Blog Archives - Proforma

What’s Your Big Idea?

I am always amazed when I realize that every great man-made creation started with only an idea. Just an idea. Disney World and Disney Land were just an idea at one time. The iPhone was just an idea at one time. Amazon.com was just an idea at one time. You get the point. But do

17 January

Sometimes We Need to Hear NO

Most of us sales and business development types don’t like to hear the word, “no”. I get it. But sometimes us management types NEED to hear, “no”. Let me explain. I recently asked our administrative assistant if she would help with a new project. She replied with an emphatic but polite, “no”. Truth is that

6 December

ARE YOU A PIT BULL OR PITIFUL?

Truth is that in most selling situations the prospect isn’t always ready to buy when you are ready to sell. You know this. There are two kinds of sales types. The pit bull. The pitiful. If you go on a sales call and the prospect tells you they will call you the next time they

22 November

THE SCARECROW EFFECT

Over the years, I have met many people, many of whom are very successful, who lack self-confidence and self-esteem because they do not have a college degree. I call this the Scarecrow Effect. You remember the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz. He felt he was not smart. He even sang a song called, “If

1 November

ONE SIMPLE STEP THAT EARNED AN INVESTMENT FROM DAYMOND JOHN

In addition to my blog, “Million Dollar Mindset” I also host a video podcast, Million Dollar Monday. The purpose of Million Dollar Monday is to provide inspiration and advice to entrepreneurs and all people with big dreams. A recent guest Mike Watts, Founder of LoveHandle, attempted two times to be on the Shark Tank Television

18 October

ADVICE FROM TOM BRADY: HOW TO LIVE A JOYFUL LIFE

Tom Brady has some advice on how to be successful and live a joyful life: Stop blaming everyone else. “Life is about always changing and adapting to different things. Today, the world wants to blame, and shame, and guilt, and fear everything all the time,” the Tampa Bay Buccaneers superstar said. “We would never teach

4 October

CRITICAL LESSONS FROM BASEBALL CARDS

Most baseball fans can recall growing up with Topps baseball cards with free bubble gum in every pack. For decades, 70 years to be exact, Topps owned the baseball card market. They had an exclusive contract with Major League Baseball (MLB) and Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). A few weeks ago, Topps was blindsided

20 September

THERE’S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SKIN A CAT

I’m sure you’ve heard this phrase many times in your life. Right? So many years ago, I was in an appointment with a new prospective customer. I gave my spiel. She told me some of the challenges the company was having and asked what solutions we could offer. My response. “There’s more than one way

6 September

GET BUSY LIVING

I love the movie, Shawshank Redemption. In that movie there’s a famous line, “Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying” where the lead character, Andy Dufresne is focused on getting out of prison and living the life of his dreams. Truth is that many of us have been in a “prison” of sorts just like

16 August

NEWTON WAS RIGHT

You’ve heard of Sir Isaac Newton. As the story goes, he discovered gravity when an apple fell on his head while he was sitting under an apple tree. He also discovered a famous law of physics, “an object in motion tends to stay in motion and an object at rest tends to stay at rest”.

2 August