The Tim McGraw Guide To Sales Success
Nashville 2004: The secrets to being a successful salesperson were released by an unnamed government agency in the form of the lyrics used for a country music song.
The artist chosen to encode ” The Secrets “, Tim McGraw, son of the late Tug McGraw and husband to Faith, did an admirable job of encoding, so it’ll be necessary for me to decode and decipher.
I’ve done so below, but use ” The Secrets “ at your own risk. Any extra taxes you have to pay on the increased number of sales you make is your own problem.
When I’m here on this highway
Breathing diesel smoke
Driving hard for hours
Trying to make that Memphis show
People always ask me
“Son what does it take
To reach out and touch your dreams?”
To them I always say
Some of us in the profession of selling for a living have to ( or get to ) spend a lot of hours driving down the highways between appointments.
It can wear on you. Before the days of satellite radio and iPods, it was tougher. Here in 2008, I always have hours of mp3’s waiting for me in the form of podcasts, teleseminars and interviews. I learn more now that I ever thought possible and I do it in between cellphone calls, stops for BBQ and catfish and, oh yeah, sales calls.
But even then you have to have a little something extra to keep you moving towards the next sales call and to keep you from stopping to waste time in a mall, at a driving range or just sitting in a park or parked watching sailboats.
Are you hungry?
Are you thirsty?
Is it a fire that burns you up inside?
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you need it?
Are you eating, sleeping, dreaming
With that one thing on your mind?
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you need it?
Cause if you want it all
You’ve got to lay it all out on the line
Hunger is one of ” The Secrets ” that keeps you moving forward. Hunger for more.
More money. More recognition. More power. More territory. More whatever it is that works for you, but you need hunger.
How bad do you want to stand out ? How bad do you want to beat last month’s sales numbers ? How bad do you want that new whatever it is you want ?
You cannot go into a day without a burning desire to get everything out of it that you can get and hope to succeed. Won’t work. Ain’t no free rides in the world of sales.
I get to make my living
Doing what I love
Every night I give my heart and soul
Sometimes that ain’t enough
But brother, if you’re like me
Looking down that road
Be careful of that wild wind, son
Sometimes it don’t let go
I get to do what I was meant to do and get paid for it. I played in a charity golf scramble today and one of the guys paired up with me asked me what it is I do.
For me, the answer was short, sweet and simple - ” I sell. “
No adjectives were necessary.
After we had played about 9 holes and he’d been around me for about 2 hours, he said it was easy to see why I do what I do.
” You’re a born salesman, aren’t you ? “
I don’t think people are born to sell, but I believe some of us were hardwired at birth to have the ability to learn to sell … and love every minute of it.
Can you feel it?
Can you taste it?
Can you hear it knocking at your door?
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you need it?
Are you eating, sleeping, dreaming
With that one thing on your mind?
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you need it?
Cause if you want it all
You’ve got to lay it all out on the line
I think about selling all day and night. When I’m eating, when I’m driving, when I’m talking.
18/7/365. I do sleep a little bit and I don’t know how to control my dreams, so I can’t say I dream about selling, although I do every now and then.
You have to see how selling correlates to every, single thing you come in connect with.
If you don’t see a roadside sign and see how to make it better, you need a new profession.
If you go into a store and you don’t think about how you could have helped the person who waited on you, get a new job.
Why ? Because you ain’t eatin’, sleepin’, dreamin’ with that one thing on your mind.
That’s another of ” The Secrets “, single, minded devotion to your craft.
There’s always a price you pay no matter what you do
If you’re gonna climb that mountain to the top
It always comes down to
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you need it?
Are you eating, sleeping, dreaming
With that one thing on your mind?
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you need it?
Cause if you want it all
You’ve got to lay it all out on the line
If someone tells you they’re in sales and it’s really easy, they’re either lying or they aren’t really a salesperson, just an order taker in a product rep-type of position.
There’s a price to pay for success.
” Opportunity is missed by most people, because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. ” ~ Thomas Edison
When you get up in the morning, you have to be ready to give it up all day.
