Small Business Leadership and Sales Blog

Hello Marvelous People~

Be the kind of man that when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says “Oh Crap, He’s up!”

Brother, life is too short to wake up with regrets.

So love the people who treat you right.

Forgive the ones who don’t just because you can.

Believe everything happens for a reason.

If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.

If it changes your life, let it.

Take a few minutes to think before you act when you’re mad.

Forgive quickly.

God never said life would be easy, He just promised it would be worth it. Send this to all your brothers, fathers, sons.

(author unknown)

A few weeks ago I was watching TV before bed.  We were watching America’s Funniest Home Videos. There was this one scene where a guy was demonstrating that his storm door on the front of his house was missing the glass.  He would literally just step through the door because the hole where the glass used to be was about 6 foot from the bottom to the top.  Now once he displayed that the glass was missing, he called his dog to the door and asked the dog if he wanted to go outside. 

The dog obviously did because he was nudging the medal frame of the door.  SO the guy stepped through the opening where the glass normally is, blatantly showing the dog that the glass was missing.  But yet the dog waited patiently for the man to open the door.  He did this over and over 5 or 6 times, stepping through the huge opening, then opening the door for the dog to go in and out.

The dog never got it.  He had been programmed to wait until the door was opened, no matter what the circumstances.  All of the walls of the house could have been gone, but as long as that door frame stood, that dog would continue to sit and wait for its master to open the door.

As crazy as it sounds, people are programmed in the same way.  We are programmed from a young age to draw within the lines… to sit in rows in our school classrooms… we are taught to walk in a straight line when going to lunch.  And it’s this controlling conformity that does the most damage to us as an individual.  It robs us of one of our most valuable assets…

CREATIVITY!   Your creative mind is what enables you to walk through the doors of opportunity.  Not only does it give you the freedom to ask “What If”… but it gives you the “Guts” to walk through any door.  And if there’s no door, it gives you the “Power” to break down any walls. 

It’s creativity and imagination that has fueled ALL of the great successful people in the world.  Neither DisneyLand nor DisneyWorld would exist if Walt Disney had conformed and done what he was supposed to do… if he had stayed in art school.  But he refused to harness his creativity… he refused to do what he was told and draw within the lines, and he dropped out of art school.

The list of success stories attributed to creative ability is endless. Billionaire Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Records, Virgin Airlines, and over 200 other companies, dropped out of high school in the 10th grade to express and develop his creative abilities. 

Michael Dell of Dell computers started his computer company while he was a freshman in college.  He spent his school money on computer parts and built computers in his dorm room.  He stopped going to classes and focused all of his time making computers.  His father freaked out on him when he realized what he was doing.   He said, “Michael, why can’t you be more like your brother?”  His brother had graduated from medical school.  His brother played by the rules and didn’t draw outside the lines.  But now, his brother works for Michael.

Now, don’t misunderstand what I am saying … Education is important.  I am not saying you don’t need to gain knowledge.  All of the most successful people in the world seek out specific knowledge that help them achieve their goals.  And they also surround themselves with people that can help them achieve their goals.

The point I want to make is that they were bold enough to NOT conform to the norm.  And that comes from having a strong creative mind.

According to studies by UCLA and the University of Georgia, all children have 100 percent of their creative potential at age five.  But by age seven half of that creative potential is gone.  And throughout life, your creative potential continues to deteriorate, unless you exercise it. –Author Unknown

 

Marvin LeBlanc is a left-handed, right-brained, fun-loving Cajun that is obsessed with Life Performance and Overcoming Adversity. He is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker and founder of Marvelous Performance Systems. Marvin is available for business retreats, keynotes, breakout sessions, workshops, & individual coaching programs. His book “COME HELL OR HIGH WATER” will be available in the Fall of 2011 through New York Publisher www.BloomingTwig.com. To rent Marvin’s brain, contact him at MarvinLeBlanc@aol.com and request a Free Personal Coaching Session.

Hello Marvelous People!

Our guest blogger today is a buddy of mine that resides in the beautiful Rochester, New York area. His title seems to captivate much of the sentiment I pick up on when I travel across the nation, overhear conversations in airports and hear the daily news messages.

Brad feels there’s other choices than Retiring Pissed Off and Broke.
Enjoy the read & be sure to post your comments on our blog. It’s your blog too!

