Thank You to FEARLESS, the musical [www.fearlessthemusical.com] for the last three words and some of the clout of this post!

While some political leaders may doubt that FEARLESS Strategic Planning (FSP) is what the U.S. Government needs to be doing more of right now, it is certainly what every professional salesperson needs to be focused on at least once a week—and more likely, every morning!

FSP is partly back to that old adage for success that we can only ever get to where we’re going when we have a map or, as present day technology dictates, a GPS or mobile map app. But the difference is in the name. It must be a FEARLESS map and we must follow it fearlessly.

Sales professionals have a tendency toward squeamishness, avoidance, nay-saying, and self-doubt when they head off into what constitutes new or uncultivated territory . . . or when they need to circle around and come back to the doorstep they once left feeling inadequate, defeated or threatened.

The solution to these mental roadblocks is to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, take a deep breath, smile like you mean it, and get back on the horse that threw you (or whose clomping, stomping, snorting, glaring, and big teeth have kept you jittering at a cautious distance).

First off, no customer or prospect knows more about you, or your product or service or concept . . . than you! Secondly, anyone (or group) putting out defensive arm-folding or “I think I know more than you” pyramiding of fingers, is simply afraid of making a bad buying decision, so take these as signals that your job is to help them feel more secure about where you’re leading them. Back out of your pitch long enough to break down some of these resistant postures. Tasteful humor helps.

Thirdly, and most important: you got to where you are because you have a gift for knowing the right things to say in any sales situation. Rely on that. Trust yourself. Reach inside and appreciate what the real you is all about. Then, put it to work. Being FEARLESS means being authentic.

When you plan your weekly and daily strategies, plan them with a positive attitude and an air of authenticity. When you dig into your areas of strength and build energy and genuineness (vs. boredom and phoniness) into your words and actions, you are being authentic . . . FEARLESS!

How to get to that point? Work at it. Stop giving up on yourself. Cultivate everything you can think of that builds and rebuilds your sense of determination, gumption, fire. Never stop learning. Every problem is an opportunity. Strategize from your mind, but act and speak fearlessly from your heart!

Every day you begin with FEARLESS Strategic Planning will bring you increased health and happiness and success. Your words and behaviors are always your choice. Choose to be FEARLESS. Choose to make it easy!

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Hal@Businessworks.US          931.854.0474

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Many thanks for your visit and make today a GREAT day for someone!

“Pretty good job… for a woman!“

“Thanks for nothing” types of “mixed” messages pervade today’s society– in meetings, phone calls, emails, texting, even music! “Don’t smoke, don’t drink, and don’t curse,” he warns his new employee. Then the boss frantically pats down his pockets and exclaims with frustration: “Sh*t! I must have left my pipe at the bar!”

“All the world’s a stage…” proclaimed Shakespeare. At one time or another, we all play roles and mask ourselves in some way. If we become aware of ourselves when we are putting on a performance, that awareness gives us the freedom to reject unproductive (unless you’re “on stage”) playacting in favor of authenticity.

And (yes, apples are great, but) certainly, A is for AUTHENTICITY too! It is Authenticity, after all, that is the overriding human quality which serves us best in both life and work

. . . yet, short of hiring someone to monitor or videotape our daily words and actions, it can be difficult at best to be aware of when we are “putting on airs” or undermining someone else or sabotaging current circumstances. Why? Because playacting is often an unconscious knee- jerk reaction to another person or situation.

So what are we to do to begin eliminating or at least minimizing phoney images and communications?

Awareness of life/career damages from disingenuous behavior is the beginning. So, you’ve already started. Next comes making a conscious effort to strengthen your resistance to assume or take on these self-destruct roles. You need to “catch yourself” by keeping your mind and body in better balance with the real you:  the deep-inside you.

Accept from the outset that–unless you’re another Mother Theresa–you may be unlikely to ever achieve 100% authenticity. But know that even slight improvements will enhance your personal respectability and community standing, and will dramatically increase others’ acceptance of your ideas and trust.

Once you are aware of this thinking and accept that “being more genuine” will rocket-boost your life, work, and play pursuits, begin to take more deep breaths. That alone will help you ground yourself in times of trouble and, ultimately, clarify your here-and-now focus in ways that win you more intrinsic happiness and more extrinsic rewards.

Being more aware paves your path to greater control and spotlights that everything you say and do is a choice that you make or the result of some choice you have made at some point in life. Simply by being more “Choice-Conscious,” you will find yourself better able to illuminate your strengths and free up your uniqueness . . . bring your real self, your authenticity, to the surface in more of what you think and say and 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!

What I’ve Learned About

FEARLESS Selling!

Speak up for what you want. If you don’t spell it out, no one will ever know where you want to go. Solicit feedback.

