Thankfulness and Resolutions

As we near this time of year, our thoughts are often drawn to the things we have to be thankful for and the commitments we will make to ourselves for the upcoming year.

At least that is the way my thoughts have been turning lately, and I’m seeing those themes weaving through the status reports, blog posts and newsletter messages that come my way from friends and followers.

Recently I had a reason to ponder those two themes even more deeply – because a person whose presence in my life has been a huge blessing to me celebrated his 50^th birthday last week. Or as he put it – Gill v. 5.0 was launched.

If you’ve read my posts you’ve “met” Gill here. Gill Wagner is the founder of Yellow-Tie International, an association for people who want to go beyond networking and become true connectors in their business community. He is the founder of Honest Selling, a sales training organization dedicated to eradicating ‘sales drip” behavior from the profession of selling. Most importantly, he is a generous and insightful connector.

I could give you pages and pages on why Gill and Yellow-Tie are on my “Things I am Thankful For” list. But let me sum it up this way: I am thankful for Gill because he gives me a shining example of what is means to “give because it is who you are, it is what you do.” No wonder The Go-Giver spoke to him the way it did – those words from the book (by Bob Burg and John David Mann) describe him perfectly. He doesn’t keep score, he doesn’t hold anything back; he only asks “how can I serve?”

A perfect example is what Gill has dubbed a “be useful meeting.” Two or more people meet for no reason except to see how they can serve each other with no one writing a check. I don’t know how many of these meetings Gill has taken or how many connections have come from them or how much business has been produced because of them. But I do know that connections are always formed out of those meetings because Gill is the consummate connector.

I’ve had many reasons to be thankful for Gill’s “be useful” meetings. I’ve been on the receiving end of many introductions and referrals from those meetings. I know that there are many people throughout the United States and beyond that can say the same.

As I ponder the fast approaching 2010 and the launch of my new brand (more on that next month) it puts me in the mind of New Year’s Resolutions. Which brings me to the commitment I will make to myself. It is this; that I will plan at LEAST one “be useful meeting” of my own every single month for 2010.

If you want to celebrate the launch of “Gill v 5.0” with him have your own “be useful meeting” and let him know how it went.

You don’t need to put a ribbon on it, just email him at gwagner@honestselling.com or reach out to him online.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/honestselling

Facebook: http://facebook.com.gill.e.wagner

Linked In: http://linkedin.com/in/honestselling

And, if you want to help me meet MY commitment you can volunteer to schedule for one of my "be useful meetings" in 2010 or recommend someone for me to meet. No need to keep it local - with technology today meetings can happen through any medium. Just sent me an email at Dixie@PureSynchrony.com connect with me online and let me know why you think we can "be useful" to each other.

twitter: http://twitter.com/DixieDynamite

Facebook: http://facebook.com/DixieDynamite

Linked In: http://linkedin.com/in/dixiegillaspie

Here's hoping you had a fantastic Thanksgiving and that your "Things to be Thankful For" list keeps growing. You are all on mine!

Does Passion Create Joy or Suffering? Yes It Does!

"Passion makes the old medicine new:
Passion lops off the bough of weariness.
Passion is the elixir that renews:
How can there be weariness
when passion is present?
Oh, don't sigh heavily from fatigue:
seek passion, seek passion, seek passion!"
- Rumi


How many times have you heard an elevator speech that started “I’m passionate about helping…?”

Or been told “do what you are passionate about and the money will follow?”

Your passions say a lot about you – it’s why I am often asked during interviews “So, Dixie, what are you passionate about?” (Watch David Siteman Garland ask me that exact question on The Rise to the Top and you won’t need to read the rest of this post.)

It’s a good question.

One which often leaves us wondering “what AM I passionate about?”

Because we know it is true – when we are connected to our passion we are fired up, busting through every barrier, feet barely touching the ground.

When we are fulfilling our passion we believe in ourselves, we feel limitless and optimistic about what we can make of our future.

