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What’s Your Passion?

Posted on December 31, 2009 by Barbara Giamanco

I finally watched the movie Julie and Julia. Wow! Talk about a story that inspires. It totally has me thinking about passion and commitment. Thank you, ladies. This year - more than any other - has been particularly challenging for many of us. As optimistic as I can be, there were far too many days in 2009 when I just felt like I couldn’t face another day of the world’s insanity. Maybe you felt that way too? So here we are on the eve of a New Year. I am pondering what will be different - what I will do differently. No big resolutions for me other than to give up doing things the same way and thinking that this time…the result will be different. It never is. With that in mind, I’m making changes to the site/blog, which you may have noticed. More to come on that. SOOOO…what will you do differently in 2010?

The Most Valuable Question You Can Ask

Posted on August 14, 2009 by Barbara Giamanco

Today’s post is from Jack Canfield, a man that I’ve admired for many years. I happen to be a big fan of his Success Principles book and recommend you read it for yourself if you are interested in truly achieving your ideal success.

I wanted to use Jack’s piece today, because it focuses on our relationships with others, gathering feedback, course correcting and sticking with taking action until we achieve our objectives. Successfully selling your product or service depends on creating great relationships with potential buyers and partners. If you had to rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 in terms of your relationship building, how would you stack up?

Now, let’s hear from Jack…

As you begin to take action toward the fulfillment of your goals and dreams, you must realize that not every action will be perfect.

Not every action will produce the desired result. Not every action will work.

Making mistakes, getting it almost right, and experimenting to see what happens are all part of the process of eventually getting it right.

Thomas Edison is reported to have tried over 2,000 different experiments that failed before he finally got the light bulb to work. He once told a reporter that, from his perspective, he had never failed at all. Inventing the light bulb was just a 2,000-step process. If you can adopt that attitude, then you can be free to take an action, notice what result you get, and then adjust your next actions based on the feedback you have received.

Ready, Fire, Aim!

Don’t be afraid to just jump in and get started moving toward your goals. As long as you pay attention to the feedback you receive, you will make progress. Just getting into the game and firing allows you to correct and refine your aim.

The Most Valuable Question You May Ever Learn

In the 1980s, a multimillionaire businessman taught me a question that radically changed the quality of my life. So what is this magical question that can improve the quality of every relationship you are in, every product you produce, every service you deliver, every meeting you conduct, every class you teach and every transaction you enter into?

Here it is:

“On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the qualityof our relationship during the last week?” Here are a number of variations on the same question that have served me well over the years…

“On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate…

our service? • my teaching?
our product? • this class/seminar/workshop?
this meeting? • our date/vacation?
our performance? • this meal?
my coaching/managing? • this book/recording/show?
my parenting/babysitting?

Any answer less than a 10 always gets this follow-up question:

“What would it take to make it a 10?”

This is where the *really* valuable information comes from. Knowing that a person is dissatisfied is not enough. Knowing in detail what will satisfy them gives you the information you need to do whatever it takes to create a winning product, service or relationship.

There Are Two Kinds of Feedback

There are two kinds of feedback you might encounter - negative and positive. We tend to prefer the positive - that is, results, money, praise, promotion, raise, awards, happiness, inner-peace, etc. It feels betters. It tells us we are on course and doing the right thing.

We tend not to like negative feedback - lack of results, little or no money, criticism, poor evaluations, complaints, unhappiness, inner conflict, pain, etc.

However, there is as much useful data in negative feedback as there is in positive feedback. It tells us that we are off course, headed in the wrong direction, doing the wrong thing. This is priceless information!

In fact, it’s so valuable that one of the most useful projects you could undertake is to change how you respond to negative feedback. I like to refer to negative feedback as information for “improvement opportunities.” Here is a place where I can get better.

Ask Yourself for Feedback

In addition to asking others for feedback, you need to ask yourself for feedback, too. More than any other source of feedback, your body will tell you whether or not you are on course or not. When you are relaxed and happy, your body is telling you that you are on track. When you are constantly exhausted, tense, in pain, unhappy and angry, then you are off track.

Take time to listen to what your body is saying to you. Take time to listen to your physical sensations and your feelings. They are sending you important messages. Are you listening?

Remember, Feedback Is Simply Information

You don’t have to take it personally. Just welcome it and use it.

For more on Using Feedback to Your Advantage, review Principle #19 in The Success Principles. It’s one of the most important principles you can apply.

Jack Canfield, America’s #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul© and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you’re ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com

Read Outliers

Posted on January 18, 2009 by Barbara Giamanco

If you haven’t read Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book - Outliers - do yourself a favor and pick up a copy right away. As with his first 2 books, Tipping Point and Blink, Gladwell manages to turn your thinking about his topic upside down.

The why of success (and it’s not always what you think!) - how it happens, what factors lead to monumental success, how it is that some gifted individuals never quite achieve the success in life you would expect.

You will better understand why the kids in Asia are really so much better at math than the average US citizen. How players are chosen to become elite hockey players. Why school cut-off dates give some kids an unfair advantage. And so much more.

I was drawn into the stories and case studies immediately. An intense read that I found difficult to put down, Gladwell’s Outliers certainly challenges traditional thinking about the subject of success.

7 Rules for Your Success

Posted on January 16, 2009 by Barbara Giamanco

Amid the pessimistic reports of recession, bailout battles and the jailing of yet another corporate thief, there is a brighter side!

