Your Sweet Spot
Tips from the “Splendid Splinter” and the “Oracle of Omaha”
Maximize Coaching with the Trailblazer!

When I was a kid somehow I came into the possession of Ted Williams’ book, The Science of Hitting.  Williams, known to sports writers as the Splendid Splinter, was arguably the greatest hitter in baseball history.

The book includes a diagram Williams created showing the strike zone as a grid of baseballs that was 7 baseballs wide and 11 baseballs high.

Williams estimated what his batting average would be if he swung at pitches in one of those 77 spots.  If he went for the low-outside strike (gray in this picture), he figured he’d hit a totally crummy (to him) .230.  (A ballplayer who can hit 230 today would earn more in a year than Williams probably did in a lifetime.)

Anyway, Williams defined his “sweet spot” as the zone shown with the orange and red baseballs on the right.  In that zone, he figured he’d hit between .390 and .400.

 I don’t know that Williams created the term because there’s also a sweet spot on a golf club, golf ball, baseball bat.

Warren Buffett also likes to talk about his sweet spot.  Buffett has four criteria for investing, and when an investment opportunity meets all four, he buys…a lot.  Below are the four criteria:

• He can understand the business.
• The business is protected by some kind of market or economic “moat.”
• The management is passionate about the business.
• The stock price is (reasonably) attractive.

Buffett says that “if all these are true, we back up the [money] truck and buy as much as we can and we keep it forever.”

We each probably have dozens of places in life where we could benefit from the focus of knowing what constitutes our sweet spot.  For example, you might benefit from knowing your ideal:

My questions for today are:

1. Do you know where it would be useful for you to identify your sweet spot?
2. Do you have any ideas about what constitutes that sweet spot?

I suggest you pick one and then come up with three or four criteria that define that sweet spot.

For example, my ideal client:

• Needs direction more than motivation.
• Is a talented maverick.
• Is a leader in some capacity.
• Is honest, bright and fun.

One more thing you can do with this exercise is to use it as a networking platform.  I believe any compelling question provides a good reason to connect with others.  Invite someone to connect for coffee and ask them the two questions above.  While you’re at it, share what you’ve seen for yourself and invite feedback.

Enjoy!

763-521-9981
Jim Earley, Master Certified Coach

You’ll find links to my everything
through the link below.
http://coachjim.extendr.com/

If you want to get onto Jim’s calendar,
contact his virtual assistant Kathy Snell
at Kathy@TrailblazerCoaching.com

According to The Physicians’ Desk Reference, only 10-20% of ingredients contained in supplements actually get absorbed into your digestive system.

So if you’re taking supplements to help you lose weight, you’re basically wasting at least 80 percent of what you spend! Now whether or not the supplement companies know this I can’t say for sure. But the information here doesn’t do much for their case. If you’ve ever tried supplements to help you lose weight and haven’t seen results, then you’ll definitely find this page pretty eye opening. It gives some of the reasons why weight loss supplements just don’t work for a lot of people. Plus, it reveals what you can do about it. 

Read this now and save yourself from what cannot work!

Once upon a time I had off the chart success experiences. One of them, my record of 33 out of every 34 people I offered the program to every month said YES! I did what I did. Everyone else realized 2 or 3 yes for every 15 to 20 they offered the program.  My third year ‘on the job’ people followed me around and monitored my every move to find out the ‘secret.’ Their answer was it was me. Truth is I did not believe I was doing the impossible. There had to be something that if anyone did it they would get the same results. There is…. after decades of searching, research, study and implementing theory to practice here it is…

Free.

Click the blue button!! Do not let the ‘reason’ for this training get in your way of using it ‘on the job’ either. I don’t. It works in every relationship I am a part!

Click here to view the embedded video.

The answer to the recipe is coming soon.

You may want to play it again one more time.

Yesterday’s post may have been too far down the rabbit hole with Alice and the rest of her crew.  What is it about this video that is so remarkable?  The only people thinking were the ‘professionals’ and the lesson learned is….  Please share your thoughts!!!

Who we are and what we see starts with our consciousness. How we see this ‘view’, and ourselves, what our identity is colors our experience. We can change our perception of our self. Noticing ‘self’ is the first step and then the WORK on self is required. A view of life based on scarcity, limits and inequities generates a different life experience than one without limits and one with complete unfettered choices.

Why pick the first one over the second? Perceived safety is the most common answer and safety is a teaching.  First, you must notice there is a difference between choice and decision.  Decisions eliminate options and as the root implies decisions cut and reduce to one.  Choice leaves everything in place and you may choose differently next time without altering the choices. The choice may alter you however.  Pretending you are choosing but making a decision, a permanent one, an indelible one is a kind of mass insanity.  Making a choice to choose the only option when there appears to be only one is different from deciding to take what is there or what is left.

