Last month, I wrote about tolerations.

The idea of getting rid of at least one annoyance per week turned out to be even better than I thought it was initially.

Literally, I don't know of a faster and easier way to make our lives better.

In the last 4 weeks, 2 things happened in this department that I wanted to share with you.

#1. A few days after I posted my April's newsletter, I got a call from Andrew Barber-Starkey, the founder of Procoach Success System, a good friend, a mentor, and a client of Trademark Factory®.

Andrew complemented me on the newsletter and how fast I implement some of advice he's given me. 

And then he asked, Andrei, how come you didn't mention where you got the idea about tolerations? Didn't you implement it because of what I was teaching at our quarterly meeting just a few days ago?

My first instinct was to come up with something defensive.

I actually started saying something like, "Well, in fact, I read about something like that a while ago, long before I heard you teach it..."

And then it hit me.

Reading about something and being compelled to do something about it are two completely different things.

I had known about the concept of tolerations before I heard about it from Andrew, but I did nothing about it.

Knowing about the concept did nothing to make my life better.

Hearing about it from Andrew and acting upon it is what got things moving. 

Just because I had an excuse, that's really what it was, an excuse.

So, one month too late, I would like to acknowledge the source of the tip I shared with you last month. 

In fact, I attribute a lot of my progress to the system that Andrew created with Procoach.

If you're looking to speed up your growth and add systems to your life, you should check it out.

I am not his affiliate, I don't get paid to promote him or his business. 

I am doing this in this issue because his stuff works.

Thinking back of the call that Andrew made, I realize that it was his way of getting rid of his tolerations. I knew he was not comfortable calling me, but I also knew that he just didn't want to tolerate that there was an unresolved issue between us. And that was the right thing to do.

(See how this ties in to both Tolerations and "Don't Ask—Don't Get" principle?)

#2. I also had my own revelation about tolerations. 

Tolerations are not only about getting rid of things we tolerate. 

It's also about recognizing what will become a toleration and deciding whether it's worth it—before it becomes a toleration.

So, my favorite computer speakers broke down. When new, they produced the best sound I've ever heard from active 2.0 speakers. Clear, deep, yummy.

I loved them so much, I tolerated that as time went on, they had more and more issues—until I realized that most of what comes out of them was just noise.

This was when I finally decided to order a new pair.

Problem is, the model I had has been discontinued for about 10 years.

They just don't make them like this anymore.

So after spending a few hours on Amazon going through all sorts of reviews, I finally got me a new set.

When it arrived, I was more than underwhelmed. I was devastated.

The new speakers I ordered looked great, but couldn't produce decent sound if their life depended on it.

Yes, it was better than the noise coming out of my old speakers, but it was not something that I would enjoy—and I knew it.

So instead of keeping the new speakers which—I knew—would very quickly become a toleration, I sent them back immediately (thank you, Amazon Prime. You should teach Vodafone a thing or two about making it easy for people to part with their money) and ordered a different set.

And guess what, these new ones are actually even better than my original speakers.

When I shared that story with a friend who is aware of the tolerations concept, he said, it's like Tolerations 2.0. It's not only about getting rid of tolerations, it's about not letting tolerations into your life.

So there you have it.

And the last thing.

A clue.

I owe a lot of Trademark Factory®'s success to what I learned at seminars ran by Peak Potentials. 

I had one of my biggest breakthroughs at their event modestly called The Greatest Marketing Seminar with Robert Riopel as the lead trainer. 

He was on fire.

One thing he kept doing that I still remember to this day, is he'd make this funny face, extend his hands as if he was holding two icicles with his thumb, index, and middle finger, and as he slid down the imaginary icicle, he'd say, Let me give you a CLUE!

This doesn't sound like much when I write about it, but if you heard and saw Rob do this, you'd understand why it was such a powerful anchor.

Anyway, Rob is about to have his new book published. It's called Success Left a Clue: 6 Life Changing Habits to Achieving Your Dreams While Keeping It Real, Relevant, and Repeatable.

In it, he shares some really deep stuff about what makes people—and entrepreneurs in particular—successful.

You can actually see Robert giving you a CLUE on the cover of the book :)

Rob is also our client, so he was kind enough to send me the copy. No I'm not sharing it with you.

Go get it yourself PLUS a secret chapter that he'll be sending out as part of the launch in a few weeks.

This book is amazing.