Tag: be the world’s expert on yourself

34 Questions to Keep Yourself Growth-Minded

As we approach the end of 2007, it’s important to ask yourself (and your team) Growth Questions.

So, grab a cup of hot chocolate, relax, and let’s start thinking about the future!

REMEMBER: growth, not comfort.

Enjoy!

1. Are you cloning yourself through teaching others?

2. Are you doing business at the level you want to?

3. Are you growth minded?

4. At what point are you making a living vs. building your business?

5. Does this client represent long-term business potential?

6. How are you being stretched and forced to grow?

7. How are you making sure that everything you do is leading to something else you do?

8. How are you typecasting yourself?

9. How can you duplicate yourself?

10. How can you use this to add more value to yourself?

11. How do you self-renew?

12. How often are you bringing in work that improves your skills and keeps you competitive?

13. In what ways are you currently obsolete?

14. What are the most important things for you to work on that will grow your business the fastest?

15. What are you building?

16. What are you doing in the next five years that’s going to set you up for the next ten years?

17. What are you doing to prepare for the next phase?

18. What can you do differently today to add value to your business?

19. What else does this make possible?

20. What is creeping up on you?

21. What kind of clients would you like to have in three years?

22. What kind of work would you like to be doing in three years?

23. What new markets should you be entering?

24. What percentage of your revenues this year came from products and services you didn’t offer three years ago?

25. What’s next?

26. What’s the movement value of this idea?

27. What’s your sequel?

28. When was the last time you brought new skills to your clients and prospects?

29. When was the last time you created new value?

30. When was the last time you entered a new market?

31. When was the last time you reinvented yourself?

32. When was the last time you upgraded your qualifications?

33. When was the last time your business embraced change and did something innovative?

34. Will it make your company more competitive?

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Are you growth-minded?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Share your Top 5 Questions for Keeping Yourself Growth-Minded here!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag

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Things I’ve recently unlearned, part 2

(Read part 1 of this post series here!)

6. People don’t care what you know or (even) what you’ve done. They care ABOUT, are interested BY and want to learn HOW … you think. Period. That’s the key differentiator.

That’s why your clients keep coming back AND telling their friends about you. Because of the way you think. Because you Have a Beautiful Mind (ahem, top three books I read this year.)

Which means that ideas are your greatest source of income. Which means you better recognize your own thinking patterns. Which means everything you know should be written down somewhere.

7. Principles, not techniques. Techniques, seven-step systems, formulas and tactics can (and will) fail. And many of them are manipulative. And people don’t like them. And people can oppose them AND because they CAN come off as contrived and choreographed.

Principles, on the other hand – that is, universally accepted truths – are more effective tools for getting your point across.

And, as usual, are less threatening.

8. Seekers beware. My mentor/friend Arthur Scharff says, “Seeking leadership destroys the journey.”

So, don’t worry about whether or not you’re a leader. Instead, focus on being passionate.

And as a result, people WILL follow you. Hell, they may even call you a leader!

9. The Smarty Pants Wins. Consultants, trainers, speakers, authors, experts … forget about it. All commodities.

Companies don’t want to hire consultants.

They want to hire cool, smart people who happen to do consulting. Or speaking. Or training. Or recruiting. Or financial planning. Or whatever.

LESSON LEARNED: be cool and smart.

Stop boxing your value in with some stupid role or job title.

Don’t be “Dave the Consultant.”

Be “Dave That Really Smart, Creative, Cool Guy Who Always Has Awesome Ideas That I Think Owns His Own Consulting Firm.”

10. That, not what. For example: it doesn’t matter WHAT you write, it only matters THAT you write.

It doesn’t matter WHAT you create, it only matters THAT you create.
It doesn’t matter WHAT you laugh about, it only matters THAT you laugh about.
It doesn’t matter WHAT you do when you’re together, it only matters THAT you’re together.

You get the point. That, not what.

(Read part 3 of this post here!)

