Jerry Bellune's Blog

The success formula

2012-02-06T15:57:00.005-05:00

This may come as a surprise.
Our nation’s capital is the top U.S. literate city.
And this is for the second year in row.
That’s surprising in a city with third rate schools.
It must be because of all the government lawyers.

The researchers overlooked Congress.
None of them seem to read the laws they pass.
They pass too many laws - and exempt themselves.
Barry Goldwater had it right.
For each new law, they should have to rescind one.
Researchers said newspaper readers were a factor.
D.C. newspapers must have a lot of readers.

Reading is critical to success.
We become what we read and think about.
Our friend Don Roy says it is one of the top three.
The two others are:

• A commitment to pay the price for success.
That means studying what successful people do.
It means learning to act as they have.
Role models are all around us.

• The gumption to get off you butt and act.
You can think and study for years.
But without action, you will gain no ground.
Figure out where you want to go and take off.
There’s more to success than these three,
But they will get you going.
Read. Commit. Act.

As you lounge in front of the TV, Don is reading.
That’s why he’s in the Guinness World Records.
Don has a purpose in life. You do, too.

For more on finding your purpose, read my book.
Email me for a copy of “Your Life’s Great Purpose”.

Anticipation

2012-01-28T03:09:00.005-05:00

Do you have a Radar O'Reilly Award?

In upscale magazines, Seabourne cruise lines runs an intriguing ad.

Its headline: "Seabourn believes clairvoyance is a job requirement"

The ad advances the idea that Seabourn will anticipate your every want and need on the "World's Best Small Ship Cruise Line".

It reminded me of an important concept in a book about Disney World.

If you have not, please read Tom Connellan's "Inside the Magic Kingdom: Seven Keys to Disney's Success".

It is full of great strategies from Disney's people.

One of the ideas is to create a Radar O'Reilly Award at your business.

Radar, you may remember, was either clairvoyant or had the most sensitive ears in Korea. He heard the medical helicopters coming long before anyone else.

The award would go to someone on your team who anticipates your clients' needs and wants before even they know or ask for them.

For other great Success Strategies, "Killer Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs" has the top, field-tested concepts of 22 business owners, coaches and consultants.

It's available at JerryBellune.com

Sharpen your ax

2012-01-24T05:50:00.002-05:00

Do you occasionally feel overwhelmed?
Sure. Most of us feel that way sometimes, too.
Let me share a great story and solution with you.
Years ago, a logger challenged an older logger.
The challenge:

Who could cut down a tree the fastest.
Those were the days before power equipment.

The two selected nearly identical trees.
They went to work, chopping and chopping.
The young logger was heartened by what he saw.
The older logger appeared to be taking breaks.
The younger logger took no breaks.
He was going to beat his older companion.
But the older logger’s tree fell first.

“How did you do that?” the young logger asked.
“I saw you taking lots of breaks.”
The older logger had a secret, he said.
Each time he stopped, he sharpened his ax.

Each of us needs time to sharpen our ax.
One way to do that is to divide your waking hours.
You might use the 30-10-20 principle.
Devote 30 minutes to a top priority project.
Turn off your cell phone. Close your office door.
Hit it hard and without interruption for 30 minutes.
Then take a 10 minute break. Coffee, A walk.
Anything that will give you a break.
That’s ax sharpening time. Make the most of it.

Then take 20 minutes to answer email and calls.
Or to meet with a colleague to discuss business.
Or to attend a very important meeting.
Just make sure it’s a 20-minute meeting.
I once took all the chairs out of our conference room.
Hour-long meetings were accomplished in 20 minutes.
There’s nothing quite like standing to get the job done.

Now repeat the cycle - 30, 10 and 20 minutes.
You’ll cut deeper and faster with a sharper ax.
Next week we’ll talk about the Power of Less.

Want a copy of my book “Your life’s Great Purpose”?
Email me at this address for a copy.

It’s OK to take a nap

2012-01-17T05:35:00.003-05:00

Meet the world's most creative dog

I used to get by on three hours sleep.
Ambition drove me.
Newspaper editing by day.
Radio and TV scripts by night.
I struggled with a novel.
About my GI buddies in Korea.
The manuscript was lost years ago. No real loss.

Recent research shows the error of my ways.
Sleep not only recharges our batteries.
It gives our subconscious mind time to work.
Sleep produces solutions to our problems.
It helps us better assess our opportunities.
We are more creative with proper rest.

Our pet editor Scoop Bellune sleeps all the time.
He is one of the world’s most creative dogs.
You don’t have to be a dog to be creative.
But you can follow Scoop’s fine example.
Just take a nap. It’s good for you.

Most of us divide our days in two.
One for sleep. One for wakefulness.
This may not be a natural sleep pattern.
More than 85% of mammals are different.
They sleep for short periods throughout the day.
Children and the elderly nap.
The rest of us are too driven for napping.
We think we have too much else to do.
We appear to be sleep deprived.
That affects our creativity. Makes us irritable.
Affects our mood. Skews our judgment.
Makes problem solving seems impossible.

Excuse me. All this is making me drowsy.
I think I’ll just stretch out for a nap.
While I’m asleep, here’s something you can do.
Want to win more than $1,000 in prizes?
Enter our Bottom Line competition.
If you had a good year, you should enter.
My subscribers already have the details.
If you are not a subscriber, here’s what to do.
Email me at Jerry@JerryBellune.com
Just put “Bottom Line” in the subject line.
I’ll send you an entry form.
It will take 20 minutes to complete - tops.
Invest 20 minutes or $1,000? No brainer.

Facing the inevitable

2012-01-08T09:50:00.004-05:00

We can learn from an example of courage
in the Giffords shooting

My sister wrote from New York.
She’s going in for knee surgery. That’s no fun.
It will put her out of commission for some weeks.
As a therapist she works with disabled children.
She loves them and will miss them for a while.

As we age, all of us will face similar challenges.
Osteoarthritis had crippled my left knee.
I lost 20 pounds and the problem almost disappeared.
No shots in the knee for more than a year now.
Now I’ve developed a new problem:
Adhesions in my left shoulder.
The soft tissue around the shoulder joint contracts.
It makes moving your arm very painful.

Why am I boring you with this health report?
To advise you to take care of yourself.
This is the only body you will ever have.
Good care will make it less painful as you age.
It’s hell to get old but it beats the other alternative.

Will you know when it’s time to go?
Here’s an example of someone ready if necessary.
He was shot in the arm in the Giffords’ massacre.
He lay on top of his wife to protect her.
The gunman was almost on top of him.
He figured the next shot was it.
"Here I come, God," he thought.
What a reaction. That takes courage.
It also takes an attitude of acceptance.
He was ready to go if needed to save his wife’s life.
All of us will need to be brave when the time comes.

On another note, here is a challenge for you.
Our Bottom Line contest is open for entries.
You will be asked for:
1. Your 2011 percentage gain at the bottom line.
2. How you achieved it.
3. Your top three goals for 2012.
If you enter, you get to read other winning entries.
Those entries will contain some great strategies.
That will be an enriching experience for you.
For an entry form, email me at this address.
It will take you 20 whole minutes to fill it out.
You stand to win more than $1,000 in prizes.

Your family time

2011-12-18T21:29:00.007-05:00

Professional speaker and trainer Ty Boyd wrote the other day.
“You mean we hafta have a plan?” he asked.
“Wish somebody had told me that long ago.”
Ty was only joking.
He recalls when bookings ran his life.
“Too often my family only got the leftovers,” he said. “Next time, I’m planning family and personal time first.”
That’s an important message at Christmas.

We watched Bob Hope in “The 7 Little Foys” on TCM the other night.
Hope played Eddie Foy.

Foy was always on a booking.
When he came home, his dear wife got pregnant.
Then he was off again for another show.

Hope was tremendous as ever.

What a legacy he left.
The message: We all make choices in life.

By the way, the movie saved Hope's career.

He was considered washed up.

He won the part and revived his career.

He never looked back

Professional speakers are like Eddie Foy.

They're always on the go.
It gets to be a lonely life.

Long waits in airports.
TSA scans. Empty hotel rooms.

Meals alone. Calls or emails from home.

Don’t waste your family time.

There’s precious little of it.
They are the reason you work hard.
But they deserve your attention.
I wish you and your family a great holiday.

Make the most of it - together.

Next: Sharpen your ax.

Get more done in less time

2011-12-12T08:01:00.007-05:00

Do you feel overwhelmed with work?
Most of us do, particularly at this time of year.
We have our regular tasks plus getting ready for the holidays.

Here are 3 strategies to help you ease your work and holoiday burdens.

1. Learn to say no.
This is hard for me to do, too.
I’m a patsy for anyone who asks.
My bride stays on my case about this.
And she should be. She’s helping me.
She’s taught me - reluctantly - to say no.

2. Guard your time.
None of us has more than 24 hours a day.
But we always have 25 hours of work to do.
If we don’t value our time no one else will either.
Just say “Not now. Please ask me later.”
Say that enough and others will learn.
They will come to appreciate your time.

3. Get rid of non-essentials.
We all have too much busy work to do.
Delegate it. Delay it. Or dump it.
Make a short list of the really vital projects.
List three you might do today. No more.
Rate them in order of priority.
Put the high payoff projects first.
Everything else can wait for you.
Do these three. I promise you a better 2012.

Next: Your family time.

Work your plan

2011-12-05T10:11:00.005-05:00

Tune in to station WIIFM

Last week we talked about planning.
Planning is great as far as it goes.
But someone has to execute the plan.

That someone is you.

Enthusiasm achieves goals.
Know what motivates you to do what you want to do.
Think about station WIIFM.

That stands for “What’s in it for me”.

Is it money? Prestige? Power? Honor? Glory?
Is it losing weight to feel and look better?
Is it the thrill of doing what’s never done before?
Of going where no one has gone before?
Not just geographically but mentally and spiritually?

Is it the satisfaction of contributing to a cause?
Of finding and fulfilling your life’s great purpose?
Many of our goals in life cannot be achieved alone.
You will need others to help you.
Think now about “What’s in it for them”.
Is it money? Prestige? Recognition? Appreciation?
Sharing your cause? Mission? Life’s purpose?
Whatever it is, recruit those you need to help.
Recruit those with passion and energy.
Energy translates into enthusiasm.
Enthusiasm is catching. It’s contagious.
Get on with it while they are eager to do it.

Plan your work and life step by step.
Put a realistic deadline on each step. And go to work.
Next: How to get more done in less time.

Planning for 2012

2011-11-29T06:24:00.004-05:00

Go for your goals

As we near year’s end, it’s time to think about 2012.
Don’t be one of those who sleep walk through life.
My weekly plan is worked out each weekend.
This takes less than 15 minutes.
A little extra time goes into planning a month ahead.

Here’s how you might develop your plan.
Your written goals should include:
1. A description of each goal.
2. Why it’s important to you.
3. The results that come with achievement.
4. Who will be responsible for each step.
5. The deadlines for completion.

The last Sunday of the quarter takes me 30 minutes.
This is to plan goals for the next quarter.
None of this takes a lot of time.
It actually saves time because:
1. Your goals are clear.
2. You know the time it will take for each one.
3. The results are spelled out.

If you are not doing anything like this now, try it.
It’s about planning your work and your life.
Include family time, exercise, travel, etc.
For more on this, go to JerryBellune.com
Click on Books & Videos.
You can order “Your Life’s Great Purpose”.
It gives you a blueprint for a more fulfilling life.
We all need help with making this a great life.
Next: How to work your plan.

Strategic appreciation

2011-11-21T14:02:00.007-05:00

What ranks higher than money on attitude surveys?
"Appreciation and recognition," most folks say.
We don't want ours just working for a paycheck.
We want them to take pride in what they do.
We want them to feel a sense of purpose.
We want them to share our sense of mission.

Appreciation shows we care about all our clients.
That means the people we pay and those who pay us.
Here's a good example of that in action.

Our friend Pat Strubbe invited me to a party last week.
It was his annual Client Appreciation Dinner.
More than 150 people showed up.
Pat held a drawing for gifts for those attending.
These included my "Life's Great Purpose" books.
The reception to the books was enthusiastic.
Others wanted autographed copies, too.
Pat was showing appreciation for his clients' faith in him.
Pat's business is managing their investments.
He offers them a "worry-free retirement".
You have to trust someone to give them your nest egg.

Answer these questions as the holidays approach:
1. How do you show your clients appreciation?

2. How do you show your employees appreciation?

3. How do you show your loved ones appreciation?

Appreciation will make a connection with other people.
It is a great trust and confidence builder.

Here's wishing you the best Thanksgiving ever.
For more on "Your Life's Great Purpose" email me.

Gratitude and other essentials

2011-11-16T06:20:00.003-05:00

As Thanksgiving approaches, lets be grateful.

Business coach P.T. McClure offers this:

1. Be grateful for your life’s bounty.

Your family. Your friends. Your faith.

What your mistakes have taught you.

My career pursuits dominated my life.

I took my loving family for granted.

Big mistake.

It took many years to discover the error of my ways.

Be grateful for what you have while you have it.

Show your appreciation to those who love you.

2. Know your purpose. What are you here for?

Have you taken on a task without a clear purpose?

Without knowing what you want to accomplish?

Purpose is one key to living a fulfilling life.

I stumbled into journalism because it looked exciting.

I did not think about its essential purpose.

That took years to figure out. I was a slow learner.

Don’t be a slow learner. Figure out your purpose now.

3. Be willing to change bad habits.

This usually takes a painful wake-up call.

I was addicted to tobacco for a dozen years.

Beating it, giving it up . . . what a challenge that was.

A friend with emphysema influenced my decision to quit.

Keep smoking and end up with his condition.

Fear can be a strong motivator.

4. Never stop learning. Become a lifelong learner.

Hang onto your child-like fascination with life.

Albert Einstein advised us to be passionately curious.

We don’t know when our next powerful lesson may come.

One goal: Tap an instructive book or CD a week.

Take notes. Underline passages that make you say "ah-ha".

Have you heard anyone say, "I don’t have time to read?"

What a mistake. Read. Study. Make the most of life.

5. Find strong mentors. A half dozen are best.

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

Dozens of wise, experienced mentors have helped me.

They showed me the way. They asked the right questions.

They encouraged me and helped me solve problems.

My way of thanking them is to help others.

Be unselfish. Share the wisdom you have accumulated.

For more on this, read "Your Life’s Great Purpose".

Email me for a personally autographed copy.

Jerry@JerryBellune.com

Strategic leadership

2011-11-07T08:15:00.006-05:00

'Bear' Bryant never had to raise his voice to be heard

Danny Ford sat down to talk with me last week.
Danny coached Clemson Tigers football.
His 1981 players were national champions.

One question was: “Who most influenced you?”
Danny had played for 'Bear Bryant' at Alabama.
“Coach Bryant,” he said.

A lot of coaches yell and intimidate their players.
Not Paul “Bear” Bryant. He was a quiet man.
“You had to strain to hear him,” Coach Ford said.
“He made you better than you were.
“He could get more out of any individual.
“You always wanted his approval, to please him.”

Bryant looked relaxed on the sidelines.
He could afford that.

His players were well trained.
His assistants called the plays.
Bryant only offered guidance as needed.
His teams won 6 national and 13 SEC championships.

Three leadership questions for you:
1. Do you have to raise your voice to be heard?
2. Have you trained your people well?
3. At game time, are you relaxed?

