Category: Celebrity

Fork Use

Many times, people wish they could be more successful in their career. They might even wish that they could just have a simple breakthrough. The problem is; wishing is a poor business strategy.

Imagine if every time you ate, you ate with your fingers. Then, someone showed you a fork and how to use it. Instantly your eating experience would be improved greatly. But then, at your next meal, you ate with your hands again until someone had to point out that you can use a fork, which you already have been made aware of. You thank them, use a fork but on your next meal you repeat again eating with your hands. I know this sounds ludicrous. But that is exactly what stops most people from getting to the next level in their career.

It happens every day in corporate America. Millions of dollars are spent on training, sharing the newest tips and tricks of the trade, and mapping out the processes that lead to a desired result. The people attend, take notes, and return to the workplace only to be told in time that they can use a “fork.”

They hear and see good ideas but do not implement a system in their daily routine to do the very things that they just learned that lead to success. I always say that I might not be the smartest person in the room but I am second-to-none at hearing a good idea and implementing it in my daily routine. Yes – it has to be daily. I once heard someone say that a person does not control their earthly destiny but they do control their habits and their habits will in fact control their earthly destiny. The ones who implement good business practices daily, seem to be further ahead than the ones who don’t.

The quicker you learn to use a “fork”, the quicker you will get to your goals. Stop starting and stopping — and starting and stopping again. If you have been shown how to get the job done, don’t be in the place where you have to reminded again to do so. Or worse; again and again and again and again to do so. Get out of your own way and use a fork would ya!

Humility is on Life Support

*Disclaimer – This post is meant to cause a pause — and get people to think. It is not political. If you get infuriated, you need to read it again and reflect on the last sentence.

It seems that society has become like a bunch of misbehaved children with no parent to correct them, put them in a time-out, or to give them an old fashioned spank to wake them up. Society has removed the people that can speak into their lives and encourage correction. If your Pastor or Priest tells you where you have missed the mark, you immediately think the Pastor or Priest is the problem and justify it by recalling their errors in their life. If a boss does not give you a favorable performance review, in your eyes the boss is automatically incapable of doing their job.

You may know one or more of the people that are saying things out loud or posting derogatory phrases, put-downs, or the like somewhere for the world to see. They could be part of the problem. Calling people names creates a bigger divide and reveals an enormous ego that is not easily quenched. Calling the President or President Elect an idiot (or orange or a dementia patient, etc.), is really just an exercise to artificially inflate personal intelligence; and it is ugly for all to see. The problem is, they have systematically unfriended, deleted, and/or disassociated themselves with anyone who thinks differently than themselves and certainly anyone who disagrees with them. In their bubble they seem to be right. After all, their news channel, their friends and associates and social media feed all serve up the things they believe — so it must be true.

Even in the church. And it should be the church that shines a Light. Not a flashlight on their favorite candidate or civic movement. We are called to reflect Jesus only. I have painfully watched church-going Christians post on social media (until their fingers must have hurt) who is right, who is wrong, and who God wants in the White House. And I might add it didn’t seem to be done in love. In the Bible, the book of Second Kings is full of righteous kings and more so full of wicked kings. And in the same Bible, the Apostle Paul teaches us that the leadership over mankind is God’s doing (Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God). The Apostle Peter exhorted us “honor the king” with a small k. Meaning honor those who are in authority over us (Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the king.) Simply put; Submit to Trump even if we do not agree with him. Submit to Biden even if we do not agree with him. Submit to the police even if we do not agree with them. Submit to parents, pastors, priests, bosses – anyone who has authority over us: not just the ones that tickle our fancy.

Sometimes the people that name-call and wag their finger, have never really accomplished anything in life. Some that have accomplished something in life, truthfully believe they are superior. I can hear it now – “I am superior” some will say. That is because they have not really given themselves an accurate self-appraisal.

Until we as human beings learn that we should not think too highly of ourselves and consider others more than ourselves, our society will continue to decline. Most people are too concerned with being “right”, that they are willing to die on that hill at all costs. They simply compare other’s weaknesses to their strengths. When they look at their own weaknesses, they are full of excuses and justifications. Many times false excuses and false justifications. Some argue those in power are narcissistic as they themselves post on social media and run back to their post to see who has liked it. The old saying it takes one to know one still rings true.

