IN THIS ISSUE
Welcome
Feature Article - It Takes A Village
Words to Inspire
Guest Column - Who Packs Your Parachute?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
WELCOME

Greetings and welcome to all of you. We are delighted to send you another issue of KEYS TO SUCCESS. Thank you for joining us.

Here we are in the month of November with year end fast upon us. We will be celebrating Thanksgiving in a few weeks in the United States. It is a great time to give thanks for all that we have. No matter where you live in the world look at what fills up your personal cornucopia. Happy November!

The articles in this issue focus on how others can help us be successful and fulfill our dreams. We really do need a village to help us along the way. Even the Lone Ranger had a side kick.

Our commitment is to give you practical information and inspirational ideas to benefit your business and personal life. We are committed to "bringing out your best"! We welcome feedback so we can improve and offer real value to you.

Keys to Success is written and published by Carol Gegner. Are you ready to excel? Check out http://www.coachexecs.com. We are ready to help you.

Any questions about your subscription? Check the end of the newsletter for information to subscribe or unsubscribe.

If you like what you see, will you please help us grow by forwarding the ezine to your colleagues and friends? We truly appreciate your support.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< FEATURE ARTICLE - It Takes A Village

The African proverb "it takes a village to raise a child" is a great metaphor for many other endeavors. The idea became crystal clear as I was participating in an on-line collaborative conference for how to market your business.

How often do you find yourself feeling like the Lone Ranger? Whether we are dealing with a business problem, a parenting issue or a relationship situation we often think we "should" have all the answers making us afraid to ask for help. We end up perpetuating the Lone Ranger affect.

Many of my clients are solo proprietors. They work alone and many work in a home office. They don't have a colleague down the hall to bounce ideas off. It becomes easy to be reinventing the wheel created by the isolation of working alone.

Also, we have an assumption that we "should" be able to figure it out by ourselves. We are smart and after all we've been in business for more than five years. So we are embarrassed about not having all the answers. We are afraid of what will others think if they find out we are struggling.

The same isolating factor can happen in organizations. We spend too much time in our own office and cubicle. We use email rather than walking down the hall. Even in meetings we sometimes hold back. We believe our idea isn't good enough or we'll sound dumb. We have concerns about what our colleagues will think if we admit we don't know so we say nothing.

The saying "no man is an island" is absolutely true. As you go about your day, start to notice how many people it actually takes to create a successful endeavor. At a Simon and Garfunkel concert I saw a village of stage hands, security guards, technicians and musicians all working together to create a fantastic event for thousands of customers sitting in the arena. That doesn't even include all the behind the scenes crew working on the concert. Simon and Garfunkel needed a village of workers to support their efforts.

We, too, are more successful if we create a village to support our efforts. Community agencies need many volunteers and donors to support their cause. Parents need a village of family, friends and professionals to help with child care, education and health care for their children.

If you are in business, please don't under estimate the power of a village. Here are some ideas for creating a village to support your efforts.

Network. Get out of your office and meet with other business owners, executives or managers. Find out what they are doing and how they are doing it. Let them know what you are doing. Join a networking group or attend a Chamber of Commerce function. You will need to be persistent and consistent for networking to work! People want to know you are committed to your business.

Form alliances. You need strategic partners who compliment your business. For example, a realtor needs to have insurance agents, mortgage brokers, repair people, decorators etc that they work with to enhance their services. It's all about keeping the customer satisfied.

Form more alliances. You also need alliances within your industry or profession. It is hard to be an expert in every area. Use the expertise of your colleagues to expand your village.

Become a resource. Connect people together who can help one another. It pays to know who does what and who is good at what they do. Folks love to know you care and are willing to help them. Helping others is a great way to build your village.

Try using these ideas to enhance your collaborative efforts so you can be more successful in what you do. We all need a village to fulfill our dreams. Remember, even the Lone Ranger had a side kick to help him be a success!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
WORDS TO INSPIRE

"If you always give, you will always have."
- Chinese Proverb

"It's always worthwhile to make others aware of their worth."
- Malcolm Forbes, Publisher

" We're all in this together if we're in it at all."
- Johnny Cash, Singer and Songwriter
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
GUEST ARTICLE - Who Packs Your Parachute?

Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is
really important. We may fail to say hello, please, thank you,
congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason.

Charles Plumb, a US Naval Academy graduate, was a jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience.

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!"

"How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb.

"I packed your parachute," the man replied.

Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man grabbed his hand and said, "I guess it worked!"

Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."

Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb kept
wondering what the man might have looked like in a Navy uniform. He
wondered how many times he might have seen him and not even said good
morning, how are you or anything, because you see, he was a fighter pilot and the man was just a sailor. Plumb thought of the many hours that sailor had spent in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he did not know.

Now Plumb asks his audience, "Who is packing your parachute?" Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day.

Plumb also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down. As you go through your week, month, and year, recognize the people who have packed your parachute and enabled you to get where you are today!