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!

STOP Hoping and Wishing.

STOP Analyzing and Trying.

 Just get the damn job done.

  Today. NOW. . .This minute!

You’re an entrepreneur or an entrepreneurial thinker. If you weren’t one or the other, you wouldn’t be reading this.

So, straight out, here’s the bottom line: The work you’re doing now in your life (as goes the old advertising expression goes) “ain’t your father’s Oldsmobile.” What you’re doing now (or want to be doing) is not likely to be the boring office or hard labor or high-stress job that you grew up hearing about.

This also means that the days of analysis paralysis that evolved from corporate mindsets is gone.  The age of putting in long hours and working up a sweat every day doing physical labor or mind-numbing assembly line work, or some high-stress (air traffic control, e.g.) job to eke out a living, pay the avalanche of bills, and put food on the table, are not for you . . . cut your own path.

You want a better life. You have some great ideas, but –instead of making them work– you’re wasting time trying to make them work.

You cannot afford to drag your feet. You cannot afford to worry about every detail. You cannot afford to be wasting so much time.

Problems will solve themselves if you just get off your ass and get moving. Some action is always better than no action! But don’t trip over your own face!

Speaking of “buts,” remember that the “Yes, but’s” and the “Maybe, buts” run circles in the woods with the rabbuts, and (aside from an occasional carrot) never get anywhere of any consequence.

The hardest part of marching forward to success is the marching. Many give up with, or even before, the first step. And many who get that far tend to lose the drive to go further because they lose the vision or perspective or finances or connections to keep marching forward.

Sustaining initial startup energy once you’ve designed or developed or invented or introduced or found a market niche for your product or service can feel impossible. But it’s really not . . . unless you choose for it to be.

Consider that all behavior is a choice –conscious or unconscious, made now or in the past– and that many people surrounding our lives every day are doing their best (often unaware) to sidetrack the entrepreneurial thoughts and pursuits of others because success may threaten their investments in the status quo.

Others –especially friends and family– may simply (and often without realizing it) not want to see you succeed. They may feel threatened by what they perceive as your stardom. Jealousy is not always something we are aware of, but it is right up there on every measure of emotional spectrum leaders.

Think about what you’re choosing to do that’s actually holding you back. What can you change? How will you do that?

It may be in your best interests to try taking some deep breaths before trying to answer those two questions.

You might next explore ways to stop making excuses, to stop blaming others and circumstances, and –instead– take some steps on your own behalf. “What’s the worst thing could happen?” is a good question to ask yourself. If there are no legalities, or physical or emotional harm involved: Go For It!  

# # #

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!

  Get Over It, Mediafolk!

 It’s time to get back to

 feeling good about what

 puts food on your table!

Dear Mr. and Ms. Mainstream Persons,

In case you haven’t noticed, the rest of the nation is moving on.

To be a more integral part of that progress, might this be a good time for you to start looking for ways to make better use of your time and energy?

It’s obviously hard for you to find a leg to stand on as you continue contributing your talents to your bosses’ lost cause of politicized blaming, manufactured “news,” and borderline slander . . . at the cost of your personal reputation and trust in your judgement.

Most Americans seem to know –frankly– that you are better than that. But you lose favor every day as you continue to test public mettle and sink your teeth into risking your integrity in the process — for nothing!

CONSIDER these three suppositions:

1.   Somehow, or other, you were born and raised to emulate and hopefully become a modern day version of what history has traditionally honored as the “Town Crier.”

2.   Perhaps you stumbled into what you do, but odds are that you were educated and trained to report the news to others who lack that drive, inquisitiveness and skill set.

3.   Somewhere along the road to making a name for yourself, you elected to opinionate instead of report. You made an active decision to be subjective instead of objective.

ODDS ARE you are actively appeasing the misguided media moguls whose money supports you and your family. And your career in that arena has rarely if ever felt truly fulfilling.