In 2020 I did a lot of listening an very little talking or writing. It was a time of self-reflection. Here is what I found; I do not know everything: I am not the most important person in the world (even though I might think so:) My opinion is just that – opinion. Keep your opinion to yourself is still good advice: When your mouth is open it is possible your brain is on parade: What I think in regards to hot topics doesn’t matter to everyone else: I need to listen more: I need to love much more: I need to forgive more: I need to understand more: It is likely no one will change their mind by hearing an opposite view screamed at them. As Dale Carnegie stated “ A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still:” I need to connect better and look to understand others more.

I do not have it all figured out. My hope is that some will pause and consider the principles. Circumstances are many; principals are few. Circumstances always change but principals never do. I am confident that if we look to change ourselves first, we will see we are flawed (maybe more than those we think need to change.) This self-assessment should shine light on how far we have drifted and drive us to have more compassion, grace and love to others – not hate, discord, & judgement.

The Power of Thankfulness

Being thankful can be one of the most rewarding things you will ever do. It may be hard to get started, but once you do get started and it becomes a part of your daily life, you will find that for the most part you will have a new outlook on life. You see, when we are truly thankful for something, we are instinctively placing value on the very thing we are being thankful for; which allows that very thing to become more important to us. And it is hard to be disappointed in something we value. Thankfulness also shows our maker that we can see a blessing, even in the midst of problems and concerns.

When I wake up, I am thankful to start a brand new day that no one has ever lived in before; in the entire history of mankind. It is something liken to a blank canvass, that has never been painted on, no matter what yesterday’s canvass looked like. I am not necessarily a morning person, but because I wake up thankful, I become optimistic for what the day will bring. One benefit is that I am starting the day with a greater outlook than most, all because my outlook matches my gratitude.

As I was leaving work the other night, I could smell garlic from a restaurant across the street from where I work. It smelled amazing! I instantly found myself hungry and thanking God that I could smell this amazing aroma.

When I see the sunrise in the morning I am thankful that God is faithful and on-time every day! Even when it is raining and I cannot see the sunrise, I am reminded that it is still faithfully there each day — even though the storm is in the way. The storm does not mean the sun is absent: it just means that I cannot see the sun visually.

It is hard to complain about your country when you are thankful for the freedoms and opportunity it provides. It is easy to have gratitude in seemingly mundane situations, when we come to the realization that it can always be worse. It just takes a conscience decision to do so.

My daughter took time to smell the roses and took this lovely picture of a butterfly on a beautiful flower. I was thankful for her eye and thankful that we still have people in this world who are willing to put the selfies away and focus on something that adds value to their life.

Do you want to see your boss/pastor/priest/spouse/children/neighbor/job/house/career/town/country in a different light? Are you interested in how to feel differently about these specific things? Are you wondering how you can draw closer to God? How can you get through another day? It might not be easy but it sure is simple; BE THANKFUL.

In order to be thankful, we MUST take our eyes off of ourselves and put them on the very things we are thankful for. And this is the hardest part as we are naturally self-centered. For without the little things that add value to our life that we should be thankful for, we can become pitiful and poor in attitude and spirit. But because of them, we can become more at peace and richer, far more rich than silver and gold can provide.

Actions Have Consequences

Hit your thumb with the hammer, and it will surely hurt. Eat well and exercise, and you are likely to be healthy. Cheat on your taxes, and you will likely be prosecuted. Sir Isaac Newton stated; “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Being in the automotive business, I hear thing like “it wasn’t meant to be . . .” or “the interest rate is not fair” or “I expect top dollar for my (beat up) trade-in.” The truth is, actions, words, and decisions have consequences.

The person who thinks that they can wait to make a decision to buy something, whether a vehicle or a roll of toilet paper: and then due to their inaction the item gets sold to someone else, then states “it wasn’t meant to be”–  is flat out wrong. Their decision to wait caused the desired item to still be available for others to buy. Their indecision is the reason that they did not get the opportunity, and this indecision has nothing to do with — “meant to be.”

