Does Your Mindset Serve You?

We all have a filter in which we color the events of the world as they unfold. Do you know what color your filter is? In a previous post I waxed about the distinction of the eagle and the chicken.  Today I will add another character: Eeyore the donkey.

Events will always be unfolding and how we color that event will continue to enhance the theme we have for our business and or life. With my clients I enforce a principle: “You are the sun and whatever you shall shine upon shall grow.”

An Eagle mindset will use the filter that the world is unfolding exactly as it should and whatever unfolds will serve me. For example a client leaves: the Eagle will interpret this event as a good thing that will create the space for profitable clients to appear.

A chicken mindset uses the filter of fear that what is unfolding is scary and we must always exercise caution and fear because the hawk is always circling. For example a client leaves:  the Chicken will interpret this  as the beginning of a mass exodus and panic with a massive explosion of desperate sales activity.

An Eeyore mindset is everything that unfolds as a continuation of his sentence: “this always happens to me”  For example a client leaves: Eeyore will see this as proof that he is not very good at what he does and question why he is in the business in the first place and go into a depression.

Now the funny thing about mindset is that it’s made up but does it serve you? Think about it if you believe that everything that unfolds serves you it will! If you believe that things unfold to suppress you,the suppression will continue! Mindset is made up ultimately by you and no your mother did not permanently scar you by making you wear your sweater.

How do you change Mindset? Attention. Ask yourself what are you making the event unfolding mean? And does that meaning serve you? Are you thinking like an eagle? A chicken? Or Eeyore?

The choice is always yours.

A Chicken Koan

Which is more significant?
An Eagle or a Chicken
Depends upon the Hunger

Fly Like a Chicken

Got you didn’t I? That’s not the song is it? Its fly like an eagle to the sea but in these economic times are you behaving like an eagle or are you scratching dirt and eating rocks? Not to be offensive but many times human beings embrace the way of the chicken, clucking, nervously looking around, gathering in large numbers and clucking. You can see evidence of this at the water cooler or in lunch rooms or more aversely watch the news. Within 10 minutes you will learn that our American way of life is collapsing and capitalism has failed and we need protection from the mother hen. This is what chickens do.

 

At times there are eagles amongst the chickens. You can tell who they are by their look of overwhelming stillness and sense of purpose. An eagle knows that it is an eagle and it will soar no matter what the circumstances. An eagle knows that he is responsible for creating his world. An eagle expects a handout from no one.  An eagle does not peck at the ground hoping to find food. An eagle flies with purpose. An eagle is an eagle no matter where he is even if he is acting like a chicken. A chicken pretending to be an eagle is still a chicken. Sometimes a bird forgets.

 

This post is a reminder to remember who you are and conduct yourself accordingly

Comfort Zone Shakeup

“Being creatures of habit, we tend to stay within our comfort zones. Our comfort zones create barriers to our growth. As we attempt to make progress in our lives, this tendency can inhibit the realization of our visions.” – Dale Carnegie

Is it time for a shake up? Consistent patterns produce consistent results. If we want new results we need to do something different. Sometimes we get so comfortable that we no longer seek change events. Our bodies and minds will adapt to our present circumstances. In fact, we are so good at adaptation that within 6 weeks of a change event, the event becomes normal to us. For example, think about the last time you moved in to a new house. It likely lost it’s ‘newness’ within about 6 weeks. It became your home, making it seem as though you had always lived there. Or perhaps you bought your dream Mercedes, and before you knew it, it was no longer a “Mercedes” its just your car.

Change pushes us out of our comfort zone which causes growth. Why does going out of our comfort zone cause growth? It forces us to pay attention. It is only when we pay attention that we see new opportunities for growth and fulfillment. When we experience change our brain actually creates new neural connections. The more neural connections we have, the smarter we become, or more accurately, our ability to associate increases which therefore increases the probability of us accessing innovative solutions to our challenges.

Get out of your comfort zone by doing something different. Different promotes attention; attention creates new neural connections; increased neural connections increases intelligence. You do not have to think much if you do the same things day in and day out. If you are not embracing new ideas and experiences your brain is decaying. There is no such thing as the status quo in nature, systems are either growing or decomposing. Nothing stays the same. If you stay in your comfort zone you are rotting.

