And you will have to eat some dots. I’ll explain.

Pacman

Ever play Pacman? If you haven’t, then Google’s got you covered.

It’s a simple game. Your job is to eat all the dots without getting eaten by one of the four roaming ghosts. You can turn the tables on the ghosts if you eat one of the four power pellets located in all four corners of the maze.

After eating a power pellet, the ghosts turn blue and you have a limited amount of time to eat them. For every dot, every piece of fruit, and every ghost you eat, you rack up points.

The game gets progressively difficult as you complete each level. The monsters move faster and the amount of time after eating a power pellet is also sped up, decreasing your chances of eating all of the ghosts.

So what?

Here’s the point. Pacman’s goal is simple. Eat every freakin’ dot. He can’t go on to the next level until he eats ALL of the dots. Every single one of ‘em.

If you feel like you’re in the same place, the same space, on the same level in your life, then I can guarantee you one thing:

You’re not eating all your dots.

Maybe you got all comfy or lazy with your life.

Maybe you’ve been taking a break (too long a break), and know you need to jump back in and play but haven’t made the move yet.

Or maybe you’re afraid to get eaten by one of those ghosts, i.e. facing your fear, resolving conflict with another, looking for work that makes you feel alive, or tackling a challenging goal because it will make you vulnerable.

If you FEEL stuck in any way, or if you FEEL you’re NOT making progress in your life (or very little), or if you haven’t initiated a major life event in the past 5 years, then it’s time to get up off your behind and eat some dots.

Cheatcodes

You think you’re so cool.

You found a way to hide off in the corner of the maze, and because of a flaw in the game, the ghosts will avoid you indefinitely. You call your friends over, and show them your new trick. You make your move into the corner of the maze and say, “Watch this!”

They all sit there and are astounded that no ghost is coming to eat you. They gasp when one gets close enough, only to turn in the other direction. One minute passes. Two minutes go by. The ghosts can’t seem to get to you – your friends see that now. You feel so proud of your discovery, but now they’re bored. “So, you wanna catch a movie?”

You may have found a way to cheat death. You may have found a way to avoid pain. You may have found a way to mitigate any substantial losses.

But now the game sucks. It’s boring. You got your cheatcode, and it excited everyone for two whole minutes.

Yeah, you won’t get eaten, but you’re not getting anywhere either.

Twenty days later…

…and you’re still playing with your cheatcode. All of a sudden, one of the ghosts breaks protocol and eats you.

You visibly shudder when it happens, because you weren’t expecting it. You thought you were so safe. You thought you had it under control.

But you were never safe, were you? You never REALLY had it under control. It was only a glitch. So, what will you do now?

Eat dots and take more risks? Or play it safe and hide some more? Your call.

Vulnerability = Feeling Alive

It’s time to get out there. Each dot is a challenge, and ghosts are wandering, roaming around, and waiting for you. Fear of failure? Check. Fear of rejection? Yes. Fear of death? “HERE!”

Each time you avoid your fears you take yourself further away from “leveling up”. And for every dot you leave on the table, you will feel LIFE slowly slipping away. Your numbness is a sign that you’re not eating dots. Procrastination is another. Telling the same glory stories over and over again is another. Mindless consumption is yet another.

What significant events have happened in your life recently? Your favorite sports team winning the Super Bowl doesn’t count. What personal triumphs have you had in the past year? Sorry, but your kid’s accomplishments are not YOURS.

Not really feeling alive? Making little or no progress on your goals? It may be time for serious change.

Because what is life without growth? What is life without purpose? What is life without vulnerability? And what is life without, well, feeling alive?

I’ll tell you what it is.

It sucks. It’s boring. It’s meaningless. And who wants a sucky, boring, meaningless existence??

You? Didn’t think so.

Call To Action

Now go out, and eat some dots. Level up. And do it some more. Go eat some ghosts while you’re out there. Yeah, eating ghosts may not be mandatory to move on to the next level, but it sure is satisfying. Wait, satisfying? How about LIBERATING? Don’t you wanna be completely FREE? Yeah, eat them ghosts.

