Goose or the Golden Egg???

One of the most tragic fables I remember reading as a child was the Goose That Laid the Golden Egg.
I can remember feeling sad that people would be so greedy they would kill the poor goose just to get more eggs...I didn't really understand then, sometimes human nature means we always want more. Don't hear me wrong, I believe wanting more is great as longs as it is in the "right" spirit and you are willing to do the work the "right " way in order to get it.
I have always said I would rather have the goose that may lay an occasional golden egg than a basket full of golden eggs. You would eventually run through all of the eggs in the basket but if you had the goose you would always have the hope of it laying one more egg.
How can we relate this to our business? We can think of our self as the goose. With the right nourishment(training), the right conditions(activity) and the right inner peace(attitude) we have the ability to lay gold every day.
I was speaking to a good friend of mine last night that is an aflac associate in Brandon Fl. I recruited her from a church group we were both in about 5 years ago. She and her husband owned a Lawn Care business at the time and neither of them had ever been in sales. Like many of you, I saw in her the characteristics I knew could make her successful here at aflac. Fast forward to now she and her husband are both successful with aflac. This year alone they have opened and validated over 20 new accounts. I asked her last night how she did it and she laughed...She said you wouldn't believe how many people have called this year to ask us that...She said from the very beginning when I recruited her until now she didn't know much about sales, working with large account or working with brokers...what she did know was how to work, how to walk and how to talk...She said that is all her team does every day. They work, walk and talk aflac and concentrate on small businesses. she loves small business because you can walk right in a speak with the decision maker. She said where most people are calling on 15 man groups and higher they are calling on the 3-15 person accounts...They pick an area and pull the list from reference USA or sales genie and call on every account in that area...if they have aflac they ask for the name of the contact next door and try and get a possible referral.
I am so proud that I have had a small hand in her career...I knew when I hired her all those years ago she was the "goose"
I believe you are too...Bubba has a new saying this year..."Win and move on". If you have laid a golden egg lately...celebrate the win, move on and lay another one. Remember you are the "goose" so how many golden eggs will you lay this week?
Good luck and God bless!

The "Power" of a TEAM!!!!

Teamwork is so important that it is virtually impossible for you to reach the heights of your capabilities or make the money that you want without becoming very good at it. ~Brian Tracy

The above quote is so very true especially within our organization...In our world.."no one goes it alone"...
When I look at our company, state, our region, and our districts, its like a great race...let's keep in mind this race is not a sprint to the finish line it is like a marathon that last a lifetime. In this race your endurance and momentum keeps building as you keep pushing forward toward your dreams and your goals.
In this lifetime marathon there are no single winners and there are certainly no losers. We get up every morning and begin our tradition of training, conditioning and execution of our skills that move us closer and closer to victory. Sometimes we prevail and sometimes we fail but no matter what we can look to our right, look to our left, look up ahead and look behind knowing all the time that we are not in this alone. Never, ever alone. In this business there are so many peaks and valleys that it is crucial we have each other to pick us up when we stumble and celebrate with us when we win.
Below are 13 characteristics of a team...look at the list and internalize the ones you agree our team posses and think about what you can do to make our team better..Now it is human nature to look to someone else to fix things and to make them better, but tonight... I am challenging you...If this is your team...what will you do to make it better???
Characteristics of an Effective Team
1. The team members share a sense of purpose and common goals, and each team member is willing to work to achieve these goals.
2. The team is aware of and interested in its own processes and examines norms operating within the team.
3. The team identifies its own resources and uses them, depending on its needs. The team willingly accepts the influence and leadership of the members whose resources are relevant to the immediate task.
4. The team members continually listen to and clarify what is being said and show interest in others thoughts and feelings.
5. Differences of opinion are encouraged and freely expressed. The team does not demand narrow conformity or adherence to formats that inhibit freedom of movement and expression.
6. The team is willing to identify conflict and focus on it until it is resolved or managed in a way that does not reduce the effectiveness of those involved.
7. The team focuses on problem solving rather than allowing by interpersonal issues or competitive struggles to drain the team’s energy.
8. Roles are balanced and shared to facilitate both the accomplishment of tasks and feelings of team cohesion and morale.
9. To encourage risk taking and creativity, mistakes are treated as sources of learning rather than reasons for punishment.
10. The team is responsive to the changing needs of its members and to the external environment to which it is related.
11. Team members are committed to periodically evaluate the team’s performance.
12. The members identify with the team and consider it a source of both professional and personal growth.
13. Developing a climate of trust is recognized as the crucial element for facilitating all the above characteristics.
I love our team and that is the "real" reason I do what I do everyday. There is no amount of money, responsibility or recognition that gives me more personal satisfaction as I get from knowing we are truly a "Team".
Good night Team Epic and God Bless:)

Are You Managing Time or is Time Managing You??

