No matter what happened yesterday - no matter the missteps you and others have made - today is brand new. Start fresh! Erase from your heart and mind any missteps by learning from them, and putting that knowledge to work in your life through wiser choices. You are free to truly live when you are not tied down to the past.

Believe in your ability to create the life that you want.
Always do your best, never looking back with regret.
Smile more often than not.
Enjoy your life as much as you can in each and every moment.
Live!

You make a multitude of choices every day. Some improve you, while others lead to your decline. Make choices that strengthen you, and do not make choices that weaken you. Each time you do this, you grow stronger and happier - you become a person that you respect and are proud of, and your life grows more brilliant.

Focusing on what you don’t want leads to getting more of the same, and to unhappiness. When you focus on what you do want, two powerful things happen. First, you will be happier, simply because you are actually giving your time and attention to things that make you happy. Secondly, you will start getting what you want, because your thoughts and actions will be aligned with your desires. Focus on what you want, and let the rest go.

Perfection is extremely illusive – it rarely, if ever, happens. And, when the pursuit of perfection is combined with an attachment to specific outcomes it’s often punishing to everyone involved. Rather than playing a game you can't win, aim for excellence instead. Do the best you can given the circumstances - shoot for what can be over what has to be, and what will be may surprise you.

Every challenge provides you with the wonderful opportunity to learn, grow and become your greater self, as long as you use them for this purpose. Rather than taking yourself down in the face of challenges, build yourself up by working through them.

You've probably heard the saying, "We hurt the ones we love the most". It is common for people to modify their behavior at work and in public so as not to offend, to not appear mean and to not get fired. However, family members are often taken for granted, and this can lead to treating them poorly as frustrations are taken out on them. The truth of the matter is that you can be fired from your family as well, and at the very least, damage the relationships. I suggest a basic rule of thumb: work to be grateful for all the people in your life, and treat them as you want to be treated - "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you".

Instilling Confidence In Your Customer Base

The quality of the customer service your business provides is absolutely essential to the growth of your operations. If your desire is to retain and grow your customer base, do so by instilling confidence in them through exceptional customer service experiences.

Just this week I had an experience that clearly illustrates paltry customer service. I returned to a local men’s store to pick up two sport coats that had been fitted, and to exchange a pair of dress shoes that were the wrong size. I went in with receipts in-hand, excited to receive my items and conclude my business with them.

As I walked in the store, it was apparent that the manager who “greeted” me had quickly sized me up, and concluded from my casual dress that I did not represent much value to him. His enthusiasm was nonexistent, and it was obvious he did not care about me.

I explained to him why I was there, and he returned with my sport coats. The attached tags indicated that a fee for tailoring still needed to be paid, and he let me know this with an accusatory tone. After showing him my receipts - which proved prepayment for the service - he offered no apology for his negative attitude toward me. As he continued looking through the receipts, two of them fell to the floor. He made no attempt to pick them up, and when I did, he did not move aside to make room for me, nor did he apologize for dropping them.

I was instructed to try on the jackets for fit while he retrieved the correct sized shoes. While the jackets had been altered correctly, they were covered in loose threads, chalk marks and lint. When he returned, I asked if it was their store policy to return items to customers in this condition. Without thought or concern, he simply took them from me and said he would have them cleaned up.

I tried on the new shoes he brought out and they were too small. Only then did he indicate that they were a half size smaller than what I’d requested. I was then informed that the correct size would have to be special ordered, and that due to an inventory restriction, I would not have them for another 10-14 days. He told me all of this without concern for what my needs were. I agreed to have them ordered and, as he took my jackets away for cleaning, I looked at the shoes on display … sitting there was the size I had asked for.

Upon his return, with jackets that were barely cleaned or attended to, I shared with him my discovery and asked to take the shoes I had found. At this point, two things were clear: I was the one who had done all the work to find a solution to the situation we were dealing with, not he; and, little care had been taken to really do a good job at cleaning my coats. Due to the exceptionally low quality of customer service I had received, I simply wanted to finish my business and leave.

At the checkout counter, he provided me with his business card and - “in consideration for my inconvenience” – offered a 20% discount on my next purchase of a full-priced suit. On the surface this seemed like a caring offer, but in reality it was merely an appeasing gesture. Their sale prices are already a significantly better deal than this, and I was not interested in suits, something he hadn’t bothered to ask.

The up-side to my experience is that, when I contacted the corporate customer service division, I was treated with the utmost regard. They thanked me for notifying them of my experience, assured me that this situation would be addressed with the manager, and provided me with compensation to correct my negative experience. They communicated that I was a valued customer and worked toward a meaningful resolution. The company’s genuine interest and care for me renewed my confidence in them, and therefore, I am likely to do business with them again.

The lesson here is to never give a customer reason to doubt you. Paltry customer service that leaves the patron of any business feeling unimportant and devalued will hurt your company in more ways than you can imagine. Conversely, when your customer service comes from the grateful hearts and caring minds of you, and your entire team, the benefits to your business are tremendous.

We all want to be heard, yet we often do not extend this same kindness. Truly listening to others increases the likelihood that they will return the favor, and this two-way listening creates mutual respect and rapport - an environment where both parties feel heard, valued and appreciated. With this in place, more is shared, there is greater understanding, and this allows assumptions and judgments to fall away. Learn to empty your mind while listening to others, absorb all they are sharing with you, and deepen your relationships by giving people the gift of your undivided attention.