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Does that mean you’re going to sing, George?

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I hope not. We want our audience to keep listening. I only put you through that torture, Mary-Lynn.

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We do like music here at Bigg Success as you may have noticed by all the songs and bands we talk about.

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I’m more of a melody person and George is the lyrics guy.

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With it being St. Patrick’s Day, we started thinking about the song, I’m Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover. What a happy little jingle, written all the way back in 1927 but, ironically, overlooked until Art Mooney popularized it in 1948.

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The song opens, “I’m looking over a four-leaf clover that I overlooked before.” And in the lyrics … see I am a lyrics guy … are three great lessons.

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Sunshine + Rain = Roses

The second part of the song goes, “One leaf is sunshine, the second is rain, Third is the roses that grow in the lane.”

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This is the first lesson we see in this wonderful song and it seems particularly appropriate right now as we face tough times. Sometimes the sun shines. I just love sunny days. The sun represents the good times.

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Up until about a year or so ago, we were living in pretty good times, economically. We often aren’t thankful enough when we’re in the middle of them.

Then it rains. And we’re in the middle of a storm right now. But the thing is – if the sun was always shining, if it never rained – would we really appreciate the sunshine?

It’s the change of weather that makes weather more interesting. It’s the change in circumstances that makes life more interesting. And boy, are they interesting right now or what!

This part of the song wraps up talking about the roses that grow in the lane. And here’s where the lesson comes in. Without the sunshine and the rain, those roses wouldn’t grow. Without the rain, those roses wouldn’t bloom into their full beauty.

So it is with us. It takes sunshine and rain, good times and bad, for us to reach our full potential. Because in the down times, when the challenges may be the greatest, we gain wisdom, strength, and skills that we would never have otherwise. And those things carry us to greater heights than we could have ever imagined when the good times come. 

The fourth leaf

The song continues, “No need explaining, the one remaining is somebody I adore.” St. Patrick’s Day is all about luck. The fourth leaf of a four-leaf clover is often associated with luck. And how lucky we are if we have someone to adore! That’s the second lesson from this song.

Isn’t it interesting that the song doesn’t talk about having somebody who adores us? It’s showing us that to give our love, our adoration, is so very important. Because we can’t really love someone else fully unless we love ourselves enough to have some love to give, some extra capacity. Then we can experience the joy of giving love.

Let’s not overlook the third lesson

Believe it or not, that’s the whole song … it’s like the whole song is a chorus.

So you may be saying, “Wait a minute. They said there were three lessons in this song and so far they’ve only talked about two of them.”

Good catch. The third lesson is in the first part of the song. “I’m looking over a four-leaf clover that I overlooked before.”

Since we view four-leaf clovers as a sign of good luck to come, we wonder …

We have wonderful people in our lives. We have the basic necessities we need. We have so much and we often fail to stop and be thankful for it. Yes, today is a day to realize how lucky we are. Our stocks and the value of our houses may be down. But we shouldn’t overlook how fortunate we are.

We feel fortunate that you spent time with us today. Thank you so much. 

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If we don’t have enough of this one thing, we’ll fail. If we have too much of it, we’ll fail. Join us next time to find out what this one thing is … and exactly how much you need of it to succeed bigg. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed.

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00352-031709.mp3

Related posts

Is It Better to be Lucky or Smart?

(Image in today's post by woodsy)

Well … the only way we could get that song out of our heads was to talk about another one. So today we’re going to look at Mariah Carey’s Hero.

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We love lyrics and Mariah Carey certainly has strung together some powerful words in this song. It’s particularly appropriate in the tough times we face right now.

We’ve all heard the song, but you may not have really thought about the words. So here we go …

Who are you?

It starts off …

We may feel a fear that if we show people our true selves they won’t like us. They won’t accept us. We might be embarrassed because we won’t succeed.

It’s ironic … in many cases, it’s this fear that keeps us from succeeding. Because each of us has something very unique to offer the world. It’s born in us. It’s our duty to develop it. To show the world our authentic selves.

The promise

The verse continues …

We just love this. There’s a promise if we reach within ourselves. We can do it. You can do it! Makes you think of an Adam Sandler movie, doesn’t it? We won’t go there!

You can find the answer to whatever problem you are facing. You and you alone have the solution.

Love begins with you

Then we come to the 2nd verse…

We’ve talked about this before. It is impossible to truly love other people if you don’t love yourself. Love begins inside each of us. If we can’t see the beauty within us, we’ll never experience the beauty around us.

Finding the way

Now we come to the final verse …

We have to stay true to our dreams even when they’re tested. We have to hold on. Martin Luther King had a dream. We’ve recently witnessed what happened!

