 Coachability
The Seminar Source Newsletter
Speak Well and Get Clients Now!
June 29, 2008
Issue #5
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In this issue:
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· A note from Gail
· Feature Article: "What You Need To Be Successful in the Seminar
Business"
· Gail Recommends: How Discover Your Passion came about
· About Gail
· PS: Gail's Passion: The Key to Student Retention
· I welcome any input, questions or requests for additional information . . .
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Greetings! This has been one busy week--teleseminars, classes, newsletter, visitors--all fun and time-consuming. The challenge--how to find balance? I have learned to start with what I enjoy most and eliminate time-consuming activities that I don't NEED, e.g., teleclasses that I sign up for but don't really need to know about, reading all of my junk-mail magazines, taking on new projects, etc. All of those went by the wayside this week.
One of the most fun things I do every week is hold a Legacy Workshop at a senior citizen center. I throw out topics and each person tells me a story about what she remembers. Each session is recorded on my iPod from which I make individual CD's. I wondered if they would ever listen to them, but each week they tell me how much their kids or grandchildren enjoy hearing their stories. What a great way to pass along memories!
I also enjoy my teleseminars and find I learn as much from the participants as they learn from me. In September I intend to expand teleseminar offerings. What are your plans?
This weekend is Fourth of July weekend, and I'll be taking a week off with my family, so no newsletter next Sunday. See you July 13th.
Happy Fourth,
Gail
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Feature Article:
"WHAT YOU NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE SEMINAR BUSINESS"
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by Gail Cassidy
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WHAT YOU NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL:
There are lots of elements necessary to succeed in the seminar business, and I'll list two of those today.
1. KNOWLEDGE:
The first obvious element for success is knowledge of what you want to present! Find the best books on the subject you are interested in. Find CD's, go to seminars, read magazines, find organizations related to the subject. Become more knowledgeable about this subject than anyone else. The secret, of course, is being truly interested in the subject. Your mission should be to motivate people, to get others as excited about your topic as you are.
2. ENTHUSIASM:
Enthusiasm is the priceless quality that makes everything different. Those who achieve the most in life are invariably inspired by enthusiasm. They approach life, its opportunities, and its problems with this vital characteristic.
Thomas Edison said, "When a man dies, if he has passed enthusiasm along to his children, he had left them an estate of incalculable value."
Napoleon Hill said, "Enthusiasm guarantees your point will be positive." Years wrinkle the skin; lack of enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.
A reader of the newsletter, The Pin Stripped Advisor," wrote and asked the editor if a person can decide to be charismatic or did he have to be born that way. The editor wrote back and told him that charismatic people are almost always enthusiastic people.
As Dale Carnegie said, "Act enthusiastic and you'll be enthusiastic."
Maxwell Malts wrote "You must create enthusiasm yourself without waiting for someone to thrust it upon you. Enthusiasm is a thought turned into a performance; it is the kinetic energy that propels you to your destination. Enthusiasm implies that you believe in yourself, that you concentrate with courage, that you practice self-disciple, that you have a dream, that you see victory in the distance."
Enthusiasm is indeed a characteristic well worth developing, especially as a seminar leader. The audience mirrors the speaker. Lackluster speaker equals or creates a lackluster audience.
As Shakespeare said, "Assume a virtue if you have it not."
IN TWO WEEKS: Two more essential elements . . .
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Gail Recommends:
DISCOVER YOUR PASSION: How this Course Came About
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How the Course Came About:
Is That All There Is?
The quest for my passion began in 1986 when I was working in a well
known, world-wide, non-profit agency where, on a daily basis, I dealt with
disasters, fires, floods, AIDS, homeless people, abused children, and other very depressing segments of life.
I could not divorce myself from my work. I hurt with every client I served. I
took their problems and negative feelings home with me. It did not take long
before I knew I had to get away from this barrage of calamities and disasters
happening in other people's lives. (That's when I started reading every book I
could find on finding my purpose in life.)
My successor handles these same challenges wonderfully. I could not.
This job, to her, is her passion. She can turn off the job at 5:00 and go home to her family.
Peggy Lee's Song
During my tenure at this agency, Peggy Lee's haunting refrain rang in my
head, "Is that all there is? Is that all there is? Is that all there is, my friend?"
20's
I first heard this song when I was in my 20's; then it was nothing more than a
popular song I sang along with. Those single years were fun-filled, career-
driven, opportunity-laden times crammed with working and dating and finally marrying "Mr. Right."
There was neither time nor inclination to wonder if I were making a difference in the world or even if I were on the right path.
