Day 26: Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda…

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You ever have those days or moments when you look back and wish you had done something different? Moved in a different direction? Or gone through a different door?

And if you had, how would your life, career or relationships  be different? If you had made that investment in Microsoft when they looked like hippies you would be a millionaire now. If you had just married that girl/guy whose family had money, you wouldn’t be struggling now.

I’m sure each one of you can think of something that you wish you Woulda, Shoulda or Coulda done to change your life or circumstances. Too many times in life we dwell on the What IF’s, how it could have been if only….

You may even have someone in your life who constantly reminds you of the things you should have done.  This reminds me of a great song:

….Regrets, I’ve had a few, but then again too few to mention. I did what I had to do, I saw it through without exemption…. Ol’Blue Eyes

So what does all this mean?

I’M HERE TO TELL YOU, YOU CAN’T GO BACK! SO DON’T TRY!

Have you ever heard the statement: “…if I don’t tell you who will? I’m only pointing this out because I care about you”

They may mean well, but it doesn’t help you move forward. You can’t go back and change it. So why listen to it?

Dale Carnegie tells about the great philosopher Marcus Aurelius, who ruled the Roman Empire and summed up life in eight words-

Our Life Is What Our Thoughts Make It

If someone in your life keeps pointing out your mistakes and reminding you of them you need to find a way to move beyond that person. If they are family do it in a loving way.

So get rid of your Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda’s and Live Your Life Outside the Comfort Zone!

Les Adkins is the CEO of  Orange SMS Consulting and an International Social Media Strategist, speaker, consultant and author. Bringing strategy and whole brain thinking to creative campaigns and social media through his work. Please follow @mysylbert and connect on LinkedIn

 

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Day 25: What Did I Do Wrong?

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So I hope everyone had a great weekend! Now getting back to our 30 day journey. If you started your daily journey when I did (October 1, 2011) you have completed your journey and have a focused outlook and more definition around:

Living Life Outside the Comfort Zone

But if you just joined us or started your journey somewhere in the middle you are still on your journey and following these Monday through Friday daily blogs.

So it is now Day 25, What did I do Wrong? As an international sales trainer and speaker  I focus on several things when speaking to audiences. But when discussing Sales I focus on two big things when you are in a meeting with a prospect.

#1. Executives and business people are too busy to meet with you just for the heck of it. So if you set a meeting there is something your company offers that they are interested in.

#2 If you don’t close the prospect (get the sale) one of three things has happened.

  • You did not show the value of what you were offering to their business.
  • Your service or solution did not meet their needs.
  • And the BIG One – They did not trust you or felt that you could not implement the services or solution that you were offering.

So I recently had a big presentation. I did the discovery meeting (the initial meeting where you discover what their needs are), and I did a ton of research on their industry, their competitors, and even talked with local store managers.

But- Guess What? They did not buy!

So what did I do wrong? That’s what I need to figure out for myself.

Did I not build the trust?

Did I understand the individual needs?

Did I not show the value?

Whatever it was I was asked to come back in a year. So as you can guess I was pretty bummed. But when I told one of my colleagues about what happened they made the statement:

Well at least you were able to present to them.

I thought about that and realized he was right. At least I got the chance to present to them and maybe down the road they will move toward needing or wanting the services I have available.  One of the main things is I got in front of them, many companies and sales people don’t even get the chance.

So what did I learn? I may not win every single company that I present to, but at least I was given the chance. And who knows what happens down the road.

As in life, and as in business you need to enjoy and learn from the journey. It makes you better, stronger and allows you to improve. If you won every one, you would never take a hard look at yourself and your company and ask.

HOW CAN I MAKE IT BETTER!

So you must always continue the journey! And always ask the question. “What Did I Do Wrong?” and then turn right around and ask “What Can I Do Better the Next Time?”!

Les Adkins is the CEO of  Orange SMS Consulting and an International Social Media Strategist, speaker, consultant and author. Bringing strategy and whole brain thinking to creative campaigns and social media through his work. Please follow @mysylbert and connect on LinkedIn

 

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Day 24: Whole Brain Approach

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So I am behind on my blog  due to computer issues. You gotta love Technology. (Well I actually do love technology) But as I always say there is only one constant that is guaranteed with technology.

It will eventually go down

OK enough with the whining. Day 24: Whole Brain Approach! What does that actually mean? I mean we all know about the Left Brain Right Brain.

This was Einstein’s take on the left brain right brain phenomena. Left brain is the serious side and right brain the wild and crazy side. But there is sooooo much more. A gentleman by the name of Ned Herrmann worked for a little company called GE where he used one of the GE inventions to create the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument, HBDI. Which I personally use, or try to use, in every presentation and discussion. Why should you care?

