Believe in YOU - Antonio Munoz

Antonio Munoz is a successful actor, but his life didn't start out that way. He was kind enough to share his story to help others. When he was asked, why he sent it in he replied graciously, " I hope maybe it might help others to do better in life." I think we can all learn about passion and determination thanks to Antonio.

Remember, obstacles are only obstacles if you let them be obstacles.

Antonio Munoz was born and raised in Guatemala City. He started racing motor-cross when he was only eleven years old. During the third year of racing, he suffered a major accident, leaving him with major facial fractures and the loss of taste and smell.

Never resigned to be the victim of any circumstance, he continued racing after the accident, which he did professionally for twenty years and held the National Champion title not once but three times.

He has since been driven to appreciate the tastes and textures in all aspects of life and the human condition. After another unfortunate accident, he was forced to put his love for motor cross racing on the back burner, while he moved onto go-kart racing (125 shifters) where he excelled, achieving the "rookie-of-the-year" title during his first year.

In July 2000, he arrived in the US and soon started living the American Dream on the receiving end of a very lucrative BMW sales position, achieving a top sales' record in the company soon after he arrived.

A strong believer in living and relentlessly following one's passion, Antonio walked away from the American financial dream to pursue his real passion for acting, despite the strong resistance and skepticism manifested by colleagues and people who insisted he had to be crazy to chase after something he had no chances of succeeding at.

As a testament to his tenacity and self-belief, Antonio had his first break only six months after he started his acting pursuits. Desmond Gumbs, a director on Straight Out (2003), (his first movie) took a great risk on Antonio's raw talent and cast him in a major plot-driver role. His desire for intense competition and speed quickly translated into an unstoppable and unconditional commitment to his work as an actor and to collaborating with other artists.

Soon after he signed with the biggest talent agency in San Francisco and again, always challenging his comfort zones, Antonio moved to Los Angeles in search of greater and more diverse work opportunities. Since then he has worked on the top-rated shows "Nip/Tuck" (2003), "24" (2001) with Kiefer Sutherland, The King of Queens, "Dragnet" (2003), "Karen Sisco" (2003), the miniseries "Kingpin" (2003) TNT's "Wanted" (2005), as well as in the feature films London (2005), Straight Out (2003), The Rundown (2003) and Spanglish (2004) with Adam Sandler.

Additionally, he has been seen in television and editorial commercials (Bank Of America, Ernest & Julio Gallo Wines and 21st Century Insurance) as well as industrials for The Discovery Channel.

"This is what I've achieved since I came to US 5 years ago. People called me "Crazy & Stupid" for quitting my job and trying Acting. This was because I was making a six-figure salary at that time at my work. But I didn't listen to any one, I listen to my Heart and I believe in Me."

"So if I was able to do so in the acting since start, and I didn't even speak English when I came to US five years ago, I believe anybody can make any Dream come True or Goal in His or Her life, right?"

"So follow your Heart and your Dreams always, because we only have one Life to Live, and never let other one's Choose for you."

--- Antonio Munoz

Can you sell a dead donkey?

A city boy, Kenny, moved to the country and bought a donkey from an old farmer for $100.00. The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day.
The next day the farmer drove up and said, "Sorry son, but I have some bad news, the donkey died last night."

Kenny replied: "Well then, just give me my money back."

The farmer said: "Can't do that. I went and spent it already."

Kenny said: "OK then, just unload the donkey.."

The farmer asked: "What ya gonna do with him?"
Kenny: "I'm going to raffle him off." (Note: To raffle is to sell a thing by lottery - draw lot - to a group of people each paying the same amount for a ticket)

Farmer: "You can't raffle off a dead donkey!"

Kenny: "Sure I can. Watch me. I just won't tell anybody he's dead."

A month later the farmer met up with Kenny and asked, "What happened with that dead donkey?" Kenny: "I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars apiece and made a profit of $898.00."

Farmer: "Didn't anyone complain?"
Kenny: "Just the guy who won. So I gave him back his two dollars."

Kenny grew up and eventually became the chairman of Enron.

Happy Selling
Regards
NM!!!

Maketing--- Types of Marketing

hey, this is an old one.
quite hilarious but very true...
take a look

A Professor at IIM A was explaining marketing concepts:

You see a gorgeous girl at a party.
You go up to her and say, "I am very rich.Marry me!"
That's Direct Marketing.

