Betties Book Brief – What You Do is Who You Are

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What You Do Is Who You Are Book BriefAnother month, another Book Brief! To start our 2020 Book Briefs, we read What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture by Ben Horowitz. As you know, when we really love a book, we give you the key points AND we tell you you need to read it. However, this one is not quite like that. This book was a little hard to get through and didn’t give as many actionable steps as one would hope. Alas, when you read as many books as we do, it’s unsurprising that sometimes a lackluster read is thrown our way. For this one, take our synopsis and key takeaways, then find yourself another book on our list. ;)

Now, this is not to say this book didn’t add value. It did! But the first 2/3 was solely made up of stories and it wasn’t until the last 1/3 of the book that we found any advice.

Horowitz utilizes a tale of the Haitian Revolution to show business owners that culture can be created and molded into what you want it to be. However, some reviewers have mentioned that he misunderstood the lives of Haitian slaves. They state that his lessons are not necessarily applicable to what happened with the slaves. While we are not historians and can’t really speak to this, we see where the reviewers are coming from.

What You Do Is Who You Are Takeaways

Have Principles – In the story of the Louisiana Purchase, we get kind of a Butterfly Effect. It all started with one Haitian slave, Toussaint Louverture, who created an army of slaves that went on to defeat Great Britain, Spain, and France – resulting in a free state of Haiti. Napoleon suffered a high number of losses, leading him to sell property in the United States, now known as the Louisiana Purchase. Unfortunately, this brought slavery to the United States. American abolitionist, John Brown, was inspired by Louverture when he organized the raid on Harpers Ferry. Though this raid ultimately failed and cost John Brown his life, it was a starting force of the Civil War. Louverture held to his principles and encouraged others to do the same, no matter the cost, and ultimately created the ripple effect that abolished slavery in the US.

Never Waver – Even after winning independence for Haiti, Toussaint Louverture never wavered from his ethics and morals. Many of his men wanted to punish or kill their former masters but Louverture had a vision. He wanted a new culture for his country! His ability to embody his ideal culture allowed it to trickle down to thousands of people. He shifted the culture of prejudice into a culture of understanding. No one is inherently bad because of their skin color. Instead, he argued that lack of culture and education was what made people so different.

Set Enforceable Rules – When setting rules, they must be interacted with frequently. Otherwise, people forget the rules and they don’t get enforced. If your rule only applies to situations people face once a year, it’s irrelevant. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants coach from 2004-2015, set a rule that if you’re on time, you’re late. His meetings always started 5 minutes early and if you were late, you paid a $1000 fine. Harsh? Maybe. But it set the precedent for his culture and was relevant every day.

Focus on the End – This book included a chapter all about focusing on death. It was hard for us to wrap our heads around because we like to focus on what we want to achieve and who we want to be, rather than worst-case scenarios. However, we were able to pull out some tidbits that make logical sense to even the most optimistic. When envisioning the conclusion of your business, how would it’s eulogy read? Did you treat people well? Did you build a good product? Was your service helpful to others?

CEO Leadership Styles

Everyone Has a Say – This model is the most disruptive to your business and quickly leads to the most headache for employees. Oftentimes, this will lead to a bottleneck and nothing gets done.

My Way or The Highway – This leadership model works better than everyone getting a say. However, it still leaves team members dissatisfied.

Combination Leadership – Combining the two above models into one is the best leadership style. Allow voices to be heard but leave the ultimate decision-making up to the CEO.

Wartime vs Peacetime CEO – The state of your business will indicate which CEO you need. Peacetime CEOs tend to be more diplomatic, patient, and sensitive to the needs of their teams. Wartime CEOs are far more comfortable with conflict and are almost unbearably impatient and intolerant of anything other than perfection. Both styles are necessary and executives who work well with one generally will not work well with the other.

All in All

What You Do Is Who You Are offered up some valuable history lessons and gave us some insight into the importance of staying true to your values. Our parents taught us to do as they say, not as they do and we all know how that worked out, right? Most of us let that nonsense in one ear and out the other! Leading your team by example is the best way to set your company culture up for success. This book engrained that into us through story after story.

