Julie Steelman Interview: Sales is Not a Dirty Word
Julie Steelman knows a thing or two about selling; by choosing to see her sales role as one of giving overwhelming value and service to her clients it has made her debt free and allowed her to retire (at a very young age) to tropical Hawaii.
If you want proof, how about being able to generate $100 million in sales (this is not a typo) from clients such as Apple, Microsoft, Toyota, CBS Sony and Universal Pictures.
And this is when most people are struggling to make commissions and targets.
In her new book “The Effortless Yes: Get the Sales You Want and Make All You’ll Ever Need”, Julie shares her “a ha” moment after the very lean first two years in the business.
Her Road to Damascus moment can be summed up in one sentence, “It’s not about you, it is about the customer”.
Julie Steelman Interview (unlinked)
Julie’s advice: “Get over yourself because it is not personal; you’re here because you have something unique to give that can make someone’s life a lot better”.
Can’t argue with that kind of logic.
So if you have been finding the whole “selling” thing awkward, uncomfortable and downright icky (a technical term in the sales game), do yourself a favor and invest in Julie’s years of wisdom and practical know how-NOW!
Find Julie Steelman at:
http:// www.juliesteelman.com
Dr Xenia Ioannou Interview: Her Inner Journey to Wealth
Dr Xenia Ioannou is a millionaire property investor, businesswoman, wife, mother and author of “Your Inner Journey to Wealth-A Guide to Developing a Millionaire Mindset”. 
Together with husband Angelo they founded Alexa Property Group with Real Estate Sales, Property Management, Acquisitions, Research, Education under this extensive company umbrella.
My interest in conducting these interviews has always been to uncover the motivation that spurs a person to become successful. Speaking with Xenia about her own experiences to creating wealth was akin to finding a huge nugget whilst prospecting.
Xenia Ioannou Interview (unlinked)
When a guest so honestly shares the challenges that turn up and more importantly how she overcame these challenges, well that is pure gold.
Xenia’s message is simple, “Take responsibility and don’t be a victim”. Equally important, “Find mentors and associate with like minded people who want to succeed”.
You can’t argue with that direct kind of approach that dare I say harks from her time as a medical research scientist.
Is it paradoxical that someone trained in analytical, scientific evaluation methods can point to an individual’s mindset as the determining factor for success (or not)? Let’s just say that the person most adaptable wins.
What this should mean to you dear reader is that within each and everyone of us is the potential to becoming successful and creating lasting wealth. So, are you ready to step up?
Xenia, to her credit has made it her personal mission to help every person who desires financial freedom by providing the necessary education they did not get at school.
Please go to her website to download Chapter 1 of her book.
Dr John DeMartini Interview: Living Your Inspired Destiny
Dr John DeMartini can only be described as a person who chooses to see the upside of events and situations that would otherwise crush the spirit of a less aware and enlightened soul. He considers the early childhood physical and learning disabilities as gifts and opportunities to design the life he has now.
At age 7 his first grade teacher pronounced him dyslexic and suggested to John’s parents that he play sport as academic achievements was out of the realm of possibility. Thankfully her prediction was incorrect as today John DeMartini is a highly influential speaker, author, coach and master in the study of human potential.
His latest book “Inspired Destiny-Living a Fulfilling and Purposeful Life” is aimed at people who have yet to find their purpose and direction in life. “We all have a teen or early twenty year old still in us who has a passion and purpose to live and fulfill”, says John.
What I found most encouraging in this interview was his firm belief that we can pursue our passion and be well paid for it.
And here’s the clincher we all know what we would really love to do; as John explains, “We just have unfounded and unjustified fears (of failure and rejection) that can be overcome using the DeMartini method as set out in the book”.
John DeMartini Audio Part1 and John DeMartini Audio Part2
This is a man with a vision, an astronomical vision of leaving this world a much better place than when he found it. John’s passion for positively affecting every person who has crossed his path makes the enormity of his vision an achievable certainty, this I truly believe.
Find Dr John DeMartini at:
Interview with Nick Cownie: Overcoming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Finding Financial Freedom
As a young 21 year old Nick Cownie came face to face with his own mortality when he and a friend were held up at gun point and robbed after a night out to celebrate his birthday. Diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, he decided that being held hostage by this condition was cramping his life, even if it did not feel that way then.
