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 ™"
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How to Guarantee that your Emails will be Read!

If you want to guarantee that your emails will be read then you need to read his article.

Seems that we are inundated every day with a variety of communications including emails. So how can you stand out from the sea of emails that seemingly flooded through your computer each and every day? There are a number of simple techniques that you can use guarantee that your emails will be read. So let's review just a few of those secrets.

WIIFM: What's in it for me?

Your reader will want that question answered immediately and if you provide a sufficient hook the reader will continue on. So the first trick you can utilize is by taking advantage of the subject line that will need to grab your readers attention. Do not just type anything in the subject line because this is the place that will cause the most recipients to either delete your email or to read on. What clever hook can you provide? What secrets do you have to share? What business tip or technique can benefit your reader? What would cause your recipient to continue on with your email?

The information in the subject line has one objective, and that is to get the recipient to read the body of the email. You do not need to sell anything in the subject line you just want to create enough of an interest to cause your recipient to read on.

We all know, size matters!

This is especially so if you are reading an email on a mobile device. If you writing an email that is multiple paragraphs long the recipient's reaction might be to leave it in there inbox until they get to the office to read it at a later date and time. Unfortunately due to the volume of emails that most of us received, this email will be lost under the tsunami of subsequent emails we received during the course of the day. Your email length should be long enough to cover the subject matter but short enough to keep it interesting.

What is the ultimate objective of your email?

You will want your recipient to do something. Do you want your recipient to call you for a free consultation or demonstration? Do you want this individual to order a free report or provide you with their name and email address? Do you want them to visit a website or landing page? Is there some other action you wish your reader to take?

How do you accomplish the ultimate objective of your email?

You must develop a laser focused and concise call to action that your reader will understand and act upon. Your call to action must be so clear and compelling that your reader will have no choice but to engage in the activity described in your email.

Lastly, what type of attachments should you including your email?

None. This is especially true if people are reading your emails on a mobile device. Simply send links in your email to files that you have located on Google Drive, iCloud or Dropbox.

If this brief article teaches you just one thing it should be to take the time and effort to develop an interesting hook for your subject line to cause the recipient to read on! Try it and see how many more responses you get to your emails.

P.S. This is the first place a reader goes when they get an email or letter so use this valuable real estate to state a strong call to action!

“Understanding the Energy of Attraction, Part 2: The 3 Essentials of Attraction”

“Energy Manager” is one of the many roles a presenter plays when speaking in front of a group.  We know, as do the folks who ask us to present, that the attendees at a program experience one of two energy flow states. At just about any moment, they're either being energized or they are being drained of their liveliness.

Essential 1: Vulnerability

Audiences want to know how we’ve dealt with the problems in our lives and what we have to teach them. No Stand-up comedian comes out and says “Good evening! My life is great, things are smooth, and the trust fund check always arrives on time. Can you relate?” Comedians come out and speak rather to the fears and frustrations they (and we) encounter: politics, relationships, self-esteem, etc. The audience nods and says to itself, “Yeah, me too. What did you do about it?”

Our  audiences relate to us through the challenges we’ve encountered. We relate to them through storytelling. I believe the magic of storytelling lies in the fact that when we tell our own story we are sharing an individual experience. Yet, as we tell it and it travels from our lips to the ears, hearts and minds of our audiences, the story trans forms from being one person’s experience to one that contains a universal truth. Many in the audience can relate to that universal truth. We start out sharing our vulnerability and end up discovering a source of our strength. They are both the same.

Essential 2: Presence

Our presence is what attracts the audience to us. It is the magnet that pulls their attention towards us, that quality of poise and effectiveness that enables a presenter to achieve a close relationship with an audience. The energy in the room is fueled by our presence. If we are to be considered an “attraction,” it is our presence that makes us so.

A means to developing presence is learning to be in the moment, to “be in the here and now.” Wonderful opportunities to develop this quality offer themselves to me whenever I am at a professional gathering or a social event. As I’m talking to a friend or new acquaintance at a gathering, I see out of the corner of my eye someone else I am dying to speak to. Each time I resist the urge to let my attention drift from the person I’m speaking to, I enhance my presence. Each time I refocus my awareness to the one I am with, I bring myself to the present. The greatest gift I can give myself or my audience is my presence. If you need basic “presence” training, I encourage you to enroll in an improv theater class.

Essential 3: Spontaneity

We demonstrate the elements of poise and effectiveness to our audiences in what we do and how we react to unexpected situations. When we are on the platform, standing in front of our audiences, we are in a leadership position, both actually and metaphorically. They look to us very intently during situations that are unexpected in either their timing or impact. What are they looking for? They want to see how we respond spontaneously. Spontaneity is a skill that enhances presence and, as paradoxical as it seems, spontaneity can be practiced. In fact, in order to become spontaneous, you must practice spontaneity.

Blocks to spontaneity occur when thinking takes the place of acting from natural feeling. Spontaneous responses never seem contrived or manipulated. They seem natural because they are unaffected. You can’t worry about what people are going to think. You know very well that people are going to think what they want to, based on their own perceptions of the truth. You may as well act from your own heart, soul and experience. If you are going to go down, you may as well go down with your own truth.

