One of the things I have had a hard time NOT noticing is that a lot of us end up where we are in life without a plan, very unintentionally.

For a long time, my path was very random, I would seize opportunity when it showed itself. I would start a job, get promoted a bit, get promoted again, and then get unhappy and leave.

This was a trend and a mistake many companies make… Many companies take their top sales guys and turn them into sales managers… This is often the end of the road for the sales guy. The sales guy loved being in contact with the people, he loved selling, now he pushes papers around on his desk and screams at his sales guys. It’s a sill trend and if more managers thought ahead they would leave a good sales guy where he belongs… SELLING!

So I ended up looking in the help wanted ads (In those days Craig did not have a list of jobs for me!) I found another opportunity and started the cycle over again..

I realized one day that I was in this pattern and needed to create my life on purpose. Since the accidental life is so common I decided I would share my thoughts and help some of ya that realize… “Hey…. this is not where I want to be. I’m not happy and I’m ready to take the steps to find out what I am really supposed to be doing!”

Your first tip… You can be or do just about anything you want to do.

The questions is…

Should you be doing it?

Dare to Dream

Take an hour today and make up a list of what you really dream of being.

I know this may be a stretch for some of you as I have found, many of us have forgotten how to dream. Let go of who you are today.

Just imagine… “if money and time were no object what would really bring you joy and happiness”. It could be a physical thing like a new vacation home in Key West, maybe it’s a new profession… this will be different for everyone.

Have fun with this exercise. It’s a small step, but an important step to developing and planning to have an unreasonably wonderful, joyous life.

Please let me know what you are dreaming of in the comments below, Lets all get wild and crazy and dream today!

I’ll start off…
I dream of living, year round, in my wonderful home in Key West where I am inspired to work every day helping my Clients achieve every dream and goal they have! I know if I help they they will help me achieve my dreams!

I learn so much from my dogs. She doesn’t judge and say… “Nah… looks like he’s not giving anything up today.” She just does what she does. She waits and sometimes she is rewarded.

Now imagine if we did this with our lives. Imagine how different life would be if we didn’t get discouraged every time life didn’t reward us the way we thought it should.

Imagine just how different life would be if we didn’t get discouraged every time a customer that we had worked hard to get, didn’t say “Yes”.

Do you think if you adopted Mango’s determination, patience and thick skin you might see more happiness, you might grow your business, perhaps you might add a few smiles to your day.

Now I’m not saying that to be successful all you have to do is sit around hopefully.

Mango comes to me and waits, I don’t call her. Her sister only sometimes comes… and gets rewarded much less often too.

Mango has a plan, she sticks to it and if it doesn’t pay off, she doesn’t whine, she just goes about her day, maybe takes a nap!

I’d love to discuss this with ya, talk to me!

I’m having a love affair, and it’s not a new one… This one has been going on for about 25 years and finally I’m coming clean.

My love affair is with:

Claude Hopkins!

Who Knew!

If you just said “Claude who?”.  ” He must be awful pretty or at least have the hottest new Internet marketing program or the hottest new whiz bang tool if John’s in love!”

Well.. this is your wake up call.

There really has been nothing new invented for sales and marketing technique in years. What you see today as new and improved is just warmed over versions of what guys like Claude Hopkins and John Caples were doing back in the day of the  “Steam Powered Automobile”.

The book I’m in love with is  a combination of two of Claude Hopkins works. They are “My Life In Advertising” and Scientific Advertising” Both originally published in the 1920’s.

That’s right! Almost 100 YEARS AGO!

Famed Marketer David Ogilvy says:

“Nobody should be allowed to have anything to do with advertising until he has read this book (Scientific Advertising) seven times. It changed the course of my life!”

Here is a link to the book. It’s only about 10 bucks and has millions of dollars in education in it. I re-read this book at least a couple of time a year. I ALWAYS glean something new!

Unsubscribe from all the pitches you get and sit down and read this book.

The secret behind all and any advertising being successful is getting to know your Customer!

Simple? Yes

Easy? Sure!

Often missed? ABSOLUTELY!

Most advertisers spend a lot of time talking about :” The Wonder Of Being Me!”. They discuss how long they have been in business, where they came from, how much they know, how wonderful they are, the awards they have achieved etc etc etc.

But ya know what. Your Customer doesn’t give a hoot about that stuff. They care about what THEY care about.

