Constant And Never Ending Improvement~C.A.N.E.I.

Business Failures Leads To Success

I often tell my clients that some of their best growth in their business comes from the failures that they produce. We have so much opportunity already in our business to drive us towards success but being brave enough to admit to our failure is usually why most do not grow from them. You are a failure at times and that is great. Please do not be ashamed and not embrace that part of your life.

All businesses have a failure rate. These failures are daily, weekly, monthly and yearly. These failures of yours are sometimes very small and sometimes very big but no matter the size we must face them, embrace them and learn from them. In my 20 years of business, I am a genius because I have failed so many times and have also been a great student. Your job is not to be perfect in your business, except when it comes to learning this. I often say it is not what you do when everything is going great that counts. What is more important is what you do when everything is going wrong. I know this. I believe in this and I have seen my results in this. When I have been phenomenal it is because when I was doing horrible I was rebounding and being great. When I did not respond during the hard times and I gave up, then I continued to plum-it.

So what is the best Way to learn from your mistakes? First of all we need to be ready for them before they happen. What this involves is sitting down with the phones off and no interruptions and start contemplating all the things that can go wrong. There is no area of your business that is not important in this exercise. I mean come up with everything from the realistic to the unrealistic. Once you have your list, ask for help from others. Get every disaster or mistake down on paper or on the computer. The next thing you need to do is come up with ways to fix these problems. You need as many fixes as you can think of. Then you can go back to your life. When the trouble arises look at your list and deal with them. If the disaster is not on the list, then add it to it. When the problem is all over, then we must figure out a way to prevail from the failure. I'll give you an example.

When I was in my younger years I had a hauling business. Back in those days I always tried to be the cheap guy so people would hire me. I thought this was the way to go. I was hired to go and clean out a huge garage and an extra room attached to it that had caught fire. I really had no system of how to estimate something like this so I guessed a lot of times. One thing I had learned from a previous disaster in my business was to make sure if there was anything good in the rubble that I would get rights to it. So I made sure of that ahead of time on this job and others. As usual when we were complete with the job, I had under bid the job and came up with a loss. My dumping fees were $850.00 and I was paid $800.00 for the job. This was a huge failure except for one thing; here is what I found in the rubble. I found 4 handguns in great shape worth $1500.00. I found 2 antique cabinets which I sold for$800.00. I found misc yard sale items which I sold for over $500.00. I found tools, a vase(antique) and much more to a tune of over $6,000.00. In the previous loss, I had to turn in anything I found and lost over $1,000.00 on the job. Failures can be great success stories at some point if we learn from them.

Instead of always trying to invent the next product or find ways to redefine who you are as a company or looking for ways to make more money, first take a look around in your company. I know for a fact that you have failed so many times that you already have multi-million dollar ways to raise revenue and improve your company. Do not let these failures become just what they are, and that is failures. That is why I have never failed in business. I am always learning from my mistakes.

If you are looking for a coach to help you learn from your mistakes or change your mindset, please contact me today. I am coach Robert and my email is r.intigh@thegrowthcoach.com or you can find me on the web at www.thegrowthcoach.com/rkintigh I can help you make more money, get real and become clear.

How to Develop A Business Idea

If you are considering starting a small business, then I applaud you. Small business is the back bone of any thriving country, especially our country. We need new companies to continually flourish and hire people and earn revenue. If you want to get into business, but do not know what kind of business, I can help you. If you are already in business, but need to develop new ideas, the principles are very similar. What we need to do is ask some hard questions first, then ask some creative questions next. The key to getting great answers is by asking some tough questions. Lets take a look at how to develop a business idea for you.

The first thing I would ask you is, "what are you passionate about? What do you love to do?" Nothing you think about is out of line as almost anything, if done right can be turned into a business. Even the love of being in business can be a business. If you are going to be successfu,l then we must find something you are going to love doing everyday. Let us not use statements like, "I don't care if I love it as I want to make big money." Let's not say, "I just want to be the boss, who cares if I love it!" I could go on and on but the key to just starting out in business is doing what you love - ALWAYS! Never just do it because it pays the bills.

The next thing we have to do is be real. What experience do you have that would help in running a business? This needs to be answered truthfully because whatever skills you do not have, we will either have to learn them or we will have to hire someone that has them. For instance, have you ever written or read a business plan? Do you know how to use spread sheets? Have you ever done accounting before or understand accounting? Do not let these scare you off, but we must be real as they will be needed in order to thrive in business. Some are immediate needs, and some are future needs, but they are needs none the less. Here is a basic list of what we need to determine:

Accounting skills

Understanding of the law - general

Employee laws

Business plan

Forming a corporation or other entity

Running the daily business-computer software

Creating systems

negotiating a lease

Creating a mission statement and living it

Advertising

This is just a general list of things you will need to know. Do you see why it is important to do something you love? If you do not love it, then the daily tasks needed will be very hard on you. Being the boss is cheap if you do it for the wrong reasons.

