Prosperity For You

The Customer's Perspective

Every week day I receive an email from The Credit Union Journal.  It helps me stay up to date with what is going on in the industry each day.  Some articles are pretty interesting and others (the ones that mention what bank or credit union got robbed yesterday) are pretty useless from my point of view.  Maybe the security team at a nearby credit union needs to know this, but I would think they would get word of it much quicker from some other source than an email that they may or may not read the next morning.  Anyway, I digress.

The point of this post today is one of the articles in today's email mentions a study that was done by The Bank Administration Institute. 

"The "Frontline Experience Study" of 3,700 consumers found that consumers and banks view what constitutes a "relationship" in different terms. While banks view relationships as the number of accounts a person has with a bank, consumers viewed relationships in terms of trust and confidence and acting in the consumer's best interest."

There is a disconnect there that needs to be rectified.  Maybe that is why one of the Assistant Vice Presidents of Citibank is making door to door sales calls to set up new accounts.

It is time to take a look at our business from our customer's perspective.  I know that sounds like something that everyone should be doing but the banks don't seem to be getting it.  Maybe it is time we stopped and actually listened to our customers.  When was the last time you actually called up one of your customers and asked them what they thought of your business or services or how you might improve your service to them?

I am reading a book now called The Big Moo which is a book of short vignettes about being remarkable that was compiled by Seth Godin.  In this book there are several short stories about being remarkable by finding out exactly what it is that your customers want from you.  I would encourage you to get a copy.  All proceeds go to charity and it can really inspire some creative thinking.

Have a great day!
Ken

Appreciation, Gratitude and Thankfulness

I have been thinking quite a bit about this lately and then I read a post on my friend Rosa Say's Talking Story Blog entitled A Mahalo 3by3: Appreciation, Gratitude, Thankfulness.

It wasn't really that long ago when I started becoming aware of the value of gratitude and thankfulness in my life.  When I was little I was taught to send thank you cards for gifts that I received but was never really forced to do it, so many times it just didn't happen.  I have also worked to teach my step-daughter the consideration of sending a thank you note for gifts received and maybe one day she will do it on her own without prompting.

It wasn't until about two years ago when I began really practicing the lost art of writing a thank you note.  I went to the stationary store and bought some really nice Crane note paper with matching envelopes.  I started with my clients.  Shortly after I received agreements I would sit down and jot a quick note of thanks.  Now that is seeping into my every day life.

I recently found a small book called A Gentleman Pens a Note which has examples of notes for all types of situations.  I keep this book on my desk at home so that I can reference it easily when the time comes to write a note.

I received a note like this recently and it really brightened my day.  I now look for opportunities to send a quick note to someone.  I know how it feels to be appreciated and I want others to feel the same way.

Take a minute now to think of five things that you are thankful for.  Did someone do something for you lately?  Did they buy you lunch or dinner or even a cup of coffee?  What do you think they would do if they got a short note from you thanking them for a cup of coffee?!!

In addition to thank you notes, I have also gotten into the habit of sending birthday cards to people in my address book if I know their birth date; friends, family, clients, acquaintances, you name it.  It's pretty nice getting cards from people when you didn't even expect it.

This is one of those little things you can do to improve the relationships in your life.  Give it a try.

Have a great day!
Ken

The Butterfly Effect

I have been thinking alot about The Butterfly Effect lately.  At Wikipedia they describe this phenomenon as follows: "The Butterfly Effect is a phrase that encapsulates the more technical notion of sensitive dependence on initial conditions in chaos theory. The idea is that small variations in the initial conditions of a dynamical system produce large variations in the long term behavior of the system."

For a more thorough description of Chaos Theory click here.  My purpose today is not to get into the intricacies of chaos theory, but to show how it can play a part in our lives in many areas, especially those that we focus on in this blog and through our web site, Realizing Greater Wealth, Health and Relationships.

The Butterfly Effect on Your Wealth

Many people tell me, "Ken, I just don't have enough money to start an IRA", or "Ken, I don't have enough money to start investing in a mutual fund," or "Ken, I don't have enough money to tithe.  We are barely making ends meet as it is."  Well, it just doesn't take as much money as you think.

When I started working with the Five-Account System, I made a decision that I would just deposit $5 each week into one of the accounts.  All my income went into the Income Account, so that meant that I was saving just $20 per month ($5 into each of the other four accounts).

Once I made that decision, things started unexplainably getting better for me.  I wasn't doing anything different, but pretty soon, I was depositing $5 in each of the accounts every week.  Pretty soon it was much more than that.  Once you get started it gets easier and easier.

Start saving now and put the magic of compounding interest to work for you.  It could make you a millionaire.

The Butterfly Effect on Your Health

The smallest changes in your diet can also have a tremendous effect on your long-term health.  As stated on the Vegetarian Nutrition web site, "In the U.S., consumption of sugar and corn syrup amounts to about 130 to 140 pounds per person per year, or 40 tsp. per person per day. This represents a daily intake of about 650 calories of sugar.  A 12 oz. coke or soda pop contains 7-8 tsp. of sugar."

Think about this: if you just cut out one soda a day that would reduce your caloric intake by about 140 calories - every single day!  That's 980 calories per week.  It takes me about 35 minutes to burn 140 calories on the treadmill and I burn them at a higher rate than the average person because I am just a big boy.

