Posts Tagged "mentors"

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.

Lucky – After 10,000 Tries

Posted by LisaYoung in Big Ideas |

I love hearing people talk about their success with the following statement:

“I just got lucky.”

Egads, people! Wake up and smell the four-leaved clovers! In reality the odds of luck happening to you are – well, in similar respect to the lottery.

But there are ways to tip the scales in your favor.

It’s called hard work.

My grandmother used to keep a small plaque hung over her kitchen sink (because there was no window there) and it read:

Good Things Come
To He Who Waiteth
If He Worketh Like Heck
While He Waiteth.

That’s what being lucky is all about.

Seth Godin’s recent “Luck Parade” post give a glimpse into what this “get lucky” mentality is all about.

Yes, timing is a factor, but as Godin points out, “luck travels in packs”.

There’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity waiting around every corner, folks. They’re not all waiting for you, mind you, but they’re out there.

And yes, you could be the first to strike it rich in some up-and-coming business category, but even if you’re not first, if you’re in the pack, you’ll “be lucky” when success starts handing out passports to paradise.

But you know what? The work still had to be done before you could get lucky.

Edison’s world famous light bulb is the testament to that. He didn’t make it happen on the first try. And because he was SO cutting edge at the time, people were actually flouting his failure in his face. He refused to acknowledge defeat, thus the popular phrase: ‘I didn’t fail 10,000 times, I found 10,000 ways that didn’t work’.

But yeah, Edison got lucky – after 10,000 tries.

“Swordfish!” – Expectations, Critics and Movies

Posted by LisaYoung in videos |

My friend, Mark, has a daily humor blog and email post, and at the bottom of his credits, he usually has some sort of clever “ism” that goes unnoticed by the majority of the public – after all, it’s in the credits.

Well this morning, his ism was “SWORDFISH” and I didn’t get it, so I emailed him back.

He told me to go watch “Get Smart” – and then it made perfect sense to me, as I hope it now does to you.

We conversed a bit about the film, and he had this to say:

“despite what *all* the critics said, it was a 90-minute laugh-a-scene hoot! I haven’t laughed so hard at a movie in years. Bonnie could hardly catch her breath at times!!

Which put me in mind of this almost blog-worthy thought:
Why are critics’ opinions often so different than my own experience? Then I realized that a critic goes into a movie theatre and says, ‘entertain me.’ It’s almost a dare. I go into a movie theatre and say, ‘I want to be entertained.’ It’s my fondest hope.

So it’s the expectation level that makes all the difference. I’m expecting good things, the critic challenges everything he/she sees.

I bet that happens in church on Sunday morning a lot, too.

It was so deeply profound, and yet so simple. I HAD to share it with you.

From a marketing perspective, many times our critics (or we as critics) will challenge everything and expect nothing. Very often we get just that – nothing – in return. We feel deflated, disappointed, and our perspective is one that’s just plain poopy.

But when we modify our outlook, change our mindset, and expect greatness – in whatever we are pursuing – very often we are pleasantly surprised, or at least pleased with the outcome.

Does that mean we lowered our standards? Not necessarily. It means we held a different kind of expectation.

What about YOUR expectations? What about YOUR perspective and mindset? Are you looking at your business, shaking your head as you meet all your negative expectations? Or are you setting your business into motion each day with the “fondest hope” of a positive outcome?

Do you dare yourself to succeed, or are you pushing forward with the expectant end result in mind – regardless of the swordfish in your way?

15 Things Will Show You Success

Posted by LisaYoung in Big Ideas |

A regional sales manager that shared an idea with me, that was so simple, I couldn’t believe it would work.

But it does. Like gang busters.

Women are notorious for making horrendously long lists, and in the process, we never complete them, never feel accomplished, and never think about making their lists SHORTER. Imagine how much more unruly these lists are when you’re a Mom, Wife, Author and Network Marketer!

Yep, I’m busy. But there are days when I feel like I’m going in circles, chasing my own tail.

So my manager said, “Take a piece of paper and divide it into 3 sections. Label each section: Family, Home, and Work. Then, list 5 things in each area you need to accomplish for the day, and work on those first. START with the item you dread the most. Think of how much happier you’ll feel when you get the toughest job out of the way first.”

I could end the article there, and you’d have plenty to keep you busy. But I like to write, so I have a couple of additional thoughts to share.

I struggle with doing things for myself. Between writing, doing my party plan business, the kids and my husband, I rarely take time out just for me. I can always find SOMETHING that needs to be done. So when I was scheduling my “family” activities, I would forget that I, too, am part of the family. So I created more sections on my paper and added more things to do.

Bad idea.

