Saturday, July 31, 2010
Monkey (The Cat) ... On Inspiration
I have listened to the Wallace Wattles CD on The Science of Getting Rich many many many times. I almost know it by heart by now. From my vantage point on the floor I can see what it does for my person and her attitude.
Here’s a little insight into the routine around MY home.
My person listens to a lot of tough stuff. People don’t seem to be all that happy right now. After all, no one puts their food out for them every morning with fresh water. I can see the numbers on the news too. The world is in rough shape. I have a blessed life – I have control over the remote. When I’m not watching my favorite sports, (hockey and football) or the cooking channel (sushi and Dover sole), I watch Cory’s favorite economists. But I digress….
To keep her mindset positive my person has a routine – she gets on to her Precor to blow off steam for 45 minutes and reads and listens to the words of Wallace Wattles. Now here is the real miracle. Every morning I tilt my head when she is done so that she knows I am listening and I wait to hear the inspired action for the day. It never fails – the days she misses listening I could swear her tail is dragging (or maybe it makes mine drag).
Here is one of my favorite lines about taking action: “Thought is the creative power or the impelling force which causes the creative power to act. Thinking in a certain way will bring riches to you, but you must not rely upon thought alone, paying no attention to personal action. That is the rock upon which many otherwise scientific thinkers meet shipwreck -the failure to connect thought with personal action.”
So what are you going to do today? I think I’ll watch the Discovery Channel – I’d like to evolve.
Friday, July 02, 2010
Monkey (The Cat) ….On Business
When was the last time you read a blog written by a cat?
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Monkey (Barr) and I am almost one year old. I came to live and work here after Marko went to heaven. I’ve learned a tremendous amount about being an entrepreneur while hanging out with my person (aka Frumi).
Although I’m a cat, I’m eager to be an entrepreneur myself. I’m thinking of inventing voice recognition technology for cats. I have a lot to say. I assist my person every day by lying on her desk and observing her as she facilitates virtual events – Teleclasses, conversations…it’s a virtual world out there. I offer my opinion often – in fact, I am quite vocal.
I’m thinking that with voice recognition for cats maybe I too could pay my way. I’m a 22 pound cat and I eat a LOT of food. And…I’m still growing. Maine Coons get to be BIG.
I’m learning about the world of virtual teams and about the discipline it takes to work from home. I’m learning how to be efficient and effective and not be a slave to e-mail. For example: “We” write our priorities down at the end of every day for the next day. That’s how we stay on top of things and make every day a good day. A series of good days adds up to a good week and then a good month and that leads to success. I am learning about pushing the peanut forward every day. Personally I like to kick it around.
I had to sign a contract to not bother my person when she’s on the phone. People who work virtually need the respect of their family members. I’ve committed to refraining from walking back and forth and trying to wrestle the keyboard away from her.
One of my Big Five For Life is to write my own blog. You can’t imagine how I had to generate buy-in to write this one today. What do you think? Monkey….on Business…. saying goodbye for now.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Delivering Happiness and Culture Shift
Have you noticed authors talking about creating movements lately? Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, invites us to “join the movement”, so does Simon Sinek in Start With Why.
Hsieh, the hip iconoclastic CEO of Zappos explains how a very different kind of corporate culture is an effective model for unprecedented success. In his book, Delivering Happiness, he explains that the path to profits is through passion and purpose.
Daniel Pink in his book Drive, offers this explanation:
“Boomers are the largest demographic cohort in most western countries, as well as in places like Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. In North America alone, one hundred boomers turn sixty every thirteen minutes.
Every thirteen minutes another hundred people—members of the wealthiest and best-educated generation the world has ever known— begin reckoning with their mortality and asking deep questions about meaning, significance, and what they truly want.
When the cold front of demographics meets the warm front of unrealized dreams, the result will be a thunderstorm of purpose the likes of which the world has never seen.”
Personally, I have been totally inspired and hope that the new Why Institute will be instrumental in joining the movement to shift cultures by Starting with Why (Sinek), living your Big Five For Life (Strelecky) and Delivering Happiness (Hsieh).
Visit http:www.deliveringhapinessbook.com or click here to order it. It’s an easy read and very insightful.
Sunday, May 02, 2010
My Secret To Keeping a Positive Mindset
The hardest thing we do is keep our thoughts under control. It’s so easy to get discouraged, depressed dejected ….you name it! I am so aware that my thoughts are powerful and they can either create something wonderful or something awful. I would clearly prefer to stay present, realistic and yet have a positive outlook.
Do you want to know how I accomplish that?
As I work out every morning, I read and listen (simultaneously) to a 1910 book by Wallace Wattles called The Science of Getting Rich. It doesn’t matter how many days in a row I listen to this book, it always creates an inspired action. One such action was the idea of finding a problem and solving it …none of that “build it and they will come”. That’s how my new program called Stop My E-mail Pain came about. (http://www.stopmyemailpain.com).