Peace is literally a choice and a decision, although not a popular one in our society despite all the rhetoric about the term. The decision to overlook the seeming inequities of life instead of reacting to them is a choice. ― David R. Hawkins

Can you choose to make a decision that alters your life and everyone else’s? We each do constantly often without recognizing it or acknowledging the power.

Majorities are always led, they never lead. – Charles Hannel

The choice to be right, righteous, justified and poor or to be rich, rich in wisdom, rich in peace, and rich in unfettered access to prosperity of every kind is simple once you realize it is that stark. We all started out gasping for our first breath.  

Love is misunderstood to be an emotion; actually, it is a state of awareness, a way of being in the world, a way of seeing oneself and others. ― David R. Hawkins

Once life becomes about finding love and more money no amount of either will satisfy.  I am not rejecting either but suggesting the hard focus on what is missing insures ‘it’ remains missing.  A soft focus on the mystery may prove useful.  Remember we are looking for a cake recipe!

I believe our longing for an innate harmony runs deeper than our longing for righteousness. – Evelyn Rodriguez

Every conversation we entertain is after our monkey mind, the subconscious, sorts who ‘they’ are into either them or us.  Most of us don’t even notice this happening.  What they wear, how they talk, how they look… are they an ‘us’ or ‘them?’  IF you could notice, how would your conversations change?  Looking for the perfect cake recipe is no different.

Embrace what you don’t know, especially in the beginning because what you don’t know can become your greatest asset. It ensures that you will be doing things absolutely differently from everybody else. — Sara Blakely

If all the knowledge in existence in Universe were a huge pie chart, a small sliver of that pie would be what you know. The much larger piece right next to it would be what you do not know. Actually, those pieces are best identified as what you know that you know [KK] and what you know that you don’t know. [KDK] The portion remaining is so large that the first two are but a single hydrogen atom in the world’s oceans once you comprehend the remaining portion.  It is called what you don’t know that you don’t know [DKDK] and it is where every solution is currently in hiding.

Accessing the most incredible, the most delicious cake recipe in the world exists and the recipe exists in DKDK!  How to move it into KDK is the first step and perhaps the only difficult one.  Operating like it exists anywhere but DKDK is a path to disappointment.  

I am interested in your thoughts on methods, actual or allegorical, that gain access to DKDK.  If you have a favorite quote or more that point the way please share. 

For a moment, imagine a contest to produce the most incredible, the most delicious cake in the world. There are an unlimited number of entries but to be ‘fair’ we have three distinct categories of contestants.

One category is a group of individual enterprises or people who have a commitment to maintaining their brand, their story and their image. They have a secret cake recipe already and they are willing to participate with a new and improved version to keep their brand on top. This group is made up of those who are recognized as the best already by many if not most and perhaps everyone says so in passing. They are dedicated to keeping things as they are and they want to maintain their command of the situation and remain on top. Their secrets will remain hidden substantiating the mystery that already pervades their persona.

The second category is a group of individuals and even companies who band together to form new groups based on their particular views, expertise and theories. Some of them are from the first group, some of them from the third, either by choice or because they refuse to be bound by convention or by consensus. These groups of collaborators are out to produce a new reality and the best cake the world has ever known.

The third category is the best of the rest; the best democracy has to offer. These cabals of committee thinkers are committed to fairness and openness as long as everyone in their group agrees with their definition. They intend to create the world’s best cake and they will reveal the process, the recipe and the cake to the world every step of the way.

Who do you think will produce the overall winner and why? There are at least three more posts coming. Each of these three groups have provided me with insights and memories.

You have heard that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The fact is the ceiling on each floor keeps rising, new floors are added constantly and the ground floor has not changed. Some people keep digging a hole for themselves too. The gap is getting larger and the reason is not the rich are not offering a hand up. The ‘poor’ won’t get on the escalator or they demand a hand out instead. Who do you choose to be?

I have studied the ‘numbers’ and have talked with many successful people to learn their statistics and I have read more books on the subject than I can count. Ivan R. Misner’s book ‘The 29% Solution’ shares that the theory that everyone on this planet is connected by six degrees of separation is not true. The data he shares suggests that 29% of us are connected and the remaining 71% are not. The 71% still have Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny however.

