You are a Marketer, not a just a Product/Service Provider

Here is a great business key -  to continue to grow your business you have to realize this important fact: you are a marketer, not a just a product/service provider. 

Let me quickly show you the difference between a marketer and a product/service provider.


A Product/Service Provider:

Has products and services

Talked to prospects

Has customers

Owns a business

Hopes they'll stay in business


A Marketer:

Sells products and services

Continually talks to a list of prospects

Builds relationships with customers

Grows their business

Is building their business future

 
See the difference?

Have You Thought About Your Environment? It's Linked to Your FUTURE!

If my thinking determines the course of my life, then what does my environment predict about my future?

Check out this quote.... and do the maths:

We begin to see, therefore, the importance of selecting our environment with the greatest of care, because environment is the mental feeding ground out of which the food that goes into our minds is extracted - Napoleon Hill

my environment influences my thinking = my future.

Do you need to change anything?  Seriously!

Napoleon Hill Quotes - Selection #3

Here is my selction #3 of Napoleon Hill quotes:

We begin to see, therefore, the importance of selecting our environment with the greatest of care, because environment is the mental feeding ground out of which the food that goes into our minds is extracted.



When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.

When your desires are strong enough you will appear to possess superhuman powers to achieve.


Wise men, when in doubt whether to speak or to keep quiet, give themselves the benefit of the doubt, and remain silent.

You can start right where you stand and apply the habit of going the extra mile by rendering more service and better service than you are now being paid for.

You give before you get.

Do you have a favourite?

How's Your Stretch? Because It's Linked to Your Effectiveness!

I came across this great Steve Penny quote in one of my blog posts from 2009

"I find that a leader must reinvent themselves at least every 7 years and do the same with their team to continue going forward and expanding."

Nice one

You can read my full blog entry from July 2009 here.

Napoleon Hill Quotes - Selection #2

I recently did a post on Napolean Hill - described by many as one of the earliest producers of the modern genre of personal-success literature. His most famous work, Think and Grow Rich, is one of the best-selling books of all time.

Here is my selection #2 of Napoleon Hill quotes:

Big pay and little responsibility are circumstances seldom found together.



Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.

Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you ready or not, to put this plan into action.


Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.

Don't wait. The time will never be just right.


Edison failed 10, 000 times before he made the electric light. Do not be discouraged if you fail a few times.

Have You Got a Life? Or Even a Clue of Where you Would Like to Go?

Everything first begins as an idea.


You have to develop a dream of what you really want.

We create everything twice. First in our head and then physically. First we imagine, then we do.

I heard a story of someone who met billionaire, Rupert Murdoch for lunch, and they asked him what his original vision was. Murdoch replied that he literally imagined holding a globe of the world in his hand and his message spreading to every corner of that globe. This was the beginning of his huge media company.

Vision precedes goals. You have to have a big vision before you set a goal.

Developing a clear vision is so powerful.

1.  Do you dream of the future and see possibilities for yourself and your work?
2.  Can you see it clearly

Napoleon Hill - Success Linked to the Power of Personal Beliefs

I have been inspired for some time by the writings of Napoleon Hill. 

You may have heard of some of his powerful quotes:

A goal is a dream with a deadline.


Action is the real measure of intelligence.


All achievements, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea.

All the breaks you need in life wait within your imagination, Imagination is the workshop of your mind, capable of turning mind energy into accomplishment and wealth.


Any idea, plan, or purpose may be placed in the mind through repetition of thought.


Think and grow rich.

Here is some of what Wikipedia says about him:

Napoleon Hill (October 26, 1883 – November 8, 1970) was an American author who was one of the earliest producers of the modern genre of personal-success literature. His most famous work, Think and Grow Rich, is one of the best-selling books of all time. Hill's works examined the power of personal beliefs, and the role they play in personal success. He became the advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933-36. "What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve" is one of Hill's hallmark expressions.[1][2] How achievement actually occurs, and a formula for it that puts success in reach for the average person, were the focal points of Hill's books.

