Month: February 2012

Would You Be Fine?

Post author By
Post date February 29, 2012

Article Contributed by Lisa Bloom

If the worst possible thing in your life actually happened, would you survive?

How much time do you spend thinking about this?

The truth is that there is a deep practice and commitment to the incitement of fear around the ‘worst possible thing.’ Governments, businesses and churches are trading fear; even brands trade in fear.

I believe it’s simply the wrong kind of story.

This week I also watched Tony Robbins say, “we are defined by the stories we tell ourselves, every one of us has a story or a set of stories…the question is, is your story empowering you to maximize what god has given you, or is your story causing you to fall short.”

When we tell stories that keep us in fear, it’s the wrong kind of story. We have so many better stories.

When I was about 5 years old my sister told me that strawberries, my absolute favorite fruit at that time, grow on the ground and are full of worms. She was kidding, I was horrified. I didn’t touch a strawberry again for years. Finally as a teenager, I started to eat the delightful fruit again, but could never put a whole strawberry in my mouth; I always had to bite it in half first, take a look inside, before popping the rest in. To this day, I hesitate before I put a whole strawberry in my mouth.

Sounds ridiculous, right? It is. But here’s another. I grew up knowing; yes that’s right, not just hearing but actually knowing, that I could do and be whatever I chose.

That meant that when I decided to start my own business, it never occurred to me that I would not succeed. Not seriously. I knew that if I really wanted to do this, I could and I would.

Now that’s an empowering story.

And it’s not about success, it’s about knowing that I’d be okay even in failure; that the doing and the being were the most important thing, the outcome would take care of itself.

Last week, at the end of the stunning days I spent with Byron Katie at the ‘Forgiveness Intensive’, she played the song “That I would be good’ by Alanis Morissette. Not only was it incredibly beautiful and moving, it also struck a chord deep inside me.

She sings,
‘That I would be good even if I did nothing,
That I would be good even if I got and stayed sick
That I would be good even if I gained 10 pounds’

This is not some kind of wishful thinking or blind faith. This is the right kind of story. It is complete acceptance of what is, a state of
grace. A place of peace and love.

She sings,
‘That I would be fine even if I went bankrupt…
That I would be grand even if I was not all
knowing’

Let’s tell that story.
The story of empowerment, peace and love.
What’s yours?

Newsletter

BIZNESS! Newsletter Issue 125

Post author By Pamela Swift
Post date February 27, 2012

Cover Story

Floating Sleeping Room

Here is a soaring example of small space creativity from Parisian architects Emmanuel Combarel Dominique Marrec. This airy-looking 50 m² dwelling used to be an artist studio with an awkward two-level layout. One of the main challenges in this project was to fit an independent bedroom into a limited space. The task has lead to an ingenious solution creating a floating cube in the middle of the room…

Continued in BIZNESS! Newsletter Issue 125 >>>

Optimize your Facebook Brand Page for Engagement

Post author By Ethan Theo
Post date February 27, 2012

Facebook can be an endless sea of convoluted updates and comments for you and may seem difficult to keep up with. However, if you have some simple items in place, management can be a lot easier. Here are a few strategies for optimizing your Facebook page for branding your business.

1. Upload your logo or part of your logo. I say “part of your logo” because sometimes your first initial or caricature can stand alone. SEOMoz, for instance, has only a photo of their Moz robot as their thumbnail. This really helps with branding because you’re dictating to the consumer what to associate with your name. If you have a long explanatory slogan, people might not read it. Consider dropping that from the Facebook brand page image. Keep it nice and clean–appealing to the consumer when he/she first sees it.

2. Utilize plug-ins. Do you have an awesome company blog? Don’e be afraid to show that bad boy off by RSSing in the feed onto a new Facebook page tab labeled “Blog” or “Insights.” You can use tabs to create separate landing pages for a contest your company is promoting, for instance. You can use this page’s unique URL to send visitors right where they need to go instead of sending them to your Facebook Wall page and having to rely on them to find it (this never happens).

3. Always respond to comments–even if it’s not a question. Say thanks, ask questions. People are more apt to share photos or stories or recommendations with a business page that is well-managed. Always answer complaints, too. Don’t delete bad comments-you will only look as if you’re avoiding the problem. Address it head-on and you’re likely to turn a disgruntled customer into a fan again.

4. Use consistent brand messaging across all social platforms. Don’t have different people with different opinions managing the brand page on Facebook and Twitter and Google+. You want your audience to get to know your brand’s “personality,” whether it’s humorous or informational.

