Life Is Worth Living

So Live It.

Today I may ramble a bit. You’ve been warned.

Today my fifth baby, third baby girl, turns 7. Her name is Mary-Claire.

(That’s her in the photo above turning 3 in the San Diego Children’s *Hospital.)

With six (6) children from the same wife with no multiple births I regularly hear wise, creative, loving people ask kind, thoughtful, personal questions like:

• Are you done yet? (Like a loaf of bread?)
• Don’t you know what causes that? (Yes I do and I like it very much.)
• Don’t you own a TV? (Do you have a nice one you want to get rid of?)
• What, are you religious or something? (Aren’t you?)
• When are you going to get fixed? (EVERYTHING on me works just fine. Obviously.)

What’s my point?

I have a couple, maybe even a few.

One. Children are gifts from God. God does exist. God entrusts the miracle of life to us for a reason. That reason is not always readily apparent. Trust in God.

Two. Life is fragile. Enjoy it. Appreciate it. Live it out loud and on purpose.

Three. Fear keeps you from following your dreams.

Four. 95% of fears never come true. 4% do come true but aren’t as bad as we feared. So 1% of potentially bad stuff is keeping you frozen, paranoid, stressed out, unhappy, grumpy, unproductive, limited, under your potential, sad.

Five. God did not work with your parents to bring you into this world to be poor and sad.

Go live on purpose.

If you can benefit from a nudge, a word of encouragement, an idea or two try my month-to-month private coaching program I call the Pre-Paid Sales Advisor.

-Wes Schaeffer

*Mary-Claire had an un-diagnosed ruptured appendix that took 15 days to identify and remove. I spent 11 days in the hospital with her. Her mommy spent all 15 days with her despite being 38 weeks pregnant with our fourth baby girl, Ella. Moms are the best and Shannon’s the best mommy. That’s why we have 6 kids and twice this year almost had 7. Now we have two little angels pulling for us, praying for us, waiting for us in heaven. I told you life is a gift.

In finance there is a rule of thumb for calculating how long it will take your money to double called the Rule of 72. To use it simply divide the interest rate you are earning on your money into 72 and that will tell you how long it will take before your money doubles.

For Example:

• $10,000 in a savings account today at 1% (I know that’s high) gives you $20,000 in 2083.
• Earn 6% (6 into 72 = 12 for those of you from Rio Linda) and you have $20,000 in 2023.
• Earn 12% and you’ll have $20,000 by 2017.

Small changes in growth rates result in huge profits sooner rather than later.

The same is true for your personal development and sales skills. You’re reading this post most likely because of the title. So let’s look at how you can grow 35% this month.

Let’s say you start down the growth path today and let’s say you are 100% you, so mathematically the sum total of all your skills and abilities equals 1.00 (the mathematical equivalent of 100% for those of you from Rio Linda.)

I you improved your skills / abilities just 1% a day (not hard, right?) your compounded growth at the end of 30 days would be 34.78%. Round that up and you’re at 35%.

What about weekends? Oh, you can’t work on yourself during the weekend? Ok. Let’s say there are only 20 self-improvement days in month. You’d still be 22% better at the end of the year.

If your money was earning 22% a year it would double every 3 years, 3 months, 7 days.

If your money was earning 35% a year it would double every 2 years, 18.25 days.

How much and how fast do you want to grow?

The nice thing about improving yourself is that once you’ve grown you own that growth and the new and better you forever.

If your employees are your most valuable asset, why do you abuse them when it comes to conducting internal webinars?

Ok, maybe “abuse” is a strong word but you are abusing your bottom line when you don’t have your shit together when conducting a mandatory conference call / webinar.

Let’s look at the math:

• 50 employees on a call.
• $50,000 average salary fully burdened.
• $25 per hour is what they are earning.
• $50 to $100 per hour is what they better be producing for you.
• Sitting on hold for 15 minutes costs you $1,250.
  • 50 x $100 x .25 hr = $1,250 = $10,000,000 per year loss rate.
  • 50 employees NOT producing $100 per hour twiddling their thumbs for 15 minutes while you pull your head out of your butt figuring out how to launch a Webex and put ignorant callers on mute is costing you
    • $1,250 per quarter hour.
    • $5,000 per hour.
    • $200,000 per week.
    • $10,000,000 per year.

A stitch in time really does save 9 or $10,000,000.

How are your stitching skills?

On LinkedIn I have a by-approval-only group with 3,600 members and I just saw an ad for 5-Hour Energy. Are you really that ignorant to think taking drugs (caffeine is a drug) will put a smile on your face and make your life all better?