When you state a feeling, opinion or belief, SAY that it’s your feeling, opinion, or belief…instead of implying that you’re stating “facts.” Imagine standing in your listener’s shoes.

STOP saying “all” and “every” and “ever” and “never” because you’ll start to believe yourself…and others will start to doubt you..

When others tell you your idea won’t work, don’t believe them. Instead, give it a goal and a strategy. It’s easier to move forward with a map.

STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN isn’t just for railroad crossings. Ask questions, observe and listen hard. But as Einstein said, “all we ever have is limited knowledge”…so when it’s time to move on, go with what you know!

Turn off the news. Bombardments of negative, tragic events will invade, disrupt, corrode and corrupt positive attitudes. INSTEAD: Sing. Dance. Read. Laugh. Play. Walk. Take pictures.

Positive attitudes are preserved when you respond instead of react. If you don’t react, you can’t over-react. Learn to blame less and forgive more.

Stop worrying about how you look and pay attention to how you behave. Entrepreneurial leaders instill confidence and inspire action no matter what they wear. Contrary to popular myth: Clothes do not “make the man.”

Look everyone and every thing in the eye. Good contact, not staring. Looking at your feet or over someone’s shoulder broadcasts ambivalence and fear…feelings that fail to: sell, instill confidence, inspire trust, communicate authenticity, show interest.

When the competition gets tough, get tougher by being better informed, by delighting (not just “servicing”) your customers, and by being honest.

Keep your eyes and ears alert, and your mind open. Take more deep breaths to keep your SELF in the “here-and-now” as much as possible . . . because success is the journey, and expectations breed disappointment.

Remember your family, your friends and how to laugh. Above all: Trust your SELF!

Live. Love. Make it easy.

 Some concepts inspired by www.FEARLESStheMusical.com

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Hal@Businessworks.US          931.854.0474

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Many thanks for your visit and Make today a GREAT day for someone!

You’re 40-something and trapped!

You’re 40-something and you’re sandwiched in between aging parents and young children. trying to build a career. Even the weekends are starting to suck. The family dog (or cat) is beginning to be your BFF.

What’s next? STEP BACK, that’s what! Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing (except driving, holding a baby, operating heavy equipment, or standing with your back to a cliff or stairway), take one physical step back away from the gum-biting clamor, pinch yourself in the butt and take three deep breaths. Just three, but don’t fake it. Three. Deep. Now. Before reading more. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

Now pay attention to this: No job is worth losing because your mind gets too busy racing in and out of your neighbors’, relatives’, co-workers’ issues and shortsightedness. They don’t understand your upsets. They never have. They’re not inside YOUR brain and you don’t need them to survive your circumstances. You need your SELF to make adjustments for your SELF — NOT to please others!

You need to “rattle your own cage” and that doesn’t mean a zoo or prison vacation. It means doing some honest soul-searching about who you really are, what you really want out of life, and how you think you’re going to get there.

Rule One: Take Charge of Your SELF! Only YOU know what YOU need to do. Listening to what others have to say is a good thing. Doing what others think you should do is not. So listen all you want, but ACT on your own behalf.

For every idea you have (after the three deep breaths!) about how you need to proceed with your “sandwiched” life, write it down: each idea at the top of its own page (yes, with a real pen or pencil on real paper . . . trust me you’ll get more authentic results than keyboarding it!). Put a minus- sign at the top left and a plus+ sign at the top right, with a vertical line top to bottom down the middle of the page.

Then identify the negative and positive points related to each idea in the appropriate column. Step back again. Yes, and three more deep ones. Then analyze your ideas based on comparing the two columns and on what you honestly feel inside your gut about each point, and each idea.

Maybe you’ve been being too patient and are filled with anxiety? Maybe you’ve not been patient enough and are filled with annoyance or are simply adding fuel to the fire? Where’s the right balance?

What are you doing right this minute to achieve the right balance? You think this is an easy exercise? It’s not if you’re doing it honestly. But is it worth it? Of course it is. YOU’re worth it, aren’t you? Then work at it.

Here’s a Broadway-bound musical: www.FearlessTheMusical.com filled with love, anxiety, humor, annoyance, and resolution to inspire. It’s all about finding balance — Try some of the “song previews” and remember: You’re never alone when you seek balance. Sing. Dance. Hum. Breathe. Think. And along the way, enjoy–and TRUST your SELF! Be FEARLESS! You’ll get through it. You can do it!

# # #

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!

YOU’RE 70+ YEARS OLD?

