Granada – A Wonderful Place (New Home For Summers?)!

My wonderful wife, Eve Grace-Kelly, arranged a great trip to Granada, Spain for my birthday this year. It’s only a 2-3 hour drive from our Spanish home of the last 4 years (when we weren’t in Herefordshire or gorgeous Cheltenham, where we’ve recently bought a lovely 3 storey Victorian terrace property).

It’s only now that we’ve managed to visit Granada and what a lovely city! It has lots of culture, fab architecture, an expat community and the Sierra Nevada mountains for walking or even ski-ing.

One of the 21st century challenges with being able to work from anywhere is where on earth (literally!) shall we settle?! We have visas to stay in the USA for up to 6 months of each year for the next 10 years, so we’ll vacation there, principally in Florida, where we are setting up a property investment fund business. The difficulty then is, where do we spend the other 6 months? I know – a nice problem to have! We love Moraira in Spain so that’s a possibility. Then we love Portugal, so that’s an option…. Now we’ve discovered Granada, we’re wondering – do we spent 6 months of each year near the beaches of Florida and 6 months in a big city like Granada, getting our city vibe fix that way?

Here is a selection of photos….

June 2, 2015June 2, 2015

Property or Real-Estate Developments: Uncovering The Hidden Value

News Update on our East Midlands Property Developments

We’re delighted to have finally obtained planning permission to convert the outbuildings (Stables, stores, etc.) owned by our JV property vehicle, grace kelly churchill property ventures LLP, into 4 apartments!

Now to get the schedule of works out to builders for their quotes.

The beauty of this deal, that I found while browsing the web from our place on Spain’s Costa Almeria, overlooking the sea, is that the substantial outbuildings were essentially free, as the deal stacked up anyway just with converting the main house and shop into a 6-7 bed HMO (House of Multiple Occupation)!

When assessing where to invest, we always seek the hidden value so that we “de-risk” the investment and potentially add extra profit into the deal.

Watch this space for more news on this project.

March 19, 2013March 19, 2013

Wintering in Spain

That’s it! fed up with the grim English winters, we’ve relocated to the sunny Almeria region of Spain….

We have a few projects to conclude out there, including:

Finishing updates to our book and home-study course on how to sell property or real-estate
An online academy for life coaches
More marketing of our online personal development program
Aviation industry-related coaching
Etc!

We might even find time to snap up a few Spanish property bargains to go into our international portfolio together with other properties we’ve bought abroad!
(Amidst chilling in the sunshine with coffee on our morning terrace, with views towards the sea about a mile away and sipping white wine on the afternoon terrace 🙂 )

Watch this space for updates.

July 6, 2012July 6, 2012

Internet Marketing – Lessons Learned: What I Wish I’d Known When I Started

Internet Marketing is a fascinating ‘occupation’ but like any career, job, it’s not without its drawbacks.

For 2 out of the last 3 years, we’ve been on holiday / vacation with 400+ other Internet Marketing colleagues, friends, acquaintances and joint venture partners. Spending a week in the winter cruising around the Caribbean tends to let down guards, enhance existing relationships, let you make new friendships and get to know not only Internet Marketing peeps, but also their families, making it a well-rounded relationship. (It can seem a little disconnected if relationships are mostly virtual. That’s one reason why we go to a lot of conferences, seminars and workshops, not only in Internet Marketing, but also in our other niches of Property or Real Estate and Personal Development.)

One of our fellow Internet Marketing cruiser group has just quit his J.O.B. in London and gone full-time into Internet Marketing. He asked the question, what do yo wish you had known when you went full-time into Internet Marketing? What life lessons have you learned?

The key findings for me with respect to a full-time living from Internet Marketing were:

Get a great mentor early on, not years down the road

(Many thanks in my case to Tracy Repchuk (below), Rich Schefren & Mike Filsaime in Internet Marketing, plus Jonathan Jay and Peter Thomson plus Rich Schefren again, in business and marketing in general)

As with mentoring, read about how others have achieved success, however they define that.
I’m a lead author and co-editor of the Amazon best-selling business and personal coaching book ‘Ultimate Life Lessons’, www.UltimateLifelessons.com, together with my wife Eve Grace-Kelly and our friend and former mentor, Tracy Repchuk. Jonathan Jay kindly wrote the foreword for us. 6 of TV’s Secret Millionaires, from the programme of the same name, are featured in there too!
Treat IM initially as a job: don’t go off in a haphazard fashion on different directions.
(Gotta watch those Internet Marketing folks: they’re pretty good at getting us to go after the next shiny object 😉 )

So, treat a project professionally as a ‘corporate’ project. Set goals, tasks and deadlines.
Despite being a former Project Manager, with blue-chip clients such as

WH Smith

UK Central Government (the Cabinet Office)

the NHS

J Sainsbury’s Head Office

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs

National Power

the European Commission in Brussels (project managing the creation of the Single European Market)

NatWest Bank

Deutsche Bank

Robert Fleming

Digital and ICL

I didn’t treat my Internet Marketing projects as ‘proper projects’ as much as I should have in the early days. I’m much more rigorous now. (Our project management book can be found here.)

