The $10,000 Virtual Gift Card

Here is my gift to you for 2016, easily worth $10,000 or more should you decide to cash in on it. Think of it as a "virtual gift card". Ready? Here it is...The Key to Goal Achievement – Stop focusing on goals. Start focusing on your behavior, on the things that are in your control. Goal achievement requires that you "do" something consistently, every day, that will bring you closer to your desired objectives. It takes daily changes to shift future outcomes. Track those changes every day...you'll be amazed at how your life transforms.

When I was a kid, my dad told me repeatedly, "If you don't ask, they can't say YES – they may say NO but if you don't ask they can never say YES". I put that one thought to the test and began pushing myself to "ask" more consistently. Steve Jobs once said, "People don't get because they don't ask..." This single concept of doing something that I can do has helped me and many people achieve things we never thought possible. As you set goals for 2016, cash in on your virtual gift card and start changing the things in your control!

Here's wishing you and yours a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year!

- Uncle "D"

10 “Closing Out Your Year” Ideas to Get Ready for a Great 2016

As you wind down 2015 it’s worthwhile to “put a ribbon around” the past 12 months and make sure you are ready for 2016.

Here’s some final touches for you to attend to before you take some time off. Here’s my “wrapping up the year” list for you…

1. Look at your existing personal goals list… how many did you accomplish this year? Be sure to celebrate your victories – this is not a “beat yourself up” exercise.

2. Review your sales production for the last 12 months. Look where you improved on the previous year, where did you make progress?

3. How about your personal health? Did you “grow older or did you grow younger”? Think about how you might make some positive alterations in this area. Look at how you can become healthier both mentally AND physically.

4. Do a three part cleanup…your office, your home, and don’t forget your car. Get rid of all the junk. Start with one hour for each. Clutter slows you down and there’s no room for that next year.

5. While you are “cleaning out your closet” take time to cleanup your social life. Make sure you are surrounding yourself only with positive people. Here’s a great question – “Is this person adding to or detracting from my life?”

6. CRITICAL POINT… it’s time to write out your Personal Goals for the next 12 months. Put them on paper and make sure they are highly visible. This is a great time to redo (or start) your Dream Board. NO Excuses on this one.

7. Do you know where you are going? Is your 2016 Business Plan complete?… here it is – “Predicting the Future and Making It Happen”

8. Check your finances… make sure your head is not “in the sand” on this issue. Four quick measurement items:

— Your assets

— Your debts

— Your December 31, 2016 targets

— Does my 2016 Business Plan support these targets?

9. Decide to “BE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE” in 2016. Don’t short change yourself…

— Get your Coach to raise the bar on who you are being. Put some tough accountability in place.

— If you don’t have a Coach… find a really good one right away! Stop trying to do it on your own. 

10. Lastly, schedule a whole day off for a Personal Planning Session for 2016. You have plenty of time to do this between now and January 4, 2016. Take the time to address the five key elements of your life… my health, my family, my goals, my finances, & my business. Very important…You deserve to do this considering you are preparing for the next 12 months.

CONCLUSION

Those who plan always accomplish much more than those who do not. Be on the right side of the scale. Take the time to go through the above 10 steps. Know where you are, know where you want to get to, and know how to get there. My commitment is to help you have an amazing 2016!

Happy Holidays to you and your family. Doug and Kathy

Dumbfound Your Competition: Get a HUGE Jumpstart on 2016

When I was in personal production I would acquire more new prospects and generate more new policies in the month of January (many times within the first two weeks) than 99% of insurance agents did ALL YEAR.

How did I do it?

Those are the sneaky details I will give you in this blog article.

I am often asked for the fastest, most reliable pathway to success. Let me give you a formula that will guide you forevermore and lead you to extraordinary riches.

Ready?

Observe what most everyone else is doing—and do the opposite.

Think about it.

Most everyone else is unsuccessful.
Doing the opposite gives you the opposite result: success. Simple.

That formula describes what Richard Branson, Donald Trump, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and most every other super-achiever you can think of used.
If everyone else is zigging—zag.

Now then, what do most people do during the month of December?

Are people more focused and more productive or more distracted and lackadaisical? Are people working hard or hardly working? You already know the answer.

That’s why you want to do the opposite.

This is when you can get ahead, WAY AHEAD and can take advantage of the mood of the season, rather than the mood of the season taking advantage of you.

I’ll explain.

Three December strategies to CRUSH IT in January

ONE. In insurance, the market dies in December. It’s the holidays and people are too busy buying Christmas gifts to think about buying insurance policies.

They don’t even have the time or interest to even meet with an agent in December. This kind of scenario might be true for you in your business too. So what do you do?

