Lighten Your Day and Someone Else’s

Have you noticed how stressed people are? Running from home to office to home again with all the challenges that occur in between it’s no wonder people forget to take time to appreciate what they have and smile. Often when I pull along side another car and we’re both waiting for the light to change I’ll turn to my neighbor and smile. I usually get the gift of a smile in return. Most smiles are started by another smile and produce a ripple effect. A smile offers kindness. It may be the only source of sunshine the recipient sees all day long. Smiles are free, harmless, and contagious.

Smiling gives you a positive countenance that makes people feel comfortable around you. Smiles suggest goodness, caring, and well-being. There are hundreds of languages in the world. A smile speaks them all. People smile in the same language and communicate a universal message.

A smile reflects an open heart. It tells others you are acknowledging them. Smiling at someone can lessen their stress, even for a brief moment, because you are sending them a warm signal.

For me, smiling is a habit. In the course of a day I greet everyone with a smile. Whether at the post office, toll booth, supermarket, gas station, in a waiting room, in the library, or at a restaurant, the people with whom I come in contact experience my smile. My smile says I see them, appreciate them, and value their presence. Just thinking that a smile of mine might linger the whole day through and lighten a heavy heart is reason enough to smile!

When we smile in recognition of one another, we demonstrate greater appreciation for each other. The world needs our smiles; people need connection. Think about the impact your smile can have on someone else. Think about the difference we can make when we each exercise the gift of our smiles. The next time you feel stressed or you see others dealing with the stresses of their lives, give the gift of your smile. It frees your spirit. It shifts your focus. Smiles are powerful because they lift others and lighten your way. Why hold back?

It is our uniquesness that creates our human tapestry

It is not my intention to give you a lesson in fractions, however, it occurs to me that many fractions have common denominators just as many people share common qualities.

The numerator of a fraction (top number) represents its uniqueness. For us it can represent our differences. The possibilities are endless. We differ in the color of our skin, sound of our voices and other physical characteristics. We come from diverse cultures, practice different religions, and perform a variety of jobs. We are diverse in the titles we give ourselves and the roles we perform. Our thoughts and feelings, and the way we express ourselves are unique to each of us.

When the bottom number (the denominator) of fractions are the same, they are called common fractions. Just think of all the ways we are similar. Think of all the ways we are the same. We share an unlimited set of values. We all want peace and prosperity, overall good health, love, fulfillment, and meaningful work.

We desire a life filled with purpose, safety, lasting relationships, and feelings of self-worth. We need companionship, respect, family togetherness, love, and happiness. Who we are externally is our uniqueness; what we share internally is our common bond.

Think of all the different combinations of people in the world. Isn’t it  amazing? Each of us is unique and irreplaceable. It’s because of our physical characteristics that we are able to see and recognize one another but it’s the uniqueness of who we are that actually differentiates us. It’s who we are inside that brings us together. While physically different we share many of the same emotions. Regardless of who we are, our common denominator is our desire to create a wonderful and rewarding life.

We are presented with unlimited opportunities to acknowledge each other, to respect each other, to honor our differences, and do what we can to help one another achieve our individual goals for our lives. I can’t think of a better way to live. Can you?

How often have you asked someone for a reference? How often has someone else asked you for a recommendation? Being resourceful and top of mind to others who recognize that you have the gift of giving is a valuable asset to have, especially in the business world. Call to mind individuals that are reliable and resourceful. Hopefully, others see you in that same positive light.

So, what are some of the specific ways you can be a “go to” person? What are some of the behaviors you can implement immediately to set you apart and to further enhance your credibility?

1. Consider sending invites to events to individuals with whom you wish to stay connected.
2. Offer to make introductions to people you meet that can benefit from meeting people you know.
3. If you read about something that can be of value to someone, share the information.
4. Maintain a dynamite rolodex of contacts and what they offer. Let others know that when they have a need for a product or service, you’d love to help them connect with the right person. Start now.
5. Being resourceful is a strong quality to have. Individuals you help will often want to help you in return. People love to help others.
6. It’s easy to “cash in on a favor” when you’ve helped someone else.
7. Do the unexpected!

There will always be an endless number of people clamoring for business, attention and their share of the marketplace. Developing the proper skills will reap huge rewards over time. No doubt you can make sales and establish lasting relationships without going through the ideas I’ve suggested. Every now and then business will “fall in your lap.”

