The golden blog about health, wealth and life success strategies aimed at helping you to create an abundant, healthy and fulfilling life!

Press play to listen to a message from West.

Author Archive for West Loh

How To Get Interviews From Wildly Wealthy and Successful People

Published by West Loh on March 11, 2010 in Secrets to Success and Uncategorized. 1 Comment

Lately I’ve been asked alot how I got to interview so many great experts.

If you’ve never heard of me before, I’ve interviewed over 30 gurus and experts in all areas including, bestselling authors, movie stars, investors, business owners, speakers and more from all over the world. The beautiful thing is, when I first started nobody had ever heard of me. So, how did I manage to score so many high profile interviewees?

I’ll share some of my insights with you in this article.

First, start by practising with one of your friends. Watch Oprah. Watch Barbara Walters. Or any other well respected interviewer you like, and see how they seamlessly carry on a flowing conversation without really knowing much about the topic at all!

mics

Once you’re confident you can start the following process

STEP 1: Shortlist some people you’d like to start interviewing. Start small to begin and work your way up. Trying to get Bill Gates for your first interview is not going to happen!

STEP 2: Create a private interview invitation page, where you have either shot a personal video or audio introducing yourself and what you do.

STEP 3: Sell them what THEY will get as part of the interview. I’ve never paid for my interviews but I give them a fully edited copy of the interview with master rights once it’s done. All they have to do is spend the time to record it, and they don’t have to worry about editing, rendering, mixing etc. It’s a pretty good deal!

STEP 4: When contacting them, cite something personal you’ve noticed about them, their site, their message. Blanket invitations will get you nowhere fast!

STEP 5: As you build up some momentum, use the combined pulling power of the people you’ve interviewed as credibility. When people see you’ve interviewed best selling authors, property tycoons, well known business leaders, they often feel honoured to be asked and can’t wait to be interviewed!

STEP 6: Do your homework! Research their message, their last few blog posts and some of their products. Write out every question you think would be valuable to ask then shortlist. The better prepared you are, the more content you’ll be able to get out of them!

STEP 7: Have Fun! Be yourself and be relaxed. My best interviews have come when I pretended I was having a ‘cup of coffee’ with that person. My worst ones came when I was too ’structured’ and stayed reading my questions.

Some other things you need to know

* To protect yourself, always make sure you record the agreement/permission to record (before or after the interview), or get written permission.

* You can use the phone and record onto your computer from there, but I prefer using skype (pamela for pc and call recorder for mac) and I also have a backup line - my mobile (if my internet cuts out) which I can record directly onto my mac (with wiretap studio).

* To edit the audios I use a fantastic free program that my good friends Gideon Shalwick and Yaro Starak also recommend, audacity.

* My microphone of choice is the rode podcaster mic. It gives studio quality sound and a although its not cheap, if you are serious about creating some quality products, it retails for around $250-$300.

I’ll be sharing more tips and strategies in the future on this topic, plus some of my best interviews. So check back often!

Happy interviewing!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed! Subscribe to our RSS feed!

Using Facebook For Personal or Profit?

Published by West Loh on March 9, 2010 in Social Media. 1 Comment

You’ve probably heard it time and time again - “How do I demarcate between my personal life and business life on Facebook?”

It’s a very good question. And from the experts I’ve interviewed, a difficult one to answer.

In a perfect world, everyone would have a detailed business plan on their Facebook strategy before they signed up. But things don’t work that way, and that’s why you’ll find many entrepreneurs, actors, leaders and generally ‘famous’ people have varying degrees of usage.

You’ll often find yourself shocked at what one of your ‘professional’ colleagues post, or even super impressed with another’s skill or talent or travel adventures. Boundaries are crossed left right and centre. And there are people judging you - for better or worse - all the time.

There are some who use Facebook purely for business purposes. Every post, every photo, every link is painfully scrutinised. If it doesn’t in some way establish that person’s message or branding or business, it just doesn’t make the cut.

This is all good and fine, but unfortunately any close friends and family who find them, are just going to be treated like another ‘customer’.

Then there are those who use Facebook purely for personal reasons, and meticulously accept or deny friend requests based on whether they know you personally or not. Everything and anything shared is something they’d tell or show their own mother at the dinner table.

For these people who also own businesses, they are missing out on a massive publicity and lead generation machine, not to mention all the incredible relationships out there waiting to be monetised.

The Third category is one 95% (probably more) fall into. And that’s a mix of personal and business. Recently I decided to do some statistics on a few of my ‘guru’ friends on Facebook and found 9 out of 10 had a completely mixed presence. They usually had photos and videos of their partners, kids, house, holidays as well as large promotional messages and events from their businesses and websites.

Is there a right or wrong?

