Just Share It...

Good Morning Friendly Blog Followers...

Thanks for the kinds words, texts, emails and comments over the last couple of days/posts...

Yesterday, I received a really nice comment about how my blogs were helping someone in particular build their business. While they were not at the place in business they wanted to be, they said they were committed to getting there which (some say) is half the battle.

(Again, some say), the other half is focusing on the fundamentals.

While I agree that commitment and focusing on the fundamentals are equally important, and should be your primary focus, there is a much more powerful element in order to achieve success - Your Why.

Today's post is entitled, Just Share It...


What I've learned in my life and career (in the music industry) is that if you didn't share your goals and ambitions with the people you knew and loved, then there's a very slim chance of those goals coming to fruition. Even though some of those people may not agree with them, you need to verbalize (over and over again) for you to take action on them.

Getting back to the story I was telling above about the person who "...While they were not at the place in business they wanted to be, they said they were committed to getting there..." She commented that she wasn't doing a particular key fundamental as of yet... My thoughts after the fact was that maybe, just maybe, she hasn't clearly defined Her Why enough; Or maybe Her Why isn't strong enough - And this is what was holding her back from performing that particular fundamental. Just a thought.

Earlier this morning I read an interesting article on Your Why, and the importance of Sharing It...

Hope you like it...

...There is one thing above all else that you need to have firmly positioned inside your heart and mind.

That one thing is your WHY.

To have success into anything in life you need to know your WHY.

Your WHY is the purpose behind your actions and your primary motivation for accomplishing your goals or task at hand.

Define Your Why Factor

Your why must be very clear and well defined before you go anywhere with your business. You need total clarity with your WHY or it will be tough to not fail miserably.

Your ‘Why’ is your reason to stay disciplined and focused on building your business when times are good and when disaster strikes, and disaster will. These current economic times more than ever it is time to focus on the why factor.

I don’t know where you are in your business or career, maybe you just started, or you haven’t started, or maybe you’ve been doing it for years, but there is one thing I can say with complete confidence.

In any business you will be constantly tested and you need to keep focused in order to succeed. Having your WHY defined clearly in your mind will be the foundation to your success.

You need to find out your why. Define this in your mind before anything else.

Having a why is a constant reminder in the back of your mind pushing you when you meet a challenge. You need a why for when you had a trying and testing day. Your why get you back in the game and help you refocus to do it again.

Your Why Will Help You Succeed

Some of the most successful people in business had their most profitable ideas right after their biggest failure. They knew their “why” and had the correct mindset to never quit. They took their ideas and used proper application of their skills to achieve wealth.

The sole reason they were able to achieve success was because they knew why they were doing what they were doing. This why ensured they did not quit when a minor set back or even a major failure came.

I’ve seen too many people in business give up just short of the finish line. It’s painful to see someone defeat themselves. They defeated themselves because they didn’t have a strong enough why to push through the tough times.

It took 300

If you watched the movie 300 based loosely on the real events at PLACE, the Spartans who defended against the Persian invasion. They were able to accomplish this not only because of the skill of their fighting prowess but they had a strong why. In the actual history of this event if the Persians had not been halted briefly at PLACE they would have surely conquered all of Greece. These 300 or so soldiers could not fail, their why was too big.

Your ‘Why’ is what keeps you going when you face rejection over your product, service or opportunity.

Your why keeps you focused when your family or friends aren’t 100% behind you or even worse try to knock you down a notch.

Haven’t we all shared with our family a great idea only to have them not give you 100% support. Worse yet they may even tell you that you never will make it or that you are wasting your time. Having a strong why will make you almost immune to these type of occurrences.

What to do now

It’s time for you to define for yourself your WHY. Really think about it. Write it down. When tough times strike remind yourself that this is the reason why you are going through the ups and downs. Also, like so many things in life today, don’t put this off. This can be the difference between success and failure.


So, when times get tough; Setbacks move their way to the forefront; Your friends, family and/or colleagues question your intentions, Just Share It. Share what it is you want to achieve. Share that Why and they, at least some of them, will understand you better and want to help you. Even if the ones you thought would, don't, Your Why will keep you in the game long enough for you to succeed.

