If you know me personally, or have read my articles before, you know I am a goofball. There is nothing subtle about me or my sense of humor. I'm sure a psychoanalyst could write reams of data about what is wrong with me. I'm blatant, crude, way over the top, off-color, and often offensive.
But that is me and my blog, NOT my work as either a consultant or as a marketing executive in my previous life. Because my blog is personal (as I think all good ones should be) it is the genuine me, burrs and all.
However, when I am working with a client, the suit goes on, the language is toned down, and humor, which defines me as a person, is actually rarely used as a marketing vehicle at all. It kills me, but there are SO many pitfalls if used inappropriately, it is often just not worth the risk for a client.
Sometimes I get lucky and a client and their audience have a very similar tone and market as me. In that rare case, our marketing results are just off the charts, but those cases are few and far between.
Being a guy who places tremendous value in humor, I offer these 6 tips for using humor in your own marketing materials. Use at your own risk.
1. Be Genuine
There are many types of humor: Subtle, sarcastic, slapstick, off-color, clever, etc.
What you need to figure out is which one you are. I am definitely the slapstick, off-color type. What can I say - I realize I am a large child, and **** jokes still ***** me up. Compare that to Mikey, a good friend of mine (he hates when I call him that…It's Mike, thank you.). He has a fantastic subtle sense of humor. He is the type that rarely pipes up, and you really have to pay attention; But, when he says something funny, it is obviously well thought out, and it always frigging kills me.
The point is that there is NO WAY I could pull off Mikey's type of humor. Because I am so over the top 99% of the time, it would just get lost in the commotion. On the flip side, Mikey would look like a total idiot and loose all respect of people if he tried what I do. You can't be quiet and mild mannered and then randomly start singing about your love of string cheese in the middle of the supermarket. It just don't work.
If you are going to use humor, make sure it is your real humor, and not what you think your audience wants. Nothing is more cringeworthy than a joke that receives dead silence. In almost every case it comes from poor delivery, which is usually the result of not feeling 100% comfortable and confident in what you are doing. It works the same way in marketing. If your humor does not match that of your audience, take my advice - Don't use it.
That was a super fancy segue into our next section if I do say so.
2. Know the audience…WELL
It is so super important to always know your audience when you are marketing. When using humor, it is doubly so. Not all people find the same things funny. Some type of humor (particularly mine) will even turn people away who would otherwise be customers. If your product or business paints it prospects with a broad brush, it is an absolute necessity that you niche out your segments if you want to try a shot a humor. Try your best not to let the segments cross paths.
Why? Because consensus humor is just not funny. If you try to make humor fit every audience, it will not fit ANY audience. If you have ever worked for a large corporation, you know that marketing creative is often brainstormed and approved by a group of marketing execs. I genuinely believe that that type of marketing usually ***** as it is so watered down to reach a consensus that it is also too watered down to earn a customer reaction. The same thing happens with humor.
3. Know how the audience views YOU
I have the luxury of hand picking my audience for my blogs and articles. I have built my sites from the ground up with the same tone and humor the entire time. If you like it, you stay, if not, you leave – and I'm totally cool with that.
When you are working with another business, or as a representative for a business that is not an exact replica of you, this is not the case.
What you really need to figure out is how the audience views you. And that will tell you if the type of humor you are using fits. If your audience perceives you as a "subtle", then they are probably following you because they are "subtles" too. That tells you that the humor needs to be subtle as well.
Going back to points 1 and 2, if you are not a "subtle" as well, you have two options:
Option 1:. Don't use humor. or
Option 2: Find a Mikey with a great subtle sense of humor and let him lead the creative.
4. Take risks if you can
The key point of this is "if you can." This really depends on your type of humor, how risky the material is, and how big the potential upside is.
Everybody knows that the bigger the risk, the bigger the return. I'm finding that out in great detail with my own blog. Whenever I post a article that is a bit offensive and off color, the traffic for those posts usually goes through the roof. My article called "Retards and the Chinese" is a perfect example of this. To sum up, I received a few angry posts and emails about my casual use of the word "retard." The article that addressed those comments was designed specifically to push peoples buttons and provoke a response. And it really did. But, truth be told, I was biting my nails for the entire week after I posted it. I got lucky, but it could have been a disaster.
The point is that it was a calculated risk. I knew that my audience base was predominately outspoken and thick skinned, so I figured they could take it. I was also very careful to turn the article sympathetic towards me after I ruffled everyone's feathers. It worked well, but definitely took some time to get just right. I probably rewrote the closing paragraphs about 10 times.
