INVISIBLE

The Great White Yard Shark looks for places to hide when it’s time to take her morning medicine. She is getting old and was recently prescribed yet another daily medication. This one is tuna flavored and she loves it. She knows however that to get the tuna she has to bear the awful tasting first medicine. Life is like this sometimes.

IT HURTS

To get to the good stuff we may need to wade through some muddy waters. Too many people miss out on the goodies in order to avoid rejection. Salespeople are the guiltiest of all. Many salespeople are afraid to talk to prospects that are likely to say, “NO!”

“I was told to avoid the business all together because of the rejection. People would say to me, ‘Don’t you want to have a normal job and a normal family?’ I guess that would be good advice for some people, but I wanted to act.”
-Jennifer Aniston

Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky said it another way;
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

How many shots will you take today? These and many other quotes on the subject amount to “Life Lessons” for the willing observer. Learn to handle rejection and keep on going. Whether it is a sales prospect, a job prospect or even a love interest, never let a rejection keep you from moving on to the next prospect.

SUCCESS MADE EASY
I have a chapter in SUCCESS MADE EASY entitled, “Stuff Happens.” I’m sure that you have heard that saying. Yes, I cleaned it up a little for the book, but its true; STUFF HAPPENS, it happens to everyone. It’s not the “stuff” that matters, it’s how you deal with it. Deal with it head on, move on and discover success.

TWO YEARS LATER
As our President arrived in Hawaii for another vacation I was reminded of this blog post I did when he was here two years ago. The last I read was that he is STILL sneaking a puff here and there. I am okay with the President taking a vacation now and then, most have, and the last one far more than this one. I’m also glad that he chooses to come to Hawaii as the press helps, but I am still waiting for that total declaration of tobacco abstinence. Once he does that, he can get on the bandwagon and encourage America’s youth to follow the leader. Leaders must be very careful about the images they portray, as they will be followed by many; right or wrong. Here’s what I said two years ago: Oh, and don’t miss the comments at the end; and add your own if you want.    

Say It Isn’t So
When I read that President Elect Barack Obama declared that you won’t catch him lighting up a cigarette in the smoke-free White House, I was hoping that he would go on to say that you wouldn’t catch him smoking a cigarette anywhere. But NO; the word is that he still occasionally smokes a cigarette. During the campaign he said, “I figure, seeing as I’m running for president, I need to cut myself a little slack.” Well, now you are the President and you need to think about being the right role model younger people need to see.

Mo Betta Image
We would all be better off if Obama were to maintain a healthy image and set healthy standards for Americans to follow. A while back, when the campaign began I read that he was going to quit smoking because “his wife wants him to.” While it’s good to know that she is that smart, that isn’t a good enough reason to quit.

Times Have Changed
A number of years ago the country as whole wasn’t very smart about the effects of tocacco. I remember my father lying in a hospital bed dying of lung cancer and smoking cigaretts provided by the hospital. Such a thing would be thought of as absurd today.

Manly Image?
When John Kennedy lit up a cigar he was seen as a “man’s man.” Today doing so would be seen as foolish. I doubt if he would be a smoker today.

Big Thinker?
And a pipe smoker today, unlike in Gerald Ford’s day, would more likely be thought of as a stinker than a thinker.

“Hey Dude, whazzup?”
And what was this guy smoking anyway?

2010 NOTE: I was advised via a comment that this is a great photo shop job, and I can see that now, but it’s just too funny to delete.

Hooked!!!
I am certain there are bigger Apple fans than I am, but I’d bet that most of them are more knowledgeable about the technology than I am. Once I got my first iPhone I was hooked on the brand.

Aiport Extreme
Today I have the latest iPhone4 as well as the new MacBook Air and Airport Extreme sending WIFI throughout the house.

Recently I bought the new $149 Beatles package, and am loving it. The documentaries are fabulous and there are songs in there that I have never heard before.

Airport Express
My latest Apple “discovery” was the Airport Express where I was told that I could stream my iTunes and Pandora music wirelessly from my computer or iPhone through my Bose stereo system throughout the house for a mere $99.
I went to the Waikiki Apple store and asked one of the “experts” to tell me all about it and what I needed to make this magic happen. He said that since I already have the Extreme, that all I need is the Express hardware and a cable. I asked about installation and he said, “Just plug it in and go.” I repeated, “That’s all?” he nodded and said, “Yep, that’s all.” I handed him my VISA card and said, “Sold!”

