by Motivation Expert, Jim Cathcart

“Resume The Boom!”

The economy is in the doldrums because the people are depressed. Much like The Dark Ages when the prevailing mood was gloom and doom, we see very little optimism and hope today. The news is filled with discouraging information and reports that lead us to be more suspicious of each other and skeptical of everything we hear. Each day brings a new expose’ of some corrupt institution or a new regulation that carries with it a host of reporting requirements and restrictions on normal communication. But there is enormous opportunity behind this gloom.

What we need is a “Rennaissance,” a rebirth of the desire to grow and succeed.

When business is depressed it doesn’t go away, it just gets postponed. People still want a new car and many need one, but they’ve delayed their purchase due to economic fears. Couples still want to buy a new home or renovate the one they have but banking and mortgage regulations have caused them to delay.

But the need and desire to buy still exist. In many cases, the money is also available, but the commitments are inhibited by fears and uncertainty. It’s hard to exert initiative when you are confused. So what do we do?

Re-Start with a Dream

Every great advancement begins in the mind of one individual who decides to take action on his or her dreams. They see the goal in their mind or feel the desire in their heart and then they act upon it. That is what we need MUCH more of today: goals and desires.

Step One is to Define What You Want. Until you have a clear target you will not take bold action.

Here’s an exercise to break the inertia:

1. Start a journal page listing all the things that you care about; your family, friends, health, home, country, company, church, body, mind, relationships, skills, tools, toys, everything you can think of. Add to this list over the next week and make it as complete as you can. Get everything you care about onto that page.
2. Take time to review the listings in a leisurely way. Don’t “study” it, just review it. Let it drift before you…and then Notice What You Notice. In other words, reflect on what you are seeing and make notes about what matters most to you.
3. On a separate page start writing what you want. Don’t worry about sequence or priority just start listing what you want or would like to have or do. It could be as simple as a new lamp for the family room or as ambitious as being elected to the presidency of your industry association. Have no concern over whether you can achieve it, just write it down. Take your time and do this over a week or so. Come back to the list each day for a few minutes and add to it or refine it.
4. Once you have the Wants List you are ready to set some new goals. Review the wants and circle the ones that matter most to you. From this short list you will be able to draw some Next Step goals to truly go to work on. This process can be done for a company as well as an individual.

“Without Reflection there is no true learning.” Kevin Buck

It is time for the dreamer in you to emerge once again. Re-ignite the caring genes in you. Start talking about what’s possible. Get others engaged in conversations about how good it could be if we all started contributing toward the growth of our company, community, family or country. The big questions are:

What do you really want?  

What are you willing to do in order to achieve it?

How can you start working on it today? 

Be one of the initiators of the ReBooming of America! Resume the Boom!

I was born in 1946 and graduated high school in 1964. Those dates define “The Baby Boom”; 78 million people born during the 18 years after World War II. Our boom has driven a mega-market for everything from diapers to depends over the course of years.

Today 10,000 baby boomers are turning 65 every day. Read that again…yes, “every day!”

But unlike Mom & Dad and our own grandparents, we aren’t retiring and fading away. We are still active. Socially, financially, professionally, physically and intellectually…we are vitally still engaged in the world.

This presents an interesting opportunity for the rest of the world. How do we cope with and profit from meeting the needs of this huge group? The answer will vary depending upon your field of involvement.

Here are just a few of the emerging needs and wants.

• Learning to use Social Media to stay actively connected
• Special Interest Groups: every imaginable area from hiking clubs to NASCAR to culinary arts to photography, sailing and salsa dancing
• Fitness for Seniors who still desire to compete or advance
• Musical performances: still eager to Rock & Roll
• Discussion Groups: continuing their intellectual growth
• Political Involvement
• Community Leadership & Public Service
• Financial Security
• Leaving a Legacy
• Leisure Travel & Exploration
• Healthcare Services
• Seniors Communities and Services
• Making a Difference in the World

They are also still looking for opportunities to do more.

You might enjoy this brief video from my appearance before 1,500 professional speakers in Anaheim, CA recently. It adds a musical perspective to the message above.

