1. Every time I _______________, it makes people stop, listen and say WOW
2. People always remember me for _________________
3. I’m the first and/or only person to _______________
4. I’m probably the only person you’ll ever meet who will _________________
5. If you looked up the word _______________ in the dictionary, you’d see me
6. If you googled the word ________________, the first ten pages would be my website
7. If was giving a speech to 10,000 people and I only had three sentences to use in my introduction, they would say _____________________
8. In my marketing materials, the words or phrases you will find that nobody else uses are ______________________
9. After saying _________________, I tell customers ‘…because that’s just the way I do business.’
10. When my coworkers need help with _____________, they always call me
11. As soon as I leave a conversation with a group of new people, they’re all probably thinking to themselves, ___________________
12. After people get to know me, they’ll never think about ________________ the same way again
13. When friends or family members introduce me to new people, they say_________
14. My whole life, people have always said I was like a _____________________
15. If I stopped _________________, people would be disappointed
16. When business people introduce me to others, they say ___________________
17. The most remarkable thing about my life is _________________________
18. The most remarkable thing about my business is ____________________
19. When I give my business card to someone, they usually say ________________
20. I’m known for being ___________________
21. The compliment I seem to receive all the time is ______________________
22. There is nobody walking the planet who could share the message about
_________________ better than me
21. If was about to give a speech to 10,000 people and one of the audience members came back stage and asked, ‘So, what’s your speech about?’ I’d probably say ____________________
22. If CNN called me for an interview, they’d want my expert opinion on _________________
23. The reason my customers love me so much is because I always help them with _________________
24. If people were talking about me behind my back, they’d probably call me ‘The ____________ Guy’
1. Action is eloquence. Make sure that what you actually are speaks louder than what you say you are.
2. Admit to cynicism. Think about what a cynical, bitter critic would say about you, your idea, or your product. Like David Spade on Hollywood Minute, for example.
Then, share that idea early. It will be disarming and reduce your threat level.
3. Appearance. Don’t ‘dress for success.’ Dress in a way that’s consistent with who you are and makes you feel comfortable; yet at the same time, makes others feel at ease when engaging with you.
4. Ask; don’t tell. And ask really good, fun, creative, well-timed, unexpected and open-ended questions. Invite dialogue.
BECAUSE: questions are respectful and questions demonstrate listening.
NOTE: be careful to avoid potentially uncomfortable questions or too many questions.
5. Avoid (over) active listening. If you nod TOO much, smile TOO much and agree TOO much, your conversation partner is going not going to like you … TOO much!
Avoid focusing ALL your attention on ‘coming off as a good listener.’ Just relax.
The moment you TRY to be authentic is the moment you STOP being authentic.
Listening is about focusing on the OTHER person’s words, not about focusing on YOUR own abilities.
6. Avoid agreeing with everybody. Remember, there’s a difference between disagreeing and being disagreeable. People respect people who take a stand.
7. Avoid generalizing. On the other hand, there’s nothing more annoying than talking to someone who’s already convinced that he’s right.
So, a good phrase to demonstrate open-minded thinking is, ‘That’s MY truth, not THEE truth.’
Concentrate more on being helpful than being right. Be confident enough to be humble.
8. Avoid misrepresentation. Don’t treat beliefs and faiths as facts. They’re not. Don’t say, ‘Well, I just KNOW,’ unless you have tangible, scientific proof.
Because without proof, you just believe. And that’s cool too! Believing is important. But that doesn’t make it a fact.
9. Be (somewhat) predictable. Prove people right. Confirm their suspicions that you are the person they thought you were and hoped you would be.
10. Be childlike, not childish. Kids put people at ease. (At least, when they’re not screaming or pooping.)
So, watch kids more often and see how they make others feel comfortable just by being themselves. C’mon, do it for the kids.
11. Be like Bill Clinton. No, I don’t mean lie. Instead, smile and make eye contact for ONE extra second when being introduced or saying goodbye. That’s it. One extra second. It makes a HUGE difference.
