Merry Christmas / Feliz Navidad

The One Law You Should Break...

The One Law You Should Break...

It'll Change Your Life for the Better!

The Law of Entropy states that all systems, if left unattended, run down. Unless new energy is provided, each organism deteriorates. What does this mean when applied to individuals, teams, relationships, organizations, and associations?

If these are left unattended, no new energy is provided and they will diminish.

In business, if we assume that our systems, relationships, operations, sales, and marketing can be left unattended and unrefreshed, they will break. Machines do not work without maintenance, repair, and tuning, nor will we or our companies.

Do you find that you’re asking yourself what to do to counteract personal and organizational entropy? Is there a way to make certain that your relationships with others, and with yourself, are well nurtured and thriving? Some ways to break the law of entropy include:

• Having and reviewing Goals,
• Exercising,
• Going on date nights with your significant other,
• Meditating,
• Reflective journaling, and
• Reviewing your metrics in business and your personal life.

If you would like to continue reading the article, please go to my December FocalPoint Newsletter

To your Success and Performance!

Luis Vicente 

Make your LIFE a SUCCESS

Realizing that life is a continuous move towards something we truly want to achieve allows us to see that it is our decisions that are going to lead us to be in that place and at that moment we so desire.

In doing so, we convince ourselves that the best way to live life is being happy, glad, and optimistic, and always being positive. It is true that we find adversities and difficulties daily, but we decide what we learn from each one of these moments, as we improve continuously, as we change to be better in everything we set out and ultimately, in achieving excellence in every single one of the activities we do every day and that will guide us toward those long-term goals we want to achieve.

A quote I use regularly in my seminars says that ‘Success is a journey, not a destination'. Let us make our life a journey, our journeys an adventure and enjoy our travels on the as we encounter all those destinations on our way every day.

Luis Vicente Garcia

Developing Olympic Athletes in your Organization

The Olympics represent the highest level sports athletes from all countries can achieve. The large number of events, the variety of disciplines, the effort required and the complex preparation that athletes have carried out is embodied the opening day of this magnificent event. 

And behind every athlete there is a team in different areas that targets new goals, together, and works towards winning an Olympic medal.

In many of these sport disciplines we will see athletes competing individually; at the same time, we will see competition where only the best teams reach the final. Is your team ready to win an Olympic medal?

Olympic athletes not only have a great determination; they also have great persistence, willpower, define their vision and have decided to develop their skills to the maximum level in order to achieve their true potential. These are just some of the ideas that define a great athlete. And our job within our companies is to create new real 'Corporate Athletes'.

“The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals.

The struggles within yourself - the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us – that's where it's at. 

- Jesse Owens, Olympic Medalist

Successful athletes have some characteristics, including: they train until they cannot train anymore, think positive and understand adversity as they arrive to success. When Olympic winners are asked about their mood, physical preparation and the journey to the top, they define their experience in a different way. Leaders are formed with character, discipline, example and inspiration. These Olympian winners are mostly leaders in their specialties.

Among the qualities that define an Olympic winner I can suggest five traits that characterize them:

1. They are resilient, as they have improved for their failures and mistakes and know that there is something to learn from everything;
2. They Understand teamwork, because they know they have a large number of people with them  all the time;
3. They have a great interest in what they do, and know that everything involves planning, time, dedication and patience;
4.  They have a great passion, since the intensity of competition makes them becoming stronger, with much fortitude and giving 200% of what they can give;
5.  They are happy, because the attitude should be positive and we all know joy is contagious.

The experience of an Olympic athlete leads them to create positive habits, set increasingly demanding goals, define their own levels of productivity, achieve peak performance and develop great competitive abilities. All this is summarized in the qualities of an Olympic athlete:

• They have strong personal motivation;
• They continuously increase the level of their mental energy;
• They focus on achieving peak performance.

In doing so they focus on what they really want to achieve.

As we watch the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio 2016, we will understand that not only the effort and dedication are important for success, whether a medal in the race of 100 meters or in the 200 meters swimming backstroke or in beach volleyball; also a large number of complex strategies – which are the basis of our goals - will also be required. It is the continuous development of skills with great determination that makes a true Olympic athlete and legend; and if we bring this concept to our companies, the same skill and leadership development programs will create our corporate athletes as our companies embarks in a transforming 'continuous learning' process.

Our corporate teams are made up of individual athletes (our co-workers) and they are the ones who become corporate athletes. And these athletes, in each of our organizations, are those who share our vision, set challenging goals, increase productivity, work in teams and in many ways are always looking for ways that allow them to peak performance.

