Are You Feeling Dangerous or Defeated?
Jun 29, 2015

When you experienced your most recent success—think back to how you were feeling leading up to that event.

Were you feeling skeptical, afraid, or tentative? Or were the feelings more like 'confident, excited, anticipation'?

It might sound like a silly question. You might be thinking "well of course I was feeling good".

Well, the next question is "How important were those feelings in creating those successes?"

This second question might be harder to answer, but in my experience, most people acknowledge that when you feel good and are thinking positive, good and positive things happen. Think to a time recently when you met with someone who was trying to influence you in some way (you shouldn't need to think too hard, we are always trying to influence each other in same way), how did their energy (an outward projection of how they are feeling internally) affect how you felt about them and what they were communicating? Did it affect you? Of course it did. It always does. You tend to get a 'feeling' about someone or a concept. How much you tune into that feeling will vary from person to person, but there is always a level of subconscious intuition going on.

The same goes for you. How you feel and think affects how others feel about you and how they are influenced by what you are communicating. Whether you are working on developing a team member, or trying to put a deal together, how you feel in the moment has a massive impact.

One of the philosophies I train my clients on is this:

Your Results = (Your Skillset x Your Mindset x Your Activity Level) x Your Current State.

This overriding variable in results is how you are feeling in the moment. So here’s my question to you: How do you need to be feeling to maximise the chance for success? And how do you check on this and manage it to work for you?

Here's how I do it:

Each morning and throughout the day, I ask myself the simple question ‘Am I feeling Dangerous or Defeated?’ These are obviously words that resonate with me, but you get the idea. If the answer to that question is not "Dangerous" (meaning I'm ready to blast through brick walls) then I've got a few rituals I use to get into that state. I'm not always looking for a 10/10 on Dangerous scale but I definitely want to be at an 8 or higher.

If I come back with a 7 or below, here are my go-to actions to boost me up a few notches:

  • Revisit my vision and why I'm doing what I'm doing. This is by far the most powerful and sustaining of all the strategies. Keep in mind, this will only work for you if you are extremely clear on your vision (what you are working to create) and why you are doing it. See Simon Sinek's TED talk 'Start with WHY' to learn more about this.
  • Review my plan. Similar to the point above, but my plan is a shorter timeframe (3-12 months) vs. my vision, which is years out.
  • Think about how I want to be remembered by my kids. This is another plan that is similar to the first point. It is a real motivator for me.
  • Exercise. This can vary between a full workout or a 5 minute walk. Usually the secret is to get the blood moving and get out from in front of the computer screen.
  • Listen to something inspiring or educational. I love listening to interviews with successful people. I also have some go-to audio books and books that lift me up a couple of notches. If you'd like some recommendations, comment below or email me jamie@jamiecunningham.com
  • Coffee. Notice this one's down on the list. For me, if I'm in a low mental state and I have coffee, sometimes it can just make the negative thoughts happen faster (not good), so this one is used more if my energy feels sluggish. Again, not one I aim to be dependent on.

If you've got some strategies to add here, I'd love to hear them. Comment below and share your own successes and strategies.

Make it a great day!

 

How to Maximise the Value of Your Business and Sell It
Mar 24, 2015

This post is an interview with veteran Business Broker Rob Mitchell from Sunbelt Business Brokers. Rob shares with us a solid frame work for maximizing the value of your company and then outlines the process and players involved in getting it sold.

In the field of exiting companies there can be a lot of information. Rob has a straight forward way of explaining the concepts.

If you'd rather download this and listen on your phone, see the link at the bottom of this post.

Or if you'd like some additional links and resources on this topic, email us to get a copy of the March 2015 Business Nutrition.

FREE DOWNLOADS
Rob also shares with us some free downloads "Insider Tips on Selling a Business" and "Insider Tips on Buying a Business". Just click on the link to download a copy.

I hope you enjoy the material and bring many more dollars to your back pocket 🙂

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

How to get High Quality Consistent Sales Training for your Team
Feb 4, 2015

It has been said there are 3 things that top sales people do consistently. They train, train and train. But as a business owner, how do you provide consistent training that gives you and your team the edge to stay at the forefront?

Well, for starters you can go to seminars, read books or bring trainers in house. All of which work, but organizing them and the associated cost can sometimes be prohibitive.

I'm not going to tell you I have 'the' answer but I do believe what I'm about to share with you has a lot of credit.

Enter Jeffrey Gitomer.

Perhaps you've heard of Jeffrey, perhaps you haven't. His style is unique but his results are unquestionable. I've been studying his material for many years and have found it to be solid. It resonates with me. Perhaps it will you too.

