Getting Back To The Business Of Coaching

The past 16 months have found me busy developing a new business for my son. That has kept me so busy that I have neglected my first love, Coaching. And it has been evidenced by my lack of new blog posts. To tell the whole story, I have been enjoying my new granddaughter, Marley, since her birth in February, 2011. It was her pending birth that motivated me to start the new business for my son, it was really for her. The new business has been a great place to apply the very business development principles that I teach my coaching clients. As most of you know, I prefer to lead by doing and succeeding. That allows me to prove the value of the principles that I have been taught and continue to pass on.


Business startup in the economy of 2010 has been challenging, but the principles that I have been taught have proven themselves to be timeless and adaptable to any economic environment. Profitability was achieved within the second month. A major change in my largest trading partner’s business model forced me start at square one again in February of 2011. Once again those principles of success proved their value as we once again achieved profitability almost immediately.


As we begin a new year we see it full of promise and the opportunity to make new choices (if we’re not getting the results that we say we would like to enjoy), or choose new outcomes for this year, or commit ourselves to the choices and activities that have produced the desired, successful, results for us.


Let’s take this new year to focus on learning and applying principles of success, as opposed to focusing on strategies. What are the principles of success?


VALUE 


What do you value, what is your time worth, who shares those values in the form of Co-workers, Customers, and Joint Venture Partners?


SERVICE


Don’t ask how you can make money; simply ask how you serve the world best. What are your unique strengths? Remember the Hippopotamus that is my corporate logo. If you don't know the story behind that choice, no worries, we'll revisit it in February.


VISION


If you don’t know what success looks like, you may just walk past it, past him or past her. When you have enjoyed complete success, where are you, what are you doing, and who are you with; both at home and at work? Can you clearly communicate that vision of success? When you can, you will attract the right components required for that success. What does success look like, feel like, sound like, taste like? Experience that success daily, internally.


GRATITUDE


If you aren’t grateful for what you already have, you can’t have more – meaning that what is the point of accomplishment or gain when it doesn’t register with you? Lack of gratitude is at the core of a scarcity mentality. Lack of gratitude focuses on what you don’t have and provides all the excuses for failure. Gratitude allows you to recognize what you already have and allows you to leverage those assets for greater achievement.


CHOICE


Choose to produce the results that you value. Not getting what you desire, make different choices. Don’t want to make new and different choices? Learn how to be happy with the results that you’re producing. Those two choices are the core choices of our lives.


BALANCE 


Balance work and play, home and work, indulgence and discipline, limits and charity, effort and rest.


INTEGRITY


Keep all of your promises and make no promises that you can’t keep.


ATTENTION


Pay attention and listen to the most important people in your life, at home, at the office and in the marketplace. Give them what is important to them, and in a way that allows them to understand that you’re giving them what they ask for.


MUST DO


If I say it’s going to get done I will get it done.


GOOD ENOUGH


Don’t wait for the perfect amount of time, or the perfect set of circumstances to begin achieving your dreams. Start now, even if you only have 5 minutes, even if you only have $5, even if you only have 5 friends or 5 potential customers.


ACCEPTANCE


Accept what is as good and beautiful, and right for the moment, even if “what is” seems painful.


LOVE


Learn to love and care for yourself as you would love and care for those most important to you. There is no integrity to beating yourself up while extending love to others. You can’t love anyone more than you love yourself. Until you can show yourself patience and acceptance, you can’t show it to anyone else, at least not to the highest levels that you are capable of.

I have not been producing all of the results that I value most; chief among them is the coaching that fulfills me.  One of the reasons that I value Coaching so much is that it allows me to revisit the principles of success that have been taught to me. And frankly, I need to hear those message more than most of you need to hear them. While it appears that I am better at applying the principles of success, it is simply a matter of the fact that I hear the messages more often than the rest of you, because I repeat them over and over again in coaching sessions with my clients, my friends. That said, I choose to post to this blog on a bi-weekly basis, and I will use these principles as my curriculum. Let me know if these posts are meaningful. In fact, take the time to post links to these blog posts on your blogs. I promise to pay attention to what you say to make these posts as productive for you as possible. Let's take our "Knowing" this year and apply in wise ways to produce much good for ourselves, our families, our friends  and our communities throughout the world.