Here’s the secret…

Spend the entire month booking your appointment calendar for January. They don’t want to meet with you now, but they are even more apt to book an appointment with you for January, which is ALL-THE-WAY in next year—appointment-booking resistance is low.

By the time 8 a.m. Jan. 2 would come around I was booked solid, wall-to-wall, flat out, the entire month. Those who just started to rub the sleep out of their eyes and just began to make appointments the first week in January were so far behind they didn’t know what had hit them by January 15.

No one could ever figure out how I did so much business in January of each year. It had nothing to do with what I did that January; the game had been decided by what I did in December of the previous year.

For you – that’s RIGHT NOW.

So, strategy one is while maybe no one wants what you are selling during the holiday lag time, use this month to book yourself silly in January.

TWO. The year is ending. There are lots of businesses that run their fiscal year on the annual calendar and even lots of individuals who for tax reasons need to make some speedy decisions and spend some money quickly.

Completely reprioritize your prospecting list to those types of clients that have these year-end closing challenges and opportunities.

If you have a generalized book-of-business, focus your product or service offerings to meet those needs. Adjust your marketing messaging to communicate to those needs.

Strategy two is reprioritize WHO you focus on, WHAT you focus on marketing to them and connect a timely and purposeful MESSAGE to those needs.

You could significantly jump your revenue in the final two-minute drill of the year.

THREE. Stack your cash. I think it was Stephen Covey who defined relationships as emotional bank accounts. During any exchange, or transaction, you are either depositing money or you are withdrawing it.

What we know for sure is, just like a real bank account, you cannot withdraw any money if there is NO money in the account.

The month of December is a great time to make large deposits into lots of relationship accounts. The goal is to walk into the New Year flush with cash.

The way to do this is to give, give, give in December.

Strategy number three is to spend the month of December building your important relationships and making lots of emotional deposits.

OK, I hope one of these ideas lit a spark in you and that I have made a sizable deposit into our relationship account.

Now go out and get your big jump on the competition… they will be dumbfounded by your success and momentum by January 31, 2016.

- Uncle "D"

Christmas Parody 2015

Deck the Halls (with Boughs of Prospects)!

To bring some levity to a time of year that should be relaxing for insurance agents, but is often overshadowed by one prevailing thought: Am I going to hit my end-of-year revenue target?

I’d like to take creative liberty with a holiday favorite — tackling a lyrical parody of a Christmas carol that everyone should know…

Deck the halls with boughs of prospects,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Tis the season to hit your targets,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Don ye now a well-crafted policy for each client,
Fa la la, la la la, la la la.
But beware you have all the right endorsements as ye write them,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Mind your insureds’ value curve,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
And strike a chord with a VIP client event,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Don’t strip down coverages to bare bones yet,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Q4 isn’t over and you’ve still got time,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Set a goal to stop cold calling and generate referrals,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Attraction strategies will help you do so,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Sing we joyous, all together,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Because year-end’s here and you’ve hit your number!
FA LA LA LA LA, LA LA, LA LA!

With just a few days left before the calendar turns over to a new year, I wish you and your family all the best this holiday season — and may 2016 be the year that all of your biggest sales dreams come true!

- Uncle "D"

Increase your income automatically

It's simple really.  

 

Invest your time - the individual hours in your day...

 

...in the highest "dollars per hour" activities.

 

It's just simple math.

 

Here's the formula:

 

DI/DW/WH = DPH

 

Let's break it down...

• DI = Desired Income
• DW = Days Working
• HW = Hours Working
• DPH = Dollars Per Hour

So, how does this help you increase your income?

 

When you know how much every working hour needs to be worth, decisions about what to DO and what NOT to do ... become very clear.

 

Here is a free online calculator that makes this whole process a lot easier - and a video that explains exactly how to use it.

 

Click here to access the video and the free calculator.

 

I personally would have been happy to actually pay money for this... but it's free.

 

It is part of Michael Hyatt's promotion of his goal-setting program - which means this calculator is only available for a limited time.

 

Click here, grab it, and use it ... while you can.

 

 

This is, IMHBAO (In My Humble But Accurate Opinion), the best use you can make of the next half hour.

 

Enjoy!

