New Business Development – Page 78

When You’ve Been Sprinting

An object in motion
tends to stay in motion.

I find this is true
when I’ve been pushing it,
when I’ve been working hard
for long hours,
I want to continue working hard
for long hours.
I can’t relax.

When we sprint,
it is sometimes hard
to walk.

But we have to slow down
or we will burn out.
We’ll become ill
and that isn’t helping anyone.

What I do
is I refocus that energy.
Instead of writing for 12 hours a day,
for example,
I might spend the day
cleaning out the basement.

That snaps me out
of the routine
yet isn’t as jarring,
as frustrating
as resting,
as no activity.

After a couple days
of unusual activity,
I can usually rest
and recover.

If you can’t rest
after a grueling stretch
of working long and hard,
consider an equally strenuous activity
that is different
from your regular work.

After days of sprinting on the track,
run for a few days through a field.
THEN slow to a walk.

When You Change

If I write outside
a certain reader favorite series,
my new stories
receive a flood of 1 star reviews
on release day.

Some readers think
if they 1 star my stories
in the new series,
I will return to the
reader favorite series
and focus all my efforts there.

(I’m perverse
so their 1 starring actually does
the opposite.
It pushes me to write more stories
in the new series.)

They are punishing me
for trying something new.

Some people don’t like it
when we change.

They don’t care
if we change for the better,
if the change makes us happier
or healthier.

Because their grievance isn’t about us.

It is about them,
about the effort they have to
put in
to adjust to the new us.

Well… f*ck them.
Focus on YOUR happiness,
YOUR version of success.

Make the changes
you want to make
and ignore the resisters.

Giving Advice Outside Your Knowledge Base

Some companies
specializing in marketing fiction
are now branching out
into teaching
how to write that fiction.

It irritates the f*ck out of me
because they don’t write fiction.
They’re compiling information
they found on the internet,
relaying it
and charging for it.
It is often shallow advice,
advice with no familiarity with the nuances
and no real life experience behind it.
Often the advice
is more harmful than helpful.

It makes me question
if they are doing the same
with their marketing advice.
I’ve stopped dealing with
many of them.

THAT is what happens
when we give advice
outside our knowledge base.
Experts know we’re talking out of our a$$es
and they question ALL of our advice.

The easy solution
is to partner with experts.
We send queries and business their way.
They send queries and business our way.

Think before giving advice
outside your knowledge base.

The Cheerleaders

In the movies,
on TV,
characters
rarely tell their significant others
they’re amazing,
they can do it,
they are doing a great job,
they’re doing their best
and that is what truly counts.

In real life,
I tell my salesperson
significant other
this numerous times a day.

I cheer when he accomplishes
a significant task.
I point out small successes
(such as the customer
is still talking to him)
when deals threaten
to go south.
I acknowledge wins
when others don’t.

And he does the same
for me.

Many of us could benefit
from having
cheerleaders,
people we can tell things to
and count on an ego boost,
receive some kudos from.

If you don’t have a person
like this now,
you will likely need
to arrange for one,
coaching them
to be the cheerleader
YOU need.

In exchange,
you could be the cheerleader
THEY need.

Appoint a cheerleader.
This is a key role
and it usually has to be
actively filled.

Value Honest Feedback

My editor told me
the story I submitted to her
dragged a bit in the middle.

That feedback hurt.
I never want to bore anyone.

But it was honest
and much needed feedback.

And my editor risked
our relationship
to give it to me.
She cared enough about the story,
about my branding,
about me
to do that.

I revised the story
and resubmitted it to her,
knowing she would tell me
if it remained boring.

I can trust her feedback.
And she can trust me
to value her feedback.

Honest, caring feedback
is rare and it is precious.
Treat it and the person giving it
that way.

The Rules Are Different For Women

There continues to be heated debate
over whether or not
there should have been an exception made
for tennis player, Novak Djokovic,
re: the Australian Open.