Make this “THE BEST YEAR EVER!”™


Coach Frits


and remember... "Once a Client, always a friend!" Get in touch with me my friends, let me know what you're grateful for.

Exciting Announcement and Offer

We're excited to be able to offer our most loyal friends and followers the pre-release purchase of "Just Give Me 5 Minutes" being released in November
2010. Here's what you'll receive as an Insider;

An advance copy of "Just Give Me 5 Minutes"

A One Year Access to your own online 5 Minute Office – Normally $9.95 per month subscription (that's a $119.40 VALUE)

We will make a $2 donation to one of three Charities, or you can even suggest a charity to make a donation to on your behalf. Please recommend a charity that is focused on empowerment.

You'll be able to go into a local book store to buy your copy after release $19.95, or you can buy it now and enjoy all of these benefits while helping someone else out.

Learn and put into practice the powerful success principles that Clients have paid up to $24,000 for 3 days of Private, in person, coaching sessions. These principles include;

Gratitude - the first principle of success

Values - the element of attracting the Co-Workers/Partners, Employees, Vendors and Customers who value you most

Alignment - improving the process by getting everyone and everything moving in the same direction

Consistency - success is about joyful choices not tedious obligation

Action – your loudest "voice"

Brand – the product of your customer's experience

Influence – entice them to action Vs convincing them

Purposeful Games - success truly is a matter of "child's play"

Home - you do not need to "go out into the desert" (a label for going to a special workshop or camp for change) lasting change happens when we implement strategies within the reality of our daily lives)

Presence - the strategies and mechanisms that provide daily growth and maintenance of what you value most.

And enjoy access to the "self-coaching and team coaching" tools that will allow you to put into practice these simple truths in an affordable way that allows you to succeed within the context of your daily lives. Affordable tools that your employees and vendors can use, putting your entire team in alignment.

 

ProFormance SOLUTIONS

"Results through coaching you to discover what the right actions are, and holding you accountable to do those 'right things' consistently."

As a 17-year-old student at Newport Harbor High in Newport Beach, I enjoyed a diverse circle of friends. Some of the kids in the community had their lives planned out. We knew that John Wayne's son Ethan would be an Actor. Other friends would follow in the footsteps of their successful parents and go to Harvard, Yale, UCLA, Stanford, and become Physicians, Attorneys and Business Owners. But I also had friends who were the children of Immigrants. I knew that most of them would not attend College. And while attending college is not a perquisite to success, I had a sense that most of those friends would not achieve the real dreams of their hearts without additional education. I asked myself how to best serve those friends. The answer I came up with was that I would learn the Art of Sales, Practice it, Succeed and then Teach. I chose a very competitive industry, Copiers. As an employee of Royal Business Machines (later Konica), I was privileged to learn from some masterful teachers and Mentors. I applied what they taught me and became the recipient of every award that was available. I also enjoyed a wonderful lifestyle as a result. Sailboat, sports cars, vacations and a great young family. I was also given the opportunity to begin my Coaching career. It established a success pattern of helping business partners find success through the training I was allowed to offer. In the Diamond Industry, as a Manager and then Brand Manager for Ditta Myor, that strategy allowed us to bring a new division to market and achieve profitability in six months from start up. Moving over to the role of Eastern States VP for F-Matic of America I was allowed to firmly establish the value of bringing sales training to our Dealer Network in 16 states of the northeast. As a consequence of gaining a reputation for helping Distribution Partners enjoy increased success which led to increased sales for my company, I was recruited to become the Director of Training for a multi-national manufacturer, National Super Service. Now I was allowed to take my training and mentoring strategies worldwide. The first book I published, Major League Selling was implemented in a training tour with the largest companies in our industry. I reveled in the joy of witnessing students double their incomes while dramatically improving their quality of life by freeing up time to spend with family and friends. While it was very satisfying, I had a dream of coaching a student to $1 million of success. My family told me they wanted to move back to the Western States, and I felt that the time was right to start my own coaching company. I challenged myself to achieve a remarkable start up. With the help of a Mentor, I was able to generate my first $1 Million, in only 30 days. It was liberating to learn that "Success is as easy as we allow it to be, or as difficult as we want to make it." I still hadn't coached a student to achieve the same. The Universe provided me that opportunity when I was recruited into an industry that relied heavily on coaching. My model was "Learn, Do, Succeed, and then Teach. I do not teach principles I've only read about. I only teach that which I've learned, put into practice and yielded success with. During the past 6 years especially, I have witnessed clients acquiring $1M, and more, in as little as 7 months. I still have a desire to help a Client create $1M in 30 days. It's been a great adventure. It has inspired me to write this book. "Just Give Me 5 Minutes" as a Self Coaching tool. I know that not everyone can afford to pay for one on one coaching. This book and the accompanying tools are an answer to making Executive coaching a reality for even starving students or artist's Let me know how it works for you. And as a side note, I still take private clients and corporate assignments. Perhaps we could create some "purposeful play" for your team.

