What Kind of Man Do I Want to Be?string(33) "What Kind of Man Do I Want to Be?"

I was recently talking to a good friend and fellow member of the Transformational Leadership Council, Bettie Spruill.  We were talking about relationships and she asked me “what kind of man do I want to be?”  I thought that was a great question and I decided to write this blog on that topic.

I want to be a man who lives his values and treats others accordingly.  Living my values is an important aspect of having a fulfilled and meaningful life. For me, my values are fundamental to my identity.  They shape my beliefs, priorities, and behaviors. I want to be a man who lives his values and I strive to embody those values in all aspects of my life. My values include Givers Gain, a positive attitude, recognition, accountability, traditions, innovation, building relationships, and lifelong learning. I’ve incorporated all of these into my company, BNI.

The philosophy of Givers Gain is a value that I hold dearly. I believe that when we give to others, we ultimately receive more in return. This value is particularly relevant in my professional life, where networking and building relationships are essential for success. By giving to others, whether it is time, resources, or knowledge, I can build stronger connections and foster a sense of reciprocity.

Maintaining a positive attitude is another critical value for me. I believe that a positive outlook can have a profound impact on our overall well-being and our interactions with others. By maintaining a positive attitude, I can approach challenges with a sense of optimism and resilience, and inspire others to do the same. Additionally, a positive attitude can create a more welcoming and inclusive environment, where everyone feels valued and supported.

Recognition is a value that is important to me, both in my personal and professional life. I believe that acknowledging the efforts and achievements of others is essential for building strong relationships and fostering a sense of appreciation. By recognizing the contributions of others, we can build a culture of gratitude and respect, where everyone feels seen and valued. Recognition also aligns with my belief in the importance of building strong relationships, as it helps to create a sense of trust and mutual respect.

Accountability is another critical value for me. I believe that taking ownership of our actions and decisions is essential for personal growth and development. The older I get the less I believe in words and the more I believe in behaviors.  By holding ourselves accountable, we can learn from our mistakes and make meaningful changes that benefit ourselves and others.

Traditions are a value that is important to me, particularly in my personal life. I believe that honoring our cultural and organizational traditions can provide connection and belonging and help us to maintain a sense of identity and purpose. Additionally, traditions can help to create a sense of continuity and stability, particularly during times of change or uncertainty.

Innovation is a value that is important to me, particularly in my professional life. I believe that embracing new ideas and approaches can lead to more creative and effective solutions to complex problems. Innovation brings excitement and motivation, as we explore new possibilities and push beyond our boundaries.

Building relationships is a value that is essential for me, both personally and professionally. I believe that cultivating strong connections with others is essential for personal and professional growth and can provide a sense of support and community. By building relationships, we can learn from others, share knowledge and resources, and gain a sense of belonging.

Lifelong learning is a value that is fundamental to my identity. I believe that learning is a lifelong process, and that we can always strive to become better versions of ourselves. By embracing a growth mindset, we can approach challenges with an attitude of curiosity and openness, and use each experience as an opportunity for learning and development. Additionally, lifelong learning aligns with my values of accountability and innovation, as it involves being open to feedback and exploring new ideas and approaches.

Living our values is essential for leading a fulfilling and meaningful life. My values of Givers Gain, positive attitude, recognition, accountability, traditions, innovation, building relationships, and lifelong learning are fundamental to who I am, and they guide my behavior in all aspects of my life.

By striving to live my values and treating others accordingly, I hope to inspire other people to do the same and create a positive impact on the world around me. I believe that when we align our values with our actions, we can create a life of purpose, fulfillment, and joy. It is my goal to continue to live my values and always strive to be the best version of myself so I can positively impact those around me.

That is the kind of man I want to be.

 

 

 

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The Law of Attraction

The Law of Attractionstring(21) "The Law of Attraction"

The Law of Attraction has been used for thousands of years by some very successful people. Jack Canfield, the originator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul Series and a good friend of mine, is one of them. He wrote an excellent book called, “Jack Canfield’s Key to Living the Law of Attraction”. I believe that it is important to maintain “positive thinking” and to attract other positive people during these days of negativity while quarantined in this great pause. I even included this years ago within the official “Code of Ethics” for BNI. Therefore, all BNI members pledge to “have a positive and supportive attitude”.

