Be Better Man

We are the Captains of our own ship...and we've got lots of people counting on us. Give them your best, they deserve it.

I can remember a time, not so long ago, when I was sitting back on our couch on a Satuday, almost laying down. Saturday afternoon, about two o clock, and both of my boys were pulling at me, wanting me to come outside and play basketball with them. They wanted to play a game of 3-way twenty one. I'm hesitant to outline this scenario because it's embarrassing and completely ridiculous. They approached me with excitement in their eyes, but, at the same time, they were borderline fearful to ask me to get off the couch. My oldest son is extremely intuitive and reads people's emotions/intentions almost too well. Needless to say, he had a feeling, based on experience, what my answer was going to be.

They asked me to come join their game and I refused, politely. My youngest asked why, and I gave some bullshit excuse, saying I was tired from working so hard this week or some crap like that. They walked away, defeated. What a chickenshit I was in this circumstance.

The bottom line is that our responsibilities as a husband and father go way beyond bringing home the bacon. Providing is important, please don't misunderstand. But, it's the baseline responsibility we have. If we desire to be a good father, we have to be involved. Each person in our families have their own lives, filled with different interests, desires, goals, likes and dislikes. We must plug in to each person, find out what their deal is, and become a part of it, just if we want to be a "good" father and husband.

If we strive to be great, we must take it several steps further than being good. We've got to make each person in the house a part of our system. We have a system for managing our careers, sales territories, our small businesses, etc. We have a system for obtaining the results we want in the health and fitness side of our lives. We have a system of saving and investing our money, so that we can retire or do, be, or have certain things. To become a great husband and father, we have to also be systemic in this role as well...

As a husband, there are certain actions I take on a daily basis, to make sure I'm winning the mind and heart of my wife every single day. First, I answer her calls during my day, whenever possible. I don't screen her calls, as that makes her self-conscious. A self-conscious woman is a dangerous thing. We don't want any part of that. Next, as soon as I walk through the door, I embrace her as though she's the single greatest wife in the world. This sort of enthusiasm puts her up on a pedestal immediately, and she'll start to eagerly anticipate your returning home, which is great for us. Then, throughout the evening, my role becomes helping her with her roles, while leading her toward a calm, positive existence...showing her how to handle the conflicts with the kids, the stresses of a household, with calm and grace, instead of with emotional reaction.

As a father, I embrace my kids with the same enthusiasm. Same results with the kids..they are lifted up by our presence. Next, I spend at least 20 minutes with each of them, pouring all of my focus into every word that comes out of their mouths. They talk about school, friends, challenges throughout the day, etc. This gives me an incredible opportunity to coach them on almost every major coaching opportunity that's arisen during their day. We talk, actually, they talk, and I listen...intently, as if they're the most important person in the world. Now, I know exactly what's going on in their individual lives, I can coach them along the way, and they know I am plugged in with everything they have going on. What a deal.

Our energy level is what is going to afford us the energy it takes to be this disciplined and enthusiastic at the end of a long work day. That being said, we have to get our butts to the gym and work extremely hard. At the same time, we have to eat clean and limit sugar, so we don't crash and burn as soon as we get home at night. We've been blessed with amazing families...we can't take them for granted, or we'll lose them.

Give them your best. Give your career your best, so that you can provide them with everything this life has to offer. But, ultimately, all they really care about is you...your time and your attention.

Flip the switch

Finish Strong

Ok, today's Friday...my favorite day of the week. I'm challenging myself to finish this week on a high note.

This has been an unbelievable week from a business standpoint. I've put two full days in with my new, top prospect, who's just recently committed to locking arms with us for 2010. Knowing that this is a critical point in the sales process, I've made them my top priority this week. They've seen something in me and my offer that appeals to them...Now, I'm going to make absolutely certain that they KNOW they've made a good choice. I conducted a sales training for their sales group in the STL area, and as a result, we've gained leverage. We now have their counter guy pushing our product, and all three outside reps are fired up about selling our windows. In fact, all three outside sales reps stepped out of the meeting and began making phone calls, hoping to schedule joint sales calls with me next Tuesday and Wednesday.

The bottom line is these guys now know I'm for real and see me as a valuable partner for them in growing their business. After the meeting, I pinned them all down for feedback to see where each is at individually...are they gonna push us or not. The feedback was strong and consistent with all five guys. Before this meeting, they didn't know if I was the guy they could take in to see their top accounts and prospects, because they've all had bad experiences with reps going in and mushmouthing the whole deal into oblivion. Not the case. They are all working hard to schedule their top customers/prospects for us to call on jointly. Huge progress! The result could very well be that we now have five qualified sales people going out every day, cultivating relationships with contracting businesses that could buy anywhere from $100,000 to $500,000 per year each in windows. This is leverage.

There's another factor at play here...I can reference this success with their other two locations. Now that we have a few of their own in our corner, it'll be that much easier to get the rest of the group's attention. Overall, when we earn the focus of all their sales reps, we will end up with 15 new sales guys...this is how I plan to hit my objective of $3,000,000 of new business in 2010.

On the MBJ front, the Austin crew produced four projects this week for us. This generated cash as well as profit...all good stuff. We are two weeks away from our canvassing launch. Leads should start flowing within the next three weeks. The goal is 16-20 leads per week for our canvassing team as a whole. Our metrics tell us we need approximately one hour of canvassing per lead. The metrics come from last year's efforts. They hold up as long as the effort is directed at the specific target neighborhoods and subdivisions we've outlined.

My overall fitness level is improving, as you'd expect. Any time you do anything conistently, you're going to see improvement. It's impossible not to. My results should trend on a steeper path to good, now that I've got a solid foundation of working out consistently. What I mean is there seems to be a point in this process that after a few weeks of seeing modest gains, all of a sudden you see significant change almost overnight. I fully expect to experience this sooner rather than later, especially now that I'm locked in on really eating clean.

All good things, really. The discipline aspect of this program is getting easier, I must admit. Well, it's not that it's necessarily easier, I think these Simple Disciplines are becoming habit...second nature. Nothing excites me more than the prospect of having the discipline to execute the highest-level tasks all day long, habitually. The vision is around the corner, once this becomes automatic.

Let's use this afternoon to not only fill our schedule with new biz opportunities for next week, let's take a moment to make sure we're moving closer to our visions. Only you can answer this question. You know what you've been doing over the past few weeks. Are you doing the things you committed to do? Are you writing down your objectives and creating solid plans to accomplish them? Are you preparing yourself for each meeting and opportunity you get? Are you giving the people you meet with your fullest attention and your very best effort? If the answer is yes, congratulations...you're on your way to greatness. If no, now is the time.

Starting right now, get on the phone and get five good meetings set up for next week. Fill your day Monday and Tuesday with three new biz calls and four or five calls with existing customers, to figure out ways to help them increase their purchases this year 30% over last year. This sort of specific goal planning will give you the direction and focus you need to not only hit your own goals for 2010, but to truly help your customers grow and become more profitable.

That's a great objective for next week. Target your top 10 existing customers, write them all down. Look at their total sales volume for 2009, write it down. Figure out, from their totals, what you need to get from them in 2010 to hit your growth goals, organically. Find out what that sales dollar figure is, figure out what that growth is percentage-wise. Call every owner from all ten and get in to see them next week. Go in with a plan - a real, specific plan of action to help those guys sell whatever you need them to sell this year. Make sure your plan includes the massive value YOUR ROLE is going to play in making this real. For me, it's going to be sales training on product demos and building canvassing teams for my in-home partners, and territory management training for my distribution sales reps with an emphasis on joint sales calls with each rep, myself, and new business opportunities.

Now, when we present these plans, we present them in terms of the increased profit each customer will experience...not in terms of ME making more money for myself. In the end, our customers really only care about themselves and their companies. They've got a whole host of challenges we don't understand, because we aren't them. Makes sense, really. Most of the time they see reps as company employees who collect checks week to week and don't have to worry about the pressures of making payroll, paying for insurance, etc. So, just be sure to make all of the focus on the customer's business. They'll respond well to this approach.

Whether you choose to implement this mini-strategy or not, I think you get what I'm after. The idea is that we have to have specific goals we're working toward each day, week, month, quarter. If we only focus on yearly goals, it's easy to get complacent. I think I've got a shot at already having closed what I need for the year. If I didn't re-focus and set these shorter-term objectives and play these smaller games within the big game, I'd get bored or lazy or something. We need to keep this fun, keep it interesting. Creating challenges like this is an entertaining way to achieve the goals we're supposed to be achieving anyway. But, this stuff forces us to carry that sense of urgency we all need to have in order to become who we want to become.

Flip the switch

Not Good...Great

We are a few weeks into 90 Days of Discipline, and we're faced with a choice. We have a decision to make. So far, we've done a great job...of creating a vision, setting some long-term as well as short-term goals that will serve as milestones toward that vision, we've created plans to achieve these goals, and we've broken down our lives into Simple Disciplines, that will propel us toward our goals when executed consistently and with passion. Awesome.

Now, we have a choice. We can sit back, bask in the glory of a phenomenal couple of weeks, pat ourselves on the back and feel good. Or, we can take a good, hard look at where we're really at, and get our butts back in the saddle on the pursuit of a life that's worthwhile for ourselves and our famiies.

