Partners Issue # 108
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G K Lim
Aug 28, 2005, 8:10:58 AM8/28/05
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__/= p a r t n e r s =\__
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Dedicated to the personal and professional development of PMEE’s -- professionals, managers, executives, and entrepreneurs -- everywhere.
Issue # 108
Seventh year in publication
Since July 1, 1998
Current number of subscribers: 2,805
To subscribe: partners-...@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe: partners-u...@googlegroups.com
Comments, feedback, suggestions, questions, etc.:
partner...@googlegroups.com or g...@gklim.com
Past issues: http://groups-beta.google.com/group/partners
****************************************
"IN THIS ISSUE"
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[1] Editor's Corner
[2] Personal Development Article
[3] Business Development Article
[4] Attitude Vitamins
[5] Stress Buster
[6] Feel Good Classic
[7] Chop Suey Rojak
[8] Sponsors’ Messages
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[1] "EDITOR'S CORNER"
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Hi,
I get angry, you get angry, all God's children get angry. It's what we do with our anger, how we manage it, that makes all the difference. Read "Stress Management: 12 Universal Laws for Managing Anger" by Jeff Herring, to find out what the 12 key secrets for managing anger are.
Competition in the business world is often viewed as a negative thing, but it doesn't have to be. Competition can benefit you, your competitor, and especially your customer! Find out more in "Have You Thanked Your Competitors Today?" by Wendy Betterini
Our Feel Good Classic piece is a bit long -- but worth the read. Goes to show that good things do happen to people who believe. Go ahead, read it.
BONUS: An entire book -- free! John Rowan's "Guide to Humanistic Psychology and Bibliography." At the Chop Suey Rojak section.
Enjoy issue # 108!
Cheers!
G K Lim < www.gklim.com >
__/= p a r t n e r s =\__
==================
Dedicated to the personal and professional development of PMEE’s -- professionals, managers, executives, and entrepreneurs -- everywhere.
Issue # 108
Seventh year in publication
Since July 1, 1998
Current number of subscribers: 2,805
To subscribe: partners-...@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe: partners-u...@googlegroups.com
Comments, feedback, suggestions, questions, etc.:
partner...@googlegroups.com or g...@gklim.com
Past issues: http://groups-beta.google.com/group/partners
****************************************
"IN THIS ISSUE"
****************************************
[1] Editor's Corner
[2] Personal Development Article
[3] Business Development Article
[4] Attitude Vitamins
[5] Stress Buster
[6] Feel Good Classic
[7] Chop Suey Rojak
[8] Sponsors’ Messages
*********************************************
[1] "EDITOR'S CORNER"
*********************************************
Hi,
I get angry, you get angry, all God's children get angry. It's what we do with our anger, how we manage it, that makes all the difference. Read "Stress Management: 12 Universal Laws for Managing Anger" by Jeff Herring, to find out what the 12 key secrets for managing anger are.
Competition in the business world is often viewed as a negative thing, but it doesn't have to be. Competition can benefit you, your competitor, and especially your customer! Find out more in "Have You Thanked Your Competitors Today?" by Wendy Betterini
Our Feel Good Classic piece is a bit long -- but worth the read. Goes to show that good things do happen to people who believe. Go ahead, read it.
BONUS: An entire book -- free! John Rowan's "Guide to Humanistic Psychology and Bibliography." At the Chop Suey Rojak section.
Enjoy issue # 108!
Cheers!
G K Lim < www.gklim.com >
Editor /
Publisher
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[2] "ARTICLE -- PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT"
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Stress Management: 12 Universal Laws for Managing Anger
By Jeff Herring
1. The Law of Everyone
It is not necessarily wrong to get angry. You get angry, I get angry, all God’s children get angry. It’s what we do with our anger that makes the difference.
2. The Law of Stress
Although we don’t often think of anger as a form of stress, it is by far one of the largest and most destructive forms of daily stress. Manage your anger, and you manage a large amount of your stress.
3. The Law of Choice
Anger is rarely if ever an automatic response. It’s a choice. It’s a choice because we have to think about something before we get angry.
4. The Law of Shoulds
We all have beliefs about how the world and the people around us should behave. When these beliefs are violated, anger is a natural, and sometimes reasonable response. The problem is that when we “should” on somebody, it can become a trigger for our anger.
For example, if we run the sentence “that driver should not have cut in front of me” over and over in our heads, the response is not likely to be pretty. At best we’ll raise our blood pressure, and at worst do something really stupid.
5. The Law of Blame
Another one of our thoughts that lead quickly to anger involves
blaming someone or something. The dance of blame is a deadly two step:
1) someone is at fault, and
2) they should be punished - anger can be very punishing.
6. The Law of Cause
This one is closely related to the law of blame. There is a myth in our culture that very few people ever question. The best example is the phrase “he made me angry.”
Well, bull! No one can make us angry without our cooperation.