Want more about strategic leadership?
Read “Lead People, Manage Things”.
Write me at Jerry@JerryBellune.com
The first 3 of you to respond get a free copy.

To share a leadership story, click on Post a Comment.
Next: How to plan your mission.

Make the most of your opportunities

2011-10-30T19:42:00.009-04:00

Take care
of your herd

A friend was griping about local churches and Halloween.
“Why are they celebrating a pagan holiday?” he asked.
Historians say that’s bunk.
It goes back to harvest celebrations.
There’s no evidence it's a pagan ceremony.
Churches simply make it a family celebration.
They offer an alternative to trick-or-treating.
It adds value to church membership.

Nothing wrong with that.
Always add value to what you do.
Successful people add value to their clients.
It is a great client retention success strategy.
It builds relations of value with your clients.
Add value to your clients or you will lose them.
Your competition is ready to lure them away.

Marketing guru Dan Kennedy has a term for this.
He calls it “herd building”.
Your “herd” is loyal and believes in you.
They learn through experience to trust you to:
1. Look out for their interests.
2. Use judgment in what you recommend.
3. Watch their backs. Help them succeed.

Halloween gives churches an opportunity.
We build success by following their lead.
Walt Disney called it the "weenie".
It's the extra value you offer.
Make the most of all your opportunities.
For more, read my Million Dollar Ideas letter.
Just email me at JerryBellune@yahoo.com
We’ll send you a complimentary trial subscription.

Performance counts

2011-10-24T16:29:00.005-04:00

Are they smart enough
to come in out of the rain?

Many of us practice the ABCs of hiring. We should be adding a P.

The ABCs are fairly simple to grasp.

A = Attitude
Is it positive, negative or indifferent?
Can-do people see the glass as half full.
You can’t teach a can-do attitude.
The applicant must already have the right one.
Your questions should be designed to uncover attitude.
Ask them about the worst experiences they have had.
How did they respond? How did they handle them?.
Listen for credibility. Are they telling you the truth?
Or are they telling you what they think you want to hear?

B = Brains
As in smart enough to come in out of the rain?
Or smart enough to do the job you have a mind?

C = Character
Do they have a sense of smell? Know right from wrong?
How about times they were tempted to make poor choices?

P = Performance
Can poor performers change - even if they say they will?
If you follow bear tracks you will eventually find a bear.
If you do the same with a person you will eventually learn a lot.
Who they are. What they have achieved.
What they learned from success and failure.

More about that in my "ABCs of Successful Hiring".
For more about it email JerryBellune@yahoo.com

In this week's Million Dollar Ideas we discuss gifts.

They can create great value with your clients.

For a free trial subscripton, email JerryBellune@yahoo.com

What do you look forward to?

2011-10-18T06:27:00.003-04:00

Our friend Kathy Little works as a supervisor for TSA.
That’s the federal Transportation Security Administration.
Depending on your point of view, her people are:
• Protecting us from crazy people with bombs.
• Subjecting us to personal indignities at the airport.

Kathy sent me an intriging email the other day.
She had a performance evaluation question.
She wanted to know how best to ask:
"What do you look for each day in coming to work?"
That is an interesting question to ask of TSA people.
They look, one assumes, for crazy people with bombs.
They look for liquid explosives in your luggage.

Is Kathy looking to evaluate their observational skills?
If so, that’s the right question.
Or is she looking for motivational clues?
If so, she needs to amend one word in her question
"What do you look forward to each day in coming to work?"
We should ask our people - and ourselves - that question.
What do we look forward to in coming to work each day?

My feelings about work have not changed in 50 years.
Mine is the most exciting and fulfilling work in the world.
I’m serious. Do you feel that way?
If you don’t, what’s changed or gone wrong?
Do your people feel that way?
If they don’t, what’s changed or gone wrong for them?
You need to ask yourself and your people. Do it. Now.
That’s the way of the Enlightened Leader.

Please give me your thoughts at Post a Comment below.
This is a dialogue, not a sermon.

Feedback helps

2011-10-13T14:49:00.006-04:00

Tim Tebow's story inspired one reader

You never know which newsletter will touch nerves. It is something of a crap shoot each time you write.

I wrote this week about Karin Muller in the Philippines.
Karin disarmed a group of hostile communist soldiers.
She did it by simply offering them coffee.
Guy Kawasaki wrote about it in his book, "Enchantment".

Rev. Michael Henderson wrote:
"Another good one, Jerry.
"Reflects what St. Paul said in Romans 12:9-21."

Richard Weiler wrote: "BRILLIANT JERRY!
"Thanks for sharing this."

Richie Moye commented:
“I’m reminded of a quote from ex-USC president Thomas Jones.
“Friends come and friends go but enemies accumulate”
"I’m reading the epic story of Tim Tebow’s life.
"He was born in the Philippines to missionaries.
"Thanks for your ration of food for thought."

Turning enemies into friends is important.
A first step is to understand their thinking.
How do you do that? You ask them or their friends.
Then you extend your hand in friendship.
Offer them coffee and the chance to become friends.
Most people will take it and gladly bury the ax.
Forget those who won't. It's their problem.
Have a friends-to-enemies story to share?
Email it to jerrybellune@yahoo.com

Dealing with potential enemies

2011-10-10T20:25:00.003-04:00

Think of being thousands of miles from home.
Native Filipinos tell you there’s trouble brewing.
The communists are coming to interrogate you.
You are physically defenseless against them.

Peace Corps volunteer Karin Muller faced such a test.
She gathered all the coffee and sugar she could find.
When the Communists arrived, she invited them in.
“Thank God you’re here,” she said. “I’ve waited all day.
“Have some coffee. Leave your guns at the door.”
The puzzled leader took off his guns and sat down for coffee.
This way she avoided interrogation - or worse.
You can’t interrogate someone you’re having coffee with.
Who dares think women are the weaker sex?

Some time ago, I took one of our elected officials to task.
He was making a mistake and I said so in a roomful of his peers.
He did not speak to me for five years. Actually shunned me.
I thought it was humorous. But the acid was eating at him.
Finally a mutual friend arranged for us to clear the air.
He spent an hour at our kitchen table justifying his actions.
Over coffee, I patiently listened and did not argue with him.
But neither did I agree that he was right and I was wrong.

He was diagnosed with cancer a few months later.
We talked on the phone several times as he underwent chemo.
He’s the hero of this story. He initiated the meeting.
He welcomed the continuing dialogue. Then cancer took him.
I had the last word - and made it a good one.
We published a tribute to him and his achievements.
A little coffee and empathy can go a long way.

Guy Kawasaki tells Karin Muller’s story in his new book.
It’s entitled “Enchantment”. You will want to read it.
For a copy go to Amazon.com and type in Enchantment.
It’s well worth a few dollars and your time to read it.
More on his book later in my Million Dollar Ideas newsletter.

Winners and losers

2011-10-05T01:52:00.004-04:00

Hollie Dunaway greeted me with a big hug.
Hollie is all of five feet tall and 120 pounds.
Beside me she is petite - and beautiful.
My mug makes most women look beautiful.

Hollie may be tiny but she is fierce.
Hollie is a four-time world champion boxer.
She has won more than 30 boxing matches.
She was at Billy Stanick's gym helping him.
One of his boxers is preparing for a big bout.
We sat down to talk about her life story.

Hollie grew up on a farm in Arkansas.
No sports. Farm chores came first.
Few boys. First date when she was 18.
Then she met trainer Brian Jones.
He convinced her to enter the ring.
Two weeks later she lost her first boxing match.
“No one taught me to block punches,” she said.

Did that first loss discourage her? No way.
“It just made me hate losing,” she said.
Do you hate losing? Do you love winning?
They’re two sides of the same coin.
My questions for you this morning are:
• What did you do the last time you lost?
• Did you want to quit? To just give up?
• Did you decide you would do what it takes to win?

Life is a constant and unending struggle.
What’s important is how we handle it.
It’s a privilege to interview winners like Hollie Dunaway.
She so inspired me I drove 20 miles to our newspaper.
I sat down in an empty office and wrote about our interview.
I wanted to get it down while it was fresh in my mind.
If you want to read it, it will be on our web site Thursday.
Just go to www.LexingtonChronicle.com
Click on “Rockin’ on the Front Porch”

Love what you do

2011-09-26T07:59:00.004-04:00

Like me, you may have never heard of John Calley.
But I’ll bet you’ve seen many of his movies.
“The Exorcist”. “Deliverance”. Blazing Saddles”.
“Chariots of Fire”. “All the President’s Men”.
“GoldenEye”. “Spider-Man”. “The Da Vinci Code”.
Calley was a highly successful movie producer.
Unless you’re a credit watcher, his name means little.
His close friends were names you might know.
Mike Nichols, Clint Eastwood, Stanley Kubrick.

He started in the NBC mailroom and worked his way up.
He retired after making 120 movies at Warner.
He manned his own sailboat across the Atlantic.
He bought a farm and became a gentleman farmer.
MGM lured him out of retirement.
Sony lured him away from MGM.
He lead an exciting and adventurous life.

Here is what’s unusual about John Calley.
He was a film mogul but did not act like one.
No private Gulfstream jets or fancy titles.
No Saville Row custom-fitted suits.
None of the trappings of millionaire moguldom.

Calley loved the work. Loved a good story.
Was passionate about making award-winning films.
Think about that and the fancy title on your office door.
Think about your company-paid golf club membership.
Think about your private aircraft and parking spot.
Are you working for the trappings of success?
Or do you work at what you’re passionate about?

My mother influenced my decision to become a writer.
She read to me as a child. She fired my imagination.
She taught me the alphabet so I could write to my father.
I fell in love with storytelling and writing.
Not the idea of “being” a writer. It was the act itself.
The craft of the work. The endless writing and rewriting.
The editing of others’ work to hone my own.
That became one of my purposes in life.

I hope you’ve found your great purpose, too.

To respond, click on Post a Comment below.

The value of a sense of humor

2011-09-19T06:55:00.008-04:00

Our friend Bill West sent this along.
It says a lot about our falling expectations.
It says more about our ability to laugh.

The economy, Bill writes, is so bad that:
• He got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.
• CEOs are now playing miniature golf.

• The First Couple are staying in Washington.
• Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen.
• Angelina Jolie adopted a child from America.
• Motel Six won’t leave the light on anymore.
• A picture is now only worth only 200 words.
• They renamed Wall Street “Wal-Mart Street”

Bill called the Suicide Hotline the other night.
He reached a call center in Pakistan.
When he told them he was suicidal, they got excited.
They asked if he could drive a truck.

Americans can laugh in the face of disaster.
It increases our determination to succeed.
And it reminds us that things could be worse.
Most of us learn to laugh early in life.
Don’t lose your child-like ability to laugh.
Particularly at yourself and your foibles.

Keep laughing, my friends. It helps.

To share your own humor, click on Post a Comment.

Is reconciliation possible?

2011-09-11T20:07:00.005-04:00

Mike Henderson has returned from Africa.
It is his 19th mission to the Dark Continent.
Mike is a former chemical engineer.
Today he is a Methodist minister.

During apartheid, Mike was smuggled into Soweto.
That was a black area South Africa set up.
Blacks and whites were separated by law.
Mike was illegally in Soweto.
He met inmates from Robben Island Prison.
They had been incarcerated with Nelson Mandela.
A former inmate said he knew they would be freed.
He just did not know how long it would take.
In prison, he committed to reconciliation.
He wouldn’t do to others what was done to him.
That takes a strong faith to take such a pledge.
Particularly after generations of apartheid.

I asked Mike his thoughts on reconciliation today.
Is it possible to reconcile ourselves with jihadists?
With people who envy, hate and would kill us?
Who believe it is Allah’s will that they destroy us?
Or to drag us back into the 17th Century with them?
These are questions for us in the wake of 9-11.
We have had 10 years to think about 9-11’s meaning.
I don’t know what you’ve learned but I’m interested.
Please comment at Post a Comment below.

Your passion and purpose

2011-09-06T07:41:00.001-04:00

This light-hearted cartoon may make your day.
It certainly gave me a chuckle.
But on a truly serious note:
Passion and purpose are two major keys to success.
Our friend Kathy Little knows this well.
Kathy works as a TSA behavior detection officer.
She watches for suspicious behavior.
She says she and her colleagues do this due to 9-11.
Their purpose is to make everyone safer. She writes:
“We are here because a terrible thing happened.
“We were created in the wake of the terrorist attacks.
“ We care. We are here for you.”
TSA officials will observe a moment of silence Sunday.
They will invite all travelers to join them.
Think of how 9-11 has changed our lives.
Be grateful follow-up attacks have been thwarted
Think about that the next time you take a flight.
Sure it is inconvenient to show up two hours early.
Sure it is inconvenient to go through security.
But do you want terrorists on the flight with you?
I thank the TSA officials every time I fly.
I joke with them about my photo ID.
“That’s my grandfather’s photo,” I say.
“He looks a lot like me, doesn’t he?”
That almost always produces a smile.
On the eve of 9-11, thank the Kathy Littles of TSA.
They keep us safe in the air and on the ground.
To respond, click on Post a Comment below.

Nine eye-opening questions

2011-08-30T07:08:00.005-04:00

Here are nine questions for you 13 days before 9-11:
• Where was God during the 9-11 terror attacks?
• Where was He when thousands of innocents were dying?
• How could He allow this to happen to His children?

Here are three more questions for you:
• Was this a classic struggle between good and evil?
• Between man and man or our God and theirs?
• Between forces of hate and forces of love?

Three final questions for you:
• Was God in the hearts of the first responders?
• Was God with the brave people on United 93?
• Were they carrying out his plan to save others?

Your answers and mine may be different.
What’s important is that we think about them.
That we open our hearts and minds to the answers.
That we draw what lessons we can from them.
Because answers will come to us in the coming days.

I invite you to share your thoughts on 9-11’s lessons.
We will publish them in our 9-11 commemorative.
Email them to JerryBellune@yahoo.com
Keep the dialogue going. It’s how we learn.

Risk and reward

2011-08-22T08:04:00.001-04:00

How much of a risk taker are you?
How is this reflected in your organization?
Do others follow your risk-taking example?
It’s no secret that CEOs set company tones.
And they attract risk takers like themselves.
New research shows this is a healthy sign.
Risk-takers are more aggressive about success.
They tend to run more profitable organizations.
They create higher value and greater esprit.
Cautious CEOs create cautious organizations.
Less successful, less profitable ones, too.
First responders are risk takers, too.
They have to be. It’s the nature of the work.
That does not mean they take foolish chances.
When buildings are ablaze, they run forward, not away.
All of us saw this on the 9-11 newscasts in 2001.
Email me your feelings about these brave individuals.
What do you think we have learned from 9-11?
How do you feel we have handled our security risks.
We will include this in our 9-11 Commemorative.
Email your thoughts to JerryBellune@yahoo.com
Our deadline is Friday, August 26

The spirit of America

2011-08-15T16:14:00.004-04:00

One of the inspiring stories of 9-11-01 was United 93.
This was the flight that did not reach its target.
We don’t know if it was the Capitol or the White House.
But we do know brave Americans on board prevented it.

United 93 was flying from Newark to San Francisco.
Four hijackers stormed the cockpit and took control.
They commanded passengers to remain calm.
With a bomb on board, they were returning to Newark.
Passengers began calling home on their cell phones.
Their loved ones told them about the World Trade Center.
Passengers quickly concluded this was a suicide mission.

