by Motivation Expert and Sales Consultant, Jim Cathcart

At a recent seminar in Santa Barbara we conducted a question and answer forum at the end.

There were some interesting questions posed. This video gives you an easy review of the answers by selecting each “Scene” and skipping ahead to the ones you want. Let us know if you’d like further information on these or any of our key topics in “Relationship Selling” or business growth.

Jim Cathcart, author, Relationship Selling
jim@cathcart.com
800-222-4883

TSTN Television Show featuring Jim Cathcart on Relationship Selling

by Motivation Expert, Jim Cathcart

Be American!

What is it that distinguishes Americans from the rest of the world? Going back to the American Revolution you will find that Alexis de Tocqueville observed, even then, that:

• Americans have the unique ability to self-organize to solve problems.
• Americans rely upon themselves and admire self-reliance in others.
• Americans reach out spontaneuosly to help others who are in need.
• Americans respect their past but build toward their future.
• Americans have deep religious faith and yet don’t deny other faiths.
• Americans mostly just want to be left alone to pursue their dreams in peace.
• Americans want to continually become more “American”.

The above is a loose paraphrasing of Tocqueville’s observations but I have observed the same patterns over my 34 years as a professional speaker & author, and my 64 years as an American.

What I’ve lived, learned and deduced from all of my studies and experiences is this:

• What makes us unique is that, unlike other countries and cultures, we put self-reliance first. We make it clear from birth that the “American Dream” is to make your own way, own your own home, choose and master your own craft, and become a source of strength for others in need. We don’t want our government to take care of us, we’ll do that ourselves. Just protect our Freedom from agressors who would take it away.
• We believe in the goodness of mankind. We assume that you are “innocent until proven guilty”, and that you, you personally, are endowed by our Creator with certain rights that cannot be taken from you and you cannot even give them away: your right to Life, Freedom and to Choose and Pursue your own dreams. In America you do not have the freedom to sell yourself into slavery or take your own life. These rights come from God and it is wrong for us to give them away.
• Americans are the most generous people in the history of the world. We give money, support and supplies even to our enemies in times of war if they are stricken by a natural disaster or deeply weakened. Look at our outpouring of support to Iran when the earthquake hurt them a few years ago, the tsunami relief we provided in Indonesia, and our support of Africa. Nobody anywhere has ever equaled the personal generosity of Americans.
• We honor our ancestors but move on. Our focus is building a better tomorrow while learning from and respecting our past. Where some cultures assume that the best was behind them, we assume that the best is yet to be.
• We believe in God. Check the numbers. In excess of 90% of Americans believe in God. But, unlike other cultures, we let you choose how to express your faith. Jewish, Muslim and Christian practices are allowed side by side without any feeling that one faith threatens the others. Even Christianity has many branches and variations, all of which are accepted by the others. In America it is even OK to be an Atheist without persecution. The Church is separate from the State but most all of us have a church. It is just that our churches in America have no say in how we run our state. (Contrast that with Iran or other countries where their leaders are deified and have god-like power over others.)
• Americans have no interest in dominating the world. What we want most for others is what we want for ourselves: the freedom to do as we wish. In Iraq we helped them recapture their freedom and determine how to run their country, we didn’t try to run it for them. After World War II we helped Europe and Japan rebuild their countries and run them their own way (as long as they stopped interfering with others’ freedom.) We just want people to leave each other alone except when help is needed.
• Americans learn and speak English, at least American English. We want to be Americans, not hypenated-americans. Our country allows the Polish, Irish, Italian, African, English, Chinese, Japanese, Native American, Latino and all other groups who have been oppressed over the years to become fully American and accepted as equals, without having to deny or denounce their heritage. In fact, we celebrate each heritage nationwide. But first and foremost, we are Americans.

What is the mountain you want to climb? What skills, knowledge, attitudes and relationships will you need in order to achieve it? I encourage you to pursue YOUR dreams and to make the most of yourself. BE all that you can be! Become worth more to the world by developing your talents and sharing your skills with others. Most of all become self-reliant. Take care of yourself and your family. Not through government support or union entitlements, but through planning, working, learning and sharing so that you have more to give.

I admire people who struggle to make their own way. I love being American and I want you to achieve the American Dream. Be More American!

by Motivation Expert, Jim Cathcart

Today I had an interesting discussion with a neighbor who is an attorney. We were talking about how people challenge the existence of God. I mentioned a thought from the new book, Decision Points by President George W. Bush. President Bush said, in reply to those who claim that you cannot prove that God exists, you also cannot prove that He does not exist!