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What three things have you recently UN-learned?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Post them here!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag

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If so, perhaps I could help on a more personal, one-on-one basis.

Rent Scott’s Brain today!

Things I’ve recently unlearned, part 1

The only thing cooler than learning is UN-learning.

Changing past programming.
Reconditioning your brain.
Rethinking old-school assumptions.

So, here’s a list (part 1 of 3) of some things I’ve recently UN-learned:

1. Don’t create FOR. Not for anyone or anything. Just create. Detach from outcomes. Be autotelic, not exotelic. And stop trying to label everything. Just do stuff for the purpose of doing stuff. Do it because you love doing it.

This will lower your inhibitions and enable your natural creativity to flow organically.

Heck, you’ll probably create some pretty cool stuff in the process.

And eventually, (hopefully), the “for” will appear on its own. It will be a nice added bonus when someone wants to buy your work. (However, even if they don’t, at least you enjoyed making it!) It’s a win-win.

2. Don’t get, CAUSE. Whether it’s sales, management, creativity or facilitating a group discussion, don’t “get” people to buy. Or listen. Or participate. Or ask questions.

Instead, cause them to do so. Maintaining a “get” mindset creates a pushy attitude.

“Causing,” on the other hand, sounds a lot less threatening.

3. Don’t make your website scream, “Hey! Look at me!” Instead, make it scream, “Here’s exactly what you were looking for!”

I’ve recently realized how the user-generated, “My” Culture created by Google, YouTube and Tivo proves that THEY (meaning customers) call the shots. Not us. (Thanks for this one, Seth Godin)

4. Effective speakers don’t always have to speak. This isn’t just about making powerful pauses; this is about audience engagement. After all, their combined knowledge is probably greater than that of the speaker.

And ironically, the longer amount of time a speaker has to speak (one hour vs. half-day session) the LESS the speaker should be speaking. Weird.

5. Environment, not people. You can’t control people. You can only manage the environment in which they interact.

So, your challenge is to create a healthy, organic, friendly atmosphere that is conducive to whatever you’re trying to accomplish.

(Read part 2 of this post here!)

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What three things have you recently UN-learned?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Post them here!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag

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If so, perhaps I could help on a more personal, one-on-one basis.

Rent Scott’s Brain today!

Insist on being yourself

I was once forbidden from entering into a dance club because I was wearing my nametag.

Another time I got kicked out of a fancy restaurant for wearing my nametag.

And a few years ago, I dated a girl who was so uncomfortable with my nametag that she stopped going out with me.

I know. Ridiculous.

But hey, that’s cool. Those are the types of people and places I wouldn’t want to associate with anyway.

LESSON LEARNED: insist on being yourself.

In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield says, “When we see people begin to live their authentic lives, it drives us crazy because we know we’re not living our own.”

Also, Nietzsche once said, “Those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”

Nice.

So, whether you’re:

At work…
At school…
At home…

Don’t shrink from opportunities to say things like:

“That’s how I roll.”
“That’s my policy.”
“That’s just who I am.”
“That’s what I believe.
“That’s just how I dress.”
“That’s the way I do business.”

And next time someone becomes upset or frustrated or uncomfortable around you when you DO insist on being yourself, remember two things:

1. That probably says more about them than it does about you.
2. They’re just jealous.

Insist on being yourself.

And if some one (or some place) can’t handle it, just walk away.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Have you ever had to check your personality at the door?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Write “Insist on being yourself” on a sticky note and post it EVERYWHERE.

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag

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Be willing to suck in the beginning

I’ve been writing books since I was 21.

But, I didn’t find my true author’s voice until I was about 25.

It comes with the territory. Whether you’re a rock star, a artist or a business owner, you’ve got to “get the shanks out.”

LESSON LEARNED: be willing to suck in the beginning.

Dare to do it badly.
Seek progress, not perfection.
Spend some time paying (or playing) your dues.
Invest some sweat in creating work that isn’t very good.

