High Impact Leaders

This is part two of a three part series on how to know if someone is manipulating you. 

Last week, we talked about the first step in manipulation which is creating and emotional response.

So, as you listen to the rest of the series, set your emotion aside. I'll give a ton of different types of examples. Each of the examples that I give are situations where someone or a group of people were trying to at least influence you and in a lot of cases, trying to manipulate you.

So, in the instances where I deliver a piece of evidence and your blood starts to boil from anger, pause the recording. Or, from the opposite perspective, in situations where you totally agree with the example I give, pause the recording.

Ask yourself, "Why am I reacting this way?" 

There is a good chance that the somewhere along the way, the people you are interacting with, the politicians that you are listening to, or the media where you get information has been using these techniques on you.

So, don't shoot the messenger. The goal of the series is to encourage you to see and hear the techniques while they are happening to you so you can make better decisions.

On this episode, I give you the co-conspirators -- so to speak -- in the con. Most of the time, for a con to work really well, multiple people will be pulling strings behind the scene to make it actually work. Usually, if you can figure out who the "other people" are, the con falls apart very quickly.

So enjoy the episode... And if you start to get angry as you listen, guys what? You are probably the mark.

By the way, if you like the content of the podcast, make sure to leave me a review on your podcast app and make sure to subscribe to the podcast so your phone automatically downloads each episode.

The Presidential Elections of 2024 are next month. And every election year, politicians make a lot of promises and demonize the other candidate. In 2020, just for fun, I did a series on How to Manipulate People and the Signs of a Con Artist. 

If you recall, in 2020, there was a ton of political speech, social media, new reports, and the like that, in retrospect, was entirely false.

So, just for fun, I decided to study the topic. (Since I'm in the meeting business and no one was meeting in 2020, I had nothing better to do anyway ;-)

That short series became the most downloaded series of the entire podcast. 

It also caused more hate comments on my social media channels than any other topic I've ever presented. When I created the original content, I was very careful not to try to alienate anyone by just poking fun at one side of the political spectrum. (I was equally critical of both sides, lol.)

But what happened was fascinating. As I used real-life examples from politics (from both sides), people listing would say...

I knew that other guy was manipulating people! You are so right. Then, when I pointed the finger at the other candidate, they'd say, "This guy is so wrong."

It only gives more evidence to the fact that we are all being manipulated every day of our lives. And the only reason we accept it is, is because we believe in the ideology of the person who is manipulating us.

So, as you listen to this series, set your emotions aside. And in the instances where I deliver a piece of evidence and your blood starts to boil from anger, pause the recording. Or, from the opposite perspective, in situations where you totally agree with the example I give, pause the recording.

Ask yourself, "Why am I reacting this way?" 

There is a good chance that somewhere along the way, the people you are interacting with, the politicians that you are listening to, or the media where you get information has been using these techniques on you.

So, don't shoot the messenger. The goal of the series is to encourage you to see and hear the techniques while they are happening to you so you can make better decisions.

This week, I cover a really fun topic about how different generations in the workplace like to communicate with each other. This is one of those topics that, the more I studied it, the more fascinating it became.

For instance, have you ever wondered why Millennials (people born from the mid-1980s to the turn of the century) really love communicating via chat apps? Or why Generation X people (folks born in the 1960s to 1980) would prefer that you just call them -- don't waste time sending texts.

Well, listen to the next 30 minutes or so, and it will all make perfect sense. 

This is part three of a three-part series on how to build wealth. If you haven't listened to the first two episodes in this series, make sure to listen to those two episodes first. This week's episode will really give you the meat of how to build wealth. But in the first week, I showed how in order to become wealthy, you have to change your mindset. That step is critical.

Last week, I showed you how to increase your income. I covered how to ask for a raise as well as how to use the gig economy to get out of debt.

Also, for the last couple of weeks, I've mentioned that we were on the precipice of a huge economic disaster. If you are in debt, that economic crash is going to be very painful. So, your time to prepare is very, very short. If you have credit card debt or some other type of short-term loan debt, you have to do whatever it takes to get out from under that burden. And your time to do this is now very, very short.

However, that same economic disaster will actually be a windfall for anyone who has a nest egg stored up. We are on the verge of an opportunity of a lifetime (maybe three lifetimes) if you have just a little wealth stashed away.

And as I mentioned last week, I'm not selling anything.  I'm not a stockbroker or financial planner. I'm just a small business guy who can read economic data. My only reason for covering this topic is to help you capitalize on this opportunity.

