Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Selling Strong Practice #6 Hustle!

My Dad always said, "Hustle is when you figure out how to make hard work fun!" Hustle can level the playing field. Hustle can overcome any limitation. Hustle is when you put in your whole heart and soul. Hustle is when you believe. Hustle is when you don't want to rest. Hustle is when you are on a roll. Whoever hustles most wins. Hustle is smart. Hustle is precise. Hustle waists no time. Hustle is when you say yes. Hustle doesn't hesitate. Hustle doesn't wait for permission. Hustle feels good. Hustle makes you strong!

What comes to mind when you hear the word hustle?

I played a lot of football and when I hear the word hustle I think of fumbles. Not the fumble itself, but what happens right after, mayhem. In an instant everything changes. The organized chaos stops and 22 men fight it out for one ball. Everyone HUSTLES for the ball. Its awesome! If you've ever recovered a fumble you know what I am talking about. Few victories are ever sweeter than one you had to really hustle for!

Don't work hard. Work smart. Don't work harder. Work smarter. Use you imagination and find a better way.

Stimulate your imagination. Inspire yourself. For me lately, appreciating the natural beauty of the landscape around me, snapping blackberries helped focus my imagination. The blog is the result.

Now go hustle up a win!

Shot some more blackberries onmywaytowork! My beautiful territory.






Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Selling Strong Practice #5 Plan a strong week

Sell Strong by filling your week with a lot of things that make you strong. Do things that make you happy. They make the arduous bearable.

Plan a strong day. Plan a strong week. Plan a strong month. Then work the plan.

Plan the strong day every day. Plan the strong week every week. And the strong month every, you guessed it, every month.

The strong day is planning in the present. What are you going to do now? And then, what are you going to do next. My partner who had been with Pfizer for 28 years told. If you wake up without a clue where you are going, ask your youself where can I go today andd who should I see where I can make the biggest impression? And then go there and see them.

Handle the whirlwind. Do something that moves you closer to the completion of all of your Biggies! (Big wigs) Wigs are wildly important goals and it is critical to only have 2 or 3 at a time. There are a lot of no biggies in the whirlwind. Deal with them. If you find it impossible to ride the whirlwind of all the things that must get done today to stay in business, you may be in the wrong business. I am not making light. I understand no biggies are not easy. Some no biggies can get you fired or put you out of business. This whirlwind is what keeps you where you are or blows you away. Apply the learning curve and figure it out. If you need help ask for it. But get the job done.

Now, what else can I do to really move things forward? It may be helpful to make the resolution of one of the more aggravating no biggies a Big Wig.

The strong week is critical in so many ways. Even God had his strong week in seven days. On the seventh day what did he do?  He rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day. To sell strong I believe you must not sell at least one day a week and make that day a blessing.

The strong month. You figure it out!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

The truth hurts

My favorite wood box wisdom clipping


My Dad left me a wood box full of clippings he had collected over a very big life!

Love what you got, then use it.

My brother shot these pictures of the Maroon Bells near Aspen.


Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Selling Strong Practice #4 Know thyself.

Really know thyself. For me, everything changed when I took the Stregthfinder 2.0 test. I've been blessed by two consecutive bosses who were highly committed to strengths based management. Knowing your strengths. Knowing what you do well naturally. Knowing what makes you strong. Is a very powerful tool. My mentor recently said knowledge is powerful, self knowledge is empowering.

Do yourself a favor and use this tool to find your strengths: http://www.strengthsfinder.com/home.aspx

If you don't want to pay for Strengthfinder2.0 pass code, this site gives you free access to the predecessor to 2.0, the Clifton Strengthfiner for free!!!

These are some of the insights I was given:

My top 5 themes are Competitive, Woo, Empathy, Maximizer, Adaptability

Shared Theme Description
People who are especially talented in the Competition theme measure their progress against
the performance of others. They strive to win first place and revel in contests.
Your Personalized Strengths Insights
What makes you stand out?
Because of your strengths, you automatically vied for the top ranking in contests and games
as a child. Reflecting on your youth, you probably remember being self-sufficient, assertive,
and/or bold. Instinctively, you are driven to be the very best. This explains why you continue
to forge ahead in the face of difficulties or even near exhaustion. When comparisons are
made, you yearn to be the winner. Your motivation to excel likely matches your need to be
declared trustworthy, knowledgeable, and accomplished. It’s very likely that you sometimes
work hard to reach specific personal or professional goals. These include, but are not limited
to, earning a pay raise, winning a promotion, receiving a degree, acquiring something you
value, or completing a certification program. Perhaps challenges related to status motivate
you more than others do. Driven by your talents, you sometimes outwit people by capitalizing
on your ingenuity — that is, your originality. When scores are being tallied, you might rely
on your talents to emerge the victor. By nature, you may join certain teams to enhance your
chances of attaining fame, fortune, power, prestige, promotions, or success. Sometimes you
do things to build up your resume.

It nailed me, "Your motivation to excel likely matches your need to be
declared trustworthy, knowledgeable, and accomplished."

Monday, October 10, 2011

Selling Strong Practice #3 Laugh a lot with the people you love.

I dare you to share some of these links and try not to laugh with the people you love. A good friend shared these pearls of musical humor and I've been laughin' ever since. I sing Eharmony with my three daughters. The NASCAR  prayer is my new theme song and I trully am thankful for my smokin' hot wife!

Lord I want to thank you for my smokn' hot wife! PG
Best NASCAR prayer ever!...3,000,000 hits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZnDt2wEFjk

E.harmony best ever...9,000,000 hits! My daughters' favorite. G
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP4NMoJcFd4

The rent is too damn high!...5,000,000 hits! PG-13
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg5SwyTvAHw

The bed intruder song...91,000,000 hits!!! strict R rated no one under 17 needs to see this! This means you Kayla!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMtZfW2z9dw

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Selling Strong Practice #2 Get fired up!

Think of the human spirit as a fire. It must be stoked and fed to keep burning bright. Take this YouTube tour and get fired up.

best commercial ever
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQHvO8XyL1g

underdog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=5u9zzwQ2zO4

inch by inch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6acZOQsNkfk

rocky
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN73LEvloZE

go get it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPnudujlBZI

happiness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=pCq7eGKcs-w

Selling Strong Practice #1 Develop a greatful heart.

Gratitude gives me strength!

After my father died my mother gave me several of his things. My favotite is his old wood box full of clippings. It took me six years to finally open it. I've been blogging about it and him at dumbdumbdaddyo.blogspot.com and call the pearls from it "Wood Box Wisdom" and I am so grateful for them.