Honestly, I love doing it.  It’s meditative for me.  A few years ago I took my front and back yard completely down to new dirt and started over.

In my back yard, just behind the pool, I have a small area with a night blooming Jasmin tree that was in dire need of a trim.  It was insanely overgrown.  It smells amazing…but it was looking pretty bad.

So, today I dug in.

I mowed.  I trimmed.  I weeded.

And then I started on the Jasmin tree.  It was a real mess.

Whack. Whack. Whack…it started looking good.

As I tour into the side nearest my house I noticed something.

The tree was so overgrown, so forgotten about that I had totally forgot what was in the bed below.

A beautiful Amaryllis that had just bloomed.

Honestly, had I not actually trimmed back the Jasmin tree today I would have completely missed this beautiful display of Mother Nature in full view.

I would have missed it.

I realize we do this all the time.

How many beautiful qualities do you have, or what potential greatness are you missing simply because you haven’t focused on clearing away some of the debris to let the light shine?

It’s really hard to see the sun behind the clouds…and yet the sun is still there…longing to get out.

I think there are beautiful Amaryllis flowers within everyone.  Everyone has layers of beauty within…and unfortunately, some never, ever let their light shine.

For those of us in network marketing, think about how this applies to your team.  How many people have the potential to be great if you would just take a little time to help them clear back the debris?

How many rock stars are wasting time in your team, their talent hidden by the years of overgrown weeds of neglect, poor self-image, past pain and broken dreams?

What could a little attention, a little focus and a little effort create?

What flower could bloom in YOU if you invested just a little more time to make things beautiful in and around your world?

It’s time to let all that is beautiful in you out.

It’s time for you to connect with all that is beautiful in others.

What starts to grow may just surprise you.

It’s part love, part unconditionality, part intuition, part forgiveness and part…well, I’ll just call it “Mama’s Wisdom.”

The base of Enchantment Rock. The first place we scattered Mom's ashes.

I can’t say that I always felt this way growing up.  In fact, I often felt the opposite.  For many of the years of my youth I resented my mom.  I was often embarrassed by her and dad (I was not nearly as cool as I thought I was).  I challenged either how hard she was on me and ironically, I resented how easy she was on me.

But no matter what the feeling was or the emotion that was present in the moment, I knew without question that I could always, always go to my Mom.

It was like coming home.

It was the one place in the chaos of the world as a toddler, a teenager and honestly, even more so as an adult that I knew was safe.  Regardless of the outside world, my Mom just always made me feel better.

My Mom died 6 1/2 years ago just a day before my 33rd birthday and there is rarely a day that goes by that I don’t think of her.

When my son Brennan was born, I picked up the phone to call her repeatedly.  She had died just 3 1/2 months earlier.  Mom, you would really love Brennan, he is an incredibly special young man.  You granddaughters are also amazing.  You would love them all dearly and you would spoil daily…and we would love you for it.

When cool stuff happens in my life or when I feel unusually challenged, I still have the thought to call her.  So instead, I just talk to her.

Even in death, just thinking of her presence brings me great comfort.

I was lucky.  I got to experience an amazing Mom for 33 years.  I know this isn’t the case for everyone.

All I can say is this.

If your Mom is still around…appreciate her.
If the relationship is broken, heal it.
If you don’t spend as much time together as you’d like, change it.
If you are often short with her, be more patient.
If she frustrates you, breathe and smile.
If Mother’s Day is the only day you do something special for her, shift your priorities.

Just figure it out.

Now, I understand that not all Moms really even want to be Moms.  But I do believe there is something so unique within a Mother/Child relationship that deep within every single Mom in the world is a inarguable connection to her children.  Sometimes they just need some help to feel it again.

So if that is your situation…be the bigger person.

Be authentic.  Be real.  Be understanding.  Be VULNERABLE.

But make the effort.

Do it for you.  Do it for your Mom.

Do it for Moms and Children everywhere.

It doesn’t last forever.