Fast forward 10 years and Nick shares his journey of not being able to leave his bedroom at his parents’ house for weeks at a time as he grappled with PTSD, to living his ultimate dream life of running a successful coaching business complete with gorgeous wife and little daughter in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney, Australia.
Using the various Neuro Linguistic Programming techniques to overcome PSTD, the added bonus Nick discovered was that NLP helped him uncover his mental blocks to manifesting a lot of money almost without effort (try $99, 000 in 60 minutes).
In this in depth interview, Nick shares his strategies of leveraging his time to the degree that he only needs to work 3 days a week to maintain this amazing lifestyle.
Listen to him speak Nick Cownie Interview (unlinked)
Nick has generously offered to teach and guide you through the exact same techniques he used to become the happy, wealthy and fulfilled person he is today.
Check it out at http://expertmindset.com/manifest
Nick Cownie is an internationally acclaimed expert in the fields of mindset improvement, neurolinguistic programming, and personal development. He graduated from Sydney’s University of Technology with a Bachelor of Health Sciences in Traditional Chinese Medicine (B.HSc.TCM). Nick and his brother Andrew co founded the Success Dynamics Institute. As its Director, Nick’s specialty is in helping you get the right mindset from the outset so you can cut through the mental chatter and do what really matters in your life.
Do You Have The Brains, Brawn and Mindset To Be An Entrepreneur: Carol Roth Interview
In these challenging financial times, President Obama is encouraging Americans to lift the economy and restore the stocks of this proud nation by reinventing themselves as the new wave of can do entrepreneurs.
Great if you are cut out for it and have the appetite for calculated risks, a bright idea and the stamina of a marathon runner, but what if you are not and don’t know that.
I suggest you listen to Carol Roth who has sage advice for would be tycoons too in lust with their million dollar idea but have not enough business sense to execute their plans.
Click here to listen Carol Roth Interview (unlinked)
She is an investment banker who used her business strategies to secure more than $1 billion for her clients and complete hundreds of millions of dollars in mergers and acquisitions.
Carol knows a thing or two about this subject and recently authored “The Entrepreneur Equation-Evaluating the Realities, Risks and Rewards of Having Your Own Business” a must read for anyone who is tempted to tell their boss to do the anatomically impossible, quit and assume they can create a fortune from their first business venture.
Carol uses her “Spinach In Your Teeth” method of communication that is both truthful and compassionate to let you know if you have the brains, brawn and mindset for the brief. As painful as it is, the uncomfortable fact for some is that being employed may be the best option for all concerned.
With refreshing candour, Carol encourages women entrepreneurs to acknowledge but not buy into the real or perceived gender divide in the world of big business. She tells with grace and good humour her own experience in this regard when she inadvertently found herself the recipient of the “Best Legs in the Business” award.
Get more information and no nonsense advice on www.CarolRoth.com
Women Executives: Leadership Role Models (Part 4)
So, you have arrived at a position within your organisation that has some degree of autonomy and responsibility. In fact, you now lead a team of individuals, with unique talents.
Your boss has handed you a brief that requires your team to deliver on an important project on time and on budget. You know that it is the make or break opportunity and you really want to prove that you have what it takes.
This is your springboard to making it at the executive management level, your holy grail.
However, you also notice that you are going boldly to where no other woman has been, in fact your company is devoid of women executives. So, nada and zip in terms of finding a role model or a mentor in a skirt and killer heels. Bummer!
You are a modern woman (read resourceful, and confident), and you take it upon yourself to hire a career or executive coach to fast track your ambitions.
Any coach worth their salt will start with working out what makes you tick.
I am fond of quoting this line from Sun Tzu, “If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle”–Art of War
In other words, if you want to achieve (and earn) more, you have to become more.
You cannot expect to operate on a higher level without first making the necessary changes in the way you think, behave and conduct yourself. If you are expecting circumstances to adapt to suit you (as you are now), you are going to be waiting a very long time to become successful.
