Want something? A sale? Somebody's help? You may be leading with the wrong strategies and tactics. Fine tuning objection handling techniques. Product comparative analysis. Ensuring your SEO target words are driving inbound leads. A clever way to argue your point. Sure, all that’s important but masterful stories are critical as an upfront approach. Tell great stories or, better yet, create 'viral' stories and look what happens next...

Every one has a trip tradition. Buy a spoon or a mug. Drink a local brand of beer or keep the coaster. Hold onto a piece of currency or make sure you get “that stamp” on your passport. What has been our trip-tradition? Buy a piece of art. Over the years, we have aquired works from Ireland, Cuba, India, New Zealand and Russia. Closer to home, Dallas, San Antonio, New Orleans, Chicago and New York. It wasn’t until Paris in January, 2002 did we realize how important ‘story time’ is in our buying decision. So important that it crucial in the corporate landscape as well.

Paris in the winter will drive you indoors. The denture jangling, bone twisting, don’t stick your tongue on that bronze gargoyle COLD - gets you running for heat behind welcoming doors. Once inside you are compelled to buy something. By design, you go to the district in Paris where art galleries are waiting for appreciative buyers.

At the closest art-shop you see, you stumble through the door. The tiny brass bell designed to flip a latch and ding decides to ring into non-existence. The entire latch and bell blast off the hinge and ding, klang, bang its way across the worn wood floor. You turn to your spouse and say, “It’s so cold, the doors are freezing their bells off.” Your spouse would laugh but it was so frosty her lips aren’t ready for action just yet. Things heat up when she scans the room for a piece of art waiting to be the next in the acquisition tradition.

The art is appealing and has potential. You envision what pieces could go on which walls. A cherished memory from this trip is waiting for your Amex card.

“Could you tell us about this piece?”

The gallery attendant has her head buried in something on her screen. Her wood desk has nothing but a lamp and a computer on it. It is a tired desk ready for some paperwork. She looked up with a confident gaze and said, “It is one sousand Euros.”

Expecting more of a description we realized the attendant, the resident pro, the sales goddess was clearly not enthused about the first attractive piece.

“Could you tell us about zat one?” you accidentally ask in a French accent.

“Zees is seecks ‘undered Euros,” the ‘sales person’ says with more interest.

“Yes. Thank you. What can you tell us about it?” asks your spouse, giving the ideal person the room the chance to put the “sell” into sales.

“It is oil. It is possible to ship. It is elegant – oui?”

You try to like what you see but nothing is connecting. Could we rationalize the purchase anyway? It is, after all, our tradition. But, a half an hour later you leave the store empty handed. Unable to contain her annoyance, your spouse says under her breath, “Why buy something without a story?”

Immediately upon going back outside the temperature froze any further inclination to spend money or time on a piece of art. The moment was gone and the French GDP would have to do without our contribution.

Now, let’s talk about your sales strategy?

What are the tactics and strategies you use to close a sale? Do you sell products, services or both? Or, are you selling a specific initiative at work? Are you attempting to convince an external client or a colleague of a certain direction? Chances are, if your lips are moving you are trying to sell something. If that is the case, what will help your cause? Story Time.

Story Time in Sales has three key elements in common:

1. Story Time is Personal. The purveyor of the story needs to connect with the story. In the case of the art work, the attendant should have said something about how she enjoyed meeting the artist. If it was a widget, the seller would say how he uses it at home.
2. Story Time Paints a Picture. When telling the stories, bring the listener into the experience. For example, the art gallery dud of a saleswoman could have said, the art was painted on the cold spring day where the artist had to warm her oils in her pants pockets. The widget seller could say the invention was an accidental result of trying to design a motion sensitive light and the widget became a better item.
3. Story Time is Experiential. Bring your purchaser into an experience rather than just being an observer. That means the art gallery lady could have engaged more. She could have asked about the design of our home. Mentioned how the artist was the same age as we were and how he always wants to keep every piece he paints.

If you want your stories to travel, make them compelling.

If you want to add rocket fuel to the sale, turn the sale into its own unique story that is a personal, picture painting experience. Do this and your product or service comes with an echo effect.

Case in point: I was test driving a Tesla. The copilot said, “At this straight away, step on it. Don’t worry. You won’t scare me.” I had no idea what he was talking about until the accelerator touched the carpet. With a zero to 60 mph in under 4 seconds, head pinned back, wheel gripping ride, the ‘copilot’ created a story I’ve told over and over. It was personal! The car painted the picture! It was tantalizingly, spine-buzzing experiential!