With Every Bad Comes the Good, and Vice Versa

An interesting fact reported by the Harvard Business Review today; JUNE 16, 2010

Swedish Papas Get Generous Paid Leave

With 85% of fathers in Sweden taking extensive paid parental leave, companies there have come to expect new dads to disappear for months at a time, and the leave-takers aren't penalized at promotion time, according to The New York Times. The country's generous paternal-leave policy is seen as contributing to lower divorce rates.

Source: The New York Times According to a Wikepedia article, the combined Employer and Worker tax rate in Sweden is about 63%. Yet quality of life, as compared throughout the world is ranked as #10 of best rated countries to live in. USA Ranks #14 best Country with Honolulu coming as the #31 best city to live in, in the world. New York is the median ranked as the #49 best city to live in in the world. This according to the Mercer survey (Vienna scores 108.6 and Baghdad scores 14.7. Cities are ranked against New York as the base city…). Whether we agree with the survey, or not, is not at issue – it has long been known that quality of life in Sweden is high. Indeed, in my last visit to Stockholm, I was amazed at the relative "elegance of the populace. The food was remarkable. Culture is at its highest. I awoke one summer morning around 4AM; the lights were blazing through my window. It was a manmade "land of the midnight sun" as it were. Upon looking out my hotel window, I was amazed to see a scene of families enjoying the weekend, parents and even small children, having fun together as if it were a typical Saturday afternoon in any small American town. Understandable, considering how brutal the winters can be. Winters are so challenging that my hosts told me that theirs is a shrinking population. But their summers are filled with pure joy, regardless of the time of day or weather conditions. Along with their brutal taxes come some great joys of life. Yin and Yan, opposite forces always at play. My point is, that none of us have anything to complain about, if we take the time to see "what's good" in our daily existence, regardless of where we live. Witness one of the International students in our town, who though being raised in the brothels of India (ranked on the lowest end of the Mercer survey). I have only seen her a few times, but each time, she has had a smile. She is helping my wife over the summer. Regardless of the assignment, she does not complain. My wife tells me that she goes about happily doing what is asked of her. Many in our society have grown jaded. That attitude was summed up so well in a conversation with a teenager when he said "I Didn't ask to be here." Au contraire mon frère...what we have we have somehow asked for, a controversial truth open to argument, but unchangeable. Do we ask for tragedy or accident? No. Although, I refuse to watch what we commonly refer to as "wrecks" in bull riding (a really bad ride that generally ends in injury to the cowboy) because I don't want those images it in my mind as they can create fear and other unwanted outcomes. If I were to picture it in my mind, I might start looking for a "soft place" to land, as most cowboys do. If you get an opportunity to watch, especially amateur bull riding, see if you can notice where the cowboy is looking when he comes out of the chute. The cowboys that "fall" off the bull, (you never really fall off, you get slammed off by 2,000lbs of muscle) as they come out of the chute, are probably looking down at the ground. In bull riding we like to say you're going where you're looking. In that instance, we can create our reality. But accidents are just that, we don't create them, they really just happen. Anyway, when you feel that you're dealing with "bad," look for the opposite force at play, the Yin and Yan. Trust me, it's there. Know that there is good in your business. If your business is "off," it represents an opportunity to improve your marketing efforts. Indeed, when sales numbers remain constant, we may be missing a huge opportunity to find more markets, or improve our marketing efforts such that we increase our business dramatically. Lagging sale can produce more opportunities that you ever thought possible. Auggie Nieto failed miserably when he went out to sell his Life Cycles. That failure caused him to consider a radical approach that ultimately created a $550M company and industry leader. Diagnosed with ALS (I started to use the words "afflicted with" and "suffering from," but the challenge of ALS has created new good realities for Auggie – and opportunities to serve the greater good of humaninty). As you become aware of, and grateful for, that "good" your life is immediately enriched. You will find yourself more energized, and in the right place at the right time to enjoy the good accidents of life. Namaste, Coach Frits