You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a
gorgeous girl.
One of your friends goes up to her and pointing at
you says, "He's very rich.Marry him."
That's Advertising.

You see a gorgeous girl at a party.
You go up to her and get her telephone number. The next day you call
and say "Hi,I'm very rich.Marry me."
That's Telemarketing.

You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl. You get up and straighten
your
tie, you walk up to her and pour her a drink. You open the door for
her, pick up her bag after she drops it, offer her a ride, and then say,
"By the way, I'm very rich. Will you marry me?"
That's Public Relations.

You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl. She walks up to you and
says,"You are very rich..
" That's Brand Recognition.

You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say, "I'm
rich.Marry me" She gives you a nice hard slap on your face.
That's Customer Feedback !!!!!

You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say, "I'm
very rich.Marry me!" And she introduces you to her husband
That's demand and supply gap.

You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and before you
say, "I'm very rich.Marry me!" she turns her face towards you ------------
she is your wife !
That's competition eating into your market share.

WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM SALES CLOSING RATIO?

There isn't a standard maximum possible number of prospects who can be sold out of those who are personally contacted. The maximum number or "sales closing ratio" is limitless, even above 100 percent!

We have heard it before. In strategic marketing, in sales, or in customer service, people will say at some point, "This is the best we can do!" I'm delighted if it's my competitors saying this! Because good strategic marketing and a positive attitude can win the day.

Increase the maximum sales closing ratio beyond one hundred percent through strategic marketing, product development and sales:
Attitude is the biggest factor in improving anything, especially sales. Improve that, and sales closing ratios will improve! There's not much to say here. This is a straightforward concept. But this is the most important issue of all. In the long run it may be the only issue in reaching very high closing ratios.

For the next step let's assume for a moment that a salesperson is really at the top of their game in one area. Is it worth trying to improve that last few percentage points? If a salesperson's time is super valuable then their extra effort might be better applied to an area with greater potential. Consider an organization's prospects, products and services, and support.

Prospects are a huge factor. Consider doing a better job of finding a greater number of better prospects and pre-qualifying them before dedicating valuable time resources. There are ways to pre-determine who's more likely to buy. Time value can be maximized by meeting only with the most valuable prospects. Less worthy prospects may be saved for when advertising responses are slow, or less worthy prospects could be traded.

Now let's consider product development. I've sold some products where I booked 98% of my prospects. I've sold some products where I struggled endlessly to get a meeting! Creating a competitive product or service is definitely a function of strategic marketing and product development!


Consider repeat business in the future from the same prospect. In this sense a sales closing ratio can higher than 100 percent! I'm not 'playing on words' here because I've seen organizations and sales people who pay less than adequate attention to this area. Such organizations truely have a closing ratio that's less than 100 percent. Further, this accomplishment isn't automatic. It must be a realization of successful strategic marketing and sales. It requires a shift in thinking where customers are treated more like prospects.

Talk about pre-qualified prospects, who's a better and more pre-qualified prospect than a current customer? Selling more than 100 percent requires that an organization provide its prospects with excellent follow-up and service after the sale, excellent communication, suitable products and services for future purchase, and to deliver as promised -- more than promised.

Regards
NM!!!

Soldiers Digging A trench - Leadership Story

The story goes that sometime, close to a battlefield over 200 years ago, a man in civilian clothes rode past a small group of exhausted battle-weary soldiers digging an obviously important defensive position. The section leader, making no effort to help, was shouting orders, threatening punishment if the work was not completed within the hour.

"Why are you are not helping?" asked the stranger on horseback.

"I am in charge. The men do as I tell them," said the section leader, adding, "Help them yourself if you feel strongly about it."

To the section leader's surprise the stranger dismounted and helped the men until the job was finished.

Before leaving the stranger congratulated the men for their work, and approached the puzzled section leader.

"You should notify top command next time your rank prevents you from supporting your men - and I will provide a more permanent solution," said the stranger.

Up close, the section leader now recognized General Washington, and also the lesson he'd just been taught.

(This story is allegedly based on truth. Whatever, similar examples are found in history, and arise in modern times too, so please forgive the mythical possibility of the above attribution; the story's message is more important than its historical accuracy.)

