What’s in your integrity?

By Sharmen Lane

A long time ago I heard someone describe integrity as “what you do when no one else watching.”  Ever since that day, that has been my interpretation of what integrity is.  Are you who you say you are?  Do you do as you say and say as you do?  Is who you are in public, who you are behind closed doors?

I read an article recently written by Holly Hill the Australian Sugarbabe, who wrote and is sharing her theory of Negotiated Infidelity.  It’s basically where a couple has an agreement to not be monogamous. It allows people to have a relationship with each other but have sex outside the relationship.  I found this concept to be fascinating because isn’t the purpose of being in a relationship to not be intimate with other people?  If you want to have sex with other people then why not just be single?

To me, negotiated infidelity would be out of integrity.  A romantic relationship is a romantic relationship because it’s monogamous.  However, other people clearly don’t feel the same.  But I do ask you, what’s in your integrity? What does the word mean to you and do you live by it?

Today we are living in a world where public figures like Tiger Woods, and Jesse James, cheat on their wives and blame it on sex addiction. Is it sex addiction or just poor judgment backed up by little personal integrity?  We live in a world where a Bernie Madoff pulls off a $50 billion ponzi scheme and multi-billion dollar companies go under because of fraud or misrepresentation. Entire industries are wiped out because of unscrupulous activities, and those activities are often carried out by the leaders themselves. Where is the integrity? If we raised our own personal level of integrity would these things still happen?

Where does integrity begin? Does it start with our government, our role models, our school system, our family, our spouse, or does it start with ourselves? To what standard do we hold ourselves? If each and every one of us has integrity and live by it and require it from those around us would those things still be happening in our world?

Let me leave you with this… what does integrity mean to you, and are you living up to it?

For more information please visit www.SharSpeaks.com and www.wowandthehow.com

By Success Expert and Motivational Speaker, Sharmen Lane

Hello World and Happy New Year!

No matter how you rang in the new year, there is no better time than the first day of the year to get started on making this an unforgettable, unstoppable year.

Most people set New Years Resolutions on New Years Eve, unfortunately they are quick to be forgotten by the end of the month… if it takes that long. What can you do to make this year different?  Here are a few tools and tips to give you the edge and make what you want happen.

1. Write your goal down. Don’t just say "I’m going to do blank."  Say, "I’m DOING blank."

2. Tell everyone you know.  Make a list starting right now of all the people you can share your goal with. Then call, email, text, twitter or whatever else you want but tell anyone and everyone you know about what you are DOING!

3. Create a vision board.  I do this every New Year’s Eve and now have vision board parties on New’s Year’s.  Cut out pictures of what you want and post them where you can see them often.  If you want to be an author, cut out a book cover and put your name and face on it.  If you want a lean, 10% body fat, size 8 body, or 34 inch waist, cut out a picture and put your face on it.  Make it real and see it so you can be it!

There you go, three simple steps to making what you want, real.  Remember, you have to make a plan and take action and these first three steps will start your journey.

Have an extraordinary year! Now get to it!

For more information visit ww.sharspeaks.com or email shar@sharspeaks.com. Also keep an eye out for my latest book, Giving You the WOW and the HOW, due out in early 2010!

In this day and age more people than not are using their cell phones for business use.  Not surprising considering the number of home based businesses being started every day.  To help you below is a list of 10 things you can do to maximize the use of your cell phone to save you money and make you more productive. To find another 75 tips visit cell phone blog.

1. Mobile Web:   Internet access anywhere anytime. Most mobile phone service providers offer a plan which includes internet service.   With mobile web you can read and send email, sign up for mobile banking services where you can pay bills and transfer funds, and you can check the weather or bet directions.

2. Speed it up. Mobile web is inarguable a highly valuable asset for business and domestic purposes.  But the speed of the web pages you access through your cell phone are often poor quality compared to what is available on your desktop or laptop.  The InfoGin company offers a solution.  The company offers a service which improves the quality of the content from the web pages you receive and the speed at which you receive it.  Though you may need to perform an extra step or two to if you want to route your service through InfoGin, the extra time and actions will be well worth the effort.  You may need to load the portal and enter your web addresses through the InfoGin portal.  But if time and quality are important to you, it may not be too much of an issue.

