Have you ever thought about the power of the watermelon seed?

This tiny little seed has the power of creating a fruit that is 200,000 times its weight. It draws whatever nutrients it needs from the dirt and sun and colors a unique spherical, almost psychedelic rind by smearing various tones of green, and then creates a white rind inside and within that a crunchy, juicy succulent red center, thickly inlaid with black seeds, each one of which in turn is capable of yet another fruit that’s 200,000 times its weight. If an itsey, bitsey teeney, weeney seed can draw that much power from a handful of dirt, imagine what we can do.

Sometimes we get in the rut of thinking that we need more of something to grow, to be better, to be happier or more successful. We know, from working with people from all over the world, that we have all we need to be 200,000 times more that we are today. We have the power of the watermelon seed to create a magnificently unique and outstanding individual.

Here’s a way to get started. Get a handful of dirt and put it at your desk and know you have everything you need to be truly great!

Be Well & Be Contagious,

Beverly

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Success nowadays requires that you take positive steps every single day to make your dreams a reality, and in this regard, contagious leaders are the experts.

Here are the 6 actions that will make you succeed in tough times, following the example of the best contagious leaders:

Love the ones around you
In the struggle to survive tough times, too many people neglect their employees and current customers, making them feel abandoned, confused, and afraid about their future, when in reality they should love them more than ever.

If you want to bloom in tough times, open the lines of communication with your people like you haven’t done before, because your people may be the only reason you succeed. So, acknowledge them, reward them, and thank them for being loyal, for understanding, and for being committed.

In the same way, many businesses set to find new customers while neglecting their current ones, making them feel like a pebble in their shoe. It is amazing to see how these companies are blind to the fact that when customers feel loved they bring many more customers on board.

Focus
In tough times, you must stop doing what you used to do to succeed, and must start analyzing every strategy and every activity you used in the past.

Thoroughly study everything you do every day and the return it produces, and then focus on the top 20% of activities that create impact and income.

If you need help to focus, consider talking to a good leadership speaker and consultant.

Develop your network and build your net worth
Quality relationships add value and confidence to your company.

It is normal during tough times to crouch, to play it safe, to spend less, to do less, and to be more careful; however, contagious leaders see hard times as an opportunity to expand their network and build their networth; these leaders become a SAGE:

-Seek out people. They go out and meet people, they go online and are active every day in sites like Facebook or LinkedIn, and they interact with people who think alike all over the world.

-Ask questions. They ask quality questions and focus on the other person, not on themselves.

-Get Involved. They are curious about others; they keep the conversation centered on the other person by getting involved in his or her life’s story.

-Enrich lives. People don’t care what you know until they know you care.

Be unforgettable
To be unforgettable you must be distinctive and indispensable in everything you do, this is, you have to stand out and be valuable in everything you do.

When you’re unforgettable, your work and financial security multiplies and your competitive advantage magnifies. When you’re ordinary, you’re destined to fail.

To be unforgettable:

-Analyze what others are doing and do the opposite.

-Become an expert in something.

-Put yourself in a place where you can look at things from a different perspective, forget about what you do and how you do it. Look at how others have become unforgettable.

-Acknowledge the good work and efforts others do. There is no better and more inexpensive way to motivate people.

Surround yourself with optimism
Remember what Oscar Wilde said:

“Some people cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.”

Each employee chooses if he or she wants to be a giver or a taker; ensure your company has more givers than takers.

Stop feeding fear
Ask yourself: “What am I doing that adds to the fear and confusion caused by this crisis?”

Then:

-Stop doing those things.

-Get clear about your vision for your company and communicate it intensely and frequently.

-Eliminate as much drama as possible from the work place.

-Establish big goals.

-Create an action plan, begin executing, and hold people accountable.

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So many of us long for the “good old days” when the good guys finished first. It seems as though those days have been replaced by all the “bad boys” winning the big games and gaining all the notoriety and huge pay days. Well, we have news for you; the good old days may still be with us.

We recently traveled to Baltimore to visit relatives and participate in a fund raiser for the Baer School, which Bev’s sister Debbie Kastendike, her uisband Graham and their sons Eric and Christopher and his wife Ashley are deeply involved with.  The plan was to have an affair at the Legends of Sport Heroes right near Camden Yards where to Baltimore Orioles still play. A special treat would be an appearance by Joe Flacco, Quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens. With all the controversy about and around “star athletes” these days I wasn’t so sure that the QB’s appearance was anything worth getting all excited over. Boy, was I wrong!

Joe Flacco impressed each of the 200 people there, including the biggest doubting Thomas of all, me.

