Making-Money-Month Is Now!

In Part One, I described the importance of establishing deep, human connections with people you lead. I said there were three ways to do that, by communicating information, by making sense, and by having your experience become their experiences. By far, the most important and most effective way, is the latter.

Now I’ll show you how to make that happen by developing and communicating a defining moment.

Write down three to five of your EXPERIENCES that made a strong impression on you. Describe each in a few sentences or paragraphs. That’s it. Do no more. The important thing now is to deliberately walk through the sequence of defining-moment development. It’s easy to get off track, but once you take the trouble to go through the process, you’ll have it for life.

For instance, an experience that defines much of what I do in leadership happened when my father lay on his deathbed. He and I had struggled for years over conflicting views of my career path, but when he got cancer, the terrible disease led to a healing in our relationship, and for the first time in years, we were able to talk with affection and no recriminations. During a long discussion one afternoon a few weeks before he died, I told him that I felt I had run out of opportunities in my life.

His thin hand, which had been so broad until he became ill (He came from a family of hulking carpenters.) closed around mine, and he said, “Brent, how can you say that? Everyone has opportunities all the time. Look at me. Even me, here, on this bed even I have opportunities!”

I didn’t think much about what he said until after he died, and then his words kept coming back to me. Sort of breaking open in my mind like psychological time-release capsules and releasing bits of understanding. I came to understand what he really meant. And I took that understanding into my life and work.

Since then, I have never lacked for opportunities simply because my father had me see that opportunities are never lacking nor have I allowed the leaders I’ve worked with to lack opportunities.

“Even I have opportunities” is a defining moment, an experience, one that led to profound awareness and purposeful action not for my sake, but for the sake of the leaders I’m consulting with. For the defining moment’s purpose is not to illuminate what you can do, but what they can do.

Now that you’ve written down some defining experiences, you can begin to change them into defining moments. The experience is the raw material; the defining moment is the instrument, shaped from the raw experience, that enables you to reach into the hearts of the people you speak to and motivate them to take action to get results.

1. Select an audience to speak to. It can be one person or many. It can be someone at work, in your family, or in your social circle. This should be an important interaction. You don’t simply want to communicate but to have a communion with the audience.

Don’t expect the defining moment to automatically generate that communion. Often, it simply marks a small step you’re taking in that direction. But that step is the very core of the right beginning.

2. Identify the needs of the audience. This is absolutely crucial to using the defining moment. The defining moment is all about human relationships, and you cannot have a rich relationship with someone unless and until you understand their needs.

3. Once you’ve chosen an audience and identified their needs, go back and select one of the EXPERIENCES you wrote about.

At this point, don’t try to connect that experience to what you are going to say to your audience. We’ll make that connection later. Many speakers try prematurely to make the connection. In doing so, they short-circuit the power of the defining moment. Hold off on making the connection until we’ve gone through a few more steps.

4. Take each experience and identify the physical facts that gave you the emotion. In my father’s case, it was his hand squeezing mine and his smile and gentle words, “… even I have opportunities.”

5. Have the experience be a solution to the needs of your audience. That solution lies in the lesson the defining moment teaches.

Here is the secret: The defining moment exists not for you to point out what you did, but for you to point out what the audience can do. In other words, your defining moment must become their defining moment. If it doesn’t become their defining moment, it doesn’t work.

Take, for example, my defining moment with my father. All the leaders I’ve worked with need to get more results than they’re presently getting. In fact, the leader who is satisfied with the results he or she is getting doesn’t need my help. My methods are not for the satisfied leader. To an audience that needs to get more results, I talk about opportunity, the opportunity to get results. Results are limitless!

When I talk to audiences about such opportunities, I use that defining moment. I say, “What I’m about to tell you isn’t so much about me as it is about you and the unlimited opportunities to get results.” That introduction is vital. It confirms that our interaction is about them and not about me. When my father’s words resonate with their deepest needs, the defining moment works. Otherwise, it’s a waste of their time.

6. Speak to your audience about your defining moment. Make sure it holds a solution to their needs. Don’t have your defining moment stick out awkwardly in your interaction. Have it be a spontaneous, seamless communication said in a natural, relaxed way.

As a leader, you do nothing more important than get results. And the best way for you to get results is not to have people respond to your orders but to motivate them to be your ardent cause leaders. We never know how good we are as leaders unless we are motivating people to be better than they think they are. The defining moment goes a long way in helping make that motivation possible.