The person who is irresponsible financially with high credit card balances and late payments, and spending more than they make is directly responsible for their credit score and the interest rate that a bank will extend. This rate is completely fair considering the individual has proven to possibly default on payments, overextend themselves financially, and overall not be a good steward of their personal finances. The bank is required by law to treat the customer fairly based on their personal credit history, which is direct reflection of either good decisions or bad decisions from the consumer, not the bank.

When a person does not take care of their current vehicle (physical body, home, or otherwise) and allows it to be damaged, smoked in, windshield cracked, rims scuffed, maintenance neglected, excessive miles, and worth MUCH less than they owe because they rolled negative equity from a previous bad decision, their actions create the value of the car, not the person presenting the information.

We have become very comfortable not taking personal responsibility for much of anything in our current society. Personal responsibility breeds good decisions and good decisions will ultimately give birth to good results. Conversely, neglecting personal responsibility breeds poor decisions and poor decisions give birth to poor results. Actions have consequences and the only one to blame is the one looking back at us in the mirror.

Saints Wanted?

How can we shine the light brightly then, if we are placing objects in the way that diminish it?

The notion that nothing good can be learned from a human being unless they have an impeccable and uncheckered past, is preposterous. It is just as crazy to assume that everything they have to say, or do, is now somehow void due to a checkered past. I recently had a friend challenge a quote I posted of MLKj – “the time is always right to do what is right.” He mentioned MLKj’s numerous affairs as if it somehow voids the wisdom of the quote or makes his efforts, vision, and life mission and empty endeavor.

I understand the overall concern, and recognize he was not perfect. But do his shortcomings need to be restated in an attempt to nullify the wisdom of the statement? I certainly don’t agree with some of his actions, but if we threw away wisdom based on the sin of the person, we would be left with nothing. Heck, even Solomon had 300 concubines, which is much more than Dr. King; presumably. We wouldn’t discount his wisdom based on his sin.

The Word of God states in Romans that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

How can we shine the light brightly then, if we are placing objects in the way that diminish it? Therefore, I recommend edifying the wisdom, the mission, the cause, or the character (if possible), and staying away from finding the shortcomings of something that has already been discovered – because the time is always right to do what is right.

7 Intentional Sales Steps to a Great 2020

Follow me here through the steps: Pun intended. All kidding aside, if you follow the seven steps outlined below, you will have a better year in 2020 than you have had in 2019. Remember, your steps must be intentional, not an accident. What are we waiting for? Let’s get started today and everyday thereafter.

Decide to Have a Good Attitude — Always

I use the word decide, because it is always a choice, and certainly cannot be a byproduct of your circumstances. Learn to have a good attitude in all situations. Trust me: it can always get worse. And if it were to get worse, you would wish that you were back in this present situation. I am not saying you have to like a bad situation. But learning to control your emotions and your attitude in spite of the situation you find yourself in will pay dividends.

Read Positive Material

Your mind is like a sponge. The same sponge that can soak up clean and refreshing water, can also soak up damaging and dirty chemicals. Your brain is no different. Feed your brain positive material by people just like you and I, who have succeeded or have overcome a tough situation. Read about others who have won awards, or have accomplished something wonderful. Read success stories, testimonials, spiritually nourishing books, and more. Stay away from the negative, such as the news or newspaper — as they all preach that the sky is falling.

Find Positive Reminders Every Day in What You Do

Maybe it is a reoccurring calendar reminder or a post-it note with an inspiring message or quote from a leader you look up to. You can print articles or pictures where you can see them that inspire you. You can keep the thank you cards from your happy customers or family/friends. The method does not matter, but the principle is a crucial step in keeping your focus on your goals.

Focus on Opportunity, Not Failure

Every customer is your opportunity. The town you live in is your opportunity. The state you live in and the country you live in is your opportunity. The world-wide-web is your opportunity. What you decide to focus on becomes your reality. Focus on failure, and get more of it. Focus on opportunity, and the more of it you will see available to you. Think it through; the person who has the money to spend on your product is asking you to help them spend it. They are never a nuisance. Ever. Yes, customers can be a royal pain, but if you can only sell to nice people, your pool of opportunity shrinks dramatically. Think of it another way — picture walking down a very long corridor with hundreds of doors that are all closed. Many are locked but some of them are unlocked. If there was a hundred dollar bill behind every unlocked door, you would simply run down the corridor twisting door knobs. You would never stop at the first locked door. Therefore, just start twisting the proverbial door knobs, as sales is simply a numbers game. Some doors are locked but the reward is only found behind the unlocked ones. Focus on the opportunity.

