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**Sam's
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It's Better to Give AND Receive |
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December 2011 - January 2012 |
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"You can give without loving; but you cannot love without giving." – Amy Carmichael
You've heard it's better to give than receive?
I don't think it's an either/or situation.
I think it's both. It's better to give AND receive.
I'm a little late to this party.
Like many of you, as a parent and business owner, I've done more than my fair share of giving. It comes with the territory, doesn't it?
However, one of the greatest lessons I've learned over the last few years is that "Our strength taken to an extreme becomes our Achilles Heel."
It was my good friend Mary Loverde who brought this to my attention when suggesting that my 2011 mantra be, "Receive, receive, receive."
So, every time I walk Murph, (my cute Jack Russell pictured above who's been a constant companion the last ten years), I think to myself, "Receive, receive, receive."
I cannot begin to describe the miracles that have come into my life as a result.
Hopefully, I still give to others - often in the form of brainstorming, strategizing and POP!ing their priority projects in the halls of meetings, during meals or while on walk-talks.
However, I balance that now by graciously accepting offers of assistance.
When people offer to initiate on my behalf, my new answer is, "That would be wonderful."
When a fellow flyer offers to put my overnight bag in the overhead bin, my answer is now, "Yes, thank you" instead of "That's okay, I've got it."
If I do a favor for someone and they say, "What I can do for you?" I think of something instead of automatically (and unintentionally) 'dissing their offer with, "Nothing, thanks. I was glad to help out."
I never realized that giving, giving, giving is a one-way relationship.
It often makes other people uncomfortable because they feel it's inequitable.
One of the great truths is - any extreme is unhealthy.
Over-giving is as unhealthy as under-giving.
Thanks to Mary's insights, I've got that in better balance these days, and my life's been enriched in ways I couldn't have imagined.
For example, a strategic retreat held at my lake-home this past weekend demonstrated the miracles that can happen when people come together with the express purpose of giving and receiving.
Notice, it's not giving and taking.
There's a gracious gratitude inferred in the word "receiving" that's crucial.
Over the course of two days, 12 leaders from around North America supported each other, advised each other, recommended resources and operated as "rising tide raises all boats" emissaries on each other's behalf.
It was a beautiful thing to behold.
I'll be facilitating another strategic retreat on June 22-24 as the culmination of a 6 month Master Mind program that starts in January.
If you'd like the blessing of being involved in a group of smart, talented professionals from around the country - all dedicated to helping each other achieve their objectives - contact Cheri@SamHorn.com to receive details.
The focus is on connecting with encouraging, accountability partners via regularly-scheduled virtual meetings so you don't have to go it alone.
You can opt for 1 or 2 hours of private consulting in addition to our group calls to deep dive into your 2012 priorities, put tangible dates on the calendar and reverse-engineer monthly deliverables so you finish what you set out to do and get your message, mission, products and services out in the world so they can make a positive difference for others and a prosperous living for you.
A bonus? The 2-day retreat, plus the celebratory dinner at the National Press Club, is INCLUDED in the price of the 6 month Master Mind package.
We have four openings left. Call Cheri at 805 528-4351 or email today.
Now - back to the dual concept of giving AND receiving.
How about you?
What are your lessons-learned about balancing the two?
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"Creativity is based on the premise there's no particular virtue in doing things the way they've always been done." – Rudolph Flesch
My friend Matt (pictured to the right) helped me put my Christmas tree up this year.
Over Cosmo's and the soundtrack of my life playing on my new iPod, we shared favorite Christmas moments and best birthday memories while hanging the ornaments.
Dave Brubeck's jazz classic Take Five came on and Matt asked, "What's that song?! My grandmother used to play it and I was fascinated by it."
I smiled and said, "That's the greatest song ever written."
"Why?"
"Because, before Paul Desmond and Dave Brubeck, everyone followed the musical rules. Everyone believed, 'There's got to be four beats per measure, right?'"
Desmond and Brubeck thought, "Who says? Why not put 5 beats in a bar? Why not play and try something new?"
The result?
A genius song that is not syncopated in the normal, everyday, expected way.
It's refreshingly different.
You can't quite wrap your mind around it, but it's original and incredibly engaging.
The point?
Are you creating something or deciding something?
Are you following the rules?
Could you abandon the rules and experiment?
Could you play and do it a new way, your way, instead of the way it's always been done?
Who knows? You could come up with a ground-breaking Take Five approach that's first of its kind.
