“We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”

Frederick Keonig (German Inventor)

What would you do if somebody handed you $100,000 today and said you can spend it on anything you want? What would you spend that money on? And how much happiness would that $100,000 bring you? Now what if somebody handed you 100,000 hours of time and said you can spend that time doing anything you want? What would you do with it? How much happiness would that time bring? Most would say that the hours would be a greater gift than the cash. Because the happiness the cash brings is quickly forgotten while the memories created in time stick around forever.

The good news is you have been given this gift. And what you choose to do with the gift will determine its value. So this week, make every moment count. At work, appreciate more fully the customers who give you their business, the co-workers who make your day easier and the friends and family who make your life happier. In short…slow down. Because time is only a gift if you take time to fully appreciate the moments that just past and the ones that will soon come.

“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. Thoughts are things! And powerful things at that, when mixed with definiteness of purpose, and burning desire, can be translated into riches.”
-Napoleon Hill

If you are like me, the first time you heard this was when your Mom or Dad said, “You can do anything you want, once you put your mind to it!” But did you ever really believe it? Whether you did or not doesn’t matter. What does matter is your willingness now to give it a shot. Seriously! And it starts by not letting anybody around you determine how successful you will be. Think about it. Are some people born to be “bosses” and others the employees? Are some pre-disposed to being a top performer and others meant to be average? Are some born lucky and others SOL? The answer is NO. Nobody controls how far you will go in your career.

So this week, take 15 minutes in your office and ask yourself, “Am I reaching my potential?” Then ask whether it is you or others that are limiting you. If it is others, do NOT let them have any power over your thoughts. While they project negativity, stay focused, knowing that they have no control over your career or your life. Only you do. It’s time to put your greatest performance weapon to work, in ways you never have. Because once you understand the power of your mind, you will realize that you have been given the same gifts that make the world’s top performers who they are.

“If you want to be famous in business, do your job so well that everybody wants to tell a friend about you.”
-Brian Sullivan

Let’s get something straight. Nobody…I mean NOBODY likes to make cold calls. That’s because well over 90% of the cold calls we make lead to rejection. And that rejection leaves us feeling as we are somehow less human than we were before the cold call. While many of our professions rely on us reaching out to new prospects, who says those new prospects have to be ice cold? Because they don’t! In fact, if you do your job exceedingly well for current customers, then make it a habit to ASK for their help in growing your business, your days of getting kicked to the curb should be greatly limited or eliminated all together.

So this week, identify 10 current customers who love you and your company. Then ask each one of them this question, “Can I ask you for a favor? I am trying to grow my business,  and I trust your opinion. Do you know of three or four friends or associates who could use the type of service/value that I have been providing?” Then don’t look shocked when they actually give you some names. Hey, if you get three referred leads from each of those ten customers, you just created 30 new warm and cozy leads. Then go spend your sales time prospecting with that list…a list that carries a much higher percentage of success than that frigid one staring you in the face right now.

Let’s not overcomplicate this. In sales, there are only two ways to get better results. The first is to make more sales calls. The second is to perform better on each call.  So how many prospecting calls do you make each week? And as an FYI, “It depends,” is NOT an acceptable answer. Because those that say, “It depends,” or “I am not really sure,” have lost control over their sales territory and as a result, are at the mercy of whatever voicemail and email are telling them to do. The top performer, on the other hand, sets a call objective number and let’s that number drive the workweek. If he or she wants to increase their sales by 15% or more, they realize it means they may have to make 15 more calls. They then let that number haunt them. They don’t start the weekend until they made the last call.

Another way 15% more effort can create 15% greater performance is by investing in improving your sales, communication and leadership skills. Buy a sales book, attend a seminar, seek out top performers in your company and grill them! By increasing your knowledge and skill by 15% or more, you will become 15% more valuable to your customers, your company and your future.

Winners are only judged in loser’s circles.
-Brian Sullivan

Recently, as I prepared to speak at a company seminar, I looked around the room as salespeople walked in to find their seat at one of the 25 round tables. I wondered how these salespeople would choose which seat was best for them. Just a few minutes before my speech, I asked the sales manager to identify who in the room were the A, B and C players based on attitude and performance. Sure enough, they seemed to be huddled in groups throughout the room…finding comfort in like-minded performers.

As expected, throughout the day the table full of As and Bs participated in the learning more actively than the Cs. The Cs (when not enthusiastically sharing their tired story about how hung over they were from the night before) were sitting in the back, and at times rolling their eyes while the As offered their own advice and sales experience.

So what about you? Are you and A, B or C? And regardless of what you are right now, what do you want to be? If you want to be a C, it’s easy. You just have to believe you know all you need to know, what has worked in the past will continue to work, and that your sales peers who are constantly honing their knowledge and skill are nothing more than corporate butt-kissers.

And if you want to an A, then stop hanging around Cs. They are poisoning you. Grab a salad and shimmy up to a top performer or leader at your next sales meeting. Then grill them with questions about what you can do to mimic their success. And while your buddies from of the back of the room judge your motive, give them a wink, knowing that you will be delivering their performance review someday.