Todd Beamer and others decided to retake control.
They stormed the cockpit, forcing the hijackers’ hands.
The Boeing 757 flipped over and crashed.
It landed in a reclaimed Pennsylvania strip mine.
All on board lost their lives in the battle for control.
But they undoubtedly prevented many more deaths.

What makes this special is the spirit they showed.
The hijackers were not to complete their deadly mission.
I like to think of this as the “spirit of America”.
We are a free people and we want all people to be free.
We willingly shoulder many others’ burdens.
To those whom much is given, much is expected.

There are thousands of such 9-11 stories of bravery.
You undoubtedly know many of them yourself.
I invite you to share at least one of them with us.
We will publish a commemorative edition September 8.
We will publish your story in it and email you a copy
Email your story to chronicleads@windstream.net
Attach your photo if you want us to publish it, too.

To comment, click on Post a Comment below.

Remembering 9-11

2011-08-08T16:26:00.005-04:00

Do you remember where you were Sept. 11, 2001?
Most of us will never forget those awful moments.

I had been at our newspaper office early that morning.
I had gone home to write for the week's edition
At 8:47 a.m. our editor Mark Bellune called me.
“Turn on the TV,” he commanded. I did - just in time.
American Airlines Flight 11 hit the World Trade Center.
The North Tower was in flames.

Thousands were trapped.
Like millions of Americans I watched in horror.

At 9:09 a.m. United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower.
Hijackers had picked long West Coat flights.

They were heavily loaded with fuel.
At 9:37, American Airlines Flight 77 hit the Pentagon.
None of us knew what was happening on a fourth jet.
United Airlines Flight 93 passengers suspected something.
Many had received frantic calls from loved ones.
These brave Americans fought for control of the flight.
Their plane went down in Pennsylvania. None survived.

That’s the Cliff Notes account of what happened first.
The rest of the story played out over the ensuing years.
The story is not finished yet. Historians will deal with it.

We are 10 years into our greatest test as free people.
We invite you to share your 9-11 memories with us.
We will publish them in a special commemorative edition.
Share your memories with us in 250 words or less.
You can email them to me at JerryBellune@yahoo.com
We need them no later than Friday, August 26.
If you have photos to share, please email them, too.

Want an autographed copy of one of my books?
I’ll send copies to the first three to submit memories.
I’ll also email you our Sept. 8 commemorative edition.

Mark Twain’s secret

2011-08-01T07:48:00.003-04:00

Mark Twain was an amazingly prolific writer and speaker.
The ex-journalist did not have the aid of a laptop.
He didn’t have email and text message distractions.
People still wrote each other letters - with a pen.

Mark’s secret was to avoid busy work.
You know what that is. The stuff in your in box.
Mark swallowed the big frog first each morning.
That’s a figurative frog, not a literal one.
By that, Mark meant the #1 project on your list.
The biggie. The most important. The high payoff one.
Don’t scramble for the loose change.
Go after the million dollar stuff.
That’s how he wrote all those wonderful books.
Tom and Huck and Jim on the Mississippi.
That’s how he found time for lucrative lecture tours.

What if you dumped everything in your in box right now?
Just dump it all in your waste basket.
Horrors, you say. Well, what about it?
Most of it is busy work. It’s dictated by others.
Are you going to let them set your agenda?

Don’t be enslaved by your in box and email.
Ignore those text messages.
Let voicemail take care of incoming calls.
If it’s a genuine emergency, someone will yell at you.
If the building’s on fire, you’ll smell the smoke.
Otherwise, take care of that big frog.
Make it Numero Uno. Projecto #1.

Mark joked that we should swallow the big frog first.
Then we know that’s the worst that will happen all day.
Not all big frogs are fun to swallow. But they’re critical.
What Mark didn’t say: The frog won’t like it much either.

Ignore those calls, emails and text messages.
Get down to work right now. Yes. Right now.
To comment, click on Post a Comment below.

The Age of Innovation

2011-07-19T07:58:00.009-04:00

Harvey Firestone knew what he talked about.
Firestone, you may recall, was a tire maker.
His enterprise endured long after him.
He knew money and experience are important.
But, he said, ideas are what is more important.
We might add: Taking action is most important.
There are lots of good ideas out there.
We live in the Age of Innovation.
To succeed, we must take action on our ideas.

Years ago I told a friend about one of my ideas.
It was on the back burner for me.
But it wasn't for him.
He saw the possibilities and acted on them.
He started the publication 20 years ago.
And it has endured long after him

Shame on me. I let that one get away.
It was an important life lesson: Act on your ideas.
That drives me daily to take immediate action.

I have a challenge for you this morning.
I invite you to share your innovations with us.
Here are three questions you should answer:
1. What is it and how does it work?
2. How does it benefit your clients and yourself?
3. What has it done for your bottom line?

Here’s what you get for doing this for the rest of us:
1. You get all the innovations everyone else sends in.
2. You may be named Innovator of the Year.
3. You could win $3,600 in business coaching.

The first three to respond get a free $90 creativity course.
It comes in three parts:
1. Kick Start Your Creativity.
2. Advanced Creative Thinking.
3. Master Your Unlimited Potential.

Your time to respond is limited.
Your deadline is 4:47 p.m. Monday, July 26, 2011.
Email your innovation to JerryBellune@yahoo.com
Don’t miss out on this great opportunity.
Others’ ideas will fuel your own success.

Are you coachable?

2011-07-13T05:55:00.002-04:00

Can you execute what
your coach recommends?

Not everybody is coachable, you know.
I’ve worked with a lot of non-coachable people.
They’ve done it wrong so long they see no other way.
Their experience narrows their perspective.
They close their minds. That holds them back.

They strangle on their own limiting beliefs.

Then there’s the “smartest guy in the room”.
He’s seen it all. He’s tried it all. He knows it all.
You can’t show him anything new that he will accept.

There’s no point in trying to coach these people.
They will ignore and resist your best efforts.
Even worse, they will gossip behind your back.
They will belittle your sincere efforts to help them.

As a coach, I look for those who are curious.
They read. They listen. They soak up ideas.
More than that, they take action on new ideas.
They don’t just nod in agreement and do nothing.
They take notes, set priorities, tackle new projects.
They are restless to achieve more.

How curious are you? How open are you to new ideas?
Do you take notes? Set priorities? Tackle new projects?
If not, it’s time to re-examine your motivation.

Share with me how you motivate yourself.
I’ll share the best ideas in a future Success Strategies.
Leave your thinking at Post a Comment below.
I’m open to your best ideas.

We need Prosperity Thinking

2011-07-06T07:33:00.002-04:00

Bake a bigger pie to give
everyone a bigger slice

The National Speakers Association has an informal motto.
“Bake a bigger pie so everyone can have a slice.”
It is the underlying principle of the organization.
It brings pro speakers together to help each other.
Rather than competing they complement each other.
That’s Prosperity Thinking - not Scarcity Thinking.
We use this profitably in the newspaper business.
We work with other small newspaper owners.
We share information and ideas to help each other.
We place legal advertising in two other newspapers.
We all profit from this cooperative venture.
I work with seven other newspaper consultants.
We help - not compete with - each other.
We refer business to each other and advise each other.
The same goes with our advertising clients.
We preach “investing in” not “spending on” ads.
Advertising should be an investment in future sales.
In whatever you do, talk investment with clients.
They are investing to fill a need or a want.
They’re investing in a solution or an opportunity.
They are investing to fulfill their hopes and dreams.
Never talk about “costs” or “buying”.
Always talk about “investing”.
Prosperity Thinking isn’t a linguistic subterfuge.
It is an attitude and a way of seeing transactions.
Share with me how you use Prosperity Thinking.
You can Post a Comment below.

3 leadership lessons

2011-06-28T08:35:00.003-04:00

My year as our Rotary club president ends this week.
It has been a great year for our club.
Many leadership lessons were learned.
We raised a lot of money for community causes.
We increased membership almost 25%.
And most important, we had a lot of fun together.
Here are three leadership lessons from this.
1. Have fun in whatever you do.
When it’s fun, it never seems like work.
We worked hard and accomplished a lot.
But it never seemed like work - more like play.
2. Surround yourself with fun people.
Visitors always tell me what a good time they had.
“Do you have this much fun every Friday?” they ask.
Yes, we do. Every Friday. I wouldn’t miss a meeting.
3. Fun people are dependable people.
You can count on them. They never let you down.
Be dependable yourself. Don’t let them down.
Whatever they need of you, do it with joy.
Serving others is one of our greatest privileges.
It brings us that much closer to our Creator.
“Lead People, Manage Things” tells how to do this.
For more on the book, click here.

Is stupidity contagious?

2011-06-19T10:44:00.009-04:00

Did “Catcher in the Rye” influence your outlook?

Here’s a Father’s Day message for you.
J.D. Salinger’s “Holden Caulfield” is an influence. Teenagers identify with him and his angst.
Like him in “Catcher in the Rye”, they are uneasy. They wonder if the world is against them.
They question and wonder about everything.

As a teenager, I had a load of angst.
The book’s influence was powerful.
In time, I realized the world wasn’t against me.
The rest of the world was only indifferent to me.
The world did not care what I did.
Only my parents and other loved ones did.
As Holden’s sister Phoebe did. She tried to help.
Whatever we make of life is up to us.

A recent study confirmed such influence on the young.
College students read a short story before a test.
The story was about a drunk soccer hooligan.
Apparently they identified with his behavior.
They shared his irresponsible self-image.
On tests, they scored poorly. Was self-image the cause?

Others read and underlined behavior they questioned.
They considered how they differed from the drunk.
Drinking, fighting and wasting your life.
This group did far better than the first group.

A third group did not read the story before the tests.
This group scored even higher than the other.
So I ask you, is stupidity contagious?
How does what we put into our minds influence us?
If we associate with losers, what happens to us?
We pick up their attitudes, don’t we?
In tech talk, garbage in, garbage out.

If we associate with winners, what happens?
If we read about successful people, what happens?
Now here’s the most important question of all:
How does our example influence others?
Are we strong role models - or hooligans?
Do we want to make a difference for good or evil?
It really is up to us how we behave.
Our example may powerfully influence others.
Consider your words and your actions.
Others who look up to you are watching.

Are you a role model worth emulating?
Do you serve your life’s purpose or anything less?
Are you showing others how to act and live?

To comment, click on Post a Comment below.
For more on your life’s purpose, click here.

Can you buy success?

2011-06-13T08:07:00.005-04:00

What made Dirk Nowitzki
the Most Valuable Player?

You don’t have to care about sports to appreciate this.
An underdog team won this year’s NBA championship.
The gutsy Dallas Mavericks beat a bunch of all stars.
Everyone said they were over-matched from the start.
They were supposed to fold in the first round.

They battled through pro basketball's best teams.
Bookies probably lost a fortune betting against them.
Sunday night they beat the Miami Heat 105-95.
The Heat was not supposed to lose.

It was an emotional moment for Dallas’s Dirk Nowitzki.
He even hid in the locker room and cried.
He had been called a choke artist much of his career
Now he was the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

Miami had bought three top pro basketball stars.
Their aim was to win the NBA championship.
Everyone thought they would.
The Mavericks showed you can’t buy championships.
It takes a team, a dream and guts to do that.

So here’s the takeway from this little story:

1. Be careful that you don’t under-estimate rivals.
It isn’t the size of the dog in the fight.
It’s the size of the fight in the dog.

2. Never ever give in no matter what.
Winston Churchill rallied his countrymen at war.
They were a nation under seige by Nazi Germany.
“Never, never, never give in,” he told his people.
They didn’t and you know the rest of the story.

3. Believe in yourself no matter who opposes you.
Walt Disney’s people thought he had lost his mind.
He wanted to build a costly amusement park.
They begged and pleaded with Walt to forget it.
He didn’t. He rolled the dice and built Disneyland.
You know the rest of that story, too.

Please add your own story at Post a Comment below.
All of us love great underdog stories.

A life-changing 3 minutes

2011-06-04T05:43:00.006-04:00

We are on our way to a celebration today.
We are celebrating the life of my wife’s mother.
She was a strong woman, a warrior’s wife.
She raised four children as he fought for us.
He was a career military lawyer and fighter pilot.
She was a warrior, too.
She kept the home fires going.
She lived 90 full years before God called her home.
Those were 90 successful years as a great role model.
She taught me more than she ever realized.
She and her husband were suspicious of me at first.
I was a newspaper editor - cause for concern.
Most mainstream media is and was super liberal.
They worried who their daughter had brought home.
Over time we became comfortable with each other.
They found I was not some two-headed monster.
We shared similar values and beliefs.
We were proud and grateful to be Americans.
I was thinking of her when I received a video today.
It was excerpted from “The Strangest Secret”.
Many of us know about Earl Nightingle who wrote it.
Earl and his great voice were always inspiring.
This short video comes courtesy of Mac Anderson.
Mac calls his inspiring newsletter “Simple Truths”.
I’m writing to share it with you today.
It will take three minutes of your time.
Those three minutes just might change your life.
Think about and practice Earl’s message.
For Earl’s inspiring message, click here.

The price of freedom

2011-05-30T06:33:00.004-04:00

I’ll bet you don’t know Memorial Day's origin?
That’s OK. Not a lot of us do.
To some it’s just another day to shop or play.
Historically, it was started by freed slaves.
They honored the Union troops who freed them.
The last Monday in May has become a holiday.
It is a time to reflect on the sacrifices of others.
Those who paid the price for our freedoms.

I recently visited Arlington Cemetery - again.
This time it was with 100 World War II veterans.
These men had made countless sacrifices for all of us.
It was a memorable experience.
Just listening to them talk about the war.
Seeing tears in their eyes for fallen comrades.

I watched a movie Sunday about World War I.
The story was from the German side of the lines.
Soldiers on both sides of any war pay high prices.
This should not put us in sympathy with the enemy.
The jihadists are determined to end our way of life.
To take our freedoms and impose their ways on us.
It should strengthen us to know they are only men.
Deceived men whose leaders mislead them.
That is their weakness and our strength.

You see what is going on in the Moslem world today.
The idea of freedom is stronger than ever.
Let us commit to preserve that idea, to nurture it.
That is my Memorial Day challenge to you.
Remind your friends why we are as free as we are.

To comment, click on Post a Comment below.

Making good decisions

2011-05-22T13:25:00.004-04:00

Which direction
will you choose?

Some think conservatives are selfish.
That they do not care for others.
They are welcome to think what they want.
I am a realist and a proud conservative.
I am not selfish nor care only for myself.
Those who know me know that.
I do NOT believe in handouts to the poor.
I do NOT believe in making others dependent.
For their votes or for any ulterior motive.
Experience in charity work taught me a lot.
It taught me about the downside of handouts.
They tend to keep people dependent.
Some think that is an uncharitable attitude.
I cannot change minds. Think what you want.
But I have been hungry. I have been cold.
I have been down on my luck - and hated it.
I have done without because I was broke.
But I never looked for a handout.
I had too much pride to seek one.
I learned long ago about two kinds of decisions.
You can decide to be wealthy.
Or you can decide to be poor.
You can decide to be a victim and blame others.
Or you can decide to hold yourself accountable.
Poor decisions are easy to make.
They are very hard to live with.
Good decisions are harder to make.
But they are far easier to live with.
The decisions are yours to make.
Once made, you live with them - like it or not.
We discuss this in our latest book.
It’s “Killer Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs”
For more about that, click here.

