Gary Barnes is a
global premier business, money and relationship coach; an author, and
an international speaker. He is the founder of MaxLife International, dedicated to helping people create wealth in all areas of life.
Gary
believes anyone can lead an empowered life, no matter what their
circumstances are. He has built three successful businesses from the
ground up. To do this, he developed principles and tools that helped
him increase his business 2000% over a three-year period.
He
also understands dealing with adversity - he has fought life-
threatening illness and won. He believes that your worst day is the day
you meet the man or woman you could have been. It's a choice. That's
why he's dedicated his life to helping people maximize
their lives and their businesses through workshops, teleconferences and
individual coaching. His mission in life is to make a difference and to
empower everyone he connects with.
|
|
One of the most powerful networking tools is the ability to say "Thank You".
Send a gift card, greeting card or simply a phone call to say that you noticed them doing something special. Reach out and touch someone, you will be glad you did.
|
|
|
|
Greetings!
Spring has sprung and summer has arrived. Graduations, weddings and family gatherings are upon us. Given that our calendars are already so full, its easy to not listen to our instincts on how to balance all of the opportunities. My lead article this month is about listening to your instincts. The title is "Dead Man Walking" and I hope you find it helpful. Join as a charter member of MaxLife Group Coaching. Can you believe it? Group coaching with an introductory first month investment of only $17! To learn more, click here.
To your success,
Gary Barnes
|
|
|
Dead Man Walking
by Gary Barnes, MaxLife International
Over the last 20+ years, I have been told three times that I was a walking dead man. The most recent event was just a few weeks ago. My wife had been urging me to go to a local health fair to "check things out". I looked for a rational excuse not to go. I didn't come up with one, so I promised her I'd go.
Things were going well until I approached the blood pressure station. The nurse was very pleasant. After taking the first reading, she asked if she could take another reading with the other arm. She didn't look pleased with the results and asked if I would go see the doctors around the corner. When I gave the results to the doctors, they looked at each other and told me to go directly to the emergency room at the nearest hospital. They stressed that it wasn't a matter of "if" I was going to have a stroke or a heart attack, but "when", and the "when" could be at any moment.
This was not what I wanted to hear. It was one of the first warm days of spring. I wanted to go spend the day at a local private airport, and besides I felt fine. Oh sure, I had ringing in my ears, and I was balancing several stressful situations, but wasn't that normal?
Long story short, I spent the rest of the day in the emergency room. As they were conducting all of their tests, it gave me time to think about how I got there. Over the years I have learned that if I don't pay attention to my intuition, I get into situations I don't want to be in. So, what did I miss?
First, I wasn't listening to my body. The ringing in my ears had been going on for a number of months. I had told myself that this was normal. My balance had also been off and I believed it was due to a little fatigue.
Second, I wasn't paying attention to my mental state. I have always been able to balance many plates at the same time. For the last several months, a number of those plates had fallen on the floor. Again I rationalized it away.
Third, I wasn't as aware of my productivity as I normally am. I was getting things done, but not as efficiently.
So what is the moral to my story?
Stop, look and listen. As a Business and Money Coach I know the value of paying attention to the little clues. When I didn't, my body gave me a wake up call -- which I'm glad I saw (with a nudge from my wife) before it threw the stop switch. I'm still running at full speed and love it. There is nothing wrong with going for the gusto, except when the price you pay eliminates you from the party.
Live Long and Prosper
|
|
What's Lifestyle Got To Do With It?
by Nordine Zouareg, Triple Impact, LLC
It happens to everyone. That moment when you realize that it's time to do something about your weight.
It may happen when you're looking in the mirror or standing on the scale.
Your first thought is to go on a 'diet' but as quickly as that enters your mind the ghosts of a hundred diets past return...along with all the frustration.
Then you wonder, why bother?
The weight will come back, as it always has. Then you'll be back in front of the mirror as discouraged as ever.
The answer is not to go on another diet.
The answer is to change your lifestyle.
You've heard this before, and it makes sense, right? So why haven't you done it?
YOUR LIFESTYLE OBSTACLES. Most people resist changing their lifestyle for two reasons.
1. Change is scary. Whether you realize it or not, your life is in a constant state of change. Though you cling to the familiar, it's a futile struggle. Change always wins.
The most consistent thing in life is change. Since you'll never escape it, you might as well channel it. It's time to make the change in your life purposeful and positive.
2. Lifestyle misconception. How many times have you heard the term 'healthy lifestyle' only to picture a health nut with celery sticks in one hand and tofu in the other? The truth is that most people think that changing their lifestyle will be an extreme and unpleasant experience - and that's not true.
Improving your lifestyle does not mean swearing off chocolate or living in the gym. You don't have to eat wheat germ for lunch and you can still enjoy a nice plate of pasta. The key is moderation.