You and I both know
that if Novak Djokovic had been a female,
instead of a white male,
there would be NO debate,
likely no discussion
and very little media coverage at all.

The female tennis player likely wouldn’t even have
an opportunity to appeal the ruling.
And she likely would have fines
inflicted against her.

Different rules still apply to women
vs men.
Men are forgiven for things
(like breaking the rules
or something much more trivial
like expressing emotion)
women are punished for.

If you’re a woman,
remember that when receiving advice
from male mentors.

And remember that
when giving advice
to male proteges.

Our situations are NOT the same.

When You Think Of Loved Ones…

I don’t see many of my loved ones
as often as I’d like.
I’m busy building my writing business
and they live far away.

In the past,
I would tell them,
during our weekly or monthly
hour or more long phone conversations,
I’ve been thinking about them.

But I suspect
they didn’t truly believe that.

So now,
I send them emails or messages
with that one quick line
– I’m thinking of you.

For some people,
I do this daily.
For other people,
I do this multiple times a day.

It takes 30 seconds
but they have physical ‘proof’,
something they can re-read,
can touch with their fingers.

Some of my loved ones
aren’t connected.

For them,
I have a stack of stamped post cards.
I send them the same quick message
– I’m thinking of you.
I sign my name,
address the post cards
and stick them in a mail box.

This has improved our relationships
tremendously.
They feel loved
even when I’m busy with the business building
and can’t spend much time
with them.

When you think of loved ones,
tell them.

Budget For Maintenance Or Replacement

The house I currently live in
is over 25 years old.
Since buying it,
we’ve replaced the roof,
the water heater,
the furnace,
the fence around our property,
have had three MAJOR drain clogs,
a flooded basement
and other issues.

Because that’s what happens
when a house
or any other physical asset ages.
It requires maintenance
or replacement.

Businesses often receive
a tax credit
for the amortization or depreciation
of capital assets.

Some view this tax credit
as a ‘reward’
for having invested in our own companies.

I view it as assistance
for saving toward upcoming maintenance
or replacement costs.

Because capital assets age also.

Your capital/physical assets
will age.
Consider setting aside funds
for maintenance or replacement costs
now
before you desperately need it.

There Is Always An Exception

A couple years ago,
I decided
not to argue with people.

I state my stance
and, if…when
the other person states
an opposite stance,
I nod,
tell them I hear them.

If their stance is interesting,
I ask them questions about it.
If it doesn’t interest me,
I move onto another topic.

And I don’t ever return
to that topic with them.
I’ve heard their thoughts.
I don’t need to revisit that.

This has made my life
SO much more peaceful.
It has reduced my stress
and I think it has improved
my relationships with others.

There’s one exception
– one of my good friends
ALWAYS offers an opposing stance.
ALWAYS.
If I say the sky is blue,
she’ll say it is greenish blue.

We’re running out of topics
to talk about.

Before my no argument policy,
I didn’t realize
she was so perverse.
She LIKES to argue.

If I want to continue
spending time with her,
I’ll either have to
continuously come up with
new topics for conversation
or
I will have to break my rules
for her.

There is always an exception
for every rule.
When you set rules,
think about how you will deal
with that exception.

Everything Is Political

Some writers claim their books
are meant
to merely entertain.
There are no politics in them.

That’s, of course,
bull sh*t.

If the story has
all white characters,
for example,
it sends a message
to readers
about the writer’s world view,
her politics.

If the story has
a variety of characters,
it sends a different message
to readers
about the writer’s world view,
her politics.

Our story choices
reinforce or challenge readers’ views,
whether we make
those choices
consciously
or not.

The businesses we build
are political also.
The stock models we use,
for example,
on websites, in marketing,
often reveal our business’ politics,
our politics
to others.

That I tend to use
female pronouns here on client k
is an expression of who
I envision as the target reader
and
my world views
(female business builders
deserve more representation).

Make these decisions consciously
because people WILL notice
and it WILL impact
your customer base.