You only have one Mommy.

And I miss mine every day.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing Mothers in the world.
I love you all for what you bring to this world.

Yes, I have a few businesses in the industry, but I loved the game way before I went into the poker business.  For me, there is an attitude and a philosophy in poker that is so beautiful when transferred over to our lives…and that is the commitment to BEING All In.

In poker, going all in is when you put all of your chips in the middle.

That’s worth repeating.

Putting all of your chips in the middle.

In a tournament, that means you are completely at risk.  Win and you are still in.  Lose and you are out.

Now THAT is commitment.  It’s exciting.  It’s bold.  It’s risky.  It’s powerful.

Sure, it’s a little scary…but you know what…it’s fun as hell.

In fact, it’s down right exhillerating.

I started to think what being All In really means to me…and I woke up the other night and created what I call the All In Commitments.

Here you go.

1. Live Life To The Fullest – Play Full Out
2. Create Freedom – Personally & Financially
3. Be Bold, Take Risks and Have Fun
4. Give Back & Make A Difference In The World
5. Be A Lifelong Learner – Constantly Challenge Yourself
6. Live With Passion & Purpose
7. Lead By Example
8. Consistently Challenge Yourself – Play BIG

Are you up for that game?

Are you All In in your business?

Your relationships?

Your parenting?

Your health?

Your wealth?

Are you living an All In life?  I would love to know.

What is one thing you have done in the last week that showcases you are All In?

There is SO much more to making money from your passions than just doing what you love.

I love to play videos games & drink cold beer while simultaneously getting a shoulder and foot massage from two different people…however, there is not much of a market for that.

This is one of the most misguided and overused sayings in our culture.

Of course I believe it’s important to be passionate about what you do.  Of course it’s important that what you do brings you joy.

However, this statement leads people to believe that if you just do what you love, the money will somehow just magically appear one day.

There is so much more to it than that.

As we have seen from American Idol…just because someone loves to sing doesn’t mean they will make money as a singer.  William Hung and the “Pants On The Ground” guy are exceptions to talentless income.

Does it happen sometimes?  Are there examples of people just putting themselves out there passionately, getting that break and making it big?

Of course.

But most of us need to use our brains a bit more to have it happen.

Yes, you should LOVE what you do.  Yes, you should put LOVE into what you do.  And Yes, you should, whenever possible, build WHAT you do around what you LOVE.

And, if you want to be able to do what you love for a long, long time…you also better follow a few important LOVE steps:

• WHERE IS THE LOVE? – You must see if there are enough people who love what you love to support a market.  Generally speaking, if you look hard enough, you can find a market for just about anything.
• SPREADING THE LOVE – Create a way to get your love message in front of the people who are most likely to share their love back by giving you some of their money.  This way, you can have a love fest of sorts.  If you are just loving on yourself and no one else ever sees it…well, that’s another post all together.
• EMPLOY LOVERAGE – Make sure your message is compelling enough to move them into action.  Buckminster Fuller said, “Give me a lever long enough and I can move the world.”  LOVE, applied to the right places, is the most powerful lever in the world…bar none.  (Thank you Franco Gonzales for my new favorite word – loverage).
• ME LOVE YOU LONG TIME – Once someone has come into your circle of love…shower them with so much love they never want to leave.  Keep the love fest going and going and going.  If you create a way for people to feel loved & express their love…you will never have to worry about money again.

It’s never just, “Do what you love…”

We see this everywhere.

Talent alone doesn’t win championships.

Love alone doesn’t keep relationships together.

But instilling LOVE into all that you do and having it come alive as you execute a well developed plan…well that just may lead you to the life you were born to live.

White Adirondack chairs, a hammock in perfect stillness hanging from towering Australian pines create a true postcard view.  Everything about the view out the back says peace.  It’s God’s poetry at its finest.

In the background is a collection of classic folk songs playing…the perfect soundtrack to this moment in time.  A song just came on that I am not familiar with…but I love.  It’s Harry Nilsson’s “Everybody’s Talking At Me.”

