What Stops You?

What is your ‘brick wall’? The better question is, ‘how do you get around it?’

All of us have brick walls in our lives. No one is immune to them. The people who aspire to great things are the ones who understand this, prepare for them, and then work to get around them versus letting them stop them in their tracks.

Being prepared, doing your homework, staying up on current technologies, knowing everything about your prospect/customer, being relentless about customer service, and thinking with a world-class mindset are all small parts of not letting the brick wall stand in your way.

What "wall" do you have in your life? What is slowing you down? Who can you reach out too that could help you remove that wall? I'd love to hear your stories (click comment below).

Here's a short video by Jeffrey Gitomer with some additional points for you:

Until next time, remember “Your Success Is My Business.” ™

http://joeypeacock.com/

[Note: photo from http://www.bigfoto.com/]

How Will You Finish

You face challenges every day. Whether you consider them ‘brick walls’, ‘pot-holes in the road’, ‘mountains & valleys’, ‘the rollercoaster of life’, or anything else, every day you face some challenge (or better yet, some opportunity to grow!).

But how will you finish when you face these opportunities?

Finishing strong is the only way to finish.

Just like with your monthly business goals, and any personal goal that you have in your life, you should finish not just at your goal, but always exceeding your goal!

Do you have a story to share about some goal you had that was a huge challenge, but not only did you finish you finished so strong and so far exceeding your goal that you were even amazed? I'd love to hear!

Take a few minutes to view the following short video presentation about finishing strong.

Until next time, remember “Your Success Is My Business."™

http://joeypeacock.com/

Shouldn't He Have Known?

Part of the title to my blog includes "pondering", and that's what I've been doing this afternoon...pondering over something that happened today:

I was called for Federal Jury Duty today, my first time. Suit, tie, dress shoes...trying to remind myself that what I was doing was part of the great thing about being an American (only equal to our freedom and ability to vote) and not thinking about all the work I was possibly getting behind on---you know the routine.

While our group was waiting for our initial instructions, we were given about a 45 minute break...rest room, stretching, mingling, etc. before the next step in the process begun. The gentlemen next to me and myself whipped out our books (I had "Becoming A Person of Influence" by John Maxwell, his seemed to be non-fiction as well).

The gentlemen toward the end left for a rest room break, and when he returned he noticed the two of us reading. This is when he said it:

"You guys must have done this before...I wish I had brought a book with me."

I sat there for a moment considering letting him take my book as I could always get it back and read later. But then this thought came to me, "Why didn't he bring one?"

Now, I'm the first to admit I'm not the smartest guy in the world---far from it in fact. And, unlike his statement, this was the first time I'd done this. But somehow I thought to bring something to help me grow personally if there were any spots when nothing was happening...like then.

When I travel, I don't sit at the airport terminal hour on end day-dreaming, I bring something to work on or something to read to stretch my mind & help me grow. When I ride down the road, I always try to have something to listen to that inspires me and motivates me. Something as simple as the included CD in every Success Magazine, or one of my Jeffrey Gitomer CD's, or some downloaded podcast.

So thinking about all of this caused me to ponder some more.

As I travel around and talk with people, the majority of folks I speak with are always interested in making (mostly expecting) more money, getting promotions, owning a home, having nice vacations, etc. But what personal growth items do they implement in their schedules to help accomplish these things? I can't imagine they think just by hanging around and putting forth the same (or no) effort will cause all their dreams to come true...they don't do they??

I pondered on saying something to the gentlemen who made the "wish I would have" statement, but didn't. It's unfortunate that for many, at the end of their careers that they'll probably look back and have many "wish I would have" wisedom for someone else.

This is a lesson for myself that I'm glad I pondered over.

Until next time, remember “Your Success Is My Business."™

http://www.joeypeacock.com/

Brand "You!"

What's the most important thing about you? Give up? It's YOU!

If you've been following my blog (see below and archieves), you'll see that it's a major theme of this site as well as my website.

Today, I found another blog that restated this in a fresh perspective that I thought you would enjoy. You can find it here.

[We use the "SMART" method at FairPoint Communications to track annual progress, so I was familiar with that when I read it.]

Until next time, remember “Your Success Is My Business."™

http://www.joeypeacock.com/

Are You In A Dip?

When I was young, I rarely read anything. Even all the way through school when I had book reports to do, I never read the entire book. I had no motivation, no mentor sharing with me the importance of reading, and basically always found other things to do. But as I've grown, matured, gained in wisdom, I've found that reading is one of the most important things you can do to grow as a person.

The most recent book I've completed is Seth Godin's "The Dip". It's a small book, at only 80 pages long, so it was a really quick read. Seth explains the three different paths to all decisions: The Dip, The "Cul-de-sac" and the Cliff.

While I was reading the book, I keep thinking to myself, this is all "duh" material (stuff we should all already know), but then I found myself highlighting more & more statements that stood out for me.

The book is about how it's alright to quit something when you realize that the end result isn't going to be the right outcome for you, your family, your career. Seth shares that it's alright to quit, and that the old saying "Winners never quit" is the wrong way to think.