We have to keep searching for the answer. But we know we will find it and we will achieve our dreams.

It starts with an attitude

Because when all of this is going on, when your problems seem insurmountable, when the world around you is nothing like the world you envisioned … 

It all starts with an attitude. You have to look within yourself – deep within yourself – with the confidence that you will find the answer. You know you’ll come back strong. You know you will survive.

Cue Gloria Gaynor? No, we’ll pass on that!

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A final thought

In a world that is looking for heroes, in a time when people are fearful and pessimistic, what should our response be?

We’re so grateful that you read our post today. Join us next time when we look at what to do if your employer stops matching your 401(k) contributions. Until then, here’s to your bigg success! 

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed.

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00315-012209.mp3

Related posts

What Makes a Hero a Hero?

The Hero Behind the Hero

The Single Biggest Barrier To Your Success

(Image in today's post by cabalero)

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Let’s start with fitness. Is that fun? One of the biggest trends is dance. Zumba, which combines South American rhythms with cardiovascular exercise, is expected to be one of the biggest crazes.

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I tried that once with some friends. I wasn’t very good at it. My instructor sure was – she could really shake it. I ended up going back to the treadmill.

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The young and the restless

But dance isn’t just for fitness; dance halls are making a come back. People are looking for ways to feel good and have fun in these tough times. That applies to all of us, but this trend is particularly expected to capture the under forty and single crowd.

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So young people will be going out, having fun, socializing, and dancing to upbeat and swinging music while us old folks are dancing at the fitness center to stay in shape!

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Home, sweet home

And staying home more. Cocooning is expected to be all the rage again for those of us who aren’t going out dancing. When we’re home, we’ll enjoy more video-on-demand, not just from things we’ve recorded or TIVOed. We’ll sit down to a whole array of movies and shows that will be available as new technologies come online.

We’ll also be playing more video games. A lot of people have already invested in the biggest part of a good home entertainment system. Experts expect video games to do well.

___

I’m amazed at the percentage of adults who now play video games on a regular basis. I’m further amazed to count myself in that group!

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We like the Sony Wii, which is great for entertainment but also hit the list of hot trends in fitness with Wii Fit.

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Plain Jane (and John)

We mentioned the do-it-yourself trend on a previous show this week. DIY fashion – from jewelry to clothes – is expected is be very popular, not only among hobbyists, but as a cottage industry. Sites like etsy make it easier than ever to sell your homemade goods.

There’s an old adage that stocks follow hemlines. As hemlines go up, stocks rise. Hemlines go down, you know what happens. So we wondered what would be hot in fashion in 2009.

The look is dowdy, a successor to the grunge look. Faded colors and plain styles will be in vogue. As if the economy isn’t dismal enough, now we have to dress that way! It seems to us like we should do the opposite – dress boldly. Maybe that would get our stocks excited!

Cruisin’

All inclusive vacations are expected to be hot again because we know what we’re going to spend before we go. That certainty is appealing right now. One beneficiary of this is expected to be cruise lines.

Never second best

Another travel trend is people visiting the “second city.” Rather than London, go to Birmingham. Instead of New York City, think Chicago. The Windy City is also expected to do well because it’s the hometown of our incoming President.

Park place

The most popular destinations this year will be national parks. Seventy-three percent of the respondents in a recent survey by TripAdvisor said they plan to visit one. Parks and other attractions close to home keep budgets in line because we don’t have the expense of flying.

And in case you’re wondering, people are planning to spend around $1,500 for domestic trips and about $4,000 when traveling abroad.

It’s important to have fun, in good times and bad. The good news is that, in these bad times, you can get some great deals. Plan ahead. Shop around. And save bigg money!

___

___

Thanks for joining us today. Check in next time when we’ll discuss the mattress stuffers of the 21st century. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed.

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00305-010909.mp3

Related posts

What’s Hot in 2009: Careers

What’s Hot in 2009: Businesses

What’s Hot in 2009: Threats

What’s Hot in 2009: Questions

(Image in today's post by MISHA)

___

___

Let’s start with fitness. Is that fun? One of the biggest trends is dance. Zumba, which combines South American rhythms with cardiovascular exercise, is expected to be one of the biggest crazes.

___

___

I tried that once with some friends. I wasn’t very good at it. My instructor sure was – she could really shake it. I ended up going back to the treadmill.

___

The young and the restless

But dance isn’t just for fitness; dance halls are making a come back. People are looking for ways to feel good and have fun in these tough times. That applies to all of us, but this trend is particularly expected to capture the under forty and single crowd.

___

So young people will be going out, having fun, socializing, and dancing to upbeat and swinging music while us old folks are dancing at the fitness center to stay in shape!

