How to Create PRO$PERITY

From What You Already Do

ANGELA DiCARLO, MBAMaster of Being Alive

An insider’s guide to building a profitable career, a satisfying business, improving your life and winning like the big guys

even if you are a one person operation.

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© Copyright 2012, Angela DiCarlo. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval systems, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,

photocopy, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from Angela DiCarlo, with the exception of short excerpts used with acknowledgement of the author. Photos taken by author or purchased on various stock photography sites. Contact the author at success@ceossecretweapon.com or (858) 412-7738.

Order additional copies at www.CEOsSecretWeapon.com.

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Welcome

This hands-on guide will help you map out key elements to move forward now.

Do you have a big idea that you want to build and make money from but don’t know how?

“MAN HAS AN INHERENT POWER BY WHICH HE MAY GROW IN WHATEVER

DIRECTION HE PLEASES. THERE DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE ANY LIMIT TO THE

POSSIBILITIES OF HIS GROWTH.”

Wallace D. WattlesThe Science of Being Great

Preface

Every day, a new idea comes around that could change

the world, your world. Sometimes an idea is so big that it

drives that person to create a business, your business. But no

matter how big or amazing the idea is; every business faces

the reality of ups and downs. There are market changes,

unexpected setbacks, product recalls, cash flow issues,

economic catastrophes and more. Despite these setbacks,

there are still businesses making a profit and some are

pumping out hundreds, thousands and millions in profits

from their business today.

If you know an entrepreneur who has succeeded, then

you know they did not do it all alone. They had resources.

Whether they were family, friends, books, seminars,

assistants, coaches, consultants, investors or mentors, they

had resources. The idea was born and it was important

enough that they worked hard despite whatever obstacles

were in front of them to make it a reality.

Once you find the big idea that gets you excited enough

to build a business, what do you need to do to keep it alive?

How do you find the resources you need to build it, the

market to buy it, the branding to make it recognizable, the

strength to stay focused, and the power within to survive the

ups and downs that make or break a business so you can

fulfill your dreams?

It can be relatively easy to get started in business, but

when an obstacle pops up or success does not come as

quickly as expected, many business owners hang up their

hats. They go back to their comfort zones of a job or retreat

into a hideaway until the next big idea is born.

While retreating back into your comfort zone may

provide temporary relief, it will not make you successful or

rich. So how is it that some entrepreneurs seem to flourish

effortlessly? What is their “secret weapon?” More important,

how can you use it to build a healthy, successful business

balanced with a profitable, happy and healthy life?

This book is intended to work like a “Choose Your Own

Adventure” book. During my youth, I loved to get deep

inside the many layers of Choose Your Own Adventure

books. They were amazing and powerful because you created

the story. You chose where you went next. Still today, I rarely

read books straight from front to back. I often randomly

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open the book or flip to the section from the table of

contents that had what I needed and I focused in on that.

You can read straight through or flip around to where you

need the most help now.

There are exercises throughout this guide that you can

do as needed to strategize, strengthen and thrive. I

recommend creating a folder or notebook specifically for this

book where you can keep all your files on hand. There are

also a few pages for notes throughout and at the end of this

book. Feel free to use them anytime an idea pops up that will

get you closer to your goals.

One visual image that works well for me is to imagine

ideas like bubbles floating around in the air. A bubble starts

as a thin almost invisible layer like a concept or idea

beginning to form. Then energy is added to the bubble in the

form of air being blown into the bubble. It grows bigger and

clearer until it breaks free from the bubble maker and floats

into the air. It glimmers like a rainbow in the sunlight for a

brief period. Then just as quickly as it appears, pop, it

disappears. While the bubble is forming, you can see the

colors, the size, and the potential. Once released the idea

floats around the air, and then, POP, the bubble is gone.

Imagine that an idea formed and floated around like a

bubble. Oftentimes an idea makes itself visible and totally

clear for a brief moment. Then just as quickly as it appeared,

like a bubble, the idea can disappear.

How does that relate to business? Sometimes, we see

the picture of what we want so clearly and then past

experience distorts the image, memories of failures or fear of

change burst the bubble. If we could re-capture that idea of

why we got into business in the first place, then we can turn

an idea into a passion.