Joe Flacco and the Kids of The Baer School

Joe and more Kids

Eric Kastendike, Joe Flacco and Christopher Kastendike

Joe Flacco and Ashley kastendike

Joe and another Baer School Charmer

To watch him was to learn about him. He began quietly, appearing a bit shy at first. Then as we entered the room where the kids were he began to be more lively. For the last picture above he actually asked if the little girl would like to have a picture taken. He didn’t presume she wanted the shot, nor did he walk away relieved that he avoided yet another inconvenience. No, he asked if she would like a picture.

Most of these kids had no idea who Joe Flacco is, nor did they care. They only knew that he enjoyed being with them, paying attention to them, talking with them, smiling with them. They loved him for that and so did the delighted people that came to help the Baer School.

That night, we all saw a side of Joe Flacco, and perhaps other “star athletes” that made us revisit our attitudes toward all athletes. Perhaps they are not all thugs and bad boys. Perhaps a few, like Joe Flacco, are really good guys that just dress up like athletes and happen to get paid a lot of money for doing so. This doesn’t make them bad. In fact, it just helped prove a really important point for all of us. Despite what the world may look like from time to time, good guys really do finish first.

Be Well & Be Contagious!

John

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Frank Shankwitz, Founder, The Make-A-Wish Foundation with John Hersey & Beverly Belury

Frank Shankwitz is a Prescott, Arizona resident and a 37 year veteran of the Arizona Highway Patrol. He’s a cop, always has been, probably always will be. He has seen bad things happen everyday for 37 years and you would think his outlook on life might be colored by that. Not Frank Shankwitz! This big man has an even bigger heart. That’s how he was able to make the world a better place for 230,000+ kids with life-threatening diseases since 1980.

In 1980 Frank was contacted by a fellow-officer about a 7 year-old boy named Chris who was dying from leukemia and only had a few days to live.  Frank learned that Chris’ hero’s were Ponch and Jon from the television show, “CHIP’s”, and that Chris had a wish; he wanted to be a Highway Patrol motorcycle officer when he grew up.

Frank was one of the primary officers from the Arizona Highway Patrol responsible for granting Chris’ wish, which actually went way beyond the little boys expectations. Chris, is the first and only Honorary Arizona Highway Patrol Officer in Arizona. Frank attended Chris’ funeral in Illinois and on the way home thought about how he and a few others had made this little boys last few days very happy. He wondered why it couldn’t be done for others. Within six months The Make-A-Wish Foundations was operational and was in the process of granting it’s first official wish.

Nearly 30 years later The Make-A-Wish Foundation has 65 U.S. Chapters, 31 in other countries. Over 3500 wishes have been granted in Arizona alone since then while over 230,000 have been granted worldwide, one every 40 minutes.

We have said many times before that great leaders, what we call Contagious Leaders, come from a place of contribution. We can’t think of a better example than Frank. So, if you still believe that one person cannot make a difference, let us suggest that our new friend Frank would disagree.

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Twitter is a required course for journalism majors at Griffin University, see http://tinyurl.com/yfkbzj4

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During the past couple of years I have become more serious than usual (and I tend to have a serious nature). In April of this year my life and business had gotten so serious that I decided, much to Beverly’s relief, that it was time to make some changes. Since then I have been on a mission to learn to have fun again. Not only has it made me a better person (at least more tolerable to be around), but it has made me a better leader as well. I have discovered that really great leaders are broad thinkers, not narrow minded. Great thinkers have diverse interests. And, really great leaders enjoy leading.

John and Bev dancing at EuroRhythm

In my pursuit to learn to have fun again I have engaged in as many wonderful and new experiences as possible. We’ll share some of them with you from time to time. Beverly and I have taken up ballroom dancing (this is amazing fun,; check out EuroRythm Studios) and photography while expanding our interests in learning about wine, cooking, travel and Opera.

This weekend we engaged in several of these activitites. A ballroom dancing event Friday evening, Tosca at The Met at the Movies (fabulous and you must try this) on Saturday, and a musical Saturday evening. Sunday was the topper. We took a helicopter to Four Peaks Mountain and toured one of the finest (certainly the hardest to reach ) Amathyst mines in the world. The pictures below say it all.

Boarding Helicopter for Four Peaks Mine

Entering the Mine (From L-R; Doc, John, Garrett, Bev and Donna in front)

John Having Fun, Hard Hat and All

We got to keep the minerals we mined and the people at Sami’s Fine Jewelry will process, cut and polish the best of our stones and give it to us. Bev had some pretty huge rocks so maybe we’ll retire soon.

Finally, Just in case you are thinking this was looking like lots of work and very little fun check out the picture below.

John & Bev

You have no doubt heard the saying about all work and no play making John a dull boy. Learn to have fun again and the work and play will make us all better leaders. Besides, it makes for Unforgettable Weekends filled with Unforgettable Experiences.

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Isn’t this exactly what we all need right now, More Sales, Less Selling!