The reality is that to ensure your long term goals and to foster your sustainability in a competitive arena, it certainly is worth taking time to network differently. One of the most effective ways to be remembered by the individuals you meet through any networking arena is to be resourceful. Look for specific ways to stay connected to specific associates you meet by noting what you can do in the future that will give others a reason to stay connected to you. Go for what you want and remember, people will do business with people they like and with people they trust. In any competitive arena, being recognized as a resourceful business person will undoubtedly differentiate you from others who offer similar products/services. Implement these simple steps and reap substantial rewards for doing so. What have you got to lose? What might you gain? Test the waters. Apply what works for you. Start now.

You possess a wealth of ideas and information that you can gift to others.
by guest Contributor Diana Nichols

(Chapter excerpted from the book, 42 Rules of Effective Connections)
One of the easiest ways to really connect with someone, and make an impression, is to give them a gift that has real value to them.

Notice the last part of the sentence: ”value to them.” Many times we give gifts that mostly have value to us – promotional items with our logo on them, business cards, brochures, etc. Occasionally, we give away free samples or coupons. These are good things, but hardly memorable. And most are seen as self-serving.

The gifts I’m referring to are not tangible things, but rather ideas. You possess a wealth of ideas and information that you can gift to others. You know people, you’ve had many life experiences, you have knowledge about your business. There’s a lot of stuff in your memory banks!

Any marketing guru will tell you that one of your basic tools is a list of tips and techniques that you should share freely. I’ll bet you can lay your hands on one, or ten, such lists right now. This is a great place to start in creating your “gift basket.”

Before you run off to the copy machine to make 1000 copies, let me say that the most effective way to give these away is one at a time, in your one-on-one conversations. (The conversation can be in person, on the phone, or via email.)

Look over the lists of tips. Find a few that are really meaningful, and not as widely known as others. These are the ones you want to use. Memorize and be ready to call them up.

Now, let’s add some more gifts to your repertoire. Looking over your “tips” list, are there any other tidbits that you’ve learned that have been especially helpful?

How about ideas or techniques you use in other areas of your life? Ways you manage your daily life that perhaps not everyone uses. Bet you have a few of those. They don’t have to be your original idea, just things that work for you – or someone you know.

Keep going. . .

You can add all the people you know well enough to be able to recommend them.

Also, make a list (mental or physical) of the helpful books and articles you’ve read lately.

Wow, your basket’s getting bigger! You have a lot of gifts to share.

And the best part is that now you have created the basket, you’ll be on the lookout for new ideas and people to add to it. It will just keep growing!

So what do you do with all these gifts? Look for opportunities to give them away.

When you make a connection, listen carefully to the other person. If you are really paying attention, you will often hear a clear clue as to what you can share that might be valuable to them. If you don’t – ask.

What’s your biggest challenge right now?

What would make you more successful?

How can I help you?

Use your own words, and be sincere. Even if you still can’t find anything really pertinent to give, at the very least you have given them the gift of caring enough to ask!

Just a few words about sharing your personal knowledge and experiences. The value in your experience for someone else is not the “story” about it. The who, where, how, and why are only relevant to you. It’s the in the what that the value lies for them. Just the facts, Ma’am. Share the lesson learned, the result, the essence. Make it short and to the point.

And finally, make sure your gift sounds like a gift – not like advice: Have you ever thought of…? I’ve had success with… Have you read…? Do you know…?

Giving is, after all, the best way to receive!

---

With over 30 years of business and entrepreneurial success, Diana brings knowledge, grounded wisdom, enthusiasm, and a wealth of creative resources to everything she does.

As a web and database developer, business and life coach, workshop creator and facilitator, artist and successful entrepreneur, Diana assists her clients in combining creativity, simplicity, practicality and a sense of adventure into a unique experience of success.

Diana Nichols, LCC

www.lavenderthreads.com

---

42 Rules of Effective Connections is available at 42 Rules [ http://42rules.com/bonnierossparker/books/], Happy About [ http://www.happyabout.com/42rules/effectiveconnections.php], Amazon [ http://www.amazon.com/42-Rules-Effective-Connections-Successful/dp/1607730464 ] and other fine retailers.

Remember the Total Cereal commercial a few years back? You’ll have to eat ten bowls of the leading brand to get the same nutrition that’s in one bowl of Total! The advertiser’s point is clear: If you want better nutrition for less calories (not to mention money!), you’ll logically choose the “one-bowl” alternative.

This same principle applies to business. Experts say that only one percent of all cold calls ever convert into sales. Imagine! How many calls do you need to make each day to close the number of sales necessary to stay in business? Even if you can stomach the rejection, the fruit you reap is far too sparse in proportion to the amount of time and effort you invest.