How do we know if our team is ready to win a medal at the Corporate Olympic reality we play every day? Look for these traits in your team members and develop a program to have a winning team: develop the leaders of your organization by creating excellent corporate Olympians; and begin to design and from your winning strategy for 2017!

Luis Vicente Garcia

On being Positive!

Day after day we find people who have different behaviors and different attitudes. Some are optimistic, some very negative, while a large number of people have a neutral mood. This is the reason why we have to change and become much more positive if we want to succeed. Of course, like everything in life, becoming positive is neither easy nor fast, but if we start now going in the right direction we will get there sooner than later.

In the seminars I teach, I ask participates if they know of someone, anyone, who has been successful being negative or pessimistic; so far, no one has been able to give me an example. Therefore, being successful has a direct relationship to being positive and having a good attitude. Being positive, especially in a difficult environment is no easy task; however, it can be done.

There are a number of actions we can take to become more positive :

Wake up early. There is nothing healthier than waking up early to have the whole day ahead of you to do what you really have to do. And above all, the first hour of the day, called 'the golden hour', is the most important. You are more relaxed and calm, and it's time that you take some time to read, meditate and exercise. Try it for a few days and you will notice the change.

Plan ahead. The night before start planning your next day. By doing that, you will avoid running around, which is part of what causes us stress; you will know in advance all your appointments and tasks of the day and you can plan ahead in a more effective manner. Of course there will be emergencies in many cases, but you will know how to deal with them since you will have more control over your time.

Be kind. There is nothing more rewarding than being kind to others without expecting anything in return. Open a door to let someone go by; say good morning and thank you. Simple things that people say or do, are not expected and thus they generate smiles. And you should be grateful for what you have with those around you.

Help others. During your day help your friends and colleagues. Become a trusted person for those who work with you and you will become a support for them. Helping others will make you feel better.

Share. We all know more than we imagine. We can all do more than what we can. If we share our knowledge and our way of being positive, we will help other people to be better every day. A word of support, a guide for someone who solves a problem, teaching, and so, little by little, going to work on something that can be very incredible: become a mentor or a teacher to go out helping others.

Today there are many ways to be in excellent physical, mental and spiritual form, and much of it we can do it ourselves. If you do, you'll have a better day, more positive, more optimistic and more inspiring for you and those around you.

Luis Vicente Garcia

An incredible afternoon on life and opportunities with Joan Detz

I saw Joan Detz @joandetz speak at a financial professional convention in DC two years ago. Is she a financial expert, a numbers specialist or a metrics expert? No; she is an incredible lady who has devoted her life to training and coaching people for all corners of the world and trades in different fields on the art of #PublicSpeaking. And after seeing how she did it and what she accomplished I needed to meet her, but I could not do it at the convention.

But wait; I am a simple guy living in a foreign country who happened to be in DC at that time. How will I meet her? Come possibilities: I contacted her with the advancement of technology. So after getting in touch I sent her some of my work (I am sure she needed to find out who this crazy person form Venezuela was). So back in late 2014 we started exchanging emails, got on a phone conversation and as they say, it was the start of a beautiful friendship; and indeed it has continued to be.

Fast forward two years, I have had incredible phone conversations with Joan, I have interviewed her on my internet radio show on two incredible subjects, public speaking tips and social media tools and how you can boost your life and careers using them and both are on the top list of my all time shows. And best of all, I was able to visit with Joan last week in New York to what I call a wonderful afternoon. We had lunch, we went to the New York Public Library, we saw old maps, and we strolled down Bryant Park. But best of all, we had an amazing but very short five-hour conversation; and it was incredible.

What do you speak with such an experienced, traveled and fabulous person? We talked about life’s journeys, we talked about the change in technology, age, knowledge, wisdom, politics, and life again and we talked about dreams, those fuzzy things you can actually convert into reality. We talked about peace and quiet, life on the countryside and on the complicated city life; and we talked about how we take things for granted, yes we all do. It was a deep thoughtful powerful conversation.

And this is what friendship is all about. It is a different kind of friendship, a beautiful one. It is not your friends form high school or college whom after a while you stopped seeing; it is the new friends you met along the path you cross, that you allow into your life, and what an incredible idea is it to invite new friends into your life. And we choose those friends, people who like us want better, look for nature’s beauty, who engage on interesting conversations which are very meaningful, important, thoughtful, wonderful and all together transformational.