And people love it. After all, Clinton wasn’t called ‘The President You Could Have a Beer With’ for nothing.
12. Be like your dog. Dogs pretty much smile AT and show love and affection TO every single person they meet. And most people love dogs. Coincidence?
13. Beware of demonstrating vulnerability to early. Yes, vulnerability IS attractive. Admitting that you don’t know the answer or have been completely terrified before is a surefire way to reinforce your ordinariness and encourage comfort.
HOWEVER: don’t be too vulnerable too quickly. It may come off like you’re trying TOO hard to build rapport. And intentionality often reduces authenticity.
14. Chill. Don’t try so damn hard. Just relax. And just L-I-S-T-E-N, don’t try to control the conversation.
15. Communicate less perfectly. Ever seen a comedian, rock star or speaker TOTALLY screw something up … and then laughed about it on stage?
Right. And most people in the audience did the same: laugh.
LESSON LEARNED: Humor = Comfort.
AND REMEMBER: success isn’t perfection.
16. Dare to be dumb. The word dumb simply means, ‘Unable to speak or ignorant.’
So, it doesn’t mean you’re stupid; just confident enough to be humble.
What’s more, when you say things like, ‘I don’t know what that means,’ or ‘I never thought of it that way,’ it’s more human, relatable and approachable.
NOTE: this doesn’t mean you need to be dumb ALL the time! Don’t be George W. Bush dumb. Just dumb enough to keep yourself accountable and to keep other people comfortable.
17. Directness is appreciated. Be candid and unexpectedly honest early, but not TOO early.
Don’t be afraid of owning up to something by saying ‘I have no proof or evidence’ ‘I have no excuse’ and ‘I really messed up.’
People appreciate candor.
18. Disarm immediate preoccupation. Your primary conversational task is to diffuse defensiveness.
Because It ALWAYS exists.
So, figure out what might be bugging, bothering or irking this person about talking to ‘someone like you,’ i.e., what you look like, where you work, what you do, what you believe, etc.
Then, lay it out there early. That way, the other person isn’t spending the rest of the conversation unconsciously nodding at you while simultaneously being on lookout for that Conversational Moment of Truth when they think, ‘Yep, just as I thought. Here comes the sales pitch…’
19. Don’t ask too many questions. Sure, questions are valuable, but don’t overdo it. People don’t like to be puked on.
See, over-asking can cause four uncomfortable problems.
First of all, it can come off as overly goal-oriented, too forced and too planned.
Secondly, it projects a rapport-seeking attitude, instead of rapport-attracting attitude.
Thirdly, it will appear that you have nothing of value to share yourself.
And lastly, asking too many questions makes the other person feel like she’s being interviewed or interrogated.
And if you’ve ever seen an episode of Law and Order, you KNOW that ain’t comfortable. (I’m looking at YOU, Detective Stabler.)
20. Don’t be sneaky. Hold on there, Mr. Fox. Don’t unnaturally sneak your goal, product, sales pitch or objective into EVERY conversation! If it comes up organically, great. If not, let it go.
No need to perpetually push what you’ve got.
After all, Newton’s Second Law of Gravity proves that if you push, people will push back. And that’s not usually very comfortable either.
1. You are a trigger.
Because something you say might activate someone else’s ideas.
2. You are an idea midwife.
Because you respect the speaker’s speed of self-discovery and enable her to ‘give birth’ to her own understanding.
3. You are a sounding board.
Because sometimes vocalizing your ideas is all people need to make create breakthroughs.
4. You are a receiver.
Because people can only think clearly after they’ve emptied their reservoirs of emotion, anger, stress and frustration.
5. You’re a still body of water.
Because your inner calmness will enable people to see their own reflection.
6. You are a challenger.
Because you’re not afraid to call people on their bullshit and get to the bottom of what’s REALLY going on..
7. You are an idea-bouncing machine.
Because you’ll give others an objective, candid opinion, right away.
