Australian's are renowned world wide as winners in sport and business, innovators
in arts and movies, and our lifestyle is absolutely the best available on the planet.
Make a positive decision to learn from our best and leave the the advice of others
to the not so well informed.
I have been consulting with a lot of sales managers and business owners who need and want sales training, but they are concerned that the training might be wasted on some of their sales reps (sometimes as much as one-third of their team) because this portion of the reps are either resistant, or simply unmotivated.
“Why should I spend the money if one-third of my sales reps are going to tune out?" They ask me.
While I understand this is a reality for some sales teams (sad but true) what I remind these managers and business owners is that the training isn't for “this group", but rather for the other part of their team that is actually going to use and benefit from the training.
The improvement this part of the team makes will not only pay for the training in a week, but it will continue to pay dividends weeks and months after the training
If there is one thing old men, housewives, and emo kids can agree on, it's that the whopper freakin' rocks. This fact, however, didn't stop Burger King from having a little "fun" at the evangelists' expense.
Apparently, their game plan was:
Cease sales of the flagship product
Place hidden cameras to capture the reactions of the most loyal and frustrated customers
Use the footage to set up a website and craft a national advertising campaign
If that doesn't say "we love our customers," what does?
Great article from Justin Herald's Motivate Me newsletter:
Before you read any further I just have to let you know that I am going to get up on my soap box in this article. There is one thing that really irritates me these days and it is the area of customer service, or lack of it. It seems as though this is getting worse and worse every day. Being serviced seems to be a privilege that some people give out when it just should be automatic.
Recently I have been having on going issues with a company that provides an integral part of one of my businesses. Now as it stands without them providing exactly what I am paying them for, things just don’t work correctly my end. Now I pay them on time so that is not an issue so when I rang them last week to inquire about why things seemed to be getting messed up all the time I was met with a rude and arrogant person on the end of the phone. I was told in no uncertain terms that I just had to get what I was given with relation to what they provided and their service.
Now to me that is like showing a bull a red flag. I was off! I asked him to clarify what he meant. I was told that their company policy was to provide basic levels of service as it wasn’t the most important part for the customer.
Since finding that out I have moved all of my business from them only to be contacted by a person in their senior management team to ask me why I felt the need to move away from their company. TOO LATE!
Now you may be thinking “what has this got to do with me?” Simple really, these days we are all caught up in our own worlds, our own journey and our own issues that some times we forget that we are supposed to be nice to each other. Serving one another should not be only for a select few, it should be practiced by everyone.
Imagine if everyone in the world decided one day that they are only going to look after themselves and that it wasn’t important any more to put other people’s needs at the top of the list.
Just like customer service in business, we should all be trying to go the extra mile with those around us in and out or our work place.
After a while of doing this, you will find that being polite, being generous and just being caring, will become a part of who you are.
With all of the doom and gloom that we are shown around the world on a daily basis, wouldn’t it be nice if we all started to be nicer to each other.
Sure we would all love “world peace” (as all the Miss Universe contestants put it) but in order for that to ever become a reality, we need to start with those around us first.
So this week, why not shock someone that you don’t know and do something nice for them with no strings attached. I bet you that you will feel unreal after doing it!
Gather in your resources, rally all your faculties, marshal all your energies, focus all your capacities upon mastery of at least one field of endeavor. - John Haggai
The jack-of-all trades seldom is good at any. Concentrate all of your efforts on one definite chief aim. - Napoleon Hill
You don't have to buy from anyone. You don't have to work at any particular job. You don't have to participate in any given relationship. You can choose. -Harry Browne
You can do what you want to do. You can be what you want to be. - R. David Thomas
These blogs have the no follow link disabled from the comments, which means that if you comment on these sites, you will get an actual link. If you would like to be included here, please let me know.
If you find this list useful, please consider linking to it.
These blogs have the ‘no follow’ link disabled from the comments, which means that if you comment on these sites, you will get an actual link. If you would like to be included here, please let me know.
If you find this list useful, please consider linking to it.
These blogs have the ‘no follow’ link disabled from the comments, which means that if you comment on these sites, you will get an actual link. If you would like to be included here, please let me know.
