An example of such a software is AIMcrm, a web-based application that can effectively help you manage your existing customers as well as sales leads. AIMcrm provides the tools to organize of your current and potential customer information in one place, keeping it easy to understand and actionable for targeted marketing. Some of the services that the company offers as part of its comprehensive CRM solutions include: sales lead management, data mining, visitor tracking, campaign management, sales force management, and more.

This software can be implemented in many types of industries, offline or online, by managers who wish to practice their business activities at a competitive level. For instance, if you have an online business, you can use the web tracking and analytics feature to monitor your visitors from the time they first arrive at your site until they have completed a sale. In this example, you can use such information to increase your income by examining such information as which of your websites, web ad campaigns, and keywords are converting to leads and which are going even further to produce closed sales.

Take a look at the Aimcrm.com website to learn additional information on what this CRM software can offer your business.

• Actuaries: A mean annual salary $95,420. Over the 2006-2016 decade, salaries are projected to increase by 24%.
• Dental Hygienists: The median earnings are in the high $60k range, while the top-end hygienists are in the $90k range. A 30% salary growth is projected.
• Marketing Managers: A median salary of $104,000, 12% growth projected.
• Computer Software Engineers: Starting salaries of $90k, and 38% increase projected.
• Medical and Health Service Managers: Median salary of $76,990, with 16% expected growth projected.
• Human Resource Managers: Mean wage of $92,710, with 17% expected growth projected.

Of course, one would require several years of post secondary education and some hands-on experience to start earning six figures, but overall, these are high paying careers from the onset and with very good prospects for the future.

Here are some more points to know before you start applying to schools:

Actuaries – relies heavily on high level math skills for statistical analysis models and calculations of risk/reward, insurance pricing, return on investment, etc’. From my experience, you are either born with a propensity for solid math skills or this type of profession just isn’t for everyone.

Dental Hygienists – Only a couple of years worth of college are required to get the foot in door, although a six-figure salary is more likely to be offered in larger metropolitan areas. In general, as long as you don’t mind dealing with plaque, this one takes the cake. Pun intended.

Marketing Managers – This one was a bit surprising to see on the list since I believe most marketing professionals make much less than the median amount. Many years of experience, or a really successful startup, is normally what’s necessary to reach the coveted 6-figure mark.

Computer Software Engineers – Another job that fits analytically-inclined individuals, and only requires a couple of years of post secondary to get into an entry-level position. Beyond the entry-level pay, it is usually expected for engineers to be proficient in multiple programming skills to break the $100k mark. A multifaceted and challenging job no doubt, just make sure to follow the vital, yet often ignored, ergonomic recommendations to avoid eye strain, back discomfort and wrist problems. I don’t mean to nag, but those are real pains.

Medical and Health Service Managers – Undoubtedly a good field to be in and offers the highest location flexibility, considering this job cannot be outsourced and that the number of patients is predicted to grow exponentially in the foreseeable future.

Human Resource Managers – If you like (or at least don’t mind) dealing with hiring, firing, and anything in the middle for this crucial role, this job is for you.

I will also add to the above list that with the greater focus on energy resources exploration in the past year, it is likely that both petroleum engineering as well as alternative fuel-related careers will increasingly offer six figure incomes.

Clearly networking with colleagues and friends can also land high paying jobs and I will discuss networking skills in a future post. However, in order to keep these jobs for the long term, a person has to possess the right cognitive and emotional affinity for the job.  Otherwise, they will have to count on having a clueless/negligent boss that is willing to pay six figures for less than a quality job performance. How likely is that?

They’re all assholes… but lots of people (including me) love them anyway. Why is that?

Maybe its envy. Deep down, we would all like to be able to say anything to anyone, cause trouble without consequence, and act without caring what others think.

But we don’t do it.

We can’t bear the shame of becoming an asshole. We’ve been conditioned by centuries of faithful mothers teaching us to mind our manners. We are proud of being polite.

Except… could that be the problem?

I know about a dozen people that make over $1 million per year, and I’d imagine all of them are called assholes on a regular basis. The two seem to go hand in hand, and I think there are reasons why.

Extreme Success Requires Extreme Focus

If you want to be successful, you have to focus. We all know that, but I don’t think many of us understand it.