Peace,Love and Gumbo!
Marvin LeBlanc

DO YOU REALLY WANT TO RETIRE PISSED OFF AND BROKE?

You couldn’t go online yesterday without seeing a story about Steven Slater, the Jet Blue flight attendant, who got in an argument with a passenger, stole some beer, and then used the emergency slide to exit the plane before driving home. As a former flight attendant, I relate to Steven and the grief flight attendants take from passengers, but Steven’s outburst was wrong and the courts will now figure out if he’ll pay civil or criminal penalties. However, what a learning opportunity we have to examine this story and apply its lessons to our lives and careers.

Last weekend we were guests at our neighbor’s cottage in Upstate New York, and one of the guests commented on how much corporate America has sucked the life out of him, and his day-to-day existience is fluroscent lights and his cube, but he doesn’t dare break free because of the reliable check and the health benefits. Now I’m not one to criticize because the fact of the matter is we live in Rochester, New York because a large company offered us a job and benefits after my wife was laid off and pregnant. Since she was carrying the benefits at the time this put us in quite a “pickle”.

Now though as I look forward to my future and someday being 100% self-employed again I know that with proper planning we can survive and thrive without corporate America. Instead what we see in our society are a lot of Steven Slaters in our day-to-day work who are at the edge of what they can take from the co-workers, customers, and bosses and they are just looking for their own emergency slide to jump into. The fact is most people never do find their slide and they suffer a career of should’ve, could’ve, would’ves and retire pissed off and broke.

Right now you have a decision to make. If you are “stuck” in your career/life you can either accept the status quo or you can chart your course to the work you love. If you choose the status quo please do your co-workers, boss, friends, and family one small favor, stop bitching about your work because you’re the one choosing to stay, not them. Now if you choose the work you love, take 15 minutes tonight and write down on paper the three steps you can take in the next week to start working towards these goals. You will be surprised at how simple the process is once you start charting a course to your dreams, because as Zig Ziglar stated, “A goal properly set is halfway reached.”

Acknowledge, Decide, and DO…

Brad “HOOT” Heutmaker, MBA/E-Business

Hello Marvelous People! Stick with me here for a second.

Take out a clean sheet of paper and draw one big circle.

Now draw 3 lines across the circle, making 6 different sections.

Now you have what looks like a beach ball, right?

You’ll now insert the following words in each of their own sections.

1.
Most Significant Event – Personal
Most Significant Event – Professional

2.
Personal Issues & Frustrations
Professional Issues & Frustrations

3.
Personal Goals
Professional Goals

4.
Personal Dreams
Professional Dreams

5.
Ideas that can make us better?

6.
How can I help?

With the tool of “The Beach Ball” you will have a 1 hour monthly focus supper with your team members.  Afterall, you’d probably agree with me that it’s not unreasonable to spend ONE QUALITY HOUR with your team members monthly.  The Beach Ball, used consistently month after month, serves as a conversation guide.  I strongly suggest an early supper right after work and definitely away from work. Somewhere casual. Somewhere that feels comfortable. Somewhere that’s not so loud that you can’t hear each other communicate. Afterall, that is the whole point of the “Beach Ball” tool.  Try it. Enjoy the process and you will be amazed what you might discover about your team members. Remember, “LISTENING IS NOT WAITING TO TALK”

Hello Marvelous People!

Chris Voss is someone that I read & follow his blog regularly. You should too. His recent blog brought me back to the early 1980’s. It was a time in my life that I made a choice that would effect me positively for the rest of my life.

I was passionate about wanting to succeed in life, but I was bitter and frustrated & needed some serious guidance and direction.

So I went to the Yellow Pages and looked up the Dale Carnegie Courses in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. My mentor would become Jim Winner, the local sponsor in Baton Rouge for the Dale Carnegie Courses. And it was then that I would be introduced to the poem below. Print the poem, put it in your wallet or purse. Read it regularly. Meditate on it. Let it become absorbed into your being. And over time it will have great meaning for you. I promise.

Chris in his blog states:

I was watching a show on Bill Parcells, the successful NFL coach. He talked about how he’d always carried this poem with him. It’s very inspiring and I hope you enjoy it.