Comfort Zone Shakeup tips:

• - Commute to work a different way (you may discover something new )
• - Take a class unrelated to your profession (acting, drawing, cooking, Spanish)
• - Read a book outside your normal genre
• - Work only 4 days a week but don’t allow productivity to suffer (re-discover effectiveness)
• - Start work 90 minutes earlier
• - Leave the office at 3pm for a week
• - Travel abroad
• - Move to a new part of the country
• - Do something Artsy
• - Work a new sales process like The Champion Path
• - Take your top clients surfing, horseback riding, skeet shooting, cooking (uniqueness guarantees mental shelf space)
• - Start a new company (your mind will grow immensely)
• - Go on a country wide promotional tour in a rolling RV billboard (Our comfort zone shakeup along with our new company RevenueBlitz.com )

Do something different your brain and business are begging you!

Be wonderful,

Ken

The Value that you are!

The value that you are

To get your attention I am going to start with an inflammatory statement that my clients at first cut often have a hard time swallowing but with practice they get it and it is exponentially beneficial to their b-ness. Are you ready? Before I get into this I must confess that I was born and raised in NJ yes Tony Soprano Land and than my financial career flourished in Boston so my accent or way of being may sound at times a little harsh but… what ja gonn do? My clients hire me to be their coach not their friend so I am assuming you are reading this not to become friends with me but to learn the insights I share with my very successful clients.

So you want to know the great blasphemous secret to your business success? Well do you? I know you are all saying come on Ken what is it? Get you pen ready because this is important as well as earth shattering if you truly take it on. Ready:

You are lucky to have your clients now I imagine all of you rolling your eyes out there and saying “no duh” of course we are lucky to have our clients because with out our clients we would not make any money or live in our house or even put our kids in college but since you know that already here is the real kicker and I want you to pay attention to how my words reverberate in your head You are lucky to have your clients but your clients are luckier to have to you! “What” I can hear some of you screaming “my clients are luckier to have me than them, no way. I am much better off from my clients than they are from me. Man I am so lucky to have them because if I didn’t I would be homeless, destitute, poor etc  whine, whine I am so sniveling lucky to have my clients.” If you read my book The CHAMPION Path you would realize that is a zombie hunting mentality where the only concern in business is surviving and if your only concern is surviving you are desperate. Think about it a little.

What if all the conditioning that we have had like “the client is always right”, that our client is the most important aspect of our business, our first job is to serve. What if, mind you I said what if. Your client was not the most important aspect of your business? What if all the mantras that you have heard of having a client centric business were wrong? Oh my God what am I saying? I am saying one simple thing your client is not the most important aspect of your business. No they are not. Do you know who is? You are! That is right you, You are the most important and vital part of your business not your clients. You are #1 your clients are # 2 maybe lower. “What” your are screaming! Ken are you nuts! Perhaps, but lets talk a little more about survival by the time your are done listening to this you may feel the wisdom of my words. Lets get back to that concept of surviving.

I want you to call the word survival to your mind.

OK is it there? Now examine the mental pictures you have associated with the word survival. What do you see? What are the related images? For me when I call the word survival to mind I immediately see dirty, malnourished people, who are scrapping out an existence, I also see snarling tigers, a jungle and mosquitoes. I don’t know what you see but to me survival or being in a survival situation is not exactly fun.

Or let me put it another way. Remember back when you really needed a date or companionship of the opposite sex. And I mean you really needed it. You were desperate for it as a matter of fact you were willing to do anything for a date. Remember that? Well when you went to the bar that night how did you do? If you are anything like me you did horribly I don’t know what it is but women could smell the desperation on me no matter how much cologne I wore!

Now let me give you another word and see what images it pulls up in your mind: THRIVING

For me lush, green, healthy, a bustling town, things happening, a field of healthy corn, people smiling and having fun, positive good energy.

A person who realizes that he is lucky to have his clients and his clients are luckier to have him has a thriving business. He has a business based on thrival instead of survival. Thrival is a made up word by me but I think you can get it. I have a thrival based business and everyday I am excited to see it grow. How exciting is it if everyday is a fight for survival. I know you watch the Discovery Channel so lets shift the paradigm to Thrival. You are lucky to have your clients but your clients are luckier to have to you!