7. The Law of Emflaming
Another myth is that if we are able to vent our anger it will
automatically decrease. That is not necessarily so. I once watched a neighbor stomp around the side of his house, grumbling and swearing as he went. Stomping by the air conditioning unit, he smashed his fist down on top of it. That move not only made him angrier, it looked to me like it hurt a lot too. Grumbling and swearing even louder, he stomps into his backyard and kicks a lounge chair. It didn’t appear to calm
him down, and it looked like that one hurt too. I found out later that he broke both his hand and his foot on his romp around the yard.
8. The Law of Source
In almost every case, anger is a secondary emotion. In other words, we experience some other strong emotion before we feel the anger. Follow the source and you usually come up with one of three strong emotions - fear, frustration or hurt, or some combination of the above. Deal with fear, frustration and hurt and you can cut anger off at the pass.
9. The Law of Battles
Learn to pick your battles. If you get angry at everything, then your anger means nothing. If that sounds confusing, here’s an example: how much would gold be worth if we all had it in abundance? That’s right, not much. Gold is valuable because it is so rare. If you are always getting angry, people stop taking you seriously and just want to avoid you.
10. The Law of Worth
Ask your self this question: “is this situation worth getting angry over?” Most time it just isn’t.
11. The Law of Muscles
Learn to exercise your choice muscles. We can choose to be angry or we can choose another way of handling the situation.
12. The Law of Channeling
When you do get angry, channel it into something you can use to benefit you, such as motivating you into changing what can be changed.
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Visit SecretsofGreatRelationships.com for tips and tools for creating and growing a great relationship. You can also subscribe to our f*r*e*e 10 day e-program on how to enrich your relationship today, from relationship coach and expert Jeff Herring.
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[3] "ARTICLE -- BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT"
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Have You Thanked Your Competitors Today?
By Wendy Betterini
Competition in the business world is often viewed as a negative thing, but it doesn't have to be. Competition can benefit you, your competitor, and especially your customer!
Let's look at some of the ways in which competitors can help you:
1) They prevent you from becoming lazy and overly comfortable in your business practices. It's easy to feel confident and relaxed in your business if you have a unique product that everyone wants. You don't feel any pressure to better yourself or your product. Everyone wants it, so it must be good as it is, right? Then one day another company comes along that begins offering similar products that are just a little bit better than yours. Uh-oh! Now you feel the pressure to perform. You don't want to lose your customers, so you need to continuously improve your product and your level of customer service. You now need to give your customers a stronger reason to keep coming back to you.
2) They encourage you to be more creative. So, now you're not the only one selling purple-polka-dotted purses anymore. What can you do? Develop more products! Stretch your imagination. Come up with some unique ideas that will either improve upon your existing products or design new ones. Come up with a line of new accessories, new color schemes, new sizes and styles. Don't try to copy what your competitors are doing, do something different and unique. Express your own creativity.
3) They help you to stretch out of your comfort zones. Perhaps you have a solid customer base and haven't had to invest much in promoting your company until now. But the attention is slowly beginning to drift away from you. Now you need to work a little harder at your level of visibility. You can advertise some sales or special promotions, get more involved with your local community, or donate a portion of sales to a worthy cause. Become as visible as you can in your community. Whether you have an online business or a brick and mortar one, you need to remain in your customers' minds. Put yourself and your company out there whenever you can. Be noticeable, be memorable.
4) They force you to charge reasonable prices. This sounds like a bad thing, but really it's not. Think of yourself as a consumer. Aren't you always looking for good value for your money? Of course you are. And so are your customers! While it's great to be earning a lot of money for your products, you also want to be fair to your customers if you want them to come back again. No one likes to feel like they're being over-charged or ripped off. You may need to explore different suppliers and materials in order to keep your prices in line, but your customers will thank you for it by returning again and again.
5) Joint ventures. These can be extremely profitable for both parties, if they're done right. Perhaps you and your competitor can offer discounts to the other's customers and do some cross-promotion for each other. Promote your competitor's purses and she will promote your scarves and shoes. Swap ads in each other's newsletters. Think of some ways in which both of you could work together to benefit yourselves, as well as your customers. Build each other up, rather than trying to tear each other down.
These concepts become a little more challenging when applied to distributors who work for the same company, but it's still possible to find ways to work together in growing your businesses. Perhaps you can co-host a home-business seminar and share in the product sales and recruits. Share the costs of advertising in a prominent publication and split the responses. Or each of you can target different markets and give referrals to each other. Working together will ultimately result in more sales for your company, which will benefit both of you also!
Competition can seem threatening at times, but the truth is, there is room for all of us! Just think about the popular burger places in the world today. I can think of at least 4 or 5 well-known ones, including the two most popular that are usually found within blocks of each other in any city -- or sometimes right next door to each other! These companies earn billions of dollars a year. Look at how these companies keep encouraging each other to do better. In their competition, they are creating menus that have items for only $1, new value meal combinations, new sandwiches and salads, later hours and more. It's benefiting the consumer by giving them more choices and better value for their money, and it's benefiting the burger places by earning them more money. It's a win-win situation all around.
So the next time you see one of your competitors, smile, wave and say, "THANKS!"
