Will Michael Jackson’s legacy live on? Could GM’s highs and lows explain how? Here’s a company that grew leaps and bounds. Then hit some rough road. But they quickly came out of bankruptcy. Wanna be startin’ something? That biz idea? Look at the man/woman in the mirror.

GM had to change or re-arrange to keep making the dough. What brings such change? The need for new money. Benji’s to spend. Passion at work. A good living. Ready to achieve the next goal? Becoming Layoff Proof. Career Makeover. Start a business. Reinvent or re-brand. Dust-off your dreams. Know the tradeoffs?

It’s like needing to lose a few pounds. Get back your six-pack. What makes someone change?  Maybe a blowout, burnout or bailout. You blow a tire, fuse, shirt size. You are sick & tired of being sick and tired. Maybe a jail-free second chance. A loved one passes on. Painful? Yes, these situations can cause a change reaction.

GM expects to thrive again. After making cost-cutting moves. Building a new business model. Taking calculated risks. It’s all in a day’s work. Not just for the Automaker. But also for the 21st century go-getter. Get back in stride again. Feel brand new. Step-up your game. Set-off your ride to fame. Don’t stop til you get enough. Or get it right. 

Change is not always radical. But it’s good to clear the air. Grow beyond your fears. Live each day smiling from ear to ear. Take a paycut? If it gets you out a rut or from a nut. Make six figures? Believe it then achieve it. Why you gotta change or re-arrange? Because success as a hot-stepper depends on it. So, good luck. And sweet dreams!

 Natural born winner! Is there such a thing? That’s the question being asked at sports bars and local taverns. Fans want to know. Does a team need a natural born winner to become champions? It’s a lot like the question, are leaders born or made? Here’s what I’ve learned from watching Lebron James. He’s developed an ‘inside-outside’ game.

He can beat you with the jump shot. He can score by driving to the hoop. This makes him tough to defend. The strong leader has a similar advantage. He (or she) develops the person alongside the person-ality. So what does this say about the CEO of Me Inc? Glad you asked. Their inside-outside game is nice too. They make the personal and professional work together like wrestling partners.

This tag-team approach is how you get paid to the max. Yes, an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. But there are other ways to cash flow. Royalties, Residuals, Refunds to name a few. The CEO of Me Inc. turns skill into dollars and value into a pipeline. This way money is not simply about punching a clock. It’s about meeting a need and attracting new streams. Sometimes by branding your pain.

Elizabeth Edwards’ book Resilience, recounts her battle with Cancer. It also talks about her husband’s infidelity. Two difficult and very personal subjects. Maybe a lesson in business and life. The CEO of Me Inc. combines the personal and professional by turning wounds into wisdom. Pain into Profit. Hurt into net-worth. Kirk Franklin, adopted at two. Now he’s a mega gospel artist. Oprah goes from abuse to Billionaire mogul.

In any business you’ll find strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The same is true for a sports team or individual. What do Lebron, Oprah and others have in common? A strong inside-outside game. They rock! They get the respect of peers. That’s a plus for the personal and professional. It works for a pro, the everyday Joe and Me Inc. CEO. Weaknesses are lowered. Strengths are raised. Opportunities are seized. And threats become assets.

 Why is Lebron James being compared to Oscar Robinson? Because of a long-standing record that many believe James can break. Robinson is the only NBA player to average a ‘triple double’ in a season. This is double figure scores in three game stats. That aside, James is often asked about becoming a free agent in 2010.

OK, stop right there! What does a free agent have to do with being the CEO of Me Inc.? What does the CEO of Me Inc. have to do with being a free agent? Good questions. It shows where the 21^st century job market is going. The average worker can expect to change jobs or careers. Maybe once, twice or some more. So, guess what? Employers will be hiring less staff and more contract workers.

Employers are always looking for a few good folks. As a contract worker this relieves them of benefits costs. They’ll hire more by project than by position. This makes the CEO of Me Inc. a perfect choice. You can make money without limiting your options. You can work on contract and shop around your skills as a Me Inc. professional.

Free agents have higher earning power and profit potential. Medical Doctors are good examples. After completing Med School they work in a specialty. Some even open up their own practice. Success as a free agent means having a specialty in career or business. This way the marketplace always has use for you too. Whether as employee, consultant or owner.