If you find this list useful, please consider linking to it.
These blogs have the ‘no follow’ link disabled from the comments, which means that if you comment on these sites, you will get an actual link. If you would like to be included here, please let me know.
If you find this list useful, please consider linking to it.
I am not sure about you but these days I am finding that more and more people equate success with either the suburb that they live in, the car that they drive or even the job that they have.Recently I was waiting to catch a plane. As I waiting at the gate, a few people came and went. As I was sitting by myself, most of those people at some point in time sat on the vacant chair next to me.
After sitting there for a while I would glance over and do the obligatory “hello, having a nice day” type of small talk. I have to say after their initial answer to that question, the next question to come out of their mouths was “so what do you do?”
Now I realise that it was also probably small talk, but this got me thinking.Today more than ever, so many of us seem to think that what it is we do, defines who we are.This is where I tend to think the opposite. What we do is just that, what we do! Our position in life should not be measured on what we do in a job from 9 till 5; it should be measured on what impact we have on those around us over the period of our lives. Whilst there may be some people who have very important jobs reading this article who really do have the kind of job that is at the top of the job tree, I still don’t believe that that then means that they are more successful than those who have a less important job, or drive a cheaper car or even live in a less wealthy suburb.What we all need to do is concentrate on being the person we are meant to be.
Now I have to say right at this point that I am in no way a fruity type of person, so what I mean by that, is each of us has certain skills and talents. Whether they are visual talents that everyone will see or whether they are ones that fly under the radar, as long as you are exercising those talents and giving your life a 100% crack, you too can claim that you are successful.I used to get invited to all of the swanky do’s. Now truth be told, whilst some of them were fun for a while, I really got over the whole “be someone you are not, to get ahead” type atmosphere.
To put it bluntly, I am who I am warts and all and so are you. Does that mean that your success is limited because you grew up on the wrong side of the tracks? Absolutely not!It means that you have a different and unique view on life and you can apply your knowledge and life skills to whatever you put your mind to.Does that mean that you will never reach success? No way. Just make sure you remain true to yourself and understand that we all have something to offer others no matter whether there was a silver spoon in our mouths at birth or not.Sure, aim for the success that you desire but make sure who you are is based upon who you are and not solely on what you do for a living.
One of the people who's words have influenced me is Denis Waitley.
I can remember going to his seminar in Perth over 20 years ago and coming away inspired by his thoughts and passion.
So, today I am sharing with you some thoughts from Denis's latest newsletter: Chase your Passion Denis writes:
Two of life's greatest tragedies are: Never to have had a great mission in life, and to have fully reached it so there is no challenge remaining.
Are you going where you want to go, doing what you want to do, and becoming who you want to become? These are the questions we must ask ourselves. Set some quiet time aside after you have finished this program and see the two you's in the mirror of your mind:
1. There is the reflection of the person you are today.
2. There is the image of who you will be in the future.
Looking at my own life, I am incredibly different in many respects from the person I was ten years ago.
As you reflect on your past and anticipate the future, understand that virtually nothing you have experienced has been wasted. It all blends together into wisdom and knowledge, and creates your own unique brand of cultural diversity.
Action Idea: In your professional life, what is most important for you to achieve in the remainder of career? In your personal life, what is most important for you to achieve in the remainder of your life? Find a close friend or associate you trust and network with often, and challenge each other to continuously strive to reach these objectives.
As you consider your mission in life, you may want to use this action step as your guidepost for the 21st Century: Chase Your Passion, Not Your Pension.
Passion in your purpose will help you take control of your life, and also give you one other advantage that is not widely recognized: About ten more years of life, on average. Pursuit of a goal wears out very few people. But they rust out by the hundreds of thousands when their pursuit of happiness turns into a geriatric park. A job is something you do for money. A career is something you do because you have an inner calling to do it. You want to do it. You love doing it. You're excited when you do it. And you'd do it even if you were paid nothing beyond food and the basics. You'd do it because it's your life.
Be inspired to learn as much as you can, gain skills as much as you can, to find a cause that benefits humankind and you’ll be sought after for your quality of service and dedication to excellence.
