“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

BOOST YOUR BUSINESS?

…STOP LOOKING OUT SIDE!

If you thought leadership, teamwork, investors or data-based analysis would boost your business into the spotlight, you’re probably wrong.

All of these are ingredients –that used wisely– can contribute to business success, but none will make the kind of difference that entrepreneurial thinking can deliver. This single quality offers the greatest success dynamic possible.

It is at the heart of all Internet, and tech innovation, as well as product and service-product development.

It is the cornerstone of all brick and mortar and service businesses. Yet it is most often overlooked, unacknowledged, intentionally disregarded, and seldom credited.

But it is entrepreneurial thinking that ignites and electrifies all other business-boosting ingredients. Entrepreneurial thinking is what launches leadership, teamwork, investor support, and data-analysis meaningfulness into a flexible productivity orbit.

Entrepreneurial thinking is the funnel through which energy, enthusiasm, and reality must pass in order to lift a business enterprise off its feet.

Okay, so how does one acquire this magical capability? By nurturing free-spirited approaches to problem-solving.

Is this the same thing as “out-of-the-box” thinking? Not really:

Entrepreneurial thinking has no box to be out of.

It is unconfined to start with.

Sadly, not everyone understands it or has the wherewithal to coax it out onto center stage. Remember (especially academia!!), that entrepreneurship is an instinct — not a learned skill.

But if you are one of those who find this subject elusive, there are others –probably within your own circle of contacts– who readily exercise entrepreneurial thinking processes and who may find the opportunity to apply themselves to your pursuits in ways that prove personally rewarding to them, or at least tempting. You’ll never know unless you ask.

So use it, or find it, or buy it . . . nothing else can truly boost your business to where you think it deserves to be.

# # #

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

Boost Your

PERSONAL/PROFESSIONAL LIFE

and BUSINESS REVENUES NOW!

Rapid results from your own private on-call,

national-awards expert, Hal Alpiar.  He

combines directly-related experience

with challenging creative solutions,

and the kind of motivation that best

fits your needs . . . you get realistic

affordable guidance with each step

up your ladder.

Call 931.854.0474 now

Schedule your 19-minute Q&A

courtesy call with Hal to decide if

you’re ready to move forward with

this kind of “strategic partnership”

that has helped thousands to

climb their ladders!

To save telephone time, you may

want to review this blog site first to

get a feel for Hal’s background

and coaching approach.

# # #

hal@businessworks.US

STRATEGY/CONTENT/CONNECTION

Coaching for Higher Branding Impact

——————-

Business Development/National-Awards/Record Client Sales

Personal & Professional Growth/Creative Entrepreneurial Thinking

 Business Lesson #3 from FEARLESS! The Musical . . .

 “Less Than Perfect World”

Song Title From: “FEARLESS The Golden Love Musical” ©2014 Valerie Connelly and Nightengale Media, LLC.

“Less Than Perfect”?  Yes, indeed. So accept that fact, and do whatever it takes to stay focused on each present moment as you move on with your life and your business. Here are three how-to’s:

 1. PRACTICE MORE DEEP BREATHING. If you doubt this or aren’t sure what it means or what method works best for businesspeople, try this: Are You Breathing?

2. RESPOND INSTEAD OF REACT. If you don’t React, you can never OVERreact. If you’re puzzled by why this matters or want more than this single truth, try this: Are You Reacting or Responding? 3. STOP THE NEWS. This single step may be the most important light for you in the world’s dark tunnel . . . and perhaps the single hardest task of all.

JUGGLING SEAGULLS?

But if you sometimes start to feel like you’re trying to juggle seagulls . . .

Shut down online, print, TV and radio news for a week! (Will you try it, even for just a day or two?)

Before you click away into the distance at this suggestion, consider the advice I once had from a wise old friend that if something really major happened that was so profoundly important while I was on “news shutdown,” that I could be sure someone would call or text me, or come knocking at my door to tell me about it — and all I will have missed is some reporter’s biased, overkill analysis prompted by the quest for advertising dollars.

The bottom line is that we most assuredly live in —and this is stating it mildly of course— a “Less Than Perfect World.”

