living our lives.

It bothers me to see people go through their days in obvious misery. Why is that? If it’s your job that’s doing that to you, then quit.

Find something that’s fun for you and then do that. Play. Life is too short. Live life like the otter.

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The next time you don’t feel appreciated at work, think of Jack

Kevin Mastaw — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 23:16:45 +0000

Jack Bauer (the super agent hero of the hit TV show, “24″) always seemed to have a problem with keeping his job.

This despite saving the President and the people of America a multitude of times.

At the end of season 3, he was even fired! Why? Because his boss felt that his prior heroin addiction made him a “liability” on her team. Never mind that he acquired the addiction as a result of his job. (He needed to use heroin to maintain his cover in attempting to bring down the drug empire of Ramone Salazar.) Or that he saved the people of the U.S. from a deadly virus. Or that he quit the addiction. Policy is policy and Jack had to go.

It got even worse. In season 4, Jack, having found steady employment as the head of security for the secretary of state, found himself having to free the secretary and his daughter from terrorists. Once that task was accomplished, his scope-of-work then shifted to working with his former employer, CTU (Counter Terrorism Unit), to stop the melt-down of multiple nuclear reactors around the U.S.. Jack accomplished this task. Then, the same terrorist, got hold of a nuclear war-head, placed on a rocket and launched it toward L.A.. Jack not only stopped the missile from hitting its target, he was also able to kill the bad guy who was responsible. All this in 24 hours!

There was a hitch, though. You see, in the course of doing his job, Jack, again, violated company policy in saving a city from sure doom in leading a covert operation to snatch a Chinese scientist from the Chinese embassy in Los Angeles. The scientist possibly had information that would lead Jack to the bad guy. The Chinese balked at turning him over. But the missile was on its way – at that point know one knew its destination. So, with no time to waste, Jack and his team needed to go in under the cover of darkness and masks. They were successful but during the operation, the Chinese ambassador was killed by friendly fire – not Jack. But someone had to pay. The Chinese learned that Jack lead the operation and so demanded the President hand him over. One of the President’s advisors, worried that Jack knew too many secrets, ordered the Secret Service to have Jack killed instead. With a little help from his friends, Jack is able to fool the Secret Service agent, sent to kill him, into thinking he’s dead.

As a reward for, again saving the U.S., Jack has to take on a false identity and flee the country.

So, the next time you think you are being unfairly treated after all you do for your boss, company or country,
remember Jack.

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This morning I heard on the news that 2009 was a record year for people falling for scams.

Kevin Mastaw — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:16:47 +0000

Most of those scams had to do with programs to help people save money or make extra money. Given that the economy has been struggling a bit, this should not come as a big surprise.

If you or someone you know is susceptible to falling for one of the 1000’s of “click-here-and-make-money” scams that are roaming the internet these days you may want to refer to an article I wrote almost two years ago for ezine articles titled, “5 Must Ask Question For Evaluating Any Network Marketing Company“.

While I wrote this to help people sort through companies that inhabit the network marketing jungle, these five questions will help you filter out the bad companies offering ANY kind of money-making opportunity. This is a simple and quick evaluation process which will save you tons of time and lots of money in the long run.

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On the BlogTalkRadio show on Saturday, Tim Cummings started the discussion..

Kevin Mastaw — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:23:16 +0000

… by saying that you have to “speak your vision” first. You have to put your goals into words. Then you have to put those words onto paper. And then you have to write out your plan to get there.

This has been proven in my own life. In college (the first two years, anyway) were very successful because I always had a study plan. Before training for my first marathon, I had a plan in place 6 months in advance. Same thing with finishing my first Ironman. In each case, there was a written plan in place. The first two years of my Market America business were successful because – guess what? – I had a plan. Written down. On paper. That I looked every day.

So, as we start 2010, here I am writing out my goals. And from those goals I will develop my plan.

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Being an engineer, this plan will be in an excel spreadsheet – a tab for each goal. There will be a tab for my income goal. There will be a tab for my health and fitness goal. And there will be a tab for my personal development goal.

Will I follow these plans, perfectly. Well, I’ve never been able to follow any of the previous plans perfectly in the past. But I’d always been able to acheive or get close to acheiving the goal. That’s a great feeling by the way. One that’s well worth the effort in developing the plan.

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I’m watching the dollar strengthen and profiting by it…

Kevin Mastaw — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 14:46:14 +0000

as I took a long trade against the Japanese Yen.

USD/JPY Jan 7 2010

Since taking the trade on December 30th, we’re looking at about an 80 pip gain – our opening price being 92.290. Stops have been moved up to the 14-day low of 91.127 which brings our risk on the trade down to 106 pips.

If the dollar continues to strengthen into the close, we may add another contract.

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One of my professors back at Michigan Tech, Bruce Barna…

Kevin Mastaw — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 14:58:20 +0000

…said this, “the best engineers are the lazy engineers. They figure out how to get things done the quickest, easiest way possible.”

Out of the 4 years of college, that is what stuck with me. (The other was Dr. Ginn talking about sitting in a sauna, contemplating the steam.)

I still believe that is great advice. However, applying it in a corporate setting is a challenge. Most bosses don’t understand “laziness” as a valid method of doing your job. They want to see you running around, moving your hands and always in a hurry.

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Sitting there staring out the window or the computer screen, nursing a cup of coffee, with your feet up on the desk isn’t quite what they want to see you doing when they walk by your office. They don’t understand that this is your best contemplative pose from which your greatest innovation is going to spring.

This is why, I believe, most great ideas don’t come from within the walls of Corporate America. Instead, they come from between the ears of people who are being “lazy” – sitting on the beach; kicked back in an easy chair; out on an easy jog (ok, that’s not really being lazy); knocking down a cold one with friends.

This is also why, I believe, that Corporate America is in its’ death throws. We’re far into the era of what Timothy Ferriss call the “new-rich” with more individuals realizing that they need to move into the “B” and “I” quadrant of Robert Kiyosaki’s “Cash Flow Quadrant.”

There definitely has never been a better or more exciting time to be lazy.

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