2005 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com

The author of 23 books, Brent Filson’s recent books are, THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. - and for more than 20 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: “49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results,” at http://www.actionleadership.com

Gatlinburg cabin rental options range from old-fashioned rustic “log cabins” to cottages, Swiss-style Chalets, and upscale condominiums full of luxurious modern amenities. In addition, hotel and motel rooms are also available for rent in Gatlinburg, a favorite cabin rental destination located in eastern Tennessee. Gatlinburg boasts instant access to beautiful scenery, outdoor activities, shopping, and dining.

While many modern cabins have sprouted up, there are still cabins in Gatlinburg that date back more than two centuries. Founded in the 1800s as White Oaks and later renamed Gatlinburg, the charming town began attracting recreational visitors with the opening of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1934. In the past few decades Gatlinburg has developed into a top-notch vacation spot that welcomes visitors year-round.

In renting your Gatlinburg cabin, you have the choice of a private tucked-away cabin or a more community-centered vacation. Some resort communities feature swimming pool, clubhouses, meeting rooms as well as central patios. Cabins located within such communities are spaced apart to ensure maximum privacy and peacefulness.

Many different types of lodging plans are available: single and double occupancies, family-oriented vacations, corporate rentals, and exclusive wedding and honeymoon packages. Gatlinburg cabin rentals with one bedroom are typically priced from $110 to 150 per night. Two bedroom cabins are typically priced from $120 to $170 per night. Larger family packages, such as three and four bedroom cabins tend to range from $130 through $250 per night, and wedding and honeymoon packages can range anywhere from $250 to over $1,000 for an entire stay.

Gatlinburg cabin rental prices also rise and fall depending on peak or off-peak status. Peak season in Gatlinburg is from January through May, and also includes the months of September, November and December. Off-peak season stretches from June thru August, October, and Major Holiday Periods. In addition, various cabin rental packages often include a free third night and/or discounts to local attractions, such as Dollywood, the Dolly Parton theme park in neighboring Pigeon Forge.

Several cabin rental companies display rates online and can be contacted directly to make reservations.

Gatlinburg Cabins Info provides information on Gatlinburg cabins, Gatlinburg cabin rentals, properties for sale, weddings and related topics. Gatlinburg Cabins Info is the sister site of Pigeon Forge Cabins Web.

In currency technical analysis, the most important theory ever, for understanding market movement, is Dow Theory - but its influence is vastly under estimated by the bulk of traders.

The reasons why every trader (not just currency traders) should look at Dow Theory, and understand it, is the basis of this article. Understand Dow Theory correctly, and incorporate it in your trading strategy - then watch your profits soar.

Predictive Theory V Odds Theory

Many traders look for theories that predict - as they think making money is easy. Of course if they stopped to think about it, they would realize that if predictive theories worked, we would all know the market price in advance - and there would be no market!

Losing traders love theories, such as Elliot Wave, and Gann - which are supposed to scientifically predict market movements in advance - which of course they can’t.

So, forget about joining the far out investment crowd, and traders looking for easy money. Lets look at currency technical analysis with Dow theory - and gain a greater insight into market movement, that can lead to big profits.

In 1901, when writing in the Wall Street Journal, Charles H. Dow compared the stock market, to the tides of the ocean, - and the quote below neatly sums up the theory:

“A person watching the tide coming in and who wishes to know the exact spot which marks the high tide, sets a stick in the sand at the points reached by the incoming waves until the stick reaches a position where the waves do not come up to it, and finally recede enough to show that the tide has turned. This method holds good in watching and determining the flood tide of the stock market.”

Probability is the Key to Currency Trading Success

Like the waves of the ocean, we all know that tides ebb and flow (come in and go out) - but we don’t know the exact spot, or the exact timing - we wait for confirmation.

Dow Theory is a theory of currency technical analysis that doesn’t predict - but gives us a chance to put the odds in our favor.

Just as waves don’t move to an exact scientific theory, neither do markets - but they do move in recognizable patterns - and with currency trading technical analysis, this is what we need to do - spot the patterns with the best chance of success, and trade them for profit.

The basis of currency trading technical analysis lies in getting the odds in our favor - not scientific prediction.

The Development of Dow’s Thoughts

Dow theory has been around for almost 100 years, and even in today’s markets, the basic components of Dow theory remain valid. Dow theory not only addresses technical analysis, and price action - but also market philosophy.

Dow theory as set down by Dow himself, was later developed by two important analysts - Rhea and Hamilton, who take enormous credit for developing Dow theory, and bringing it to a wider audience.

Why is Dow Theory So Significant?