” The Secrets “ are in the song, but every one of us will hear different ones, because we’re at different times in our lives, so you’ll have to listen to it yourself and then listen.
No, really, just listen.
Simple.
Prince Goes Crazy and Sings Teaching Sells Theme Song !
Okay, I admit it. I listen to The Big ’80’s on my Sirius Satellite Radio…sometimes. Not all the time. Sometimes.
Today while driving between projects, I heard Prince do Let’s Go Crazy !
Then I got home and saw the latest additions and a list of coming attractions over at Teaching Sells.
Well, I couldn’t help myself, so I looked up the lyrics and “creatively adapted” them into the unofficial theme song for Brian and Tony.
If you can read this without hearing the tune in your head, you’re one in a million.
Make sure to click the graphic over in the right-hand sidebar before the $1 trial offer expires. Dude, it’s one, single dollar. One.
The Unofficial Teaching Sells Theme Song
Dearly beloved
We are gathered here today
to talk about this thing called Teaching Sells.
Electric course, Teaching Sells
It empowers you forever and that’s a mighty long time
But I’m here to tell you
There’s something else
Your expertise
Your brain has never ending knowledge
You can always sell some advice, day or night
So when you’re ready to profit on the internet
You know you want to, the Clark boys will make everything alright
Instead of asking them how much it costs
Ask them how much of your mind you can sell
‘Cuz on the internet
Things are much easier than in Web 1.0
In Web 2.0
You need a product of your own
And if the naysayers try to bring you down
Go crazy - start a membership site
If you don’t like the world you’re living in
Take a look around you
At least you got friends - Brian and Tony
You see I called some other guru’s
for a friendly word
They picked up the phone
Dropped it on the floor
A bunch of crap is all I heard
Are we gonna let the other guru’s
Bring us down
Oh, no Let’s Go!
Let’s go crazy
Let’s get nuts
Let’s look for the Teaching Sells banner
And click on it, let’s go!
We’re all excited
And we know why
It’s because
We’re all gonna make more money
And when we do (When we do)
Who’s it all for (Who’s it all for)
We live better now
And the customers come knocking on our door
Tell me, are we gonna let the other guru’s bring us down
Oh, no let’s go!
Let’s go crazy
Let’s get nuts
Look for the Teaching Sells banner
And click on it for a $1 trial offer !
That, my friends, is sheer genius at work … or derangement. One or the other, I’m sure.
Here’s what you’ll miss if you don’t take Brian and Tony up on their $1 trial offer:
Launch Strategies for Membership Sites and Training Programs
This heavily-requested course ties together general membership site marketing with “under the radar” promotional content strategies that lead to big launches (and perpetual re-launches) for big amounts of instant cash.
The “Entreproducer” Model for Online Business Success
What’s an Entreproducer ? It’s a smart person who leverages unique online marketing knowledge and the skills and credentials of others to produce a series of profitable sites… Hollywood style.
Under the Radar Affiliate Marketing
This course will show you step-by-step how to make money online with affiliate marketing. You’ll also discover how to use other people’s products to find out exactly what kind of membership site people will pay for… so this way you’re literally removing any risk of failure.
Quick and Easy Content Strategies
Quality content production can be the biggest stumbling block to online success. This course will demonstrate techniques for cranking out content in multiple media formats… in a lot less time than you might think.
How to Explode Profits with Seminars and Workshops
On of the many business models we’ve explored in Teaching Sells has to do with upselling to live events such as seminars and workshops. This course will take you behind the scenes of the paid-speaking industry to give you what you need to succeed.
About That $1 Trial Offer…
Here’s your “fair warning”.
The $1 trial for seven days is still live, but they’re switching it off at noon Eastern time on Thursday, April 17.
No exceptions, no sob stories accepted.
Jump on board or be left behind as the rest of us outlearn, outearn and outlast the rest of you.
I mean, come on… it’s a buck, right ?
Do You Have a Business, Life or Success Question for Dr. Joe Capista ?
What Can a Dentist Teach You About Business, Life and Success ?
Plenty.
On March 26th at 8 PM Eastern - 5 PM Pacific, I’ll be grilling Dr. Joe Capista about these very topics.