In general, here is how it works. Out of every 100 people you know and come into contact daily, there are 3 – 5 who already have what it takes to be great at building a successful business. You know who they are in your group too! There are another 24 – 27 people that will give it a shot if the timing is right, their stars are in alignment and you approach them properly. Many will join you in a home business, do a little bit, and then disappear, unless you show them the way. The more skilled you are and the the more skills you teach others, that many more will make the move into the first group and become long term players. That leaves about 68 – 73 out of 100 that are not available for you, who cannot be bothered with your opportunity, for any number of reasons. All of them have the ability to be successful too! What’s missing? Desire and education, a different education than the one that programed them for failure. You could lead many of these by your example to financial prosperity. When their ‘desire pilot light’ gets turned back on they will ask you for the education. Do not give up on anyone!

What’s your choice?

Yes! You always have a choice.

Which one are you?

My years networking have led me to the following conclusions. 70% fail because they quit; too easily and too often; They don’t have a coach or mentor, they fall for every scam and get rich quick scheme and never invest the time and energy to figure out how to make work what they do get in that could work actually work. [They DON’T Work.] They are in love with the sizzle and leave the steak on the table for someone else. If there was a magic pill or magic button this group would stop taking it or stop pushing it because it would steal their life’s story. They buy lottery tickets and lose the one winner in their neighbor’s laundry. Any win would end their reason or excuse for failure because the pity party would end. Their favorite quote is “If it’s too good to be true…” Are you ready to escape this madness? We all are surrounded by this. It is time to step up! If you have not read “Think and Grow Rich” it is required reading!

25% are on the bubble. They don’t invest enough time, energy or money to actually make it. Should of, could of, would of are three of their favorite phrases. Their efforts usually come up short and most of this group will return to where they came from – the 70% above. Lone rangers, individualists and magical thinkers are a large part of this group. Their last coach helped them to ride a bicycle and they forgot learning how took that kind of assistance for them to find balance. They are afraid of commitment longer than a month or two and the long term strategy needed to acquire financial freedom either scares them or confuses them. These well trained job holders are often heard saying “I can’t because….”

5% practice the Laws of Success they learned from someone (a mentor or coach) and by the experience they have put into daily practice. They live within a time and treasure budget and operate a plan designed to lead them to financial independence. This group hangs out with others who wear their failures proudly and never quit. Once they have accomplished something they expand its size and its arena to include others who want more out of life for themselves, their families and their friends. These birds of a feather recognize themselves in others who have discovered success is made up of 99% failure.

When offered a winning opportunity remark “I will ….” Or “How can I accomplish …”

IF you would like to find out who we are, what we do and how you can work with us to grow yourself into any dream you can imagine leave your information or get back to the person who sent you here.

Still not sure if this is for you?

Answer these five simple questions and give yourself a star for each Yes answer.

1. Do you have the finances to begin? First, Recognize your time is money. Every one of us only has 24 hours a day and we each spend every last second of it. What is your time worth per hour? Write it down now. How many hours will you set aside weekly to give you and your family a real financial future of freedom and prosperity? Write your ‘weekly time Dollars’ number down now. Multiply your weekly time Dollars by four and write it down. How much cash have you managed to set aside for the perfect opportunity? Add your monthly time Dollars and your cash together. Give yourself a star for $1000 or greater.

2. Are you ambitious? Do you set goals for yourself and work to achieve them? If you do, give yourself another star.

3. Do you act like you want more out of life? Are you upbeat and positive in the face of challenges or will you often settle for less instead. If you strive for more, give yourself another star.

4. Are you dissatisfied or unhappy with some aspect of your life and are you willing to do something to change it? Is there something you have always wanted that has been just beyond your grasp? If so, you get another star.

5. Do you have a healthy self-image? Are you a look sharp, feel sharp, be sharp kind of person? Can you spend time with just yourself in the mirror without immediately turning away? If you are, give yourself a star.

You have some number of stars between zero and five. The more the better and I can show you a way that takes you to where ever you want to be. Request Think and Grow Rich. I will send you a copy and once you have read it take the test above again. You will notice you have more stars. Study it, implement it until you are 5 stars.

To find out what we do, how we do it and if you are ready to participate with other Stars leave your information or get back to the person who sent you here.

I received a short email this morning.

“After reading about you I felt like asking you 1 question which I have put across many before, but I haven’t got it right yet. So it goes like ” Why isn’t everyone into network marketing ?”. Probably you may have the answer to it. Well then I am looking forward to hear from you soon keeping my fingers crossed at it. Cheers. Bye and have a nice and jolly weekend.”