Focus & don’t procrastinate.
(Our Focus book is available here.
Our book on Overcoming Procrastination will be available here July 2012.)

Use tried & tested time management techniques.

Ensure you keep fit & healthy! You’ll be more productive & won’t damage your health.
Keep a good (for you) work-life balance. This way, you lessen your chances of burn-out.
(See our blog here for more tips on this.)

Outsource early on. (We left this quite a way down the line.
Now, we wouldn’t be without our VA (Virtual Assistant) & web development & SEO team!
For free tips on what to outsource and how to outsource, see our reports here.)
Work out what success actually means to you! Don’t go chasing someone else’s idea of success. Create your own vision of success. For our fantastic value online coaching programme, Ultimate Personal Success, please visit here.

I hope that’s useful and lets you learn from my early mistakes in going full-time into Internet Marketing.

Best wishes,

Vinden Grace

February 6, 2012February 8, 2012

How To Get More Done: Outsourcing

Time cannot be reversed, or drastically slowed down so we can fit more in … can it?

We will all often hear people say that they simply do not have time to put in the amount of effort they need to really get their offline or online endeavours off the ground.

So why is it then that some people can? What I want to share with you today is a little process that could help you to get more done, a LOT more done…

We all have 24 hours in the day, so what can you do to turn that same amount of time you already have, in to something that provides you with tangible ‘results’…

Ultimately your efforts will be measured by what you’ve achieved, not on how busy you’ve been.

You need to have some idea of how long you are spending over the various elements of your offline or online endeavours…

Here’s a checklist by which to assess your activities…

Do you need to perform this task at all – is it indispensable to your progress? For example, carrying out research into your niche or keywords for it, is absolutely vital when setting up a website or Google Adwords campaign perhaps, and time should be invested in this. On the other hand, if your website is entirely ready but not yet online because you spent a week looking for the ‘perfect’ header, then that is “lost time” Your website (and bank account!) can’t claw back that time and lost revenue that it wasn’t online. (It is important to ensure your sites look professional, and of a high quality, but finishing each of your projects and getting them earning money for you, is critical…)

If the assignment is vital, is there a different, easier, way of doing it? For example, if you want to construct your own website but you are still struggling with HTML or with getting to grips with Dreamweaver (very powerful but a bit daunting for non-techies), perhaps it would be easier to install something like WordPress instead? (It’s free and pretty user-friendly.) And if you’re still sending emails to your ‘list’ from your own mail account (and do please avoid free accounts like Hotmail and Yahoo if you wish to appear both professional and also not just a one-man band), maybe you could think about using autoresponder software instead? AWeber is inexpensive and easy to use. You can send out fancy-looking HTML newsletters with it and add opt-in forms on your WordPress site using it too.

If you’re still struggling – can you get someone else to do it for you? Our own efforts really took off when we stopped trying to do everything ourselves and started getting other people to do the things we found boring, or which would have presented us with a steep learning curve.

… And before you say ‘I can’t afford to outsource anything’, it may well be of use to add up the ‘real’ cost to you of not outsourcing. Using the economics term of ‘opportunity cost, remember the need to factor in your time spent carrying out tasks at which you’re not as good as someone else, the potential loss of online earnings whilst learning new skills, loss of time to spend on revenue-earning activities, etc.

This approach to time management really can do wonders for your productivity and bottom-line!

Remember that all of the extra time you create for yourself by making these decisions about where to focus your energies can be spent moving your business forward … or on personal activities like spending time with your family.

So the next time you feel like you’re suffering from overwhelm, take a moment or two and assess whether you need to be doing those tasks at all. With a bit of research maybe you can find an easier way of doing it, or maybe get somebody else to do it entirely…

Check out our preferred outsourcers for high-quality, great value support.

January 16, 2012January 16, 2012

Business Tip from Vinden Grace

How would you like to work less and accomplish more?

The key is laziness. Implement an intelligent version of laziness.

Clever laziness involves recognising your strengths and weaknesses.

When you focus on your strengths, tasks are easy to accomplish. Focusing on your weaknesses generally results in a lot of hard work.

Take for example, a body builder lifting a 120-kilo table up a flight of stairs.

The body builder can simply pick up the table and carry it up the flight of stairs in a minute or two. While you, on the other hand, might struggle… needing to drag the table up the stairs. Or worse yet, you might take the table apart so you can carry up smaller, individual pieces.