Top-notch free agents bring business-savvy. The marketplace rewards those who can turn an idea into ‘show me the money.’ That’s what excites employers as well. Can you help the enterprise make money? Do you offer real value as a market-preneur? The free agent model applies not only to James and those in sports. Pros in the business world work best and win big as the CEO of Me Inc.

Podcast Soundtrack – “Clips & Hits”

Play Podcast here

 “You jigglin’ in them jeans.” Ever said that to someone? Were you trying to hit on them? Not really! Just paying a complement, right? Maybe you heard those words before and knew they were talking about you. You wore your favorite jeans and somebody took notice. It made you feel good. Well your business brand or persona should create the same feeling.

Here’s a thought. People don’t buy your product or service. They buy you. They also buy more on emotion than on logic. Think about it. You’re buying the feeling you get from wearing those jeans. So marketing and selling involves having a brand. It involves connecting the brand with an emotional payback. Isn’t that how the Trump Brand works?

Watch Donald Trump in action. He has a certain style and flare. You might not like how he wears his hair. But the Donald gets it. Branding is style. Style is important but not enough. You’ve got to have some substance. Style without substance is just a fad. It soon fades away. Substance is the content of who you are and what you bring. It’s the brick and mortar, the body and brains. Effective branding brings style and substance to the mix.

Branding is really the subtext of your business or persona. Nobody really cares about your business. They just care about how your business satisfies their needs. Sometimes that’s with a product. Sometimes that’s with a service. Branding is to your business what style is to your persona. It’s the subtext of who you are and what you do in the marketplace. 

The Trump Brand is Real Estate. It is Casinos and Golf Course Design. There’s probably more. The Trump Brand sparks feelings of authority, money and celebrity. He has a helicopter to go along with the Penthouse in Trump Tower. That’s how the Trump Brand works. These come through real clear on his Reality TV Show. It might even explain why the Donald is such a marketable Brand.

Podcast Soundtrack – “Clips & Hits”

Play Podcast here

 “Bailout, Babies, Blagojevich and Bullsh%!.” That’s the headline from last week’s series of events. First it was the Stimulus Plan being passed with no Republican support. What’s up with that? Then we heard about the Octuplet births where we later found out that the mother already had six kids. What’s your feeling? Then it was the former Illinois Governor being impeached by the State Senate after a weeklong media blitz. Is a movie in the works?

As if that weren’t enough to chew on, then it was reported that bonuses were paid out to executives of companies that received government bailout money. Some have come to the defense of these decisions by saying that it was good for the economy. Let me ask this question, if these companies did not receive the bailout they would have failed, right? And if they had failed there would be no money to pay bonuses, right? So, what’s wrong with this picture?

Well, let’s get back on message so that I’m not accused of wearing my feelings on my sleeves. It’s interesting how RPs (that’s the rich & privileged) found ways to use the taxpayer bailout to turn their last dollar into million dollar bonuses. The everyday person has to hope and pray to make ends meet. And if the average Joe were to go from broke to billions they would have to do it the old-fashioned way. Successful rags to riches or zero to hero stories seem to have a common theme and similar tale.

Before we learn more about how someone like Tyler Perry turned his last dollar into millions, let’s look at a company like Fedex for clues on building your business or career into big dollars. When you examine how Fedex does business you’ll find the following key components:

1.     Express

2.     Ground

3.     Freight

4.     Office

The Express services represent the bread and butter of their business. It’s where they move packages overnight and in the process move the marketplace. It represents the way they maximize the assets of their business. You also have assets that you bring to your business or the marketplace as well. The way you sharpen your skills or improve your game will determine how you maximize your assets. It’s not something that happens instantly and that’s why turning your last dollar into millions is not an overnight success.

The Ground services represent the delivery of packages the bare-bones way. This means transporting by rail for some but in the case of Fedex by road. When all else fails, this part of the business can keep them going if all the planes stopped flying. What do you do or who do you have in your life that helps you stay grounded? Is it a friend, family, a past experience, or your values? One way you know you’re working in the right field or building the right business is when your work supports your values and your values drive your work.