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Wendy Betterini is a freelance writer and web designer who has been successfully working from home since 2003. In 2005 she launched http://www.CreativeWorkAtHome.com, a community and resource center for home-based professionals, and those who aspire to be. Visit today for tools, tips and information on how you can create your own home-based career, or further improve the one you already have!
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[4] "ATTITUDE VITAMINS"
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It's easy to be a malcontent, but much more challenging (and rewarding) to be a constructive participant. -- Henry Pasternack
Patience and good judgment should not be confused with stubbornness and prejudice. -- Brant Watson
Never let the fear of striking out get in your way. -- Babe Ruth
The past is a source of knowledge, and the future is a source of hope. -- Stephen Ambrose
Live out of your imagination, not your history. -- Stephen Covey
Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain cool and unruffled under all circumstances. -- Thomas Jefferson
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye. -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery
The more I work with organizations, the more I am convinced that it all comes down to how people both employees and customers perceive the way they are treated by the organization and its management. -- quoted in "The Power of Ethical Management," by Kenneth Blanchard and Norman Vincent Peale
Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth. -- Pema Chodron
It s easy to make a buck. It s a lot tougher to make a difference. -- Tom Brokaw
No man is free that cannot command himself. -- Pythagoras
Genius is nothing but continued attention. -- Claude Adrien Helvetius
Children share with geniuses an open, inquiring, uninhibited quality of mind. -- Chauncey Guy Suits
Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler. -- Albert Einstein
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature nor do the children of man as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. -- Helen Keller
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[5] "STRESS BUSTER"
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The boss joined a group of his workers at the coffee urn and told a series of jokes he'd heard recently. Everybody laughed loudly. Everybody, that is, except Mike.
When he noticed that he was getting no reaction from Mike, the boss said, "What's the matter, Mike? No sense of humor?"
"My sense of humor is fine," he said. "But I don't have to laugh. I'm quitting tomorrow."
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Truth about pets:
* Dogs and cats instinctively know the exact moment their owners will wake up. Then they wake them 10 minutes sooner.
* Dogs have owners. Cats have staff.
* Dogs shed, cats shred.
* I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult.
* No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does.
* I hope to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am.
* Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.
* We wonder why the dogs always drink out of our toilets, but look at it from their point of view: Why do humans keep peeing into their water bowls?
* Women and cats will do as they please ... men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.
* When a man's best friend is his dog, that dog has a problem.
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A convict managed to escape from prison and his escape was the lead item on the six o'clock news.
So not to be captured, he ran through fields and traveled through back roads until he reached his wife's house.
When he reached the house, he rang the bell, his wife opened the door and screamed, "You lousy bum! Where have you been? You escaped more than six hours ago!"
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[6] "FEEL GOOD CLASSIC"
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The Wallet
As I walked home one freezing day, I stumbled on a wallet someone had lost in the street. I picked it up and looked inside to find some identification so I could call the owner. But the wallet contained only three dollars and a crumpled letter that looked as if it had been in there for years.
The envelope was worn and the only thing that was legible on it was the return address. I started to open the letter, hoping to find some clue. Then I saw the dateline--1924. The letter had been written almost sixty years ago.
It was written in a beautiful feminine handwriting on powder blue stationery with a little flower in the left-hand corner. It was a "Dear John" letter that told the recipient, whose name appeared to be Michael, that the writer could not see him any more because her mother forbade it. Even so, she wrote that she would always love him.
It was signed, Hannah.
It was a beautiful letter, but there was no way except for the name Michael, that the owner could be identified. Maybe if I called Information, the operator could find a phone listing for the address on the envelope.
"Operator," I began, "this is an unusual request. I'm trying to find the owner of a wallet that I found. Is there anyway you can tell me if there is a phone number for an address that was on an envelope in the wallet?"
She suggested I speak with her supervisor, who hesitated for a moment then said, "Well, there is a phone listing at that address, but I can't give you the number." She said, as a courtesy, she would call that number, explain my story and would ask them if they wanted her to connect me. I waited a few minutes and then she was back on the line. "I have a party who will speak with you."
I asked the woman on the other end of the line if she knew anyone by the name of Hannah. She gasped, "Oh! We bought this house from a family who had a daughter named Hannah. But that was 30 years ago!"
"Would you know where that family could be located now?" I asked.
"I remember that Hannah had to place her mother in a nursing home some years ago," the woman said. "Maybe if you got in touch with them they might be able to track down the daughter."
She gave me the name of the nursing home and I called the number. They told me the old lady had passed away some years ago but they did have a phone number for where they thought the daughter might be living. I thanked them and phoned. The woman who answered explained that Hannah herself was now living in a nursing home.
This whole thing was stupid, I thought to myself. Why was I making such a big deal over finding the owner of a wallet that had only three dollars and a letter that was almost 60 years old?
Nevertheless, I called the nursing home in which Hannah was supposed to be living and the man who answered the phone told me, "Yes, Hannah is staying with us."
Even though it was already 10 p.m., I asked if I could come by to see her. "Well," he said hesitatingly, "if you want to take a chance, she might be in the day room watching television."
