"WOW"

  Written by Lawrence Anderson on Jan 17, 2010 9:02 pm

• 0
   VOTES

  Up
• Tweet

 WOO stands for something very special. It is the window of opportunity, and with every ounce of my heart and soul, I want you to know that we all share the most important, magical, and magnificent of all WOOs right now! Do you know what it is? It is every precious moment! Every precious moment is a WOO. What do I mean?

You never know if the next person you meet today may become your lifetime friend, just as you didn't know it when you met your lifetime friends. You never know if the next woman you meet in an elevator may become the most important business builder you've ever recruited! You never know if the next time you talk with your son, daughter, spouse, or friend, something you say in that conversation may be the one crucial thing they could not see without your eyes, and a life that was on its way down is instantly reignited. You never know if the next idea that pops into your head may have the same impact on your own life.

LESSON 1: WHAT YOU FOCUS ON IS WHAT YOU CREATE
Here's a fun little question. What color is a yield sign? When I ask this question in my seminars I always hear the audience call out, "Yellow." But many years ago the United States adopted the International Signage Standards, and the yield signs you and I have seen for all these years are not yellow. They are red and white!

I have a hunch you might be thinking something along the lines of, "Well, maybe they're red and white out there in Asheville, North Carolina, where you live, Brian. But not here!" That's exactly what I thought when I was in the audience at a seminar and was asked the question the first time. My answer was an immediate, "Duh ... yellow!" But, son of gun, by the time I finished that seminar that day they managed to change every single yield sign I've seen ever since!

http://bit.ly/6RsqWD

The truth is, we've seen thousands of yield signs. We very likely see the same yield signs almost every day when we drive our standard routes to work or school. And yet we haven't seen one of them for what's really there. Why?

The truth is we rarely use our vision to see! Instead we use our memory and our conditioning. The challenge is, when we use our memory to see, we don't see what's here now. We see the past.
Now, I hope you'll chuckle as I do every time I see a yield sign. But there are far more important areas in which to apply this understanding and use our present vision. Where does it really matter to awaken our true vision, and no longer depend on our memory to see?

The truth is-what we focus on is what we create! Those yellow yield signs were visual creations far more real to me than the actual metal and paint. The way we see ourselves and others determines the life we create and the messages we send to friends, family, and teammates. As you work with others building businesses with you, remember that one fresh idea, one unusual approach to breaking through a disabling habit, or one small victory can ignite exciting new momentum and results. Look for the best in others and you'll be much more likely to help create it!

LESSON 2: IF IT'S NOT WORKING, TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT
You've undoubtedly heard that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over, and over, and over again-and expecting a different result! Yet how often does that silly definition perfectly describe our actions and choices? What habits do we continue to follow though the results they create are not only ineffective, but even painful, damaging, and self-defeating?

The more closely you look at this principle-if it's not working, try something different-the clearer it becomes that truly living its lesson provides a powerful WOO to ignite momentum where there once was stagnation, to transform adversity into exciting possibilities of benefit.

You need look no further than the light that's illuminating the room you're in right now.

The genius who developed the electric light, Thomas Edison, was the king of "if it's not working, try something different."

You'd think someone who produced such astonishing results must have had a tremendous academic background, yet Thomas Edison had only three months of formal education. In fact, by his late teens, Edison had lost all of his hearing in one ear, with an 80 percent loss in the other. What Edison lacked in formal education and auditory capacity he more than made up for in tenacity, flexibility, and an unstoppable commitment to continually learn and grow. When speaking about the work going on in his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, he growled, "Hell, there are no rules here-we're trying to accomplish something."

When it came to his deafness, he turned that supposed handicap into an important ingredient in his success. He used the silence associated with deafness to sharply enhance his powers of concentration. Edison spent more than four years and experienced some four thousand failed attempts to create a functioning incandescent lightbulb. But after each unsuccessful attempt, he adjusted and tried something different. 

