Put Your Best Foot Forward:

It’s your first date tonight with your hot n’ sexy new guy/gal that your BFF set you up with. You’re excited, a little nervous, and definitely want to look your best. You’ve picked out a great outfit that highlights your eyes, have brainstormed some topics to talk about (in case there is a lull in the conversation), and have mints tucked away. And if the date goes exceptionally well, you have a couple great places in mind that you’ll suggest to go for dessert and coffee.

There’s a lot of effort that goes into a successful first date, and meeting a prospective client is no different. You MUST be prepared with the right materials, the compelling sales conversion, and looking your best. You’ll want to have your up-sell, down-sell, and follow-up opportunities that you can pull from your back pocket based on how the start of the conversation.

It’s All in the Details:

On a particularly memorable first date, my date called me a few days prior to let me know he made reservations for us at Assaggio’s, provided me the address and phone number with directions, along with suggestions on where to park. I was impressed to his attention to detail – but it didn’t stop there. He was there to greet me at the restaurant, opened doors, and helped me with my jacket and chair (note – chivalry is not dead).   A second date? How could I say no? Plus, he called the next day.

Court a prospective client with the same level of energy and attention to detail, and you’ll also have them in the palm of your hand. Make it super easy for them to say yes to your offer by doing the legwork, going the extra-mile, and stay on top of the follow-up to continue the relationship. Just like in dating, to attract your best clients, you’ve got to build trust and rapport before you can get to first base and beyond.

A Happy Ending:

If you think you’re done once you close the deal, you are sadly mistaken. You’re never “done” with dating, even if you get married – you’ve got to keep the romance and passion alive! All relationships (romantic or otherwise) will die away without time, energy, attention and love.

So how are you courting your best customers and clients? Keep a thriving relationship by fueling the fire with stay-in-touch marketing such as eZines, personal cards, and gifts of appreciation.

One final note:  

Relationships that are built on the foundation of friendship, likability, and trust are always the most fruitful both in romantic and client love.

The answer is yes – and you’ve probably experienced it before. It’s like runner’s high (I call it swimmer’s high because I’m allergic to running) – the feeling of euphoria you get when engaging in strenuous exercise for an extended period of time. Your body starts to produce endorphins giving you that unstoppable, on-top-of-the-world feeling.
 
Productivity high is similar – it’s when you get in that Peak Productivity Zone. You’re uber focused and cranking out your project and to-do list like a rock star. It’s that zone where everything is just flowing out and you’re getting through the list one after another, after another, and you get that, “Damn, I’m on fire today!!!” feeling. That’s a productivity high.
 
So here’s some tips to get yourself in the Productivity Zone:
Just do 15. Getting started is the hardest part, so commit to just 15 minutes, and set your timer.   Just like you can’t get swimmer’s high without swimming, you can’t get productivity high without starting. The great news is, after the initial 15 minutes, you’ll be in the zone and won’t want to stop!
Sleep & Exercise. Getting good rest and regular exercise has a huge affect on your ability to focus and get things done.  They both help reduce stress and provide mental clarity.  If that’s not motivation enough, how about this – Exercise Will Improve Your Sex Life.
Don’t negotiate. Here’s what negotiation might sounds like in your head: “I’ll clean my desk for half an hour and then I’ll start my project.” Or, “This really doesn’t need to be done right now, so I can work on this project tonight after I get back from dinner.”  This type of negotiating is a waste of your precious time and energy. If you catch yourself doing this, stop! And see tip #1.
 
Just like sports, when you find the game in productivity, it’s a helluva lot more fun.  Enjoy the high!

The title says it all doesn’t it?  

Despite what you’ve heard, falling on your face in complete failure is an option and in some rare cases, it’s the best option. It’s not fun, I know.  In fact it’s one of the most un-fun experiences to be had. So how can it be a good thing?

Fear of failure has the ability to stop you dead in your tracks. If that’s the case for you, failure can actually free you.   The more times you fail, the less scary it becomes. When failure is no longer the big, scary monster and instead becomes the wise sage, magical things will happen. Learning how to gracefully fail will release you from stuck-ness and guide you to a better way doing things. And, now that you’ve failed and lived to tell about it, you can let go of the fear of failure and MOVE ON!

