Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Introducing the Clarity Series: Prospecting

by Bo Barron, CCIM

Clarity is an elusive gem. When you have it, you are a rock star. When you don’t…

Don’t I look smart? My wife thinks so!

A month ago I was playing guitar in the praise band at the church I attend. I’ve done this since I was in high school. For the first time, I noticed that I was having a difficult time making out the chord charts. This had never happened to me before. [And Peter, I’d love to jam with you sometime.]

I had a particularly hard time distinguishing between a B chord and a D chord. If you play any kind of instrument, you will understand that getting confused and playing the wrong chord in the middle of a song is bad. It gets noticed.

So, for the first time since high school, I had my eyes examined.

I had the puffs of air blown in my eyes (I just about fell backwards out of my chair – warn a guy!) I had a retinal scan. Then I had the experience where the doctor asks, “Which one is clearer…1 or 2.” At the end of the tweaking, he showed me what my vision was like. Then he showed me my vision with corrected lenses.

I was blown away! I had no idea how clear vision could be. Now, my sight is not that bad. I have a mild astigmatism. The glasses help when I read, and they help with the stuff far away. However, I am wearing them all the time. I love the clarity. Plus, my wife thinks I look smart!

Clarity is such a powerful thing. It allows you to act with direction and focus. It gives you the ability to maximize your efforts and your results. Clarity of purpose allows you to say ‘no’ to good things and ‘yes’ to great things.

I am introducing the Clarity Series. Let me explain what the Clarity Series is.

To this point, my posts have been random in nature. I write about Next Practices in Life, Business, and Commercial Real Estate. However, there has been no rhyme or reason to my posts. They are basically whatever hit me at the time.
The Clarity Series will be a series of posts on a specific topic. You will know where I am headed and what to expect
I am starting with the topic of Prospecting. I chose this topic because I believe it is the single most important factor that differentiates top producers from everyone else.
I’ve written about prospecting many times, but this will be an orderly and systematic approach.

The Clarity Series: Prospecting will have a beginning and an end. If this is well received and adds value, I will take on other topics. I am thinking that ‘creating presence’ would make a great next topic. Please use the comment section to suggest other topics.

I previously wrote a post about the 8 Steps to a Killer Prospecting System. This Clarity Series will break down each of those steps in much more depth. Please keep in mind that the context here is Commercial Real Estate. However, these steps are applicable to anyone with a product or service to sell. The 8 steps are as follows:

Define Your Geography
Choose a Specialty
Build Your Database
Send Something in the Mail
Make the Dang Call
Have the Meeting
Make the Presentation
Secure the Business

Now is your opportunity to share with me your thoughts. Would you add a step to this process? Are there specific questions you have with any of these steps? Share with me these questions in the comments section, and I will do my best to address them.

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Posted on Thursday, March 7, 2013

Book of the Month from Dan Pink

by Bo Barron, CCIM

BookoftheMonth

I read a lot. Most of my good ideas come from the books I’ve read. I am constantly suggesting to my clients books that can help them with problems they are facing. So I am going to offer to you each month a book for your consideration.

I did not enjoy doing book reports when I was in school. I don’t plan on doing them now. However, I am going to try to wet your appetite because these are books that have helped me. They have helped me learn. They have helped me grow. They have helped me to think differently.

Charlie “Tremendous” Jones says, “You will be the same today as you will be in 5 years except for two things: the books you read and the people you meet.” I agree with him completely.

To Sell Is Human

This month’s book is To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others by Dan Pink. You may be thinking to yourself that you don’t want to read another sales book. If you are, you should reconsider.

Dan Pink is a rock star story-teller. He is also a world-class researcher. What he has done in this book is weave together powerful data with engaging stories. You haven’t enjoyed learning this much in a long time.

And his thesis is true – we are all in sales. US Labor statistics says that 1 in 9 jobs in America are a sales job. The other 8 are as well! We are all in the business of trying to move people. Are you a teacher? You are trying to move your students. Are you in the health-care profession? You are trying entreat people to live differently – healthier. You are in sales.

[Quick aside: I ended a conversation with my little sister to finish this post. I promised her a shout-out. Love you Mange!]

This book was an eye opener for me on many levels. Do you know the most compelling way to make a pitch? You will after you’ve read this book.

Do you believe the myth that an extrovert is a natural top performing salesperson? You won’t after this book. It isn’t the introvert either.

