Clarity
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People
Do you sell to companies or do you sell to people? How much does your company know about the five or ten people it sells to at any given firm? — Sakfucius
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Differentiation
Effective differentiation is to offer differences that a customer is willing to pay for, but eliminate differences that are simply costs to your offering. — Sakfucius
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Meritocracy
If you want top performers to stay and thrive, set up a system that rewards individual results handsomely. Meritocracy drives superior capitalism. — Sakfucius
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Bucket List Up
What do you have on your bucket list? Those who chase their list stay spry, dynamic, and really alive longer than most. Don’t wait for someday. — Sakfucius
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Quid Pro
Every time there’s a give, there must be an ask. A give without an ask has little value when rainmaking. — Sakfucius
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Possible
Nearly any change is possible. All you need to do is decide to change, start on your plan, and stick to your decision. — Sakfucius
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Fitness Fuel
Why do you want to be fit? Fitness habits are easier when you are crystal clear as to why you are driven to achieve. — Sakfucius
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Empathy Sells
Do you know enough to put yourself inside the customer’s mind. If the roles were reversed, why would I buy the proposal? Empathy is a rainmaker’s secret sauce. — Sakfucius
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Focus Time
Rainmakers focus efforts on the opportunities with the greatest value and best odds of success. It sounds simple but most salespeople split their time far too much. — Sakfucius
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Value the Problem
Most customers buy to solve a problem with a financial benefit. If you want to make it rain, make sure they agree with the problem, the urgency, and the projected financial gain. — Sakfucius
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Any Given Day
Even when you have done everything right, luck can play a role on any day. Don’t lose your enthusiasm or drive when things outside of your control go against you. — Sakfucius
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Communication
Since the most successful people are usually great at effective communication, what are you doing to improve? Hint: Listening is top of the list. — Sakfucius
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Better Meetings
What if you always asked the quiet participants for their thoughts during a meeting? — Sakfucius
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Meetings Improved
What if included a simple agenda to your meeting invites? What if you always sent a recap too? — Sakfucius
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Distractions
If you want to achieve great things, get rid of every distraction while you work, especially your smartphone. — Sakfucius
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Better
Strive to be better than you were yesterday, rather than compare yourself to others. It’s the path that works while maintaining your positivity. — Sakfucius
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Impactful
For your email to make an impact, invest time to make it more concise. — Sakfucius
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Coaching
How can you get coaching, at work and at home? To become better, you need self awareness, a good coach, and the willingness to change. — Sakfucius
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Targets
What a person truly wants and believes success is, changes over time. Too often, we keep chasing yesterday’s goal. Recalibrate. — Sakfucius
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Attention
Earning someone’s undivided attention is crucial. Start with a personal story, a startling fact, a well tested joke, or a thoughtful question, followed by a crystal clear ‘why this matters to them,’ every time. — Sakfucius
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Covey
Covey was right when he observed that the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. It’s rare, it’s hard, but it’s possible. — Sakfucius
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Jealousy
Does anything good ever come from being jealous of another’s success? — Sakfucius
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Straightforward
A complicated life is a lot less complicated if you always do the right thing. — Sakfucius
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Old vs. Age
The day you don’t have dreams or goals is the day you become old. Age has nothing to do with it. — Sakfucius
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Firewall
Don’t let outside opinions infect your attitude. Only you choose your reaction so stay true to yourself. — Sakfucius
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Attitude
Few things are completely within our control, but attitude is the one where you alone decide. — Sakfucius
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Too Many Options
We all want options, but too many options often means a person doesn’t commit fully to their current pursuit. Home run success requires 100% commitment. — Sakfucius
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Relationship Icebergs
The dangerous icebergs that sink personal relationships are diverging goals, growth, and interests. Change is inevitable. — Sakfucius
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Concise
Being concise is more important than being comprehensive. — Sakfucius
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Get More Done
You can get through life without writing things down but the ones who use ink get much more done. — Sakfucius
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Admiration
The older you become, the less you admire people for their finances. Money doesn’t buy good character. — Sakfucius
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Measure Progress
Turning a worthy goal into reality has a number of milestones that must happen in order. Do you have them written down with target dates? — Sakfucius
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Personal Brand
To build your brand, four factors matter most: authenticity, consistency, impact, and visibility. — Sakfucius
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Mission
What’s your mission this year? Or better yet, what’s your #1 mission this quarter? — Sakfucius
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Alone is Limiting
The sooner you master asking for help, and the sooner you learn to offer help often, the better your chances of outsized success. — Sakfucius
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Five Words 1.0
What five words does a person who knows you well use to describe you to others? It is worth finding out. — Sakfucius
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Five Words 2.0
What five words does someone who just met you once use to describe you to others? Are you making the impression you prefer to make? — Sakfucius
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Five Words 3.0