So go start something. Initiate a project. Work on YOUR passion and stop putting it off. You already know what needs to be done. You know what’s on your list. You know what sucks and needs to improve. And go and talk to that woman. Yeah! Look that man straight in the eyes. Let people know where you stand. Take a chance damnit!

Yeah it’s scary, but what else is there? Boredom? Mediocrity? A slow death? HELL NO! You gotta act while you’re afraid. Face it with all your heart. It’s called COURAGE. Have a side of GUTS with your courage while you’re at it, and throw some BRAVERY on top. And eat that, too.

And please, please, please! Stop being afraid of feelng afraid. That’s the REAL trap because it’s a total action killer. Fear is NOT the problem people. Fearing fear IS.

Seriously. Eat dots.

By being yourself. So do YOUR art. Let it out. Everything changes when you do.

No matter how “successful” or how much of a “failure” you’ve been up till now, you can improve and get better. You can accomplish what you once considered impossible. And you can overcome most, if not all obstacles.

And I’m going to show you how to do it using four simple strategies. Just four actions. Four different ways.

And these four ways are all about one thing: creating and adding real value in the world.

Because there are ONLY four BIG ways to create and add value. These are global strategies, so each of the four have practically unlimited derivatives.

But once you’ve got these four down, all your reasons and excuses about not having enough, not being enough, not making enough money, and not being “successful” will be squashed.

You can’t claim ignorance anymore. Blame is replaced with true responsible action.

Blaming the system, the economy, the president, your neighbor, the education system, your wife, your husband, your kids, your car, your past, and anything else you can come up with is OVER.

If this sounds like too much responsibility, then turn back now. Don’t read another word. Because, it’s the ultimate responsibility. And that means having the ultimate power.

And that is the power to influence and impact people. But first …

Relationships are the backbone of our lives. Without them, you don’t exist – literally. And to ignore or not maximize the opportunity they offer you each and every day is throwing away the best that life has.

Life IS  relationships. Business. Games. Romance. Growing up. School. Work. Nature. Absolutely everything.

And since relationships are so critically important to everyday life, then it would be prudent to understand how to get the most out of them.

But how do you get the most out of them? And here’s the irony:

To get the most out of relationships, you have to give the most.

As the Great Zig Zigler once said, “If you help enough people get what they want, you will get what you want.”

In other words, help people accomplish THEIR goals, and you will accomplish yours. If you stopped reading right here, and consciously implemented this philosophy from now on, your life would transform overnight.

But there’s more. And it involves a term often used in the business world: “Value”.

Value is an interesting word. It’s difficult to define, but when it’s used in conversation, people generally get what you’re talking about.

So let’s define it here, using its etymological root, or the origin of the word.  From my dictionary I get:

ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French, feminine past participle of valoir ‘be worth,’ from Latin valere .

Valuing something means it’s WORTH something to you.

And when I run “worth” through the thesaurus, I get words such as:

• Benefit
• Advantage
• Use
• Utility
• Profit
• Significance
• Importance
• Quality

Simple, right? Let’s continue.

People always act in accordance with what they value, from moment to moment. ALWAYS.

Another way of saying this is, what people do, the actions they take in any given moment demonstrate what they value most. And since values, or what’s most important to a person shifts from moment to moment, their actions naturally change to reflect this shift in value.

For example, when you’re hungry, you will generally value food and eating. And in that moment, hunger will work to get your attention until you fulfill that need. If the hunger persists, then your attention will become more and more focused on eating.

But even hunger can be trumped by something higher on the value chain. I know I’ve worked through hunger to meet work deadlines. In this case, meeting the deadline was far more important to me than eating.

But in either case, your ACTIONS demonstrate what you value in each and every moment of your life all the way to your death. It doesn’t matter what you SAY you value. What you DO in any given moment reveals the truth.

There’s one very defining characteristic inherent in value.

Scarcity.

Value and what’s considered valuable is a natural by-product of scarcity. Abundance generally decreases the value of something; scarcity increases it.

Imagine you have a garden of apple trees.  And all your neighbors have apple trees.  And the whole countryside has apple trees.