8. You are an objective observer.
Because your non-judgmental, non-directive and non-threatening responses are emotionally unreactive.
9. You are clarifier.
Because you don’t judge, correct or unnecessarily advise the person.
10. You are an enabler.
Because you allow people to take ownership of their problem, to begin to hear themselves and to discover solutions.
11. You are a yoga master.
Because you focus your full attention and awareness to the speaker without interrupting, anticipating commenting.
12. You are a questioner.
Because you ask (but don’t OVER ask) questions that are well timed, open ended, non-threatening, penetrating and pointed.
13. You are a relaxed piece of asparagus.
Because you but don’t try too hard to contribute, prove yourself or impose your own agenda on the other person.
After speaking last week at the St. Louis Business Expo, a lot of people came up to me afterward with questions about blogging.
Naturally, those questions came with a fair amount of reasons for NOT blogging.
All of which were the work of the notorious Bloggie Man.
So, that inspired me to write this list…
10 Reasons Why You’re NOT Blogging Yet
1. You don’t know how.
That’s cool – you can learn the basics in about 20 minutes. Or you could read Naked Conversations and The Cluetrain Manifesto for a more philosophical approach.
The rest you’ll figure out as you go along. Don’t be stopped by not knowing how, or else you’ve NEVER start.
2. You’re scared of technology.
Oh, get over yourself. There are 50 million blogs already out there and 80,000 new blogs popping up everyday! If your nine year-old daughter can do it, so can you. Don’t be held hostage by the generation gap.
Suck it up. Education is the key. Just ask questions, poke around the blogosphere and give it a try. You’ve got VERY little to lose.
3. You have writer’s block.
Bullshit. There’s no such thing as writer’s blocl. Writing is an extension of thinking. You don’t have writer’s block, you have THINKER’S block.
So, try taking some time to just THINK, every single day. You’ll be amazed at what you come up with.
4. You have no discipline.
According to Naked Conversations, 50% of most blogs are abandoned in the first few months. And why? Because people don’t have the discipline to keep up with them.
So, what’s stopping you? Kids? School? Job? Time?
And are you coming up with a ‘good story’ as to why you can’t blog, or it REALLY a valid reason?
REMEMBER: Leo Tolstoy had 13 kids when he wrote War & Peace. What’s YOUR excuse?
5. You have no patience.
Here’s the reality: nobody is going to read, know about, care about or even comment on your blog for at least 3-6 months. And that’s if you post every single day.
SO: Are you willing to stick it out? Are you willing to (not) be validated for a long time?
Sure, it’s a blow to your ego, but it will also grow your patience, stamina and stick-to-it-ive-ness. And it will be worth it. (Eventually.) At the lowest common denominator, at least you’ll have all those great posts and a LOT of practice.
6. You don’t want put out unready or unfinished material.
That’s understandable. The Perfection Trap is common for a LOT of writers. So, here’s my suggestion: post it unfinished. Let the world be your editor.
Sure, not everyone who comments or contributes will give you GOLD, but you never know. There are some smart folks out there. Especially if you position your post in a way that elicits comments, shared stories and contributions.
Consider having a Call to Action at the end of each entry. (See the bottom of this post for a good example.)
7. You think you have to be really insightful and profound.
Nope. I make a living writing about my observations of the world through the lens of WEARING A DAMN NAMETAG 😉 Not exactly Shakespeare.
REMEMBER: Your everyday life is what people will relate to. You don’t have to say anything big and profound.
8. You don’t get it.
Writing is the basis of all wealth. Writing is the basis of all wealth. Writing is the basis of all wealth. Writing is the basis of all wealth. Writing is the basis of all wealth. Writing is the basis of all wealth. Writing is the basis of all wealth. Writing is the basis of all wealth. Writing is the basis of all wealth. (Got that?)
9. You are afraid to stick yourself out there.
Fine. Consider these three suggestions.
