Paul Potts -- Captivates the Opera World

Paul Potts is a mobile phone salesman who had a dream to sing opera. He is a shy and humble man who is short on confidence standing on a big stage about to exhibit is voice. The judges, one being the opinionated Simon Cowell for Britain’s Got Talent, would decide if Paul’s got it. Paul is risking the dream to do
what he always thought he was put on this earth to do. He has pushed through his fear and found enough gumption to go for it.

Experience Paul and you decide. Was it worth it for him to push through his fear and possibly risk his dream? Would you have done it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_5W4t_CBzg&feature=related

Bev

Tom Antion and John review internet strategies

I just spent the weekend at Tom Antion’s Retreat Center ( http://www.greatinternetmarketing.com ) in Virginia Beach. We have taken on the internet in a big way and Tom is a world renowned internet marketer, great teacher and good friend.

Internet marketing is not about speaking or mentoring but it is a skill that we’ll need for our business over the next 10 to 20 years. Beverly and I are always looking to learn new skills that help us make a difference for our clients. If it is internet marketing you need to come up to speed on, we are happy to recommend Tom Antion. By the way, the weekend retreat at his mansion in Virginia Beach is a ton of fun.

John

We just found and read a wonderful piece. During these challenging times we all need to take it upon ourselves to do the work, learn the habits, practice leadership, and stand out from the boring, ordinary crowd of wanna-be leaders, without someone telling us what to do and how to do it. Perry Marshall, author of the article below, hit a nerve and a home run with this piece. Thanks to our friend and mentor, Tom Antion for sharing.

In engineering school my professor, Dr. Soukup, was a stoic, military-general kind of guy. Every week he would give us homework. One week his assignment was especially maddening. Turns out it was impossible to solve with ‘textbook’ formulas. You had to use a special computer program to solve it. But he never said anything about that. It took consultations with several other students and another professor to solve. So when I finally showed up for class, homework in hand, I was mad.

I chewed him out in front of everybody. “You gave us this problem and didn’t tell us ANYTHING about how to solve it. Not a single clue. We were whistling dixie in the dark and had to waste a bunch of OTHER peoples’ time just to figure this out.” An eruption of chuckles from the other students. (Most people wouldn’t have the guts to challenge Dr. Soukup publicly in class. He was the department chairman and had a well- earned hard-ass reputation.)

I was so brave.

I felt so vindicated.

Dr. Soukup was undisturbed by my angst. I only got an icy stare. He felt no moral obligation to pave the way for our homework success and I received no sympathy.

‘What’s the matter with this guy anyway? Doesn’t he know when you grade students for an assignment you’re supposed to tell them how to solve the problem first?’

How naive. Pretty much every problem I’ve ever had to solve in business has been like Dr. Soukup’s class.

There’s something you’ve gotta figure out; somewhere there is a way to figure it out. The person who’s asked you to figure it out did not hand out handy-dandy formulas in advance.

There’s a deadline.

It may require consultation with other students and professors to solve.

May require a special computer program you don’t know about.

The problem may in fact be unsolvable and requires an entirely different approach.

That’s life in the jungle, my friend.

Which is why traditionally educated people often struggle mightily in the entrepreneurial world. They expect exact answers and well- defined assignments, but what they get is Dr. Soukup. Which is also why many of the most successful entrepreneurs I know never went to college.

If Dr. Soukup had said, “Here’s an assignment and it’s going to take a special trick to solve this problem but I’m not going to tell you what it is” I would have taken that as a summons to action and probably dug into it with verve. I enjoy a challenge and I know you do too.

So my message to you today is: –>Whatever marketing problem you’re trying to solve today requires a trick or some kind of special touch. It may very well be a ‘textbook’ answer or formula. Might not be all that exotic or complicated. But… nobody is handing you a book before the test.

The good news is: Business is an OPEN BOOK test where nobody tells you which book you might happen to need today.

All you know is: The more things you’ve seen and the more books you have at your fingertips, the faster you can solve the problem, run through the maze, ring the bell and get the cheese.

Oh, and one more thing: Listen up. Hearken unto me, for what I sayeth to you today mattereth.

In school, homework is never optional, is it? You do it. You turn it in. It gets graded. If you don’t, you fail. No serious student considers homework assignments to be optional.

Yet in the entrepreneurial world I’m amazed at how many homework assignments I give out, that people somehow think are optional. Where did they ever get that idea?