Action Idea: If you had the time and circumstances allowed, what is one of your most passionate desires in life you would like to pursue? It could be a new business idea, music, action, sports, or community service. Starting tomorrow, chase that passion a little bit at a time.
Denis Waitley"
Great stuff and still Denis's words serve me well.
A few days ago I was in New Zealand, presenting a series of Goal Setting Seminars and Workshops. First was Wellington, then Christchurch and onto Auckland. It was a real privilege and I had some great feedback from the audience!
Also while there, my wife and I went to an indoor ski centre called 'Snowplanet' with our beautiful Kiwi friends, Simon and Yvonne Godfrey. Built on the side of a hill in a sort of farm area (20 minutes from the Auckland CBD), the slop is 202 meters long and has an indoor temperature of minus five degrees Celsius, 365-days a year.
Talking of setting goals, as Katherine and I have never been to a ski field ever, we have decided that this is going to be our year to learn to ski - actually snowboard in fact. As we were short of time and couldn't have a lesson, we hit the slop anyway for what they call 'air boarding'. It is basically when you lay or kneel on a small inflatable mattress and you travel down the slop, accelerating as you go over some hills and bumps. Anyway, it was a lot of fun and we have vowed to return in April for some serious lessons, followed by a week at the snow fields later in the year.
Wayne Berry CSP* is Australia's own TOP GUN Sales Coach and most in-demand speaker on sales, negotiating and sales management. He is ranked in the top 7% of professional speakers in the world by the USA based National Speakers Association. (*CSP is the highest International Accreditation of the NSA and there are are only 42 NSAA CSPs in the world.)
He is a best selling author and one of Australia's best known speakers. His four books, “Negotiating In The Age of Integrity”, “How To Get The Best Deal Every Time”, “How To Get The Best Sale Every Time” and “How To Lead and Motivate A TOP GUN Sales Team” are now sold in 13 countries.
He speaks more than 200 times each year at conferences around Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and at programs arranged by his TOP GUN® Business Academy. This year his seminars and workshops will be attended by more than 20,000 sales and business people.
He has also recorded more than 40 audio and DVD video programs on selling, sales management and negotiating.
He has shared the platform with Tom Hopkins, Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar, Earl Nightingale, Dr Norman Vincent Peale, Dr Denis Waitley, James Rohn, and many, many other internationally renown speakers.
He is a man with a great deal passion and energy and audiences find him very warm, sincere and easy to relate to. His style is down-to-earth and practical. His strategies are proven, easy to understand, and easy to implement. They produce results FAST. He also speaks from a life time of personal experience in sales and business, having started his sales career at age 17 in the computer industry, 34 years ago. His TOP GUN® Business Academy evolved from his original consulting company founded in 1978. Since then he has worked with, and trained sales people from more than 300 different industries.
His client list reads like a who's who of Australian and international business and includes The Commonwealth Bank, Optus, Telstra, Sensis, Australia Post, Apple, Adidas, Accor, Foxtel, Australia Post, AMP Society, AGFA Gevaert, Arnott's Biscuits, Smorgan, AAT Kings Tours, Autobarn, Boral, Becton Corporation, Biggin & Scott, BP Australia, Barry Plant Real Estate, BMW, Colonial Mutual, Cody Premium Outdoor, Century 21 Real Estate, Cafe Bar International, Datcraft Australia, Delfin Lendlease, Deutche Bank, Eli Lily, Flight Centres, First National Real Estate, H.J . Heinz, James Hardie & Co, Leader Newspapers, Lanier, Lendlease Corporation, Mars Confectionery, NEC, Ninemsn, News Corporation, Orbital Engine Corp, Orica, Pioneer Electronics, Primus Telecoms, PMP Print, Rentokil, Repco, Rinnai, Stamford Hotels, Strathfield Car Radio, TNT, Tattersalls,Toyota Motor Corporation,Texas Instruments, Unisys, Urban Land Corporation, Visy Board, Yakka, 2UE, 3AW, 3MP.
