In a previous post, I discussed Pareto's Law, the 80/20 Rule. And often, as was this case with this post, the comments come back like this:
"I *know* this. It's just hard to put into practice."
So I wanted to take a closer look at Income Producing Activities for Direct Sellers, as I research your most burning questions for an upcoming free teleclass for my subscribers.
Many direct sellers don't even know what their income producing activities (IPA) really are. Simply defined, IPA are any activities that directly generate income for you.
Most consultants think of this as booking, selling and recruiting. Most consultants would be wrong.
Let's look more closely at each of these activities and see if they meet our simple definition.
Booking parties is time-consuming. Even at the show, we're dropping 3-10 booking seeds to get 3-4 shows added to our calendar. When we look at industry statistics, 20% of your shows will cancel or reschedule. But in reality, it's not the booking that generates the income. Any consultant who's failed to follow up with a hostess, or forgotten to mail the invitations, or didn't confirm the booking has invariably lost a show (or had a mostly unprofitable one). Therefore it's not the act of BOOKING the party that produces the income, but rather hostess coaching and follow up that produce the income.
Dozens of industry trainers will offer you host coaching programs. The best one I've ever seen - and use myself, is Deb Bixler's Create a Cash Flow Show - which virtually guarantees you'll have a $1,000 show every time you do a party. And yes, out of full disclosure, that's my affiliate link. It give me credit for referring you to her website. I only recommend products I use and love. Deb's is one of the best on the market in terms of content and delivery. Her no-nonsense, build it like a real business approach is in complete alignment with the way I run my business, and she's a trainer of integrity.
So booking is NOT an income producing activity, per se. Hostess Coaching is. And often, this is the area in which we suffer most.
Selling is quite obviously an IPA, since the result of selling is that you earn income. Whether you're doing custmer care follow-up, reorder calls, or the show itself, I think that IPA is fairly self-explanatory.
Recruiting can be an IPA, but you need to check your company rule book. In nearly all direct selling companies, no one is paid for recruiting someone, but rather, is paid when that recruit meets a performance goal - selling a certain amount, getting "qualified" or some other performance based measurement.
In fact, many companies have strict rules AGAINST compensating a person for adding recruits to their team to avoid being considered a "pyramid/ponzi scheme". Ponzi was notorious for paying people in the pyramid a portion of the recruiting fee and there was no real product to sell - which ultimately meant the pyramid would crumble when people stopped signing up. The DSA and the federal government have some pretty strict rules about this.
So recruiting in and of itself is not an income producing activity, rather the income is produced based on team performance. But how do you encourage consultants to perform? Coaching. Thus COACHING your team is the income producing activity.
So aside from the actual sales process, the bulk of your income is derived fom your coaching activities - either with your hostess or with your team.
But where are we told to spent the bulk of your time? Booking, Selling and Recruiting.
Don't get me wrong, these are important activities, but when it comes to the 80/20 rule, Booking and Recruiting (also known as prospecting) shouldn't take more than 20% of your business time (they likely take up 80% of your time now). The remaining 80% of your business time should be focused on actual Income Producing Activities: SELLING and COACHING your hostesss and teams.
Yet this is the very complaint I hear over and over again: I don't have the TIME. Thus the need to streamline, automate, delegate and eliminate activities that don't fall into the most productive parts of our business.
Freeing yourself to focus on IPA isn't an overnight task. It takes time, but is critical to the overall success of your business. Top Direct Sales Leaders don't try to do it all themselves. Neither should you. Begin today by looking at what you could delegate, or things you know you're not good at that you could have someone else handle for you.
Take time to develop the list. Eventually, put a plan in place to start delegating. You'll free up your time to focus on making more money, which will eventually turn into freeing up more time because you won't need to work so much!
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Want more help understanding IPA and how to apply it to your business? Use this form to Ask Lisa your questions for an upcoming free teleclass about Income Producing Activities for Direct Sellers. The only certified Direct Sales Marketing Coach in the WORLD, Lisa Robbin Young can help demystify the business side of running your direct sales business. Visit her free online community for direct sellers today.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Another Sales Tip from Vilfredo Pareto
Vilfredo Pareto, that fabulous Italian Sconomist and educator I spoke of in a previous post, also made some astute observations about society beyond the 80/20 rule.
