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Mary-Lynn and I recently went out on a date and it was scary!

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Even scarier than our first date!

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Watch it!

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We went to a Haunted House; actually a Haunted Factory. They did a great job and it worked its magic on us. I was spooked. George laughed.

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It’s funny when you get spooked, Mary-Lynn! I don’t know if you’ve ever held me that tight before!

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I love going through Haunted Houses. I just don’t like to be touched. George was my barrier. But I looked back one time and he wasn’t there. A devil had gotten between us! I thought I was going to have a heart attack.

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We were coming out of this room where they had about a half dozen people dressed up as devils. These guys were on stilts or something because they were all about 8’ tall. Besides that, they could go from one end of the room to the other in a flash. To top it all off, you had to duck underneath them to get out.

There are probably local ghoulish attractions in your area – many of which support great causes or are run by local hauntrepreneurs. You can have some bigg fun and support a local organization at the same time.

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As a radio DJ, I helped promote a number of Haunted Houses over the years. Some that involved you, George.

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Yeah, when I was a Jaycee, I helped with more Haunted Houses than I can count. I remember running out once to clear out our cash drawer. I opened the door and these young women screamed. The problem is I didn’t even have my mask on!

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It’s really fun to be a volunteer at a Haunted House. In addition, it’s amazing how much money many of them give to worthy organizations.

A frightening affect on your bottom line

This was play time for us, but we recommend integrating work and play. While we were there, we saw something that could help you scare up more profit.

Like many Haunted Houses, they often had long lines. People waited an hour or more to get in. So they set up two different prices.

You could pay the regular price – which in this case was $10 – and wait in the regular line. Or you could pay a premium – their price was $15 – and go right to the front of the line.

Now you might be thinking, “If I had waited an hour and someone got to go through before me, I would just scream!”

They did a great job with that. They set their lines up so the people in the regular line really wouldn’t know that other people were coming in before them. The express line was camouflaged with corn stalks – yes, we’re in the Midwest – so you really couldn’t see it from the regular line.

But even if they did, everyone had the same opportunity to purchase the higher priced ticket.

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Service Level Pricing

Are there ways to give your customers the opportunity to choose their level of service?

Research shows that if you give your customers two choices, they will choose the least expensive option. But it’s get more interesting when you add one more level. If you give them three choices, people tend to choose the middle one.

The good – better – best scenario helps you upsell. Let’s be clear – this is not bait-and-switch. We’re talking about legitimate offerings that allow your customers to segment themselves.

It’s a great way to give your bottom line a BOOst! Happy Halloween!

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Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
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Bigg goal-getters work very hard to achieve their goals. It’s important to take time to rejuvenate yourself so you can keep making your bigg dreams come true.

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If you can’t steal away for a day, steal away for an hour

One way to do that is to take a daycation – spend a day enjoying one of your favorite activities. Take in a ball game. Go for a hike. Enjoy a drive.

Sometimes you can't take an entire day away from work. Synergize – look for a way to fit in some fun with the work even if it’s just for an hour!

We find it therapeutic to be around bigg water. So after a few meetings recently in Chicago, we spent time walking along Lake Michigan before driving home.

Experience nature with all your senses

When you do stop to enjoy nature, use all of your senses to really take it in. Looking out, we could see almost nothing but water.

There was a sail boat on the horizon; a seagull bobbing on the waves.

We could hear the waves, coming into shore in rhythm and washing back out.

We could feel the breeze, the moisture in the air and the warmth of the sun. A splash from a wave hit our hands. It was cold!

Every once in a while, there was that fishy smell with which we’re all familiar. It’s a reminder of the life we can’t see beneath the surface.

As we breathed in the smell of the air, the taste in our mouth changed.

It was wonderful. It makes your problems seem insignificant when you experience a body of water as massive as this.

It's always hard to leave, but we were re-energized in a short time because we really took it all in with all of our senses.

Bigg goal-getters give their all to achieve their bigg dreams. But you have to take time to "stop and smell the roses" (or the fish) to keep pushing towards bigg success.

What is your favorite activity? How do you take it all in?

Tell us by leaving a comment below, calling us at 888.455.BIGG (2444) or e-mailing us at bigginfo@biggsuccess.com.

See a short video mix of the sights and sounds we enjoyed at Lake Michigan.

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We have three options – invest more, risk more, or plan to live on less when we do retire. None of those sound particularly attractive, do they?

Unless you can live like a king or queen on less!

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That’s why a recent article in Business Week caught our attention. It says that Panama is becoming a popular destination for retirees. It’s been going on for a few years now but really seems to be gaining momentum.

We hasten to say that, even if you’re not thinking about retiring soon or you wouldn’t even consider retiring outside your country, you still might consider putting Panama on your list of vacation destinations.

In addition to the Business Week article, we referred to PanamaInfo.com as a source for the information we’ll discuss today.

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From everything I saw as we prepared for this show, I’d say a trip to Panama is in our future! I want to check it out.

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I’m on board, George. When are we leaving? Actually, let me rephrase that … I’m good with our weather this time of the year. I want to go there in the winter when it’s freezing cold here and 80 degrees there!

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Climate

It’s tropical and humid during the day most of the year in the highlands, which includes the capital of the country, Panama City. Temperatures range between eighty and ninety degrees Fahrenheit during the day.

The main tourist season corresponds with their dry season which runs from mid-December through May. In the rainy season, though, it rains for an hour or two about every day. That’s also when the hotels offer special rates.

Topography

Panama is an isthmus that connects Central America with South America. Hence the Panama Canal!

