What’s your vision?

I chose to write about having a vision this month, for a few reasons. One, the state of the world these days depends on us all having a vision for something better. It’s also a new season and in my religious background, it’s our New Year.  In Judaism it’s 5772. We’ve come a long way as a people and have been through many challenges and many triumphs…but at the heart of what we want and wish each other this time of year is a year of joy, health, abundance and happiness and peace for all mankind…an economy that works wouldn’t hurt either…

But…at the core of what you wish someone come any new year or even a “birth” day is something kind. Something good, something big!

That’s what we need right now. A big vision to have not only peace, abundance, health and well-being for one another, but on a whole planetary basis as well.

In my recent radio interviews with Guy Kawasaki who wrote the book, “Enchantment” one of the keys to delivering goods and services is to have a great cause, in fact to deliver a feeling of “Enchantment” to your customers you need to be aware of the 3 key pillars…Kawasaki suggests…when and why enchantment is necessary, and describes the three pillars of enchantment: likability, trustworthiness, and a great cause.

As person and business owner you want to work on your likability factor. In business people work with who they like. If you’re looking for a job, potential bosses hire people they like. You want to work on what goes into being liked.

Being someone of your word is huge. Trust in any relationship is key. If you work on building your “reliability” factor and can be “trusted” upon to do the job, or be there for someone else when needed, or to be there in a crunch or when waters get rough…that is huge! Trust is huge…

Lastly, a great cause. What’s your great cause? Are you just slugging it out in life for the money? Or is there a great cause to your life or business?

My challenge to you is to pick a cause that speaks to your heart. At Zappos, the incredible online shoe company…Tony Hsieh (Shay) has created an amazing culture at Zappos and has launched a website and a vision all about creating happiness. In fact if you log onto  http://www.deliveringhappiness.com/ and you will learn about the philosophy at Zappos, it’s more than just selling shoes…there is a big vision…a cause…something else at stake that drives people to be great!

A vision, drives you to be great.

Don’t believe me yet? Michael Gerber, author of the E-Myth (Revisited) and guest on our show on October 3rd, writes this about having a vision…

“A business without a vision is directionless. It lacks purpose,” writes Michael Gerber in his latest book E-Myth Mastery. You cannot plan the future of your business if you do not have a vision. It is the starting point of any business growth plan.

Gerber adds, “the vision is your unique dream. It is the image of what you want your business to become. It provides the pull factor. The vision gives you the big picture. It keeps you on track as you develop strategies and take steps to grow the business. It gives you the place to focus on when overwhelmed by the mass trivia that invades our business lives. The vision puts purpose into the business.”

Great companies have a vision, a cause, a purpose. I mean really at the end of the day, it’s got to be about something else than just slugging it out, day after day, trying to earn a buck. Right?

Great companies like Pike’s Fish market…decided to improve morale by becoming “World Famous” you now go to Pikes Fish Market and it’s a blast, the customer experience is fun, you have to even duck out of the way as the fish mongers at the store can usually be seen throwing fish down the aisle…

Mitchell Richards clothing store has adopted a “Hug your Customer” philosophy and they deliver outstanding service and have become one of America’s leading clothing retailers in terms of sales and service.

Harvey MacKay author of “How to Swim with the Sharks” is all about service and getting to know their customers, his vision is to know more about each customer than the IRS. Why is that you ask? Well, it’s all about being extraordinary with your customers, knowing them, remembering them, being there for them and delivering an outstanding customer care experience. Oh and Harvey MacKay runs a company that makes envelopes, service is the only game he’s got to win at in order to be successful.

So…create a vision. Play for something bigger than yourself, have a cause, have that big picture or what’s the legacy you want to leave?

Dr. Stephen Covey reminds us in the book the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, to think about what you want someone to say for your eulogy at your funeral. If you think about that for a moment, is your life or business just going to be about doing it, slugging it out, making a buck…or are you going to have a big picture, a goal, a dream, a vision?
It’s like the story about the 2 brick layers…and when a man comes toward the construction site, and talks to the one bricklayer…and asks how it’s going? The one bricklayer replies, “Ehh…it’s ok, I guess, I am just working hard, making some money just  laying some bricks”…then the man goes to the other brick layer and says, “so your just working hard laying some bricks eh”? The second brick layer shakes his head and looks to the sky and says, “Oh no, I am not just laying bricks…I am building a church and where you’re looking now will be the steeple when we’re done”!

