Passion makes decision-making easier

Once you’ve discovered what your passion is, certain things become a LOT easier.

Like decision-making.

FOR EXAMPLE: Let’s say you have a choice to make about a new entrepreneurial endeavor.

Consulting your passion should be THEE first thing you do.

Hmm. I wonder what my passion would say about this situation…? You think.

HERE’S WHY: If a particular endeavor isn’t in line with your passion, you probably shouldn’t do it.

You’ll lose money.
You’ll have little fun.
You’ll waste your time.
You’ll waste other people’s time.

So, next time you find yourselves at a crossroads, consider these Passion Protecting Questions to keep yourself in check:

1. Is this goal worthy of my passion?
If it isn’t, set another one.

2. Is this decision in line with my passion?
If it’s not, don’t waste your time.

3. Am I really the best person to be doing this?
If there’s somebody more passionate, let her do it.

4. Will doing this enable me to validate my existence?
If it won’t, find something else to do.

5. Is what I’m doing right now consistent with my #1 goal?
If it isn’t, stop.

6. Would the person I want to become do what I’m about to do?
If they wouldn’t, don’t.

7. Is what I’m about to do going to allow me to tap into my passion?
If it won’t, stop before you start.

8. Five years now, will I be proud of this decision?
If not, maybe you should reconsider.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What makes your decision-making easier?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “86 Passion-Finding Questions to Invite Someone to Talk about What They Love,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

19 Telltale Signs of “The Perfect Job”

1. You work a job that is SO you.

2. You work a job that doesn’t feel like a job.

3. You work a job that you would do for free.

4. You work a job that makes business personal.

5. You work a job that you would do for nothing.

6. You work a job that demands original thinking.

7. You work a job that makes you laugh, every day.

8. You work a job that makes you forget what time it is.

9. You work a job that combines business AND pleasure.

10. You work a job that keeps you confident, yet uncertain.

11. You work a job that people couldn’t pay you (not) to do.

12. You work a job that you would pay for the opportunity to do.

13. You work a job that makes you think: “God. I just LOVE my clients!”

14. You work a job that you would still do if you were the last person on Earth.

15. You work a job that makes you think: “I can’t believe I’ve getting paid for this!”

16. You work a job that makes you think: “Dude, I have the greatest job in the world.”

17. You work a job that enlists your truest talents, gifts, passions values and philosophies.

18. You work a job that you’re excited to tell people about, yet not in a hurry to tell people about.

19. You work a job that, when you google the phrase “perfect job, your picture comes up as a top hit!

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What are your telltale signs of a perfect job?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Add yours to the master list here!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
[email protected]

Already got the perfect job?

Learn how to make it better.

Tune in to The Entrepreneur Channel on NametagTV.com!

On working on the floor

When was the last time you worked on the floor?

Probably never.

In fact, the excuses you’ve given were most likely:

“But I’ll look dumb.”
“But the floor is dirty!”
“But I’ll wrinkle my clothes…”
“But I’ll get yelled at by my boss!”

Oh no! God forbid you look silly! Or get your clothes a little dusty!

Get over it.

LOOK, THERE’S GOOD NEWS: Working on the floor works.

Since I started my company in 2002, I’ve spent at least SOME time, every single day, working on the floor. And as a result, I’ve discovered a host of benefits to doing so:

1. You’ll have plenty of room to spread out your materials. This will help you more effectively solve problems, come up with new ideas and brainstorm because you’ll see everything involved.

2. You’ll break your patterns. It’s also a nice way to break up the monotony of your typical workday.

3. You’ll change your thinking. Once you sit down on the floor, you’ll start thinking about how silly you look, whether or not your pants are getting wrinkled and what you’re going to say to your boss when he walks in the room. And all of these thoughts will take your mind of your problem, thus enabling you to solve it quicker.

4. You’ll gain new perspective. Working on the floor enables you to approach your canvas from a different angle. So, by literally changing your perspective (what you see in front of and around you) you also change it metaphorically (what you see inside of you.)

5. You’ll humble yourself. By working on the ground, you ground yourself. This modest posture will instill an attitude of appreciation and respect for your creative environment. Ultimately, by honoring your space, you invite more creative solutions.

6. You’ll make your dog happy. (See above picture of my sole coworker, Paisley.)

7. You’ll connect deeper. To the earth. To the floor. To the ground. The Muse. To the divine. See, ironically, when you sit lower, you connect to something higher.

8. You’ll relax. By removing yourself from a typical desk position, you’ll relax your body in ways you’re not used to. Especially your legs. As blood flow circulates, you open the floodgates of creativity.

