Just Sayin!!!! The New Champ!!!

And the NEW UFC Lightweight CHAMPION Ben "Smooth" Henderson!!!!

The Top 10 Millionaires & Billionaires Who Lost It All

1. Jordan Belfort

The once was Multi-Millionaire stockbroker had it all. Yachts, planes, women, midget throwing parties & drugs where just a few of the high life activities on Jordans agenda. Jordan was reported to be making $250 Million at the age of 25 through his stockbroking firm Stratton Oakmontwhich functioned like a boiler room and later served  as inspiration for the creation of the film also known as ‘Boiler Room‘, starring Vin Diesel &Giovanni Ribisi. Jordan Belfort’s multi millions where stripped from him when the FBI pinned him for securities fraud and money laundering.

After Jordan Belforts release from jail and paying back the 100 millions of dollars he owed other stock brokers Jordan decided to turn his life around releasing the New York Best Seller ‘Catching The Wolf Of Wall Street‘ which was written by Jordan himself about his Wall Street sagas and his run ins with the law. This Book has been developed into a movie which will be directed by Martin Scorsese starringLeonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort. Jordan also has toured the world discussing how to achieve success without sacrificing integrity and ethics.

The lesson here is that there is always room for change, if Jordan can change his life for the good, you can too.

2. Kim Dotcom

This German internet millionaire is most popularly known as thefounder of Megaupload, an online file sharing service.  Kim Dotcom’sfall from grace isn’t really because of bad business decisions as much as he was involved in a lot of criminal activities.  While his website is being accused of copyright infringement, he’s also been charged with insider trading, embezzlement, and computer fraud. The problem with Kim is not only that he couldn’t handle his rock star lifestyle, but also the fact that he amassed his fortune through illegal means.

3. Allen Stanford

Currently in jail and awaiting trial, this former billionaire was charged with running a multi-billion dollar Ponzi Scheme.  Having acted as the Chairman ofStanford Financial Group, he’s been accused of masterminding a financial conspiracy to rob investors out of their hard-earned money and misused their funds to sustain his extravagant lifestyle. Like Kim Dotcom, he tried living the good life at the expense of others and is now reaping the consequences of his actions.  As of today, Allen Stanford is taking a number of medications for his depression and is even partially blind after an inmate assaulted him.

4. M.C. Hammer

MC Hammer rose to fame in the 1990s and earned around $30 Million during the peak of his musical career.  Shortly after his success, M.C. Hammerwasted no time squandering his fortune on mansions, sharing money with friends and expensive toys. Before the decade was over, he filed for bankruptcy due to an enormous debt.  He’s a classic example of someone earning his wealth too fast and too soon, which made it hard for him to handle his finances. Now living as a pastor in California, he learned the hard way that one should learn from their mistakes and consider the consequences of a decision before making it.

5. Sean Quinn

Only a few years ago, this Irish businessman was worth $6 Billion.  However, he quickly lost it all after he invested twenty five percent (25%) in Anglo Irish Bank.  However, his mistake was to use money he borrowed from his own insurance company.  When a financial crisis swept his country, his Anglo Irish shares suffered and caused him billions in debt.  What people can learn from Sean Quinn’s example is that itís alright to take risks only if youíve done your homework to avoid getting burned after taking the plunge.

6. Patricia Kluge

She’s the wife of the late John Kluge who was worth billions himself during the late 90s.  Following their divorce in 1990, Patricia Kluge began to market a 960-acre vineyard that was supposed to appeal to an ultra-rich clientele.  She loaned close to $70 million just to put up facilities, but eventually the real estate crisis in the late 2000s caused her venture to fail and the property foreclosed.  The lesson to remember here is thatsuccessful entrepreneurs shouldnít put all their eggs in one basket.  Otherwise, you can easily lose everything in one swift stroke.

7. Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson

Hailing from Iceland, this former billionaire saw his net worth dwindle down to zero after he and his son/business partner Thor got hit by the credit crisis in their country.  They were major shareholders in a bank calledLandsbankiñ when it went under, so did their assets.  Like some of the others on this list, Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson too was involved in illegal activities such as fraud and embezzlement in the past.Karma is b!tch, aint it!