Celebrate Your Accomplishments, No Matter How Small They May Seem

When you were a baby, your parents or guardians celebrated your constant attempt at walking, even though there was more falling down than walking going on. They were encouraging you to keep trying, knowing that if you failed enough, you would eventually succeed, as long as you didn’t give up. Take the time today to celebrate your accomplishments and learn to focus on progress, not failure. As I have said in the past; inch by inch its a cinch but yard by yard its hard.

Develop a Cheerful and Outgoing Personality

Simply put — Be cheerful. People like to do business with people they like. AND, they buy more frequently and spend more money per transaction with less hesitation from happy people. Be that happy person. I have found that if you count all of the things you have to be thankful for, being cheerful and positive is much easier. Also, your associates will appreciate the breath of fresh air. It is easy to like someone who smiles, is happy, and is thankful.

Remember to Take Care of the Customer

Do you enjoy the niceties in your life? If you boil it down, the customer paid for it. Without the customer, we all have nothing in a free enterprise market. In my entire career, I have fired less than 7 customers. These customers were not fixable, they were toxic, and they were opportunists who were looking for someone to extort. So, I fired them. Most customers who seem unreasonable just want to be heard and helped. So, take care of the customer. Thank the customer. Appreciate the customer. Honor the customer.

Dick Chitty from Lexus had three rules that he shared with the dealer network to become successful in the car business. Rule #1 – Take care of the customer. Rule #2 – Take care of the customer. And rule #3 — you guessed it.

Happy New Year everyone. Let’s get intentional in 2020. It will be well worth it.

Average + Passion = Above Average

Never underestimate the power of passion. I am not talking about a fabricated rah-rah session; rather genuine passion that come from down deep. Passion always tips the scale. Passion changes history. Passion starts a movement. Passion is a game-changer.

Passion starts from somewhere inside and cannot be hidden. In fact, it is like trying to hide the proverbial elephant in the room. When you are passionate about a thing — it shows. You tend to talk about what you are passionate about; think about what you are passionate about; and dream about it all-the-more. You literally live it and breath it every hour of every day. And when these things happen, the work becomes easy because someone who is chasing their dream never feels like the work load is too heavy. The work never seems to too big, if the dream or reward is bigger — much bigger.

Many average people have been considered great in their field because they lived day and night for their passion and by doing so became great in the process. But what is the genesis? Michael Jordan got cut from his high school basketball team. Tom Brady was drafted in the 6th round and was the 199th overall draft pick — meaning no one really thought he would be anything special. Walt Disney was fired from an advertising agency for not having enough creativity. These men had a different idea of who they were, and they were determined to make their dreams come true. Their dreams were fueled by a passion that was deep inside of each of them. And the rest is history.

It is rumored when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor that Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who planned the attack wrote in his diary, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.” The same goes for Michael Jordan, Walt Disney, and Tom Brady — someone awoke a sleeping giant in their life, and its name was Passion.

So be careful not to squash your dreams or count yourself out. Because if you have a measure of passion, the odds just might be in your favor because average plus passion equals above average. Not passionate? Get a bigger dream and get passionate about accomplishing that dream.

Want to be Unknown?

Recently I paid a visit to Arlington National Cemetery. It is not the first time I have visited this location, but I will tell you, it never gets old. I grew up in a patriotic home and have always had a reverence for this nation. It dawned on me as I was watching the guard perform his duties flawlessly, that we are all called to a similar mission.

On the tomb itself, it reads –HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO GOD. Although the cemetery is filled with heroes, there is an emphasis on the ones that fulfilled their duty in an unknown fashion.

In business, there are too many of us clamoring for the next level, and waiting for the bronzer to call to ask which pose we would like be cast in, for the statue on the front lawn of our local town hall. Harry Truman said “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” If we put our heads down and look to the common goal without looking for a continual praise parade from those below, around, and above us, we could and would accomplish so much more.