This and more was my NY afternoon with Joan Detz. What an honor, what a pleasure. I flew in from Venezuela; she took a train ride from Pennsylvania. Was it worth it? Indeed and it was too short of a conversation on life’s journeys, on health, opportunities and future, with passion and vision and ideas and thoughts and dreams and why not, a touch of reality here and there. And what a wonderful friendship it has become. 

Joan, keep inspiring people, keep being a wonderful friend.

Luis Vicente

‘Performing at Your Best: Mindset Evolution’: Celebrating Show #50

"Success is waking up in the morning and bounding out of bed because there's something out there that you love to do, that you believe in, that you're good at - something that's bigger than you are, and you can hardly wait to get at it again."
-- Whit Hobbs

With this beautiful quote I received this morning from a dear friend, I wake up to what will be an amazing day (as most are and should be). Today we are celebrating an incredible day as my radio show Performing at Your Best: Mindset Evolution with Luis Vicente Garcia on VoiceAmerica Business is reaching its first big milestone: I will be LIVE at 6 pm EDT this afternoon to celebrate our show #50.

It has been an incredible journey as I had never been a radio host before and one that I have truly enjoyed; particularly learning about new subjects on performance and mindset, and learning how to interview amazing people - my guests - who have been an integral part of our success. We are now listened to in 6 continents and over 70 countries, which shows all of us that our messages are needed and welcome and as such I would like to give a huge thanks to all of my listeners who week after week join us live or on demand to find out new ideas and insights that will allow them to grow and learn.

http://www.voiceamerica.com/show/2462/performing-at-your-best-mindset-evolution-with-luis-vicente-garcia

So to all of you, my incredible guests, the listeners all over the world and to the amazing VA Team, my most sincere thanks of appreciation for having shared with me and our audience your incredible thoughts, ideas, tips, suggestions and most of all your knowledge, which has been and will be the source of their new ideas, rides and journeys.

To all of you, my dear friends, my most sincere thanks and appreciation as I invite you to join us in this wonderful month of mindset and performance celebration.

Luis Vicente  

5-Keys to Better Engagement

As we know ENGAGEMENT is a critical component for today's success. Whether for business or your personal lives, you need to understand the importance of engagement.

Today we live in a very fast paced and changing market and workplace. And employees play a critical and very important role on the success of our companies. An important question here would be: do you know the level of engagement of your employees and team members?

I had the opportunity to interview Hans Trupp on my radio show 'Performing at Your Best: Mindset Evolution with Luis Vicente Garcia' on the VoiceAmerica Business Channel. On commenting about the meaning of engaged employees, we talked about the business where the level of involvement and enthusiasm of  all employees generates commitment for growth and innovation, alongside productivity and performance. So having an engaged employee is everybody's responsibility today.

Hans shared his 5-Keys to Better Engagement in 2016. Read them and really work with the tools and action items listed so you increase the level of engagement in your company:

1. Attitude
In learning how to improve self confidence, one must understand how the law of attraction works. If you think dis-empowering thoughts and are mixing these with feelings of fear, apprehension and disappointment, you are not getting what you want. Instead use the Law of Attraction in a powerful, positive and conscious way.
ACTION: Write down positive words and affirmative affirmations. Make them part of your thinking routine, and eliminate and replace the non supportive thoughts every time you are aware of them.

2. Communication
Since each person has a preferred style of communication, once you think about it and determine their style, you can communicate effectively by adapting your style to meet the needs of their style.
Remember first rule of maximum communication: the success of the communication is the responsibility of the communicator.
ACTION: Build awareness of your own behavioral style. Practice reading other peoples style. Craft your important messages to different behavioral styles.

3. Clarity
Lack of clarity is probably more responsible for frustration and underachievement than any other single factor. That’s why we say that "Success is goals, and all else is commentary." People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine. This is true everywhere and under all circumstances.
ACTION: The more you write and rewrite your goals and the more you think about them, the clearer you will become about them.

4. Efficiency
The reason nothing you have tried has improved your time management is because, until now, no one has told you the truth: The key to time management is to stop wasting it.
ACTION: Take 30 minutes to remember your long term vision, to recheck your medium term strategic plan and to identify the key action items that will get you there. focus on just your real priorities.

5. Training
Understand the individual in a team rather than see the team as a collective them, allow individuals in a team to shine in the awareness of their individual impact and then feed their dreams and starve their fears. Seek out training that links personal goals to effort in the workplace. Find training methodologies that leverage adult learning styles. Building accountability systems for sustained behavioral change.
ACTION: Get clear about your training goals. Link the training goals to measurable indicators.
Commit to a training program to accelerate goal achievement.