Everybody’s talking at me.
I don’t hear a word they’re saying,
Only the echoes of my mind.

People stopping staring,
I can’t see their faces,
Only the shadows of their eyes.

These lyrics grabbed me because for me, the holidays are a time that provide that often needed nudge to reconnect with people.  Granted, I do my best to do this every day, but we all need reminders, support, mentors, partners and yes…songs, to bring us back to what this game is all about.

People.

It’s really all about people…and more specifically it’s all about connecting with people.

I mean really connecting.

“Everybody’s talking at me, I don’t hear a word they’re saying.”

This line unfortunately describes such a large number of people’s daily lives.  Our attention gets diverted by TV, pop-up ads, work, drama, world crisis, mindless entertainment…all the noise that we have created in our worlds.

It can be deafening.

And we miss what PEOPLE are saying.

Connection.

Honest, authentic, deep, unconditional, engaging, powerful, spiritual, meaningful connection.

There is nothing like it.

This is why we make money.

We make money so we have the time to do what?

To be able connect with ourselves and others without the restriction of time or limits on our options.

This is why we volunteer our time.

This is why we have children.

This is why we build friendships.

This is why we search for that someone special.

This is why recognition and genuine appreciation means so much to us…we feel connected.

This is why those magical moments in our lives where we really feel connected to ourselves, our purpose, other people and the world we live in are burned undeniably in our hearts and minds forever.

The experience of true connection is absolutely beautiful.

This is my wish for all of us throughout the holidays and for the coming year.

Be conscious about creating authentic connection in your world.

People are fascinating, truly.  Everyone has a story worth hearing.  Everyone has a story worth telling.

Dive in past the safety of surface level platitudes and seek to really get to know people.

Get real with people and stop being so damn afraid.  (Don’t try to bs me and tell me you aren’t afraid…I don’t buy it.)

Connection.

This is the good stuff in life.

Start now.

Laugh so hard this holiday that you let the divine in.

Create some real connection.

Then choose to nurture it.

On this glorious Thanksgiving day 2010, I am grateful for each of you reading this whether I have met you or not.  Your choice to allow me and my thoughts into your world is such a gift to me.

I am grateful for all of the authentic connections (past, present and future) I have been blessed with – family, friends, teammates, partners, customers, lovers, and experiences.

Each of you have enriched my life beyond measure.  I only hope that in some small way, I can contribute to your world in as meaningful a way as you have mine.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Stay Connected.

With love & laughter,

Keith

Last week my son Brennan came down with a case of lice.  We have no idea where he got it from.

It could have been school.  I could have been trying on Halloween masks.  Who knows?

If you have never had to deal with this crap, then you have no idea.  It’s rough.  The medical treatments are all incredibly toxic so we went the natural route.  It’s slower, but still effective.

The actual lice is killed almost immediately, but these little things called “nits” are left behind.  Actually, they are eggs…which it not only a disgusting thought…but a massive pain in the ass.

The school won’t let a child come back until every single nit is gone.

We picked…then picked some more.

There were thousands.

So I shaved Brennan’s hair down to where it was tight to his head.  It looked like I got all the nits…or at least I thought I did.

Come Monday…the school sent him home again.

The only thing left to do was completely shave his head.  We talked about it and Brennan was totally cool with going “Bruce Willis.”

Kids rock that way.

So here I am shaving away and I have about a third of his head completely bald and thinning out the rest.

Then it happened.

In an instant I got absolutely overwhelmed with emotion.  It hit me out of nowhere.

And it hit me hard.

As I shaved my amazing 5½ yr old’s head and looked into his eyes with his new very fashionable look…I got images of kids with cancer and leukemia after chemo treatments.  I got images of kids who have to shave their heads for brain surgery.

In that moment, everything collapsed together – Brennan, chemo, leukemia, trauma, pain, helplessness, family challenges, appreciating things, losing things,  – it just all came over me and tears started rolling down my face.

