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Whole health series for business owners: reading The Difference Maker, by John C. Maxwell

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By Teresa Morrow

In his book, The Difference Maker, John C. Maxwell offers tips and tools for not only living differently but questioning our attitude toward life.

He challenges the reader to discover a new way to define ourselves in this world. He shares that “much of what we do every day comes from habitual behaviors. Over the course of time, we have developed a way of approaching life”. This book is described as “one-on-one coaching” from one of the nation’s top leadership experts, John C. Maxwell.
 
Here are just a few segments in the book that struck me (there are many):
 

Your Attitude is Your Responsibility

Maxwell is talking about taking responsibility for your attitude. He shares a story from the singer Roberta Flack and how her parents didn’t make it far in school. She continues to say that despite this, each of them was literate, spoke well, and their values were high. She says, “they drummed into our heads that the situation you live in doesn’t have to live in you.”

Teresa’s Tip: Don’t allow what happened to you in your past define who you are today. Those things in our past can be like a weight dragging us down; however, we have a CHOICE to let go of the weight.

Negative Breeds Negative and Positive Fuels Positive

Maxwell offers a simple but poignant idea. Negative thoughts leads to negative action. He says, “…negative thoughts lead to negative beliefs. Those beliefs become the basis of wrong decisions, which lead to wrong actions.” He goes on to state that it can be a vicious cycle. However, we can break the cycle by forming better thoughts and positive habits.

Teresa’s Tip: This is the basis of law of attraction– what you put out, you get back to you. It doesn’t mean you will never have a bad thought or not do something wrong. However, this can help you understand that you can change your thoughts and not allow them to linger on. You can turn around a bad thought or belief and make it a positive one.

Change; it’s a Part of Life

Maxwell shares tons of great information in this section on change. He offers this quote from Andy Warhol, “they always say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” – Andy Warhol
 
Maxwell adds five reasons people resist change: 1) People resist change because of personal loss 2) people resist change because of fear of the unknown 3) people resist change because the timing could be wrong 4) people resist change because is feels awkward 5) people resist change because of tradition.

Teresa’s Tip: He’s right about change—we don’t enjoy it. But what if we (and I include myself in here) don’t fear it but embrace it more. Let’s try and see change as an adventure to new possibilities. I’ve embraced change in my life (when I met the love of my life) and it was a great experience (we have been married for 10 years!) But I’ve also been resistant to change (recently my mom passed away and it is hard to live without her physically in my life). But one thing is true about change—it is going to be a part of our life whether we like it or not. It’s better to find a way to work with it instead of pushing against it.

Failure is an Opportunity

Near the end of the book, Maxwell shares his thoughts on failure. He offers this, “most people don’t need to learn more about how to overcome their rivals. They need to learn how to get out of their own way.”
 
He goes on to talk about how to profit from failure. He talks about an earlier book he wrote, titled, Failing Forward. The focus of that book was “that the difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure.”
 

Teresa’s Tip: Hey, it’s going to happen–you and I are going to not succeed at something. But I like the last line of the above statement….”their perception of and response to failure.” Again you and I have a CHOICE in how we deal with what happens to us…including when we fail. We can have our time to react initially—be angry, be sad, be disappointed; however, we don’t have to dwell in the failure but use it to fuel us for the next stage of what is going on in our life.

 
In this book, The Difference Maker, the author John C. Maxwell challenges us with the question, “Is attitude everything or nothing?” What do you say?
 
To get your copy of The Difference Maker by John C Maxwell go to Amazon The Difference Maker: Making Your Attitude Your Greatest Asset (Affiliate link)
 

Author’s Bio: Teresa Morrow is an inspirational author, blogger, poet, and author of ‘Life Lessons from the Heart’ and ‘Healing from Broken Trust: A Journey of Transformation.’ Visit her website at http://TeresaMorrow.com.

