Catherine Morgan over at the PointAtoPointBTransitions blog recently wrote a great post about using your “lens” in your decision making process.

When evaluating opportunities, she encourages us to use our “lens” to find the right fit and to filter out those that aren’t.

Click a player to hear George & Mary-Lynn on The BIGG Success Show Podcast. (Duration 6:00)

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Our lenses

We thought we’d share our lenses with you because it will help illustrate the recipe for success in your relationships.

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I look for win/win and have the courage to walk away when that doesn’t end up in the equation. I take time to consider the opportunity. I weigh out the good and the bad. I’m careful to not inject “good” where it isn’t simply because I want it to be there. I’m equally cautious to not put something in the “bad” column because it takes me out of my comfort zone. In the end, my decision is based on what is right for me, and I’ve learned this through past decisions that were both correct & incorrect.

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I’ve learned the hard way that I’m terribly optimistic. So I look at the downside of opportunities. The faster I can get to “No”, the better. If the risk can’t be reduced to an acceptable level, I pass. If the risk is tolerable, then I weigh it against the financial and non-monetary rewards.

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The power of different lenses

So, we both see opportunity through very different lenses. You can see I bring more emotion into it, while George is highly logical.

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So you might think the two of us would have a challenge coming together when we’re making decisions as a married couple or as partners in BIGG Success.

But the opposite is actually true. The two approaches help us make better decisions.

They’re part of the recipe for success with your partner and other key people in your life. And that’s the point we want to make today.

In your quest for BIGG success, you need to align yourself with people who approach challenges and opportunities from a different mindset.

But you can’t leave these critical ingredients out…

Now, we hasten to add – you need a shared vision and values with these key people in your life and your business. Otherwise, it won’t work.

But once you have that foundation to build upon, differences create more value.

Now, it can lead to some pretty spirited discussions. Arguments even!

But healthy ones at that. As long as you add one more vital ingredient to this recipe for success – respect.

You have to respect where the other person is coming from and what they’re saying even if you don’t agree.

So mix a little respect with a shared vision and values and then spice it up with some differences. It’s the recipe for BIGG success!

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00810-051812.mp3

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We’ve been talking about the five biggest mistakes people make when using LinkedIn.

In Part 1, Wayne told us about:

- Biggest Mistake #1: Failure to dedicate sufficient time to their LinkedIn efforts.

- Biggest Mistake #2: Underestimating the importance of crafting a dynamic, keyword-filled personal profile.

In Part 2 we discussed:

- Biggest Mistake #3: Failure to recognize the importance of having lots of trusted professionals in your LinkedIn network

and not getting recommendations.

- Biggest Mistake #4: Using LinkedIn to advertise your products and services.

In this segment, we learn about the final mistake that businesses/brands are making:

Click a player to hear Wayne talk with George & Mary-Lynn on The BIGG Success Show podcast. (Duration 7:45)

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• How LinkedIn is powerful for companies and why consistency is key
• Why your employee’s profile is either helping or hurting your brand
• Ideas on how companies can create that consistency about their brand with their employees
• How to create a strategy when using Groups to help promote your company
•  Why it is essential to have a company page on LinkedIn and what it search engine keywords your company profile should contain.
• What you should be doing to maintain your LinkedIn personal page and your company page.
• Should recommendations go on your personal profile or company profile?

Visit Wayne’s website to get free weekly LinkedIn tips  along with a free chapter of his book .

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00805-042812.mp3

We’re discussing the five biggest mistakes people make when using LinkedIn. In Part 1 of our interview we talked about:

- Biggest Mistake #1: Failure to dedicate sufficient time to their LinkedIn efforts.

- Biggest Mistake #2: Underestimating the importance of crafting a dynamic, keyword-filled personal profile.

In this segment, learn about these mistakes:

Click a player to hear Wayne talk with George & Mary-Lynn on The BIGG Success Show podcast. (Duration 9:50)

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• What Wayne says is the most powerful aspect of LinkedIn

• How LinkedIn is like the “6 degrees to Kevin Bacon”

• Why 35-40 connections is NOT enough to fully use LinkedIn and the number you should shoot for

• Why Groups on LinkedIn are the second most important part of using LinkedIn

• There are over 1.2 million Groups on LinkedIn, learn how to get more connections using them.

• How recommendations  can help you come up more often when people use the keyword search tool to attract more leads.