5. Know when to say no
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no point being a damn fool about it" - WC Fields
Sometimes humor is just not the right choice. Yes it is fun, yes it can produce fantastic results, but yes, it can also kill you if done wrong. If you find yourself on the negative side of any of the above tips, then just stop. It's not worth it.
The key to humor is 100% confidence. If you are not true in your humor, if your audience is not into your humor, or if your audience image of you is not congruent with your humor, then your chances of success can not possibly outweigh the potential risks of using it.
Stick with the tried and true marketing vehicles that have worked for you in the past. They will not get the big results you are hoping for, but you won't shoot yourself in the foot either.
Also, as a final caveat on know when to say no. Some things are just inherently not funny and should not be taken lightly. I wouldn't recommend using humor under any circumstances to market when people have been injured physically or emotionally or are truly in need of help.
A great example that comes to mind is the recent Cash4Gold commercial that aired during the Super Bowl (I reviewed it and other ads on my blog recently). It starred Ed McMahon and MC Hammer pawning all their goods because they were broke. It was supposed to be funny. Not only did it not work, but it made me feel bad for the stars. If you think about the underlying context of WHY someone would be selling their stuff to a pawn shop and how desperate their situation must be, I think you would agree that there is nothing really funny about that.
6. Thicken your skin
Jokes flop. Even the best comedians will tell you that. If edgy, they will also offend some people. It's gonna happen sooner or later. My final piece of advice is to grow a thick skin. Not everything will work the first time. As with stand up comedy, humor in marketing often takes a while to work out phrasing and timing.
At my site, I often push the edge on what is "professional." After all, I am a serious and professional business person. I have a ton of real experience and have made a ton of real money. But that often does not jibe with the image I represent, especially on first impression.
Most people who stick around past the first article will usually become fans –loyal motivated fans - for a long time, but that does come at a price of losing a good percentage of visitors who just don't get it or cannot get past the apparent professional/goofy disconnect.
That is a trade off I am willing to accept. I am 100% confident and 100% congruent to my personality on my site, so I can weather the comments and criticisms that I occasionally get. If I were not, I'm not sure I would be able to stomach someone truly thinking I am an idiot and what that might mean to my reputation.
I'll end with a great quote that sums up a lot of what I do on my own site, and being the spaz I am, my general approach to humor. It's simple, but says quite a bit.
"I\’m not funny. What I am is brave. " - Lucille Ball Stay Cool. JJ
That’s my prescription for whatever ails you…the markets, a speeding ticket, a less-than-great mood…you name it.
I’m delighted to have spent some quality time with Andy Andrews on Saturday at the Mark Victor Hansen MEGA Speaking event in Los Angeles.
We shared lunch together and talked of “noticing” even the little things, and the importance of having fun, something we both do a lot of.
My personal favorite is to remind myself that over a billion Chinese don’t even know I’m having a challenge right now. That helps to reframe my personal “issues” and put them in perspective in a hurry.
So with the stock markets and real estate valuations sliding I remember the giddiness of the 33.36% returns of US Stocks in 1997, followed by 28.58% in 1998 and 21.04% in 1999 as well as the 26.37% return of Real Estate investments in 2000, followed by 13.93% in 2001, 3.82% in 2002, 37.13% in 2003, 31.58% in 2004, 12.16% in 2005 and finally 35.06% in 2006. You don’t see those numbers being touted these days do you? Yet we all experienced and benefited by them, didn’t we?
It’s only natural that these high flying returns would cycle downward and trough for a few months and years. We women personally understand cycles and accept them, so it’s not a big psychological leap to recognize the markets’ cycles. We may not LIKE the downward cycles, yet it’s pointless to fight them.
It’s a great use of our energy however to strategize how we will enjoy these times. Months ago, I ordered the greatest Carol Burnett skits DVDs for my parents for Christmas, and I must admit I broke into them and watched 3 of them already. I’ll rationalize to them as they open an already-opened- package, that I leveraged my investment, cause they are HILARIOUS!
You see, we can compound our laughter too. Next time you are laughing so hard, just gently touch the knuckle on your pinky finger to “anchor” in that great feeling. Then, you can fire off that anchor later by gently touching that same spot, when you need to go back and experience and feel that great feeling. It’s there, we just have to remember to access it.
