5 Signs You Should Keep Trying

Some days you need to bang your head against the wall until you break a hole through it.

You can’t give up on your dreams.  You gotta keep trying.

Here’s some everyday proof that you should keep trying:

1. New Songs On The Radio:  Carrie Underwood could have said “You know what? All of the good country songs have already been sung.  The other singers beat me to it.   There’s no point in trying.”  Thank goodness she didn’t say that.  New songs on the radio are proof that there’s room for anyone who wants to put in the effort.  And we need new songs.

2. The Oakland Raiders:  This team went a full year without winning a football game.  Finally, last week, on national TV, they won a game in their home stadium.  That victory was more meaningful to that team and those fans than a Super Bowl win.  Now they have new life.  And fans can wear their Raiders gear proudly.

3. The First Sale:  If you are starting a business, your first sale will be electrifying.  Once your have the first customer, you have proof it can be done.  After that, it’s an awesome, albeit challenging, journey of learning and tweaking and satisfaction.  And income.

4. Every Time You See A Fed-Ex Truck: The idea for Fed-Ex started as a college term paper.  According to most sources, that paper earned a “C”.  In the interest of full disclosure, it was from a Yale student, from a successful business background, so it was probably a decent paper.  The point here is that many good ideas are shot down at first.  They just need someone to believe in them.  And move them forward.

5. Your Track Record:  If you are reading this, you made it through every tough time you’ve experienced.  You survived whatever it was – a broken relationship, job loss, natural disaster – you survived.

And it made you stronger.

Two Tricks To Guarantee A Great Presentation

Here’s two easy tricks to help guarantee a great presentation or public speech:

1. Begin With The End In Mind.  During the three days leading up to your speech, do some visualization.  Visualize applause at the end of your speech. Visualize your audience or boss smiling and saying “great job” as you shake hands following your talk.  Really visualize it – just as an athlete would visualize making a great play.

This gets your subconscious working on what it has to do to make the positive feedback happen.  It is a matter of convincing your mind that the speech can only end one way: positively.  Your brain will backtrack the sequence of events from there, and help make you successful.

Of course, you still need to put in the work of preparation and practice.  Videotaping your practice or presenting to a mirror are time proven and still effective ways to improve your speech.

2. Post It Notes: In today’s corporate world, there is a good chance you will be making presentation in a teleconference format, usually using Microsoft Powerpoint.  The telecom format provides the equivalent of an open book test, if you can use the format to your advantage.

First, print out a full size copy of your presentation.  Then, using post-it notes on each page, write down responses to questions you might get on that slide.  Anticipate and write down answers to the tough questions.  Write down key statistics.  Write a couple of key quotes you might need.  Cover half of the page with post it notes if you can.

Then, have your post-it-note covered copy of your presentation ready when you conduct your teleconference.  Now it’s an open book test.

The Easiest Path To Passive Income

It’s the dream of most employees to one day develop some sort of passive income.  Some way to earn money while sleeping, without much effort.

There are a few ways to do this.  Online businesses, independent publishing, and some other ways that don’t require much down payment, other than a person’s time, effort, blood, sweat, and tears.

However, there’s one simple opportunity that everyone has to gain passive income, and it’s happening right now.  Even in your sleep.

The opportunity lies in your monthly bills.

This includes your internet bill, cell phone bill, car insurance premium, cable TV bill, and gym membership.  All of these are automatically debiting from your checking account each month, even while you sleep.

If you can renegotiate your terms for these services – in other words, reduce the price you are paying – you are achieving the same positive effect to your cash flow as passive income.

If you are not already doing so, make it a habit to check with your service providers every 90 days to see if there is a better deal.  Be sure to talk to a real person.  Do not use the “online chat”, or send an e-mail.  It is far too easy for the company to say “no” to your requests in an electronic format.  Talking to a real person will open up the conversation.

Keep the customer service representative talking.  It will open up alternatives.

Some examples they might offer will include:

1. Use of paperless billing.  This can cut your bill in half in some cases.  If you still gets bills in the mail, check this one out now.

2. Increasing your deductible.  Maxing out your car insurance deductible can bring your premium down significantly.

3. Bundling.  Be careful with this one, and ask lots of questions.  Bundling your services may require you to reset your contract terms, and you may be signed up for a fresh two years on everything.  But, it can result in significant savings.

At the same 90 day interval, also shop around for prices from other service providers.  You may find that State Farm offers better car insurance premiums than Geico, or vise versa.  Gym membership rates can move around quite a bit also.  Cable TV can be more challenging to move around, but take heart: with your iPad or tablet, you may not need cable TV much longer.