The next thing we need to do, is take what we love and start creating story boards or stories about them. Lets vision what the business will be like. What will we call it? How will we run it. Where will it be located? Nothing is silly about developing this. If you see it in your mind first, then you will do it easier in the real world. As an athlete, I did this all of the time. If you lack vision in business, then many things will be a struggle and you will work harder, not smarter. Again, do not let me scare you, but what we do not posses now, we will have to work on it and gain those skills in the future.

The last thing I want to talk about is this; Can you come to your new business evey day and be creative? Will you promise to never turn off your creativity? Will you work on your business and not in it? Will you promise to keep evolving as business evolves? If the answer is yes to these questions then you are on your way. If the answer is no to them, then you should consider keeping your job. I say that with a heavy heart as if you have come this far you are so close. The next step is described above. Take a big step forward and commit and once you do then let the creativity flow.

Once you are in business and you need to develop ideas, take a look above and repeat the steps. I would also suggest reading the book The Disney Way. this book is incredible as it taps into loving what you do and creating ideas. That is exactly what the Walt Disney Company is all about. Good luck and be creative

Top 20 Ways We Waste Money

20. Buying drinks from drive throughs and convience stores

19. Eating out and having alcoholic drinks

18. Speeding

17. Rush delivery on mail orders

16. Tickets for traffic violations and parking violations

15. Not using coupons at grocery stores

14. Not properly maintenancing our vehicles

13. Not making your kids a lunch for school

12. Buying cheap shampoo or cheap products period. They do not last as long

11. Buying snacks or sweets 

10. Not eating left overs

9. Leaving lights and T.V. on all day

8. Turning heaters and A/C's on and off instead of setting at a comfortable temperature

7. By not mending torn clothes

6. By not asking for a better price on goods and services

5. Buying everything name brand

4. Financing personal goods at 23% on store credit cards

3.Buying cigarettes, tobacco, alcohol, energy drinks, espressos

2.Atm fees for using a foreign atm not your bank

1.Late fees on credit cards and bills

The Upside To A Down Turn Economy

As you may or may not know, our economy needs to be corrected all the time. We are either going up or going down but it is impossible to stay the same. When we talk about correction, we are usually talking about a market correction. If the market only went up, we would have astronomical inflation and our money would be worth less. If the economy only went down, our money would be worth less as well. What always has to happen is that the economy has to correct itself. 

I do not believe in scarcity for the most part. What I do believe is that everything will only survive if you make it survive. The outcome is on your shoulders.We can keep building retail stores all day long but you must bring in the traffic to support them. What usually ends up happening though, is that business men and women do not follow the trends that are ahead and then one day it all comes crashing down on them. It is not because we can have only so many retail stores. It is because people's buying habits are changing and the Internet has taken over a lot of the retail world. What these businesses need to understand is that in order to capture and keep the market they have, they must do better. They must figure out that customer service will have to rise to a new level. Cost need to be cut in order to service better and give a better deal. Many have not learned this message and are paying for it right now in this downturn. 

As much as we may hate having the economy go soft, we need it to from time to time to make the necessary corrections. We need it to get rid of the bad, lower prices and make people better than what they are. Housing prices were getting out of control and were being made affordable to only the wealthy. This is a huge mistake and so it had to be corrected. 

There have been so many arrogant companies out there for the past 10 -12 years thinking they can be as they wish and not care about the consumer. They were simply playing a numbers game. Now the tables have been shifted and the customer is now playing a numbers game. If you are going to get the business then you had better dance for them. Mediocrity is not going to work anymore. People want the best bang for their buck. 

Another upside to the down turn economy is that people are starting to realize they need to be more mindful of their money and finances. There was a lot of waste being committed and no one had any liquidity. This is very dangerous for a society as once too many people become poor, the up rise. This has been the case for every great nation since the beginning of time. We need to reteach people economics and help them to be better managed with their finances. The trick to a rich society is education. We need to embrace the idea of getting people the information they need to thrive in a responsible manner. We can avoid false economies if we show people how easy it can be to create real wealth and how to manage it once they have it. We need to teach people to say no I can't afford that right now. Then teach them to say, "how can I afford that?" Good finances is about having the discipline and knowledge to make sound decisions. I hope that is what we are learning from this economic downturn. 

Using Your Will Power to Gain Happiness

Do you know what will power is? How often do you call on it to help you push through something? Understanding the true power within you will help you lead to happiness in your everyday life. Many people become unhealthy and unhappy because they cannot seem to find the key to getting all they want out of life. What I am suggesting is that everything you need in life lies inside of you. We need to learn how to call on this force called "will power."

