How balanced is your life? The eight spokes represent a balanced wheel. The less balanced your wheel is the more wobbly will be your ride through life. The more balanced the wheel is, the smoother it will run.

HOW TO USE: Use this tool as you plan for the future.

1. Print a copy of the “Wheel of Life”
2. Consider each area and how fulfilled you feel right now, given this area of your life over the past year.
3. Rate each area on the spoke just below the area title.
   0 is at the center = dissatisfied; 10 is at the outside = very fulfilled.
4. Put a dot on the line, where your rating of this area falls.
5. Consider what each area would look like if it were a “10″.
6. Write a few notes on what would need to happen to make it a “10″.
7. Pick one area, that if you improved it, all the others would also increase in fulfillment.
8. Consider this as an area for focus in the future.
9. Write a goal and set 5-10 objectives to make this area increase in value over the next year.

Use this tool to see the balance in your life and determine where your focus will benefit you most in the upcoming year!

Click here for your own Wheel of Life Assessment Tool!

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

To get this book click here.

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

Experts including, Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn, Chris Widener, Michael Angier, Tony Alessandra and 50 others from the top of the personal development field have contributed their encouragement to help you live the life you want and finally achieve your lofty goals.

Reader, Eric Garner comments, “I’ve just read ‘Ordinary People Can Achieve Their Lofty Goals’ for the 3rd time in 3 days. The first time, I only got to page 10 before I felt so inspired that I had to stop and finish off some work on some goals I’d let slip. The second time, I just couldn’t put the book down. I read and re-read the articles and learned so much. What an amazing collection. So profound and uplifting. The third time, I decided to cancel everything else and devote a couple of hours to the book and read them all through. It’s like a Masterclass in Motivation. My mood lifted so much, I felt so inspired at the end. It’s definitely going to be a book I’m going to come back to again and again. Brilliant concept, brilliant execution, brilliant results. Thanks.”

Get inspired and motivated and check out this e- book!

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

A few tips the book emphasizes are:

• Manage your energy, not your time
• Downtime is key for your success
• Rituals help to maintain focus
• Purpose fuels performance
• Work in sprints (small bursts of focused energy)

Important things seem like it will not matter if they get done today or tomorrow and therefore often are perpetually put off until tomorrow or until they become urgent. It is similar to the bad habit many of us had in school with reading. The teacher gives us what is important to read each week. Students are busy and do not read what is important and then a few days before the test when there is 200 pages of reading, the assignment now becomes urgent. Thus the cycle begins as we create urgent tasks that would not be urgent if we did the important things we need to do each day.

• Choosing your attitude. Explore concepts like the “toxic energy dump” where you appraise and get rid of negative people and things that drain your energy. Make sure you are not a toxic energy dump yourself!
• Playing. Discover the next steps of extreme customer service, how to make the customer special: play with them!
• Making their day. Also, learn about making the experience fun for the customer.
• Being present. Don’t just exist but be in what you are doing, whatever moment in time you are in, be fully present. Rather than thinking about the past or the future, concentrate on the present moment.

 These 4 simple lessons help to teach how you can have more power over your environment and improve the working relationships you have. Whether you are looking to build a team or just have day-to-day peace, learning how to apply these easy principles will give you a life that is more enjoyable and has better results. A fun story that is short to read makes this book entertaining and educational. A classic book for your library.

This model might work for some, but for many it leads to reactionary cycles that are unproductive and lead to a life of 24/7 work life with burnout and no balance. Things fall in the cracks, promises and follow-thru is compromised and it feels like you never quite have enough time.

Today, one of my clients, who is working on mastering sales productivity, and I reviewed his keys to success. These points are what he attributes to his success in his upper end service based sales (high-end design-build landscaping) and are also relevant to many others… as they are basic productivity keys:

1. Do a power hour to get your important things done. This is that one hour each AM to focus NOT on your to do list, rather on the important things you need to do but often do not “get to”.

2. Ask for and know peoples budget. Sometimes this can seem like a question you want to wait to ask and might not be right for all professions, however, it is a great qualifying question. Your goal is to sell. If your buyer has no dollars for the purchase it really doesn’t matter how great of a sales person you are. While you might squeak a sale out of a person like this, the chances are there are other more ripe prospects. Spend your time on people who can afford and are ready to buy your product.

3. Qualify your jobs. Don’t waste time with unqualified jobs. Again, different sales models require different approaches, but if your target is a big fish, don’t fill your time with small fish. If your target is small fish, then do small fish activity. The key is to know what is a qualified lead for you and pursue those. In the world with many demands on your time, this is one way to work to spend your time with prospects that have greater potential. It is a very simple concept, but many sales people move forward without qualifying the lead. Write down 3 attributes of your buying clients. Use this to help you qualify hot leads from cold leads.