There is a principle that my good friend Mick Moore,

the Internet Entrepreneur and author of Home Business

Success Kit, was telling me a story about called the 48-hour

effect where he described how an idea must be captured

within a certain point from when they appear or they may be

lost forever…or at least until someone else seizes the idea and

makes it their own.

If you have your idea or you are already in business,

then you may want to know how to grow your business by

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unlocking the code to success (chapter 1), creating a clear

picture for yourself of what you want to happen (chapter 2),

effectively finding a hot market (chapter 5 bonus), and the

knowing the importance of keeping a bird’s eye view of your

business with an end goal in mind (chapter 7). Plus, you can

clearly provide that focused picture to the people who matter

the most (chapter 3). Of course you will want to share your

message clearly with your employees and buyers (chapter 6).

Whichever chapter you start with, you are on your way to

success (chapter 8).

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Chapter 1

“If one advances confidently in the direction of

their dreams, and endeavors to live the life they

imagined, they will meet with a success unexpected

in common hours...If you have built castles in the

air, your work need not be lost: that is where they

should be. Now put the foundations under them.”

UNLOCKING THE CODE

Henry David ThoreauWalden

How are some people successful in business and others can

barely get off the starting line?

Have you ever felt like you just cannot get to the next step?

Have you ever gone to a business event and seen the same people

over and over again? It seemed like some of them just are not

making any real progress. Have you ever wondered if they looked

at you and thought the same thing? Well, if you have been doing

the same things over and over again expecting different results,

then it may be a good time to take a lesson from the ones who are

successful today. 

Why are some people doing so well right now? And how can

you be like them?

Having coached hundreds of clients from brand new startups

to multi-million dollar Fortune companies, there are some striking

similarities between those who succeed and those who get stuck in

a rut. Would you like to learn what they are? I did too. So I took

the time to follow top producing sales people and business owners

around to see what separated them from the average

businessperson to learn what they did to succeed.

After numerous interviews, I found the same thing over and

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BIG IDEAS PRINCIPLE

What has kept people from getting what they want?

1. Not having a game plan.

2. Trying to do everything alone and not having mentors.

3. Having a poor relationship with money.

4. Not acting or behaving as a top performer.

5. Being surrounded by naysayers.

6. Harboring fear of success, fear of change or fear of failure.

7. Thinking that it is too hard to reach the right decision makers.

8. Treating their goals as if they were someday far off in the future.

9. Allowing busywork to stop them from doing productive things.

10. Not being fully committed to their passions and goals.

over again.  They work.  It is that simple. As Rory Vaden

mentions in his New York Times Best Selling book released

in 2012 Take The Stairs, “Top producers do the hard things

that average producers do not want to do.”

So do you just need to work harder? Well, not really.

First, they defined what it is they do best. Then, they created

a game plan to accomplish those goals. Then, they enlisted

the help and expertise of those who knew more than they did

to flesh out their plan. Then, they started calling on their

market to see if there were any buyers. As they proved their

business model was a valid one, they started working. And

they worked a lot. 

I found that Top Producers worked at least 40 hours a

week on their business. They were not going to luncheons or

networking events unless they had a specific goal they were

looking to achieve or a specific person to connect with. They

were on the phones or putting people on the phones to

prospect and build their business. They were prospecting,

visiting leads and converting them into clients. They were

hiring professionals to manage and build the parts of the

business that they did not know how to do or knew that

someone else could do for them.  They asked for referrals

and stayed in contact with their buying clients. They created

jobs for others by employing people. They had a very

targeted work schedule that helped them accomplish and

exceed their goals.

Most of these people were highly revered by others for

how successful they were. 

When I went to their offices to meet with them in

person, their offices did not look much different than anyone

elses.  They still had their computer, their stack of work, their

phone, their calendar, and constant interruptions by others.

 As an outsider, one would never know the difference

between this person who was building a successful empire

and someone who was just pushing paper around.