When a product, service, direction or idea captivates someone’s imagination it gets told repeatedly at the “purchaser’s” home or office. Like an objet d’art, the story about what you sell ripples across time and distance.

When others come through your door looking for the same thing, this means more sales.

Want to make your intentions sticky. Use story time and the improvement in your results will amaze.

Promotional Capstone about the Author: Vince Poscente has been described as an invigorating and masterful story teller. He is an in-demand motivational keynote speaker on the topic of Full Speed Ahead and inductee into the Speaker Hall of Fame. Vince is a New York Times bestselling author and Olympic competitor. Encounter his story about going from recreational skier to the Olympic Games in just four years, and you’ll have your own personal experience of Full Speed Ahead painted in your imagination. www.VincePoscente.com/video He can be reached through info@vinceposcente.com

A recent Wall Street Journal article affirms, Parents, let it happen instead of coaching your kids from the stands. Yeah. Makes sense. But, don’t be so sure with my Senior Citizen mom. Press the point and she’d probably mutter, "Well get off the ice if you’re not going to hustle."

Back-checking in hockey is a term primarily for forwards chasing down opponents on their offensive rush. Much like Horse-to-Barn, players find extra energy with the puck, while the opposition’s net is the barn. Your legs pump harder. Motivation increases. But without the puck, fear of being scored on increases while the muscles don’t get any motivational message.

It’s a paradoxical phenomenon. Salespeople agree... “The fear of loss is a greater motivator than the opportunity to gain.” Example? Black Friday shoppers line up at midnight to ensure they don’t miss out on a limited inventory's great deal. Put a sign out that says, "Sale" and you may get a few curious shoppers. Meh… Put a sign that says “Sale. Today Only” and interest spikes. Giddy up.

Flip the scenario for hockey forwards. The second you sense a chance to score a goal, adrenaline spikes. (The opportunity to gain.) But, the second you lose the puck to the opposing team, it’s a collective, “Oh crap. Now I have to chase a smelly guy around the ice to prevent him from scoring.” (The fear of loss.) 

This is where Mom’s voice kicks in. Each winter, Mom bugs-out of Edmonton to warmer Dallas climes.  God knows she has seen enough youth-hockey games in the sixties and seventies. But, she gets a kick out of coming to her 53-year-old son’s hockey contests. Trust me on this one, being a back-checking forward in your 50’s is NOT enticing. But, the sound of her familiar voice yelling out, “Hustle back Vince. Hustle!” is enough to reach down and get after the play. Amazingly, back-check hard enough and you’ll catch your opponents off guard a little – sometimes, a lot. Case in point: Playing hockey in Australia.

Thirty plus years ago, a chance to play a few weeks of hockey popped up in Sydney. Within seconds of starting the first game, it became clear both teams had an unwritten rule. “Mate, if you’re good enough to take the puck away from us, then you can skate down ice and take on our defensemen and goalie. I’ll get there in a tick.”

Cue Mom’s voice (despite being 8,258 miles away), “Hustle Vince. Hustle!” All neglected to point out their unwritten rule. I’d skate back, lift the stick of the unsuspecting offensive rusher and take the puck. Eleven players, teammates and opponents alike, seemed shocked to suddenly flip directions. We won every match during that stretch of games.

Finding an advantage in the business of life starts with what the competition is not willing to do.

Who’s cheering you to back-check?

Thanks Mom!

The trail held treasures for those willing to stop and look. Yet, the most delicious fruit was within reach - but untouched. Most were willing to comfortably pick low-hanging fruit. The best berries required stretching through some prickly branches. Human nature revealed itself in Mother Nature. When there is some form of resistance, our natural tendency is to stop short - even when there are treasures just beyond that invisible comfort-zone.  

John Steinbeck's iconic novel, The Grapes of Wrath, is about a depression-era family looking for hope and a better life. After their farm is seized by the bank, the family heads to California. On their difficult journey the Joads family discover their destination is not what they expected.

Ok, let's get one detail out of the way. Our “grapes” were actually blackberries. The combination of the Steinbeck metaphor, a blackberry's resemblance to grapes and this writer's pension for alliteration; made the title, The Grapes of Resistance, irresistible. The Blackberries of Wrath really doesn't have the same resonance to it. Think of this poet’s license as a way for you to stretch your imagination.

