Does Less Ambition Make You Happier – But Also Less Useful?
Ambition, as we have seen this week, can be a mixed blessing. Edison said poignantly, “If I had not had so much ambition and not tried so many things, I probably would have been happier, but less useful.” Is that the tradeoff: Give up happiness for being useful? Do you think Edison’s ambition was for […]
Are There Valid Ambitions Unrelated To Power And Money?
Ambition is most often thought of in terms of money and power. Yet, the word itself can accurately be used to refer to all kinds of human goals. Suppose, for example, that you wanted to pursue a calling of being of service to impoverished people. You are passionate about helping and making a difference. You […]
What Is Your Optimal Relationship To Your Financial Potential?
Among the stickiest places for dealing with potential has been numbers – and particularly financial numbers. Money has been a highly-charged topic for many of us. As a culture, we’ve often been more open about our romantic lives than our financial lives. It’s likely that a key reason for historic difficulty in relating with financial […]
How Do You Feel About “Sales Call Reluctance”?
There has been not inconsiderable resistance in our culture to identifying oneself as a salesperson. Many consider selling to be “beneath” them or somehow inferior to holding a “professional” job. Over 25 years ago, psychologists Dudley and Goodson created a test to measure the degree of “Sales Call Reluctance” which measured 12 different areas that […]
“A Bargain Is Anything A Customer Thinks A Store Is Losing Money On” ~ Kin Hubbard
Selling is a process of communicating sufficient value so that a buyer says “yes” and a sale is consummated. Many buyers perceive higher value if they feel they are being treated as special. Oftentimes, we feel special when offered a bargain, a sale or a premium — among many ways. “Special offers” can be offered […]
Develop 12 Monthly Marketing Touches Per Year
Among the best ideas for business development and expanding sales is the practice of monthly “marketing touches” over at least a 12-month period. You benefit from regular, consistent visibility to clients and prospects. For example, you can establish a three-month rhythm of . . . (1) a call (2) article or general information (3) an […]
Musings On Britain’s First Female Poet Laureate
History was made last week with the appointment of Britain’s first woman Poet Laureate in the 341 years of the existence of the position. It’s telling that Carol Ann Duffy will receive an annual stipend equal to $8,500; yet, it’s a great milestone to have broken the gender barrier even if it did take three […]
How Do You Define Financial Security?
Perhaps, for purposes of this discussion, we can accept that absolute security does not exist . . . in order to allow a practical conversation about relative security. A very simplistic way to define SECURITY is FREEDOM FROM CONCERN OR WORRY. Let’s take on financial security first. Do you consider yourself financially secure? Why or […]
Money Makes the World Go ‘Round?
There’s a line in “Cabaret”: “Money makes the world go ’round.” This is a prevalent . . . and potentially troublesome . . . belief. Is it possible that we have it wrong in our culture when we act as though money can buy happiness? Have love and money ever intersected in your life? I […]
Keeping a Balanced, Healthy Perspective About Money
Money is a highly-charged topic. In our culture where people are often judged by their net worths and their possessions, it may been hard to keep a balanced, healthy perspective about money. There is a tremendous belief system of money myths ranging from the old Puritan point of view that wealth was proof that God […]