You will also learn:

The new ABC’s of selling (Goodbye to Alec Baldwin’s Always Be Closing) – Attune, Buoyancy, and Clarity.
How to give the Pixar Pitch. Hint: it starts with “Once Upon a Time.”
The 6 successors to the elevator pitch.
The 3 rules for understanding another’s perspective
And much more.

This book is counter-intuitive and supported by a ton of hard data. It is compelling and will absolutely challenge long-held beliefs that I bet that you hold.

If you are not familiar with Dan Pink, he has given one of the most viewed TED Talks to date with over 5 million views. It is an incredible short talk that you should watch. He is outstanding, and his topic is motivation.

If you have read this book or are about to, I would love to hear you thoughts in comment section. Let me know what your first ‘Aha’ moment was from the book or his TED Talk.

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Posted on Tuesday, March 5, 2013

I Know How to Fix a Broken CRE Market: Video

by Bo Barron, CCIM

I remember the first time that a drill instructor tried to describe how I was supposed to make the rack. It did not go well. A ‘rack’ is a bed, by the way. There is a very specific way that this is done. Nothing short of perfection is acceptable. There is a 6 inch fold here. A 45 degree crease there. The green cover was pulled so tight…

iStockPhoto by alexsi

The problem I had was drill instructors don’t speak English. They speak Marine. And they do it loudly. What do you do when having a difficult time understanding someone? You watch their mouths. However, you aren’t allowed to look directly at a DI. I was not able to quickly process the super fast speech, the unique cadence, the strange words, and the gravely voice. I mean seriously! He was explaining to me how to make a bed!

This was the first time I heard the term “Barney-style.” Barney-style means I’m going to explain something in a super simple way. I also heard shotgun-style a few times, but “Barney” was the term of choice to describe the recruit who was utterly confused. That was me on that day.

Commercial Real Estate has a broken and fractured market. It does not function to serve the best interest of the buyer or seller. It serves the best interest of the broker. And brokers tend to be greedy. I have the solution to this, and I am going to give it to you Barney-style.

The following 3:59 minute animated video is voiced over by my CEO, Kevin Maggiacomo. This is without a doubt the easiest to understand version of the Sperry Van Ness Difference. I challenge you to watch it and share with me your thoughts in the comments section.

So what do you think? Would you be willing to proactively cooperate – engage the most buyers the fastest for you clients best interest? To do so, you must put aside your own. What do you say? Don’t you aagree it’s the right thing to do?

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Posted on Sunday, March 3, 2013

What is WOW and 5 Steps to Make it Part of Your Business

by Bo Barron, CCIM

My wife has an angelic voice (right now she has laryngitis and is confined to a whisper). She is a beautiful Southern girl. Before she gave it up to marry me, her dream was to go to Nashville and be a country singer.

WOW!

I don’t like country music as a rule. The main exception to this is I liked the Keith Urban music that she would play. One year, as a gift to her, I took her to a Keith Urban concert in Memphis. By this time, I knew his music.

My first observation of that concert was that it was my wife and me and 15,000 17-year-old girls. I felt completely out-of-place. Then he started playing. The songs that I thought were good were suddenly outstanding. I found myself wondering why the same songs were so much better live. I was completely blown away.

I think there were a couple of reasons. First, I play guitar. I appreciate talented guitar players. Keith Urban might be the best guitar player I have ever seen live. I did not expect this to be the case.

Second, the energy in the place was off the charts. I found myself moved. I did not expect this either.

Third, the sound and lights coupled with the excellence of the live delivery shocked me. Urban and his band were awesome musicians. They played with passion and authenticity. I could feel the emotion and the connection they had with the music. Then you add the lights and multi-media experience, and I was loving it. I completely didn’t expect that.

A couple of months later, I ran a mini-marathon (it didn’t feel mini!). You know what I listened to for about 2 hours? Keith Urban. His concert completely exceeded my expectations. It gave me goose-bumps.

That is what WOW is – goose-bumps. I’m still not a country fan, but I will listen to his music anytime. I’ve had an experience with it.

In his book Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, Michael Hyatt begins that you must start with WOW. So how do we know what WOW is? It is constantly exceeding the expectations of your clients, prospects, customers, volunteers, etc. It is delivering goose-bumps.

So let’s consider how you can apply the concept of WOW to your business.