A task that is easy for one person can be extremely difficult for another. So the key is to figure out ways to eliminate or *delegate or outsource* your difficult tasks.

Ask yourself, what are your strengths and what are your weaknesses? What tasks are very easy for you to accomplish and which are very difficult? Or what are the tasks over which you always procrastinate?

Make a list with your strengths on the left-hand side and your weaknesses on the right-hand side. This list will become your guide to intelligent laziness.

Aim to eliminate the entire right-hand side of the page. So essentially, all you’re left with are your strengths.

January 10, 2012July 6, 2012

Business tip from Vinden Grace

Buying (& pricing advice!) from over a century ago

Something to weave into sales copy……in more modern language of course….

“It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money – that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little a getting a lot – it can’t be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better.”

This is a classic quote on the possible folly of automatically choosing low cost as the best way to make a purchase decision.

The common law of business balance is a meditation on price attributed to John Ruskin (1819 – 1900).

Useful also to convince prospects why they should pay more for your superior offerings!

January 1, 2012January 1, 2012

The importance of self-esteem in your life

Self Esteem Tips

All humans have a need to be respected and to have self-esteem and self-respect. Esteem presents the normal human desire to be accepted and valued by others. People need to engage themselves to gain recognition and have an activity or activities that give the person a sense of contribution, to feel self-valued, be it in a profession or hobby. Imbalances at this level can result in low self-esteem or an inferiority complex. People with low self-esteem need respect from others. They may seek fame or glory, which again depends on others. Note, however, that many people with low self-esteem will not be able to improve their view of themselves simply by receiving fame, respect, and glory externally, but must first accept themselves internally. Psychological imbalances such as depression can also prevent one from obtaining self-esteem on both levels.

Most people have a need for a stable self-respect and self-esteem. Maslow noted two versions of esteem needs, a lower one and a higher one. The lower one is the need for the respect of others, the need for status, recognition, fame, prestige, and attention. The higher one is the need for self-respect, the need for strength, competence, mastery, self-confidence, independence and freedom. The latter one ranks higher because it rests more on inner competence won through experience. Deprivation of these needs can lead to an inferiority complex, weakness and helplessness.

Courtesy of Wikipedia from an article about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
I studied this 30 years ago and it still holds true!)
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow’s_hierarchy_of_needs

Click on the link below for our latest video with regard to improving your self-esteem. Enjoy!

Courtesy of one of our joint Ventures, A New You After Divorce

January 1, 2012January 1, 2012

Yesterday + Today = Tomorrow

Making 2012 a Great Year

Probably, not everything in 2011 went according to plan. No doubt, the past year has been a source of both pleasant and painful experiences for you. You might have lived through great challenges, your perception of the world might have changed and your priorities may have demanded a closer look. You may have found yourself questioning your life or struggling with many scary unknowns and uncertainties. Some of the events of last year have surpassed your wildest imaginings, both terrible and triumphant.

During good times and bad times — in your own personal life or in our world — you have the choice to rise to the occasion and display your greatest strengths or to draw back, feel scared and remain powerless. It can be difficult to reconcile your own hurtful mistakes from the past and get ready for an unknown future too. You know that you can’t change the past, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to let go of. And because none of us are privy to all of where our lives are going, the best we can manage to do sometimes is simply trust that everything will come together when we need it most.

I encourage you to step back and take a moment to reflect on 2011 and acknowledge all that you’ve accomplished. Appreciate yourself for all that you’ve endured and overcome. Honor all that you began in 2011. Maybe you didn’t do everything that you set out to do or get as far as you thought you would, but you can let go of that now. Wash your hands of regrets from last year. Forgive yourself for what you haven’t finished yet and clear a path to begin again in the New Year.

“True creativeness is finding new possibilities in old situations.” ~ Unknown

January is a Time of New Beginnings

Today is the first day of January and holds the promise of a fresh start. Sometimes you do need the opportunity to start over again, in whatever part of your life needs it most. It could be that you want to reignite passion in an old relationship, or end one altogether to make room for someone new. Maybe you feel called to change the type of work that you do. 2012 could be the year to leave your place of employment so that you can pursue another path. Maybe it’s time to choose a new outlook or better attitude; even if everything else stays the same, what a great year you’ll have with this different perspective! You can make the decision to begin today because there is nothing but a blank canvas in front of you now. 2012 is your chance to be healthier physically, or to be new again in your career and in your relationships.

Coaching Tips for 2012

1) Let Yourself off the Hook

We tend to be our own harshest critic and exaggerate the truth about how miserably we’ve failed ourselves. Stop being so hard on yourself and put the hammer away for good. Don’t let the things that have happened in the past dampen your enthusiasm for what is possible now. Just because you’ve made mistakes or have difficulties to overcome doesn’t mean that your life can’t get better now. None of you past mistakes mean that you’re a forever failure, no matter how bad they were.