Yes, you're right - we've done well. We've closed deals, we've opened new doors with prospects that are GOING to become customers. We've busted our butts in the gym for a few weeks, and we've cleaned up our acts at the chow trough. But, do me this favor. Be proud of what you've done. Take a night this weekend and celebrate. But, leave it at that. Don't delude yourself. You're on the path, yes. But, you're still a long, long way from becoming anything. Three weeks of consistent execution of Simple Disciplines is fantastic. Three years of executing Simple Disciplines is a real accomplishment. And this is what it's going to take.

Every single person I know has done something similar to what we've done these last three weeks. Whether it's a diet/exercise routine, a new focused plan to grow a sales territory, a new-found desire to be a plugged-in husband and father, I've seen this before. I don't want to rain on our parades, but we're not even close. Look at every gym in town in January of every year for the last fourty years. January, it's packed. 75% of the folks in town are sweating it up at the gym...the treadmill, the elliptical, the weight room...they're all packed. Now, come back in February. It's a ghost town.

With all this in mind, what are we going to do now? I know exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to not only finish what I've started with 90 Days to Discipline...I'm going to blow it up. The formula we've created is a good one...it works, so I don't want to mess with it. My emphasis is going to be on these two aspects or ingredients...focus and state.

I've said on many occasions how critical it is to not only be consistent with executing Simple Disciplines, but to do it with passion. Passion comes from knowing what you want, specifically and WHY. Let's go back over our vision and our goals and re-explore our reasons for building a better life. These reasons are what compel us to get up every morning and take action.

Here's my plan of action moving forward:

I'm going to keep arising early, and locking in 100% on visualizing my life "as if".
I'm going through my list of things I'm grateful for in my life.
From this, I will get myself into that state in which I'm on fire
Then, I'll start my day...with focus, with clarity, and in a state in which fear is gone and confidence is jumping off me. Charisma, confidence, focus, and determination will guide me.

Flip the switch

A Test

Most of us never find our who we are because we never have to....

The life of an average American is pretty damn easy...when you consider some of the real hardships that exist in other societies. Now, there are an infinite number of potential debates regarding my use of the word "average", and I'm not interested in going down that path. I'm simply offering a general observation about our lifestyles, here in the good ole U, S of A. We throw away more than most even have. Think about this. You're cleaning up the dinner dishes, clearing off the plates before loading them into the dishwasher, think of the amount of food on each plate we throw away. My kids rarely eat half of what's on their plates. Entire families could be fed with what we discard, on a nightly basis.

This isn't a political post, by any means. I'm not trying to persuade you into thinking America is wasteful or unjust, I'm simply pointing out that we have it pretty darn good here.

We have gotten comfortable in the process. Most of us work our way through life without testing ourselves. In the past decade, rarely-if ever have I heard a friend or family member speak of an experience or, really, any point, in which he was tested. That statement could be misinterpreted as well, but bear with me. I'm talking about a point in which we discover who we really are and what we're truly capable of.

Apart from our military people, police, and firefighters, most of us are never faced with challenges that provide this kind of self-discovery.

That's what the 90 Days to Discipline is all about. More than anything, I want to know if I have the discipline and the intestinal fortitude to finish this program. At age 35, I'll most likely never go to war. I'll probably never be in another fight. I rarely compete in sports the way I used to. How will I find out what I'm made of?

Now, for example, when I do play sports, it seems like the overall attitude is about getting some exercise in, more than it's about winning. This is fine, really. I mean, it's a good thing...to never have to go to war, or to be in a fist fight, or to even have to prove myself on the basketball floor. This is part of being a man, and growing up-being a husband and father. I get it. We are not kids anymore.

But, why not push ourselves past the point? Why not put ourselves in a situation that demands we dig deep...real damn deep to see what we've got. Do we have the guts to push through and finish what we've started? I want to know.

Why not look at this like Ranger training? These young men(and women?) are forced out into the wilderness for days...hell, weeks maybe, without food, sleep, water. The experience, from what I understand, is grueling, both physically and mentally. The mental side is the real test, again, from what I've heard. Not everyone makes it. The psychological demands are beyond what most can endure...days and days without sleep, constantly on edge, not knowing what's coming next. Brutal. But, in the end, those who make it through Ranger training come out with a confidence and swagger that they can survive anything. Their minds have been sharpened to a point we'll never know. Rangers carry a self-confidence most of us will never know, because we just don't place those kinds of demands on ourselves. Confidence and discipline come from doing things that are difficult and out of our comfort zones. Every time we face our fears, and do the very thing we're most afraid of...we get stronger, and the fear starts to release its grip on us. Eventually, after we've faced our fears enough times and acted anyway, in spite of those fears, we begin to master them. We master our fear instead of allowing it to control us. This is why...or how, these folks can walk straight into the eye of the beast, so to speak, in war, and lead us to victory. While many, would run and hide.

Sort of a dramatic way of articulating a point, I know, but it does bring into light the fact that most of us have gotten soft. We've lost our edge. Our lifestyles are almost ridiculous, when you look at them in the context of this blog post. We complain when there's no Starbucks nearby...bashing the hell out of small towns cuz we can't get our "venti, non-fat, no-whip, half-caf, caramel macchiato"...We eat four times the amount of food little kids get in third world countries. We complain about not getting a good night's sleep while there are young men in the 120 degree desert or in the hills of Afghanistan, fighting wars, who may not get to sleep for days. We complain about being broke, can't do this or that, but we have a roof over our heads, our bellies are full, and we have a warm bed to sleep in.

So, what do we do? Well, I'm sure as hell not going to go join the army. I'm not looking to beat my chest and prove my manhood, or anything crazy or short-dicked like that. But, I would like to make a habit of pushing myself...pushing my limits physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally. We grow when we push against great resistance, I believe this philosophy. I think I'll make this a part of my development, as I move toward my vision. Maybe we take on a difficult physical challenge, like running a marathon...or a half marathon. Maybe we could fast a day or two per week, in honor of those who go without. Maybe we place higher demands on ourselves, in terms of adhering to a stricter moral code. I guess the answers lie with us, because down deep, we all know who we are and what we need to do to become better people, better husbands and fathers, and better citizens of this great country.

One thing I know for sure is that I'll never do all of the things I want to do, or have the things I want my family to have, or build the businesses I desire, unless I continue to sharpen my axe. We must make the inner game changes in ourselves, in our minds, before the outer game appears. So, why not see what we're made of?

Flip the switch

They're On Board...Now What?

When we get a commitment from a prospect that he's "on board", it means our work has only just begun.

One of the biggest differences between sales superstars and your average-producing sales person is determined at this ever-critical point in the sales process. You've gone through the prospecting phase, qualified the prospect, developed a solution and presented it, gotten feedback that he'd like to begin working with you. You've got him sold!....Right? Not necessarily.

The great salesman understands that this is the point where he has to really bring it, and demonstrate through action that the prospect/customer has made the right choice in working with him. Up to this point, he's heard what he needed to hear, in terms of the message you have communicated. The prospect feels you could help him with whatever challenge he's experiencing. But, again, he's only "heard" what you can do. Now, it's time to show him.

So, how do we do that? How do we show him we're the man for the job? Much of this is going to depend on what business you're in. But, I'll explain what I do in my field, and hopefully you'll be able to see where I'm going and adapt the concepts for your situation. I'll focus on my window manufacturing endeavor, in which I sell windows to large-volume window contractors, who, in turn, sell our products installed to homeowners. Our customers, by and large, all have the same challenge in that they struggle to find leads--opportunities to sell jobs. Doesn't matter which dealer you call on, or what market he's in presently, they all say the same thing..."I just need more leads". The second biggest challenge is they need to close a higher percentage of the leads they do generate.

We'll use these two examples for our discussion in how to separate you from the others. Knowing he's struggling to generate leads, I'll go out digging with every single customer I have on best practices for generating leads. I'll talk to as many good, profitable guys we have buying from us and find out what they're doing. I've done this for years, because I know if I can help in this aspect of a prospect's business, he'll buy from me for a long time and I'll be difficult to replace. Once I'm armed with a few ideas for him in terms of lead generation, I'll reach out to him. If I get his voicemail, I'll leave something like this on the vm..."Hey Tom, this is Greg with WW, hey I was doing a little digging with some of my other good guys and I have a couple of ideas for you in terms of picking up a few extra leads, give me a jingle when you get a minute". Guess what? He calls back...quickly.

After years of paying attention to what works in generating leads, I know that canvassing programs are the best system. So, I've actually gone out canvassing to see what it's all about. I'll canvass for a couple of reasons...one, I've actually done it; two, I can actually generate metrics associated with a good canvasser and what it means to my dealer; three, I'll speak with confidence, knowing I'm not just spewing somebody else's ideas.

What's given me the best results, is to actually canvass in this guy's market, and walk into his office with a handful of leads. Completely blown away. He now knows I'm for real. I'm concerned about his well-being, I'm not just another peddler of a product at a price.

To address the second issue he's having...needs to close more deals(higher close ratio). My next step is to get in front of his sales guys. I'm going to blow these guys away with best practices relating to product pitches in the home. I'm a student of it, I ride with top producing sales guys from my other customers, I've got a killer demo. So, I use it. I get in front of the sales group and bring it! I also present the metrics associated with each guy either canvassing himself or hiring a canvasser. My presentation outlines the number of leads they can expect to generate per hour, and the costs associated with that effort. I break down the cost per lead and then show them the amount of deals they'll close as a result. Next is the amount of extra money they'll earn for the year.

