Khai McBride

The 10,000 Hour Rule

The age old question: Are successful people born or made?  According to Malcolm Gladwell in his book "The Outliers", he says that although you cannot discount natural talent, those that have achieved success were willing to put the time, focus and energy toward their success.  According to Gladwell, those that reached the top of their game put in a minimum of 10,000 hours practicing their craft (FYI, that equates to 40 hours per week for 5 straight years).  In a world of instant gratification and new rising media stars every minute, we tend to overlook the fact that those who have sustained success did so because they put in the necessary hours.  How much time are you spending studying and practicing your craft?

Engage Your Audience, Don't Marry Your Script

When it comes to delivering an educational presentation, probably the best tip I can give someone, is just relax up on stage. Don't think of it as a presentation, think of it as a big discussion. Don't be afraid to be casual with the audience and say unscripted things like 'Wow, those lights are bright' or 'Man, I need some water'. Pause, take a drink, walk around. We speak because we are there to teach. We need to make sure our content is good and we have the right intent. We don't need to be ultra polished.

Many industry speakers I know start with, 'Just so you know, I'm not a professional speaker, so forgive me if I have to look at my notes. My main goal is to educate you today.'

I once spoke at Mortgage Planner Summit in Vegas, and I had to follow the most charismatic speaker, who got the audience of 1,200 up on their feet and cheering. I remember thinking, 'How am I going to follow that?'

When I got up on stage, however, instead of starting my presentation right away, I just went with the moment. I looked at the audience and said, 'Wow, I can't believe I have to follow that. I would normally feel inadequate, but he really pumped me up too. I just feel like yelling 'Show me the money!' I then spent a few seconds running around the stage like Jerry Maguire yelling, 'Show me the money!' 'Who's coming with me?' 'I love mortgage people!' It relaxed me and got the audience to reengage itself with me.

Jeff Gitomer, one of my favorite speakers, teaches his students to be friendly, not professional. And that's what I believe. Don't be afraid to be casual and relaxed on stage."

My DISC Profile

"Khai, your Classical Profile Pattern is the Creative Pattern.  As Someone with a Creative Pattern, you tend to seek unique accomplishments and innovative solutions...You may often try to dominate a situation or take control of your environment...For you, change is usually far from threatening.  Rather, you often view it as exhilarating."

That's a small excerpt from my personal DISC Profile.  DISC measures:

• D - Dominance: shaping the environment by overcoming opposition to accomplish results
  
• I - Influence: shaping the environment by influencing or persuading others
  
• S - Steadiness: cooperating with others within existing circumstances to carry out the task
  
• C - Conscientiousness: working conscientiously within existing circumstances to ensure quality and accuracy

If you've ever wondered why you excel or struggle in certain areas, these tests give you a good starting point for understanding your strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies.  The important thing about knowing your core characteristics, is understanding how to leverage your strengths.  For example, I have fairly low I, so I should stop struggling at trying to be a "networking machine".  It's just not comfortable and not my strength.  Instead, I've learned to embrace my other strengths to create relationships based on systems.

There are 15 personality patterns according to DISC: Achiever, Agent, Appraiser, Counselor, Creative, Developer, Inspirational, Investigator, Objectional Thinker, Perfectionist, Persuader, Practitioner, Promoter, Results-Oriented, Specialist.  Click here for a sample test and go to page 15 for the different personality types.

I highly recommend everyone take one.  You might be surprised at what you find out.

I'm hosting LoanToolbox Talk to the Experts July 21st

If you are a LoanToolbox member, submit your questions so I can answer them!



Presenting with Power Edition of Talk to the Experts!
Tues., July 21, 11am PT (2pm ET) - Call (916) 233-0566 code 7983

RSVP and submit questions by July 17th at 3:30pm PST
Don’t wait. Send in your questions today. The only bad question is the one you don’t ask! RSVP@LoanToolbox.com

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About the Call:
July is Presenting with Power month at LTB, and we're pleased to announce this month's Talk to the Experts on this important subject. In this valuable edition, MSS Faculty Leader Sue Woodard teams up with Contributing Faculty Members David Kuiper, Khai McBride, and Jodee Brydges to answer your most pressing questions about preparing for and giving presentations.

Remember, while our hosts may be polished speakers now, they weren't always this way. And there's a lot to be learned from their successes and their mistakes.

If you have any questions about giving presentations, including preparation, strategies for overcoming fear and procrastination, topic ideas, marketing and follow-up, do not miss this great opportunity to get the answers you need from the professionals you trust.

In the meantime, be sure to visit the Presenting with Power page within LTB throughout the month for more great content on this important topic.

 

Unplugging = More Time to Read

I can't believe it, but I'm reading a book a week now.  How did I find time to read a book a week?  Well a few months ago, my wife and I decided to implement a "No-electronics after 10p" policy in our household.  It seems that technology has consumed us and we always found ourselves staying up late either watching TV, playing with our Blackberrys, working on the computer, or just surfing the internet.  We noticed it was keeping us up at night because it was overstimulating our brains.  So we implemented this policy to get us to disconnect.  Instead of using electronics, I started reading more and with all that time, I was on a book per week pace before I knew it.  In the past few months, I've read some great books with my favorite one being "The Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell.  Plus, I notice I'm sleeping better now.

If you want to read more, but can't find the time to do so, perhaps you need to unplug like we did.  It's amazing how time consuming electronics can be and how much time you can recapture in your lives.

Some great books I've read lately: