Here are 3 quick yet powerful keys that have a made a big difference
for me in creating the business and life we now enjoy:
I look forward to hearing your own experience, and any keys you’d
like to share, in the comments below!
Dr. Ben
Category: General
What Is Your Daily Practice?
Saw a wonderful little book called Manage Your Day-to-Day
on a stack of books at my sister’s this past weekend, and
glanced through a couple of the short posts from various
business & thought leaders. One by Seth Godin caught my eye,
including this thought that is still bouncing around in my
head after returning home and continuing to coach my business
team:
professionals all have a daily practice.
It’s easy to create when you feel like it…the difference
between an amateur and a professional is that professionals
have a daily practice that they engage in consistently —
even when they don’t feel like it…and that’s led to their
productivity and results.
So my question for you (and myself) today is this:
What is your daily practice?
Opportunity — What do you see?
Read this poem recently in a collection my oldest daughter
received from a friend…a powerful picture of two men facing
identical circumstances, but with very different perspectives…
and that made all the difference.
Kind of makes us reflect on how we’re looking at what’s before
us…what we’re saying to ourselves…and what we’re choosing
to do…
Enjoy!
Opportunity
This I beheld, or dreamed it in a dream:—
There spread a cloud of dust along a plain;
And underneath the cloud, or in it, raged
A furious battle, and men yelled, and swords
Shocked upon swords and shields. A prince’s banner
Wavered, then staggered backward, hemmed by foes.
A craven hung along the battle’s edge,
And thought, “Had I a sword of keener steel—
That blue blade that the king’s son bears,— but this
Blunt thing—!” He snapped and flung it from his hand,
And lowering crept away and left the field.
Then came the king’s son, wounded sore bested,
And weaponless, and saw the broken sword
Hilt-buried in the dry and trodden sand,
And ran and snatched it, and with battle-shout
Lifted afresh he hewed his enemy down
And saved a great cause that heroic day.
–Edward Rowland Sill
5 Keys for Networking…and For Life
While driving home from a networking event the other night and reflecting on my experiences of the evening, I thought about the 5 key tips below. I quickly jotted them down in my notebook before going to sleep, then filled them in over the next couple days as a reminder to myself…and to those of you on the path of life with me — here you go:
1) Be Yourself — you fill a unique space in the universe. No one else can be you. Your story and your journey add another unique hue to the rainbow of stories being created, and will have a unique impact on others’ lives. Owning your own value and becoming comfortable with yourself is a great starting point for connecting with others, and in itself is a gift to those around you.
2) Develop Yourself — continually invest in and develop yourself. Always be learning, practicing, & developing new insights & skills as you master your craft & the arena you’ve chosen to play in. This practice will build your self-confidence, effectiveness, and the tangible value you can contribute to others.
3) Connect & Contribute Value — become a person of value — someone who’s interested in others and sincerely seeking to add value to their lives, even if simply by noticing & affirming them.
Asking this simple question, “What can I contribute to this person’s life (or business) today?” is powerful. The answer may simply be a listening ear, a warm acknowledgement – a sense, as I heard Dave Blanchard mention recently, that “you matter” — or it could be something tangible such as a referral, a book or resource, or a practical tip or idea.
4) Invite with Abandon — this one is key to network marketers, but also applies to anyone who’s looking to invite partners or followers to an event, experience, or cause. There is a certain freedom to opening a door of possibility for people and then letting them decide whether they want to walk through.
5) Be unattached & joyful — this one complements #4 — being “unattached” to how a person will respond enables you to be joyful & continue moving forward regardless of potential disappointments or unexpected negativity, and a joyful attitude is always uplifting and attractive. In addition, people appreciate having their own freedom and autonomy honored, and that can actually draw them closer to you rather than pushing them away.
Finally, here’s a “Bonus” tip:
**Be Appreciative**
This tip alone will serve you both in life and business and especially in relating to people. Being appreciative is something you can practice just like a golf swing. Begin with your attitude and the words you say to yourself, and then extend this practice to the words and attitude you share with others. Being appreciative will put you in a state that’s attractive and a joy to be around…and no matter what, you’ll feel better…which is what all of us are seeking daily, anyway — to feel good about ourselves and others.
So there you have it — five keys and a bonus one for networking and all of life.
Which one do you choose to focus on today?
How Twitter Has Enhanced My Business…& Enriched My Life.
I remember reading about Twitter a few years ago in an alumni magazine from MIT…and
the speculation as to whether people would really use it…and find it useful…
I now talk regularly with people who have hundreds of thousands of followers,
as well as sometimes with people who wonder what Twitter is all about…and again,
whether it’s truly useful.
While many enjoy Twitter for personal use — a source of connecting with people and
exchanging ideas and interests — I also know many who seek to use it as a business tool.
As I sit here listening to a Mozart piano concerto on my i-pod while typing (a great way
to “tune out” a noisy environment and focus :)), I’ve found Twitter to be an amazing tool
for connecting, for creating new relationships – often with people I never would have “met”
otherwise – and for sharing resources and ideas. In addition, Twitter has been a direct tool
for expanding my business — though still through the process of connecting and the
exchange of ideas and resources rather than “advertising” or “marketing” through twitter.
So to begin, I’ve used Twitter as a tool to “meet” new people, and to begin
new relationships.
When I find someone with similar passions or interests, or who’s shared something
on twitter of particular interest or impact to me, I often see if I can at first
engage them by an exhange of “tweets”.
Next, periodically I reach out to a person and see if I can “meet” them briefly
by phone. This allows another level of connection beyond what can be established
in 140 character tweets, and adds another dimension to the exchange of tweets
in the future.
Here’s a few examples of where this practice has led…
Through Twitter I’ve had the privilege of “meeting” and then getting to know
Dr. Mollie Marti, periodically exchanging ideas and resources that impact both
our personal and professional lives, and in particular, I’ve had the chance to
get to know her mentor through her eyes via her wonderful book Walking With Justice,
which now has a special place in our family library, and from which I read
to my family periodically.
Next, when our daughter Emmanuelle recorded her song “Night of Our Lives”,
I found that sharing it with people I’d built a specific connection with on Twitter
led to its being shared well beyond my own circles (and many shared on Facebook
as well, which is a whole other arena for building connections).
Lastly, here’s two examples for how Twitter has directly helped me expand my business:
First, in the process of building relationships with people, I’ve been able to connect
some of them with solutions my business could offer that were of personal interest to
them.
Second, I’ve had the privilege of meeting Dr. Fern Kazlow (aka “Dr. K”). Our “paths”
crossed on Twitter, and after reading her story on the website she had at the time,
I decided she was someone I wanted to meet. So I picked up the phone and called
her directly.
Over the next few months we engaged in an ongoing business dialog which has since
developed into a major partnership, opening up a whole new world of people,
business connections, and experiences that have blessed us both…and many others
through us.
So there you have it — how Twitter has enhanced my business, and enriched my life.
I hope these brief examples may trigger some steps you can take, whether it’s with
Twitter, or some other mode of expanding your connections with people. And a special
“thank you” to all the wonderful people who’ve crossed my path, and with whom I’ve
had a chance to personally connect both through & beyond Twitter.
I guess the bottom line is that behind every tool and piece of technology, remember
there’s a person…and it’s ultimately connecting with people…and building relationships
that lead to enriching each others’ lives…including our businesses if
we have one…that’s the greatest reward.
Enjoy!
Dr. Ben
P.S. If you’ve been using Twitter, feel free to share how you’ve used it and what
the biggest benefits you’ve found to be in the comments below – I look forward to
hearing from you!