This, the tale of an entrepreneur,
Who was not sure he could endure.
The times, you see, had been quite rough,
He was not sure he was tough enough.

So he sought advice from a wise old sage,
On Halloween, to get a gauge,
Of whether to continue or not,
He would let the sage decide his lot.

The sage said, No, I will not decide;
Only you, young man, can end this ride
So tell me now, your main concern,
And let us see if the tide can turn.

The young man said, I have done my time,
Yet, in my sales, I see no climb,
The results are in; they are not good,
I did not do what I thought I could.

The sage replied, Oh, I see the trouble,
Your expectations have left some rubble,
Your focus, I say, is on the wrong thing,
Let me tell you now how to end the sting.

Your business still is very young,
So hear you now the words from my tongue,
It is Halloween, so think Trick or Treat,
And soon you will be in the catbird’s seat.

At this young stage, you should worry less,
About the Treat, I must confess,
Focus instead, on a Trick or two,
Day after day, that is what you will do.

Test them, track them, see how it goes,
Keep knocking on the door of those,
Which yield best, they cannot be beat,
A spike in sales will be your Treat.

Image in this post from Kevin Dooley

Are you dressing up this year for Halloween? It’s not just child’s play anymore. More and more adults dress up every year.

Today we want to chat about costumes people wear. Not just at Halloween, but year round.

These costumes keep them from being a BIGG success. We’ll share seven of them.

Listen to this spooky post, if you dare! Click a player to hear George & Mary-Lynn on The BIGG Success Show Podcast.


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This creature only thinks about where the money is.
What careers pay the most?
What’s the hot business of the moment?

The problem is that the hottest thing now probably won’t be the hottest thing in five years.

Focus first on finding your passion. If you do what you love, you’ll rise to the top of your profession. And the money will follow.

The Material Illusionist

This is a person who has everything – the large house, the hot cars, the best gadgets. And the debt to go with them all.
They appear to be rich, but it’s an illusion. They use sleight of hand to look like they’re loaded.

In reality, the main thing they’re loaded with is payments – a house payment, car payments, credit card payments.

Focus on creating wealth, not displaying it. It’s what the truly wealthy do. It’s great to have nice things, when you can pay cash and not miss it.

The Soulless Millionaire

This person has accumulated wealth. But they feel a void.

They feel a void because, in their pursuit of monetary success, they forgot that there are other forms of riches. The greatest riches lie in your relationships.

Money and loneliness often go hand-in-hand because, once you accumulate wealth, you’ll never know if people are just after your money.

So focus as much energy on social success as you do on building monetary success. You won’t be a BIGG success if you don’t have anyone you love to share it with.

The Duplicitous Devil

This beast says one thing to your face and something else behind your back. Their words and their action are often not aligned. They cast their magic spell and hope the effects never wear off.

But they do. So focus on being honest with people. It’s better to confront a situation head on than to make promises that you can’t keep.

The Self Killer

This person is so worried about pleasing others that they forget about pleasing themselves. Over time, they kill their true nature, taking on whatever form people expect from them.

BIGG success is life on your own terms. It’s your life. You’re the main person who has to be happy with your decisions.

The Doubting Demon

This beast doubts everything about itself.
They doubt that they have the right education.
They doubt that they can get the job done.
They doubt that they will ever reach BIGG success.

Focus on what you do have, not what you don’t.

Focus on what you can do, not on what you can’t.

Focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses.

The Frivolous Fantasizer
This person is perhaps the scariest monster of all. They have all the talent they need to be a BIGG success.

But they choose to remain stuck. They are stuck because they don’t have a clear vision of what they want to do with their life. They are stuck because they waste day after day working on frivolous tasks because they have no sense of direction.

Focus on creating your vision of BIGG success. Then establish meaningful milestones that make you stretch, but are definitely attainable. Then set your priorities and put all your energy into the task at hand. It leads to BIGG success!

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00748-102711.mp3

Image in this post by Eastop

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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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Bigg Success and the 4 Wicked Witches

Meet Count Clockula

(Image in today's post by dimitri_c)

Then one night, Jordan had a haunting dream. In the dream, there were four witches. One by one, these witches cast a spell on Jordan that kept the young person from reaching bigg success.

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The Wicked Witch of the North

First, Jordan dreamed of promotions, money, fame and glory. Jordan seemed to naturally attract all of them. Life was going as planned. One success piled on top of another. Bigg success was surely on its way.

Then, right before Jordan’s eyes, the Wicked Witch of the North appeared. With black hat bent, the witch spelled out her curse:

“You have lived a very charmed life.
But now you will face a lot of strife.
On this day, I will work my magic.
The outcome for you will be quite tragic.
The road ahead will be quite rocky.
I’ll take your confidence and make you cocky.”

In Jordan’s dream, the tide quickly turned. Project after project failed. Jordan hadn’t done the same level of research before embarking on these projects. People had tried to tell the young person that these projects wouldn’t work. Jordan didn’t listen because things had always worked out. 

Jordan’s cockiness quickly turned to fear – fear of losing it all. The young person was afraid to be found out as a phony – someone who was just a fleeting star. But try as Jordan might, the spiral just kept going down.

The Wicked Witch of the South

In the dream, suddenly there was a pause. Jordan was back in bed. It was as if nothing had happened.

That’s when the Wicked Witch of the South flew in on a broom. With a loud laugh, she released her curse:

“You will try and you will fail.
You won’t stick with it, you will bail.
You won’t think about trying again.
My magic I’ll work, you’ll think you can’t win.”