Our Beliefs form an Attraction with Others

We are limited only by our beliefs. The most successful people I see in life are those who move past limiting beliefs and move toward meaningful beliefs. Our beliefs can be very powerful. Therefore, our beliefs that are most meaningful to us are also the most powerful. This power is magnetic and forms an attraction with others.

The Law of Attraction is the belief that positive or negative thoughts bring positive or negative experiences into a person’s life. This belief is based on the idea that people and their thoughts are made from pure energy, and that a process of like energy attracting like energy exists through which a person can improve their health, wealth, and personal relationships.

Hope is more powerful than fear. It is that little voice inside, whispering to you about what “can be” when everyone around you is screaming about “what can’t be.” During these days of negativity, while quarantined in this great pause,  you need to maintain your positivity with hope. Hope plus a plan, plus action, will lead you successfully through these times. We are part of something bigger than ourselves. We can use the power of hope to restart the world with our actions.

Don’t Just Dream, Take an Attraction Action

According to Marcia Wieder, CEO and Founder of Dream University, in business, dreaming is a serious business; it’s the driving force for transformation and without vision, many companies fail. Therefore, we must all “Dream Big”. However, a dream without a plan is just a fantasy. It is your thoughts about believing in your dream which will lead to achieving your dreams. The Law of Attraction is powerful. However, the word “action” is part of the word “attraction”.  When you practice the Law Attraction, it is important to take action to achieve your dreams. You cannot make improvements through thought alone. Transform your own life, both personally and professionally, by taking action and contribute to making the world a better place.

I do not know what our future holds, but I do know that we can definitely influence it with positive thinking and forming an attraction with others that also have a positive and supportive attitude.

HOPE

Hope is More Powerful than Fearstring(31) "Hope is More Powerful than Fear"

When times are difficult, we have two choices. We can choose to have hope, make the most of it, and come out better and stronger. Otherwise, we can choose to be overcome by our fear. I choose to be better and stronger. To do that, I choose to focus on solutions.

Please watch this video:

Rather than get caught up in fear, I try to

  • Focus on solutions.
  • Maintain a positive and supportive attitude.
  • Enlist Charles Swindoll’s quote about attitude

Attitude – by Charles Swindoll

The bottom line here is – almost all of us are stuck at home.  We can choose to make the most of it and come out better and stronger

five ways to better networking

Five Ways To Better Networkingstring(30) "Five Ways To Better Networking"

Last year, I gathered almost 3,400 survey responses from business people around the world.   I gave them a list of almost 20 different characteristics on networking and I asked them to pick the top behaviors they’d like to see in a great networker.  From those responses, I have identified the top characteristics of what people believe makes a great networker and have listed the five ways to better networking in this video.

Good Listener.

At the top of the list is being a good listener.  Our success in networking depends on how well we can listen and learn. The faster you and your networking partner learn what you need to know about each other, the faster you’ll establish a valuable relationship. A good networker has two ears and one mouth and should use them both proportionately.  Listen to people’s needs and concerns and find opportunities to help them.  You can’t help others if you don’t know what they need, and you find that out by listening. In many ways, networking is about connecting the dots but to do that you have to listen so that you can help people make the connections they are looking for.

Positive attitude.

The first thing that people see from you is your attitude, how you take things in general. A consistently negative attitude makes people dislike you and drives away referrals; a positive attitude makes people want to associate and cooperate with you. Positive business professionals are like magnets.  Others want to be around them and will send their friends and family to them.

Helps Others/Collaborative.

People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.  Helping people shows that you care.  One survey respondent said that “people want to network with individuals who have a collaborative attitude.”  Helping others can be done in a variety of ways. For example, clip a helpful article and email it to someone. Furthermore, put them in touch with a person who can help them with a specific challenge.  Several respondents commented about not wanting to network with people who are “in it for themselves.” A willingness to collaborate and help others is essential. It builds trust and helps establish a strong relationship.