8. George Foreman

This heavyweight champion became riddled with financial woes when his boxing career lost steam in the late 70s.  Naturally, the money stopped coming in and he became overwhelmed with credit card debt and unpaid loans.  Fortunately for George Foreman, he bounced back from his situation by getting back in the ring as well as investing in the popular TV shopping product called the Foreman Grill.

9. Johnny Unitas

This legendary quarterback earned hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time because of his unmatched prowess on the field.  He starred in professional football before salaries were measured in millions. His yearly contracts ranged from $7,000, his first in 1956 with the Colts, to $250,000 plus a $175,000 bonus in his last one with the San Diego Chargers in 1973. Johnny Unitas put his money into the different industries he dabbled in, such as real estate, restaurants, and manufacturing.  Unfortunately, these businesses failed and they were forced to file for bankruptcy by the 90s. He died 11 years later with a lawsuit from his estate hanging over all of his businesses.

10. Scott Eyre

Scott Eyre was a former pitcher for the MLB and played for likes of the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs.  He was one of Allen Stanford’s victims who invested in his fraudulent billion-dollar scheme which cost Scott almost all of his money.  As such, he is proof that we shouldn’t invest in something until we’ve thoroughly assessed the risks as well as the person or entity behind it. Steve Jobs once said that perfectly normal folks can turn into ‘bizarro people’ when they suddenly come upon wealth.

Indeed, losing control and common sense is one of the biggest risks that successful entrepreneurs face. Rich people are human and therefore just as fallible as everyone else. If you don’t want to share the same fate as them, make sure to exercise financial intelligence by either learning about it yourself or consulting with someone who can help you use sound judgment.  Just because you have piles of cash, it doesn’t automatically mean you already know how to handle it properly. Don’t fall prey to materialism.  Money is fleeting, and you may not be able to afford the finer things in life if you take a hit tomorrow.  This is why you should always make a conscious effort to live within your means and hold off buying something until you’ve thought it through.

Ben Henderson: A Champion On All Levels

Ben Henderson will fight this weekend to take Frankie Edgars UFC title.

A few weeks ago Ben reflected on his career, to now owning his long time gym:

“It’s a pretty big difference from five years ago cleaning out the toilets, taking out the garbage, and going on Starbucks runs for the owner and his wife. Pretty big difference, and I’m happy for it,”

“I was pretty blessed with my situation when I came out here to Arizona. The old owner whose name was Jason Beck, he asked John Crouch, who he was friends with from back in the old school Gracie Academy days, he knew John had some fighters in Denver and he asked if he and some of his fighters would like to move to Arizona and just train and fight full time. So early on in my career I was able to move out here to Arizona and just train full time,”

“I was sponsored from The Lab. I got like a couple hundred dollars a month, just barely enough to survive, but I cleaned toilets, mopped mats, do all the odd ends sort of jobs. So I was able to train full time, so I’d train in the mornings, train in the afternoons, but in between I’d clean up, I’d teach the kids’ classes, clean up at night also.”

“Going from that to gym owner to fighting for the title, it’s something I am very excited for.

Excited to Celebrate the New Champion

Ben "Smooth" Henderson!!!!!

10 Things That Everyone Can Learn From Jeremy Lin | The NBA Asian Basketball Super Star

- It Takes 10,000 Hours

They say it takes 10,000 hours of practice to perfect a skill, and Lin clearly believes that. His skills have been developed over years of constant, unrelenting training. There are no free rides… in basketball or in life.





- Carpe Diem

When Lin was picked up by the Knicks he arrived with no expectations. Just a kid with no hype surrounding him, nobody expected Lin to be the next big thing. He was only started because the team was suffering too many injuries and absences, and he knew he had to make a splash if he was going to make it. You may only get one chance to blow the audience away. Don’t waste it.

- Tenacity Counts

Nobody would have foreseen Jeremy Lin making it all the way to the NBA. As an Asian American the odds were stacked against him, and when he wasn’t offered an athletic scholarship to college he took the hard route. He studied hard, pushing his GPA to 4.2 and heading to Harvard on the strength of his academic achievements. The path of least resistance rarely leads to success.



- Risk Comes Before Reward

Lin’s contract with the New York Knicks wasn’t handed to him on a silver platter. Before he was signed he slept on his brother’s couch in the Lower East Side as he couldn’t afford to pay rent. If you want to succeed you have to take risks. Leave everything out on the court. Sleep on a couch. People who play safe rarely make it big.

