A Missing Ingredient!

I am not a big fan of reality television.  Unless it is Charlie Rose and real people are on it talking about real things going on in the real world.   I do have to admit a fondness for cooking shows.  More specifically, eating shows.  Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives ia a favorite.  Triple D with Guy Fieri.   Because of Guy, I watched a cooking reality show where contestants had to make a meal out of limited ingredients.  I watched contestants sweat over not having this ingredient or that. One of them was crying over not having cilantro!   Big deal, my momma did that all that time.  Sara Clay could beat all these people like a 5th grade bully taking your milk money.  She could look in the cupboard and take down some of this and some of that and "throw down"!  You would never know something was missing.   Being an adult and looking back, I now realize that the only way we made it was due to her intellect, instincts, intuition, imagination and inspiration. My dad was there and did a lot but my momma was a straight warrior. She was one of the most ingenious, imaginative and innovative people I have ever known...I miss my momma.    She taught me how to think.    More importantly she taught me how to survive.  I have never been the fighting type in the traditional sense.  She nurtured my inclination for book learning and helped me turn that into a method of survival as a child.  It was that same approach that has helped me develop sophisticated business principles and models that have helped build billion dollar companies.    When you boil it down to it's core, the approach to meeting and beating challenges that she passed on to me really isn't complicated.  It is the same approach she would use when she faced a bare cupboard ;   Tell me what you want.   Tell me what you have.   Think.   She wouldn't give answers and she wouldn't let you off the hook.  With a hug and a smile she would tell you the answer is there...look for it.   Think.   The ideas will tell you what to do...with what you have...to get you what you want.   What she taught me is the reason I never panic when there appears to be...   A Missing Ingredient!   Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

Eureka!

"Eureka!"   Some of you would think that I needed a vacuum cleaner (ok, not many of you I hope!).   Others would know my exclamation was because I had just solved a major problem.  That I had just been enlightened with a Big Idea.   Eureka in this context is a word used by Archimedes, a Greek scientist who exclaimed the word when he had resolved a problem.  He is also famous for the quote,   "Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world." Archimedes     Ahhh, the Greeks...yogurt, salad and Archimedes.  There was a while there in history that the Greeks had most of the worlds big ideas.  It was a nation of scholars, thinkers, artists, scientists and philosophers.   Thinking is a lost art.    Most people want to be told what to do and what to think.    Big Ideas come from spending time in thought.  Spending time meditating and reflecting on a problem or objective until the flash of brilliance comes.  Creation of ideas can be spontaneous, but most come from a process.  A combination of sources that coalesce when concentration is added.   5 Ways To Have A Eureka Moment;   Intellect - Collect the data on a challenge, problem or objective.  Crunch the numbers.  On the other side of that empirical analysis and answer will come forth.  Information drives the intellect.  Reading, studying and observation provides helps us deduce an answer.  Many ideas are "offspring" of what we know and what we have learned.   Instinct - Following your gut.  That inner pull that says this is the way to go.  You can't always rationalize it as it sometimes goes against the grain of conventional wisdom or what your intellect says is the proper course.  Many great innovations have come when people trusted their instincts.   Intuition - First cousin to instinct.  It is usually in flashes of revelation that create the same type of gut prompting as instinct.  Webster defines it as "a natural ability or power that makes it possible to know something without any proof or evidence : a feeling that guides a person to act a certain way without fully understanding why".   Inspiration - Being compelled to act based on outside influences or an internal "spark" that pushes you to a higher level of thought and action.  Seeing others achieve or hearing the right words or music that transfers the active emotions of dreaming, aspirations and a "I can do this" spirit.  When you are inspired, your mind is more open and alert to the ideas that are all around you...and you see them!   Imagination - .We live in a world of the senses - sight, sound, touch, taste and smell.  The imagination is not bound or governed by the sensory.  It can transcend them and take you to a place that your present circumstances say can't happen.  Close your eyes and see yourself flying around the room.  Pretending to fly is a child's game?  Ask the Wright Brothers or Elon Musk (Paypal, Tesla...and SpaceX).  Your imagination is transformative and full of big ideas!   No matter which of these you use, there is always a solution for your challenge, a Big Idea to help you achieve your goals and dreams.  You have to dedicate time and energy to focusing until that moment comes when you can exclaim...    Eureka!   Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

Fresh Out Of Ideas?