 

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Betties Book Brief | The Third Door

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The Third Door Book BriefWe are back again with the very last Book Brief of this decade! This month, we read The Third Door: The Wild Quest to Uncover How the World’s Most Successful People Launched Their Careers by Alex Banayan. This one was cringy, vulnerable, inspiring, and packed with life lessons. I laughed, I cried – oftentimes simultaneously! Obviously I want you to read my Book Brief but despite that, you should stop reading and do yourself a favor and go buy the book. You won’t regret it.

Visualize your dreams

I’ve always been a vision board kind of gal. I love pulling them out of storage years later and seeing that everything I dreamt of has come to fruition. Every year, I create a vivid vision for my business’s annual goals. Last year’s board was a visual reminiscent of the Candy Land game, in the form of Betties Land. 2020’s visual will be a board in the style of Wizard of Oz. There is something magical about writing down your dreams and doubly powerful when you put down a due date!

Much like my vision boards, the author, Alex, carries around an index card with his dream list of people he’d like to interview. He also created a list of people he would love to have as a mentor.

The path to success

  1. Take great risks. Alex was in college to become a doctor, which would provide for a very predictable and steady life. However, he missed class on Exam day in order to get on The Price is Right in an attempt to win prize money that would fund his travels. It paid off. He also missed his Final in Accounting to meet his dream mentor – another gamble. There are thousands of people who could tell the tale of their dream to be a doctor but they lost their way and now live below their potential. This is not one of those stories! Great reward takes great risk.
  2. Never lose your cool. When Alex met his mentor for the first time, Elliott Bisnow peppered him with rapid-fire questions. I smiled reading this, just knowing something good was about to happen. When I like someone but I’m not entirely sure about them, I will oftentimes begin a line of questioning made to make them feel uncomfortable. They will either fold under the pressure or prove that they can handle it. When Alex passed this test, he was offered the opportunity to accompany his mentor to his next meeting. This just so happened to be in a room full of people like Larry Page, Tony Hsieh, and Reid Hoffman.
  3. Facts tell, stories sell. At first, Alex approached potential interviewees with only the facts of his mission. He hoped that would be enough to get them on board and failed to mention that he stayed up all night learning how to get himself chosen on The Price is Right or that he then won the entire thing the next morning. He failed to tell the story of selling the prize to fund the mission. His mentor told him that he should not ever tell anyone about his quest again unless he starts it off with the story. The story is what ropes people in. It’s what shows Alex’s character and is more entertaining than anything he could ever pitch.
  4. Haters come in all shapes and sizes. You may even call them “Mom”. Alex’s mom tried hard to reason with him and help steer him back to safety and predictability. You will have people that are jealous and hate on you, but more often you will have people who love you and are frightened when you choose a path of adventure over safe travels. Alex stood his ground when the opportunity to accompany his mentor to Europe arose. Elliott’s rule number five: Adventures only happens to the adventurous.
  5. Success only comes from kissing frogs. An interview with Dean Kamen (inventor of Segway and insulin pumps) revealed that each frog represents a different way to solve a problem. If you kiss enough, one will turn into a prince! If you haven’t found your success yet, you haven’t kissed enough frogs.
  6. Keep an intern mentality. No matter what level you reach in life, there is always more to learn. You need to be willing to be humble, think like an intern, and always keep learning.
  7. Growth comes from mistakes. In an interview with Quincy Jones, he stated that you have to cherish your mistakes so that you can learn from them. Your mistakes are your greatest gifts!
  8. The journey is your success. In order to get his publishing deal, Alex had to land an interview with Bill Gates. He spent months honing in on Bill Gates as the destination. But after interviewing Quincy Jones, he realized that all of his growth had occurred during the journey. Bill Gates was never the holy grail, it was the journey and the mistakes along the way that helped Alex to see that both success and failure are just different results from the same thing – trying. He learned that no matter the result, he will always walk away a better man.

