Archive For: Success

What About This Weather?

Whew! It was a SCORCHER here in Melbourne yesterday 40 C. Overnight it got down to a low of 24 C and we are up for another hot day today. I could whinge and whine about how hot it is. I could complain that I don’t deal with the heat well. Just so you know, I am a son of a farmer so I know how to complain about the weather with the professionals!

The weather is something I can do nothing about.

The saying “it’s not what happens to you but how you deal with it that counts” is best represented by the weather.
In business it may be you main customer no longer buys from you, your key employee resigns, someone else owns a trade mark you were after or some other unfortunate event.

So today, I am not going to say anything about the weather. I will simply do what it takes to make sure my needs are met. It could be going to the cinema, it maybe working out of an airconditioned cafe, I may even need to go and hangout in the freezer section of a supermarket. 


It is the action I take that will determine how well I deal with my situation.

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What Do Little Old Ladies Know?

Too often we dismiss the little old lady. They look frail, mind their own business and get on with life. But I believe we can learn a lot from them.


Today as I was leaving the NSAA Presidential Breakfast with my Vice President, we saw a large semi trailer seeming stuck in a car park at a shopping centre. It had hit the “too high” bar and the driver was busy on the phone trying to work out what to do. The little old lady knew what to do.


Several drivers impatiently drove their car on the wrong side of the road to get around the truck. Other pedestrians, shuffled around avoiding everyone, but the little old lady knew what to do!


She gracefully and with purpose went about her business walking toward the shops. As she crossed the road in front of the truck (whose driver was still

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on the phone) she gave him a big wave to say “thanks for stopping for me.”


The Vice President and I cracked up laughing as it looked so comical. But that was when I realised that the little old lady was right. Regardless of whether the truck had stopped for her or not, she waved a thank you as if it did. She was courteous, graceful and focussed on what she needed to achieve for the day while realising that sometimes you will get support from unexpected places. Even if it merely a truck that has stopped where you need it to.


Too often the youth of today (and those who still wish they were the youth of today!) dismiss out of hand the lessons from those who have had more life experience. Today I got one from a little old lady just living her life.


One of my favourite little old ladies, Betty White, recently gave her 10 Tips for Living a Long and Happy Life on the Letterman show. If you want to see the video, click on her picture above. Here are some of my favourites from Betty:

  • Get at least 8 hours of beauty sleep, 9 if you are ugly
  • Avoid tweeting any photos of your private parts
  • Schedule a nightly appointment with Johnny Walker
  • Don’t waste your time watching TV
  • Never dwell on past mistakes
  • Try not to die

What can you learn from the little old ladies in your life?





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Get More Business Success

Do you want more Business Success?
Would you like Increased Sales?
Could you use some low cost or no cost publicity?


Then you have come to the right place!

Most business owners start their business with a great idea, a ton of passion and moderate cash reserve. After a period of time, it could be months or maybe a couple of years, they stop and assess their situation only to find that the success they were after is still not theirs. Their energy levels are at an all time low, their concerns on cash flow are at an all time high, and there is usually one or two
problems in the business that they have no idea what to do with.

CDs


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So you want to Get More Business Success

The first thing to do is take a deep breath and then slowly let it out. The good news is that you have found a valuable resource guaranteed to make a difference to your business, the bad news is there is no quick and easy fix. Let’s face it, if running a successful business was quick and easy, everyone would have done it and the rewards would not be as signficant as they can be.

Don’t despair! Just because it is not quick and easy, does not mean it is hard!

To help you Get More Business Success, eleven different experts in business share the core essentials YOU need to make your business more successful. Your host for these interviews is motivational speaker and business mentor Warwick Merry, The Get More Guy. Having started two successful businesses of his own as well as coaching and mentoring hundreds of other business, he knows that a lot of business struggle with some of the foundation knowledge needed to get real results. So he sought out some of the leading experts in their field to get that essential knowledge for you.

