You want to be a winner?  Better learn how!

There is so much to know if we are to progress from a mere beginner to a champion.  We will need to bring our passionate fire every time we enter the playing field of our dreams.

Practicing like a champion requires us to be focused on the skills and techniques that will bring our game to peak performance levels.  The more we know, the more we will grow!

Being fully present is key to the awareness and coordination necessary in yielding top notch results, each time we are practicing.  How we practice will determine how we perform in real life situations.

The greatest of champions practice with unparalleled precision and aim.  Their entire strategy is driven with intent and purpose.  They have their eyes on the prize!!

So, if you really want to win…

Think about it,once again.

And learn to practice like a champion

I keep on swinging, though I may strike out

I keep on climbing, though I could fall

You won’t find me sitting on the sidelines in a pout

You won’t see me stopping from getting over the wall

I keep on hitting the ball out of the park

I keep on doing new things I’ve never done

It doesn’t matter if no one sees it cause it’s too dark

It doesn’t matter to me if I strike out or hit a home run

I keep on swinging at life with full force

I keep on working to better my best

You can expect me to be staying the course

You can expect me to be filled with passion and zest

Ideas are like seeds, the many thousands of seeds a gardener must plant to grow a fruitful yield.  Far more seeds must be planted than will ever bloom into full maturity.  The ideas must be cultivated to maturity through a constant process of farming, prior to bringing them to market.

Weeding through ideas is much like taking an entire jigsaw puzzle and dumping the thousands of pieces on the floor.  Take all the ideas you have and dump them out like a big brain drain.  Things need to get a bit messy and disorganized, before they can begin to take shape.   As we begin sorting through the ideas, associations will begin to appear.  We will find similarities and commonalities, just as we do with the puzzle pieces.  A framework will take shape from which we can build and organize.   Other ideas will stand out from the rest, seemingly not fitting in.  Placing those to the side, we continue.  They may come into play later on…  

For now we prepare to plant the seeds, or ideas, that hold the most promise, the ones that can yield a strong return and successful bounty.   The ideas need to be launched in the right place at the correct time to optimize their growth and eventual return.  From the moment an idea is launched it requires constant nurturing, just like crops, to withstand all the variables they will be exposed to over time.  For there are rarely perfect conditions, and when there are, they are not bound to last. 

Bringing your ideas to life takes time.  Like the planted seeds of a garden, they will germinate through hard work, persistence, and determination.  The roots must take hold, grounding the ideas before they can break out and shoot skyward.  Knowing only a fraction of the ideas, or seeds, will mature to fruition, the method of farming them is vital to maximizing the biggest yield possible.   

The process of natural selection will occur, where the weaker and less dominant ideas will not see full maturity.  Only the strongest of the harvest will survive.  The ones that will bear the best fruit, yielding a strong return, time after time.  

The test of time will answer all the questions we may have about our ideas and their potential.   After they have been brought to market, our return can be measured.   In the meantime, building an idea farm is the best way to cultivate them in an organized and successful manner.   Because bringing brands to life is essential to long term growth of any business venture, we need a continuous bounty of ideas that work.

And so the cycle continues…

It is with people and their needs in mind that I have launched my three companies.  Before I knew anything about business, I knew I enjoyed serving people.  I like showing people a good time.  I enjoy sharing my knowledge, experience, and life skills openly to help anyone.  I have always been a people person, perhaps that is why the thought of customers and employees never scared me away.  I believe each person who enters our life has something special to offer.   We learn and grow from all the players in our lives.

Although products generally come in classified categories with standardized characteristics, customers do not.  Each customer is an individual person for whom the product and its features will vary. The features may vary slightly or greatly, depending on the person.  By treating each customer as a unique case and creating a personal file, a business can better serve them.  Service is the key to creating a unique selling proposition for any company.  It is the job of the company to understand the wants and needs of its employees, customers, and potential customers. 

Customers are the central heartbeat around which the entire operation should be built.  Their stories will tell you how they use the products and what is important to them.  Their needs indicate information about product selection, choice, and value.   Their wants are the fuel around which  our services should be powered.   For the customer, it is not how well we serve them when all systems go, but more importantly how we manage the problems when they occur.  It is a simple exercise in listening.  If you allow them the opportunity, they will engage you with their honest and transparent dialogue.  When customers share, the business wins.  Every product and service I have ever offered came from customer requests and suggestions.  Allow your customers to lead the way, and they will.

It is with thanks and appreciation, that I handle each and every person who chooses to  do business with any of my businesses.  By selecting to do business with us, they validate the reasons I chose to open my doors in the first place.   Customer’s requests  give us the opportunity to do better than our best.   The challenges of customer’s wishes help us to grow, so that we may grant them.  Customers leave so much more than they take.  They give wings to the very ideas that first started the business, so that it can take flight.  The end result of each and every job function is a person for whom we are to be grateful.

To you my customer, I say thank you.  Thanks for the support.  Thanks for the vote of confidence by walking into my world.  Thanks for walking in my door.   I am humbled by your advocacy of my business.  Everyday,  I work to do the things that will make your experiences with my companies more satisfying on every level.   Because of you, I am a better person.  Because of you, my business is a success. 

I always want to know, “how can I help you”, because….you are my customer!

And it means more to me than you will ever know.