My short and simple answer is:

At the basic level of networking, everyone is already into networking. See a movie you like, you share about it. Experience a restaurant that excites your mouth, eyes and ears and you rave. We also share what we find upsetting. If your question is, why isn’t everyone into ‘professional’ network marketing? Why isn’t everyone into professional anything else?

What you are pointing at I believe is twofold. Given that everyone wants more money, more time to spend as they please and a way to pay fewer taxes and that every network marketing program offers all three how come there are not more people adding the income stream to their month? The answer is because of a lack of education about all the benefits of a home business. The government certainly doesn’t want you to know that if you have a job you can get an extra hundred Dollars or more a week from your employer if you add any network marketing home business to your lifestyle. As an employee, you are an income stream for your employer and every level of government that surrounds you. Their job is to keep you breathing so they can pick your pockets forever.

The other part you may be asking is why so many people experience failure and quit network marketing? First the numbers are very similar to most other professions. Look up the number of people applying for a real estate license and insurance licenses for the first time and then look at the percentage that get the license the second year. Consistently 5% renew that second year and it is five years before the rate levels off. How many people begin college who never graduate? How many begin who do in only four years? Essentially, it is not much different for network marketing. The cost of entry into network marketing is tiny, far less than attending any college and the potential rewards are huge and life altering. This guarantees a certain amount of lottery players who participate in a new program sometimes weekly.

The number of people who quit in network marketing and every other endeavor generally quit for one main reason. They didn’t know how to succeed and nobody showed them. Look at the places that have high success rates; bicycle riding for instance.

Before you learned how to ride a bicycle no amount of reading, watching videos or watching people ride, no amount of discussion or conversation was going to give you riding the bicycle. TWO things were required. One you had to get on the bike. Any bike will do in most cases. That step requires a bit of desire and a level of courage the first time. As you fall off, and fail each new attempt tests your desire and courage. Almost all, [I don’t know of anyone who hasn’t’ but there may be some] discover ‘balance’ and once achieved riding is easy providing the bicycle isn’t one malfunction after another. The other requirement is so obvious and so necessary but most of us forget this requirement. Someone helped you. Someone held the bike steady and ran alongside you until you ‘caught’ balance or if you were like me I didn’t want any help. ‘Training wheels’ [slow learner, obstinate know it all help] allowed me to ride. Mysteriously the training wheels rose higher and higher until someone pointed out that I didn’t need those on the bike any longer because they were not touching the ground.

What is the main cause of disappointment, dashed dreams and hopes in network marketing [and all the other paths of failure people take]? The lack of appropriate education that gives them the skills to be successful ON THEIR OWN is the main cause of failure. Get a job at any fast food restaurant and someone shows you, coaches you and watches you until everyone, including you, are clear you can do the task. I learned to operate a nuclear reactor aboard a submarine not with just book knowledge but the main thing was hands on training. The ‘practical factors’ needed for job success were identified and listed. Someone taught, demonstrated and coached me in them all. After I demonstrated proficiency, supervision and more mentoring continued and once I was proficient, I trained someone else on what I knew how to do and everyone moved up this training ladder over their entire career.

Join a typical network marketing program and you get an instruction guide, a few videos perhaps and if you are lucky a sponsor who asks if you need any help who is thanking God you say no because they don’t know any more than you do! The few that do know learned the hard way. Consequently, they can only believe that you too must go through hell, just as they did, to become successful. Preaching persistence instead of offering hands on support has to change.

The network marketing ‘culture’ of explain, motivate and teach needs a serious upgrade or it will continue being the poor cousin of franchise and storefront business. There is a better way! Stay tuned for details because the method and skills, the practical factors required for success, success on your terms, are being used, developed and offered for those who want it all. It does not matter what ‘vehicle’ you are in or choose.

In the midst of his story, he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked: “Do you know how to catch wild pigs?”

The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line.

The young man said that it was no joke. “You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come every day to eat the free corn.
 
When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence.  They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side. The pigs, which are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat that free corn again. You then slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd.

Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom.  They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity.”

The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening in America. The government keeps pushing the country toward Communism/Socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tax exemptions, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc. while we continually lose our freedoms, just a little at a time.

One should always remember two truths: There is no such thing as a free lunch, and you can never hire someone to provide a service for you cheaper than you can do it yourself.

If you see that all of this wonderful government “help” is a problem confronting the future of America, you might want to share this with your friends. If you think the free ride is essential to your way of life, then you will probably just leave. God help us all  when the gate slams shut!  They are working on the gate now!

Quote for today:

The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living  are now outnumbered by those who vote for a living. – Anonymous

PS… This has EVERYTHING to do with your health.