Pivotal Magazine #3

Issue No. 3

--- be inspired

--- be informed

--- be entertained

1

IN THIS ISSUE …

--- be inspired

Getting from here to there ………………..……………………….………………………… 17 Having an idea is not the same as having a vision …………………………………… 14 6 Techniques to Make your Presentation unforgettable ………………………………3

… be informed

Build Great Core Client relationships ………………………………………………………. 6 A Child’s plate: good nutrition and great taste go and in hand ………….………… 9 Give a Great Talk ………………………………………………………………………………… 13

… be entertained

Books ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4 Videos ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 11 Kids ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 16 Inspiration …………………………………………………………………………………………. 12

2

It’s great to find yourself at the front of the room, speaking clearly, shuffling confidently through your perfectly-chosen slides, seeing looks on the faces of your audience members that seem to say “Yes, I am listening. No, I cannot turn away.”

If only it was always that easy…

6 Techniques to Make Your Presentation Unforgettable

It can be helpful to think about attention in terms of presentations in three ways: First, we need to grab the audience’s attention. We need to find some way to capture them quickly and make sure that they are invested in our message right from the start. Secondly, we need to hold their attention. It serves little purpose to shock our audience into a state of alertness if we quickly lull them back into a stupor of boredom and

attention. In addition, by not filling-in

every

single blank, you are inviting your audience to invest their own ideas, creating a dialog that will keep them thinking about your

Create a buzz!

captivating pitch for weeks.

complacency. Once we have our audience’s attention, we need to pace our presentation in such a way that can keep them coming along for the ride by creating various, dynamic “highs” and “lows” as we build toward our conclusion. The third way to think about attention in regards to our presentations involves what happens after the presentation is over. Did all of our hard work go in one ear and out the other – or did we make it memorable?

Making your presentation memorable can be tricky. Some of the things we do to create excitement in the moment when we are speaking won’t necessarily resonate beyond that afternoon. However, some of the

2. Lift Your Language Obviously, this technique could become overdone in the context of a presentation, but it’s worth considering. Think of the way JFK, RFK or MLK used to speak to their audiences. We certainly remember their speeches decades later and their messages continue to resonate throughout the culture. All three employed two methods: They elevated their audience’s vision while simultaneously speaking in short, simple sentences that anyone could understand. How can you do the same in your next presentation?

fundamentals of a good presentation will make you compelling on stage and for many water-cooler discussions to come.

3. Centralize When You Organize When you’re organizing your presentation, it’s important to focus in on

Here are a few ways to create a buzz the next time you present

one theme and continue to refer back to it as you move from point-topoint. This will insure that your audience won’t lose track of your

1. Less Will Impress

central theme as you tell your story. If your audience can’t follow, they

Less is more. This is a fundamental rule for any presentation, but it

certainly can’t remember.

plays an especially important role when it comes to making your hard work something to remember. If your presentation is short, fast, and to the point, you are more likely to capture and keep your audience’s

3

4. Make Demands on Your Diction Choosing exactly the right words in your presentation is crucial. After all, your presentation is mostly made of words. Does your description of this new product actually describe it well or is it simply a jumble of marketing phrases that no one can really grab onto? Keep it clear.

Make it simple. Make it memorable.

5. Book ‘em Don’t be afraid to use literary devices to bring a heightened level of power to your presentation. For instance, the use of alliteration may motivate more momentum in the moment. Metaphors, similes and

"Finally, There's a Quick and Easy Way To Learn How To Write Ads, Sales Letters, and Website Copy That Sell Like Crazy" "Your ability to write persuasively is the most important and most widely overlooked marketing tool that you will ever acquire."

=> Read more here

allusions can also bring unexpected weight to your story. Jesse Jackson once compared unregistered voters to the stone that killed the Biblical Goliath in what is now considered one of the greatest speeches of all time.

6. Content No matter how well-spoken you are, no matter how well-written your presentation is, no matter how pretty your slides look, you will flop if you don’t have compelling ideas and interesting notions to speak about. A TV show about nothing can be a big hit, but a presentation about nothing will never be memorable.

Written by Scott Schwertly

Discover if life coaching is a match for you and how you can get started in what Money magazine calls “The Highest paid Home Based Business.”