So what are you doing in your business? Are you laying bricks working hard or are you building a church?

Let’s work on your vision…Here is a way to create your vision…have a great month!

Cheers/David

List two of your unique personal qualities, such as enthusiasm and creativity._________________  ____________

List one or two ways you enjoy expressing those qualities when interacting with others, such as to support and to inspire. ________________  ___________________.

Assume the world is perfect right now. What does this world look like. How is everyone interacting with everyone else? What does it feel like? This is a statement, in present tense…describing an ultimate condition, the perfect world as you see it and feel it. Remember a perfect world is a fun place to be…

Now, Combine the three prior subdivisions of this paragraph into a single statement.

Example:

My purpose is using my creativity and humour to support and inspire others to live a life the love, doing work that brings them joy, peace and fulfillment as I share my knowledge, contacts and experiences.

That’s a quick way to build your vision, but if you want to really look at your vision in more depth, then join me on October 13th at the Vaughan Business Enterprise Centre at 9995 Keele St. and Major Mackenzie from 6-8:30 pm and take my full on “Creating a Vision” session. It’s $35.00 but well worth it…and you can register by calling the Vaughan Business Enterprise Centre at 905- 832-8526

Companies need to have a learning mindset

Kids aren’t the only ones that gotta go back to school in September…

 

 

 

You’ve got schedule learning into your business and daily schedule it just makes good business sense.

 

Welcome to September, it’s a new month and there is a new energy, it’s about going back to school, getting back to work, re-focusing…this month, I was asked a question by the Toronto Business Times Magazine, then wanted to know that when you’re in a small business, where time and money are key factors to consider, what steps would you take to establish an employee training program?

My reply is that as a business coach and facilitator this is a great question, because it’s one we face in our engaging our clients. When we are pitching sales training or team training, it’s often tough to get people to commit the time.

When promoting public training programs where a small business owner has to be away from the office and the “busy-ness” of running a business, it can be tough as nails so to speak to get a solo-preneur to take a day to learn.

So as someone who works in the learning and development field this is a question or an objection we come across regularly.

So how do you overcome this challenge?

If you’re in human resources for a large company or if you’re a sole proprietor, the key is you must be scheduling training into your business calendar.

In this day and age of constant change and unforeseen challenges in the marketplace you have to be on top of your game.

It is in your best interest to have a learning mindset to help you achieve the results you want to see happen in your business or with your people in the organization you work with.

In the book “Leading in Turbulent Times” team learning is one of the keys to success. Even Dr. Stephen Covey suggests that you have to “Sharpen the Saw”, meaning take time to improve your skills so you can work less, work more effectively and apply new ideas and skills to your venture.

The June issue of Profit Magazine featured the Top 200 Fastest Growing Canadian Companies and time and time again, having a learning mindset and being dedicated to training and development of staff, owners and stakeholders was a key in business success.

Rick Spence from Profit Magazine writes, “So, growing companies must find the right formula for keeping their most effective employees happy. Increasingly, PROFIT 200 firms are investing substantially in their employees’ professional development. By offering various forms of skills training, they’re keeping their top talent challenged, engaged—and around.”

You must work training into your calendar.

You also want to be strategic about it. What kind of training is going to help you the most?

Where do you need to improve? What skills need polishing up?

Even though I work with clients to grow their business, I would encourage anyone I work with to really get clear on their needs as far as learning, growth and developments goes, and then begin to seek out the appropriate people to help your team.

One other key idea is that training and development in this day and age of technology doesn’t have to be in a class room.

If time is an issue, then you can encourage your team to take time to learn from home at off-peak hours via a tele-class, webinar or even a CD to play as you drive to work or to your appointments.

One of the wonderful options in tele-training and webinars is that the organizers can record these so if the timing of the live session doesn’t work with your schedule than you can tune in at a later date at a time that’s more convenient.

I love hosting tele-seminars, I find them a great way to learn and you can do it in the cozy surroundings of your home, or cottage or office!

I also love using CD’s or downloading information to listen too as I drive, or work-out at the gym or go for a walk. I can listen as I do these other activities and it’s kind of fun taking care of your health as you work out and listen to some compelling training material on your iPod or in your car.