Focusing means giving one objective all of your attention and ignoring everything else. Dr. House from the House M.D. TV show focuses on saving people’s lives, and nothing else matters to him. He’s willing to cheat, lie, steal, manipulate, and coarse in the pursuit of that end. And it works.

The wealthiest people in the world use the same approach with their finances. Frequently, they’ll:

• Leave behind a trail of broken marriages and forgotten children
• Lose the life savings of their friends and relatives on an ingenious but doomed business
• Refuse to lend anyone money or give to charity
• Avoid unnecessary expenses to the point of miserliness
• Treat everyone that can’t help them as if they’re expendable

We hold up cases like those as “how not to be successful,” but really, I think it’s exactly the opposite. The amount of wealth you’ll accumulate in this lifetime depends on how willing you are to put money ahead of everything else.

Frugal investors become millionaires because they’re willing to give up immediate gratification and luxury for a few decades. Successful entrepreneurs become billionaires because they invest every ounce of their life in the business and convince others to do the same. In each case, someone will inevitably labeled them as a miser, workaholic, or asshole, but they don’t care.

For them, it’s worth the trade-off. So ask yourself: how much are you willing to trade?

Are you willing to let some people think you’re an asshole?

The Most Powerful People Are Often the Hardest to Reach In The Dip, Seth talks about how the harder something is, the more valuable it usually is. Starting a new search engine to dominate Google would be tough, but it would also be worth billions. Similarly, getting into Harvard is difficult, but it also sets you apart and helps you get a better job. The same is true with networking. If you can call someone on their cell phone and chat for an hour, chances are that they’re not very influential. On the other hand, powerful people like Oprah, Al Gore, and Bill Gates would make immensely valuable friends, but they’re also the hardest to get to know. To build a powerful network though, you need to know influential people. Just choose the right ones. If you’ve written the world’s greatest book on relationships, then Oprah would probably love to meet you, while Bill Gates could probably care less. So forget about Bill and spend your time getting to know Oprah.

Small Networks Can Make a Big Impact In Small Is the New Big, Seth collects blog posts about how small companies and organizations can do big things. Small blogs are challenging big media, small groups are starting big movements, and small devices connect us to a big world. It’s the same with networks. When you talk about networking, most people assume that the aim is to build a Rolodex overflowing with business cards, but that’s not always true. Sometimes, it’s not about the size of your network, but the depth of its relationships. If you can’t remember anything about half the people in your Rolodex, then you’re probably not as influential as you thought.

Nurturing Present Relationships Isn’t Enough Then again, nurturing present relationships isn’t enough, either. Your network will eventually erode. People move away, develop other interests, or just plain decide they don’t like you anymore. That’s life. Instead of spending all your time pursuing them though, you should continually reinvent your network, deepening your relationship with some people and letting others go. Seth applies these ideas to corporations in Survival Is Not Enough. For big companies, change is often something to survive, not thrive on. To maintain leadership though, you have to evolve with the market needs. Similarly, if your network is going to continue supporting you, then it needs to evolve with your needs.

Don’t Be Normal. Be Purple. If you were driving through the countryside and saw a normal cow, would you pull over to take a second look? Probably not. But what if the cow was purple? Would that get your attention? You bet it would! In Purple Cow , The Big Moo, and Free Prize Inside!, Seth covers this principle in detail. People are busy, and if you’re going to get their attention, then you need to do something different and surprising. You need to give them a reason to stop and take a second look. The same is true with networking. If you’re dressed like everyone else, say the same stuff as everyone else, and generally do your best to be normal, then people are going to ignore you. It’s better to be different, to take some part of yourself to the extreme. Example: Seth features his bald head. I feature my wheelchair. What stands out about you that you can leverage in a creative way?

You Can’t Build a Relationship without Permission Why do we collect business cards? You might think it’s just a way to remember someone’s contact information, but there are dozens of other ways to look that up. Really, it’s about permission. If someone gives you their business card, they are giving you permission to follow up with them. This is one of the keys to networking. Getting out there and meeting people is great, but to build a meaningful relationship, you need to follow up. If you meet someone at a fundraiser, call them the next day and schedule a lunch. Continue finding ways to interact with them until you know if it’s a fit. You can read about this principle in detail in Permission Marketing. Seth talks about the expense of interrupting people and the power of getting their permission to follow-up. Read it, if you haven’t already. It’s one of the foundations of both marketing and networking.

