Happy New Year

Did 2009 go by fast for you? One more week and we will ring in 2010.


Even though time seems to go by faster and faster -- it's not true. There are still 24 hours in a day, 168 in a week and 52 weeks in a year. The illusion of time going by faster is simply the percentage of time in your reality. Let me explain.


When you are 8 years old -- A year is 1/8 of your reality -- so it seems to take a long time for a year to pass. When you are 48 years old, a year is 1/48 of your reality -- a much smaller portion, givin the perception that it goes by quicker. In 2010, I suggest you use the 5% rule.


5% of 168 hours (a week) is 8.4 hours -- 5% of 24 hours is 1.2 hours. What if you dedicated 5% of your week to your goal? In a little more than 1 hour per day, you could change your life. Lose weight, write a book, learn how to be more financially successful.


What can you give up that is currently taking 5% of your day? Two half hour sitcoms? Surfing the web? Sleeping in? Use the 5% rule in 2010 and see what a difference it will make in your life. You are worth it. Go make it happen.



Happy New Year!



The next time you need a speaker, make it easy on yourself and call me. I will inspire, motivate, and entertain your group. Check out my speaking demo at www.bransonbusiness.blogspot.com then call (417) 339-6568 for availability. The only way I look good is making you look good for booking me.

Merry Christmas!

As we approach Christmas Day, just a quick wish that your Holiday be filled with the love of family, the laughter of good friends, and the spirit of The Christ Child.

As we work to improve our abilities and success, may we always remember that the real reason of the season should be our foundation of success. Thanks for joining me every week, I have some more extensive plans in 2010 and will look forward to your feedback.

Merry Christmas!

The next time you need a speaker, make it easy on yourself and call me. I will inspire, motivate, and entertain your group. Check out my speaking demo at www.bransonbusiness.blogspot.com then call (417) 339-6568 for availability. The only way I look good is making you look good for booking me.

How are you fueling your body

I have a very good friend we call McGuyver. He can fix anything at any time. While we were having dinner the other night, I was telling him about a company that accidentally got diesel into all their gas engines. In case you are not a McGuyver, that ain't good. My friend explained how that damages the equipment.


The same is true with our body and mind. We have talked about the body with proper nutrition and exercise. One of the reasons I talk about it so much, I struggle everyday and some days are easier than others. But what does not get a lot of talk is what we our putting into our mind. Let me explain.

Self Thought/talk: Do you need to change yours? The old computer term, junk in junk out comes to play here. What is your self thought and self talk. Have you ever said things like:

"I am not very smart." "I will always be fat" "I am not very good with money" "People don't like me"

The brain is a powerful thing -- it hears the I am as a command. You have to be careful how you are programming your own brain. (That's why it's important how we talk to others, especially smaller children)

Your Friends: I have talked before how lucky we are to have such good friends. We joke, we laugh, sometimes we cry, but I have never heard any of our friends tell another one that they can't do something or put down their goals and dreams.

What about your friends? Are you constantly around a negative person? Negative people hate being alone, they want someone with them. Do you have a negative person holding you down?

Your Family: This one is touchy and delicate. Sometimes out of love, our family protects us too much. They don't want to see us get hurt. Be careful how you handle this one. Be loving, be thoughtful, but don't let them hold you back. It's hard to tell if they are negative because they love you too much or they are just negative and they don't want someone in the family successful.

Find someone you can dream with....I am lucky, my wife has put up with my dreams since before we were married; some obtained, some marked off the list and a lot still on the list. She has never been negative about my goals. If you are not as lucky, find CD's of successful people and listen to how they did it. Go to YouTube and type in success.

Your mind and body were created to be powerful, be careful what you put in them.

The next time you need a speaker, make it easy on yourself and call me. I will inspire, motivate, and entertain your group. Check out my speaking demo at www.bransonbusiness.blogspot.com then call (417) 339-6568 for availability. The only way I look good is making you look good for booking me.

We are talking practice....

I love sports, always have and probably always will. I am not an NBA fan, the attitude, lack of desire, etc have turned me off from the sport. You don't have to be an NBA fan to know the antics of Allen Iverson. No one wanted him to start for their team, he didn't want to play if he didn't start, so he retired. Then everybody came to his rescue and said that he could not retire, and he was signed by the 76ers.


Iverson is a superstar. His individual talent has led to a number of individual awards, including scoring titles, MVP, etc. I will always remember Iverson for his rant about his coach wanting him to show up for practice, show up on time, and practice hard.


Basically, Iverson called a press conference and said..."I am supposed to be the face of this franchise and we are talking about practice, not a game, practice. (It went on and on and on -- but that was the gist of it) Iverson was too good for practice....that is probably why he never won a title, he didn't worry about the team improving - he knew he could get his points and that is all he cared about.


This post is not about The NBA or Allen Iverson -- it is about your attitude about practice, training, and getting better. I have never managed a NBA star, but I have managed a lot of people who have the same attitude about training and getting better. Some of what I have heard....


"I trained in high school and college, I am not going to do it as an adult."


"That is just silly, I am not going to sound like a robot saying the same thing over and over again."


"I think people can tell when you are so rehearsed, I prefer to just kinda wing it."


I think you can replace any of those statements with, "I'm done. I reached my potential and it's all down hill from here, I would rather whine and complain about things I can't control than work hard on improving and increasing my abilities."


I love to learn, I can learn from every person I come into contact. Whether it's what not to do, or what to do, if you are not learning you are dying. I don't care how good you are and how much you have, when you decide that your learning days are over, the slide begins and everyday that goes by it gets faster and faster.


