,

Mastering the Art of Authenticity

More than just being yourself, mastering authenticity is about being self-aware, having clear values, understanding the motivators that drive you and putting all of this into the proper context.

Last week, I explored the topic of “The Big Bounce-Back: How to Flourish After Adversity” with Dr. Rachel Talton. She kindly shared some additional insights with me as we explored how you continue your momentum, increase your success and become a high performance leader. “The context is always leadership”, says Dr. Talton. “CEOs and entrepreneurs who are authentic tend to have high-performance organizations. Their employees are more engaged, more loyal and more aligned. Authentic leadership is a competitive advantage.”

This is why authenticity matters. In our personal lives, authenticity is a drive for more engaged relationships. Who exactly am I dealing with? Who are you when you show up? If I know, like and trust you then it’s less work to guess who you are. It is authenticity that allows us to get past transactional relationships and into deeper relationships.

Authenticity starts with trust and the willingness to be vulnerable. In being vulnerable, there are three traits that most people look for:

  1. Are you benevolent? Do you put the needs of those your serve above your own? It’s important that those you work with and care about know that you back them up and have their best interests at heart.
  2. Do you have competence? Those around you must trust that you know what you’re doing.
  3. Do you have integrity? We look for those who have high moral values, are honest and display high ethical standards. Those around you look to see if you share a set of values and live those values. Value alignment is important when it comes to integrity. High ethical standards require honesty and transparency.

Do you authentically have my back or do you put your needs in front of my own? (Or do you just say that you do and not back it up with your actions?) People can tell the difference. The words must match the actions, competence and expertise. “You either say it or you ARE it,” explains Dr. Talton.

In mastering the art of authenticity, there are 4 specific areas we all need to work on:

1. Self-awareness. The most critical aspect of being authentic is to know yourself.Understand your why and what matters most to you. Who are you really? What are your values, and what are the values that align with others? Can you stand powerfully with those values? As Berne Brown explains in her book Daring Greatly, “It’s important to allow your true self to shine regardless of your circumstances.”

2. Values. Another great key to authenticity is an understanding of your unique purpose and values–and practicing those values daily. What are your passion points? What makes you uniquely you? This is the currency of passion. Foundation fuels our energy to do great work. Dr. Talton has five primary personal value currencies:

  • Passion–a huge value that drives everything else. Get to the answer.
  • Accountability–real measurable and meaningful impact. Marketplace, organizations, etc.
  • Trustworthiness–it lowers transaction costs and is very much like currency. The best marketing on earth means nothing if it’s not believed. Trustworthiness is the difference. Emotional value, removes barriers. Trusted relationships change everything. Even if we don’t agree, you need a level of trust to start conversations (think GeoPolitical).
  • Intellectual curiosity–the value of knowing things and asking the next question. Emotionally engaged for the purpose of helping people in the answer. Passionate and emotionally engaged curiosity to know the answer on behalf of humanity.
  • Legacy–having a legacy to live toward is a tremendous value that I have.

3. Motivators. Each of us must understand what motivates us intrinsically, and extrinsically. For some, intrinsic motivators can include “making a difference.” Extrinsic motivators might include earning the respect of others in your industry. Once you understand the values, what are the triggers that move you to action?

“Movement toward a desired outcome requires key motivators” says Dr. Talton. “Having an impact, for example, is an intrinsic motivator for me. At seven years old, I knew I wanted to fix people who were broken. How do you help people be whole, happy and integrated? That’s intrinsic. That’s what I wanted. Knowing that, I create work that helps other people. I align the work that I love with serving other people.

“Extrinsically, I get to talk to others about it. Operate from a place of authenticity to have a more joyful life. Flourishing is about finding joy in the process as well as success and excellence. It’s why we take time off–to enjoy our lives and bring joy to our lives as we become successful.”

4. Context. Finally, understanding the context in which you are operating is extremely important. Sometimes, even the most authentic responses must be moderated, or even muted, depending on the context. Although it’s important to be yourself, being professional, being respectful, and being effective is also important.

Know your audience and be mindful of how to have the best impact by listening to their needs. How do we truly meet these needs? By paying attention to where you are and how to truly leverage who you are. “I spent some time in Dubai” Dr. Talton explained. “As a woman, I saw that men can’t hear me at all if I have a certain level of assertion or aggression. With a tinge of modesty, I can still be me and be heard. This will get you the outcome you desire by meeting the needs that they have.”

Well said. Mastering the art of authenticity is more than just being you. It’s about being self-aware, having clear values, understanding the motivators that drive you and putting all of this into the proper context. It’s not easy, but if you start with being vulnerable, authenticity has a real chance of success.

/by
, ,

Why, Despite Simon Sinek’s Best Efforts, You Still Don’t Know Your Why

You were inspired by Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk, but since then you’ve struggled to put into action the great advice he shared with the world. Here is the simple action you need to take to get it right.

The Trouble You’re Having with Articulating Your Why
I admit it. I am complete guilty of everything I’m about to share with you. As the CEO of a fast-growing company, I was inspired by Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk, “How Great Leaders Inspire Action”. As of the publishing of this article, he’s inspired more than 24 million people with his simple phrase, “People don’t buy what you do, they buy whyyou do it.”

And yet, as moved as you were by this Ted Talk, I’m willing to bet that since that inspirational speech, you’ve been obsessing over your company’s purpose by thinking deeply and trying to clearly articulate the “why” of your business. That was the point, after all, wasn’t it?

Actually, no, it wasn’t.

You see, people are visual learners. As the Chinese proverb goes, “Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand.” Simon Sinek told us exactly what to do, but he DREW a concentric circle with the word “Why” in the middle. While you were moved by his words, it’s that bullseye with the word “Why” that keeps you obsessing about your company’s purpose. And yet, if you listen to the words he says, you’ll come away with a much different conclusion.

It’s What Your People Believe That Truly Matters
Imagine my surprise, when I discovered what was right there in front of me all along. Go back and listen to his Ted Talk (without watching the video) and pay attention to what Simon Sinek actually says. I didn’t discover this on my own. No, my coach, Chad Cooper, sent me a link to Roy H. Williams “The Wizard of Ads” video who broke it down for me, and it’s embarrassingly simple.

