Blog Posts

My Morning Routine (The Miracle Morning)

I want to share a book that truly changed my life. It literally changed my life. Because of implementing the practices in this book, I now choose to wake up at 5:30am on weekdays and spend a full hour doing a few activities.

I “sleep in” until 8 or 9 on weekends, but you better believe that I still do a morning routine. If I’m ever running short on time, I still do SOMETHING. I might do a 20 or 30 minute routine, but something is better than nothing.

Check out the video

So, what’s the book that talks about this amazing routine? It’s called The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod.

I hadn’t implemented a morning routine until last year, when I came across the power of morning routines thanks to my obsession with the entrepreneurial and self-development space.

I initially started doing a 5 minute routine consisting of a minute or two of meditation, some push-ups, a shower ending with cold water for 10 seconds, and stuff like that. Nothing too intense.

But in September of last year, I read this book. And it changed everything for me. I literally started the one hour suggested routine the first day after completing the book.

Listen to the podcast


In this book, Hal uses the acronym “SAVERS.” The letters stand for:

S – Silence (5 minutes)

Spend 5 minutes being silent, thinking about things you are grateful for, and appreciating the chance at a new day.

A – Affirmations (5 minutes)

Spend 5 minutes speaking affirmations on how you will win the day and achieve goals. I usually play a youtube video and repeat after the voice saying things like:

  • I am a millionaire
  • I am successful
  • I am generous
  • I am grateful
  • Etc.

Pro-tip: I’m currently reading the book, “The Law of Attraction,” which said that you can modify affirmations a bit and add “I’m in the process of” before them so that you don’t have any self-doubt.

So instead of saying “I am a millionaire” (which since I’m not, I might subconsciously have self-doubt), I am starting to say “I’m in the process of becoming a millionaire.”

V – Visualization (5 minutes)

Visualize yourself having the perfect day. Play some instrumental music in the background if you want (I usually just play music from Audiomachine on Spotify). I close my eyes, smile, imagine everything going right that day.

I imagine meetings I have planned going the way I want them to, real estate deals or appointments I am close on going my way, etc.

I spend time looking at my vision board and then my 5 year goals which I laminated and signed. I have huge goals on there… a few of them include having a net worth of $10M and monthly passive income of $10,000 by November 8, 2023.

E – Exercise (20 minutes)

Hal recommends yoga, which is something I never really did much. Yoga and stretching? Pshhh, that’s not as cool as bench pressing. Or so I thought.

Guess who now does yoga every morning? Me. Sometimes I do 5 minutes of yoga, other times I do 20 minutes. A really good free yoga channel I use is Yoga With Adriene.

R – Reading (20 minutes)

Spend 20 minutes getting some reading done! You’ll be amazed at how quickly you can get through books just by doing this.

I’ve had the excuse of not having time to read before. You have time. Wake up earlier. Do this routine. Slow reader? So what. Set a timer and read for 20 minutes. WHether it’s 20 pages or 2 pages, it’s better than nothing.

S – Scribing (5 minutes)

Spend 5 minutes scribing, or journaling. Get your thoughts down, write down anything on your mind. I personally type mine, but apparently if you write, you’re more intentional since it takes longer.

A cool thing Hal mentioned is being able to write a new journal entry and then read the one from a year before. It’ll be a cool way to see the growth as I realize how far I’ve come in a year. I hope that in 10 years, I can read back to my goal to have a net worth of $10M and chuckle as I’ll be on to bigger goals at that time.

Do yourself a favor and check out this book.

Please, please, please do yourself a favor and get Hal’s book, The Miracle Morning, if you want to seriously change your life. If you already have a morning routine of some sort, you’re ahead of most. If you’re snoozing the alarm over and over and struggling to wake up, get it together!

Check this book out, implement a morning routine. Hal even says that doing a “6 minute version” of the Miracle Morning is perfectly fine if you think an hour is too long or are short on time on any given day.

You can literally spend 1 minute on each thing. Yup, even if that means you only read 1 page. What if you learn something on that page that changes your business or life that day for the better?

You can always start small and work your way up to the hour routine. Or, you can do what I did. Rip the band-aid off. Go all in. Commit. Set the alarm an hour earlier and just jump right into it.