I have many years behind me as a news writer, radio host and producer, and magazine editor-in-chief. I mention this only to lend credence. I imagine I’m not too far off in making the assumption that you are selling your soul and boxing yourself into a career corner that (really) makes no sense, and offers no forgiveness.

BREAKING NEWS . . .

How to fix it!

First and foremost, recognize and accept that your behavior is (and your career pursuits are) always –first and foremost– your CHOICE! Can you just as easily choose to report fact-backed-and-checked stories as you may choose to fill the gaps with fiction, slander, skewing, bitching and sabotage?

If you actually prefer the latter set of words, maybe you should think about abandoning your beat and, instead, write a novel? I’ve done that too; it’s a much better platform for exaggeration and self-expression.

BOTTOM LINE: The time is NOW to stop berating those who have been thrust into power by the people.

It’s time to recognize and accept reality.

The incessant clouding of news issues (the bias dictated by those who pay your salary to further their own unhealthy practice of  dwelling on the past and worrying about the future) is pulling you away from a present-moment focus and into a fantasy abyss of unprofessionalism.

You have in your hands the glue this nation needs to heal and hold itself together and be strengthened at every level. It’s name is “responsible reporting.”

When you deliver stories without substance, you distance yourself and your thinking from all measure of good taste and reality of life. You set yourself up to undermine yourself and your family’s credibility . . . and turn the enjoyment of pursuit for living a rewarding life and lifestyle, into a struggle.

Are you are risking your very existence and lifestyle to step outside the perimeters of good judgement that your life, until now, has been about?

Take Heart! You still have a chance to turn things around — to distance yourself from the world of irrationality, bad taste, poor judgement and make-believe career pursuits in favor of reality and just plain common sense.

Close your eyes for a minute, take a deep breath and see yourself as the happy, honorable and pleasant person you were born to be.

Surely you can do better. Will you CHOOSE to take that do-better step on your own behalf?

  I, for one, am rooting for you to move onward and upward. Contact me if I can help. Have a great day!

# # #

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

RELENTLESS PURSUITS

Can They Sputter and Flip Into Reverse?

The crazier you become about an entrepreneurial venture, the better it is IF you are (actually, and against all odds) a true entrepreneur.

If, in other words, you  work yourself into a frenzy because you have what you think is a great idea, you start thinking about applying to “Shark Tank,” you’re ready to bet the farm on your brainstorm because friends and family encourage you, and you know in your heart you’ve got what it takes to revolutionize the marketplace.

But–in the end– you don’t have that magical,

mystical entrepreneurial INSTINCT:

Prepare to Crash!

“Entrepreneurship” is NOT what all the universities and

colleges and entrepreneur centers are actually teaching.

• Just because some disillusioned government leader rewards the dreams of an aspiring faculty member a wad of grant money, doesn’t mean you, the student, will learn how and be able to become an entrepreneur. 
• Just because some misguided instructor thinks that “teaching entrepreneurship” will generate increased personal income for her or his family vacations while simultaneously being able to ignite the community economy, doesn’t mean you, the student, will learn how and be able to become an entrepreneur.
• And just because campus administrators are dancing in the board room because one of their faculty has just generated grant money into their building fund, does not mean that you, as a student, will learn how and be able to become an entrepreneur. 

Neither does any of it mean that what you learn can be turned into a cash cow for you or your friends or family or community–all of whom, because of your genius and your wonderful entrepreneurial training will be able to live happily ever after.

B e c a u s e :

No one can TEACH you

how to become an entrepreneur!

You can learn about how an entrepreneur thinks and acts and makes things happen, and you can convince yourself that you can muster what it takes to follow these guidelines into Entrepreneurville.

You will hopefully discover in time to save your savings that entrepreneurs are NOT the risk-takers most of society would have us believe. Risk-taking is NOT a trait of entrepreneurs. Real entrepreneurs take only REASONABLE risks.