For example, he was one of the first to recognize that people assess and decide with their emotions (heart) and rationalize with their logic.
Which basically explains why we go after things we want (like a million dollar palace or a shiny new car) and ignore the things we need (like a clean home or 6 months' living expenses in our savings account).
Humans are in a constant state of assessment. We're constantly looking at what we want, versus what we truly need, and weighing the risks of putting off the need to have the want.
If we think the risk of losing the want outweighs the risk of putting off the need, we put off the need.
However, if we feel that it's too risky to give up the need, we forego the want instead.
Back in elementary school, my teacher talked about opportunity costs: the idea that every choice comes with a sacrifce - usually time, energy, or money - or a combination of all three.
In order to attain item A, we may have to give up on item B - or at least delay it a while.
Opportunity costs are all around us: when we choose to eat the frosty at Wendy's instead of ordering a salad. When we choose to buy the high end MP3 player to keep up with the Joneses, instead of buying the generic MP3 player and saving the difference for the college trust fund.
When we opt to call our hostess the day before the party instead of doing proper hostess coaching. When we don't do the upsell because we think we're "being pushy."
There are costs to every choice we make. Pareto just explained the human mechanism that allows us to make the determination.
So when you're talking with your prospects - whether you're booking, selling, or sharing the business opportunity with them, you need to uncover the wants AND the needs. Because some needs are greatr than others. They're non-negotiable. Other needs are mutable, transient and can meet oppsition when the want is stronger.
Then, simply show your prospect how your solution meets the want AND the need for best success. If you can't do both, always go for whichever is stronger - the want or the need.
It takes practice, but once you get familiar with understanding needs versus wants, you will quickly get a feel for how this works.
Some people call it "finding their pain", but whatever you call it, understand Pareto's discovery and put it to work for you.
People decide with their heart (emotions) and reationalize with their brain (logic). You are most persuasive when you can appeal to both.
For example, he was one of the first to recognize that people assess and decide with their emotions (heart) and rationalize with their logic.
Which basically explains why we go after things we want (like a million dollar palace or a shiny new car) and ignore the things we need (like a clean home or 6 months' living expenses in our savings account).
Humans are in a constant state of assessment. We're constantly looking at what we want, versus what we truly need, and weighing the risks of putting off the need to have the want.
If we think the risk of losing the want outweighs the risk of putting off the need, we put off the need.
However, if we feel that it's too risky to give up the need, we forego the want instead.
Back in elementary school, my teacher talked about opportunity costs: the idea that every choice comes with a sacrifce - usually time, energy, or money - or a combination of all three.
In order to attain item A, we may have to give up on item B - or at least delay it a while.
Opportunity costs are all around us: when we choose to eat the frosty at Wendy's instead of ordering a salad. When we choose to buy the high end MP3 player to keep up with the Joneses, instead of buying the generic MP3 player and saving the difference for the college trust fund.
When we opt to call our hostess the day before the party instead of doing proper hostess coaching. When we don't do the upsell because we think we're "being pushy."
There are costs to every choice we make. Pareto just explained the human mechanism that allows us to make the determination.
So when you're talking with your prospects - whether you're booking, selling, or sharing the business opportunity with them, you need to uncover the wants AND the needs. Because some needs are greatr than others. They're non-negotiable. Other needs are mutable, transient and can meet oppsition when the want is stronger.
Then, simply show your prospect how your solution meets the want AND the need for best success. If you can't do both, always go for whichever is stronger - the want or the need.
It takes practice, but once you get familiar with understanding needs versus wants, you will quickly get a feel for how this works.
Some people call it "finding their pain", but whatever you call it, understand Pareto's discovery and put it to work for you.
People decide with their heart (emotions) and reationalize with their brain (logic). You are most persuasive when you can appeal to both.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Direct Sales Reps Need a Blog
Blogs are a critical component to your online marketing strategy.