Did you know that 92.8% of Americans ARE employed?

Prior to my interview last night on Andy Greider’s Uniqueness is Power business radio show, Andy and his co-host Lee Kantor were talking about the economy. BTW - if you missed the show, it should be available for download by Monday. Anyway, Lee pointed out that the media types like to make the 7% unemployment rate the issue when in fact a really significant percentage of our citizens have jobs. It’s easy to overlook that fact when we are beaten to death with gloom & doom.

It’s up to us to change our mindset. What’s the upside of whatever problem or challenge we perceive? What is a positive way to look at it?

We must…Think positively. Use positive language. Set our goals. Take Action on them. Maintain focus. Close our ears to noise. And darn it, just keep pushing forward.

I am posting here Brian Tracy’s Seven Rules for Success, which I hope you will not only be motivated by, but be inspired to take the action he suggests.

1. Take Action - Act of taking 1st step separates winners from losers.

2. Always Forward, Never Backward - The ability to persist in the face of setbacks and disappointments.

3. The Only Time You Have is Now - Deal with what lies clearly ahead, not what lies dimly in the distance.

4. Fly with Eagles - Watch out for naysayers, get around positive people.

5. Obstacles and Difficulties Instruct Not Obstruct - Learn from mistakes in order to achieve success.

6. Be Clear on Your Goals. Keep Your Mind Open - Not what you have but what you do with what you have. Be willing to change, try something new, and accept feedback from your environment.

7. No One does it Alone - Asking for help is a mark of strength, courage and character.

OUTSHINE in ’09

Posted on January 6, 2009 by Barbara Giamanco

I LOVE sunflowers!

Seriously. Probably the coolest flower ever. Tall, majestic, tough. Really strong! Inspiring.

This picture is of an amazing piece of art hanging on the wall of my office. Right next to my desk actually. The quick, last minute photo I snapped on my I-phone (thanks Mark!) - can never match the depth and power of this work.

I took a minute to dig out the contact info of the artist. I had forgotten her name, which completely mortifies me. Now I repay my Karmic debt:)

Deanna is my personal sunflower!

A few email newsletters that I’ve received today talk about Shine in 2009. I get it. It rhymes.

I say…OUTSHINE in 09! Be bolder, do it better, do it bigger! Rock On Baby!!!

Great Habits Lead to Successful Sales

Posted on September 2, 2008 by admin

People ask me often what makes a great sales person. Is it their personality? Is it their knowledge of the sales process? Is it their attitude? Is it their habits? What is it really? The answer - simple as it is - is all of these things and more. Our habits, what we actually focus our time and attention on day after day, is probably one of the single biggest things that will lead to either success or failure. A long-time fan of Jack Canfield and his work, I decided to post his recent newsletter article on habits.

Where are Your Habits Leading You?
by Jack Canfield

You are an accumulation of your habits. From how you get out of bed, how you shower, how you dress, how you walk, sit, and talk, how you respond to the world, how you act in front of others, and how you think; you’re living out your habits.

Habits are necessary. They free up your mind so you can concentrate on how to survive day to day. You don’t have to think about how to drive your car so you can be on the lookout for danger while you are driving. You don’t have to think about how to walk so you can concentrate on where you’re going.

Unfortunately, habits can also keep you locked in self-destructive patterns, which will limit your success. To become successful, you will need to drop bad habits and develop new ones that are in line with the life you want to live.

People don’t suddenly appear in the life they want to live… their habits determine their outcome!

What are the habits you have that are keeping you from achieving your goals?

Really be honest with yourself here… Are you always running late? Do you return phone calls within 24 hours? Do you get enough sleep? Do you follow through on your promises? Do you plan out your day?

Imagine what your life would be like if all your habits were their productive counterparts!

What would your life be like if you ate healthy meals, exercised and got enough sleep? What if you saved your money, stopped using credit cards and paid cash for everything? What if you stopped procrastinating, overcame your fears, and began networking with people in your field? Would your life be different? I bet it would!

So, my suggested action step for you is to write down some productive habits you could adopt and visualize in your life, step two is to ‘act as if’ you were living these new habits right now!

I’d like to help you get moving toward creating more successful habits, so I’d recommend you develop four of your new success habits each year, one for each quarter.

Once you pick the new habit you’re ready to adopt, next you’ll want to create a method that will support your new habit.

Here are some ideas… You could write it down on a card that you keep with you and read several times a day. You could make it a part of your daily visualization. You could also enlist the help of an accountability partner who has habits to change, or work with a personal coach who can keep you on track.

It’s important to make a 100% commitment to your new habit, so be specific about the steps that you’re willing to take in order to drop an old habit and adopt a new one. Don’t be vague about how you will change your habits. Spell it out for yourself so you can recognize situations that motivate you to act out your new habit.

Just developing four new habits a year will dramatically shift your life to be more in line with your vision. And the more in line it becomes, the easier the other habits are to replace because your perspective is shifting and you can see more clearly how your old habits aren’t serving you anymore.

Make the decision. Make the commitment. Then watch your new, positive life unfold!

I’ll see you in another two weeks in the next edition of Success Strategies. In the meantime, take the time to implement just one of the strategies discussed in today’s issue.

Jack Canfield, America’s #1 Success Coach, is the founder and co-creator of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you’re ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com