ONE: Channel your fear into your writing. Creativity is about being uncomfortable.
TWO: If you’re scared that your stuff is too personal, consider blogging anonymously. That will give you a few small victories, which will boost your confidence. (Heck, I blogged anonymously for 6 months before I ever DARED to put my real name on anything!) And now, 5 years later, my blog is one of the Top 100 Business Blogs on the Web. Coincidence?
THREE: It’s ironic, but the more personal your writing is, the more people will identify with it. And by ‘more people’ I mean ‘higher numbers of people’ AND ‘more identification.’
10. You don’t think anybody will read your stuff.
You’re right. Nobody WILL read your stuff … IF YOU NEVER POST IT. Look, the Internet is a pretty big place. And there’s a market for just about everything. So, just post anyway. You’ll be amazed.
My philosophy is, ‘Whatever you have to say, there’s probably 1000 people somewhere on the Internet who agree with you.’
Deliver ADDITIONAL value.
Because it exceeds customers’ expectations.
Deliver BUZZ-WORTHY value.
Because people who get talked about get business.
Deliver CONSISTENT value.
Because consistency is far better than rare moments of greatness.
Deliver DAILY value.
Because nobody wants to read a newspaper (or a website) that’s two years old.
Deliver DOWNLOADABLE value.
Because customers need to be able to take you with them.
Deliver UNEXPECTED value.
Because the most effective way to capture someone’s attention is to b-r-e-a-k her patterns.
Deliver FOCUSED value.
Because niches = riches.
Deliver LOCAL value.
Because everybody loves a homeboy.
Deliver MAXIMUM value.
Because … well, just because.
Deliver ONLINE value.
Because if you don’t exist on the Internet, you don’t exist.
Deliver PREDICTABLE value.
Because predictability creates familiarity, which creates trust.
Deliver SOLID value.
Because content is king.
Deliver SPECIFIC value.
Because credibility comes from specificity.
Deliver UNARGUABLE value.
Because customers can’t object to it.
Deliver UNFORGETTABLE value.
Because being ‘memorable’ isn’t enough.
Deliver UNIQUE value.
Because being ‘different’ merely means to stand out, while being ‘unique’ means to be THE-ONLY-ONE.
Deliver UNMATCHED value.
Because the best way to eliminate the competition is to (not) have any.
Deliver WEEKLY value.
Because branding is about repeated impressions.
Deliver WORLD-CLASS value.
Because, as Seth Godin says, being average is for losers. Be exceptional or quit.
Deliver WRITTEN value.
Because writing is the basis of all wealth.
1. Are you saying…?
Identifies someone’s language patterns.
2. Are you willing to…?
Tests someone’s limits.
3. Can you give me…?
Encourages examples and specifics.
4. Can you remember…?
Taps into someone’s memory.
5. Did you ask…?
Questions someone’s questions.
6. Have you considered…?
Non-threatening proposal of options.
7. Have you given any thought to…?
Suggestive, yet doesn’t sound like advice.
8. Have you thought about…?
Forces someone to think!
9. How are you constantly…?
Promotes consistency of action.
10. How are you creating…?
Proves that someone has a choice.
11. How can you become…?
Future oriented, motivational.
12. How can you make…?
Enlists someone’s creativity.
13. How could you have…?
Focused on past performance improvement.
14. How do you feel…?
Feelings are good.
15. How do you measure…?
Clarifies and specifies someone’s statement.
16. How do you plan to…?
Future oriented, process oriented, action oriented.
17. How do you want…?
Visualizes ideal conditions.
18. How does this relate to…?
Keeps someone on point, uncovers connections between things.
19. How else could this be…?
Encourages open, option-oriented and leverage-based thinking.
20. How long will it take to…?
Clarifies time specifics.
21. How many different ways…?
Enlists someone’s creativity, explores various options.
22. How many people…?
Clarifies and specifies.
23. How might you…?
All about potential and possibility.
24. How much energy…?
Identifies patterns of energy investment.
