Are you being honest…

…in conversations with yourself?

ATTRACT Opportunities Instead of Pursuing Them…

…Using Counter-Intuitive Thinking

In today’s blog we’re going to explore the importance of language, in particular the language we use with ourselves as we’re formulating the decisions we’re making.  We’re going to tap Step 6, Eclectic Education, to help us gain these insights.

In his book, The Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz states that the first agreement is to be impeccable with our word.  In a similar fashion, neurolinguistic programming states that how we perceive things depends upon the language we use.

Recently I met with a friend who was telling me about a request that he’d received from a client.  His first statement was “I don’t think I’m the right person for this project.”  I challenged his statement knowing that he is one of the most competent and creative people I know and that this project was well within his capabilities.

Then he said “You’re right!  I don’t want to do this project.”  Again I challenged him “This sounds exactly like the kind of project you’d enjoy.  Why do you say that you don’t want to do it?”  He responded “I don’t want to do the research this project requires.”  This gentleman loves research!

Again I challenged his statement.  Then he said “They’re not going to want to pay for the research this project will require.”  Now we’d gotten to the real issue – being compensated fairly for the project.

Why was it so difficult to get to the real issue?  This person wasn’t being honest with himself.  The reality was that he didn’t want to disappoint a good customer, he was pretty sure that the customer wouldn’t want to pay for the research and yet he wanted to get compensated for his efforts.  He bundled all that together and came up with “I don’t think I’m the right guy for this project.”  How sad. And counter-productive.

It’s counter-intuitive but when we feel reluctance toward things, we need to do a reality check.    Is our reluctance truly what we think it is?  Or are our emotions causing us to make excuses for not doing something?  Once we get to the true reason behind our reluctance, we can confront the situation openly and honestly with all parties. This clarity will create a better result for all involved.

How was my friends dilemma resolved?  I suggested that he tell his customer that the research involved in this project would cost between $30,000 and $50,000.  Then I suggested that he ask “Will you get enough benefit from this effort to warrant that investment?” By being honest with himself, he could be honest with his customer. In being honest with his customer he educated that customer and allowed the customer to make an informed decision. After all, it is possible that my friend is overlooking some aspect of value that this project could provide.  He would never discover that if he assumed that the value wasn’t there.

If you’d like to develop these insights so that you, too, can become INVALUABLE to yourself and others, simply click on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE book cover and sign up for the self-study program.  Or, if you prefer that personal touch, you can have your own personal coach to help you become INVALUABLE and, in the process, learn how to attract opportunities instead of pursuing them.

Would you like to learn how to develop these counter-intuitive thought approaches?  Check out my 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE self-study program.  It’s a modest investment with life-time returns.  Just click on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE book cover and learn how easy it is for you to become INVALUABLE.

Attracting opportunities is only the beginning.  Visit www.pricingforprofitbook.com to discover how to get compensated well for the value you provide or check out my latest book, Pricing for Profit.  Enjoy!

If you’re struggling to get noticed…

…you may want to try a different language.

I received a call from a woman who had forwarded her resume to me.  She asked “What can I do to make my resume more powerful?”  A few days later, a business owner told me that he was expanding his market and wanted some thoughts on how to craft his message for that market.

My answer to both was exactly the same, “Talk about the results you’ve gotten.”  When I see a resume that doesn’t highlight results, I question whether or not the person has produced any.  When I see marketing materials or a website that talks about what the business does I can’t help but wonder “What did the customer get?”

While both of the examples above relate to business, the universal language of results applies to all aspects of our lives.  If someone offers you child-rearing tips, advice on how to bring romance back into your life or ways improve your health, you’re going to discount that advice unless the person can demonstrate that he or she has gotten results.  And you should, after all it’s the result you’re after.  As the old adage says “if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will do.”  But we’re not interested in any road, we want to reach a specific destination – to get a specific result.

It’s a natural human tendency to want to talk about what we do.  That’s the way we’re wried.  Unfortunately, it’s not what potential employers and prospective customers want to hear.  They want to know, “Can you produce the result?”

It’s counter-intuitive, but if your message isn’t helping you get noticed, your probably speaking the wrong language.  You’re speaking the language of process instead of the language of results.  Whenever you’re asked “What do you do?”, pause a moment and think about the language you’re about to use.  If it’s the language of process, shelve that commentary.  Shift gears and tell that prospective employer or customer what results you can produce for them.  That’s how you stand out from the crowd.  That’s how you get noticed.  That’s how you get hired.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 4, Seeing Similarities, to determine that the employment situation and the shift in market focus were exactly the same situation.  Then I used, Step 1, Contributory Negligence, to determine what these folks were doing that caused them not to gain the interest they desired.  Finally, I used Step 5, Contrarian Mindset, to demonstrate that results is a universal language.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

Good news – My latest book, Pricing for Profit, was released 9.9.09 in the United States, Canada, U.K., Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands.  It’s available in all the major bookstores – Borders, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.