Self-Devpt. Nuggets™

“I have long taught: if you can’t make money without money, you won’t make money with money either. And if you’re going to back somebody, pick an entrepreneur who has proven that he can survive without adequate capital” – Dan Kennedy (Millionaire Entrepreneur/Author of “How to succeed in Business by breaking all the rules”)

Do you have a passion for helping others? This is always a commendable thing to do. And it feels great when those we help go on to succeed. For that to happen, you must choose to support those most willing to use what you give them. (Hint: This article offers ideas you can teach your kids, so they KNOW how to attract unsolicited support, to achieve their valued goals in life!)

Helping People Unwilling to Take Personal Action Rarely Works

“It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.” – Eleanor Smith

Make the best use of what you have. Give committed and competent people your priority attention.

Why? Because when they are likely to make the most productive use of what you give them. And that is likely to benefit not just them, but others as well!

Consider this analogy:

a. John finished the same year, from the same university as Tayo, your nephew.

After a year of fruitless job searching, he started a car wash business alone, and 2 years on, has one employee.

He proposes having a strategic partnership with your company. The offer is to wash your fleet for a discount in exchange for putting his promotional stickers on your cars.

But he needs N50k to get better equipment, and more hands to cope with demand he expects to get.

b. Tayo – is your nephew – and lives with you.

He complains you’re too hard on him whenever you challenge him to start something of his own, since he’s also been unable to get a job.

A day before John came to see you, Tayo had asked you to give him N50k to start a business centre. He even had a business plan written out.

You were relieved that he seemed to be making an effort.

However, you recall that when you’ve given him money in the past, nothing came of it. Many times he even told you stories that did not add up. You wonder if this time will be different.

Question: Which of these 2 young men would you help, if all you had was N30k?

My answer: John would get my vote, even if my relatives scream to high heavens.

That’s not to say I’ll write off my nephew. No.

I’ll challenge him to convince me he’s serious, using John’s example to show what I mean.

But even John won’t get the money easily.

I’ll make him jump a few hurdles, to ascertain he knows what he’s doing, and will be committed.

Below, I share a real life example of how I introduce hurdles to assure myself a person is worth “helping”.

Identifying a Person Worthy of Support: A Real-Life Example

I offer a support service for authors (in Africa especially) who want to use Print On Demand publishing the way I do.

Many naturally get interested, when they learn their new book can be put online for purchase in physical form by buyers worldwide at zero cost.

So they contact me.

Most times, I simply supply links to articles I’ve written for them to read.

Sometimes I even give a FREE copy of my PDF report, on “Marketing Your Book at Zero Cost” to them. (Need it? E-mail me via tayo at tksola dot com)

Many return to ask for more information that’s ALREADY in the articles and report I asked them to read!

Why they find it so hard to read beats me. How can you be a competent writer if reading is such a chore for you??

Anyway, I’ve learnt to overlook that and instead make a conditional offer…

I Offer a Free 15 Minute Phone Consultation

But I deliberately introduce a hurdle, to help me decide if that individual is serious enough to get access to the offer.

So I send him/her an email message like the one below:

====Starts===

Hi (name),

During our phone chat, I will ask you certain questions and give you certain steps to follow.

You have some things to learn – and you are unlikely to get good results if you rush the process.

When (name of a past client), the CEO of an engineering company in Warri spoke with me for 1 hour on how to use web marketing, he paid N10K in advance to get my commitment to speak with him.

I’m offering you the opportunity to get some of what I said to him at no cost.

Just load credit on your phone and call me on +229-66-122-136.

Plan to be on for at least 15 minutes so we can cover the key areas.

After that you can decide how to progress.

===E-mail ends====

If s/he does what I ask in the email, I take it as a sign that s/he is worthy of further support.

Otherwise, I simply let the interaction end there.

Guess what?

99% of the time, they never make that 15 minute call!

What small thinking some people have. If your dreams really matter to you, borrow money to make that call!

If you can’t do that, why should I believe in YOU?

Final Words: And That’s How to Identify People Worthy of Your Support

It’s by testing them to see if they will go out on a limb, to achieve the goal they claim to want.

People worthy of support will readily make the personal sacrifice of time, effort, and money, to progress towards their goal.

Over the past 10 years, I have gotten others to GLADLY support me in achieving my goals, by proving myself worthy, in the manner I describe above.

That’s why I know it works!