A lot of good things will happen for you in the year ahead. All you have to do is embrace them. You might miss the full enjoyment of new experiences if you’re carrying the past around with you. Your past experiences be your greatest teachers so learn from your mistakes and benefit from the wisdom gained in the lessons, but don’t drag unhappy memories around anymore. Put the baggage down and leave unpleasant experiences behind you. Today is your opportunity to let go of any unproductive thoughts and feelings that have plagued you or that keep you rooted in negativity. And as you go forward, continue to release anything that is preventing you from enjoying your best life.

2) Learn from 2011

How can 2011 help you decide what to get rid of in 2012? It could be that list of ‘shoulds’. These are the things you think you should do, but don’t want to do. Are you ready to drop anything inauthentic or anything that has become an obligation versus a joy? This is a good place to start because as you permit fewer things to drain your energy or establish healthy boundaries that better serve you, you’ll feel lighter, and will be free to move forward again. Decide to remove the things that hold you back, steal your energy or cause you worry. Take at least one deliberate step to eliminate or reduce the things that don’t bring you fulfilment or happiness. Practice speaking up for yourself and saying ‘No’ when you need to. This means telling the truth on your own behalf and being more authentic in 2012. Give yourself permission to live a life that reflects who you really are. This would be something to celebrate at the end of 2012.

3) Dream Again

Every time you dream of the good things to come in the year ahead, you increase the chances of them happening in your life. When you give deliberate thought to where you want to go from here, you open the doors of opportunity. Every time you revisit your goals and dreams, you will gain more clarity, and one day they will suddenly become crystal clear in your mind. Your new hopes, ambitions and ideas will take your life to a whole new place. And don’t worry if you can’t see everything ahead of you. You won’t fully understand all of where you are going right now. Just keep dreaming, hoping and finding life’s magic, even in the face of trouble or confusion. On the hardest days, stay optimistic by trusting that these hard times will pass and that all things will get better over time.

Here is a Coaching Action Challenge for you: Choose one area of your life to focus on now because whatever you focus on and give energy to will grow and take shape. Enjoy this new beginning and this chance to start over again with a fresh approach. A new beginning holds the promise of new lessons to be learned, new opportunities to be discovered, and new interests or creative ideas to be explored. You might be thinking that the only way you can have a new beginning is to become a new or different person, but this is not true. All you have to do to start over again is adopt a new outlook and decide that you will try again.

”Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for.” ~ Joseph Addison

You have the gift of another year so ready yourself for the journey! Take along some humility from the past and toss in some curiosity and excitement about what’s coming up next. Great things are in store for you. So grab your map, set your course, and hoist your sails. Discover and explore the new places and exciting destinations waiting for you in the year ahead!

Have a beautiful, magical and wondrous 2012.

January 1, 2012January 1, 2012

6 Easy Steps To Making A New Year’s Resolution That’s Achievable!

How do you successfully set New Year’s Resolutions?

Here are some great tips to help you ensure that your resolution actually makes a difference…

1. Create a Plan

You know the saying: “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” And it’s very, very true. Having a goal without formulating a plan is merely wishful thinking. In order for your resolution to have resolve, (as the word “resolution” implies), it must translate into clear steps that can be put into action. Ensure that you have a good plan by including 1) What to do next and 2) What are all of the steps required to complete the goal.

2. Create Your Plan IMMEDIATELY

The first few days of January are a critical time in which you need to harness your motivation. After that, enthusiasm wanes…. so there is a limited window of opportunity to create your plan. So get that pen and paper out…. or switch on your PC!

3. Write Down Your Resolution and Plan

…Which brings us nicely to Step #3. You must, must, must write your resolution down AND your plan. Look at it often; record your progress in a notebook or journal.

4. A Resolution Isn’t Just For New Year’s

Nothing big gets accomplished in a single day. The easy part is to create a resolution – the hardest part is to accomplish the tens or hundreds of tiny steps that happen throughout the year to ensure your resolution is a success. New Year’s resolutions should be nothing more than a starting point. Develop a ritual or habit for revisiting your plan.

5. Remain Flexible

Life has a funny way of throwing unexpected things at us, so expect that your plan can and will change! Sometimes, the goal itself will even change – at some time along the journey you might decide that it is the wrong goal, so continuing along this path would be foolhardy. It’s OK to change the goal, so long as it is for the right reasons.

And finally…

6. Celebrate Success

This is a very important part of the journey. Recognize even partial successes at every step along the way – identify milestones and put these into your plan. Just as a resolution isn’t accomplished the day it’s stated, neither is it accomplished the day you reach your goal. Rather, it’s accomplished in many small increments along the way. Acknowledge these incremental successes as they come.

Wishing you all a successful 2012!

Pass it on – share with as many people as you can – make it their year as well!