The Secret Formula for EVERYTHING!

The only way to take control of your life, raise your standard of living and move beyond merely surviving is to create your own unique product or service that you offer to increasing numbers of people in exchange for the things of value that you desire. This simple formula applies to countries as well as people. A self-sufficient economy has its own products or services of value to export to the world. Similarly, a self-sufficient individual has something of value to exchange in the global marketplace. That thing of value is based on your natural talent, skill, or interest-in other words, your passion!

(The following article was originally written for the people of the Marianas on the Pacific island of Saipan.)

The reason many people fail in business or fail to achieve their goals in life is because they don't have a plan. That is because they don't know how to create one, they don't know that a methodology exists for creating plans, and they may also believe that they don't have the expertise to create one.

So, in an effort to share what I know so that others may grow, I'm going to share with you something I picked up in my seeker travels that few people know about, and even fewer actually implement. It's a way of making a sound plan for any area of your life that's practically guaranteed to help you achieve what you desire. It's based on some basic laws of the universe, but you can credit L. Ron Hubbard for doing his part in codifying them for easy dissemination.

This formula can be applied by every person and to just about every area of life.

- It applies if you are starting a business, growing a business or selling a business;

- It applies if you are starting a new job, moving up the ladder, or quitting your job;

- It applies if you are starting a new relationship, growing the affair, or ending it;

- It applies if you are starting a club, organization, even a new life, expanding it, or moving on;

So everyone from governors to business owners to contract workers can apply this formula to everything from family life to financial affairs.

This formula is part of a larger set called The Condition Formulas. Your success in understanding and applying the formula I'm about to share is based on knowing the assumptions upon which set of Condition Formulas is based. Therefore, it will be necessary to know that:

1. Every aspect of your life is in a certain state or “condition” of growth.

2. It's either getting better or getting worse. (There's no such thing as “stays the same.”)

3. There are things that you did or didn't do that got you in that condition.

4. There are things you should and shouldn't do to get yourself out of that condition.

Does this make sense so far?

OK. As I said, this will apply to any area of your life. And as you read, you may find yourself thinking about your job, your business, your organization, your family, even your social life. But for the sake of ease, I'm going to refer to anything we wish to apply it to as a “venture.”

As mentioned, the secret formula is part of a set of formulas that applies to specific conditions. Let's look at this set of conditions in descending order (in other words, the sequence a venture would experience if it were currently successful but heading toward failure.)

- Power

- Affluence

- Normal

- Emergency

- Danger

- Non Existence

So for example, a successful shoe store might be in a state of “power” in a booming economy, but as customers stop buying shoes, and sales decrease for whatever reason, it drops into “affluence” and if the trend continues, it falls into “normal”, then “emergency”, then “danger” then “non-existence.”

Now, by the same token, if you read the sequence of conditions from the bottom up, you'll be going through the sequence a venture would experience if it were starting from nothing (i.e. non-existence) and heading toward tremendous success (i.e. power). Now, does THIS make sense so far?

So let's say, again, that you're venture is a shoe store. The particular condition that your store might be in is obtained by first knowing what your “PRODUCT” is, and knowing how to track the creation of your product from one day or week to the next (your “STATISTIC”). The exact definition of a product which I share regularly in this column is:

Product--someone or something that has been brought into existence; the end result of a creation. A product is a finished high-quality service or article in the hands of the consumer as an exchange for a valuable. It is not a product at all unless it is exchangeable.

In this case, your product is “shoes” and the statistic you'll want to track is “number of shoes sold”-not customers who walked into the store, shoes tried on, or anything else. (A “statistic”, by the way, is a number or amount compared to an earlier number or amount of the same thing. It is simply the relative rise or fall of a quantity compared to an earlier moment in time.

