TODAY! Seminars

How Do You Become One Of The Most Outstanding Leaders Ever In Your World?

2012-03-07T15:22:00.004+11:00

Post 10 of the “Leading TODAY! on Wednesdays” series: Being ABillion Dollar Leader
Being a Billion Dollar Leader

Lesson 5: Iwork to make it work

Having the right people in your team is one thing, but ittakes more than just having the right people to ensure success. The BillionDollar Leader understands that success over the long term is built onflexibility and the desire to always strive to be better. They understand thatoutstanding success comes from everyone in an organisation constantly workingat getting it right – and then some.

AWord on being flexible

A Billion Dollar Leader is flexible. No, I’m not talkingabout the being able to bend-over-and-touch-your-toes type flexible … aposition often considered important for managers to learn for some reason!Although, fitness is important to a Billion Dollar Leader’s ability to copewith the stresses of their role.

I’m talking about the flexibility to change tack at amoment’s notice to be able to take advantage of an opportunity. It’s theflexibility to define what works and what doesn’t and to get rid of whatdoesn’t —even if it dents one’s pride.

It is the flexibility to change day‑to‑day operations inorder to meet the requirements of the day. It’s being flexible enough to placemore emphasis on the important strategies that will drive success rather thanthe mundane, less important but still required-at-some-stage tactics that takeaway from that immediate success.

For instance: meetings! Some managers insist that meetingsmust take place at a certain time every week. Yes, meetings can be important.And yes, you can convey important messages or gather important information atmeetings. And yes, it is important for the team to get together on a regularbasis. But how many of us know of meetings that have been an absolute waste oftime? How many managers use meetings more as a control mechanism rather than asa dialogue session?

So why, when times are tough and the team is expected towork harder at achieving their targets, would anyone but an incompetent managercall a meeting that wasn’t really required? Yet that is exactly what somemanagers insist on! “It’s Monday (or Wednesday or Friday), therefore wehave to have a meeting because we always have a meeting on Monday!”

Makes sense to a manager.

A Billion Dollar Leader knows that there are other ways tokeep in touch with, and convey messages to, their team if necessary. A BillionDollar Leader is flexible enough to gather the information they require withoutcalling a meeting. A Billion Dollar Leader only calls meetings when meetingsare really needed.

But that’s just meetings. A Billion Dollar Leader isflexible in all other areas when needed, but is not so flexible as to just giveinto the team because the team want change. They are flexible for a successprinciple—one that ensures that the right people are doing the right thing, theright way.

All Success

Colin

Do you like this article from Leading TODAY! on Wednesdays: Ideas on excellencein leadership and Being A Billion Dollar Leader? Feel free to share it withyour friends also. Or, why not join us for other articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Do You Take The Fear Out Of Public Speaking?

2012-03-07T14:58:00.001+11:00

Post 10 of the “SpeakingTODAY! on Tuesdays” series

Humour!

I’m not going to talk too much about humour. After all, meattempting humour would be enough to make you laugh – in a cringing sort ofway.

That doesn’t mean I’m not humorous in my talks, but I’m morehumorous through audience interaction than by those funny lines that somespeakers just seem to have the ability to deliver.

If you want some real tips on how to use humour in a speech, Isuggest that you connect with Darren Le Crois on his Facebook StageTime. Nowthere is one man who can tell a story and have you laughing.

Suffice to say, humour is vital to 99.9% of speeches. Even aeulogy can contain humour.

Look for the humour in your topic. It doesn’t have to be a joke ora long story (please avoid those old worn out stories and the jokes you wouldtell around a bar after 10 vodkas). The humour can be in a facial expression, apause, a few words, an action.

Sometimes my humour comes from a least expected source – what Imean is that a line you didn’t necessarily think was that funny just, somehowor other, gets the audience laughing. Analyse what you did. Was it the words? Agesture? Maybe you accidently paused and it just changed the whole way in whicha sentence presents. Whatever it is, if you are like me, you can grab thatsucker and use it again.

That’s the secret to how I’ve put humour into many of my talks.

Another way is to use some subtle self-deprivation – not so muchas to make the audience uncomfortable, but just enough to make you believable.

A third way I use humour is to bring in third party stories thatare funny – as long as they are relevant and not offensive or a put down.

People may laugh at an offensive comment out of embarrassment.They may just not invite you back again.

Practice (you thought I wasn’t going to mention this today – teehee) your delivery in the speech so that you get to feel comfortable with thetiming and the wording and the actual delivery.

Have fun with humour and let the world laugh with you.

Inspire The World With Your Words

Colin
Do you like this article from Speaking TODAY! on Tuesdays: Thoughts,tips and stories on speaking and presentations? Feel free to share it with your friends also.Or, why not join us for other articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Can You Achieve The Most Outstanding Success In Your Business?

2012-03-05T22:29:00.001+11:00

Post 10 of the series from the “Business TODAY! on Mondays” series - WillRight Pricing Make Your Business More Profitable?

Are You Going To Be The Same As Your Opposition Or Are YouGoing To Be Outstanding?

When all is said and done, ultimately the question is, doyou really want to be the same as your opposition or are you going to be anoutstanding – if not THE outstanding – business in your field.

You can choose to be the same. You can even choose to beworse. But when you become outstanding than chances are it will be yourbusiness that everyone else talks about – the one that becomes the benchmarkfor being the very best at being the very best.

Thequestions to be answered are:

· What do your opposition do well?

· What do they do poorly?

· How can you do things better?

· What will you do that is better?

· What do their customers find unattractive aboutdoing business with your opposition?

· What must you do to be THE leader in your field?

You know, it is said that service is so bad in Australia itactually doesn’t take much to be outstanding. Well I disagree.

Yes, service may be really bad. But do a little bit more andyou won’t be outstanding – you’ll be just above average. And maybe that’s whereyou want to be for your Right Customers.

To be truly outstanding, to be THE benchmark, to be known asTHE business to go to for an amazing experience, to be THE leader in your fieldtakes something even more special than just above average.

It takes an amazing attitude. It takes an amazing product orservice. It takes amazing staff who know their stuff and who provide amazingcustomer service. It takes amazing after sales service that entices the RightCustomer to come back and to share their experience with their friends, familyand collegues. It takes an amazing business leader, who understands theirbusiness and their Right Customer.

The question to leave you with is this – just what do youneed to do to be amazing?

All success

Colin

Do you like this article from Business TODAY!on Mondays: Ideas for achieving outstanding business success? Feel free toshare it with your friends also. Or, why not join us for other articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Can You Have Amazing Wellness and Be Safe In Life?

2012-03-05T22:24:00.005+11:00

Post10 of the “My Health TODAY! on Mondays” series: How Will The New WorkplaceSafety Laws Affect Me and My Business Operations?

Risk Assessment or, what should be a more correct approach, RiskManagement.

Risk management is the ongoing pro-active management of risk inthe workplace. The important thing to note here is the term “pro-active”. Riskmanagement is not about waiting for an incident to occur. It is about takingaction in advance of any potential incident happening.

Risk assessment is just one aspect of risk management. Riskassessment is about the identification of hazards and the risks they present ina variety of situations and taking action to eliminate or minimise that risk toan acceptable level.

Risk management goes well-and-truly beyond assessment. Accordingto the Standard AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009, it is the systematic applicationof management policies, procedures and practices to the activities ofcommunicating, consulting, establishing the context, and identifying,analysing, evaluating, treating, monitoring and reviewing risk.

It also covers the complete processes and systems of work and theleadership applied to the overall health and safety of all concerned in regardsto the operations conducted by an organisation and as required under the Act,the Regulations, Codes of Practice etc..

However, in this post we will just focus on Risk Assessment.

It is a requirement that all hazards in a workplace be identifiedand acted on. As already stressed, this applies to all workers and BCBUs.

Step 1 isto identify hazards. A hazard is something thathas the potential to cause harm or damage. There are various classes of hazard types. These include:

· Physical: Walls, floors, stairs, light, airquality, heat/cold, ventilation, amenities etc.;

· Mechanical: Plant, equipment, electrical,lifts, manual handling;

· Ergonomic: Workstations, sitting, standing,light quality, computer equipment etc.;

· Biological: Cleanliness, vermin, insects,disease, pathogens, needle-stick, body fluids etc.;

· Chemical: Gases, vapours, dusts, cleaningchemicals, acids, petro-chemical products etc.;

· Psychosocial: Stress, bullying, harassment,abusive language, exclusion from activities etc.;

· Fatigue: Mental, physical, emotional, workschedules, excessive work hours etc..

Step 2 is to assess the level of risk. Risk is based on the likelyoutcome in a given situation based on the likelihood of the outcome occurring.

So how doyou assess a hazard? This is an example of the questions that could be asked toassess a hazard. Will the impact be:

· Insignificant: minor injury requiring firstaid treatment, negligible financial loss etc.;

· Minor: Injury requiring medical treatment,notable financial loss, minor environmental damage etc.;

· Moderate: Series or permanent injury,significant production, reputation and financial loss or environmental damageetc.;

· Major: Individual loss of life, majorfinancial, reputation and production loss or environmental damage etc.;

· Catastrophic: Multiple fatalities. Excessivefinancial, reputation and production loss or environmental damage etc..

What isthe likelihood of that event happening:

· Very low: Is potentially possible but no knownhistory;

· Unlikely: Unlikely but it has been known tooccur;

· Possible: Might occur at some stage;

· Likely: Greater than 50/50 chance it willoccur;

· Definitely: Almost certain to happen at anytime.

Of course,a catastrophic impact with a definite occurrence leads to a far higher ratingthan an insignificant impact and very low to occur rating.

The thirdstep is to take action. You can do this by:

· Elimination: Removing the risk altogether;

· Supplement or change: Equipment, saferchemicals, systems/methods of work, workstations etc.;

· Isolate: Fencing, locks and tags, barriers, screens,storage rooms etc.;

· Engineering/ design for safety: Sound hoods,guards, extractors, buildings etc.;

· Administration: Policies, procedures,training, supervision, signage, work schedules etc.;

· Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Masks,goggles, hearing, clothing, gloves, shields etc..

The higher the rating the greater the urgency and, generally, thegreater the action needed to eliminate or reduce the risk. Elimination is thehighest form of protection and PPE the lowest. But a single hazard may requirethe application of one, several or all of the steps. For example you may needto isolate a situation, put up signage, provide training, develop proceduresand use PPE just to reduce the risk down to an acceptable level.

Of course you would be advised to attend training on riskmanagement so as to gather a more in-depth understanding. But for starters,this gives you something to go on with.

Good health and keep safe out there.

Colin

Do you like this article from MyHealth TODAY!on Mondays: Ideas and issues on good health and safety? Feel free to share itwith your friends also. Or, why not join us for other articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Can You Build An Outstanding Networking Business?

2012-03-02T07:42:00.002+11:00

Post 9of the “Networking TODAY! on Fridays” series: How Will You Make Your NetworkBusiness A Success This Year?

Your Mission Statement takes your Vision and begins todefine how you will make that Vision of yours a reality.

Take this Mission Statement:

“My mission is toserve people by providing products and services that help maintain optimalhealth, wealth and wellbeing. I will provide products that are of value to bothpeople and the world we live in. I will work with people to discover theirdream and to build their businesses in a way that will make those dreams areality. I will not harm people in building my business but will work to leadand serve my team. I will provide leadership in every aspect of my businessoperations, from the image I project to the services excellence I provide. Iwill work to inspire my team by my example. I will utilise the tools of thisbusiness to maximise their effect both personally and in my downline. I willactively promote any function my team needs to attend. I will actively promotethe books and training material that will help my team grow. I will never putgarbage downline and will always seek the counsel of my upline in helping mebuild my business. I will approach people in a professional, honest andbusinesslike manner at all times. I will work with my downline to make theirdreams a reality. In all ways I will commit as much time as I can to buildingmy business and making my own dreams a reality and be totally financially free.I will leave a beneficial and growing legacy for my family.”

Sort of says it all, doesn’t it?

