LEARNING FROM THE SUCCESS OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT

Bruce Thieleman, gave some great advice. He 

said to stay at the top of my game and fulfill my
potential, I would need to read at least two books a week.
Every week, for the rest of my life!
Unfortunately, I haven't kept up with his pace, but I do
love reading and I particularly enjoy biographies of
notable people.
This week, I read the first volume of Edmund Morris'
biography of Theodore Roosevelt. It's fairly massive, but
it's great reading! TR's trips to the badlands are as
exciting as any western, and with our own political
turmoil, his time in the New York legislature, his run for
Mayor of New York and his years as Governor are
particularly apropos. If  you love biographies, this is a
superb work.
Most important for IMPACT, however, are the lessons we can
learn from the most influential people in history.
As Tony Robbins and others have said, success leaves clues.
We can learn the tools and skills, the tactics and traits
of high achievers, and if we apply them to our own lives,
good things happen! There's no mystery about this.
If we copy the habits and patterns of "average" people, we
get average results. Almost everyone knows someone (in your
family, a neighbor or friend) who refuses to develop their
natural talents. This type of failure (what else would you
call it?) is all around us. Every day, we see talented
people who permit one or more unfortunate habits to hold
them back. Here's a hint: Don't copy them!
Fortunately, we also know people who passionately pursue
every ounce of talent, opportunity and potential they have.
They do things differently. They have habits and attitudes
and behaviors that create the results they desire. Here's a
hint: Copy THESE people!
So, what have I observed about TR? Obviously, many, many
things—enough to fill a massive biography! But here are
just a few:
1.  Enormous self-discipline. As a skinny, sickly child who
nearly died many times, when his father told him he must
build his body, he launched himself into an exercise
routine that would shame most Olympic athletes. Later, his
work and writing schedule amazed even his publishers. His
ability to master the intricacies of politics confounded
his adversaries. The man knew how to focus.
2.  Applied energy. Whether he was herding cattle, running
for election, or playing with his children, people marveled
at his ability to get things done. He got up early, he
worked hard, he loved what he was doing and his passion
drove him forward. Winners have the same 24-hour day, but
they use their time and energy differently. The get more
and better results.
3.  Quick, practical intelligence. TR had the ability to
see through the confusion of daily life and find real
solutions. When faced with family challenges or political
opponents, or the thousands of details that confuse and
confound most of us, he would pause, consider his primary
objective, and cut through the clutter. To use a modern
clich�, he "kept his eyes on the prize." For him, there was
always a solution and he was determined to find it.
4.  Gusto and love of life. Call it what you will, TR's
sheer enthusiasm often carried the day. His most common
expression was a rollicking, hugely exaggerated shout of
"DEEEElighted!" He loved people. He loved challenges and
problems. He loved to laugh and he loved his work. He loved
life and was not shy about it. People enjoyed being around
him (even when they opposed him) and his passion and joy
opened doors that would not have been available to others.
Obviously, we shouldn't try to be anyone but ourselves.
Each of us is unique and our highest and best is to be
precisely and fully who we are. But we can learn from
others. Unfortunately, too often we learn accidentally and
bad habits too easily find room in our lives. But we can
also learn intentionally from the most successful and
inspiring people we can find. Choose your models wisely.
Your life depends on it.