Many direct sellers, however are reluctant to get started for a variety of reasons:
* Lack of technical savvy
Direct Sales in general has been slow to embrace technology of any kind, and many long-term consultants are still faxin or calling in orders to their home office. The idea of having complete control over webspace can feel intimidating to someone who may only use their computer for checking email - or may not even OWN a computer at all.
* Lack of confidence
In a sea of home-party presenters, you might be surprised to know how many don't have the confidence to speak in public, and worse yet, don't believe they have the skillset to manage a blog of their own.
* Lack of funds
Many consultants believe that setting up a website or a blog can be costly and even more expensive for ongoing maintenance.
* Lack of time
Direct Sellers are notorous for spinning many platesand keeping many balls in the air. I frequently hear the "I don't have time for that" excuse.
In reality, there are simple, easy solutions to all of these issues. Blogs, like this one, are free to set up, use templates, and are quick to get up and runnig - often in less than 10-15 minutes. In fact, at my upcoming Home Party Solution LIVE Workshop, we'll be holding a race to see who can set up a blog the fastest. The point-and-click techology of Blogger and Wordpress make setting everything up a breeze.
The more important concern is one of content. "I'm not sure what to write about!" I often hear direct sales consultants exclaim.
This isn't a challenge either. Here are four tips to make blog posting a snap:
1. Write about who you are. This does not mean to post incessantly about how you're a consultant with XYZ company. What we DO is not the same as who we ARE. Maybe you're a mom, or a dog-lover, or a baseball fanatic, or a lipstick fiend. Find an uplifting passion - something that brings you joy, and you're sure to build a following of people that also share that joy, that passion, that resonate with you and want to hear more from you regularly.
2. Write about topics related to your product line. This can be a product review, but more importantly, it should reflect an area of expertise that's related to your product line. For example, one of my blogs is about skin care, and while I rarely post directly about my skin care company, I often post articles related to skin care. This is a topic we will cover in greater depth at my live workshop. In fact, we'll actually HELP YOU determine your area of expertise and get your first posts written at the event.
3. Get someone else to write for you. There are tons of online writers willing to share their content with you at no charge. This is content you can freely post on your blog or anywhere else online for that matter. By sharing guest content, you build even more credibility in the eyes of your customers, which can only help your business in the long run. Home Party Solution lists many reliable sources for free content to share on your blog or even in your newsletters!
4. Let someone else pick the topic. From reader surveys to paid endorsements for your blog posts, there are ways to post content related to what other people WANT to have you post. In fact, monetizing your blog is a great way to make it pay you for the time you spend posting.
In all, there are tons of ways to make building your online presence quick and painless. Fear is quite possibly the only thing holding you back at this point. As a Direct Seller, it is imperative that you take advantage of every possible marketing opportunity - including online tools like blogs. With over 15 million consultants in the US alone, online marketing is fast becoming the tool that distinuishes the leaders from the rest of the pack.
Blogs, like Social Media, are only ONE piece of the online marketing puzzle. You need a comprehensive marketing strategy that includes these elements to effectively dominate your marketplace. Blogs, are quick and easy, and no direct seller should be without one.
==========
Have more questions about marketing yourself online? Blogging is just one piece of the online marketing puzzle. Without an online marketing strategy (social media, etc), you may find yourself pulling your hair out and calling it quits before any real progress is made. Lisa Robbin Young is the only Certified Direct Sales Marketing Coach in the WORLD, and can take the guesswork out of using the Internet to promote your direct sales business. Visit the free online community for direct sellers today at http://www.homepartysolution.com
Many direct sellers, however are reluctant to get started for a variety of reasons:
* Lack of technical savvy
Direct Sales in general has been slow to embrace technology of any kind, and many long-term consultants are still faxin or calling in orders to their home office. The idea of having complete control over webspace can feel intimidating to someone who may only use their computer for checking email - or may not even OWN a computer at all.
* Lack of confidence
In a sea of home-party presenters, you might be surprised to know how many don't have the confidence to speak in public, and worse yet, don't believe they have the skillset to manage a blog of their own.
* Lack of funds
Many consultants believe that setting up a website or a blog can be costly and even more expensive for ongoing maintenance.