Sometimes, Great People Don’t Get along “A meatball sundae is the unfortunate result of mixing two good ideas.” In his book, Meatball Sundae, Seth talks about the way companies try to apply new technologies like blogs, social networks, and search engine marketing to old business models and strategies, usually resulting in a ridiculous combination. This one is kind of a stretch, but the idea also applies to networking. You can have your heart set on meeting legendary person, finally get a chance to connect with them, and they’ll absolutely rub you the wrong way. Realize that it’s part of life, and sometimes, not all great people get along. Stop trying to force the combination and move on to building more harmonious relationships.

If You Want Fame, Get Others to Talk about You Last but not least, we have Unleashing the Idea Virus. In this free e-book, Seth talks about creating ideas that other people have to talk about, transforming them into “viruses” that spread from the network of one individual to another, sometimes reaching millions of people. It’s the Holy Grail of marketing, and networking too. The key to connecting with powerful people or expanding your network isn’t frantically introducing yourself to everyone you come across. It’s getting others to introduce you. Not only will the introduction make it easier for you to connect with them, but it also gives you access to people you never even knew existed. With that in mind, would you do me a favor? On Moneymaking is already growing faster than I could have hoped for, but I’m guessing there are people you know that you haven’t told about it yet. Would you mind sending them an e-mail for me? You might notice that I’ve put a “Email this” link at the bottom of every post. If you wouldn’t mind, the next time I write a post that strikes you as special, please email it to anyone that you think might enjoy it. I’d sure appreciate it, and I’m sure they will too.

It’s innocent advice, but you grimace inside. Yes, there is something to be afraid of. You’ll look stupid. Worse, you’ll know you look stupid, and you’ll spend the next four hours thinking about what you’ve should’ve said and how you should’ve acted.

You know because you’re an introvert. You also know that the smiling, well-meaning person telling you to “Go introduce yourself” is an extrovert. They couldn’t possibly understand.

Or so you think.

How do I know? Because that’s exactly what I used to think. Seven years ago, I was a pimple-faced game designer with a laundry list of reasons for why I didn’t need other people. Then I tried to start a company. Facing $20,000 a month in expenses and no revenue, I realized I was never going to make a sale without getting to know someone first.

So I burned my list of reasons. Unfortunately for my company, I didn’t do it in time and everything fell apart. Fortunately for me though, it set me on a seven-year quest to become a master networker. I’ll not lie and say I’ve never been afraid again, but I have developed a collection of techniques for calming myself.

Let me share them with you.

Stop the Mental Role-Playing

Part of the definition of being an introvert is having a “rich internal world.” You’ve got a lot of stuff going on inside your head, and one of your favorite things to do is role-play. You imagine what’s going to happen, what you’re going to do, and how it’s going to pan out. With complicated tasks, it actually helps you do things better because you’ve already done them so many times in your head.

It’s invaluable skill, but don’t delude yourself into thinking it helps with everything.

When you’re imagining meeting someone and you’re terrified of it, then every time you imagine it, you just get more terrified. It’s a never-ending pattern of imagining, getting scared, imagining more, and getting more scared. You need to break the pattern and think about something else.

Refocus Your Attention

Logically, the only way to be worried about meeting someone or speaking in public is to be focused on yourself, at least subconsciously. You’re thinking about how you look, what you’ll say, how you’ll act, the way you’ll respond, and so on. The problem is, focusing on yourself will make you self-conscious and act even more awkward.

So think about something else.

Listen to music. Read a book. Talk to someone about something else. Do anything but sit around thinking. If you’re successful, you’ll subconsciously forget about what you’re about to do and start relaxing. In the minutes leading up to a meeting or presentation, this can be essential. You’ll come off as much more natural and confident.

Accept Your Imperfection

Stop for a moment and analyze your expectations. Are you expecting perfection? If you are, then you’re going to experience what’s called cognitive dissonance: anxiety resulting from disparity between your expectations and reality. In plain English, that means you’re kidding yourself.

The only solution is to align your expectations as closely to reality as possible. If you’re nervous, you’re probably going to act nervous. If you say the wrong thing under pressure, then you’ll probably say the wrong thing. If you’re awkward when speaking in public, then you’ll probably look awkward when you’re giving your speech.

Accept it. It’s counterintuitive, but you’ll probably begin to feel better and look noticeably more confident to everyone else.

