Focus on Connecting Until Success

Someone forwarded me a great NY Times article about a college graduate who decided to embark on 52 different jobs in a year to help him find his passion and he chronicled the journey on his website oneweekjob.com. According to the article, what he realized is that
“I like changing tasks. I enjoy continual change. And it should be something interactive. With people.”

The article writer’s comment is that he actually made himself a job using his skills and talents….a job that he was able to refine and perfect.

Networking is powerful and most people including myself do not do enough of it. Most of us are on automatic pilot and do the same things day in and day out. One important lesson I learned when working for New York Life Insurance Company (by the way I was working for them on 9/11) is that successful people develop good habits. If you are a financial planner or in a field where you need to meet people in order to sell something, you need clientele. The best way to obtain clientele is to develop a habit that over time will get you clients.

In the insurance industry, the branch I worked for had the highest sales in the industry. They credited this to their unique point system which they trained every employee how to incorporate into his or her life. Basically, the daily goal was to accumulate 25 points. You would get 3 points for every new person you met face to face, 2 points for every referral you obtained (the goal was to get 3 referrals from every person you shared your sales pitch to) and 1 point for every business card you handed out. There were additional rules (handing 25 business cards out everyday would not suffice for example). Essentially, while you were presently working on existing clientele, successful people instituted the habit of meeting 3 new people a day, receive 5 referrals, call them and hand out several business cards to people, and you would meet your daily quota. If you did this every day for a month, the mantra was that overall the numbers are in your favor that you would do well (assuming a % sell through rate). If you get in front of 90 people/month you are bound to be an exceptional salesman over time.

Whether you are looking out for your family or your business, your can network your way to success. If you can tie the above numbers to your passion, you are on your way to enjoying your daily regimen more. For more information on how to develop this concept for yourself or your business, please contact Dan at dsh872@cs.com.

According to the Wikipedia, Frustration is an emotion that occurs in situations where one is blocked from reaching a personal goal.

As an online entrepreneur and tennis professional, I enjoy the process of cross-training the mind from sports to business. If an opponent were to frustrate me in tennis by hitting the tennis ball to the open court on one side and then to the other, one solution would be to train harder so one can run more quickly or efficiently. Improved endurance will help you outlast your competition.

A second solution is to trust your intuition that you know what the opponent is doing and therefore you can start running across the court from left to right before your opponent hits the ball there. The willingness to intuitively take that first step towards the other side of the court (before your opponent strikes the ball) is a POSITIVE ACTION that helps you compete and will alleviate frustration. Even if you are wrong, you have learned something! Just switch directions.

A third solution is to analyze your opponent with a microscope or a camera and see if you can detect an opening. For example, Boris Becker used to stick his tongue out of his mouth when he was hitting a serve down the T of the service box. Having specific information like this helped Andre Agassi return Becker’s serve. Becker did not always stick his tongue out but Agassi’s knowledge was empowering nonetheless.

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So lets say that an intermittent internet connection is frustrating you. Perhaps your wireless connection is not working properly. Applying the above solution #1 would be to call your internet service provider and spend some time with the internet service technicians to help you identify the problem. Write down the solutions in a notebook so you know how to correct this issue on your own next time. If you do not care for dealing with people on the telephone, you can try going to and post your question. You are sure to receive plenty of responses, some accurate and some inaccurate. Like anything else, you need to develop the skill of asking a specific enough question so you receive a specific response that can help propel you forward.

Solution number two may be that you have an intuition that you know what the issue is so you attempt to fix the issue yourself. Or perhaps you have a friend who knows the internet and they can help resolve the issue for you. If you don’t ask the answer is no. Keep asking until you receive an answer that solves your issue.

Solution number three is perhaps your internet connection is always slow/intermittent at certain times of the day so perhaps you should just avoid using the computer during those hours. Or perhaps your frustration tends to occur at the same time. Write down the time when you get frustrated and take a walk or a break the next time you see it coming. Regardless of whether you’re frustrated, set an alarm and take a short break. Make a small adjustment like this is empowering!

Whatever solution you choose, as long as you’re not physically running, initiate the solution while you have a lollipop in your mouth! I gave my 15 month old her first lollipop lick recently…at first she declined but as soon as the sugar hit her mouth, she said Mmmmmmm!!

That is the way to reach your goals!

One of my tennis clients asked me today why more people don’t talk about or design their game around Sampras more. I suggested it was due to the media’s portrayal, lack of flash, inability to smile more often or his demeanor. Power from the baseline sells but does it really make for a better tennis experience? With the tennis racket, Sampras just reminded us once more why his serve and volley style made him the greatest of all time.