So… What do they care about?

I don’t know. It’s different for every product and service.

That’s your job to find out. You need to identify who your customer is and really get to know them. Really identify who they are, what their pain is and whet their REAL desires are.

If you just said “Well John, that seems great, but all of my Customers are different.” Then you have a bigger problem.

You need to identify and segment your Customers into related groups. If you are selling a great hand cleaning soap, your customers should be anyone with hands.

But go deeper than that… look at the niches. Perhaps one would be Moms. One might be Automobile Machine shops. One might be Hospital employees.

You need to identify those niches and then create marketing that will speak to them, in their words, solving their problems, eliminating their pains.

Get to know your customers, deeply know them. The future of your business depends on it!

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Locations: Starbucks – Derby, Ct USA

Time: Saturday Morning about 10:00 AM

My Wife and I were out refrigerator shopping. On a side note… I feel that if a refrigerator keeps the beer cold and the food from spoiling I’m Good – SOLD! In fact… I liked  the refrifgerator we ended up with on the 3rd unit, we ended up buying it – 7 hours, 8 stores and 46 units later…. but that’s another story…

We stopped at Starbucks for brerakfast and some morning “go juice”. I’m usually thrilled with their service, today was an exception.

There was a really nice Barista working the counter. He was probably in his late 50’s. He did a great job, and took wonderful care of us.

But as he was serving us… A line about six people deep grew behind us. Now I know that will happen occasionally. Here is where, as a business owner, I get a bit frosty… Sitting at the closest table to the counter is another Barista , jabbering with her girlfriend and enjoying a cup of Joe. Seemingly OBLIVIOUS to what was going on at the store.  She didn’t budge to help this poor Barista clear the line. We sat down, finished our breakfast and she still had not moved.

Now maybe she was on break, or maybe she was off work. I realize that in America people get breaks, but if you’re on a break, go sit in the back or leave the store.

To sit in front of a growing line, laughing with your gal pal is insulting to the Customers that are trying to get the hell out of Starbucks and on with their Saturday. It’s the true sign of someone that does NOT have an owners mentality. If I were there, especially as the owner of the business, I would have jumped up to serve whomever was kind enough to walk in my door and was kind enough to offer to buy my 31 cent cup of coffee for $2.95! After the Customers leave, there will be plenty of time to take your break.

If you have to take your break… and yes, sometimes you just HAVE to… get out of sight. Don’t insult me, the Customer by, from my perspective, ignoring the growing line. It’s just plain rude.

To make matters worse, about 8 minutes later another Barista appeared from the back room… who knows what he was doing back there, it doesn’t matter. The store is full of people who would like to give you their money in exchange for good food and good service. Making them wait 5 or 10 or 3 minutes when they don’t have to is  simply ridiculous.

Use this as a lesson for your business. Are you ready to make hay while the sun shines? Do you forgo your time to serve the Customer? Do you have lines out the door?

Lines out the door can be a good thing. At least you’re attracting people. But if you don’t have a system created and tested and honed to razor sharpness, that moves them a long quickly…. say good bye to that line. Say good bye to those pesky Customers…. Ya know what really sucks… To look out the front window of your empty store and watch that line grow out the door of the restaurant across the street.

You may have excuses for the long line, but are they just excuses or are they valid reasons.

The Customers perspective of your business and how you serve him is all that matters.

Forget about what your mom, your wife or your favorite Customers tell you.

Listen to the other customers. The ones who are just getting to know you. They don’t give a hoot about the paperwork you have mounting, the break you want to take or the phone call you just have to make. They care about themselves and what they want and need to make THEIR day better. If you make sure you serve those needs, they will always take care of you…

How can you better serve your Customers? What can you do today that will make a Customers life a little happier?

Lets discuss it. How have you been served by a merchant that either made you feel really great or made you feel like an unwanted pest? Let’s hear the great and the lousy and let’s take lesson’s from both of them!

Talk to me!

Trust is something that’s earned. It’s not bought, negotiated, forced, or connived. Once you forfeit that trust in your relationship, it’s over. You have to start at the very beginning to win back that trust – and even at that it may be a losing cause.

I was just reading an article and I’ll copy it here… I think it explains the trust issue as well as I could, probably even better!

This really is a hinge pin to the sale!

Please comment below and talk to me about trust.

