Use the following tips as training tools.

Present this situation to your group and brainstorm solutions together, or submit your own situation question to be answered in an upcoming newsletter.

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SITUATION QUESTION:
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There isn't a day that someone doesn't say that they are trying to fix something having to do with their life, their labor or their love. How do we fix those situations?

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SOLUTIONS:
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One of my mentors in the National Speakers Association for the last 22 years gave me his new book at our July convention in Orlando.

99 1/2 Ways to Fix Your Life, Labor and Love by Mike McKinley, CSP, CPAE.

As a professional speaker, Mike offers hard-hitting content delivered in a fun way entertaining as he teaches. Companies across the nation from construction to healthcare, high technology firms to the auto industry have relied on Mike to transform today's challenges into tomorrow's businesses.

I've been smiling and chuckling as I read his Life, Labor and Love book on planes and waiting in offices for appointments. A number of times I've
nudged my husband sitting beside me and shared one of "Mike's Memos" or humorous pictures of signs in the book. Mike collects these pictures to use in his presentations to make visual points with humor for his corporate and association clients.

The book is an easy, fast read with each small chapter presenting a problem to be fixed, followed with what the fix is, and completed with "Mike's" Memo at the end to reinforce the fix. With Mike's permission, here are a few of them.

LIFE PROBLEM: "I'm not a good listener."

After some very practical suggestions on how to fix it (all of which have appeared in my up selling articles), Mike ended the chapter with:

"Mike's Memo" 

"God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. It's to make it easier for us to have open ears twice as often as we have an open mouth!"

JJ's Tip: You must learn to consistently listen well and ask open-ended questions so more information is forthcoming to be successful in sales or service.

LIFE PROBLEM: "I don't handle change well."

Mike helps you figure out how to build a fire under yourself and fix the problem by looking at your pattern and what you can do about it.

His sign picture was a quote from Rayburn Jack. "Changes will occur when the pain of change is LESS than the pain of remaining the same."

"Mike's" Memo"

"Could you have a better reaction to the inevitable changes that are going to affect your life?"

JJ's Tip: Change always causes some fear of the unknown because there are never guarantees of the outcome. Surrender to the change rather than resist it so the discomfort stage is shortened. Embrace it and quickly create a new comfort zone for yourself.

LABOR PROBLEM: "I'm afraid I'll make a mistake at work."

"Mike's Memo"

"We all have a closet full of things we hope no one will ever find out about, If you were to clean out those shelves you'd find all those boxes of mistakes are actually valuable experiences, just stored incorrectly."

JJ's Tip: If you're not failing sometimes, you're not taking a risk, and the greatest risk is never to take a risk. Push fear aside, try something new, make improvement suggestions and enjoy the journey.

LABOR PROBLEM: "I'm developing a "that's good enough" 
attitude at work."

"Mike's Memo"

"If you do not personally keep your standards high, others will lower them for you."

JJ's Tip: So true! Also if you're not working on your OWN goals, you're working on someone else's! Keep your standards high and make the company and department goals your own. Ask, if you don't know what they are! You MUST KNOW and commit to them. Otherwise, find a job where you can.

LABOR PROBLEM: "They don't tell me anything around here."

"Mike's Memo"

"There's a stereotype that when men get lost, they'll never stop and ask for directions. If you need help finding your way at work, your best bet is to start asking questions."

LOVE PROBLEM: "There's no physical attraction between us anymore."

"Mike's Memo"

"We spend so much of our time apart that sometimes we need an excuse to get in sync again. I think dancing is a great excuse for getting physically close."

JJ's Tip: Dancing is one way to enhance your relationship and increase your people skills, teamwork and managerial skills too. Sometimes you lead, sometime you follow, and many times you learn as you go. One of our favorite country songs tell us that LIFE IS A DANCE. We're all a "dance or work in progress" when it comes to relationships and people skills.

My husband, Scott, and I met dancing eight years ago and we make sure we dance one to three times a week. We dance with each other for a few dances and then do our "back to back" dancing. This means we dance with other people too so we'll continue to hone our dance and interpersonal skills. It's great exercise and a lot of fun learning and performing new dances together.

Technical people can learn better people skills for work and play by taking dance lessons. The activity creates balance for those who are "loners", giving them physical activity, a reason to communicate verbally and a chance to meet the opposite sex or just learn their "market value."

Many of the subjects in Mike's book are also subjects of my newsletter as you will observe in the archives on my web site. Mike has a special way of giving practical advice that we should all read again and again to keep growing in these three important areas, life, labor and love.

To order copies of Life, Labor and Love call 1-800-225-4769.

Mike McKinley
Alive! Alive! Associates
424 Galloway Street, P.O. Box 163
Eau Claire, WI 54702-0163

www.RealMikeMcKinley.com

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JJ's FAVORITE QUOTES: (Along with a number of Mike's)
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The Master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both.

- Zen Buddhist Text

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EVALUATION OF YOUR ENVIRONMENT:
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http://www.jjlauderbaugh.com/about.html

****************************************
ABOUT JJ:
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JJ Lauderbaugh, CMC
1716 Husted Ave.
San Jose, CA 95124
408-445-1590 or 800-500-9656

JJ works with companies that want to give exceptional customer service to increase sales, and with Directors and Call Center/Help Desk Managers who want to improve human performance.

She's an international speaker, trainer, facilitator and certified management consultant (CMC) on customer service management, specializing in performance improvement, call centers, up/cross selling and outbound calling.

For training resources, free articles, tips and streaming video, go to our web site at

 http://www.JJLauderbaugh.com

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Copyright and Reprints:
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© JJ Lauderbaugh, CMC, JJ Lauderbaugh & Associates, 2006. Reprinted with permission from JJ's Tips, a monthly internet newsletter. For your own personal subscription:

E - mail: jj@jjlauderbaugh.com

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You can make a difference! Send your questions and comments as they are always welcome.

Thanks,

JJ