Author Archives: David

Not too hot, Not too cold

When You are hunting a mature animal, it is crucial to hunt smart.  You need to know when to back off, when to hunt harder, when to continue and when to call it quits. The same thing is true when You chase down that big relationship or trophy client.

When working on a deal, make sure You give it a fair chance to develop. Oftentimes, people drag out an initiative for too long or not long enough, which doesn’t give it a fair chance to develop. I believe, if You are going to fail it is best to fail fast. However, this is a balancing act. Just like Goldielocks and the 3 bears, it shouldn’t be too hot or too cold, it should be just right. Give it a chance to develop and be honest with Yourself along the way.

The key to knowing if it’s time to call it quits on a deal, relationship, venture, or hunt, is to constantly ask Yourself these following questions:

1)   Are You still driving towards Your ultimate goal?

a. If so, is it still what You really want?

2)   What are the chances You will hit Your goal?

3)   Do You have any real momentum or is there any in sight?

4)   Are You moving in the right direction?

It helps to be honest with Yourself and try to be as objective as possible when moving through these questions. You can do it!

It is essential to live in a “Not too hot, Not too cold” sort of way. This allows You to make decisions which guide You towards Your target, which will eventually lead to Your ultimate goal.

My fellow hunters, the rest is on You —–>:)

Stop doubting Yourself when You put in the proper Scouting

Last week I had the honor of speaking to a group of key leaders at Facebook. As I was preparing for this speech I was nervous that the content I was presenting might lack enough umph for this brilliant bunch of executives.

SCOUTING: I carefully thought in depth about who would be in attendance, what each person did for Facebook, and what macro challenges the company was facing. I even gave considerable thought to each slide I would present. That said, I still had my doubts.

I am proud to say that my presentation was relatable and added value for this brilliant bunch of leaders. In fact, there may be a future opportunity to do some work with Facebook, which is beyond cool!

I thought to myself afterwards, why did I second-guess myself?  I had done the proper scouting and I put in the hard work to ensure success. When I do this for a hunt I know that I place myself in the best position to be successful. The same thing holds true when preparing for a big meeting or a speaking engagement. The bottom line is, when we put in the scouting we should feel confident in what the hunt will bring our way.

When You have Your next big meeting, pitch,  or hunt for that matter put in the proper scouting and know your audience and know their needs & pain points. Then make sure You make the pitch all about how You will add value or help them and You are sure to be on a winning path. The keys to successful meetings lies within how much You focus on helping the other party and how they will be different after it is done.

My Journey Into The Uncomfortable: ASKING FRIENDS FOR HELP!

I love to deer hunt new ground all over the country. One of the things I love most about it is leveraging the countless hours of experience I have put in throughout my life to be effective hunting in any woods. I love this same journey in business, building successful businesses in Real Estate, Technology, Advertising, Health Care, and now my book and speaking platform THE HUNT. With each new challenge, I always leverage the contacts, experience and opportunities from my previous focus.

The most uncomfortable stage each time You build something big is asking people for help and support. In building THE HUNT, those people are largely my friends making it even harder for me. While I preach the importance of being able to “ask” on a regular basis, for me it is where I find myself most vulnerable.  Perhaps it’s a fear of rejection or just something I struggle with:  admitting that I can’t do this alone.

The incredible thing I have found is that when I do reach out, the support I receive is amazing.  I mean, so supportive I am humbled by it. I have learned a lot about people in this process: who really will help me and who will come up with some excuse of why they can’t.   My biggest frustration is when my calls and emails go unreturned.  Perhaps they feel like I don’t really care and I’m just taking my shot.

The truth is that when You put Your vision into the world You are like a deer in the woods: vulnerable yet proud, going about your business until you feel the target on your back.  Setting out to build a world-renowned brand is like being a buck in the woods with a 10-point rack, it’s almost like you are asking for it.  But the one thing I always can leverage is my resilience.  That can never be taken away from me as it has built up from a lifetime of experience.

The key to excelling in uncomfortable situations is to be honest about how you feel and who You are when You are going through it. At least then, no matter what the outcome, You honestly confronted the uncomfortable. When You put Your heart on the line and who You are afterwards means something to You, You can overcome the uncomfortable feeling of asking for help. To achieve greatness in relationships, business and life, You need to become vulnerable and chase down your dreams out of love. We get one life.  Let us not allow fear to run it, but instead go and tackle the uncomfortable.

 

Don’t Forget The Why

When the breeding season known to deer hunters as the “rut” is in full swing we hunt where the does are. Why? Well, because that is where the bucks are fired up and in pursuit of a doe looking to breed.

In business, effective selling should lead with the Why. Just last week a very smart start up concept was pitched to me. They provided a ton of information in too much detail on the what and the how and still failed to deliver the Why.

When You want something in business, whether it is a favor or an investment, it helps to lead with the Why. For example, as an investor I want to know what the pain point for customers is and the Why. Why will Your product help solve this pain point? In other words, Why does the industry or the customer base need this product or service? You don’t need to provide 10 Why’s. The top one to three usually does just fine as long as they are the big ones

The next time You are making a pitch of any sort, try leading with the Why and watch how Your arrows start hitting their mark.

What is Reality really?

Think about the last time You were arguing and You felt certain that You were right and the other person was definitely wrong.  It’s likely that You can pick from a laundry list of arguments with your spouse, family, co-workers, or friends.

When You go deeper into this it might make You start asking questions like “How can Jamie be so sure that she’s right, when I know that I am right?” The key explanation is we are all looking through our own filters or lenses to see the world and process information. Our individual filters tend to fool us into believing things are TRUE and therefore the other person is wrong and out of left field with their beliefs.

Giving the other person the benefit of the doubt and looking for positive intent behind their position will enable You to see they are expressing things the way that they believe them to be.  Once you can look through someone else’s lens at a situation, You start breaking through on better communication and finding middle ground more often.

The next time You engage in a confrontation, ask the other person what their intent is, then keep asking questions and encourage them to tell You more.  Before responding with Your opinion, recite back to them the facts as You heard them. Make sure that they acknowledge/accept your play back of their words and feel validated.  Now, ask one more question. “What is your desired outcome”?

More often than not, You will be armed with a clearer understanding of the other person and what they hope to accomplish. The funny part is that as Your perception changes, Your reality changes, and so will the productivity of the conversation You are about to have.

 

 

Talk about Action Not People

Have You ever paid attention to how much You and Your friends talk about people? No matter whether You walk into a gas station and the attendant is gossiping away on their cell phone or people are chatting it up at Dunkin Donuts, we too often talk about other people. It is a fact that we can only consciously process a tiny fraction of the information coming at us at one time. When You waste some or all of this limited capacity gossiping about others You cheat Yourself out of learning new things, You cheat Yourself out of growth and out of getting the targets You are truly after in life.

Do You want to try and open up more of Your brain and processing capacity and get more of what You are after? For the next week try the these two steps. First, in the moment try to consciously log each and every time You start talking about other people and write it down. Second, replay Your day like a movie at the end of each day and then try and figure out how many minutes or hours You spent doing this.

Now, make a deal with Yourself to cut the amount of time in half each day until You are down to very few minutes. Soon You will be stopping others in their tracks by saying things like “Steve, that’s great but how is this conversation serving You or whats the point of this conversation Steve”? Before You know it You will unclog a bunch of wasted brain capacity and consciously process more of what matters in life and be on Your way to action not gossip.