Have you given some serious though about what it means to be a well respected and effective leader?
In your present role where you work for your immediate boss, ask yourself what is it that you admire about him/her. Conversely what do not like very much about the way they run their unit or department especially in their daily interaction with their team.
List what you consider as the traits of your ideal leader, a person that you’d happily become. What are the interpersonal skills that you would like that person to possess?
Remember, to be an effective leader means getting your team to carry out a piece of work to a standard and level above what they would normally deliver. More importantly, it is getting them to do this willingly without cajoling or the threat of unemployment!
Bottom line: It means being influential and having your people opt in to your vision and goals.
I shall leave you to ponder this for the time being.
Yours in health, wealth and happiness
10 Tips to Staying Motivated: Especially When You Don’t Feel Like It
Motivation is like a shower, you need one everyday-Zig Zaglar
Firstly it would be unrealistic to feel pumped all the time, so don’t be hard on yourself if you have the odd day when you feel really flat. Here are 10 suggestions to get you to re focus. Go get ‘em!
An update to this post: I have included an mp3 recording
Click here to listen:Audio recording of 10 Tips to Staying Motivated
1. Remind yourself again what it is that you are striving to achieve.
• Is it a physical fitness goal of wanting to run a personal best in the Boston marathon or being financially independent in 5 years
• Either way, are your goals written down for you to review and read as often as it is necessary
2. Portion control
• You can eat an entire elephant by yourself if it is only one bite at a time. So chunk it down to manageable portions that are achievable in days and weeks rather than months and years!
3. Do a stock take of where you were 3, 6 and 12 months ago relative to where you are now
• Celebrate your wins, no matter how small. It’s a win, don’t get too precious about it
• Keep a journal and record your progress. You will be surprised at how far you have come
4. Practise mental rehearsal of having reached your goal
• Make it as real as possible by imagining what you are wearing, who is with you, whereabouts is this taking place, does it have a particular smell. Above all, tap into the feeling of having aced the goal and remind yourself of that winning feeling by clicking your finger 3 times in succession.
• Do this daily even when you don’t feel like it, especially when you don’t feel like it
5. What are you eating, when do you exercise
• Remember the old computer programming term GIGO (Garbage In Garbage Out). If you are fuelling your body with junk food, you will not have the energy and stamina to get to your goals. This is a non negotiable fact of getting where you want to go and what you want from life
• Yes, your body is a temple. Worship it with fresh food, vegetables, and lots of water. Ditch the refined carbs and trans fats, they clog your arteries and reduces blood and oxygen flow to your brain. Lord knows you need all your neurons to fire if you want to be able to think clearly.
• Physical fitness is not an option. Again it is one of those things you just do to stay alert and healthy to be able to enjoy your successes when they come. Being in an iron lung and a millionaire is kind of bittersweet
6. Oh brother where art thou; who do you hanging out with
• Are these people supportive or do they make it a sport of taking potshots at your dreams and goals; if they are in the latter category, say bye-bye and leave them to wallow in their own pity party
• Create a mastermind support group. These are people on the same wavelength who will not ridicule your goals, dreams and aspirations but instead cheer you on. You can learn from them and vice versa
• If this type of support is thin on the ground, consider hiring a business/life/fitness coach to keep you accountable. Yes, it costs money so think of it as an investment in yourself. “You’re worth it” as the Revlon ad goes.
7. What are you reading, watching on television
• I am a big fan of reading motivational books by Jim Rohn, T Harv Eker, Bob Proctor and the cool thing is that there are lots of free mp3 downloads you can listen to in your car or as I like to call it “your university on wheels”.
• Stop watching the news. If it is really important, somebody will tell you. Notice how television only reports bad news; that is because bad news sells.
8. When do you stay still-meditate daily
• This is about staying healthy on the inside
• Often the solutions to business problems or obstacles at work are found when we shut up and stay still long enough for our sub conscious to present us with an answer.
• Don’t be skeptical if you haven’t tried it for at least a month
9. When did you last do a budget and track your expenditure and earnings
• It is vital not to shy away from tracking your finances. How then will you know that you have made progress in putting aside money for investments and passive income building? Answer me that?