Passion and purpose

2011-05-16T06:23:00.008-04:00

How to find your
life’s great purpose

A friend breaks a big sales rule.
He talks more than he listens.
That could be fatal. It works for him.
He's a quick study.
He reads prospects fast.
He seems to know what clients need.
He finds out what they want.
Wants may be stronger than needs.
He has answers to your questions.
Solutions to your problems.
Products that satisfy your needs and wants.
Even a few that will fulfill your dreams.

Here are three secrets of his success.
1. He is an amazingly generous man.
He’s generous with his time and his money.
He truly believes that giving comes before receiving.
That heightens his credibility with others.
2. He cares about others and their challenges.
He will go way out of his way to help his fellow man.
Someone like that is worthy of your trust.
Wouldn’t you rather buy from someone like that?
3. He drives himself mercilessly.
He is always in overdrive - 24/7/365.
He can do that because he loves what he does.
He takes care of business. He leaves nothing to chance.
You know if you deal with him everything will go well.
So what if he talks too much when he should listen.
It’s all about values, beliefs, purpose and trust.

If you value other people, they will value you.
If you believe in what you do, people will respect that.
We all appreciate that in others.
We trust those who have a clear and definite purpose.
Pursue your purpose with great passion.
It is the only way to get 100% out of life.
For more on this, click here.

Business’s Golden Rule

2011-05-10T15:23:00.001-04:00

The Golden Rule works in business as well as in life.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
During the Recession, did you lay anyone off?
You may have been forced to.
You were protecting the jobs of everyone else.
You cut your own pay before you cut theirs.
You paid a greater price with their interests in mind.
You kept everyone on the payroll as long as you could.
When your employees know this, they respect you.
They will work that much harder to take up the slack.
But here is the paradox in this.
If they suspect you of base motives, they won’t respect you.
If you’re doing this only to get more out of them, watch out.
They will sense it. It will destroy your credibility.
The same is true with customers, clients and patients.
Operate in their best interest and they will trust you.
Operate in your interest only and you will lose their trust.
This does not mean you should not take care of business.
A healthy bottom line protects everyone’s job.
Profitable business owners can afford to be independent.
They can afford to do the right things. And they should.
Tell me what you did to weather the Recession.
You can Post a Comment below.

The pursuit of happiness

2011-05-03T06:44:00.009-04:00

We may pursue happiness
but is that the right strategy?

Our fedral Constitution gives us this guarantee:
Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
But is pursuit the way to achieve it?
Novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne saw the folly in it.
He called happiness a butterfly.
Pursued, it’s always just beyond your grasp.
But sit down quietly, it might alight on you.
John Stuart Mill framed the Happiness Paradox.
To be happy, fix your mind on other things.
Pay attention, he said, to the work at hand.
Even street sweepers, Martin Luther King said.
Be the best street sweeper you can be.
Take pride in the work you have been given.
Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer was realistic.
He saw men become frustrated in pursuing happiness.
Our pursuit of material things is pointless, he said.
Once we obtain them, we no longer desire them.
Focus on ideas, actions and goals of value.
Pursue and achieve your great purposes in life.
This is the masterwork God gives to each of us.
Be grateful for and gracious about those gifts.
Happiness comes from:
• Sweeping the best you can sweep.
• Performing the mission you were sent here to do.
Do that and happiness will take care of itself.
Tell me about your own pursuits. What you value.
What your great purpose in life is.
You may Post a Comment below.

For more on purpose in life, click here.

Get what you want

2011-04-27T08:15:00.004-04:00

Keep a daily diary.
Write in it and draw pictures.

Examine the lessons of your day.
Set your goals for tomorrow.

Napoleon Hill practiced this regularly.
Hill wrote the classic “Think and Grow Rich”.
He offers this sage advice:
Note in your diary your good deeds.
Don't let a day end without acts of kindness.
The benefits will be cumulative.
It will place you in the hearts of others.

My mother’s generosity was well-known.
Friends extolled her generosity after her death.

Her children had no idea what she had done.
She knew what giving was all about.

For every favor you receive, give two to others.
The law of increasing returns will operate in your favor.
You get everything you are entitled to receive.

Our friend Ted McGee faithfully practices this law.
Ted gives his time and money to many good causes.
He runs a thriving business but finds time for others.
Ted says the more he gives, the more he receives.
It is fundamental to the Law of Attraction.
The more you do for others, the more they do for you.

This is a two-way highway that must be repaved daily.
Start with your diary.
Note what you did today for others.
This will enforce the idea until it becomes automatic.
Tell me about yout own charitable activities.
Do it in Post a Comment below.

How to make a billion dollars

2011-04-11T21:11:00.003-04:00

Donald Trump and Darren Hardy share the prescription for making a billion dollars

Want to know the secret of making a billion?

Donald Trump can tell you.

He’s done it many times.

Darren Hardy of Success magazine recently interviewed him.

Trump, in case you didn’t know, is a billionaire.

Despite a tough guy reputation, Trump was positive.

At one time Trump had been billions of dollars in debt.

A chance meeting at a dinner turned that around.

And it was a dinner he didn’t want to attend . . . but he did.

He believes you must be ready to do things you don’t want to do.

Trump’s prescription to succeed was simple.

To make several billion dollars, here is Trump’s formula:

1. Love what you do.

2. Work hard.

3. Ignore other people’s opinion of you.

4. Work hard even when you don’t want to.

5. Love and care for your people.

6. Never, never, never, ever give up.

That’s it. It’s just that simple.

Hardy gets this answer often from billionaires.

What’s the big difference?

They do this relentlessly, passionately, consistently.

Are you willing to do six things to become successful?

What's your own prescription for success?

Share it on Post a Comment below.

The value of failure

2011-04-05T15:18:00.005-04:00

Michael Aun’s book details

his successes and failures

Our friend Michael Aun isn’t shy about his failures.

He admits to many of them in his new book.

It takes guts to admit your failures in a book.

The book’s title is “It’s the Customer, Stupid”.

Learn from your successes, he writes.

More importantly, learn from your failures.

Failure is the process by which we succeed.

“For every success in my life, I’ve endured 10 failures.

“If you want more success in life, fail more often.

“We need to teach people to fail faster.”

You won’t learn those painful lessons in any text book.

You learn them from the hard knocks of life.

I’m not shilling for Michael but you’ll like this book.

You can order it at http://aunline.com/

Give me some feedback at Post a Comment below.

Jobs no one wants

2011-03-29T13:50:00.007-04:00

Shelly Lazarus gambled
on the job no one wanted

I was reading the other day about Shelly Lazarus.
Shelly took a job no one else wanted.
She volunteered to run a direct marketing operation.
Ogilvy Direct became the world’s largest direct marketer.
Shelly ended up as CEO of Ogilvy Mather Worldwide.
That’s what she got for doing a great job.
My wife’s cousin Ronnie has a business no one wants.
He pumps out overflowing septic tanks.
Smelly job but it has made Ronnie a rich man.
S.C. Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer had a job with little point.
Like the U.S. Vice President, you’re there in name only.
If the No. 1 dies, you’re supposed to be ready to step up.
Until then, keep your peace and enjoy the perks.
Andre asked to take over the state’s seniors program.
It was a job no one wanted so he volunteered.
Andre made seniors’ issues his No. 1 mission.
He helped many seniors cut bureaucratic red tape.
He turned the state’s No. 2 job into a real one.
If you are faced with such a choice, think about this:
If no one else wants the job, all you have to do is ask.
Then you can put your heart and soul into it.
Make it successful and it will do the same for you.

To comment, click on Post a Comment.

Winning against the odds

2011-03-22T10:39:00.005-04:00

Despite only one leg, Anthony Robles

let nothing stop him from his goal

You don’t need to be a sports fan to enjoy this story.
Anthony Robles was born without a right leg.
He didn’t let that slow him down.
He went out for wrestling in high school.
The 90 pounder knew nothing about the sport.
He was “terrible” he said about his early matches.
But he was an eager student and he learned fast.
He won a national high school championship.
None of the big wrestling schools offered a scholarship.
So he wrestled at nearby Arizona State.
He worked like a madman in the gym.
As a 125-pound wrestler, he bench pressed 305 pounds.
That’s lifting twice his weight with his arms and chest.
He charged up hills on crutches with his teammates.
Fans found in him more than just a winning athlete.
He became an inspirational example of perseverance.
He was tenacious. He was gutty. He never quit.
He made it to the national college finals in Philadelphia.
Normally calm, he felt ill before the final match.
He thought he would either throw up or cry.
He faced defending champion Matt McDonough.
He hopped onto the mat and the two went at it.
Robles was clearly the more committed athlete.
The defending champion went down.
Robles became the new champion three days ago.
Don’t you love a story like this?
A young person overcomes a severe handicap.
He becomes a role model for others.
Now answer me this:
How many arms and legs do you have?
How much heart and how many brain cells?
What’s stopping you from being the best you can be?
Don't get defensive. Get going.
To comment, click on Post a Comment below.

No stuffed shirts please!

2011-03-15T02:36:00.005-04:00

Margaret knows to keep
Al Walker’s ego in check

Tom Peters advises us to “Lighten up.”
Tom despises stuffed shirts.
Who doesn’t?

Maybe they like themselves.
Maybe they like themselves too much.
There’s nothing wrong with confidence.
Just don’t get carried away.
Tom trusts people who put their feet up.
Laugh at their own screw-ups.
So do the rest of us.
It’s great to be able to laugh at yourself.
Al Walker tells this stuffed short story on himself.
After he won some big award he asked his wife:
“In your wildest dreams did you ever imagine . . .
. . . marrying a man like me?”
“No, Al,” Margaret said, keeping a smile in check.
“I never imagined marrying a man like you.”
Good for Margaret.
She knows how to keep Al’s ego in check.
We need Margarets in our lives to check our egos.
I married one. Her name is MacLeod.
You’ll see her photo with me to the left of this.
And she keeps my ego in check . . . constantly.
I hope you have a Margaret or MacLeod of your own.

To comment, click on Post a Comment below.

The Honesty Test

2011-03-07T17:55:00.003-05:00

Jim would have loved to
have grown this Iris hybrid

Pete Oliver passed along this little story.
A retiring business owner was looking for a successor.
He gave each of his executives a seed.
He said to plant them and he would check them later.
He told them one of them would be his successor.
Jim took his home, put it in a pot and fertilized it.
He and his wife watered it every day.
But nothing sprouted no matter what they did.
Others at work were bragging about their plants.
Jim was growing discouraged but kept watering.
Finally the owner asked them to bring in their plants.
Jim’s wife insisted he take his plantless pot.
Jim was afraid the owner would fire him but he took it.
When the owner saw Jim’s pot, he knew what to do.
He told the executives the seeds he gave them were dead.
Only Jim had been honest.
He did not plant another seed.
He named Jim his successor that day.
Here are seven points worth considering:
• If you plant honesty, you will reap trust
• If you plant goodness, you will reap friends
• If you plant humility, you will reap greatness
• If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment
• If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective
• If you plant hard work, you will reap success
• If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation
Be careful what you plant.
It will determine what you reap.
To comment, click on Post a Comment below.

When you want to quit

2011-03-01T07:59:00.004-05:00

Life is full of boulders

This story will strengthen your resolve.
Our friend Jeff Jordan doesn’t give up.
He’s knocked on 442 doors since he became unemployed.
He has worked as a plumber’s assistant.
Jack-hammered. Dug trenches.
Repaired sewer lines.
He’s day-labored at local farms.
Plowed fields. Spread chicken manure.
Sweated and toiled until his back hurt.
He’s cut fire wood and cleaned pools.
And he keeps seeking work in his field.
He’s learned the lessons of hard work.
He stays focused and dedicated to service.
He’s networked in church and the community.
He’s searched for work everywhere.
He’s either over-qualified . . . or under-qualified.
His faith has been strengthed.
So has his perseverance and resolve.
So where are those who are looking for winners?
Let them know he is strong from moving boulders.
He’s smart. He found easier ways to move boulders.
He’s willing because no one else moved those boulders.
He is customer focused because he sees the boulders.
The boulder is gone and he’s looking for the next one.

To comment, click on Post a Comment below.
For more on purpose in life, please click here.

How to win every argument

2011-02-21T16:39:00.003-05:00

MacLeod has trained me
to agree with her always

Do you and the people you love often disagree?
Relax. Most of us do. Or we would be spineless.
My wife is a woman with strong convictions.
It's natural that we sometimes disagree.
It’s not the end of the world.
It may even clear the air.
The secret is to find ways for both of you to win.
Here are nine tips to help you make that happen.
1. Don’t ignore an issue.
Face up to it and discuss it.
2. Timing is critical.
Discuss it when neither of you are angry.
3. Choose words carefully.
You can’t take them back.
4. Make no assumptions.
Ask why the other person feels that way.
5. Listen to their reasoning.
You might learn something important.
6. Be willing to see their side.
They have a side of the story, too.
7. Agree to disagree.
That’s a real sign of respect.
8. Be flexible.
That’s a sign of maturity.
9. Find a solution you both can accept.
That’s a win-win for both of you.
Share these nine tips with your loved ones.
Practice them together the next time you disagree.
Strong-willed people have minds of their own.
Believe me, there will be a next time.

To comment, click on Post a Comment below.
For more on your purpose in life, please click here.

2011-02-15T05:49:00.006-05:00

Your work is important

Dave Evans believes
God gave us our work

We are all born with great purposes.
We come with no instruction manual.
We have to figure out our purposes.
Electronics engineer Dave Evans says your work is truly holy.
Genesis says all of us are created in God’s image.
That can make all that we do holy.
Remember that when you’re tempted to stray.
Evans says we are called to be God’s co-creators.
Our mission is to create a florishing life on earth.
This is a powerful concept to take to work.
Evans calls work “a profound act”.
Practicing faith at work means being ethical.
It means valuing your work for its own sake.
Seeing it as a higher calling, not just a job.
We spend a third of our lives or more at work.
Work should be fulfilling and satisfying.
It should give us joy and a sense of mission.
It should make us feel closer to our Maker.
We should see it as a service to our higher calling.
It is the work God has given us.
Make the most of it today - and into the future.
You can discover more on your purpose in life.
My book “Your Life’s Great Purpose” will help you.
Click here for your own autographed copy

Your great purposes in life

2011-02-08T06:38:00.003-05:00

Two kids from Illinois found
each other and the White House

I’ve been reading a little book on President Reagan.
It arrived from Tremendous Life Books the other day.
The timing was great as it was Reagan’s 100th birthday.
It’s “The Great Communicator” by Greg Rothman.
Reagan had a firm belief that God had a plan for him.
He missed out on a job in a sporting goods department.
That led to a chance to broadcast Chicago Cubs games.
That took him to California for spring training.
An agent arranged a screen test and 7-year contract.
He became The Gipper in “Knute Rockne, All American”. His first wife’s public affair ended their marriage.
She also won custody of their two children.
He felt like the two-time loser of all time.
Then he met Nancy Davis, another kid from Illinois.
Both were interested in politics - and each other.
He made three runs for the Presidency.
He didn’t give up. The third time was the charm.
Four years of double digit everything paved the way.
Reagan brought new hope to Americans.
Without him, we might still be in a Cold War.
Like you, he had his share of disappointments in life.
He did not let them stop him. God had a plan for him.
God has a plan for all of us. Listen and watch.
That plan is working right now, wherever you are.
You, too, have great purposes in life.

