Surfing the Ups and Downs of Business and Life

Navigating your dreams and goals is a lot like surfing. There will be ups and downs, there will be wipe-outs, and frustration. Motivating yourself and your team members will not only help you grow your business, but will fuel your desire to continue when the going gets tough!

Let me know what you think of this video blog, and comment below!

For more information about booking The Shef for your next event, visit http://www.theshef.com or call our offices at 1-563-343-5412

Footprints Wash Away, Creating Your Legacy

No one lives forever, yet most carry a growing list of things they will do "someday". Your "Someday List" may include things like spending more time with family, starting a new business, taking a trip with your spouse, volunteering for a charity, or an array of other dreams that have been put on hold until you had spare time.

I just returned from 8 days on the road speaking, and captured a photo of a perfect illustration of how temporary life is while walking along the beach in Santa Monica, CA. The footprints in the sand represent the mark that every one of us leaves on the world. This photo was taken during low tide, but within hours the tide came in, washing  the footprints away. Everyone will eventually die and our physical "footprints" will wash away. What will remain, however, is the impact  we had on those around us.

My friend, David A. Koop, wrote a fantastic book titled, Cancer-It's a Good Thing I Got It! It is filled with great stories of capturing the magic of today, and not living in tomorrow.

There are 3 things to consider when pursuing your "Someday" items:

1. It's now or never. Take some sort of action that moves you toward your goal. You can correct the course of a boat when it is moving, but not when it's parked.

2. You have the resources to make it happen. God does not plant a dream in our hearts without giving us the means to make it come true. (It may take you longer to accomplish your goal than you would prefer, but patience and who you become in the process is the real reward.)

3. Disconnect to reconnect. Whenever I'm speaking in the Los Angeles area, I always try to extend my trip for an extra day or two. The people on the beach are enjoying the experience of being on the beach. I never witnessed a surfer who was checking their text messages, or a volleyball player who was on a conference call with the office during the middle of the game. Being "Always on, Always accessible" puts us into a perpetual reactionary mode.

An example of "someday" items for me include eating dinner as a family at least twice per week, making time for friends, and running a Tough Mudder race in 2013.

What are some of your "Someday" items? Please comment and share!

For more information about booking The Shef for your next event, visit http://www.theshef.com or call our offices at 1-563-343-5412

Motivational Memories and Uncle Zig

I had an uncle named Zig Ziglar. Zig wasn't technically my uncle, but an uncle that I felt had adopted me when I began my career in direct sales at the age of 19. Millions of people around the globe called Zig "family" in some sense of the word. Zig proved to be a fountain of knowledge filled with an endless supply of ideas, stories, and a perspective that could pull anyone through the toughest of times.

Zig and I would cut through many cold Minnesota nights en route to my next sales call. His tinny Southern drawl booming through my car stereo would make me laugh, would nudge me out of the cab of my Chevy pickup truck to knock another door, and would always remind me that hard work, integrity, and consistent personal development would pave the way for my success in life. I find myself echoing several life lessons when I deliver motivational messages to audiences at conventions and meetings.

Here are my top 10 Ziglar nuggets of wisdom:
1. You can get anything in life that you want…if you just help enough other people get what they want.
2. You are the only person on Earth who can use your ability.
3. God gave you two ears and one mouth…use them accordingly.
4. Sometimes we all need a “Check up from the neck up.”
5. God created your body as a temple…how are you treating yours?
6. Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street.
7. There has never been a statue erected to honor a critic.
8. I’m so optimistic that I’d go after Moby Dick in a rowboat with crackers and tarter sauce!
9. What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as who you become in the process.
10. Many salespeople call themselves sales professionals, but are really professional visitors because they never close a sale.

The true measure of one’s life is not everything that they have done personally, but rather how they have impacted the people who are around after they have gone. By that measure, Zig will be missed, but his impact will be timeless!

For more information about booking The Shef for your next event, visit http://www.theshef.com or call our offices at 1-563-343-5412