Let's carry on the trail.

Funny enough, the insight on human nature in Mother Nature didn't occur until; nature called. Tucked into part of the trail, out of sight from other hikers, the blackberries called out, "Pick me." Immediately, blackberry bushes were obvious every few steps on the path. The berries were in season and the most accessible bushes were picked over on the Lacamas Lake Trail. Take a step towards the very edge, saddle up to the branches, carefully reach into the chaotic web of barbs and you could rescue the tastiest berries destined for an unceremonious date with gravity and terra firma.  

Short people are regularly reminded of their vertical challenges when reaching for anything. We fantasize about comfortably reaching for stuff on higher shelves. (Those annoying tall people never fantasize about being short - unless, of course, they fly in coach.) Today was no exception. The Grapes of Resistance became an epiphany. If a Hobbit like me could access these berries with a little extra effort, anyone could. But they didn't.

What is the opportunity within your reach but mired in some form of resistance?

First, recognize opportunity just off your path.

Second, step as close to the resistance as possible (without getting hurt) and reach in.

Third, carefully choose the fruit that will nurture you.

Fourth, there's no need to be greedy. Ever. Abundance is everywhere with plenty of people stopping short when there is resistance.

Fifth, pick what you can comfortable hold, share and enjoy.

The Great Depression impacted millions of lives and inspired a classic narrative about struggle. You have delicious opportunities waiting for you and your family. Reach past human nature. Go through the resistance. Share HOPE and enjoy.

Expensive meetings, a truckload of logistical necessities and communication breakdowns coming from any direction can make a professional meeting planner weak in the knees. Plan your corporate event right and you are the hero. But, make any of these three pesky planning mistakes and you may wish you had stayed home.

1^st Pesky Mistake: The Mismatch Maker

Be sure the people you connect with tasks are a match made in heaven. Like an old-school matchmaker who decrees relationship compatibility, coupling someone’s skills with the needs at hand are critical. You may have a gut feel for someone or sense you can take a chance on a trusted employee, but beware. You don't want to be a "Mismatch Maker."

Un-mistake Able Tip: Planning a meeting is like taming a dragon with ten heads. Match proven skills with the vision you have for your event. To do this, start with the end in mind. Work backwards with this one simple question, “In order for this outcome to happen, this (insert action) has to occur.” Repeat this until you have worked your way back to today. With one ultimate outcome, immediately split the next level into various entities: Attendees, Executives, Vendors, Contractors and Planners. You can come up with other categories as well. You will notice certain people have the skill set to fulfill certain actions. This is a flow-chart, similar to a sideways family tree or a sports bracket.

2^nd Pesky Mistake: You Didn’t Track Your Twerks with Tweaks

When young Miley twerked her way into our consciousness, it became an oft repeated phrase, “That’s dancing?” The same can be said for any proverbial “left turn” in our plans. When the unexpected ‘twerk’ happens in your planning, you simply, in real-time, need to tweak your plans. Or you’ll have a foam finger pointed at you and an uproar on your hands.

Un-mistake Able Tip: Consistently tweak as the weeks and days approach your big event. Tweaking involves three things: document, communicate and manage revisions. Changes in travel, weather, seating, food, speakers and the gazillion other logistics will happen. Leading up to your meeting, constantly be on the ready to track your ‘twerks’ with tweaks.

3^rd Pesky Mistake: Only a Handful of Contingencies

Every planner has contingencies in mind but it is huge mistake to only have a few in place. For example, with an outdoor event, what if the weather changes where will we go? Ending your contingency planning here would be a mistake. This is your chance to go over the top with contingencies. 

Un-mistake Able Tip: This is where multiple heads are better than one. In your planning phase, map out the various contingencies for every possible situation you can get your hands on.The more contingencies you can imagine, with a contingency sequence, the more prepared you are. Basically, dive deep in with this senctence, "If this, then that." This can be a fun process rather than an arduous task.

Split your planning team into groups and have each map out their ideas on contingencies. Being aware of any weak spots in what you planned can pay off big time when it is ‘show time.’

About the author. Vince Poscente has spoken to over a 1,500 meetings in every setting imaginable:

• Sunrise at the Acropolis
• Outdoor Bahamas event in gale force winds
• Flatbed stage while the Olympic torch comes from the other end of the street
• 6am motivational keynote in a cardboard manufacturing plant
• 18,000 network marketers
• 12 double PhD’s at a Fortune 500 company think-tank
• 5,000 home-based-business females who admitted, “We don’t get out much.”
• Countless, convention ballrooms full of salespeople / leaders / user groups / IT pros / (you name it)

He has partnered with numerous professional planners as a keynote speaker who cares about the meeting outcomes.