Till tomorrow...

~b2

Keeping It Super Simple - Scripting

Part Two of Keeping It Super Simple...Scripting

Thank you to those who felt compelled to share a comment on the blog. It's easy to do and much appreciated.

It's kind of funny...I had new and old entrepreneurs approaching me about yesterday's blog, detailing how they've been struggling with the exact same thoughts, feelings and situations.

Last night at another presentation, I had a mentor of mine, who read the blog and commented, ask me "so how long is it going to be tonight, ha!" I said I am going to "try" to do it in less than 25 minutes, because I really hadn't had the time to "script" it yet.

I spent all last night tossing and turning trying to figure out how I could summarize and close in 8 minutes and 16 seconds - And I think I got it...

Verbal Summary - No Slides...

Who you are and how long you've been doing it (in a sentence or two max)
Detail exactly what it is the company and you do (in a sentence or two max)
Mention any third party documentation (in a sentence or two max)
Mention any endorsers or major players involved (in a sentence or two max)

Close - No Slides...

prior to the presentation you should have met and gotten to know who the attendees are

So,

Equate the pitch to their particular life, business etc...
Create Massive Vision
Ask questions that "require" a "yes" answer from the attendees
Sort...

In my humble opinion, I believe that the above summary & close can easily be done in 8 minutes and 16 seconds.

Or, you could "script" your own summary & close - Which I highly recommend.

Till next time...

~b2

Keeping It Super Simple - Attention Spans

Good Morning My Friendly Blog Followers...

Last night, after completing a 48-minute Business Presentation, I realized that I didn't even remember discussing certain slides within the presentation.

During my drive home, I called a colleague who was in attendance and asked, "Did I discuss x, y & z in the presentation tonight - as I don't even remember talking about them.

Their response was, "of course you did. Actually you nailed all of those points."

Wow !!!

Upon hanging up the phone, I started thinking about this - Actually, obsessing about it.

I started thinking back on my corporate career experience - from a public speaking standpoint - and it reminded me of a few things...

1) The more you do something (over & over & over & over again), you create deep neural pathways in the brain which allows you to become unconsciously competent at doing them (example: tying your shoes, reading etc.) This means you can unconsciously do something, very well, even though you don't particularly remember doing it.

2) The second thing I started obsessing about was the fact that if I didn't remember everything I presented, how on earth would the guests in the room remember everything I said - especially since they were only hearing it for the first time.

From these two simple, yet important observations, I realized that we as entrepreneurial professionals, all need to re-look at our presentation skills on a regular basis. We should record and/or film ourselves regularly so as to get a different perspective of us presenting IE: be the listener instead of the presenter.

Upon arriving home, all I could think about was the presentation, the audience, and their ability to grasp all the information that I shared ~ or their inability.

Was it my fault if they didn't or couldn't grasp everything that was shared? Do I need to shorten, tighten up or modify the presentation? Or continue doing as I've always done.

Well, that lead to a sleepless night. Tossing and turning going over my presentation countless times.

This morning, I decided I was going to go online and do some research on "The Average Human Being's Attention Span".

What I found truly blew my mind.

Obviously there are many, many, many factors involved within this topic, but the overwhelming statistical fact I read was that the average adults attention span is just 20 minutes !!!

Some of the "simple" factors involved are:

~ The font size/family/style & colour used in the PowerPoint
~ The number of bullet points on a slide
~ The amount of time (minutes) spent on each slide etc.

Then there are some more "difficult" factors that the presenter might not be aware of:

~ Is the Adult actually interested in the information being shared?
~ Does the Adult even want to be there?
~ Their current mindset (did they have a relaxing or exhausting/stressful day)

Then, there are medical questions pertaining to the number of undiagnosed cases of ADD within today's Adults - Thus greatly reducing the "average" 20 minute attention span.

All of this research got me thinking about my presentations; the time being spent on them; the audience's grasp and/or understanding of the information; and whether or not I need to re-evaluate how I am presenting.

The answer is an-across-the-board, Yes, I do !!!