But one neighbor has the only orange tree in the entire village.

What’s perceived as more valuable in that village?  An abundance of apples or the limited amount of oranges?

Can you produce water in the desert? Fire in an ice cave? Food during a famine? Heal a life threatening disease? Find joy in the middle of a depression? Make a thousand dollars when you’re down to your last nickel?

Those may be extreme examples, but I’m illustrating a point. And here’s the secret:

You become more valuable to the degree that you can create an abundance of something that somebody perceives as scarce in their lives.

And if you bring something extremely scarce, and perceived as a higher value for someone, then they will move heaven and earth for you to make sure you get what you want. And therein lies your great opportunity.

This is the secret of all successful businesses, and the secret to all successful relationships. Relationships and business are bound by the same principles. A business is simply a person’s ability to fill a need, scaled.

And in relationships, filling your partner’s needs, adding an abundance where they perceive scarcity (love, companionship, enjoyable and unique moments) will make you far more valuable than anyone else in their eyes. And if you do the opposite, not giving anything they really want and need, or worse, taking away what they cherish most, then it’s a matter of time before the pain becomes too much, and somebody will leave.

Now that we’ve built this backstory, let’s give four very powerful strategies. I have discovered that there are four global, big picture ways to create and add value to anyone’s life.

So this means, no matter what you’re doing in life, in business, or with your relationships, you are under the umbrella of this framework.

If you see a successful person or business, I guarantee they are either GREAT (not good) at one of these four ways. A billionaire is extremely AWESOME using a combination of these four ways.

There are four ways that people create value.  Only four.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a housewife, Oprah, or the cook at the diner on Route 66.

Magazine editors, drug dealers, politicians, famous actors and actresses, or a football player in the Champions League all use this.

And everybody in the world, no matter who or where you are will fall under AT LEAST one of these four actions that create value, even if it’s a minuscule amount.

And here they are:

Connect

Entertain

Organize 

Support

In order to create value for other people, you will either connect them to something, entertain them, organize something for them, or support them in some way.

The cool side effect is, as you do any one of these four strategies, you become more and more valuable. And the better you become at these four things, the more you will grow.

Let’s take a look at each one.

What happens when you learn about someone’s goals, and you either know someone or something that can help them get there a little faster?

That’s the essence of what “Connect” is all about.  Connecting is the action that is valued by others, but the benefit is SPEED.

“Hooking” someone up is helping them get to their goal(s) faster. That’s the intent behind connect.

What are we connecting people to?  It’s a short list…

Connect people to other people

Connect people to themselves

Connect people to information and ideas

Connect people to resources

Connect people to opportunities

The more proficient, the more skilled, the more capable you are at connecting people to something they want, the more valuable you become as a person, or business, or charity.

I regularly give to Plan International, a charity organization that supports children in extreme poverty. What do they do for me? They connect my money, my resources to that child. And they do it well.

Facebook is worth some $100 billion dollars. Whether they’re really “worth” that much is debatable, but I often overhear conversations from older people that comment: If it wasn’t for Facebook, I probably wouldn’t know what half the family is doing.  I get to see pictures, and have a better idea of what’s going on, even if I don’t always like what I see…

All because Facebook connects people to people, and it does it at an extremely HIGH level. Is it worth billions and billions of dollars?  Who knows? But has it impacted the entire world? Absolutely.

Your parents hopefully connected you to the best schools and opportunities.

Websites connect you to information you’re looking for.

Headhunters (the civil kind) connect you to jobs that fit your goals and skill set. They also connect employees and contractors to businesses.

It’s one thing to go to a networking party and blindly pass out business cards, but it’s quite another to have a host that has some background information on each person at the party, and begin to connect people with similar goals, or complementary skill sets.

Again, you want to either connect people to people, people to information, people to resources, and people to opportunities.

Seth Godin wrote something very powerful on the ability to connect and make money.

So, connect yourself to others, connect yourself to information, connect yourself to resources and opportunities. Then connect others to other people, connect them to information, etc.

Make sense?

