Phone: |
If you are starting a business you should know the FACTS about hiring a business coach.
Our team based in Miami, Florida takes an approach based on our model – We bring F.A.C.T.S. to our clients.
Click here to read the entire post.
Filed under: Start-up Fever
No Comments
One of the questions I receive from business owners regularly is: “Why don’t my clients take my advice? I have their best interests at heart but they don’t want to listen to me.”
The answer lies not in what you say but in how you say it. There are three specific steps that will help get people to put your good advice into practice. They are:
Here’s some additional detail on the steps listed above:
The Emotional Appeal – Ninety percent of all decisions that are made by humans in life are emotional decisions. It is human nature to make decisions based upon our emotional reaction to a given situation and the JUSTIFY our decision with rational reasoning.
This is even true in a business-to-business setting. Once I was proposing a complex (and expensive) organizational effectiveness solution to a large multi-national company. There was an involved bidding process that had my firm up against two large competitors. My company nailed all of the presentations we gave to the decision-making board involved in this process. Our solution was competitively priced. We believed we were “a lock” to get the business. When the decision was made, we found out the the deal was awarded to the highest priced competitor. I asked for a meeting with the committee to debrief (mainly to find out why we were not selected so we could improve). The head of the procurement committee responded with a statement that I will never forget. She said: “Dave, your firm was a perfect fit in every way. When we presented the proposals to the president of the company he told us that we needed to go with your competitor. He said that his son played youth soccer with the president of the competing firm and he had a deep personal relationship with this man. He believed that this relationship would help us receive better service and save us money in the long run.”
In the case highlighted above, the president’s emotional decision – justified by logic, trumped even the most compelling logical argument I could make.
When you make an appeal to someone to take your advice, focus on emotions such as trust, integrity and fear (more on that in a few paragraphs). Emotions resonate with people. That’s what they remember.
Provide Specific Steps – We must make it easy for people to take the advice we provide. There can be no ambiguity when we offer up our expertise.
When you are taking a trip to a new place do you ever go on-line and print out a map and turn-by-turn directions? Which portion of the printed guidance do you find easier to follow? Most people respond that the turn-by-turn directions – the specific words - are easier to follow. This is because our brain finds it easier to grasp the directions in small segments. The map requires a specific visualization of the route and we all know that the map often does not accurately reflect the territory.
Giving people specific action steps to follow is a way to help them grasp one step at a time in a specific process. It is far more likely that folks will listen to, and take advantage of, our guidance if we break it down into manageable chunks.
Clearly Articulate the Negative Consequences of NOT Following your Advice – This is where fear comes in. People are far more likely to take action to move AWAY from fear than they are to take action TOWARD pleasure. This is just how we are wired.
One of my clients is a personal trainer. He was having problems retaining clients after they went through the initial orientation session with him. He made one seemingly minor change in his approach and he doubled his client base almost overnight. At the outset of the orientation training session he wrote down the participant’s weight, hight and he calibrated their body fat. He then proceeded to take them through the exercises in the gym that he recommended for them. At the conclusion of the session he gave the participant an insurance actuarial chart that determined their life expectancy based upon their weight and their body fat. Hen then circled the amount of years they were taking OFF of their life by being overweight. The fear – in this case the fear of an early death – was enough to motivate over 80% of his clients to sign up with him for a 90–day training program.
Fear is healthy. It keeps us from doing all kinds of stupid things that could harm us. We can all learn how to use fear for our benefit in our personal lives as well as in our interactions with our clients.
Remember – these tips are only useful if you have the best interest of your clients in mind. If you use them to manipulate your client, you may get them to take action in the short run but ultimately they will feel betrayed if they find out that you used them to make a quick buck.
Filed under: Behavior
No Comments
You are responsible for your future.
There are things you can do right now to make certain that you have everything you want in your business and in your career.
The first step in creating your future is to set goals for yourself and your business.
Here are some important things to keep in mind about goals:
Goals should be stated in the positive. Goals must help you focus on a positive outcome. A goal such as – Get out of Debt by January 2008 – is only going to serve to help keep you in debt. Why? Because your subconscious mind only focuses on the debt aspect of that statement. A better goal is – Achieve Financial Freedom by January 2008. This goal focuses you on the positive aspects of this goal.
You must write your goals down. A goal that is not written down is just an idea. Once you write them down they are cemented in your mind. Writing them down gives them a sense of permanence. Taking this step commits you to focusing on the goals in your daily actions.
You must review your goals daily. Reviewing your goals each and every single day is the only way to make certain that you will achieve them. You become what you think about most. If you focus on your goals on a daily basis you are more likely to seize upon opportunities that will bring you closer to achieving them.
Focus on the outcome. Don’t spend your time and energy worrying about how you will achieve your goal. As you intensify your focus on making your goal a reality, the path will become evident. It will literally reveal itself to you. Many analytical people ask me how this happens. There are a number of ways. Some folks say that the universe aligns itself based upon the vibration you put out. Others say that your unconscious mind works diligently on your goal and steers you down the path toward success. Ultimately it doesn’t matter how or why this happens. Focusing on the outcome works.
Visualize yourself achieving your goal. See yourself being congratulated by friends and family for your success. See yourself accepting the keys to your new home or new car (if that was your goal). See yourself shaking hands with your new clients. Visualize yourself in front of television cameras telling your story of success. You mind does not know the difference between visualization and reality. This visualization will help you break down any barriers you may have (subconsciously) to the success you deserve.
Act as if you have already achieved your goal. This point is often overlooked by people because they find it “hokey”. You need to act as if you have already achieved your goal in order to make it a reality. Do this for the same reasons I have listed above. Breaking down your mental resistance is critical to making your goals a reality. In addition, other people will begin to see you as already achieving your goal if you act as if you have already made it happen. This will lead them to offer you opportunities that will accelerate your progress.
You should celebrate progress toward goal achievement. This step is often overlooked by business leaders. As you progress down the path toward goal achievement you should take every opportunity to celebrate achievement as you progress toward making your goals a reality. This step will help you keep the momentum going.
These seven tips are the basics to making your goals a reality. Although they are the basics, few people practice them. If you truly want success you will use these guidelines to make you goals a reality.
