Tuesday 23 December 2008

Christmas is for giving!



This is our tree. Loaded with presents for our loved ones. In fact, our tree is a little depleted of presents because we had a party on the weekend and people took theirs for the big day.

As I was thinking about Christmas (one of my favourite times of the year), I considered what I have been told as a kid, that Christmas is for giving. It was only when I wrote that sentence down that I noticed the truth of it.


"Christmas is for giving" or possibly "Christmas is forgiving".

What a cool thing!! Christmas is forgiving. What a gift to give yourself and others this year!! Forgiveness!


Who are some of the people and institutions you could give the gift of forgiveness?
Yourself - Is there anything you blame yourself for that you could now let go of?
Your family - Do you still hold any grudges for things that your family members said, did, didn't say or didn't do?
Your friends - Do you have any friends you need to forgive?
Institutions - Are there any companies (banks, post offices, utility supplier, ISP's, online services etc) who have crapped you off this year that you need to forgive?

You know the best thing about forgiveness? You are the one that benefits the most. By forgiving others you get freedom from baggage that you have been carrying around all this time. You get to lighten you load and focus on being the real you, not someone driven crazy by the weird and wonderful people in your life.

Give it a try!! You may be surprised at the results and you don't even have to use gift wrapping!!

Enjoy!


Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com
www.getmoreblog.com
www.getmoreshowsuccess.com

Wednesday 17 December 2008

Social Networking

I Twitter.

In the course of my Twittering I have come across Paul Warren from Warcom. He has had some success with social networking in its positive impact on his business – www.warcom.com. So I thought it may be interesting to hear about it.

So without further adieu – here we go!

Part 1: Social Networking with Customers
Since the infancy stages of my business journey, I have always been a strong believer in the adage that ‘there is no better form of marketing than social networking’. Over the past few years, however, the majority of my 'social networking time' has been concentrated towards contributing to online forums. Until recently, the likes of Facebook, and Myspace, were rather limited in their social networking scope, especially in relation to Warcom’s core business.


So where do I spent my time?

Whilst having been a long-standing member of the hugely popular forums
Whirlpool and Overclockers Australia (OCAU), it is quite clear by the number of posts I have racked up, that I spend considerably more time on Whirlpool (16,000+ posts) than OCAU. Both forums have their positive and negative aspects.

Whirlpool is a bit too 'regimented' in my opinion, where its members must adapt to the Whirlpool style in order to fit in. While ensuring that I cross all my T's, and dot all my I's, I give potential customers the time they deserve, and the benefit of my industry experience. It is only when armed with intelligent answers, can my potential customers make informed decisions. Mutual respect goes a long way, but do not forget to watch out for the trolls!

On the flip side, when we look at OCAU, their member base is much more free and easy going, pretty much being themselves, and you can let your hair down and just 'hang out with the boys' so to speak. Whilst I do not condone over use of expletives and vulgarity, they are allowed on OCAU, and even the occasional ‘skin pic’ seems to float past the admins from time to time!
And then there's Bigandy.... Do not get me started on this fella!

I do, however, believe that neither of these forums are overly useful (for me) in terms of 'business networking', only 'customer networking'. I will explain what I mean by this towards the end of the article.

So what is my point? What is my plan? Why so much time on forums?

Simple – I am building a ‘Presence’!

From time to time, I jump into the help ticketing system and help my staff out with questions that our customers email to us. Without a doubt, almost every single time, I am told by a customer, "Hey, you're that warcom guy! I love your posts, they were helpful to me!"

So, with comments as straight forward as that being thrown at me, I can see that my ‘presence’ in those forums, has contributed the following:

  • I am building my public online image - customers get to know me.
  • I am building my company’s public image - customers get to know who we are, understand what we stand for, and how we view them.
  • My contributions in online forums are leading to sales - $$$ is important to stay in business!
  • I am utilizing the power of NLP with would be customers! Whilst my presence might not lead to a sale immediately, customers will remember me!
Part 2: Social Networking With Business People
As I previously opined, I believe Facebook and MySpace are next to useless for Warcom pertaining to Social Networking.


Twitter on the other hand - I now believe Twitter is amazing! (it has taken a while!) I have managed to strike up some very mutually beneficial 'business networking buddies'' using Twitter. Notably, the likes of Warwick ‘Mr Get Energised’, Glenn ‘Copyman’, and our resident ‘Energiser Bunny’ Sam from thinktankmedia. If not for Twitter, our paths would have neither crossed, nor afforded us the opportunity to bounce ideas off each other.

So, taking all of the above mentioned into consideration, Social Networking is fantastic for doing the 'meet and greet' with customers, and keeping in their good graces, and to meet new faces.
As an example, the speed at which the Internode 'Social Scene' has developed is staggering, and if companies fail to jump on board now, they may as well take their bat and ball, and go home right now.

Social Networking is a very powerful tool when done right, however, just like a precision instrument, it is the skill of the engineer behind it that dictates whether it works in perfect harmony with others, or falls dead flat.

Paul Warren.

Monday 15 December 2008

What are you listening to?

What are you listening to right now?

Not what is on the radio, not what is on TV, not what others are saying but what is it that is in your head? What is the endless loop of self talk saying?

So many people hear "You probably won't get that sale", "you won't look very good in that out fit", "Who are you trying to kid with that idea", "Better be scared of where the economy is heading" and a vast array of other negative things.

STOP IT!!!

Your thoughts become your words.
Your words become your actions.
Your actions become your habits.
Your habits become your beliefs and
Your beliefs set your destiny.