* Lack of time
Direct Sellers are notorous for spinning many platesand keeping many balls in the air. I frequently hear the "I don't have time for that" excuse.
In reality, there are simple, easy solutions to all of these issues. Blogs, like this one, are free to set up, use templates, and are quick to get up and runnig - often in less than 10-15 minutes. In fact, at my upcoming Home Party Solution LIVE Workshop, we'll be holding a race to see who can set up a blog the fastest. The point-and-click techology of Blogger and Wordpress make setting everything up a breeze.
The more important concern is one of content. "I'm not sure what to write about!" I often hear direct sales consultants exclaim.
This isn't a challenge either. Here are four tips to make blog posting a snap:
1. Write about who you are. This does not mean to post incessantly about how you're a consultant with XYZ company. What we DO is not the same as who we ARE. Maybe you're a mom, or a dog-lover, or a baseball fanatic, or a lipstick fiend. Find an uplifting passion - something that brings you joy, and you're sure to build a following of people that also share that joy, that passion, that resonate with you and want to hear more from you regularly.
2. Write about topics related to your product line. This can be a product review, but more importantly, it should reflect an area of expertise that's related to your product line. For example, one of my blogs is about skin care, and while I rarely post directly about my skin care company, I often post articles related to skin care. This is a topic we will cover in greater depth at my live workshop. In fact, we'll actually HELP YOU determine your area of expertise and get your first posts written at the event.
3. Get someone else to write for you. There are tons of online writers willing to share their content with you at no charge. This is content you can freely post on your blog or anywhere else online for that matter. By sharing guest content, you build even more credibility in the eyes of your customers, which can only help your business in the long run. Home Party Solution lists many reliable sources for free content to share on your blog or even in your newsletters!
4. Let someone else pick the topic. From reader surveys to paid endorsements for your blog posts, there are ways to post content related to what other people WANT to have you post. In fact, monetizing your blog is a great way to make it pay you for the time you spend posting.
In all, there are tons of ways to make building your online presence quick and painless. Fear is quite possibly the only thing holding you back at this point. As a Direct Seller, it is imperative that you take advantage of every possible marketing opportunity - including online tools like blogs. With over 15 million consultants in the US alone, online marketing is fast becoming the tool that distinuishes the leaders from the rest of the pack.
Blogs, like Social Media, are only ONE piece of the online marketing puzzle. You need a comprehensive marketing strategy that includes these elements to effectively dominate your marketplace. Blogs, are quick and easy, and no direct seller should be without one.
==========
Have more questions about marketing yourself online? Blogging is just one piece of the online marketing puzzle. Without an online marketing strategy (social media, etc), you may find yourself pulling your hair out and calling it quits before any real progress is made. Lisa Robbin Young is the only Certified Direct Sales Marketing Coach in the WORLD, and can take the guesswork out of using the Internet to promote your direct sales business. Visit the free online community for direct sellers today at http://www.homepartysolution.com
The Standing Ovation That ALMOST Never Shoulda Happened
I'm big into motivation and self-improvement. Anyone who knows me knows that kaizen - the Japanese word for continuous, incremental improvement - is something I employ fully in my life.
I'm always looking for ways to make my life better. I like to think I also try to find ways to make the lives of people around me better, too.
But sometimes life just sucks. Not for very long - but hey! Everyone has "those days" or "those moments" in their life.
I think I was having some of those moments this week.
And today, thanks to several someones that NEVER met me before, I have this incredible story to share.
Tom Ziglar, yeah, the son of internationally acclaimed speaker Zig Ziglar is on twitter (@tomziglar).
When I saw that Zig was coming to town, I tried to finagle a personal meet & greet through Tom on twitter. He was gracious, and said that it wasn't possible for a meet & greet, but how would I like 4 free VIP tickets to the event?
Um, well, only if you twist my arm a bit.
So the tickets arrived. I took my 12 year old son, and a couple that have been family friends for years - they really wanted to see Dr. Robert Schuller and Zig share their wit and wisdom, so I was able to invite them along on the good graces of a guy who's never met me before.