Not, at least, until you listened to them. On the phone,

there was minimal chatter and issues on the calls were

resolved by setting up a next step or an appointment to

confirm a detail. Their email was piled as high as anyone

else, but it was based on putting out valid information and

getting quick or accurate responses. Their voicemails

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instructed callers on how often they checked their messages

and what was the quickest way to get a response from them.

Some people instructed their callers to send emails, others

instructed to send text messages.

Let’s turn the focus to you now. Where in your life are

you letting unnecessary “work” slow down your progress?

What actions suck up the majority of your working day?  Are

these the things that will make you money or cost you

money? Do you find yourself busy pushing around

paperwork or responding to unimportant emails?  

What would happen if you gained back one “working

hour” and turned it into one “income-producing hour?”

Think about how that one shift could change your income

over the next month, or perhaps over the next year. What

would that be worth to you?

BIG IDEAS PRINCIPLE

What has brought people to their goals?

1.Setting goals, making mini commitments and having accountability in place.

2.Finding support through mentors and a community of like-minded people.

3.Developing a good relationship with money and monitoring its use.

4.Looking and acting the part they want to be in the future today.

5.Being able to ask for help even on things that are uncomfortable.

6.Surrounding themselves with positive enforcement tools like vision boards.

7.Actively networking with targeted business connections.

8.Taking action immediately and making the most important calls first and often.

9.Proactively scheduling activities into their day that get them closer to their goals.

10.Loving what they do with a passion for success and improvement.

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Chapter 2

“Productivity is the deliberate, strategic investment of

your time, talent, intelligence, energy, resources and

opportunities in a manner calculated to move you

measurably closer to meaningful goals.”

THE POWER HOUR

Found on a client’s wall during a workshop.

What is one thing that stops you from truly succeeding

today? 

According to the thousands of business owners and sales

professionals for whom I have led training workshops, there

has been an all too prevalent theme that inhibits people from

bringing them the wealth and results they desire. It really

comes down to a few common behaviors that can be really

boiled down to in one word: procrastination.

I gave up procrastination for Lent in 2011. I had never

celebrated Lent before but the timing was right. I thought to

myself, what one thing would I be willing to give up for 40

days? I am pretty healthy so I did not need to cut out any

food or add exercise to my schedule. I did not really have any

bad habits that I could think of. I thought long and hard

about it. I could have thought about it for days. I could have

avoided it altogether as I had done with many other parts of

my life where I could have worked to get to my goals but

found other things to do. Finally, it hit me. I needed to give

up the worst of all habits: Procrastination.

Perhaps you can relate to this. I had become an expert

at avoiding the most important thing I needed to work on. It

did not matter if it was a phone call or a project for a client,

for myself, or just something that needed to get done. I had

become an expert at filling my day with everything but that

one all-important task. So I made a vow to myself that I

would give up procrastination for forty days.

Wow! The transformation was amazing. I started seeing

real results in my personal and business life. I started setting

those important meetings with clients and getting projects

done faster. I wrote out my goal list for the year and starting

crossing it off faster than I imagined. Everything started to

come together in my life. No longer was I lingering on any

one task when I could be getting it done and moving onto the

next thing.

Then I thought if I could blast through this

procrastination thing and see such great success, what else

could I achieve? I made my ability to overcome

procrastination into an action that could be repeated every

day no matter how badly I wanted to avoid that thing that I

had previously delayed on.

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If you have ever given up procrastination for a while,

then you know that procrastination unfortunately, like

addictive behavior, can be an easy habit to slip back into.

Perhaps you can relate to this. Have you ever just

wanted to stay in bed and avoid the world? It can be so easy

to lie in bed for just a few more minutes. It is not that difficult

to justify spending just a couple extra minutes checking social

media sites, which quickly turns into an hour of avoiding that

important task. It can be so easy to swing by the store to pick

something up and lose an hour from the workday.

In order to reinforce the power of life without

procrastination, I scheduled a Power Hour into my day. It did

not matter when I did it. But I found I had the best results

when it was done before noon. Just think about this for a

minute. If you invested one hour in your day tackling that

project you had been avoiding before you take your lunch

break, how great would that feel? From my own experience, I

have to admit that it feels pretty awesome.

