Why it takes more than intentions for success to occur

I’m on a flight returning from a couple of days of high energy, teaching, networking, inspiration and motivation. I had the opportunity to keynote and coach at a private event for over 150 private clients of powerhouse entrepreneur, Suzanne Evans.

As is true for most conferences, participants left on a high note with a lot of information to process. Most left filled with the thought they would implement so much of what they learned. I sure know I have a lot to process and have every intention to implement the most important things I committed to.

You see, even as one of the faculty, I always learn something that is going to be instrumental in my personal and professional growth.

Although the intentions of 99% of the entrepreneurs are sincere, the reality is, many get caught up in their usual routines putting off until tomorrow what they committed to starting today.

I’ve been on both sides of the participant and trainer fence at conferences for years. In the decades I’ve been attending and speaking at conferences, I’ve watched what seemed like magic happen for some, while most fell right back into their daily habits.

The thing that amazes me are those people who will go to conference after conference, buy book after book, invest in training after training, and not do all they can to implement all they can that applies to them. They continually look for the “one thing” they need to do to make changes, yet, what they ignore is the “one thing” has been shared with them over and over and over.

What is the “one thing?” Different action for different results. Different actions will likely take effort, risk and money. Contrary to what one popular office supply store would have you believe, there is no easy button. Success takes work. Success takes effort. Success is not always convenient.

No matter how often some people hear this they continue to search for the easy button, the magic dust, the quick fix pill. Truth be told, none of these things exist.

Many people have a misguided belief that when someone who is extremely successful is having fun, being playful and having an outright incredible attitude that this means the person didn’t have to make any sacrifices for their success.

Consider this; one reason people who are incredibly successful are having so much fun is they know what they had to do to get to where they are at. Mind you, incredibly successful is relative to one’s definition of success. It’s not based solely on the externals. Actually, many of the externals people enjoy are a result of first starting with what goes on inside their head.

They learned to manage their state, focus on their big why and take action in spite of setbacks and obstacles that would stop most in their tracks.

Although most people can use a daily shot of inspiration and awareness, most appear not to do anything to get on track with a great state of mind.

I experienced this throughout my morning. From the 20 minute cab ride from the hotel to the airport I was a very captive audience to the miserable cab driver who packed years of how unfair life had been to him into a nonstop monolog, to the airline representative checking my bags telling me how unhappy and tired she is of her job, to the security team who must have all swallowed their sour pills and just about every traveler I observed, most seemed to be in a very grumpy mood. Granted, I don’t know what their personal situations are and yet, I do know that our mood isn’t dependent on outward circumstances, but rather our perception of what is going on around us.

As with taking action on an idea, consciously choosing to be happy is just that; a choice.

Every day we make choices. Most are unconscious due to our daily routines and habits. The greatest gift we can give ourselves is to become more aware of what we are doing. Be fully in our bodies moment by moment. Be aware of how we are impacting others in either a positive or negative way.

It’s amazing what this can do, not only for our well-being, but for the domino effect it has on others. We never know what the impact of being kind to the person who seems to need kindness can do. Often, something as simple as calling the security guard, clerk or ticket agent by name and sincerely thanking them for what they are doing can have an incredible impact on them.

By being fully present in the moment we tend to get more done in our day. We are more aware of the time wasters and energy suckers that are obstacles to achieving what we say we want.

Life truly is about choices. The choice to be kind… or not. The choice to be happy… or not. The choice to take action on what we committed to… or not.

What is your choice for today?

Why it takes more than intentions for success to occur

Top 5 reasons to attend

Many entrepreneurs want to see a change in their business, but fail to do anything new or different. They continue their daily routines day in and day out, never changing up what they do.

In order for things to change, you must change. You have to get from behind your computer and shift the energy. Yes, business IS about energy.

One of the best ways to change things up is attend live events. Of course, you want to make sure the events are a great choice.

Looking to change things up in your business. Here are five reasons to attend one of the best events to change things up in your business.