So as a simple example, if you sold 10 pair of shoes today, 20 pair of shoes tomorrow and 30 pair of shoes the next day, you are in a very different condition than if you sold 30 today, 20 tomorrow and only 10 the next day. (One statistic is rising, and the other is falling). And therefore, the specific formula you apply to move from that condition up to the next level of conditional success is also very different.

In today's column, I'll focus on the Non-Existence Formula, since that's where most people embarking on a new venture will find themselves. (A full explanation of all the conditions and formulas is available in Turn Your Passion Into Profit). So, first let's define “Non Existence”

Non-Existence-”When one finds his statistic in such a low range that it shows no real products are being achieved or those that are being worked on are moving so slowly that the activity is nonviable, a condition of Non-Existence exists. Additionally, when someone begins a new job or activity, he starts off in the condition of Non- Existence because he has not yet produced anything in that capacity which can then be exchanged for income.”

And finally, the “secret” NON- EXISTENCE FORMULA is

1. FIND A COMMUNICATION LINE. (By communication line is meant the route along which a communication travels from one person to another or any sequences through which a message of any character may go.)

2. MAKE YOURSELF KNOWN.

3. DISCOVER WHAT IS NEEDED OR WANTED.

4. DO, PRODUCE AND/OR PRESENT IT.

That's it! That's the entire Non-Existence Formula. Let me give you a very simple example of how you might apply it. Let's say you're starting a new business selling unique Saipan-made arts and crafts here on Saipan as well as online. First,

Find the communication lines: Make a comprehensive list of magazines, newspapers, radio shows/programs/hosts, websites, vendors, stores, suppliers, wholesalers as well as customers, clients, sales agents here and overseas, that you would ideally like to know about you, sell to you, buy from you and/or promote you.

Make yourself known: Write and send a press release, distribute fliers, place newspaper ads or announcements, fax letters of introduction, ask for referrals, stage publicity stunts, and anything else you can think of to let others know about your new venture.

Discover what is needed or wanted: Find out what media editors would need to write a story about you; take surveys to find out what your customers really want to purchase from you; Find out what shippers and wholesalers require in order to work with you on their best terms. Then,

Do, Produce and/or present it: Give them what they want!

Now as another example, let's say that you're new to Saipan, you find yourself all alone every Friday night and you feel you want a more active social life. You decide to apply the Condition Formulas, and discover-sure enough-that your love life is in a state of Non-Existence! You determine that the “product” you want to track is “dates” (not phone numbers given or taken, not phone calls made or received, but actual dates).

Find the Communication lines:
You ask yourself: If I were a “social success,” whom would I be in contact with? Who are the people, networks or organizations that I would have regular communications with? So you make your list of people, events, organizations (i.e., ballroom dancing group that meets at Rose's every Friday, The African American Cultural Preservation Committee, Cabalen-a cultural group representing the Pampanga province in the Philipines, Amot Natibu for people interested in traditional Chamorro and Carolinian medicine, Chinese, Korean, and American business or cultural groups, Mina (environmental group, the various hotels' after-work events, Wild Bill's, Jogger's Club, Yoga Club, tour groups, etc.)

Make Yourself Known:
Contact these organizations or hosts of these events, and let them know you exist. (“Hi, I'm new to Saipan, and I wanted to find out more about your event/organization.”)

Discover what is needed or wanted:
Find out how to become a member, what the requirements are, how often they meet, etc.

Do, Produce and Present it:
Show up with a smile on your face, and a pen in your pocket! Also bring something to contribute to the good of the group.

Once you use the Non-existence formula thoroughly, (key word: thoroughly) you'll start to notice a rise in your statistic and you'll soon be ready to apply the next Condition Formula! (I wonder what a “power dater” looks like?) Anyway, see how it works?

Now as simple as this sequence is, many people starting a new job, a new business or a new life in a new land, simply wait for things to happen, never realizing that there's a secret formula that applies to everything! Have fun applying this to any area of your life! And if you have any questions about choosing the right “product” and “statistic,” email me at walt@passionprofit.com