Category Archives: Personal Best

Personal Challenge

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My question for this week is, “What is your challenge of the week?”

Most of you who are reading this are in sales and I know for a fact sales people love contests and competition. In my years in sales I have seen average sales people rise up to a challenge just to be recognized with a small prize. We all like the feeling of wining, feeling important, the feeling of being the best at any given task. So why don’t we throw down a challenge for ourselves each week with a small prize?

This past week, while I was at the driving range with my children, we were all hitting balls into the range. We were all having fun but no real target or focus. So when I saw them getting board I threw down a challenge. I said, “We will all take turns and the first one who gets closest to the red flag (about 75 yards out) can get whatever they want from the snack shack.

Well our little friendly outing soon turned into a PGA tour event. Each of my children set their ball down, focused on their shot, took one or two practice swings and really, really wanted to get it close.

Then it really hit me, this challenge wasn’t for the candy, it was for the feeling of winning and being the best at that moment. It was for going home and telling everyone who won. At that moment it made me realize that is most of us in our lives. We wonder around just swinging until someone says, “I challenge you” and then the focus kicks in! So this week write down your challenge and share it with those close to you who will help you stay on track. And then don’t give up.

While I was thinking of this challenge idea, I knew that I had heard of it before. So when I arrived at home, I pulled out my copy of “How To Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie and low and behold, there it was. Principle 12 says, “Throw down a challenge.” In that chapter it says that every successful person loves a challenge, the game, the chance for self-expression. Everyone wants the chance to prove his or her net worth to excel and win. That is what makes a footrace; a hog-calling contest and pie-eating contest; the desire for the feeling of importance.

We all need that in our lives and we all desire that feeling. So instead of relying on your company or anyone else to extend a challenge, make a challenge for yourself. It will really make a difference and make you into a winner. And finally, really make this week count!

Have Faith

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This week’s plan of action, I realized that it was filled with a lot of faith in others and myself, and with a lot of hope that things will happen as they are supposed to. Those who know me reading this know that I am very optimistic. Even in the face of chaos, major adversity, and failures, I always seem to know that the best is yet to come. So it is hard for me to understand why people lose hope because life still has a bigger plan for them.

Life is filled with disappointment, let downs, and failures so accept it and look for the lesson and know there is something greater coming. Whatever your business or career, you are going to fail, you are going to make a mistake, and you are going to have a big blunder. The only thing you can control is what happens after!

I have had failures, made big mistakes, and had the blunders that cost others and me a lot. So I have a choice, focus on what happened and let if affect my future, or have HOPE that God has a bigger plan for me and those past failures do not define my character or me.

Having hope and faith in life and others is what will keep you going. Your life might be hard right now, your business might be down, your relationship might be rocky but you must keep hope that you were not made for mediocrity but you were created for greatness.

The great Martin Luther king, Jr. said, “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”

Keep the hope this week that things will and do always get better and really make this week count!

 

Foiling The Fear Of Failure

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Have you ever wondered why there are top salespeople in every field and then there are the rest?Most of us have the same sales tools and abilities, yet the average salesperson never puts him or herself in a position to reach that next level.Why not? We all do the things it takes to get to that level, but I believe some people stop when they realize they could fail. That is often what separates those who are successful from those who aren’t: fear of failure.

In sales, most of us like to say things like, “What’s the worst thing that could happen? They could say no?” How many times have you heard that? Yet we still never ask. The moment avoiding failure becomes your motivation, you’re already down the path of inactivity or procrastination.

So you go to a workshop or a seminar, and all these ideas are running through your head. You’re going to do it this time! But by the time you drive back from that workshop to your office or home, you’ve already talked yourself out of 90 percent of the ideas presented. “That was great for the person talking,” you reason, “but he’s a better salesperson,” or “That’s just not me,” you tell yourself. You talk yourself out of trying because you could fail. Just the definition of the word ‘failure’ brings you down: breakdown, stoppage, malfunction, crash, collapse, disappointment, letdown, not a success.

Those words alone make most people not even want to try. But we all have to realize that disappointments or failures are part of life.The good news is, the more you experience them, the better you’ll get at your successes. Each disappointment or failure is taking you one step closer to being a success. The problem is most people quit before they even get through enough disappointments, not realizing it’s those roadblocks that are going to make them great.

