potential

The Power of Encouragement

Posted on

To be inspired is great ... (Planner)
“Abilities wither under criticism, they blossom under encouragement.  To be a more effective leader of people, be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.”
-Dale Carnegie
Our human spirit has an incredible opportunity to fly when someone encourages us to take our wings.
– Wendy Lindahl

We recently hired a fantastic new Regional Sales Manager at our company and I have enjoyed getting to know her.  She has a tremendous amount of experience, but more than anything I love her passion for helping others realize their potential.  So, it was really interesting to hear her story as I participated with her on a recent conference call.  She spoke about how she started her career working for a company that sold service contracts for utility companies, supporting their sales and marketing team.  It was not the most glamorous job, but eventually she became the youngest Vice President in the company’s history by the time she was 29 years old.  How did this happen?  What was her secret?

In talking to her about how she achieved such success early in her career, she was quick to acknowledge that she would not be the same person today had it not been for a mentor at this company who saw something in her, that she did not see in herself at the time.  She said that this mentor was willing to take a chance on her, and began to encourage and challenge her.  She stated, “He pushed me to succeed and to challenge my self-imposed boundaries.  And as I was given new responsibilities, I gained valuable experience and a new understanding of what I could personally achieve.  I learned firsthand the power of having someone believe in you.”

I loved hearing this story.  It made me think of another story told by Dale Carnegie about a young boy working in a factory in Naples, Italy who had dreams of one day becoming a great singer.  However, his first teacher discouraged him, telling him he could not carry a tune and he was not meant to be a singer.  Nevertheless, his mother, a poor peasant woman, expressed her belief in him.  She took every opportunity to notice any improvements in his singing and she went barefoot in order to pay for his music lessons.  The praise and constant encouragement from his devoted mother changed the boy’s life.  His name was Enrico Caruso and he went on to become one of the most famous opera singers of his time.

Enrico Caruso

Dale Carnegie goes on to suggest, “If you and I will inspire the people with whom we come in contact to the realization of the hidden treasures they possess, we can do far more than change people – we can literally transform them.”  I know each of us can probably think back on a time when words of encouragement or praise made a difference in our lives.  May we pay it forward by lifting and inspiring those around us each day.

Look for opportunities to lift others by offering encouragement and praise.  See in them, what they cannot yet see in themselves.  Help others live a life inspired!

~ JBE

#LiveALifeInspired

Related articles

This entry was posted in Inspiration & Success and tagged , , , , , , , .

Live Inspired

Posted on

live a life inspired
There is no passion to be found in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.
– Nelson Mandela
The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.
– Kobe Bryant 

A few weeks ago I was at a local restaurant and on the wall there were pictures of people surfing and having fun with the words “Live Inspired”.  This caught my eye, probably in part because it is so similar to the tagline I helped come up with for our company, which is “Live a Life Inspired”.  I loved seeing the interpretation they applied to living inspired.  In fact, it made me think about how everyone may have a different idea of what it may mean to live inspired.

live inspired

I recently looked up the word inspired in the dictionary.  One definition is “of extraordinary quality, as if arising from some external creative impulse or with divine assistance.”  So, in this context, living a life inspired could be living a life of extraordinary quality with the help or assistance from an external power greater than ourselves.  This certainly seems to be consistent with the experiences I’ve had in my own personal life.  For instance, I know there have been times in my life where I have felt motivated to do something, because it seemed the right thing to do in my heart.  It has been at these times that I seem to act with a higher degree of passion, enthusiasm, and intensity.  Perhaps this is what yields the extraordinary that is associated with inspiration.  Perhaps this is a part of the divine assistance we also receive as we realize our own capabilities and unlock our true potential.  

I love the quote by Thomas Edison that says, “If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.”  As we are inspired, we unlock the greatness inside of us.  Inspiration can be the catalyst that prompts us into action, which helps us realize what we are truly capable of.  And when inspiration leads us to action, the extraordinary can happen!

Unleash your potential today.  Let the extraordinary happen.  Live a life inspired!

~ JBE

#LiveALifeInspired

Related articles

This entry was posted in Inspiration & Success and tagged , , , , , , , , , .

Unleashing Human Potential

Posted on Updated on

Image

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you are right.”

– Henry Ford

“Inaction is the enemy of success.”

– Jeff Erickson

This past week, I had the privilege of attending an executive training event in Scottsdale, Arizona.  The theme for the event was “Unleashing Human Potential” and I was asked to share a story about a young woman who recently started selling for our company.  Her story is both inspiring and motivational – so I wanted to share it here.

