Taking it to the next level, here’s some things I’m implementing and learning in 2013

From the archive: originally published May 2013 on the Empower Network blog.

Learning From Others Inside Empower Network

The cool thing about realizing that you don’t know everything, and that you never will, is…

…there’s always something new to try, learn, and experience, realizing that you can always get better, you can always make more money, you can always impact more people, you can ALWAYS live a happier and more peaceful life.

In Empower Network, one of my favorite things to do is learn from other people who are in, by watching what those who are succeeding are doing right now, breaking down things I like, and re-constructing them in a way that increases my own results.

Here’s a short list of SOME of the people that have transformed my learning at Empower Network, and taught me something new:

• Vick Strizheus
• Tony Rush
• Tracey Walker
• Lawrence Tam
• Toby and Layla Black
• Shaqir Hussyin
• Aaron Rashkin
• Nicole Cooper
• Mack Zidan
• Mike Hobbs & Adam Whiting
• Justin Verrengia
• Laura Parish
• * A secret person, I can’t reveal
• Ted Nuyten
• Tissa Godivatarne
• Paul Hutchings
• Chris Rocheleau
• David Sharpe

* I could go on for a long, long time.

From Copying Models to Building Principles

A long time ago, I learned that you could copy someone’s model of doing something exactly, and as long as you actually copy the exact model of what they do, you can re-produce a result almost exactly the way the expert does it.

Then, a few years ago, I learned something new. I learned that you could take someone’s model, and rather than replicate it, you could take the things they are doing, and ‘chunk’ what they’re doing until you reach a principle, and then re-construct the model in a way that you like better.

Quick example: I just read Eric Worre’s book, ‘GoPRO’ (huge congrats for being the #1 bestseller in like 7 categories).

The advantage of chunking up to principle and re-constructing down to a new strategy is, that although it takes more work, insight, creative power, and experience to do, you can re-create the success the way that you want. Rather than re-creating what the original expert wanted when THEY came up with their success model.

Watching Eric Duplicate a Team to 250,000

So a few years ago, I was watching in fascination as I saw Eric successfully duplicate a team to 50,000 people. And then I was in awe as it grew to 250,000, by passing out DVD’s, doing home meetings, 3 way calls, prospecting, meeting people belly to belly. All old school.

At first, I thought it was working because of the strategy. Eric taught that certain things duplicate, and other things don’t. But then I asked a question that changed everything for me. What I asked was:

“Why does this stuff duplicate?” THIS question led me to a magical place, a kind of thinking that is between the silence, where something emerged that I never would have guessed.

From that, I was able to re-construct the duplication, without any of the stuff I hated to do, doing it the way that I’ve always dreamed of doing it. Utilizing a new method, with a different vision, with an outcome that’s EVEN BETTER than what I was taught.

What I Learned From This Year’s Top Leaders

Taking this back to 2013, and where the next level is. I’ve been amazed at the talent that has come here, and what I’ve learned by watching and listening.

Tracey Walker taught me new things about building teams.

Tony Rush is a living, breathing example of getting out of the way, and allowing magic to work.

Vick Strizheus showed me the power of creating valued relationships. In a different way than I’ve ever seen.

Watching Justin Verrengia’s transformation taught me the power of perceived authority, and then what happened to Paul Hutchings taught me the power in building tap roots in an organization.

Nicole Cooper taught me the power of purpose. Dave Sharpe taught me the value of laying down ‘how it is’.

Laura Parrish taught me the power in just going all in, and then going all out with fire, and what that can do, while watching Shaqir showed me the power of leveraging intelligent strategy. Playing with concepts you can learn in books like ‘The Art of War’ by Sun Tzu.

What I’m Focusing On Right Now

Here’s some things I’m focusing on right now:

1. I’m working on utilizing the skills of more talented people than me to tighten everything about our sales process.
2. I’m reading a LOT more, and learning a lot more. Last month, I finished 8 or 10 books. I’m working on taking my knowledge on influence, people, persuasion, personal transformation, and ‘inner game’ to a whole new level.
3. I’m actively constructing systems to build better ‘tap roots’ in my personal teams. It’s a concept I learned a long time ago, and never realized how to powerfully utilize until something magical happened in June of last year.
4. I’m personally making a new video each day, and making blog posts as much as I can. I wrote a post the other day on how blogging changes your unconscious outcomes. That’s actually based in a lot of research done on the therapeutic effects of journaling. Re-framing your experiences to form a better meaning will literally change everything in your life, and you can do that through blogging. I wasn’t able to blog as much as I liked in 2012, and now I’ve hired the people at Empower Network to now start to write like I enjoy again.
5. I’m systematizing and scaling every activity that I do, to the best of my ability, with the exception of stuff I just plain enjoy [writing, I enjoy, and there’s other reasons why I do it]. Examples are: I’m hiring a local video team to edit my daily videos. I’m hiring social media people, paid traffic people, direct mail people, conversions people, telephone people, and a whole bunch more to do things that I can do. I just don’t want to do at this point, and there are other, more talented people who can do a better job if I pay them what they’re worth.
6. I’m going to go on a LOT more vacations, do more fun stuff, enjoy life more, be more happy and fulfilled, love more, feel more, and be healthier. Call this a life strategy, and it is also a business strategy. When you not only make more money than everyone around you, you live a fantasy, too, that keeps getting better, 2 things happen:

   a) Better and better people are attracted into your team. By ‘better’, I should rephrase that. What I mean is: people who have everything in place to succeed bigger now, versus having to start from a life of zero, both are great to have in a team, and your income will take off when players start being attracted to you. That happens from results, lifestyle, and consistency. (among other things)

   b) When you appreciate the things that you’ve always wanted, you’re both rewarding your unconscious for doing what needs to be done to succeed… AND, you’re showing your unconscious what you want more of in your life, and strategies, people, and resources will start to form to produce more beauty and amazement in your life. Do it, you’ll be impressed. EVERYTHING changed for me when I first made money, and THEN went and actually lived my dream. I was showing my unconscious that I appreciate everything that was being done on my behalf, and everything in my life transformed.

Bringing It All to a New Level

There’s more, however that’s a good start. This year I’m bringing everything to a new level, a new outcome, a new beauty, new enjoyment, new fulfillment, new pleasure, with you, rising to the top, living your victory now.

Let’s rock this.

What are YOU doing in 2013 to up your game?

-David Wood

P.S. Appreciate you.