If you’ve read his book or just have a question, click thru and Ask Dr. Joe your most important questions.
If you need to get a copy of his book, which has been getting great reviews, just follow this link.
I just used Google and found over 19,000 references to Dr. Joe, so he must have said something in his book that appealed to everyone !
Join us for 90 minutes of good content and success secrets that you won’t get anywhere else.
What Can A Dentist Teach You About Business, Life and Success ?
This book is a must read.
There I said it and I don’t say it often.
I liked it so much I emailed and emailed and worked like a blogging dog to get you guys a teleseminar with Dr. Joe later this month.
I’m going to hold off on my review, for the most part, except to say I want you to go to Amazon and buy this book.
His Success Triangle is worth 100 times the cost of the book.
Learning to use a mentor like he used Charlie is worth 100 times the cost of the book.
If you want to go from average to excellent, you need this book.
If you use this link, you’ll also get access to over $2500 worth of additional products to help you sustain the success that Dr. Joe Capista will get started in your life.
Stay tuned for the date and time of the teleseminar and I’ll also do my best to get you access to an ASK methodology campaign, so you’ll want to order Dr. Joe’s book to be fully prepared.
27 Secrets to Interviewing Like Larry King - Part Three
” Remember that the right word - the one instantly recognized and understood by your listener - is most often a simple word. ” ~ Larry King
The final installment of this three-part series is finally ready and I’m proud that The Headmaster of Headlines himself saw fit to call on me to write this post.
It’s been so good for me and I’ve gotten so many emails about it, that I just may go back to Brian for more homework assignments !
As my favorite boxing referee, Mills Lane, always said, ” Let’s get it on ! “
19 - Solicit opinions - don’t just state yours. Without a doubt I have an opinion about almost everything. Without a doubt, if all I do is give ‘em away, they won’t be worth much.
In an interview, it’s all about the guest, so keep your opinions to yourself, unless the guest calls on you to give yours.
The only time you might need to interject your opinion is if the one the guest gives is far and away too controversial for you to not point out just how different you feel about the topic.
20 - The perfect volume of your words is hard to quantify. You don’t want to use too many words, but you don’t want to use so few that people think you’re not too bright, nor too interested.
I wish I could tell you how much to talk and how much to listen, but you’ll have to gauge it for yourself and change it every single time you interview someone.
21 - Be curious about everything. The best conversationalists are curious.
” That’s why they’re so good at listening and why they have broad horizons - they’re always learning something new. “ ~ Larry King
If you’re gonna excel at this skill, you’re gonna have to want to learn just for the sake of learning, which is why I love it.
22 - Show empathy. You absolutely must relate to what the other person is saying to get optimum results.
Even if you’re not genuinely interested, you need to be … if only for that short period of time.
Without empathy, the other person will never turn loose of all the nuggets of gold that they have hidden in their heart and mind.
23 - Show your sense of humor. ” When I’m giving a speech, one of my own cardinal rules is ‘ Never stay too serious too long. ” ~ Larry King
People don’t come to be lectured to, they come for entertainment. If you want to try to ramp it up to edutainmen, that’s fine, but stop short of lectures … unless you’re teaching at Columbia Law School.
The easier you smile and laugh, the easier it will be for the other person to smil and laugh. Simple, but entirely necessary.
24 - Don’t blow the show. Nothing’s worse than using tired old phrases, catch phrases, trendy talk and ill-fitting cliches.
Metaphors, which are like cliches, only better, add visual proof to the phrase your using. Cliches just add weight to the basket and make it harder to carry.
Avoid nothing words like ” Basically… “, ” Hopefully… “, ” Whatever… ” and their ilk. ” Umm… ” and ” Uhhhh… ” and starting an answer with ” I mean… ” are for athletes, not interviewers, so avoid those at all costs.
” Sprinkle enough of those around your converation and people will think you’re incapable of talking like the rest of us. “ ~ Larry King
25 - Break bad speech habits. First of all, you must, absolutely must, liten to yourself as the words come out of your mouth. Listen to replays of your interviews.
Even better is to have someone else review your talks and give you ideas of what to do to improve.