I said the key to happiness come from will power and I meant it. Have you ever seen a little baby as it starts to develop, get upset because it is trying to do something and he or she can't seem to get the motor function down? What is the first thing that happens? The baby starts to cry right? Then I believe something starts to happen very profoundly at a young age. The baby either figures out how to use will power to get what he or she wants or it lies on its back screaming. I know it is hard to believe but I feel that many learn this young and go on to a prosperous life while some continue to struggle their whole life with it.

The reason I equate happiness with this subject is because as human beings, when we achieve, we are in a much better place. One of the best tools for this is our inner power. We need to understand how much is inside of us that we can pull from it. How many times have you been in a situation and thought to yourself, if only I could do this? What do you normally do next? For most people they will lay down and take what happens to them. For a few they will fight through it and come out strong. Those who come out strong have called upon what lies inside of the. This is what I playfully call the "Rocky Balboa" in us. You know what I mean if you have ever seen a Rocky movie. Somehow, some way, Rocky always finds a way to pull through. In the movie they call it heart, but in real life I call it will power.

For some, this strength also makes them stubborn in ways. This stubbornness will not let them lay down. This stubbornness makes them get up and go one more round. I had a friend once who was stubborn and he thought this was a good thing. The problem was it never helped him when he needed it. He was a person who always laid down and never fought. He just could not figure out how to pull his strength out from inside of him. He was just stubborn for the sake of being stubborn. It had no real value for him. 

I hope the next time you find yourself in a tough spot you will remember that you have what it takes to succeed. Do not lay down. Instead get up and push through. Life is already tough enough without you taking it. Fight for yourself so you can be as happy as you want to be.

"I Am Not A Salesperson." The Young Women Says

"I work as a massage therapist in a day spa and I do not do any sales. They handle all of that at the counter. My job is just to do massages. I couldn't sell if my life depended on it!" This is a very real conversation I had with a young women one day and I have had this same conversation so many times. What i told this women may surprise you, but I hope you will understand the concept and the very real nature of the truth in it. My answer to her is very similar in nature to the employee who asks me,"what does your money have to do with my money?" Here is what I said to her, or how the conversation went.

I asked her," why do you say you are not in sales?" You are after all,  in a sales persons job.  She said," because I am not in a a sale persons job, I do massage therapy."So  I said, "then why do you think people come to the spa?" She said, "because they want a massage." Ok, well answer me this then. If I were a salesman selling massages, and I was brilliant in my sales persons job as a salesman, and the perspective customer likes me, then they will make a purchase, right? She said, yes. I told her people want to buy, but they do not want to be sold. Ok, then I pass them on to you and right from the beginning you are rude, rough and give a horrible massage. What happens to the sale? "What do you mean," asks the girl. Well, do I still have a sale? She did not know how to respond. I said to her that the sell is not complete until you work your magic and the most important part of the sale is, YOU!" I told her she is the sale and the very important part of the sale. There is no sale without her. She was silent as she thought about what I was saying. 

The simple fact is this; Everyone who works in a company is a salesperson in one form or another. You may not have a title as a salesperson but every single person in a company is in sales, like it or not. Even if you only interact with internal personnel, you are in sales. The question is, how good of a salesperson are you and do you know that you are in the position of being one? 

Internally, companies need to attract and retain employees and nothing will do this better than having internal sales people. These internal sales people need to be recruited and trained in order to help you keep your work force happy and thriving. They may have a secondary duty but having internal cheerleaders and employee retention specialist are paramount. Even if you were never directly hired to be such a salesperson, that does not mean you are not. Internal sales are just as important as external sales. Either way you are a salesperson so you need to do a great job.

If you interact with the general public at all, then you are also in sales. I do not care if you vacuum out the cars and the customer never sees you, or are the bookkeeper who sends out the invoices or are the message therapist, you are more in sales that what your primary function is. Sale people are in the most lucrative industry in the world. Do not fight it. Learn to master it and harness it. Sales does not have to be a dirty word.

When the word salesman or women is said, most people get some type of idea in their head and it is usually in a negative way. It is like I said what do you think of when I say hooker? The reality is though that a great salesperson is not hooker. He/She is a professional who understands the craft clearly and does not resort to cheap tactics or pressure sales. A long lasting customer is one who is completely your fan. They like you and your product or service because of the way you service them. They do not like you because you are pushy, or manipulative. They are a fan because you are good at what you do and your motive is to show up and help them. 

By the time we were finished with our conversation, I believe the massage therapist friend had a much different understanding. She said that she had never thought about it that way before. I know she is not alone. There is not enough being taught in these companies about this idea of company wide sales. She is one of their best salespeople and she doesn't even know it. 