Are Your Clients Experiencing Any Kind Of Economic Recovery?

A multi-millionaire friend of mine asked that question of me the other day. I thought that my answer was worth sharing with you as well. In response to his question I said that many of my small business owners have been enjoying, and continue to enjoy economic success, regardless of national or worldwide economic conditions. People are still spending what money they have. Tires still wear out, books are still being read (indeed, witness the overwhelming success of the iPad), people are still buying computers and technology, people are still buying houses and getting mortgages. Regardless of the community that they are in, I am witnessing client successes throughout America.

SUCCESS IS AS EASY AS WE ALLOW IT TO BE, OR AS DIFFICULT AS WE CHOOSE TO MAKE IT – THE PRINCIPLE OF ALIGNMENT

Raji R (her nickname is Superwoman) lives in Southern California. She has been enjoying success on two fronts. Real Estate Investing (how many people can say that today) and a new business startup (www.3facesmedia.com) signing new clients like Shari Belafonte the actress daughter of Harry Belafonte. I had the opportunity to sit and coach Shari briefly. What a remarkable person. Shari is introducing Raji to her best celebrity friends and growing Raji's business for her. How has Raji enjoyed such remarkably rapid success? It's not by hiring a great sales team or implementing an aggressive sales approach. Surely, Shari had many options when it came to hiring a Publicist. The traditional approach would have been costly. But by simply "seeding" the success of others, Raji seeded her own success. This is consistent with the behavior that I model in "Once a Client, Always a Friend." Would you like a friend who will be there for the long term? Give me a call at 801-755-6823.

There's a wonderful article about Augie Nieto, the founder of LifeCycle which grew to become a $550 Million business. Augie started out with a national sales tour that would ultimately cost a great deal and show no success. He found his success was much easier when his efforts came into alignment with his value of "Reciprocity." Read the article HERE and buy his book.

Mike B owns a towing and auto shop service in small town USA (population 4,505). When we began the coaching process he told me in our third session "I got mad at you for getting me to dream again. I had grown to accept my situation." Because of our work together he became aware of business losses that would ultimately force him to shut down his business (as so many small business owners do in America). By getting clear on what he values most, we are now identifying remarkable profit enhancing opportunities for his company. How many of you have struggled with business expansion opportunities when cash flow just isn't what it needs to be? Do you go out and finance your inventory, only to further erode profits? Have you offered products and services at deep discounts, not only eroding profits – but devaluing your products and services further? Or have you implemented measures that allow for profitable growth, like Mike?

STEP 1: GET CLEAR ON WHAT YOU VALUE

How can we align with our values if we don't know what they are? Stanford University research points to this as the fundamental reason for lack of success in peoples' lives. We have a great free tool available to help you get clear on what you value, and document them in a way that adds to more exercises that will grow your business. Again, IT'S FREE. Just email me at coachfrits@gmail.com for your copy.

But to get you started, answer this question. If you were admitted to the emergency ward today, and were coherent, what would you make sure got done before you went to sleep tonight? The answers to this question will give a huge head start on getting clear on your values.