This is the kind of high-level stuff I'm talking about folks. Imagine, you're doing this stuff for your dealers, riding with sales guys, helping them build canvassing teams, bringing in leads from canvassing yourself...and some rumdum shows up with a competitive window, kicking the tires, trying to tell the owner that he can "save them money"...or whatever. This guy's got no chance. He's a joker in the customer's eyes, because he's comparing him to you...and you're the best rep he's ever seen in this business, because you work on high-level aspects of the business and generate real value to his organization.

Flip the switch

Personal Development

Over and over I've promoted the benefits of PD(personal development). It's without question, the single biggest factor in the positive changes I've experienced in my life. What it does is challenge the belief systems you've been given throughout your life.

Unfortunately, none of us got to consciously choose what beliefs we hold today. Everything we understand to be true or to be so were passed down to us from people in our lives -- parents, teachers, coaches, friends, whoever. Kind of a scary thought when you look around. Families are great, we love them. But, they don't always necessarily have the most empowering ideas about life, business, money, or whatever else we now find important. Poverty, like wealth, is passed down from generation to generation. Not through measly bank accounts, but through beliefs.

With this in mind, it's important to know those philosophies can be identified through the process of PD. I've experienced this firsthand. PD exposes us to better philosophy, which, in turn, challenges what we already believe. Then, through repetition in hearing or reading these empowering beliefs, we'll start to adopt them as our own. This is the path to much better results.

I thought I'd outline a few of the new philosophies I now have. These serve as filters for all of the decisions I make and consequently, the actions I take. Some are philosophy, as I mentioned. Some are just ideas, some are goals, whatever:

The true rewards go to those who are willing to consistently go outside of their comfort zones.

To achieve great financial results, we must focus on serving the many.

Before a man can lead and inspire others, he must first be in control of himself..mind and body.

Anything the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve(Napolean Hill)

We get paid according to the size of the problems we are able to solve.

It's not what we do every once in a while that determines our results, it's what we do every day.

I'm building businesses that produce profit while I'm out enjoying my life with my family, playing golf, traveling, etc...it's leverage.

Good marketing provides us leverage in that it attracts hundreds, thousands of qualified prospects who know us and what we have to offer.

There's a distinct difference between working "on" the business versus working "in" the business.

Financial freedom is when your passive income exceeds your monthly expenses.

We grow, mentally, spiritually, physically, when we push against great resistance.

Create a business that portable -- it can be run from anywhere, including a beach.

A man who has self-discipline can build any life he chooses.

Surround yourself and your family with winners.

We become the average of the five people we associate with the most.

Never make a decision in a state of fear.

Leaders get all the info and decide quickly and are slow to change their minds; followers are slow to decide and change their position quickly, usually based on someone else's opinion.

Identify where the 97% of our population is headed, and go a different direction.

If you can write a check-no matter how big and it goes away, it's a challenge, not a problem.

Look for the good in people and circumstances, and you'll find it.

We always have something to be grateful for.

Wherever you are, be there.

Our philosophy determines our attitude, our attitude determines our actions, our actions determine our results, our results determine our lifestyle.

Just a few of the beliefs I now hold...all as a result of PD. Now, when I'm faced with challenges, or questions or big decisions, I have a set of filters that shape my thoughts toward the positive, instead of getting frustrated or afraid or whatever I used to get from my old beliefs.

Just an hour a day, is all it takes. Make this a part of your day and you'll be blown away with the results....I promise you.

Flip the switch

Myth of Multi-Tasking

Multi-Tasking....complete myth

People who "multi-task" all day long are normally the ones who get the least done. They look busy(frantic), they definitely feel busy...in reality, they're getting nothing of any real value done.

If you are constantly doing several projects or tasks all at once, you're not executing any of them well. Our work, whatever it is, deserves our very best effort. Some may argue that point, especially if they feel their work is beneath them or they don't align with the overall philosophy or direction of their employers.

If we master the work we have now, we'll demonstrate to our bosses or owners or shareholders that we should be working on solving bigger problems. Being able to solve bigger problems is what launches us ahead in our careers and business endeavors and allows us to earn higher compensation.

Focus is power...it's like a laser beam in that when you focus all of your effort, all of your heart, all of your attention on one challenge or one roadblock, you'll explode through it.

Our day should consist of various high-level tasks that get us closer to our overall objective, when executed consistently with passion and enthusiasm. For example, a salesman's day should look something like this...consisting of various high-level tasks that drive the overall objective:
1. Four or five face to face sales calls with customers and prospects.
2. Ten to twenty prospecting calls to uncover opportunities for new business.
3. Five to ten follow up calls with current customers, serving them as well as possible.
4. Solution development, during which he designs solutions to each individual prospect's needs and desires.

These are the main activities a salesman should be focused on, generally speaking. If he executes these fundamentals every single day with passion, he'll produce the results the owner of the company is looking for--sales(revenue). This consistent action fills his pipeline with qualified prospects, which is key to his success.

Now, would this salesman get those results if, while he was executing his prospecting calls, he constantly responded to emails on his IPHONE? I'd guess no. He couldn't prospect as effectively if he were distracted by incoming emails. This would take his focus away from the important task of finding opportunities to land new business.

We must apply all of our focus to the high-level activities we all have in whatever our jobs may be. For a doctor, it's seeing patients, or conducting surgeries. How effective would your doc be if she answered emails or phone calls while she's in with you, checking you for a back problem? Not very.

So, what's the remedy? Completely undisturbed blocks of time during your workday in which nothing will distract you from executing these tasks to the best of your abilities. Plain and simple. If you're scheduled to make follow up calls and your boss calls and wants to talk...sorry. you'll have to get back to him. If a prospect wants to see you at 3:00 this afternoon, and you've already blocked that time out for prospecting calls...you'll have to see her Thursday at 10:00 or Friday at 12:00, times during which you're scheduled to see customers face to face. It's this kind of self-respect and discipline that will separate you from the rest.

The production we get from two hours of focused, undisturbed time making prospecting calls is worth more than six hours of prospecting if you're constantly interrupted by incoming calls, emails, facebook sessions, reading the newspaper online, etc. Works this way with every Simple Discipline we find in any career or business. We need to operate in these blocks of focused time. This is the key to efficiency and it's the quickest way to experience explosive growth in your overall performance and production....

This same approach must be used at home. Tomorrow is Sunday. Let's give our families a huge block of undisturbed, focused time.

Flip the switch

Week In Review

My totals for this past week(although I'm far from being done producing this week):

Workouts -- I executed four strong workouts so far this week. I ran a minimum of 3 miles on each of those days. Strength training as well on all four days. So, I've gotten in two hard core chest workouts, two biceps workouts, two triceps workouts, two back, one legs, two shoulders...

90 Days is working the way I hoped in that I'm developing consistency in getting to the gym. Before starting this journey, my single biggest challenge has been health and fitness. Too often, I'd go in spurts-three days on and hard as hell, then a week off. This approach has failure written all over it. Knowing I'm responsible for posting a blog every day regarding 90 Days to Discipline has struck a chord deep inside of me. Looking like a talker instead of a doer is a huge negative motivator for me, I've just realized. The last thing I want to do is look like or be one of those guys.

Sales Calls -- I've conducted 18 sales calls this week, 15 of which were for Winstrom business. Thursday, I spent half the day conducting a company Sales Meeting. The remainder of the day was dedicated to getting my stake in the company sealed up. Friday was a travel day from 5:00 am until I arrived in Texas around noon. So, that being said, I lost a couple of days this week in terms of being able to hit my sales calls quota. I'm working Saturday and Sunday this week, looking to close projects down in Texas. Wouldn't be surprised if I end up with 25 for the week.

In terms of results, this was another highly productive week. We now have close to 25 qualified prospects in the sales funnel. These 25 are not just random names of dealers we'd like to do business with at some point in the future, these are people we've sat down with, told our story to and more importantly...listened to their's. The mission now becomes solving their highest level problems-the challenges that keep them awake at night. The last thing we discuss with these guys is "here's our product, here's our price, what do we need to do to earn your business?"...Yuck. I despise that question, by the way..."what do I need to do to earn your business?". If you haven't figured that out, you're not getting what this is all about. But, that's a "whole nother" conversation.

All-in-all, a great week though, looking back. The twenty five prospects we've got in the pipeline posess close to $9,000,000 in volume, as far as the total opportunity. My biz is like anyone else's in that we are never going to bring all of the volume on board of every target we qualify. It's a percentage game and it's a numbers game. My ultimate goal for WW is to grow the biz by at least $2,000,000 in new business in 2010. We're on our way. The next 90 days is going to be the key..it'll tell the tale as to what our year is going to look like. Amazing how the conversation always seems to turn to the next 90 Days, no matter what I'm talking about these days.

Prospecting calls -- I made at least 50 calls this week, it's what's driven my results in getting the pipeline full. I'm actually adding five more calls per day directed at our existing customer list..the smaller guys I don't actually have the time(or take the time to see). I plan to contact them all to learn more about them. I want to know if these folks have challenges we might be able to help them with. 30% Organic growth is what I expect from this project....that's aggressive...and optimistic, but why not? I'm not giving the bank those numbers..:)

Personal Development -- I listened to at least 15 hours of Tony Robbins this week, while driving from call to call. Great stuff...Personal Power II, I believe it's called. This program completely changed my life. I'll never be the same person again. It should be mandatory.