It was truly an event not to be missed. From a marketing perspective there was MUCH to learn about how to make a nearly free event pay for itself a thousand times over - even after giving away a flat screen TV, a Disney Vacation (which my son nearly won in an on-stage dance-off) and $10,000 cash.
But not in this article. This article is about what happened when an arena of nearly 5,000 people became MY personal fan club for a whole 30 seconds.
Sometime after lunch, one of the speakers, Bob, pulls out a $5 bill and says to one end of the arena, "This $5 bill is on sale for $1 for the next 10 seconds."
Before he can finish the countdown, the guy that won the Disney trip whips out a $1 bill ans swaps him for the $5, much to my kid's chagrin.
He then turns to face another side of the "in-the-round" arena and pull sout a $20 bill. This time, it's on sale for $10, but only for 10 seconds.
I think it was snapped up in 4.
He then turns to our side of the arena, and pulls out a crisp $100 bill. He says, "I know what you're thinking... and I'm not stupid!" He then pockets the $100 bill and proceeds to share his motivational story.
And as we're approaching the middle of his talk he says "who here really needs to be cheered up today?" And, Godly enough (as my friend would say), he picks my hand out of a crowd of people all within spitting distance of the stage. Yes, Tom, we had GREAT seats, to boot.
So he calls me up on the stage. And he invites the entire arena of some nearly 5,000 people to get up on their feet and give me a standing O. "The kind of loud, thunderous applause that makes people outside wonder 'who's the famous person in there they're clapping for?"
And he counted to three.
And what happened next was truly breathtaking.
I froze for about 7 seconds. All I could do was count in my head. Slowly I'm turning, seeing all these people - my kid, my friends, and THUSANDS of other people that don't know me from Joe, on their feet, yelling, screaming, stamping, hooting, hollering, and cheering for me.
Yeah, I started crying. But only a little.
It was a copletely unexpected, very NEEDED moment in my life. One of those defining moments when you know, you're going to look back and say "this changed me, shaped me, made me who I am today."
I was having a poopy week. And yes, it was only Tuesday.
But I try not to compain much, keep my chin up, and keep doin the work I believe God put me here to do. And I do my best to be consistent, because the only alternative is to be less than who I am. I'm not perfect, and don't pretend to be.
But in that moment, when thousands of people were screaming my name, cheering for me, and making me feel like a million bucks, two things happened.
I'll tell you about the other in a minute, but the first thing that happened, was the thought that everyone should be able to feel like this at least once in their life. The fear, the gratitude and the overwhelming sense of being loved, accepted and appreciated for who I was - warts and all - by a room of nearly complete and total strangers was one of the most transformative experiences I could ever have. I'll probably be sharng this story with the great grandkids in my days of senility and "old timer's" when I keep recounting the same stories over and over.
And I wish I could have given every one a small piece of the feeling I'm still carrying with me right now.
But then, Bob came back up on the stage. He put his arm around me, reached into his pocket and pulled out that $100 bill, handed it to me and told me thank-you.
Thanked me for taking his money? Um, sure, no problem, just doing my job, sir!
I cried a little more, gave him a huge hug, which I think knocked his lapel mic, and I went back to my seat, amid continued applause and the people in my section giving me kudos. Yeah, the money was a nice surprise, but I would have gladly given it back to him for another 30 seconds of applause like that.
And as the afternoon continued - and on our way back to the car, people were calling out to me, offering hugs, asking me if I would buy dinner, and just generally acknowledging me. Not because I'm a business coach, or a singer, or a speaker or anything out of the ordinary. But because I was me - and grateful.
Now I could stop there, and it would be a pretty good story - might even jerk a few tears out of you like it does me writing it.
But what you don't know, is that for nearly 30 years, it has been one of the top 10 line items on my bucket list - before there was such a name - to appear in an arena of thousands and recieve a standing ovation from the entire crowd.
So some guy I never met that never really knew me (Tom) gave me a gift that may have seemed insignificant to him as part of his father's legacy to help people get what they want. And as the ripples went out, some other guy I've never met before not only gave me $100 cash, but helped me achieve one of my life-long ambitions -right in front of my kid - not because he wanted a story to tell - I'm sure he does this at EVERY one of thse seminars - but because he wanted to genuinely help someone.
