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NametagTV: Get Customers Addicted

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 10:18:00 +0000

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How Writers and Creative Professionals Can Get Rid of Their Discipline Problems Once and for All

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:56:00 +0000

I get a lot of questions from readers, audience members, fans and followers about discipline.

Not because I’m an “expert” on discipline.

More because I AM discipline.

From wearing a nametag 24-7 – to exercising and meditating daily – to starting work at five AM – to writing seven hours a day … I guess discipline is kind of my thing.

I blame my mom for this.

She’s 30-year veteran of the fitness industry. From teaching aerobics – to one-on-one weight training – to studying nutrition – to lecturing on cholesterol – to instructing Pilates … I guess discipline is kind of her thing too.

Oh boy. It just occurred to me that I’m exactly like my mother.

But with smaller biceps.

Anyway, I reached out to my friends on Facebook and Twitter with the following requestion:

On the topic of the discipline of creativity: What would you like to learn? Where are you stuck? What questions can I answer?

The response was outstanding. Got tons of emails, tweets and comments.

I’ve compiled twelve of the most common themes and challenges below, each containing answers, resources and exercises.

So, special thanks to everyone who was willing to share their creative challenges publicly. Not an easy thing to do.

Here's the first six. Let the discipline begin:

1. How do I flesh and idea out into a blog post? Beginning with a list is the simplest and most non-threatening way to write (and read) information. First, read this guide to the science of using lists.

Second, allow yourself to begin with a list, but then escape from structure after that. Let the material take you where it wants to go. Remember: Creativity is nothing but active listening.

Finally, reframe your approach to categorizing your material. Always think modular. Everything you write is a module, which I define as, “An uncategorized chunk of creative material.”

Thinking modular objectifies your creative process and prevents premature cognitive commitment, aka, falling in love with your own ideas. It keeps your creative process open ended and makes it easy to simultaneously work on multiple projects.

Thinking modular also matches (and leverages) the way your mind works. It enables easy editing and makes content management easier and faster. Remember: It’s not a blog post – it’s a module. Everything starts as a module.

2. How do I get past the “just do it and start” phase? Don’t worry about making it good the first time around. Just get something down. You can go back and make it better later. Trust your resources that more will come, and when it does, it will be better.

Also, consider honestly asking yourself what misguided fear is in place that’s preventing you from starting: Fear of self-disclosure? Fear of looking stupid? Fear of your Aunt Patty reading your blog and being offended? Odds are, those fears are easy to overcome once they’re pinpointed.

For further reading, check out The Easiest Way to Overcome Your Fear of Writing and How to Make Your Fear of Writing Melt Away Like a Creamsicle in August.

3. How do you maintain the creative burst after the initial one? Take a break every fifty minutes to do something completely perpendicular to your current activity. Engage a different part of the brain by taking part in activities that free up your peripheral consciousness.

For example, when I’m ready for a break from writing, I go grab my guitar and start jamming. Or wash the dishes. Or walk to Starbucks and back. I never fail to return with renewed energy and spirit. Another suggestion is to embrace the philosophy I call Solvitas Perambulatorum. This is the process of using movement to solve problems and re-ignite your creative fire.

4. How do you push through when it's no longer fun? Pinpoint past successes. Ask yourself, “What, specifically, made this fun initially?” Write your answers down. Then, for each one, brainstorm three ways to duplicate those fun patterns.

Another suggestion is think about what, in general, makes ANY activity fun for you. For example, I never EVER write without music. Ever. And, because I have 11,000 songs in my library, I know exactly which albums are going to put me in a fun mood. (Today, it was The Thrills.)

So, if I find that my level of fun is wavering, I change the music. Check out this guide on How to Create a Portable Creative Environment. That way, it’s ALWAYS fun.

5. How do you quiet the inner critic? As I learned from The Tao, “Any over determined action produces its exact opposite.” So, my first suggestion is relinquish your resistance to your inner critic. If you’re trying to quiet it, it’s only going to yell at you louder. Instead, consider having a conversation with it. Partner with it. Love it.

Remember: A bully’s source of strength derives from your fear of it. When you greet your inner critic with a welcoming heart, you’ll be amazed at how quickly its momentum dissipates.

Next, read The War of Art. This is my favorite book of all time. Ever. Seriously, I buy a new copy and re-read it every summer. It’s specifically written about creative resistance and will change your creative practice forever, guaranteed.

Third suggestion: Every writer on the planet needs to read Eric Maisel’s fantastic book, Write Mind: 299 Things Writers Should Never Say Themselves and What They Should Say Instead. He approaches “the creative critic” from a psychotherapy perspective. This book will blow your mind.

6. How can I tell the difference between awesome ideas and potential high-flying ideas without just throwing the whole lot against an audience to see what sticks? For the most part, you can’t. That’s not your job. Even if you could discern the value of your ideas prior to publishing them, it’s not a wise practice.

My suggestion is three words: Discard evaluative tendencies. Treat every idea, every experience and every thought with deep democracy. I learned this practice from one of the coolest books ever written on creativity, Unintentional Music. Author Layne Arye suggests we value everything whether it was intended or not. “Let all the different parts of the idea express themselves and influence your creative decisions. Be deeply democratic by listening to – and valuing – all parts.”

Therefore: Stop telling yourself, “Well, if I don’t remember it when I get home, it couldn’t have been that important.” That, right there, is the fatal flaw. That, right there, is where most people go wrong. If you make an appraisal of your idea before it’s even written down, you’re assuming and operating on the assumption that how good or bad an idea is, (especially in the early stages of that idea’s development), actually matters.

It doesn’t. Good or bad means NOTHING. Assigning value to your ideas before they’ve been brainstormed, explored and expanded is a creative block. This causes you to fall victim to premature cognitive commitment, which prevents your idea from blossoming into its truest and strongest potential. The idea isn’t “good.” The idea isn’t “bad.” The idea simply IS.

That’s it. No adjectives allowed. So, stop judging. Stop evaluating. Stop appraising. Write everything down, as soon as it enters into your brain. Don’t worry how amazing, how ridiculous or how insane the idea sounds, just get it down. If it strikes a cord with people, they’ll tell you. If it doesn’t, that’s cool too. All that matters is that it strikes a cord with you. That’s the only music that matters.

If you have further challenges with the discipline of creativity, send me an email.

Hey, at least you’ll be writing!

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7 Ways to be Worthy of Your Customer’s Checkbook

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:39:00 +0000

I was eating sushi when it happened.

My friend Gil Wagner was expressing frustration about a colleague of his.

Finally, his rant came to an end with the following comment:

“I love her to death,” Gil said, “but I just can’t see anybody writing her a check.”

I almost choked on my Spicy Tuna Roll.

I can’t see anybody writing her a check.

Ouch. THAT’S not good for business.

HERE’S MY QUESTION: What if someone described YOU that way? Think that might have an impact on your sales?

Absolutely.

Now, that incident happened a few months ago. And since then, I’ve been thinking a lot about Gil’s comment, wondering what the characteristics are of businesspeople who ARE worthy of their customer’s checkbooks.

Today we’re going to explore seven practices to help you become more “checkbookable," which is (yet another) word I made up this year:

1. Say yes to yourself. Before anyone writes you a check, two things have to happen. First, you have to sell yourself on yourself. Next, you have to sell THEM on yourself. As Jeffrey Gitomer reminds us in The Sales Bible, “The deeper your belief, the deeper your pockets.”

My suggestion: Every morning before work, have a daily appointment with yourself. Recite affirmations, re-read goals, meditate, whatever it takes to activate the appropriate mental state. I’ve been practicing this daily since 2002 and I credit it as the single most important thing I do, every day.

Here's a helpful guide on how to do this. Try it for a week. I promise it makes it easy to create the right inner condition to say yes TO yourself, then act on the trust you feel FOR yourself. What do you say to yourself every day?

2. Become a peer of the buyer. First, by discovering the CPI, or Common Point of Interest. Second, by asking PFQ’s, or Passion Finding Questions. Third, ask yourself: What are you willing to LOSE on the first sale in order to guarantee a relationship? Time? Lunch? Money? Free samples? A few hundred bucks? It might be worth it if you become their friend. Are perceived as a friend by people who write checks?

3. Look for every possibly opportunity to reduce uncertainty. You’re starting with a negative balance with your customers. Most of your them have been screwed over, sold to, marketed to, argued against, targeted, annoyed, persuaded, dishonored, pitched, pressured, bothered, interrupted, threatened and manipulated by too many companies too many times. And their tired of it.

Trust and loyalty are at an all time low; fear and skepticism are at an all time high. What’s more, other professionals in your industry have set a precedent of mistrust. And the default posture of the average person is to NOT believe you. You need to disarm that preoccupation whenever possible. What strategy will you use?

4. Defend your value proposition. The more people know about you and what you do, the easier it is (and more likely it is) that they can and will defend you. This is known as the massive evidence concept. And like a good trial attorney, you need to introduce as much evidence of value as possible. Just remember: Don’t confuse the value you deliver with the delivery mechanism OF that value. Are you selling the right thing?

5. Charge fees commensurate with your contribution. “How are you improving the client’s condition?” That’s the mantra of legendary consultant, Alan Weiss. Your goal is to answer that question, state your fee confidently – then shut up. Own the thing you’re trying to tell people. Speak with uncompromising language. Be unapologetic. Don’t feel guilty for demanding compensation for your value.

And, remember that confidence opens checkbooks. Ask yourself, “I wonder how much I can help?” and stop thinking, “I hope I don’t blow this!” The stink of desperation will be unavoidable. Have you ever practiced quoting your fee to yourself in the mirror for twenty minutes straight?

6. Keep your posture. My friend and the owner of goBRANDgo, Derek Weber, tells his staff that a salesperson is similar to a free safety in football. “On defense, you need to have your weight centered and balanced. Up on the balls of your feet ready to react quickly in whatever direction you need to go. Similarly, when speaking to your prospect in a sales environment, if your weight is too far forward and you’re overly aggressive, you cause the prospect to feel pressured. This instantly puts them on the defensive, lowers comfort and tarnishes trust.”

Derek tells his salespeople that strong posture comes from confidence in your sales approach, which comes from practice and preparation. That means go into the call knowing what questions you need to ask in order to discover the information you will need to assess the prospect’s viability as a potential customer. And that helps you control the direction of the sales call without being pushy or domineering.

“Keep yourself centered, your weight balanced, and up on the balls of your feet ready to ask,” Weber said. “It makes the difference between making the sale and being run over for a game-losing touchdown.” What type of posture do you maintain in your sales calls?

7. Leave people with a positive emotional impression. Finally, let’s revisit Gil’s example from earlier. He also told me, “By chosen profession, Marcie is a coach. But upon first impression, Marcie is timid. Mild-mannered. Even tongue-tied. In other words, her outward self seems much more suited to following than leading. That's why I can't see anyone writing her a check. How do you hire a coach who visibly seems more comfortable following than leading?”

Therefore, the challenge is simple: Make sure the message you’re preaching the dominant reality of your life. Other the disharmony between your onstage performance and backstage reality will be too loud. How do you leave people?

REMEMBER: If you want to become worthy of your customer’s checkbook, you’ve got to make yourself checkbookable.

Execute these seven practices, and soon you’ll start receiving more checks than Jerry Lewis on Telethon Weekend.

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Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
scott@hellomynameisscott.com

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7 Ways to become Your Own Authority Figure Without Using Pepper Spray

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:10:00 +0000

Cops. Judges. Parents. Teachers. Clergy. Chiefs. Experts. Administrators. Gurus. Leaders. Presidents. Politicians. Soldiers. Scientists. Robert DeNiro.

These are the authority figures we’ve been taught to show respect TO and take advice FROM.

Now, for the most part, I don’t disagree.

The only stipulation I’d suggest is that you add one more person to your list of authority figures:

Yourself.

HERE’S WHY: The word authority derives from the Latin word auctoritas, which means, “Advice, opinion, influence or commands from a master, leader or author.”

What’s more, an authority figure is defined as, “a person whose real or apparent authority inspires or demands obedience and emulation.”

What if you did that for yourself? What if the advice and opinions and inspiration you acted upon … came from within?

Let’s look at a collection of practices for becoming your OWN authority figure:

1. Believe in the availability of your own answers. Expectation determines outcome. So, expect your intuition to be there for you. I learned this a few years ago when I started reciting the following incantation several times daily, “I am richly supported. I trust my resources.”

Since I started meditating on that, my ability to become my own authority figure has skyrocketed. I wonder what would happen if you regularly reminded yourself that every answer you needed lay within. What do you say when you talk to yourself?

2. Unintimidate yourself. When you see a cop car in your rearview mirror, you tense up. Or slow down. Or hide your drugs. The point is: Authority figures are intimidating. And if you plan to become your own authority figure, you can’t be. I read an excellent article from Students Helping Students on this very topic:

“Don’t intimidate yourself, however intimidating the situation might be. You didn't get there by luck – but because you’re smart and good enough to be there. Feeling intimidated often translates into acting intimidated, and acting intimidated is not what you want to do. Believe in yourself. Understand your strengths. Focus on them. And learn to talk about them well. This won’t always lead to success, but you’ll be maximizing your chances rather than sabotaging them."

Remember: If you intimidate yourself, you can’t put your best face on and won’t show up strongly. Are you beating yourself with your own inner billy club?

3. Try some vitamin Z. In Eric Maisel’s book, Sleep Thinking, he walks you through a system for uncovering answers while you sleep. One of the techniques I use regularly goes like this: Get into bed. Close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths. Then, repeat the following mantra silently until you fall asleep: “I wonder what I don’t want to know about myself.”

When you wake up, write down your thoughts immediately. You’ll be amazed – and potentially terrified – at what you learn about yourself. Remember: When you let your heart ask the questions, your life will provide the answers. How are you using sleep as your problem solver?

4. Formulate and memorialize your own decision-making system. If you truly want to convey a thorough understanding of yourself, if you honesty desire to create a good working model of your own identity, and if you sincerely want to maintain consistency and alignment of your actions, you need to consider how you decide.

A life-changing exercise to do is to create a governing document for your daily decision-making. I just stumbled upon this process about six months ago myself. And I assure you it’s one of – if not thee – most powerful exercises I’ve ever executed for creating becoming my own authority figure.

Remember: The only thing in this world you have ANY control over … is your choice. Map out how and why you make those choices. Doesn’t it make sense to start asking yourself, “W.W.I.D?” or “What would I do?”

5. Establish a daily internal dialogue with yourself. Ideally, by writing Morning Pages, the trademark technique of Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. It’s simple: You sit down, first thing in the morning, and just PUKE. For three pages. No edits. No deleting. No thinking. Just writing.

I promise if you try this for a month, the following things will happen: You’ll develop honesty in your relationship with your words on the page, which will fuel you with the courage to stand up for yourself in the world. You’ll create mini gripe sessions where you work out your grudges. You’ll feel a greater sense of stability and intimacy with your own opinions.

What’s more, you’ll learn how to take accurate stock of your life, examine all aspects of your experiences and gain newfound inner strength and agility. You’ll learn to approach your challenges from an emotionally neutral or positive stance. You’ll teach yourself what you like and don’t like and move your closer to your authentic selves. You’ll get current, catch up on yourself and pinpoint precisely what you are feeling and thinking.

And finally, you’ll miniaturize irrational worries and underscore legitimate concerns in a sorting process. That sounds like someone who acts as her own authority figure to me. What did you write today?