So lets look at that statement a little further? Why would or how could your clients be luckier to have you than you to have them? As adviser, a butcher a baker or a candle stick maker? And lets extend this conversation a little further why would a potential client i.e a prospect be lucky to have you?

Let me give you some ideas to spark the conversation:

Your integrity.

Your commitment to excellence shown by you listening to this.

That you actually care about them.

That what you do is good and noble.

That you will be of highest service to them because that is who you are.

That you put their needs before you own i.e. you are recommending them something that will improve their lives first and foremost.

You are honest and lawful.

You are highly educated at what you do an expert if you will.

Take a moment now and process what I said. Ultimately who benefits the most from any transaction with you? You or your client?

I remember having this conversation with a gentlemen out of a regional brokerage firm and he said, “Ken I have no idea how my client could be lucky to have me. I am so much luckier. God I have made a ton of money from him last year alone he was about half my sales.”

Wow I said half your sales huh! Did you trick him into buying what you offered?

No.

Did you lie to him or manipulate him in any way?

No

Did you put a gun to his head and make him sign your agreement?

No?

Hmph I said and than I said do you have integrity?

Yes

Would you ever recommend something to one of your clients that you thought was not in there best interest?

No

Let me ask you another question. Although you made so much money from this client how much money did he make from the transaction?

A lot

Hmm I said. How much money did he save in taxes? How about how much liability did you save him? How much of his time did you save him?

Wow I said all of that stuff begins to add up and once again who is luckier to know you?

Let me give you another example:

Sometimes I run into this from my full service financial advisors:

Ken, but they could do this stuff through a discount broker I am so lucky to have them.

I say, “Yes they could but could they do it as well as you? Do they spend all day everyday studying the market? Talking about the market? Dreaming about the market?”

Ironically the do it yourself guy is not the client you want because they do not get the value that you are and that’s okay. They do not realize how lucky they are to know you.

Think of all the time you create for your clients by handling their affairs? And we both know that time is money right?

Let me give you another analogy. I make my money by coaching and developing training material like what you are listening too now. I went to college and worked trades growing up. I was a mason laborer, a hot tar roofer, a framer and a carpenters helper so if I really wanted too I could build my own house. Right? My wife is laughing at me but if I was committed I could figure out how to lay the foundation, frame the house, run the electric and the plumbing etc. I could save a ton of money by building a house myself right? WRONG! I would lose a bundle because as I was building, plumbing, framing, and floating cement I would not be coaching, speaking and writing. I would not be doing the things that I made my real money at! I would be getting financially slaughtered but I would have a nice house right?

Here is a fundamental truth from the days of Adam Smith: Your clients do business with you because it is in their best interest not yours! Did you get that? Your clients do business with you because it is in their best interest not yours! If you work for a company the reason why you are in their employ is because it is in the company’s best interest. If you are no longer in the company’s best interest you are gone. This is not charity this is business.

That’s it amigo are you beginning to see how the world really is?

So figure it out why is your business in the best interest of your clients?

Why are your clients and your potential clients lucky to have you?

You are getting it I know it! It is in their best interest!

You are lucky to have your clients but your clients are luckier to have you! Is that statement beginning to sink in? What it comes down to really is that value never equals cost. Value is always greater than cost or we do not purchase the item or continue the relationship. If you have a relationship with your client they value you more than you cost! Can you begin to see that? Because if you cost them more than the value you received from them guess what? They would not be your client they would have kicked you to the curb. Your clients are lucky to have you because of the impact you have on their lives! Now I am not trying to get you to be cocky what I am trying to do is get you to understand the value that you are. Too many professionals get weird about their fee’s or the money they earn. They are embarrassed by it or try to hide it somewhere or wholeheartedly discount everything just to keep the relationship. Fundamentally if you do not get the value that you are and the impact that you are no one else will and than you will be in a price based conversation and no one wins in that conversation.

So where did I get this revolutionary thought that You are lucky to have your clients but your clients are luckier to have you?