So my advice is to schedule learning and team development each month, then look at time-saving options like tele-seminars, webinars or other forms of online learning and lastly and this is an important point too, you might want to link some kind of incentive to the learning.

I like certificates of achievement that shows that one of your team members has completed the training to improve their skill sets. I used to work in the promotional products association for several years and the association established a credit system that allowed promotional products specialists to obtain their CAS or MAS designation.

If you became a “Certified Advertising Specialist” or a “Master Advertising Specialist” it was a designation you would put on your business cards, website and letterhead. It showed your commitment to excellence and in some cases it was that very commitment and level of professionalism that would get you the business.

So here is to your success, now go learn something!

Cheers!

David Cohen

What does it take to be successful in business in Canada today?

I love the June issue of Profit Magazine. Why? Well it features 200 Canadian owned businesses that are succeeding. In this day and age, as a small business owner we need all the good news we can get and also we need the inspiration so that we can become successful as well in our own right.

It also gives us smaller business owners hope.

But success also leaves clues. I find it important to know what is it that’s making these business owners successful and why are they growing when a lot of us our having challenges just getting a sale.

Let’s look at this issue of Profit Magazine a little deeper and see what some of the traits of Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies are sharing in.

For starters, they aren’t just doing business in Canada. Most if not all are taking their business to other countries. The U.S. is a natural, but South America and Western Europe have been growth centers for these Fastest Growing Canadian companies.

Plus, these business owners are taking advantage of Revenue Canada’s Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR & ED) incentive programs. Started in 1986, the SR&ED program is intended to encourage corporate investment in research and development in Canada. On average over 18,000 businesses in Canada receive over $4 billion in SR&ED tax credits and incentives. One more interesting fact is that nearly 3/4 ‘s of the businesses that apply for these government tax credits are small business owners.

Grant money can help your venture too. If you’re producing a music CD, Factor is a government grant that can help you launch and produce it. Trillium is there for arts and cultural grants and you can log onto MERX a website that let’s you bid on government tenders and programs.

So, two things are leading to success, one is doing business abroad and the other is to source government funding, tax credits and or manufacturing credits along the way.

One other key to the success of this years Top 200 fastest growing companies is that they are open and transparent with their employees. They share the books and let those that work for them know the bottom line.

I am reminded about a good business associate of mine who owns some high-end, leading clothing stores in the United States, after the recession really hit 3 years ago, their sales went down. Sharply too. So much so that they had to cut back the very staff that had made that clothing retailer a top-notch success.

So, what did they do? How did they handle the downturn with their employees?

Well they told the truth and then asked them to take a temporary pay cut instead of having to lay people off.

Surprisingly, the staff agreed and once the economy settled and sales picked up a bit, so did salaries. But, a big disaster was averted and no one lost their jobs.

One other key to success for Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies is that they really invest in their people from a training and development perspective.

Writer Rick Spence states in this issue of Profit, “ Talent is scarce—and will become more so as the job market recovers further. So, growing companies must find the right formula for keeping their most effective employees happy. Increasingly, PROFIT 200 firms are investing substantially in their employees’ professional development. By offering various forms of skills training, they’re keeping their top talent challenged, engaged—and around.”

Spence goes onto share how Winnipeg’s Broadview Technologies is succeeding at employee engagement and excellence. Spence adds, “President Michael Orloff says the company’s growth—267% over the past five years—stems from seven core values that guide Broadview and its people: sustainability, unity, service excellence, strategic advice, accountability, balance and mastery. The last of these is key, because the tech world changes so fast that employees who don’t continually expand their skills will leave their clients underserved or at risk.

That’s why Broadview has adopted a training program, or road map, for every one of its 20 employees.”

Another key success trait includes building resiliency. In this day and age of such mass change, it’s important to be adaptable, creative and to shift thinking.

Barry Jinks of Spectrum Signal Processing Inc (telecommunications) turned his company around by adopting a flexible mindset, according to Jinks…he was going to build new technology on profit not via the Venture Capital route…Jinks shares his secret for success as being able to embrace new options, be open to listen to the opinions of others in the industry and take massive action.

Terms like innovation, drastic action, nimble, listen, seek new ideas and advice are all key to having a Fast Growing company today in Canada.