How have you won it?

What caused you to lose trust in other companies?

Let’s learn from our and their mistakes!

John
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The One Thing That Changes Everything
By Alexander Green

One indispensable quality affects every relationship in your life.

It holds together all your associations. It determines whether you realize your dreams, both personal and professional.

And it virtually defines you to others. Without it, true success is impossible.

Stephen M.R. Covey is even more emphatic. He writes:

“There is one thing that is common to every individual, relationship, team, family, organization, nation, economy, and civilization throughout the world — one thing which, if removed, will destroy the most powerful government, the most thriving economy, the most influential leadership, the greatest friendship, the strongest character, the deepest love.

“On the other hand, if developed and leveraged, that one thing has the potential to create unparalleled success and prosperity in every dimension of life. Yet, it is the least understood, most neglected, and most underestimated possibility of our time.

“That one thing is trust.”

Simply put, trust is confidence. It is other people feeling good about relying on you.

And its value can hardly be overstated. Trustworthiness is the universally accepted test of good character.

When you trust someone, you have confidence in his honesty and abilities. You can delegate things easily and effectively. You can relax. You have peace of mind.

But when you doubt someone’s integrity, question his accomplishments, or worry about his agenda, confidence is replaced by suspicion and anxiety.

Take a moment and picture someone you trust implicitly. It could be a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a friend, or a business associate. How does this relationship make you feel? How easily do you communicate? How quickly do things get done?

Now imagine someone you distrust. How does this relationship feel? How easily do you communicate? Do you enjoy this relationship? Or is it complicated, cumbersome, and draining?

The difference between a high-trust and low-trust relationship is night and day. In a high-trust relationship, you can say the wrong thing and your listener still understands you. In a low-trust relationship, you can choose your words carefully, be very precise, and you may still be misunderstood.

Sadly, trust is at an ebb in our society. A Harris poll reveals that only 27 percent of Americans trust the government. Only 22 percent trust the media. Only 12 percent trust big companies. And only 8 percent trust political parties.

Personal trust is waning, too. Many people look back on contracts or commitments as something to negotiate. Half of all marriages end in divorce. Many (perhaps most) founder on a lack of trust.

We naturally gravitate away from individuals we can’t believe or rely on and towards those we can. Low trust is the very definition of a bad relationship. And once you forfeit someone’s confidence, it’s awfully hard to win it back.

This is particularly true in business.

We all survive by selling a product, service, or skill. Yet every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.

If trust is lacking, forget the other four. You’re done. The moment someone suspects your motives, everything you do becomes tainted.

That’s why successful companies make a priority of building and maintaining confidence. John Whitney, Professor Emeritus of Management at Columbia Business School, estimates that mistrust doubles the cost of doing business.

You may have the best product, great service, competitive pricing, mountains of supporting facts and figures, and testimonials galore. But if you don’t command and deserve trust, you will not enjoy long-term success.

It is never enough to simply invite trust. It must be earned.

In personal relationships, that means handling responsibility, proving your credibility, allowing yourself to be relied upon again and again. It’s not just about integrity. It’s about looking out for the other person’s interests as well as your own.

Employers build trust with employees by assigning them important responsibilities, giving them the freedom to make mistakes, and setting an example. Real leadership is about getting results in ways that inspire confidence.

In a world that changes as quickly as ours, trust is a critical factor. It is the vital currency.

Business consultant Tom Peters calls trust “the issue of the decade.” Trust makes work easier and more productive. It makes relationships stable and predictable. It creates a sense of community.

That’s why it’s crucial that we not violate it. Trust can take years to build but only a moment to destroy. And you may not even get an opportunity to try to restore it.

For each of us — and for every organization — trust is something to be built up, protected, valued, cherished, and carefully preserved.

It is the one thing that changes everything.

[Ed. Note: Alex Green is the author of The Secret of Shelter Island: Money and What Matters, as well as the editor of "Spiritual Wealth," a free e-letter about the pursuit of the good life.]

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to making money, improving health and secrets to success. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

My wife and I went to Montego Bay in Jamaica, and stayed at the Half Moon resort. We had a Beach Front Suite, literally about 20 steps from the Caribbean Sea. % star meals, peace, quiet fun and relaxing.

