Books, billboards, news

releases, website content,

magazines and magazine

articles, posters and

displays, newspaper

columns, surveys, signs,

 postcards, brochures, 

commercials, promotional

 emails, direct mail, photo

captions, jingles, branding

themelines, package labels,

training curricula, promo

literature and exhibit

 materials, webinars, sales

presentations, seminars 

lyrics, booklets, speeches,

 ebooks, blog posts, scripts

  business plans, marketing 

 strategies, love letters,  

manuals, greeting cards,

and matchbook covers

Ever write any of these yourself? How’d it come out? Did you get the results you wanted? What happened? Are you a skilled writer? An experienced wordsmith? Probably not. If you’re reading posts on this blog site, it’s because you’re an entrepreneur, a small business or professional practice owner, manager, or principal, a student, or a leader.

If you fit any of those kinds of career descriptions, odds are that you are marketing a product, service, or idea (or some combination) and the daily challenges of keeping your business or organization moving forward leaves little room for you to indulge in fantasy of seeing yourself as a talented writer. And you’re smart enough to know when to get help.

One telling characteristic of successful entrepreneurs, in fact, is that they know how to pull their ideas forward while leaving necessary professional services up to professionals they engage — CPA, attorney, management consultant, and more often than not: creative services, especially writers and designers.

Entrepreneurs, after all, are the catalysts of business and the economy. They are agents of change. They serve as mirrors of society wants and needs. They alone are responsible for new job growth (not corporations, and certainly not government). As a result, entrepreneurs are also the most sensitive of business people, and the quickest to recruit outside expertise when they see the need.

Small business owners are far more in touch with reality than their big business counterparts who are obsessed with analyzing what message content and structure communicates best, and sells.

They recognize that one dot or small sweep of a design line, or one word can make the difference between sale and no sale. (And remember, with online content: WORDS are still King!)

Entrepreneurs respect and appreciate the value of expertise.

So the list above is not just a teaser or composite of writing applications. It is a list of real business-related (yes, even love letters!) writing needs that most entrepreneurs are confronted with at one time or another. It is also a list of writing applications that anyone you hire to write for you should have experience with, at least most of them.

I know. I’ve written all of the above many times over. And I can tell you that a marketing writer who hasn’t written a book doesn’t know how to tell a story, and stories sell. A website content writer who hasn’t written radio and TV commercials has no sense of writing concise, punchy stuff that’s short, sweet, and memorable . . . and “short, sweet, and memorable” sells!

Someone who’s never written a billboard hasn’t even a clue about how to write branding lines because the discipline is the same:  Aim for 7 words or less and tell a story in those 7 words or less that has a beginning, middle, and ending . . . and is persuasive. Ah, then comes the opposite: Direct mail. In direct mail, the more you tell, the more you sell — that means, literally, a blanket of billboards.

Writing emphasis must always be “you” focused (not “we”). It must attract attention, create interest, stimulate desire, bring about action, and deliver satisfaction. It MUST ALWAYS answer the question: “What’s in it for ME?” All writing –even an instruction manual– represents an opportunity to make a sale and/or create a favorable impression.

The writing you have now?

Does it work as hard as you do?

# # #

Hal@Businessworks.US  931.854.0474

Open Minds Open Doors

Many thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

Dear elected representatives:

it’s NOT  “All or Nothing!”

Progress is measured in increments.

Increments require step-at-a-time management.

As a House or Senate representative, you are not making progress on The People’s Agenda because you are not serving the wants and needs of the people you were elected to represent. And even if you think you are, you’re not because you’re not genuinely working on behalf of those wants and needs. If you were, they would already have been satisfied.

But it’s not too late! Consider the following:

*** Studies of VOTE and NON-VOTE actions and non-actions suggest to many voters that the odds are you       

are preoccupied with your own personal agenda, your own individual needs and desires, and that you are blocking progress with a make-believe “All or Nothing” attitude.

