EVERY GROWING BUSINESS

GROWS WEEDS

The National Federation of Independent Business proclaims NOW is the first time in 45 years that confidence levels of US small business owners are prompting a growth and expansion attitude.

So, the time to grow is NOW.

But beware the temptation to charge full-steam ahead because pursuing more business or professional practice growth now probably means you’ll need to be pulling weeds first!

You’ll need to make more elbow room for your new or planned crops/flowers/products/services to gain more sunshine, and an increased share of watering.

And, remember that no matter how clear things appear above ground, nothing can grow when underground weed roots are commandeering the water supply, and strangling what you are trying to plant!

So, even with more sunshine, unless below-the-surface water routes are not also freed up, you will have done only half the job… ending up with half the possible results.

Well then, where do you start?

Just pulling harder on your weeds often only serves only to delay failure because the roots that remain (after the aboveground portions snap off) simply get larger and even more aggressive.

Odds are you already have a pretty good idea of where you want to end up, but before you set specific, realistic, flexible, due-dated goals in writing, step back from what you’re doing right now and assess your business’s ability to rise to the occasion.

In other words, honor the famous old quotes from Robert J. McKain: “There is no achievement without goals” and Earl Nightingale: “People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going.” And most importantly: Start with an honest appraisal of your SELF.

How capable are you and how much do you really want to spend the energy to make a difference for your SELF, your family, your employees, your customer/patient/client base?

How many people are presently employed by your business or professional practice?

Have each of them demonstrated a capability to rise to the occasion? If yours is a “family” business, how invasive is that influence on where you want to go?

Make a Yes/No/Maybe list.

Who among the “no” and “maybe” people are “weeds”? (i.e., they need to move or shift their attitudes somehow to allow more sunshine in… or they need to simply be removed by the roots because they are taking up too much space and water to continue with your new growth ambitions and directions.)

Decide how flexible/adaptable/energetic/motivated each of them is?

And what you think it will take to get each moving in the right direction.

Remember that weeds DO have a use

. . . when they are added to the mulch pile.

BusinessWORKS.US

GROWING BUSINESS & PROFESSIONAL PRACTICES NOW

Hal Alpiar & Johnny Stites Weekly Radio Show 24/7 Podcasts

Creating Record Business Growth Impact with 100 Years of Experience

Economy Surge Boosts Business

(but not yours or the Post Office?)

YOUR BUSINESS IS NOT DELIVERING ALL

THAT YOU WANT OR NEED FOR IT TO BE?

Are you seeking some magic to re-ignite your business to take advantage of the booming US economy… or are you standing there, totally befuddled, sucking your thumb and wondering how YOU MISSED THE BOAT??… this post is for you!

DELIVERING 

BASED ON CAPABILITY ALONE

IS DIFFICULT AT BEST

… EVEN FOR THE BEST.

The United States Postal Service has had a zillion opportunities to succeed over a zillion years of big-time budgets and noteworthy big-time leadership of politically-based government organization people, who appear to have never earnestly sought real-world business input.

USPS has failed to act on endless business  growth opportunities Priority-Mailed to itself on a golden platter because those in charge thought they had and continue to think they have all the answers. (When was the last USPS Customer Survey you received?)

That belief alone spells disaster for any business or organization, or even professional practice. The lifetime of failure spawned (and actually nurtured) smarter competition.

How do I know all this?

First, because I grew up with my father being (for 25 years) a USPS Special Delivery Messenger –the first 7-days a week version of overnight delivery service– and watched Special Delivery Mail dissolve away to open a floodgate of business for FedEx, UPS, Amazon, and a long list of others.

Second, because I’ve had the good fortune to have had many proven and experienced business teachers and trainers in my life share many business development basics, like: No one ever has all the answers. Open Minds Open Doors. Leadership is about listening first and acting second.

And I have been able to apply successfully what I’ve learned to teach others— as a professor, business and healthcare practice coach/consultant, published author, management trainer, and now as a “business how-to” podcast and radio host.

With that as background, I attempted numerous times over the years to communicate with USPS executives in some of the same ways I succeeded at communicating with private business enterprise owners and managers… with ideas and proposals… but they were never responded to except by form letter thank-you-but-no-thank-you notes.

IF YOU ARE TRYING TO

RUN YOUR BUSINESS WITH

A CLOSED-DOOR USPS MINDSET,

NOTHING — not even a booming economy — can save you!