- Uncle "D" 

50 Inspirational Quotes to Motivate You

Great quotes can be inspirational and motivational. You can use quotes to help guide your decisions in life, work and love. Here are 50 of the best inspirational quotes to motivate you:

1. Nothing is impossible, the word itself says “I’m possible”! —Audrey Hepburn
2. I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. —Maya Angelou
3. Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right. —Henry Ford
4. Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence. —Vince Lombardi
5. Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. —Charles Swindoll
6. If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life, you’ll never have enough. —Oprah Winfrey
7. Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent. —Eleanor Roosevelt
8. I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. —Jimmy Dean
9. Believe you can and you’re halfway there. —Theodore Roosevelt
10. To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart. —Eleanor Roosevelt
11. Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears. —Les Brown
12. Do or do not. There is no try. —Yoda
13. Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. —Napoleon Hill
14. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover. —Mark Twain
15. I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. —Michael Jordan
16. Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. —Albert Einstein
17. I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions. —Stephen Covey
18. When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. —Henry Ford
19. The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. —Alice Walker
20. The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. —Amelia Earhart
21. It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. —Aristotle Onassis
22. Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. —Robert Louis Stevenson
23. The only way to do great work is to love what you do. —Steve Jobs
24. Change your thoughts and you change your world. —Norman Vincent Peale
25. The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me. —Ayn Rand
26. If you hear a voice within you say "you cannot paint," then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced. —Vincent Van Gogh
27. Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs. —Farrah Gray
28. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck. —Dalai Lama
29. You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. —Maya Angelou
30. I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear. —Rosa Parks
31. I would rather die of passion than of boredom. —Vincent van Gogh
32. A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty. —Unknown
33. A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.——Albert Einstein
34. What’s money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do. —Bob Dylan
35. I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do. —Leonardo da Vinci
36. If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else. —Booker T. Washington
37. Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless. —Jamie Paolinetti
38. If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat! Just get on. —Sheryl Sandberg
39. Certain things catch your eye, but pursue only those that capture the heart. —Ancient Indian Proverb
40. When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us. —Helen Keller
41. Everything has beauty, but not everyone can see. —Confucius
42. How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. —Anne Frank
43. When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down “happy”. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life. —John Lennon
44. The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. —Ralph Waldo Emerson
45. We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone. —Ronald Reagan
46. Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear. —George Addair
47. We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. —Plato
48. Nothing will work unless you do. —Maya Angelou
49. I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples. —Mother Teresa
50. What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality. —Plutarch

A version of this list first appeared at TalentSmart.com.

- Uncle "D"

{Inspiration} Having a little fun…

Have you been to your Company Christmas party yet?

Did the CEO, or Owner, or your boss give you “the speech?”

Did you roll your eyes listening to “blah, blah, blah…?”

Or was it REALLY GOOD? Every now and then, they are, right?

Last year when we had our party, and I can tell you MY speech was AWESOME!! LOL

(Actually, our team was what was awesome)

IF yours could have/should have been better, then I’ve got a good one for you today.

Just think of this when your boss starts “the speech.” LOL

Besides, who wouldn’t want Kid President to be their boss anyway?

Watch here

Have a great weekend!

- Uncle “D”

The 80/20 Principle and Time Management

Twenty years ago, I discovered the 80/20 Principle and began applying it to my life. The 80/20 Principle actually stems from ancient times when it was coined “The Pareto Principle.” What I have to say about this principle and the application of it in my life is very important, so please pay attention.

 

When I began actually applying the 80/20 Principle in my personal and professional life, the changes in my life were revolutionary and still are today!

 

As this year comes to a close, I am already looking ahead at better ways to manage my time next year.  The 80/20 principle is a fantastic way for me to do that, and I wanted to take the time to share it with you.

 

Did you know that a focused and productive person can generate 80% of their income from 20% of their activities and someone with no life direction or plan in place will have a 20% success rate from 80% of their actions? Were you aware that 20% of your clients account for 80% of your business?

 

When was the last time you thought about the results you are getting with the way you spend your time?

 

 If you stopped doing what wasn't producing the results you want, imagine how amazing your life would be!

 

If you took an honest look at your life, you'd find that there are things you are doing that do not allow you to gain the greatest benefit available to you for your life.

 

Answer these questions: 

• Who do I spend most of my time with?
• What result is this creating in my life?
• Am I happy with the result? 

If you look at your life truthfully, it will be easier to let go of relationships and activities that are not to your greatest benefit, personally AND professionally.

 

Likewise, as you shift to a new understanding about yourself, you may find your life resuming in a new and positive way.  If you don’t like what you see, change it!

Make a review of your:

• Work activities
• Clients/Customers
• Friendships
• Diet/Health
• Finances 

Look at each area above and ask yourself: 

• What is working for you?
• What isn't working for you?
• Why? 

Making one simple change can have a profoundly positive effect on your business and life!

To Your Success,

- Uncle "D" 

Does your office have a bad apple?

It takes just one of those bad apples to infect the entire work force and demoralize everybody.

When confronted with employees who complain, criticize or try to stir up trouble, managers often feel frustrated and helpless. They may quickly assume that there is no way to change these "personality problems," so they just do their best to contain the damage. However, tolerating such harmful behaviors is definitely NOT the smartest strategy.

Chronic negativity frequently starts with only one or two employees, but it can quickly infect an entire department. When this happens, the inevitable result is reduced productivity, damaged morale and eventually increased turnover, so wise managers try to nip negativity in the bud. 

