I recently visited a St. Louis organization whose sole purpose is to help people who are out of work. It’s called Businesspersons Between Jobs. www.bbj.org. I went there to to let them know about Toastmasters and how it might help people with their jobs interviews. I passed out a flier about our clubs upcoming Open House and briefly told them of the benefits of Toastmasters. I handed out 35 fliers. I also sent the same information to two people I know who are out of work.
Of the 37 people who knew about the meeting, only one showed up.
Guy Kawasaki talks about the need to go from Evolutionary to Revolutionary.
Unforunately, there’s a category before Evolutionary. I call it Rutionary.
These are people in a rut and either too lazy or too scared to get out of their rut.
That probably describes 90% of the population and in this case 36 out of 37 people.
The coach of the Missouri football team, Gary Pinkel, made some great philosophical comments which apply not only to football, but life in general. He said, “You’re never built. It’s a never-ending process. So, to this point, we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished, but there’s a lot left out there.”
That pretty much says it all about life.
We are all never finished, never done, never at the end of the journey.
We can always learn and grow and improve.
I remember talking to a friend one day about whether she was exercising. She replied that no she wasn’t, she just wanted to stay the same. Unfortunately, there is no just staying the same. We’re either getting better or getting worse. Doing nothing is tantamount to losing ground and getting worse.
What are you doing to improve, to get better, to get the most out of your journey?
Every once in a while, I get an email which tells me about some problem with one of my websites – either a link isn’t working or a page doesn’t load correctly. I always thank the person profusely and make the corrections ASAP.
Yet – it’s always amazing to me the people and organizations which I offer to help, but who don’t respond.
Just in the last week, I offered to help a speaker with his presentation for no charge, yet I never heard back from him. I also offered an organization some free tech help and they never got back with me either. Are these people just lazy or stupid? Probably the former. People realize they need to change, yet aren’t willing to do the work to make the changes.
It’s aggravating, but I’m used to it by now.
One of the great things we do in Toastmasters is provide feedback to everyone who speaks. As a speaker you will get an oral evaluation and 20 other written evaluations to help you with your next speech.
I encourage you to ask for feedback and take action when you do receive it.
I was recently talking to Noppadol Paothong, a photographer for the Missouri Dept. of Conservation, about what it took to get pictures of a monarch butterfly emerging from its chrysalis.
I gave him two monarch caterpillars to raise and told him that when the chrysalis turn translucent, that the butterfly would emerge usually that same day.
When the two chrysalises turned translucent, Nop stayed awake for almost 48 hours straight to get the best picture. In all he got only 3 hours sleep in 48 hours and then had to go out and make a presentation that same day.
It just goes to how us all that Success is not easy.
It takes time, work, perseverance and some pain to accomplish your goal.
If you’d like to see some of Nop’s pictures, you’ll find them at:
http://nopnatureimages.com/
According to one scientific journal, green tea might help with weight reduction. I’ve been taking them for a month with no results – Save Your Money.
A government sponsored study of Glucosamine/Chondroitin supplements show that there are zero benefits to using these supplements other than the placebo effect. This information came from the Dec. 2008 University of California, Berkley, Wellness Letter. Save your money.
Note – both my wife and I felt that Glucosamine might be helping us, but we’re stopping the supplements now.
Filed under: Action-Attraction
I saw a short article in our local paper about a news anchor, Margie Ellisor, who wakes up at 2:30 a.m. every morning to get to the station by 3:30 a.m. to be ready for her newscast at 5 a.m.
That’s not only amazing and shows great discipline, but she shows great ingenuity by having not one alarm clock but three. They get noisier and louder until she rises and starts her day.
On the other hand I know people who’ve I’ve counseled to get up 30 minutes early to try and work on a goal and their answer is a standard, “Oh, I can’t do that. I’m not a morning person.” I know other people who have been fired because they can’t get to work at 8 a.m. They always have an excuse.
I’m sure Margie would love to sleep in, would love to stay out and party with friends, but she has the discipline of mind to rise and shine earlier than us all and get the job done.
She’s a good role model for us all and is taking the actions necessary for her to succeed.
Filed under: 06-Change
Friends and my wife and I just took a trip to Springfield, Illinois – the land of Lincoln.
They have a great Lincoln museum, home, burial tomb, New Salem settlement etc.
All in all, it’s a very interesting day, especially if you enjoy history.
You of course have to find a place to stay and while it’s cheapest to go to the local Super 8 or Motel 6, my wife likes the romance of a B&B. Sometimes though, they need some improvements.
It always amazing to me that any business doesn’t ask the simple question – “How Can I Improve?”
Give each customer/guest a 3×5 card and have them fill out “ONE” way in which you as the business can get better. In our case the B&B did not ask the question, so we didn’t give him our answers.
Unfortunately, our response would have been more like a paragraph instead of one sentence, but as a result this business will never get our business again and we certainly can’t recommend it to any one else.
The question for you is – Are you listening to your customers and giving them opportunities to provide you with feedback?
By the way – “How Can I Improve?”
Filed under: 06-Change
Creativity and Innovation – In the Food Industry
Creativity and Innovation in the Food Industry
Where do you think I saw this recent ad?
The answer is – on a Cranberry Juice bottle.
It looks like it could be a Win-Win for everyone.
The cranberry juice now has added value, plus it might be getting some extra income from EMusic.
EMusic is looking for advertising space where it knows people will see it – the grocery store is an obvious answer.
You see product placement in the movies all the time, why not now on the food we consume.
Here’s the question for you – what are you doing to market your product in new and innovative ways?
I recently did a program for a 5th grade class and at the beginning of the class they all repeated this positive affirmation. It’s a mantra most adults could use also.
I am SOMEBODY.
I am capable and lovable.
I am teachable and therefore I can learn.
I respect myself and others.
I am going to be the best that I can be each day.
I am using my time well because it is valuable
and I am too precious and bright.
I am SOMEBODY.
