Steven Clauson / When Results Matter

06/25/2024

Paul Zane Pilzer – God Wants You To Be Rich

This may get me in some trouble… It’s 2024 and living dangerously has its rewards! Back in 1995 a pastor suggested a book written by a Nobel Prize winning economist titled God Wants You To Be Rich. He suggested it after I told him the story of a potential client I met with in Orange County. This man was a member of a church, doing quite well, tithing to the church (giving 10% of his gross earnings) and was being judged by others on the church board as making too much money. Making too much money is a foreign concept to most. Ask any billionaire how much more money they want and most will tell you they “just want a little more!”

The Pilzer book outlines specifically the different ways God created to actually get rich and references bible passages to support his opinion. For the purposes of the book, the author limits his definition to financial abundance. My question to this potential client was simple, “When you tithe 10% of what you earn to the church and the church uses that money to support the poor and needy how could that be a negative?” I went further… “If you earn less and as a result you donate less, are you in effect wasting the talents, skills and gifts God gave you?”

For years we’ve been told to pay ourselves first. This is a great idea until life gets in the way. A bad month, bad quarter, unexpected expense, vacation and just about any other reason jumps to mind. This is why I invest monthly in books, training, books on tape and other tools to help me. In other words, I invest in education and as a result I am investing in myself. Zig Ziglar used to refer books on tape as Automobile University. Today we have Audible and Spotify to help accomplish the same goal. The rate of change we are experiencing is faster than we’ve ever seen and the speed is increasing. Trying to stay ahead of it is nearly impossible. Keeping up however is mandatory! If you want some help keeping up let’s talk.

My name is Steven Clauson. I coach people who want help getting where they want to be. The people I coach are typically already taking action, getting results and ask what’s next and what actions to take to make an even greater impact. They aren't afraid to ask for help. How can I help you? What actions are you taking? Those who have a plan and implement that plan lead the pack. Planning, preparing to win and taking appropriate action means you hear the word "YES" more than ever. Only if you are one of the few willing to take action, do what's required and play full out are you likely to hear the word yes more often. People hearing the word "YES" are winners on the playing field because they play full out and dominate. For these people results matter. Tired of results less than you know you can produce? Call me at 916-230-0176 or visit www.assaultmarketing.com

06/12/2024

Police Officers Revive Baby With No Heartbeat

This is nothing about business and all about success. The news is replete with crisis and catastrophe and from time to time it’s good to remember that there are stories of hope and joy. On June 3rd two police officers responded to a call and their quick and decisive actions revived a lifeless baby.

Just after midnight the frantic call came into the Alexandria Police Departments 9-1-1 line and officers were dispatched to the apartment. This was an act of God’s hand in my estimation. A newborn baby was lifeless soon after an Alexandria woman gave birth. APD Officers Hiltz and Reilly entered an apartment in the 3800 block of Executive Avenue, rushing to locate the baby. They found a newborn not breathing and without a heartbeat. As first responders, their training immediately kicked in, and without hesitation, Officer Hiltz began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) while Officer Reilly managed to keep the family calm. After two rounds of CPR Officer Hiltz located a pulse and the baby began to "fuss", as Officer Hiltz described it. The sound of a newborn baby crying could be heard throughout the home. The baby was transported to the hospital NICU and after a short stay was released!

The police department relayed the good news that both the mother and her baby were in good health as of Monday. There is no worse tragedy for parents than to lose a child. I lost my daughter and I can fully relate. The parents are deeply grateful to the officers who made sure they wouldn’t have to suffer such a tragedy. APD ended its post: “Officers Hiltz and Reilly were credited by the EMS Lieutenant on the scene with saving the baby’s life. The emergency room doctor also commended our APD Officers for their outstanding work. Thank you Officers Hiltz and Reilly for your exemplary service.”

America is full of good people eager to help others and change lives for the better. As long as that is true, no politician, no matter how corrupt and powerful, can fully crush or destroy this country. The APD Facebook post stated that the officers saved Baby Luis’s life. “My entire focus was on making sure baby Luis was going to be okay,” Officer Hiltz said afterwards. “It felt amazing to hear him cry. In that moment all the stress and fear of the situation just left me.”

Hiltz has been in the APD for over four years. “I’m just lucky to get to go to work and do the job I love. It's this kind of call, getting to help baby Luis and his family, that makes this job so rewarding and worth it,” he said. The officers went back to visit the baby and his family afterwards. “You could just feel the excitement and pride of Mom and Dad,” Hiltz reported. I’m told I don’t need to thank law enforcement officers as often as I do. People frequently need encouragement more than anything else and the demands placed on law enforcement in 2024 are unimaginable at best. I will double down on thanking a law enforcement officer today and pray you will do the same.