I've read a ton this week as well. I'm on George Washington right now. The guy demonstrated so much virtue in the face of so much danger, yet didn't seem to bat an eye. He's a man of iron resolve and courage. I'm compelled to keep reading more and more. It's great reading, plus he inspires me to become a better man.

Visualization -- My vision is easy to see and feel. It's taken some time to get there, because it's never easy. Some people struggle with projecting themselves into a different place. Keep working at it. I'm actually going back, because of a conversation I had with a buddy, to live board room meetings with George Washington, John Adams, Lance Armstrong, Matt McConaughey(hilarious, I think), the Donald, Kiyosaki, and Tony Robbins. This is, of course, a vision but it's a neat way to visualize myself in a world-class mastermind group. Each of these men have something in their character I wish to posess. These meetings help me get there, while increasing my ability to leverage myself using autosuggestion.

Blogging -- You know that answer...clockwork

Eating Clean -- Some good days, some bad. I've fallen down a bit in this area, but I'm sticking with it.

Marketing Systems -- I fell a bit short in the actual systems part but I've spent a great deal of time working with my canvassing team. I'm two people away from a full crew of 5...

So, we've completed another week of 90 Days to Discipline. It's starting to feel like I'm alone in this quest, but I know this program will help anyone who commits to it and sees it through.

90 days is a critical timeframe for us...as business owners, salespeople, fathers, mothers, whoever we are at any point in our day, because we're in a tough climate these days. Our generation has never needed what 90Days provides more than we do now. Our courage, our will to succeed, our financial future is being challenged every single day. Instead of hunkering down and hiding, going into survival mode, we can explode! If we commit and execute this program, we'll not only make it through this, we'll be years ahead of the pack. But it takes guts, it takes discipline, perserverance, and balls. You decide.

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For just one day

Starting fresh....

For just one day, today, let's do this thing right....100%.

Let's all agree to execute these few Simple Disciplines:
1. Visualize-place yourself in the context of your vision, living your life as if you've already become the guy you wish to become, you're already doing what you want to be doing, and you have everything you desire to have.

2. Work out-with some intensity and focus, driving toward that health and fitness goal you've set for yourself.

3. Plan your day-work your plan

4. Make your 10 prospecting calls

5. Conduct a minimum of 4 high-level sales calls with top prospects

6. Blog

7. Eat Clean

8. Keep score of your progress-in a notebook or journal

9. Visualize again at night

10. Engage in one hour of personal development(read a good book or listen to a program)

Do these things and do them with energy and passion. I promise you, tonight will be a great night with your friends or family or whoever. Your weekend will be relaxed and you won't feel the need to rehash your week, because you've done the things you know you should have done.

Oh, I forgot the last one...the most important Simple Discipline:

Act like you've got a pair! Carry yourself like a man, like a winner-someone worth following.

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Build The Foundation

90 Days to Discipline is about building a foundation within us. Upon this foundation, we will build the lives we desire for us and our families. The deeper, the wider, the stronger the foundation we build, the bigger, better, and stronger the life we create. And when we're faced with challenges and adversities, like the ones we face currently as a nation, nothing can take us down or destroy us.

Our inner strength, courage, and self-discipline grow every day we follow through with this commitment. We all decided, roughly 12 days ago, that we'd all had enough. We were no longer willing to accept mediocrity. The time is now, we said, to grab a hold of ourselves and our emotions and take our lives to a higher level. We declared, to the world, our resolution to live life at the absolute peak level for 90 days.

Well, here we are...12 days into a 90 Day plan, and where is everybody? Where are you, who committed to raising the bar in your life? Are you following through on the promise you made? I'm not talking about a promise to me or anybody else who's part of the 90 Days to Discipline. I'm speaking of the promise you made to yourself. There's no quicker path to low self-esteem and a poor self image than to break promises you make to yourself.

That damn phone gets real heavy when you've failed to follow through on your commitments. Doubt and fear begin to creep back in and hold you back from making the calls. Fear not only keeps you from doing the deal, it makes you small. No fearful human being I've ever known has anybody following him...unless it's a group of fearful people, as they say...misery loves company. Charisma and confidence exit a man's spirit quickly once fear and doubt take over the mind.

But, this is a marathon, not a sprint. Every day we have to get re-committed. That's what the morning visualization exercise is about. We lock ourselves into our vision, as if it were real, to experience life the way it will be, once we've built the discipline and virtue in ourselves. When we see and, more importantly, feel what the life will be like, we're back in the saddle. We have leverage against ourselves and our old limiting patterns, beliefs and actions, to get out there and execute the way we're capable of. We can force ourselves into that state in which we're on fire...intense...to the point where nobody will stand in the way of us closing the deals we need to hit our objectives.

The few who see 90 Days through are going to come out winners on the other side. Of course we'll experience some short-term pain along the way. But, I'm a firm believer in the philosophy that in order to achieve a long-term result that's worthwhile, we have to make short-term sacrifices. Let's re-commit to living life at a high level-a life of discipline, instead of allowing ourselves to fall into the trap of immediate gratification. Remember, there's a price for every action we take...good or bad.

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Just a slight edge

The difference between the elite and the pretty good?

I think you'd be amazed at the difference between the two.

Today, at the gym, a young guy I've seen in there around lunchtime a few times was working out. This is the third day in a row I've seen him at Four Seasons. He's hard to miss, really...he's got a long blond pony tail and he's ripped to shreds. He's not only ripped, he's a fairly big dude as well.

My mind starts racing.."My workouts are normally pretty intense, but I don't look anything like this guy." I'd love to, but I don't. My brain instantly starts firing away with questions when I notice someone who's achieving better results than I am in any specific aspect of life. This guy is obviously getting much greater results.

I start to lock in on his workout, to see what he's doing versus the rest of us. He must be doing something different. I figure I'll learn something from this guy. He's obviously working legs today. Started with squats on the smith machine...a light warmup set at 135 lbs x 10 reps; then a set at 185 lbs x 10 reps with pretty mild intensity; then up to 225 lbs x 10 reps with hard focus and intensity; then 275 x 6 reps with blow out focus and intensity...he was gassed after this last set.

He moved to leg press and executed a similar strategy....4 different exercises, building the weight and pushing it pretty damn hard. Then on to leg curls...same deal. Then to calves...same deal.

Point is, his workout routine is really pretty similar to most other guys. He's not screaming his head off, like a lot of those goofballs do. He's simply pushing the envelope. Nothing flashy or over the top. Just a nice, focused effort in which he seemed to push his limits, but didn't look to kill himself.

In comparing him to most other guys, the difference is really pretty slight. I see a ton of guys come in there and execute a similar routine. Squats at 135 to start, up to 225. They seem to push themselves pretty hard as well. They're struggling at least, similar to this super fit guy. They run through many of the same exercises, yet their results aren't even in this guy's ballpark. I'm fairly confused at this point.

So, I ask him. I clue him in on what I'm after-what do you do versus everyone else in here, to give you the physique? His response was this..."Man, I see so many different guys cycle through this gym. This guy will come in for a couple of days, then disappear for a week. Then he'll come back for a day, then he's gone again for a few days. Same deal with this guy. He's in for a day, then gone for a few days. And he kills himself when he does show up. My guess is he's so sore, he thinks he's too sore to come back in. It takes consistency and it takes dedication. This isn't an option for me, dude, I want to look this way, so I gotta get in here..simple as that...OH, and diet. I eat clean". Imagine that.

His success in building a ripped body has come from the same principles we espouse in our businesses and careers. We have to be consistent in executing the fundamentals that drive the results. Earth shattering. I should've known better....Simple Disciplines.

Besides being consistent, this guy finishes his workout every single time. He doesn't get halfway through his workout and bail. He sees it through. Exactly what 90 Days to Discipline is all about.

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Some difficult questions

I've asked you to create a vision for your life as part of this 90 Days to Discipline, so you'll have a compelling image in your head to work toward. The more vivid your vision,the more compelling your reasons why, the better your results become in building this vision. Let's take this a step further...

When you visualize the various aspects of your vision and the goals associated with it, I want you to think about how it will feel when you accomplish them. For example, how will it feel when you get down to your goal weight? Write down your answers. How will you feel when you hit that annual income of $500,000? Jot down the things that come to mind when you put yourself in a real situation in which this has become real...maybe you and your wife are sitting down with your accountant or tax guy this time next year and you're looking at your return, and it says $511,000 in your W-2 space. Or, perhaps you're at the computer, booking a trip to Hawaii with a local travel agent for your family. Doesn't matter what it is, what matters is that you're visualizing yourself in a real circumstance in which you feel unbelievably proud because you hit your objective.

I'd like to offer a few of my own thoughts and processes for my visualization exercises....

My main health and fitness goal is to get my body to 165 lbs with less than 8% bodyfat. Each morning, during my focus session(My Morning Do) and each night(laying in bed), I can actually feel what it will be like to get up out of bed each morning with a lean abdomen. My reflection in the mirror is impressive, with a chiseled chest and abs(hokey, I know).
I envision myself playing basketball at Noon Ball at IWU, and I have that explosive first step I had when playing in high school. I can feel myself getting up on the rim, pulling down rebounds like back in the day.

