Problems

Its easier to be part of a problem than part of the solution to that problem. Its easy to become a cancer within your own organization and join bashing and discontent, however , this only takes you down a path where it is almost impossible to crawl your way out of.
Its easy to say “that’s not my job” “why they and I don’t?” or “why me and not them?”
Sometimes we don’t even realize it because of our bitterness , we are so wrapped up expecting some reward for just doing our job , that we miss the opportunity to enjoy doing our job
Only extraordinary effort is rewarded in life, ordinary effort will give you…ordinary results.
Doing what we are paid to do is nothing to deserve a reward beside your earned salary, going above and beyond your duties is.
Be a company man, a company woman , see the benefit for Us , rather than just you, see it this way and it will come back to you ten fold.
This week, find ways to surprise yourself with an attitude of service.

Perseverance

“ I will never quit. I persevere and thrive on adversity… If knocked down, I will get back up, every time. ”
U.S. Navy SEALS
How good are you at perseverance? When was the last time you went after a goal and fought almost impossible odds,but stayed on course until that goal was achieved? Was that goal more important than all the others? Was that goal particularly special? Big Question..shouldn’t all goals be important?
Use all your strength,both mental and physical to achieve,and enjoy your goals. Many times we get so lost in the pursuit that we forget to enjoy our achievement, just make sure you enjoy it after you achieve it and never before. Many times we also slow down just as we are about to achieve success, use Zig Ziglar’s water pump analogy, when the water is in the well and you can’t see it or hear it, pump as hard as you can until it starts coming out the spout,once that happens,keep a constant effort to keep it coming…..that’s it,pretty easy right?
This week keep your efforts strong on achieving your goals, make it personal, do not stop until it happens.

Make Today Count

2011 just rolled in , most people will have a list of resolutions and most blogs will talk about this beaten to death subject. Yes it is extremely important to write down and date your goals , and it is extremely important to keep yourself accountable.....how are you going to do that?
There are many tools, I believe that the difference maker is your attitude, where do you stand when it comes to your attitude today?
Manage your decisions daily, make everyday a master piece, there are no big events, only small ones done perfectly , pay attention to the details in your everyday life and excellence will come.
Remember that we have no control over what happens to us, but we have total control over our reaction to what happens to us.
Resolve to not be a victim , don't complain , don't whine....
People like winners not whiners weiner, we all have the mandate to reach our highest potential and become what we were always intended to be, do not waste your talents be a good steward and always strive to make every day count.

Defeat them

At a very young age , my dad said to me ...son when you grow up , give your life to a cause bigger than you, defeat your demons and all your non believers , because one day you will be a man. What will you give the world? because the world will give you whatever you ask of it,the world will give you what you deserve , not what you want.
What a powerful statement huh? We secretly attract what we think , As a man thinketh by James Allen is one of the most powerful books there is, written more than 100 years ago, as true today as it was then, all of this "new age" concepts are natural laws, they will not go away, you can choose to ignore them, but that doesn't mean  it will not apply to you.
It has taken me many years to find out and realize true happiness, it is amazing how easy it really is to have a happy existence. Finding true purpose which only comes from spiritual growth is paramount for you to achieve happiness....
that was step one of the equation, look within you, really look deep and find your inner voice, what is it saying? Follow it..

Greatness

Each one of us is called to greatness. It is not the exclusive domain of
the famous , or those in positions of power. If you choose, no matter what
your current situation, you can have an extraordinary impact on the world.
You can craft an extraordinary life, and make a real difference in the
lives of those around you. Here are some powerful ways to embrace your
highest potential and awaken your best self.

Drink Tea With Gandhi
Reading is one of the best disciplines I know of to stay “on your game” and
at your highest. Reading from a great book is really all about having a
conversation with the author. And we become our conversations. Just think,
tonight — by reading Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography, The Story of My
Experiments with Truth, over a cup of tea — Reading a book
by someone you respect allows some of their brilliance to rub off on you.

Get Some Skin in the Game
Failure is the price of greatness. Failure is an essential ingredient for
high achievement. As innovation guru David Kelley wrote: “Fail faster,
succeed sooner.” You can’t win without leaving your safety zone and taking
some calculated risks.

If you keep doing what you are doing, you’ll keep getting what you’ve been
getting. True joy comes when you put some skin in the game and take some
chances.

Be a Happier Human
If you want to be happier, do more of the things that make you happy. I
know that seems like an obvious point — but it’s not. As we leave the
wonder years of childhood, most of us stop doing the things that make our
hearts sing.

Listen Twice as Much as You Speak
Listening intently to someone is one of the best ways I know of to honor
that person and forge a deep human connection. When you listen to someone
it sends a message: “I value what you have to say, and I’m humble enough to
listen to your words.” Most people’s idea of listening is waiting until the
other person has finished speaking before answering.