What five words would you pick to honestly describe yourself? — Sakfucius
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It’s Up to You
Would you rather be a hero to your kids or to passing strangers? — Sakfucius
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Think for Yourself
Of course Wall Street chants ‘you can’t consistently beat the S&P 500’ so invest with us. Think clearly, do the math, yes you can, and it’s worth the effort. — Sakfucius
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Purpose
Don’t confuse purpose with happiness. A great purpose is to make a difference, to make a lasting positive impact. — Sakfucius
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Solve a Pain
Success in business starts and ends with solving someone’s pain. The greater the pain, the more valuable the business. — Sakfucius
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Working Out
Why do you want to lift, run, bike, or yoga? Write out the why in ink because when that is compelling, your odds improve remarkably. — Sakfucius
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Honesty
Some justify lying and cheating because many lie and cheat, yet happiness, peace, and honesty are forever linked. Choose to be honest and have few regrets. — Sakfucius
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Value
What value do you assign to your time? Knowing will help you say ‘no’ more often. — Sakfucius
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Price of Everything
Everything worthwhile has a price although it often takes a keen eye to see it. — Sakfucius
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Money Buys Time
Being able to do what you want, when you want, for however long you want is worth much more than buying fancy stuff. — Sakfucius
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More
More of anything brings more complications, more distractions, more struggles. What’s the optimum amount for you? — Sakfucius
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Plan Ahead
Many worry about unlikely future scenarios but don’t plan ahead for the three most likely ones. — Sakfucius
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Gossip
Gossip is a destructive habit that tears communities apart. What if you made and kept a resolution to never gossip this year? — Sakfucius
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Sharpen your Axe 3.0
Most don’t realize that 80% of your memory capability is a learned skill, not a born trait? How much better could you become if you practiced proven techniques? — Sakfucius
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Resist
When has someone bragged about themselves and had great outcomes? — Sakfucius
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End of a Leader
The day a leader admits that he is out of ideas or doesn’t have a vision for progress is the day his influence ends. — Sakfucius
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Choices on the Journey
Top decile success is rarely because of genetic strength, speed, best grades, or looks. Success comes to those who choose a life of integrity, initiative, and optimism. — Sakfucius
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Parenting
The day your child accepts your unsolicited and unwanted advice — graciously and thoughtfully — is the day you learn that he or she has become an adult. — Sakfucius
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Data Driven
The minute you start tracking anything, you will start making progress. Just log it, no matter if it’s net worth, food, fitness, scores, complaints, or excuses. — Sakfucius
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Subtle at Work
Have you asked for what you want, or are you one of the few who works for a mindreader? Don’t be too subtle. — Sakfucius
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Simplify
Take any idea and distill it to its meaningful core essence. Simplicity makes an impact in a cluttered world. — Sakfucius
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Predictable Playbook
Many follow a playbook of trying to impress others by showing off everything that they own. Do you find those people impressive?
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Minimalism
Minimalists reduce complications and distractions from stuff that rarely matters to them. Focus on what is core to your progress and happiness. — Sakfucius
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Outsource
If you know what your time is worth per hour, it becomes easier to outsource certain work, but it only makes sense if you then invest that time wisely. — Sakfucius
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Both Viewpoints
Both sides usually have some valid points but few people try to sincerely understand the other’s viewpoint. Wise people seek understanding.
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Figure It Out
If you never had to worry about money ever again, what would you do? When you know this answer, you can take steps in the right direction. — Sakfucius
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Better Goals
Never write down a goal without jotting down why you want to achieve it. — Sakfucius
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Deft Anticipation
What if you made a habit of thinking scenarios through so that you were consistently five steps ahead of most others? In truth, 95% are playing checkers with their lives. — Sakfucius
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Mental State
Your mental fitness is a direct reflection of your mental diet, exercise, and rest. What nutrition are you feeding your brain? — Sakfucius
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Multitaskers
Priority was never intended to become a plural word. Multitaskers corrupted it. — Sakfucius
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Figure Impressions Out
What impression do people get from the first three minutes of meeting you, or from the first three minutes of your presentation? — Sakfucius
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Knowledge Divide
The expert who knows a topic best, down to the atomic details, is usually not the right person to communicate the topic to those who barely understand it. — Sakfucius
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Merit Pay
Avoid getting paid by the hour. When you get paid by outcomes, the value, quality, and effort for both sides skyrockets. — Sakfucius
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What Matters Most
What matters most to you? Do you live your life in balance with what matters most? — Sakfucius
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Presentations
When selling an idea, drive home only three points. When you try to do too much, nothing sticks. — Sakfucius
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Perspective
When you are struggling in a relationship, take an hour and write down the scenario from the other person’s perspective. Ink and paper offer clarity. — Sakfucius
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Parental Cross to Bear
No one tells young adults what they are signing up for, but children will dump all their emotional baggage on the person who shows them true unconditional love. — Sakfucius
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Mind’s Eye
Have a clear vision in your mind’s eye. Clarity in your mind becomes reality in your life. — Sakfucius