Khai McBride

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:

43 Things (To Do Before I Die)

I recently joined one of the coolest websites around.  www.43things.com is a goal setting community site.  On the site, you can list 43 goals that you want to accomplish soon or over your lifetime and journal your progress while you compare notes with other community members with the same goals.  Each time you complete a goal, you mark "I did it" and tell your story about how you accomplished it to inspire others.  You can even send quick "cheers" to other members, rooting them along.  And of course, you can connect your list to your blog and Facebook to keep your friends up to date.

Now, I've always had a "100 things to do before I die" list or "bucket list", but this online community is flat out more fun.  Something about sharing stories and getting support from others inspires you to actually accomplish your goals.  Also, I noticed it was hard to complete my full 100 list, so 43 is a much easier number to achieve (plus you can add more as you complete them).

I think it's important for everyone to have a list of dreams and goals, especially entrepreneurs, because it reminds you what you are living/working for.  I really encourage everyone to take the time and create a list for themselves.

If you join the site, send me your list.  Mine is below.

PS - I'm doing #41 Mud Run on July 18th! www.ocmudrun.com

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I'm a

Self-Improving Self-Knowing Money Manager

Which Marketing Tool for What?

Website/blog, email marketing, postcards, FB Status, Twitter tweets...which do you use for what???

The answer is actually quite simple.

1. Website/blog - this is the most robust tool you have to get your marketing message across.  You have the space, the technology, the visual/audio capacity, interactive capabilities to offer them free information and downloads, and you can collect information from them.  Plus, you can track visitor information.  Ultimately, you want everyone to land there.
2. Email marketing, FB Status, Twitter tweets - if you have a complete website/blog setup, these marketing tools should be used as information "teasers" to get only a snippet of your message across.  Send out enough information to grab their attention, then add a "read more" link to drive them to your website.
3. Postcards - similar to above, but since you can't create clickable links, you just have to print the website address for them to visit.

Try this strategy to drive more traffic to your website/blog.  It's probably the same technique I used to get you here :)

Technorati Profile

Getting Things Started

How often do you let your day get away from you?  You have the intentions on being productive, but as soon as you walk into the office, you are bombarded with calls, emails, voicemails, and lots of fires to put out.  Before you know it, you didn't accomplish the things that are most important to your job, business or livelihood.  Working hard with little to show for it is very frustrating.  This problem is one of the biggest challenges in time management: controlling and prioritizing your day. 

Many coaches and time management experts have different strategies and suggestions on how to tackle this problem.  And despite their differences, most will agree on one simple concept: planning.  You must plan your day before you can attack it.  Now I'm a big believer in planning.  In fact, when I take the time to actually create a plan, it usually gets executed allowing me to reach my goals.  But here lies the second challenge: finding time to plan.  How do you find time to plan, when your day already controls you, distracting you with other activities?

Here is a strategy for effective planning that I've used for some time, and has made me much more productive:

1. Have a separate physical location for planning, one that is free from outside distractions such as email, voicemail, and other interruptions.  This will be your planning sanctuary from now on.  This could be the conference room or even a lounge chair in your backyard.
2. Start your day in this separate "planning" place so can have a clear mind, free of distractions to plan.
3. After you create your action plan for the day, you can go to your normal place of work (desk, etc) and attack your day.
4. Anytime you have the urge to plan or brainstorm, relocate to your planning location.

Give this strategy a try.  You will not only find more time to plan, but your planning will be more effective and oftentimes, more creative because you are free from outside noise.  This can also help reduce your stress because you are not immediately jumping into fires.

Start to look forward to your day, because now the first part of it is the most fun.