Practice Self-Disclosure

The biggest mistake a lot of introverts make is to try and hide their nervousness. They think they’ll be able to fool everyone into thinking they are calm and collected, but it usually comes off as fake and makes everyone even more uncomfortable.

A better solution is to admit your nervousness upfront. Some communication teachers will tell you that this is a mistake, that you should never begin a relationship with an apology. But they’re wrong. You should always begin with authenticity, and if that means admitting your faults, then so be it.

Besides, it’s endearing. Usually, the other person will go out of their way to make you more comfortable, and you’ll have a much smoother conversation.

Realize You’re Not Alone

After speaking at a seminar, it’s common for someone to invite me out for lunch or dinner. What shocked me is the first time this happened, it was a man and his wife that were at least 10 years older than me, and the guy said, “Forgive me if I act nervous, but I’m a little intimidated.”

I just laughed. Intimidated of me? It never occurred to me that other people were probably just as nervous as I was, and that could give us something in common. It’s probably the same for you. Realize that nervousness in social situations affects millions and millions of people, and there’s no reason to beat yourself up over it.

In fact, stop thinking of yourself as an introvert at all. Regardless of whether it’s true or not, it will create a mental barrier between you and everyone else, which only makes it harder to get to know people.

If you have to choose a label, just call yourself, “Human.” By extension, introducing yourself to another human shouldn’t be a big deal. You’re essentially the same. So maybe, just maybe the “extrovert” that told you, “You’ve got nothing to be afraid of,” wasn’t so wrong after all.

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Those are two words you’ll never hear in everyday conversation. They belong on the chalkboard at business school, in a dense textbook about marketing, or maybe in one of those “strategy sessions” where the boss wants to know why the hell no one is buying your company’s latest product.

It’s a boring term, one that, as a writer, I’m almost ashamed to know and understand, but it also represents one of the most powerful marketing weapons in existence. Like a rusty gun that never runs out of bullets, it’ll help you kill 95% of business problems before they ever rear their ugly heads.

So I’m going to write a post on it.

Just to make it a little more interesting though, I thought I’d ditch the term and add a little bit more of a contemporary spin to the idea that it describes. Chase away any worry of being asked a question like, “Who are customers and how do we target them?”

Instead, I’ll posit a different, hopefully more insightful one: Who is the guy in your Apple commercial?

Marketing Lessons from Apple

Apple is pretty darned smart these days.

Instead of pumping our televisions full of hyped up, meaningless commercials that cost millions of dollars to create but no one pays attention to, they went with simple, cheap, and smart. Each features a Mac guy and a PC guy going through a skit that pokes fun at the PC guy and makes the Mac guy look cool.

They’re called the “Get a Mac” commercials. Not only are they effective at generating word-of-mouth and positioning Apple against the competition, but they’re also a perfect example of what customer profiling is about: making your customer real.

If I asked you to picture the Mac guy, could you do it? Sure. You’d probably imagine Justin Long, the actor in the commercials.

More importantly, if I asked you to develop a new feature that Mac users would go gaga over, would you create a business application? Not likely. The Mac guy wouldn’t like that. Though, he would probably like a way to publish his iTunes play list to his twitter account.

Do you see what I’m talking about? If you can make your customer real, you don’t need heaps of market data to tell you what they want. You just picture them in your head and ask, “Is this something they would like?”

Or, better yet, call them up and ask them.

Customer Profiling Is about Relationships, Not Research

The best marketers don’t just study their customers. They know them. If you asked them to tell you about what their customers will want in the future, they would pick up the phone, call one of them, and hand you the phone. “This is Fred,” they would say. “Ask him for yourself.”

The point is, customer profiling is really just a fancy term for building a relationship with the people that support your business. Demographics, segmentation, and needs analysis are all important tools, but if you really want to succeed, you’ll get to know your customers and carry them in your thoughts everywhere you go.

Eventually, you might even develop a mental image that represents your average customer. You’ll create a “Mac guy” for your own company. Then, whenever you make a decision, you’ll ask yourself, “Is this something that he would want?”

Who Is the Guy in Your Apple Commercial?

So, take a minute to think about it. Who is the guy in your Apple commercial?

• Where does he spend most of his time? In the field? In front of the computer? At home?
• What really ticks him off?
• What other products is he a fan of?
• Is he high strung, or pretty laid-back?
• How old is he?

