Do you 
make a to-do list every day? And are there days when you wonder how you’ll get to it all? Well, here’s a way to clear some space for the things that are worth doing: stop doing the things that aren’t worth doing.
The concept comes from the book Good to Great by Jim Collins, a fabulous book built on the concept that good is the enemy of great and that so few people and companies achieve greatness because we’re satisfied with goodness. To quote Collins, “Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life.”
This book was the first time I’d ever heard of the stop-doing list, and I love the principle. Sometimes the very things that are keeping us from becoming what we want to become—maybe even what we were meant to become—are seemingly small things.
Try it out. Write down the things you want to eliminate from your life. Maybe you’ve been meaning to stop eating after 7 p.m., or to stop complaining and start being grateful. Stop staying up so late. Stop yelling at your kids. It could be anything.
The very things in life we hang on to the hardest are sometimes the things that keep us from getting what we want. What are you willing to let go of? Anger? Debt? Guilt? That ugly green sweater in your closet? Come on. Let go, and bring in the great.
- Bryan Thayer
Cliché, yes, but it’s true. Sometimes one more knick-knack will clutter the shelf, one more rhinestone will ruin the jacket, and one more brushstroke will spoil the painting. Less furniture makes the room feel bigger. Ease up on the candy. Don’t over-schedule your kids. Go light on the makeup.
Yep, less is more. The key is knowing when you hit that just-enough point. Here it comes, the obvious, a-ha, not-even-trying-to-be hidden in plain sight corollary: with just a little bit of SoZo, you get a lot of nutrition.
You don’t need a full glass or even a full shot glass. Just an ounce and a half gives you the approximate antioxidant activity of 10 servings of fruits and vegetables.
Aaah. Just right.
The nice guy doesn’t always lose. In fact, he hardly ever does.
It can be a tough concept to wrap your brain around, but doing the right thing is the real way to get ahead. Believe it or not, life is not about closing the sale right now.
Build your relationships for the right reasons. Find out what matters to those around you, regardless of whether they’re going to want your product or service. When you care about what they care about, you will relax and want to help people just for the sake of helping. Your relationships will grow in value. You will stand out, and that means more long-term prosperity.
Keep your word. Give more than you promised. Make your family a priority. Reach for your dreams, but stay grounded.
What goes around comes around.
- Bryan Thayer
Facebook has accumulated more of a draw than many of us might have imagined. More than 400 million people are active users, and the average user has 130 friends on the site.
While that average user looks at this as a great way to connect with people from the past and keep up with people from the present. But the marketer sees a ripe, ready-to-harvest crop.
But don’t get all excited and start throwing stuff out there to see what sticks. Advertising with Facebook ads allows you to reach the exact audience you want with relevant, targeted messages.
Facebook is all about relationships. Friend someone before you try to sell to them. You’re not going to get instantaneous sales; people on Facebook are browsing. But it’s a powerful platform for building ongoing relationships and “remarketing” to your customers.
Learning to use Facebook to target your advertising may take a little time, and it will definitely take some patience. But if you do it right, in time, it can pay big. You can learn to target according to who’s doing what—birthdays, age, gender, where they live, favorite books, job titles—anything that’s on their profile.
So set aside the time, and learn all you can. Happy advertising!
Our favorite example might just be Richard Branson. His name alone equals success. You hear it, and the Virgin logo pops into your head. But Branson started small, in a tiny upper-floor studio.
Another example: Kinko’s. Their first store was so small that they had to wheel the copier outside when customers came in.
Successful entrepreneurs are people just like the rest of us. It takes knowing you have something that people need, having the courage and determination to get it to them, and having the willingness to work hard.
We can learn a great leadership lesson from this entertaining, viral YouTube video. Today’s message: it only takes one person gutsy enough to start a movement, but that person can’t do it without a follower (and another, and another). The point: have the guts to follow.
The first follower shows everyone else how to follow. He or she makes it so that people can see the leaders as well as the followers, and helps them see that there’s no reason not to join in. That first follower takes the fear of being ridiculed out of the equation.
So check out this example. And when you see a movement starting—one that piques your interest and tells your conscience that it’s right, even if it’s a little scary—be the first to stand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW8amMCVAJQ&feature=youtu.be
Whether you’re ecstatic or stunned over yesterday’s passage of the healthcare bill, one fact remains: you are the one in charge of your own health.
It’s not a new concept. About 2500 years ago Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, said, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” What that means today is exactly what it meant then: you’re the one in control. Here’s an example. A friend visited his doctor about an acid reflux problem. You know what she told him? “You were in here a year ago complaining about your back, and I told you to lose 20 pounds; you’ve gained 10.”
Way to go, doc! Way to not just throw a prescription at him and send him out the door. And way to light a fire under someone who needed it.