I picture a scenario in which I come off the golf course with my buddies in the summer and join the wives and kids at the pool. My shirt comes off immediately because I'm the most ripped dude out there-including the 18 year old kids who are back from school. One of the guys in my foursome is kind of an asshole and is competitive with me, so I love the look on his face when I strip off the shirt and he gets a gander at how jacked up I've become. Then, I catch a glimpse of the whole group of wives checking me out, most of whom are trying to do it on the sly, so their hubbies don't feel insignificant. It's this kind of vivid imagery that turns this goal into a white-hot obsession in my mind.

On the business/financial side, I go through a similar process. My mind takes me to my office-a blown up version of what I have now. The office is large with the most exquisite mahogany, custom-crafted woodwork. The decor is simple, yet elegant. Absolutely no clutter and it's easy discernable that the guy residing in the office is in control of not only himself, but his team and companies.

I enter the boardroom for a weekly strategy session with my Core Group. We discuss direction of each division and the progress they're making. We cover only high-level topics...financials, strategy, people, and the systems we utilize to make it all happen. I conduct the meeting and keep it on topic, moving swiftly from point to point, making big decisions quickly once all the relevant information is gathered and considered.

I see myself driving the car I want so badly. I picture myself flying a private jet to look at a potential acquisition in California....

I'm talking very specific details. What's most important is I know exactly how it will FEEL to be this guy, to do what he does, and to have what he has.

The whole point is to transition our vision into a burning obsession within us. I know the detail I go into during my viz sessions is crazy and it may seem extreme. Fact is, it's working.

I want to take you down a different path, now. I want you to ask yourself a few different questions...like what will it feel like if you don't follow through? On the health and fitness side, what will it feel like this summer when you're wanting to swim at the family birthday party, but your little man boobs are hanging down for the kids to see? Maybe one of the younger boys makes a comment..."Uncle Greg, you look like you need a bra". Devastating. Or maybe your buddy peels his shirt off, this is the guy you are friends with but you kind of can't stand, and you catch your wife looking him up and down? That'll sting a little. Maybe your son looks embarassed when you take your shirt off. He sees your buddy and says..."whoa, mr james is totally ripped dad". You feel about an inch tall.

How about on the financial side? Your daughter turns 16, about the same time her best friend also turns 16, her friend's dad buys her a brand new VW convertible and gives it to her with a big red bow. Meanwhile, your daughter isn't getting a car, because you're late on the $280 payment on your beater. Think of how you will feel in that scenario. How will your little girl feel? Her sweet 16 may not be as sweet as her friend's?

How about this...ever wonder if your wife is willing to put up with struggling financially for the rest of her life? While they may not come out and say it...women want the finer things. They may not need 3 carat stones in their ears, but they sure want more than to scrape by every single month, because you haven't figured out how to get control over yourself-your emotions, your negative thoughts.

WOW, I'm actually depressed writing this. But, this is critical to consider. There is a price for everything. Everything we do, everything we don't do. We have to take a good, hard look inward every once in a while, to make sure we're on track. Now, I am a huge believer in moving TOWARDS good things, not moving away from bad things. But, I had to bring these tough questions to the forefront. It had been a while since I looked at the cost of inaction...and that cost, as we now see, can be great.

So, moving forward, let's stay locked in on the compelling vision for our lives. Be detailed, be specific in your viz process. Then, work like hell on the Simple Disciplines we've outlined. We must think big(vision) and execute the fundamentals, all while acting as if. We will get there.

Flip the switch

Don't get comfortable, stay on edge

The key, as I've mentioned in earlier posts, is to turn your vision into a white-hot, burning obsession in your gut and mind. Once your viz has evolved into a being of its own inside of you, it will start to manifest itself at a rapid pace. Results will happen, you will feel different-more confident, and you'll expect good things to happen.

The challenge with it becoming such an obsession is that it becomes uncomfortable. Many times during this growth process, I've found myself in moods and states that were less than calm places to be. The reason is because we have not arrived yet and it eats at us. This uncomfortable state is the beginning of getting everything you want.

Last Friday, at the end of my day(5:45pm), my brain was still running 100 miles per hour. The question "what else can I do right now to make a huge impact on my business?" occupied my thoughts, and I could not escape it. Frustration set in and I almost felt like I was going mad. Here it is, a Friday night, and I can't chill or at least get into weekend mode.

Then I realized, this is what it's like to be in the zone. Not the weekend zone, the zone in which I build a huge, profitable businesses that launch me toward my vision. It's this kind of unsettled state that drives us into massive action. 97% of the people in the world punch that timeclock at 4:00 or whatever time they get off on Friday, and they can't wait to start the weekend. They immediately set their job over to the side and get to playing, which is fine, ultimately. Everyone needs a break. But, it's become clear to me that only when we're uncomfortable do we have the sense of urgency to get to that elite level. We are capable of so much more..more calls, more energy, more desire to kick everyone's ass we compete with. This thing we do, or what some try to do, this growing and evolving into business and/or sales elite, requires crazy focus and energy. We have to find this state of wanting to close every deal that is out there...find it, cultivate it and close it!! I'm talking about living in a zone where no one can beat us. If a prospect passes on us, eff him. We'll find another deal, a better deal. This is the level of passion, focus, and urgency we need to find in order to create and build what we've set out to create and build.

Work with passion, with energy, with focus. Be that guy who shows up with that look of determination in his eye, the guy who know exactly what he wants and what he needs to do right now to get there.

Action: Get clear again on your vision. Who are you going to become? What type of life are you going to have? What house will your family live in? What cars will you drive? What will your business look like? Then, when you've refocused on what you want again, then lock in on WHY. The tasks we execute are not the focus here, they're the method. The vision is the focus and why we are building it...this is our driving force for all action we take. Stay crystal clear on the vision, but work your ass off on the Simple Disciplines.

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Look Around You

We become the average of the five people we associate with most. This is one of the primary principles of personal development. It's found in just about every book, tape, program, whatever else you may run into on this pursuit of personal growth. Never have I heard this philosophy challenged..ever. In Napolean Hill's classic THINK AND GROW RICH, he refers to this as one of the most influential moves in building the life or vision you want.

So, it's a widely-accepted principle or philosophy, yet it may be one of the least acted upon of all the success principles.

Want to know how much you weigh? Look at your five closest friends and average them out..you'll have your weight. Want to know how much money you earned last year? Look at your five closest buddies and average their earnings out...you'll have your answer. It's scary to think about. In fact, when I first read it, heard it, my eyes hit the floor, because I knew the answer. My unwillingness to get out of my comfort zone was hampering my ability and desire to expand and grow.

My life may just be an example of how this works, now...five years later from the point I just mentioned. Can I sit here and attribute my success to the peer group I now enjoy? Maybe. Maybe not. There is really no way of knowing what exactly moved me into action. I know, without question, that my wiring has changed, mainly as a result of my belief in myself and my fully expecting to do well.

What I want to offer is a few suggestions in changing your peer group. This may serve you, it may not. Here it is anyway....

First, you can't pick your family, but you can sure pick your friends. Pretty self-explanatory, I'm sure. But, the latter phrase is important. This will determine who you become, regardless of what you may believe. This can work for you, it can work against you. But, it's up to you...you have control over this.

How do I change my friends? Tough question...maybe the toughest question I've had to ask myself during the past five years of my life. This caused me a ton of short-term pain, but I had to let go. Negative, whiny people destroy our spirit. They drain the life out of every room, every person in that room unless you're accutely aware of what's happening. These are the same folks who shoot down any ideas you run past them. When they hear a plan you may have for starting a business, or applying for a job that's a stretch for you in your current position, they immediately want to bring you back down to earth. They start poking holes in what you're doing, or talking about doing. They insinuate you're not qualified or capable of what you're suggesting. They call it being "realistic" or "practical" and they almost act like they're doing you a favor. Fact is, they're scared shitless, and they're projecting their lack of confidence in their own abilities onto you, and most of the time they can't believe you have the gall to even suggest to them the idea you just spoke of.

Fact is, they're the ones that are trying to hold you back, so you don't pass them by. You have to let these folks go. You have no choice, you must let them go, or they will drag you down into their life, which is usually a life of poverty(barely getting by financially), fear(of being poor or being made to look like a failure), misery(by complaining that successful people are simply lucky, while the world has given them a bad hand), and inaction(never going out and trying anything). Let them go. You must.

When moving forward, you need to look for someone who is already who you want to become. This individual is doing what you want to do and has what you want to have in your life. They've got the deal you want for you and your family. Identify one of these guys or maybe even a couple of them, if you can find them.

Once you've got a couple of prospects, figure out what they do, where they hang out socially, and get around them. This is a highly simplistic approach, but in the end, this is what it boils down to. If he belongs to a certain club, join it...although it may cause you short-term pain financially. If he hangs out with a certain group, figure out a way to get in with one of the group.

The best angle to come from is the social angle. Truly successful guys like this, pretty much do everything within a circle of people. You must come to them through someone in that circle. This is the quickest way in, without question.

Your getting in with this individual or two is going to come down to how bad you want to get "in there". This is just like everything else that's worthwhile...if it were easy, everybody would be doing it. You must DECIDE you're going to do it, and you do whatever it takes. Plain and simple. You simply will not stop until you get in with these guys. But, again, you have to be invited in. Barreling down the door, stalking the dude, or worse..looking desperate, will result in horrific failure and defeat. You have to be invited in.