How to Apply WOW in Your Business

Be Intentional – you don’t succeed in the WOW category on accident. How many hours of planning and practice did Keith Urban and his band put into that concert? Purpose to exceed your clients’ expectations.
Put yourself in your clients’ shoes – Have you ever tried to think like your customer? What is their experience like when they call your office? Or walk into your waiting room?
Understand their expectations – You can’t be purposeful about exceeding expectations if you don’t understand what they are. Ask your clients. Write down what you think. Involve your team.
Examine every aspect of your business – What I am talking about here is looking at every point where your business touches a client. Or you can take it a step further and consider how you can exceed the expectations of your employees or team members. Think about business development, customer service, leadership development, HR, IT, follow-up, etc.
Define the win – You need to be specific about what WOW looks like. I read a great book called Mr. Schmooze (it is way better than what the title suggests). In this book, the author uses the term elevate. Ask yourself constantly how you can elevate the experience of your clients – how can you give them goose-bumps. Write it down!

These are next practices!

Now ask yourself – do I deliver WOW on a daily basis? What would your referral business look like if you did? Share in the comments below how you could do this in your business!

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Posted on Saturday, February 23, 2013

8 Great Ideas to Be a Better Parent – Pt. 2

by Bo Barron, CCIM

A month ago, I wrote a post on 8 Great Ideas to Be a Better Parent – Part 1. This is the second half of that post.

I was putting the boys to bed last night, and they asked me to tell them a story. There is just something about stories. They suck you in. A good story-teller can take you into their world. They can transport you into another place.

My beautiful wife and 2 youngest

I shared with my boys a story from boot camp. I had about a dozen guys from Puerto Rico in my platoon. While we were at the tropical paradise of Parris Island, a hurricane hit Puerto Rico. The guys in my platoon were concerned – as you would imagine. However, they made a mistake. They went to a Puerto Rican Senior Drill Instructor for information – from another platoon. Going outside our platoon brought serious consequences.

The next afternoon, my platoon was practicing drill on the parade deck with that other platoon. Before I know it, the Puerto Rican guys in my platoon – and me! – are kicked out of my platoon and sent to the other platoon. Imagine what this looked like. A dozen Puerto Ricans and a white boy from Kentucky walk across a large parade deck with all of our gear and our rifles. When we get there, that Senior Drill Instructor looks at us and sends us back. When we get back to our platoon, we are told to go back to other platoon. For an hour, we bounce back and forth like a dozen ping-pong balls.

So why was I included with my Puerto Rican brothers? I have no clue. My boys were so enthralled about the past of their daddy, they have been asking me all day what I did. They were enthralled by power of a story.

The previous post shared the first four ideas: love your spouse, become a student of your children, pursue the hearts of your kids, and develop your family culture. Here are the second four ideas for being a better parent.

Share Stories

In conjunction with developing your family culture, stories are a great way to communicate and strengthen the values of your family. Share with your children stories of your past when you endured. Tell a story about how you paid a price for doing the right thing – and why it was worth it. Stories knit together hearts. Stories demonstrate how values and principles play out in real life. They are powerful.

Apologize

Me and the Beast

There is nothing more effective, in my opinion, then apologizing to our children. I spoke about pursuing the hearts of our children before. The truth is, we are going to make mistakes as parents. We are going to act in anger. We are going to have a bad day and dump on our kids. These mistakes break the trust we are trying to build and strengthen with our children. When we apologize for these mistakes, apologize, and seek the forgiveness of our children, we can restore this trust. This also allows our children to see what they should do when they make mistakes. Don’t be too proud or act like you never make any mistakes. Humble yourselves and apologize.

Be Intentional About the Relationships with Your Children

I have two great friends that do this so well. One has 5 children and one is expecting their 7th. Each of these world-class dad’s have a special night with each child each month. This practice seriously helps becoming a student of your children and pursuing their hearts. I need to do better here. Know your children. If I spend a special evening with each of my children once a month, I need to do what they like. I can take my oldest son to play basketball, and he is in heaven. If I do the same with my middle son, I am going to miss his sweet spot.

Spend Time

Dads are especially not good at this. It is in our nature to provide. We naturally see our role in the family as protecting and giving our family what they need – and want. We too often find our identities in our work. Our children equate time with love. Don’t believe the lie that says, “You are a good dad because you just provide.” Our children need us to be with them.

So here is some food for thought on how we can be better parents. What would you add? Let us know in the comments below!