25. How much money…?
Identifies patterns of financial investment.
26. How much time each day…?
Identifies patterns of (daily) time investment.
27. How much time…?
Identifies patterns of energy investment.
28. How often do you…?
Gets an idea of someone’s frequency.
29. How well do you…?
Uncovers abilities.
30. How will you know when/if…?
Predicts outcomes of ideal situations.
31. If you could change…?
Visualizes improvement.
32. If you had to…?
Possibility thinking.
33. If you showed your…?
Imagining what others would say.
34. If you stopped…?
Cause-effect question.
35. If you were…?
Ideal situation.
36. In what areas…?
Searching for multiple answers.
37. Is anybody going to…?
Deciding if something even matters.
38. Is there any other…?
Challenges someone to find ONE more answer.
39. Is there anything else…?
Yep, there probably is. Answers are rarely absolute.
40. Is your idea…?
Forces someone to think objectively.
41. On a scale from 1 to 10…?
Putting a number to an emotion clarifies it.
42. What are some of the…?
Encourages list making.
43. What are the biggest mistakes…?
Negative based for preventative measures.
44. What are the keys to…?
Searching for best practices.
45. What are the patterns of…?
Uncovering commonalities.
46. What are the things that…?
Because there’s probably more than one answer.
47. What are the ways…?
Freedom (not) to resign to one solution.
48. What are you currently…?
Assesses present situations.
49. What are you doing that…?
Assesses present actions.
50. What are you willing to…?
Explores limits.
51. What can I do to…?
Demonstrates a desire to serve.
52. What can WE do to…?
Partnership-oriented.
53. What can you do right now…?
Focuses on immediate action being taken.
54. What can you do today…?
Focuses on daily action being taken.
55. What causes your…?
Uncovering true motives without the dreaded, “Why?”
56. What challenges are…?
Identifies barriers.
57. What did you learn…?
Because people don’t care what you know; only what you learned.
58. What do you need to…?
Needs assessment.
59. What does that tell you about…?
Encourages someone to figure out the answer individually.
60. What else can you…?
Because there’s always options.
61. What evidence…?
Because specificity is persuasion.
1. Can you explain it in less than 10 seconds?
2. Can you explain it in less than 10 words?
3. Can you explain it on the back of a business card?
4. Can you sing it?
5. Does it actually have substance?
6. Does it cause people to react or respond in SOME way?
7. Does it contain multiple dimensions that set you up for future brand expansion?
8. Does it convey something you want potential customers to remember or feel?
9. Does it convey your uniqueness?
10. Does it create a Point of Dissonance?
11. Does it create a riddle that takes too long for impatient customers to solve?
12. Does it create an umbrella under which all future ideas will reside?
13. Does it effectively convey a company’s key characteristics to a variety of audiences?
14. Does it evoke a positive image IMMEDIATELY?
15. Does it give way to layers of meaning if you take the time to peel its onion?
16. Does it have wheels?
17. Does it instill the brand’s promise?
18. Does it lodge into people’s minds?
19. Does it oddly or ironically juxtapose words?
20. Does it provide a snapshot of your business?
21. Does it use strong, unexpected and uncommon words or phrases?
22. Does the tone and language should tempt, rouse, or intrigue your intended audience?
23. How afraid are you that people are going to steal it?
24. How easily could one of your competitors use it?
25. How easily could you defend it?
26. How easy is it to remember?
27. How easy is it to repeat?
28. How focused is it?
29. How much do you need to explain it?
30. How much texture does it have?
31. How remarkable is it?
32. How unconfusable is it?
33. How well does it communicate your brand value to the world?
34. If someone was walking past her coworker’s cubicle and noticed your website on their screen, would she stop in their tracks and say, ‘Hey, cool! What website is THAT?’