How do you feel? Are you ready? Of course you are. Because in 2010 you are going to change the world! And I promise it’s not going to be difficult. In fact, it’s going to be easier than you ever imagined. And the good news is that you have total control over how much positive impact you make. If you want this to be your most famous year ever, you absolutely can have it. But it means you have may have to “clean house.” That house is your mind. You need to get rid of any grudges, anger, jealousy, apathy or fear that existed in your business or personal life just two days ago. Why? Because it’s holding you back. If I thought being negative, angry or grumpy would help you sell more, lead more, organize more, or change the world more I would say, “Go for it!” But it doesn’t work.  It only makes people more negative angry and grumpy towards you and you can’t influence them if they think you are a jackass.

So today, make a deal with yourself. While others are making excuses, gossiping about a co-worker, cutting corners or frowning in frustration, be the one finding solutions, recognizing the good in others, finishing the job and smiling in celebration. Then be prepared for the positive results that this year will bring. Because these small changes in you are about to make BIG changes in everybody around you.

“Life is a resume of memories. Choose this day to add to it.”
-Brian Sullivan

What do you remember most about your Holidays of the past? Take a minute right now to think of three of your best memories. Was it running around a basement as a child on Christmas Eve with your favorite cousins? Or perhaps it was that first New Years Eve you spent with the love of your life.  So what’s next? What memory will you create, what story will be told, what gift will you give THIS YEAR that will be thought of and talked about for years to come?

So this week before you get away from work to spend time with friends and family, think of the most important and clear objective…to do everything you can to add to your resume of memories. Because customers, jobs, bosses, employees and the Holidays themselves all come and go. But what remains are the memories you purposefully create this year. Don’t waste the chance to make this season the one you look back on as one of the best ever. And on behalf of the PRECISE Selling Company, which includes my wife and three kids, thank you for including us, albeit in a small way, into your home and workplace each week. Have a blast and God Bless you and your family!

Stress is the trash of modern life – we all generate it but if you don’t dispose of it properly, it will pile up and overtake your life.

~Danzae Pace

The song says “It’s the most wonderful time…of the year!” But why do so many of us feel it’s the most STRESSFUL time of the year? Presents to buy, sales quotas to make, 2010 Objectives to set, in-laws to keep happy. HELP! So what can YOU do to control the stress so that another day does not pass by without you truly enjoying it? Try these tips:

• Laugh- Laughter releases endorphins in the body and act as the body’s natural pain-killer.  Make it a regular part of your day. Then schedule time over the next week to be around people who will make you laugh. And who knows, you may not need the Egg Nog. Although they DO go well together!

• Set Boundaries- Choose to let some things go. Don’t say yes to everything and everybody.  You can only do so much!

• Don’t Freak Out on the Small Stuff- So many of the things that we get hung up this time of year just aren’t that important. We often focus too much time and energy on making everything perfect. But if we don’t smile, laugh and enjoy the season, none of those details matter.

So this week, as you prepare for the Holidays and year-end, keep asking yourself if you are happy. I mean REALLY happy. And if you aren’t, start removing the things that are getting in your way. Because the greatest gift you can give others this season is not wrapped in paper, but instead wrapped in a happier version of YOU.

Ask the most successful people in sales, leadership, parenting and life how they got there and they will tell you that all the knowledge and skill they need lives in the minds and bodies of others. All they did was seek it out. And that is the consistent quality of top performers. They look at every conversation as a way to become smarter and more skilled. Whether they use that knowledge to sell more, lead more or serve more, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that they realize that do not have all the answers.

These same people take pleasure in passing that knowledge on. Because they know by giving, they will, in fact, get more than they gave…either now or later. So this week:

• Seek out the three most successful people you know, or would like to know, and ask for help.
• Then prepare a list of three specific and well though out questions.
• Listen and learn.
• Act on that knowledge and record it
• Then share it with others who could also use it

By making this a habit, your value to everybody around you will increase. And in the process, you will build a network of mentors and friends that will do everything they can to make sure you get to the TOP…quickly.

The person who sends out positive thoughts activates the world around him positively and draws back to himself positive results.
-Norman Vincent Peale
(1898-1993)

How do you feel? Are you ready? Of course you are. Because in 2010 you are going to change the world! And I promise it’s not going to be difficult. In fact, it’s going to be easier than you ever imagined. And the good news is that you have total control over how much positive impact you make. If you want this to be your most famous year ever, you absolutely can have it. But it means you have may have to “clean house.” That house is your mind. You need to get rid of any grudges, anger, jealousy, apathy or fear that existed in your business or personal life just two days ago. Why? Because it’s holding you back. If I thought being negative, angry or grumpy would help you sell more, lead more, organize more, or change the world more I would say, “Go for it!” But it doesn’t work.  It only makes people more negative angry and grumpy towards you and you can’t influence them if they think you are a jackass.

So today, make a deal with yourself. While others are making excuses, gossiping about a co-worker, cutting corners or frowning in frustration, be the one finding solutions, recognizing the good in others, finishing the job and smiling in celebration. Then be prepared for the positive results that this year will bring. Because these small changes in you are about to make BIG changes in everybody around you.