We must remember that our behavior is our choice! If we continually choose not to rise above the world’s evils and “imperfections,” and not take a break from them —to be so caught up in all the tragedy that literally fills every second of existence and be obsessed with actively seeking to grasp every nuance of detail— we are choosing failure for ourselves and often for those around us.

By choosing preoccupation with the errors of mankind, we are road- blocking our own talents and pursuits and our own abilities to make a difference!

To rise above the rubble, accept the fact that nothing is “perfect” and work harder at being here-and-now instead of then-and-there. Be “FEARLESS!”

# # #

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!

Business Lesson #2 from FEARLESS! The Musical . . .

“Yesterday Is Over”

     Song Title From: “FEARLESS The Golden Love Musical” ©2012 Valerie Connelly and Nightengale Media, LLC.

If you own, operate and/or manage a business

or professional practice of any kind,

consider this reminder a kick in the butt!

STOP talking and thinking about what’s more than a minute old. There are only two legitimate exceptions:

When your mind needs to stray for a few moments to take a pleasant relaxing reminiscent journey as a break in your stressful activities.

When you need to tap your memory banks for a quick assessment of what you once did or failed to do that will help an immediate circumstance.

If you’re dwelling on past events, you’re wasting your time, your energy and your money . . . and probably the time, energy and money of others as well.

Anything more than a clock-tick old

is in the past!

When you find your mind drifting into the past for anything other than to seek a relaxing, pleasant memory or to retrieve a decision-making bit of information, pinch yourself!

Zing your brain into accepting that what’s done is done. If something done calls for you to make amends, make amends. Then move on to the next minute.

Now that you’ve had your butt kicked, and you’ve pinched yourself, you have likely increased the odds of being able to focus more on the present. That’s a major step toward maximum emotional stability and good health.

The sign on my wall (since 1970!) says:

“Now is the

only time.

the past

is over;

the future

not yet here.”

And consider that the future, by the way, may never arrive . . . so the only healthy place for your brain and your body and your emotions —AND YOUR BUSINESS AND CAREER GROWTH— is right here, on each of these words, as you read them, here and now, in the present moment as much of the time as is possible each day because all the rest is fantasyland, and. . . because:

“Yesterday Is Over.”

# # #

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!

Business Lesson #1 from FEARLESS! The Musical . . .

 “Nothing Is Ours But Time”

Song Title From: “FEARLESS The Golden Love Musical” ©2016 Valerie Connelly and Nightengale Media, LLC.

So, how do you make the most

of what time you have left when you

don’t know how much time you have left?

If you’re in your twenties or thirties and have been thinking you have plenty of years ahead to spare, you may want to do some googling on the subject of reality. If you’re lucky enough to still have a living grand- parent, you may want to solicit some of her or his ideas about “time.”

Or—like many (perhaps most) corporate and government executives —in case you thought that your long-range business and career plans will actually work, you’re probably wrong.

And unless you’re in a “first responder,” scientific research, or space exploration position, you’re likely to discover at some point that the plans that work best are almost always those that are informal, immediate, initiated with reasonable spontaneity and constantly adjusted “on the fly.”

Why?

Because “Nothing Is Ours But Time,” . . . and GOOD LUCK! with trying to hold back time or make that clock stop.

When you trust yourself to be fearless, to act (instead of pretend, instead of talk, instead of endlessly analyzing the data), you make the most of the time you’ve been gifted with.

Even when it turns out to be wrong, some action is always better than no action. Taking steps forward increases your odds for success.

Taking action also increases your odds for success of one thing you care most about: to make a difference with your life!

# # #

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!

Business Decision Time:

COMPRESSION or EXPANSION?

Sometimes it’s a clear-cut conscious decision. Other times, it’s like deciding to eat more or eat less depending on your mood, the notches on your belt and what’s put on the table in front of you.

But the bottom line is that –in business–  while many factors and variables need to be weighed, too much time is often wasted deliberating, which serves to host that dreaded government disease: “Analysis Paralysis” . . . where nothing ever gets done, or even decided.

When you look carefully at the downside possibilities of either a business expansion or compression option (vs. potential rewards) –and determine that the risk involved is reasonable— AND when you see a clear path for taking a first step: take the damn first step!

