http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXUjsYCqJvg

Your business is awesome. You have a positive mantra written on the wall of the break room, your 21 irrefutable laws of customer satisfaction manual is readily available to everyone, and your billboards show towering pictures of senior management smiling confidently at the passing motorists beneath them. 

I hate to burst your bubble, but believing that policy and marketing alone can create awesomeness is delusional. I’ve had the pleasure of speaking at more conventions, staff meetings, and breakout sessions than I can possibly recall; and have realized that there are three simple strategies that cause some businesses to stand out while others become relics.

1. Awesomeness is not something you do, it is who you are.

Great businesses realize that hiring someone out of desperation is akin to going grocery shopping while hungry. You are more likely to ignore what you really need in an effort to satisfy a temporary craving. Hiring the wrong person is the most expensive activity that most businesses will engage in every day.

One example of a business who creates a great culture was revealed to me when our 21 year old daughter, Molly, fell at home and suffered a serious brain injury. When it became clear that she was going to survive and would require extensive rehab, it became clear that a bank account for Molly’s benefit would be very beneficial.

I sent an email to a great friend and running buddy of ours, John DeDoncker, CEO of THE National Bank, asking about account options. The account was set up within hours, and the 23 THE National Banks have blown us away with their caring attitude and generosity. The entire community of businesses and individuals alike all stepped up and I have never been so humbled by generosity and kindness in my life! When I told John about how amazing his entire staff had been, his response was humble. “Thank you, it is who we are.” You will note that he didn’t say “It’s what we do.” When you have the right people in place, you know what they will do because of who they are.

2. Stand out! 

Every day, our brains are pummeled with 7,000 or more messages asking us to purchase something! Naturally, we must filter most of those out. The marketing tactics that succeed are those which are bold. One of my consulting clients, Terrostar Web Design and Internet Marketing, created a dynamite marketing campaign. Their sales guru, Chris Glass, sent his prospects a pill bottle with a marketing note inside. While I won’t disclose the content of the note, you can imagine how it stood out compared to a white #10 envelope.

3. Throw some binders! 

Best selling author, Patrick Lencioni, talks about the importance of conflict when debating key issues. He recalls a story of one of Intel’s meetings where people were throwing binders because they were so passionate about their issue. While the need to wear a hockey helmet to a board meeting may seem a bit awkward, realize that when everything is hashed out inside a meeting, it kills the cancer of gossip and dissent because everyone has said their peace. The sickest organizations I have ever encountered resemble an autocratic dictatorship. Talented people stand by the sidelines out of fear, and the person in charge believes that they are superior to everyone else. Debate is healthy!

What examples of awesomeness have you experienced?

Claim Yours NOW Before They’re All Gone!  Give yourself the gift of personal growth…for FREE! (Just pay postage).

Everyone is already saying the book is INCREDIBLE!

“There hasn’t been a game-changing book on personal development in a long time. The wait is over. The Charge confronts our very notions of what drives us as humans, and it brilliantly illuminates the path for how you can feel more alive, productive, and fulfilled. After reading this book you’ll find a new internal charge that’s stronger and more energized than you ever imagined possible.”-Jack Canfield, co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and author of The Success Principles

“The Charge is an inspiring guide to the one thing we all want: more life in our lives. Brendon Burchard proves that we can harness our emotional drives to feel more alive, and that it’s our internal charge that helps us meet life’s challenges with joy and courage. I love this book.” -Paulo Coelho, New York Times best-selling author of The Alchemist

“Every once in a while you read a book that completely changes how you think about your life, igniting within you a new internal drive to be more, do more, and give more. This is that kind of book.”-David Bach, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Automatic Millionaire and Start Late, Finish Rich

 “I look for authenticity and proof when I learn from someone, and I can share that Brendon Burchard is one of the most engaged, energetic, and enthusiastic people I’ve ever met. I’ve always wanted to know how he developed such a remarkably strong internal charge. This book reveals his secrets. If you too want to perform at higher levels of joy, engagement, and productivity-buy this book. It’s a must-read for any serious student of success and high performance.” -Darren Hardy, Publisher of SUCCESS magazine and New York Times best-selling author of The Compound Effect

“The Charge will change your life. Our brains are hard wired to meet specific human drives, and learning to harness and activate those drives is the secret to success and happiness. This is a smart and beautifully written book, and it will electrify your life. Get this book!” -Daniel G. Amen, MD, New York Times best-selling author of Change Your Brain, Change Your Life

I suggest you get the book now while Brendon is giving them away before the official release. You can definitely see in this video he’s EXCITED!