One other key trait to having a successful business in Canada is to think big and build on it. According to Rick Spence, he writes,

“As your company grows bigger and more complex, you’ll need standardized formulas for keeping up with your business’s and employees’ performance. The earlier you start implementing proper business processes and systems, the better you’ll stay in touch and out of trouble.

Asked about the systems that make his company run, Kevin Higgins pulls out a thick binder marked “2011: Better, Stronger, Fitter” from a stubby bookshelf in his exposed-brick Toronto office. It contains all the top-level paperwork he needs to run Fusion Learning Inc. (No. 146), a sales training company with 17 employees and $5 million in sales.”

Developing systems is nothing new. But look who’s done that really well? McDonald’s is based on a system, so is Tim Horton’s, my local Goodlife Fitness Club has a system for how they greet a new customer, and a recipe for customer service, they call it “A world-class meet and greet”.

When was the last time you’re customer experience was world-class?

Author Michael Gerber, talked about systems and operations plans years ago in his book the E-Myth Revisited. Having systems and an operations manual allows you to “work on” rather than in your business.

You need systems, policies and procedures for every aspect of your business, from how you answer the phone, to what you’re sales process is like, to how you invoice or even get a product to a customer.

I suggest working on one aspect of your business each month and look at ways you can create a system. Once systems are taught, procedures and how to’s are shared with employees, you can then let them run your venture and you handle the more engaging aspects of the business that you love to do.

I highly recommend this issue of Profit. I love the lessons shared and I love calling on these companies to engage and do business. I find successful companies that are growing are an ideal customer.

Until next time, have an excellent summer.

Cheers/David Cohen

It’s summer time and the living is “Free”

It’s summer time and that means it’s a time to connect, get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather, events, friends and family…

So welcome to our  3rd annual 10 things you can do for free this summer edition of the Technicolour Report.

#1. Canada Day…lot’s of events in almost every community, in Toronto, Mel Lastman Square is a fun place to be on Canada Day…log onto… http://www.toronto.ca/special_events/canada/2011/index.htm

Plus for a full listing of what is free of charge, log onto the city of Toronto’s website listing all the fun things you can do on Canada Day…

http://wx.toronto.ca/festevents.nsf/selectevents?Searchview&query=(%5BEventName%5DCONTAINS(canada%20day))&searchorder=4

2. Sunday Serenades…free concerts at Mel Lastman Square in the summer from 7:30-9 pm…usually Big Bands, but lot’s of fun and you can dance too!

http://www.toronto.ca/special_events/serenades/2011/index.htm

3. Combine music and food and you have “Fresh Wednesdays” …take a time out on Wednesday afternoons and have a fun bite and groove to the tunes…at Toronto’s City Hall, here is the link for more info!

http://www.toronto.ca/special_events/wednesdays/2011/index.htm

4. If you miss it on Wednesday, you can go on Thursday…to Tasty Thursdays…they say you can’t fight City Hall, but who would want too once you’ve eaten at Tasty Thursdays and also danced at the noon concerts, log onto to see what’s in store…http://www.toronto.ca/special_events/thursdays/2011/index.htm

5. Harbourfront is a really cool place to go too and they have free movie nights take the family or take a loved one, it’s nice to see a movie under the stars! Pass the popcorn! http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/summer/freeflicks/

6. You can enjoy music in the Garden at Harbourfront too…music, the lake, and chillin’ in the garden, here is the link to see some very cool acts this summer…http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/torontomusicgarden/index.cfm

7. Downsview Park, the place where the Pope came to visit as did the Rolling Stones, also has free movies in the Park, here is the link…http://www.downsviewpark.ca/eng/movies2011.shtml

8. In mid August there is a fabulous outdoor Jazz Fest in Old Unionville in Markham, and it’s “free” …good line-up too this year of some cool jazz ensembles… log onto http://www.markhamjazzfestival.com/

9. Also in Old Unionville on Labour Day Monday there is a Heritage Fest which includes a free Big Band Street Fest. Here are some other things to do in Markham…and Old Unionville…

http://www.unionvilleinfo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48&Itemid=73

10. Last but not least…Aurora is getting in the act…with their Jazz Fest…it’s fun, free and very outdoorsy! It’s happening at the end of July…here is the link to the line-up and to see what’s in store…

http://www.aurorajazzfest.com/

Now…I have only covered 10 free things, but in each community in Ontario, there is a ton of things to do …from movies, to music to free business seminars at Enterprise Toronto, http://www.enterprisetoronto.com/… plus there are readings at libraries, free swim at the community pool plus so much more…

Have an amazing summer and enjoy the abundance that’s all around us!
Cheers/David Cohen

Social Media…may not be the answer to your marketing plans

Mark Zuckerberg wasn’t Time Magazine’s man of the year last year for nothing. He’s revolutionized how we market, communicate and do business…

But you have to know the game of using online social media platforms before you really engage in them.

