Jul 20th, 2008 by Ollie Lind
How Can I Gain Respect?
This is a really pertinent question in this day and age of instant gratification and uncertain values.
Click on the video and you will be rewarded with some vital information.
We all want and need respect; we deserve it. Let me show you how to win it.
Video Answers to How Can I?
Jul 20th, 2008 by Ollie Lind
I’m pleased to finally announce a new feature at HowCanI.
In order to give you an even clearer indication of the How Can I approach to the question of taking on new SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES we have recorded ten minute samples of typical How Can I questions.
Remember, if you have any barrier to advancing or enriching your life, there is an answer. You simply have to ask the question How Can I…?
We have started with three subjects I am told by many of you that difficulties exist.
The first question is How Can I Make a Good Impression?
For many people this is a real concern. They are surrounded by uncertainty and don’t know what to do. Click on the video and discover your first HowCanI answer.
The next question is How Can I Gain Respect?
This is a really pertinent question in this day and age of instant gratification and uncertain values.
Click on the video and you will be rewarded with some vital information. We all want and need respect, we deserve it. Let me show you how to win it.
Finally, as I teach sales as a major part of what I do I have addressed this next answer to the question How Can I Get the Appointment?
So many people have a problem with telemarketing and simply don’t know what to do.
Click on the video and get some of the answers you need.
I only have ten minutes in each video so don’t expect ALL the ANSWERS.
What you will see is how we approach the challenges we all face in life as we make our way on our journey.
We will add more How Can I Answers over time. If you have an area of life you want to resolve, please e-mail me at and I will address it for you.
I expect the next answer will be to the question How Can I Cope with Change?
I am working on the notes for the DVD as we speak and will record it in the next month. At that time I will also record a sample for you to see.
If you like what you see, buy one of the DVDs available. You will be supplied with comprehensive back up notes for ready reference.
Live well,
Ollie Lind
How Can I Make a Good Impression?
Jul 20th, 2008 by Ollie Lind
For many people this is a real concern. They are surrounded by uncertainty and don’t know what to do.
Click on the video and discover your first How Can I answer.
It just goes to show
Jul 13th, 2008 by Ollie Lind
I have spent the last few days in a lather of frustration and perspiration. I turned on my trusty (?) computer the other night and found I couldn’t get onto the internet. I did my normal technical checks. Was the beast switched on? (Yes) Were all my connections intact? (again yes, 100%)
I did the most technically complicated thing I knew. I switched the computer off and restarted it. They say if you do the same old you get the same old. Guess what, they were right.
I kept getting conflicting messages. First it would say (rather petulently) “You are not connected to the internet.”) I would check and it then said. “You are connected.” (I am sure it whispered ‘stupid!’)
Then it changed it’s mind again and said it couldn’t connect to my modem. I sat very still for a long time. At last I got my temper under control and telephoned my son. He rattled off a number of instructions certain to fix the problem instantly. The problem was he may as well have been speaking Swahili.
When I get like this my son’s voice changes. He starts speaking to me as if I am deaf or slow. Eventually we arranged for me to unbuckle my computer from its leash and take it to his laboratory. It’s actually his den but he is one of these frightfully clever people who not only builds computers, he is a talented musician and also a qualified sound engineer. I don’t know how he tolerates the older generation.
He worked on the problem for almost three hours. I must confess I got a degree of perverse satisfaction when he couldn’t fix it. Then he had an idea. “I think the problem is with the firewall. He turned it off and voila! It worked.
I asked him if we could access my e-mails as I was sure there was a mountain of them. We went downstairs and had lunch while the computer went about its business. When I got back I saw an e-mail from Zone Alarm (I have their firewall). They were alerting us to the fact that MicroSoft had released an update that apparently had an effect on Zone Alert firewalls and we had to take action to correct the difficulty.
I’m afraid I laughed and laughed and laughed. I had lost over two days, but still found something to laugh at. Think about it a minute. I couldn’t get on the internet, therefore I couldn’t access my e-mails. So, I had to solve the problem of getting on the e-mail so that I could be informed that there was a problem and they would supply me the answer.