Rather than focusing on clearly articulating your company’s “Why” statement, fold a piece of paper in half and on the left-hand side write, “We believe” several times. On the right-hand side write down ONLY statements that are observable by your employees and customers alike (as opposed to something that is “global and ambiguous”). The example Mr. Williams used was, “We believe in doing our best” or “We believe in doing the right thing not the easy thing”. The problem with these statements is that while they may be true, they are not observable and therefore do not reinforce a true belief system.

Instead, Mr. Williams walked through several small business examples of belief statements that are, in fact, observable by your employees and customers. For Goettl, an air conditioning company, these belief statements looked like this:

  • We believe in showing up on time.
  • We believe in super-sealing the air ducts because no one needs to air condition their attic.
  • We believe in eliminating every squeak, rattle and hum, because if you don’t bigger problems will come.
  • We believe in replacing every screw–even the ones other people left out–so that we can tighten the unit up like new.
  • We install everything level, plumb and square because this is the signature of asuperior technician.

Take a minute to stop and absorb what you just read. Every one of these belief statements are observable and measurable are they not? Does this feel like fluffy “shareholder value” doublespeak? Would you want to hire this company to come in and fix any and all problems related to your air conditioning unit?

And that’s the point, isn’t it? So I ask you, would Simon Sinek agree that this company has found their “Why”? Does this company not remind of the part in Walter Isaacson’s book Steve Jobs where Steve Jobs talks about how important getting the INSIDE of the computer right? This is when his young team was complaining about no one ever seeing the inside of their computer. But Steve Jobs was obsessed with making every component neat, tidy and representative of the best company in the world–because we know better and we don’t take short cuts.

Turning Belief Statements to an Actionable Reality
But Mr. Williams didn’t stop there. He suggested that once you identify these observable belief statements, have your team recite them every day, as a group, similar to the pledge of allegiance. It’s easy to ignore management-led mission statements and dismiss lofty, “global and ambiguous” doublespeak. You simply can’t recite these statements each day and then go out and do the opposite. As human beings, we are compelled to act out the things we really believe. If you worked at Goettl as an air conditioning repair person and repeated these belief statements before you started your day each day, is there any chance you’re going to cut corners while out in the field? Not likely.

What’s more, Mr. Williams advises his clients to ditch their “About Us” link on their home page and instead replace it with a “We Believe” link. Not only will more prospective customers click on it, but when a real person can envision in their head a core belief system that benefits them directly, it’s really hard to sign on with anyone else.

If you could clearly envision an air conditioning repair person showing up on time, replacing screws on the shoddy work someone else did, super-sealing air ducts, and installing everything level, plumb and square, wouldn’t you even pay more for that piece of mind? Now, imagine a video where each one of those belief statements were recited by a different employee and you, as a prospective customer, could see the honesty and integrity first hand. Yeah, that’s powerful.

Feel free to watch Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk again with these new insights, but first, do yourself a favor and watch the Roy H. Williams “The Wizard of Ads” video. Then, take the time to run through his simple exercise. You will be living the very mission that Simon Sinek wanted you to in the first place.

/by
,

How to Make the Impossible Possible

Instead of obsessing about what you can’t do, it’s important to focus on all the ways you can accomplish your vision. Your brain is a powerful tool for overcoming obstacles.

As an entrepreneur, you’re used to seeing things that others don’t see. You have already taken risks that most people simply won’t. But every now and then, you need to remind yourself how to make the impossible possible.

Create New Possibilities
Our personal experiences make up our belief systems, our internal values which generate most, if not all, of what we believe to be possible and impossible. Just because something hasn’t been done before doesn’t mean that it’s impossible. Sure, there are laws of physics such as gravity that we must obey (at least here on earth), but the more we open our minds to new possibilities, the more we can see paths forward-some of which we must trail blaze in order to create a new way of doing things.

The 4-minute mile was once thought impossible, as was a self-aware robot. Whenever you look back with the benefit of hindsight you can easily see how the innovators took bold moves to make the impossible possible. However, looking forward feels different because you must take a leap of faith in order to accomplish anything that is a breakthrough-especially things that are giant leaps forward.

Know Your Why and Let It Inspire Others
Before you dig deep into how you make the impossible possible, you must first focus on your why. Why is it that this must happen? How does making the impossible possible benefit others? The more you can paint a clear picture on why what you’re doing is important and will serve others, the deeper a seed you will plant in your own mind and influence those around you. If your reasons are important, then you will find a way to make it happen. If not, then you’ll end up chalking your idea up to a dream and won’t spend the time needed to turn that dream into a reality.

Reframe the Question: “How Could I Do This?”
When turning your vision into reality, it can be helpful to understand all the reasons people tell you that it can’t be done. Listening is not the same thing as believing. If you believe that your vision is critically important, then you can listen with confidence to all the people who believe what you’re looking to do is impossible. What they are actually telling you are the hurdles that you will face and must overcome in order to be successful. As long as you can avoid being overwhelmed by these insights, they can help you formulate your plan of action.

Instead of obsessing about what you can’t do, it’s important to focus on how youcould accomplish your vision. Your brain is a powerful tool for overcoming obstacles. Direct your energy and focus around what you would need to do in order to make the impossible possible. What’s never been tried before, but could work? What can we learn from other people’s failures and apply to a new way of thinking?

What Would I Need to Make This Happen?
This is perhaps the most important question of all. When you ask better questions, you get better results. By thinking deeply about what you would need to make your vision a reality, you can start to see the possibilities that most people are closed off to seeing (since they’ve already dismissed the idea as impossible). Get really specific so that you know what precisely you’d need. You don’t have to do it all yourself, you simply need to map out possible ways to get it done and enlist the help of others.

Who Would I Need to Support My Vision?
Once you know what you need to do in order to make the impossible possible, then it’s time to get leverage by asking others to help you. When you tell them you need their help on something they don’t believe is possible, they will be reluctant to agree. However, when you have broken down what you need into individual tasks and are simply asking for their help with a specific task, it doesn’t feel overwhelming and therefore they are more likely to support you.

Gather enough support from enough people and you can do just about anything. The bigger your vision for the future, the more likely you are to inspire others. So dream big, listen to those who doubt your vision, and then lead with confidence as you show those around you how to make it happen.

/by
,

The One Question That Shapes Everything

Discovering your primary question is critically important. A negative one will ultimately lead to unbelievable pain. A positive one will ensure you build an extraordinary life.