Get rid of the mistakes, little by little, and over time, you can break every bad habit of speech that you have at the start.
Remember, you’re at your worst when you begin and you can only get better over time.
Don’t let not being perfect stop your starting. Sloppy success is much better than perfect inaction.
26 - Time is money. Don’t waste the other person’s time talking about unimportant things.
If you do, they won’t come back, they won’t refer people to you and they’ll call your Mother and tell her you stink.
Well, maybe not, but you’re stature will be stunted and you’ll need a growth serum to get rid of the bad mojo they put on you.
Be professional in your approach and treat the other person with respect and dignity.
27 - If you aren’t at ease with the subject, your demeanor will suffer.
Regardless of your ability, remember this:
A) If you feel you’re not good at it, you can be.
B) If you feel you’re good at it, you can be better.
~ Larry King.
‘Nuff said.
27 Secrets to Interviewing Like Larry King - Part Two
I sat, I blogged, I loved it … after it was done.
Kind of a take-off of my tag line, but true to life. The first post in this series may have been the toughest post I’ve ever done, but this one feels like it’s going to be easier, because the work’s already started, so I may as well finish.
That’s what kills more good ideas, and people, than any other variable - Getting started or taking action.
So let’s get more meat on the table and see if we can find any more nuggets of gold in my coal mine mind.
10 - Practice ! Talk out loud to yourself around the house or when you’re driving.
I drive 200-350 miles a day, 3-5 days a week, so I get a lot of time to listen to mp3’s of teleseminars, interviews and the like, but nothing works as well for me as having time to conduct the interview, out loud, answering my own questions, while zippin’ around the highways and byways of Kentucky.
Think about it. If you know in advance the questions you’re going to ask, you can practice the delivery and even practice what the interviewee will say and try out some follow up questions.
Try it tomorrow and then come back here and let me know what you think or how it worked for you.
11 - Be open about yourself. Nobody likes a perfect person. Nobody.
And you ain’t perfect anyway, you just like to think you are.
Let go of some of your personal likes and dislikes, some of your quirks and maybe even a little TMI, every now and then and those who follow you will bond a little deeper and spend a little more, time and money, with you.
12 - Overcome your shyness to keep from making a shy mess.
Larry says, ” The best way I’ve found to overcome shyness is to remind yourself of the old saying that the person you’re talking to puts his pants ( or skirt ) on one leg at a time. “
There’s really no reason to put anybody on a pedestal so high that you can’t tap ‘em on the shoulder and whisper in their ear, as far as I’m concerned.
Even the Emperor needed to be told he had no clothes and you can’t tell ‘em if you can’t reach ‘em.
13 - Enjoy the conversation. That’s all an interview really is - a conversation.
Pretend it’s an old friend, a favorite teacher, a trusted advisor, whatever you need to imagine, but find some way to talk with a faint smile on your face, because that’s a sign of comfort, confidence and closeness.
Those three C’s will make your guest feel like a friend and friends always enjoy talking with friends.
14 - Avoid Questions that can be answered Yes or No - they’re a conversation killer. It’s not that hard to rephrase a question to enable an answer that’s worth hearing.
Hearing a yes or no, most of the time, means you were lazy in assembling the question.
Practicing the questions, like in Secret #10, will help you avoid this situation.
You listenership will drop you like a hot rock in a heatwave if you ask questions like this often enough.
15 - Be prepared. Have your notes ready, but listen to the answers, like in Secret #7 and jump on any opening like a duck on a junebug.
Sure, it’s your job as the professional to be ready and stay on track, but there are times when you hear something that has to be followed up on, even if the next question might get lost in that shuffle.
If I’m interviewing, let’s say Donald Trump, and he intimates that he could give me a tip that would enable me to retire with $5 million in 3 years, if I was interested, I’m going after that secret and the next question in line be damned !
16 - Realize that, especially with someone you don’t know well, there are some topics that are taboo. For example, salary, how much they have in the bank, if they have tattoo’s or piercings, if they’re pregnant, etc.