There goes your past. Here comes your future. But
it’s only this very minute —this very split second
as you read this sentence— that counts!
Popular observations about your age:

YOU’RE 70+ YEARS OLD

God Bless You! You’re still alive and pretending to be younger . . . probably 50-60. Occasionally, you might even make believe that you’re in the 30-40 age bracket (though, depending on activity levels involved, that can readily get you in trouble, like cut, bumped, bruised, or thrown out of a bar, an airplane or someone’s bedroom!).

Bottom line is that you have at long last arrived at the point where no one can tell you much of anything that you don’t already know from experience.

Well, okay, you may be a little slow on the uptake when it comes to storing your pdf files on the cloud or testing the new contact lens that takes photos when you blink (something like 1 blink for yes and 2 blinks for no and 3 blinks to snap a picture of what you’re looking at that you’re not supposed to be looking at. Hmmm, and that could spell trouble with a capital “T”!). Anyway, who knows what’s next in tech? You can bet the farm that the answer to that is: No one older than fifty years younger than you, right?

So here you are: 70+ and you have no doubts about what you don’t know. You’re still working at something or you wouldn’t be around. Life is not a breeze, but waking up every day is certainly a gift you want to make the most of — especially after all that work just to get from the bed to the bathroom!

And you are, after all, happy and productive, yes?

Interesting isn’t it, that being at the happiest and most productive place in the world—“here and now”—is most often shared by people under 7 and over 70? Most everyone in between spends all those other years worrying about the future which hasn’t come yet (and may never!) or dwelling on the past which is over (and can’t be changed). But then, you already know that, right?

Here’s how I figure it: AGE only matters when you choose for it to matter. We made a lot of choices to get here. And whether it’s been easy, hard, or in between, it all comes back to choices we make and have made—conscious or unconscious, but always our choices lead the way.

So, just choose to make it easy! Choose to make whatever work you still do work for you, to be happy and healthy and rewarding for you and all those who surround you. Is that too hard? Well, it’s simple if you choose for it to be simple. Besides, what’s the alternative? You stop working and then you die of retirement? Not a great choice.

REALITY IN LIFE AND BUSINESS:
Now is the only time!
How thankful are you to be who you are,
headed where you’re headed?

