Month: May 2017

Yesterday, I was
in an absolutely terrible mood.
I hated everything
and everyone.
Hey, that happens
and that is okay.
We’re human.

When I’m in a bad mood,
I intentionally disconnect
from the world around me.

I’m usually super busy.
This disconnect often causes
a delay.

But I know if I contact
XXX
while I’m in a grumpy mood,
I’ll damage our relationship.
That damage could take
a lifetime to repair.

It is more ‘efficient’
to delay the contact
for an hour, three hours, a day
until I’m in a better place emotionally.

When I worked in an office,
I would make an excuse
and go home
(or take an extended lunch
or simply a walk,
whatever worked).

If you can’t emotionally deal
with a situation right now,
don’t.

One of the things
I love about the writing business is
it is so critical;
I never have to worry
about becoming overconfident.

Overconfidence is a success killer.
If we think we’re skilled
in an area
and we truly suck at it,
we don’t usually feel
a need to improve in this area.
We never get more skilled.

Carmine Gallo
shares

“In 1999,
Cornell University psychology professors
David Dunning and Justin Kruger
wrote a paper titled:
“Unskilled and unaware of it.”

They found that,
in many domains,
people tend to overestimate their skills.

Those same people are hit
with a double whammy.
They are the last to notice
their lack of skills.

According to the researchers,
they performed poorly
relative to their peers
and “were utterly unaware of this fact.””

Search out feedback
on every area,
even the areas
you believe you’re skilled at.

It is very challenging
to keep anything a secret
in today’s world.
Everyone is connected.
Almost everyone has a phone
with a camera and video.
There are Google alerts
and apps
to follow any subject closely.

And you can be certain
your employees
and partners
are following your business
closely.

Information is usually better
coming from your own lips.
You can influence
how it is received.

Chris Ruisi,
founder and CEO,
The Coach’s Zone
shares

“…if you have bad news to tell,
tell it!

Never try to spin the truth
or the facts
to make delivering the message
easier for you.

Stay focused on the issue at hand
and don’t let other issues or challenges
distract you from your outcome.

Never let a difficult personality
get in the way of
communicating the right message.

Remember,
making the decision
is the easy part.
Getting everyone with different views
to buy in and comply
is the real test of a leader.”

If you have bad news,
share it.

I make mistakes
every single day.
Some of these mistakes
are bad decisions.
I might be not as informed
as I should be
or I could be misinformed
or I could,
as Seth Godin mentions,
be looking at the short term,
not the long term.

Seth Godin
shares

“A bad decision isn’t only bad
because we’re uninformed or dumb.
It can be bad
because we are swayed
by short-term comfort
and ignore long-term implications.

A bad decision feels good
in the short run,
the heartfelt decision
of someone who means well.
But there’s a gap
when we get to the long run.”

The good news is…
almost all bad decisions
can be undone.
That requires sucking up our pride
but it is usually worth it.

And remember to look at
both the short time
and the long term
implications of decisions.

A real estate developer
who says he has no ties
to Russia
is lying.

It is almost impossible
to operate in
that industry
without meeting someone
from both the Russian mob
and the Italian mob.

I worked in real estate development
for only a year
at a very low level
and I met dozens of people
from those two groups.

And it is very easy
to prove ties.
A few emails
with anyone Russian.
A few photos, again,
with anyone Russian.
Done.

A better response
is saying
“I have no ties with
XXX.”
or
“I have never spoken
with Russia about YYY.”
THAT could be the truth
and is more difficult to disprove.

Be specific.

A writer I know
is always complaining
about something.
She doesn’t want help.
She merely wants
to vent.

The problem is…
she frames it
in the form of a question.
“Why are boxed sets
only open to bestselling writers?”
“Why won’t readers
review my books?”
“Why isn’t my book selling
a gazillion copies?”

When you ask a question,
you usually get answers.
You attract the attention
of people who genuinely care
and want to help you.
They spend time and effort
doing this.
Only to have that answer
brushed aside.

Which makes them
less likely to help you
in the future
and, ironically, gives you
more things to complain about.

When you want to complain,
don’t do it
in the form of a question.
Save your questions
for when you truly want answers.

I resisted self-publishing
for years.
I was certain I needed
a traditional publisher.
I was certain a
big New York publisher
was the way to go.

Then I wrote a story
no publisher wanted,
a story my agent
wouldn’t even shop to publishers.

I loved this story.
I thought readers
would love it also.

I was forced to self-publish it.

It is my best selling,
highest earning story
of all time.

I also discovered
I LOVED self-publishing.
It would take quite a bit
for me to return to
a traditional publisher.

I went from curling my top lip
at self-publishing
to embracing it
with everything I had.

I won’t lie.
It was hard to admit
I was wrong.
Friends gave me a rough time
about it.
But it was worth it.
Changing my mind
about self-publishing
was the best thing career-wise
I could have done.

Seth Godin
shares

“The reason
it’s difficult to learn
something new
is that it will change you
into someone
who disagrees with
the person you used to be.”

The benefit of
learning and accepting
new things
is worth the challenge
of admitting you’re wrong.

One of my stories
was accepted for a BookBub Deal.
I can’t take full advantage
of this opportunity
due to even bigger opportunities.
I can’t stack ads
to drive sales of the chosen book
even higher.

So I’ve decided,
in addition to benefiting
sales-wise
from the Bookbub Deal,
I’d maximize
the insights gained from it.

Week 1, the book is full price
with no advertising done.
Week 2, the book is reduced
to the Bookbub price
with no advertising done.
Week 3, the book is reduced
to the Bookbub price
and the Bookbub Deal runs.

Comparing the three weeks
will tell me
the impact of a price reduction
AND the impact of a Bookbub Deal.

Try to make every opportunity,
every situation
work harder for you,
even if that doesn’t increase
sales today.