I had a friend and colleague call me last week who was working on a project.  He told me that he was "fresh out of ideas".  I told him that was impossible...there were always ideas.   "That's why I called you," he said.   Yes, I am an idea factory.  I told a group of people yesterday that I am part Rain Man and part Rainmaker.  Yes, that means I make it rain (you had to know that was coming!).   Yes, I am an intense thinker, analyzing all the factors present and through deductive and inductive reasoning I am determined to find a way.    Yes, my number one strength in Strenghfinders 2.0 is Strategic.  If you have never done your profile before, I highly recommend it.  If you want to know more about Brandon Clay but were afraid to ask you can view My Strenthfinder Profile.  It is dead on!   A few decades ago (that makes me sound old!), I was struggling financially and professionally.  A wise, successful person told me,   "You don't have a money problem, you have an idea problem.".   What that meant wasn't fully apparent at the time.  It is hard to hear sage advice when the rent is due.  As the years have gone by, I understand that he was trying to tell me that for every challenge, there was an idea that could overcome it.  In my You. Change. Now! program, I say that there is a "bridge for every barrier".   Ideas are bridges.   They help you go from where you are to where you want to be.  The problem is, many people only see challenges and not the ideas that can help them get through them to victory.   The key to growing your business is ideas.  To generate more clients you don't need more marketing money (yes, that would be nice), you need ideas.  To position your product more favorably in the prospects mind, you don't need the cheapest price, you need ideas.   One good idea can change everything!     "The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones." John Maynard Keynes       "Studies have shown that 90% of error in thinking is due to error in perception. If you can change your perception, you can change your emotion and this can lead to new ideas." Edward de Bono    "Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen." John Steinbeck    "If you have ideas, you have the main asset you need, and there isn't any limit to what you can do with your business and your life. Ideas are any man's greatest asset."  Harvey S. Firestone  "Like stones rolling down hills, fair ideas reach their objectives despite all obstacles and barriers. It may be possible to speed or hinder them, but impossible to stop them." Jose Marti      The next few days, I will go into ideas, where they come from and how to get more of them.  For now, I wanted to leave you with a few quotes to stimulate your idea muscle.  Yes, it is a muscle that will atrophy if you don't use it!  I want to help you get to a place that you are never...   Fresh Out Of Ideas!   Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

Keep Up!

Happy Monday!   The other day I needed to use an I-Pad app that I downloaded about a year ago.  It was a project planning tool that had all kinds of neat features to help keep me organized and on track.   Ironic.   I needed some data that I had put into it and that information was nowhere else.  I had to have it!   When I launched it, it said I needed to update to the most current version of the program.  Ok, no big deal and I expected that.  In less than year, there had been 8 updates.    After the update, I tried to launch it again.  Now it said I had to update my version of IOS.  After a bad experience, I only update my IOS (operating system) under duress and mandates.  This was a mandate.   I started the download only to find my power was at 23%.  It will only update with 50% power or you have to plug in.  I was at a Starbucks and didn't have my power cord.  I really needed that data for an upcoming call, so I asked a stranger could I borrow their power cord.  They obliged with an understanding nod and I updated my system.    An hour later, I pulled out the data I needed...exasperated and frustrated.   I love technology, but does it have to change so much and so often?  I guess it is to be expected since the industry is still in its infancy.      Did you know that you are part of the world's oldest profession?   No...not that one - sales!   For a profession that is centuries old, it is hard to believe that things change so rapidly.  Just like technology, if you don't keep up with the changing times, it is easy to be left behind.  Even the professional sellers who have great relationship building skills have to stay abreast of industry changes, new technology and current marketing approaches.   5 Things You Must Do To Ensure You Aren't Left Behind;   Look again - It is easy to get locked in to a pattern of doing business.  Selling the same products in the same way as you have the past few years.  Look at your products and industry.  Some evolutions are obvious, some are more subtle.  For example, some companies prefer online applications with digital signatures.  Have you looked to make sure you have the most recent updates?    Keep Learning - Sure your inbox is flooded with product details, updates, webinars and appeals to sell more of companies products.  Make a habit of at least scanning these alerts and dedicating a block of time each week to learning about them.  Your contracts allows you to sell, but your clients expect you to understand what you are selling.   Go deeper - Does your product have new and exciting features that would help you sell more and service your clients more effectively?  Sure, the top 2-3 benefits keep the sales going, but if you went deeper into the things your product can do you might get an extra sale or two.  Certainly sets you up as the trusted advisor and expert on your product.  You are an expert on your product, right?   Pay Attention- I just talked to an agent that submitted $3,000 in annualized commission on the wrong application.  They had not sold the company before and did not review the most recent updates.  Not only embarrassing, but left them open to losing the client and leaving them vulnerable on a decision vitally important matter - life insurance.    Stay excited - The best way to make sure you stay abreast of changes in your industry is to keep your enthusiasm for it.  People that love fashion read the magazines, the blogs and shop to keep up with industry trends and changes.  Do you love what you do?  Then it should be easy to make it a part of your life.  Excitement is contagious and helps you sell more!   I know you are selling many products and have several balls in the air and plates spinning.  To reach your goals and serve your clients you will have to add one more thing to that spinning plate...   Keep Up!   Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!