I just watched a video featuring Neal Rodriguez, he’s a smash mouth, in your face guy from the hood who’s rude and crude, but he’s bang on about online social media…to quote, “However, when I work social media platforms professionally for myself or on a client’s behalf, a required byproduct of the activities I perform will produce revenue.”

In other words Neal adds, if you don’t have an online social marketing strategy and one that has a built in ROI (Return on Investment) than it’s just a hobby.

Check Neals online rant…it’s crude and loud, but he’s bang on…it’s on Youtube too…(go figure)…here is the link…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_wr6gFeh28&feature=player_embedded

You want to be making darn sure that you’re not just using Twitter, Youtube, Facebook and LinkedIn (the big 4 in my estimation) for just socializing.

People don’t have time for just socializing. You want to be building your email lists, your community to actually engage, subscribe and pay for your goods or services.

I was looking at my business associates and friends profile and when I look at what they post it literally scares me to death to want to work with them. Why?

Well for starters, they post really unflattering pictures. I don’t want to see one of my colleagues in a bikini on her trip, or my friend who looks like he’s half in the bag. He’s a top notch marketing mind.

People here is what I am saying if you’re remotely on to promote your self or business…wisen up.

Post things that are in keeping with the business image you want?

Be mindful of the content your posting…is it relevant? Does it make someone get what you’re doing and want to do business with you?

Is your online social marketing reaching the people you want it too? Or are you hammering away at your usual list of friends and contacts?

Why on earth do you have to add someone on Facebook and LinkedIn? You already are in contact with them, one platform is enough!

So if you’re really wanting to be more strategic about your online social media campaigns…here is what you might want to think about.
1) What’s the image you’re getting across?

2) What is your core message?

3) Who is your targeted audience? Not everyone on your list is going to buy from you.

4) Have you considered joining groups and tapping into associations online instead and connecting within these? At least a group or association can be more targeted!

5) Know what you want to achieve from an online social media campaign…how many clients, click through’s, subscriptions, sign-ups and yes quantify it in terms of money. Nothing wrong with making money online!

6) Don’t do it all…do one thing well and then move onto the next platform. I was advised I should be on Youtube, sell videos of my workshops, have a different page on Facebook, really use Twitter and get to know LinkedIn.

The thing is…it’s too much for me to take on. I am in social media overwhelm…so I want to focus on 2 maybe 3 things right now and once I have mastered that, I will move on with video, selling things online and tapping into some other new social media technology’s. But take time, master one and then move onto the next.

Each social media platform has so many elements to it…so take time to really get clear on one for now.

6) Don’t forget to build your list. To build a list you have to reach out and cultivate business relationships with people. In person!!!

7) Don’t forget to ask for permission to connect with someone too. I don’t know about you, but I feel like I am inundated with messages, emails, events, things to do, people to see, places to go…ARRRGGHHH!!!  There is only one me to go around and I have other things on the go besides being everywhere at once! 

Ask permission to market to someone, because maybe, just maybe, they are inundated with stuff in their email box and don’t even have time to read your material.

8.  Watch your image, what do you want to convey to people? Yup, no more pictures of you in a speedo buddy…besides it’s TMI, TMI…(Too much information)

9) Be on message. Focus on the benefits of your offering when marketing to clients on social media sites.

10) Don’t ever forget to build one-on-one personal relationships…they come before any online social media networking and marketing. A good eye-to-eye conversation with a client is the best way to connect. Why? Well, the eyes don’t lie and it’s so easy to hide behind the veneer of the web.