Now you are probably wondering what this Power Hour

is. To put it to you straight, this is the one hour that you

buckle yourself into your chair and do what needs to get

done. You do not let distractions, unrelated calls, negative

self-talk, unnecessary breaks, refilling coffee, checking the

internet, unproductive time on social media, grabbing

supplies from the cabinet in the other room, or anything not

directly related to the task.

This sounds easy until you try to do it.

You will be amazed at how many things pop into your

mind during your power hour. One way to overcome this is

to get everything lined up before the power hour. Get your

beverage, go to the restroom, have your list of what needs to

be accomplished in front of you, and put your pets or

children to play or rest in another room where you will not

be distracted. For some people, they have to do this before

the kids get up or others arrive to the office. However it

works for you, try it for one day or one week. Once you see

the results, you will want to do it every day.

In your work area, have a blank sheet of paper and pen

next to you for writing down all the other things that pop into

your head during your power hour. I suggest pen and paper

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because if you are on a computer project, it is easy to get

distracted as you go into another program to jot down a note.

If you are ten minutes into your power hour and you

suddenly realize you need to refill the stapler, then write on

your note sheet to refill the stapler. If you remember fifteen

minutes later that you need to pick up dry cleaning, then

write that down. If you need to pay a bill or call your client,

write that down. If you get up and do the thing that pops

into your head, it will take away from your productivity and

encourages the behavior of procrastination.

Now what would happen if you could add one Power

Hour to your day? One session added where things did not

distract you from your productivity. How much wealth would

adding one power hour to your day create? Hundreds?

Thousands? Millions? 

The Power Hour is easily translated into one dedicated

hour where you put 100% effort into one dedicated task or

project. During this allotted Power Hour, it is possible to

make more progress than a previously “normal” workday.

That one focused hour per day could generate more results

than would often be accomplished in a distracted eight-to-ten

hour day or a forty-to-sixty hour distracted workweek or a

2,000 hour distracted work year.

Consider this for a minute. If you could add one power

hour to each day, how much new business would that

generate for you?  How many more appointments or valuable

meetings would you set? How much additional revenue

would you create?  Your answers to all these questions should

make you want to run to your office chair and start making

some calls, but then, life happens and in turn, nothing

happens for your life or business. Why? Because we are so

great at being busy being busy.

If you could add one power hour to your day, when

could you most easily slip it into your schedule?

For some people, their quietest time is early in the

morning. That is why many managers and business owners

often show up to the office an hour or more before their staff

arrives. If you are in sales and selling to business owners or

managers, this could be prime time for calling them as many

managers do arrive early to the office. For others, they can

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find a quiet hour after they drop their kids off and get back

to their home or office.

Find an hour that works for you and do your first power

hour. If you used to do similar power sessions and had super-

productive times during your day, then this will just be like

exercising a muscle that has gotten out of shape. You will

quickly see results. If this is your first Power Hour, it may

take a few sessions before you can last a whole hour with

concentration. Some people do power sessions of 25 minutes,

then take a five minute break, then do another 25 minute

session. Find what works best for you to get the best results.

It may sound funny reading it, but it can be really hard to

stay focused on the task at hand for one hour. Try it for

yourself. Would now be a good time?

Answer the questions in the following exercise and use

the Power Hour worksheet to track your results. Copy it or

write on it and make it work for you.

EXERCISE

Where in your life are you letting unnecessary “work” slow down your progress?

What actions take up the majority of your working day? Are these the things that will make you money or contribute to your goals? 

How would turning one extra “working hour” per day into one “income-producing hour” change your income over the next month? Repeated consistently over the next year, what would that be worth to you?

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Worksheet: Maximizing THE POWER HOUR

Date: ___________________________ Start time: ___________________________

What I want to accomplish during my Power Hour:

Date: ___________________________ End time: ___________________________

What I did accomplish during my Power Hour:

How I felt after my Power Hour:

Schedule your next Power Hour session:

Next Power Hour Date:__________________ Start Time:_______________________

Goals for next Power Hour:

“The master in the art of living makes little distinction

between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure,

his mind and his body, his education and his recreation,

his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which.

“He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever

he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or

playing. To him he is always doing both.”