In my particular company, our marketing team has generated a variety of incredible tools for presentation purposes. Two corporate videos (a 6 minute & 1 second clip for a brief synopsis of the company, and an 11 minute & 46 second version that can and does the entire presentation for you). The funny thing is, is that most humans (myself included) like to continue the presentation (ego). Adding in specific information they feel is relevant, and/or expanding on certain points. Sometimes we actually re-present everything the video presented, which unknowingly extended the presentation time well past the amount the average person's attention span can handle.

This information really made me think about how I will present moving forward.

Imagine, using the company's 11 minute & 46 second corporate video which truly explains everything quite eloquently, you the presenter, according to statistics, only have 8 minutes and 14 seconds until you (quite possibly) lose your average audience. Wow!!!

Can you summarize and close in 8 minutes and 14 seconds?

Most people, including myself, if answered honestly to that question, will probably say "as of today, no I can't".

Hence, we need to script our summary and close, which will definitely lead me to another sleepless evening tonight.

Ladies & Gents, thanks for stopping by. Tomorrow's topic: Scripting your summary & close in less than 8 minutes & 14 seconds, Ha !!!

~b2

2012 - Pay It Forward

Happy New Year My Friendly Blog Followers...

Today's post has been inspired by three recent events.

The first, It's a New Year. 2012. Michelle and I closed out 2011 on a very strong, positive & personal note: We got engaged!!! Together, we are looking at 2012 to be an incredible year, both personally & professionally - Here's hoping many of you also share this goal.

Secondly, I met and heard from many online friends and colleagues who all subtly commented on how much they enjoyed my blog, and wondered if I planned on continuing with it in the new year. - Answer: yes, I do, and I apologize for not keeping up with it during the final 45 days on 2011.

Finally, during the holidays, I received a very simple, yet powerful gift from Michelle: A DVD. The movie - Pay It Forward.

It was a movie (released in 2000) that I had not seen, nor had never heard of until Michelle shared the trailer for it on Youtube - Apparently, Michelle saw it on Daniel Correia's FB site.

There were a couple of times when I was just about to go to the mall to purchase a copy, but Michelle convinced me not to. Well Surprise Surprise, during the holidays a little package arrived in the mail. That's when we set the night - just the two of us, to watch it.

After watching the movie, I quickly realized that in both our personal & business lives, we "need" to Pay It Forward. Too many of us from the corporate world really have a difficult time with the "help people" approach. It's something that has been engrained on the brain (incredibly strong neuro pathways) - to not worry about your friends, colleagues etc., just take care of yourself. This is mostly true the higher you climb the corporate ladders.

This past year, I heard (a number of times), from some very successful people/mentors of mine, say, "Who can I go out and help today?"

I thought that it was a nice comment for these people to make, but I guess I didn't truly believe it - or maybe it was that I didn't truly understand it.

The more I heard it, the more I became curious. Then, after seeing the trailer for Pay It Forward, I became obsessed about it. So, the movie was put in.

Pay It Forward is a really "nice", "feel good" movie. But as I stripped away all of the conventional and predictable hollywood elements, I/we were left with a very powerful message. One that I want to discuss and share in today's blog. One that many of us entrepreneur's should latch on to and never ever let go.

This message is about taking on the responsibility to "help" someone. We are living in a incredibly difficult time these days. Many of our friends, family, neighbours & colleagues are having a difficult time. The increased-stress at home is because of a collapsing economy; lack of job security - or lack of jobs in general. These are the things that are making it very difficult to live the life that we are all meant to live. So what does it mean to "help" somebody? Well, maybe it starts with "listening":

listening: present participle of lis·ten (Verb)

Verb:

1.Give one's attention to a sound: "sit and listen to the radio".
2.Take notice of and act on what someone says; respond to advice or a request: "I told her over and over, but she wouldn't listen".

By listening, we can easily get to the root of the problem or issue. My question is, is if we get to the root, is it not easier to find a resolution? I think so.

So, I ask this of you...Are you committed to helping someone every day?

If yes, who are you going to help today?

Today, day two of 2012, I am committed to helping any one I can every day this year...

b2

The Fundamentals

It has been said, that in anything we do in life, we must master the "fundamentals" in order to be successful.

