Small Business Leadership and Sales Blog

A disaster can bring new focus to your company. 

Every June, I get scared. As a survivor of Hurricane Katrina I still shiver when hurricane season begins. During this week I often reflect on the events of that storm from 8 years ago.
Each year when hurricane season hits, the level of fear from my client base really goes up, and anytime you see a hurricane icon on the Weather Channel move into the Gulf of Mexico, you can bet my phone is ringing more.

As you may know, I was on a spiritual retreat when Katrina hit my office (and home) in August 2005. The office was flooded with 12 feet of water and had "tornado activity" on the roof. On top of that, my house shared the adjacent property line with a broken levy.
Needless to say, my home and office were destroyed. My wife and I evacuated north to a relative's home (which was not much better; they were cut off from electricity and, more importantly, air conditioning).

My employees and clients were displaced as well. Cellphones weren't working very well, but clients were able to send text messages many of them frantic pleas for help. After the storm we realized it was going to be a long road back. As the cleanup began, I found myself working 20-hour days, six days a week for 18 months.  You may wonder why I had to do this. 

Sixty-eight percent of my income was lost in the first 100 days after the storm. The insurance department in the state of Louisiana mandated all insurance companies not send out premium notices. Premiums were waived.

If you're a full-commission salesperson and people are not paying their bills, you're 

not getting income.

In addition to the decrease in income I also had lost nearly all of my employees. I had to figure out how to serve my customers with limited information and no staff. We were not prepared for this disaster and that ma

de the aftermath even more difficult.

I sure did learn the hard way about how to be prepared for a disaster: Backing up records, keeping bottled water and nonperishable food in the office and keeping a working generator on site is critical, for instance.

As time went on and I rebuilt my business I was asked to speak about my experience -- first at local groups, conferences and nonprofits, but the speaking events always led to another larger event, and now I have the privilege to speak all over the country.

Back then I didn't have a fee; I was just telling my story.

Friends and acquaintances were also encouraging me to write a book, a process that was so emotional that I didn't start until two years later. My book Come Hell or High Water (Life Lessons from Hurricane Katrina) was published in 2011 and became an Amazon Best Seller.

I learned countless lessons from Katrina. In addition to realizing I could create an entire second stream of income for myself through speaking engagements and writing, I am now a better prepared as a business owner for disasters. 

In 2004, before Katrina, I was feeling insurance business burnout and becoming disengaged from my practice. I no longer felt needed. I no longer felt like I could make a difference. When the storm hit, my customers needed me like never before. I made a decision to re-engage even while dealing with my own hardships.

Seven years later, I am still running my insurance agency (albeit from another office), as well as getting more speaking engagements than ever.

Do you have a story about a disaster?  Please share your thoughts in the comments below.  If you are looking to motivate your group please contact me to see how I can help.  

Peace, Love and Gumbo, 

Marvin LeBlanc, LUTCF,CNP

Imagine that some major corporation like Google, Apple or Coca-Cola were to invite me into their headquarters and ask me, “Marvin, you’ve been around the world, and
talked with many people. You’re confident enough, and you sound like you know what you’re talking about… So, could you tell us what the next ten years are going to be like for our company?” That’s not an easy question for anyone to be asked, let alone with my knowledge of what can happen when disaster strikes.

One thing I know is that I’ve seen a lot of people. I have had fantastic mentors. I’ve read important books. And I’ve lived through Katrina.

Right now is a great time for opportunity in our country. There will also be more people who lose their job in the next decade than ever before, and there’ll be more millionaires in the next decade than the decade before.

Get in touch and let me help make your next 10 years the best yet!  I would love to have a virtual cup of coffee with you to discuss your goals and challenges. 

- Marvin

Ships are safer in the harbor, but they were not built for that. We are not built to merely stay in one place.

Life is so exciting. There are so many things we all still want to see and do. And all this stuff we go through in life is nothing more than us committing to different choices.

On the flip side, lots of days I don’t feel like I’m getting a good hand from the dealer, but that’s the hand that I have to play, so I do it with as much marvelousness as I can. As I stated earlier: Without adversity, there is no personal growth.

Usually I try to learn from mistakes and take a lesson from hardships. But there are times when I look up at the sky and say, “Lord, I’ve grown enough today.”

There is no victory in lying down.

• You will win as long as you keep fighting in this great game of life.
• Don’t ever accept being mediocre.
• Be marvelous, no matter how bad things get.

Peace, Love & Gumbo

Marvin LeBlanc

Please share your comments below or feel free to email me directly at Marvin@marvinleblanc.com. 

Hello Marvelous People!