Prioritize your desires

In addition to the above notes, something that really stood out from Alex’s story is that you should make a list of 25 things you’d like to accomplish. Then circle your top five. Forget everything else. Success as a result of prioritizing your desires. You can be really good at those 25 things or you can be world-class at 5.

In the interview with Kamen, he states the following about doing big things: “Be prepared for them to take way longer than you thought, cost way more than you expected, and be full of failures that are painful, embarrassing, and frustrating.” When you prepare yourself like this, managing 5 things seems a lot more reasonable than 25.

 

Alright, that’s all I’ve got for this Book Brief! I hope you enjoyed it because I thoroughly enjoyed writing up these notes. If you want more where this came from, check out past Book Briefs here or sign up here to receive them straight to your inbox.

Again, this book is one you absolutely must-read. Hopefully these small takeaways are enough to motivate you to go grab it!

Never Split the Difference – Betties Book Brief

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Betties Book Brief - Never Split the Difference - Negotiations

Negotiations happen in all facets of life. Whether it’s negotiating with your children about how much they need to eat for dinner (one of the hardest negotiations to win, if we’re being honest!) or it’s getting yourself into the best car at the best price, you’re bound to run into scenarios that require you to put your best self forward in order to get what you want.

Former FBI Hostage Negotiator, Chris Voss, took his first-hand experience with intense negotiations and turned it into a life-changing guide for others to get what they want. While we won’t be using his tips for hostage scenarios, we thoroughly enjoyed his book, Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It. Business negotiations can be tricky and, as you know, we love to learn new tricks to make running a business easier. The dramatic stories that Chris Voss used to explain his strategies were riveting and left us ready to learn more.

Summary of Never Split the Difference

Getting to a good deal involves detecting subtle and non-obvious signals beneath the words. Use “How” instead of “No” to get to a “Yes”. Ask “How” questions again and again to keep the person you’re negotiating with engaged, but off-balance. It gives the illusion of control while getting them to think about the problems you are facing. Asking “How can I do that?” can get them to negotiate against themselves.

However, make sure not to overlook key players. There may be someone behind the scenes with the ability to kill a deal. Be sure to negotiate with all stakeholders. Often times, the decision-maker will grossly overuse pronouns such as they, him, and she in order to deflect attention from themselves. The use of I, me, or my may be a sign that they are not in charge. Tone and body language make up 93% of communication, so be sure to pay attention. Incongruence between tone and body language is an indicator of a lie. To be sure that a “Yes” is real, use the rule of three.

Types of Negotiators

Analyst – An Analyst is a negotiator who is very methodical and diligent in their negotiations. They hate surprises and are skeptical by nature. An Analyst prefers to work on their own and ties mistakes to their own self-image. This type of negotiator views silence in a negotiation as an opportunity to think and they may appear to agree when actually, they agreed to think about it.

Accommodator – The Accommodator prioritizes the relationship in a negotiation. They just want to communicate and view silence as anger. This negotiator may overpromise something that they may not actually be able to provide. Their tone and body language are key if they are hesitant – it won’t come out in their words.

Assertive – This negotiator’s priority is to be heard. They love to win above all else and just want the solution to be done rather than getting it perfect. An Assertive negotiator won’t listen until they are convinced that you hear and understand their point of view. In their eyes, silence is just time to talk more.

Phases of Negotiation

  1. Diffuse perceived deal killers and objections. Use “Why” questions and the “F” word – Fair. Make them feel safe and in control by avoiding oriented questions. Extreme anchoring is important here.
  2. Pre “That’s Right” phase. This phase is getting information and understanding the story of the other person. You want to use calibrated questions (How & What). Use mirroring and mislabeling.
  3. Communicate understanding and empathy. Use Tactical Empathy to understand what is behind the other person’s feelings. Bring their emotional pathways and obstacles to light. Use mirroring and labeling and summarize them.
  4. Collaborate on a solution. Discuss implementation and use calibrated questions (How & What). This is the time to use the Ackerman Model (below).