“The Guy in the Glass” by Dale Wimbrow, (c) 1934

When you get what you want in your struggle for self,
And the world makes you King for a day,
Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,
And see what that guy has to say.

For it isn’t your Father, or Mother, or Wife,
Who judgement upon you must pass.
The fella whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the guy staring back from the glass.

He’s the fella to please, never mind all the rest,
For he’s with you clear up to the end,
And you’ve passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.

You may be like Jack Horner and “chisel” a plum,
And think you’re a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum
If you can’t look him straight in the eye.

You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you’ve cheated the guy in the glass.

Source: Theguyintheglass.com

-Take a moment to look into a mirror. Do you like the person you are inside? How does it make you feel? What can you improve?

“Make Marvelous Happen!”  Let me know how I can help?

Peace, Love and Gumbo!
Marvin LeBlanc, LUTCF, CNP

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Marvin LeBlanc is a left-handed, right-brained, fun-loving Cajun that is obsessed with Life Performance and Overcoming Adversity. He is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker and founder of Marvelous Performance Systems. Marvin is available for business retreats, keynotes, breakout sessions, workshops, & individual coaching programs. His book “COME HELL OR HIGH WATER” is available here for purchase. To rent Marvin’s brain, contact him at MarvinLeblanc@aol.com and request a Free Personal Coaching Session.

Yep, I said. Your teacher was wrong.

I vividly remember when we had a spelling bee. I got 98 words correct out of 100.

Pretty good right! Well apparently not. Because all the teacher could do is give me 2 big fat RED X’s on the two that I got wrong.

And the pattern continued as we got older. We were always told what we did wrong. What I’m suggesting is that the English teacher should have taken extra time and she should have given us 98 green check marks. (Green — as in GO!)
(Green –as in keep striving. (Green – as in keep moving forward)

Oh, but no!! Our eyes were drawn to focus on those two big, brutal red x’s.

And subliminally we still see them into adolescence, into college, into adulthood.

So whether it’s yourself personally, whether it’s your relationships, whether it’s your team members, the true question that we should be asking is – “what are we doing right?”

Are we capitalizing on our strengths?  Not what we’re getting wrong but what are we doing right?

If you’re talking about your organization, are the team members in the right seats, (assuming that you’ve already determined that these people are on the right bus, as we learned in “Good to Great” by Mr. Collins.

So how about you? Are you spending your time on the “green check marks” in your life and your relationships or are you spending your time on the “red x’s?”

PSST: focus on the “green check marks” and be sure to tell us your experiences here at marvinleblanc.com.

Peace, Love and Gumbo!

Marvin LeBlanc, LUTCF, CNP

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Marvin LeBlanc is a left-handed, right-brained, fun-loving Cajun that is obsessed with Life Performance and Overcoming Adversity. He is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker and founder of Marvelous Performance Systems. Marvin is available for business retreats, keynotes, breakout sessions, workshops, & individual coaching programs. His book “COME HELL OR HIGH WATER” will be available in the Fall of 2011 through New York Publisher www.BloomingTwig.com. To rent Marvin’s brain, contact him at www.MarvinLeBlanc.com and request a Free Personal Coaching Session.

Hello Marvelous People!

Ah yes! Out loud. Alone. Slowly say these words with me.

SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE. COMPELLING. ADDICTIVE.

Have you ever wondered why certain Web sites, restaurants & organizations are VALUED so much more than others? How did they become simply irresistible, compelling, (even addicting) and invaluable to their clients & prospects? They must have just been lucky, right? Maybe they were just in the right place at the right time? Yep, that happens. In about 1 out of every 100 businesses!!!

The rest of good business happens with good business PLANNING. Humor me for a second while I walk you through this quick exercise.

Step 1: Turn away from your monitor and quickly write down your 3 most favorite Web sites.

Step 2: Turn away from your monitor and quickly write down your 3 most favorite restaurants.

Step 3: Turn away from your monitor and write down the top 3 organizations that generated the highest revenue for you in 2010.

Step 4: Now go study your 3 most favorite Web sites and find out why they are valuable to you. Write your results down.

Step 5: Think about your 3 most favorite restaurants. What is it that REALLY makes them your favorite. Your most VALUED restaurants. And don’t put down, “because the food taste good”. BORING!!! So what. That’s not the REAL VALUE. Go deeper.