I can offer one suggestion. A guy I know wanted in with a certain group of money guys. This group was well-known for commercial development and real estate. My buddy went out and canvassed a ton of businesses, trying to cultivate leads for a new commercial development that these guys were plotting and preparing to build. The result was that my boy was able to bring four or five new businesses to the table to either lease space or purchase the lots these guys held. One of the pre-sold lots was to a bank he knew, they sold the lot for $700,000($610,00 profit) and agreed to have these guys' builder build the new bank branch for them. Long story short, this group of money men opened their inner circle to my buddy and they brought him in on the ownership side of the whole project....with no cash, just his sweat equity....killer effort on his part!

So, to sum up. Get rid of the folks who drag you down. If you can't totally lose them, decide to limit your time with them. Instead of speaking once per day, try keeping your contact with them at once per week. It'll do great things for your journey toward a better life...your vision. Then, find a guy who's got what you want and is doing what you want to do, and get yourself around him. Decide you will earn this spot. Be creative, be persistent, but be yourself.

Flip the switch

Up the ante

Great week last week. Phenomenal, in terms of effort and results.

Constant improvement is the key to a great life. With this in mind, let's turn it up a notch this week. For the next five days, let's push it an extra 10%. Work out 10% harder. Make one more prospecting call, fit in one or two more sales calls. Read just a little more than last week. Blog a little better, with a little more thought put into our topic.

I'm sure you get the point. We have to grow, we have to improve, every single day. Ten percent guys. Let's get after it. This vision is real, we just have to bare down and execute these Simple Disciplines, and do it with faith and passion. Add in an extra ten percent, and there's no stopping us.

Right now is when most folks quit, they give up. Our group is committed, we will not fall off of this 90 Days to Discipline. We will be the few who DO, versus the many who TALK.

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What a Week

It's Saturday morning...I slept in until 9:00(which was fantastic). I'm sitting down in my office at home, looking back on the first week of this 90 Days to Discipline journey. Incredible week. No other way of describing what went down.

Let's take a quick look at the highlights:

1. I worked out hard four times -- running 12 miles total and 4 good strength training sessions. Long, long way to go to get to my goal of 165 lbs with 8% bodyfat, but what is most important is I'm back in the saddle of working out...I'm approaching momentum. My nutrition this week was pretty darn solid. I wasn't perfect, by any means. As I reflect on this aspect, the reason I fell short on the diet side is that I wasn't prepared. Preparation is key, and I left my home or the hotel room each morning without a plan for eating right. I made good choices, for the most part. Lack of preparation can make it nearly impossible. Lesson learned.

2. I closed three deals with MBJ this week, with personal profits of $11,000 approximately, from these deals. These leads came from my own personal grass roots marketing efforts down in Austin, TX. Fundamentals!

3. I was able to open talks with 6 new prospects for WW -- these dealers purchase a total of $1.5Million in volume. I've got meetings scheduled with all six dealers next week to take the sales process further.

4. I closed a deal with my largest prospect for WW yesterday(Friday) at 4:45pm. These guys should purchase a minimum of $700,000 in product from us this year. Potentially, they could become a $4,000,000 a year dealer for us. My commission rate is 5%...

5. I plugged into about 13 hours of personal development for the week, utilizing my windshield time(when I wasn't making prospecting calls). My studies this week mostly dealt with building lists of loyal people through blogging and product launches.

6. My vision is becoming emblazened in my brain. Visualizing it twice daily and reciting my Think and Grow Plan twice daily, has helped turn my vision into a white hot obsession for me. Only when it becomes a fire in your belly will your vision pull you toward it. This starts with seeing it and reciting it over and over, with passion and absolute faith it will manifest itself.

7. I have decent momentum on the blogging front. I've posted at least twice daily on the 90 Days blog. Blogging, like any other worthwhile endeavor, takes consistent effort and a persistent, yet patient attitude toward it. Eventually, this blog will catch on, because the information I'm providing is not readily accessible.

In summary, my personal income increased by at least $50K this week from the deals outlined above. I still have work to do of course, to earn the WW biz from my new dealer and maximize their volume for 2010. But, all in all, great results for simply doing what I could have been and should have been doing all along...working hard, working smart, with a kick-ass plan that's focused on executing a few Simple Disciplines every single day. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO LIVE, I SWEAR.

90 Days to Discipline is not going to be easy, for any of us. But, think of the payoff. Think of what we can accomplish once we've become that guy-the guy who commits to a vision and does whatever necessary to make it real. The guy who makes no excuses. The guy who holds laser focus on his vision and is hell-bent on helping enough people in the niche he is so incredibly passionate about, to earn a fortune for him and his family. This is the ultimate freedom. When one has this sort of discipline and toughness, he will always be in control of his and his family's destiny. He won't be one of those guys who sits around worrying on Sunday night that his boss may let him go on Monday. That's for the weak. We are not the weak. We are the leaders in this world. We just have to wake up every morning and decide to be...

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Personal Brand

What would your customers say if they were asked to describe your brand? Not the company's brand, your personal brand?...

At the end of the day, what we should be most concerned about is this ever-so-critical question...what is our brand?.

Our personal brand is the overall experience our customers get when doing business with us. There are lots of competitors, lots of other reps calling on these same buyers/owner/whatever. We, as salespeople, must go above and beyond to be 'the guy' in whatever it is that we do.

Things change. Products change. Industries change...heck, industries can be born or completely destroyed overnight, in our political environment and with rapidly advancing technology. Therefore, our personal brand has never been more important to our long-term success in our business endeavors. You may have a competitive advantage with the products you represent today, but tomorrow, your advantage could disappear. With that mind, we can't sit around and rest on our laurels. We have to strive to be the most valuable resource our customers have, regardless of what we sell them today.

So, what is our brand? How do we build a great brand?

I'll outline...

APPEARANCE/IMAGE -- Your overall look and image. Do you show up dressed to the nines or are you disheveled and frumpy(Dockers that are too big with bad brown boots or casual dress shoes....terrible!)?

I'm a huge believer in dressing in high quality gear. I go out and invest in clothes that are not only sharp, they fit me well. I buy great gear and have it tailored.

Your customer, whether they are conscious of it or not, are going to make some deductions about who you are and what type of a partner you'll be the second you walk through the door. Are your shoes sharp and polished? Is your shirt pressed? Do your pants have good crisp lines? This stuff is critical to your image.

Your vehicle...is it clean and organized? Or do you come rolling in in a hoopty with dirt caked all over it? I'm telling you, pay attention to this stuff. People who go that extra mile and invest in their own image and self-worth are usually a high-calibur person, who's capable of taking their work and YOUR BUSINESS seriously, deadly seriously. A guy who wears dumpy clothes, drives a filthy car with fast food bags everywhere...is this a guy I want to partner with? No.

ATTITUDE -- When you come bouncing into the owner's office and your biggest prospect, do you lighten the room with confidence, charisma, and a positive aura, or do you come in afraid, doubting yourself, eager to chime in on the whining about how bad business is and how tough the economy is? You either lift people up or you bring them down. You decide.

CONTENT -- This is the content of who you are. Are you a man of substance, who is in the know in your industry? Are you the go-to guy when it comes to your product? Your competitors' products? Marketing ideas? Best practices? This comes down to how much time you're putting into your own development in your spare time. Your prospect is going to sum you up quickly when he starts asking you questions and you jump straight into your products and how they're better than what he's got presently. He'll know you're in it to sell him something instead of being a great resource for his overall business well-being.

EXECUTION -- Do you do what you say you'll do? Does your brand represent prompt answers to questions or does it represent call backs two days later? Can you solve problems? Can you be trusted with inside information? Are you a good rep or are you average? The world is small. Your actions will catch up with you at some point, good or bad. Do you look to find problems and solve them for him? We have to solve big problems..the bigger the problem we solve, the bigger the paycheck for solving it.

The bottom line is that we all have brands, whether we want one or not. Decide if you want to be an elite brand or a run of the mill average brand...like 97%. It takes work and consistent action and improvement. Ultimately, it requires investment in yourself.

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Build your list folks

Marketing is changing, folks...rapidly. The old school systems of generating opportunities are no longer effective. For car dealers, all they needed to do was run a full page color ad in the Sunday newspaper and people came out in droves. Home improvements guys...same thing. In fact, they'd have to hire 7 to 10 people to work the phones on Sunday evening, to handle the call volume that came in from their ads in the local newspaper.

Today, these ads don't work. Well, they don't work to the level they once did. People are hit with hundreds of thousands of marketing messages on a daily basis. We've inundated with it, so much we've grown numb. When we see a full page color ad from Johnny's Used Cars or XYZ Siding and Windows offering "The Best Selection and the Lowest Prices", our brains tell us..."yeah right". The general public sees right through that. Hell, we've seen that same stupid catch phrase for fourty years. "Best Selection/Lowest Prices". "OK hun, today's the day, I think THIS car lot IS offering the best selection and the lowest prices". It's cheesy. It's gimmicky...and everybody sees through it.

The beautiful thing is that marketing can be much less expensive today than it used to be. Those ads in the paper can cost $3,000 to $20,000 depending on the publication. We can now market our businesses on the internet for almost free, if we do it the right way.

