What Thanksgiving Means to Me

Thanksgiving is not for another four or five days, so I realize that I am a little early with this Thanksgiving message.
It may take some extra time and planning to shop for, cook for and set the table for the one or two extra people your family may want to share this year's Thanksgiving meal with.
I am talking about inviting one or two -- or more -- of our troops to your home this Thanksgiving, especially if you are at an overseas location and fortunate enough to have your loved ones with you.
Wherever you are, there are plenty of lonely Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen who would love to spend a few hours with you and your family sharing not only a home-cooked meal, but also enjoying the warmth, family and, yes, the bitter-sweet memories of home, that such an occasion will bring.
How do I know this?
Well, on Thanksgiving of 1942, one Dominic Cirincione, an Italian immigrant who ran a fruit stand on Mission Avenue in the Mission District of San Francisco, invited two GIs who were stationed at the nearby Cow Palace to dinner at his home to join his wife and daughter. "Dom" became lifelong friends with one of those soldiers and actually became the godfather to his first born son who met him as an adult for the first time after returning from US Air Force duty in Japan in 1969. 
That GI, who never forgot that kindness,was Private Wesley E "Pete" Dobson, who went on to become a SSgt, US Army Air Corps, Tailgunner, B25J by the name of "Tuff Stuff", recipient of the Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters for distinguished air combat in the Rome Arno Air Campaign. He and Isabelle Adams Dobson gave birth to their first son the following summer at St Luke's Hospital near San Francisco's Mission District.  Dom was one of the very first to hold his godson, Danny Boy, as he called me!!
Have a Very Meaningful Thanksgiving,

Captain W Dan Dobson
United States Air Force
1967-1972

150 YEARS AGO TODAY

Tuesday 19 November 2013 is the 150^th Anniversary of the Gettysburg address.  Less than 30% of the people of the United States in 1863 supported President Lincoln.  Over 95% of the newspapers in the United States, after the address was given, said, “…it is not worthy to read.”

Please take a few minutes to read this address which along with the Declaration of Independence are the keystones of American Philosophy:

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.  We are met on a great battle-field of that war.  We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.  It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate – we cannot consecrate – we cannot hallow – this ground.  The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.  The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.  It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.  It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Securing Our Future,
dan

Assuming

His request approved, the CNN News photographer

quickly used a cell phone to call the local airport

to charter a flight.
He was told a twin-engine plane

would be waiting for him at the airport.
Arriving at the airfield, he spotted a plane

warming up outside a hanger.
  He jumped in with his bag, slammed the door shut,

and shouted, 'Let's go'.
The pilot taxied out, swung the plane

into the wind and took off.

Once in the air, the photographer instructed

the pilot, 'Fly over the valley and make

low passes so I can take pictures

of the fires on the hillsides.'
'Why?' asked the pilot.

'Because I'm a photographer for CNN',

he responded, 'and I need to get

some close up shots.'

The pilot was strangely silent for a moment,

finally he stammered, 'So, what you're telling me,

is . . . You're NOT my flight instructor?'

Are you really asking the hard questions of your customers or not because you are afraid of the answers or afraid of "offending them".  Get over it as you are as guilty as the guy in the story above and the consequences while maybe not life threatening could be dire.  There is nothing threatening about asking the following: " I just have a gut feeling that there are some issues that we need to discuss that we have neither taken the time to do so."  You can do this and you need to do this.  You have a sixth sense or you would not be doing what you are doing.  Please take advantage of that talent rather than waiting around to react to something after it happens.

Zooming not assuming,
Captain Dan

Do Something!

Years ago before he became famous, Tom Peters, was just getting started and was beginning to do seminars.  I attended on of these early seminars at the Sunburst Hotel in Scottsdale Arizona.  My sales partner and I both attended and we very impressed with Tom and what he told us.  He offered many valuable tips when it came to selling .
My partner was a veteran and I was a fairly new member of the team.  I took those tips and incorporated them into my personality and sales repertoire.  My sales performance shot off the charts.  Ed however decided to reinvent himself into Tom Peters and failed miserably.  He was a good salesman as Ed but not so good as Tom Peters.
I took some small steps and, as I did, momentum began to come my way.  I did not worry about a long term goal at that time.  I just needed to do something to kick start me past the starting point and get me on the road.  Little goals add up.  Often the final goal seems so unobtainable, we don't even give it a decent shot.
So my advice today is to START.  Do something!  No matter how insignificant it seems or no matter where you are in your circumstances.  Take the first step.
Grow where you are planted because it is highly unlikely that you are going to be transplanted and thrive elsewhere.

Fearlessly yours,
Dan

Attitude is EVERYTHING

     Team Trinity was honored to host a lavish barbeque for our Wounded Warriors and their families at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Building 62 in Bethesda, MD.
     If the cowardly enemy who have maimed these troops think they have broken their spirit, that delusion joins the many that cloud their perverted minds. They will be waiting for that to never happen like they are the virgins that await them in nirvana. 
     We were humbled by these men and women who represent the finest we have to offer. They have set the gold standard for perseverance in the face of what many would see as insurmountable odds. They were talking about hunting, playing golf, their wives and sweethearts kids and both here and on the way. (Lots of pregnant women there which bodes well for our future).  I saw one guy with both legs gone and an arm with a T-Shirt that said " Chicks dig scars". You think he was living in the past?? God has blessed them as they have given so much for so many of us. It was inspiring and humbling to meet them and serve them. It is amazing to walk among real live heroes.
     How is your perseverance holding up?  Are you giving up on your sales plan or have you neglected to even make one.  Are you keeping the funnel full of prospects?  You have no insurmountable odds to over come.  It is a simple matter of deciding to do it, asking for help if you don't know how, and executing once you have the plan.  It does not need to be sophisticated or complicated.  Decide how much you want to earn, determine your average brokerage, divide that into your earnings goal and you will then know how many loads you have to do to make your goal.  Then start looking for the business to achieve that. Once you get rolling, you can then determine how many calls you have to make for each victory you score and from them on you just keep repeating the process always looking to the future never dwelling on the past.

Faithful to the cause,

Dan

Caution, you are about to enter the NO Cold Calling Zone

I had one of  our Agents call me this morning all giddy about the fact that he had "discovered" that he did not have to cold call any more.  He had found the fountain of success in sales!  I snickered to myself with joy at his "discovery".
     If you are not spending time learning about your leads and prospects BEFORE you pickup up the phone or hit the key board, you are wasting not only your valuable time but that of someone to whom you have the potential to be a Trusted Adviser.
     In the unlikely event you do not have any idea how to proceed with eliminating Cold Calling from your lexicon, contact me for some tips. I will happily assist you in weaning yourself off of this terrible addiction.
    

Come Warm Call With Me,

dan

The Strangest Secret

Earl Nightingale's radio recording that he called The Strangest Secret electrified his listeners all over the country. The stations that carried his syndicated show were deluged with requests for copies of it.
      As a result, the audio version of Nightingale's message was recorded, and sold over 1 million copies. In fact, Earl Nightingale's recording of The Strangest Secret was the first non-music record to exceed the one million mark!
     Written in 1957, the audio recording of The Strangest Secret earned the first Gold Record for the spoken word, with sales exceeding one million copies. As you can see, Earl's message is even more relevant today. I invite you to learn more about how the insights of The Strangest Secret can change your life, as it changed mine.
The Strangest Secret. (click on the title)
     This message can be life changing if you desire it to be so.  It will not happen without you as you will soon learn.
 
Decisively yours,
dan