Alphabet Soup

The 26 special ingredients found in my Alphabet Soup tell my personal story as a serial entrepreneur and social pioneer! Read through my ingredients and start focusing on your own “Recipe for Success.”

Ambassador

Boldness

Communication

Determination

Experience

Find

Growth

Help

Inspire

Journey

Knowledge

Leadership

Marketing

Network

Opportunity

Pioneer

Quality

Relationships

Service

Team

Unique

Vision

Work

X-Factor

You

Zeal

If we are to achieve greatness, we must risk failure.  Just as mountains peaks rise up from deep valleys, the ascent to great heights is filled with the potential to fall down along the way.  It is this fear of the unknown, and the risks, that erode our confidence.  The confidence we need to succeed will be gobbled up, bit by bit, by fear, and the way it spreads itself, destroying all hope in its path.

Along life’s path there are many many lessons to be learned.  Our growth will come with some discomfort and pain.  It is part of the process, just like a new child being born into the world. 

We must come to embrace change. For it seems to stir up such uncertainty for so many of us.  Fear of the unknown. The fear of failure.  Change is a constant.  It is part of the evolution of everything.  Changes are not permanent, but change is.

Forget about the things your family and friends said about you.  The limits they put in your head.  Forget about the devil’s advocates who told you that you could never do the great things your passionate about in life.  Forget the voices in your head, telling you that you are not good enough, or smart enough.  Broken records that go around and around, never stopping their message, nor their sound.  It is our job to take action by seeking the information we need to forge out our future.  A future that fulfills our great promise. 

Rejection lives everywhere.  It lurks right around the corner just about all the time.  It stands in our way.  Rejection blocks our path by putting lies in front of us to derail us from greatness.  We are not tall enough or rich enough.   Our house is nothing compared to our friend’s house.  We were never a good student, and just can’t do math because we were never good enough at numbers.   We look in the mirror and the lies are even clearer…”not pretty enough”…..”too fat”…..”our hair is all wrong”.  We wish we had blue eyes or brown eyes or green eyes or any color eyes than the color we have.  Lies, all lies, that need to get out of our pictures and images of ourselves.  

Truth is, no one is quite like anyone else.  We stand alone full of possibilities.  One beating heart and one great work of art.

Stand out by following your passions without reservation, and with no hesitation.  It is time to get dressed for success.  Do the things you want to do with your life.  Listen to the voice that is so filled with excitement about the many gifts you have to share.  Follow that passion for connection.  Build the life you dream of by networking with the people who support you.  The passionate people who say “you can”.  The ones who know you will.

The dreamers who dream big dreams.  The people who plant the seeds of greatness with their lives.  The ones who withstand  punishing agony to know the greatness of victory.  The bravehearts who forget about their fears. 
The achievers who make history.

With our camera as our constant companion, we are always prepared to capture images of the world around us. The world is ours to document.   We point the camera directly towards anything that catches our eye.   What would we look like if we turned the lens, focusing  it on ourselves?  What kind of study do we make?

All of our potential lives with us, regardless of whether we make use of it or not.  In “Connect The Dots”, we began creating associations between our interests, skills and goals.  Making connections.  Finding pieces that fit together. Creating change in our lives by turning dreams into workable goals.  The thought process continued flowing…

We must now focus in on these associations.  Where do they fit into our lives?  How do they relate to our future?  Why are they important?

Just like we point our cameras, adjusting the lens, we look outward.  We are seeking information.  Look at industries where our special gifts may be applied.   Follow people who have been successful in their respective fields.  Search for opportunities to apprentice under someone who can be a guide and mentor.  Maybe we can begin building a freelance business on the side. 

Following… Studying… Planning…taking action.

By focusing all of our raw potential we begin to see a clearer picture. Information from studying will applied to our personal resource center.  Our resource center will hold all of the knowledge we gain regarding our future. We now have some directions to follow.  We are narrowing the field…. 

We take action…step by step!

Our future will get clearer and clearer as we continue…

Focusing the lens!!!

There comes a time when we must walk the walk, pulling together all the pieces we have gathered. In “Baby Steps” we discussed the importance of time, practice,and patience.  In “Who Are You” we explored self awareness, purpose, and creating change.  Sharing our unique selves and finding our calling were addressed in “Inside Out.”  And in “What Rocks Your World” we engaged in those life changing moments that make us feel so alive and stimulated.

It is the understanding of these many aspects of ourselves, the people in our lives, and the world around us that will ultimately lead us to discovery.  Discovering that at every moment in our lives the opportunity for change exists.  That opportunity dwells somewhere inside.  We need to understand how to tap into it and use it for creating change.  Real change…not just imagined.  We need to move from talking about the things we want to do, to actually doing them.

Putting our dreams into action means reaching inside, tapping into what we love do.  Finding that special something that makes us feel so alive.  And acting upon it!  We should begin by writing down all of our interests, skills, talents, areas of expertise, dreams, and goals.  Just a simple list without judgment as to where, why, or how any of these may fit into our lives.

By simply writing the list we have put all of our earlier discovery work, into action.  This action will take shape as we move the list into some kind of organization. 

The process of organization will start to bring your future into focus.  For you will begin to see that the creation of change really can take shape.

Step by step, we are walking the walk…

At this point in the process we have already changed..

Because we are “Putting It Together!”