Click on It!
When I was writing Success Made Easy a friend commented, “Hey Ron, if success was easy, everyone would be successful.” “Success” is just a word. It has a different meaning to everyone who says it. Yes everyone can be successful; in fact most people are successful at something. The differences lie in what you want and what you get. Those who get what they want are successful regardless of what that is.

Could THIS be Success?
Some homeless people are the most successful of all. They have decided that all they want is a place to sleep (anywhere) and something to eat (anything) and they manage to find both; Success. They overcome obstacles that are far more difficult than people in the workplace do.

It’s Your Choice
There are basically two kinds of people; those who take what they get, and those who get what they want. To get less than you want is to fail. Many people fail by simply not defining what it is that they want. Start there, and then set out to make its accomplishment EASY.

Over and Over
Repetition will make anything easy. Anything you do over gets easier and easier to do; good or bad. Some people get very good at some very bad things. The first time that you rob a bank it will be very difficult, but rob enough of them and it will become so easy that you won’t bother taking the precautions you did back when it was hard, and then find yourself in jail.
Define the behavior that will lead to the success that you want (anything) and then just repeat that behavior until it becomes a habit. You form the habits and the habits then form you. It’s Easy!

“Tick-Tick-Tick”

Time is your best friend or biggest enemy. It takes time to do anything, and time can do anything. That may sound like semantics, but it’s not. Little things repeated over long periods of time create massive achievements.

“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.”
-Benjamin Franklin

Seconds become minutes, then hours, then days, months, years, and in the end a lifetime. What you do during those seconds will determine the quality of life you live. The time goes by regardless; it is either working for you or against you and it is what you choose to do that makes the difference.

Choose Your Path
It’s all about choices. As you choose the things you do, you are choosing the direction that your life will go in.
A little exercising on a regular basis will give you a fit body on a permanent basis. Eating good food every day will keep you healthy all day, every day. And yes, working fits in there as well. Good work habits will bring about a rich and rewarding career, regardless of the field you are in.

“They say that Maui…”
I have always loved the words to that song. Personally it’s hard for me to say which island is the best, for they each have their own intrinsic beauty. I love the wide open spaces on the Big Island, the variety of Oahu, the mystery of Molokai, the fun of Maui, and I have often said, “I could spend the rest of my life as a rock if you planted me in Hanalei Bay on Kauai.”
I continue to see evidence of success is on Maui; but not for everyone. Here are some examples:

Full flight to West Maui
I snapped this photo on my Island Air flight to West Maui.

93% Booked
I asked the rental car shuttle bus driver about business. He said, “Were real busy; 28 of 30 cars are going out every day.”

Check In Line
Generally I hate lines, but I was pleased to see them lining up to check in at the high end Westin Maui hotel. In case you do not know how high, I got a special Kamaaina rate; $255 plus “resort fees.” I asked the front desk clerk how many rooms there are in the hotel and what visitors are paying. He said, “780 rooms at about $400 a night, some much higher.” I did some quick arithmatic, at 80% that’s about $250,000 bucks a night. The  evidence that people are spending money is pretty clear.

Lahaina Town
I checked in, caught up on my e-mail and headed into Lahaina Town at about 4 PM. That’s a pretty dead time as a lot of people are in their rooms resting up or dressing up for a night on the town. In spite of that, I saw plenty of “evidence” of people on the sidewalks.

Red Lights
I also looked into the stores and galleries, and as always it was feast or famine. In Retail Selling Made Easy I talk about “Red Light - Green Light” referring to the physical positioning of salespeople, and whether they are attracting customers or not. Unfortunately I saw more red lights than I to see:

For some, working to attract business was just too much!

Green Lights
In those cases where people were staying busy the green lights were drawing people into their businesses. People stop outside to decide if to go inside. What they see in there makes the decision. To be busy; get busy!

Almost Dinner Time
It was now getting close to dinner time so I peeked into a few Lahaina bars to see how they were doing. I was pleased to see a lot of people having a good time eating and drinking before dinner.

There was a waiting line already at Bubba Gumps on Front Street.

Show Time
I decided to head back to Kaanapali before dark to see how things looked at Whalers Village. As I was passing by Lahaina Cannery Mall I saw a lot of people gathering across the street, so I parked to check it out.

Old Lahaina Luau
People were lining up in large numbers to see the Old Lahaina Luau. I asked someone at the reservation desk how many people they have tonight, and she said, “280 so far, but there will be more walk-ins.” I aked the price and she said, “$93 per person.” Again I did the arithmatic; $26,040!

