It would be wonderful if I woke up every day and was motivated from within. I would go to work or love my kids and wife because there’s something totally pure inside of me. The truth is there is very little that is pure inside any of us and that means we get discouraged easily and often. Most days I love what I do and then there are days like today when I’d rather just sleep through till tomorrow. There’s no point to throw a pity party though. People will show up to that party but they won’t be any fun and they won’t help you feel better. So I thought I’d offer myself some advice and you can read it too.
1. Write down your last 10 conversations; Who were they with? Do those people motivate you? Are they happy people? Do they create things that matter and treat people well? We are products of our environment in our day to work and whether it’s your boss or your customers the conversations you have shape your day more than you know. SOLUTION: Talk less to downers and more to people that are doing the things you want to do. Run with the right pack.
2. Stop listening to your own voice; I do believe you can kill the resistance, the lizard, the voice in your head that tells you that you’re not that special and there’s always someone better than you and your voice doesn’t matter. That voice does not die quickly though. You’ve got to Chinese Water Torture it to death. Bit by bit you have do things that chip away at the voice in your head that essentially has one purpose, beat you down. I’m all for humility but God gave us all gifts and we’re all capable of sharing them with the world. When you don’t share them it’s either your laziness or listening to the liar in your head. SOLUTION: Put stuff in your head everyday that tells you the truth. You are capable of great things. The resistance just told you that’s not true. It’s a liar. Do something great.
Most lists have a minimum of three points. Not mine. Just do those two things. That’s enough to keep us both busy for awhile. I hope that helps. Let me know what you’re going to do with this advice. If you’re not going to do anything with it then that’s too bad. The world needs your help.
Loving things more than you should
I love my Macbook Pro and Google Apps. I sincerely cannot imagine running my business without both of them. I recently ran into an issue because I could not figure out how to get my Mac to open up my mail to: links (that’s an email address in your browser) to use Gmail or in my case Google Apps (Gmail for your domain – example is andy@moreprofittechnology.com). So I searched and finally found an answer by a smart guy named Paul Baumgart. In his original post entitled Opening mailto: Links in Gmail with Google Chrome on Mac OS X he was just addressing Google Chrome but it does work with Firefox as well. He wrote a small program that fixes the issue so you can use Gmail or Google Apps as your default email handler in Mac OS X. It’s a thing of beauty.
The Fix
Now when I click on a link my Highrise account I open up a new email in my Google Apps account with the CC: address for that Highrise account. If you use a service like BatchBook for your CRM then this issue is built in. Here’s how to set your email links to open in Gmail or Google Apps in BatchBook.
My Tutorial
Here’s a six minute video on how to install the program he created so you can use Gmail or Google Apps as your default email handler with Mac OS X.
Click to continue…
Think like a child
My daughter is 19 months old. She can speak, sortof:
“Please” = pees
“Thanks” = tnx
“Mom” = mum
“Dad” = did
She simplifies words. She’s a simple person. She also uses simple things. She’s no good at the Wii, the tv remote, books with pages that easily tear or anything with a keyboard. Those things aren’t simple, at least simple enough for a 19 month old.
Make it easy
The iPod and iPad we own are easy for her to use. The user only needs to know where one button is to start the device or go to the main screen. The navigation device is dependent on contact with human skin so that’s pretty inclusive. What is simplicity worth? I think it’s the difference.
It’s the difference between someone returning your product or keeping it.
It’s the difference between closing a deal in one meeting instead of ten. The more meetings, the less likely you’ll close the deal FYI.
It’s the difference between having competition or setting the standard for competition.
Get a mirror and start stripping
Look at your service, your store, your advertising, your answer when people ask, “What do you do?”. Leave the details in the training manual and tell me how it makes my life/business/family better. Look at yourself and strip away the extras. They more often confuse than convert. Everything else is a detail and the devil is in the details. People don’t like to deal with the devil. He’s tricky.
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Alex Miles Younger
This is a hard episode to write a synopsis for. Alex and I were all over the place but everywhere we went was fun to listen to. Alex is 29 and for all of his experience in life he has felt like working at The Domino Project has reprogrammed him in great ways. Alex wears the label of Linchpin proudly and has produced/shipped a lot of content for The Domino Project. Things like the beautiful Media Kit as well as the Poke the Box workbook.
Here are some of the bullet points from our conversation. Please send us feedback on the episode in the comments section below or just say something nice about us on iTunes.
- Turn around books in 14 weeks
- More successful by developing the tribes ourselves
- Traditional publishers served booksellers.
- The things we’re doing are different for the author.
- I helped bring the price down to $1 on the Kindle edition of Poke the Box
- Create your opportunities.
- The new Domino Project model rewards/helps creators and audiences better than ever before.
- Their Domino Project reading list
- You have to focus on the people driving the industry – Creator and tribes
- We’re all taking our own advice
- We’re all on the same page
- Steven Pressfield has a new book coming out on The Domino Project. – Being a good team member is something he’s very proud of.
- They delivered on promises
- You find and create these communities yourself
- PressPausePlay.com Seth Godin featured in the movie
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Right-click here to download the episode or listen on your mobile device
Running Time:
57:51
Find Alex at:
Unozip.com
Alex on Twitter
If you have some thoughts on this episode you can:
- Call in feedback to 605-610-UASK (8275)
- Email me at Feedback@LinchpinPodcast.com .
- Leave a comment by clicking on the title of this episode and looking at the bottom of the page.
This isn’t a guilt trip, it’s a reality check. I work with people, correspond with people and hear people say again and again that they are having a tough time growing their new business. That’s reality but I want to ask you to change your reality.
My sales coach Pierce Marrs is always telling me to ask more questions instead of give more answers.
So are you asking your clients?
- Ask them to come in and buy off of the new menu at your restaurant.
- Ask them if they’d rather hire you for a full day than by the hour (even if they live in a different state).
- Ask your client if they have other business owners in their circle of influence that you could meet with.
- Ask for more money than the last time you provided a service. If you improved since the last time your higher cost is justified.
- Ask for payment sooner rather than later. (It amazes me how long some people wait to get paid).
- Ask for their opinion on your service or product.
I asked
I’m gone for two days working with a client who lives five hours from me. I asked him if I could spend two days with him working on his business. He said “Yes”.
We haven’t been asking for a long time.
“You do not have because you do not ask.” – James 4:2b (New American Standard Version)
