Do You Stick?... Are You Glue or a Post It?

I rarely wait for anything now: Who was in that movie? I have the answer in twelve seconds via IMDB. Husband needs new pair of silk pants. I'll have them fedex-ed and here tomorrow.  Restaurant reservation after they're closed? Doesn't matter, I'll handle it on opentable.

"Patience is a virtue" used to be a popular saying. We've lost the ability to be patient. We are ready to do business NOW! When it comes to selling and sharing opportunities, most customers, clients, and prospects are not actually ready NOW. 

So it is up to us to stick around -  building our business, growing relationships - so that when people are finally ready - we will be there. The problem is that so many people just give up or are looking for that one quick hit that they don't stick around. Customers, prospects - they KNOW IT!  Which is why, they will almost always test you (and say no or put you off). Has this happened to you? And are you still around... or have you run off looking for the next easy yes? Are you glue or a post-it?

Failure Experts tout Mika Brzezinski’s new book, "Knowing Your Value” ...

Okay while we are NOT in love with her political leanings... we have to give kudos to MSNBC, "Morning Joe" co-host Mika Brzezinski's new book, "Knowing Your Value" where besides telling her own story of hard fought battles to get paid what she felt she was worth (admitting a lot of failure and missteps along the way) she actually goes out of her way to encourage women to get over their fears of rejection and being told 'no.' A skill that Mika points out, most women lack especially compared to most men. She recounts a story told to her of one woman having lunch with her boss, asking for a raise and then bursting into tears after he said "no." Women most definitely need to learn to use "no" to their advantage (Go for No!) - asking more and learning to take more no's!  This book is another step in the right direction.  Read our recent press release here: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/6/prweb8597579.htm

Surviving Risks and Building Confidence

In our Go for No! DVD, Jack Canfield told us, "Self confidence the way I frame it is the result of a successfully survived risk. If you want to be confident in confronting a potential "No," ask for a lot of stuff so that you get rejected enough to know you can handle it, and that you didn't die." Susan Jeffers, author of, Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, explains that "At the bottom of every one of your fears is simply the fear that you can't handle whatever life may bring you."

What happens when you "Go for No" that is - when you try asking for something: resources, a sale, a favor - whatever - is that regardless of the outcome, your confidence has a chance to grow. You get the opportunity to see that you did survive, you did handle it, and really, it's not so bad.  Building your confidence, ironically is not about hoping for the easy yes, it's about dealing with and getting through those tough no's.

Learning to Fail - Wile E Coyote, Super Genius

As a kid, my favorite thing to do on Saturday morning was to wake up - 6-ish, get a huge bowl of cereal, then sit in front of the TV and watch cartoons until about noon. I loved Looney Tunes; Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, and I most of all... Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius - a creation of the late, great Chuck Jones.  The coyote was always trying to capture that elusive road runner. I loved that he was not just a genius, he was a SUPER genius and wildly clever, at least he tried to be. He would order boxes from ACME and put together elaborate systems to capture the road runner - which never worked. Ever. Most of the time they back fired so badly that he would get hurdled off a cliff or catapulted into a wall.


The coyote failed over and over and over but he never gave up. He never allowed his failures to dampen his determination. I loved that about him - even at age 7.  But - you may be thinking - the coyote never got the road runner! That's the interesting thing about success and failure.You know what they say - success always occurs in private, and failure in full view. So I like to think somewhere out there... the coyote won.

Failure gets a good rap from Seth Godin

Seth Godin on How He Started As an Entrepreneur

It's always refreshing to see an iconic business personality like Seth Godin espouse the virtue of failure. Check out the short video and remember this lesson: "If I fail more than you do, I win."