You may be surprised where this idea popped for me but it was in Fenway Park in Boston in Mid August. It was one of those proverbial baseball nights. The lights of Fenway where on I was 7 rows behind first base. I could see the Green Monster. I could feel the history of the ball park. It was a great night and and I was there at Fenway with my buds. I can still picture it in my mind. As I sat in the too small Fenway seats and if you have been to Fenway you know what I mean. They were a smaller sort at the turn of the century. So I leaned back surveyed the field and thought man what a wonderful life I have. And that is when my bud said “hey lets grab a beer.” A beer would have been the coup de grais to the scene sorry for the French but I did go to college. Now I am sure those of you listening have been to a baseball game at night in late summer and there is something proverbial American about it and I also imagine you ate some peanuts and if you are at a ball game eating peanuts a beer is a must! But before I go on with this story I am confident that most of you have bought a 6 pack of Budweiser at some time in your lives right? And how much does that cost 5 or 6 bucks right? Now I am also gonna bet most of you have been to a ball park on a summer night and how much does one beer cost there? 7-10 dollars right? Why the hell would you pay 10 bucks for one beer when you could buy a 12 pack for the same cost? Because Value is always greater than cost because there is something special about being at a ballpark in the summer with your buds. Remember no one forced you to buy the beer no one had a gun to your head and chanted “drink, drink, drink, or else” but you did anyway because you valued it more than it cost you. Value is always greater than cost or you do not purchase!

Think about it what value do you provide your clients? Beyond your products?

What value do you place on trust and integrity? Do you think people will pay a premium for trust and integrity? You bet ja! You do all the time and so do your clients. That’s why you do not buy your Rolex from the vendor in Times Square.

We often forget the nobility of what we do as a matter of fact every profession has nobility and those within the profession who have the highest level of integrity make the most money.

Answer your self this question.

What is noble about what you do?

What do you really do for your clients? Think about it.

What is the real impact of your work on the clients who are lucky enough to work with you? Think your impact is exponentially to what you get paid. The impact of the value has to be much greater than you cost or no one would do business with you! Do you see that! Your clients get an exponential value from what you do or they would not do it! They are not stupid! You did not trick or fool them. They value you more than you cost! Or they would not be your clients!

This concept continues to clarify for me as I see the impact that Getting Results Coaching has on our clients from a business growing 50% to a marriage saved to a relationship with a son deepened, to an individual losing 70lbs and having a new lease on life. I whole heartedly know that I am lucky to have my clients and they are much luckier to have me because the impact I make is exponential and so is yours. What really is the price of a marriage saved? Or a business growing 50% flatly it is a hell of a lot less then what we charge for coaching.

Are you seeing how lucky your clients are to have you?

A simple example: lets see is my lawn guy lucky to have me or am I luckier to have him? Well he costs me about $40 bucks each time he cuts my lawn. We have about 2 acres and he does a great job. Now could I cut the lawn and save that $40 yes of course but what is the cost to me of doing that? What is my time worth? To earn a million dollars in a year that equates to about $8.05 a minute. Hmmp it would take me about an hour to cut the lawn not to mentioned servicing the tractor, and cleaning up. Once again who is luckier? Value is always greater than cost. Another great thing about not having to cut my lawn is that I do not have to worry about it getting done. It frees my mind to do what I do best. Now if my lawn guy figures out how much I value him he may raise his prices but so what! He is a good guy who has earned our trust and he does a great job. He provides me value that far exceeds his cost.

It’s the beauty of every business relationship! Even all the ones that you have. I hope you begin to understand and can articulate why your clients are so lucky to have you in their lives because if you can you have the proper mind set. It is all about mindset because once you realize how lucky your clients are to have you in their world growing your business becomes exponentially easier because you realize the impact your are and why everyone should do business with you because if they do they will be better off!

This concept will increase your personal power. It will make it easier to ask for the business as well as to ask for introductions because you need to know at the bottom of your heart is that if people who do business with you will be better off simply by doing b-ness with you because of the value that you provide.

Once again my name is Ken Doyle and my company is Getting Results Coaching. If you do not feel that your clients are lucky to have you I recommend that you visit our website and complete the personal assessment to see if a coaching relationship is right for you. If you do you may discover how lucky your clients are to have you! Thank you for you time and attention and please visit us at www.gettingresulscoaching.com or email me at ken@gettingresultscoachign.com

Thank you and may God continue to bless America.