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Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2013

A Letter to My Kids

by Bo Barron, CCIM

This blog is about next practices – next practices in life, business and commercial real estate. While I tend to post more about business and CRE, I’ve had a number of triggers that led to this post. I realize that not everyone shares my faith and my worldview. This is how I look at life, and this post will be a little more personal than most.

iStockPhoto.com

To set this up, let me back up a bit.

In 2003, my great friend Mike Arnett stayed with our family for a month two different times. He was completing medical rotations at the hospital on the Army based I was stationed at the time. I would notice him writing in a notebook on a regular basis. He was writing to his children. He had two at the time. He and his wife are now expecting their 7th (not a typo).

I started journaling to my son shortly after. I would write about my observations of him. I would write what was going on with me. The idea was that when he was older, I could give him something that would tell his story. It would also give him a view into his daddy’s heart. I now have 3 of these notebooks – one for each child – and they all need to be updated.

I am part of a men’s group that meets on Thursdays. We talk about our faith. We meet to help each other lead our companies and our families better. These are incredible guys, and I’m a better man because of their influence. In January, one of these men shared that he wrote a letter to his children when they were young. The letter was about all the things that he hoped for them. I was inspired and remembered thinking that I wanted to do the same.

Then today, I was listening to a podcast from a new friend that I met last week at the Platform Conference in Nashville. Dan Hayes and his wife have a great podcast called The Simple Life Together. I highly recommend it. He was sharing that he wrote a letter to his son before he deployed after 9/11. His purpose was to communicate to his son all that he would want him to know should he not return. Again, I was inspired.

So, here is a not so short letter to my children. I share this because I believe intentionally communicating with our children what they should know is a great idea. Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life, but it could also be my last. I want to intentionally take steps to share certain things with my children that could make a huge difference in their lives. I share this to encourage you to do the same.

Kiddos,

I love you. In fact, each of you have helped redefine what love means to me. At each of your births, I remember knowing that you deserved a better dad than I was that day. God has used all three of you to refine me, and I’m sure that He will continue to do so.

When you boil life down to its core, relationships are the only things that matter and that last for eternity. It is not about how much you know, how much you make, or how successful you are. It is about how you made life better for others.

I submit to you that the most important thing is your relationship with Jesus. It is the most important thing to your mother and me. I want you to see this in our lives – not just hear it from our lips. The world will tell you one thing. Many different theologies, denominations, and religions will tell you it is about something else. I’m telling you that it is about love. God loved you enough to create you just as you are. Then He loved you enough to buy you back through His Son. He loves you, and so do I.

Will – You are so intelligent. You are athletically gifted. You have such a passion and a desire to succeed. You want to please people. You are a natural leader, and I can see how others are attracted to you. You will have the ability and opportunity to hugely impact the lives of others in a positive way. I want you to know that I care more about your character than your success or achievements. I want you to know that you are unconditionally loved. I love you not because of your achievement, but because you are my son. That will never change – no matter what! I want you to maximize your potential, but whether you do or not has no bearing on my love for you. Remember to slow down and enjoy the ride.

Ben – You are the flavor of our family. You see the world in possibilities. Your creativity and imagination blow me away. You inspire. You keep us laughing constantly. You have to be responsible for the majority of my smiles. You are a non-conformist and your give-a-darn is completely broken. I love that about you. Do not let school, society, or me take away your creativity and personality. Don’t let us suck away your passion and zeal for life. I also don’t want you to get kicked out of school. You have the ability to bring joy and life to the lives of the people who are blessed to know you. Continue delivering smiles. You belong in this family. And I love you – no matter what!

Maddie – You are as tough as nails, and as girlie as they come at the same time. And I love that about you! You absolutely delight me. I love how you light up when you see me. I love how you run and give me a hug when I come home from a trip. I love how you want to sing a song with me every night at bedtime. I love that you asked me to marry you the other night. I want you to know that you are beautiful. I want to be a safe place for your heart. In fact, I will protect your heart until it is time. And when that day comes, I will give it back to you so you can give it to a blessed young man. I see the best qualities of your mother in you. You love people. You already have deep friendships. You constantly make those around you feel like a million bucks. You have me wrapped. Regardless of what may happen in the future, you are my daughter, and I love you – no matter what!

You three completely rock! Love, Dad.

So what would you say to your kids? What would it have meant to have received this sort of letter from your father? Let me hear from you in the comments section below.