I started thinking about how fricken fortunate I am.  I started thinking about all the people in my life that I love and am grateful for.

I started thinking about all the opportunities I am afforded and in actuality…how easy my life is.

And I started thinking about how I often take these things for granted.

So far today my biggest challenge was to get Brennan to eat breakfast…pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of life.

And yet we often make these small challenges seem HUGE.

I usually shift pretty quickly from things.  I take my lessons and go.  This one floored me.  I was numb for hours.  I had a mastermind call with my team leaders later in the morning and was moved to tears again in appreciation of their contribution to my life.

At a very real level, I am still in it.

Brennan often teaches me lessons.  He does it virtually every day.  But this experience was the most profound of all.

Sometimes we need reminders.  We need to relearn.  We need to unlearn.  We need to reprogram and reconnect.

Here is what my little lice infested angel reconnected me to…

Stuff In Life Just Happens…We Choose The Meaning

How often do we get sucked into believing something or thinking something just because that is what is familiar to us in our past…or most of the rest of the world believes a certain way?

Nothing in life inherently has any meaning.  Zero.  Ziltch.

We CHOOSE whatever meaning we want and we attach it to the events in our lives.  The events themselves give us nothing other than an experience, which alone is meaningless.  Additional years aren’t always liberating…sometimes they can aid us in creating mental prisons.

Experience is indeed the best teacher, but we have to bring awareness to what it is actually teaching us.  If I had to shave my head as a teenager I would have been devastated.  Even today, it would be a serious gut check moment.

Brennan has no negative anchor.  No need to impress.  No comparative judgment.

He has no past experience to limit how he embraces this moment and because of that…he grabbed every ounce of positive emotion from it.

Imagine if you had to shave your head today.  Would you embrace it or would it stop you in your tracks?

What emotions and fears would it bring up for you?  What would you make it mean?

We Need To Unlearn To Move Forward

It’s often said that things like fear of __________, (success, failure, embarrassment, not fitting in, etc) are “part of the human condition.”  I believe this to be true, but I would change it slightly.

I believe these things are “Part of the human conditioning.”

For the most part, we learn about fear…we aren’t born with it.  We learn most of it before we are seven, then the rest of our lives reinforce it.

Mentally, we become our own best supporter of limited thinking.  I see it over and over again.

I have been a student of personal development for over 20 years.  I have been facilitating programs that help people move through this stuff for 15 years.

And I still get stuck…all the damn time.

We HAVE to set up supportive structures in order to have any shot at UNlearning, reprogramming and creating massive success for ourselves.

You truly make up and choose your beliefs.  Your current ones have been hardened by life over the years, but they are NOT permanently fixed.

Begin today to look at the beliefs you have and look at what you want.  Are they in alignment?

If they are…awesome.

If they are not…awesome.  Now let’s change them.

Then give yourself plenty of opportunities to create small victories that support your new beliefs.

Brennan didn’t have anything to unlearn.  I do.  You may as well.

Start unlearning your ass off and set yourself free.

It’s NOT About Living Like You Are Dying

I’ve never liked this philosophy.

“Live like you are dying.”

“Live each moment as if it’s your last.”

It doesn’t work for me.  Honestly, if you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do today?

For me, what works is to be completely present at all times.  Do all I can in all I do.  Be joyful.  Let people know how I feel and how much they mean to me.

My little 40” Jedi is a masterful teacher.  These lessons for me were so unexpected.

It literally came out of nowhere…but it was exactly what I needed.

I am so incredibly grateful for lice.  If you have any question as to why…look at the pure joy on Brennan’s face in the photo below.  He could give a rat’s ass about his hair…it doesn’t define him.

What life-changing lessons are you walking past everyday because they are disguised as tiny obstacles, nuisances, “problems” or challenges?

Please forward and share this with everyone you know who has children and anyone who is committed to living an authentic and joyful life.