We can nurture the three elements that help make us real, the three fundamental aspects of authenticity that make us attractive to the audience: vulnerability, presence and spontaneity. When the audience is charged by our presence and the attention is directed toward us, we are where we want to be and they are where we want them! This is what is meant by “holding the audience’s attention.”

Izzy Gesell (Izzy's website) is an organizational alchemist who helps individuals and organizations transform their thinking from commonplace to extraordinary. Through his keynotes, trainings, coaching and facilitated sessions, Izzy offers imaginative, intuitive and immediately useful insights and programs. He is skilled at delivering meaningful material in a way that makes participants enjoy their time with him.   
Izzy was one of the first to use Improv Theater concepts as tools for personal and organizational learning. He is the author of Playing Along: Group Learning Activities Borrowed From Improvisation Theater, a co-author of Cancer & the Healing Power of Play, a co-author of Humor Me: America’s Funniest Humorists on the Power of Laughter, and a contributor of a chapter on Improvisation as a facilitation tool in the IAF Group Facilitators Handbook. "His video course  on Applied Improv for Leadership" for Lynda.com was their first  course shot before a live audience. A second Lynda.com course, "Humor in the Workplace" was recently releeased

“The force that pushes human race forward.”

I have always wondered what separates greatness from goodness, a genius from a knowledgeable person, a masterpiece from well-done material. Talent? Persistence? Passion? Luck? Chance? Vision? All of it? 

In his 2009 TED talk, “How great leaders inspire action,” Simon Sinek explains that the distinct difference is in our reasons, our “Whys,” because people care more about your beliefs than your products, services and deliverables. That is why Apple is more innovative than other computer manufacturers, why Martin Luther King was the one who led the Civil Rights movement, and why the Wright Brothers were the first ones who made history with a controlled manned flight before anyone else, even those who were seemingly more qualified and better funded. 

Sinek concluded that the greatest leaders and organizations in the world think, act and communicate the same exact way, a way that is completely different from the average person. Their marketing messages are based on WHY they do what they do and not how great their products or how innovative their technologies are. Per Sinek’s theory of The Golden Circle, Apple’s success lies in their beliefs—paraphrasing their message: “We believe in challenging the status quo and thinking differently”—not how well-designed and user-friendly their computers are. 

Although I am not completely sold on his “WHY” theory, it has a lot of valuable points. 
I agree that profit is only a result of what you are doing, and should never be a reason for it. Money was never a motive or a driver for greatness. Talent, passion and persistence are way above monetary incentives. 

I agree that an inspirational message is more effective than a sales pitch in marketing.
But can we lead others and affect their buying decisions simply based on our beliefs? 
So if I believe that my theory of clarity in social media is the Holy Grail of social selling, I would not only get innovators’ (2.5%) and early adopters’ (13.5 %) business but also a desirable 15-18% market penetration, which is defined by the Law of Diffusion of Innovations as a tipping point of success? Hmm, I don’t think so.

Don’t get me wrong. I believe that my idea is brilliant and can help millions of people to look at social media differently. But just believing in it is not enough to inspire others.
We all believe in different things: some of us still believe in innovation and cutting-edge technologies; some think they can live without smart phones and computers; some of us believe that happiness is measured in material possessions. Some of us just take things as they are—the sky is blue, the grass is green and only gray has 50 ridiculous shades. 

I believe that the missing piece in understanding the strong link between greatness and the qualities of great people—Talent, Persistence, Passion, Sense of Purpose, and Innovating thinking—is the unique desire to change the world. 

All of the great people, geniuses and masterminds have always been and will always be crazy—crazy enough to think they can change the world. 

Steve Jobs was more than just a computer genius. He knew that his products would change this world forever. Michelangelo, painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, knew that it would be a masterpiece. Albert Einstein envisioned universal transformation in his theory of relativity, and Thomas Edison saw this world as a brighter and warmer place, harnessing electricity. 

In this 1997 Apple commercial, Steve Jobs solves the mystery of greatness, rightfully naming it “The crazy ones.”
Are you crazy enough to change the world? I know I am.


Find more compelling stories about social media and digital marketing on my 
LinkedIn Natalia Juhasz 
Twitter @natashajuhasz 

Moving On

It’s tough to stay in the same place your whole life. Jobs change. People change. As a result, sometimes your location will change. Change is inevitable, so we move on. We grow stronger. We build character. We experience, fresh new landscapes, interesting people and memorable events because we chose to start over again. This is scary.

Have you ever moved?

 

This past week, I helped facilitate the first part of one of my clients move to a new location. She went

from a house of 20+ years to just a few temporary storage units. All her life’s possessions are now locked up in a handful of concrete block areas. Over the past few months, we did our homework, purging those things that just got in the way and were not fulfilling her life anymore. This is big.

The second part of her move will occur in a few weeks, when the current owners of the new home move out and she can move in. For the time being, she will live at her sister’s place with just a suitcase. This is brave.

