The Lessons We Learn and Other Pleasures

Greetings All:

Please excuse my absence.  I have been busy with travel and work (travel and work).  I am  pursuing additional study in order to provide additional services to my clients.  More on that another time.

A dear friend of mine has learned she has stage 3 breast cancer, and as can be expected, she is dealing with it the way most do – with anger and fear and uncertainty and determination and strength.  She is brave and strong, and sometimes she allows herself to scream and cry.   I think it is in that allowing that she really finds her strength.  If we stuff our fear and anger, it festers and grows into physical manifestations of fear and anger, like a cancer.  Think the metaphor is coincidental?  Not!

My dear friend has an amazing group of friends all around the world, many of whom have dealt with what she is going through and can offer a wealth of advise from their own experience.  The common thread I read in the many e-mails being sent back and forth and all around is that it isn’t what happens to us that matters but how we deal with what happens that counts.  It isn’t the stuff that we deal with but how we come out of it on the other side of having dealt with the stuff.  It isn’t in wondering, “Why me” that we find answers.  It is in the dealing with, the moving through and forward, and in the growing as humans and souls from our experiences.

I am grateful for all the lessons I have learned.  Many have been difficult and painful.  I am still working through some of them, finding the lessons.  It is in looking back and seeing how I grew and in seeing the lives I was able to touch in a positive way that I am most grateful.  I am blessed to be here, now.  There were days when I wasn’t sure I’d make it – when I wasn’t sure I wanted to or even could.  I’m glad I stuck around.  It allowed me to know you.

Blessings to all,

Karl
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Following the RULE®

Welcome back to Talk to Karl:

For those who don’t know about RULE®, you have come here at the right time.  For those who do know about RULE®, you know that you always choose the right time.

I came up with RULE® several years ago in an attempt to help guide people to live a more joyful and fulfilling life.  It may sound rather ambitious of me, but then, I usually set my sights rather high.

When people follow RULE®, they notice their lives becoming richer, more joyful, less stressful.  They notice people around them being happier, too. How can this be true – it sounds too good to be true.

Actually, it is based on a Universal Law that has gotten a great deal of press in recent months.  It is based on the same Universal Law that is revealed in “The Secret,” which is the Law of Attraction. Basically, the Law means that what we concentrate on is what we attract into our lives.  So if we are always mad and fearful, we will attract others who are the same.  We will attract things into our lives that support our beliefs (e.g. that people are bad, that others can’t be trusted, that bad things happen to us, etc.).

RULE® stands for Respect, Understand, Love, and Enjoy.  It is so simple, I call them “The Four Simple Steps.”  Go to my web site,  RULE® to learn more.

Thank you for visiting.  I look forward to your comments.

All the best,

Karl

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The Path Less Traveled

Wow, I can’t believe it has been this long – well, yes I can.  I just can’t believe I took this long to write another post. I have been so busy with school and travel that I have been remiss in keeping  you all up to date, and I am sorry.  I won’t “tell all” today, but I did want to let you know that I hadn’t abandoned my blog.  I drive up to Merrillville, near Chicago, on Monday mornings for school Monday afternoon and evening, spend the night, attend school Tuesday, and I drive back home, arriving fairly late.  Wednesdays are “take care of Karl” day – I go to the chiropractor, exercise with my personal trainer, have meetings with clients and friends, and run any errands I need to.  Thursday mornings I drive back up to Merrillville for school and return late Thursday night.  Friday is a day of catching up, attending meetings with clients and any Board meetings. I will tell you more about what I’m doing, later.  For now, please understand that I haven’t forgotten about you.  You can write me anytime and I will respond as soon as possible, usually within 24 hours.  If you need anything sooner, call me.Have a wonderful holiday! Karl comments@talktokarl.com

Speaking Out

Greetings:

I have been gone longer than I thought. Time marches on while we’re busy living life, no?

I’ve been doing more speaking engagements these past few months, and I am enjoying them immensely. I like being able to say what I want, to have attendees ask questions, to plant some seeds with my sometimes “out there” ideas, and to see those ideas take form on others’ lives.

In July I spoke about Relationships and Leadership in Business – Beyond the Obvious. I shared some of my ideas as well as documented research. Towards the end of my presentation, I asked the audience to participate in an excersise, to which they somewhat reluctantly agreed. Some were rather skeptical about it, but the excersise was a success – they all participated and many shared their thoughtful observations at the conclusion of the exercise.