Hill later called his personal success teachings "The Philosophy of Achievement" and he considered freedom, democracy, capitalism, and harmony to be important contributing elements. For without these foundations to build upon, Hill claimed throughout his writings, successful personal achievements are not possible. He contrasted his philosophy with others, and thought Achievement was superior and responsible for the success Americans enjoyed for the better part of two centuries. Negative emotions, fear and selfishness among others, had no part to play in his philosophy, and Hill considered them to be the source of failure for unsuccessful people.[7]

4 Types of Clutter that You MUST Strive to Keep out of Your Life

Yesterday I exposed the enemy of Being Organised and Effective - the enemy of being organised is CLUTTER!!

I said that I would identify 4 types of clutter that you must strive to keep out of your life.

Well, here they are!

The benefit is that you will be much better able to concentrate on that which you do best.


1. Emotional clutter.

This is the relational baggage that can accumulate when we don't forgive those who have wronged us, when we hold a grudge, or when we carry a chip on our shoulder because of a grievance long past. The price of holding on to emotional clutter is too high. Not only will it steal energy from your focus, but it has serious emotional and spiritual consequences as well.

Exposed! The Enemy of Being Organised and Effective

The enemy of being organised is CLUTTER!!


One of the common denominators of successful people is a single-minded focus that allows them to concentrate on first things first.

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in "The Conduct of Life",

"Concentration is the secret of strength in politics, in war, in trade, in short, in all of human affairs."

While many people squander their physical and mental abilities, successful people learn how to focus, concentrate, persist and be organised.

Yet even those with a clear sense of purpose sometimes lose their focus and their ability to concentrate on priorities. Why? I've found it is usually the result of too much internal clutter.

I've identified 4 types of clutter that you must strive to keep out of your life. The benefit is that you will be much better able to concentrate on that which you do best.

Stay tuned in my next post tomorrow morning.

The Top 10 Time Wasters - Get out the Blowtorch!

The Top Ten Time Wasters


According to a Priority Management Systems survey

1. Shifting priorities.


2. Telephone interruptions.


3. Lack of direction/objectives.


4. Attempting too much.


5. Drop-in visitors.


6. Ineffective delegation.


7. Cluttered desk/losing things.


8. Procrastination/lack of self-discipline.


9. Inability to say "no".


10. Meetings.

Of these 10 which one/ones are an issue for you right now?

Planning Needs Wisdom - Better Get Some Here!

20 Bible Verses to Dwell on When Engaged in Planning


Note what God's initiative appears to be and what responsibility He seems to expect from us in planning.

1. I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Psalm 32:8


2. For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11


3. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3


4. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it shall be done for you. John 15:7


5. Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Galatians 3:36


6. For the Lord watches over all the plans and paths of godly men, but the paths of the godless lead to doom. Psalm 1:6


7. May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. Psalm 20:4

r2r - A New Era in Workplace Flexibility

I recently came across some info about this new concept - effective 1 January 2010.

There isn't just one definition of workplace flexibility, because it means different things to different people.


Basically, flexibility is about an employee and an employer making changes to when, where and how a person will work to better meet individual and business needs.

While the basic concept stays the same, it's the type of flexibility which makes the difference.

Essentially, flexibility enables both individual and business needs to be met through making changes to the time (when), location (where) and manner (how) in which an employee works. Flexibility should be mutually beneficial to both the employer and employee and result in superior outcomes.


What are flexible work practices?


There are a range of creative and practical ways to change when, where and how work is organised:

When people work:


Flexible working hours - altering the start and finish times of a working day, but maintaining the same number of hours worked per week (for example, 8am to 4pm instead of 9am to 5pm). It can also mean condensing standard hours per week into fewer days (for example, four days per week at ten hours per day).


Part-time work - generally speaking, working fewer than the standard weekly hours. For example, two days per week, 10 days over four weeks or two days one week and three days every second week.


Variable year employment - changing work hours over the month or through the year, depending on the demands of the job (for example working more hours during busy periods and taking time off in quiet times).

Peacemaker - Greg Ferguson

I awoke this morning with this great song in my heart.
I heard Greg Ferguson sing it in 2004 when I was at Willow Creek Church in Chicago.