10. Get in sync with your internal clock
• If you are a night owl and your best ideas come to mind after 10pm, ask yourself why are you flogging your body to be up at 5am to be inspired and creative on your projects. It does not make sense, so stop it!
Yours in health, wealth and happiness
Women Executives: Leadership Role Models (Part 3)
If my 2 previous posts have seemed less than optimistic, let me assure you that there is hope (for us all!).
Below is an article by Professor Ginka Toegel the Director of Strategies for Leadership Program, International Institute of Management Development, Switzerland.
Companies are not setting themselves these targets out of some generalized notion of equality but because there is a strong business case for them to do so.
There has been a great deal of research in this area that suggests the value of having gender diverse management teams.
For example, companies that have more than three women in management positions tend to have better return on equity and assets than do those with fewer women.
They also tend to score higher on organizational effectiveness criteria. Equally, women board members tend to be very well-prepared for meetings, which raises the benchmark for others.
This subsequently leads to better discussions, and better decisions.
So, there is a clear business case for companies hiring and promoting more senior women. But what is life like for the women who are already in these roles?
When we have less than 15 percent of a minority in a social category, we talk about tokens.
And anyone who is in that position is likely to be under a huge amount of pressure, as they are highly visible, and frequently will feel that they represent not just themselves, but their entire category.
At 25 percent – in many companies this is currently the target – they are still in a minority, but they are no longer tokens.
The tipping point is 35 percent: once we reach this level, visibility becomes less of an issue and women’s identity as women becomes less salient.
Past this point, when women speak, they are heard as individuals with their own separate backgrounds, values and personalities, not as “the woman”.
Her opinions and views are not reduced to her gender.
The problem at the moment is that we have so few senior women in management positions that they are perceived as outsiders.
This creates a kind of legitimacy gap, in that they do not fit the (male) stereotype of what it is to be a leader.
This leads in turn to another problem, which is that male leaders tend to be associated with “agentic” behavior: they are more likely to be proactive, assertive, dominant, in control of the situation.
Female leaders, by contrast, show what we call “communal values”: friendliness, support, warmth and a caring attitude.
When we look at these two sets of values, it becomes clear that it is the agentic approach that we associate with leadership.
Many women come to the conclusion that, as a result of these stereotypes, the only way for them to be perceived to be legitimate leaders is to emulate male leaders.
However, the real answer is not so straightforward.
If women simply emulate men, they violate the gender stereotype, which creates a perception that they are being phony.
This creates a real problem, and can lead to them being penalized for being inauthentic leaders.
Women should instead blend both sets of characteristics.
Indra Nooyi, the Chief Executive and Chairwoman of PepsiCo, does this very successfully; she can make tough decisions and is very assertive in negotiations, but her direct reports also describe her as extremely warm and caring.
What then of the future? Well, despite the disappointing statistics there are many good reasons to be positive.
The next 5 to 10 years will see a dramatic change for the better.
Women managers can contribute to this by understanding that there are certain expectations related to organizational leadership, and developing their skills accordingly.
Women Executives: Leadership Role Models (Part 2)
Just in case you are wondering if there is still a stigma attached to being a woman and aspiring to executive and management roles, please read the article below.
I would be very interested to hear your thoughts
Maternity leave will kill your career, recruitment companies warn women
By Jane Hansen The Sunday Telegraph, September 19, 2010
Pregnancy
Refusing to promote a woman because she pregnant is illegal but recruitment agents believe those who take maternity leave are less likely to get ahead.
HEAD-hunting companies say women should forgo maternity leave if they want their careers to flourish.
Refusing promotion to an employee because she is pregnant is illegal, but leading head-hunters admit mothers are more likely to be promoted to top-level positions, such as chief executive officer or board director, if they do not take maternity leave.
“You’re only the parent of a one-year-old for a short time and if an employee is worried about childcare arrangements, uncomfortable, or worrying who’s looking after the baby, then I’m not sure you’ll be focused on the job,” recruitment firm Talent 2’s New South Wales (Australia) general manager Nicholas Tuckfield said of women who return from maternity leave too early.
