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Yes, there is a real face behind the e-mail!
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Greetings!
I had an interesting experience this past weekend - not enjoyable, you understand, but interesting. My local community choir sang at the annual River City Days celebration, and I was the alto part of a trio singing a brief selection from Les Miserables. Normally I'd be comfortable in a situation like this; unfortunately, this turned out not to be "normal" for me. I made several unproductive decisions:
- I failed to tell the director which solo line I wanted to perform.
- I failed to ensure that the soprano, tenor, and I practiced our part outside the normal rehearsal schedule.
- I ignored the fact that, for me, no amount of practice in isolation can compensate for not practicing in a group setting.
The result? It depends on who you ask. If you ask me, I'll tell you I screwed up massively. If you ask some of the other choir members, they'll say I did fine. If you ask my good friends, they'll say I sounded fabulous. (Yay for friends.)
The only good news is that I managed to get some good lessons out of the fiasco:
- Be clear in stating my goals.
- Be willing to say "no" to opportunities that don't thrill me.
- Let go of worrying about the business equivalent of "What will the soprano (who only had the flippin' melody line to sing, for Pete's sake, and that's always the easiest part anyway) think about my need to practice?"
- Be gracious in accepting appreciation for my efforts, even if I feel my performance was under par.
- Remember that my "not so good" may be excellent for someone else - it's all a matter of perspective.
- Celebrate being willing to take a risk and deal with whatever outcomes there are.
When you get to figure out a way to make lemon-meringue pie out of the lemons life hands you, I think some of these Nuggets will come in handy.
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Tip of the Week
The slush file is your friend.
Label a folder as "slush" and use it to store papers (e.g., information on an upcoming business workshop you're attending) that relate to future "miscellaneous" events. This way you know where the papers are, AND they're not cluttering your desk. Naturally, you can create a virtual slush folder, too.
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How's This for ANTI-Success?
If you can't quickly and clearly articulate what you do, how can would-be clients possibly purchase from you?
I was a guest at a referral (leads-passing) group when I heard an excruciating example of a really horrible 60-second commercial.
The business owner in question gave an example of a problem his clients face (good) but was very long-winded in doing so (bad). He then proceeded to tell how his product would solve the problem (bad) instead of talking about the positive outcome produced by the solution (which would have been good). Then he ran over his allotted 60 seconds (bad) because he decided to mention his other business during the same commercial (very bad).
Ouch.
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A Really Good Resource
My business-book club is having an incredibly exciting time reading Brendon Burchard's book, The Millionaire Messenger.
His own bottom-line mesage is this: Everyone has a valuable story to tell and can earn great money sharing that story with people who need to hear it.
What I especially appreciate about this book is the detailed, step-by-step approach he takes to telling the reader how to identify their area of expertise and then monetize it.
Although this book is deceptively small - just 156 pages - the numerous exercises in it will require time and effort to complete. So far, it's turning out to be hugely valuable for my fellow book club members and me.
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Thanks to my friend Flickr.
Here are this week's heroes who graciously allowed me to use their images, posted in the Creative Commons area of Flickr, in this issue of Networking Nuggets:
skull and crossbones by Simon Strandgaard light bulb by aloshbennett
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It's always gratifying when we can step into the spotlight and shine. However, even if we don't "shine" as much as "dimly glow", the important thing is that we took the step and gave it our best shot. There's power in that.
Wishing you great enjoyment of your time in the lights...
Kathleen
Client Connections
612-716-8239
Life is good.
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