What’s the “one-bowl” solution? Try networking! Statistics show that you can boost your chances of closing a sale from 40 to 90 percent. You’ll generate more qualified leads in less time than any other marketing effort . . . if you do it right.

That’s the catch. Networking blunders hurt your business credibility, shutting the door to sales — not only with one person, but sometimes with a whole “grapevine” of prospects. What can you do to minimize mistakes and make the most of your networking time and money?

1. Go for the gold. List your best clients. Where do you find more like them? Find out what organizations they belong to and ask to be their guest for an upcoming function. This way you network with people who have established credibility in the group, are familiar with you and your work, and are willing to introduce you to key prospects.

2. Commit to action. The adage rings true in networking as in any activity: “You get out what you put in.” Seek to be an active player and leader in whatever group you join. High-level involvement gives you and your business greater exposure to prospects, by revealing your personal qualities — whether it’s being a go-getter or a visionary — this helps build your credibility.

3. Come fully prepared. Oh the power of first impressions! Forgetting to bring business cards, promotional material, or your appointment book to a networking function is worse than not attending at all. This conveys a sense of amateurism that will turn off prospects and keep potential “gatekeepers” from passing you leads. When you show others you’re serious about your business, people will take you seriously.

4. Be concise. Tell others what you do — in one sentence — in a way that makes them hungry to know more. A long description may result in losing people’s attention — which in turn can affect future sales or referrals.

5. Speak confidently. Admit it. You’re an expert in your business. If you weren’t, clients wouldn’t pay their hard earned money for your products or services. Use networking functions as an opportunity to share your business accomplishments. This way people feel greater confidence in both passing you “hot” leads and seeking to do business with you.

6. Listen intently. Ask questions. Clarify statements. Listen for expressed needs that your business might be able to meet. When you demonstrate you genuinely want to understand other people and their businesses, you will build greater rapport, opening the doors for sales opportunities.

7. Give first. If you appear as a “taker,” people will notice. They will feel uncomfortable around you and avoid you the next time they see you. Give leads, gifts, marketing ideas, or offer to buy lunch. Remember this: when you have given nothing, ask for nothing.

8. Follow-up! Follow up! Follow up! Show your prospects that you’re thinking of them. Fax them articles relevant to their interests. Don’t just say, “We need to do lunch sometime.” Take initiative to set a date. When your actions correspond with your words, people trust you and feel comfortable passing leads. One must earn credibility. Do what you commit to do.

When I moved to Atlanta from DC in 1995 I didn’t know the difference between email and URL!  Now as I sit here and share my thoughts with you, I can’t even imagine life without the internet.  There is simply no way to comprehend the difference cyberspace has had and will continue to have on our lives.  It’s a great time to be alive and to reap the immeasuarable benefits from today’s technology. 

One of the developments of the internet that allows us to ‘stay connected’ is online social networking.  The power to communicate with anyone anywhere at any time is as close as our keyboard.  There are no boundaries, no limits and no roadblocks to ever keep us separated from one another.  We can ‘see’ one another through “Skype”, talk with one another through on line tele-conferences and meet one another through networks such as LinkedIn, Plaxo and Ryze to name a few.  Then, of course, there’s the new network that brings entrpereneurs together for socializing, idea exchange, information and for sisterhood.  Drum roll, please,  as I introduce: www.the5secondcommute.com 

Designed primarily for women, the 5 second commute, gives us the opportunity to expand our reach by engaging with like minded women in a warm and encouraging ‘on line’ atmosphere.  I love that The Joy of Connecting has this new social network as it’s on line home and welcome you to join in, to take part and to share your talents, passions and businesses with the rest of us!  Participating is free and the value is priceless.  Join the fun today.  Don’t wait.  Don’t hesitate.  Experience for yourself our expanding community and allow us to include you as friends – our family of choice.  Happy Networking off and on line.  Welcome to the wonderful world of the internet.  Bonnie Ross-Parker, CEO/Founder of The Joy of Connecting.

It is time for the Entrepreneurial World to wake up.

Entrepreneurship is something that was always considered to be for someone else. In a lot of ways it often still is. Many parents will tell their children that they should find a nice steady job, with good pay and great benefits. Well, guess what, the world has changed a lot from those days that you were able to join a company at 20 and leave them at 65.

Joining a company no longer offers the security that many people still look for. Ofcourse, we do need people that want to be employees, or we would never be able to build OUR businesses, but I seriously believe that we should stop telling the next generation that this well trodden path is the only one there is.

