Category Archives: Personal Development

How Educated Are You?

bigstock-Apple-Word-Cloud-Back-To-Scho-40870060

We know it all

We have all the right answers

Our learning was done the last day we walked out of school

That is narrow-minded thinking!

  • Our brain needs “exercise”
  • Keep growing and learning

When is the last time you listened to a great podcast, grabbed a book or read a blog?

I know talk radio and music can be fun to listen to while driving, but schedule “educational windshield time” each week.

Need a new reference group?

Check out http://www.meetup.com

And see what groups are congregating in your community!

You might be surprised at the great new contacts that you make!

Let’s Connect!

You can find me at:

If you have any questions about moving forward with your business, I would love to hear from you. You can find me at: TimMushey@gmail.com

Real Connections Matter!

bigstock-Business-Team-Giving-One-Anoth-46461049

I have known the one-of-a-kind Paul Castain for over three years, and had the pleasure to speak with him on several occasions.

Long ago when I started writing, did not have a blog yet, and was “stuck”, I started to research the sales profession and stumbled across a website. They had a blogroll (list of blogs that they followed) and Paul’s blog – “Your Sales Playbook” was one of them.

I had clicked on many of the other blogs and moved on shortly after, but something made me dive deeper in to Paul’s content. He even had a link to a music playlist to help pump everyone up! Any sales website that has content on music (one of my passions) is going to get more of a look than the others.

From that moment, I made a point of supporting him on my “regular run” of the social media circles. I commented on his posts, listened to podcasts, shared content and interacted with him on a more personal level. I really connected with him, and at any moment felt like we could go grab a drink and shoot the breeze.

Over a year and a half passed and I was finally ready to launch my blog in January of 2012. It was a honour early on to have Paul stop by and comment to wish me well. Like many bloggers, my first two or three posts had limited traffic beyond family and friends. I did not totally understand “the blogging thing” yet, and was not driving traffic to my content.

Then came February 13, 2012 –  the day I will never forget.

I walked in to my office like any other morning to check email. I was stunned to see so many new emails related to my blog. My first thought was “What did Castain do”?

http://yoursalesplaybook.com/2-newnewer-sales-blogs-worthy-of-your-attention/

I share this not to be cocky or arrogant, it was just the first thought that came to my mind. I had a feeling that Paul was responsible.

I still remember my heart racing as I realized what had happened.

To this day, no matter how hard I try, I cannot surpass the number of daily page views that I received when Paul gave Bruce Zimmerman and I a “shout out” on his blog. I am forever grateful for the gesture, and what he has done for me and my business.

I never expected anything in return from Paul. I just wanted to help because of his incredibly content, passion to make others be better and his love for life.

Our relationship has now developed to where I help run his music group on LinkedIn (a subgroup of the highly successful Sales Playbook) called the Daily Music Sanctuary http://linkd.in/1g45rW0 .We try to talk at least 2-3 times per year. I was invited to attend one of his webinars free of charge, and had the distinct pleasure of doing a testimonial for his awesome Ebook “Paul Castain’s Social Networking Playbook” http://bit.ly/Mw7YOI 

If you reach out to others and build relationships you never know what might happen. If your intentions are not self-fulfilling, you might get an incredible surprise like I did that day!

Paul has become my mentor and motivates me to move my consulting business forward every day! As great as the mention was on Paul’s blog, the best part is I now have an incredible friend who will be there when I need him, and that means the world to me!

Do You Need A “Super Happy Fun Day?”

I have enjoyed the work of Dean Jackson and John Reese from the internet marketing space for close to three years now. I needed a kick in the butt a couple of weeks ago, so I replayed one of my favourite audio interviews from John Reese and Tony Robbins.

Hang on… I am not going to go in to a long-winded technically explanation of internet marketing theory. Rather, I want to tell you about an incredible concept called “Super Happy Fun Days”.

John and Tony started to speak about this on the audio interview, and Tony wanted all the details. Dean Jackson created the concept, and John Reese would take part in these events when possible. They are good friends. The “rules” are as follows (to the best of my memory):

  • The event was at least 9 hours long
  • Two major activities had to be completed (ie a golf game and/or a movie were typically included)
  • Two meals had to be consumed
  • Other fun activities were completed (to fill in the extra time)

I can “hear the comments” now coming off the page as your read this. Everyone is busy, running  like chicken’s with their head’s cut off. 9 hours of fun is impossible!

It is if you want it to be!

  • How often could you pencil in “Super Happy Fun Days” throughout the year?
  • If nine-hour blocks of time were not always possible, how much time could you commit to?
  • When you look back on your life, will look fondly remember all the work that you did, or the fun, kinship and laughter that you had along the way?

Always remember, if you don’t block off time to do these activities, they won’t get done. Treat them like a business meeting in your calendar. You wouldn’t skip those right 🙂

When Is The Last Time You…..

  1. said thank you to a customer for their business or got “wild and crazy” and hand wrote them a thank you card?
  2. helped a co-worker just ‘cuz?
  3. read a book or listened to an audio book in your chosen career path to help take your game to the next level?
  4. grabbed coffee for your inside sales or other support people or took them for lunch?
  5. made a co-worker laugh when they were having a bad day?
  6. told somebody “fantastic job!”
  7. took a real lunch break to relax and recharge for the rest of the day?
  8. emailed a colleague or friend a podcast, blog or article that you found helpful
  9. really listened to somebody when they were talking to you?
  10. planned a really fun vacation to get away from it all?

10 friendly reminders as your week starts to wind down!

I would be flattered if you used this as a checklist to help motivate yourself to do things that you wouldn’t normally do.

Keep me posted on your progress and good luck!

What Are You Prepared To Give Up – Right Now?

Hockey referee

My name is Tim Mushey, and I am a “hockey-a-holic”. The labour strife in the National Hockey League ended a couple of weeks ago, and hockey is finally back!

I am super excited that the coolest game in the world is back, but I had to make a decision. I quit all of my hockey pools, cold turkey! For the first time in many years, I am not in one hockey pool, NOT ONE! To be clear, this was never about the money. It was about fun with friends, and the competitive spirit to try to out do each other.

Although I miss it a lot, it had to be done. I have gone from checking the scores around 25 times a night (not joking) to maybe twice. I don’t have to watch all the highlights before bed, just when I have time.

That extra time I have every day can now be spent working towards my goals. Perhaps it is writing my blog, connecting and following up with social media activities, or learning and planning my next steps online.

If feels good that my time is being put to better use now, and I can also focus more on my family.

  • What do you have to quit “cold turkey”?
  • What is going to help you move closer to achieving your goals that you have not been focusing on?

Remember, a little bit every day is still a great place to start!

I miss hockey pools, but it won’t help me retire early 🙂