Negotiation Tools

  • Calibrated Questions. These are What and How questions, and sometimes Why. Use these to identify your counterpart’s fears, locate potential deal killers, stall, create the illusion of control, and say no without saying no. e.g. How am I supposed to do that?
  • Mirroring. This involves repeating the last 3-5 words said by your counterpart using a calm voice with an upward inflection (like a question). Generally this tool is followed by being silent for a minimum of 4 minutes. Use this tool to get information, test the firmness of their position, establish rapport, and make your counterpart feel safe. Mirroring is especially useful for assertive types.
  • Labeling. Verbally identify concerns, challenges, or internal states of your counterpart with phrases like, “It seems like you…” and “It sounds like you…”. Flush out their concerns and show empathy.
  • Labeling (accusation audit). Demonstrate that you see nuances in your counterpart’s emotions by using phrases like, “It sounds like you’re afraid of…”. This shows empathy and helps to trigger a “That’s right” response. You want to avoid “You’re right” in favor of “That’s right”.
  • Mislabeling. Use incorrect labels to determine their reaction and get to the core of their valuation.
  • No-oriented questions. Questions like, “Is now a bad time to talk?” or “Have you given up on this project?”. This helps to make your counterpart feel safe and in control.
  • The F-word. Using the word “Fair” proactively to establish trust. You want to be sure to defend it when this word is used against you. As a negotiator, you strive to be fair. Early on, say “I want you to feel like you’re being treated fairly. Please stop me if you feel I’m being unfair and we’ll address it.”
  • Discuss implementation. Use calibrated questions at the end of a negotiation regarding hypothetical situations. Force your counterpart to imagine future events. This assumptively persuades your counterpart to shift their mindset and visualize the negotiated deal.
  • Extreme Anchoring. Give an extreme statement or offer at the start of or early in a negotiation. This makes later, lesser offers and actions seem reasonable. Diffuse anticipated objections or emotions. Sometimes this is done through an accusation audit to prepare them for a loss (it’s going to be terrible, but…).

Ackerman Model

This is a 6-step offer/counteroffer method.

  1. Set your target price (goal).
  2. Set your first offer at 65% of target price.
  3. Calculate 3 raises of decreasing increments (85, 95, 100 percent).
  4. Use lots of empathy and different ways of saying “No” to get the other side to counter before you increase your offer.
  5. Use precise non-round numbers when calculating the final amount (such as $37,893 instead of $38,000).
  6. Throw in a non-monetary item (that they probably won’t want) on your final number to show you’re at your limit.

Other Takeaways

  • We have a cognitive bias for consistency rather than truth. We hear that which supports our belief systems.
  • When there is a negative situation, call it out right away.
  • There is no need to use all of the tools at once. The best negotiators know when to use which tool.
  • Getting a “That’s right” response is gold. Not, “You’re right” but “That’s right”. When the other party says this, it confirms your understanding of them and shifts things in your favor.
  • The rule of three is key. Get the other party to agree three times during the conversation.
  • Any response that is not a flat out rejection gives you the advantage.

 

As you can see, we gained a lot from this read. Our business (and parenting) negotiations will be much more smooth in the future as we implement Chris Voss’s valuable tips. How can you implement some of these strategies and tricks in your negotiations? We’d love to hear!

 

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Betties Book Brief – Magnetic Marketing

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Magnetic Marketing Book Brief

Another month, another Book Brief! This time, we’ve read Magnetic Marketing: How to Attract a Flood of New Customers That Pay, Stay, and Refer, written by Dan S. Kennedy. This read had such an abundance of value that it may be our longest Book Brief yet! From general rules to rules of copy and creating your offers, we’ve picked our top takeaways and share them with you below.