Step 6: Think about the top 3 REVENUE GENERATING groups you were involved in. (Chamber of Commerce, Service Club, Referral Group, Business Group, School Groups) Write down “WHY” you feel they generated so much revenue.

Step 7: The Final Step. Look at the answers you’ve created for yourself and sit down with an Accountability Partner (who’s not your partner or family member) and ask yourself the most important question in 2011: How can I apply these answers to offer Knock Your Socks Off, World Class Added Value to my clients and prospects? I’m talking to you Mr/Mrs Small Business Person.

Think about how serious this is. If there was a way you could get relief from the ridiculous “feast or famine” sucky sales cycles, wouldn’t that be worth it all? It will be. Recognize that the answer is in front of you with my 7 Steps to Becoming IRRESISTIBLE. Now invest yourself into some think time & get your plan in ACTION.

Immediately embrace “REVERSE MENTORING”.

What in the world is “REVERSE MENTORING”?  It is the concept whereby you as a business owner or team member makes a conscious decision to embrace the need to have a mentor that is much YOUNGER than you are.  No matter how open minded you are to technology and change and new ideas, the perspective that you can gain from a YOUNG, FRESH MIND and how they process information is very different from you. Why? Because how they learned in their formative years is fundamentally different.  How they receive information is very different.

Ask any college student and they will show you how most of the notes they take and most of the exams they take, are all done electronically. I’ve been an Insurance Entrepreneur since 1986 and I’ve been honored by several young entrepreneurs to be asked to mentor them. So, usually we either have a phone appointment or we have a cup of coffee monthly.  What I quickly realized is that after they had asked me questions that pertained to where they were getting stuck in their career – I found myself taking notes. And when I left the appointment I realized it was I that was being mentored. The attitude of reverse mentoring has helped me immensely better connect with my clients and my team members. Who do you know right now that is a “Young Gun” that can mentor you?  Contact them now.  It’s as important as any resolution that you’ve recently considered making.

Look for Rule #3 coming shortly. And remember, MAKE MARVELOUS HAPPEN!

(If you’ve not already done so, please click the RSS Feed Subcribe button – right up there next to Marvin’s picture – so that you will be immediately notified of his most recent blogs as they are posted.)

Marvin LeBlanc is a left-handed, right-brained, fun-loving Cajun that is obsessed with Life Performance and Overcoming Adversity. He is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker and founder of Marvelous Performance Systems. Marvin is available for business retreats, keynotes, breakout sessions, workshops, & individual coaching programs. His book “COME HELL OR HIGH WATER” will be available in the Fall of 2011 through New York Publisher www.BloomingTwig.com. To rent Marvin’s brain, contact him at www.MarvinLeBlanc.com and request a FREE, FUN Conference Call.

“Practice your lines”.

That’s right.  Practice your lines.  Your job, like a Broadway Play is a performance.  And no great Broadway Play opens up to the public having never practiced their lines.  The great Indiana Hoosiers basketball coach Robert Montgomery Knight once said, “everybody wants to be National Champions but no one wants to come to practice.”

If you’re not committed to practicing your lines, so that you can clearly articulate what your companies’ unique value offering is – then quite frankly you’re not really serious about business.  More specifically, you’re not serious about WINNING in Business.  So that’s rule #1 to avoiding becoming “roadkill” in your industry.  Practice.

Look for Rule #2 coming shortly.   And remember, MAKE MARVELOUS HAPPEN!

(If you’ve not already done so, please click the RSS Feed Subcribe so that you will be immediately notified of his most recent blogs as they are posted.)

Peace, Love and Gumbo

Marvin LeBlanc

“We are distracted from distractions by distractions.” – T.S. Eliot

So, you’re thinking of all the things you want to get done today, right? May I suggest cutting the list in half? Or even smaller.

Go alone to a quiet place.
A beautiful place and just breathe.
Still.
Quietly.
Peacefully.
Restfully.
Just you.
With you.

Idea: Today, if you have a rocker or a porch swing, be diligent and use it. If you don’t have one, take a slow stroll through a Flea Market or a Garage Sale and find one.

Today — NOW — MOVE AWAY FROM THE NOISE!

Share your ideas and experiences with us here!

Peace, Love and Gumbo

Marvin LeBlanc