As you do this, it will begin to alter your life. Look at every possible way to connect others to someone or something, because when you do, you accelerate their growth, and yours as well.

Can you imagine a world where everyone is looking to connect each other to help them accelerate personal and professional growth? I can.

Let’s move on to…

Entertainment is valuable.  It is.

What is the result of entertaining someone?

Fun, laughter, inspiration, enjoyment, thought provoking discussion, intimacy, aha! moments, and every emotion out there.

The better you are at entertaining, the more valuable you become to others.

When it comes to entertainment, you are either the creator, the performer or the consumer.

Consuming doesn’t create value unless you are sharing an opinion or a review of whatever it is you consumed.

But creators and performers can be highly rewarded for their craft.

The thing is, you don’t need to be a world class performer to benefit from this action, you just have to incorporate a little bit into everything you do. And then help others do the same.

Let’s look at the three major ways that the “Entertain” component impacts you and others.

We’ll put it into three major categories.

Art

Games

Story

Art can be anything from music, photography, painting canvases, dance, fashion, interior and exterior design, etc. I’m sure you can think of more.

To create any kind of art will challenge you in some way. But making that art available to others is where the real value lies. More on this in a bit.

Games, I’m convinced, are also be hardwired into our bodies, because we’ve probably been playing them since the first neanderthal.

Games range from board games to video games, sports where humans compete with each other and competing against the elements like nature or time.

From gameshows to sales competitions, it appears that games have made their way into almost every aspect of our lives.

We love to play and watch others play. Sport and games of all kinds will always be one of the biggest forms of entertainment.

The value here is in either performing/playing OR creating games that others can play. The higher the level you can do either of those will determine the impact you have on others, which will correspondingly raise your value and worth.

Story is unique as it binds us, and in a sense, is the glue that builds community. It rallies an entire nation of people.

STORY is always at the core of who we are, and I am absolutely positive that story is embedded somewhere within the DNA of humanity, very much like the color of your eyes and hair.

I don’t know why it is, but it is.

We’ve been telling stories since caveman scrawled the first butt-ugly pictographs on a cave wall. Think of your life.

Your life is a story, made up of a zillion stories. You could tell a story of how you went to work today. It may be boring, but it’s still a story.

Story is the preferred communication of the human race.

I would say that story IS what makes one buy art and watch games in the first place.

Why does anyone follow a team from a certain sport? Story. The Olympics just don’t mean as much without knowing that backstory of each participant.

I’ve been to the Vatican, and was frankly overwhelmed with the art there. It’s not until you see Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel masterpiece that you think, Hey! I know that. Because I was exposed to the backstory at an earlier age, I made sure I would visit it.

Art without story is just not as powerful.  Think of a musician you love, or a dancer, or a poet.  Do you know anything else about them, besides their music, their dance, or their poetry?  Probably.

Because story is central to everything we do, and may be the most powerful piece of the “Entertain” component.

So, what are some ways that story expresses itself in a way that’s VALUABLE to society?

Movies & Theater

TV Shows/Radio

Commercials

Business

Teaching/Learning Environments

News/Media

Magazines and Books

Quotes

Facebook and Twitter Status updates

It’s literally everywhere. You probably told a story today, if you spoke to anyone.

Even if you texted someone, there was probably a story in there somewhere. Look at billboards. Look at advertisements. They’re all short stories.

So, there’s a tremendous opportunity here. If you interact with anyone, even if you’re slightly entertaining, people will like you.

And when you’re working that networking party, work on your short storytelling skills. Don’t be the obnoxious dude that just tells stories just to tell them.

Make sure that what you say is relevant, whether it’s a quick anecdote or a quote.

Learn more quotes, learn the art of storytelling, take an improv class, join Toastmasters to brush up on your public speaking, take voice lessons, and you will notice that you’re ability to entertain can have far reaching effects beyond mere amusement.

Think of Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling. She went from welfare to billionaire. Why? Because she mastered the art of storytelling. And she started small. She told stories to neighborhood kids before doing it through mass media.

Look, everyone is impacted by your ability to entertain. You do it anyway, why not improve?

