Thursday 26 April 2012

Next Time You Feel Like Complaining...


Next time you feel like complaining about ANYTHING, spare a thought for these guys who spent 3 years on this painstaking project. There are six parts to this story in all, but this part really struck a chord with me and I couldn't stop thinking about it. It has all the components of success: A big goal; obstacles (lots of obstacles); commitment; team work; persistence; faith, resolve and much more. But the real lesson here is about how we deal with obstacles. How many times have you embarked on a project only to stumble at the first obstacle(s) which crossed your path? I know I have, I guess you have too. But the thing is, what maketh the man (so to speak) is what you do about it afterwards. Do you press on or give up? The choice is always yours. If you were to go out into the world and research the word 'persistence' you would get an education beyond all educations, as to why you want to hang in there when your mind tells you not to. And if you've watched this entire clip, you'll know that this team will do whatever it takes on their next project to make it a success. Will you?

Monday 16 April 2012

The Incredible Results of Teamwork and The Mastermind Principle

The excitement that comes from working towards a common aim with sympathetic minds is well documented. But more importantly because the process makes use of the mastermind principle so aptly described by Napoleaon Hill in his great book 'Think and Grow Rich.' If you want to see this power at work, and what can be accomplished by teamwork, a shared passion and commitment, review this article which documents the painstaking process of restoring a Mark 1 Spitfire washed up (incredibly) on the shores of Calais, practically intact, in the 80's. Think about the lengths these people went to to bring this project to its rightful conclusion. Yet how many of us get put off at the first signs of difficulty and abandon our project? Anything worthy of achievment is likely to be fraught with challenges and difficulty - why? There's never been a victory without a battle! But just look at what can be acheived - the sky's the limit (so to speak!).


That article again:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/8771012/Spitfire-back-in-the-air-after-71-years.html

See What a Little Faith and Persistence Can Bring You!

The stuff boyhood dreams are made of! What would you do if you overheard a conversation hinting at the existence of at least 12, possibly 20, Mark 14 Griffon engined Spitfires (see above) buried somewhere on an island, new in their shipping crates? This is more than just a exciting tale, it's an example of faith, passion and persistence. How one man doggedly persued his dream of locating the aircraft, and what it took in order for him to achieve his dream. Read the full article here
All of us can learn something from this epic story and the lengths David Cundall went to to realise his dream. For some of us, we're looking too eagerly and impatiently for the shortcuts in life, only to realise that there really aren't any to help us achieve that which is uniquely ours. Each of us has our own journey to make, yet the rewards can be just as great!

That article again:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/burma/9204921/British-farmers-quest-to-find-lost-Spitfires-in-Burma.html

10 Things You Can Learn From the Apple Store

April 09, 2012

My friend, Carmine Gallo, has written a book called The Apple Experience: Secrets to Building Insanely Great Customer Loyalty. The Apple Store is the most profitable retailer in America, generating an average of $5,600 per square foot and attracting more than 20,000 visitors a week.
In the decade since Steve Jobs and former head of retail, Ron Johnson, decided to re-imagine the retail experience, the Apple Store not only re-imagined and reinvented retail, it blew up the model entirely and started from scratch. In his research for The Apple Experience, Carmine discovered ten things that the Apple Store can teach any business in any industry to be more successful:
  1. Stop selling stuff. When Steve Jobs first started the Apple Store he did not ask the question, “How will we grow our market share from 5 to 10 percent?” Instead he asked, “How do we enrich people’s lives?” Think about your vision. If you were to examine the business model for most brands and retailers and develop a vision around it, the vision would be to “sell more stuff.” A vision based on selling stuff isn’t very inspiring and leads to a very different experience than the Apple Retail Store created.
  2. Enrich lives. The vision behind the Apple Store is “enrich lives,” the first two words on a wallet-sized credo card employees are encouraged to carry. When you enrich lives magical things start to happen. For example, enriching lives convinced Apple to have a non-commissioned sales floor where employees feel comfortable spending as much time with a customer as the customer desires. Enriching lives led Apple to build play areas (the “family room”) where kids could see, touch and play on computers. Enriching lives led to the creation of a “Genius Bar” where trained experts are focused on “rebuilding relationships” as much as fixing problems.
  3. Hire for smiles. The soul of the Apple Store is in its people. They are hired, trained, motivated and taught to create magical and memorable moments for their customers. The Apple Store values a magnetic personality as much, if not more so, than technical proficiency. The Apple Store cares less about what you know than it cares about how much you love people.
  4. Celebrate diversity. Mohawks, tattoos, piercings are all acceptable among Apple Store employees. Apple hires people who reflect the diversity of their customers. Since they are more interested in how passionate you are, your hairstyle doesn’t matter. Early in the Apple Store history, they also learned that former teachers make the best salespeople because they ask a lot of questions. It’s not uncommon to find former teachers, engineers, and artists at an Apple Store. Apple doesn’t look for someone who fits a mold.
  5. Unleash inner genius. Teach your customers something they never knew they could do before, and they’ll reward you with their loyalty. For example, the Apple Store offers a unique program to help people understand and enjoy their computers: One to One. The $99 one-year membership program is available with the purchase of a Mac. Apple Store instructors called “creatives” offer personalized instruction inside the Apple Store. Customers can learn just about anything: basics about the Mac operating system; how to design a website; enjoying, sharing, and editing photos or movies; creating a presentation; and much more.

