(this one is a little long, but stick with me, someone is going to win an iPad!!)

Tom Ferry has a new book coming out May 4th, 2010. The book, LIFE! By DESIGN is a journey into the proven secrets that Tom has shared with countless real estate professionals nationwide. Included in that group, are 16 of the top 100 agents in the country, including the number one agent with Century 21, the number one agent with Prudential and the number one agent with Coldwell Banker.

We will be promoting the book with a challenge here on ActiveRain. This challenge can win you some really cool prizes, (and of course points), but more important, it can give you a chance to start living your LIFE! By DESIGN.

I don't think I can describe the book any better than Tom does here:

"For people ready to grab the brass ring, the book serves as a vivid blueprint for positive change in both their business and personal lives. As I point out, 1 out of 3 Americans is dissatisfied with his or her life. They run on autopilot non-stop, consider risks ‘too risky’, and settle for ‘good enough’. Instead of fulfilling their potential, these frustrated folks simply live by default. Addressing the self-imposed limitations holding these people back, this labor of love was inspired by more than 30, 000 hours of coaching, consulting, and workshop-hosting. The reservoir of knowledge filling its pages offers people the tools necessary to regain control and begin running their businesses and their Life! By Design."

Living by default instead of living a LIFE! By DESIGN is something that many of us struggle with. I'll be the first to admit, there are aspects of my life where I live by default. It doesn't take something extraordinary to break free of the mental and emotional road blocks that hold most people back. It simply takes real world solutions. Tom offers those solutions in this book.

I am going to guess that most of you haven't had a chance to read the book yet. Heck, it doesn't officially launch until May 4th. So we are going to have you read an excerpt from the book, and do one of the exercises in the chapter. The goal is to raise awareness for the launch of the book. However, we also want to challenge people to seriously reflect on the mental and emotional roadblocks that are holding you back from acheiving a LIFE! By DESIGN.

Of course, we'd also hope you would support Tom, and help yourself, by picking up a copy of the book. My future Mother-in-law said she didn't know what to expect when she read the advanced copy Tom sent her, but she was pleasantly surprised and thought the book was really good.

Everyone that buys the book, between now and April 23rd, 2010, gets a ticket to Tom's Success Summit August 24th-26th as well as an MP3 of the audio role play program: Objection Handling for Buyers, Sellers and Short Sales.

What Do You Need to Do?

1. Read the preview chapter of the book found here: Chapter 4, The Problem of No Problems

2. Choose one of the following exercises and write a 300-500 word blog post about your experience with the exercise.

• The exercise on page 39 of the excerpt
• The exercise that starts on page 46 and goes to page 48. Pick one of the three areas: Professional, Lifestyle, or Health and Vitality and complete the exercise for that section
• The exercise on page 54 (pick one question and write 300-500 words for one question or feel free to pick more than one question and submit smaller answers to multiple questions in one post)

(**completing the exercise itself, doesn't qualify you for the challenge. You need to have a 300-500 word blog post about your experience with the exercise. What did you learn? Did you realize something you had previously been ignoring? Did this bit of reflection cause you to want to get more introspective? You get the idea, right? Get something out of the exercise and share it with us)

3. Blog posts should include 'My LIFE! By DESIGN' somewhere in the title of the post.

4. At the footer of your post, please include this (including the picture):

This post is to help promote Tom Ferry's upcoming book, LIFE! By DESIGN. The contents of my post are the result of some self reflection the preview chapter of the book asks us to do about ourselves.

You can Pre-Order the book now by visiting TomFerryBook.com. You can also participate in the promotion being done by ActiveRain for a chance to win some great prizes and 2500 points by visiting the promotional post here.

Everyone that orders a copy of the book between now and April 23rd, 2010 will also receive one ticket to attend Tom's Success Summit, August 24-26th and the MP3 audio role play program: Objection Handling for Buyers, Sellers and Short Sales.

In exchange for writing this post, I could win an iPad or other cool prizes, and this is to let you know so the FTC doesn't fine me.

5. Leave a link to your post in the comment section of this post in order to qualify for the points, and to be entered to win one of the great prizes being given away by Tom.

The Prizes!

2500 points for every post submitted

1. one (1) Apple iPad (16GB) ~$499
2. One (1) hour of consulting with Tom Ferry via skype or phone (If you are local to Tom you can come into the office) ~ $1500
3. One month of Power Coaching ~ $499
4. Upfront seat for 2 at Tom's Success Summit ~ $598
5. Expired Edge program and one month service of MojoSells.com (auto dialer system) ~$369
6. Copy of Tom's Home Study Course ~ $75
7. Autographed copy of LIFE! By DESIGN ~ Priceless!

So there you have it. Please let me know if you have any questions. The contest will end on April 23rd at Noon Central Time. Any posts written after that will not be eligible for the points or the prizes. Each post will be given one entry in the drawing for these great prizes. We will announce the date of the drawing soon, but it will be shortly after the conclusion of the challenge.

(ActiveRain is receiving consideration for helping Tom promote his book)