Businesses and marketers understand the value of it. Hollywood gets it. The greatest comedians know this.

It’s why the entertainment industry is worth TRILLIONS of dollars as a whole.

Get it?  Got it?  Good.

Let’s move on to the next component of this framework…

Think of entrepreneurs. Authors. Engineers. Teachers. Promoters. Sports team owners.

The “Organize” action leads to some very powerful benefits. Organizing leads to clarity. If you can make things clearer for people, then it’s usually easier to take action.

Organize also scales. You can duplicate, replicate, and multiply anything that is organized properly.

And there are many more benefits from organization including simplifying and making something easier to do.

A car that’s completely taken apart, with parts everywhere doesn’t do anybody any good. But when it’s put back together, with every system operating together, then it has massive value for the masses.

An author organizes ideas or a story in such a way that it impacts the reader or consumer.

An entrepreneur comes up with an ingenious way to bring people together, so she ORGANIZES the process into systems so that her idea can reach millions, instead of just locally.

Engineers have put together buildings, roads, bridges, the internet, phones, airplanes, and any other device you probably use on a daily basis. We don’t even appreciate the roads anymore, until we hit a dirt road out in the middle of nowhere. We do notice them potholes, don’t we?

Organize ideas and processes and you have made it clear for someone. You made it simpler, easier, and if you’re great at it, you made your stuff scalable.

Entertainers need organizers. Without the promoter, most entertainers would be stuck. The promoter is the organizer of the event.

Without the ultimate organization of the internet, there is no Facebook. And without Zuckerberg organizing Facebook, there is no connection between grandma and granddaughter.

Although, someone else would come along and organize another platform. Someone else would see the opportunity.

So, what are you already organizing? What could you organize?

Do you have ideas that could entertain or inspire?  Is it a process or a system of making your work easier? Is it your own goals, and making a list if the right people and resources to help you make them a reality?

Is it a business you currently own, that if you documented and systematized it, you could hire more people and expand to other areas?

Or maybe you have a foolproof admin process that will help x business complete their paperwork in half the time?

Maybe you know a genius who’s disorganized, and with a little help, can turn their genius into abundance.

Let’s make this idea of organizing a little simpler.

There are ONLY three things you can possibly organize. Not four. Not ten. Not two.

Only three.

1. Work
2. Space
3. Time

Now work is any activity, a process, or a goal. Space is your physical space. And time is your schedule.

Note that I didn’t say you can organize people. If McDonald’s did that, they would be behavioral geniuses for organizing teenagers who can’t clean their rooms.

McDonald’s organizes their employees’ work, space, and time. If they focused on anything else, they wouldn’t be reaching 8 trillion people (or whatever it is).

So, if you can organize any one of those three things well, for others or for yourself, and then you’re able to organize your process for doing that, then you can leverage your skills and scale away.

Organize for others, and your value will be immense.

And now, there’s just one more component to the C.E.O.S. Framework, and it’s…

When you think of support, think mom, dad, family, coaches, counselors, pastors and priests, wise men, and friends.

There’s many more to name, of course. But the action of support is one of the most primal known to man.

Anything that sustains, comforts, validates, encourages, reinforces, assists, and strengthens you is a form of support.

A friend just listening to you after a nasty break-up is support. Look at Oprah. She might be the most popular listener in the entire world.  Well known for her empathy, and even shedding a few tears during interviews.

Mom, dad, grandma or whomever raised you supported you in some way. They fed you, clothed you, and watched over you while you grew up to be responsible and begin to take care of your own basic needs.

Life coaching and coaching in general is a huge right now. People want support with reaching their goals and dreams.

Athletes and star performers have always had coaches, helping with technique and being an extra pair of eyes to provide feedback that leads to better performance.

Teachers are awesome if they’ve organized the material, and made it easy to learn. But they get extra points for making themselves available through email to give pointers on writing a paper or solving a particular problem.

And speaking of McDonald’s, how do they make their money? By feeding millions each day, thereby supporting their life through “nutritious” meals.

