For years I have been teaching sales people and entrepreneurs about what I call the “toilet bowl syndrome.” Here’s how it works. When you get down for whatever reason, your sales almost always follow. When your sales and resulting income drop you get down even more. When this happens you get even more depressed, resulting in a further drop in sales and income and the vicious cycle continues.

The only way to stop this downward spiral is to take action. YOU have to rip yourself out of the ditch of sorrow and self-pity and take control of your thoughts and emotions.

While this lesson has historically applied to sales people I believe it’s one that has universal relevance, regardless of your occupation or career…read more

After having worked with thousands of entrepreneurs over the last 29 years, I have seen many succeed but many more fail. And what distinguishes the two groups? Successful people consistently push themselves outside their comfort zone to achieve their goals.

Best selling author Brian Tracy, whose teachings I have been following for more than 25 years said, “Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.”

Another best selling author, Denis Waitley who has trained countless U.S Olympic athletes said, “To achieve your dreams you must break out of your current comfort zone and become comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown.”

I am convinced that you must push yourself outside your comfort zone to make any advances in your life. Think about it. Your comfort zone is where everything feels safe and familiar. How can you reach greater heights personally and professionally if you aren’t stretching yourself and growing on a regular basis?

It’s Time to Get Uncomfortable…read more

Guess who’s the number one person you communicate with on a daily basis? It’s you! Our internal conversations characterize how we view the world and influence every part of our lives- relationships, achievements, attitude and ultimately our degree of happiness.

If this internal dialogue focuses on your faults, mistakes, weaknesses, insecurities, fears or other negative things, it will be virtually impossible to feel good about yourself and advance your life forward. Furthermore negative thinking can have a detrimental effect on your health and overall quality of life…read more

Kindra Hall, a fellow blogger and beautiful writer, recently shared a story about her first visit to the National Speakers Association. Every day for three years she drove by their offices thinking about how to present herself. What would she say? How would she say it? Finally building up the courage to go inside, she decided to just ask questions.

Introduced to a representative from the association, she indicated she wanted to be “a sponge” and learn as much as she could about improving her speaking ability.

The lady responded and said, “So many people come into an organization like this with the goal to impress. They memorize their resume and talk about why they are unlike anything anyone has seen. Honestly, those folks never make it very far. While it is good to be confident, the true measure of this experience is not how impressive you are coming in – it’s how much you can learn while you are here. If your goal is to soak up what you can from others to become better, that is impressive. And the members of this association will help in whatever way they can to make sure you get the information you seek.”…read more

Making a good first impression is an important component of your brand. But equally important is your last impression. If you need to leave a relationship, an organization or a place of employment, the last impression you create is how you will be remembered. And how you are remembered will likely have long standing implications.

A good first impression may have landed you a job but a bad last impression could jeopardize your chances of getting other ones in the future. I admire those who leave their employers with great attitudes, when it would be easier to do otherwise.

It’s a small world out there, made even smaller by technology. To quote a somewhat trite but appropriate saying, “what goes around comes around.” During the early stages of my career, I was certainly naïve about this concept but the older I get the more I realize that my actions will dictate the lasting impressions I make in all my interactions. One damaged relationship can have far reaching implications…read more

Every email we send someone makes an impression. This is no different than watching a commercial. Every advertisement you watch makes an impression on you and impacts your view of that advertiser.

The same is true with email. Every impression we make on others is how we are branding ourselves in their minds. It’s our choice what impression we make.

In Part One, I shared with you 16 of my top email tips and encouraged you to evaluate your email communication for the last 24 hours. How did you do?

Here are 17 more for you to chew on.

17. Use the recipient’s time zone—When you are scheduling an appointment or a phone call, avoid confusion by using their time zone. This will keep them from trying to convert the time to their time zone and reduce potential misunderstandings…read more