11) It’s not all about online social media, don’t forget to use email too…services like Constant Contact enhance your email marketing…email can be direct to the exact person you intended it for. Also build your email list too…really build it strategically, you don’t want to be a spray hitter and hope to hit it out of the park. Keep your focus

12) Focus on the clients you really do want. Who do you groove with? What industries, sectors and or groups of people do you love to work with and work best with! Get focused and watch the “Spray and pray” marketing approach!

So, those are a few ideas and tips to focus on when it comes to marketing your business online.

Join me on June 10th for a one day marketing boost to help you get strategic about your marketing and to help you grow your business.

Email me for more information at thecoach@smallbusinessbigideas.com

Talk to you soon, have a great spring!
Cheers/David

What’s keeping you stuck?

Are you feeling stuck? Is it any wonder? Look around us these days, we’re being bombarded with fear. The Tsunami, the earthquake in Japan, New Zealand and of course the Nuclear disaster. It’s a bit overwhelming and it leaves us paralyzed by fear.

When we are in a state of fear it limits are creativity and ability to respond proactively to the day-to-day situations that we face. Being in a state of fear has other side effects too. Aside from keeping us “stuck” it has health and wellness effects too.

When you’re in fear, you’re in a “fight or flight” mode, you react as opposed to being proactive. You’re adrenalin runs fast, your heart beat races and you’re on over drive, that physical and mental state has huge effects on us. It’s like we’re running our bodies on overdrive or going fast in low gear, the engine will eventually overheat and like a car you might find yourself on the side of the road, stuck, helpless.

So what can we do?

We can’t deny the fear, we can’t deny the loss, we can’t deny our own feelings of loss when a tragedy hits. But, the key is to accept these feelings and to be proactive around turning the feelings and emotions into action…to get unstuck and not let our emotions run the asylum

We have many fears-fear of terrorism, fear of death, fear of being separated from people we love, fear of losing control, fear of commitment, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of losing our job, the list is never-ending! Many of our present fears are rooted in what Buddha identified as “delusions” – distorted ways of looking at ourself and the world around us. If we learn to control our mind, and reduce and eventually eliminate these delusions, the source of all our fear, healthy and unhealthy, is eradicated.

Unhealthy fear is fear that controls us and consumer us. These fears “blackmail” us, rob us of the joy and abundance of life that we were meant to live. Some psychologists actually believe that most of our psychological problems that we experience are rooted in fear. Fear though is a double-edged sword, it can save us from something unbecoming and yet it can also destroy us, keep us paralyzed unable to act or act in a proactive manner.

So the question we need to ask ourselves is how can we preserve the place of healthy fear in our lives and protect ourselves from the death-dealing effects of unhealthy fear?

First identify what it is you’re afraid of. Some therapists suggest you face the fear head on and that you shift the relationship you have towards fear.

Talk to your inner child:
I remember dealing with a possibility of getting fired from a job a number of years ago. My then boss had it in for me. I knew that my next day at work, would be my last. So I took a day off to avoid the firing yes, but to address my fears.

What I did then was to talk to my inner child. Yup, the adult David had to talk to the 6-year-old version of me. What I discovered is that the 6-year-old was afraid of this mean boss, (actually the adult version wasn’t so thrilled by that boss either to be honest) so as the adult I had to parent my inner child and come to peace with the situation.

We agreed we were a little afraid of the loss of a job and what that might mean economically and personally. We also came to terms with that outcome. We also agreed that if this boss was really mean we would make it okay to pull down our pants a moon that boss…that’s what the 6-year-old wanted to do…if things got bad.

But I had to calm that inner child down and I even agreed to mooning my then boss…I mean heck what could they do? Fire me?

So in times of fear, talk to your inner child, they have ideas and wisdom beyond belief and parent your inner child…the two of you can be a powerful force during times of change, loss and fear.

Another way to address your fear is to look at a worst versus best case scenario. Walk through the worst that can happen and you might find that the worst thing that can happen isn’t so bad. You may have to humble yourself a little, but it’s usually not that bad.
In these days of great change, and loss, it’s important to have a good support network around you too, to overcome some of the challenges that we face. These challenges can literally stop us in our tracks.

Step back from the challenge and think back to other times in your life where you actually overcame an adversity. How did you do that? What was the feeling then? What worked to help you? How did you manage to overcome? Sometimes taking stock of our past helps us to deal with the present. If you can overcome one thing you can overcome the new challenge, you’ve done it before, you just need to be super positive with yourself, and coach or parent yourself through the challenge or adversity.