A person who is living an example of their core passion attracts other people. Their energy attracts other energy (we call this multiplier affect “synergy”.) That is why when I coach clients on creating connections we start with tapping into this energy source.

Because we cannot tap into that wellspring of energy unless we have access to its source.

Often the question I hear people asking themselves and each other is actually “what are you passionate about DOING?”

The word “passion” is derived from the Latin “pati” meaning “to suffer.” (Ironically, that is also the source of the word “patient” an adjective that, for me, IS the equivalent of suffering.) Which is why, if you read old classic romances you see phrases like “he suffered from a deep and enduring passion.”

So is suffering required? I thought passion was “the elixir that renews.” Well if you are willing to let your passion simmer on a back burner while you do nothing, you will, indeed, suffer.

So is action the answer then? Just do it? But what if you take action and fail? Isn’t that just another kind of suffering?

How do you achieve that powerful “nothing can stop me now” kind of feeling that we associate with doing what you are passionate about doing and being rewarded for doing it?

Understand your passion is not for a thing, it isn’t for an activity, it is for an OUTCOME. Your passion lifts you far above the ground when you achieve an outcome that brings you joy. You may have to do things you don’t even enjoy, let alone feel passionate about. You may have to take some risks, and even get back up after a few falls.

The joy of living your passion comes from seeing the result of putting action to your emotion.

Guess what? Results are what we get paid for as well. Sure enough, when you FULFILL your passion the money does follow.

Please, seek passion. Match your action to your emotion. Let your energy attract people who want to work with you. Achieve outcomes that add value to the lives of others. You won’t need to seek money, you will only need to accept it when it finds you.

The Go-Giver Five Laws - It takes the entire spectrum

Never say never - it finally happened! Everyone who knows me knows I dread getting in front of a camera. It wasn't quite a phobia but a close approximation.

Then I got inspired by the words of a 19 year old entrepreneur whose entry for the Go-Giver tour contest was so authentic, so natural and so dead on that I just had to respond in kind. Watch Michael W. Montgomery's video contest entry and read the comments posted, you'll see what I mean.

Here is my first video, with thanks for the inspiration to Michale Montgomery and authors Bob Burg and John David Mann.




The comments following the post of Michael's video included the question "what law in The Go-Giver can you relate to?"

Michael's response was "Right now I think I relate best with either Value or Authenticity... I'd like to level it out over the whole spectrum of laws but it may take some time."

There is the real secret to stratospheric success - "the whole spectrum" and "it may take some time." See it doesn't take time for the Go-Giver laws to work, but they work only when we work them. So the real question is "how long will it take you to start applying ALL FIVE laws?"

See business success is usually measured by what you GET. Your income, your material wealth, the company's profit, etc... We measure the outcome but we must focus on what we put into achieving the outcome. As Bob Burg says, "shift the focus from getting to giving."

I recapped in the video above some of the highlights from each of the laws that have been the most transformational for me and for my clients.

If you want to know the laws get the book or visit The Go-Giver website. What I'm giving here are just a few of the lessons I've latched onto after a year of coaching the laws.

Law #1 - Ernesto says "Will it make money is not a bad question. It's just a bad FIRST question." In fact, he goes on to say, if the first question you ask is "will it serve" and you can find a way to give a resounding YES as an answer you can't help but make money.

Law #2 - Nicole shares with Joe how the concept she created for a classroom of kids has been translated into a thriving business that now shares that concept with thousands of kids and Joe realizes that it isn't JUST about value - it is also about impact. How many people can you serve and how much impact can you have on those people? Nicole reminds us that this law means that there is no limit on your income because if you are adding significant value you can always find more people to serve.

Law #3 - Sam shares his discovery of how to create an army of Personal Walking Ambassadors. This is a more powerful sales force than you could ever hire or afford to pay.