Heather is 25 years old and lives in the small town of Crystal, North Dakota, which has a population of 138 people.  In May, her little town was devastated by terrible flooding.  Heather’s fiancée was out until 3am helping with sandbags, thinking their home was high enough that it wouldn’t be impacted.  When he got home, their entire basement was full of water.  To make matters worse, the flooding destroyed many of the farms in the area, and her fiancée did not receive any of his bonuses they were counting on as they were planning to get married.

Heather has an adorable 15-month old daughter and wants to be a stay-at-home mom, which is one of the reasons she was interested in working out of her home selling for our company.  In July, she decided to borrow some money from a friend and signed up to start her business with our company. With only 36 families in her small community, many of our other sales people would suggest that Heather had a significant disadvantage.  However, instead of focusing on things she couldn’t do, she decided to focus on what she could do to make her new business as successful as possible.

She realized her opportunity may be limited if she just focused on her small home town, so she started researching how she could also reach more people through the Internet and social media.  Heather said she has always loved following her friends on Facebook with her phone, so she started researching different ideas on how to build a Facebook following.  Within her first sixty days she had created her own Facebook business page and had accumulated over 40,000 followers.  In her second month with our company, she was #1 in sales and #1 in recruiting new team members.  She followed this up by being top in sales and recruiting the next month as well with record-breaking numbers.  Heather and her fiancée were married earlier this month, and she is still on track to be among the top sellers for the company for the third month in a row.

What makes this story even more remarkable is the fact that Heather did not even have a computer until a few weeks ago.  She accomplished all of this using just an iPhone.  With last month’s commission check she decided to purchase a new laptop computer and she commented, “This is so much easier!”  But the lesson is, she did not allow herself to be slowed down or discouraged because of the fact she didn’t have a computer.  She did not let anything prevent her from getting started.

In our business, it is not uncommon to hear complaints about all the things preventing people from selling more or reaching the next levels of success.  It may be a complaint about the software system, marketing materials, or various limitations and challenges they encounter.  It is often easy to focus on what is wrong and why you can’t.  However, by focusing on what we can’t do, it creates a state of paralysis and often prohibits us from taking action.  And inaction is the enemy of success.  On the other hand, thinking of what we can do helps us formulate an initial plan, which helps us break the force of inertia and start moving.  With movement, success becomes a possibility.  Once we are moving, we can then assess our direction and make necessary adjustments.  And as we direct our actions forward, possibility gradually turns into the reality of success.

To unleash your own potential, focus on what you can do.  Start moving and direct your actions toward success.  Live the life you’ve imagined.  Live a life inspired!

~ JBE

Related articles

This entry was posted in Inspiration & Success and tagged , , , , , , , , .

Keep an Eye on Your Why

Posted on Updated on

Image

“The purpose of life is a life of purpose.” – Robert Byrne

“Our happiness in many ways ties directly to our inner voice that forever asks the question – Are you moving toward your dream?”  – Mac Anderson

“If your why doesn’t make you cry, it’s not big enough.”  – Suzie Read

I recently had the spontaneous opportunity to talk to a close friend of mine who has been trying to do some new things and create some new opportunities.  She was getting a little frustrated, because things didn’t seem to be happening as quickly as she would like.  As we spoke, I asked her to step back for a minute from thinking about what she is doing, and instead consider the question why she is doing it.  I asked her, “What is your why?”

Tears immediately welled up in her eyes and she could barely get the words out of her mouth.  Wiping the tears from her face, she proceeded to try and verbalize the purpose behind what she wanted to do.  She quickly began to realize that the numerous tasks she has been so focused on (the “what”) were all simply small means to a much larger and more meaningful purpose or end.  With this realization she was able to immediately identify certain tasks she was doing that might not necessarily be aligned with her overall objective.  However, it became equally clear that there were other activities she was doing that seemed to be in perfect alignment with her why.  As we talked more about these particular activities, the debilitating frustration gave way to a new found passion and motivation that was powerful and full of positive energy.

I’ve seen this over and over again throughout my experiences in working with young people and adults alike.  When there is meaning and purpose behind what we are doing, suddenly our actions take on new life and become more intentional and powerful.  This in turn helps us to focus and make greater strides in the direction of our intended purpose.  Some refer to this as the power of intention.  I like to think of it as the power of knowing your why.

So, what is your why?  Take the time to verbalize it and then write it down.  Better yet, put it on your wall or somewhere you will see it every day.

Focus on the bigger picture.  Keep your eye on your why!

~ JBE

Related articles

This entry was posted in Inspiration & Success and tagged , , , , , , .