35. If you explained it to a five year old, would he understand it?
36. Is it a mini-vision statement?
37. Is it a natural byproduct of your focused business?
38. Is it believable an ownable?
39. Is it catchy, but not corny?
40. Is it clear, yet curious?
41. Is it cool, but not contrived?
42. Is it emotional, yet engaging?
43. Is it hollow and frivolous?
44. Is it informative, yet incomplete?
45. Is it inherently competitive?
46. Is it instantly forgettable?
47. Is it intrinsically locked into the name of the brand?
48. Is it musical and rhythmic?
49. Is it NOT time sensitive?
50. Is it philosophical, yet pragmatic?
51. Is it picture worthy?
52. Is it playful, yet professional?
53. Is it provocative?
54. Is it quirky, but not questionable?
55. Is it relevant, worthwhile and marketable?
56. Is it self-evident?
57. Is it self-perpetuating?
58. Is it sequel-worthy?
59. Is it simple, yet profound?
60. Is it smart, but not clever?
61. Is it SO good, you assume it’s already taken?
62. Is it too busy?
63. Is it too complicated?
64. Is it too safe and uninteresting?
65. Is it unusual, yet unarguable?
66. Is your brand mug, bumper sticker or t-shirt worthy?
67. What would the cynic say about it?
68. What would the fool say about it?
69. When you make purchases with your company card, does the cashier ask a question about the name of it?
70. When you share it with people, do they ‘get it’ right away?
71. Will it disrupt industry standards?
72. Will the media eat it up?
73. Would other people in your industry say, ‘Damn, I wish I’d thought of that…’?
74. Would other people in your industry want to steal it?
1. MARK VICTOR HANSEN said, “Free enterprise means the more enterprising you are, the freer you are!’
What are you doing TODAY to increase your freedom TOMORROW?
2. T.S. ELLIOT said, “The Nobel Prize is a ticket to your own funeral. Nobody has ever done anything after he got it.”
Are you searching for a ‘finish line’?
3. SETH GODIN said, “The more people you reach, the more likely it is you’re reaching the wrong people.”
Are you worrying about the NUMBER of eyeballs or the RIGHT eyeballs?
4. BARBARA WINTER said, “Ideas are the ancestors of your success.”
How many ideas did you come up with today?
5. R. BUCKMINSTER FULLER said, “Intuition is cosmic fishing, you feel a nibble and then you’ve got to hook the fish.”
Are you listening to what your gut is telling you to write?
6. ROGER SCHANK said, “A question that has a stock answer is always the wrong question.”
What questions are you asking that your competitors aren’t?
7. DAVID LYNCH said, “It doesn’t matter where your idea starts. It matters where it leads you.”
How well are you executing?
8. ESTE LAUDER said, “Risk taking is the cornerstone of empires.”
What three risks have you taken this week?
9. FRANCIS BACON said, “Those ideas that come unsought are commonly the most valuable, and should be secured, because they seldom return.”
What things are you NOT writing down?
10. TOM WATSON said, “Good judgment comes from experience. And experience comes from bad judgment.”
What lessons have you learned from making poor judgment calls?
11. BUDDHA said, “Each day we are born again. What we do today matters most.”
Why are you still thinking about yesterday?
12. PAT WALSH said, “If you want to elevate yourself above other writers, then do it on the page.”
Are you talking shit or just writing really good stuff?
13. DANNY GREGORY said, “Spend less time on success and more time on art.”
How long did you work on your art yesterday?
14. JOHN MAXWELL said, “You can impress people from a distance, but only impact them up close.”
How are you getting people to come to YOU?
15. ELMORE LEONARD said, “If you want to be a good writer, just leave out the parts that people skip.”
Do you (really) think your readers are going to sit through your book’s boring foreword, preface, ‘how to use this book’ page AND an introduction?
16. PAUL SIMON said, “If you start with something that’s false, you’re always covering your tracks.”
Whose material are you stealing?
17. SOME JAPANESE DUDE said, “Don’t seek to follow the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought.”
What questions are you asking your mentors?
18. KAHLIL GIBRAN said, “If he is indeed wise, he does not bid you to enter the house of his own wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.”