Law #4 - Deborah tells her audience that even after learning everything there was to know about real estate and about selling she was still desperate and broke. It was only after learning how to share the gift of herself and realizing that 10% of success is achieved through skills and knowledge and 90% is achieved through relationships that she reached stratospheric success. It isn't just about BEING authentic, it is mostly about the willingness to contribute that authentic self to every relationship you make.

Law #5 - Finally Joe meets the "secret guest" and learns the power of breathing in. He realizes that giving is the equivalent of breathing out and that it is not possible to only breathe out and live - you must also breathe in. Further, you can't select the particles of air you take into your lungs, you take every breathe in faith that it will include the oxygen you need to sustain life and create health.

This, then is the secret as shared by a 19 year old entrepreneur. Work toward "leveling out across the entire spectrum" and you can't help but reach stratospheric success.

Networking In My PJs

How social media is drawing like minds together at all hours of the day or night

Tonight I got to hear a friend’s voice for the first time! I couldn’t hold back a delighted chuckle when I heard a voice say “This is Heather O in North Carolina.” I knew her face, and I can honestly say I knew her philosophy and her spirit, but I’d never heard her speak.

I had dialed into a conference call featuring four entrepreneurs who are organizing The Go-Giver Tour and were holding the call to discuss how the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success could be applied using social media. I knew my friend was dialed into the call as well, but I didn’t expect to actually hear her.

The reason for my being on the call, the thing that brought Heather and I together and the way I knew that she was listening too; twitter. That’s right, twitter. The mysterious, who-cares-what-everyone-else-is-doing, 140 characters or less, micro-blogging phenomenon, twitter.

Heather and I “met” on twitter because we shared an interest in The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann. Turns out we’ve both been teaching and coaching on how to apply the laws. We had some terrific conversations – yes conversations can take place on twitter – and I watched for her posts with interest because they never failed to inspire, motivate, challenge or lead me to more great people to follow.

Then came the Go-Giver Tour. An exercise in applying the five laws, it started with four guys who didn’t know each other until they connected – you guessed it – on twitter. I saw their posts, was intrigued and finally impressed and reached out to connect in person. I’ll be helping them put together a live event in St. Louis when their tour lands them here on April 22^nd.

The Go-Giver Tour’s ultimate destination is Orlando for the Extreme Business Makeover Event hosted by my friends Bob Burg and Thom Scott who, along with seven other amazing speakers like Jon Gordon, Libby Gill, Josh Hinds and Scott Stratten, will be presenting a three day, idea and action packed seminar designed to help entrepreneurs uncover hidden assets, overcome weaknesses and create an action plan. Guess where they are promoting it? That’s right, twitter.

At this point you’re probably going to answer “twitter” to any question I ask, right?

Well, guess where I’ll be meeting the organizers of The Go-Giver Tour; Gilbert Melott, Bradley Will, Brian Tomkins and Gabe Strom. No, not twitter. The answer is here in St. Louis for a real, live, in person meet up to celebrate their tour and the young entrepreneurs who have won the opportunity to travel with them, learn from them and attend the Extreme Business Makeover Event (including some private time with author, Bob Burg.)

Guess where I’ll be connecting with Heather next? No, not twitter. We have a phone call scheduled to discuss teaming up on some Go-Giver coaching teleseminars. Great value indeed.

Guess where I’ll be connecting with you next. You tell me! I’ll look for you on twitter, and on Facebook and on Linked In because I LIKE networking in my PJs with a cat on my lap and a puppy on my feet. But I also like networking at coffee shops, conferences, offices and anywhere else people of like minds congregate.

My motto and what I teach my clients; “Your network is your safety net and your fishing net. It will save your life and feed you for life if you build it well and treat it right.”

How are you expanding your net?

How are you strengthening your net?

3X3X3 = Infinite Success

Want to know the THREE aspects of building a net and THREE activities on each of the THREE top networking sites that you can use to accomplish each one? Send me an email at Dixie@PureSynchrony.com and I’ll send it to you for FREE.

