You have a good employee who is giving their best? Give them appreciation and respect.

My computer guy is the absolute best! He has worked with me since he started college a few years back. He is kind, conscientious, creative  and gives his best.  I want the best for him and I get the best from him.

He popped in today and helped me with a few projects. We listen to smooth jazz while he is here. I found a David Sanborn CD very cheap at a sale. Tonight when he left I gave it to him with a $20 inside. It was a small gesture but it was the least I could do.   I want to express my gratiutude for his excellence in service.

He took home a small token of my appreciation. He was listening to the disc when he left. I am sure he appreciates this as it was one of the finest contemporary Jazz CDs of the 1990′s – a 1994 release of Reed my Lips by Sandborn. I know that he likes a wide variety of music. I know he likes this. A gift that has just a little thought behind it can mean a lot.

He means a lot to me and I am sure he has a very successful career ahead of him.  He will not always work for me.  But I want him to remember me 15 years from now as a bos who appreciated his excellence and kindness.

It is good to reward and honor excellence, that will motivate the person to continue their excellence. In the short term for me and in the long term for his next employer and in the big scheme of things make this a better country.

I love to entertain at corporate events and watch the adults jaws drop and laugh like they were in 3^rd grade again.  Magic is fun and I love to bring fun to people and brighten their events. I have worked for many fortune 500 companies and many others that don’t make that list. I love to bring a smile to a holiday party, annual banquet or team building event.

It is also fun to entertain at various golf clubs for tournaments, as well as at fund raisers and black tie charity events.  It is fun to do magic and help a good cause. This past week I entertained for the kick off of the Gillette Childrens Hospital Fundraiser along with KDWB and Children’s cancer research Fund. I met some great families and had fun with the very fun KDWB DJ’s.

I love to travel and magic has taken me to all 50 states and to six other countries.  I have seen the wonderful beauty of our land and met many great people. I have entertained in beautiful locations such as parks and festivals and have also gotten far away from the bustling cities and entertained the wonderful people who live in Hopi, Navajo, Dakotah and other lands.

I have enjoyed performing in every major city and in most suburbs and many small towns as I zig-zagged across this country on school assembly tours for 13 years back in the 80’s and into the 90’s. I developed educational programs that grabbed kids attentions and motivated them to do their best in school.

Magic has taken me to entertain families at fun places such as Knott’s Camp Snoopy a dozen times and The Paul Bunyan Amusement Park for 11 summers. I’ve enjoyed performing at hundreds of fairs and festivals over the years.  I have entertained at many colleges, weddings, Bar Mitvahs , high school lock ins and family events. I even love to be the life of the party at birthday parties for young kids or kids of any age. This past summer I entertained a bubbly birthday celebration for a group of 14 -15 year old girls, I was also on a riverboat entertaining for a 50 year old woman’s birthday and I even did an 80 year old Doctor’s birthday party.

I have entertained with magic for the coaches of the Minnesota Vikings and U of M Golden Gophers. I have worked with cool musicians, popular radio DJs, and bands.  I have met and entertained the famous and the not so … it is all the same. Magic brings life to parties and events and I enjoy being around people who are celebrating.

It is exciting to take a new way to work every day, to see the world. It is fun to adapt and to bring the show into so many cool venues. The reaction is the same – people love to laugh and I love to instigate it. Please take a moment and learn more at MagicNorm.com.

I came across an article that included the following thought provoking quote.

“I contend that the key to professional happiness is asking yourself two simple questions every single day: Are you passionate about what you do? And if not, what are you going to do instead?”
– Bill Murphy Jr. – the author of The Intelligent Entrepreneur ($27.50, amazon.com).

This key to happiness is something worth considering. Having passion about what we do is very important. We can also find passion in what we do away from the workplace. But finding happiness at work results from a deep desire to solve problems and help others.

I am going to look for ways today to re ignite my passion for what I do and why I do it.

I enjoy motivating people to strive for their best and find creative solutions to business problems.  The response to these workshops and lectures has been very good . I’ll post some photos of this lovely city soon.

I’ll be back in USA in a minute – well two days… and then I can be available to help motivate and encourage your team.

Investing money in the start up and deciding where and how to advertise all involves risk.  The best we can do is to research the options and make an informed decision based on that knowledge.

Ways to lower the risk.

A very important thing that many businesses forget to do is to find a way to track their successes.  We need to ask customers how they heard about us and that will help us discover  what methods of advertising are working best.

It is important to place response cues within the advertisement that will let us know which ad motivated the purchase or the call for more information.  This call to action will possibly involve a free sample, a coupon, a bonus if you act now.  This way we can track the ads success in bringing new clients.

In direct sales and cold calling we still want to keep track of the response rate and discover how to improve our presentations by surveying the clients on their feelings about the way the product or service was presented.

Brainstorm to find creative ways to reach new clients, but track the process so you can build on this success and improve your outreach.