    The One to One program was created to help build customers for life. It was designed on the premise that the more you understand a product, the more you enjoy it, and the more likely you are to build a long-term relationship with the company. Instructors are trained to provide guidance and instruction, but also to inspire customers, giving them the tools to make them more creative than they ever imagined.
  6. Empower employees. I spent one hour talking to an Apple Store specialist about kids, golf, and my business. We spent about ten minutes talking about the product (a MacBook Air). I asked the employee whether he would be reprimanded for spending so much time with one customer. “Not at all,” he replied. “If you have a great experience, that’s all that matters.” Apple has a non-commissioned sales floor for a reason—employees are not pressured to “make a sale.” Instead they are empowered to do what they believe is the right thing to do.
  7. Sell the benefit. Apple Store specialists are taught to sell the benefit behind products and to customize those benefits for the customer. For example, I walked to the iPad table with my two young daughters and told the specialist I was considering my first iPad. In a brilliant move, the specialist focused on my two daughters, the ‘secondary’ customer who can influence a purchase. He let the girls play on separate devices. On one device he played the movie, Tangled, and on the other device he brought up a Disney Princess coloring app. My girls were thrilled and, in one memorable moment, my 6-year-old turned me to and said, “I love this store!” It’s easy to see why. Instead of touting “speeds and feeds,” the specialist taught us how the device could improve our lives.
  8. Follow the steps of service. The Apple Store teaches its employees to follow five steps in each and every interaction. These are called the Apple five steps of service. They are outlined by the acronym A-P-P-L-E. They are: Approach with a customized, warm greeting. Probe politely to understand the customer’s needs. Present a solution the customer can take home today. Listen for and address unresolved questions. End with a fond farewell and an invitation to return.
  9. Create multi-sensory experiences. The brain loves multi-sensory experiences. In other words, people enjoy being able to see, touch, and play with products. Walk into an Apple Store upon opening and you’ll see all the notebook computer screens perfectly positioned slightly beyond 90-degree angles. The position of the computer lets you see the screen (which is on and loaded with content) but forces you to touch the computer in order to adjust it. Every device in the store is working and connected to the Internet.

    Spend as much time as you’d like playing with the products—nobody will kick you out. Creatives who give One-to-One workshops do not touch the computer without asking for permission. They want you to do it. The sense of touch helps create an emotional connection with a product.
  10. Appeal to the buying brain. Clutter forces the brain to consume energy. Create uncluttered environments instead. The Apple Store is spacious, clean, well-lit, and uncluttered. Cables are hidden from view and no posters on placed on the iconic glass entrances. Computer screens are cleaned constantly. Keep the environment clean, open, and uncluttered.
The three pillars of enchantment are likability, trustworthiness, and quality. Apple’s engineers take care of quality, and the Apple Store experience personifies likability and trustworthiness. I’ve never left an Apple store without being enchanted—in fact, I seldom leave the Apple Store on University Avenue in Palo Alto without being enchanted and buying something too! Resisting Carmine’s book, like resisting an Apple Store, is futile, so just get it here: The Apple Experience: Secrets to Building Insanely Great Customer Loyalty

Read more: http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2012/04/10-things-you-can-learn-from-the-apple-store.html#ixzz1rq1yQXxc

Positive Thinking And Its Effect On Your Health by Greg Riley

The first situation to consider is the relationship between thoughts and conditions like depression and stress. A crucial question is whether the person's thoughts are creating the physical depression or the physical depression is creating the negative thinking. When it comes to how you can use your mind to help, this can be accomplished consciously and subconsciously. When someone has a habit of imagining things turning out very badly, rational thinking can show show them that they often exaggerate. However, the unconscious mind is much more powerful in shaping our habitual behavior, oftentimes beyond our conscious control. Visualization and hypnosis can be very effective in modifying beliefs and, if you do this, the long-lasting effects can be more powerful than using logic only.