Enjoy.
==================================

The man sits on the edge of the cliff looking into his own soul,
Seeing nothing, seeing everything, seeing all the wonders of the heavens and the mysteries of the sea.

Knowing that within his self-constructed walls of protection,
There is a small child who once celebrated his freedom and knew no limits.
And yet, over the years, the man buried the child in maturity, have to’s, intellect and all things ‘adult.’

The world around the child has changed,
His body has grown, his knowledge increased, his life unfolded.
And yet this little child inside still knows what it feels like to be small, insecure and not wanting the world to look directly into his eyes.

With each passing day, with each moment experienced, with each lesson learned,
The man begins to see the child with new eyes and with a new heart.
He understand that the boy, scared yet free, is a part of who he is now.

And that makes him happy.

To be able to see the world through so many perspectives,
To be commanding, humble, powerful and cautious.
To not be so wrapped up in himself that he misses the sound of a robin telling him spring has come.

Yes, it’s an honor to recognize our smallness and our vastness,
Our wisdom and our innocence,
Our courage and our cowardice,
Our divinity and our humanity.

To be able to fully experience ourselves and the magic of being immensely small.

Do I sound like I am a Facebook fan?

Here are the quick facts (as of June 2010)…

• Over 400 million users (massive reach)
• Half of all users log in every day (consistent exposure)
• Average user has 130 friends (word of mouth, viral)
• Over 500 billion minutes a month logged (loyalty to platform)

As with every great invention, some people choose to use it properly and professionally while others misuse it entirely.  But you know what they say about money…it just makes you more of what you already are.  This is true about Facebook marketing as well.

If you were a spamming, inauthentic, disgusting marketing jackass before…well, Facebook can help you propel yourself to become a intergalactic marketing jackass.   Everyone learns essential ingredients for authentic living like integrity, character and value in their own time.

When a platform like Facebook is developed…both leaders and scavengers will emerge.  Fortunately, if you know what to look for, scavengers are easy to find.  Our new world of social media is wonderfully transparent and all you have to do is sniff around for value first marketing.  You’ll rarely find scavengers lurking in those circles.

Okay, let’s get onto the list of ways to leverage the power of Facebook.

1. Be Real – I know this sounds simple, but if everyone was authentic 100% of the time, the world would be a very difference place.   Most people, whether they know it or not, long for substance – in people, businesses and experiences.  Don’t ever try to be something you are not. This doesn’t fool anyone and will weaken your brand over time rather than strengthen it.

If you are brand new to online marketing, don’t say you are an internet marketing coach or expert.  It would be better to say that you are an Expert Resource…because you will simply be providing people with other people’s knowledge.  Always put your best foot forward, but just make sure it’s your own foot.

2. Lead With Value – I am putting this one here up front because this strategy, along with #1, is the basis to everything you will ever do in social media.  Over-deliver value…this should be your mantra.  My core intent with this article is to provide you with real value.  If providing you will value ever turns into business for me, then that’s great…but my goal is to provide pure value for you.   I believe strongly in Universal Laws like the Law of Reciprocity…so I will consistently provide free content to add value to people’s lives.

Think about what you can give that other people want.  Think about how you can make other people’s lives better.  Think how you can help solve their challenges.  If you become THAT person for people…you’ll have more business than you can imagine.

3. Pimp Your Profile – If you are going to use Facebook for marketing…then think like a marketer.  Develop a message for your profile that is interesting, relevant and powerful.  If you are in a business like network marketing, then YOU are your brand.  Think about the talent and skills you bring to the world, think about your experience and results, think about the resources you provide and craft a compelling message that pulls all of that together.  Keep it simple, but make it powerful.

Facebook gives people a 360 glance into your world.  They can learn about you, your interests, your business, your family and your social circle.  For me, this is an important part of who I am…therefore I showcase it all.

#1 and #2 here in this list should be your guiding force behind developing #3 on this list.  Yes, stories sell…just make sure the stories you are telling are true.