Filed under: Goals
No Comments
We have had some server issues during the past couple of weeks. At this point it looks like the issues are resolved. Thanks for your patience.
Filed under: General Information
No Comments
One of the best ways to create value is by being the person who “gets things started”. People who can start things – projects, conversations, businesses etc. – are incredibly valuable. Taking a vision and making it a reality is difficult. Why is this?
First, there is the overwhelming nature of having hundreds of tasks to accomplish. Even the smallest project or business has thousands of details associated with it. Getting wrapped up in those details is a trap that is just waiting for the new small business owner. In order to get past this feeling of becoming overwhelmed, I recommend focusing on just one of them each day. Each day cross one thing off of your long-term “to do” list. Before you know it, you will have five to ten major tasks accomplished.
Next is the need to sell. Selling scares people. Many entrepreneurs think that they must learn some magic technique before they go out and offer their services. In truth, there is no magic technique. You just need to go out and listen to the needs of your potential clients and help fill them.
Then there are the self-limiting beliefs that make many entrepreneurs feel as though they don’t belong in business or they don’t deserve success. Sometimes these feelings are present in our conscious mind and sometimes they are below the surface in our subconscious. These feelings must be dismissed immediately and dramatically. One of the exercises I ask my clients to do involves writing their negative thoughts down on a piece of paper and then burning that paper. As the smoke rises up into the air, their negative thoughts and feelings evaporate with the smoke.
Finally, there is good old fashioned laziness. It is easier to do nothing. You can’t allow this feeling to control your behavior. You need to break free of it early and often.
What is the common denominator in all of these items? You. The power to control the development of your new business lies in your hands. You must make this happen. It is your destiny.
Filed under: Start-up Fever
No Comments
There is an interesting post up over at the Sales Intensity Blog today. It is about building relationships through trust and frequency of contact. I have pasted the beginning part of this post and a link below.
Please give it a look.
People do business with people they trust.
The more often someone interacts with you the more familiar they become with you. If you are a good person and you provide others with value, you can develop a relationship based upon trust by increasing the frequency of your interaction with the other party.
Keeping in frequent contact with clients and prospective clients is the best way to set a solid foundation for a relationship. At first, you may need to contact the other party frequently to make sure they remember you. After a while you will want to work on making the relationship productive (for both parties).
I have found seven specific points of contact that are particularly effective at helping establish and ultimately deepen a relationship.
Click here to read the entire post.
Filed under: Communication
No Comments
Please visit Sales Intensity and check out Sales Strategy for Entrepreneurs.
Also take a look at how to overcome the Fear of Success at The Business Advisor Blog.
Filed under: General Information
No Comments
Last week we discussed The Fear of Failure and its effect on business performance. Over the past four days we have examined the Five Irrational Fears that many Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners face.
Today week we are going to examine The Fear of Success.
As much as you want to be the best, you’re afraid that if you actually achieve more, others will dislike you, shun you, and think you’re arrogant. You may also feel that the pressure of being successful may be too great a load to bear or that you will never live up to the expectations of others.
It is true that it is easier to get to the top than it is to stay on top. This is partially due to increased competition and increased expectations that come along with success. However, the rewards of business success far outweigh the burden of the duty and responsibility associated with staying there.
The fear of success is often rooted deep in the subconscious mind of an entrepreneur or small business owner. Often there is a psychological barrier that many people don’t even realize exists. Meeting regularly with someone who knows you and your business can often be helpful in working through these issues.
This is where a business coach can make a dramatic difference in your business and your life. A coach is not a physiologist and should never be considered a substitute for that type of care. A trained coach can help a business owner/manager by identifying blind spots – opportunities in the business that a person who is close to the business might not see. It is often the fear of success that creates these blind spots.
Filed under: Behavior
No Comments
Each week I cite Back in Skinny Jeans for the excellent description of how to subscribe to a blog with RSS.
Stephanie has given me permission to share her information with all of my readers.
Once again here is her great post on how to subscribe to this blog using RSS.
How to Subscribe to this Blog with RSS
We all have busy lives with very little time. Web surfing is fun but can take hours going to visit every single website and blog you enjoy. Wouldn’t it be fabulous if you could just get all the headlines of the most current stories from all your favorite websites and blogs in one place?
Well now you can, and it is called RSS feed.
The technical acronym for RSS is “Really Simple Syndication”, an XML format that was created to syndicate news, and be a means to share content on the web. Now, to geeks and techies that means something special, but to everyday folks like you and me, what comes to mind is, “Uh, I don’t get it?”
So, to make RSS much easier to understand, you can think of RSS as an acronym for “Really Simple Syndication” or I’m “Ready for Some Stories”. It is a way online for you to get a quick list of the latest story headlines from all your favorite websites and blogs all in one place.
Suppose you have 50 sites and blogs that you like to visit regularly. Going to visit each website and blog everyday could take you hours. With RSS, you can “subscribe” to a website or blog, and get “fed” all the new headlines from all of these 50 sites and blogs in one list, and see what’s going on in minutes instead of hours. What a time saver!
That one place where your RSS list is created is called an RSS Reader, and it gathers all the headlines from all the websites and blogs you have subscribed to. In a moment, I will describe how to get an RSS Reader.
Subscribing to RSS feeds
But first, to “subscribe” to a website or blog’s RSS feed simply means that you are telling that website or blog, “Yes please. Send me your story headlines.” It’s like subscribing to a magazine or newsletter. Instead of getting a magazine or email, you will just get a list of headlines sent to your RSS reader. If the headline looks interesting to you, all you have to do is click on the headline and you’ll be sent to the whole story.
In order to subscribe to a website or blog’s RSS, all you have to do is click on an RSS symbol (that orange box on the right sidebar).You can also click to the text link of the words “ Click Here to Subscribe” on the website or blog.
Typically, you can find these RSS symbols or text links in your browser window, on the sides of the website page, or on the bottom of the page. The publishers of the websites and blogs really want people to subscribe to their RSS, so they will make it very easy for you to find the subscription links.
RSS Readers
Now, because nothing is ever standard on the web like dealing with different operating systems, Mac vs. PC, and different flavored browsers like Internet Explorer, AOL, Safari, and Firefox, the way to get an RSS reader will be dependent on what browser you like to use, and how accessible you’d like your RSS list(s) to be.
