Archive for October, 2007

Living in Southern California, the hellish Santa Ana winds usually come up in October and many times bring fire with them. This year the winds were unusually strong, with gusts up to 100 miles an hour in some of the canyons. The resulting fire storms caused widespread damage, especially in San Diego county where hundreds of homes were burned to the ground.

In the Temecula area, where I live, we had fires just a few miles away with thick billowing smoke filling the sky. In talking with many of the people that I work with, many had friends or relatives who lost their homes. The sad reality is many of these people had little or no warning that they had to evacuate. When the fire trucks came down the street they had only minutes to get family and pets together and load up any belongings.

I asked myself the question… what would I take if I only had five minutes to get out? I quickly realized that there are a lot of things to consider. There are the irreplaceable items such as photographs and memorabilia that would be important. I would want to take along legal, financial, and insurance documents that would be needed after the fire was over. Computers and electronic data would also be vital. The list quickly grew and I can just imagine how hard it must have been for so many people faced with this situation.

The TV news programs were showing people going through the ashes of their burned homes, looking for anything that remained. This brought up the importance of creating a home inventory that would be used along with the insurance adjuster to provide a list of items that would need to be replaced.

When I actually put all the pieces together, three things became very apparent…

1. The important documents, photos, and memorabilia should be easily accessible and stored in one place.
2. A home inventory should be performed and updated as new items are added.
3. All of these items would need to fit in a car or truck and be able to be grabbed in five minutes.

After considering all the ramifications I sat down at my computer and came up with some inventory and insurance  cards that would be helpful in an emergency situation. I put these cards together into a template for Microsoft word that you can download and print out on your computer.

The MS Word Business Card template contains…

1 & 2. Basic Inventory Cards

Use this card to record the important information about items you have around the house. Create cards for appliances, electronics, and furniture, along with cards for smaller items. Systematically go through your house or apartment one room at a time. Create a card for each item in the room, including the contents of desks, drawers, closets, etc. Describe each item as completely as possible, including color, size and quantity. When you’re finished with all the rooms in your house, don’t forget the garage, patio, outside buildings, etc.

Collect the cards and put them in a stack. You can use a mini clip or business card holder to keep them organized. To back these up, photocopy the cards 10 at a time onto regular paper and file these copies with your important papers.

We also have included a single line description card for small items where a full gamut of information is not available. You can quickly list the contents of drawers, closets, and work areas on the eight lines provided. These cards along with a digital photo of the items should give you a good starting point for a claim.

When you have to evacuate your house, you may need to leave basic information behind for a firefighter or other emergency worker. Here is a simple card that you can fill out ahead of time that you can quickly hand to a neighbor, family member or the fireman standing at your front door. This will give them multiple ways to contact you after the emergency is over.

Like the card above but with contact information for friends or relatives. These can be used for emergencies but they are also helpful to keep in pocket or purse when you have to provide emergency contact information at the doctor’s offices or at your children’s school.

 
We have provided three types of insurance information cards. There is one for Homeowners/Renters insurance, one for Car Insurance, and another for Life Insurance. These can be very important in an emergency since they have your policy number, your agents phone number and the company contact number and address. Having all three of these filled out and available will give you peace of mind. You can make multiple sets and keep these in your car and at work for quick reference.

This quick reference card has a place for your bank and financial account phone numbers and reference information. These cards can be invaluable after an emergency to get to be able to call up your bank or financial institution and report a loss. So many people have their account info memorized on their computer, that if their cpu was lost or damaged would have a hard time remembering each individual account. These cards can help.

If your computer crashes or is damaged in a fire and has to be replaced, do you have the software codes to re-install your operating system? How about your installed programs? This quick reference card has a place for the software name and the codes. You can make a copy of this card and keep it under your monitor for that day that your computer crashes and you can’t remember where you put the CD sleeve with the install code.

This handy card has a place for your utility company phone numbers. This quick reference document is useful to alert your utilities of a loss and also handy when you move. You can quickly cancel or forward service to your next residence. There is also an optional place for your account numbers for reference.

We have also included a full sheet MS Word template of the basic inventory cards along with a front &rear double sided inventory card template that you can print on both sides that has twice the space. Both of these are included in the Zip file.

Instructions for use:

• Download the Inventory Card Template for MS Word
• Open the template(s) and modify as necessary
• Print out on Avery Business Card Stock (10 Card)
• Break cards apart
• Fill out individual cards
• For portability, stack cards in order and clip together with mini clip
• Transport easily in pocket or purse
• Keep in a quick access location like a desk drawer or file cabinet
• Optional: Add info cards to your Walleteer organizer

In our continuing series on John Maxwell’s book, Becoming a Person of Influence, we find chapter six on mentoring and enlarging other people. John explains that we must build others up and help them reach their goals. We should share our time and talents with others and motivate them to do better.

Joel Osteen in his book, Become a Better You, brings up a great point about enlarging people. He says..

Remember your thoughts do not bless anybody but you…

The idea of this statement is that we need to let others know what we are thinking. We need to make the phone calls and write the e-mails to let people know when they are doing a great job. If we keep it to ourselves, the other person is not built up and consequently does not receive the blessing.

