The first thing most people do when they meet someone is search for ways to make themselves look good. I would like to propose that you do just the opposite.
Instead of focusing on yourself when you make contact with people, search for ways to make them look good.
This practice isn’t complicated but it does take some time, effort, and discipline. Before you meet someone, take a moment to think of some simple ways you can encourage them. The reward will be the positive impact it leaves on those you come in contact with.
Not only does this rule apply to business; it applies to any relationship you have. I challenge you to take 30 seconds with each person you meet today to add value to them!
This post is not about a logo or creating a brand on paper. This is about your individual brand as a person.
When others think about you and how you position yourself in your profession, what image do they produce in their minds?
What does integrity, character, accountability, reliability and success have in common with lying, dishonesty, procrastination and failure. Each one is based on a choice that you make.
Throughout history, there has been a gradual shift in what determines one’s wealth and stature:
Early on, those who held possession of land were the ones with wealth.
Then, during the Industrial Age, the wealthy were those who owned factories.
Today, information is often the key determinant in one’s wealth and position. As the old saying goes, knowledge is power!!! So, the more you know, the farther you can go in life!
The same is true for your business success!
Ready to apply this principle to every area of your business, from advertising to social media to web design?
2009 has been a challenging year for many marketers. Yet some companies have found ways to thrive by working not just harder, but smarter. Here are some of the key ways they did this:
When demand is soft, make your value rock solid. This year customers were more skeptical than ever. To overcome that anxiety, the clarity of your value proposition is paramount.
When you have few resources, make your page do more. Many marketing budgets have taken a hit in 2009, and marketers are often asked to do more with less. But your website may be the most overlooked member of your marketing team.
When customers are overwhelmed, change your focus. What are you focused on? Your product? Or the best way to communicate your product to your customer? It may seem like splitting hairs, but take a step back to find a new approach to communicating your value proposition that you may have overlooked.
When it matters most, measure what matters. It’s easy to be overwhelmed with the array of measurement options offered by web analytics. And while many of these numbers may be good intermediary measurements to guide your testing efforts, you must never lose sight of the big picture.
Smart marketers understand that the word ‘right’ in “The customer is always right” doesn’t mean that they’d win in court or a debate. It means, “If you want the customer to remain a customer, you need to permit him to believe he’s right.”
If someone thinks they are unhappy, they are.
If you have a choice between acknowledging that your customer is upset or proving to her that she is wrong, which will you choose? You can’t do both.
Try saying this: “I agree that my communication with you should have been better. I also understand that you are upset, unhappy and maybe even angry. You have my undivided attention because I value your business and I will do my best to prevent lapses of communication in the future.”
Is being right the right thing to do? If you still think so, fire your customer because they’re going to leave anyway.
(Try applying this in your personal relationships and life will be better!)
One thing is certain… you won’t have any trouble at all finding someone who can tell you how to fit in.
People like to tell you what to wear, what career path to follow, how to raise your kids, how to run your business and what color your hair shouldn’t be. So, if fitting in is your goal, you have plenty of advice for that.
But if you want to stand out…
You might be more successful.
You might set higher standards.
You might be a happier person every day.
You might be more confident.
You might prosper even in a bad economy.
If you want to stand out, you might lose some friends who don’t think you fit in.
So, whether you want to stand out or fit in, the choice is yours.
Wow! Today is my dad’s 68th birthday: William (Bill) Wesley McFarland, Jr.
What is it about our parents’ age that puts things in perspective?
Maybe I’m reminded that just a few years ago he was my age and I was a kid growing up in Bryant, Arkansas.
Maybe I’m inspired to maintain a strong, healthy relationship with my own kids.
Maybe I’m reminded of the day he came walking toward me on the fairway in cowboy boots saying he wanted to take up golf.
Maybe I’m reminded that I went bald before he did.
Maybe I’m reminded of the day I realized golf was more about the experience than the score… the first time me, my dad and my grandfather all played golf together. And then the first time me, my dad and my son all played golf together.
Maybe I’m reminded how blessed I am that he introduced me to my Heavenly Father.