STOP HERE. Take a deep breath.

Has your business run away from you? Are you trying too hard to force it into a direction that simply doesn’t fit?

Do you shut down whenever someone floats a business-growth idea past you because you think they couldn’t possibly understand what you’re facing or what you’ve done to get where you are?

Or maybe just because you don’t trust that person’s face or age or lack of hard-nosed experience, or what you imagine to be her/his sense of reality?

HOW RECEPTIVE ARE YOU, REALLY?

If your answer is “VERY,” Congratulations! Now open your eyes, your arms and your mind and get ready to turn things around. You’ve just taken the first step to put yourself on track to being the business winner you’ve always been capable of being. Reach out for input from other business owners, from employees, from customers. Consider and sort out and weigh the options… THEN (without betting the farm), Take Action!

P.S. In case you haven’t heard, President Trump is “taking action” with the formation of a USPS Task Force to address some of the kinds of issues raised here, as well as how to get a better deal with other delivery services. Hoping for the best for USPS… and, of course, for YOU!

BusinessWORKS.US

GROWING BUSINESS & PROFESSIONAL PRACTICES NOW

Hal Alpiar & Johnny Stites Weekly Radio Show/24-7 Podcasts

Creating Record Business Growth Impact with 100 Years of Experience

1 pm (CT), Every Sunday, Every Week . . .

BUSINESSWORKS

Broadcast Podcast Blast Off!

BUSINESSWORKS begins a year of free, weekly, stimulating  “business-expansion-how-to” input offerings for business owners, managers and operators, and for  professional practice owners and managers, and entrepreneurs.

The information source?

Two unique, and vastly different business leaders with hugely successful backgrounds:

HAL ALPIAR & JOHNNY STITES

Hal and Johnny are a proven, experienced, unlikely pair of highly active 70-something business success MBA mentor/coaches.

They decided they can have greater impact on business and professional practice growth and development by working as a team.

And they agree that weekly broadcasting and podcasting best allows them the flexibility to help others get things done.

Visit weekly with Hal and Johnny on News Talk 94.1 Middle Tennessee Radio AND, from anywhere else . . .  

CLICK HERE:  newstalk941.com 

FOR PODCAST

Or go to www.newstalk941.com . . . ANY time and Click on “Podcast Center” tab at top then scroll down to BUSINESSWORKS and (with volume on) click the little white circle!

“See You Sundays 1 pm on 94.1 Radio Cookeville, TN or ANYtime via podcast!”

BusinessWORKS

GROWING BUSINESS & PROFESSIONAL PRACTICES NOW

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? 

  NOW is the time to make your business or     professional practice e x p a n d and grow… 

Are you on the launchpad or stuck in mud? Or somewhere in between? A legitimate, proven, affordable expert can provide what  you need most to expand your business or professional practice — NOW!

Where else can you get immediate usable creative input that’s personalized and focused on your specific needs? And all in just 3-6 weeks of ongoing, 1-on-1 telephone and email exchanges?

You won’t find a more qualified entrepreneurial business and professional practice development coach than Hal Alpiar.

Hal knows how to break sales barriers, how to start/re-start and expand businesses, how to grow your customer/client base or patient volume . . . how to help you make a difference, now!

Timing is critical. With your business ready to grow, the wrong direction could send it over the cliff instead of into orbit. 

A single word change in a branding line can bankrupt your business OR make your message a popular expression that catapults sales.

[Click free BRANDING TIPS Tab above for more.]

What’s it worth to feel reassured that your head is on straight about the path you want to follow?

What’s it worth to discover a last-minute adjustment that can save you a small fortune or ignite a new revenue stream? 

Hiring a “Yes-Person” (with associated salary, perks, benefits) to assist you with implementing your plans that might bring results, is risky at best.

Instead, for probably a lot less money, get Hal’s short-term input. He will be invested with you in your success and provide heavily-experienced creative thinking. 

Stop kicking the dirt and worrying.

Take 10 or 20 minutes out of your busy life to contact Hal. Ask the questions you need answered to reassure yourself –and  judge for yourself. There’s no fee to ask or to get honest answers. If he doesn’t feel he can help you succeed, he’ll tell you. If he does, he’ll tell you how.

Investing in Hal’s coaching is investing in your SELF, and costs a lot less than you might imagine. Confidentiality, by the way, is 100% Guaranteed!

