Power to Prosperity

Power Play # 31 - Be yourSELF!

I just enjoyed watching a few videos of Victor Antonio, a Motivational Speaker. This guy is cool, what got me was his passion and love for what he does for a living.  That alone is electric and worthy of attention.  He is very energized and animate, but boy is is real.  This blog post is to shed light on that idea.  Victor has figured out what it takes to be Victor!!

On Youtube.com you will find many videos on him and one of them is a Documentary, check that one out too. You will get behind the scenes to a very real person speaking about himself, his family and the reality that is him.  Love his openness. 

Check it out - get moved to be more of who you really are.  That is the biggest give Victor gives us.

Check this out ... I like this technique, it has NLP written all over it, but very powerful and very useful for everyday living.

Power Play # 30 - Shift The Criteria for Success

My friend Rajesh Setty is at it again! He has published another eBook today called Defiant! - what's cool is that he made it free for us to download.  There are no registration requirements or things to sign up for to have access to this eBook - check it out http://www.activegarage.com/projects/defiant

One thing that stood out, while I was grazing through the book was this idea of Shifting the Criteria for how "Others" evaluate the value you offer them.  What makes this so powerful is that he offers us insight on a "game changing" play we can make to set us apart from all the others we would typically be competing with.

In today's economy that playing field could be very crowded, with so many people being laid off.  And another concentration factor that I have noticed; the many Forced Entrepreneurs that are responding to the market and offering solutions the problems people have.  Shifting the Criteria how people value the offer you make them is a game changer.

This is a different kind of book ... because it offers you an opportunity to design and build a powerful strategy for success. While Defiant! is about strategy he offers us 80 Tips and Ideas that will help.  There was one that stood out and resonated with me ... it is this idea of taking care of ourselves.  Check out Tip # 35 A letter from David Zinger, its page on 61.

Congrats Rajesh and Thanks for this gift to all of us.  I love it.

Where is the harmony in your life?

Had the opportunity to spend most of the day with Uncle Jim and Aunt Katie in Kentucky today.  I always love chatting with them, they ground my thinking in so many ways.  One of the many conversations we had was around the subject of the market and our speculation of when things might come back ... which led to a conversation on "Come back to what?"

The good news is that we were in agreement, that the market should come back, be more robust and enable people to make money and have better lives, but in a way that was healthy.

They spoke of some one they know who was living the "New American Dream" that just got shattered.  A $800,000 home, boats, cars, two jobs and lots of bills.  Well both husband and wife lost their $100K+ jobs over a two year period and sort of lost most of it.

The story ends with the husband finding a job with Toyota and the wife get a job that pays 25% of what she was making before, they now live in a much smaller house ... BUT they are in a sense, glad that it all happened.  What they say is that they came out on the other side - living happier lives, feeling more in love with each other and overall in a much healthier place. With that wake up call they now focus on what is important; the joy, the harmony the love in the their lives.

All's I'm going to say to this is ... Amen!

Power Play # 28 - Take Care of Your Customers

I have a good customer service story to report.  In it, I might also mention a few bad apples that came my way, but lets not focus on them. This about my recent trip Puerto Rico and the Island of Culebra.  By the way - go to Culebra!!  it is like going to Goa, India without the 26 hour flight :-)

Anyway, on the way back all flights leaving PR and flying into Atlanta with delayed, and luckily for us, the flights leaving Atlanta were also delayed. That's the background or for those of you into story telling the structure of a narrative, that is the Expose.

The conflict was that we wanted to get on board the flight from Atlanta to Dayton, we came in late, but luckily the flight was also delayed. We go to the counter and the computers that do not have any "Situational Awareness" have no idea that the plane is still on the ground.  So they say ... "Cannot check in at this time"

The short version is this ... One set of "more experienced" agents gave us all the reasons and rules, why we would not be able to make our flight.  Thank you Betty.

While a junior but more enthusiastic, agent named Victoria, who was tricked out with state of the art Mobile devices that were hooked into their main frames ... actually listened to our situation and before long, got us on the flight and checked in our bags. 

Unbelievable! She actually stopped and addressed our situation and came up with a unique approach to take care of an Elite customer (Frequent Flyer). Her final act of heroism was to go to the head of the check in counter guys and work him over, getting him to help us.  That to me was unbelievable.

Thank you Victoria, for saving the day and the Delta's reputation.

For all you Betty's out there, that follow rules and corporate guidelines ... smell the coffee! The Market has changed ... You better change, or you will be sidelined.

Oh! and as for Airtran ... one simple request, please pay your employees a bonuse or something extra to make them smile.  It was so depressing interacting with them.

Sales is Sales is Sales is Sales!!