An ancient story is told of a General living in peacetime, only to discover the enemy's preparations for a new war. The General was wise and caring, and desired a short war with minimal casualties, on both sides. In his wisdom he decided that the way to ensure a short conflict was to gather around him seasoned warriors who valued the same things that he valued. He knew that they would have experienced many of the same things that he had already experienced. He also knew that he would avoid having to convince those warriors of his strategies and tactics, saving additional time and avoiding loss of lives. With the lives of his friends and family in the balance, he wrote down the principles that he valued most, on an animal skin, and raised it as a standard. Military standards are used as a rallying point. As long as the standard flies, is held aloft, in the heat of battle it provides an inspiration to keep working towards the goal. Listing his values attracted warriors of similar value to his cause. A standard is also valuable as it allows us to measure progress – ground gained or lost relative to the standard. So a standard also provides a sense of direction, especially in the disorienting moments of a melee.

So it is in our communities and our companies. Success is so much easier, the challenge reduced, when we are surrounded by others of a like mind and value. You can save yourself significant hours and dollars when you are surrounded by those who value what you value. Get clear on what you value and then communicate it to your universe of potential customers. The customers who value what you value, will allow you to make a profit. You'll discover how much easier success becomes at this point.

Coach Frits

MARCH MADNESS REPORT: Tourney Could Cost Employers $1.8 Billion

"It is March once again, and like the swallows returning to Capistrano, basketball fans across the country will return to their favorite sports websites to research every one of the 64 teams playing in the NCAA men's basketball championship tournament, fill out tournament brackets and enter one or more betting pools in what has become an annual rite of spring as sacred as green beer on St. Patrick's Day." This was reported by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. "The original outplacement company" on their blog @Work.

It's absolutely amazing how much distractions at work can cost. The implied question is; "How do we avoid the costs of "distractions?"

 

"In fact, with worker stress and anxiety heightened, a little distraction could be just what the doctor ordered. The key for companies is finding a way to maximize the positive aspects of March Madness so that they outweigh any potential negatives," Challenger noted.

"Companies can use this event as a way to build morale and camaraderie. This could mean putting televisions in the break room, so employees have somewhere to watch the games other than the Internet. Employers might consider organizing a company-wide pool, which should have no entry fee in order to avoid ethical and/or legal questions," Challenger suggested.

This report brings a focus to the issue of increased Employee Engagement. And that focus presents significant opportunities for companies to bring about improvements in corporate productivity. Workplace distractions are certainly not limited to March Madness. In fact, corporate America would be relieved if distractions and the impact on productivity were limited to a few weeks each year.

Allow me to add two additional strategies for increased focus and productivity among employees;

1. Convert employees into acting as Corporate Owners or CEO's. How do we achieve that level of engagement? The solution is actually very simple; teach employees how to present their ideas for improvement as a Senior Executive might make a presentation to the CEO, by creating a presentation that documents the improvement opportunity with Needs, Requirements, Costs and Return on Investment. We can help you accomplish that with powerful employee training and tools. In fact, with our "90 Minute Profit Recovery Jumpstart" we will pay for ourselves as well as pull additional and significant pure profit dollars out of "thin air." It's really not as "magical" as this choice of words may appear. In truth, it's a simple process that we guide your employees through. In fact. We are so confident that we can produce these results for your company, regardless of size, that we will deliver this powerful approach at no cost, until we produce those dollars.
   
2. Another great approach to producing greater productivity within your company is to enable your employees to engage in their work "foe their reasons." What does that mean? We can help you show your employees how to show up on time and work a full day by spending a few extra hours at work each week as they build new business opportunities for themselves. New business opportunities that will contribute to additional revenues and profits for your company. Let's face it; we are losing employee focus to their efforts at building their own businesses through Network Marketing and traditional business startups. Why not harness that energy in a way that builds your company as well?
   