To comment, click on Post a Comment below.
For more on your purposes in life, please click here.

What sacrifices will you make?

2011-01-31T20:58:00.004-05:00

Dave Brubeck paid his dues
as a modern jazz innovator

Paying your dues means being willing to endure hardship.
Hardship separates the passionate from the also-rans.
Jazz pianst and composer Dave Brubeck is an example.
Brubeck grew up on a California cattle ranch.
But Army service convinced him music was his calling.
His father tried to convince him to live the ranch life.
Not Brubeck. Music was his drive and his passion.
He studied with composor Darius Milhaud.
Milhaud convinced him to keep pursuing his music.
He picked up what money he could in jazz bookings.
Jazz musicians do what they do for love, not money.
He and his wife Iola made do with very little.
His butcher gave him beef bones to make soup.
He picked up discarded fruit and vegetables at a market.
He made two of the most popular jazz albums of all time.
They are “Take Five” and “Time Out”.
Now at age 90, Brubeck is widely respected for his music.
He lives the comfortable life of one who paid his dues.
He feels his father would be happy with how he turned out.
Paying your dues is an important early test in life.
Don’t be discouraged by hardship.
Don’t be tempted by easy ways out.
Are you are willing to sacrifice for your calling in life?
If you aren’t, it probably isn’t much of a calling.
You are a person of character and intelligence.
Your gut instinct should tell you which it is.

To comment, click on Post a Comment below.

Setting your 2011 priorities

2011-01-25T06:23:00.007-05:00

From here you can see
the forest and the trees

My friend Steve Prinsen wrote the other day.
Our friend Ken Blum had visited his newspaper.
Ken coaches newspaper owners.
Steve felt overwhelmed.

He wondered where to start.
So much good stuff to do but when can I do it all?

The answer: Maybe never.
But setting priorities is the first big step.

Mark Twain said eat a big frog each morning.
He meant to tackle the Big Payoff project first.
Don’t let the little busy stuff get in your way.
Set your priorities on the Big Frogs on your list.
Don’t worry about getting caught up this year.

You ought to see the goals on my 2011 list.
But I’ve broken them down by quarter.
I’ve plugged them into my calendar.
Will I finish them all in 2011? Probably not.
But I'll make sure the Big Payoff ones get done.

Setting priorities helps us focus on two things:
1. Our vision - the Big Picture in our minds.
2. All the steps we need to take to get there.
You might call that seeing the forest and the trees.
Priorities carry you through the forest.
Priorities are the bread crumbs to guide you.
Want a copy of my Big Project Planning Guide?
Email me at JerryBellune@yahoo.com.

To comment, click on Post a Comment below.

Make no little plans

2011-01-18T06:51:00.004-05:00

Union Station in our nation’s capital
shows the magic of thinking big

The great architect Daniel Burnham knew the power of ideas.
“Make no little plans,” the designer of Union Station said.
“They have no magic to stir men’s blood.”
Those 12 words are a good theme for us in the coming year.
What are your big ideas for the coming 12 months?
Here are three suggestions to stir your blood:
1. What would you do first if you knew you could not fail?
Pick four big projects you want to achieve in 2011.
Write them down in your planner, one per quarter.
2. Plan step by step what you need to do to achieve each.
This is the most tedious part of the process.
Think of every step you will need to take.
Note who will do what you can’t do or don’t have time to do.
3. Share your plan with those who can help you with it.
This is important for two reasons.
• You must recruit them to join you in the mission.
• They will hold you accountable to complete the mission.
Here’s an example from my own plan in 2011.
I plan to finish four projects per quarter already in the works.
The first three are books, the fourth a management course.
• Trophy Wife Advertising: Creating emotion in your ads.
• Publishers Toolbox, based on my Publishers Auxiliary columns.
• Marketing Secrets of Maverick Entrepreneurs.
This is a joint co-author book publishing venture.
• Triple Your Bottom Line, a course of business owners.
Want a free copy of my Big Project Planning Guide?
It will help you build a plan step by step.
Email me at JerryBellune@yahoo.com.

To comment, click on Post a Comment below.

What do your snow tracks show?

2011-01-11T07:57:00.003-05:00

In honor of the storm, here’s a snow story.
As a young man, I was inspired by “The Fountainhead”.
Ayn Rand created a super individualist in Howard Roark.
I saw myself as another Howard Roark. Uncompromising.
Maybe you saw yourself like that, too. It’s courageous.
That led to my interest in the ideas of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Wright, like Roark, was uncompromising.
It almost cost him his career as a struggling architect.
No one wanted to work with him. He was too obstinate.
But his concepts were unique. Original. Daring.
The quality of his ideas and his work saved his career.
Wright had a humorless uncle. A straight-arrow kind of guy.
Walking across a snowy field, he gave Wright a lesson.
“My tracks go straight across the field,” his uncle said.
“I know where I’m going and I get there.
“Your tracks wander all over the place,” he told Wright.
“You’re too easily distracted by everything you see.”
His uncle taught Wright a lesson in that snowy field.
But it wasn’t the lesson he thought he was teaching.
After that, Wright decided to wander all over the place.
For the rest of his life, the world was wide and strange.
Wright held fast to his sense of wonder and discovery.
He wanted to experience everything life would yield.
It was all fodder for his restless imagination.
No wonder he created such original architecture.

In this wintry weather, think what your tracks tell you.

Are you exploring all that life has to offer?
To comment, click on Post a Comment below.

A challenge for 2011

2011-01-03T19:44:00.004-05:00

Earl and Diana Nightingale
knew the strangest secret

Earl Nightingale changed lives with six words.
“We become what we think about,” Earl said.
Pity those who have no great purpose in life.
Think about nothing, you become nothing.
You live with fear, anxiety and worry.
Why do we become what we think about?

This is Earl's answer:

He called it the "strangest secret".
Suppose a farmer has good, fertile land.
The land gives the farmer a choice.
He may plant what he chooses. The land doesn’t care.
Your mind, like land, doesn’t care what you plant.
It will return what you plant.
The farmer can plant corn or deadly nightshade.
The land will return what he planted.
The human mind is far more fertile.
Yet it works like the land.
It doesn’t care what we plant - success or failure.
What we plant is what we will reap.
The mind is the last unexplored continent on earth.
It contains riches beyond our wildest dreams.
It will return anything we want to plant.
Lets heed Earl Nightingale’s advice in 2011.
Plant corn - not nightshade.
Fill you mind with rich, positive seeds.
Read, think, listen to others, explore.
Unlock the great well of creativity inside yourself.
For more on achieving great purposes, click here.
To comment, please click on Post a Comment below

Building alliances

2010-12-28T21:58:00.007-05:00

Women Marines reach out to Afghan women and their children

Did you see the story on the women Marines?
They reach out to the women of Afghanistan.
Women Marines do this more capably than men.

Congratulations to the Marines.

This is a stroke of genius.
Mark and I recently met with some extraordinary women.
These mothers lost sons in Iraq and Afghanistan.
They went over there to establish relations.
They communicated with mothers who lost children.
They helped, consoled and shared their grief.
War takes a terrible toll on the innocent.
This is an important way to win hearts and minds.

We need hearts and minds in this war.
In business, much like war, we need hearts and minds.
Building alliances is a big objective for me in 2011.
Put this on your own Master To Do List.

For instance, I plan a new marketing Mastermind group.

These will be clients I can help with their marketing.

And we can help each other grow our businesses.

If you're interested, please contact me.
Ask yourself these questions:
1. Who do I need to create alliances with and why?
2. What can I do for them before I ask them to do for me?
Put this on your Master List and devote time each week to it.
Invite your friends to lunch and tell them what you’re doing.
Ask them for their support and advice.
To comment, click on Post a Comment below.

Listen to your inner voice

2010-12-20T20:01:00.004-05:00

Joseph of Nazareth was quite a guy.
There was nothing flashy about him.
He was a carpenter who worked with his hands.
God chose him and his young wife Mary.
They were to become the parents of the Messiah.
Joseph accepted why Mary was with child.
He didn’t try to complain or negotiate with God.
God sent a angel to warn them to flee to Egypt.
Herod sent his assassins to kill all young males.
The king wanted no contenders for his throne.
Joseph did what the angel told him to do.
When it was safe they returned from Egypt.
He taught his son the skills of carpentry.
He supported Mary and his son as best he could.
The Gospels don’t tell us a lot about Joseph.
I think of him as a man who took care of business.
Others might have questioned Mary’s credibility.
Or ignored the angel’s warning about Herod.

Joseph listened to these voices and responded.
There’s a lesson there for all of us.
Listen to those quiet small voices inside you.
You’re not crazy or just hearing things.
Someone powerful wants to guide you.
You may go places you never dreamed about.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.
To comment, click on Post a Comment below.

The best gift of all

2010-12-14T06:47:00.003-05:00

Norman Vincent Peale's stories made points.

Good stories always do.
In one, a young Swedish girl lived with and helped an American family.
She had little money for Christmas gifts.
And the Americans already had so much.
Then came a divine inspiration.
She bought baby clothes with her money.
She sought the poorest baby she could find.
A Salvation Army bell-ringer helped her.

He found the family.

Together they delivered her gift.
On Christmas morning, she told the family about the gift.
She revealed that she had done it in their name.
Everyone felt blessed by the spirit of the gift.
The family felt blessed for seeing her in a new light.
The poor family felt blessed by her unexpected gift.
Giving and receiving are both blessings.
But the love behind the gift is the best gift of all.
Think about that as you do your Christmas shopping.

And now a few words from our sponsor.
Looking for a gift for someone who has everything?
Consider our new book on success. It’s called:
“Killer Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs”.
It’s written by 22 of us who share our secrets with you.
Email me for personally autographed copies.
JerryBellune@yahoo.com

To comment, click on Post a Comment below.

Awakening a sleeping giant

2010-12-06T17:09:00.011-05:00

Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941: A day that will live in infamy

Are you old enough to remember Pearl Harbor?
Most of us remember the unprovoked attack.
Even those of us not yet born in 1941.
If we’ve read the books. Seen the movies.
The movie “Pearl Harbor” glamorized history.
Romanticized it, too. Movies are designed for that.
To stir our emotions. Even bring a few tears.
But the real 1941 attack awoke a sleeping giant.
Here’s a secret if you want to know about WWII.
Talk to veterans. Listen to their stories.
They are dying at a rate of 1,000 a day.
They will not be with us much longer.
Most are modest. But if you listen, a few will talk.
I tried for years to convince a WWII veteran to talk.
He was wounded at Normandy and at the Bulge.
The memories must have been too painful to recount.
He had a great story to share but kept it to himself.
It is up to us to teach our younger generations.
To teach them the lessons of our wars.
Valley Forge. Gettysburg. Normandy. Iwo Jima.
Korea. Vietnam. Desert Storm. Iraq. Afghanistan.
Teach them about courage. About our values.
About the legacy our forefathers left for us.
Make a commitment to read the books.
“30 Seconds Over Tokyo” or God Is My Co-Pilot”.
“Guadalcanal Diary” or “To Hell and Back”.
They teach important lessons about our people.
We are the best hope the world has ever had.
Freedom. Opportunity. The good life.
We make sacrifices so others can enjoy them.

To comment, click on Post a Comment below.

How to hold yourself accountable

2010-11-30T05:37:00.004-05:00

Our friend Greg Wych plans to write a book.
A book is a massive undertaking. Lonely work.
A book begins like a love affair. Lots of passion.
It lives inside your head for months, even years.
Finally you make the commitment and start.
Then after a chapter it turns into marriage.
You and the book have to get used to each other.
It’s a day to day, week to week experience.
Some days you have to force yourself to do it.
You can’t wait for inspiration or it won’t be finished.
Ideas will come to you . . . at the oddest moments.
Carry a small notebook with you to jot them down.
Keep it on the bedside table for 3 a.m. inspirations.
Believe me, you’ll get your share of them.
My friend has done himself a favor.
He shared his book goal with me, a ruthless book publisher.
Now he knows I will hold him accountable.
I will constantly ask him to let me see the next chapter.
It will be the goad he needs during the rough days.
Those are the days when nothing seems to happen.
It’s like you’re brain dead. But write anyway.
If you keep your goals to yourself, you make a mistake.
It’s easy to let yourself off the hook. To alibi yourself.
But if you know someone is watching, you get to it.
That’s when you stiffen your spine.
That’s when you light the fire in your belly.
Share your goal with a friend today.
Send it to me. I’ll hold your accountable.
Speaking of which, our newest book is available.
It’s “Killer Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs”.
With it you can master the secrets to success.
22 of us share our hard-won secrets with you.
Email me if you want an autographed copy.
You also will make a donation to our cause.
We’re teaching 42 million illiterate Americans to read.
To leave a comment, click below on Post a Comment.

Reasons to give thanks

2010-11-21T08:55:00.005-05:00

Our editor Mark and I recently visited New York.
We had lunch with Brooklyn firefighters.
They were among the first responders during 9/11.
During lunch, a call came in to the Red Hook station.

Office workers were trapped in an elevator.
The firefighters jumped up and headed for their truck.
None hesitated. All responded. Quickly.
They knew those on the elevator were stressed.
They were to get the elevator working and get them out.
They returned 20 minutes later. Mission accomplished.
It wasn’t 9/11. Yet it was the same response as 9/11.
We should be thankful there are such people.
These firefighters lost seven from their firefighter family.
Think about that. What if one was a member of your family?
How would you feel? How would you deal with the loss?
Could you celebrate the spirit that drove the first responders?
Celebrate those who put the welfare of others first?
Rotarians worldwide strive to practice “service before self”.
Many other organizations pursue similar selfless goals.
It is easier to say than do. But in giving we receive.
It’s Biblical. It’s noble. It separates us from the animals.
We have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
Show your thanks. Do something for someone today.
Do something for someone tomorrow. And the next day.
It’s the way to show your gratitude.
To comment, please click on Post a Comment.

Getting it done

2010-11-15T07:12:00.006-05:00

Our friend Laura Hamilton is an early riser.
“We rise every morning at 4,” she says.
“My husband is a horticulturist, thus the hours.
“I love that 4 hours before the world goes to work.
“It’s amazingly productive.”
Laura is a funny lady. She gets paid for it.
She’s a professional humorous speaker.
And she is funny. I’ve heard and watched her.
But this is no joke. With her or with me.
We’re both early risers. It’s our life rhythm.
I like it, too, because I’m rested and ready to work.
These are highly-productive hours.
This is when I can get the most done.
Without interruptions.
Don’t ask me to do much after 6 p.m.
Much work after 6 p.m., that is.
I will run my mouth, though.
That’s what professional speakers do.
Our circadian rhythms determine much of this.
My wife and sons are on a different time schedule.
They could sleep till noon if the world let them.
Whatever your rhythm, make it work for you.
Some like writing, painting or reading in the evening.
Everyone else is asleep and they have the time.
No interruptions, distractions or other nonsense.
Just do something constructive with that time.
It is tooooo precious to waste.
Speaking of waste, don’t waste another minute.
Email me for a copy of our latest book.
It’s called “Killer Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs”.
It’s written by 22 highly successful entrepreneurs.
I guarantee it will change your life.
To comment, please click on Post a Comment.