The Science of Getting Rich was the inspiration for Andrew Carnegie to commission Napoleon Hill to write Think and Grow Rich. It kind of annoys me that Wallace Wattles doesn’t get the credit he is due….but that’s a topic for another time.
Be aware of how your thoughts lead you away from a positive mindset and just….change your mind! Easier said than done?
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Finding Your WHOs
Definition of a “WHO”
A WHO is anyone who is willing and able to get you closer to your desired outcomes. Anyone can be a WHO. People love to help others achieve something they are passionate about.
If people can be successful doing things they don’t really care about, then they should be wildly successful at something that actually matters to them. And if they are wildly successful, your company will be too, which means big profits and big successes all the way around. Attract people whose WHY is in alignment with yours and you will have a highly self-motivated team willing to do what it takes to be successful.
WHO are Your WHOs:
If you are in transition, starting a business or revamping your marketing plan, consider making a list of everyone you know. Create a simple succinct paragraph on WHO you are looking to meet and send it out – people love to help when it is clear how they can do so. Help them help you!
Our WHOs:
Here is an example: We are looking for CEOs and business leaders who have lost their WHY. If you would like to know more, visit http://www.thewhyinstiitute.com Do you know someone to whom this would be meaningful? If so, please have them contact us.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Finding Your “Why”
The following powerful message is an excerpt from The Big Five For Life by John Strelecky:
“Imagine if every day of our life was cataloged. The way we felt, the people we saw, how we spent our time. And at the end of our life a museum was built. It was built to show exactly how we lived our life. If eighty percent of our time was at a job we didn’t like, then eighty percent of the museum would be dedicated to showing us unhappily spending our time at a job we didn’t like.
If we were friendly with ninety percent of the people we interacted with, it would show that. But if we were angry and upset or yelled at ninety percent of the people we interacted with, it would show that. If we loved the outdoors, or spending time with our kids, or celebrating life with our significant other, but only spent two percent of our life fueling those loves, then no matter how much we wished it be different, only two percent of our museum would be dedicated to that.
Imagine what it would be like to walk that museum toward the end of our life. How would we feel? How would we feel knowing that for the rest of eternity that museum would be how we were remembered? Every person who walked in it would know us exactly as we truly were. Our legacy would be based not on how we dreamed of living, but how we lived. Imagine if heaven, or the afterlife, or however we individually think of it, actually consists of us being the eternal tour guides for our own museum.”
The Institute for Finding Your Why would like to inspire museum dreams in all of us. We would like to encourage people to live life to the fullest, so that at the end, each of our lives would be a success as we individually define success. Starting with “Why” works in big business and small business, in the non-profit world and in politics. Those who start with Why never manipulate, they inspire, and people follow them not because they have to, but because they want to.
We are looking for a benefactor to leave a legacy through the work done in our Institute. Do you know someone to whom this would be meaningful? If so, please have them contact us.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
A 2010 Challenge: Create Your Vision and Your Goals
We have all been told that it is important to create SMART goals every year in order to be purposeful and achieve what is important to us. I’d like to challenge you to do one more thing in 2010. This one more thing has the power to change your life!
My challenge to you is directly related to my fascination with reading a 1910 classic by Wallace Wattles called The Science of Getting Rich. While most of us are familiar with Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, we have not been aware that the little known Wattles said it all very succinctly 17 years earlier. In fact you will see many of the principles of The Secret and numerous other books in this timeless classic.
What makes this important? Here’s an example: When you think of a SMART goal you might choose a revenue number. Increasing revenue by $100,000 is specific and measurable but does it infuse you with energy and passion? According to Wally, you must have a compelling vision, an attitude of gratitude and the will to act in a certain way. He illustrates how getting rich is as much a science as algebra with results that are just as predictable.
I have a vision of sitting in my soon-to-be-arriving library where I will coach and mentor many scholarship clients. I can see all the details of the room. I can see it, feel it and smell it. I can tell you that I feel more excited and passionate about my vision (which has many more aspects to it) than I have ever felt about a revenue goal.
My challenge is then for YOU to create a vision…paint a picture of what you will have to say at the end of 2010 or 2020.
If you would like a free downloadable copy of The Science of Getting Rich then click here: http://tinyurl.com/y8svu62. I have read the book every day this past month and listened to the CDs while reading. I have never felt as excited and energized by a New Year as I am today. Join me in this adventure!
http://tinyurl.com/y8svu62” title=“The Science of Getting Rich”>The Science of Getting Rich
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Even Change Agents Can Dislike Change or More about Miko the Cat
Over the years I have grown to accept that I am a Catalyst for Change. This wasn’t just my idea – I wish I were that smart. My coach asked me to check with my friends and ask what they believed my strengths to be and that’s what showed up over and over. That doesn’t mean that I like the consequences of change any more than the next person.