6. Be open to ideas from everyone, but deliver the ultimate verdict yourself. You have to, as my friend Chrissy Scivicque says, “Eschew the judgments of others and do what makes YOU happy.” My suggestion is to fully become your own partner. To employ only the approval of your heart. To learn to rely on your own counsel and to take resourceful refuge in your inner teacher.

And, to muster the courage to abandon external instructors and find out things for yourself. Do you have the courage to follow your inner guide even if you look like an idiot and risk alienating those who don’t understand?

7. Get out of your head and into your heart. First, identify the angry voice of your ego that is making it difficult to hear the subtle voice intuition. Second, dive down inward, lower the veil and await the truth. Third, listen up. Consider yourself data. See, it’s not that your intuition doesn’t exist – it’s that you’re not listening to what it’s whispering you. Finally, decide in the solitude of your own consciousness. Whose opinion are you bowing to?

In conclusion, I’m reminded of the wise words of the great philosopher, Eric Cartman, who often remarked, “Respect my authoritah!”

I challenge you to modify that to, “Respect YOUR authoritah!”

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Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
scott@hellomynameisscott.com

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13 (more) Things That Don’t Really Exist, No Matter How Many Lies You’ve Been Conditioned to Believe

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:11:00 +0000

Last time you read a list of things that don’t (really) exist, why they don’t exist, and what exists in their place.

Today, I have more: Thirteen additional items that don’t (really) exist.

Read them at your own peril…

1. “Must see” doesn’t exist. That’s just fancy, coma-inducing marketing language for, “Please addict yourself to our crappy programming so our advertisers don’t come to their senses and stop wasting their money on a dead medium like television.”

Here’s the naked truth: You’re not their little target anymore. You are in charge of how much attention you choose to give. How much money did you make last month by watching television?

2. “Off the record” doesn’t exist. Everything matters, everybody’s watching and everything’s a performance. You’re on the record, all the time, whether you like or not. I sure hope your integrity is tact.

Or else you’ll end up like one of those moronic athletes who chooses to throw away his entire reputation and legacy on one night’s stupidity. Or, in Tiger Woods’ case, thirteen nights. But who’s counting? Would you want to become known for what you’re about to do?

3. Overnight successes don’t exist. Instead, you work your ass off for about twenty years when nobody notices, nobody cares and nobody remembers. And then one day you take a deep breath, look in the mirror and say, “It’s about time.” How patient are you willing to be?

4. Quick fixes don’t exist. I guarantee: When you get your fix, you will not be fixed. You will want more very soon. That’s the nature of addiction.

That’s why the quick fix industry makes so much money: Never-ending repeat business is guaranteed because of infinitely unsatisfied customers. I wonder what would happen if you made the decision to be satisfied right now. What are you currently addicted to?

5. Recession-Proof doesn’t exist. Everyone is affected by a recession. Everyone. Maybe not financially. But we all feel it. Physically, emotionally and spiritually. Don’t be so arrogant as to assume the recession wants nothing to do with you.

I got news for you: The recession doesn’t care if you sell an inelastic, “recession-proof” product. It’s still coming after you. And if you leave your guard down, it’s going to deliver the death stroke when you least expect. How are you preparing for the devastation?

6. Shortcuts don’t exist. Shortcuts cause stress, rarely succeed and often backfire. They never go unpunished. They are a refuge for slackers and a lazy man’s panacea. Ultimately, shortcuts don’t lead anywhere but the Exit Door. Longcuts, on the other hand, lead to the finish line.

So, here’s my suggestion: Learn the chords. Take the long cut. Work your face off. Develop bottomless patience. You will win, win BIG, and win alone. How much money is impatience costing you?

7. Stupid questions don’t exist. As the great philosopher Homer Simpson once said, “There are no stupid questions – only stupid people.” In this case, the stupid people who don’t ask questions.

“That the problem with our educational system,” complained George Carlin, “kids shouldn’t be taught to read, they should be taught to question what they read.” What questions are you afraid to ask?

8. The Real World doesn’t exist. As John Mayer sang in the song No Such Thing, “I wanna run through the halls of my high school and scream at the top of my lungs, ‘There’s no such thing as The Real World – it’s just a lie you’ve got to rise above.’” What lies are you afraid to call people out on?

9. Time doesn’t exist. If you don’t compartmentalize your life, you, become the SOURCE of time. And that’s when you realize that you always have heaps of time to do anything and everything you’ve ever wanted. Also, it depends on how you define your activities.

For example, people complain they don’t have time to meditate. But if you learn to approach every experience as a meditation, you’re never (not) meditating. I think if people sat down and actually mapped out their energy investments, they’d be astonished at how out of whack their priorities were. How would your daily life be different if you accepted yourself as the source of time?

10. Warm calls don’t exist. Stop kidding yourself. If the prospect doesn’t know you and isn’t expecting you, it’s cold. Even if she DOES know you and IS expecting you, if she’s not your friend, it’s cold.

People buy people first. Grasp this distinction and you will make more sales. When was the last time you were excited to answer a phone call from a caller ID you didn’t recognize?

11. Waste doesn’t exist. Everything is valuable. Everything is a contribution. Everything is productive to something. Everyone you encounter is your mentor. Think this way and you’ll never feel wasteful again. What's your recycling plan?

12. Work/Life Balance doesn’t exist. Balance is for ballerinas. You need to focus on alignment. That means gathering all the components of your life and asking them to join hands in a circle around your cherished values, singing and dancing and rejoicing for eternity.

Once that’s accomplished, an occasional break in the balance isn’t won’t be able to hurt you. As long as you maintain a well-diversified portfolio of happiness, you’ll be fine. What is out of alignment?

13. Writer’s Block doesn’t exist. Writing is an extension of thinking. You don’t have Writer’s Block; you have Thinker’s Block. Stop blaming your lack of creativity and productivity on some evil, external force of resistance over which you have zero control.

It’s you. It’s always you. When was the last time you took time to just think?

REMEMBER: No matter how many lies you’ve been conditioned to believe, certain things don’t (really) exist.

Perhaps you should make a list of your own.

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What’s on your list of things that don’t exist?

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Leave a comment on this blog with your list of things that don’t exist, why they don’t exist, and what exists in their place.

Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
scott@hellomynameisscott.com

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

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Are You Wasting Your Hard Earned Money Chasing After These 13 Things That Don’t Really Exist?

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:04:00 +0000

Have you ever found yourself arguing about whether or not something (really) existed?

I don’t mean existential ideas like God or space or reality.

I’m talking about simple, basic things we encounter every day. Do they (really) exist, or has the steady stream of illusions veiled the truth from us?

GOOD NEWS: I’m here to set the record straight.

Below is a list of things that don’t exist, why they don’t exist, and what exists in their place. Read them at your own peril…

1. “A quick question” doesn’t exist. An example of a quick question is, “Are you gonna finish that rocky mountain oyster omelet?” Other than that, this phrase is a disguise used by people who want to pick you brain, suck your blood and steal your time. Charge them or walk away. What is this person REALLY asking you?

2. Accidents don’t exist. Everything that’s ever happened, everything that’s currently happening and everything that will happen, is exactly what’s supposed to happen. Even if it wasn’t part of your nice little plan. Accept what is and move on. Is this something that might happen whether you worry about it or not?

3. Behavior modification doesn’t exist. You can’t make anybody change. No matter how many books you read. No matter how hard you try, the other person has to WANT to change. And even then, you can only do so much. Whom are you trying to make just like you?

4. Business Ethics doesn’t exist. In John Maxwell’s There’s No Such Thing As Business Ethics, he explains that there’s only one rule when making decisions. The singular idea agreed upon by every major religion in the world. “Do unto others as you’d have them to do you.” I agree with John. Ethics of life and ethics of business are the same. How will you translate your personal values into your professional world?

5. Cinderella doesn’t exist. There’s no Prince Charming. There’s no Glass Slipper. Unjust oppression doesn’t always receive triumphant rewards. That’s not the way it works in real life. That’s why they call it a fairy tale. Are you willing to work harder than ever before and watch 90% of that work go unnoticed and underappreciated?

6. Competition doesn’t exist. It’s merely a projection of your scarcity mentality. The pie is enormous. You just need the right fork. Change your silverware or change your career. Are you making war on the competition or making love to the customer?

7. Flawless execution doesn’t exist. Flawless execution doesn’t exist. Exquisite, yes; flawless, no. And without approaching failure this way, you’ll get swept away in the undertow of personal drama. Which accomplishes nothing but granting your emotions an all-day pass for disturbing your ability to execute. Will you fail like you mean it?

8. Good or bad days exist. As Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Everything is neutral until painted with the meaning you ascribe to it. Are you having a bad day or a bad attitude?

9. Gurus don’t exist. If you meet a guru who calls himself a guru, run back down the mountain. He’s not a guru. If you have to tell people you are, you probably aren’t. Who’s teaching you?

10. "It just happened" doesn’t exist. No, it didn’t. Nothing just happens. Things happen because a series of decisions were made by somebody, and that’s what caused things to happen. Do you take responsibility for the consequences of your choices?

11. Limits don’t exist. For example, when people complain that they’re “not creative.” I don't buy that. Everyone is creative. The difference is, not everyone knows how to explode the barriers set in place by a lifetime of conditioning to express that creativity. Here’s the reality: As long as you don’t violate the scientific laws of thermodynamics, pretty much anything is possible. Probable, maybe not. But possible, absolutely. Are you bound and limited by the thoughts that other have formulated for you?

12. Luck doesn’t exist. Serendipity is, in fact, a strategy. It’s not an accident. It’s not luck. It’s working your ass off. It’s putting yourself in the way of success. It’s making the world say yes to you by engaging your Yes Muscle and becoming a more yessable person. It’s increasing the probability of success by making yourself more successable. It’s creating an ongoing, market-wide hunger for you. It’s victory through unwavering vigilance to your vision. It’s being at the right place at the right time by being in a lot of place. How could you become the luckiest person you know?

13. Mistakes don’t exist. In Steven Mitchell’s Second Book of the Tao, he explains, “There are no mistakes in the universe. What happened is what should have happened; there’s no other possibility. And anyone who understands that everything happens as exactly the right time will be untouched by sorrow and joy.” How would you career be different if you viewed nothing as a mistake?

FINAL NOTE: This is only half of the list. Stay tuned tomorrow for the continuation of things that don’t exist.

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Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
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Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

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Are You Sculpting These Four Muscles of Approachable Leaders?

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:06:00 +0000

1. Energy is the best attractor. People might not remember what you said – but they’ll never forget how your energy made them feel.

That’s what brings them back for more of you. That’s what causes them to tell everyone they know about you. Whether or not your forcefield of aliveness helped them fall in love with themselves. How do you make people feel essential?

2. Execution is the great qualifier. If you’re not sure whether or not to trust someone, just ask one question: “What measurable success has this person achieved?” That should weed out the talkers from the doers. At the same time, remember that your prospects are probably asking the same question about you.

Your challenge is to reinforce a positive pattern of execution. To present a timeline of credibility. Otherwise you’ll appear about as qualified as George W. Bush. What have you executed this week?

3. Inauthenticity is the great deal-breaker. Because it taints everything else you do. I don’t care how smart, good-looking or successful you are. If you’re bullshitting the world, eventually they’re going to smell it. Especially if you “try” to be authentic.

Doesn’t work that way. Authenticity is like pregnancy: You either are or you aren’t. Sure, it’s not as obvious to onlookers as carrying a child. But time has this funny way of either exposing you or extolling you. May as well go with the real version. What do you rationalize as authenticity?

4. Trust is the great closer. Failure to achieve believability is a widespread challenge. Which is understandable. People are afraid of everything, so they trust nothing. The goal is to teach people to trust and believe in you again so they’re not afraid of you anymore.

After all: The more people trust IN you, the more they will bet on, buy from, follow after, stand beside and tell others about you. And if you’ve ever wondered, “Why don’t people don’t trust me?” perhaps it’s time to ask the bigger question, “Am I trustable?”

Here’s a helpful guide to become more trustable than Oprah without resorting to brainwashing or Jedi mind tricks. What are the signs that you haven’t earned someone’s trust yet?

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scott@hellomynameisscott.com

Never the same speech twice.
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Do You Embody These 12 Attributes of Utterly Unequalable People?

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:39:00 +0000

Every Thanksgiving, I take a Gratitude Walk.

Usually through Forest Park in St. Louis. It’s spectacularly crunchy and colorful in the fall.

This past year, I took a break about halfway through my walk for a brief sitting meditation on a nearby park bench. As I sat down, I noticed a gold plate fastened to the top. It read the following:

“In memory of Benjamin Harris Wells. The world will not see his equal.”

Don’t you just want to meet that guy? Just to see what he was like?

I even googled him, but couldn’t track anyone down. Oh well.

STILL, HERE’S THE QUESTION: Will the world ever see YOUR equal?

While you’re alive, after you’re dead? Will another person come along that does what you do?

Since Thanksgiving, I’ve been thinking a lot about this idea. And after a great deal of reflection upon the people I’ve encounterd in my life that I’d consider to be “unequalable individuals,” I’ve written a collection of practices to help you become utterly unequalable yourself.

1. Allow yourself to be known. To become unequalable, you absolutely CANNOT be afraid of bigness. Otherwise the selfhood on which you stand will not support the platform that being known requires. What are three places in your life that you are playing small instead of playing big?

2. Be circumferenceless in your compassionate with yourself. Give yourself a fighting chance. Remember: You are an ongoing do-it-yourself project. Are you listening to the way you speak to yourself when you make mistakes?

3. Be enough now. Because nothing will ever make you happy in the future. As I learned from Anthony DeMello, “There is not a single moment in your life when you do not have everything you need to be happy.” Try this: Once a day, recite the following mantra as you breathe deeply, “I am enough, I have enough and I do enough.”

Sound cheesy? You’re right – it is. And the reason I’ve been reciting that meditation every morning for five years is simple: Because it works. After all, you can’t be unequalable if you’re not “enough.” What do you say to yourself every day?

4. Be not become perpendicular of your Personal Constitution. The word “constitution” derives from the Latin constitutio, or, “ordinance.” Therefore: Your constitution is the composition and condition of your character. Your constitution is the established arrangement of your non-negotiables. Your constitution is the system of fundamental values governing your behavior.

And, your constitution is the aggregate of personal characteristics comprising your foundation. The best part is: It’s a living document. It’s amenable. And as you grow and develop personally and professionally, various elements of your Personal Constitution reserve the right to modify. Have you found a good place to practice your values?

5. Being honest isn’t enough. The other half of the equation is being courageous and vulnerable enough to admit when you’re full of shit. Remember: Being true rarely means being comfortable. Take your pick. Comfort is rarely a constant in the equation for success. How many times you step out of your comfort zone this week?

6. Choose wisely whom you allow to influence you. There are certain people whose energies you DO NOT want to infiltrate your reality. My mind will not be invaded, you say to yourself. Keep your distance from people whose sole function is to bring noise to your head.

Release those who impede you, drag you downward or take away from what you could have been. Instead, make room for the relationships that matter. Remember: Saying no strengthens character. Are you being fair to yourself by continuing this relationship?

7. Don’t become locked in your posture. Rigidity is the great ruiner. Instead, exert flexibility when the unexpected enters and focus on the fulcrum of the possible. That’s what my yoga instructor constantly reminds us, “Focus on your best effort for today – whatever that feels and looks like to you.” How flexible are you?

8. Make sense of the world in ways others cannot. This was a key ingredient to achieving success, according to Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers. Putting orderliness to the chaos that surrounds you. Refining your ability to see on subtler levels, then translate what you’ve absorbed.

