Anger Can Be Contagious

In his autobiography, Number 1, Billy Martin told about hunting in Texas with Mickey Mantle.

Mickey had a friend who would let them hunt on his ranch. When they reached the ranch, Mickey told Billy to wait in the car while he checked in with his friend. Mantle's friend quickly gave them permission to hunt, but he asked Mickey a favor. He had a pet mule in the barn who was going blind, and he didn't have the heart to put him out of his misery. He asked Mickey to shoot the mule for him.

When Mickey came back to the car, he pretended to be angry. He scowled and slammed the door. Billy asked him what was wrong, and Mickey said his friend wouldn't let them hunt. "I'm so mad at that guy," Mantle said, "I'm going out to his barn and shoot one of his mules!" Mantle drove like a maniac to the barn. Martin protested, "We can't do that!" But Mickey was adamant. "Just watch me," he shouted.

When they got to the barn, Mantle jumped out of the car with his rifle, ran inside, and shot the mule. As he was leaving, though, he heard two shots, and he ran back to the car. He saw that Martin had taken out his rifle, too. "What are you doing, Martin?" he yelled. Martin yelled back, face red with anger, "We'll show that son of a gun! I just killed two of his cows!"

Oh no! Anger can be dangerously contagious.

As Proverbs 22:24-25 puts it, "Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man... or you may learn his ways" (Prov.). [1]

Let me tell you another story. This time it’s a confession from a man who understands the destructive power of anger.

This wise person says:

I went to the store the other day, and I was in there for only about 5 minutes.

When I came out there was a motorcycle cop writing a parking ticket.

So I went up to him and said, "Come on, buddy, how about giving a guy a break?"

He ignored me and continued writing the ticket.

So I called him a pencil-necked Nazi.

He glared at me and started writing another ticket for worn tires!

So I called him a piece of horse manure.

He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he started writing a third ticket!

This went on for about 20 minutes... the more I abused him, the more tickets he wrote.

I didn't care. My car was parked around the corner.

I try to have a little fun each day. It's important.

That’s how destructive anger could be.

RABBI BERNARD S. RASKAS says: “Often we are caught in the snare of the old adage that we must fight fire with fire. We retaliate against hate with hate, and we answer anger with auger. All we really succeed in doing is magnifying the problem, for by increasing a fire all we simply do is intensify the heat.

The true way to extinguish a fire is with cool water. Likewise, the effective way to quench a quarrel is with cooling and soothing words. Most arguments are rooted in irrational hate; before reason can be applied to relationships, hate must be dispelled. This can only be done when the voice is soft, the temper is low, and the regard for others is gentle. The real antidote to anger is, obviously, pleasantness. [2]

When we give others a "piece of our mind," we have no "peace of mind" left.

Better to consider peace and patience rather than risk being a patient one day.

Always remember. Anger is only one letter away from danger.

Getting Started With Jim Rohn

Jim Rohn is the quintessential business philosopher. He tells it to you straight with honest, informative, and useful ideas. A good way to get started with Jim Rohn is to read some of his quotes or articles, but the best way is to listen to him speak. Jim has a wide variety of audio programs to choose from, and the audio program that I recommend to get started is The Art of Exceptional Living.

There are two versions of this audio program—the abridged version or the complete program that you can buy through his company. Jim has been described as the “Socrates of the Modern era,” and The Art of Exceptional Living will give you an understanding of this description.

In the program, Jim covers four major lessons you must master to become successful and how to overcome self-imposed restrictions. He goes through a detailed step-by-step goal-setting workshop that will enable you to design exactly what you want the next ten years to bring. Jim also describes the five abilities for true success and how the cultivation of lifestyle molds your life into a successful masterpiece.

Here are the subjects that Jim Rohn covers:

• The Fundamentals of Exceptional Living.

• Developing a Powerful Personal Philosophy.

• Filling Your Reservoir of Knowledge.

• The Miracle of Personal Development.

• The Five Abilities for True Success.

• Achieving Financial Independence.

• The Principal of Association.

• The Art of Setting Goals.

• Designing the Next 10 Years.

• The Cultivation of Lifestyle.

• The Day That Turns Your Life Around.

In The Art of Exceptional Living, Jim relates his 39-plus years of experience and personal investigation into success. If you follow his advice, you’ll be on your way to a happier, more prosperous life.

Jim Rohn Quick Facts

Main Areas: Business Coaching; Motivation
Career Focus: Author; Speaker; Counselor; Seminar Leader
Affiliation: Jim Rohn International

Jim Rohn is one of the most influential thinkers of our time. His profound business philosophy, creative insight, and inspirational messages have made him a popular speaker, writer, and counselor. His seminars have spanned over 39 years, and he has addressed over 6,000 audiences and 4 million people worldwide.

As a motivational speaker, Jim addresses such topics as sales and entrepreneurial skills, leadership, sales and marketing, and personal development. He always approaches the subjects of personal and business success by asking four questions: Why?, Why not?, Why not you?, and Why not now?. He answers these questions and reveals practical secrets for productivity. Jim’s anecdotes and witty style fascinate listeners, igniting their enthusiasm and “can-do” spirit.

Jim is the recipient of the 1985 National Speakers Association CPAE Award, and he is the author of various books, such as The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle. He also has assorted audio and video programs, like The Art of Exceptional Living, which provides the ideas and inspiration that lead to unstoppable daily progress.

Balancing Your Past and Future By Josh Hinds

Being forward thinking, and on focus with regards to the goals you have set for yourself, and the direction you want your life to move in is important — no doubt about it.

However, it’s also important to give ample time to the successes you’ve experienced along the way. And we’re not just talking about the monumental wins either. Even the smallest of right actions all add up. They all count, and are important!