I suggest everyone who's in business or wants to be build and cultivate a list. The best is a list of folks who've already bought from you. That person, the one who has raised their hands and said "I trust you enough to spend my hard-earned money on you and your product/service", is the most valuable person in the world to a good business. But, today most of us say "thank you", and move on to the next. We focus all of our time and resources on getting new customers. New customers are wonderful, don't misunderstand. We love new customers. But, the cost of acquiring a new customer is ten times higher than selling to somebody you've already done business with. Fact.

The answer is to give these folks who've bought a ton of love. Anybody who's bought from you in the past is priority number one. Get their email address and file it. Get every piece of information they'll give you and keep it. Add every person you've bid a job for or gave a price to. Get their email address and add it to your list. These folks are the people you need to stay in contact with.

Once you've built a list, no matter how big or small, use one of the email management groups to stay in constant contact with your list. Constantcontact.com These companies will send out, automatically, the messages or content you create. They'll manage a list of up to 1,000,000 email addresses. This is a turn-key system of staying in touch with people who can or have bought from you. Gold.

I suggest you go beyond staying in touch. I say you do everything you can to help these people, truly help them. Do research, do your homework. Become an absolute expert in your chosen field, and offer them real solutions to the problems they have. Don't just offer them products for sale, either. Give them items of value..for free. If you consistently provide value to these folks, weekly or monthly, asking nothing in return, you become credible and they trust you. Then, down the line, when you ask them to buy your product..whatever that is, they see you as something more than just a guy asking them to buy a product.

Be cool in how you communicate with them. People today hate to be sold. Cheese ball salesy language will make your list run for the hills. I would to, if some dude was trying to throw some BS at me. Take a different approach...Imagine you're talking face to face with one of your previous customers who's become a buddy of yours. When you see him after a year or so of doing biz with him, you would never come up and say something like this..."Well Hello Mr Travis, It was great doing business with you. I've been remiss in not staying in communication with you" blah blah blah. No, you'd probably say "hey Tom, how've you been man? I tell ya, I've been a bad friend. I've been out chasing and spending a bunch of money trying to find new customers, and forgot the folks who've helped me over the years. I should have been reaching out a hand to you all, instead of running all over town, trying to tell my story to whoever will listen." The same way you'd talk to a buddy. When that guy hears you speak in a cool, informal way, he instantly drops his guard and goes into relaxed, buddy mode. Dude speak instead of awkward business language. This is the way to shape and craft your content and messages to your list. They'll listen, number one, and they'll love the fact somebody is just wanting to talk instead of pitch a deal to them.

For example...A Used Car Dealer

He has a list of 5,000 previous customers and/or people they offered deals to for a used car. This owner or his sales group, should hire one of the email mgmt companies to manage this list. Then, he sends out a request to all of the people on the list, asking for permission to include them on a list for a monthly newsletter.

This newsletter is a free thing that contains free advice on proper care and maintenance of a vehicle. "Mr Jones, thanks a ton for trusting us last time you came in and bought that vehicle from us. As a thank you, I'm sending you this newsletter to keep in touch and to offer some free advice on how to do a few simple things to hopefully avoid costly repairs down the road. In trying economic times, the worst thing would be to have to dump a few thousand into a new transmission, especially if it could have been avoided". You could also highlight some cool features coming out in some of the newer models.

Your content is up to you. I'm a believer in going out and finding out what people are really worried about when it comes to vehicle maintenance, buying a vehicle, selling a vehicle, etc. When you learn what really keeps these folks up at night, you can impact them in a major way. Solving big problems for people usually ends up with significant compensation on our end.

But, you have to be genuine in wanting to truly help these people. If you're only in this to sell somebody something, they'll sniff you out in a heartbeat. People can smell a salesy rat a mile away. Give them real content, for free. Then, when you have something to sell, you have credibility.

Those of us who do these "in the trenches" sort of value-added work for our customers, are the ones who are going to prosper when times get tough instead of go out of business. This is a low-cost system of generating not only leads, but a truly loyal list of people who will buy from us for decades, if we treat them right.

If your business is new and you have no previous customers or prospects, I suggest you blog. If you blog consistently for 90 days, you'll start to show up on the search engines. Blogging does a couple of key things. It makes you go out and learn about your business, so that you have content to post. Second, it positions you as an expert. Big.

Also, you can use the social networking sites to build your list...Facebook, Twitter, etc.

This takes serious effort and commitment, but the payoff is huge.

Flip the Switch

Day 3 Progress

Yesterday's results(Day 3)

1. Work out hard cardio and strength training -- Ran 3 miles, chest and biceps

Chest press DB 3 x 75lbs x 10 reps
Incline DB press 3 x 65 x 8 reps

Barbell curl 1 x 65lbs x 10 reps
1 x 75lbs x 8 reps
1 x 85lbs x 5 reps

DB Curls 4 x 30lbs x 10

2, Personal Development, listen to audio book/program for 30 minutes or read

I listened to Personal Power from TR for 2 hours in vehicle while traveling; listened to "New Masters of Marketing" for 1.5 hours on internet marketing/list building

3. Conduct 4 pre-scheduled sales calls

I held 3 pre-scheduled meetings - the last one was a large group presentation in which I pitched to two owners, their two sales mgrs, and 25 sales guys. I figure this is worth 4 calls total.

I think I've got the deal with my largest prospect for the year closed. I just need to follow through on some details with each location of the 3 they have and I'll get $500K in volume this year. Boo Yah!!

4. Make 10 prospecting calls

I completed 12 calls, and scheduled 4 meetings for this week and next

5. Blog daily

Did it

6. Write my book

Wrote 3 pages yesterday

7. Visualize twice daily my vision with passion and faith

Once in early morning, once in bed before I knocked out

8. Eat clean

5 egg whites scrambled with wheat toast
grilled chicken breast sand with wheat bread with lettuce and tomato
cereal for dinner
6 glasses of water

9. Build my marketing systems

Did not execute this Simple Discipline

Notes: Overall, was a fantastic day. I'm really able to see my vision, yet focus on the fundamentals I know will get me there. Becoming that guy is going to be the difference in following through and not following through.

The working out is tough right now, with a couple of banged up ribs(skiing). But, I just need to get to momentum. Momentum is where it's at, and I'm there in business, but not there in health and fitness. The only way to get to momentum is by taking massive action. So, here we are-another day. All we must do is lock in on that vision, believe in it, and get to work on the Simple Disciplines.

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Is it in you?

As I drove up to our manufacturing plant this afternoon, rehearsing my presentation I had planned to give at a big meeting later on in the day, I stumbled across a concept I had to share. First, I'll remind you that I'm in day 3 of this 90 Days to Discipline campaign, so my vision/goals and my plan to achieve them are top of mind for me at most times of the day. Only when I'm with a prospect or customer am I thinking of anything other than my objectives.

During this road trip/rehearsal, I covered some personal development ideas as part of my pitch this afternoon. Almost in every sales presentation I give, I focus some amount of time on PD, because it's so critical in getting people to follow through. My main point was that we all need to make life-long learning part of us, in order to develop as human beings....to be better mates, parents, leaders, employees, owners, whatever. Suddenly, it dawned on me that some folks just aren't going to do it. But, it hit me that we all have everything we need inside of us to live at the highest of levels. Yes, we all need to plug in and learn from those who've done it before us. Intrinsically, we already have what we need inside. The challenge is that we just don't have the motivation, the skills, the strategies to do it.

That's where PD comes in. Personal Development helps us find the reasons why we want more than we currently have. Or, better stated, reasons why we want to become more than we are.

Most people don't tap into these intrinsic abilities-they use a small percentage of what's inside them. I used to think it's because they're lazy people. Now, I realize it's because they have no vision for their lives. They're just here to take whatever life decides to give them. Ultimately, I believe they don't get up and get to it because they have impotent goals.

This is the whole point of 90 Days to Discipline...to create a vision, create goals, explore within us why we want them, and focus on the few Simple Disciplines-the high value tasks that will get us there.

I can't stress enough the importance of following through on what we've committed to doing. Stay the course. If you do, you'll become one of the few who DO, versus the many who TALK.

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My chin

I ran over a set of RR tracks this morning when driving to my first appointment. When I bounced over the tracks, I felt the little fat deposits under my chin jiggle. Not good. Not feeling the fitness love right now.

Here's the plan....

I've got my goals in front of me, in terms of health and fitness...165 pounds with 8% bodyfat
By.....April 2, 2010

Stay committed to my Simple Disciplines, b/c we have to remain in balance. Normally, I'd go crazy on the work out side, starve myself, and get some decent results. The problem was that I had neglected everything and everybody else in the process.

So, working out balls out on the treadmill and in the gym(strength training).

Also, eat for fuel and come in at a calorie defecit of 500.

It's what we do every day, not every once in a while.

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A less invasive approach

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I spend a good deal of time studying, so that I can make the internal changes that are critical to making the external goals happen. Again, the process is first we must BE, then we DO, finally we HAVE...in that order.



With this philosophy in mind, we must ask ourselves..."what are we putting into our minds"? Our environment plays a huge role in shaping who we are. WE BECOME THE AVERAGE OF THE FIVE PEOPLE WE ASSOCIATE WITH THE MOST. This is irrefutable.



