Let’s face it. We live in a stressful environment.

Society is fast moving. Situations comes to us at tremendous speeds. We have more responsibilities dumped in our laps than ever before. We also have more possessions, more opportunities and more choices.

Along with all this comes more opinions, more social movements and more people yearning for attention (which is a basic human desire by the way). We get the good, the bad and the downright ignorant thrown in our faces everyday; all day.

This post is inspired by a conversation I recently had with a very good friend of mine, Mr. Bryan R. Lewis.

What is stress?

Well if you ask the average medical professional, they will say that it’s physical, mental or emotional strain. The physical symptoms of stress are “supposed” to be the body’s natural way of dealing with feeling threatened.

When you perceive a threat, your nervous system responds by releasing a flood of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol. When these hormones kick in, the body is preparing itself for serious action.

Your heart pounds faster, muscles tighten, blood pressure rises, breath quickens, and your senses become sharper. The result of this is that your strength increases, your stamina goes up as well as your speed and reaction time. Your body is preparing itself to fight or flee. Remain in this state long enough and you will experience severe strain to your entire bodily system.

All this is fantastic to know – but those are symptoms of stress, what is the real cause?

Stress is caused by resisting reality. When you do not accept what is, you will resist it.

Now, what do people resist most? Problems.

Stress is generated from current problems that haven’t been solved. To take it up a level, this can also come from a perceived problem. A problem you may think is there (or soon to come) – that may not currently exist.

Resisting unresolved problems = STRESS. Resisting anticipated future problems = STRESS.

When I was younger, I worried about what any young man worries about. Becoming a failure, being broke, not being liked or accepted by women or my social circle. All these were perceived problems. They were generated from the way I thought.

Every 9-to-5 job I held during this time also stressed me. I don’t like be told what to do by “unqualified” authority figures. I never liked being on someone else’s clock and time schedule. Working for someone else, for me, was a problem. Again, this was generated by the way I thought.

You must learn to accept what is – reality.

The reality is, if you work a 9-to-5 job, you will most likely never be wealthy. You will always have someone telling you what to do and how to do it. When you resist this, you are creating stress. Being in a subordinate position goes along with having a job, there is no way around it. Accept it. This is a reality.

I recently had a talk with another friend of mine, a very smart and intelligent woman. She has been through some very rough times recently and many factors were beyond her control. She contacted me and you know what we talked about? Her problems.

Problems with her children and her current living situation – the result of many small choices she made over the past year. This is the bed she made – and now she’s laying in it. These issues are problems – they all need to be solved or she will remain in a constant state of stress.

She must accept the reality of where she’s at and what’s going on around her, without the resistance.

When you accept reality (what something really is) – do you have to like it? No you don’t. Just recognize it, and find a solution to the problem.

When you anticipate future problems, accept reality – where are you at NOW? Does this “problem” currently exist, right NOW? No it doesn't. Accept reality. Recognize that there "might" be something coming, prepare a solution to the "possible" problem and let it go. Worrying about it is resistance and resistance causes stress.

HOW TO BEAT STRESS IN 5 MINUTES:

1st minute: Take a few deep breaths to release some tension.

2nd minute: Think about what you’re resisting.

3rd minute: Accept the reality of the situation.

4th minute: Identify the problem and where it’s coming from.

5th minute: Create a way to solve the problem.

Remember this formula as T-TAIC (Tee-Tack).

Simple, isn't it? Just doing this mental work alone will immediately release stress and tension in the body. Don’t believe me, try it for yourself.

Is this the “be all” cure? No. There are some deeper layers to this topic but we don’t have room here. What I do want you to take away from this post is simply this…

Stress is caused by resistance to reality. And what we resist most, are problems. Life is a series of problems that must be solved. Peep Game.

Until next time, keep it moving.

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This post has been adapted from my book, Unlocking the Small Business Game, just for this blog.

Have you ever heard, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”?

The key to this principle is this: People will believe what others say about you more than what you say about yourself.

You might not be able to get a list of stellar testimonials to carry around with you. And to be honest, unless you're in business, you would silly doing it. You can, however, still use a people’s names. Not in an illegal fashion, but you can mention these people or a person during conversations.

Dropping names correctly and at the right time can almost completely break down the wall of doubt people have about you and even your business (if you have one). When people find out that you associate with people they already know and trust, they are more likely to trust you as well.

Trust is always an issue so let’s look at this strategy in action.

Before we begin let me set up the scenario for you.  We have a man named, Michael. He’s a Hustler (business man) and he is going around talking to business owners, managers and employees in the area.

Mrs. Johnson is a fairly well known and respected business owner in the area Michael is in. She’s also a regular customer of Michael’s.

Michael walks into a nearby office and introduces himself and asks to speak to the owner or manger. The manager comes out and Michael goes on to make his regular introduction:

Michael: Hello how are you doing today? My name is Michael and I am in the area just to hand out some flyers and business cards. I just wanted to leave some for you and your employees if that’s acceptable. Can I ask your name?