And, jolting people out of their assumptions, thus becoming the alarm clock they don’t realize they desperately need. That’s how you turn ordinary encounters into moments of instant reeducation. Do you refuse to lead an unexamined life?

9. Televise the indestructible fidelity of your character. Channel surfing will become non-existent. People won’t be able to take their eyes off you. You will become the example that penetrates the whole world. Are you spending time increasing your talent or increasing your character?

10. Find out what doesn’t look good on you so you know what NOT to wear. After all, success is just as much about knowing who you AREN’T and what you DON’T want. How are you defining the whitespace around yourself?

11. Use every challenge as a growth spurt. As long as you ask yourself questions like: “What am I supposed to be learning from this?” “What is the opportunity for growth in this loss?” and “What universal principles of growth or change can you distill from this experience that can be passed on to others?”

Remember: Use every situation as a catalyst to grow and evolve, not to beat yourself up. Ultimately, the goal is create the best possible circumstance in which your growth will be supported, enhanced and fulfilled. Regardless of the challenge. Now that you’ve experienced this challenge, what else does this make possible?

12. Commit yourself to a path you believe in. Especially the path that chose YOU, not the other way around. That’s how it works: Paths choose walkers. The next step is to create a mental picture of the life you want to live while navigating that path. Literally. Become a master of creative visualization. (I suggest you read everything ever written by Shakti Gawain.)

Also, to reinforce your commitment to that path, consider making a vision board. Post images of the people, experiences, things and realities you would like to experience along this path. Look at it everyday. You’ll discover that like a camera, your life develops that which is focused upon. What path has your soul chosen for your learning process?

REMEMBER: You are the agent of your own future.

Within reason, ability and the laws of thermodynamics, you can achieve (pretty much) anything you’re willing to pay the price for.

So, if you’re wondering how long it will take to become an unequalable person, it’s hard to tell.

If I had to guess, I’d say, approximately, the rest of your life.

But who knows?

Maybe someday a park will dedicate a bench to you.

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6 Ways Make Yourself into Human Lightning Rod of Creativity – Without Scorching Your Skull or Frying Your Fro

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:27:00 +0000

According to the U.S. National Weather Service, the odds of being struck by lightning in your lifetime are 1 in 6,250.

I like those odds.

In fact, I believe that’s the BIGGEST secret to a successful creative practice.

Making yourself more strikeable.

I first learned about this concept from my pal, Don The Idea Guy. Possessing creative powers beyond those of mere mortals, Don rescues those in need of innovative ideas through his brainstorming sessions, articles, websites, books and presentation. He’s been interviewed by the New York Times, quoted in FastCompany, and served as the first president of the International Idea Trade Association.

When asked about how to become more strikeable, he wrote:

“Waiting for inspiration? Puh-leeeze. You may as well wait for lightning to strike. As a matter of fact, you've probably heard a flash of brilliance described that way – as a lightning strike. And the worst offenders of this ‘wait-and-see’ approach to inspiration are the people who've experienced a flash of insight in the past.”

“And I'm not saying the occasional lightning strike doesn't happen,” said Don, “I'm just saying the odds are against it.”

The secret, then, of making yourself more strikeable, is to make yourself into a human lightning rod.

“Lightning rods provide an easy path for creativity to find its way to your brain, but you gotta be holding them – using them – in order for the creative lightning to strike YOU instead of dissipating harmlessly into the ground,” explained Don.

Here is a collection of practices for making yourself more strikeable:

1. Make room. Often times the problem of a creative mind is not the lack of ideas, but an over abundance, says Don. “There are so many ideas swimming around in your noggin that you don't know which one to act upon first. It can get congested up there, and if you don't find a release valve your brain can get more clogged than a summer sinus infection.”

Your challenge is simple: Make sure everything you know is written down somewhere. You memory is a moron. Don’t depend on it. Get every idea down as soon as it comes to you. Don’t judge whether or not it’s good. Just get it down. Because if you don’t write it down, it never happened. And you can’t use what you can’t find.

2. Position yourself to be struck. The U.S. National Weather Service also reported that out of the thousand people that are injured by lightning each year (oddly enough, most of whom live in Florida, aka, “The Lightning Capital of the World”), one third of all injuries occur during work, another third of injuries occur during recreational or sports activities, and the last third occurs in diverse situations, including injuries to those inside buildings.

Therefore: The secret is putting yourself in the best possible position for lightning to strike. After all, you can’t expect to be zapped while sitting on your couch every day. Now, I’m not suggesting you relocate to Florida. But getting out of the house and into the world is crucial component to supporting, enriching, inspiring and informing your work.

You GET ideas, as the raw materials for your work are everywhere. You SHARE ideas, as you bounce them off other for feedback. You ROUND OUT ideas, as new experiences add new dimensions to existing thoughts. Remember: Real art can’t be created in a vacuum.

3. Become idea safe. www.StruckByLightning.org is a Massachusetts-based non-profit corporation that promotes lightning safety. Their mascot, Leo the Lightning Lion, says that prevention is key. “No place outside is safe in a thunderstorm,” he said. Now, he reminds kids and adults alike of this truth with a variety of memorable slogans. So, what I’ve done is flipped each one with a challenge question as it pertains to becoming more strikeable:

• “When thunder roars, go indoors!” What are the signs of a brewing creative storm, and how do you respond to them?

• “Don’t be lame, end the game!” Are you quitting too early during your creative sessions, thus preventing the best ideas from surfacing?

• “Don’t be a fool, get out of the pool!” How often are you swimming in your pool of ideas?

• “Use your brain, don’t wait for the rain!” Are you waiting on inspiration or depending on discipline?

4. Creativity is a function of awareness. In the Wikipedia entry about lightning,, I also discovered this piece of trivia: “Pine trees usually stand taller than other species, which also makes them a likely target for lightning strikes. Additionally, factors that lead to its being targeted include: High resin content, loftiness, and its needles that lend themselves to a high electrical discharge during a thunderstorm.”

Pine trees know what they’re doing. They have all the characteristics of a strikeable plant. The question is: What attributes do YOU embody that make you a likely target? Don suggests awareness as the essential element:

“I used to believe my primary source for attracting creative ideas was curiosity. It turns out that attribute most of my idea generation to awareness – simply being attuned to what's happening around me and absorbing these influences and seeds of ideas into my mind.”

Therefore: Think of your brain as a magnet. Invite innovative influences as metal shavings, collect enough metal and you can create a helluva lightning rod.

5. Discard evaluative tendencies. Treat every idea, every experience and every thought with deep democracy. I learned this practice from one of the coolest books ever written on creativity, Unintentional Music. Author Layne Arye suggests we value everything whether it was intended or not. “Let all the different parts of the idea express themselves and influence your creative decisions. Be deeply democratic by listening to – and valuing – all parts.”

Therefore: Stop telling yourself, “Well, if I don’t remember it when I get home, it couldn’t have been that important.” That, right there, is the fatal flaw. That, right there, is where most people go wrong. If you make an appraisal of your idea before it’s even written down, you’re assuming and operating on the assumption that how good or bad an idea is, (especially in the early stages of that idea’s development), actually matters.

It doesn’t. Good or bad means NOTHING. Assigning value to your ideas before they’ve been brainstormed, explored and expanded is a creative block. This causes you to fall victim to premature cognitive commitment, which prevents your idea from blossoming into its truest and strongest potential.

The idea isn’t “good.” The idea isn’t “bad.” The idea simply IS. That’s it. No adjectives allowed. Stop judging. Stop evaluating. Stop appraising. Write everything down, as soon as it enters into your brain. Don’t worry how amazing, how ridiculous or how insane the idea sounds, just get it down.

6. Learn to strike out. In my research on lightning, the most fascinating story was that of Roy Cleveland Sullivan (February 7, 1912 – September 28, 1983). He was a U.S. Park Ranger in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Between 1942 and 1977, Sullivan was hit by lightning on SEVEN different occasions – and survived all of them.

Naturally, he earned the nickname “Human Lightning Conductor” and “Human Lightning Rod.” Sullivan is recognized by The Guinness Book of World Records as the person being struck by lightning more recorded times than any other human being. Interestingly, each of Sullivan’s lightning strikes is documented.

As you read these, consider the implications in terms of strikeabilty and how you might repeat parallel circumstances in your own creative practice. Again, each item is flipped with a challenge question:

• April 1942. He was hiding from a thunderstorm in a fire lookout tower. Are you standing at the highest point of visibility to expose yourself to the best creative light?

• July 1969. The lightning first hit nearby trees and was deflected into the open window. Whose creativity could you deflect into your atmosphere just by being around them more often?

• September 1970. While in his front yard, the lightning hit a nearby power transformer and then jumped to his left shoulder, searing it. What three “hot spots” – coffee shops, art museums, strip clubs – could you stand in proximity of to maximize strikeabilty?

• March 1972. Struck while working inside a ranger station in Shenandoah National Park. It set his hair on fire. When was the last time you set your creativity on fire? What kindling steps led to that? How could you repeat them?

• August 1973. While he was out on patrol in the park, Sullivan saw a storm cloud forming and drove away quickly, even though the cloud, he said later, seemed to be following him. Soon after, a lightning bolt struck him. What affirmations could you recite each morning that would attract lightning into your atmosphere?

• June 1976. He saw a cloud, thought that it was following him, tried to run away, but was struck anyway. What if, instead of running from the lightning, you partnered with it?

• June 25, 1977. Sullivan was fishing in a freshwater pool when he was struck the seventh time. The lightning hit the top of his head, singeing his hair, and traveled down burning his chest and stomach. What conductor could you immerse yourself in for an extended period of time to increase the chances of being struck?

Sadly, Roy Sullivan died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the stomach at the age of 71.

Upon hearing the sad news, his friends and family members were “shocked."

REMEMBER: Lightning strikes twice, three times and ALL the time if you learn how to turn yourself into a lightning rod.

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7 Unavoidable Conclusions that Will Change the Face of Your Career Forever – Or at Least Disturb the Hell out of You

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:08:00 +0000

1. Coincidence is the wailing whisper of truth. Because there is no coincidence. The Universe just packaged it that way to grab your attention. Otherwise you never would have noticed it.

What’s more, coincidence is NOT “God’s way of remaining anonymous.” We all know who did it. We all know who’s at work. And it isn’t us. Coincidence is God’s nametag. Is it sticking to you?

2. Complacency is the constant capsizer of relationships. Too comfortable. Too happy. Too perfect. This is not good. As my aunt Vicki likes to remind me, “When everything’s perfect, someone isn’t being honest.”

Now, I’m not saying you should fight all the time. But if nothing’s ever wrong, something’s wrong. Do you really need to watch another episode of Law & Order, or do you need to sit down a have a conversation with the person you love more than anything and spill your heavy heart?

3. Deafness is the ultimate betrayal of self. Your body will never lie to you. TRUTH is the only language it knows. And a like a car, it’s always speaking to you. The question is: Will you listen? Sadly, most people don’t. At least, not until they end up in the hospital or at the pharmacy counter.

And the reality is, they don’t need another pill – they need a hearing aid. Remember: If you’re not listening to your body, you’re a putz. What are you turning a dangerously deaf ear to?

4. Discomfort is the ultimate activator of action. If you’re comfortable, I doubt you’re moving. And if you’re not moving, I doubt you’re making money. The hard part is, sometimes it takes a swift kick to the crotch to get your off your butt.

That’s why it’s invaluable to surround yourself with people who will consistency challenge, inspire and poke you. People that will call you out. People that you can’t hide in the presence of. And people that will tell you when you’re full of crap.

Remember: The more uncomfortable you’re willing to make yourself, the easier it becomes to make a name FOR yourself. Where in your life are you too comfortable?

5. Emotion is the unbreakable dam of reason. Now, that doesn’t mean ZERO emotion. We’re not Vulcans. But an awareness of the power of emotions is necessary to successful navigate the turbulent waters of communication.

Remember: The word “emotion” comes from the same Latin derivative as “disturb.” When you are emotionally involved in conversation, how well do you communicate?

6. Forgiveness is the real fundraiser of freedom. Here’s a fun and effective way to practice forgiveness on a micro level: Respond positively to unnecessary apologies from strangers. Especially when there’s absolutely no need to apologize.

For example, if the woman in front of you in line is waiting for her debit card to go through and she looks back at you with a rushed posture and says, “Sorry…” (as if she just committed the most heinous of all retail atrocities) just smile back, look her straight in the eyes and say, “I forgive you.”

Upon absorbing the ridiculousness of such a statement, she’ll realize that there was no need to apologize in the first place. And who knows? Maybe she’ll start to forgive herself too. I practice this all the time, and it’s one of the great joys in my life – waking people up.

Remember: When you learn to forgive yourself first – then forgive others in advance – freedom will have no choice but to invite itself into your life. Whom do you need to forgive?

7. Rebirth is the inevitable outgrowth of heartbreak. With the requisite amount of awareness and a solid support structure, you can easily convert your current heartbreak into a heartbreathrough. Put an end to the pity party and take the reins on your resurrection opportunity by asking the crucial question:

“Now that I’ve experienced this, what else does this make possible?”

Shift your attitude to a mindset of leverage and you will come out alive stronger and better. How could you leverage your frustration in this situation as motivation to grow into more of the person you’ve always wanted to be?

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7 Effective Approaches for Handling The Office Criticizer without Using the Fire Extinguisher

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:40:00 +0000

Depending on the situation, you might try any of the following Phrases that Payses to diffuse their negative energy:

1. “You may be correct.” This phrase diffuses the energy behind someone’s attack and avoids threatening the attacker. And by giving an impression of active agreement – not passive acquiescence – you avoid adding fuel to the fire. What’s more, “You may be right” validates a particular part of someone’s argument. Which doesn’t mean you TOTALLY agree with her. But, it does make it easier for the other person to hear your side of the story by way of reciprocation.

2. “I agree with you.” Similarly, this phrase “agrees with thy adversary quickly,” as the scripture suggests. It builds common ground on a point of mutual agreement and aligns you with the other person. That way, you’re both on the same side. Which is how resistance dissipates. Which makes moving toward a solution flow a LOT smoother.

3. “What makes this so important to you?” This gem is especially effective when someone shoots down EVERY idea you suggest. It identifies a person's motives and challenges them to honesty examine their emotions, which, if they’ve lashed out at you, probably isn’t something they’ve done yet.

4. “I respect your opinion of my work.” My all-time favorite. Perfect for artists and creative professionals. Remember: If everybody loves your brand, you’re doing something wrong. And if you’re not polarizing or pissing of at least SOME people, you’re doing something wrong. Likewise, if everybody loves your idea, it’s probably not that good of an idea. So, next time someone expresses a dislike for your work – especially in an attempt to fluster, insult or embarrass you – try saying this phrase.

5. “How exactly do you mean?” This responds directly to the attack instead of letting it pass unchallenged. Another variation is, “Can you give me a specific example?” Either way, have a paper and pen ready to take notes to demonstrate a willingness to listen and openness to feedback.

