by Kirby Hasseman
When you start something new, there will be plenty of voices. I am not talking about the ones in your head (they are loud enough). Whether you are starting a career in sales, a new business, a new job, or a new location to chase a dream, people will have their opinions. That is totally cool. They are entitled to them. Here are a few you might have… The Cheerleader: This is the person or voice that will tell you how great you are…no matter what. These are great…and you need some of them. But too much can make you think you can’t fail. This person is a bit like sugar. It’s great to spice up the dish, but too much is not good for you! The Realist: It’s good to have one of these people in your corner. But make sure you know them for what they really are. The person who says they are a “realist” are usually a negative person in disguise. It’s good to have them to balance out your optimism. On the other hand, they can be a drag on your confidence. The Hater: These are the people that want you to fail. Though they are simple to deal with (just don’t), that’s easier said than done. But if you waste energy of them, they win. Don’t give them real estate in your head. The Faker: We all know this person. They cheer for you outwardly, but are really a hater in disguise. When dealing with this group I am reminded of the quote from Wayne Dyer. “Other peoples opinions of you are none of your business.” The Encourager: These are my favorite. They have a healthy dose of cheerleader, realist, and listener. They can be an awesome sounding board with suggestions and ideas. In addition, they can help to make you “snap out of it” when you get in a rut. They truly want them best for you. We all want more of the “encourager” in our lives…but they are hard to find. The best way to find one is to become one. We want to encourage you! A great for us to do that is for you to join our VIP list! Sign up here. We make sure you never miss a piece of content. We gather them each week and send you one email with all the content in one place. Sign up here.
by Kirby Hasseman
This time of year there is a lot of talk about “traditions.” Sometimes we lean on them and they remind us of times with family and friends. They can be powerfully positive. But often today, I tend to hear about them with the lamenting tone that comes when people complain because they are not here any more. “No one does (blank) anymore. It’s a shame.” Here’s the thing. I like (some) traditions as much as the next guy. They can remind us of positive times and warmer times. They might remind us of loved ones. That’s all good. But sometimes, traditions are just lazy. We use them as something to hide behind. 1. We do things because we have always done them.2. We use them as a reason to blame others for our own unhappiness. If you are frustrated that people are not “respecting traditions,” then I want to give you some food for thought. Traditions Began Somewhere: All traditions started somewhere. Your amazing grandmother might have created that family tradition because it was something she enjoyed to do. She might have wanted to share that with the family. But they started somewhere. They have not ALWAYS existed. Traditions Can Evolve: As times change (and they do) maybe the tradition should too. It’s great to be reminded of good times in the past. It’s not great to be chained to them. Make it fun for the next generation. You Can Start Your Own Tradition: That sweet Grandma that started an amazing family tradition all those years ago did not just start a tradition. She showed you the way. If you want to continue to honor that memory, maybe you should take the lesson…and create your own. So many times we wait for someone else to be the one to make the choice, start the line, create the memory. Don’t wait. Make your own memory. Create your own tradition. Make sure you never miss an update! You can start the tradition of getting our VIP newsletter! Sign up here.
by Kirby Hasseman
We have all been there. It might be a situation or a person, but we have all had that moment. It’s a place I like to call “At Wit’s End.” Let me paint a picture. You know you have a busy day, so you make it a point to get up early. Your alarm goes off, and you are just plain tired. But because of your full day, you drag yourself out of bed. When you head through the darkness to the kitchen to make coffee, you stub your toe on the coffee table. Then you make coffee and you sit down to get started on your computer. But the puppy hears you up and starts to bark. In order to keep him quiet, you run up to get him and take him outside. While you are outside the coffee overflows and makes a mess on the kitchen floor. While cleaning that up, the puppy makes a mess by the door (you were just out!). This series of events continues and, despite getting up early, you get nothing pro-active done for the day. You take a deep breath. It’s fine. You can just get ahead once you get to the office. But the trend continues. You get cut off in traffic. You spill your coffee on yourself on the way. You get stuck behind a train. You get a nasty email from a client. Then you get a nasty follow up email from the boss (who was copied in on the client email). The day just spirals out of control. You are “At Wit’s End.” In order to take a break you head to get some Sprite out of the fridge. You had some in there for moments like this. But you reach into the box and the Sprite is gone. Someone had helped themselves to your drinks! Naturally…you lose your mind. You yell to everyone in the office! You throw the box. You stomp, carry on and generally throw a tantrum. And all anyone in the office knows is someone took your last $.50 can of sugar water. Jeesh. What a baby. But you and I know it wasn’t the Sprite. It was a whole series of unrelated events that led you here. The Sprite was just “the last straw.” We understand the concept of “the last straw.” Most of us have used it or heard it on more than one occasion. But have you noticed, it’s always in the negative. I get it. That’s just the connotation. But have you ever considered it a different way? Let’s take sales. You have reached out to the prospect again and again. You feel like they are a great fit. They have even given you some positive feedback. But time after time, you send proposals and presentations…and nothing. You have been charming and professional. You just can’t seem to break through. Then one day, after a seemingly innocuous email, they take the next step! It wasn’t that you were more brilliant on that point of contact. It was just “the last straw.” Or how about Content? You have written that blog over and over. You work to cover interesting topics and give your specific take. You have a point of view. It’s well written. It’s targeted to a great audience. But day after day, week after week, very little action is happening. Then one day it changes. One day a blog takes off. It gets shared. It drives leads. It hits the mark. Was it that this particular blog was the best one yet? Or was it just “the last straw?” Keep showing up. Keep providing value. Keep doing your good work. You never know when this will just be “the last straw.” Make sure you never miss an update! Today might be the last straw for you. Sign up for our VIP newsletter here. We gather each piece of content and send one email, so you have them in one place. Sign up here.