Notice how it talks in high order terms, not nitty-grittydetails. In a normal business this would flow down to a set of performancemeasures, customer service charters, codes of practice, Key PerformanceIndicators and, even, position or job descriptions.

Notice also how it covers all areas of business operations.

Also, notice how it is written in the active word, with “I”statements as the driver, after all, it is about you, not the company yourepresent.

Could you imagine if every company, every business ownercreated their very own Mission Statement that they also applied. Such hopes!

So what is your Mission in this world?

Make A Difference – TODAY!

Colin
Do you like this article from Networking TODAY! on Fridays: Thoughts and ideas onbuilding an outstanding networking business? Feel free to share it with yourfriends also. Or, why not join us for other articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Can You Achieve The Complete and Happy Life You Deserve?

2012-03-02T07:19:00.000+11:00

Post 9 of the “MyLife TODAY! on Thursdays” series.

Another subtle difference between the Process of Achievementand modern goal setting is the use of timelines.

Now, some people work well under pressure. They love it.They often do their best work in that atmosphere. For them, having a deadlineis important. For others though, the date is a dead-line.

If they don’t cross the line by that date, they’re dead. Theyoften use words like, “I knew I wouldn’t do it.” “I failed again.” “That’stypical of me.” In this instance and with encouraging words like those, eachtime they fail to achieve on time becomes another nail in the coffin thatburies their dream.

For others, it becomes an excuse to do nothing. Anyone whohas ever been given a term paper to write at school or university wouldprobably know how this one works. It’s easy to say, “I’ve got until this dateto achieve this,” and do nothing until it becomes too late to do anything. So,in response, some people do nothing.

Others will try to rush it or cram everything in at the lastmoment, often putting in a second-to-best effort that ends up with results wellbelow what they are capable of achieving. For many it becomes just another signof failure. After all, they didn’t cross the line, did they? They didn’t finishthe race, did they?

And of course, if at first you don’t succeed, try, tryagain.

Well, it can work. But, what if what we are try, try, tryingagain isn’t the right thing to try? What if we need more skills, more materialor a totally different approach?

And then, because we repeatedly move the dates in order tojustify the trying, it can almost become like a contest where we never kick thegoals, because the goal posts keep moving. Frustration, disappointment anddespondency can set in. After all, the rules say that if we never kick a goalthen we can’t win. So, eventually we stop playing.

Sometimes, it is important to recognise that it may not bejust the right time under just the right circumstances for something to workfor us.

One of the best pieces of advice I was ever given was totake a step back, stabilise a situation before going on. That didn’t mean Istopped working towards what I wanted to achieve altogether. For a time I cutback on a lot of activities and took a slightly different track. I kept workingon my dream one bite at a time until the time came when I was better placed tomove forward at full pace.

It is helpful, even important, to know when you’d like toachieve something by; to use the date as a guidelineas to when your dream could come true.

But these dates, these timelines, need to be realistic –based on you and the amount of effort you need to put in in order to achievethe dreams of your life. And there is nothing wrong with the dates being astretch – in other words pushing you. But they should be seen as a guidelineonly.

To see dates as a finish line could be setting yourself upfor failure. Even if only in your mind. TheProcess of Achievement takes each day of your life and allows you toachieve great things – one little bit at a time.

Make Your Dreams A Reality

Colin
Do you like this article from MyLife TODAY!on Thursdays: Ideas and tips on achieving the complete and happy life youdeserve? Feel free to share it with your friends also. Or, why not join us forother articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Do You Become One Of The Most Outstanding Leaders Ever In Your World?

2012-02-29T06:44:00.000+11:00

Post 9 of the “Leading TODAY! on Wednesdays” series: Being ABillion Dollar Leader
Lesson 4: Iwill be promoted to my own level of incompetence—so I should employ people whomake me look good!

AWord on succession planning

Whether it be through fear, insecurity, incompetence,negligence or a simple lack of understanding, very few managers spend the timenecessary to develop their people. Very few companies have an active successionplan in place; one that allows anyone from any level of the company to developthe skills and attributes necessary to rise to the next level in the companyand their career.

Yes, many companies champion on-going career development;they even measure this as a key element in any 360 degree staff feedbackquestionnaire. However, when it comes to investing time, money and effort intothat development there seems to be a shortfall of real commitment.

The long term investment benefits that come from a companyhaving a clearly defined career development programme are huge, even though theinitial cost of developing people may be high. When you develop people fromwithin your organisation, you then engrain the culture and vision of thatorganisation into every aspect and level of its operations as those prospectiveleaders take on more challenging roles within your business.

Many an organisation has failed in its long term objectivesby not having developed their own people and then finding they need to employsomeone external to the company. Then too late they realise that this new,external influence doesn’t fit the culture of the organisation, or that the newrecruit acts in a way that contradicts the vision and mission of the company.

One organisation I worked with replaced their ExecutiveMarketing Manager more often than some people change their underwear. It was ayoung, growing organisation and had, in most cases, promoted people into therole—people who had what appeared to be the right marketing or salesqualifications.

While these people knew their business and understood thecompany intimately, having grown with it from the early years, they wereusually placed into the role with little—if any—training, mentoring orexecutive coaching. When I worked with them, I often felt sadly that these goodpeople were being put into a ‘sink or swim’ position.

The company’s one experience of employing someone fromoutside had ended quicker than an ice-cream on a summer’s day—and with a fairfew burnt relationships on the way. That person simply hadn’t understood thespecial relationship this company had with their sector of the market; arelationship that made this company so special.

Companies let themselves down by not developing great peoplejust on the off-chance that those great people may be the ones who will step upinto a leadership role once it becomes vacant, or if a new role is created.They fail by not providing a continuous leadership or executive developmentprogramme that takes an already talented person and develops their skills evenfurther.

They also let themselves down by promoting talentedindividuals into leadership roles and then not providing them with a mentor orcoach in order to guide them in that role. (What? Are they supposed to be greatleaders automatically just because they’ve been promoted?)

Billion Dollar Leadership, at an individual level and as acorporate citizen within the broader community, starts with employing greatpeople and then developing them even further. They concentrate on always makingtheir people better at what they do.

Billion Dollar Leadership means never being afraid to employpeople better than you. Billion Dollar Leaders recognise their own limitationsand are willing to plug the gaps caused by those limitations with other peoplewho are great at what they do.

Billion Dollar Leadership means never being afraid ofdeveloping people to the point where they can be promoted—even if that meansthat they could be promoted over the head of their own Billion Dollar Leader!

Billion Dollar Leadership means not being fearful that theperson being developed may end up being better than the person they answer to.In fact, a Billion Dollar Leader will rejoice when someone they have helpeddevelop is the one being promoted. They will celebrate the success of theirpeople.

That’s just one more thing that makes a Billion DollarLeader so special.

All Success

Colin

Do you like this article from Leading TODAY! on Wednesdays: Ideas on excellencein leadership and Being A Billion Dollar Leader? Feel free to share it withyour friends also. Or, why not join us for other articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Do You Take The Fear Out Of Public Speaking?

2012-02-29T06:14:00.002+11:00

Post 9 of the “SpeakingTODAY! on Tuesdays” series: Thoughts, tips and stories on successful speakingand outstanding presentations
Here is a piece of rocket science news.

It has been proven that Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y and Igen allcommunicate differently. Doesn’t that just rock your socks off? And to think Ineed a research programme, probably funded by government money, to tell me that(you may note here a bit of cynicism).

Generations always talk different to each other. It’s our way ofavoiding talking to our parents.

Actually I enjoyed hearing a Gen X manager complaining about a GenY worker – oh, how the wheel turns! Of course I’m the enemy of both. I wasrecently told by a 24 year old manager that I was lucky to be working with thembecause I was so old. He’ll get there eventually!

But what has all of this babble got to do with speaking? Lots!

As a speaker you can’t guarantee that everyone in your audiencewill be the same age as you. Or hold the same belief. Or be of the same sex orsexual orientation, or education, or social standards or on and on and on goesthe list.

Audience research is vital. Remember the post where I told you Istuffed up with stories that while appropriate to the speech weren't just right for my audience? Well that talkcould have been made better by supplementing the stories I told for ones bettersuited to that audience.

I was in discussions recently with an education provider and theywere raising the issue of the materials they currently had to use in a particularcourse not being that relatable to the audience in their particular classes.Their class was full of road works crews. The course material provided had beenwritten for office workers and all the examples, while appropriate to thetopic, weren’t real world stuff to those who work amongst the traffic, the dirtand the dust. They needed to be more “real life”.

As a speaker, your presentations can be enhanced by doing a littlebit of audience analysis and by using examples they can relate to in theirworld, not necessarily yours.

Inspire The World With Your Words

Colin
Do you like this article from Speaking TODAY! on Tuesdays: Thoughts,tips and stories on speaking and presentations? Feel free to share it with your friends also.Or, why not join us for other articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SME Business, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Can You Achieve The Most Outstanding Success In Your Business?

2012-02-27T06:35:00.000+11:00

Post 9 of the series from the “Business TODAY! on Mondays” series - WillRight Pricing Make Your Business More Profitable?

Will You Provide Better Services And Products Than YourOpposition?

In determining the Right Price structure for your businessyou have to access the services and products you deliver and ask yourself ifyou are willing to provide the same quality, a lesser quality or a betterquality of product and service behind the product.

Go the same and you are fishing for the same customer basein the same target market. Consequently, you either have to sell your productor services at the same or slightly lower price unless you candifferentiate yourself by the service you deliver in providing your products.

Alternatively, go lower and the pricing is self-evident.

Go higher and deliver a quality service to match and you canRight Price. Go higher and deliver a quality of service lower than expected andyou could end up with shorter margins because of having to sell your moreexpensive products at a price not much more than if you sold the same productsas your opposition.

A business that focuses on making certain that every contactwith their customer is a “Wow” moment, will be able to entice the RightCustomer to their business.

By-the-way, a “Wow” moment is one where the customer goes,“Wow, that was fantastic!” (Just make certain it’s not a, “Wow, that wasfantastically bad!”.

They go to your web site – “Wow!”. Your staff and trained,helpful and knowledgeable – “Wow!”. You say you’ll have the product for them onTuesday and you call them on Monday to sy it is ready to pick up – “Wow!” –better still, don’t make them come too you – deliver it to them – “Double Wow”.

Here aresome things to think about when it comes to creating a “Wow” moment

· Are my products/ services of the best qualityfor my Right Customers?

· Are my staff fully trained as well as being theright people to meet my Right Customer’s needs?

· Does my web site look as professional and easyto access as my Right Customer’s want?

· Do I provide the after-sales services my RightCustomers expect?

· How do I keep in touch with my Right Customers?

· Do I give special offers to my Right Customers(or do I just do this for new customers?)?

· Can my Right Customers find me, access myproducts and services as easily as they want?

· Do I encourage (and reward) my staff to go outof their way to help their Right Customers?

· Do I promote my business where my RightCustomers want me to promote?

· Is the experience my Right Customers receiveworthy of the price I am charging for my products and services?

It is the quality of the products and the services we offerthat help determine the Right Price for our Right Customers.

All success

Colin

How Can You Have Amazing Wellness and Be Safe In Life?

2012-02-27T06:27:00.001+11:00

Post9 of the “My Health TODAY! on Mondays” series: How Will The New WorkplaceSafety Laws Affect Me and My Business Operations?

One of the responsibilities that a BCBU has is to ensure thatworkers are trained to task – not just in safe procedure or safety protocols oremergency procedures. In other words, the worker must be capable of performingtheir duties with competence and safely.

Note the two aspects of this. With competence and safely.

Many of the licences that are issued as part of a “ticketing”system are based, not on the overall competence of a person to perform a roleor operate a piece of equipment, but only on their capacity to do so in a safemanner.

In the event of an incident occurring, having a “ticket” to do atask may not necessarily be enough to meet the requirements of the WHS Act inensuring that someone is trained to task.

Competence is the overall ability of a person to productivelycomplete all aspects of a task or equipment operation.

Confused? Put it this way. To safely operate a piece of equipmentmay require following certain safety checks and procedures. To operate thatpiece of equipment to competency may require they follow those safety checksand procedures as well as operating all aspects of that equipment that don’tfall under those safety checks and procedures.