I thanked him and drove over to the nursing home. The night nurse and a guard greeted me at the door. We went up to the third floor of the large building. In the day room, the nurse introduced me to Hannah.
She was a sweet, silver-haired old timer with a warm smile and a twinkle in her eye. I told her about finding the wallet and showed her the letter. The second she saw the powder blue envelope with that little flower on the left, she took a deep breath and said, "Young man, this letter was the last contact I ever had with Michael."
She looked away for a moment deep in thought and then said softly, "I loved him very much. But I was only 16 at the time and my mother felt I was too young. Oh, he was so handsome. He looked like Sean Connery, the actor."
"Yes," she continued, "Michael Goldstein was a wonderful person. If you should find him, tell him I think of him often. And," she hesitated for a moment, almost biting her lip, "tell him I still love him. You know," she said smiling as tears began to well up in her eyes, "I never did marry. I guess no one ever matched up to Michael..."
I thanked Hannah and said goodbye. I took the elevator to the first floor and as I stood by the door, the guard there asked, "Was the old lady able to help you?"
I told him she had given me a lead. "At least I have a last name. But I think I'll let it go for a while. I spent almost the whole day trying to find the owner of this wallet."
I had taken out the wallet, which was a simple brown leather case with red lacing on the side. When the guard saw it, he said, "Hey, wait a minute! That's Mr. Goldstein's wallet. I'd know it anywhere with that right red lacing. He's always losing that wallet must have found it in the halls at least three times."
"Who's Mr. Goldstein?" I asked as my hand began to shake.
"He's one of the old timers on the 8th floor. That's Mike Goldstein's wallet for sure. He must have lost it on one of his walks." I thanked the guard and quickly ran back to the nurse's office. I told her what the guard had said. We went back to the elevator and got on. I prayed that Mr. Goldstein would be up.
On the eighth floor, the floor nurse said, "I think he's still in the day room. He likes to read at night. He's a darling old man."
We went to the only room that had any lights on and there was a man reading a book. The nurse went over to him and asked if he had lost his wallet. Mr. Goldstein looked up with surprise, put his hand in his back pocket and said, "Oh, it is missing!"
"This kind gentleman found a wallet and we wondered if it could be yours?"
I handed Mr. Goldstein the wallet and the second he saw it, he smiled with relief and said, "Yes, that's it! It must have dropped out of my pocket this afternoon. I want to give you a reward."
"No, thank you," I said. "But I have to tell you something. I read the letter in the hope of finding out who owned the wallet."
The smile on his face suddenly disappeared. "You read that letter?"
"Not only did I read it, I think I know where Hannah is."
He suddenly grew pale. "Hannah? You know where she is? How is she? Is she still as pretty as she was? Please, please tell me," he begged.
"She's fine...just as pretty as when you knew her." I said softly.
The old man smiled with anticipation and asked, "Could you tell me where she is? I want to call her tomorrow." He grabbed my hand and said, "You know something, mister, I was so in love with that girl that when that letter came, my life literally ended. I never married. I guess I've always loved her."
"Mr. Goldstein," I said, "Come with me."
We took the elevator down to the third floor. The hallways were darkened and only one or two little night-lights lit our way to the day room where Hannah was sitting alone watching the television. The nurse walked over to her.
"Hannah," she said softly, pointing to Michael, who was waiting with me in the doorway. "Do you know this man?"
She adjusted her glasses, looked for a moment, but didn't say a word. Michael said softly, almost in a whisper, "Hannah, it's Michael. Do you remember me?"
She gasped, "Michael! I don't believe it! Michael! It's you! My Michael!" He walked slowly towards her and they embraced. The nurse and I left with tears streaming down our faces.
"See," I said. "See how the Good Lord works! If it's meant to be, it will be."
About three weeks later I got a call at my office from the nursing home. "Can you break away on Sunday to attend a wedding? Michael and Hannah are going to tie the knot!"
It was a beautiful wedding with all the people at the nursing home dressed up to join in the celebration. Hannah wore a light beige dress and looked beautiful. Michael wore a dark blue suit and stood tall. They made me their best man.
The hospital gave them their own room and if you ever wanted to see a 76-year-old bride and a 79-year-old groom acting like two teenagers, you had to see this couple.
A perfect ending for a love affair that had lasted nearly 60 years.
- Source Unknown
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[7] "CHOP SUEY ROJAK"
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Note: If long URL’s break, please cut and paste.
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The Ultimate Sales Force
How Peter Groop took HP's, GE's, and IBM's leftover products and built one of the hottest teams in America to sell them
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20040601/sales_ultimate.html
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[2] "ARTICLE -- PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT"
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Stress Management: 12 Universal Laws for Managing Anger
By Jeff Herring
1. The Law of Everyone
It is not necessarily wrong to get angry. You get angry, I get angry, all God’s children get angry. It’s what we do with our anger that makes the difference.
2. The Law of Stress
Although we don’t often think of anger as a form of stress, it is by far one of the largest and most destructive forms of daily stress. Manage your anger, and you manage a large amount of your stress.