Get the details here!

Brendon’s last book was a #1 New York Times bestseller. I’ve heard this one is even better!

The Mini Me’s that we normally live with are inside of our minds reminding us that something can’t be done, that we are not good enough, or that we are predisposed to a life of lack and poverty. Let’s face it, if a total stranger talked to you the way that you probably talk to you, you’d haul off and smack them!

You can flip your negative Mini Me into your best ally by feeding it positive and encouraging information. Something as simple as reading something positive in the morning, listening to an inspiring podcast, or watching an informative YouTube video can create the tipping point that provides the kick in the butt needed when you feel like giving up.

Here are three useful strategies that I’ve found effective in controlling my Mini Me:

1. The first hour of the day is MINE! Read, listen, pray, write, whatever I feel lead to do. Waking up and checking email first thing in the morning immediately puts you in a state of reaction instead of intention. Fix it. If it was truly urgent, they would have called. I go into further detail with my 10 day challenge.

2. Change physiology right away when I notice negativity. Tony Robbins taught me about the importance of posture, breathing, and motion in creating the right emotion. Sometimes I jump up and walk out to the mailbox, other times it may be as easy as turning up some great music, either way…I change my state.

3. Nutrition! I understand how hard it can be to eat healthy at work or while on the road delivering motivational speaking messages. I keep a water bottle at my desk at all times and will make my own healthy snack mix before heading out on the road. While snack mix may not sustain me, it keeps impulse eating at bay! Another amazing product I swear by is Spark by Advocare. This stuff is the best brain food! I personally drink the orange flavor hot each morning to start my day off right!

What do you do to stay positive in a negative world?

This got me thinking about Stevie Wonder working as a chauffeur.  Is Stevie Wonder a very talented man? Absolutely. Is he a nice and personable guy? I’m sure he is. Would I hire him as a chauffeur simply because he was talented in one area and had a great personality? Absolutely not! 

Sadly many businesses place someone in a position within their business that makes about as much sense as Stevie driving you to the airport. In this article I will share three distinct lessons that will not only keep your business on track; they will hopefully keep you and your business from slamming into a tree at a high rate of speed. 

#1. Just because someone is talented on one area of business or life doesn’t mean that they are the right fit for another area. I see sales organizations promote the top salesperson to a sales management position, and then sales plummet. Why could that be? It takes a very distinct different set of abilities to lead people to tune into what they want as opposed to just selling.

I am certainly not putting down anyone who happens to be in sales; rather I have spent my entire adult life selling in one capacity or another. Please realize that many times the greatest salespeople are rock stars at selling because of non-duplicatable talents and skills within their personality. A sales manager is often someone who is pretty good at selling, but a person that can easily duplicate and share success strategies with those on their team regardless of what level of sales they are currently at.

Another example that pops to mind is our elected officials. We often assume that because they are good at one thing (getting elected), that they instantly become an expert at all things. Not so. How about nepotism? Sometimes the apple does not fall far from the tree in terms of work ethic, but most of the time second generation people who are appointed to a leadership position because of a last name rarely succeed.

Don’t be afraid to shuffle people around within your organization. One of the best assistants I ever had started working for me as a salesperson that was rather average at selling. She was a little too uptight about having everything line up perfectly to deal with the minute by minute changes that are common in the field of direct sales. Instead of letting her go I hired her to handle contract processing and other detail oriented work. She wound up being a pro at this and a great asset to our organization.

#2. Simple is often better. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard someone bring in a person with a shiny new MBA or other accreditation, claiming that “This will totally change our business!” Here’s the thing…sometimes simple is better. When we hear normal corporate buzz phrases like “Outside of the box” we sometimes neglect to realize that the answer to our challenges is often inside of the box, but it just needs a little tweaking. When I think of the most successful people in many direct sales businesses, they don’t possess some kind of mythical prowess; they just work the numbers. They show their product or service to more people, and ask more people to buy. That’s it! No complex new theories from academia land based on a hot trend, buzzword or hyped up new book.