Like my friend Clint says, ” A man’s gotta know his limitations. ”
And you, as the interviewer du jour, must know the limitations to your interview … or have a good lawyer !
17 - Stay informed. Know what’s going on in the day’s news and what’s going on in the world. To be a really good interviewer, you have to be able to converse about what’s on the other person’s mind, not be willing to tell them about what’s on yours.
All day long I deal with people who don’t know about anything outside of what’s on TV that night and what’s happening in their little, bitty lives.
You, as the Interview King in waiting ( did you catch that ? ), must be well read and widely engaged.
You should read a local newspaper, the USA Today and another nationally circulated daily each and every day. Several magazines, books off the Best Seller lists and some trade magazines should also be part of your monthly regimen of reading.
How can you do that ? Turn off the TV sitcoms and keep the weekly series, like my beloved Survivor, to a minimum of one or two hours per week … not per day.
18 - Remember that ” Why ? “ is the greatest question ever asked. Bar none. My man Larry say’s it’s the simplest and surest way to keep a conversation lively and interesting.
Don’t believe it ? Try this:
Mike: I love watching Survivor ?
Larry: Really ? Why is that ?
Mike: Because I think if I played, I’d win.
Larry: Really ? Why ?
Mike: Well, because of my Army training, my survival skills and my having been a salesman for two decades. I think I could manipulate the whole tribe like paper dolls.
Larry: You’re delusional !
So there’s Secrets 10 thru 18, with numbers 19 thru 27 to follow. I fully intend to prove to Mr. Copyblogger himself that I can finish what I start, have the skills to play like the big boys and am an all-around good guy.
Brian Clark: You’re delusional !
Mike: Sigh.
27 Secrets to Interviewing Like Larry King - Part One
I got called on and called out.
The Headmaster of Headlines himself, Brian Clark, over at Copyblogger.com called on me to write a post by using the headline you see on this post.
His wish, my command.
” I remind myself every morning: Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I’m going to learn, I must do it by listening. ” ~ Larry King
Regardless of your profession - butcher, baker or professional sales maker - you gotta listen to learn.
That’s what I’ve been doing since Copyblogger started - “listening“, although I have to use my own voice, because I haven’t been able to talk Brian into doing enough telewebcasts to fill my mp3 player up with the spillings of his minds matter.
It’s also what I have to do on a daily basis. I have to listen to my customers and potential customers, otherwise I wouldn’t find their pain points and without those, I’d not be able to move $200K to $300K worth of product each month, the profit of which seems to feed my family fairly well.
So, in the same vein, I invite you to listen to me as I try, try and try again to teach you how to interview like Larry King … 27 times over.
1 - Get it on the human level. Larry says that Ted Koppell once told him that if they both covered a fire and one of the firemen came running out his (Ted’s) first question would be, ” What caused the fire ? “ My (Larry’s) first question would be, ” Why do you want to fight fires ? “
Larry always tries to get it down to the human level.
2 - Know little more than the average listener. Larry says, ” If I’m too knowledgeable, I’m not a good interviewer. For example, I’m a baseball freak, so I know a lot about baseball. But I’m not a great interviewer of baseball people because the knowledge impairs me. “
Unless you’re extremely curious about the interview topic or the person you’re interviewing, you risk not paying close enough attention to what’s being said and you may miss following up on and digging deeper into the answer to a question … one that’s never been asked before and holds the key to that person’s gold.
3 - Give all of the power to the one being interviewed. Larry gets interviews with high profile people because they feel like they’re going to come out on top.
The secret to a good deal is for both parties to feel like they got the better end of the deal.
Remember that. Use it. Profit from it.
4 - Don’t let your emotions get the upper hand. Larry says, ” I’m not a good interviewer when I get angry. ” He once remarked about an interview with then Alabama Governor George Wallace, ” Racists make me angry. Wallace got to me. We started getting confrontational. And he won. “
Wow. Is that not a powerful lesson to learn ? Personally, I’m fortunate enough to only have one or two clients, in my offline career, that “bother” me.
In my online career, which seems to be moving towards being the host, interviewer or moderator on virtual book tours, ASK methodology campaigns and creator of E-learning content, I don’t have to work with people who “bother” me. I suggest you try very hard to remove the negative influences from your world as well.