“You are where you are because of who you were, but where you go depends entirely on who you choose to be.” – Hal Elrod

Recommended Links:

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE
https://chrisbello.com

SUBSCRIBE TO ME ON YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCecn7bkCgNHkrjvMo6rThuw?view_as=subscriber 

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM
https://www.instagram.com/chrisbello09/ 

Read More
Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast

My Morning Routine (The Miracle Morning) – EMP066

I read this amazing book called The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. It’s one of those books where I can say it’s truly changed my life (because every day, I implement a routine that was literally recommended by the book).

The Miracle Morning talks about the acronym “SAVERS.” It stands for:

  • S – Silence (5 minutes)
  • A – Affirmations (5 minutes)
  • V – Visualization (5 minutes)
  • E – Exercise (20 minutes)
  • R – Reading (20 minutes)
  • S – Scribing (5 minutes)

Get your copy of the Miracle Morning if you want to change your morning and your life here: https://amzn.to/2T0MRHe

There’s some great free yoga on YouTube. Check out Yoga with Adriene here: https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE
https://chrisbello.com/ 

READ THE BLOG POST
https://chrisbello.com/my-morning-routine 

SUBSCRIBE TO ME ON YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCecn7bkCgNHkrjvMo6rThuw?view_as=subscriber 

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM
https://www.instagram.com/chrisbello09/ 

Read More
Blog Posts

Go all in on your passion

I had a chance to catch up with a buddy from high school who started a company a few years ago. I have followed him on social media and seen the progress and growth, so I wanted to reach out and pick his brain for my audience.

Ricky talks about going all in on his passion, following his dream and taking action even when those closest to him tried to talk him out of it.

Sometimes, growth is uncomfortable, and you have to get yourself into that place to push yourself and get to the next level.

Check out the video and podcast for more!

Check out the video

Listen to the podcast



CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE
https://chrisbello.comR

SUBSCRIBE TO ME ON YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCecn7bkCgNHkrjvMo6rThuw?view_as=subscriber 

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM
https://www.instagram.com/chrisbello09/ 



Read More
Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast

Go all in on your passion with Ricky Watson – EMP065

This episode features an interview with a buddy I know from high school, Ricky Watson, and his company, Product of Society.

Ricky talks about going ALL IN on your passion and following what feels right to you, even when friends or family don’t understand your reasoning or try to talk you out of it.

Listen to the podcast

In this episode, Ricky talks about:

  • Following your passions even when family may not agree with your decisions
  • Balancing a full-time job while growing your own business on the side
  • The satisfaction of positively impacting others with the information you provide
  • How we are a product of our environment
  • How content such as blogs and podcasts are our generations “hieroglyphs” and leave our mark
  • How you can always learn something from any job and from customers and people you interact with
  • Motivation, hustle and grit supersedes intelligence
  • Your phone is a computer. You have so many opportunities today that your parents did not have.

Product Of Society Links

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE
https://chrisbello.com 

READ THE BLOG POST
https://chrisbello.com/go-all-in 

SUBSCRIBE TO ME ON YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCecn7bkCgNHkrjvMo6rThuw?view_as=subscriber 

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM
https://www.instagram.com/chrisbello09/ 

Read More
Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast

The importance of data with Grant Nichols – EMP064

Data is very important in any business or endeavor. It’s great to follow your gut instinct, but at the end of the day, I want to see numbers.

Today’s interview features Grant Nichols, a co-founder of BluWave Analytics, who focuses on data analytics for clients.

In this episode, Grant will talk about:

  • How they were profitable on their first month of launching
  • Making sure you are at the right networking events
  • The importance of bouncing ideas off of mentors
  • How failing is okay
  • Creating a team that complements each other

“You can’t manage what you can’t measure.” – Peter Drucker

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE
https://chrisbello.com/ 

READ THE BLOG POST
https://chrisbello.com/importance-of-data

SUBSCRIBE TO ME ON YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCecn7bkCgNHkrjvMo6rThuw?view_as=subscriber 

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM
https://www.instagram.com/chrisbello09/ 

Read More
Blog Posts

The importance of data with Grant Nichols

Data is very important in any business or endeavor. It’s great to follow your gut instinct, but at the end of the day, I want to see numbers. 

