Have you ever had a feeling that you should call someone or stop and see someone?

What did you do? Did you act on the feeling? Did you suppress it?

I must admit, this is not an original idea, which most are not.This idea came from my friend Karen Flasher who I know from my daughter Libby, my wife and now through BNI. She is in my weekly BNI Chapter, the Achievers Network. Karen give our whole chapter this idea right before Christmas and it really hit me how important the concept is and can be!

As I was writing this e-mail, I asked Cathy (my wife) how Libby met Gracie, Karen’s daughter… and it was, ironically, in response to a Tug Cathy had for Libby to play with Gracie.

In my studies of NLP, there is a presupposition that says “The messenger never rests until the  message is received” Which roughly means it’s important to pay attention to a communication or symptom… also known as a Tug!

So the next time you’re thinking about calling, sending a card or note or just stopping by to see a client or old friend… do it! You’ll be pleasantly surprised how it plays out for you and the results you realize!

On the last Friday morning of the year, 2011 that is, My son John, my good friend Neil Richmund and his son Jaxon and I took a trip to the Eiteljorg Museum. John is fascinated with Native Americans and the Eiteljorg is the place to go around here to learn more about them. As a bonus, the Jingle Rails train layout was there too and it was really impressive.

It’s amazing what we can do when we think we can!

As we walked through the museum seeing and reading about the American Indian, I noticed a small sculpture in a display case. (I took a quick photo and it’s to the right here…) The sculpture was of a man sitting with a little figure on each shoulder, bent over as if to whisper in each of his ears. The title of the sculpture was “Who are you going to listen too?”

You and I both have those same little figures on our shoulders. One and unfortunately the one we listen to least tells us all the things we are capable of doing. The other and more unfortunately the one we listen to the most,  tells us all we cannot do. That’s the voice (the one right now that’s saying, “what voice, I don’t have a voice…) that sews the seeds of doubt, insecurity, low self confidence and makes all of us far less than we otherwise could be.

It’s true our mind is powerful and it’s also true that we have a choice! Which voice will you listen to this first week of a new year? I challenge you to choose to listen to that voice that looks to possibility and potential. Just tell the other voice to (literally tell it to) “Get off my back!”

A sure formula for success is employ your God given abilities and be consistent in listening to the little voice that thinks you can. If you choose to do that, I am confident you will have a spectacular 2012! (pronounced Twenty-Twelve!)

Suivez-moi doesn’t really mean “so much” read on to find it’s true meaning…

When I went from personal production to a leadership position several years ago I had an experience that I wanted to pass along to those I worked with in my new position. You see there was a time as a multi-line insurance agent that I really didn’t like my job. But it wasn’t my job I didn’t like it was the people in my office. The irony was, I was the one who hired them and I was also the one who trained them. I had abdicated too much authority!

I hired a consultant named Tim Hosey from Bloomington Indiana and I will forever be in his debt. Tim taught me much about people and about how to take control back from my team so I was the leader. I offered them a chance to have a new career and I hired a brand new team. That’s where the phrase suivez-moi comes into play. It’s French and it means follow me. One of the examples Tim used to teach me was that in World War 1, French lieutenants would yell suivez-moi to their men as they blew their whistle with revolver pulled and lead a charge up and over the trench line toward the enemy. I needed to lead with both my outlook and my actions. That’s been almost twenty years ago and I’ll never forget that powerful two word phrase and the image it still creates in my mind.

Are you leading by both your attitude and your actions or have you abdicated too much? Both are relatively easy to correct… just ask me sometime!

We all have many handles that we use from day to day and sometimes to our peril other times to our benfit. Funny thing though it’s not the handle that gets to us, it’s the baggage! You can’t run or hide from it… you have it!

Since we were children, we have learned things through our experiences. Things to do and certainly things not to do. I once heard Tony Robbins share a concept explaining how we get our beliefs and it really resonated with me. Let me share his concept with you… Think about your beliefs as the top of a table and the legs of the table would be your experiences. Experiences create beliefs! A certain belief may not be what is actual or real… but if it was created based on experiences, it’s very real to that person.

So where does this “Handle” I am talking about come in to play. Well, the “Handle” is a word and the baggage would be all meanings you or another has assigned to that word. As an example, when someone says they want a job that’s “Challenging” we have no idea what challenging means to that person. Most times we don’t need to know, that’s one of the things I love about NLP, you don’t need all the history of a situation to make a change. The person using the word Challenging has a very clear image, feeling or sound associated with that word. It’s how they’ll know they have it in a job.

The question to ask is, “How would I know what challenging is to you?” Sit back and listen, watch or feel the baggage be exposed.

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Today while on a call with my good friend Dr. Jacquie Calder of Behavioral Science Research Press, or BSRP for short, http://www.salescallreluctance.com/, they are the sales call reluctance people, about a sales call reluctance issue she said to me… “You’re no dummy Jack! You’re not some kind of num-nut.” Well that woke me up!

You see for years, literally years, I have been struggling with Follow-up and follow through. I have an entire book of reasons and excuses why I struggle… but none the less, I still struggle. I have tried to hire a Virtual Assistant ((VA)but it was much like the proverbial dancing with a pig… The VA got frustrated and I got dirty. You guessed it, it didn’t work.

Truth be told, I am not organized enough to off-load work on to a VA. I am pretty good in my work, actually I am really good at what I do! I know too that if I were better organized and had better follow through and follow up habits, patterns, behaviors, I would be even better and have even more clients.

It’s my intent to keep you updated on my progress with conquering this gremlin inside me that is most definitely holding me back. “Why confess in such a public way?”, you might ask… My answer is simple… I need your help, ideas, techniques, strategies and beliefs to help me beat this beast!

Jacquie and I formed a little accountability agreement and it’s this… We’ll use the AM or mornings to do “New Business/New Money” prospecting activities. We’ll use the PM or afternoons to do “Keeping Current Business” prospecting and relationship building things and we won’t do any “Administrivia” stuff until after 4:00 in the afternoon.

Most times individuals who don’t take it to the next level or even achieve their business goals it’s because they are hindered by just one thing. Whether you know what it is but don’t know how to fix it or you’re not sure what it might be… our “Biggest Hurdle Guarantee” is perfect for you.

You give me the “one thing” that is holding you back from achieving your business success or together, we’ll figure it out, and within 6 weeks of working with me, we will have a personalized blueprint, a timeline and all the tactics identified to overcome this issue. If I don’t make a difference for you in that 6 weeks, I will work for free until I do. What do you have to lose?

I can make this bold guarantee because I am confident you will benefit from our working together and see it as a great business investment. Why are you waiting? Give us a call today!

Many business owners who are really good at doing what their business does and struggle to do the business, let me explain. Many have plenty of reasons why they do what they do and most have convinced everyone around them of this story. Their customers can see, feel and hear what’s happening and many find new places to do business.

Have you ever noticed most guys try to match their socks to some other item of clothing their wearing? Many guys try to match their socks with their pants, a shirt, a jacket/sportcoat or tie. I have noticed guys with tan pants and tan socks. Guys with olive-green colored pants and olive-green colored socks. I started noticing how guys choose their socks or clothing. I have discovered that when a gentleman wants to “dress to the nines,” he considers which pair of socks he will wear with his clothing selection. Many times he chooses his favorite pair socks and then coordinates the rest of his clothing with the favorite socks.

Sometimes the things that happen to us aren’t the best. What do you do? Here’s an idea that might help change the way you remember a situation for the better.