Falling Gracefully and Graciously:
A few years ago, I decided to give snowboarding a try. There are two things I learned:

• Beside the snow, it’s absolutely nothing like skiing
• You must learn to fall well to survive

I’ve never fallen so much in my life as I did my first day snowboarding. In order to save my wrists, elbows, and knees, I had to learn to roll with the falls (quite literally). It was when I resisted the fall, and try and brace myself that I get hurt the most. Day one for me on the snowboard more resembled rolling down the mountain than boarding, but I kept getting back up. In fact, I pushed myself up so many times, my triceps were actually sore for two days.

It all changed once I got over the fear of falling, and that’s when it became fun. How far could I go this time before my next face plant?  After falling a few times, the fear started to dissipate. After a few more times, I no longer held back because of the fear.  It was at that moment when I was finally free to give it all I have, learn and improve.  By the end of the day I made it the the entire run without falling.

Same goes for you in your business. By facing your fear of failure, even embracing failure, you will be free to give it your best shot, learn from your mistakes and move past procrastination!

1. Get the Right Mindset

“Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right”
~Henry Ford

2. Begin

“You don’t have to see the whole staircase,
just take the first step.”
~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

3. Persist

“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving.
They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.”
~Conrad Hilton

4. Stretch
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” ~T. S. Eliot

5. Win

“The journey is the reward”
~Chinese Proverb

6. Rinse and Repeat

“Great things are not done by impulse,
but by a series of small things brought together.”
~Vincent van Gogh

1. Success takes hard work and determination.
2. If it’s not fun, why do it?

They seem a bit conflicting though, don’t they? Of course there are times when hard work is needed, and it doesn’t exactly feel like Mardi Gras. There are the late nighters, the putting out fires, and days when it’s one fail after another. And then there are times when all the stars align, you have big wins, and it’s the most fun, awesome thing in the world.

Wouldn’t it be great if hard work could be fun too? What if it didn’t have to be either/or, but could be both? What would that look like?

It would look like a game. After all, mostsports are just hard work at a game, and we have fun playing it. Running back and forth on a field is hard work until you throw a ball in and then it’s suddenly fun!

Here’s the scoop on how to have both:
Hard work is something you do. It’s work that takes focus and effort.  Fun is not something you do.  Fun is something you are – a mindset or an outlook you have on life.   That’s why is absolutely possible to have fun doing hard work. The secret is you’ve got to make it a game.

“When the going gets tough, the tough do what they do,
while the wise find the game in it.”

The easiest way to make hard work fun is to engage your childhood imagination. Remember making a fort out of old sheets and dining room chairs and how suddenly the world transformed and you became this pirate, beautiful princess, or fugitive escaping the bad guys? That’s the imagination you want to engage to make any project turn from grueling hard work into a exciting challenge and thrilling ride. Go ahead, put on a costume and get your work done!

It takes a lot to go into business for yourself and even more to stay there. You’ve got to have balls of steel, a strong work ethic, determination, an endless thirst for learning, laser focus, humility, willingness to face your fears, and unshakable belief in yourself – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It also takes smart decisions, successful strategies, and a ton of investment of time, energy and money, and taking risks.

So why do we do it?  As my swim coach would say, if it were easy, everybody would do it! So why us?

• We do it for freedom
• We do it to build something great
• We do it to make a huge difference in people’s lives
• We do it for unlimited potential and unlimited income
• We do it because we are leaders of our communities
• We do it to live our dreams
• We do it because we can’t NOT do it
• We do it because it’s in our blood

You see, even as a coach I can’t give you motivation. No one can, because motivation is intrinsic – it comes from our soul, our desires, the essence of who we are.  Staying connected to your most personal reasons of why you chose to become an entrepreneur is what keeps you going.  On the days when the ride feels a bit too bumpy, hold fast to that.

And, thank you for being bold, being brave, and signing up for a little crazy. You are in good company.

But you and I both know that we can’t really do any of these things with time, because we don’t actually control it. It’s going to pass no matter what you do or don’t do. You can’t trick time, manipulate it, bribe it or blackmail it.

What you DO have control over is who you choose to be – your thoughts, your emotions, and what actions you take (or don’t take). Having mastery over these things are what it really means to be in control of your business, and control of your life. When you’re not in control of your thoughts, emotions, and actions is when you’ll see chaos and frustrating results in your business and in your life.