The Problem With Our Government, Is Our Government!

As part of our goal for personal growth, I am always trying to teach you that you must become aware of your surroundings. This includes at home, at work and in your community. Today, I am going to take this one big step further and include our Federal government. The problem with our country right now is the Federal government we have in place. It has strayed from what the originators of our Constitution had in mind. 

I am not one to be an extremist, or yell fire when it is  just smoke, but my friends I believe that the time is coming when this current government will have a revolt on its hands unless we the people start coming together and fix what is broken. The government is just that, broken. I will try not to rant, but I am frustrated at where we are at and want to do something about it. I want to be a part of the solution and take massive action to help in our country's healing.

The problem today is that our entire Federal government system is run by lobbyist and is wholly influenced by the dollar and greed. Special interest runs your life not the elected officials we thought we elected. If we are ever going to start repairing our government, we must start with pushing out all special interest and make it a capitol crime to influence politics in any way. It must be punishable on both the interest group and the politician. We must say no to any sort of pressure or lobbying. There are plenty of ways to make a case but funding campaigns to get your agenda across in government should not be one of them. 

Next, the backwards thinking, good old boy network needs to leave. We need new people, new ideas, and new politicians. This old school way of doing things has slowed down progress and gummed up the system. I am gad we grew up a bit and threw away our bigotries and elected an African-American President, but beyond that I am afraid that is all we have done. I hope the time for change really has come but it just may have darker skin and is business as usual. We need for change to mean we are getting rid of the way we have been doing most things and start creating and developing new ways to dig us out of this mess we are in as a country. What can yo do to get involved and help? The question is easy to ask and difficult to answer. Like most things I talk about, I would suggest first start by becoming aware whet these people are doing in regards to your life and your country. Be aware of the who, what, when, and where of our government. 

The reason as a country, the common person hates politics is because it is full of bureaucracy and red tape. The idea of a politician in most people's mind is liar, cheater, con-artist. We say we are the greatest nation on earth, yet we view our politicians no different than we do a dictator or tyrant of a third world country. We need to be real and start reshaping the face of America. The world is not happy with us and it is mostly because of those we have in power running us. This affects you more than you think. 

I suggest that you start getting involved in our government. There are many groups out there that has local level and national involvement for people who want to get involved. Look on the Internet and see if you can locate one that is alignment with how you live and want to be. See what you can do to help in the fight. Maybe you are not a political brain, but I bet you could help send out emails, write letters, get others involved. We have to ban together and make our voices heard. "We the people" are three of the most powerful words ever written and spoken in the United States History. What do you think the founding fathers were saying? I believe they meant many things when they wrote this. We the people are more when we rise together. We the people are to be heard. we the people will no longer stand for anything less than right. We the people want to be represented in a manner that is ideal for who are. We the people have had enough and will stand up and fight.

Let today be a wake up call for all Americans that if we do not act, we will all loose our way of life as we know it. I am sorry if I sound extreme, but we are in a time when things have become very extreme. God Bless and God bless America.

Weight Loss Redefined

Today we are going to talk about weight loss in a different fashion than the normal everyday way. We are not going to talk about dieting, or exercise per Se. We are not going to talk so much about sacrificing, or magic pills, or crappy food to eat that are less calories. We will not count calories, eat lien cuisine, or sweat to the oldies. What I want to focus on for you in your quest for weight loss is your mind set. Weight loss redefines is the minds ability to determine that enough is enough and take massive action. 

How are all of those diets working for you? Do you here the root word in diet? The root word you here is die. That's right because every diet makes you want to die because you are so staved and so depressed from sacrificing that you would rather die than keep up with what you are doing. I have never been on a diet that works yet. There are certainly successful parts to certain diets that can be useful but overall diets are a fad or gimmick for some company to make money on. Yes some do loose weight but it has very little to do with the diet they are on. It has more to do with their mindset.

The brain is complicated for the most part but there is a simplistic side to it as well. Here is how simple the brain is when we make it this way. When we decide something, the brain will follow orders. The brain in our heads runs us on auto pilot until we wake up and take control. If no orders are given, then it decides what will go on. Some things are good for us or not harmful, but somethings are very counter productive. So ultimately no matter what we want to achieve, it is either up to us or our brains auto pilot. 

The brains main motivation is self full-filing needs. The brain can be as powerful as we need it to be providing we engage, other wise it just coast and gets what it wants. When it comes to food the brain will put you in a sugar coma if you let it. The brain will lead you to 300lbs if you do not stop it. The brain likes chemical reaction and sugars and food is just that. What you need to do instead of running to a diet is start with waking up and taking back your brain. 