The reason taking the time to recount your past achievements is so important is because in doing so you’ll find it to be a terrific motivator for helping to move you forward on your goals.

When you feel good about the place and path you’re on, and the progress you’re making (and have made in the past) you will find it to be that much easier to stay the course and dedicate the necessary time to accomplishing what needs to be done to get you to the eventual outcome you’ve planned for.

Recounting your past achievements will become a welcome
reminder and source of validation that you’re making things
happen in your life!

– It’s your life, LIVE BIG!

Your Customers Are Your Most Valuable Asset By Josh Hinds

It’s been said that on average a happy customer or client will share their experience with three other people, while a negative experience will be retold upwards of 6 to 7 times.

I readily admit I don’t have the scientific numbers to prove whether the above claim is true or not, but I can tell you that if there’s even the slightest smidgen of truth in it I don’t want to find out for sure! Do you? No, of course you don’t.

Maybe it’s because I speak and coach clients on how to build strong relationships with their customers, and as a result make more sales & greater profits in their businesses, but as you might expect I hear more than my fair share of customer service stories (The good, the bad, and at times the downright ugly).

The following story illustrates not only how important it is to take seriously the way we treat our past customers, but it also shows just how easy it is to blow what could otherwise be a lasting win, win situation for everyone involved.

A friend shared the following story with me.

About 3 months ago my friend went into a local car dealership in our local area and purchased a car, he was absolutely delighted with every aspect of the purchase.

The salesperson was perfect, the car was to his liking, all it seemed was wonderful. Except for one tiny detail, which as you will see shouldn’t have ever been allowed to develop into a problem in the first place — but I’m jumping ahead of the story.

It turns out during the car transaction the salesperson mentioned that my buddy would get his first oil change at no charge. All he would need to do is to call her (the salesperson) when the first oil change was due.

Three months passed, and all the while my friend had been happily sharing the positive experience he had from buying the car.

Then the customer no-service nightmare begins (and I might add, whatever positive relationship had been in place up to that point went kaput!). My friend called the salesperson, he said he reminded her that he had bought a vehicle from her a few months back and just as she’d asked him to do he was calling to get the initial oil change scheduled. The one that was promised as a reward for buying the car from the dealership.

First challenge… not only does she not remember his name, she doesn’t even act as though she has any clue who he is.

Second challenge… rather than offering to take care of scheduling the oil change herself — she says, “I doesn’t really handle that, but here’s the number of the service department person to ask for, he can take care of you”.

My friend is surprised, but isn’t really bothered by it at this point. He calls the service department and a young lady answers. He explains the situation, and she says that the person whose name he was given was at lunch, and that she “doesn’t know anything about that” — that being a free first oil change when you purchase a car from the dealership.

Instead of offering to take his name she informs him that she would be happy to schedule something if he would like. Unfortunately the “something” wasn’t the as promised free first time oil change.

At this point my friend explains to her that he’s not interested in having their company handle any service work for him. While nice, he also explains that because of the lack of service — from the sales department to their service center he will not only not take advantage of their service department, he will also never purchase another vehicle from the dealership.

His reasoning was solid in my opinion, he said, “Josh, if I can’t count on this company to fulfill a simple oil change, how can I count on them to stand behind a vehicle which costs say, $30,000.00 to $60,000.00. Like I said, his reasoning was sound.

Unfortunately, for the dealership, that was just the beginning of their misfortune — literally in the form of missed referrals and the numerous retellings of this customer no-service story that my friend received.

While he’s not a vindictive person at all, he has told well over 8 to 9 people I know of (myself included) about this unbelievable experience. Think about that for a moment. Consider how many people will now give serious pause to doing business with this company. Even assuming that not one of those people recounted the story (which you know I have just shared it with many people here in this writing, not to mention how many people will hear it when I am speaking from the stage or coaching one of my clients on the right way to build winning customer relationships).

There are many lessons we can gain from the story above, not the least of which is this…

If you make a promise, do your dead level best to live up to it. That’s not to say that you aren’t going to fall short at times, try as we might, we all have our moments where we fall short. Still, if you want to stand out above those in the marketplace when you fall short, do your best to rectify the situation. Be honest about it, admit you fell short and if possible do your best to make up for it.

You don’t have to be perfect, and chances are, you can’t be 100% of the time no matter how hard you try, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a target worth aiming for. Aim for it, and you will find that far more often than not you will be way ahead of the game professionally and personally.

People not only want to be able to believe in and trust those they do business with — they will actively seek out those they can feel that way about. Strive to be that person and you will attract more than your share of opportunity — and make a whole lot more sales in the process!

* Josh Hinds is a motivational speaker and coach, as well as the the author of the Why Perfect Timing is a Myth Success Package!

Josh Hinds Motivation and Inspiration Journal Speaker, Author, and Trainer – Motivation and Self-Help Articles

Give Your Best To The Task At Hand By Josh Hinds

Posted June 7, 2010 0 Comments and 0 Reactions

Starting today commit to giving your absolute best to every task which comes your way. Rather than seeing things as a burden or menial tasks remind yourself that each is preparing you for the eventual larger opportunities which lay in store for you.

To paraphrase business philosopher, author, and lecturer Jim Rohn, you can’t just start at the top, it’s as though life is making sure you can handle the smaller tasks that are required of you, before you’re given the responsibility of having to deal with the bigger ones.

Prove you can work through the smaller things that are asked of you and before you know it, you’ll attract greater opportunity, along with the greater life rewards that come with being able to work through them.

– It’s your life, LIVE BIG! Josh Hinds

PS. Order your copy of my Success Package – Why perfect Timing is a Myth! – it’s full of tips you can use for staying motivated & inspired to achieve your dreams!

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