• Business and Finance
• Family
• Computers and Internet
• Auto and Trucks
• Education
• Health
• Hobbies
• Home Improvement
• Legal
• Marketing

• Home
• Arthur's Articles Home
• Browse Categories
• Browse Authors
• Submit an Article
• Search for Articles

Home » Business And Finance Articles » Mark Anastasi Interview

Mark Anastasi Interview

Mark Anastasi is a walking, talking, self improvement dynamo and his entrepreneurial journey has been a fascinating one.

He is the kind of guy that is only too willing to share his knowledge and experience for the benefit of those around him.

He shares much of this experience through his financial freedom seminars. He also has a separate company that promotes other personal development speakers called Inspired Events...

The Interview

DS: What inspired you to set up the Life Quest Partnership?

MA: All the good I have in my life I owe to the considerable investment I have made in my 'personal development', through books, CDs, DVDs, and seminars I have attended.

The LifeQuest Partnership, Inspired Events, or The Online Marketing Group are ways for me to share these tools, strategies, and insights that have made such a difference in my life.

DS: Did you have any help setting up the company or were you going it alone?

MA: I have always set up my companies on my own, though I have been blessed in having attracted extraordinary and invaluable mentors, as well as staff of the highest calibre.

At the end of the day, your success as an entrepreneur will depend on your TEAM.

DS: What was the biggest challenge you faced in bringing your idea to fruition? How was it overcome?

MA: Lack of adequate funding in the initial stages was frustrating, though we pulled through in the end without the need of external investors.

DS: What makes you most proud about your achievements with the Life Quest Partnership?

MA: Hearing the testimonials of our Success Partners or of attendees of our events fills me with joy every time, and also, I am proud and grateful for the amazing people that selflessly devote their time to this business.

DS: How did you actually fund your business to get it off the ground?

MA: I funded all my businesses - at least initially - from the sale of my ebooks on the Internet. I am currently looking for £250,000 in capital, from investors, to take The LifeQuest Partnership to the next level, in view of a stockmarket floatation in 2008.

DS: What attributes make a successful entrepreneur?

MA: Passion, Drive, Vision, Total Self-Belief, Courage, a desire to help people & solve problems, great people skills, and a solid grounding in Marketing.

DS: What do you believe are the necessary elements for a business venture to succeed?

MA: Marketing, marketing, and then more marketing. Spend 90% of your time on the marketing. Other than that, making sure there truly IS a market for your product or service in the first place.

DS: How essential do you see a University education in achieving success as an entrepreneur?

MA: Not at all. Zilch. Nada. Niet. Nuh-huh. If you are at Uni at the moment... leave.

DS: What are the three most important lessons you have learned about business and entrepreneurship?

MA:

(1) The Entrepreneur's Golden Question: "How Can I Serve/Help More People?"

Business and entrepreneurship is about adding value to people's lives.

(2) Absolute integrity is a MUST.

(3) Having a grand vision is great, but you still must take care of the details!

DS: What advice would you give to an aspiring entrepreneur?

MA: Start.

DS: What's the number one book you would recommend to aspiring entrepreneurs?

MA: Study Robert Kiyosaki's "Choose To Be Rich" (CD), Michael Gerber's "The e-Myth Revisited", and Richard Parkes Cordock's "The Millionaire MBA" (CD)

DS: What memorable mistakes, if any, have you made in business? What did you learn from them and how can they be avoided?

MA: Not keeping an eye on cash flow was definitely a mistake I learned the hard way!

Good book-keeping & accountants... vital.

"In order to Think Big... you've got to 'Think Small'" - Robert Kiyosaki

DS: What are the best and worst things about being an entrepreneur?

MA:

The Best: Freedom. Creativity. Self-Expression. Unlimited Wealth Potential.

The Worst: You carry the awesome responsibility of being accountable for the livelihood of other people. The buck stops with YOU.

DS: Are there any other thoughts, insights, or advice for aspiring entrepreneurs that you'd like to add?

MA: We live in the age of the entrepreneur. It is much safer than being at the mercy of an employer! There is nothing to fear. You can never fail - only LEARN. Being an entrepreneur is synonymous to being ALIVE! Just Do It!

Money Is Nothing But The Measure Of The Value You Create For Other People, and you go about adding value to people's lives BY BEING AN ENTREPRENEUR!"At the end of your life, you won't wish you'd spent more time at the office..."

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

How to Get a Grip on Your Money

Most people have no idea where their money goes. They earn it and they spend it.