“#!~&*!”
I rushed home and enthusiastically opened up the two boxes, plugged it in, and NOTHING! All I saw was a blinking yellow light on the Express. I tried again and again; NOTHING!!!
So I packed it all up and decided to return it to Apple Waikiki. However, I found myself in Ala Moana that same day with a few minutes to spare, so I strolled into the Apple store and asked a different “expert” what I was doing wrong. That’s when I learned that there is an extensive “one time only configuration process” I need to do so that the Express will be recognized by the Extreme. He showed me the process and I screamed, “Over my head.” He suggested I sign up for Apple Care; Tech Support Hot Line and they will walk me though it over the phone. Cost; $250.
Instead, I contacted my personal geek and he informed me further that all I could stream is what I have on my iTunes, not Pandora. However there is a software called Airfoil that I can download, and it will allow me to play anything. He sent me a link to that software saying, “I suggest you do it.” I emailed back saying, “You get over here and do it.” he said, “Sure thing.”

Worth It All
One of my all time favorite Einstein quotes is, “I’m no smarter than anyone else, I just stick with the problem longer.” Now that’s pretty smart!

Beautiful, Eh?
Actually when it rains for more than a few hours in Hawaii havoc is created. Traffic is jammed, potholes open up, streets get flood, power goes out, and people freak out.
That’s been the case here for the past two days, and right in the heat of the Christmas Shopping fever. I went to Ala Moana Mall this morning and found more than half of the retail stores without power and many with closed signs in the window. Understandable; right?

Not if you are Apple
Of all the stores you would think need power to function, one would be a computer store, right? When I saw Apple blacked out, I thought they were closed, but when I went to look, I found their employees outside, cheerfully greeting customers and letting them know that they are open for business, taking orders and making appointments. I was impressed.
One of my favorite sayings is, “One who wants to finds a way, one who doesn’t finds an excuse.” Apple found a way while many wallowed in their excuse.

Revisited: The experience cited in this posting happened again today thus I feel motivated to resurface it. 

Get a Full Jar
We see tip jars on the counter at a lot of places where nothing is being done to earn a tip. My favorite example of this is the coffee shop where they hand you an empty paper cup, with a tip jar right there in front of you. When this happens I point to the tip jar and ask, “What’s that for?”

Do It Yourself
After paying for the coffee, and maybe leaving a tip, you have to walk across the room and fill your own cup from some pump pot, which sometimes is empty or even cold.

Service Pays
People working for tips must be of service first, and then smart enough to get tipped for doing so.
I recently saw two examples of things some employees do that hurt the tip total. I was in a coffee shop and the tab was $3.03. Would someone be likely to give a 97 cent tip on $3 ticket? Most people would not, but I might. I don’t like carrying change in my pocket. As I reached into my pocket the clerk reached into the tip jar and dug out 3 cents and handed it to me. Was I grateful? Was that the thing to do? No! NOT! She not only robbed her co-workers of the 3 cents, but also of the 97 cents I would have put into the jar. I left without tipping.

Be Smart
On another occassion recently my check was $14.85. I paid with a $20 bill. The clerk handed me 15 cents and a $5 bill. I was in a generous mood, so I called her over and said, “Never do that.” She said, “Do what?” I said, “Take this $5 and give me five $1 bills, and I will show you.” As she did, I asked her if she knows why I wanted her to do that. She said, “No.” I dropped the 15 cents and two of the $1 bills into her tip jar and said, “See, I wouldn’t have given you the $5.” Did she appreciate the “tip” or the tip? No and nope, she said, “I wouldn’t want someone to give me five $1 bills instead of a $5 bill, just to get a tip.” I explained to her that it was not for her to get the tip, but to enable me the opportunity to give her one. Did she appreciate the advice? Apparently not, I returned a couple of days later and the tab was the same. I gave her $20 and sure enough, got back 15 cents and a $5 bill. I said, “Don’t you remember what I showed you the other day?” She said, “I’m a supervisor and don’t get any of the tip money anyway.” What does that tell you?

