August 2016
Strategies for Success Newsletter August 2016 Issue 128
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Published by Emily Huling Selling Strategies
Copyright 2016 Emily Huling. All rights reserved.
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In this August 2016 issue:
- Thoughts from the Road
- Thoughts from Others
- Josmo’s Cafe
- Stay Energized
- Emily Live
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- Thoughts from the Road
$100,000 salt and pepper shakers
Teaching an Agency Management CIC class in June took me to beautiful Orange County, CA. My long-time friend Kirsti, who lives in Los Angeles, met me for an exceedingly fun day at Disneyland. We were Soarin’ over California, entertained by It’s a Bug’s Life and It’s a Small World, and traveled across the universe in the new Feel the Force Star Wars 3-D simulation ride piloted by C-3PO.
Visiting Disneyland, I was reminded of the touching childhood story told by Randy Pausch in his book, The Last Lecture. The book was written as a guide on how to live life written when the author, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, was dying of pancreatic cancer. Randy died in 2008.
Long story short, Randy and his sister, ages 12 and 14, wanted to buy their parents a gift to show their appreciation for taking them to Disney World. On their own, they bought $10.00 salt and pepper shakers at the Disney gift shop only to drop and break them minutes later. They were devastated. An adult guest saw what happened and suggested to the children that they go back to the gift shop and ask for replacements. They did. The clerk gave them new salt and pepper shakers and apologized for not wrapping them better. When their parents heard the story, they were even more impressed with Disney World. That act of kindness to their children started a lifetime of loyalty. Randy calculated his parents spent over $100,000 on tickets, food, and souvenirs at Disney World during their lives.
What a great reminder for all of us. Sometimes it’s the smallest and kindest things we do that have the biggest impact on another’s life and subsequent choices that are made.
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2. Thoughts from Others
The Water Pot
A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on an end of the pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.
At the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his master’s house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, the cracked pot spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself and I want to apologize to you. I have been able to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts.”
The water bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house.”
Moral of the story: Each of us has our own unique flaws. We’re all cracked pots. But it’s the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so interesting and rewarding. You’ve just got to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them. Remember to appreciate all the different people in your life.
Summer rerun – from June 2011
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3. Josmo’s Cafe
We are featuring two crowd-pleasing recipes this month – Chocolate Zucchini Cake and Four Bean Baked Beans.
The Chocolate Zucchini Cake is an old recipe I dug out after my friend Frankie gifted us a giant zucchini from her garden. Hints of cinnamon and allspice make this moist cake sensational. Make it the day before serving to let the flavors develop.
Our favorite baked bean recipe is my friend Leannah’s recipe for Four Bean Baked Beans from a 1975 Minnesota church cookbook. It’s thick, spicy and sweet. Even better reheated if there are any leftovers!
Check out other Josmo’s Cafe recipes. The choice for the month appears at the top of the page and also in its proper category. We hope this will help you find the recipe that you read, liked, and can’t seem to locate!
Please let us know how you like our recipes. We love hearing from you!
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4 Stay Energized
Our 17 Terrific Tips series now numbers nine with the addition of 17 Terrific Tips When Visiting Clients. The most popular are 17 Terrific Management Tips and 17 Terrific Negotiating Tips. Visit the Business Building page on our website to find articles, free stuff, and all the 17 Terrific Tips columns.
August Energizer Minute – Breaking down silos – Get supercharged with Energizer Minutes – one-to-two-minute audio stories told by yours truly to energize, invigorate, and inspire!
Service Selling Supercharge on CD is available! Join the hundreds of agents who have completed the 52-week audio course. Service professionals learn tips, techniques, and tools to deliver exceptional service to every client, every day. To write and retain more business, start your in-house service-selling development program now!
“We love it! Supercharge ends our Tuesday staff meetings. We listen as a group. I have to pause the recording because there are so many ideas to write down. This material has made us better agents!”
Lori Augustyniak, CPA, CIC, President, Horizon Insurance, Bradenton, FL
Follow me on Twitter @EmilyHuling to read my weekday Energizer Moments.
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5. Emily Live
- Private client workshop – Building the Business – Las Vegas, NV – August 8-10, 2016
- Agency Management CIC, Fargo, ND – August 24-26, 2016
- Private client workshops – Revving up Production – Montvale, NJ – September 12-15, 2016
- Agency Management CIC, Kansas City, MO – September 21-23, 2016
- NAPSLO Annual Conference – Atlanta, GA – September 25-28, 2016
- NAPSLO NextGen Leadership workshop – Atlanta, GA – Leading with Certainty in Uncertain Times – September 26, 2016
- Private client – strategy consulting – St. Joseph, MO – October 3-6, 2016
- Private client workshops – Working Together for Success – Fargo, ND – October 31-November 4, 2016
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Selling Strategies: Strategies for Success Newsletter is published by Emily Huling Selling Strategies. For further information, contact emily@sellingstrategies.com.
© 2016 Emily Huling. All rights reserved.