*** Are you kidding yourself into thinking that delays and rejections of step-at-a-time changes will get you re-elected?

*** Are you pretending that every step toward progress requires you to necessarily avoid commitment to get started without unanimous finality?

*** Are you rejecting the wisdom of the Bible, and Einstein, and Thoreau, and other true genius’s who have reminded us that limited knowledge is all we ever have?

*** Are you relying on failed long-ago replaced 1970’s management strategies founded on consensus-seeking  — on safety in numbers– and holding out for something that everyone can at least agree with somewhat?

That kind of posturing, after all, offers protection of one’s hind quarters,

and serves as a platform for rallying the support that you as a politician are likely convinced will get you re-elected.

BUT IS THIS why you were elected  . . . to build yourself into a position you think will best facilitate getting RE-elected?

Seriously?

Truth is that you are far more likely to be re-elected by throwing your wholehearted self into solving the problems    . . . by supporting what the public wants instead of devoting yourself to seeking the spotlight for representing the positions you think will most likely return you to your cushy, high-paying, job.

Take a page from successful entrepreneurs.

Ever-armed with a burning desire to make their ideas work, entrepreneurs are NOT— as commonly (and incorrectly) believed– betting the farm!

Real entrepreneurs take only REASONABLE risks. They are agents of change, not of hot-dogging heroics.

Yet time-after-time, most of those in your shoes take only POLITICALLY-CALCULATED risks.

Politically-calculated risk-taking accomplishes nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zippo. Zero. Make the most of what you have . . . NOT of what’s not here.

Stop being afraid to step up

with just a piece of the puzzle

 . . . instead of standing around and holding out, waiting for others to find the missing pieces. Speak up with what you have because only pieces can create the whole solution. And if everyone else with just one piece is holding back, the puzzle will never be solved.

Repealing and replacing Obamacare is NOT an all-or nothing challenge . . . aren’t there many steps involved? So isn’t it a step-at-a-time process? Can’t you begin by taking a step in the right direction and returning to make it better as another worthy step comes to the surface?

That’s called: GET STARTED and PASS  S-O-M-E-THING that moves us forward, instead of stubbornly trying to grab hold of a tree (or a hand) as you continue to sink in quicksand!

Entrepreneurs don’t succeed by bursting onto the scene and being suddenly thrust into “Shark Tank” spot-lights. They do act quickly (but not recklessly) and they succeed by taking measured steps and building each on the one before it. They don’t worry about what competing businesses are doing; they just keep moving forward step at a time.

And entrepreneurs don’t hope, wish, analyze, or try. They act. They act now, today, this minute. They get the job of taking a step forward done, instead of just talking about it.

Success is FAR more likely achieved with solid stairways than with shaky stockpiling of all the issues until unanimous agreement can be reached on every detail . . . which is how quicksand originates.

Get started!

You can make a difference, piece at a time.

A favorite pastor of mine recently noted that “you can’t build a house in a hurricane!” Waiting for the perfect solution that everyone can agree to is allowing the storm to build and get worse.

First-aid ointment and a Band-Aid is a quick-fix when a cut is bleeding, but they do usually work as a temporary solution.

It’s really okay to take on healthcare and the tax package and the tighter immigration rules with step-at-a-time quick fixes instead of standing around with your thumb you know where until a comprehensive overhaul of each item can be perfected (which may never happen… and then, by the way, where do your reelection prospects stand?).

# # #

hal@businessworks.US

Business Development/ National-Awards/ Record Client Sales

Entrepreneurship & Expansion Coaching    931.854.0474

Go for your goals, thanks for your visit, God Bless You!

“The price of freedom is

eternal vigilance!”

[Thomas Jefferson]

 Standing On Someone Else’s Head?

It’s a thin line. Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial thinkers often become delusional in their oblivious-to-others, all-or-nothing charge to make their ideas work yesterday.

The fuel? It can be good or bad news . . . a sudden brainstorm, making a major contact or receiving an unexpected investment (or bill), the surfacing of a sticky legal problem, a major family uproar or health issue. Or even NO news!