Top 10 Ways to Attain Success

Success is what we all strive. We work hard, overcome hurdles, set-up goals for ourselves, only to be successful in life. We aim to be on the top of the world. Not easy but not impossible either. Where there is a will, there is a way as the saying goes. It is an arduous journey, an uphill task, a road full of thorns and not a bed of roses. If you continue to bear the pricks and persevere, then you will be victorious in the end.
How to be successful?

The urge to be successful is very strong in us. What does it comprise of:

1. Determination - We should be sure that we want to achieve a particular thing and not give it up half way through. Determination means we are steadfast in our resolutions.
Eliane Maxwell:My will shall shape the future. Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man’s doing but my own. I am the force; I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in the maze. My choice; my responsibility; win or lose, only I hold the key to my destiny.

2. Will Power - We need the necessary will power to weather the hardships that come along the way. We also should not give into temptations that prevent us from reaching our goals.
Abraham Lincoln:Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing.

3. Competitive Spirit - One should not fear competition. Healthy competition brings out the best in you.
Arie de Gues: Your ability to learn faster than your competition is your only sustainable competitive advantage. The more the competition, the more you will excel. You would like to put in your best.

4. Constancy to Purpose - One should be clear about one’s goals and continue to pursue them against all odds. Do not give up. The purpose for struggle should remain foremost in your mind.
Benjamin Disraeli says: The secret of success is constancy to purpose.

5. Respect intelligence - Do not let your ego take an upper hand in matters of work and even in your personal dealings. In order to be a success among your colleagues, you must be able to appreciate their individual intelligence. No point in running them down, because you feel inadequate. Your colleagues will appreciate you when you accept them also

6. To find the best in others - One should appreciate talent in others. Condemning a person, finding faults cannot make you successful in your career. On the other hand if you try to bring out the best in a person, you will be better appreciated. For example, if you happen to be a team leader, you should encourage other members of the group, and not just harp on their negative points


7. Face challenges - Do not give up work half way through if you feel unhappy about the results. Continue to persevere. Success could be at your doorstep and you need to continue putting in your efforts. Hardships may have to be overcome. Success cannot be attained overnight.
Frank Lloyd Wright: I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.

8. Pursue your respective line vigorously. We need to acquire the necessary skills and qualifications. We need to be very adept in what we are doing. We should learn all aspects of the work.
Frank Lloyd Wright: The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen.

9. Full concentration is required in what we are doing. We should apply our mind to our work and not get distracted by other things. When we concentrate well, we perform well.

10. One must do exceptional work in order to be successful. Merely performing one’s duty is not sufficient. Just performing the assigned tasks is not sufficient to rise in the hierarchy. One must contribute more than what is required. Performing something, which is not expected of you can make the boss appreciate you a lot. It could mean a promotion and a pay hike.
Jonas Salk: The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more.

As it is often said
Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successfull. - Albert Schweitzer

All the Best
Regards
NM!!!

The Real Pepsi Challenge: The Inspirational Story of Breaking the Color Barrier in American Business

The Inspirational Story of Breaking the Color Barrier in American Business By Stephanie Capparell Wall Street Journal Books/Free Press, January 2007

Getting black folks to drink soda water was the easy part. Proving that African American executives could succeed as executives in big business was another matter.

In 1947, Pepsi's president, WAter Mack, courageously hired Urban League official Ed Boyd, to start a Negro market group. The salesmen--never more than a dozen--were natty, well-spoken ambassadors who blanketed the country and endured all of Jim Crow's affronts to visit white bottlers as well as black colleges, grocery stores and Elks' Lodges.

The Real Pepsi Challenge departs from the larger corpus of black business books in that it doesn't deal with entrepreneurs such as Bob Johnson in The Billion Dollar BET: Robert Johnson and the Inside Story of Black Entertainment Television (Wiley Books, 2004).

This story has a concomitant quality with another major crusade of the mid-20th century. Rosa Parks was not the first black citizen to challenge segregated public accommodations, just as the Pepsi salesmen were not the first African Americans to quietly storm the corporate bastion. Yet Parks tipped the modern Civil Rights Movement merely by refusing to relinquish a bus seat. In similar fashion, Corporate America finally accepted black executives in an effort to sell a product as unremarkable as sugared water. Some who sold it, however, changed business history. Indeed, last year, PepsiCo Inc. named a woman of color born in India as its chief executive.