You may have heard the Peter Drucker quote that “you can’t manage what you can’t measure.” If you’re not measuring, how do you know if you are progressing? You might be doing a bunch of work that you think will move the needle, when in fact you are spinning your wheels and stuck in place. 

If you’ve ever done a workout program, you’ll notice that you’re encouraged to constantly take measurements and progress pictures so you can see how you’re doing. At a minimum, most programs will tell you to take measurements on the first day and on the last day of the program. 

Check out the video

Metrics in that area would include body fat percentage, how many pounds were lost, and how many inches you dropped on your waistline. You can’t just “guess” your way into shape. Similarly, trying to guess your way to success in business or other endeavors will likely end in frustration and failure.

I recorded a discussion with Grant Nichols, a co-founder of BluWave Analytics, who focuses on data analytics for clients. In our discussion, Grant gives a lot of great tips for beginner entrepreneurs and talks about how his company makes sense of data for clients. 

I brought up my previous experience in oil & gas, where we’d have a report spit out 70+ columns of information from various reports… that data essentially would mean NOTHING until it was organized it in a way that told a story. 

Once you create a view such as a chart or table that makes sense of the data, the picture can be painted. Is a certain product line profitable or is it losing money? What does the trend look like weekly? Monthly? Year over year? 

Once you’re measuring and you know what the current story shows, you can implement tactical changes in your game plan and then continue to track progress. Maybe what you’re trying isn’t working, and it might be time to change the strategy a bit. Then give it some time and track results. 

Think about this seriously. What data do you have available to you now that you are not taking full advantage of? Is there anything you have no visibility on that you should be tracking? If so, consider creating a database to track key metrics. Even if you have to manually track to start, just do something. 

Ideally, tracking of data should be automated to reduce human error, but at the very least have some sort of Excel file. As you grow, you can invest in tools that collect data and allow you to export into a .CSV file to slice and dice. 

For example, I use Zoho CRM to track real estate leads. I enter in all sorts of information such as client first and last name, address of the home, asking price, repair estimate, lead status, etc. 

I can export all the lead data at any given point in time and then analyze from there to see which leads are still open, which ones I thought were done deals that fell through, etc.

If you try to juggle every important metric in your memory alone, you’ll likely be leaving a lot of money and opportunities on the table.

In any case, make sure to check out the video or listen to the podcast, and feel free to post any comments or questions below! 

In this episode, Grant will talk about:

  • How they were profitable on their first month of launching
  • Making sure you are at the right networking events
  • The importance of bouncing ideas off of mentors
  • How failing is okay
  • Creating a team that complements each other

“You can’t manage what you can’t measure.” – Peter Drucker

Listen to the podcast

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE
https://chrisbello.com/ 

SUBSCRIBE TO ME ON YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCecn7bkCgNHkrjvMo6rThuw?view_as=subscriber 

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM
https://www.instagram.com/chrisbello09/ 

Read More
Blog Posts

Set and Achieve your 2019 Goals with 1 simple step

2019 is upon us! That said, if there was just 1 step to follow in order to crush your goals, it would be to TRACK them.

For the longest time, I never had set goals for myself. Sure, I had a general idea of what I needed to do in life, but I didn’t really think about the future or what I wanted.

This was basically my plan, and I did a pretty good job of checking things off the list:

  • Graduate from high school: check.
  • Graduate from college and get a degree: check.
  • Land a “good” job with an “above average” starting salary: check.

Check out the video

That was basically it. I just showed up to work every day, did a few things here and there, and came home. I made dinner, went to the gym, then I would repeat.

THAT WAS GOING TO BE MY LIFE FOREVER. 3 and a half years in, I began to realize that I hated coming in to work. I would wake up and literally not want to get out of bed.

I was not motivated or excited to go to pointless meetings and talk to people about their stupid custom report they made in Excel.

For those who follow my story, I quit that job shortly after and began to pursue a life on my own terms, doing things that interest me.

While it has not been easy, the journey has been so worth it. I’m not where I want to be but I’m figuring out how to get there and getting in the same room as people who are in places I want to be.

So that’s where I’m at now… I’ve got huge goals that I have set for myself. I have taken the time to define 5 year goals, my 2019 goals, and even my monthly goals. I have a few free tracking files you can access here if you want to see if they work for you.