Social Media Book List: Networking is a Contact Sport and It’s Not Just who you Know

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A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow

I’m Teresa Morrow, Founder of Key Business Partners, LLC and I work with authors by managing their book promotion and publicity. As part of my job I read a lot of books (I love to read anyway!).

This week I will be highlighting two books I found on the new release list in the category of Business and Investing on Amazon; ‘Networking Is a Contact Sport: How Staying Connected and Serving Others Will Help You Grow Your Business, Expand Your Influence — or Even Land Your Next Job’ by Joe Sweeney and ‘It’s Not Just Who You Know: Transform Your Life (and Your Organization) by Turning Colleagues and Contacts into Lasting, Genuine Relationships’ by Tommy Spaulding

The books I discuss in the Social Media Book List Series will cover a range of topics such as social media, marketing, blogging, business, organization, career building, finance, networking, writing, self development and inspiration.

Networking Is a Contact Sport: How Staying Connected and Serving Others Will Help You Grow Your Business, Expand Your Influence — or Even Land Your Next Job’

by Joe Sweeney

Joe Sweeney book, Networking is a Contact Sport

“The concepts in Networking Is a Contact Sport have helped me in my post-Olympic years.”
Bonnie Blair
Five-time Olympic Gold Medal Speed Skater

“Joe Sweeney’s networking skills helped to significantly increase my off-the-field income.”
Brett Favre
Three-time NFL MVP and Future NFL Hall of Famer

“When you think about it, life is all about relationships, both personal and professional ones. But relationships don’t just happen by themselves. Many have to be pursued, and that’s where Joe’s book, Networking Is a Contact Sport, comes into play. A great read that proves that networking is hard work but well worth the while.”
Bill Perez
Former CEO of S.C. Johnson & Son, Nike, Inc., and Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company

About the Book*:

How did Joe Sweeney…

…get Bob Costas to come to Milwaukee (in the middle of winter)?
…become the “wingman” to the archbishop of New York City?
…take Brett Favre’s off-the-field income from $65,000 to more than $4 million?

The answer is simple. Networking.

Master networker Joe Sweeney shares his networking secrets from a long and successful career as a business owner, sports agent and executive and investment banking consultant. His first secret: master networkers are focused on giving, not getting.

With today’s difficult economy and uncertain workplace, networking has never been more important. Sweeney’s simple but effective 5/10/15 networking plan will give you a leg up in the current job market, help you stay employed, or, if you’ve been laid off, find your next job. The cliché that who you know is more important than what you know has never been truer. Sweeney illustrates his insights with dozens of helpful examples from his own life (along with a few fascinating insider sports stories).

With special sections on networking for women and minorities, insights into the usefulness (and handicaps) of social networking sites, how to get (and why you need) a wingman and profiles of other master networkers, Networking Is a Contact Sport is a practical and essential guide for anyone who wants to get ahead in today’s economy.

About Joe Sweeney*:
Joe Sweeney is a businessman, entrepreneur, former sports agent, investment banker and author.

For 28 years, Joe has built a career by combining his love of business and his passion for sports. Joe brings an extensive background in hands-on business experience. Joe has owned and operated four manufacturing companies and has more than three decades experience in the business and sports worlds. Prior to acquiring an equity position in Corporate Financial Advisors, a middle-market investment banking firm, Joe founded and was president of SMG, a sports management firm that specializes in assisting and representing coaches and athletes including three-time MVP, Brett Favre. Joe was also president of the Wisconsin Sports Authority and serves or has served on 23 boards of directors.
Joe received his BA from St. Mary’s College and his MBA from the University of Notre Dame.

He has used his 28 years of business experience as a master networker in the sports and business worlds.

You can purchase a copy of ‘Networking is a Contact Sport’ online at Amazon or on his website, Networking is a Contact Sport.

*courtesy of book website and Amazon

Another book on my Amazon Business and Investing list that I am looking forward to reading is ‘It’s Not Just Who You Know’ by Tommy Spaulding.