It has also been said, that whether you're a brain surgeon, professional athlete, real estate agent or a stay-at-home mom, that there's truly only 3 or 4 fundamentals to master in any profession.

I whole-heartily agree with that statement.

The hardest part is...

1) getting all parties to agree on what the fundamentals actually are, and

2) focusing and committing yourself (and others) to actually working on those "fundamentals" every single day.

Our biggest problem is procrastination. The second, is convincing yourself "not" to fall back into those poor habits and/or routines that have nothing to do with the actual "fundamentals".

A little info on the word "Fundamental"

fundamental
[fuhn-duh-men-tl]   Origin

fun·da·men·tal
   [fuhn-duh-men-tl]

adjective
1.
serving as, or being an essential part of, a foundation or basis; basic; underlying: fundamental principles; the fundamental structure.

2.
of, pertaining to, or affecting the foundation or basis: a fundamental revision.

3.
being an original or primary source: a fundamental idea.


Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin fundāmentālis of, belonging to a foundation. See fundament, -al1

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What are the fundamentals in your business?

Are you focused on those fundamentals to the point of being obsessive? If not, then you may not achieve what ever it is you set out to achieve...

Obsessive is not a bad word...Tomorrow we'll discuss it in greater detail.

Feel free to comment in the comment section below...

- b2

The Miracle of Personal Development

I've been lucky enough to have this one numerous times...

Thought I'd share...

The Miracle of Personal Development

One day my mentor Mr. Shoaff said, "Jim, if you want to be wealthy and happy, learn this lesson well: Learn to work harder on yourself than you do on your job."

Since that time I've been working on my own personal development. And I must admit that this has been the most challenging assignment of all. This business of personal development lasts a lifetime.

You see, what you become is far more important than what you get. The important question to ask on the job is not, "What am I getting?" Instead, you should ask, "What am I becoming?" Getting and becoming are like Siamese twins: What you become directly influences what you get. Think of it this way: Most of what you have today you have attracted by becoming the person you are today.

I've also found that income rarely exceeds personal development. Sometimes income takes a lucky jump, but unless you learn to handle the responsibilities that come with it, it will usually shrink back to the amount you can handle.

If someone hands you a million dollars, you'd better hurry up and become a millionaire. A very rich man once said, "If you took all the money in the world and divided it equally among everybody, it would soon be back in the same pockets it was before."

It is hard to keep that which has not been obtained through personal development.

So here's the great axiom of life:

To have more than you've got, become more than you are.

This is where you should focus most of your attention. Otherwise, you just might have to contend with the axiom of not changing, which is:

Unless you change how you are, you'll always have what you've got.

Lack of Integrity - Re Commmitment

Lack of Integrity - Re Commmitment

Well hello friendly blog followers,

There comes a time, in everyone's life, when a person must publically declare, that they did not do what it was they said they would do...

That time for me, is today...

Last month in a couple of specific posts, I blogged about my dissatisfaction in a few areas of my life. I spoke about reaching out to a few friends/mentors to get some "re-invention" advice, and committed to this re-invention.

I also blogged about "accountability", and the importance of being accountable...

Well, I've personally found myself these past few weeks moving forward with a serious lack of integrity - And it's time to re-commit to my goals...

~ My health & well-being goals (fitness & getting more rest)
~ My realtionship goals of spending quality, no-tech time with Mich, Mad & Wy
~ My personal development goals
~ My professional commitment to following a proven system

The long and the short of it is this my friends...

~ Sometimes we fall off the path we committed to following.
~ Sometimes we are pushed off the path.
~ Sometimes we stop to take a nap because things got so hectic.
~ Sometimes we jump off because we don't see immediate results

We all know the key to success my friends is to keep your word (your integrity) intact, and to implement consistant action.

And, if for some reason you find yourself falling, being pushed, napping or jumping - Publically declare that you are not being true to your word, and re-commit to the things you have listed as priorities in your life.

By publically declaring this, you are once again stating your intentions, which will force your mind, body and soul to re-commmit and succeed !!!

Have a great day...

~b2