Same with our common sense about investing. It’s there, we just have to remember to access it. Stay tuned for some basics about investing in future posts. First rule: if you don’t understand it, don’t buy it, especially is someone is earning a commission for selling it to you.
A marriage ceremony should be accorded a certain level of seriousness should not be downplayed. However, one should also realize that this occasion is a happy one and to that it should be treated so. This helps one to have happy memories of the entire occasion, thus creating a memorable event. People remember happy occasions in their lives would want to maintain that feeling for as long as they live. A nuptials ceremony is one such occasion. Weddings should stir beautiful memories for years and have certain elements unique to them. As such, incorporating something humorous is one way to make sure those memories will remain in the minds of, not only the audience, but more importantly, on the minds of the couple. Since, this ceremony occurs once in its original form, many people have come with ingenious methods to make the occasion memorable and exciting. One of these is employing funny marriage vows.
In nearly all marriages, vows are recited by a couple before the entire audience, promising their commitment to each other, for the rest of their married lives. Going out of the norm and reciting those vows in a funny humorous way or simply making them a subject of laughter will put everybody at ease. Most weddings in many cities all over Canada incorporate such funny moments. Cities like Toronto, Ontario, Markham, Brampton, Mississauga and Niagara Falls has many writers of nuptials vows, and some specialize in writing funny marriage ceremony vows.
If one is working with a marriage ceremony planner, many of them, especially in Toronto and other large cities will recommend certain wedding houses that also can help in writing funny marriage vows. Toronto weddings and Mississauga weddings are known to incorporate such funny experiences. Having a wedding photographer or a wedding videographer put these moments on film will help people relive them for the rest of their lives.
Alternatively, one may decide to write his or her own nuptials vow and put in a funny comment or something to that effect. Funny wedding vows should however, not be offensive to anyone in the audience. They should not contain offensive, off color jokes or vulgar language. They should also be easily understood, and appreciated by the audience. Usually many humorous books and movies can help when thinking of something humorous. Finding something funny at about the two couples that they have in common or something they don not have in common will make the vows more personalized and touching to both.
Putting some humor in a generally stressful day will keep the couple at ease. It can be especially difficult to concentrate writing the vows as the nuptials day draws close. What can one look for when writing a funny marriage ceremony vow? If one for the couples is a sports fan, an animal lover, a marriage vow can incorporate a comment to that effect. Being creative and trying to express exactly how one feels will help too. As one looks, back on those memories while viewing the wedding video, those happy moments when the two exchange their funny marriage ceremony vows will definitely cement the bond of marriage and make their nuptials a happy union as long as they are together.
In the recent years, many products have been released in the market to help men increase their success with women. Many of the books and audio programs contained information on specific tips and techniques to help men chase women and land dates with them.
According to Swinggcat, an up-and-coming dating guru and seduction specialist, most of these ’self-help for men’ products were fundamentally flawed. “Some of these books and audio courses have some great ideas,” he said. “However, a lot of what they say is coming from the wrong frame.”
Swinggcat, a former student of the originator of Speed Seduction Ross Jeffries, wrote a book which he called the “official underground book of dating secrets most women don’t want you to know”, aptly titled Real World Seduction. A rising seduction guru in his own right, he was ranked as the number one pickup guru by Joseph Matthews (aka Thundercat) in his popular blog, “Thundercat’s Seduction Lair”.
How real world seduction is different from what we read in magazines or watch on TV
The basic premise of real world seduction is the paradigm shift in defining who the ‘prize’ is in a social interaction. For example, if a man chases a woman, the woman is automatically assumed to be the prize. Based on this idea, Swinggcat’s solution to the dilemma of ‘chasing women’ is to stop chasing them, but instead start to ‘prize’ them. “Prizing is getting a woman so emotionally charged that she is compelled to court, chase and pursue you,” says Swinggcat.
Note that this is different from what we watch on TV or in the movies where the men would automatically assumes the role of the ‘chaser’, and thus portrayed as the one with lower social value compared to the woman (or the ‘chasee’).
How to be the prize? Men who are the prize consistently display a set of attributes which women find attractive. Below is a list (not exhaustive by any means) of the traits of the man who is the prize. Let’s go through some of these traits.
1. A strong leader. Men who are the prize are not afraid to take the lead. Unsurprisingly, leadership is a characteristic which would turn on most women.
2. A chooser. Men who have high standards (not only in choosing women they want to be with but also in all aspects of their lives) have high appeal to women.
