Opportunity

We all would love "lightning to strike" in our business right? Are you out there with lightning rods? Or are you hiding behind the Christmas decorations in the back of the closet? Which way do you think gets more strikes? Of course, you know the answer to that. 

When Do You Finally Give Up?

When is it time to finally quit?

When we've quit...
We've quit things. Oh yes, the Go for No! people know when to quit. We quit when we realize that the success or achievement of the goal or project will no longer get us closer to our ultimate goals and dreams. And even though in a couple cases we've still been passionate about what we'd originally set out to do - we know we've reached the end.

When we don't quit...
But when the goal is important enough, we don't quit just because things are taking longer than we thought. (they always do.) Are harder than we want them to be (they always are.) Or even cause us to doubt our sanity!  In the end, Thomas Edison said it best...

A Go for No! World vs. Go for Yes World

We started thinking about the 'go for no' philosophy almost like it is living in a different world.  As we grow older and we learn life's lessons there is a certain amount of wisdom that is gained. And because of this our view of the world changes. In many ways, the change is not for the better. We learn that people will let us down and that things happen that are out of our control and won't always go our way.  We've grown up believing that looking like a success to other people is a good thing and important. And it's this exact belief that we are raised with that hems us in, causing us to rethink taking risks, being bold and failing. It's this constant striving for success that we call living in a Go for Yes World. But living in a Go for No! World is a whole new perspective, and here it is, defined in the most succinct way that we could...

Recipe for Courage

Think there is no such thing as a recipe for Courage. Or is there? Here is our take on what it takes to craft and build your courage! Comments? What did we miss? What would you add? Be sure to read the special not at the bottom of the recipe!

Chinese Food, Fears, and Bathing

You know that old saying that motivation is like a great Chinese food meal? It's great, but a couple hours later you're hungry again.

Zig Ziglar had a great comeback to this: "People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily."

When it comes to overcoming fears, specifically in 'sales', it also must become a daily ritual in order to truly change how you react emotionally and deal with fears of rejection etc., not to mention to start getting better results. 

Sure it would be great to go to the dentist one time, get a teeth cleaning that takes all day to do and then not have to go back for five or ten years. Of course it does not work that way. Most people, because of fear put off making calls for days and weeks and ending up as a personal commitment to spend 8 hours in one day doing nothing but getting on the phone. And that never happens! Not to mention, it does absolutely nothing to help with fear!
 The answer of course, is to do a little each day. And if you've got some major fears then day one should be spent gathering the names and numbers of the three people you want to call. That's it! Day two, make your first call. No matter the outcome, celebrate your activity. Then the next day, call the next person on your list. A little bit each day slowly reduces the fear, adds confidence, and solidifies a habit. 

So back to food for a moment. Big meals are great (especially Chinese!) but when it comes to truly overcoming fear... just like in dieting, it is done much more successfully by eating many small meals throughout the day. 

Today is the Day that NO...

When we were kids, asking for things was second nature. 'No' was only temporary resting place for us to regroup and come around again. It's time to get that tenacity back!

Get Your Butterflies On

In our book Go for No! we layout what we call the 5 Failure Levels. Level Four is Failing Bigger and Faster.

Go for the BIG No or BIG Opportunity. How do you know if you are working on a BIG No? For me, it's butterflies. You know butterflies in your stomach that make you feel slightly queasy, a bit uneasy.

If I am not getting butterflies in my stomach once a week (minimum) I know that I am not pushing myself and my failure rate.

One week it's contacting a business celeb for an interview. Next, it's calling on a BIG company to speak at their annual conference. The next it's trying something technical (lots of failures there!)... All I know is... I need to feel those butterflies. So, how are you getting your butterflies on?