If you have attended Tony Robbin’s Date With Destiny, then you know where I’m going with this. While we ask ourselves tons of questions every day, there is one question that we ask ourselves several times every day and it shapes who we are, what we do, and why we do it. As an entrepreneur, it’s likely that this question has driven you to launch or join your current company rather than follow more traditional career paths.

The vast majority of people are not even aware of their primary question, even though it has a dramatic impact on everything we do. Discovering your primary question is critically important, as a negative one will ultimately lead to unbelievable pain, while a positive one will ensure you build an extraordinary life for yourself–including successful businesses, relationships, and deep levels of satisfaction and fulfillment.

Examples of Negative Primary Questions
Destructive questions include those such as:

– Why do I continue to struggle?

– How come I’m not successful?

– Why am I so miserable?

– Why am I so depressed?

– Why am I such a failure?

– What do they think of me?

– Why does this always happen to me?

– What did I do to deserve this?

Basically, any negative question that you ask over and over becomes engrained in your identity. “Where focus goes, energy flows,” says Robbins. And this question, when asked several times a day, begins to shape your outlook on life. When you ask a question, your brain comes up with answers and evidence to support what you believe.

Discovering Your Primary Question
For Robbins, this all started when he discovered that he had an obsession with making things better. He would attend someone else’s conference and write down all the things he wanted to either incorporate into his work or ensure his team avoided like the plague. For Robbins, his question was, “How can I make this better?” Everywhere he looked, he saw opportunities to make things better, whether in his businesses, his fitness, or his personal life.

But, for a question to be your primary question, you have to link extreme consequences with not accomplishing or delivering on this question. It’s not enough to ask this question several times a day. For it to be your primary question, you have to believe that not finding answers to this question will lead to severe losses, including exclusion from your loved ones or even death.

Sounds strange, doesn’t it? But your primary question started when you were very young and kicked in as a survival instinct. Your brain has not evolved all of these years just to make you happy–its first order of business is (and has always been) survival. Therefore, your primary question is linked to your very survival. The good news is that after you discover your primary question, you have the power to change it.

Examples of Positive Primary Questions
Instead of asking negative questions, you can train your brain to look for ways to enjoy life and make it even better. Positive primary questions include those like:

– How can I enjoy this moment even more?

– What can I be grateful for in this moment?

– Why am I so blessed with love and abundance?

– How can I enjoy this moment and make it even better?

– What can I do to appreciate this and share it with those I love?

– What can I learn from this and make my life even better?

Each of these questions positively reinforces the incredible life you already have while looking for ways to make it even better. It’s fine to want to improve your life, just as long as you first acknowledge that you have a pretty awesome life already.

When you come from a place of gratitude and abundance, it’s really hard not to enjoy the incredible life you already have. That is the sort of primary question that drives you in a positive way rather than obsessing over all that you have not yet achieved or have failed to do. The destination may be the same, but a positive primary question will make the journey to that destination a lot more fun along the way.

If you really enjoy the insights from this article but haven’t attended Robbin’s Date With Destiny, then I highly recommend you check it out. Discovering your destiny is certainly a tall order for a six-day conference, but I am willing to bet that the majority of the 2,500 people who attended it earlier this month did just that. I know I did.

/by

The Secret to Happiness

Happiness comes from your own actions. Happiness is a choice. When you find yourself in an emotional state that you’d rather not be in, you have the power to change it in an instant.

There have been several books written on the subject of happiness, including several from Tal Ben-Shahar (Happier, Even Happier, and Being Happy) and one from Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, who wrote Delivering Happiness. All great books if you’re looking for a deep dive into the subject of happiness. But I came across a quote from the Dalai Lama that really nailed it for me:

“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.”

That’s the secret to happiness. More specifically, your right actions will lead to increased levels of happiness. What are the right actions? The first one is gratitude. You cannot simultaneously hold emotions such as fear, loathing, jealousy, and hatred while also being grateful. If you are feeling stressed out, anxious, or generally bummed out, the fastest way back to happiness is a deep focus on gratitude. This can be accomplished with 10 to 15 minutes of focused meditation. The focus of the meditation being, “What three things are you truly grateful for?”

But wait, deep thoughts of gratitude are not action, right? And the secret to happiness comes from your own actions, so it’s not enough to think thoughts of gratitude. Instead, actions must be taken. In this case, it is the act of expressing your appreciation to the people for whom you are most grateful. In fact, it’s more important to tell someone how much you appreciate them than to tell them you love them. That’s because love means different things to different people, but appreciation is universal. The act of expressing gratitude to those you love will immediately affect your level of happiness.

A second action that leads to happiness is the act of giving. Recall the classic wisdom, “It is better to give than to receive.” This has been proven by researchers inseveral experiments and is the subject of several TED Talks. The act of giving immediately changes your physiology, especially when you give to someone who is clearly in need. The selfless act of giving without any expectation of receiving brings out an emotional energy that fills you with a sense of purpose and accomplishment. The act of giving releases a feeling inside of you that you have made a real and significant difference in the life of someone else. You cannot help but feel happy when you have positively affected the life of someone else.

And the third action is one I learned at an early age from my grandmother: simplypretend to be happy and soon you won’t be pretending. This one really surprised me, as I was sure that she was mistaken. How could you simply pretend to feel something that you don’t authentically feel and then it becomes your reality? Then I tried it, and sure enough, it works every time. Even as you read this, if you choose to smile as you read this sentence, notice what happens to you. Keep your smile while you read this sentence too and notice that you almost want to laugh. Now go ahead and chuckle, or if you’re by yourself (or don’t feel self-conscious), then give yourself permission to laugh out loud.

It’s simply not possible to smile and laugh and feel unhappy. Your physical state influences your emotional state and vice versa. If you want to feel happy right this instant, then smile and laugh and notice your happiness levels increase. If you then combine this act with the other two (giving and gratitude), you can maintain your happiness beyond the moment.

Happiness comes from your own actions. Simply put, happiness is a choice. We choose to be happy or we choose not to be happy. If you find yourself in an emotional state that you’d rather not be in, you have the power to change it in an instant. Sustained levels of happiness come from the actions you take. When you give to others and show your gratitude, you will increase your levels of happiness. The more you give and the more you tell people how much you appreciate them, the happier you will be. Fill your days with smiles and laughter and the feeling of happiness will grow inside of you. Eventually, happiness will become your default emotion rather than something you access occasionally.