Are you letting the people you serve learn things on their own?
1. Are you diversifying?
2. Are you growing in size or differentiation?
3. Are you still trying to get somewhere?
4. Did you work on your legacy today?
5. Do you give people a reason to help you in the future?
6. How are you closing the credibility gap?
7. How are you fighting your profession’s image?
8. How are you helping your customers build their business?
9. How are you turning your knowledge into money?
10. How can you arrange your day so you become unstoppable?
11. How do you avoid being perceived as one-dimensional?
12. How do you make your customers smarter and healthier?
13. How long does it take for your ideas to become tangible things?
14. How many different ways do you make money?
15. How many free samples of your work are out there?
16. How many people have you shared your goal with?
17. How might your biggest fan describe you?
18. How often does perfection keep you from starting?
19. How quickly do you take action on your new idea?
20. How transparent are your underlying motives when you’re selling?
21. How will you ensure your dominance?
22. If everybody did exactly what you said, what would the world look like?
23. If you only had two hours a day to work, what would you do?
24. If you were starting your career over again, in what area would you want more mentoring?
25. In what areas of your life are you most intuitive?
26. In what ways are you currently obsolete?
27. In what ways are you currently obsolete?
28. In what ways will your job become bigger?
29. Is there an experiment you can perform?
30. Is this a good time for you to listen to me?
31. What ‘does it’ for you?
32. What actions have I taken to live by my own lights?
33. What are the exceptions to the rules that helped you succeed?
34. What are the questions you (still) can’t believe your customers actually asked you?
35. What are the things you don’t like to admit about yourself?
36. What are the top three activities that fill your time to feel as though you’ve been productive?
37. What are you becoming?
38. What are you building?
39. What are you changing?
40. What are you doing to drive your competition crazy?
41. What are you due for?
42. What are you going to do differently next week?
43. What are you known as?
44. What are you known for?
45. What are you quietly starting?
46. What are you recognized as being the best at?
47. What are you recognized as being the first at?
48. What are you specializing in?
49. What are you the answer to?
50. What are your people NOT doing that you want them to be doing? Why not?
51. What beliefs are not serving your goals?
52. What brings you to life?
53. What companies make you starry-eyed?
54. What could you talk forever about?
55. What did you explore today?
56. What do you know that other people find valuable?
57. What do you know that people would pay money to learn?
58. What do you measure?
59. What do you think makes the difference between winners and losers?
60. What do you try without being forced?
61. What have you recently UN-learned?
62. What ideas are you in love with that might prevent you from seeing clearly?
63. What is causing the gap between what you’ve done and your goals?
64. What is one thing you’d like to do less of in your work situation?
65. What is the part of your job you wish you didn’t have to do?
66. What is your #1 income producing activity?
67. What kind of person do you definitely NOT want to become?
68. What no longer worries you?
69. What old values do you need to throw out to make room?
70. What person, alive or dead, would you like to have as your work partner?
71. What pieces of conventional wisdom do you think are wrong?
72. What possibilities do you see now that weren’t obvious before?
73. What precedent will you be setting?
74. What problem do you solve for your customer?
75. What problem is this solving?
76. What questions do you ask yourself every day?
77. What questions do you look forward to?
78. What symbol do you need to create now to remind yourself of the new image, values and style you are going to operate out of?
