After one of these races, a reporter noticed a young greyhound dog sitting in the stands next to his owner, a white-haired man dressed in overalls. He walked over and started talking to him.

“Isn’t that a greyhound?” the reporter asked, pointing to the dog.

“Yep. Full-blooded,” the farmer replied.

“Did he ever race professionally?”

“Yep,” the man said. “Jasper competed for years. Won 100 races. Lived like a king. Earned lots of money.”

Surveying the dog, the reporter observed, “He doesn’t look old enough to retire.”

“He isn’t,” the farmer replied. “He could have raced for several more years.”

“Then what happened?”

“He just quit,” the farmer said, giving Jasper an affectionate pat on his head.

“You mean he just suddenly stopped running? Why?”

The farmer looked at him. “Well, one day he was racing in Florida when the mechanical rabbit malfunctioned. It came to a dead stop right there on the track. Jasper caught it, sniffed it, found out it was fake. He was never the same dog after that. Almost like he was embarrassed to have spent all those days chasing something that wasn’t real.”

Can the same thing be said about you? Are you spending all your energy and time chasing something that has no value? It may look like what you want until you get it and discover that it’s just a cheap imitation.

Like the broken mechanical rabbit, your way of life is no longer working. Your goals are out of focus … out of order … out of reach. Somewhere along the way, you lost your vision; and the rat race isn’t the right race anymore.

It’s time to quit. Stop chasing what’s worthless and pursue what’s priceless.

If you’re in management, you need to be able to offer a solution when your salespeople come to you with a problem. If you’re in sales, you must be able to make solid decisions that advance your career and aid your clients.

For every decision you put off … or pull off … today, you will have 10 more tomorrow. If you delay decision-making until the end of the month, 300 decisions will still be hovering and you will have nothing to show. On the other hand, being decisive will push you closer to achieving your goals.

“Hold on,” you say, “What happens if I make a decision and it’s wrong?” Hey, that’s a given. You will make bad, wrong, inappropriate, untimely decisions. When that happens, remember “execute and evaluate.”

You make a decision. You execute (do) it. Then you evaluate the result. If it isn’t what you want, start over. Make another decision based upon what you now know.

Unfortunately, what usually happens is that we force a bad decision to fit the result we want. When it doesn’t, we offer an explanation … correct or not … as to why this didn’t turn out as we expected. There. Problem solved. We did something, identified why it didn’t work, and that’s that. We lapse into an uneasy form of contentment.

However, our brains aren’t so easily fooled. They know the score. Deep within those little gray cells is a tiny voice saying, “You screwed up. You should have started over and made a different decision that would have sent you in another direction toward the same goal. Instead, you ran with what you had … bad idea. It isn’t surprising that it didn’t get you where you wanted to be.”

Indecision is the thief of opportunity. Don’t let it rob you.

Who built homes for a whole lot of folks.

He discounted them deep

And priced them real cheap.

Or he did … until he went broke.

Ever heard of the P-Principle in new home sales? Probably not because it’s a term I created to explain why some builders go broke. Simply stated, the P-Principle is this: If you’re selling a lot of product, but not making a profit, you’ll eventually be penniless.

Don’t mistake income for profit. Income is the money you actually get paid. Profit is how much you have left after taking all the money you received and paying all your expenses.

Some builders lose sight of this and forget they are in business to make a profit. Instead, they think they’re in business to build houses so the more they build, the more successful they are. Not true. You could sell the most homes of any builder in your region, but if those sales don’t put money in your pocket, you’ll go out of business. The numbers that really count are the ones on the bottom line of your profit-and-loss statement; not the ones listed in some top-ten sales report.

You also shouldn’t be looking for break-even production. You must generate new wealth in order to stay in business, employ more people, take care of your family and contribute to a viable economy.

Call me the prophet of profit, but here’s what I’m proclaiming loud and clear: Builders … price your homes fairly, competitively and with a healthy profit margin. Then stay the course. Your goal isn’t just to record sales; it’s also to report a profit.