After a busy holiday season I bet you are feeling a bit sluggish. The New Year is upon us and sadly, many people remain unhappy, unmotivated and negative. 

Our guest post today is none other one of Vogue’s 100 most influential females.

Read carefully and choose at least one of Loren’s 7 ideas to infuse positive energy back into your life.

As always, add your feedback, comments for the benefit of the entire group.

Peace, Love and Gumbo!

Marvin LeBlanc

Have you thought about the idea of using positive energy to overcome health problems, stress and maybe even disease? Dealing with stress and illness can take a toll on more than just your physical self, burning to a deep emotional space. Entire families and circles of friends feel the worry that clings to someone when they are tackling a tough situation. But what if positive thinking could have the power to turn things around?

Going way back, when I was working with my husband to start our business, times were tough. Not only had we poured every ounce of our savings into building our dream, but we were working around the clock to make it happen. Our friends and family were our business partners. We were all tired and stressed but determined. Especially during that time, we did not surround ourselves with anyone who wasn't positive and encouraging in our endeavor. Think great thoughts and embrace the idea that you are bound for success.

In business and in our personal lives, we are challenged at some point with unexpected hurdles. It's only human for your attitude to go one of two ways. You can embrace the challenge, tackle it head-on and kick its butt, or you can let it kick yours. Wrapping yourself in positive energy by surrounding yourself with good people, good habits and love can be the perfect segue to using optimism to overcome a challenge.

Just recently, I was curious if a positive attitude has been proven to help patients who are suffering from illness or disease to overcome and heal. What I found, delighted me. According to the Mayo Clinic, "Positive thinking helps with stress management and can even improve your health." By embracing an optimistic approach, you are able to tackle tough situations productively and with a solution-oriented mindset. By weaving optimism into your attitude, your ability to cope with challenges may increase.

I have certainly heard incredible stories about people who have used a great outlook to overcome life-changing obstacles, and I am a total believer. I have seen the power of positive energy work for me -- when I believe, I can handle anything that life sends my way. When I am feeling down and negative, things always seem worse than they actually are. Don't get to that space, because everything is magnified.

Putting life and challenges into perspective and reminding yourself that you have the power to change your attitude are incredible gifts. There is no doubt that life throws some curveballs, but hitting a homerun and reaching that peak is totally worth it. The next time you find yourself seeking an avenue to bring a touch of positive thinking into your situation, try these methods for embracing the power of positive energy:

· Practice deep breaths.
· Try yoga, tai chi or another calming, centered activity
· Awaken your natural endorphins with a bike ride or run
· Cut back on smoking and alcohol
· Try a detoxifying juice cleanse
· Be assertive and communicate your needs
· Spend a few quiet moments reflecting on the things and people who bring you joy

What have you done recently or plan to do in 2013 to bring the power of positive thinking into your life? Have you seen results?

For more by Loren Ridinger, click here.

Hello Marvelous People,

Today's message focuses on a subject that comes up too frequently in our Marvelous Performance Schools and teleseminars. So many team members are struggling with their personal relationships with their loved ones. Unstable relationships, sickness, and dealing with disabled family members all can impede an employees’ ability to perform well when they get to work.

The problem: balancing my home drama and challenges with my work obligations and responsibilities.

Eight possible solutions:

The following tips are from eight different team members from five different states that have shared with me how they commit and recommit to good work in spite of things being bad at home.

My sincere desire is for these eight tips to provide inspiration for you to overcome the “bad at home syndrome”.

Their comments include:

1. “I actually look forward to work because I'm more appreciated there than at home”.
2. “I just made a decision one day that when I leave the driveway, I turn off my “home drama” and focus on what I need to do at work”.
3. “When I get to the back door of the office, I sometimes will pretend that I'm happy, and usually I can get in a better mood as I get moving”.
4. “I have a friend(s) at work that know(s) me well. They will cover for me if I'm having a really "sucky" day and I'll do the same for them”.
5. “I owe it to my boss/company, because not only do I want and like my job, but I need my job”.
6. "We're always busy at work, so I need to do my part, especially on Mondays. Everybody needs to show up on Mondays at our company".
7. "I cross the Mississippi River everyday. I leave my home problems on the “home side” and the work problems on the “work side”.
8. "My boss made me mad when it became company policy that we could only be on our cell phones at lunch. After a week, my family finally quit calling me and interrupting me during the day. Guess what, the world didn't end, and I actually liked it. Yay me!"

Today’s Call To Action:

These are the thoughts of 8 team members and how they overcome the “bad at home” syndrome and make it a great day at work.

Ask yourself: What “1” idea will you use “right now”?