These are just a few examples of the kinds of events that trigger the reactive need for an immediate “stampede of one.” Most everyone has been on the receiving end of stampede clouds of dust and dirt.

When it’s “the Boss” who runs over, under and around support personnel, the result is inevitably negative and often irreparable.  Business prospects as well as personal and family connections are often short-circuited.

And those whose heads have been stepped on are usually prompt to update resumes, and rarely stay around.

Ah, but there is help for impetuous, oblivious and reactive behaviors (vs. tuned-in, team leader-style responses). And the difference between cultivating reactive and responsive –though great– is not the only answer.

We have all heard along life’s path that “Patience is a Virtue.” Great, we say, but how do we gain patience? How do we know when and where to STOP?

It’s called: Get to work learning all we can about how to focus our brains and lifestyles on fostering moment-by-moment, here and now awareness levels as much as possible.

WHY? Because upset feelings ONLY take place in the past (anything longer ago than one second) or the future (anything more than one second away). The more we can train our minds to stay in the present moment as much as possible, the more control we have over our behaviors, our productivity, and our health.

This is not to suggest we try to abandon all past and future in our lives. We need the past to learn from, and often as a relaxing avenue for pleasant memories . . . and of course we have to plan things in the future, The point is to use more present awareness to prevent dwelling on the past and worrying about the future.

There is nothing more immediate in your life than your pulse, your heartbeat, and your breathing. And your breathing is the only one of the three that can control the other two. Click on this ARE YOU BREATHING? link or the tab at the top of this homepage for step-by-step guidance.

And have a great day sharing and showing respect instead of the bottoms of your shoes!

# # #

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!”    [Thomas Jefferson]

Hal@Businessworks.US         931.854.0474

Guidance to 500+ Successful Business Startups

Creating Record-Sales for Clients Since 1981!

Are You Paying Enough

Attention to YOU??????

A  C  T  I  O  N  S

SPEAK LOUDER

THAN WORDS

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS

First popularized in 1856 by Abraham Lincoln

The expression may date back as far as 1628!

The day-to-day motto of our new U.S. President

But “So What?” you say. “What does all that have to do with ME?”

You already know the answer, but odds are you pretend to dismiss it, forget it, mock it, trash it, or have turned a blind eye to the reality that these five words have, in fact, marked your every accomplishment in life.

So what makes you conveniently forget the importance of ACTION as in getting up off your butt and DOING something instead of just talking about what needs to be done?

I am interested in hearing any good answers to this question, but confidently doubt you can produce even one. Yet you know in your heart that everything you value has come to you as a result of stepping up and out… being assertive (that’s “assertive” not “aggressive”).

Take a one-minute break and ask yourself what it is that you are sitting on, wasting time and energy with (and probably money as well), that can best be resolved by simply taking ACTION? Have you heard that other great expression?:

S O M E   ACTION

IS ALWAYS BETTER

THAN NO ACTION!

Where does it best apply in YOUR life? You think it doesn’t? Of course it does. How long have you been standing still?

Formalized goal-setting is great if its underpinnings match the proven-to-be-essential five criteria, but big-time progress isn’t always measured by what you seek.

Ask anyone in public or military service about the values of TAKING ACTION vs. TALKING about it. “Whoa!” you might say, “but (thankfully) I’m not in emergency situations every day.”

Oh, but you ARE.

Do you think it’s not urgent to spend real time with someone you love instead of worrying endlessly about taking a career or business growth step that you fear tripping over? To be clear, this is NOT about Reacting. It is about Responding.

How much of an emergency is triggered by dwelling on “what if’s” instead of simply trying your best-bet idea? Is that more risky than not taking a few hours with your spouse or children? Would your “yes” response be the same if, God forbid, something drastic happened to a loved one to prevent you from enjoying more time together?

S U P E R S T A R S

. . . in sports, career professions, and business are inevitably those who live as much of the time as possible in the present, in every passing moment, instead of the past that’s over or the future that’s not yet come (and may never come).