Magnetic Marketing Key Points

  1. Know your customers’ psychographics. What are their habits and hobbies? What is causing them pain right now as it relates to your service? What do they secretly and privately desire the most? The last question is the deeper reason that a client chooses your service – touch on that to really speak to their deepest desires.
  2. Match your target market to your budget. Trying to market to every single adult in Detroit could cost $300k when our budget is only $600. Shrink your target market to the resources you can commit to and be repetitive with.
  3. What do your customers really want? An auto shop repairs cars but customers don’t want auto repair – they want to not have to be at the auto shop. When they have to, they don’t want it to disrupt their lives. As a lawyer, the number one thing you sell is an advocate. You may be the only person showing up in court that believes in them and is willing to advocate for them. No matter your niche, they want to know you’re on their side!
  4. Create an irresistible offer. When the Stratosphere in Las Vegas was equivalent to a Motel 6, they had an ad for a 2 night, 3 day stay in a deluxe suite + a bottle of champagne, unlimited drinks, and $600 to gamble with – all for $396.

Rules to Follow

  1. There must always be an offer.
  2. There must be a reason to respond right now.
  3. Instructions must be clear.
  4. There must be tracking and memorability. For every dollar spent, you must be able to clearly identify how much comes back as a result.
  5. Brand building should not cost a penny. Ever.
  6. Follow up. No excuses.

Creating Strong Copy

  1. Strong copy is written backwards. Start with customer interests, desires, frustrations, fears, thoughts, feelings, and experiences – then journey forward to reveal a solution tied to your business.
  2. Write to your audience like you are sitting across the table talking to a friend. Use the same passion and speak from your heart with emotional appeals.
  3. Be bold in your claims and promises. Zig Ziglar says, “Timid salesmen have skinny kids.”
  4. Split test the same copy with different headlines. Test, monitor, adjust. Gradually achieve the best possible results.

Always Have an Offer

  1. Every piece of content should have an offer attached.
  2. A 10 year old should be able to understand it.
  3. Every offer should be an irresistible value.
  4. You must include a discount or premium.
  5. Always explain your offer: “My team thinks that I am crazy to extend this promotion but I want to build our portfolio of mobile websites. After December 10th, the price goes up by $500 so take action today!”
  6. You offer should give a sense of urgency. An offer isn’t an offer without a deadline!
  7. Include a call to action – Fill out this form, click below, etc.
  8. Assume all of the risk and offer a guarantee.

Whew! That was a lot of great information and we are really excited to start implementing some of it into our marketing.

What’s the most valuable takeaway you’ve gained from this book? Clearly we couldn’t narrow it down so we would love to hear your thoughts! Leave us a comment on this post or on Facebook.

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Betties Book Brief – Sell or Be Sold

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You know the drill by now we’re sure, but just to reiterate, every month the Back Office Betties team reads a new book and shares the value we’ve found in it. We love this opportunity for personal and professional development! This month, our virtual receptionists dove into the extremely valuable writing of Sell or Be Sold: How to Get Your Way in Business and in Life by Grant Cardone.

Grant Cardone uses humor and experience to sell you on why and how your beliefs and convictions allow you to excel in sales. If you’re not selling them to someone else, they’re selling you with them! We’ve come up with an extensive list of takeaways for this resource that can truly help anyone, entrepreneur or not.