Stick to 15 things. When I created 5 sections instead of 3, I put 5 things in each area, but found I wasn’t getting everything done. That left me feeling frustrated, disappointed, and disgruntled. Now my 5 sections have only 3 items a piece. And it feels SO good when I cross everything off on my short lists. It motivates me to finish up more quickly. Then I have the choice of adding more items to a list, or continuing with other activities in my day.

Instead of a piece of paper, I use Mark Joyner’s free Simpleology program, and just write down my “to do’s” in there. Plus, I help protect the environment, because I’m not using all that paper every day. The Simpleology program keeps track of everything – no misplaced lists to worry about! Plus it archives my lists, so I can review my accomplishments over time – which really helps me feel better about my work.

Burden lifted. Missions accomplished – and usually with time to spare. My kids and my husband are enjoying the “kinder, gentler” me, now that I’ve got a handle on my schedule and my once-unruly lists.

Go give it a try and tell me how it works for you.

The Attitude of Gratitude Pays Big Dividends

Posted by LisaYoung in Big Ideas, Faith |

I’ve been trying to “take my mind off things” by reading a book. Mayflower Madam is out of print, and I picked up a copy on eBay the other week. It arrived the day my mom died.

Needless to say it took me a minute to get around to reading it.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with the story (it was in the 1980′s after all), Sydney Biddle Barrows, well-heeled socialite, built a successful “escort” service in Manhattan – and was busted after about 5 years of serving the “John” Q. Public in style.

Now I haven’t finished the book yet, but my first big takeaway was a comment in the early chapters of the book: treat your people with respect – customers, employees, etc. and they will reciprocate.

More to the point, when you treat them with respect and appreciation for how they serve your business, they will be more willing to do anything to make you happy.

I have 3 very recent examples that drive this point home.

After completing a recent in-home party for my company, I mentioned that my grandfather had passed and that I would not likely be available for a few days to tend to the arrangements. The hostess was very understanding – and we got 3 bookings at that party for her.

One of the soon-to-be hostesses called me a few days later to provide me her guest list over the phone. I returned her call and sad that my mother had also passed, and that I would greatly appreciate it if she would just mail the list to me and I would still give her the special offer for getting the list back to me in 3 days’ time.

Two days ago, I was out making deliveries to touch base with customers and hostesses, and I apologized for my tardiness in delivering because of the death of my mother. I mentioned that I would be at the funeral the next day, so to call and leave a message if there were any issues.

Yesterday morning, I received a call from that hostess. She said she was “in the neighborhood” and had something for me. When she arrived at my door, she had baked sliced and wrapped some home-made banana bread. I was dumbfounded.

At the church, when we were wrapping up and heading out the door, I walked into the kitchen, where at least 10 volunteers were cleaning up from the dinner held in mom’s honor. I wanted to make a point to tell them thank-you, because many of them knew my mom, and while she wasn’t always the easiest to get along with, I know they respected her and cared at least enough to give of their time and elbow grease to help comfort and feed her family and friends. Many of them could have been on the other side of the kitchen, sitting with us and telling stories about mom.

As I offered my thanks, one of the grumpiest of the men in the church turned to me and said “You are always welcome here, Lisa.” Again, speechless.

Which, if you know me, is virtually impossible.

I’m skipping over a lot of details here, but as I stopped at home to drop off a bouquet of flowers, I checked the mail. In with the bills and usual junk (which, I love, by the way), there was a card from someone I didn’t recognize. The would-be hostess that I had asked to mail her guest list had slipped that list inside a sympathy card, with a thoughtful personal note attached.

I’ve never spoken so few words in a a day in my whole life.

It’s unfortunate that it takes an event like a funeral to give you a perspective about what matters – and to whom you matter. I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of people – some I barely even know – who came to provide support and encouragement just for me – because I know no one else in my family knew who they were.

We packed that church – which is lucky to have 30-40 people on a Sunday morning. People were parking on the street because there was “no room at the inn” so to speak.

And I am so grateful to each and every one of them. I’m sure I didn’t say hello to everyone, but I am truly blessed to know that I and my family matter to so many people. I am so grateful for all the kind words, donations, and thoughtful gifts.

I didn’t deserve any of it. I am infinitely grateful for it.

So our marketing lesson (not to be disrespectful of my mom’s passing, but I needed to share this while it was still fresh) is this:

Give freely of yourself – to your customers, clients, employees. Make them feel respected and equal – and treat them like friends. The rewards will come back to you ten times over. I’ve said it before, but it’s true: friendliness is the root of all good things. The more friendly you are, the more genuine respect and appreciation you will garner.

You can’t do any better than that. It takes time, but all things worth doing are worth doing well.

Be on the lookout for some big changes in the coming months, as I start assessing what’s important to me in light of these recent events.