Commit yourself to these challenges or action items and start improving the level of engagement in your companies and your success, which will come as a result of implementing these changes.

If you want to hear our interview Click HERE!

And if you want to contact Hans Trupp, you can write him directly at htrupp@focalpointcoaching.com

Increase the level of engagement on your company and see the performance of your teams improved in very interesting ways.

Luis Vicente Garcia

OSCAR Winning TEAM Formula

If you watched the 2016 Oscars®, it was another night to celebrate the underdog.

That night, Hollywood’s biggest and brightest took to the stage to accept their Bronze statuettes, a mark of the highest achievement anyone in the film industry can receive.

But as I watched cast of ‘Spotlight’ receive their award, another thought crossed my mind. As the director and producers of the film came onstage, they were not alone. They were joined by an entire line of actors and team members who shared warm hugs and tears of joy. They ‘buzzed’ with the excitement of what they were able to accomplish—not alone, but together.

Prior to that, Alejandro Iñarritú had just received his Oscar® for Best Director of the film ‘The Revenant’, second year in a row he has won such a prestigious award.

For me the night had so many wonderful take-aways. But one which stands out most is Team Work.

You don’t have to be an award winning director to apply Spotlight’s or have Alejandro Iñarritú’s teamwork model to achieve ground-breaking business success today. 

You see, the casts of 'Spotlight' and ‘Birdman’ seemed to realize something other teams may fail to realize: 

If you want to receive the highest honor in any industry, 

you have to understand the Power of the Team.

No Oscar-winning movie would be complete without the best sound effects, music scores, direction, make-up, actors, scriptwriters, or special effects. Every detail has to be right to achieve the award-winning results we all want to see in our business.

Alejandro Iñarritú understood the Power of the Team and used that knowledge to build an award-winning cast and film. He knew how to organize a team that is creative, innovative, and achieves award-winning results.

Is your team ready for ‘Birdman’-worthy fame? Are you capitalizing on the teamwork power Alejandro used to gain the highest honor in his field?

Your company’s award might not come in a form of a statue, but it will come in the way of satisfied customers, excellent products and services, community involvement and improved branding for you and your company.

Are you ready to make your business and TEAM ‘Oscar-Ready’?

If so, I have the Oscar Formula you need for ultimate success.

You might have thought, “I already have a plan in place.” Or, “I’m not sure if I’m ready to try something new.”

The truth is, change is hard. Even scary. But I have some good news for you. All you have to do is take the first step. I will take care of the rest.

Here are 2 Oscar- Worthy Tips that are guaranteed to increase productivity and profitability in your business, regardless of the industry you’re in.

1.  EMPOWER your team members in a way that helps them grow.

Now, you might be thinking,

I’m already empowering my team members. But are you doing it in a way that motivates them to use their gifts and abilities to the max?

Are you empowering your time to perform at their utmost level of potential?

2.  DELIVER messages that are positive and motivating.

Are you speaking to your team members in a way that is both powerful and reassuring? Are you using the type of language in your everyday interactions that

inspires hard work and dedication?

Or are your words causing your employees to doubt or

second-guess their contributions?

The words we use matter. If you want to change the words you use to create powerful and profitable change in your company, you can start now.

Contact me today to create the type of award-winning success Alejandro Iñarritú created to win Oscar fame. You can reach me at coachluis@luisvicentegarcia.com or visit my web pageswww.luisvicentegarcia.com and www.coachluisvgarcia.com

And believe you can always do it, 

if you set your mind to it!

Luis Vicente

Sales Go To The Most Prepared – Are You Doing These Things?

This principle is so simple that it is often overlooked. The hallmark of the true professional is thorough preparation, reviewing every detail, before every sales meeting. The very best salespeople are those who review their presentations and study the details of their products and their sales materials repeatedly prior to every new sales contact.

You cannot imagine a top athlete who did not train regularly and warm up thoroughly before every competition. In fact, the period of training for an athlete consumes far, far more time than the actual competition itself. When you think of a crack military force, like the U.S. Marines or the Israeli Commandos, you think immediately of rigorous, disciplined training. In every field of endeavor, it is the most thoroughly trained and dedicated professionals who rise to the top.

It is relatively easy to get into selling with little experience. But that is where the easy part ends. 