___

Home, sweet home

And staying home more. Cocooning is expected to be all the rage again for those of us who aren’t going out dancing. When we’re home, we’ll enjoy more video-on-demand, not just from things we’ve recorded or TIVOed. We’ll sit down to a whole array of movies and shows that will be available as new technologies come online.

We’ll also be playing more video games. A lot of people have already invested in the biggest part of a good home entertainment system. Experts expect video games to do well.

___

I’m amazed at the percentage of adults who now play video games on a regular basis. I’m further amazed to count myself in that group!

___

___

We like the Sony Wii, which is great for entertainment but also hit the list of hot trends in fitness with Wii Fit.

___

Plain Jane (and John)

We mentioned the do-it-yourself trend on a previous show this week. DIY fashion – from jewelry to clothes – is expected is be very popular, not only among hobbyists, but as a cottage industry. Sites like etsy make it easier than ever to sell your homemade goods.

There’s an old adage that stocks follow hemlines. As hemlines go up, stocks rise. Hemlines go down, you know what happens. So we wondered what would be hot in fashion in 2009.

The look is dowdy, a successor to the grunge look. Faded colors and plain styles will be in vogue. As if the economy isn’t dismal enough, now we have to dress that way! It seems to us like we should do the opposite – dress boldly. Maybe that would get our stocks excited!

Cruisin’

All inclusive vacations are expected to be hot again because we know what we’re going to spend before we go. That certainty is appealing right now. One beneficiary of this is expected to be cruise lines.

Never second best

Another travel trend is people visiting the “second city.” Rather than London, go to Birmingham. Instead of New York City, think Chicago. The Windy City is also expected to do well because it’s the hometown of our incoming President.

Park place

The most popular destinations this year will be national parks. Seventy-three percent of the respondents in a recent survey by TripAdvisor said they plan to visit one. Parks and other attractions close to home keep budgets in line because we don’t have the expense of flying.

And in case you’re wondering, people are planning to spend around $1,500 for domestic trips and about $4,000 when traveling abroad.

It’s important to have fun, in good times and bad. The good news is that, in these bad times, you can get some great deals. Plan ahead. Shop around. And save bigg money!

___

___

Thanks for joining us today. Check in next time when we’ll discuss the mattress stuffers of the 21st century. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed.

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00305-010909.mp3

Related posts

What’s Hot in 2009: Careers

What’s Hot in 2009: Businesses

What’s Hot in 2009: Threats

What’s Hot in 2009: Questions

(Image in today's post by MISHA)

He says that he went against the advice of his venture capitalists. They feared losing employees, customers, and other investors if the bad news got out. Clinton found that being completely forthright strengthened his relationships with his employees.

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One of my radio managers did that when our company wasn’t doing so well. I appreciated the honesty and how it put all of us on the same page.

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Honesty is high on most of our lists of core values. However, do we really think that we should always be honest?

For example, picture yourself standing with your best friend adoring her newborn baby boy. You think he’s the least attractive baby you’ve ever seen. She’s going on and on about him, when she asks you the dreaded question …

Isn’t he the best looking baby you’ve ever seen?

Would you tell her what you really think? Or would you pick your words carefully to avoid hurting her feelings?

Of course, this is a different situation than the first one presented – being honest with your employees, even when things are not going well.

But it illustrates that there can be a second value at stake – the desire to not cause undue harm.

Is there a reason to tell your friend what you really think? What good will come from it?

——

I’ve come to believe strongly in open-book management. As a general rule, I think the more you share with your employees, the better. Having said that, I have found you also have to know your employees. Open-book requires a higher level of maturity from your employees. If that’s not present, sharing more just creates undue emotional distress.

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The reason an ethical dilemma is a dilemma is because two or more core values at odds with each other. These situations flow up to the leader. You have to find a good solution.

It’s a personal decision. There likely will be disagreement on the best way to handle it. That’s why it’s so important to have a framework in place for these kinds of decisions.
This framework will help you:

• be more efficient in making decisions like this

• make decisions that are consistent instead of all over the board

• build goodwill with all affected parties

• respect the face you see in the mirror at the end of the day

We have a great resource that helps you set up the framework so when an ethical dilemma comes your way you’re prepared. It outlines the three steps to solving an ethical situation:

• Know your core values

• Select an ethical model that helps you apply those core values

• Use a problem-solving process to work through the situation at hand

So we’ve presented an ethical dilemma today … should you share all news with your employees, even the bad stuff? What do you think?

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed.

Related posts

How to Attract and Retain the Next Generation of Talent

If You Want to Increase Your Profit, Don’t Put Your Customers First

Keep Your Employees Happy And Watch Your Profits Grow!

(Image by darktaco)