Trent365

My ONE wish this Christmas is to help Lucky Asiimwe and his team at the Kitojo Empowered Girls School.

Kitojo is a rural village in Western Uganda and Lucky set up a school a few years ago to help the poor, underprivileged and often orphaned girls break the cycle of poverty.

Many of these kids never get the chance to finish primary school.

Instead they're forced to work from a very early age in the local stone quarries to help generate income for their families.

Ultimately, we're trying to make this school self-sustaining by farming crops and making products that can be sold in the local markets.

Right now, our priority is to raise money to pay for teachers, cooks, security, nurse, etc at the school.

Just AUD $17,000 is enough to pay all these salaries for 1 year.

If you can possibly spare a few bucks, it would mean the world to me if you could click the link below and donate.

If you can't, no worries. But maybe you could help share this link with the people in your network.

https://www.mycause.com.au/page/242757/kitojo-empowered-girls-school-uganda/1

This is a good thing.

Merry Christmas!

#fundraising #breakthecycle #empoweringwomen

Surprise & Delight is a great concept for your business and your customers.

Randomly send them a small gift every now and then.

Offer them a discount on a purchase occasionally, just to say Thanks.

But there's one additional element at Christmas time that makes it a little harder to Surprise AND Delight your family and friends.

And that is...expectations.

We all have expectations around the gifts we're going to get for Christmas.

Maybe that's due to the subtle hints you've been dropping in the months leading up to Christmas.

Or maybe just based on the gift you received last year.

Chances are, if you receive Delight - ie: the gift you wanted - it won't be a surprise. You expected it.

And if you do get a Surprise, there's a good chance it won't Delight you because you didn't get what you wanted.

NB: For Trent's Special Tip For Christmas Gift Giving...tune in.

#expectations #surprise #delight

Those of us who tend to see things a bit differently and who are often able to see opportunities where others do not, tend to believe we need to be at the centre of that change.

That's where we can make the most impact.

That's where we can best reap the rewards.

Or so we tell ourselves.

But often that's just our ego talking.

Sometimes it makes more sense to sit on the fringes of that change while someone else drives it.

That way, as you watch and listen, you will be able to respond and react, often with much more flexibility.

And in doing so you may well be capitalise on that change even more than if you were at the centre of it.

#change #opportunity #fringe

The internet, and all the things that live on the internet, like social media, allows you to sell just about any product or service you just about anyone.

But of course, just as it allows you to do that, so too does it allow anyone else to do the same.

Thus, essentially Commoditising Everything.

Except, according to Gary Vaynerchuck, your ability to communicate.

The key to success is identifying what form of communication works best for you.

Is it video? Audio? The written word? Or even a Zoom call?

Once you've worked that out, double down.

#communication #internet #socialmedia

COVID-19 has resulted in many of us 'Working From Home'.

In fact, the new reality we're finding is that we could really Work From Anywhere, in many cases.

Most see this as an opportunity for companies to save money on their corporate offices and for the workers to get a better Work-Life balance.

But there's another opportunity.

If you have a consumer-facing or client-facing business, consider creating spaces and environments in your shop or business where visiting customers can stay a bit longer and do some of their work.

Maybe your customers will stay a bit longer. 

That gives them a chance to build a stronger connection to your brand.

They might even spend a little extra money too.

#businessidea #outsidethebox #thinkdifferently

When it comes to assigning blame for something, we're often good at point the finger at someone else.

But Gary Vaynerchuck's idea of pointing thumbs instead of pointing fingers is sometimes the reminder we need when it comes to accountability.

The thumbs point back at you.

It's a great perspective on accountability.

#accountability #responsibility #blame

As humans we tend to be fascinated by the extraordinary, not the tedious.

We love the big, hairy, audacious goals.

We want to be the one to build the next Facebook or Amazon or Apple.

To be the next Zuckerberg or Bezos or Jobs.

But for all but a rare few, that's just never going to happen.

Instead, maybe the way you can make the biggest impact in the world is by focussing on the tedious.

And while you're there, you may well stumble upon that subtle tweak or iteration that leads you to the next big breakthrough. Who knows?

#littlethings #bigideas #realitycheck

What will you do if you do NOT get this job?

Imagine being asked that question towards the end of your job interview.

It's a great question on a few different levels.

Most candidates probably wouldn't expect a question like that so it's not one that they would have prepared an answer for.

That means they'll need to think on their feet.

How do they handle that? Do they get flustered? Or are they cool and calm?

It's also a question that challenges candidates to be honest.

The honest answer for you might be that you'll go home and keep applying for other jobs because you need a job. But would you say that?

Maybe you'll go an apply at their rival company? But do you tell them that?

Great question.

Now...What's the toughest job interview question you've ever been asked?

#jobinterviewquestions #jobinterviewhelp #jobapplicants

We all have at least a few key messages that we want people to hear.

The problem is, people are often too busy or too distracted to hear them.

There's just so much noise out there.

Most of us have pretty short attention spans.

BUT...if you can distil your message down to just one or two words or a phrase or even a couple of images so that it could fit on a t-shirt...I reckon you're on the right track.

Because that means that your message is clear enough, succinct enough and obvious enough for people to absorb it with just a quick glance.

PS: Beverley Spencer's got some good ones. https://www.linkedin.com/in/beverley-spencer-39aa8017/

#attentionspan #marketing #concise

We're generally pretty good at telling ourselves a story and then convincing ourselves that it's true.

The problem comes when we consistently get data and feedback that supports the story we want to believe, we confuse that consistency with accuracy.

For example, when you go to a hotel and step on the scales in the bathroom and it shows 2 kg heavier than what your scales at home say.

You convince yourself that the one at home is correct.

Partly because that's the story you want to believe and partly because the scales at home have been consistently giving you feedback that supports that story.

So think about, in your business, what data are you getting that is consistently supporting the story you want to believe - even though it may not necessarily be accurate.

#consistency #accuracy #realitycheck