SAS will make you Happy

Its true, SAS will make you a happier individual. 

You may wonder how is this possible when the SAS is an elite special force. Some of you may think it is either Scandinavian Airlines System, SAS Business Analytics or SAS Cargo.

The SAS I talk of is simply :

Smile – Many cultures see the act of a smile as a sign of friendliness, especially when greeting someone. While frowns are viewed up as indicating sadness or disapproval. So, it is recommended to maintain the expression of a smile for 15 to 30 seconds. It is suggested for you to create this positive habit by reminding yourself to do this every hour. This investment of 15 to 30 seconds will only make you reap great benefits in all parts of your life.

Act Happy – Individuals who are happy have a tendency to value themselves. They value themselves in terms of having great positive self-belief (self confidence, self esteem). This self-belief is shown through their communication skills i.e. non-verbal communication, verbal communication (voice and words) and written communication. Their emotional fitness is in good shape. They are happy as they value the importance of their existence. They have the ability to see everything in their life as a learning experience to become better rather then using those experiences as self-sabotage. They have built a very strong positive rapport with themselves.

Sit/Stand Up – Tony Robbins often talks about how your physiology impacts how great you feel about yourself. Some of you may remember your parents, elders or even teachers saying to you stand/sit up straight. In fact, this simply means having a good posture. A bad posture obviously leads to health issues but a good posture sends a signal of confidence and self-presence. When we sit/stand up straight we are allowing our lungs to be used to their full capacity. For the brain to function in a healthy manner it needs to be oxygenated. So, filling those lungs with ample amount of oxygen has great benefit for your creative thinking, happiness and health.

Thank you to the book 59 Seconds by Professor RichardWiseman for revealing this ancient truth through modern scientific evidence.

So, put your trust in the SAS to make you happy, like the say "Who Dares Wins".

Soul Based Service Excellence or Customer Service

In my early years when entering the corporate world I was introduced to the idea of customer service. Well, I was shocked and surprised with what I was taught by them. It seemed very different to what my father had instilled in me from a young age.

I recall my father being an individual who truly cared for each person who entered his premises. They may not buy from him or they complained yet he showed and gave them due respect. Yes, he had his bad days when he would get the irate customer or the customer who was extremely rude. In all cases he did his best, showed them respect and served them the best he knew.

So, the corporate world gave me a new definition of customer service. To make my life easier they broke the whole thing down. Bless them, they were doing their best and I was a eager beaver who wanted to learn.

This is what I got from the corporate world:

• What is a Customer? - An individual who buys a product or service. An individual with whom someone has dealings
• What is Service? - An act of assistance
• What is Customer Service? - An act of assistance for an individual who buys or with whom someone has dealings

While what I learnt from my father was:

• Customer Service is all about the way you take care of the people who support your business. 

Now those people included paying customers, staff and vendors/suppliers. This indeed is a great contrast to the definition from the corporate world.

I was always advised by him giving poor service or average (mediocre) service is never an option. The only option, the only choice is "Service Excellence" thus ensuring the customer is happy with the service provided. This leading to repeat business.

Service Excellence is never about a transaction, it is about feelings, energy and enthusiasm. That is why on the behalf of my father I have named it "Soul Based Service Excellence". It is simply the ability to link up with the customer in a manner that creates a sense of trust and understanding. This can only be achieved from the heart and soul.

You decide would you like to just give customer service or "Soul Based Service Excellence"

Want to be simply awesome at customer service? Click here to see In Learning offers trainings in customer service.

Our Deepest Fear by Marianne Williamson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. 

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. 

Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. 

We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. 

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Fat2Fit - Today I Am Better Than Yesterday

In the early part of 2013 I had a great opportunity to deliver Service Excellence workshops in Afghanistan. This blog entry is not about that eye opening experience of Afghanistan, it is about an individual called Aris Serquina who I met around the same time. When you look at Aris you can see he is healthy, in fact you will immediately define his physique as extremely fit. You will believe this man has been like this all his life and is very regimental about his health.

The truth is this is absolutely untrue, it is a complete lie. A while back he was weighing well over 100 kg and had an outrageous eating habit of fried and grease foods, fizzy drinks, pizzas, burgers and desserts. So, his major food in take consisted of bad carbohydrates and fats. To top it up he had the greatest excuse of having no time to exercise. The results of this could easily be seen from his body shape. A shape of being a round figure, yes he was overweight. His wedding day was around the corner and with the look he had he could be described as the Michelin Man in a groom suit. His doctor had warned him that he was seriously in an unhealthy shape.

Many people in such a circumstance believe they cannot change, there is no way out and this is the way their life is meant to be. Numerous justification, excuses pop-up and even the blame game is played.

Individuals say things such as there is no time to eat healthy and exercise, its too difficult, I am not that fat, I am more lovable this way, I tried before and this healthy living doesn't work, my partner/family thinks I look fine, its the governments fault why do they allow such bad foods, my parents never encouraged me to eat healthy or be physically fit, its in the family genes, I have hormonal imbalance, I am vegetarian so I cannot get good protein, all healthy food taste bad. This list can be never ending.

Aris on the other hand took 100% responsibility for his experience of life. Rather then excuses, justification and playing the blame game he made a decision to change for himself. A change that made him healthy and fit. He made a decision to live a healthier life. Once, he made that decision he was able to set goals, overcome obstacles and stay on the path of his healthy life style. Self-pity was thrown out of the window.

His inner belief is what Adidas states as "Impossible Is Nothing" and he took the action Nike defines as "Just Do It". He turned his experience from ABC to AUC. Rather then being in a state of hypothermia, which has the end result of death, he is applying the many elements of the Seven Essentials of a Happy Life.

It is very easy to fall into the trap of giving up. Once a decision was made, Aris followed through with his commitment. He realised and gained the awareness that his better healthy lifestyle was not for others but for himself. He was finally being truthful to his inner self. 

Well done Aris Serquina, keeping inspiring others.

I Can See You Naked

Actually, I cannot see you naked. Many presenters say that in order to overcome the fear of presenting imagine your audience to be naked. The honest fact is that this has never worked for me and a number of great presenters I have met agree with me on this.

What has worked for me and others is the IKO of a Great Presenter. In fact, the most crucial part of IKO being the I. This I being the Inner Self.  It means to always focus on creating and managing a positive mind-set. In other words the way you think and feel has a dramatic effect on your delivery.

By creating such a state you overcome the state of fear. When you are in a state of fear ask yourself two crucial questions:

• What do you achieve by being in this state of fear? 
• What do you achieve by not being in this state of fear?

There are pay-offs in both cases. The person who asks these questions to himself/herself will get a greater understanding of their emotional state by answering these two crucial questions. When doing this exercise remember to take pen to paper and jot your thoughts.

Once you are able to dig deep into your emotional state by asking these questions you then have to make a decision in which emotional state you would like to be in.  Would you like to be in an emotional state of fear, anxiety, worry or strong self-esteem, confidence and inner belief.

At end of the day what you will really see naked is the fear that could have sabotage your delivery.

Want to be an impactful public speaker and presenter? Click here to see In Learning offers trainings on public speaking and presentation skills.