CALL 1.931.854.0474 TODAY 9AM-9PM (CT)  

OR email hal@businessworks.US 

BusinessWORKS.US

GROWING BUSINESSES &  PROFESSIONAL PRACTICES NOW

Division of TheWriterWorks.com, LLC. Creating Record Client Growth Since 1981

Medical Practice & Other

Healthcare Leaders…

R-E-J-O-I-C-E !!

Finally, a simple, straightforward path to:

• Save huge amounts of business expense

• Have happier staff and partners invested in teamwork and in getting the most out of every hour, every day

• Increase confidence and communicate better with patients, patient families and the communities you serve

• Manage your own stress with easy unnoticeable steps and be able to teach those around you in 10 minutes!

• Increase patient volume with (little-known in the health-care world) practice-building steps that are FREE!

. . . AND MUCH MORE in the new $19.95 book:

HEALTHCAREPRENEURS — the best of proven success in medical practice and healthcare business development guidance, including the latest 2018 techniques and basic step-by-step procedures to save time and aggravation.

Reader comments include:

• …“Reading this book is like having your own personal coach whispering to you from over you shoulder.”

• … “It’s like getting a lifetime of direct experience peppered throughout with subtle humor.”

• … “Loaded with easy-to-identify-with examples… stories I’ve heard but never before considered the solutions.”

• … “It’s easily worth a year+ of private-tutor-style healthcare business training that gets results!”

Healthcare business development author/coach/radio host Hal Alpiar is currently scheduling his third Workshop/Speaking/Book-Signing Tour (Tour #1 was for his 5-Star DOCTOR BUSINESS; #2, his National Healthcare Book Award-Winning DOCTOR SHOPPING)

Hal is AVAILABLE NOW AT NO FEE.

You choose from any of the 35 Chapter topics! 

He conducts these sessions in exchange for booksale opportunities and for covering (reasonable/ documented/pre-authorized) expenses only. Special arrangements for regional scheduling.

RESPOND TODAY! Schedule YOUR medical/Healthcare group NOW: Currently planning dates for independent practices, healthcare associations/organizations/local chapters, in Atlanta, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia,  DC, Delaware, Philadelphia, and the NJ Shore. 

hal@Businessworks.US

or prompt-reply phone message: 1.931.854.0474  

3-Part Workshops with Hal at Tennessee Tech University:

HEALTHCAREPRENEURS 

 Survival Handbook for Practice Growth & Development NOW! ©

Seeking to boost patient volume and survive the growing healthcare storms?

Healthcare providers cannot afford to miss this positive-results program:

REGISTER HERE 

These 3 connecting 3-hour workshops are born of 40+ years of successful healthcare practice startup, development and revitalization stages consulting and coaching by Instructor/Facilitator Hal Alpiar.

The author of DOCTOR BUSINESS and national book award-winning author of DOCTOR SHOPPING, Hal has designed the three nights of workshop action around his brand new book:

HEALTHCAREPRENEURS

  [Every participant will receive a complimentary signed first edition.] 

ALL Workshop ingredients have been perfected with more than 25,000 participants, including: 

Doctors of virtually every specialty, Dentists, Nurses, Nurse Managers, Chiropractors, Acupuncturists, Veterinarians, PTs, OTs, Practice Administrators and Managers,  Pharmacists, Practice Partners, Investors, more . . .

DISCOVER HOW TO GROW YOUR PRACTICE IN TODAY’S RAMPAGING HEALTHCARE STORMS FOR PROBABLY LESS MONEY THAN YOU’RE PRESENTLY SPENDING! 

GET FIRSTHAND SURVIVAL STEPS: 11/30, 12/5, & 12/7

REGISTER HERE

Regulations, insurance, financial, legal, patient care and family stress are all likely to get worse before they get better (which may take years). But here are specific proven new strategy and tactics steps you and your staff can take today. 

Get the input you need to minimize and reverse upsets (with all “outside” business and healthcare contacts and interests as well as with  patients, staff, patient families . . . even your own family).

Boost your patient volume in a matter of weeks (perhaps even days) using the proven-most-effective, free-and-least-expensive healthcare marketing tools. When and how to launch your secret business ideas, attract investors and a top-talent (supportive) support staff. 

REGISTER HERE but once you do, BE PREPARED to NOT sit still for each week’s 3-hour session! You are guaranteed the results you seek for your organization, starting the first week of the new year, perhaps even sooner! 