4. Know your VALUE proposition. Why should people spend money with you? What makes you different than others? What makes your product or service worth it. As a sales person you have to believe in what you are selling and you have to be able to communicate the value or worth. It is a competitive market, what sets you apart from your competition?

5. Be persistent – ASK FOR THE SALE. Follow-up, don’t assume they are not interested, offer what you can do to help them to make a decisions. (Is there something you are questioning, what is keeping you from making a decision, are you ready to move to the next step, how can I help in the decision making process?)

6. Have a set schedule of meeting blocks. Know when you met with people so you can easily set follow-up appointments. When you wrap up your sales call, you should be able to set a follow-up appointment. We are all busy, if you don’t do this it can take weeks and months to secure another meeting, meanwhile you might lose the prospect to another faster salesperson. When are your blocks?

7. 1/3 prospecting; 1/3 sales; 1/3 production. Know the key parts of your sales cycle and spend proportionate time in each quadrant. Often sales people are in the sales part and balls get dropped at the front and end of the cycle. If you are intentional about time in each, you will round out your day, improve the quality of your WHOLE sale cycle not just the actual sell. What are you 3 main parts? Are you spending time in each?

8. Write down all promises and commitments in calendar. Block time for yourself. Write promises down that you make. Have time to follow-up. You have lots you are thinking about. Your word is important; don’t really on your memory to ensure you make it happen. What time do you need to block for you?

9. Have balance (honor nights and weekends with family). Again different jobs are different, but have time for you and time for work. The 24/7 person looks like a super star out of the gate, but it is hard to maintain the pace. Think about the long distance runner who sprints from the finish line, in order for you to maintain performance you must balance work and life. Your life allows you to work, so take care of it (health, family, energy, rejuvenation time, etc.) What time do you reserve for yourself/life?

10. Build a network / support team. Design strategic alliances and build your support team. Even if you work alone, there are relationships you can find where you “help each other out”. These are priceless. Who is your support team?

 Consider the points and the questions. Pick ones that will support you in being strategic with sales. All the best!

You cannot be good at everything! Even if you work in a specialized field, there are probably things you are not so good at and that cause you to waste a lot of time. Consider how you can partner with people around you to create win-win situations.

For example, the networking organization BNI (www.bni.com) is structured as a sales team for each member of the group. You sell for the other people and they sell for you. It is a great way to expand your sales efforts up to 40 fold, in just a few hours a week.

Action:

Consider what is on your plate.

Rate on a scale from 1-5 what you are great at vs. what you don’t like and takes you a lot of time.

Brainstorm on how you could collaborate with someone else to get this done. This is thinking outside of “buying” assistance, so consider how to create win-win partnerships.

It impacts how you see the world. As explained above, each side promotes either positive or negative thinking. People are naturally more negatively wired (They are. There is some statistic about 75% of all adult conversations are naturally negative – just listen the next time you are out.) Positive people live longer, are less stressed and enjoy life more. So, if you desire less stress and a long and enjoyable life, start thinking through the eyes of prosperity.

It impacts what you receive. Some are skeptical about this, but it is the law of nature. When you live in scarcity and cling onto everything, afraid of loss, you get little and things seem to run out. You attract scarcity. It is uncanny how this works, but it really happens. People get attached and cling to money, time, possessions, and for whatever reason, it is not something that can be held on to. The harder you fight for YOURS and cling to it, the quicker it dissipates.

On the other hand, when you live in and give from prosperity, it is incredible what comes into your life. I choose to see it as blessings from God. It is amazing. When you let go of your agenda and serve others, you are served. When you stop worrying about money and become responsible yet generous, you have plenty. When you volunteer freely of your time and energy you are uplifted and blessed. There are many old adages about this: “Givers Gain”, the Golden Rule, etc. When you can stop and look at what is good, what is right and allow yourself to live in the blessings you have been given, appreciate them and give back, the process continues to flow. When you get caught in fear, negativity and pessimism, life gets tough, fast.

Once you are in the scarcity mode, it can be a challenge to get out. You can get out, though. You just need to be intentional about listening to the tape that is running in your head. Listen to yourself talk and hear what you are saying. Are you saying CAN’T, WON’T, NEVER, ALWAYS, DON’T, etc.? These are signs you are looking at life from scarcity. Stop and ask yourself, “What CAN I do?” “What is true?” “What is possible?” Then do what you can. If you continue to always do what you can, you will start to embrace prosperity thinking and living.

Don’t believe me? Try it. It is amazing