Just like there are flavors of web browsers, you may see and hear of different flavors of RSS XML feeders like RSS 1.0, RSS 2.0, and Atom. Again, the flavors are only important if you want to get techie. If you stick to looking for an RSS symbol (again, it’s a bright orange square – it looks like a piece if Ckicklet Gum) you will be fine.
If you’d like your RSS list to be accessible from any computer or mobile device you may have like a PDA, laptop, or cell phone, some popular RSS readers include that option (and almost all are FREE):
MyYahoo
MyMSN
MyAOL
MyGoogle
Bloglines
FeedDemon (this one costs money)
NewsGator (there is a cost for mobile accessibility)
NetVibes
PageFlakes
Shrook (For Mac users. Free trial and then there’s a cost.)
Lektora
Attensa (more for enterprise, and there’s a cost)
As you can see, there are a plethora of choices for you. All are good RSS readers, so your choice will simply come down to the style that appeals most to you.
RSS as Live Bookmarks
Browsers like Safari and Firefox allow you to subscribe to RSS feeds through the browser, and it’s called “live bookmarking”. Currently, you can only do live bookmarking in Internet Explorer if you have IE7.
Once again, thanks to Stephanie from Back In Skinny Jeans for help in describing the RSS subscription process.
Filed under: General Information
No Comments
This week’s Carnival of Career Intensity is up with five terrific posts. Here is a taste of what you can find at this week’s Carnival of Career Intensity.
Christine Kane presents It Might Be Time to Take a Risk if… posted at Christine Kane.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the Law of Attraction. I believe in it wholeheartedly. And you know what else I believe in? Taking action, and taking risks. At some point, you have to act. At some point you may have to get a little scared. Maybe even a lot scared. You may have to step forward and give some weight to your affirmations, visualizations and good vibrations. It’s the best way to let the universe (and yourself) know that you’re serious about this dream of yours and about this life of yours.
How to Protect Yourself from a Layoff
Steve Faber presents 5 Important Ways to Protect Yourself Against Job Loss posted at Debt Free.
They’re coming in waves now. Large job cuts at some of the biggest companies, while the economy as a whole continues its growth. Alcatel–Lucent announced on the 9th they’d raise the number of job cuts in the next three years to 12,500. Diamler-Chrysler announced this morning they’d eliminate 13,000 positions. On the 8th, Eastman-Kodak revealed they’d get rid of between 28,000 and 30,000 jobs. What’s this mean for you?
Measurement Equals Success in a Job Hunt
Clint James presents Quantify to Qualify posted at Static Cure.
Here is a little personal lesson I learned this week:
QUANTIFY YOURSELF ON YOUR RESUME’!!!
Why? Because the person sitting across from you is in business and he/she is a numbers person unless you are interviewing at a daycare and they don’t so much care about your ability to produce as your likelihood for stealing the children. Here is how I found out this one small truth.
Charles H. Green presents Trust Tip 32: Answering “Why Should We Choose You? posted at Trust Matters.
It happens most overtly in a sales presentation: “So tell us, Mr. Jones, why should we choose you?”
Words vary. You may recognize:
What makes you folks different, what sets you apart?
John Lampard presents The signs of a career rut posted at The InterChange Desk.
Maybe the first sign, or symptom, that you are fed up with your job, or career, is the fact you are reading this article.
What time is it? Is this your lunch or coffee break? Or are you desperately trying to “fill-in” time until the close of business? Or until lunchtime? Or, worse still, is your work day only ten minutes old, and reading this article is the first of many “distractions” you have planned for the rest of the (long) day?
Thanks to everyone who submitted a post.
The Carnival of Career Intensity appears every Saturday on The Career Intensity Blog.
Send your posts in by 5PM Friday evening to be eligible. I select and print, in full, the five posts that I feel best exemplify Career Intensity.
To enter e-mail your best article to Carnival at CareerIntensity.com. (Replace “at” with @).
If you’re looking for an easier way to enter the carnival, just fill out the form at http://blogcarnival.com.
Filed under: General Information
No Comments
Yesterday we discussed The Fear of Disapproval and its effect on business performance. Over the course of the next couple of days we will examine the last two of the Five Irrational Fears that many Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners face.
Today we are going to examine The Fear of Failure.
Most people do not set out to fail. Yet it happens all the time. Although the vast majority of people hate failure some folks become petrified by the mere fact that they might not succeed. This type of irrational Fear of Failure can often prevent entrepreneurs from taking action.
This fear can manifest itself in a lack of action. If you are petrified by fear you will fail to take risks, fail to make decisions and fail to adjust to the changing needs of your customers. This fear will be the death of your business.
A coach can help you deal with this fear in a swift and rational way. Your coach will sit down with you and help you work through the consequences of inaction which will often fly in face of your fear of failure. A coach can also help you learn from the misstep you might normally perceive as a failure.
In reality, a mistake is a learning experience and only becomes a failure if it stops you from moving forward.
Filed under: Attitude
No Comments
Yesterday we discussed The Fear of the Commitment and its effect on business performance. Over the course of the next few days we will look specifically at the Five Irrational Fears that many Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners face.
Today we are going to examine The Fear of Disapproval.
When you make changes or take risks you expose yourself to criticism. Other people may not like the change you’ve made, even if that change improves your life. When it comes to making a change, gaining approval can be the wind in your sails. When people who are important to you are skeptical or disagree with you, you feel like you are running up hill.
When we were kids, we all craved the approval of our parents and the elders in our social environment. People who grow up never gaining the approval of their parents (or other influential individuals) can often have a fear of disapproval that will limit their ability to take risks or to make critical changes in their business.
Working with a coach can help you overcome the fear of disapproval. You and your coach will discuss critical decisions before you make them. Your coach will help you weigh the pros and cons of all major decisions. The ultimate decision will rest with you because you are the expert in your business BUT you will have the confidence of knowing that you have looked at the decision from all angles in an impartial and detached way.
Filed under: Behavior
No Comments
Yesterday we discussed The Fear of the Unknown and its effect on business performance. Over the course of the next four days we will look specifically at the Five Irrational Fears that many Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners face.
Today we are going to examine The Fear of Commitment.