3. The Law of Choice
Anger is rarely if ever an automatic response. It’s a choice. It’s a choice because we have to think about something before we get angry.
4. The Law of Shoulds
We all have beliefs about how the world and the people around us should behave. When these beliefs are violated, anger is a natural, and sometimes reasonable response. The problem is that when we “should” on somebody, it can become a trigger for our anger.
For example, if we run the sentence “that driver should not have cut in front of me” over and over in our heads, the response is not likely to be pretty. At best we’ll raise our blood pressure, and at worst do something really stupid.
5. The Law of Blame
Another one of our thoughts that lead quickly to anger involves
blaming someone or something. The dance of blame is a deadly two step:
1) someone is at fault, and
2) they should be punished - anger can be very punishing.
6. The Law of Cause
This one is closely related to the law of blame. There is a myth in our culture that very few people ever question. The best example is the phrase “he made me angry.”
Well, bull! No one can make us angry without our cooperation.
7. The Law of Emflaming
Another myth is that if we are able to vent our anger it will
automatically decrease. That is not necessarily so. I once watched a neighbor stomp around the side of his house, grumbling and swearing as he went. Stomping by the air conditioning unit, he smashed his fist down on top of it. That move not only made him angrier, it looked to me like it hurt a lot too. Grumbling and swearing even louder, he stomps into his backyard and kicks a lounge chair. It didn’t appear to calm
him down, and it looked like that one hurt too. I found out later that he broke both his hand and his foot on his romp around the yard.
8. The Law of Source
In almost every case, anger is a secondary emotion. In other words, we experience some other strong emotion before we feel the anger. Follow the source and you usually come up with one of three strong emotions - fear, frustration or hurt, or some combination of the above. Deal with fear, frustration and hurt and you can cut anger off at the pass.
9. The Law of Battles
Learn to pick your battles. If you get angry at everything, then your anger means nothing. If that sounds confusing, here’s an example: how much would gold be worth if we all had it in abundance? That’s right, not much. Gold is valuable because it is so rare. If you are always getting angry, people stop taking you seriously and just want to avoid you.
10. The Law of Worth
Ask your self this question: “is this situation worth getting angry over?” Most time it just isn’t.
11. The Law of Muscles
Learn to exercise your choice muscles. We can choose to be angry or we can choose another way of handling the situation.
12. The Law of Channeling
When you do get angry, channel it into something you can use to benefit you, such as motivating you into changing what can be changed.
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Visit SecretsofGreatRelationships.com for tips and tools for creating and growing a great relationship. You can also subscribe to our f*r*e*e 10 day e-program on how to enrich your relationship today, from relationship coach and expert Jeff Herring.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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[3] "ARTICLE -- BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT"
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Have You Thanked Your Competitors Today?
By Wendy Betterini
Competition in the business world is often viewed as a negative thing, but it doesn't have to be. Competition can benefit you, your competitor, and especially your customer!
Let's look at some of the ways in which competitors can help you:
1) They prevent you from becoming lazy and overly comfortable in your business practices. It's easy to feel confident and relaxed in your business if you have a unique product that everyone wants. You don't feel any pressure to better yourself or your product. Everyone wants it, so it must be good as it is, right? Then one day another company comes along that begins offering similar products that are just a little bit better than yours. Uh-oh! Now you feel the pressure to perform. You don't want to lose your customers, so you need to continuously improve your product and your level of customer service. You now need to give your customers a stronger reason to keep coming back to you.
2) They encourage you to be more creative. So, now you're not the only one selling purple-polka-dotted purses anymore. What can you do? Develop more products! Stretch your imagination. Come up with some unique ideas that will either improve upon your existing products or design new ones. Come up with a line of new accessories, new color schemes, new sizes and styles. Don't try to copy what your competitors are doing, do something different and unique. Express your own creativity.
3) They help you to stretch out of your comfort zones. Perhaps you have a solid customer base and haven't had to invest much in promoting your company until now. But the attention is slowly beginning to drift away from you. Now you need to work a little harder at your level of visibility. You can advertise some sales or special promotions, get more involved with your local community, or donate a portion of sales to a worthy cause. Become as visible as you can in your community. Whether you have an online business or a brick and mortar one, you need to remain in your customers' minds. Put yourself and your company out there whenever you can. Be noticeable, be memorable.
4) They force you to charge reasonable prices. This sounds like a bad thing, but really it's not. Think of yourself as a consumer. Aren't you always looking for good value for your money? Of course you are. And so are your customers! While it's great to be earning a lot of money for your products, you also want to be fair to your customers if you want them to come back again. No one likes to feel like they're being over-charged or ripped off. You may need to explore different suppliers and materials in order to keep your prices in line, but your customers will thank you for it by returning again and again.
5) Joint ventures. These can be extremely profitable for both parties, if they're done right. Perhaps you and your competitor can offer discounts to the other's customers and do some cross-promotion for each other. Promote your competitor's purses and she will promote your scarves and shoes. Swap ads in each other's newsletters. Think of some ways in which both of you could work together to benefit yourselves, as well as your customers. Build each other up, rather than trying to tear each other down.