9. You’ll bring out your inner child. If you’ve ever said, “But I’m too old to sit on the floor,” then that’s EXACTLY why you need to do so. You’ll reconnect with your childlike, curious nature. That will lower your defenses, which will enable you to see your problems with a younger, more innocent set of eyes.

REMEMBER: Working on the floor works.

It’s good for your brain, good for your body and good for your creative soul.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go stretch.

And my pants are getting a little dusty.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
When was the last time you worked on the floor?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “49 Ways to become an Idea Powerhouse,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
[email protected]

Your company need a creative boost?

Better hurry. My summer sessions are filling up…

Rent Scott’s Brain today!


How to Make Your Email More Approachable, Part 2

If you haven’t read Part 1 of this series, do so here!

10. Make it quick. The speed of the response IS the response. And the medium IS the message. So, even if you don’t have the answer to a question or a problem right away, you can always drop a quick, one-line email that says, “Thanks for letting me know. I’m on it. Call ya this afternoon.”

ASK YOURSELF: Can you respond quicker?

11. Filter. When someone sends you a four-page email loaded with NO line breaks and 48 questions and comments, here’s how to handle it:

a. First, give it a quick once-over.
b. Next, go back and separate each section or question. (See, to make sure you address all of their concerns, you’ll be turning your reply email into a numbered list.)
c. Introduce your list with something like, “Thanks for all of your feedback! I’ve written a response to each of your questions below…”
d. Then, boldface their original thought and write your response underneath. This type of response shows organization AND openness to ALL their ideas.
e. Finally, close with your signature.

ASK YOURSELF: Are you breaking emails down enough?

12. Summary. Next time you have a detailed conversation with someone over the phone, suggest the following: “Hey Mark, I’ve been taking some notes on our conversation. Would you like me to email you a quick, bullet-point list of all the key points we’ve covered, just to make sure we’re both on the same page?”

99 times out of 100, the person will not only gratefully accept, but also be WOW’ed by your listening ability. Not to mention, you’ll have documentation of the conversation for future reference.

ASK YOURSELF: Are you on the same page as your clients?

13. Email introductions. This is a GREAT practice for bringing two people together that should meet, have something in common or can help each other. A few tips for an effective email introduction are:

a. Give a short background on each person.
b. Reference your relationship with each person.
c. Provide phone numbers, websites and email addresses.
d. Keep it short, casual and friendly.
e. Stress the idea of they can help each other or that you think they’d get along great.

ASK YOURSELF: What two people do you know who should meet?

14. Frequency. If you’re one of the Brave Souls who sets a boundary to only check your email a few times a day, good for you. Way to (not) be addicted to your Crackberry! Just remember, accessibility is still important.

So, in your email signature, consider letting people know about your new emailing-checking schedule. You may also want to include a number where people can either contact you or someone else who can help them in your e-absence.

ASK YOURSELF: Do you (really) need to check your email as SOON as the plane touches down? Come on, folks. Let it go. There’s no way you’re that important.

15. Fun with From. The “from” line is a PERFECT, yet underused hot spot for the of stamp your personal brand. Let’s say you’re known as “The Tax Law Queen.” Great! Put that instead of [email protected]. It’s guaranteed to stand out among the hundreds of emails in your recipients’ inboxes, and probably get read first.

ASK YOURSELF: What makes your email stand out?

16. Architecture. The human attention span is about six seconds. First impressions occur in less than two seconds. And people receive hundreds of emails a day.

So, if you want people to actually READ your letters, the secret is to make your writing easy, quick, fun, approachable and, most importantly, digestible. I call this architecture. And it’s defined as, “The creative design and page presentation of a piece of writing.” For example:

o Make it bold.
o Make it a list.
o Make it italic.
o Make it chunky.
o Make it shorter.
o Make it ALL CAPS.
o Make it underlined.
o Make it b-r-o-k-e-n.
o Make it one word long.
o Make it one sentence long.
o Make it centered on the page.
o Make it bold AND underlined.

Ultimately, if your writing is laborious to get through, readers will just move onto the next email. Besides, people are probably doing three other things while reading your stuff. So, the minute your page presentation starts to bore them, they’ll probably move on.

ASK YOURSELF: 500 emails a day – why would they read yours?

17. Email less often. There’s no need to send piles of emails to your clients, customers and prospects constantly. Once or twice is enough. Any more than that, they’ll either think you don’t trust them, think you don’t have a life or think you’re desperate. (But in all cases, they’ll be annoyed.)

