Posts Tagged "gratitude"

A Real Business Comes From the Real You

Posted by LisaYoung in videos |

So after a quick trip to the local library with my oldest child and his best friend, I scoped out the shelves for some new reads.

I found a couple of VERY good resources, and I had to share this one today:

Kaira Sturdivant Rouda is the president of Real Living, and “gets it” when it comes to personal branding. I’m half way through her book, Real You Incorporated: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve shouted from the rooftops the importance of Branding yourself. Kaira’s book really gets it done.

Stay tuned!

2010 Update: This book is uber transformative. After a couple of years of living with this book, I can tell you it really gets to the heart of building a business around your passion. I use it every 6 months as my business bible when it’s time to review my progress, make sure I’m on track for goals, and to be certain I’m still following my passion in my business. I had the pleasure of interviewing Kaira for my Direct Sales Super Summit last fall and it was a dream come true in so many ways. Every woman should have this book on their shelves – or in their briefcase for easy access. It’s truly transformative for business and personal growth.

The Trash Man Cometh

Posted by LisaYoung in Big Ideas |

I’m a weird bird, I’ll admit it.

If I’m home when my mail carrier arrives, I’ll meet him at the door and tell him thank you. I figure they don’t see a lot of people on their day route, and I should be grateful to them for saving me time by delivering my mail every day (and picking up all the packages I send out on a daily basis).

Also, My aunt (who’s retiring soon) works as a supervisor in his office, so every now and again I get “Stories” from him. Fun stuff.

But I also say thanks to my sanitation engineers.

Most of the time, I just shout out a “THANK YOU!” as they’re scooping up the bins and driving away.

But not today.

On our sanitation trucks (and I think this is common in most areas, but just for clarity) there is a driver and a rig man. He’s the guy that rides on the back end of the truck to grab the bins and dump them into the back end.

Seems pretty dangerous and labor intensive to me. Which is one of the reasons I make sure to say thanks.

But today’s rig man was a jerk.

So he got no thanks of any kind.

In retrospect, he may have been having a bad day, and I think that’s true in any business. We have days that aren’t so great. We shove and slam and bang things out of frustration, thinking that taking it out on the inanimate object will make us feel better.

But he cracked the wheel on my trash can when he hucked it half way across the road.

Needless to say, I felt a little disgruntled and saying “thank you” would probably have sounded a bit sarcastic.

So I just sighed as he drove away, collected my impaired trash bin, and hobbled it up to the garage for next week’s adventure.

And I started thinking about all the times I’ve been the trash man to others.

When I yelled at my kids when they didn’t deserve it.
When I ignored a request from a friend because I didn’t feel like it.
When I had a bad day and didn’t give 100% to my customers.
When I (God Forgive me!) lied to my boss about being sick, so I didn’t have to work on an important project that bored me to tears.
When I get frustrated with myself and start calling ME names.

I could go on for hours with this list – as I’m sure you could, too.

The point is, we can either accept these “character flaws” as a part of who we are, or we can strive to improve with each passing moment. We can make a point of doing the work it takes to do the right thing, or we can keep hucking the neighbor’s trash cans across the street, breaking the wheel, and along with it their trust and our credibility.

So I’m sorry for being a jerk. To You. To My Kids, family, friends and former bosses.
I’m also sorry for being a jerk to myself. Getting frustrated when I truly had no control over a situation, knocking myself around when I didn’t deserve it.

And I’m sorry I couldn’t tell today’s trash man what I always want to say:

“THANK YOU!”

Touching All the Bases Revisited

Posted by LisaYoung in Big Ideas, Faith, videos |

There are times in your life when you’re faced with the challenge:

Do the right thing, and risk losing out on something you really want.

–OR–

Do nothing, and earn your heart’s desire.

These girls are simply amazing – and a lesson to all of us.

Yes, I cried when I watched this video. That’s why I’m sharing it with you. But also, because it’s the right thing to do.

So let me pose this to you:

How often have you overlooked something because it was more inconvenient to do the right thing ans report it?

What do your children see when you don’t think they’re looking?

How is your sleep at night? Restful? Wakeful?

This was a ball game that MAYBE 100 people got to see. What do you do when no one is looking?

This was a powerful lesson to me. And I guess I’m on a quasi-mission to share that power with others.

Character is built in the moments when we think little and act foolishly. It’s also built in the moments when we think hard and act courageously.

This video was shared with me by my upline. Why do you think she did that? Her message to me was “this is so inspiring” – but it’s so much more than that.
It’s an example of how business should be run EVERY day – even when people aren’t looking.

Are you touching all the bases in your business? Are you looking at what needs to be done – and not just putting out fires, doing the minimum, or something worse?

Are you so concerned about this month’s quota and winning that award, that you overlook the fact that your client truly CAN’T afford to make a purchase at this time? Do you see them as more than just a stepping stone to what’s next?

In our community, the mayor has decided to throw his hat into the ring for Governor.

Heaven forbid. The only good thing that I think would come of it, is that he wouldn’t be our mayor anymore.

He’s a classic example of someone that doesn’t touch all the bases – out for himself, his own benefits and gains – he’s a convicted criminal, which only adds insult to injury!

And I think about how he must conduct his business, and what he’s like when no one’s looking. And I pray on a daily basis that I’ll NEVER turn out like that.

What about you?

You Have a Choice and You Chose Me. Thank You!

Posted by LisaYoung in Big Ideas |

I’ve traveled a lot in my 33 short years on this planet. Not as many places as I’d LIKE to go, but I’ve been on many of our wonderful highways and byways here in the U.S.

And I’ve passed many a “Waffle House” along the way.

I never gave them much thought, really. They looked like dingy little “hole in the wall” diners from the road.

The yellow and black sign looked so generic that I wasn’t sure it was a chain until my recent trip to the Carolinas.

See, my friend, Ruth, LOVES Waffle House. She gets as excited about eating there as I do about new books to read. She even squeals a bit with delight when you suggest going there for a meal. In fact, I now can’t say “Waffle House” without trying to imitate her joyful squeal, and it’s become a little inside joke between us.

For her it’s the grits that makes her swoon. For me it’s the customer service.

This company is a marketing machine. Over the grill, there’s a sign that reads “You have a choice, and you chose us. Thank You!”

What a concept.

And as I looked around, the place was clean, cozy and busy. There’s a sign on the door that read “Hope to see you: Soon, Often and Hungry” or something like that.

They know what they do well, and they market the heck out of it. Even the background music is songs about Waffle House.

This family business really “gets it”.

What about you? Are you remembering that your customers have a choice? Even if you’re the ONLY place they can get a product or service (which is rare anymore), they STILL have a choice – either do business with you, or go elsewhere, or go without.

Then, are you remembering to be grateful? So many businesses choose to look at the transaction value and forget about the lifetime value of a customer. You need to remember that good customers are like good friends. You won’t always get a long, but you’ll be invaluable to each other over the years – if you build the relationship.

It begins with gratitude. Waffle House gets it. Do you?