The power of persistence

2010-11-08T18:54:00.006-05:00

Calvin Coolidge inspects
state militia during the
Boston police strike

Blog reader Doug Schreiber passed along this pithy quote.
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.
“Talent will not. Many unsuccessful people have talent.
“Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
“Education will not. The world is full of educated derelicts.
“Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
Who said that? Gov. Calvin “Silent Cal” Coolidge.
Coolidge ended the Boston police strike the only way he could.
He fired the strikers and called up the state militia.
That gave him time to replace them with qualified officers.
That took political courage. He went against a strong union.
But he would not leave Boston residents prey to criminals.
His courage inspired voters. That led to the White House.
Think about the hard coin of courage in making decisions.
People are watching us. Stand tall and do the right thing.
Persistence has played a major role in our family’s lives.
We have started businesses against well-financed competitors.
We knew only persistence and hard work would succeed.
This meant many late nights and 90-hour weeks at work.
After midnight, I would drive by our competitor’s office.
It would be closed. The lights out. I knew we would succeed.
We might not have been the smartest business people.
But we were the most persistent. We eventually won.
After nine years, our competitor asked us to buy him out.

There are many paths to success.
Our new book outlines 22 important ones.
It’s written by 22 entrepreneurs and entitled:
“Killer Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs”.
For details, email me at JerryBellune@yahoo.com
To comment, click on Post a Comment below.

How to think creatively

2010-11-02T06:04:00.002-04:00

Are you a convergent or a divergent thinker?
Are you perhaps a bit of both?
In divergence you think of many solutions to a problem.
In convergence you think of the best single solution.
Both are ways of thinking creatively.
Both are based on experience, knowledge and hunches.
For example, what’s the best use of a brick?
To smash windows or build homes?
That’s convergent thinking.
Now think how many ways you could use bricks.
That’s divergent thinking.
This is important because it fuels creativity.
In “blue sky” problem solving, generate solutions.
Many ideas may be whacky or unrealistic.
But an absurd idea may spark another’s brilliance.
There is one rule in this kind of problem solving:
No ideas are rejected or their creator’s chastised.
Divergence will lead to the best solution.
Generate many solutions, whacky or weird.
Then pick the solution most likely to succeed.
This is one of many paths to success.
Our new book outlines 22 important ones.
It’s written by 22 entrepreneurs and titled:
“Killer Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs”.
For details, email JerryBellune@yahoo.com

To comment, click on Post a Comment below.
For more on success in life, please click here.

Nine keys to getting organized

2010-10-26T06:47:00.004-04:00

Smart thinking from Dr. Mike Murdock:
“Order protects your focus.”
It dissolves distraction from disorder.
It requires decisions, assistance and time.
1. Decide on a place for everything.
This includes car keys, cell phones, glasses.
Passport, papers, warranties and guarantees.
One place only … for each of them.
2. Hire a professional organizer.
They’re worth the money.
They teach you the three Ds:
Do, delegate or discard.
3. Set one day a week to get organized.
One drawer at a time. One room at a time.
4. Use see-through plastic boxes and trays.
This eliminates wasted time looking for things.
5. Label boxes clearly.
Print boldly with a black felt-tip pen.
6. Discard anything not used in six months.
7. File anything with personal emotional value.
8. Play music while organizing.
That lightens your mood.
9. Reward yourself after every session.
A walk. A glass of iced tea. A nap.
We all need incentives to keep working.
Check out Dr. Murdock's website at
http://www.mikemurdock.com
To comment, click on Post a Comment below.
For more on success, click here.

The power of forgiveness

2010-10-18T06:07:00.003-04:00

Our friend Michael Aun is more eloquent than he realizes.
He sent along these thoughts about love:
While we have it, we should love it and care for it.
Fix it when it is broken and heal it when it is sick.
Do it for marriage and children with bad report cards.
Dogs with bad hips and aging parents and grandparents.
Keep them because they are worth it and we are worth it.
Some things we keep - like a sister-in-law after divorce.
Some people make us happy, no matter what.
To forgive is the most rewarding thing one can do.
Forgive others - if for no other reason than selfish reasons.
“Do it for yourself if not for them.”
Michael’s words came back to me watching “Invictus”.
The movie stars Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela.
Mandela came out of prison after 30 years.
His first action was to forgive those who put him there.
His next move was to bring his country together.

One way was to inspire a white rugby team to win.
Not just games but the World Cup in South Africa.
It was his way to bring a racially divided country together.
Improbable as it seemed, the South African team won.
Forgiveness and reconcilation were the keys to solidarity.
Michael is one of our new book’s co-authors.
For more about this important new book email me.
It contains 22 entrepreneurs’ success secrets.

To comment, click on Post a Comment below.
For more on becoming successful, click here.

Going beyond your talent

2010-10-11T14:22:00.005-04:00

Becky Rickenbaker brings talent,
hard-earned skills and a delightful
sense of humor to her work.

“First, learn your craft,” the painter Auguste Renoir said.
“It won’t prevent you from becoming a genius later.”
The trouble is, most wannabe geniuses won’t learn their craft.
It takes: Discipline. Patience. Focus. Persistence. Humility.
Talent’s important, too. You really can’t make pigs fly.
Becky Rickenbaker fell in love with art in grade school.
A teacher inspired her. She’s been at it ever since.
I asked her when she discovered she had an eye for art.
Becky modestly said she discovered art first.
She’s still working on “the eye” part, she said.
I wanted to be a writer from the time Mom read to me.
Writing stories seemed the most exciting thing imaginable.
Now I’ve been at it more than a half century.
I’m still working on “the eye” part, too.
Some people even think I make up the stuff I write.
And I didn’t think I was writing fiction.
Here are three tips to help you become “a genius later”.
1. Keep a firm grip on your ego.
Never get to the point where you think you’re the best.
That’s when you stop learning and become a smug little SOB.
2. Associate with people you can learn from.
A friend says you never want to be the smartest in the room.
If you think you are, it’s time to develop some new friends.
Make sure they’re smarter than you think you are.
3. Sit down at the easel, computer, piano, etc.
You’ve got to practice, practice, practice.
Even if you’re swinging for the fences, that’s practice.
Wannabe geniuses talk about what they’re gonna do.
While they’re talking, you should be doing.
It takes 10,000 hours of practice to become good.
Work at it at least 10 hours a week.
In only 20 years, you’ll be getting good.

To comment, click on Post a Comment below.
For more on becoming a genius, click here.

Brainstorming by yourself

2010-10-04T06:48:00.007-04:00

How do a few people come up with many ideas?
What’s their system? Could we use it?
Those are questions Ken Blum poses for us.
He does it in our new book coming this fall.

It's "Killer Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs".
Here’s the system Ken developed for himself.
It requires 15-30 minutes of your day, every day.
Ken calls it, “Seeding,” a daily creative ritual.
1. Set aside 30 minutes a day.
Make an appointment with yourself.
Early morning or late evening.
You need to be free of disruptions.
2. Use a timer. That’s important.
3. Develop six topics in key areas of life.
Here’s Ken’s sample list:
• My personal and professional life.
• Personal financial plan.
• The book I want to write.
• Losing 20 pounds.
• Improving my golf or tennis game.
4. Set your timer for five minutes.
Start with #1. Write in your journal. Let your ideas flow.
When the timer rings, start on #2. Five minutes.
Short on time? Set the timer for three minutes.
Get to all topics. Then you’re finished for the day.
Your conscious mind works on each topic five minutes.
Your subconscious mind works on them 24 hours
What's the title of our book?

“Killer Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs”.

Great ideas like this give you a competitive edge.

This will take you to the next level.
To order an advance copy, email me.

To comment, click on Post a Comment below.
For more on purpose in life, please click here.

How to think creatively

2010-09-28T06:41:00.004-04:00

Are you a convergent or a divergent thinker?
Are you perhaps a bit of both?
Divergent thinkers find many solutions.
Convergent thinkers find the best solution.
Both are strategies to think more creatively.
Both draw on experience, knowledge, hunches.
For example, what’s the best use of a brick?
To smash windows or build homes?
That’s convergent thinking.
Now think of other ways to use bricks.
Paper weights. Door stops. Garden walls.
That’s divergent thinking.
Both are important. They fuel creativity.
Blue sky problem solvers generate solutions.
Many ideas may be whacky or unrealistic.
Your absurd idea may spark a brilliant one.
There is one rule in this kind of problem solving: No ideas are rejected or their creator’s chastized.
Such behavior discourages creative thinking.
Generate many solutions, whacky or weird.
Then pick the solution most likely to succeed.
If you have more than one, set priorities.
Try the most likely one first.
If it doesn’t work, go to Plan B.
Next week we’ll discuss another strategy.
It’s Ken Blum’s creative thinking formula.
You don’t want to miss this.

To comment, click on Post a Comment below.
For more on purpose in life, please click here.

Honor our thin red line

2010-09-21T05:00:00.006-04:00

In my travels, I see a lot of soldiers.
If we’re passing, I thank them for their service.
I’ll sit near them in airport restaurants.
That way I can ask them questions.
That’s what nosey journalists do.
Where are they from?

Where are they headed?
What do they do in the service?

Do they like it?
Will they make this their career?
I know my interest makes them feel good. And they should feel good.

They're protecting us.
John Bozard did something recently that impressed me.
John is a citizen-soldier, banker and USO board member.
John served in Afghanistan and knows how soldiers feel.
John walked over to a soldier at our airport.
The soldier sat alone near the baggage carousels.
John went way out of his way to greet this soldier,
He shook his hand and thanked him for his service.
He asked many of the questions I usually ask.
I know it made the soldier feel appreciated.
From now on, that’s what I’m going to do.
If I see someone in uniform, I’ll go out of my way.
Even if it’s across the street or across the airport.
I want them to know how much we appreciate them.
They are what Rudyard Kipling called our thin red line.
They stand between us and a relentless enemy.
Our young men and women show great qualities:
Courage, duty, honor, decency, commitment and grit.
They stand in harm’s way to protect us.
Please join me in this small effort.
Lets honor those who do this for us.
Everyone likes to be recognized and appreciated.
Lets do it for them . . . and for us as well.
It will make you, too, feel great to thank them.

To comment, click on Post a Comment below.
For more on purpose in life, please click here.

Proud to be an American

2010-09-13T21:09:00.004-04:00

David Feherty helped open a driving range dedicated to CSM Jonathan Lankford,

who died of heart failure.

Here’s an uplifting story to make you feel good.
David Feherty was an Irish professional golfer.
He came to the U.S. 17 years ago.
Throughout it, he maintained his Irish citizenship
A trip to entertain U.S. troops in Iraq changed that.
“That was the tipping point for me,” he said.
He gave up his Irish citizenship.
“I needed to be an American after I saw what they were doing;
“The United States is the greatest force for good in the world.
“It has been for a very long time,” he said.
Feherty has been to Iraq to entertain the troops twice.
He plans to be in Afghanistan at Thanksgiving,
He helped found the Troops First Foundation.
It will have 10 events for wounded U.S. soldiers this year.
“They are special people,” he said of our military.
“It’s their sacrifice that allows us to be the way we are.
“It’s inspiring to be around people like that.
“It’s been the greatest thing in the world for me.”
Be happy to welcome David Feherty to citizenship.
He reminds us of how special it is to be an American.
To comment, click on Post a Comment below.
For more on purpose in life, please click here.

Leaving a legacy

2010-09-07T07:48:00.006-04:00

First responders carry Father Mychal Judge’s body.
He was one of the first victims of the 9-11 attack.

Where were you at 8:48 a.m. ET Sept. 11, 2001?
Most of us will always remember that moment.
Our feelings. Where we were. What we thought.
But think about this: What if you are 12 or younger?
What would you remember about 9-11??
You aren’t old enough to remember the horror.
Sure, you will have seen photos. Know what it was about.
It is up to us to teach our younger generations about it.
To teach them the lessons 9-11 taught us.
About terrorism. About courage. About our people.
I recently spent a day with 96 WWII vets in Washington.
We had flown there to visit the WWII Memorial.
The Korean and Vietnam War Memorials.
Arlington and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
We had done it to honor them for their roles in WWII.

These men and women are modest about their sacrifices.
I’m old enough to remember the horror of Pearl Harbor.
I was only a child. But most of you probably don’t.
But you know what it was about. How it rallied us.
Awoke a sleeping giant. Saved the world from tyranny.
We should never forget Pearl Harbor. Or 9-11.
They are not just history. They tested our resolve.
Make sure we leave this legacy to our children.
Not just the horror. But the bravery and the courage.
The first responders who ran toward the towers to help.
The ones who went forward as everyone else fled.
The ones who gave their lives to save others.
Will we go forward when it’s the right way?
To make our own sacrifices when we need to?
That can be our legacy to future generations.

To comment, click on Post a Comment below.
For more on purpose in life, please click here.

How to sell an idea

2010-08-31T06:51:00.008-04:00

Frederick the Great knew

how to create a hot potato

In today's Success Blog, we have a big idea for you.
In the 1750s, German peasants died in famines.
When the wheat crop failed, they had nothing to eat.
To help them, King Frederick came up with an idea.
He introduced the lowly potato as a wheat substitute.
The idea fell flat on its face.
Peasants thought the potato was revolting.
They refused to eat it.
King Frederick rebranded the potato as a ‘royal’ vegetable.
He proclaimed it for the royal family only.
Guards were placed around the royal potato patch.
This established that these potatoes were special.
The guards were ordered to guard the potatoes loosely.
Frederick wanted his people to slip in and steal them.
The peasants made off with as many potatoes as they could carry.
The famine was licked. The people survived.
Potatoes became common in German cooking.
What had King Frederick accomplished?
He used ‘great creative’ to re-introduce the brand.
He used social media and Word of Mouth advertising.
This communicated a perception of the potato’s value.
Frederick became Frederick the Great — for his great creative.
Marketer Ken Gasque cites this story in our new book.
Ken, I and 19 others will publish this book in October.
Its title: “Killer Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs”.
It’s filled with great stories of failure and success.
You’ll learn more about how succeed than you can imagine.
To reserve a copy, email me at JerryBellune@yahoo.com
To contact Ken, email him at Ken@Gasque.com
To comment, click on Post a Comment.
To live with purpose, click here.

When to say yes

2010-08-24T05:37:00.003-04:00

Reader Mark Bostic says some times you have to say yes.
That’s when you’re asked for a favor in your expertise.
When that happens, Mark happily obliges.
“It’s a chance to do what I do well,” he says.
“I get to freely give of my talents and do my best.
“By sticking with my expertise I contribute.
“And I feel good about it.”
Mark makes a good point.
Long ago, the Literacy Council asked me to serve on its board.
I was tempted. I believe everyone should be able to read.
My wife advised me to say no.
“You’re up to your neck in everything,” she said.
She was right. I was over committed. I said no.
But now literacy has become a passion.
I get to help with literacy now that I have a bit more time.
My goal is to raise $200 million to combat illiteracy.
The money comes from book sales and speaking engagements.
When you buy one of my books, you help with literacy.
Book me to speak, you’re helping with literacy, too.
This is not a sales pitch. I just wanted to let you know.
Now about saying “no” . . . or sometimes “yes”.
When you’re asked, and you will be, weigh the cost.
Weigh the benefits. Use Ben Franklin’s formula.
Make two columns. Benefits in one, Liabilities in the other.
If the good outweighs the bad, go for it.
To comment, click on Post a Comment below.
To live with greater purpose, click here.