Like each of us, you have a strong desire to do what you say you are going to do. The psychological need for your actions to match your words drives you to follow through on whatever commitments you make. That type of commitment implies hard work, and you’d rather not commit than compromise your integrity by failing to keep your word. This is especially true when you make a commitment to yourself.
The psychology of commitment is a mental Catch-22. Your impulse to keep your word – make your commitment come true - is so great that it causes you to avoid making commitments.
There are two ways to overcome this fear of commitment. The first is to contrast possibility with probability. If it is probable that you will accomplish the task at hand, then you should be able to make the commitment.
A quick conversation with your Business Coach can help you break through this barrier. Your coach will help you see the difference between possibility and probability.
The second way to tackle this fear is to view a large commitment as a series of smaller commitments. This is the one-day-at-a-time philosophy that has proved so successful in helping people break addictions. Your short-term concern is meeting your goal today. Before you know it, your days turn into months and your months turn into years. Each day of success becomes positive reinforcing behavior. In the process, the basis of your fear becomes familiar and is no longer a threat.
Your coach can help you break through this barrier by helping you break your goals down into manageable pieces. You’ll approach each goal one step at a time. Before you know it you’ll have accomplished some major tasks by taking simple steps.
Filed under: Attitude
No Comments
Yesterday we discussed fear and its effect on business performance. Over the course of the next five days we will look specifically at the Five Irrational Fears that many Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners face.
Today we are going to examine The Fear of the Unknown.
You don’t know what the future will bring. You may know that greater possibilities exist, but what you have now is familiar. It’s difficult to give up the certainty of the familiar for the uncertain rewards of the unfamiliar.
Many people who experience this fear will do endless research yet they never take action. People who fear the unknown will also use the excuse that they are “waiting for the right time to get started” on their new venture. The only problem with this theory is that the right time never comes.
The way to break through this fear is easy to understand yet difficult to implement.
To break through the fear of the unknown you need to have the trust and confidence in your ability. The best way to instill this confidence in yourself is to involve a third party in your efforts. A detached individual, such as a coach, can help you reflect on the success you have experienced in the past. This reflection, combined with enthusiastic encouragement, can help you break through the barrier that the Fear of the Unknown can present.
Filed under: Attitude
No Comments
As human beings, we all experience fear. Fear is an emotion that evolved as a form of protection from painful or possibly fatal situations. Rational fears protect us. Healthy fear keeps us from acting in ways that would put our lives in danger. It keeps us from walking into a lion’s den or placing our hands in a roaring fire. On the other hand, we develop irrational fears as the result of painful past experiences and conjure them up when we anticipate a similar negative experience. Irrational fears can hold us back and steal our dreams.
To help overcome irrational fear, many people use a great acronym that places it in the proper context. FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real. This false evidence will often prevent us from making important decisions or taking critical steps to help shape our future.
Do you want to be proactive and shape your future?
or
Do you want to react to whatever life has to throw at you?
Of course - you want to be - no, you need to be - proactive.
Sometimes we make excuses that help us cope with or mask our fear. We let our minds play tricks on us. We tell ourselves things that allow us to feel better while we do things that are truly not in our best interests.
What has FEAR prevented you from doing?
Filed under: Behavior
No Comments
Here are the cool tips from this week’s Carnival of Career Intensity:
Post One: – David Maister’s Perspective on Careers
Twelve truths from a man who knows what it takes to have a great career.
Post Two: – Are You In Tune?
Get in tune with great career guidance from Charles H. Green. This post will help you understand the importance of preparation.
Post Three: – What is Your Leadership Worth?
Anna Farmery her thoughts on leadership with us. You can find her at The Engaging Brand.
Read the Post by Clicking Here
Post Four: – Regain Your Balance
Jane May presents The Importance of Balance for Work and Home posted at Career Ramblings. All aspects of your life benefit when you find balance.
Read Jane’s Thoughts by Clicking Here
Post Five: – Time is Perishable - Say Thank You
Krishna De wonders if saying “Thank You” is bad for your brand. Time is short. Remember to thank the people who help you.
The Carnival of Career Intensity appears every Saturday on The Career Intensity Blog.
Send your posts in by 5PM Friday evening to be eligible. I select and print, in full, the five posts that I feel best exemplify Career Intensity.
To enter e-mail your best article to Carnival at CareerIntensity.com. (Replace “at” with @).
If you’re looking for an easier way to enter the carnival, just fill out the form at http://blogcarnival.com.
Filed under: General Information
No Comments
All great people have coaches. Every professional athlete has a coach. All professional entertainers have coaches. More and more corporate executives are hiring coaches to help them get through the rough patches in their career. It seems as though entrepreneurs are the only folks who continue to be intent on going it on their own.
Here are three benefits to working with coach if you are an entrepreneur:
Vision
As an entrepreneur you have a burning need to be self-reliant. This is fantastic when you are just starting out. You need the “me against the world” attitude in order to stay motivated. However once you have developed a client base and you need to begin delivering your products and services you can get mired in complexity. All of a sudden you wake up and you realize that you are focused on the tactical aspects of your business and you have lost the vision you had when you began.
A coach will ask you the kind of questions that you bring your vision back into focus. A coach has the benefit of viewing you business from a 30,000 foot perspective. He/she can see things that you are too close to see.
Stress Release
As an entrepreneur, you are the boss. There’s really nobody with whom you can share your thoughts or issues. A coach can listen to you and he/she can offer realistic feedback on your thoughts and ideas. Now, the coach is not the expert in your business. They are there to listen and ask tough questions. They are there to make you think. They are there to force you to take the time to focus on the big picture.
Talent Identification
Your coach will become an expert on what you do well and where you need support. Most business owners have a knack for hiring people who are just like them. This can be a disaster. A coach can help you identify your talent and identify your weaknesses. You can then look to hire people to support you in the areas where you are weak. This is one of the invaluable “side benefits” of working with a coach.
Ultimately a relationship with a coach should deliver ten times (or more) the value you pay to have one. I am biased because I coach entrepreneurs and I have watched the people I worked with double and triple their income.
Filed under: Coaching
No Comments
Aviva has a top 25 Web 2.0 Tools for Entrepreneurs guide. This is a good list of tools that can help you get things done better and faster.
Which one will help you become more successful?
Thanks to Buzzoodle for the link.