Maybe I’m inspired to make every day the most important day of my life.
I’m sure he will be thrilled when he sees that I just used online social media to tell the entire world how old he is.
Oh, yeah… he doesn’t twitter or have a facebook. There’s still hope. He didn’t take up golf til he was in his early 50s.
Even though I’ll see you on the golf course shortly…Â I want to wish you a happy 68th birthday, Dad, and tell the whole world how proud I am to be your son.
Stop talking and start doing. Eleven items for your punch list to enhance your career and get you on the way to a better life.
Always Be Helping
If someone asks for your help, do your best to give it. Pay it Forward really works in today’s gift economy.
Start a Blog
Take the topic you are an expert on and consistently deliver valuable, relevant and compelling information.
Comment on other Blogs
Read and comment on the 10 most influential blogs in your niche consistently.
Update Your Online Profiles
Be sure they tell your story of why you are unique. Focus especially on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and your Google Profile.
Buy Your Domain (http://youradteam.com)
This is the place where you can control your message about who you are.
Business Card Collection
When you get business cards, make it a habit of getting those people into your online networks.
Professional Photo
Get a professional quality photo and be consistent in using it throughout your online profiles.
Find Distribution Channels
PowerPoint presentations should go on SlideShare or Scribd. Blog content should be distributed via Twitter and Facebook.
Respond to Those Who Talk about You
Monitor Twitter Search and Google Alerts for mentions of you. Be sure to comment on those blogs.
Accept Guest Writing Spots
If people want you to write an article in your niche, the answer is always yes.
Pick Two Associations or Organizations and Get Active
You can’t be involved everywhere. So, pick two and be VERY active. Work to get on the board.
First four lines of the new TobyMac song, City on Our Knees
If you gotta start somewhere, why not here?
If you gotta start sometime, why not now?
If you gotta start somewhere, I say here.
If you gotta start sometime, I say now.
Inspiring and motivational. I’ve got something to start… don’t you?
Caffeine
This is why the world produces more than 16 billion pounds of coffee beans per year. It’s actually an alkaloid plant toxin (like nicotine and cocaine), a bug killer that stimulates us by blocking neuroreceptors for the sleep chemical adenosine. The result: you, awake.
Water
Hot H2O is a super solvent, leaching flavors and oils out of the coffee bean. A good cup of joe is 98.75 percent water and 1.25 percent soluble plant matter. Caffeine is a diuretic, so coffee newbies pee out the water quickly; java junkies build up resistance.
2-Ethylphenol
Creates a tarlike, medicinal odor in your morning wake-up. It’s also a component of cockroach alarm pheromones, chemical signals that warn the colony of danger.
Quinic Acid
Gives coffee its slightly sour flavor. On the plus side, it’s one of the starter chemicals in the formulation of Tamiflu.
3,5 Dicaffeoylquinic Acid
When scientists pretreat neurons with this acid in the lab, the cells are significantly (though not completely) protected from free-radical damage. Yup: Coffee is a good source of antioxidants.
Dimethyl Disulfide
A product of roasting the green coffee bean, this compound is just at the threshold of detectability in brewed java. Good thing, too, as it’s one of the compounds that gives human feces its odor.
Acetylmethylcarbinol
That rich, buttery taste in your daily jolt comes in part from this flammable yellow liquid, which helps give real butter its flavor and is a component of artificial flavoring in microwave popcorn.
Putrescine
Ever wonder what makes spoiled meat so poisonous? Here you go. Ptomaines like putrescine are produced when E. coli bacteria in the meat break down amino acids. Naturally present in coffee beans, it smells, as you might guess from the name, like Satan’s outhouse.
Trigonelline
Chemically, it’s a molecule of niacin with a methyl group attached. It breaks down into pyridines, which give coffee its sweet, earthy taste and also prevent the tooth-eating bacterium Streptococcus mutans from attaching to your teeth. Coffee fights the Cavity Creeps.
Niacin
Trigonelline is unstable above 160 degrees F; the methyl group detaches, unleashing the niacin—vitamin B3—into your cup. Two or three espressos can provide half your recommended daily allowance.
