HOW TO HELP YOUR KIDS STIMULATE THEIR CREATIVE JUICE

Technology is a great thing, and we have come so far in our technological advances that it is no wonder why kids spend a great deal of time in front of screens. However, the screens can be limited to a child’s creativity.
So, what happened to the days when kids used their imaginations? I believe it has just been swept under the rug and can easily be exposed under the right conditions. Want to get your kid’s creative juices flowing? Here is how.

1. Gather some junk

Do you have any empty boxes around the house? How about empty plastic containers, nuts, bolts, wood scraps, string or rope, broken toys, or anything else that you could throw away? Put these things in a designated spot or storage container instead. Take your child by the hand and together create something out of the junk you have gathered.
Set parameters such as a minimum time frame in which they must spend time inventing new things. Make it more challenging by only giving them a few items to use. That way they will not just spend a few minutes creating, and then get bored and head back to the screens.

2. Head outside

Get your child outside whether it is the yard, a park, or somewhere bigger. Go camping, hiking, exploring, and along the way notice things you have never noticed before. Keep a journal or make a list of all the observations.
Use that information for writing stories, building forts, and whatever else you can dream up. I guarantee that spending time out in nature will get their creativity flowing. Fresh air and a little exercise are always good for the body and the brain.

3. Grab some art and craft supplies

Construct an arts and crafts supplies box and include paints, crayons, markers, Playdoh or clay, glitter, glue, paint brushes, stencils, a variety of paper, string, yarn, and whatever other crafty items you can put in the box. You could even include coloring books or craft kits. Hand it over to the kids and let them design and produce new things from their imagination. Provide ideabooks if needed.

4. Use technology

Wait, what? You heard me right. Technology can aid in creativity, but you have to be very selective. Find apps that take kids’ original ideas further. For example, find an app that will take the clay creature they made and help them develop a claymation video. Or, search for apps that help the kids write stories and illustrate them. Be very selective and again, set parameters.
Creative juices flow when children are uninhibited. They are not limited to what is on the screen in front of their faces or the video games in the house. They can put the controls down, head outside, or open the craft box and just go crazy! Join in on the fun, and together you will be dreaming up and making amazing things just from pure imagination.

WILL THEY BE TALKING ABOUT YOU 100 YEARS FROM NOW?

In the business of creating or shaping legacies in the speaking business I explored ideas while touching-on the names of influential authors/speakers whose ideas are still active a century after they wrote their books. Names like Dale Carnegie, Napoleon Hill and Earl Nightingale entered the discussion.

So what do these influential people have in common? They all built successfully communicated their ideas, communicated unusually well and leveraged the tools available to them during their time whether it was a pulpit, books, record albums or the media.
Branding is what sets ideas apart; it is what showcases who you are and clarifies that for which you are known.
Just as big companies create slogans, logos, and ads to support their brand, you can apply some of these tools to build your own legacy. As you consider the values that set you apart, you are well along your way to establishing a presence that people will gravitate towards. So let’s ask this – what can you offer the world which will be irresistible to discuss with friends & neighbors?
Let’s say you’ve already landed on a specific vision for branding yourself, and have carved-out a persona that is unique to you. How do you then use your brand to successfully spread your ideas and life philosophy? Better yet, how can your personal brand do your work for you in spreading your message?
In reality, your brand is like a simple device. You use this device over and over again to put across the essence of your being. It’s boiled down to a simple image of what you represent. The operative word here is simple.
Let’s take a look at a couple modern-day authors who have built a successful brand in the speaking business, and evaluate how they’ve done it.
Dan Waldschmidt is an international business strategist, speaker, author and extreme athlete who has built a brand that is both memorable and captivating. Upon first glance at his website, you can tell what his mission is: “Radical help for people who want it.” Doesn’t that make you feel like you can trust him? There are millions of brands, companies and people that are attempting to serve and care for people like you and me.

What makes YOU stand apart?

People need to feel like they can trust you. Dan plays on this in a number of ways you can observe from his website alone, the first being a bold move: putting his personal email and cell phone number for people to contact him. When you take a big risk such as disclosing personal information, you are creating a space where someone feels like you are inviting them in. Dan and I talked about this recently, as his previous Brand seemed unapproachable to his fans. So to break down this perceived barrier, Dan choose to open himself up to his fans. When people feel like you are taking a risk for them, then trust is quick to follow.
Another way that trust is instilled is when you are a living example of your slogan / life philosophy. Let’s look at another example.
Former professional major league baseball player Todd Stottlemyre offers this: “Dream big, set big goals, and go for it. It’s time to awaken the champion that lives inside of you.” Since he is a 3x World Series champion, you can trust that he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to what he has branded as “Major League Achievement.” He candidly admits that he’s had both failures and success, and in doing so knows how to work with you through both extremes.
Branding is an ongoing process, not a one-time event. Your brand needs to reflect the needs of your marketplace. It needs to be both classic and timely. It begins with your startup phase and never stops. Because it’s simple, your brand needs to be repeated to be effective. Conversely, because it needs to be repeated, it must be simple. Here’s why:
The average person has to be exposed to information 7 to 15 times before acting on it. Even a highly intelligent person requires at least 3 exposures to that same information in order to retain it and internalize it. That means if you’re not reinforcing your brand, you’re leaving money on the table.
Consider your customers’ experience as they go through their day to day activities. Your message, sales proposition and your brand are a blip in a sea of messages. The athletic company Lululemon has done this exceptionally; to the point where you can simply see their swirly logo on a pair of pants and automatically know who designed them.
Your brand needs to be powerful enough to rouse your customers into action, and at the same time it needs to actively express you — what you’re about and the uniqueness of your offering. In fact, for people to decide to hire you to speak or buy your book, your brand needs to be crystal clear, exciting and alluring. It needs to stand up to relentless reinforcement.
So it goes with branding. Once you design your message, carry it forward through all your promotional materials. Consistently use your slogan, logo and other brand elements throughout your marketing materials and other types of customer communication. Let it be persistent.
We see this with Waldschmidt’s “EDGY” acronym. You can see it not only in his book title, but branded on shirts, wallpapers, blogs, and all across his website. His brand is reinforced by the life-size sword with the words “STAY EDGY” etched across the blade that he presents to key clients. It’s short, to the point, and it “sticks.” There is no doubt that you will remember EDGY after you’ve browsed his website, as it is mentioned a handful of times and referenced in every Tweet, blog post and podcast episode he publishes.
In order to get your message across in all its subtle glory, it needs to be simple and seamlessly circular… like the wheels on a bike. It needs to go around and around in your prospect’s head like that song on the radio. You may feel a bit self-conscious about repeating yourself, thinking that your prospects might become bored with your message if you use it too often. In reality, brand repetition equates to consistency in the vast majority of consumers’ minds.
Using this tactic lends a sense that your business is bigger than it actually is. It also lends consistency to your message, regardless of which rookie on your staff is trying his/her level best to louse it all up (LOL). Brand repetition means consistency.
Now go out and start crafting your own personal brand, and watch the world take shape around your ideas!

