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Monkey Business Leads to Bigg Success

jockeyLet’s go back in time to the year 1897. Jockey Tod Sloan transformed the horse racing world. Up to that time, jockeys had dangled their legs down the sides of the horse.

Sloan didn’t follow the custom. He squatted in his stirrups. It looked so strange that people called it the “monkey crouch”.

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Well, monkey see, monkey do. Sloan’s technique quickly caught on.

It is given credit for improving race times by 6% over the last century. No other improvements have been as successful as Sloan’s monkey crouch.

Scientists have recently discovered why racing times improved so dramatically with the monkey crouch. Using the old way, the horse had to push the jockey up with every stride because the horse moves up and down more than the jockey.

By crouching above the horse, the jockey allows the horse to expend less energy with every stride. The jockey works harder but the pair is more efficient.

What can we learn about personal productivity from Sloan’s monkey crouch?

Think outside the monkey cage.
This is an obvious one but it bears repeating. Just because it’s always been done a certain way doesn’t make it best. Always be on the lookout for a better technique. Sloan found it; so can you.

Get the monkey off your back.
People made fun of Sloan until his method got results. What works may look strange. What works may feel strange. You don’t care about that. You just care that it works!

Make monkey trial and error your constant companion.
Look at your life as your laboratory. Always test new ideas, new techniques and new tools to see which ones pan out.

Don’t swing from tree to tree.
You can’t dilute your resources. You have to concentrate your efforts on one thing at a time. If you try to improve too many things, you won’t improve any.

Set the monkey bar a little higher.
Bigg success comes from sequential small improvements. So focus on doing just a little bit better today and a little bit better tomorrow.

Don’t be afraid to monkey around.
Sometimes the best improvements come by accident. Always be tuned in to your environment because you never know from where your bigg discovery will come.

It just shows you that, sometimes, monkey business leads to bigg success!

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Thanks so much for reading our post today. Please join us next time when we talk with John Tantillo, The Marketing Doctor, about giving your brand a brand-over. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

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Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00472-090109.mp3

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(Image by Paolo Camera,CC 2.0)

Answer These 3 Questions to Get Money for Your Business

By Bigg Success Staff
04-30-08

Bigg Success in Business

jockey 

Most businesses need some outside financing to succeed. Yet attracting capital isn’t always easy to do. Money people – angel investors, bankers, venture capitalists – bet on jockeys, not horses. They bet on you, not your business.

That’s not to say that you don’t need a good business idea to attract outside funding. Great managers in troubled industries usually lose the fight. Good managers in great businesses will probably do just fine.

So financiers definitely do consider the “horse” as well.

However, all else equal, it’s the “jockey” that wins the race. So they ultimately put their money behind you.

What’s your track record?
Ideally, you’re seeking financing because your business is already successful and you need money to take it to the next level. If that’s not the case, don’t despair. If you’ve successfully run a similar business before, your odds are still good. It’s also important to maintain a good credit score. 

How will you handle adversity?

Your financiers will be trying to determine how you will respond during the inevitable tough times. They want to know that you will work with them, not keep them at bay. Discuss how you overcame past hurdles to put their mind at ease.

Can they work with you?
This is the ultimate question. They want to feel like the chemistry with you is good. You will listen when they offer advice. You will cooperate with all reasonable requests. You will care for your interests by watching out for theirs.

Hear today's lesson and laugh on The Bigg Success Show. 

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Get Your Poles in Position to Achieve Your Dream

By Bigg Success Staff
04-30-08

Timeless Principles

horse_racing 

On horse racing tracks, jockeys use the poles to determine how far they are from the finish line.

Now isn’t that interesting?

The poles don’t tell them how far they’ve come; they tell them how far they have to go.

So it is with us as we strive for bigg success. We need to focus on the next pole, knowing that we’re that much closer to the finish line.

We have to keep our focus forward, not backward. Any defeat we faced yesterday is irrelevant today, as long as we learned from it. Any success yesterday is fleeting if we don’t perform again today. Sure, we should take time to celebrate our victories, but then we must move on.

So picture the life you want and designate markers that help you get there. Then focus only on the next one, knowing you’re one step closer to your dream.

Hear today's lesson and laugh on The Bigg Success Show. 

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