If I see you doing a great presentation, I need to stop by afterwards and give you a word of encouragement. If I read your blog post, and it captures my interest, I need to comment that you did a great job.

Simple words of encouragement can really help someone move to the next level in their career. They can help others take a leap of faith and start a new business.

This is an area that I have been focusing on in the past few weeks. Trying to learn how to better communicate with people. I realize that time commitments and my perfectionist streak hinder me from making quick replies to e-mail or leaving a quick comment on a blog.

Joel’s statement got me thinking… isn’t it better to send a short note saying "great job," than not sending a more elaborate note because I don’t have time to write it.

Rather than a two paragraph work of literary art, how about if I just leave a one sentence comment on someone’s blog? I can’t tell you how many of those two paragraph masterpieces I’ve had in my head that never were written.

Hmmm… how about a paraphrase… A few words written are much better than a perfect paragraph in my head…

Listening is a skill that we develop. Done well it can increase knowledge, build relationships, and generate ideas. Done poorly it can lead to a breakdown in loyalty and respect. We are all in situations everyday where we must listen to others. It may be our spouse or kids, it might be a boss or co-worker, or it may be an important customer or supplier.

John Maxwell, in his book Becoming A Person of Influence, gives us 9 things we can do to become more accomplished listeners.

1. Look At The Speaker: True listening is giving the other person your undivided attention. It means turning off the TV, putting down the newspaper, and focusing on what the other person is saying.

2. Don’t Interrupt: Show respect to the other person by not interrupting. Most people react poorly to being interrupted in the middle of what they are saying. If you step on their ideas it’s like stepping on their toes.

3. Focus On Understanding: Listen with your eyes to pick up both content and feelings. Show empathy and acceptance and focus on the message and a possible message behind the message.

4. Determine The Need At The Moment: Is the other person sharing with you to receive comfort or do they want you to solve the problem? Are they just venting or are they trying to persuade you to do something? You may find the other person’s needs may not match your expectations. Finding the person’s current need will help you put the conversation in the proper context.

5. Check Your Emotions: Do you become highly emotional during certain conversations? If so, check your emotions and let the other person finish explaining their point of view or ideas before you respond. By taking a deep breath or counting to ten before responding, will let you more clearly express your ideas.

6. Suspend Your Judgment: As John says… you can’t jump to conclusions and be a good listener at the same time. Take the time to hear the whole story or you may miss an important point.

7. Sum Up At Major Intervals: Comment on what is being said and craft the response in a personal way. Sum up what is being said at regular intervals. As the speaker finishes a subject replay their major points before going on to the next one and make sure you understand the message.

8. Ask Questions For Clarity: In your conversations ask follow up questions and seek clarification. Become a good reporter. If you ask in a caring and non-threatening way, you’ll find the other person will open up and share their experiences with you.

9. Always Make Listening Your Priority: No matter how busy you become, remember the importance of being a good listener. Focus on what the other person is saying and hear them out.

In my years that I spent in sales I quickly discovered the key to increasing sales was to become a better listener. When I would listen and ask follow up questions I could find out what my customer truly needed. It was then much easier to offer products and services that matched their needs.

In our early years of marriage my wife and I attended a weekend marriage conference. In those three days I learned to truly listen to my wife. By becoming a better listener I became a better husband. I can truly say that heartfelt and focused listening is the key to a happy marriage.

Focus on these tips in your next conversation. You’ll be amazed at the results.

Technorati Tags: Listening, John Maxwell,

When I was in second grade I was a very shy kid. The thought of sharing in front of the class was pretty scary. But I had a great teacher named Mrs. Reyer who was also a great coach. Her motto was “Yes You Can!” I’ll never forget one autumn afternoon in class. We had to stand up in front of the class and give a report about a former president.

John Adams was my subject, and suddenly I was called on to stand and deliver. Mrs. Reyer looked at me with an encouraging smile on her face and motioned for me to start. I stood straight up and with a loud voice shared about the second president of the United States.

Like a track coach during a race, Mrs. Reyer coached me to victory that day. Her encouraging gestures during my speech energized me. When I was done speaking, she said something to me that I never forgot. “John, that was a great presentation, someday you will be a great politician or public speaker.” For a seven year old kid, those words were gold. That day I experienced victory… victory over the fear of sharing in class.

Having faith in other people and helping them experience victory is the third tenet in John Maxwell’s book, Becoming a Person of Influence. John covers a lot of territory in this chapter but the one thing that stood out was that we should help others by experiencing some wins together. John explains…

“Coming alongside others to help them experience some wins with you gives them reasons to believe they will succeed. In the process they will experience victory. That’s when incredible things begin to happen in their lives.”

When People Sense Victory

• They sacrifice to succeed
• They look for ways to win
• They become energized
• They follow the game plan
• They help other teams members

When People Sense Defeat

• They give as little as possible
• They look for excuses
• They become tired
• They forsake the game plan
• They hurt others

Years ago when I first got into outside sales, I had an incredible sales manager named Gary Murphy. Making cold calls is never easy, but Gary had a great way with people. He spent a few days working with me and he helped me experience the thrill of closing a sale.

