Entrepreneur interviewed me to get the six simple steps to maximize productivity by 500% and it only takes 5 minutes a day. I reveal the time management secrets from our late founder, Chet Holmes, in his book The Ultimate Sales Machine.

Originally Chet learned these strategies while working for Berkshire Hathaway Vice-President Charlie Munger (Warren Buffet’s business partner). He noticed Charlie’s time was maximized in every way and once he adopted the practices of his billionaire boss he found the secret to mastering time effectively. Chet always used to say that majority of businesses are terrible at time management, and if he could see how we waste it with our phones today he’d be utterly shocked.

To hear the full interview only takes 15 minutes press play below. It could be the best 15 minutes you spend this year if adopted with PIG HEADED DISCIPLINE AND DETERMINATION.

You can also read the steps below!

BUT FIRST. Good advise is contextual. Would you like to talk to a real human about how to grow your business? That’s what we’re here for, to help you grow faster, better, smarter! Schedule your own breakthrough strategy call where we find you a breakthrough in your business in under 20 minutes, click HERE to get your complimentary session!

SIX STEPS TO INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY BY 500% 

Six proactive steps to time management can transform your day. They take five minutes to do and can double the amount of results you get daily. The problem is not whether or not these steps will work, because they will absolutely work. The problem is whether or not you will fully commit to doing them, repeatedly. The key to time management is commitment to the following six steps:

Step One: Touch it once 

How often do you pick up something on your desk and say, “I have to take care of this, but I can’t deal with it right now”? If you do that a few times per day with a few different documents/projects/tasks, by the end of the year, you will have spent an entire month touching and rereading information without taking action. So, if you touch it, move it to the next step. If you want to see how often you waste time, each time you pick up something, put a red dot on it. After you have three red dots on a piece of paper, you begin to feel pressure to do something and move on. If you touch it, take care of it.

Step Two: Make lists, but stick to the six most important things 

When we conduct this time management seminar, we ask how many people in the audience make lists. Practically everyone does. People often have lists with 25 to as many as 40 items on them. They are proud that their lists are so long and that they are so busy. Further investigation quickly shows them that long lists are the perfect way to be busy, but not productive. When you have a long list, your energy is focused more on trimming the list than it is on being productive. Each day, pick the six items that will produce the highest level of results, put them on your list, and finish all six things by day’s end.

Step Three: Plan how long you will spend on each item 

You’ve started your day by making a list of the six most important things. That took two or three minutes. Now take another minute to plan how long each item will take or how long you will dedicate to the items that are ongoing. When we conduct this workshop, the people with long lists usually find that they can have an incredibly productive day with only six hours spent on their six key items. Most people who use these steps find they get more important work done in less time because their time is focused on the most productive tasks.

Step Four: Plan when 

Now that you know how much time to dedicate to each task, you need to plan when you will do them. In addition, you must build in time for the reactive mode. For example, if you are a sales manager interrupted by frequent “got a minute” meetings, plan a fixed time when you will accept those types of meetings. Otherwise, unless it is an emergency, do not allow people to come to your desk and ask if you’ve got a minute! Think of any top executive you know. Can you simply call them up, or do you have to schedule time with them? Many top executives plan their day down to the minute. Everything is done according to a schedule, including time for “got a minute” meetings. Scheduling time is the key to time management.

Step Five: Ask the results 

Few people are highly productive. People like to have items on a list, so they can cross off the items. But that’s not enough. The things that produce the best results are generally the most difficult. Thus, they get left off of the list or are scheduled at the end of the day, causing them to get bumped to the next day…and the next…and the next. Schedule important tasks in the beginning of your day. Cold calling or trying to get appointments with key prospects or clients are the things that produce the best results. However, they often get pushed off by average salespeople. After you make your list, ask yourself if the items on it are the ones that will produce the most results.

Step Six: Will it hurt me to throw this away? 