We are now more than 30 days into the new year...How are you doing? Are you finding that you are managing your time effectively or is time managing you? One true way to tell is your frustration level.. At the end of your day, do you feel like you are getting your plans accomplished, do you feel that the day was productive or do you feel like you are in a constant tug a war with your schedule, your list, your obligations, your job, your family and even yourself??? That question at first may seem a little extreme, but in reality we all get caught up in the small seemingly insignificant unplanned task that come like thieves in the night (except they come in the middle of the day) to steal our time and more importantly our joy. They swoop in and suck the life blood out of our day....Now I have to admit one of my guilty pleasures is watching what I call bubble head boob tube television shows where I pretty much zone out and escape from my jammed packed deliriously busy day. One of the shows I enjoy watching is the Vampire Diaries...I know I shouldn't but I do...It's so funny to me that most of the youth and many adults like me are enamoured by these fictional creatures whose necessity for survival is to hunt, stalk and suck the blood out of their prey.... now bear with me here I do have a point...lol
This whole vampire phenomenon makes me think about a poster I have in my office that says "no energy vampires allowed". Ha! That is so much easier said than done. I believe the author who wrote that was talking about people who steal your energy. What I find that is equally frustration and that steals my joy is when I let an avoidable unimportant task be an "energy vampire" throughout my day...So what can we do???
STOP!!!!! Stop letting people and things impose their agenda into your already planned day. I do understand that you have to give yourself wiggle room but come on...when you have a planned schedule stick to it. Prioritize your task...Do First Things F..irst. Sounds easy enough but it is surprising how many times I used to find myself push aside a task or job that I absolutely knew that I must get done. I knew I had a problem and I knew I had to do something about it.Do you struggle with this too??? If so I will share what has helped me in this area but I warn you it is an ongoing fluid process.You will begin recognizing the signs and setting boundaries in business and in your personal life so you can manage your time more effectively. Some experts say work while you work, be with family when you are home and play while you are playing.
I challenge each of you to do what I did last year.. Commit to keeping a two week log and journal everything you do all day long.. now don't zone out on me just yet...yes this is difficult but it was one of the most revealing exercises I have ever done. It will amaze you all of the things you spend your time doing everyday. For me after a few days I began to see patterns in my day...I began to understand what time of day that I felt the best and the times I felt most productive. It was very telling. After the first week of keeping the journal and comparing what I actually did to my calendar of what I was supposed to do, I realized I needed to change some things. I realized that my life was not in very good balance.
That is why it is so important to journal from the time you get up in the morning until the time you go to bed at night. Time Management Is Not Just For Business...it is about family, spirituality and recreation also. Think of your life like a big wheel...then divide your wheel into quadrants...In mine there is spiritual, family, work and recreation. You decide what's in yours. Then determine how much time you devote to each area of your life. For me I realized that my wheel was way out of whack....in fact if my wheel was rolling down the road it would have been a very bumpy ride...lol
I could talk all night on this subject but in respect to managing my time better I am about to shut up...In this area there is so much to learn and it is an ongoing challenge for us all. I will check back in with you in two weeks to see how you are doing...Remember the first step to recovery is to admit you have a problem...if you struggle with this..First admit it ,then move into action.
Get a journal and beginning tomorrow, start recording your activity and how much time you spend doing it. I promise it will reveal areas you can adjust...Good luck and God Bless:)

Are you getting in your own way???