Sincere/Authentic.

You can offer the help, the thanks, the listening ear, but if you are not sincerely interested in the other person, they will know it!  Those who have developed successful networking skills convey their sincerity at every turn.  One respondent stated that “it’s all about the authenticity” that someone shows you.  We have all seen people who are seemingly good at networking but lack sincerity.  Faking it isn’t sustainable.

Follows Up.

If you offer opportunities, whether a simple piece of information, a special contact, or a qualified business referral, to someone who consistently fails to follow up, you’ll soon stop wasting your time with this person.  One respondent said that when it comes to networking, “the fortune lies in the follow up” and many people just “don’t follow up anymore.”

Click here to watch the video

stop complaining

Stop Complainingstring(16) "Stop Complaining"

Tiffanie Kellog is joined by Deb Cheslow, of Cheslow Achievement Group, as they chat about how to stop complaining with the “No Complaining Challenge”.

Can you NOT complain?

The 30-Day “No Complaining Challenge” is a great way to reset your perspective.  The idea is a commitment to refrain from complaining. blaming, and justifying for 30 straight days.  If you slip up, restart at Day 1. It may sound simple, but it is definitely not easy.  Deb Cheslow has issued this challenge to literally thousands – maybe tens of thousands – of people and she can count on one hand the number of them who actually made it through the entire 30 days.

Beth and I took the “No Complaining Challenge” back in 2012 and it completely changed our lives.

  • Who wants to join me in making the world a better place?
  • Would you be up to creating a better positive life while eliminating some of the negative as well?

Thanks to Tiffanie Kellog and Deb Cheslow (debcheslow.com/committing-no-complaining-challenge) for reigniting the “No Complaining Challenge”!  Take it out for a spin and let me know what changes you notice in the comments below!

Watch this video here

About Tiffanie Kellog

For more information on Tiffanie Kellog, please visit her website at tiffaniekellog.com/

Tiffanie Kellog is a professional speaker, coach, and trainer with Asentiv, and is co-owner of a business with her husband.  Therefore, Tiffanie has helped entrepreneurs over the years make more money while saving time. Thus they can have more fun. She is dedicated to helping others make more money in less time.

To contact Tiffanie, call her at 813-263-9690 or email at referrals@tiffaniekellog.com

No Complaining Challenge

No Complaining Challengestring(24) "No Complaining Challenge"

Tiffanie Kellog is joined by Deb Cheslow, of Cheslow Achievement Group, as they chat about the “No Complaining Challenge”.

Can you NOT complain?

The 30-Day “No Complaining Challenge” is a great way to reset your perspective.  The idea is a commitment to refrain from complaining. blaming, and justifying for 30 straight days.  If you slip up, restart at Day 1. It may sound simple, but it is definitely not easy.  Deb Cheslow has issued this challenge to literally thousands – maybe tens of thousands – of people and she can count on one hand the number of them who actually made it through the entire 30 days.

Beth and I took the “No Complaining Challenge” back in 2012 and it completely changed our lives.

  • Who wants to join me in making the world a better place?
  • Would you be up to creating a better positive life while eliminating some of the negative as well?

Thanks to Tiffanie Kellog and Deb Cheslow (debcheslow.com/committing-no-complaining-challenge) for reigniting the “No Complaining Challenge”!  Take it out for a spin and let me know what changes you notice in the comments below!

Click here to watch this video

Classic Video Feature–What Do Most Successful People Have in Common?string(74) "Classic Video Feature–What Do Most Successful People Have in Common?"

I have been doing video blogs for quite a few years now and a while back it occurred to me that some of the videos I’ve previously posted focus on timeless topics that deserve to be revisited and not buried way back in the video blog archive.  For this reason, just this past JulyI decided to occasionally feature a “classic” video blog from my blog archive and today I am sharing the third one–”What Do Most Successful People Have in Common?”

In this video, I talk about the one thing the majority of successful people have in common–a positive attitude.