SEEING THE INVISIBLE

This is part of an occasional series on "Skills for the
21st Century." A while back we looked at Extreme
Selfishness and Positive Self-Projection. The next skill to
"survive and thrive" in this brave new world is the ability
to "See the Invisible."
We hear that we are living in the "information age" and
that more and more of us are valued for our ability to
process vast amounts of data and crunch numbers. In some
ways, that's obvious and will continue but I doubt it will
be your key to major success.
The truth is, we are swamped with information! We are over-
whelmed and stressed, even paralyzed with information. Our
mailboxes are full of junk mail, our inboxes are full of
spam. We have hundreds of television channels, with a dozen
of them giving us "news" 24-7. And if there aren't too many
stations already, podcasts and satellite radio promise us
hundreds more! It's too much!
We are looking for SOLUTIONS, not more information.
Fortunately, human beings have an amazing ability to cut
through the clutter, identify the KEY piece in a world of
random data, and take action.
In his book, Blink, Malcolm Gladwell calls this "thin
slicing." Others have called it intuition or instinct.
Personally, I think it's a skill. It's the ability to know
instantly that something is "right" or "wrong" for us. When
we take an instant liking to someone, we are "thin
slicing." We simply KNOW, and we are seldom wrong.
In the 21st century, peak performers will understand and
hone this skill to a razor's edge.
Peak performers will be just as swamped with information
and "special" offers as the rest of us. They will have just
as much paperwork, feel just as much pressure, and they,
too, will have to get their kids to soccer and ballet and
band practice. Peak performers will have to cope all of it.
How will they do it?
By Seeing the Invisible.
We all know the feeling when someone is lying to us. We all
know "that look" when our kids are fibbing. And we either
USE that "knowing" or we ignore it. Sometimes we prefer not
to know that someone is lying or that a business deal is "a
bit off." It's called denial and we all do it, but winners
do much less of it.
There was a time when you could do your "due diligence"
before signing a contract, and fortunately, we have great
resources to help us investigate situations and decide if
they're right or not.
But increasingly, there's no time. Increasingly, the
attempt to do our "due diligence" generates such a flood of
data that we literally cannot make sense of it all. That's
when top achievers trust their ability to "thin slice."
Through all the clutter and data, they can "see the
invisible." They "get a feeling" or "just know" that
something is right or wrong for them.
Call it intuition or call it instinct. Call it "thin
slicing" or a "gift," but we all have it and in the 21st
century, winners will hone and rely on it. A thousand years
ago, our ancestors could look at the sky and predict the
weather, or track an animal through the forest. Today, the
winners in life still use their "inner knowing" to create
the life they truly want.
In the 21st century, the advantage will go to those who see
the invisible. The edge will go to those who "know" and
trust themselves and their instincts to make winning
decisions and develop winning relationships.

GO BEYOND REASONABLE

Consumers have a world of choices for even the most mundane
purchases. We have a dozen grocery and convenience stores
near us. There are hundreds of dentists, doctors, lawyers
and accountants in Eugene. My website is hosted…I don't
even where!
So what makes people go out of their way to do business
with you?
Philip Humbert shared "Recently, a friend told me about a wonderful experience he
had when GM agreed to pay for work on his vehicle even
though it was more than 35,000 miles (!) out of warranty.
Those stories turn customers into "fanatics!"
I've often told the story of Fiddler's Green, a golf shop
here in Eugene that claims to have the largest on-course
pro shop in the world. People drive hundreds of miles to
buy golf clubs, bags and accessories from "Fid's" because
of their extraordinary service. The place is huge, and it's
fun. They greet you at the door, and they always have
exactly what you're looking for--plus a few other
"essentials" I didn't know I was looking for!
I once wore out a golf bag, and they replaced it free. I
used it for almost three years when the strap broke. I
figured that was ordinary wear and tear and I just wanted
to get one like it. The owner talked with me, said he'd
"see what I can do," made a phone call and handed me a
brand new bag. Now I'm telling you--and recommending
Fiddler's Green to about 40,000 of my best friends.
What do people say about you and your business? How many
"fanatics" do you have? It only takes a handful of loyal,
life-long customers to make any business successful, but
too often we focus on advertising to bring new customers in
the door. That's a very expensive way to do business!
Amaze your customers. Astonish them. Go way beyond
"reasonable" and you'll build an empire, make your fortune
and have fun doing it. Go beyond "reasonable."

HOW TO MANAGE YOUR SELLING TIME

As a salesperson, your most precious resource is, arguably, actual selling time. While there are always going to be some forces you can’t control, you can control how you manage your selling time.

A Sales Funnel is a time-management tool that allows you to focus your work in order to accomplish the following essential tasks:

·         Define where you are in the selling process by categorizing your sales opportunities into four different “stages” of the funnel

·         Track each sales opportunity’s progress as it moves “down the funnel”—from first contact to signed order

·         Prioritize the opportunities in each stage of the funnel

·         Allocate time to each opportunity in the funnel so that you’re consistently performing four essential kinds of selling work (see below)

·         Forecast future income based on how rapidly and smoothly your opportunities are moving toward the close

The four distinct stages of the Sales Funnel are segmented into four different kinds of account activity, with each one corresponding to a different type of selling work:

1.     Prospect

2.     Qualify

3.     Cover the bases

4.     Close the order

Since it’s likely you’ll have many possible orders working at the same time, all at different stage of completion, you’re not going to be doing the same kind of work on all of them at the same time—you’ll be prospecting or qualifying on some pieces of business while you’re closing others and covering the bases in still others.

By consistently doing the right kind of work on each potential order at the right time, you’ll be able to move your various sales opportunities down the funnel at a steady, predictable rate—so that your income is also steady and predictable.