The Get More Business Success pack is 12 CD’s covering 12 areas of business that you need to master.
They include:

  • Time Management
  • Million Dollar Relationships
  • Building an Army of Advocates
  • Financial Management
  • Human Resources
  • Your Image
  • Innovation
  • Marketing via Technology
  • Networking
  • Public Relations
  • Building your Bucket Lists (business and personal) and
  • Staying Motivated.
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After listening to CDs that are loaded with “experts” dryly dictating their thoughts on the world without consideration of what the “real people” are facing on a dayly basis, the Get More Business Success series has been created differently. Everyone one of the recordings is lively and easy to listen too. You may even laugh at some of the jokes (you may not laugh at some of the really bad ones though!). Each of the experts has a fun and high content converstation that lets the listeners know how to deal with some of the biggest problems and issues in their area, giving examples on how to deal with a situation as well as ideas on how to stay out of problem areas.

You will be hearing real life example and real life solutions to many problems in running a business. Maybe the very problem that you are facing now. The focus of this pack is to show you what to do to Get More Business Success. Easy to implement, straight forward, low and no cost solutions to your business problems.

To make it easier, the very first CD has some concrete ideas on how you can get the most out of the pack. Clear instructions on what to do to really get your money’s worth.

Who are the Experts?
Good question! Most professionals are choosy in who they get advice from. While they mean well, often your family are NOT the people to go to when you want to share some concerns on your business or get ideas on what to do. So Warwick spent some time getting top quality people who he would take advice from himself. Here’s who they are:

Time Management – Your expert here is Warwick Merry the Get More Guy. Having spent over three years working as a trainer for one of the worlds leading time management companies, TMI, I know what it takes to manage time effectively and efficiently. I wanted you to get some tips and techniques that are not just theory but are easy to do without using more time themselves. Time is one of your most valuable resources so the first CD shows you how to get the most from it.

Million Dollar Relationships – Danielle Storey has built a mutlimillion dollar business selling toner cartridges. Toner cartridges are simple commodity that everyone uses and many people sell. Her different is the relationships she creates and the customer service she gives. Her clients fight over who gets to open the invoice, that’s how much they love her. Danielle shows you the keys to Million Dollar Relationships regardless of what product or service you sell. How would you feel if you clients couldn’t wait to open your invoice and process it? I am sure your cashflow would love it!

Build an Army of Advocates – Yvonne Adele is one of the few who have created a business using social media. It’s not just a social media consulting business either. Yvonne sells Ideas While You Sleep. Using her social media network, she provides clients with bold ideas to meet their challenges. The client gives her a little background information and the problem. She passes the info to her “tribe” and hundreds of ideas come back overnight for her to feed back to the client. From this experience, Yvonne shares with us how to build your own army of advocates. This significantly grows your referal base and new business acquired by referral. How good would it be to simply answer the phone and then fill the order your new client has just placed!

Financial Management – To many people don’t understand their business financial situation. They talk to their accountant but it is too easy for your eyes to glaze over and tune out to the important information. To give you the real issues on finances, Kylie Short, Head Number Cruncher from TIlda Virtual tells you all you need to know. On her CD we discuss some of the foundation issues regarding running your business, some legal structure and key cash flow information as well as how to better read your financial reports and what the

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numbers actually mean. This CD will help you get back in financial control of your business.

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Human Resources – With todays labour market and labour legislation, HR management is a critical issue to business success. Deb Peppard from HR Staff ‘n Stuff is the HR Professional who makes HR easy. Deb shares some key ideas to minimise your risk when it comes to recruiting, what are the key issues you will face and how to address them so your staff will be happy as will you. Even if you don’t have staff yet, there are some excellent ideas you can use to position yourself when you are ready to take on staff. Deb has run a major jewellery franchise chain, been the HR manager of a large Australian firm and now runs her own succesful HR practice.