MAKING THE CHANGE. It's time to lose your 'all or nothing' mentality. Embrace simple, small changes that will add up to big improvements in your lifestyle. These are your main venues for change:
1.What You Eat. Let's face it, most of the foods you eat aren't the healthiest. Some are downright terrible (the burger and fries you had last week). While others are simply excessive (the snacks you eat while watching TV).
The solution to cleaning up your daily diet is NOT to go back on a 'diet'. In fact, I never want you to go on a 'diet' again. (Yes, you heard me right!) Instead I want you to make permanent healthy changes to your eating habits.
Here are some practical examples:
- Choose salad over chips or fries
- Don't add butter to your food
- Eat fresh produce with every meal
- Purchase fat free dairy products
- Limit desserts to one or two per week
- Cut out mindless snacking
- Drink water, not soda
I don't expect you to eat a perfect diet every day of the week - that'd be ludicrous. You should, however, make MORE healthy choices every day than unhealthy ones.
2. What You Do. Exercise is a huge component to a healthy lifestyle, and quite frankly you're not getting enough of it. How often does an entire week go by without you ever lacing up your tennis shoes? Don't disregard the importance and power of a good workout.
Your new healthy lifestyle means exercising on most days of the week. This may seem tough, but I have the perfect solution - my training programs were created for busy people just like you who only have so much time to dedicate to exercise.
I understand how hard it is to find the motivation to stay consistent and to push yourself. Make exercise a no-brainer - contact me to get started on a lifestyle enhancing program today.
Here are simple ways to move more:
- Watch less TV
- Stretch stiff muscles every day
- Play at the park with the kids
- Go for a jog
- Do some push-ups every morning
While none of the above are meant as substitutes for a solid exercise routine, they are great ways to become more active and to improve your lifestyle.
Your lifestyle is the balance of all the choices that you make regarding your body. Swing the balance in your favor - make a majority of your choices health conscious.
So the next time you're in front of the mirror you won't worry about your weight.
You'll relish it.
|
|
Getting the Profit Out of Social Media for Small Businesses - Part 2 - Fine Tuning with Tools
By Patrice Barber, Taylor Made Small Biz
Communities and Tools: So how do we get rewards from our investment of time on Twitter, LinkedIN, and Facebook?
Get organized on Twitter with TweetDeck to see what is going on and use mr.tweet to set up automation.
Check this link for serious Twitter tools
Twitter (a micro-blog of 140 characters ) is good for:
- Launching - creating a buzz to launch your new product or announce your new group or talk about anything important that is going to happen and continue the conversation right as it is happening through to the 2-5days after it has happened.
- Linking - Providing occasional links to other people's posts and products as well as some of your own
- Connections - Enabling you to find others who will be in a city at an event you may be attending to hook up with them. There is nothing so powerful as walking into a room of 100 and having 3-4 people walk up to you with a big grin and hearty welcome. They are as glad to network with you as you are with them.
- Branding - When you are seen in multiple places with a consistent image and talk, you will build brand, credibility and expert status ... naturally.
- The tools - You do have to find and use tools to make Twitter useful. (See above link.) EX :If I want to find out who is searching for help on starting a small business; viola I go to search.Twitter.com, type it and get the results. AMAZING results. It shows what people are saying, ties to their blogs and shows you who is responding to what, so you can join in where you have expert information to share.
Once you use the tools you will be able to see how to tweet , retweet and raise yourself up in the eyes of those who would be followers.
Check this link for top 10 mistakes on LinkedIN
LinkedIN is good for:
- Job hunting (its original purpose)
- Marketing and sales - using the search and advanced search functions to find your prospects
- Connecting - to other professionals in a related group or groups with those needing your service
- Expert status - by setting yourself to answer questions, you become an expert
- Building your own group - this is a very fast way to gather a following as long as you provide a serious benefit to them. Be passionate or be dead.
- Best feature is that every time you do a simple update, LinkedIn posts it out to all your 1st tier without you having to send a "toot your horn" message. Work it weekly and it will provide a LOT of links back to your website.
- More formal and slower paced than Twitter
Facebook is good for:
- Rekindling prior relations
- Setting up new relationships for more personal and local use
- Sharing your information from the frequent tweets to the less frequent Facebook details via Friendfeed.com
- Excellent for launching a new group or new product - your new group can be seen by 1000's in as short as a week just by 20 people commenting and thus sharing with 50 of their friends.
- Less formal than Twitter
With all these tools, I cannot over emphasize the need to have your website set up to CONVERT people who land there. Relevant action drives conversion and is critical from every page that you link back to.
About the Author: Patrice Barber is Founder and president of Taylor Made Small Biz. She is focused on tactical planning and ongoing support that creates results and profits for small business owners. She has a passion for keeping you focused on what you do best. Patrice started six of her own companies, consulted for Fortune 500 executives for over 10 years, and worked with 4-5 small biz owners each year for the last 5 years. Her "Out of the Box" thinking has created profitable small businesses. So far, all of them have greatly surpassed the odds of 68% closure rates and remain in business. Find out more at www.tmsmallbiz.com.
|
|
|
|
|