Of all filed information, 80% is never referred to again. After hearing this time management idea, I began to throw away four out of five of the items I used to keep. It’s been 10 years, and I cannot think of a single time where it has hurt me.

Making The Training Stick

Human behavior can only truly be affected in two ways: Repetition and direct involvement. You can agree intellectually that these six steps will cause a productivity increase, but until you practice them (direct involvement) and continue to use them (repetition), your behavior will not change.

Common wisdom is that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. My experience is that it takes years. But for now, if you can stick to this program for just 21 days, you will be forever reminded of its power, and you will be more likely to use these important steps.

HERE’S AN EXAMPLE OF A MANAGER’S DAY

8:00 – 8:30am Plan day; have quick look at staff’s planned day.

8:30 – 9:30am Work on strategy to overcome our new, most frequently heard objection.

9:30 – 10:00am Create a standard promotional piece or standard letter that addresses the problem.

10:00 – 12:00pm On sales call with Bill

12:00 – 1:30pm Lunch with important client, Smith

1:30 – 2:00pm Miscellaneous

2:00 – 3:00pm Got-A-Minute meetings

3:00 – 4:00pm Review “Six Musts of Marketing” for the month

4:00 – 5:00pm Work on improving systems

5:00 – 6:00pm Meet with Boss

Question: How much of this day is proactive?

Answer: All but 90 minutes

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN! Write down your top six RIGHT NOW!

Want to share them? Comment below!

with love and light,
Amanda Holmes
CEO Ultimate Sales Machine

P.S. Did you see this earlier? Good advise is still contextual. Would you like to talk to a real human about how to grow your business? That’s what we’re here for, to help you grow faster, better, smarter! Schedule your own breakthrough strategy call where we find you a breakthrough in your business in under 20 minutes, click HERE to get your complimentary session!

“Retailers are really going to have to get smarter about how they use technology because we’re in a retail apocalypse right now,” says Amanda Holmes, CEO of Chet Holmes International. Many consumers are forming purchase decisions online based largely on peer reviews – this could spell death for salesmen who refuse to adapt to current buying trends. Amanda reveals her sales conversion strategy, and explains the concept of the ‘Buyer’s Pyramid’ which is detailed in her late father’s book, The Ultimate Sales Machine.

To hear the full interview listen here:

How has the retail apocalypse affected you? Please feel free to comment!

with love,
Amanda Holmes
CEO Chet Holmes International

P.S. If you like what you hear, you can always take advantage of our latest opportunity to have your very own Growth Session with a Chet Holmes Growth Coach. Learn how you can get 9x the results from your marketing and sales, click HERE!

Studies have shown that superstar salespeople spend 60% of their time focused on building rapport with a prospect, way more than the average sales person. What better way to gain their trust than to release a natural “feel-good” chemical and make them laugh! I happened to be searching LinkedIn last week and I came across a fantastic LinkedIn group called “Brilliant Ads.” I took the most hilarious ones just for you because…

1. Seeing these massively successful campaigns will give you some good creative muse for your next marketing campaign.
2. I’ve been using these pictures as a sales tool to send to my potential clients to break the ice, crack a good joke, and win some rapport through text message, facebook chat, and email. (I even put #8 in a proposal right before the pricing to soften them before the close).
3. Because I find these hilarious and I want you to enjoy them as well

How can you do something like these ads in your next campaign…

The Funniest Insurance Ad Ever. Can you create a picture and caption like this for your company?

A picture is worth a thousand words. Can you capture the perfect picture that puts your buyer in urgency, pain, or laughter? This Diamond company did all three.

Can you use the holidays to post something seasonally funny? Welcome to the scariest day of the year…

Educate your buyer about why you’re better than your competition! Even something as simple as this, highly effective! (Notice how many likes this got on LinkedIn, almost double what all the other posts received).

Can you create something that’s innovative and grabs attention? How many employees do you have in the field? Did you ever consider using their cars as billboards? #guerillamarketing

Can you come up with a creative place to put your ads where people haven’t seen them before and find it clever?