I realized it was a total success a few days later when I got a note from the publisher of a local business paper (who had co-sponsored my presentation). He had received a note from an attendee who wanted to thank me for the presentation because she realized how much she had gotten out of the event.

It seemed that one of my “seeds” had sprouted. I was thrilled, and I am still thrilled. The best compliment I can get is knowing that I made a difference to someone.

Bring it on – I want more!

Karl

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The Measure of a Man

Thank you for visiting my blog ~ Talk to Karl.  I know it’s been a while, but I’m back.

What is the measure of a man?   I answer that with the following:
“The measure of a man is not the size of his ego but the strength of his character.”

A person’s ego can get in the way of negotiating the best deal, of doing business with the perfect client, of hiring the ideal associate, of getting fantastic service, and more.   What is it about us that causes us to sabotage our own best interests and the best interests of others, even those we care about?

I think it has a great deal to do with how we’ve been conditioned vis a vis competition.   We think that if we don’t beat “so-and-so,” we’ll lose. So in order to not lose, we make sure we beat “so-and-so.”   And how does he feel about losing? He’ll make sure it never happens again.   Sounds like a viscious cycle to me.

“An eye for an eye results in a world that is blind.” Mahatma Gandhi

If we can leave our ego at the door and work toward doing the right thing and always helping others (paying it forward, for example), we stand the best chance of winning in the end.    I believe that when we pay more attention to being true to ourselves and treating others well, we will accomplish all that we want.

Thank you for visiting, and I look forward to your comments.

Come back later to learn about RULE®.    If you can’t wait, go here.

All the best,

Karl

Karl R. Zimmer III
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Business Lessons and the Nightly News

It occurred to me while watching the news that we can either become somewhat desensitized to what is going on around the world or we can choose to learn from what we hear on the news and use it to help ourselves and others.

Each and every night, we hear about tragedy, about starvation and genocide, a crazed gunman killing dozens, company CEOs getting huge severance packages, about terrorism, about political firings, and the list goes on. Since we hear it every night, we may tend to tune it out, to become somewhat immune to it. Think of the paramedic or ER doctor who must become desensitized to the suffering in order to survive. Is that in our best interest, either for ourselves or for others? Should we allow ourselves to become desensitized to what is going on around us so that we can avoid the pain that might come with it if we allow ourselves to feel?

When the Virginia Tech tragedy happened, I felt great compassion for everyone involved: those who lost loved ones, those who were injured, those who suffered in any way. I caught myself thinking about what political maneuvering might come out of it, what finger pointing there would be, and about what lessons we could learn from such a tragic event.

I tend to look at every event as a learning opportunity, so I looked at this event and wondered how it might also apply to business. In addition to being a center for learning, VT is a business, so it seemed an appropriate, though tragic, example. We have a long way to go before we know everything about what happened, and we may never know everything. But with what we do know, what can we learn?

I think we can learn that relationships matter, that how we treat people matters, and that when policies and systems are in place to protect people from certain potentially dangerous scenarios, we must enforce and abide by those policies and systems. When those policies and systems are not followed, those responsible must be held accountable. That also means that if we are responsible, we must own up to our responsibility. It does not mean we deflect the blame from ourselves by blaming others or by having convenient memory lapses. It also does not mean that we invent new policies or systems just because we didn’t follow the ones that were already in place. Lawmakers love to do that, and you and I are paying for it, still.

My cousin and her husband are graduate students at VT. They were deeply affected by what happened because, as she puts it, “…it’s been heavy and sad for all of us. Our elementary school lost two parents and one of my colleagues lost her roommate. The list goes on and everyone here is less than one degree of separation from this tragic loss.”

Wow, and I just heard it on the news.

There are more moments (seconds) in a week than there are minutes in a year. Make each moment count. Be conscious and know that everything you do is important, it makes a difference.

Well, get on with it!

Karl

email@talktokarl.com

The Heart of Business

Several months ago, an article I wrote called “What is the Heart of Business?” was published in a local Business Journal. You can find the article on my website, but I thought it would be helpful to reintroduce the basic premise, here, because it continues to be relevant.

Businesses must make money in order to grow, even to survive. It seems reasonable to create a plan by which the business will make money. Should profits, then, be the focus of the business? Are profits the heart of a business?