Filed under: Productivity
No Comments
We are in the process of reloading all of the blogs on the server.
That virus that went around last week really killed all three of our blogs.
We should be back on line with new stuff in the next day or so.
Thanks for hanging in there with us.
Filed under: General Information
No Comments
Great stuff from Yehuda via Seth:
There are many incorrect ways to formulate an apology, but only a few correct ones.
On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is best:
Filed under: Customer Service
No Comments
Each week I cite Back in Skinny Jeans for the excellent description of how to subscribe to a blog with RSS.
Stephanie has given me permission to share her information with all of my readers.
Once again here is her great post on how to subscribe to this blog using RSS.
How to Subscribe to this Blog with RSS
We all have busy lives with very little time. Web surfing is fun but can take hours going to visit every single website and blog you enjoy. Wouldn’t it be fabulous if you could just get all the headlines of the most current stories from all your favorite websites and blogs in one place?
Well now you can, and it is called RSS feed.
The technical acronym for RSS is “Really Simple Syndication”, an XML format that was created to syndicate news, and be a means to share content on the web. Now, to geeks and techies that means something special, but to everyday folks like you and me, what comes to mind is, “Uh, I don’t get it?”
So, to make RSS much easier to understand, you can think of RSS as an acronym for “Really Simple Syndication” or I’m “Ready for Some Stories”. It is a way online for you to get a quick list of the latest story headlines from all your favorite websites and blogs all in one place.
Suppose you have 50 sites and blogs that you like to visit regularly. Going to visit each website and blog everyday could take you hours. With RSS, you can “subscribe” to a website or blog, and get “fed” all the new headlines from all of these 50 sites and blogs in one list, and see what’s going on in minutes instead of hours. What a time saver!
That one place where your RSS list is created is called an RSS Reader, and it gathers all the headlines from all the websites and blogs you have subscribed to. In a moment, I will describe how to get an RSS Reader.
Subscribing to RSS feeds
But first, to “subscribe” to a website or blog’s RSS feed simply means that you are telling that website or blog, “Yes please. Send me your story headlines.” It’s like subscribing to a magazine or newsletter. Instead of getting a magazine or email, you will just get a list of headlines sent to your RSS reader. If the headline looks interesting to you, all you have to do is click on the headline and you’ll be sent to the whole story.
In order to subscribe to a website or blog’s RSS, all you have to do is click on an RSS symbol (that orange box on the right sidebar).You can also click to the text link of the words “ Click Here to Subscribe” on the website or blog.
Typically, you can find these RSS symbols or text links in your browser window, on the sides of the website page, or on the bottom of the page. The publishers of the websites and blogs really want people to subscribe to their RSS, so they will make it very easy for you to find the subscription links.
RSS Readers
Now, because nothing is ever standard on the web like dealing with different operating systems, Mac vs. PC, and different flavored browsers like Internet Explorer, AOL, Safari, and Firefox, the way to get an RSS reader will be dependent on what browser you like to use, and how accessible you’d like your RSS list(s) to be.
Just like there are flavors of web browsers, you may see and hear of different flavors of RSS XML feeders like RSS 1.0, RSS 2.0, and Atom. Again, the flavors are only important if you want to get techie. If you stick to looking for an RSS symbol (again, it’s a bright orange square – it looks like a piece if Ckicklet Gum) you will be fine.
If you’d like your RSS list to be accessible from any computer or mobile device you may have like a PDA, laptop, or cell phone, some popular RSS readers include that option (and almost all are FREE):
MyYahoo
MyMSN
MyAOL
MyGoogle
Bloglines
FeedDemon (this one costs money)
NewsGator (there is a cost for mobile accessibility)
NetVibes
PageFlakes
Shrook (For Mac users. Free trial and then there’s a cost.)
Lektora
Attensa (more for enterprise, and there’s a cost)
As you can see, there are a plethora of choices for you. All are good RSS readers, so your choice will simply come down to the style that appeals most to you.
RSS as Live Bookmarks
Browsers like Safari and Firefox allow you to subscribe to RSS feeds through the browser, and it’s called “live bookmarking”. Currently, you can only do live bookmarking in Internet Explorer if you have IE7.
Once again, thanks to Stephanie from Back In Skinny Jeans for help in describing the RSS subscription process.
Filed under: General Information
No Comments
Here are the hot, fresh posts from this week’s Carnival of Career Intensity:
Post One – How to Make Decisions with Less Stress
Victor presents Making Decisions with Less Stress posted at Personal Development Articles.
Stress is not necessarily a bad thing. It is a requisite part of growth, stimulation and any compromising situation. Too much of it, it however, can short circuit your system and drive you haywire. If you are constantly under stress, without giving your body time for respite, your body will certainly break down.
Decision making is one of the primary stressors in life. However, you can’t really live a life without decisions, can’t you? Every day you make choices, and these choices translate into stresses that cannot be avoided. They can only be mitigated or handled appropriately.
Click Here to Read the Entire Post
Post Two – What’s Your Hourly Wage
Matthew Paulson presents Does Your Hourly Wage Really Matter? posted at Getting Green.
When I was in college, I had five different jobs; it was really an interesting experience. Since three of them were campus jobs where you would work maybe five or six hours a week, it really wasn’t anything more than a full time job. It’s really quite amazing the difference in salary I received in each job. At the highest paid one, I made $16.35 an hour doing computer support, and at the lowest one, I was paid a mere $6.30 an hour for basic tutoring.
One day I decided that I was going to calculate how valuable my time was based on my average hourly wage, and it turned out to be about $10.00 an hour. Does this mean I should have quit my $6.30 an hour job, because it was not worth my time? Of course not. If I were not tutoring, then I probably would have just been sitting in my rented house watching DVDs of Scrubs. Instead I had some time to help other people and do homework when there was no one to get help; there’s not much easier than that for work!
There are a lot of suggestions and ideas about evaluating whether what you are doing is worth your effort.
Click Here to Read the Entire Post
Post Three – How to Stand Out
Clint James presents How to Stand Out in a Crowd posted at Static Cure.
My big focus and what I hope to be a point of emphasis for this blog is how to stand out in the mind of a recruiter. You can always wear a loud tie and floppy clown shoes or you can do something creative and constructive and show the recruiter that you’ve put some thought and resources into getting their attention, and that it is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to your potential.