4. Network – Think of Facebook as a massive global networking event.  There are people everywhere, hanging out in groups, discussing various topics and going to different events.  If you were at a live event like that and wanted to network, what would you do?

You would get off your butt and go meet people.  Well, it’s no different on Facebook.

Use the Facebook search feature to find things you are interested in.  Search for groups related to your niche and join them.  Make friends with people in those groups.  Get out there and mingle, connect and start building relationships.

5. Build Key Relationships – If Facebook is a massive global networking event then it makes sense that there are likely people in the room that you’d want to make sure you meet.  In Facebook’s case, there are thousands of those people throughout various niches.

Invest a little time doing some research and find out who some of the movers and shakers are in your niche or niches.  This may be a little tricky at first, but you’ll get the hang of it.  Don’t be fooled simply by large friends lists.

Social networking is all about creating dialogue.  Someone may have 3,000 friends, but check out their posts.  If their posts are landing on deaf ears (meaning no one is “liking” them and no one is commenting on them)…this person isn’t influential.  Essentially…they are on stage talking to a room of 3,000 people who are all sleeping in the audience.

Additionally, many savvy marketers focus far more on their groups and pages than their personal profile.  With a little effort, you can find some key people in your niche.  Invest your time to build relationships with these people first. (Hint: #1 and #2 are the keys to these people friend’ing you.)

6. Start Groups – Facebook has millions of groups covering millions of topics and areas of interest.  From a marketing perspective, why would you want to start a group?

The obvious reason is that you are targeting people with specific areas of interest to talk with on a consistent basis.  But the not so obvious reason is to preserve your social currency with your contacts and friends.  Just because someone becomes your Facebook friend doesn’t mean they want to hear all about your business all the time.  Inviting people to opt-in to a group will solve that issue.

• Group Rules: See tips 1-5.  Use each of these strategies when crafting your group.  Be real, provide tons of value before asking people to buy anything, craft your group page, photo and name to be enticing and relevant, try and partner with key influencers and communicate frequently.
• Most importantly though…make your group interesting to be a part of.  Share some real value.  Again…if you become THAT person…new business won’t be an issue.

7. Slow Down To Go Fast – In our world that is changing so rapidly, everyone wants things instantly.  I want it all and I want it now…this is true for so many people.  I can relate.   In my opinion, you would be best served to switch that philosophy to “I want it all and I want it to last forever.”

Thinking about your long-term strategy, brand and goals will greatly influence how you choose to participate in the world.  This is true in life as well as social media.

If you wanted to create a long-term relationship with a significant other, you likely wouldn’t be trying to meet people with the goal to see how fast you could get them to sleep with you.  You would take time to genuinely get to know them, find out what they are all about and look for ways you can support them.

How does this relate to growing your Facebook presence?

Simple.

When you request someone’s friendship, take a minute to go on their profile and learn something about them.  Do the same thing when someone requests your friendship.

Write EVERYONE a short, interesting note.  Remember, social networking is about creating dialogue.  Get the dialogue started right away.

Trust me, if you do this, you are differentiating yourself from 99% of the people on Facebook.  You are standing out from the crowd.

Build relationships and add value and the money will follow.

Other Advanced Strategies

8. Integrate With Other Platforms – If you have a website, a blog, a Twitter account, a YouTube account and/or any other social networking or web platform…make sure all of your accounts are talking to each other.  You want to make sure if someone finds your blog, they can easily link to your Facebook profile.

Put your social networking links everywhere you can and if you have a blog, put your blog url everywhere you can.  There are hundreds of social bookmarking sites and although you don’t need to focus on all of them, every time you create a profile on one and list your website, you are creating a backlink to your site.  The search engines love this.