Well Ann Herrmann, who is Ned Herrmann’s Daughter and now CEO of Herrmann International (and a good friend of mine) and I have had several conversations lately about the next steps for the Whole Brain Approach. It was used in creating the game Kinect Adventures for Xbox 360.

Again why should you care? Because it allows you to reach your entire audience when you are trying to be persuasive.

Now what makes this different from DISC or Myer Briggs or the many other personality tests that are out there? It is not a personality test. It actually measures your “Thinking Preferences”. With the other tests you can take them and a month later take them again and get different results. With HBDI you take the assessment and if you take it 10 years from now you will have a very close if not exactly similar result. Unless you have a major traumatic experience in your life, i.e. divorce, death of a loved one, or have a child….

So that’s the history. I have been in sales and leadership for over 25 years and after discovering the “Whole Brain Approach” I use it almost every day. It allows me to reach my entire audience whether I’m giving a presentation or keynote speech, talking to a group of people, trying to persuade them to buy my services or become a partner, and even in casual conversations.

I know my own “Thinking Preference” and if I just spoke or addressed others in the way I think, I would not reach a third of my audience. You probably never thought about the way you think and how it affects what you say and do and how you relate to others. But if you take the time to think about it you realize that not everyone thinks like you, and no they are not STUPID, they just have a different thinking preference than you!

So now that you know. You might start seeing the world differently. Realizing that your spouse may have a different thinking preference, your employees, and the most important one: Your Audience for your product or services.

The next time you come across someone who thinks differently than you do, don’t try to persuade them with more information on how you would be persuaded but present the subject in a “Whole Brain Approach”.

If you would like to know what your thinking preference is or want more information on this subject please email me @ les.adkins@mysylbert.com or call 770.656.0399

Have a very Whole Brain Day!

Les Adkins is the CEO of  Orange SMS Consulting and an International Social Media Strategist, speaker, consultant and author. Bringing strategy and whole brain thinking to creative campaigns and social media through his work. Please follow @mysylbert and connect on LinkedIn

 

 

 

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Day 23: Break That TV Addiction! NOW!

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So was it true when your mother told you that TV will rot your brain?

I don’t know about you but I grew up with TV.  I sat in a room called the TV Room. It had a couch, pillows, blocks (that is what we used for pillows back then as kids) and a big TV in the front of the room.

My parents watched the Lawrence Welk Show

Hee Haw

Oh yes the “Good Ol Days” as they say. But if you are under the age of 30 you may have never even heard of these shows.  Thus the need for the videos above.

Now a days there are videos, games and reality shows.  As well as the new one’s Pan Am, Once Upon A Time and Grimm. Plus when I was little there were 4 channels. ABC, NBC, CBS and PBS. Now, depending on the service you have, you can get anywhere from 500 to over 1000 when you start talking HD and now you can watch 3D Movies At Home. So if you are not careful you can spend all day and night watching TV.

Here are a couple of hints to turn off the TV:

  • Plan it: Pick the shows you want to watch and put that on your schedule. Make sure you only watch those shows. (Channel flipping is a killer of time)
  • Don’t Watch Reruns: If you’ve seen the show previously don’t sit there and watch it again. You have better things to do with your life
  • Don’t Put the TV in a Prominent Position in the Room: Don’t design a room around a TV. Don’t make the TV a focal point. Put it off in the corner or up on a wall away from the center of the room. (This will help make not watching TV a more comfortable activity if you have to work to watch.)
  • Plan other activities during your normal TV Watching Time: If you watch TV at night. Plan on getting your emails or social media posts done in the evening. If you watch in the afternoon decide to go on a walk instead or go to your local coffee-house and read a book.
  • Health Risk: Sitting down watching lot’s of television can cause weight gain and also stress.

In order for you to “Live Life Outside the Comfort Zone” you have to “Turn Off the TV”

Here’s a little video to help you do this.

So Get Up, Get Out, and Get Moving. And TURN OFF THE TV ALREADY

 

Les Adkins is the CEO of  Orange SMS Consulting and an International Social Media Strategist, speaker, consultant and author. Bringing strategy and whole brain thinking to creative campaigns and social media through his work. Please follow @mysylbert and connect on LinkedIn

 

Join us on FB as well.

 

 

Day 22: Don’t Give Up!

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So how are you doing on this 30 day journey? If you have been taking the weekends off your still on the journey, if you haven’t the journey has ended. So on the 22nd day is a good time to look around and see if your life has changed or your business has changed because of this journey.  Let’s remind ourselves a this time of what the journey was all about. It started with a simple poster that was posted from my friendCathy Cunningham Hankinson.