McDonalds took thinking out of the box to a new level. What out of the box thinking can you create in your marketing mediums?

HILARIOUS. This is the one I’ve been using in my emails and proposals to potential clients… “P.S. I saw this ad a couple days ago on LinkedIn and found it amusing. I think it’s a great analogy of what our work will do together… All you need is [insert what you will give them] and it changes everything. ;)”

What clever merch can you place your company information on? I’ve been keeping this stick of chapstick for years because it tastes amazing and the provider that put their information on it has been on the top of my mind years later because of it. Where can you place your information where people will continue to see it for years to come?

Who is your target market? Can you speak in their language? Jacoby&Meyer knew millennials liked emoji’s and this campaign has been a huge hit for them.

Hah. Too funny. Be clever and remember laughter is a great way to gain rapport with clients. The difference between superstar salespeople and mediocre is their ability to build a lasting relationship.

If you’re looking to spice up your marketing material, or find more compelling ways to close more sales download our chapter that changes lives from our New York Times Best Seller The Ultimate Sales Machine. Or if you’d like to speak to someone about growing your company faster, better, smarter, sign up for a 22 minute strategy call with one of our growth specialists.

Love and light,

Amanda Holmes
CEO -Chet Holmes International

P.S. Have YOU ever put together a clever campaign? Tell me about it below in the comments box!

In celebration of my father’s life, here are a couple of free videos for you to enjoy:

The Exact Sales Script Chet Used to Get to the Most Successful People in the World

Now that I’ve shared these with you, I’d love to know, what’s your favorite inspiring quote? Leave it in the comments section below.

With love,

Amanda Holmes

[Case Study] This Boosted Sales 1,100% for Chet Holmes International

A few weeks ago, our friends at LeadPages asked if they could profile our company in a case study. I didn’t just say yes—I told them:

“I’m going to be the best case study you’ve ever had.”

Businesses routinely see impressive conversion results when they start using LeadPages’ landing pages and other tools, but I’m not sure anyone would have predicted we could take our sales conversion rate up by 1,100%.

I want to share with you exactly what I did to grow our business while taking our operations into the digital age. In this post, we cover:

• How Content Can Build Excitement: This sequence of emails and lead magnets kept people highly interested from opt-in to purchase.

• My Exact Campaign Flow: Step by step, you’ll see how I turned tons of people from cold leads into members of Chet Holmes International.

• The Four Templates I Used to Build My Campaign: You’ll even get a direct link to download them yourself when you read the post.

I’m still a little wowed by the results we’ve seen, and I think you will be too! The post is full of strategies you can apply to your own business. You might get some good ideas about what you can do with your LeadPages tool, check it out here.
Enjoy!

Amanda Holmes
Chet Holmes International

As a business owner, you know how important your patrons are to your operations

Bringing in customers and using strategies to increase loyalty should be part of any solid business growth plan. As an owner, you know how important patrons are to your operations. While certain methods may prove effective, there are other strategies you can follow to ensure your customer base is constantly growing.

Fortunately, you have a leg up on larger companies when it comes to attracting and retaining patrons. As a business owner, you can dedicate more time and effort to truly connecting with your clients and learning about their specific needs. Providing excellent service for clients is what will keep them coming back.

Word of mouth goes a long way
There are many ways that organizations can bring in new customers. However, word of mouth from other patrons is the main driver when it comes to attracting new business. According to a joint study conducted by Verizon and Small Business Trends, 85 percent of small enterprises said they bring in new clients thanks to referrals from existing customers.

While a lot of time and money can go into reaching potential patrons through marketing and advertising methods, the results of the study show that it’s actually the low-cost strategy of word of mouth that is drawing in new business. This means that, as an owner, you should be working on increasing satisfaction among your current clientele in order to attract new patrons.

Satisfaction leads to more business
Inc Magazine reports there are five key things that customers look for when dealing with companies. Focusing on these aspects can increase word of mouth, leading to new patrons.