Let me be the first to say that I am not preaching to you, because I face these very same issues. Almost everywhere I go, people tell me how much they’ve enjoyed my holiday adventures and some of the more private things I’ve shared. But they also enjoy my quotes, my insights and if you’re reading this, my blog posts.

Facebook does have a heavy emphasis on privacy, and some of its features allow for you to control who sees what, create groups of people and limit other groups. I’ve yet to see anyone who has truly mastered this (and preferably automated it!) though.

According to Alexa, Facebook is the second most visited site on the internet, which has some seriously important implications for you.

I think it would be highly advantageous to do a ONE PAGE business plan for your Facebook strategy, briefly outlining your vision, mission, strategies, outcomes and action plan steps. It will give you some clarity moving ahead. Share it with your partner and see what feedback they have. Then ask your best professional mentors and colleagues. You’ll be surprised at what they say when you ask.

And never forget, at the end of the day, Facebook is just one channel for your message, personal or professional. It really can’t beat good quality face to face or even phone contact.

If you enjoyed this article or would like to hear more of my insights on Facebook, please leave a comment!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed! Subscribe to our RSS feed!

A Major Lesson From My Interviews with Multi-Millionaires

Published by West Loh on March 3, 2010 in Uncategorized. 6 Comments

Last weekend I was at a party and got round to meeting some of the esteemed guests there.

I got speaking to a store owner who owned one of Brisbane’s boutique cake shops. After pleasantries were exchanged, she asked me some of the things I did, and I ended up telling her about some of the incredible interviews with wealthy people I’ve done lately. I told her I’ve done close to 30 interviews now, from people ranging in net worth from $1 - $50 million dollars.

She was very interested and realised the scale of wisdom I’ve been priviledged to encounter. What came next really got me thinking:

“West, tell me one thing that you would say is the major distinction you’ve observed that distinguishes these people from the rest.”

I thought to myself: “Great question!!”

My answer surprised even me. And although I don’t think it’s the all encompassing answer, it certainly is right up there in my reflections of the key traits.

I explained that in today’s markets, regardless of the industry, you’re going to get bombarded with information overload. Massively so. And its dead easy to get lost in it and never get started. It’s even easier to convince yourself that while you’re consuming more information, you’re doing yourself a favour.

But here’s where you’re dead wrong.

Many people I interviewed were very strategic with their learning. Why? Because most of the time, they were on the playing field, PLAYING. Their lessons came not from a book, audio or dvd seminar, but from putting their ego on the line and testing it out in a real world scenario.

They would be LASER focused on their target, and not chop and change. And for the most part, they didn’t ‘accumulate’ masses of materials.

Hearing this come from my own mouth was a bit of a kick up the ass for myself; I only have to look at my library, DVD collections and hard drives to see the reams and reams of stuff I have, that I know I’ll NEVER EVER consume, not in this or in the next 10 lifetimes.

One millionaire said he says NO to everything except ONE project for 3-6 month periods. Gets exceptional results then moves on. Another finds an expert or successful person in that field and does what they do, not READS about what they do (big distinction).

So, the next time you signup for a seminar, email list or purchase a program, have a hard think about whether it’s deadly accurately related to your journey, and if not - DITCH it. Start taking action instead of the time you’d use to ‘learn’!

I’ll be sharing more insights about my interviews so please check back regularly.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed! Subscribe to our RSS feed!

How The UFC and its Fighters Push Their Boundaries & How You Can Too!

Published by West Loh on February 18, 2010 in Health and Fitness. 0 Comments

I’m super pumped. Why?
Because the UFC will be in Australia this weekend for UFC 110.

You might think I’ll be there at Acer Arena to witness is, but I won’t. You see, tickets were literally sold within hours of the pre-release! So, hell yes I was bummed. Tickets are now going for upwards of $600 on eBay. Now THAT is a market, and its easy to see why MMA is undisputedly the fastest growing sport on the planet.

The UFC organise events every 2-3 weeks, enough to keep their fans satiated, but still leaving them wanting more. They’ve branched out all over the world and audiences are clambering to get in to their events, which almost always sell out. And not only that, some of the PPV numbers are just massive, rivalling and even surpassing other sports like boxing and football. They are growing so fast it will be interesting to see how the organisation handles the growth, and how its president Dana White handles his time. Right now it seems he’s everywhere - choosing and cutting fighters, doing deals with venues, and even making appearances on the hit tv show ‘Ultimate Fighter’. As the UFC gets bigger and bigger he will definitely have let some of this stuff go if the company is to grow without a bottleneck.

Now let’s look at the fighters. First I want to preface this by saying I’m an exercise physiologist/scientist and have worked with many elite athletes. When I look at a UFC fighter, it amazes me as to how extreme their sport is. So lets take a look at how the best athletes prepare, and how you can take those same lessons and apply it in your business.

box Before a fight, they usually take 4-6 weeks of their lives and commit to a training ‘camp’. This removes them totally from their normal daily routines and people and FORCES them to train, eat, sleep and recover. They also strategise and watch footage of their opponent, putting together a strategy to beat them.