If we would take this approach in our church, and fulfill our duty as a Christian without looking for the recognition, imagine what could happen. As Christians, we are all called to die to self and follow Christ, but too many times, we are too worried the cares of this world. If we were focused on His life, His things, and His agenda, there just might be more light in the world. The Bible places a special  emphasis on those in Heaven who have been martyred for their faith. Now that is something to be celebrated — The tomb of the unknown Christian — if you will.

So, whether in protecting our nation, moving up the corporate ladder, or standing in the gap in our local church, I encourage all of us to take a sober look at ourselves and be willing to be unknown. It just may not be as bad as we imagine. After all, the least will be exalted over the greatest in end.

 

Assuming the Familiar

“Doctor Jones. Again, we see there is nothing you can possess which I cannot take away” (Raiders of the Lost Ark pun.)

As I was getting my coffee at a national chain today, I was once again greeted by an employee that does not know me, but feels it is okay to call me “coach, pops, pal, my-man, my-brother”, among other cute names that escape me at the moment. I also noticed he does the same thing with each and every customer, each and every morning. I by no means deserve some kind of preferential treatment, as I am much less important than probably many of the customers that frequent this location. However, he does not know me, my name, or my background.

If we were watching a re-run of Friends, we would assume that everyone is addressing each other in the familiar, or even one step further — with nicknames.

Welcome to true life. In true life, the familiar is just fine if you have been given permission. Permission grants access to the familiar. However, until permission has been granted, the full measure of respect should be shown. If we are speaking to someone we do not know (or know anything about),  we should address them with sir, madam, miss, or ma’am at the very least.

Assuming we know a little about them, we should respect titles until we are instructed differently by the person we are addressing. If they are a doctor, we should address them by including it in our greeting, such as “Doctor Jones. Again, we see there is nothing you can possess which I cannot take away” (Raiders of the Lost Ark pun.) If they are a lawyer, it may be “attorney Jones, so nice to see you.” If they are a representative in Congress for your state, it may be “Congressman Jones, I hope your day is great.” If it is our next door neighbor, perhaps “Mr. Jones, your lawn looks great.” And, it is our Priest or our Pastor, it should be “Father Jones/Pastor Jones, good morning.”

If we are sure to show respect, we may be corrected by Dr. Jones with him telling us, “call me Henry.” BUT, until we are given permission to address him by his first name, we should always call people by their title, sir name, or at the very least the prefix of sir, madam, miss, or ma’am. Assuming the familiar is not polite and lacks social etiquette at the bare minimum.

The Top 3 Things You Must Do to Stay Married (to your spouse or your job)

Let’s face it, getting married is easy. Staying married is not. Whether we are talking about our spouse or our job/career, the principles are the same. SIDE NOTE – There are many spiritual components to a marriage as well, but we will only cover the non-spiritual.

Stop Looking

The first thing we must do in order to stay married to our spouse or our job is to stop looking. Looking is very dangerous. People all over the US spend millions of dollars each and  every day of the week in retail stores across the country. Remember, they are not buying (at first). In fact, they even say the actual phrase; that they are “just looking”. “Looking” leads to buying. Period. If you are on Indeed or CareerBuilder for the next best thing, you are already in danger of “buying”. They say the grass is greener where you water it. I made the fatal mistake a few years back by “looking” myself into a bad career move. Be thankful for what you do have and always give it 100% without looking for something better. In most cases, it is never better.

Remain Loyal

The second thing we must do in order to stay married to our spouse or to our current employer is to remain loyal. You may not be the one “looking”, but that does not mean that someone else isn’t looking at you. If you are good at your job and your head sticks above the crowd in relation to results, be sure that someone will contact you for an opportunity. Learn to not be flattered. Learn that every opportunity looks great until the newness wears off. Your spouse and your employer have likely poured into you and invested much time and effort. The person looking to woo you away has nothing invested. Remember that the next time someone is trying to get your attention.

Give More Than You Expect to Get in Return

Lastly, speaking of being invested; we must give more than we think we can, no matter if it is returned. Stop keeping score and just give. When you are done giving, give some more. You will then find that 25 years have passed and anniversaries have been celebrated. Everyone will look at you and think you had it easy or it was just “meant to be”. Truth being told, it will be because you stopped looking, remained loyal, and gave more than you expected to get in return.

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