Create some consistency within your brand.  If at all possible, make sure your make social media platforms all have the same account information.  Try to avoid being MaryJo on Facebook, SocialDiva on Twitter and PowerMarketing on YouTube.  Be you everywhere.  (Remember tip #1)

9. Add An Opt-In Box – You can do this to your profile and to a fan page (see #10).  This provides yet another opportunity for your Facebook friends to join your main mailing list.  If you aren’t building a list yet, you may think this doesn’t apply to you.  But honestly, if you aren’t building a list yet…what the heck are you wait for?  Get over to Aweber right now and get an account.

Moving social media connections to your main list should be one of your primary goals.  Once on your list, you can provide massive value in a very targeted way which will allow you the opportunity to really grow and anchor your relationships with the people who are attracted to you and your brand.

Just do a quick search on FB for Profile FBML on how to add an opt-in box to your profile page if you want me to walk you through the basics.  It’s really very easy and I have virtually zero web development experience and am not technical at all.

10. Start A Fan Page – As you get closer and closer to the 5,000 friend limit Facebook has, you will need another place to put people.  Honestly, if you know you are in this for the long haul, you should consider starting your fan page much, much sooner.

A fan page provides significantly more flexibility and essentially allows you to create your own website inside of Facebook.

If found this article online or on my blog, head over to my Fan Page to check it out.   If you haven’t yet, click “like” on my page (that’s Facebook’s new term for being a fan).

If you want a groovy custom design like mine, check out Brian Hanson at http://customtwit.com.  He absolutely rocks.

These are 10 really core principles and tips for enhancing your online brand and starting to do business through Facebook.  There really isn’t anything on this list that you shouldn’t be doing.  These are all fundamental…they aren’t options, they are necessities.

Let’s get working.  Game on!

For more strategies like these, join my mailing list.  Take action now.

Yes, you read that correctly.

If you want to do business through this incredibly viral, wonderfully targetable, highly searchable social platform…you need to at least learn some of the basics to get started.  In this video, which I originally posted through Facebook as a welcome gift to new friends, I cover 3 simple yet powerful strategies that make a world of difference.

Click here to view the embedded video.

It’s about my 5 yr old son, Brennan, and his talent for persuasiveness.

Many people talk about how they “aren’t a salesman” or a “salesy type person,” with great pride as if being in sales is a disease to get rid of.

The reality is, we are all in sales.  Some are just in denial.

If you are a teacher, you are constantly selling and reselling your students as to why it’s so important to learn, why each lesson is valuable and why they need to put their best effort in.

If you are a police officer, you are maneuvering for premium shifts, promotions and persuading people to follow your hunches and instincts.

If you are in a relationship…well, don’t even get me started.

If you are a parent, then your salesmanship is constantly being tested.

Unfortunately for us, we are out manned, out skilled and out worked by our kids.

Kids are naturals and my son is no exception.  He is relentless and doesn’t take no for an answer.

It’s 10:45 am and he has already asked me for a lolly pop 5 times.  5 times.

Did he get his feelings hurt when I said no the first 4 times?  Nope.

Did he take it personally? Not even a little.

Did he use other tactics like cute faces, pitched voices and the promise to “be my best friend?”  Of course he did, and he did it with style.

Did it matter to Brennan that I said no 5 times?  Absolutely not.  What mattered was what he wanted.  He was singularly focused.  He was intentional.  He was committed to getting what he wanted.

And you should be too.

We so often in life allow the circumstances of our world to impact our choices.  We react as opposed to respond.  We let temporary feedback throw us off course.

The surest way to get anything in this lifetime is to decide what it is you want, set a clear intention that you will attain it and go after it with passion until it’s yours.

Don’t stop until it’s yours or you decide you really don’t want it any more.  Awaken your inner 5 yr old incredibly powerful, always persuasive, wonderfully present little salesperson and get to work on accomplishing your goals and dreams.

Now, excuse me…I need to go deliver a lolly pop.  Brennan is riding his big wheel in the rain and being beautifully a kid.  He just shouted…”I want a lolly pop,” with a huge smile on his face.

Hey…just because I teach it, doesn’t mean I can resist it.  I think he wants a red one. (Don’t worry…it’s organic.)