We have all seen restaurants that are doing really well; they have regular customers, they serve great food, the atmosphere is warm and inviting, even romantic. They become so popular that parties must wait for tables on Friday and Saturday nights, but it is worth it. Everything seems to be going well for the restaurant. Then, for some reason, the quality of the food takes a dip. The decor gets a bit tired. The staff is not quite as enthusiastic. You ask the manager or server what is going on and they either say, “Nothing,” or something about how costs are rising and they are trying their best to maintain prices because they are afraid they will lose customers if they increase menu item prices.

They seem to be focusing on controlling costs, which has to be a good thing in order to maintain profits. Yes, all but for one thing. By concentrating on costs, they are no longer concentrating on what created their success in the first place. The quality of the food decreases because they are trying to reduce costs and are no longer spending the money for the highest quality ingredients. The snowball begins to roll. They are a perfect example of what happens when concentrating on what you don’t want. By concentrating on the increasing costs and on their fear of losing customers, that get exactly that: increasing costs and fewer customers.

I know this seems obvious, but I see it time and time again. A study published in the Harvard Business Review revealed some telling statistics. A 5% increase in customer loyalty resulted in an increase in profitability by from 25% to 85%! And there is a direct correlation between customer loyalty and the spirit of the employees who touch the customer. It is the food, the ambiance, and the restaurant staff that make a restaurant great.

The heart of a business is its people and their energy, the culture of service to the customer. The heart of a business is its heart.

Well, get on with it!

Karl

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The Power of Language, Part Two

I misquoted Joel Weldon in my March 13 post (now corrected), and I am reminded that making mistakes can be a blessing, if we so choose.

I am embarrassed by having made the mistake, especially given that I had one of Joel Weldon’s famous Cans in my office for many years. I have shared his quote correctly with others so many times, I can’t imagine how I could have written it incorrectly in my original March 13 post, but I did.

What is the blessing? Judy Weldon wrote me to remind me of the correct quote. I will never get it wrong again. You now have the correct quote, and I get to share with you the best, most motivating speaker I have ever heard, Joel Weldon.

To learn more about Joel, click here: “SUCCESS comes in CANS, Not in Cannots!”

I have learned a great deal over the years. I have learned more from my mistakes than I have learned from what I have done correctly. Note I said, “…from what I have done correctly” and did not say, “…from my successes.” I said so because I believe that my mistakes were successes. Since we can learn from our mistakes, success can come from making mistakes.

Our lives are determined by how we deal with what happens in our lives, by how we choose to respond to what others say and do, and by what beliefs, actions, and language we use to define our lives. I choose to believe that there are blessings in everything. I believe that every relationship, no matter how short lived, has value. I believe that life gets better every day.

Well, get on with it!

Karl

email@talktokarl.com

The Power of Language

While reading a friend’s blog, I was reminded of the power of language.

I am a firm believer that we create our destiny; that in our actions, beliefs, intentions, and lanuage, we determine outcomes. When we imagine something, when we concentrate on something (consciously or unconsciously), when we feel a certain way about something, and when we speak and act in a certain way about something, all of that works to attract that something into our lives.

We can either pay attention to what it is we concentrate on and make sure it is something we want in our lives, or we can just hope for the best. The latter sounds like quite a gamble to me.

Become more conscious about the things you concentrate on, about the things you think about, and about your language and actions. The more positive you are, the more positivity you will attract into your life.

Joel Weldon said, “SUCCESS comes in CANS, Not in Cannots.” Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right!”

I think they knew what they were talking about.

Karl

email@talktokarl.com

PS. Thank you to Judy Weldon for the now CORRECTED Joel Weldon quote.

Taxes

Here we go again. It’s the season, but not the one we usually think of in a warm and fuzzy way. When you hear (or read) the word, “taxes,” what comes to mind, how do you feel?

For many, it evokes some uncomfortable feelings in their bodies, they may feel a bit depressed at the thought of, “Haven’t I given enough, already?” They might even be thinking about how their tax dollars are being spent. Does any of that sound familiar to you?

Others look forward to getting that refund check in the mail – a celebration. They may have been better off doing a better job of calculating their tax obligation, but it does feel good to get a nice check in the mail. I haven’t had a refund in I can’t remember how long. A refund? What’s a refund? Well, for those who get one, good for them.

Here’s a novel idea – how about the next time you think about taxes, think about how grateful you are to have made so much money that your tax bill is as high as it is. If you didn’t have to pay taxes, it could mean that you didn’t make any money. Now that would be something to get upset about!

Here is to your success!

Well, get on with it!

Karl

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