6. “You’re right.” Two of the most powerful words in the world. Also, two of the most beautiful words anyone will hear. This Safety Phrase surprises the attacker, short circuits their verbal violence loop and communicates the message that you’re not going to play by their rules. What’s more, it forces the other person to make a new move. Additionally, saying, “You’re right,” contains the following attributes:

a. It’s positively framed. Which redirects the conversation into a productive direction. And that can ONLY help achieve greater resolve.
b. It enters into someone else’s reality. Which demonstrates empathy. Which shows you’ve listened. Which advances the conversation into safer, more productive territory.
c. It increases someone’s pride. Which speaks to their self-esteem. Which makes them more confident about themselves. Which makes YOU feel better about YOUR self.
d. It builds common ground on a point of mutual agreement. Which reduces emotional distance and increases trust. And especially if someone’s really upset, getting her to trust you is your key goal.
e. It validates a particular part of someone’s argument. Which doesn’t mean you’re TOTALLY agreeing with them. But, it makes them easier for them to (then) hear your side of the story.

7. Silence. Lastly, sometimes the best way to reverse the momentum of an overly aggressive or hostile person is to say nothing at all. To just shut up and let them vent. See, in many cases, that’s all they wanted: Someone to listen to them. To honor them. Or, in some cases, that’s all they needed: Someone to serve as a sounding board so they could hear how absurd their words actually were.

Of course, if none of these practices work, you can always grab the fire extinguisher, either for beatings or sprayings. It all depends on how tall the criticizer is.

Good luck.

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Are You Making These Five Mistakes of Piss-Poor Execution?

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:02:00 +0000

My favorite scene in Steven King’s The Green Mile is when prisoner Eduard Delacroix and the Death Row guards rehearse their upcoming execution:

“Walking the Mile, walking the Green Mile ... I'm getting to my knees … I'm praying, praying … Lord is my shepherd and so forth and so on … I'm sorry for all the bad stuff I've done and people I've tramped on and I hope they forgive me ... and I'll never do it again, that's for sure …Walking the Mile … Walking the Green Mile … Still praying, still praying … Getting right with Jesus … Final requests … I want fried chicken with gravy on the taters, I want to take a dump in the warden’s hat … and I got to have Mae West sit on my lap because I'm one horny bastard! … Walking the Mile, Walking the Green Mile…

Classic.

But today we’re going to talk about a different kind of execution.

Entrepreneurial Execution.

No electricity required.

Wait. I take that back. Electricity is exactly what is required.

I’ve identified the five most prominent purveyors of piss-poor execution. As you explore this list, consider what’s standing in your way of turning thoughts into things and things into money.

1. Hesitation hinders execution. He who hesitates isn’t just lost – he’s COST. As in, opportunity cost. My suggestion is simple: Be more impatient. Now, this is a challenging paradigm shift for most of us because we’ve been conditioned to believe that patience is a virtue. Which it is. Just keep in mind: Impatience, when applied consciously, creatively and cautiously, isn’t just a virtue – it’s a victory.

Just go. Just DO stuff. Don’t wait for permission. Don’t wait until you’re ready. Don’t wait until you’re old or smart enough. Don’t wait until you know HOW. If you wait too long, when the time comes to move, there will be no momentum left to execute. Ultimately, being impatient is about the willingness to look bad on the road to immortality. The courage to plunge forward planless. And the vulnerability to be an imperfectionist. How much money are you losing by being too patient?

2. Ambiguity assassinates execution. While a high tolerance for ambiguity IS necessary for entrepreneurial success, SOME clarity is helpful. Especially when you begin soliciting support and communicating your ideas to others. They won’t be able to help making your dream a reality if your ideas are ill thought out and scatterbrained.

Aristotle once said, “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” So, my next suggestion is to become an expert at entertaining your ideas. I’ve published a handy guide on how to entertain ideas for your reference. Remember: Ideas are your major source of income. Become a MASTER of entertaining those ideas.

Finally, remember this: All talkie and no walkie makes Jack a broke boy. That’s the epitome of piss-poor execution: Flappin’ them gums. And too many entrepreneurs use their mouths to murder their ability to execute. Be sure you balance your entertaining time with your DOING time. What is your conduit for creative clarity?

3. Inertia injures execution. The first step is to figure out what areas of your life are suffering from inertia. A crystal-clear window into this reality is to grab your list of New Years Resolutions … from two years ago. Honestly assess which ones have come to fruition, and which ones have fallen by the wayside.

Then, alter your trajectory by planting the seeds of movement. Here’s the easiest way how: Wake up one hour earlier. That’s it. ONE hour. Single greatest piece of advice I ever got. And I promise, you’ll be amazed at how much momentum that one hour activates for the rest of the day.

Next, figure out how you can you arrange your day so you become unstoppable. Continually ask yourself questions like, “Is what I’m doing right now consistent with my #1 goal?” and “Is this a highly valuable activity?” Finally, keep the momentum going by constantly asking, “What one step can I take (right now) to start moving forward to the execution of this idea?” These steps are surefire strategies for resisting injury by inertia. How will inertia emancipate your ability to execute?

4. Flub fights execution. Flub is one of my favorite words. It means, “to perform poorly or blunder.” Now, as fun as flub is to say, it’s also the purveyor of piss-poor execution. Here’s why: People assume flawlessness is possible. It’s not. Flawless execution doesn’t exist. Exquisite, yes; flawless, no.

And the problem is, once people fail, they freeze. Once people see a ghost, they’re always afraid of the dark. Little do they know that execution is like a motion-activated floodlight – the more you move, the clearer you see. Remember: Mistakes can be tranquilizers. Don’t become a prisoner of yesterday’s errors. Do you listen to the way you talk to yourself when you make mistakes?

5. Time tramples execution. You didn’t execute because you didn’t have enough time, right? Wrong. You didn’t execute because you didn’t have the right relationship WITH time. Check this out. In Gay Hendricks’ book, The Big Leap, he shares a profound insight about developing a healthier relationship with time:

“Get yourself in harmony with the reality that YOU are the source of time. Put yourself on a diet of complete abstinence of complaining about time. This takes you out of the victim position. Then, when you stop complaining about time, you cease perpetrating the destructive myth that time is the persecutor and you are its victim.”

Hendricks’ philosophy changed my life. Forever. Based on the truth that expectation determines outcome, it challenged me to stop thinking time was “out there.” To take ownership and acknowledge that I was where time came from. His book also taught me this:

“Time will stop owning you if you claim time as yours and it will release its claim on you. Stop using time (or the lack thereof) as an excuse. Stop engaging in an ongoing wrestling match with time. And stop viewing time as some big, threatening pressure that is always about to overwhelm you. Once you understand that YOU are where time comes from, you have the power to make as much of it as you want.”

Time is your friend because you ARE time. How much time do you REALLY have, and how much will you execute because of that?

REMEMBER: Ideas are free; execution is priceless.

Whether you’re walking the Green Mile, or looking to make the green million, be on the lookout for these warning signs.

And I promise you won’t become a purveyor of piss-poor execution.

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Are you executing exquisitely?

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* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
scott@hellomynameisscott.com

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

6 Ways to Transform Your Next Interview into a Marketing Presentation for Yourself – Without Coming Off Like Tony Robbins

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:57:00 +0000

When you walk in the door for your next interview, just remember:

You’re not there to answer their questions.

You’re there to articulate your fabulousness.

You’re there to tell people what they need to hear to fall in love with you.

You’re there to make it impossible for the interviewer to escape your awesomeness.

IN SHORT: You’re there to deliver a marketing presentation for yourself.

Not literally, of course. Breaking out the flip chart might be a little heavy handed. Not to mention, those smelly markers might get you accidentally buzzed.

Instead, here’s a collection of practices for becoming more presentable:

1. Don’t over prepare. Study the organization. Review your notes. Google your interviewer. Eat breakfast. Do breathing exercises. Maybe listen to The Rocky Soundtrack in the car. Other than that, you don’t want to prepare TOO much. As my public speaking mentor William Jenkins always reminds me, “Your life is your preparation.”

Remember: What’s past is prologue. Go give that interviewer everything you’ve got. Use all that you’ve experienced up until this point to blow the doors of this mother. They won’t help but be taken over by your performance. What’s your interview preparation process?

2. Flip the focus. Steve Hughes, owner of Hit Your Stride, is a Presentation Coach and keynote speaker. He suggests that although your interview is (technically) a marketing presentation for yourself, nobody cares about you. The secret is flipping the focus. “The more THEY talk, the more they're going to like you,” Steve said.

“Just like a delivering a speech, make your audience (in this case, the interviewer and the company) the star of the interview. Turn it into a true dialogue, not a monologue. Nobody wants to hear you ramble on about yourself.” Ultimately, it’s about being future oriented.

Whether you’re giving a speech to a thousand people or being interviewed by the HR Director of a potential employer, remember this: Your past is what got you in the door – but THEIR future is what will keep you in the room. How can you flip the focus of this presentation?

3. Be funny early. Humor is the ONLY universal language. And people want to spend their workdays with people who make them smile. So, when you introduce it early in the interview, several advantages stack in your favor: You diffuse defensiveness, you relax the situation, you break down barriers, you soften the ground and you stimulate memory.

What’s more, funny means listening. Funny means approval. Funny means trust. Funny means attention. And funny means engagement. The secret is, everyone is funny. The challenge is tapping into your natural humor. In the book Throwing the Elephant: The Art of Managing Up, Stanley Bing suggests, “You don’t have to be particularly funny. The attempt to provide amusement is more important that the quality or validity of the amusement itself.”

Don’t make jokes – be funny. Huge difference. One is contrived; the other comes from your core. Pinpoint your natural funniness and share it early. How funny do people perceive you as being?

4. Don’t be shy about going on the offensive. My friend Shari Alexander is the owner of Presenting Matters and an Executive Speech Coach and Professional Communications Expert. She suggests you observe (not only) your own body language – but that of your interviewer too.

“Observe what sparks their posture. And don’t be afraid to say, ‘I noticed you reacted to my last statement by sitting back in your chair. Can you share what you’re thinking?’ This brings their truth to the surface AND pinpoints valuable insight about organization.”

For example, if your interviewer instantly crosses her arms at the mere mention of the word “Twitter,” that’s quite telling about her attitude towards social media. “If you don’t ask the follow-up questions after observing posture shifts,” Shari told me, “you won’t know the ugly truth until you’re already hired and in the middle of it.” Are you playing enough offense?

5. Be a mirror. In an interview with American Songwriter, Bruce Springsteen shared his theory on connecting with his fans, “The audience and the artist are valuable to one another as long as you can look out there and see yourself, and they look back and see themselves.”

Therefore: Your goal is to discover the CPI, or, Common Point of Interest between you and the interviewer. Within sixty seconds. After all, people like whom they ARE like. And conversation is about common ground.

In the same vain of getting your butt off the stage to stand on the same level as the audience, discovering the CPI immediately is secret to being a mirror during your interview. What questions will you ask to discover common ground?

6. Let your personal brand shine. “Interviewing is much deeper than showcasing a collection of skills or preparing great answers to questions you may never hear,” says my friend and career coach John Suarez of Referral Ready, LLC.

“It’s about celebrating your authentic self. The one that relates to the world on a human level AND professional level. The one that helped get you where you are now. The one that leaves a nonverbal impression no words can undo.”

Lesson learned: Don’t spend time all your preparing to be someone you’re not. Instead, dedicate yourself to becoming more of who you already are. How will you allow your distinct youness shine?

REMEMBER: It’s not a job interview – it’s a marketing presentation for yourself.

In summary, I’m reminded of one of George Carlin’s final interviews before passing away. He shared a fascinating insight about presentation and performance:

“Growing up in Harlem in the 1940’s, I attended Bishop Dubois Catholic School. And the best part about our academy was that the nuns never give out grades. Ever. And yet, Still, I managed to get all A’s. See, when I was the class clown in school, I got the only A’s that mattered: Their Attention, their Approval, their Admiration and their Applause."

In short: Presenting matters.

After all, to present is to give a gift.

The gift of YOU.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How will your advance yourself?

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Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
scott@hellomynameisscott.com

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

12 Ways to Manufacture Your Own BIG Breaks as an Artist, Entrepreneur or Creative Professional – Even in a Recession

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:07:00 +0000

“I’m just waiting for my big break!”

Really? Well, I hope you’ve got a good book to read. Because with a passive attitude like that, you’ll be waiting a looooooooooooong time.

HERE’S THE REALITY: You can’t sit around waiting for your big break.

You’ve got to learn how to manufacture your own big breaks by making yourself more “breakable.”

Here’s how:

1. Define the word. The word break seems (almost) too simple to look up in the dictionary. Which is exactly why I looked it up. And I discovered a few fascinating insights about a word that we use every day. For example, the term “break” derives from the Old English brecan, which means, “to disclose.”

Interesting. Guess you can’t manufacture your own big break if you’re not sticking yourself out there. Secondly, the word break contains over one hundred definitions in the dictionary. I’ve pulled a selection of these to get your brain boiling, along with questions to challenge your thinking:

• To interrupt the regularity. Which of other people’s patterns are you willing to break to be noticed?
• To divide into smaller units or components. How many small breaks are you willing to manufacture so your big break becomes an inescapable likelihood?
• To run or dash toward something. Are you willing and able to move quickly on new opportunities before they pass you by and break someone else?
• To begin uttering a series of sounds. Do you have five difference versions and lengths of your pitch down pat, ready to go at a moment’s notice?
• To change abruptly into something else. What type of person will you need to become to handle the big break once you get it?
• To be admitted into. What price are you willing to pay to be granted admission into your chosen field?

Remember: Five letters notwithstanding, “break” is a BIG word. Learn it. Know it. Live it. What does “break” mean to you?

2. Accept that there ARE no big breaks. Only a progression of small breaks that nobody sees or cares about, the sum of which eventually carries enough weight to be noticed. A big break is nothing but a small break amplified by the right timing.

And that’s hard part: That nobody sees the 90%. The grunt work. The late nights. The extra hours. They only see that crucial 10%. The performance. The final piece. The end product. Which means that your 10% better be damn good, or else that 90% is going to feel like a big waste of time. Are you willing to manufacture a series of small breaks first?

3. Suck it up. In a an article with Wrestling Digest, WWE star Jeff Hardy’s best strategy for becoming more breakable was simple and powerful, “Just take the spectacular bump.” Now, keep in mind that Hardy was specifically referring to getting thrown out of the wrestling ring by his opponent and crashing down on a table in the audience. I’m not suggesting you do that. (Although, that WOULD be kind of cool...)

Rather, I urge you to embrace the metaphorical angle to Hardy’s comment: Take the spectacular bumps. Of rejection. Of failure. Of setbacks. It’s all part of the deal. If your perception of (and response to) failure were changed, what would you attempt to achieve?

4. Prepare to leverage. In January of 2003, CNN Headline News interviewed me about my first book, HELLO, my name is Scott. Unfortunately, I screwed up BIG time: I didn’t have an agenda for the segment. I never strategized how to convert the subsequent web traffic. And I didn’t consider requesting a clip of the interview for my blog.

As a result, that media spot was highly underleveraged. In fact, it pains me to even think about how many opportunities I missed because of that mistake. So, my best advice for you is to have your finger on the leverage button at all times. Because it’s not how big the interview was – it’s how far you can stretch it now. Now that you have this, what else does this make possible?

5. Expertise isn’t enough. In an article on www.ehow.com called, “How to Break into the Video Game Industry,” I learned a valuable lesson about networking as it relates to becoming more breakable.

“Any time you’re speaking with a video game professional, your passion for the industry can be your greatest asset your biggest downfall,” explained the editor.

“So, work hard to disprove that your interests start and stop with video games. Emphasizing your love of games, but also your ability to be social and personable, will help you stand out from the pool of candidates."

"Remember: Not every person who works for a video game company is a die-hard gamer. Be sensitive to that, and try not to freak anyone out with your vast knowledge of Final Fantasy lore, or Dungeons and Dragons trivia.”