There are not a lot of things I claim to be an expert about but getting in my own way is an area that I have been all too familiar with in my life. I would like to be able preface this post tonight by saying that I am completely reformed and it never ever happens anymore, but I would be lying and I made a commitment to never lie to my peepes:) When people are put in a position of leadership one of the biggest mistake I think they make is not sharing the struggles, failures and pitfalls they have discovered on their way up the ladder. They get into the position and suddenly feel they have to at least appear perfect,unflawed, absolutely put together and completely without struggles. Fortunately for you all I am not that kind of person...lol On the contrary, sometimes I wonder if I show who I really am a little too much? Do I get too personal and reveal too much about myself? Maybe...but I am who am and I don't know how to be any other way.
I feel that I have done so much right in my career and yes that is important but sometimes sharing what you've done wrong and what you have learned from it will help people more than anything. The way I look at it if you do enough right it will shine through and it won't be necessary to talk about it at all...so here goes...I will share 3 failures, struggles and pitfalls I have discovered along the way and what I learned from each of them.
#1 Right Person...Wrong Attitude...let's face it. We are all human. Occasionally we all get a little down and second guess our self, our plans, our careers, our choices and just about everything one can imagine. That's not the struggle I am speaking of here. I am speaking to a chronic illness of the soul...bad attitude. My bad attitude several years ago almost robbed me of my career long before I even got off the ground. Looking back I don't know how anyone wanted to be around me. Don't get me wrong I had a laundry list of reasons my attitude was bad... all my friends were single and in college or recently graduated and I was a struggling young mother, the people who were hired at the same time as me lived closer to my DSC than I did and got way more attention and help than me, I lived in a rural community with not many businesses to call on, I didn't have accounts like the veteran agents to go to and it was so hard to open new accounts, people said they couldn't afford aflac or business owner didn't take me serious....my list could go on and on and on...sound familiar??? Funny it is the same excuses I still hear 13 years later. The difference now is I am not the one saying it. Now I am on the other side of that desk remembering just how I felt all those years ago. When I say I have been where you are, I have. When I say I know how you feel, I do and when I say it gets better, I promise it does...It gets much better but it all starts with you. Actually with a small part of you. It starts in space that lies between your ears. Before you actually have a great attitude you have to consciously decide that you are going to have a great attitude. You are the only one that can make that decision. I encourage you today, right now, look at your watch and decide from this moment on, the one absolute thing that you can control in your life is your attitude. Say it out loud right now. "I WILL HAVE A GREAT ATTITUDE AND NOTHING CAN STOP ME"...doesn't that feel better:)
#2 Commitment and Follow Through...This is a big one...The true definition of commitment is staying committed long after the feeling in which you first committed has passed. It is easy to make commitments, to say yes, to make new goals and plans but what about when things get a little rocky? How hard is it to stay the course when the course ain't so easy to stay on? It is hard but that's what you do when you truly believe in something enough to commit. It is my theory that many people say they commit but do so without very much though and surly without the belief and faith necessary to stay the course. In my own career I have fallen guilty to giving up before the glory...allow me to explain. I would do really well for a little while and when things started going a little wrong I would begin looking for something else. Fortunately I had enough belief and faith in this company that I never looked to leave the company but what I did do was look to change districts, regions or territories. You see when I started with AFLAC Florida was all on state. Actually I lived 4 hours away from my DSC and my region. There weren't really territories and as long as I stayed in Florida. I could pretty much transfer and work in any region...boy I did. Got mad at one...that's okay I transferred to another. By the time I had been with AFLAC for 5 years I had worked in 5 regions. That means every year I started over...sound crazy? it was crazy. I convinced myself and everyone around me that I was moving to a better opportunity and it was a step up. Ultimately it almost caused me to step right out of the business. It wasn't until I moved to this area that I actually truly committed to my career. I made a promise to myself that I would give it a min of 5 years no matter what. Believe me there have been things this past 5 years that it would have been so much easier to just walk away and start over somewhere else but I stayed true to my commitment. Now I feel like I truly have a home, a team that I love and a true aflac family around me. So my lesson # 2 is "stay committed" "don't give up before the glory". Right now take out a piece of paper and write down 1 thing that you will commit to for the next 60 days.
#3 "Let Go" and for me "let God"....The absolute hardest thing for me in this life is to give up control...there I finally admit it in writing...I AM A CONTROL FREAK!..as if you all didn't know that already..lol Remember in the beginning of this post I said I wish I could say that I am completely reformed, that I didn't struggle anymore, well if I had left this one off the list I may have been able to say that but this is my ongoing struggle...."letting go isn't just hard, it's necessary". I give myself credit for marked improvement in this area but it is a daily challenge for me. I don't know about you but I actually think if I try to control the situation and worry enough about it, I may actually be able to change it. The truth is sometimes not matter how great your attitude, not matter how solid your commitment things still may not go the way you want them to go. You won't always get the promotion, you want always get the account, you want always get the response from others that you desire...people absolutely won't always do what you want them to do, even when what you want for them to do is best...what can you do?...you can let yourself go crazy or you can let go... For me I say "let go and let God" and that is because the only way I find the strength to do this is through my faith...but that is me. Whatever works for you I encourage you to learn how to let it go....I love the illustration if you have a handful of sand and you hold it with an open hand you actually will lose very little of the sand but if you take the same handful of sand and close your fist and grip real tight, most of the sand will slip through your fingers.
Isn't it ironic the more we try and control sometime the more we actually lose control. My 3rd and final lesson for the night..."let it go!!!" take a small piece of paper and write down one thing you will sop tyring to control...then go to the fireplace, sink or garbage can, take a lighter and set that piece of paper on fire...."let it go!"... make sure you have water or a fire extinguisher nearby,please don't burn the house down in the process...lol..seriously "let it go"!
There you have it...my top struggles, failure and pitfalls that I have learned along the way.
Good Night and God Bless you all:)

