When do you know you will be successful? It really depends on how you are wired internally. Some will…
What was the highlight from the last convention you attended? Can you remember the last one? What about five years ago….ten years ago?
I can promise you that when I get the opportunity to do my Breakthrough – Breaking Barriers Experience, it is remembered five, ten or every twenty years later! I just finished my new video about the program with the help of the team at Primeau Productions. I really think it turned out terrific and wanted to share it with you and ask a favor.
As you will soon see 100 year old advice is very applicable today. This is the 100th anniversary of a classic book by Col. Wm. H. Hunter – THINK. I inherited it from my Grandmother and it was one of our favorites to read. I wanted to share chapter 32 to see what Col. Hunter had to say about exercise in 1918. You will see not much has change…sedentary lifestyle, labor saving devices, using technology to make life easier, our reliance on doctors, fad diets, lotions potions and pills.
How effective is your team making and living their commitments? Having a culture where people hold themselves and others accountable…
Today is a day you will long remember. Today you become a man. At least you are the legal age of maturity according to our culture. But it’s true. You can vote. You can drive. You can enter into a contract. You can fight and die for our country. Voting, driving, signing and fighting don’t make you a man. Being a man is about more.
I believe you were born for greatness. You were born to make a difference. Inside you are the seeds of greatness. Being a man means digging deep, finding those seeds, believing they exist, being able to delay gratification, being patient, thinking long term and watering and tending to them diligently. You must also be willing to take a close look and pull out the weeds that can ruin everything. I tell you this because I know you and what is possible for you. Our family has a long history of success and you will continue that legacy.
Super star drummer Mark Schulman (see picture), currently with PINK on tour and Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympic athlete ever were also speaking, so it was quite special. HOF was the first company to take a commodity like diamonds and give it a USP (Unique Selling Proposition). They pioneered a special way to cut diamonds that makes them sparkle more than a typical diamond. I am a believer! I was excited to see an HOF store filled with neat items and the sale was good enough even people in the jeweler business were excited. I got my wife an amazing diamond pendant on a necklace. Boy does it sparkle! It looks like it has it’s own spotlight! Yes, she was thrilled!
I remember the first time I heard this simple parable about 15 years ago on the Pastor Steve Brown Radio. I have used it several times with audiences over the years. I never knew the source until an exhaustive Google Search. It was adapted from is one of the most famous short stories from German writer Heinrich Böll. Post WWII he was very influential and won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1972.
It’s one little story with many little lessons that mean many different things to all kinds of people. Even if you have read it before it is worth another review because you may be in a different stage in your life than the last time you read it.
An American businessman took a vacation to a small coastal Mexican village on doctor’s orders.
Unable to sleep after an urgent phone call from the office the first morning, he walked out to the pier to clear his head. A small boat with just one fisherman had docked, and inside the boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of the fish.
Yes. We all love hearing that word. Your customers love hearing it too, especially when you are handling a customer service problem. A good friend was at the Greenbrier Resort for a special trip for their wedding anniversary. When he made his reservation he had mentioned it was his anniversary and that he would like a room with a beautiful mountain view.
When they arrived at the room, he was underwhelmed with view and mentioned it to the bellhop. She suggested he go down to talk to the concierge desk.
He went down to the concierge and he told them he had a problem. The concierge smiled and said, “No matter what your question is, the answer is YES!” That caught him off guard. He was not prepared for that one! “Can you repeat that please?” Again the concierge smiled and said, “No matter what your question is, the answer is YES!”
When was the last time you had your preconceived notations about a place blown out of the water? I was hired by Ingram Micro to speak to their Apple Distributors in Buffalo, NY. Yes that Buffalo! I had been to Buffalo before, but it was a 18 months ago in February with Davis when his travel hockey team qualified for the National Championships. It was freezing when we visited Niagara Falls.
I have always taken our kids over the years a few times a year and this time our youngest Lucas came with me. We arrived on Thursday afternoon and returned home Sunday night. Buffalo can get a bad rap and my experience from the 1000 events and hundreds of cites I have visited is that every city has something unique to offer.
“Summer’s here, I’m for that. Got my rubber sandals, got my straw hat. Got my cold beer, I’m just glad that it’s here.” That is the opening line to a classic James Taylor song. You can listen to it here. If you’re not in a ‘summer mood’ yet, you will be after listening to that. Virtually everyone I know seems busier than ever. Stress levels are high and summer has arrived just in time….and it will go by quickly.
I want to you challenge yourself to make this summer exceptional.
A good place to start is to sit down and brainstorm by yourself or with your family what will make it exceptional? When was the last time you did a simple search for fun things to do within a few 100 miles of where you live? You don’t have to take a long or expensive trip to have fun. TripAdvisor is an excellent resource to find ideas.