Tailor- Designed In-Company Training Wayne Berry and TOP GUN® Business Academy can TAILOR DESIGN a conference key-note address or training program specifically for your organization on:
Selling Skills Negotiating Skills Sales Management Customer Service Leadership Team Building Personal Development and Motivation
These programs use leading edge training technology including Accelerated Learning and Neuro Linguistic Programming. They are high energy, highly experiential with high retention and are fun. They are presented personally by Wayne Berry or can be facilitated by a trained TOP GUN® Sales Coach using video programs presented by Wayne Berry. For information telephone (03) 9521 0500 or 1800 001 746 (International Callers +61 3 9521 0500) or user the contact link below.
There is one thing that I just love doing at that is driving. Whether it is going to get milk or bread from the service station or driving a long way to a conference I am speaking at, I just love it. I just love the freedom that driving gives me.
As we had been away recently overseas for our holidays, I couldn’t wait to get back and go for a drive.
On the day that we landed I came home from the airport, did the good husband thing where you help unpack all of the suitcases and then I decided to go for a drive.
All seemed to be going well for a while, the sun was shining, there were limited cars on the road and the birds were chirping and then suddenly, “BANG”! I hit a pothole.
Now I never saw it coming but it was a beauty. I mean it was huge, I was lucky that I didn’t vanish down it as it was one monster of a pothole.
I pulled over to see if I still had my front wheel on my car after the contact and everything seemed to look OK.
As I started driving again I noticed that my steering wheel now was way off centre and the car was pulling to the left real bad.
The next day I took it into my local tyre shop and they fixed it all up with a wheel alignment.
So what’s the point of this story you ask?
Well it is a simple principle actually. You see many people go through life going about things the way they always have, just cruising through life and sometimes “BANG!” out of nowhere things start going wrong. Whether it is in the area of finances, relationships or your emotions, things stop going straight and if you take your hands off your personal wheel, you know that your outcomes will be way off course just as my car decided to constantly pull to the left after hitting “gigantor” the pothole.
This is where we all have to be aware firstly that there are personal potholes out there that we can all hit every now and then and secondly, if you do run into a bit of a drama in your life, you need to ensure you straighten things out as soon as you can otherwise, as with the tyres on my car, you may end up causing yourself and your outcomes a whole lot more damage if left untreated.
As I was watching the guys re-align my wheels I noticed that whilst the initial impact was harsh and sudden, the re-aligning of my wheels was precise and calculated.
This is how you have to be if you are trying to get yourself back on track after hitting a pothole in your life. Don’t be tempted to rush in and do the first thing that pops into your head to get yourself back on track. Just like the technicians that fixed my car, you need to be deliberate about finding the solution to re-aligning your direction. It may only take a little tweaking to cause a great and positive effect on your situations.
Now most problems can be solved and most dramas can be fixed, but you need first to acknowledge that your direction may be a little off centre due to those potholes (dramas, issues or problems) you may have encountered along the way.
Just make sure you have people around you who understand the mechanics of getting your alignment back on centre.
“Oh he’s just lucky”. Sound familiar? The only time luck seems to come into a sentence is when someone who is yet to achieve what you have achieved. People try and justify their falling short by down playing other peoples successes. I am sure I experienced a level of luck along my business building, but luck comes and goes. The people that I know, who are successful, managed to turn that “luck” into greater opportunities. The biggest problem with success is sometimes with how other people view it. They have no idea how hard you have worked to get to where you are today. All they see is the finished result. You and I know what was involved, the hard work, the disappointment and the long hours only for something to fall over then having to start again. It is all too easy for those who haven’t experienced any of that to sit and cast their opinions on other people’s success. So easy in fact that it becomes part of who they are. You or I are never going to change them or the way that they view success. That I am afraid has to come from within themselves. The only thing we can do is make sure we don’t become like them. We all have to ensure that we just don’t quit and that we have a “I am going to win” mindset.
When my daughter Brooke and I are playing any type of game she can’t stand it when I win. Sometimes we have to sit and play until she wins. But do you know what? I love that quality within her. She wants to continue until she has mastered whatever she is doing. Is that like you or do you just give up too easily? Are you prepared to stick things out no matter how tough it is or how long it may take? Or do you just throw the towel in when things do go exactly to plan? In the game of life there really is no winner. We really only compete with ourselves, our thinking and our goals and dreams that we have set. We all need to have a game plan, a guide as to how we will progress towards those goals we have set for ourselves. Don’t think that you will be able to just cruise through life and reap rewards. Be prepared to play the game of your life. Remember: Quitters never win.