5 - A good interviewer is like a train engineer and keeps his interview on track. Larry seems to be able to “ever so gently” push his guests back to the task at hand and not let them get to far off-topic.
That also means you and I get the goods and the guest doesn’t get off easy.
Some people don’t take a hard enough line with their guests and we don’t really get enough meat to satisfy our appetite. You have to be willing to butt in and stop a wanderer before they waste your time and the listeners attention span.
6 - Realize there’s nobody you can’t talk to, if you have the right attitude. Larry’s proven time and again that you can get an untouchable to sit and spin, if you take the right attitude.
That attitude is one of service or of being a servant. You want to go places ? Let someone take you and your chances are greater.
If you’re a Lone Wolf McQuaid type, the journey’s a bit harder, a lot lonelier and a lot less fulfilling.
I’ve got what I consider to be a few big names lined up for telewebcasts. One of them will be on Tuesday, February 26th. The other’s are somewhere in the process of picking a date and agreeing on content.
In Part Three of this series of posts, I’ll divulge my current crush, or put another way, the one person I really want to interview on a telewebcast, so stick with me til the bitter, or sweet, end.
7 - Be genuinely interested in the other person. Why’s Larry the man ? Because he makes the guest feel comfortable.
Why do they feel comfortable ? Because they feel like he actually wants to know the answer to the questions he asks.
Why do they think he wants to know the answer ? Because he looks them in the eye, listens until they finish and thinks about it before he says anything else.
He’d make a helluva salesman. Learn from him and you might just make one out of yourself.
8 - Be honest. This one’s pretty damn tough for most of us.
I spend my day trying to think before I speak and deciding if total honesty will benefit the person I’m with or will they be better off if I just keep my opinion to myself.
Larry seems to just feel free enough to be totally honest with his guests.
More money than I could spend might do that for me. Until then, I will be honest, but I’ll try to be quiet when possible.
9 - You have to have the will to conduct the interview, even if it makes you uncomfortable or uneasy. Look at the lineup of people who’ve been on Larry’s show.
You know he had to have some moments of unease asking tough questions of tough people.
Life’s the same way. You’re gonna have to deal with people who make you uncomfortable. Get over it.
Be a professional. Be prepared. Be done with it.
Nothing’s finished til after you start, so Just Do It !
That’s the first 9 of 27 secrets. Stick around to the end and you’ll be well on your way to interview success.
I want to thank my friend Brian Clark for calling on me and forcing me to do a professional series of posts. Given the chance to be lazy and do a half-ass job, I may have done so, but when the Blogger of All That’s Copy calls on you, you have no choice but to come thru and do it in a big way.
The biggest props and thanks of all goes to my better half, who did some major research for me. Without her, I’d have fallen as flat as the roads to Wichita !
Great Quote From Vince Lombardi
” I am not remotely interested in just being good. ” ~ Vince Lombardi
While reading the PARADE magazine part of my Sunday newspaper, I came across a great article about Bart Starr, written by Jeremy Schaap, whose father was one of the best sport writers ever. Ever.
The story is that on day 1 Lombardi came to them and said,
” Gentlemen, we are going to relentlessly chase perfection, knowing full well we will not catch it, because nothing is perfect. But we are going to relentlessly chase it, because in the process we will catch excellence. “
Then he uttered the quote that leads off this post.
That’s the way to conduct your sales career.
Don’t settle for just being good.
Strive for perfection and along the way, you’ll find excellence and that’ll be more than good enough to beat each and every one of your competitors … just like Bart Starr and his Packers did winning the NFL Championship five times ( 1961, ‘62, 65-’67 ).
Starr is still the only quarterback to win five NFL titles, two of which were Super Bowl’s I and II.
Take a lesson from Coach Lombardi’s playbook and you’ll never have to worry about the economy, the price of oil, the housing market or the hotshot college grad they just hired.
Top 10 Secrets To Success In 2008
New Year’s is a time for resolutions, and according to SUCCESS, there is no better time design the person you want to become and the life you want to live in 2008.