Every time I have wanted to drop a few pounds or a lot of pounds I have done it. It has never been about a diet or some latest and greatest exercise guru. What happens is I stand up and say hey, I need to loose some weight so I feel better and look better. When I do this I am telling my brain, hey I got this I am taking over. The second thing I do is determine what is putting on all the weight and I re-program myself to either feel sick over those foods or put controls in place to limit my intake. When I do this it is like re-programming my computer. New directions get input and new calculations or formulas pop out. Your brain is no different. You decide how you will react. 

The next part is very important. You must say and believe this with the greatest conviction. You must believe in yourself. You must believe that you can do this. You must believe that you have the strength of 1000 men inside of you and you will bring it all out to accomplish this. You can stand on your own feet and finish this race I promise if if you will only believe. Tell yourself this, believe this and live this. Never back down again ever on this area of your life. Weight loss can happen in the same way weight gain happened, one pound at a time. 

Do not get me wrong, you need activity and exercise. You need to limit the intake of food in your mouth. You need to cut down on the sugar and sweets. Six small meals a day is much better than the 3 large ones you are doing and all the snacks. The real answer though lies in your brain and your heart.

Why Friendship Starts With the Letter "F"

What is the worse grade that you can receive in school? The letter "F" right? I wonder if it is any coincidence that the word friendship starts with the same letter as so many friends constantly fail to be "A" students in their friendships. Here is what grade you are:

A - This is the ultimate friend. They make being a friend easy. Everyone wants to be their friend because of the trust and the understanding they posses.

B - This is a decent friend but they still lack some fundamentals of friendship. All in all, they are decent friends.

C - This friend is neither outstanding nor horrible but does just the minimum as a friend. They have a moderate understanding of friendship but needs to work much harder to be a "real friend."

D. - This friend may not be a friend at all. You probably put up a bunch from them and they rarely contribute much goodness to the relationship. They lack most of the fundamental values needed for success.

F - Lacks every great quality that a friend should have. This should be a stop sign to turn around and run as they are probably very problematic and selfish. It's all about "me" with them and do not consider others. You will continually be let down by them and come up short. 

What does it mean to be a friend? I do not know your definition but mine would be as follows:

My friend will always accept my apology and will never have an issue apologizing back.

My friend knows I am not perfect and accepts me for me. My friend loves me at the end

of the day no matter how different our opinions may be. My friend will help me in a pinch no questions asked. My friend will tell me like it is no matter how harsh the truth may be. My friend

does not care about being right, just cares about doing right. My friend will not judge me but will 

not put up with me. My friend listens to me and has patience while I am talking. My friend is part         of my family. My friend will laugh with me, cry with me and fight with me. My friend is                         intelligent. My friend values others and does not trample on people's freedoms.  My friend will be         a friend no matter what.  

What is your definition of a friend? I think that for the most part we are missing what a friend really is. You should not have to work your butt off to be someone's friend. Yes, a relationship is hard work but being a friend should not be. Get to know someone before you judge them and start off wrong. Come to understandings in your friendship early on. For some new friends this is done verbally but with some it will just be understood. 

Good friends come in all packages. Keep your eyes open as you never know where your next friend will come from. My new friends are Australian and they are great people. Now when I think about Australia, i think about them. I would have never guessed I would have so much in common with an Aussie but he is like my twin. We do not need to talk about our understanding as friends. We already just get it. 

I hope from here on out you will take a moment to see what your grade is as a friend. I hope you are a straight A student but if not, you can fix that. Start with defining what you want in a friend and then be just that. 

Famous Quotes By Stephen Covey

1. We are limited but we can push back 

the borders of our limitations.

2.Management works in the system. Leadership 

works on the system.

3.Effective people are not problem-minded; 

they're opportunity minded. They feed 

opportunities and starve problems.

4.One of the best ways to educate our hearts is 

to look at our interaction with other people, 

because our relationships with others are 

fundamentally a reflection of our relationship 

with ourselves.

5.Trying to do well and trying to beat others 

are two different things. Excellence and 

victory are conceptuallydifferent and are 

experienced differently.

6.Happiness can be defined, in part at least, 

as the fruit ofthe desire and ability to 

sacrifice what we want now for what we want 

eventually.

7.Contrary to most of our scripting, to win 

does not mean somebody else has to lose.

If you have never heard about or read Stephen 

Covey's books you are missing out. They are 

intelligently written and practical for 

everyday living. His books hold the keys 

to a full-filling life. I highly recommend 

these books to anyone who is looking to 

improve their self or the relationships 

they are in or a multitude of other life's 

activities.

Desperate Times Do Not Call For Desperate Measures - Economic Downturn

I know you have heard the term or statement that desperate times call for desperate measures. This statement may be true for some situations, but it does not hold true for most. In this tough economic climate, you will want to stay vigilant but not do desperate things and make bigger mistakes.