3. A challenge. It is human nature that we only treasure things which require work in order to possess them. By being challenging, a man would increase his value in the eyes of the woman.
Swinggcat further outlines many more characteristics of the ‘prize’ (having sense of humor, being comfortable with themselves, and being vulnerable among others) in Real World Seduction. In conclusion, real world seduction centers on the ‘prizability’ of the man, and the role reversal whereby the woman who is traditionally assumes the role of the ‘chasee’ becomes the chaser instead. By adopting this mindset, the man would find themselves in an advantageous position in interacting with the woman, where the woman would feel compelled to chase the man instead.
When something provokes laughter, evokes a smile or creates a general air of cheerfulness it is termed as humor. When this humor is printed, either in the form of pictures or text on a t-shirt it is known as a funny t-shirt. Funny t-shirts are flooding the market and every other person sports a wise ***** these days. They have captured the pulse of the young and the old alike. Funny t-shirts are considered to be hip as they are considered to be signs of a positive, aggressive and a more vibrant persona.
If you want to stand out with your funny t-shirt the way to go is to get a custom funny t-shirt. Custom made funny t-shirts are those on which the message to be printed is decided by the user. The buyer can both decide on the content as well as the presentation of the content. In short, the buyer can design an entire funny t-shirt all by himself. The idea of designing a funny t-shirt is quite exciting and gets the creative juices flowing, and the actual process of designing is mentally stimulating. The end product, in most cases provides for creative and mental satisfaction as it is a piece of art designed by you.
While designing funny t-shirts it is the content that is of prime importance. Content varies from person to person and from funny t-shirt to funny t-shirt. It depends on the individual preferences and the mindset of the person involved. If the person is overtly out-going, he is most likely to choose an aggressive and dominating message, on the other hand some people swear by subtlety. In most cases, a funny t-shirt is subtle and the humor is more implies than direct. However subtlety is entirely lost on some people and the required impact is not made.
The content that is printed is in a wide variety of forms, ranging from text to pictures to comic strips to hand gestures. Text and hand gestures are the most popular funny t-shirts. Hand gestures range from obnoxiously rude to polite ones. Comic strips printed on funny t-shirts are slowly becoming a rage. Usage of text in a funny t-shirt is the oldest and most common method by far. Words when used in the right manner are effective, but it can also be a double edged sword if not handled with care. Word play is very important. It is also important not to offend any particular community or religion. Keeping this in mind a custom funny t-shirt can be designed.
Pictorial funny t-shirts have the most impact, as unlike words actions cannot be miss-constructed. To display the ill effects of smoking tobacco a skull with a burning cigarette can be use. Simple yet quite effective! The user can also take a dig at celebrities and politicians with satirical cartoons. It is quite clear that a funny t-shirt has become a medium for transmission of one’s thoughts and the advertisement of one’s persona. Funny t-shirts are the way to go.
Being asked to be the Wedding MC can be a nerve-wracking experience for many men. Responsible for making sure the reception timetable is adhered to, the wedding MC is also expected to be funny, although he doesn’t give a speech unless he is also best man - the role was traditionally performed by the best man, but these days is often a separate function. However, the wedding MC is required to speak in public when introducing the speakers and making other announcements.
How to Prepare Your Wedding MC Jokes
The good news about weddings is that people will tend to laugh at anything that is even remotely funny and so your wedding MC jokes don’t need to be the best you’ve ever heard. However, delivery and timing certainly help, so you should prepare your jokes in advance and practice speaking them aloud.
A warm, friendly manner will go down well and make people more predisposed to like what you say. Don’t try and be the center of attention, and make sure the jokes you use are appropriate for everyone invited to the wedding. The guests are likely to comprise of all age ranges from toddlers to the elderly and so don’t say anything that might offend!
If you’re not a natural comedian - and lets face it, not many of us are - then you may be short of jokes. Most people can only remember a few, so it can really be helpful to invest a few dollars in a Wedding MC Jokebook. While some of the jokes may have been used before, they are tried and tested and you’ll also get tips of delivery from professional comedians and your performance can really benefit.
Example Jokes
The jokes below are just a selection from the Wedding MC Jokebook, but may give you some ideas to get started.
Example 1
Why are husbands like lawnmowers? They’re hard to get started, they emit foul odors, and don’t work half the time.
Example 2
A young couple was called to heaven before they could be married. The disappointed groom asked St. Peter if it would still be possible for them to get married.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to wait,” St. Peter replied. If you still want to get married we will talk about it.”
