Author: Carlos Gonzalez

Eugene Orowitz was a skinny little tenth grader in New Jersey. His friends lovingly called him “Ugy”. Eugene was a self admittedly non-athlete. He was shy, self-conscious, lack self-confidence and harbored a poor self-image. One day while watching his high school track team practice, the coach half-jokingly asked Eugene if he would like to try out. At that moment Eugene grabbed a javelin and flung it as far as he could. Everyone gasped in amazement as the javelin soared into the stands. From that day forth he committed himself to developing his skills and improving his throwing distances. With singleness of purpose he practiced day and night. Before his departure from high school Eugene achieved a national high school record of 211 yards. His dedication and hours of hard work earned him a college track scholarship in California, and Olympic competition consideration. However, a torn shoulder muscle ended his dream of Olympic competition. Here is where the proverbial blessing in disguise takes over. Being denied a chance at Olympic competition intensified his quest to find an equally challenging career. One day while helping a friend rehearse for a part in a play, the dramatic bug bit him and he enrolled in acting school at Warner Brothers.

Eugene Orowitz (alias Michael Landon) became a television superstar, famous for his roles in Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, and Highway to Heaven. Michael Landon’s commitment left an enduring Hollywood legacy that will inspire countless of aspiring young actors for generations.

What is it about commitment that makes us act in ways we never knew? When you arrive at that station in life when you truly commit yourself to achieving your goals the following transformation will take place:

 All the reasons that you can think about to tell your friends and family why it isn’t working, all those reasons go away.

 All the reasons that you can think about to tell yourself why it isn’t working go away.

 All the reasons that you can think about to tell your boss and co-workers why it isn’t working go away.

You become like the thin edge of an ax with 50 pounds of thrust behind it. You cut deep and you cut quickly. You’ll accomplish more in a few years than most people do in a lifetime.

I can’t imagine a person becoming a success who doesn’t give this game of life everything he’s got.

Walter Cronkite…

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Author: Carlos Gonzalez

To laugh often and love much;

To win the respect of intelligent people
And the affection of children;

To earn the approval of honest critics
And to endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;

To find the best in others;

To give of one’s self without the
Slightest thought of return;

To have accomplished a task, whether
By a healthy child, a rescued soul, a
Garden patch or a redeemed social
Condition;

To have played and laughed with
Enthusiasm and sung with exaltation;

To know that even one life has breathed
Easier because you have lived;

This is to have succeeded
Anonymous—

LET’S PLAY SUCCESS TRIVIA

1. Who was sent home from the 3rd grade because he was too slow to learn, and who later struggled through thousands of experiments before being awarded over one thousand patents for his inventions?—Thomas Alva Edison

2. Who flunked the first grade and went on to become attorney general?—Robert F. Kennedy

3. Who didn’t learn to talk until he was four years old but ultimately changed how we view the laws of time and space?—Albert Einstein

4. Who was told at an early age that he had no talent for music but whose name is synonymous with musical masterpieces?–Ludwig Van Beethoven

5. Who was told by a prominent Hollywood producer that he would not make in films because his Adams apple was too big?—Clint Eastwood

6. Who was told by a newspaper owner to pursue another line of work because he didn’t have any creative or original ideas?—Walt Disney

There exist limitless opportunities in every industry. Where there is an open mind, there will always be a frontier.

Charles F. Kettering

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Author: Carlos Gonzalez

Irrespective of your job title, sales manager, company president, CEO, or just running your one man operation, sooner or later life will call on you to take risks. William Ellery Channing once wrote… There are seasons, in human affairs, when new depths seem to be broken up in the soul. When new wants are unfolded in multitudes and a new and undefined good is thirsted for. There are periods when to dare, is the highest wisdom.

Let’s look at a person who had the courage to take a risk. Mary Kay Ash had the ridiculous idea that beauty products would sell at home beauty shows. In her heart she believed that skin care products could be sold to women looking for ways to improve their looks, image and potential for success. Mary Kay had risked her entire life savings on this idea and ventured forth in spite of criticism from friends and family. Her first home show brought in a grand total of $1.50 in sales. Not what you would call a good return on her investment. However she was just getting started. She practiced and improved her selling skills, presentation techniques, refined the packaging and gave herself a much needed attitude adjustment. She did $34,000 in retail sales the first year. Fifteen years later, Mary Kay had 150,000 independent consultants, and 3,000 directors producing gross sales of $200 million.