The Coaching Institute – Click here

4

Books This nice and subtle happiness of reading, this joy not chilled by age, this polite and unpunished vice, this selfish, serene life-long intoxication. ~Logan Pearsall Smith The Time We Have Taken Miles Franklin Award Winner 2008

~StevenCarroll That exotic tribe was us. And the time we have taken, our moment. The straight line of history has led, and was always leading, to this day and they have all been lucky enough to be alive, right now, to greet the moment.

THE TIME WE HAVE TAKEN is both a meditation on the rhythms of suburban life and a luminous exploration of public and private reckoning during a time of radical change. 'a writer worth cherishing. His prose is unfailingly assured, lyrical, poised' - The Australian. 'moving and indelible in its evocation of the extraordinary in ordinary lives' - Miles Franklin Literary Award Judges.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest This week's Bestseller ~ Stieg Larsson As the finale to Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is not content to merely match the adrenaline-charged pace that made international bestsellers out of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire. Instead, it roars with an explosive storyline that blows the doors off the series and announces that the very best has been saved for last. ...Larsson's mastery of the unexpected is why millions have fallen hard for his work. But rest assured that the odds are again stacked, the challenges personal, and the action fraught with neck-snapping revelations in this snarling conclusion to a thrilling triad. This closing chapter to The Girl's pursuit of justice is guaranteed to leave readers both satisfied and saddened once the final page has been turned.

Beyond Bullet Points: Using Microsoft PowerPoint to Create Presentations That Inform, Motivate and Inspire C. Atkinson

Atkinson shares his innovative three-step system for increasing the impact of your communications with Microsoft PowerPoint. He guides you, step by step, as you discover how to combine the tenets of classic storytelling with the power of the projected media to create a rich, engaging experience. He walks you through his easy-to-use templates, plus 50 advanced tips, to help build your confidence and effectiveness—and quickly bring your ideas to life! FOCUS Learn how to distill your best ideas into a crisp and compelling narrative. CLARIFY Use a storyboard to clarify and visualize your ideas, creating the right blend of message and media. ENGAGE Move from merely reading your slides to creating a rich, connected experience with your audience—and increase your impact!

Beyond Bullet Points takes a new approach based on telling a story with structure. But it also learns from other media Newspapers - make your headlines meaningful. Movies, use a storyboard to plan your story before you think about visuals.

The Gathering Man Booker Prize winner 2007 ~ Anne Enright The Gathering is a family epic. It is also a sexual history: tracing the line of hurt and redemption through three generations starting with the grandmother, Ada Merriman - showing how memories warp and family secrets fester. This is a novel about love and disappointment, about thwarted lust and limitless desire, and how our fate is written in the body, not in the stars.

Click here

Free book Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith: Savior

by John Jackson Miller Twenty-five years ago the survivors of the marooned Sith ship Omen bloodlessly conquered the native population of the remote planet Kesh, installing themselves as overlords and transforming the primitive Keshiri civilization into a new Sith society. Letting nothing stand in his way -- including his own brother's life -- Omen commander-turned-Grand Lord Yaru Korsin has ruled unopposed ever since. But now his days, and those of the ruthless Sith order on Kesh, may be numbered.

Get 20% off at eBooks.com! … on the following categories: Family & Relationships, Social Science, Romance, Mathematics, and Foreign Language Study

5

Build Great Core Client Relationships Professional salespeople, like any serious professionals, have a goal of building excellent relationships with other people in both their personal and professional lives. Building excellent relationships is a habit, and it produces wonderful rewards.

But relationships can be very fragile. Many marriages don’t survive and many business relationships thrive for a while and then fall apart. We call this the Double Spiral in developing our book, The Power of Focus. We are in the Upward Spiral when things are going well, when our confidence is high and our important relationships are healthy and flourishing. The opposite is the case if we slip into the Downward Spiral. Things start to unravel, a lack of communication occurs, stress increases and life becomes a constant struggle. Relationships are polarized during the Downward Spiral.

Let’s take a quick look at how the Downward Spiral shows up in real life. To more clearly understand how this can impact on your current and future client relationships, think of a personal or business relationship that didn’t work out.

Create in your mind all the steps that caused this relationship to fall apart. Go back as far as you can and record what happened. When you carefully reflect on what causes relationships to fall apart, you can take steps to heal them and be better prepared for the next one.

The Upward Spiral certainly is more fun to analyze, but when you do, you stand to reap the rewards quicker in your future relationships. Repeat the process of recalling steps that caused this relationship to flourish. But this time, focus on a relationship that you gradually nourished, expanded and enriched until it blossomed into a wonderful, long-term friendship or business relationship. You will enjoy a tremendous advantage in the marketplace when you develop an accurate blueprint that you can duplicate many times in the future. Powerful relationships ensure powerful results.