Click Here to Read the Entire Post
Post Four – There is a Science to Success
Craig Harper presents The Science of Success posted at Renovate your life with Craig.
If, like me, you have a propensity to spend inordinate amounts of time navigating your way around some of the squillions of personal development / motivational / inspirational / be-your-very-best-in-next-to-no-time sites, then you’ve probably found a massive amount of repetition, fluff, feel-good, mumbo-jumbo crap and the occasional valuable article.
I am of the opinion (and yes, I know it’s not a popular one) that success isn’t as hard, or as complex as some people make it. And before you write to disagree with me, yes, I acknowledge that the above statement is dependant on your definition of success… but I am speaking generally (as I often need to, when speaking to an audience of more than one).
Click Here to Read the Entire Post
Post Five – Forget Stuff, Get Rich
John Wesley presents Why the Unmaterialistic Should Have the Greatest Drive to Get Rich posted at Pick the Brain - Wit and Wisdom for Your Inspiration.
Imagine a greedy old miser, nearing the end of his life. For years he shunned friends and family to amass a fortune, but now, in old age, he sits alone in an empty mansion, cursing himself for missing out on the truly important things in life. No one wants to end up like him. We want to enjoy the love of our family and friends. Only materialistic people with skewed priorities care about being rich. Right?
Click Here to Read the Entire Post
Thanks to everyone who submitted a post.
The Carnival of Career Intensity appears every Saturday on The Career Intensity Blog.
Send your posts in by 5PM Friday evening to be eligible. I select and print, in full, the five posts that I feel best exemplify Career Intensity.
To enter e-mail your best article to Carnival at CareerIntensity.com. (Replace “at” with @).
If you’re looking for an easier way to enter the carnival, just fill out the form at http://blogcarnival.com.
Filed under: General Information
No Comments
Just about everyone has trouble sleeping from time to time. It does not matter if you can’t sleep because you have too much on your mind or if there’s a noise outside the door to your hotel room, being up in the middle of the night is just not fun. Below are my five favorite things to do when I can’t sleep. Some are productive and some just take your mind off your troubles – and that may be enough to get you back to bed and off to dreamland.
Click Here to Read the Entire Post
Filed under: General Information
No Comments
How would you like some great recommendations on LinkedIn?
Start by giving recommendations to others.
Be honest and promote people who have done good work with/for you.
I gave out a couple of recommendations last week and I received a couple right back.
If you like the information you receive from this blog, I would love a recommendation from you!
Join LinkedIn today, give out some recommendations and I’m sure you’ll get some back.
Click on the logo below for my LinkedIn Page.
Filed under: Communication
No Comments
Master persuaders know that people are more likely to agree with them, like them, buy from them, and hire them if they feel they have more in common with them. To encourage this, master persuaders highlight their similarities to the customer or business associate. How can you do this?
1. Talk about what you have in common. No matter how different you may think you are from someone, you are bound to have at least a few things in common with him. Find out what they are, talk about them, and begin to connect. Successful people find ways to click with anyone and know how to get along with people from all walks of life, ages, and areas of expertise. Doing so is beneficial to you in several ways. Not only do you increase the likelihood of the person saying “yes”, but you also expand your base of knowledge and experience.
2. Look the part. If you’re meeting with a banker who dresses conservatively, match the tone of his clothing. If you’re having lunch with someone who’s more trendy and fashion-forward, work a little more verve into your look. People tend to look for what they know in others. I’m not suggesting you forget who you are or pretend to be something other than what you are. All you need to do is lean toward his point on the spectrum.
3. Compliment him. Everybody loves a compliment. This doesn’t have to be artificial. Something about him probably impresses you. Verbalize what it is. We all want to work with people who like us and make us feel appreciated. When someone tells us we’re great, we want to live up to that and show it off.
Filed under: Sales
No Comments
How often do you follow through on your commitments? If your answer isn’t “all the time”, you need to evaluate your lifestyle and make modifications so you never back out on an agreement.
Trust is a touchstone of success. First of all, you must have self-trust. You must believe in yourself and your talents and abilities and know that you can use them to make great things happen. If you are not confident in yourself, no one else will be, either. When you are self-assertive and proactive, you naturally attract people to you and engage them in your process of goal attainment.
Secondly, and just as importantly, you must have the trust of others. Your word must be as good as gold. If people don’t trust you, they won’t hire you, promote you, buy your products, or use your services. In fact, they won’t want anything to do with you. On the other hand, if your customers and colleagues know they can always count on you, no matter what, their relationships with you will be mutually beneficial, will last, and will strengthen over time.
The way to earn trust is to honor your commitments. Making sure you always follow through on what you promise is a two-fold process:
1. Only make promises you can keep. Never assure a client you can return a project by Friday when you know you won’t be able to deliver until Monday. Saying no—or saying “not now, but later”—is far better than saying yes and falling through. Get to know your working habits, and allow yourself extra time for every project, in case you get caught up in unforeseen snags.
2. Keep your promises. Once you have agreed to do something, do it. If you have to work a few extra hours to complete the assignment, do it. It’s much easier to make up sleep than to rebuild damaged trust. I’m not advocating overworking yourself. On the contrary, you should avoid committing yourself to impossible deadlines and always leave plenty of time to complete your work. However, if you do find yourself in a situation in which you might have to let the customer down, I strongly encourage you to do everything possible to avoid that.
If you absolutely cannot deliver as promised, be open with the customer. Ask her if she can give you an extension. You don’t need to give her all the details of your stressful week, and you certainly shouldn’t make up false excuses. You can simply tell her you haven’t managed to complete the assignment yet and request a little more time. While this solution is not ideal, it is honest and open, and much better than simply running past the deadline with no explanation.
Filed under: Personal Branding Articles
No Comments
During the past few years I have interviewed hundreds of entrepreneurs. Each of them has had interesting advice to offer to people who are just starting out. There are three things that just about every entrepreneur has said, in one way or another. I have included these three items for your review.
Action is Better than Analysis
The world belongs to those who “do”. Planning is a key component of success but over-analysis is a sure way to guarantee failure. I know many people who check and double check their facts and figures. They launch study after study as they wait for exactly the right time to get started. The truth is that there is no “right time” and their is no “wrong time”.