Then there is the Freight division of their business. Not much is said about how much freight is handled by Fedex but trust me it’s quite a load. This area is like the heart and soul of their business. It’s probably where everything got started before the company blew up. How do you put your heart and soul into what you do? Sometimes there’s a need for compassion and sometimes there’s a need for full blown passion. It takes passion to keep building your business or growing in your career if you hope to see the day when millions of people hear about your work.

What was once Kinkos has now been folded into Fedex Office. This area covers printing to copying, and publishing to promotion. It’s about helping to add the efficiency or effectiveness element to the way business gets done. Efficiency involves doing things better while effectiveness involves doing new and better things. Can you find ways in your job/business tasks to improve your rating, increase your cash flow and add a new level of efficiency or effectiveness to the bottom line?

Producer/Actor Tyler Perry is best known on the Theater Circuit for playing the Madea Character. His journey to riches is one that we all can learn from and emulate. Here’s a guy who was once homeless and down to his last few bucks. Perry arrived at a turning point where he looked in himself, looked up to God and then started working on his dream. While it hasn’t happened overnight we have seen it happen right before our very eyes as he has gone from plays to film to TV sitcoms. Like Fedex, Perry knows that it takes heart, passion, skill and pizzazz to turn your last dollar into millions.

Music Soundtrack – Pop/Rock Flava

Play ‘The Life by Alicia Keys,’ track here

 “Welcome back from the Holidays and thanks for tuning into today’s segment of Cooking with Doc, with your host Chef Boyar-D-O-C. Today we’ll be cooking up a special Island recipe that can be used to prepare Jerk Chicken, Pork, Shrimp and maybe even Goat…” That might sound like a great intro for a new TV show, but it’s just my imagination. However, it’s a good place to start talking about running your business or career like a Celebrity Chef.

Not long ago while TV Channel surfing I stumbled on a show where the host was sharing tips on preparing a certain holiday meal. The Chef (along with his assistant) was working with a four-burner commercial-grade stove. He started out by working on the meal with one pot on the stove. As he got going another pot was added on the stove until eventually all burners were fired-up.

I don’t envision being up to commercial-grade standard as a Chef any time soon. But I was inspired by the Cooking Show. As you position your career or business for the next level of success it makes sense to turn up the heat in the following areas:

1.     Mindset

2.     Method

3.     Motivation

4.     Money

If you’ve been following the News you’re probably aware of the plight of the Big Three US Automakers. Some wonder whether they’re going to make it through these tough economic times. The concern that many industry critics have is whether the Senior Executives are operating with the right mindset or are they simply out of touch. This might then raise the question, “do we have the right mindset to live our dreams or to follow through on our resolutions?”

As a former Software Engineer I can tell you that there was a way of doing things. Not that everybody’s way was the same but there was a methodology to be followed. This was necessary to help minimize errors. This was done to help streamline the product’s development. This was a must so that there was a system in place. As you turn up the heat this year make sure there is a method to your madness in order to move closer and closer to your greatness.

Everybody needs love some time and everybody needs a little motivation as well. Maybe next time I can share more about how I stay motivated but for right now this is not about me. There are many tried and true ways to stay motivated but one of the best is to continually provide excellent service to your boss, clients, customers or loved ones. This will help to put a feather in your cap and as a bonus might turn into a pay raise, increasing revenue stream or even a strong personal/professional connection.

Money makes the world go ’round, that’s what they tell me. We need not live and die by money but we need to position our skills, talents and abilities, products, services and personalities in a way that returns maximum market value. You can choose initially to focus on mindset or method or motivation or money in your preferred order. But once you turn up the heat and things get cookin’ in all areas, others will feel your passion, be blessed by your flava and as you do more of what you love, the money will follow.

Music Soundtrack – Latin/Pop Flava “Double-Play”

Play first audio track here

Play second audio track here

 The Black Friday sales numbers are in but the retailers aren’t ready to celebrate yet. With a shortened holiday shopping season and with less money to go around it’s not clear whether to be happy or worried. The question that many retailers have begun to ask themselves is “how can we maximize the value we deliver to the marketplace?” The same might be true for consumers as well as working professionals.