Securing the area, checking no-one is in a position where theycould be injured is safety.

Digging a certain size hole to a certain depth and to certainstandards while securing the area and checking no-one is in a position to beinjured is competency.

A PCBU, under the WHS Act is responsible to ensure both aspects oftraining are met in order to potentially avoid a severe penalty arising from anincident where that equipment and operator is involved.

This has implications when you employ a training organisation todeliver training for your staff. Does that training organisation provide competencybased training with the accurate, real-life, quality competency assessment asrequired by the approved and current industry training package?

Or are theyjust the cheapest training organisation that guarantees that a course thatnormally takes 100 hours to deliver can be done over two eight hour days on aweekend.

Choosing such a training organisation could place you, the PCBU atrisk of a major penalty because you could be considered negligent at best andreckless at worst. Paying lip-service to competency development and assessmentmay have you paying far more than you save. And could you afford that?

Good health and keep safe out there.

Colin

Do you like this article from MyHealth TODAY! on Mondays: Ideas and issues ongood health and safety? Feel free to share it with your friends also. Or, whynot join us for other articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Can You Build An Outstanding Networking Business?

2012-02-24T14:33:00.003+11:00

Post 8 of the “Networking TODAY! on Fridays” series: How Will You Make Your NetworkBusiness A Success This Year?

What’s your Vision for your business?

No, I’m not talking about your dream. Your dream is whatdrives you to do this business you have chosen to be in.

The Vision for your business is a simple statement of intentof where you want your business to go. In traditional business we use it togive direction as to the type of company we want our organisation to be.

It is said that without vision the people will perish. Andso it can be in business. A business can eventually just fade away and closewhen the owners lose sight of their direction; they get drawn along bycircumstances not choices.

If you are going to build a real business in your company,why wouldn’t you treat it as a real business? What I mean by that is, so manypeople I’ve seen in the networking industry, and I’ve been around this industrysince 1983, see the business opportunity, decide they would like to build abusiness and then treat it like a hobby; something they do in their spare time.

Could you imagine setting up a traditional business and,say, investing $200,000 in getting that business established and then justoperating that business one or two hours a week with the hope it would generatetens of thousands of dollars in profits? No, you’d work your butt off trying toget a decent return on your investment.

Well, most network marketing opportunities are too cheap.What I mean by that is most that I have seen cost about $100 to register – andwow you have a business. Some people may invest a $1,000 or so in products, butgenerally not. But even then, compared to a traditional business that’speanuts!

And so, people treat their business for the value they paidfor it. Virtually nothing.

The Vision of a business is something I establish in verysmall business I have worked with, and I talk with hundreds of traditionalbusiness owners every year.

Here is an example of a Vision: “My vision is to create a business that will serve people and createabundant wealth for my family and those involved in my business. My vision isto make a difference.”

You see how such a simple statement could set the tone, thedirection your business takes? Of course, it means nothing if these are justnice words on a page. Your Vision is only valuable if it is applied.

The question that comes from this statement, if your Visionis to be applied, is, “How?”

How will you makethat Vision more than just words?

From there you can develop two more guiding statements thatwill determine how you will run your business, treat your staff, treat yourcustomers and treat yourself.

These are your Mission Statement and your Values Statement.

We’ll look at these over the next few posts.

What does your Vision tell you?

Make A Difference – TODAY!

Colin

Do you like this article from Networking TODAY! on Fridays: Thoughts and ideas on buildingan outstanding networking business? Feel free to share it with your friendsalso. Or, why not join us for other articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Can You Achieve The Complete and Happy Life You Deserve?

2012-02-24T14:19:00.003+11:00

Post 8 of the “MyLife TODAY! on Thursdays” series: Ideas and tips on achievingthe complete and happy life you deserve

But, does this mean that this form of goal-setting used bythe “Top 5%” is the only one way to achieve success?

No! (Don’t get me wrong. I think that there is absolutely nothingwrong at all with wanting or havingany of these things – if YOU want them).

Though, let’s face it, would anyone continue running abusiness where only 5% of the products made actually worked? Would customerscontinue to buy if the products failed 95% of the time? Would you want to flywith a pilot who had failed 95% of their course, or face surgery with a doctorwho had a 5% success rate? Of course you wouldn’t – not unless you are theultimate risk taker.

There is hope forthe 95% of people neglected by the Win/Lose, Succeed/Fail methods. 16 years agoI started working with people who wanted to make changes in their life with aslightly different approach to modern goal setting, which I call “The Processof Achievement” (POA).

The whole aim of “The Process of Achievement” is to givepeople a way that allows them to target the things in life that are importantto them and work towards those targets without fear of failure and in a way that recognises their achievements.

Now, there are some very subtle differences in the way POA and goal-setting both work. Thosedifferences are as subtle, and just as important, as the one degree differencein water temperature that changes plain old hot water into steam which can be,and has been, used to build industries and nations. You can do a lot with hotwater, just as you can with goal-setting, but you can do so much more and on abigger scale with steam. Subtle, but powerful!

Try the very term “Goal Setting” for instance.

In sport the purpose of a goal is to give each of thecompetitors something to aim at in order to beat each other. It’s a way to keepscore. If one competitor scores more goals than the other then they win. And so,with goal-setting, winning and losing form an automatic association, in themind, to the need to beat others, of keeping score one against another. Itmakes “keeping up with the Jones’” a national pastime.

The trouble with using goals as a measure of success in life,is that you can play the very best game of your life and miss the goal by thesmallest of margins and at the end of the day, by the standards of theWin/Lose, Succeed/Fail mentality, have nothing to show for it. You simplydidn’t score. And, under that philosophy, that makes you a big, fat, zero,nothing loser!

With POA, I prefer the term “targets” to goals. Why?

In sports like Archery, where you have targets instead ofgoals, you receive recognition for getting close to your main aiming point. Youcan miss the “bulls-eye”, the main aiming point, and still score points.Theoretically you could even win a competition without ever hitting thebulls-eye once; simply by being consistent and constantly getting close to themain aiming point time-after-time.

Of course, you are aiming to hot the “bulls-eye”, it givesyou the best result. But it also recognises that we can’t always score maximumpoints.

Miss a goal – you lose. Hit the target area, get close towhat your main aiming point is and you achieve a result and receive recognitionfor that result. And POA is all about results, achievements and recognition.

Changing our language, can be a powerful tool towardschanging our life. It’s like the way in which the words we tell ourselves havea way of becoming that self-fulfilling prophesy. There isn’t much difference inthe spelling of the words “can” and “can’t”. Not much difference in spellingbut a whole lot of difference in meaning.

By setting targets, you are giving yourself something to aimfor, without the pressure of having to get the maximum score in order toachieve a positive result.

What targets do you want to set for you in the next 12months?

Make Your Dreams A Reality

Colin

Do you like this article from MyLife TODAY! on Thursdays: Ideas and tips on achievingthe complete and happy life you deserve? Feel free to share it with yourfriends also. Or, why not join us for other articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Do You Become One Of The Most Outstanding Leaders Ever In Your World?

2012-02-22T15:42:00.002+11:00

Post 8 of the “Leading TODAY! on Wednesdays” series

Being a Billion Dollar Leader: Lesson 4: Iwill be promoted to my own level of incompetence—so I should employ people whomake me look good!

In the last post we discussed how the Billion Dollar Leaderunderstands and accepts this principle of taking on board the best peoplepossible.

On the other hand, a manager who does not understand oraccept these principles will often be scared of doing this. After all, how canyou control people who are better than you? How can you show them how to dotheir job when they can do it better than you can?

For many there is the inherent fear that they will not bepromoted—not get to climb the corporate ladder—if they aren’t seen as beingbetter than the people they have working for them. They want to present apicture which says that their people are inferior and it is their own, themanager’s own, superiority that makes it all work.

Invariably, a manager like this will employ a weak team andnot even realise it; simply because they will feel comfortable with being incharge. In effect what they are doing is limiting the team’s success to theirown leader’s level of incompetence.

What managers like this fail to see, is that it is onlythrough employing the very best team possible that they can avoid beingpromoted only to their own level of incompetence. This holds true even if thatmeans hiring people with better knowledge or skills in those team roles, or bydeveloping their people and enabling them to be the very best that they can be.

I learned years ago that a Billion Dollar Leader knows thatthey must become dispensable in theirrole in order to move onwards and upwards. In other words, they need to havepeople capable of taking over from them in order to be promoted themselves.

Some managers work so hard at creating an empire aroundthemselves, at becoming indispensable, that they fail to see that this empirethen becomes a factor which limits their future leadership aspirations.

Theyfail to develop—both themselves and the members of their team. Then, bydefault, they find that they have indeed been promoted to their level of(in)competence and that this is where they will stay. They have succeeded atbeing seen as OK at their job, but not as a future star.

This lack of a structure for ensuring staff development isone of the major issues I have encountered when coaching companies—they simplydon’t have any succession plans! They don’t think of developing their people totake on future roles, or of the value there is in having someone ready to stepinto an opening within the company should one become available.

All Success

Colin

Do you like this article from Leading TODAY!on Wednesdays: Ideas on excellence in leadership and Being A Billion DollarLeader? Feel free to share it with your friends also. Or, why not join us forother articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Do You Take The Fear Out Of Public Speaking?

2012-02-21T23:35:00.000+11:00

Post 8 of the “SpeakingTODAY! on Tuesdays” series: Thoughts, tips and stories on successful speakingand outstanding presentations

When you’re young you can tell someone what really think of them.You can be brutally honest. You can say things as a kid and get away with it.

It’s like a while back my Mum, sister and niece were visiting thecemetery where my grandmother is buried. My Mum said to my then 8 year oldniece that this would be the place where she would be buried when she died.Within a heartbeat my niece just looked at Mum and said, “Well who’s going tolook after us on Tuesdays if that happens?”

Kids say it as it is. They don’t worry about all the niceties thatgo with providing someone with feedback these days. At school, if you didn’tlike someone, you told them you didn’t like them. If you thought they wereacting stupidly, you told them they were stupid.

Now, for me I must admit this was a bit of a problem. You see Iwas one of those kids whose mouth seemed to move some seconds before the brainwas engaged. Which often meant that I said things that would lead to pain – and I’m not just talking about fromthe headmaster’s cane – although that did come into play a fair bit. Even tothis day I can still remember some of the incidents that led me to being onfirst name basis with the Principal.

Like the time I told my classmate Roderick the truth - that hesmelled. Now, it may have been the truth, but it wasn’t necessarily the smartestthing that I could do. To put in in perspective, I weighed about 20kg wringingwet and Roderick, well Roderick was big enough to grab the cane from thePrincipal’s hand and smash it over a desk – and that was in primary school! AndRoderick wasn’t that much into verbal communications!

I used to think it was so unfair at school – why was it that bothof us had to go to the Principal for the cuts – after all, I wasn’t the one whostarted the fights. Why did I have to cop it twice?

So my lessons on communications were there from a young age – Ilearnt to say what I really thought and I learnt that when I didn’t like whatwas said to me than I could take some form of retributive action. I also learntthat life wasn’t necessarily about fairness

Problem! That approach doesn’t work so well as an adult. And itdefinitely doesn’t work at all as a speaker.

You are going to meet some wonderful characters as a speaker andthey will either be clients who have paid you directly or they are somehowrelated to the client who is paying you. Often those people will have anopinion that may not be in congruence with yours.

I raise this as I recently watched a speaker basically tell thecustomer they were…….. well let’s just say wrong.

Dr Phil, of the TV Dr Phil, made one comment I agree with. He wastalking to a mum about her relationship with her daughter. He asked her, “Doyou want to be right or do you want to prove that you are right?”

It’s a lesson I could have done with in the schoolyard. And it’sone I think about often when confronted with someone who holds a differentbelief to me; do I want to be right or do I want to prove that I am right?

I was right about Roderick – he did smell. But proving I was rightwas far more costly to me than him.

Being a professional speaker is not just about what you do duringyour presentation, it’s also about how you handle yourself off-stage.