Avoid toxic people Before we move on, please heed this important advice: avoid toxic people! Unfortunately, there are a few people out there who see the world as one big problem, and in their eyes you’re part of it. No matter how well things are going, they focus on the nitpicking little negative details.

And they do it constantly. It’s a habit that totally destroys relationships. You may be thinking at this point, “Easier said than done. Do you mean if a friend I’ve known for years talks like this, should I just turn and walk away?” No, RUN! His constant negativity will drain the life out of you.

Now please understand, we’re not talking about someone who has a genuine challenge and needs real help. We’re

referring to those chronic whiners who take great pleasure in dumping all their negative garbage on your plate at every opportunity. It’s the highlight of their day. Don’t put up with it anymore Core clients and the double win The important step in developing the habit of Excellent Relationships is learning to nourish your most valuable relationships in a win-win atmosphere. A lot has been written and spoken about the philosophy of win-win in selling and sales negotiation. But win-win is essentially a philosophy of how you live your life. In business, win-win means having a genuine concern for the other person; that they win as much as you do. Sadly, however, the attitude of many people in business has been to grind every last cent out of every situation. These so-called guerrilla tactics cause a lack of trust, cynicism, questionable ethics and a high level of anxiety in the marketplace. The result is win-lose. On the other hand, win-win doesn’t mean giving the farm away every time you make a deal. That’s lose-win, which would eventually put you out of business. There’s also another category called lose-lose. This happens when both parties are too stubborn or too egotistical to create a winning solution.

Building excellent core client relationships A crucial element in growing your business is building excellent core client relationships. Core clients are at the heart of your business. They buy from you consistently and are a main source of revenue. They are also happy to provide excellent referrals for new business because they genuinely love your products and service. Amazingly, many salespeople today don’t even know who their core clients are. Core clients are your passport to future growth. Unfortunately, these important relationships are often taken for granted. The attitude is, “He always orders two thousand units a month. We need to focus on new business.”

Not every deal is worth saving New business is important. Staying in touch with your best clients is more important. It’s a lot more difficult to find new customers than it is to keep and serve your old customers.

6

Be aware of the time you spend on people who are peripheral clients. The word peripheral is worth noting. It means at the outer edge, unimportant or not worth mentioning. Another term is dispensable. Do you have any peripheral clients in your business? If you’re not sure, here’s how you can spot them. They commonly take a lot of your time and energy and give you very little business in return. Sometimes they give you no business at all. But they will question you on every little detail, and they’ll place unreasonable demands on your time. Of course, you may not want to turn any business away from your door. But what is it costing you in time and energy to dabble in minor results? Some deals just aren't worth the effort.

You don’t want to lose your core clients There’s one critical element you need to understand about your core clients. You don’t ever want to lose them. Here’s the big question. How much real time do you spend with your more important core clients? Our research indicates that very little time is allocated to core clients.

Consequently, these relationships never mature to their full potential. On the bottom line, that means a lot of money is squandered. Now that you know who these important people are, pay more attention to them. The long-term rewards are well worth the effort. Your business will increase, and you’ll also minimize the likelihood of losing any of these top clients to your competitors.

Successful salespeople create an information file for every one of their core clients and core personal relationships.

They find out everything they can about these individuals including their likes and dislikes, favorite restaurants, birthdays, anniversaries, kids’ names, favorite hobbies, sports and pastimes.

Be willing to go the extra mile It takes time and effort to cultivate highly successful relationships. It means that you will often be required to go the extra mile. This way of living gradually becomes your new normal behavior. You do it without thinking. When win-win behavior becomes truly embedded in your everyday life, the floodgates of opportunity will open up for you like never before. You will indeed be richer for it, and we don’t just mean financially.

by Mark Victor Hansen Your success. Proven experts. Proven Results. Your Path to personal and business success http://www.yoursuccessstore.com/

You will probably offer your core clients special services and all those little extras that define you as unique. These may include golf outings, dinners or special trips. You could take time to share ideas of advising how to handle certain challenges. Maybe you consistently provide good referrals to expand their business. The more you know about the people on your core client list and core personal list, the more you can help them. And the true spirit of win-win means that you make these contributions unconditionally.

Click here

Click here

7

Whatever you are, be a good one.