I hadn’t thought of that before (despite having watched Miracle on 34th Street each holiday season). For those who aren’t familiar with the film, it culminates in a courtroom scene where they are trying to prove that Santa Claus does/doesn’t exist. As our discussion progressed my friend, Ron, told me that he once used this questioning in a courtroom:

“How many of you love your parents?” “Can you prove it?”

The answer is “no, we cannot prove it” but we can certainly behave as if it is so and we can show a pattern of behavior that makes it likely that it is so. Be we cannot PROVE it because love doesn’t have tangible qualities, it only causes tangible actions, but then again manipulation or acting would also cause those actions.

As I thought further I came to the following conclusion. Please send me a note via my page on Facebook if you disagree and have another point of view. (I’m getting a constant barrage of spam on this website so I’ve had to disable the Comments on my blogposts and revert to Facebook for the interplay. Sorry.) Here’s my conclusion:

Love cannot be “proven” but it can definitely be expressed through our actions.

Love cannot be preserved but it can definitely be felt.

Love cannot be earned but we can be worthy of it.

In other words, we feel love, we express our love in many ways, and we can be worthy of someone’s love but that doesn’t create love. Love comes from God, it is intangible and eternal, everyone has experienced it and everyone can share it, but nobody can create it on their own. You don’t just decide to love someone and then you love them. But you can choose to be more loving in your actions and less judgmental in your thoughts, and these actions will increase the likelihood that you may feel the love as well. No guarantees but a good approach nonetheless.

This is one of those eternal discussions: Yin vs Yang, Science vs Religion, Philosophy vs Practicality, the good of mankind vs the needs of the individual. You get the point.

The reason I bring it up is that we are entering the time of year when, in the United States, we face daily reminders of the existence of God and the importance of Love. As you enter this sacred season please remain mindful that what matters most is that we continually resist the doubters and controllers in order to preserve our Love of our families, our communities, our countries and our Creator. With Love as our driving force we can overcome anything the world throws our way. We have within our collective abilities the capacity to overcome the ugliest of evils.

Earlier this week I conducted a seminar on Relationship Selling in Warsaw, Poland.

I toured this wonderful city and witnessed first hand the amazing capacity of a people to rebound from the deadliest evil ever expressed. Warsaw was 80% destroyed during World War II. Think of that, 80%!

Despite all of that destruction and the hideous oppression to which they were subjected, the Polish people rose up and conquered their oppressors and rebuilt their city into the vibrant economy that it is today. Take an online tour of Warsaw to see the beautiful parks, the buildings, the new soccer stadium, the roads and bridges. You will find a truly inspiring story of rebirth and clear evidence of Love.

Let their example be a stimulus to your heart and soul this holiday season. Regardless of your religion I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

by Motivation Expert, Jim Cathcart

“Profiling”

What do you think of when you hear that word? Racial discrimination or intelligent decision making?

The media has demonized this concept over the past decade or so. They’ve made it popular to believe that one should never use profiling as part of decision making. I say, that is a foolish point of view. Absurd in fact.

Profiling; the act of identifying the patterns of difference that separate individuals into general groupings, is a vital life skill. I said “vital”, meaning that we cannot get through life without it. It is as natural and useful as thought itself.

When you look at a forest, it is in your best interest to distinguish between deer and bears, squirrels and rats, rabbits and weasels. That’s the only way you’ll know the appropriate reaction to each: threat or not. The same process takes place as you walk through a crowd in a public place. You identify the people who look threatening and those who don’t. And you should do this. It is in your best interest to do so.

Security personnel at political events have to use profiling to speed their identification of threats. If they looked at the bulk of the crowd in the same way they looked at the scary looking people then much time would be wasted and threats might be identified only after it was too late to deter them. The same applies to you and me.

Everyday intelligence demands that we develop the habit of identifying patterns, “profiles” if you will. The more we recognize patterns in behavior, in appearance, in language use, and in movement, then the more we will know about who to move toward and who to avoid. Our schools teach us to recognize patterns in all parts of life, mathematics/grammar/physics, so that we can predict where the threats and opportunities will be.

So, let’s get over this hyper-sensitivity to the concept of Profiling. It is the only efficient way to use our time, attention and resources wisely in any situation. Now, having said that, I also want to acknowledge that just because you look like you’re carrying a gun or angry at the world doesn’t mean that it’s so. So, even though I might identify you as a “likely” threat it doesn’t justify my treating you as an actual threat, convicted before found guilty. But it totally justifies me in paying closer attention to you until I’m sure that you’re not a threat.

