Although I am only one out of a
million I am somebody, and that makes me as good as the next person.
There
is nothing in this life I cannot do. There is no goal I cannot tackle
and have success! If I feel deep down inside that something is important
to me, then I can do it.
If my mind can conceive it, and
my head can believe it, then I know I can achieve it. No longer will I
drift through life feeling sorry for myself, because self-pity is the
seed of destruction.
I will search for a
goal, and with enough hard work, total commitment, determination,
dedication and self-sacrifice, I know I will reach it.
I
know there will be many times when it will seem that all the odds are
against me, and I will have to fight one battle after another--but I
will not give up!!!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
The Gift of Thoughtfulness
– Is a Gift to Yourself
–
Thoughtfulness. A simple enough concept; yet not always easy to practice. Once mastered, however, it is the greatest gift you can give; and not just to friends and loved ones on special occasions and holidays…but to everyone, always. And, as you establish yourself as thoughtful to others, they'll go out of their way to please you back.
Thoughtfulness is a habit; internalized, it becomes a way of life, a part of our being. But it does take practice. Where do we start? Our daily life. Here are some good practice exercises. Do this for 21 days, as that's how long it takes to form a new habit (actually, we don't "form" new habits as much as "replace" old, ineffective ones)... READ MORE
Monday, February 6, 2012
ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING
Jerry was the kind of guy
you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something
positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would
reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"
He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"
Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it.
I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."
"Yeah, right, it's not that easy", I protested.
"Yes it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."
I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning, and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers.
While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center.
After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.
I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"
I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door", Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live.
"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?", I asked.
Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine.
But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action."
"What did you do?", I asked.
"Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me", said Jerry. She asked if I was allergic to anything. "Yes", I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply... I took a deep breath and yelled, "Bullets!" Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live.
Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
Jerry lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.
He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"
Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it.
I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."
"Yeah, right, it's not that easy", I protested.
"Yes it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."
I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning, and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers.
While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center.
After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.
I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"
I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door", Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live.
"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?", I asked.
Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine.
But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action."
"What did you do?", I asked.
"Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me", said Jerry. She asked if I was allergic to anything. "Yes", I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply... I took a deep breath and yelled, "Bullets!" Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live.
Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
Jerry lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
The Benefits of Following Up with Your Customers
In today's aggressive marketing techniques, the act of following up with a customer is perhaps the most desperate attempt to win over a disappearing client.
Although many small business owners and entrepreneurs still use this marketing technique to increase their sales, it turned out to be that this method remains to be very effective.
For many successful businesses, however, their focus is on customer retention rather than allowing them to disappear only to be followed up at a later time.
In fact, in other business sectors, acquiring a new customer is actually five times more expensive than maintaining an old client. That is why as business owner or entrepreneur your main objective is to retain customers by giving them satisfactory services.
The following are three of the most important benefits of following up with customers:
1. Customer satisfaction is the name of the game, if you want to have a solid clientele. In fact, it is actually cost effective to follow up on old clients than to scour for new prospective customers. Once you lose a customer, it will take you time, energy and resources to look for new customer.
That is why is crucial in every business to satisfy the clientele from customer service to product satisfaction. It is also good to maintain a healthy relationship with existing clients by showering them with all the necessary attention that a customer needs.
In fact, when you lose a customer, you will also suffer from revenue loss. You many not feel the pain when one or two customers are leaving, but when you are talking about a magnitude of customer loss it may have a bad impact on your business.
To maintain a good and solid customer following, it is important to give them what they need as it is cost effective to maintain customers than look for replacements.
2. The second most important benefit of following up with a customer is that it reduces customer dissatisfaction. In reality, however, customer dissatisfaction occurs right at the very moment you are having a business transaction with a client. That is why it is important to develop a personal relationship with every client, not just seeing them as potential sources of revenue.
As a business owner, it is your duty to develop a personal interest in every client rather than seeing them as mere numbers on your balance sheet. It is also good to remember that when a client is dissatisfied, it is more likely that he will share it with other customers which may cause a problem for your business.
To prevent this from happening, it is always wise to view your customers as people that have helped your business grow and not just as profits to you.
3. The last (and certainly not the least important benefit of customer follow up) is that it makes them feel very important. This is one of the most of effective strategy of customer retention. When they feel that they are treated very well, they will return a very good favor, and that is, by continuously getting your services or products.
There are countless tricks to do an effective follow up, such as by giving your customers 'Thank You Cards,' follow up calls or surveys, Thinking of You' cards.