I speak in front of a lot of people, and I remember the first time I got up in front of a large group. It was one of those ‘disappointments’ we’ve been talking about. It was a very short presentation, and I talked and talked – unbelievably – about nothing that anyone could understand. I could have found a way to quit then, but I realized that those disappointments were going to eventually make me a success. That experience helped me to learn what didn’t work so I could improve.

I’ve been in the same industry 23 years, and in the last 24 months I’ve been with three companies. One of them went bankrupt, and the other was taken over by the FDIC. Not great experiences… on any level. But I don’t see that as a failure – a disappointment maybe, but in no way did I fail.

How did I respond? I put myself in a position to figure out how to get better on the other side of these complicated situations. It can be difficult to remain positive and view each disappointment as an opportunity to learn and grow, but it’s what separates the good from the great. I am still thriving in the same industry, with all the loyal people that have followed my leadership and continue to work alongside me.

That’s the separation I’ve been talking about. The only way you can truly succeed is by going through the disappointment it takes to get great. For me, that quest will never end. Knowing I’m going to do it wrong before I could ever get it right makes me want to keep doing it.

That attitude – that willingness to fail – is what separates the best from the rest.

Riding The Wave

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There’s nothing like a trip to Hawaii to drive home the reality that life is truly for living. As I sat on the shore, I watched the waves start far out toward the horizon, and it seemed as if they would go on forever. But before I knew it, they came crashing to the shore. I watched it happen over and over. I also watched surfers ride those same waves, some hanging on for the duration while others crashed into theater. Whatever happened, they’d paddle back out and wait for the next worthwhile wave. Some got tired and came to shore. Others sat out there and never caught another wave.

That’s when it hit me: Isn’t that just like life? You wait for the wave then ride it as far as you can. It’s such a great wave that you start to feel like it’s going to last forever. You even begin to forget all the work it took to paddle out and get past the big waves crashing on top of you. All you can focus on is the great ride. But then, in a split second, CRASH. You’re off your board and under the swirling water, wondering if you’ll ever make it back to the surface for some air. This is the true test: Do you paddle back out, struggling past those initial waves, and wait it out to try again or does the wipeout stick in your mind and send you heading for the shore?

In life – and in sales – we’re surfing. We do all that’s needed to get to a place where we’re moving forward, and it feels like the ride won’t end. It’s exciting, thrilling, and lucrative – riding that wave. Then, for some of us, the wave comes to an end and we crash. When that happens, it can seem like all that effort was for nothing. When you feel that way, do you find yourself turning toward shore or heading back out to try again?

We all have big waves in life and in business. Never taking a chance of a wipeout is often easier because you can’t fail if you never try, but you don’t get anywhere if you don’t let go of that fear of failure. You don’t have to have a perfect ride. Success and happiness are often just a matter of hanging on after all the others choose to let go. And when that wave ends and you find yourself struggling to catch your breath, just spit out the sand, get back on your board and start paddling.

The shore is already crowded with spectators who have given up, and they’re just waiting for you to wipe out too. A lot of people say life isn’t easy. I say it’s as easy as you make it. Enjoy the ride and make some dreams come true.

One Washes Out, Another Washes In

Surfing great Laird Hamilton wasn’t necessarily born to ride the waves. His mother moved them to Hawaii after Laird’s father left. A young Laird later introduced his mom to big-wave surfer Bill Hamilton, whom he’d met on the beach of the North Shore of Oahu. After the boy’s mother and Bill Hamilton married, it was Bill who influenced and molded Laird into a surfer. Where are you in this wave analogy? Waiting on the shore? Paddling back out? Crashed, gasping for air? Riding the wave in?

Where are you in this wave analogy? Waiting on the shore? Paddling back out? Crashed, gasping for air? Riding the wave in?

Start Living

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Wailea Emerald Course

Wailea Emerald Course – May 2013

We all have these secret things we want to do or see or have and we stifle them by saying, “I can’t afford it” or “I can’t take the time off,” “The kids are too young,” “The kids are too old.” It’s important to remember, though, that we only get so much time. Don’t wait to start enjoying it all.

