When we are out with others, engaged in conversation, we are involved in a kind of theater. If you really think about it, things go like this: first we say something, then they say something. We watch their reaction to us and adjust our actions accordingly. Are they laughing when we say something amusing, or are they distracted by something in another part of the room? Are they making eye contact with us, or are they looking down at their feet as we speak?

If on occasion, we forget that this is an interactive drama, not a monologue, we may find ourselves looking into the glazed eyes and yawning mouth of a person trying to get away from us without seeming rude.

We may have some great stories to tell the world, yet so do the people that you want to tell them to. Once again remember that our conversations are like theater and there should be a lot of room on the "stage" to share with others in the cast, or others in the conversation.

A perfect example is a recent story I heard from one of my clients. She was telling me about a prospect of hers that was an artist and loved talking about it. My client, upon meeting her for the first time kept talking to her about her art and how she decorated around her house etc...... She spent very little time talking about herself, choosing instead to totally focus on letting the other person talk. She asked the artist if she could visit her house and see all the artwork and get ideas about things for her house. As my client is a realtor, her goal was to get a new client to either buy or sell a home with her. Because of the true, sincere interest she had in the artist, when she visited the artist's home the following week, the artist was not interested in talking about art in the least - instead wanting to talk about purchasing a rental property from my client. Because my client had built a relationship, and "gave up the stage" good things happened. She now has a new client because of her interest in others.

I have heard the statement several times over the years, "BE INTERESTED, NOT INTERESTING!!"

Have an awesome week.

Gary Michels
Co Founder
Sales Trainer/Author/Professional Speaker
Success Starts Now!
gmichels@ssnseminars.com
408-888-4848

I was thinking this weekend about how everybody always says they are BUSY. In our too- busy lives a day with nothing to do sounds as if it would be heavenly. We could stay in bed until noon, read a book without interruption, watch television for hours at a time, or lie in a hammock listening to the hum and buzz of life.

Usually though, if we stay in bed or read a book for too long, our legs start twitching to get up and move about. There is never anything real good on television. And our backs usually end up hurting when we lie in a hammock for any length of time.

Think about this for a moment. What can I do that will make me feel I have accomplished something in my FREE TIME TODAY? You don't have to paint the house or tune up the car. Going for a walk or to the gym, making a long awaited phone call, or simply cleaning the house can be enough.

"Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It is not a day when you lounge around doing nothing, it is when you had everything to do, and you have done it." Margaret Thatcher

Gary Michels
Co Founder
Sales Trainer/Author/Professional Speaker
Success Starts Now!
gmichels@ssnseminars.com
408-888-4848

I want to talk this week about people we call self-starters, people who make things happen. So how does one become a self-starter? The first thing a self-motivated person does each day is try to gain at least one victory every day. I personally try to get 10 WINS every day. It does not have to change the world, it just has to make you feel something went right that day.

The next step is to write down a short- or long-term goal. It must be a goal you really want to achieve. Then make a plan to achieve that goal using the motivation acquired from the daily victories. Watching the steps of this plan come together builds the confidence that we can achieve bigger things in the future.

Once you have the plan in your mind, the third step is to set deadlines for yourself to achieve it. Say to yourself out loud that, "I will be done by such and such a date." If you do not put time limits on yourself, time has a tendency to move on without us. We cannot just tell ourselves we will get to it sometime because these type of things rarely, if ever, get done.

The next step to becoming a self-starter is to keep in mind what the rewards will become when you achieve your goal. Really spend some time to visualize what it will be like once you have hit that goal. Write it down, draw it to help visualize it better, and think about it constantly.

The last and most important step of all is to START TODAY! Do it now! And do it with a ton of Excitement and Enthusiasm.

Have an awesome week.

Gary Michels
Co Founder
Sales Trainer/Author/Professional Speaker
Success Starts Now!
gmichels@ssnseminars.com
408-888-4848

Admitting that there is a problem is the first step towards changing that problem. Even though this may sound kind of corny, it is often true. We cannot do better until we admit that we are not doing well. We are all pretty good at attempting to hide or ignore a problem for as long as possible. We quite often think that it is probably just a temporary thing. Maybe it is not even a problem at all because a lot of other people are doing the same thing. When we argue with ourselves or others that a problem really is not a problem, the chances are that it really is a problem.

So what do we do? We try to be honest with ourselves about our own problems. I mean really look in the mirror and do some self reflection about our problems and shortcomings. It does not need to be a mirror, but give yourself some alone time and some thinking time to really dig into this topic. You may not be able to change all of them, but you cannot change ANY of them, until you admit that they exist. And almost always all of the fear we feel before we admit to ourselves or others about our problem, is lifted from our shoulders when we can make the admission and move forward to fix or overcome the challenge or problem we have been facing.

"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced" James Baldwin

Have a great week.

Gary Michels
Co Founder
Sales Trainer/Author/Professional Speaker
Success Starts Now!
gmichels@ssnseminars.com
408-888-4848

We all have bad habits. Things like smoking, drinking, gambling, over spending are just a few of them. It might be something a little less glaring like watching too much television, gossiping about others, eating too much fatty foods, etc. There are probably a ton more that I am not even listing, but I think you get the idea.

I often wonder why we do these things. The reality of it is because we are bored, stressed out, unhappy, sad, frustrated, lonely, and depressed. We do them to feel better and quite often they make us feel worse. We will never be able to stop these bad habits until we understand the reasons behind them and address them directly. What can we do to better our situations so that we do not have these bad habits? It is our responsibility to fix these things. And we are the only people that can address them.

Instead of being hard on yourself because of all of the unhealthy things you do, try to focus on the reasons that you feel you need your bad habits.

What are your bad habits? Are they things that you know you need to control? What void are you trying to fill?

I know personally that when I take some time to think about these questions, my bad habits seem to lessen and my happiness goes up at about the same rate. And that is what these Monday Morning Mojos are all about, bringing your HAPPINESS level up.

Have an awesome week. Have a HAPPY week.

Gary Michels
President-Co Founder
Sales Trainer/Author/Professional Speaker
Success Starts Now!
gmichels@ssnseminars.com
408-888-4848