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.

You Look Better When You Do
One the easiest success principles is smiling:
There are Many Reasons to Keep Smiling:
Smiling Makes You More Approachable.
Smiling Puts You in a Better Mood.
Smiling Relieves Stress.
Smiling Boosts Your Immune System.
Smiling Lowers Your Blood Pressure.
Smiling Releases Endorphins and Natural Pain Killers.
Smiling Lifts the Face and Makes You Look Younger.
Smiling Makes You Seem Successful.
Smiling Helps You Stay Positive

Make it Sincere
A phoney smile can be seen right away. Be sure your smile is genuine. Smile so broadly that your teeth show. Never offer that “stretched lip” smile that people give to strangers walking by.

Tick - Tick - Tick
The five minutes before you are supposed to be somewhere can be stressful or calm, and you get to decide which it will be. Needless stress is unhealthy, yet too many people experience it by simply arriving someplace at the last minute or even worse, late. Arriving at the last minute can leave you breathless, perspiring and stressed, with no time to mentally prepare. When you arrive late your reputation is tarnished, and depending upon the situation, lost business as well.
When you arrive just five minutes early, those five minutes can be spent relaxing and preparing for what you are about to do. I have this little “trick” I play on myself. I keep my watch five minutes fast. Although I have done this for many years, and I know well that it is fast, it still works. When I do arrive at the last minute (by my watch), I go, “Whew” and relax.
Try It! Life is too short to be stressed, and even shorter if you are.

Really?
One of the services I provide to a few of my clients is recruiting salespeople. I run ads on Craigslist, communicate a few times via e-mail to screen out those just trying to maintain their unemployment, and then arrange an interview with those who seem serious.
Sometimes I am shocked. I wonder if “Interviewing for a Job” is taught in school. I try to remain as objective as I can prior to scheduling an interview.

Your Resume:
Here are some of the things to avoid if you truly want an interview.
.  Blank Subject Lines
.  Poor use of English
.  No resume
.  Misspelled words
.  Failure to list hobbies and interests
.  No dates for past positions
.  Lack of References

Your Interview
I am often appalled by how people appear for the interview.
Some Recent Examples:
.  Wearing t-shirts, shorts, and slippers
.  Sloppy or poor grooming
.  Flaunting of tattoos and facial jewelry
.  When I interview people with potential, I ask them if they would be willing to “lose” the facial jewelry while on the job. Most say that they would, and I think, “Why didn’t you lose it for the interview?” I had one this week with a swollen and bleeding lip piercing. I mentioned it and she said, “I just got it.” I thought, “Why would you do that just before interviewing for a job?”
.   Another turn off at the interview is people who trash their previous employer or manager as the reason for leaving or being fired.  And there are those who show up late for the interview, or even worse, don’t show up at all, and then send an e-mail later with some excuse and asking for another appointment time.

Tips for your Interview:
Obvious as these things should be, if you really want to get the job:
.  Dress up your resume with a short meaningful cover letter.
.  Spell-check before e-mailing.
.  Arrive dressed as you would if you already had the job.

Where there’s a will…

It was mid-December (2007) when I contacted Budget Rent-a-Car saying that I needed a car on Maui on Christmas Day. “No way,” or something like that was the response. I had to understand, since Christmas Day begins the busiest week of the year here in Hawaii.
One week later I was on a plane to Maui and got into a discussion with the guy next to me. He turned out to be a VP of National Car Rental. I explained my Christmas Day dilemma and he said, “If I can get you a car, can we have your business?” I said, “You can for that trip, for sure. Where we go from there we will have to see; I have been loyal to Budget for more than 25 years.”
He gave me his card saying, “E-mail me your flight information and I will see what I can do.” I did, and when I arrived on Maui on Christmas Day, there was a driver waiting for me with a brand new car.
Well that was four years ago, and I have not been back to Budget since.
It pays to be willing to go the extra mile to get (and or keep) business.

It’s Healthy
When I encourage people to compete, I often hear negative responses. I have heard that (in sales) competition brings out the worst in people. I guess in some cases that’s true, but not in most.

You do NOT have to be #1 to Win
When you compete you win. When a group of people race to the finish line, only ONE of them gets there first, but ALL of them get there faster than they would if they were not racing.

Team Competition
A great example of positive competitive spirit can be seen at The Olympics. Every country that is represented competes fiercely with the athletes from other countries. But, they also compete with their own team members.

Going for the Gold
While each member of every team would like to be #1, there’s only one Gold Medal. There’s also a lot of fame and fortune in the future of that Gold Medal winner. In spite of all that’s at stake, they cheer their team mates on, and they celebrate with the winner. The competition never gets ugly. I have heard it said that you cannot pay a nice person enough money to be mean or nasty. It’s not about the prize or the money, it’s about who you are.

Attitude + Behavior = Results
I’m big on simplicity. Everyone wants better results. Too many people count on luck and other uncontrollable factors to credit or excuse their results. Keep your attention on things you can control and you will remain in control of the results.

Success Systems Make You Look Lucky
When things are done systematically, your feelings and judgements are not in control. It’s important to do what works regardless of your feeings. When you decide “if” to do something that you should, you may opt not to. Retail Selling Made Easy gives salespeople a track to run on eliminating the need to play mental combat with customers.

Make it Automatic
There some actions that are just as important as brushing your teeth. Those things should be done just as automatically. Determine ideal “success behavior” and make that as “automatic” as brushing your teeth. You will have some wonderful suprises. When you do this you will see “it” work when you didn’t feel like doing “it” and at times you didn’t think “it” would.

“TIAD” is a disease that successful salespeople are susceptible to, and it is most prevalent in the last week of the month or final hours of the day.
“TIAD” pronounced Tie-Add, stands for Thumbs In Armpit Disease. This is a syndrome where people start celebrating their success before the end of the game. It occurs in sports as well as in selling.
“You can get your thumbs so far up there that they block your vision of current new opportunities.”
-Ron Martin
The nice thing about TIAD is that only successful people catch it. And when accused of having TIAD, remember that denial is a symptom of the disease.

Keep Score
Sometime in the 80’s I read Chuck Cooradt’s book The Game of Work and it clarified what I have been feeling my whole life.
Work can be fun, and when you think of it as a fun game everything changes.
What do games all have in common? Right; some form of scorekeeping. Coonradt say’s, “We watch the score while the game’s in progress so we can change behavior to win BEFORE the time runs out.”
When I was first exposed to retail I was shocked at how many businesses tallied up the totals at the end of the month, or even worse 20 days into the following month in order to calculate percentage rent.
Keep score day by day, or even better hour by hour. You will have more fun and make more money as well.

It Pays Off
To have greater results in life, have a positive attitude. Your attitude will determine the impact of your experiences. There is a chapter in Success Made Easy entitled STUFF HAPPENS! You cannot control the “stuff” but you can determine the attitude you approach the “stuff” with. A positive attitude creates more positive thoughts and results. Choose to have a positive attitude and you will live extraordinarily - Every Day!

Half Full!
Always see the glass half full. It works for me and it will work for you. You choose your attitude and your attitude shapes your surroundings.