Some of our most valuable possessions aren’t possessions at all, they’re memorable experiences. That’s why we take pictures and capture them on video so we can share them and look back on them to relive that positive memory.

When striving to reach the highest level in your career, that same principle can apply. If you are in sales, the great experiences you’re after will require an investment. Execute your career in that same ‘live life now’ kind of way. Pursue success with an eye on the memorable experiences it can provide for you and your loved ones.

Don’t miss life. All the time I hear people say things like, “They grow up so fast” or “When I was young I should have” or “Next year I want to….” Stop wanting, stop waiting, start doing. Life is for living. Apply that to your goal setting for the next year. Experience every moment. Go out there today and create those positive, memorable experiences because when it comes down to it, that’s what we will be left with. Happiness isn’t something you experience; it’s something you remember!

Time Flies, Don’t It Baby…

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Time is going to go by. And what you do with the time you get is going to make all the difference.

Can you remember last month? You probably can. Can you remember July of 2006? You probably can. You probably remember graduating from high school.

(How funny was your hair?) Some of you even remember early childhood events. No matter what you remember (or forget), one thing we can all agree on: Time just keeps on moving. “Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’ into the future…”

No matter what you’ve checked off your list, no matter what you’ve done to try to make it stand still, time just keeps going by.

Now, when you started in business, think about what you expected of yourself. You were going to conquer the world. You were going to make a million dollars because you knew how to do it. Your mind was fixed, and you were determined. But as time passed, you began doubting yourself or even getting a bit too comfortable.

You got the “yeah buts.” I’ll do that, but…. I could try that, but…. But, but, but. I’ll do that tomorrow. I’ll make those calls tomorrow. I’ll do whatever it takes – tomorrow.

Now let me tell you about the best part about the nature of time: It goes by way too fast, but…You’ve got more coming. If you’re reading this, you are lucky. You got another day. You got all the time today has to offer, which is great! You got to wake up, love the people you love, do the things you can do and make the most of all today has to offer. Whatever went wrong yesterday, and no matter what could go wrong today, you still get another chance at it. For today, time is officially on your side. And you can take action today to make the most of it.

Now, if you don’t believe that, think about when you diet or when you work out. If you don’t work out, you get another chance tomorrow unless you do the “yeah but.” Yeah, but it’s cold in the morning; yeah, but I don’t have time at night. When you’re trying to eat healthy, each new day counts. Yesterday, you ate a whole pizza? Guess what. Today is a whole new day. You get to change, recommit, think outside the status quo and take action today.

Time is going to go by. It’s going to become tomorrow and next month and Christmas and New Year’s—for most of us. And what you do with the time you get is going to make all the difference.

Have Fun and Make Dreams Come True.

You can get more from Wake Up! at www.ManginelliGroup.com/Wakeup

Moses and His Mouth

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Confidence

Is there any better confidence boost than being chosen by God himself? You wouldn’t think so, but despite the fact that Moses was singled out to lead the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt and hand-picked to receive the 10 Commandments on Mt. Sinai, this father of the faith urged God to bestow the honor on someone else. The problem? Moses wasn’t confident speaking in front of large groups and was thought to have a speech impediment. It’s surprising, then, to learn that he’s mentioned more in the Bible’s New Testament than any other Old Testament figure. Sometimes others see our potential much more clearly than we do.

The 4 Things People Want From A Leader

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Business Executives Running in a Race

“You can have everything in life that you want if you just give enough other people what they want.” Zig Ziglar

It’s no secret the world is in a protracted economic crisis caused by many different and competing factors–and it may be awhile before recovery really takes hold. It’s enough to make people lose faith in just about anything. But Rob Goffee, author, Professor of Organizational Behavior at London Business School and former Director of Human Resources for the BBC, argues that if we lose faith in our leaders, we stand to lose everything. Great businesses, he insists, led by great people will bring our current difficulties to an end.

