The Agreement Seekers Blog

I had a Professor in Grad School named Max Raines.  The ADAPT model is his.  It was explained to us in the context of High School Seniors making the transition to a successful college experience.  As you will see, the model here is used in making the transition from "where you are" to "where you want to be" as an entrepreneur/home business owner. To make this happen will require thought and introspection.  It will require work and humility as well as honesty and vulnerability. ADAPT is an acronym with each letter representing the following:  1) A ctivate Commitment, 2) D evelop Supports, 3) A djust Expectations, 4) P rioritize Goals, and 5) T ranspose Identity. So, let's take each of these and apply it to help us get from "here to there".  Each of these areas is meant to be a brief introduction.  When learning this content, it was a full semester for me. 1) Activate Commitment :  This is putting a stake in the ground.  It i...

Prospecting (to prospect) is a verb.  It is an action.  It is what we do to expose people to our message to gain their attention and interest. There are many forms of prospecting that are either free or paid.  Our business model starts with no cost or low-cost methods that are in the "Local, Guerilla and Belly-to-Belly" categories.  We do not encourage warm market (friends and family) until you have an established record of success.  So where and how do we suggest you get started?   To make things most efficient, think concentration.  Where are there high densities of people who may be open to what we have to offer?  We have generic Community sites that are intended to appeal to Retail and Office workers.  Can you see yourself walking into businesses and introducing yourself, engaging in a conversation starter like, "Can I ask you a question, do you like working here?"  Then following with, "Do you have any other source...

Most people have given up without knowing they have given up.  They accept their "lot" in life without challenge or question.  They drone through days and complain all-the-while... and confuse complaining with challenging. Anyone can complain.  It is easy.  Take anything negative and describe it in negative terms.  Challenge, on the other hand, requires taking a stand and doing something about it.  This is not easy to do... for many. Complainers, for the most part, are resigned to and destined for mediocrity.  They hate what they do for a living, they wish they had more resources, they detest the grind of the workweek... but even in light of this, they do nothing about it - save complaining. Peoples' "truth" is what they perceive it to be.  Some people will engage and "get after it" if shown something worthy of "getting after".  These are the people we seek in building our business. It is a very strange paradox that "most" p...

Our Community, for all intents, works on the same premise as a club or a collective.  The idea here is that people are interested in and agree to participate in something.  In this process, we share ideas, strategies, tools... all leading to the outcome of people achieving a similar result:  to create an additional financial resource. As I "grew up" in a small town, the adult "clubs" were the Lions, Moose, Kiwanis - that all served some civic or social function.  Typically, these were predominantly male organizations who all agreed to rally around and participate in "good works".  For example, among other things, the Lions Club sponsored the public pool we went to in the summer time.  They also rented the space in the Club House for community functions.  The proceeds all fed back into doing more good works and to perpetuate their core mission of "service". The similar thread we share with any club is that we agree to and participate in the Go...

Being the best version of yourself entails many things from kindness and compassion informed by a moral underpinning, to a fundamental sense of happiness and self-satisfaction that imbues how you carry yourself through life.  The former is fundamental to one's character and is ingrained as it assimilates over time to express itself in simple gestures.  The latter is more a function of how your choices in life now manifest in your being as a human.  So let me ask, are you happy?  (Note:  my editors encouraged me to ask you to read the preceding as many times as you need to - to connect the dots.) Our Community exists to enable happiness.  It is about the "latter".  It is about making a choice.  This choice is to agree with a strategy and join with a common cause - and sharing a frame of reference with all who participate. In this process, we enable the creation of money.  It is important to understand that money is a tool that fa...

Most people are comfortable with their stable, predictable, status quo lives.  It is referred to as peoples' "Comfort Zone".  Much has been written (by many) about breaking out of this "zone" and progressing toward a goal.  Some are willing to experience the ill-at-ease and discomfort of doing things that stretch and challenge their ordinary, daily routines.   However, most people drone through life repeating the same cylce - as days, weeks and years pass. The whole notion of "making your mark" will only appeal to those with the aspiration to do so.  It will only entice those not satisfied with their lot in life.  Our goal, our "job" is to find these people.  The issue is this:  they are the exception, not the rule.  This is true, even in the context of what we do:  teaching people to make money, and providing the platform to make it happen.  If "the idea" of most people wanting or needing more money is true, then why wo...

We teach the skills to make money to people who want or need more money.  A match made in heaven, right?  I mean, what could go wrong?  It is precisely what everyone needs. You would think. So, what inhibits people from moving too far from the core of their status quo life?  The following are my top five reasons: Skepticism and Lack of Trust - people write us off as "one of those internet things" they have heard about, or maybe even have tried at one time.  It seems shady, like some kind of scheme. Inability to Change Lifestyle and Habits - people are well-entrenched in their lives.  Work, supper, TV, sleep... do it again.  Weekends are the same, just different items.  Finding time in this "busy" life is simply too tall an order for many. Risk Aversion - even if the money required is small, many people will not "float" that amount of money to prove to themselves something can work   Fear of Failure - This is drive...