Improved employee focus on the job can produce remarkable improvements for your company. Whether you need to show performance for the board or shareholders, or you have a small company that can benefit from improved revenue and profitability (face it, who doesn't need these improvements in today's economy) these strategies are powerful. Imagine what those improved profits can do at a time like this. Those profits can fuel market expansion (read – take market share away from less profitable competitors), invest in capital improvements and leave your company in a superior position that would be difficult to compete with, only allowing you to grow your company's market share, revenues, profits and efficiencies in sustainable ways.

March Madness, $1.8 Billion loss, or improvement opportunity, you choose and we'll support you. Regardless of where in the world you company is located, regardless of the business you're in, these truths can serve to help you build a business that's unstoppable.

Coach Frits

coachfrits@gmaiil.com

801-755-6823

Making Life Easy

I realize that this week's posts seem to be centered on technology. But as a business owner it is imperative that you discover, and start using any and all tools that allow you to get to the most important part of your business, as quickly and effortlessly as possible. What is the most important part of your business? Getting and keeping customers. While you don't get paid to select the best computer or office equipment, making good selections can make your life easier. The last thing that you need in a busy day is to have your computer stops working, or for you to experience problems with your software. Today I'd like to talk to you about an incredible new tool that elimnates the potential of computer problems, and will help you get through the administrative tasks quickly. These improvements will allow you to move on to finding new customers or providing service to your customers, the acivities that you ultmately do get paid for..

Microsoft Windows 7 contains within it a powerful speech recognition technology. It's like having a secretary taking down dictation for you. All of your correspondence, forms and e-mail is all so much easier to deal with when you have a powerful speech recognition tool available. I'm using an inexpensive gigaware a USB stereo headset (which is Skype certified) and the powerful new Microsoft Office 2010, in combination with the speech recognition tool available in windows 7. Set up was easy and the microphone performed well.

So now I can type as fast as I can talk. Which frankly, as much faster than I am capable of typing. It's amazing to watch these words appear on the screen, exactly as I intend them to. If you've ever used speech recognition in the past, you'll have to agree that it could be a bit difficult. The computer didn't always recognize the words you meant to say, leading to typos that took too much time to go back and correct. But you'll find that the new speech recognition technology is amazingly accurate right out of the box. And of course, you still have the opportunity to teach your computer how you speak. As you go through the process of teaching your computer your speech patterns, as well as making corrections in text as you speak it, the computer is less likely to make errors. You'll find with today's new technology that you will not be as frustrated as perhaps you were in the past. There is absolutely no reason to put off the decision of investing in the use of speech recognition technology any longer.

Life and success really are all about choices. And ultimately that comes down to two fundamental choices. Those choices are; 1) what do I need to do to get the results that I desire? 2) can I make choices and be happy with the results I'm getting? "Success is nothing more than choosing to do the right thing, at the right time, consistently." What is the right thing? The thing that produces the results you want. When is the right time? Now! So you can continue to say use the old fashioned way and either type correspondence out yourself, or hire a secretary to do it for you (which I highly recommend, as an assistant can do so much more for you), if it's in the budget. Or you can make a small investment in today's new word processing and speech recognition technologies.


Coach Frits

Getting What You Want

For Business Owners, Coaches, and Sports Coaches
 
It's not what you know… it's what you do with what you know that makes the difference. Success is nothing more than doing the "right" things, at the right time, consistently. How do you know what the right things are?
 
One of my friends just shut down his business this week. And it's okay. He had come to the conclusion that he was investing his time engaged in the wrong activities. He knew that he could count on experts like me to turn his business around, but he finally had to admit that even if his business was running on "all 8 cylinders," he still wouldn't be happy. It wouldn't serve the things, or principles, that he valued most. He asked me to help him build a business that would serve
those values best. What's the lesson here?

You've probably all heard the cliché defining failure as climbing to the top of the ladder, "only to find it leaning against the wrong wall." Just because you build something, or "climb to the top" of something, or even accomplish something as simple as attracting one more customer or making one more sale, doesn't mean that you'll profit from it. Not unless certain fundamentals are addressed

1) Get Clear on What You VALUE most.

Why are you doing what you're doing? Why are you building this business? What do you value most?
 
