Life and Death
This moving article in The Daily Beast describes Ted Kennedy’s final days. I hope that I too will be able to get out of bed on my last day here on earth.
I clearly remember the emotion surrounding the death of both JFK and RFK. Neither of them had the opportunity to live out their last days as Teddy did.

They All Have Families Too
The first three pages of today’s Honolulu Advertiser were filled with “Teddy Tales.” We were able to read a lot about his mourning family. I too mourn his death.
At the bottom of the 3rd page was this article. It talks about an American solier being killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan yesterday. The article said, “The death brought to 44 the number of U.S. troops who have died in Afghanistan this month with four days left in August.” I wonder how many mourning family members that represents, along with close to 5,000 other Americans killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. ALL of those deaths could have been avoided. How important were these lives to those that sent them over there?

It’s Enough to Make One Scream
Almost everyone I talk to, and definately those I work with, are seeing a recovery from past months, and are beginning to feel optimistic. Then along comes Pacific Business News with this latest fear mongering headline: “Recession to continue in Hawaii through ‘09″
As usual, you need to read down into the story to see how meaningless the headline is. In this case the 2nd paragraph say’s, “The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism said in its report released Monday that it expects a 1.1 percent decline in the state’s 2009 gross domestic product and a 3 percent decline in the average job count for the year.”
Isn’t “98.9% stable” enough to warrant an encouraging headline?

Success Blooms
An affirmation is a statement that you make to yourself over and over; so many times that it sinks down into your subconscious and becomes reality.

Affirmations Work! Here’s one that I wrote in about 1970, and continue to say to myself to this day, mostly while out walking or exercising.

“God supplies all my needs now; infinite intelligence guides me to the health and the wealth and success that are mine, deep down inside me.”

Borrow mine, or write your own, but try it. The affirmation will flash into your mind in a time of need.

“Warm it Up”
In a restaurant recently a wait person asked me if I would like some more coffee. I had about a quarter cup left, and said, “You can warm this up, thank you.” He took my cup to the kitchen, micro-waved the existing coffee and brought it back to me, “warmed up”. Actually it was now too hot to drink.
Be careful what you ask for, it just may be taken literally.

Ask Yourself, “What if…?”
What if you were blind and could suddenly see?
What if you were deaf and could suddenly hear?
What if you were numb and could suddenly feel?
What if your nose was blocked and could suddenly smell?
What if your taste buds were dead and could suddenly taste?

Unless you are unusually gifted or severely handicapped you have these five senses. Each one is a reason to be joyful.

How would you feel if you lost everything you have and then suddenly got it all back? Rejoyce over the things you have while striving for more. It will make the journey easier to endure.

When the Fun Stops
Too many times I see proven, experienced salespeople “lose it” for one reason or another. They drift into bad habits, adopt shortcuts and or bad attitudes. Once that happens they are better off moving along to someplace new. As much as we hate to have people quit and leave, it’s worse when they quit and stay.

Shiny
Just as often I see a “newbie” come on board and outsell the knowledgeable old pro. How can this be? My Dad told me, “The new broom sweeps clean.”
New salespeople bring some qualities to the team that the seasoned pro may have lost somewhere along the way.

-They still think everyone is going to buy; so they try.
-They still think they need to follow the rules, so they do.
-They still think they have a lot to learn, so they study.
-They still think they are working for a great company and they show it.
-They still think they need to follow the system, so they don’t take shortcuts.
-They still think their appearance is important, so they look their best.

When experienced salespeople maintain these qualities they are unbeateable.

“Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered–either by themselves or by others.”
-Mark Twain

The Genius Bar
I sometimes question Apple’s use of the word “Genius” when describing the “help counter” found at all Apple Stores. As conceited as that sounds, sometimes true gunius exists there. Recently Hawaii enacted a new law outlawing the use of handheld devices while driving. At about the same time as the law went into effect both of my iPhone ear buds became defective, so I took them to the genius bar.

Genius Indeed
The resident “genius” blew some canned air into the earbud socket on my iPhone and a fairly large amount of pocket lint came out. He handed me back the iPhone and the earbuds worked perfecly. Genius!