I like to pray, visualize and meditate to help me through adversity.

Recently, I lost my mom, a beautiful woman and a big influence on my life. But for the past several years Alzheimer’s robbed her almost totally of her personality and ability to communicate, but one way of dealing with that loss was to pray, to talk openly, to grieve and make it okay to be sad and to be okay with not living life a mile a minute.

I also have just recently lost my full-time contract position where I have been working for over 2 years, yet another loss.

I believe it’s okay to grieve and to understand the grieving process. I haven’t been feeling too much like jumping out of bed each morning, but I am making progress, partly because I gave myself permission to post an invisible “gone fishing” sign around me. I gave myself a time out.

When you are dealing with loss or grief or change, it’s important to do the following:

1) Keep perspective on what really matters in life

2) Keep healthy, eat right, exercise, get your rest, even a little extra is okay

3) Be patient with yourself, the grief does subside, but don’t short-circuit it or it will manifest later (some say 6 months), feel the feelings and maybe journal them on paper

4) Don’t make sudden big life decisions, you may regret it later

5) Get counselling

6) Surround yourself with good people…

Grief expert Elisabeth Kubler-Ross studied the stages of grief and those stages are critical to you coming out on the other side of the experience, the first stage is denial, then anger, bargaining, (ie: trading something of value to you to let the negative situation not happen), then there is depression and the last stage is acceptance.

By knowing these stages it can help you or a loved cope better with loss, change and challenges…

Kübler-Ross originally applied these stages to people suffering from terminal illness, later to any form of catastrophic personal loss (job, income, freedom). This may also include significant life events such as the death of a loved one, divorce, addictions, or the onset of a disease or chronic illness as well tragedies and disasters that we’ve seen in Japan and New Zealand of late.

Kübler-Ross claimed these steps do not necessarily come in the order noted above, nor are all steps experienced by all patients, though she stated a person will always experience at least two. Often, people will experience several stages in a “roller coaster” effect—switching between two or more stages, returning to one or more several times before working through it^.

Significantly, people experiencing (or caretakers observing) the stages should not force the process. The grief process is highly personal and should not be rushed, nor lengthened, on the basis of an individual’s imposed time frame or opinion. One should merely be aware that the stages will be worked through and the ultimate stage of “Acceptance” will be reached.

So, based on the recent losses I have had, I wanted to share some ideas and wisdom to help you cope more proactively. I believe life is to be lived as fully and successfully as we can, but if we don’t come to terms with the pain and hurts in our lives we can never fully be all we can be.

I know my mom would want that for me and if she knew you, she’d want you to live a good, productive full life too, so in her memory go to it!

Until next time. Stay well.

David Cohen

Hello world!

Welcome to a new look and vibe. This is the new blog and it will become a temporary website for the next few months. This blog is going to be used as a communications tool designed to help you in your business and keep you updated on the services, ideas, events, products and tool kits for you to access to help you succeed.

Are you ready to come along on the journey?

Let’s go.

As I begin this new evolution of the business, let’s begin with this months success article.

Over the next few months, I will be adding services and products like, coaching, mastermind sessions, tele-classes, events, learning sessions, products to help you boost your business and I plan on bringing the radio show back.

I hope you enjoy the journey too!

Cheers!

David Cohen

February 25th:

But let’s start with this month’s success article:

The times they are a changing:

I was recently at a business conference in York Region (Newmarket, Aurora) and the theme was about Business Innovation in Changing times.

If you haven’t noticed what’s going on in Egypt, Libya and even in New Zealand with the recent earth quake in ChristChurch, the world is changing fast.

With unrest in the Middle East comes higher gas prices, with higher gas prices comes increasing costs. Food costs will rise, goods will cost more to transport, imports and exports will be affected and yes, we’re going to buy cars that aren’t so big on gas.

Habits will shift, we’ll drive less, prioritize our activities and what we do, what we buy and where we go.

Are you ready for that in your business venture?

In his book “Why Your world is about to get a whole lot smaller” , Economist and author Jeff Rubin suggests,

“The world isn’t about to run out of oil—it’s just running out of oil that we can afford to burn. And whether we move goods by air, ship, truck or rail, the global economy runs on oil.