Here’s what I know for sure:

1. Life is too short not to be happy.
2. Life is too short not to do something that really matters.
3. Life is too short to hold back who you really are, what you really want, and not live your absolute best.

So rather than pursuing the fruitless exercise of controlling and negotiating with time, put effort in the things you do have control over. I promise it’s much more fun.  Choose to be happy now.  Choose to do something that matters now. And most importantly, choose to stop holding back and be boldly, courageously you. Right now.

It’s you…

I know what you tell yourself – that you’re not good enough, you aren’t smart enough or working hard enough, and you don’t have what it takes. (And that’s the PG version of the dialogue.) I know this because everyone does this from time to time. (Some more than others – you know who you are.

Somewhere in your life, you probably heard these messages from someone and picked it up as your own dialogue. But really, how motivating is it to hear everyday? How motivating is it to say everyday? Chances are it makes you feel frustrated, discouraged, and like you have to pick yourself off the ground.

Here’s the thing. You’d never say these things to your best friends. If you did, you wouldn’t be friends for much longer. Instead, you would offer them words of encouragement – keep going, don’t give up, you can do it, I believe in you! You would help them see how great they are, what amazing things they’ve achieved, and inspire them to take the next step toward their goals.

Imagine for a moment that you’re best friend called you up everyday to offer words of encouragement and support. He or she would call and say, “Hey friend, I know you’re dedicated, hard working, and committed to growing your business. I just know you are going hit your goal. Look at what you’ve already accomplished! That’s amazing! Stay focused – you can absolutely do this!” How would that make a difference for you? Would you feel more motivated and get more done? I’d say heck yeah!

It’s time to take responsibility for our “self-talk” and become that best friend for ourselves. This isn’t just fluffy positive thinking and pom-pom cheerleading. We’re talking about real-deal support that motivates you into action. Real motivation doesn’t come from external sources – it comes from within our self-talk. Be your own best friend and your productivity will skyrocket.

Like everything else, there is so much information on how to set goals. Google it and see for yourself. You can categorize them, break them apart, tape them back together, tattoo them on your arm… They even come in acronyms!

• BHAGs – Big Hairy Audacious Goals
• WIGs – Wildly Important Goals
• SMART – Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, Timely Goals

If you are overwhelmed, bored to tears, or simply don’t know what to do when it comes to goals, you’ll like this tip.

Goal setting made super simple:

Set one goal. That’s it. Decide what is the ONE thing you want most in 2012 that you can really get behind.  Make it a big, hairy, audacious, wildly important and smart goal.  Once you know what it is, you can do whatever you’d like with it – tape it to your bathroom mirror, or shout it from the top of a mountain – just as long as the goal remains the top priority.

FAQs:

Why just one goal?
It creates focus. Focus is the powerful secret ingredient to getting anything done quickly.
What do I do after I achieve the goal?
You set your next goal.
What about all the other areas of my life?
It’s all relevant. If your goal is to be in peak health, your work is going to impact that, positively or negatively.  If your goal is to earn a six-figure income, your health is going to impact your efforts to achieve it.

Remember, how you do anything, is how you do everything.  If you’ve got one wildly audacious, big hair-raising important and smart goal in one area of your life, the rest of your life will naturally have to step-up to make it happen in a great way.

You are here to be courageous and bold.

You have the power to take control of your life and change your future.

You are the only one who can create your breakthroughs to the next level.

You have what it takes to build a successful business and create a life of abundance.

You are here to make a huge difference in the world.

You can do better, be better – this work is never done.

Believe in yourself.  Without this, you’ll be trapped by fear, self-doubt and uncertainty.  You’ll continue to feel powerless and small.  You’ll end up holding yourself back so far, no one knows who you really are and what you’re really capable of doing. With out a strong belief in yourself, you’ll never come close to achieving your potential or fulfilling your true purpose.

Believe in yourself.  It’s the foundation of who you will become and everything you will achieve.  It’s the fuel that will push you to take the next step when all you want to hide under the proverbial blanket and not deal with stuff today.  Some days it’s easy, and some days it’s hard.  Just remember that believing in yourself isn’t a feeling you have, but rather it’s a choice you must make each and every day of your life.

Believe in yourself.  I believe in you.

(Sometimes we just need to be reminded of this.  Spread the love by sending this to someone who could use a reminder today.)