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Posted on Monday, February 18, 2013

Take Advantage of 2 Year-Making Events

by Bo Barron, CCIM

This is the first time that I have used my blog to promote an event. In this case I am promoting two events. I am not making a dime off this. I am simply bringing this to your attention because both of these events have the potential to bring great value to your businesses.

iStockPhoto

AuctionPoint2013

I remember when I first began in the Commercial Real Estate industry in 2004. The idea of auctioning off a listing meant failure. Using our own marketing and market expertise, our company could not produce a closing. Thus, we punted and looked to auction as opposed to losing the listing. We split our fee with the auctioneer and secretly cursed under our breaths that we couldn’t sell that property without them.

No longer.

AuctionPoint2013 is an incredible opportunity to expose your listings to a national online event. I’m not sure where to start with the benefits, so here is a list:

Over $300,000 is being spent to promote the event internationally. None of those dollars comes from you!
AuctionPoint2013 is a collaboration between AuctionPoint.com, LoopNet, First American Title, Sperry Van Ness, Cushman Wakefield, Marcus & Millichap, Colliers, RE/MAX, CBC, NAI, Lee & Associates, Voit, REITs, and numerous national and regional banks.
You keep you entire commission. Whatever you listed the property for, you receive. A 2.5% buyers premium is paid by the buyer. This is half of what normal online auction sites charge.
You can still sell before the auction. This is a great way to bump stalling buyers off-center.
This auction is already filling up with outstanding assets. This is not an auction full or garbage assets.
Your brand is aggressively promoted with your property. Every time your property/listing is seen, you are seen.

So how can you get involved?

Go to AuctionPoint2013.com
Click Learn More
In the circle at the bottom right, select “Click for Details”
This will take you to a screen that explains how to submit an asset

Important Dates:

Feb. 1, 2013 – Asset Submission Begins
March 15, 2013 – Asset Submission Ends
March 29 – May 28, 2013
- Asset list released to the public
- Nationwide market campaign deployed
- Property inspections and underwriting performed
- Pre-auction offers accepted

Note: All properties submitted are reviewed by a selection committee. Only a certain number of properties will be accepted.

Question: What is preventing you from serving your clients by utilizing CRE Event of the Year?

Free Webinar: How to Maximize Your Brokerage Income in 2013 – Feb. 19, 1:00 pm EST

In 2010, I made a great decision to hire Rod Santomassimo as my CRE coach. Rod is the president and founder of the Massimo Group which is the premier CRE coaching and consulting firm. After 2 years of coaching, Rod asked me to come on as a coach for the Massimo Group. I have been coaching CRE brokers from all over the United States and Canada since then.

In this free webinar, Rod is going to discuss proven strategies and tactics that create greater opportunities for commission income. This will not be a Massimo Group commercial, but a real sharing of practices and ideas. Learn how top producing brokers:

Fill their pipeline with continual business opportunities
Create a top-of-mind position with their clients and key prospects
Develop personal teams, both virtual and physical to increase efficiencies and productivity
Implement tactics which consistently help them Find, Win, and Close more business.

I encourage you to do what over 500 CRE practitioners have already done and invest 30 minutes in yourself by attending this free webinar. You will be glad that you did.

Details

Date: Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013
Time: 1:00 pm EST
To Register: Click Here

Invest in yourself and register today!

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Posted on Wednesday, February 13, 2013

What Are You Worth?

by Bo Barron, CCIM

What are you worth? You don’t have a clue, do you?

I have a mentor and client who is incredibly successful. He owns over a dozen businesses. He employs hundreds of people. He loves Jesus and is one of the most generous men I’ve ever met. He is an amazing man. He is someone who we should all want to be like.

A couple of years ago, I was meeting with this man. I asked him what the inflection point was in his career. He surprised me with his answer. He told me about a conversation that he had with his mentor. At that time, my mentor had hit his limit. He was experiencing what John Maxwell calls the Law of the Lid (read the book – affiliate link).

In that conversation, my mentor asked his mentor, “Why can’t I break through? What is my problem?”

Last week at my company’s national convention, I spoke on becoming a Power Prospector. Afterwards, one of our top producers wanted to talk with me. He is tapped out. He has so much business. However, he is struggling to keep up with it all. He’s trying to do everything himself. It isn’t working.

I ask you again. What are you worth?

This is one of the most important things that you can know when running your business. Why? Because you have more to do in any one day than you can accomplish.

Delegation

In both of the stories above, lack of delegation is the problem. My mentor was trying to control everything. He wouldn’t delegate. Thus, he was the bottleneck. He was the problem.