That's fine if you want to live from week to week and are not concerned about your financial future. However if you want to increase your wealth and have more options, action needs to be taken by you otherwise you could end up like most people further down the track, totally dependant on a pension.

Karen's Story

Karen is the Marketing Manager for a well-known organisation. She's 39 yrs old, single and earns over $80k a year. She is paying off a mortgage and that's all the debt she has.

Karen buys whatever she likes and says she has more than enough money for her lifestyle...or so she thought. And that's a very important point - Karen 'thought' she had plenty of money to splash around yet she had no real idea of where it went.

She was at the stage where she wanted to achieve more in her life including taking charge of her financial future.

One of the exercises I gave her to do was to sort all her financial statements - visa card, bank accounts and any cash receipts and list her income and expenditure under specific headings ie: loans, clothing, utilities, food etc. Karen recorded everything that occurred for the past 6 months . She nearly fainted when she saw how much money she had wasted and how much she was overspending! She was going backwards fast and only realised it by doing this simple exercise.

In the past Karen hadn't put a high priority on her financial well-being as it was just too hard. Being a marketing manager, her life was busy at work and she had a hectic social life. She didn't want to bother doing something that wasn't exciting like working on her financial future. After all, she had a well-paid job, didn't she?

Karen has now come to her senses and knows her true financial situation. If she lost her job, financially she couldn't afford to be off work for more than a month. She realises that she is responsible for her future.

The area of wealth creation hadn't been of great interest to Karen in the past. Now that she was undertaking coaching, she was serious to making a change. Prior to writing down where her money was going, Karen was completely closed to any suggestion to read more about how she can accelerate her wealth (or lack of it), so I didn't pursue this with her. Her attitude had now changed so she was ready and willing to move to the next step.

The next move...I referred Karen to an organisation who would look at her total financial picture and be able to recommend what she could do. The reason I chose these people is because they take a holistic approach to wealth creation. They look at every aspect and provide an on-going education as well as a hand-holding service.

We met after her first session and Karen said she nearly had a heart attack at the meeting. She realised how much money she had been giving away to the tax office. Being on such a high income she was being taxed 47c for every dollar earned. She now realised that by making some small changes she could keep this money and have investments that over time would accelerate her financial situation dramatically.

She now had enough knowledge to make decisions and take actions that could make her financially independent over the next few years. Karen couldn't believe how simple it was!

Your Financial Future - Whose Responsibility?

Unfortunately you cannot leave your financial well-being in the hands of anyone else except yourself.

Of course, you can seek advice from professionals in that field like accountants and financial planners; however, it really is up to you to lead the way ...to be proactive!

Having attended many seminars, spoken to wealthy people and to the financial professionals (many of whom aren't independently wealthy themselves), and read many books on the topic of wealth creation, I have found you cannot rely on any one person to delegate your financial affairs to. You need to be proactive and take control of your own life.

How to Take Control of Your Financial Future

Get your finances in order first: You need to know what you spend, what you earn, how much you owe and how much you own...Not in your head but in writing. What you think your situation is and what is reality, will more than likely be two totally different scenarios.

If you know where you are right now you can then seek out appropriate solutions to your specific financial needs.

How to Get Started

Speak with your accountant on the best way to set up your recording system.

Ask them how you can increase your wealth.

Ask your accountant and/or your financial advisor how they have created their wealth. What do they invest in?

Talk to people who are wealthy. Ask them how they accumulated their wealth.

Question everything.

Read books and attend seminars on wealth creation...the more informed you are the easier it is to make sound decisions. We regularly advertise these types of events in our Event Update: http://www.office-organiser.com.au/weeklyupdate.html

Don't believe everything you hear, see and read, particularly if the person advising you reaps financial benefit from you accepting their advice.

Only listen to people who "have rungs on the ladder". Once you've have done some research (and this can happen in a matter of days or weeks, depending on your efforts) then:

Take action

Sure you'll make mistakes along the way, however that's the only way you can progress. Learn from them and move on.

The Final Word

Looking after your financial well-being should be high on your priorities. It's about having choices in your life. Do you really want to work from dawn to dusk to support the lifestyle you and your family have become accustomed to? Perhaps you don't get to enjoy the lifestyle because you're too busy busting your guts at work.

Imagine what it would be like to work because you want to, not because you have to?

If financial freedom is something you desire in the not too distant future (and it doesn't happen overnight), you have to take action sometime... like right now!