It is likewise true that positive thinking can have an impact on our physical health, and you may be aware of the placebo effect on people who feel ill. This is when individuals are given a pill which in reality does not have any healing value, and yet they claim to notice an improvement in how they feel. This is evidence of the connection between mind and body, and there are many examples of men and women with a positive outlook being able to recover faster from malady and injury. You can also use the power of your mind to help you in achieving your fitness goals. A historic example of this is when the four minute barrier for running the mile was broken, which had been considered as unachievable up to that point. Once the "barrier" had been broken, other runners also began to break through what had really been a barrier of belief.

The effects of aging are likewise influenced by how we think about the process. As you get older, do you talk to your friends about your "aches and pains" and your weakened capabilities? It seems there's a great deal of truth to the saying, "You're only as old as you think you are," and our thoughts can be used to undo a lot of the so-called effects of aging. Unfortunately, numerous individuals will continue to hold on to old beliefs about the unavoidable "decline" of health in old age, and not pay attention to the benefits of a positive outlook.

Now that you are aware that your attitude can bring you a much better state of health, it's up to you to take advantage of this information and set your intention to think positive thoughts whenever you remember.

Our Attitude Toward Life Determines Life's Attitude Towards Us!

There's a well-known quote that goes "Our attitude toward life determines life's attitude
towards us." Attitudes do make a difference. Salesmen using the ideal attitude beat their sales quotas; students using the proper attitudes make A's. Suitable attitudes pave the way to a truly happy married life.

Correct attitudes make you powerful in coping with other people to ensure that it is possible to be effective as a leader. Among the very first qualities men and women notice when they meet you is what you attitude is towards whatever you're responsible for. If your attitudes are negative, then you might want to undergo an "attitude tune-up".

Fully Grasp The Importance Of Attitude.
Your attitude impacts every little thing you do, feel and say. If you wish to turn your attitude about and get into action towards your destiny, you might want to have the ability to resist negative or pessimistic thoughts that creep into your consciousness. surround your self with positive men and women, and maintain in mind your ultimate objective of achieving the, respect, good results and wealth which you deserve.

Opt To Remain Positive.
Power to choose is God given. You are going to encounter some hurdles and encounter some failures in life; but is really crucial that you simply manage how you respond to whatever takes place, and maintain your positive attitude , whilst working towards your objectives. The bible says "I have set before of you blessings and curses, life and death. So choose life" What will likely be your choice? Program" your attitude by training your self to remain upbeat. Identify negative attitudes that continually set you back.

Assess Your Present Day Attitude.
Identify aspects of which could be stopping you from becoming prosperous. What are the underlying causes of one's negative attitudes? Remind yourself that you simply are far better than you believe. Take a walk if you are frustrated. Just look at life as you walk until the disappointment is out of your system.

Determine To Live Your Life With Purpose And Passion.
Reassess exactly where you wish your life to go and all which you would like to accomplish. Get a clear vision, to ensure that you've got some thing to reach for. When you have got your objectives firmly established, then you'll be able to turn your new positive attitudes into action.

Create A Method For Sustaining The Proper Attitude.
Prepare your self to deal with any difficult scenarios that may well threaten your attitudes and throw you off course. You ought to create some self-motivation tactics like affirmations, visualization, positive talk, enthusiasm and heightened expectations Read books and articles on these subjects and build understanding and abilities to boost your attitude.

Follow the five steps outlined above, and create attitudes which will transform your life and assure that you get the success you deserve.

 



Thursday 5 April 2012

Will Smith and The Law of Attraction


Will Smith, as accessible as ever, talks candidly about what it takes to become a success. Why is it that we connect so easily with Will Smith? Is it because he's down-to-earth and just a regular guy made good? Or is it because we connect with the many roles he's portrayed on our movie screens over the years? Maybe. But I think it's more. Personally I believe it's because of one thing; integrity. Will Smith talks truth and we know it. How do I know? The same way you do; it feels right. So if we know when someone is speaking the truth, we would do well to listen. Winston Churchill once said that men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened. The fascinating thing about truth is that the more truth you tell, the more truth is going to show up around you. The better you get, the better life gets. So why don't we start being honest with ourselves and each other. We owe it to ourselves to be honest in our dealings with each other, after all our entire lives are built on the strengths of our relationships in every area of life, and what makes a good relationship? You guessed it, truth, honestly and integrity.