Our top producer has not put together a team or a system to maximize his efforts. He is the Lid holding his business and his productivity back. We are going to remedy this situation, and his business is going to explode.

You have heard that delegation is a good idea, but can you articulate why? As the CEO of you, there are certain tasks that only you can do. These are the high-dollar activities or the high value creation activities. You want to delegate everything else so that you can focus on those activities. Said another way, anything that anyone else can do, they should do. This frees you up to do only things that only you can do.

To effectively accomplish this, you must do 3 things:

Catalogue your activities – Before you can delegate, you must know with clarity all the activities that take up your time. The best way to do this is to catalogue everything that you spend time on for a week. Write it all down. Some of you just rolled your eyes. Don’t skip this step. Write it all down.
Triage – The triage step involves deciding which are the high dollar activities and which need to be delegated. Ask yourself, “If I could only do 3 of these activities, which ones would they be?” Some you will simply want to delete and stop doing entirely. This step gives you clarity of purpose. It also gives you the job description for the team member or virtual assistant that you may add. If you already have an assistant or team in place, this list is now their playbook.
Know what you are worth! – Many of you will be tempted to simply read this and move on with your life. I challenge you not to. Go through this with me. You will thank me.

I’m going to use round numbers. Let’s assume that you work 50 weeks a year and 40 hours a week. Now write down what your income goal for the year is. Great. The math looks like this.

50 weeks x 40 hours/week = 2,000 hours worked in a year

Income Goal / 2,000 hours = your value per hour

If you want to make $100,000 this year, then $100,000 / 2,000 hours = $50/hr. If you want to make $400,000 this year, then your are worth $200/hr.

Rod Santomassimo, the president and founder of the coaching firm the Massimo-Group, knows his number. He has a note on his desk that reads, “Is what you are doing right now worth $___/hr? If not, stop doing it!” This is why you must know your worth. It allows you to effectively focus on the activities that maximize your effectiveness and earning potential. Otherwise, you are leaving money on the table.

So what are you worth? How will knowing this number effect how you lead and work? Let me know in the comments below!

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Posted on Monday, January 28, 2013

5 Podcasts that Will Make You Smarter

by Bo Barron, CCIM

Recently, I was able to connect with one of my closest friends while driving home from a trip to Chicago. This guy is the kind of friend that everyone needs. He was in my wedding. I was in his. We were fraternity brothers at Murray State University. He was the quarterback. I was the receiver. We even dated the same beautiful Southern girl (not at the same time) who I now get to call my wife.

iStockPhoto via jodijacobson

He is the kind of friend when you haven’t spoken for a year, it is like it was yesterday. Everyone needs at least one friend like this. I am blessed to have a couple.

My friend was sharing with me an opportunity he has to leave the corporate world and start a business. He has created something special that could be incredibly valuable to his customers and himself. However, he told me that he doesn’t think he’ll do anything because he doesn’t have a clue about starting or running a business.

Fifteen minutes later I had brain-dumped all this information on him. Now, I have started a business (that failed), and I have owned a business that I sold. But the stuff that I was telling him surprised me. How did I know this stuff?

Then it occurred to me that I was repeating a lot of great information that I had learned through listening to some incredible podcasts from businesses leaders across the United States (actually, most of them are in Nashville).

If you are not familiar with a Podcast, it is literally someone recording themselves speaking about some subject. It is much like a radio show. However, you can download these podcasts on your iPod, iPhone, or other smart-phone or mp3 player. You simply subscribe through iTunes – for free – and they automatically download whenever a new episode is published.

Before I share with you which ones I love and recommend, let me share with you how I consume this information:

While working out – I can kill two birds with one stone when I engage my mind and my body at the same time.
While driving – great content is so much more effective than coffee at keeping me alert. Not only that, but I can transform my car into a classroom and make the most of every moment.
On a plane – I’m actually on a plane as I write this somewhere between Nashville and Atlanta. Were I not writing, I guarantee that I would be listening to one of the following podcasts.