by Kirby Hasseman
I love Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday. It seems like the whole world starts trying to celebrate Christmas after Labor Day. But I like the idea of gathering with family and friends, with no gifts, and being grateful. And this week I have talked a bit about being grateful and kind in our lives here. But today I wanted to say “thank you” to you. Yes…you. Since May 31st I have been writing a blog post here every day. It’s been fun on some days and a struggle on others. But I have put something up here each day. And today, it occurs to me, that many of you have read quite a few of them. That means a lot to me. So I am grateful for you. In honor of that, and in honor of those that have joined in along the way, I have decided to share some of the most read blogs here. 5 Books I Recommend: There are some cool books on this list, and it ties to my podcast. But this one took off because my good buddy, Jeff Haden, shared it! He is a Linkedin influencer (and this features one of his books). I Am Not For Everyone: This is one that caught we off guard. I took this from a conversation I was having and post it at the last minute. But it must have struck a nerve! Sometimes authenticity and vulnerability matter. 3 Lessons from Bohemian Rhapsody: My wife and I enjoyed this movie (regardless of reviews) and it made me think. I woke up the next morning thinking about the band’s journey. Here is what I took from it. 5 Lessons from Skucamp: It’s funny. This event has obviously left an impression with me. I posted about it yesterday here. But my original post about my lessons from the overall event still have people checking it out. 5 Book I Want My Daughters to Read: Yes, I am all about books. But this book list is foundational for personal development (from my perspective). Check out the list here…and read them! So like I said, today I want to say “thank you.” I really appreciate you taking the time to read, engage, share and grow! Let me know if I can help you! Make sure you never miss an update! Sign up for our VIP newsletter here! Each week we put together one email with all of the content of the week and send it to you!
by Kirby Hasseman
I love going to events that educate and inspire me. For me, it’s a great way to get out of the whirlwind, and learn and create ideas. One event I had the chance to attend this year was Skucamp. I talked about 5 of the takeaways from the event here. I was also honored to speak at the event with my good friend Bill Petrie. Bill and I took on the topic of Content Marketing in pretty raw form. We were honest about how we got started, and our struggles in doing so. And hopefully we were a little funny too! Here is a link to the presentation. This presentation is for: *Anyone that wants to do Content Marketing…but is not sure how to start. *Anyone that is not sure Content Marketing actually works. *Anyone that has tried Content Marketing in the past and failed. Bill and I also dig into our overall philosophies about Content Marketing. Feel free to check it out and let us know what you think! Make sure you never miss an update. Sign up for the VIP Newsletter here.
by Kirby Hasseman
My wife and I had the opportunity to attend an event called “Married Life Live” a few nights ago. Though I often hesitate to attend events like this, I am nearly always glad when I do. The fact is, just like in business, your relationships need for you to invest time and energy in them to make them better. The speaker this year was Shaunti Feldhahn. She is the author of several best selling books and on this night she spent a great deal of time talking about her book “The Kindness Challenge.” The concept is simple. You pick any relationship in your life (in this case she was talking to spouses) and for 30 days you do 3 simple things. 1. No negative talk to our about that person. This means you can’t say anything negative them. But it also means you can’t run to your friend and complain about them either. No negative talk about that person for 30 days.2. Sincerely compliment them on something they have done. Each day you find something you appreciate about them…and tell them.3. Do some act of kindness for them. This could be big or small. As Shaunti mentioned, for her 16 year old daughter, this act of kindness might be to stop working long enough to watch a youtube video with her. But each day, you make it a point to do something for them. I really like this concept. But there was one idea that jumped out to me above all others. Shaunti talked about one woman in a focus group that told her that she would really struggle to compliment her husband each day! She just could not imagine that she could come up with 30 compliments! She was so sure that she would not be able to come up with them that she decided to keep a notebook. “That way,” she told Shaunti, “I can bank them!” Then an awesome thing happened. On the first page of the journal, she listed 2 things that her husband had done for her. She thanked him for one of them and decided to save the next one for tomorrow. On day 2 she wrote down 5 things. On day 3 she wrote down 11! She was absolutely blown away by all of the good things her husband was doing that she was simply not noticing…until she started looking! There is science to back this up. The fact is, when you actively start to look for something, you tell your subconscious mind that it’s important. So your subconscious mind starts to find that thing and show it to you! It’s like when you buy a new car and start to see it all over the place! They were always there. You just needed to turn on the mental lights. So on this week of Thanksgiving, I want to challenge you to start your own Gratitude Journal. Start to look for things that are good in your life. An amazing thing will start to happen. You will start to find them! We are thankful for you! So please make sure you sign up to become a VIP! We want to provide you value each week so we send one email with all of our weekly content in one place. Sign up here.