Replace cheap oil with tomorrow’s triple-digit prices and all of a sudden the wheels of globalization get thrown into reverse. Distance will soon cost money, radically redefining both economic geography and global trade patterns.”
Rubin suggests that the time to shift how we do business may be now. No longer will be doing business globally, but business will become much more localized. Rubin adds, “In order to insulate ourselves from even greater oil price shocks in the future, we must move from the hugely energy-intensive model of a global economy to the far more sustainable model of a local economy. And that means we must re-engineer our lives to adapt to the contours of a much smaller world.”

York Region’s economic development office is taking note of this reality. Yes it means a major shift in how we live, but my sense is we better be preparing for this kind of reality now!

So what can you do about it? How can your business be part of this much needed leading edge?

For starters, learn what other communities are doing. In Europe “Transition Towns” are all about making the community more independent on the global economy and more interdependent on it’s own.

In York Region they’ve developed a group, website and community to help facilitate the “Transition Town” concept… http://transitionyorkregion.ning.com/. York Region’s transition town is a local community  initiative that works together to answer this crucial question: “For all those aspects of life that this community needs in order to sustain itself and thrive (e.g. water, food, shelter), how do we significantly increase resilience and drastically reduce pollution and environmental destruction”?

Everyone who cares about making sure our world is left in good shape for our children and our grandchildren are welcome to this group. We are exploring ways to self-organize collaborative action in our community to build a better future for all.

There are “Transition Town” Communities building up throughout Ontario now, however they are a bit of a well kept secret.

Toronto has a transition town movement and website.

http://transitiontoronto.ning.com/

It’s aim is to chunk Toronto into small community hubs to help ensure we can be self sustaining given a peak oil crisis, economic crisis or food crisis.

So the question is. What are you doing to get ready for this very possible new way of doing business?

How are you cutting back on the carbon footprint? What steps are you taking to perhaps alter how we do work and come to work in future?

What can your business do to ensure the community we live in adapts to this possible “worse case” scenario?

I sense there is a very viable business opportunity to look at the transition town movement and to really begin to ensure that our communities not only survive these possible shifts in how we do business but that we thrive as a community.

If you’re looking to make the shift, get in touch with a transition town initiative in your community.

Team up with other like minded “green” businesses.

Look at other success models. For example Wind Fall Ecology Centre in Newmarket is doing some cutting edge Windmill and sustainability initiatives with the Pukwis Community, just north of Toronto.

The development of the Pukwis Community Wind Park on Georgina Island represents a unique project. It will help inspire a variety of new training initiatives focused on community-level projects, which have the potential to greatly benefit not only Torontonians but also other Ontarians interested in practical ventures that are profitable, create new good-quality jobs, increase industrial innovation, and help local communities address air pollution and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Windfall offers quite a number of green business programs, from green sector jobs to possible grants and business projects. Tap into their website and get familiar with what they’re doing…they are an extremely cutting edge organization with ties to business, government and the community in York Region, log onto  http://www.windfallcentre.ca/

York Region has a very active Environmental Alliance collective. With various organizations and groups that are aiming to help the shift in how we do business more palatable. If you want to tap into the Alliance log onto … http://www.yrea.org/index.html

The Toronto Greenhouse is a vibrant organization that offers monthly industry networking events.

Green” Entrepreneurs, business owners, senior managment, “angel” investors, venture capitalists, private investors, investment funds representatives,lenders, business/intellectual property lawyers, consultants, industry association reps, other “green” business people and friends of the environment, along with Web, print and televised media also take part in these fast growing events…log onto http://www.torontogreenhouse.com/index.php to attend the March event.

Ontario has on going Green networking events and a Green Enterprise collective of organizations and companies taking on environmental challenges that we’re facing. Log onto http://www.greenenterprise.net/ to link to what’s available in the Province of Ontario as well.

As I wrap up this post, whether you believe in Global warming, or that Peak Oil is nearer than we think, the bottom line is that we have to make change now, we have to be our brothers keeper and we have to shift how we do business. It’s just making sense and if we want to adapt and thrive then this Green movement, finding new ways of getting goods to market, finding new ways to access energy and working collectively as a whole is just good business.

If you have any questions about this article or need other contacts ask me. In my role as a coach/facilitator I excel at linking people to resources.

Until next time.

David Cohen