Because when you do, here’s what happens:

After a while, say a few years or so, you start to get good. You begin to discover your voice, your groove, your unique style, your “thing,” your sound, your approach.

And eventually, once all the shanks have been disposed of, you start to ROCK every time.

Not that you don’t mess up. Or make some junk here and there. Or create something that isn’t amazing. (Even U2 writes a weak song every once in a while.)

The point is:

Because you paid the price, you developed patience.

Because you developed patience, you got the shanks out.

And because you got the shanks out, you made room for the good stuff.

REMEMBER: your most valuable ideas, projects, notes and words are just DYING to come to the surface.

But sometimes, you might need to dig through a few layers of junk to find them.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Are you willing to suck in the beginning?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Go through a stack of old creative work and find something that was TERRIBLE. Post it on your bulletin board as a reminder.

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag

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Make your mind your friend

1. Hang with it. Keep daily appointments with yourself. Clear it. Set aside time to just think. Encourage your mind to get better by doing creativity exercises.

2. Feed it. Read more books; watch less TV. Go for more walks. Exercise rhythmically for 30 minutes a day to flood it with endorphins and expand its idea-generating prowess. Have regular conversations with super-smart, creative people.

3. Listen to it. Figure out what it’s trying to tell you. Write every single day. Do Morning Pages. Listen to your intuition. When you get a bad feeling, act upon it.

4. Understand it. Learn how you learn. Learn how you think. Take several personality, learning style and action style assessments. Clarify your philosophies and policies.

5. Relax it. Meditate daily. Oxygen = Wonderful. Flood it with positive affirmations. Do breathing exercises. Take breaks every 50 minutes.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How do you make your mind your friend?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Share your best techniques here!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag

Are you a friend of The Nametag Network?

Read more blogs!
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23 (more) ways to speed up your learning curve

It doesn’t matter how young you are.

It doesn’t matter how inexperienced you are.

You can still learn a LOT at a young age.

Because, as Indiana Jones said, “It’s not the years; it’s the mileage.”

If you want to rack up your “Melon Mileage,” consider these 23 ideas. I’ve been living and working by them for years:

1. Read lots of books. Highlight, underline, take notes and annotate. When you’re done, recopy those notes onto a Word file. Then save them in a folder called “Book Notes.” Refer back to them regularly. And never loan those books to anybody. Start with one book per week.

2. Google everything. Ideas, people, YOURSELF, information, companies, competitors, trends and the like. Do it daily.

3. Ask smart people smart questions. In person, via email, online and ESPECIALLY when you’re in the audience during a speech. Have a handful of smart, open-ended toughies ready to go for any occasion. My favorite example: “What was the biggest mistake you made in your first year of business?”

4. Take notes. Listen closely to (and write down) those smart people’s answers. Keep those ideas in a separate folder called “People Notes.” Refer back to them regularly.

5. Screw up. Big time and small time. Keep a running list called, “Things I’ll Never Do Again.” Consider partnering up for this exercise. Regularly share your list with a safe, accountable person.
6. Daily appointments with yourself. Take this morning time for reflection, journaling, meditation and thinking. This quiet time will help you listen to your intuition, which will enable you to learn more about yourself. Do it for at least 15 minutes, and do it ever-single-day.

7. Be uncomfortable. Understand, step out of, expand and LOVE your comfort zone. Daily. Because you can’t learn when you’re comfortable. Also, ask yourself, “What three situations make me the most uncomfortable?” Make it your goal to intentionally involve yourself in ONE of those situations over the next 30 days. (As long as it’s safe, legal and appropriate.)

8. WRITE. Chronicle, journal, blog, diary, (whatever … just WRITE) your thoughts, experiences, feelings, emotions, philosophies and concerns. Daily.
9. Just do stuff. Don’t talk about it. Don’t plan. Don’t take lessons. Just go. The best way to learn how to do something is to DO that something. Action is eloquence.