Just quick note to share some interesting conversations I have had out here in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  Was talking to Nick Deloitte a businessman from Italy, that sells industrial diamonds, used in construction and gratine stone cutting tools .  We got into talking about my book and before long we were sharing information of sales and salesmanship.  We were in total agreement about all the basics.  That sales is always about solving a customers problem and now with the "Global Market" the way it is, it's time we focused on the basisc to help our customers minimize their risks and solve real problems for them.

Then yesterday, I was out fishing for Tarpon on one of the lagoons here in San Juan, and Dave the Captain was also talking about how his business is driven by the same rules; of giving his customers - mainly the tourists like me that visit the Island, a fantastic experience.  And if he did that well and gave them a fantastic experience, they might just right on their blog about what a great guy he was ... helping him drive business and profits ... Check out Magic Tarpon, the owner is Armando and they are on the web at www.puertoricomagictarpon.com

Thats me and my nephew on one of the Magic Tarpon boats

Then last night, I was talking to a retired Sears sales executive (had worked there for 41 years) at a friends party and between Mojitos and the Salsa dancing, we got talking about salesmanship and were "on track" again with the basics.  He also told me it was always about solving your customer's problems and that being of service and creating positive customer experiences was the surest way of having people come back for more.

Finally, this evening I met three lovely ladies in Old San Juan; they were eating at the same restaurant me and my wife were at - Cafe el Punto and before long we got talking about sales.  I had overheard them talking about the subject and asked if they were sales pros, they were!!  The cool part was they thought they had visited my blog, because my name sounded familiar.   They were from Huston and Ft Lauderdale and agreed that things had changed and it was back to the basics so some extent.

It has been cool to chat with people from different back grounds and different countries and realize that there are some strong similarities in how our different markets work, Sales is Sales is Sales is Sales and there are some things that ARE WORKING ... So I submit to you, the market has changed and so must we. 

On Raising Children

I was recently asked a question about raising children and maintaining balance and purpose in life.  Here is my answer to that question, thought it might be good to share with others.

So about the children.  Yes ... I believe bringing a child into this world is about the noblest deed a human being can accomplish.  I get the complexity and the coordination and the attention, that parents have to give children ... all the time, it never stops.  That alone is intense and all consuming. 

Now imagine doing all that work and care giving with a sense of surrender, acceptance and the love you have - BUT also with the conscious awareness that inside that little child body is a divine soul, with divine consciousness and a creative genius that is worthy of respect. I am suggesting, you adopt a conscious awareness that this person is not just a child in front of you.  But that there is a beautiful soul in all its glory and divine grace present in front of you in the reality of your child.

If you have problems seeing it - pause for a moment and consider how wonderful and alive you are today.  Connect with the grandeur of all that you are, all that you have accomplished.  Review your intellectual ability the magic of who you are and what you have accomplished and ... see that it is good.

Now ... remember that you were once a child too.  You were once just like that little baby in front of you.

Its all in the narrative.  Its all in the awareness.  Give them an environment that will nurture the development of their inner truth and beauty.  Take charge of your mental, spiritual and physical space to keep them safe from fear and harm of any kind.  Give them the correct environment to blossom as Spiritual beings, that are getting ready to have a human experience.  Help them build their own ego identities in a safe and healthy way.

Children are subject to their parents reality.  They have no choice and no recourse, they have to accept everything from you - but you have a choice in how you conduct yourself.  You have a choice on how you show up? On the conditions of satisfaction you create in the quality of your life.

Be there steward, be their guardian, be their living breathing guardian angel. 

The same is true on the other end of ones life.  When we get old and begin to loose our strength and  power and we suffer in many ways.  We need help from others just to survive, to put food on the table, give us our medicines, and give us shelter.  It is a time, when we prepare to go back to where we came from, to the light ... gracefully, with respect and dignity.  This is the time, our children will come forth and help. 

This is the natural way.  This is Karma in action.  I believe, the better we focus our attention on our children, to raise them in harmony with their spirit nature, the better will their life experience be and the better our own life experience in the long run.

Hope that helps.

Power Play # 1 You can control your mood

I have been thinking about how we might improve the possibilities of a positive outcome for all that we may go through during these tough times.  I am going to call them PowerPlays.  Because that is all that they are - some points and perspectives we can follow to improve our effectiveness in how we interact with the market place.

So here is the Power Play #1 - You can control your mood!

If you are in a "good" mood - you will have the energy and the mental capabilities to make powerful, creative, innovative action to take care of yourself in this economy.  Its intense folks, many things are at risk in the market place, and yes, there are many opportunities as well, but seeing them, takes a mood of creativity and innovation. 