The first is consistency. Clients don’t want your processes and procedures to change frequently. They are counting on your business to be reliable, so constantly changing your operations could result in lower satisfaction. The second is excellence. Inc. states that while clients are not always looking for the best of the best, they do want your enterprise’s best.

The third thing that customers look for is empathy. They want your company to understand their needs and work to see the situation from their side. Attention is fourth. Taking the time to learn about what they are looking for lets them know they are important to your operations. The fifth thing that patrons want is appreciation. Inc. suggests  putting effort into showing customers their business is appreciated through new and innovative ways.

RIS Media notes that it’s about going above and beyond for patrons. As a company, you and your employees can dedicate more time and resources to achieving this. Therefore, it’s vital to develop relationships with your customers and show them they are important and why they matter to your operations.

Focusing on your current customers not only brings you business success through higher satisfaction, but it also draws in new clients, helping you to grow your company.

Every small business owner knows that planning ahead has its advantages.

Every small business owner knows that there are advantages to planning ahead. Whether crafting a plan to recruit better employees, developing a solid marketing strategy or improving delivery of products and services, having a plan in place benefits companies of all sizes.

One of the most important aspects for smaller enterprises is creating a strong business growth plan. As an owner, if you don’t have a roadmap in place to outline where and how you want your operation to grow, things can quickly fall out of place. Therefore, it’s essential to develop a growth plan that puts you, your employees and your organization on the path to small business success.

By following these strategies and incorporating them into your plan, you can ensure that your company has the tools and methods it needs to grow strong.

1. Outline what’s most important – One of the first steps to creating a solid business growth plan is to write down what is is most important to you and your operations. Business 2 Community suggests mapping out these points and consider where they belong in your growth plan. Additionally, write down any goals you want to achieve along the way before moving forward.
2. Don’t be an overachiever – As an owner, you already have ambition and motivation, which are two great qualities for growing your small business. However, don’t let that drive overtake overtake your ability to be reasonable. Small Business Trends suggests that you have to let go of trying to do everything when it comes to overseeing important aspects of your company. Let your employees manage daily operational tasks while you focus on what’s in front of you.
3. Look toward your company’s future – You’ve heard the old adage that says, “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” The same rings true for your enterprise. Small Business Trends recommends that when coming up with a growth plan, think about the company you want, not the one you have now. This will give you a better glimpse into what you and your employees need to do to get where you want to go as an organization.

You can also invest in professional business coaching to hash out your ideas for the future and learn how to implement them.

4. Don’t be afraid to reach out for help – Although you are in charge of your small business, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask for help when you need it. B2C suggests connecting with other owners and networking with professionals in your industry to gain more insight into how you can grow your company. Also, using business coaching services can provide you with a better view into what your enterprise needs to do to realize the success you want.

Every small business wants to grow, and with these methods, you can see your operations flourish.

There are over ONE BILLION websites currently active online. That means you are competing with ONE BILLION other sites for visitors attention. And to make it more difficult, even if you finally get them to visit,

55% of visitors spend fewer than 15 seconds on your website. (Hubspot 2014).

That means for all the money you spend to host it, maintain it, market it, pay for ads to advertise it… More than HALF leave without a chance to read even one whole sentence. So the QUESTION is… How are you going to GRAB the attention of your potential buyers, and KEEP them longer than 15 seconds?

The answer: focus on THEM, not on YOU. Most businesses talk about themselves. Their products. Their services. Who THEY are. If visitors are leaving your site in 15 seconds, the only way you’re going to grab them is talking about their pains, their needs, and their desires. This concept is the KEY to building a website that will unseat your competition.

STOP SELLING, START EDUCATING.

Take this example, if you went to a coaching company’s website and the page started by saying:

“Our coaching team is made of professional, executive coaches that focus on generating results for clients. Our coaches are highly trained, often running successful businesses of their own, have experience and have proven themselves to be the best at creating a context for results.

If you want to learn more, schedule a free talk here.”