3. Unlock your phone.  Many service providers lock your phone so that you cannot obtain service on that particular cell phone through any other provider.  For those who do not know how to tell if their phone is locked, just put a sim card from another provider into your phone and turn it on.  If you get any type of message stating the phone cannot access service, your phone is locked.  What benefit is there to unlocking your phone?  If your phone is locked, you cannot access service with any other provider. This can be especially frustrating if you are traveling and trying to avoid roaming charges or if you have a good cell phone you still want to use and want to switch your service to a different provider.

4. Get the service provider code. To unlock your phone, you must have a code from the service provider or the phone manufacturer.  You can contact your service provider and ask their customer service representative to provide you with the unlock code, but they may be less than cooperative.  Your other option is to check out one of the sites which offer unlock codes or remote unlock services for a relatively cheap price.  You just enter the code into your phone and voila.  You can then use your phone to get service from any provider you choose without having to purchase a new phone and a new phone number.  You can purchase a sim card to be used when traveling out of your country of residence and avoid the insanely expensive phone bills.

5. Debranding your phone will remove the logos, images, themes, profiles and other predefined memory hogging items placed on your cell phone by the manufacturer and/or service provider.  When you debrand your phone, you can increase your available memory and rid your phone of locks which prevent you from being able to obtain free ringtones and images from other providers.

6. Firmware upgrades. When you purchase your cell phone you do so with the understanding that a newer, more advanced software version will be introduced afterwards.  Though you know this will inevitably occur, it doesn’t prevent the frustration you feel when you see all of the features and additional benefits offered on the newer version.  Firmware upgrades will allow you to access and load the newer version of the software onto your older cell phone version.  This can be done through a remote server comparable to those which offer the unlocking service.

7. Flashing your cell phone will clear unwanted manufacturer trial games and predetermined themes from your cell phone.  This will provide you with additional memory and save you from having to look at these unwanted items in your menu every time you scan through it.  You can also eliminate cell phone software problems you may be experiencing like a blinking, blue or white screen.  Flashing can be done by remote software and also with hardware.

8. Jailbreaking your iPhone allows you to eliminate the restrictions imposed on tailoring your cell phone to your specifications by your software. It is important that this be done properly and carefully so that no damage is done to the software causing the phone to malfunction.  Though this is a possible risk it is not a common one.  What this process achieves is liberation of sorts.  You can add customized options such as ring tones and wallpapers which are generally restricted on the phones.  Considering the cost of the cell phone itself, you should be able to personalize the phone the way you want.   If you are interested and want to learn to do this, check out this link.

9. Hash codes are mathematical functions which convert a large amount of information into a small index.  In the case of cell phones, hash codes unlock hidden features of your phone.  You can reset your phone to factory settings or turn on voice privacy feature or even check your signal strength.  Hash codes can be specific to a particular phone model or could work on several models but exclude others.  The advantage to using hash codes is that you are able to correct or diagnose certain problems you may be having with your phone due to changes you made or downloads.  Instead of having to send your phone in for repair or buy a new one, you can try one of the hash codes to restore your phone.

10. Free international calls.  In the past, if you want to talk to someone across an ocean you should be prepared to pay.  That is until Rebtel and Talkster developed an ad-supported free service to make these once outrageously expensive calls completely free.  The service works by creating local phone numbers for both parties.  One party would call a local number generated for them and the other party would have to hang up the phone and call back to their local number. The call is routed through a VoIP server and is at no cost to either party if completed correctly.

Above information was provided by cellphones.org/blog: For more information and additional tips visit http://cellphones.org/blog/tips/85-cell-phone-tips-tricks-and-hacks-for-a-more-streamlined-life
 

I recently interviewed Michael Jackson, obviously not THE Michael Jackson who recently passed, on my radio program, Now to Wow on 96.7 WBLQ.  Mike is currently a partner at Sarkissian Mason, www.sarkissianmason.com a New York City based agency of invention specializing in developing creative solutions to its clients business opportunities utilizing technology. Mike is the former VP of Marketing and Advertising for General Motors North America where he was responsible for some of the most successful new product launches in the company’s history. He can share some very detailed and interesting inside information on the fall of the auto industry, but that’s a topic for a whole different article.