CHECK BACK TO THE LAST 5 POSTS BEFORE THIS FOR THE
COMPLETE “AGE SERIES” [20-30, 30-40, 40-50, 50-60, and 60-70]
~~~ NEXT WEEK: A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS MESSAGE!
# # #
Hal@BusinessWorks.US or 931.854.0474 or comment below

OPEN MINDS OPEN DOORS

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You!

Make today a GREAT Day for someone!

YOU’RE 60-70 YEARS OLD?

There goes your past. Here comes your future. But
it’s only this very minute —this very split second
as you read this sentence— that counts!

Popular observations about your age:

YOU’RE 60-70 YEARS OLD
Ah, now you’re cookin’, Baby! True smartness sets in and you learn to appreciate the idea that life is too short to be hanging around with time-wasting junk. That includes other people who are hell-bent on draining your brain and emotional storage bank with their tales of physical ailments, surgical procedures, and drug regimens.

Business life begins at 60! Go get busy! Invent something! Write a book! Play senior softball! Coach something. Find a local youth organization you can work with. And there’s nothing like moving to or visiting a college town to keep you feeling young! Pull up stakes and git outta Dodge! If you’re married, do another honeymoon. If you’re single, and still searching for love in all the wrong places (like bars!), gussy yourself up and check out stuff like www.NeedTaGetMeARedHotSeniorLover.com (Just kidding. Sorry, it’s not a real site!)

One good thing that’s predictable once you hit into the 60-70 age group: You say “screw it!” more.

Oh, and—after trying endless formulas, products, and treatments to no avail—you let your hair and wrinkles grow wherever the hell they want to. You look lovingly at grandchildren, but have a keenly developed zero-tolerance for temper tantrums and the soiled diapers that you once handled with aplomb, finesse, dedication and necessity.

Reluctantly, you look for the bright side of facing the eventual need to downsize your living quarters and aspirations. Your kids talk with you like they think you’re seven years old. You are either attending church services more or less. You are paying too much attention to politics, the news, and nail fungus!

Here’s the whole enchilada: Be thankful to be who you are and to be headed forward on your path. You’ve made it this far and you ain’t gonna quit nohow!

REALITY IN LIFE AND BUSINESS:
Now is the only time!
How thankful are you to be who you are,
headed where you’re headed?

WATCH THIS BLOG NEXT WEDNESDAY

FOR HAL’s 70+ AGE COMMENTARY

# # #

Hal@BusinessWorks.US  or 931.854.0474 or comment below

OPEN MINDS OPEN DOORS

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You!

Make today a GREAT Day for someone!

YOU’RE 50-60 YEARS OLD?

There goes your past. Here comes your future. But
it’s only this very minute —this very split second
as you read this sentence— that counts!

Popular observations about your age:

YOU’RE 50-60 YEARS OLD

Congratulations! You’ve finally learned some stuff. You know better, for example, than to think you’re so omnipotently brilliant and untouchable—not weak by any means (you did after all get this far!)—you’ve simply become more realistic.

Realistic is good. More realistic is even better. At 50-60, you start going to church more than just weddings, funerals, Christmas and Passover, and you’ve given up worrying about your hair.

Your business enterprise is shaky but working (after learning from a handful of failures) as usual — and you live for your annual vacation, your spouse, and your offspring. Your new puppy just chewed up your tax returns, but that truck you always wanted is now in your driveway . . . and who knows? Ray Kroc was 57 years-old when he launched McDonald’s! Makes you think of trading in those daily nuts and healthy fruit for a drippy fat burger and those fries (Ah yes, the fries!) . . . am I right?

Yup! And, at long last, you’ve come to the point of accepting the reality that you may actually be a bit on the stupid side when it comes to home and car repairs, budgeting and bank account management, or selling yourself to get customers. You’ve no doubt figured out how to apply all the gems you learned in your school studies of Tree-Hugging, Trigonometry, and Global Warming to market your line of new improved toilet plungers.

Oh, and this is not even to mention your half-century (whoops! Sorry to mention that) of accumulated street-smarts that have prompted you to realize that you can be easily clobbered by a 20-something who cuts you off in traffic and that your best defense is to keep your middle finger in your pocket. Your love affair dreams have narrowed to a handful of gorgeous TV superstars and a neighbor with 9 children and 17 grandchildren swarming over the house, porch, yard and driveway 24/7. Oh, well . . .

REALITY IN LIFE AND BUSINESS:
Now is the only time!
How thankful are you to be who you are,
headed where you’re headed?

WATCH THIS BLOG NEXT WEEK FOR MORE
  AGE COMMENTARY~~~~ NEXT WEEK: 60-70
# # #
Hal@BusinessWorks.US or 931.854.0474 or comment below

OPEN MINDS OPEN DOORS

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You!

Make today a GREAT Day for someone!

YOU’RE 40-50 YEARS OLD?

There goes your past. Here comes your future. But
it’s only this minute—this very split second as you
read this sentence—that counts!

Popular observations about your age:

YOU’RE 40-50 YEARS’ OLD

Now you’re getting serious about life. You cut your hair and consider the economies of a wig vs. hair transplants vs. shaving your head. You buy your first wrinkle cream and think about Botox. It doesn’t take more than a backache or two to realize you’re no longer the superwoman / superman you thought you were, but you will no doubt continue trying to prove otherwise—switching perhaps to “softer athletics” like pinball, slot machine pulls, darts, bathtub backstroke, and computer solitaire.

You’re still haunted by being covered with lettuce, smothered in mayonnaise and stuck like a pickle in the middle of the parents/kids sandwich . . . trying to break through the crust and please the whole world as you get chewed first on one side and then on the other. You probably thought you were over the hill when you were thirty, but now, well, “It’s the real thing!” . . . You worry more.

When you lose a close friend or family member, it gives you cause to pause. You rethink your job, church, life, love, yourself as well as where the hell you’re going, and how long it’s taking to get there. Retirement planning? Nah! That’s a long way off.

Earning a decent living has turned out to be harder than you ever imagined. Maybe you should do that year-with-a-yogi-mountaintop-meditation deal? Marriage or roommate relations get rocky. Your own or parent health issues command the stage center spotlight.  Healthcare insurance options suck! You sleep less. You start eating more yogurt and granola, but struggle with the booze, coffee, anything chocolate, bread and butter. Sometimes you feel like you’re playing football on a chess board. Try answering this: “What Sport Is Your Business?”

Having your own small business is looking more attractive. You decide to test the waters with a weekend garage-based product business or bedroom-based consulting service. The startup costs are staggering. You consider seeking investors or a rich partner. Somewhere you learn that when two partners agree on everything, one is not needed. Two investors you speak with want 65% of your business. No way! Way! No way! Way! No way! You go it alone and sweat it out. Welcome to entrepreneurship! Are you spontaneous enough?

REALITY IN LIFE AND BUSINESS:
Now is the only time!
How thankful are you to be who you are,
headed where you’re headed?

WATCH THIS BLOG  FOR THE NEXT 3 WEEKS
FOR YOUR AGE COMMENTARY~~~ NEXT WEEK: 50-60
# # #

Hal@BusinessWorks.US   or 931.854.0474 or comment below

OPEN MINDS OPEN DOORS

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You!

Make today a GREAT Day for someone!