How interested are you? Has anything caught your eye? Would you stop to read more? Did you even read the few sentences that were there or did you already skip over it?

Now what if you saw this instead:

Why is Coaching Important?

Michael Phelps is arguably the greatest Olympians to ever live.  He has 22 Olympic medals, 18 of them GOLD.  In fact, he has DOUBLE the number of gold medals than his closest competitors.

So WHY does someone who has mastered his trade ranking in the top .001% in the WORLD, have 3 coaches to help him? Why? Because top performance requires a strategic edge, and his own eyes can’t provide the perspective of an outsider. That’s why 75% of Fortune 500 CEOs have an outside expert to guide them in their businesses.

So What are the 4 Things that a Coach Does for You?

1. ACCOUNTABILITY: Having someone hold your feet to the fire to make sure you’re executing, progressing, and meeting your goals. Do you do a good job already? Wait until you experience the progress achievable with a true master at your side.
2. EXPERTISE:Knowing that someone else has already had success in what you’re trying to accomplish, of course it’s going to be an easier process if you have someone with experience to guide you. 
3. GIVES FEEDBACK:A true coach doesn’t tell you what you want to hear.  A coach is there to tell you what you NEED to hear, to improve. Period.
4. SEE THE BLIND SPOTS:As long as you are working in your business, there will ALWAYS be blind spots –things you don’t know that you don’t know. You need an outside observer who has been there before to look over your shoulder and bring your attention to what you DON’T see.

Want someone to revolutionize your world? Metrix Global concluded that executive coaching typically has an ROI of 500-700%. We employ and train the World’s BEST business coaches to: 

• Keep you and your organization working ON your business, not just IN it
• Dramatically increase your marketing results to create massive new opportunities
• Develop your businesses Core Story™ to stop just selling and start solving your prospects needs
• Create a Superstar sales team, processes and tools to ignite revenue growth
• Achieve massive results in any business impact area you can think of! 

Schedule a No Obligation Consultation TODAY

What’s different about this example from the previous one?

1. It’s engaging from the beginning.
2. It educates the buyer on why they would want coaching even if they didn’t know they needed it in the first place.
3. It adds credibility by referencing third party data.

We switch this conversation for business owners CONSTANTLY. We incorporate this principle into webinars, websites, and sales scripts. Talk about your buyer, not you. Education based marketing is an unbelievably powerful tool at it’s finest and your website is a great place to start wielding it!

 MORE EXAMPLES

Here are some business owners and clients who have incorporated this key technique:

• http://www.earthkind.com/ -Click on the Learning Center to see Kari’s education portion, have you ever seen a rodent repellant company be so thorough in their education? This is one of the techniques they used to go from $800,000 to $2.4 million in 8 months. That’s TRIPLE her revenue in less than a year! Educating the major distributors in the market made her Dream 100 strategy highly successful in a very short amount of time.
• http://medicaloptics.ie/ -Look at the links to the left, a wonderful array of Free reports that add VALUE unlike any other Optician. Doug said his sales increased last year by 20% which is a much better growth than the Irish economy which was only 3.4%. He credits his new online ad campaign using his free reports to provide value for his visitors, entice them to come to his site, and read further, instead of talking solely about his business’ product and services. No other Opticians are this advanced in their marketing efforts.
• http://sorensenwealth.com/ Sorenson is a great example of someone who has really mastered this distinction. GREAT education. Financial planners do not normally provide this kind of value. Because of that he has a competitive edge above his competition and truly sees results from his website.

FURTHER EDUCATION

If you’re the type of business owner that likes to take the fast track and have an expert guide you, contact us to see where we can assist you to master this distinction and increase your sales. If you want to read more about education based marketing, and the power of a Core Story, you can purchase our New York Times Best Seller “The Ultimate Sales Machine.” Or download some more of our free education in our Training and Tools tab on our website.

Which has a better burger, your local burger spot or McDonald’s?