You could break the mold - instead of doing same old, same old.
(Addendum: Not five minutes after this discussion, Matt went to hang our just-bought evergreen wreath on the outside front door.
After getting the hammer and nail, he started to take the wreath off the stair post in the entryway where it'd been placed "temporarily."
Hmmm.
He stepped back and said, "I kinda like it better on the stairs. In here, we'll see it throughout the day. Out there, we'll see it only a couple times a day."
Guess where the wreath is?
Now that's a 5/4 decision.)
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"Things don't change by chance; they change by choice." – Jim Rohn
A lot of people contact our office and say, "Sam's programs are usually at association member-only conventions or for private clients. Any chance she's presenting a program that's open to the public so I can attend?"
The answer to that is YES. I'll be presenting a program that's open to the public on Saturday, Jan. 14 at the Bethesda Marriott for our DMV (DC, Maryland, VA) chapter of National Speakers Association.
In fact, I'm introducing a brand-new program I recently presented for the first time in Toronto. So, if you've heard any variation of my POP! program, this will be fresh material you haven't heard before.
Here's a description:
Turn Your Experience, Insights and Expertise into a Signature Message, Mission and Movement That Scales your Influence, Impact and Income
Are you an entrepreneur, executive, non-profit leader, professor, minister, inventor, adventurer or author who would like to turn what you know and what you've learned and done into a rewarding career that makes a positive difference for others and a prosperous living for you?
If so, sign up for this one-of-a-kind program with Intrigue Expert Sam Horn.
In this fascinating session, Sam will share her proprietary approach to turning your experience, insights and expertise into an umbrella brand and equity business that leverages your knowledge into books, presentations, consulting and e-commerce products and services.
If you've heard Sam speak before, you'll love these TOTALLY NEW approaches that will take your work to an even more rewarding, value-adding, revenue-producing level.
If you haven't heard Sam speak before, you'll quickly understand why she's often the top-rated speaker at every convention at which she's featured; why her client list includes Cisco, Intel, HP, NASA and Capital One; and why she's been featured on NPR, MSNBC, FastCompany.com and in the New York Times.
Sam Horn, 17-Time Emcee of the Maui Writers Conference, has helped hundreds of people get published. As the author of POP! (endorsed by Seth Godin, Jeffrey Gitomer and Ken Blanchard), she's helped thousands come up with one-of-a-kind pitches, titles and marketing slogans.
More importantly, she's developed a step-by-step process for finding & fulfilling your SerenDestiny - an intensely satisfying career where the light's on in your eyes and you're getting paid to do what you love most and do best - and building that into an enduring entity that exists after you're gone.
Sam doesn't waste your valuable time on platitudes. In this fun, fascinating and interactive workshop, you'll connect with others, work on YOUR priorities and learn exactly how to:
*Make a legacy, not just make a living
*Become a topic advocate, not just a topic expert
*Think scale, not think small
*Create an organic, original body of work (vs. reading others' books and being derivative)
*Turn one-way communications (talks, books and blogs) into interactive experiences
*Leverage traditional and social media by commenting on that day's headlines so your content is current
*Build an advisory team who has your front and your back so you're not going it alone
*Use Sam's 70-10-10-10 Rule to replace boring information with brilliant, real-life examples
To ensure maximum value, I'll be facilitating a lunch afterwards onsite where we'll continue to brainstorm and strategize each others' projects.
This 90-minute lunch (similar to the networking dinners and salons I host at the National Press Club - pictured in the fun photo above) will give you added opportunities to connect with other people who also want to take their speaking, writing and consulting businesses to the next level.
You can claim one of the 15 available Jan. 14 after-NSA-DC-program-lunch spots (pay for your own meal) by emailing Cheri at Cheri@SamHorn.com
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"There must be more to life than having everything." – Maurice Sendak
Sendak is right. There's a LOT more to life than having everything.
One of the things that makes life even more meaningful is having the opportunity to spend time with thought-leaders who love what they do and are adding value to the world.
That's a primary goal for our That's Intriguing Tele-seminar Series.
Past tele-seminars have featured Michael Gelb, (International Brain of the Year and author of How To Think Like Leonardo da Vinci) and Betsy Myers (head of Clinton's White House Office for Women and author of Take the Lead.)
We've got a couple special guest experts coming up - hope you'll join us.
On Dec. 14 at 8pm ET, Larry Robertson, author of A Deliberate Pause, will be talking us through some provocative questions to help us look back on this year and celebrate our highlights and lessons-learned.