Maybe you should take a moment or three and figure out why your life is so draining. If you need drugs to get out of bed, to get to work, to make it to the end of the day then something is out of balance.

Take a few minutes to review The #1 Enemy Facing Sales People Today to see if it can’t give you some tips on how to wean yourself off the chemical dependency of things like 5-Hour Energy.

Just because “everybody’s doing it” doesn’t make it right. Listen to your mom. She was right 30 years ago and she’s right today. Get off the artificial pick-me-ups and strive towards your real goals that will bring natural energy and joy to your life.

Need some help with that and you’re not a cheap ass? Contact me here.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Throw down some graffiti below along with your thoughts, comments, experiences and suggestions.

Wes Schaeffer is founder and owner of “The Sales Whisperer®,” the best dang sales training, social media marketing, copy writing and Infusionsoft Small Business CRM consultant this side of the Mason Dixon Line. He has traveled the world serving his country, selling high tech gizmos and gadgets and training business owners, entrepreneurs and professional sales people how to sell more, faster, at higher margin, with less stress and more fun. He even has a “Double Your Sales in 12 Months” guarantee. Contact him here today to start doubling your sales by tomorrow. When you’re done you can subscribe to his podcast on iTunes here.

Einstein's genius was shown by his love of laughter.

Einstein’s Three Rules of Work:

1) Out of clutter find simplicity;

2) From discord find harmony;

3) In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

Nothing shows simplicity like . The secret of the universe is unveiled with this little equation. What is too complex in your work life? Change it. Now.

Delete emails. Close tabs on your browser. Throw away magazines and papers on your desk along with the stack of business cards you’ll never look at. Simplify.

In Matthew 18, Jesus tells us that wherever two or more are gathered in His name, He’ll be there, too. To which I ad, “Wherever two or more are gathered, power struggles and discord can be there.”

Always be a peacemaker, which may mean kicking someone in the ass who is a source of discord and un-peace.

Finally, welcome to the opportunity of a lifetime. We’re in difficult times. So what. In the Air Force we used to sing a jody call when we marched that had a great verse: “Ain’t no sense in lookin’ down. Ain’t no paycheck on the ground.”

We were complainers in the military when we being told what to do, what to think, what to eat and how to dress. But this jody call reminded us to keep our heads held high as we moved forward despite our fatigue. We proceeded forward as a team and we reached our objectives.

We achieved our goals.

You can, too. Keep your head held high. Find a great team. Keep moving forward.

Celebrities that self-destruct do so because they feel unworthy of the adulation, fortune and fame they receive all for saying some lines someone else wrote while pretending to be someone they are not.

In 1 Kings 2:3 and John 10:10 we read that God wants us to prosper and have life in abundance but many times we frown upon or simply reject God’s blessing, which usually leads to our own demise.

Charlie Sheen has had the opportunity to live life to the fullest and he has blown it. As a child of a famous actor he probably feels a little guilty for having easy access to the acting industry. He is surely surrounded by other great actors that had to struggle in the early days to get where they are today.

You always hear the stories of actors leaving it all behind to move to Hollywood and wait tables, clean bathrooms, sleep in their cars, go on thousands of auditions, get swindled by more than one “agent” before they got their big break. Meanwhile, Charlie was bouncing on the knees of Hollywood’s A-List and having Marilyn Monroe sing lullabys to him.

Now he’s sabotaging his career and his life because of these deep-seated feelings of unworthiness.

Salespeople do the same thing. In businesses across the nation walk salespeople that have closed a humongous deal and then go on autopilot back down to their comfort level because they don’t see themselves as over-achievers capable of sustaining numbers 150%-200%-300% over quota.

So they knock down a big deal then “head trash” creeps in and they talk themselves down to where they think they belong. Psychologists estimate that upwards of 77% of our self-talk is negative, counter-productive and self-defeating. That’s why salespeople need great managers, athletes need coaches and all humans need spiritual advisers.

The Devil wants to keep us down. Our peers like us and invite us to participate in their Fantasy Football League as long as we aren’t too far ahead of them. Our neighbors invite us to the block party if our car costs about the same as theirs. But all of the above are counter to God’s will and desire for us.

So turn off the boob-tube (that’s literally what it is when Charlie Sheen is on it), spend some time reading the Bible, spend some time reading good sales training material, find a mentor/coach/trainer/adviser that can push and pull you to a higher level of performance, find or create your own MasterMind group and hold each other accountable then accept with open arms the abundance that will come your way.

