A Quick Update

You may have noticed (at least I hope you did) that the frequency of posts here has dropped off a little in the last few weeks.   I thought I should drop a quick line to let everyone know that I’m still here.  I’ve immersed myself in a new project that’s kept me pretty busy (more to come on that later this week), but I’ve almost got it finished so regular posts will resume soon.

In the meantime, I’ve arranged for guest posts from a few of my favorite bloggers; I hope you enjoy reading them.  In fact, I’m planning on making this a weekly feature, so if you’d like to make a contribution to the Motivation 101 blog (or if you know someone who would), please drop a quick email to jerry@jerrykennedy.com with your name, blog URL and a brief description of the post you want to write.

Well, that’s it for now, other than a quick shout-out to my friends, the Nomad Canfields.  If you haven’t checked out Joel and Sue and their daughter Fiona chronicling their attempt at running away from home (they’re in Vancouver, BC, right now), you should  have a look at their blog, Canfield of Dreams.  You might recognize Joel as an infrequent contributor to this blog or as the other guy in the legendary Business Heretics videos (actually, it was all his idea).  Anyhow, have a look and tell them I said you should stop by.

Continue reading A Quick Update…

Taking My Own Advice

While I was driving around yesterday and thinking about some things I wanted to do with this blog to make it better for you, the readers, it occurred to me that I needed to take a bit of my own advice from Monday’s post about the new rules for business, the 3 Cs: content, connection and conversation.

I realized that while the content I’m writing seems to be striking a chord with readers (thank you again for all your support!), and while I’m conversing with you all when you leave comments, I haven’t yet provided a place where we can all connect.  I realized I needed to remedy that as quickly as possible.

Now, call me lazy if you like, but I’m not inclined to take on the responsibility of creating and managing a Ning site right at the moment.  So, I opted to create a Facebook fan page for the blog instead.  A couple of clicks later, it was all done, and I’d like to invite you all to join in the connections and conversations over at the Motivation 101 Blog fan page.

Here’s what I’d like to see on this page: your ideas, suggestions, links, tips and tricks for getting and staying motivated to press forward in your businesses, careers and lives.  I’d like for this to be a place where you can come and ask questions and get advice on how to be a better salesperson for your business.  I’d like to see everyone helping each other in the true spirit of community.

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Why Having a Written Business Plan Is Essential to Your Success

You’ve probably heard before that, in order to really have success in business, you need a written business plan.  Trouble is, most small business owners and entrepreneurs don’t take the time to create one.  They see it as something that’s only important if you’re looking for a loan or trying to raise venture capital.  That’s a fatal mistake in many businesses.

I recently co-authored a free report called 6 Mistakes That Could Destroy Your Business - And How You Can Avoid Them (206).  Please click on the link to get your copy now.  And don’t worry: there are no strings attached. 

I hope you enjoy the report and, more importantly, I hope you take some action on it.  Just like you can’t build a sturdy house without a well-drawn blueprint, you can’t build a successful business without a well-thought out, written business plan!

Learning to Lean (On Others)

I have to admit: I’m a bit of a megalomaniac.  As such, I have a tendency to be a bit of a control freak.  And I think I’m good at it.  I honestly believe that I have everything under control.  My condition is so bad, I once won a few hours of free administrative assistance from my friend Todd Lay, but never used it, even though I was juggling a full-time job and my own business at the time.  It’s a sickness.

I don’t think I’m alone in this.  Many people,especially entrepreneurs, have a tendency to want to “do it all”.   I think we all believe the old adage that “if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself”.  Leaning on others doesn’t come naturally, perhaps because we’ve been jaded by past experience but more likely because we just haven’t learned to trust yet.  If there is one skill the entrepreneur needs, though, it’s the ability to delegate.  It can literally be the difference between success and failure in your business.

Think about it for a minute: how much time do you lose, each and every day, procrastinating and stalling when you have a task you hate that needs doing?  One of my hated tasks is making changes to my website, mostly because it involves looking at HTML code (who came up with that garble, anyways?).  Ugh!  I’d rather have a root canal.  I can do it, though, and that was my hang-up.  I thought that if was able to do it, there was no sense spending the money to hire someone else to do it.  So I would sit down to tackle the project and immediately find 10 other things that “needed” my attention (you know…YouTube, Facebook, Twitter), and the website never got done. 

Then, I met a great web designer who was willing to do what needed to be done in trade.  So I thought, “What the heck?  I might as well give this a try.”  And I learned an incredibly valuable lesson that day: there are people in this world who, believe it or not, actually like looking at and monkeying with HTML code.  For them, it’s a joy, a delight and, as a result, they’re really good at it.  My eyes were suddenly opened to a whole new world, populated with people who were thrilled to engage in all the tasks I hated.  There are virtual assistants who actually enjoy bookkeeping and transcribing and all the administrative tasks that make me cringe.  And there are even people who get their kicks from taking the content I create and blasting it out to the thousands of sites in the social media world, another task I dread.