Well, please pardon the shameless self-promotion but we are thrilled and feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the response to the publication of our new eBook, More Sales, Less Selling. This is such a simple concept, selling more while selling less.

More Sales, Less Selling

Beverly is fond of saying that in every book, eBook and seminar people read and or attend there are a number of elephant sized footprints. Our jobs are to focus in on these footprints, separating them from all the other information so we can glean the real treasure in the message. The elephant sized footprint in More Sales, Less Selling is the More Sales, Less Selling Referral System� outlined in Chapters 8-12. By executing this system as a separate strategy, rather than relying on asking for referrals as an add-on conversation, one of the 5 Deadly Mistakes People Make When Asking for Referrals, we can shape our business and create an endless stream of profitable customers.

Steve Chandler, best selling author of Fearless and the Joy of Selling had this to say about More Sales, Less Selling:

“This system will be assigned training for
every sales team. It will sweep the planet
with a total reversal in the attitude of selling.”

For only $14.97 we think it is a great value and a necessary tool, particularly in our current economic environment.

To order More Sales, Less Selling just click here.

Please let us know what you think by offering a comment below. And, be a good friend and pass this post on to others who could use the help of More Sales, Less Selling.

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If you haven’t read Steve Chandler�s new book, Fearless, you are doing yourself, your company and your family a huge disservice.

The world is gripped by fear. Fear about the economy, the stock market, our shrinking 401K plans, terrorism, the war in Iraq, and the election. Heck some people are even fearful that the Phillies will lose to the Rays in the World Series.

In Fearless , Steve Chandler takes you by the hand and shows you how disabling fear is and how we can deal with it head on. He doesn�t pretend to know how to banish fear from our lives forever but he does know how to help us push it aside and move on, powerfully. This is a life altering work, a must read for every leader and anyone seriously considering coming out of these crazy times better off than we entered them.

Besides, it is a great read! We have always enjoyed reading Steve’s books. But, the last couple have really evolved. Not that we are literary experts but Steve Chandler has become a truly engaging, insightful, and humorous author whose work contributes to our well-being.

John & Bev

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John and I make a point to surround ourselves with people who have a positive mindset, even during an economic downturn. Here are a couple of excerpts from emails we received this weekend:

Here is some great insight on how to not only survive but thrive during these unusual economic times.

OneCoach CEO John Assaraf and President Scott deMoulin (www.onecoach.com ) discussed what you can focus on now to get the business you want, regardless of what’s going on out there.

Some key takeaways:

• In order to live a life of unlimited abundance, you must focus on what you want to create, rather than living a life of default focused on what is already happening.
• If you focus on the problems, then it is difficult to see the opportunities in front of you to take advantage of.
• Your mind can only focus on one image at a time, so if you are focused on the challenges then that is the only thing you are going to see.

And here�s what Joe Vitale ( http://www.mrfire.com/) says-Like many marketers who are busier than ever right now, watching TV is very low on the priority list.

But the other day during a much needed break, I turned the TV on to see what was going on in the world.

I almost wish I didn’t.

After watching just 10 minutes of the news and learning about massive corporations going out of business, the stock market going bonkers, the housing market, and the recession, you’d think that we’re on the brink of a complete and total economic crash.

I can only imagine the mindset of people who spend a great deal of time in front of the TV watching the doom and gloom news.

They must be completely scared out of their minds.

And for some, they really have every right to be… unless they know the *ONE* thing that can completely recession-proof their life and business.

What the news isn’t talking about is how many people are having their most profitable years EVER….

There are no mentions of how people are driving more traffic to their websites than ever before…

And there are no mentions of people spending fortunes to attend marketing events around the world, take their families on vacations, and are truly living the life of their dreams.

Why isn’t the media talking about these people?

Can’t we feed our heads with good information like this rather than staying up late at night until we are blurried eyed from watching politicians and bureaucrats point fingers at one another and tell us that the sky is falling.

We think so!

Bev

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Full of Possibility

Michael Edward Ronan was born on August 26, 2008 at 4:35AM EST. As grandparents, we could not be more proud.

While visiting Michael in Boston we could not help but notice just how full of possibility he is. Everything is new, fresh, untried, untested. There is nothing he cannot do, as long as he is willing to give it a go, and his parents and grandparents allow him to do so. He does not know failure so it cannot hold him back. He does not know success so it cannot motivate him forward.

Somehow, Michael Edward Ronan knows that he has been born into a world that is full of possibility. Thus far, he appears to be open to all of it, that is when he is not sleeping or eating. It is a miracle to be in the presence of someone so small with everything in front of him and none of the junk that holds we humans back behind him. As grandparents our job is to see to it that the junk is kept to a minimum so Michael Edward Ronan can joyfully, enthusiastically and passionately be all that he chooses to be.

Wouldn’t the world be a truly wonderful place if we could all see only possibility?

John and Bev

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