79. What takes too long?
80. What three things are your customers most defensive about?
81. What three things should you be delegating, but aren’t?
82. What three things would make it worse?
83. What undertows do the people in your industry often get caught in?
84. What was your first positive experience earning money?
85. What would you protest publicly?
86. What’s your biggest distraction?
87. When someone comes to your website, how do you want them to feel?
88. When someone comes to your website, what’s the ONE THING you want them to do?
89. When was the last time you brought new skills to your clients and prospects?
90. When was the last time you created new value?
91. When you walk into a room, how does it change?
92. Where is a breakthrough needed?
93. Which idea would my hero jump on?
94. Which people in your life don’t respect your time?
95. Who actively hampers your ability to advance?
96. Who can hurt you the most?
97. Who creates fires you waste time putting out?
98. Who is the biggest naysayer and what can I learn from that point of view?
99. Who is threatened by your ideas?
100. Who values you and your knowledge?
FINANCIAL QUESTIONS
1. How can I turn this into an income stream? Always think leverage. Always find a way to kill two stones with one bird. Find a way to make money everywhere. Just be sure you’re asking, ‘HOW,’ and not ‘CAN I?’ One is a possibility question; the other is a yes or no question.
2. Why am I NOT charging for this? Probably because you had to give it away for free in the beginning to build momentum, credibility and word of mouth. Which is perfectly acceptable. The challenge is making the transition, most of which derives from your sense of self-worth. You gotta believe in your product!
3. Should I be charging for this? Yes, if it has value, if you’re really good at it and if there’s a market for it.
4. How much could I be charging for this? Dude, I don’t know. Depends on what you’re worth per hour. Depends on how much work your new endeavor requires. Depends on how valuable your new ‘thing’ is. Depends what the market will bear.
ASSET QUESTIONS
1. What personal skills have I not tapped into yet to build my business? Run an honest evaluation of what you bring to the table. Discover untapped assets and find a way to exploit them to grow your business.
2. What personal skills have I not tapped into yet to add value to my customers? Exact same process as question #1, except this time you’re exploiting them in the service of your customers.
3. What products and services are my clients asking for that I don’t currently provide? Notice the patterns. Keep a running list. Spot the trends in customer’s comments and figure out what that means for you.
4. Now that I have this, what else does this make possible? The ultimate leverage question. Future focused. Exciting. Also a possibility-question that doubles or triples the value of an asset when you think about its future value.
5. Are you cloning yourself through teaching others? Sheep? Bah! Clone yourself.
6. How can I give people a portable, junior, take-home, or alternate version of me? Can’t afford the speaking fee? Don’t want to PAY the speaking fee? Don’t have enough people to warrant an ‘audience’ for a speech? No problem. Give clients different ways to “get” you. Different mediums. Different prices. Different YESES.
GROWTH QUESTIONS
1. What’s next? Most important question of all time. Keeps you moving. Sidesteps entrepreneurial atrophy. Future focused, growth-minded
2. What’s my sequel? You don’t want to be a one-hit wonder. You’re contributing to a life-long body of work. A library. A chronicle. Think Willie Nelson, not Don McLean.
3. What business COULD I be in? The logical next step. The obvious fit.
4. When was the last time you created new value? Hopefully, recently! Or are you just doing the same old stuff you did one year ago?
5. When was the last time you reinvented yourself? Every few years, at least. A good parallel is to look at the music industry. Explore the timeline of a musician who’s been around a LONG time and experienced multiple reinventions, still rocking all the while, i.e., Tom Waits or Van Morrison.
6. At what point are you making a living vs. building your business? This is when money takes a back seat to equity. When gross take a back seat to growth.
COMPETITION QUESTIONS
1. Will it make your company more competitive? If not, then what’s the point of taking this endeavor on?
2. What would most scare or piss off the competition? The answer to that question is what you should do. Something to make the competition think, ‘Damn, that IS pretty cool. I wish we’d thought of that first!’
3. If I do this, will I become the best? If not, bag it. Average is for losers. Especially in an age when the first hit on Google becomes the immediate front runner; it’s just not worth doing anything unless you’re going to become the best at it.
4. How can I change the rules so I can win at my own game? The best way to eliminate the competition is to NOT have any. To become the ONLY. That Guy. The sole source.
5. Where are the uncontested waters, and how can I swim there? Similarly, that means going where nobody else has the guts to go. That means becoming a category of one.
6. Is anybody else doing this now? If not, stuff it. If so, ask yourself if you can do it better and cooler. If you can’t, stuff it. If so, let’s go!
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