5. Use your tools. Facebook has a wealth of information on its Insights page. Use this to your advantage. Find out how many people are talking about your brand, who is sharing information about your brand, the demographics of people interacting with your brand, etc. Use these metrics to inform your marketing strategies later. Have you seen a spike in 20-something men “liking” your page? Talk about things that are relevant to them (and you) for better engagement.

6. Use Facebook PPC if it’s in the budget. This is a great way to promote your brand and Facebook page. It can be especially helpful if you’re running specials or a contest. People will often sign-up to receive email updates or a newsletter for the chance to win something (just don’t bombard their inboxes or you’re going to lose them!).

7. Update A LOT. This doesn’t mean silly “fill in the blank” updates twice a day. I mean dig in. Research what’s going on in your industry or community. Talk to other brands and other people about what’s important to them. Don’t be so self-serving. It will all come around positively in the end. I promise.

8. Fundamentals are key. List all relevant information about your brand on the information page. This seems like a no-brainer, but we see people skip these steps all of the time. List locations, business hours and phone numbers. Upload photos of your facility and reviews from Google Places and Yelp!

These are just a few quick tips to keep in mind when creating and managing your brand presence on Facebook. There are plenty of other options that involve content and video creation to propel your Facebook brand page. With the Facebook Timeline rolling out for brand pages this month, there will certainly be more.

About the Author:

Amber Evans is the Social Media Manager at Visiture in Charleston, SC. You can reach her at amber@visiture.com.

Recommendations

My Honest Experience With the Millionaire MBA Business Mentoring Programme

Post author By Pamela Swift
Post date February 25, 2012

Article Contributed By Lorraine Fernandes

I remember the first time I got started in business was just before I had my first son Napoleon I knew I wanted to work for myself and to be in control of my time with my family, previous to starting in business I had been on a number of training courses and seminars and had read a wide variety of books and auto biographies of successful entrepreneurs like Richard Branson. I had been putting all the pieces together before starting in business by seeking out the advice and wisdom of the experts.

I have spent thousands of pounds on my own personal development through audios, coaching, seminars as well as the more formal accreditations, I qualified as an NLP practitioner, certified Life coach and Dale Carnegie Graduate.

I have to admit I’ve learnt a huge amount in the last 20 years as I’ve immersed myself in personal development from the age of 12, I’ve also invested heavily in personal coaching and paid over £1300 a month for this because I’ve always wanted to learn from the best so I went to a coach who was being coached by Bob Proctor who I hugely respect.
I do not regret investing thousands in programs, courses and coaching as I consider them well worth the investment to this day.

I am a successful women entrepreneur and I am well respected in my field, I had a successful career where I generated one business £750,000 within 4 months and another business generated an extra £15,000 a month using a strategy that I implemented. I now run training workshops for Entrepreneurs and have trained college students who want to start their own business. Yes, I have also come across many roadblocks in my time in business all of which I have overcome. I believe in constant never ending improvement.

So when I was first introduced to Millionaire MBA by Richard Parkes Cordock the creator I was intrigued and especially excited when I learnt that Richard had used the principles of NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), to model 25 self made Millionaires. This was an exciting concept that you can reprogram your mind to think with the millionaire mindset. I had learnt the principles of this in my NLP training.

I just had to get my hands on it… Well after the first listening I was hooked, the energy derived from these millionaires is incredible, I loaded it onto my mp3 player and for once in my life I felt that I was really standing side my side with these 25 incredibly successful multimillionaire entrepreneurs, as they actually explained to me the process that brought them to where they are. Their own insights and thought processes being shared openly like never before, the driving forces behind how they made their millions. You can’t help but open yourself up to the possibilities that stand before you as you listen.

What’s inside Millionaire MBA is invaluable it sounds like a cliché but I truly feel that it has changed my life for the better, and the ripple effect that this has created in my business is phenomenal. I can honestly say the impact of this mentoring program will make me millions and what’s wonderful is that these Millionaires can be carried in my pocket and are there for me at any time I need acceleration.

What’s also amazing to me is the price, I would have imagined paying thousands to be mentored by these top entrepreneurs, can you imagine over 30 hours worth, If I translated that to what I had been investing in coaching that would be at least around £7800 yet this learning was brought to me for less then 40 cups of coffee and I’m not even talking Starbucks!

I strongly recommend it to any entrepreneur regardless of how long you’ve been in business or how much you think you already know. You will make the cost of Millionaire MBA back 100 times over in no time with what you learn and apply in your business, it really can reprogram the way you think.

And honestly, if you’re still not sure about it, Richard Parkes Cordock, the founder of Millionaire MBA Business Mentoring Programme offers a 60 day risk free trial. Give the risk free trial of Millionaire MBA Business Mentoring Programme a try. You’ll be so glad you did it’s worth every penny, many times over.

