Writers Write

I say write your heart out at every shot that you get.  If you get rejected, so be it.  Make the most of your writing opportunities.  You can do so with a traditional publisher or you can go the route of self-publishing your own work.  I go so far as to post my poetry online.  I even try my hand at some popular blogging strategies that may or may not seem so profitable.


How do I do so?

1. Maintain an online profile
2. Add/ contribute content
3. Write when I'm on
4. Write when I'm off
5. Read and read a wide variety of genres and publications
6. Write some more

Finding a Connection

I met a girl a couple of weeks ago. She gonna tell me, “If you want to get acquainted with me and my son, you’ll have to take him to Disneyland.”

I went to pick her up the next day and here she got four more kids. I said, “Who kids are them?”
She said, “Them Bebe’s Kids.”
-Robin Harris
 
Presenters and trainers have to have a knack for knowing how to connect with other people.  You need to make a connection with people in the audience when you present. 
 

Do it like a comedian works with the crowd at a show duirng a stand up comedy routine.  Take notice of someone's dress.  Remark on someone's upside down smile.  Crack a joke to break the ice.  Make a connection like a Lenny Bruce, Robin Harris, Bernie Mac or Chris Rock, even Howie Mandel.

Building Strong

Luke 14:28 speaks of counting up the costs for building a tower.  It is a metaphoric example presented by Jesus in relation to discipleship.  However, it is a practical example about business structure.

You want to build your business.  You do not desire to build a weak business with low-grade structures and systems.  You would be hard pressed to find someone who desired such a thing out of their business hopes and dreams.

Start thinking it out.  Build a business structure that leads to a strong business.  Don't try to be what you are not equipped to do in business simply because that is what the other guy does across town.  Distinctively design your business to stand on its own.

Growth Demonstrated

"You have to hold yourself accountable for everything – the good and the bad...There is no such thing as luck...Everything that happens (or doesn't happen) in your business is the result of your work or lack thereof."- Rob Cuesta, Extreme Business Coach

If you are running a start-up, you want growth.  If you are leading a project, you want to be able to say that the project demonstrated some form of accomplishment.  Pastors and ministry leaders are constantly trying to figure out if what they are doing on a regular basis is leading to growth within the church or the ministry.  When you go out into the field, you measure your calls versus your sells.  For evangelism, you measure your return on effort by the number of people you attract to a community event or the number of people who accept Christ at the event.  In business and ministry, we are constantly tracking activity.

Growth is not something that is easily accomplished. There are some things that you can do to grow your business, and there are some things that you have to do in order to grow your business, too.  It depends on what you seek to grow and what it takes to grow.  Part of what helps one point towards growth is the ability to analyze historical data. Such an ability allows one to identify benchmarks and road blocks based upon historical performance.  No matter what direction things may go, whether up or down, such new data gets compared to previous data.  With your data in tow, you can make an honest and earnest appeal to your corporate stakeholders or your congregation members, even your core group of supporters and volunteers.

You demonstrate your growth with numbers.  Use percentages and ratios.  Compare recent years to past years.  Track and measure gradual changes.  We don't always get that drastic change at the turn of a dime.  Keep track of trends as you go along the way.   Build your own business reporting system or work from n established model. Speak to other professionals in your field who have more experience than you or who may have a vastly different experience from you.  Identify how to work on reaching your numbers and have a means or method for reporting your numbers.