Recently, my son and I watched the movie Moneyball the other evening, staring Brad Pitt. It is a true story about the manager of the Oakland A’s baseball club in the 1990’s. Brad recruited a brilliant economics and stats guy (Jonah Hill) who had all of the formulas for success confidently printed out on spreadsheets. Their whole objective was to create a winning team on a very low budget.

They ended up picking up the players that they wanted for the money that they had allocated, and the team went on a rampant losing streak! It wasn’t until Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill started talking with the players, hanging out with them, and expressing interest in the player’s motivation and love for the game that the team started winning. I won’t spoil the movie for anyone, but I will say that it perfectly articulates the fact that all of the parts of a functioning body may be in place, but it isn’t until the heart is pumping that they are truly alive.

#3. Play That Funky Music White Boy! The reason why this lesson is imperative to success is that it is totally one of my favorite songs from the 1970’s which was big around the time  Stevie Wonder owned the music charts. Actually, if the title of this song by the one-hit wonder band Wild Cherry was sent to various committees and focus groups prior to releasing it would have been shot down because it would have potentially offended someone. 

The greatest game changing companies and campaigns agitate people to the point of curiosity and fascination, therefore becoming “Sexy.” When I work with my coaching and consulting clients, helping them build a memorable brand, I use the term sexy to describe the head turning and attention getting approach that a revolutionary brand evokes. Sally Hogshead recently published a great blog on this subject titled, “Woo with Wow”, check it out. She’s awesome!

What can you do to push the envelope? Think of great companies like Zappos, Google, Apple, Southwest Airlines, and many more that have ventured ahead based upon their simple attitude of fun and duplicatable dedication. They typically don’t conform and they certainly don’t strive to please everyone. They simply cater to their true fans and strive to increase the value of their services to them. Don’t be afraid to get a little wild.

While I really ain’t superstitious (sorry, I couldn’t resist), I do know that there are countless examples of success hiding in plain sight every day of our lives. Embrace the success that being funky in business can be!

We can discuss how terrible and distrusting this world is, how people are always out for themselves, and many other beliefs that far too many people subscribe to. I have personally witnessed unbelievable generosity, caring, and compassion from people near and far. When you focus on helping those around you, your perspective changes.

We will be celebrating Molly this evening at our Pulling for Molly Cain benefit potluck and silent auction. Businesses, friends, and family  members have all reached out to create this amazing event. The great part about helping others is that when you help someone else, you grow.

We are expecting a HUGE crowd this evening, and look forward to seeing everyone there!

When you buy a child Superman pajamas, they will jump off furniture expecting to fly. That fire of belief and an expectation that anything is possible is placed within us by God but is often snuffed out by the wet blanket of society’s desire to dumb people down, level the field of outcomes, and save people from failure. We can all learn from children! In a previous blog, I wrote about why kids are the greatest salespeople, and I will always maintain that belief. Everyone needs to get back in touch with their inner child!

Although someone’s reality is true to them, it may not be reality in actuality. God doesn’t save extra blessings for those who have watered down dreams. Quite the contrary, those who are willing to stretch and take action are those who realistically enjoy the most from life. Seth Godin writes in If Your Happiness Is Getting a Little More Than You’ve Got  that chasing small dreams will keep you on a treadmill of unhappiness, but being happy while staying hungry is important.

Today is a gift, make the most of it. Yesterday is gone, you can’t do anything about it now. Now slip on your Superman Underoos and fly! What will you do today that will be extraordinary?

Ping has long supported the US Military by offering discounts and rebates for Ping golf club purchases to current and retired US Military personnel.  Ping has also supported the Wounded Warrior Project as a sponsor and participant in their programs.

Ping gives the gift of a custom fit set of golf clubs and free golf instruction from a PGA professional to wounded military personnel. While I have never served in the US Military, I have worked with and become friends with many proud US Veterans. Adjusting to civilian life after serving in battle poses certain challenges that most people couldn’t fathom. Returning from battle with injuries and amputations may require a different set of skills to create a “normal” life.

One of the most impressive elements of this story is that Ping is not screaming about this program from the mountaintops, trying to milk as much PR as possible. I believe that they are making an amazing impact on the brave men and women of the US Military, and I congratulate them.

Every day, men and women who you don’t know and probably won’t ever meet are putting their lives on the line so you can enjoy living in a free country. What are some ways that you give back?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2Z5qxEBIfg