My goal here is to spread the word about this program I feel it should be in every entrepreneurs hands and allow me to remind you to not wish it were easier but wish you were better.

Millionaire MBA will help you to be just that.

About the Author

Lorraine is the Co-founder and CEO of The Fernandes Group, a UK-based company that empowers entrepreneurs, business owners and their teams to be effective and efficient in sales and business growth – through training, consulting, coaching, tools, events and resources . She has a knack of identifying new revenue streams within businesses and specialises at working at the strategy level.

A successful entrepreneur in her own right, Lorraine is a recognised sales authority, business Trainer and in-demand speaker. Lorraine has a powerful and proven step-by-step methodology that has helped hundreds of salespeople, sales managers and entrepreneurs across the world master ‘struggle-free selling’. Lorraine also works with business owners to help them transform their businesses with practical and grounded sales strategies that deliver rapid returns.

People & Relationships

The Benefit of the Doubt: How Perception Can Make All the Difference

Post author By Ethan Theo
Post date February 24, 2012

I receive a lot of interesting and entertaining emails from friends of mine. Some I delete, and others I pass along. Every now and then, I get one that contains important public service information that should be passed along to everyone.

One such email I received contained the following video of the latest on CPR from the American Heart Association. It seems that people were reluctant to perform the “mouth-to-mouth resuscitation” of classic CPR, and someone discovered that the chest compressions alone—if performed vigorously—were enough to engage the lungs and the heart. How fast is vigorously? Watch the corny video for yourself on YouTube and find out! (Just search for “Ken Jeong – American Heart Association – “Staying Alive” – Hands-Only CPR video)..

(I forwarded the email and video to my broadcast list, and I hope that you will watch it and do the same!)

The day after I sent it out, I received a response from a friend of mine, a physician who has spent many years in a hospital Emergency Room:

“A funny story about this: two years ago at one of my son’s baseball tournaments, a coach collapsed, and they called me over to the field. Now, I haven’t had any updated CPR training in about five years. I go over there and the guy has no pulse and no respiration, and some lady is doing CPR chest compressions really fast. I opened the guy’s airway etc., and the whole time the lady doing the compressions is singing ‘staying alive, staying alive, aah, aah, aah, aah, staying alive’, and I am thinking, ‘What a sick woman. This guy is dead and she’s singing Bee Gees’ songs.’ The guy made it to the hospital, got a pacemaker, and is fine. When I started telling other medical people about the sicko singing “Staying Alive” during CPR, they told me that it’s the tempo for the compressions. Thank God I didn’t open my big mouth during the CPR.”

How powerfully perception changes our view of a situation! With a little information, a shift of perception occurred that completely altered how my friend viewed the efforts of the woman involved. One piece of knowledge moved her from ‘sicko’ to courageous, well-informed helper.

In every context—whether we realize it or not—our view of an event is limited by what we perceive, and what we perceive is never the full story. Our perception is limited not only by our personal Perceptual Style, but also by the context of a situation, the history leading up to it, and the length and closeness of our involvement with it.

Too often, like my friend, we react with knowledge of only a small slice of the whole and end up drawing conclusions that are inaccurate at best and detrimental at worst. It is true that we cannot know everything about a situation before we must act, but we can give others the benefit of the doubt when their actions seem out of line. Because, as the old saying goes, “Things are not always what they seem.”

Understanding the role of perception in our lives takes conscious awareness and effort, but that effort offers rewards in the form of strong relationships, trust, and clear communication. Without it, we risk charging into a situation uninformed and ill-prepared. So much in our lives, loves, and businesses rests on accurate perception of a situation and our ability to communicate with others—being too quick to judge the actions of others can very quickly backfire.

Of course, understanding the role that perceptual differences play won’t always make our interactions with others “smooth sailing.” Some differences are simply too large to overcome. But in the vast majority of cases, a simple twist in perception—often due to more complete information—will allow you to see the world from another person’s point of view, and change the way you view their actions.

About the Author:

Gary Jordan, Ph.D., has over 27 years of experience in clinical psychology, behavioral assessment, individual development, and coaching. He earned his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology – Berkeley. He is co-creator of Perceptual Style Theory, a revolutionary psychological assessment system that teaches people how to unleash their deepest potentials for success. He’s a partner at Vega Behavioral Consulting, Ltd., a consulting firm that specializes in helping people discover their true skills and talents. For free information on how to succeed as an entrepreneur or coach, create a thriving business and build your bottom line doing more of what you love, visit http://www.YourTalentAdvantage.com .