They are the people who take the risks of taking action steps (because as Einstein said: “ALL WE EVER HAVE IS LIMITED KNOWLEDGE”) instead of trying to gather every conceivable factoid before deciding, or simply paying lip service, or making excuses, or being “all talk.”

Is it time to stop talking about what

you’re going to do, and just do it?

# # #

Hal@Businessworks.US             931.854.0474

Guidance to Over 500 Successful Startups

STOP SYNCHRONIZED DIVING.

STOP PLAYING CHESS.

 GET THE PUCK OFF THE ICE. 

BURY THE FOOTBALL.

NOW.  IT’S 2017!!!

And there’s only room for Baseball!                                                                   

 What? Why Baseball? Because… ta, ta, ta, ta, tah-tah!… baseball is THE ONLY competitive-physical-prowess-speed-agility-and-psychology sport with no time limits. And 2017 business success demands COMPETITIVE teamwork!

So, baseball has no ending time or closing minutes? Correct, but there can always be extra innings. Extra innings translates to endurance. Show me a business success not built on endurance.

Baseball serves business enterprises best as a teamwork model because teams must work together hard, as a team, to win. BUT, every single team member gets an equal chance to get up to bat and get a game-winning hit every game — as well as make great game-winning plays, with every pitch, every inning!

It’s all about teamwork wrapped around individual performance and a sense of competitive spirit. Yes? Well, how great would that be for your entire organization to practice? (Regardless of draft choice round involved ;)) 

Imagine management and employees supporting one another all day every day, while encouraging each other to rise to the occasion of ongoing conquest because every individual effort can potentially pay back the entire team in the process.

Imagine all individuals and departments involved making a daily practice of supporting and backing-up one another instead of finger-pointing, or making excuses for shortfalls. A dream? Only if you choose to let it be.

BEHAVIOR IS A CHOICE.

You (and your people) can just as easily choose to work together as a winning baseball team as you can choose to keep struggling along as a ragtag collection of aspiring superstars with no investment in the success of others. Oh, and as for critiquing along the way? Criticize BEHAVIOR, not the person at fault!

Even as a single, unified force, this kind of team will fall apart when any individual fails to perform in precision-matching her or his teammates. (Ask any oarsman on any 4 or 8-person crew team what happens when one rower is out of sync by even a second, or raises an oar just inches more than the rest of the team.)

All it takes to make a REAL difference is experienced coaching and training guidance, plus a fresh informed perspective on the best (most appreciated) ways to reward exceptional individual and team performance . . . rewards that do NOT become long-term financial burdens.

If this is a missing link in your organization– old, new, large, small, mid-sized, retail, service, B2B, industrial, sales, professional practice, healthcare– call me. I provide all of these services for fees you can afford now. And results are guaranteed! Ready? Then let’s “PLAY BALL!”

# # #

931.854.0474

hal@businessworks.US

STRATEGY / CONTENT / CONNECTION

Coaching for Higher Branding Impact

Business Development/ National-Awards/ Record Client Sales

“The real voyage to discovery

is not in having new landscapes,

  but in having new eyes.”

— Marcel Proust

For your people to have “New Eyes,” they need only have new food for thought that fits and boosts the dynamics of their individual personalities.

• This includes some effective but unobtrusive, practical stress management techniques they can take home, and a fresh perspective on how to revitalize often lazy or overkill communication skills.

• The combination of strengthened self-control and ability to “come across” more effectively serves as the foundation for absorbing and applying new levels of leadership and competitive teamwork coaching.

All of that –and more– is delivered with the 2017-2020 management and staff training and development program:

“MY BUSINESS WORKS” is a 3-part, hands-on, on-location engagement that is Money-Back Guaranteed to make a difference in individual participant commitment and achievement levels, in propelling your business mission forward, and in increasing your sales revenues.