What has brought me joy for the last couple of years has been my early morning time with Miko the Cat who has waited patiently outside my shower door. She waited patiently for that moment when wrapped in a towel I’d sit down to wait for her to climb on my lap for a love-in and some conversation. This was the only time of day that this was allowed by Queen Miko and I have been the only person having this distinct pleasure.
Along came the new kitty a month ago. You may recall (or why would you) that the great name debate was still going on about this new fellow. His name was finally chosen on the basis of his personality - he is known as “Monkey”….just picture monkey antics and that would be my new kitten. He even does a fly by and steals things off my desk.
The consequence of this change in my household was that Miko stopped joining me in the mornings. For days she sat with her back to me or purposely turned around when she saw me coming. There was no purring - just disdainful looks. This was a tremendous loss to me and for a while I wondered what I had done – the consequence didn’t seem worth it.
It is now a month after Monkey’s arrival – it took that long for life to return to normal. The moral of the story is that even the best of changes bear consequences and we must be resilient and patient as all parties adapt to the changes.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Miko the Cat and Resistance to Change
My poor little Don Juan de Marko was put to rest after his lchallenge with ymphoma a couple of weeks ago. Maybe I should have waited, but life, after all, is for the living and I had yet another decision to make. Marko is irreplaceable and will forever be in my heart….yet I knew from the moment I arrived home with an empty carrier that I was going to miss having a second cat as part of my family. I decided to find another male kitten…another Maine Coon.
Little Rocky (or Finneus) arrived yesterday. (The name debate is still going on.) Miko the Queen, also known as Miko the Magnificent is not taking this new development in stride. The two are staring each other down as I write. Miko has hissed and growled at this poor little boy. She rather liked her position has an “only cat”. She stuck like glue for two weeks purring and communicating her pleasure in having me all to herself.
What do you think Miko is thinking? As so many of us at this time, no one asked her opinion, this change was just implemented without her weighing in. I have had a discussion with her …okay so it was very one sided. I talked and she listened. Her body language has been screaming at me “What have you done now!”
I have had second thoughts about my management strategy. I don’t know how long Miko will remain aloof and will avoid me. Cats are so much simpler than people. She doesn’t mince words…I know exactly how she is feeling by her attitude…and let me tell you… this little lady is ALL attitude.
Oops…I hope you do a better job than I did at making changes…Oh and….which name do you like better? Finneus or Rocky?
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
A Four Year Plan or a Forty Year Plan?
I came across an interesting piece of information. By age 25 most people have no idea of what profession they’ll enter, anything from a fishing guide to a surgeon. But forty years later, out of a typical 100 people, 5 are still working, 36 are dead, 54 are dead broke, 4 are well off, and 1 is wealthy. Clearly the 40 year plan doesn’t work for most people.
My challenge to myself after reading this is: what can I do with my next four years since it’s unlikely I want to stay on the hamster wheel for another 40? It’s always a good idea to study other successful people so I decided to study Donald Trump and as a result I am following his lead to get involved with ACN. I may not like his hairdo but he spent 14 months doing his due diligence on the network marketing industry and chose ACN as a purchase target. The founders refused him but he chooses to endorse the company. 40 % of this country’s millionaires have made it in life through network marketing. For those people who persevere winning is legend.
Now wait a minute ….I wrote a book called Confessions of a Resilient Entrepreneur: Persevering to Success. I think I should follow my own advice and entrepreneur my way to another win.
By the way – ACN just received an award – it is the world’s largest direct selling telecommunications company.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
When Intellect and Emotion Collide
My beautiful Maine Coon kitty, Don Juan de Marco, aka Marko, became very ill recently. He is only 3 ½ years old and well loved even by my oldest children, who are allergic to cats. First Marko lost his “meow” and then his breathing became very labored. After testing and biopsies, it has been confirmed that Marko has a lymphoma in his larynx.
Recommended treatment involves chemotherapy. Here is where the struggle between the ears begins….he is a cat, how much do you spend on a cat? How much is too much? Doesn’t he deserve a chance? How important is his quality of life?
When I am challenged with a decision to make, I have three categories - Yes, No and I need more information. The first vet thought I should send him on his way to heaven, the oncologist urged me to seek more information. I went back and forth between my feelings and the practicalities of life. I decided to live in hope.