An Ancient Chinese Proverb says… “The best time to plant a tree is 15 years ago… the second best time to plant a tree is today.”

We need to get moving on growing our business now, today! Each day should be spent in  to developing new customers and reaching out to our existing customers.

Think where we would be if we had done more to develop new clients 5 years ago. Sure we would be better off if we did more last week or last year.  We can not dwell on missed opportunities unless they motivate us to not let it happen again. Do something to move forward today.

Make an action plan for tomorrow and get on it. In no time you will enjoy the fruit of your labor.

How serious is stress? Expert s say that stress is a factor in over 70% of illness. Stress can be involved in high blood pressure, anxiety and ulcers. Not fun stuff. But laughter and humor arrive to save the day and can combat stress as it starts.

We need to be aware of when we are under stress. We need to react to it with a deep breath and a calming reminder to ourselves that we can get through this. Finally a refreshing 5 or 10 minute comedy break can help us get back into a positive mood and help us to move forward to tackle that Goliath of a problem that is facing us. A healthy dose of humor will help us release the tension and allow us to move forward with clarity and a positive attitude.

We know that sooner later some sort of stress will come into our lives. Be prepared for that next difficult situation and have a humor button on your computer. This is a place in your bookmarks that takes to you to  several comedy sites that you know have funny stuff.

You may also wish to have a folder in your e-mail that contains funny photos and videos that friends have sent. This file can bring relief when needed and help you brighten up your spirits and your day,. This positive attitude can help us push on and find solutions

Humor can alter our mood without any harmful side effects, unless you get a pain in your ribs from laughing.

7 Ways That Humor in the Workplace is Valuable

1 Humor Creates a Positive Atmosphere. People get more done when they are happy and feeling positive. We laugh with our friends and a friendly environment can be a healthy and more productive environment.

2. Humor is the Ultimate  Stress Reducer. OK, Humor may be the second best stress reliever next to some drug, but the side effects of humor are more beneficial to the work environment. There is potential for stress in every workplace.  It can build and eat away at productivity. A little levity can help reduce stress in difficult situations. Humor can bring people together and this can help refocus energy to the task at hand.

3. Humor Builds the Team. Humor is an asset in the workplace because it encourages communication, builds relationships and helps people get along. It helps generate a positive work environment and builds the team. Add a short joke or cartoon to an inner office memo or e-mail. People will look forward to hearing from you.

4. Humor helps us in Creative Problem Solving. Humor helps bring a mindset of creativity because humor comes from looking at things in different ways. The more we practice using our sense of humor the more our mind expands and looks at the possibilities in front of us.

5. Humor Creates a Positive work environment. A cheerful place to work is a place where people are feeling positive and supported. It lifts Spirits and Attitudes.  If a person makes a mistake we can try to look at the humorous side and get over it quicker. Getting past mistakes and into forgiveness is important to give to others when they make an error. This atmosphere of kindness is very valuable when we are the one who makes a mistake. An attitude of grace comes from looking at problems and misunderstandings in a humorous way.  Someday we’ll look back on this and it will be funny.

6. Humor helps us keep a positive perspective on Life and Work. When we look at the bright side of things our attitude is more positive.

7. Humor Encourages Communication.  Laughter helps people get closer and to connect and bond. When we laugh together we find common ground and this builds a positive work environment.

Experts say that children laugh or smile an average of 400 times a day. Adults laugh or smile an average of 15 times a day. Adults are missing out on 385 laughs or smiles each day! Does this lack of laughter have a side effect? Is it good to deprive ourselves of the joy that comes from laughter? Can we have greater success in problem solving through humor?

Don’t miss out on the laughter its benefits. Cultivate your sense of humor and see the resulting success in creative solutions to problems and challenges.

Laughter can make us creative because it works out a part of the brain that enjoys discovering the unexpected. A punch line in a joke is unexpected and it triggers a reaction in the creative part of the brain that says, “ah-hah!” The more we enjoy the unexpected side of life the more we will exercise our ability to become aware of different ways to look at situations.

Looking at things from different angles is the root of creativity. Develop this gift you already have and you will make yourself an invaluable part of any team. You will be the idea person who helps the organization come up with productive solutions.

One of the humor’s biggest benefits is the ability to laugh at our failures.  Failure is a secret key to success. Thomas Edison “failed” many times as he attempted to make a practical light bulb.  He did not look at them as failures, but he felt that he was discovering thousands of ways to not make a light bulb.

Babe Ruth swung and missed many times and yet the more he swung and tried, the more often he put one out of the park! You may strike out many times, but the more you try the more successful results will come.

Humor Combats Stress

Studies have shown that people are better able to handle stress and discomfort while listening to humorous recordings than those who listened cds of non-fiction information or silence or even relaxation tapes. Laughter and comedy can break us free of stress and release the creativity in our minds. This creativity is also the problem solving and solution finding part of the mind. This is what can make us invaluable to our place of work and that is a huge factor in our success in the workplace.