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

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

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 #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!