My Top 5 Recommended Podcasts

This is Your Life, A Podcast by Michael Hyatt – If you aren’t familiar with Michael Hyatt, you should be. He has a top 100 (in the world!) blog on intentional leadership. He has recently written a New York Times Bestseller called Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World. His is by far my favorite blog and his content is amazing. His podcast is awesome too. He is authentic. You end up just liking him. I get to meet him next month at our company’s National Conference where he is giving the keynote address. I am also going to his Platform Conference the following week in Nashville. Can’t wait!
48Days Online Radio Show by Dan Miller – Dan Miller rocks. A mentor of mine suggested that I connect with him last year. I ended up hiring him as a career coach. He is also a bestselling author of 48 Days to the Work You Love and other books. His podcast centers around careers, business plans, business models, and other career related info. You can’t listen to him and not get fired up about what is possible.
Ray Edwards Podcast – Ray probably has my favorite podcast. He is very transparent and genuine, and he basically let’s you in on his life. He is a productivity freak (I mean that in a good way). His podcast is broken up into segments which I love. He has a main message of each podcast, but also has a tech tip of the week, a spiritual foundations segment, and a segment with Stu McLaren who is great. Ray is also a marketing genius.
Entreleadership Podcast – I can’t believe that this is 4th on my list, but the others are just that good. This is the podcast from Dave Ramsey and his main man Chris LoCurto. Every show has a short message from Dave that sets the theme, but then they move to a guest interview. The guests are amazing and are a who’s who when it comes to business. You can’t get this kind of access to this kind of wisdom and experience anywhere else I’m aware.
Podcast Answer Man with Cliff Ravenscraft – This podcast is obviously a little more technical. I include it because at least the first three podcasts listed above are a result of Cliff’s expertise. He is the expert when it comes to podcasting. I hope to introduce my own podcast this year so I have been studying up. Cliff is also a Kentucky boy like myself!

In one sentence, these podcasts are like being able to sit at the feet of these guys and learn from their wisdom. And it’s free!

So who do you listen to that I don’t? Who would crack your top 5? Let us know in the comment section below!

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Posted on Wednesday, January 23, 2013

8 Great Ideas to Be a Better Parent – Part 1

by Bo Barron, CCIM

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post on what I’d learned from my 12 years of marriage. At that point, it was my most read post. That was a pleasant surprise. However, when my kids saw the picture of their mom on my blog, they asked me to write a post where I could use their pictures. So this post is for them.

I remember when my wife told me that we were pregnant for the first time. I was so excited. I was also terrified. I instantly realized that my child needed me to be a better man than I was at that moment. This was an absolute defining moment for me. It changed me. I became dedicated to becoming that kind of dad. I became serious about my faith. Everything changed.

I’m certainly no expert in parenting, but I have learned some things. Here are the first 4 keys to being a rock star parent.

Love Your Wife

I don’t think there is anything greater you can do for your kids then to give them the security of knowing their parents have a strong marriage. Enough said on this one.

Become a Student of Your Children

“Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.” ~ Prov 22:6

I’ve heard this verse quoted by many parents with wayward children trusting that this verse means they will come back to the faith. I’m not sure that is what this verse is talking about. I don’t think the bible teaches that parents have the ability to parent in such a way that guarantees the salvation of their children.

I think this means that parents have the responsibility to help their children reach their potential. This means that parents must be students of their children. What are their natural abilities? What are their passions? It is like a great puzzle. I ask my boys all the time what they love doing.

If your kid is creative, champion that in them. My oldest is very competitive, so I play sports with him all the time. Do whatever you can to help your kids grow towards their potential. This does not mean making them into what you are passionate about. This is not about you.

Pursue the Hearts of Your Children

This idea is nebulous, but you want access to your children’s hearts. Are you a safe place for them to really share what is going on with them at a heart level? I want to suggest that you only get a few chances when your kids will open up the windows of their hearts and give you access. If you are a safe place for them, they will give you the key to their hearts forever.

Two things can revoke this access quicker than anything: anger and teasing. If your child shares a heart-level secret with you and you get angry – access revoked. If your son shares with you his feelings for a young lady, and you tease him, he’ll never share it with you again.

Pursue their hearts. Gain and treasure that access. Protect it! Be that safe place.

Develop Your Family Culture

Developing a family culture gives your kids an identity. Here are some things that we do together as family:

We eat together almost every night.
We pray together every night – rotating between the 3 kids’ rooms.
We share and reinforce the same values – honesty, a strong work ethic, risk-taking, caring for each other.
We play together – sports, coloring, building Lego’s, hanging out together on the couch watching The Biggest Loser, etc…

Later this week or maybe next, I’ll share with you the next four ideas. In the meantime, share with us a great idea from your experience as a child or a parent. What is your favorite memory with your parents? What would you add to this list? Comment below!

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