By Curtis Wilson Cost

This is a re-print of a memo that Curtis Cost sent to his staff:

Many years ago, I had a tennis-lesson-from-hell at the Maui Country Club. Steve, the club pro, came up to the edge of the net and asked me to hit the one stroke I was absolutely certain I could return successfully within his reach every single time. He would hit it back to me and we would count how many hits we could accumulate before missing a ball. He fed me a ball and we started rallying and reached 10 or 15 before I missed one. Steve re-approached the net and said again, “Hit the one ball you know you can hit each and every time.”
The next rally got to 30 or so before I missed another. Steve once again approached the net but this time he raised his voice. “Hit the one ball YOU KNOW you can get back safely!” His tone was a little unnerving and I started to wonder what gave him the right to speak to me like that. After all, I was his client, not his subordinate. Our next rally got to about 35 hits before I hit another a little out of his reach. All of a sudden, Steve threw down his racket and marched up to the net and yelled at me. “CURTIS, HIT THE ONE YOU KNOW YOU CAN HIT BACK SAFELY EVERY SINGLE TIME!”

I stood there completely aghast as he walked back to pick up his racket. He turned and calmly fed me another ball. I was beside myself. I could not believe the nerve of this guy. I decided that I would report his abuse to the club’s board of directors. When the ball reached me I hit it so focused on not missing another one that I hit a safe little dink, just to make sure it went back to him. I did this again and again, focusing and concentrating on my footwork, bending my knees, stepping through the ball making absolutely sure I got it back to him. We reached well over a hundred hits. At that point Steve grabbed the ball out of the air. “Exactly! That is exactly what I’m after. That focused little dink you’re hitting is the one I’m looking for. You need to be aware that you possess it. That’s the shot you need to rely on. It’s the absolute minimum and essential shot that will get you out of trouble.”

I walked away intent upon reporting him to the club officials. He had clearly crossed the line. On the other hand I DID learn what he meant for me to learn. There is a place to go to, mentally, which has a different focus. I didn’t know that I possessed a shot which I can hit every time if I focused and concentrated on removing all the unnecessary variables. I would not have found it if Steve hadn’t taken it to such extremes. In my quiver of tennis strokes, this is the one on which my game is now based.

My motive in telling this story has to do with The Boss goals in the Morning Report. When you set your Boss goals, you need to use the same strategy.

The Boss is an instrument to HELP you, not demoralize you. If it is demoralizing you, the goals are not set right. Set your goal at something you KNOW you can daily attain. It’s okay for it to be low, but it MUST BE REACHED EVERY SINGLE MONTH. Remember, it’s an average. You might make up a few bad days with one good day. But it is vital that you commit to a number and maintain it.

It’s also equally important to use the diagnostics Ron Martin provides to improve your performance to higher levels, such as the Sales City Express.

Everything yields to focused concentration and attainable goals. It’s a proven system you can rely on. The charts are illuminating if you use them, but they must be used to do any good.

Ask others for tips and advice. Make Pro-active, No-Pressure Selling the focus of your time at work. Read a chapter in the book before starting each shift. Rehearse the steps with every customer.
Set reasonable and reachable goals and commit to them.
-Curtis

What if it Was?
I went into a popular coffee shop today and ordered a medium size coffee. The barista looked at me, smiled broadly and said, “Hey, I read your book.” Of course I was flattered and asked him when he did, and where he bought it. He then told me that I had given it to him to read when applying for a job with a client of mine. He then said, “I am going to return it because I got this job that same day.” His face wasn’t familiar, and I asked, “How long ago was that?” He said that it was quite a while ago and repeated that he intends to return the book. I reminded him that he should do that, and handed him the money for the coffee. He then shook his head and said. “It’s on me.” As we walked away, a friend who was with me said, “It’s amazing how generous people are with someone else’s money.” My thought was, “I’m sure glad this guy isn’t working for my client.” I feel certain that the coffee, and God only knows what else, were “on the company” with his generosity. I did not feel grateful, would you?

“Who Do You Know…?”
One of my “sermons” is “Asking for Referrals.” I was just confronted with the fact that I don’t always practice what I preach. When Shirley Pai Hilton, the owner of Pacific Imports International called on me recently to help her increase sales in her company, I asked her how she heard of me. She said that she originally found me on the Internet and that she gets my Daily Motivator. She then said that she noticed (on my website) that one of my clients is a good friend of hers, but that he did not mention me to her. When we met, we discovered that two other people she knows are on my client list. They had not referred me either.
There’s no better form of advertising than a good word from one of your existing customers, but you may have to ask for it. People know others that have needs similar to theirs, but like you, they are busy and may not think about you. So, think about yourself and ask, “Who do you know…?” It’s a “Win-Win” question.