AFLAC Success....Just add work!!!!

I had the pleasure yesterday of listening to two top new associates in Fl-E, Kevin Stewart and Jeremiah Benson...There was nothing flashy, pretentious, arrogant or frankly all that special about these two gentlemen..
I promise you I say the proceeding statement with utmost respect.
I do not mean they were not special people. In fact, they seem like two of the most genuine kind men I have heard speak lately.
What I am speaking to is they didn't have some hidden talent or secret to their success. They weren't hoarding or concealing some secret formula from the rest of us normal folk.
They were just hard working and passionate about what they do.
In the words of Kevin Stewart to be successful with aflac he related it to being as easy as making instant pancakes...with the dry pancake mix you just add water and with AFLAC you "just add work".
I love that...so simple and so true..."just add work".
Jeremiah said repeatedly that his secret was to remember at the end of the day he had people at home counting on him to provide so he gave his very best.
They both credited their hierarchy for training and systems like lease, success trax and winners edge, but at the end of the day, the most important ingredient for success is to "just add work"!
Will you "just add work" to your recipe...If so I know you can achieve success beyond your wildest dreams with this company..."Just Add Work"!

I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the superstars form Team Epic week 3...It was evident these associates "just added work"!!!!!
Team Epic Victories:
Nickie Fleming #1 associate in Region...#1 in state...way to go Nickie!!!
Mark Morgan #2 associate in Region...#3 in state...awesome!!!
Kristi Foret #3 associate in Region..#6 in state...incredible!!!
Karen Carroll #4 associate in Region...# 12 in state...fantastic!!!!
Corina Lechin #5 associate in Region...#13 in state...unbelievable!!!

Jeanne Coker # 1 DSC in Region...#1 DSC in State...Super Fantastic!!!
Mark Lee #2 DSC in Region...#5 in State....amazing!!!

A huge Congratulations goes out to Corina Lechin and Cody Dawson who hit their fast start awards this week...congratulations...you are both on your way to the top!!!
A special thank you goes out to my top nominators from the region...Mark Morgan...4 nominations, Dana Clark...2 nominations and John Claypool 1 nomination....you guys rock!!!!! and you are one step closer to eligibility to win regional contest!!!
Thank to the entire team...we had a great week with over $81,000 issued business, 2 fast starts, 1 new account validated, 7 nominations and many solid appointments set.
I understand that your name may not be on the list because you were out prospecting and filling your funnel instead of enrolling this past week, I say thank you for your efforts and "just adding work"... it will pay off soon and your name will be on this list soon...rest this weekend and beginning Monday "Just Add Work"!
Cathy

My upside down day!!!