If the above link does not load properly you can always click this link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0jre1DlOcU

Here are some of the lyrics:

Peace Maker - Greg Ferguson

Peacemaker, Fear Taker, Soul Soother, Storm Smoother
Light Shiner, Lost Finder, Cloud Lifter, Deliverer,
Heart Toucher, Truth Lover,
Who other could be Fear taker, Peacemaker to me,

Mind Clearer, Sigh Healer, Hand Holder, Consolor,
Wound Binder, Tear Dryer, Strength Giver, Provider,
Heart Healer, Kind Father,
Who other could be, My Saviour, Peacemaker to me,

"The object of a new year..." - G.K. Chesterton

"The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year.
It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes.
Unless a particular man made new year resolutions, he would make no resolutions.
Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective.
Unless a man starts on the strange assumption that he has never existed before, it is quite certain that he will never exist afterwards.
Unless a man be born again, he shall by no means enter into the Kingdom of Heaven."

- G.K. Chesterton

Happy Merry Christmas!

20ten

I have been trying to get some intel about next year... 2010 or 20ten.

Stuff like... "what will I be doing?".. "where will I be living?" etc etc. There is a bit of change in my world at the moment.

The best I can do at the moment is a logo design.

Maybe it's my way of getting some traction at least around the concept of a next year.

I know this... God will still be there... and He will be faithful... again.

So here goes... I know this about my 20ten....


1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move in my life.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-annoited preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessing upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love me.
10. Jesus will still save the lost souls.

That's not a bad start!

The Bush Behind Our Home

Went for a walk in the nature reserve behind my home yesterday afternoon.

I took the camera with me and went in search of the elusive "storm bird."

The dog and I tracked him down to this tree. The bird is in this photo... if you have a keen enough eye. A bit like "where's Wally?"

I took some time to observe the detail of what I was standing near.

Lilley always likes to come for a walk with the boss!

Simple Pleasures

Life is full of simple pleasures... the little things that make up a great life.


A great cup of tea is one them.


What "simple pleasure" are you thankful for?

Los Angeles - Photographs by Tim Street-Porter

I enjoy collecting picture books of some of the world's great cities that I have visited.

The family bought me this one for my birthday during a recent trip to Los Angeles.

And I love it!

The photographers are by Tim Street-Porter and they are superb. They also show the detail behind many of the things I have seen during my visits to LA in 2004, 2005 and 2009.

Diane Keaton writes the intro and has some very clever perspectives. Here are a few:

"I think of Los Angeles, the appropriation capital of the world, the Wild West of the imagination, the dumping ground for every revamped hybrid ever assembled..."

"Living in a fantasy of a fantasy based on a dream of a past that never was is forgivable."

And here is what the publishers say... a nice cut n paste to save you doing the research.

This elegant volume is a brilliant presentation of all that is L.A.

It takes us from Venice Beach to Rodeo Drive, from high culture to pop, and over freeways and flashing past billboards.

Los Angeles captures the essence of the constantly evolving city: from palm-lined avenues to hip hotels and art deco theaters, Frank Gehry's Disney Concert Hall to the Cathedral of our Lady of the Angels.

Not just for L.A. residents and connoisseurs, this book is for anyone interested in architecture, design and, of course, the iconography unique to Southern California. The book's format allows us to revel in the marvelous landscape. From mountain peaks to desert oases, beautiful beaches to redwood forests, Los Angeles literally envelops us in the city's grandeur in stunning spreads and impressive gatefolds, each more than five feet wide.

Acclaimed architecture and design photographer Tim Street-Porter showcases the fascinating cityscape-by day and by night. A long time resident with exceptional access, Street-Porter takes us from the most coveted homes of Hollywood and Beverly Hills to the best examples of contemporary architecture for which the city is famous, featuring the full spectrum of residences from seminal modernist houses to baroque mansions and California Mediterranean homes in their lush settings.

Hot Rod Car Randoms

I snapped these photos on the weekend on my iPhone.


There was a group of hot rod cars displayed at The Gift Christmas Spectacular at the Mt Gravatt Showgrounds.


There were some really nice cars.


And if you take the time to slow down... and admire... and really look.... this is what you can see.