Five years passed and the couple came back. They asked to be married again. St. Peter said, “Sorry, you’ll have to wait five more years.”
They waited another five years and St. Peter said they could be married. The wedding was beautiful and at first the couple was happy, but then they realized they made a mistake. They now asked St. Peter if they could get a divorce.
“What?” St . Peter asked. “It took us 10 years to find a minister in heaven, and now you want a lawyer?”
Example 3
After a young couple brought their new baby home, the wife suggested her husband should try his hand changing diapers.
“I’m busy” he said, “I’ll do the next one.”
The next time came around and she asked again. The husband looked puzzled.
“Oh, I didn’t mean the next diaper. I meant the next baby!”
Practicing your Wedding MC Jokes
Once you’ve prepared your jokes, you should make a note of them - just enough to remind you of what they are. Also start to plan when during the day you are going to say them. Only use one at a time, otherwise people will start to think you’re stealing some of the limelight from the bride and groom.
Since you need to announce what happens when, you should consult the bride and groom to find out what their plans are. Write this all down with approximate timings so that on the big day you don’t have to do it all from memory - a sure-fire road to disaster.
Once you have a list of what you need to do and when, and notes on the jokes you should start to think about what you’ll say during the announcements. In addition to your wedding MC jokes you need to pass of information too!
Practice what you’ve planned until you are comfortable with it. Once you start on the wedding day, you’ll tart to enjoy the role and relax. And once people laugh at your comments then you’ll be able to really enjoy yourself.
The world we live on is nothing but a mound of chaotic pressure that is building to the point it bursts like a volcano. We are bombarded with pressure from our employers, our customers and families to the point where some people actually do break. Most of us today in professional lives spend between 8 and 16 hours a day at the office, which equates to almost two-thirds of our lives being in a place we really do not want to be in, but there are things you can do to decrease the stress in your office.
Remember this, what we call stress, is really what we put on ourselves. Whilst other people can influence the way we feel, ultimately we are the ones who choose whether we are going to be stressed or not. You are in control of how you are going to feel, no one else. Stress as such is going on in our heads, so the real secret to de-stressing is to find things that would make you happy and content within.
#1. Have a Photo Of The Happiest Time In Your Life
Think back through your life, what is the happiest moment in your life. It could be the birth of your child, getting married, going out on a fantastic date, visiting some outstanding place or maybe it is when you bought your puppy dog but no matter what it is, you will almost certainly have a photo of that time. Take that photo and put it on your desk to remind you of those happy times as this will be one of the tools you need to beat stress in your office.
The happiest time in my life, and where I felt like the luckiest man in the world, was the day my wife stepped out of the limousine at the church for our wedding. I had never seen my wife look so beautiful and I made sure when I felt those feelings that I would remember them forever. So on my desk at work, I have a picture of my wife getting out of the limousine and each time I feel stressed I simply take a few moments to look at that picture and remember that moment in time. You brain is an amazing part of your body, no matter how many times I look at that photo, my brain releases the same feelings I had on the day and helps me snap out of feeling stressed.
Use the happy times, to control the times when you feel the most vulnerable and stressed.
#2. Think Of Your Boss Yelling At You Naked
Everyone has nightmare stories of their bosses being a grouch and I certainly have had my fair share, but most people who talk of being excessively stressed often relate that stress to a boss who is abusive and yells a lot. Well first off, if you are working in an environment where you boss is abusive, get out NOW! Nobody has to put up with that and remember life is way to short regardless of the money. Is money worth that much that the stress is worth dying tomorrow from a heart attack? NO!
However, if you have a boss who yells at you a lot, just for the sake of yelling and really is quite rude, simply imagine them yelling at you *****. If someone flew into your office absolutely starkas, that is with absolutely no clothes on, would you take them seriously. Course not! So, why take a boss that comes in and yells at you seriously. If your boss is an effective communicator he or she would not need to yell at you.
The next time your boss comes in, force yourself to think of them absolutely *****. When you do that, see just how you actually react and whether you deal with the situation better than when they are yelling at you absolutely *****. After a bit of practice you will find you are able to handle the situation much better and cope with a grouchy boss.
#3. Get Up and Do Some Office Exercises
Look no one on the planet can deny that doing exercise, gets the blood going and burns off the stress however sneaking away during the day can be really difficult but there are other Office Exercises that can bring you a lot of benefit to you. There are many office exercises that you can do like rolling your shoulders, clenching your hands and releasing them and even neck exercises that will help release the stress.