You may be at a conference and hanging about during the postdinner drinks. Someone approaches you to “discuss” how wrong you were. Choice: Doyou allow them to have their opinion or do you set out to prove yourself right?

Learning how to let people have their say does not mean that yougive in or contradict your beliefs. I may ask leading questions in order to seeif this person is open to thinking differently, but I don’t need to get into anargument with them about it. Sometimes it’s best to just let it go. You can beright and you don’t have to prove it all the time.

Hopefully the place you do prove it is in your presentation.

A professional speaker has to be a bit of a diplomat and becapable of holding a conversation with a range of people on a range of topicsin a range of settings. Learning how to interact with people in a professionalmanner off-stage is just as important as preparing for your presentationon-stage.

Just a quick point on the scenario above that involved alcohol. Ihave attended my fair share of conference dinners and both pre and post dinnersocial sessions – all of which involved some level of alcohol. Trust me somepeople handle it better than others. But as a professional speaker?

This is just my belief, others may tell you differently. Neverconsume alcohol before a talk; usually I’ll have water or a soft drink in myhand. During the dinner – and only after the speech, I may have one glass ofwine and water or soft drink the rest of the time. In the post-dinner socialevent, again I’ll have no more than one glass of wine the whole evening – itcan last a long time that one glass.

Why? You are “on” at all times. People will be watching you at alltimes and they want to see whether your words match your actions. There isnothing worse, I believe, and I have seen it happen, where a professionalspeaker has had far too much to drink in their quest to be “one of the boys”. Atan event you are there as a professional. Act it.

That does not mean I’m aloof or don’t enjoy a glass of wine. Ihope I am always friendly. I enjoy mingling and talking to people in thesesocial settings – it is amazing what you will get told! But I am there to do ajob.

What you do away from the spotlight is your choice. What you do infront of a client is the professional choice. One pays. One doesn’t.

Inspire The World With Your Words

Colin

Do you like this article from Speaking TODAY! on Tuesdays: Thoughts,tips and stories on speaking and presentations? Feel free to share it with your friends also.Or, why not join us for other articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Can You Have Amazing Wellness and Be Safe In Life?

2012-02-20T13:20:00.001+11:00

Post8 of the “My Health TODAY! on Mondays” series: How Will The New WorkplaceSafety Laws Affect Me and My Business Operations?

The final way that encourages the safe and healthy conduct ofpeople within a workplace is penalties.

There are three grades of penalties under the WHS Act and eachcarries a different maximum level of penalty that can be applied to either acorporation or business, an Officer of a business or operation and all otherswith a responsibility for health and safety in the workplace (which is everyoneelse other than an Officer).

These are:

· Tier 1: This is the highest category ofpenalty that can be applied. It covers those issues where there is/was a riskof death or serious injury or illness due to the reckless action or inaction ofan Officer/ PCBU or Worker and that indifference did or could have led to thedeath and serious injury or illness to that individual;

· Tier 2: This category is for those people whohave a WHS duty under the Act and by failing to comply with exposes an peopleto a risk of death or serious injury or illness;

· Tier 3: This category is for those people whohave a WHS duty under the Act and who fail to comply with that duty.

Now for the really bad news, the actual penalties.

Tier 1

· Organisations: $3,000,000;

· Officers: $600,000 and/or 5 years imprisonment;

· Others: $300,000 and/or 5 years imprisonment.

Tier 2

· Organisations: $1,500,000;

· Officers: $300,000;

· Others: $150,000.

Tier 3

· Organisations: $500,000;

· Officers: $100,000;

· Others: $50,000.

One thing to note, these fines are not covered by insurance. Theycame straight from you or the business.

Good health and keep safe out there.

Colin

Do you like this article from MyHealth TODAY! on Mondays: Ideas and issues ongood health and safety? Feel free to share it with your friends also. Or, whynot join us for other articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Can You Achieve The Most Outstanding Success In Your Business?

2012-02-20T13:16:00.001+11:00

Post 8 of the series from the “Business TODAY! on Mondays” series - WillRight Pricing Make Your Business More Profitable?

So, you may ask, as many have, how do I find out who myRight Customer is?

Simple. Ask them!

Here are some questions you could ask in order to find yourRight Customer.

·        Why do they buy what they do?

·        Why do they come to you?

·        What do they look for in products, services andservice?

·        How much are they willing to pay for theexperience they want or expect?

·        Why do people go to your opposition?

·        Are these customers you want?

·        What do they like/ dislike currently?

·        What would make them come to you?

·        Are your products/ services what they want?

·        What do they expect of your staff?

·        Where do they go to find information aboutsuppliers and products/ services?

·        What words do they want to hear – that attractsthem to a product or service?

·        Are their needs currently being met in themarket? By Whom?

·        What would make their experience better withyou?

Of course, once you find out this information it’s just amatter of asking yourself, “Am I willing to apply this knowledge to my businessin the way the Right Customer wants in order to have the business and lifestyleI want?”.

If yes, then, as Nike say, “Just do it!”.

If no, ok. It’s your choice. And with all choices comes theresponsibility and outcomes of that choice.

Choose wisely.

All success.

Colin

Do you like this article from Business TODAY!on Mondays: Ideas for achieving outstanding business success? Feel free toshare it with your friends also. Or, why not join us for other articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SME Business, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Can You Build An Outstanding Networking Business?

2012-02-17T06:41:00.000+11:00

Post 7of the “Networking TODAY! on Fridays” series: How Will You Make Your NetworkBusiness A Success This Year?

Ok, business reality check time.

Will everyone join your business? No!

Will everyone buy your products? No!

Will everyone think you are sent to them as the answer totheir prayers? Definitely no!

Will everything you do in this business work? No!

Will you like all of your company’s products? No!

Will all the products you order each month be in stock?Maybe not!

Will your very favourite product be withdrawn permanentlyfrom sale? Possibly!

Will you achieve every target you set in the timeframe youwanted? No!

Will your downline let you down? Probably!

Will your upline let you down? Maybe!

Will you think of a much better way to build your businessthan the way it’s done? Yes!

Will it work? For you (only), maybe!

Should you have changed a system that works and isduplicable? No, but we all try!

Will players from my favourite footy team do somethingstupid in public? Probably; but will it affect my business?!

Will the prices of your products go up? Yes!

Will that absolute certainty actually build a business?Probably not!

Will the person you least expect to do something in yourbusiness actually build it? Most likely!

Will your family believe you about these products and thegreat opportunity you have? Not likely!

Will you friends believe you? Probably not - they may even try to burn you at the stake or subject you to an exorcism!

Will people think your nuts and make comments about you beingthe “your name your company here” victim? Yes!

Can you not make money in this industry? Yes!

Are there a million other reasons why you shouldn’t do thisbusiness? Yes!

Are all of these really reasons to not build your businessor just excuses? I’ll leave that to you to answer.

You know whatForest Gump says happens in life. It won’t always be perfect. Neither will bewhere you work or this or any other business.

So, so what? Does it reallymatter? Instead of finding excuses not to for anything in life or yourbusiness, find the reasons to do the things that are important to you. The realquestions you should be asking yourself are:

Can you make money in this industry? Yes, with time and ifyou do the work!

Is your dream one to give up on? Why would you?

Can you help others make a difference in their lives withyour business opportunity? If they want to!

Are you really the person who can make this opportunitywork? Why wouldn’t you be?

Will you make it work? Only you can answer thatquestion!

Make A Difference – TODAY!

Colin

Do you like this article from Networking TODAY! on Fridays: Thoughts and ideas onbuilding an outstanding networking business? Feel free to share it with yourfriends also. Or, why not join us for other articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Can You Achieve The Complete and Happy Life You Deserve?

2012-02-16T06:45:00.003+11:00

Post 7 of the “MyLife TODAY! on Thursdays” series: Ideas and tips on achievingthe complete and happy life you deserve

I heard an interesting comment about wealth and it was madein a way as to express a great amount of anger towards people who have great wealth.We’ve even seen protests against such wealth recently.

Mind you, I do see a great distinct between corporate wealthand personal wealth achieved through one’s own efforts – but that is a wholeyou set of posts. Here I am only discussing personal wealth, not corporategreed.

Often, in various formats, these successful people areclassified as the “Top 5%”. They are talked about in the media. They are usedas aspirational markers as signposts to what real success is. They are oftenused as a line in the sand by which our own success is measured.

By-the-way, don’t you think it’s strange that we hear thatanyone can use goal-setting to improve their lives and yet at the same timewe’re told that only the “Top 5%” of people will ever make it?

It seems contradictory.

Yet, in a way this statement is right. These people, the Top 5%, have found a way that works –we can see that it does. For them!The format taught at the majority of these seminars I attend on this subject isthe one that is used successfully by people who would probably achieve the typeof success that is talked about anyway! All they really needed to know was the“how to”.

But should we despise their wealth? I don’t think so. This vastmajority of this Top 5% that we hear so much about have worked hard for and deserve the rewards of their efforts. Andnobody should ever be jealous or envious of such success.

Of course, as in any area of life and in business, there arethose few, those very few, who achieve the things they do corruptly. Corruptionin this case is not necessarily money corruption, but more the corruption ofevery value that is good in mankind. I don’t classify these people assuccessful. Such people lack ethics, morals and decency. They are not the typeto aspire to be like.

Sadly, these are the type of people who the protestors holdas an example of why wealth is bad.

But let’s face it. The only reason these people – corruptand non-corrupt – are wealthy at all is because people like you and me – andeven the protestors themselves – buy their products and services. Now you mightsay we “need” their products and so we are forced to buy their products. Butare we really forced or is it a choice? After all, we didn’t need theirproducts 10, 50, 100 or 200 years ago to survive.

No, we buy the things we do so that we can enjoy what thoseproducts and services give or do for us. And that is a choice.

Don’t like the superrich computer geek. Don’t buy or usetheir products. Don’t like the oil barons – don’t buy products that use petrol orthat are oil-derived.

Sure life may not be as pleasant as it is now, but as thepig said to the hen – “commitment to give the farmer a cooked breakfast for youis only about you laying an egg. For me it’s total commitment”.

A lot of hens out there make a lot of noise and just layeggs!

I have stood in a vault full of money worth millions. Thismay surprise some, but the money did not attack me. It did not turn me into agreen-eyed monster. I did not feel like running out and cheating people out oftheir money. The money was not bad. It’s what people do with the money, it’sthe attitudes and morals they display in getting their money that determines“good” or “bad”.

I don’t see protestors complaining about the billions – andI mean billions – of dollars that is currently being given by many wealthypeople to charities all around the world. Charities that seem to do a farbetter job of helping people manage life than any government can do.

The point of this post is this, by focusing on the successof others we easily begin to lose sight of who we are, what we have and how we,in our own way, are successful – are an achiever.

Alan is a classic case of such lost sight. Once“successful”, as success had been defined by the “win-at-all-costs” disciples,Alan had had it all and lost it all in a global financial crisis. And with thedisappearance of his success had gone his self-belief.

In the void of hopelessness grew a bitterness and a sense ofdespair. He had lost. He believed he would never regain his wealth. He didn’tknow what to do, where to go with his life. His speech was full of “I could……but…” He even saw his brother’s success as a threat, as something to bedespised. Anger rose in him every time he went to his brother’s home. He’d made it. He was still successful. Why hadn’t he lost it all too? It wasn’t fair.

That’s how Alan’s life was when I first met him.

It only took a little while for changes to occur. He now recogniseshis brother’s achievements, no longer viewing him as a contestant in a race tosuccess. But the really important thing is that he now has several pages of hisown accomplishments written down and once again he sees himself as someoneworthwhile, an achiever who had and could and would accomplish great things inhis life.

Rather than be envious or angry at anyone else’sachievements and the trappings that come from the hours, the efforts, thesacrifice, the commitment, the losses, the stress, the emotions, thecelebrations and the heartaches they have put in to their business of personalsuccess; we should embrace what they have done and use it as an example tofollow.

But definitely, not a gauge as to our own success. Afterall, you are an achiever in your own right.

