He talks in his book about the “biological difference” between Choking and Panicking. Choking is when we over think an activity to the point it paralyzes our free flowing movement that has been learned through repetition and practice to become almost an involuntary movement like “free throw shooting” or a “tennis serve.” We “think” ourselves through something that used to be natural and it causes us to hit the net or the backboard.

Panicking is the total opposite of that; we give up the thinking process altogether and shut down to utter survival mode. This is the same physical state that has a drowning victim grab on to and drown someone else. They have lost control and literally are not thinking.

To succeed in business you have to get to a place where you realize that panicking is not an option, choking is inevitable and success is about staying moving in flow.

In business so often we face crisis or what we “perceive” is a crisis. This can lead to panicking or choking. Choking is ok, because if we choke in a sales meeting we can recognize the specific behaviors like, stuttering, not listening, talking too fast or not asking the right questions. We can slow down to a methodical pace that will let us realize how we can catch ourselves. We can start over mid sale or work. If we panic we just may run over the client with our presentation and fail to “catch” ourselves to slow down and let the client give us the feedback we need to move the deal forward.

Choking is inevitable in business if you really are growing. You will get to a point where your challenge is larger than you were ready for and skills you used to have like managing stress or people will seem to leave you.

Slow down; think your way through it. . . What always helps me is looking at the “worst case scenario” and doing a quick plan on what I would do to make it through this.

Then I turn back to the outcome I want to have happen. I ask myself “what do I have to accomplish to make it happen?”

Create a “to do” list and go to work. This slowing down or choking in these instances can save and grow your business.

What is so important in “business” is that you never panic. Choking is just fine. The “fight or flight” instinct that enables you to run faster or hit harder can be your worst enemy when it comes to running your
business.

It is about slowing the decision process down, not stopping it entirely. If the economy slows you examine more carefully how you spend your marketing dollars. You don’t stop entirely. If you’re best employee wants a raise because they have been made a better offer, you ask what the real issues are and see what else is going on; you don’t just react with a “ransom” raise.

It’s ok to choke a little bit, just methodically push yourself through what used to come natural to you.

Tony Scelzo
Rainmakers Marketing Group
317-216-6345
Tony@gorainmakers.com

The average president has had his cabinet made up of a minimum of 38% business owners. This president has 8%.

After re-staffing the executive ranks in AIG, we are now telling them how they can pay, not letting them have private jets and then questioning their marketing sponsorships. Congratulations. We now have a country run by nothing but attorneys. It is just downright UN-American. How are we going to get the world’s best business talent to address these government investments if we don’t reward them accordingly to their efforts?

Now we are about to allow the government take over one of the largestexpenses in our country’s history. Our ailing health care program is being proposed to be run by the same organization that brought you $300 dollar hammers and $200 dollar staplers. Can we please go back to independence and freedom and the AMERICAN way? Can we God forbid, go back to capitalism? Can we go back to a country of volunteer politicians that have and hold real jobs in the real world? Can we go back to capitalism and have the court of public opinion be the real voting system for what works in this country instead of what lawyers think we ought to do by their, guess, 2 trillion dollar experiment?

Tony Scelzo
Rainmakers Marketing Group
317-216-6345
Tony@gorainmakers.com

For those who would like to express themselves on this topic: for consideration, please email your contribution to johng@indysmallbiz.com

For me, Jim was the first person to ask the question, “What is your philosophy on life?” For me, that is one of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself.

I just re-read or “listened” to one his earlier programs. It was so timely for me. Again, he asks the question, “what is your philosophy on life?”

This is why I feel it is so powerful: Most people have never really determined their philosophy and therefore probably not determined their future. Jim was one of the people that really helped me understand the creed for Rainmakers “Be More, Serve More.”

I think the most powerful thing I learned from Jim was that we need to work harder on ourselves than we do in our job. Americans are a nation of hard workers. But are we a nation of “hard thinkers?” I really don’t think we are. I think we don’t take the time to reflect, read, contemplate, test, fail, and try again in our heads. We want directions for everything, and we think the world owes us these directions.

I know “Be More, Serve More” is a tough act to hold ourselves to. The idea that constantly investing in yourself will give you the ability to serve that many more people. It is big! It’s bigger than us, bigger than 1,500 members, and bigger than business or general growth. I know I fail many times to live to this philosophy. I will use one of Jim’s lines for this:
“Listen to me intently but don’t watch me too close.”

Philosophies are those perfect ideas we use to measure ourselves against and strive to achieve but can never completely live up to, whether it is yours, a person you admire, founded in religion or whatever. They push us to strive to another level.

This weekend I went to see Kid Rock in Detroit. I knew Kid Rock when he was playing crap bars in Ferndale and East Lansing in Michigan to crowds of 30 instead of 30,000. He is far from perfect, but he does have a basic philosophy that good music is good music, from Run/DMC to Leonard Skynard.

And this good music should be appreciated because it is good, not because of the color or social background of the artist. In 2 1/2 hours he had black, white and yellow singing amen and shaking hands with their neighbors. He gave us a better experience of ourselves. I truly admired him for it.
He is true to his philosophy and because of that people are drawn to and love his music. They Your Philosophy and you will find your path! If a redneck, mullet wearing, skinny kid from Detroit can do it. So can you!

Tony Scelzo

Ok. I have a friend,  we all probably have one.  They are really successful,  despite themselves. Their theory on life is “I am a hammer and the world is a nail.”

Now this is OK,  because they make it work.  They get the things they need,  they fire to their goals w/ meteoric flights.  You know it is OK because sometimes we all have to “push through conflict” to get things done.  There is big difference however between style and effectiveness.

The problem with the “cold blooded Katie bar the doors achiever” is that there are now no bridges to reverse path.  Now as I tell you this I must admit this was my strategy for life the first 10 years of my professional life.
I was a student of the school “ results are king .” The ultimate problem with this has nothing to do with philosophy. It comes down to the fact that I would tell you that is the three win equation that is the long-term driver of all business and maybe even life too.  The beautiful thing about business is that if built correctly, everybody wins, and everybody involved in the business feeds off it and grows exponentially.

For Example:
I create a partnership with a complementing speaker.  They are the left brain of the equation,  I am the right brain of the equation.  We create a whole brain solution that we sell and market to businesses.  I have always been more creative in thinking and weaker in creating processes.  I reach out and partner with someone that teaches an awesome process to grow a business like CJ McClanahan at ReachMore Strategies.  Hint, hint.

Out of it,  the client gets the top line of the process of growing a business along with the ideas that will provide breakthroughs in application.  The businesses get 10 times the value for the same class.  Three wins strong.
Everybody wins because the collaboration provided a greater total package than the sum of its parts.
What if in a 90-minute class someone could walk out with a business development process and five creative tactics to grow their business.
That is the power of win/win/win.
The basic difference in my friend the all out achiever and the three wins person is that the latter believes in the system of life rather than just being individually exceptional in their success or their achievement.
Yes they did work hard, and I would never, never want to take that from them, but you have to understand you are part of a system bigger than yourself.
Systems are always circular — because of that, every one wins through a system thats feeds all of the players and creates value in each exchange for the product or service.  Maybe that’s the point — we all can win.   I think you deserve to also. I might lose a few of you left brainers here but life is not linear, it is a cycle so let me give it to you this way.  The next time you try to solve a business problem; spend as much energy on style and design as innovation and problem solving.  One twist of the Rubik’s Cube could bring the whole thing to Break Through.  Execution will make your very successful but only design and innovation will take you to Break Through.