After more than three years and three thousand failures, one of his top assistants asked the great inventor how he could stand all the failure and lack of results." Edison's reply offers a surefire recipe for a life of wonder, light, growth, and resilience: "Results? Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won't work."

The most important place to apply this principle is in facing and dealing with fear. Ultimately, all emotions in life fall into one of two foundational categories: love and fear. The instant you choose the loving side, you feel it in every cell of your body. It is unmistakable. Mind, body, and spirit are in harmony. Life, joy, energy, and peace fill you and you know with certainty that the choice you've made is right.

The physiological, emotional, and spiritual response when you choose fear is every bit as striking. There is immediate and inescapable dissonance as if the wrong key is struck on the piano. Every single individual who has given up on building a network marketing dream did so because of some form of fear! 

Your job is to help them break through and move from fear to freedom, from failure to faith!

So remember-if it's not working, try something different! When you live this principle, you live with a constant sense of possibility because you know you can always try a new approach or strategy. Instead of feeling trapped as so many people do, you have a choice in every precious moment.

LESSON 3: BE A WORLD-CLASS BUDDY THANKER
A great strategy for building an unbeatable team is to become a world-class buddy thanker. When you live with an attitude of gratitude, it becomes natural to catch others doing things right. But let me ask you an eye-opening question. Who are the people in our lives we tend to forget to thank the most?

I've asked this question in every seminar I've ever taught, and have always heard similar responses. The people we most often forget to thank are those to whom we are the closest-our spouse, children, parents, or the people we work beside every day.

When triggered by the question, we see how easily we can fall into the habit of taking the people we love most for granted. We can rationalize that we don't need to tell the prized people in our lives how we feel about them because they should already know, but the end result of neglect is decay and diminution. 

The more we fall into the habit of taking others for granted and withholding our appreciation, the more disconnected we become from the countless blessings in our lives.

How do you reverse this downward cycle and become a world-class buddy thanker? The secret is found in the words world class. After all, isn't that the kind of business you'd like to build, one that was viewed as world-class?

Here's a fun and easy way to remember how to become a world-class buddy thanker. 

When you think of world-class amusement park entertainment, who do you think of?

Usually the answer is Disney.

When you think of world-class coffeehouses, who do you think of?

Sure, Starbucks is at the top of the list.

Now, when you think of world-class sports television, who do you think of?

That's right, ESPN! How do you become a world-class buddy thanker?

Easy ... just remember ESPN.

The E stands for effort and energy. World-class buddy thankers bring higher levels of effort and energy to the way they express appreciation and praise. They are more heartfelt, creative, and vibrant. They seize the WOO to give third-party compliments that allow other key people to hear of the performance, adding a touch of extraordinary personal attention to the praise that makes it more special and memorable.

But the real key to mastering the E in ESPN is to thank people for their effort and energy, not just their results. The truth is, we don't control results. We control the effort, energy, and attitude we apply to work toward results. When you thank others for their effort and energy, guess what?

They create more results!

Why?

Because now they are focusing on what they control rather than what they don't.

The S in ESPN stands for surprise. This is the least known and one of the most powerful leadership tools you have available to ignite others.

Write personal cards to friends, teammates, clients, and family members expressing your gratitude and admiration even when it's not their birthday or anniversary.

These expressions will delight the recipients, and they will once again know they are important. E-mail (which stands for energy mail!) and voice mail provide fantastic opportunities to give compliments and to say thanks.

Create moments for the special people in your life by giving unexpected gifts, arranging surprise events, or simply holding spontaneous, unexpected award ceremonies. You will light up others and the result will be extraordinary loyalty, commitment, and fun!

The P in ESPN is the most important key to becoming a world-class buddy thanker. In fact, it is the ultimate secret to balance, connection, and trust. The secret centers around a simple, yet immeasurably profound, principle called being fully present.

Perhaps the most powerful way to understand this principle of being present is to look clearly at what it is not. Several years ago, when I was the vice president of a large training company, I became painfully aware of what it means to not be present!

Login or register to post comments  |   Views: 132   |   Comments: 0