All are more common than you would think… especially TODAY.

We live in a world of enormous opportunity. Thinking a recession is the wrong time? Perhaps not.

Inventions from the Great Depression:
Electric Razor
The Supermarket
Tampax
Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie
Monopoly

Challenging economic times take us out of our comfort zone. They force us to think of doing it a different way. These are times when people take the money they have, invest in themselves & their ideas and create what is new. Much as it was THEIR time in the 1920′s to start a business and create something – like a chocolate chip cookie…etc – now is OUR time to do the same.

How to take advantage of this reality. The first step is to examine the industry you are familiar with and find the niches. They are always there. ‘Job security’ can only be found in ourselves.

WHY? Here’s one reason.

Humankind first appeared on planet earth 2.5 million years ago

We discovered fire 1.5 million years ago

We evolved into modern man & woman 200,000 years ago

The first city was settled 12,000 years ago Jericho

We began documenting our lives on paper 5509 years ago

The printing press was invented in 1475 which allowed information to spread rapidly.

This fueled the Renaissance, which gave way to the Industrial Revolution and now –
the Technological Revolution.

Roughly 10,000 generations of us, humankind, have come and gone. I have the good fortune to be surrounded by four generations. 1) My grandmother 2) My mother 3) My wife, friends, colleagues 4) My children.

We are four of 10,000 generations. I am one of 10,000 generations.

I, along with 40 Million others, are considered to be generation X.

Yesterday I stopped to realize that our generation was the first to grow up with convenient, affordable, safe, frequent commercial jet travel.

I flew to Beijing, China for a one day meeting.

That is astonishing to my grandmother. Imagine how other generations that came before her would react? What would they have given for a magic carpet to actually be real?

We can connect with 25% of the planets population through the internet…50% by cell phone.

How fortunate we are to have been selected to be among the 10,000th generation.

The other night I was in Madison Square Garden with a friend. It holds 20,0000. It was about half full.

I though to myself in this arena, if each of us represented one of the 10,000 generations that have inhabited this planet, how likely would it be that I was selected to now?

Not too likely. But I was..and so were you.

We have an unprecedented opportunity. Through technology, telecommunications and transportation, we can create and do things that have never before been possible at speeds unimaginable.

This provides us with a unique opportunity in human history. We can, if we desire to, create more faster. It makes it easier than ever before to create financial abundance for ourselves, our family and our friends.

And human history has also showed that the clearest, most assured pathway is through the creation of an enterprise, business, product, or service.

If, Leadership = Influence..
And Barack Obama today will become the Leader of the world’s largest economy;

Then Barack Obama is THE greatest influencer of our time.

“Leadership = Influence, nothing more, nothing less” - John Maxwell
Maxwell is a pretty solid source and has conducted lots of research to isolate the traits of a leader. His research has uncovered that it boils down to influence.

Influence is THE mandatory trait to be a leader.
Obama is a leader, that is unquestionable. He is an influencer, that is unquestionable.

Who else is an influencer?

A marketer is an influencer influencing the masses to consider her way of thinking.
A salesperson is an influencer influencing one on one is even harder than influencing the masses.
A small business owner must be an influencer influencing others to his way of thinking.

So when looking at marketers, sales professionals, small business owners, & the new President of the United States, what do they have in common?

We are all influencers.
We may have different CAREERS.
But our PROFESSIONS are the same.
We are all INFLUENCERS and influence is a craft worth cultivating.

I was speaking with a marketing director managing a $500 Million dollar national brand this week and she said something that I had never heard before. I mean, I had no idea what she was talking about.

After she said it, I said, “umm, interesting.” Then I took a note and moved on.

When I landed back in NY, that night I did some research to figure out what she was talking about. I am now convinced that it is a SUPER valuable insight and further, I know why she achieves so many OUTCOMES. She more than most, does not confuse being busy with achieving outcomes and in the end, that’s what has gotten her promoted faster than just about other marketing executive I know. Continue reading…

Why haven’t more taken the first step?
Speaking from personal experience and from having interviewed hundreds of executives, the fact is that when we work for someone else, for a company, we pour 100% of the energy that we will dedicate to our profession into doing well and getting ahead in that company.

A question my colleagues and I repeatedly asked ourselves is, “How can I do well enough to be recognized, get ahead, protect my position and, over time, make more money?” In fact, we should have been asking, “If I were trying to develop a product or service that I would actually buy, what would it be?”

And, while the vast majority of marketing and media executives I’ve interviewed say they would one day like to own their own successful business, they go on to say that “someday” is not now. Three primary reasons were given as to why now is not the optimal time. Continue reading…