Hyatt Luau
On my way to Whalers Village I dropped by the Maui Hyatt Regency to see if they have a luau happening as well. They did; 480 people at $99 each. Added up that’s another $47,520! Are you keeping track? Are you feeling good about the opportunity yet? If not, there’s more.

Leilani’s on the Beach
As I arrived at Whalers Village I peered into Leilani’s on the Beach and saw a packed house having dinner. I looked across the sidewalk at Hula Grill and saw another packed house.

The Sunset
I looked around the other way and saw more people snapping memerable photos of the West Maui Sunset.

And as I headed into Whalers Village I was confronted by even more people on their way to the restaurants.
I really hope that these photos and stories will serve to boost your confidence in our Hawaiian opportunity. No doubt that there are still some people on the mainland who are depressed over this so called poor economy, but I must say they are not the ones making the trip to Maui. The people traveling to Hawaii are not the affected by high airfares and or gas prices. Those people are staying home. We are blessed to have a clientelle that is still coming to Hawaii and spending a lot of money to have a good time. Do NOT let anyone bring you down by talking about what is NOT here. Stay focused on what IS here. Help these visitors enjoy their vacation and they will reward you with their business.
Remember this Proverb:
“When the wind doesn’t blow; row!”
I hope you like my positive spin on things; it’s for you.
Happy New Year. Let’s make 2012 the best ever!!!

Bring On 2012

Another Christmas has passed and another new year is in front of us. To make 2012 a great year, plan it that way. Start with reflection, followed by contemplation. Reflect back on 2011 and identify the things you did that resulted in success. Reflect also on the things you did that resulted in failure. Past failures can lead to future successes when seen in the proper light. Take responsibility, don’t accept any excuses. Do something different.

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
-Albert Einstein

Whatever you did last year got you whatever you got last year. If you truly want more next year you must do something differently. Decide the changes that you would like to bring about and then think about the behavior that will lead to those changes. Always focus on things within your control. You can control what you do, and when you do what works best, you will get the best results.

New Year’s Resolutions
Make New Year’s Resolutions and then stick to them. Most people break them when it gets a little tough to live up to them. Sticking to your resolutions and making changes can be difficult but it’s not impossible.

You Don’t?
This was the patriotic response to the anti-establishment campaigns in the 60’s. That same phrase is applicable to your job.

Look Familiar?
Some people drag themselves into the office in the morning looking like cattle going to slaughter, and then running to their cars at the end of the day to be the first ones out of the parking lot. I used to wonder, “Where are they going that’s so exciting?”
I can think of very few things worse than devoting 40 hours a week; more, or even less to a job you don’t enjoy doing. The reality is that life is just too short to spend it any other way than happy. The phrase, “Thank God it’s Friday” is about getting off work the last day of the week. Then there’s “Hump Day” on Wednesday meaning the week is half over. There are two ways to get out of a job you don’t love; quit or get fired. The biggest difference is how it looks on your resume. If you love your company but not your current position, then strive to excel at it and you will get promoted or recruited out of it.

Do YOU?
I’ve heard it said many ways that when you find a job you love, you will never work a day of your life. I find myself looking over my shoulder every day to see if anyone notices that I am not working. By most definitions, I “work” 70 to 80 hours every week, never take days off and have never taken a vacation. If someone were to offer me paid vacation to anywhere in the world, I would ask, “Can I stay right here?” While living in Hawaii makes that attitude a bit easier than elsewhere, I have felt that way no mater where I lived or what I was doing, and yes, I have done my share of menial tasks.
Here’s a list of things you can do and tell yourself that will help you love your job.

-Think back to the day you were looking for a job and landed the one you have. Remember how happy you were to get it?
-Never say, “I have to go to work” because you don’t. Every city has it’s share of homeless and unemployed people, and you are free to join them if you wish. Unless you are serving a prison sentence, you don’t HAVE TO go to work.
-Say, “I GET TO go to work.” Having a job is a privilege and it’s something you decided you wanted, so keep saying that.
-If there is an unpleasant aspect of your job, get it out of the way early while you are still fresh. Keep saying to yourself, “Do It Now!”
-Keep Smiling. You will feel good when you do.

“No” “Stop” “You Can’t”
There are several others of course, but too many times we hear these words and the person saying them is insensitive to their impact.
I went into a fancy coffee shop in an exclusive department store the other day to meet with a client. Upon our arrival I saw that half of the tables were full and the other half empty. As we approached one of the empty tables an employee barked out, “You cannot sit there.” I stood there a bit stunned and as I was calculating my response she said, “We had a leak in the ceiling and needed to close that section.” What’s wrong with this scenario?