In today’s world of trading, many traders think that trading is easy - vendors, who peddle predictive theories, and easy ways to make money, perpetrate this hype.

However, even with the huge advances in computers, and the data crunching available today, there is no way of predicting the market - and their never will be.

Dow theory though, gives any sensible trader, a great form of currency technical analysis, which can get the odds in their favor.

We will cover the basics of this important currency technical analysis theory in part 2 of this article - where we show you how you can use the theory to enhance your profit potential.

New! A valuable FREE Currency Trader CD containing 9 critical trading reports, tips, strategies and technical analysis. Visit our web site now and grab your CD http://www.tradercurrencies.com

What if there is no toilet paper and I am halfway through doing the “do”?

What if one of my team members decides to leave the project halfway and he happens to be the most knowledgeable guy there?

What if I turn colour blind, how should I adapt to the environment?

What-if, what-if and more what-ifs…

The technique of asking What-ifs provokes an individual to think and to produce something new. At times, in order to find original solutions to old problems, one must take the leap of faith and ask ‘crazy’ and imaginative questions to get us out of the rut of stale, conformist routine.

So, when you are walking, relaxing and or plain daydreaming, practice the techniques of What-ifs and have a ball of a time stimulating your brain juices!

You never know when your What-ifs Questions and Answers (Q&A) practice sessions could come in handy in sprouting innovative solutions to everyday problems.

I was just wondering about the invention of the mobile phone (or cellphone). Could it be the result of several fun and crazy What-ifs sessions among some guys in a restaurant, just talking off-the-cuff? What kind of questions could lead them into the invention of our beloved mobile phone? Hmm..

The questions asked could be the following:

• What if I go out and I cannot receive an urgent phone call from my wife? (Especially when I am out so late and so often)

• What if I have to make an emergency call and there is no public phone around? (Where’s the fire truck when you need one?)

• What if I cut the wires of my home telephone and bring the phone along with me? (That could be COOL! No more getting entangled!)

One must remember that the What-ifs techniques are often used more to excite your imagination, not to develop a real solution to your problem. Though it happens!

The next step in the What-if process is to weigh up the responses and see if there lies a connection that may be used to solve the problem at hand.

Here are the steps of the What-ifs technique:

1.Write out specifically the nature of your challenge/problem. (How can I stop losing my car keys?

2.Ask as many WHAT-IF scenarios as you can. Any crazy what-ifs will do. Don’t be too pre-occupied with facts of the problems you want to solve. Imagine. Be a non-realist!

(What if I put my car keys within my body?)

3.Try to answer the what-if questions.

(I could develop a system whereby my thumb-print/ voice could be used to open the car’s door- yes; it’s been done already! The bio-metric technology)

Putting Your Elements to Work:

Get cracking and develop your own original responses to the following questions. Have FUN!

1. What if my pet dogs starts talking to me?

2. What if the Internet service is shut down for a week and I am in the online business selling my products?

3. What if the book I am reading now is laughing at me for not being able to understand the meanings of certain word?

4. What if my friend turns out to be alien from Mars?

5. What if I have a Television that tells me to stop watching too much T.V?

Crack your Head and have FUN!

About The Author

Dr. Alvin Chan is a Senior Research Consultant at First Quatermain Centre of Collaborative Innovation (www.firstquatermain.com).

Please contact heartware2002@yahoo.com as a courtesy when reprinting the article online and/or offline.

bizguru88@hotmail.com

PPC is a great way to get people to your website. But once they get there will they buy? And more important, will they come back?
With the advent of Pay Per Click advertising anyone can be at the top of the search engines in their chosen category. No longer do you have to worry if you have the right Meta Tags, the perfect title for your page, or if the algorithm gods are in your favor. All you have to do is open an account with Google Adwords or Yahoo search Marketing and bingo, there you are for all to see.

So what else is there? The business should just roll in, right? Not necessarily!

Once people get to your site it is important for them to have all the information necessary to make a decision. They want to research the items or get background information or just have lots of choices. You want them to bookmark your site so it will always be part of their decision making process.

For example; if you search for Wedding Jewelry in Google there are 13,300,000 websites. So even though you are paying for a top ranking there are just too many choices. Just too much competition to let someone get away.

So what is the answer? Did my PPC campaign stop working? No. You just need to beef up your website with all kinds of related articles, content, success stories and any other information that can help the consumer make an educated choice.

Albie Berk has been involved in search engine marketing for the past five years ands is the co-owner of http://www.UltimateWebContent.com