So what exactly is the correct answer when it comes to starting business?
The successful entrepreneurs I’ve encountered set goals on a one, three and five year basis. They then sketch out a rough plan that will guide them through the first few months of their business – with the one-year goal in mind. Then they let it rip. They get started right away. They take some action. They generate some momentum. After the first few months, they create another rough guide based upon their initial experience. They adjust your plan to fit reality every few months.
The key is to take action toward achieving your goals each and every day.
Persistence Increases the Likelihood of Success
Persistence is one of the most important qualities a person can possess. It is more important than intelligence. It is more important than talent. And it is definitely more important than experience. Failure is no match for a persistent individual. As an entrepreneur you must be relentless in your desire to succeed.
Never give up. If you keep coming back time and time again and you greatly increase your chances for success.
Ignore Negative People
Negative people will try to steal your dream. Friends, Family and Significant Others may tell you that your business will never work. They may tell you that you are destined to fail. They may say that you are wasting your time.
They will be wrong.
Sometimes these people will be will-intentioned. Other times they will be jealous and looking to keep you from bettering yourself and your lifestyle. Either way they should be ignored.
Much of your success depends upon your level of confidence. You need to avoid anything and anyone that diminishes your confidence.
These things seem simple don’t they? Everyone grasps each of these concepts quite quickly when they are introduced yet few people adhere to them. Keep in mind that these are the three things that the successful entrepreneurs I interviewed all had in common. There must be something to them.
Filed under: Start-up Fever
No Comments
I have cited Back in Skinny Jeans before for the excellent description of how to subscribe to a blog with RSS. Stephanie has given me permission to share her information with all of my readers.
Here is a great post on how to subscribe to this blog using RSS.
We all have busy lives with very little time. Web surfing is fun but can take hours going to visit every single website and blog you enjoy. Wouldn’t it be fabulous if you could just get all the headlines of the most current stories from all your favorite websites and blogs in one place?
Well now you can, and it is called RSS feed.
The technical acronym for RSS is “Really Simple Syndication”, an XML format that was created to syndicate news, and be a means to share content on the web. Now, to geeks and techies that means something special, but to everyday folks like you and me, what comes to mind is, “Uh, I don’t get it?”
So, to make RSS much easier to understand, you can think of RSS as an acronym for “Really Simple Syndication” or I’m “Ready for Some Stories”. It is a way online for you to get a quick list of the latest story headlines from all your favorite websites and blogs all in one place.
Suppose you have 50 sites and blogs that you like to visit regularly. Going to visit each website and blog everyday could take you hours. With RSS, you can “subscribe” to a website or blog, and get “fed” all the new headlines from all of these 50 sites and blogs in one list, and see what’s going on in minutes instead of hours. What a time saver!
That one place where your RSS list is created is called an RSS Reader, and it gathers all the headlines from all the websites and blogs you have subscribed to. In a moment, I will describe how to get an RSS Reader.
Subscribing to RSS feeds
But first, to “subscribe” to a website or blog’s RSS feed simply means that you are telling that website or blog, “Yes please. Send me your story headlines.” It’s like subscribing to a magazine or newsletter. Instead of getting a magazine or email, you will just get a list of headlines sent to your RSS reader. If the headline looks interesting to you, all you have to do is click on the headline and you’ll be sent to the whole story.
In order to subscribe to a website or blog’s RSS, all you have to do is click on an RSS symbol (that orange box on the right sidebar).You can also click to the text link of the words “ Click Here to Subscribe” on the website or blog. Typically, you can find these RSS symbols or text links in your browser window, on the sides of the website page, or on the bottom of the page. The publishers of the websites and blogs really want people to subscribe to their RSS, so they will make it very easy for you to find the subscription links.
RSS Readers
Now, because nothing is ever standard on the web like dealing with different operating systems, Mac vs. PC, and different flavored browsers like Internet Explorer, AOL, Safari, and Firefox, the way to get an RSS reader will be dependent on what browser you like to use, and how accessible you’d like your RSS list(s) to be.
Just like there are flavors of web browsers, you may see and hear of different flavors of RSS XML feeders like RSS 1.0, RSS 2.0, and Atom. Again, the flavors are only important if you want to get techie. If you stick to looking for an RSS symbol (again, it’s a bright orange square – it looks like a piece if Ckicklet Gum) you will be fine.
If you’d like your RSS list to be accessible from any computer or mobile device you may have like a PDA, laptop, or cell phone, some popular RSS readers include (and almost all are FREE):
MyYahoo
MyMSN
MyAOL
MyGoogle
Bloglines
FeedDemon (this one costs money)
NewsGator (there is a cost for mobile accessibility)
NetVibes
PageFlakes
Shrook (For Mac users. Free trial and then there’s a cost.)
Lektora
Attensa (more for enterprise, and there’s a cost)
As you can see, there are a plethora of choices for you. All are good RSS readers, so your choice will simply come down to the style that appeals most to you.
RSS as Live Bookmarks
Browsers like Safari and Firefox allow you to subscribe to RSS feeds through the browser, and it’s called “live bookmarking”. Currently, you can only do live bookmarking in Internet Explorer if you have IE7.
Once again, thanks to Stephanie from Back In Skinny Jeans for help in describing the RSS subscription process.
Filed under: General Information
No Comments
Here are the terrific posts from this week’s Carnival of Career Intensity:
Post One – Make More Money - It’s All in the Attitude
John Peter presents All about attitude posted at OhCash.com.
When it comes to money, or to anything, it’s all about the attitude. It’s about how hard you want to succeed. If you talk to any famous athlete, may it be any sport, they will tell you they practiced it since they were kids. Since they were just a few years old, they had this passion and desire of success.
Click Here to Read the Entire Post
Post Two – American Idol: A Celebration of Delusion
Charles H. Green presents American Idol: Empowering Incompetents posted at Trust Matters.
We meet really nice people—who are seriously disconnected. Warped. Out to lunch. They cannot integrate their Big Belief with the Fact of Reality.
One form of disconnect is the diamond in the rough, the undiscovered talent. Undiscovered, most of all, to oneself. This is the premise of the show: that somewhere a gem toils mightily, unappreciated—until (s)he gets a Break. It’s the old American Dream, the meritocracy. Social mobility may be way down in this country, but it lives on in American Idol!
