Stuart R. Crawford

My review of the “Go Giver” continues on, have you picked up the book yet.  If not, what is stopping you from grabbing this book that will help you in your life, marriage, relationships, finances, business and is something that will help you improve your life balance sheet.

The most valuable gift you have to offer is authenticity.  How authentic are you in your dealings with others.  All you have to offer is yourself, nothing more and nothing less. 

Remember 50/50 is a losing proposition.  We all need to be 100% committed to whoever we are dealing with.  In life, family, business and everything we touch, do, say and act.

What is the best close that you have used in your business career?

Take away, assumption, quality, no money down, money is not everything and so on.

It is time to release all those learning’s and things that you have learned that didn’t work or haven’t work for you, forget about being slick, forget about flash and forget about going in for kill.

It is important for everyone just to be you, when you are yourself all you have to offer is your authenticity.  When you offer your authenticity you let your guard down, you expose yourself, you are vulnerable and you start to gain the trust of the those all around you.

Training and skills are important, but the most important asset you have is YOU.  The core is who you are, just be yourself, stop playing an act, doing what others tell you to do, just be yourself.  Do you want great people skills?  If you do, then just be a person!

Arlin talks about it in his business triangle and I cover it in the Connect to dots eBook (http://blog.itsuccessmentor.com/connect-the-dots) about the importance of people in our business.  When we can connect at a people level and we are authentic, then we can start to become a master of what we do and have the stickiness with those around us.  We have the trust, respect and relationship of those around us.

When was the last time you did honest self reflection about who you are and what you are doing in your life?

“If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.”
Donald H. Rumsfeld

God knows that I have been criticized a lot in my life for who I am, what I stand for, the way I manage people and many other things.  I must be doing something right, thanks for this reminder that I need to be just who I am and not anyone else!

Just a quick note from the patio of my favourite place in Vancouver. I always make a point of stopping by Steamworks, however today was twice - what a treat!

Quick lunch with my friends Dana, Arlin and Nancy and then a quick refreshment with my very good friend Vikram Kumar from Unilogik Systems here in Vancouver.

I have know Vikram for many years and his Oracle focused business has been a long time partner of IT Matters.

Check out Steamworks at http://www.steamworks.com

I would like to share with you a great service for anyone in the Calgary area looking for a lift to and from the airport (YYC) or anywhere around Calgary.  My good friend Joanne Peters runs a Limousine and Sedan car service here in Calgary and hands down is the best car service around.

Joanne and I were chatting this morning on the way to the airport for my flight to Vancouver.  You see I never drive myself to the airport anymore.  The risk of my car sitting in the parking lot combined with the price of gas and the very high parking rates at YYC make it more economical to use a car service and especially the services from Joanne’s firm “All 4 You”.

I use many car services in my travels and have experiences from all over the globe and no service comes close to the loyal, respected and punctual service from Joanne and her team.  They are very committed to customer service, ease of doing business and the one thing they get that I try to preach in my business is the importance of the client relationship, Joanne gets this and her team does a wonderful job in ensuring that all clients are looked after.

If you are in need of lift to and from Calgary International Airport (YYC) then contact Joanne at 403.389.4786 or email (this works great with them) at all4you@rogers.blackberry.net.  You may also visit their website at http://www.all4youlimoes.com. 

The airport runs aren’t the only thing they do.  I have used Joanne’s service to go to and from the Pengrowth Saddledome, doctor appointments, shopping, kids events and any other events that may warrant a personal driver.

The key to effective giving is to be open to receiving.  This can be related to anything in life. 

It is better to give than receive.  Good people give and never think about receiving.  Are you giver or just someone who sits back and receives things in life.  Actually being only a giver is foolish.  Receiving is the natural result of giving.  When you give you must receive, just like the tide, when it goes out it has to come back.  Just like breathing, you need in inhale and then exhale.  Humans and animals inhale oxygen and exhale CO2 and the plants in the world inhale the CO2 and exhale Oxygen, so to speak.  But it is natural to give and then receive. 

We must be open to receiving all the time!

We must choose to receive gifts and talents that are given to us.  When we are not open to receiving to the gifts of others we will never obtain real success.

Are you hungry to receive?

The key to effecting giving is to be open to receiving.

Are people able to reach to share their gifts with you?  Being able to get in touch with you is an important aspect of being able to receive gifts from others.  This is why I carry my Blackberry all the time, have my laptop and publicly share my contact information with anyone.  This allows me to be open to receiving at any time when the gifts are out there for me to receive.