Mr Tuckfield, who head-hunts candidates for jobs with salaries of more than $100,000, said taking 12 months’ maternity leave in an extremely competitive job market would have a negative impact.
He said at senior executive level, where MBAs were mandatory and long hours par for the course, competition was stiff.
Highly competitive
“On a logical level, if you’re out of the workforce for 12 months you don’t advance your managerial skills and, inevitably, everyone else does,” he said.
“You don’t get to the top doing 37 1/2 hours a week.
“It’s highly competitive, and if you’re an aspiring rising star and take a year out, your star won’t keep rising.”
Julia Ross, who was pregnant when she set up her recruitment agency 22 years ago, said although times were changing, at the executive level it was unforgiving.
“If you’re aiming for managing director, stopping and starting your career will make it tougher to place yourself properly,” Ms Ross said.
“You may even pass up promotions but, hey, it didn’t stop (Westpac Chief Executive Officer) Gail Kelly, did it?”
Fair Work Ombudsman chief counsel Leigh Johns said more than 70 pregnancy discrimination complaints had been made to the agency since its inception in July last year.
Complaints
A prosecution has been launched in the case of a 36-year-old mother-of-one who allegedly was told she might not be able to return to her position as clerical worker and that her pregnancy had “caused inconvenience” for a printing company.
Several of the complaints, including those arising from employers declining to keep a job open, demotion of someone on parental leave, and refusing promotion to an employee because she is pregnant, are currently under investigation.
Mr Johns said women needed to be aware of their rights.
“News of impending parenthood should be met with delight, not discrimination,” he said.
Neil Waters from Egon Zehnder, a company which specialises in placing chief executives, said if a woman was genuinely good at her job she would be given the right to juggle work and pregnancy.
“You can’t put a line through someone because they’re going to bear a child … but there are trade-offs and not everyone can make them,” he said.
“The CEO becomes the company. It’s hard work, 18 hours a day, six days a week, and it’s an enormous commitment.”
Slow change
Other top level executive recruitment officers, such as Heidi Mason from Russell Reynolds, said the findings were a reflection of an old, conservative view which was slowly changing.
“I think there’s a perception that there’s an impact, but we’re starting to respect that men and women who balance their lives make better leaders,” Ms Mason said.
But the fact remains that only two per cent of chief executive roles are held by women, and men outnumber women on boards by 10 to one.
The NSW Anti Discrimination Board president Stepan Kerkyasharian said there are unwritten rules at play that explain the deficit of women in the upper echelons of business.
“Some recruitment agencies may be complicit in this, a client says to them ‘no, we don’t want a women who might get pregnant’ wink, wink, nudge nudge,” he said.
Women Executives: Leadership Role Models (Part 1)
If you think 21st century women have it made as top flight executives, Chief Executive Officers and the ultimate holy grail of governance as Chairman of the Board of a multi national corporation, think again.
Male captains of industry have been fortunate to have so many outstanding male examples to model as they ascend the corporate ladder. In fact there is an embarrassment of riches with regards to asking and getting a strong and positive mentor to help them grow and develop into the top job.
The same cannot be said for females. Women executives in leadership positions are few and far in between according to some statistics I uncovered.
A 2008 Australian Census of Women in Leadership published by the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency found that the number of women on boards and executive management of Australia’s top 200 ASX (Australian Stock Exchange) companies could be counted on fingers on one hand (with one digit to spare).
The percentage of women as Chairman and CEOs were 4 of 200 (2.0%) in each category; board of directors numbered 125 of 1504 (8.3%).
There was no female on the board of directors in 51 % of these ASX 200 listed companies.
Because we see more women in business suits today (than say in the 1950s) there is an assumption that they must occupy executive management positions. The reality is that there are more women in middle management positions in human resources, finance, medical and health administration, and real estate and property businesses today than any other time.
However, at the pointy end i.e., top management where the real game is played, women are under represented.
In 2010, only 2.8 percent of Fortune 500 chief executives were female.
I believe that sisters need to do it for themselves.
Specifically they need strong, smart and compassionate female role models to help them navigate their way through the management maze.
How will they do this? I will discuss some strategies in my next post.
Yours in health, wealth and happiness