If you would like to spend 15 minutes discussing your next meeting with Vince Poscente, click here. 

We speakers love our hotel partners; with one exception. We can't say the same about the guy who sets up the chairs. Time and again, the conference room is set up the same. Huuuuuuuuge middle aisle. Laser beam straight rows. An acre of property between the front row and the stage. Before your speaker even hits the stage, the energy in the room is compromised. 

The opposite end of the room set-up spectrum is a case in point for amplifying energy at your event. If you have ever been to a stand-up comedy club you know what they do. They cram seats together in a seemly chaotic mish-mash of table and seat angles. The front row guests literally bump their knees up to the stage. The stage is surrounded on three sides with seats. Back seats are not opened up until the remaining attendees filter in. Before the stand-up commedian hits the stage, there is a buzz in the room. 

At a corporate conference, there is a nice balance between the picture above and the randomness of a comedy club. The bottom line is this: Make sure you are dedicted to building energy in the room before hand. This starts with the seating arrangement. 

There is no exact seating design that works for every room, but generally follow these three rules.

1. Eliminate the Center Aisle -  Give your presenters a fighting chance by filling THE most important real estate in the room with humans, not dead air. You can easily add two rows on either side of the center. Boom! Problem solved. 

2. Apply the Tiny Ten - Ten feet is all a speaker needs to have a relatively good rapport with the front row. It helps if you fill those seats. Have you ever noticed, when the seats are free, such as church and conferences, the back rows fill up first. When the seats cost money, the front row is coveted. Help your speaker fill the front first. A tiny, ten feet will be a boost to the energy exchange between audience and speaker.

3. Use the 114 Degree Rule - Amp the energy in a room by ensuring everyone has a peripheral view of their seat mates. As you are looking at this screen, broaden your gaze to your peripheral vision. You have a visual awareness of approximatelly a third of 360 degrees. If someone was sitting directly beside you you could not see their face. If they were within a 114 degree scope of your vision, their expressions zoom into your awareness. Bring each of the chairs within peripheral view of each other and you added another layer of energetic buzz to your room.  

Ask Us How your meeting can have a better ROI from one keynote speech. 

What would happen if we eliminated all the "adult daycare drama" out of a sales organization? Let’s fantasize for a moment… that happy place in corporate la-la land. What if a sale’s manager’s job was not managing people problems? What if his or her sole focus was just on improving sales? 

No damage control on who hurt who has feelings. No fragile egos running to the managers office to complain about stuff. An entire office of people 100% accountable for their actions and results. 

Don’t jump out of the dream just yet. Imagine a sales manager who could spend his or her time as follows:

• 35% on generating leads for the sales people
• 35% on improving efficiency of sales operations
• 20% on internal effectiveness initiatives like less paperwork
• 10% on protecting the rebels and their wellspring of innovation

How would that accelerate your organization’s sales?

You might be fortunate to be part of a well-oiled, highly accountable sales division.

You might be part of a semi-dysfunctional sales group.

Or you might be suffering in a sales organization that is like an adult daycare.

Whatever your situation, the sales team can always improve.

Be a part of the solution. Find ways to own the problem.

Do this and your sales numbers will soar and your drama will whither.

Need help with focusing your sales team? Would a motivational kick-in-the-pants help? Check our availability...

Life balance? HA! But think about how fun balance can be when you're on a see saw. You're up. You're down. Sometimes your skinny butt stays up because the 'husky' kid won't let you down. During this time, take a breather, sharpen your (SEE things clearer) SAW. 

Senior Covey's 7th habit, "Sharpen your Saw" reminds us, "... preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have–you. It means having a balanced program for self-renewal in the four areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual."

There is that word again, balance. HA! HA! We are so busy, we simply drive past logic. We each, unconsciously believe we need to keep driving forward, cutting wood, bouncing up and down on the see saw. 

YOU ARE DOING IT RIGHT NOW.

You are likely blasting through this article so you can get onto your next activity. Odds are your time is tight and you can't rationalize taking anything more than a 70 second break. Unless you take control of your life starting now. 

Take control of your life, one of two ways.