It’s Not Just Who You Know

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“Tommy masterfully illustrates case by case, person by person, that we’re all in this together.”
–Woody Johnson, owner of the New York Jets

“a valuable, reader-friendly guidebook for both business and personal living”
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Marshall Goldsmith is a world-renowned executive coach and author of the New York Times bestsellers, MOJO and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. Read his review of It’s Not Just Who You Know:

To be successful today, leaders need more than an impressive title and superficial “friends” in high places. They need to be able to do some basic things–build partnerships, share leadership, and develop and empower people–-to name just a critical few. The challenge is that none of these are possible if people don’t trust or believe in their leaders. That’s where this new book, It’s Not Just Who You Know, fills an important gap in leadership education. In it, Tommy Spaulding hits on the important issue of building and sustaining relationships–-real relationships, authentic relationships as opposed to those less genuine, selfish relationships that do not build morale in the organization or trust between people. Tommy’s is a great book because he doesn’t just tell you that relationships are important, he tells you why, and he tells you how to practice building them. If you pick up one book today, let it be this one. You’ll be glad you did!

About the Book*:

In It’s Not Just Who You Know, Tommy Spaulding — the former CEO of Up with People — has written the new How to Win Friends & Influence People for the twenty-first century. Success — in business and in life — is all about relationships. In this powerful guide, Spaulding takes Dale Carnegie’s classic philosophy to the next level, showing how, by developing deeper relationships through giving to others and putting them first, we benefit as well.

Among the insights Tommy discusses in the book:

* It’s not just who you know, or what they can do for you, but what you can do for them.
* Motives matter.
* Establishing a deeper connection is about authenticity, not manipulation; reciprocity, not selfishness.
* Every relationship is a two-way street; we never know when a chance encounter can change the direction of our lives.

In the bestselling tradition of Dale Carnegie’s classic, It’s Not Just Who You Knowshows how each one of us can use the power of “netgiving” — of helping others — to expand our worlds and achieve our goals, and make a difference in our jobs, our careers, and our communities.

About Tommy Spaulding*:

Tommy Spaulding is president of the Spaulding Companies LLC (www.SpauldingCompanies.com), a national leadership development, consulting, coaching, and speaking organization. Spaulding rose to become the youngest president and CEO of the world-renowned leadership organization, Up with People (2005-2008). In 2000, Tommy Spaulding founded Leader’s Challenge, which grew to become the largest high school civic and leadership program in the state of Colorado. He is also the founder & president of the Spaulding Leadership Institute (www.SpauldingLeadershipInstitute.org), a non-profit leadership development organization which runs National Leadership Academy, a national high school summer leadership academy, as well as Kid’s Challenge, Global Challenge and Colorado Close-Up.

Previously, Spaulding was the Business Partner Sales Manager at IBM/Lotus Development and a member of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) program.
Spaulding received a BA in Political Science from East Carolina University (1992); an MBA from Bond University in Australia (1998), where he was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar; and an MA in Non-Profit Management from Regis University (2005), where he was a Colorado Trust Fellow. In 2007, Spaulding received an Honorary PhD in Humanities from the Art Institute of Colorado. In 2002, he received the Denver Business Journal’s “Forty under 40 Award.”

In 2006, Spaulding was awarded East Carolina University’s “Outstanding Alumni Award,” the highest distinction awarded to an alumnus of the university. Spaulding is the Chairman of East Carolina University’s External Leadership Advisory Board and is the university’s first “Leader in Residence.”
A world-renowned speaker on leadership, Spaulding has spoken to hundreds of organizations, schools, and corporations around the globe. His inspiring book about how to create relationships that make a difference, It’s Not Just Who You Know, will be published by Random House in August, 2010. He and his family reside in the Denver metropolitan area.

*courtesy of book website and Amazon

You can purchase a copy of ‘It’s Not Just Who You Know’ on Amazon or on his website, Tommy Spaulding.

I truly hope you will check out these books and please comment and let me know your thoughts on them.