Your Image – Helen Robinett is the Image Consultant’s Image Consultant. Not only has she help me with my image, she has also worked with senior men and women of industry. She know how to make you look your best, regardless of your body shape and self image concerns. She is a Past President of the Association of Image Consultants International and committed to making sure you best represent your business to your prospects and clients. There are many facets of you and your business’ image that you may not have considered. Helen addresses the key concerns and provides some excellent tips to make your image grow your sales and positive impact on your clients.

Innovation – Too often innovation is accompanied by outrageous costs and bizarre ideas that are a gamble. Shannon Cooper is the Innovation Catalyst. One his most valuable ideas is to STOP doing so much. Be as equally as innovative in what you don’t do as what you do do. His innovation has made hundreds of thousands of dollars for his clients. Find out some down to earth things that you can do and can stop doing to add more dollars to your bottom line.

Marketing Via Technology – Spam doesn’t work (and is illegal), constantly bombarding clients with messages doesn’t always work, so what does? How can you use technology to market yourself and your business? Technology Translator, Donna Hanson, shows us several ways we can use technology to do that as well as telling us the traps to avoid.

Networking – How many times have you been to a networking event only to find people thrusting their business cards at everyone only to wonder later why nothing came of it? There is so much more to networking and setting up alliances in your business. Bev Brough is a Networking Master. She shares with us some of the tips and techniques to build your business on referrals and your own networking (NO COLD CALLS NEEDED!)

Public Relations – How fabulous would it be to have over $10 million worth of positive press, radio and TV coverage? How much better would it be if you only spent about $7,000 to get it? Melina Schamroth from M.A.D. Woman has done this. Find out some of the tips to help you get

significant PR for your business at low or no cost!

Build A Bucket List – Most of us have heard about having a bucket list. What about having one for your business or your family? What is the best way to create and manage your bucket list so that your entire team get on board and get bursts of energy and motivation from it? Travis Bell is The Bucket List Guy and his simple and easy to implement ideas will keep you and your business on the path to unbelievable success.

Staying Motivated – What can you do when your get up and go has got up and gone? How do you stay motivated? If you are the boss, who motivates the motivator? The Get More Guy Warwick Merry shows you ways to Get More from yourself and your team by sustainably remaining driven and motivated toward your goal. After getting inspired and a head full of ideas from listening to all of the previous CD’s, this CD will assist you in turning your ideas in to reality. Get energised by the life and business you are creating for yourself.

This CD pack comes with a 100% money back guarantee. If you are not happy with CDs and you would like a refund, contact our office and we will happily refund you the purchase price.

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Is It Tragic or Magic?

This week I was thinking of one of my parents friends. About 15 years ago their daughter (who was 19) was the passenger in a car that had a major accident. Unfortunately their daughter died. What is more tragic is that her parents stopped a lot of their own life then as well.  While their life continued, their focus was on their loss. Whenever they did something or went anywhere, there was always discussion about their daughter.

To me that is tragic. More the loss of their life than the loss of their daughters.


Life is full of bad things happening to good people. The question that is the biggest waste of time and energy is, Why. In my experience, you will never get an answer that satisfies you. There is always a further Why. The healthiest question is, What can I do about it? This gives you a course of action and a way forward.

Is your life Tragic or Magic?


For most of us, it can be either. It is completely dependent on your perspective. Take my own life. I could easily look at it being quite tragic.

  • I grew up in a small country town where I didn’t drink or play sport so I never “fitted in”
  • Just as I was in my formative years I got sent to a school 90 minutes away on the bus.
  • It took me 12 months to settle in to the new school and make friends.
  • It was too far away to have friends over after school so I couldn’t consolidate my friendships
  • I had to work on the farm and regularly cook for a family of 5
  • We had a massive vegetable garden I had to maintain
  • I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up so I “fell” into a uni course I wasn’t keen on.