Align Your Schedule With Your Values
To paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson, “What you’re doing speaks so loudly I
cannot hear what you are saying.”
Show me your schedule and I’ll discover the truth. Because your schedule
doesn’t lie.
There can be no authentic success and lasting happiness if your daily
schedule is misaligned with your deepest values.

Be Wildly Enthusiastic
The people I love to be around are generally those who have a simple,
heartfelt quality: They are enthusiastic. Wildly so. They are open to life.
They are curious. They love to learn. They have a lot of fun. . Be energetic
and alive. See the best in people. You can’t control what happens to you
each day, but if you have an abundance of enthusiasm, I have no doubt that
whatever the coming hours bring, you will handle them with grace, strength
and a smile.

To Be More Productive, Kick Back
Spending all your time working will not make you more productive. In my
experience, and I’ve been at this for more than 10 years, few people get
their best ideas at work. I invite you to take a moment to think about
that. Checking your email on your BlackBerry every 60 seconds will not make
you more productive. Burning the candle at both ends doesn’t tap into your
natural pool of creativity.

Get Big on Self-Care
Leadership begins within. Organizational leadership begins with personal
leadership. You can’t be great at work until you feel great. You can’t be a
source of positive energy if you have no energy. The doorway to success
swings outward — not inward.

Make the time to care for yourself. Get into great shape. Plan and improve
your skills. Work with a coach. Spend excellent time with your loved ones.
Commune with nature. Enjoy life while you chase success. By caring for
yourself, you will be able to give more to others. By ensuring that you are
on your best game, your leadership effectiveness will be guaranteed. And by
taking the time to enjoy life, you will be more enjoyable to be around.

2011 GOALS

No matter how this year was for you… next year can be even better.
If it was great, you can parlay that success to make next year truly
extraordinary. If it was less than great, this is your chance to punch the
reset button and start fresh.
When the page flips on the calendar and you wake up on January 1… THAT
could be the day… the first day of your BEST YEAR EVER.
A new year gives you that chance… the promise that no matter what’s happened
in the past or where you are today, you can recreate yourself. You can decide that
THIS IS IT… THIS IS the year you set out to accomplish your dreams. THIS IS
the year you live the life you were meant to live.
You can design this year to be your best year yet. How? There is a formula.
We all have the ability to achieve the seemingly impossible. The key is properly
inciting your creative power, revving up your inner drive, and channeling your
focus over a sustained period. It’s all about setting goals.
If you came short on your goals like most people did, like most people have , what are you going to do different this year in order to achieve them?
We have 62 days before this year is over, start putting together your list now,do not wait until December 31st to put together some half baked list with ridiculous goals.
Have 3 main goals
1) Personal/Spiritual
2) Professional
3) Fitness
Then have sub-goals for each category, give them a time line , but please do not write December 30th on them,you want to be done with your goals by December 1 so that you can start preparing for January 1.
I achieved 75% of my goals so far, my fitness is where I lagged because i focused on my personal and my professional , its OK , for many years I focused so much on my fitness that the 2 other areas of my life suffered.
I'm writing down my list.....Are you?

TIME WASTERS

Whether you work for a salary or hourly or even your own business, wasting time is a sign of weakness and a definite sign of non commitment to your own cause.
Sabotaging yourself is a sure way to failure, if you make 50-75K and lets say you work only 8 hrs a day ( if you're at 70K and up you are working longer hours,but let's say 8) your hourly rate is between $30-$40 dlls an hour, ask yourself this : would anybody payme 330 dlls an hour to do what i'm doing right now?
Hey we all do from time to time, the problem is when this is a habit and you do it often, don't let ytour mind wander , when you are at work wherever you are be there 100%
In sales , we make our own hourly rate , how much money do you want to make? As a sales person you wake up unemployed every morning, it doesn't matter if you have a base salary or not, you are unemployed and to find employment you must talk to enough people to make something happen, you must "MAKE RAIN" don't procrastinate making calls, don't procrastinate picking up the phone, the best way to stop wasting time in minutia is to first be prepared, be knowledgeable in your offerings, be knowledgeable in your servivices.
The way I look at the business of selling is simple, you are an educator, you educate people on the benefits of your service and products, you make sure that they have all the information needed to make the best decision possible, and you know what? that's all you can do bubba, that's all you can do, you will not winn all the deasl, if anybody tells you that you can , they are lying to you, convert 4 out of 10 No into YES and you will be well on your way to stardom, easy enough right? The secret is that you have to talk to enough people to get to 10 , and that is everyday, Can you do the activity day in and day out? My guess is that if you have a burning desire to succeed you will.
In the words of Zig Ziglar....See you at the top

Are you a Lion?

“Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle – when the sun comes up, you’d better
be running.”

I have always instilled in my daughter that we are a family of Lions, as a kid, my grand father always taught me that being a victim is for the weak, it doesn't matter if someone actually does you wrong, the minute you accept it and act like it, you are doom, you are now a victim , and the world belongs to the winners,not the whiners.