1. Be Impulsive about slowing down. Here's a little test. Let's see how you do. To the left is an 8 minute video. It is PACKED with powerful information designed to improve your life. If you impulsively took 8 minutes and dedicated it to sharpening your own (SEE things clearer) SAW you may just be yelling "Timber" more often today. Take time to sharpen you - and you get more done.  

2. Be Tactical about taking a break. Every Wednesday, fellow hockey buddies invest time with a Stanley Cup champion (Brent Severyn) for skills training. We love the one on one learning with an NHL professional. Is it manditory we each take time to sharpen our skills for beer league hockey? No. But it makes playing the game more fun. The same goes for the game of life in your world. As for the business of life... leading up to each Wednesday, a few hours are spent writing this eBrief for you. Is it essential you get to read a free eBrief from yours truly. No. But each week, my writing skills get sharpened, a little at a time. With your welcoming mind, I plan on being a better writer and motivational keynote speaker.

Hopefully, you took a moment and watched the video clip above.

Fingers crossed you will get more tactical about forcing some balance into your life.

Balance? HA HA HA... this SEE SAW is a great ride.

Is our 24/7, instant message, more-faster-now world eating us alive or setting us free? A recent nationwide “Speed Survey” has some answers for us. The results reveal how we are seemingly, just surviving vs thriving. (I’ll save the stats on sex vs high speed technology until the end.)

• 9 out of 10 employees are feeling rushed several times per week if not every day
• 9 out of 10 feel they have to get more done in less time

This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone but check this out:

• 1/2 feel that in order to succeed they need to slow things down
• yet 3/4 feel the pace of work will only increase in the next five years

There is a disconnect that must not be ignored here. Most of us are approaching or in the thick of overwhelm and more than half believe that slowing down is the answer to success but most are convinced things will only get faster.

YIKES!

It reminds me of a nightmare where things only get worse the harder you try to get past the struggle. Folks, there is an oncoming force and it is called “speed.” And a large percentage of corporate managers are ignoring this force.

• Over 2 out of 5 feel that management doesn’t understand the impact of the more-faster-now demands on the employees in our organizations.
• While 1 out of 3 employees are uncomfortable with the demands for speed in their company

Somebody’s in for a wake-up call.

• 1/3rd of all respondents don’t feel their organization is embracing speed.
• and 1/3rd people feel their organization is more stressful and intense than ever.

An interesting theme was revealed in the Speed Survey. We want to HAVE things faster, but we don’t necessarily want to DO things faster. Speed becomes a love, hate relationship and it is only going to paradoxically intensify.

According to Scott Cook, the Chairman and co-founder of Intuit (the makers of Quicken and Quick Books) says, there is a “speed tsunami that’s overtaking business and life.”

Where will the solution come from? How can we make the oncoming force of speed in our world our friend, not the enemy? The answer lies in being able to both embrace speed and harness this oncoming force that Cook talks about.

Now for the Sex vs High Speed Technology.

• 1/3rd of our survey respondents would give up sex for week before they would give up their high speed internet connection or their email
• 1/3rd would pass on the PDA in favor or a week of whoopy.

So there you go. Life in the age of speed is truly interesting and one to be reckoned with. Harness speed and leave chaos behind.

(Click the book to invest in a hard cover copy of The Age of Speed)

Nine years later, a flashback of nearly dying keeps resurfacing.

It was on the summit attempt of Chakri Peak when we were faced with a twenty-foot rock-wall as the last challenge before reaching the mountain top. I kept thinking about a friend in college who went rock climbing one weekend and didn’t come home. His hand slipped, he fell and died from internal bleeding. He was nineteen years old.

At the time I thought it was tragic that such a young soul would have to perish doing what seemed like an overly dangerous sport. But, there I was, approaching 17,000 feet, in the Himalayas of India staring at my options on a rock face. Our leader, Jeff Salz (part mountain goat, all friend, also a motivational keynote speaker), had scampered up the face in a matter of seconds. My skills weren’t near his so I took my time.

The way he went up seemed too difficult for me. So, I stepped back and reassessed other options. To the left it was just as steep but it appeared to have more of a pronounced set of foot and hand holds. The draw back wa it overhung a 1000-foot drop. But, falling wasn’t an option, climbing was the objective.

As I tested my foothold everything seemed perfect. The first handhold was just as solid so I reached out further over the cliff to grab onto a rock with my left hand. This is when things went wrong.

