Life seems to be made up of many dichotomies - worker or family man; accumulate wealth or focus on service; take care of your team or take care of your stakeholders. Does this sound familiar?

For some reason each of us are struggling with how to make sense of two seemingly opposing thoughts or concepts. How can I be a good father and a good employee? Am I doing what is best for my team or what is in the best interest of the stakeholders? Can I focus on my needs instead of focusing on getting more money and benefits? Can’t I do both?

I believe that it is important to be aware of these challenges and try to find a way to make them co-exist. We need to find a way to make all the aspects of our lives to become one coherent life. I am an employee, a husband, a son, a team member, and so on. These are not opposing forces that have to be controlled or put away during various activities in my life. I will not go into “worker mode” and neglect my wife. I will not do what is best for my boss and leave my colleagues out to dry.

So go out there and find concepts that seem to oppose and find ways to make them coherent.

Good luck,
Paul Heidema

Dear friend!

I know this is a busy time for you, as you prepare for a break over the Christian holidays, or just the break before the new year. For some of you, life is demanding as you seek the ‘perfect’ gift for your loved ones. Also for many of you, this is a period when you are rushed to finish all your 2009 projects and prepare/plan for 2010. Life is hectic and messy.

Fortunately Bonnie and I do not need to buy the gifts as we do not celebrate Christmas, so therefore we avoid the rush for gifts and all the running around. We do focus on spending time with our family and friends. This year Chris (son) & Leili and Paul (son) & Laila will be home over the holidays. Unfortunately Karin (daughter), Kelly, Miranda and Kendra will not be visiting. We will miss them.

What I like most about this period of the year, it is a time when I can reflect on the past year. Not necessarily about my business which is surviving, thank you God! But I reflect about me. I take time to evaluate my character, qualities, strengths and weaknesses. I am blessed for I feel I have grown in the past year. I think in some areas of my life I am a better person. Don’t get me wrong I am not perfect, I am still under construction as a human being.

What has made me a better person? You have! Whether you are an old friend or a new one. I am so happy you are in my life. We are human beings and to be human, we need interaction with one another. I don’t mean casual or impersonal interaction. I want meaningful interaction. I am thoroughly happy when I have the opportunity to interact with you via e-mail, chat, twitter, verbally or personally face-to-face.

I am going to work hard in 2010 to increase the frequency and quality of my interactions with you. I thank God for who you are and that you are in my life. The nature of our friendship should not be measured by quantity (number of times we interact) but by the quality of our interaction.

I wish you continued good health, surrounded by love, joy and happiness in your heart and soul.

All the best in 2010!

Warmest regards,
Jim

Ying Yang - Balance is Needed the Economy

Currently the world is facing a severe economic recession. Most politicians and economists are afraid to use the ‘R’ (recession) word. They fear use of the world will cause an even greater down-turn in the economy. What is unusual in this reality is that the depression is not limited to a few single nations but is dramatically affecting the majority of the producing nations. One could say, it is because it is because all country economies are linked. We think it is much more than that.

We think the reason we are seeing the same financial failures and bail-outs around the world is because the model upon which our economies are based is flawed. The model is based upon greed. The chasm between rich and poor is widening. The number of people in the world without basic food and water has increased dramatically. The number of rich people has not increased dramatically. There is a fundamentally inequity between the haves and the have-nots.

The governments of the world are applying a bandage to a patient with a severed leg. They are trying to save the old model by printing money and going into horrendous debt. This greed mentality is the cornerstone of capitalism.

A new model will be needed! We must find a balance between capitalism and communism. In capitalism, the needs of the group are sacrificed for the individual. It is the me-first mentality. In communism, the needs of the individual are sacrificed for the group. We need to find a balance between the needs of the individual and the needs of the group. We need to break down the old world order and build a new world order.

The current changes in the economy and the economic model is putting enormous pressure on the leaders and workers of each country. People are losing their jobs and their homes. The next years will be a positive and negative experience for us all. Fortunately mankind has proven its tenacity, vitality, enthusiasm and resourcefulness to overcome adversity.

We will survive this period if we chose to do so. Each day, when faced with all the challenges of this economic reality, we have a choice. One choice is to find a ways to work our way through this mess. The other is to feel victimized and do nothing but let it overwhelm us. The choice is yours. Within our books and seminars we give you simple, yet relevant systems, processes and tools to help you cope with change. Now it is up to you. You can choose to grow or not. Good luck!