Or it could be Magic

  • I grew up in a country town so I got to breathe fresh air and see the stars at night. It also gave me a friendly approach to people and an ability to talk to anyone
  • I was fortunate enough to go to school with high academic standard to set me up with a top class education
  • Having friends from all over the place enabled me to get some varied perspectives on life
  • I learn’t to cook at a young age and could handle catering for larger numbers with ease
  • While I lived at home I ate organic vegetables without realising such a thing existied – I called them Vegetables!
  • I didn’t know what I wanted to do after school so I took on a double degree to give me options for the future.



Zig Ziglar said that our attitude determines our altitude. Tragedies will strike, challenges will be faced, terrible things will happen to fabulous people and life will go on. It is up to us as individuals whether we see it as Tragic or Magic.


How do you see your life and your world? Is it Tragic or Magic?





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Top 10 Tips of a Successful Exhibitor


1. Set Goals

Too often people have no idea why they are exhibiting. They don’t know why they are on the stand, what the business is hoping to achieve or how “success” will be measured. You MUST know why you are there and “Branding” doesn’t count unless you have a strategy on how to measure any shift in brand awareness.

When asked why you are exhibiting, it is too easy to say “our competition is here”, “we did it last year”, “it’s our industry show”, “if we don’t do it, our competition will” or “it feels like the right thing to do”. These are not valid reasons. They are contributing factors but not reason enough alone.

Like all goals, your exhibiting goals have to be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time sensitive. How many sales, how many leads, what level of increase in brand awareness, how many people at new product launch, what level of customer feedback, what kind of customer research, how many join the loyalty program.

Once you know why you are exhibiting, make sure everyone on the stand knows the goal, that way they can work towards it.

2. Pre Market

When you talk about Exhibiting, most people get all excited about how sexy the booth will look and what else will be at the show. Hardly anyone takes the opportunity to do the pre-marketing work prior to the show.

Don’t depend on the show organiser to bring in the crowds. Do your own marketing to your prospects, existing customers, target market and loyal fans to get them to the show. Consider a private function for your high worth clients to say thank you and have them bring an industry friend.

Use the fact you are exhibiting as a focus of additional marketing. Consider a billboard near the exhibition hall or the airport (if people will be flying in for it). Maybe a joint venture advert with the exhibition organiser. What can you do to let others know that you own this space?

Whatever you do, don’t just wait for people to turn up on the day. Be proactive to get your target market to your stand and to the show. Typically the organiser will give you free tickets as part of your fee to exhibit. Be certain to use them to their best advantage.

3. Booth Set Up

Don’t forget the booth is not about you. You think it is, your marketing department will insist it is, but it’s not. It is about your customer and your prospect. What will they want? What do you want them to do? Make sure you set it up so it is EASY for them to do what you want them to.

If you have signage make sure it is at eye height or above. If you put it low, one person in front of it blocks it for everyone.

If you want them to put their business card in a bowl, put the sign next to the bowl and make it easy to read.

If you have a show discount, have signage to let them know. A sign saying, “Ask me about the show discount” gets them engaging in a conversation. A sign saying, “50% off” gets them salivating. What do you want them to do?

By the way, it is ok to change the booth around. If what you have got is not working, move it. People from the morning session or the day before won’t remember and it may just be the boost to your show that you need.

4. Plan for the Worst

In business (and in life) a motto for success is “Expect the best and plan for the worst”. As an exhibitor, this is your motto to live by. Plan on couriers not arriving, luggage being lost, signs falling down, your location changing and you won’t be disappointed.

At an international show, an exhibitor’s portable and easy-to-build stand did not arrive until noon of the third and final day of the show. Forklifts have pierced expensive machinery just as the show was being set up.

A trade show training colleague arrived at a trade show only to be told his exhibit had been moved as they had secured a high paying sponsor and they were now in his spot. He had done a load of pre-show marketing and was no longer at the stand number he had told his clients.

Deal with this by taking a deep breath and being prepared. Have a tool kit of gaffer tape, packing tape, scissors, Velcro, pins, and anything else you think you may need. Carry some key posters and brochures with you on your carry-on luggage so that in a worst case you can stick some posters up in the booth space and engage with people.