Life is a choice, and your happiness comes from your own actions. Choose to be happy and choose to take the actions in life that will sustain the level of happiness you seek. This is the secret to happiness, and I encourage you to take actions that will fill you with the happiness and joy you deserve throughout your life.

/by

How Millionaires Relax and Max Their Vacation Time

Why is it that most entrepreneurs can’t relax when they take time off from work? Use these 8 steps to truly enjoy your next vacation.

We work so hard and have a desire to play just as hard. But when we finally commit to taking time off, we are flooded with the guilt of all the things we could be doing. It’s in your nature to be massively productive with your time, but if you don’t find a way to relax during your downtime — especially when on holiday — you might as well have kept working. The trouble with that is if you work around the clock for too long, you will most certainly burn out. So what do you do?

Jim Vollett, who has coached several millionaires, shared his brilliant model for “Maximizing the Value of a Holiday” with me nearly a decade ago and I still use it to this day. As I’m about to spend a week with my family on vacation, it’s a great time to share what I’ve learned (with Jim’s permission, of course).

Step 1: External Completion — Acknowledge, Accept & Forgive Yourself
This is typically the only step that most people almost complete. This is when you do your best to finish as much as you can before you go on vacation. But, invariably, there are things that you don’t finish or that crop up just a few hours before you plan on heading out the door on vacation. So how do you “let go” of unfulfilled expectations so that you don’t stress about them and ruin your time off? A simple writing exercise that will take you no more than 30 minutes will free you of the guilt you are otherwise likely to carry around with you on vacation. Just answer these questions:

  1. What was your original expectation?
  2. How much was completed on a scale of 1-10?
  3. What did you complete?
  4. What is still incomplete?
  5. What feelings are triggered by the incompletion?
  6. What judgments about yourself and others are triggered by this incompletion?
  7. What commitment (or want) was not completed?
  8. Are you still committed to that want?
  9. Can you defer that commitment until you get back?
  10. Can you accept this the way that it is and forgive yourself?
  11. What have you learned (so that you can apply and improve in the future)?

In addition to helping you think through the things that are left undone, you can usually find ways to solve the immediate problem and learn from why you found yourself in this situation in the first place. Moreover, this process will free you up to notice what has actually been accomplished (which, it turns out, was quite a lot). Give yourself credit for what you did do instead of all the things still left undone (Hint: they will still be there when you get back).

Step 2: Internal Completion — Tell Your Story
I don’t care if you consider yourself a writer or not. One of the most therapeutic exercises you can do after completing Step 1 is to “tell your story.” Write the narrative of what’s happened (so far) this year. Do it totally free form and without judgment. You don’t have to ever show this to anyone. This is for your benefit so be brutally honest about the good, the bad and the ugly. “Just let it pour out of you,” says Jim Vollett. He adds, “It should feel like a release!” And I can attest that it feels incredible — especially if you just keep going and don’t judge what flows from your finger tips. I asked Jim Vollett why this felt so good, and he explained:

“Why this works is because in that space of time, there were many situations where the urgency of the situation brought two internal commitments into conflict, which created a lot of feelings, which you deferred. This is your time to “un-defer” those feelings and writing does just that. This is why it feels like such a release. As part of this process, you will begin to see the underlying commitments, beliefs and desires that were driving your behavior. By bringing these things into consciousness, and combining them with your updated belief in yourself, you may very well see a much easier way to accomplish these commitments, rather than coming back from holiday and doing the same things you would normally do out of habit.”

And, in my experience, this process stops the “looping” process in your head. When you feel overwhelmed by unfinished tasks, they tend to repeat themselves over and over until you do them OR write them down. The act of writing frees your subconscious mind from the responsibility of reminding you of the things you intend to do, yet have not done yet. And, as Jim Vollett says, “By the time you finish this process, you will likely have very little of your energy in the past, and will be very present”. After all, what good is taking a vacation if you’re living in the past inside your head stressing about what you haven’t done. In order to enjoy your time off, you must live in the moment.

Step 3: Fun & Celebration
It’s really important to celebrate what you have accomplished (see related article, “3 Reasons Celebrating Your Many Accomplishments Is Critical To Your Success“). Have fun on vacation, but if all you do is party without celebrating what you have accomplished, then you miss an opportunity to recognize all the great work you’ve completed. You know the saying that life is a journey, not a destination. The key is, if you never celebrate your wins, you won’t be motivated to keep going. You get frustrated by all your efforts without recognition or reward. Start by rewarding yourself and hold up and celebrate how awesome you truly are. Include people like your partner, who were there when you first declared your intention to create what you have now accomplished. They will help you see the fullness of what you have accomplished.

Step 4: Reflection and Integration — Who Have You Become?
At some point on your holiday, you will have some “quiet time.” Rather than looking for something else to fill the time, take a minute to reflect on your patterns that you would normally miss in your day-to-day routine. What’s truly unique about being on vacation is that you distance yourself from the office and with that distance comes a unique perspective to see things that you normally wouldn’t catch while urgently in the moment at work (the year sees what the days never notice).

How have you changed and grown from your last vacation? Don’t kid yourself, you have grown quite a lot even if you don’t immediately see it. What a beautiful gift to give yourself to elevate some important lessons from your unconscious mind so that you can become truly aware of what you’ve learned (both positively and negatively). As Jim Vollett says, “If you can become aware of what you learned (both the good and the bad), and internalize it, then it can never be taken away from you. Unfortunately most people do not do this, and miss a tremendous opportunity for growth.”

Take this time to see what you have become. Recognize and honor this new you. If you haven’t already done so, this is the time to eradicate your limiting beliefs. Update your internal view of yourself and see the truth of who you have become. Recognizing and internalizing your growth and strengths will honor your true self and allow you to update your own self image rather than being stuck with a previous (older) version of you before you experienced all this growth.

Step 5: Compelling Recreation
Do an activity that FORCES you to pay full attention. Recreational activities such as skiing (water or snow), surfing (regular, kite or wind) or any thrill-based action sport that demands 100% of your focus will actually help you enter a deeper level of relaxation. Jim Vollett explains that, “The purpose of compelling recreation is to require you to be present. The more present you are, the better you feel, and the more creative you are.”

By doing these high-focus activities, you interrupt your compulsive thinking. You have no time to think about anything that is not feeding your brain with information in the moment. When there is a potential to break a bone or slightly injure yourself, your brain is on full alert and crisply focused on the activity at hand. No room for negative or wandering thoughts.