- Believe in Yourself

Lin’s professional career up until now could be summed up in three words: ‘Seriously, this guy?’. Nothing about his success was pre-destined, and he had to fight for every inch. He’s one of the few Asian Americans to make it in the NBA, and the first Harvard graduate in the league since 1954. Without a degree of self belief as tough as titanium he would have given up long ago.





- Don’t Brag

We’ve seen success go to the heads of far too many athletes to count, but Jeremy Lin has so far resisted. It takes guts to be a gracious loser, but it’s often more difficult to be a gracious winner. Lin accepts victory with class and style.

- Know Your Own Strengths

Before joining the Knicks Lin played for Golden State and Houston, and was dropped by both teams in order to free up funds to pay for new players. Lin isn’t a flashy player. He doesn’t dazzle, but he’s a great passer and distributor. It was only when the Knicks recognized his strengths that he found a permanent place in a team. You have to know your strengths and weaknesses, and find an organization where you’ll thrive.

- Look for a Lin

On the flip side, you can take a lesson from Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni. Look for the strengths of the people in your life and work. You might have employees right now who aren’t performing as well as they should. Do you have them dunking when they should be passing? Re-tasking can be better than replacing.

- Be Original

Too many players set their sights on being the next Michael Jordan, and they rarely realize that this is a fool’s errand. Jeremy Lin is content to be the best he can be. He isn’t trying to emulate anyone else. He’s simply doing what he does best. Forge your own path.





- Make Your Team Look Good

Finally, success is a team effort. Lin knows this. He knows that the top of the league is full of great teams, not great individuals. Going for personal glory is rarely the best approach. Make the team look good and everybody wins.

Natural Western USA Championships

A few of the EVC team members will be competing at the Natural Western USA Championships. The event will be held at the Mesa Performing Arts Center  on March 10, 2012.  Take a look at the flyer for more information. 

INSIGHT FROM A NAVY SEAL

All of us at the recent Keys to Success event, an annual kickoff meeting attended by all consulting office owners in North America, were so lucky to hear from our guest speaker, Eric Greitens, Navy SEAL and award-winning author of “The Heart and the Fist.”  The most powerful part of his message was the mindset required to survive the Navy Seal boot camp. Only about 10 percent of these highly-fit soldiers make it. Eric said that it was not the great collegiate athletes that survived. Instead, it was the ones with the greatest will.

The attributes that he described for the successful are the same ones that are needed for success in our business. Here is a sampling of his comments that I wrote down:

“Confront your fear and push yourself.”
“Courage is the courage of perseverance of willing to do the hard things day after day.”
“People quit when they think how hard it is going to be, but rarely when they are doing those hard things.”
“The Navy Seal challenges are called ‘evolutions’.  Your character evolves until you get to the place where you change who you are.”
“To get the life you want, change the compass just a few degrees and march in that direction every day.”
“If you attempt a challenge and do not succeed, the challenge always remains – the challenge always remains.”

Lessons for all of us.  Eric, we will always be grateful and learned so much from you during the conference. Your words will stick with us now and in years to come.

Via: www.cydcor.com

BIOGRAPHY   ::   http://www.ericgreitens.com/biography

TWITTER   ::   twitter.com/ericgreitens

BOOK   ::   www.theheartandthefist.com

Leading Provider of Outsourced, Face-To-Face Sales Teams Exceeds Financial Goal For Children’s Medical Charity

Scottsdale, AZ – East Valley Consulting, the leading provider of outsourced, face-to-face sales and consulting teams in Arizona, has helped raise more than $150,000 for Operation Smile. Operation Smile is a children’s medical charity that provides free cleft lip and cleft palate reconstructive surgeries worldwide. The $150,000 will fund a medical mission to a remote locale in Peru, Cambodia, or Rwanda.

More than 90 companies along with E.V.C.'s own team members raised the funds over the past year through a variety of fundraisers and events, often competing against each other to raise the most.

"I am so very proud of our team. It took an amazing combined effort to manage to raise this amount of money and I am blown away by the amount of support and dedication that was put forth for this great cause" said Gareth Roberts President and CEO of East Valley Consulting.