Often, much of our built up stress is simply due to sitting at the computer all day looking at the screen. Make sure that every hour you get up and stretch for at least five minutes. You will find that if you do not do that over a period of time this will lead to aches and pains, which can help increase your stress.
To get the best Office Exercises for you to do simply talk to your General Practitioner or visit a Physiotherapist and they will be able to help you develop an Office Exercise plan and you will be surprised how much easier life is to cope with.
#4. Schedule Enough Time to Go From One Meeting To Another
I worked for a bank about five years ago and I have never met an organisation that has so many meetings. My whole days constituted going from one meeting to another and I learnt one very important lesson. If I did not run my schedule my meetings would. Make sure that when you schedule an appointment or a meeting that you include travel time to and from a meeting.
Whilst working for this firm, if you did not schedule travel time, they would simply book meetings next to each other even if the meeting was across the other side of the city. They would simply expect you to immediately appear at that other meeting.
Message to All Humans - we do not have an instant teleporter, the Stargate is a fantasy, so make sure you give yourself enough time to get from one meeting to another or you are going to stress out.
#5. Plan Your Day
We talked about scheduling time to get from one meeting to another in the previous point but there is an extension to this. Make sure YOU plan your day, not your business associates. All too often I hear management say, “I did not get lunch today” or ” I have been on the run and have not had a chance to stop”. Come on, get a grip, you are in control and it is up to you.
The first thing you should do in every job you work in, is to make sure you schedule two decent breaks a day which include at least half an hour for lunch and a 20 minute break somewhere else in the day. If you are like most people you will be using something like Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes to manage your day. Both allow you to schedule unavailable time in your calendar, so do IT!
By scheduling YOU time, you can ensure you have enough time to have a break, do a little meditation and relax and prepare for the rest of the day. If you are like me and work 16 hours a day, then you should also be putting into your plan a decent Dinner break of at least an hour and half an hour at the gym, even if it is just using the treadmill. If you do not do this, it will catch you up to you and you will be a statistic at 40. Do not laugh, my leading hand lost his life because he did not do the right thing. It can happen to you.
#6. Limit the Amount of Time Spent Dealing With Emails
Technology is a wonderful thing, but when technology rules your life, then you have a big problem and very quickly technology like email can overwhelm you causing you to become stressed. One of the rules my team and I have in the office is that nobody must respond to emails for more than 60 minutes per day. The reason we have put this rule into place, is that many of my team and our corporate clients spend their whole day emailing each other rather than dealing with the issues at hand.
How often have you received an email on one topic and then have the content of the email go off in another direction right before your eyes? I was working in one corporate organisation as an external consultant and very often all I would do is simply respond to emails all day long and get nothing done. Most of the emails could have been dealt with a 2 second phone call. In one of the offices I was working in, it was an open plan office layout and I had a bloke working directly across from me, who refused to speak to me or anyone else on the floor and all he did was when he had an issue, he would send an email.
This is a crazy way to do business and it does not work and only causes technology stress. My solution, each time he emailed me, I simply spoke the answer back to him. He got the point after a while and my email load went down when he spoke to me rather than emailed me. Technology is supposed to make life easier, not take over your life, so if you have a question and the person is sitting in the next office, get up and knock on their door and ask the question.
By doing this you are undertaking item number 6 which is limiting your emails and item number 3 which is get up and do some office exercises. That little bit of walking will help get the blood flowing through you veins.
#7. Be Prepared To Say “NO!”
We all want to get ahead in the world today and I am sure in everyone there is a little part of us that wants to live the life of Bill Gates and Donald Trump and be as rich as them. However, most of us make the mistake of simply saying yes to everything that is thrown at us. Now whilst that is great to say yes, people like Bill Gates and Donald Trump have teams of people to help them, and in all honesty you maybe on their teams, but all of us are only human and sometimes we simply have to say “NO!”
Where is the point in saying to our bosses, “Yes we will have this 500 page report written for you tomorrow”. When in reality there is absolutely no chance of that occurring. Sometimes in this world you simply have to say no and that does not go just for the boss, it also goes for the customers as well. My team and I have a seven day schedule across the various businesses I run and whilst we do not all work seven days a week, sometimes we do work six days a week to get through our responsibilities. One weekend I had one of our customers, mind you it was 6:30 am on a Sunday morning demand one of my team from our car cleaning business, drop everything and clean their car at 7:00am because an important family member was coming.