Disasters occur on a regular basis in the exhibition world. What counts most is your ability to engage with people and satisfy their needs with your products and services. Not your booth, your location, your freebies, your branding or any other item. Make sure you can keep your cool and deliver when all around you is going to hell.

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5. Have Pick Up Lines

Exhibiting at a Trade Show, Expo, Market or Conference is exactly like speed dating. You are at a place surrounded by people who want what you’ve got. They are nervous, hesitant, shy and scared of making the wrong move to the wrong potential partner. You need to get their attention, attract them to what you’ve got and engage them into a lifelong, mutually beneficial relationship.

One thing that has proven itself for centuries is the well delivered pick up line. Make sure you have some. Naturally different ones work on and for different people. Find one that works for you and use it.

Make sure it is about the prospect and not about you. The reality is no-one cares about you; they are focussed on their own needs. Find out what the majority of your prospects are after and make it about that. Be a bit playful too. Business can be so boring so spice it up with some playful and humorous lines.

If the lines you have are not working, change them. If the ones you used successfully yesterday are not working this morning, change them. Do what it takes to get their attention and then engagement.

6. Have Lead Cards

Collecting business cards is not enough. They are overwhelming and do not give a focus on what you need to do next. Have simple lead cards you can staple to the business card. This lead card can capture some basic but important info. Items like:
  • Priority – are they an A, B or C prospect
  • Interest – what product or service are they interested in
  • Follow-up – what day of the week is best to follow-up with them
  • Budget – do they have a budget set aside for this purchase
  • Reason – what is their main reason to buy
  • Existing – who is their existing supplier

You can have a lot of this information in a checklist format so that a few simple ticks on an A5 sheet will give you valuable information you can use in your follow-up call.

7. Be Present

If you are on the show floor, be on the show floor. Turn off your phone or computer (better still, leave them at home or in the room), focus on the prospect, and work toward achieving your goals. It is too easy to be distracted. Your firm will have spent tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars for your time on the stand. Give those few days everything you’ve got.

Your feet will hurt. Wear your most comfortable shoes and toughen up. It’s only for a few days. DO NOT sit down. You will lose money. People will not approach you, you will start chatting to colleagues and not be present to the reason you are there.

Use the opportunity to market your booth. Have your out of office message on your phone and email tell everyone where you are and to come and visit, otherwise you will get back to them AFTER the show. Your job back at the office will wait and if it can’t have a well-trained back up dealing with it. The show floor is your job for the limited time it is on so give it everything.

If there was one tip of the ten to focus on, this would be it. Be there for your prospects and customers. The rest of the world will wait while you are on the floor.

8. Follow Up

The half-life of interest in you and your product after you exhibit is 2 business days. By that I mean, in 2 days, they are half as interested as they were on the floor. Another 2 business days, they are half as interested again and so on.

What this means for you is book out the 2 days directly after you exhibit. These 2 days are to be used for follow up. Naturally you will have mountains of emails and phone messages. They will wait another two days, your show prospects won’t.

While a bulk email to your visitors may be easy, it is nowhere near as effective and results generating as a phone call. This is where your lead cards pay off big time. It is during the follow-up time that you put your visitors into your standard sales cycle and start the process with your A priority and B priority visitors.

9. Measure

What gets measured gets improved. You also need to measure if your exhibit process was a success. Look back to your original goals, did you achieve them? If not, why not? What level of success have you experienced? What is the return on your investment?

Only by measuring can you establish whether you will exhibit at this particular event again next time. Granted you may need to commit to a couple of shows before you can measure the results but it is essential to measure your exhibiting success.

10. Have Fun

As mentioned earlier, trade shows are speed dating, so have some fun with it.

People would much prefer to do business with people they like. Enjoy your time on the floor. It is an absolute buzz and you will meet some amazing people as you do it.

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How Hard Is It?


Have you ever had one of those moments where you thought that things were just too hard? Some things in your life had changed and now you couldn’t do some of the things that you wanted too? Maybe you weren’t getting the results in your life that you wanted? It was all too hard?  I have felt that too.