Also note there are no real set rates at a gym or fitness facility.  The monthly fee is different for everyone in there.  Always be checking on these places.

A last resort, but often effective method is “the walkaway”.  If your conversation with the service provider does not lead to a better deal, you can start asking about cancellation of the service.  There’s no need to be boisterous or threatening about it, but calmly start the conversation.  It can often lead to new offers of lower prices.

These service providers want to keep thier passive income as well.  For them, a reduced rate customer is better than no customer at all.

The Only Things You Really Need In Your Suitcase

“It is better to travel well than to arrive.”

That’s a famous quote from someone famous.  They probably said it long before suitcases had wheels on them.

To travel well, you must first travel light.  Here’s the only things you really need to travel:

1. Your passport.  Hard to get into any country without a passport, although Canada and Mexico used to be possible.  You must have this nowadays.

2. Your plane ticket.  This could be on your cell phone, or preprinted, or printed at the airport ticket counter.  Regardless you gotta have your ticket.

3. Money.  With money, you can buy whatever you need when you get to your destination.

And actually, those are the only three things you really need to travel.  You don’t even need a suitcase.  These things will fit in your pockets.

If you are not quite that adventurous, here’s just what you really need in your carry-on suitcase:

5. Your electronic device (with charger and earbud headphones).  Pick one device: iPhone, iPad, or similar.  You only need one.  It will have your music, books, movies, and ability to communicate via Skype.  With the new iPhone 6 and other large screen phones, you have a great compromise between small-enough-for-phone-calls and large-enough-to-watch-movies.  You will want the headphones to drown out the airplane noise and chatter.

4. Deodorant.  Most hotels will now supply the toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, shaving cream, and razor as needed.  They usually will not supply deodorant.  Do not get stuck in France without deodorant.  It will be a scavenger hunt.

6. A baseball cap.  You can use this on the plane to shade your eyes for a nap, or to cover up hair you don’t want to deal with.  Make it the kind of cap you can roll-up or smush in your carry-on.  Nothing fancy.

7. The other pair of shoes.  If you wear tennis shoes on the plane, put your dress shoes in the carry-on.  Or vise versa.  The other pair of shoes will be the single biggest thing in your suitcase.

8. Two changes of clothes.  Shirt, pants, underwear.  If you need a suit jacket, belt, cold weather jacket, or sweatshirt, you should be wearing those things onto the plane.  Same goes for eyeglasses and sunglasses.  Another tip: airports and airplanes are usually cold.  Dress for cold.

And that’s it.  All of the above will fit in an 18″ to 22″ carry-on roller, with plenty of room to spare.  That will give you extra suitcase room to buy souvenirs as you see fit.

Taking On A Difficult Corporate Role

“If you do this for us now, we’ll remember it later.”

At some point in your corporate career, you may be asked to take on a tough new role.  A role that is known to be difficult.  A tough team, or tough customer, a tough location, or tough business model.  There is a need for a “turnaround” expert, and you are identified as a candidate.

Once you are identified, a member of senior management will make a pitch to you.  They’ll highlight the pros and cons of the situation.  “If you take this role now, we’ll remember it later.”  “Take this one for the team, and you will be rewarded.”  Or something like that.

Think hard before taking one for the team.

Many corporations have areas of the business that are famous for destroying careers of the best and brightest.  At the end of the day, the model for that side of the business is flawed, but no one wants to cut the cord.  People are continually moved into the job – like high potential folks and “whiz kids” – only to have their careers destroyed.  There is such a thing as a bad business model.  Watch out for it.  I know of one business that chewed through 11 of the corporation’s best and brightest before that part of the business was shut down.

It is also worth noting that tough business situations usually don’t generate enough profit to justify a bonus.  While you are “taking one for the team”, you’ll also be missing out on the bonuses your peers are getting.  And you’ll be working harder than them.  In fact, the areas of the business most likely to pay out bonuses are those that are running the best and smoothest.  I.e. the low stress areas.

Part of the pitch to “take one for the team” may require you to work odd hours or a split shift.  I never saw anyone go to a second or third shift role and then later get promoted to a greater role on first shift.  Doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, but I never saw it, and I worked in over a dozen different corporate businesses.  Generally, once people move to an odd shift, they are out of sight and out of mind.

The pitch to “take one for the team” may ask you to move somewhere like Fargo, North Dakota (sorry, Fargo).  Or maybe a developing country.  Here’s the rule on that issue: never move somewhere you are not willing to live for the rest of your life.  Businesses get bought, sold, opened, closed, and moved all the time.  You may very well be left behind in Fargo, North Dakota.