So, hopefully, you can take a few of the ideas I present here and build wealth for you and your family.

This is part two of a three-part series on how to build wealth. If you haven't listened to last week's episode yet, make sure to stop the recording and listen to that episode first. Last week, I showed how, in order to become wealthy, you have to change your mindset. That step is critical.

As a review, building wealth involves three simple steps. These steps are simple but not easy because each step takes a lot of discipline. Right now, we are on the precipice of a huge economic disaster. If you are in debt, that economic crash is going to be very painful. So, your time to prepare is very, very short. However, if you prepare properly, we are also on the precipice of the opportunity of a lifetime (maybe three lifetimes) if you have just a little wealth stashed away.

Keep in mind that I'm not selling anything. My only reason for covering this topic is to help you capitalize on this opportunity. I'm not a stockbroker or financial planner. I'm just a small business guy who can read economic data. So, hopefully, you can capitalize on a few of the ideas I present here and build wealth for you and your family.

Enjoy.

If you like the content of the podcast, make sure to leave me a review on your podcast app and subscribe to the podcast so your phone automatically downloads each episode.

Also, make sure to check out our YouTube channel @leadersinstitute or just search for The Leaders Institute in the YouTube search bar.

A couple of years ago, I covered a topic on the show about how to build wealth. At the time, we were in the process of coming out of the pandemic, and the economy was growing like gangbusters. 

The episode series gave three simple steps -- simple but not easy because each step takes a lot of discipline. I covered the topic because I knew that, based on what I was seeing in the business world, the huge increase in the economy was temporary. And we were on the precipice of a huge economic disaster.

However, that economic disaster is currently creating the opportunity of a lifetime (maybe three lifetimes) if you have just a little wealth stashed away.

So, I thought I'd re-release those three episodes over the next few weeks. The tips that I give you will help you not only weather the current storm but also come out the other side wealthier.

Hopefully, over the last few years, you've been taking my advice and paying off consumer debt, your mortgage, your car loans, etc. If you have, hang onto your saddle because you are in a fantastic position to become extremely wealthy in the next few years.

This week, I cover a slightly lighter topic. I started researching this topic about a year and a half ago, and what I found out was fascinating. 

One of my customers asked me to put together a workshop on the communication styles of the different generations in the workplace. 

As I put it together, I started to realize that there is a reason why Millennials prefer to chat or text rather than call or Facetime. I also realized why Baby Boomers and Gen Z folks are more likely to talk to coworkers in person rather than call or chat.

In fact, when you look at the technology available when each generation grew up, the answers are pretty obvious.

So in this episode, I show you how people in each of the generations prefer to receive information -- how each generation likes to communicate. When you understand this, you can improve communication with your team, with your customers, and with your vendors.

If you've seen the news or any business publications lately, that impending recession that everyone has been warning about is here. But, you don't have to participate in it. 

This is part two of a two-part series on how to find new customers by networking. Networking (word-of-mouth advertising) is the absolute most cost-effective way to generate new business for yourself or your company. 

In part one, I covered what networking is and how to develop skills to become a center of influence in your community or industry. In this episode, I show you where to network and how to find venues where your potential customers gather.

A really big mistake that a lot of small business people and salespeople make is that they are networking with spheres where their customers will never be. You can be a fantastic influencer, but if the people you are influencing can't buy your product or service, you're wasting your time!

For the last few weeks, I've talked about the looming recession and how you don't have to participate in it. Last week, and the week before, I gave you some tips about how cold calling doesn't work -- especially in a recession. And we talked about a few simple ways that you can generate more customers in a recession.

In fact, a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned an earlier episode called How to Get Customers from Business Networking Events. So, I figured this would be a great time to recover some of those great tips.

This week, I'll give you tips on HOW to network. I'll show you how to become a sphere of influence and generate referrals.

Then, next week, we'll cover WHERE to network. I'll help you determine where your customers gather so when you network, you'll be networking with the right people.

This is part three of a three-part series on how to build small business revenue during a recession. 

This series is a follow up to the episode a few weeks ago where I talked about how the recession that everyone has been talking about is already here. And my goal is to show you how you don't have to participate in the recession.

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about mistakes that small business owners tend to make that cause them to turn off customers. Then, last week, I gave you a few tips to keep from making these huge lead generation (revenue generation) mistakes. 

Today, I'm giving you a few of the easiest and most effective ways to generate new customers. So, I cover how spamming and cold calling won't really get you quality customers. However, these things really will!