“The harder I work, the luckier I get.” ~ Samuel Goldwyn

Learn To Speak, Communicate and Network Effectively To Grow Your Sales

The great writer and poet, Emily Post said, “Ideal conversation must be an exchange of thought, and not, as many of those who worry most about their shortcomings believe, an eloquent exhibition of wit or oratory.”

How to master effective communication skills to grow your sales:

Too often people are nervous and anxious when they attend a social function. If you are in sales, which we all are, this can be a golden opportunity missed because it’s in social settings (or professional networking settings) where you may run across an ideal prospect who is “letting her hair down” and is open to what you do.

However, if you can’t engage them in dialogue the opportunity could be gone forever.

Fortunately for you this is a simple problem to resolve. All you have to do to strike up a conversation with 100% of the general public in any situation whatsoever is just pay that person a sincere compliment and then sit back and listen.

It really is that simple. Try it when you’re standing in line at Starbucks. Look at the person behind you and say something like, “I love that watch,” or “Your perfume smells wonderful,” or “That’s a nice jacket,” or “That’s a beautiful necklace,” or “I love your glasses,” or “That’s a great belt.”

Then listen as they say:

• “Oh. Thanks. I love this watch. I picked it up on sale…”
• “Why thank you. I’ve loved this perfume forever. My mom gets it for me every year for Christmas…”
• “Thanks. This thing keeps me warm in the worst of weather…”
• “Thank you. My ex-husband was a bum but he had great taste in jewelry!”
• “Hey. Thanks. I like your glasses, too. Don’t tell anyone, but, they’re not prescription!”
• “Thank you. I picked this up while in New York on business. I got it at half off…”

Then just let the conversation flow from there.

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If you’re ready to get started with Infusionsoft and you want to secure your over $2,741 in bonuses and savings by ordering through me please contact me now and I’ll help you secure your own Infusionsoft application today.

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Good Selling,

As you read the following, consider the wisdom of St. Ignatius in that “All is Gift”, even difficult circumstances.

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire. If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something, for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for difficult times, because they give you the opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary, because it means you made a difference.

It’s easy to be thankful for the good things. A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive. Find a way to be thankful for your troubles, and they become your blessings.

- Author Unknown

I’m fortunate to have a backyard with a view of my earthly surroundings as well as the stars above every evening. It is humbling, relaxing and energizing to go out back at night and just look up.

With iPods and Androids and iPhones and Cable TV and Skype and XM satellite radio it’s easy to never have a quiet moment to yourself and that’s a hard way to live.

Not all activities need to be done. Not all activities that need to be done need to be done now.

After you read this see how long you can sit in silence doing nothing but thinking (and maybe praying…not a bad thing to do during Christmas.)

If you need a little help finding a topic to ponder think of the story of Martha and Mary in Luke chapter 10. Jesus had come to visit and Martha was running around like crazy preparing the meal, setting the table, pouring drinks, (kicking the dog) while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and listened.

Jesus tells us to not be anxious. To focus on “the good portion.”

Productive work is good. Busy work is not. Work for work’s sake is not good. Know the difference by stopping what you are currently doing and just stand there.

After you just stand there long enough, you’ll know what to do.

Now go. I mean, stop.

My church has a 4-part program for engaged couples whereby they receive instruction on various topics including communication and finances to help them prepare for a lifetime together.

For the last few years my wife and I have volunteered to lead the session on finances since investing and the financial markets have been a hobby/passion of mine since 1991 and my wife is a master at managing household finances as she keeps a family of 8.5 fed, clothed and entertained on whatever money I have brought in each month since 1995.

The program was launched right around the time the housing bubble toppled – or I should say when the bubble was decimated, squashed and is now being ground into the dirt…but I digress.

As fears and anxiety about the economy have risen I’ve been telling couples in the program that now is a wonderful time to get married because the pressure of keeping up with the Joneses is greatly diminished.

The reason I say the pressure is down is because when we are faced with difficult times we are forced to cut out the fluff and focus on what matters, i.e., paying the bills. This leads to reducing debt by eating at home with family instead of going to an expensive dinner, renting a movie instead of going to the theater, playing games at home with family instead of goofing off somewhere you shouldn’t be spending money you can’t easily replace, etc.

Those types of activities make all families stronger and they create solid foundations and traditions on which new couples can build lasting marriages. It helps us al build up ours savings. It reduces arguments about money. It cuts down on the “noise”

This year, whether times are tough for you or not, make a decision to not only ignore the noise coming from advertisers this year but also commit to not contribute to the noise either.

So live large this Christmas by going small:

• Eat less.
• Shop less.
• Give more to those with less.
• Build stronger relationships with your spouse, family and friends.

Merry Christmas.