10. Make lots of lists. Best creativity tool EVER.

11. Eclectic education. Once a month, go to Borders. Buy a cup of coffee or a brownie. Spend an hour or two reading every magazine on the rack. Especially ones you wouldn’t normally read, i.e., Tiger Beat.

12. Hang with super smart, cool and creative people. Ask yourself, “How smart are the five people I spend the most time with?”

13. Find out where you suck. Because that’s the only way you’re going to get better.
14. Learn how you learn. Visual? Aural? Kinesthetic? Take a personality assessment if you have to. Anything to identify your learning style. This will help you better educate yourself in the future.

15. Mentors. Three types. Directly, through an official program like SCORE. Casual, with a colleague, friend or advisor. And indirectly, via books, audiotapes and online content. Mentors are GOLD. And don’t forget to take lots of notes!

16. Motivate your melon. How many books on creativity did you read last month? How many courses in creativity did you take last year? Train your brain. Daily.

17. Grill yourself. Pretend you’re on an interview. Ask yourself tricky questions like, “Who can hurt me the most?” and “If everybody did exactly what I said, what would the world look like?” REMEMBER: questions are the basis of all learning.
18. Bedtime Brain Boosting. Keep a stack of index cards and a Sharpie next to your bed. Every night before you hit the hay, think of ONE lesson you learned that day. Jot down a few words on the card. Keep them in a pile. Then, once a month, lie in bed with all your lesson cards. Take a few minutes to review everything you’ve learned.

19. Quotations. Any time you hear a great quotation, movie line, proverb, psalm or old saying, write it down. Keep a running list called “Quotations” and file it in a folder next to your “Book Notes” and “People Notes.”

20. Teach. Other that writing, teaching is probably the best way to learn. Share your notes, ideas and lessons learned with others. When you pass your wisdom on, you learn it better yourself. Teach via writing, blogging, speaking, talking or mentoring.

21. Talk. Conversations are laboratories. People are libraries. So, exponentially increate your activity level. Especially with diverse individuals. And maintain an expectation that you will learn at least ONE thing from every person you encounter.

22. Unlearn. Make a list of ten childhood assumptions taught by your parents, teachers and faith leaders … that ended up being totally bogus. Use affirmations and self-talk to reprogram yourself. REMEMBER: part of learning is also UN-learning.

23. Extract. Lessons from others, that is. For example, any time someone tells a story, follow up by asking, “So, what lessons did you learn from that experience?”

Now.

You probably noticed a few commonalities among the items on that list.

Namely, “writing” and “daily.”

Guilty.

That’s because writing is the basis of all wealth. (Gitomer)

And that’s because you can’t change your life until you change something you do daily. (Maxwell)

SO REMEMBER:

It doesn’t matter how young you are.
It doesn’t matter how inexperienced you are.

All that matters is that you’re willing to learn.

And if you follow even a handful of these suggestions, in no time you’ll start hearing people say, “How did you learn so much at such a young age?”

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How did YOU learn so much?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Share your list of secrets here!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag

Are you a friend of The Nametag Network?

Read more blogs!
Rent Scott’s Brain!
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Make a name for yourself here…

Focus, focus, focus, focus, focus!

You’re self-employed.
You work out of your living room.
You have no boss, no staff and no rules.

How the heck are you supposed to stay focused?

HERE’S A HINT: start mentally.

Every single morning, take between 15-60 minutes for a “Daily Appointment with Yourself.”

Read, write, relax, breathe, meditate, recite affirmations, and review your goals.

Flood your mind with creative, nurturing thoughts and images that will tap into your intuition and lay a foundation of positivity and focus for the rest of the day.

HERE’S ANOTHER HINT: continue physically.

Regular exercise (at least thirty minutes EVERY day) is crucial for mental focus. The release of endorphins saturates your mind and body with the right thoughts.

What’s more, sweating cleanses your mind and body of the wrong thoughts. Rhythmic exercise, like biking, running and swimming are ideal for focus.

However, if you don’t have much time or energy, even a ten-minute walk around the neighborhood will do the trick.