Whether it is a cat life or a human life, those of us who are the stewards of a living being have a responsibility to do our best. I have resolved not to let Marko down. I was sharing this while driving to the Montreal airport with my brother, the doctor, who is an esteemed palliative care specialist. At the point when I said, “I have to give him a chance, because when I had Hodgkin’s decades ago, what if someone put me to sleep?” My very funny brother said, as we turned onto the next highway, “well then I’d be going straight instead of making this turn”. Humor is, after al, the best medicine.
After one month of chemo, he is talking up a storm – Marko has his “meow” back, and apparently this type of lymphoma responds well to chemo. Marko has the love and prayers of all the many people who join me for dinner meetings at my home. I am grateful for my friends who know that an animal is a family member and that prayers do heal.
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Relationships Begin With Hello
This morning, I boarded the plane leaving Montreal for Chicago and found myself sitting beside a lovely young lady. For the next two hours I was completely captivated by her energy, her wisdom and her incredible healing talent.
Bron is a drummer in a pipe band, among her many other talents. She has the incredible ability to sit next to someone and detect their medical challenges. She told me a story of bumping shoulders with a man and recognizing that he had a torn tendon in his opposite shoulder.
We talked about relationships and friendships, children and manifesting. She was full of insights and ideas that I intend to follow up on. It was an amazing conversation from start to finish. As the plane started it’s descent I knew there was something I had to share with her. The members of my Forum for Seasoned coaches each did a legacy video last year. Garry was asked to interview me and he asked me what turned out to be me a very profound question. He said “ You inspire many people, but who inspires you Frumi?” The question was profound because I strated to cry as what instantly came to mind was that my mother did – and she died two years ago.
I shared this story with Bron, who I only met 2 hours earlier….and said…”I’m telling you this story because you have inspired me Bron. And her answer was….”and it began with “Hello”.
Don’t be afraid to reach out and touch another soul – life is all about the people we meet and connect with on our journeys.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Eat Your Frog First
Mark Twain said that suppose tomorrow morning, the first that you do, is catch a live frog, stuff it into your mouth, munch it down and swallow it all up.
Once you did that, the day can’t get much worse now can it? Therefore every morning, find the ugliest most repulsive task that you have on your to-do list (i.e. your frog) and knock that off before getting on to doing anything else. Once you’ve got that done, the rest of the day when you’re doing the easy tasks, would seem like relishing your favorite dessert.
How many times do you ask yourself why you haven’t accomplished more during the day? Try this: write down your priorities as you leave your desk, and then you too can eat your frog first when you return n the morning. You’ll feel much better at the end of the day if you accomplish your priorities. It’s a great way to stay focused on what is really important.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
I Don’t Always Like Feedback – Do You?
I came back from a vacation in Mexico all excited about a new program I created. I shared it with my colleagues and found my self sputtering as if a bucket of cold water was poured over my head. They rained on my parade!
In case you are curious, the new service I am referring to is Tell-Me-What-to-Say-Coach, a subscription service to respond to the types of advice I am asked for almost daily. “What do I say to my employees, CEO, wife…”you name it.
But I digress….
As a recovering entrepreneur, I often suffer from relapses, and I rely on my Forum for Seasoned Coaches and my TAG advisory board to keep me in line. But…. I don’t always like what they have to say. This time I listened in earnest to their objections and realized that it was time to take their comments to heart and take a good look at their concerns.
OK – I won’t skirt the issue any longer…they felt that my service message was getting diffused and that I was offering too many services. We spent quite a while sorting through my different offerings to find the “umbrella” that unified them and made sense. Here is what I came up with (from my Welcome page):
Frumi is the leading advisor to accounting and finance professionals
Offering a portfolio of services for individuals and groups:
• Groups – board retreats , team meeting facilitation , the MORE© Program and conflict management
• Individually – coaching and tell-me-what-to-say-coach subscriptions
• Education – CPEs through group live seminars and online university courses as well as book summaries and books
The power of three wins again! And so does the power of feedback!
How do you react to feedback? All comments are welcome.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Building Relationships IS your Business
Do you believe that building relationships builds businesses? If so, then building relationships IS your business.
Most people are eager to make a sale, acquire a new contract or secure a new consulting arrangement. Whatever business you are in, the urgency of the matter is NOT going to help you get business. Now is the time, more than ever, to think about the relationship. It’s a time to meet people just to shake their hand and create and build relationships.
Who do you give your business to? Don’t you like to give business to people you have known and trust? Why would now be different? Concentrate on the following three key elements:
1. Give before you get - begin by adding value in some way that differentiates you from others
2. Listen to what people need – don’t sell them. Ask questions and find out where your contact’s interests lie.
3. See if you can partner with them to create a solution - After you have heard them and only if it’s appropriate ask if they’d like to partner with you when offering the absolute right solution. If you don’t have the solution – wait until they have a need that you can
“Slowing down to speed” up works for selling to0. Don’t rush the relationship building part.