Sure enough, Jordan could see his future. The young person put a tremendous effort into making a business work. Things started off just great. Jordan was having fun deciding on the name for the business, selecting a logo, buying furniture and computers and setting up a web site.

It was time to take the product to market. But customers didn’t jump on board like Jordan thought they would. It was hard work. Money was tight.

Jordan decided to give up. The young person decided being an entrepreneur wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Jordan vowed to never take that kind of risk again.

The Wicked Witch of the East

Jordan was whisked far away. It was morning and the sun was squarely in the young person’s eyes. There appeared to be a figure on the path ahead. As Jordan approached, the figure seemed to grow larger and larger.

It was the Wicked Witch of the East. Jordan had never seen such a large person. The old witch leaned over the young person and the sun disappeared.

The voice sounded like a roar as it barked out this command:

“Give up, give up, my little one.
Before I’m through, I’ll have my fun.
I’ll mix up my infamous brew;
a little taste I’ll give to you.
With one taste, on others you’ll depend.
You won’t take charge; it will be your end.”

Jordan could see the future appearing on the horizon. Bad thing after bad thing happened to the young person. But it was always someone else’s fault. Jordan never took responsibility. So the young person never learned from the experience. As time went by, Jordan became more and more dependent on the goodness of others for survival.

Jordan screamed out:

“This is not me, you wicked witch.
Depart from here without a glitch.”

The Wicked Witch of the West

In the dream, this witch was gone. Jordan relaxed, prepared to move on. When suddenly, there was a shimmer of light. The Wicked Witch of the West was in sight.

At first glance, this witch was rather attractive. A second look, however, revealed the witch’s crinkled nose and the large wart on the end of it.

The witch screamed out:

“Hello, hello, my little friend.
I’m glad we met, best wishes I send.
Stick with me and you’ll find gold.
I’ll share the secret and make you bold.
Just give to me some of your money.
You will be rich, my little honey.”

There was a piggy bank on the dresser in Jordan’s bedroom. The young person cracked it open. The witch held forth an open hand as Jordan placed the money in it.

Then the witch cried out:

“I waved my wand with my wrist.
Now you think you will get rich.
You silly fool, do you not know?
I will gain; you’ve lost your dough.”

Jordan woke up in a sweat and realized it was all just a nightmare. It was still dark outside. The clock struck midnight … the witching hour.

Jordan didn’t care. This young person wasn’t scared of wicked witches. It was time to go back to sleep; time to dream of the bigg success to come. And Jordan lived happily ever after.

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It’s almost scary how grateful we are that you read our post today. Thanks so much! Please join us next time when we’ll talk about visiting a real haunted house. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

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Meet Count Clockula

(Image in today's post by angood)

We had some fun with sound effects on The Bigg Success Show today. You can read our summary here, but you might have more fun listening!

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With Halloween approaching, we felt we should warn you about a monster you may not know about. This monster lives off of your most precious resource – time. It’s downright frightening how much of our time can be wasted.

See if you can relate to any of these haunting situations:

Chatty co-worker

You’re working on that bigg project. You reach a point where you just seem stuck. Maybe getting away from your desk will help. So you get up to stretch your legs and grab a cup of coffee. You’re in the break room when that chatty co-worker walks in. Fifteen minutes later, you’re finally back at your desk.

You’ve been bitten by Count Clockula!

He lives off wasted time, sometimes using other people to feed his ravenous appetite.

E-mail alerts

You’re busy working at your computer. You see the alert that your friend just sent you an e-mail. You can’t resist. You have to see what it is. It’s a fun video. Well, you might as well watch it now. Wow, it’s funny. Better e-mail your friend. Five minutes later, you’re back to work.

Count Clockula got ya again!

He sucks your time away by tempting you with things that are appealing. They seem like more fun than the important things you need to work on.

Lost keys

You’re running late for work. You rush into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee for the road. You grab your laptop bag. Your keys! Where are your keys? You can’t find them anywhere. You look everywhere. Ten minutes later, you find them underneath yesterday’s mail.

Count Clockula strikes again!

By keeping you from paying attention to seemingly little things, he can suck away a lot of your time.

Misplaced files

You have a meeting in five minutes and you can’t find the file you need. Where did you put that file? Is it in this stack? No. How about this one? No. You keep looking. If you don’t find it soon, you’ll just have to go without it. Ah, there it is – at the bottom of that overflowing “In” box.

Closely related to the last issue, Count Clockula thrives on disorganization.

Meetings

You went to yet another meeting. The project leader was late. Then he didn’t keep the group on track. The conversation just floated from one issue to another without accomplishing anything.  

Count Clockula sinks his teeth in again. He thrives on dead time – where groups of people are completely unproductive. 

Media

You have a major report due in a couple of weeks. As you were doing some research for it, you found a great site full of information. You spent a lot of time there. Sure, it was still research, but it was more than you needed for the project.

Count Clockula flies again! Sometimes he overwhelms you with his charms.

Lack of focus

You don’t really have a sense of direction. Sure you think about your goals near the end of every year. But you don’t keep them in front of you like you should.

It’s the worst bite Count Clockula can deliver.

How can you allocate your most precious resource effectively if you don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish?

Word of warning

We’d be remiss if we didn’t warn you about one more thing. Unlike other vampires, Count Clockula doesn’t just come out at night – he’s out all the time. Beware!

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Next time, we’ll chat with Seth Godin about his fantastic new book, Tribes. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

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Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
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Are You a Victim of Your Own Success?