Yesterday I was interviewed by Phil Taylor for the Goal Achievers Network. Here’s the link,

I hope you enjoy it and get many good ideas as to how to keep yourself and others motivated.

by Motivation Expert, Jim Cathcart

How many of your customers have over 5000 followers on Linked-in, Facebook or Twitter?  So, instead of telling five people about their service hiccup with you, they can now instantly tell a thousand times that number!  It would not take many unhappy customers to cut a sizeable dent in your bottom line and brand reputation.  With customer expectations up 33% over this time last year, you are very vulnerable to a today’s wired and potentially dangerous customers.

Wired and dangerous is the picture of today’s new normal customer. Customers are wired in two ways—they are edgy, impatient and quick to exit on the slightest hiccup, like they’ve had too much coffee.  But, they are also wired in the sense they have the Internet-enabled capacity to communicate instantly with hundreds or thousands of other customers.  Their influence-power also makes them dangerous.  If they receive poor or impersonal service they talk back—with a single snarky video or damning review gone viral, they can bring down an entire company.

Wired and Dangerous: How Your Customers Have Changed and What to do about it is a must-read for anyone with customers in this cyber age.  Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh raved about this book; Lou Dobbs declared it “an irresistible page turnings look at today’s empowered customer.”  I am happy to recommend this new book written by my friends Chip Bell and John Paterson.  Count on it giving you a whole new look at how to serve today’s new normal customer in today’s not-so-normal world.

In this provocative book, they provide a tested formula for transforming today’s edgy customers into eager partners. Using real-world examples, they detail powerful ways to bring harmony to a relationship that was out of whack even before the Internet. I hope you will buy a copy and recommend it to your friends.  Be forewarned:   get ready for a wild ride!

Chip R. Bell

chip@chipbell.com

214-522-5777

www.chipbell.com

by Motivation & Sales Expert, Jim Cathcart

Everyone needs time to reflect in order to learn what the best next steps can be.

“Without Reflection there is no true Learning.” Kevin Buck

Let’s cruise to Alaska together on May 21, 2011. I’m cruising on the world-class Crystal Symphony from San Francisco round-trip to Alaska departing May 21st and returning on June 2nd. We will be stopping in Victoria Island, BC on “Victoria Day” and then; Vancouver, Sitka, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and more. I’m not booking the cruise, I’m taking it. I will be doing some work for the cruise line while I’m on board but mostly I’ll be traveling as a passenger.

That presents an opportunity. Why don’t you join me and use this once-in-a-lifetime vacation cruise as a time to rethink your business, reflect on your life and take a deep look at the choices you could make. Like me, over 8000 baby boomers are going to turn 65 every day between now and 2029. Most of us are NOT ready to “retire” in the sense that our parents used to do that. In fact, what many of us are doing is recommitting to our careers in a whole new way!

I’m not only now speaking around the world (last year included Macau, China; Bogota’, Colombia; Santiago, Chile; Warsaw, Poland; Whistler, Canada; and Barcelona, Spain) but I’m also playing Rock & Roll guitar and singing in night clubs and at conventions. My business has reactivated in new and exciting ways. I find that my clients are doing the same. What about you?

• Isn’t it time you took a careful, objective look at how your business and your life are working, so that you can make some mid-course corrections?
• What have you been waiting to think about, that might not allow you much longer to wait before you start feeling the effects of putting it off?
• Where is your real talent? Is that what you are using most and best?
• How productive and supportive are your primary relationships? Would a better application of Relationship Intelligence® be valuable to you?
• Would you like to restart your engines and get yourself “back in the game” more effectively?
• Wouldn’t it be great to have someone who you could “think aloud” with just to be sure you’re on the right track?
• If you invested a couple of weeks renewing yourself, your relationship with your partner, and your excitement about your life path, how quickly would that pay dividends in your business?
• If not now, when? If not Alaska, where? If not with me, with whom?
• Where will you get the motivation and clarity of thinking that truly taps your latent potential?

A Powerful and Valuable Time to Think…about what matters to you the most.

I’ll be leading onboard Parlor Discussions with the fascinating people who join me. We will explore ideas that will stretch your mind and touch your heart. You’ll be able to swap ideas with some truly substantial people. For years I’ve been hosting the “Sherwood Parlor Series” in Thousand Oaks, California and we’ve had: Authors, Psychologists, Astronauts, Musicians, Actors, Executives, and Educators from around the world as my featured guests. These insights and this level of dialogue is what you will experience in the Crystal Parlor Series with me.