For example, some of my values include family, financial freedom, and service. These values, along with seven others constitute my "standard" against which I evaluate all activities. Because of this, I'm able to choose the best activities that help me to serve those values. For example, if I'm presented with an opportunity that doesn't allow me to ultimately enjoy more quality time with my family, I will move on to a better choice that does.

I think the Rotary Club's "standard" is a great example of getting clear on what you value most, "Four Way Test." The test, has been translated into more than 100 languages (and is recited all over the world at the beginning of a Rotary Club meeting). And no one can argue with the great things that Rotary has done for communities around the world. It even seems, at times, that the members of that club could move mountains. The "Test" asks the following questions:

Of the things we think, say or do…

1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

What are the values that you "test" your business performance and opportunities against? Are your most important values being served by the activities that you engage in? If those values are being served, then you are experiencing incredible joy when engaged in your work. You can't wait to get up and "get to work" every morning. If those values aren't being served, well then you dread your work.

2) Get Clear On What YOUR TIME is Worth.

I love the quote "If you don't establish what your time is worth, you leave it to others to decide what your time is worth."

Most people will compensate you with as little as they can get away with. After all, their first responsibility is to see to the needs of their family, right? When you get clear on what your personal time value is, you make it easier to communicate that value to others. Not only that, but you make it easier to choose who you want to do business with. And yes, Virginia, you do get to choose who you do business with. Additionally, when you get clear on your time value, you have another standard to measure your potential activities against. The activities that match your accurate time value, would be the "high value" activities of your life.

If you struggle with getting clear on your time value, a Coach can help you recognize many qualities, skills and characteristics that you possess even help you improve them. These are all assets of real value to the customers that you want to work with, the customers who value you the most.
 
EDITOR'S NOTE: We have a simple "Time Value Calculator" that we will e-mail to you, free of charge. Request it at CoachFrits@gmail.com

3. Get Clear On What YOUR SUCCESS Looks Like

You've probably all heard the story of the American businessman attending a business convention on the coast in Mexico. Bored with his meetings, he decided to take off his shoes, roll up his pant legs, and take a stroll on the beach. On his walk, he came upon a Mexican fisherman coming in with his day's catch.

Eyeing the bounty in the fisherman's boat, the businessman complimented the fisherman on his catch, and asked what he would do with the fish. "Oh, I will take them home, cook them for my family, and give the rest to friends. After a good meal, I will play with my kids, lay in my hammock, talk with my wife, and enjoy life" answered the fisherman.

Upon which the businessman suggested that the fisherman sell some of the fish, save the money and buy another boat. "What would I do then?" asked the fisherman. "You'll catch more fish, leaving more to sell. That will give you more money until you have bought a fleet of boats. You'll catch enough fish to sell to hotels and restaurants, and build a cannery to sell fish north of the border. You'll build a multi-million dollar business."

"What would I do with that?" asked the fisherman.

"You would sell the business, and be a very wealthy man" was the businessman's reply.

"What would I do with all of that money?" asked the fisherman again.

"Well, then you could spend time with your family, enjoy life." the businessman answered, as the fisherman stared at him, dumbfounded with the businessman's lack of understanding, before walking off with his catch.

The fisherman knew what he wanted, and knew how to achieve it, without going through unnecessary efforts, that would only serve to complicate life. He knew what success looked like in his life. He recognized that he had already achieved that success. To paraphrase a question often asked today, "Do you want the trappings of success, or do you want to be happy?" If you don't know what your success looks like, before you begin looking for it, you might just walk right past it. Like many wealthy people I've known throughout my life, you'll be on a lifelong quest of chasing "it," without knowing what "it" really is. That's a life of unending dissatisfaction.

Answer the following question…

If you had complete success, what would your life look like; where would you be; who would you be with, and what would you be doing? As in the story of the fisherman, you may discover that you already have everything that you desire.

So you say you're already clear on these 3 critical issues? Or you're committed to getting clear on them, and you want to know what's next? You admit that your challenge is taking the action that is needed to achieve your vision of success?