My name is Steven Clauson. I coach people who want help getting where they want to be. The people I coach are typically already taking action, getting results and ask what’s next and what actions to take to make an even greater impact. They aren't afraid to ask for help. How can I help you? What actions are you taking? Those who have a plan and implement that plan lead the pack. Planning, preparing to win and taking appropriate action means you hear the word "YES" more than ever. Only if you are one of the few willing to take action, do what's required and play full out are you likely to hear the word yes more often. People hearing the word "YES" are winners on the playing field because they play full out and dominate. For these people results matter. Tired of results less than you know you can produce? Call me at 916-230-0176 or visit www.assaultmarketing.com

06/04/2024

A Quick Genetics Lesson About Successful People

I love spending time with successful people. I have a front row seat to watch what makes them different from people that aren’t as successful. From what I can see, genetics play a large role in that difference. The people I’m talking about specifically are lawyers, doctors, engineers, dude ranch owners, bankers, hotel owners and general contractors. What they all have in common is they were born with the “figure it out” gene.

My dude ranch client “figured out” how to have a successful podcast while shoeing horses, fixing guest meals, running a stable and managing a staff of people. One of my law clients “figured out” how to run a growing and complex law practice while building two houses, one for his immediate family and one for his parents. I’ve never seen a book that covers this so he had to “figure it out.” I know for a fact I was born with this gene. I cannot imagine how my life would have turned out without it.

Every one of these professionals has a healthy dose of this gene. The banker, the hotel owner, the doctor, the engineer all have it and fearlessly use it to their advantage. My own daughter enrolled herself in college, learned how to weld and became certified in three different types of welding. Turns out a pretty blond hair, blue eyed cheerleader type can do well when she “figured it out” and learned to do something in a very male dominated profession. My son had to “figure out” how to blow glass when Covid started and made money in the process by learning what he needed from YouTube.

What did you “figure out” as you navigated the road to success? If you have something you cannot quite figure out then let’s talk. My name is Steve and I can be reached at 916-230-0176. Let’s make this happen!

My name is Steven Clauson. I coach people who want help getting where they want to be. The people I coach are typically already taking action, getting results and ask what’s next and what actions to take to make an even greater impact. They aren't afraid to ask for help. How can I help you? What actions are you taking? Those who have a plan and implement that plan lead the pack. Planning, preparing to win and taking appropriate action means you hear the word "YES" more than ever. Only if you are one of the few willing to take action, do what's required and play full out are you likely to hear the word yes more often. People hearing the word "YES" are winners on the playing field because they play full out and dominate. For these people results matter. Tired of results less than you know you can produce? Call me at 916-230-0176 or visit www.assaultmarketing.com

05/29/2024

All Choices Have Consequences… Every Choice Has A Cost

If you invest $100 dollars in a stock this week that is $100 you can’t spend somewhere else. That is your opportunity cost. At a dinner buffet you can take as much food as you want but you can still only eat so much. Eating that prime rib means you may not have room for the jambalaya. That is your opportunity cost. Opportunity is how we make decisions and the more you understand the choices the smarter you can be about your options.

Time is finite, or as I call it, time is the ultimate in the non-renewable asset column. We only get each hour once so how you choose to invest that hour matters greatly. When you see a bumper sticker that says “I’d rather be hiking” you get a sense of the priorities of the person driving. Every one of us wrestles with this daily. Imagine the mindset of the person who allocates time to watch cat videos on YouTube daily. The opportunity cost of watching the cat video is a real thing.

I make lists every day of the week… including weekends. Something needs to happen every day of my week. My wife needs something done, I want to talk to my daughter or video with my granddaughter and I read for content every day of the week without exception. Writing this update happens as the result of a hand-written list. Nothing else works quite as well. There are many who suggest that using a yellow tablet is perhaps the greatest business productivity tool in history! I agree.

Not doing something also has a cost. Not going to the gym, not planning a date night with my wife, not reading and not keeping my eyes open for opportunities for myself and those I serve. Whenever I decide to watch a mindless TV program, I give up the chance to learn something that may serve me for years into the future. There are times I make that choice. I no longer go to buffets! What did you replace along the way? If you’re stuck, let’s talk. Call me at 916-230-0176 and let’s figure something out together.

My name is Steven Clauson. I coach people who want help getting where they want to be. The people I coach are typically already taking action, getting results and ask what’s next and what actions to take to make an even greater impact. They aren't afraid to ask for help. How can I help you? What actions are you taking? Those who have a plan and implement that plan lead the pack. Planning, preparing to win and taking appropriate action means you hear the word "YES" more than ever. Only if you are one of the few willing to take action, do what's required and play full out are you likely to hear the word yes more often. People hearing the word "YES" are winners on the playing field because they play full out and dominate. For these people results matter. Tired of results less than you know you can produce? Call me at 916-230-0176 or visit www.assaultmarketing.com

05/08/2024

Never Average... Always Savage

04/23/2024

Do You Identify As A Cow Or A Buffalo?

