A hodge Podge

Derinda and I just returned from a cool Easter weekend with our Kids, Tara and Russell, and our daughters boyfriend, Eric. We picked Tara and Eric up in St. Louis and drove to Chicago to see Russell, who serves in The United States Navy and is finishing up "A" school.


Don't worry I am not turning this blog into a personal rundown of what I do (nobody cares) but I do have a variety of observations.



1. Directions in our life. I have admitted on this blog and in speeches that my sense of direction is not bad, it is non existent. Luckily, Derinda, Tara, Russell and Eric (who is a pilot) have a great sense of direction and the patience to read a map or GPS. However, ever time we got in the car to drive around Chicago -- I asked that only one person be the spokesperson to give me the direction.


The question is....who is giving you the direction in your life, your career, your marriage, etc. Like driving, life goes better when you have a plan and there are road marks verifying that you are going in the right "direction." Have you looked at your life's road map in a while?


2. It was a great weekend, it was great being with my family. Today, the first thing I did was to stare outside and see the lack of people...just trees. Being a certified red neck growing up in Southwest Missouri, I need that. I understand the "energy" of the city, the incredible view of a city skyline, the fact that the city never shuts down. I just need to shut down from time to time.


I am not a Bible Scholar, but Christ went to be by Himself several times....I think we all need quiet time to think, relax, and be thankful for what we have been given. I didn't notice a whole lot of thankful people in the city.


3. Chicago used to be one the great radio markets in the country. Legendary talent, Legendary stations like WLS, WGN. WBBO, etc. Even on these lendgendary stations, there were some terrible radio commercials. WLS gave people the opportunity to call in and leave a voice mail about their small business and then the station played it back at 51 past the hour. Cool idea -- the problem, was nobody ever talked about the reason to do business with their company. They talked about hours, what they offered, etc - etc. But they never communicated the results of doing business with them. Remember, nobody wants your products, they want the result that your product will give them.


Are you talking to your customers? Are you communicating not features, not benefits, but results..."if you do business with me, this will happen to you? Try it, it works.



I hope that you have gone to http://www.bransonbusiness.blogspot.com/ to check out my new speaking video. I would enjoy the opportunity to talk to your group. . Remember, this is the best day God is going to give you today, you might as well make it a great one! Stay Tuned.