Make Your Dreams A Reality

Colin

Do you like this article from MyLife TODAY!on Thursdays: Ideas and tips on achieving the complete and happy life youdeserve? Feel free to share it with your friends also. Or, why not join us forother articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Do You Become One Of The Most Outstanding Leaders In Your World?

2012-02-15T06:29:00.000+11:00

Post 7 of the “Leading TODAY! on Wednesdays” series: Being ABillion Dollar Leader.

Being a Billion Dollar Leader: Lesson 4: Iwill be promoted to my own level of incompetence—so I should employ people whomake me look good!

In the Air Force we had a saying, “You will be promoted toyour level of incompetence.” Another way to look at it is that, the higher yougo in an organisation, the greater the likelihood that you don’t know what youare doing!

Of course, all that is said with tongue firmly in cheek;although it does contain a grain of truth. We can all probably recall a managerwe have worked with who couldn’t have done our job in a pink fit.

Well I have been one of those leaders, and guess what? Idiscovered I wasn’t employed as aleader because I could do my staffs’ jobs as well as they could do them. I washired because: I was capable of finding the right people to do the jobs thatneeded doing; I was capable of looking after the strategic aspects of achievingour individual and team targets, and I was able to support and lead the teamwhile they did their jobs.

In other words, for me to be successful as a leader I had tofind people who were far more qualified than me at those roles and get them towork for me.

Someone who is brilliant at their job is not necessarilygoing to perform well as a leader, and vice-versa. How often have you seensomeone who is technically great at their job go on to fail in a leadershiprole?

Does that mean that leaders don’t have to understand theirindustry or what their people do? No!

To be truly effective as a leader they must have a highlevel of understanding for their industry and they must understand the roles oftheir people. A leader also needs to be able to see and understand the issuesand challenges that each of their team face as they perform their rolesday-to-day.

However, that doesn’t mean they have to show themselves tobe as good as, or better than, their own people in order to lead them. ABillion Dollar Leader just has to show their team that their leader understandswhat it is that they face when they go out to conquer the world for thebusiness; and that their leader trusts them to do just that.

My book “Be A Billion Dollar Leader” (which these series ofposts are based on) is dedicated to an absolutely brilliant sales team; one Ihad the privilege to lead. In every aspect of their roles they achieved thehighest level of sales and service. They set the standard for every other teamin that company. One of the best compliments to their abilities was given to meby the person who took over my responsibility for this wonderful team. Hebelieved that this was the best team he had seen in over 20 years in thebanking industry.

I have often been asked how we achieved the results we didas a team; how I became a Billion Dollar Leader. The answer is simple. Iemployed people who could do their jobs better than I could do them.

Prior to taking on the task of establishing a new team in arelatively untapped market, I had had only 18 months experience with thecompany—and I had never had the day-to-day experiences that my team had. Insome ways I was a novice. But each of my team had 15 to 20 years experience intheir field. They were good at what they did. In fact, they were better thangood. They were brilliant.

By hiring people who were better than me at the jobs theywere employed to do I was, unashamedly, made to look good—and we achieved greatresults and outstanding business growth.

A Billion Dollar Leader understands and accepts this principleof taking on board the best people possible—even if those people are far betterthan the leader is at doing the job theteam members are employed to do.

A Billion Dollar Leader is not scared by the success oftheir team—they rejoice in it.

A Billion Dollar Leader is not afraid to sharethe success of the team where the success should be shared—with the team.

ABillion Dollar Leader is one who is secure in the knowledge that their own rolein the success of the team is that of being the team leader, not the team‘doer’.

A Billion Dollar Leader is secure in their own position andis not undermined by the success of the team or any individual member of it.

All Success

Colin

How Do You Take The Fear Out Of Public Speaking?

2012-02-14T21:39:00.002+11:00

Post 7 of the “SpeakingTODAY! on Tuesdays” series: Thoughts, tips and stories on successful speakingand outstanding presentations

How often do you watch or listen to the very best speakers inaction?

Over time I have discovered that I can learn more from the mastersthan I can from the untrained.

I am constantly listening to other speakers, learning how theyspeak, the messages they share.

I love to watch other speakers in action, evaluating the way theymove, the stage presence and the stagecraft (the use of the speaking area).

The great artist of this world all studied the paintings and workof the masters from their ages. They practiced their styles and applied theirtechniques well before challenging concepts and creating a new master of theirart through their own work. Today, those masters are studied by the masters oftomorrow.

The same should be applied to your speaking career. Study andlearn from the masters. Become a student of speakers. Even watch the otherstudents, because amongst them could be the next Picasso of the speaking world.

Then put the lessons you learn into practice yourself and become amaster as well.

Inspire The World With Your Words

How Can You Have Amazing Wellness and Be Safe In Life?

2012-02-14T21:36:00.000+11:00

Post7 of the “My Health TODAY! on Mondays” series: How Will The New WorkplaceSafety Laws Affect Me and My Business Operations?

So far we have looked at the responsibilities of everyone in theworkplace in regards to health and safety.

While it is expected that everyone will comply with the WHS Act,reality is that breaches will occur. In this case, there is a variety of escalatingactions, court orders and penalties that can be levied against anyone whoknowingly or unknowingly by their (in)actions lead to or have the potential tocause harm to themselves or someone else.

It doesn’t matter who you are or where you fit on the companytree.

Actionsthat can be applied include:

· ProvisionalImprovement Notices (PIN): which may be issued by a HSR toaddress a contravention of the WHS Act or Regulations;

· ImprovementNotices: which may be issued by a WSH Inspector (such as Workcover) toaddress a contravention of the WHS Act or Regulations;

· ProhibitionNotices: A direction from an inspector prohibiting the PCBU from carryingon an activity until the identified risk is remedied;

· Non-disturbanceNotice: This is issued by an inspector to the PCBU in order to facilitatethe exercising of the inspector’s compliance powers;

· EnforceableWHS Undertaking: Is a written undertaking given by a person to a court inrelation to a contravention (or alleged contravention) of the WHS Act(excepting Category 1 offences) in order to allow a business to take actionthat will improve work safety as an alternative to prosecution;

· AdversePublicity Orders: Issued by a court for a business to publiciseits offence, the consequences, the penalty and any other related matter;

· Orders forRestoration: A court order that requires an offender to remedy any mattercaused by the offence that is within the offender’s power to remedy;

· WHSProject Orders: A court ordered project for the general improvement ofhealth and safety that the offender is required to undertake within a specifiedtime;

We’ll look at the penalties that apply in the next post.

Good health and keep safe out there.

Colin

Do you like this article from MyHealth TODAY! on Mondays: Ideas and issues ongood health and safety? Feel free to share it with your friends also. Or, whynot join us for other articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Can You Have Amazing Wellness and Be Safe In Life?

2012-02-12T23:56:00.003+11:00

It doesn’t matter who you are or where you fit on the companytree.

Actionsthat can be applied include:

· ProvisionalImprovement Notices (PIN): which may be issued by a HSR toaddress a contravention of the WHS Act or Regulations;

· ImprovementNotices: which may be issued by a WSH Inspector (such as Workcover) toaddress a contravention of the WHS Act or Regulations;

· ProhibitionNotices: A direction from an inspector prohibiting the PCBU from carryingon an activity until the identified risk is remedied;

· Non-disturbanceNotice: This is issued by an inspector to the PCBU in order to facilitatethe exercising of the inspector’s compliance powers;

· AdversePublicity Orders: Issued by a court for a business to publiciseits offence, the consequences, the penalty and any other related matter;

· Orders forRestoration: A court order that requires an offender to remedy any mattercaused by the offence that is within the offender’s power to remedy;

· WHSProject Orders: A court ordered project for the general improvement ofhealth and safety that the offender is required to undertake within a specifiedtime;

We’ll look at the penalties that apply in the next post.

Good health and keep safe out there.

Colin
Do you like this article from MyHealth TODAY! on Mondays: Ideas and issues ongood health and safety? Feel free to share it with your friends also. Or, whynot join us for other articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Can You Achieve The Most Outstanding Success In Your Business?

2012-02-12T23:51:00.003+11:00

Post 7 of the series from the “Business TODAY! on Mondays” series - WillRight Pricing Make Your Business More Profitable?

Well, I’m over budgets. As probably you are.

So, let’s talk about customers again. In Week 1 I talkedabout the fact that customers are willing to pay the Right Price for the rightproduct or service.

In Week 2 wealso mentioned that I would talk about the following:

Are you targeting the exact same customers as your opposition?
Will you provide better services and products than your opposition? and
Are you going to be the same as your opposition or are you going to be outstanding?

We’ll tackle these over the next three weeks, starting todaywith: Are YouTargeting The Same Customers As Your Opposition?

It’s really easy to say, “Yes” to this question. But deeperanalysis can make you start to wonder if you do, or, importantly, if youshould.

Take cars. It would be true to say that all car salespeople,you have to love them, have the same customer base – people looking for a “new”car.

But a customer looking for a second-hand car is not the sameas one looking for a brand new car. Equally a customer seeking a cheap secondcar would not be the same as one looking for an almost new second-hand one.Alternatively, those looking for a Ford or Holden wouldn’t visit a BMW orMercedes dealership.

Technically, all car dealers are targeting the samecustomers, but in reality they are all targeting different ones.

This is where we get into some technical speak.

Your Market Segment is everyone who could potentially wantto purchase your product or service (everyone buying a car in the exampleabove). Your Target Market is everyone who is looking to buy your type ofproduct or service (new or second-hand car). Niche Marketing is that specificgroup of customers who aspire to buy your specific product or service,exclusive of all others (the Ford, the Holden, the BMW or Mercedes customersabove).

This has great import to a business when assessing theirRight Price strategy. If you look at the players in your market and assume theyare seeking the same customers as you, than you could be making one bigmistake. They may be chasing similar customers, not the same.

And that means you may price your products wrong for whatyou do, for your customer base.

To Right Price your products you must attract the Right Customerto your business.

To attract the Right Customer to your business you have toprovide the right experience.

Take our previous examples around food as a case study.Every food outlet falls into the “all customer’s seeking food” Market Segment.

Those looking for fast food and those customers looking forupmarket dining fall into the Target Market segment.

The specific customers who purchase a specific brand, orvenue or chef, exclusive to almost all others in the market, are your NicheMarket segment.

You have to decide where you want to position your businessin this marketing mix.

Here is a hint, the Niche Market customers will pay the mostfor the products and services they purchase.

You can deliver the type of product or service you want toin the way you want to, there is no absolutely “right way” that every businessmust take. And in doing so, you will attract the Right Customer for you! Thequestion is, will this give you the Right Income for your business?

Alternatively, you could position yourself in such a way as totake advantage of the higher paying Right Customer, those willing to pay theRight Price in order to generate the Right Income for you and your business.

What is the Right Income? It is the income you and yourbusiness need to be profitable, happy and sustainable as quickly as possibleeach year. Where the Right Customers are happy to buy the products and servicesthey do and, importantly, tell all their like-minded friends about you.

To do this means that you don’t focus on what you want todo, the way you want to do things. Instead, you will focus totally on what theRight Customer wants – deliver it – and then exceed it!

To attract the Right Customer to your business means thateverything you do, every word you print, every staff member you employ, everyproduct or service you deliver must match the Right Customer’s expectations atall points of contact with your business if you are to Right Price.

The choice is yours.

All success.

Colin

How Can You Build An Outstanding Networking Business?

2012-02-10T06:14:00.000+11:00

Post 6of the “Networking TODAY! on Fridays” series: How Will You Make Your NetworkBusiness A Success This Year?

Did you notice that in the last post, so much of being aleader in this industry is about giving?

It’s not about demanding. It’s not about ordering peopleabout. It’s not about setting tasks and plans and key-performance-indicators orcajoling or being a Boss!

It’s about you, giving in order that they can believe thatthe impossible can be made possible.

This is not a business in the traditional sense of being inbusiness. People do not work for you – you work with people. People do not doas you tell them – you guide them and work with them. You don’t make them worktowards your vision - you find out what their dream is. You don’t pay them fortheir effort – the company rewards you for yours.