I am now sitting at home, downloading the ‘fix’ and ruminating about the situation. It’s funny how two unrelated happenings can have a profound effect on others not directly connected to the happenings. MicroSoft developed a solution to a problem. This resulted in a possibly more serious problem, with no clues as to the origin of the difficulty. Talk about six degrees of separation.
I just checked. I have been downloading the solution for an hour and am only 41% there. A late night tonight.
This gets me to thinking. Sometimes random challenges and problems occur. There is no obvious cause and they can be very frustrating. About the only thing you can do is gather what information and help you can and tackle the situation head on. Find something to learn from the situation. I know if I have another situation where I cannot get onto the internet I will switch off my firewall and try that. It might even work.
What positive did I get from the situation? I got to spend more quality time with my son. I got to love and appreciate him even more and I learnt that sometimes, when things go wrong, I didn’t do it. I also learnt (again) any challenge or problem can be overcome or solved and you can always learn from it.
Live Well,
Ollie Lind
Sometimes it takes time
Jun 29th, 2008 by Ollie Lind
Have you ever gone through a period where the universe seems to conspire against you? Well, I have been through the wringer recently. Firstly we had technical problems with the site that defied the designer’s best efforts. Then we had a sound failure with the three ten minute videos I promised.
Well, the site is back up, phew. Yesterday we re-shot the videos. I hope to have them on the site within a week.
I have often been told that delays and misfortune are the universe’s way of presenting you with opportunities. While going through my recent frustrations I had trouble seeing the truth of the opportunities. As it turned out, I was astounded by what transpired. The designer has introduced improvements to make the site easier to navigate. As for the videos, the producer changed the lighting and sound set-up. I am pleasantly surprised by the result.
I do apologise for the delay in posting the videos. I hope you will enjoy them….soon
Live well,
Ollie Lind
A Hold up
Jun 1st, 2008 by Ollie Lind
I recently wrote that we had filmed some howcani questions to release to demonstrate the howcani approach and to provide some valuable information. I just received an e-mail from the producer. The film is fine, the sound is not. Unfortunately it means we will have to reshoot them.
Just a small delay, about two weeks as I have to fit the shoot into a fairly busy schedule. Sorry about the delay. I hope you find the wait worth it.
Live well,
Ollie Lind
Saying goodbye is never easy
May 25th, 2008 by Ollie Lind
I received an invitation the other day. One of those bitter sweet situations. Young friends of mine invited me to a reception for the christening of their second child. I looked at the invitation with happiness and expectation. There is another side to this event.
It is a goodbye.
The wife is a partner in a global accounting firm and has taken an opportunity to go to Canada for a couple of years. Obviously the entire family is on their way. This got me thinking about how often life and situations we face are a two edged sword.
In the case of my friends, they have a great opportunity to travel, experience a different culture and also advance her career. The other side of the coin is leaving friends in their adopted country for an extended time, perhaps permanently. But then, life is simply a series of journeys that bring us together and sometimes parts us.
I suppose the positive message to be taken from these events is that people I care about are advancing and enriching their lives and that I will take the opportunity to fill the void with others. Obviously I will never forget these people and will welcome them back into my life should they return.
After all, it’s only six degrees of seperation on this lovely planet of ours, isn’t it?
Live well,
Ollie Lind
An Update
May 20th, 2008 by Ollie Lind
In News and Muse I mentioned we would be filming some short videos posing sales questions and providing answers. Well, we shot them last Friday. They are away at the producer and should become available shortly. When I was considering what questions to pose I was influenced by an incident that happened with a young sales consultant I have trained.
He started to go into a slump, literally. His shoulders slumped along with his results. He just couldn’t seem to get it together and take the positive road so vital to sales. I spent some time with him and it became obvious to me he had, for some reason that escapes me, taken on a negative view of himself. He ended up say to me that he couldn’t see why people would respect him because he was so young and what did he know anyway?
When he told me this I burst out laughing. He was aghast. HIs face dropped and you would have thought that the end of the world had come. I looked him in the eye and said. “What people think of you is sinply a reflection of what you think of yourself. You can change what you think in an instant.”
He looked at me as if I was mad. I simply asked him to recall the first time he could remember someone telling him he was too young. He protested that it had never happened. With some coaxing he came up with a time. I asked him if he believed it when he was told. he nodded. I then asked him if he had a licence, was he old enough to drink alcohol and vote.