These concepts become a little more challenging when applied to distributors who work for the same company, but it's still possible to find ways to work together in growing your businesses. Perhaps you can co-host a home-business seminar and share in the product sales and recruits. Share the costs of advertising in a prominent publication and split the responses. Or each of you can target different markets and give referrals to each other. Working together will ultimately result in more sales for your company, which will benefit both of you also!
Competition can seem threatening at times, but the truth is, there is room for all of us! Just think about the popular burger places in the world today. I can think of at least 4 or 5 well-known ones, including the two most popular that are usually found within blocks of each other in any city -- or sometimes right next door to each other! These companies earn billions of dollars a year. Look at how these companies keep encouraging each other to do better. In their competition, they are creating menus that have items for only $1, new value meal combinations, new sandwiches and salads, later hours and more. It's benefiting the consumer by giving them more choices and better value for their money, and it's benefiting the burger places by earning them more money. It's a win-win situation all around.
So the next time you see one of your competitors, smile, wave and say, "THANKS!"
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Wendy Betterini is a freelance writer and web designer who has been successfully working from home since 2003. In 2005 she launched http://www.CreativeWorkAtHome.com, a community and resource center for home-based professionals, and those who aspire to be. Visit today for tools, tips and information on how you can create your own home-based career, or further improve the one you already have!
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[4] "ATTITUDE VITAMINS"
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It's easy to be a malcontent, but much more challenging (and rewarding) to be a constructive participant. -- Henry Pasternack
Patience and good judgment should not be confused with stubbornness and prejudice. -- Brant Watson
Never let the fear of striking out get in your way. -- Babe Ruth
The past is a source of knowledge, and the future is a source of hope. -- Stephen Ambrose
Live out of your imagination, not your history. -- Stephen Covey
Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain cool and unruffled under all circumstances. -- Thomas Jefferson
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye. -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery
The more I work with organizations, the more I am convinced that it all comes down to how people both employees and customers perceive the way they are treated by the organization and its management. -- quoted in "The Power of Ethical Management," by Kenneth Blanchard and Norman Vincent Peale
Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth. -- Pema Chodron
It s easy to make a buck. It s a lot tougher to make a difference. -- Tom Brokaw
No man is free that cannot command himself. -- Pythagoras
Genius is nothing but continued attention. -- Claude Adrien Helvetius
Children share with geniuses an open, inquiring, uninhibited quality of mind. -- Chauncey Guy Suits
Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler. -- Albert Einstein
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature nor do the children of man as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. -- Helen Keller
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[5] "STRESS BUSTER"
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The boss joined a group of his workers at the coffee urn and told a series of jokes he'd heard recently. Everybody laughed loudly. Everybody, that is, except Mike.
When he noticed that he was getting no reaction from Mike, the boss said, "What's the matter, Mike? No sense of humor?"
"My sense of humor is fine," he said. "But I don't have to laugh. I'm quitting tomorrow."
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Truth about pets:
* Dogs and cats instinctively know the exact moment their owners will wake up. Then they wake them 10 minutes sooner.
* Dogs have owners. Cats have staff.
* Dogs shed, cats shred.
* I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult.
* No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does.
* I hope to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am.
* Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.
* We wonder why the dogs always drink out of our toilets, but look at it from their point of view: Why do humans keep peeing into their water bowls?
* Women and cats will do as they please ... men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.
* When a man's best friend is his dog, that dog has a problem.
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A convict managed to escape from prison and his escape was the lead item on the six o'clock news.
So not to be captured, he ran through fields and traveled through back roads until he reached his wife's house.
When he reached the house, he rang the bell, his wife opened the door and screamed, "You lousy bum! Where have you been? You escaped more than six hours ago!"
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[6] "FEEL GOOD CLASSIC"
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The Wallet
As I walked home one freezing day, I stumbled on a wallet someone had lost in the street. I picked it up and looked inside to find some identification so I could call the owner. But the wallet contained only three dollars and a crumpled letter that looked as if it had been in there for years.
The envelope was worn and the only thing that was legible on it was the return address. I started to open the letter, hoping to find some clue. Then I saw the dateline--1924. The letter had been written almost sixty years ago.
It was written in a beautiful feminine handwriting on powder blue stationery with a little flower in the left-hand corner. It was a "Dear John" letter that told the recipient, whose name appeared to be Michael, that the writer could not see him any more because her mother forbade it. Even so, she wrote that she would always love him.
It was signed, Hannah.
It was a beautiful letter, but there was no way except for the name Michael, that the owner could be identified. Maybe if I called Information, the operator could find a phone listing for the address on the envelope.
"Operator," I began, "this is an unusual request. I'm trying to find the owner of a wallet that I found. Is there anyway you can tell me if there is a phone number for an address that was on an envelope in the wallet?"
She suggested I speak with her supervisor, who hesitated for a moment then said, "Well, there is a phone listing at that address, but I can't give you the number." She said, as a courtesy, she would call that number, explain my story and would ask them if they wanted her to connect me. I waited a few minutes and then she was back on the line. "I have a party who will speak with you."