Look at one cost effective (FREE) way of doing this
Try It Before You Buy! It's Fun and It's FREE
Finally, it is good to know that little acts of appreciation can make your clients feel very special. These are actions beyond your duty as a business owner, but it can give you countless opportunities to maintain a long-lasting relationship with your customers that will ultimately be a great success to your business.
I appreciate your efforts for reading this post.
Thank you.
SOURCE: ANNETTAPOWELL
Saturday, August 6, 2011
WOULD YOU DO IT FOR FREE?
The world’s most successful people also have
another very noticeable difference from ordinary people. They obviously
enjoy making money however, they usually didn’t get involved in their
business for the money.
Sting, the famous British singer and songwriter, was quoted in an interview with Michael Parkinson saying he would ‘do this [singing] for nothing’.
This is not unique to Sting. It is common to many of the world’s most successful people. They do it because they love it. Find any rich or successful person and I’ll show you a person who absolutely loves what they do. It is impossible to achieve long-term success otherwise.
Every person I have met, interviewed, read about or listened to that is rich, famous or successful, all sing the same song. They would happily pay to do what others pay them to do! They find it quite amusing that they get paid to do a job that they would do for free.
If you don’t absolutely love what you do, if Monday mornings are not a positive experience for you – well, perhaps you’re in the wrong business. You can’t fake this! If you love what you’re doing, it’s obvious, it’s infectious.
If you’re just going through the motions, people notice. You’ll be flat, have no energy – it flows on to your staff, to your customers and to your profits.
Sure, not every day can be an over-the-top fun day. But if you are inspired to make a difference, get a kick out of serving your customers, helping your staff to grow and achieve, you are enjoying the things that are essential to business success.
Life rewards excellence. You can never be excellent or rich unless you absolutely, passionately, love what you are doing.
Here’s a question that you should ask yourself each day. You have one life - why would you want to spend one minute of it doing things you don’t love doing?
SOURCE: How to make money out of thin air by Brian Sher
Sting, the famous British singer and songwriter, was quoted in an interview with Michael Parkinson saying he would ‘do this [singing] for nothing’.
This is not unique to Sting. It is common to many of the world’s most successful people. They do it because they love it. Find any rich or successful person and I’ll show you a person who absolutely loves what they do. It is impossible to achieve long-term success otherwise.
Every person I have met, interviewed, read about or listened to that is rich, famous or successful, all sing the same song. They would happily pay to do what others pay them to do! They find it quite amusing that they get paid to do a job that they would do for free.
If you don’t absolutely love what you do, if Monday mornings are not a positive experience for you – well, perhaps you’re in the wrong business. You can’t fake this! If you love what you’re doing, it’s obvious, it’s infectious.
If you’re just going through the motions, people notice. You’ll be flat, have no energy – it flows on to your staff, to your customers and to your profits.
Sure, not every day can be an over-the-top fun day. But if you are inspired to make a difference, get a kick out of serving your customers, helping your staff to grow and achieve, you are enjoying the things that are essential to business success.
Life rewards excellence. You can never be excellent or rich unless you absolutely, passionately, love what you are doing.
Here’s a question that you should ask yourself each day. You have one life - why would you want to spend one minute of it doing things you don’t love doing?
SOURCE: How to make money out of thin air by Brian Sher
Saturday, July 16, 2011
THINKING FOR A CHANGE
“The
successful people in industry have succeeded through their thinking.
Their hands were helpers to their brains.” Claude M. Bristol
Dear Dr. Maxwell,
I discovered the importance of “thinking “ my way to success during my career as a bull rider. I started bull riding with the amateur bull-riding circuit. Not long after I moved to the top of the amateur circuit I yearned to join the professional bull riding association, so I looked to the top for a teacher. I met and started a relationship with a world champion bull rider who lived in my area. His name was Gary Leffew.
Gary invited me to his professional bull-riding arena at his ranch. After it became clear to Gary that I had committed myself to a career as a bull rider, he agreed to help me. He told me that the first thing I would have to do is quit the amateur rodeo circuit. Gary said, “As long as you are hanging around amateurs, you will think like an amateur, and you will not improve your skills.” That day I went from the top of the amateur bull riders to the bottom of the professionals.
After getting my professional cowboy association permit, I went back to Gary's rodeo arena, and I was ready to get on some bulls. Much to my surprise, Gary met up with me that day, gave me a book, and sent me on my way. The book was Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz. Now, you have to understand that for a cowboy, this was a major paradigm shift. All of the other seasoned bull riders were telling me, “If you want to ride bulls, the secret is just getting on as many bulls as your body can withstand in terms of the pain.” But they were not World Champion bull riders like my mentor was. So I took Gary's advice instead, and I went home and read the book.