The AHA! moment for me in the book was when Seth told about how you should determine, up front, all the things that would cause you to quit something---before you ever start---and then hold to these items and not let other issues hinder your path (i.e., because it's hard, because you're tired, etc.).

In the end, it's a book I wish someone would have encouraged me to read soon after graduating from high school.

So, what books have encouraged and motivated you? Who inspires you when you read their material?

[You can find the book here and Seth's website here.]

Until next time, remember “Your Success Is My Business."™

http://www.joeypeacock.com/

What’s In Your Briefcase?

Everyday when we come to work we bring "stuff" with us. These things can influence---either positively or negatively---how we work, how we interact with other employees & peers, and how we treat & serve our customers.

So, what’s in your briefcase?

• Your Photo ID (with a smiling face)
  A positive attitude! To move forward, you have to stop looking backwards. Football teams only score by someone falling forward with the ball three yards at a time. We all know that we’ve had some obstacles that we’ve had to overcome in the past, but if we continue an atmosphere of rehashing the past, we’ll never positively move into the future. Remember: "Attitude, not aptitude, equals altitude."
  
• Team Jersey
  Do you consistently promote the team? Do you wear your jersey at all times? Are you distracted by something? You can’t play for the Celtics and for the Lakers at the same time. Where your heart is, is where your mind will be too. And what you demonstrate to your customers (and team mates) through company pride & enthusiasm will be make a huge statement about yourself.
  
• Glasses
  Vision. Can you clearly see and share the vision with others? Albert Schweitzer said in his waning years, "My eyesight grows dim, but my vision is clearer than ever." How clear are you on the vision? But not only is vision important, but so is perspective. Great leaders & salespeople not only see things from their own perspective, but also from the perspective of their client’s and support teams.
  
• A Magnifying Glass
  Do you have clear focus? Do you understand your gifts and are you working in those gifts? Anytime you work outside of what you’re gifted with, you’ll always find yourself struggling. Focus on your gifts and work in those; discover others who are gifted in the areas you are not and partner with them on projects & objectives.
  
• A Mirror
  Integrity. Always, without fail, guard and protect your integrity. Don’t carry it on the tip of your finger, allowing it to occasionally fall off so you can slip out of your integrity for even a moment. If necessary, put it in a backpack and strap it around yourself! Do whatever it takes to consistently display the highest morals/ethics and great integrity no matter where you go or what you do. The three self-tests for integrity are: You have nothing to prove, nothing to hide and nothing to lose.
  
• A Good Book
  Personal Leadership Growth. What are you doing to grow your leadership, sales & people skills? You should constantly be growing these skills including taking personal time to do so. As the "CEO of yourself", you lead in your career, in your home, in your church & in your community organizations, you should always be stretching yourself to be a better leader.
  
• Your Watch
  How are you doing with your self management? Are you busy or are you effective? You may be at work for 10 hours or more a day, but are you generating the same amount of productive hours? Do you schedule meetings one after the other and are never getting anywhere on time? Always leave a cushion between meetings so you don’t leave others being unproductive when you’re not where you’re suppose to be due to a delay. And, how are you doing with your "enjoyment" time---your personal leisure time. You have to schedule in time to relax, refresh, re-energize yourself not only for yourself, but also for your family; in the end, it even helps your work better.
  
• Your Phone
  How are your communications skills? Do you actively communicate with your support teams about jobs, objectives, customer issues and projects? Are you properly working with your teams prior to quote presentation? Are you presenting to your clients/prospects professionally?
  
• A Gift Card
  How generous are you? When it comes to giving, stop at nothing! We all go through life with either a ‘scarcity mentality’ or an ‘abundance mentality’. The ‘scarcity mentality’ tells us that we’re never getting what we deserve; that we have to take all the recognition for ourselves because it’s ours; we are jealous of our peers; and that we should never share information. The ‘abundance mentality’ tells us that there’s plenty for everyone; that we celebrate when someone has a win; that we give all the credit for a job well done to the support team; that we share what we know so that others can benefit and possibly bring the team to a higher level. Do you have an attitude of gratitude and send THANK YOU letters to your customers? Zig Ziglar says that the way for a person to become successful is by making other people successful! Remember the saying, "Give without remembering, but accept without forgetting."
  
• A Dictionary
  Do you have your processes right? Do you cooperate or manipulate? Do you communicate or delegate? Are you an encourager or discourager? Do you look for potential or problems? Are you concerned with influence or affluence? Do you evaluate and/or consider giving of yourself to someone based on their self-worth or their net-worth? Do your words contain: team, we, our, us, solutions, etc.; or do they contain: mine, me, I, they, problems, etc.?
  
• A Light
  Are you full of enthusiasm? Who wants to work with a 25-watt bulb? Wouldn’t you rather be around someone who is pumped and enthused about what they’re doing? Always be the most enthusiastic person in the group. Be a 100-watt bulb and turn the light on others!
  
• Your Will
  What impact & legacy are you leaving? When you move on, either by position change/promotion, relocation, retirement, etc., what will be left for others to follow? Will it be a path blazed with excellence and progression, or something else less desirable?
  
  
  So, what do you bring to work with you in your briefcase? Be careful what you pack.