And in return, I got one of the greatest blessings of all. I benefitted from the huge generosity of others. And it didn't cost me a dime - nor did it cost anyone in that crowd any more than it would if they'd just stayed seated.
But if I had listened to my kid, who was whining about listening to "old folks" for three more hours, and gone home early, all the blessings would have been lost - at least for me and mine.
Someone else might have been fortunate enough to appreciate that applause and take that $100 bill home with them, and the blessings might have been theirs.
But I try not to compain much, keep my chin up, and keep doing the work I believe God put me here to do. And I do my best to be consistent, because the only alternative is to be less than who I am. I'm not perfect, and don't pretend to be.
So we stayed the course, received the blessing, and can now pass it on to others.
And of course, my son wants to be blessed with a new pair of shoes.
And just now as I sit writing this, I wonder if this is what Jesus might have felt feeding the multitude. I'm not trying to get preachy here, but it dawns on me now that the Bible says something about 5000 not including the women and children that were fed that day. I hardly think of myself in any God-like fashion. I do wonder, though if that is why Jesus was so compelled to serve us. When a throng of people embraces you as I was embraced today - as a total and complete stranger - you develop a compassion that extends to each and every one of them. You must be defective if you walk away without being changed and wanting to do for those that embraced you.
Doing good and being good doesn't require perfection, just consistency. In business and life you need to develop a compassion for your audience that is genuine. Helping others not just because it's good PR, but because it's the right thing to do.
THAT'S when the REAL blessings come.
I'm still thinking about those shoes...
I'm always looking for ways to make my life better. I like to think I also try to find ways to make the lives of people around me better, too.
But sometimes life just sucks. Not for very long - but hey! Everyone has "those days" or "those moments" in their life.
I think I was having some of those moments this week.
And today, thanks to several someones that NEVER met me before, I have this incredible story to share.
Tom Ziglar, yeah, the son of internationally acclaimed speaker Zig Ziglar is on twitter (@tomziglar).
When I saw that Zig was coming to town, I tried to finagle a personal meet & greet through Tom on twitter. He was gracious, and said that it wasn't possible for a meet & greet, but how would I like 4 free VIP tickets to the event?
Um, well, only if you twist my arm a bit.
So the tickets arrived. I took my 12 year old son, and a couple that have been family friends for years - they really wanted to see Dr. Robert Schuller and Zig share their wit and wisdom, so I was able to invite them along on the good graces of a guy who's never met me before.
It was truly an event not to be missed. From a marketing perspective there was MUCH to learn about how to make a nearly free event pay for itself a thousand times over - even after giving away a flat screen TV, a Disney Vacation (which my son nearly won in an on-stage dance-off) and $10,000 cash.
But not in this article. This article is about what happened when an arena of nearly 5,000 people became MY personal fan club for a whole 30 seconds.
Sometime after lunch, one of the speakers, Bob, pulls out a $5 bill and says to one end of the arena, "This $5 bill is on sale for $1 for the next 10 seconds."
Before he can finish the countdown, the guy that won the Disney trip whips out a $1 bill ans swaps him for the $5, much to my kid's chagrin.
He then turns to face another side of the "in-the-round" arena and pull sout a $20 bill. This time, it's on sale for $10, but only for 10 seconds.
I think it was snapped up in 4.
He then turns to our side of the arena, and pulls out a crisp $100 bill. He says, "I know what you're thinking... and I'm not stupid!" He then pockets the $100 bill and proceeds to share his motivational story.
And as we're approaching the middle of his talk he says "who here really needs to be cheered up today?" And, Godly enough (as my friend would say), he picks my hand out of a crowd of people all within spitting distance of the stage. Yes, Tom, we had GREAT seats, to boot.
So he calls me up on the stage. And he invites the entire arena of some nearly 5,000 people to get up on their feet and give me a standing O. "The kind of loud, thunderous applause that makes people outside wonder 'who's the famous person in there they're clapping for?"
And he counted to three.
And what happened next was truly breathtaking.