Choose the positive thoughts. Use words that show those thoughts. Take action to reflect your words and you will ensure your habits, beliefs and destiny are on the course to success.

So.........

what are you listening to now?

Enjoy!

Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
http://www.warwickmerry.com/
http://www.getmoreblog.com/
http://www.getmoreshowsuccess.com/

Wednesday 10 December 2008

The Survival Trap

Just a quick blog for you.

A good friend of mine, and brilliant sales and marketing guru has just released a free ebook on "The Survival Trap". It is not a "get this free and then you can buy other stuff" kind of offer, it is simply him giving to other small business owners who may be starting to panic in tight economic times.

To get the ebook, visit his website http://www.survivaltrap.com/

Check out what he has to say, I am sure you will find it worthwhile.

Enjoy!

Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
http://www.warwickmerry.com/
http://www.getmoreblog.com/
http://www.getmoreshowsuccess.com/

Tuesday 9 December 2008

Don't Get Lost Following Your Intuition

There has been a lot written over the years about following your intuition. Many people have been on some weird, wacky and wonderful journeys over time. But while a lot of writing, blogging, texting, reading and listening has been done, I still get asked time and time again "How do I follow my intuition?" What I propose is not THE answer, more it is AN answer. It works for me, give it a try because it may work for you too!

First up, what is your intuition? Some think it is your subconscious talking to you, some say it is a gut feel and others talk about laws of attraction suggesting a course of action. Here is how I see it. For those of you who know me you will know that I am a hippy in a suit. I have worked in the corporate world for 20 years and I have a strong spiritual life as well. By spiritual I don't mean religion as they are different. In my life I have a Higher Power who I call God. You may call it fate, destiny, the angels, the universe, Buddha, Christ, the Force - I don't care, what you call it is your decision. I believe because my life is better for it and it gives me strength.

How this relates to intuition is this, I believe that Prayer is when I talk with God and Meditation is when God talks to me. I have asked God many times to just send me an email, a text or even a Twitter message as they are clear, but God doesn't. God prefers to communicate in a different manner, God does it via my intuition. While I meditate to listen, I also keep the channel open by following my intuition.

When I first became aware of my intuition, I found I ignored it. I even heard myself say later, "If only I had done what I thought I should." After awhile, making mistakes gets boring!! So rather than saying "if only" when it didn't work, I started listening. For me, my intuition is like a muscle. The more I use it, the stronger it gets. It helps me see things I would have missed, do things I would not have done and sense opportunities that would have passed me by.

So, when you are thinking "How do I follow my intuition," start by listening. The voice or sense will be there. It may be faint, but it will be there. It is a slow but steady feeling that a certain course of action is the best one for you to take. It is not an overwhelming sense of urgency but a solid and constant force for positive results in you and your life.

My coaching/mentor clients sometimes say that they can't hear it. That's when you fake it 'til you make it. Ask yourself the question, if you could hear your intuition, what would it say - and then do that! Act as if and you will reap the rewards.

The best thing is that there is no wrong answer. You are the only one who can hear your intuition. Act with the best intent and you can't go wrong!

Enjoy!

Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com
www.getmoreblog.com
www.getmoreshowsuccess.com

Friday 5 December 2008

Get Closer by Moving Away

Web 2.0 amazes me. I mean, not like a magician making your Aunt levitate but in its appeal to the masses. In one way it is drawing us closer together but in another it seems we are moving further and further apart. We are getting closer by moving away.

Let me explain.

As a country lad (that's why I speak slowly!), I grew up in a town of about 2,000 people. We didn't have many people to speak to so you spoke to everyone. Everyone knew what everyone else was doing. There was even the local paper (that came out once a week) which updated you if you didn't know. The Australian comedian Hughsey recently gave a rant about the town.

Things are different in the city. You are surrounded by people and are always alone. People don't talk to their neighbours. We rarely acknowledge passers by. Technology has made it even worse. Protected by the cocoon of our iPod or MP3 player we blissfully ignore the rest of the world. We sit behind our computers or play our video games minimising human contact.

In fact, we have disconnected so much that we are challenged in communicating difficult news. We end a relationship via Text, resign from our job via email, have sick days via text or leave voice mail messages so we don't have to face the person we are talking to.

Along comes Web 2.0.

All this time we are alone builds our desire to genuinely connect - but we can't handle the rejection if it doesn't work. The technology can act as a great barrier and we can connect without risk. You can Twitter someone on the other side of the world, have a couple of short 140 character jokes and all is good. You can post things on Facebook, MySpace and you Blog to let the world know what you think (hey I have two blogs!! This one and the Trade Show one - double the nerd!) You can link with people on FaceBook and Linked in. You may even have thousands of connections, friends, affiliates, followers without realising it is more than the population of my home town!! You may even break out of the 140 character restriction and email your new friend.

Want to surprise someone? Offer to meet them in person! If they agree to meet, you will find one thing. To be more precise, I found one thing. People will be more open via technology then face to face. We don't like putting ourselves at risk. We can't delete the post, change the blog content or take back what we said.

My challenge and one that I issue you is to be authentic. Just be you. People will love it and will love (or at least like a lot) you for doing it. The other challenge is to talk to your neighbours. Tweet them in real life. Chat to the people on the train. People down the street. You don't have to be deep and meaningful but while technology is great, NOTHING beats human connection!

Enjoy.

Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com
www.getmoreshowsuccess.com
getmoreblog.blogspot.com