You could go on and on with the questions. If you buy that customer profiling is like building a relationship, then there are hundreds of things you’ll need to know before you can say that you really understand them.

It’s also tougher if you’ve never had any contact with them. For instance, this blog is only a few weeks old, so I’m still developing a feel for who likes my content and why. I’ve got a fuzzy picture of the average reader, and it gets a little clearer every time I hear from you.

Thank you for sticking with me. We’ve already got a great community going here, and you’re building it just as much as I am. If you haven’t already, leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail. I’d love to hear what you think.

And who knows? Maybe one day, you’ll be in our Apple commercial.

Do it right, and you can make billions. Do it wrong, and you’ll end up in bankruptcy court. Either way, you’ll be called both a fool and a genius, and no one will know which is true, least of all you.

Amazon’s new Kindle is a classic example. Everyone is talking about it, and I did my best to avoid chiming in, but it’s just too good of a topic for me to resist.

Rather than telling you whether I like it or hate it though, why don’t we talk about what it can teach us about innovation? Because I think there’s a lot to learn.

Here are my top 10 lessons that we can learn from the Kindle. Feel free to chime in with your own in the comments.

1. Innovation Doesn’t Mean Evolution

Too many times, a company will develop a “next generation” product and stop selling the old one. They expect their customers to evolve, failing to realize that not all customers want to change. They like things the way they were, and they get upset when you take it away.

Amazon didn’t make this mistake. A portion of their customers will never be happy with anything but holding a book in their hands. And that’s fine. They can ignore the Kindle and keep buying books the way they always did. Either way, Amazon keeps their business and continues making money.

2. Skepticism Is Still Press

When the media, industry analysts, and your existing customers are all calling your product stupid, it’s easy to start believing no one will buy it. But don’t be so sure. The buzz leading up to the launch of Kindle was highly skeptical, if not downright negative, but they still sold out during the first few days.

The saying, “All press is good press” is usually true, but it goes beyond that. If you try to develop a product that pleases everyone, then you’re probably going to end up with something mediocre. It’s better to polarize people, building a product that some people love and some people hate. The bickering between them will catch everyone else’s attention.

3. A Powerful Brand Can Help a Risky Idea

It’s clear: the Kindle is a risky idea. Amazon is trying to popularize an idea (the e-book) that never quite made it. You could argue that the only reason anyone is paying attention to it is because a huge company like Amazon is the one pushing it. If a college student tried to launch the exact same product with venture capital, would we pay attention?

Probably not. Sometimes, the best incubator for innovation is not a hot new startup but an established company that can afford to take a calculated risk. If you have a similar idea and are thinking of starting a company to bring the product to market, you might stop consider if you would be better off selling it to the dominant player for a cut of the profits. You could end up better off.

4. Don’t Be Afraid to Sacrifice Your Cash Cow

Once a company gets to a certain size, it has the tendency to stop innovating. To get the green light, cutting-edge ideas have to go through too many levels of approval. It’s also easier to just keep improving your product line and raking in the cash from your existing customer base.

Amazon proves it doesn’t have to be this way. Instead of pushing yet another incremental improvement on us, they attack one of the foundations of their own company. If it grows in popularity like the iPod, the Kindle could redefine the way we think about distributing information, solidifying Amazon’s market dominance for another decade or so.

5. Make Old Ideas New Again

E-books are nothing new. They’ve been around for a decade or longer, and almost everyone knows what they are. But Amazon is making us look at them in a new way. By taking the book off of the computer and putting it on a mobile device, they remind us of what attracted us to e-books in the first place: convenience.

This is a tried and true business strategy. Take an old idea or product, figure out what attracted people to it, and then recapture the benefits in a powerful way. Apple did it with music. EBay did it with auctions. Amazon is doing it with books. If you’re creative enough, you can do it in your industry too.

6. You Can Be Pretty Later

The Kindle is ugly. It’s nothing like the iPhone, where people bought it just to show off the slick interface to their friends. Instead, Amazon focused on creating a product that does exactly what it’s supposed to do: give you nationwide access to over 80,000 books in the palm of your hand. They can make it pretty later.

When you’re inventing a new product category, you should follow Amazon’s lead. Aesthetics only become a differentiating factor when there are lots of competitors that offer the same basic functionality. That’s not to say you should intentionally make an ugly product. Just put your attention where it belongs: bringing value to the customer.