Pete Sampras defeats Roger Federer in straight sets in exhibition in Macau
By MIN LEE, Associated Press Writer
November 24, 2007

Fans of Roger Federer of Switzerland watch the friendly match in Macau Saturday, Nov. 24, 2007. Sampras won 7-6, 6-4.
AP - Nov 24, 4:07 am EST
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MACAU (AP) — Pete Sampras notched a win to wrap up a three-match exhibition series against Roger Federer.

Sampras never faced a break point and handed Federer a 7-6 (8), 6-4 defeat Saturday at the Venetian Macao arena, finishing 1-2 against the top-ranked Swiss player.

Sampras downplayed his victory, noting Federer was coming off a long season and he was helped by his big serve and the fast indoor carpet surface. His goal was to win one set during the three-match series.

“Let’s not get carried away,” he said at a news conference.

Sampras ruled out a comeback from retirement, telling the audience after the match, “I had my time in the 90s.”

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The two players have won a combined 26 Grand Slam titles, but the 36-year-old Sampras retired five years ago after winning the U.S. Open in 2002. Federer, 26, won three Grand Slams this year and the Masters Cup last week en route to a 68-9 record.

“I’m sort of surprised. This guy can play tennis, you know,” Federer said after his loss.

He put on a positive spin on the match, saying he wasn’t embarrassed to lose to his idol.

“It’s been tough beating my idol the last two times,” Federer said. “I’m happy that he got me at least once.”

Federer beat Sampras 6-4, 6-3 in Seoul on Tuesday and edged the American 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

“I hope we can do it again in the future,” Federer said. “I’d like to get him back.”

Federer said he thought Sampras could beat the top five players on a fast surface. Sampras predicted Federer could beat his record of most Grand Slam wins “if not next year, pretty soon.”

“He’s a great, great player. He’s got things in his game that I couldn’t do,” Sampras said.

On Saturday, Federer outhit Sampras early in the match. But Sampras held his own with the powerful serving and crafty volleying that helped him win seven Wimbledon titles.

The first set went on serve. In the tiebreaker, Federer had set points at 6-5 and 8-7 but Sampras saved both. The American went up 9-8 on a missed return by Federer then took the set with a forehand service return winner.

Federer ran into trouble early in the second set, falling behind 30-40 in the third game, but recovered to hold serve.

At 4-4, Federer fell behind on his serve again. A forehand error gave Sampras break point, which he converted with a forehand winner. Sampras held serve and closed out the match when Federer’s backhand return sailed long.

Please allow me to begin to explain why the name of this blog is Focus. If you try to join and become an expert in multiple services available on the internet, you will be doing the opposite of focusing. You will be a generalist. Your vision will be blurry. Giving your customers a sandwich with a speck of peanut butter will not be satisfying. Remember the phrase “where’s the beef”!

America needs more experts and role models. Pick an area you love and focus on it until you obtain success!

I have been asked in the past how I would measure “Mind Body and Spirit”

One response is to determine how many RPM (revolutions per minute) your mind body and spirit can handle over a long period of time. If you are a record player, is the music playing at 33 RPM, 45 RPM or 78 RPM. If you have only owned an IPOD and never had a record player, then run a search for RPM on the Wikipedia.

If you listen to music at the above 3 speeds, can you mindfully do your work or is your work flow disrupted? If you love a particular topic, perhaps you handle reading, writing, watching, talking and working on a subject or topic at any speed for longer periods than others. If time is no longer of the essence then you must have found your passion, your love, your calling, “the zone”, your meaning and yes, even your purpose. If you have persisted through the dips with your passion, your expertise is now a scarce resource. While the others quit, your energy, vibrancy and willingness to do whatever it took will allow you to discover yourself and your dreams. You are on the way to greatness.

I recently found a widget that enables people to list 20+ locations where they can be found on the internet (ie: facebook, myspace, delicious, etc). I think the entire concept of having so many places to “locate” someone on the internet is silly…Frankly, so far, I’m not even a big fan of widgets. I’ve always believed in the KISS principle. Keep It Simple Stupid! Someone recently said to me “don’t mess with Apple Pie and Vanilla Ice-Cream”

Isn’t a single email address on a business card simple enough? My email is dsh1972@aol.com…whats yours?

I would love to hear your comments.

Thanks to Ed for sending me this quote:

“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all of your thoughts break their bonds: your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive and you discover yourself to be a greater person than you ever dreamed yourself to be.” -Patanjali

Identify your purpose and your meaning will crystalize.

When I started NJAUCTION, LLC seven plus years ago, I envisioned the perfect online world. The vision is reasonable and attainable.

The vision board is a physical conceptualization of what NJ Auction hopes to accomplish in the future, both near and in the long-term. It shows a “brain storm,” with FAA (Find an Auction) as the root of the company, and from there stems into other areas which NJ Auction feels need to be improved, or entities that need to be invented, to offer every American the opportunity to experience the online world “AOL” style.