In fact – let’s look at the facts. Many people do go straight into working for a (big) company when they finish their education. So they make some nice money, they start spending it on a nice car, and when they are a few years older, they may think of buying their first home. Along comes Love – so now there’s two incomes and so let’s buy a bigger home – because we can all afford it right? And maybe, tiny family member number three is on the way so more space is needed.
Pause right there and take a long look at this picture and think about what could be wrong here. After all, both parents have had a few promotions in the company and are well on their career path, making more money with each step they take.

Except …. there is no freedom in having a big mortgage, or an expensive lifestyle. You are always dependent on someone paying you a big enough salary to cover it, and whilst you may be living in a nice house – it is actually paid for with someone else’s money. Next – a recession hits the world – like it is doing right now and those parents may loose their jobs or have to face longer hours/less pay – and the banks still want their money. And of course, with all the growing and promoting and career planning going on, they may not have saved as much as they originally set out.

This is what happens today. In our current lives – you will very likely have a number of periods between 20 and 65 where no-one is looking to employ you and give you the security you might think you’d gain by being employed. So this is a GREAT time to start thinking about all the things that you have to offer and dedicate those skills to building something much more secure than what any other company can give you: your own company!!

Running your own company is by no means any easier then working for someone else – in fact, it’ll prove much harder and you’ll definitely have times you wish you never had (mind you, I never looked back – it’s been the best thing I’ve done in my life!). But you are able if you do it well – to build up capital instead of debts, and to invest that capital in the one investment that you should always trust in – YOU! Added benefits are that you control your own pension, and of course – you are always in control of your own time and money.  Now is definitely the right time to start – despite the fact that the financial institutions may not lend you any money. There are enough people in your direct environment that are looking for a better place to invest their money then in the stock markets… and you may just be that which they feel they can trust.

If you are still not sure whether you have what it takes, take the great new test on efactor.com: the Entrepreneur’s Mind Challenge® (efactor.com/p/emchallenge) and find out exactly how good you would be as an Entrepreneur!

by Marion Freijsen

by Dory Devlin

You know if she knows you’re feeling the pinch this year with rising gas prices, job uncertainty, and all-around-everything-is-so-expensive anxiety, Mom is not going to want you to spend a ton on her this Mother’s Day.

The market analysts who watch just how much we spend on what predict fewer dollars will be spent on Mom this May, though not in a big way. The National Retail Federation says, on average, we’ll each spend $138.63 on presents for mom, down from $139.14 last year, which still adds up to $15.8 billion. Tons of dough, which most moms would rather you not spend.

With that in mind, I thought my obligatory Mother’s Day post on Work+Money would focus on what working moms could use for Mother’s Day. If you ask any working mom, top of her list would be time. More time to get everything done that needs to be done. Time to just stop and be with our families.

Since my blogging roots are in tech, I always think of tech-related ideas first because tech is supposed to help us be more productive at work so we have more time for the other parts of our lives. So here a few tech ideas, and more importantly, ideas to give mom some time apart from all of her demands, and some other great ideas from the women of Shine.

Smartphone for a smart mom: Okay, if your mom is looking to make the leap from basic flip phone to a smartphone that will allow her to text and email with a full QWERTY keyboard, check email easily while on the road, the iPhone is all the rage and is very cool, but RIM’s BlackBerry Curve will do everything she needs. If you go the BlackBerry/iPhone route, take a tip from my chat with Lisa Belkin on her Life’s Work XM radio show the other day: Tell her to turn off the beeps and sounds that let you know when every single email has arrived so it doesn’t make her less productive and stressed. (Lisa does.) If you’ve got an older mom who is having trouble seeing the tiny, tiny print on her mobile phone, I recommend the Jitterbug phone, which is so intuitive to use, has large type on the screen, and can always reach a live operator by pressing zero. After the initial $147 purchase price, you can tailor monthly plans to how you use the phone, for as low as $10 a month. Continue Reading »

By Biba Pedron

Networking is my favorite, low-cost marketing tool. However, a large number of people often find it a challenge to get results and turn prospects into clients, simply by networking.

So here is another very effective marketing tool that requires no skills, can be applied to your business immediately and will help you to gain many new clients.

Simply get testimonials from your current clients!

Testimonials from satisfied customers are typically the best way to promote your business. And it doesn’t cost you a thing. So, stop selling and let your clients and raving fans do it for you. Continue Reading »

by: Sue Seward

How important are making connections to your success? It’s extremely important and here’s why as well as some of the ways you can learn to be a better connector!

First of all this is a people business! It’s all about people and what they want! If you don’t find out what they want by connecting with them you’ll most likely flounder in this business! Continue Reading »