The proposal to “take one for the team” may even be in writing.  It could include promises of later roles, or bonuses or other compensation.  These could pay off.  They might not.  Just know that a difficult business is unstable by definition, and has a way of getting everything within it off track.

At the end of the day, you are the only one on your team.  Don’t be fooled by a bad pitch.

How To Increase Your Happiness 100% Starting Today

There’s plenty of things to be concerned about, if you so choose.

If you have a TV or radio, you will find a steady flow of bad news on the major networks.  If you listen to talk radio, you’ll find a deeper river of bad news.

The topics are meant to grab your attention and keep you tuned in.  It often works.  Unemployment, disease, and other things that lead the nightly news are attention-grabbing, and they improve ratings.

An example: since 2008, unemployment has been a popular bad news topic.  It has been front page news topic for years, and has scared people into giving up on job searches.  The news provided an excuse to give up.

The news can scare you into a cave if you let it.

Or, you can just stop watching the news.

When you step back, most of the things on the news don’t affect the average person.  But if you watch the news, those things can get in your head and steal your time.  Did you get swine flu a few years back?  Probably not, but you probably spent time worrying about it.

Does a plane crash halfway around the world affect you?  Again, probably not.  But the news won’t show a follow up story reminding everyone that flying is still the safest way to travel, and that it opens up doors for commerce, life, and love.

Going back to the unemployment example:  In reality, the internet presents more employment and entrepreneurial opportunities than any other time in history.  It provides the chance for people to live their own passion instead of someone else’s.  There is more opportunity than ever.  And now more than ever, the person who works the hardest actually wins.

But the news won’t show that.

If you haven’t already made this switch, you can increase your happiness 100% starting today by switching off the news.  That includes the TV, the newspaper, and especially talk radio.  Go cold turkey.  Spend some time in news-free silence.

Instead, start watching what you can do to improve yourself, your situation, and your community.  There’s plenty to get excited about.

Stop watching the news and start working on yourself.

On the nightly network news, you’ll notice that a 30-second piece of good news is thrown in right at the end.  Sort of like an apology for the first 29 and a half minutes of bad news.

It’s usually a story about someone who has overcome a disease or disability, or has helped someone else.  Good stuff.  Heartwarming stuff.  If you turn off the news, you’ll find you can fill your whole day with good stuff.

Making Free Time During International Business Travel

Do you want to experience the culture, or just the conference room?

Most international business trips are jammed with meetings.  This means most business travelers see just A) the airport, B) the hotel, and C) the conference room where they meet.  Eiffel Tower?  Not so much.  London Eye? Nope.

Here’s some tips to free up time on your business trip, so you can experience at least some part of the culture:

1. Pack Light.  As someone once said, the only three things you really need to travel are plane tickets, a passport, and money.  Everything else is secondary.  Build your suitcase strategy on this minimalist approach.   Just bring what you really need.  Packing light makes you most nimble, and therefore frees up time.  Ditch the “just incase” items.  You can get buy them when you get there if needed.  Most of all, do not check a bag at the airport.  Checking a bag will steal up to an hour of your time at the destination.  It will steal much more time if your luggage is lost.

2. Stay Near Public Transportation.  If you are traveling to a major city with a subway/metro system, try to get a hotel near or on top of a metro station.  Then you can sneak away quickly, for little money.  Plus, the subway/metro is often an experience unto itself.  Being able to get away quickly may be the biggest difference in being able to see any of the city.

3. Write Your Hotel’s Address On The Back Of Several Business Cards.  You can use these to hand to the cab driver to get you to the hotel quickly.  This is especially helpful if the driver speaks a different language.  Plus, with your business card, the cabbie can get in touch with you if you accidentally leave something behind in the cab.

4. Make Use Of Long Layovers.  Instead of trying to take a nap in the chairs at the gate, sneak away and see the city.  With a layover of four hours or more, you’ll have time to leave the terminal, grab a cab, and at least tour the area.  Your boarding pass will get you back in the terminal, through security, and onto your flight.

5. Exercise When You Arrive.  Jet lag can sometimes steal the free time you might otherwise have to take in some sightseeing.  Exercising when you arrive can get your body back on track.  Go for a jog or hit the hotel fitness room if they have one.  If you are in a new city, there will be some adrenaline rush and excitement to help power you through.  Exercise will help push you even further.