7. Know What Your Business Is about

Amazon isn’t in the business of selling books. It’s in the business of selling access. Their goal is to make millions of products available to you with one click of your mouse. The Kindle isn’t just another new gizmo; it’s about giving you instant access to the world’s information from wherever you are, and doing it better than everything else, including laptops and PDAs.

Regardless of whether you’re an engineer, manager, or salesperson, never make the mistake of believing that you are developing or selling products. “Customers don’t buy products. They buy solutions,” is a cliché, but only because it’s true. Sometimes, that means abandoning development of your existing product lines and offering your customers a whole new approach to solving their problems.

8. Take Baby Steps

Amazon isn’t trying to revolutionize the publishing industry overnight. They are taking baby steps. As people start using the Kindle and getting comfortable with it, rumor has it that they’ll dramatically increase the available titles and even rollout interactive books, where authors update the book and you immediately see the changes, rather than having to buy a new edition.

It’s not sexy, but it works. If you’re trying something different, give people a chance to get used to it before turning their world upside down. Otherwise, they’ll resist you, and your good idea could flop either because no one “gets it” or key players refuse to cooperate. The best businesses understand exactly how far they can push an industry and how fast.

9. Launch at the Right Time

The Kindle makes a perfect Christmas gift. If I was a parent with a kid in school, I would have one of these bad boys under the Christmas tree right now. The easier you can make it for them to learn, the better. Plus, it’s a new toy that no one has yet, making it a great gift for people who seem to have everything.

It seems obvious, but not all businesses consider the timing of their launch You should always factor in when your customers will be in the right frame of mind to buy. Granted, you can’t always launch when you want to, but if you’re doing something innovative, timing can have a huge influence over the success of your product.

10. It’s Still One Big Crapshoot

Will the Kindle make it? Nobody knows for sure, but in the end, it doesn’t matter.

Sure, Amazon is putting a lot of support behind the Kindle, but they’re nowhere close to betting the farm. If it fails, a lot of people will say, “I told you so,” and their stock might take a dip, but they’ll still be one of the most influential companies in the world. And they’ll have lots more chances to get it right.

You should approach innovation the same way. Realize that the odds are against you and plan for it. It’s not cynicism; it’s smart business. If you know that you have a 20% chance of success, then you’ll set aside enough money to survive five dud ideas until you hit the one that works.

Entrepreneurs that risk everything and win are great stories, but most of the time, innovation isn’t nearly so glorious. It’s more about survival than victory. You do something, see how it works, and then do something else. The key is having the persistence and resources to keep trying until you get it right.

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Some of them seem to have the Midas touch, investing in the right people working at the right companies that dominate the right markets at the right time. Watch them long enough, and you’ll begin to think they have a crystal ball that lets them predict the future.

And they do.

It’s not a paranormal phenomenon, per se, but a method that allows them to make extraordinarily accurate guesses. They know exactly which type of data to look for and how to interpret it. Sometimes they’re wrong, but they’re right often enough to make themselves very, very rich.

Fortunately, it’s not a skill that’s exclusive to billionaires. You can learn how to predict the future too. This post will show you how to build your own crystal ball.

Predicting the Future in Everyday Life

Almost every decision we make in life contains some element of predicting the future.

If you go to work for a company, you’re predicting that they’re going to stay in business long enough to pay you. If you buy a stock, you’re predicting the value is going to go up. If you step on the brake in your car, you’re predicting it’s going to stop before you run into the car in front of you.

Whether it’s conscious or not, every human being has a “Guessing Machine” that’s doing its best to figure out what’s going to happen and position you favorably. It’s nothing mystical; it’s just a part of everyday life.

Of course, some people’s guessing machines work better than others. A teenager might slam on the brakes too late and plow into the car in front of him. Maybe he wasn’t paying attention, or maybe he just guessed incorrectly on when he needed to step on the brake. Regardless, he made a poor guess.

It works the same way in business.

Some people buy stocks and earn more than 15% per year for decades, while others lose everything in a year. Certainly, some of it is due to skill, experience, and intelligence, but the bottom line is those earning 15% are making better predictions than others.

The key to becoming wealthy is learning how to improve your guessing machine, more or less building a better crystal ball that shows you a more accurate picture of the future.