Reason First
The fact that we couldn’t use those tables was reasonable; her approach was not. It was only after my initial reaction (negative) to her first words that I knew why we couldn’t sit there. It would have been better if she originally had said, (in a polite tone) “I’m sorry, but we have a water leak from above and had to close off this section.” Not only would I have understood, but I wouldn’t want to sit there. Your first words set the stage; think first, speak later.

It’s in the Fine Print
Headlines (and too many people) will continue to look for problems and in doing so be blind to the opportunities. To name a few:
-This Year’s Black Friday weekend (I hate that name) hit a record $10 Billion in spending.
-Cyber Monday crossed over the $1 Billion mark for the first time.
-This years Honolulu Marathon (next Sunday) will bring in $107,000,000, which is a good million more than last year.
-In Hawaii, November had a 2.3% increase in visitor arrivals and a 15.6% gain in spending over October.
-Bank profits increased to $35.3 Billion in the 3rd quarter; for the 9th consecutive time compared to last year.
-Home sales continue to rise at tens of millions of dollars each.
-Personally, I have many retail clients setting all time records in sales.
And lastly, Men’s Health Magazine named Honolulu as the best place in the country to be happy.

Turn it Around!
Those who are not happy with the state of affairs might be looking through the wrong end of the telescope.

WIIFM?
Whenever asked to do something, most people filter the request through “WIIFM” which stands for “What’s in it For Me?” Unless there’s good answer to that question it many times will not be done. This is true both in parenting as in managing salespeople.

Do it For the Customer
Too often salespeople that want to sell more are thinking more of themselves than their customers. The customer will benefit more from the sale than anyone else. When a sale is made, there are a lot of people who benefit; the salesperson, the store or company, the vendor, the landlord, plus the state and country. All of these benefits are monetary. What the customer gets out of the deal will last longer than the money will last for any of the others.

“Mine, No Mine!”
One of the worst things that can happen in sales is salespeople arguing over whose sale it is. Whenever I am asked to referee one of those arguments, I ask, “Who did the customer give the money to?” When you get good service in a restaurant you don’t drop your tip on any old table on your way out.

Teamwork Works!
Those that work together get more done. Here’s a good rule to keep in mind; “The commission on any one sale is never more important than your relationship with your co-worker.” If you make this and the “Customer First” a part of your being, you will succeed more than the selfish people who get it turned backwards.

Stay Away From Joe

Andy Capp
Cartoonist, Reg Smythe, who created the working class comic strip hero Andy Capp, died of cancer at 81 in 1998. He drew the Andy Capp comic strip for the Daily Mirror for more than 40 years.

Another character in the series was called Joe Btfsplk, a name that is next to impossible to pronounce. Joe served to illustrate how some people are. He walked around with his own private rain cloud over his head, and anyone coming close to him would have some terrible form of bad luck. Because of his reputation Joe was a very lonely and feared little man.
The “Joe’s” in our society today are those people that always have a bad news story to share with you. They are the first ones to tell you about a coming storm, accident on the freeway, problem in their life or, YES the downside of any economical time. And they can bring you “bad luck” if you listen, even worse if you buy in to their negativity.
Someone once told me, “An unwelcome visitor soon departs.” When you run into “Joe”, let him know how unwelcome his tales of woe are and he and his cloud will go rain on someone else.

Questions:

-How many animals of each SPECIES did Moses take onto the ark?
-Some months have 31 days; some have 30 days. How many have 28 days?
-You go into a log cabin with one match in a matchbox. In the cabin is a wood-burning stove, a paraffin lamp and a candle. Which do you light first for maximum WARMTH?
-Before Mount Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain on Earth?
-How far can a three-legged tiger run into the woods?

It is amazing how otherwise smart people can miss the point in a statement or question just because they were not “listening” carefully.

Answers:

-It wasn’t Moses who went onto the ark — it was Noah.
-All the months have 28 days.
-You’d need to light the match first!
-Everest was the highest mountain on Earth even before it was discovered.
-Halfway is the answer, because after halfway, it will be running “out” of the woods!

Those questions use a technique called “sleight of voice.” Just like stage magicians use sleight of hand to misdirect your attention. The same technique can apply to spoken or written communication. For example, bolding of the word SPECIES, might cause one not to notice the name Moses.

Confusion or misdirection can occur in everyday speech, either on purpose or accidentally.
Always be aware of the effect of your words, and when listening, watch out for “filters” in your brain that might cause you to mishear what was really said.