Step 6: Rest
When you accomplish the previous step, you’re going to feel tired — often in the middle of the day. Do yourself a favor and sleep. Take a nap and don’t set an alarm, or go to bed earlier than you normally would and sleep until you wake up naturally. This is the deep sleep your body needs. You don’t get this deep level of sleep and relaxation when you’re “looping” all the things you feel compelled to get done. But when you’ve followed this process, you give your body permission to crash. You may only need one day of this deep level of rest, or you may find that you need a couple. Either way, allow your body to recover fully and you will find yourself with all your energy back and ready to take on the world.

Step 7: Spontaneous Creation
Now you are fully alive and in the zone. “This is when I like to have a coaching session,” says Jim Vollett, “because tremendous shifts can occur.” You see, you’ve emptied your mind and refreshed your body so you find yourself in a peak state. This is the best possible time to look at where you are in your life and where you want to be. In this state, you can see clearly without any distractions or urgent tasks clouding your vision.

This phase of spontaneous creation is the ideal time to think and strategize both personally and professionally. If it took you most of your vacation to get to this stage, then block off the first few days getting back to work for strategic planning. This is the zone of infinite possibilities. You can create anything from this space. Your mind and body are united with your spirit and you are ready to live your destiny.

Step 8: Re-entry
“Ironically,” says Jim Vollett, “if you do the holidays really well, re-entry can be very tough. What’s happening is that you come back from a holiday in touch with how you want your life to be, and you immediately run into the circumstances that try to push you back to the way you were.” The best way to handle re-entry is to recognize the inconsistencies between where you want to be and what you are doing now. Rather than attempting to solve the conflict immediately, take note of what must change and commit to a different outcome; a different future based on knowing what you really want.

By doing these things, you will not only enable yourself to have a “guilt free” holiday, but you will end up taking your skills to a new level. Your downtime will allow yourself to see the big picture (rather than obsessing over the individual tasks that were not completed) and this inevitably leads to new break-throughs. Thank you, Jim Vollett. You are a wise coach, an incredible sage and someone who has paved the way to a true work-life balance.

/by
,

20 Most Disruptive Innovators of 2016

As Clay Christensen points out, these twenty people are just like you. They are ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

On Friday, April 22nd, I attended one of the most inspiring and arguably one of the best award shows available to entrepreneurs today: The Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Awards. So many CEOs talk the jargon of innovation, but actually disrupting entire industries is another matter. This award show featured 20 of the most disruptive innovators of our day and I had an incredible journey learning about what really inspiring people are doing to make our world a better place to live.

Rockin’ 1000’s Creator, Fabio Zaffagnini, Creates the Ultimate Flashmob
The event kicked off with a simple question: “How does a small town in Italy get The Foo Fighters to play in their town?” The answer was to get 1,000 musicians to record a video “Learn to Fly” and personally invite the band to join them. The video was impressive and received over 30 million views on YouTube. This was Fabio Zaffagnini’s vision and the start of the Rockin’ 1000. The lead singer, Dave Grohl, of the Foo Fighters was inspired, moved and agreed to play a show in Cesena, Italy.

Emily Callahan and Amber Jackson Share a Vision of Beauty Beneath Massive Eye Sores
All along California and the Gulf of Mexico, you can see giant oil rigs (and what most residents refer to as eye sores). Through much petitioning, many of these oil rigs are being closed down. What Blue Latitudes Co-Founders Emily Callahan and Amber Jackson discovered, however, is that there is a full underwater ecosystem below the rigs. So what’s ugly as sin above the water is actually cultivating an incredibly gorgeous and thriving marine ecosystem below the water. Their underwater photography is changing the nature of the conversation about how these rigs are dismantled in ecologically friendly ways to save the wildlife currently living below the structure of these rigs.

Brent Stapelkamp Takes Breathtaking Pictures to Engage in Conversations
Brent Stapelkamp is using his incredible photography to change the nature of the conversation about the extinction of our planet’s endangered animals. Through capturing awe-inspiring imagery, he’s providing that emotional connection you need to have empathy and care about the animals who’s habitats and populations are shrinking.

Louie Psihoyos Projects Movies on Iconic Buildings to Raise Awareness
This one must be seen to be fully appreciated. The name “Projecting Change” simply doesn’t do it justice. Here, Mr. Psihoyos projects his movies “Racing Extinction” and “The Cove” on iconic buildings such as the Empire State Building and The Vatican in order to raise awareness. Visually stunning movies projected on top of iconic buildings in front of millions of tourists. Brilliant way to raise awareness.

Dr. Richard Leakey Burns $100 Million (~20 Tons) of Ivory To Prove a Point
After a lifetime dedicated to stopping the illegal sale of ivory and rhino horn from poachers, the poaching industry is alive and well. To prove this point, Dr. Richard Leakey has organized a mass incineration of nearly 20 tons of ivory that was confiscated post his retirement not more than 15 years ago.

Ron and Owen Suskind Break the Autism Language Barrier Through Disney Movie Dialogue
What if the only way you could communicate with your autistic son was through the language of Disney movies? The New York Times broke this story and now there is a new book, “Life, Animated” coming out to chronicle the incredible story and breakthrough between a family and their autistic son. The full story is available online at Ronsuskind.com.

Jenna Arnold & Greg Segal Create a Hashtag That Saves Lives via Donations of Organs
While the vast majority of people would happily donate their organs to those in need, the process to become an organ donor is most states prohibits more people from becoming one. What if you could simply register and make your desire to be an organ donor known through a simple hashtag like #DonnateMyParts on social media? Yeah, that’s disruptive alright, and it also saves lives.

Renaud LaPlanche Disrupts the Banking Industry
What if you could get a better rate on a loan by bypassing the banking industry altogether? That was Renaud LaPlanche’s vision and the foundation of Lending Club. Investors, for example, who want to disrupt credit card companies’ high interest rates (often as much as 20%) can support borrowers who want to consolidate their credit card debt and pay half as much (i.e. 10%). In theory, everyone is better off as more money gets to those who need it and investors willing to lend the money earn better than market interest rates.

Scott Harrison Continues to Deliver Clean Water to Millions of People
Chances are, you know about Charity Water. Scott Harrison continues to build water wells for disadvantaged communities as well as increasing their monitoring technology to ensure all the wells continue to produce water for their intended communities. A great company that continues to do great work.