The Past Is the Best Indicator of… the Past

There’s an old saying that, “The past is the best indicator of the future.” Personally, I think that’s nonsense. Not only is there a better indicator for the future (I’ll get to that in a minute), but the past is 100% accurate at predicting something else: itself.

Let’s say you bought some Microsoft stock and lost money. Now you’re thinking about buying stock in Google. Because you lost money before, does that mean you’ll lose money again? No. They are two entirely different situations, and they have nothing to do with each other.

Instead of extrapolating from the past to the future, it’s much more effective to focus on cause and effect, all of which occurred in the past. Ask yourself, “Why did I lose money on Microsoft stock?” Then, once you’ve figured out the answer, you can create a rule of thumb to follow in the future.

For a simplistic example, let’s say you bought stock in Microsoft without considering the competitive environment. You thought the balance sheet looked good, but you failed to realize that Google, Apple, and Sony developed products that would reduce their market share and revenues.

Do you decide that Google, Apple, and Sony are better companies and buy their stock instead? No. In this situation, you would probably derive a rule of thumb that says, “Always consider the competitive environment.”

In other words, you wouldn’t use your loss as a basis for predicting future events. You would use it to develop a new way to interpret future events. It’s the only area in which your knowledge is relevant. I’ll talk more about this in a moment.

How to Predict the Future

So then, if the past isn’t the best indicator, what is? The answer: the present, interpreted through the past.

The most successful moneymakers are the people with the greatest understanding of what’s going on in the present, filtered through the lessons that they’ve learned from the past.

What do I mean?

First and foremost, they are what I call “data freaks.” They’re consumed with knowing more than everyone else about what’s happening right now.

For instance, a friend of mine recently started his own realty franchise. He’s trying to gain market share in a very competitive, high dollar area of town.

And he’s doing phenomenally well. He’s selling the majority of his listings within 60 days, while the market average for the price range is hovering between 90-120 days.

How? He’s a data freak. He goes to preview every house that goes on the market, carefully tracking its price and how long it takes to sell. The MLS also notifies him of every sale, and he usually stops by the day after to check it out and figure out why it sold.

When he goes on a presentation to list someone’s home, he can not only tell people how they need to price their house and why, but he can also support his claims with data. And he’s right. The houses sell, the customer is satisfied, and word spreads.

The point is, he uses a thorough understanding of what’s going on in the market right now to make spot on recommendations. The reason his predictions about when the house will sell and for how much it will sell are so accurate is because he is also interpreting that data through the lens of the past.

The Past Is Only a Lens for Interpreting the Present

Data alone is not enough for predicting the future. You have to know how to interpret that data, and only the past can show you how.

My friend has spent about five years watching sales trends around our city. He owns over a dozen investment properties, and he’s learned through trial and error what works and what doesn’t. For a realtor, he is remarkably experienced.

The reason he is so effective is he filters all of the data about what’s going on in the present through the lessons he’s learned in the past. His success results from unparalleled knowledge about what’s happening right now and unparalleled experience that helps him interpret it.

This is where the past has its place. It’s not so much a predictor as a lens, kind of like a magic pair of sunglasses that allow you to look at the present and see the future.

If you know how to put the two together, it’s a very, very powerful combination.

The Power of Predicting the Future

The question hanging in the air is, “So what? Why is it important to be able to predict the future?”

Well…

Imagine that you could see what customers are going to want five years from now and you could start those products and services now.

Imagine that you could know which stocks were going to rise and buy them at precisely the right time.

Imagine that you knew where NASCAR is going to build their next race track and you could buy the land next door six months in advance.

You can make millions, or even billions, of dollars from making accurate predictions about what’s going to happen in the future. Generally, the better you are at predicting, and the more money you’ll make.

So if you want to increase your income, start watching what’s going on very closely and then use what you’ve learned from the past to predict the future.

Want one last example? I’ll make it a quickie.

If you’ve read this far, then I know that I have your attention. And if I have your attention, then I know you’re enjoying what you’re reading. And if you’re enjoying what you’re reading, then I know that you have a high probability of wanting more.

And… surprise, surprise. Predicting that people would want more, I created a way for you to subscribe. So now I’m predicting you’re going to click this link and sign up to receive free, automatic updates.

Don’t you go proving me wrong, now.