An economic down turn is quite simply a business or market correction. If you let a balloon fly up into the sky, it will eventually have to come down as it is impossible to keep on going up. Right now that is one of my biggest gripes with some of the companies out there today complaining that there sales are down from last year or from the previous last 5 years. I just want to ask some of these CEO's and board members if they are really serious. I mean look at it this way, is it really possible to keep growing and growing, improving your numbers each and every year? My theory is, no that is not probable. At some point you will take a dip to correct and get in alignment. No one is that perfect and every company makes mistakes. The great things about a correction is that it puts you back on track and gives you a reality check. 

From the housing market, and retail industry, to the automobile industry, something had to be done. We went on a spending spree with money we did not have as Americans. We over consume, and with the current down turn I believe it is returning people more back towards sensible, and not out of control. Lets look at the three industries we have pointed out and see the core root problem.

The housing market is in trouble and needs to be fixed immediately. No time in our history has buying property ever really been a bad investment until the mid 1990's. What greedy mortgage people did was cheapen home ownership. They devalued what it meant to be a homeowner and started handing out keys to anyone who was breathing and ignorant. Let's be real here, there are owners and there are renters in this country for a reason. Property owners understand what it means to be an owner. They understand it is not just about paying the mortgage, but it also involves taxes, utilities, maintenance and upkeep, insurance and the wants of a homeowner. Renters do not understand much of that or do not want the hassle of all of that. Neither person is any better, except in the fact of owning a home. Leave it to the property owner class and stay a renter if you know you are one.

The Retail industry has gone through an explosion in the last 10 years. We have had so many stores and chains popping up everywhere that at some point there would be a meltdown. With the increase of on line shopping and too many choices, the consumer hit a wall. The boom had to bust at some point and be corrected. My bigger theory is that customer service is dead and that is why the on line appeal has taken off so much. You aren't getting customer service in the stores so why not just go on line, and not deal with anyone live and save a ton of money. In the mean time, like so many industries, money is not dealt with efficiently or smartly.  

The automobile industry has been in trouble for awhile. I mean let's start with the unions. I thank God for the Unions back in the day, as they have dramatically improved our life,but they have convoluted the system beyond repair. The average car at Ford and GM costs 38% more because of pay and benefits. That is a ridiculous number and all because the unions use muscle to get what they want. I think the real problem here is simple mathematics. For every dollar they increase their members benefits, they cost themselves $3.00. I mean these people are driving the same cars they are building and paying higher prices. They also are affecting production costs so less cars are sold at a profit. The entrepreneur is in charge not the unions. They own the building and if you do not like what they are offering then leave and go find what you want else where. This is simple so quit messing up our economy and lives with your tactics. 

The second part to the automobile industry is technology, efficiency and greed. In his book Lee Iacoca wrote over 7 years ago, that this would happen and if I remember right even before that. This industry has been in trouble for awhile. These fat cats fly into Washington on a private jet looking for cash. Their salaries are enormous and out of control. They get kick backs and free cars all day long and never lift a finger. The factories are out dated and very inefficient. Plus on top of it all they scream environmental issues are crippling them. I do not buy this as I believe it is the oil companies who hurt us the most in this industry when it comes to the enviroment.

What business in this country need to do is not panic and just start making smart changes. We do not need to panic, instead we need good solid plans and better decisions. We need to become efficient and quit wasting so much. We need to break the unions if they cannot be fair and get them out of there so we can have better run companies. We also need cheaper health care. What we do not need is desperation and desperate measures. America needs to stand on her own feet again and have some pride in getting the job done!

Do You hate Your Job? What Are Your Options?

Did you know that most people hate their jobs because they have no options or feel they have no options? What are your options? Think about that and then start writing them down. Then write down options to get you some more options. Then go out in the world and get you what you want to include happiness at what you do!

Personal Growth Tip #11 - Evaluation

The last step in this process we have been looking at is so important that I cannot stress it enough to you. It will do you absolutely no good to go through the other steps without taking this step serious. Look around you and you will see a bunch of people going through their daily lives and doing different tasks, jobs, lifestyles, etc. The worst part is they never even know why they are doing what they are doing. Why does this even matter? If we do not know why we are doing things or how or what, then we will never do anything different. If we are ever going to improve in life, we must evaluate what we are doing on a regular basis. 