If you’ve ever asked this question then a quick movie review might provide some clues. In the holiday flick Deck the Halls starring Danny Devito, the discovery is made of an Internet site where they could locate the neighbors’ house. For some reason when Devito entered his home address there was no such luck. So he decided that in the spirit of the holiday season he was going to decorate his house so brightly that it would be visible from outer space.

Hold that thought as you think about the work you do on the job or the product/service you provide as a business owner in the marketplace. Whether you work on an assembly line or write punch lines, whether you’re starting a business or looking to grow your business there is a process for going from good to great that involves:

1.       Researching

2.       Prototyping

3.       Networking

4.       Fine-tuning

Did you know that one of the ways Colleges/Universities attract revenue is through research? This is where time is spent checking the laws, the facts, the history, the validity of an idea or invention. While we all don’t have the funding like these institutions we can still put our ideas in motion by first doing some research. Research will get you to open doors, roll over stones or turn pages that you would not otherwise. And this is oftentimes where an ‘aha moment’ occurs.

After researching the business concept or project idea, it helps if you can develop a prototype. Before a new car makes it to the assembly line it first shows up as a model. This allows the automaker to develop a working knowledge for the concept vehicle. Some prototypes are built on paper while others are built by hands. A young Miami Pilot showed how to do just that when he recently flew a model plane that was built by inner city teenagers.

If you’ve ever been shopping at a Wholesale Marketplace you’ll see networking in action. Effective Networking in the 21^st century is part social, part strategic and part situational. When you walk up to the table where product samples are provided for taste-testing chances are the store clerk will strike up a conversation. After handing the sample to you the clerk will say what aisle the product is located. Now, not all products are “sample sold” in the same way. It depends on the season or the situation.

After marketing the concept to customers, your boss or even your peers you will be provided feedback. This is good information for making your idea even better. Danny Devito stumbled on similar feedback which helped him to succeed with his idea. After researching, prototyping and caroling with the neighbors his goal was reached. The world was now able to see his house with the click of a mouse because it was shining bright enough for even God to see.

P.S.

A special Holiday Buy One Get One (BOGO) discount offer for my latest book entitled Becoming Layoff Proof: What it Means to be the CEO of Me Inc. Email my Publicist at pen@purposefullivingventures.com with any questions or to reserve your autographed copy now. Otherwise you can visit the Book Store to order online.

Music Soundtrack – “Good for the Soul”

Play audio track here

 In many American households, the first introduction to the Money Game comes by playing Monopoly. The object of this game is to increase wealth by building capital. Each successful roundtrip of the board qualifies a player for $200 of free money from the Banker. The more houses and land you own the more rent you collect from those who stop by your property.

The game of Monopoly is a useful metaphor for how business is done in America. It’s also a good example for how to turn passion into profit. Over the past few months we’ve seen the passage of a Wall Street Bailout Bill in Congress. More recently, some are asking for a bailout of the automakers. Those who were against the Wall Street bailout felt it was just another “free money” Government program. Those who were for it suggest it was necessary to prevent the financial services sector from going bust. That’s because many institutions were on the verge of going bankrupt.

How did we get here? A quick review of the facts show the following root causes:

1.       Credit Squeeze

2.       Credit Swap

3.       Credit Freeze

In a nutshell, the problems in the economy stem from businesses trying to make more money by squeezing more out of consumer and commercial credit. Then there were those on Wall Street who invented financial paper by creating credit investments. These are similar to an insurance policy that is paid out on loan defaults. They involve “hedging a bet” that a business or homeowner will fail to make loan payments.

As failure rates started to climb and the payout on these policies boomed, the financial institutions ended up running low on cash in the bank. This along with homeowners not making their mortgage payments then resulted in a credit freeze. These factors contribute to a loss in consumer confidence which translates to less spending. The drop in spending thus forces businesses to cut back expenses which often results in massive layoffs.

If that makes sense then you can see why Becoming Layoff Proof increasingly means for some people, owning your own business. Whether you see yourself as Me Inc. CEO, Campus CEO, Urban CEO or Heartbeat CEO might be up for debate. However, Monopoly reminds us that playing the money game is about establishing ownership. This involves understanding how business is done in America if you want to break out “the Benjamins.”

What’s Your Business Type? See poll in sidebar.

Music Sountrack – “Break out the Benjamins”

Play audio track here