You,Are,Your,Product,Books.,Au DIY You Are Your Product

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in When starting a new work at home business it is very easy to become consumed by it. We spend so much time trying to get the business up and running that we may end up becoming burned out and lose our motivation. There is so much to learn and

Books. Audio albums. Video demos. CD-ROM. Interactive educationinstruments. Training-in-a-box. Learn anytime, anywhere. At yourown pace.Much is written, most of it true, about the importance ofdeveloping your product line. For BOR sales. For your catalog.For passive income. Let's take a look at another aspect ofproduct development. Let's look at the fundament. Let's probe thefoundation of your product development. Let's look at you. Atyour core. At your essence. At your state of being. At yourperspective. At your sense of your accountabilities.You know that for a structure -- whether of steel and concrete orof wood and stucco -- to withstand the elements, a sturdyfoundation is required. There must be a foundation that is solid,stable, rooted in the earth as it reaches toward the sky. Let'sexamine the structure of your speaking business for a moment:I've been studying my fellow speakers for close to 20 years. Withthe eye of an anthropologist. With the approach of a researchspecialist. With heart. With empathy. With love.A few of us are brilliant marketers. Look at the dazzling successof the luminous figures who come to your mind. On the other endof the scale, some of us produce nothing more than a demo tape.You are your product. Let's look at the most important aspect ofyour product. Let's examine the keys to your impact onproductivity and profits. (That's what decision-makers want,right?) Let's look at how you affect hopes and dreams, andpossibilities. (They are what audience members want you toilluminate, right?) Let's look at your authenticity:How real are you as you address your audiences? From what depthof know-how and caring do you speak? How much timeless wisdom isinvolved in your phrasings, your stories and examples? How deeplydo you look into industry conditions, competitive considerations,and, if applicable, market-share concerns?How many audience members and top executives do you interview asyou prepare your program? How far do you probe beneath thesurface of responses to your questions? To what degree do youbalance the concerns and interests of the sponsors of yourprogram, (They pay your fee), the decision-maker who hire you,(S/he wants to look good because of this choice,) and youraudience members (whose concerns may be entirely different)?You are your product. A few years ago, Simon and Garfunkel wrotea song. In it are these words: "Like a bridge over troubledwaters, I will ease your mind..." These troubled waters are theworld-wide social, economic and political chaos in which we allfind ourselves.You, with what Naomi Rhode, past-president of NSA, calls, "Theprivilege of the platform," have the opportunity to ease theminds of each of your constituencies. You can do this as youweave your verbal tapestry of education and insights, of storiesand metaphors, of participation and involvement.We're in this together, all of us on this earth. We have ourlives to live, our children to raise, our significant other tolove, or to find, our careers or businesses to grow. And we getto do all this in the center of a maelstrom surrounded bydizzying changes, tumult, threats, upheavals, and clashes ofcultures and values. Terrible consequences and unprecedenteddisaster await us one trigger finger away, right around thecorner. The potential bad guys are extremists with nothing tolose.Even the crazy changes in world weather patterns contribute tothe uncertainties and insecurities that have become symbols ofour times. Surrounded by all this, we have our one chance to makeof ourselves what we will.You are your product. Your ability to sort out this unrest, thiswild ferment, this ubiquitous agitation, is needed more than evernow. How do you bring order to the multiple interests ofsponsors, decision-makers and audience members now? How do youguide them to make sense of their worlds? How are you to helpthem master their challenges today?These people, all of them, find themselves on wild and stormyseas stuck on a ship they no longer can control. They perceivethemselves to be far from any port. Compounding matters, they arenot at all certain of their compass readings. And, they are evenless sure of where their safe harbor may be.They look to you for wisdom, guidance, hope, light -- and a bitof fun. I offer you no answers, only questions. And yourattitudes, thoughts, words and actions, in response to thesequestions, are important. They're important now, more than ever.Because now, more than ever, you are your product. Article Tags: Let's Look, Audience Members