Have you ever just had one of those days??? You get out of bed and everything seems normal. It seems like it's just another day and then it begins... You get a cup of coffee and it's not quite warm enough so to make it perfect you put it in the microwave. With anticipation you smell the aroma as the cup rises towards your mouth and then when just when its close enough you can taste it, the cat that you couldn't live without, decides that at that very moment there is nothing he wants more in life than to be in your lap. The freshly brewed, then microwaved for extra heat , coffee that you were about to enjoy is now all over the newly pressed shirt you were planning to wear...not to mention the red marks from you favorite cup of coffee that is now running down your hands, arms and just about everywhere.
It didn't strike me then but somewhere there must have been a comedian laughing and saying "here's your sign"....today's going to be one of those days...lol
Well I am happy to say it did get better...pretty uneventful actually..until I got back to the office that is.
You know I am pretty good a being prepared for things. I am kind of anal about it actually. I will work for days ,sometime weeks perfecting a plan or a presentation. I will write rough drafts, gather data, have organized thoughts and then when I am finally ready I put all the pieces together to create what is to me, my masterpiece of the moment.
Today it was my business plan. Okay I know what you are thinking ,why didn't you already have your plan completed??? Besides, I asked you all to turn in your plans over a week ago. Well I did...but in my own particular fashion, I decided I would make it better, tweak it just a little, give just a bit of the "Cathy" flavor. Actually I guess you could say I wanted to drees it up in cha cha heels so it could walk just a little taller.
You can probably guess that the hex that was haunting me in the morning, the one I thought was long gone, suddenly appeared again. The document was perfect...just my style with all the confidence a plan needs for the 10Th anniversary year of the duck...click, save, smile and print....click, smile, print, click not smile, print, click, panic, print. Nothing was happening. Okay I admit, I am somewhat challenged with technology but even I know when you click, save and hit print. What I am looking at on my screen is supposed to magically come through perfectly on my printer. I even called in reinforcements...that didn't help matters either. On the contrary...now my usually friendly printer is spitting out papers at me with a vengeance. I think it was possessed....literally. Have no fear being the technical wizard I am, I hit some button (I have no idea which one) and it printed out beautifully, magically just like it was supposed to in the beginning.
It was almost ticking 5 o'clock and I had a couple more items I had to get off my desk. Tapping away at the computer, the keys on my keyboard began sticking. My bright idea was maybe I should take the batteries out and put them back in really fast in hopes that it would magically start working again.
I flipped it over, took out the batteries and put them back in....when I flipped the keyboard back over something unexplained happened...my computer desktop (well the view anyway) at that moment turned upside down... I glared at it for a second almost in disbelief..it was the strangest thing I seen lately. My start button was not upside down at the top of my screen and when I typed everything was opposite of of how it was supposed to be. Now I am sure I am not the only person this has happened to. I am sure there is an explanation but at that moment with the clock ticking away and with two things I really needed to complete, I had to make a choice. Either I walk away and leave it for another day or I sit, stare and become increasingly frustrated. I could try and complete a "right side up" job with an "upside down" attitude. It was at that moment a tough choice had to be made. I really wanted to finish the work...the fact is I NEEDED to finish the work but what I realized was if I forced myself to keep going when all signs were pointing to stop, The job I would have ultimately completed, would have been incomplete.
I know that you've had those kind of days. What job have you tried to do when you really had no business doing it...at least not in that moment anyway. I have always said it is better to take the time to get in the right frame of mind so you can go out and do your work and represent us at your best...I found out today just how hard that advice is to actually take. I took it, I walked away, I called it a day and I challenge you to do the same...God permitting tomorrow is another. The work we must do will still be there waiting for us, like an old friend, it will be there. The difference will be us...we will approach it with joy and pride not as a task that we just need to check off our list.
Good night and God bless!!!

New Beginings

There is just something about new beginnings. Out with the old in with the new...
The new year brings crisp opportunities, a blank page and one more chance to get it right.
I have spent some time this week reflecting on 2009.
The word I would use to describe last year is realization. I grew to realize who I really am, what I really want, who I can really count on and how hard I am willing to work to be a better me.
There were times last year that insanity was knocking at my door but somehow I got through it and I am a better person because of it.
Have you invested the time to take your own personal inventory??? It is not an easy task. It can be difficult to look through all of the mask and armour we display to others and dig deep down to determine who we are, what we want, who we can count on and how hard we are willing to work for it.
I challenge you before you get too far into 2010, to reflect backwards for a moment and ask yourself "what did I learn about me last year?" and "how will I use that knowledge to do better this year?"
One of the things I learned about myself in 2009 was the extent of my capacity to forgive....I learned that when I need to forgive the most is when it is the most difficult to forgive...
“Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” -Paul Boese
God Bless you all and good night:)