A lot of planning goes into a move like this one. You need to scale back and only keep the things that can fulfill your life going forward. Ask yourself these questions. What are the things that serve you now? What are the things that can help me in the future? What things would I buy again today, if I saw them in the store? If I could only limit my lifetime keepsake treasures to one box, what would they be? This is purging.

If you are not honest with yourself and don’t ask the right questions, you’ll get caught up in the emotional attachment trap. The result? Too. Much. Stuff. You’ll end up packing up everything you’ve ever owned and your new home will choke on boxes and boxes of unused stuff. As a result, you’ll be eating up prime storage space for the things you could be using. You’ll waste valuable time looking for those things that matter most. This is stressful.

If everything is precious, nothing is precious.

So in a few weeks, I’ll be helping that same client unpack her life into her new home. We’ve already scaled back, and she wants to scale back even more. Her new life will be full of memories instead of stuff. This is simplicity.

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


Rick’s newly released book “Make Room for Clarity” is a step by step guide to getting rid of the clutter that gets in your way. Available on Amazon. Listen to Rick's free weekly iTunes & Stitcher 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.

Speakers: Explode Audience Engagement With Simple Story Telling Techniques

It was 4 years ago (2011) when my professional speaking career and business began to take off and I can’t identify the specific turning point.

If you are an aspiring speaker it may be useful for you to know the three things happened that made the biggest difference:

1. I put a stake in the ground defining my topic and area of expertise (workplace communication)
2. I actively reached out to organizations and associations that were the best fit for that topic, and
3. I began to study and incorporate the story telling techniques of some of the best speakers.

Number one above is important to get you started and number two is essential to find audiences that can resonate with your value.

But, number three is absolutely vital if you want to be able to build a following that has you asked back to speak and gets you referred for other speaking opportunities.

Here are some things I learned and incorporated into my story telling that have made a difference in how my audiences react and respond:

1. Dive right into the story with no prefacing statements like, “let me tell you a story,” or “here’s a story about a similar situation that happened to me.”  To start the story use language like, “You’re so lucky you weren’t with me when…” “Imagine if you’re at…” or “You may be wondering where/how…”
2. Hold the point of the story until the end, create suspense as to how the story specifically relates to the audience and your topic.
3. Create a 5 Sentence Skeletal Story* for framework that includes:

a.     Characters

b.     Conflict

c.      Cure

d.     Change

e.      Carryout Message
*this is 5/8 of the “8 C’s of World Class Story Telling” that create dynamic, engaging stories from the stage that will have your audiences on the edge of their seats listening to you. 

It is well worth investing the time in creating, practicing (in front of a live audience) and refining your stories, give it try and if you'd like help visit www.PresentationPowerForLeaders.com

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Skip Weisman is The Workplace Communication Expert and a member of an elite group of international World Class Speaking Coaches.

Skip works with aspiring speakers to improve their presentation skills and programs around content, organization and delivery, while also working with the owners and CEOs of small businesses with between 6-60 employees to improve communication in the workplace.
 
The work Skip does with his small business clients can transform work environments in as little as 90-days to create a championhip company cultures that are more positive, more productive and even more profitable.

You can download his newest workplace report, "The Missing Ingredient to Improving Employee Performance" at www.YourChampionshipCompany.com and learn about Skip's keynotes and seminars on workplace communication at www.SkipWeismanSpeaks.com .

Real Change Part 3: Overcoming Obstacles

Every journey has roadblocks, obstacles, detours, setbacks, diversions, and a hundred other "reasons" why you should turn around and go home.

Real or physical obstacles, including money issues, are fairly straightforward and usually can be dealt with using one of the strategies posted on the 20th of last month in Real Change Step 2: Finding Resources.

Mental roadblocks on the other hand, are often far more challenging, typically because there is no readily apparent outside solution. Overcoming mental roadblocks requires one of two things: a very powerful mindset (which I could write an entire book about) OR a very simple tool pirated from the business world (which I can teach you right here).

All mental roadblocks can be stated as a belief you hold.

"I am afraid I might fail."

"I'm too old to start something new."

"I can't think of anything of value I have to offer anyone."

The simple tool is a version of the well-known "Cost-Benefit Analysis," only flipped around to become the "Benefit-Cost Analysis."

For any belief you hold, write down the Benefits. For example, the Benefits of being afraid to fail are: I don't have to worry about embarrassing myself, I get to stay safe, I get to stay comfortable, I won't lose anything, and so on.

Then list the Costs: I continue to disappoint myself, I disappoint others, I will never realize my dreams, I won't impact the world the way I would like to, I won't be recognized and admired the way I would like, I may be missing my best chance at happiness, and so on.

Now, make your choice. It is easy to weigh the impact of the belief and decide whether the Benefits outweigh the Costs. If so, stay with the thought. It serves you well. However, once you decide that holding onto that belief is simply too costly, you can actually remove it from your mental inventory forever. If it comes back, do the analysis again.

Believe it or not, you can apply the Benefit-Cost Analysis to any decision you are weighing in your head. Once you master it, you will be able to rapidly move past any mental obstacle that gets in the way of achieving real change.

Linda Spevacek is an innovative speaker, author and coach who can help you create prosperity across all aspects of your life. For speaking topics and programs, visit www.ExpertProsperity.com