Therefore: Even if you’re not a programmer, this is a helpful reminder to combine industry expertise with interpersonal skills. That way you have more to offer than just your brain. What else do you bring to the table besides skill?

6. Work at adjacent positions. Maybe you can’t secure the lead role. Or the opening act. Or top billing. That’s OK. Don’t allow short-term hardship to deflate you. Instead, see if you can secure a part-time spot, entry-level position or internship for a related capacity. Assistant, security guard, customer service, mail room, all of these are acceptable starting points.

The point is, if you’re only going to work part time, you may as well do so where you can be seen. Kind of hard to get your big break as a comedian working at Starbucks. For example, Nike employees, often get their big break at the retail level before ascending into the corporate sphere. And screenwriters often get their big break working as production assistants. Where could you put in your time?

7. Remember that you’re on display. Everything matters, everybody’s watching and everything’s a performance. And you never know who’s in your audience. So you better be good and you better be ready. That’s it. What do people think when they hear your uniqueness speak?

8. Longevity causes breaking. In a 2006 interview with Rolling Stone, John Mayer explained his philosophy about big breaks. Specifically, the (crucial) first three projects of any artist. “With your first album, you get their attention. With your second album, you earn your stripes. And with your third album, you blow them away.” What’s your “first three” game plan?

9. Find the catapults. Success leaves clues – all you have to do is listen. My suggestion is to ask your mentors, colleagues and other experienced professionals in your industry how their got their big break. Take notes. Look for patterns. Watch for lessons learned and mistakes made.

Caution: Just be sure to inquire with an attitude of curiosity and admiration, not a “can-you-give-me-the-name-of-that-producer-you-worked-with-in-2002-so-I-can-drop-your-name-and-get-my-big-break-too?” attitude. Bad manners. Bad karma. What existing path of success can you follow?

10. Go small first, but shine big when you’re there. If you follow the career trajectories of successful musicians, actors and other creative professionals, you’ll notice a pattern. Many of them took on smaller roles/gigs/markets in the beginning, just for the chance to shine.

And more often than not, if they excelled in their minimal role – and if their performance was so memorable and powerfully THEM – they ended up stealing the show. As a result, new opportunities came their way. So, don’t overlook the opportunity to serve as the opener for a larger act, volunteer contributor or pro-bono worker.

Playing a minor part alongside an already established professional or attaching your name to the periphery of a project is a powerful tool for boosting credibility. In short: Say yes more. Grab the opportunity and do the job impeccably. In what small role could you shine big?

11. Keep a watchful eye on industry information. What do successful people (who do what you want to be doing) read? Listen to? Subscribe to? First, find out by listening, asking or, if need be, sneaking into people’s dressing rooms, stealing their IPods and burning all of their podcasts onto your laptop.

Then, as you accumulate these resources, build in dedicated time each week to study and expand industry knowledge. It’s a perfect broad-based introduction to your chosen field and helpful fodder for showcasing industry expertise during conversations with key people. What’s your learning plan?

12. Never forget where you came from. Especially when you finally DO get your big break. Here’s why: Gratitude is the great gravitator. When you give thanks to the people and organizations responsible for assisting in your big breaks, they’re more likely to support your future efforts. Whom have you thanked TODAY for helping you get where you are?

REMEMBER: You can’t just wait around for your big break.

You’ve got to become breakable by helping success seek YOU out.

It’s about creating a pervasive atmosphere of opportunity so the big fish can jump right into your hands.

Execute these strategies and you’ll start manufacturing your own big breaks TODAY.

LET ME ASK YA THIS...
Are you breakable?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS...
For the list called, "6 Ways to Out POSITION Your Competitors," send an email to me, and I'll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
scott@hellomynameisscott.com

Nobody seeing YOUR name anywhere?

Bummer. Perhaps my monthly coaching program would help.

Rent Scott's Brain today!

4 Ways to Help People Love Themselves More When They’re With You

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:14:00 +0000

The best way to get people to fall love with you is to help them fall in love with themselves first.

After all, it's not about being the life of the party - it's about bringing other people TO life AT the party.

Here are four ways to do so:

1. Be aware of the weight you have on people. A common mistake made by unapproachable leaders is forgetting to regularly share what they’re thinking and feeling. This confusion over where the leader stands causes stress in their followers. After all, when people never know what’s on your mind, it drives them crazy.

And ultimately, the weight you have on them will become so heavy that your unpredictability will create apprehension in their process of approaching you.

Yikes.

What’s more, let’s talk about the peril of passion. Sure, passion is beautiful because it’s enthusiastic and contagious. But be careful. Part of being an approachable leader is cultivating an awareness of how your energy affects others. Take a campfire, for example. Yes, it provides warmth. Yes, it provides inspiration. Yes, it provides heat to cook your s’mores.

But it can also burn you (and others) pretty good. Does your intensity wear others out?

2. Don’t overwhelm people with your knowledge. In Rules of Thumb, Alan Webber identifies two types of leaders: The ones who compliment other people they work with for their ideas, and the one who use their incredible brainpower to point out the flaws in others’ thinking and shoot down their ideas.

Hopefully, you’re the former. Because the secret is to share your knowledge without showcasing it. To present your ideas without hurling them. As Bob Lefton says in Leadership Through People Skills, “Resist the urge to unload advice on people who haven’t asked for it and aren’t ready to listen to it.”

If you have a lot of ideas to convey, chunk them down into small clusters. By spacing ideas effectively, they’re easier to digest. Otherwise people feel intimidated by a barrage of knowledge, which reduces receptivity. How does the way you use your intelligence come across to the people who work with you?

3. Don’t ignore signs of discomfort in others. That means refraining from telling a lot of insignificant, endless stories that have zero relevance to anyone. This is not only uncomfortable, but also annoying. And it leaves a perception of vanity – not value – in the minds of others.

And yet, tons of people practice this without invitation and it drives others up the wall. So consumed with telling their story, they pay little or no attention to people’s irritation, impatience or disgust. Scott Adams said it best in Dogbert’s Top Secret Management Handbook, “Be obliged to stop rambling if your listener shows signs of starvation, coma or rigor mortis.”

Otherwise, people will experience you as being too selfish to acknowledge anyone else’s right to talk. And the problem with his communication pattern is that it (1) Leaves people wondering why they bothered to listen in the first place, and (2) Lowers the likelihood that they’ll come up TO, feel relaxed AROUND, open up WITH, comfortable walk away FROM and confidently return TO you.

The secret is becoming more mindful of declining receptivity in the people around you. In addition to uncomfortable scanning their watch to see how much longer they have to listen to you, remember to watch for these warning signs: Flat assertions. Impatience. Silence. Nervousness. Superficial questioning. Unquestioning agreement. Each of these are grounded in discomfort and declining receptivity. How listenable are you perceived as being?

4. Identify and disarm silent dialogues. Assumptions. Annoyances. Preoccupations. Concerns. Questions. This is just a sampling of the communication barriers floating around in people’s heads. See, the big question people are asking themselves (as they experience you) is, “Is this person the same on the inside, as he seems on the outside?”

For your sake, I hope the answer is yes. And here’s why. In Parker Palmer’s fantastic book, A Hidden Wholeness, he addresses this perception gap:

“When the answer to that question is yes, we relax. We believe that we are in the presence of integrity and feel secure enough to invest ourselves in the relationship. When the answer to that question is no, we go on high alert. Not knowing who or what are dealing with and feeling unsafe, we hunker down into a psychological foxhole and withhold the investment of our energy, commitment and gifts.”

Wow. What existing defensiveness do you need to diffuse?

REMEMBER: We always fall in love with those who help us fall in love with ourselves.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How are you make this person light up like a Christmas tree?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS...
For the list called, "7 Ways to Radically Raise Receptivity of Those You Serve," send an email to me, and I'll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
scott@hellomynameisscott.com

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

How to Make Your Firm’s Services More Requested than Freebird at Florida State Frat Party

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:23:00 +0000

“Freeeeeeebirrrrrrrd!!!!!”

There’s always ONE guy in the audience who HAS to yell it.

Every time. Every concert. No matter where you go.

Ah, Freebird. Without a doubt, the most requested song in music history.

Interestingly, in 2005, WSJ ran an article that (finally) revealed the origin of this phenomenon:

“Freebird is hardly obscure – it's a radio staple consistently voted one of rock's greatest songs. One version of the tune – and an important piece of the explanation – anchors Skynyrd's 1976 live album One More From the Road. On the record, singer Ronnie Van Zant, who was killed along with two other band mates in a 1977 plane crash, asks the crowd, ‘What song is it you want to hear?’ That unleashes a deafening call for Freebird, and Skynyrd obliges with a fourteen-minute rendition.”

SO HERE’S THE BIG QUESTION: How often are YOU requested? In the great concert of business, how often are customers holding up their Zippos and yelling out for YOU?

ANSWER: Not enough.

Today we’re going examine a collection of practices – each with its own “reqeustion” – on becoming a more requestable entity.

1. A forced brand is a forgotten brand. Requestability begins with branding. And by branding I don’t mean pumping some twenty-five cent shtick out of think air after three hours of brainstorming with your two teenage daughters.

Rather, truly taking the time to organically pinpoint (a) what you are, (b) how you roll and (c) what the purposeful identification of your unique value is. Then and ONLY then, your mission is to emblazon that brand on the minds of the customer. That’s what really matters: Not marketshare, but mindshare. Because customers can’t request what they don’t remember.

REQUESTION: When was the last time you updated your brand identity?

2. Be someone who offers a dependable perspective. Predictability is the great persuader. It’s also the true trust agent. And trust is the sole source of your level of influence. To enhance the predictability of your perspective, here is an exercise you might try. It revolves around the most important question I ask my clients (and myself):

If everybody did exactly what you said, what would the world look like?

I challenge you to ask, contemplate, clarify, write out and eventually print out your answers to this question. Look at them every day. Consider them as a framework. A governing document for daily decision-making. I guarantee your perspective will become more dependable.

REQUESTION: If everybody did exactly what you said, what would the world look like?

3. Everything you do should lead to something else you do. Cross-promotion is a surefire practice for becoming more requestable, as long is you do it right. Here’s how.

a. Be subtle. Be cool and be casual. And when you promote one of your other services, share as if you were just telling a story. The best marketers are the ones customers don’t realize are marketing.

b. Be specific. Requestability is a function of credibility, which is a function of specificity. When you cross-promote other products you offer, cite their full titles and descriptions. Whet the appetite of hungry customers.

c. Be significant. When you mention other work that you’ve done, remember the two magic words: For instance. “I work with a variety of non-profits on strategic planning. For instance, last week I hosted a two-day with the American Casket Association. I knocked ‘em dead!

Be very careful with cross-promotion. Too much of it turns customers off quickly. It’s only effective insofar as you don’t morph every conversation into a sneaky little sales presentation.

REQUESTION: What else does this person need to know about you?

4. Play to the heart, not the mind. Don’t make people think – make them FEEL. People don’t want to think – it too much work. People are tired of thinking. They think all day. Instead, position your value in a way that elicits emotion. Disturb customers into action.

Remember: Emotion is the final arbiter of the effectiveness of your message. Learn to make people feel, and the requests will come pouring in.

REQUESTION: What part of the customer’s body are you playing to?

5. Discount yourself as a threat. In the book How to Hide a Dagger Behind a Smile, author Kaihan Krippendor suggested, “Because someone seems non-threatening, others offer no resistance.” Your goal is to lower threat level by demonstrating a timeline of credibility. Here are a few ways to do so:

a. Media Room: Dedicate an entire page to chronicling every interaction you’ve had with the media – in print, online and on air. Include links to articles, videos or blog posts quoting and featuring you. (Good example aqui.)

b. Client List: Dedicate another page to listing past clients you’ve worked with over the years. Go back as far as you can. Demonstrate longevity and diversity of reach with cross-industrial references.

c. Testimonial Collection: Video is ideal. If not, written references are the next best. Just make sure to choose testimonials featuring clients who are a good advertisement for your business. And if possible, select testimonials that share common customer preoccupations – then how you overcame those concerns. For example, “When I first met Scott, I wasn’t sure if some thirty year-old writer could actually help a corporate executive like me make a name for himself. I was dead wrong. Scott’s ability to ask the right questions changed my life because…”

REQUESTION: How are you reducing the threat level from red to green?

6. Find out what’s missing for people. Help customers articulate what’s mysteriously absent from their strategy. For instance, when I work with coaching and consulting clients, I almost always suggest that they draw out their current issue. On paper, on a flip chart, on the dry erase, whatever.

And clients are constantly amazed what they learn when they capture their thoughts visually. Ultimately: Thinking on paper produces clarity. The cool part is, the power of comparative analysis overrides (most of) the lies people telling themselves.

REQUESTION: How are you helping people define the white space around their ideas?

7. Project peaceful confidence. Would you request someone who ceaselessly asked for a request every time you crossed paths? Of course not. Customers rarely request people whose stench of neediness requires nose plugs. As I learned from the great Lao-Tzu:

“When you show your strength, you appear weak. When you conceal your power, the more effectively it can be used. When you make your advantage less obvious, the more effective you power becomes.”

Remember: The truest part of you doesn’t need to speak. Customers will hear it either way, and if the music speaks to them, they will request more of it.

REQUESTION: What drenches you in confidence?

8. Maintain prime presence. Finally, requestability is a function of visibility. Which becomes especially challenging when EVERYONE is vying for the same spot on your customer’s set list. The secret is twofold. First, visibility is the price of admission. The ante. The baseline.

And it’s only the first step to achieving prime presence. Second, it’s how you show up. It’s not just that you’re visible, but how you customers experience you – PLUS how they experience themselves in relation to you – when you DO show up. In short: Bring unique value or consider yourself winking in the dark. Remember: Anonymity is bankruptcy.

REQUESTION: Do you have a marketing plan or a visibility plan?

REMEMBER: In the great concert of business, your mission is rock with value SO hard that customers start yelling out requests for YOU.

Consider these requestions. Execute these practices. And your firm’s services will become more requestable.

“Freeeeeeebirrrrrrrd!!!!!”

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That Guy with the Nametag
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scott@hellomynameisscott.com

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Have You Executed These Ten Essentials of Entrepreneurial Excellence?

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:00:00 +0000

1. The road to prestige is paved with pandemonium. Not everyone survives success. Becoming too successful, too early and too quickly will harm your health because although money loves speed – velocity creates stress. And stress kills people.

At least that's what I remember thinking to myself after my left lung collapsed and I spent a week in a hospital bed with a chest tube.

Your challenge is to pace yourself. To get rich slowly. To (not) get sucked into the addictive vortex of success and achievement. What new challenges will arise once you become successful?

2. The road to confidence is paved with congruency. Nobody is going to put their trust in someone whose onstage performance is dramatically different then their backstage reality.

If you want customers to become confident in the value you deliver, you’d better make sure you’re the same wherever you go, whomever you’re with. Or at least close. Do you believe you behave in a manner that is consistent with your self-concept?

3. The road to fame is paved with flexibility. “Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.” This scripture comes from James 4:13, although the first time I heard that passage was actually during yoga class. That’s when it occurred to me that the most profitable benefit of doing yoga is flexibility.

Not physical, but mental. It’s amazing how much more pliant your mind becomes after a few years of practice. So, even if you’re not a yogi, consider these flexibility questions:

a. Are you focused or inflexible?
b. Are you uncomfortable in situations that call for creativity, flexibility, adaptability or originality?
c. Do you have the capacity to respond flexibly to what the world hurls at you?
d. Are you flexible with people who have different struggles than your own?

