2009 May

What you truly fear is SUCCESS!

Foreword: We are hosting a free Prophit Marketing Roadshow in July. Empower your organization; learn the system that is growing profits. Email me for more information.

 

Today’s Wisdom was inspired by an associate, Mel, at Festival Foods in Marshfield WI.

 

The below section of a speech given by Nelson Mandela was orignally written by Marianne Williamson who is an international speaker on spiritual, personal, and political issues.

 

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

 

I never really thought about the fears I had early on in my career, but they were ones of success and not failure. I had a “Who Am I?” conversation with myself, early on. “Who am I to manage the marketing funds of another; what do I know?” My early success brought this other voice inside of me that tried to belittle and deny me of greatness.

 

I shut that voice down in a big hurry. I realized I didn’t have all the answers and that was okay. I did strive to learn from others who have gone successfully before me. This thinking helped me grow the business rapidly and included the development of the Prophit Marketing System.

 

Do you hear the self-sabotaging little voice in you that doubts your success and accomplishments? If there’s ever a time not to listen it’s now! You deserve to be awesome. We all have brilliance within us. Let it out!

 

Joe Kiedinger

 

ACTION PLAN: Write a list of everything you wish to accomplish or experience in life. You would be amazed at how simple it is to do something little each day to help you get there.

 

The Social Networking Phenomenon! Are You in the Game?

Blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flicker, Facebook, YouTube… yikes! Are you paying attention? You can decide to throw up your arms and say, “What a bunch of hooey! Why would anyone want to be followed, friended, linked, or write a post once or twice a week? And that YouTube is a bunch of nonsense!” Let me tell you, ignorance will not be bliss in the world of social networking. I just heard of a company who made locks, ya know, the kind for bikes to be secured at school or other public places. Someone discovered that a simple ball point pen could pick their best selling lock. That person used a simple video camera and recorded themselves picking this high-end lock with a pen and posted it on YouTube. Views of the video skyrocketed and it became a viral hit on the internet. The lock company was made aware of this and decided to ignore the social media and remain ignorant to its power.  

In a few short months, their lock sales plummeted. When it comes to social networking ignorance can put you out of business. I understand that it can be very confusing, but you need to get educated and begin using this powerful tool to grow your business and build your brand. It’s not as difficult or confusing as you might think. There are people who can help you. If you need help or simply want to know more, please contact Scott Grall. Scott is guiding and fulfilling many wonderful internet solutions. Through an Uncovery, Scott can determine what makes sense for you. 

Please don’t be ignorant to this enormous monster that is social networking. Learn how to tame it and take control of your voice on the Internet. Joe Kiedinger 

ACTION PLAN: Make it a point to attend seminars on social networking. You’ll be glad you did. Another overall good business resource to visit is my new website Monday Mastermind website. We’re updating it constantly with small business resources.

Who are the number one decision makers?

KIDS! I was reminded earlier in the week how much our children influence the places we patron. If you have small children (or even big ones) you know what I’m talking about. I have three little girls, ages 2, 4, and 6, and one 13 year-old boy (yikes)! The kids ask to go to Festival Foods so they can hang out in the Tot Spot (thankfully they’re a client, whew). Restaurants that are frequented revolve around activities, child-friendly menus, and fun atmospheres: McDonalds, Applebee’s, Nicolet Restaurant, and Perkins. They drive us into making all sorts of buying decisions.

 

A colleague of mine recently shared an experience involving his little boy. His wife is a fan of saltwater fish and has two saltwater tanks at home. I’ve learned that it’s not cheap to set up a saltwater tank from the filtration systems to product… the fish!

 

He explained that there are only two locations in Green Bay to purchase these fish and their specialized products. The first has Mc Donald’s pricing and the second is priced more like Applebee’s. His wife always goes to the higher-priced store. It’s not because saving money isn’t important, it’s because her little boy likes Steve. Steve works at the store and makes Alex feel special and gives him attention. When mom says, “C’mon Alex, we’re going to the fish store!” His response is: “Are we going to see Steve?”

 

You may think your customer is a man or a woman or some certain demographic but I’m here to remind you that children drive a lot of decisions. In the words of Crosby, Stills and Nash: Treat Your Children Well.

 

No matter what the retail business you’re in, make it a point to focus on how you treat the children. Their experience will directly affect your bottom line. Besides, they’re your future customer.

 

Joe Kiedinger

 

ACTION PLAN: Talk to your associates about what you can do to serve your little guests. It will pay dividends!

Get Out of You for Awhile!

Those of you who know me know I love live theater. I just returned home from seeing the Tony Award winning musical, Avenue Q. It’s like dirty Sesame Street. They use puppets with very adult themes. It was hysterical! It’s amazing what you can get away with then packaged together with catchy music and an adequate story line.

 

Towards the end of the show a couple characters are at a very low point in their lives: out of work with no direction. These characters decide to focus on the dream of one of their friends and as they focus on this charitable work they discover success and life purpose.

 

It’s a tongue-in-cheek quirky musical, but it’s a lot of fun and the lesson of ‘getting out of you for a while’ really hit home. Especially during these economic times it’s easy to blame and point fingers. This only leads to self-pity, which is never healthy to indulge in. This kind of focus only points us down a path of self-destruction. If you ever get to this point you’ll know it’s time to get out of you.

 

Direct your focus on helping others. Your personal situation will improve. It’s proven that when we reach out to help others our own situation is put in a different light and optimism presents itself.

 

Get out of you and really start living!

 

Joe Kiedinger

 

ACTION PLAN: So, where will you be volunteering? Whose life will you impact?