THE TRUE TEST OF SELLING

In golf, there is a saying that, "You drive for show, but you putt for dough."

In selling, you prospect and present for show, but you overcome customer skepticism and gain commitment for dough. Your ability to answer objections and get the sale is the true test of how good you really are as a salesperson.

The True Test of Selling

This is perhaps the most stressful and challenging part of the sales process. It's where the rubber meets the road. It is your ability to answer the questions that the prospect puts to you and overcome his natural reluctance to make a commitment that wraps up the sales process. It is also the part of the sales process that salespeople dislike the most and which customers find the most stressful.

Plan It in Advance

The end game of selling must be carefully thought through and planned in advance so that you are thoroughly prepared to bring the sales conversation to its natural conclusion at the earliest and most appropriate moment. Fortunately, this is a skill, like riding a bicycle, that you can learn through study and practice.

Handling Objections Comes First

Handling objections and closing the sale are two different parts of the sales process but they are so close together that we'll discuss them as a single function. Just as there are reasons why people buy a product, there are reasons why they don't. Often answering an objection or removing an obstacle is the critical element in making the sale. You can answer the objection and close the sale simultaneously.

Make It a Reason to Buy

Objections can be turned into reasons for buying. Just as there is a primary reason for buying a product, a hot button, there is a primary objection that stops the person from buying it. If you can emphasize the one and remove the other, the sale falls together naturally.

Smaller Products Versus Larger Products

In selling smaller products or services, where you can prospect and make a complete presentation in the first meeting, your approach to closing will be different from that required if you are selling a larger product in a multi-call sale that stretches over several weeks or months.

Ask For the Order

In the shorter, smaller sale, the prospect knows everything necessary to make a buying decision at the end of your presentation. Your aim should be to answer any lingering questions and then ask for the order. In the larger sale, you may have to meet with the prospect several times before the prospect is in a position to make a buying decision. You will have to be more patient and persistent.

Action Exercises

Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, prepare yourself in advance for the endgame of selling by anticipating anything the customer might offer as a reason for not buying. Be ready.

Second, look for the hot button, the reason the customer will buy, and press it. Meanwhile, find out his major reason for not buying and remove it.

5 TRAITS OF A GIFTED CHILD

All parents feel their children are gifted and talented. I agree. I believe all children have their own special gifts, but some children exhibit the high levels of abilities in the following areas: intellectual, creative, artistic, leadership capacity, or specific academic fields.
These children qualify for services that are not available to all students. If you wonder if your child has characteristics of giftedness, consider these traits of a gifted child. If your child shows high performance levels in more than one of these areas, your child might be gifted.

1. Intellectual traits

Intellectual traits of gifted children include large vocabulary, problem-solving skills, intense curiosity, being an independent learner, having diverse interests, early reading skills, keen observation, excellent memory, critical thinking, and more.

2. Creative traits

Gifted children who exhibit creative traits will show several of the following characteristics: willing to take risks, inventiveness, flexibility, ability to create new ideas, produce a variety of ways to solve problems, high level of wonderings and questioning, a great or unusual sense of humor, intense concentration, persistence, and more.

3. Artistic traits

Artistically gifted children are a little harder to identify, but children who show these types of characteristics might be artistically gifted: unending imagination that builds upon ideas, do not need to stimulate imagination, easily perceives space, color and other artistic values, many draw well before the age of two, may have a favorite art form like watercolor painting or sculpture, extended ability to concentrate, and more.

4. Leadership capacity traits

Children who show giftedness in the area of leadership will present the following characteristics: automatically assume the leader role and it is responsibilities, are liked among peers, highly organized, confident, have high expectations, are deep thinkers, keen sense of justice, and more.

5. Specific academic fields

When looking at specific academic fields in the area of giftedness, children will usually focus on one specific field, like science for example, or more specifically within that area. Here are other traits that may be seen: excellent memory, early skill development in the specific area, focused attention and interest in reading on the specific area, knowledgeable about that specific field, and may display enthusiasm and expertise within the specific area.