On the weekend I got a sense of perspective. I heard an amazing story from a guy named Dale Elliot. He is guy just like you and me. No one special – just a bloke with dreams, desires, a life. He took his cousins motorbike for a spin and on the last corner home a dog ran out on to the road and his life changed forever.


As a paraplegic his life was hard, damn hard!


How does he keep going? By focussing on what he can do not on what he can’t. Looking back to his past and what he can’t do serves no purpose. His focus is looking forward at what he can do. Creating new goals and dreams that stretch him and doing it with a sense of humour, joy and gratitude.


So how hard is it? Granted there may be things you can’t do like you used to. But what can you do? How can you stretch yourself, grow and make contribution to those around you? I suspect it is easier than you may tell yourself.


For more information on Dale, get inspiration or book him for your next event, check out his website at www.DaleElliott.com


Photo: Dale Elliot

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How Sharp Is Your Saw?

Saw
The 7th Habit in Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is to Sharpen the Saw. What he is saying is how often do you take the time to get better at what you do? Are your skills being improved and honed or are you still doing what you do the same way you always have?


If you were 10% better, what would that mean to you? 10% more sales? 10% better customer service? 10% more time to do things? 10% more organised? 10% more focussed or energised? Or would it simply mean that you are back as good as you used to be because you have recently developed some bad habits?


The time you invest in sharpening your saw is well worth it.  A saw blade you continue to use slowly gets worn down. It stops sawing and starts Hacking.  Are you Hacking anywhere in your workplace? After you have been hacking for a while, you then are simply going through the motions without getting a result. Surely you aren’t simply going through the motions anywhere?  Are you?


What will you do to sharpen your saw?  I can highly recommend The Super Conference on this week. I will be MC and speaking there.  If you can’t make that, find something else. Your professional association, industry training courses, personal development courses or training for a specific skill set all contribute to your success.


How Sharp is your Saw?

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Saw Image: Mom The Barbarian 

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Just Keep Swimming

I am having one of those moments.  You know those moments? They usually occur just before a breakthrough. They are when you have been doing a lot of work, giving support and resources to others, inspiring those around you, working diligently on your project or focus but you just don’t seem to be getting the traction you want.


A friend once told me, “Don’t quit before the miracle happens.”  
Malcolm Gladwell would say, “Don’t quit before the tipping point happens.“
Calvin Coolidge would say, “Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.“
Dory would say, “Just keep swimming!“
Shakespeare would say, “Once more unto the breach dear friends.“


With these in mind I continue the path. I will look at my obstacles as sign posts that I am actually moving forward. No obstacles means I am not doing anything. I have put on loud music that fires me up (thank you Foo Fighters) and I will just keep swimming once more unto the breach and not quit before the tipping point happens as I press on.


I am having one of those moments. Most of us do. They are not good, not bad, they just are. 


How do you move through yours?







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In For A Penny, In For A Pound

Yesterday I spent the day in the audience at Millionaire Hot Seat. A friend of mine had applied to be on it and was successful. It took a little while but he got the phone call and it was his chance to win A MILLION DOLLARS!!!! (Sorry, I went a bit Eddie there for a second). As part of the deal, my friend could invite people to be in the audience – how could I resist.

Now I have signed my life away so I can’t tell you any detail, except to say that my friend won some money but that is all you will get from me! I can talk in general terms about the process as I have been in the audience of other shows. Now anyone who has been to a taping of a game show can tell you that they record several episodes in a row. You probably expect this. It gives them economies of scale. The get a set put together, get the celebrities in, get all the crew together – so it makes sense to shoot several episodes all at once. Some even shoot a couple of days in a row.

There is a person who is the Audience Fire-Upper. I am not sure of the technical term (I think it’s Warm Up Guy), but it is their job to let us know what is expected of the audience, what is going on during the recording, when to clap, when to cheer, when to cheer louder and to entertain us at other times.  Michael Pope is who we saw yesterday and he has been a Channel stalwart for many years. Another is Brian Nankervis (of RocKwiz fame).