As human beings we never mind evaluating others but to look at ourselves is a tumultuous task. We hate to self evaluate but the problem lies right there. Outstanding personal growth comes from looking inward and being honest. We have to see what is going on in order to fix it. This step in the process is more about evaluating what we have learned, and then deciding what to do with it, and how to implement it into our daily lives. I have asked many people one simple question and they always seem to struggle to get the answer. If you want to gain 100 years of experiences in life but want to be young when that happens, how do you accomplish that? The answer is simple, you take and learn from those people around you and in your world and gain from their time and struggles and knowledge.  That is why we are even people watching and investigating people to begin with. We want to learn human behavior at its finest and learn from them. They can do the years and you can skip past the time. 

What I like to do when I am evaluating is think about what I have learned and write down some key points. I also sometimes like to write about them in a story or article. I then like to decide how helpful these lessons were and then I figure out how they will help me best. It is really that simple. I continually do this each and every time I am lucky enough to study someone else or some situation or event. 

The evaluation phase is no different than looking over your test that the teacher hands back in school. We want to see what we got and figure out how to improve. You must get into a habit each time and evaluate what we have learned. Every evaluation builds off the last one. Again, I would encourage you to be as active in this as you can, as the more you get into it, the more you will  get out of it. There is no such thing as learning too much. That's why my company name is Constant And Never Ending Improvement. The learning should never stop until the day we take our last breath. 

Personal Growth Tip # 10 - Implementation/Execution

The whole point of people watching is to hone in your skills for a multitude of purposes. We have gone through 3 phases so far. Observation (where we did nothing but observe), Assessment (where we asked ourself high gain questions about what we observed and attempted to answer them, The test stage (where we tested out our theories, and now we are on to implementation/Execution. What this stage is all about is the refining of our understanding of people. We are going to take what we have learned so far and try it out. Essentially we are going to judge a book by it's cover.

How many times have you heard that statement? " You can't judge a book by its cover." Maybe that holds true for a book, but when it comes to people you can make a whole bunch of accurate judgments about them before you get too deep in them. We would rather know as much now as we can and by following the phases we have been discussing you will be able to do just that. Let me put this into practical terms for you so you can better understand my point.

I grew up running the streets of southeast Los Angeles. No, I wasn't homeless. My Mom and Dad were divorced and I lived with my Mom. She worked two jobs and I was always bored. I was a huge target even at a young age as I ran around and got into trouble. By 5th grade I had gotten 5 concussions and a plethora of other hurts from fighting all the time. When I was younger I was always getting hurt but as I got much older (4th grade) I began to understand what is was going to take to quit getting beat up. I devised a plan, and here is what it consisted of; observe, assessment, test, implementation and evaluation. Does this sound familiar? Yes it is the same process I have been teaching you to improve your life but here is what it did for me. It kept me alive. My primary objective was to read as many people as quickly as I could so I could devise a plan of either fight or flight. I grew up hard but I grew up and made it and that is the point here. Let's fast forward.

When I was in High school I played defensive lineman. What I discovered about playing that position was that I didn't necessarily have to be strong. What I learned was I had to observe, assess, test, execute and evaluate. What this did for me was get me through the line many times untouched or at least close enough to the action to make a difference. I was already thinking before the play ever was started based upon what I observed. Let's fast forward again.

I have used this process so many times in business and in sales. It is what has helped me to get there before my customers ever even thought about it. I learned to anticipate there moves based upon their behaviors and previous similar customers. Yes I have been wrong at times in all of these methods, but more times than not I was right on the money. This process is tried and true and can be used in a variety of situations from combat to business to child education. Just remember this whole process started with the most important element, observation. This is the key element to all of this. 

This phase is all about putting to test what we have learned. We want to work on this actively as much as we can. Take the behaviors and reactions and information and add it into our intelligent bag so we can conquer our world in whatever that may be. Go for it, you can make it happen.

 

Personal Growth Tip #9 - The Test Stage

So far we have talked about the power of observation and the power of assessment and now the next step we will discuss is the test stage. What I am talking about when i say the test stage is that we have to try and prove our theories or our ideas about observation. What good does it do to observe and assess, if we do not try and get the real answers. We want to keep our minds sharp and in order to do this we need to get information.

This lesson is short but the real task is taxing. The real task is out of the ordinary and requires hard honest work. When it comes to the test stage we need to be as diligent as possible as we will not always be able to get our answers. Some people we will never interview or get the information we desire. This exercise is not for the weak at heart or the timid. It takes someone with strong character to do this well. 

If you remember from the previous post we observed our subjects and then we tried to figure out what was going on and we almost gave our opinion or an answer to what we thought. Now what we will do is try and gather hard evidence to put our theories to the test. Remember the shy girl? We are gonna try and speak with her. We want to see if our theory holds. The trick is when you do this interviewing that you don't act creepy. You also want to have craft with this process sort of like Columbo or Matlock. People get creeped out if they think you were watching them intensely. You will not be able to seek answers from everyone so make everyone you do as quality as possible.