The essence of intelligence is making distinctions, noticing more. So let’s encourage our security personnel, our law enforcement officers, our military and even each other to use our Profiling skills to the optimum, while remembering that appearances aren’t realities. They are simply indicators of likely realities.

Every person in America is innocent until proven guilty under the law and that is how it should remain. So, if you belong to a minority that has a track record of violence or crime, then I sympathize with your dilemma, but I’m still going to be more cautious around you than I am around others. It is a reality of life that how we look and what we do sends messages to others as to what we are probably like. Our choices tell others what to expect from us.

And now I have a personal request. Last week I traveled from Barcelona to Los Angeles. In doing so I went through several security check points. One of them involved a full body pat-down, the intimate and intrusive new procedure that is getting so many people outraged. Well, count me among them. If I had behaved in a threatening way, shown any evidence of belligerence or threat then I’d say, check me out thoroughly. But since I was randomly selected without the use of intelligent Profiling, then give me the treatment that is justified based upon my appearance, credentials and behavior. As a multi-million-mile frequent traveler on multiple airlines with plenty of credentials to identify myself, I think that less groping is needed to eliminate me as a threat. Let’s change the policies that our TSA officers have to follow. Let them single out the likely threats and treat the rest of us with a bit more dignity and respect. It will save them time and keep us safe.

Notice more.

by Motivation Expert, Jim Cathcart

Our economy is in the worst shape it’s been in during our lifetimes, and it is for SURE that continuing the current patterns of spending and entitlement will rapidly make it worse. Much much worse. We are in peril folks. If you caught your teenager opening charge accounts, buying things and making withdrawals, and never increasing his or her income to pay off the debts, what would you do?

How long would you wait, giving them the benefit of the doubt, before you stepped in and demanded, “This has to stop!”? Even if the youth was giving away all the items and funds you’d still intervene because good intentions do not justify reckless actions.

That’s where our government has taken us since 2007. We’ve had a leadership team in Congress and The White House (plus all of their appointees who make policy and incur debts) who have tried their counter-intuitive policies and practices long enough to PROVE that they don’t work. It’s clear that the income has to increase. Now!

Taking more income from the productive citizens (taxation) does not increase income. It simply moves it between accounts. Income increases only when production of valuable goods and services increases. We must create items of value that others are willing to pay for. When we do this it generates jobs, profits and cash flow that shows up in every other aspect of the economy. Taxation reduces income, eliminates jobs and punishes those who were productive.

We are not talking about “The Rich” vs “The Workers” here. We’re simply talking about Behavioral Economics. The value of certain actions vs other actions. When people produce valuable goods and services (independent people not government workers who are paid through taxes and fees) then others buy them and the economy comes alive. Tell a kid with a roadside lemonade stand that they don’t get to keep most of the money they earn and you’ll soon find them watching TV again instead of standing in the weather hawking their lemonade.

Profit is the reward for taking the heat, enduring the work and taking the risks. If you tell people that their profit is limited (through taxation and regulation) then their effort will be limited too. Production stops when profit drops.

Please get out and vote in this election. If you are a person who thinks before acting, then please vote.

?  But what if I don’t know who to vote for? Ask people you trust, do some homework and make your best guess. It is better that you participate than that you leave it all up to others. Be a contributor not a victim.

?  But what if I don’t like the two candidates? Then vote for the one who represents the party or point of view that is closest to yours. Don’t let your adversary win just because you ally is imperfect. Vote Conservative or Progressive instead of looking for a perfect candidate.

?  But I don’t trust any of them to do the right thing. Then vote the incumbents out of office and give someone else a chance. Remember: someone is going to win anyway. Why not help nudge things in the best direction?

It is you duty to vote and it is a blessing to be able to vote. The Iraqi’s took such pride in voting after years of oppression that they proudly displayed their purple fingers showing they had participated in choosing their leaders. Many did this at risk of their own life. In the early days of Colonial America our founding fathers did the same thing; they put their lives at risk in order to win our freedom. Please honor their sacrifices by casting your votes.

So that you will know: My personal position is Conservative. I know that these principles work. And though I don’t know and trust all the candidates on my side of the election, I’d much rather elect them than those who’ve spent us into this abyss. Those who took over Congress in 2007 and The White House shortly thereafter have proven that they don’t know how to get us back to prosperity and freedom. Let’s give them a much deserved vacation, even retirement. Go vote!