The very definition of leadership, according to Goffee, is the ability to excite people to exceptional performance. What’s more, people want exceptional performance everywhere–our schools, our hospitals, our local businesses, even our sports teams! Goffee and his students asked over 1,000 people what they wanted from leaders in these tough times and they arrived at four things, listed here in order of importance:

Community. People want to belong to something. Being part of a team is highly motivating.

Authenticity. People want to be led by a real person they can trust. We know instinctively when leaders are only in it for themselves. Performance is always the first thing to suffer and if demoralization sets in, there may be dire consequences to the entire organization.

Significance. People want to be recognized for their part in the contribution to the whole. We want to have meaning but, again, not just bring home a paycheck. Individual recognition is one of the most critical functions a leader must fulfill regularly.

Excitement. Leaders, from local business owners to CEO’s, have the ability to transform organizations and enrich lives. If leaders are not excited about what they are doing, you can be sure the employees are dragging quietly behind them.

Effective leadership is an authentic, skillful role performance. It requires lots of action, and it’s always difficult, but it’s always worth it. Try it with those who follow you and share these tips with your clients and colleagues!

Try Something New

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When was the last time you really tried something new?

new

When was the last time you tried a new restaurant, a new route home, a new vacation stop? I guess what I am really asking is, when was the last time you were out of your comfort zone?

As years go on and on and we get older, we get in such a routine that we get stuck and resist anything  new or different. When you were young you were all about new things; new roller coasters, new faster water slides, new places and new people but somewhere along the ride of life you stopped the desire to change. More than that you don’t want to get out of what you know is comfortable. I challenge you this week to make yourself focus on the new (change). Drive a different way home, change your radio stations in your car, go to a restaurant you have never been. If you really want to break out of your rut , make some calls to new prospects (lead generate) today. Remember when you first got in the business, you made the calls, you went on appointments, your days were filled with new and exciting adventures.. Then, somewhere in your path to success, you lost that drive and zeal. Now it’s time to take your life back and get out of that box that is closing in on you year after year. Embrace the change, see change as a growth pattern of your life and start having fun again! If you take this challenge, you really will start to see a new you and get that smile back!

Finding Your Way To Success

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This week I want you to ask yourself, “Why am I not doing what I know I can do to be a success?”

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Get past all the fears and excuses and really ask yourself, “What would my life look like if I just did it?” Would I have l that I wanted and wished for? Would I be able to provide for myself and my family the way I dream about it? Would I wake up each morning with the feeling that I am doing all that I can to be the person I want to be? So today I want you to figure out WHAT IS STOPPING YOU! There is a reason you write goals each year and really believe that this is the year and then you stall out before January ends. You cannot get better at anything unless you figure out what it is you need to get better at. If it is making calls, seeing new people, asking for business or getting out of you comfort zone; figure out what you need to get better at and find a way to do. There are many books, seminars and personal coaches to make you better and help you on your journey but the best people at anything have a coach, a mentor or a formula for their success. Stop making your career a hobby and get serious! Stop waiting for life to happen and start making life happen for you! It’s time to get serious for your success, conquer your fears and take real action this week. We all know what we need to do but achievers take action. Make this week count!

Radical Change

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Radical Change

change-architect-sign1

Who is your support group or person? Every successful person has that person or group, that no matter what you do it gives you unconditional motivation. That same person can call you out on your shortfall without you getting defensive. We all need a person or group that will bring us up after a day of lead generating that felt like you accomplished nothing. At the same time they call us weak for quitting before you get a lead.

We all like to say we are self starters, self motivated. It’s time to wake up! If you keep showing up and getting the same results, you’re not moving forward, you are back sliding. CEO’s at the highest level have a coach and or a mastermind group that they consult to perform at higher levels.

Stop waiting and start wanting. Michael Caplan, CEO E Trade Group wrote, “To succeed as a team is to hold all of the members accountable for their true actions and expertise.”

Go to your office today, find the people in your office that you want to emulate or simply respect, and set up a mastermind group. If you take this challenge, make sure that at your first meeting you all agree to be BRUTALLY HONEST with each other. This group is not to be a social wine club, this group is to push you to new levels, to call each other out with respect and always reminding each other that this is to break the barriers of complacency.

