I had my first repeat guest on the show after 43 episodes. I was proud to have back Gail Blanke, CEO of of Lifedesigns, LLC, a company whose vision is to empower men and women worldwide to live truly exceptional lives. Considered one of the finest motivational speakers in the country, a renowned executive coach and presentation skills trainer, Gail has advised CEO’s, stand up comics, presidential candidates, college presidents – and even a jazz musician. She has appeared on Oprah Winfrey.

Considered one of the finest motivational speakers in the country, she has delivered keynote addresses for scores of corporations. She has appeared on CNN, FNN, CNBC and FOX TV. Articles about Gail and her company have appeared in Newsweek, Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, Reader’s Digest, Ladies’ Home Journal, Redbook and Self.

Gail told us to forget about wanting to cover yourself with leaves during these tough times. We are afraid to make descisions. Gail says that making decsions brings optimism. In order to move forward we need to let go of the past and as her new book says, Throw Out 50 Things. We talked about “how you can’t grow if you do not let go!” We also need to throw out “how right you are about how wrong it is that business is bad”. We also talked about:

1. How do you think we can  get unstuck in our lives?

2. Is there a difference between mental and physical clutter?

3. How does this apply physically in business- people’s offices and workspaces?

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My next guest was the former president of Starbucks, Howard Behar.  He joined Starbucks in 1989 as vice president of sales and operations, and grew the retail business from 28 stores to more than 400, by the time he was named president of Starbucks Coffee International in 1995.   Since his retirement he has written a book “It’s Not About the Coffee” that describe his leadership principles. Behar serves on several boards, including Anna’s Linens, Washington State Budget and Policy Center and Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership. We talked about:

1. Finding your hat and wearing in life and business.

2.  Why should your people choose their own broom.

3.  Caring is a business term.

4.  Only the truth sounds like the truth.

5.  In tough times, you need to double down on what brought you to the party.

 

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My surprise third guest was Mike Michalowicz , the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur himself! We talked about:

1. What the heck is a Toilet Paper Entrepreneur?

2.  What is the dumbest decision an entrepreneur can make?

3. What are the most common excuses people use to avoid launching a business?

4. What are some “out of the box” TPE strategies someone listening in could do right now?

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