When I finished, I went back to Gary, and I couldn’t believe what he did next: he gave me another book on thinking! A few more visits to Gary’s ranch netted me more books. I read every one.
Now, some people might think this is crazy, but I yearned to ride a bull. On one visit to Gary’s, I finally told him that I had read every book that he gave me. But now I wanted to get on some bulls! Gary explained to me, “Rich, before you ride bulls,” and pointed to his head, “you’ve got to ride BULLS!” [meaning that the process of visualization had to come first]. Now I understood what he was doing: preparing me mentally for riding bulls! “Okay,” I told him, “so now that I’ve read all those books, I’m ready to get on a bull!” I was wrong. The next step, Gary explained, was cassette tapes. Volumes of tapes!
When Gary finally said I was ready to get on a bull, it was a stationary barrel bull! There I learned how to visualize every bull movement and counter movement.
The next lesson I learned was about association. “Who you hang around with, “Gary explained, “can influence how you think.” As I began traveling in the professional bull riders’ circuit, I learned that it was important to be with the riders who were winning. My mentor told me that if I couldn’t find any winning bull riders to ride with, then I was to travel alone to protect my new winning mental attitude.
Dr. Maxwell, I’d like to tell you that I went on to win the world championship; I didn’t. But I did win a lot of rodeos, and I did make a lot of money riding in the professional bull-riding circuit. This cowboy eventually left the rodeo circuit and married a wonderful woman. We now own one of the largest employment agencies on the central coast of California.
I guess I’m still thinking my way to the top.
Sincerely,
Richard McHugh
SOURCE: Thinking for a Change by John C. Maxwell
Dear Dr. Maxwell,
I discovered the importance of “thinking “ my way to success during my career as a bull rider. I started bull riding with the amateur bull-riding circuit. Not long after I moved to the top of the amateur circuit I yearned to join the professional bull riding association, so I looked to the top for a teacher. I met and started a relationship with a world champion bull rider who lived in my area. His name was Gary Leffew.
Gary invited me to his professional bull-riding arena at his ranch. After it became clear to Gary that I had committed myself to a career as a bull rider, he agreed to help me. He told me that the first thing I would have to do is quit the amateur rodeo circuit. Gary said, “As long as you are hanging around amateurs, you will think like an amateur, and you will not improve your skills.” That day I went from the top of the amateur bull riders to the bottom of the professionals.
After getting my professional cowboy association permit, I went back to Gary's rodeo arena, and I was ready to get on some bulls. Much to my surprise, Gary met up with me that day, gave me a book, and sent me on my way. The book was Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz. Now, you have to understand that for a cowboy, this was a major paradigm shift. All of the other seasoned bull riders were telling me, “If you want to ride bulls, the secret is just getting on as many bulls as your body can withstand in terms of the pain.” But they were not World Champion bull riders like my mentor was. So I took Gary's advice instead, and I went home and read the book.
When I finished, I went back to Gary, and I couldn’t believe what he did next: he gave me another book on thinking! A few more visits to Gary’s ranch netted me more books. I read every one.
Now, some people might think this is crazy, but I yearned to ride a bull. On one visit to Gary’s, I finally told him that I had read every book that he gave me. But now I wanted to get on some bulls! Gary explained to me, “Rich, before you ride bulls,” and pointed to his head, “you’ve got to ride BULLS!” [meaning that the process of visualization had to come first]. Now I understood what he was doing: preparing me mentally for riding bulls! “Okay,” I told him, “so now that I’ve read all those books, I’m ready to get on a bull!” I was wrong. The next step, Gary explained, was cassette tapes. Volumes of tapes!
When Gary finally said I was ready to get on a bull, it was a stationary barrel bull! There I learned how to visualize every bull movement and counter movement.
The next lesson I learned was about association. “Who you hang around with, “Gary explained, “can influence how you think.” As I began traveling in the professional bull riders’ circuit, I learned that it was important to be with the riders who were winning. My mentor told me that if I couldn’t find any winning bull riders to ride with, then I was to travel alone to protect my new winning mental attitude.
Dr. Maxwell, I’d like to tell you that I went on to win the world championship; I didn’t. But I did win a lot of rodeos, and I did make a lot of money riding in the professional bull-riding circuit. This cowboy eventually left the rodeo circuit and married a wonderful woman. We now own one of the largest employment agencies on the central coast of California.
I guess I’m still thinking my way to the top.
Sincerely,
Richard McHugh
SOURCE: Thinking for a Change by John C. Maxwell
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