There were many responses I could have given, but my simple answer was NO! The customer ranted and raved for about 10 minutes by which time I was imagining them ***** yelling at me, which really was a funny site and then when they were finished and I simply asked them would they be prepared to work all week including Saturday and Sunday for the next 2 weeks and their reply was “NO, My Weekends Are My Own and I am not working them for anyone.” Then I simply responding by saying to them, then there is your answer and I hung up. You know the funny thing, they rang me on Monday morning and apologised and we did the top car cleaning service on their car the following week. I charged them more as well.
Most customers will accept the answer of No when they understand why you are saying No. Some will not, but then do you really need them as customers anyway.
#8. Take your shoes off and walk on the carpet
This is my favorite de-stressing activity and it shocks the living daylights out of everyone. I first met a lady about 10 years ago who was in her early fortys and nothing seemed to shake her stature. She was always calm and never got flustered and I asked her what her secret was and she said, “I always take my shoes off as often as possible so I can stay in touch with the earth”. This was a really prominent statement for me, because I never really thought of my shoes as a tool to disconnect us from our surroundings but if you think about it, it makes sense.
If you go down to the beach, what is the first thing you do. You take off your shoes to feel the sand through you feet and how does it make you feel, relaxed. If you go to the park with the children, what do you do? Take your shoes off so you can run around and have fun or to play in the mud. Whether we realise it or not, when we disconnect ourselves from mother earth we really do start to stress.
I now always take my shoes off when I am working in my office, including my socks just so I can feel something more inspirational under my feet rather than just the hard soles of my shoes. I know another corporate CEO in Brisbane Australia, who used to walk down to Anzac Square every lunch hour to walk on the grass so that he could stay in touch with the world. Hey, if it works in the movie Pretty Woman, surely it must work.
#9. Play Music
Listening to the right type of music is really important when you are trying to reduce stress and find your inner peace. Some music when listened to, whilst stressed, can in fact heighten your stress levels. One type of music, which research has shown to help reduce stress is Baroque music. This music is written so that there is only 60 beats per minute and funny enough that is what our heart rate should be. The baroque music has been found to increase the alpha waves in your left and right sides of your brain which help improve your learning ability, creativity and calmness.
Whilst you are working in the office on a demanding piece of work, simply put in a CDROM of music and listen to it as you are completing the work, but honestly do watch the type of music you are listening to or it can back fire. Most corporate organisations are now realising the benefit of staff listening to music during the day and with 90% of corporate computers having CDROMs, it is possible to listen to music on your computer whilst doing your work, you may just need headphones. I work in hundreds of corporate organisations a year and only one had a no music policy and that was because they were a call centre, which I can understand. There is no reason why you can not listen to music during your break though to ensure you a feeling calm before hitting those phones again.
#10. Meditate
Okay, I can hear it now, “Oh Yeah Hippy, Want Us to Meditate do ya.” Absolutely! Look whilst meditation has certainly been a thing of fringe groups in western society or associated with more eastern religions many researchers are now coming to the distinct conclusion that meditation can make a huge difference to our day-to-day lives and helps us to overcome stress.
The core advantage meditation will play in your office is to help you to relax and deal with challenging situations more effectively. The more relaxed you are the more creative you can be in dealing with any issues that arise. I certainly recommend that when you are meditating, that you use baroque music with your meditation as it will help increase the alpha waves which will help lead you to a calm feeling. This is especially useful if you do not have a long period to meditate. I recommend a 20 minute meditation session at least once a day preferably two. You will be really surprised the difference it makes to your day. Just try it out, you have nothing to loose and the rest of your life to gain
The office environment in these millennia is far more stressful than they were a century ago, but there are things you can do about it but it is up to you. Remember, we only have one life and it is not a dress rehearsal so get out and reduce the stress your office gives you and have some fun. To finish off let me reiterate the ten things you can do to reduce your stress at the office.
#1. Have a Photo Of The Happiest Time In Your Life
#2. Think Of Your Boss Yelling At You Naked
#3. Get Up and Do Some Office Exercises
#4. Schedule Enough Time to Go From One Meeting To Another
#5. Plan Your Day
#6. Limit the Amount of Time Spent Dealing With Emails
It amazes me how often I come across people that really know how to complain. Nobody comes to my site, I set up a website and there's no traffic, I make appointments and they don't show. I don't want to bug my family and friends because I know they're praying that I don't bring up my business to them. I really don't want to pick up the phone and start dialing again.