It is relatively easy to get into selling with little experience. But that is where the easy part ends. From then onward, hard, hard work and continuous training and preparation are essential for success. If you want to be the best, and get the results that the best people get, you have to do the same things they do. And this means to prepare and prepare and then to over-prepare.

The first corollary of the Law of Preparation says: “The salesperson with the best knowledge of the real situation of the customer will be the one most likely to make the sale.”

The more time you take to thoroughly understand your prospective customer and your prospective customer’s situation, the more likely it is that you will be in a position to sell at the critical moment.

The second corollary of the Law of Preparation says: “Sales professionals plan their questions in advance.”

To continue reading this and other interesting article, please visit my FocalPoint Newsletter

Live by the Light: Abraham Lincoln

"I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. 

I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. 

I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong."

Abraham Lincoln

Your Personal Development in 2016

Personal Growth in 2016!

We have seen and heard that life happens. And of course it does so; it could not be otherwise because then it would not be life.

In many cases we go through it aimlessly; at other times we plan what we want to achieve. And along the way there are events that can never be predicted or planned. Everything will be then, the result of how we respond to these events and challenges and what they mean; it is, in other words, the value or experience that we attach to each occurrence, determining how we move through them and how we embark and head back to happier and better times.

Success is something only you define and then decide to reach.

I am often asked how are people able to achieve the levels of personal and professional success they enjoy? These questions come when we realize that many successful people come from being born into a working class or poor, or have had family issues or have not fared well in school or have had many difficulties in their lives.

The answer to how to achieve success is Personal Development.

It is continuous change, personal growth and development that has changed the lives of millions of people and continues to do so today.

Why do I say it continues to do?

Because the mistake many people make is thinking that for attending a single event or personal development seminar they are ready to advance and reach all their goals. This is not an issue of doing it once; it is a matter of doing it gradually and continuously. It takes time and effort and it requires discipline!

Successful people know that personal development is a continuous process.

In this way we set new goals and new objectives and that is when we decided to move into uncharted territory but determined to succeed. And so the decision to grow, learn and develop continuously is yours!

Start now to make your 2016 a very successful year in which you will really grow and develop personally and professionally, working on yourself and your future. And be sure to get ready to get many surprises along the way.

Start the year highly motivated, committed to your development and Happy 2016! To Your Success!

Luis Vicente Garcia

2015: Seven months of 'Performing at Your Best with Luis Vicente Garcia'

As we start a new year, I would like to thank the wonderful people that help me make my radio show a Success! 

When we started to think about it, Winston Price (now y Executive Producer on the Voice America Radio Network) and his team helped me create the many incredible parts to the show, such as the banners, the links, setting up the page, coming up with the Bio and creating the show’s name and page. And it was an amazing year. 

You can hear all of the shows on the Voice America Business Channel at Performing at Your Best: Mindset Evolution with Luis Vicente Garcia

Our first show was aired on June 2^nd so as we closed the year we  already did 32 shows, and getting ready later today for the second one of 2016. And the audio and technical people at VoiceAmerica have been incredible. Many thanks to all.

I have done several shows on my own and I have also had the most amazing guests. I interviewed my dear friends Margaret Maclay and Joan Detz; I interviewed incredible authors as Bob Burg and business colleagues as Ramon Palmero, Abel Calvo, Margarita Pasos, Tosin Ogunussi, Marc Kohler, Dr. Andreas Boettcher and Leeza Sipek. All are great friends, and they have shared with us and the incredible listeners - that week after week join us from several parts in the world - many amazing tips, new business ideas and they always give us this new perspective that we need to have in order to succeed in this fast changing world.

It was an incredible year of new and wonderful experiences. And today I want to share with you my top-5 shows of 2015 as reviewed by our listeners:

1. How to Boost Your Career and Building Your Business Through Public Speaking, with Joan Detz and Luis Vicente Garcia

2. Creating Magic in your Company

3. Conversations on Franchising with Abel Calvo and Luis Vicente Garcia

4. Grow by Empowering your Staff and Your TEAMs, with Tosin Ogunusi and Luis Vicente Garcia

5. Communication and Motivation - key factors for Business Success, with Margaret Maclay and Luis Vicente Garcia

All of the shows and interviews were incredible. Thank you so much to my incredible guests; to the VoiceAmerica TEAM who have been so wonderful through out the year and most of all, to all the listeners who are the ones that make this happen.

To all, my best wishes for a wonderful 2016 filled with joy, happiness, new opportunities and many learning experiences.

And have a wonderful and a very successful year!

Luis Vicente Garcia