 While at GM, Mike created a valuable top 10 list of good business practices that can be used to excel in both business and in life.  As basic as they may seem, some of the best things in life are those that are simple but rarely used. Perhaps you have heard the phrase, common knowledge doesn’t mean common practice. Well, this top 10 list fits that phrase perfectly as many of us have heard these things before but many don’t necessarily practice them. Hopefully these basic concepts will remind you of what you already know to help you in business and in life. 

1. Think and act as if you are the CEO
2. Be proud of who you are
3. Never compromise your personal value
4. Know and understand your role
5. Give 110% every day
6. Keep the company of good people
7. Develop a talent for winning
8. Give back to your community
9. Engage a personal coach or mentor
10. Have fun, take time to enjoy yourself

Put these 10 tips into regular practice and you are sure to be successful in business and in life. 

I’d like to share with you a recent experience I had on United Airlines.  This message really sends it home that you never know when being environmentally irresponsible or lackadaisical can lose you a customer.

If you are someone who cares about the environment and going green you should not fly United.  Recently I was traveling from New York City to Chicago. As I was stepping onto the plane I was handed a postcard like item by the captain. The note card had a description of the 757 aircraft. It mentioned the wingspan, the size, the weight, maximum speed etc. Quite frankly, a bunch of useless facts that I highly doubt anyone cares about. Toward the end of the flight, someone announced over the PA system that we should all look at the card we received when we boarded to see if we were the lucky person to have the card with the captain’s signature on it.  If you were two of the lucky winners then ring your call button so the flight attendant could give you a bottle of wine. 

Now, my first problem with this is that there were these note cards were all over the plane.  They were on the floor, on seats, in the trash, so clearly no one cared about the facts of the plane on which we were flying.  What a waste, and I mean that literally.  What a waste of paper that is going to pollute the earth and add to the already overflowing landfills and global warming.

My second problem is with the thousands of dollars United Airlines had to have spent to produce these cards and then give away a bottle of wine.  Is that what the $15 bag check fee is for?  I personally don’t like that I have to pay $300 for a plane ticket and then pay another $15 each way to check my bag so that United can print useless cards and help to destroy our planet.

My last problem was with the flight attendant.  I rang my call button to ask if these cards were being passed out on every United flight.  She said the cards were given to the captain, and they could pass them out if they chose to.  I replied that I wanted her to know that I found it to be environmentally irresponsible for a company to pass out cards that are clearly going to go to waste and continue to pollute the Earth.  She answered me with “Well ma’am, some people just don’t care about that.”  Well I have to take from that comment that she meant that United doesn’t care about that because United is who chose to create this waste.  If they wanted to give away a bottle of wine why didn’t they just hand a random person a bottle of wine? They didn’t need to print up God knows how many hundreds of thousands of note cards that will be thrown away and add to our already environmentally troubled planet.

The point here is, being unaware or uncaring of the environment can cost you a customer.  If enough customers take that stand you adventually won’t have a business.  So be wise when running your business and be aware of the world around you (literally).

What a great day!  On Wednesday I was invited to speak at the Sotogrande Women’s Club. This was an incredible group of ladies.  If you want to find out more about this group, you can visit their website, www.sotograndewomen.com. The event was held at the San Roque Golf and Country Club and this venue was nothing short of spectacular.  The Spanish truly know how to work and play!  I did my 7 Secrets to Success presentation and am thrilled to say that it was a raging success.  After the event my friend Masha Malka, who is the author of the best selling book: "One Minute Coach, Change Your Life One Minute At A Time", heading back to Marbella where she lives.  Oh! and if you would like to find out more about this amazing place you can go to this website www.marbellas.com  It will show you all the goings on in this beautiful city. If you ever get the opportunity to visit Spain you must fit this city into your schedule. I had the pleasure of meeting Louise Cook Edwards the creator of this website and she is as fabulous as her site is… if not more!

In the evening we went to a delicious restaurant, Picasso (Italian obviously) and boy was it tasty.  I have yet to have a bad meal here and I am sorry to say that I don’t think any of my clothes are going to fit by the time I get home!

Today we are thinking of heading to Gibralter and perhaps making a stop in Morocco, Africa! 

Have a great Thursday and may all your dreams come true!

Its Tuesday afternoon in Spain and we are heading to TalkRadioEurope where I am being interviewed by Hannah Murray. if you want to listen you can just go to their website or (as it is early in the states) you can request the recording.