ABOUT YOUR AUTHOR

Source attributed commonly to texts from

Zen Buddhism

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A SNAPSHOT OF ANGELA DiCARLO

“If you give me 20 pages to write out my work history, I would ask for more paper.”

Angela DiCarlo, MBA

Author of the book you are reading now :-)

Master of Being Alive

Speaker | Marketer | Life Enhancer | Author | Romantic | Friend

As your author, I can take a step back and let the

biographer take over. Here you go...

Angela DiCarlo, MBA has taught hundreds of programs on

sales training, vision boards, business start up and individual

growth.  She is the founder of CEO’s Secret Weapon and Prosperity

and Friends; both described as innovative personal development

programs. She is an author and keynote speaker with her

signature speech titled “Can you pass the Prosperity Test?”

Angela earned her Master’s degree in Business

Administration from Pepperdine University. She often refers to

the MBA that follows her name as a Master’s in Being Alive.

She was blessed to receive life's golden ticket -- a second chance

-- after surviving a traumatic head injury that lead to a 3-day

coma and changed the course of her life.

ABOUT YOUR AUTHOR

She values getting the most of life since her own near

death experience as well as that of losing her best friend at

the young age of 27. Her life is dedicated to helping

individuals, teams and organizations find their focus, share

their voice, and make greater improvements in the world.

In the corporate world, she helped build hundred

million dollar brands including Balance Bar Company

(famous for its energy bars) now owned by Kraft Foods, as

well as Phone People and eFax.com, now owned by j2 Global

Communications. She has toured the country with

Southwestern Consulting as a professional sales trainer and

works with their Speakers Bureau with New York Times best

selling author of Take The Stairs, Rory Vaden.

Angela's consulting and speaking firm, CEO's Secret

Weapon, was formed to help success-focused businesses

become more successful and help individuals live more

empowered lives.  For her motivational speeches and

programs, Angela was dubbed the "Queen of Focus” by

award winning speaker John-Leslie Brown.

Angela co-founded Life Enhancer Fitness for elementary

school programs incorporating yoga, meditation and exercise

since 2004. She has authored a business start up book for and

consulted clients of the Small Business Development and

International Trade Center for multiple years.

Angela worked in television production on Fox 6 News,

San Diego 6 News, Del Mar TV and American Idol. She

helped produce Static TV, a teen television program dealing

with issues teenagers face in school and life.

Her clients include entrepreneurs and executives from

around the world. Her advice and training has been sought

by Make-A-Wish Foundation, Goodwill, Salvation Army,

realtors, commercial brokers, auto dealerships, and many

other corporations.

Droid, iPhone, and iPad applications were developed

under her brand Prosperity and Friends for adults and children

with targeted games and exercises to develop role models,

healthy habits, and environmental awareness.

Angela served as an active member or contributor to

Burning Man, Healthy California, Right To Succeed

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Foundation, Childhood Health Obesity Initiative, Tribal

Truth and business organizations dedicating to improving the

world.

www.CEOsSecretWeapon.com

www.AngelaDiCarlo.com

Don’t be a stranger. Keep in touch. Tell us your story.

Find classes in your area. Email us at

success@ceossecretweapon.com.

PROSPERITY AND FRIENDS

Be sure to download Prosperity And Friends Guide

Book for teens and adults. You can find it online at

www.ProsperityAndFriends.com.

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“Inspiration without action is merely entertainment.”

WHAT’S NEXT?

Mary Manin MorrisseyThe Dream Builder

Continuing education is something I strive for. Now that

you have completed this book or at least parts of it, you are

probably wondering “What’s Next?”

Great question. At CEO’s Secret Weapon, we offer

multiple ongoing books, coaching and programs to help you

continue to grow.

WORKSHOPS

• Keynote Speeches

• Vision Board Workshops

PERSONAL GROWTH

• Life Coaching

• Personal Development Retreats

BUSINESS PROGRAMS

• C-Level & Business Coaching

• C.E.O. Business Intensives

• Marketing Consultations

• Executive & Speaker Development Programs

TAKE ACTION!

Please contact us to book your free initial consultation at

(858) 412-7738 or success@ceossecretweapon.com.

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