Gary had a positive attitude and always looked for a way to help his customers. His technique was win-win and more often than not we would walk out of a new prospect with a smile and an order. At the end of the day, I was energized. That energy translated to a much better attitude on my part and a large increase in sales.

When people believe in you there is an incredible power that fills you up. Suddenly the impossible becomes possible. Great coaches will help you visualize success.

John gives four action points to help us have faith in others…

1. Find a Strength. Instead of looking at weaknesses look for strengths in others. Find one that can be nurtured. Point it out to them and offer ways for them to use it. (A great book on the subject that offers an online strengths test is Strengths Finder by Tom Rath)

2. Build on Past Successes. If you have to give someone a difficult or challenging task, take time to recall their past successes. This will give them encouragement for the future and help turn a demanding situation into a positive one.

3. Help Others Overcome Defeat. If you have friends or colleagues that have recently experience a defeat of some kind take time to talk with them about it. Be a good listener and when you are done make sure you value them and let them know that you believe strongly in them.

4. Start off Right. The next time you recruit new people for your club or organization, start the relationships off right. Instead of waiting until they prove themselves, make it a point to express your faith in them before they give you results. You be pleased by their desire to live up to your expectations.

Make someone’s day today… have a little faith in them.

Technorati Tags: John Maxwell, Faith, Strengths

In our continuing Digging Deeper series we turn to chapter two in John Maxwell’s book, Becoming a Person of Influence. This time it is the subject of nurturing other people. John brings up five main attributes that make up this special quality. I would like to take these qualities one at a time and show you through some personal examples, bloggers who used these to reach out to me and to other people and how that helped them reach a huge audience.

To become a nurturer you need to put your focus on other people and help them develop…

1. Positive Self Worth. In my early days as a blogger it would feel really lonely putting up a post and having little or no feedback. It was like throwing something into the wind and have it float away, never to be seen again. This is where Rosa Say came in. With her feedback on a few of my early posts, I felt empowered to write more. She always has a positive and nurturing spirit that has helped me and hundreds of other bloggers succeed.

In the early days it was also nice to visit Darren Rowse over at ProBlogger. His posts lifted the profession of blogging to a higher level. According to Darren, not only was blogging a worthwhile endeavor, but it also could be a profitable one. His posts helped me in many different ways, but helping me to see the positive aspects of blogging was very important.

2. Sense of Belonging. One of my early mentors in blogging was Steve Pavlina. He had started his blog six months prior to my blog and I always felt like Steve was like a big brother. He offered positive feedback and his blog was comment heaven in the early days. He put a link to my blog on his site and commented on my posts from time to time.

It’s funny, but in the blog-o-sphere having someone link to you is a big thing. It definitely gives you a sense of belonging. Once Steve linked to my blog, my traffic started to increase and suddenly readers were commenting on my posts. I started to find other blogs that I liked and started linking to them. Suddenly I was part of a growing experiment in communication called blogging.

About a year ago I met Liz Strauss over at Successful blog. She has taken the idea of community and has really run with it. She came up with an idea to review and link to successful and outstanding bloggers. She calls these blogs SOB’s and provides a colorful badge to everyone she links up with. She took the whole idea of a blog community to new levels last year when she collaborated with Phil Gerbyshak and other relationship bloggers to
create SOBcon07, a blogging conference held in Chicago. Her blog has become a weekly collaboration event ever since.

3. Perspective. After I was blogging for a few months and my traffic was increasing, I ran into business blogger, Yaro Starak. Yaro helped me develop a new perspective on blogging. He talked about finding your niche and helping others by writing pillar articles on your subject of interest. His blog tips series helped me focus on my evolving category of personal development. I went from just a casual commenter to some one who was really interested in the field.

4. Feeling of Significance. As my blogging became more frequent and my writing became more focused, Rosa Say offered me a membership in her growing Ho’ohana community. This was like reaching blogging nirvana. All of a sudden I was part of something very special. I was suddenly part of a community of bloggers that I had incredible respect for. With powerful voices like Dwayne Melancon, David Zinger, and Tim Milburn this was humbling to say the least.

Collaboration with others is so important in business, your personal life, and especially in blogging. Trackbacks and linking are some of the best ways to develop community on the web. With these simple tools it is quick and easy to offer off site resources and link to pillar articles that really make a difference.

5. Hope. Now that I have been blogging for over two and a half years, I look ahead to what is next. I want to say a big thank you to all of you who have read, commented, and have been a part of this blog. You have inspired me to keep writing and to make a difference in the world. We have some exciting new things coming soon, including a new look and some great new resources.

Blogs come and go, but two of my favorites are celebrating third birthdays this week. Three years is a long time to keep writing and sharing and both Steve Pavlina and Darren Rowse deserve and big round of applause for keeping at it. Steve is offering a look back at his polyphasic sleeping experiment while Darren is giving away prizes at his birthday fest.
 
When blogs have been around this long it gives me hope for the future. I think this experiment called blogging is just starting, I can’t wait to see what the future holds…

Technorati Tags: John Maxwell, Steve Pavlina, Rosa Say