1. Invite your customers to join
- For my home builder, I simply added one statement to the end of the survey that is filled out at the end of closing. It states “I would like to participate in the customer advisory board to give critical feedback on a variety of issues. I understand that I will only receive one survey per month, and that there will be rewards for involvement.” Over the past year and a half about 40% of those surveyed have opted-in.

2. Choose your survey tool
- I recommend either www.SurveyMonkey.com or www.Zoomerang.com. Survey Monkey offers a $200 per year unlimited use plan that is perfect for medium to large companies and remains light on the budget.

3. Create your survey
- Both sites mentioned offer What You See Is What You Get survey creation. If you can create a word document, then you’ll be creating surveys like a pro in no time. Get creative and ask questions that help you solve problems for yourself and others in your company! You won’t believe the looks you’ll get when in the meeting of a meeting you offer “hey, why don’t we just ask 200 of our current customers what they think?” Try and keep it under 5 questions – show them you value their time.

4. Send the survey, and reward someone
- No more than once a month, send out the survey to everyone on your list. Then from those that respond select a winner at random. Be sure to announce the winner at the beginning of your next survey. It makes the winner feel good about being recognized, and it shows everyone else that you really do reward good behavior.

There you have it. Why not tap into this powerful form of research starting today? Stop talking to the mirror and break out of the corporate bubble. They may not say exactly what you want to hear, but aren’t you getting sick of listening to your own echo?

A couple of quick hits to keep you out of trouble:

- This is NOT quantitative research. Do not make the mistake of using this as THE decision making tool (keep flipping a coin for that). It only offers insights, and sometimes can raise as many questions as it answers. That is not a bad thing.

- Sometimes the customer isn’t right. Apple computer knows this – they don’t ask people what they want. Instead, they create something that people will want before they know they want it. If you ask the group to give input on something that’s never been done before, expect some puzzled responses. A more concrete example is this – don’t ask your advisory board how much profit you should make on a home. They will probably not give you a “right” answer (However, their perceptions may surprise you!)

- Remember that these people have already done business with you before! That’s good because they know how you operate, but it sometimes means you have to be creative with your questions so you don’t offend or alienate them.

- Two or three times a year let everyone on the board know how their feedback has caused change at the company. This helps them feel connected and keeps them excited, even if they aren’t winning the monthly prize.

Author Bio:
Kevin Oakley is a branding and marketing expert specializing in real estate. He is currently the Director of Marketing & Sales Training at Heartland Homes— a top 100 builder. You can interact with him on his blog at www.brandpossible.com.

So, on his first day’s lunch break, Bill opens his cooler, unwraps the sandwich, and complains, “Sardine sandwich? I hate sardine sandwiches.”

He throws out the undesirable meal and goes back to work, angry and still hungry.

The next day, he discovers not one, but two sardine sandwiches in his lunch box. He groans and tosses them in the trash.

On the third day, when he again discovers sardine sandwiches in his lunch box, his foreman suggests that he asks his wife to pack something else. He looks at the man and replies, “Nah, I pack my own lunch.”

Every day, we pack our own “lunches”, meaning we make our own choices. We decide how to dress, what actions to take, and how focused we will be on achieving our goals. Yet, so many people complain about their lives and their work. Albert Einstein once said the definition of insanity is repeating the same action over and over and expecting a different result. So, if you are conducting each day with the same mindset, the same energy (or lack thereof), and the same actions, you should not complain that your life is not meeting your expectations. In truth, you are not meeting your own expectations. You are failing yourself.

Is it time to pack a new lunch so you can savor a more flavorful life?

Motive + Action = Motivation.

Motivation is the compelling "Why" statement. “Why change?" "Why act?" "Why react?".