Alec Ross is Honored for his Book of the Year: “The Industries of the Future”
I wasn’t able to stay for this breakout session as the award ceremonies went longer than planned, but by all accounts you should plan on reading Alec Ross’ new book as he is considered one of America’s leading experts on innovation and his New York Times bestseller, “The Industries of the Future” is geared towards helping entrepreneurs navigate disruptive change.

Thomas Heatherwick Delivers Stunning Design Projects Globally
“The world is full of great designers, but visionary commissioners are the real heroes” says Thomas Heatherwick who received a lifetime achievement award. You’ve seen his work even if you don’t recognize his name.

Alan Eustace Does a Stratospheric Parachute Jump (Higher than Red Bull)
While Felix Baumgartner was the first person to free fall from space (in partnership with Red Bull), Alan Eustace holds the record for the longest free fall from space at 14 minutes long and a distance of 25.7 miles (more than a mile higher than Mr. Baumgartner). Just when we thought we reached the limit of what’s possible, Alan Eustace reached higher and fell further than anyone in the world.

Max Kenner’s Bart Prison Initiative Serves Up World-Class College Education in Prison
Research has shown that US taxpayers save $4 to $5 in reimprisonment costs for every $1 it spends on prison education. And did you know that the BPI division of the Bard Debate Union competed against both Harvard and West Point and won? A college education isn’t a right in the US, but those who have one are much better prepared to serve society–even after being incarcerated. Max Kenner, Founder & Executive Director of the Bard Prison Initiative is working hard to support the educational needs of both our society and prison inmates.

Adam Foss: A Prosecutor with a Vision for a Better Juvenile Justice System
Less than 3 months in, Adam Foss’ Ted Talk has over 940k views. He points out just how many of us did stupid stuff when we were kids (from fighting to stealing to doing drugs), yet very few of us went to jail for our infractions. Mr. Foss believes that “it is incumbent that prosecutors lead and not follow in the criminal justice reform movement.” Adam Foss is a true Juvenile Justice Reformer.

Jennifer Jacquet Believes Public Shaming Can Make the World a Better Place
Jennifer Jacquet is an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Studies at NYU. Her new book, Is Shame Necessary, explores how shame can be used as an agent for positive change in the world–especially when examining challenging the “norms” on everything from climate change to ideological divides.

Hilde Lysiak, at 9 Years Old, Co-Founds Orange Street News & Cracks a Murder Investigation
Remember my previous article Rethinking Youth Empowerment as Generation Z Blows Your Mind? Well here’s yet another incredible example of a 9 year old girl disrupting an established industry. This time it’s the news media. Two sisters, Hilde Kate and Isabel Rose Lysiak, partnered together to launch Orange Street News, which is a hyper local blog / news site that covers the happenings of Selinsgrove, PA. I used to deliver newspapers at 12 years old. These sisters have created their own digital newspaper and even received tips which lead to an arrest of a local murder investigation. Talk about disruptive innovation in the news and media!

Anthony Romero of ACLU Brings Edward Snowden on Stage Broadcasting Live from a Secure Location
When Perri Peltz, host of the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Awards, asked the audience to turn off their WiFi, we knew something special was about to happen. Never would I have guessed I’d see Edward Snowden rolled on stage via a mobile robot broadcasting live from a secure location. This was an incredibly disruptive innovation that allowed the entire audience to hear Edward Snowden speak. Very impressed with Anthony Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union for making this happen.

Lin-Manuel Miranda Makes Alexander Hamilton Cool Again
Lin-Manuel Miranda is a composer, lyricist, actor and is best know for creating and staring in the Broadway musical Hamilton. He was recently awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Drama for Hamilton–not to mention Time’s 100 most influential people for 2016 (and makes the cover).

Nate Parker Sweeps Top Prizes at Sundance with Birth of a Nation Movie
“Being a disruptor is a lonely place” says Nate Parker. As an activist and breakout filmmaker, Nate Parker asks himself daily what his children, his most important critics, will think about the bold actions he’s taken. While he’s thrilled by all the media support and attention around his film, he is his own harshest critic and demands more of himself than anyone could reasonably expect. Perhaps this is why he stole the show with his inspiring words and insights.

Clay Christensen, best-selling author, agent of change and co-founder of the Disruptor Foundation, was moved to tears by what Nate Parker had to say about himself and everyone in that room. To which Clay Christensen tossed out the prepared speech he had made and simply spoke from the heart–moving many others, myself included, in that room. My favorite quote from Mr. Christensen was, “We, as plain old ordinary people, can do extraordinary things.”

And that truly was one of the most inspiring moments of the day. The 20 most disruptive innovators of 2016 are people just like you; ordinary people doing extraordinary things. It doesn’t matter what industry you are in or what you’ve done up until now. There is a disruptive innovator inside of you and if you haven’t let him or her out for awhile, then perhaps it’s time to do so now.

/by
, ,

3 Things You Can Learn from Tony Robbins Million Dollar Guarantee

If you are looking for world-class business insights you can immediately apply, consider the most powerful money back guarantee: $1 Million Dollars of Value or your money back.

Let’s talk about risk for a minute. If you had the courage to start a company or join a small business or start-up, then you have the entrepreneurial spirit. Every business has risk and every deal you choose to move forward on has inherent risk. That’s why smart businesses offer some sort of money back guarantee. Let’s face it, if one of your customers was unhappy with your product or service, they will ask for their money back anyway. And, if their complaint was legitimate, you’ll most likely do it. So why hide it? To stay in business, you must deliver 10 times the value that your customers are paying, or you risk having them come back and question your value.

What If You Offered 100 Times The Value Of Your Product or Your Money Back?

Would you even consider 100 times the value or your money back? Think about that for a minute. As a business owner or key contributor to your company, is that something you’d support? The vast majority of businesses owners I know would give an emphatic “NFW” (i.e. No Way) response.

So check this out. If you want to attend Tony Robbin’s Business Mastery event, the cost to you would be $10,000 (unless you first attended a UPW and bought it there for a discount). And right on your application form you will see Tony Robbin’s guarantee:

“If after attending the first full day of Business Mastery, you do not feel you have received $1 million worth of value to create exponential growth in your business, turn in your manual and materials and we will send you a full refund for the event.”