In the fifth century B.C., the Greek historian Herodotus scripted eight simple words that ring as true today, in this age of high technology and space exploration as they did when human civilization was just beginning to explore the world within and without.
“Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks.”

Take heed in Herodotus words. Weigh all the facts, complete your due diligence; and prepare your heart, mind, body and soul. Then move forward with a clear vision and faith knowing that time well spent will yield your just rewards. Finally, just before going to sleep do not be too proud to ask for help and leave it in someone else’s hands.

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Author: Carlos Gonzalez

Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald’s breathed and lived customer service. His legacy and his enduring passion for customer service still rings true throughout McDonald’s corporate hallways. The following check list is used as a training tool for front counter people:

1. The customer is the most important person in our business.

2. The customer is not dependent on us…we are dependent on the customer.

3. The customer is not an interruption of our work; but the purpose of it.

4. The customer does us an honor when calling on us. We are not doing the customer a favor by serving him/her.

5. The customer is part of our business, not an outsider. The customer is our guest.

6. The customer is not a cold statistic, but flesh and blood, a human with feelings and emotions like our own.

7. The customer is not someone to argue with our match wits with.

8. The customer is one who brings us his/her wants. Our job is to fill them.

9. The customer is deserving of the most courteous and attentive treatment we can provide.

10. The customer has the right to expect an employee to present a neat, clean appearance.

Karl Albrecht and Ron Zemke say it best…”Whether service is your primary product or only a part of it, delivery must be effective, efficient, and dependable if it is to have value to the customer. The service must be predictable, and uniform; the customer has to be able to depend on what it will look like on delivery, how long it will take to deliver, and what it will cost. A Bib Mac is a Big Mac is a Big Mac”.

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Author: Susan Riddering

Labor Day has come and gone; the symbolic “end of summer.” Many of us will reluctantly turn our attention away from summer recreations and will approach our work with renewed focus. Autumn brings a relentless schedule of deadlines, meetings and other challenges. Preparing a time management strategy is one way to improve our overall personal effectiveness. Time is constant, we can’t beat it, but we can manage it. Below are five time management strategies to improve personal effectiveness and success within your organization.

1. Take the first 30 minutes of every day to plan your day. Don’t start your day until you complete your time plan. The most important time of your day is the time you schedule to schedule time.

2. Put up a “Do not disturb” sign when you absolutely have to get work done.

3. Block out other distractions like Facebook and other forms of social media unless you use these tools to generate business.

4. Take five minutes before every call and task to decide what result you want to achieve. This will help you know what success looks like before you start. And it will also slow time down. Take five minutes after each call and activity to determine whether your desired result was achieved. If not, what was missing? How do you put what’s missing in your next call or activity?

5. Carry a schedule and record all your thoughts, conversations and activities for a week. This will help you understand how much you can get done during the course of a day and where your precious moments are going. You’ll see how much time is actually spent producing results and how much time is wasted on unproductive thoughts, conversations and actions.

Remember that it’s impossible to get everything done. Also remember that odds are good that 20 percent of your thoughts, conversations and activities produce 80 percent of your results. We have to learn to let go of the “nitty gritty” and spend our time on the things that produce results.

Author: Carlos Gonzalez

If you ever dreamed of branching out on your own, if you dreamed or are currently dreaming of starting your own business, are you longing for escape into the world of financial freedom? If so, realize that your path may be laden with mistakes; you may even meet with temporary defeat, rejection or even failure. Fear not…for you are in exclusive company. Failure is temporary. It is only permanent when you accept it as such. Let’s reflect on the following story:

Someone once said “When failure continually knocks at your door, welcome it in. Once experienced and learned from, failure becomes the steppingstone to success.

Consider a man whose life was overcome with continual failure, setbacks, rejections, and financial hardships. He once wrote, “I am the most miserable man living. Whether I shall be better, I cannot tell”. Not exactly what you would call a positive affirmation.