In the video, UAE networking expert Bijay Shah and I discuss how a positive attitude is one thing that you’ll find in almost any successful person anywhere.  More importantly, we explain how YOU can stay positive and headed toward success, despite challenging situations in both your business life and personal life.

After watching the video, I invite you to leave your feedback in the comments section–what do you think of our strategies for staying positive?  Have you personally used any of these strategies already?  If so, how effective was the strategy you used in helping you maintain a positive attitude in the face of the challenge(s) you were facing?

Have a Positive and Supportive Attitudestring(39) "Have a Positive and Supportive Attitude"

The First Law of Notable Networking: Have a Positive and Supportive Attitude

Good networking involves providing a positive and supportive environment to other business people.  Remember this: Notable Networking is predicated upon the concept that Givers Gain®

If you freely give business to others, they will give business to you.  This concept is based on the age-old notion that “what goes around, comes around.”  If I give business to you, you’ll give business to me, and we will both do better as a result.  Networking is like a savings account: if you keep investing wisely, you can draw upon it when you need it.  One enthusiastic networker who belongs to a formal networking group told me, “The longer I’m in the group, the better I get at networking and the more referrals I get.  In addition, it seems that the more referrals I get, the higher the percentage that I close!  By developing long-term relationships, I am gaining the trust of the other members, which makes it easier to receive and close the referrals that are passed to me.”

A positive, supportive attitude also includes the way you present yourself to other people.  Everyone likes to do business with an enthusiastic optimist.  If you join a networking group, remain focused on the reason you’re there.  I see far too many people go to networks and get caught up in the irrelevant nitpicking: “The food’s no good,” “The speaker was mediocre,” “This room’s not very nice,” and so on.

With the quibblers, I share this anecdote: An airline attendant once responded to a passenger’s complaints about the quality of his dinner by asking him, “When you go to a French restaurant, do you usually order an airline ticket?”  The same rationale applies to networking meetings.  The quality of the food and the speaker should be secondary to the quality of the contacts you are making.  Don’t lose sight of your purpose.

It’s not Net-Sit or Net-Eat, it’s Net-WORK!  If you want your network to work for you, then you have to work your network in a positive and supportive manner.

In many ways, the First Law of Notable Networking involves more than attitude; it’s a way of life and a good way to do business.  When you constantly and consciously keep other people in your mind, they will do the same for you.

I’ll be posting about the Second and Third Laws of Notable Networking over the next couple of weeks so be sure to check back if you want to learn even more about how to succeed as a networker.

*Can you think of a person in your network who exemplifies the First Law of Notable Networking?  If so, take this opportunity to carry out the First Law yourself and showing them your support by recognizing that person in the comments section below.  Tell us who they are and what they do that makes them such a shining example of this First Law of Notable Networking.

What Do Most Successful People Have in Common?string(46) "What Do Most Successful People Have in Common?"

What’s the one thing the majority of successful people have in common?

In this video, UAE networking expert Bijay Shah and I discuss how a positive attitude is one thing that you’ll find in almost any successful person anywhere.  More importantly, we explain how YOU can stay positive and headed toward success, despite challenging situations in both your business life and personal life.

After watching the video, I invite you to leave your feedback in the comments section–what do you think of our strategies for staying positive?  Have you personally used any of these strategies already?  If so, how effective was the strategy you used in helping you maintain a positive attitude in the face of the challenge(s) you were facing?

You Are What You Attract–Attitude and Networkingstring(54) "You Are What You Attract–Attitude and Networking"

Last month, I had the opportunity to spend some time with Frederick Marcoux, one of Australia’s foremost experts on building business through referral marketing.

I have known Frederick for years and one of the things I’ve always admired about him is that he has always exuded a remarkably positive attitude, regardless of any given circumstance or challenging situation that may arise.  I was mentioning this to Frederick and he smiled (of course–what else would you expect from an endlessly positive person?) and explained his belief in the concept that “you are what you attract.”

In this video, Frederick and I discuss how your attitude, whether it be positive or negative, can have a very real impact on the results you get from your networking efforts.

After watching this short video, please leave a comment–what have you experienced in regard to the impact attitude has on networking?