How does this apply to you?
Do you find your productivity explodes when you have a deadline? When you’ve made it public and other people expect a good performance from you? If you answered yes, and you KNOW this works for you, why not turn all your projects into 4-6 week ‘camps’, make yourself accountable and get a great team on board?

box The best fighters spend their camps training at the best academies available - Chute Box, AKA, Miletich, Team Quest and Greg Jackson to name a few. Here’s a beehive where the only other bees you bump into are killer bees. Guys that are way better than you and push you time and time again until your altitude can’t help but rise. GSP (one of the best pound for pound fighters on the planet) said after his 4 round mauling of BJ Penn: “my training was so hard, the fight was easy”.

How does this apply to you? Are you surrounding yourself with people who beat YOU up? Or are you comfortable…..? Do you have access to business minds that help expand your context? Fellow entrepreneurs that inspire you with great ideas? You don’t have to find the worlds best organisations to push you. There are people who excel in your circle of influence right now. Hang out with them!

box This blows me away. The term MIXED martial arts is just that: a melting pot of fused disciplines that a fighter can draw on to submit, knock out or defeat their opponent. There is Jiu Jitsu, Boxing, Muay Thai, Wrestling, Judo to name a few. Some fighters are incredibly gifted and good in all areas, although the top of the foodchain fighters are exceptional in 1 or 2 disciplines.

How does this apply to you? Are you spreading yourself too thin by trying to be a master of everything in your business? Just like UFC fighters do, you’ll get beaten up in business if you try this strategy. Focus on the stuff you’re good at. Then get BETTER at it, and find a team to help you with the stuff that you aren’t good at.

With that being said, any fight could end with a lucky punch. And just like in business sometimes things are unpredictable. But every fighter has gotten back up to fight another day. And you should too!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed! Subscribe to our RSS feed!

A Leave of Absence & my Sincere Apologies!

Published by West Loh on February 17, 2010 in Secrets to Success. 2 Comments

Hello my friends!
It seems like an eternity since I last wrote….. on my own blog!

I was thinking the other day, I am supposedly an online marketer, a person who people come to for advise and opportunities online, and I haven’t even kept an up to date blog.

It’s actually rather embarrassing and totally unacceptable, and so in 2010 I commit to my readers to write on a regular basis!

I haven’t been sitting down twiddling my thumbs though. Lots has happened since my last post from UPW.

Here are some of the highlights since last post:

bullet I attended Tony’s bigger, more detailed seminar “Date with Destiny”, over 6 days and nights at the Conrad Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast. This was even more powerful than UPW, and allowed me to examine my rules for life and my rules for certain emotions. Tony’s endurance and energy was not human. It was supposedly his last trip ever to Australia, so I had to capitalise. It was worth every $ I spent (I bought a front row ticket).

bullet I’ve travelled. ALOT. Saw parts of the world that gave me a different perspective on life. I visited France, Vietnam, Scotland, Ireland, London, Indonesia and Malaysia. Each country was so different from the last.

bullet I’ve been attending lots of events. Although lately I’ve gotten super picky which events I attend. Mainly events with a marketing/internet or business focus, or an event I know there’ll be some quality people there. My days of learning will never end, however rather than stay a serial learner, I transitioning to a serial DOER. Feels great.

bullet I’ve forged some great relationships and met some fantastic people along the way. People who are doing big things, and doing them well. Really well. However, its no good being a contact people know and respect, if you can’t find a way to monetise those relationships (mutually beneficial of course).

bullet Social Networking has come a long way since we last spoke. Facebook and Twitter have continued to grow exponentially, and used more and more creatively by everyone and anyone. I’ve been quite active there, often too much so. But I have built a solid profile and all my ‘friends’ know who I am and get a little peek into my private life. This may be invaluable later on as I move forward with my projects.

bullet I’ve continued to consume great products to improve the mind - reading, listening, watching. There are some genius brains on this planet and its a pleasure to be able to access some of their wisdom when my body is occupied but my mind is free (namely, when I’m cooking/driving/working out or showering!)

bullet Its been a crazy journey but this year I have managed to laser my focus down to 3 projects, a far cry from the past where I regularly had 10+ things on the go. Learning to say NO was the best thing that ever happened to me, and you should adopt it too. You’ll hear more from me about my ventures through this blog (good thing this is one of them!!)

Thanks for dropping by again, and I look forward to providing you with many more entertaining, informative, inspiring, educational and value-adding posts this year!

This is West Signing off for now. Cheers!
west

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed! Subscribe to our RSS feed!