If I tell you your homework assignment is to split test four different ads by next Friday, then doggonit, split test your ads.

If the homework assignment is to put live chat on your site and talk to 20 visitors before next week… then get chattin’!

If the homework assignment is to call 20 customers on the phone and do a survey, then…start dialin’!

Why do people blindly follow professors for years - or obediently work as a cubicle drone for some soulless insurance conglomerate - yet will not do the requisite assignments for their own success?

If you’ve ever asked yourself that same question, let me give you a new way to think about it.

In the Dilbert Cube and the classroom, they give you 100% of the answers in advance and they expect you to do 100% of what they tell you to do.

If you do it correctly, you get a grade of 100%. A-Plus. You’re so special. You’re the Star Estudiante! Everyone rise and give a hand for you !

In the entrepreneurial world, you get maybe 30% of the answers in advance. And because you assume from the outset that only one third of the things you try are going to work, you need to do 300% of what you’re told to do.

Oh yeah, and nobody’s gonna clap for you either. (Plus Anna Quindlen may shame you for not voting for the tax increase ‘cuz all those shiftless drones need you to fund their medical care.)

But remember: It only has to work once. If it does, you make your million dollars.

So just multiply everything times three and don’t expect more than one third of the answers to be handed to you on a silver platter. Then, having a super-successful business will seem easy compared to getting an MBA. Certainly a lot easier than law school or med school.

Deal? Get to it. Perry Marshall http://www.PerryMarshall.com

John& Bev

If you haven’t read Steve Chandler’s new book, Fearless, you are doing yourself, your company and your family a huge disservice.

The world is gripped by fear. Fear about the economy, the stock market, our shrinking 401K plans, terrorism, the war in Iraq, and the election. Heck some people are even fearful that the Phillies will lose to the Rays in the World Series.

In Fearless, Steve Chandler takes you by the hand and shows you how disabling fear is and how we can deal with it head on. He doesn’t pretend to know how to banish fear from our lives forever but he does know how to help us push it aside and move on, powerfully. This is a life altering work,  a must read for every leader and anyone seriously considering coming out of these crazy times better off than we entered them.

Besides, it is a great read! We have always enjoyed reading Steve’s books. But, the last couple have really evolved. Not that we are literary experts but Steve Chandler has become a truly engaging, insightful, and humorous author whose work contributes to our well-being.

John & Bev

Our friend Wayne Tall passed away recently. It was sudden and swift, just the way he wanted it. Beverly and I just returned from his memorial service. Actually, it was more of a celebration than a service. It was a party at one of his favorite restaurants.

Several people told amusing stories about Wayne. He would have enjoyed this. It made me think. Wayne was an extraordinary man.

He adored, admired and totally respected his wife, also a “Bev”.

He loved his children and was a devoted grandfather.

He was an engineer in every sense of the word. He was building an airplane in his garage. He applied his engineering background and wood working skills to create and build wondrous presents for his grand daughter.

Wayne 1, Boulder 0

He was a 4-wheeler, always the first to suggest the group take the steep, dangerous climb, despite being 10-20 years older than the others.

He was a connoisseur of food and wine. He didn’t just like to prepare and consume great food, like me, he analyzed it, dissected it and took great joy in discussing flavors and tastes and which side of the hill the grapes were grown for a particular vintage.  He could choose the perfect wine or beer to follow a hike, 4-wheel adventure or a five course dinner.

I don’t think Wayne would mind if I suggested that he was also an extraordinary Contagious Leader. He was involved in activities for which he had great passion. Once involved, he took a stand, never being fearful of expressing a strong point of view, making a significant difference, always setting and accomplishing goals, improving his skills and acknowledging others.

At his celebration one of his friends reminisced about a time when he and his wife had hiked one of the truly great mountains in America. Following the hike they sat at the base of this majestic mountain, watching the sunset while enjoying a beer and glass of wine. They thought of Wayne as they turned the bottle of beer on its side and read the label, which said: “Life is short, don’t sip.”

How many of us, leaders and aspiring leaders, are sipping, being careful not to take in too much, being cautious, ever so suspicious, not extending ourselves, not enjoying the full measure of every moment, every opportunity, every challenge?

Not Wayne Tall, not our friend!

John & Bev

John and I make a point to surround ourselves with people who have a positive mindset, even during an economic downturn. Here are a couple of excerpts from emails we received this weekend: 

Here is some great insight on how to not only survive but thrive during these unusual economic times.