Ben Franklin said "the harder I work, the better luck I have"
so how do we make more luck? followed are some simple suggestions that I believe are instrumental:

1. Prepare. Work hard to be ready for the opportunities that are important to you. Research. Practice. Perfect.
2. Be awake. Pay attention to the people, events, and things around you. Evaluate logically and trust your gut instinct.
3. Take action. Put yourself out there. Explore. Be vulnerable. Make contact with people. Take risks.
4. Expect positive results. Optimism improves your chances. If (when) you fail, embrace the lesson and continue on, smarter.

How many times and how much do we complain about our bad luck? or boast about our good luck? My mentors have always taught me that hard work makes good luck, and hard work always gives you back more than it takes from you.
Hard work at our job makes for more revenue, hard work at our fitness makes for better results and looking great in your bathing suit , hard work on your faith , makes for a closer and more personal relationship with God ,trust me on this one....hard work makes for a better life.
In the words of Zig Ziglar...see you at the top.

Who's in charge?

Closing sales is the main  goal for any sales professional. What is your closing ratio? Is it tattooed on your brain? Bringing home the bacon is closing the sale without the threat of buyer’s remorse and possible cancellation. Indeed, many top sales people can close a high percentage of sales but the power of their subtle coercion just brings about a cancellation once the salesman has gone. All was for nothing. A great performance but “no gravy bubba”.
Here is a general idea of the basis for consultative selling technique Most clients have the pre-conceived notion that a sales person is there to game them….because if they like the sales person they might buy the product or service. . Most people deeply fear rejection in any form.
Successful sales professionals know that it’s not about being like-able but is about identifying the need(s) and want(s) of the buyer. If the buyer sees no need for what you have to sell, chances are highly probable that you are wasting your time trying to make what your selling become a need. So, the first step in the consultative sale is to present yourself as an objective expert on how-if the buyer has the need-your product or service might represent a solution. An effective consultative sale will result in the client asking for the sale.
Building Urgency
Key to closing any sale is building urgency to make a decision. You do this by establishing upfront in the presentation that the buyer will give you a yes or no at the end of the process-either it makes sense or it doesn’t. Assure them that it won’t hurt your feelings if they say no. Rejection is no problem for you. The facts will make any decision apparent.
By not setting the expectation of a decision at the end of the presentation not only loses the opportunity to get a decision and save wasted return visits with the “hope” for an eventual sale, but also the sales person loses the opportunity to take control and bust the view that the sales person is there to do a song and dance. If you come in with a no nonsense, needs assessment approach-and mean it-you position yourself as an adviser and not a sales person.
A consultative sale depends on presenting a logical reason to buy. However, the buyer must first agree that they have the need  and that they want to satisfy the need. It then becomes a matter of presenting facts that logically support what you have to offer. If done properly, at the end of the presentation, the buyer will ask for the sale: “So, what’s next?” or “What can you do for me?When a client asks for help or the next step in the process , it demonstrates the following:
* You are not a salesperson in the traditional sense. Your job was to help facilitate a decision. You presented yourself as an expert on the subject-not a sales person.
* You help the buyer admit that there is a problem or need and that it should be resolved now.
* You set the ground rules that if your presentation makes sense, the buyer will give you a yes or no. Either it makes sense or not.
You kept the sales person out of the room. It was all dispassionate logic.
You showed that your main interest was helping the client meet their needs-not yours. If your product can meet the need, so much the better. But the decision was totally in the hands of the buyer.
* The buyer was under your control from the time you set the expectation of giving you a decision.
Always have your pen and contract at the ready when they ask for your help.

The Time is Now

How many times have we heard this in our lifetime? People use it and drop it as a call to action every time that a sense of urgency is needed. But when is it appropriate to use on yourself? when do you talk to yourself and say "the time is now baby"
Every goal , every dream and every action has to have a start time , and the time to start is now, there is no better time bubba, why wait and prolong it? Old chinese proverb that says "the 1000 mile journey starts with one foot step" its absolutely right.
The easiest thing to do is to do nothing,status quo is your biggest enemy my friend, and there is no better time to start than now.
Having said that, patience is definitely a virtue that must be cultivated and embraced, sometimes in order to achieve our dreams and our goals, fifty thousand things must happen, sometimes painfully slow, but as long as you are moving forward and you know that you are, the results don't have to be visible.
There was a tree in my backyard that looked dead, its branches were ridiculously dry and no leaves or flowers were on it, while all the other trees in the yard grew awesome and big and full, this one was "doing nothing", I wanted to cut this stupid looking tree, I mean you're ruining my yard papi , move out of the way right? well I decided to leave it alone for a while, but it was getting as much water and care as all the others, one morning it seemed like over night, that tree was just full of life, leaves green, beautiful vibrant purple flowers and strong trunk.
See what I was not seeing, was happening, this tree was getting its roots ready to support it and it became the best tree in my backyard , doing nothing and being still are two completely different things.....always remember that.
Follow your dreams, start on your dreams.....THE TIME IS NOW.