Because these How-To sessions are customized to fit the specific needs of your business, your people, your customers/ clients/ patients, and your sales, scheduling is extremely limited, so act now! 

Email Hal today: Hal@BusinessWorks.US or simply call Hal direct at 1.931.854.0474 for a prompt assessment discussion, or to schedule a callback at your convenience. 

[NOTE: Participant ages, educational levels, and physical conditions have no bearing on program content or expected results]

# # #

       Hal Alpiar is a 35-year-experienced professional coach and trainer. A business and career development mentor, Hal actively consults in marketing/PR/sales and stress management. Twice voted “Professor-of-the-Year,” he is also a national award-winning book author and national award-winning branding creator.

Serving clients nationwide since 1981, Hal has helped over 25,000 business and healthcare professional participants in his training programs, classes and workshops, and many more through his published books, articles, and over 1600 blogposts.

 [NOTE: For more details, click on About Hal tab at the top of this page]

# # #

hal@businessworks.US

STRATEGY / CONTENT / CONNECTION

931.854.0474 Coaching for Higher Branding Impact

Business Development/ National-Awards/ Record Client Sales

“Employee Stress” Blocks Productivity, Vision, Focus & Health, which Costs Employers Over $300 Billion!

 What’s YOUR share?

“UNTANGLING KNOTS”

When is a knot not a knot?  Stress is like that “eye of the beholder” thing. Twenty-five years, for instance, can be forever, or a blink, depend- ing on how we’ve chosen to experience it and how we choose to see it.

Sticking a thumb out to paint scenery isn’t the same as sticking it up to show approval, or down to show rejection, plugging it into a hole to stop a leak, or waving it to hitch a ride.

Neither is twenty-five years of delivering mail the same as twenty- five years of raising a family, or hammering rocks OR tuning pianos, driving trucks, stuffing pickles into assembly-line jars, selling services to corporate muckity-mucks, doing heart transplants, being a techie, running a retail store… OR plucking escargot-bound snails off jagged rocks at low tide.

Yet, we humans do all of these things to earn a living and label them as stressful.

In fact, “most stressful” to you could well be “least stressful” to me, and vice versa. To you, twenty-five years could be an eternity of pain and anguish. To me, it might be a heartbeat of joy. Some may consider it a flash of fantasy.

Or perhaps we’ve chosen to suffer what seems like a permanent backache, endless constipation, depression, addiction, or —the opposite— we’ve cultivated some ever-deepening smile wrinkles by choosing to foster a happy, healthy, productive work-and-home balance.

Every end result gives rise and a clue to the source and choices and choice reversals made or not made all along the way.

Where does CHOICE begin and end? Or does it? Maybe it’s an eternal blanket and functions only when we’re aware of its pervasiveness. Surely it doesn’t float innocuously to our shoulders from the heavens and plot to do us in, even as we sit stunned by its presence, and puzzled by its origin and intention.

But: VOILA! As truth will have it, stress doesn’t come from outside of us. It doesn’t come from other people or circumstances—or from our jobs!

All physical, mental, and emotional stress is inevitably the result of a choice we make or have once made (perhaps within this very minute… or a week, month, year, decade or lifetime ago!). So it’s fair to say we can stop blaming others and circumstances for having put us under stress. We have only ourselves to blame.

But blame doesn’t get rid of stress and may even make it worse.

As we have championed ourselves to “bring it on,” we are equally well-equipped to “let it go.” We need only to:

A)  RECOGNIZE AND ACCEPT that it’s the result of a choice we just (or once) made,

 AND

B)  FOCUS OR REFOCUS OURSELVES on the most immediate split-second here-and-now minutes of our lives… our heartbeats, our pulses, our breathing.

When we pay attention to our breathing, our pulses, our heartbeats, we are returning our minds to this very minute, and every passing minute.

Why does this matter? Because stress only exists in dwelling on a past moment (older than a minute, or even a few ticks)… or worrying about a future moment (more than seconds or minutes away) that hasn’t yet come—and may never come!