Every restaurant supports your life in some way. Hotels, and many travel based services help to support you while you’re away from home.

What happens when you buy a new piece of complicated software and there’s little or no support? Return to sender.

Feeling supported is one of the most fundamental human needs. If your parents, local businesses, or your friends do it at a high level, then it’s highly likely that you will be keeping them in your life.

This is such a simple one to implement, and extremely powerful.

Who can you encourage and inspire?

Who can you promote, champion, and recommend to others?

Who can you empathize with and help reassure?

Who could use some backing, either financial or skill based support?

Who could use some relief or aid, or even a break?

The more effective you are at “Support”, the more impact you will have on others. And the more memorable you will be.

Now, lets’ tie this all together.

I’ve made the point before that we do all four of these components, either consciously or unconsciously.

And if we do them consciously, it’s highly unlikely that we are getting the MOST out of each and every action.

If you earn any kind of income, you’re using one, if not more, of these components. You’re either hired to connect, entertain, organize, or support. When I was in social work, I can say without a doubt I did all four.

So, I’m challenging you to do them at a higher level. To open the doors and make offers to other people.

Because C.E.O.S. done at a high level…

It does. Just look around you. It’s right in front of your face, it’s everywhere you look.

It doesn’t have to be a business or be super organized. Just a small, itty bitty extra action to take. Add a little more value to the world.

And each of the components work like dynamite when combined. Organize AND connect. Support others through entertainment. Be creative.

The people who combine with extreme effectiveness are either multi-millionaires or billionaires.  Abundance just flows to them, because they see the importance of providing something valuable to others, over and over again.

To get this flowing in the most powerful way, use your natural strengths and talents in conjunction with C.E.O.S.

And start right where you are. You have kids? Brush up your Entertain skill.

While at work, see if you can Organize a better, more efficient system.

Use that list you created under Connect to help others in your circle reach their goals faster.

And Support others, either through coaching, guiding, and teaching them.

The possibilities are endless, and there’s enough to fit your current level of skill and set of strengths.

Now go become the MVP of your universe.

He became so proficient at investing in real estate, that he started to make boastful claims about how he could buy real estate ANYWHERE, with little or no money.

Specifically, he said: “Send me to any city in the United States. Take away my wallet. Give me $100 for living expenses, and in 72 hours I will buy an excellent piece of real estate using NONE of my own money.”

The L.A. Times took him up on his challenge, and decided to drop him into one of the toughest real estate markets in the country: San Francisco.

Robert Allen was flown to Los Angeles to meet with Martin Baron, the L.A. Times reporter. Together, they flew to San Francisco. After they landed, Allen handed the reporter his wallet. Baron then gave Allen five crisp $20 bills for living expenses.

The follow up article in the L.A. Times contained a headline that read: “Buying Home Without Cash: Boastful Investor Accepts Time Challenge – And Wins.”

According to the article, Allen bought 7 properties worth about $772,000, in 57 hours time.  Allen went from literally nothing to ABUNDANT.

From butt-naked to treasure chest.

This is the essence of Butt-Naked Abundance.  To go from almost nothing to something.  To get the most out of the least.

Everyone has done this to some degree.  Many have forgotten.

This SKILL is critical to the reshaping of our economy.

In the upcoming posts, I will explore these concepts in much greater detail.  Most of the material will be from my latest book, Butt-Naked Abundance, with a few extras.

Stay tuned…

It includes how the mind is influenced (or not) by the environment, how the mind influences the body, how the body acts and gets the results that you now experience in your own environment, thus repeating the entire cycle.

I don’t want to overwhelm you with the full implications of this model, so here’s a super basic overview, in graphic form of what I mean.

There are two diagrams here. One without all the explanations in the margins, and one with.

Feel free to download and share. And if you like, leave a comment.

The following diagram illustrates how I interpret the following words: Vision, Projects, Goals, Objectives, and Tasks. Take a look and feel free to download.

You can get it here:  http://buttnakedabundance.com

Enjoy, and if you REALLY like it, send me a note at paul@wakeupsmiling.com

Gracias.

Paul