©2017 Hal Alpiar and TheWriterWorks.com, LLC. All rights reserved.

3-Night Workshop Set for FEB 1, 6 & 8… 

WHAT SPORT

IS YOUR BUSINESS?

Is it like synchronized swimming (it looks beautiful but goes nowhere), or roller derby (where everyone runs around in circles bashing each other in the teeth, but also goes nowhere)?

Or does it need to be like baseball (where ANY individual can win ANY game but only with internal support  and competitive spirit)?

Is your work or volunteer Team

addressing what your business or

organization really NEEDS?

Business and organization owners, CEOs, COOs operators, managers, directors, entrepreneurs…

…YOU WILL NOT FORGET this 3-part, firsthand-experience workshop series for enlightening, energizing (and RE-energizing) your leadership and teamwork plans and platforms — using the best of performance rewards, which are neither costly, nor permanent expenses. 

REGISTER HERE

YOU’LL DISCOVER the most effective ways to help others achieve their goals for them-selves as well as for your organization. The best steps to take. The best words to use.

All three sessions are personally facilitated by former renegade-professor-turned award-winning business author/coach/consultant HAL ALPIAR (Shown here with Teammate Breezy), with 40 years —ongoing– of record-breaking client sales creations to his credit. 

You are promised an agenda of productive, fresh, easy, less expensive, less stressful, proven approaches to leadership and team-building that work . . . You’ll get tools to cultivate leaders and stimulate teamwork, producing increased revenues with less stress than ever before!

SEATING WILL BE LIMITED SO SIGN UP NOW (The perfect Christmas Gift for for Business Owners and Managers) 3-Night Workshop Coming to Tennessee Tech University on February 1st, 6th, and 8th. Start 2018 with new team and business-building energy and direction.

Once you register and show up, BE PREPARED to NOT sit still for each Thursday/Tuesday/Thursday 3-hour session!  Follow the input and results are guaranteed! 

Suggested Reading: #1 New York Times Best-Selling Book:  MAKE YOUR BED – Little Things That Can Change Your Life… and Maybe The World by U.S. Navy Seal Retired 4-Star Admiral William H. McRaven

# # #

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Hal@Businessworks.US      931.854.0474

 PLAN NOW. Make these Tennessee Tech Certificate Programs the launchpad for starting, kick-starting, or RE-starting your business or professional practice… and your SELF… into 2018!

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]

“Thank you for your

     service to our country.”

Like clicking on a seat belt, make it second nature to reach out to anyone you meet or see who is or has been in America’s military. Look for her or his hat, shirt, jacket, patch, car sticker, license plate. whatever quiet statement you see.

Then reach out to shake that person’s hand and simply say: “Thank you for your service to our country.” You won’t need to ask about it or explain yourself. You can be sure of a sincere, bright response.

If you’ve ever lived in or traveled to a dictatorship or third world nation, you positively know why you should be grateful.

“Thank you for

your service

       to our country.”

This Holiday Weekend, let us each take a moment of silence out of our own lives and be thankful that we are even able to do that. Let us be thankful for the freedom we have—to walk down the street, to celebrate the holidays as we choose, and to express our opinions publicly without fear of reprisal . . . as long as we fight violence in our streets with calm, and terrorism when it emerges with every ounce of energy and dedication that our brave military thrives on.

. . .  to travel freely between States without fear or intimidation or threats of being attacked or murdered, to pursue our careers and religious feelings and family lives in the ways that we choose, and to be able to choose in the first place

. . .  to be able to vote and elect our representatives in government, to have so many dedicated young men and women serving so selflessly in our military, to have a flag and a nation we can be proud of.

“Thank you for

your service

       to our country.” 

There are so many more freedoms that we forget about most of the time, even on special holidays when we should most value and appreciate them.

Yet these are the  things in life that count the most. They come from the courageous veterans of our military who have given their very lives, their body parts, their hearts and souls for us that we might enjoy our precious rights and freedoms.

Let us not hide behind family and friend gatherings, gifts, feelings of stress.

“Thank you for

your service

       to our country.”

Next time –anytime– you meet or see someone who is or has been in America’s military.  Reach out to shake that person’s hand and simply say, “Thank you for your service to our country.”

# # #

hal@businessworks.US

STRATEGY/ CONTENT/ CONNECTION

Higher impact. Lower costs.

——————-

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!