Publisher and Editorial Director of SUCCESS magazine, Darren Hardy, offers the following advice on how to make 2008 your best year ever !
1. Decide to be Successful - Success is not a dream, hope or fantasy. It’s a
decision. Make the decision to change, improve and act on your ambitions.
2. Design your Best Year Yet - As an architect would design a skyscraper, write out the goals, plans and actions it will take to achieve the life you want to live.
3. Identify Your Passion - What are your unique interests, talents and gifts ? Passion attracts success. Find what you love to do - you will never “work” again.
4. Program Yourself for Success - You will see, perceive, expect and create what you think about. To program your mind for success, read, watch and listen to materials that will support your success.
5. Surround Yourself with Success - You are the combined average of the five people you hang around the most. Surround yourself with healthy, success-minded achievers.
6. Model Success - The best way to learn to be successful at anything is to find someone who is where you want to be and model their success habits.
7. Master the Fundamentals - Don’t complicate it. About a half a dozen things make up 90%+ of what it takes to be successful at anything. Keep it simple. You know I like simple.
8. Get Fit - The mind cannot achieve what the body cannot perform. Your family, friends and career and future depend on your good health. Make it priority No. 1.
9. Remember What’s Important - At the end of the journey what will have mattered most will be your relationships with the people you love and those that love you. Make sure they are on your goal list for 2008.
10. Make a Difference - What do you want your life’s legacy to be ? You have the power to make a positive difference to a single person, a neighborhood, a community, a nation, the world. Realize that power in 2008.
Trump Talks Big and Thinks Big
Donald Trump.
The name alone makes you either hot or cold.
Nobody is lukewarm about Trump.
I caught several minutes of Trump being ‘interviewed‘ by Erin Burnett on CNBC tonite. I’m guessing it was all part of The Billionaire Inside somehow, but it was easy to tell it was a setup, as far as the questions went.
No matter, as the ‘content‘ is what we’re after anyway.
Here’s a few gems I gleaned from those few minutes:
” Be different to succeed “ - Trump’s definitely one of a kind, so he embodies this advice and surely walks the talk. I think what he meant was that it will be harder to attract the necessary attention if you’re a cookie cutter type of personality.
” Meet face to face, if you can “ - He told a story about one of his deals and pointed out that he flew to overseas to meet the owner of a piece of property, mostly because there were multiple suitors for it and partly because he didn’t like the owners agent. He paid $1 million for that piece of property in the 1980’s and it’s worth $600 million today. That’s a paltry 60,000% increase in worth.
” Size up your opponent and figure out how to win “ and ” Know your subject to close deals “ - My take on this is the person with the best, most and freshest information wins…usually.
” Your name makes your game “ - Donald Smith, as he said, would be a much tougher sell, than Donald Trump. Consider using a different term than your name, when naming your business, unless it’s ‘catchy’ or ‘brandable‘. Tim Thomas Marketing, Inc. ( fictious name for proving a point ) is nowhere near as brandable as Impact Marketing ( another fictious name I hope ).
He quoted Gary Player, who said ” The harder I work, the luckier I get “ - ‘Nuff said. It’s true, so work a little harder than you think is necessary and then put in a little overtime. You can bet Trump’s not home watching 6 hours of TV every night, so you can’t and shouldn’t either.
Trump debunked an old myth that says ” I want all of the people who work for me to be smarter than I am “ - Trump says, and I concur, that if you try this, you’ll be working for them or out of business in short order. He called it bullcrap, if I remember correctly.
Finally, the last statement and most powerful one as well, was this gem - ” There’s a lot of people with great ideas, but they can’t implement. You see it all the time. They’re losers. They’re not gonna make it. You really have to be able to implement “ - That’s what kills 98% of all the people who want to make a go of an internet-based business. They learn and learn and learn, but never learn to implement.
Action beats perfection … every single time.
For some video highlights of Trump’s talk head over to CNBC.com.
And check out Trump’s newest book, called Think Big and Kick Ass - In Life and Business.
My 45th birthday is in about 3 weeks, so I hope to get a copy around the 22nd of January, if not before.