After my interview I will be broadcasting my radio show, Now to WOW on WBLQ 96.7FM or live online at www.wblq.net. 

After that we are heading off to the spa where we will be getting our hair, nail and toes done for a party this evening.

That’s a wrap for today.
Ciao!

I am here doing some work and some pleasure. Im staying with a friend (and author of The One Minute Coach) Masha Malka and her family.  My flight was 8 hours and I don’t think I slept a wink! Thank goodness for coffee to keep you going.  My  first night (Saturday) here we went to an opera concert in the park.  The weather is beautiful. Like a perfect Spring day in the states.  On Sunday we all slept in and I woke up at 1:15 in the afternoon! Malaga is 6 hours ahead of New York, 9 ahead CA. 

Tonight Masha and her three kids and I are going to play miniture golf and shuffleboard!

Stay tuned and we will keep you posted on Shar’s Spanish adventure!
Bye for now,
 

According to Social Media expert, Peter Shankman, the entire point and purpose of social media is to listen to your customers. You have their attention and you can find out what they want and how to they want to receive information about it.
 
At a recent event in New York City put on by American Women in Radio and Television Organization, (www.awrt.org) Shankman said there are four key elements to maximizing social media.
 
1. Transparency- Be honest and forthcoming. Lay all your cards on the table. If you screw up admit it, apologize and do better next time.
2. Relevance- Use social media to ask your clients and customers what they want. Find out how your customers want to hear about what you have to offer. Do they want you to Twitter it, email it, IM or text it? Then give the information they want, the want they want it.
3. Brevity- Shankman says that the average attention span of people today is 2.7 seconds. Therefore, you better get to the point, and get to it quickly. If you don’t grab their attention you will lose their attention, and likely their business.
4. Top of mind- How are you different? Be different and be first. Be the first person, company, product, etc, that your customers think of.
 
Social media grows your brand. It is an extension of you and your customer service. There is no better way to grow your brand than to have people recommending you and your product. The best way to do that is with social media.
 
Peter also mentioned a very cool new device called the Poken stick… check it out!
 
To find out more about Peter Shankman visit www.shankman.com
 

As an entrepreneur, most will face as some point, and possibly many times, the desire to quit.  Starting your own business can be a long and tumultuous ride.  However, it can also be one of the most valuable and rewarding experiences of your life.  It’s probably safe to assume that if you decided to leave or avoid Corporate America to be your own boss that you choose to start a business doing something you had a passion for or interest in.  Even when you do what you love, you may still feel like tossing in the towel when times get tough.  To help you through those tough times, we have provided five tips to help you stay motivated and on your path to success.

Always have something you are working towards, a goal on the horizon.  Having something to aim for can be enough to get you through just about anything.

Know when to back away.   Many times when you are pushing and pushing and things just don’t seem to budge, you may need to just walk away from what you are doing for a little while. This can be difficult I know because sometimes you just want to muscle through it.  But if you find that you are getting increasingly frustrated and things just aren’t going the way you want, then it is time to take a break.  Take a walk, listen to your favorite music, call a positive friend, go to the gym.  You know what things make you feel good so have a few things in mind that you can do when you need to get away from your work.

Remember why you started in the first place.  Sometimes when we are frustrated and things just aren’t going our way, it’s good to take a deep breath and ask yourself, “Why did I want to do this in the first place?”  There was some reason that you chose this path, remembering it can help keep you on it.

Throw a temper tantrum.  If enough is enough and you are fed up to the gills, throw a fit.  Most of us did this when we were kids, and it’s a great way to release that pent up frustration from our minds and our bodies.  Get a pillow and beat the poop out of it.  If you need to use your voice scream as loud as you can until you feel better (although if you are in a place where others can hear you, and you don’t won’t anyone to come running, I recommend screaming into the pillow) If you have a gym or place that has a punching bag use it.  Getting the feeling out of your body can be a great release and open your mind at the same time.

Lend a helping hand.  Getting out of your negative space and giving assistance to someone else can give you a great high to get you back on track.  Think of someone you know that could use a hand at something.  Check with a charity or something of the like and volunteer.  Helping others helps everyone.

I hope these tips give you the strength and determination to get past those rough patches.  Remember tough times happen for everyone, it’s what you do to get through them that says a lot about who you are, and what your made of.

To your success!