Just imagine: If you can do a full back bend with your body, what type of stretches might you be able to do with your thinking? Your brand? Your business? Your life? Promise: Flexibility builds profitability. How elastic are you?

4. The road to success is paved with surrender. Surrendering to your customers. Surrendering to your constituency. Surrendering to your purpose. Surrendering to your personal economy. So many things to surrender to, so little room in your ego to do so.

That’s the hard part. Getting past your fear of sticking yourself out there and becoming vulnerable to the world. Two words of advice: Risk it. What three things do you need to let go of to ascend to the next level?

5. The road to creativity is paved with curiosity. The #1 secret to never running out of ideas – even in the midst of frittering time – is a tilted head. You heard me: A tilted head.

Like when a dog looks at you’re crazy.
Like when you stop in your tracks walking down the aisle of Wal-Mart and think, “What the…?”
Like when the entire boardroom looks up from their Blackberries and thinks, “Is this guy out of his bloody mind?”

A titled head. That’s the universal gesture of a creative moment. Your goal is to experience five of those moments each day. Minimum. What dangerous questions will you ask today?

6. The road to originality is paved with murder. I was recently eavesdropping on a conversation between two businesspeople (whatever, you do it too) and I heard a powerful statement that I immediately wrote down so I could later claim it as my own material: “Innovation occurs through death.”

Wow. Amen to that. Amen to dying! Amen to killing outdated thinking! Amen to murdering antiquated strategy! What do you need to kill today?

7. The road to serendipity is paved with strategy. It’s not an accident. It’s not fate. And it’s not luck. It’s positioning yourself in high visibility locations. It’s putting yourself in the way of success. It’s being ready to pitch on a moment’s notice. It’s being in the right place at the right time by being in a lot of places.

It’s being more intentional in every experience while maintaining an attitude of positive expectation. Remember those keys, and you’ll become the luckiest person you know. In what ways can you prepare for the serendipitous?

8. The road to dominance is paved with discomfort. To dominate is to grow, and growth is the byproduct of discomfort. Therefore: It’s time to get comfortable being uncomfortable. Yet another powerful lesson from my yoga studio. Our instructors constantly remind us that it IS possible to simultaneously experience comfort and discomfort. Exertion and relaxation.

And when you learn to respond instead of react; to breathe into that which makes you uncomfortable – like touching your head to your locked knee, for example – you discover a pocket of stillness that supports your posture. And here’s the cool part: You eventually learn to apply that same principle off the mat.

You practice relaxing into your discomfort during your daily life. You practice responding instead of reacting to what the world hurls at you. That’s what paves the way to dominance. Are you at peace with discomfort?

9. The road to matchlessness is paved with relentlessness. Bound. Determined. Dogged. Dead set. Ferocious. Fierce. Inexorable. Ruthless. Unappeasable. Uncompromising. Unflinching. Unstoppable. Unyielding. Get the point? Pick an adjective and make the choice to go the distance.

And when you come out on the other side, caked in sweat and dirt and blood, you’ll be the last one standing. Game. Set. Match. Grab a Gatorade, take your silver cup and enjoy the applause. What are you the World Heavyweight Champion of?

10. The road to remarkability is paved with reinvention. Bob Dylan did it – from acoustic to electric. George Carlin did it – from AM to FM. Tom Hanks did it – from comedy to drama. And these guys were YOUNG when they reinvented, too. Young in age and young in career.

So, remember this: You don’t have to be huge to reinvent yourself, but you have to reinvent yourself to become huge. Make the decision to constantly reinvent your own better future. You know you’re getting bored with the current version of yourself anyway. When was the last time you reinvented yourself?

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That Guy with the Nametag
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scott@hellomynameisscott.com

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

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6 Ways to Honor Your Truth without Hating Yourself

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:58:00 +0000

You can’t make a name FOR yourself unless you honor the truth OF yourself.

As I learned in the book, Honoring the Self:

“The refusal to see what you see (and know what you know) is a betrayal of your integrity AND a commitment of treason to your own judgment.”

What about you? How do you practice honoring your self, your truth?

Let explore of a list of ways to do so:

1. Be genuinely committed to honoring reality. That’s the first step. The willingness to get honest with yourself about yourself. Which is not an easy thing to do if you’ve been saluting your illusions for so long that you actually believe in them. What reality are you feeding on?

2. Feel the existence of that which you have been evading. Ever seen those bumper stickers that read, “Go see a play”? I wish there was one that read, “Go feel something.” We need it. We think too damn much. And as a society, I think we’d learn a lot more about ourselves if felt a little bit more.

Might be a refreshing break to use our bodies more and our brains less. All we have to do is stop bullshitting ourselves and turn inward. It’s simple, but not easy. Remember: There is no thinking clearly if there is no feeling deeply. Are you spending enough time learning to listen to your own voice?

3. Relax into the feeling. My yoga instructor reminds us of this practice during every class. “Even if the feeling is fear, discomfort or dizziness, by relaxing into it – as opposed to resisting it – you partner with your emotions. Counterintuitive, yes. Effective, heck yes.

I started adopting this practice into my life several years ago. And what I learned was, by relaxing into (and partnering with) your feelings, you strip them of their ability to take you over. Ultimately, that gives you power to honestly explore the way you feel – then decide how to proceed from there. Are you constructively using this feeling or being used BY this feeling?

4. Allow yourself to experience what you feel. Even if you’re not a fan of the feelings you’re feeling, feel them anyway. And be available to any spontaneous emotions that begin to arise. Remember: Your body will never lie to you. It’s just trying to get your attention.

Kind of like the mechanic’s credo: “Your car is always speaking to you – but you have to listen.” Did you just get away with not having to face something again?

5. Don’t pretend to feel something. That’s a betrayal of your truth. And you compound the inauthenticity by apologizing for NOT feeling something. I know it’s tempting. I know it hurts. And sure, you probably feel like a jerk because you think you should be more upset than you really are.

But you’re not. Not feeling something doesn’t make you an jerk – it just makes you human. Weird, huh? You’re a good person because you feel miserable. What are you trading your authenticity for?

6. Don’t refuse to pause on this knowledge. This is a reality-evading strategy that will result in the slow accumulation of pockets of discomfort. That’s what happens when you don’t honor your first waking thoughts – they find a home in your body. And that’s when you find a home in the hospital.

Fortunately, writing Morning Pages is one of the all-time great therapeutic practices for pausing on your knowledge. Few strategies for listening to yourself are this effective. Morning Pages give you permission to pause, puke and poke around.

They help you shine the searchlight of consciousness inward toward your own being, as Julia Cameron suggests in The Artist’s Way. Best of all, they help catch up on yourself, pinpoint precisely what you are feeling and allow you to take accurate stock of your life. Start this practice tomorrow. What inner signals are you disrespecting?

REMEMBER: Nothing stings the heart more than looking back and realizing you were false to yourself.

All you can hope for is to embrace the whole, even if you wrestle with the parts.

To have faith that whatever you’re currently going through is exactly what you’re supposed to be – and NEED to be – going through.

And if you’re courageous enough to appreciate the rightness of every experience, you will never fail to honor your truth.

In summary, let’s remember what Ayn Rand suggested in The Fountainhead:

“It is precisely the self that cannot and must not be sacrificed. It is the unsacrificed self that we must respect in man above all.”

Find out what’s truest to yourself.

Stick with it, and stick TO it.

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Are you courageous enough to extend honor TO yourself so you can make a name FOR yourself?

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Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
scott@hellomynameisscott.com

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10 Ways to Avoid Being Labeled a Bullshit Artist

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:18:00 +0000

In the past few months, I’ve heard numerous people use the term “Bullshit Artist” in reference to certain individuals.

And my personal policy is, whenever I hear a new word or phrase more than three times in three months, I research it.

So, according to Dictionary.com, UrbanDictionary.com and MyDictionary.com - and some helpful tweeters who shared their insights (thanks!) - the most prevalent definitions of a Bullshit Artist are:

• “A person expert at deception, and hype.”
• “A person with a talent for convincing lies.”
• “A person who habitually exaggerates, flatters, or talks nonsense.”
• “A person who lies/boasts incessantly, usually to comedic effect, intentional or accidental.”
• “A person who specializes in a field of feeding its surrounding persons with uselessness.”
• “A true master of verbal façade who gets off on selling worthless information as if it was fact.”

Now, obviously, I know YOU’RE not one of them.

But I’m sure you know somebody who is. And because it doesn’t matter what YOU think – only what YOUR CUSTOMERS remember – let’s explore a collection of practices that will help you avoid being labeled as a Bullshit Artist:

1. Punch people in the face with your credibility. Everyone has an unequaled background – but not everyone knows how to position it strategically. Your mission is to articulate your expertise as early and explicitly as possible. Customers rarely proceed without proof.

Whether you use testimonials, logos of big clients you’ve worked with, awards you’ve won or pictures of you doing what you do. Leave no question of eligibility. Also, be sure to follow up your initial punch with a timeline of credibility. Show people you’re not going away. Longevity isn’t a color in a Bullshit Artist’s palette. How are you closing the credibility gap?

2. Lower the volume. As Denzel Washington once said, “The loudest one in the room is usually the weakest one in the room.” And as the late Dave Matthews Band saxophone player Leroi Moore once said, “You can make a song sound smaller by trying to make it big.”

So, just relax. No need for aggressive self-assertion. The strong falcon hides its claws. Let go of the need to prove your superiority. If you rock, they’ll feel the music. Even if you don’t turn it up to eleven. What volume is your life at?

3. Talk with your pads. This was the motto of my high school football team. “You guys are bigger than trash talk,” Coach Parks would say. “Don’t stoop down to their level. And if you hear a player on the other team running his mouth at you, don’t say a word. When YOU need to let out your emotions and prove your worth, you talk with your pads.”

So we did. We talked with our pads. And that’s exactly why were we undefeated.

Lesson learned: When all you do is talk (without supportive action and ability) it’s extremely hard for people to hear you over the sound of your own inflated ego. On the other hand, talking with your pads is a LOT louder. Because it’s jolting. Because it’s honest. Because it’s self-evident. Remember: When you talk with your pads, people perk up and listen. What are you talking with?

4. Avoid unspecified attribution. Studies show. Research proves. Scientists say. Psychologists report. Experts believe. They say. There’s an old story that says. I’ve heard. Most people agree. It is said that. Critics say. Statistics show. Somebody once said. The reviews say.

No. No, no, no. None of that is good enough. In a conversation, speech, blog post, or opening statement to a jury, unspecified attribution doesn’t cut it. You need to PROVE your point. With facts. Sources. Numbers. Dates. And not statistics – because those are fabricated pieces of bullshit that people manipulate to make their case look better.

Remember: Specificity = Credibility. Ambiguity is the enemy. If you can’t back it up, pack it up. Are you speaking with meaningful concrete immediacy?

5. Pull back the veneer. Ever met someone that is an expert at LOOKING like she’s successful, but not actually successful? I know a few people like this. And I’m not suggesting that the “act as if” philosophy is wrong. Rather, I echo David Newman’s thought: “It’s OK to fake till you make it – as long as you eventually get around to actually making it.”

Therefore: Release your artificiality, reach back to pure self and rejoin the truth. Your truth. How do people experience you?

6. Recognize the distinctions. Bullshit Artists walk a fine line. Your mission is to detect the difference. Here’s a list of examples:

a. In-demand doesn’t mean highly paid – popularity doesn’t necessarily indication profitability.
b. Passionate doesn’t mean productive – some fires just burn with no purpose.
c. Cool doesn’t mean useful – baseline remarkability isn’t enough.
d. Desirable doesn’t mean satisfying – sustainability is the secret.
e. Activity doesn’t mean accomplishment – there’s a difference between motion and progress.
f. Attention doesn’t mean conversion – web hits are an acronym for “How Idiots Track Sales.”
g. Creativity doesn’t mean innovation – one is a state of being, the other is a practice of action.
h. Dazzling doesn’t mean sustainable – shtick must be supported by substance.
i. Knowledge doesn’t mean wisdom – information is worthless until applied and LIVED.
j. Experience doesn’t mean expertise – only reflection upon that experience does.

To avoid being labeled as a Bullshit Artist, beware of the fine line. What distinctions are you making in your business?

7. You’re more influential when you ask questions. Next time you attend a department or team meeting, notice two kinds of attendees: Those who quip and those who question.

Which of the two are most likely to be labeled as a Bullshit Artist? Veil your light until the proper moment, drop your bomb, then sit back and watch people’s brains explode. What questions are you known for asking?

8. Ditch the jargon. Articulate strategy and ideas in plain language. The less jargon you use, the more engaging you become. In the writing world, shorter sentences get read. In the speaking world, shorter sentences get HEARD. So, think like a writer. Watch those long and cumbersome sentences. Don’t construct your ideas in a way that overburdens people’s brains.

For example, some leaders spew one idea after another. Meanwhile, listeners are still stuck on the FIRST one, trying to figure out what heck you meant. Be careful. Non-brilliance might be forgivable, but time wasting isn’t. Keep your message lean, low-carb and plucked of nonessential words. How meaty are your messages?

9. If you have to tell people you AREN’T, you probably are. Beware of unnecessary declarations of authenticity, honesty and sincerity. Think about it. Wouldn’t YOU raise an eyebrow to someone who kept uttering phrases like: To be perfectly honest with you … I’ll level with you here … Honestly… The truth is … I’m not gonna bullshit you here…

How would that make you feel? Maybe a little suspicious of his credibility? Maybe a little curious why he keep reminding you how honest he is? Watch your language. Having a “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” attitude isn’t fooling anybody. Are poor word choices forfeiting your sales?

10. When you find yourself in the company of deceptive hearts, leave. Be careful whom you roll with. It’s possible to be labeled a Bullshit Artist solely based on proximity. So, if you suddenly feel the need to plug your nose or roll your pant legs up, get out. Fast.

Surround yourself with doers – not talkers – and they will both validate your credibility AND inspire you to continue executing. Are you being fair to yourself, your reputation and your business by continuing to be friends with this person?

REMEMBER: Bullshit Artists only need to be impeached once.

Don’t become one of those people.

In conclusion, let’s remember the words of Maya Angelou, who reminds us:

“When people show you who you are – believe them.”

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Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
scott@hellomynameisscott.com

Who's telling their friends about YOU?

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11 Ways to Earn More Repeat Business than a 24-Hour Tattoo Parlor on a Texas Military Base

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:43:00 +0000

In the beginning, there was a question:

“What do you do that brings people back for more of YOU?”

Dixie, my great friend, personal coach and consummate butt-kicker, recently asked me that question.

And after thinking about the philosophy surrounding it, here’s what I’ve come up with:

The best way to earn repeat business is to make yourself, your brand and your value more revisitable.

So, whether you’re an entrepreneur, CEO, service provider or small business owner, consider these practices for bringing people back for more of YOU:

1. Accommodate unusual requests. And before you do so, try saying this: “Let me make an exception for you.” You won’t just make people feel special – you’ll make them feel essential. Practice this, and people will come back for more of you. What are you doing to earn and ensure your status of trusted advisor in the mind of the customer?

2. Advance in earnestness. Vigor. Passion. Resoluteness. It’s hard to resist people like that. They simply provide too much warmth. As Richard Pryor once suggested, “Learn how to set yourself on fire.” Because when you do that (without freebasing cocaine, that is) people will come back just to watch you burn. Practice this, and people will come back for more of you. Are you currently operating out of your passion?