You still have time to get your complimentary ticket. Go to http://powerupforprofitslive.com/special/

 

Top 5 reasons to attend

Transform your business by transforming your mind

It’s amazing how many people claim they want to grow their business yet, they are stuck in a mindset that isn’t serving them.

One of the best ways to shift your mindset is to shift what you’re doing.

Ready for a HUGE shift? Join me for Power Up for Profits Live!

 

Ready for a major business transformation? Want a money transformation? A success transformation? Then it"s time to Power Up for Profits….Live! http://powerupforprofitslive.com/special/

Posted by Kathleen Gage Power Up for Profits on Tuesday, October 13, 2015

http://www.powerupforprofitslive.com

Once you expand your awareness, there is no going back.

Transform your business by transforming your mind

Who are you becoming on the way to achieving your goals?

Business as usual

Blab... Fad or Fabulous?

The first I heard of Blab.im was when my buddy, Brian G. Johnson posted on Facebook he was hosting a Blab. Shortly thereafter, Joel Comm was promoting his Blab. Before I knew it, many of my friends and colleagues were Blabbing and having a great time doing so.

My initial thought was, “Oh no! Not another BSO – bright shiny object.”

With all the new distractions on social media, I truly thought this was just one more to add to the bone yard of soon to be forgotten ways to mindlessly fill time online.

Knowing Brian and Joel the way I do, Blab warranted further investigation. After all, both of these online rock stars seem to always be on the leading edge of how to serve their communities.

After closer examination I got the bug. AND I predict Blab is going to create immense opportunity to those who strategically utilize this platform and the incredible capabilities Blab offers.

The great thing about Blab is there are virtually no barriers to entry. Unlike Google Hangouts, Blab is very user friendly. Even the most non-techie person can get the hang of it from the start.

As with anything, there are always Pros and Cons. Here is my take on the Pros and Cons.

PROS

• What I really like about Blab is you can use it as an open discussion forum, training platform or simply talk about trending topics.


• Limited number of on-camera participants. Some people think that having only four people on camera at a time is a major downside. Personally, I like this feature. This prevents a free for all conversation that could quickly get out of control.


• If you’re the host of the Blab you have complete control on how long you let someone stay on camera. In other words, if you have someone who is inappropriate, tries to take over the conversation with their own agenda or is just an out and out jerk, you can X them out.


• The user interface is very simple and yet, it has room to grow.


• One of the nicest features is the Twitter integration. While on a Blab you can tweet out to all your Twitter followers by the click of the button that reads “Tell a little bird.” Participants can do the same. In very short order, your Blab is being tweeted out to untold numbers of people.


• From what some experts are claiming, they are picking up quite a following, their subscriber lists are increasing and their visibility is going through the roof.


• Another nice feature is the ability to record your session. Many experts are using their recorded Blabs for membership sites, podcast shows and creating more value for their community.


• You can go live immediately or schedule your Blab in order to let your community plan accordingly.

NOTE: At the time of writing this blog post, I have a Blab scheduled for later today. https://blab.im/kathleen-gage-speaking-to-build-your-business-and-brand

CONS
Although the Pros are plentiful, there are some downsides. Yet, the upsides far outweighs the downside.

• You don’t have privacy on Blab. Once you go live, anyone can join in.


• Blab has already proven to be a BSO for some people. The phrase, “Addicted to Blab” is starting to surface.


• If someone is using Blab simply for the purpose of filling their time, you can end up wasting precious time searching out high content Blabs.


• From what I’ve seen, there are more “time waster” Blabs happening than really useful ones.

Getting the most out of Blabs you host and/or participate in

The following recommendations are for those who want to use Blab to enhance their market reach, visibility and position their expert status.

• Use the Blab platform as you would any other training environment. In other words, treat the time of participants with respect and give them something useful from your Blab.


