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?
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Entrepreneurs Do A Brain Download
Michele Price, @Prosperitygal on twitter, is
creating a unique audio book based on a signature question she asks on her Breakthrough Business Strategies radio show. (#BBSradio on twitter).
Michele Price serves free content to businesses internationally on
Breakthrough Business Strategies radio from Houston, TX. Every Monday
she delivers expertise from high-profile speakers and authors to grow
businesses for entrepreneurs worldwide.
After each guest’s interview she asks a question designed to stimulate deep thinking. And now, her newest project is
to stimulate a similar positive international change by creating a
#Braindownload program for everyone. But she needs your help!
Her digital audio book will feature thought leaders like Mari Smith, Simon Mainwaring, JeffreyHayzlett, Ann Handley, Carol Roth, Guy Kawasaki, and many, many more.
Using Indiegogo to crowdfund, Michele has created
fun and exciting perks for each level of participation.
One of those
perks includes a second audio book of Michele’s proprietary process of tapping
into your own BrainDownload mindset using meditative and question based
exercises. (I opted for this!)
Check out the BrainDownload event now as time is running out!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Billionaire Blakely's Dad was Failure-Loving Father
Sara Blakely, billionaire founder of the women's undergarment sensation Spanx, wasn't just encouraged to succeed by her father... she was encouraged to fail.
She was quoted as saying, "my father used to ask my brother and me what we had failed at recently and then congratulate us. He did complete reverse psychology on us. Failure was something we sought out and not this scary thing. I think many people are debilitated by the fear of failure, so he gave us a real gift."
Sara has also said that over time, because of his encouragement and (literal) high-fives for failing that her definition of failure became not trying. Looks like her Dad's failure-focus paid off!
She was quoted as saying, "my father used to ask my brother and me what we had failed at recently and then congratulate us. He did complete reverse psychology on us. Failure was something we sought out and not this scary thing. I think many people are debilitated by the fear of failure, so he gave us a real gift."
Sara has also said that over time, because of his encouragement and (literal) high-fives for failing that her definition of failure became not trying. Looks like her Dad's failure-focus paid off!
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Persistence Got a Workout from Fitness Guru Denise Austin
You might not know her by name but you'd probably recognize her in a tight pair of workout pants and tank top. Her name is Denise Austin and she's sold more than 20 million exercise videos and DVDs, authored over 10 fitness books, and starred in the longest running fitness show in the history of television.
So... what special talent and skills did Denise Austin have to get to the heights of fitness guru-dom? In a recent article with her alma matter, California State University, Long Beach, she shares how she got invited to a Washington D.C. (through her CSULB connections) dinner for the President's Council on Fitness. Just a California-based fitness trainer with a growing business, it was at the dinner that Denise had the good fortune to meet fitness legend Jack LaLanne. It was right then that Denise says she "gathered the courage" to ask if she could be on his TV exercise show. He gave her a start on his show, and within a month she became his co-host and he, her mentor. Her entrepreneurial spirit continued and Denise, passionate and driven, continued to grow and build her business.
When she went back to speak to the students at CSULB she told them "Go after it. Don't wait for people to call you back." She instructed them to be proactive in their phone calls and to reach out to whatever opportunities may come your way.
When she was proposing a fitness segment for NBC's Today Show, Denise recounted that she had called the show's producer 35 times, always having the assistant tell her that the producer would call her back. He never did. Finally, the 36th time by her count, she called him up in the evening and he happened to answer. Denise was the NBC fitness expert for four years - so it looks like the 36th time was a charm.
So... what special talent and skills did Denise Austin have to get to the heights of fitness guru-dom? In a recent article with her alma matter, California State University, Long Beach, she shares how she got invited to a Washington D.C. (through her CSULB connections) dinner for the President's Council on Fitness. Just a California-based fitness trainer with a growing business, it was at the dinner that Denise had the good fortune to meet fitness legend Jack LaLanne. It was right then that Denise says she "gathered the courage" to ask if she could be on his TV exercise show. He gave her a start on his show, and within a month she became his co-host and he, her mentor. Her entrepreneurial spirit continued and Denise, passionate and driven, continued to grow and build her business.
When she went back to speak to the students at CSULB she told them "Go after it. Don't wait for people to call you back." She instructed them to be proactive in their phone calls and to reach out to whatever opportunities may come your way.
When she was proposing a fitness segment for NBC's Today Show, Denise recounted that she had called the show's producer 35 times, always having the assistant tell her that the producer would call her back. He never did. Finally, the 36th time by her count, she called him up in the evening and he happened to answer. Denise was the NBC fitness expert for four years - so it looks like the 36th time was a charm.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Rethink Sales Rejection, Skillfully Sales Handle Objections!
We're bringing together two of the most important pieces to any salesperson’s toolkit: handling rejection and objections!
Mike Krause (of Sales Sense Solutions) and I will be teaching a webinar, June 13th - Rethinking Sales Rejection and Skillfully Handling Sales Objections.
To attend for free, all you need to do is sign up!
Mike Krause (of Sales Sense Solutions) and I will be teaching a webinar, June 13th - Rethinking Sales Rejection and Skillfully Handling Sales Objections.
To attend for free, all you need to do is sign up!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Be a Weeble
When I grew up there was a Hasbro Playskool toy called 'weebles.' The marketing phrase that they used was: "Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down."
People will try to tip you over. A lot.
Be a weeble.
People will try to tip you over. A lot.
Be a weeble.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Making Mistakes to Succeed
If we know we learn from our mistakes then why are we so afraid to make them?
Well, it's not everyone - probably just two groups really.
The first group are the people that really learned from their mistakes... they actually learned and internalized that the mistake they made didn't kill them and that they survived it. Plus they got some new data to make changes and keep trying.
However, emotion is stronger than intellect. For the second group, they internalized the emotions that came with making mistakes rather than the benefits gleaned (data and survival). Feelings of foolishness, stupidity, embarrassment, and shame were part of their experience. These make us feel bad and become feelings that we want to avoid at all costs. And yet those feelings don't really serve us except to make us shrink.
So which of the two groups is going to be more productive in today's world?
We like to say that your N.Q. (No-Quotient) is more important than your I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient). In today's world we believe that your N.Q. - the number of times you are willing to hear no's, make mistakes, try stuff, be rejected, and fail greatly will catapult you into an exclusive group in whatever endeavor you are involved in. So... which group are you in?
Well, it's not everyone - probably just two groups really.
The first group are the people that really learned from their mistakes... they actually learned and internalized that the mistake they made didn't kill them and that they survived it. Plus they got some new data to make changes and keep trying.
However, emotion is stronger than intellect. For the second group, they internalized the emotions that came with making mistakes rather than the benefits gleaned (data and survival). Feelings of foolishness, stupidity, embarrassment, and shame were part of their experience. These make us feel bad and become feelings that we want to avoid at all costs. And yet those feelings don't really serve us except to make us shrink.
So which of the two groups is going to be more productive in today's world?
We like to say that your N.Q. (No-Quotient) is more important than your I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient). In today's world we believe that your N.Q. - the number of times you are willing to hear no's, make mistakes, try stuff, be rejected, and fail greatly will catapult you into an exclusive group in whatever endeavor you are involved in. So... which group are you in?
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