The Best Tip for Better Storytelling

We all know great storytellers.

Whether it is a family member, friend, or a business associate… when they speak, we listen and with great anticipation.

I have always been intrigued by a great storyteller because of their ability to retell a story over and over again while sustaining the attention of their audience…I attributed that skill to a great memory.

Well....about 8 months ago, I had an “Oh Wow!" moment.

I was privileged to be part of a training session conducted by Ivan R. Misner, PhD. (founder of BNI, the world’s largest networking organization).

Ivan had just completed telling a story to the class, one that I know I have heard him tell at least 3 times.

After the applause quieted down, I asked Ivan;
“Ivan, how do you do it? How do you retell a story over and over again with the same passion and enthusiasm?”

Ivan looked all of us in the eye and said… “Never retell a story, relive it!”

For more inspiring stories and leadership wisdom, please purchase my book---

Pecan Pie: 32 Business Success Strategies Passionately Baked To Order!
"A must read!" Ivan Misner New York Times Bestselling author
BY IT NOW on AMAZON.COM  click on link below
Click here to purchase Bob's Book

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Think Small for Huge Results

Do you ever wonder why some members of your team always come up with new and unusual approaches to problems...solutions you never considered?

In the book A Whack on the Side of the Head, author Roger Von Oech offers the following four tips for jogging your mind from its mental rut.

1. Don't always look for the "one" right answer.

2. Don't always be a "Spock", its okay to be illogical at times.

3. Avoid the "yeah, but" thinking...instead think, "what if".

4. STOP thinking you're not creative! One of the major differences between creative people and non-creative people is that;  creative people pay attention to their small ideas, knowing they could lead to a big breakthrough.
"Believe in the worth of your ideas and have the persistence to build on them."
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7 Questions for a Rainy Day

Ask Yourself;

1. Are you climbing the ladder of success, or are you just part of the ladder?

2. Are you working to live, or living to work?

3. Is your work getting in the way of your job?

4. Who is on your business team, and how do you help each other?

5. Is your month longer than your money?

6. Are you a passenger on the bus, or are you the driver?

7. Are you getting in the way of your own success?

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10 Characteristics of Successful Leaders

1. Leaders have passionate enthusiasm! Attitudes are contagious and team “leaders” understand that they are role models.

2. Leaders model the company’s values and “walk the talk.”

3. Leaders pull their teams up the hill, face them and don’t turn their backs.
"old-school managers" push employees up the hill.

4. Leaders are not necessarily the best talent, they are skilled at recognizing and utilizing talent.

5. Leaders develop others, place a high value on the “we,” and discourage the “I.”

6. Leaders know when to let other and better “leaders” lead... when the situation demands it.

7. Leaders listen and provide positive reinforcement and constructive feedback.

8. Leaders turn problems into opportunities.

9. Leaders understand that everyone falls, but not everyone fails.

10. At the end of the day... while others may think about the tasks that were completed, leaders reflect on the people that completed the tasks.
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Be the CEO of Your Life

***Please welcome my guest blogger, Maripat Abbott***

Create and Share your Transition Vision – Be the CEO of Your Life

A traditional leadership coach is someone who helps others sharpen their leadership skills in the corporate or entrepreneurial world. That is not my mission. I help my clients to become the CEOs of their life, empowering them to give themselves that promotion.

In my experience, most of us have somehow sublimated our CEO title – given our power over to someone or something else. It saddens me when I can clearly hear that a person has been demoted – or put on severance – not by a company, but by themselves.

I most often see people demote themselves during times of major life transitions like a health challenge, a job loss or change, a relationship status change, pregnancy or any other large life events. During times of transition, fear and resistance to the unknown can begin to dominate,  which can cause us to lose our power.

So how can we avoid losing our CEO title during the transitions in our life? How do we trust that there is no candidate better than ourselves to lead us through? How can we remember that we are the single most qualified one to lead our life?

One helpful tool is to create a powerful vision statement that outlines how you intend to run the company of YOU during this transition. Then you must communicate that clearly to your support system of family, friends, co-workers and acquaintances, who are in essence a part of your company.

Like a CEO, you respectfully require that your community understand and follow your vision statement so that the company of YOU thrives throughout this transition and you do not lose your primary relationship – the one with yourself.  This is always your number one job.

Your vision statement and request might sound something like this: “I am in the midst of… [changing jobs, getting divorced, selling my home, opening a new business] and am very optimistic about the ultimate outcome. I need you to hold this vision with me and remind me when I forget.”

Your primary goal is to maintain your leadership role without being forced into a severance package from your own life.

Maripat Abbott

Executive Relocation Coach

Certified Life Coach

Certified Yoga Instructor

Phone: 630-708-RELO

Email: mp@HolisticRelo.com

Website: HolisticRelo.com

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Are You Boring?

Researchers at the University of Chicago asked students to rate 43 boring behaviors. Here are the top eight. They'll earn you the label of being "chronically boring": *

• Complaining about one's own problems (health, finances, relationships) and not being interested in the problems of others.
• Talking constantly about trivial things, always including unimportant details, and repeating tired old jokes.
• Showing no emotion, failing to make eye contact. and talking in a monotone.
• Seriousness- never smiling, joking, or making light of things.
• Tediousness, especially talking too slowly.
• Low participation. Never joining in conversation and always just going along with what is being said.
• Distracting behavior, including frequent use of expressions such as "you know" and "just saying".
• Self-centeredness. Always talking about your own life, experiences, and interests.

Credo to live by: "Be interested first, then you will become interesting."

*Teamwork notes
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It's Only a Game?

It was the bottom of the sixth, two outs, bases loaded. 

My team, the Rennerdale Braves, was beating the Rennerdale Indians 4 to 3 in the last game of the local Little League World series when Mike Grimes stepped to the plate.

Killer moment for me. How do I pitch to him? Mike was the best, a homerun king.

I remember gripping the ball tighter than ever and throwing the ball harder than ever.

And then I heard the sounds of screaming fans as I looked over my right shoulder to see the last pitch I would ever throw fly over the fence…grandslam.

For those of you that have experienced heartbreak as a young child, I really don’t have to tell you how long I cried over that moment.

As I walked towards the family car my mother put her arm around me and said; “Now that you know the feeling of losing, you will really appreciate the feeling of winning.”

Back in the ‘60s only the champions received trophies. Losers walked away with tears and parents (in efforts to comfort their kids) saying things like, “It’s only a game”.

Correct, it is only a game and by definition a game is; a competition played according to rules and decided by skill, strength or luck.

Sounds like "life" to me.
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