The pleasures of mud

2010-08-17T06:05:00.005-04:00

Welcome to the pig pen

I was going to write something profound this week.
Then Becky McCrary changed my mind with one short email.
Becky had written that she was happy as a pig in mud.
I fired back that our fine swine wallow only in real SLOP.
That acronym stands for “Stuff Left Over, Period”.
I did not realize I was talking with a veteran of the pig pen.
Becky began her training at the tender age of 12.
She carried 5-gallon buckets of feed including slop to the pigs.
She journeyed across a field and into the woods to the pig pen.
There she perched on a fence to read a book until Mama called.
She dug a trench from pen to ditch to shovel out the mud.
Those animals would slosh out clean water until they had mud.
Then they would audibly sigh and lie down.
“That doesn’t compare to the hog farm when I was 17,” she says.
“Those animals lived on concrete that was washed out daily.
“You could tell from their demeanor that something was missing.”
Even today, she loves to feel mud squishing between her toes.
If you have not tried this, you must. It is a moment to savor.
Wait for the next summer rain, pull off your shoes and go for it.
This inspirational message brought to you by Becky and me.

To comment, click on Post a Comment below.
To live with purpose, click here.

Hang onto your sense of humor

2010-08-09T16:52:00.007-04:00

Our guys in Iraq keep 'em laughing

Our consulting group met in Philadelphia last week.
All of us advise newspaper publishers and editors.
We talked a lot about what we saw for the future.
We talked about technology and delivery systems.
We talked about integrity, credibility and loyalty.
Let me ask you these three questions:
• Do newspapers and books have a future?
• Does U.S. small business have a future?
• Are we being spent into the poor house?
No matter how you answer, do it with a smile.
Think you have it tough?
What if you were in Iraq? Or Afghanistan?
Our troops in both know it's serious business.
But their sense of humor helps relieve the tension.
Their message: Keep laughing for your sanity's sake.
The news business will survive - in print and online.
Small business will survive. It won't be easy.
But entrepreneurs are tough, adaptable, innovative.
Will we be spent into oblivion? It may happen.
But I'm convinced we are a strong people.
We have the greatest economic system in the world.
We have freedom. Despite Congress and the courts.
It may take decades to recover from this spending.
But we will do it if we keep our sense of humor.
For more humor from a combat zone, email me.
JerryBellune@yahoo.com. You'll get all 15 photos.
Pass this along to your friends.
Feel free to post my blog on your site.
Attribution to my blog is appreciated.

15 magic words

2010-08-03T06:36:00.004-04:00

Margaret and Al Walker
know all 15 magic words

Our “Two words for a happy marriage” triggered response.
Professional speaker Al Walker was the first to reply.
Comedian Jeff Allen says there are15 words, Al wrote.
All husbands should memorize and use them often.
It doesn’t hurt if their spouses use them, too.
Jeff’s 15 words are:
“I am sorry.”
“You were right.”
“I was wrong.”
“Please forgive me.”
“I love you.”
Al starts with “I am sorry” and magic happens.
His wife Margaret says the other 11 words for him.
This leaves him with a shred of dignity and a chuckle.
And it always diffuses whatever might have been going on.
Living together happily is a challenge for both spouses.
If you married for love, it somehow seems easier.
But memorize Jeff’s 15 words and use them.
And remember “Yes, dear” always works. It never fails.
You’ll probably earn a hug and a kiss.
Maybe even more after the lights are out.

To comment, click on Post a Comment.
To live with purpose, click here.

2010-07-27T09:05:00.005-04:00

Our language’s toughest word

For millions of us, “no” is the toughest word to say.
Especially when a friend asks for our help.
My wife used to get after me all the time.
“You’re a sucker for anyone who asks,” she said.
She was right. Now I’ve reformed.
I’m not rude. I can say no politely . . . and mean it.
One reader wrote in frustration about this the other day.
“All of my career, I’ve been roped into things I don’t like doing.
‘I haven’t figured out how to just say no to friends.
“Got any ideas on graceful ways to say no?”
Yes, here are five ways to do it.
1. “I can’t do it. I’m sorry. Thanks for asking.”
2. “I appreciate you asking but I don’t have the time now.”
3. “You know I don’t make commitments loosely. I can’t now.”
4. “Try me later? I may be able to do it then.”
5. “You know, Joe would be a better choice to do this.”

There are probably a dozen more ways to say it.
Out of respect for the friend who asks, observe three rules.
1. Be polite but firm.
2. Always tell the truth.
3. Stand by your decision to say no.

To comment, please click on Post a Comment below.
For help being more successful in life, click here.

2010-07-20T07:15:00.003-04:00

Napoleon was forced

to retreat from Russia

Do what you do best
Pamela Geer knows the frustration of growing a business.
She writes that she often looks for the grandiose strategy.
When that becomes overwhelming, no real action is taken.
She now follows Food Network star Paula Deen’s example:
Start where you are and start with what you know best.
That’s powerfully simple advice, she writes.
“I plan to do it right now in the next steps I take.”
Thanks, Pamela. You are a role model for the rest of us.
We live in desperate times. Don’t count on a fast recovery.
We tend to think these times call for desperate measures.
That only make us look desperate to clients and colleagues.
Napoleon’s invasion of Russia is a classic example.
He had not counted on the Russian winter or the Russians.
The Russians burned everything as they retreated.
They left nothing for the French Army to forage.
Then the winter set in and the invasion failed.
Assess your strengths. At what do you excel?
Like Paula Deen and her sandwiches, do what you do best.
Next, assess your weaknesses. What don’t you like to do?
What do you feel uncomfortable doing? Do not do well?
Find someone with those strengths to work with you.
They may be a partner, friend, relative or employee.
We can’t be all things to our friends or our clients.
Do what we excel at and find others to do the rest.

To comment, please click on Post a Comment below.
For help being more successful in life, click here.

2010-07-13T07:38:00.004-04:00

Paula and sons at her popular

Lady & Sons Restaurant in Savannah

Start where you are

We were talking with a Savannah lawyer we met the other day.
The topic of conversation was Food Network star Paula Deen.
He knew her personally and had watched her rise to stardom.
Paula was a young single mother with two sons to feed.
She did the only thing she knew much about. She cooked.
Rather she made sandwiches and sold them office to office
Her sandwiches were good and saved him valuable time.
He didn’t need to go out to eat lunch on busy days.
Paula was selling good taste, convenience and herself.
Watching her on TV, you know she’s loaded with personality.
All the business people downtown got to know her.
They encouraged her to open a small restaurant.
That led to larger and larger restaurants.
Now it's almost impossible to get a table in her restaurant.
I know. We tried. They were booking tables for the next day.
Paula is an entrepreneur. She parlayed her local celebrity.
She wrote and published a cookbook to sell in her restaurant.
That led to more cookbooks in gift shops and other locations.
I’m not sure how she connected with Food Network but she did.
Now she’s a national celebrity cook and runs a cooking school.
She even has a line of cookware. There's no stopping her.
The great thing is that she does all of this in Savannah.
Lesson learned: Start where you are.
Work diligently and creatively. Don't give up.
Like Paula, there’s no telling where it might take you.

To make a comment, click on Post a Comment below.

For more on success in life and business, please click here.

Two words for a happy marriage

2010-07-06T07:14:00.004-04:00

One of my worst mistakes was made out of ego.
I was ambitious, headstrong and career driven.
We lived on a golf course at the foot of the mountains.
My family was happy and so was I . . . relatively.
But the challenges of the job had been conquered.
I was growing restless and eager for a new challenge.
Along came an offer. Bigger challenge. Bigger paycheck.
Despite my families misgivings, I accepted the job.
I conquered the new challenges . . . then was fired.
I did what they hired me to do. That was the end of that.
I’m fortunate I didn’t lose my marriage and children.
I have since learned the two words for a happy marriage.
Yes. That’s right. They are: “Yes, dear.”
Here are five tips to enrich your relationships:
1. Be realistic about your relationships.
You and your partner won’t like everything about each other.
Think of what you like. Don’t dwell on what you dislike.
Do the same with your children, parents and friends.
2. Support each other. Life’s hard. We need support.
God gives us tests of character almost every day.
We all need someone watching our backs.
3. List 10 things you like about your spouse.
Put it in your wallet or purse and read it from time to time.
It’s OK to add to it, too, when you find a new one you like.
You’ll do yourself a favor to do the same for your children.
4. Spend 10 minutes each day talking with your spouse.
Talk about anything but work, chores or anything unpleasant.
Talk about dreams. What to do this weekend. On vacation.
5. Compliment your spouse on something he or she did.
Show appreciation. Affection. Respect. Love.
Heard a good joke? Share a laugh together.
And practice saying “Yes, dear”. They are golden words.

To comment, click on Post a Comment below.
For help being more successful in life, click here.

Independent thinking encouraged

2010-06-29T06:51:00.004-04:00

Here's an pre-Independence Day thought for you.
What would we be without non-conformists?
Without contrarians, would we be living in caves?
Radical thinkers are responsible for our progress.
They had the guts to take on conventional wisdom.
Galileo. Columbus. Joan of Arc. Our Founding Fathers.
Some were ostracized. Some burned at the stake.
Think about that five days before Independence Day.
If our ancestors had played it safe we would still be . . .
. . . British subjects, speaking English, not American.
Saying “Jolly good” instead of “You all”.
Don’t shun, avoid or look askance at contrarians.
Don’t pity us or condescend to us.
We play an important role in world progress.
Do you have a contrarian streak in you?
It has not made you wildly popular, has it?
If you tend to think conventionally you need . . .
Drum roll . . . a contrarian to shake up your thinking.
Radical thinking runs in our family.
We shake each other up . . . quite often.
Life is never dull around our place.
If you tend to be super-cautious, tolerate us.
We mean you no harm. Really. Sincerely.
We’re just that way. Welcome us. We will rock you.
To leave a comment, click on Post a Comment below.
For more unconventional thinking, click here.

Keep your amateur spirit alive

2010-06-22T11:47:00.003-04:00

Our friend Jules Ciotta sent a short essay recently.
Amateurs do what they want to do naturally, he wrote.
They aren’t overly concerned about consequences.
They throw themselves into projects and make them work.
Amateurs have no limits because they don’t know they exist.
Experts are corseted by how things are supposed to be.
As leaders, we must avoid too many rules and limitations.
We must give our amateurs the room to create new ways.
We must encourage them to be bold. To take chances.
To ask for forgiveness rather than permission.
Amateurs are the true entrepreneurs in our organizations.
As organizations mature, we must resist bureaucracy.
A friend ran a school for children with learning challenges.
She loved the kids, the school and the work.
But that changed with a new management.
Decisions were made by the bureaucrats.
She had to have approval to try anything new.
Feeling boxed in, she resigned. That was a real loss.
Management lost a gifted leader. The kids did, too.
Johnny Zinoni managed a home for alcoholics.
He often flew by the seat of his pants but he made it work.
The chairman of his board was often at odds with him.
Being deeply religious, he told me why he did what he did.
“He just doesn’t know who has me by the seat of my pants.”
If we don’t encourage risk, we won’t innovate.
What we produce will become time worn and lose value.
Fly by the seat of your pants and incite others to do it, too.
For help in flying by the seat of your pants click here.

Never give in

2010-06-15T09:06:00.003-04:00

The movie “Facing the Giants” has several emotional moments.
In one, the coach challenges the team’s defensive star.
He must do the “death crawl” blindfolded to the 50-year line.
In the death crawl, you crawl on your hands and feet.
You carry another player on your back.
You are in full pads, in the sweltering Georgia summer sun.
As he crawls forward in fatigue and pain, the coach coaxes him.
“Don’t give up on me, Brock,” the coach keeps telling him.
But Brock wants to quit. “It’s too hard,” he screams.
But the coach urges him to keep going.
All the other players stop what they're doing to watch.
They realize the coach is teaching the star a major lesson.
When Brock finally collapses, he takes off the blindfold.
He realizes he is in the end zone. He has crawled 100 yards.
It is a decisive lesson for the entire team. “Never give up.”
In the big game, the team is behind and exhausted.
The coach keeps urging them to stay in and play.
You'll have to see the movie to find out what happens.
Winston Churchill was asked to speak to the boys at Harrow.
He was a Harrow graduate who became prime minister.
It was an horrific time for the English.
The Nazis were bombing their cities nightly.
Churchill used his oratory to rally his nation.
Churchill told the boys, “Never give in, never, ever, ever . . .
"In all things great or small . . . never give in.”
It is one of Churchill's most inspiring speeches.
For more on learning from his example, click here.
It's a link to Ron Kurtus' School for Champions.
When you are tempted to quit, remember the “death crawl”.
When you are tempted to give in, remember Churchill.
Losers give in . . . winners never do.
To leave a comment, please click on Post a Comment.
For more about winning in business and life, click here.

Will you settle for less?

2010-06-08T06:30:00.004-04:00

In “Room at the Top”, Laurence Harvey’s character says:
“It’s not what I want. It’s what I’ll settle for.”
Maybe the young have to settle for less in the U.K.
It’s a socialist economy that limits personal initiative.
That’s not true in America, the land of opportunity.
Look at the success of Eastern Europeans and Asians here.
Many come to this country with little money or English.
They work hard for years to become “overnight successes”.
Our friend Nido Qubein came here as a youth with $50.
He learned English only after he arrived.
Nido was smart, ambitious and determined to succeed.
Today he is chairman of his own successful business.
He is the author of bestselling books and CDs.
He is an accomplished, in-demand professional speaker.
He is president of High Point (N.C.) University.
He has raised millions of dollars for the school.
I don’t think Nido ever settled for anything.
When we settle for anything, we limit ourselves.
Dan Kennedy writes in “The Ultimate Success Secret”:
“What you are willing to accept is what you get.”
Dream big. Believe in yourself and your dream.
Develop a plan. Adjust your plan as you need to.
Life teaches us to make necessary adjustments.
Don’t settle for less than achieving your dream.
To leave a comment, please click on Post a Comment.
For more on achieving your dreams, click here.

Escape the limitations trap

2010-06-01T03:31:00.004-04:00

I believe I can do anything I set my mind to.
My parents instilled this in their children.
There are two kinds of limitations.
One is a real limitation that we must accept.
I’m no NFL quarterback. Too old. Lack the talent.
No movie star. Mine’s the perfect face for radio.
Be realistic about what you can do. Where you can go.
Don’t just depend on your talents.
Determination is needed. Persistence, too.
George Will said talent will take you just so far.
Then you must work to become a craftsman.
Self limitation is a truly crippling belief.
Many people hurt themselves with such beliefs.
They say “I can’t” so often they believe it.
Tiger Woods berated his bad shots at the Masters.
Did that improve his game? Not at all.
It just made him feel worse about himself.
He became a man in torment.
Not the world’s most competitive player.
Watch what you say to yourself.
Learn to laugh at your own mistakes.
Learn from them. That’s what they’re for.
Our failures teach us more than our successes.
It doesn’t make failure more palatable.
But failure has great value. Embrace it.
To leave a comment, please click on Post a Comment.
For more on success and failure, click here.