I froze for about 7 seconds. All I could do was count in my head. Slowly I'm turning, seeing all these people - my kid, my friends, and THUSANDS of other people that don't know me from Joe, on their feet, yelling, screaming, stamping, hooting, hollering, and cheering for me.
Yeah, I started crying. But only a little.
It was a copletely unexpected, very NEEDED moment in my life. One of those defining moments when you know, you're going to look back and say "this changed me, shaped me, made me who I am today."
I was having a poopy week. And yes, it was only Tuesday.
But I try not to compain much, keep my chin up, and keep doin the work I believe God put me here to do. And I do my best to be consistent, because the only alternative is to be less than who I am. I'm not perfect, and don't pretend to be.
But in that moment, when thousands of people were screaming my name, cheering for me, and making me feel like a million bucks, two things happened.
I'll tell you about the other in a minute, but the first thing that happened, was the thought that everyone should be able to feel like this at least once in their life. The fear, the gratitude and the overwhelming sense of being loved, accepted and appreciated for who I was - warts and all - by a room of nearly complete and total strangers was one of the most transformative experiences I could ever have. I'll probably be sharng this story with the great grandkids in my days of senility and "old timer's" when I keep recounting the same stories over and over.
And I wish I could have given every one a small piece of the feeling I'm still carrying with me right now.
But then, Bob came back up on the stage. He put his arm around me, reached into his pocket and pulled out that $100 bill, handed it to me and told me thank-you.
Thanked me for taking his money? Um, sure, no problem, just doing my job, sir!
I cried a little more, gave him a huge hug, which I think knocked his lapel mic, and I went back to my seat, amid continued applause and the people in my section giving me kudos. Yeah, the money was a nice surprise, but I would have gladly given it back to him for another 30 seconds of applause like that.
And as the afternoon continued - and on our way back to the car, people were calling out to me, offering hugs, asking me if I would buy dinner, and just generally acknowledging me. Not because I'm a business coach, or a singer, or a speaker or anything out of the ordinary. But because I was me - and grateful.
Now I could stop there, and it would be a pretty good story - might even jerk a few tears out of you like it does me writing it.
But what you don't know, is that for nearly 30 years, it has been one of the top 10 line items on my bucket list - before there was such a name - to appear in an arena of thousands and recieve a standing ovation from the entire crowd.
So some guy I never met that never really knew me (Tom) gave me a gift that may have seemed insignificant to him as part of his father's legacy to help people get what they want. And as the ripples went out, some other guy I've never met before not only gave me $100 cash, but helped me achieve one of my life-long ambitions -right in front of my kid - not because he wanted a story to tell - I'm sure he does this at EVERY one of thse seminars - but because he wanted to genuinely help someone.
And in return, I got one of the greatest blessings of all. I benefitted from the huge generosity of others. And it didn't cost me a dime - nor did it cost anyone in that crowd any more than it would if they'd just stayed seated.
But if I had listened to my kid, who was whining about listening to "old folks" for three more hours, and gone home early, all the blessings would have been lost - at least for me and mine.
Someone else might have been fortunate enough to appreciate that applause and take that $100 bill home with them, and the blessings might have been theirs.
But I try not to compain much, keep my chin up, and keep doing the work I believe God put me here to do. And I do my best to be consistent, because the only alternative is to be less than who I am. I'm not perfect, and don't pretend to be.
So we stayed the course, received the blessing, and can now pass it on to others.
And of course, my son wants to be blessed with a new pair of shoes.
And just now as I sit writing this, I wonder if this is what Jesus might have felt feeding the multitude. I'm not trying to get preachy here, but it dawns on me now that the Bible says something about 5000 not including the women and children that were fed that day. I hardly think of myself in any God-like fashion. I do wonder, though if that is why Jesus was so compelled to serve us. When a throng of people embraces you as I was embraced today - as a total and complete stranger - you develop a compassion that extends to each and every one of them. You must be defective if you walk away without being changed and wanting to do for those that embraced you.
Doing good and being good doesn't require perfection, just consistency. In business and life you need to develop a compassion for your audience that is genuine. Helping others not just because it's good PR, but because it's the right thing to do.
THAT'S when the REAL blessings come.
I'm still thinking about those shoes...
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