Important Things To Do With Your Hands

In a business situation, hold your briefcase in your left hand.  This leaves your right hand free to shake hands quickly and readily.  Pausing to switch hands with your briefcase makes you look unprepared.

In a hugging situation, get your cell phone out of your hand.  Get it completely out of sight if you can.  Hugging someone with a cell phone in your hand tells the person that you are not really present.  It’s like that movie where the actress checks her watch in an otherwise romantic situation.

In a jogging situation, pretend your hands are holding an origami paper creation.  Not fully open, but not tightly closed either.  It will help you relax during the run.

In a driving situation, put your hands at eight o’clock and four o’clock, not ten o’clock and two o’clock.  Putting your hands at ten o’clock and two o’clock puts stress on your shoulders.  It will affect your posture over time.

In a sports situation, put your hand over your heart during the National Anthem.  Make sure your kids see you doing it.  Make sure they don’t see you cell phone when you hug them.

Getting a Good Bed And Getting A Good Job

People say you spend one third of your life in bed.  Asleep.

When I was a single parent, I spent less than one third of my time asleep.  I had a tough time juggling work and school.  But I made up for it on weekends.

Later, when I got settled and became bored with my corporate career, I spent more than a third of my time in bed.  So, life balances out.

However, through all of these times, I never gave much thought to my mattress.  I had the same mattress forever.  Didn’t even think of looking for another one.

Same with my job.

I went to my job every day, and got cozy.  I knew where all of the comfortable spots were, and I knew how to make it work.  It did work.  I got paid and it was ok.

Sometimes recruiters would call me and offer me a different job.  But, I was cozy and it was fine.

I was spending more than a third of my life at work.  Closer to half of my life was spent at work.   This was required to climb the corporate ladder.  But still, I gave very little thought to making it better by looking elsewhere.  It was good, but not great.  Most of the time I didn’t even return the recruiter’s phone calls.

Finally one day I realized that my job was not cozy anymore.  And not comfortable.  I didn’t have to look for very long to realize that there was better stuff out there.  Better choices were there the whole time.  All over the place.

I also went mattress shopping.  It turns out that there are as many mattress choices as there are items on a Cheesecake Factory menu.  I upgraded from a full-size to a king size.  Huge difference.

I found it just by looking.

How To Grade Your Potential New Boss

What is the right way to send back food at a restaurant?

Taking a new job is a big decision – especially if you don’t know your potential new boss.

So how do you get a good read on them?

You go out for a meal.

How a person acts at a restaurant is a sneak preview of their character, and how they might treat you.

Here’s some things to look out for.  This list also works for friends, lovers, coaches, pretty much anyone you might spend time with.

 

 

We’ll start at the bottom.  Any of the following actions earn a failing “F” grade for the boss:

1. Sending back food while simultaneously throwing in the expectation of a free meal.  This suggests a “now you owe me” approach to life.  You can expect your work to be turned back often, along with a verbal sucker punch about your first draft.

2. Freaking out if someone is seated ahead of them at a busy restaurant.  This is a sneak preview of impatience and micromanagement.

3. Behaving like Joan Crawford in the movie “Mommy Dearest” while pointing out the waiter’s mistakes.  Yelling and demeaning actions towards those in your service is the recipe for bad karma, and a bad work environment.

4. Using the terms “honey”, “babe”, or “sweetheart” when talking to the waitress.  This one goes without saying.  Run the other way.

5. Taking a phone call at the table during the meal.  If they take a cell phone call or answer e-mail during your meal, you’re already in a second class position in their mind.

6. Tipping less than 10% (U.S.).  Low tips show low generosity and low appreciation.  You do not want to work under that regime.

 

 

Now for the signs of a good boss.  Any of the following go towards an “A” grade:

1. A genuine smile for the waiter or waitress.  This is the opening line of a good relationship.  You can sense when someone is treating the server as a partner in a good meal out.  A smile is a good tell-tale sign.

2. Writing the names of those at dinner on the receipt.  The boss is using this for expense report purposes, and it shows attention to detail.  This is a good thing.

3. Taking things in stride.  If the steak is undercooked, or a drink is spilled, watch the reaction.  Do they take a positive approach with the server to correct the situation and get what they want?  If so, that’s a good sign for a potential employee.

4. Excusing themselves if they need to take a call.  Or, better yet, warning you if they are expecting a call.  This shows respect for you and your time.  It also indicates you will get their full attention during one-on-one meetings at work.

5. A generous tip.  Employees go where they are appreciated.  A generous tipper can be a good sign of an appreciative boss – maybe even a sneak preview of bonuses to come.