Being a leader in a networking business is different becauseyou aren’t people’s manager. A manager does all the managery things – settingKPIs and targets and performance managing and hiring and firing etc. etc. etc..Try that in this business and see how far you get!

Often people who join a network marketing business see hopefor the very first time in their life. They see a way of breaking the 45 yearcycle of home-to-work-to-home-to-work five, even six, days a week. They seethat this may be one way they could have their own business and maybe, justmaybe, a lifestyle that is better than blood, sweat and tears.

Do you really think they need a manager right at this point?

They don’t need someone doing the work for them. They justwant someone to be there, to guide them, to support them and, most, most, mostimportantly, to let them know that it’s OK to believe.

After all, you may be the only one who’s telling them that.

That’s why you are a Leader.

Make A Difference – TODAY!

Colin

Do you like this article from Networking TODAY! on Fridays: Thoughts and ideas onbuilding an outstanding networking business? Feel free to share it with yourfriends also. Or, why not join us for other articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

Who Can Afford To Die From The Sun?

2012-02-09T20:54:00.002+11:00

In my local news toady there was a report on the number of men who die in my country from cancers that lead on from a Melanoma, skin cancer.

For me, the irony of that report hits home as I spent today at home recovering from the removal of a larg melanoma on my leg. I find out in the next 24 hours if all is clear or if it has spread. I'm hopeful.

I'm hopeful because I believe, as does my doctor, that I caught it early enough. It has laid dormant for the past 12 to 15 years, a large brown mark on the side of my leg. I've had it checked every year, just to be certain. My last check up was in October.

On Sunday night I noticed it had changed. It had gone from a smooth mark to a slightly lumpy one (sorry the graphics, but someone out there may notice this on them). Saw the doctor Monday afternoon and on Wednesday afternoon I was under the knife. My doctor was fantastic! I must admit it is interesting seeing a slice of your leg being detached!

The key of this is this, I was aware of my potential for melanoma and was having my mark checked regularly. The cause I know to be all those times I was sunburnt as a child. I have been a ticking time bomb, so to speak.

It pays to check your skin regularly, especially if you work outdoors or were burnt regularly over time. A 20 minute sunbake can lead to the start of a melanoma that years later will cause or the damage. And it's not just the sun. Tanning beds are also dangerous.

Have a firend check your back and the places you can't see (can make it fun with the right person). Watch out for any part of the skin where a mark changes shape or breaks into a sore.

And, REALLY IMPORTANTLY, don't put off seeing a doctor. The longer you delay the more chance of not surviving. I'd rather have been wrong on Monday then discover next week that it had spread to the rest of my body. It can be that quick.

Take care. Put on the sunscreen, wear the wrap around sunglasses (you'll look cool), cover up and do the check.

Keep safe and long life

Colin

How Can You Achieve The Complete and Happy Life You Deserve?

2012-02-09T20:03:00.000+11:00

Post 6 of the “MyLife TODAY! on Thursdays” series: Ideas and tips on achievingthe complete and happy life you deserve

Each year I attend seminars on a wide range of subjects. I justifythis by calling it research; watching other speakers and how they present theirprograms. I have heard many-a-speaker’s Win/Lose, Succeed/Fail message.

And intrinsically tied to these messages, like Velcro stripsclinging to each other, was the theme that being successful meant beingsomething – a “somebody”. I heard, “Here is whatwill make you a success” (the things), and “Here is how you get it” (goal-setting).

A while back I attended a seminar with over 16,000 otherpeople. The atmosphere was electric. But, after two days, I came away from thatseminar, and began to wonder; why is it that of the 16,000 people who attended– 16,000 people who all had ambitions, desires and dreams, – why is it thatonly a handful, maybe a couple of hundred at most, would go on to achieve theriches and the trappings of “success” that we were told defined them asa success (having “made” it)?

Woven like a thread through those seminars, and many morelike them, was the underlying message that having goals was important tosucceed and, like kicking a goal in a football game, there is either success orfailure, you either win or you lose.

So, why wouldn’teveryone “make it”? After all they were told they could! Why wouldn’t morepeople achieve their goals if goal-setting was as simple as those peoplerunning the seminars said it was? After all, everyone who attended heard thesame message and all had a relatively similar chance of succeeding.

I believethere is a direct relationship between the waythe message is delivered and the reasons why many people don’t achieve theirgoals:

1) Manyfail to achieve the goals they set because many of them set goals that arebased – not on what they really want,but on what they are led to believe makes a person successful; and

2) Theprospect of failing or losing – the only options offered in so many of these seminarson success – stopped them from ever attempting to set goals.

I’ll look at this more in depth in the next few posts.

Just remember this. What makes you a success is not whatother people say is success. It is not pursuing the things others say you willbe judged by as to how successful you are. What makes you successful is whenyou achieve the things YOU want. When you strive to chase the life, thelifestyle and the aspects of life that YOU say is important to you and thoseyou love and care about.

That means that you don’t have to have the best according toothers – just the best according to you. Nothing else matters.

And this nonsense about being a loser? As I said a few postsago, forget that! After all, you know you are an achiever.

Make Your Dreams A Reality

Colin

Do you like this article from MyLife TODAY! on Thursdays: Ideas and tips onachieving the complete and happy life you deserve? Feel free to share it withyour friends also. Or, why not join us for other articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Do You Become One Of The Most Outstanding Leaders Ever In Your World?

2012-02-08T06:05:00.000+11:00

Post 6 of the “Leading TODAY! on Wednesdays” series: Being A BillionDollar Leader

Being a Billion Dollar Leader: Lesson 3: Ihave to trust my people.

Case Study - The ultimate in trust: Ricardo Semler

Ricardo Semler must be the ultimate example of a Leader who trusted his people.

At the time Semler took over his father’s Brazilianshipbuilding supplies business, SEMCO S.A., in 1980, it had started to struggleand looked like it was in real trouble. What Semler did then was absolutelyrevolutionary in the field of management. He handed over the running of thecompany to his people. Totally and completely. He trusted them to do what was needed in order to turn the companyaround.

Not only did the company become extremely profitable andsuccessful, but Semler’s leadership techniques became a case study for bluechip companies such as IBM^*.

SEMCO grew from a $US4m company with 90 employees in 1982,into a $US212m company with over 3,000 employees in 2003 with a growth rate ofup to 40% per annum, making it one of Brazil’s leading businesses.

Semler was so successful in his leadership style that oneday he arrived at work to find he no longer had an office! His team had decidedhe didn’t need one and they needed the space for some more important functionin the process of making the business more successful.

How many managers would trust their people enough to handover complete control of their area of operations to those very same people?

Not that you haveto do so in order to be a Billion Dollar Leader, but isn’t that what trustshould be about?

All Success

Colin

^* You can read his story in the book “Maverick”by Ricardo Semler, published by Random House Business Books.

Do you like this article from Leading TODAY! on Wednesdays: Ideas on excellencein leadership and Being A Billion Dollar Leader? Feel free to share it withyour friends also. Or, why not join us for other articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Do You Take The Fear Out Of Public Speaking?

2012-02-07T18:04:00.000+11:00

Post 6 of the “SpeakingTODAY! on Tuesdays” series: Thoughts, tips and stories on successful speakingand outstanding presentations

Here are some answer to questions I often get asked:

ShouldI practice ad nauseam? Notunless you want to be sick. Practice, yes. Know your stuff intimately, yes.Practice to the point where you lose your emotional contact with your talk –never. That’s why a safe, live audience is so good. They’ll keep you on yourtoes.

DoI write my speeches out word for word? For majornew talks yes – to begin with. Then through practice I get comfortable with thewords and the delivery to the point where it looks and feels natural, not puton. That’s the point where I don’t have to worry about giving the speech wordfor word. I try to get to where I am comfortable enough to introduce parts ofother talks if I have to – and they may occur in the middle of the speechsimply because someone may have asked a question or made a comment.

Howmany times do I practice a talk? The fulltalk, not that often in comparison to the parts of the talk. These I probablypractice more. For instance I may have a section of the new speech stuck to thebathroom wall and as I’m having a shower I’m practicing that part of thespeech. 30 morning showers a month – 30 practice runs of a part of my speech.

Whydo I compete in contests? Because I’m nuts! No, the real reasonis that every time I compete I’m having to get better. Every time I win I haveto improve because someone wants to beat me. Contests are a chance to deliverunder pressure. They push you to be the very best you can be.

Whydid I become a professional speaker? It wasn’tbecause of the money. The money is worth it, even though I’m not anywhere closeto the Anthony Robbins league. But if you get into speaking for the money alone,than your reason is wrong. Every professional speaker, I believe, wants to makea difference. Be it to people, to business, to the country or to the world. Thetop speakers get paid what they do because they are exceptionally good – but theyget paid more because they are exceptionally good at making a difference.

HaveI ever stuffed up on a presentation? By thisquestion I gather it was meant as have I really, majorly, seriously stuffed upin giving a presentation, not just the forgetting a line or such. If so, thenyes, three times that I can recall in 21 years. Once where I felt I didn’tprepare my stories as well as I could, they weren’t targeted enough to myaudience and even though the client was really happy, I wasn’t as I knew Icould have done far better.

The second time was when I wasn’t prepared enough on a brand newspeech and hadn’t practiced the whole speech enough beforehand. Again thecustomer was happy and the comments made afterwards by those there were allpositive – and I was asked back, which is always a good sign. But I knew Iwasn’t as prepared as I should.

The third time was recently, when I was asked to present someoneelse’s material. I knew the topic well enough as I had been giving similarpresentations for the past three years on the topic. But I wasn’t as preparedas I should for the direction and the questions that came throughout thepresentation. This was the only time I have ever refunded a client’s fee payment.

But notice the theme in each of these. Each of them come back toone thing and one thing only, preparation. It doesn’t matter how new mymaterial is, or how old and comfortable my presentation is I know I can never,ever relax and think that I can do this in a breeze. Every speech, every clientdeserves my best and that all comes down to preparation.

How do I ensure that I have enough appropriate stories related tothat client – preparation! How do I ensure that all of the sections of my talkflow and I am comfortable with it – preparation! How do I ensure I know farmore than what I need for a presentation – preparation!

Do your preparation if you want a magnificent presentation.

Canyou make money from speaking? Yes. But I suppose you mean can youmake a living or even a lot of money from speaking? Yes and Yes.

But! (Notice, there always seems to be a but somewhere?)

There are thousands of speakers world-wide, and yet most peoplewould only ever be able to recall the names of the headliners – Anthony Robbins,Dr Norman Vincent Peale, Cavet Robert, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Kevin Sheedy, AmandaGore etc..

And there is definitely an income difference between theseheadliners and the rest. The headliners make the really big dollars, you arelooking at $20,000 - $100,000 plus per talk. The rest of us fit somewhere belowthat scale often hovering in the $4,000 to $15,000 mark.

So, yes you can make money from speaking. And here is where the “but”kicks in. Watch the very best in action and you will see why they are paid thedollars they are. They don’t just go out and deliver a message. They deliver somuch more. They are polished, natural, fun, serious, challenging, comforting,inspiring and thought provoking.

They bring something to the lectern; something called presence. Theyhave a presence that says, before they even speak, “You will want to hear whatI say”. They have a bearing, a confidence that is unstated – it just is. Theyown the message. The own the stage. They get to own a bit of you. And you getto own a bit of them.

They can do that because they know their stuff. They believe theirstuff. They live their stuff. And they have prepared and prepared and preparedtheir stuff. It’s not a part time event that they just happen to turn up for.They are committed professionals who never do second best.

I love watching the Olympics. Every four years the finest athletesget to perform on the biggest stage in the world. To get to that point oftentakes 5 to 10 years of preparation. My son and daughter were swimmers who trainedup to two times a day, six days a week; doing 80 to 120 laps a session. Thenthere was the running, the gym, the food and more food and even more food. Evena visit to the doctor required having the medication checked against a registerof allowed drugs in order to avoid falling foul of the testing regime. And theydid that for years in training themselves to compete at a top level.

Why should anyone expect anything less of a professional speaker?The money? Yes it can come. How much? How prepared are you?