My 5 year goals (target completion date: November 8, 2023)

  • $10,000,000 net worth
  • $1,000,000 annual income
  • 500,000 units of my invention sold
  • 100,000 podcast downloads / month
  • $10,000 passive income / month
  • 500 skydives completed
  • 200 tunnel hours completed
  • 50 unit apartment complex
  • 10 rental homes
  • 5 published / self-published books
  • 4 domestic trips / year
  • 4 house flips / year
  • 2 international trips / year

I have “micro” goals as well that get more granular for 2019, but ultimately those “5 year goals” are the huge ones that will help in several areas.

For example, building passive income to $10K / month will make potentially expensive hobbies like skydiving and traveling a lot no big deal.

Here are a few of my 2019 goals, which I’m tracking with those files I mentioned earlier (I have goals I want to hit on average per month):

  • Complete a morning routine (goal: 20 times / month)
  • Exercise (goal: 20 times / month)
  • Reading (goal: 10,000 pages / year)
  • Real estate deals (goal: 4 deals / month)
  • Charity of time or money (goal: 20 times / month)
  • Dinner dates with my girlfriend (goal: 2 times / month)
  • Grow my podcast (goal: 3000 new subscribers / month)
  • Units of my product sold (goal: 2000 units / month)
  • Travel (goal: 4 domestic trips / year and 2 international trips / year)

Notice how my 2019 goals align with my 5 year plan. I am doing things to move the needle on all fronts, plus some.

I have a few extra goals that are not listed above, but these are some of the main ones I wanted to share.

What are your goals? Really take time to define them. After all, without a road map, how will you know where to go?

Listen to the podcast

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE
https://chrisbello.com/ 

SUBSCRIBE TO ME ON YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCecn7bkCgNHkrjvMo6rThuw?view_as=subscriber 

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM
https://www.instagram.com/chrisbello09/ 

Read More
Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast

Set and Achieve your 2019 Goals with 1 simple step – EMP063

If there was just 1 step needed to conquer 2019 goals, it would be to TRACK THEM. 

This is assuming you already have goals set… if not, take a step back and get that done first. Once you have goals set, you need a way to track them and measure your progress. 

I have created 2 free tools that I am using and am giving away if you’re interested. Just go to www.chrisbello.com/2019 to access them. 

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE
https://chrisbello.com/ 

READ THE BLOG POST
https://chrisbello.com/2019-goals

SUBSCRIBE TO ME ON YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCecn7bkCgNHkrjvMo6rThuw?view_as=subscriber 

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM
https://www.instagram.com/chrisbello09/ 

Read More
Productivity

The best FREE tools to track your 2019 Goals

Whew, what a ride! 2018 is quickly winding down and 2019 is right around the corner. How was your 2018? Did it go according to plan? Did you exceed your goals? Did you fall a bit short? 

Hopefully you at least HAD some set goals. If not, you’re going to want to set goals in 2019 to get the most out of yourself and be able to track and measure your progress. Goals are your road map… if you don’t set any, you’ll wander around aimlessly through life.

I have 2 freebies for you that are going to take your year and goals to the NEXT LEVEL. I think these are the best free tools to track your 2019 goals out there. Okay… I’m a little biased since I made them and have used them myself. But they are free, so no complaining allowed!

I’ve tried various things out there: planners, apps, sticky notes, you name it. But I decided to finally create something that I wanted to use and that I could take everywhere easily (by having the tools saved on Google Drive).

When you access the files, first make sure to click on FILE and then MAKE A COPY to save them in your personal Google Drive.

Simply drop your email in the form below to get the tools emailed to you completely for free. These tools have truly transformed my life and help  me stay focused on fewer, mission critical tasks. Note that it may take a few minutes for you to receive the email, and please be sure to check your spam folder in case it somehow ends up there. 

As Brendon Burchard mentions in his book High Performance Habits,
“I can’t tell you how many high performers lose their perch at the top because of the inevitable distraction that comes from unfocused efforts.” 





2019 GoalTracker

This GoalTracker file is something my accountability partner and I first created back in March 2018. We started to track our goals and keep each other accountable. There’s a sheet for you to put in your goals, and then another for your accountability partner if you choose to have one (I highly recommend finding someone to hold you to your goals!). 