OneCoach CEO John Assaraf and President Scott deMoulin (www.onecoach.com ) discussed what you can focus on now to get the business you want, regardless of what’s going on out there.

Some key takeaways:

• In order to live a life of unlimited abundance, you must focus on what you want to create, rather than living a life of default focused on what is already happening.
• If you focus on the problems, then it is difficult to see the opportunities in front of you to take advantage of.
• Your mind can only focus on one image at a time, so if you are focused on the challenges then that is the only thing you are going to see.  

And here’s what Joe Vitale ( http://www.mrfire.com/) says-Like many marketers who are busier than ever right now, watching TV is very low on the priority list. 

But the other day during a much needed break, I turned the TV on to see what was going on in the world. 

I almost wish I didn’t. 

After watching just 10 minutes of the news and learning about massive corporations going out of business, the stock market going bonkers, the housing market, and the recession, you’d think that we’re on the brink of a complete and total economic crash. 

I can only imagine the mindset of people who spend a great deal of time in front of the TV watching the doom and gloom news. 

They must be completely scared out of their minds.  

And for some, they really have every right to be… unless they know the *ONE* thing that can completely recession-proof their life and business. 

What the news isn’t talking about is how many people are having their most profitable years EVER….  

There are no mentions of how people are driving more traffic to their websites than ever before…

And there are no mentions of people spending fortunes to attend marketing events around the world, take their families on vacations, and are truly living the life of their dreams. 

Why isn’t the media talking about these people? 

Can’t we feed our heads with good information like this rather than staying up late at night until we are blurried eyed from watching politicians and bureaucrats point fingers at one another and tell us that the sky is falling. 

We think so!

Bev

Hello friends;

We are all being barraged with bad news and because of that strong and dedicated leadership is more critical than ever.  Besides, we have a choice about whether we will allow the news to dictate our success or shall we succeed despite of the news. 

Personally, Beverly and I have decided to not play in the negativity sand box. It’s way too crowded. Instead, we are creating it that the next 24 months will be awesome; different, but awesome. 

To help, we have uploaded five recordings to keep our mindset focused. These five recordings are set up for 10 easy minutes of listening and inspiration and can be accessed by clicking on anyone of the links below. 

This is our way of contributing to the continued success of our friends and associates. Please pass these on to others who could use a little lift right now. 

Be well, Be Contagious, and Be UNFORGETTABLE 

John Hersey and Beverly Belury

Being Unforgettable Audio– Great leaders know that being ordinary is unacceptable. It is risky and puts yourself, your company, your brand at a competitive disadvantage. This 10 minute audio explains the risks and offers suggestions on becoming an Unforgettable Leader.

Being Unreasonable Audio– To be Unforgettable Leaders we must stop being reasonable and start expecting UNREASONABLE from ourselves. This 10 minute audio is a great reminder about why we need to be unreasonable and how we might begin the process of achieving it.

Consistency Audio — Our friends at OneCoach (www.onecoach.com ) keep telling us that consistently focusing on the top 20% of our income and impact producing activities is critical for being unforgettable and attaining unforgettable results. This 10 minute audio gives you a few things to consider as you set forth to improve consistency and develop a highly effective routine.

Power of We Audio — Unforgettable Leaders have learned the value in developing long-term relationships. They look at the lifetime value of every customer and prospect rather than looking at them as a transaction. This short audio will help you stay focused on building your relationship bank account.

Power of Routine Audio – Way too many aspiring leaders go to work everyday without a plan. They lack a routine. Remember, “Discipline, not desire, determines destiny.” We all know what to do to be successful. Doing it is another matter. This 10 minute audio will help you focus on your routine.

Lehman Brothers, AIG, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Countrywide, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, foreclosures, sub-prime meltdown, Sarah Palin, and the stock market dropped 500+ points. These are all in the news, emotionally charged and wonderfully interesting distractions, And, they steal our energy, undermine our focus and keep us from doing what needs to be done—our jobs.
 

We give so much of our attention to these and other distractions that we begin to believe the sky is falling. We become enamored with the distractions and paralyzed, incapable of doing what will make a difference for us, regardless of the story of the day.