My business environment is pretty solitary, in that I spend a ton of time in my vehicle, calling on dealers and prospects, checking jobsites, and overseeing our grass-roots marketing team. I don't have people around me I can pull from in order to learn and grow. If we're not growing, we're dying.



I've turned this disadvantage into a huge advantage. Almost every minute I spend doing windshield time I'm using to shape my mind through building positive belief systems...How? My vehicle is now a mobile learning unit. Remember, it's not what we do every once in a while that determines our outcomes, it's what we do every day. So, every day I'm listening to personal development programs, sales training, health and fitness audio books, and biographies of great men in history. For example, I've gone through the entire Get the Edge Program from Tony Robbins. Unbelievable program. I've listened to the audio version of the classic Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill. This book is the foundation of all P.D.



Fourteen years of this has completely changed my life. Before I embarked on this journey, I was a negative guy-full of fear and limiting beliefs about who I was and what I could and could not do. Most of the time, in business, I was paralyzed by fear and insecurities. Meetings frightened me, any time I was asked to speak at a meeting, my heart almost jumped out of my chest.



Today, actually(I actually mean today), I present to groups of 50-60 people and love it. My confidence and belief in myself shine through when I present, and it's become a highly effective skill in closing deals and winning the hearts and minds of sales groups.



So, here's the deal...Get out and invest in yourself. Buy some programs, read a few books, do the deal. But, most importantly, make this a part of who you are. The rewards are incredible. My income has multiplied by a factor of 10 since committing to personal development. I credit this as the single biggest factor in my success. But, it doesn't stop here. I firmly believe I've only scratched the surface.



Remember, consistency is key. Make this part of your day, every day.

Simple Disciplines--these are the key to manifesting the vision we hold for our lives. Possibly the most important one is personal development. Your beliefs drive your attitude, your attitude drives what actions you take(or don't take), your actions drive your results(good or bad), and your results determine your lifestyle. So, decide right now to commit to building the right belief systems-beliefs that will empower you. The proper beliefs will drive you to get after it and fight harder when times are tough, instead of forcing you to quit and whine to your wife about how tough your market is, or how bad your company or product is. Enough. Get out and invest in you right now.



Flip the switch

Day 1 Summary

The Simple Disciplines must be executed every day, Monday-Friday, without fail. It's not what we do every once in a while that determines our results, it's what we do consistently. After seven years of personal development, I feel that I have the knowledge to design an effective strategy to manifest the vision I hold for me and my family. I've broken the vision down into a few main areas of my life....

• Personal Development(who you become)
• Health and fitness
• Business/Career/Financial
• Quality of Life/Things Goals

Balance is critical to live a good life. Too many times, I've focused all of my heart into one or two of these aspects and let others suffer. I carried laser focus into these endeavors, and I experienced a ton of success. The challenge is that while I succeeded in one or two areas, I failed miserably in the others....the richest man in the graveyard analogy. I was working my butt off, but I never got into the gym. It wasn't top of mind, it was secondary to building my business. Eventually, this caught up with me. I'll never be truly happy or free if I'm not in great physical shape, no matter how much financial abundance I've acquired. My rules, my standards tell me I must be fit as hell to be happy.

Point is, we must account for all of these areas when considering our vision. I recommend the following exercise to create your vision(I got this from a Tony Robbins program):

Write down one of the aspects I listed above. For the next five minutes, write down everything you'd like to have, do, or be in this category. Begin with the Personal Development category...

I'd like to offer a few examples, to help you get started:

1. Learn a foreign language.
2. Earn a master's degree in business.
3. Run a marathon(could go in H&F)
4. Write a book
5. Become a professional writer/speaker/coach in sales & entreprenuership, h & f, etc

etc....

Write stuff for at least 5 minutes. The key is to NOT LIMIT YOURSELF. Far too many of us allow fear to creep in while doing this exercise. We don't call it fear, we call it being "realistic" or "down to earth". BS. It's fear. We don't want our friends, family, neighbors, whoever to laugh at us. Let that crap go. Dream, let your mind flow the way we used to when we were kids. Dream Big...

After the five minutes, go back and write down a number next to each dream/goal. This number represents the number of years you're willing to wait to have this particular goal. If you want to write a book in the next 10 years or so, write down a 10 next to that goal. If you want to write in now, write down a 1. Do this for every single goal. I'm hoping you get at least 15-20 goals down.

Next, take all of your goals that have a 1 next to them, and decide which two are most important. Which two of these, if accomplished this year, would make you feel like the year was well spent in this particular area of your life? Write down or circle your top two. Two is good, three is good. No more than three. It becomes too much, you'll spread yourself too thin.

Repeat this process in the remaining areas of your life...Health & Fitness, Biz/Career/Financial, Living Well/Things Goals, Contribution. Again, do not limit yourself. I'll offer a couple of examples, so we stay on the same page...

H&F

1. Run a marathon
2. Body to 165 pounds
3. Less than 8% body fat
4. Dunk a basketball

Biz/Career/Financial

1. Earn $554,000 per year
2. Earn $10,000,000 per year(whatever number you want to strive for, as long as it's specific)
3. Lead a business with $100 Million in annual revenue
4. Sell a business for $50 Million
5. Take a company public
6. Save $10,000 in cash or 10 million in cash
7. Invest $10,000 per month

Living Well/Things

1. Build a 8500 sf home in Sherwood Sub with Jim O'Neal
2. Buy a house in Vale, Co
3. Take whole family to Hawaii for two weeks
4. Travel Europe for two months with immediate family, staying at best places
5. Purchase an Astin Martin DBS with cash

Contribution Goals

1. Donate $25000 per year to ISU
2. Feed 1000 families every Christmas
3. Give 100 people $1000 in cash at gas stations the week before Christmas.

Some of these are outrageous, I know. But the way I see it, there are thousands of individuals out there who have the resources to have, do, and be all of these things. Why not us?

Once you've done this for each area, you have all of your one year goals. These will be the driving force for your program.

This next step is the most important. Go through your list of one year goals, and articulate WHY you will have these goals, this year. Be descript. Explain why you need them, how it will feel when you've accomplished them. These emotional descriptions will provide the fuel for your fire throughout the year. If you find yourself not following through on your Simple Disciplines, then you have weak REASONS WHY. Go back and look at your reasons-they need to be strong, compelling reasons.

Next, go through the process of looking at each area and determine what activities drive the results you need in each category. Every area, every goal has a handful of activities that drive 90% of the positive results in each area. For example, working out hard with cardio and strength training, and eating right are the key fundamentals for building a good body. These few fundamentals, or Simple Disciplines, are the things we'll focus on for the next 90 days. The Simples Disciplines, when executed consistently with passion and laser focus, will launch us to our goals, this year! Cut out all of the crap we waste time on. We feel busy doing them, but they add no value toward building our vision.

Stay plugged in. Act as if this were already real. Get into peak state every day.

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Immediate Results!!!

Some immediate feedback from my first day of following this plan to the letter.....

One of my Simple Disciplines is to consistently make 10 prospecting calls to potential customers throughout my day, in order to maintain a full sales pipeline. These calls open talks with new people, people who could become new customers. It's a numbers game, no doubt. A sales person must talk to x number of new targets to take it a step further and present a deal to x number of those people, and he'll end up with Y in conversion, based on how effective he's been along the way. This is sales, at the most fundamental level. Now, there are tons of nuances, strategies and other factors out there that play a role in the success or failure of this salesman. But, in the end, it's a numbers game. Anybody can make it, if he has the heart and the discipline to work the numbers, whatever those numbers may be. For a star, he may convert 3 of 10. If he's terrible, he may convert 1 of 100.

New business is the lifeblood of any business, especially for a business that has little to no marketshare. In this "time of economic challenge"(which I refuse to participate in), new biz is what keeps us all alive, since most of our current customers are sitting around whining about how nobody is buying anything. BS. SOMEBODY IS BUYING. It's up to us to find those people and tell them our story. We can't forget our current guys. "Dance with the one that brung ya". But, we must divert their attention to the positive, to the opportunities that are out there, instead of letting them spew negativity.

Anyway, I made my calls today...I actually made 11 calls. Here's what I got in return....

• An appointment with one of the key guys in my biggest target for 2010, which I scheduled for later in the day TODAY. We met for lunch and went through the details of what he needs versus what I/we have to offer. I'm presenting to his entire sales staff tomorrow at their annual meeting, to present our product line and outline why we'd be a great fit for one of their niche opportunities. Boo Yah! This could result in $500,000 to $1,000,000 in brand new business for one of my businesses. We are meeting after the meeting to go over the specifics with his entire ownership team.
• I followed up with a guy I quoted down in Austin for three separate projects. He gave me the contracts for all three.
• I got two meetings scheduled with the branch managers at two of the three locations I spoke of in my first bullet point. These guys are key players in converting the business. Commitment from the rep(me) is the most critical factor in us winning shelf space within this group. I've begun the dialogue before I pitch at their meeting tomorrow. I did this intentionally so that they may give us more support at the sales meeting tomorrow.

Imagine what your pipeline will look like if you bought into this and committed to it. Activity like this generates results...period. Doing this everyday will produce more opportunities than we can even handle. We may need an assistant in three months....:) Plus, now that I'm at home, I'm going to give my full attention to my family, instead of regretting how I wasted my day today. This is the only way to live!

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