There’s even space to comment on each others’ goals so you can push each other or ask clarifying questions. 

Here’s the steps on how to use the file:


Step 1: Access the 2019 GoalTracker file and MAKE A COPY to save to your personal Google Drive.


Step 2: Go to the “annual goals” tab and fill in your section (at the top). There’s space at the bottom for an accountability partner if you want to have one.




Your annual goals will automatically populate at the top of the first sheet (Named Chris’ goals in the template).

Step 3: Now you simply fill in your weekly and daily goals every single week.


Step 4: Select “win” or “Loss” next to your goals every day at the end of the day and week. Be honest. A win means you did it or took action on it. A loss means you didn’t.


If you get 3 wins in a day, you win the day. If you win 4 days out of the 7, you win the week.

Remember that success comes from consistency over time. The more days you win, the better, but as long as you are winning more often than not, you’ll make progress.


Step 5: As the week progress, highlight all the rows from the previous week, right click, and then click “hide.” This way you can start up at the current week every time you open the file, but you can still unhide rows to review past progress if you want to.


2019 Daily Task Log

This task log is something I just created this month and started to use. It really breaks down your overall goals so that you can see how you’re doing and if you are on track or if you need to pick up the pace.

Here’s my recommended steps to use this tool:

Step 1: Access the Daily Task Log and MAKE A COPY to save to your personal Google Drive. 

Step 2: Insert categories in row 8 for each goal. A few examples I used include: Self-improvement, Real Estate Deals Completed, Savings, and Income. 

Step 3: Enter in specific activities in row 9. A few examples I used are: Morning routine, real estate deals completed, and number of times I have exercised a month.  

Step 4: Insert a numbered goal in row 10. Make it something you can track!

“Get swole” or “lose weight” are not good goals. Make it something like “10” to represent the pounds of muscle you want to add in a year or the amount of fat you want to trim. 

Step 5: Update unit of measure for the goal in row 11.

For example, my goal is to work out 20 times a month. When it comes to travel, I want to do 2 international trips per year

Step 6: There are formulas in rows 12 through 16, so you can leave those as is.

The formulas will calculate what you are tracking to hit per month and year and if you are planning to hit the goal or if need to pick up the pace.

Step 7: If you need additional columns, just copy existing ones and paste to the end of the table so that all the formulas and layout stays the same.

Step 8: Check out the sample tab to see a few examples filled in for inspiration and to see the formulas in action. 

So, what do you think about these tools? Let me know in the comments section below. 

Any feedback or suggestions for improvement is welcome. These are the best tools I’ve used so far, but I am always open to improving and iterating further.



Read More
Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast

The power of messenger bots and why your business needs them with Robert Charles (EMP062)

Robert Charles is an entrepreneur based in Houston, TX. He tells his story about pursuing a career as a police officer but quickly realizing that it was not for him.

His company, BotMechanix, builds Facebook Messenger bots for companies and entrepreneurs to more efficiently capture leads and interact with customers.

For our guests, Robert has offered to build a FREE messenger bot. Just let him know you heard of him on the Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast.

Website: https://www.botmechanix.com/bots 

Email: [email protected]  

Link for a free bot – https://m.me/OfficialBotMechanix?ref=w4153873

Listen to the podcast:

In this episode you will learn:

– Pursuing a dream and career as a police officer

– What Robert did after leaving the police force

– How Robert built and sold a drone company called Space City Drones. He did over $100K in 11 months and the business was acquired. This really fueled his entrepreneurial drive.

– Robert talks about his current venture, BotMechanix and what he is up to now.

– Big companies that use messenger bots

– Companies that benefit from messenger bots

– How messenger bots reduce friction with customers

– #1 benefit of bots: speed of response

– Open rates of email versus messenger bots

– Books that Robert is currently reading and recommends to increase your sales and leads

– Robert’s offer to our audience. Get a free bot sequence built out! Tell Robert you heard of him on this podcast.

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE
https://chrisbello.com/

SUBSCRIBE TO ME ON YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCecn7bkCgNHkrjvMo6rThuw?view_as=subscriber 

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM
https://www.instagram.com/chrisbello09/


Read More