Three Reasons I'm a Networking Diehard

When two of your good buddies offer you the same personal challenge in one day it’s time to make sure you are clear with yourself about the answer.

Because sometimes your unconscious mind uses your good buddies to get your attention.

Adam Kreitman asked me today if I was riding the “social networking spiral” and since he’s one of my top go to people for all things on line I paid attention. Seems he’s seen a lot of people get caught up in playing around on social networking sites without having a purpose in what they do and think they are networking. Must be where the terms “twitterholics” and “FaceBook fanatics” come from. Adam has written an amusing blogpost on social networking addictions - if you think you might be suffering from one of the "holics" or "fanatics" syndromes go read it now!

Later I got a FaceBook email from another good buddy (please tell me you appreciate the irony here) who wanted to know if the networking events I attend actually produce anything or if it’s mainly a chance to talk to peers and preach to the choir.

Granted, I spend several hours a week networking, combining live events with online forums and personal meetings with social networking sites' communication tools. I’m certifiably committed to the people who make up my various networking circles and I add new relationships to those circles almost daily. So it seemed like a worthwhile exercise to try to figure out exactly what I accomplish with this time other than having a darn good time and calling it work.

Diehard Rationale #1

Networking let’s me share fellowship with my peers – and I need that.

Maybe there are people who don’t need the fellowship and camaraderie and sense of belonging that a great peer group can inspire – I’m not one of them. I blossom when I’m surrounded by a group of people who are my personal cheerleaders one minute and my greatest heroes the next.

Diehard Rationale #2

Networking provides inspiration and stimulation – and I need that.

I want to see change in the world because of what I do but I don’t want to do it by myself, so I network. I’m not a person who creates in isolation. I need pebbles thrown in my pool for things to ripple. Sometimes I need rocks or even boulders because I need BIG ripples. My networking circles are filled with idea people, philosophers and revolutionaries, radical thinkers and powerful doers. Being in their presence, in real space or cyberspace, fuels my fire to be all of those things when I want to be or need to be.

Diehard Rationale #3

Networking provides endless opportunities to add value and expand my reach – and who doesn’t need that?

According to author and historical economy buff, Bob Burg, all wealth is created out of the first two laws in The Go-Giver. (Which doesn’t mean you should ignore the other three because you can create wealth with laws one and two and still be perfectly miserable.) Law #1 says “Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.” So the opportunity to add value to others increases my worth, that seems like a good thing. And Law #2 says “Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.” Then yes, expanding my reach seems like a worthy endeavor as well.

Which doesn’t mean that I never get that sinking suspicion that I am feeding a slot machine just to see if I can get back a little change. But then I take stock of the jackpots I’ve hit in my career and they can all be traced to a networking activity.

In the last five years I’ve only worked with two clients who did not come to me as a result of networking. Referrals have been from networking connections and from clients who were originally referred by networking connections.

I have a circle of advisors and mentors that give me unbelievable guidance every day – guess how I met them - networking. I have a small army of walking personal ambassadors (another of Bob Burg’s phrases that I love) – guess how they found me - networking. The opportunity to connect with authors Bob Burg and John David Mann as well as create coaching programs based on The Go-Giver and Endless Referrals - networking. The introduction to online marketing expert Bob Sommers of Recognized Expert.com, networking. The honor of serving as President of networking association, Yellow-Tie International, board of directors - well duh - networking.

That’s right, nearly all of the value in my business today came to me through networking. So I think I’ll keep slipping those quarters into the slot.

What are you a diehard about?

What’s your rationale? Can you give me three good reasons why you do what you do?

How many quarters have you put in the slot? What’s your investment in this activity?

Haven’t found a strong enough rationale to build and maintain a network? Send me an email at dixie@PureSynchrony.com and I’ll send you some questions about your business that will help you find the answers about networking.