How Many of 'You' are There?

Do you know everything you have been up to lately?  That might seem like a very strange question, but the reality is "you" might have been much busier than you remember. 

Identity Theft is the fastest growing crime in North America.  It is fast, easy, profitable, and isn't even a crime in and of itself in Canada currently.  Unfortunately for us, and to the benefit of the scum that make their living ruining the lives of others, our laws have not caught up with the reality of this invasive crime.  The implications on your life can be far more devastating than any vandalism or burglary of your physical property.  Talk to anyone who has had their identity stolen in one form or another, and they will tell you horror stories.  Lost time, reputation, and money are just the icing on the cake. 

Most people have heard about Identity Theft, but very few people know the true scope of it.  There are five types of Identity Theft:  Financial, Social Insurance Number, Drivers License, Character, and Medical.

Financial.  Someone using your credit card to do their shopping; signing up for loans, mortgages, and other bills; or making a copy of your bank card in order to empty your accounts.

Social Insurance Number.  Someone steals your SIN and obtains employment in your name. The thief's employer reports wages earned to CCRA under your SIN leaving you to pay income taxes on these earnings. This can impact you in terms of your benefits such as Child Tax Credit, Universal Child Care Benefit, Employment Insurance, Old Age Security, and Canada Pension Plan.

Drivers License.  Someone commits traffic related offenses in your name. When they fail to appear in court, warrants are issued in your name.

Character.  Someone impersonates you and commits a crime in your name resulting in warrants issued in your name, arrests made, and time spent in jail.

Medical.  Someone steals your identity and either obtains medical insurance in your name or uses your current medical insurance policy to obtain treatment or prescriptions. Their medical information will be placed in your file and therefore can have serious and potentially lethal affects on you should a medical emergency occur.

 "The victims can even be infants.  If you have a social security number, you can be a victim of identity theft."

            Melodi Gates

"At 211º water is hot.  At 212º it can power a locomotive.  One extra degree makes all the difference."  This quote is from one of my all time favourite motivational micro movies, called 212 Degrees.  Although I am Canadian and a metric baby, my father was firmly entrenched in the Imperial system and some things I still think of in the "old" way.  I would like to believe that I understand the difference one degree of temperature can make.

Do you understand what one degree of extra effort can mean to your business?  In North America we have the very misguided impression that success requires huge efforts, lucky breaks, and unearthly talent.  Fortunately this is just not the case.  The difference between successful businesses and unsuccessful businesses usually comes down to the small, every day actions that the successful take that the unsuccessful ignore or never get around to.

What if you and every single person on your sales team started tracking the number of sales calls they make?  What if then they decided to make one extra contact a day?  Even if the closing ration doesn't change, if you were making 5 extra contacts a week, how many extra sales would you make in a week, a month, and a year?

What if you made a point of sending a hand written thank you card every time you did business with a customer thanking them for their support?  How many hand written thank you cards have you ever received?  Did you remember the person fondly?  Do you still have the card safely stored somewhere?  What could that small, personal touch do to your bottom line?

If you spent ten minutes every night before you shut down and go home getting organized and ready for the following day, how much more productive could you be?  By writing out your to do list, reviewing your appointment schedule for the next day, and figuring out your priorities how much wasted time could you save and bring back into your business?  How much stress could you eliminate from your life and your business?  How many fires could you prevent?  How much more could you accomplish each and every day?

Reading ten pages of a good book a day can have you reading 10 - 12 books a year.  If you were reading at least one book a month that teaches you new ways to market, attract and retain great customers, something new and innovative in your field, or a better way to hire and keep excellent employees (as just a few examples) how much better could you become?  How much of a growing advantage would you have over your competitors?

As you can see, there are many things that you can do that seem so small and simple that they seem insignificant when you look at them on their own.  By letting the power of compound interest take hold and build on your daily efforts you will see tremendous returns much sooner than you would have ever imagined possible.  Make a commitment today to start consistently doing that one extra degree of effort and see where it takes you.

            http://www.212movie.com/

"And the one extra degree of effort in business and in life ... separates the good from the great!"

            Simple Truths