HERE’S YOUR FINAL HINT: reinforce visually.

Ever heard the phrase, “If these walls could talk”?

Well, here’s the good news: your walls DO talk!

If you allow them, that is.

A great technique for maintaining focus is to post motivational, focus driven visuals to keep you on point. Try writing a few of these questions on sticky notes or whiteboards:

1. Is what you’re doing RIGHT NOW consistent with your #1 goal?
2. What did you write today?
3. Is what you’re working on RIGHT NOW solving you major problem?

REMEMBER: focus is challenging. Especially when there’s nobody but yourself to keep you accountable!

Still, there’s no one-way to maintain focus. Use your own combination of these techniques with your own learning and working style to develop a system that works for you.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What helps you focus?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Share your three best focusing techniques here!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag

Are you a friend of The Nametag Network?

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Deliver __________ value.

Deliver ADDITIONAL value.
Because it exceeds customers’ expectations.

Deliver BUZZ-WORTHY value.
Because people who get talked about get business.

Deliver CONSISTENT value.
Because consistency is far better than rare moments of greatness.

Deliver DAILY value.
Because nobody wants to read a newspaper (or a website) that’s two years old.

Deliver DOWNLOADABLE value.
Because customers need to be able to take you with them.

Deliver UNEXPECTED value.
Because the most effective way to capture someone’s attention is to b-r-e-a-k her patterns.

Deliver FOCUSED value.
Because niches = riches.

Deliver LOCAL value.
Because everybody loves a homeboy.

Deliver MAXIMUM value.
Because … well, just because.

Deliver ONLINE value.
Because if you don’t exist on the Internet, you don’t exist.

Deliver PREDICTABLE value.
Because predictability creates familiarity, which creates trust.

Deliver SOLID value.
Because content is king.

Deliver SPECIFIC value.
Because credibility comes from specificity.

Deliver UNARGUABLE value.
Because customers can’t object to it.

Deliver UNFORGETTABLE value.
Because being “memorable” isn’t enough.

Deliver UNIQUE value.
Because being “different” merely means to stand out, while being “unique” means to be THE-ONLY-ONE.

Deliver UNMATCHED value.
Because the best way to eliminate the competition is to (not) have any.

Deliver WEEKLY value.
Because branding is about repeated impressions.

Deliver WORLD-CLASS value.
Because, as Seth Godin says, being average is for losers. Be exceptional or quit.

Deliver WRITTEN value.
Because writing is the basis of all wealth.
LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What types of value do you deliver?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Consider this post a checklist. Ask yourself how well you deliver each of these types of value.

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag

Are you a friend of The Nametag Network?

Read more blogs!
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Be UN-

Be UN avoidable.
So customers can’t (not) take a picture of your store.
So customers can’t (not) walk into your store.

Be UN competable.
So you’re the only one who does what you do.
So you’re not only ON your customer’s list, you ARE your customer’s list.

Be UN confusable.
So you’re a category of one.
So you’re the origin, not the echo.

Be UN defeatable.
So you keep showing up.
So you prove your persistence.

Be UN disputable.
So you become THEE, not A.
So you become the obvious choice.

Be UN forgettable.
So your service goes beyond just being “memorable.”
So you stay in customers’ minds forever.

Be UN ique.
So you’re not just “different.”
So you’re somebody who reminds everybody of nobody else.

Be UN predictable.
So you break customers’ patterns.
So you gain customers’ attention.

Be UN stealable.
So if somebody tried to copy you or steal your material, they would fail.
So if somebody tried to copy you or steal your material, people would know.

Be UN stoppable.
So you’re not just another One Hit Wonder.
So you’re constantly expanding your body of work and reinforcing your legacy.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What’s your UN-?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Make a list of as many UN’s as you can for your business.

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag

Are you a friend of The Nametag Network?

Read more blogs!
Rent Scott’s Brain!
Download articles and ebooks!
Watch training videos on NametagTV!

Make a name for yourself here…

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