Said friend decided to let food be his medicine. For him, that specifically meant cutting down the extras and focusing on healthy choices. He began to exercise. Over the next several months, he dropped more than 40 pounds. And every concern he’d taken to his doctor went away.
No matter what entity claims to be in charge of healthcare, you are the one with the most control over your health. Your healthy choices are not up to your doctor, they’re not up to your HMO, and they’re not up to the government. Whatever the current state of your health, the choices you make—how much you move, how well you eat, and how much you sleep—have a major impact on your wellbeing.
Be healthy.
It really wasn’t all that long ago that using the worldwide web meant getting a disc in the mail from AOL (who else was there?) and installing it on your computer. Then you’d have to unplug your phone, plug the line into the your computer, and wait for the obnoxious, and obnoxiously long, series of chirps, beeps, and bongs. You paid according to the time you used. And forget about using the phone while you surfed. No can do.
It’s easy to forget that we once thought that so new and innovative. It’s also easy to forget what else we thought of it. For most, the Internet was just a handy way to look things up or send an e-mail (wasn’t that cool?). But almost no one saw it as the cash cow that it is. Not in the beginning, at least.
Very few business-savvy people were quick to see the potential for advertising, selling, or building a brand. The Internet was seen simply as a novelty—maybe even a time-waster. What do I need a website for? was the cry of many a business. Now, it’s just accepted that your website can make or break your brand.
Let’s not forget, because by remembering, we’re more equipped to make the most of today. There’s always something new and innovative, and it almost always presents a way for you to build your business. These days, the new “time-waster” that’s just waiting for you to get savvy and cash in is social networking.
Look at the millions of people who use Facebook and Twitter—and those are just the top two social sites. There are actually gazillions of social networking avenues, each with millions of users. Clearly, the main objective of most users is to connect with friends. But if you’re not using it to your advantage in business, you might as well still be connecting with that series of chirps and bongs.
All you need is a little willingness to learn how to use the latest resources. Trust me, you’ll be left behind if you don’t. Social networking is taking over. So set aside the time.
Here’s to not missing any opportunities.
Are you seeing how many people these days own their own businesses? Well, the guy who goes for it is no dummy. That’s where the power is.
When you’re your own boss, you write your own agenda. How many bosses out there would actually be cool with you having a different schedule every day? Or making a last-minute change in any given day’s activities?
It’s impossible to actually put first things first (like family) if you’re working for someone else. If you’ve never had to take time off for a family crisis, it might amaze you to see how quickly your company’s initial outpouring of sympathy can turn to impatience.
A home-based business is yours. You can truly call it your own. How many things in life is that true for? Well, maybe your house. But even if you “built” it, chances are that means you hired someone to build it for you.
OK, what about the great ideas you offer up in your workplace? Oh. Nope. Intellectual property of the company. Not yours.
But when you start your own business, everything you build IS yours (and it’s one sure way to make your compensation match your awesomeness ).
Being your own boss even saves you on taxes—you can write off your cell phone and Internet service, some of the square footage in your house, mileage on your car, lunches, even products that you use. This can add up to thousands of dollars.
So if you’re using products that carry with them a business opportunity, ask yourself, “Would I share my great results anyway, even if there were no compensation?” If you would, then building your own business won’t feel so much like work. And you might as well start reaping all the rewards.
Ever notice how passionate the best salespeople are? You think, “Woah. This guy really believes this stuff.” And you’re right. He does; so much so that he’s not just telling you about his product so he can make a sale. That is secondary to the obligation he feels to make your life better.
You see, the best networkers have crossed over from simply selling. They’re fulfilling an obligation. They have something that they know you need. They believe in their product, they know it’s going to make your life better, and they’re morally and ethically obligated to make sure that happens.
There’s only one way to get to that level: get your own results. You’ll hear it referred to as becoming a product of the product. It can take time, but if you want to be really great at what you do—if you want to get to the point of feeling obligated—use your product and let your own story take shape.
The more people you share that story with, the more they’ll want what you have, and the more times you will see your product help someone. And letting those stories accumulate makes your own experience even more real. It strengthens your determination, builds your confidence, and reinforces your story.
Then you have no choice but to believe it.
As wonderful and convenient as technology is, we can’t deny that it makes us lazy. We don’t bother to remember phone numbers because even a base-model cell phone will store hundreds of them. We don’t have to remember how to get somewhere because that nifty GPS will talk us through it. We don’t even have to remember when to be lazy because our DVRs store our couch-potato time for us.
So with all of this convenience, spelling errors are starting to litter blogs and Facebook updates. Errors are now becoming the new rule. RLY. Text abbreviations are showing up in e-mails written with access to a full keyboard and without a character limit. R U kidding?