Now you may ask do I really do this on a regular basis and the answer is yes. I do this as much as possible, everyday, 7 days a week. I will do this until the day I die because the skill is priceless. Your next question might be don't you find this exhausting? The answer is when I first started doing it, it was very exhausting but as I have gotten better and better it has become second nature. It is not different than eating and sleeping to me. I just have made it a part of my daily routine. 

Do you remember when you were a child and someone would tell you no? What did you want to do? You wanted to disobey and do it any way. You were testing and pushing all the time and then what happened? You grew up and you gave up this behavior. What you should have done was kept it and used it in a different manner. The power of testing is huge. Aristotle didn't believe in testing his theories, thus he never gained confirmation if he was right. Galileo on the other hand came along 200 years later and learned that theories without test are just that, theories. Make sure you are the right scientist.

We are on our way to becoming a better you. This process I am teaching you is what i use to teach sales people how to accomplish increased sales. All to often sales people go into a perspective clients office, home, etc without ever doing any of these processes and then cannot figure out why they just can't seem to accomplish extraordinary sales. If yo are in sales and you do not follow my process then it is like a doctor who gives you a prescription without a check up. How does he know what he is prescribing will cure your ailments? Extraordinary sales are accomplished by knowing several things. One is your customer. Two is your product and three is knowing how your product or service can help your perspective customer. There are other things we need to learn but these are the most important ones. 

Let's get out there and refine our process and get awesome personal growth. Who knows, in the process you may even meet a new friend. No matter what, you will be getting a better understanding to human nature and their habits.

Personal Growth tip #8 - Assessment

In one of our previous posts, we discussed the power of observation. In this series of posts we will march towards a complete picture of what it takes to succeed in life, business, or a group. This process will help you gain leadership skills, create management opportunities and a level of comfort in achieving life skills. The power of assessment has to do with step two in this process. The complete cycle consist of observation, assessment, the test stage, implementation/execution and evaluation. This is a cycle that will hone in your skills and teach you what it takes to succeed with people in whatever capacity you are in. Let's begin the power of assessment.

The natural order of assessment comes after you have observed. Observing is a process, not an action as much. You are just using your eyes. Once you have your data from observing we need to delve into what we have gathered and start making some sense of it. Information gathered and put on a shelf will not do us any good. We must push on in this process through the natural order so we can attain the end result. How do we assess, what we have observed?

First, we must determine what it is we are trying to accomplish. For instance if we have been observing because you have weak people skills, then we will be observing behavior to understand movement, personalities, quirks, body language, etc. Once we have spent enough time observing we then take what we have seen and try to make sense of it. This can be done in one of two ways. The first is as you go along observing. The second way is to do it after the fact once all observation is complete. I should point out that if you are really serious and want real results I would carry around a small pad and pen with you during this time and take notes. Very few have great memory and retention, so notes are a great refresher. I do a combination of both. How you use the power of assessment is by asking questions to your self and analyzing your answer. Like, I wonder why she always eats lunch alone? Does she like people or is annoyed and that is why she eats alone? Is she shy? If you take anyone of these questions you can then observe and get an answer. Maybe you determine she eats alone because you think she is shy. Observe her several times and see how she interacts with the environment around her. Does she ever look up? Does anyone ever speak to her, etc. Good honest assessment is a work in progress until you get the final result. Observing an assessing will turn you into a sort of magician down the road as people after a while become very predictable to an observer. 

A journal is a great tool for recording your activities during your training time. Write out your thoughts and see how they begin to develop over time. I will bet you will see a dramatic change in your perspective and your techniques of observing. This is not a quick fix over night routine. Perfecting these two skills takes a while. Some will be quicker than others but either way if you want to be a pro then settle in for the long haul. 

The assessment stage is where you should be now taking action. This is an understanding stage. We are figuring out what is going on and how others are affected. Stay sharp and open up. Do not get so bottled up that you are making false assessment continually. Relax and act like you have been doing this your whole life. This is where you are an investigator and you get to investigate. Have fun with it and find some truth.

Did you know that most people do things everyday and do not know why they are even doing it? Then how is it you will be able to determine why they are doing it if they don't even know? The answer is simple, you are wide awake and you are being active in observation and assessment. The people you will be studying will not even take a minute out of their day to smell the roses or meditate or assess what they are doing. Most of your subjects are caught in a rut and the main reason is they are not doing what you and I are doing. Do not become your subjects as you do your training. It gets real easy to mimic life, so keep on guard. 

I hope you have enjoyed this personal growth tip and I hope you tune in next time for the test stage. This is where we will try and answer some of our observation and assessment questions. Please leave me a comment please and tell me what you think or if you are trying out any of my tips!