“Nothing will happen differently if you don’t do something differently”.

Be sure to leave your feedback so that others can benefit from your stories and opinions. You matter!

As always, you can drop me an email at Marvin@MarvinLeBlanc.com if you would like to have a 15 minute confidential phone chat or if you simply have a thought or observation you’d like to share. What other subjects might you like me to cover?

If you’ve not read, “Come Hell or High Water” (Life Lessons From Hurricane Katrina) you can pick up a copy at MarvinLeBlanc.com - Inside its covers I reveal the secrets & techniques I used after my home and office were destroyed in Katrina. It’s a fast read. Ladies, even your husbands will read it because it has some great pictures for them. 

When I entered the Ear/Nose/Throat specialist office in Metairie Louisiana, one of the most important questions on my mind was “will I be able to continue to speak effectively with my motivational business after this surgery?”

The doctor was explaining the surgery process and how the pre-cancer cells on my tongue will be removed.  When I asked the doctor the question about my motivational business and speaking, he hesitated and then responded with “Marvin, you will just have to learn to use what you have.”

How often in life are we dealt with a challenge that could seemingly take us completely out of the game? What if we lost one of our greatest strengths?  How many of us would give up, and how many of us would find a way to pick ourselves up and move on?

I chose the path to move on and keep my  speaking business going. 

In life it is critical to persist and overcome obstacles – no matter how great they may seem.  All of us have strengths as well as weaknesses.  And we should all commit to working on them regularly.  Follow these tips to help you capitalize on strengths for small business success:

• Take a pencil and paper and then list your strengths.  Everyone will have more than one strength, just as everyone has more than one weakness.  For this exercise it is important to focus on your strengths.  Your strengths may include positive attitude, health, dedicated family, good relationships, or solid partnerships with your coworkers.  Make sure you list more than one strength, and feel free to add to this list at any time.

• Pick one strength from your list each day and stay conscious of that strength throughout the day. Find ways to use your strength in some form.  It could be to mentor someone else, to make a winning sales pitch, or to simply finish that task that has been sitting on your to-do pile.

• Each night before going to sleep, make it a habit to review how you used your strengths during that day.  Think positively and try to avoid the negative thoughts like “I should have…” that can often creep in and corrupt our ability to succeed.  Do not dwell on what you did not accomplish.  Instead look closely at what you did accomplish and how your strengths played a part in that success.

• Paste a note on your bathroom mirror as a reminder to focus on the strengths that I have TODAY. By cultivating your strengths and building them to be even greater, you can achieve success in many areas of your life.

Strategic Coach’s Dan Sullivan once said “if all you do is focus on strengthening your weaknesses, at the end of your life all you will have is a list of strong weaknesses.”  This is an important message when so many of us are bombarded with negative attitudes and weak thoughts.  It is not easy for many of us to realize our full potential because we are held down mentally by so many obstacles and challenges.  Treat those challenges as opportunities to shine and prosper.   Focus on your strengths – use what you have – for your life and small business success.

Peace, Love & Gumbo - Marvin 

Remember, “Marvelous Performance is always intentional. Marvelous Performance is never accidental.”

Feel free to send me your opinions, comments and feedback. We encourage you to inquire how our systems will help inspire you, your team, group or association to measurable Marvelous Performance.  Email me at Marvin@MarvinLeBlanc.com

"The future's so bright I gotta wear shades" is a great saying for people who are surrounded with positive energy and filled with real momentum to be successful. For your small business success, it is important to know that there are two primary types of people in the world. These people include givers, and then there are people who can be labeled as takers.

Before you finish your gumbo at lunch tomorrow, you can become a happier person by recognizing the givers and takers in your life.

Givers are people who will take the time to contribute positively to you on a personal and on a business level. Givers can be those loyal customers who will stick by you even when times are tough. Or the givers may be your mentor who lends comforting advice and guidance when it is needed. Another type of giver is simply a spouse, a friend, or a family member who will let you lean on them and will carry you through challenges or obstacles that you might face in your daily life.

Takers, on the other hand, do almost the exact opposite. Some takers are pessimists that always find the down side to any direction or decision. Other takers are needy people who are constantly down and out and require a lot of nurturing on your part. Still other takers are those who are out to take advantage or find the deal or steal of the day. These types of people can wear even the most hardy of us down.

Remember in school when your teacher assigned homework? Today's homework is for you to list ten people in your life, and then categorize those people as either givers or takers. No one is in-between. As you might have guessed, if you have just a few takers and mostly givers, you are more than likely a much happier person.