I asked the woman on the other end of the line if she knew anyone by the name of Hannah. She gasped, "Oh! We bought this house from a family who had a daughter named Hannah. But that was 30 years ago!"
"Would you know where that family could be located now?" I asked.
"I remember that Hannah had to place her mother in a nursing home some years ago," the woman said. "Maybe if you got in touch with them they might be able to track down the daughter."
She gave me the name of the nursing home and I called the number. They told me the old lady had passed away some years ago but they did have a phone number for where they thought the daughter might be living. I thanked them and phoned. The woman who answered explained that Hannah herself was now living in a nursing home.
This whole thing was stupid, I thought to myself. Why was I making such a big deal over finding the owner of a wallet that had only three dollars and a letter that was almost 60 years old?
Nevertheless, I called the nursing home in which Hannah was supposed to be living and the man who answered the phone told me, "Yes, Hannah is staying with us."
Even though it was already 10 p.m., I asked if I could come by to see her. "Well," he said hesitatingly, "if you want to take a chance, she might be in the day room watching television."
I thanked him and drove over to the nursing home. The night nurse and a guard greeted me at the door. We went up to the third floor of the large building. In the day room, the nurse introduced me to Hannah.
She was a sweet, silver-haired old timer with a warm smile and a twinkle in her eye. I told her about finding the wallet and showed her the letter. The second she saw the powder blue envelope with that little flower on the left, she took a deep breath and said, "Young man, this letter was the last contact I ever had with Michael."
She looked away for a moment deep in thought and then said softly, "I loved him very much. But I was only 16 at the time and my mother felt I was too young. Oh, he was so handsome. He looked like Sean Connery, the actor."
"Yes," she continued, "Michael Goldstein was a wonderful person. If you should find him, tell him I think of him often. And," she hesitated for a moment, almost biting her lip, "tell him I still love him. You know," she said smiling as tears began to well up in her eyes, "I never did marry. I guess no one ever matched up to Michael..."
I thanked Hannah and said goodbye. I took the elevator to the first floor and as I stood by the door, the guard there asked, "Was the old lady able to help you?"
I told him she had given me a lead. "At least I have a last name. But I think I'll let it go for a while. I spent almost the whole day trying to find the owner of this wallet."
I had taken out the wallet, which was a simple brown leather case with red lacing on the side. When the guard saw it, he said, "Hey, wait a minute! That's Mr. Goldstein's wallet. I'd know it anywhere with that right red lacing. He's always losing that wallet must have found it in the halls at least three times."
"Who's Mr. Goldstein?" I asked as my hand began to shake.
"He's one of the old timers on the 8th floor. That's Mike Goldstein's wallet for sure. He must have lost it on one of his walks." I thanked the guard and quickly ran back to the nurse's office. I told her what the guard had said. We went back to the elevator and got on. I prayed that Mr. Goldstein would be up.
On the eighth floor, the floor nurse said, "I think he's still in the day room. He likes to read at night. He's a darling old man."
We went to the only room that had any lights on and there was a man reading a book. The nurse went over to him and asked if he had lost his wallet. Mr. Goldstein looked up with surprise, put his hand in his back pocket and said, "Oh, it is missing!"
"This kind gentleman found a wallet and we wondered if it could be yours?"
I handed Mr. Goldstein the wallet and the second he saw it, he smiled with relief and said, "Yes, that's it! It must have dropped out of my pocket this afternoon. I want to give you a reward."
"No, thank you," I said. "But I have to tell you something. I read the letter in the hope of finding out who owned the wallet."
The smile on his face suddenly disappeared. "You read that letter?"
"Not only did I read it, I think I know where Hannah is."
He suddenly grew pale. "Hannah? You know where she is? How is she? Is she still as pretty as she was? Please, please tell me," he begged.
"She's fine...just as pretty as when you knew her." I said softly.
The old man smiled with anticipation and asked, "Could you tell me where she is? I want to call her tomorrow." He grabbed my hand and said, "You know something, mister, I was so in love with that girl that when that letter came, my life literally ended. I never married. I guess I've always loved her."
"Mr. Goldstein," I said, "Come with me."
We took the elevator down to the third floor. The hallways were darkened and only one or two little night-lights lit our way to the day room where Hannah was sitting alone watching the television. The nurse walked over to her.
"Hannah," she said softly, pointing to Michael, who was waiting with me in the doorway. "Do you know this man?"
She adjusted her glasses, looked for a moment, but didn't say a word. Michael said softly, almost in a whisper, "Hannah, it's Michael. Do you remember me?"
She gasped, "Michael! I don't believe it! Michael! It's you! My Michael!" He walked slowly towards her and they embraced. The nurse and I left with tears streaming down our faces.
"See," I said. "See how the Good Lord works! If it's meant to be, it will be."
About three weeks later I got a call at my office from the nursing home. "Can you break away on Sunday to attend a wedding? Michael and Hannah are going to tie the knot!"
It was a beautiful wedding with all the people at the nursing home dressed up to join in the celebration. Hannah wore a light beige dress and looked beautiful. Michael wore a dark blue suit and stood tall. They made me their best man.