If you want unconditional love, with no feedback on anything you do wrong, or helping you to new financial levels, its best you just get a pet! We all love what we do and I wouldn’t do anything else than what I do. So I have to have people around to tell me when I get off focus and realign me with my goals. I said we need radical change. Will you make a radical change?

Moving Forward

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We’re moving through February and I am still on a quest to figure out what it will take to make you all want more. It all comes back to a quote from Napoleon Hill in his book, Think and Grow Rich, “No man will be willing to make a change until he is ready.” So I am changing my quest to figure out when will YOU be ready?

Game of Chess

A lot of us are taking action but some of the action is just to say we are doing it and not really putting in the maximum effort to accomplish what it is we need. So it made me think, not just about getting sales but about life. I feel “it’s not what you do in life, it’s how you do it!” You can go to a gym and be there for an hour but if you just walk around and talk, that’s not working out. Think about your time at the office, you can be there for 10 hours a day but with no new phone calls or any action that is lead generating, how do you expect to get new business?

Here is your focus for this week. If you are going to do it, do it great! Don’t just show up, don’t just do it half asked. If you’re going to be in the game, play your hardest! Think about your time that you spend this week at the office and as you are sitting there, ask yourself, “am I doing the most productive thing at this moment?” If the answer is no, time to start doing it great! Make this week count!

It’s All In Your Head

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When I try to think ‘big picture’ about what makes people successful in business or in life, the first and most obvious part of the ‘big picture’ to me is this: It’s all in your head!

Meaning, it’s what’s in your head that sabotages you. Our minds are powerful tools that can be used to both imprison and free us.To be successful,we have to be mentally strong enough to respond to whatever happens in a positive, pro-active way.

Mental toughness is a process. It just doesn’t happen overnight. It’s like any kind of strength training. You start out slowly, with smaller weights. You learn to pick and choose the options that work best for you, where you are.

When something terrible or unexpected happens, youmay be prone to thinking, “You know, that’s just my luck. Stuff like this always happens to me.”
Or, even when things are rolling along smoothly, you may be one of those worriers—that personwho always assumes theworstwill happen in any given situation.

Self-image is a tough thing for all of us. We all have our own insecurities, our own sense of inadequacy, even failure. And if you really just want to try to hold on to what you have, that negative self-image will always speak louder in your head than anything else. People with half your ability will accomplish more in life only because they believe better things about themselves. Their perception makes for a more successful reality.

The beginning of mental conditioning is training yourself to recognize and acknowledge the strengths you already have. Everyone says, ‘If I could just live up to my potential,’ but to be honest, I don’t buy that.We’re always looking for abilities we wish we had, rather than recognizing the gifts and skills we already have.

Why do you suppose that is?

Everybody’s afraid of what others think.When you close your eyes, that person is in your head, saying what you think they think about you (and it’s never good).We’re always afraid that someone’s going to pull the curtain back and find out we don’t know asmuch as we think we know.That somehow we’re not as accomplished, smart or successful as they are.

Even when all the talent and know-how and drive and determination is already there to succeed, just a whiff of fear will kill it before it even begins.

That’s why it’s essential to ‘retrain’ your mind to work FOR you, not against you. Train it to take the time to gain perspective, to respond, not to react.To think: ‘What are my options here?’

Whatever the situation—whether it’s personal relationship trouble or challenges in business—you always have options. Mentally, you lay it all out: What do I really want to do? What is the best way to respond to get what I want?What will be the best scenario short-term? Long term?

Each option comes with a given consequence, so you train yourself to think through those as well. Some of the consequences automatically rule out the option.

Once you narrow down the options, keeping ‘mind over matter’ means you learn to play to your best strength and go with the option you know you’ll be best at, the response that will work best for you.

If you see yourself as a person who already has the talent and skill and drive and determination to get things done…If underneath all that is a fundamental belief that you deserve to succeed in everything you work hard at…

How and where and who you envision yourself to be is how and where and who you are…and will be.

Always…
be willing to try…
be actively learning…
lead by example…
believe you add value to whatever you do…
be open…
be contagious…
Is this you? If not, begin each day retraining yourself to think, speak and act in affirming, intentional and positive ways. To change your perspective is to change your life.