Cathy Stucker - The Idea Lady

Attract Customers and Make Yourself Famous

Deliver Us From Halves

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This week’s Monday Morning Message from Wm. H. Danforth, founder of Ralston Purina:
What is the Monday Morning Message?

When a Man’s Mind is Half Made Up…
WHERE does he land? During this week wouldn’t we grow tremendously if we went gunning for that word HALF?

Half a truth.
Half made up.
Half convinced.
Half enthused.
Half sick.
Half shaved.
Half dressed.

Lord, deliver me from being Half anything. Think it over.

Cathy’s Commentary:

How often do we do something halfway? We say we are going to do something, but we keep one foot out the door, afraid to give our all. By not fully committing to a course of action, we may seek to protect ourselves. After all, if it doesn’t work out, well, we were never really all that invested anyway.

It happens with jobs, projects, relationships, business ventures…how often do you hold back and only give half of yourself?

If something is worth doing, than it is worth giving 100%. If it is not worth giving 100%, it is not worth doing.

Our Greatest Need—Fresh Energy

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This week’s Monday Morning Message from Wm. H. Danforth, founder of Ralston Purina:
What is the Monday Morning Message?

We go along in the even tenor of our way until we read a book, hear a sermon, or meet a man with vital power, which starts us off with a new purpose in life.

If you feel that you are at low ebb, or going along in a humdrum way, better get acquainted with that book, or that man, who will stir you to the depths. If you feel the need, then you will find the way to get a new start. Is there any real reason why anybody should remain at low ebb?

                                SATURDAY
                            UP
                        UP
                    UP
               UP
MONDAY

“Every day in every way I’m going Up—Up—Up.”

Who inspires you?

Is there a speaker or author whose words can lift you up and motivate you? Or maybe there isn’t one person, but many.

Get in the habit of watching, reading and listening to people with uplifting messages. People who help you believe in yourself and give you not only the will but the tools to move forward.

Load some of your favorite motivational CDs or videos to your phone or iPod, and listen as you workout or commute, or during breaks throughout the day.

Looking for more? Here are a couple of my favorite sources of inspiration:

TED Talks
TED conferences bring together speakers on a wide variety of topics. Each talk is short–often 10 minutes or fewer. But in those short talks you can discover amazing things. The talks are available to download (free) in audio or video formats at the site or via iTunes.

iTunesU
iTunes has more than 350,000 courses, lectures and other programs from major universities available for free download. You can listen to David Lynch talk about creativity, get ideas from the Harvard Business Review IdeaCast, learn a new language or any number of subjects from professors and guest speakers at some of the world’s leading educational institutions.

Still want more? Try searching the podcasts at iTunes or other sources. Do a search on YouTube for your favorite motivational speakers or topics. Go to your library, where you can borrow CDs, DVDs and books. This can be a good way to “try out” someone with whom you are unfamiliar. You may then want to buy other materials from them for your permanent library.

When you expose yourself to motivational talk, you will lift yourself up and always be your best.

Reignite Your Passion

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When you started your business, you were passionate about it. You couldn’t wait to get to work every day, and you loved sharing your vision with everyone who would listen.

Over time, though, passion can wane as you get caught in the day-to-day realities of running a business. You may find that as your business grows, you spend less time doing the work you love and more time managing the business. Or maybe your business hasn’t changed, but you find yourself stuck in a rut, doing the same old thing, day after day, as if you had a J-O-B.

Here are some things you can do to get the passion back and get excited about your work.

Learn something new. Whenever I find myself getting bored or stale, I look for something new I can learn. Perhaps it is a new skill I can use in my business, or acquiring knowledge and insight I can share with my clients. Take a class, read a book, or just dig in and do something you haven’t tried before.

Play to your strengths. What made you want to get in to the business you are in? If you are doing less hands-on work with clients because you are busy with administrative work, find someone else to handle the tasks you do not enjoy and get back to what you love to do.

Refocus. Has your business gotten off track, with lines of business you didn’t plan but just seemed to happen? Especially in the early days of a business, entrepreneurs will jump at any opportunity that comes their way because they are desperate for work. That may have taken your business down the wrong path. If so, now is the time to drop those parts of your business that are not part of your core mission.

Bring in partners. You may want to bring a partner in as a co-owner of your business or you may just want to find someone with whom you can partner on a project, such as creating a new product.

Use your mastermind. A mastermind group can be great at spotting opportunities in your business that you do not see. Align yourself with other smart, successful people and get their advice.

Recharge. Take a break now and then. You need to get away from work in order to come back with more energy and vitality. Take a vacation or just turn off the computer and the phone for few days, take long baths and read those (non-business) books you have been wanting to get to.

Each of these things can bring back the passion you felt when you started your business, and get you excited about your work again.

Scare Yourself

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Eleanor Roosevelt offered the advice that you should, “Do one thing every day that scares you.” Good advice generally, but especially when it comes to marketing your products and services.

Marketing scares a lot of people. It is scary to pick up the phone and call someone, or approach them and ask for an order. What if they say no? Well, what if they say YES? You won’t know until you ask.

Or maybe you’re afraid to speak in public, attend a networking function, invest in advertising, write an article for your professional association newsletter, volunteer for a committee, or send a press release. Whatever scares you, promise yourself that you will try it if it is something that will benefit you and your business.

If you’re still thinking about starting a business, but scared to take that first step, take it now. Sign up for a class at your local Small Business Development Center, register the name of your business and get cards made, put up a website…whatever it takes to get started.

Then, keep scaring yourself. Take the chances that will lead to success. And let me know about it. Tell me how you took my challenge to scare yourself, and what you accomplished as a result.

Get the Most From Seminars and Conferences

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Seminars and other training can be a great way to fill in gaps in your knowledge, learn about new trends and developments in your industry and get great ideas to grow your business. But they are not magical. In order to benefit from attending a seminar, you need to have a plan and follow your plan.

Here are some of the ways you can make the most of attending your next seminar or industry conference.

Be prepared. Many conferences offer concurrent sessions. Plan ahead to know which sessions will be most valuable to you. You may decide to change your plan once you get there, but have a plan so you do not miss anything important.

Plan to connect. Find out who else will be attending. Is there someone you know only online or someone you have admired for a long time? Contact them and see if you can make plans to have a meal or a cup of coffee together. Meeting face to face adds a new depth to your relationship.

Take lots of notes. You may think you will remember everything, but you won’t. That is especially true when information overload sets in. Take notes of important points and actions you will take as a result.

Ask questions. Do not be afraid to ask about points that were not clear to you, or to take a point further. Chances are that others are wondering the same thing and will be glad you asked.

Use meal and break times effectively. Take the opportunity to talk with other attendees. Do not spend all of your time with the same group of people. Mingle! You never know who you will meet or what will come of it. Sometimes you get the greatest benefit from the time you spent in the hallway (or the bar), not in a meeting room.

Make notes on business cards. You may come away with a huge stack of business cards from other attendees, but have no recollection of how you met or what you discussed. Make a short note on the back of the card as soon as possible after meeting each person. Remind yourself of any follow-up you plan to make.

Connect with the speakers. Speakers are usually at the front of the room because they are seen as experts and leaders in their industries—just the kind of people you want to know. When a speaker has done a great job, let him know. Introduce yourself, tell him what you got out of his session and pay him a sincere compliment. If you have a reason to contact him after the conference, you can remind him of your meeting so he will know who you are. (Hint: Want a reason to contact a speaker? Take some pictures of the speaker during his presentation and email them to him.)

You can learn a lot at a seminar, but your new knowledge is only good if you put it to use. When you return from the event, go through your notes and start putting what you learned into action.