Abraham Lincoln

8

A Child's Plate:

Good Nutrition and Good Taste can go Hand-In-Hand ONE of the most difficult tasks for parents is to get finicky children to eat the proper foods that are necessary for their growth and development. We all know the importance of good nutrition, and if it is introduced early on, nutritionists say that increases the likelihood of lifelong good eating habits.

In too many cases, children eat a diet that's high in calories and includes more than an ample amount of processed foods. But with a little planning, you can create a variety of tasty dishes that will give children the healthy boost they need. The trick sometimes is to get them to eat it.

First, parents have to set a good example by making wise choices and eating healthy dishes themselves. Try new foods and new ways of preparing them, with emphasis on dark green leafy vegetables, deep-yellow vegetables, fruits and whole-grain products.

Secondly, offer your children a variety of foods. When offering new foods, serve small "try me" portions, about 1 or 2 tablespoons, and encourage your child to create a new snack or sandwich from three or four healthy ingredients you provide.

The USDA has created the Food Guide Pyramid for young children, that divides food into five major food groups--grains, vegetables, fruits, milk and meat. Each of these food groups provides some, but not all, of the nutrients children need, and nutritionists say neither food group is more important than the other. So to give your child the best chance at full development, a well-balanced diet that follows USDA guidelines is not only a necessity, but it's the best way to give your child a healthy start.

The following are some kid-friendly recipes that will appeal to you and your child and have them begging for seconds.

Fun Salad Smiling Bug: Put a canned peach half on a lettucelined plate. Use raisins for the eyes, cherry stems for antennae (but do not eat) and half a maraschino cherry slice for the mouth.

Friendly Dog: Place a canned pear half on a lettucelined plate. Cut a stewed prune lengthwise in half and remove the pit. Place each prune half at the large end of the pear half for the ears.

Use raisins for the eyes. Place a cherry half at the top of the narrow end of the pear half for the nose.

Garnish salads with carrot curls.

Pizza Faces 1/2 cup tomato sauce 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 2 English muffins, split in half 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 2 pimiento-stuffed or pitted black olives 4 slices canned pimiento Heat oven to 425 degrees. Mix 1/2 cup tomato sauce with 1/4 teaspoon oregano. Place muffin halves several inches apart in ungreased jelly roll pan. Pour about 2 tablespoons of the tomato sauce on each muffin and spread to the edge with rubber scraper. Sprinkle each with about 2 tablespoons of mozzarella cheese for a face and about 2 tablespoons of shredded cheddar cheese around the edge for the hair. Use the olive and pimiento slices to make the eyes and mouth. Place the jelly roll pan in hot oven. Bake pizzas until cheese melts, about 5 minutes.

Yields 4 servings

9

Peanut Buffer-Banana Sandwiches 4 slices raisin bread, toasted Peanut butter 1 banana Spread one side of 2 slices bread with peanut butter. Peel banana and cut in half crosswise and again lengthwise to make 4 pieces. Put 2 pieces of banana on one slice of the peanut butter toast. Top with plain slice of toast. Repeat with remaining banana toast. With an adult's help, use sharp knife to cut each sandwich in half.

Yields 2 sandwiches WHAT COUNTS AS ONE SERVING GRAIN GROUP 1 slice bread 1/2 cup cooked rice or pasta 1/2 cup cooked cereal 1 ounce of ready-to-eat cereal VEGETABLE GROUP 1/2 cup of chopped raw or cooked vegetables 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables

FRUIT GROUP 1 piece of fruit or melon wedge 3/4 cup of juice 1/2 cup of canned fruit 1/4 cup of dried fruit MILK GROUP 1 cup of milk or yogurt 2 ounces of cheese MEAT GROUP 2 to 3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish 1/2 cup of cooked dry beans, or 1 egg counts as 1 ounce of lean meat.

2 tablespoons of peanut butter count as 1 ounce of meat FAT AND SWEETS Limit calories from these groups Ebony, COPYRIGHT Johnson Publishing Co. COPYRIGHT Gale Group

You've got some great ideas... wouldn't you like to stay on track and get the writing done?

Of course YOU would!

