Rocky!

Getting strong now!

How do you see it?

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."

Sir Winston Churchill

Bankrupt but Example of True Wealth!

Have a great weekend.

Chris

Thanks Tate!

We have experienced the same business frustrations as most....events cancelled last minute, people over-promising, late or no payments; on and on. We are no different other than the fact we plan on this stuff happening because we constantly work ON our business and not just in it. Huge difference. When you work ON your business, you can make effective changes and make them quickly with confidence.

But last night as I was having moments of Stinkin' Thinkin' when my son Tate (above) crawled on my lap and put his head on my chest. We watched the basketball game and he fell asleep. Man...God has the best MMM ever...Mini Moments Matter! Just the absolute perfect prescription...all life's problems seemed really insignificant to that moment.

• Mimi Moments Matter...MMM
• Pay Attention...You miss them when you don't live in the now and pay attention to the present moments
• Work ON and not just in...
• Don't ever give up...
• Is that a cute kid or what!
  

Thank you son! Your Dad needed that...

Comfortably Uncomfortable

I hate ruts and routines; seriously drives me nuts. There is absolutely no reason to go through life doing the same things over and over again. How boring; How stale; How predictable; How sad.

We have a saying in our house that we want to be comfortably uncomfortable. I do a good job of mixing things up!

Currently:

• New business programs..Monthly Real Estate program is going to be unbelievable!
• New speeches! Why people settle for mediocrity...
• New relationships
• New networking
• New boundless possibilities and opportunities
• New food...everything I make is terrible! I need some work on cooking...most of the things I make is downright inedible
• New grass in our backyard....yes! I put new grass in and it's actually growing...I know; I can't believe it either
• New marketing
• New summer activities...see ya later TV
• New books...just bought two more last week
• New business! No need to settle when more business is out there in a monster way

Trying NEW things constantly...how about you? Have you thought about it? Have you made it intentional?

Procrastination...Defeat it.

The major enemy of so many businesses and people today: Procrastination!

It's amazing how deep procrastination runs in today's world. I see it all over. I also participate in it myself. I am not a PH.D on it but certainly guilty of it. But I am working on it.

How many diets ever start on a Friday? None. Every diet in the world starts on Monday. And then when Monday comes, we just don't feel perfect so we move it to the next Monday. When that comes, we tell ourselves that after all, we are only a few days from New Years and that is the perfect time. I will start the diet on New Years. That comes and we push it back to the next Monday. So on and so forth.

Join me in working on the defeat of procrastination. My first step was getting mad about it. I am furious with myself and going to do something about it.

Look for our new program in a day or two. It's awesome! The goal: Give business owners some new objectivity. We all need objectivity and now, for a reasonable cost, we are offering some objectivity.

Targets

If you aim at nothing, you will hit it everytime!

Question:

• What are you aiming at today?
• Are your goals crystal clear?
• Do you have passion for your goals?
• Have you asked Why you are doing the things you do?
• Does your vision have purpose?
• Do you FALL IN LOVE with your vision and goals?

The number one problem I see in today's marketplace is a lack of vision! You need to have a vision that is clear and detailed....then a road map as to where you are going....then tasks to make sure you are accomplishing things to make the vision come true.

All this is so easy to say....but have you really worked on it....have you really accomplished it?

Training

Train your People! ....and train yourself. Improve every single day.

** Today!**

$$ It's the best money you can spend $$

-It's what your employees want
-Excellence only
-Start today
-Come on now...don't procrsainate any longer
-Those that win have the best employees
-Do you have a turnover report and do you know your True Turnover costs? It's scary.
-End turnover by a implementing a great training program

Question: Today, what did you learn? Today, what did your employees learn?

If blank = not good.
We can do better.

Is your boat leaking?

Is your business boat leaking? If so, keep reading:

Statistics tell us the average salesperson has a closing percentage of about 22% of all the opportunities. So for every ten chances, two are being closed and eight walk. What a shame.

When asked, most business owners believe the average salesperson closes about 50%. That is a 28% mistake!

You can substantially increase your sales by closing one of those eight that walk! That seems do-able don't you agree? We all can do this by a little bitty more:

• Focus...simple focus ten percent more each day.
• Time Management...thirty minutes each day of less email, Internet, or gossiping as examples. We can all do that!
• Pay Attention
• Be Intentional....Track the numbers! What you don't measure you can't manage!
• Training! Learn more! Improve your Skills just a little bit make a huge difference on the income statement and bank account.

We can' t be super successful by only closing two of ten. We can do better than that!

And note...you will love this: We are talking about substantial revenue increases by closing one of the eight that walk....ALL THIS IS WITHOUT INCREASING ANY SELLING OPPORTUNITIES! All this is without spending any more money. It's just doing a bit better with what we already got!

Paint the Picture

Last night before bed, I was making up stories with my four year old son Teddy. The more detailed and graphic the story, the more Teddy liked it.

"Once upon a time there was a boy named Teddy. Teddy liked to play basketball."

Or

"Once upon a time not long ago, there was a very nice mannered, blond hair, extremely happy boy named Teddy Tapken. This smiley boy liked to spend every night with his Dad, jumping and laughing while they played basketball together."

You can see the difference....and so could Teddy. "Dad, tell me more of those stories with more words." We have all heard the saying: A picture is worth a thousand words.

To simulate others (employees, customers, the marketplace) we need to be able to use words that paint the picture of our vision!

• Visualization
• Simulation
• Emotion
• Feelings
• Action

Do your employees know the picture of the future in words?

Does the marketplace understand your vision from marketing words and branding?

Can you impact others to take action by your picture words?

Do this: Paint the picture of your vision through words. Do you like it? Does it reflect the truth? Does it motivate you?

Bitter or Better

Question from website: Chris, I recently got laid off my 10 year job, what are some tools I can put into place to help my negative attitude?

First, I want to compliment the sender in recognizing the importance of attitude. The initial step is to diagnose the problem and objectively understand there is an issue here. Attitude is everything! Period. So working on our attitude is the best r.o.i. we can make.

On dealing with adversity, like losing a 1o year job, I strongly suggest a pro-active approach. Start with understanding that adversity is somethings we all experience. You and I are not alone in having tough times. Everyone goes through it. That doesn't mean it's fun or enjoyable but we often think: Why me?....Well, it's not just you or me; adversity happens to everyone. Next, adversity is placed in our life on purpose. It's not an accident. It's intentional. We are suppose to have speed bumps in our life. Last, look for the lessons in that reside in the rough roads. We learn by far more from our adversity than we do our good fortune. In our tough times, there are powerful learning lessons so make sure you grab them.

For me, I look at my adversity like this: Get Bitter or Get Better....I have to make the choice. I chose to get Better!