One Of The Twelve

"Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." -William Shakespeare

There is a known business fact in which any contact you have with a customer, it takes twelve (12) positive experiences by the customer to overcome just one (1) negative experience. If you think about it, that is an amazing figure. The odds are 12:1 against you that a customer will continue to come back. That is a difficult position for you to be in if you happen to be the next person in line dealing with that customer.

What happens if you are one of those next twelve experiences the customer has with your company?

First thing to remember is that in the eyes of the customer, you are the company. You equal your company. You have to take responsibility and represent the company in the appropriate manner. You can not hide behind any excuse such as, "I only work here". Sorry, when you were hired, a trust was placed in your hands to represent your employer.

Now it may be that you have a small level of authority. But it does not diminish the fact that you are your company at this point in time; the time in which that customer is standing in front of you. If you can not accomodate the customer, then certainly go out of your way to assist that customer in getting to the right person. Taking just a small amount of concern and effort for the customer will go a long way in the customer relationship.

Do not be the road block to success, be one of the twelve positive experiences.

Every time you pick up that phone and each time you encounter a customer, consider this the first of twelve needed positive experiences. You can use this same work ethic outside of work, at home, at church or at the store. Those people you encounter could be considered as just having had a bad experience.

Here is your chance to be one or more of the twelve positive experiences this person needs. Understand that lifting others will ultimately cause your life to be lifted up. You can be the one to make the experience a positive one. Your wife had a bad day at work or one of your kids is frustrated with school; you have the opportunity to start changing their world.

Don't Be The One - Be One Of The Twelve

Stay inspired my friends.

Your Cornerstone

"Setting a firm foundation better prepares us for success." -Dean Sweetman

Here we are, half way through the month of April. In fact it is tax day here in the United States, the last day to complete and turn in our tax forms. With all that is going on, January 1st is quickly fading from our minds and slipping into the quiet past.

Even with the taxes and everything else going on, it is a day not much different from the day before. It is a day that is not much different from any other day as time passes by us. But it is a day that can have significance for every one of us if we stop and think about it.

If January 1st is the 'starting point' for what we want to accomplish this year, than have you? If you have not, than the importance of today is to get started; begin today. If you have not started to lay the foundation for what the year has to offer; begin today.

The opportunities that may come our way, the experiences we will encounter and success that is ours to achieve are built upon a firm base. When those April showers come our way and the flowers of May spring forth, will you be ready for it.

If January 1st was our day to start preparing, then March 20, the Spring equinox is our time to begin planting the seed of change. If you don't prepare yourself, when the time comes to plant it will be too late. You will miss opportunity to plant the seeds that will change your life.

You don't want to miss opportunities of rain and growth that will sustain you through the long hot days of summer. Without a strongly rooted vision, growth can not be sustained and the fall harvest of achievement becomes another lost opportunity. With another long cold winter to think of what may have been.

Don't wait to start setting in motion your foundation for a great year. If you haven't, then start today, start with change and start with belief that this year will be different.

Stay inspired my friends.

Influences

"We perceive and are affected by changes too subtle to be described." -Henry David Thoreau

I hear many times during the work week people talking about the issues they have with their job or life that is going on around them. Listening to them, you would wonder how it is they struggle to even get up in the morning. To face the world must be such a huge problem for them. As I listen to them, it strikes me they have a few things in common.

One is that they have a perpetual wallowing in self doubt and complaint regarding their surroundings. I have wondered why they remain within that constant cycle of complaint. Maybe it would be better to step back, look at life and examine their surroundings. In doing so, maybe they will begin to understand the influences that surround their lives.

Now is the time for you to figure out what is happening in your world that forever holds you back. Now is the time to change things in your life. Maybe a different radio station. Maybe a different route to work. Maybe just a determination to change your own attitude.

The influences that surround your life are very powerful in a subtle way. Do you congregate with friends that are always negative about things? Try meeting more positive people. This does not mean to bring your troubles and pains to them. It means to listen and catch the spirit of their life.

I have repeated to many people an old phrase which says, "tell me your sad story and I will tell you a hundred sadder stories." What happens to you, to me or to others is life. Life itself is an influence on us and how we choose to respond is up to us.

An example of changing up the influences in life is one of music. I have a wide range of musical taste and for a long time listened to rock stations on the way to and from work. With the aggressive music I found myself becoming much more aggressive in my driving habits. I would race to be ahead of the other 20 or 30 thousand cars on the freeway. Driving this way would push me to the point of complete irritation.

I found my work day was starting out in a very bad way and coming home I was wound so tight, the transition to home life was difficult at best. Something had to change, I needed to find a way to relax during the drive. So I found it by switching the radio station to classical music. My drive became filled with the soothing sounds of the great composers. My drive to or from work is now filled with relaxation and not irritation. It certainly helps me stay unwound and better able to focus.

The point being is that I examined one part of my life and made a change. I made the choice to change my life and attitude which in turn effected others around me. By doing so, by examining your surroundings and than making a change in your life, the results can be amazing.

Enjoy the results of change by changing from the wrong influences to the right kind of influences. And most of all, say inspired my friends.

To Goatee Or Not To Goatee

"The hardest battle you're ever going to fight is the battle to be just you." - Leo Buscaglia

I have seen many men that can easily carry a moustache, beard, or goatee upon their face. The neatly trimmed or scraggly beard that adorn each one is individual in nature. I marvel at how comfortable they are with the look.

For me, it had been many years since I last carried any hair upon my face. In my twenties it was a moustache red as can be. There was no use in trying to grow a beard because any attempt looked like a map of the Caribbean Islands. so I settled for the narrow place between my upper lip and nostrils.

I felt decent with a moustache but eventually shed it for a smooth and clean shaven look. Call it the changing times of fashion or simply feeling it was not the real me. So for twenty plus more years, I have diligently shaved my face each morning.

And than a few weeks ago the urge to grow a goatee came upon me. I'm not sure why, but it felt like something I should try. So I set about the task to grow and maintain a decent goatee along with the patch of area above my lip. The full redness had disappeared as my years have grown, the gray colors dominating the look.

Eventually it filled in and I started to get used to the feel of it. There were those that said it looked good. Others that simply humored me I think. And there were those that plainly said it just wasn't me. I tried to wear the goatee with comfort but inside I felt the same; it just wasn't me.

Was I trying to be or look like somebody else? Was I trying to hide behind a new look or trying to create a new image? I can honestly say I'm not sure which, but I do know that it just wasn't me.

What I did find is that the real me had to shave off the goatee. The real me was not going to stand behind a face of hair that looked like one person, but sounded like another. I was going to be the real me once again, so I shaved off the gray and red upon my face. When I looked in the mirror, all I could say was hello to me again.

Do you try to hide behind something you are not? Is there a real you waiting to come out and be the person you are meant to be? You need to shave off those feelings and costumes that we hide behind. We need to live our lives as the real us...the real you.

The time will come when the facade we carry needs to come down. Be bold and be the person you are inside. And stay inspired.