Every time I hear people complain about the way they market online I get a good chuckle. The first thing I think about is their daily schedule. What are these people doing on a daily basis, are they at the computer checking their emails, or responding to emails, or reading all the jokes they received for the day. I have often spoken to people on the phone and can hear all the distractions going on in the background. To me this is a viable honest to goodness serious business, if you don't treat it like that, what do you expect.
In working with potential business owners, I have instructed them on exactly what to do on a daily basis. When I tell them that they need to do some writing and submit some press releases, articles and blogs, they kind of look at me a little strange. Again, this is not a game or a hobby, this is a serious business, treat it like one. If you spent a million or more dollars for a franchise, would you be checking your emails and sending jokes back and forth to your friends, I think not.
I understand that it is pretty difficult to be disciplined when you're on your own with no one standing over you, but do you want to go back to that JOB and listen to someone else's crap, not me. I know how hard it is to set up a schedule and to follow it, but it's your choice, you always have a choice in every situation. Once you set your pattern for yourself and follow it, it becomes easier as each day passes and before you know it, it's a habit and you don't even think about it.
One way to set up your itinerary on how to market online is to start off small, do one or two things each day toward your business. It might entail doing a little research at first, look at what you are trying to accomplish, what you are planning to say, do or sell. Once you start your research you will get ideas from other information that is out there and there is plenty of information to keep you busy for quite some time.
Another way to come up with ideas is to constantly ask yourself some good questions about your business and what you are trying to achieve. Instead of listening to music or your favorite CD when you're driving, that is the time to be thinking of what you are going to do, your plan of action, your goals, call it what you want, but get the brain zeroed in on your business and how to market online. Again, once you start this process it becomes habit and that's one of the areas that you're after in business is good habits.
There are people out there that really have a problem when it comes to starting a business and working online, the computer becomes very intimidating when it's brand new, I know it was for me. I was totally lost and had no clue as to what was going on. I happen to be a very persistent person and kept on looking until I found people that would take the time and explain different things to me, they are out there. I actually went through a lot of people but am amazed at the really super nice people that you come across working on the net and learning how to market online.
If you are one of those people or know any of those people that are having a tough time trying to develop a business online, then drop me a note and perhaps I can point you in the right direction. If you really have a burning desire to be successful on the net, it can be done, just don't give up, reach out there and eventually you will find what you are looking for.
Being happy isn’t as hard as it appears to be at times. The first thing you have to do is make a choice. That’s right. Decide you want to be happy. Once you make that decision you will find you attract more and more things to be happy about. Just like the snowball of bad things you can create an avalanche of things that feel good.
Here are 12 ways you can get started feelign good. Make sure to keep your eyes open for things to be grateful for while you are out there feeling good.
*Get out there and be with people. Social interaction is a huge part of feeling good. If you can’t get out, get online. There are millions of groups online where you can find people who are interested in the same things as you. If you don’t know how to find like-minded people in your area jump online and check out meetup dot com. It will give you tons of groups on a million different topics of people who are meeting up in your local area.
*Have an attitude of gratitude. You have so much to be thankful for, whether you can see it right now or not. Taking time to thank those who provide even the smallest thing will help you realize how abundant your life is.
*Watch less news. It’s depressing, and filled with nothing but what’s wrong in the world. If you must watch TV find a feel good movie or something that makes you laugh. Laughter really is the best medicine.
*Bring sprituality back into your life. Whether that means going to church, or meditating alone being mindful of spirit is a great way to increase your good feelings.
*Manage your time better. Running around feeling like you are always late and there’s never enough time is stressful. Stress is the destroyer of feeling good.
*Laugh and laugh vigorously everyday. Heard a good joke? Tell your friends or family about it. As they also say -’Laughter is the best medicine’.
*Communicate your feelings, affections, friendship and passion to people around you.
*Let go of anger and frustration. Holding on to these emotions and the energy involved in them is bad for your health. Instead find ways of expressing them in a way that will not cause more injury or hurt to anyone.
*Working hard brings great personal contentment. It gives a sense of being capable in finishing our tasks. Work on things that you feel are valuable of your time.
*Learning is a joyful exercise. Try and learn something new each day. Learning also makes us increase our horizons.
*Run, jog, walk and do other things that your body was made for. Feel alive.
*Create a vision board. Focusing on the things you love and want in your life will make you feel happy. Especially when you spend some time feeling what it will feel like when you have those things in your life.
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