-------

Click here for instant download -------

10

DVDs Out now:

Videos

Supernatural: The Complete Fifth Season Twenty-six years ago, Sam and Dean Winchester lost their mother to a mysterious and demonic supernatural force. Subsequently, their father raised them to be soldiers. He taught them about the paranormal evil that lives in the dark corners and on the back roads of America ... and he taught them how to kill it. This haunting series follows the Winchester brothers as they crisscross the lonely and mysterious back roads of the country in their '67 Chevy Impala, hunting down every evil supernatural force they encounter along the way. At the end of the fourth season, Sam unwittingly broke the final seal – that held Lucifer captive in Hell.

Now, Lucifer is free, the Apocalypse is here and angels prepare for a spectacular final battle. Against a landscape of celestial violence, natural disasters and a rising human death toll, Sam and Dean, with the help of fallen angel Castiel, must find a way to achieve the impossible: Kill the Devil

Watch online:

The Office: Season Six Experience the ultimate way to enjoy ―...TV’s best comedy‖ (Alex Pappademas, GQ), The Office, with this must-own five-disc set that includes every Season Six episode, plus an uncensored original digital short, hours of deleted scenes and much more!

Follow Michael (Steve Carell), Dwight (Rainn Wilson), Jim (John Krasinski), Pam (Jenna Fischer), Ryan (B.J. Novak), Andy (Ed Helms) and the rest of the Scranton crew as they pursue new heights of inappropriateness while facing everything from new romances, marriage and parenthood to new ownership, Darryl’s (Craig Robinson) rise to middle management and a ball-busting new boss! Developed for American television by Primetime Emmy® Award winner Greg Daniels, ―The Office is so funny it hurts‖ (Joanna Weiss, The Bos ton Globe)!

This week’s movie for kids now available on DVD Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Child Development and Helping Your Child Excel In Life

A breakthrough tool in child development from Awake2000.com. This tool helps the child develop their mind using the power of their own suggestion, parents guidance, and their subconscious mind.

The first volume in Jeff Kinney's wildly popular Web and book series hits the screen in this live-action adaptation. Greg Heffley enters middle school determined to become class favorite. It won't be easy. Berlin-born director Thor Freudenthal (Hotel for Dogs) avoids any dull or sentimental patches, which should please kids and adults alike (an upbeat modern-rock soundtrack doesn't hurt).

Kinney fans will also appreciate the way Freudenthal weaves stickfigure drawings from Greg's journal throughout this zippy entertainment.

Power Your Mind With Creative Visualisation Creative visualization is the technique of using your imagination to create pictures of yourself achieving a desired goal or outcome and focusing on that image until you achieve your objective. Use the power of your imagination to create what you want in your life.

Let go of your limitations – Act Now!

11

Inspiration If

"Achievement is largely the product of steadily raising one's levels of aspiration and expectation."

Jack Nicklaus

Video

by Rudyard Kipling If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you.

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat these two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools: If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much;

Click here

If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Click here 12

Give a Great Talk ‌ Part 1 One of the ways you can market your product or service is through public speaking.

For instance, you'll often see financial seminars advertised in your local newspaper. The ads invite you to come for a lunch or evening seminar ... typically just an hour or two ... on a topic like estate planning, retirement planning, or mutual fund investing.

The seminar, sponsored by a local brokerage, financial planner, or other financial services firm, is free.

So how do they make money? By converting some of the attendees into paid clients for whom they manage money, prepare estate plans, or provide other financial services.

This "give a free talk" strategy can work in many fields and venues.

A consultant who specializes in small-business management and marketing, for example, might speak at a Chamber of Commerce lunch to promote his services and sign up local business owners as clients.

You can speak at local association lunches and dinners ... the YMCA or YMHA ... high school and college adult-education programs ... local libraries ... trade shows and conferences ... public seminars.

Why don't more entrepreneurs use the "give a free talk" promotional strategy? One reason is that the idea of speaking in front of a group makes them nervous.

We often hear about surveys showing the number one fear of Americans to be public

speaking ‌ ahead of fear of flying, heights (my particular bugaboo), snakes, or even death....

Now, I have been using the "give a free talk" strategy to promote myself as a freelance copywriter for more than two decades. And I've developed a technique that can help you deliver a superior presentation AND overcome your butterflies at the same time.

It's really simple - and you've already been doing it your whole life.

It's called "having a conversation with another person."

The "give a free talk" strategy can work in many fields and venues.

You, along with virtually everyone else on the planet, are already an experienced and accomplished speaker. You speak all the time, every day, almost nonstop - to colleagues, coworkers, customers, supervisors, vendors, suppliers, friends, family, the clerk at the drugstore, the waiter at the restaurant - in one-to-one personal conversations.

