Rock & Roll!

 

Happy Friday!   Yes, I have been gone for a few days.  Did you miss me?  Many of you checked on me (thank you!).  Some of you are way too busy right now to notice (thank you too!).    Those of you that read the whole week's worth on Saturday morning will find it a few Daily Crumbs short.   Great apologies.   I was struck by technological adversity.  It rendered by email account helpless and hopeless...but I am back.   I also want to wish a couple of hundred of my Medicare agent friends and colleagues that read this daily a belated Happy AEP!  For those of you that don't know, that is the Annual Election Period where 50 million Medicare beneficiaries get to make a decision...to stay or not to stay with their current coverage...that is the question.   It is a busy time and I must tell you that my cup overflows. It is not a cup half full or half empty optimism of which I speak - there is simply more than I can physically do.  I am not complaining, mind you.  I know many people this time of year harvesting and "making hay while the sun shines".    It will not come to you - you have to go get it!   There has also been a litany of challenges.  Beyond my technology issues there have more challenges this season than I have seen in quite a while.  Some sales people are moaning, whining and complaining about the chronic issues that we seem to deal with each year...they have yet to get out of the gate.   Others are adapting and finding a way - out of no way...and succeeding.    What is the difference?    When stuck between a rock and hard place, successful people roll with the punches.  When it comes to sales, adversity, challenges and those "rocky hard places" are a fact of life.  What separates the wheat from the chaff is a hard blowing wind. It is not necessarily the seasoned veterans that are winning the fight...I am watching newbies fight through things that would turn a lessor person around.   I have always maintained that I would rather have 5 hungry fighters on my team than 20 people with an entitlement complex - sometimes success makes us feel entitled to more than we are willing to fight for.   "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." Mark Twain    I understand that we don't all fight the same way, but if you want to win...you better fight!   At first glance and on the surface, I know I don't seem like much of a fighter (I'm a lover!). People who just met me immediately get a sense of my outgoing personality.  They can sense my genuine desire to help and see people develop and grow.  Those that know me would also say the same things.  But they will also tell you I am intense.  I question everything and I have a deep resolve to win...and I am not afraid to fight.   I frequently use the analogy of Samson and Daniel from the Bible.  They both defeated the same adversity...lions.  Samson ripped them apart with his bare hands and Daniel put them to sleep.   Diversity of approach, but victory nonetheless.   How do you fight?  I want to encourage you today to fight through adversity, to fight for the things that you want...to fight for the things that matter.   Each one of you is engrafted with a defense mechanism that triggers a fight or flight response.  If you are facing an obstacle today, I want to tell you to stand your ground.  Get flat-footed and brace yourself to push.  Don't back down this time.  When faced with a touch challenge...    Rock and Roll!   Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

You Better Think!

You Better Think!

Happy Monday!   Glad it is a new week but I needed this past weekend as I imagined many of you did!   Needed to recharge.  My brain was almost toast, and I don't mind admitting it (did you catch the pun - read it again!).    In the last month, I have had to learn new technologies, several new products and launch a new business platform for the upcoming enrollment season.   On Friday, I drove 3 hours to attend an all-day session to learn one more product. Admittedly, it was hard to be ultra-attentive and engaged with you are sleep deprived. The presenter was good and the information was relevant and something I could use. I fought off the specter of lost sleep and determined I would review it more indepthly over the weekend...which I did.  Great stuff!   Thinking back to Friday, as I watched and listened to the questions that were being asked, I realized that everyone in the room was battling the same thing I was.   Sensory overload.   The Brain has no problem taking it all in and amassing more data than Univac back in the 70's. Ahhh, but The Mind has to cooperate...    The brain is willing, but the mind is weak!   There is a difference between the brain and the mind. Of course, they are best friends and can't live without each other! The brain is an organ but the mind isn't. The brain is the "house" that holds your mind. The brain makes sure we breathe when the mind has other things on its mind (another funny!).  The brain takes in information through the five senses...   and the mind tells us what it all means.   The mind does the thinking. It is where ideas come from. Our ability to analyze situations comes from our mind and makes it possible to develop solutions to complex problems and challenges.   Friday, my problem and challenge was not so much staying awake, it was keeping my mind alert. I know my brain was hearing and seeing everything, but I needed to make sure my mind would remember what would be important to me in the future.   It was only after lunch that the brain was delivered a carb induced "knockout" punch and the only priority was staying awake. I did not try to ask insightful questions or even take notes. The only battle was one of the eyelids.  At 4:30 he cut us loose and a quick jolt of adrenaline kicked in.   As I got in the car and faced the 3 hours of traffic back home I knew (my mind told me!) everything would be ok. The presenter sent each one of us home with stacks of brochures, recorded webinars and product content.     I dove into all of it this weekend when the brain was fresh and the mind clear.  The two of them got together and helped me put it all together.  I feel empowered with new knowledge and have the confidence to use it.     What would I tell the other particpants of the class that were as glassy-eyed as I was?      You Better Think!   Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!

Happy Monday!   Glad it is a new week but I needed this past weekend as I imagined many of you did!   Needed to recharge.  My brain was almost toast, and I don't mind admitting it (did you catch the pun - read it again!).    In the last month, I have had to learn new technologies, several new products and launch a new business platform for the upcoming enrollment season.   On Friday, I drove 3 hours to attend an all-day session to learn one more product. Admittedly, it was hard to be ultra-attentive and engaged with you are sleep deprived. The presenter was good and the information was relevant and something I could use. I fought off the specter of lost sleep and determined I would review it more indepthly over the weekend...which I did.  Great stuff!   Thinking back to Friday, as I watched and listened to the questions that were being asked, I realized that everyone in the room was battling the same thing I was.   Sensory overload.   The Brain has no problem taking it all in and amassing more data than Univac back in the 70's. Ahhh, but The Mind has to cooperate...    The brain is willing, but the mind is weak!   There is a difference between the brain and the mind. Of course, they are best friends and can't live without each other! The brain is an organ but the mind isn't. The brain is the "house" that holds your mind. The brain makes sure we breathe when the mind has other things on its mind (another funny!).  The brain takes in information through the five senses...   and the mind tells us what it all means.   The mind does the thinking. It is where ideas come from. Our ability to analyze situations comes from our mind and makes it possible to develop solutions to complex problems and challenges.   Friday, my problem and challenge was not so much staying awake, it was keeping my mind alert. I know my brain was hearing and seeing everything, but I needed to make sure my mind would remember what would be important to me in the future.   It was only after lunch that the brain was delivered a carb induced "knockout" punch and the only priority was staying awake. I did not try to ask insightful questions or even take notes. The only battle was one of the eyelids.  At 4:30 he cut us loose and a quick jolt of adrenaline kicked in.   As I got in the car and faced the 3 hours of traffic back home I knew (my mind told me!) everything would be ok. The presenter sent each one of us home with stacks of brochures, recorded webinars and product content.     I dove into all of it this weekend when the brain was fresh and the mind clear.  The two of them got together and helped me put it all together.  I feel empowered with new knowledge and have the confidence to use it.     What would I tell the other particpants of the class that were as glassy-eyed as I was?      You Better Think!   Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!