Simply being aware of this thinking is often enough to make the difference. If you’ve read this far and are not interested in more, at least be interested enough in helping your SELF by trying and practicing these “Are You Breathing?” steps. They work and they’re free!

# # #

Start 2017 SMART. 

 Start with THE 2017-2020 management and staff training and development program:

“MY BUSINESS WORKS” is a 3-part, hands-on, on-location engagement that is Money-Back Guaranteed to make a difference in individual participant commitment and achievement levels, in propelling your business mission forward, and in increasing your sales revenues.

Because these How-To sessions are customized to fit the specific needs of your business, your people, your customers/ clients/ patients, and your sales, scheduling is extremely limited, so act now!

Email Hal today: Hal@BusinessWorks.US or simply call Hal direct at 1.931.854.0474 for a prompt assessment discussion, or to schedule a callback at your convenience. 

[NOTE: Participant ages, educational levels, and physical conditions have no bearing on program content or expected results]

# # #

   Hal Alpiar is a 35-year-experienced professional coach and trainer. A business and career development mentor, Hal actively consults in marketing/PR/sales and stress management. Twice voted “Professor-of-the-Year,” he is also a national award-winning book author and national award-winning branding creator.

Serving clients nationwide since 1981, Hal has helped over 25,000 business and healthcare professional participants in his training programs, classes and workshops, and many more through his published books, articles, and over 1600 blogposts.

 [NOTE: For more details, click on About Hal tab at the top of this page]

# # #

hal@businessworks.US

STRATEGY / CONTENT / CONNECTION

931.854.0474 Coaching for Higher Branding Impact

Business Development/ National-Awards/ Record Client Sales

Personal & Professional Growth/ Creative Entrepreneurial Thinking

Breaking Your Back?

Your Word?  Someone’s Heart?

Did you know “STRESS” costs employers over $300 Billion a year?

After 35 years of teaching stress management to business and healthcare professionals, I believe ALL suffering comes from some form of self-induced stress. And studies I’ve seen show that more than 7 out of 10 doctors agree.

Stress does not come from outside sources. Nothing and no one can MAKE us stressful. Stress comes from INSIDE (and until it becomes negative stress, or DIS-stress, it’s not always bad; without positive stress, you’d fall out of your chair!)

Some of us clearly work too hard physically, and suffer physical consequences: backaches, headaches, pulled muscles, sore feet, cut and calloused hands, aching fingers, an increasingly-wrinkled brow –and of course more– can all take their toll. Ask any roofer!

• We blame every thing and every body outside of ourselves all along the way, truly feeling like we are, in fact, “breaking our backs.”

• Yet others of us may put ourselves in the mental/emotional stress-inducing position “between a rock and a hard place” when something happens (or fails to) that causes us to break our WORD.

But unlike the physical “break your back” labor, “breaking your word” is most often accompanied by tightened muscles, mental distractions, angry feelings, feelings of incompetence or inadequacy, emotional outbursts and mental stress, to name just a few symptoms.

• Breaking someone’s HEART can be the most destructive stress of all — and especially if it comes packaged with either and/or both of the above circumstances.

Most human beings (and, I believe, many animals) have had their hearts broken somewhere along the path of life, and know that this is the most traumatizing of all experiences because it goes to the very core of every creature’s emotional existence. And it often triggers an avalanche of mental, emotional AND physical stress!

Regardless of the source we attribute to increased stress— whether physical, intellectual, or emotional– we often head for the nearest relief.

This runs the gamut between medicine cabinets, then drugstores (or dealers), alcohol, tobacco, fortune-tellers, natural healing practitioners, dieticians and chiropractors, primary care physicians, and hopefully, we avoid hospitals and surgery… until next time.

BUT THE BOTTOM LINE is that:

A) Behavior is a choice! That choice can be the moment of upset, or the result of a choice made even years earlier. It is nonetheless, a choice. That being the case, it can be just as easy to make the choice –at the moment of upset– to NOT break your back, choose to NOT break your word, choose to NOT break a heart.