If it was just about the product or service, your favorite hamburger joint would be a mega franchise and McDonald’s would have stayed as one location. But we all know that the world doesn’t work that way, and Joe’s Burgers won’t be competing with McDonald’s any time soon. My father, Chet Holmes, taught that having a successful business is not solely based on your product or service, it’s about the 12 key areas you need to master for growth.

My mastery training in the Chet Holmes Method started with Chet Holmes as a Dad. I remember my first lemonade stand. It wasn’t just a sign saying “Lemonade.” It was a sign saying, “The Best Lemonade You’ve Ever Had.” I remember asking my father why it would be the best ever, and all he said was, “Trust me.” He was right. The amount of people who stopped to get my lemonade quadrupled. They stopped because they were either:

A. hot and thirsty (they probably would have stopped regardless)

B. impressed that a nine-year-old had the gumption to sell “The Best Lemonade Ever” on the side of the road.

There were instances in my life where learning from my father resulted in unusual success. Within the music industry there are many similarities between artists and CEOs of companies. As a previous singer songwriter, I traveled from gig to gig playing my songs everywhere and anywhere I could (Pig Headed Discipline™). Sometimes I worked just for tips and CD sales. Many artists frowned on working for tips, but there was a point where I knew that at every gig I played, I would close 90% of the room to buy my CD. I was the only artist in my network that actually made significant money that way. Of course, we are all aware that the life of an artist is a difficult one, rarely filled with financial rewards, but you might be surprised to hear that it’s not too different in the business world. A recent survey by The Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that 66% of firms operate at a loss. (Small business credit survey, The Federal Reserve Bank of New York)

So why did I see monetary success unlike many of my fellow musicians? And how does it relate to your business? Let me explain.

Amanda Holmes- Playing a gig.

I used to tour with a girl that was a far greater musician than me. She played the piano like an angel from heaven. Her songs were clever and catchy. We went from gig to gig together, and when we first started out, she would get up on stage and her set was just song after song after song. Her songs were beautiful, but they didn’t result in many tips. Then I would get up on stage. I couldn’t help myself. A lifetime of Chet Holmes’s personal instruction came out. The first thing I would do was get the names of random people in the crowd. I would learn as many names as possible, and then the rest of my set would be a full dialogue back and forth with the audience— a.k.a. my potential buyers. Then, not only would I build rapport with the people, I would introduce everyone to the one and only – my tip jar. I would actively talk about my love affair with the tip jar throughout the entire set. In the end, they bought my CD. AND they left a tip.

Now I look back trying to understand what I did that naturally brought me success, and I realize that so much wasn’t my product or service, it was the creativity of my delivery, the rapport with the prospect, and my sheer Pig Headed Discipline to get the sale. We know that 80% of sales come after the 5^th or 12^th contact. How are you implementing this in your business? What are you doing to keep your buyer entertained through all those contacts?

For me, within a 2 hour set I asked for tips in between every song. Sometimes I randomly sang a lyric about my tip jar in the midst of a song. I would crack joke after joke about the tip jar. It all became part of the act. In the hundreds of shows, only one person come to me and say it was obnoxious how much I talked about my tip jar. Otherwise, thousands more laugh along entertained by my charming persistence. Sometimes I would even add extra incentives for filling my tip jar. If they filled the jar to the top, I would walk on my hands. (If you can get salespeople that will walk on their hands, that’s an added bonus.)

Doing shows with this other singer made it obvious just how superior my sales methods were. I knew that people liked her music more, but she had little to no rapport with the audience, and so it was harder for her to make money at the end of her set. She thought that HAVING a tip jar was enough of a reminder and that the audience would know when they wanted to buy. Whereas I MADE SURE they didn’t leave the premise until they’d taken a CD home with them to memorialize this profound experience they just had with us that day. I made sure that everyone was involved, and they truly got something out of the experience. Because of my entertainment, I was closing everyone in the room on my album AND hers. Don’t get me wrong, we had to have the talent to back up the sales or nobody was going to buy our albums, but it was the years of training, ingrained in me by my father, which got the crowd to buy. It wasn’t just the music.