I would much rather give up the cokes and not have to work out so long to burn up those calories.  In fact, in February of last year I quit drinking Coke and Dr. Pepper altogether.  I haven't lost any weight, but I feel much better.  Before I gave them up, I constantly had sinus issues and would live on Tylenol Sinus.  In the last year and a half I have probably only taken sinus medicine two or three times when the weather actually caused problems with my sinuses.  I think Tylenol is wonderful but I am really glad that I don't have to use it on a regular basis anymore. 

I kind of went off on a tangent there, but you get the idea.  Small things that you do for your health today can pay huge dividends later in life.

The Butterfly Effect on Your Relationships

When you look at the Butterfly Effect and your relationships you can see that taking a little time to consider others can also pay off handsomely for you.  When you take the time to really listen to people, or send them a card letting them know you are thinking about them, or take your wife or girlfriend some flowers for no reason, that goes a long way toward improving your relationships.

On the other hand, if you take advantage of people every chance you get or mistreat them, or criticize them, then pretty soon nobody wants to be around you because of your attitude.

I would much rather take a minute to recognize someone and befriend them for life than to create an enemy.

That's enough for today.  Thanks for reading.

Have a great day!
Ken

Dining on the Road

I always enjoy finding a good restaurant when I am on the road.  Tonight was one of those times. 

When I check into the hotel I usually ask for a list of local restaurants.  This list usually includes all the usual casual dining places such as Chili's, Bennigan's, Applebee's and so on.

Well, tonight I was headed for Don Pablos for a litte Tex-Mex away from Texas.  When I got there, I noticed the restaurant right next door seemed to be much busier, which for a traveler is always a good sign, so I decided that I would give it a try.

The name of the restaurant is Jake's City Grille and it was wonderful.  The food was outstanding and the service was top notch.  I had the Fire Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Jake's fries.  The sandwich was a seasoned chicken breast on fresh (and I mean fresh) focaccia bread with a spicy barbecue sauce called Jake's sauce.  Jake's fries were a little thinner than I typically like, but they were cooked perfectly.  Most of the time, when restaurants try to serve up thinner fries, they are typically overcooked and crispy.  Maybe some people like this, but I'm not one of them.

I learned by talking with one of the managers that Jake's is owned by a local restaurant group that owns a couple of other restaurants in the area.  The other restaurants are revamping their web sites, so he declined to give me their URLs.

If you are ever in Eagan, MN just south of St. Paul, or you happen to live in the area, it is definitely worth a visit.  And if you know of the other restaurants owned by this group send me an email.  I would like to visit one of them the next time I am in the area.

Here is their contact information: Jake's City Grille, 1288 Promenade Place, Eagan, MN 55121.  Their phone number is 651-287-8784.

Have a great day!
Ken

Total Control

Ann and I were talking this morning and I have a few more thoughts on thoughts to share with you. 

This is basically an extension of my post from a few days ago. I have also included this along with a couple of articles in this month's edition of The Prosperous Times.  The Prosperous Times is a monthly newsletter that I send out near the beginning of each month.  It typically contains longer, more involved articles than what I post to this blog.  If you would like to receive your own copy sign up here.

Now to our latest thoughts.

The only thing you have total control of is your thoughts.  The only thing you have any control of is your thoughts.

We want to control other people; bosses, spouses and especially our children. We want to control our spending and the weather, yet the only thing we can control are our thoughts about each of them.

We can choose positive or negative thoughts and those thoughts are what direct the paths we take in life. When we realize that our thoughts affect our reality and we can choose what to think about then we ultimately do have control over the events and people in our lives.

Let me give you an example. If you think your boss is a real SOB then any time you interact with him you will see the SOB. If you choose to think of him in a positive manner and realize that he is doing everything he knows how to do, in the way he knows how to do it, to make you and your team and your company successful, the you will begin to understand his motivations and be able to see the positive aspects of his personality.

Our thoughts then direct our actions but everything begins with our thoughts.

How many times have you begun to feel symptoms of a cold and then you start thinking "Oh my, I'm about to get really sick.  I always get really sick for about a week this time of year because of the changing weather."

I actually used to have that thought.  Now when I start to feel symptoms of a cold come on I tell myself "Oh well, its just something in the air and it will pass soon."  Since I started thinking this I haven't been really sick in several years.

Yeah, I've had a head cold for a day or two at the most, but I don't get sidelined by illness at all any more. Try this yourself.  It's the perfect time of year.

Have a great day!
Ken

Do Your Beliefs Reflect Reality or Create it?

Wow!  In my opinion, Steve Pavlina really hits a home run with his article today entitled Do Your Beliefs Reflect Reality or Create it?

Here is an excerpt:

"Your thoughts are not merely passive observations. They have a creative component to them. And that component, however small it may be, means that you are creating whenever you think. You’re either directly making decisions, or you’re programming your subconscious, or you’re putting out superconscious intentions that will eventually manifest in some way."

The article is a fairly long one, but goes right to the heart of creating your own reality.  What you believe you will see and vice versa.

Wayne Dyer wrote a book several years ago called You'll See It When You Believe It.  That entire book could be summed up in Steve's article today.  Take the time now to go and read it.  Print it out.  Think about it.  Digest it and begin today to change your reality.

Have a great day!
Ken