Erin Glass

One of the most difficult things to do in business for yourself is to keep going when so many people are telling you you can't do it or you won't do it.  The road to success is a difficult one, but those that can make it will reap amazing rewards. It's not easy and it takes an amazing amount of inner strength, mental strength, and belief in yourself to make it.

I believe it was Robert Frost who authored the poem, "The Road Less Traveled".  One of the only poems that ever stuck in my mind as I was growing up.  He chose to take the road less traveled because he was destined for a different kind of success. Along that road you will see and hear a lot of "Naysayers" and "No's" but it's up to you to forge forward.

How do you do that, I've been asked.  Well, there are many ways you can keep moving forward. One is to surround yourself with positive and supportive people.  As people we have been raised to believe in fact. Something that's been proven, but the shear fact is, that new ways of doing business are just that, new!  There is no proven theory so it's difficult for people to see your potential. You have to maintain the faith.

Another thing that you'll learn is that you will need a GREAT MARKETING plan. Whether you are your product or your product is your product, you need to market it like no other.  How many products have you seen that are virtually crap, but they had an amazing marketing strategy behind them?  They go on to be Billion dollar products!  Let's look at the "Snuggie".  It's a robe worn backwards people!  BUT, the marketing strategy was genius. They've sold over 400 million snuggies and have branched out into providing snuggies for pets and all kinds of things now.  What you may not know is that the snuggie was turned down by dozens of financers before they had their big break and they kept going. They knew that they had something and that all they needed was ONE "yes". 

So, when you hear those no's, just remember you only need ONE yes, so keep the faith and stay focused. I'll leave you with this:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

~ Robert Frost

Have you ever attended a conference or an event where you left feeling so pumped up and energized about your business only to find that a week later you were just as unmotivated as you were before you left?  We all have!

I just returned from an amazing 9 day conference in Las Vegas where I was surrounded by some of the most innovative and brilliant people on the planet. We were all so energized, motivated, and excited to be in business for ourselves.  So, how do you maintain that high?

I think there are a few ways you can.  I'll list a few that I'm going to implement myself.

1. Create short term goals by WRITING them down and reviewing them daily.
2. CELEBRATE your accomplishments no matter how big or small.
3. Stay in touch with some of the people you met. Preferably the ones with the high spirits and winning attitudes
4. Pop in a motivational CD while you're driving to and from work/appointments
5. Find a great book to read and share waht you learn.
6. Find a mentor and have regular calls to report on your progress. 
7. ONLY surround yourself with people who encourage you and try not to get bogged down by negativity.
8. Go forward with a heart of cooperation and help others you met achieve their goals. (it will come back to you)
9. Feed your spirit daily. Just like our bodies need nourishment, so do our souls. This can make huge differences in your life.
10. Set aside a few minutes every day to reflect on just how far you've come and speak to where you want to be. Literally, say it out loud. "Out of the words of your mouth, come the desires of your heart."

These 10 techniques, tips or strategies can help you maintain that high and take your personal or professional life into "hyper growth". 

I'll leave you with this quote.

"My list of ingrediants for success is divided into four basic groups: Inward, Outward, Upward and Onward." ~ David Thomas

Be sure to opt-in to receive notifications of any of my teleclasses, webinars, or live speaking events by visiting my website and filling out the webform on the homepage. Be sure to check off the box that says you want to be notified.

To your continued success,

Erin Glass

Well, so much for my resolution of blogging every day. It's been 5 months since my last update and shame on me!  I just spoke to the Women's Realtors Council Thursday morning about the benefits of a blog and here I am being lazy!  You know the 2nd most viewed page on our website is my Blog and I haven't updated it in months?

This goes to show you that people really are interested in blogs.

In April I heard about the TV show The Apprentice casting for season 10.  I had secretly been saying for the last year that if they Apprentice ever went back to having normal people on the show that I would audition.  I saw the casting call over Easter weekend and the next audtion was that Wednesday in Atlanta, GA.  I decided, you only live once, so why not give it a shot.

Gary drove to Atlanta and I had a business meeting so I flew to meet him. We got up at 2 am (because they only guaranteed the first 500 would be seen) and were literally the very first people in line!  Talk about dedication! They made us wait around until 9 am to be seen and they took us into the rooms in groups of 10. 

The moderator asked us to introduce ourselves, state our name and where we were from originally and how had the economy effected us personally.  After that they threw out the topic of "Do you think the recession is over" and we were supposed to just jump in like lions and have at it.

After 10 minutes of debating, the moderator stopped the discussion and asked each of us who we would hire and who we would fire. I'm proud to say I was hired and NOT fired!!

Then, they gave us the speach, don't call us, we'll call you.  Well, I didn't get a call back so Gary and I assumed I had not made it and drove back to Florida.  About a week later I received an email stating I had made the call backs!  I was ecstatic BUT I had to submit a 5 minute video answering very specific questions along with professional headshots all within the next 3 days!  I had a celebration dance, freaked out for a minute and then just got busy.  I submitted my video and they informed me that I would hear something in about 3 weeks if I did make it.

The time has come and gone so I'm assuming I didn't make the show but what an amazing experience! I learned that I was a little more daring than I had thought and that you just never know who is intrigued by you or your story.

The trials and tribulations you experience help develop your character and your story so don't be ashamed to share. No one is perfect. We are incapable of perfection! Be confident in who you are.

Another quick story I'd like to share. When I was 15 years old I went with my older sister to a model casting call for my adorable 2 year old niece. Well, I was asked to attend this convention instead and was completely shocked!  I went to Indianapolis, met with modeling agencies and did the whole catwalk thing.  Nothing ever happened because I was about 75lbs and 4'11!  I wasn't tall enough to be a model for my age bracket and didn't really look like a 10 year old! 

That had stayed with me for a long time and I was quite self conscious about it.  Well, about a month or two ago I came across a magazine called Bella Petite which is trying to start a movement for petite models (under 5'6"). They were conducting a search for cover models and editorial spreads.  All you had to do was submit headshots and measurements. The old Erin would have NEVER done that but after The Apprentice audition, I thought why not?  So, I submitted my headshots and measurement (5'2" tall by the way) and didn't hear anything back.

About 3 weeks later I got an email stating that I had made the call backs and that they were going to consider me for an upcoming cover shoot and/or editorial spread!  Again, I did my little happy dance celebration and then thought to myself, "I need to work out and eat better!".  This is another example of just putting yourself out there. If you don't try something you'll never know if you could have accomplished it.

No matter what your goals or aspirations are, you HAVE to at minimum try. What's the worst thing that could happen; you stay exactly in the same place as you are today?  So what?  And the alternative is to follow your dreams. 

Now, I chose to leave out all of the tough tough things I've gone through because they don't matter. Focus on the positive and surround yourself with people who lift you up. This is vitally important. Keep the negativity out of your heart,mind and soul and you will see great changes in your life.

Create your dream board and make it a goal to go after each one!

Best wishes,

Erin Glass