Inspire The World With Your Words

Colin

How Can You Have Amazing Wellness and Be Safe In Life?

2012-02-06T06:21:00.001+11:00

Post6 of the “My Health TODAY! on Mondays” series: How Will The New WorkplaceSafety Laws Affect Me and My Business Operations?

This one is for those who may have thought I missed them – theworkers.

For some workers, this post may come as a shock. Previously I haveseen a very implicit “us and them” approach to safety in many organisations.The “it’s up to the boss to make certain the workplace is safe”.

Well, under the new WHS Act, that can no longer be consideredtrue. The WHS Act explicitly makes everyone, no matter at what level they arein the organisation, responsible for the health and safety of themselves andeveryone else in and around the workplace.

To give an equivalent penalty scenario as that for Officers, the“Reckless” actions or inactions that did or could have led to seriousinjury or death, a Worker faces a personal penalty of up to $300,000 and/or 5years imprisonment. Not many people I know could afford that sort of attention!

So, what are the implications for Workers?

Under therequirements of the WHS Act Workers are required to:

· Ensure the health and safety of themselves andall others in the workplace in the performance of their duties;

· Ensure the health and safety of themselves andall others in the workplace by their actions in the workplace;

· Follow instructions as provided by the PCBU,in so far as they are safe, in the performance of their duties;

· To follow all directions in the proper use of equipment,systems, safety equipment, safety procedures and emergency protocols;

· To comply with the WHS Act, Regulations, Codesof Practice, Standards, Guidance Notes, Industry Guidelines, Instructions ofUse, Procedures and Policies;

· To recognise and report all hazards and risksassociated with the conduct of their work to the PCBU;

· To report all near misses and safety/injury incidents to the PCBU;

· To consult with the PCBU in the issuesrelating to workplace health and safety.

Of course, the PCBU must do everything that is reasonablypracticable to provide for the safety and health of workers, but workers areequally responsible by what they do and how they do it an in ensuring that allhazards are identified and reported.

Part of reasonably practicable as far as workers areconcerned could be:

· The provision of a safe and healthy workplace;

· Induction – both company and site/job specific;

· Safety training and easy-to-access policies andreporting systems;

· Safety equipment provided and maintained in goodorder;

· Consultation between the workers and the PCBU;

· Proper supervision;

· Access to employee assistance programmes, suchas counselling services;

· Ergonomic assessments as required; and

· Support for the reporting of health and safetyissues in the workplace.

Under the Act, a worker cannot have action taken againstthem for reporting any WHS issue to the PCBU. They should be free of harassmentand intimidation. They can, if in immediate risk from a hazard, withdraw fromthat work, report it to the PCBU and either have the risk actioned on so thatit is safe to do the work or to be given other duties until it is safe to dothat work.

Let’s face it, all work has some form of risk to it. WHS isnot just about eliminating all risk from the workplace. If the risks can beeliminated, than that is the best outcome. In most cases however, it is moreabout reducing the risk of injury, illness or death from doing our work down toan acceptable level so that we can perform our duties with the greatest chanceof going home that night to our family and friends.

And just to clarify, “workers” does not only cover the paidworkforce. It covers anyone who conducts “work” in the workplace no matter if fulltime, part-time,casual, contract, volunteer, work experience – and that includes management andnon-management.

What we do and how we do it is equally important in ensuringwe do go home at the end of each day as is having safe equipment, a healthyenvironment and good safety leadership.

Good health and keep safe out there.

Colin

Do you like this article from MyHealth TODAY! on Mondays: Ideas and issues ongood health and safety? Feel free to share it with your friends also. Or, whynot join us for other articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Can You Achieve The Most Outstanding Success In Your Business?

2012-02-06T06:14:00.001+11:00

Post 6 of the series from the “Business TODAY! on Mondays” series - WillRight Pricing Make Your Business More Profitable?

I have been asked how does a service business calculate thecost of supply when preparing a sales forecast budget?

Often a service provider, especially one who works from ahome-based office, tells me that they don’t have any variable expenses or costof supply. Every product, every service has a cost to supplying that product orservice. It’s just a matter of understanding what those costs are.

Here are a few examples, which is a better way to explainthis.

Take a hairdresser. The costs in providing their service maybe: the shampoo and conditioner used on the customer, washing the towels,electricity to power dryers etc, commission paid to staff. It’s the costs thatonly occur when the service is provided.

A consultant would have their costs, such as additionalpetrol used to get to the client, time ($) in preparing a briefing, phone callcosts, intellectual property – yes that is a cost as your knowledge is ofvalue.

A training contractor may incur such variable costs as:workbooks, petrol, photocopying, certificates, butcher’s paper, accommodation,fares and intellectual property.

You can see from these examples that even for a servicerelated business there are variable costs in doing what you do.

Look at everything you have to do in order to provide yourservice to that particular customer in that particular sale (over and aboveyour normal business running duties), provide a value ($) to it and thatbecomes your variable expense.

Hope this helps.

All success.

Colin
Do you like this article from Business TODAY!on Mondays: Ideas for achieving outstanding business success? Feel free toshare it with your friends also. Or, why not join us for other articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Can I Build An Outstanding Networking Business?

2012-02-03T06:24:00.000+11:00

Post 5of the “Networking TODAY! on Fridays” series: How Will You Make Your NetworkBusiness A Success This Year?

As a leader in your business – you must be if you arereading this – you will understand that while this business concept callednetwork marketing is simple, it’s not necessarily easy.

It’s not easy because people don’t conform. Let’s face it,if every one of your downline did what they had to do, if they all justsponsored 1 person a month even, and if they all just purchased at least theminimum qualification amount of product each month, if they attended all thefunctions and did everything they needed to do to build their business – oh,wouldn’t your life be so beautiful?

They don’t!

Here is the truth. You will be frustrated, disappointed, letdown and, just when you think it is all going well and for no known reason atall, your best business builder quits. So?

That’s life. That’s business. Just be thankful that, unlikea traditional small business, you don’t have tens of thousands of dollars tiedup in stock, in rent, in staff, in equipment, in debt.

These trials are sent to test us, I believe. They are sentto find out just how serious we are about the dreams we say we want. It’salmost like coming across a hill in the middle of a fun run (who coined thatphrase?).

I used to run quickly – in fact my best time for 5km was 14minutes flat. I can tell you the last thing that you want to see is a hill, sayone like Heartbreak Hill in my local City-to-Surf run. It’s always 10 timessteeper than you thought it was, so the exhausted mind tells you.

You can almost see the change in some people. They look up.They see the hill going all the way up there. It looks so steep. In thatinstant the mind starts playing games with them. It tells them how it is goingto hurt them. It tells them they shouldn’t push so hard. And that drink stationright in the middle. They stop. They have a drink. And it’s hard to get goingagain.

The key to running up a hill, I found, was to focus no morethan a pace or two ahead of me. You see, at that distance the ground looksflat. There is no hill. And when the legs and lungs start telling you otherwise,just ignore that drink station, there is another somewhere on the track –probably at the end – and you can drink there. But don’t stop. Keep going. Onepace, one step at a time.

And when you reach the top of the hill give it a short sharpburst – just to “break the elastic” that ties you to the person behind you; sothat when they come over the hill they see you in the distance, just too faraway to catch. You have them beaten.

A leader is like the runner that doesn’t stop when thingsget tough.

They put their head down. They focus on their dream. Theytake the next simple step towards their target and then the next and the nextand the next – eventually leaving the pack behind them.

A leader knows that it is the effort that they put in thatwill determine the success or not of their team. Someone quits – they findanother. People don’t buy the products – they’ll do all they can to educate andhelp people know about the products they have to offer – or find people whowill.

They’ll do more hours than anyone else. More kilometres,more meetings, more no-shows, more product demonstrations. More whatever!

They don’t make excuses. They find reasons.

In your business, as a leader, you will probably work harderat motivating and inspiring people than they will for themselves. That’s whyyou are called “leader”.

Ask yourself the second most important leadership question,‘What do I need to do to be a great leader in my team?”

Next, ask yourself the most important leadership question, “What amI going to do to develop great leaders in my team?”

The key to building great leaders in networking is:

Communicate – often;
Listen – more often;
See them in person – even more often;
Dream build with them – even more often still;
Get them to the monthly or weekly meetings – always;
Attend the Annual or Semi-annual Conferences – each time;
Order the CD of the Month if you have them – ever month;
Order the Book of the Month if you have them – every month;
Book a business meeting to show the plan for them – critical;
Book more business meetings to show the plan for them – even more critical;
Be their leader – not a manager;
Teach only that which is easy to duplicate – follow your leader;
Encourage – never put negative down the line;
Teach them to become a 100% user of the products – just as you are; and
Book more business meetings to show the plan for them;
Book more business meetings to show the plan for their downline;
Book more business meetings to show the plan for their downlines’ downline; and
Book even more business meetings!

Told you it was simple!

Make A Difference – TODAY!

Colin

Do you like this article from Networking TODAY! on Fridays: Thoughts and ideas onbuilding an outstanding networking business? Feel free to share it with yourfriends also. Or, why not join us for other articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Can I Achieve The Complete and Happy Life I Deserve?

2012-02-02T06:26:00.001+11:00

Post5 of the “MyLife TODAY! on Thursdays” series: Ideas and tips on achieving thecomplete and happy life you deserve

For my 50^th birthday my children surprised mewith the most brilliant gift.

After checking that I had an insurance policy (just joking)the drove me to a local, regional airport. Being one who loves aircraft andflying, I thought they were taking me to the aircraft museum that is basedthere.

No, we drove straight past that and on towards a smallbuilding that had a picture on the side of the building of someone jumping outof an aircraft. For years I had wanted to skydive, parachuting. My birthdaygift was to make that dream a reality.

After going through the instructions on how to behave duringthe jump, I climbed into a small aircraft and was tethered to my jump partner.As we climbed to the jump height my instructor asked – are you excited ornervous? Strangely, I had to respond, neither. In my mind I was simply lookingat it as I was going to jump out of an aircraft. My dream was coming true.

Well the moment came – we climbed to the edge and jumped.Well, not so much as a jump as a tumble.

After a couple or aeronautical 360’s we straightened outinto level fall (I am reluctant to say flight) – and below was the earth….. andnothing else! Wow! This was amazing.

A few moments on from free flight, the parachute wasdeployed and I felt as if we had come to a dead stop in mid-air. We now starteda slow manoeuvring towards landing next to where we had taken off.

One more surprise first though – my instructor had me pullslightly on the cords controlling the chute above our heads. In only a fewseconds we spiralled several hundred feet, before he had me release the cords.

All too quickly, we touched down.

That’s when my excitement and exhilaration kicked in! I hadjust jumped out of a perfectly serviceable aircraft and landed safely on theterra ferma. After so many years of wish and hoping, my dream was made areality.

And I wondered, why had it taken me so long? This had been abrilliant experience. I would do it again tomorrow – well soon again anyway!Why had I let fear get in the way of the brilliant and amazing experience thatwas my dream?

And isn’t that what so many people do with their dreams?They let fear, anxiety, other people, “life”, whatever…. get in the way of adream.

Every dream is given to us for a reason – wee the ones meantto make them happen. No-one else can make your dreams a reality. That’s theirdream. Only you can give life to your ones.

It doesn’t matter if your 15, 50 or 85 go experience thereality of your dreams. It’s never too late. It’s never too long ago. Not whilewe’re alive anyway.

Now, what about my pilots licence?

Make Your Dreams A Reality

Colin

Do you like this article from MyLife TODAY!on Thursdays: Ideas and tips on achieving the complete and happy life youdeserve? Feel free to share it with your friends also. Or, why not join us forother articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Do I Become One Of The Most Outstanding Leaders Ever In My World? Post 5 of the “Leading TODAY! on Wednesdays” series: Being A Billion Dollar Leader

2012-02-01T07:21:00.003+11:00

Being a Billion Dollar Leader: Lesson 3: Ihave to trust my people.

When most people start a new job, they get the standardinduction speech about their role, what is expected of them and so on. However,when I give my new staff the usual “Welcome to your new job” speech, I firstlet them know what I think of them.

