April 28, 2010

Eat the Frog!

Recently, I heard a funny story of a woman who died and went to heaven.  When she arrived at the pearly gates, St. Peter was there to greet her.  She said, "Is this really heaven and do I get in?"  Upon which St. Peter replied, "Yes it is, and your entry is dependent on your ability to spell one work correctly."  The woman asked, "What word?"  "You can choose any word; you decide." replied St. Peter.  So, she thought about it for a few seconds and said, "Love, and it's spelled L-O-V-E."  St. Peter smiled and said, "That's correct.  You an enter Heaven.  However, you must now take my place and do the same thing for the next person to come to heaven.  Then, pass the gatekeeper job onto them."
 As the woman waited, lo and behold, along came her ex-husband.  When she saw him she said, "What happened to you?"  He said, "I had a heart attack.  Is this heaven and do I get in?"  Upon which she said, "Only if you can spell one word correctly."  "What's the word?"  He asked.  She paused for a long moment and said, "Czechoslovakia!"
Well, that's kind of how life is.  It's the difficult things we do, like spelling, that give us the big rewards.  However, for man of us, the most difficult things to do are usually the things we put off doing the most.
Consider this example: People often set a goal to lose weight, but when the alarm sounds at 6am on the following day, it's just too hard to get out of bed and get to the gym.  It's too easy to put it off until tomorrow.  We naturally procrastinate doing the difficult things.  But if we can rise up and get to the gym each day, our weight loss goal is likely to happen.
Mark Twain said, "Eat a live frog every morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day."  Imagine going to your pantry in the morning to find food for the day.  There you see several options.  However, at the end of the shelf is a live frog.  You know you have to eventually eat it, but it's not appetizing at all!  So, you put it off and off.  Well that's exactly how thing never get done.
In the book Eat That Frog, Brian Tracy talks about doing the most important activity in our business each day first.  He says when we "train ourselves, through repetition and practice, to overcome procrastination and get our most important tasks done," we will succeed.
With Work At Home United, we can "eat the frog."
We have Seven Critical Business-Building Activities.  They are:
  1. Keep Building Your Contact List
  2. Set Appointments
  3. Make Presentations
  4. Hold 48-Hour Follow-Up Meetings
  5. Celebrate Success
  6. Always Be Involved with Fast Track
  7. Lead By Example
If you were to ask me, I'd much rather make a presentation or celebrate success than set appointments.  But we have to eat the frog!  That means we need to work our contact list and set appointments each day and prioritize them ahead of the other critical activities.
Imagine if you "ate the frog" each day before you did any other activity.  Imagine if everyone on your team was working their contact list and setting appointments every day.   Your business would consistently grow each month.
Frank has invited everyone to make one contact for an appointment every day.  These contacts are not emails.  They're done in person or over the phone.  Now, making one contact a day doesn't mean every day we're successful at setting an appointment.  Once in a while, we will get a "no."  Regardless, each day we'll be making a contact leading to an appointment.
On some days, you'll do more than one contact or set more than one appointment, but the goal is to do at least one contact daily.
Most of all, commit to one contact for an appointment each day.  If you'll do this and "eat the frog" daily, you'll have an endless number of customers coming in to your business!
Written By:  McKay Christensen

April 23, 2010

Just changing the words

“There was a blind man who sat down on a sidewalk beside a beautiful city park to beg from those who passed by. It was a lovely day in early May.

On a piece of cardboard, he crudely wrote in chalk, ‘I’m blind. Please help me.’ He set his hat in front of him. By noon, he had collected only a few pennies.

A businessman, walking to lunch, peered at the meager offering the blind man had received. The businessman stopped long enough to write another chalk message on the backside of the cardboard sign, and then continued on his way.

The blind man held the new message for others to see. Then something strange happened. The blind man’s hat quickly filled. After lunch, the businessman returned and remarked on the difference.

‘What did you write on my sign?’ asked the blind man.

‘The same thing you wrote,’ replied the stranger, ‘but with a few different words.’”

You may wonder what the businessman wrote.

IT'S SPRINGTIME AND I WON'T BE ABLE TO SEE IT.

April 7, 2010

How many "boxes" are you going to open today?

I just had to share this awesome mind-set that one of my partners came up with ! It is a fantastic way of looking at calling leads.



How many ‘boxes’ are you going to open today
I Love Calling Leads

It's Like A Present Each Time You Dial a New #

Sometimes the Box Is Empty
( wrong # & disconnects)

Sometimes someone used way too much tape and you can't even get in!
(the no-answers and the answering machines) :)


Sometimes You Get something you would like to return
( people who are not interested or didn't request info)

Sometimes You get a Gag Gift
(the no shows )

But Sometimes It is Exactly What You've Been Wanting
( the ones that get it and want it )

LOL

I Hope that this helps when you are making your daily calls
to think of things this way. It works for me

Enjoy Your Day


“There is a difference between interest and commitment. Interest is doing something when circumstance permits. Commitment means you accept no excuses, only results.”

- Ken Blanchard

April 5, 2010

Weekly Thought: COMFORT ZONE

I used to have a comfort zone, where I knew I couldn’t fail.
The same four walls and busy work were really more like jail.
I long so much to do the things I’ve never done before.
But I stayed inside my comfort zone and paced the same old floor.
I said it didn’t matter that I wasn’t doing much.
I said I didn’t care for diamonds, furs and such.
I claimed to be so busy with the things inside the zone, but deep inside I longed for something special of my own.
I couldn’t let my life go by just watching others win.
I held my breath and stepped outside and let the change begin.
I took a step and with new strenght, I never felt before.
I kissed my comfort zone good-bye and closed and locked the door.
If you are in a comfort zone, afraid to venture out,
remember that all winners were at one time filled with doubt.
A step or two and word of praise can make your dreams come true.  Greet your future with a smile, success is there for you.