3. Be a disturbance. Comfortable customers rarely take action. Your mission is to use your questions, statements, ideas and thoughts to disturb the hell out of them. Not in a dangerous, violating or illegal way, of course. But to make them SO uncomfortable, so squiggly in their seats, that they have no choice but to say, “Screw it – let’s go.”

Sure, it’s crushing to their ego, but it’s crucial to their practice. They’ll thank you in the end. Practice this, and people will come back for more of you. What action-inducing emotions will you bring to the surface?

4. Be fabulously versatile. Consider this question: What skills are you not currently leveraging to add value to your customers? My suggestion is to run an internal inventory. To uncover the diamonds that your customers have yet to see shine. And to go out of your way to tell your customers about the new ways you can help them.

Versatility is the driving force of evolution. And those who evolve are revisited. Practice this, and people will come back for more of you. Will this risk put you (and your customers) in a position for major breakthroughs and growth?

5. Be plastered with perseverance. Repeat business doesn’t just automatically come to you. You need to make up your mind that you’re going to go the distance. My suggestion is simple: Wake up one hour earlier. That’s it. ONE hour. Single greatest piece of advice I ever got. You’ll be amazed at:

(a) how much you get done
(b) how much momentum that one hour activates for the rest of the day, and
(c) how much more revisitable you become.

Think about it: People can’t exactly “come back for more of you” when you’re in bed. Well, unless we’re talking about prostitutes. Which we’re not. Remember: Determination naturally builds momentum. Making a name for yourself is the inevitability of diligence. Practice this, and people will come back for more of you. What time did you wake up today?

6. Choose harmony over rightness. Stop being right. Customers rarely revisit businesspeople whose pathological hunger for rightness overshadows the achievement of interpersonal harmony. In short: Stop letting your ego vote. Trying listening with the ear of your heart instead. Practice this, and people will come back for more of you. Are you known as “someone who really LISTENS” or “The guy who never shuts up”?

7. Declare war on destructive habits. First, name one bad habit you’ve broken in your lifetime. How did you do it? List out the steps you took. Next, identify ONE destructive habit you’re currently addicted to that’s threatening your revisitability.

Finally, redouble your commitment to daily self-cultivation. See if you can’t make that habit old news. Remember: If your habits are destroying you, they’re probably destroying your relationships too. Even if you’re too close to yourself to realize it. Practice this, and people will come back for more of you. What habits of yours offend customers?

8. Don’t overvalue prior successes. Arrogance of the past will come back to bite you in the ass. As John Mayer explained during a 2009 interview with Esquire, “To evolve, you have to dismantle. And that means accepting the idea that nothing you created in the past matters anymore other than it brought you here. You pick up your new marching orders and get to work.”

Remember this, and you won’t accidentally give customers a reason to switch. Remember this, and you won’t let arrogance and complacency sabotage your revisitability. Practice this, and people will come back for more of you. If everything you’ve done up until now is just the beginning, what’s next?

9. Honor shifting cultural trends. Here’s what your clients used to want: “Good fast and cheap.” Here’s what your clients currently want: “Perfect now and free.” These are the three insatiable consumer demands, according to bestselling author Robert Rodin.

Now, obviously, I doubt you’re going to reformulate your entire business model to accommodate that trend. But repeat business is a function of client awareness. Perhaps it’s time to honestly assess what each of the three words (perfect, now and free) looks like for your customers. Practice this, and people will come back for more of you. What have you recently learned about marketing trends?

10. Live above the level of mediocrity. First, it begins with self-confidence. You have to believe that deep down you are able to give something extraordinary. Next, it continues with the identification of the status quo. Figuring out what other companies – who do what you do – always (or never) do.

Then, it’s about doing the opposite. Which doesn’t necessarily mean doing something remarkable; but rather, stopping something normal. It’s that easy. Remember: If nobody buys average, that means nobody re-buys average. Practice this, and people will come back for more of you. What are you doing consistently that average people aren’t?

11. Teach people how to trust you. I’ve been using the same web design company for seven years. They rock. And the biggest reason I keep coming back for more is because they taught me how to trust them. They proved themselves (over time) to be the kind of company I could give an idea to, let them run with it, then meet them on the finish line two weeks later – and be blown away.

All because they know my style, they know my brand and they know what their capabilities are to stay in alignment with those parameters. So, insanely curious about the process behind this, I had lunch with Wendy Gauntt from CIO Services and asked her how she teaches customers to trust her:

“Somebody never just ‘calls’ you,” she said. “That’s why we ask two simple questions at the onset: (1) What do you want to achieve? and (2) Why now? Then, during the project, we’re always steering to get back to that main goal.” Practice this, and people will come back for more of you. How are you teaching customers to trust you?

REMEMBER: To earn repeat business, make yourself, your brand and your value more revisitable.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What do you do that brings people back for more of YOU?

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scott@hellomynameisscott.com

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42 Additional Things You Should Never Apologize For (And Why)

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:31:00 +0000

Read Part 1 of this post here!

38. Never apologize for ordering dessert. Especially if the menu offers one of those chocolate volcano brownie thingies. (Insert Homer Simpson drooling sound.)

39. Never apologize for pulling your triggers for joy. Screw it. If it makes you happy, do it. Unless strangling people with Ethernet cables makes you happy.

40. Never apologize for reclaiming what is rightfully yours. There’s a difference between entitlement and basic human rights.

41. Never apologize for rooting for the Yankees. Even if they do buy their way to victory. They’re still the greatest sports franchise in the history of the world. Do the math and show some respect.

42. Never apologize for saying how you feel. That’s like saying sorry for being real.

43. Never apologize for saying no. Especially when you’re doing so to reinforce your boundaries and create a space for the right “yes” to come into your life.

44. Never apologize for self-promotion. It’s not shameless when all you’re doing is transferring your love. That’s what self-promotion truly is: Transference of emotion. Remember: If you don’t make a name for yourself, someone will make one for you. Just don’t be too shameless.

45. Never apologize for setting high standards and enforcing them. Ditch those frightened people who tell you to play smaller just to appease their insecurity. Try telling them to play bigger.

46. Never apologize for sharing your gifts and talents with the world. This is the purpose of your life and the validation of your existence. To take whatever unique gift you’ve been given and re-gift it to the world. Not doing so isn’t just selfish – it’s stupid.

47. Never apologize for speaking your mind. Honesty makes people uncomfortable. Good. Comfortable people rarely take action.

48. Never apologize for sticking to your values. Especially if you’re only doing so to avoid making someone else uncomfortable. Tough shit. If people can’t handle someone who stands up for what he believes, that’s their problem.

49. Never apologize for taking a break. Learning to press your Off Button is the single most important lesson you could ever learn.

50. Never apologize for telling an unpopular truth. Honest trumps comfort.

51. Never apologize for telling the truth. You’re doing people a favor. Especially yourself. Honesty is the single source of all the world’s stress.

52. Never apologize for things that make you laugh your ass off. Funny is funny. Don’t feel bad for laughing. Don’t look to see if the King laughed. Just let the humor wash over you. It’s healthy.

53. Never apologize for things you can’t change. Instead, figure out what you CAN change and get to work.

54. Never apologize for thinking something was possible. That’s what possiblitarians do. They walk around the problems mentally and prayerfully and see what they see. They face problems artfully and lovingly enough to convert them into something beautiful. They believe.

55. Never apologize for treating yourself to something special. I call it a “Victory Dance.” It’s about celebration. It’s about ritual. It’s about rewarding yourself.

56. Never apologize for voicing a reasonable complaint. When everyone assumes somebody is going to say something, nobody says anything. It’s called diffusion of involvement, and it’s the murderer of the collective voice of man. Don’t feel bad for complaining. As long as you suggest three actions for every one complaint, you’re all right in my book. Unless your complaint is about my book. In which case we might actually have a problem.

57. Never apologize for walking away from a relationship that was holding you back from being the best version of yourself. Even when delivering the death stroke causes your partner significant pain. Don’t say you’re sorry. You might feel terrible. You might feel like a horrible person. And you might feel more guilt than ever before in your life. But don’t say you’re sorry. Those words help nobody.

58. Never apologize for what needed to be done. You were kind, honest and true; and it was the right thing to do. Good for you.

59. Never apologize for what you don’t feel. That’s a betrayal of your truth. And saying sorry for doing so compounds your inauthenticity.

60. Never apologize for what you’re about to say. Immediate personal discounting denotes lack of confidence and reduces listenability.

61. Never apologize for what’s important to you. If you do, then it’s probably not that important to you.

62. Never apologize for who you really are. Brag about it. Shout it from the rooftops.

63. Never apologize for your art. That defeats the whole purpose of creating art.

64. Never apologize for your attempts at humor. Even if they’re totally lame.

65. Never apologize for your boundaries. They are limits that promote integrity. And if you don’t set them for yourself, others will set them for you.

66. Never apologize for your brand. Branding is the best, highest version of yourself – (plus) – the way people experience themselves in relation to you. Not everyone will like it. And if everybody does, you’re doing something wrong.

67. Never apologize for your displays of affection. My quota is to say, “I love you” to at least one person a day. What’s yours?

68. Never apologize for your enthusiasm. Next time someone tells you to “tone it down” a little, look her straight in the eye and say, “How about you tone it UP a little?”

69. Never apologize for your faith. You’re entitled to your own definition of God. Just promise not to beat people over the head with it.

70. Never apologize for your fundamental values. That’s who you are. At your core. Your personhood. Your foundation. That’d be like a cayenne paper saying sorry for being spicy. Not cool.

71. Never apologize for your happiness. Especially when people get on your case for being in such a good mood. Just smile and hope it rubs off.

72. Never apologize for your natural abilities. Instead, leverage that which comes easy to you in the service of others.

73. Never apologize for your obsessions. As long as your obsessions aren’t hurting others or the world – have at it, hauss.

74. Never apologize for your own sense of beauty. If it touches your heart, ignites your soul or moves your spirit, it’s beautiful. To you. Doesn’t matter if it’s a bald eagle, a song by The Smiths or puddle of mud outside of Bob Evan’s. Beauty is subjective and nobody has the right to take it away from you.

75. Never apologize for passionately going for what you want. Stop kidding yourself about the things that you “need.” It’s all about what you WANT. And there’s nothing wrong with wanting.

76. Never apologize for your pricing. You deserve to be compensated commensurate with your value. State your feel confidently and shut up. He who speaks next, loses.

77. Never apologize for your success. Instead, figure out the lessons attached to your victory path and share them with others.

78. Never apologize for your taste. Guilty pleasures, schmilty pleasures. If you love reading trashy romance novels that use words like “throbbing member” and have Fabio on the cover, go for it.

79. Never apologize for your value. You worked very hard to establish it and you’ll be damned if you’re going to back down now. Stand up, speak up and sell the hell out of it.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What do you refuse to apologize for?

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* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
scott@hellomynameisscott.com

If they can't come UP to you; how will they ever get BEHIND you?

Buy Scott's new book and learn daily practices for becoming a more approachable manager!

Pick up your copy (or a case!) right here.

37 Things You Should Never Apologize For (And Why)

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:29:00 +0000

1. Never apologize for acting on your instincts. Listening to your body – then taking action on what you hear – is the hallmark of heroic people.

2. Never apologize for all the tears you’ve cried. Crying cleanses the soul. Shoot for once a month. Even if it's just a brief mist at a tender moment in a sad movie.

3. Never apologize for anything in your portfolio. If you feel the need to do so, it probably doesn’t belong in your portfolio in the first place.

4. Never apologize for asking for what you need. The answer to every question you DON’T ask is always no.

5. Never apologize for asking questions. When you stop asking questions, you don’t just run out of answers – you run out of hope.

6. Never apologize for asserting yourself. The word “assert” comes from the Latin asserere, which means, “to claim, maintain or affirm.” And that’s exactly what you’re entitled to: Your opinion. Your belief. Your say. Let nobody take it away from you.

7. Never apologize for being a health nut. Next time someone says, “What are you, on a diet or something?” look them straight in the eye and say, “Yeah – you got a problem with that?” Then, when they back down, you go right back to eating your tofu.

8. Never apologize for being a newbie. Everyone great chess master was once a beginner.

9. Never apologize for being early for an appointment. In the history of Corporate America, no employee has ever been fired for consistently arriving ten minutes early to every meeting.

10. Never apologize for being funny. The world is too damn serious. We need you. Seriously.

11. Never apologize for being human. Once you do, you’re no longer human – you’re a cyborg.

12. Never apologize for being passionate. Unless you’re passionate about stabbing strangers with broken Coke bottles.

13. Never apologize for being smart. That’s the ONE thing the government, the media (and every other entity that’s trying to control you) is terrified of: Smart people who take action. Be one of those people.

14. Never apologize for being the age that you are. It’s just a number. “A chicken ain’t nothing but a bird,” as my Grandpa likes to say.

15. Never apologize for breaking a rule that isn’t really a rule. Be proud of yourself for being a rule breaker. Then go break another one.

16. Never apologize for calling bullshit on someone. Especially when nobody else is the room is going to do it and this person REALLY needs to be taken to task.

17. Never apologize for demanding respect. If you’ve demonstrated that you deserve respect by giving it to others first, you’re good to go.

18. Never apologize for disagreeing. Especially if you do so respectfully. On the other hand, if you’re disagreeing for the sake of disagreeing, or because of your pathological need to be right, that’s a different story.

19. Never apologize for expressing yourself. That’s all “leadership” is: The full, free expression of your truth. Don’t say you’re sorry for that.

20. Never apologize for falling in love. Your heart’s calling the shots.

21. Never apologize for falling OUT of love. Your heart’s still calling the shots – even when you throw up an air ball.

22. Never apologize for getting something off your chest. That which you suppress will find a home in your body. And then it will trash the place.

23. Never apologize for giving it your best shot. As my Grandpa also reminds me, “You do the best you can with as many as you can.”

24. Never apologize for growing up privileged. As long as you scrap the entitlement attitude, remain grateful for everything you’ve ever been given and respect the life situation of those who are less fortunate, it’s all good.

25. Never apologize for having an overabundance of love in your life. Instead, circulate what you’ve got. Pay it forward. Share it. People need it. Especially St. Louis Rams fans. God we suck.

26. Never apologize for lack of experience. Instead, share your Learning Plan; demonstrate your dedication to lifelong learning and practice becoming the world’s expert at learning from your experiences.

27. Never apologize for lack of information. Ignorance is acceptable. Staying ignorant, however, is stupid.

28. Never apologize for liking stupid movies. Movie snobs annoy me. Some of my favorite movies are among the most ridiculous films ever made. So I love Road House. Sue me.

29. Never apologize for living your truth. Few things in the world are more important.

30. Never apologize for looking out for yourself. Self-preservation is a primary driver of human behavior. It’s how we’re wired.

31. Never apologize for loving yourself. If you do, you probably don’t love yourself as much as you thought.

32. Never apologize for making a decision from the heart. Remember: It’s not thee truth – it’s YOUR truth.

33. Never apologize for needing alone time. Solitude is soil. Solitude is medicine. And if you don’t get your fix every day, your life will suffer.

34. Never apologize for needing to use the bathroom. Yesterday a girl in my yoga class walked out of the room and actually said to the teacher, “I have to pee, I’m SO sorry.” Unbelievable.

35. Never apologize for not being there when someone called. You have a life, too. People can’t expect you to wait eagerly by the phone all hours of the day.