He'll then ask us to look ahead to 2012 and strategize what's REALLY important to us and plan how we're going to carve out time for that so it doesn't get frittered away in the busyness of life.
On Jan. 17, Mike Domitrz will be sharing his one-of-a-kind approach to building a fully-booked (3 years in advance!) speaking career.
After watching Mike deliver his ground-breaking keynote at CAPS (Canadian Association of Professional Speakers) in Toronto, I knew I wanted him to share his brilliance with you.
Mike modeled that presentations are supposed to be INTERACTIVE - that we're supposed to showcase our participants, not show-off our knowledge.
He modeled how to instantly leverage social media so it serves attendees AND meeting planners who get to see real-world benefits of your insights in real-time.
Mike modeled how to so thoroughly engage and impact an audience, they ALL walk out enthusiastically, voluntarily repeating your tagline and sharing specific ways they plan to put what they've learned into practice.
Mike modeled how being in your wheelhouse creates a fun and fascinating experience that forever changes the way attendees see a certain topic - for the better.
He modeled the importance of being clear about what you stand for - and what you won't stand for. His preliminary mailings spell out how to frame the descriptions of his session. He's proof that how a program is communicated plays a big role in how it's perceived.
Mike modeled it's possible to share a "Here's how I do it" program without it being about ego.
He is the opposite of many speakers today who are still using the same old, top down, "sit down and put a sock in it while I tell you everything I know" approach.
In our interview, Mike will be sharing his "back story" - how he arrived at this model - his epiphanies, trial and error learning and rewards.
We rock and roll with our interviews. Short answers. Lots of real-life examples. A focus on surprising insights that get people's eyebrows up. Fun and tangible take-aways.
Hope you'll join us on Dec. 14 (Larry Robertson) and Jan. 17 (Mike Domitrz) so you can benefit from these quality entrepreneurs who are making a positive difference in the world.
Email Joyce at Joyce@SamHorn.com to register for our tele-seminars (they're free) and to get call-in instructions.
And if you have colleagues who would benefit from these sessions, thanks for spreading the word by FaceBooking or tweeting this to your friends and colleagues.
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"A book is a gift that can be opened again and again." - Garrison Keillor
Are you looking for a gift that will put a smile on someone's face and in their heart?
A gift that benefits them time and again in the years ahead - instead of being here today, gone tomorrow?
Purchase a copy of Current Quotes: Intriguing Insights From Today's Top Icons, Influencers and Innovators.
A pithy, profound quote a day will make their day.
Plus, there's a bonus section in back that details how to “hook and hinge” quotes into their spoken and written communication so they pleasantly surprise their listeners, readers and viewers with fresh perspectives that capture and keep their attention.
A few favorites include:
"I am in love with hope." - Mitch Albom
"I intend to live forever. So far, so good." - Steven Wright
"Be nice to nerds. Chances are, you’ll end up working for one." - Bill Gates
"The world needs dreamers and doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do." - Sarah Ban Breathnach
You are welcome to purchase your copies of Current Quotes anytime - however if you buy them at this link to Amazon.com - between 12 noon - 5 pm ET on Monday, Dec. 12 - it will help the book improve in rankings which brings it to the attention of more people.
And, if you've already read the book and found it interesting and useful - please take a couple minutes to add your own review.
I appreciate anything you can do to help us get the word out about this one-of-a-kind resource that features rarely-seen-before quotes that have the power to inspire, educate and enlighten.
Actually, Glenna Salsbury, Past President of National Speakers Association expressed it better than that in her cover quote, "Looking for inspiring wisdom and evocative insights? These 365 quotes will motivate you to look at life with fresh eyes and renewed enthusiasm. Truly a transformational treasure!"
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Did you find these ideas intriguing and useful?
We appreciate you forwarding this newsletter to your friends and colleagues so they can enjoy it too.
It's easy. Just click on the "forward" link below. Thank you.
Sam works from her home office on a lake near Wash DC's Dulles airport.
Sam's Office Manager, Cheri Grimm, operates out of Central California.
Want Sam to speak for your company or at your conference?
Call 1-800-SAM-3455
Contact us at:
Info@SamHorn.com
Sam's Blogs:
http://www.SamHornPOP.wordpress.com http://www.SerenDestiny.wordpress.com
Sam's websites
http://www.SamHorn.com
http://www.TongueFu.com
Let's connect
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