Manager: Nice to meet you, my name is Jeff.

Michael: (Shaking hands) Nice to meet you too. I won’t take up too much of your time I just wanted you and your employees to know what I do. I am the owner of, Right Time T-Shirts and Lids. I offer high quality T-shirt and sports caps for low prices in the area. Can I leave you with some flyers? There’s a coupon on it that gives all first time buyers a discount just for trying me out.

Jeff: (Hesitant) Well, I guess so.

Michael: (Hands over some flyers to Jeff) If you could please put these somewhere where your employees can see them I would appreciate it. Or with your permission I can hand these out myself. (Before giving Jeff a chance to respond) By the way do you know Mrs. Johnson who owns the, Tiny and Tidy Day Care around the corner?

Jeff: Oh yes, Mrs. Johnson. A few of my employee’s children go to that Day Care.

Michael: Oh really? She’s such a sweet lady. We talk all the time, have you ever met her?

Jeff: Sure a few times, she does seem pretty nice. She’s had the Day Care up there for about 10 years I was told.

Michael: That’s what she told me. I hope to be in business that long myself! We’ll see how it goes (laughs). Anyhow, she’s a really good customer of mine so some of your employees would probably like to get some quality T-Shirts and sport caps like she does.

Jeff: (An obvious change of attitude) Well, I guess so. So what kind of T-shirts do you carry and how much are they?

This is just one of dozens of ways to use association. You must understand that when using association that you should always use names of people who are generally liked and respected in the social circle or area you’re in.

How about using the name of someone also in your line of business that people know and respect? You can associate your name with theirs and literally build your own reputation off of their reputation (if they don’t mind that is).

Association is extremely powerful. Why do you think big companies spend millions on celebrity and athlete endorsements? These companies want to associate themselves with these big names and build up the image of their brand, product or service.

This is the same technique on a smaller scale. If you take your time to think about how to use this, its possibilities are almost endless. Peep Game.

Keep it moving and keep it simple.

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Greetings out there. I hope this message finds you well. Once again, it’s time to share some Game, so those of you that need it, get ready to soak it up.

The root word of knowledge is to know. But just because you know, doesn't mean you know how and when to use that knowledge. Are you with me? If not, let me explain.

One of my biggest mistakes, when it came to business, was that I didn't organize a team around what I was doing. To be quite honest I just didn't want to deal with the management aspect.

Things seem to get complicated quickly when you have to not only manage yourself, but others too. You have to deal with your mental and emotional states and you have to deal with the mental and emotional states of the people on your team. It goes with the territory and I felt I didn't have time for it. I figured that time and energy was better spent running my business.

There’s a saying and it goes, “When you know better, you do better.”

That saying is bulls@#t! Just because you know, doesn't mean you’ll do. And even if you want to do, you might not know how to do.

Allow me to elaborate. I knew building a team was the natural evolution of my business, there is only so much one person can do. Did I know better? Yes, sure did? Did I do better? Nope, sure didn't.

When I started my third (and eventually successful) business I was like a baby learning to walk. I’m bobbing around, falling, running into things; I was all over the place trying to get my footing.

My mentors in business taught me a lot of things and I knew these things worked because I was able to see them use it. But hard-headed stubborn young me, thought my way was better. Again I say, knowledge is just knowledge until you learn how to use it and when to use it.

It‘s good to acquire knowledge, I’m not saying be ignorant by any means. What I’m saying is this – any knowledge that you don’t use (or know how to use) is useless information. It’s not doing anything for your life – it’s not helping you or anyone else.

And my real point is this - if you don’t use what you know, you’re acting like you don’t know anything at all.

And why would you want to live your life that way?

Learning about things is good, but knowing how and when to apply that knowledge is what you should be pushing for. So I urge you to use what you know and teach what you know. When you pass on what you know to others, show those people how they can apply the information to their lives.

Here’s a famous quote from a serious old school Hustler, Benjamin Franklin (you didn't really think he “discovered” electricity, did you?):

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I’ll remember. Involve me and I learn.”

If you know a lot about a lot of things, but don’t do a lot with it, this is a Game Leak. You need to plug that Leak in yourself before it leads to Game Loss (losing what you've already gained). Peep the Game in that.

What good is a cure for a disease, if sits on a shelf? What good is knowing how to change a tire, if you just stand there when it’s flat? What good is knowing there’s stores that sell food, but you just sit your ass on the sofa and starve?

Does any of this make any sense to you? But yet we do it every day. I still find myself doing this from time to time.

And, you know me, let’s take this to another level! 

Have you ever stepped outside of yourself long enough to think – there may be someone out there suffering, right this moment, and your knowledge could be helping them?

Plug those Leaks and let’s get our Game straight.

Keep it moving. Until next time…

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