From an observer’s standpoint it probably looked like I just reached up, grabbed a rock, changed my mind and backtracked. Yet, in my own skin, it was far more tenuous of a maneuver. As I grabbed the furthest rock with my left hand it felt good for a second but as I engaged more weight it started to pull out of the loose rock wall.

Had I hung on for anymore time, it would have dislodged and I would have cart wheeled to the left spinning like a starfish towards a nasty thud on the rocks below. Shards of time separated disaster from recovery. In a quick and decisive move my boot blindly found the previous foothold and I stepped back into a safe space. What could have been a horrible fall ended up being an education in what wouldn’t work. Jeff’s path turned out to be the best one after all.

Accelerating decision-making in rock climbing or any pursuit in life can have the same sort of outcome. There are three things that relate to a little speed making a big difference.

1. Don’t freeze. The worst mistake would have been freezing long enough for it to be too late to backtrack. The biggest blunder you can make in a touch-and-go situation is to freeze.

2. Multiply your options. Rock climbing is a blend of art and technique. Climbing our way through life is the same. Keep scanning your path for options. Like a chess player, pick a strategy where you multiply your options.

3. Trust your instinct. We each have an innate capability or aptitude with more situations than we are conscious of. The sheer power of the subconscious mind can handle a variety of problems at high speed.

The little extra speed with which you handle a situation can translate into a big difference in many parts of your life. Take a moment and see where you are stopping yourself. Take an inventory of your options and trust your instinct. Move deliberately and move quickly.

Do this and you’ll (safely) reach your BIG GOALS in ½ the time.

NOTE: I have a new keynote called BIG GOALS FAST. You may have a group interested in reaching thier own lofty objectives. ASK US HOW.

When Starlighter was past her prime, Dale Leicht took her in. Years ago, Starlighter was a finalist in the Fort Worth Cutting Horse Futurity. One day, in a dimly lit practice arena, Starlighter taught me how to get in sync with high-speed decisions.

I watched as other skilled riders worked with their horses. As each herd of calves was approached the horse morphed into a massive feline. Ears would twitch back and front haunches would lower. Rider and horse found a near telepathic way of selecting the calf to be cut from the heard. Back and forth, rider and horse faced the selected calf looking for the chance to cut it from the pack. As options for the calf diminished the horse’s posture was even more determined.

The herd started with dozen calves. Then six would be cut out. Then three. Then two. In a flurried dance the front hooves pounced left or right as a desperate calf tried to reunite with the group. If rider and horse worked well together within the permitted two and half minutes, the selected calf gets cut off completely from the herd and the team’s artistic score is recorded. But this was practice and it was my turn.

I naively rode Starlighter toward the dozen calves. As we got closer it became a guessing game which calf Starlighter had her eye on. And I am quite sure Starlighter was wondering if the bozo on her back would give her a clue which calf, said bozo, had chosen.

Finally there was one calf that stood out. Quickly we cut the heard in half and then reduced the grouping to three. Starlighter eased into the zone she’d been trained to engage. I buried my boots into the stirrups, kept a death grip on the horn and held my other hand with reins just above the mane.

In a flash our designated calf made a run for the herd. Starlighter saw it before I did. The feeling of a 2000 pound animal making an instantaneous 180 degree shift caught me off guard. As Starlighter deeked right I was like Wile E. Coyote on the left, suspended in midair. While my entire body was leaving the saddle, I thrust my right heel toward the horn, hooked it and pulled myself back onto my cutting steed.

Back in the saddle we continued the somewhat poetic dance of rider and cutting horse. As I write I am reliving the feeling of syncing with Starlighter’s powerful flanks. Back and forth. Grace and power blended. I get shivers thinking about it because years later I vividly remember the feeling.

After we cut the calf I got off the Starlighter and walked her past a seasoned cowboy. I was clearly buzzing from my experience. Trying to be funny I said, “Betcha never seen a move like that? Did you see how I kept on the horse with my heel?”

“Weren’t you,” said the cowboy. “Starlighter knew your was falling off, scooped you back up and then went back to cuttin’… she musta felt sorry for ya.”

Starlighter, not the cowboy, taught me a lesson that day. When quick decisions are about to be made you had better be in anticipation mode.

Be ready for anything, even a 180 degree change. If that kind of decision occurs, blend with it, get the most from it. If you do you will enjoy the ride.

If you would like a motivational story like this or a tailored inspirational / dealing with change message for your people... just ASK US HOW.