Having these conversations comes naturally.

You don't get nervous or scared. And the people you talk to listen and respond - for the most part.

Well, to become a good speaker, all you need to do is have the same kind of one-to-one conversation with your audience when you're speaking in front of a group!

Click here 13

When I am speaking to a group, I look into the audience as I begin talking, find one person who is looking back at me, and make eye contact. Then, I talk just to that one person ... as if we are having a private, one-on-one conversation.

I know that everyone else can hear us. But notice: I am not "giving a lecture" or "making a speech" ... activities that the average person approaches with fear and trepidation. Instead, I am just having a conversation with one person.

After a minute, I break eye contact, find another person in the audience, and make eye contact with him.

I repeat this process throughout my talk. So I am never staring out into a crowd, seeing an ocean of bodies ... which can be intimidating.

Instead, I am always having a conversation with one person.

The result? My fear and anxiety are totally gone. And my presentation is much more conversational and natural than a formal lecture or pontificating speech would be.

Here's one other tip: NEVER bring your talk written out as a "speech" and read it word for word.

Such presentations are stiff and boring. The listener knows you are reading a speech, and thinks, "This guy could have just e-mailed his talk to me as a PDF file ... and I could have read it at home without bothering to make the trip here!"

Instead, outline your talk in bullet form.

You can write the bullets on index cards (for your eyes only). Or put the major points on PowerPoint slides and project them in front of the audience so they can follow along with you.

In my next article ..., I'll tell you four more secrets for giving a great talk that will not only dazzle your audience, but also get them to trust you - and, ultimately, buy what you are selling.

(Author: Bob Bly Bob Bly is a self-made multi-millionaire, and the author of more than 60 books, including The Complete Idiot's Guide to Direct Marketing and The Copywriter's Handbook.)

Having an idea is not the same as having a vision - 10 steps you should go through I was with a lawyer recently and we were discussing the challenges of being an Entrepreneur. He proceeded to sum up for the prosecution by pointing out that 'anyone can have an idea- that's the easy bit. Turning that idea into money takes something else'.

Words of wisdom indeed.

To be fair though he had a good point albeit put with the grace of a sledgehammer.

And that got me thinking about the difference between Entrepreneurs with anidea and Entrepreneurs with vision.

For many great ideas never see their market potential .

And that's because turning an idea into action necessitates you taking that idea then proceed to completely dismantle it.

You know your toughest critic has to be yourself. That also extends to your idea.

So here are some 'ideas' taken from n2 growth for you to test on your ...idea.

1. The idea should be generated within a solid framework for decision. It should be developed as a solution to a problem or to exploit an opportunity. The idea should be in alignment with the overall vision and mission of the enterprise.

2. If the idea doesn’t provide a unique competitive advantage it should at least bring you closer to an even playing field.

Click here

14

3. Any new idea should preferably add value to existing initiatives, and if not, it should show a significant enough return on investment to justify the dilutive effect of not keeping the main thing the main thing.4. Put the idea through a risk/reward and cost/benefit analysis.

5. Whether the new idea is intended for your organization, vendors, suppliers, partners or customers it must easy to use. Usability drives adoptability, and therefore it pays to keep things simple.

8. Adopting a new idea should be based upon solid business logic that drives corresponding financial engineering and modelling. Be careful of high level, pie-in-the-sky projections.

9. Any new ideas should contain accountability provisions. Every task should be assigned and managed according to a plan and in the light of day.

10. Any new ideas being adopted must lead to measurable objectives. Deliverables, benchmarks, deadlines, and success metrics must be incorporated into the plan.

6. Just because an idea sounds good doesn’t mean it is You should endeavour to validate proof of concept based upon detailed, credible research.

7. Nothing is without risk, and when you think something is without risk, that is when you’re most likely to end-up in trouble. All initiatives surrounding new ideas should include detailed risk management provisions.

Justin Floyd Visionary Entrepreneur building innovative businesses with people who are much smarter than me Ideas and help for innovative Entrepreneurs http://cloudbank.typepad.com/forentrepreneurs/

"Life is so hard... unless you allow it to be easy... it will be whatever you expect it to be..."

Doug Firebaug

15

For Kids (and for the parents, teachers and anyone who is trying to bring out the best in the kids in their lives)

Have fun and learn ...Making Paper planes

Colouring: Colour in Thomas and the Pumpkins for Halloween

Contrary to popular belief, airplanes don't float on the air, they're sucked up into it.

