The $800.00 Per Plate Dinner

I was sitting in my hairstylist's chair getting my monthly haircut when a customer sat down in the chair next to me. I normally don't eavesdrop on the conversations of others, but I was immediately hooked into listening right away because this customer started speaking on the topic of incredible food in San Francisco and I wanted to be tuned in immediately. I had assumed this person was a food critic or a cook at a Restaurant. He created some serious curiosity when he mentioned his trip to San Francisco and sitting at a unique restaurant with total seating availability for only 15 patrons and the cost per plate was $800.00.
From that point on my ears wanted to hear the rest of the story. He mentioned a unique restaurant and the night he was there only 10 customers were in attendance. Seating was by reservation only. He said he witnessed a number of customers walk in to eat and they were not accepted because they did not reserve their spot. WOW! Now I was hooked, I wanted to hear more. I couldn't imagine turning away 5 customers that would have meant another $4000.00 in revenue for the night. He began his methodical discussion of the treatment and preparation on the appetizer...just the appetizer.. his description just sounded so amazing.

As he explain his culinary experience he described the process by taking the top of a raw egg off and removing the raw egg and mixing it with unique spice blends, refilling the egg with the mixture which was going to be used flavor various high quality meats that were soon to be delivered to the table. While they were witnessing the appetizer preparation the waiters and waitresses would come out with one bite appetizers that he said were out of this world. One was large shrimp wrapped in prosciutto sprinkled with fresh garlic and scallions on buttered garlic toast. He said as he ate this appetizer he almost fell to the floor with the amazing aroma and flavor.
 He said I would actually fly from the East Coast to the West Coast just for one more of those appetizers. At this point, I had already started drooling, I was trying to keep my head still and focus on my stylist and continue to listen to the rest of the incredible $800.00 plate dinner story.
Unfortunately,  this tale came to an abrupt ending because his hair cut was done. I figured I would get his name from the stylist next to me. Unfortunately once again, this customer paid in cash and didn't offer his name. The stylist assumed he was a famous Chef out of New York.

If your were  to have asked me prior to getting my haircut if I would ever spend $800.00 for one dinner plate at any restaurant I would have respectfully said NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS!

Now I have the $800.00 Dinner Plate experience on my bucket list before I die. Why?
This Chef from New York opened my mind in a great way. He had me visualizing what an incredible experience this would be not only for me but for my spouse. If your in the right state of mind about pursuing life experiences money becomes irrelevant. The price of never experiencing what one intensely dreams about is costly to the human soul and mind to never achieve it. The chase of ones dreams and desires becomes the defining spirit of who we are. There is a lesson in this story for Sales Professionals and Business owners, however you have see it and find the answers and examples in this story yourself and use this as a metaphor to close more sales.
What great life experience will you add to your bucket list this month? What ever it is DO IT! Always pursue your opportunities, chances and great experiences of this life without regret.

   “The Insurance Coach”

       John P. Slosek, Jr 

   "The Insurance Coach ™"
Insurance Coach Radio Show 
Airs Every Saturday Morning 8am 

   www.realoldies1250.net          413-246-5037

Find me on Facebook".https://www.facebook.com/theinsurancecoach 

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee

Dear Entrepreneurs, Speakers and Personal Growth Seekers, 

This months blog is not created by my efforts. Although it may seem like 

an easy way out to place a story of another (unknown author) into this blog without a name. I felt that the message this story carried moved my spirit. It wanted to share it with you. After 14 years of radio broad casting I have never deviated from my show's opening message. " If I can help one person from this message today to steer you in a direction that will change your life, then I have done my job". This is my purpose! 

 Please enjoy the the following. 

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee

When things in your life seem almost too much to
handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough,
remember the mayonnaise jar...and the 2 cups of
coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had
some items in front of him. When the class began,
wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty
mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf
balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full.
They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and
poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.
The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the
golf balls. He then asked the students again if the
jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured
it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up
everything else. He asked once more if the jar was
full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from
under the table and poured the entire contents into
the jar, effectively filling the empty space between
the sand. The students laughed. "Now," said the
professor, as the laughter subsided, " I want you to
recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things - your God,
family, your children, your health, your friends, and
your favorite passions-things that if everything else
was lost and only they remained, your life would still
be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter
like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is
everything else-the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he
continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the
golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all
your time and energy on the small stuff, you will
never have room for the things that are important to
you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your
happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get
medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner.
Play another 18. There will always be time to clean
the house and fix the disposal." Take care of the golf
balls first, the things that really matter. Set your
priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what
the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm
glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no
matter how full your life may seem, there's always
room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Have a great month. 

Sincerely 

John P. Slosek, Jr. 

413-246-5037 (text only) 
Inspiringwealth@aol.com

Prepare Your Team for Victory

Has your company recently experienced a setback or struggled in a certain area? Most organizations experience highs, but must also deal with the lows – it’s a little thing called “adjusting” which can improve their overall performance. If your business kept doing the same thing, they would keep getting the same results. If it’s working – great! But, if it’s not, we need to make some changes. But how?

With Thanksgiving less than a week away, I can’t help but think of football. A group of 11 guys on each side are battling to score the most points to win the game. If you don’t play football, you can always participate in a Fantasy Football league. It’s a great way to build and sharpen useful life skills like: preparation, research, strategy, and risk. You can’t win a season, by ignoring your team. You must constantly check up on your team and make weekly adjustments.

Let’s look at Fantasy Football as a model for building a winning team. Follow these steps and apply them to your “real” working team, and see positive results.

Hire the right people. Did I say hire the best people? No, because you can’t always afford to hire the best, but you can ask the right questions in an interview, which can lead to the future star. In Fantasy Football, we start each season with a draft. During this step, we pick each individual player for our team, but we must do our research before the draft to build a successful team. All the top players get picked by the competing teams in the first few rounds, so you need to do some digging to find the “diamonds in the rough” in the later rounds.

Always look to improve your current team. Are some members of your team, holding you back from peak performance? Have a conversation with them and let them know your expectations. If they don’t improve in the coming weeks, you need to make some adjustments to your team. In Fantasy Football, you are only as good as your team. If certain players are constantly getting injured or are consistently performing below expectations, your team will suffer some losses in the standings. You need to drop the underachievers and pick up some new hungry talent on the waiver wire. This will ignite some energy on your team and help you win some games.

“Football teaches you hard work. It takes a lot of unspectacular preparation to have spectacular results in both business and football.” – Roger Staubach

The best companies don’t rest on their laurels. They are constantly improving and always searching for the “right” talent to create a winning team. It’s easy to be complacent and sit back, but if are willing do your research, prepare and take some risks, you can compete with the best of them.

As a Professional Organizer, Speaker, Author, Podcast Producer & Host, Rick Woods helps residents and businesses make room for clarity, by getting rid of the clutter that gets in their way.

Listen to Rick's free weekly podcast "Make Room For Clarity", which focuses on interviewing business & health experts by visiting www.makeroomforclarity.com.

Inquire about Rick's professional organizing business, "The Functional Organizer, LLC.", which focuses on decluttering, organizing, paper filing and time management by visiting www.tforganizer.com.