The issue not only lies in distinguishing NJ Auction (or any American) as a unique seller, but also in improving communications with consumers between the major websites (namely eBay, Google, etc), whose search engines are often confusing and frustrating to navigate. NJ Auction recognizes that all of this jumbling of information has the possibility of steering customers away. In order to maximize opportunities, they have assembled the vision board to flesh out options to draw customers back in, and also make life easier for themselves.

One prominent issue in an internet auction business is dealing with how to manageably keep track of products sold and shipped and report management so one receives objective and subjective feedback regarding what is and is not working. An objective 3rd party entity should provide these services. FAA has the ability to feed item information to eBay, Amazon and Google via automated key words. Once products sell, NJ Auction receives an email confirmation from the respective site(s) via FAA. Presently, to view receipts of purchase, individual sellers typically must log in to each site, using an already made log-in name and password. It goes without saying that this makes the process needlessly tedious. However, NJ Auction hopes to improve this process by using FAA to its full capacity. Payments can be accepted in many ways. NJ Auction hopes to unify this process as well, instead of relying on individualized websites or multiple management platforms.

Customer service is of vital importance, because if a buyer is not fully satisfied with either the purchase or means of obtaining the item, they simply will not come back to the site. However, when they are happy with both the purchase and customer service and reliability, they will enjoy the experience and return. They will speak of greatness, and sellers will once again be able to proudly announce they are a part of the new revolution.

The main concept is the internet has become increasingly difficult to navigate. People are shying away from making online purchases because finding what they want is more and more time consuming; internet buying is losing it’s reputation as a luxury. Since NJ Auction is an online business, it must differentiate itself from other multi-channel sellers by providing tools that help it provide superior customer service in an continually evolving industry.

A centralized means of organization- including items up for sale, items sold, payment records and shipping details would help separate them from the plethora of other online auction sites, and establish their business as one which is easy to use, and ultimately, eliminate the customer pulling their hair out over how to find and purchase exactly what they want. Besides benefits for the company, these changes will enable customers to feel more secure and taken care of when purchasing through NJ Auction.

Posture refers to the body’s alignment and positioning with respect to the force of gravity. Whether we are standing, sitting or lying down, gravity exerts a force on us. Good posture entails evenly distributing the force of gravity through our body.

An architect has to take these same laws of gravity and weight distribution when designing a home. Would you knowingly purchase a home with a poor foundation? Good posture is a necessary BODY foundation to help alleviate the strains and stresses we experience in life.

Americans tend to be rat racers. A rat racer is someone who is always racing to get somewhere. Rat racers tend to lean in head-first where they are going. Are you sitting up straight right now, or are you so close to the monitor you could lick it? Are your ears over your shoulders? If not, lean back, take a big exhale, smile at the screen and relax!

The sitting position is where many people have poor habits. As we focus on the activity in front of us we tend to lean the head and neck forward. Over time this leads to fatigue and eventually even pain in the neck and upper back. Being aware of good posture is the first step to breaking poor habits and reducing stress on your spine.

Antique dealers are often asked whether something is a reproduction versus an original authentic item. There are entire businesses that have been developed that provide letters of authenticity. There are also entire businesses that are based on reproductions.

Reproductions are sometimes made even better than the original. This is unfortunate because in certain cases it dilutes the value of the original. If there are 2000 reproductions and there are only 10 originals left in the country and 2010 of the same items on the internet, value of the 10 originals may be diluted based on supply and demand. Some people do not care whether the item is original or authentic. And others absolutely must have the authentic piece because their intention is to put it in a higher end auction, or they are a serious collector of authentic collectibles.

The best way to learn about the differences between authentic and reproduction items is to have one of each sitting in front of you. Can you determine the difference? If you can’t, speak with the experts. Ask questions. Be aware that sometimes the experts even make mistakes!

There is a great story in a book called “Blink” http://www.gladwell.com/blink/

Basically, someone took an item to the Getty Museum and said we’d like 10 million dollars for it. It was an unusual looking large sculpture. The museum was really excited to have it because they had nothing quite like it in their collection. The museum took possession and said we want it but let us research it so we can authenticate it. The museum spent 14 months and put it under 5 different types of microscopes, and based on expert guidance, came to the conclusion that it was the real thing. They were about to pay the 10 million when they asked one final known expert their opinion. The expert took one glance at it and said there’s something not right about it. They couldn’t identify what it was, but it was a feeling. So the museum packed the item up sent it back to Greece where they dig these things up (and more experts are located) and had 5 more experts look at it. All of them agreed something was not right. “I’ve been digging in the earth my entire life and have never seen a sculpture in such good condition like this. The fingernails are shaped wrong etc etc.” Ultimately it was determined the sculpture was made in 1980 and they were able to identify where etc.

Ask lots of questions, do your research and use your intuition!