He started to grin and nodded. I then said, “Your’e old enough to start living. Try it.” We both laughed and he straightened his shoulders. “I’m going to give it a real go.”
I decided to make one of the questions, “How can I win respect?” I got on a roll and titled another “How can I make a good impression?” Finally, I made one for sales called, “How can I get the appointment?”
You can guess by now that the questions will be about life and living, with sales tips thrown in. We will do quite a few over the coming months. My gift to you. What do you have to do in return? If you like what you see, buy a DVD. If not, then Live well,
Ollie Lind
News and Muse
May 11th, 2008 by Ollie Lind
I really must apologise for not writing a news and muse for a while. So much has been happening that the time just slipped away. Quite a confession for someone who teaches time management. Well, like us all, I am a work in progress.
News first. You may have noticed I have begun to write sales tips. Given that I do a lot of sales training, it is not before time. Two things are going to happen soon. Firstly, I will write a sales tip each week under the heading HOWCANI …. We will also do a series of very short videos on the tips. They will be free and available on the site. This way I hope to share more of the sales skills I teach with more people.
Next; I have been on an adventure over the last few months with regard to weight loss. More importantly, I have researched the reasons why people so often fail on projects precious to them. I have been working for almost six months on this project. Some of the results have been a weight loss of fifteen kilos (33 lbs) and a level of fitness I have never achieved before.
My weight has stabilised at 70 kg. The next step has been to change my training to get the body into peak condition. Shortly I will make a video outlining the mental preparation and approach that has been sucessful for me. I have also applied the process to other areas of my life. The results have been breathtaking.
Muse: I sometimes wonder why it is that whenever we feel down we look outside ourselves for the cause. We can always find a reason for why we feel down, depressed, upset etc. Just think about it. Whatever happens in life impacts on people in different ways. Why is this so?
The answer is simple. We respond to whatever happens to us. What that response is is UP TO US. We control how we feel. The single greatest power we possess is the capacity to decide. Many people will disagree with me, I know.
Try an experiment for me, will you? Get somewhere on your own and think of as many gloomy and troublesome events that have happened in your life as you can. Regard yourself as an observer and see what thoughts and emotions well up inside. Then, when you are good and miserable, turn your thoughts to the happiest times in your life. All those times you have triumphed, been admired, passed tough exams, your meeting with a beautiful person. Now observe how you feel.
You see? How you feel is up to you.
Live well,
Ollie Lind
Sales Tip #3
May 4th, 2008 by Ollie Lind
We all know what sales is about, don’t we? Well, when I see the efforts of many sales people I begin to doubt they really understand the true purpose of sales. You see, it can be viewed in so many ways and the purposes from each viewpoint may seem to be at odds.
For example, the sales person may see what they do as reaching quota to hold onto their job, or as a means to increase comission and enhance their survival. Some customers may even see the sales effort as a threat to their survival. You know, if the sales person wins, everyone else loses.
Maybe we should, as the renowned French Philosopher Voltaire was so fond of doing, define our terms to reach a common understanding, Once this is achieved, then some sense may be made of the subject. Let’s look at the term ‘Sales.’
It could be termed “A method of exchanging goods and services for money or kind where both parties achieve a particular benefit that is balanced.”
That sounds pretty reasonable, wouldn’t you agree?
Aha, there I go, selling to you. How? By eliciting agreement. A sale is achieved by achieving a continuing and growing number of agreements. If you look further you see that the agreements must enhance the survival of both parties. Once achieved, you have an exchange that both parties are happy with.
How does this translate into a sales tip?
EASY
All you have to focus on when you approach a prospective client is that your concern must be to provide a benefit that is recognised by the prospect as such. That’s all.
If you focus on how whatever you are selling provides a benefit for the client, and make sure you receive fair exchange, you will sell.
People are intuitive beings and they will pick up on any lack of ethics or uncertainty on your part. People buy from people they trust, not necessarily those they like. If you honestly believe in your product you will sell. If you do not you will find ways to fail.
Be honest, firstly with yourself, then in all your dealings and you will be successful. The degree of your success will depend on you.
Live well,
Ollie Lind