Managers need to keep negativity from infecting your workplace by dealing with the Whiners, Trouble-makers, Pessimists and Other Difficult Employees including tattletales, gossips, bullies and rabble-rousers.

Banishing workplace negativity increases productivity, decreases turnover and boosts morale. Imagine how that will make you look as a manager.

- Uncle "D"

Adversity is in the Eye of the Beholder

Let’s face it.  Challenges in life are simply distractions that try to inhibit us from fulfilling our destiny.  Maybe you have a neighbor who lets their dog do his business in your yard without cleaning it up.  Or, maybe the company you represent affects your ability to write new business.  Likewise, maybe something even more devastating happens in your life that really throws a grenade in your foxhole. 

 

All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you. -Walt Disney

 

It’s GOING to happen.  Good, bad, or challenging; situations WILL happen in your life that either elate you or upset you and try to tempt you from seeing the bigger picture.  Life is a roller coaster of ups and downs with ever-changing ebbs and flows.  My question is, how are you going to choose to see these events?  Simply put, you have a choice of how you react to it. 

 

I strongly believe in living a proactive life, and have set up systems in my life both professionally and personally that reflect that. 

 

When trouble comes, are you going to whine about it?  Or, are you going to choose to see it as an opportunity to make yourself or your business better because of it?  When things are going good, don’t  rest on your laurels or get cocky!  As soon as I begin to behave that way, life has a way of showing me that it’s not all rainbows and lollipops.  This may sound harsh, but I believe in telling people the truth and pushing them to be their best selves. 

 

This is how you live a successful life and attract people who have that same goal in mind.  God knows, I’ve had people in my corner who have cared about me enough to tell me the truth, even when I didn’t want to hear it.  I’m grateful for that.

 

Most frustrations aren’t worth your precious time and energy in worrying over.  Focus on your higher goal and purpose and achieve your mark of honor!

 

To Your Success,

Uncle "D" 

Give thanks to the people you work with

This is one of my last blog post before Thanksgiving reaches us. So I got to thinking about the upcoming holiday. Thanksgiving is far and away my favorite holiday. It was such a wonderful time of year up in Northwest Iowa and deep into fall: The leaves have turned and fallen, and the fall clean-up is pretty much completed. Halloween is fully behind us, and the holiday shopping insanity hasn't quite started, yet. But best of all, Thanksgiving is when my daughter comes home, parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, and a few close friends all gather for an afternoon of eating and reconnecting.

While I do love the eating, it's the reconnecting that makes the day truly special for me. I am truly thankful I have these people in my life. I am... and that's what got me thinking along a different path. Here I am focused on the "thanks" part of Thanksgiving, but what about the "giving" part?

Reflecting on my own feelings of thanks is certainly a worthwhile and healthy endeavor, no one could deny that, of course. But giving as an outward expression of that thanks... that's coming full circle. I say that because one is thankful when one has received (love, support, companionship, etc.)

In my family, we have the tradition of each person at the table saying what they are thankful for before we start to eat. I am sure that is a fairly common tradition since it is a simple way to allow us to communicate to each other and to give each other recognition.

Can this practice be taken to work?

In my company, we are small enough in the territory office that we can have a Thanksgiving party where we all bring in food and have an extended lunch together. However, for most companies that is not realistic, and we do not go around the table offering our thanks to each other. But it is realistic to have a personal mission to give your thanks on an individual scale next week before we take Thursday and Friday off. All it takes is a small gesture. Walk into your direct report's office and tell them something they do that makes your life easier, something you've noticed and value. It doesn't need to be a big thing, nor do you need to offer a spot bonus. Just go out of your way to give a "Thank you for ...... It really makes me happy that you do that because ...." That's it. Offer a compliment and a reason. It's a small token of your appreciation but will mean so much to the recipient.

Appreciate your boss? Go knock on his door and tell him. Too often, people go to the boss to ask for something or for help with a problem. Give your thanks. The change would be most welcome. An extreme example of an employee giving thanks happened just recently in my former company: HR told the managers how much vacation time people have left in 2015, and the managers emailed their people on that list a gentle reminder to schedule their days while they still can. One of those people was told he had five vacation days left, yet he knew he'd used them all up. That employee went to his manager and told her HR made an error in his favor. The manager looked into it and determined the employee was correct. Used to employees asking for time not giving it back, she asked him why he came forward when he so easily could have gotten away with taking an extra week off. He simply said, "I could never cheat you. You treat me with respect, do the best you can for me, and allow me to come and go as I need to for my family. This is just me trying to say thank you for that."

Up the ladder, down the ladder, don't forget to give your thanks to the people you work with. You have so much to be thankful for. You know it's true!

To your next success!

Uncle "D"