By any standard he experienced a difficult childhood. At the tender age of seven his family was forced out of their home on a legal technicality. He went to work to help support the family, and at nine, his mother died. Consequently, he completed less than one year of formal education. At twenty two he failed and lost his job as a store clerk. He had a burning desire to go to law school, but his lack of formal education prevented him from doing so. On borrowed money he became a partner in a small business. This also led to disaster. A few years later his partner died, leaving him with a mountain of debt that took seventeen years to repay.

He was defeated for the legislature; this was followed by another business failure shortly after. The young women he loved refused his marriage proposals, and another earlier love in his life died unexpectedly. At this point he finds himself rejected, confused and totally heartbroken. Several years later he married into a burdensome life and a subsequent unhappy relationship. From here on out it was an endless road of continual failures and disappointments:

 He was defeated for Congress
 After his third try he got elected
 Two years later at thirty nine he ran again and failed to be reelected.
 His four year old son died
 Only one of his four sons lived past eighteen
 At the age of forty five he ran and was badly defeated for the U.S. Senate

The list of setbacks, disappointments, tragedies and failures seemed endless. However, through the grace of God, his own determination and undying spirit this man withstood a lifetime of crisis, criticism, public denial, personal defeat, deep depression, and loneliness to become the sixteen President of the United States of America. At the age of fifty one fate smiled kindly on Abraham Lincoln and he experienced the success he so passionately pursed throughout his entire life. However, during his second term life dealt him his final blow and his life was cut short by an assassin’s bullet.
As Abraham Lincoln lay dying, his secretary of war Edwin M. Stanton said…”There lies the most perfect ruler of men the world has ever seen…and now he belongs to the ages”.

Take a lesson from Abraham Lincoln, his accomplishments, his fortitude, his insight, his wisdom and his faith should serve as an example to all of us of how failure can produce achievement.

“It is not a disgrace to fail. Failing is one of the greatest arts in the world”
Charles F. Kettering

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Author: Carlos Gonzalez

I recently held a series of training seminars and business lectures. Of the various topics I discussed none were as important as what I consider to be the top 3 most important skills anyone can master. We’ll call them T L C. That is…Time, Leadership and Communication.

Let’s look at each individually. Why is time management so absolutely vital; because it’s the only resource we have which we cannot get more of. We can get more skill, we can get more money, we can get more experience however, we cannot get more time. Once the clock strikes twelve that’s it, the day is over. Time is the scarcest resource and unless it is managed nothing else can be managed. Here is the master key to effective time management; do not major in minor things. Learn to separate major projects from minor projects. That said…learn not to major in minor problems, do not major in minor conversations, do not major in minor issues. Learn not to confuse movement for achievement and activity for results. To make good use of your time, you’ve got to know what’s most important and then give it all you’ve got.

Let’s discuss leadership; I believe a true leader’s fundamental role has been and shall remain making people capable of joint performance through common goals and values. In my opinion, herein is the master key to leadership; the key is not to get people to do what you want them to do. The true key of leadership is to get people to want to do what you want them to do. We do so by making them feel appreciated; make them feel that they are contributing to the whole of the team. Learn to praise in public and if necessary reprimand in private. Make a practice of including your staff in the decision making process. Develop, set and exemplify common goals, shared values and simple, clear and unifying objectives to which everyone in the organization can commit.

Let’s discuss communication, the real art and key of effective communication is, to speak with the purpose to express not to impress. We all know the individuals that just love to talk. They speak in terms which are often vague and yet sometimes meaningless. You ask the guy for the time of day, oh, oh… now you’re in for a 30 minute lecture on how to build a watch. Speaking to impress builds gaps, speaking to express builds bridges. Additionally, make sure you have earned the right to speak on your subject matter. It’s difficult to consul someone on a broken heart, if you’ve never had one.When communicating with your staff, subordinates, superiors etc., remember this…communication does not begin with being understood, but with understanding others. Properly chosen words are a powerful tool; words delivered with emotion are more powerful still. Your audience may not remember all you said, they will however, remember how you made them feel.

It has been said…the real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

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