I tell you this story today to remind you to keep practicing thinking strategically. Come up with more ways to build rapport, increase the level of satisfaction of your buyer, create up-sells that serve your client. What can you do to creatively invite them to pull out their pocketbook and buy? Because often times the reason they buy has nothing to do with the product itself. Mastery isn’t about doing 4,000 things. It’s about doing twelve things 4,000 times. Joe’s Hamburgers has mastered the twelve ways to make a delicious hamburger, but those aren’t the twelve areas of mastery Joe needs to make his company outrageously profitable. Are you mastering the right skills in you business?

After writing this I feel more inclined than ever to show off the talents here at my company, Chet Holmes International. I eagerly look forward to filling your metaphorical tip jar, and walking on my hands (which I can still do) to celebrate your success. You can speak to one of our experts here: 855-244-1990. Or by email [email protected].

Until we meet again,

Amanda Holmes

CEO, Chet Holmes International

Was it sustainable?

I watched my father bury himself in an early grave using his very own super-powered productivity management system that allowed him to pile more and more on. That same skill to work smarter made him work smarter and smarter and smarter and he forgot there must be space in between before you’re inevitably working harder.

So what is the relationship between balance and productivity? I traveled across the globe to study balance, meditating for hours and hours a day, dedicating my life to service—and what did life do? It sent me back to Los Angeles to watch my father pass and ultimately practice balance in the real world, not just in solitude by myself in an ashram. The days of Buddha under a tree or in a cave for years are just as sustainable as the latter. What impact can you make on your own in solitude anyway?

I know you normally read content to hear the 5 ways to relieve stress, or the 8 tips to live a balanced day, but my experience is that balance is not an equation, it requires conscious awareness. It is not fixed and it must be flexible. Balance flows, it is intuitive, and it is new in every moment. Balance is taking care of your body so you can sustain and perform the work this world needs from you. Balance is doing what fills you from the inside. Balance is trust, and productivity will come easier as you trust YOURSELF, and live in what’s true to you.

A small but mighty take away for you:

An exercise to find trust, when you’re feeling stressed or questioning yourself or wondering if you should take a break or not. TAKE A BREATH.

Stop whatever you’re doing. Inhale through your nose until your ribs are fully expanded, hold that breath for 5 counts, then exhale through your mouth slowly and evenly. If that didn’t make a change in your mind and body, do it again. Repeat until you feel a shift towards clarity.

I’m sure you’ve heard it a million times that you should take deep breaths, so this is obviously not new news. But how many times have you used it in practice?  Have you ever consciously decided to use breathing as a technique to shift from being reactive to proactive? How much of your day is in a state of fight or flight?

There is science that states that when you are in stress or fear you hold your breath. This pushes you into your limbic loop or lizard brain. Not the place you want to work from. The funny thing is that when we were cavemen this was useful. Flight, Fight and Freeze meant life or death. In our world today this is not justified. When you take a deep breath you actually signal to your brain and body that you are not in danger allowing you to think more rationally. It is literally, mind over matter.

If you’re constantly reacting to the world around your stress level will only escalate. So though it may be simple, do not underestimate its impact. Because this is something that costs you no money, requires no prescription…nothing other than yourself and your intention. Don’t make things more difficult than they need to be. Balance starts with breath. Productivity starts with movement, and breath makes movement possible.

The next time you ask yourself, “How do I double sales?” Make sure to add in, “How can I double my life?”

Double your sales, double your life.

Expand your knowledge even more by jumping into this article on turning stress into adrenaline fuel, Put the Full Press on Stress. If you are one of those people who knows all that needs to be done, you really get it, you just can’t seem to do it—then you will want to work with one of our experts to get you on the fast track to the land of productivity. SHOW ME THE WAY.

If you liked this article it’s part of our newsletter, check that out here.

By Amanda Holmes, CEO of Chet Holmes International