The four minute mile was broken by a man by the name of Roger Banister. It had been a record that many many people had tried to break previously with no success. After Roger Banister broke the record, you would have thought that it would still be a record that was hard to crack. The facts are there were over (some say) 50 other runners that broke that four minute mark over the next year. You see, the impossible is just an imaginary line drawn in the sand of all that you wish to achieve. Why can’t you start and run a very successful business without any previous training. I did. Why can’t you achieve all that you set your mind to? I did. Does this make me any better than you? Simple answer, NO. It just means that I saw that the impossible was possible. What are you going to see as possible now? Never, never, never give up. Those are the famous words that Sir Winston Churchill gave at a school assembly. I want to go through life constantly amazing myself with my achievements and successes. I will never do that if I constantly quit. There are too many quitters these days that just give up way too early. I know a guy who starts a new business almost every week. He just hasn’t learnt the whole principal of finishing what he originally started. He has unfinished projects all over the place. He gets so frustrated with people who have achieved something. So much so, all he does is speak negativity into them. He is bitter about their successes. I believe that he his reflecting his own thoughts about himself on to others. When I first started in business I made a pact with myself which was what I called “the no exit clause”. I was no going to allow myself to exit what I had started. No matter what happened along the way, I was determined to overcome it. Why not set yourself a “no exit” clause. Just agree with yourself that you will never give up no matter what life throws at you.
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Every year at the start of each year as a family we all go away on a holiday somewhere. Even though we may go away during the year on small getaways, the New Year’s holiday is the one where we just shut off from everything around us.
This year we decided to go to Fiji. We decided on Treasure Island so that I could wear my pirates outfit and eye patch all day. Well not really, but we really liked the seclusion of what it had to offer so off we went.
It was a great holiday with the kids as all we did was hang out all day doing well, nothing.
As there wasn’t a great deal to do during the day we would spend a lot of time snorkelling in the crystal clear waters. One day as we were snorkelling I saw a reef shark. Now I have to say as I am not up to date on my shark species I really had no idea what was swimming underneath me and just the sight of it freaked me right out.
It wasn’t until we got out of the water later that a local told me that it was “fairly harmless” (whatever that means).
When I first saw it, due to the goggles that I was wearing, the shark looked like the size of a bus, I mean it was huge. Then as I got water in my goggles I had to tread water whilst I got rid of the water. I then put my head under the water without my goggles on and through the haze I could see the shark but this time it was a whole lot smaller. You see the goggles really magnified what I was looking at under that water.
This is the same with some of our problems we all face.
We all at some times can tend to have “goggles” on, which in turn just magnifies what we are looking at.
Looking at our dilemmas, dramas or issues through tainted and unrealistic eyes can sometimes throw a whole lot of confusion into a particular situation.
What we all need to get is the right perspective on our situations. Believing what you first see in your situation maybe causing you to actually believe your issues are as big as what you think they are.
A lot of the time our perspectives that we have are purely formed from our perceptions. We think a certain situation is what it is so we then form our perspective on that situation which in turn becomes fact to us.
But what if our perception is no where near what the actual reality of that situation is?
This is just like my shark story. If I hadn’t figured out that my goggles (my vision) was incorrect and that everything was as big as what I was seeing, then odds are I would not have gotten back in the water due to me not wanting to come in contact with another huge sea creature.
The same goes with your own situations. You need to stop, stand back and re-address your situations when you are in one. Take a fresh and clearer look at what you are seeing.
You may be surprised to see that things just aren’t as bad as you first thought they were.
This will then assist you in getting on with getting on without slowing or stopping your progress.
Every year I become embroiled in a ritual that seems to haunt every marriage, the dreaded spring-clean. (Most males will understand the pain and torture I am referring to.) From the name of the procedure, you might think that it would happen once a year, but my wife tends to do it a lot more often than that. It always amazes me that most of the items being thrown away at this time seem to be mine. So I do what most husbands do—once the pile is stacked up, I sneak out and take back the things I want to hang on to.