If it doesn’t seem to be working as you imagined, make adjustments — to the path and/or your imagination.

Change The Towel!

Are you convinced the direction is right? Whether you answer yes or no (unless you see insurmountable financial or legal odds stacking up), don’t be so quick to throw in the towel when something goes awry. Instead, change the towel!

What do you learn from listening (which needs to be 80% of the time) to what your existing and prospective customers say about the towel? What’s their take on the changes you make in product or service or facility or staff or pricing or value?

Take away what you hear and learn and adjust the size, and/or the shape, and/or the color, and/or the consistency . . . then take a second step.

“Nobody counts

the number of ads you run;

they just remember

the impression you make.”

— William Bernbach, All-Time Madison Avenue Ad Agency Guru

[With special thanks for the reminder and source to @DigitalShawn on Twitter]

And get yourself in stride for what may turn out to be an endless road of adjustments. While government decision-makers (and competitors of the same mindset) assess and evaluate and review and consensus- seek and never move forward, you can be light-years ahead.

Go for it! It’s all a matter of choice. And the choice to stand still, or to shrink or expand your business is always yours! Don’t belabor it. Be FEARLESS! Trust yourself.

# # #

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!

OPEN  MINDS  OPEN  DOORS

Make Today A Great Day For Someone!

Don’t trip over your own face!

7 Thoughts to Stimulate Your

Small Business Breakthrough Now

Sometimes in our hurry to the finish line, we become obsessively focused on our destination and crumble into a helpless heap that competitors simply hop or step over as they race past. How can we best avoid this common catastrophe? Here’s some of what I’ve learned:

1. Even if you’re on the one-yard line, STOP seeing yourself dancing around the goalpost. Pay attention instead to your feet. Zone your brain into the immediate breath you are taking, right now, right this very moment of high expectation. Expectations, let us remember, breed disappointment. SOLUTION: Paying attention to your inhale and exhale forces you to concentrate on and make the most of every passing moment AS IT HAPPENS!

2. When your mind is in the “here and now,” there’s no room for dwelling on past attempts that failed or for worrying about future events.There is only the present moment. And that present moment is where you excel! Isn’t it? Of course it is. Think about it.

3. Excuses don’t cut it! Trying to explain your way out of failure that occurred because you lost contact with your present-moment breathing? That simply wastes more present precious-life moments.

4. It doesn’t hurt to constructively review and assess how you went wrong, but it hurts deeply when you choose to let your mind wander off into a place of dwelling on what happened and what you should have done. SOLUTION: Instead, take some deep breaths. Reconnect with the here and now . . . what you are actually doing. And move forward.

5. The pervasive problem with academia thought patterns that all of us are taught from grade school through PhD studies is the enormous resistance to truth and reality — the pursuit of what I’ve often called “analysis paralysis” that so embodies and emboldens the ranting and raving of so many unrealistic faculty ranks that blanket our campuses, and unfortunately tend even to infiltrate elementary school innocence.

6. More time and energy is wasted trying to figure out approaches to problem situations (based on history, available data, Past performances, new analytics, etc.) instead of simply approaching problem situations, recognizing them as opportunities, taking action, and making adjustments. What difference does it make “who did what when” if you’re confronted with the need to survive. Many don’t realize it and many dismiss the reality, but my educated best guess is that most small business enterprises are in a constant state of needing to survive. SOLUTION: Even if you’re not one, think like an entrepreneur!

7. The face of your business is what the world sees. It’s what you show others all day every day. How can you expect to be in touch with the impressions you make on others when you are consumed with what you did or didn’t do yesterday or immobilized by worrying over what tomorrow will bring? SOLUTION: Look in the mirror and talk to yourself more. Remind yourself of the real you — what’s in your gut. Then work harder, not smarter!

Concentrate on what you are doing each moment as much as you possibly can, and work at returning your mind there as often as you can. Deep breathing helps. Being committed to exhilarating customers instead of just “satisfying” them helps. When you pay attention to where your feet are and not the finish line, you’ll achieve more, more often, and avoid tripping over your own face.

# # #

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!

OPEN  MINDS  OPEN  DOORS

Make Today A Great Day For Someone!