30's
I hummed along to the lilting tune in my 30's, the years that saw me
tending babies, decorating a new home, cooking, cleaning, raising children, and making ends meet. I was too busy and too tired to do anything but live in the present, where I heard the constant refrains: "She hit me!" "Don't touch!" "Sit down." "No!" "Yes." "I'll count to three." "Please - stop - screaming!" These were my daily tunes. Hugs and kisses were my rewards, and life was exactly as it should have been.
40's
It was not until my 40's that the implication of that refrain struck me. "Is
that all there is?" This is it? My two challenging and rewarding
careers in my 20's were great. Delightful part time jobs as I raised my
children were fun. My kids and husband were my existence in my 30's and
40's.
The children grew up and are now wonderful adults, and my husband has
become more and more immersed in his own activities. Now what? Is this it? "Is that all there is?"
FUNERAL
During my early 40's, a friend and I attended the funeral of an elderly
gentleman who had lived an incredibly successful life. He had numerous
inventions and patents to his credit. He had initiated a philanthropic
organization, and he had left a large, wealthy, caring family. Indeed,
to our minds, he had truly left his footprints in the sands of time.
The eulogies for him were magnificent--effusive in their praise of his life--and uplifting.
On the way out of the church, my friend, who is one of the sweetest, most
caring ladies I have ever known and who is also a fantastic cook, said in a
depressed voice, "What have I done in life? My tombstone will read, 'Here lies Marge. She made a great meatloaf.'" I chuckled. She didn't.
For me, this was the turning point, the event that triggered my intense
search to find my passion.
For some reason, her comment stayed in my mind, and the more I thought
about it, the more I realized that Marge, indeed, has make a difference on this
planet, doing what she does best. She is the one who has taken care of people who were in need. It was she who made people feel special on their birthdays and holidays through her kindness and her cooking. What she considered mundane, her friends recognized as truly special.
POINT
The point, however, is that while others may think what you do is special,
you have to also; otherwise, you will never feel as if you are living the life you
should be living. You have to feel that your life has been fulfilled in some
way. And you can, if you believe you have fulfilled your passion. First, however, you have to discover it.
MORE IN TWO WEEKS . . .
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About Gail:
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Gail Cassidy, teacher, speaker, coach, has written five books, three workbooks, numerous Tips booklets, and seminar programs. Her passion is teaching and writing, specifically regarding finding ways to make life better through the research and the development of training programs.
You can learn more about Gail and her books, booklets, seminars, and programs at her website, Coachability.com.
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PS: Gail's Passion:
The KEY TO STUDENT RETENTION
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Three Simple Programs to Keep Potential Dropouts in School . . .
The KEY TO STUDENT RETENTION
Is To Provide EVERY Student Three Things That All Kids Need!!
As a guidance counselor, teacher, or administrator, I know you hurt when you lose a student to the streets, to a gang, or to a life of poverty, because you know their chances of success in life are slim once they choose to drop out of school.
In a recent article in the Star Ledger, Tim Johnson writes:
"Ghosts of High School Slackers Haunt Economy"
Star Ledger, June 19, 2008
"If more teens had stayed in school instead of dropping out, New Jersey's economy would be in much better shape today." QUESTION: How can schools keep more kids in school until graduation? "At least that's the conclusion of the Alliance for Excellent Education, a Washington, D.C.-based group that promotes improvements in high school education."
The alliance says if all the high school dropouts from the Class of 2008 in New Jersey had earned diplomas along with their classmates, the state's economy would have gained an additional $4.8 billion in wages, taxes and productivity over the students' lifetimes." QUESTION: How can schools entice more kids to stay in school until graduation?
The average annual income for a high school dropout in 2005 was almost $10,000 less than that for a high school graduate, according to the Census Bureau. Increasing the number of students who graduate from high school not only raises their earnings potential, but also benefits the economy of both the state and the nation." QUESTION: How can schools keep more kids in school until graduation?
"Each class of high school dropouts damages the economy," says Bob Wise, president of the alliance and a former governor of West Virginia. "If candidates running for federal office are truly committed to saving the nation's economic future, they must commit to saving America's high schools. The best economic stimulus package is to increase the number of students who earn a high school diploma." -Tim Johnson QUESTION: How can schools keep more kids in school until graduation?
Statistics abound about the cost to the economy of dropouts, but what about the child who drops out? What kind of future does he or she have?
LEARN MORE IN TWO WEEKS . . .
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Gail Cassidy
Coachability.com
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