Cows and buffalo sense a storm is coming. Each animal deals with the coming storm in a different way. A cow will run away from the coming storm. The behavior of buffalo is the opposite. A buffalo sensing a storm is coming, will turn and run toward the storm. Which animal is doing the right thing?

The cow running away from the storm is running with the storm and is assured it will remain in the storm for the longest period of time. Since the buffalo runs into the storm, they get to the other side of the storm in the fastest manner possible. When the buffalo runs into the storm it’s initially very difficult, very loud and scary. In a short period of time. The buffalo is through the storm and they resume their life. The cow seeks to escape adversity while the buffalo confronts the adversity. Very different ways of handling the same event. Neither animal knows the severity of the storm going in.

I’ve been both the cow and the buffalo. I learned acting like the cow prolonged the crap I was going through. The first time I acted like a buffalo scared the hell out of me. It took courage but I got through things so much faster. Today I look forward to the adversity and attack it head-on. I know the solution to the current adversity is located on the other side of fear. The faster I get through that, the faster I get back to work. How fast do you want to get to the other side? I can help!

My name is Steven Clauson. I coach people who want help getting where they want to be. The people I coach are typically already taking action, getting results and ask what’s next and what actions to take to make an even greater impact. They aren't afraid to ask for help. How can I help you? What actions are you taking? Those who have a plan and implement that plan lead the pack. Planning, preparing to win and taking appropriate action means you hear the word "YES" more than ever. Only if you are one of the few willing to take action, do what's required and play full out are you likely to hear the word yes more often. People hearing the word "YES" are winners on the playing field because they play full out and dominate. For these people results matter. Tired of results less than you know you can produce? Call me at 916-230-0176 or visit www.assaultmarketing.com

04/16/2024

You Climbed The Highest Mountain… What Now?

A good friend sent me a quote from David Goggins yesterday and I want to unwrap it. I will attach a video from Goggins as well. “Either you are getting better or you are getting worse, you are not staying the same! If you got to the top of the mountain you were climbing, make sure you immediately start looking for yet another mountain to climb!”

Quotes like this are why I still work. A Real Estate Broker asked me recently why I still work. He followed up and asked what I could have done different so I didn’t still “need” to work. After more discussion I learned that, in his opinion, the only reason anyone my age (closer to 69 than my current 68) would still be working was because they had to work. He saw work as punishment.

He was a Real Estate broker who was far too comfortable verbally abusing the people he worked with. He denigrated everyone from buyers, sellers, agents on both sides and even the mortgage brokers. He honed the rare ability to smile at someone and fake sincerity. It was clear he hated what he was doing and he did it only for the money. I knew this because he told me. He did quite well financially. He saw an article I wrote a few weeks back on the coming changes in the real estate business. He is concerned about the impact those changes could have on his pay check. After talking with him, I would be more concerned about his personal long-term impact on his paycheck.

How can anyone excel doing something they see as punishment surrounded by people they either dislike or hate? If you’re doing OK imagine how much better you could be if you actually enjoyed working? When I finally realized how much I hated working with politicians I quit the same day. Life was improved the following day!
I had my first job cutting lawns when I was 13 and hired my first employee when I was 14. The friend I hired would cut a lawn for me and the job paid $5 and gave him $2. I sold the person on lawncare, I inspected the final result and I collected the money. As far as I could tell, I was doing the hard part. Doing this today would violate a collection of laws but that was 1969 and the rules were a bit different then.

My level of job satisfaction today is off the charts and I cannot imagine not getting up and going to work. I know I make an impact every day. I parted ways with the broker with reading suggestions like Once Upon A Cow by Cruz, Start With Why by Sinek and Life Expectancy by Keiper. Each of these has the potential to be life changing once implemented. I fear the implementation will be slow. How can I help you?

My name is Steven Clauson. I coach people who want help getting where they want to be. The people I coach are typically already taking action, getting results and ask what’s next and what actions to take to make an even greater impact. They aren't afraid to ask for help. How can I help you? What actions are you taking? Those who have a plan and implement that plan lead the pack. Planning, preparing to win and taking appropriate action means you hear the word "YES" more than ever. Only if you are one of the few willing to take action, do what's required and play full out are you likely to hear the word yes more often. People hearing the word "YES" are winners on the playing field because they play full out and dominate. For these people results matter. Tired of results less than you know you can produce? Call me at 916-230-0176 or visit www.assaultmarketing.com

02/16/2024

02/06/2024

I spent some time a few years back with an M.I.

12/12/2023

12/05/2023

For years I’ve held the opinion that everyone has 83 problems they are dealing with on a daily basis. Eliminate one problem and there is one to take its place.