Just for fun Asknumbers This website has conversion charts for maths concepts like length/distance and volume, for physics ones like pressure. It also covers computer storage, force, data transfer, calories, currency, clothing sizes and cooking and much more Make sure the sound is on, but think about who is around when you turn it up ... and visit the pipecleaner dancer

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk

~ Adele Faber, Elaine Mazlish

a step-by-step approach to improving relationships in your house. The "Reminder" pages, helpful cartoon illustrations, and excellent exercises will improve your ability as a parent to talk and problem-solve with your children

16

Getting from Here to There When I travel, my daily agenda is always full.

I don't get up late, linger over breakfast, and then start meandering down one country road after another, just to see where they might lead. I'm up early, ready to cram as much into each day as I possibly can. I know exactly where I want to go and, map in hand, I know how to get there.

Come to think of it, that's also how I approach life. I can't just let life happen to me. I need a road map that shows me how to get from where I am now to where I want to be in the future. Of course, if I want to be successful, I can't just leave the roadmap in the glove box. I have to follow it. Diligently.

In our series about travelling through life, we've already talked about travelling light (getting rid of excess emotional baggage and keeping "short accounts") and taking someone with you. Today, my travelling tip is to follow the roadmap. In life, a roadmap is akin to a game plan—a carefully thoughtout strategy for achieving success. My game plan probably doesn't look exactly like yours, because my definition of success might be different from yours.

But the fact that we might be following slightly different roadmaps doesn't negate the wisdom of using one in the first place. As the saying goes, if you aim at nothing, you're likely to get it.

Regardless of our position and station in life, following the roadmap means: 1. Knowing where you are at this moment. How can you know where you are at this moment? The key word is reflection.

2. Knowing where you want to go. For me, success is knowing my purpose in life, growing to my maximum potential and sowing seeds that benefit others. That's where I want to go.

3. Understanding that life happens between where you are at this moment and where you want to go, and that it's the "between where you are and where you want to go" that causes people to miss life. Some people have what I call "destination disease." They live life thinking, "When I get promoted, I'll be fulfilled" or, "When I get married, I'll be happy" or "If I could just meet that person, I'll be on my way." It's good to plan for the days ahead, but if you're basing all your hopes for fulfilment on some future event, you're actually missing out on the essence of life itself. As John Lennon once wisely observed, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."When it comes to travelling through life, I can't over-emphasize the importance of following the roadmap.

But it's also crucial to note that, even if you're following the best map ever made, you'll most likely have to stop and ask for directions from time to time.

I'm well aware that this practice is excruciatingly difficult for some of us. And we just might be stubborn and persistent enough to avoid doing it, at least when we're driving somewhere in a car. But in the journey we call life, people who refuse to stop and ask for directions aren't stubborn or persistent; they're foolish.

Unfortunately, an unwillingness to seek advice is all too common among businesspeople today. In The Corporate Steeplechase, New York social psychologist Srully Blotnick says that career men and women in their twenties tend to be ashamed to ask questions, and in their thirties, the desire to be individualistic makes it difficult for them to counsel with colleagues. The value of advice becomes clear only with maturity, he writes.

That's so true. As philosopher John Collins has noted, "To profit from good advice requires more wisdom than to give it." That said, people often make the mistake of following advice without carefully evaluating it first. To avoid this common error, ask yourself the following questions when appraising the validity of any piece of advice: 1. How credible is the source?

2. Am I getting the same advice from different people?

3. Have I made allowances for any biases, pro or con, an advice giver may have?

4. Have I talked with more than one person so I have a basis for judging the advice?

5. Am I in an emotional state to act wisely on this advice?

17

6. What is the ratio between the potential cost of acting on the advice and the potential benefit that it may hold?

Taking the time to stop and ask for directions might seem like a big hassle when you're busy with the daily stuff of life. And to some, sticking to a roadmap might seem unnecessarily restrictive. But as one traveller to another, I encourage you to make both a priority. Otherwise, you just might end up on a fast road to nowhere.

By Dr. John C. Maxwell

People form their first impression of you in the first four seconds!

Maximize your natural attributes to create an instant bond with anyone you meet Discover how to be your most irresistible self

18

You can read the Pivotal Magazine online at http://www.pivotalmagazine.com

To receive notifications of new pdf issues to download, just let us know ‌ send an email.

19