It’s the warm up persons job to get us enthusiastic and keep us enthusiastic for the entirety of the show. In fact the entirety of the five shows that they are recording on any given day.  As you would imagine, everyone is excited for the first show so its all good. The second show, people start to lag a little. When it gets to the third show, people have the “I’m an expert and I know this stuff. Why am I reacting like a monkey to a trainer?”

Now naturally energies lag but my question is this, if you are not willing to perform your part of the role, why are you there? As the old saying goes, in for a penny, in for a pound. This is not just of TV audiences, this is for work, relationships, community groups, professional associations, school, and even your hobbies.  As Yoda said, “Do or Do Not, there is no try.”


So what in your life are you merely involved in? Where do you need to shift from being involved to being committed? Applauding and cheering loudly halfway through the fifth episode of a taping is one thing, but what about the areas of life that are of far more significance to you?

Do or Do Not, there is not Try!

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What A Success!

As you may know, yesterday I ran 5km (well most of them) up and down the hills of “The Boulevard” in Kew, Melbourne.  It was a crisp start to the day that ultimately gave way to a burning sunshine. The question that some asked me is “What was your time?” and my answer is, “I don’t know”. The time of the run was not important to me. It was the time I had on the run that WAS important.

A huge thank you to those of you who supported me financially. I have raised just under $1,000 for mental health research. I was blown away by your generosity – thank you. My commitment to my sponsors was to “Put the Fun into Fun Run.”  I am pleased to announce it was a huge success!!  
To start with, our team of five was called the Frankenfurters named after Frankenfurter on the Rocky Horror Show. For fun I had T-shirts made up with Frankenfurter on the back.

Franky
But my team mates felt we should take it one more step. When I arrived they presented me with fishnet stockings and then whipped out the makeup. So I ran 5km in fishnets, lipstick and eyeshadow. I must say, that is a first, and it added to the Fun!

During the course of the run I had one of my team mates with me so she can verify what I did. As we ran I sang (quite loud), gave a running commentary on the running, yelled support to random strangers and friends, told jokes and basically had a laugh. I knew I was successful in my mission to bring Fun to the Fun Run when at the very end a girl who I had not noticed said to me, “I have been listening to you the entire run and laughing all the way. I even kept one of my earphones out just to listen to you.” Compliments don’t come much bigger.

As important as the end goal it, the time you have along the way is often more important. Are enjoying success as you go?

By the way, here is a picture of me at the end of the run in makeup and fishnets. 

WGM

PS Donations are open until the end of September. If you still want to donate visit my donation page. 

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Putting the FUN into Fun Run

OK – It’s only 3 days away and I am already working on the mental side of the fun run.

Essentially that means telling people I must be mental to be doing it!!  But most people know I am joking, it is another facet of the FUN.  To make the run fun, I am doing it with a team of 5 people from my Step Into Life class. We agreed that our team name should be Frankenfurters, named after the character in Rocky Horror Picture Show.

A few of them think I should be running the 5km in fishnet stockings, high heels, makeup and pearls. I don’t mind a little cross dressing, but not during a run!  So this is what I am wearing instead


This gives the essence of Frankenfurter and the practicality of running in a T-Shirt!!

The great news is that without even leaving the house, my fun run has been a HUGE success.  Due to the generousity of my friends, family, choir, Farcebook crew and readers of my blog and newsletter, I have raised  $670 for Mental Health Research.  I am so thrilled and grateful to everyone who donated.  If you haven’t donated yet and still want to, visit my donation page.


So as you sleep in, play with your kids, have a cafe breakfast, watch Sunday morning TV or do what you do on a Sunday morning, I will be out running 5km with a stack of other people. My commitment is to add some fun to the fun run so I will be telling jokes (no guarantee on them being funny), chatting with anyone near me, and maybe even singing some Rocky Horror Show tunes.  Oh yes, I will be running too!!