Your goal should be to find more people who are willing to be givers, and back away from those people who are your takers to achieve small business success. Once you find the right mix of people you will be able to lead a happier life - and that could happen as soon as you finish your gumbo at lunch tomorrow if you desire!

We all have a date with destiny. Along that journey, why not make it a little more pleasant by surrounding yourself with more positive people and more positive energy. For small business success this is key.

Please share this article with your friends, famiy and co-workers who could use a dose of positive energy! 

Each week we painfully witness Mother Nature's ability to interrupt our daily lives. Flooding, Icestorms, Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, Hurricanes. What else am I forgetting? 

If you were incapacitated, would anyone be able to find your important records and take care of your family's financial or business matters? Having important papers organized and accessible in advance can be very important in an emergency or crisis situation. Consider the following for organizing your important records.

Location. Options for storage might include a home safe, fire-security box or off-site location such as a safety deposit box. The storage container should be securable and fire resistant. Shoe boxes or cardboard boxes in the closet or under the bed are not appropriate.

Who knows? Does someone in addition to your partner or family members know where these papers are kept? Consider making a list of such papers and records, and on the list state where these documents can be found. Then advise a trusted third party - an attorney, CPA, relative, or family friend - where this list is kept.

The general idea is that someone not living in your residence knows about this list and how to access it. This decision requires a certain comfort level, and you alone must make that decision based on trust.

Which papers? Regardless of who knows what, organized records are always a plus. The following items might be part of your "important documents" list:

· safety deposit box key
· life insurance policies
· deeds, contracts, leases, titles, mortgage(s), loan notes
· banking, savings, investment and retirement account(s) records
· will
· burial arrangements
· all other insurance policies (health, auto, home, etc.)
· birth certificates

However you decide to store your personal records, and whatever you decide to include, one fact is clear. If important legal, business and personal documents are organized and accessible, the handling of a crisis situation is made much easier.

We sincerely hope that you find these ideas helpful and then ACT ON THEM now. Knowledge is not power. Applying the knowledge and ideas is where the power rest.

Marvin LeBlanc, LUTCF, CNP

For more helpful tips on how you can Lead Smarter, Sell More Effectively or simply Live Life With a Lot more FUN,  grab your free subscription to this awesome blog. Over 200 articles available.   If you found this article helpful please feel free to share it with your friends, family and co-workers! 

Two weeks ago we explored the first 3 sub-phases of frustration. If you missed the article, you can read it here.

This week we will finish up with the final 3 sub-phases of frustration, which are anger, justification and acceptance.

Anger is the most important sub-phase. In Cajun terms, people get “pissed off.” That’s the point where they’re going to have to make a critical decision. Contrary to popular thought, there are two kinds of anger: positive and negative.

Negative anger can overtake you if you submit to it. You say, “Man, we are done for. We’re poor and we don’t have a car, so we’re going to wait it out.” It is the thought and feelings of helplessness. You allow the negative energy to control your thoughts and actions.

Some take the attitude as if “Nobody’s going to make me move out of my house.” It is distorted, possessive, hardheaded and ill-conceived reasoning. Most of these people are just plain stubborn.

On the flip side of negative anger is positive anger. Positive anger is where I chose to hang out, and it’s where all of the people who are coming back to New Orleans chose to hang out. It’s where I’m asking you, the reader, to hang out when life is overwhelming and your frustration is overpowering.

Positive anger gives you the opportunity to bypass the other sub-phases of frustration. If you stay in negative anger, you’re going to go straight into the fifth sub-phase.

Justification: You are looking for all the reasons why it’s not your fault that all of this is happening.

You won’t have a sense of ownership. Instead, you might have a sense of entitlement, thinking someone else should fix this and send a helicopter or a boat.

The last sub-phase is acceptance, when you accept that this is your fate, which makes you then stay in a stage of being stuck.

The good news is, that if you have positive anger, you can avoid looking for something to get excited about. You can avoid blaming it on others and you can take on an ownership spirit.

Don’t play the victim.
Don’t play the blame game.
Own it!

With an ownership spirit, you can recommit. This is the most important, and final phase of your attitude.

Are there days in your life that happened many years ago that you can vividly still recall? You can feel the wind, the warmth of the day, the smells, the colors. You can remember what clothes you had on. You can remember who was with you.

Well, our most memorable days are usually our most emotional ones. During those days, we were challenged or provoked, positively or negatively.

And so it was on that March day in 1992 that I was experiencing one of "those days" on the golf course. It was a Friday and I was hopeful that I would have a quality round of golf before heading in for a nice meal around 6pm and then relax for the night. But it just wasn't to be.