Click Here to Read the Entire Post
Post Three – The Seven Traits of Highly Effective Teams
David E. presents The 7 Traits of Highly Effective Teams posted at Worldwide Success.
As individuals, we can achieve many commendable goals. However, significant, large accomplishments that have a major impact in a company, a community, or the entire world, can only be achieved with a group of people. This article will explore success from a broader perspective, beyond the individual. We will discuss the 7 traits of highly effective, successful teams.
Click Here to Read the Entire Post
Post Four – Make Your Job Your Hobby
Karl Staib presents I’ve Decided My Job is Now My Hobby posted at 10,000 Swimming Pools Inside Our Minds.
I’ve struggled with my job over the past couple of years and I know many of you probably struggle with your job as well. I came up with a plan to enjoy my job and tested it out for the past 30 days. The plan was simple – my job is now my hobby and my full time job is to enjoy my life.
In order to change my mindset and accept my job as my hobby, I was going to have to rewire some of my old thought patterns. I had to break down exactly what I thought my job was. Dictionary.com says it’s: a piece of work, esp. a specific task done as part of the routine of one’s occupation or for an agreed price.
Click Here to Read the Entire Post
Post Five – Quit Doubting Yourself
Katie presents Quit doubting yourself and tap into your assets already posted at Aridni.
Today I meet a young man who has $100,000 labor contracts to put siding on Hilton hotels. He hires staff, lines up insurance, establishes employee housing for out-of-town projects, and runs a successful LLC. He’s the cheapest, fastest, and most efficient sider around here.
Oh– this young man cannot read.
Click Here to Read the Entire Post
This was one of the best carnivals we have ever had. Thanks to everyone who submitted a post.
The Carnival of Career Intensity appears every Saturday on The Career Intensity Blog.
Send your posts in by 5PM Friday evening to be eligible. I select and print, in full, the five posts that I feel best exemplify Career Intensity.
To enter e-mail your best article to Carnival at CareerIntensity.com. (Replace “at” with @).
If you’re looking for an easier way to enter the carnival, just fill out the form at http://blogcarnival.com.
Filed under: General Information
No Comments
Have you ever given any thought to how you make decisions on a day-to-day basis? Most people don’t think about the process they go through when they make decisions. Big decisions, small decisions, they all seem to just happen almost automatically.
Think about the last big decision you made. What process did you follow before you settled on a final answer? Was it logical? Did you make lists of “Pros” and “Cons”? Did you check with a friend or a trusted advisor on the topic?
Now let’s examine that decision-making process from a different angle. Did you go with what you THOUGHT was correct or did you go with what you FELT was right? Believe it or not, there is a difference beyond semantics. Thinking usually refers to a rational (or logical) decision process and feeling usually refers to an emotional decision process.
There is nothing necessarily “right” or “wrong” with either decision methodology. They key to making good decisions is to recognize when your decisions are emotional and when they are rational.
Posts in this category are going to examine how we make decisions and how we improve our decision-making process.
Filed under: Decisions
No Comments
The world moves fast. We often rely on technology to help us keep up. When making a connection with another person is critical, nothing tops an in-person meeting. Sitting in a room with someone face-to-face allows the other party to completely experience your personal brand. This experience takes place on many levels. The expression on your face, the tone of your voice, the look in your eyes all helps represent who you are and the nature of your visit.
Many people take this idea lightly. I often hear people say that in-person meetings are a waste of time and money. While it is true that you can save money by having conference calls and video conferences, the in-person meeting still has a place in business.
Whenever people question the value of a face-to-face meeting I tell them the story of a young hotel manager from Northern New Jersey. This young man was wide-eyed and aggressive. He was tasked with marketing a new hotel that was opening in an industrial area. The young manager spent a significant amount of time researching the market and putting together a marketing plan. He believed that he had thought of every detail.
Click Here to Read the Entire Article
Filed under: Communication
No Comments
In Career Intensity, we discuss the use of “accelerants” to assist in goal achievement. People, technology, experience, and time are the four most common accelerants leveraged by successful people as they focus on goal achievement, but there are certainly others. Your only limit in finding accelerants to help you achieve your goals is your creativity or, better yet, the creativity of those around you.
People: Successful individuals multi-task, but they don’t tackle every task themselves. Instead, they enlist other people to help them by creating a win-win scenario for the person who is the accelerant. In the mentor-protégée relationship, for example, the protégée benefits from the learning associated with completing tasks that are critical to the mentor, and the mentor offers guidance on how the protégée can achieve greater success in life.
Technology: You can use technological accelerants to e-mail, fax, or leave a voice mail for anyone at any hour of the day or night. This asynchronous communication is effective when you have task-oriented items to cover with colleagues. Interactive or synchronous communication has also benefited from evolving technologies. Mobile phones, two-way messaging devices, and instant messaging all offer you the opportunity to communicate anywhere at any time.
Experience: There are two different ways experience can help facilitate goal achievement. The first is when you have direct, relevant experience and can rely on it as a rough roadmap to guide you through the completion of the task at hand. The second is when the relevant experience is available to you in the form of another person’s success. You don’t need to have an actual relationship with the person to use their success to your advantage; you need only to have access to a recorded history of their success methodology. You can then replicate their behavior and duplicate their success.
Time: One way time can be used as an accelerant is in a negotiation process. If one party has to make a decision by a certain date, time is certainly not in that party’s favor. Time is, however, a huge advantage to the party who is making the offer – provided they know about the time pressure faced by the other side.
Filed under: Management
No Comments
You goal in personal branding is to get your target market to see you as the preferred choice. You can do this by telling the world what you do differently from everyone else and why that difference is better. Sounds simple, right? You tell everyone why you are different and then you get them to see that difference as being better than what your competition has to offer. Making the promise –articulating the difference – is only half of the bargain. You must deliver on that promise – each and every time. Don’t write checks you can’t cash.
There are five things to remember as you begin the process of developing your personal brand. They are:
All components of your personal brand strategy should comply with these five rules. This will help you stay on track as you develop a powerful personal brand.
Filed under: Personal Branding Articles
No Comments
About David V. Lorenzo
Click Here to Subscribe to
View Dave Lorenzo's profile
 |
 |
 |
 |