Sell or Be Sold

  1. Everyone is a salesman. Regardless of your profession, learning how to sell can benefit you in any area of your life.
  2. A commission doesn’t have to be cash. It can simply be that you are getting your way.
  3. Objection of price really means they’re having other objections. Is this the right service for me? Is this company going to take care of me? Will I really even enjoy the service? Am I better off buying something else better that might come out next week? Will this be a mistake like other decisions I’ve made?
  4. Offer a better solution. If someone says, “it’s too much money”, they really mean it is too expensive for the solution being offered.
  5. The customer is never the problem. Salespeople are the problem 100% of the time. Give the potential new client (PNC) a product that solves his problems.
  6. Always agree with the prospect. If a prospect states that they need to think about it, agree with them before selling. For example: “Absolutely, this is an important decision and you’ve got to make sure you’re hiring someone who is going to take the best care of you. I don’t blame you for wanting to think about it and I’d like to help you and guide you in the right direction. I know that after doing your research you’ll find that I’m the best at what I do and you won’t be in better hands with anyone else. I know you’re eager to move forward and get things going – spending time interviewing attorneys can be so time-consuming! The sooner you make your decision, you’ll be able to rest easy knowing that a great lawyer will take care of all of the hard work for you.”
  7. Problems equal opportunities for future sales.
  8. You will lose 100% of the sales you don’t ask for. Don’t be afraid to keep selling and asking for a sale. Give value, give value, ask for the sale, and be consistent – even when you’re inconsiderable. Grant responded to someone who felt pressured with, “Please do not mistake my enthusiasm for pressure! I know this will do xyz for you and that’s why I’m so enthusiastic. Now let’s do this.”
  9. Go to lunch every day with a prospect. At the very least, call and say, “Hey, I had something cancel. Are you available for lunch today?” Most of the time they’ll say no but you’ll be top of mind and they’ll remember those times you called and invited them out.
  10. Learn from every opportunity. Take full responsibility to avoid the negativity of doing the opposite. Examine what went wrong and walk away thinking about how to get better rather than sitting with rejection.
  11. Unreturned calls and emails don’t mean anything. They don’t mean that your prospect is not interested, they just mean not right now. Keep at it and stay in front of them.
  12. Debrief after sales calls. If someone asks something you’ve never heard before, write it down and come up with something to respond with in the future.
  13. There’s always time for learning. “If you can’t find an hour in your day, you are not in control of your day.”

Thoughts on this read? Do you agree or disagree with our takeaways and the sales advice given by Grant Cardone? Let us know over on our Facebook page!

Betties Book Brief – Street Smarts

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It’s time for another Betties Book Brief and we are extremely excited to chat with you about the book we read in August. Street Smarts: An All-Purpose Tool Kit for Entrepreneurs was written by Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham and is a no-nonsense comprehensive guide full of tips that you can actually implement today. With 104 raving reviews on Amazon, we had to see what the hype was about and we were pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable of a read this book actually was.

Street Smarts is full of anecdotes that really offer a been there, done that point of view on many pitfalls small businesses face. We’re excited to share our favorite takeaways below!

6 Key Points We Loved in Street Smarts

  1. Don’t discount your extra capacity just because it’s available. Rationalizing that you’d rather have some money than no money is never a good idea and ultimately a really bad decision.
  2. Always negotiate quietly. Listen to what the other party wants, haggle and be flexible on it, then come back to what matters to you and offer “I’ll give you X, but I’ve got to have Y.”
  3. You cannot do business with everybody. This is the number one rule in business. One word that you must master is “No!”.
  4. Small, high-margin customers > large, low-margin customers. No single customer should be more than 10% of your business and large customers as a whole should be less than 30% of your business.
  5. Raise prices regularly. Don’t piss off your customers by doing this too much, but avoid the sudden hike in prices later on because you didn’t raise them a little at a time earlier.
  6. Don’t buy a business that grossly undercharges. Keeping an existing customer base during a sale is hard enough. If your first order of business has to be raising prices, you’ll be in for a rude awakening.

Have you read this book?

What did you think?

Did you come up with any great takeaways that we haven’t listed here?

Let us know!

Radical Candor – July’s Book Brief

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As you know, the Betties team reads an enticing new book each month in order to share our notes and takeaways with you. This month, we read Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott.

This guide to being a better boss offers a simple ideation that you have to both challenge and care. Without one or the other, your management style is severely lacking and not nearly as effective as you hope to be. Kim Scott has a reputation of leading at Google as well as Apple, where she developed a class on how to be a good boss. Her real-life stories and insightful advice truly round out her expertise in being an effective manager to give us this fabulous book.

Some of our most valuable takeaways include:

1. Every team needs rockstars and superstars.

A rockstar is like the Rock of Gibraltar and you can always lean on them and depend on them. They are steady and brilliant at what they do and they are not gunning for the next promotion. A superstar does an equally great job but they will go absolutely crazy if they are still in the same job a year from now. Use this to build a strong team that will grow with you.

