Your Non-Verbal Communication

In any conversation your tone of voice accounts for 38% of what you say and your body language for 55%. Your words only account for the remaining 7% of the message. People believe the most dominant impression. To be influential it is important to synchronize the messages. Learn to speak non-verbal!

The Value Of Your Time

If you are a hard worker like me, time is probably the scarcest resource in your life. Time is also the only non-renewable commodity in your life. In business, if you have an annual sales quota of $1M you need to sell for almost $600 every working hour of the year. To assign a value to your private time is more difficult but I submit that your private time is worth much more than your after-tax hourly income.

Intentions Versus Actions

We judge others by their actions and ourselves by our best intentions many times. I think the psychology behind this tendency is that we know we intended it and thought about doing it, even if we never did. Let's be honest with ourselves and realize that other people judge us just the same way we do them - by our actions.

Write Your Goals Down

A Yale study, 1953-1973 on goal setting and later a Harvard study, 1979-1989; found that only 3% of the graduate students had written goals, 13% had goals but not written them down and 84% had no goals at all. Years later when surveyed it was found that the students with goals had succeeded far better than those without. In the case of the Harvard study the MBA students with written goals made 10x as much money as those with no goals at all. The lesson is clear: Write your goals down!

Provide Value Upfront

Be of value to your contacts. Find ways to be helpful and useful. To be effective in your sales and marketing message you need to provide a lot of value to your customers upfront in order to stand out from the crowd. Just like the vacuum cleaner salesman of old used to ask when he knocked on doors; "Can I clean the living room for you, ma´m?"

Work Your Objectives Every Day

Success often comes dressed in work clothes. If you expect to make it big, you must work toward your objectives every day! The ability to carry on, and self-discipline yourself when motivation is no longer as strong as initially, when you first made your decision and started out toward your goal, is the mark of a true champion. Without work, no victory!

Live For Today, Plan For Tomorrow

Our success and effectiveness often depend on our ability to hold two contradictory thoughts in our head simultaneously. Live each day as if it is your last; and plan to live for many, many more years. Martin Luther is quoted to have said: "Even if I knew the world would end tomorrow, I would still plant an apple tree." Ask yourself: "What would I do differently if I knew today is my last day on this planet? How would I plan for the long term none the less?"