I have used the spring-cleaning principle in my own life. I have had a lot of positive feedback, input and direction over the years, but I have also had a lot of people impart negative feelings, ideas and comments about what I am doing. I am sure you have people like this around you as well. You know, the ‘friends’ who, when you come up with a great suggestion or idea are the first to let you know that it can’t be done or, when you do something that doesn’t quite work out the way you planned, are the first to say ‘I told you it wouldn’t work’.
After a few years of this I reached a point where I really wanted around me the people who were going to push me to reach my goals and dreams, who were helping me set my standards. It is easy being negative; anyone can do it. It was the people who, regardless of the circumstances, could see the bigger picture that I wanted around me.
I was also getting frustrated by people who weren’t happy with what they had. They had no ambition to better their cir¬cumstances and I was unable to change their thinking. In reality, they were getting no value from their association with me either. There was nothing more frustrating for me than not being able to challenge their thinking in any way.
So spring-cleaning works both ways. On a regular basis I look at who is having an impact on my life. If it is a negative impact, whether in my business life or personal life, I choose to move away from that influence. I do not do it in a ‘holier than thou’ type of way; that is not what I am trying to achieve. If someone is not improving my thinking and pushing me to achieve more, and if I am not improving their thinking and pushing them to achieve more, I ‘spring-clean’ them. This may sound harsh, but I can honestly say that this simple process has helped me stay totally focused on what I am trying to achieve and who I really should be.
I challenge you now to write down a list of the people you are in constant contact with, and then write next to each name the good influences that person has on your life and goals, and the bad influences. If the negative list is bigger than the positive list, you have to ask yourself whether their influence is keeping you from achieving all you can.
I have had the opportunity over the last few months to train with an ex-professional boxer. He was telling me that when he was training and preparing for a fight, he would choose as his sparring partner another professional boxer in a weight division above his own. The reason was that if he didn’t he would be under-training; he would be setting his standard too low. He had to push himself to be better than the person he was about to fight.
So why not try this in your own life and watch for the results in your life.
Every January we run a 5-day Live In Camp with 30 brave teenagers. This includes a fire walk, high ropes course, raft building exercise, netball challenge and that's only the beginning! Other highlights were that we played Robert Kiyosaki's Cashflow101 and another game called Leverage until 3am! Along the way, participants set goals for the years ahead, overcame negative beliefs and discovered important leadership skills.
It truly was a life-changing experience for the participants, who were able to listen to some amazing speakers and learn so much about themselves and the others around them. One of the best aspects of the camp is the chance for everyone to make life-long friends who are uplifting and offer support for their future.
For me personally, this is one of the most rewarding things I do and I totally love sharing the experiences and making a contribution to the next generation. I'm already looking forward to next year's camp.
BUSINESS HEALTH: 4 steps to improve the health of your business By Dale Beaumont
WARNING - this article will NOT show you how to: * bench press you computer monitor * out-race the lift by bunny-hopping up the stairs * replace your smoking habit with a celery addiction * introduce carrot juice to Friday night drinks * use your mouse as a skipping rope.
What it will show is the importance of how to maintain a healthy business and/or a successful life. Often health and lifestyle magazines will point out ways that employees can improve their health, however, this article chooses to take some of these principles and apply them to the business environment.
So here are 4 ways to improve the health of your business:
1. DIETARY INTAKE Monitor what you bring into the business. Hire people who share your vision and will support you in your endeavours. Absorb as much information as you can. Books, CDs, tapes and seminars are an endless source of material and will provide advice and opinions from people who have already succeeded.
2. PHYSICAL EXERCISE Keep moving. One of the worst things a business can do is stay stationary. The world of business is constantly changing and successful people are able to accept this and adapt accordingly.
Brad Sugars, Chairman of Action International, says today's business world is about handling change. He believes that many people live reactive lives and should be more proactive in making things happen.
3. DON'T SMOKE Don't let your goals go up in smoke. Your path to success will always be impeded by obstacles and setbacks. Successful people are resilient and have the ability to bounce back. So should you!