2. Create a path for growth for frontline workers.

Give them a path that comes with better wages and opportunity, without having to be a management path. Make it more attractive than the management path, because people will often gravitate to that thinking it’s their only choice. This is how to nurture your superstars.

3. Avoid a shit sandwich.

This goes against everything we have always been taught but there is no good bad good balance that should be sought out. Praise the good and be candid about the bad. When you force yourself to package something like the s*** sandwich, it’s insincere and people will see right through it.

4. Encourage discussion of problems.

This is where creativity is at its finest. When you tell people to bring you solutions, it shuts down the creative process of having that discussion around the problem. Create a process for suggestions with something like a vote up or down, then provide feedback to your staff on what happened to their idea.

5. What can I do (or stop doing) that will make it easier to work with me?

Ask this of your subordinates, and during skip meetings, ask team members the same question of their manager. Always work to improve in the way you manage your staff.

6. Make it your personal business to find out the hopes and dreams each of the people who work under you.

Whether it’s business or personal, if you find out what they want to do and then can coach them or somehow tie that into what they are doing now, it gives them purpose. For example, a girl at Google wanted to run a spirulina farm (which is a far cry from her work at Google). Her manager listened to her dream and offered to mentor her on being a leader. When she’s ready to leave and start that farm, she will be a capable leader.

Have you read Radical Candor? 

How has it helped you improve your management style?

Betties Book Brief: The Happiness Project

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This month, our team at Back Office Betties had the privilege of reading The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun.

The Happiness Project is rarely described as a book or a blog. More often it’s described as a “movement”. This book takes you on Gretchen Rubin’s year-long journey to answer the question “What do I want from life, anyway?” The simple answer? “To be happy.”

The Happiness Project is great for people that are on the go, lead busy lives, and generally just don’t have the time to dedicate to a lengthy tutorial on how to live your best life. Each chapter is packed with useful information and provide abundant stopping points if time constraints require you to tackle a few pages at a time, or you simply want to reflect after taking in these words of wisdom.

We’ve compiled some top takeaways for you which will be beneficial in your daily pursuit of happiness below:

1. Spread happiness and be near people who spread it too

“In a phenomenon called “emotional contagion,” we unconsciously catch emotions from other people – whether they are good moods or bad ones. Taking time to be silly means that we’re infecting one another with good cheer, and people who enjoy silliness are one third more likely to be happy.”

2. Challenge and growth are the keys to happiness

“Challenge and novelty are key elements to happiness. The brain is stimulated by surprise, and successfully dealing with an unexpected situation gives a powerful sense of satisfaction. If you do new things – visit a museum for the first time, learn a new game, travel to a new place, meet new people – you’re more apt to feel happy than people who stick to familiar activities.”

3. Working towards a goal makes you as happy as achieving it

“The challenge, therefore, is to take pleasure in the “atmosphere of growth,” in the gradual progress made toward a goal, in the present. The unpoetic name for this very powerful source of happiness is “pre-goal-attainment positive effect.”

“Enjoy the process.”

4. It’s normal to search for happiness even if you’re already prosperous financially

“As countries become richer, their citizens become less focused on physical and economic security and more concerned with goals such as happiness and self-realization. Prosperity allows us to turn our attention to more transcendent matters – to yearn for lives not just of material comfort but of meaning, balance, and joy.”

5. Being productive takes focus but brings happiness.

One great way to free up some time to focus on your own Happiness Project? Hire virtual receptionists from Back Office Betties at your law firm! You can only focus on so much every day. By using a virtual receptionist, you have more time and energy to focus on going to court and dealing with other aspects of your practice and life. You can leave your law firm’s phone calls to our competent, well-trained, and courteous virtual receptionists!

Betties Book Brief – You Are a Badass

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This month, the virtual receptionists at Back Office Betties had the privilege of reading You are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero. This book is filled with great insights, and we’d strongly recommend that you read it! But if you don’t have time to crack open a book in your busy life, you can still get a few of the top takeaways by reading this blog post.