You have to decide for yourself. If you’re a purist—if you think no sentence should ever end in a preposition because we take our rules from the Latin, and you don’t use abbreviations, even when you’re texting—you’re going to fight this trend with all you’ve got.
But if you embrace the dynamic nature of language—if you’re totally fine with made-up words like ginormous, and you recognize that olde is an old way to spell—maybe you see the lazy text-speak revolution as the logical next step for the English language.
Won’t it be GR8?
The YouTube revolution isn’t just about entertaining ourselves with an easy-to-access version of America’s Funniest Home Videos. It’s a way for anyone to take home the $10,000 prize (or more). YouTube millionaires are not unheard of.
Our example for today: Blendtec, a blender company that was doing a pretty good business before YouTube. Then they began their Will It Blend? campaign, a series of videos that went beyond demonstrating how to make a smoothie. They started blending things like iPhones and E-Z Cheese (including the can). Blendtec built enough of a following with these cringe-worthy clips to quadruple their sales.
So how do you tap into the power of video? SoZo Distributors know: an easy little tool they all have access to, called SoZoExpress. It’s like YouTube with a personal touch.
The technique is Call, Click, Call, and it works like this. You’re talking to someone about SoZo. You hop on SoZoExpress and push any video right to that person’s inbox. Then, when they watch it, you get a notification. So you call them. And the conversation continues.
What do you know? YouTube that comes to you.
Most of us will never compete in the Olympic Games. But we’re inspired by a new story every day. What is it that’s so mesmerizing? Well, the winter games, in particular, take a level of nerve the average Joe just doesn’t have. Who sails down a mountain on solid ice at 90 miles an hour or jumps 144 meters through the air on a pair of skis? That stuff is just beyond most people's imagination.
Even so, there’s something about the games that speaks to everyone. We all hope to have the kind of courage it takes to go for what we want, the discipline not to give up, and the wisdom to be thrilled with a great performance.
The Republic of Georgia lost one of their lugers before the games even began—a young man who refused to take the track at a slower speed, even though he was afraid of it. He had come to compete, and he did it completely without looking back.
In women’s moguls Shannon Bahrke took the Bronze. At age 29, this is her final season (after she competes in the World Cup), and she said she sees this medal as the perfect way to end her run. All smiles and celebration, Bahrke stood on the podium with her teammate who had taken the gold, and sang every word of the national anthem.
As we watch these Olympics, we see hero after hero make a great performance. And we see some come away with disappointments. Some are composed; others break down.
What the rest of us can find out about ourselves is this: if we have the courage to do what we know will take us where we want to go, the drive to give it our best, and the poise to recognize in ourselves a job well done.
Sometimes getting the prize takes an action that goes against our instincts. But there’s no other way to come out on top. And one other little perk us average Joes get: we don’t have to wait four years to fix mistakes and go for the next victory.
Every day, make time for phone calls. Plan one or two hours (if not more) into your schedule for doing nothing but making calls. Reaching out to people.
A couple of things to know about this: One, you have to plan it—put it on your schedule. And two, this time is sacred. Don’t check your e-mail, don’t file, don’t open mail, don’t even take phone calls. Get your list in front of you, and simply call out. Why? Because if you are calling out every single day, one, two, three hours, or whatever it is, you will always have people calling you back. You’ll always have something in the pipeline.
Want to know how to get the greatest return? Do it in the morning. That leaves the rest of the day for people to get back to you. Some will call you back that day, some in a couple of days, some may take a week, but if you’re calling out, prospecting new business, reaching out, you’ll always have it coming back to you.
We’ve all done it. Looked back on some aspect of our lives and thought about how we could have done it better. But what if we didn’t have to? What if we could pick other people’s brains, see what they would change about their lives, and make ours better so that we can avoid some of the same regrets?
Thanks to Dr. Gerald Ball, former professor at the University of North Carolina, we can. Dr. Ball is one of the world’s most respected human behaviorists, and his study of 4,000 retired executives is an eye-opener.
Here it is, in a nutshell. Dr. Ball went into homes and care centers, and interviewed ex-execs (average age, 70). His question was this: If you could live your life over, what would you do differently? Here are the answers, starting with the most common.
1. Take charge of my life and set goals earlier
2. Take better care of my health
3. Manage my money better
4. Spend more time with my family
5. Spend more time on personal development
6. Have more fun
7. Plan my career better
8. Give back more
These answers came from people who have done what a lot of us are doing now—getting out there and making a name for ourselves. Striving to achieve more.
Now ask yourself: How in charge of your life are you? Where do you sit with your goals? How is your health? How healthy are your finances? How much time are you spending with your family? If you’ve got room to re-evaluate and improve, and you choose to DO it, you could very well find yourself one day looking back and smiling.