The hospital gave them their own room and if you ever wanted to see a 76-year-old bride and a 79-year-old groom acting like two teenagers, you had to see this couple.
A perfect ending for a love affair that had lasted nearly 60 years.
- Source Unknown
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[7] "CHOP SUEY ROJAK"
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Note: If long URL’s break, please cut and paste.
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The Ultimate Sales Force
How Peter Groop took HP's, GE's, and IBM's leftover products and built one of the hottest teams in America to sell them
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20040601/sales_ultimate.html
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4 Critical Steps in Cultivating Your Corporate Team
Developing a successful company starts with building your team, and the formula is easier than you think. The other day a message came through from one of the networking sites I belong to. A business owner was looking for help in bringing his company personnel together. He was the CEO, and his biggest challenge was that there was a significant amount of complaints and fighting among the employees.
http://www.myprivatecoach.com/myPrivateCoach/articles/scadden_critical_steps_corporate_team.php
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Viewing yourself as others do can help nudge you toward personal goals
"Trying to lose weight, be less nervous when speaking publicly or improve in some other way? One strategy that can help is to switch your point of view from the first-person to a third-person perspective when reviewing your progress, according to a series of studies conducted at Cornell University. "
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=22863
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The 6 Myths Of Creativity
A new study will change how you generate ideas and decide who's really creative in your company.
1. Creativity Comes From Creative Types When I give talks to managers, I often start by asking, Where in your organization do you most want creativity?
2. Money Is a Creativity Motivator The experimental research that has been done on creativity suggests that money isn't everything.
3. Time Pressure Fuels Creativity In our diary study, people often thought they were most creative when they were working under severe deadline pressure.
4. Fear Forces Breakthroughs There's this widespread notion that fear and sadness somehow spur creativity.
5. Competition Beats Collaboration There's a widespread belief, particularly in the finance and high-tech industries, that internal competition fosters innovation. In our surveys, we found that creativity takes a hit when people in a work group compete instead of collaborate.
6. A Streamlined Organization Is a Creative Organization Maybe it's only the public-relations departments that believe downsizing and restructuring actually foster creativity.
More about it in:
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/89/creativity.html
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An entire book -- free!
John Rowan's "Guide to Humanistic Psychology and Bibliography"
http://www.ahpweb.org/rowan_bibliography/index.html
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Note again: If long URL’s break, please cut and paste.
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[8] "SPONSORS’ MESSAGES"
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In-house training programs facilitated by G K Lim
How To Sell Successfully To Corporate Customers
http://www.gklim.com/programs/i_successfully.html
How To Lead Your Sales Team So That They Consistently Exceed Sales Quotas
(Leadership skills for the sales manager / supervisor)
http://www.gklim.com/programs/i_lead.html
IT'S A DEAL! -- Negotiating For Marketing, Sales and Business Success
http://www.gklim.com/programs/i_negotiation.html
WE DO CARE: Creating The Attitude of Service
(Customer service excellence skills)
http://www.gklim.com/programs/i_care.html
Need more info? Please contact:
Kelly Teoh, Program Manager
Human Resources Services (1419991-U)
Tel: 03-238 11 060
Fax: 03-238 11 018; E-fax: 019-232 8312
Email: ke...@gklim.com
-----------------------------------------
Learn "How To Heal With Your Hands" through the two-day Quantum-Touch Interactive Video Workshop, featuring Richard Gordon on video, facilitated by G K Lim and Kelly Teoh, on Sat & Sun, 01 & 02 October, 2005, 9 am to 5 pm, at Wira Hotel, near PWTC LRT Station, KL.
RAVE REVIEWS ON QUANTUM-TOUCH
“Quantum-Touch is a significant breakthrough in hands-on healing… an essential and invaluable skill for every lay person and professional practitioner.”
Alternative Medicine Magazine
"Quantum-Touch appears to be the first technique that may truly allow us all to become healers."
Dr. C. Norman Shealy, MD., Ph. D.
"Quantum-Touch is a powerful hands-on healing technique that can be used effectively by lay people as well as professionals. I highly recommend it."
Dr. Patricia Warkus, M.D.
"I am thrilled at the simplicity and the effectiveness of this technique. Quantum-Touch is a great awakening."
John Jacobs, Ph.D.
"Quantum-Touch is easy to learn, has a significant impact on the body's energy system and can make profound shifts in people's lives."
Dr. Leonard Laskow, M.D.
Fee: RM 290 per pax (inclusive of tea/snacks and set lunch on both days, plus certificate and course credit from Quantum-Touch USA). If you don’t want the certificate and course credit from Quantum-Touch USA, then you pay only RM 190 (that's inclusive of tea/snacks and set lunch on both days). Immediate family members (parents, brothers, sisters, spouse and children) get a RM 40 discount per pax in current or future workshops. To repeat workshop, hotel and admin fee of RM 75 applies. If confused or for more info, please call G K Lim / Kelly Teoh 03-23811060, 019-2268987, g...@gklim.com
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