Archive for August, 2009

You may have heard it said times before, “The only problem you have is to think you have problems.” Those inconveniences, obstacles, and challenges that come your way, in life, and in business, can truly be an opportunity to reveal to yourself not only your own character, but to also stimulate you to use your resourcefulness and creativity. This is usually the way you discover a part of you that you never you had.

Sometimes the only way to know how far you can go is to go too far.

Here is an extraordinary example of a man who chooses to view his “problems” as gifts, and a resource to show the world that there are no limitations to what we can do.

I hope you will be inspired.

I haven’t done a scientific study of this, but when interviewing new clients I’ve observed that their marketing ineffectiveness is almost always tied to this very common fear. Here are a few of the things I’ve heard over the past several years:

• I don’t want to come off as pushy
• Nobody is interested in hearing about my services
• Word-of-mouth is the only way to get more clients
• If I ask for referrals it will feel like I’m begging
• Marketing is a bother and an interruption to people
• People won’t want to listen to a talk I give
• No one will read what I write, so why bother?

If you could surmount this one obstacle, you’d attract more clients, earn more money and make the difference you’ve always wanted to make. In this two part article, I will give you ways to overcome this fear of rejection and become a master of your marketing.

In my work with clients over many years, I’ve discovered two effective approaches to overcoming the fear of rejection. They work especially well if you use them in tandem. They are “Talk the Walk,” and “Shift the Story.” Below I will share the essence of these approaches and how you can start to apply them immediately to overcome your fear of rejection.

Read the rest of this entry »

My daughter has chosen to stay home from summer camp this summer, and instead, spend her days by my side as my “assistant”/”apprentice”. So for the past several weeks, Sarah has been by my side, peering over my shoulder as I take business lunches and dinners (she files the receipts), learning Quickbooks and internet research, being my little VA So today, I wanted her to start off the week in reflection. I asked her to write an essay about the top 5 things she has learned this summer by hanging out with me.

This is her actual essay. And here are my thoughts on her 5 success secrets: Read the rest of this entry »