See, whenever someone’s ready to take the next step – to follow up WITH or open up TO you – they’ll do it because THEY want to. Not because you emailed them (again) just to “follow up,” “see if they have any further questions” or “check in to see how it’s coming along.”

Easy, Dilbert. They heard you the first time. Have a little faith! When they want you, they’ll find you. Patience.

ASK YOURSELF: Do I really need to send another email to this person?

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How approachable is your email?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For a copy of my list called, 65 Things I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me When I First Started My Company, send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
[email protected]

How many unsolicited referrals did YOU get this week?

Tune in to The Sales Channel on NametagTV.com!

Watch video lessons on enabling customers to buy!

NametagTV: Timeline of Credibility

Video not working? Click here for Adobe Flash 9!
Watch the original video on NametagTV!

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What have you done for your customers … LATELY?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For a list called, “20 Types of Value You MUST Deliver,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
[email protected]

Who’s telling their friends about YOU?

Tune in to The Marketing Channel on NametagTV.com!

Watch video lessons on spreading the word!

Emotion means disturbance

The word “emotion” comes from the Latin emotere, which means, “To disturb.”

Which TOTALLY makes sense.

After all:

Emotions disturb your mind.
Emotions disturb your stillness.
Emotions disturb your awareness.

Emotions disturb the conversation.
Emotions disturb the listening process.
Emotions disturb the energy field between two people.

Now, this doesn’t mean emotions are bad.

It simply means they’re powerful.

And that if you don’t keep them in check, they will take over.

Careful.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Is this (really) the best time to get emotional?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For my list called, “8 Phrases That Payses to Reduce Emotional Reactivity,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
[email protected]

What’s YOUR approach?

Join The Nametag Forums! Share stories, best practices and connect with a like-minded community of business professionals who stick themselves out there!

The beauty and power of … The Pause

Listening is PAUSING.

And silence is a beautiful thing.

So, if you want to grow bigger ears, you’ve got to learn to appreciate the value of stillness.

I suggest the following Pausing Practices for listening success:

PAUSE … before you give an answer.
Take your time. Think about your response. Choose your words carefully. Let the silence speak to you. Demonstrating contemplation shows respect to the questioner.

PAUSE… after you ask a question.
Don’t continue to add value. No need to explain your question further. Ask; then be quiet. Let the pearl sink. Use your pause to create space in the conversation for the other person to think, breathe and just BE.

PAUSE … when someone else is on a roll.
Let them finish. Let them get it off their chest. Become a sounding board. Silence often serves as a permission slip for the other person to go deeper. Let them get to the good stuff.

PAUSE … after powerful, emotional or intelligent insights.
Not to gloat at your newfound eloquence, but to watch the other person take it in. To note how he or she reacts. To let them give birth to their own understanding. To be a listening midwife.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How are you tapping into the power of the pause?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “13 Roles of The Listener,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
[email protected]

How many unsolicited referrals did YOU get this week?

Tune in to The Sales Channel on NametagTV.com!

Watch video lessons on enabling customers to buy!

Adventures in Nametagging: KC Style

OK, so, this HAS to be on my list called:

“Top Ten Things That Have Ever Happened After One Of My Speeches”

Rick, the president of the KC CVB, came right up to my book table, ripped open his shirt and showed me HIS nametag tattoo.

Zoinks!

Thanks for making my week, Rick.

Man. After 2,787 days, I thought I was the only one. So much for being original!

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever seen an audience member do?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Go to Kansas City. Those guys ROCK!

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

Stop using the word “try”

People who use the word “try” a lot usually don’ t accomplish much.

YODA WAS RIGHT: “There is no try. Only do, and do not.”

So, instead of “trying,” consider modifying your vocabulary with these substitutes:

1. I am…
2. I will…
3. I intend to…
4. My goal is to…
5. I’ll give it my best…
6. I’m getting better at…
7. I did the best I could…
8. I will make an effort to…
9. I’m making progress on…

REMEMBER: The more often you use the word “try,” the less progress you actually make.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How often do you use the word “try”?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Stop trying, start doing.

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
[email protected]

Enjoy this post?

If so, perhaps I could help on a more personal, one-on-one basis.

Rent Scott’s Brain today!


NametagTV: Complaints are Opportunities

Video not working? Click here for Adobe Flash 9!

To watch the original video and join the discussion on The Nametag Forums, click here!

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How do you make it easy for customers to complain?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For a list called, “33 Ways to Approach Unhappy Customers,” send an email to me and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
[email protected]

Who’s telling their friends about YOU?

Tune in to The Marketing Channel on NametagTV.com!

Watch video lessons on spreading the word!

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