It has about 1,000 miles of coastline and 1,500 islands nearby. A mountain slices through the middle of the country. Panama also has five million acres of parks and more species of birds than the U.S. and Canada combined.

Cost of living

The main reason retirees are flocking to Panama is its low cost of living. The government encourages retirees to spend their golden years there. Seniors get discounts on just about everything.

For example, they save 50% on tickets to concerts, the theater and movies. A movie ticket normally costs $4 (dollars are the currency in Panama). Seniors pay $2.

They also get 25% off at restaurants, a 30% discount on most travel, except flights on which they save 25%. You name it and seniors likely get a discount, even on things like dentist and doctor visits.

Not that the price is high, relatively speaking, in the first place. The Business Week article points out that Panama has first-class health care at Third World prices.

Seniors even get a 50% discount on home closing costs. Once you buy your property, you have all the ownership rights any Panamanian would have.

And you don’t have to pay any property taxes for 20 years or pay any tax on your foreign income.

To give you some perspective on how inexpensive homes are there, the Business Week article mentions a couple who bought a 3,000 square foot oceanfront penthouse in 2007 for $250,000. At that time, it would have cost $3,000,000 to buy that same property in Miami.

Of course, it’s a lot cheaper in Miami now, but it’s still not close to $250,000. Speaking of Miami, Panama is only about a 2½ hour flight from Miami.

There’s a local joke that Panama is just like Miami. Except that it is safer. More people speak English. There are no hurricanes. And Americans are more popular!

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Thanks for reading our post today. Please join us next time when we ask, “Can you have too much money?” Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

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Leaping From Place To Place: See The World While You Work

(Image in today's post by carlosve)

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My best friend, Jodi, is a smart cookie. She teaches high school students and is the mother of two boys. With all that going, she went back to school to get her Master’s in Education. We recently attended her graduation party.

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I admire her for being able to juggle so many things at once! I’ll bet she needs to catch up on some sleep!

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I'm so proud of her. She definitely sacrificed to achieve a new level of success in her career with all she had on her plate. That's why I call her "Wonder Woman"!

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I noticed her flying around in the sky … now I get it. She was in her invisible plane, huh?

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Jodi's mom, Linda, wanted to do something special for Jodi. So Linda planned a family party with a few surprises. I was one of those! But Linda didn’t have my phone number and she didn’t want to raise Jodi’s suspicions.

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So Linda enlisted the help of Jodi's oldest son, Collin. He's only eight-years old, but was smart enough to look up the phone numbers on Jodi's cell phone when she was taking a shower!

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Ah, kids these days! Would you be able to figure that out, George?

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I’d like to think that I could! So last weekend, when we walked in, Jodi was talking with a family member. She looked over and saw us but didn’t really respond. She looked away and then looked back again! She was so surprised – shocked, even – to see you, Mary-Lynn.

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Well, we shed some tears because it had been awhile since we had seen each other. Then we spent the day with her – getting to know her family and friends.

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We relay this story because there’s something really cool about celebrating the success of others. It can inspire you to bigger success in your own life. This works in four ways:

By celebrating, we acknowledge
When we celebrate the accomplishments of others, we remember to acknowledge our own achievements. It’s easy to forget to do this but it’s necessary to keep achieving every loftier goals.

Celebration sparks innovation
As the saying goes, “Success breeds success.” We are often inspired and encouraged to go for what we want when we see other people getting what they want.

Appreciate to be appreciated
When you appreciate the hard work and efforts of others, you're more likely to appreciate the hard work and efforts you put into your success.

Commemorate to remember
We remember achievements that are marked with special occasions. From mini-celebrations to full-blown parties, it is important to celebrate the accomplishments we make along our journey to bigg success!

So let's celebrate an accomplishment of yours! Will you share something that you’ve accomplished recently? Leave a comment below, call us at 888.455.BIGG (2444) or e-mail us at bigginfo@biggsuccess.com.

Thanks so much for reading our post today. Please join us next time when we’ll talk about behaviors that cost money. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

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Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
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This made us wonder: as adults, can we get extra credit outside the classroom?

Survey said, “Sometimes.”

Consistently living up to your promises, even better exceeding them, will earn you extra credit. People know they can count on you to do what you say you’ll do. You build relationships by building your emotional bank account.

Going out of your way to help someone may earn you extra credit. They appreciate what you’ve done for them. As humans, we feel a natural inclination to help people who help us. This may be a customer, a family member, a friend, a co-worker or a business associate.

Simply taking a genuine interest in someone may earn you extra credit. Everybody wants to feel special. Intentional attention goes a long way toward building relationships.

But there are times when we don’t earn extra credit.

Bigg success is life on your own terms. There are five elements to bigg success. One of them is play. Play is all about your personal life – time with family and friends as well as time for yourself.

• If you spend so much time working that you have almost no time with your family, you don’t earn any extra credit.

• If you spend so much time working and being with your family that you don’t have any time for yourself, you don’t earn extra credit.

• If you’re so busy with work and family, and then you pour your remaining time into personal activities and neglect getting enough sleep, you don’t get extra credit.

You may be the primary breadwinner for your family. Your family may understand that you need to work long hours to keep the bills paid. It’s just important to understand that sacrificing in one area of your life may not earn you extra credit in another.

The bigg idea behind bigg success is synergy – look for ways to make all areas of your life work together. And make sure that how you spend your time matches your priorities. That’s bigg success!

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You get extra credit for reading our post today … thanks so much!

When we think of capital in business, it’s usually about money. Please join us next time when we’ll discuss a second form of capital that will be more important going forward.

Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

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Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
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