When Tim Pethick, creator of nudie, stood outside his factory as it burnt down, he turned to his marketing director and said: "Well, tomorrow we'd better start looking for another factory."
4. DRINK LESS Focus on your goals and do not allow your vision to be impaired. There will always be people out there willing to shut down your ideas, even if they have good intentions. Remain focused!
Property investors, Gary and Jenny Leather, believe that focus is important for success. They say that once you know your desired outcome, focus on one thing. It will ensure that your mind does not stray towards negative thoughts.
IN SUMMARY, to watch employees pump out push-ups and sits-ups while they work would be interesting and possibly amusing. However, the health of a business refers to more than just the health of the individual and by using the principles that govern a healthy body, you are able to determine the current and future health of your business.
* All of the people mentioned in this Feature Article are contributors in the 'Secrets Exposed' Series. www.SecretsExposed.com.au
Richard Gee has presented to 6,748 groups in New Zealand, Australia the UK, Singapore, Malaysia and the Pacific Islands. He consults on Marketing Strategies and proudly counts on thousands of companies to attest to his unique ability to achieve outstanding success.
If you can do something "Better Than Yesterday" and help your decision makers make their self motivated choice of two things to do "Better Than Yesterday", wouldn't you be motivated to change your journey of life?
Richard has lectured for the Auckland University of Technology, Auckland University, NZ Institute of Management, Auckland Chamber of Commerce, Employers and Manufacturers Association, and Sales & Marketing Institute of NZ, amongst many institutions and industry training organisations.
I would like to let you in on one of my biggest pet hates. You may be wondering what this has to do with anything, but read on and I will show you how my pet hate applies to some people and the way that they live their lives.
I love driving. It would be fair to say that there probably isn’t anything I would love to do more. However, there are some parts of the driving process that really gets on my goat sometimes. One of these irks is as follows.
The other day I was driving from the city to my home along the Motorway.
Now this Motorway is a two lane motorway the whole length of the trip. As I was happily driving along in a fine and dandy mood in the right hand lane (yes that is the overtaking lane, please note) I approached a slower car on my left in the left hand lane.
Just as I was about to pass this car the driver put her indicator on to move into my lane. Now there was another car about 50 meters in front of her but as I was travelling faster than her and she had plenty of space between her car and the one in front I continued on my way.
As I got along side this car I glanced over to the driver who gave me the “didn’t you see my indicator salute, you know the one that has the middle finger as the most recognisable feature in it.
As I had no idea what I had done wrong I just kept on driving.
A few minutes down the road I veered off the Motorway to my exit. Whilst waiting at the traffic lights this young lady drove up beside me. She motioned for me to wind my window down and then proceeded to verbally abuse me.
Now between trying to understand what she was saying due to her yelling and swearing, and dodging the froth that came out of her mouth, it all came down to one factor. This lady seemed to think that when she put her indicator on that meant it was her right to move in to whatever lane she desired as she had indicated. Now I tried to explain that I was beside her at the time which she didn’t really see as a valid reason for her not getting let in. She just thought that her indicator meant that she could do whatever she wanted regardless of those around her.
I was saved by the traffic lights changing as I was about to let her know my true feeling of the situation.
On the rest of my journey home this experience got me thinking.
You know a lot of people are just like this young lady when it comes to their personal life and aspirations. They believe that just because they want to change their direction, opinions or anything else that has to do with their own personal journey, that everyone one else would just stand back and let them in no matter what the cost. This is where that type of thinking is incorrect.
Your course in life is all yours. Sure it may involve other people but only if they give permission. Forcing your way through life will get you nowhere and only upset those around you along the way.
Getting upset with those around you if they decide not to lend a hand is not advisable either. Don’t be like that lady and give those around you the mental finger.
And the last point I need to make, is like the lady in the car on the freeway, just because you want to make a move a change in a different direction does not mean that it will work for you.
You need to ensure you have the correct planning and understanding of the consequences in place. A hasty move in a different direction without first seeing what may be in the way may be disastrous for you.
Not everything will work out you desire but by ensuring you look before you have leap may stop you from making some silly mistakes with disastrous results.