Are you there yet?  Is your mood positive enough to dance with all that is in front of you?  Or are you being overwhelmed with it all?  Are you gripped with fear? Or are you cautious and grounded in how you are reacting to the market.

Think about it.  Assess your mood and really get that, really understand that you CAN control your MOOD.  Your moods are every thing, they create the space of possibility for you to think and act. You will respond to the same event very differently if you were in different moods.  Think about it.  If you were tired and got hungry, you might decide to cook a meal, but might opt to order in a pizza.  But if you got hungry and were not tired, you might grab a quick peanut butter sandwich and begin cooking a meal.  Moods create your space of possibility.  

If you are having trouble getting there, reach out for help.  We all need help so go find the right people to help you manage your mood.

Get into a good mood - one that is powerful, attractive and appropriate to helping you make things happen.

Here is an example of how moods are influenced by light. Article in the New.

Be Inspired ...

In the recent past I have written about ideas, tips and practices that we could use to, not just survive but win in this economy. But now, I seem to be moving into the Holiday spirit ... and for me that means, moving into a space of inspiration, introspection, assessment and planning where I become aware of my Humanity and the need to live my truth and integrity.

Now the reason for this post.  I stumbled upon this video and it took me to a beautiful place of inspiration.  I thought I would share it with you.  Maya Angelou is a wise, gentle, caring and generous spirit that touched me. 

I offer this video for you, so you might create some space in your day to take in and listen to words, thoughts, ideas and a philosophical stand that we do not hear often.  Check it out and enjoy.  You will take from it what you need and what you are open to.  Her message is simple, fundamental and timeless - Have a blessed day.  Thank you Maya Angelou.

The Economoy ...

I was at a workshop put on my The Aji Network yesterday and Toby Hecht, the Founder started off with a "level set" statement.  Simply put, he said, the economy did not change or go bad, the economy did what it always does. It moves up and it moves down, it moves up and it moves down. 

I took the liberty of searching for and finding this graph of the Dow Jone Industrial Average over the last 100 years or so.

Check out this graph of the last 100 years.

He makes a good point. We should be very aware of what is possible, so that we can prepare for and anticipate the risks we could face in the market place.  Being sensitive to economic principles and business fundamentals is absoluetly neccessary in keeping ourselves grounded in the "For Profit" tradition as opposed to finding out we happen to be in the "Non Profit" side of the market.

So when it comes to the Economy today,  I think there is a lesson we should learn, for those of us that did not get it before.  Down turns happen. The smart people know this, they get this, they anticipate and they plann to survive these times.

My invitation here is to extend your horizons of time and stay grounded in your commitments to what you want to accomplish in your career.  Be powerful, object and attentive to all that can support or sabotage your efforts to fulfill on your ultimate goals.

In short follow age old economic practices of buying things when they are priced low and if you have to sell, do so when you can get a good price for them.  Ironically, very often this is counter to how the "General Population" moves.  But that's ok.  You are special :-)

Life is a Sales Call

I have been having a lot of fun writing this 25 part series on selling in a recession.  The reason I believe this is important to virtually everyone is because first, in tough times everyone in your organization has to be attuned to making a sale.  It is not only the sales teams that have an impact on the customer ... everyone does.  So please make this cultural shift ASAP and get the entire organization thinking in these terms.  I will be addressing this again on the 5th week when we talk about Practical Leadership.

The second reason why this is important is because as Hanley Brite, a dear friend and a wise man with the best stories once told us; Life is a Sales Call!  The art of selling is something everyone needs to have. The better you are it, the better you will be able to go through life. 

Take for instance, you and some friends are looking for a place to eat and its real late - most restaurants are closing.  You find one that is about to close but you get the owner to stay open a little longer and feed you and your friends.  Guess what, a sale was made.

How about when you meet a friends friend at a coffee shop and strike up a conversation.  You are pleasant and friendly leaving them with a good impression about who you are.  A sale was made.  They might follow-up and give you and opportunity you never had.  (this has happened to me a few times)

Or when a young mother gets little Tommy to eat his veggies.  A huge sale was made.  The list goes on.

Selling is something we use all the time and the reason for this is Biological.  As biological organisms we need to procreate and only the fittest and the most attractive survive; guess what ... a sale has to be made between two people just to survive.  Think about it, it gets pretty primal. Welcome to the fashion and cosmetic industry, its biological folks. 

In Conclusion:
Nothing happens without someone making a sale, we are selling all the time, just to survive. Selling is art and yes your entire life is one big sales call.  Ultimately it is about enrolling others to help and it works both ways.  People always need help, just to survive. You either get others to help you with something you need help with or you offer other people help with something they need help with. If you can do this "cost effectively" and "powerfully" you win big.  It is one big infinite loop of Sales Calls.  Get used to it and have fun.