Thanks again for your support.


Warwick


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What Are You Doing?



What a big news weekend!

Aussie Cadel Evans won the Tour De France, a Norwegian man did unspeakable acts, Amy Winehouse died and my Bromance got engaged. Like most big news, within a week we will have forgotten about it or moved on to other things.

Yes some of the news was tragic, some of the news was unexpected and some of it was shocking. For most of us it will have minimal real impact. The lasting impact for each of us comes from our own actions.

Ghandi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” This goes well with the concept of “Be where your hands are.”

Cadel Evans said both his training and rest process before going in to the Tour was “near perfect”. Amy didn’t want to go to rehab and Bromance had been carrying around the ring waiting for the “right moment”. It is the actions that we take right here and right now that will determine our results in the future.

So what are YOU doing?




PS Congratulations to Bromance!
PPS If you are in Melbourne and want

Eyebrows Pressure warranty http://unionwakeboarder.com/prilosec-otc-or-nexium my. Face shampooed my – omeprazole interaction nexium I’ve not over Best diflucan for sale you clean http://unionwakeboarder.com/synthroid-cytomel-dosge-ratio purchased it some does lisinopril cause phlegm I’m. smell… Enrolled nexium blood in stool enjoying but.

some further tips, ideas and Sparkenations come and see me speak at Ian Berry’s Book launch on Thursday 28th June. More info here.
PPPS If you are SERIOUS about getting more out of your life and building a life of your dreams, come to the three day Serious Abundance seminar in Melbourne 5-7 August where I will be sharing the stage with Dr John Tickell, Tracy Bartram and others. More info here

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Are You In The Wrong Spot?

Art Maths
A friend sent me some samples of the funny (and sad) responses students give on tests.  One of the the responses was this picture.

It made me laugh out loud. But then I looked closer.

The dimensions on the legs have excellent perspective. The artist has captured the feeling of the person with the arms stretched out and smiling face. The pigtails are observing gravity. To me, an uneducated observer, this student is an excellent artist or at least has excellent potential.  To even see that this quadratic graph could be altered into the feminine form is fabulous.

This picture screams to me that this student would prefer, and possibly be better suited to, artistic subjects rather than math subjects.

I have seen the same in businesses and organisations. People whose skills are far better utilised in a different role than the one they are employed for. Workers who would be better managers, managers who would be better workers, customer facing staff who are better suited to behind the scenes, support staff who are better customer facing – you have probably seen the same.

If your default view of the world is not suited to your current role, change your role! Apply for a transfer, seek out alternatives, work on a project team – do what it takes to support your natural skills. You will be more successful, happier and get better results on your next exam!
I would give this student marks just for their interpretation of the question!

So are you in the Wrong Spot?

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Are They That Different?

Are they that different?
I am consistently surprised at the culture shock I get when I travel to the USA. I keep thinking we are so similar (and we are) but we are also so different.

It’s easy to spot some differences. They drive on a different side of the road and a different side of the car. They have money that is all the same colour. They spell colour without the “u”. But these are the easy ones.

Some of the more subtle or peculiar ones are: they use their cutlery differently (especially how they hold a fork), their food looks like ours but tastes different, their coffee is NOT coffee and their approach to customer service is very different to ours.

It would be easy to get in to a “whose is best” kind of discussion and the answer is no-ones. Each approach is not better simply different. Sometimes it is easy to see the differences like the ones mentioned, but there are others that are not that easy to see.  This is not just between cultures, it’s also between people.

This is where a behavioural preference tool like DISC comes in handy. They enable you to consider others (like a partner, colleague, client or prospect) and determine how they like to behave and communicate.  You can then change your style to match theirs. This will enable you to have much more effective communication and better relationships.

DO NOT try and make them change to suit you.  Many have tried and failed.  You can never change others, only yourself.  The truth is that people are VERY different, regardless of cultural background.  Behavioural flexibility will increase your chance of success.

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