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 aBernie 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
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.
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.
Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing Tracy Piercy who is the creator of Money Minding. 12 Simple Steps to Mind Your Money. One great thing about Tracy’s program is that she shows you how to save money by spending money. How great is that! One of the things she discusses is how to find what you love and then find a way to make money at it. Let me tell you there is no better way to make money than by making it by doing what you love.
Tracy’s 12 step program includes the following twelve key points:
Step 1: Gratitude
Step 2: Where Are You Going?
Step 3: Where Are You Now?
Step 4: Implement Systems
Step 5: Develop Saving and Giving Habits
Step 6: INCOME – Is It Enough?
Step 7: Professional Advisors
Step 8: Risk, Insurance, Estate Issues Covered?
Step 9: Credit Wise
Step 10: Income Producing Assets
Step 11: Growth Assets
Step 12: Creative, Higher Risk Investments
Visit the Money Minding website where there are free downloads, blog, podcasts and financial plans at www.moneyminding.com
Why is it that some people get to wake up and do what they love while others get up to the grind? How does one find their passion in life, much less get paid for it?
Surely, once upon a time you knew your passion. You know, that thing you did, that when you did it hours passed by in what felt like minutes. I believe everyone has a passion or many of them. The trick gets to be how to you find it if you lost it in life and how do you make money at it too?
The first trick is to find that lost passion. There are some questions you can ask yourself to remember yours. Things like, “If tomorrow were my last day on Earth, what would I wish I had done?” Or, "Name one thing I do that makes hours go by in what feels like minutes?" Or maybe, "If I had unlimited time, money, and resources, and could do anything I wanted, and would not fail, what would it be?” (for a worksheet on how to find your passion, email inspirational expert, Sharmen Lane at shar@sharspeaks.com)
After you find your passion the question becomes, how can you make money at it? Well, here are a couple of examples that can help you think outside the box to make your passion your profession.
One woman I know loved to read. So she started getting paid to proofread books for publishers. Another example is a person who loved to knit. She could do it in her sleep. So she wrote a “how to” ebook and created a website where for a few bucks people could buy and instantly download it. Then she started to hold six week classes at a local yarn store. Last example is of a man who was a personal trainer. He knew he could make more money if he could find a way to train people without being in front of them. He put together instructional videos and again made them available for download on his website.
These are just three examples of ways to turn a passion into a profession. Look outside the box and think of creative ways to make money at your passion.
What is rejection? Isn’t it really just some big scary thing that we have created in our minds? Is rejection really all the bad? When it comes to business in the end it all comes down to sales. If people aren’t buying your product or service then you aren’t closing the sale and you likely aren’t making any money. Anyone who has even been in sales knows that selling is a numbers game. The more you ask the more sales you will make. The bad news is that the more you ask the more rejection you will be faced with and you have probably heard that it takes about 10 no’s to get to a yes.
The good news is, the faster you get through those no’s the sooner you will get that yes. So, how do you reject, rejection? Change your perspective. Be excited every time you get a no because that means you are that much closer to a yes. Put yourself out there. What’s the worst someone can say? No? Okay, that’s not so bad, is it? Sure you would rather they say yes, but if they don’t you can simply move on.
Many times people will let the fear of rejection stop them from taking action to get what they want. Rejection is a fake fear. What is a fake fear? A real fear is something that could cause you physical harm or death. A fake fear doesn’t. A fake fear is something that only exists in your head. If you are rejected you are not going to end up in the hospital or die. So what do you have to lose? Absolutely nothing!
From now on see rejection as a good thing. The sooner you get through those no’s the closer you are to getting that yes.