It began with a simple premise. “To Live Outside The Comfort Zone!”  So on this day I personally looked around and realized that I still needed to finish organizing my office (This was Day 1) and get rid of the clutter. I realized that I don’t do everything I need to, every day or every week. And I sometimes work when I should be relaxing and relax when I should be working, but through it all I keep on moving forward. You could say that I’m human, imagine that. I bet most of you are too.

I am still reading “The 4-hour Work Week” and a few other books. Yes, I have trouble Focusing (Day 17). So why am I telling you all of this. Because I want you to know that if you aren’t doing everything you need to do to “Live Outside The Comfort Zone”, DON’T GIVE UP!

Don’t give up. There are too many nay-sayers out there who will try to discourage you. Don’t listen to them. The only one who can make you give up is yourself.  - Sidney Sheldon

Fall seven times, stand up eight. – Japanese Proverb

What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters to what lies within us.  - Ralph Waldo Emerson

And for all my truly Geek friends out there!

Never give up, never surrender! – Galaxy Quest

So Today: Relax, Spend Some Time With Your Family, Work If You Need To,  But Whatever You Do:

DON’T GIVE UP!

Les Adkins is the CEO of  Orange SMS Consulting and an International Social Media Strategist, speaker, consultant and author. Bringing strategy and whole brain thinking to creative campaigns and social media through his work. Please follow @mysylbert and connect on LinkedIn

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Day 21: The Power of ONE

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So we talk about Networking as a way to meet the people we need to meet in order to change our lives. You have heard it been said, that the more people you help get what they want in life then you will get what you want in life. Or as Richard Branson has said “Screw It, Let’s Do It”. But where does it all start? Who begins it? What do you need in order to make that one change that will make a difference in your life and others and allow you to “Live Outside the Comfort Zone”?

You can work with others, connect with others, help others but it all begins with One. YOU! One person can make a difference in the world, in the country, in the community, and in your life.  But the only person that can make a major difference in your life is YOU!

Remember One Person Can Make A Difference…And You Can Make A Difference if you just Try!

Have a Great Weekend Everyone!

Les Adkins is the CEO of  Orange SMS Consulting and an International Social Media Strategist, speaker, consultant and author. Bringing strategy and whole brain thinking to creative campaigns and social media through his work. Please follow @mysylbert and connect on LinkedIn

 

 

 

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Day 20: Go Against the Norm!

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Go Against the Norm! What does that actually mean? Well, when I was a little boy, my parents gave me a little stain glass window that I still have that says:

If A Man Does Not Keep Pace With His Companions. Perhaps It Is Because He Hears A Different Drummer. Let Him Step To The Music He Hears However Measured Or Faraway.  - Thoreau

This sits in my office and is one of my prize possessions. It even has tape on it,  because I apparently dropped it over the years, and had to put it back together. If you can relate to that then you know that if you Go Against the Norm, you also, at times, have to put your life, your career, and your relationships, sometimes back together because you most always go against the norm and this can cause things to not go exactly smoothly. We always hear about the successes, but very few times do we hear about those individuals still trying to succeed. Which one are you?

Recently Steve Jobs passed away and if anyone could be the poster child for this motto it is him. If you read the poster to the left you will understand that he, above all, understood what “Go Against the Norm” meant.

Yes there have been others: Michael Dell; Dell Computers,  The Google Guys; Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Bill Gates; Microsoft, let’s not forget Ted Waitt, Gateway Computers, Richard Branson; Virgin and the list could go on.

Those names are the current ones but remember the Wright Brothers; first to fly, Columbus; credited for discovering the earth is round, Albert Einstein; theory of relativity,  Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb and holder of 1093 patens,  Alexander Graham Bell, phone and many, many more.

Like I said in the beginning, history remembers the successful ones or those that got credit for giving the world something they needed or wanted.  But if you read their histories they were thought of as individuals that “Go Against the Norm”. Life was probably not easy for them before their fame and in some cases even after.

I love this picture of the original Microsoft Team:

Anyway as you go through your 30 day journey just remember if you have your own business, are an entrepreneur or are passionate about a cause or anything you may be labeled one of the crazy people. You might hear things like why can’t you just fit in? Well stay strong and remember the names above.

Here’s t o you the crazy ones. Those who live outside the Comfort Zone!

Les Adkins is the CEO of  Orange SMS Consulting and an International Social Media Strategist, speaker, consultant and author. Bringing strategy and whole brain thinking to creative campaigns and social media through his work. Please follow @mysylbert and connect on LinkedIn 

 

Join us on FB as well

Sorry this was late. I was watching the World Series. BTW great game! Rangers gave it up by not closing on two opportunities!