One of our favorite things to do was a Dolphin Experience. We got to swim with 2 Atlantic Bottle Nose Dolphins that live on the resort in their Dolphin Lagoon. (They also had 4 of the most adorable Dolphin babies there!)

Here’s a little video of our experience!

Pretty cool, huh? It was so great to be able to just – exhale… We spend so much time as Entrepreneurs running and rushing, we really need to just unplug and ‘get the hell out of Dodge!!

I’ll share with you over the next few days some of my insights, and I had a bunch.

I did my best thinking at Sunrise. I LOVE Sunsets on the ocean, but Sunrise has almost a magical feeling to it, it’s so peaceful, so warm, it always inspires me and reminds me that today is a day fill of new possibilities, opportunities and blessings.

More to come tomorrow!
We be Jammin Mon!
John

“If I had an hour to save the world I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem…  and one minute finding solutions”

From what I have seen most of my Clients and reader spend 65 minutes finding the answer…. while watching their world crumble around them.

The following is from an e-mail I get Weekly called Doug’s Weekly Success Tip. Doug’s a pretty smart guy, I’m good friends with his Mom and I’ll tell ya, the apple falls RIGHT NEXT to the tree, Doug is one sharp cookie.

Check this e-mail out, subscribe to Doug’s newsletter and most of all, start creating a question friendly environment!

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Live the Questions

“Don’t search for the answers. Love the questions. Live the questions. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.”
– R.M. Rilke, Paraphrased from Letters to a Young Poet, 1903

Consider this:

Questions, not answers, are the seeds of success. Someone focused on answers says, “This is the way.” Someone focused on questions asks, “Is there a better way?” Questions force you to explore – to stretch, to learn, to grow, and to be creative. Answers let your mind go to sleep. You get lazy when you think you’ve found the answer. You haven’t. And you never will because things always change. To stay vibrant and relevant, keep living the questions.

For six years, a client of mine has been holding management meetings once a quarter to discuss stategy execution. Several years ago they asked me to help them change some things to make the meetings more productive. One of the most powerful changes we made was putting questions at the heart of the meeting. We boiled the entire meeting down to the following four: (1)What’s working? (2)What’s not working? (3)What could we be doing better? (4)How could we be doing it better? “It was a small change,” my client reflected last week, “but it’s made a huge difference in how we think in the meetings. We’re much more creative and exploratory now.”

Try this:

When it comes to your meetings:

Try putting questions at the core – like the example above.
Build in mechanisms that make questioning OK and expected.
Take the time to foster a useful dialogue around the bigger questions.
Be weary of people giving straight “reports” about anything – they tend to be loaded with answers that haven’t been questioned.
Make sure you end your meetings with clear actions and owners.
Come to the next meeting just as ready to live the questions again.
- Doug Sundheim

Doug Sundheim is an organizational consultant, author, & speaker. To learn more about his services visit him online at www.clarityconsulting.com

Get Doug’s book at Amazon.com -
The 25 Best Time Management Tools & Techniques: How to Get More Done Without Driving Yourself Crazy

“If you don’t have time to read lengthy books on time management, Pam and Doug have done all the work for you. They’ve compressed the best time management tips into an action-packed, easy-to-read guide. Now you can get all the good stuff in a fraction of the time!”
– Chip R. Bell, Author, Magnetic Service: Secrets for Creating Passionately Devoted Customers

* If you’d like to receive the Weekly Success Tip Click here.

Copyright 2009 Clarity Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.

Followers are people who are interested in what you write about on Twitter (When you post something it’s known as “Tweeting”.) The more followers you have the more influence you can have! But be careful, there are dozens of tools that tempt you with the siren song of “get bazzillions of followers with no effort”. As you can imagine, no effort equals – Crap followers.

You want people to follow you be cause they care about you and want to hear what you have to say. This is part of the process I talk about where we get people to know you, like you and then trust you, it’s the process that takes them from Prospect to Client. And Twitter is a cool tool to do that.

Follow Chris’s advice in his latest post: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/get-more-twitter-followers-today He gives VERY sound advice

And… while your there… follow me on twitter! My handle is johnjaworski – pretty creative huh?

That’s another tip, don’t get to creative with your handle, the easier it is to get them to know you and remember you, the better it is for you growing your followers. While “sexywellhungdude” may seem like a cool handle now, it will be hard to convince people that you have anythings serious to offer!

Have fun, see ya on Twitter!

John