The Person to See

A Real Hero

Navy Petty Officer Mike Monsoor

 

PO2 (EOD2) (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Mike Monsoor, a Navy EOD Technician, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously for jumping on a grenade in Iraq, giving his life to save his fellow Seals.

 

(Note: Mike was not a Navy SEAL, he was EOD.  He gave his life to save a group of Navy SEALS.)

 

During Mike Monsoor's funeral in San Diego, as his coffin was being carried from the hearse to the grave site at Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery, SEALs were lined up on both sides of the pallbearers route forming a column of two's, with the coffin moving up the center. As Mike's coffin passed, each SEAL, having removed his gold Trident from his uniform, slapped it down embedding the Trident in the wooden coffin.

 

The slaps were audible from across the cemetery; by the time the coffin arrived grave side, it looked as though it had a gold inlay from all the Tridents pinned to it.

 

This was a fitting send-off for a warrior hero….

 

This should be front-page news instead of the crap we see every day.

Since the media won't make this news, I choose to make it news by forwarding it.

 

I am very proud of our military. If you are proud too, please pass this on.  If not then rest assured that these fine men and women of our military will continue to serve and protect.  

  

God Bless our Troops.

 

 

 

Some Life Lessons

Written by Regina Brett

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.

It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here's an update:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

45. The best is yet to come.

46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

48. If you don't ask, you don't get.

49. Yield.

50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

The "All Things To All People" Strategy Doesn't Work

Here's an excerpt from an article written by Robert Kiyosaki on personal branding...

"Often entrepreneurs want to be pleasing, polite, inoffensive , nice-all things to all people.  This isn't being a brand; this is being a commodity-and a boring one at that...Brands become exclusive by excluding."

If you want to read the full article Rich Returns Admit One.

BTW: One of my best pals sent me this article.  Thanks Ray!

Little Deeds With Great Love

Mother Theresa was once asked...

"How could someone like you-small in stature (4' 11"), average intelligence, average public speaking skills, never had a cellphone, palm pilot, fax machine or hosted a single fund raising event-change the face of charity around the world?"

To which Mother Theresa responded, "Everyday I remind my girls, it is not great deeds as much as it is little deeds done with great love over and over again."

Somewhere along the line I learned from someone (probably my Dad or Mom) that everyone is important so let them know how much you appreciate them.  To this end whenever we do a presentation for a company we always make sure we express our appreciation to the person who coordinated the event.  It's usually someone's executive assistant.  The real unsung hero.

Our signature mitzvah is simply some flowers.  I cannot tell you how much positive feedback we get.  One person recently wrote us saying, "The best I ever got from any speaker was an email thank you."

A Touch Of Class

My client Ray Bayat of NetCo Investments really knows how to make the people who help him feel special.

Ray's in the business of buying and repositioning shopping centers.  The lifeblood of his business are the brokers who show him potential deals.  When a deal hits, everyone makes out including the broker who receives a handsome commission.

Ray still finds a way to go the extra mile to let the brokers know how much he appreciates them.  After the deal is done he always sends a Tiffany & Co cardholder to the broker.  It's his signature gesture.

The feedback he receives is tremendous.  One broker from Texas told Ray that "When that blue box arrived everyone crowded around to see what it was."

See, it's not that hard.  All it takes is some thought and a dose of caring about others. 

There's a Big Difference Between a Great Brand and a Powerful One

The attached article, Brand Cuba by Michael Casey, seems to illustrate that just because you have power doesn't mean your personal brand is great.

Powerful brands lead through fear, fiat and punishment. Great brands motivate people to action through an inspiring vision.

Brand Cuba by Michael Casey

A Clever Uniqueness Formula Discovered

I was listening to a CD of a presentation given by fellow NSA'er Fabian Fredrickson at the 2007 NSA conference on "How To Attract All The Clients You Need".  In her presentation she shared a series of statements which, if completed by you, should help you differentiate yourself from the competition quite clearly. 

Here they are...

• I work with...
• Who struggle with...and
• Who would like to...
• What separates me from...
• Is that I...

In our Rainmaker U. program I find that the number one shortcoming of most clients is the inability to differentiate themselves in the marketplace.

Well here you go!  This is about as good a formula as I have seen.  The rest is up to you.

Taking Charge Of Your Peronal Brand

I have a client who is taking charge of his personal brand like he means business.  He and I were having breakfast the other day and he said to me, "I really like Cary Grant's personal brand and I want to try to model myself after him."

I want to be clear my client was not talking about becoming Cary Grant.  Rather, what my client admires is Cary Grant's class and style and he wants to emulate those aspects of his persona.  All with an eye towards becoming the consummate gentleman.

He even went out and got some books with illustrations of Cary Grant's style of dress.  When he met with his clothier he pulled out the books and showed him exactly what he wanted.  Awesome intentionality!

Who are you looking to as your role model(s)?  It doesn't have to be just one person.

Delighting Your Best And Brightest

I recently had the pleasure of doing a program on personal branding in Romania.  I thought this trip might lend me the opportunity to delight my most important centers of influence as well as add a little to my personal brand equity bank account.

I have a file of my top 35 people who I consistently maintain contact with.  These are the folks who have helped me build my business.  While over in Romania I bought 35 postcards and wrote a humorous little message along the lines of...

Dear Phil,

Greetings from Romania!  I've taken The Personal Branding Group international! I'm pleased to report that the concepts of personal branding are universal.  I'll report in on my return.

TOB

Hopefully, my friends were at the same time humored and impressed.

You must never stop marketing your brand. The more you market the easier the sales come.

Valentine's Day Was a Great Opportunity

Did you take advantage of Valentine's Day as an opportunity to surprise your clients?

We bought a few dozen boxes of See's Candies ($6.00/box) and we shipped them to all of our clients' female assistants.  We even included those little Valentine's Cards we gave away in grade school. Let me tell you we were a big hit!

Client touches don't always have to be to the client him/herself.   Could be to the office as a whole or a very important gatekeeper.  The key is to keep surprising and delighting them!