Personally, I prefer seeing the 90 second video with Tony Robbins declaring this guarantee to his audience, and then asking at the end of the 5 days how many people got not $1 million, but at least $5 million in value. Watch how the audience responds:

3 Applications to Your Business

There are three important lessons to be learned from all of this. You can take massive action today and immediately change your outcomes.

  1. Put Your Money Back Guarantee Up Front – If you take nothing else away from what Tony Robbins has done here, I urge you to consider putting your guarantee up front. Think about your best customer coming to you and asking for their money back. If the problem was real and you were unable to fix it, you would, in fact, give them their money back, wouldn’t you? Construct the terms and conditions any way you’d like, but by mitigating the risk of working with you, your business is going to grow in ways that it probably hasn’t in quite some time.
  2. Determine How You Can Add As Much as 100 Times the Value – Stop and quantify the value you’re delivering for the money you’re charging. If it’s “about right”, then you’re at risk of being disrupted by a competitor. If you can quantify 10 times the value, then you’re probably doing well and growing. However, if you want to experience geometric growth, then spend some time thinking about how you can deliver as much as 100 times the value or more. If you can quantify how you can consistently deliver $1 million dollars of value for every $10 thousand dollars your clients spend with you, then you have a winning formula that will sustain your growth for the foreseeable future. Your job, once you have mapped this out, is to make sure every possible prospect who could use your services knows about the value you deliver and how you guarantee their satisfaction and/or outcome.
  3. Decide How You Will Add A Minimum of $5 Million in Growth to Your Business – When you do the two items above successfully, you’re already on your way to growing your business by $5 million dollars. But we’ve only scratched the surface here. How long have you spent with this article? A few minutes? Imagine if you were to immerse yourself in your business for 60 hours with other like-minded individuals who are just as motivated to geometrically grow their business? All the while being guided by the top tier experts in their field. If you have a better plan than attending Business Mastery, please share it with me. Either way, decide right now what you’re willing to invest to get the outcomes you deserve. By takin g massive action now, you will end up where you want to be not just in the next 12 months, but over the course of your career – which I’m guessing is many, many more years to come.

Having attended Business Mastery twice myself, I can attest to the value. Ask me at the end of 2017 if I was able to realize the $5 million in incremental revenue I expect to see. If not, I can tell you that it’s on me and my team at Trepoint. Having the breakthroughs at Business Mastery are only as powerful as the massive actions you take coming out of this immersive experience. It’s about the 2 millimeter shifts, not the wholesale changes you make in your business. Taking massive action trumps having great ideas every day of the week.

/by
,

The Tony Robbins Experience: Life Will Never Be the Same Again

After a full year of the Tony Robbins experience, I wanted to take a moment to recap all the incredible adventures I’ve had, highlight the most important wisdom I’ve learned and urge you to make the three most important decisions in your life.

If you’ve kept up with the more than 150 articles I published in 2015, then you know I am a Raving Fan of Tony Robbins. I can honestly say that I have learned more from him and his team than any other person I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with (and there have been many incredible mentors in my life).

After a full year of the Tony Robbins experience, I wanted to take a moment to recap all the incredible adventures I’ve had, highlight the most important wisdom I’ve learned, and urge you to make the three most important decisions in your life.

Thank you, Tony Robbins!

To begin, let me start by saying thank you to one of the most incredible business leaders of our time. I started drafting a thank-you note, but then stopped myself because I realized this was not a private affair–so many people can benefit from the incredible wisdom this man has shared with me, that I want to express my gratitude in public and provide specific examples of how my life will never be the same again now that I’ve gone through these experiences.

So, Tony, let me start by saying thank you for your incredible generosity. I know of no other multibillionaire who has done more for humanity. While I respect the hell out of giving icons such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffet and what they have contributed in financial terms, there is no one on the planet who has deeply touched more lives than you have, my friend.

It all started with Unleash the Power Within (UPW).

I can’t even believe that my journey started less than a year ago, in March of 2015, with my fellow Inc. Owners Council CEOs. I documented my personal transformationat this event, so I won’t detail it here. What I will say is that the rock concert style and incredible energy is unlike any event in any industry (and I’ve attended and/or spoken at hundreds of events globally). I now understand why many Tony Robbins fans refer to UPW lovingly as “the gateway drug.” It’s what sets you on a course for total transformation. (I later invited my entire company and ultimately shared this experience with several of my Trepoint colleagues in Chicago in June).

Business mastery transforms my business.

Having had an incredible personal transformation at UPW, I got on a plane and flew to London to experience Business Mastery (Part 2). Yes, I’m an overachiever so I decided that to get all of this done inside a year, I needed to take the Business Mastery courses out of order. And I’m so glad I did. I met a global network of entrepreneurs who I’m still working with more than six months later. There’s no question that I received more than $1 million dollars in business value in the five days I spent there (as promised and personally guaranteed by the Anthony Robbins organization).

Life mastery transforms my body.

Two weeks after London, I flew to Fiji. That, by itself, was an incredible experience. But what the tropical island did was put me in the right frame of mind, with a deep desire to get back to nature. After a deep cleansing with no hunger, I discovered all the strategies I needed to live life with health and vitality. By the end of 2015, I had already lost 35 pounds, and I’m now on track to lose another 30 in the next five months. Having been on many yo-yo diets, I can’t tell you how powerful it feels to drop what will be 65 pounds in less than two years. Sure, the knowledge was helpful, but the psychology shift was the key to not just taking the weight off, but keeping it off for life. Besides, what good is business success if you don’t have your health to enjoy the fruits of your labor?

Wealth mastery transforms my finance.

During the same week as Life Mastery in Fiji, I continued with another 3.5 days to focus on my personal finance with Wealth Mastery. I had already finished Tony Robbins’ latest book Money: Master the Game and was familiar with some of the most important concepts (including two of the three most important decisions in your life) and the importance of asymmetric risk. Coming out of this conference, I understood the importance of having a fiduciary (vs. just a financial advisor), what it takes to create total financial freedom for my family, and strategies to avoid the psychological and emotional roller coaster of the stock market.

Date with destiny ties it all together.