Biggest Mistake #4: Using LinkedIn to advertise your products and services.

• Why the traditional forms of advertising doesn’t work in social media

• Your Powerful Formula for promoting yourself on LinkedIn is to: Help people, share valuable information, and build relationships.

• How sharing your work in terms of questions and discussions will take away the “in your face” advertising.

• Why you should spend time listening on social media spaces to learn the communication skills.

• How to listen on LinkedIn by simply visiting your home page.

• Why Groups provide a listening tool for you too.

• How to find conversations in your space using keywords and a tool hardly anyone uses: “LinkedIn Signal” or “Search Status Updates.”

• Wayne shares an example of how he was able to connect with a potential client who wasn’t even in his network by using the listening tools in LinkedIn.

Visit Wayne’s website for a free chapter of  his book The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success and to learn more about his LinkedIn training offerings.

Next time, learn about a silly little thing that many companies overlook on LinkedIn and why it hurts your brand.

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00804-042612.mp3

Click a player to hear Wayne talk with George & Mary-Lynn on The BIGG Success Show podcast. (Duration 8:55)

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• Find out why the recession turned Wayne from a skeptic on LinkedIn to a  BIGG fan!
• Why a light bulb went off while he was using the people search feature on LinkedIn
• Why LinkedIn isn’t in the same realm as Facebook and Twitter for personal branding on social media branding.

Biggest Mistake #1: Failure to dedicate sufficient time to their LinkedIn efforts.

• Find out why Wayne says you should spend at least 2 hours a week there and where to find the time).
• The most important actions your should take when spending time on LinkedIn.
• What Wayne says is the “gasoline in the tank” for your LinkedIn use.

Biggest Mistake #2: Underestimating the importance of crafting a dynamic, keyword-filled personal profile.

• Why you shouldn’t treat your LinkedIn profile like a resume (and why it’s boring to keep it that way).
• The 2 things to think about as crafting your profile: keywords and story.
• The trick to determining the keywords you’ll want to use (think the “this” or the “that”).
• Why thinking Yellow Page categories is a helpful way to craft your business keywords.

Learn more about Wayne, his book, his LinkedIn training, and even download a free chapter of The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success on his website.

Next time, Wayne talks about the best way to communicate so you don’t turn people away.

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00803-042412.mp3

We love Discovery’s The Deadliest Catch. In case you’re not familiar with it, it’s a show about crab fishing in the brutal Bering Sea.

On the season opener this year, Sig (one of the captains) said something to which we can totally relate as entrepreneurs. But first a little background…

Crab boat captains fish much like entrepreneurs. They develop a theory about where the crab might be like entrepreneurs do with customers.

Based on this theory, they put out their pots – crab fishing code for the baited cages they use to lure the crabs in. Likewise, entrepreneurs use promotional messages to attract customers.

Now back to what Sig said…

He had put out pots but the first run is often disappointing. It’s really about just trying to find out where the crabs are.

On this particular string, though, they hit the jackpot with the first pot. The team celebrated! And then got back to pulling in more pots.

But the tide turned quickly. Pot after pot, they scored zero after zero. No crabs!

Sig said, “It was fun and now it’s not so fun.”

A perfect description of entrepreneuring! Entrepreneuring is a roller coaster ride.

You’re up. You’re down. It’s fun. It’s not. And it’s often a short drive between the two.

It may happen from one day to the next. Yesterday was great. Today sucks. It can even happen from minute to minute when bad news is suddenly front and center.

When you’re the entrepreneur, you often don’t see the good news. Your employees take care of that. You also may not see the little blimps.

No, it’s the big things that hit your desk – the loss of a significant customer or key employee, an impending law suit, or an unexpected bill (e.g. a tax penalty).

The sages say you shouldn’t get emotional about business. But the sages aren’t entrepreneurs. Entrepreneuring is an incredibly emotional experience.

It forces you to reach deep down within yourself, to draw upon resources you didn’t even know you had. It makes you stronger and tougher.

Just realize this – you’re not alone. Every entrepreneur rides this roller coaster.

So when you feel lonely, reach out to a fellow entrepreneur. Reach out to us. We all need to support each other through difficult times.

It will help you get through the down cycle. It’s how you keep pushing.

Remember, the downs are usually followed by an uptick. And the journey is worth it because it ends with BIGG success!

How do you handle the down times?

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