36. Never apologize for not embracing someone else’s agenda. Especially if that agenda robs you of your true talent.

37. Never apologize for occasional absentmindedness. Everyone’s brain farts.

Next, read Part 2 of this series!

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What do you refuse to apologize for?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS...
For the list called, "37 Personal Leadership Questions Guaranteed to Shake Your Soul," send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
scott@hellomynameisscott.com

If they can't come UP to you; how will they ever get BEHIND you?

Buy Scott's new book and learn daily practices for becoming a more approachable manager!

Pick up your copy (or a case!) right here.

What Every Leader Needs to Know about Making a Name for Herself

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:33:00 +0000

Pablo Neruda once said, “You are the result of yourself.”

When I first read that sentence, the architecture of my heart changed forever.

You are the result of yourself. Wow.

Since then, I’ve been thinking deeply about that very idea – and what it means to me.

As a writer.
As a leader.
As a human being.

Ultimately, I was so inspired by Neruda’s poem that I decided to write my own interpretation of that same philosophy:

1. You are the administrator of your own resurrection. While the rest of the world freezes in the face of an uncertain future, you will choose to ride this wave of ambiguity to a larger version of yourself. Even in spite of overwhelming odds against your advancement, you will show the world what you can be at your best. And you will be unwaveringly vigilant in proving to the world that you’re not going anyway. You are the result of yourself.

2. You are the aficionado of your own boundaries. After all, if you don’t set boundaries for yourself, other people will set them for you. And then they will violate them. And then they will email all their little friends and tell them to do the same. And it will be YOUR fault because you didn’t install limits to promote your integrity. You are the result of yourself.

3. You are the architect of your own future. As long as you believe you deserve and can handle abundant success. And as long as you consciously choose to have a love affair with the universe. You are the result of yourself.

4. You are the artisan of your own happiness. But not because you’re seeking happiness. Rather, that you’re seeking contribution, the residue of which is happiness. You are the result of yourself.

5. You are the perpetrator of your own uniqueness. For that reason, you won’t falter from a lack of identity. Instead, you’ll give your independent identity permission to emerge freely an unimpeded. You’ll set yourself on fire, and adorers will come in hordes to watch you burn. You are the result of yourself.

6. You are the author of your own career. Deciding what you want is the most important work you will ever do. The secret is to exercise a high degree of conscious control in creating the career you desire. Inviting your goals into the bright light of awareness and keeping all activities aligned with those goals. And remembering that everything you do is part of your career. You are the result of yourself.

7. You are the biographer of your own evolution. Instead of mindlessly meandering to avoid risk, mindfully become part of your own process of change. Yes, it’s a lot of work. But it’s always worth paying the price to be in charge of your own life. You are the result of yourself.

8. You are the bishop of your own heart. You grow in your ability to be in control OF yourself the minute you pinpoint the places where you’re operating from a limited view OF yourself – AND – the areas in which you’re not currently in love WITH yourself. You are the result of yourself.

9. You are the broadcaster of your own non-conformity. Make upsetting the status quo your favorite pastime. Ignore everybody. Employ only the approval of your heart. Fall in love with your own set of blueprints. Trust your inner truth. And ultimately rely on your own counsel. You’ll never make a false move. You are the result of yourself.

10. You are the chiseler of your own destiny. You can make yourself and your life what you want because the future is your property. So, create a mental picture of the life you want to live. Create a personal vision of greatness. You are the result of yourself.

11. You are the counselor of your own crisis. You got yourself into it, you’ll get yourself through it, and you’ll get yourself out of it. Here’s how: First, assume that everything and anything can be improved. Next, be willing to risk rejection. Be willing to trust the process of change. Then, authentically engage with whatever circumstances life presents. Be cautiously bold. Be active in preserving and healing the environment. And be not impatient with reasonable delays. You are the result of yourself.

12. You are the custodian of your own creativity. Dissolve your ego and let your soul step forward to take center stage. You are the result of yourself.

13. You are the dean of your own education. Which means you need to be open to discovering new dimensions of yourself. Remember: If it educates you, it’s worthwhile. You are the result of yourself.

14. You are the designer of your own experience. That is, how you respond TO those experiences. For example: Did you reflect on them? Did you write about them? Did you share them with people smarter than you? You are the result of yourself.

15. You are the editor of your own attitude. Because you know that every situation can be optimized, turned around or improved. You are the result of yourself.

16. You are the engineer of your own opportunity. Because you consciously accept that your life is richly blessed. You’re not the kind of person who allows the situation to be responsible for how you feel. Things don’t happen to you – you happen to things. You are the result of yourself.

17. You are the exorcist of your own suckiness. Make the conscious choice to live above the level of mediocrity. You are the result of yourself.

18. You are the governor of your own behavior. Refuse to react automatically and choose to respond consciously. Less blinking, more thinking. You are the result of yourself.

19. You are the merchant of your own values. It is YOU who decides the context in which you operate. It is YOU who maintains a governing philosophy for daily decision-making. You are the result of yourself.

20. You are the overlord of your own stillness. It all begins with the breath. Because if you own your breath, nobody can steal your peace. And if nobody can steal your peace, nobody can stop you from winning. You are the result of yourself..

21. You are the pilot of your own productivity. To forever excel against all resistance, recognize that the world doesn’t want you to get anything done. Your mission is to fully become your own partner for productivity. To make sure everything you’re doing – at any moment during the day – is consistent with your #1 goal. You’ll be more productive than Santa’s Elves on Christmas Eve. You are the result of yourself.

22. You are the priest of your own priorities. Feed that hunger inside yourself. Focus on what fuels you and ignore what impoverishes you. Otherwise, you’ll render yourself into a state of complete ineffectiveness. You are the result of yourself.

23. You are the principal of your own perfectness. Perfection isn’t something you attain – it’s something you uncover. All you have to do is look with the eyes of your heart and scatter the clouds obscuring the light. You are the result of yourself.

24. You are the receptionist of your own purpose. And you need to forge the instrument necessary for the conquest of the world. You are the result of yourself.

25. You are the secretary of your own soul. Let go of your present way of life. Release your old world. Make way for the new. Step out of your familiar misery. Flee from the grave of yesterday and assemble a proud monument to tomorrow. Victory will become inevitable. You are the result of yourself.

26. You are the servant of your own stupidity. You’re only as strong as your last stupid mistake. Remember: It’s ok to be stupid as long as you don’t STAY stupid. You are the result of yourself.

27. You are the technician of your own journey. Call upon untested faculties that await your discovery. Then, cooperate with your dreams and your desire to grow. You are the result of yourself.

28. You are the validator of your own existence. So, consciously carry out the duties of your office and plunge into significance. Because the alternative – the hell of meaninglessness – isn’t a great option. You are the result of yourself.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What is the result of yourself?

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Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
scott@hellomynameisscott.com

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5 Ways to Help Prospects Pursue You Like a Pomeranian in Heat

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:19:00 +0000

You can only darken people’s doorsteps so many times.

Eventually, the goal is to position yourself so THEY pursue YOU.

THEY meaning prospects ready to buy from you.
THEY meaning followers prepared to be inspired by you.
THEY meaning the media excited about interviewing you.
THEY meaning key players interesting in partnering with you.
THEY meaning customers stoked about doing business with you.

Because – as much as you’d like to – you can’t MAKE people pursue you.

You can, however, transform yourself into a more pursuable person.

Here’s a list of strategies for doing so: (Read part one of this series!)

1. Acknowledge your own value. If you don’t value you – they won’t value you. Period. The first sale is selling yourself to yourself. Fortunately, all it takes belief, discipline, commitment and confidence. People pursue people like that. What’s your system for strengthening your self-belief?

2. Aggressively invest in building remarkable moments. Ideally, moments that MOVE customers from “satisfied” to “loyal” to, eventually, “insistent.” The secret for doing so can be summarized in seven words: Create an opportunity for a service event. Whether it’s in-person, on the phone or online, the key word is “event.”

That’s what approachability is all about: An interaction that otherwise wouldn’t have existed … that’s memorable for the right reasons. The cool part is, the more of these remarkable events you create, the more pursued you become. It’s a simple probability equation.

And if you do it right, over time, other companies will want to steal your service philosophy. Because remarkability generates gasps. Gasps get repeated. And repeated gasps garner repeat business. What do you do SO well that people come back to see you do it again?

3. Be a better self-advertisement. The articulation of your fabulousness. The living brochure of your awesomeness. The walking translation of your value. THAT’S what advertising should be. Interestingly, the word “advertise” derives from the Latin advertere, which means, “to turn toward.” Interesting.

That means: No eye-gauging billboards. No tree-killing table tents. And no blood-boiling commercials. Just helping people to turn toward you. Arresting their attention, grabbing the world by the lapel and whispering aggressively into its ear, “Psst! Yeah, you. Check THIS out…”

Not in an interruptive way, of course. Just enough passion to be noticeable and listenable, but without being questionable and checkoffable. People pursue people like that. Are you a public pitchman for the product of YOU?

4. Pursuit is a function of growth. The more you grow, the bigger you become; and the bigger you become, the broader your pursuit range. So, by virtue of growth, you’re mathematically appealing to a more diverse population of prospects.

That in mind, here’s my personal philosophy on the subject: Refuse to let any day pass without personal growth. Doesn’t matter how infinitesimal it is – there’s no such thing as insignificant growth. And it’s not about competing with anyone.

It’s about evolving beyond the previous version of yourself into something more beautiful, more valuable and yes, more pursuable. How will you create the best possible circumstance in which your growth will be supported, enhanced and fulfilled?

5. Make follow-up easy. The word “pursue” comes from the Latin prosequi, which means, “to follow up.” VERY interesting. That’s why it’s crucial to remember that being pursued is useless if you’re not returning the favor. You need to get back with people quickly.

Because while the “Good, Fast and Cheap” mindset used to be enough, NOW you’re dealing with a customer expectation of “Perfect, Now and Free.” Are you returning calls faster than your competitors?

Remember: As much as you’d like to – you can’t MAKE people pursue you. You can, however, transform yourself into a more pursuable person.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS...
For the list called, "12 Ways to Out Service the Competition," send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
scott@hellomynameisscott.com

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

6 Secrets of Highly Pursuable Professionals

noreply@blogger.com (hellomynameisscott) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:40:00 +0000

Who’s in hot pursuit of you?

Professionally, that is. I don’t want this to turn into another episode of Cops.

Anyway, if the answer is, “Not enough people,” consider these six strategies for becoming a more pursuable professional:

1. Be beautiful to listen to. Consider the last five vendors you’ve hired. Or the last five colleagues you’ve partnered with. Hell, even consider the last five people you’ve dated. Question: How many of those individuals were a pain in the ass just to LISTEN to?

Every interaction you have with somebody either adds to or subtracts from the positive perception of your brand. What’s more, the pursuit of a potential person – business or personal – is either exacerbated or enhanced by the way you feel when interacting with that person.

Remember: When you’re music to people’s ears, you’re a magnet to people’s wallets. Would YOU be compelled to listen to you?

2. Learn from the daters. “Pursue” is a common term used in the dating world. So, I’ve collected a myriad of journal, blog and message board quotations from various single people. As you explore this list, consider the implications of each “non-pursuable” to your own business:

a. I didn’t pursue because I assumed he was out of my reach. Are you perceived as being out of your customer’s league?
b. I didn’t pursue because I assumed he didn’t like me. What false assumptions are your customers making about you?
c. I didn’t pursue because I didn’t feel confident enough to go after him. How are you increasing customer self-confidence?
d. I didn’t pursue because I was scared of the potential of failure. How could you remove the threat of rejection for your customers?
e. I didn’t pursue because I was resolute in the belief that I wasn’t better than anyone else. How might you increase your customer’s self-esteem?
f. I didn’t pursue because I saw him kissing some random girl in a bar. Are you overly engaged with your current customers to take on anybody new?
g. I didn’t pursue because I was worried he was going to tell his mom. Are your customers concerned about confidentiality?

Remember: Business and dating is EXACTLY the same thing. You still have customers. You still need to look attractive in their eyes. You still have to keep them satisfied and coming back for more. And still need to make yourself more pursuable to future prospects. Whom are YOU dating?

3. Become the physical embodiment of your expertise. It’s one thing to know something; it’s another thing to BE that something. And if you want to be pursued in greater numbers, your expertise must become crystallized through the sieve of experience – PLUS – intelligent reflection upon that experience.

That’s certainly the type of person I’d pursue. Someone who doesn’t know (x), but who IS (x). See the difference? Embodiment secures trust. Embodiment reinforces character. And embodiment promotes pursuit. Are you acquiring knowledge or do you possess REAL wisdom?

4. Figure out what’s missing for people. If you build it – and they DON’T come – it’s because they don’t want it. Or because they don’t know you built it. Or because you didn’t solve their problem. Or because you’re passionate yet irrelevant – cool but inconsequential.

Here’s the secret: People who get pursued are the ones who UNDO what the customer has done to himself. But they’re not jerks about it. They just strategically position themselves based around what they were designed to cure. And as a result, prospects are hot on their trails. What problem are you the answer to?

5. Learn from the lawyers. In the legal world, “pursuable” is also a term traditionally designated to cases and complaints that have a positive chance of succeeding. And the best lawyers are the ones who pinpoint pursuability immediately, so as not to waste anybody’s time.

Interestingly, when I researched the term “non-pursuable,” I found a collection of cases from a variety of industries. Each of them predicted non-pursuability in some fashion. So, as you read each of these, consider the applications to your own career:

a. The case was non-pursuable because they passed the statute of limitations. Has the clock run out on your brand’s market relevance?
b. The case was non-pursuable because the charge wasn’t significant enough. Do you matter?
c. The case was non-pursuable because they didn’t meet the case criteria. What is your credibility strengthening process?
d. The case was non-pursuable because the complainant didn’t provide further information. Are you leaving people hanging?
e. The case was non-pursuable because the proposal effort was unwarranted in light of the likelihood of rejection. Are you known for saying no reflexively?
a. The case was non-pursuable because the accused was incarcerated. Have you actually left the house today, or are you still in your jammies?
b. The case was non-pursuable because they were unable to contact the company. How many different ways can customers reach out to you?
c. The case was non-pursuable because insufficient evidence was collected. If you were charged with the crime of delivering value, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
d. The case was non-pursuable because they lacked substantiation. Are you proving value?
e. The case was non-pursuable because the assailant was never identified. Do you have a good working model of your brand identity?

Remember: Lawyers know what they’re doing. Most of the time. OK, some of the time. Alright, fine, lawyers are evil and they should burn in the fiery pits of hell for all of eternity. But the point is, they ask better questions than anyone. Listen to them. They’re the masters at determining pursuability. Have you had lunch with your attorney lately?

6. Let your customers help you sell them things. People train you how to treat them. Customers tell you how to sell them. All YOU have to do is listen. Now, I’m not talking about any of that manipulative NLP mirroring/matching/pacing crap. I’m talking about leveraging the natural rhythms of your customers.

Pinpointing their passions, preferences and personalities – then using those patterns to stop selling and start enabling to buy. Because all buyers know what they want. ALL of them. You just need to listen. After all, what YOU sell isn’t the same thing as what THEY buy. Know the difference. How are you giving customers permission to make your business better?

REMEMBER: As much as you’d like to – you can’t MAKE people pursue you. You can, however, transform yourself into a more pursuable person.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS...
For the list called, "12 Ways to Out Service the Competition," send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
scott@hellomynameisscott.com

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!