It’s a simple message—“You’re here because I believe you cando the job, otherwise I wouldn’t have hired you. I trust you to make this role successful.”

In all the companies which I have helped to develop acrossdifferent countries, I have discovered one undeniable truth. In most cases, thepeople employed by those companies knew what they had to do in their roles tomake those roles successful.

They knew that—if everyone worked at making their part ofthe business a success—then the entire company would be successful.

AWord on trusting the team: they know what they need to do to be successful

A few years ago I was asked to work with an overseas companyin order to raise the service delivery levels of their teams. The last thingthe staff in the overseas offices needed was for some Smart Alec “expert” totell them, “This is how we did it in Head Office”.

So, instead of tellingthem, I asked them how they couldmake the service they delivered a “Wow” experience for their customers.

Then, over several weeks and many workshops, the staffdeveloped the service delivery standards that were to change the way they wereperceived in the market.

Ironically, these service standards were almost identical tothose introduced by the parent company. However, the overseas team hadn’t beentold what those standards were. They had come up with their own benchmarks allby themselves. Simply asking the people who actually did the job for theirideas on improving the way the company did business, resulted in major changesto customer service delivery standards and great business success.

It was a matter of trustingthe staff to have the answers. After all, they wanted to be successfulpersonally and took pride in working in their jobs for the company. These staffmembers were just like the majority of people the Billion Dollar Leader willencounter.

Don’t the people you place in your team have what it takesto make success an everyday word?

So why is it that so many managers feel it necessary tomicro‑manage the people they have employed and then try to do the job thosevery people were hired to do?

Trust!

A Billion Dollar Leader trusts their people while a managermanages their staff.

If you can’t trust the people in your team to do the jobthey were employed to do, then you shouldn’t have hired them in the firstplace!

All Success

Colin

Doyou like this article from Leading TODAY!on Wednesdays: Ideas on excellence in leadership and Being A Billion DollarLeader? Feel free to share it with your friends also. Or, why not join us forother articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Do I Take The Fear Out Of Public Speaking? Post 5 of the “Speaking TODAY! on Tuesdays” series: Thoughts, tips and stories on successful speaking and outstanding presentations

2012-01-31T06:16:00.001+11:00

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself in any direction youchoose.
You're on your own.
And you know what you know.
You arethe guy who'll decide where to go. Dr Seuss

You're onyour own - "You are the guy who'll decide where to go":

A recentwinner of a speech contest approached me the day after in a bit of a confusedstate. He was now preparing to represent his country at the World semi-finals.

He was concerned, because two previous world champions had givenhim two pieces of conflicting advice on how to make his winning speech evenbetter. The thing about advice is it’s only one person’s opinion. My advice?Take it, evaluate it, mull it over and then decide – is this right for me? Doesit sit well, here, in my heart?

Every one of us is on our own when it comes to telling the storiesin our mind. The message we want delivered is usually the one that’s inside ofus and no-one else can quite do it, just like you. Because no-one else haslived the life, had the experience or gained the knowledge, quite like you.

So when it comes to speaking, it is you, it is your stories, it isyour feelings, thoughts and emotions that you are sharing with the world. Andno-one else can ever really tell you how to be more like you than you.

Oh, we humans can give suggestions. We can tell you how we felt.We’ll tell you if you were right or wrong – even if it’s your opinion that youare delivering (like what is that, I’m wrong about what I actually think!?!?)We’ll even tell you if we liked what you had to say or not. Trust me we will!

And I’m comfortable in you doing that to me. I will listen,evaluate and decide whether it will work or not based on the message I am delivering and what I know is right forme, what is in my heart – and then move on.

You are alone, but never quite. Your heart is always with you. Trustit and it will tell you what direction to take.

Know your message. Know your heart. Follow your destiny.

Inspire The World With Your Words

How Can I Achieve The Complete and Happy Life I Deserve? Post 4 of the “MyLife TODAY! on Thursdays” series

2012-01-30T19:20:00.000+11:00

So, does my version of “You are a winner”mean that winning the race doesn’t count?

No. Winning a race is fantastic and striving to win is important. But,it is this striving to win that is not fully recognised in the Win/Losephilosophy.

In any race, although only one person will win, there areothers who will achieve their personal best; something they have never donebefore in their life. More than likely each of them will have strived to do thevery best they could on the day. Because of that they are all achievers.

Yet so often, they are made to feel the very opposite. Youonly have to look at newspaper headlines when a major sporting star doesn’tquite “make it” to see this as true. Let’s face it, they achieved the bestresult they could on that day, under the circumstances they were forced to face– including the ones that lie within them.

And that is allthat can be asked of anyone. Including you!

It doesn’t matter if you end up wearing the gold medalnormally placed around the neck of the person who wins the event.

It’s the gold medal that you place around your own heart inrecognition of your own efforts, after giving your very best on the day, andachieving the result you did, that counts.

In the movie “Cool Runnings” (1993; Walt Disney Pictures),actor John Candy portrays the coach of the first Jamaican bob-sled team tocompete in the Winter Olympics. As the main event approaches he is asked by thecaptain of the team, “What’s it like to win the gold medal?”

John Candy replies, “You’ll know when you cross the finishline but remember, if you’re nothing without the gold medal, then you’ll benothing with it.”

Being first isn’t that important. Striving to be first, being there,competing, refusing to give in - is.And, whatever the result you get from giving the best that you can on the day, it is a result. And because you haveachieved a result, that makes you anachiever.

For it doesn’t matter what other people achieve in theirlives or whether they end up winning the gold medal. What matters most is thatyou give it the best YOU can. It’s about the gold medals you award yourself forthe things you’ve already achieved; the down-payments you have already made,the price you’ve already paid for the rewards and the gold medals you willreceive in the future.

It’s all about playing the game. It’s knowing that you are an achiever and you have greatthings to offer. And like any achiever there are rewards waiting for you

Make Your Dreams A Reality

Colin

Do you like this article from MyLife TODAY!on Thursdays: Ideas and tips on achieving the complete and happy life youdeserve? Feel free to share it with your friends also. Or, why not join us forother articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Can I Achieve The Complete and Happy Life I Deserve? Post 3 of the “MyLife TODAY! on Thursdays” series

2012-01-30T19:18:00.000+11:00

A Word on Self-fulfilling Prophecy
A self-fulfilling prophecy is established when someonepredicts something about another person and that person, having heard theprediction often enough, begins to believe that what’s being said about themand behaves as if it were true. Sofulfilling the belief.

Good or bad. Itbecomes true.

Hard to believe? Think about what can happen to children ina school class. If the teacher tells the class that they can achieve greatthings, that they are highly capable, then in a majority of cases, the gradesgo up. Learning becomes fun. If the teacher tells them that they can neverachieve anything, that they were graded wrong and their results really showthat they are underachievers, then in most cases the grades will go down.

What was said comes to pass.

Doesn’t happen in real life?

Just look at what happens to the lives of some people afteryears of hearing what some parents tell them as children, or peers tell them asthey grow through adolescence, or bosses tell them as adults. “You’re useless”.“I should have known it was you”. “I knew I couldn’t trust you”. “You alwaysbreak things”. “You’re nothing but trouble”. “Typical!” “That’s just like you”.All of us would know of someone who has lived down to those predictions made ofthem.

And we probably all know someone who has fulfilled theopposite type of prophesy: “Of course you can!” “You’re fantastic”. “Go forit!” “You can achieve anything”. “I knew you could”.

Because this can happen, it is vitally important that youbecome aware of what is said to you and what you believe about what is said to you.

For, even more important than what others tell you aboutyou, is what you tell you about yourself.

Sometimes our own worst enemy is ourself; because we willspend more time talking to ourself than any other person will spend talking tous. If we can be affected so deeply by what other people tell us, imagine howmuch more effective we are at creating our ownself-fulfilling prophesy.

If we are not careful we can begin to believe that we arenot capable of achieving, or don’t deserve to achieve, the things in life thatin our soul we so dearly want. We begin to fear achievement itself – because wefear failure so much more!

There is a wonderful line in the Australian movie “StrictlyBallroom” (1992; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp), where the heroine tells thehero, “A life lived in fear is a life half lived!” Is it any wonder than thatfar too many people resign themselves to a life half lived, rather than riskingthe possibility of failure, of losing? We fear failure that much.

Guess what? The only thing we really have to fear is fearitself!

Make Your Dreams A Reality

Colin

Do you like this article from MyLife TODAY!on Thursdays: Ideas and tips on achieving the complete and happy life youdeserve? Feel free to share it with your friends also. Or, why not join us forother articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.

How Can I Achieve The Complete and Happy Life I Deserve? Post 2 of the “MyLife TODAY! on Thursdays” series

2012-01-30T19:16:00.000+11:00

So, does this mean that I think that a “goal-setting”philosophy is totally wrong?

No! The principles of goal-setting do work. They’ve worked for me and they’ve worked fora lot of people I know. If you apply thetechniques of goal-setting; the time-management, the dream building, etc., thenyou can achieve great results with goal setting. Many people just like youhave.

So what’s the problem? As I see it, the problem is simple.

It is howgoal-setting is misused and how theunderlying approach is taken with the Win/Lose – Succeed/Fail philosophy thatcan be so damaging to people’s lives. Fartoo much emphasis is placed on the winning and not enough on simply achieving.

And with far too much emphasis placed on winning, and beinga winner, there comes far too much emphasis, to the point of being destructive,on being a loser. Giving it all you have on the day, playing the game andwalking away as an achiever, have all given way to “winning at all costs”.

And sometimes that price of winning at all costs is just toohigh. Individually and for society!

This emphasis on winning or more correctly, on thepossibility of being labelled a loser, can only stop people from becoming thebest that they can be. Because, when people don’t get the results they set outto achieve then they can start to believe things about themselves that aren’ttrue. They can start believing that, because they haven’t won, because theydidn’t reach their goal, they too are a loser according to the rules of awin/lose, succeed/fail society.

Not true?

Just watch the effect on a child if all the other childrenthink he/she is a loser when it comes to team games. No matter how hard,enthusiastic or willing the child is to have a go, the first time they make a mistakethe label of “loser” is reinforced. They are laughed at. They are ridiculed.

And sadly, how often do we see this criticism, thisdegrading behaviour, being administered every weekend by some “sane”,“rational”, “mature” adult at a child’s sporting event, such is the need forsome parents to have a winner as a child?

If it happens often enough then such children may simplygive up and not participate at all. They become what other people think theyshould be. They act the way they are expected to act. They begin to believethat they are truly “losers” or “failures”. Even though they did the very bestthey could, their perception was thatthey simply weren’t good enough.

We adults are no different to children in this way. Eventhough we keep trying, some may never quite make it, according to the rules. Never have the really nice home, luxurycar, or overseas holidays or lifestyle we are told winners should have.

And so, every day, millions of dreams die or are never givena chance because someone (we don’t really know who), somewhere (we don’t reallyknow where), said, “Be a winner, succeed in life. Winning is the only thing andif you don’t win then you are a loser.”

Do yourself a favour. Don’t listen to what the world tellsyou about winning and losing.

Set out the things you want to achieve in life and then justgo for it. Give it all that you can. If it works – great! And if you don’t getwhat you want, well that’s OK too. No-one I know has ever achieved everythingthat set out to achieve every time. They all have failed. Some more than otherson the way to achieving great things!

Don’t give up on your dreams.

As we go forward in this series of blogs we’ll look at howyou can make your dreams a reality and how you can work at achieving themagnificent life you truly deserve.

Make Your Dreams A Reality

Colin

Do you like this article from MyLife TODAY!on Thursdays: Ideas and tips on achieving the complete and happy life youdeserve? Feel free to share it with your friends also. Or, why not join us forother articles on my TODAY! Seminars’ Facebook pages on Leadership, SMEBusiness, Good Health, PublicSpeaking, Networkingand LivingLife. Alternatively you can see themon LinkedIn, Ecademy, Twitter or my BlogSpot page or at Google+. This article is copyright to TODAY! Seminars (2011)and cannot be reproduced in any form without written approval of TODAY! Seminars.