Here's good news. You don't need more will power. All you need to do is to "reprogram" your mind. When your computer stops working efficiently, you don't just throw it away, do you? You will probably upgrade some components like the hard drive or the memory, much like a good Coach can help you to upgrade your skills. But you will probably also "reformat" the hard drive (erase the stuff that's slowing the computer down), and then install a new operating system. And a good Coach can help you do that as well.

ANCHORING TECHNIQUE

Tony Robbins (I recommend all of his books to you; great investments), teaches that we do things for one of two reasons: 1) avoidance of pain, or 2) pursuit of pleasure. If you're avoiding something, it is generally because you perceive great pain in the doing, and/or great joy in the not doing. Rather than try to "muscle" your way through the pain, why not change the way you think and find great pain in the not doing and great pleasure in the doing? This is one of the ways we allow success to be as easy as it can be.

One other note; the "success image" that you'll develop will come into physical reality for you. The first time I used this technique (in my 20's), my success image involved a 20' Christmas tree in the foyer of a grand home. I enjoyed that 20' Christmas tree in that exact foyer, just as I had "experienced" it in my anchoring, about 20 years ahead of schedule.
 
First take the time to create the ultimate "failure image." It must be painful and believable. Since I could never imagine myself in jail, my failure image consists of me in a very bad nursing home. I'm in a wheelchair with a food tray clipped in, in front of me. I can feel the tray digging into my forearms. I can feel the blanket bunching up underneath me. I can smell the fact that I've been wearing the same pajamas for three days now. I can hear the sounds of a bad nursing home, smell the smells, and taste the "blandness" of the food. For your image to work, you have to have enough detail to be able to experience all of the senses. The mind is a powerful thing. If the mind experiences something in detail, it's as if it really happened.

Now, take the time to create the ultimate success experience. You should have already accomplished that in the exercise above. For me now, it involves standing on the veranda of my home on the beach in Sunset. Wrapped in the arms of my beautiful wife, enjoying the setting sun, the smell of the ocean, the light breeze and the dolphins swimming by... (I'll spare you the rest of the details, but your image must be in complete detail). For your image to work, you have to have enough detail to be able to experience all of the senses. See it, touch it, smell it, hear it, taste it. Schedule your "high value" activities. When you find yourself "avoiding" any activity, or are reluctant to engage in it at the exact appointed time, follow this exercise…
 
1. Place a rubber band around one of your wrists beforehand (if you're right handed, I recommend putting the rubber band on your left wrist). Imagine a screen to your left, 15 degrees above the horizon. "See" yourself avoiding the activity. Experience the "failure" image fully, feel the pain of it. See a stop sign in your mind's eye and say "Stop," either quietly or out loud, then snap the rubber band against your wrist. Repeat this cycle a second time.
 
2. Now imagine a screen to your right, 15 degrees above the horizon. Then see yourself engaged in the activity, in a positive way. Watch this movie in bright colors, you and others smiling. Then experience your success image (notice I said EXPERIENCE, not ENVISION, meaning engage all of your senses), in full detail. Then snap your fingers, or clap your hands. Repeat the process a second time. Eventually, all you'll need to do is snap your fingers or clap your hands and you'll be in the state that allows you to act with confidence and joy. We refer to this as "Immediate Performance." A professional in any endeavor must perform to their highest level when required, regardless of how they feel, emotionally or physically. This is how to accomplish this consistently.
 
So, what are you doing now? Are you sitting there thinking, "Hmmm, good stuff?" Are you making plans to try this out? Or, are you making a difference in your life, the lives of your family and your customers by already doing something with what you've just read?

It's not what you know… it's what you do with what you know that makes the difference. Success is nothing more than doing the right things, at the right time, consistently. A great way to know what the right things are, is to hire a Professional Business Coach. Or, order a copy of "How To Market Your Crap When The Economy Is In the Toilet at by emailing me at CoachFrits@gmail.com. Or request to get on the early release list for my new book "Just Give Me 5 Minutes."

Your friend,
Coach Frits

"Success Is As Easy As We Allow It To Be"
http://hostjointventures.com/