Continue reading Learning to Lean (On Others)…

'Motivation' Begins and Ends With 'Motion'

OK.  So I stole the title for this post from my friend, Joel D Canfield.  He’s a pretty forgiving guy, though, so I’m sure he’ll let it slide.  Especially when I flatter him by saying that is, quite literally, one of the most brilliant phrases I’ve ever read.

Take today, for example.  As you may or may not have already read, today started off pretty badly for me.  I was having one of “those” days, and I wanted nothing more than to just call it quits and spend the day wallowing in my funk.  I decided, instead, to take some of my own advice by getting out of the office and seeing some prospective clients.  When I got back, I had a conversation with Joel in which I mentioned to him that the minute I talked to my first prospect and she said “No,” I immediately felt 100% better.

Joel was a little confused by this, so I explained that the rejection was validation that I was in “action” mode.  And that, so long as I was in motion, I was buiding momentum.  That’s when he uttered the phrase that became the title of this blog post.  And I agree with him wholeheartedly.

You see, even though I didn’t sell anything today, I got engaged in the process.  As I’ve said before, you don’t make an orange by magic or positive intent or even by trying to force it to happen; you make an orange by planting a seed, by starting and then supporting the process that will eventual lead to an orange.  The same is true in your business: you never, and I mean never ever get results by wishing for them or trying to force them.  You only get results by taking the first step, planting the seed, then supporting the process that will lead to the outcome you’re looking for. 

Continue reading 'Motivation' Begins and Ends With 'Motion'…

Are You Ready to Quit the Recession?

Well, it’s official: Ben Bernanke and, more impressively, Warren Buffet have declared that the recession is officially over (of course, my friend Raj called it a couple of days ago, but we won’t quibble over details here…).  Don’t get out the party hats and champagne just yet, though; Buffet and Bernanke are both predicting a slow recovery for the economy due to the continued ‘lack of confidence’ on the part of consumers.  That’s you and me, people.  We are the consumers’ whose lack of confidence is going to drag this thing out, if that’s the choice we make. 

Is that the choice you want to make?  I certainly don’t.  I, for one, am tired of being in a recession.  I’m ready for a change.  And I think I speak for a lot of people when I say “Enough already!”  I’m willing to bet that you feel the same way, don’t you?  So then, what can we do to change (as in ‘elevate’) consumer confidence, including our own?

Well, start by asking yourself what it would take for you to be more confident and resume things like going out to eat and buying new clothes on a regular basis?  What level of income would you need to feel comfortable buying a new car?  How about a home?  It’s not likely that there will be a better time in the next decade or two to buy things on the cheap. In fact, it would seem that the entire world and everything in it is on sale, so what better time to buy?  Of course, I’m not encouraging you to be reckless or to spend money you don’t have…just consider what you could do right now if you did have the money.  And pick a number that would make you feel confident enough to do it.

Next step?  Figure out how to get to that level of income so that you can once again join the ranks of the confident consumer.  How?  Well, the first thing you have to do is believe you can (and you certainly can); then, you have to believe that you must!  In other words, you have to have a compelling WHY, a reason that will drive you to do whatever it takes to correct your own financial situation and get your life and business back on track. 

Continue reading Are You Ready to Quit the Recession?…

Guess Who's Back!!

Happy Monday, everyone!

After a brief (OK, so it wasn’t so brief…sorry!) hiatus, the Motivation 101 Blog is back and better than ever.

I’ve been spending the last couple of months exploring this wonderful device we call the World Wide Web and all of the powerful things it can do. I’ve been studying social media and Web 2.0 and Facebook and Twitter and all of the leverage they can provide to businesses who are paying attention and learning how to adapt to the new world and the new economy we find ourselves living in.

Most of all, though, I’ve been exploring my own life and business and trying to make sense out of all the advice I’ve been getting from business associates, mentors and friends.  And I’ve had an epiphany. More on that later, though. For now, I want to let you know what’s going to be happening with the Motivation 101 Blog here at it’s new home. 

First of all, this blog is going to be the home of the best content I can write.  I truly believe that the only way the current ‘economic crisis’ is going to end is if we all decide to quit playing along.  I’ve said it before, and I’m going to keep saying it: this recession has nothing to do with a lack of money or resources.  It is the result of a lack of confidence and trust.  In other words, it is a psychological  recession. 

Continue reading Guess Who's Back!!…

How Do You Make an Orange?

This week, I had the chance to be a guest blogger over at The Sales Bloggers Union. These guys are great! You can check out the article I wrote by clicking here. The article discusses the need for selling professionals (and remember, that includes all you entrepreneurs and small business owners) to focus on their process instead of on “closing deals”. I hope you enjoy it!

Jerry