For you see on that day I was experiencing the repetitive misfortune of hitting my golf ball either in fairway sand bunkers or green side bunkers. As I recall, on the 18 holes I played that day (if you wanna call it that), I "succeeded" in landing in 16 bunkers. Well you would think that's what really got me riled up. Oh no! Not so. What really got me riled up is that I LACKED THE SKILL to get out of those sand bunkers.

So there I was. For 4 and half hours, seemingly living in the sandpit of hell. I was miserable. I was embarrassed. It was humid, i was hot. I was full of gritty sand, seemingly lodged in undiscovered body crevaces. I lost every bet to every person I was playing against that day. And by the 18th hole, after paying off all my losses and not taking it out on my playing partners, I walked to the corner of the driving range where the practice bunker awaited the arrival of my sorry ass. Beleagured and beaten. The sand had won.

Folks, it was there that I "lost it". Yep I "boiled over", got "pissed off" or as we say down in South Louisiana, I caught the "red ass".

I proceeded to have a nice long, enthusiastic talk with myself and decided in that fury of self dialogue that I was not going home until I learned how to hit a shot out of the sand bunker.
So I called my wife and told her my plan. "I am dropping 500 golf balls into the practice sand bunker and I'm gonna hit every darn one of them". It was a short conversation as you might expect.

So I rounded up 500 balls and began to: PRACTICE!

LESSON: Are you mature enough to accept the fact that there are AREAS that you LACK SKILL? Many people get stuck on stupid in this key stage. Why? Because they live in a state on constant DENIAL. I had to be honest with myself and admit that I HAVE A PROBLEM AND THAT YOU CAN'T FIX IT FOR ME.

I headed into the sand bunker with hundreds of balls and started practicing. Early on, I m not gonna lie to you. I was 8 still working to get the anger and frustration out of my being. Balls went everywhere. Then a small discovery was made. Swing harder and swing THROUGH the sand, not AT the sand.

My backswing in the sand became more relaxed. The next 200-300 balls were still not landing with any reasonable pattern or control, but the balls were successfully leaving the sand.
Sidenote: Leaders are sometimes way too impatient because they are expecting immediate complete results.

The practice bunker taught me to EMBRACE SMALL INCREMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS because they always precede the BIG RESULT you ultimately are seeking. 

I seem to recall taking a break and grabbing a swig of water after pounding at about 300 balls. The transformation of my bunker skills had begun. Right now, I can remember re-entering that bunker with a sense of calmness that I had never had before. I had FACED MY FEAR head on and it was working. But not without MASSIVE ACTION.  (Did you catch that last line. Go back and read it again. Slowly.)
During the last leg of hitting the final 200 balls, I began to fine tune the more intricate details of bunker play. Things like "feeling" the back swing and "visualizing" what type of swing is needed to propel the ball into the air at the right distance. Other things like hitting out of a thin bunker lie (a bunker shot has very little sand at the base of the ball) or a fluffy lie (- bunker shot that has far too much sand all around it making the shot very unpredictable upon its exit.) 

So here's what happened. After crawling out that practice bunker, 500 balls later I was exhausted - spent. I was also happy, fulfilled and excited about "tomorrow on the course". 

My time would come that I would master bunker play in the heat of competitive rounds, but it would have to be delayed.
Because you see, while in my "trance-like" practice, I created blisters and both hands were bleeding and beginning to swell.

LESSON: Sometimes you have to push yourself to the brink before you can truly realize your potential.

LESSON: Far better it is to spend time in recuperation knowing that it was time well spent in the attainment of better skills.

So here's our lessons to reflect on.
LESSON #1: Are you mature enough to accept the fact that there are AREAS that you LACK SKILL?

LESSON #2: Sometimes you have to push yourself to the brink before you can truly realize your potential.

LESSON #3: Far better it is to spend time in recuperation knowing that it was time well spent in the attainment of better skills.

Develop the Ability to recognize that you lack a certain Skill(s)

• Embrace your issues of Denial

• PRACTICE!

• If YOU have a problem then it is YOUR Problem to FIX!

• Embrace Small incremental improvements.

• Face your Fear then conquer it with Massive Action

• Sometimes you have to push yourself to the brink before you can realize your true potential

• Far better it is to spend time in recuperation, knowing that it was time well spent in the pursuit of better skills or a worthy goal.

Use this article in an "alone" session. And yes, you should have a meditative "alone" session at least once a week. No kids, no spouse, no distractions, no phones, no co-worker, usually inspired by or in nature.

Find your quiet place and set an appointment to re-find that place at regular intervals. The process will invigorate you in ways beyond your imagination. Try it and drop me a line about your experience at Marvin@MarvinLeBlanc