I’m not concerned with what you want, but rather why you want it. What is the compelling reason that lies beneath that desire? It’s not the "what" the gets you up in the morning, ready to tackle challenges and surge ahead. No, the motivation is the "why" statement. The desire to close a sale is the "What", but the "Why" reflects your ambition, the driving force that pushes you to reach a sales goal. Your "Why" statement is the reason you stay late, arrive early, overcome objection, swat away rejection, and keep moving forward, day after day.

When I work with clients, I tell them, "If I know why you want something, then I can help you get it." What is your motivation? Financial success? Personal gratification? The ability to take a nice vacation twice a year? Expansion? Exit strategy?

It’s fine to know what you want, but if you haven’t yet invested the time to determine why, then you might discover that there’s just not enough motive to trigger the action you need to achieve. Giving up on a goal means you didn’t have a strong enough "Why" statement. Before you give up, revisit the "Why".

Are you minding your business? As an entrepreneurial guru and the author of the E-Myth series Michael Gerber espouses, you can get so wrapped up with working in your business that you forget to work on your business.

Success is a mindset. To succeed, you have to be in the right mind. And that mind needs to be focused on the big picture of your business success. Look down the road. Where do you want to lead your company and its employees? What does your vision look like? Now, break it down and ask yourself what you need to do in order to navigate your business to reach that spot on the horizon. Create the plan to achieve your goals. Read books with ideas, strategy, and motivation. Take a class to expand your skills and knowledge. Stay focused. Ignore the bright, shiny objects that twinkle and shine. They are mere distractions that guide you farther away from your achievements. Stop looking back at what has happened and look ahead at what can be.

When your mind improves, your business will undoubtedly follow suit. Use "MYOB" as a constant reminder to stay focused on your goals.

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Once inside the house, I collapsed into the aforementioned chair, and was instantly met by my wife who told me I needed to talk to the landscaper because he needed some business advice. I can honestly say I felt like saying, "I’m fresh out," but anyone who knows me would just laugh at such a ludicrous thought.

I walked outside a few minutes (and sighs) later, and waved him down. He sheepishly said to me, "So, you’re the guy who teaches people how to make more money."

"That’s one way to put it," I replied. He waited for more so I turned the questioning to him. "How much are you charging me per hour for that tractor?"

"$75," he replied quickly.

"And how much for your time?"

$15 an hour," he said.

"So your equipment is worth more than you are. The answer to your challenge here is that you need to increase your value as a service provider or I will find that I have more need for the tractor than for you."

I then advised him that while he spent 8 hours a day riding a tractor, he could be listening to audio books that would give him numerous tips for increasing his business and his value. "Make your ultimate goal to become more valuable than your tractor," I said, and walked back to my comfy chair.

I was once sitting on the proverbial tractor. There I realized that my true value should be measured by what I bring to a client in terms of knowledge and skills, not replaceable equipment.

For some people, "just enough to get by" is sufficient – enough to pay the bills and enjoy life. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Then you meet someone special and realize you have to raise that level because your needs are greater. You want a decent home and a reliable car, and maybe have some savings tucked away for later. When you think about starting a family, the dollar value of "just enough" becomes quite a bit more.

My question is, why not start out with higher standards? Why not think bigger earlier in your life? Why not use that youthful energy to drive harder, deliver greater results, and earn more than just enough to get by? I think the lower standard is selfish. It deprives you of reaching your potential, making a greater difference, and helping others who can benefit from your success. There are myriad charitable organizations that have suffered greatly from the depressed economy, because donors have been forced to be less generous.

Hard work is the road to wealth. And wealth gives you the opportunity to be generous. It’s about giving. Scripturally, the Bible says I should give away 10% of my wealth. When I lower my own standards, I deprive myself, my family, and my community of the resources they need that I could provide if I were to push myself to deliver greater results and the ensuing income.

I have committed myself to becoming wealthy, not so that I can spend freely, but so I can donate freely, as I wish. I want to be able to share my success with others who deserve a helping hand. That’s the social obligation of wealth. And the reward is far greater than you will ever imagine.