If you are on that slide, get off. Learn something, go buy an audio CD, ask the young kid at work to teach you something. Once you start, you will realize that you know a lot of things that you are not doing. Two of my favorite quotes about training:


To know and not do is to not know.


Education without action is purely entertainment


Life is too short not to be a life long learner. Start teaching, training, and learning, it will make you feel better about yourself. Stop whining and complaining and start learning. Stay tuned.





The next time you need a speaker, make it easy on yourself and call me. I will inspire, motivate, and entertain your group. Check out my speaking demo at www.bransonbusiness.blogspot.com then call (417) 339-6568 for availability. The only way I look good is making you look good for booking me.

Most people hate one of my favorite sayings!

(Disclaimer...there are people who are reading this blog who have just heard some terrible news, a death, cancer, a loved one in prison, or a job loss -- please know this post is not directed to you. I am praying for you)


I have this saying, a lot of people get tired of hearing it, but it makes sense to me.

It simply says. "if that is the worst thing that happens to you today, its gonna be a great day." Here is why I like the saying:

1. It puts things into perspective. Sometimes, we simply over-react to the smallest problem. For example, how many times have you been following a "slow car" and you decide to pass. Now, you are making great time. Then you get to the next stop light and look in your rear view mirror, and there is the slow car right beside you.

2. It helps you focus on your blessings. Recently, I heard a lady talk about picking up her husbands socks. How she was so tired of constantly picking up after him. Until, he died. Then, there was no more items to pick up. Through her tears, she said that she would give anything to "have" to pick up after him.

3. It helps you move on. How many times has one little thing in our day destroyed our entire day. The person who cut you off in traffic, the drive through worker who forgot to get you ketchup, your friend who forgot to call, etc. Really, if any of those things are the worst thing that happens to you, it's gonna be a great day.

I am not sure why people don't like my saying, but I encourage you to adopt it anyway. Life is life, we can't stop aggravating things from happening. But, we can do something about how we react to those aggravating things.

As the people who fall into the disclaimer category will tell you, sometimes life is truly hurts. Don't waste your energy constantly worrying about the small stuff. Stay Tuned.

The next time you need a speaker, make it easy on yourself and call me. I will inspire, motivate, and entertain your group. Check out my speaking demo at www.bransonbusiness.blogspot.com then call (417) 339-6568 for availability. The only way I look good is making you look good for booking me.

Under Oath

He was always a great athlete. No one was surprised when he began playing football for Notre Dame. His athleticism was nothing compared to his humility. Every time he was asked about one of his great plays, he credited God, his teammates and coaching staff. Frank Symanzski was humble to his core.

During his senior year in college, he was called to testify in civil court. After he was sworn in, the judge was asking him questions. The conversation when something like this....

Judge: What position do you play?
Symanzski: Center, your honor.
Judge: Are you good?
Symanzski: (Deep Breath) Sir, I am the greatest center in the history of Notre Dame Football.

When his coach asked how he could possible say such a bold statement, Symanzski told him, "Coach, I hated to do it, but I was under oath."

How long has it been since you put yourself under oath? How many problems can you eliminate by putting yourself under oath? Let me explain.

If you were honest with yourself, you would admit the things that you need to change to be more successful. How long has it been since you had a conversation with the person in the mirror to discuss what kind of effort your putting into this game called life?

Are you being the spouse and parent you know you need to be? Are you taking care of your body? When you are working, do you work? When you are home, are you truly there 100%? It has never been easier to learn. You can get quite an education by listening to books on Cd's or mp3s when you are driving to and from work. How long has it been since you took advantage of that opportunity?

So my challenge to you this week, put yourself under oath and then take steps to make the changes you need to make. It could be as easy as picking up the phone, calling someone and telling them that you love them. Stay Tuned.

The next time you need a speaker, make it easy on yourself and call me. I will inspire, motivate, and entertain your group. Check out my speaking demo at www.bransonbusiness.blogspot.com then call (417) 339-6568 for availability. The only way I look good is making you look good for booking me.

Are your headlights on?

You have probably seen these signs on the highways. A quick little reminder that if it is raining, it might be a good idea to turn on your headlights so the other drivers can see you coming. It got me thinking, wouldn't it be cool if life came with other signs that offered some quick reminders? Some examples:


1. A good day at work will never make up for a bad night at home. I am a dedicated employee. I am proud of my job and I am thankful for my job. At the same time, my job will never make up for a bad evening at home. Keep your priorities in line.


2. You only get one body- take care of it. A man I respect and love recently told me that he was eating to live - instead of living to eat. If we take his advice at an early age, our body will provide us with a lot of good days ahead.


3. Anybody can manage, it takes someone special to lead. This world has enough managers. We need leaders who are willing to lead, challenge, and support people to do more than they ever thought possible. One hint, if you are constantly reminding people you are a manager, chances are you ain't leading.


4. Feel the fear and do it anyway. Fear is a killer. Fear kills careers, success, and frankly a whole lot of fun. Successful people still get scared, they just feel the fear and go for it anyway.


A reader recently told me that he thought my blog was too simple. He challenged me to come up with new ideas, new paths to success, and to write about those new ways. To me, that is one of the problems, we are so busy looking for the new ways, we never take the proven paths. Stay Tuned.

The next time you need a speaker, make it easy on yourself and call me. I will inspire, motivate, and entertain your group. Check out my speaking demo at www.bransonbusiness.blogspot.com then call (417) 339-6568 for availablility. The only way I look good is making you look good for booking me.