Professional picture by Tobin Smith

A few months ago I had the pleasure of seeing a true professional in action. The event was a surprise for my wife Bonnie. I arranged for our two sons (Paul & Chris) and their wives (Laila & Leili) to come for a visit with us in our home in Dorchester, Canada. To record the event I hired a close family friend, Tobin Smith, who happens to be a successful photographer. I observed Tobin’s attention to detail, the passion he brought to the job and the joy he shared with us to get all of us to bring out our true selves. He was amazing to watch. I learned a lot from him over a two day period. He resides on the west coast of Canada with his wife Sarah and their new son Oliver. If you want someone to capture the essence of who you are, Tobin can be contacted at www.photobinphotography.com, and share his joy, then I encourage you to visit his website.

For the past 10 years I have been building my company (Professional Sales Plus, Inc.).  I don’t think I will slow down any time soon for I love what I do.  The challenge is to find alternate sources of revenue and to keep adding value to my existing and future clients.

The alternate sources of revenue have been my 4 books.   I have sold a good number of them and I am continuing to write more. These books are now in 8 languages.  I have two more coming into print this year - The Passionate Trainer and Another Flippin Change Book.   I am also going to launch a Manager’s Assistant which is a ongoing source of guidance for managers to help them run their business and their teams.

The value I am adding is in the form of copy written seminars that comprehensively train salespersons, first line managers and agency/branch managers.   These are five-day seminars that build skills very quickly. I have sold two of these programs a few times and look forward to selling them in the future. The customer can have me train their trainers to deliver these programs, or I can deliver them to the participants.

I have also launched 3 of 4 websites; this one, About my Professional and Personal Life, and One About my Company.   I am looking for ways to help existing and potential customers to find me on the internet.

Another business project is to enlarge the Professional Sales Plus Team. I now have 9 associates in various countries promoting or delivering the Professional Sales Plus message and seminars.  I have partners in Romania, Turkey, Slovakia, three in Jamaica, China and four in Canada

I will continue to build this enterprise for it is my legacy.

Based on our own experiences, what we have read and learned, we have found those people who develop passion for life tend to have better lives than those who don’t. Change often is good and provides each of us with excitement, joy, growth, interest and livelihood. If we can teach ourselves to embrace change then we can have the calmness, inner spirit and genuine happiness with the path we walk in life. Passion is the difference!

Hanging around the pool in my hotel in Nicosia, Cyprus I had occasion to spend time with a 23 year old classical guitarist. A very interesting Greek Cypriot who lives in Cyprus but studies in England at a University. We had a lengthy discussion on the nature of passion. We agreed that when we tap into our individual passions, we unleash capacity and commitment. As we use our capacity appropriately we are given additional amounts of capacity. But this seems to only work when we are passionate about worthwhile and honourable ventures. What I mean by ventures is when we build something like our integrity, our honesty, truthfulness, contribute to society or enrich our relationships with those people important to us.

It seems the closer we are to our real purpose in life (I believe our purpose is to contribute to an ever advancing civilization) the more intense our passion is and the greater gifts like capacity we will receive. In those times when I have been moving toward my true purpose I have enjoyed increased awareness and joy … my passion!

Currently the world is facing a severe economic recession.  Most politicians and economists are afraid to use the ‘R’ (recession) word.   They fear use of the world will cause an even greater down-turn in the economy.  What is unusual in this reality is that the depression is not limited to a few single nations but is dramatically affecting the majority of the producing nations.  One could say, it is because it is because all country economies are linked.   We think it is much more than that.

We think the reason we are seeing the same financial failures and bail-outs around the world is because the model upon which our economies are based is flawed.  The model is based upon greed.  The chasm between rich and poor is widening.  The number of people in the world without basic food and water has increased dramatically.  The number of rich people has not increased dramatically.     There is a fundamentally inequity between the haves and the have-nots.

The governments of the world are applying a bandage to a patient with a severed leg.   They are trying to save the old model by printing money and going into horrendous debt.  This greed mentality is the cornerstone of capitalism.

A new model will be needed!  We must find a balance between capitalism and communism.    In capitalism, the needs of the group are sacrificed for the individual.   It is the me-first mentality.   In communism, the needs of the individual are sacrificed for the group.   We need to find a balance between the needs of the individual and the needs of the group.  We need to break down the old world order and build a new world order.

The current changes in the economy and the economic model is putting enormous pressure on the leaders and workers of each country.  People are losing their jobs and their homes.  The next years will be a positive and negative experience for us all.  Fortunately mankind has proven its tenacity, vitality, enthusiasm and resourcefulness to overcome adversity.

We will survive this period if we chose to do so.   Each day, when faced with all the challenges of this economic reality, we have a choice.   One choice is to find a ways to work our way through this mess. The other is to feel victimized and do nothing but let it overwhelm us.   The choice is yours.   Within our books and seminars we give you simple, yet relevant systems, processes and tools to help you cope with change.  Now it is up to you.  You can choose to grow or not.  Good luck!