B) The “HOW-TO” of choosing to reverse direction to get better results dictates that your mind be in the present moment, not dwelling on anything more than a minute old (or a minute into the future). It can admittedly be difficult to conjure up present-moment awareness in the midst of trauma . . . unless you choose for it to be easy!

C) The best, easiest, most-effective way to choose a non-stress-imposing action or thought to eliminate or minimize the trauma of the moment is to first: be aware of and acknowledge your upset feelings, and remind yourself that you are choosing them, then: second…

D) Follow the simple, quick, discreet (the more you practice, the less noticeable) steps outlined HERE . Your persistence at doing this even for a minute, even while in a discussion, will calm your nervous system and send more oxygen to your brain. It works no matter what age, physical condition, or type of upset feelings.

MORE?

Give me a call. I run sessions like this by phone,

and in person with employee groups and teams

to help relieve the employer burden of paying

for the results of employee stress.

# # #

hal@businessworks.US

STRATEGY/ CONTENT/ CONNECTION

931.854.0474 Coaching for Higher Branding Impact

Business Development/ National-Awards/ Record Client Sales

Personal & Professional Growth/ Creative Entrepreneurial Thinking

“Today you are you,

that is truer than true.

There is no one alive

who is youer than you“

— Dr. Seuss

“Show me an authentic boss

. . . I’ll show you a winning leader!”

Real. Actual. Genuine. Bona Fide. Not False or Imitation. “Honest-to-Goodness.” Being Exactly What is Claimed. Good Faith. Sincerity of Intention. Legitimate. “The Real Deal.”

     How many of these qualities do you carry in your pocket and empty onto the table when you’re talking, meeting, and dealing with others? How often? How influenced are you by good or bad moods? By past experiences or self-doubts? By your own past or present choices?

     Does it matter whether the “others” are customers, prospects, employees, associates, investors, or suppliers? Does it matter whether you’re on the phone, in person, texting or emailing?

     How much do incidents, environments, and issues beyond your control play a part?

     What is it that you are most afraid of having others you work with, or sell to, learn about the real you?

What’s in the back of your closet

that you’re choosing to put

in the front of your mind

that’s holding you back from

being the up-front person

you’ve always wanted to be?

     Have you made yourself be a victim of circumstances? Is this an identity you cling to?

     This is not some ridiculous Hollywood exposé, or some empty suit government or political probe. This is about you, your business, your daily performance, and the way you “come across” to others.

     Here’s why it matters. When you own or represent a business, the business is an extension of your ego. It is the career stage on which you have chosen to perform.

     Depending on how true to character you allow yourself to be, and how persuasively you present yourself and ideas, your business will rise and fall with the curtain calls and appreciative audience applause.

     If you elect to play a hard-nosed character, and you’re convincing in that role, you will attract hard-nosed critics and audiences who may not hang around until intermission . . . or who are harder-nosed than you!

     I’m not suggesting you or I or any of us has the ability to simply turn the authenticity faucet on and become (now finally “SAINT“) Mother Teresa. But I am saying that we all have certain qualities of genuineness as human beings.

     Exercising these strengths of character (in spite of closed closets) will serve to free up unnecessarily-guarded business behaviors and–in the process–open opportunities we may never have thought possible.

     It’s a choice that I can encourage, but only you can make. I urge you to take the risk to rise above your past memories, your own doubts and show more customers, employees, and suppliers more of what the real you is all about. Let them see that they can trust your judgement and earn your confidence.

     You don’t have to “become one of the guys” to let others know that you possess compassion and humor alongside your insightful and visionary leadership. Hey, give it a try. You may even like your self better. Have fun!

# # #

hal@businessworks.US

STRATEGY/ CONTENT/ CONNECTION

931.854.0474 Coaching for Higher Branding Impact

Business Development/ National-Awards/ Record Client Sales

Personal & Professional Growth/ Creative Entrepreneurial Thinking