But you can’t and you won’t fit the elusive entrepreneurial “mold” (if there is such a thing) unless you were born with the instinct — the will to succeed at all costs and, the most crucial characteristic: the ability to take the intuitive steps necessary to make that happen.

Lectures and textbooks and “hands-on” activities can give you a sense of what it’s all about, but they cannot instill instinct. 

Does not having this deep-seated sense of intuition —the inherent ability to have innate, inherent, inbred, spontaneous, consistently productive hunches-– mean that you’ll fail?

No. It simply means you are not an entrepreneur. But not being the entrepreneur you thought you were doesn’t mean you are doomed to failure.

You may simply need to rise to the occasion of being contented with being the best you can be instead of trying to be something you’re not. You may need to settle with the notion that success translates to hard work that produces steady long-term business growth, and to having to struggle through setbacks you never saw coming. Above all, you need to accept and work within the framework of reality. Yes, reality!

As with the critical 5 criteria of effective goal-setting (being specific, flexible, realistic, due-dated, and in writing), true entrepreneurship is marked first and foremost by being realistic!

And just as not meeting all five goal-setting criteria produces nothing more than a wish-list ticket to Fantasyland, so too does a reckless charge at entrepreneurship end up producing failure by cultivating a business-life platform based on make-believe.

All the time? No. Nothing is always, including the word “nothing.”

So the bottom line IS:

If you’re entrepreneur material, you’ll know it and so will others (including savvy investors).

If you’re not a true entrepreneur, welcome to the vast majority of businesspeople and the reality that –even though you may have missed the “E” Ship– your odds for business startup and growth success are measured exclusively by: how hard you’re willing to work at making your venture productive for yourself, your family, for those who work with you, and for your community.

Your actions may need to be more calculated than spontaneous, but that doesn’t mean they will end up having any less impact. What’s important is that you start out by being realistic and by measuring the steps you take with a reality yardstick.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that some educational venue or individual can teach you how to launch your interests into outer space… to become another Steve Jobs, or Lori Greiner, or Mike Lindell, or Mark Zuckerberg, or Oprah Winfrey, or Donald Trump, or Beyonce, or Mark Cuban, or Frank Purdue.

Accept yourself for who you are,

but never settle for who you are

capable of becoming.

Courses on entrepreneurship may help shed some light on the directions and kinds of decisions that produce entrepreneurial success stories, but choosing those directions for yourself and making those kinds of decisions will not make you an entrepreneur anymore than a new car or suit of clothes will make you into another person. They may make you feel good, but they won’t change your skill set.

Work at and stick to

what you know best,

and what you do best,

and what you like most

. . . and you will succeed!

TRUST YOURSELF!

# # #

Hal@Businessworks.US             931.854.0474

Guidance to Over 500 Successful Business 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

    This week, I re-discovered a Christmas ornament my 15-year-old granddaughter made . . . six years ago when she was 9!!!

     The brightly painted piece of heart-shaped plywood is the stage for her blobby-marker-printed starstruck words — six statements!

“But where did you get those words?”

I asked.

“I just thought them up in my head,”  

she said.

GWYN’S WORDS ARE THE BEST WISDOM I CAN SHARE FOR  CHRISTMAS & FOR 2017:

“Life is a question.

No person on earth

is your enemy but you!

You can’t decide

what you’re born with,

but you CAN decide

how you end up!

“Being happy is beyond a feeling

. . . it’s a way of life!

“Questions are endless. But

  the only one answer is YOU.

“You can dream

without imagination but . . .

you can’t dream without a belief.

“You are who you are,

and no one can stop you!”

—  Gwyneth Murphy, Age 9

As you head into 2017 building your life, your career, and your business, do Gwyn’s words have as much “start the new year” clout for you?

Please let me know YOUR thoughts . . .

# # #

God Bless You One And All . . .

My Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas

and HAPPY NEW YEAR To You & Yours!

# # #

“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