10 Secrets of eternal youth

2010-05-25T07:14:00.004-04:00

For most of us, growing up is still an option.
Bill West offers these 10 tips to stay young.
1. Ignore nonessential numbers.
By this Bill means age, (over)weight and height.
Let your doctors worry about them.
That’s what you pay them for.
2. Associate only with cheerful friends.
Let the grouches bother somebody else.
3. Turn off the TV and keep learning.
Learn about computers, gardening, music, art.
Never leave your brain in Park.
Idle minds are the devil’s workshop.
4. Enjoy life’s simple things.
Sunrises. Sunsets. Loved ones, Pets.
The wind in the pines. The sound of surf.
5. Laugh often, long and loud.
Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. Endure, grieve, and move on.
Tears happen when you lose those you love.
You are the only one with you all your life.
Be alive while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with who and what you love.
Family. Pets. Art. Music. Plants. Hobbies.
Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health.
If it is good, preserve it.
If it is unstable, improve it.
If it’s beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don’t take guilt trips.
Take a trip to the mall. To the next county.
To a foreign country. Not where the guilt is.
10. Show those you love that you love them.
If you died today, make sure they know you love them.
To leave a comment, please click on Post a Comment.
For more on getting more from life, click here.

Mastermind alliances

2010-05-18T07:05:00.005-04:00

Do you participate in a mastermind alliance?
If not, you should. Such alliances are powerful.
You will gain insights you can attain no other way.
Napoleon Hill wrote about this in “Think and Grow Rich”.
He wrote that this brings together the power of many minds.
You concentrate on attaining definite objectives.
We participate in one with members here and in Europe.
All of us are consultants who bond to help each other.
We meet monthly on Skype and yearly at a resort.
We met for a great sharing session in Tampa last year.
We plan to meet later this year in Philadelphia.
I participate in another group that works on marketing.
We meet monthly to review each others’ marketing plans.
These sessions have greatly improved my marketing skills.
It has given me a chance to help others with theirs.
If you’re interested in this, email me.
Please write “Mastermind” in the subject line.
To comment, please click on Post a Comment below.
In tomorrow’s Advertising and Marketing Letter:
Tom Hopkins on avoiding failure in sales.
For a complimentary copy email me at:
Jerry@JerryBellune.com
Please write “A&M Letter” in the subject line.

Keep your passion alive

2010-05-11T06:30:00.002-04:00

Infusionsoft CEO Clate Mask offers five quick tips for success.
1. Write all the reasons you love your products or services.
2. Tell others the story of why you became an entrepreneur.
3. Imagine what you want your business to look like in 5 years.
4. Read inspirational books and articles about success.
5. Take time to rejuvenate and regain your energy.
Reshape those questions if you’re not an entrepreneur.
These are good tips to rekindle your passion for life.
1. Write all the reasons why you love what you do.
2. Tell others what you are passionate about and why.
3. Imagine what you want your life to look like in 5 years.
For the rest, refer to No. 4 and 5 above.
Passion is the lifeblood of business and life.
McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc knew that. He said:
“If you work just for the money, you’ll never make it.
“If you love what you’re doing, success will be yours.”
Love your business, your career and your life.
Pass your passion on to everyone you meet.
To comment, please click on Post a Comment below.
For help putting passion into your life click here.

Dance in the rain

2010-05-04T06:11:00.002-04:00

Our friend Ty Boyd sent along a great quote recently.
“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass.
“It’s about learning to dance in the rain!”
Dancing in the rain is a great metaphor for coping.
Remember when you were a kid?
What a kick it was to run in the rain?
It was a summer cooler, like a run through lawn sprinklers.
And stepping in puddles which your mother abhorred.
“You’ll ruin your new shoes,” she would say.
As much as we tried her patience, she always forgave us.
Our mothers were molded in the image of God.
They were 90% patience, bless ‘em.
Ty asked if I would be at the NSA convention in Orlando.
NSA is not the National Security Administration.
Nothing that sexy. It’s the National Speakers Association.
I’m sorry I’ll miss Orlando. Just too much to do here.
Three books in the works and a new membership program.
Ty will enjoy it. He’ll get a lot out of it, too.
He’ll come home excited about new ideas.
He’ll make a list. And get to work doing what he loves.
That’s what all of us should do every day of our lives.
Get excited. Make that list. Prioritize it.
And get to work . . . doing what we love.
For more on that, click here.
To leave a comment, please click on Post a Comment.

Trust your intuition

2010-04-27T08:13:00.004-04:00

Cliff Brenner was a highly creative thinker.
He was one of my clients at Philadelphia Electric.
I was one of his unofficial clients when I had a problem.
Over the years we have talked for hours.
Often together over lunch, later by long distance.
Cliff lived in Philadelphia. I live in South Carolina.
We always talked on April 30, his birthday and mine.
No matter what the obstacle was, Cliff helped me solve it.
Cliff’s gone on to that great creative agency up there.
I truly miss his sound reasoning and creative solutions.
There has to be at least one Cliff Brenner in your life.
Maybe you are a Cliff Brenner in someone else’s life.
Many of us limit our intuition by becoming super analytical.
We analyze problems to death. And it prevents bold decisions.
Call it “paralysis by analysis”. It’s what bean counters do.
My wife — and business partner — is highly intuitive.
I have learned to trust her judgment about my crazier ideas.
Sorry, guys, but most women are more intuitive than we are.
Some seem to have forgotten we have an intuitive side.
Women trust their instincts and feelings.
They listen to their “inner spirit” and trust it.
Here’s one way to fine-tune your intuition:
Think about how you “feel” — not just what you “think”.
If it doesn’t smell right, it probably isn’t right.
Listen to your “inner spirit”. It will guide you.
That’s a God-like sense we’re endowed with.
It’s the Great Creator inside every one of us.
To leave a comment, please click on Post a Comment.
Interested in more on heightening your creativity?
Check my creativity self-study courses by clicking here.

Life’s five critical questions

2010-04-20T06:19:00.002-04:00

I’ve been reading Michael Masterson’s “Ready, Fire, Aim”.
Masterson writes about three critical career questions.
They are good ones but I have amended them.
I believe you should ask yourself five critical questions.
And not just today. Ask them of yourself often.
1. What am I doing in my life and career?
2. Where and when do I want to do it?
3. With whom do I want to do it?
Now here are the two additional questions from me:
4. For whom am I committed to doing it?
5. What great purpose does it serve?
Your answers should all align with the final two questions.
For what great purpose am I working?
And who should benefit from my labors?
You want to blur the line between work and fun.
Your work and your life should become your passions.
Here’s another question for you:
Am I keeping my passions in balance?
You might look at life as a three-legged stool.
One leg is your work, career, pursuit of wealth.
Wealth can be a goal in and of itself.
For many of us, it buys security for our families.
It buys us independence and freedom to live fully.
But it is only one leg of life’s stool.
Are you balancing your stool with the other two legs?
One of those is family and all those you love and care for.
One is your faith in a Higher Power who speaks to you.
Do you dare answer these questions for yourself?
Do you dare send me your answers?
For more on putting purpose in your life, click here.
To comment, please click on Post a Comment below.

Pay for performance

2010-04-13T09:25:00.003-04:00

Tiger Woods may be the best pro golfer in the world.
But he wasn’t last weekend in the Masters at Augusta.
Phil Mickelson was the best in this single tournament.
It couldn’t have happened to a nicer, friendlier guy.
Phil and his family have had a rough time of it lately.
His mother and his wife Amy were diagnosed with cancer.
Amy gamely made it to Augusta National for the final day.
She was there beaming when Phil won the tournament.
Pro golfers play in a tough league. They can’t afford bad days.
You have a bad day as a pro golfer, you have a bad pay day.
Golf is one sport that pays solely for performance.
Most team sports don’t. You have a bad day, you’re still paid.
In business, we can’t afford bad days.
No money in. No money out. Sales is like that, too.
You don’t sell, you don’t collect a commission.
That’s what I like best about sales and business.
If you succeed, you’re rewarded. If you don’t, you won’t.
It’s just that simple. So don’t complain.
If more jobs were paid on performance, more would get done.
A friend of ours set up a meritocracy in his business.
If the business had a good month, everyone shared in the profit.
If the month was poor, there was no profit to share in.
We’re fortunate in our business. Our people work hard.
We’re up 151.6% at the bottom line year to date over 2009.
We’re up 242.7% this March over March 2009.
How was your March? Was it this good?
Want to know how we did it?
Email me at JerryBellune@yahoo.com
To leave a comment, click on Post a Comment below.

Celebrate your days

2010-04-06T08:29:00.001-04:00

Our family will be celebrating a birthday this month.
It’s my birthday and I won’t tell you my age.
You wouldn’t believe me anyway.
When people ask and I tell them they are surprised.
They say they thought I was at least 10 years younger.
That’s what comes with marrying a Trophy Wife.
MacLeod’s much younger and she keeps me young.
One of my favorite curmudgeons, Tom Peters, says:
“This day belongs ... ultimately ... to you.”
Great observation, Tom. I would add to that:
“This life ... ultimately ... belongs to you.”
What you do with it in a free country is up to you.
Count your blessings. You have them in abundance.
You could have been born in the Third World.
Every morning I thank God for another great day.
I thank Him for the great purposes He has given me.
I hope you have found your great purpose in life.
All of us have at least one. Some have several.
We come into this life without an instruction manual.
God leaves it to us to figure out our great purpose.
If you are alert, God will give you lots of clues.
To leave a comment, click on Post a Comment below.
Want $100 off in our annual birthday book sale?
Email me at JerryBellune@yahoo.com

Believe in the good

2010-03-30T07:50:00.005-04:00

Ralph Waldo Emerson advocated optimism.
“Don’t waste yourself in rejection,” he wrote.
“Chant the beauty of the good.”
Those who make it in life and business tend to be positive.
We’re believers in the beauty of the good.
Our late friend Jerry Fowler was positive to the end.
Jerry was diagnosed with cancer and set out to beat it.
He finally lost the fight but he carried cancer to 15 rounds.
Jerry acted as if getting cancer was a gift from God.
Maybe it was. It certainly brought out the best in him.
I felt honored to speak at his memorial service.
Successful people think like Jerry Fowler did.
They welcome challenges. They appreciate life’s tests.
They believe what they do brings value to others.
Copywriter Clayton Makepeace advocates optimism, too.
But he writes that optimism must have a foundation.
Your idea -- what you do -- must be believable.
It must be based on provable, demonstrable reality.
Pessimists may think they’re realists. They’re not.
They just drag down themselves and those around them.
Think you’re a victim? You'll always be a victim.
If you look for a reason to be depressed, you’ll find it.
Quit trying to justify failure by blaming it on others.
Look in the mirror. There’s the culprit.
As Pogo said, "We have met the enemy and he is us."
Put a smile on your face. You’ll soon feel better.
To comment, please see Post a Comment below.
For help in getting more out of life, click here.

Blessings in disguise

2010-03-23T07:55:00.003-04:00

A friend wrote the other day about her family’s turmoil.
Her brother has been diagnosed with a brain tumor.
This has thrown her family life into a frenzy.
She is babysitting his children almost full time.
All of us can appreciate the family’s anxiety.
But I believe this will prove a blessing in disguise.
It will draw her family even closer together.
There’s nothing quite like danger to knit family bonds.
It draws us together in a common cause.
I was fired once for standing up to the boss.
It proved a blessing in disguise.
Friends called from all over the country to offer help.
I had a better job within two days.
I’ve worked on two newpapers that went out of business.
It seemed like a career crusher at the time.
But my family ended up far better off in the long run.
My wife and I walked away from a partnership gone sour.
We might still be minority partners but for that.
It was the kick in the pants that led to our own business.
A kick in the pants is sometimes the best thing for you.
Now we own and operate four successful businesses.
You’ve heard these kinds of stories before.
When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.
Our friend and her family will get through this.
They will be far stronger as a result.
Life is a constant test of our character.
Grit your teeth if you have to but plow ahead.
Remember what Friedrich Nietzsche wrote:
“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”
To get more out of life, paste this link in your browser:
http://www.jerrybellune.com/success-strategies.htm
To comment, please click on Post a Comment below.

Do it for love

2010-03-16T07:17:00.005-04:00

Our friend Ken Blum has hit on the secret of success.
He’s writing a novel about a hometown paper in the ‘60s.
It’s a story Ken lived with a community newspaper group.
He’s also doing a book on photojournalism’s mental side.
He’s using award-winning photos he shot himself.
All will be printed in sepia for a unique touch.
“It’s a book that I’m doing for myself,” Ken writes.
That’s the secret of doing it — and finishing it.
Write them for yourself and people like yourself,
I know some con artists do it just for the bucks.
But they miss the fun of writing the books.
It’s just work to them. That’s no way to live.
Most of the writers I know do it for themselves first.
Then they share with people like themselves:
1. The great stories they’ve heard.
2. The intriguing things that happen to them.
3. The lessons both have taught them.
If you don’t do it for the love of it, it’s work.
Our friend Joe Pinner says he’s never worked a day in his life.
Of course, Joe loves what he does for a living.
I hope you’re doing what you love, too.
Please leave your own thoughts on this.
Just click on Post a Comment below.
For more success strategies, click here.

Become a business star

2010-03-09T15:34:00.004-05:00

Succeeding in business is easier than you think.
One secret is: Do what other successful people do.
Each week I share such success secrets on video.
You can watch them on www.ProfitabilityChannel.com
Put this address in your browser and it will take you there.
Click on Library at the top and scroll down to Video Email
Click on one of the Essential Entrepreneur lines.
Up will come a 2-minute video of one of my tips.
This is free. That’s right. F-R-E-E.
It's hard tro beat a price like that.
Ruth King has archived some really great video.
Not all of it is free but it’s very inexpensive.
A year’s subscription is only $97.
That's a deal she's offering this month only.
That’s less than $2 a week for money-making ideas.
You couldn't take a 3-hour college course for $97.
It’s like a graduate course. Attend when you like.
Is this a sales pitch? You bet it is.
What do I get out of it?
The satisfaction of helping you in your business.
That's all. So give it a try.
If you like my free videos, you might subscribe.
There's a lot of other cool stuff, too.
Try it. You'll like it.

The secret of real love

2010-03-02T06:32:00.005-05:00

You may have seen this story on the internet.
My Mom in Charleston sent it to me.
An elderly man was in a hurry that morning.
He was going to the nursing home.
He liked to have breakfast with his wife.
His wife is an Alzheimer's disease victim.
She does not know who he is.
Hasn't for five years.
"But I still know who she is," he says.
Now that's more than just affection.
That's love stretched over a lifetime.
This gentleman knows what's important.
He relives the memories of their good times.
The times when she knew who he was.
That's the kind of bond all of us deserve.
It is a two-way street, this kind of love.
You give it to get it. Work at it, savor it.
It's there if you want it. Make it work for you.
To comment, please click on Post a Comment.

Music from a rare violin

2010-02-23T07:49:00.004-05:00

Bill West has seen people miss a great experience.
His son Billy is a little awkward.
His speech requires attention to understand.
But Billy is full of love, simplicity and compassion.
He never speaks in anger. He never hurts anyone.
He senses other people's hurts and will listen to anyone.
The other day a bank teller called him by name.
Billy was astonished.
"She thought I was a real person," he told his father.
People rarely make eye contact much less greet him.
What a shame. They miss meeting a pure creation.
Bill emailed the president of the bank about the teller.
He congratulated him on his influence on his employees.
As a result, she was named Teller of the Month.
She received a paid day off.
"That's good management," Bill said.
Now every teller speaks to Billy when he comes in.
They make him feel like a "real person".
"Maybe we should slow down and listen," Bill said.
"The music on this rare violin is played by a master."
God has given Bill and Anne a true blessing.
Please comment on Post a Comment below.