Recommended Reading - "The Go-Giver"

As you know, I really enjoy sharing many of the insights that I receive through my coaching sessions with advisors.

In fact, I have been steadily sharing information regarding a positive mindset and attitude since last Fall when the world markets and economies really started to slip into a funk.

Since that time, I have been revealing many of the changes that I made to my mindset that have allowed me to move ahead with the sale of my wealth management business and the fast growth of Pinnacle Equity Solutions. I am happy to say that the sum and substance of much of what I have been sharing is reflected in an entertaining and powerful little business book titled The Go-Giver.

Every now and then a book grabs my attention so strongly that I forego the Amazon purchase and drive over the book store to get it right away - this is one of those books. Truth be told, I did not get home to my wife and kids until long after dinner-time the day that I bought this book because I could not put it down.

The Go-Giver is a story about a stereo-typical Go-Getter, a young man, Joe, who works for a large company and is struggling to meet his sales goals for the most recent quarter. The book opens by finding our main character, Joe, in a panic over his need to get more sales to meet his quarterly quota. Joe is using a mindset that many of us were raised and trained with - that you need to get business from other people. Joe's greatest turnaround - and the story behind the book (as evidenced by the title) - is when he realizes that getting is not the key to success, instead it is giving, hence the title, The Go-Giver.

When Joe begins to change his approach to business, he realizes that he has more to give than he ever previously knew. The plain fact is that no one ever put these thoughts in Joe's mind . . . or, as many coaches will tell you, Joe was simply never previously ready or open to receive this information. It took an emergengy for him to open up-more on this later.

In the book, Joe's new mentor is teaching him the five (5) laws of success - all basically tied to being a more balanced and authentic person to himself, his clients, and all the other people that he encounters in his life.

The story details the five (5) laws of success that Joe should follow. They are:

1. The Law of Value

Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.

2. The Law of Compensation

Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.

3. The Law of Influence

Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people's interests first.

4. The Law of Authenticity

The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.

5. The Law of Receptivity

The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.

When diligently applied to your life, these five (5) Laws can produce dramatically new results for you as well.

I know this to be true because I too went through a similar transformation when I was first learning and applying these same principles to my business and life.

I share the entire story of my 'old' versus my 'new' mindset with my coaching students and Platinum Group Members. I also sell a 2-hour CD copy and transcript of this story in interview format with my mentor, David Neagle titled "Changing The Mindset" - Pinnacle gives all proceeds from these sales to Charity :)

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

Essentially, once I started changing my approach to how I conducted my business, I started looking for opportunities to 'give' instead of simply to 'get'. This was not an easy transformation, and I am often-times challenged by this new way of thinking and behaving . . . after all, there are certainly those out there who will try to take advantage of someone who is 'giving'.

In truth, changing your mindset is not simply something that you do to get more business and then abandon when it is no longer convenient. To get new results in your business and your life, you need to commit to new ideas and change the way that you make decisions and run your business. These changes are difficult and will pull you out of your comfort zone. But, that is the whole point. In order to grow, you need to experience some discomfort along the way.

I believe that today's economy is representative of The Go-Giver's main character Joe and the challenges that he faces with meeting his sales goals. All business people are challenged in this environment. The discomfort associated with a recession is tied to the inconvenience of this new economy and the recognition that we need to take a new approach to our businesses.

This is the same conclusion that I came to a number of years ago when I decided that the 'old' way of doing business was no longer working for me. Without being able to define exactly what I was looking for, I began searching for answers for a new way of doing business. I was open to receiving this new information and was able to find sources right away.

Many years later, I am happy to have found The Go-Giver because the principles in this book make it much easier to share - with those who are open to listening - the core changes that I made to my business that have allowed it - and me - to grow at a rate that far exceeds any other points in my career or life.

Today's economy is forcing us all to look critically at our businesses and the way that we deliver services to the market. There is a great deal of wisdom in the solutions that Joe discovers in this brilliant book, The Go-Giver. I highly recommend that you pick up a copy (Amazon.com retail price of $12.97) and give it a read . . . it may be just the information that you were looking for to get you adjusted to handling this new economy.

© John M. Leonetti

Specializing in Business Exit Strategies, John M. Leonetti, Esq., M.S. Finance, CM&AA founded Pinnacle Equity Solutions to provide advisors with the tools they need to incorporate Business Exit Planning into their advisory practices. To learn more about John's Exit Strategy Services and to receive a FREE copy of his special report, "How To Incorporate Exit Strategies Into Your Advisory Practice", visit Pinnacle Equity Solutions