• Make sure the whatever shows on camera is not distracting. For example, don’t do the Blab in your bedroom with an unmade bed showing.


• Avoid noise and distractions while hosting, or participating on camera, with the Blab.


• Record the session in order to re-purpose into a podcast episode, content for a membership site, or added value for your subscribers.


• Dress and act the part you want to convey to the viewers. I can’t believe the number of people I’ve seen on camera with messy hair, eating their lunch or dinner on the Blab, picking their nose (yes, I did see one person pick their nose) and/or looking bored while others are talking.


• Have fun. This is key to others having fun. If they see you enjoying yourself, it’s likely they will too.


• Keep things on target. Unless your Blab is a free for all, keep the conversation on topic. It will keep your viewers more engaged.


• Acknowledge people as they join the Blab. A quick hello works great.

Ready to jump on the Blab bandwagon? Join me for my Blab Speaking to Build Your Business and Brand. Tuesday, September 22nd – 2 p.m. Pacific. https://blab.im/kathleen-gage-speaking-to-build-your-business-and-brand

Be sure to subscribe to my Blab station in order to receive notifications of my upcoming Blabs.

If you know others who would enjoy today’s Blab, click the share buttons below.

 

 

 

Blab... Fad or Fabulous?

Is your attention span less than a goldfish?

My emails aren’t getting opened… much less read!

This is an all too common issue for anyone trying to promote and sell via email marketing. People just aren’t responding to email marketing the way they once did.

There are many reasons for the lackluster results…

• People are on overload with the amount of information vying for their attention.


• There are many more distractions than in the past.


• People’s brains have literally been rewired due to technology.


• Email deliverability is much less reliable than in the past.

Here are a few questions to consider specific to email deliverability…

• Is the email address correct?


• Has your recipient’s email address changed?


• Is the recipient’s mailbox full or has their account has been disabled?


• Does the recipient have a SPAM blocker that prevents virtually any message sent in bulk to be blocked?


• Is your messaging engaging?

In addition to the common reasons related to email distribution there is also the issue of attention span.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, The Associated Press, the average attention span for adults online is 9.5 seconds. That’s literally less than goldfish.

If you’re feeling like people are not paying attention to what you are sending out, writing, saying or shooting on video, they probably aren’t.

The shocking truth is that people’s brains have literally been rewired due to technology.

On any given day we tweet, we post on our Facebook wall, we watch dozens of videos, we read dozens, even hundreds, of emails and we spend hours researching on the Internet.

All of this is impacting how our brains function. Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brain, writes that our attention is seized by the Internet only to be scrambled by it.

According to an article in the Huffington Post; MRI research has shown that the brains of Internet users who have trouble controlling their craving to be constantly plugged-in exhibit changes similar to those seen in people addicted to drugs and alcohol.

When most people try to unplug for even a day, they tend to experience withdrawl symptoms similar to alcoholics and drug addicts.

This is frightening information and yet, information we can benefit from knowing. Here’s why…

If you continue to send information out as you did in the past, you are likely noticing a huge drop in open rates. Today, more than ever, you have to immediately grab people’s attention.

As you prepare your emails think through your subject line. Is it one that will spark the curiosity of the recipient? Is it engaging? Does it indicate the full message will solve a specific problem?

Once people open the message does it immediately grab the reader’s attention?

Not only have online attention spans dropped to mere seconds, the attention span during live, in-person presentations have dramatically dropped in the last couple of decades to less than ten minutes. This requires that speakers and presenters have pattern interrupts every few minutes if they want to keep their audience members fully engaged.

This would include audience participation, mini breaks, incorporating visuals into your presentation and demonstrations that require attendees use different parts of their brain. Moving from critical thinking to creative thinking can keep people’s attention.

Acknowledging the dramatic drop on how long someone pays attention to whatever we are doing is essential to addressing the issue. To pretend this issue doesn’t exists will put your messaging in the category of Dinosaurs…extinct.

Is your attention span less than a goldfish?