And finally I attended Tony Robbins’ personal favorite event, Date with Destiny. For those who have attended UPW, this is the 10x version of what most people experienced earlier. This is where you go deep into your life’s purpose. Here, I was able to clearly articulate that “the purpose of my life is to be an inspirational leader who enjoys solving problems and creating breakthroughs in myself and others.” Having struggled with my personal mission statement for quite some time, you can imagine the gigantic sense of relief that breakthrough gave me.

While I have an incredible 15-year marriage, I was taught all sorts of strategies to help keep my wife blissfully happy. Which, it turns out, will be incredibly important as my two boys near their teenage years. At the end of this week, I felt incredibly happy and empowered. Although my breakthroughs are never done, I felt a calm in my life that I hadn’t before experienced.

Reinforcing what I learned at Business Mastery (Part 1).

Most recently, in January, I shared my Business Mastery experience with my EVP of content marketing, Molly Reynolds. I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting some of the concepts I had learned some eight months previously in London, and hearing from some of the great entrepreneurs of our time, including John Paul DeJoria, Jay Abraham, Keith Cunningham, David Meerman Scott, Ajay Gupta, and futurist Scott Klosoky. “Repetition is the mother of skill,” says Tony Robbins, and I can assure you that going back to this event I got even more value than the first time, as I was able to absorb even more material and brainstorm with one of my Trepoint colleagues.

What’s next?

I share all of this with you because I have received an incredible amount of insights, value, and breakthroughs in less than 12 months. I know that not everyone is a fan of Tony Robbins and I respect the “different strokes for different folks” philosophy. What is important to me, however, is that you are constantly educating and training yourself. The minute your business stops growing is the minute it starts dying. To continue to grow massively, find the people and the tools you need to get outside of your comfort zone and truly stretch yourself and your organization.

Through my experiences this past year, I walked on fire, climbed and jumped form a 50-foot telephone pole, lost 35 pounds and kept it off, got my financial house in order, rediscovered the purpose of my life, exchanged my to-do list for a life plan, discovered several ways to add $3 million dollars of growth to my business, and gave tens of thousands of dollars to charities I believe in. I am filled with gratitude like never before in my life. Tony Robbins didn’t do this for me. I did it for myself. However, Tony Robbins made it really, really easy for me to accomplish the kinds of things I had previously been putting off. For that, I am eternally grateful and will forevermore be a raving fan of Tony Robbins.

What’s next? Leadership Mastery in October in San Diego. Because I don’t just want to receive these kinds of breakthroughs, I want to be empowered to give them and to serve anyone who wants to learn them from me. At the end of the day, life is not about certainty and significance (as I once valued). Life is about growth and contribution, and I have done a ton of that in 2015 and look forward to continuing on this path for the rest of my life.

/by
, ,

Billionaires Master the Rule of 168: Life’s Great Equalizer

The Rule of 168 is one that cannot be broken and anyone who masters it will live a life of joy and utter fulfillment. Those who ignore it do so at their own peril.

One of the many reasons I love my coach, Chad Cooper, is because he often comes up with a blinding glimpse of the obvious–something that was right there in front of me all the time. Once you are aware of the rule of 168, then you will immediately see why it is life’s great equalizer.

The rule of 168.

One hundred sixty-eight is the total number of hours each and every one of us gets in any given week. No more. No less. What separates the ultra successful from the mildly so is what each does with this number of hours. The ultra wealthy and incredibly successful all live extraordinary lives. How is it that Sir Richard Branson can own multiple companies and still find time to become an expert kite surfer, while many of us stress out because we can’t seem to strike a balance between our careers and the many other facets of our life?

Time is the great equalizer of life.

Here is the beauty of the rule: It doesn’t matter how rich or successful you are–everyone gets only 168 hours each week. Period. You can’t buy more time, but you can sell your available hours to someone else. This is what the wealthy refer to asleverage. You probably already use leverage in your life. Do you have someone who cuts your grass or cleans your house? Or perhaps you have invested in a virtual assistant. Then you know the power of leverage. The question is, are you properly using the leverage available to you or are you being controlled by the leverage others have on your life?

Or, as Chad Cooper likes to ask, “Are you an extra in someone else’s movie script, or are you the lead author of your own blockbuster?”

The happiest, most successful people not only understand the power of leverage, but they also understand that time is the most precious commodity. Therefore, they do not squander it. They take the time to plan their weeks rather than allowing others to plan their week for them.

Stop allowing a to-do list control your life.

Most people use the worst possible planning methodology: the to-do list. By creating an overwhelming list of things you should do, not prioritizing them, and then attempting to cross them off, other people are free to add their items to your list. Your sense of being overwhelmed grows as you struggle to cross items off your list faster than they are put on, but the net effect is that the list is rarely completed. Instead, the list becomes a source of pain, stress, and something to avoid at all costs. This leads to procrastination and accomplishing even less than when you had no list at all.

Planning your extraordinary life.

Instead, take time to divvy up your 168 hours between the distinct roles you have made for yourself. When you subtract out seven nights of sleep, you’re left with between 112 to 126 hours (depending on whether you sleep six or eight hours per night). From there, you need to decide how to maximize the outcomes you want in your life given the remaining hours you have to work with.

Do you want to be an amazing spouse parent? How many hours in the week do you need in order to reach that outcome? If you’re finding that you’re working 12 hours a day, seven days a week, then you’re clocking 84 hours of work time and you’re left with only 42 hours. Add the two to four hours of TV most people watch ever day (28 hours) and it’s no wonder a lot of people are stressed out.

Taking control of your calendar.

Before you can design an extraordinary life for yourself, you first need to understand where all your time is going. Some of the most successful people, such as Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein, started tracking their time with a log of every 15 minutes from the time they got up to the time they went to bed. This helped them see where their time was being devoted and what changes can (and should) be made to prioritized the most important items.

Resources available to you.

There are also really amazing tools available to you, including Tony Robbins’s RPM Life Planner. You can download the free version of his workbook and get the high-level version of his breakthrough thinking immediately. I highly recommend his 10-day audio book program, as it will help you change your outlook on how you manage your time. After all, it’s usually your psychology and lack of purpose that encourages you to procrastinate rather than dive with both feet into the things you know you want to accomplish.

There are also several books available on the subject and one that will be coming out later this year by Chad Cooper. I can’t talk about that one much right now, but when we get closer to the launch date, you can bet I will be sharing some of the incredible insights he has included in his book. After all, if you like the rule of 168, remember that it came from Cooper and there is a whole lot more where that came from.

/by