In 2002 I attended a gathering of leaders in the professional speakers’ circuit. As you might expect due to effects of 9/11, the leaders discussed the challenges. The discussion was very much like the ones I am hearing now. Whispers of doomsday spread throughout the gathering. Then, the expert we had brought in to make us feel better and tell us how to weather this storm proceeded to tell us that there wasn’t any storm. There were speakers all over the country who were busy, some busier than ever. In this challenging time for the country, clients needed our services more than ever. The busy speakers focused on helping clients succeed when success did not seem possible. Her remarks were like a wonderfully refreshing slap in the face.

Leaders know we create that which we focus on the most. By placing our focus on our challenges, our difficulties, our problems, we draw more of these to us. James Allen first shared this leadership concept years ago in his seminal work entitled “As a Man Thinketh.”

This effect of focus is a universal leadership law, one that Contagious Leaders have trained themselves to understand. It is uncanny — when real estate professionals focus on how bad the market is, it gets worse. It is amazing — when leadership organizations focus on reducing expenses, expenses become more problematic, and sales and revenues suffer. It is astounding — when organizations focus on cutting, more cuts are always needed.

One of our leadership clients had a major initiative to reduce cancellations. They measured cancellations weekly, reported them to the top leadership, and reviewed them on regular conference calls. The fact is our client did not want fewer cancellations, they wanted more renewals. We suggested that the leadership shift the focus to increasing renewals. We recommended they measure renewals, report renewals, and discuss renewals on their conference calls. We encouraged the top leadership to focus on a positive desired result instead of focusing on negative indicators.

Does this mean leaders put their heads in the sand and ignore the natural vagaries in the economy? Of course not! Great leaders are always on top of market conditions. The difference is that truly great leaders do not allow themselves to be distracted by these shifts. They simply remain focused on what they want and what they need to do to accomplish the mission.

Here are some tips:

• Surround yourself with people who are focusing on being successful, who are determined to take advantage of the market shift. 
• Focus on 100 reasons why you will be successful not a 100 reasons why you should worry. 
• Make every day count, Do something everyday that will further your business. 
• Get your chemistry working for you by releasing your endorphins.  Exercise, deep breathing, walking will help to keep you positive. I just committed to a new exercise class. 
• Turn off the news. If you feel compelled to find out what’s happening, do what John does. He uses his computer to just bring up the headlines and leave it at that. Sometimes I can actually feel the fear start to come alive when I watch the news. 
• Laugh every day. Do something fun that will put a smile on your face. John and I regularly go to a Sunday matinee, get popcorn and a great seat.  

There will be people who grow their market share and who do incredibly well during this time. If that’s you, please respond to this blog with your tips. Thanks. Bev

“Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.”

Dr. Wayne Dyer

It is a very simple statement but it can be powerfully true.

As leaders it is our responsibility to stay fresh, remain open to new alternatives, advance solutions that may have been unthinkable just 3-6 months ago. It’s so easy to get stuck in our way of doing and thinking that before we know it we are rigid, unable to see beyond that which we already know. Once stuck it can be very, very difficult to get unstuck. So, how do we avoid it and how do we get unstuck if that is where we are. Here are some easy, do it now suggestions:

• Practice changing your perspective by questioning your automatic responses.
• Make your self uncomfortable by simply sitting in a different seat during your regular meetings. You will be amazed at how differently you hear and see the content of the meeting and the participants.
• Go into the office (if that is where you go everyday) a bit later or earlier than usual. Get to the office in a different way like taking a different route, carpooling or taking public transportation.
• Read a book you would never think of reading.
• Read a totally unusual magazine for you, not business related.
• Take a course, any course. Check out a community college, the internet or your newspaper for course listings.
• Hire a coach who will hold you accountable for getting unstuck. www.thecoachinstitute.com or email us at beverly@johnhersey.com .
• Go on an adventure vacation by yourself for a day, overnight, or long weekend.
• Do some volunteer work. Pick an organization that you believe in such as the Boys & Girls Club, school athletic team, SCORE, or check out Volunteers of America’s website for ideas www.voa.org
• Turn off the TV and go for a brisk walk instead. It’s not only a great way to boost your mood and increase your energy but you will get in shape as well. 

We recently delivered a keynote speech that included a demonstration of changing your perspective. It was lots of fun. You might enjoy watching a short clip. Just go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpNBIAqMZ0k and enjoy the show.

Just DO something that is out of the norm for you. Shake yourself up. There are lots of actions you can take if you decide to get unstuck and if you really determined to get better at being a better leader.

John