You will be among a very few with whom I’ll spend up close discussion time at numerous points during the cruise. My focus will be on your needs and interests, and I’ll bring you many compelling ideas and insights. Before we sail I’ll send you a questionnaire to help you identify the topics and issues you’d most like to explore.

After the cruise I will remain on your advisory team for the rest of the year. If you have a question, need an outside opinion, want some reassurance, need a shoulder to lean on, or just want someone who’s really interested in you to listen, then I’m your guy. You will also be able to attend any online events I host during the remainder of the year at no additional fee. If I book two or twenty two webinars, skype conference calls, or the like, then you are welcome to attend as my “inner circle” guest.

It is Alaska! Memories for a lifetime. Imagine walking onto your balcony and seeing this!!!

Crystal Symphony is rated the #2 luxury cruise ship in the world next to its sister ship #1 Crystal Serenity. The folks who book these cruises are people you will really enjoy rubbing shoulders with. There will be a few days at sea so that you can enjoy the ship itself and participate in my programs and the world-class entertainment and education offered by Crystal itself. And there will be days where you can go ashore and explore this exotic and awe inspiring land.

If you’d like to join me and make this a life transforming experience for yourself (and your partner) then drop me a note today. I’m still refining the agenda and making sure that it is the best, most relaxing, and inspiring experience you could ever have. I’ll assure that your cruise experience takes the primary place and the times we spend together will become enhancements to what already will be a life-changing experience.

Check out the cruise schedule and pricing on the Crystal Symphony website, and if you are ready to book a cruise then let me know and I’ll plan to add my value to what Crystal can do for you. If you’d like to join this cruise and spend some quality time with me, call the cruise line today and pack your bags. My fee for this Inner Circle experience is only $1,000 and is separate from the cruise price. Bookings for the cruise will be handled by Crystal Cruises and are not part of the relationship with me or Cathcart Institute. I hope to see you on board.

by Motivation & Sales Expert, Jim Cathcart

The excitement at this year’s National Association of Music Merchants “NAMM show” in Anaheim was evident throughout the miles of exhibits and tens of thousands of attendees. They guesstimated over 90,000 in attendance and exhibitors told me they suspect it was even more. (Photos and videos below)

Surprises: One truly unexpected observation is that “Business is Booming!” As I roamed the thousands of exhibits and snaked my way through the overflow crowds, I heard again and again that this was the best year for business at NAMM in recent memory. So, despite a challenging economy and more regulations, laws, taxes, etc. on the horizon…people are buying! Not just shopping, but buying.

This bodes well for our economy in general because the music business is a business of “non-essentials” (but don’t tell the Music people that. For them it’s life itself.) In other words, purchases made around music aren’t life-sustaining essentials like food, water, transportation. They are discretionary expenditures for the regular consumers, the folks who aren’t “in the business” of music. Conclusion: if people are clamoring to buy non-essentials then they must feel optimistic about their near future. That leads to more opportunity in all fields. Not just the music business.

Yes, we still have many economic and political challenges, but all in all, I’d say Raise Your Sights. Set bigger goals, the opportunities are all around you.

Creativity and Innovation were also prevalent this year. Many new products e.g. a Video Screen in a Piano! (Wm. Knabe & Co.) and every kind of “effects” toy imaginable. There is even one floor pedal that will cause your amplifier to sing harmony with you in your own voice! (TC-Helicon VoiceTone Harmony G-XT) I got one of these for Christmas and have been singing along with myself almost daily. What fun!

Steve Krenz of Legacy Learning Systems has created a DVD based course called “Learn & Master Guitar”. They have partnered with Hal Leonard and Gibson Guitars for distribution and iPhone apps. This relatively simple course has generated over 2 million downloads and created a following that is filling their special events and expanding the market for guitars. A GREAT idea! Learn from their example. Apply these ideas in your field. See my Video Interview with them on the show floor.

Here are some photos I took at the event. Enjoy and learn. Ask yourself, “How could we use this same thinking?” Call me and let’s brainstorm ways to get your business booming too. Info@Cathcart.com