Here are a few of the things we learned from You Are a Badass that we’d like to share with you today. Enjoy!

Work on Rewriting Your Subconscious Thoughts
According to Jen Sincero, we should all stop blaming our choices on our subconscious thoughts. It’s possible to rewrite these thoughts and, in turn, change your behaviors. Try to figure out the source of the thoughts that are holding you back in life. You can turn your whole day around by changing your thinking patterns!

Make a Habit of Meditating

Meditation is an easy way to start practicing mindfulness. At the beginning of your day, take a few minutes for yourself to focus on your breathing. Don’t devote any mental space to work or any of your other concerns. This is an opportunity to declutter your mind. By meditating, you’ll be more productive and focused throughout your day.

Express Gratitude Daily

Unfortunately, it’s easy to complain. But when you’re expressing negativity, you’re only encouraging a cycle of ungratefulness. It will continue to be easy for you to see the negative things in your life. Instead, try to express gratitude on a daily basis. It will be challenging at first because you’re so wired to focus on the negative side of things. But if you make a habit of expressing your gratitude, you will have an easier time seeing the bright side in everything.

Surround Yourself with People Who Will Elevate You

Clear your life of toxic people who are bringing you down. There’s so much negativity around us as is—the last thing we need is to be investing time in relationships with negative people. Instead, foster relationships with people who will encourage your personal growth.

Live in the Moment

Stop multitasking! It isn’t productive. Stop using social media as an excuse to not be present. Not only does it rob the people you’re with of spending time with you, but it also robs yourself of getting the most out of an experience. Put down your phone, stop letting your mind drift elsewhere, and truly be present!

One great way to live in the moment and declutter your mind? Hire virtual receptionists from Back Office Betties at your law firm! You can only focus on so much every day. By using a virtual receptionist, you have more time and energy to focus on going to court and dealing with other aspects of your practice. You can leave your law firm’s phone calls to our competent, well-trained, and courteous virtual receptionists!

Betties Book Brief

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Want a massive social following in your business?  Who wouldn’t!

Back Office Betties had the great pleasure of reading One Million Followers by Brendan Kane and we just had to share it with all of you!  Kane gives great insight on how to take advantage of many different social media platforms.  His growth hacks for your business and your brand make this book a must read.

Betties Take-a-Ways

This book has a wealth of knowledge!  Here are our top 5 take-a-ways pertaining to Facebook:

  • Facebook is used to share more content than email or any other online social platform. No matter how many followers you have, Facebook only shows content to 2-5% of your audience.  What’s the determining factor?  How engaging and relevant your content is.  Your content must resonate with your audience.
  • Create ads specifically to get more likes/followers on your page. Be careful not to limit your demographics when testing ads.  A great example was given about Chatbooks in the book.  They wanted to target mom’s 45 years or older who liked scrap-booking, photography, and motherhood in a Mother’s Day ad.  Instead of age targeting, they used a broad range on age and found that younger people were sharing the ads with their moms to start a conversation.  This in turn created an organic reach to the intended demographic.
  • Have a great headline with a great hook point. Ask yourself, if your potential customer is walking down the street and passes a newsstand with 100 articles, what headline would they stop to read?  It should be relevant, interesting, and meet the needs of your audience.
  • If you do ads on Facebook, do not raise the spend limit if the ad is doing well.  Facebook will reset the cost in auction and your costs will increase.  Instead, duplicate the ad and create a new one.  It’s recommended to have a budget of $11 to $25 daily on ads.  For the most part, your page ads should not cost more than $0.10 per ‘like’.
  • Use the 80/20 rule when posting.  Make sure 80% of the time your content is share worthy and 20% of the time your asking for a sale or promoting your business.

Believe us when we say this is just the tip of the iceberg on all the information given.  It also features in-depth interviews from marketing experts, celebrities, and influencers.  This book could be helpful taking your firm to the next level you’ve been wanting!

Back Office Betties