Anyway ... about the sales training. Jeffrey has taken his life's work (9 books - many best selling), and developed a platform that allows salespeople get get daily doses + more in-depth training on a schedule that suits the individual user. He has hosted it on a state of the art multi-million dollar platform called VT (Virtual Training). It is a interactive web-based  technology that is designed to emulate what happens in a live training environment. It tracks, monitors and measures everything the user does and has built-in real time reporting and notification features. It truly is leading edge.

If you think you and your team could benefit from a skills and attitude steroid shot ... this is worth checking out. Below is the link to the technology and you can get a FREE 5-day trial. Check it out and have fun with it - you won't regret looking it up.

http://www.gitomervt.com/contact.cfm

 

 

 

7 tips to making today your best day
Jan 20, 2015

If you are reading this then there is a good chance you’re obsessed with high performance. Perhaps you’ve done all the Tony Robbins trainings and read all the books but your appetite is insatiable.

Well I’ve got some good news … in my experience it can be some of the simplest ideas that yield the biggest results. And to expand on that and borrow a concept from Tony, high performance comes largely from how you feel in the moment. Yes skills matter. Of course they do. However I’ve seen massive results generated once I get someone in the right state.

So without having to rely on an outside force to get you in that right state, what are some shortcuts? Well I think one of the fastest ways to get in a powerful state is to elevate your self-esteem. When we feel good about ourselves we feel good in general. So here they are, some quick tips for boosting self-esteem:

  1. Make your bed – you read it right. I know what you’re thinking … “how the heck is that going to improve my state”. Well don’t take my word for it (although I know first-hand it works) – read what Jennifer Wasylenko wrote about it on Lifehack.org
  2. Exercise first thing in the morning – just like making your bed, when you exercise not only to you get the obvious health benefits but you feel like King Kong because you’ve done something very few people do before most people are up and at it. This immediately leaves you with a positive state of mind
  3. Join the 5am club. Robin Sharma has written and recorded lots on this. Google “Robin Sharma 5am Club” Just like point #2, being up at 5 while the rest of the word is sleeping gives you a psychological advantage in knowing you have a head start. Heck just carrying through with getting up feels like a massive achievement.
  4. Verbally express either your gratitude or a sincere compliment to someone in your life. The law of reciprocity kicks into high gear when you do this and not in terms of the act being returned to you but in how you feel after you do it. If this is new to you, it may feel a bit weird, but you’ll get over that once you experience the payoff.
  5. Reflect on past successes and highlights. This one works particularly well when you are feeling a bit low. Reflecting on past successes helps to reset your mind and serves as a reminder that life is roller coaster. Being low just means that your next event will be a way up.
  6. Keep some simple promises you make to yourself. Which is the opposite of what most people do during the month of January as they chip away their self-esteem by not carrying through with the New Year’s resolutions. Make it easy and keep the time frame short. I.e. getting up when you say you are going to get up. Sticking to your chosen diet for the day. Clearing your inbox within a certain time period. The more you keep these small promises, the easier they will be to keep. And as time progresses, your promises to yourself become golden. They are your integrity.
  7. Know what you want from the day. Be clear on your top 3 priorities and be realistic about getting them done. Overachieving and failing consistently leads to a downward spiral. Keep it winnable and be sure your priorities are real priorities that will generate results.

The Importance of Planning + key thought provoking questions
Oct 8, 2014

If you have not already done so, now is the time to get clear for the quarter ahead.

A task that seems to be easy to let slide ... but you know the difference when you take the time to plan.

Key Question: Based on my past performance, how thorough does my planning need to be in order to achieve my goals? Side note: This does not need to be boring. On the contrary ... I had a couple of beers overlooking the beach while doing it. It helped to boost creativity. If you need some guidance or structure for you planning, use our 90-day planning system (email our office for a copy)

The questions you ask yourself during this time are key.

Here are a few I asked myself during my session. Some are short term (next 90-days and some are bigger picture)

  • What would I have to do (WWIHTD), to get 6 new speaking engagement in the next quarter?
  • WWIHTD to increase the number of referrals I receive by 50%. What value would I have to deliver?
  • How would I further develop my niche and what might the benefits be?
  • If I wanted to achieve my 5yr goals in 1yr, what would I need to learn or change about myself?
  • What has been my true motivator for action in the past? Has it changed? How can I leverage that more to be more proactive?
  • From what I've learned about Family Business Australia (A new organisation I've recently joined) what role should it play in my business over the next 3yrs?
  • Where do I want to see Melina (my right hand person) within the business in 3yrs time?
  • Who do I need to be more of to achieve my goals?
  • What do I want from my new marketing system (the implementation of this is a 90-day goal)
  • What are the keys for me to maintain momentum without getting sidetracked?

Now what are your questions? Developing your questions might just be the most important part of planning. Without the question, the thinking and planning never comes. And of course, then neither does the results.